Minorities Wing of RSS, BJP Seek Arrest of Wasim Rizvi over His Petition to Remove 26 Verses from the Quran
New
Age Islam News Bureau
20
March 2021
•
Shuhada Foundation of Lal Masjid Moves Court Seeking Ban on Aurat March
•
Taliban Expect US to Withdraw, Vow to Restore Islamic Rule
•
British Muslim Billionaire Brothers: Plans for ‘Landmark’ Mosque in North West
England Approved
•
Pro-Israeli Lobby Presses Biden to Reject Iran Deal In Current Format
•
'Allah' Row Gives Shaky Malaysian Government Hope of Survival
•
US Intensifying Economic Pressure on Lebanon to Force Normalization of Ties
with Israel: Analyst
•
Iranian Speaker's Aide Raps Biden Admin for Continued Trumpism
•
Nigeria's Poor Response to Boko Haram Has Left Border Communities Feeling
Abandoned
India
•
Minorities Wing of RSS, BJP Seek Arrest of Wasim Rizvi over His Petition to
Remove 26 Verses from the Quran
•
Surat Municipal Corporation Appeals to Muslim Leaders: Raise Awareness Among
People About Covid-19 Vaccination
•
3 Months of MP ‘Love Jihad’ Law: 21 Cases, Couple Knew Each Other In Over Half
Of Them
•
Social Media Outrage After Priyanka Chopra Claims Her Dad Used To 'Sing In A
Mosque'
•
Up To Pakistan To Create Climate Suitable For Talks: India
•
Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections: At This Bellwether Seat, Muslims May Decide
Outcome
•
UP: Shias & Sunnis rally against Waseem Rizvi’s plea on Quran verses
--------
Pakistan
•
Shuhada Foundation of Lal Masjid Moves Court Seeking Ban on Aurat March
•
PM Had Offered India To Initiate Peace Talks Soon After Assuming Office: FM
•
Hindu Journalist, Ajay Lalwani, Shot Dead In Pakistan Evoked Sharp Criticism
from Hindus and Muslims
•
PDM plans to launch long march soon after Eidul Fitr: Fazl
•
Biden Must Press Pakistan to End Persecution of Religious Minorities
•
Pakistan reaffirms support to political settlement in Afghanistan
•
UK lauds Pakistan’s conciliatory efforts for peace in Afghanistan
•
Pakistan, Iraq discuss ways to enhance military engagements
--------
South Asia
•
Taliban Expect US to Withdraw, Vow to Restore Islamic Rule
•
Afghan govt, Taliban agree to step up peace talks after Moscow summit
•
36 killed in Afghanistan's clashes, 7 Taliban militants arrested
•
'Go back Modi': Muslims, students protest Indian PM’s visit to Bangladesh
•
Taliban warn US against delaying troop pullout beyond deadline
•
Lenten youth retreat fosters Christian unity in Bangladesh
•
MoD calls for ‘vengeance’ following the attack on ANA helicopter
--------
Europe
•
British Muslim Billionaire Brothers: Plans for ‘Landmark’ Mosque in North West
England Approved
•
UK Court Ruling Opens Door For Return Of Daesh Recruits
•
Over dozen British MPs demand govt. to reconsider ties with Bahrain over rights
abuses
•
Erdogan blasts Biden for calling Putin ‘a killer’
•
Germany honours Turkish vaccine pioneers
•
French move to declassify archive draws mixed reactions in Algeria
•
Defence: About 30 suspected neo-Nazi soldiers are under surveillance
--------
North America
•
Pro-Israeli Lobby Presses Biden to Reject Iran Deal In Current Format
•
US State Department blasts Houthis for attack on Saudi oil refinery in Riyadh
--------
Southeast Asia
•
'Allah' Row Gives Shaky Malaysian Government Hope of Survival
•
High Court: Najib-era 10-point solution could have solved ‘Allah’ controversy
in 2011 if 1986 ban had been retracted
•
Council of Churches Says No to Dialogue with Home Ministry over ‘Allah’ Use
•
PBS urges Putrajaya to withdraw ‘Allah’ appeal, tells all parties to stop
politicising issue
•
Indonesian Muslim Body Clears AstraZeneca Use in Emergency
•
Indonesian Hardline Islamic Cleric Charged With Violating COVID Restrictions
--------
Arab World
•
US Intensifying Economic Pressure on Lebanon to Force Normalization of Ties
with Israel: Analyst
•
Ankara Tells Egyptian Islamists to ‘Tone down’ Media Attacks
•
UAE Fatwa Council: Covid Vaccine Use Allowed According To Islamic Laws
•
Prophet's Mosque to Remain Open for Taraweeh Prayers amid COVID-19
Precautionary Measures
•
Missiles, drones targeting Saudi Arabia were all Iranian made or supplied:
Al-Jubeir
•
Lebanon central bank will intervene in order to control the exchange rate:
President
•
Arab Coalition destroys explosive drone targeting Saudi Arabia’s Khamis Mushait
•
Drones target Riyadh oil refinery, fire brought under control: Saudi official
•
HTS terrorists planning false-flag chemical attack in Syria’s Idlib, Russia
warns
•
Yemeni army launches new drone strike on Aramco facility in Saudi capital
--------
Mideast
•
Iranian Speaker's Aide Raps Biden Admin for Continued Trumpism
•
Yemen’s Ansarullah Calls On Saudi-Led Aggressors to Free All Tankers in 48 Hrs.
If It's Serious About Peace
•
Iran Blasts E3 for Coordination with No. 1 Enemy of JCPOA
•
Ten Iranian nationals charged with evading US sanctions, disguised $300 mln
•
Palestinian protester killed by Israeli Army in West Bank: Ministry
•
Israeli forces kill Palestinian man in occupied West Bank
•
Yemeni army forces, allies make major progress in Ma’rib, liberate strategic
Hilan mountain
--------
Africa
•
Nigeria's Poor Response to Boko Haram Has Left Border Communities Feeling
Abandoned
•
Malians Express Doubt over Army's Capacity To Counter Jihadist Fighters
•
Iran condoles with Tanzania, condemns Niger massacre
•
Gunmen kill 13, injures 7 in northwest Nigeria
•
US urges Somali leaders to hold elections immediately
--------
Australia
•
Melbourne terrorism accused allegedly bought knife for attack
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/minorities-wing-rss-bjp-seek/d/124591
--------
Minorities
Wing of RSS, BJP Seek Arrest of Wasim Rizvi over His Petition to Remove 26
Verses from the Quran
Mar
20, 2021
Nagpur:
Members of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) — the minorities wing of RSS — ánd
BJP’s minority cell workers have submitted a memorandum to the police against
Wasim Rizvi over his petition to remove 26 verses from the Quran. It was issued
on the letter head of BJP's minority cell.
Rizvi,
who is the former chairman of the Shia Waqf Board in UP, has filed a public
interest litigation in the Supreme Court seeking the removal of 26 verses from the
book. He alleges that it teaches violence. This has led to a strong reaction
from Muslim groups across the country.
Mohammed
Farooq Shaikh, the state president of MRM, led a group of protesters to the
Kotwali police station demanding the arrest of Rizvi for inciting religious
hatred. Shaikh also heads the city unit of BJP’s minority cell.
Shaikh
told TOI that the petition will only incite the fundamentalists who may use the
issue to their advantage. “The petition can provide an excuse to
fundamentalists to spread hate in the name of discrimination against Muslims in
India,” he said.
Questioning
the basis of the petition, Shaikh asked, “How can any religious text that is in
existence since centuries be amended. This would also send a wrong message
about the country.”
A
copy of the petition demanding Rizvi’s arrest was also sent to Union transport
minister and Nitin Gadkari who is the Nagpur MP.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/rss-bjp-demand-arrest-of-up-man/articleshow/81593775.cms
--------
Shuhada
Foundation of Lal Masjid Moves Court Seeking Ban on Aurat March
March
20, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
The Shuhada Foundation of Lal Masjid has moved The Islamabad High Court seeking
ban on Aurat March and action against its organiser Open Society Foundation for
holding such activities.
The
petition was taken up by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb of the Islamabad High
Court (IHC).
However,
Shuhada Foundation counsel Tariq Asad requested Justice Aurangzeb to refer this
matter to some other bench.
Subsequently,
the judge referred the case to the IHC Chief Justice.
The
petition was seeking court’s direction to “ban the organisations particularly
‘Open Society Foundation’ which were involved in the Aurat March and the
organisers of the event be dealt with in accordance with law.”
The
petition also sought ban on Aurat March and similar events as well other
activities like Valentine Day. Besides, it requested the court to refer this
matter to the Council of Islamic Ideology to examine whether the women in
Pakistan are deprived of any legal right in any field and whether such event
conducted on March 8 was in consonance with the injunctions religion and the
provisions of the Constitution?
https://www.dawn.com/news/1613440/lal-masjid-moves-court-seeking-ban-on-aurat-march
--------
Taliban
Expect US to Withdraw, Vow to Restore Islamic Rule
Suhail
Shaheen, a member of the Taliban's negotiation team, speaks during a news
conference in Moscow on Friday [Alexander Zemlianichenko via Reuters]
-----
By
Associated Press
March
19, 2021
MOSCOW
- The Taliban warned Washington Friday against defying a May 1 deadline for the
withdrawal of American and NATO troops from Afghanistan, promising a reaction,
which could mean increased attacks by the insurgent group.
The
Taliban issued their warning at a press conference in Moscow, the day after
meeting with senior Afghan government negotiators and international observers
to try to jump-start a stalled peace process to end Afghanistan's decades of
war.
President
Joe Biden's administration says it is reviewing an agreement the Taliban signed
with the Trump administration. Biden told ABC in an interview Wednesday that
the May 1 deadline "could happen, but it is tough," adding that if
the deadline is extended it won't be by "a lot longer."
"They
should go," Suhail Shaheen, a member of the Taliban negotiation team, told
reporters, warning that staying beyond May 1 would breach the deal. "After
that, it will be a kind of violation of the agreement. That violation would not
be from our side. … Their violation will have a reaction."
He
did not elaborate on what form the reaction would take, but in keeping with the
agreement they signed in February 2020, the Taliban have not attacked U.S. or
NATO forces, even as unclaimed bombings and targeted killings have spiked in
recent months.
"We
hope that this will not happen, that they withdraw and we focus on the
settlement, peaceful settlement of the Afghan issue, in order to bring about a
permanent and comprehensive cease-fire at the end of reaching a political
roadmap (for) Afghanistan," Shaheen said.
Demand
for Islamic government
He
also reaffirmed that the Taliban were firm in their demand for an Islamic
government. Shaheen didn't elaborate on what an Islamic government would look
like or whether it would mean a return to their repressive rules that denied
girls education, barred women from working, and imposed harsh punishments.
Shaheen
did not say whether the Taliban would accept elections, but he emphasized that
the government of President Ashraf Ghani would not fit their definition of an
Islamic government.
Limited
role for women
In
previous statements, the Taliban have said their vision of an Islamic government
would allow girls to attend school, and women to work or be in public life. But
in every conversation, they emphasized the need to follow Islamic injunctions
without specifying what that would mean.
They
have said they would not accept a woman as president, and while women could be
judges they could not take the job of the chief justice.
But
even without the Taliban in government in Afghanistan, The Georgetown Institute
for Women, Peace and Security Afghanistan said Afghanistan was one of the worst
places in the world to be a woman in 2020.
Only
one woman attended Thursday's talks in Moscow, and in the two decades since the
Taliban were ousted, successive governments in Kabul have been unable to ratify
a law outlawing violence against women.
Meanwhile,
the Taliban refused to promise they would not launch a spring offensive despite
calls from the United States, Russia and China.
Washington
has been at war in Afghanistan for nearly two decades, since the Sept. 11,
2001, terrorist attacks masterminded by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden who was
based in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The invasion toppled the Taliban regime,
but the 20-year-war has made Afghanistan America's longest conflict.
Blinken
offers warning
The
Taliban, who during their rule imposed a harsh brand of Islam, now control
about half of the country. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned
that the insurgents could make even more gains without U.S. and NATO troops on
the ground.
The
Moscow conference was attended by U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, Abdullah
Abdullah, head of Afghanistan's National Reconciliation Council, and Taliban
co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who led a 10-member delegation.
Representatives of Pakistan, Iran, India and China also participated.
In
a statement issued after the talks, Russia, the U.S., China and Pakistan called
on the warring parties to reduce the level of violence in the country — and
specifically urged the Taliban not to pursue a spring offensive.
The
joint statement emphasized that the four countries do not support the
restoration of an Islamic emirate in Afghanistan similar to the Taliban's past
rule.
https://www.voanews.com/europe/taliban-expect-us-withdraw-vow-restore-islamic-rule
--------
British
Muslim billionaire brothers: Plans for ‘landmark’ mosque in north west England
approved
March
20, 2021
LONDON:
Plans by the British Muslim brothers who own supermarket chain Asda to build a
“landmark” mosque in north west England have been approved.
The
£5 million ($6.9 million) project to build a mosque in Blackburn by the
billionaire siblings had faced objections over the height of its minarets and
the noise it may have caused, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
reported on Friday.
However,
the local council approved the plans after the Issa Foundation agreed to
address 21 issues that had been raised.
Councillor
Phil Riley told the BBC it would be an “impressive facility” which could “only
enhance the spirit of the town.”
Permission
for the project to go ahead on the site of a former school was granted on
Thursday.
Amongst
concerns raised by Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Browne to a committee about
the mosque was the height of the minaret towers and the noise created by the
call to prayer.
However,
planning manager Gavin Prescott said the proposed 29 meter towers “are
considered to frame the surrounding area with the existing church towers
associated” with two local churches.
He
added that noise would be limited with no amplified calls to prayer.
Riley,
the council’s lead on regeneration, said it was “going to be no ordinary
mosque,” and “an absolutely landmark building at a very important gateway.”
“With
its Islamic architecture, it obviously reflects the changing face of modern
Blackburn... and this will show Blackburn in the new light of a place where
there is diversity, but also where communities mix,” Riley added.
The
Issa Foundation has also pledged £30,000 to improve safety at a junction close
to the mosque and employ parking marshals to reduce road safety risks.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1828411/world
--------
Pro-Israeli
lobby presses Biden to reject Iran deal in current format
20
March 2021
The
pro-Israeli group, AIPAC, is lobbying to urge US President Joe Biden to
effectively oppose reviving the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world
powers, in its current format.
American
Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) called on its supporters to urge US
senators to sign on to a letter that asks Biden to reach an expanded agreement
with Iran.
"Iran
remains Israel's and America's greatest threat in the Middle East,” AIPAC told
supporters in a text message this week.
"Please
urge your senators to sign a bipartisan letter to President Biden... expressing
the bipartisan consensus that 'a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a grave threat
to US national security interests and our allies and partners,” said the group.
A
letter, led by Democratic senator Bob Menendez and Republican Lindsey Graham,
urges the senate to reject a return to Iran’s nuclear agreement in its current
format.
It
says that Washington needs “to reach an agreement that prevents Iran from ever
acquiring nuclear weapons and meaningfully constrains its destabilizing
activity throughout the Middle East and its ballistic missile program.”
“We
believe it is critical you consult with our European allies, Israel, and
Persian Gulf security partners on a path forward with Iran," read the
letter.
While
Israel is the Middle East's sole possessor of nuclear warheads, Iran's nuclear
program is totally civilian which has repeatedly been confirmed by the UN
nuclear agency.
The
bipartisan letter does not explicitly reject returning to the nuclear deal, but
it imposes demands outside of the scope of the agreement.
Back
in 2015, Iran singed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with the
P5+1 group of countries — the US, the UK, France, Russia and China, plus
Germany.
At
the time, AIPAC had launched a campaign to reject the deal as well.
The
administration of former President Donald Trump, however, unilaterally withdrew
from the deal in 2018, and reimposed anti-Iran sanctions that had been lifted
under the deal.
Now
with Democratic president Joe Biden in the White House, Washington has signaled
its willingness to rejoin the JCPOA, yet it has conditioned the move on
Tehran's resumption of its commitments under the 2015 deal, despite the US
being the oath breaker.
While
Washington says it would soon start a series of negotiations with Iran in a bid
to resume nuclear talks, Tehran says the JCPOA has a “defined road map” and
that no further talks are necessary on the accord.
The
bipartisan letter has sparked concern among rights groups, who urged senators
to refrain from signing the request.
An
advocacy group Win Without War said that senators “are circulating a new letter
that would undermine diplomacy with Iran. How? By setting up IMPOSSIBLE
standards for the deal.”
A
senior research analyst at the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), also
said the letter showed an alliance of hawkish Democrats and Republicans are
"dedicated to preventing diplomatic progress with Iran.”
"Biden
will be making a major mistake if he tries to placate them,” said Sina Toossi.
“Their
opposition to a JCPOA return is rooted in fundamental opposition to diplomacy
with Iran,” he added.
Toossi
warned that policies of Menendez and Graham, whom he called as “regime-change
ideologues” will lead to conflict and a betrayal of Biden's foreign policy
promises.
Iran
has repeatedly warned that Israel “is the party the most worried” about a
possible revival of the nuclear deal.
Ali
Rabiei, the Iranian administration’s spokesman, said earlier this month that
Israel “did all it could to torpedo this agreement” prior to its signing.’
“Insecurity
in the region is of great benefit to the Zionist regime, and on this basis, it
may adopt deceptive measures to prevent the establishment of peace. Their (the
Zionsts’) concern is the revival of the JCPOA,” he added.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/20/647694/US-Iran-AIPAC-nuclear-deal-senate-letter-
--------
'Allah'
row gives shaky Malaysian government hope of survival
Ben
Joseph
March
19, 2021
In
politically volatile Malaysia, the nation's highest court has ruled that
non-Muslims be allowed to use Islamic words including "Allah."
Supporting the court’s decision will potentially deliver political dividends
for the beleaguered government of Muhyiddin Yassin in the Muslim-majority
nation where Christians account for 9 percent of the population.
In
a shot in the arm for this weak prime minister, the high court decided to allow
Christians to use the Arabic word "Allah" for their god too,
reversing a 1986 government ban.
Since
the 2018 election, Malaysian politics has been in turmoil with the unstable
ruling coalition government constantly rumored to be on the brink of collapse.
PM
Muhyiddin has made every possible effort to stabilize his 12-month-old
government in the country of 32.7 million people, riding on a razor-thin
majority with his foes-turned-allies.
https://www.ucanews.com/news/allah-row-gives-shaky-malaysian-government-hope-of-survival/91811
--------
US
Intensifying Economic Pressure on Lebanon to Force Normalization of Ties with
Israel: Analyst
19
March 2021
The
United States has intensified economic and political pressure on Lebanon to
force the country into joining the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and a number of
other Arab states in normalizing relations with the Israeli regime, says a
political analyst.
In
an interview with Press TV on Friday, Julia Kassem said the economic pressure
applied by the US and its allies on Lebanon has been meant to force the
Lebanese government into normalization with the Tel Aviv regime.
“The
policies are designed to force an ouster of the pro-sovereign elements in
Lebanon’s government, i.e. Hezbollah and its allies in parliament as well as
President Michel Aoun, who is opposed to [Prime Minister-designate Saad]
Hariri, the US, and their schemes, and install a complete administration
compliant to US and Israeli demands of Lebanon,” Kassem said.
