Plea Filed In Allahabad High Court Challenging the Constitutional Validity of the Ordinance against Religious Conversions in the name of ‘Love Jihad’
New
Age Islam News Bureau
12
December 2020
• Afghan Gov’t, Taliban Agree Islamic Law to Guide Peace Talks
• Iran Hails UN Rejection of Resuscitating “Islamic Emirate” in Afghanistan
•
Morocco-Israel Normalization Deal Draws Widespread Condemnation Online
•
Excluded, Abandoned: Children Born Under Islamic State Era Still Paying Heavy
Price
•
Sudan Nears Removal from US Terror List amid Congress Debate
India
•
Plea Filed In Allahabad High Court Challenging the Constitutional Validity of the
Ordinance against Religious Conversions in the name of ‘Love Jihad’
•
Muslim Bride and Hindu Groom? It’s Love, Not Jihad
• Terror, Afghanistan peace top agenda of PM’s talks with Uzbek president
•
Civilian shot at, injured by terrorists in J&K's Pulwama
•
India set to ask Pak for info on 7 Pulwama perpetrators
--------
South
Asia
•
Afghan Gov’t, Taliban Agree Islamic Law to Guide Peace Talks
•
Daesh-Taliban Threatened to Turn Kabul into Shia Slaughterhouse: The First Vice
President of Afghanistan
•
Protests In Bangladesh's Cities Against China, Pakistan For Persecution Of
Minorities
•
Freedom Fighters Won’t Tolerate Any Affront Towards Bangabandhu: Liberation War
Minister
•
Taliban Battered in Kandahar, 90 Killed
•
One killed as multiple rockets hit Kabul: Interior ministry
•
In War, No One Distributes Sweets: Report
--------
Europe
•
EU Disinformation Watchdog Accuses India of Propaganda by Publishing Content
against Pakistan and China
•
UN Assembly lauds progress in Afghan peace talks
•
Germany to allow deportations of Syrians if pose security risk
•
Turkey dismisses EU move for sanctions as ‘biased, unlawful’
•
EU member states, MEPs agree to take terror content down
•
Terror arrests fall to lowest level in almost a decade during coronavirus
pandemic
--------
Pakistan
• KP Assembly Passes Bill To Create Endowment Fund For Non-Muslim Terror Victims
•
Pakistan will have no future if it lives in religious superstition, says Prof
Noam Chomsky
•
138 journalists killed in Pakistan since 1990: IFJ
•
Fazl has contacts in MI6, says minister
•
PDM sees no chance of ‘third force’ intervention
--------
Mideast
•
Iran Hails UN Rejection of Resuscitating “Islamic Emirate” in Afghanistan
•
Zarif Warns against Erdogan’s Provocative Poems
•
Iran Alerts World against ISIL’s Revival
•
Iran executes dissident journalist Ruhollah Zam: Iranian media
•
Turkey slams EU’s ‘biased and illegal’ approach, sanctions threat
•
Police foil attack by Kurdish bomber in southeast Turkey
--------
Africa
•
Morocco-Israel Normalization Deal Draws Widespread Condemnation Online
•
US Kills 8 al-Shabab Fighters in 2 Airstrikes amid Troop Reduction in Somalia
•
Executed Nigerian Farmers Were Caught Between Boko Haram and the Army
•
Mozambique troops repel Islamists attacking village near gas site
•
Mozambique: Us Prepared to Support Counter-Terrorism, but No Troops
•
Russia condemns US recognition of Morocco's claim to Western Sahara
--------
Arab
World
•
Excluded, Abandoned: Children Born Under Islamic State Era Still Paying Heavy
Price
•
Lebanon recruitment agencies benefit from sponsorship system, lobby against reforms
•
Killer of Lebanon’s Hariri sentenced to life in prison, remains at large: UN
court
•
Lebanon's Hezbollah rejects charges against caretaker PM in Beirut explosion
•
UAE: Abu Dhabi Police investigating gang for raping girl, posting video of
crime
•
Hezbollah condemns Morocco-Israel agreement on normalization of relations
•
Car bomb kills at least four in Turkish-controlled north Syria
--------
North
America
•
Sudan Nears Removal from US Terror List amid Congress Debate
•
US and Israel won’t stop trying to shackle Iran
•
Pentagon planning to withdraw support for most CIA counter-terror missions
--------
Southeast
Asia
•
Ibrahim Ali Says Putra To Play Check And Balance Role On Govt Policies
•
Perak PAS apologises to Sultan Nazrin for no-show at palace
•
No question of disobedience in Perak, says PAS No 2
•
Hadi seeks audience with Perak Sultan to explain PAS’ situation
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/plea-filed-allahabad-high-court/d/123739
--------
Plea
Filed In Allahabad High Court Challenging the Constitutional Validity of the Ordinance
against Religious Conversions in the name of ‘Love Jihad’
Dec
12, 2020
A
lawyer from Uttar Pradesh challenged the constitutional validity of Uttar
Pradesh’s controversial ordinance against religious conversions by marriage,
coercion or enticement before the Allahabad high court on Friday, arguing that
the state had no role to play in the personal choice of individuals in matters
of marriage and religion.
The
petition, filed by advocate Saurabh Kumar, also sought an immediate stay on the
operation of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion
Ordinance, 2020, apart from directions to the state government to not take any
coercive action against individuals, including registration of FIRs.
The
ordinance, said the plea, gives a license to police authorities to terrorise
and harass inter-faith couples who want to exercise their right to marry
according to their choice, under the guise of “love jihad”, a term used by
right-wing activists to describe a relationship between a Muslim man and a
Hindu woman. In February, the central government told Parliament that there was
no definition of the term and no such cases were reported by agencies.
“The
ordinance, which has completely failed to strike a balance between freedoms and
mala fide conversions, has been passed and is being implemented in much haste
and reckless manner without ensuring that the same does not curb one’s
Fundamental Rights or hamper national integration instead,” added the petition.
The
petition came days after a division bench of the high court, in a case of an
interfaith marriage, held that the right to live with a person of his/her
choice irrespective of religion was intrinsic to the right to life and personal
liberty.
The
petition, citing this two-judge bench in addition to the Supreme Court’s
rulings in the Kerala ‘love-jihad’ case on the need to respect choices and
autonomy of adult women and the right to privacy case, contended that the
ordinance, which was promulgated on November 28, led to an unreasonable intrusion
into the domain of personal autonomy.
According
to the lawyer-petitioner, the state government assumed a ‘tone-deaf’ position
when it chose to ignore all these pertinent judgments by the constitutional
courts and went ahead with promulgating the ordinance.
No
date was fixed by the high court to take up this petition. Similar petitions
have also been filed in the Supreme Court, which is also yet to examine any of
these pleas.
The
Uttar Pradesh law outlawed religious conversions by marriage, coercion, deceit
or enticement, and prescribed up to 10 years imprisonment for those found
guilty. The law – under which at least 30 people have been booked and 10 people
arrested -- includes a provision to void a marriage if it is solemnised
primarily to convert a woman’s faith. The burden of proof is on the person who
converted, and those who performed the conversion.
The
ordinance was cleared by the state cabinet days after chief minister Yogi
Adityanath promised to end “love jihad” in the state.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/lucknow/plea-filed-against-up-s-love-jihad-law-in-hc/story-AtKdTegiZiVN1Tpe38ZlCL.html
--------
Afghan
Gov’t, Taliban Agree Islamic Law To Guide Peace Talks
By
Kathy Gannon
Dec.
10, 2020
Members of the Taliban's peace negotiation team
meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo amid talks between the Taliban and the
Afghan government, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Patrick
Semansky, Pool)
------
ISLAMABAD
— Afghan government negotiators and the Taliban have agreed to have Islamic law
and teachings guide them in peace talks now underway in Qatar, according to a
document obtained Thursday.
The
document details a 21-point list of rules and procedures for the negotiations
and sheds light on what the talks, which are taking place behind closed doors,
actually look like. The warring sides signed the document last week in Doha,
Qatar, where the U.S.-brokered talks began in September and where the Taliban
have for years maintained a political office.
Soon
after their ceremonious start — the only part that was public — the talks hit
an impasse until last week, when in a breakthrough, the two sides agreed on
rules and procedures for the negotiations. The Associated Press on Thursday
obtained a copy of that document.
The
breakthrough was significant as it meant the sides could soon start to
negotiate issues that could end decades of fighting in Afghanistan and
determine the country’s post-war future — such as a cease-fire, what to do with
armed Taliban fighters and militias loyal to warlords allied with the Kabul
government. Constitutional changes and the rights of women and minorities are
also expected to be on the agenda.
According
to Afghans familiar with the talks in Doha, a critical sticking point was
whether the deal the U.S. signed with the Taliban in February would be the
foundation for the Afghan-Taliban talks. The Afghans spoke on condition of
anonymity to discuss the peace process.
The
Taliban were adamant that it be a blueprint, but government negotiators were resistant
as Kabul representatives were not party to the U.S.-Taliban accord. That deal
set out the guidelines for the eventual withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from
Afghanistan, ending America’s longest military engagement.
American
troop levels in Afghanistan would be reduced to 2,500 by mid-January, according
to U.S. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after
President Donald Trump recently decided to accelerate the troops withdrawal.
According to Milley, the smaller U.S. force would operate from “a couple of
larger bases,” along with several smaller ones, in order to continue its
current missions of combatting extremist groups like al-Qaida and training and
advising Afghan defense forces.
The
U.S.-Taliban agreement from Feb. 29 also committed the Taliban to preventing
any attacks against American interests in Afghanistan.
Despite
resistance by Afghan government negotiators, the U.S.-Taliban deal made it into
the introduction part of the 21-point document on the rules and procedures for
the Doha talks, after stating that Islamic law would be the foundation for the
negotiations.
“Afghanistan’s
honor and dignity lies in its Islamic identity and national unity,” the
document says. “It’s only through the implementation of Islamic justice that
Afghanistan can protect its sovereignty and avoid direct and indirect
interference.”
The
negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban are likely to be
protracted and their outcome is far from certain, but Torek Farhadi, a former
Afghan government adviser and political analyst, says that “everyone with
reason is hoping for a power-sharing agreement.”
A
power-sharing deal, one in which the Taliban would be part of the political
mainstream in a post-war Afghan society, is the only solution that could
protect the civilians from continuing to bear the brunt of the conflict,
Farhadi said. “For Afghan civilians, between COVID, poverty, the winter and
relentless violence, the situation has become unbearable.”
“The
peace process is struggling even at this early moment, and any successful
negotiation leading to a settlement will be long and fraught,” said Michael
Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson
Center.
The
21-point list in Pashto and Dari — Afghanistan’s two official languages —warns
warring sides against leaking documents or speaking to the media during the
negotiations. It also calls for the negotiations to be conducted with “honesty,
sincerity and in good atmosphere.” It further urges “mutual respect and
decency” to avoid mistrust.
Every
meeting between the two sides in the talks will start and end with prayers, the
document says, and when the two sides disagree, separate teams will be formed
to find alternative solutions, including situations when religious
interpretations are disputed.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghan-govt-taliban-agree-islamic-law-to-guide-peace-talks/2020/12/10/211820d8-3b05-11eb-aad9-8959227280c4_story.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1808826_
--------
Iran Hails UN Rejection of Resuscitating “Islamic Emirate” in Afghanistan
2020-December-11
Takht
Ravanchi made the remarks in his Thursday address to the 40th Plenary Meeting
of the UN General Assembly, entitled “The Situation in Afghanistan”.
He
said that while Iran welcomes the rejection of revival of what is called
“Islamic Emirate” in the neighboring country, it does not accept the presence
of foreign occupying troops in the region.
The
senior diplomat praised the Afghan government’s positive approach to peace
talks with the Taliban, and at the same time urged the militant group to stop
attacks against Afghan security forces if it wants to prove good faith.
He
welcomed the progress made in the peace talks and expressed Iran’s preparedness
to play a more active role to help its success in coordination with the UN.
“All
foreign players must avoid interfering in the peace talks that must be
facilitated by the UN. In this regard, we welcome the General Assembly’s call
for further UN interaction in the peace process,” Takht Ravanchi added.
The
envoy noted that despite the beginning of peace talks, the security situation
in Afghanistan is still worrying, as the number of attacks against civilians
and civilian infrastructure including educational and diplomatic centers is on
the rise.
“We
strongly condemn all these attacks, most of which are carried out by terrorist
groups, especially ISIL whose elements are still being transferred from Syria
and Iraq to Afghanistan,” he further said.
Iran’s
UN ambassador said that sadly the opposition of certain Western countries made
it impossible to include an independent paragraph in a resolution about the
threats posed by ISIL terrorist outfit in Afghanistan, even though the group’s
presence is a serious danger for the security of Afghanistan and the region.
In
relevant remarks last month, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh
said that his country supports the ongoing peace talks in Afghanistan, calling
for the further expansion of bilateral relations.
Khatibzadeh
made the remarks in a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Gran Hewad in Kabul
on Wednesday November 25.
He
said that strengthening and expanding public and cultural relations between the
two governments and the brotherly nations of Afghanistan and Iran are in the
interest of both countries.
Khatibzadeh
stressed Iran's support for the ongoing peace talks while preserving the
Islamic Republic and the 19-year achievements in Afghanistan, and expressed
hope that the relations between the two countries in various fields, specially
in the cultural and media sectors, would expand as much as possible.