Over
the past year, a number of Arab governments under the influence of the US have
signed normalization deals with Israel.
Lebanon
is facing both a political deadlock and an economic crisis. No new government
has been agreed in the country some seven months after Prime Minister Hassan
Diab resigned in the wake of an explosion at the Beirut port on August 4, which
destroyed swathes of the capital and left 200 people dead.
Compounded
by the COVID-19 pandemic, the country is experiencing its worst economic crisis
in decades as prices are skyrocketing and more than half of the population is
now living below the poverty line.
The
secretary-general of the Hezbollah resistance movement, Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah, said on Thursday that certain groups were trying to foment a civil
war in Lebanon along economic, racial, and religious lines.
He
warned, however, that “driving Lebanon into a civil war… is a red line.”
Kassem
stressed that Hezbollah “does not want to reach the point of the civil war.”
“This
is why, despite all of the economic sabotage the US and their allies have put
Lebanon under, they feel they cannot impose their proposals for complete
political and economic change in the current context,” she said.
Kassem
said easing the economic pressures on Lebanon, “pushed by the West and its
allies, will alleviate the social tension that is the precursor to internal
instability.”
Prime
Minister-designate Hariri has failed so far to form a new, inclusive
government. On Wednesday, President Aoun called on Hariri to step down if he
cannot form a new government soon, given the difficulties faced by the country.
Hariri
has, in turn, accused the president of obstructing government formation, a
claim that Aoun has denied.
The
Lebanese people have been staging protests since 2019 as the financial crisis
has so far slashed almost 90% of the value of the Lebanese currency and raised
the risk of widespread hunger.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/19/647667/US-intensifying-econ--pressure-on-Lebanon-to-force-normalization-of-ties-with-Israel--Analyst
--------
Iranian
Speaker's Aide Raps Biden Admin for Continued Trumpism
2021-March-19
“Ongoing
sanctions policy, friendship with terrorists and Biden's offense to Russian
president show how Trumpism virus has critically contaminated the White House,”
Amir Abdollahian wrote on his twitter page on Thursday.
“Biden
is the very D. Trump. US President Nixon wrote 47 years ago: Today, the US
civilization has inflicted deadly disease," he added.
In
relevant remarks on Wednesday, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security
Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said that the deceptive strategy adopted by the
Western states, specially the US, is the only reason for the current deadlock
with Iran.
“Nothing
will happen unless the United States takes effective actions to lift the
oppressive sanctions. The current stalemate is not tactical and domestic, but
related to the West's deceptive strategy,” Shamkhani wrote on his twitter page.
He
also used the "#DecisiveWord" in his twitter message.
Shamkhani’s
remarks was in response to French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who said
on Tuesday that efforts to revive the Iran nuclear talks are stalling because
of “tactical problems” and the domestic situation in Iran ahead of its
presidential election in June.
Le
Drian, however, did not say what he meant by the tactical problems.
Iran
and the G5+1 group of countries - the US, Britain France, Russia and China plus
Germany - reached a landmark nuclear deal in 2015 after years of diplomacy and
intensive negotiations.
The
fate of the deal, officially dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA), remains unclear primarily due to the US sanctions and also the failure
of the European side to shield business with Iran in the face of Washington’s
bans and threats.
Iran
says the US needs to take the first step to lift the sanctions and return to
its commitments as it was Washington that quit the agreement in 2018 in total
disregard for the international law.
Iranian
officials say all the sanctions need to be removed before Tehran would halt the
remedial actions it has taken under a mechanism enshrined in Article 36 of the
JCPOA.
Under
this provision, if a signatory to the deal deems an unresolved issue to
constitute “significant non-performance” by its counterparts, it can treat it
as ground “to cease performing its commitments under the JCPOA in whole or in
part” until others are brought back to order.
Iran
in February halted the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol to
the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a remedial measure.
In
January, Iranian Envoy and Permanent Representative to the UN Majid Takht
Ravanchi 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,” Takht Ravanchi 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.
Takht
Ravanchi 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 in
January.
“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 Shahid Ahmadi Roshan 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 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,
US President Joe Biden said in a CNN article during his presidential campaign
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, Zarif 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 in February, Spokesman for the AEOI Behrouz Kamalvandi 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/13991229000403/Iranian-Speaker's-Aide-Raps-Biden-Admin-fr-Cnined-Trmpism
--------
Nigeria's
Poor Response to Boko Haram Has Left Border Communities Feeling Abandoned
17
MARCH 2021
For
over a decade, the North-eastern region of Nigeria has been ravaged by
insecurity, as the militant group Boko Haram has destabilised border
communities. The damage ranges from loss of life to destruction of property and
farmlands.
We
analysed the efforts of various state and non-state actors (both local and
international) to address these security challenges, and found evidence of
uncoordinated actions between government agencies and other stakeholders.
This
has forced international actors to withdraw their troops and support from the
fight against Boko Haram, leaving the border communities in crisis.
To
win the confidence of communities under threat, the Nigerian government needs
to demonstrate its resolution and sincerity of purpose. It must devise
coordinated efforts with other stakeholders to end the insurgency.
Responses
to insurgency
We
conducted group discussions and individual interviews in six border communities
in 2017 and 2018. A total of 276 participants were interviewed in the states of
Borno, Adamama and Yobe. We also looked at the legal framework backing
Nigeria's counterinsurgency and considered the state's military responses as
well as the quality of support received from external actors.
It
was only after the United States decided to blacklist Nigeria and Nigerians for
terrorism in January 2010 that the Nigerian government enacted anti-terrorism
legislation. The Terrorism Prevention Act was signed into law in June 2011. The
Money Laundering Prohibition Act also came into being in 2011, aiming to cut
off financial support for terrorism.
The
Federal Government established a special Joint Task Force in Maiduguri in 2011.
It comprised the military (Army, Navy and Air Force), the Department of State
Security and the Nigerian Police Force. It allowed for coordinated intelligence
gathering and sharing among the security formations.
But
security experts have questioned the kind of intelligence gathered by the Joint
Task Force. It used a military approach to fight an organisation whose identity
and structure was fluid, and yet to be established. This is a serious weakness
in the government's response and a reason why the Boko Haram insurgency
continues to thrive.
Shortly
after the task force was formed, 30,000 troops were deployed to the trouble
spots. But a succession of task forces were unable to defeat Boko Haram, which
continues to attack military bases and communities. The group gets financial
strength, manpower and support from international terrorist networks.
A
comprehensive National Counter-Terrorism Strategy was adopted in 2014. This
strategy stipulated who would be involved and what mechanisms would be used.
The
country closed the borders between northern Nigeria and the neighbouring states
of Niger, Chad and Cameroon after it was established that the insurgents were
using the porous borders. This move was meant to curtail the activities of Boko
Haram, prevent them from escaping into neighbouring states and cut their
supplies from foreign terrorist networks.
Some
Boko Haram elements still found their way through unmanned parts of the border
and attacks continued. The Joint Task Force was often overpowered by the
insurgents with superior firepower and guerrilla tactics.
The
Nigerian state has received support from external actors, both within the West
African sub-region and outside the continent. A Multinational Joint Task Force
was formed in 1998 by Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad, and joined in the
fight against Boko Haram in 2012. Benin Republic joined in 2014. The
multinational troops also received support from the African Union and the Lake
Chad Basin Commission. But their activities triggered attacks by the Boko Haram
in the Lake Chad region, causing the security situation to deteriorate further.
Countries
outside Africa provided training, technical and intelligence support and arms.
Some sent troops to assist in the fight, but they were frustrated with the way
the Nigeria military handled the intelligence they supplied. The United States
then withdraw its military.
Local
perceptions
Despite
these efforts, our field research
revealed that people in the border communities felt they had been
neglected by the government and left to their fate. Some said the military's
intervention came too late and that the task force was unable to confront Boko
Haram. Young people we spoke to said the failure of government to intervene
made them regroup themselves to defend their people and fight back against Boko
Haram oppression. They also spoke of being harassed and maltreated by task
force members.
Many
of the respondents lamented the hardship the military had imposed on them,
including the restriction on their movements which prevented them from carrying
on their daily activities.
The
failure of the Joint Task Force pushed some aggrieved people in border
communities to take up arms against Boko Haram. The effectiveness of these
groups caught the attention of the Chief of Army Staff, who recognised them
officially as the Civilian Joint Task Force and co-opted them into the Joint
Task Force formation.
Why
government's efforts failed
The
initial military approach introduced to combat Boko Haram was largely
problematic. It is difficult to fight an organisation when its identity and
organisational structure are not known. The counterterrorism drive by the
government is crippled by the inability of the Nigerian Police Force to gather
intelligence and carry out forensic investigations, and by corruption in the
force.
Another
part of the problem is that the Joint Task Force engages in unlawful killings,
arrests, extortion and intimidation of residents. Officers are not local to the
regions where they operate and are not familiar with the culture and terrain of
those localities. The local people see themselves as under siege by a foreign
security force. They have lost trust in the government's promises.
And
Boko Haram's financial strength remains robust. It has even been suggested that
it received money from some states to stay out of their areas. Once payment
stopped they resumed attacks.
Way
forward
The
Nigerian government still has a lot to do in the fight against insurgency in
North-eastern Nigeria. The fact that the border communities have devised
survival strategies such as forming alliances with Boko Haram for protection or
taking up arms themselves suggests the conflict is far from over.
A
sincere government would combat corruption in both the government and the
military, and direct attention and resources to the fight against Boko Haram.
Until
this is done, insurgency will continue to pose a serious threat.
https://allafrica.com/stories/202103180105.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2123331_
--------
India
Surat
Municipal Corporation Appeals To Muslim Leaders: Raise Awareness Among People
About Covid-19 Vaccination
By
Kamaal Saiyed
March
20, 2021
With
many from Muslim community not turning up to take the Covid-19 vaccine, the
health department officials of the Surat Municipal Corporation carried out a
meeting with the community leaders at Memon hall at Chowk Bazaar on March 18
night.
The
Maulvis of different mosques in Surat, during the afternoon prayers on Friday,
appealed to the people of Muslim community to get the first and second doses of
the vaccine before and after holy month of Ramzan, which starts from April
Sources
in the health department in SMC said that out of 1.60 lakh people who had the
taken vaccine only 0.2 per cent were from the Muslim community.
The
meeting on March 18 was attended by several clerics along with leaders of
Muslim community and other social and political leaders. Several issues were
raised during the meeting about spread of fake news regarding the vaccine,
which was clarified by the health department officials. The health and police
department officials requested the leaders to spread awareness among the people
of the community regarding vaccine. Muslim leader Kadir Peerzada who also
attended the meeting said, “I have also got myself vaccinated and there is no
side effects. We have intimated the Muslim youths in residential societies in
Surat city to take the elderly people to the health centres were vaccine is
given. ”
On
Friday, several Maulvis who were above 65-year-old also got themselves
vaccinated in the health centres. They also made video appealing to people from
the community to get vaccinated.
In
one such video, which had gone viral, chief of Mufti of Darul Uloom Ashrafiya,
Rander and vice president of Surat city Chand Committee Mufti Kalim Saab said,
“I also got vaccinated … I have appealed to the Muslim community people in
Surat to get vaccine doses before and after holy month of Ramzan.”
Doctors’
body to help in Vadodara
In
Vadodara, Covid-19 vaccination drive among the Muslim community has posed a
challenge that has been easier to overcome with the help of the Baroda Muslim
Doctors Association (BMDA), which has been working with the administration
since the outbreak of the pandemic in March last year to bridge the gap.
Although
members of the Muslim community, who understand the importance of the vaccine
have come forth and taken the jab, the administration is relying on centres run
by Muslim trusts to instill the confidence among the rest.
Dr
Mohammed Hussain, President of BMDA, has just received the approval to start a
vaccination centre in his private hospital Dr Hussain said, “There is a general
sense of mistrust among the community for vaccinations. The Covid19 vaccination
is no different. The best way to eliminate the suspicion among the people is to
lead by example.”
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/smc-appeals-to-muslim-leaders-raise-awareness-among-people-7236820/
--------
3
Months of MP ‘Love Jihad’ Law: 21 Cases, Couple Knew Each Other In Over Half Of
Them
By
Iram Siddique
March
20, 2021
Within
just three months of BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh clearing an anti-conversion
ordinance modelled on a legislation in Uttar Pradesh to check what it calls
“love jihad”, the state police have registered 21 cases against 47 people with
25 arrests recorded so far.
Police
records investigated by The Indian Express show that in at least 11 of the 21
cases, the women who registered complaints under the Freedom to Religion Act
2021 knew the accused — they were friends, in a relationship, and in one case,
married for over five years.
Records
show that in at least four cases, the couple had eloped and returned before the
women involved approached the police. Three other cases were lodged after the
intervention of Hindutva groups. The remaining six cases were recorded against
those alleged to be Christian missionaries “trying to lure villagers” to
convert.
Of
the 21 cases, four have been registered in Indore, three in Seoni, two in
Bhopal, and one each in Barwani, Khargone, Rewa, Harda, Chhatarpur, Balaghat,
Alirajpur, Mandsaur, Dindori, Khandwa, Sehore, and Dhar.
Speaking
to reporters after the law was passed in the State Assembly, Home Minister
Narottam Mishra had said: “Any love that heads towards jihad, we will oppose
it. Any love that offends our sentiments, we will oppose it. Any love that will
make our daughters and sisters suffer, will be opposed by us.”
Speaking
to The Indian Express, Additional Director General of Police (Crime Against
Women), Pragya Richa Srivastava said: “We have so far received 21 cases and as
per our details, a majority of these cases are by women, both minor and major,
who have stated that they have been pressured to convert their religion, in
many cases after being sexually assaulted. As per their statements, FIRs have
been registered and we are carrying out investigations.”
Consider
these illustrative cases:
*
On February 24, a 19-year-old woman in Harda registered a complaint under the
new law accusing a 22-year-old man of kidnap and rape along with attempts at
forced conversion. The FIR states that the woman knew the accused, Salman Khan,
for eight months, and that they had eloped on January 25. It states that the
two reached Maharashtra’s Aurangabad, stayed in a rented house and returned to
Harda after they ran out of money. The next day, the woman approached the
police.
*
On February 26, police in Khargone district’s Mandleshwar booked two youths
from Indore who were celebrating a birthday with two girls who were their
classmates from high school, at Jam Gate, which is a picnic spot. The four of
them were spotted by members of a local Hindutva outfit and taken to the police
station. The complaint registered on February 26 by relatives of the girls
accused the two youths, Sohail Khan and Hassan Khan, of forcing them to
convert.
In
January, The Indian Express reported on how police in UP registered 14 cases
and made 51 arrests within a month of the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion
of Religion Ordinance, 2020, coming into effect on November 28.
In
Madhya Pradesh, the anti-conversion ordinance was cleared on January 9 and The
Freedom to Religion Bill 2021 passed on March 8 by the Vidhan Sabha. Section 3
of the new act prohibits unlawful conversion or attempt at conversion through
misrepresentation, allurement, use of threat, force, undue influence, coercion,
marriage or other fraudulent means. Section 5 defines punishment for those
booked under section 3, with jail terms ranging from one to 10 years and a fine
of Rs 1 lakh.
On
March 4, the Madhya Pradesh High Court sought the response of the state
government on a plea demanding a repeal of the law on the grounds that section
3 is in contravention of the rights to life, liberty, equality, free speech and
religion guaranteed in the Constitution.
Significantly,
the new law does not mandate victims to record their statements before a
magistrate — unless it’s a case of sexual assault. Instead, the law says
investigating agencies can choose to utilise this provision, if they decide it
is necessary.
In
all the 21 cases, the accused are from minority communities, including Muslims
(15 cases) and Christians (six cases). Records show that in 15 cases, the
charges include those under sections of the IPC for rape and molestation.
In
12 cases, the complainants approached police alleging forced conversion through
written applications. And in at least one glaring case, the application
directly contradicted a statement recorded earlier by the complainant in a
police station.
On
January 17, an 18-year-old from Rewa who had gone missing on December 26
reached the police station in Saman with a man identified as Ibraz Khan. She
recorded a statement that she had left her house of her own free will with
Ibraz, who lived in her village, after her parents tried to get her married to
someone else.
However,
with her family having already registered a “missing person” complaint, police
“counselled” the woman for three days after which she was handed over to her
parents on January 20.
On
January 27, the woman returned with her parents and submitted an application
that she had been forcefully abducted by Ibraz, also known as Yuvraj, and kept
locked in a room, raped and pressured to convert for marriage. Ibraz was booked
for kidnap and rape, and under the new law.
Of
the 21 cases, six were registered against those accused of forcing others to
convert to Christianity “through allurement”.
*
A complaint lodged in Balaghat’s Lalburra police station on January 27 states
that Chhattar Singh Khatre, a government school teacher, had called a prayer
service at his house to mark his daughter’s departure to pursue higher
education. The complainant, Deepak Patel, alleged that he had attended the
function where people were being lured to convert to Christianity. Khatre and
two others were arrested on the same day.
*
On February 22, the principal of a convent school in Khajuraho was booked under
the new law on a complaint from an assistant librarian whose salary had been
docked and services terminated. But the principal, Sister Bhagya, was granted
anticipatory bail after she argued in the High Court that the case was “false”
and “registered out of frustration” as the employee Ruby Singh’s services were
terminated on account of poor attendance and lack of documentation.
Maria
Stephen, Public Relations Officer in MP for The Christian Community, a global
organisation, said the new law “has left people feeling scared to pray even
inside their own homes”. “All are equal before the law, but this law is being
used in such a manner that it has empowered fundamentalists to act against
minorities without any fear,” she said.
Sayyed
Sajid Ali, Senior Advocate in the High Court, alleged that the new law “is
clearly targeting” minorities. “The act has empowered fundamentalists who are
reaching out to families of those who either eloped or had a fight with their
partner of a different religion, and luring them to give false statements and
getting cases registered under the anti-conversion act,” he said.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/mp-love-jihad-law-7236429/
--------
Social
Media Outrage After Priyanka Chopra Claims Her Dad Used To 'Sing In A Mosque'
March
20, 2021
International
star Priyanka Chopra Jonas in the promo of her upcoming interview with talk
show host Oprah Winfrey claimed that her late father Ashok Chopra used to sing
in a mosque.
As
Priyanka talked about her personal life, memoir ‘Unfinished’ and growing up as
a child in India, Oprah discussed with the actor that reading her book made her
reflect on her own trips to the country and said that "One of the things
that was so powerful is the spiritual energy. The sense of connectedness between
people and prayer" Adding that "it is all so present", she asked
Priyanka whether she had a spiritual foundation growing up.
To
this Priyanka replied, "I think in India it's hard not to, you're right -
with the swirling number of religions that we have that live within the country
as well. I grew up in a convent school - when I went to school, I was aware of
Christianity, my dad used to sing in a mosque, (so) I was aware of Islam, I
grew up in a Hindu family I was aware of that. So, spirituality is such a large
part of India that you can't ignore it."
Her
statement caused a social media outrage with many questioning the former Miss
World as to which mosque allowed her dad to sing.