He
also invited Gran Hewad to visit the Islamic Republic of Iran at an appropriate
time in order to discuss further development of relations between the two
countries.
Hewad,
for his part, referred to the deep and historical relations between the
governments and peoples of the two countries, and expressed hope that
Khatibzadeh's visit to Kabul would further expand relations between the two
friendly and brotherly countries of Afghanistan and Iran.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13990921000357/Iran-Hails-UN-Rejecin-f-Ressciaing-%E2%80%9CIslamic-Emirae%E2%80%9D-in-Afghanisan
--------
Morocco-Israel
normalization deal draws widespread condemnation online
12
December 2020
Political
activists in Morocco and other Arab countries have launched an online campaign
against a US-brokered normalization deal between the Moroccan government and
the occupying regime of Israel.
Donald
Trump, the outgoing president of the United States, announced on Thursday that
Morocco had reached an agreement with Israel on the normalization of relations,
becoming the fourth Arab country – after the United Arab Emirates (UAE),
Bahrain, and Sudan – to reach such a deal with the Tel Aviv regime since
August.
Morocco’s
royal court confirmed the news and said that the US will open a consulate in
the Western Sahara territory in line with the agreement.
Trump
used Morocco's Western Sahara claim as a bargaining chip in talks with Morocco
to secure the deal, and agreed to recognize Rabat's sovereignty over the
territory.
Morocco
annexed the vast Western Sahara region, a former Spanish colony, in 1975 and
has since been in conflict with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a movement
that seeks to establish an independent state in the territory and end Morocco’s
presence there.
Morocco
is currently in control of 80 percent of the region, including its phosphate
deposits and fishing waters.
The
Polisario denounced Washington’s recognition of Rabat's claim, saying it was a
violation of international law and added that its struggle for autonomy
"will continue.”
“The
stance… is a blatant violation of the United Nations charter and the
resolutions of international legitimacy,” the group said.
Reacting
to the US-brokered deal, Moroccan and Arab activists took to Twitter on Friday
to reject the agreement and to reiterate their support for the Palestinian
people.
Using
the hashtag “Moroccans Against Normalization”, the activists censured the deal
as a loss for Sahrawis — the inhabitants of Western Sahara — and Palestinians
alike.
For
Sahrawis and Palestinians, it is another dark day and we have endured many. But
our liberation will come. We have no choice but continue our struggle for
freedom and rights.
—
Salem Barahmeh (@Barahmeh) December 10, 2020
Blackmail
is a crime !! Trump needs to stop blackmailing countries already suffering from
a fatal pandemic giving them ultimatum he is creating more hate & conflicts
just STOP it Damn it !! #مغاربة_ضد_التطبيع 🇲🇦 "Israel "is annexing
the West Bank Damn it !! #Boycottisrael #bds
— Layla Bensassi (@LaylaBe4)
December 10, 2020
If
you’re Moroccan and don’t mind this normalization because you "get Western
Sahara" then your interests were never for Palestinians or the greater
good. It was just another means to an end. And stop talking about a two state
solution, it’s from the river to the sea 🇵🇸
— ahmierda. #BLM (@ahmierda)
December 10, 2020
99%
of Moroccan people are against the normalization with a Zionist war criminal.
Sad
day for #Morocco and the Moroccans.#التطبيع_خيانة #التطبيع_المغربي_الاسرائيلي pic.twitter.com/4gvul9h3fV
— aboutpalestine
(@aboutpalestine1) December 11, 2020
I
am a free moroccan , and i am against normalisation with the zionist, the
morocan regime doesn't represent me.
#مغاربه_ضد_التطبيع
— nxoob@gmail.com (@nxobb)
December 10, 2020
A
Moroccan activist said in an Arabic-language tweet that, "Every free
Moroccan must share this hashtag so that the traffickers know the issues of our
nation and its sanctifies, that we do not and will not recognize the Zionist
entity that lives on the land and blood of our brothers."
انا مغربية
انا ضد
التطبيع
كل مغربي
حر فل يشارك في هاشتاج #مغاربة_ضد_التطبيع حتى يعلم المتاجرين بقضايا أمتنا ومقدساتها،
أننا لا ولن نعترف بالكيان الصهيوني الذي يعيش على أرض ودماء إخواننا .
—
نعيمة
الأندلسي❤ (@Na3ma1999) December 11, 2020
Another
activist also tweeted, "We will remain with Palestine, and Jerusalem will
remain our first and last issue no matter what happens. Damn every Arab country
that normalized with the Zionist enemy."
سنبقى
مع فلسطين ، وستبقى القدس قضيتنا الأولى والأخيرة مهما حدث ، وتبا لكل دولة عربية طبعت
مع العدو الصهيوني ✊#مغاربة_ضد_التطبيع #التطبيع_خيانة
— Aya_428 (@Aya4281) December
11, 2020
Palestinian
resistance movements also vented their outrage over the US-brokered deal, with
Hazem Qassem, spokesman for the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, saying,
“This is a sin and it doesn’t serve the Palestinian people. The Israeli
occupation uses every new normalization to increase its aggression against the
Palestinian people and increase its settlement expansion.”
Hanan
Ashrawi, an outgoing member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO), censured the deal as “sinister and ugly"
and underlined in a tweet that the agreement was meant to "extract
concessions and benefits for Israel" before Trump leaves office.
Between
bribery & blackmail, the Trump administration is in a mad scramble to
extract concessions and benefits for Israel before the new administration takes
over. https://t.co/wPyBrsc6fJ
— Hanan Ashrawi
(@DrHananAshrawi) December 10, 2020
Islamic
Jihad Movement of Palestine also condemned the normalization of relations
between Morocco and Israel, describing it as a betrayal of Jerusalem al-Quds.
The
normalization deals between some Arab states and the Tel Aviv regime have
already been condemned by all Palestinian factions as a betrayal of their
cause.
Leader's
top advisor slams Morocco-Israel normalization
Ali
Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah
Seyyed Ali Khamenei and also the secretary general of the World Assembly of
Islamic Awakening, denounced as betrayal of the Muslim world the normalization
of ties between the Moroccan government and the Zionist regime.
“In fact, it is a deal that was
made between a triangle formed by the US, Morocco and the Zionist regime,”
Velayati said.
“The deal came against a
backdrop of Morocco's betrayal of Islam and the Palestinian cause, stabbing the
Palestinians in the heart, selling Muslim dignity to international Zionism, and
recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over the Arabian Desert by the United States,”
he added.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/12/640549/Morocco-normalization-deal-Israel
--------
Excluded,
abandoned: Children born under Islamic State era still paying heavy price
By
Charlotte Bruneau
DECEMBER
10, 2020
AL
KHAZER, Iraq (Reuters) - Excluded, vilified and sometimes simply abandoned:
such is the price paid by thousands of children in Iraq born to suspected
Islamic State militants.
At
the Hassan Sham camp for displaced people in northern Iraq, five-year-old
Aisha, whose father disappeared after joining Islamic State, is pestering her
mother because she wants to go to school.
“She’s
always crying, saying she wants to go to school. But I tell her she can’t: she
doesn’t have the nationality,” says her mother, declining to give her name.
Like
thousands of other children born to parents who lived in areas governed by
Islamic State between 2014 and 2017, Aisha has no official birth certificate,
and no easy way to obtain one.
Without
papers, basic services including education and health care are difficult to
access. In 2018, the Ministry of Education issued a directive allowing
undocumented children to register in schools, but humanitarian NGOs say this is
not consistently applied on the ground.
“There
are a lot of complexities about registering children born during the years ISIS
ruled. Many have not been registered yet,” Karl Shembri, the regional media
advisor of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), told Reuters.
“They
don’t have civil documents, which excludes them from their basic rights as
Iraqi citizens,” he said.
In
2019, the NRC estimated that around 45,000 undocumented children were living in
Iraqi camps.
To
register Aisha with the authorities, her mother said she must first be given
security clearance to rule out any ties with Islamic State.
A
maze of bureaucracy awaits her, involving local authorities, courts and
security agencies, as well as administration fees she says she cannot afford.
In
another tent, a mother of eight says she worries most about her grandchild,
Dima, who was born at the camp but whose parents were married by Islamic State
mullahs in their community in Salahuddin province.
Not
only is Dima without an official birth certificate, but her parents did not get
a valid marriage licence - required by Iraqi law for the registration of every
child.
“There
were no certificates issues by the courts, by the government. And the ISIS
certificates don’t work for the government. We tore it into pieces and threw it
away,” the grandmother said.
SOCIAL
STIGMA
The
Iraqi authorities are aware of the children’s plight. The Ministry of Interior
told Reuters that the government has established an inter-ministerial committee
tasked with addressing the issue.
Spokesman
for the Ministry of Migration Ali Abbas said they counted around 400 families
in camps in northern Iraq with children lacking civil documents.
“Children
born under ISIS have a problem,” Abbas said. “When there is no marriage
certificate, how do we know that a woman is truly the mother of the child?”
Faced
with this legal impasse, some mothers are forced into difficult, sometimes
unbearable, choices.
“A
common practice to resolve that is for the woman to marry someone else as an
adoptee, or marry someone in the family, like the husband’s brother,” said
senior Iraq analyst at Crisis Group, Lahib Higel.
But
fear and hatred of Islamic State persists and children whose fathers had links
to the groups are treated as outcasts, preventing their reintegration.
In
a tent nearby, the 24 year-old mother of two undocumented children is packing
up. She received a marriage proposal, an unexpected opportunity for her to
leave the camp and start a new life as the second wife of a man back in her
hometown in Salahuddin province.
However,
her husband-to-be asked her to come without her children, three and five, and
she agreed to leave them behind with their grandmother at the camp.
“She
left the children and went to remarry. Her new husband doesn’t want them, he
says they are ISIS children,” the grandmother said.
This
is not an isolated case, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, Belkis Wille,
told Reuters.
“Many
times women will say that their new husband will refuse to take in the new
children because they are perceived as ‘contaminated with ISIS blood’, so these
children get left behind with dwindling services, no education and away from
their mothers,” Wille said.
Holding
back the tears as she hugged her children goodbye, the young mother climbed
into the taxi that would take her to her new husband. Neighbours soon gathered,
promising to help out. The crying children calmed down when they were given
sweets, unaware that their mother would not be back.
https://www.reuters.com/article/iraq-security-undocumented-children/excluded-abandoned-children-born-under-islamic-state-era-still-paying-heavy-price-idUSKBN28K287?il=0&utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1808826_
--------
Sudan
nears removal from US terror list amid Congress debate
11
December 2020
Sudan
is expected shortly to be formally removed from the US blacklist of state
sponsors of terrorism but it is still awaiting action by Congress to provide
immunity over past attacks.
President
Donald Trump announced in October that he was delisting Sudan, a step
desperately sought by the nation’s new civilian-backed government as the
designation severely impeded foreign investment.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
As
part of a deal, Sudan agreed to $335 million to compensate survivors and
victims’ families from the twin 1998 attacks on US embassies in Kenya and
Tanzania, carried out when dictator Omar al-Bashir was welcoming Al-Qaeda, and
a 2000 attack on the USS Cole off Yemen’s coast.
Sudan’s
transitional government, which took over last year following Bashir’s overthrow,
also agreed to recognize Israel, a major goal for Trump, although Khartoum has
sought to downplay the connection.
Trump
sent his notice to Congress on October 26 and, under US law, a country exits
the terror list after 45 days unless Congress objects, which it has not.
A
State Department spokesperson did not confirm the date for Sudan’s formal
removal but said it would formally take effect when Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo signs a notice to be published in the Federal Register.
US
lawmakers broadly support the decision but have not reached an agreement on an
accompanying goal of Sudan – legally shielding it from any further terrorism
claims in US courts.
Families
of victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks have called on lawmakers to reject
the State Department’s proposal, saying they want to pursue legal action
against Sudan.
“The
September 11 families aren’t asking for any special favors, just to be left
alone to pursue their longstanding lawsuit against Sudan and other regional
parties for supporting Al-Qaeda so that it could become the international
terrorist organization that has murdered so many innocents,” said Jack Quinn, a
lawyer for the families.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/12/11/Sudan-nears-removal-from-US-terror-list-amid-Congress-debate
--------
India
Muslim Bride and Hindu Groom? It’s Love, Not Jihad
12.12.20
When
a Muslim woman eloped with a Hindu man in Bareilly last week, the police saw no
love jihad or yuddh, deciding that as consenting adults they had the right to
live together.
But
in several recent instances where the men were Muslim and the women Hindu, the
Uttar Pradesh police arrested the men or their relatives under a new state
ordinance that criminalises religious conversion for marriage and became law on
November 27.
While
the ordinance is not religion-specific in its phrasing, BJP leaders have made
it clear that it’s aimed at checking “love jihad” – an alleged conspiracy by
Muslim men to marry, convert and radicalise Hindu women. Chief minister Yogi
Adityanath had been among the first to allege such a conspiracy.
The
father of a Muslim woman had registered a case at Prem Nagar police station,
Bareilly, on December 5 alleging a young Hindu, Aman Kumar, had lured and
kidnapped his daughter.
“I
registered the case under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion
of Religion Ordinance, 2020. But the police were sceptical from the beginning,”
the father told reporters in Bareilly on Thursday.