Priyanka
also said that she misses India. “I have not been back since Holi last year
and, you know, India's my home and I just want to come back visit and smell it
and live it and meet my friends and I also want to, you know, do a Hindi
movie." "I have not done that for a while. So, I just miss home a
lot. I just want to be able to get on a flight and land in Mumbai.”
In
what seemed to be like an idyllic interview setting in Maui, this candid
conversation was actually a transatlantic interview with Priyanka in London and
Oprah in Hawaii. This intimate dialogue was made possible through cutting-edge
technology, which will give audiences a deeper look into the life of India's
beloved international superstar.
On
work front, Priyanka is set to star opposite British actor Richard Madden in
Amazon Studios’ upcoming thriller series "Citadel".
Besides
"Citadel", PC will also feature in the upcoming romantic drama 'Text
for You', directed by Jim Strouse. She is developing an untitled comedy with
Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor, and also has a role in "The Matrix 4".
https://www.freepressjournal.in/entertainment/bollywood/social-media-outrage-after-priyanka-chopra-claims-her-dad-used-to-sing-in-a-mosque
--------
Up
to Pakistan to create climate suitable for talks: India
Mar
20, 2021
NEW
DELHI: In the wake of “peace signals” from Pakistani PM Imran Khan and Army
chief Gen Qamar Bajwa, the Centre on Friday iterated the onus was on the
neighbour to create an atmosphere conducive for the two sides to address
outstanding issues bilaterally.
This
was even as diplomatic sources confirmed that Indian and Pakistani foreign
ministers, S Jaishankar and Shah M Qureshi respectively, were likely to
participate in the Heart of Asia (Istanbul process) conference, an initiative
for peace in Afghanistan, in Dushanbe on March 30. In Rajya Sabha, the
government called for "credible, verifiable and irreversible" action
by Pakistan to not allow any territory under its control to be used for cross
border terrorism against India in any manner.
Sources
in Delhi and Islamabad neither confirmed nor denied reports of a meeting
between the two. However, an official who spoke on condition of anonymity said
the possibility of a "pull aside" on the margins of the conference
couldn't be ruled out with both sides looking to build upon the ceasefire
agreement last month. It was on the sidelines of the same conference in 2015 in
Islamabad that the two sides had unsuccessfully tried to revive the dialogue
process in the name of comprehensive bilateral dialogue.
The
government's statement, in response to questions on the recent ceasefire agreement,
came after the Pakistan Army chief appealed to the two countries to bury the
past and move forward but added that it was India's responsibility to create a
conducive environment.
While
the ceasefire agreement has fuelled speculation about a possible rapprochement,
official sources said it was incumbent upon Pakistan to shun cross-border
terrorism and also ensure that the ceasefire held before any step was
considered in the direction of normalisation of ties. On multilateral fora,
like at the UNHRC this week, India has continued to accuse Pakistan of
exporting terrorism.
In
reply to a written question, junior foreign minister V Muraleedharan recalled
that during the visit of then foreign minister Sushma Swaraj to Pakistan in
December 2015, it was decided to have a meeting at the level of the foreign
secretaries to work out the modalities of the comprehensive bilateral dialogue.
However, the meeting could not take place due to the terrorist attack on the
Pathankot airbase in January 2016 and the continued support, he said, to
cross-border terrorism and ceasefire violations by Pakistan.
"The
government’s consistent position has been that India desires normal neighbourly
relations with Pakistan and is committed to addressing issues, if any,
bilaterally and peacefully in an atmosphere free of terror, hostility and
violence," the minister said.
He
added that India and Pakistan maintained regular channels of communication
through the respective high commissions and other established mechanisms such
as hotlines, flag meetings and scheduled talks between the Directorate Generals
of Military Operations (DGMO). Through these well-established mechanisms, the
government regularly takes up all cases of unprovoked ceasefire violations and
support for cross-border terrorist infiltration by Pakistani forces, he said.
Pakistan has been consistently called upon to abide by it’s 2003 ceasefire
commitment for maintaining peace and tranquillity along the international
boundary and the LoC.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/up-to-pakistan-to-create-climate-suitable-for-talks-india/articleshow/81597335.cms
--------
Tamil
Nadu Assembly elections: At this bellwether seat, Muslims may decide outcome
Mar
19, 2021
The
popular belief is that the alliance that wins Madurai central would go on to
form the government. Since 1984, it has been proven wrong only once, in 2016,
when the DMK’s P T R Palanivel Thiagarajan won, but the AIADMK retained power.
With
the DMK’s confidence level high, Thiagarajan does not want to fall by the
wayside this time, for, he may go on to become a minister if Stalin forms the
government. Thiagarajan is banking on his track record. He said he had visited
the constituency 392 times, after getting elected; which means, he has visited
each ward 40 times. He said he had spent more than 90% of his MLA funds and
completed over 150 works. “I have also spent my own money and provided pipeline
connections,’’ he said.
This
constituency is the cultural hub of Madurai. It houses the Madurai Meenakshi
Temple, its satellite temples and monuments like Thirumalai Naicker Mahal and
Pudumandapam. One of the oldest parts of the city, its roads, sewerage and
drainage systems were laid during the British era and should have stood the
test of time but for the civic agency digging up roads and damaging pipe lines
for implementing the Rs 1,000 crore Smart City projects in 2018. A modern
Periyar bus stand, heritage walk and Vaigai river front development, which are
some of the promises under the Smart City plan, should have been completed in
May 2020, but they don’t seem to be getting over anytime soon. As a result,
life of people has gone haywire.
Its
high Muslim population, comprising almost 30% voters, is a major hurdle for the
BJP and its allies. Yadavas are not far behind in terms of numbers. It has a
sizeable share of thevars, dalits and Saurashtras. The voter profile underwent
a drastic change in Madurai central after the 2007 delimitation exercise. A
sizeable share of its Saurashtra population has been moved to Madurai south
constituency.
Its
working-class population has been moving out of the constituency for decades
and the traders who dot its streets don’t reside there. The only big employer,
Madura Coats, the erstwhile Harvey Mill, is an apology for its earlier self. From
4,000 workers, its employee strength has dwindled to less than 500 now. The
area has jewellery shops, with gold smithies attached to most of them and long
rows of inviting wayside eateries that thrive on shoppers. The segment has not
voted consistently in favour of any party. For instance, along with the rest of
Tamil Nadu, it voted the DMK to power in 1967 and stayed with the party in 1971
too, but after MG Ramachandran launched the AIADMK, it tilted towards his party
and ally, the Congress. After MGR’s death, it elected DMK’s S Paulraj in 1989.
N
Jothi Muthuramalingam, founder of Pasumpon Desiya Kazhagam, is contesting the
AIADMK’s two leaves symbol. Though not a heavyweight, Muthuramalingam has
shifted his house from Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram to Madurai central,
indicating that he is ready for a long haul. He promises to expedite the Smart
City projects, usher in hygiene and make it a model constituency.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/tamil-nadu-assembly-elections-at-this-bellwether-seat-muslims-may-decide-outcome/articleshow/81582721.cms
--------
UP:
Shias & Sunnis rally against Waseem Rizvi’s plea on Quran verses
Mar
15, 2021
LUCKNOW:
Hundreds gathered outside the Bara Imambara on Sunday afternoon rallying
against former chief of UP Shia central Waqf Board, Waseem Rizvi, who has raked
up a controversy by moving a plea before the Supreme Court (SC) to remove 26
Quranic verses.
Call
to the ‘Tahaffuz-e-Quran’ (In protection of the Quran) protest was given by
Majlis-e-Ulama-e-Hind general secretary Maulana Kalbe Jawad and was attended by
both Shia and Sunni clerics, including former All India Muslim Personal Law
Board (AIMPLB) member Maulana Salman Nadwi, Imam of thr Teeley Wali Masjid
Maulana Fazley Mannan Rahmani, SC lawyer Mahmood Pracha among others.
As
slogans against Rizvi were made asking people to shelve his surname and replace
it with some expletive, the angry crowd demanded that SC should scrap Rizvi’s
petition and the government must arrest him for blasphemy and attempt to breach
peace.
A
memorandum to the Prime Minister, home minister and state chief minister was
also sent in this regard on Saturday. Maulana Kalbe Jawad in his address also
said that if action was not taken against Rizvi, it would be considered that
the government was supporting him. A similar Shia-Sunni protest is scheduled to
be held at Delhi’s Jama Masjid next Friday after Juma prayers.
Meanwhile,
Rizvi’s brother released a video message stating his family -- mother, sister
and brothers -- have got nothing to do with him and his nonsensical antics. He
also said that his brother was committing grave sin.
Suggesting
a solution to Rizvi’s offences against the Quran, Maulana Salman Nadwi said,
“Ramzan is approaching -- the month in which the Quran was bestowed upon us. We
should have Quranic recitations at all mosques in the city all through the day
and night in Ramzan. It is very important that Shias and Sunnis keep their
differences at bay as we are all but one Ummah.”
Echoing
the same sentiments, Imam of Teeley Wali Masjid, Maulana Fazley Mannan said,
“He is trying to create a rift between us but that has only brought us together
as one Ummah, one book and one Prophet. We should hold on to Allah stronger
than ever and the government should put him behind bars.”
Kalbe
Sibtain Noori, son of senior cleric Maulana Kalbe Sadiq added that since
Rizvi’s own family was tagging him to be a kafir, he should not be buried in a
Muslim cemetry.
“Mutawwali
of the Talkatora Imambara where he has reserved a grave for himself, should
take a decision to cancel his grave as a Muslim cemetery can only bury
Muslims,” he said.
Listing
out the memorandum to be sent, Maulana Kalbe Jawad said, “Animosity against the
Quran is not new and the Qiran itself announces that those with a problem with
the Holy word should attempt to answer just one verse if they can.”
“Rizvi
is not a Muslim so he should not be made a member of any Muslim organisation in
the future. He should be arrested for disturbing peace, his petition be scraped
by SC and legal action taken against him,” he said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/shias-sunnis-rally-together-to-denounce-rizvis-sc-plea/articleshow/81500693.cms
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Pakistan
PM
had offered India to initiate peace talks soon after assuming office: FM
March
19, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday recalled that Prime Minister
Imran Khan had offered to take two steps towards peace if India takes one soon
after assuming office.
In
a statement, the foreign minister said that Pakistan will not shy away from
dialogue if India reviews its policy and expresses readiness for peaceful
solution of all issues including Kashmir dispute. Responsibility rests with
India to create an enabling environment for dialogue with Pakistan, he added.
Qureshi
further said that the re-enforcement of ceasefire agreement after talks between
the DGMOs of both countries is a positive development.
His
comments come a day after Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa
renewed the offer of peace to India and said Pakistan was ready to resolve all
lingering disputes with its neighbours through dialogue “in a dignified and
peaceful manner”.
Addressing
the gathering on the final day of the two-day Islamabad Security Dialogue, the
army chief, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said that Pakistan’s
“choice [to seek a dialogue] is deliberate” and based on reason, and not a
result of any external pressure.
A
stable relationship between arch-rival neighbours was key to unlocking the
potential of south and central Asian regions by way of ensuring connectivity
between East and West Asia, he said.
He
said that it was high time that synergies are created in the region through
connectivity, peaceful coexistence and resource sharing to fight common enemies
such as hunger, illiteracy, and diseases instead of fighting forever wars.
“The
Kashmir dispute is at the heart of it [issues between India and Pakistan],” he
said.
The
army chief stressed the need to understand that without the peaceful resolution
of the Kashmir dispute, the process […] will always remain vulnerable to
derailment to politically-motivated bellicosity.”
The
unresolved disputes in South Asia were dragging the entire region into debt and
poverty, he observed.
“Despite
being an impoverished region, we end up spending a lot of money on defense
which naturally comes at the expense of human development,” he said.
Gen
Bajwa observed the national security encompassed more than just matters and
affairs related to strengthening the country’s security forces. “It included
development and human security as well,” he said.
He
also noted that “despite rising security challenges, Pakistan has been one of
the few countries that have resisted the temptation of involving itself in an
arms race”, citing the decrease in the country’s defence expenditure.
“Today,
the leading drivers of change in the world are demography, economy and
technology. However, one issue that remains central to this concept is economic
security and cooperation. Frayed relations between various powers centres of
the globe and boomeranging of competing alliances can bring nothing but another
stint of Cold War.”
Pointing
to Islamabad’s role in easing the start of reconciliation talks between warring
Afghan parties, Gen Bajwa said that the Afghan peace dialogue is solid evidence
of Pakistan’s benevolent goodwill.
He
observed that Pakistan persuaded the Taliban to negotiate and sign a landmark
agreement with the United States in February 2020, leading to the commencement
of the intra-Afghan negotiations first in Doha and now in Moscow.
He
said that Pakistan will continue to seek a sustained and inclusive peace
process for the betterment of the people of war-town Afghanistan and regional
peace.
He
further said that Pakistan has also undertaken unprecedented measures to
enhance Afghan trade and connectivity by reenergising the Afghan-Pakistan
transit trade agreement and also providing access to Afghanistan to export its
goods to India.
The
army chief said that the country’s efforts for lasting peace in Afghanistan and
responsible and mature behaviour towards India manifested its desire to change
the narrative of geo-political contestation to geo-economic integration.
Gen
Bajwa said that Islamabad’s long fight against terrorism and extremism also
“manifested our resolve and national will”. He said: “We have come a long way
but short still of our final objective. We are determined to stay the course.”
The
army chief said that “we had realised that unless our own house is in order,
nothing good could be expected from outside”. Now Pakistan has begun work
towards sustainable development and improving the economic conditions of
underprivileged areas, he added.
He
said that the military has contributed immensely towards this national cause by
rebuilding and mainstreaming some of the most neglected areas through massive
development, besides ensuring peace and security.
He
also said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been at the
heart of Pakistan’s economic transformational plan. He further said that
Pakistan has made sincere efforts to make the gamechanger project “inclusive,
transparent, and attractive for all global and regional players with the aim of
bringing its benefits to everyone”.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2021/03/19/pm-had-offered-india-to-initiate-peace-talks-soon-after-assuming-office-fm/
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Hindu
Journalist, Ajay Lalwani, Shot Dead In Pakistan Evoked Sharp Criticism from
Hindus and Muslims
Mar
20, 2021
AMRTISAR:
The killing of Ajay Lalwani, a Hindu journalist from Sukkhur in Sindh province
of Pakistan has evoked sharp criticism not only from the Hindu leadership of
the country but also from the Muslims.
Lalwani
was shot at by unidentified gunmen while he was sitting at a hair-cutting
saloon on Wednesday. He was rushed to the civil hospital but the journalist
succumbed to the injuries and died on Thursday, March 18.
The
Muslims staged a demonstration in Sukkur, questing the safety of journalists
and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits, who is believed to be an influential
politician of the region.
“We
have information that Ajay was killed on the insistence of a local Muslim
politician of Sindh who has not only lend his support to the Islamic clerics
having a major role in the conversion of Hindu girls to Islam but also provides
shelter to them since Ajay had been exposing their deeds." said a source
"We
believe that the said politician had orchestrated his murder,” the source said.
He
was on the target of a few local politicians who enjoyed the support of some
bureaucrats.
A
demonstration in Sukkur city of Pakistan was held on Saturday demanding the
immediate arrest of the culprits.
Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Hindu Member National Assembly (MNA) Lal Chand Malhi
condemned the incident and directed police to arrest investigate the matter and
arrest the assailants at the earliest.
Sahil
Jogi, Lalwani's colleague, said Lalwani is the fourth journalist to have been
killed by militants in the past one year.
The
Journalists Union held a demonstration Sukkhur on Saturday condemning the
killing of journalists and demanded safety for the journalist fraternity.
Four
Hindu girls have been kidnapped in the last 36 days in Sindh.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/hindu-journalist-shot-dead-in-pakistan/articleshow/81602044.cms
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PDM
plans to launch long march soon after Eidul Fitr: Fazl
March
19, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Friday
said that the alliance has already decided to go public and the long march is
expected to take place after Ramzan.
Speaking
to media, Fazl said that he is in contact with all the parties of the alliance,
including Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif.
“PPP
has convened a meeting of its CEC (Central Executive Committee) and a positive
response is expected. We are mulling a proposal to tender resignations from the
assemblies in phases. In the first phase, resignations from the National Assembly
would be submitted and in the second phase, resignations from the provincial
assemblies would be given while the lawmakers of the Sindh Assembly would
resign in the third phase,” said the PDM chief.
He
said that it is clear that the opposition has no choice but to protest.
“Because if we only have to fight in the assemblies, then why we formed the
PDM,” he argued.
He
said that conspiracies are being hatched to break the PDM. “But we are not
kids. Allah has given us intellect. If we do not understand how to deal with
the situation, then we have no right to do politics,” he added.
According
to sources, Zardari has sought more time from the PDM chief. A meeting of the
PPP’s CEC has been convened. Another important meeting in this regard will be
held on April 4 immediately after the death anniversary of PPP founder Zulfiqar
Ali Bhutto, sources said.
They
added that all efforts aimed at creating divisions within the PDM would be
foiled and a middle ground to accommodate the PPPs reservations would be found.
According
to a report, after requesting the PPP co-chairman to convene a meeting of his
party’s CEC soon, Fazl has been conveyed that it is difficult to convene a
meeting of the CEC immediately.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2021/03/19/pdm-plans-to-launch-long-march-soon-after-eidul-fitr-fazl/
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Biden
Must Press Pakistan to End Persecution of Religious Minorities
by
Qasim Rashid
March
18, 2021
Last
year the U.S. State Department labeled Pakistan a country of particular concern
over its increasing persecution of religious minorities.
This
label is the State Department’s strongest condemnation under the International
Religious Freedom Act, and normally mandates sanctions for the designated
country. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo intervened, however, with a
presidential waiver to avoid such punishment.
The
alliance between the two nations has sent $70 billion in economic and military
aid to Pakistan since Pakistan’s founding. If not for the sake of sheer
justice, then at least for the sake of protecting American interests, President
Joe Biden must hold U.S. ally Pakistan accountable to repeal its discriminatory
anti-Ahmadi legislation and actions. While the legislation particularly targets
Ahmadi Muslims, it tragically also enables societal discrimination and violence
against Pakistan’s Christian, Sikh, Hindu, and Shia communities.
Most
recently, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has intensified the
government’s decades-long violent persecution of religious minorities —
particularly that of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. For the first time, the
PTA has filed a lawsuit against two American citizens who belong to the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, seeking to shut down a U.S. based website,
trueislam.com. The PTA argues that because Ahmadis built the U.S.-based
website, it violates Pakistan’s anti-Ahmadi laws. The PTA applied the same
convoluted logic to order Google to remove any app built by the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community from the tech giant’s Play store.
Google
has, sadly, capitulated to the draconian demands. Sam Brownback, the former
U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, has compared
Pakistan’s persecution of Ahmadi Muslims to the Chinese dictatorship,
exclaiming, “[This is] Pakistan following in the China model.”
A
Brief History of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan
The
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was founded in 1889 by a man named Mirza Ghulam
Ahmad, who claimed to be the awaited Messiah to reform Muslims, peacefully
revive Islam, and reject all forms of religious violence. Despite suffering
decades of violent religious persecution, it is well documented that Ahmadi
Muslims have maintained their position against all forms of religious violence.
Pakistan’s persecution of Ahmadis escalated in 1974, when, in an unprecedented
vote, the General Assembly amended the country’s Constitution to formally
declare the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
‘outside the fold of Islam.’
Imagine,
for a moment, if the United States passed a constitutional amendment declaring
Catholics outside the fold of Christianity? Notwithstanding this absurd
amendment, in 1984 Pakistan added Ordinance XX to its penal code, criminalizing
any Ahmadi Muslim who proclaims to be a Muslim with arrest and fine. By 1986,
Pakistan added Section 295-C, mandating up to and including the death penalty
for Ahmadi Muslims.
These
draconian laws have predictably left Ahmadi Muslims to languish in apartheid
conditions. All books, literature, events, speech, and websites belonging to
the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan are criminalized. Pakistan denies
Ahmadis free and fair voting and forces Ahmadi Muslims to declare their faith
on their passports as a means to prevent them from performing the Hajj
pilgrimage. To perform Hajj, a Pakistani citizen must have “Muslim” on their
passport for religious affiliation. To obtain a passport with “Muslim” as the
religious affiliation, Pakistan requires applicants to complete a form
declaring Ahmadi Muslims as “non-Muslim.” Since Ahmadis refuse to declare
themselves non-Muslim, they are identified as “Ahmadis,” and thus denied the
ability to perform Hajj. In other words, Pakistan’s government has created
special ID cards to single out Ahmadis.
These
apartheid conditions have led to systemic persecution of Ahmadi Muslims,
including mass murder, grave desecration,
expulsion of school children for their faith, and a complete lockdown of
all religious practice. Pakistan has faced repeated condemnation from Amnesty
International, Human Rights Watch, and U.S. Commission on International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF) for its incessant violation of religious freedom,
yet the discriminatory laws remain.
The
U.S. Must Demand Justice for Ahmadi Muslims
When
President Biden repealed the ‘Muslim Ban’ his first day in office, he condemned
the ban as “contravening our values, undermin[ing] our national security,
jeopardiz[ing] our global network of alliances and partnerships and a moral
blight that has dulled the power of our example the world over.” Indeed, we
cannot ignore the connection between persecution of religious minorities and
collapse of national and economic security. Look no further than the last four
years in the United States. The United States has seen historic highs in hate
crimes targeting American Muslims, Jews, and Black, Indigenous, and persons of
color (BIPOC) individuals — all of which has undermined American national
security.
Pakistan’s
government has traversed this dangerous road for several decades, suffocating
its own national security, and becoming “a safe haven for certain regionally
focused terrorist groups,” according to the State Department. Pakistan’s
economy also suffers as a consequence. For example, in the 1960s—prior to
enacting discriminatory legislation—Pakistan’s economy grew at a rate of 6% per
year, double neighboring India’s growth. By the 1990s, as Pakistan was in full
swing of enforcing discriminatory legislation and implicitly legitimizing
extremist groups, India surpassed Pakistan’s growth, and has never looked back.
Major U.S.-based companies have already threatened to leave Pakistan due to its
censorship laws.
The
persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan is increasing, with yet another
innocent Ahmadi gunned down last month in a spate of targeted murders. The
U.S.-Pakistan alliance should continue. However, it should not be
indiscriminate. If we do not emphatically demand justice of Pakistan’s
government to its own citizens, we give a greenlight to not only continue that
violent persecution, but also escalate in targeting American citizens.
Advancing the U.S.-Pakistan alliance on the principles of justice and
protecting religious minorities is imperative for a just, prosperous, and
secure future.
https://www.justsecurity.org/75383/biden-must-press-pakistan-to-end-persecution-of-religious-minorities/
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Pakistan
reaffirms support to political settlement in Afghanistan
March
19, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to
facilitate all efforts for a negotiated political settlement in Afghanistan,
underlining the importance of exercising vigilance against the role of
“spoilers.”
Qureshi
said this in a telephonic conversation with his Afghan counterpart Hanif Atmar
on Friday. Views were exchanged on matters of mutual interest, including
Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral relations and the latest status of Afghan peace
process during the phone call.
Reiterating
Pakistan’s consistent support to the Afghan peace process, the foreign minister
underlined that the intra-Afghan negotiations provided a historic opportunity
to achieve an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement in
Afghanistan.
The
foreign minister urged Afghan parties to work constructively for the shared
objective of a stable and peaceful Afghanistan. He underscored the need to
remain cognizant of the challenges and impediments on the way, which could be
overcome through patience, perseverance and persistence.
In
the bilateral context, the foreign minister reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to
forge closer cooperation with Afghanistan in all fields. He underlined the
importance of Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APAPPS) as a vital
platform to carry forward the bilateral cooperation on key tracks.
The
foreign minister also emphasised the need for early conclusion of talks
relating to the APTTA.
The
two foreign ministers exchanged greetings and good wishes on the eve of Nowruz.
Foreign
Minister Qureshi extended an invitation to Foreign Minister Atmar to visit
Pakistan at the earliest convenience.
In
a related development, Afghan President’s Special Envoy for Pakistan Affairs
Mohammed Umer Daudzai has said that Kabul wants Islamabad to play the same role
in facilitating an agreement between the government of Asfhraf Ghani and the
Taliban as it did in the Doha pact which was possible due to Pakistan’s
cooperation.
“The
agreement between the Taliban and the US, there was serious Pakistan
cooperation in it and the US thanked Pakistan. Now we, as their brothers and
sisters, expect Pakistan to do the same between the Afghan Republic and the
Taliban,” he said.
About
the role of government in Islamabad, Daudzai said that Afghanistan has its
expectations from Pakistan to use its influence over the Taliban, to
consistently come to a negotiation table and also to follow the negotiation on
a result base.
“The
other thing we expect [from Pakistan] is to again use influence over Taliban to
agree to a ceasefire,” the Afghan envoy said.
This
peace effort, he said, is different from the earlier efforts as the animosity
between the Taliban and the US are over. “The Taliban used to claim that
Afghanistan is occupied by the US and as long as it continues we will fight.
Now they have signed an agreement in February last year in Doha which means
their problem is over, they have overcome their problem but now they have continued
to fight against the Afghanistan government forces.”
He
said that since 2018, a framework has been developed, specifying areas of
cooperation. “The first one is state-to-state friendship and cooperation. The
second is Pakistan’s cooperation in the peace process, third is the trade and
transit, the fourth one is counter-terrorism and the fifth one is refugee
return.”
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2021/03/19/pakistan-reaffirms-support-to-political-settlement-in-afghanistan/
--------
UK
lauds Pakistan’s conciliatory efforts for peace in Afghanistan
March
19, 2021
Foreign
Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and British High Commissioner to Islamabad Dr
Christian Turner on Friday discussed Afghan peace process in detail.
The
British high commissioner called on the foreign minister on Friday. During the
meeting, the two sides discussed bilateral and regional issues, including
Afghan peace process in detail.
Qureshi
said that Pakistan attaches special importance to bilateral relations with the
United Kingdom. The British high commissioner commended Pakistan’s conciliatory
efforts for peace in Afghanistan.
Alluding
to the Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir, the foreign minister urged the
international community to play its due role for the resolution of Kashmir
dispute as per the UN Security Council resolutions.
Both
sides agreed to further enhance relations in all areas of mutual interest.
Russia
on Thursday hosted a peace conference between the Afghan government and the
Taliban in Moscow, as the Kremlin pushes for a ceasefire and power-sharing
agreement in the war-ravaged nation. The talks come after negotiations between
the Afghan government and the Taliban have stalled in the Qatari capital of
Doha, while Turkey is due to hold another peace conference in April. The Moscow
talks included US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad, along with officials
from Pakistan and China.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2021/03/19/uk-lauds-pakistans-conciliatory-efforts-for-peace-in-afghanistan/
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Pakistan,
Iraq discuss ways to enhance military engagements
March
19, 2021
The
defence authorities of Pakistan and Iraq discussed measures to enhance the
level and scope of bilateral military engagements between the two countries,
said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Friday.
Chairman
Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza, who is on an
official visit to Iraq, held talks with Iraqi Defence Minister Juma Enad Sadoon
Khattab Al Jibori, Iraqi Chief of Staff General Abdul Ameer Rasheed Yar Allah
Al Lami and Commander Iraqi Air Force Lieutenant General Shahab Jihad Ali, said
the military’s media wing in the statement.
During
the meetings, both sides deliberated upon various areas of interest including
security and defence cooperation and prevailing regional situation. They
discussed measures to enhance the level and scope of bilateral military
engagements between the two countries and reaffirmed to continue to forge
deeper ties, said the ISPR.
The
CJCSC also visited Defence University for Higher Military Studies and called on
its Rector Lieutenant General Saad Mizhir Muhsin Hashim Al Allaq.
On
the occasion, General Nadeem Raza highlighted the positive role of Pakistan in
countering violent extremism and also shared Pakistan’s efforts for regional peace
and stability especially in Afghanistan, said the ISPR.
Earlier
on February 25, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa said that
Pakistan acknowledges sacrifices rendered by Iraqi nation in fight against
terrorism. The Chief of Army Staff said this during a meeting with Iraqi
Defence Minister Jummah Enaad Saadoon Khatab Al Jibori who called on him at
General Headquarters (GHQ), said the ISPR in a statement.
The
army chief also offered all possible assistance and cooperation to Iraq in development
and defence-related fields. According to ISPR, during the meeting, matters
pertaining to mutual interest, regional security issues and measures to further
enhance bilateral defence collaboration were discussed. Both sides reaffirmed
their determination to work together for enhancing security and stability in
the region.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2021/03/19/pakistan-iraq-discuss-ways-to-enhance-military-engagements/
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South Asia
Afghan
govt, Taliban agree to step up peace talks after Moscow summit
Mar
20, 2021
The
Afghan government and the Taliban agreed on Friday to try to accelerate peace
talks, at a meeting in Moscow that followed an international conference there
on the peace process, a senior Afghan official was quoted as saying.
The
US, Russia, China and Pakistan called on Afghanistan's warring sides to reach
an immediate ceasefire at the conference, held in Russia just six weeks before
a deadline agreed last year to withdraw the US troops. "We expressed our
readiness to accelerate
the
process," Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of Afghanistan's High Council for
National Reconciliation, said. “They (the Taliban) did as well.” Abdullah said
the sides had not discussed any specific issues. — Reuters
Expect
troops withdrawal: Taliban
The
Taliban warned Washington against defying the May 1 deadline for the withdrawal
of American and NATO troops from Afghanistan, promising a “reaction”, which
could mean increased attacks.
“They
should go,” Suhail Shaheen, a member of the Taliban negotiation team, said. AP
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/afghan-govt-taliban-agree-to-step-up-peace-talks-after-moscow-summit-227637
--------
36
killed in Afghanistan's clashes, 7 Taliban militants arrested
2021-03-20
KABUL,
March 20 (Xinhua) -- At least 36 people were killed in insurgent activities and
clashes in Afghanistan in the past 24 hours, according to a local independent
war monitoring group early Saturday.
"Within
the past 24 hours, our team has documented 36 deaths, including one Afghan
National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) member, and 35 Taliban
militants," Reduction in Violence (RiV) said on social media.
The
group said there were also 31 Taliban militants, and four security forces
wounded in the cited period.
The
casualties came from four violent incidents that took place in four of the
country's 34 provinces, according to the RiV figures.
In
an unrelated incident, the ANDSF arrested seven Taliban militants during a
cleanup operation in Jaji Aryob district of eastern Paktia province on Friday,
the Afghan Defense Ministry confirmed in a statement earlier in the day.
The
statement added that vast areas were cleared off from Taliban in the district,
in the mountainous region. Enditem
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/2021-03/20/c_139823607.htm
--------
'Go
back Modi': Muslims, students protest Indian PM’s visit to Bangladesh
March
19, 2021
Muslims
and student activists rallied in Bangladesh’s capital on Friday to denounce the
upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to join the celebration
of the country’s 50th anniversary of independence.
Modi
is due to arrive in Dhaka on March 26, which Bangladesh celebrates as its
independence day. It was the date in 1971 when Bangladesh declared itself
independent from Pakistan. Aided by India, Bangladesh emerged as a new nation
after nine months of bloody war.
After
Friday prayers, about 500 Muslims marched onto the streets outside the
country’s main Baitul Mokarram Mosque in downtown Dhaka amid tight security.
The
protesters carried no banners and did not declare if they have any allegiance
to any political parties. They took their shoes in their hands to show
disrespect to Modi. They chanted anti-India and anti-Modi slogans, asking him
not to come to Dhaka.
Separately,
about 200 left-leaning student activists marched through streets on Dhaka
University campus where they called Modi “the butcher of Gujarat”.
Some
protesters carried posters reading “Go Back Modi, Go Back India” and “Go Back
Killer Modi.”
Modi
was chief minister in the western state of Gujarat in 2002 when Hindu-Muslim
riots left more than 1,000 people dead. Allegations that authorities allowed
and even encouraged the bloodshed have long followed Modi, who has repeatedly
denied having any role. India’s Supreme Court has said it found no evidence to
prosecute him.
The
protesters criticised Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for inviting
Modi, saying the two countries had many disputed issues. The protesters said
Modi and his Hindu-nationalist party oppressed Muslims in India. They also
criticised the killings of Bangladeshis by Indian border guards. India says
such casualties happen when Bangladeshis are involved in cross-border smuggling
and attempt to cross the border illegally.
“India’s
subordinate government of Hasina has invited Modi, we are here to protest
against that,” Hossain Mohammed Anwar said in front of the mosque.
Modi’s
visit is the first foreign trip since the coronavirus pandemic began. He is
scheduled to travel to a place outside Dhaka that is sacred to the Matua
community of India’s West Bengal state.
Matua
is a Hindu religious sect that is expected to determine the winner of at least
seven constituencies in the Indian state’s assembly elections next month.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1613419
--------
Taliban
warn US against delaying troop pullout beyond deadline
March
20, 2021
MOSCOW:
The Taliban warned Washington on Friday against defying a May 1 deadline for
the withdrawal of American and Nato troops from Afghanistan.
The
Taliban issued their warning at a press conference in Moscow, the day after
meeting senior Afghan government negotiators and international observers to try
to jumpstart a stalled peace process to end Afghanistan’s decades of war.
President
Joe Biden’s administration says it is reviewing an agreement the Taliban signed
with the Trump administration. Biden told ABC in an interview on Wednesday that
the May 1 deadline could happen, but it is tough, adding that if the deadline
is extended it won’t be by a lot longer.
“They
should go,” Suhail Shaheen, a member of the Taliban negotiation team, told
reporters, warning that staying beyond May 1 would breach the deal. “After
that, it will be a kind of violation of the agreement. That violation would not
be from our side... Their violation will have a reaction.”
He
did not elaborate on what form the reaction would take, but in keeping with the
agreement they signed in February 2020, the Taliban have not attacked US or
Nato forces, even as unclaimed bombings and targeted killings have spiked in
recent months.
“We
hope that this will not happen, that they withdraw and we focus on the
settlement, peaceful settlement of the Afghan issue, in order to bring about a
permanent and comprehensive ceasefire at the end of reaching a political
roadmap (for) Afghanistan,” Shaheen said.
He
also reaffirmed that the Taliban were firm on their demand for an Islamic
government. Shaheen didn’t elaborate on what an Islamic government would look
like or whether it would mean a return to their repressive rules that denied girls’
education, barred women from working, and imposed harsh punishments.
Shaheen
did not say whether the Taliban would accept elections, but he emphasised that
the government of President Ashraf Ghani would not fit their definition of an
Islamic government.
In
previous statements, the Taliban have said their vision of an Islamic
government would allow girls to attend school, and women to work or be in
public life. But in every conversation, they emphasised the need to follow
Islamic injunctions without specifying what that would mean.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1613537/taliban-warn-us-against-delaying-troop-pullout-beyond-deadline
--------
Lenten
youth retreat fosters Christian unity in Bangladesh
Stephan
Uttom
March
19, 2021
Catholic
and Protestant youngsters joined an ecumenical retreat during Lent in northern
Bangladesh with an aim to foster unity among Christians of various churches.
About
100 young Christians, mostly college and university students, from six
denominations joined the program in Rajshahi city jointly organized by Rajshahi
Diocese and the Church of Bangladesh on March 17.
The
program at Caritas Rajshahi aimed to promote ecumenism and spiritual bonding
among young Christians ahead of Easter Sunday.
Church
officials said the event focused on making young men and women more aware about
the importance of prayer, fasting and the resurrection of Jesus.
“The
main objective of this event was to give spiritual consciousness to the youth,
to prepare them for the resurrection of Jesus and to explain the greatness of
resurrection,” Father Patrick Gomes, secretary of the Catholic bishops’
Commission for Christian Unity and Inter-Religious Dialogue, told UCA News.
“We
arranged it with the aim of uniting the youth of different churches and helping
them to become more respectful to each other's religious principles. We have
also wanted to make them more comfortable in the presence of each other.”
Catholics
and Protestants are generally on good terms but sometimes fringe Christian
groups who campaign aggressively draw new members, even from the Catholic
Church, and create tensions and rifts among Christians, the priest said.
“There
are doctrinal differences that infuse divisions, but ecumenical efforts like
this can help us overcome all the differences,” Father Gomes said.
Samuel
Baroi, 25, a Baptist Christian and a university student, said the program
helped broaden his mind and he felt the importance of Christian unity.
“I
used to think Catholics were very radical but this program changed my mind. I
think this kind of program should be arranged frequently so that we know each
other well and bring an end to our prejudices and differences,” Baroi told UCA
News.
Pastor
Daniel Mondol, head of Rajshahi Church of Bangladesh, said that unity and
collaboration among Christians were essential for the survival and prosperity
of Christians in the country.
“Sometimes
we see ourselves as distinct groups detached from each other, which hinders
unity and harmony. The more ecumenical programs we have, the more our
differences will be abolished. Our future generation must be united and better
connected to thrive on ecumenism,” he told UCA News.
Bangladesh's
Christians are a tiny minority: less than half a percent of 160 million people
in the Muslim-majority country. Of an estimated 600,000 Christians, the
majority, about 400,000, are Catholics spread in two archdioceses and six
dioceses.
There
are two major coalitions of Protestant churches. The National Council of
Churches in Bangladesh (NCCB) has 15 members while the National Fellowship of
Churches, Bangladesh (NFCB) has 19 member churches.
Since
the late 1960s, following the Second Vatican Council, the country’s bishops
have promoted interreligious dialogue and ecumenism through the Commission for
Christian Unity and Interreligious Dialogue.
The
Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh and the Protestant fellowships in
2011 formed the United Forum of Churches in Bangladesh (UFCB), which draws
representatives from all member associations.
The
UFCB arranges ecumenical programs including dialogues, seminars and common
religious feasts with an aim to promote unity.
https://www.ucanews.com/news/lenten-youth-retreat-fosters-christian-unity-in-bangladesh/91825#
--------
MoD
calls for ‘vengeance’ following the attack on ANA helicopter
20
Mar 2021
The
Ministry of Defense on Saturday has pledged to take revenge for the attack on a
military helicopter in Maidan Wardak.