“The
police rescued my daughter, who was under the influence of the man with whom
she had eloped, on December 6 and produced her in court, where she said she had
gone with the man willingly.”
The
father said Aman was trying to convert his daughter to Hinduism. “But the
police let her go with him. They didn’t let us meet her — we wanted to convince
her that her future was not safe with the man.”
Bareilly
city superintendent of police Ravindra Kumar dismissed the father’s
contentions.
“It’s
a case of love between adults. There’s no angle of religious conversion in the
case; so they were allowed to go wherever they wanted,” he said.
When
a similar case was registered against a Muslim man on December 7 in the Kanth
area of Moradabad, however, the police arrested the accused and his brother.
They sent his “Hindu” wife to a remand home despite her being an adult and five
months pregnant.
The
22-year-old woman said she had undergone a court marriage with Mohammad Rashid
six months ago in Uttarakhand and converted to Islam at the time, and that the
ordinance was incorrectly being applied retrospectively under prodding from the
Bajrang Dal.
She
said Bajrang Dal members had accosted the couple on Sunday and alleged that
Rashid was pressuring her to convert to Islam.
“We
arrested Rashid and his elder brother Mohammad Saleem under the provisions of
the new ordinance and sent the woman to a remand home when she refused to go to
her parents,” Kanth circle officer Balram Katheria said.
But
before being sent to the remand home, the woman told reporters in Moradabad the
case was based on falsehoods.
“I’m
from (adjoining) Bijnore district. While working at a beauty parlour in
Dehradun, Uttarakhand, I met a barber and we had a court marriage there. I
changed my religion soon after the marriage,” she said.
“But
the Bajrang Dal somehow contacted my mother in Bijnore and persuaded her to
submit a false police complaint (in Moradabad) saying I was being forced to
convert after the new ordinance was issued.”
On
December 5, the police had arrested seven family members of a Muslim youth from
the Tambor area of Sitapur district for allegedly helping him “lure and kidnap”
a Hindu girl on November 23.
“A
relative of the girl lodged a police complaint on November 27 under the new
ordinance. Mohammad Jubrail, the main accused, is absconding. We are trying to
find the girl too,” Sitapur additional superintendent of police Rajiv Dixit
said.
Police
sources and the families confirmed that the woman was an adult.
The
Adityanath cabinet issued the ordinance on November 24, and governor Anandiben
Patel cleared it on November 27.
It
criminalises religious conversion for the sake of marriage, and invalidates
such marriages. It says inter-faith lovers must apply to their district
magistrate two months in advance for permission to marry (without conversion).
It prescribes 1 to 10 years’ jail or a fine ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs
25,000, or both for violations.
Days
before the Bareilly police let off Aman Kumar, they had arrested Owais Ahmad on
December 3 on a complaint from a Hindu man from the Devraniya area of the district
accusing the youth of pressuring his daughter to elope and convert.
“A
case was registered under the new ordinance on November 28 and the accused was
arrested after five days,” deputy inspector-general (Bareilly zone) Rajesh
Kumar Pandey said.
He
said Owais had been harassing the woman for the past three years and that she
had confirmed this. He added that Owais had been booked under sexual offence
sections, too.
According
to the woman’s father, she had married another man in June but Owais was threatening
him to bring her back and hand her over to him.
Owais’s
father Mohammad Rafiq told reporters the woman had levelled the harassment
charge under pressure from her family.
“She
is an adult and lived with Owais willingly for a few days. Later, she returned
home and was married off elsewhere,” he said.
“The
girl’s father met me recently and said he bore us no ill will. I don’t know why
he and his daughter registered the case against Owais after that.”
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/muslim-bride-and-hindu-groom-its-love-not-jihad/cid/1800265
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ITerror, Afghanistan peace top agenda of PM’s talks with Uzbek president
Dec
12, 2020
NEW
DELHI: Connectivity, terrorism and the Afghanistan situation dominated
India-Uzbekistan virtual summit on Friday with PM Narendra Modi saying it is
essential that the gains of the last two decades in Afghanistan are preserved.
Speaking
after his meeting with the central Asian country’s President, Shavkat
Mirziyoyev, Modi said the two countries had similar concerns about extremism,
fundamentalism and separatism.
“We
both stand firmly together against terrorism. We also have an identical
approach on regional security issues,” said Modi, adding both leaders also
agreed that the Afghan peace process must be Afghanled, Afghan-owned and
Afghan-controlled.
The
Indian side also welcomed an Uzbek proposal to hold a trilateral dialogue among
India, Iran and Uzbekistan to promote connectivity through the Chabahar port.
India
and Uzbekistan also signed nine agreements to expand cooperation in several
areas. The Indian side confirmed the approval of $448 million of Line of Credit
for developmental works in Uzbekistan.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/terror-afghanistan-peace-top-agenda-of-pms-talks-with-uzbek-president/articleshow/79689160.cms
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Civilian
shot at, injured by terrorists in J&K's Pulwama
Dec
11, 2020
SRINAGAR:
Terrorists shot at and injured a civilian in Pulwama district of Jammu and
Kashmir on Friday, police said.
Mushtaq
Ahmad was attacked near his house at Wasura in the evening, a police official
said.
He
was taken to a hospital for treatment.
It
was not immediately known why the Ahmad was targeted, police said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/civilian-shot-at-injured-by-terrorists-in-jks-pulwama/articleshow/79683082.cms
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India
set to ask Pak for info on 7 Pulwama perpetrators
Neeraj
Chauhan
Dec
12, 2020
India
has decided to formally ask Pakistan to share details of the terrorists behind
last year’s Pulwama attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy,
people familiar with the development said. The suicide bombing attack killed 40
Indian troopers and brought the two countries to the brink of a war.
A
formal judicial request or Letter Rogatory (LR), prepared by National
Investigation Agency (NIA) seeking information about seven perpetrators, four
based in Pakistan — Maulana Masood Azhar, his brothers Abdul Rauf Asghar and
Ibrahim Athar, and his cousin Ammar Alvi — and three Pakistanis who came to
India to execute the attack, Athar’s son Umar Farooq, Kamran (both killed in
encounters with security forces after the Pulwama attack) and Ismail alias
Saifullah, is currently being fine-tuned in the ministry of home affairs (MHA),
the people added on condition of anonymity. Ismail is believed to be hiding in
Kashmir.
Once
MHA finalises the document, which the people said will be done by the end of
the month, permission will be sought from the court to send the judicial
request to Pakistan. “It’s first such judicial request being sent to Pakistan
in the Pulwama attack seeking its cooperation,” said one of the people,a senior
government official.
Apart
from whereabouts of Azhar, Asghar, Athar and Alvi, India is seeking details of
communications between them and the others, including WhatsApp chats, voice
notes and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls made from and to Pakistan,
and information on persons seen in photographs and videos recovered from the
phone of Umar Farooq , showing different stages of preparation of the Pulwama
attack, the official added.
Farooq
was sent to India in April 2018 to supervise the February 14, 2019 Pulwama
attack, which triggered the Indian Air Force (IAF) action against a Jaish
terror camp deep inside Pakistan 12 days later, and resulted in a dogfight
between fighter jets of the two nations on February 27.
In
its official request, the Indian government is also seeking information on the
GPS locations extracted from Farooq’s phone as well as details of payments
worth Rs10 lakh made into his accounts in Meezan Bank and Allied Bank in
Pakistan, recovered by NIA during investigation, said a second officer.
The
NIA filed on August 25 a detailed 13,500 page charge sheet naming all seven
Pakistanis including JeM chief, Masood Azhar, and 12 others for the Pulwama
attack.
“A
strong judicial request, equipped with irrefutable technical, material and
circumstantial evidence, is being sent to Pakistan. We hope that instead of
sheltering them, Pakistan provides evidence and takes action against the Jaish
chief and his family members,” said a second person, a MHA official.
India
has earlier sent judicial requests to Pakistan in 2016 Pathankot IAF base
attack and 26/11 Mumbai attacks but to no avail.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-set-to-ask-pak-for-info-on-7-pulwama-perpetrators/story-DfOzHxc6BDQngKPX2KtXDN.html
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South
Asia
Daesh-Taliban
Threatened to Turn Kabul into Shia Slaughterhouse: The First Vice President of
Afghanistan
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
12
Dec 2020
Amrullah
Saleh, the first vice president, says the Taliban-Islamic State has warned that
if one of their members is executed, they will turn Kabul into Shia massacre
ground.
Saleh
on Saturday morning said, the Taliban-Islamic State has issued a warning
message that if a member of the group is executed by the government, they will
turn Kabul into a Shia slaughterhouse in addition to beheading all the captured
hostages.
He
added, that he has instructed the Kabul National Directorate of Security (NDS)
to send a message to all networks of the captured Taliban-Islamic State in the
government prisons to inform their networks that the government knows their
roots.
No
threat will stop our efforts to reveal insurgents’ true faces to the Afghan
people, and I once again call on the Supreme Court to bring these perpetrators
to be publicly trialed, Saleh said.
During
the meeting he said, NDS has arrested another terrorist network involved in
bombings, assassinations of security forces, and the gathering of tithes for
the Taliban.
Hazrat
Mir, son of Dadmir, is one of 5,000 pardoned prisoners of the Taliban, who
returned on a killing spree of an NDS official, Amir Mohammad, in Mirbachah Kot
district.
According
to Saleh, the death of Fardin Amini, an Ariana News reporter, is not a
terrorist act, but his family has the right to request an in-depth
investigation.
If
Fardin Amini’s family has secrets about the mystery of the incident, police
will be forced to summon all members of his family, including women to be
investigated, First VP said.
It
is neither fair nor legal to decipher any murder and then charge the
government, so from now on, the police will tell the truth based on the legal
literature, Saleh added.
Saleh
Indicated, that Malala Maiwand has been assassinated by members of the Taliban
and that the silencing of society, especially women, is part of the Taliban’s
strategic plans, these members are dictated by the group’s intellectual and
supportive leaders from the “Akoh Rakhatak” region.
Meanwhile,
a Senior Advisor for the President of Afghanistan, Shah Hussain Murtazawi,
called for calm and responsible reporting, after the first vice president
warned that Taliban-Islamic State threatened to turn Kabul into a Shia
slaughterhouse.
The
presidential advisor tweeted, that “Taliban and Daesh are enemies of humanity
and Afghanistan, we should not provoke fear among Shias in our reporting, our
method of informing should be professional, and we should not help our enemies
in their mental war”.
https://www.khaama.com/saleh-daesh-taliban-threatened-to-turn-kabul-into-shia-slaughterhouse-8768699/
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Protests
In Bangladesh's Cities Against China, Pakistan For Persecution Of Minorities
10
December, 2020
Dhaka
[Bangladesh], December 10 (ANI): On the occasion of Human Rights' Day, hundreds
of people hit the streets of Dhaka and Sylhet to protest against China and
Pakistan for persecuting their minorities.
Demonstrators
raised slogans against Chinese treatment of Uyghur Muslims and Pakistan
government atrocities against Baloch people.
They
held placards and waved Bangladesh flags. Some of the placards read: 'Pakistan
stop Baloch Genocide', 'China, Stop Harvesting organs of Uyghurs'.
The
protests were held on Human Rights Day. It is observed on December 10-- the day
the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (UDHR).
Balochistan
is a resource-rich but least developed province of Pakistan where a movement
for freedom is ongoing for the past several decades.
Many
Baloch believe that the region was independent before 1947 and was forcibly
occupied by Pakistan. Pakistan Army has launched several operations in
Balochistan and has supported criminals, whom locals call "death
squads".
A
large number of political activists, intellectuals, women and children in
Pakistan's Balochistan province are victims of enforced disappearances by the
security agencies.
Many
of them are languishing in detention centres whereas mutilated bodies of some
of these abducted Baloch are found in isolated places.
Meanwhile,
China has been condemned by countries and human rights experts over its
policies in Xinjiang where a large population of Uyghur minorities is detained
in re-education camps.
A
sizeable Muslim population in Xinjiang has been incarcerating in an expanding
network of "political re-education" camps, according to US officials
and UN experts. However, China regularly denies such mistreatment and says the
camps provide vocational training.
People
in the internment camps have said they are subjected to forced political
indoctrination, torture, beatings and denial of food and medicine, besides
being prohibited from practising their religion or speaking their language.
(ANI)
http://www.businessworld.in/article/Protests-in-Bangladesh-s-cities-against-China-Pakistan-for-persecution-of-minorities/10-12-2020-352298/
--------
Freedom
Fighters Won’t Tolerate Any Affront Towards Bangabandhu: Liberation War
Minister
December
09, 2020
The
country's freedom fighters will not tolerate any affront towards Father of the
Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Liberation War Minister AKM Mozammel
Haque said today.
On
Bangabandhu's call, freedom fighters had submitted their weapons but did not
give up their training.
The
minister said this while speaking as chief guest at a discussion organised on
the occasion of "Kapilmuni Mukto Dibos" at Kapilmuni Sahachari Vidya
Mandir ground in Paikgachha upazila of Khulna.
The
minister said there are sculptures in all major Muslim countries of the world
and there are sculptures in Bangladesh for quite a long ago too.
"No
one ever talked about anything about those sculptures. But suddenly anti-liberation
war elements are showing audacity against the sculpture of Bangabandhu,"
he said.
"The
heroic freedom fighters will not tolerate such audacity in any way. At the call
of Bangabandhu, the heroic freedom fighters submitted weapons but did not
submit training," he vowed.
The
minister said opposition to Bangabandhu's sculpture is part of a series of
conspiracies by the anti-liberation war elements.
https://www.thedailystar.net/country/news/freedom-fighters-wont-tolerate-any-affront-towards-bangabandhu-liberation-war-minister-2008589
--------
Taliban
Battered in Kandahar, 90 Killed
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
12
Dec 2020
The
Ministry of Defense (MoD) on Saturday, at least 90 Taliban were killed in
Kandahar province.
According
to the statement, Afghan defense forces repelled Taliban attacks in Panjwai,
Zherai, Arghandab, and Maiwand districts of Kandahar province on Friday.
It
is said that 90 Taliban were killed and nine others were wounded during the
clashes. Also, 15 minefields were discovered and defused by the ANA engineering
team.
A
number of enemy weapons and ammunition, as well as a tunnel used in terrorist
attacks, was also destroyed, MoD stated.
In
a sperate incident, Mohammad Naeem Wardak, a spokesman for the Taliban’s
political office in Qatar, said in a statement on his Twitter page that US
troops had conducted airstrikes on Zherai district in Kandahar last night in
defiance of a political agreement, killing 10 civilians and destroying many
residential homes.
On
the other hand, US forces in Afghanistan confirmed airstrike in Kandahar
province but rejected the group’s claims over civilian casualties.
“A
conducted a strike against armed Taliban fighters attacking an ANDSF checkpoint
in Zhari district Kandahar on Dec 10. This strike in defense of the ANDSF is
IAW with the US-Taliban agreement. The Taliban’s claim of civilian casualties
are false,” Spokesman Col Sonny Leggett tweeted.
In
a separate statement, MoD said, Taliban attacked the outposts of the security
forces in the Shamulzayi district of Zabul province on Friday.
It
is stated that the security forces defeated the enemy and repulsed their
attack.
MoD
indicated, 4 Taliban were killed and 5 others were wounded in the attack, and
some enemy ammunition and weapons were destroyed.
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-battered-in-kandahar-90-killed-8686899/
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One
killed as multiple rockets hit Kabul: Interior ministry
Dec
12, 2020
KABUL:
A series of rockets struck the Afghan capital on Saturday, killing one person
and wounding another, the interior ministry said, the second such attack to
rock Kabul in less than a month.
"Four
rockets were fired from Labe Jar neighbourhood of Kabul," ministry spokesman
Tariq Arian told reporters, adding that two landed near Kabul airport.
He
said one person was killed and another wounded.
Kabul
police confirmed the early morning attack, saying most of the rockets struck
the eastern part of the capital.
On
November 21, eight people were killed when 23 rockets slammed Kabul in an
attack claimed by the Islamic State group.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/one-killed-as-multiple-rockets-hit-kabul-interior-ministry/articleshow/79690283.cms
--------
In
War, No One Distributes Sweets: Report
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
12
Dec 2020
A
young boy walks past a mural in Kabul depicting US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad
and senior Taliban negotiator Abdul Ghani Baradar. AP Photo
Institute
for Integrated Transition has launched a research titled: “In War, No One
Distributes Sweets: Assessing Transitional Justice Responses and Approaches in
Post-2001 Afghanistan” on December 10, 2020.
The
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit research was co-produced with support
of IFIT, a large international project focusing on non-state insurgencies’ role
in the peace process, it is aimed at contributing to an understanding of war
and its parties since 2001, mainly focusing on Taliban, government and
pro-government forces.
AREU
and IFIT Transition research unpacks transitional justice approaches to human
rights violations and draws lessons on reducing violent extremism, and its
prevention, the statement reads.
According
to the AREU press statement, “The paper provides a historical background,
identifying each party’s views and approaches to addressing grave violations in
the immediate and longer-term contexts of a peace deal and political
settlement. It also analyses the opportunities and challenges of the
transitional justice options and how these are understood by the negotiating
parties and other key stakeholders”.
“Reconciliation
in the time of violence, is it really possible and how? We will co-create and
coordinate our work to get there,” Caecilia Wijgers the Ambassador of the Kingdom
of the Netherlands in Afghanistan said during the event.
She
added, “Your paper is very handy and timely for us. What is important is of
course to realize that the context has changed and we are dealing with
40-year-long violation of human rights and from the discussions, we have
together today seem that there is more space for the voices of the victims,”.
During
the occasion, Shaharzad Akbar Chairperson of AIHRC said, “the two negotiation
teams are discussing the agenda in Doha, Qatar. To move from war to lasting
peace, we need to acknowledge and advance peace based on a mutual
acknowledgment of the country’s past, and a shared vision for a better future.”
As
quoted in the statement, Shaharzad urged the negotiating parties to read this
research and called on them to agree on a mechanism to directly hear from
victims, acknowledge their sufferings, and address their needs during the
agreement.
Executive
Director for IFIT, Mark Freeman was quoted saying, “The current intra-Afghan
peace talks offer a complex but very real opportunity to bring peace to a
war-shattered country. This important new paper shows in creative and realistic
ways how transitional justice notions can figure usefully in the peace
solution” adding that “ the dominant approach of forgetting the past failed and
resulted in more violence and killings by all sides”
https://www.khaama.com/in-war-no-one-distributes-sweets-report-7657599/
--------
Europe
UN
Assembly lauds progress in Afghan peace talks
12
Dec 2020
UNITED
NATIONS: The UN General Assembly approved a resolution over Russian objections
on Thursday commending progress in peace talks between the Afghan government
and the Taliban while urging stepped-up efforts to tackle attacks by the
Taliban, Al Qaeda, the militant Islamic State (IS) group and their affiliates.
The
vote in the 193-member world body was 130 in favour, Russia against, and China,
Pakistan and Belarus abstaining. Fifty-nine countries did not vote.
The
15-page resolution titled “The Situation in Afghanistan” covers a wide range of
issues including peace and reconciliation, democracy, the rule of law, good
governance, human rights, counter-narcotics, social and economic development
and regional cooperation.
While
welcoming progress in the intra-Afghan talks, including the Dec 2 agreement on
rules of procedure for negotiations, the resolution condemns the high rate of
continued violence. It says “this is contributing to an unacceptable number of
casualties” and calls for an immediate cessation of violence and strongly encourages
the Afghan government and the Taliban to pursue confidence-building measures
and to reduce violence.
The
resolution reiterates the General Assembly’s “serious concern” about the
security situation in Afghanistan and stresses the need to continue to address
the threat to the country’s stability from violence committed by the Taliban,
including the Haqqani Network, as well as Al Qaeda, IS, their affiliates and
other terrorist and criminal groups.
Afghanistan’s
UN ambassador, Adela Raz, expressed regret that despite her government’s strong
support for the resolution it wasn’t adopted by consensus, saying the measure
reflects developments that are taking place on the ground and particularly the
progress in the peace process.
Raz
said the goal of the government, Afghanistan’s neighbours and the General
Assembly “is to incorporate the Taliban as a political party. It is our utmost
aim to see the Taliban as a constructive political party in the country,
without the relationship with Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, working for
prosperity and peace in Afghanistan”.
Noting
that UN experts monitoring sanctions against the Taliban say it maintains ties
to terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, Raz said the resolution is balanced
regarding the Taliban’s willingness to take firm steps towards peace and
reconciliation and its continuing attacks and terrorist ties.
German
Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, whose country led negotiations on the
resolution, said that out of all the ‘special years’ for Afghanistan declared
in the past two decades, 2020 was indeed singular. Most important was the start
of Afghan peace negotiations in September, he said after detailing all the
events leading to the talks, starting with the US-Taliban agreement in
February.
He
said the resolution is constructive and forward-looking and the vote signals
that the General Assembly “stands behind the Afghan people in a very difficult
period of the country”.
Russia’s
deputy UN ambassador, Anna Evstigneeva, sharply criticised Germany’s role in
the negotiations, saying there was blatant disregard for Moscow’s concerns. She
also said it was an attempt to conceal the true scope of threats from IS and
drug issues threatening the country’s security.
Islamabad’s
stance
For
his part, Pakistan’s Ambassador Munir Akram lauded the progress made in the
peace talks but warned against “spoilers’ ploys” to undermine efforts for a
peaceful settlement in the war-torn country.
“Spoilers,
from within or without, must not be allowed to subvert the success of these
negotiations and prevent a comprehensive political settlement in Afghanistan,”
he said. “The machinations of such spoilers must be defeated.”
Turning
to the issue of violence in Afghanistan, Ambassador Akram said that Pakistan
shared the international community’s determination not to allow Afghan soil to
be used by Al Qaeda, IS or other groups to threaten or attack other countries.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1595265/un-assembly-lauds-progress-in-afghan-peace-talks
--------
Germany
to allow deportations of Syrians if pose security risk
11
December 2020
Germany
will allow deportation of Syrians to their war-ravaged homeland from 2021 if
they are deemed to pose a risk to security, an interior ministry official said
Friday.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
"The
general ban on deportations (to Syria) will expire at the end of this
year," Hans-Georg Engelke, state secretary at the interior ministry, told
reporters.
"Those
who commit crimes or pursue terrorist aims to do serious harm to our state and
our population should and will have to leave our country."
The
decision was taken at a telephone conference between hardline conservative
federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, who had long called for an end to the
deportation ban, and his 16 state-level counterparts.
The
Social Democrats (SPD), junior partners in Chancellor Angela Merkel's
right-left "grand coalition" government, failed in their bid to win a
six-month extension of the protections, in place since 2012.
They
argued that the precarious security situation in Syria made expulsions there
indefensible.
Engelke,
standing in for Seehofer who was in quarantine after a coronavirus exposure,
told a news conference that an estimated 90 Syrian suspected Islamists were believed
to be in Germany.
Calls
for a change in stance have been growing since a Syrian man was arrested in
November on suspicion of carrying out a deadly knife attack in the city of
Dresden.
Prosecutors
said the 20-year-old, accused of killing one tourist and seriously injuring
another, had a raft of criminal convictions and a history of involvement with
the Islamist scene.
He
had been living in Germany under “tolerated” status granted to people whose
asylum requests have been rejected, but who cannot be deported.
Boris
Pistorius of the SPD, interior minister of Lower Saxony, noted that on a
practical level expulsions to Syria would remain next to impossible “because
there are no state institutions with which we have diplomatic relations.”
But
he sharply criticised the symbolic meaning of Germany, which took in more than
one million migrants including hundreds of thousands of Syrians at the height
of the refugee influx 2015-16, becoming what he called the first EU country to
lift the deportation ban.
“That's
an exceptional position we don't necessarily need to be proud of,” Pistorius
said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/12/11/Germany-to-allow-deportations-of-Syrians-if-pose-security-risk
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Turkey
dismisses EU move for sanctions as ‘biased, unlawful’
11
December 2020
Turkey
on Friday dismissed as “biased” and “unlawful” an EU move to draw up a list of
Turkish targets for sanctions in response to Ankara’s drilling activities in
the Mediterranean.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app
Turkey
is at loggerheads with EU members Greece and Cyprus over energy resources in
the eastern Mediterranean.
Ankara
has been challenging Athens over maritime territory in the region by repeatedly
sending a gas exploration vessel into disputed waters.
“We
reject the biased and unlawful attitude which had to be inserted into the
December 10 EU summit conclusions after the pressure of solidarity and veto,”
the foreign ministry said in a statement.
After
the marathon summit on Thursday, the bloc decided to draw up a list of Turkish
targets for sanctions.
France,
Greece, and Cyprus are pushing for action against Turkey, but other EU nations
including Germany, Italy and Poland oppose slapping broad sanctions or an embargo
on a fellow NATO member.
“The
council adopted sanctions in the face of Turkey’s ‘unilateral actions and
provocations’,” French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune tweeted.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/12/11/Turkey-dismisses-EU-move-for-sanctions-as-biased-unlawful-
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EU
member states, MEPs agree to take terror content down
December
10, 2020
BRUSSELS
(AP) — European Union member states and lawmakers reached a provisional deal
Thursday to take down terror content online within an hour of its being posted.
The
provisional agreement was announced as EU leaders gathered in Brussels for a
two-day summit where they are set to discuss cross-border police coordination,
following a series of recent extremist attacks in France and Austria.
“The
EU is working to stop terrorists from using the internet to radicalize, recruit
and incite to violence,” the EU Council said in a statement, adding that the
proposed rules would apply to providers operating across the bloc, “whether or
not they have their main establishment in the member states.”
Under
the agreement, national authorities will be entitled to order platforms to
remove content or to disable access to it in all 27 member states. Providers
will be forced to act but will remain free to decide how they take down the
forbidden material.
“The
proposed rules also ensure that the rights of ordinary users and businesses
will be respected, including freedom of expression and information and freedom
to conduct a business,” he council said. “This includes effective remedies for
both users whose content has been removed and for service providers to submit a
complaint.”
The
proposed regulation still needs to be formally approved by the EU Parliament
and EU ministers.
The
agreement was announced a day after the EU’s executive branch urged member
states and lawmakers to quickly adopt the legislation proposed in 2018. As part
of its Counter-Terrorism Agenda, the commission also encouraged EU countries to
reinforce external border controls and police cooperation to prevent extremist
attacks.