A
spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, Fawad Aman has told media that based on
the investigations and evidence, the Afghan Air Force helicopter was shot down
by Alipur’s militia in Behsud.
Fawad
Aman said MoD will “revenge the attacks at any cost”.
The
attack happened on Thursday at around 1 am when ANA helicopters were
transferring security force members, equipment, and food.One of the choppers
was shot down by Alipur militias in the Behsud district of Maidan Wardak.
According
to reports Alipur is a local militia man in the region reportedly backed by
outsiders to disrupt security situations.
https://www.khaama.com/ministry-of-defense-calls-for-vengeance-following-the-attack-on-ana-helicopter-4324444/
--------
Europe
UK
court ruling opens door for return of Daesh recruits
March
19, 2021
LONDON:
Three Britons who traveled to Syria to join Daesh have won an appeal against a
government ruling that stripped them of their citizenship, in a decision that
could open the door for more terrorists to re-enter the UK.
A
judge ruled on Friday that two women and a man had been rendered stateless by a
Home Office move that stripped them of their British citizenship. It is illegal
under international law to make someone stateless.
All
three people are Bangladeshi by ethnicity, but did not have Bangladeshi
citizenship when their British citizenship was revoked.
Under
Bangladeshi law, any blood line to a Bangladeshi-born citizen retains the
country’s citizenship until the age of 21.
The
trio were said by the British government to be a threat to national security
because of their links to Daesh, and were thus stripped of their citizenship to
prevent them returning.
The
judge said the three “were not nationals of Bangladesh or any other state apart
from the UK. This means that orders depriving them of their British citizenship
would make them stateless.”
The
judge added: “The secretary of state had no power to make orders with that
effect. For that reason — and that reason alone — the appeals against the
decisions to make those orders succeed.”
Upon
return to the UK, government sources said they will be subject to counterterror
investigations and restricted movements, contacts, and use of the Internet and
phones.
A
Home Office spokesman said: “We are extremely disappointed with this judgment
and the court’s decision that deprivation cannot stand in these cases. The
government’s priority remains maintaining the safety and security of the UK.”
The
ruling could mean that more people rendered stateless while in Syria have their
British citizenship returned.
High-profile
cases such as that of British-Bangladeshi Shamima Begum, who traveled to Syria
to join Daesh when she was 15, could be influenced by the ruling.
She
was 19 when she was stripped of her citizenship, but is now 21 and so may not
be eligible for Bangladeshi citizenship.
It
is unclear exactly how many British adults remain in Syria in camps
administered by the West’s Kurdish allies, but politicians such as Conservative
MP Tobias Ellwood have previously warned that blocking their return to the UK
may not be in the nation’s best security interests.
He
said last year: “We’ll see a repeat of Al-Qaeda regrouping and becoming a very
real threat, and that threat won’t just pose itself in the Middle East, but
also to Britain.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1828366/world
--------
Over
dozen British MPs demand govt. to reconsider ties with Bahrain over rights
abuses
20
March 2021
More
than a dozen British lawmakers have called on the UK government to “reconsider
its relationship with Bahrain” to pressure the Al Khalifah regime into
releasing political prisoners as a heavy-handed crackdown on pro-democracy
activists persists in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom.
In
a letter sent to UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab earlier this week, 14
parliamentarians criticized the government for continuing to support the Manama
regime despite the fact that its record on human rights has been described as
dismal.
“Ahead
of the 10th anniversary of the arrest of political leaders and activists in
Bahrain for their participation in pro-democracy protests, we, the undersigned,
are writing to draw your attention once again to the ongoing suppression of
democracy and political opposition in Bahrain,” the letter, composed by Labor
Party politician Zarah Sultana, read.
The
letter noted that seven prominent Bahraini opposition leaders, including Hassan
Mushaima, Abdelwahab Hussain, and Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, were arrested on March
17, 2011, and later sentenced to life imprisonment on trumped-up charges of
communicating with foreign countries and inciting murder and destruction of
properties.
The
legislators urged the UK government “to disengage from blind support of those
who abuse civil society for the mere expression of opinion.”
The
letter asked the government to follow its mission statement on Bahrain, to
“help Bahrain to return to a stable and reformist state with a good human rights
record.”
The
British lawmakers called for the immediate and unconditional release of
Bahraini political prisoners.
They
also demanded reconsidering relationship with Bahrain, as a country of concern,
until the demands of the Bahraini people are adequately met.
The
news comes as leaked documents indicate that Raab has stated that the UK will
pursue trade deals with countries irrespective of their poor human rights
records.
Raab
said he hoped establishing and maintaining trade links with such countries would
act as a "positive influence" on their human rights records.
“We
don't junk whole relationships because we've got issues – we have a
conversation because we want to change the behavior,” Raab said according to
leaked audio from a video call.
Last
week, the European Union Parliament voted by an overwhelming majority to
condemn human rights violations in Bahrain, where the death penalty is retained
for a wide range of offences.
The
parliament called on Bahrain to quickly halt the imminent execution of 26 death
row prisoners and condemned the ongoing use of torture against detainees and
the persecution of human rights defenders.
"[Members
of the European Parliament] are deeply concerned that ten years after the
Bahraini 'Arab Spring' uprising, in 2011, the human rights situation in the
country continues to worsen," it said in a statement.
Demonstrations
in Bahrain have been held on a regular basis ever since a popular uprising
began in mid-February 2011.
The
participants demand that the Al Khalifah regime relinquish power and allow a
just system representing all Bahrainis to be established.
Manama,
however, has gone to great lengths to clamp down on any sign of dissent.
On
March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were
deployed to assist Bahrain in its crackdown.
On
March 5, 2017, Bahrain’s parliament approved the trial of civilians at military
tribunals in a measure blasted by human rights campaigners as being tantamount
to imposition of an undeclared martial law countrywide.
Bahraini
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah ratified the constitutional amendment on April
3, 2017.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/20/647692/Over-dozen-British-MPs-demand-govt--to-reconsider-ties-with-Bahrain-over-rights-abuses
--------
Erdogan
blasts Biden for calling Putin ‘a killer’
19
March 202
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized US President Joe Biden for
calling Russian President Vladimir Putin “a killer,” saying the comment is
“unacceptable” and not befitting of a leader.
“Mr.
Biden’s statements about Putin are not fitting of a president,” Erdogan told
reporters in Istanbul on Friday, praising Putin for giving a clever and
“classy” response.
“For
me, Mr. Putin has done what is necessary by giving a very, very smart, very
classy response,” he said.
Erdogan
further called Putin a “friend and a strategic partner” despite differences
over conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria, and Libya.
In
an interview with ABC on Tuesday, Biden was asked whether he thought the
Russian president was a “killer,” to which he responded “I do.”
The
American president also said that his Russian counterpart would “pay a price”
for his alleged attempt to undermine Biden’s candidacy in the US election in
2020.
Russia
recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations in response.
But
President Putin himself responded by wishing the 78-year-old Biden “good
health.”
“I
remember in my childhood, when we argued in the courtyard, we used to say: it
takes one to know one. And that’s not a coincidence, not just a children’s
saying or joke,” the Russian president said.
Putin
also said that Moscow would not cut ties with Washington over the matter.
But
the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow expected a formal apology from
Washington over Biden’s comment, the Interfax news agency reported.
Tensions
have been running high between the US and Russia in recent months, especially
over an allegation that Russia attempted to interfere in the 2020 US election
in favor of Biden’s then-rival Donald Trump.
Moscow
has called that allegation “baseless” and “unsubstantiated.”
Separately,
the US has been pressuring Turkey to drop a contract to purchase advanced
Russian missile defense systems.
In
a 2019 interview, Biden also called Erdogan an “autocrat.”
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/19/647656/Erdogan-blasts-Biden-for-calling-Putin-%E2%80%98a-killer%E2%80%99
--------
Germany
honours Turkish vaccine pioneers
Ayhan
Simsek
19.03.2021
BERLIN
Germany’s
president conferred Turkish scientists Ugur Sahin and Ozlem Tureci with the
country’s highest award on Friday for inventing the world’s first effective
vaccine against COVID-19.
Frank-Walter
Steinmeier presented the Order of Merit to Sahin and Tureci at a ceremony held
at the Bellevue Palace, which was also attended by Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“On
behalf of our country, I would like to thank you both for your outstanding
scientific achievements, and I wish that your further major research plans
would bring about similar groundbreaking successes for you and for all of us,”
Steinmeier said at the ceremony.
He
underlined that Sahin and his wife Tureci’s pioneering work in the field of
mRNA technologies, and their development of the coronavirus vaccine against in
less than a year, made a decisive contribution to containing the pandemic.
“Your
groundbreaking discovery is saving human lives, it is securing the necessities
of life, ensuring our social, economic and cultural survival. With every
vaccinated person we can take a small step towards normalization, a step
towards the life we miss and the people we love,” he said.
The
Great Cross with Star of the Order of Merit, which was given to the
Turkish-German scientist couple, is one of the country’s most prominent honors
to pay tribute to the individuals for their great services to the nation.
Both
Sahin and Tureci were born to immigrant parents from Turkey who moved to
Germany in the 1960s, and after studying medicine at the university, they have
built successful careers in the fields of cancer immunology, molecular biology
and the mRNA vaccine technology.
The
pharmaceutical company BioNTech, which the couple founded in 2008, managed to
develop the world’s first effective coronavirus vaccine together with its US
partner Pfizer.
Ruling
CDU leader praises Sahin and Tureci
Armin
Laschet, the leader of Germany’s governing party Christian Democratic Union
(CDU), praised the scientists for their
great achievements in a message he posted on Twitter.
Condemning
far-right propaganda against the country’s immigrant population, Laschet
underlined the valuable contributions of immigrants to the country.
“Sahin’s
father was seen as a ‘guest worker’ by many, they wanted to send him back to
Turkey. It’s good that we’re a country of immigration, it’s good that he stayed
here, and his son made a career by studying here,” he said.
European
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also congratulated the couple for
receiving the Order of Merit of Germany, and said they have become role models
for many people.
“Europe
can consider itself lucky, as it greatly benefited from the vision of Ozlem
Tureci and Ugur Sahin in fight against the virus,” she said on Twitter.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/germany-honors-turkish-vaccine-pioneers/2181730
--------
French
move to declassify archive draws mixed reactions in Algeria
Hossam
El Din Islam
19.03.2021
French
President Emmanuel Macron's decision to begin the declassification of defense
documents up to 1970 has received mixed reactions in Algeria.
While
Abdelmadjid Cheikhi, the Algerian president’s advisor welcomed the decision,
describing it as "positive and important”, former MP Kamal Belarbi said it
was difficult to believe that the French will lift the veil on its colonial
legacy in Algeria. He urged for continuing the battle to hold France
accountable for its colonial crimes.
In
a statement released by the official news agency, Cheikhi said that Macron's
decision is good. He added the issue now needs follow-up and the decision needs
to be applied widely. He also noted the period from 1920 to 1970 is very
important to the history of Algeria.
Speaking
to Anadolu Agency, former MP Kamal Belarbi expressed skepticism on the French
move to lift the aura of secrecy clouding their role in Algeria.
Belarbi,
who had earlier piloted a bill to criminalize colonialism, said the French will
not hand over the secret documents.
"France
will continue to tamper with the archives. The most important thing is that we
remain committed to our demands to hold France accountable for crimes it
committed in Algeria for 132 years," he said.
He
added that it was misleading to expect that France will hand over documents
containing the most heinous massacres that it had committed against the
Algerians.
Taoufik
Bougaida, professor of political science at the University of Algiers said the
unveiling of documents will not significantly affect French relations with
Algeria.
Speaking
to Anadolu Agency, Bougaida said Macron’s decision was aimed at calming
tensions surrounding the issue.
"The
outstanding issues between France and Algeria are not related to these
documents, which were decided by French law [that they are the property of
France]. Rather, the dispute concerns documents before the colonial period
[1830-1962],” he said.
He
said France does not have the right to own pre-colonial documents. “They are a
human heritage belonging to the Algerian people, and this is what Paris
rejects,” he said.
Algeria
is demanding the restoration of the entire pre-colonial archive, which Paris
transferred when its forces were leaving the country.
Acknowledge
and apologize
Previously,
Macron and his Algerian counterpart Abdelmadjid Tebboune agreed to appoint two
historians, one from each country, to discuss the issue of returning the memory
files.
Following
this decision Benjamin Stora from the French side and Abdelmadjid Cheikhi from
the Algerian side took up the issue.
The
Algerian authorities accuse French forces of smuggling hundreds of thousands of
maps and historical documents during the colonial period (1830-1962), including
those dating back to the Ottoman era (1518-1830).
Algerians
have been asking France to acknowledge and apologize for the discriminatory
practices and crimes committed during its colonial rule in the country.
Based
on estimates by Algerian historians, 1.5 million Algerians were killed during the
1954-1962 Algerian War of Independence. French historians put this figure at
400,000 from both sides.
Macron’s
office decided to declassify documents while acting on recommendations from
historian Benjamin Stora.
In
his 120-page report, he suggested measures to address the enduring grievances,
such as the establishment of a joint commission comprising French and Algerian
historians to probe kidnappings and assassinations that included those of
Europeans, killed in Oran in July 1962. It also called on to identify the
places where the inmates executed were buried during the war.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/french-move-to-declassify-archive-draws-mixed-reactions-in-algeria/2181218
--------
Defence:
About 30 suspected neo-Nazi soldiers are under surveillance
18
March 2021
The
military intelligence service SGRS is keeping a group of around 30 serving
soldiers under close surveillance, on suspicion they have extreme right-wing or
neo-Nazi sympathies, the RTBF has revealed.
The
question of a presence of right wing extremists in the Belgian forces arose
after it was revealed that the French army contains a sizeable number of
extremists, who display their affiliations openly and apparently without any
sanction.
The
problem of right-wing extremists is not new, although in recent years attention
has concentrated more on an increase in Islamist extremism within the armed
forces.
As
recently as last year, however, with the declining influence of IS, the
intelligence services have turned their attention to right-wing extremism,
which appears to be on the rise – at least partly as a reaction to Islamic
extremism and to successive waves of refugees and migrants escaping that very
problem.
The
RTBF contacted Tony Bargibant of the union that represents members of the armed
forces, to find out if Belgium has the same problem as that revealed in France.
“As
far as I know, the SGRS carries out checks at this level. So there could be
problematic cases but it is a tiny minority, they hardly represent anything.
The problem is not the same as in France,” he said.
If
the intelligence service has any reason to suspect a particular person, he
explained, they start a campaign of close surveillance, involving the person’s
online life as well as every detail of their private activities.
That
report was confirmed to the RTBF by a spokesperson for the defence ministry,
run by Ludivine Dedonder (PS), who pointed out that the SGRS is aware of a rise
in right-wing extremism.
“We
have a platform that works on non-religious extremism, including the far right.
The SGRS focuses on the extreme right within the armed forces,” the
spokesperson said.
“We
are currently following around 30 soldiers very closely, for their sympathies
or their obvious links with radical right-wing groups. It’s important to follow
and we’re doing it well. We dig and we find. Screening is working well.
However, we wish to stress that the threat remains minimal within the
military.”
And
while some active cases are under investigation, the military aims to screen
out possible cases at the recruitment stage.
“New
recruits must pass certain tests and in particular an interview with a
psychologist and other doctors,” Bargibant explained.
“That
is when problematic cases can be detected. A screening is also carried out on
each candidate, into whether a candidate has, for example, a criminal record on
the subject or an obvious link with an extreme right-wing group. Then they will
not be engaged either. The forces have put things in place to avoid hiring a
person close to extreme ideologies whatever they may be,” he said.
https://www.brusselstimes.com/news/belgium-all-news/160587/defence-about-30-suspected-neo-nazi-soldiers-are-under-surveillance/
--------
North America
US
State Department blasts Houthis for attack on Saudi oil refinery in Riyadh
Joseph
Haboush
19
March ,2021
The
United States Friday condemned the latest Houthi attack, which targeted an oil
refinery in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and caused a fire.
The
Iran-backed Houthis have escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia since US
President Joe Biden took office and revoked the terror designation against the
Yemeni group. Biden also removed three senior Houthi officials from the
Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) list.
“We
have seen that the Houthis claimed responsibility for these attacks and condemn
the Houthis’ attempts to disrupt global energy supplies by targeting Saudi
infrastructure,” a State Department official told reporters during a phone
briefing.
Such
attacks demonstrate a an utter lack of concern for safety of the civilians that
work and live near the oil refineries, Deputy Spokesperson Jalina Porter said.
“We
remain deeply concerned by the frequency of attacks on Saudi Arabia,” Porter
added.
The
Houthis have escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia since US President Joe
Biden took office and revoked the terror designation against the Yemeni group.
Biden also removed three senior Houthi officials from the Specially Designated
Global Terrorist (SDGT) list.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/03/19/Terrorism-US-State-Department-blasts-Houthis-for-attack-on-Saudi-oil-refinery-in-Riyadh
--------
Southeast Asia
High
Court: Najib-era 10-point solution could have solved ‘Allah’ controversy in
2011 if 1986 ban had been retracted
19
Mar 2021
BY
IDA LIM
KUALA
LUMPUR, March 19 ― The long drawn-out controversy over the use of the word
“Allah” in Christian publications could have been resolved if the Malaysian
government had fully implemented its 10-point Solution in 2011 and dropped its
1986 ban on such use, the High Court said in its ruling in a Sarawakian
Bumiputera Christian’s case.
In
this particular court case, Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Sarawakian native Jill
Ireland Lawrence Bill of the Melanau tribe had filed a court challenge against
the home minister and the Malaysian government, after eight educational compact
discs ― containing the word “Allah” in the titles ―- for her personal use were
seized by the government.
Jill
Ireland had in her court case sought for Constitutional reliefs, including a
declaration that the 1986 directive ― issued by the Home Ministry and which was
used by the ministry to justify the seizure of her eight CDs ― was
unconstitutional and unlawful.
While
some Muslims in Malaysia believe “Allah”, the Arabic word for God, to be
exclusive to Islam, it was adopted into the national language generations ago
and used throughout by Malay-speaking Christians in the country, especially
those living in Sabah and Sarawak.
The
word is also part of terms referring to God in the indigenous languages of
tribes in east Malaysia such as the Iban, Bidayuh, Lun Bawang, Lun Dayeh and
Kelabit.
About
the 1986 government directive
In
the full grounds of the High Court’s March 10 judgment that was released this
week, Justice Datuk Nor Bee Ariffin examined the government’s 1986 written
directive which had banned the use of four words ― including “Allah” ― in
Christian publications.
The
judge noted the government’s position in the court case that the 1986 directive
was the then Cabinet’s decision which related to the government’s policy at
that time to “avoid any confusion among the Muslims and Christian community
which is likely to be prejudicial to public order and creating religious
sensitivity amongst the Malaysians”.
About
the 10-point solution
While
ultimately finding the 1986 directive to be unlawful and unconstitutional due
to reasons such as the home minister acting beyond his legal powers to issue
the ban, the judge had also explored the 10-point solution that was provided by
the Malaysian government in 2011 to the Christian community and which lawyers
had raised during the High Court hearing of Jill Ireland’s case.