Since
the deadly Paris attacks five years ago, in which fighters who had returned
from Syria were involved, the EU has been repeatedly hit by extremist actions.
In 2019, seven jihadist terrorist attacks were carried out in the EU, and twice
that number of plots were thwarted by law enforcement.
https://apnews.com/article/europe-brussels-summits-france-78a9cd8a34535334cb8323127fd206fd?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1808826_
--------
Terror
arrests fall to lowest level in almost a decade during coronavirus pandemic
Lizzie
Dearden
11
December 2020
The
number of suspected terrorists arrested in the UK has fallen to the lowest
level in almost a decade during the coronavirus pandemic, figures show.
Statistics
published by the Home Office show that in the year to October, 215 arrests were
made — 18 per cent down on the previous year.
“This
was the lowest number of arrests for terrorist-related activity in the last
nine years to September and is below the annual average of 253 arrests over the
entire time,” said a document published on Thursday.
“These
reductions may reflect the general reduction in crime during this period when
there were restrictions on normal activities to control the spread of the
Covid-19 virus.”
Figures
showed a sharp drop in terror arrests from April, when the UK’s first national
lockdown came into force.
Between
April and June, 31 arrests were made, and there were 44 between July and
September, below the previous quarterly average of 61.
In
November, the UK’s terror threat level was raised to severe — meaning attacks
are “highly likely” — following a spate of attacks in mainland Europe.
Of
the 215 arrests made, 39 per cent were still under investigation by 30
September, almost a third had led to charges, a fifth of suspects were released
without charge and 9 per cent faced alternative action such as a caution or
recall to prison.
Forty-four
per cent of those arrested were white, the largest ethnic group among suspects
for the third consecutive year, followed by people of Asian appearance (38 per
cent), black (9 per cent) and other (8 per cent).
The
proportion of British or dual national suspects rose by 10 per cent to 79 per
cent.
While
the “30 and over” age group accounted for the most arrests, the number of
children arrested on suspicion of terror offences rose.
There
were 17 under-18s arrested in the year, up by six on the previous 12 months.
The
figures followed a warning from the head of UK counterterror policing about a
“new and worrying trend” of child extremists.
Assistant
commissioner Neil Basu said children as young as 14 had been detained in the
past year, and almost all of those investigated by police had been radicalised
online.
“We
are seeing more young people being drawn towards terrorist activity,” he added.
“That
is a relatively new and worrying trend in the UK, because just a few years ago
we were not seeing anyone that young amongst our case work.”
Mr
Basu said the coronavirus pandemic had created a “perfect storm” as young and
vulnerable people spent more time isolated and online, with fewer protective
factors from school, employment, friends and family.
Jonathan
Hall QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said coronavirus
also had an impact on the number of port stops under Schedule 7 of the
Terrorism Act 2000, which halved in the year.
“Although
the number of section 41 arrests, often used for the most serious
counter-terrorist operations, fell in the first three months of 2020, the rate
has gone back to 2019 levels,” he added.
The
law allows police to arrest a person “reasonably suspected to be a terrorist”
without a warrant.
Mr
Hall said the number of terror offenders released from custody had fallen from
55 to 42, following government changes to stop the automatic early release of
terrorists.
Emergency
legislation was brought in following the knife attacks by released terrorists
at Fishmongers’ Hall and Streatham, and parliament is currently considering a
wider package of laws aimed at keeping them in prison for longer.
But
the policy has come into question after two men were able to launch an
Isis-inspired attack inside a high-security prison in January.
Only
one of the HMP Whitemoor attackers was a known terrorist, while his accomplice
had been radicalised inside prison.
Then
in June, the Reading attack was launched by a man who had recently been held in
prison for offences not related to terrorism.
The
number of people put on trial for terror offences stayed stable in the year,
despite the closure of crown courts at the start of the coronavirus lockdown,
because the cases have been prioritised.
Of
the 54 people tried for terrorism-related offences in the year to October, 49
were convicted and most common sentence length in the latest year was under
four years.
Five
terrorists, including the Manchester bomber’s brother, Westminster car attacker
Salih Khater and Buckingham Palace sword attacker Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, were
jailed for life in the period.
James
Brokenshire, the security minister, said: “The police and intelligence agencies
have continued to work around the clock to keep us safe throughout the
pandemic.
“We
are ensuring they have all the tools they need which is why we are introducing
tougher sentences for the most dangerous terrorists and have established a new
Counter-Terrorism Operations Centre to strengthen operational coordination
between our police, intelligence agencies and parts of the criminal justice
system.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/terror-arrests-uk-fall-coronavirus-b1769287.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1808826_
--------
Pakistan
KP
Assembly passes bill to create endowment fund for non-Muslim terror victims
12
Dec 2020
PESHAWAR:
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will establish an endowment fund with the
initial capital of Rs200 million for the rehabilitation of non-Muslim victims
of terrorism in the province.
The
provincial assembly on Friday passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rehabilitation of
Minorities (Victims of Terrorism) Endowment Fund Bill, 2020, with four
amendments for the purpose.
Speaker
Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani chaired the sitting, which was later adjourned for an
indefinite period.
Besides
Muslim majority, the members of religious minorities, especially Christians and
Sikhs, were also targeted by terrorists in the province.
Opposition
members complain about slow work on uplift projects, diversion of funds
Ninety
Christians were killed and 144 suffered injuries as the two suicide blasts
ripped through the main prayer hall of All Saints Church in Peshawar in Sept
2013. Another terrorist attack killed many Christians in a colony on Warsak
Road in Peshawar.
Similarly,
the targeted killing of Sikhs has been reported in Peshawar, members of Kalash
tribe in Chitral district and non-Muslims in other areas of the province.
Special
assistant to the chief minister on minority affairs Wazirzada moved a
resolution in the assembly seeking for the bill’s passage.
A
member of Kalash community, he proposed four amendments, which were made part
of the bill.
The
chief minister’s aide told Dawn that the government would accord top priority
to the rehabilitation of the families of those, who lost life in the All Saints
Church bombing.
He
said six victims of the bomb blast had been living with permanent physical
disability since then.
Mr
Wazirzada said families of the targeted killing victims would also be included
in rehabilitation plan.
The
new law says soon after the enactment of the law, the government would set up
the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Endowment Fund to rehabilitate, develop and compensate
the victims of terrorist attacks.
The
proposed fund could also be credited with grants from the federal government,
philanthropists, nongovernmental organisations, other organisations working for
the welfare of religious minorities, and other lawful sources.
The
government will constitute the Endowment Fund Assessment Committee for carrying
out the purpose of the law.
The
minister, adviser or special assistant to the chief minister for minorities
will act as the convener of the seven-member committee, which will receive and
scrutinise applications, ascertain entitlement, verify family members of the
terror victims, and approve the specified amount for the purpose of technical
support, relief, welfare, compensation or rehabilitation of the people hit by
terrorists, or their families.
The
unavailability of medical oxygen in the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital,
Mansehra, also echoed in the assembly with the lawmakers urging the government
to take corrective measures without delay.
On
a point of order, MPA Humaira Khatoon said Kath didn’t have oxygen supply, so
the intensive care unit referred patients to the Abbottabad Medical Complex.
She
said the hospital’s management had acknowledged unavailability of oxygen and
said a project for the purpose was in the pipeline.
The
lawmaker said the Mansehra hospital had yet not got any ventilators and
therefore, the government should take immediate steps to prevent mishap.
The
Saudi government had provided a grant to the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital
after an earthquake hit Hazara and Azad Jammu and Kashmir in Oct 2005 killing
thousands of people and damaging buildings, including Kath’s.
Later,
a modern hospital was built with the help of the Saudi government.
PTI
MPA from Mansehra district Babar Saleem Swati said the Saudi government would
provide Rs720 million for the provision of equipment to the hospital and a
contract was awarded to a Turkish company for the purpose.
He
said the ICU unit would become functional within a month.
The
opposition members expressed reservations about slow work on development
schemes and diversion of development funds, especially that of roads in North
and South Waziristan tribal districts.
They
said the relevant department had revealed the non-release of funds for certain
reasons.
A
lawmaker said funds for the construction of two roads were diverted to
beautification schemes in North Waziristan.
He
said on one hand, the government had begun allocating over Rs100 billion for
development schemes in the merged tribal districts but on the other, Rs180
million was not available for a small road.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1595324/kp-assembly-passes-bill-to-create-endowment-fund-for-non-muslim-terror-victims
--------
Pakistan
will have no future if it lives in religious superstition, says Prof Noam
Chomsky
8
Dec, 2020
KARACHI
– World-renowned intellectual and social critic, Noam Chomsky on Monday speaks
at a virtual session of the Habib University’s flagship Yohsin Lecture series.
The
lecture titled "Bullet Dodged or Merely Delayed: Reflections on the Future
of Democracy, Nuclear Proliferation and the Looming Environmental Catastrophe
in a Post-Trumpian World," he spoke of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic,
saying the world would come out of it at a very terrible cost.
Pakistan
used to have an advanced scientific establishment. The country had Noble Prize
laureates but for now, science has virtually disappeared. Pakistan has no
future if it’s going to live in a world of religious superstition, he said.
The
92-year-old American linguist also lambasted at the BJP rule under Prime
Minister Narendra Modi as its destroying the remnants of secular democracy,
crushing Muslim rights and placing Kashmir under a vicious brutal rule.
He
warned the world with four severe crises. The first, of course, is the threat
of nuclear war. Second, according to him is the threat of environmental
catastrophe, which he described as severe and increasing, and will likely reach
an irreversible tipping point if not dealt with soon.
Chomsky
said the third major crisis is the deterioration of global democracy, and the
ongoing coronavirus pandemic as the fourth major crisis.
Chomsky
also discussed the U.S election and termed it as an 'absolute disaster.' He
said the signs suggest that President Trump will never concede he lost the
election.
He
also discussed about the Iran attack, saying Trump before leaving the office
might take a step, including attacking Iran. However, he added, Iran in
retaliation might target oil fields in Saudi Arabia, which would have a global
impact.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/08-Dec-2020/pakistan-will-have-no-future-if-it-lives-in-religious-superstition-says-prof-noam-chomsky
--------
138
journalists killed in Pakistan since 1990: IFJ
12
Dec 2020
ISLAMABAD:
As the year 2020 draws to a close, the International Federation of Journalists
(IFJ) in a ‘White Paper on Global Journalism’ listed five countries, including
Pakistan and India, as the ‘Most Dangerous Countries for Practice of Journalism
in the World’.
The
white paper marks the 13th anniversary of the ‘The List of Journalists Killed
(1990-2020), during which 2,658 journalists lost their lives in the line of
duty. Iraq topped the list of most dangerous countries for practising
journalism, as 340 journalists lost their lives there, followed by Mexico (178
journalists), the Philippines (178 journalists), Pakistan (138 journalists),
and India (116 journalists).
This
year the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) recorded killing of 42
journalists and media staff so far in targeted attacks, bomb blasts and
cross-fire incidents in 15 countries.
In
its 2020 country-wise ranking, Mexico tops the list for a fourth time in five
years with 13 killings, followed by Pakistan (five), India, Afghanistan, Iraq
and Nigeria (three each), the Philippines, Somalia and Syria (two each) while
one journalist was killed in each of the six countries Cameroon, Honduras,
Paraguay, Russia, Sweden and Yemen.
In
the Indian sub-continent, murders of journalists in Pakistan (138) and in India
(116) have featured almost every year in the list since 1990, making 40 per
cent of the total deaths of journalists in the Asia Pacific region.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1595257/138-journalists-killed-in-pakistan-since-1990-ifj
--------
Fazl
has contacts in MI6, says minister
12
Dec 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur while
levelling serious charges against Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief told a
presser on Friday that Maulana Fazlur Rehman had contacts in British
intelligence agency MI6 and was allegedly involved in anti-state activities
besides corruption.
Addressing
the press conference, which revolved around the convener of the opposition’s
Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Mr Gandapur along with federal Minister
for Information Senator Shibli Faraz described the JUI-F chief as the
“rejected politician wearing a religious cloak to hide the wealth that he has
amassed through corruption”.
In
a tirade against the PDM convener two days before its planned Lahore show, Mr
Gandapur, who had defeated Maulana Fazl in the 2018 election for the Dera
Ismail Khan seat (NA-38) of the National Assembly by a huge margin on a
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) ticket, also challenged him to contest a
re-election in his constituency if the latter believes that the 2018 general
elections were rigged.
Calling
him the ‘Chief of Thieves’, the minister for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan said:
“Only the person who has the capabilities to gather wealth through illegal
means and has expertise to park that ill-gotten wealth will be made the chief
of the thieves.” These abilities had made him the “ring leader” of opposition
party’s supremo Nawaz Sharif and others, he remarked. “I present him four sets
of questions and demand that the Maulana answer them in the upcoming public
gathering [of PDM in Lahore] on December 13,” Mr Gandapur said.
He
asked the Maulana about reasons for allegedly keeping contacts in the British
intelligence agency, MI6, and in what capacity he had met them. The JUI-F chief
was further challenged to deny if he had not met the Indian National Security
Adviser Ajit Doval while JUI-India’s Maulana Mehmood Ahmed Madni too was
present in the meeting. “You should tell the nation about the contents of that
meeting.”
Mr
Gandapur then asked about the JUI-F’s Azadi March of November 2019 that he said
harmed the cause of Kashmir due to its timing. He asked Maulana Fazl to tell
the nation about his contacts with the international forces before and during
the march.