The
judge was referring to the 10-point solution which was a collective decision by
the Cabinet and which was announced on April 2, 2011, and set out in full by
then-prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his April 11, 2011 letter to the
Christian Federation of Malaysia.
The
judge then summed up the 10-point solution as having “demonstrated the
Cabinet’s acceptance and acknowledgment that the usage of the word ‘Allah’ is
never an issue in Sabah and Sarawak and the Christians are allowed to use the
word in the two states without restriction.”
The
judge also highlighted that the 10-point solution had not attached any
conditions to the importation and local printing of the Bible in all languages
― including Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia and indigenous languages ― in
Sabah and Sarawak in recognition of the large Christian community in the two
states.
At
the same time, when it comes to Peninsular Malaysia and taking into account the
interest of the larger Muslim community there, the 10-point solution required
the printing of the words “Christian publication” and the “cross” sign on the
front covers of Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia or Bahasa Indonesia that are imported
or printed.
“By
doing this, one will not be confused that this is a Christian publication,” the
judge said when touching on the Cabinet’s solution of the labelling of Bibles
in such languages when it comes to Peninsular Malaysia.
“I
have reason to believe, premised on the submissions of both parties, that the
10 Point Solution is an all encompassing religious tolerance initiated by the
Cabinet that may provide the solution to end the long standing religious
controversy as there seems to me to be a consensus between the parties in
resolving rather than entering into religious debates and polemic on the use of
the word ‘Allah’,” the judge said in her 96-page judgment that was sighted by
Malay Mail, referring to the submissions or arguments provided in court by
lawyers who represented those involved in Jill Ireland’s case.
The
judge, however, indicated that the then-federal government had failed to give
full effect to the 10-point solution when it was announced in 2011, as it did
not retract the 1986 government directive.
The
1986 directive had put a total ban on the word “Allah” in Christian
publications, unlike the 2011 solution which allowed Christian publications
with the word “Allah” for the Christian community’s use based on
location-specific conditions.
“However,
despite the strong commitment shown by the Cabinet, the impugned directive was
allowed to remain and has never been withdrawn till to date.
“Even
after nearly a decade following its announcement, the uncertainty continues as
to whether the 10 Point Solution would ever be effectively implemented.
“If
the Cabinet had withdrawn the impugned directive when the announcement on the
10 Point Solution was made, there would really be no serious dispute before
this court anymore,” the judge said, referring to Jill Ireland’s court matter.
Malay
Mail’s checks of the 10-point solution in Najib’s 2011 letter to the local
Christian community showed the Cabinet’s collective decision as also allowing
the importing and local printing of Bibles in all languages including Bahasa
Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia, and the indigenous languages of Sabah and Sarawak
such as Iban, Kadazan-Dusun and Lun Bawang, as well as the Cabinet’s decision
that there should be no restrictions for people bringing along their Bibles and
Christian materials when travelling between Sabah and Sarawak and Peninsular
Malaysia in recognition that many travel between such locations.
Also
as part of the 10-point solution, the Home Ministry’s secretary-general had
issued a directive in the form of a memorandum dated April 8, 2011 to direct
all civil servants to comply with the Cabinet decision, Malay Mail’s checks
showed.
Public
order not threatened in allowing Christians’ use
In
the same High Court judgment released this week, Nor Bee indicated that the
1986 directive remains unlawful even after the 10-point solution was
introduced, saying: “The 10 Point Solution certainly cannot remedy the
illegality of the impugned directive.”
Saying
that the 10-point solution has no force of law, the judge said the relevance of
this 2011 Cabinet decision to Jill Ireland’s case was only to show that the
10-point solution did not come about because of any threats to public order.
Citing
the same 2011 letter by then-prime minister Najib which outlined the 10-point
solution, the judge noted that the Cabinet decision was instead made due to the
government’s concern over the Home Ministry’s officers’ act then of impounding
Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia or Bahasa Indonesia, which the letter said had
“triggered concerns and tensions within the country” and which had to be
urgently addressed.
“There
could not be any issue of public order or threat to public order if the Cabinet
alone that have access to the necessary information on national security, have
taken a much more liberal approach in manning the religious issues compared to
the position previously taken as demonstrated in P.U (A) 134/1982,” the judge
said when noting the 10-point solution as showing that there was no threat to
public order.
PU
(A) 134/1982 refers to a gazetted government order made by the Home Ministry in
the year 1982 to prohibit the printing, publication or possession of Bibles in
Bahasa Indonesia except when used in churches by Christians.
Among
other things, the judge concluded that the available evidence as a whole showed
that the government’s reliance on the issue of “public order” to justify the
issuing of the 1986 government directive was irrational.
Earlier
in the same judgment, the judge had noted that the government had also failed
to provide any evidence to back its claim that the 1986 government directive
was needed to avoid alleged confusion and “misunderstanding” if the common word
“Allah” was used by both the Muslim and Christian communities.
But
even before ruling that the 1986 government directive to ban the use of the
word “Allah” in Christian publications could not be justified by the reasons of
preventing alleged confusion or misunderstanding that would allegedly disrupt
public order, the judge had already listed out reasons why the 1986 directive
was unlawful and unconstitutional.
This
included reasons such as the home minister not having powers under the Printing
Presses and Publications Act 1984 to issue the 1986 directive, and as the 1986
directive did not have statutory backing and was in conflict with the 1982
gazetted government order.
Among
other things, the judge also highlighted how the 1986 directive by the Home
Ministry ― which placed a total ban on the word “Allah” in Christian
publications ― had changed the Cabinet’s May 1986 policy decision to only place
a conditional ban on such usage.
The
Cabinet had decided that the word could be used in Christian publications if
Untuk Agama Kristian was specified on the publication’s cover page.
Other
than declaring the government directive issued by the Home Ministry’s
publication control’s division via a circular dated December 5, 1986 as
unlawful and unconstitutional, the High Court in the same March 10 judgment
also granted two constitutional declarations sought by Jill Ireland.
This
included a declaration that it is Jill Ireland’s constitutional right under the
Federal Constitution’s Article 3, 8, 11 and 12 to import the publications ― in
the form of the eight CDs for her personal use ― in exercise of her rights to
practise religion and right to education.
The
remaining order was a declaration under the Federal Constitution’s Article 8
that Jill Ireland is guaranteed equality of all persons before the law and is
protected from discrimination against citizens on the grounds of religion in
the administration of the law ― specifically the Printing Presses and
Publications Act 1984 and Customs Act 1967.
Following
the High Court’s decision, the government and the home minister have since
filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
On
March 18, former minister Baru Bian disclosed that Jill Ireland’s court case
could have been resolved out of court in the recent two years if the government
had adopted a proposal to use an administrative resolution to amend the 1986
directive to incorporate the 10-point solution.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/03/19/high-court-najib-era-10-point-solution-could-have-solved-allah-controversy/1959327
--------
Council
of Churches says no to dialogue with Home Ministry over ‘Allah’ use
19
Mar 2021
BY
SOO WERN JUN
KUALA
LUMPUR, March 19 ― The Council of Churches of Malaysia (CCM) has expressed
disagreement with the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin’s proposal to
initiate a dialogue session to resolve dispute over the use of the word
‘Allah’.
The
council today in a statement said it would be inappropriate to hold a dialogue
regarding the issue since the government had on March 15 filed a Notice of
Appeal against the High Court decision.
“Since
the matter is now in the Court of Appeal, we are of the view that it is highly
inappropriate for the issue to be resolved through a dialogue initiated by the
Home Ministry, who is one of the
Appellants,” the council said.
Earlier
today, Hamzah said he would call for a dialogue at the end of the month with
Islamic and Christian scholars to resolve the dispute over the use of the word
‘Allah’ which has been a legal issue since 2008.
He,
however, pointed out that while finding solutions to this issue, it must be
within the framework of the Federal Constitution.
Hamzah
also said the appeal against the High Court decision allowing Christians to use
the word “Allah” in religious publications for educational purposes would
proceed.
The
government had on Monday said it was appealing against the High Court decision
and a notice of appeal was filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
On
March 10, the High Court had ruled that the Malaysian government’s directive
issued in 1986 with a total ban on the use of the word “Allah” in Christian
publications is unconstitutional and invalid.
It
also declared orders to affirm Sarawakian Bumiputera Christian Jill Ireland
Lawrence Bill’s right to not be discriminated against and practice her faith.
The
judge granted three of the specific constitutional reliefs sought by the
Sarawakian native of the Melanau tribe.
The
three orders granted by the judge include a declaration that it is Jill
Ireland’s constitutional right under the Federal Constitution’s Article 3, 8,
11 and 12 to import the publications in the exercise of her rights to practise
religion and right to education.
The
other two declarations granted by the judge today are that a declaration under
Article 8 that Jill Ireland is guaranteed equality of all persons before the
law and is protected from discrimination against citizens on the grounds of
religion in the administration of the law ― specifically the Printing Presses
and Publications Act 1984 and Customs Act 1967), and a declaration that
government directive issued by the Home Ministry’s publication control’s
division via a circular dated December 5, 1986, is unlawful and
unconstitutional.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/03/19/council-of-churches-says-no-to-dialogue-with-home-ministry-over-allah-use/1959284
--------
PBS
urges Putrajaya to withdraw ‘Allah’ appeal, tells all parties to stop
politicising issue
19
Mar 2021
BY
JULIA CHAN
KOTA
KINABALU, March 19 ― Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) today urged Putrajaya to
reconsider its appeal against the ruling allowing Christians to use the word
‘Allah’, saying that Christians in East Malaysia have always been free to use
the word.
PBS
secretary-general Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said the issue is nothing new and was
sorted a decade ago with a 10-point Standard Operating Procedure for Christians
in both east Malaysian states.
“There
is no hindrance for Christians in Sabah and Sarawak to use the word ‘Allah’ in
their religious practices. It is time for our fellow Christians in West
Malaysia to also enjoy the similar privilege,” he said.
He
added that PBS adopts the same position and stand as the Sarawak state
government.
“We
fully identify and concur with the position stated by them.
“PBS
is also aware that this is also the unspoken stand of the GRS (Gabungan Rakyat
Sabah) since even before independence and before we became part of Malaysia. We
have always enjoyed peaceful co-existence with all Sabahans irrespective of
their religious beliefs.
“We
will continue to preserve this religious unity and harmony. PBS as a
multiracial party has always adhered to this belief and stand. There is no need
to politicise the issue and we need not be influenced by the tactics of the
opposition,” said Bangkuai.
On
March 10, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur ruled that the government directive
via a December 5, 1986 circular issued by the Home Ministry’s publications
control division was unlawful and unconstitutional.
This
government directive was the one that banned the use of the word “Allah” in
Christian publications.
Since
then, the federal government has appealed against the decision, a move that was
lauded by Malay-based political parties but did not sit well on Sabah and
Sarawakian parties.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/03/19/pbs-urges-putrajaya-to-withdraw-allah-appeal-tells-all-parties-to-stop-poli/1959275
--------
Indonesian
Muslim Body Clears AstraZeneca Use in Emergency
By
Niniek Karmini
March
20, 2021
AstraZeneca’s
vaccine against COVID-19 was cleared Friday for use in Indonesia after the drug
regulator declared it safe and clerics in the world’s most populous Muslim
nation said a pig-derived element was acceptable in a pandemic.
Southeast
Asia’s biggest economy had delayed using AstraZeneca’s product after more than
a dozen countries in Europe suspended the vaccine due to concerns of some
people who received the vaccine developing blood clots. The World Health
Organization said it saw no evidence the vaccine was to blame for the clots,
and some European countries were resuming its use.
“The
benefits of using the COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca outweigh the possible risks,
so that we can start to use it,” Indonesia’s Food and Drug Authority said in
its announcement.
The
Indonesian agency said the risk of death from COVID-19 was much greater,
“Therefore, the community still has to get vaccination against COVID-19
according to the designated schedule.”
At
the same news conference, an official from Indonesia’s highest Islamic body
declared the AstraZeneca vaccine “haram,” or forbidden in Islam, for containing
materials derived from pigs but still approved its use by Muslims given the
emergency situation.
Asrorun
Niam Sholeh, from the Indonesia Ulema Council, said trusted experts have
explained the dangers posed by people not being vaccinated while halal vaccines
are lacking.
“Indonesian
Muslims must participate in the COVID-19 vaccination program implemented by the
government to achieve herd immunity and be free from the COVID-19 outbreak,”
Sholeh said.
He
emphasized, however, that once the pandemic is under control or is no longer an
emergency, the government should do better to guarantee the availability of
halal vaccines, given the majority of Indonesians are Muslims.
Sholeh,
the head of the council’s fatwa commission, said the AstraZeneca vaccine used
trypsin, an enzyme that breaks down proteins, from pigs during its production
process.
AstraZeneca
and other manufacturers have said pork products are not part of their COVID-19
vaccines. A concern about vaccines for other diseases has been pork-derived
gelatin, a widely used stabilizer that ensures vaccines remain safe and
effective during storage and transport.
Health
ministry official Siti Nadia Tarmizi said distribution of the AstraZeneca
vaccine would start by next Monday. “The earlier we distribute the vaccine, the
earlier we can get out of this pandemic,” she said.
The
food and drug monitoring agency, however, cautioned against the use of the
AstraZeneca vaccine for people with a low blood platelet count and blood
clotting disorders.
Indonesia
has received 1.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 8, through
COVAX — a multilateral effort seeking to ensure equitable global access to
COVID-19 vaccination — with another 10 million more expected next month.
The
AstraZeneca vaccine is the second to arrive in Indonesia after the one made by
Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac, which received the approval of the
Muslim council.
The
country remains the worst hit in Southeast Asia with more than 1.4 million
cases as of Friday and over 39,300 deaths.
Indonesia
aims to inoculate more than 181 million of its 270 million people by March 2022
as part of a free vaccination drive that began in January.
https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/indonesian-muslim-body-clears-astrazeneca-use-in-emergency/
--------
Indonesian
Hardline Islamic Cleric Charged With Violating COVID Restrictions
By
VOA News
March
19, 2021
Indonesian
prosecutors accused hardline Islamic cleric Rizieq Shihab of incitement and
widespread coronavirus restriction violations in his first virtual court
appearance on Friday.
Shihab’s
legal team says the charge is politically motivated, with the cleric saying in
court that he was being "forced and denigrated" and that it was his
right to appear in a regular courtroom. He previously refused to take part in
online court proceedings.
Prosecutors
in the case outlined how Shihab’s return from exile in Saudi Arabia in November
was celebrated with a massive rally and how his hosting his daughter’s wedding
breached large-scale social restrictions.
Both
events collectively drew more than 10,000 people, with 33 guests at the wedding
testing positive, as well as Shihab.
Shihab
left Indonesia in 2017 to complete a pilgrimage to Mecca shortly after being
charged in a pornography case and for insulting the official state ideology.
The charges were subsequently dropped.
https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/indonesian-hardline-islamic-cleric-charged-violating-covid-restrictions
--------
Arab World
Ankara
tells Egyptian Islamists to ‘tone down’ media attacks
20/03/2021
ANKARA--Turkey
is urging Egypt’s Istanbul-based opposition media to “tone down” criticism of
President Fattah al-Sisi as Ankara tries to mend ties with Cairo, the people
involved said Friday.
Egyptian
authrorities welcomed the “good initiative from the Turkish side.”
Ayman
Nour, an exiled Egyptian opposition figure and head of the Muslim
Brotherhood-linked al-Sharq television station, confirmed in televised comments
that Turkish officials demanded that the channels tone down their rhetoric. He
said they were not ordered to shut down or to stop airing programmes.
“A
dialogue has started between us and Turks in the framework of changing the
rhetoric (of these channels),”Nour said.
After
the 2013 ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, Nour fled to Turkey, where he has
been a strident critic of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. In April 2017, a
lawsuit to strip him of his Egyptian citizenship was filed but then dropped.
An
editor at al-Sharq told The Associated Press that Turkish officials made the
request during a meeting in Istanbul on Thursday with managers from al-Sharq
and two other channels, Mekamleen and Watan. The officials told the broadcast
managers they could continue to make programmes about Egypt but not against the
Egyptian government, citing Turkey’s negotiations with Egypt, according to the
editor.
The
Turkish megapolis is home to three mostly pro-Brotherhood television channels
staffed by Egyptian media activists: Al Sharq, a liberal outlet owned by
opposition figure Ayman Nour; Watan, the mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood
and Mekameleen, an independent channel close to the Islamist movement.
Nour
told AFP he had a meeting with Turkish officials on Thursday in which they
expressed Ankara’s “desire to see these media outlets tone down” their
criticism of Sisi’s rule.
Nour
denied reports Turkey had threatened to shut down the Egyptian opposition
channels or expel opponents of Sisi.
“The
possibility of closing down channels or expelling journalists or political
opponents was never raised,” Nour said, calling the meeting “civilised in tone
and involving no diktats”.
But
sources within the Istanbul-based Egyptian opposition said that in meetings
with some of the media outlets, the Turkish officials raised the idea of
“suppressing certain programmes and excluding certain presenters”.
This
suggestion “was rejected”, one of the sources told AFP on condition of
anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the talks.
But
“all options are on the table, including leaving Istanbul and moving to another
country if rules are imposed on us that we cannot accept,” the source said.
Yasin
Aktay, an adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also denied Ankara was
planning to expel or hand over Egyptian journalists and political opponents to
Cairo.
“Turkey
will not arrest anyone or hand anyone over,” Aktay said on social media.
The
TV channels however immediately stopped broadcasting some political programmes,
an editor said who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
There
was no immediate comment from the Muslim Brotherhood group.
Hamza
Zawba, a former spokesman of Morsi’s Freedom and Justice Party, arrived in
Turkey in 2014 and has till now presented a show on the Mekameleen television
channel.
“Turkey
accepted us to live here as exiles, nobody else did that,” he told Al Jazeera a
few months ago, adding that Turkey provided them with a vital space to
challenge Sisi’s narrative.
“[The
show] is a venue to express my views and to give some analysis, to face
the media claims about the coup and to
raise awareness over what’s going on,” he said.
All
that could be over now. The editorial limits of anti-Sisi channels have clearly
shrunk.
Egypt’s
state minister for information, Ossama Heikal, welcomed the Turkish move,
calling it in a statement a “good initiative from the Turkish side that
establishes a favorable atmosphere to discuss issues of dispute between the two
nations.”
Ankara
has been on a charm offensive aimed at re-establishing relations that were
broken off when Sisi spearheaded the military’s ouster of Turkish-backed
Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
Turkey
seems bent of showing the Egyptians it is serious about bilateral
reconciliation after a lukewarm reaction by Cairo to its overtures. But there
is still a long road ahead for Turkey to break the pattern of hostility to
countries in the region.
Earlier
this month, Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry acknowledged that
diplomatic contact had been established with Turkey but addressing parliament’s
foreign relations committee cautioned “words are not enough, they must be
matched by deeds,”.
Analysts
say Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been extending olive branches to
his rivals in the face of potential sanctions from the European Union and a
tough new diplomatic line from US President Joe Biden.
Relations
between Ankara and the Arab quartet of formerly-boycotting countries remain
mired in animosity and geopolitical differences including the role of Turkey
and its alliances in the region, diplomats and the informed sources said.
“Those
ideological and political divisions won’t disappear overnight,” said Kristin
Diwan, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
“Still,
there are signs that both sides are wearying of the proliferating battles and
more willing to cut losses, especially in the wake of the coronavirus
pandemic.”
https://thearabweekly.com/ankara-tells-egyptian-islamists-tone-down-media-attacks
--------
UAE
Fatwa Council: Covid Vaccine Use Allowed According To Islamic Laws
December
22, 2020
The
Council urges everyone to cooperate with governments to ensure the success of
vaccination campaigns.
The
UAE Fatwa Council, under the chairmanship of Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah, has
issued a 'fatwa' (Islamic ruling) allowing the coronavirus vaccines to be used
in compliance with Islamic Sharia’s objectives on the protection of the human
body and other relevant Islamic rulings.
This
comes in response to growing concerns among Muslims over the halal status of
the Covid vaccines and following a request for an advisory opinion addressed by
the Minister of Religious Affairs of Malaysia, to the UAE Fatwa Council on the
same subject.
The
Council urges everyone to cooperate with governments to ensure the success of
vaccination campaigns.
The
UAE Fatwa Council, under the chairmanship of Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah, has
issued a 'fatwa' (Islamic ruling) allowing the coronavirus vaccines to be used
in compliance with Islamic Sharia’s objectives on the protection of the human
body and other relevant Islamic rulings.
This
comes in response to growing concerns among Muslims over the halal status of
the Covid vaccines and following a request for an advisory opinion addressed by
the Minister of Religious Affairs of Malaysia, to the UAE Fatwa Council on the
same subject.
https://www.khaleejtimes.com/coronavirus-pandemic/uae-fatwa-council-covid-vaccine-use-allowed-according-to-islamic-laws
--------
Prophet's
Mosque to remain open for Taraweeh prayers amid COVID-19 precautionary measures
March
19, 2021
MADINAH
— Worshipers can offer Taraweeh prayers (special night prayers) during the holy
month of Ramadan amid preventive and precautionary measures, the Presidency for
the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques announced on Thursday.
“Taraweeh
prayer will be performed in the Prophet’s Mosque during the holy month of
Ramadan along with the obligatory prayers,” Sheikh Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sudais,”
president of the Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, pointed
out while announcing the presidency’s plans for the holy month.
He
further said that the plans include programs, targets, alternatives,
emergencies, and crisis management for the months of Shaaban and Ramadan as
well as for Eid Al-Fitr holidays.
He
added that the plans were meticulously drawn up while taking into account the
impact of the latest directives on the programs and targets and the intensity
of the movement of visitors and worshipers in the Prophet’s Mosque.
“The
season this year is exceptional amid the COVID-19 pandemic, characterized by
the presence of worshipers in the Prophet’s Mosque in certain numbers, in line
with the precautionary measures,” Al-Sudais stressed.
As
part of the plans, the Prophet’s Mosque will close for half an hour after the
Taraweeh prayer and will reopen two hours before the Fajr prayers except for
the last ten days of Ramadan when it will be open 24/7.
The
total capacity of worshippers in Ramadan will be 60,000 worshippers at one time
amid social distancing measures. The Prophet’s Mosque has a maximum operational
capacity of 45,000 while the new western piazzas can accommodate 15,000
worshipers.
Worshipers
are allowed to pray in the “Hassawaat Area”, expansions, roofs, and piazzas,
according to a grouping plan based on densities and implementation of the
precautionary measures.
Performing
prayers inside the Old Haram and the Rawdah area will continue to be restricted
to the workers and staff of the Prophet’s Mosque, and relatives of the
deceased, and those joining funeral processions, in case of funeral prayer.
Last
Ramadan, authorities had suspended the holding of Taraweeh prayers at the Two
Holy Mosques in a bid to curb the spread of the COVID-19 in the Kingdom.
https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/604588/SAUDI-ARABIA/Prophets-Mosque-to-remain-open-for-Taraweehprayers-amid-COVID-19-precautionary-measures
--------
Missiles,
drones targeting Saudi Arabia were all Iranian made or supplied: Al-Jubeir
Joseph
Haboush
19
March ,2021
Attacks
on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks had links to Iran as they were carried out
using Iranian-made or Iranian-supplied weapons, a senior Saudi official said
Friday.
“All
of the missiles and drones that came into Saudi are Iranian manufactured or
Iranian supplied,” Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said in
an interview.
“Several
of them, as we’ve said, came from the north; several came from the sea,” he
told Arab News, referring to the attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities.
The
Iran-backed Houthis continue to launch bomb-laden drones and ballistic missiles
at Saudi Arabia on an almost daily basis.
And
despite US condemnations of the attacks, the Biden administration pushed ahead
with revoking the terrorist designation of the Yemeni group days after
President Joe Biden took office.
Washington
and other aid groups claimed that the designation would make it difficult for
humanitarian aid to flow through the country. According to US and UN officials,
Yemen is home to one of the largest humanitarian catastrophes in the world.
Biden
also lifted the Specially Designated Globally Terrorist (SDGT) listing of
Yemen’s leader and two other senior officials.
But
Al-Jubeir said the terrorist designation did not and would not have stopped aid
to the country.
He
said Saudi Arabia made this “very clear” to European and American allies, as
well as the United Nations.
The
Saudi official went on to provide examples of countries that are home to
terrorist organizations, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Afghanistan’s Taliban,
ISIS in Syria and Al-Shabab in Somalia. This doesn’t stop aid from getting to
the countries, he said.
The
Houthis are the problem, Al-Jubeir insisted, saying they steal foreign aid and
sell it to “finance their war machine.”
Al-Jubeir
added: “They induct young boys — 9, 10, 11 years of age — and put them on the
battlefield, which is against international law and a severe violation of human
rights.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/03/19/Missiles-drones-targeting-Saudi-Arabia-were-all-Iranian-made-or-supplied-Al-Jubeir
--------
Lebanon
central bank will intervene in order to control the exchange rate: President
19
March ,2021
Lebanon’s
central bank will allow banks to conduct currency transactions similar to
exchange dealers and will step in to rein in the pound/dollar rate, the
presidency said on Friday.
Sharp
new falls in the Lebanese pound, which has lost 90 percent of its value, have
fueled unrest in recent weeks.
“As
of next week, banks will be allowed to deal with currencies like legitimate
exchange dealers...via the (central bank’s electronic) platform,” a spokesman
for President Michel Aoun said after his adviser met Central Bank Governor Riad
Salameh.
https://english.alarabiya.net/business/economy/2021/03/19/Lebanon-economy-Lebanon-central-bank-will-intervene-in-order-to-control-the-exchange-rate-President
--------
Arab
Coalition destroys explosive drone targeting Saudi Arabia’s Khamis Mushait
Joanne
Serrieh
20
March ,2021
The
Arab Coalition intercepted and destroyed an explosive-laden drone launched by
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia toward Saudi Arabia's Khamis Mushait, the
Coalition announced on Saturday.
Khamis
Mushait is a southwestern city home to the King Khalid Air Base.
The
Coalition said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA)
that the Houthi militia continues to target civilians. Yemen’s Houthis
regularly launche drones and missiles into Saudi Arabia, many of which Riyadh
says it intercepts.
Friday
morning, Houthi drones targeted an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia's capital
Riyadh, causing a fire which was brought under control, a Ministry of Energy
official said. No injuries were reported and the attack did not affect the oil
supply nor its derivatives.
On
March 7, the Arab Coalition said a barrage of drones and missiles had been
intercepted en route to targets including an oil storage yard at Ras Tanura,
the site of a refinery and the world's biggest offshore oil-loading facility. A
residential compound in Dhahran used by Saudi Aramco was also targeted.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/03/20/Arab-Coalition-destroys-explosive-drone-targeting-Saudi-Arabia-s-Khamis-Mushait
--------
Drones
target Riyadh oil refinery, fire brought under control: Saudi official
Joanne
Serrieh
19
March ,2021
Drones
targeted an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh Friday morning,
causing a fire which was brought under control, a Ministry of Energy official
said, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The
source also said there were no injuries reported, adding that the attack did
not affect the oil supply nor its derivatives.
“The
Kingdom asserts that such acts of terrorism and sabotage, repeatedly committed
against vital installations and civilian… do not target the Kingdom alone, but
more broadly the security and stability of energy supply to the world, as well
as the global economy,” the source said, according to SPA.
On
March 7, the Arab Coalition said a barrage of drones and missiles had been
intercepted en route to targets including an oil storage yard at Ras Tanura,
the site of a refinery and the world's biggest offshore oil-loading facility. A
residential compound in Dhahran used by Saudi Aramco was also targeted.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/03/19/Riyadh-oil-refinery-targeted-by-drones-fire-brought-under-control-Saudi-official
--------
HTS
terrorists planning false-flag chemical attack in Syria’s Idlib, Russia warns
20
March 2021
Russia
has warned that foreign-backed terrorists are preparing for a false-flag
chemical attack in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib to implicate
government troops and fabricate pretexts for foreign acts of aggression on the
war-ravaged Arab country.
Rear
Admiral Alexander Karpov, the deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s
Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, said on Friday that
the center had received information that the foreign-sponsored Takfiri
terrorists, affiliated with the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorist group,
were seeking to escalate tensions in the northeastern part of the province
through organizing an attack on the village of Kityan in order “to frame the
Syrian army for the use of chemical warfare against civilians.”
Karpov
noted that his center has frequently been informed about terrorists’
provocative actions in Syria and their attempts to carry out false-flag
chemical attacks.
Back
on March 9, the HTS militants were intending to stage a chemical attack on the
village of Kabana in Idlib.
The
Russian Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Parties in Syria announced on
February 20 that the HTS terrorists had been planning a provocation with the
use of toxic agents northeast of the de-escalation zone in Syria’s Idlib
Province.
The
center said at the time that the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists had already
delivered truck containers with toxic agents, presumably chlorine, to the town
of Turmanin.
“According
to our information, militants plan to simulate a chemical attack entailing
casualties among local residents in order to accuse the Syrian government
forces of the use of chemical weapons against civilians,” it stated back then.
Also
on April 4, 2017, a suspected sarin gas attack hit the town of Khan Shaykhun in
Syria’s Idlib Province, killing more than 80 people.
The
Western countries rushed to blame the incident on the Syrian governemnt, with
the US launching a missile attack against Shayrat Airbase in Syria’s Homs
Province on April 7, 2017.
Washington
claimed that the air field had been the origin of the chemical attack.
Damascus, however, said the Khan Shaykhun incident was a fabrication to justify
the subsequent US missile strike.
Russia
has repeatedly criticized the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW) for ignoring the information about toxic provocations in Syria,
saying the body is biased against the Damascus government.
Recently,
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said the OPCW is being used as a
political tool by the Western countries to put pressure on the states they deem
as "undesirable".
Moscow
and Damascus have on many occasions accused members of the so-called White
Helmets civil defense group of staging gas attacks in a bid to falsely
incriminate Syrian government forces and fabricate pretexts for military
strikes by the US-led military coalition.
The
group claims to be a humanitarian NGO but has long been accused of
collaborating with anti-Damascus militants.
On
April 14, 2018, the US, Britain and France carried out a string of airstrikes
against Syria over a suspected chemical weapons attack on the city of Douma,
located about 10 kilometers northeast of the capital Damascus.
Washington
and its allies blamed Damascus for the Douma attack, an allegation rejected by
the Syrian government.
Western
governments and their allies have never stopped pointing the finger at Damascus
whenever an apparent chemical attack takes place.
This
is while Syria surrendered its stockpile of chemical weapons in 2014 to a joint
mission led by the United States and the OPCW, which oversaw the destruction of
the weaponry. It has also consistently denied using chemical weapons.
Syrians
slam US occupation, call for withdrawal of Turkish forces from Hasakah
Meanwhile,
Syrians in northeastern province of Hasakah have attended a tribal forum to
protest the deployment of US and Turkish military forces in their areas, and
express their full support for the anti-terror operations of Syrian army
troops.
Participants
in the forum, organized by Taei tribe in the city of Qamishli, stressed the
need for popular resistance as the most viable strategy in the face of foreign
forces, who plunder natural resources and steal agricultural crops to
increasing the sufferings of people in the Jazira region.
Sheikh
Muhammad al-Faris, a senior tribal leader, told Syria’s official news agency
SANA that “The forum is being held after ten years of resilience against
terrorism.”
He
noted that the residents of Jazira region strongly support the territorial
integrity of their motherland as well as the unity of all Syrians, and stand by
government troops.
Sheikh
Faris emphasized that members of local clans will cast their ballots in the
forthcoming presidential election.
‘US
military forces smuggle wheat crops from Hasakah into Iraq’
A
convoy of dozens of US trucks has left Hasakah for the neighboring Iraq,
carrying tens of tons of grain, reports said.
SANA,
citing local sources, reported that 17 military vehicles loaded with wheat
crops from silos of Touwiba village headed towards Iraqi territories.
The
sources added that the trucks were escorted by US-sponsored militants
affiliated with the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/20/647680/HTS-militants-preparing-false-flag-chemical-attack-in-Syria-Idlib-Russia-warns
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Yemeni
army launches new drone strike on Aramco facility in Saudi capital
19
March 2021
Yemen’s
army says it has successfully carried out another drone strike against a
facility belonging to oil giant Aramco in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in
retaliation against the kingdom’s ongoing military aggression and siege against
its southern neighbor.
Yahya
Saree, spokesman for the Yemeni army, announced in a series of tweets on Friday
that six drones had been used in the retaliatory attack that hit the oil
facility “with high precision” at dawn, without specifying the type of the UAVs
and the exact location of the target.
In
retaliation for the stepped-up Saudi-led military campaign and blockade,
“Yemeni Armed Forces carried out today at dawn the sixth operation of Shaaban
with six drones targeting Aramco in capital of the Saudi enemy, Riyadh,” the
military official said.
“The
General Command of the Armed Forces confirms that its operations are continuing
and escalating as long as the aggression and siege continue,” Saree added.
1-
In retaliation to escalation of brutal aggression and its unjust blockade on
Yemen , Yemeni Armed Forces carried out today at dawn the sixth operation of
Shaaban with six drones targeting Aramco in capital of the Saudi enemy, Riyadh.
—
Yahya Sare'e (@Yahya_Saree) March 19, 2021
He
also delivered a warning to civilians as well as the foreign firms operating on
Saudi soil to stay away from “military and vital” targets, indicating Sana’a’s
determination to keep up its attacks the regime in Riyadh, which has been
leading a bloody coalition war against Yemen since early 2015.
Initially,
Saudi authorities kept silent about the raid, but following Yemen’s
announcement, the regime’s Oil Ministry admitted to the incident and said the
drone attack had triggered a fire at the facility.
The
ministry, however, claimed that the fire had been “brought under control.” It
added that the attack had caused no casualties and had not disrupted oil
supplies.
Key
Saudi air base comes under drone attack
Later
in the day, the Yemeni forces continued their defense campaign with a drone
strike against King Khalid air base near the southwestern Saudi city of Khamis
Mushait in the Asir region
Saree
said the base had been struck with two Qasef-2K drones “with high precision,”
renewing the warning to civilians and foreign firms to keep away from strategic
sites in Saudi Arabia.
The
news comes as Yemeni army troops, backed by popular and tribal forces, have
been making major gains in their decisive push to liberate the city of Ma’rib
from the grip of Saudi-funded militants loyal to ex-president Abd Rabbuh Mansur
Hadi.
Ma’rib
— the capital of an oil-rich province of the same name — is seen as the last
major stronghold of the Saudi-led mercenaries in the north. The city’s loss
would deal a stinging blow to the former Riyadh-backed government, which Riyadh
and a group of its allies have been trying to reinstall in Sana’a on the back
of their devastating US-sponsored military campaign.
Fearful
of such a loss, the Saudi-led coalition has intensified its air raids on Sana’a
and elsewhere in Yemen, which usually target residential areas and civilian
infrastructure. The alliance has also tightened the already-crippling siege of
Yemen, blocking the entry of food, medicine, fuel and basic humanitarian
supplies into the war-torn country.
In
response, the Yemeni army has also increased its cross-border missile and drone
attacks against military targets and vital infrastructure on Saudi soil.
In
the latest such attacks, the Yemenis launched a barrage of drones and missiles
at Ras Tanura, the site of a refinery and the world’s biggest offshore
oil-loading facility. An Aramco was also targeted.
The
first Yemeni attack on Aramco took place in mid-September 2019, when the army
deployed as many as 10 drones to bomb Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities run by
Aramco in the kingdom’s east.
The
attack knocked out more than half of crude output, or 5% of global supply in
Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest oil producers, sending global crude
prices high.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/19/647644/New-drone-strike-targets-Aramco-facility-in-Riyadh
--------
Mideast
Yemen’s
Ansarullah calls on Saudi-led aggressors to free all tankers in 48 hrs. if it's
serious about peace
20
March 2021
Yemen’s
Ansarullah movement has called on the invading military coalition led by Saudi
Arabia to release all Yemeni ships within the next two days as a first step to
end a persisting blockade against the Yemeni people.
In
a number of tweets on Friday night, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of Yemen's
Supreme Political Council, called on the invading coalition and its supporters
to end bloody aggression against the Yemeni people and lift a years-long
blockade against them.
“We
call on the United States, Britain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) and their allies for holding a comprehensive ceasefire throughout the
Republic of Yemen and removing the current blockade,” al-Houthi tweeted.
He
also stressed that the Saudi-led invading collation would have to “release all
the 14 detained ships within the next forty-eight hours” as the first step to
remove the current blockade against the Yemeni nation if they “are serious
about peace and stopping the human tragedy” in Yemen.
Since
March 2015, Saudi Arabia has been waging a bloody military aggression against
Yemen with help from its regional allies, and using arms supplied by its
Western backers.
The
aim of the war has been to bring former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back
to power and defeat the Ansarullah movement.
Tens
of thousands of Yemeni people have so far been killed in the ongoing war.
More
than half of Yemen’s hospitals and clinics have been destroyed or closed during
the war at a time when Yemenis are in desperate need of medical supplies to
fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
At
least 80 percent of the 28-million-strong population is also reliant on aid to
survive in what the United Nations (UN) has called the world’s worst
humanitarian crisis.
Separately,
Yemeni Petroleum Company (YPC)'s Executive Director Ammar al-Adhra'i, for his
part, said that the impounding of the tankers by the Saudi-led coalition came
as “they are licensed by the United Nations (UN) and international
organizations.”
He
also warned that the lives of 26 million Yemenis “are in danger as a result of
the theft of the tankers and their continued detention.”
Al-Adhra'i
also warned of the dire humanitarian consequences of the closure of most of
Yemen's service and vital sectors due to fuel shortage, calling on the world
community to pressure the invading coalition to end its brutal war against the
Yemeni nation.
Earlier,
Yemen’s health ministry had warned that the inhumane blockade imposed by the
Saudi-led coalition had practically crippled the ministry.
“If
the oil products needed by the hospitals run out, we will see 500 people die
every day in Yemen,” it had warned in a statement.
The
war has also destroyed, damaged, and shut down Yemen's infrastructure,
including a large number of hospitals and clinics.
The
Yemeni population has been subjected to large-scale hunger and diseases
aggravated by the naval blockade imposed on the country by the coalition of
aggressors.