The
minister then touched the sensitive issue of sectarianism in Pakistan, blaming
the Maulana for his involvement in pitching one sect against another.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1595255/fazl-has-contacts-in-mi6-says-minister
--------
PDM
sees no chance of ‘third force’ intervention
Zulqernain
Tahir
12
Dec 2020
LAHORE:
PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari called on PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz
at her Jati Umra residence on Friday and declared that the 11-party Pakistan
Democratic Movement (PDM) would not create such a situation through its protest
drive that the ‘third force’ could intervene and take advantage of it.
At
a joint media talk after the meeting, Ms Nawaz claimed that some ministers had
“contacted the PML-N and offered a dialogue but I rejected it outright”.
“We
are experienced enough and playing our cards carefully. We will not let such a
situation arise in the wake of the PDM’s protest campaign that the third force
takes advantage of it,” Mr Bhutto-Zaradri said in reply to a question about
possible intervention by military if the country plunged into crises because of
the PDM’s protest against the PTI government.
Maryam
claims ministers approaching PML-N for dialogue
Both
Mr Bhutto-Zardari and Ms Nawaz also discussed the opposition’s strategy
regarding the PDM’s much-hyped rally on Sunday (tomorrow) at the
Minar-i-Pakistan and resignations of opposition lawmakers.
However,
there has been no change of PPP’s stance over resigning from the National and
Sindh assemblies as Mr Bhutto-Zardari reportedly told Ms Nawaz that his party’s
central executive committee (CEC) would have a final say in it.
“Whether
we have to sacrifice the Sindh government and come out of the National Assembly
or not, I am taking this matter to the party’s CEC for consultation so that the
selected and his facilitators should be sent home,” he said.
When
asked to name the selectors, he said he was not taking the name of the
selectors or the establishment because “we are maintaining their dignity and I
ask the establishment to stop interfering in politics”.
When
asked since there had been a consensus among all 11 parties of the PDM in the
Dec 8 meeting regarding resignations (from national and provincial assemblies),
why the PPP was backtracking, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said: “There will be no
division in the PDM on the issue of resignations. I am receiving resignations
of my party members in bulk.”
Taking
about Prime Minister Imran Khan, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said: “Imran should take
stock of the situation and resign without further delay. Imran should accept
the decision of the masses and step down.” He claimed that the PDM’s march on
Islamabad would be the biggest in the country’s history.
According
to a source, the PDM has planned a long march at the end of February. “The
decision on the resignation issue will also be finalised in February,” he said.
Mt
Bhutto-Zardari was all praise for his younger sister Aseefa Bhutto, saying that
she put up a great show in Multan rally. “I warn the selectors/facilitators
that whatever they want to do with us they should remember that behind us is
Aseefa Bibi and I drive power from my sister,” he said and declined to comment
on the change of portfolio in the ministry of Sheikh Rashid who has been given
interior ministry. “Rana Sanaullah is good at commenting on Satan of Rawalpindi,”
he commented.
Mr
Bhutto-Zardari said Lahore’s Dec 13 rally would be historic and after that
second phase of the PDM movement would begin and that would be decisive.
Maryam
Nawaz said: “For the last few days the senior leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf
(PTI), including ministers, have been contacting the PML-N for talks. It is an
ironic fact that Imran Khan who for the last two-and-a-half-year had been
saying that he would not give NRO is now seeking it for himself (from the PDM).
There will be no talks with the PTI government that had been formed through a
stolen mandate. I have been against holding talks with this government from day
one,” she declared and asked Imran Khan to step down forthwith.
She
said the government had been unnerved ahead of Lahore rally. “I want to make it
clear that the PDM’s public meeting will be held at Minar-i-Pakistan at any
cost.”
The
Punjab government has refused to give permission to the PDM to hold the rally
at Minar-i-Pakistan citing rise in Covid-19 cases.
Lahore
police on Friday registered seven FIRs against several PML-N workers for
holding corner meetings in the city on Thursday in violation of Covid-19
standard operating procedures. The police also booked the owners of a
restaurant at Lakhshmi Chowk that offered food (mutton karahi) to Maryam Nawaz
and others during her visit there on Thursday as part of her rally.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1595251/pdm-sees-no-chance-of-third-force-intervention
--------
Mideast
Zarif
Warns against Erdogan’s Provocative Poems
2020-December-11
Zarif
on his Twitter account, blasted Erdogan’s provocative poems in Baku on
Thursday, warning him that such remarks would undermine the sovereignty of
Azerbaijan Republic. The Turkish
president traveled to Baku on Thursday to attend a military parade of
Azerbaijani forces on the occasion of the liberation of the Armenian-occupied
territories.
Pres.
Erdogan was not informed that what he ill-recited in Baku refers to the
forcible separation of areas north of Aras from Iranian motherland
Didn't
he realize that he was undermining the sovereignty of the Republic of
Azerbaijan?
NO
ONE can talk about OUR beloved Azerbaijan
—
Javad Zarif (@JZarif) December 11, 2020
At
the ceremony, which was also attended by Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, Erdogan
read out poems including separatist sentiments about the Aras River which runs
along the Iran-Azerbaijan border.
In
relevant remarks on Wednesday, Zarif said that in his meeting with visiting
Azeri Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, they have conferred on plans and
efforts to reconstruct regions in Azerbaijan which have been destroyed during
the recent Karabakh war.
“Pleased
to host Azerbaijan's FM Jeyhun Bayramov. Welcomed end of hostilities and
restoration of Azeri territorial integrity,” Zarif wrote on his twitter page on
Wednesday.
“Fruitful
talks on furthering comprehensive bilateral cooperation, including
reconstruction of war-torn areas, North/South Corridor, Caspian energy and much
more,” he added.
Zarif
also welcomed the termination of hostilities and restoration of territorial
integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13990921000210/Zarif-Warns-agains-Erdgan%E2%80%99s-Prvcaive-Pems
--------
Iran
Alerts World against ISIL’s Revival
2020-December-11
Khatibzadeh,
in a statement on Friday, felicitated the third anniversary of defeating ISIL
terrorists to the brotherly Iraqi nation, and meantime, called for global
vigilance toward the revival of this terrorist inhuman group by overt and
covert supports of some powers.
“This
victory was the result of the firm resolve and unified efforts of Iraqi nation,
government and security forces with the support of the great Source of
Emulation Ayatollah Sistani,” he said.
“Iran
has always stood by Iraq and it will spare no effort to help bolster unity,
security, stability, and development of Iraq,” the spokesman went on to say.
“We
witnessed how the blood of the two countries’ martyrs intermixed in this sacred
battle,” he said, adding that the empathy between the two nations culminated in
the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the
leaders of the fight against terrorism.
“The
ISIL militants conceded defeat, but still Takfiri, anti-human, terroristic
ideology and covert and overt support for it lingers in the region and beyond,”
Khatibzadeh said.
In
relevant remarks on Thursday, Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad Iraj Masjedi
felicitated the Iraqi government and people on the third anniversary of victory
over the ISIL terrorist group, stressing the important role played by
anti-terrorism commanders Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi
al-Muhandis to this end.
Undoubtedly,
the resistance of the Iraqi people and government, especially their armed
forces, including the army, the federal police, the counter-terrorism
apparatus, Popular Mobilization Units or al-Hashd al-Shaabi, played a major
role in the victory over the terrorist group, Masjedi said in a message.
Commander
of the IRGC Quds Force Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and deputy commander
of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis played an important
and decisive role in the full-scale fight against the ISIL terrorist group and
victory over it and one of the reasons for the criminal and terrorist act of
the US in martyring these two figures was their role in defeating this group,
he added.
Masjedi
appreciated Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani for his role in mobilizing all means
for fighting the ISIL, and said that his country is now ready to cooperate,
assist and provide all its resources to the Iraqi people despite the sanctions
imposed on it.
Lieutenant
General Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone strike on Baghdad
International Airport in Iraq on January 3, 2020.
The
airstrike also martyred al-Muhandis. The two were martyred in an American
airstrike that targeted their vehicle on the road to the airport.
Five
Iranian and five Iraqi military men were martyred by the missiles fired by the
US drone at Baghdad International Airport.
On
January 8 and after the funeral ceremony of General Soleimani, the IRGC
Aerospace Force started heavy ballistic missile attacks on US Ein Al-Assad
airbase in Southwestern Iraq near the border with Syria and a US operated
airbase in Erbil in retaliation for the US assassination of General Soleimani.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13990921000272/Iran-Alers-Wrld-agains-ISIL%E2%80%99s-Revival
--------
Iran
executes dissident journalist Ruhollah Zam: Iranian media
12
December 2020
Iranian
dissident journalist Ruhollah Zam, who Iran convicted of fomenting violence
during the 2017 anti-government protests, was executed on Saturday, Iran's
semi-official Nour news agency reported.
Zam
was a journalist who ran the Amadnews feed on popular messaging app Telegram,
which had more than one million followers.
State
broadcaster Seda va Sima said on Saturday Zam, "director of the
counter-revolutionary Amadnews network, was hanged this morning."
For
all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Iran’s
Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence of Zam, who was captured in
2019 after years in exile. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to
have arrested Zam in Iraq in a “sophisticated and professional operation,” but
Iraqi government sources later challenged this narrative.
In
June, a court sentenced Zam to death, saying he had been convicted of
“corruption on Earth,” a charge often used in cases involving espionage or
attempts to overthrow Iran’s government.
Zam’s
website and Telegram feed had spread the timings of the protests and
embarrassing information about officials that directly challenged the authority
of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Those demonstrations, which began at the end
of 2017, represented the biggest challenge to Tehran since the 2009 Green
Movement protests and set the stage for similar mass unrest in November of last
year.
Reaction
Zam’s
execution sparked calls for Iran to abolish the death penalty, with
commentators highlighting Tehran's use of repression against protesters.
“Another
despicable execution in #Iran, punishing Rohollah Zam for exercising his right
to freely express himself. Abolish the death penalty, in Iran and around the
world,” wrote International Commission of Jurists Secretary-General Sam Zarifi
on Twitter.
“I’m
deeply shocked & saddened that Islamic Republic executed Iranian dissident
journalist #RuhollahZam, who was a source of anti regime news, especially
during #IranProtests. Zam was lured to Iraq from Paris & kidnapped by the
IRGC. This could happen to all of us. IRI=ISIS,” tweeted Iranian activist Masih
Alinejad.
Iran
recently attracted international criticism for executing Navid Afkari, a
wrestler who was arrested during the 2018 anti-government protests.
“Iran’s
continued jailing, torture, and execution of individuals on manufactured
charges related to past protests shows just how afraid of those movements the
Islamic Republic actually is,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the
Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told Al Arabiya English at the
time.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/12/Iran-executes-dissident-journalist-Ruhollah-Zam-Iranian-media
--------
Turkey
slams EU’s ‘biased and illegal’ approach, sanctions threat
11
December 2020
The
Turkish foreign ministry has slammed the European Union's approach towards
Turkey’s persisting dispute with Greece and Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean
as "biased and illegal," calling on the Western bloc to instead act
as an honest broker.
Ankara’s
Friday rejection of EU mediation efforts in the dispute came after leaders of
the bloc agreed during a summit on Thursday to formulate limited sanctions
against Turkish individuals over an energy exploration row with Athens and
Nicosia, deferring any harsher steps until March as the countries sparred over
how to deal with Turkey.
Calling
on the EU to act "with principles, strategically and with reason,"
the ministry further added in a statement that a proposed conference with all
eastern Mediterranean countries would serve as an opportunity to tackle
maritime issues in the region, reiterating that Ankara was prepared for talks
with Greece without any preconditions.
Turkey
insists it is operating in waters on its own continental shelf or areas where
Turkish Cypriots have rights. This is while its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
underlined on Wednesday that he was not concerned by any sanctions the EU may
decide to impose.
Shying
away from its October threat to consider wider economic measures against
Turkey, the summit statement by EU leaders paves the way to punish individuals
accused of planning or taking part in what the bloc alleges as unauthorized
drilling off Cyprus.
Such
steps, however, did not go far enough for Greece, with envoys saying the
country expressed frustration that the bloc was hesitant to target Turkey’s
economy over the hydrocarbons row, as Germany, Italy and Spain pressed for
further diplomatic efforts, according to a Reuters report.
“It
is very clear what is at stake here: the credibility of the European Union,”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized in a video message before
the summit, which one diplomat cited in the report described as a “heated
debate.”
France,
which remains enraged by Turkish foreign policy in Syria and Libya, has tried
to push the EU to consider sectorial sanctions against the Turkish economy, but
lacks much support.
Moreover,
a French official further said the decision was, for now, a “response to the
worsening situation” with Ankara.
The
EU asset freezes of yet unidentified Turkish individuals and companies will be
in addition to two officials already on a sanctions list set up in November
2019, according to the report.
Meanwhile,
pointing to the sensitivities of punishing NATO member Turkey -- which still
remains an EU candidate country -- another diplomat also stated that there were
largely fruitless “long discussions about words” in the final draft of the EU
statement, which accused Turkey of “provocations.”
EU
leaders now expect the bloc’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell to come up with
a broad overview of EU’s political, trade and economic ties with Turkey by next
March.