The
US and a number of European countries are major suppliers of weapons to the
Saudi-led coalition.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/20/647679/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-oil-tankers-US-Houthis
--------
Iran
Blasts E3 for Coordination with No. 1 Enemy of JCPOA
2021-March-20
Zarif
made the remarks after France’s President Emmanuel Macron accused Tehran of
continuing what he called violations of the nuclear agreement and urged Iran to
act “in a responsible way”.
Macron
said Iran “must stop aggravating a serious nuclear situation with an
accumulation of violations of the Vienna accord,” referring to the remedial
measures that Iran has been taking progressively under Article 36 of the
agreement — formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) —
following Washington’s unilateral pullout in May 2018.
The
Israeli regime, which is estimated to have at least 90 nuclear warheads in its
arsenal, has refused, with the US’s invariable support, to join the Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT) that is aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.
Prior
to the JCPOA’s conclusion, Israel lobbied intensively to torpedo a deal on
Iran’s nuclear accord. As the main supporter of Washington’s pullout from the
accord, Israel has likewise been trying to throw a wrench in the JCPOA’s
revival through a range of plots such as influencing the International Atomic
Energy Agency’s cooperation with Iran.
Zarif
wrote on his twitter page on Friday that the European trio — France, Germany
and Britain — are making such a call to Tehran only to “appease a terrorist
regime with illicit nukes,” in a reference to Israel, the sole possessor of
nuclear weapons in the Middle East region.
The
top diplomat further reminded the trio — also known as E3 — that if the JCPOA
remained alive following the US’s exit and the European side’s failure to
compensate for Washington’s absence, “it was solely because of Iran’s
responsible conduct”.
To
appease a terrorist regime with illicit nukes, E3 urge Iran "to act
responsibly", he added.
“Reality
check: The JCPOA is alive SOLELY because of Iran's responsible conduct,” Zarif
wrote.
“Instead
of coordinating with enemy No.1 of the JCPOA, the EU/E3 and US must act
responsibly and comply with UNSCR 2231,” he added.
Iran
and the G5+1 group of countries - the US, Britain France, Russia and China plus
Germany - reached a landmark nuclear deal in 2015 after years of diplomacy and
intensive negotiations.
The
fate of the deal, officially dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA), remains unclear primarily due to the US sanctions and also the failure
of the European side to shield business with Iran in the face of Washington’s
bans and threats.
Iran
says the US needs to take the first step to lift the sanctions and return to
its commitments as it was Washington that quit the agreement in 2018 in total
disregard for the international law.
Iranian
officials say all the sanctions need to be removed before Tehran would halt the
remedial actions it has taken under a mechanism enshrined in Article 36 of the
JCPOA.
Under
this provision, if a signatory to the deal deems an unresolved issue to
constitute “significant non-performance” by its counterparts, it can treat it
as ground “to cease performing its commitments under the JCPOA in whole or in
part” until others are brought back to order.
Iran
in February halted the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol to
the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a remedial measure.
In
January, Iranian Envoy and Permanent Representative to the UN Majid Takht
Ravanchi 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,” Takht Ravanchi 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.
Takht
Ravanchi 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 in
January.
“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 Shahid Ahmadi Roshan 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 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,
US President Joe Biden said in a CNN article during his presidential campaign
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, Zarif 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 in February, Spokesman for the AEOI Behrouz Kamalvandi 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/13991230000052/Iran-Blass-E3-fr-Crdinain-wih-N-Enemy-f-JCPOA
--------
Ten
Iranian nationals charged with evading US sanctions, disguised $300 mln
20
March ,2021
US
prosecutors charged 10 Iranian nationals on Friday over an alleged long-running
scheme to dodge US sanctions on Tehran by disguising $300 million in
transactions, including the purchase of two oil tankers.
The
eight men and two women were outside the US and had not been arrested, a
spokesman for the US Attorneys Office in Los Angeles said. He declined to say
if foreign governments had been asked to take them into custody.
“In
a wide-ranging scheme spanning nearly two decades and several continents, the
defendants conspired to abuse the US financial system to conduct hundreds of
millions of dollars in transactions on behalf of the government of Iran,”
Acting US Attorney Tracy Wilkison said in a statement.
All
ten defendants were charged with conspiracy to violate legal sanctions against
Iran. The US government has also filed a civil forfeiture action seeking more
than $157 million.
Reuters
was not able to contact any of the accused and it was not clear if they had
retained attorneys.
Prosecutors
say the scheme dates back to 1999, when defendants Seyed Ziaeddin Taheri
Zangakani, Salim Henareh and Issa Shayegh opened a business called Persepolis
Financial Services in Los Angeles, which was used to illegally funnel US
dollars to Iran.
The
three men later moved to Canada and the United Arab Emirates where they used
Persepolis and a second front company, Rosco, to carry out further
transactions, aided by defendant Reza Karimi and others, according to the
criminal complaint.
In
2012 Zangakari and another defendant, Abbas Amin, wired $20 million to Malaysia
to buy piping equipment for an Iranian oil company, the document said.
Zangakari,
Amin, Salim Henareh and Khalil Henraheh are charged with using a Hong
Kong-based front company to quietly buy two $25 million oil tankers from a
Greek businessman that same year. The Greek businessman, who is not named in
the documents, was later sanctioned by the US government.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/03/20/Iran-sanctions-Ten-Iranian-nationals-charged-with-evading-US-sanctions-disguised-300-mln
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Palestinian
protester killed by Israeli Army in West Bank: Ministry
19
March ,2021
A
Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli soldiers during a demonstration in the
West Bank on Friday, the Palestinian health ministry said.
“A
citizen who was shot in the head with live ammunition died,” the ministry said,
adding the incident happened in the village of Beit Dajan, near Nablus. The
Israeli army did not immediately comment on the report.
The
man was shot in the head and taken to a hospital near the West Bank city of
Nablus where he later died, the Palestinian health ministry said.
Asked
for comment, the Israeli military said the incident was under examination.
The
Palestinian killed was involved in a weekly protest against Israeli settlements
in the village of Beit Dajan, near Nablus.
A
group of Palestinians threw stones towards two Israeli soldiers posted there,
and the soldiers then opened fire, said the Reuters witness, a photographer.
A
group of Palestinians carried the man away.
Palestinians
want to establish a state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip,
territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
The
Palestinians, who have limited self-rule in the West Bank, say Israel’s settlements
there will deny them a viable state. Most countries view the settlements as
illegal under international law.
Israel
disputes this, citing security needs as well as biblical and historical ties to
the land. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in 2014.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/03/19/Palestinian-Israeli-conflict-Palestinian-protester-killed-by-Israeli-Army-in-West-Bank-Ministry-
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Israeli
forces kill Palestinian man in occupied West Bank
19
March 2021
Israeli
forces have shot dead a Palestinian man during another round of anti-settlement
protests in the occupied West Bank.
According
to a statement by the Palestinian Health Ministry, the deadly incident occurred
on Friday when Israeli soldiers opened live fire on the Palestinians who were
holding a protest rally in the village of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus City.
"A
citizen who was shot in the head with live ammunition died," the ministry
said.
Abdelrahman
Hanani, the mayor of Beit Dajan, said the 42-year-old victim, identified as
Atef Yussef Hanaysheh, was killed when clashes erupted between Israeli soldiers
and Palestinians who were demonstrating against Israeli settlement construction
activities.
"The
soldiers fired when we approached a wildcat settlement near the village,"
he told AFP news agency.
Last
Friday, Israeli forces opened live fire on anti-settlement protesters in the
same village, leaving three people injured. Two others were hit with rubber
bullets fired by the Israeli troops, who also used tear gas against the
demonstrators, leaving tens of them suffering breathing difficulties.
A
settlement outpost has recently been established in the village.
Every
Friday, Palestinians organize anti-settlement protests in a number of villages
and towns in the occupied West Bank.
More
than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli
occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem
al-Quds.
Emboldened
by the anti-Palestine policies of former US president Donald Trump, Israel
stepped up its settlement expansion in defiance of United Nations Security
Council Resolution 2334, which pronounces settlements in the West Bank and East
Jerusalem al-Quds a flagrant violation under international law.
All
Israeli settlements are illegal under international law as they are built on
occupied land.
Palestinians
want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state with East
Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/19/647645/Palestine-Israeli-forces-shooting-victim-settlement-protests-clashes-Nablus-West-Bank-Beit-Dajan-village
--------
Yemeni
army forces, allies make major progress in Ma’rib, liberate strategic Hilan
mountain
19
March 2021
Yemeni
armed forces have made major gains against Saudi mercenaries in the strategic
central province of Ma’rib, establishing full control over Mount Hilan
overlooking the provincial capital.
Since
last month, the forces have been pushing to liberate Ma’rib, the last northern
stronghold of Saudi-backed militants and the capital of an oil-rich region.
The
forces "took control of Mount Hilan overlooking the city, after fighting
which left dozens of dead and wounded on both sides," AFP cited an unnamed
source close to Saudi-backed former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi on
Friday.
"Marib
is in danger," another source said, adding the loss of the mountain posed
"a threat to Marib's first line of defense".
The
spokesman of the Yemeni armed forces General Yayha Sare'e was about to make an
important announcement later Friday.
Other
sources said the Yemeni army troops had cut supply lines to Saudi-backed
mercenaries on some fronts, and were now within firing range of the al-Mashjab
line west of Mar’ib city.
They
are on the verge of retaking the strategic district of Sirwah, despite the
heavy deployment of military equipment and troops by the invading Saudi-led
coalition to Ma'rib.
The
Lebanon-based and Arabic-language al-Akhbar daily newspaper reported on Friday
that the Yemeni troops and their allies have also scored territorial gains in
al-Moshaja area and east of the Kassara front, which lies northwest of Ma’rib
city, and established control over a number of military sites.
The
report said the Yemeni armed forces managed to retake Malbouda area, situated
north of al-Atif area, from Saudi-led coalition troops and their mercenaries
despite heavy air cover by Saudi-led military aircraft.
Akhbar
noted that the Yemeni soldiers and Popular Committees fighters have tightened
the noose around Saudi-led forces and their allied militants, and seized 17
military sites from them.
According
to the report, the developments mean the Yemeni armed forces are now in control
of strategic heights overlooking Aydat al-Ra'a area.
Tribal
sources in Ma’rib, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Akhbar that there
has been a major collapse in the ranks of pro-Hadi forces, who are backed by
extremist Salafist and al-Qaeda-linked militants.
The
sources added that following the advances of the Yemeni forces in al-Atif area,
they are very close to retaking the areas of Tala'at al-Hamra and Tabat Maher
among other regions on the western flank of Ma’rib city.
Saudi-led
warplanes have accordingly stepped up their airstrikes, bombing various regions
in the province in regular intervals.
The
warplanes have carried out repeated air raids against the Sirwah district, and
pounded Medghal and Sirwah districts.
Local
sources said several residential buildings as well as private properties had
been damaged in the airstrikes.
Sirwah
district hosts around 30,000 people displaced in harsh conditions as a result
of earlier fighting, and the UN has repeatedly warned in recent weeks of a
humanitarian crisis for civilians because of the current battles.
According
to the UN, more than 8,000 people have been newly displaced in and around
Sirwah since early February, many of them fleeing existing displacement camps.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/19/647638/Yemeni-army-forces,-allies-make-major-progress-in-Marib-seize-strategic-Hilan-mountain
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Africa
Malians
express doubt over army's capacity to counter Jihadist fighters
18/03/2021
At
least 33 soldiers were killed in an attack in northern Mali this week after one
of two devastating attacks in the Sahel region since Monday.
Concerns
have been raised over the capability of the Malian army to deal with the
frequent attacks that have claimed hundreds of the security forces.
A
number of civilians and high-ranking officials have expressed their discontent
and concern after the deadliest attack.
Some
civilians expressed disappointment over the way the national army was handling
the issue of security with some even calling for a more robust way to deal with
incompetent soldiers.
"If
your enemies are among you, it will be difficult to deal with the enemy you are
facing. So you have to investigate that, and if there are doubts about someone
you have to replace that person," Nouhoum Togo, former advisor to the
Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs of Mali said.
Much
of the central Sahel has been locked in a vicious conflict between state
forces, jihadists and ethnic militias for years, in a battle that shows no sign
of abating.
Dozens
of assailants on motorbikes and pickup trucks on Monday stormed a military post
southwest of the town of Ansongo, near the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger,
the army said on social media.
The
attack came on the same day as a brutal massacre of 58 civilians just 100
kilometres (60 miles) away in Niger, where militants attacked four buses
carrying villagers returning from a market in the west of the Sahel state.
The
military said on social media at around midday on Wednesday that the death toll
had climbed to 33 soldiers, with 14 wounded in a force that has lost hundreds
of men in recent years.
A
Malian army commander, who requested anonymity, told AFP earlier that the
wounded had been transported to the nearby northern city of Gao.
Much
of the central Sahel has been locked in a vicious conflict between state
forces, jihadists and ethnic militias for years, in a battle which shows no
sign of abating.
Islamist
fighters in the Sahel first emerged in northern Mali in 2012, during a
rebellion by ethnic Touareg separatists that was later overtaken by the
jihadists.
France
intervened to crush the rebellion, but the jihadists scattered and regrouped,
taking their campaign into central Mali in 2015 and then into neighbouring
Niger and Burkina Faso.
Militants
frequently target Mali's army, which is largely underfunded and poorly
equipped.
Monday's
attack against the soldiers represents the largest single loss of life for
Mali's military this year.
https://www.africanews.com/2021/03/18/malians-express-doubt-over-army-s-capacity-to-counter-jihadist-fighters/?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2123331_
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Iran
condoles with Tanzania, condemns Niger massacre
20
March 2021
Iran
has offered condolences to Tanzania over the demise of President John Magufuli.
Khatibzadeh
expressed the Iranian nation and government's deep regret and sorrow to the
Tanzanian nation and government.
The
61-year old president has died due to heart disease, the government announced
on Wednesday, more than two weeks after he was last seen in public.
The
president’s absence had raised speculation about his health and sparked rumors
he had contracted COVID-19, although officials had denied he was ill.
Following
his death, the country’s Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in on
Friday.
The
East African country’s first female president, announced 21 days of mourning
for Magufuli, in a public address on Thursday.
Nigeria
attack
Iran
also condemned recent deadly attacks in Niger, that left dozens of people dead
close the country's border with Mali, earlier this week.
In
a statement on Thursday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh offered
Iran’s sympathy to the Nigerien nation and government.
Khatibzadeh
also offered condolences to the families of the victims.
On
Monday, unidentified gunmen attacked a bus and nearby villages in the Tillaberi
region located in the "tri-border area," – a flashpoint zone where
the frontiers of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali converge.
The
militants “intercepted four vehicles carrying passengers back from the weekly
market of Banibangou to the villages of Chinedogar and Darey-Daye," the
government said in a statement.
“The
toll from these barbarous acts (is) 58 dead, one injured, a number of grain
silos and two vehicles burned and two more vehicles seized," it added.
No
group claimed responsibility, but Niger has been the target of attacks by
militants in the west near Mali and a decade-old militancy by the Boko Haram
terrorist group in Nigeria.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/03/20/647689/Niger-attack-terror-Iran-condemn-Tanzania-
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Gunmen
kill 13, injures 7 in northwest Nigeria
Ibrahim
Garba Shuaibu
20.03.2021
Thirteen
people were killed on Friday and seven injured in attacks in local government
areas of Kano state in northwest Nigeria.
State
Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Aruwan said the
attacks were reported to the Kaduna State government by the military under the
auspices of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH).
Armed
bandits attacked a man and his brother as they returned from their farm in the
Gora Gan village of Zangon Kataf LGA. He was killed, while his brother escaped,
according to the report.
In
another attack, bandits attacked the Kizachi village in the Kauru local
government area, killing 10 and injuring four others.
Also,
56 homes and 16 motorcycles were razed, with several barns raided and burned.
The
commissioner said the injured are receiving treatment at a hospital.
Furthermore,
Masaka village in the Chikun local government was attacked. One person was
killed, and two others were injured.
Aruwan
said troops were mobilized to the area and eventually repelled the attack.
One
person was killed in Kurmin Kaduna in Chikun and one was injured.
Governor
Nasir El-Rufai noted the report with sadness, and prayed for the repose of the
souls of those who were killed, while sending condolences to their families.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/gunmen-kill-13-injures-7-in-northwest-nigeria/2182180
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US
urges Somali leaders to hold elections immediately
Mohammed
Dhaysane
19.03.2021
MOGADISHU,
Somalia
Expressing
concern over the lingering electoral impasse in Somalia, the US on Friday urged
the Somali leaders to immediately hold transparent and inclusive elections.
“We
call on Somalia’s federal and member state leaders to set aside narrow
political objectives, uphold their responsibilities to the people of Somalia,
and agree to immediately hold transparent and inclusive elections,” US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement issued by the US State
Department.
The
US said the current impasse in Somalia undermines progress made to date, delays
reforms urgently needed for Somalia to continue on the path to full debt
relief, and hinders the fight against terrorism.
“The
United States supports the right of Somali citizens to protest peacefully and
firmly opposes the use of violence by any party,” added the statement.
The
US urged Somalia’s leaders to safeguard the country’s future and reach an
agreement to immediately conduct parliamentary and presidential elections.
The
Horn of African country witnessed a political stalemate after presidential and
parliamentary elections were delayed and the president's constitutional mandate
expired on Feb. 8.
Somali
President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed has called on regional leaders to hold talks
to end the political deadlock.
On
Thursday, opposition leaders in Somalia also announced a new opposition
political alliance, National Salvation Council, led by Senate Speaker Abdi
Hashi, to find a political consensus imperative for holding elections in the
country.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/us-urges-somali-leaders-to-hold-elections-immediately/2182064
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Australia
Melbourne
terrorism accused allegedly bought knife for attack
18
Mar 2021
One
of two brothers arrested in terror raids in Melbourne’s north allegedly
purchased a knife this week in preparation for a terrorist attack, police say.
Aran
Sherani, 19, and his 20-year-old brother, Ari Sherani, faced Melbourne
magistrates court on Thursday after being arrested by counter-terror officers
on Wednesday.
Both
are facing charges of attempting to engage in a terrorist act over an incident
at Humevale, north of Melbourne, on 21 February.
Aran
Sherani is facing three additional charges including intentionally causing
injury to an unnamed person in Preston on 9 March.
Court
documents state Aran Sherani is also accused of knowingly being a member of the
terrorist organisation Islamic State and allege he purchased a knife at Epping
on Wednesday in preparation for a terrorist attack.
The
brothers were arrested in Wednesday’s raids alongside a 16-year-old boy from
Pascoe Vale who was subsequently released without charge.
The
older men each faced court via video link on Thursday and did not apply for
bail.
Aran
Sherani’s lawyer, Sarah Condon, said he had no prior convictions and this was
his first time in custody. She said for those reasons and the nature of the
charges he would be vulnerable behind bars.
Lawyer
Louis Dean said the same applied for his client Ari Sherani. Both men are due
back in court on 20 July.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/mar/18/melbourne-terrorism-accused-allegedly-bought-knife-for-attack?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2123331_
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