That
could allow for the EU to either broaden sanctions or offer closer trade
relations via an expanded customs union, depending on Ankara’s willingness to
help end tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, avoiding further measures,
diplomats added as cited in the report.
The
Greek Cypriot government began exploring for natural gas with a US company in
2011 despite warnings from Turkey, which does not recognize the divided
island’s status and claims exploration rights.
Tensions
intensified in August when Ankara dispatched a seismic exploration ship into
Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone and also in waters claimed by Greece. The EU,
led by Germany, has been trying to negotiate a settlement but without success.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/11/640507/Turkey-EU-eastern-Mediterranean-dispute
--------
Police
foil attack by Kurdish bomber in southeast Turkey
December
10, 2020
ANKARA,
Turkey (AP) — Turkish police on Thursday shot and killed a suspected Kurdish
militant who was allegedly planning to detonate a bomb that was strapped to his
body, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Police,
acting on information that the militant was planning to carry out an attack,
stopped a taxi he was riding in at a checkpoint near the town of Viransehir in
the southeastern province of Sanliurfa, the agency reported. A police officer
shot and killed the man before he was able to detonate the explosives, it said.
The
agency said the militant was a Syrian national and a member of the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, or the Syria-based Kurdish group
that is affiliated with it. The militant, who wasn’t identified, had allegedly
sneaked into Sanliurfa from Syria with explosives.
The
foiled attack came as a car bomb went off at a checkpoint across the border in
a Turkish-controlled area of northeastern Syria, killing at least two Turkish
soldiers and two local security officers, Turkish officials said.
It
wasn’t immediately clear if the two incidents were connected.
The
PKK has led a decades-long insurgency in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast
region and is considered a terror organization by Turkey, the United States and
the European Union. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the
conflict since it started in 1984.
https://apnews.com/article/international-news-turkey-syria-8448aa19b6b99f8ddd28c8033bb851b9?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1808826_
--------
Africa
US
Kills 8 al-Shabab Fighters in 2 Airstrikes Amid Troop Reduction in Somalia
By
Carla Babb
December
10, 2020
WASHINGTON
- The U.S. military killed eight al-Shabab fighters and wounded two others in
airstrikes Thursday in Somalia, Lt. Cmdr. Christina Gibson, U.S. Africa Command
spokeswoman, told VOA.
“We
will continue to apply pressure to the al-Shabab network. They continue to
undermine Somali security, and need to be contained and degraded,” Africa
Command (AFRICOM) head Gen. Stephen Townsend added in a statement announcing
the strikes.
The
AFRICOM statement said two strikes in the vicinity of Jilib targeted terrorists
“who were known to play important roles in producing explosives for al-Shabab,
to include vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices.”
The
al-Qaida-affiliated terror group conducts dozens of car bombings across Somalia
each year, including against citizens, government and American targets.
According
to AFRICOM, al-Shabab has conducted about 45 vehicle-borne bombings in the
capital of Mogadishu alone since 2018, collectively resulting in the death of
more than 400 people.
The
Command assessed that no civilians were injured or killed in the strikes.
The
strikes come just days after President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to
remove the majority of the 700 U.S. military troops stationed in Somalia.
A
Pentagon statement issued late last week said these troops would be leaving “by
early 2021.” Officials have said most of those troops will be repositioned in
Kenya and Djibouti to continue the fight against al-Shabab.
“Al-Shabab
remains a dangerous franchise of al-Qaida,” said Townsend in the announcement
Thursday. “This mission illustrates our continuing commitment to eradicating
this threat and supporting our Somali partners in the region. We're
repositioning, but we will maintain the ability to strike this enemy.”
https://www.voanews.com/usa/us-kills-8-al-shabab-fighters-2-airstrikes-amid-troop-reduction-somalia?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1808826_
--------
Executed
Nigerian Farmers Were Caught Between Boko Haram and the Army
By
Ismail Alfa and Ruth Maclean
Dec.
10, 2020
ZABARMARI,
Nigeria — For years, the farmers had an agreement with Boko Haram militants:
They could tend their fields in peace, as long as they did not report the
fighters’ presence to the Nigerian Army.
But
just over a week ago, that deal was broken. The Islamist group killed more than
70 farmers from Zabarmari, a village in northeastern Nigeria, residents say.
The militants accused the farmers of betraying them.
“Everything
is shattered now,” said Ibrahim Abubakar, 36. Four of his friends were
beheaded, he said.
People
in rural areas of northeast Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, have
largely been left at the mercy of Boko Haram by a government whose security
forces have mainly retreated from the countryside to protected garrison towns.
Villagers
are caught in a deadly Catch-22. If they report the militants to the Nigerian
authorities, they risk gruesome reprisals by Boko Haram, a group known for
abducting schoolgirls and killing tens of thousands of people. If they stay
silent, they risk the wrath of the Nigerian military, which has been accused of
routinely shooting villagers dead and burning their houses down during raids,
as well as detaining people for years in inhumane conditions.
In
Zabarmari, villagers struggle to eke out a living through subsistence farming
and fishing.
“We
are accused of being collaborators by both the security operatives and the
insurgents, when all we did was look for peace,” said Garbati Sani, a village
elder. “What do we do to stay safe?”
Militants
came to the farmers as they were working in rice fields on Nov. 28 and told the
workers that they needed their help with something, several residents said in
interviews. Thinking that they were protected by the peace deal, around 50
farmers went with the militants to the nearby village of Koshebe.
But
when they arrived, more militants appeared and took most of them into a
building where they slit their throats. Later, other bodies were found nearby,
bringing the total number of dead to more than 70, villagers said. In addition,
the militants abducted about a dozen women from the village.
Boko
Haram and its offshoots have terrorized northeastern Nigeria, as well as parts
of Cameroon, Chad and Niger, for more than a decade. When Muhammadu Buhari was
elected president in 2015, it was partly on a promise to use his expertise as
an army general to resolve the crisis.
Mr.
Buhari has claimed repeatedly that Boko Haram has been defeated or greatly
weakened, and the government has encouraged displaced people to return to their
home areas.
But
in fact, the military’s strategy of retreating to highly militarized garrison
towns — or “supercamps” — has left over a million people in rural areas to fend
for themselves. And the situation has deteriorated in recent months, so much so
that the governor of Borno, which includes Zabarmari and is the country’s
worst-affected state, last week called for the federal government to send in
mercenaries.
Boko
Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in
2015, a year after the abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls from the village of
Chibok in Borno State. But when in 2016 several Boko Haram commanders split off
to form their own faction, Islamic State West Africa Province, ISIS backed
them.
It
was the Shekau faction, widely considered to be more bloodthirsty than the
other group, that claimed the Zabarmari attack, in a video circulated on social
media.
“We
are the ones that carried out that job,” said the spokesman in the clip, slung
with ammunition, his face wrapped in a scarf. “You thought you can arrest one
of us, and hand him over to soldiers and expect to stay in peace?”
Residents
had alternate theories about what had motivated Boko Haram to carry out the
massacre.
One
said a member of Boko Haram had come to the village and asked a local woman to
cook him some food. She told her neighbors, who tipped off the authorities, and
the militant was arrested.
Another
said that the military had raided Boko Haram’s camp, confiscating a gun and
some motorcycles. Yet another said that soldiers had caught a militant on a
motorcycle when they were on patrol.
Surviving
farmers said that they would return to their fields because there was no way
they could eat otherwise. Conflict and other conditions in northeastern Nigeria
have made the people there desperately hungry, and the region could face a
famine in the next few months if nothing is done, according to the United
Nations World Food Program.
Villagers
in Zabarmari said that those killed were mostly young men, many of them the
breadwinners in their families.
“The
elderly were not killed because, according to the insurgents, they don’t have
enough blood,” said Idi Musa, a fisherman who sat near the mosque, clutching
his prayer beads.
But
older people in areas controlled by Boko Haram have suffered abuses, torture
and killing that amount to war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity,
according to a report released by Amnesty International this week.
Many
have also had to watch their children and grandchildren die.
On
the morning he was killed, one of the farmers, Zakariyau Mohammed, 20, told his
father to rest up while he went to the farm.
“I
didn’t know it was the last smile I would ever see on his face,” said his
father, Sa’adu Mohammed, a tall, slim man in his late 60s, standing outside his
modest home of unplastered bricks.
Zakariyau
had been a dedicated son, spending all the money he could earn on looking after
his family, his father said. He had been planning to get married.
“He
was everything I felt proud of,” Mr. Mohammed said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/10/world/africa/nigeria-boko-haram.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1808826_
--------
Mozambique
troops repel Islamists attacking village near gas site
December
10, 2020
Mozambican
soldiers on Thursday repelled Islamist militants that attacked and occupied a
northern village in their closest raid yet to a giant gas project, military
sources said.
The
jihadists launched the assault late Monday on the village of Mute, located
about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the Afungi peninsula.
The
peninsula is the centre of a multi-billion-dollar scheme to build a liquefied
natural gas (LNG) plant in Cabo Delgado province, where 2,400 people have been
reported killed and a million displaced over the last three years in an
escalating jihadist insurgency.
"Following
two days of intense fighting, we managed to retake" the village on
Thursday, a military source in the gas hub town of Palma told AFP.
Mute
lies in a buffer zone between the gas project and the jihadist-controlled port
of Mocimboa da Praia.
The
attack allegedly prompted energy giant Total to temporarily suspend
construction work on the LNG support infrastructure.
The
French company did not respond to a question about whether its activities were
suspended, only saying it "is closely monitoring the situation in Cabo
Delgado".
"The
security of Mozambique LNG project workforce and activities is our absolute
priority. Total remains in permanent contact with Mozambican authorities on
this subject," it told AFP.
A
security source said Total will soon resume normal activities because the
attack was considered a "threat of small proportions".
Last
year the company signed a security agreement with Mozambique to protect the
multi-billion-dollar gas project in the restive northern province.
https://news.yahoo.com/mozambique-troops-repel-islamists-attacking-181813103.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1808826_&guccounter=1
--------
Mozambique:
Us Prepared to Support Counter-Terrorism, but No Troops
9
December 2020
Maputo
— The United States is not considering sending troops to Mozambique to combat
the terrorist threat in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, but it is
willing to boost "civilian counter-terrorism capabilities", said the
US Coordinator for Counter-terrorism, Nathan Sales, on Tuesday.
He
was speaking in a telephone press briefing, after visiting Mozambique and South
Africa. Sales described his trip as an "opportunity to engage with government
officials in both countries to garner support for increased cooperation on
counterterrorism issues".
The
fact that he travelled to southern Africa, despite the Covid-19 pandemic
"is an indication of how seriously the United States takes the terror
situation on that part of the continent".
Sales
had no doubt that the terrorist raids in Cabo Delgado are the work of the
jihadi organization known variously as Islamic State, ISIS or Daesh. "What
we've seen is increased terrorist attacks by ISIS affiliates in Mozambique over
the last three years, resulting in the deaths of more than 2,000 people",
he said. "We're also seeing a humanitarian situation developing with the
displacement of more than 400,000 residents of Cabo Delgado province"
"Here
in the United States, our key priorities are to assist counterterrorism with
security support, while protecting the civilian population and providing
humanitarian assistance to those who have been displaced by violence", he
added.
In
his discussions in Maputo with President Filipe Nyusi and other Mozambican
officials, "we discussed our two countries' mutual commitment to a strong
strategic partnership to counter terrorism in Cabo Delgado", Sales said.
"We also explored ways the United States can help Mozambique enhance its
civilian law enforcement capabilities as well as its border security
capabilities."
"The
United States wants to be Mozambique's security partner of choice in
strengthening border security and in strengthening its capacity to counter
terrorist activity", he stressed. "We do this time and again by
demonstrating across the globe that the United States is the indispensable
counterterrorism partner; that the United States brings capabilities that no
other country can match".
As
for possible military assistance, Sales pointed out that he represents the US
State Department, not the Defence Department.
"Typically
what the State Department has done in other parts of the world is to help
bolster law enforcement capabilities, things like the ability to investigate
terrorist attacks, to prevent terrorist attacks, to collect evidence from the
battlefield, to train prosecutors to use that evidence in courts of law to
obtain convictions that will take terrorists off the battlefield for prolonged
sentences upon their conviction", he said.
Sales
stressed the importance of border security. "We have a number of
state-of-the-art systems that we use in the United States to protect our
borders, airports, seaports, land ports of entry, and we always talk to our
friends around the world about how those systems might usefully by used to
protect their border security", he said. "We'd like to see whether
there's an interest in moving forward with those in Mozambique as well".
Sales
described human rights and the rule of law as fundamental "because we've
found that boosting those rule-of-law capabilities enables a long-term,
durable, and sustainable capability that's going to pay dividends over many
years to come".
"There's
no quick fix when it comes to counterterrorism", he said. "The
playbook is a simple one, but it's one that we have to follow with specificity.
And it's very simple: it's to develop rule-of-law-compliant capabilities so
that police and investigators and prosecutors and judges have the tools they
need to defeat terrorists in a sustainable and durable way".
Asked
about the threat the Cabo Delgado war poses to other southern African
countries, Sales said "one of the things we've seen with terrorist groups
like ISIS time and again is that they don't respect national boundaries, and in
fact they do their best to exploit national borders."
An
example of this was the recent incursion by Cabo Delgado jihadists into
southern Tanzania. This was what made border security so crucial, he stressed,
"We think that working with our partners on the ground, we will be able to
coordinate our efforts better to contain terrorists, to degrade them, and
ultimately to defeat them. But ultimately that requires maintaining control
over borders and making sure the terrorists don't have freedom of movement
across international boundaries".
Sales
believed that South Africa "has a special role to play here as an economic
power, as a military power, as a strong democracy that much of the rest of the
continent looks to for inspiration and leadership. So I hope that we'll be able
to find ways to partner together with our friends in Pretoria to degrade and
defeat terrorist threats in this part of the continent".
Sales
denied suggestions that the Cabo Delgado conflict was a "locally driven
war". He replied that although the province had known "spasms of
violence" in the past "what's new within the past several years, is
that the perpetrators of this violence are aligning themselves with ISIS as a
transnational terrorist enterprise in ways that we hadn't really seen
previously. So regardless of the origins of these violent networks or
individuals who participate in them, what we're seeing today is a committed
ISIS affiliate that embraces the ISIS ideology, that embraces the ISIS tactics
and procedures, and that embraces the ISIS vision of a caliphate with
territorial control".
https://allafrica.com/stories/202012100141.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1808826_
--------
Russia
condemns US recognition of Morocco's claim to Western Sahara
11
December 2020
Russia
on Friday condemned US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Morocco’s
sovereignty over Western Sahara, saying it contravened international law.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Deputy
Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov called the US decision “unilateral,” Russian
news agencies reported, adding that “there are relevant resolutions, there is
the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara.”
“This
is a violation of international law,” Bogdanov said.
Western
Sahara is a disputed and divided former Spanish colony, mostly under Morocco’s
control, where tensions with the pro-independence Polisario Front have simmered
since the 1970s.
The
Algerian-backed movement holds a fifth of Western Sahara and has campaigned for
a vote on self-determination through decades of war and deadlock.
With
barely a month left in office, Trump fulfilled a decades-old goal of Morocco’s
by backing its sovereignty in Western Sahara. The move was part of the outgoing
US leader’s diplomatic push to bring Israel and Arab states together.
He
announced on Thursday that Morocco was now the fourth Arab state this year to
recognize Israel.
Russia’s
Bogdanov said Moscow saluted better ties between Morocco and Israel.
“That
Arab countries are building bridges with Israel is positive, we can only
support this,” he said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/north-africa/2020/12/11/Russia-condemns-US-recognition-of-Morocco-s-claim-to-Western-Sahara
--------
Arab
World
Lebanon
recruitment agencies benefit from sponsorship system, lobby against reforms
Fatima
Al-Mahmoud
11
December 2020
Various
attempts to dismantle Lebanon’s heavily criticized domestic worker sponsorship
program have failed over the years, and now, new research shows that some in
Lebanon benefit financially from the system, leaving little impetus for a
corrupt ruling elite to abolish it.
Activists
estimate that one to two migrant workers die in Lebanon every week, yet the
kafala system persists as it props up a financially lucrative industry where
recruiters, government entities, and service providers benefit, argue
researchers Jonathan Dagher, David Wood, and Jacob Boswall.
The
primary beneficiaries from the kafala system are local recruitment agencies who
earned approximately $57.5 million in revenues in 2019 alone, according to the
findings of Beirut-based Triangle Research, Policy and Media Centre.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
This
is assuming the minimum recruitment fee is earned, estimated to range between
$1,800 and $4,300 by the Syndicate of Owners of Recruitment Agencies in Lebanon
(SORAL); the fees depend on the agency and the worker’s nationality.
There
is no definitive data on the profit generated by beneficiaries of the kafala
system due to lack of transparency in the industry, but “it is definitely
profitable,” said Boswall, who is an economic researcher at Triangle.
Deemed
as a form of “modern day slavery” by Human Rights Watch, the kafala system
excludes migrant workers from Lebanon’s labor laws and gives authority of their
immigration status and employment to a sponsor (kafeel) instead.
There
were attempts to reform aspects of the current system over the past months, but
they have been struck down.
“The
lobbying led by SORAL against reforms in the last few months was motivated by
private economic interests,” he told Al Arabiya English. SORAL was the main
group that lobbied against reform attempts.
Titled
“Cleaning Up: The Shady Industries that Exploit Lebanon’s Kafala Workers,”
Triangle’s special report provides a comprehensive understanding of the
economic interests of key institutions that underpin Lebanon’s kafala system.
Behind
the recruitment agencies, the second largest beneficiary of this exploitative
system are government institutions. Migrant workers generate an annual revenue
of $36.5 million for the General Security Directorate and $6.1 million for the
Ministry of Labour in residency and labor permits, according to the reports
estimates.
Other
parties that financially benefit from the kafala system are local service
providers. These include medical labs who perform health screenings, insurance
firms that provide basic health insurance packages for workers, and public
notaries. The revenue for each institution amounts to $1 million, $1.6 million,
and $2.9 million respectively.
Attempted
reforms
A
standard unified contract for domestic workers that was proposed by caretaker
minister of labor Lamia Yammine in September was successfully appealed in the
Shura Council, Lebanon’s highest legislative court. The recruitment agencies’
syndicate pushed back hard against the contract updates for “negatively
impacting the industry of domestic workers recruitment in Lebanon and
contravening the labor law.”
Local
recruitment agencies’ annual revenues account for roughly 60 percent of the
industry’s total profit, and they would have the most to lose if the kafala
system was dissolved, said Boswall.
The
updated contract would have granted workers basic labor rights, like
terminating their work contract without their employer’s consent, working for
designated hours per week and being paid overtime, and being granted separate,
private accommodation, among other provisions.
The
revised contract was perceived as a “crucial first step toward dismantling
kafala in Lebanon” by the International Labour Organization, but it would have
significantly shrunk the $100 million annual revenues generated by the system,
Triangle’s report concluded.
Low
wages become smaller
Currently,
as Lebanon struggles with one of the worst economic crises in its history,
migrant workers are being denied meager wages as employers struggle to obtain
dollar bills in a country with dwindling foreign reserves. If they are paid,
workers are typically given salaries in Lebanese pounds, the crashing local
currency, slashing their wages by nearly 80 percent.
“Salaries
now range between 200,000 Lebanese pounds and 600,000 pounds, not more,”
explained Mekdes Yilma from Egna Legna Besident, an Ethiopian activist group.
At the current black market exchange rate, monthly salaries amount to $25 to
$75.
The
cost of many basic goods, which workers have to purchase themselves, in the
country have doubled.
“If
they dare protest or ask for their rightful pay, they would be beaten up and
abused,” continued Yilma.
Prior
to the ongoing economic crisis, foreign domestic workers used to earn between
$100 and $300 a month depending on their race and nationality, said Yilma. The
minimum wage in Lebanon is $450 a month.
Thrown
out
Aside
from being denied months of pay, many domestic workers were thrown out onto the
streets with their belongings packed in trash bags, and left stranded with no
money, food, water, or their passports.
In
the absence of government action to protect these women, Egna Legna launched a
campaign to send migrant workers back home. So far, they have repatriated 300
women and children, with 100 more to be sent back in coming days.
“We
have women calling us every day, telling us they’re trapped in homes,” Yilma
told Al Arabiya English. “They tell us that they’re miserable and thinking of
hurting themselves, and we don’t have the authorization to go get them from
these homes.”
While
the proposed unified standard contract would not have fully eradicated the
kafala system, it would have ensured basic protections afforded to other
workers in Lebanon. But between the money hungry stakeholders lobbying to
protect the kafala system and the absence of a constitutional government that can
legitimately propose reforms, migrant domestic workers are trapped in the
middle, paying the price.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2020/12/11/Lebanon-crisis-Lebanon-recruitment-agencies-benefit-from-sponsorship-system-lobby-against-reforms
--------
Killer
of Lebanon’s Hariri sentenced to life in prison, remains at large: UN court
11
December 2020
The
UN-backed Lebanon Tribunal on Friday sentenced a Hezbollah member convicted of
conspiring to kill former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in a 2005
bombing to five terms of life imprisonment.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Salim
Jamil Ayyash was found guilty in August of homicide and committing a terrorist
act over the deaths of Hariri and 21 others in the attack on Beirut's
waterfront.
The
trial was conducted in absentia and Ayyash remains at large. Three alleged
accomplices were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
“The
attack was intended to spread terror in Lebanon and indeed did,” Australian
Judge David Re said in reading out the court's decision. “The trial chamber is
satisfied it should
impose
the maximum sentence for each of the five crimes of a life sentence to be
served concurrently.”
Hariri's
assassination plunged Lebanon into what was then its worst crisis since its
1975-90 civil war, setting the stage for years of confrontation between rival
political forces.
“Mr
Ayyash's crimes are extremely grave, he had a central role in the attack,”
Judge Janet Nosworthy said.
“Lebanon
is a parliamentary democracy, its politicians and leaders should be removed
from office at the ballot box rather than by the bullet or a bomb,” she said.
Prosecutors
had called for a life sentence for each of the five counts Ayyash was convicted
of.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/11/Killer-of-Lebanon-s-Hariri-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-remains-at-large-UN-court
--------
Lebanon's
Hezbollah rejects charges against caretaker PM in Beirut explosion
11
December 2020
Lebanon’s
Hezbollah group on Friday said recently filed charges were politically
targeting the caretaker prime minister and three allied former ministers over
this summer’s massive explosion in Beirut.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
group called on the investigating judge to reconsider his decision, saying it
lacked a legal and constitutional basis and that the four were being
selectively charged.
Prime
Minister Hassan Diab, who is backed by Hezbollah, resigned in the wake of the
August 4 explosion and remains in his post in a caretaker capacity, as Lebanese
officials have failed to agree on a new Cabinet.
The
four were the most senior officials to be charged in the investigation and are
set to be questioned next week by investigating judge Fadi Sawwan. He was named
by the government to the post a few days after the explosion and has been
conducting his probe mostly in secrecy.
The
explosion in the port was caused by the ignition of a large stockpile of
explosive material that had been stored at the port for six years, with the
knowledge of top security officials and politicians who did nothing about it.
It killed more than 200 people and wounded thousands, devastating large parts
of the capital Beirut.
The
decision to charge senior officials — including one in office — was significant
in Lebanon, where a culture of impunity has prevailed for decades, including
among the entrenched political elites.
“We
are keen that all decisions taken by the investigating judge stay clear of politics
and intent; be constitutional and not subject to interpretation or judgement;
and that the indictment be based on legal and reasonable basis, which is what
we did not find in the latest measures,” Hezbollah said
“Therefore,
we absolutely reject the absence of unified criteria which led to what we
consider political targeting affecting some people and ignoring others
unfairly,” it added.
Hezbollah
said it supports the people’s right to know the reasons that led to the massive
explosion and those responsible for it. But the powerful group said it doesn’t
want the probe to be stymied in double standards and doesn’t the truth to be
lost in the “jungle of politics, the games of the street (pressure) and media
clamor.”
It
was not clear what the impact of Hezbollah's call would be on Sawwan. But the
charges issued Thursday have already been protested by the concerned officials.
A
statement from Diab’s office Thursday accused Sawwan of violating the
constitution and bypassing parliament. It added that Diab has already provided
all the information he had to the judge, who questioned him in September over
his prior knowledge about the explosive chemicals stored at the port.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/11/Lebanon-s-Hezbollah-rejects-charges-against-caretaker-PM-in-Beirut-explosion-
--------
UAE:
Abu Dhabi Police investigating gang for raping girl, posting video of crime
Ismaeel
Naar
11
December 2020
Abu
Dhabi Police is investigating a group of young men accused of raping a girl and
uploading videos of the attack on several social media platforms, according to
a report on the Emirates News Agency.
In
a statement on Thursday, UAE’s Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said that
Abu Dhabi Police have arrested the men and are currently “undergoing extensive
investigations under the direct supervision of the Public Prosecutor.”
The
Attorney-General added that the incident contained “a degree of depravity that
is not acceptable in UAE society.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/12/11/UAE-Abu-Dhabi-Police-investigating-gang-rape-of-girl-and-posting-video-online
--------
Hezbollah
condemns Morocco-Israel agreement on normalization of relations
12
December 2020
Lebanon's
Hezbollah resistance movement has strongly condemned the so-called agreement
between Morocco and the Israeli regime on the normalization of relations,
stressing that the Arab countries having relations with Tel Aviv will soon
regret their move.
American
President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Morocco had reached a
US-brokered agreement with Israel on the normalization of relations, becoming
the fourth Arab country – After the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and
Sudan – to reach such an agreement with the Tel Aviv regime since August.
Morocco’s
royal court also confirmed the news and said that the US will open a consulate
in the Western Sahara territory in line with the agreement.
“We
condemn the announcement by the Moroccan authorities about the normalization of
relations with the Israeli enemy. This move is in the context of the successive
fall of a number of Arab governments that, at the behest of the United States
and the Zionist regime, have undermined the Palestinian ideals and want to
destroy it,” said Hezbollah in a statement published on its official al-Manar
website.
As
part of the agreement, Trump who is due to leave office on January 20, agreed
to recognize Morocco’s "sovereignty" over the contested Western
Sahara.
Morocco
annexed the vast Western Sahara region, a former Spanish colony, in 1975 and
has since been in conflict with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a movement
that seeks to establish an independent state in the territory and end Morocco’s
presence there.
The
provocative normalization agreements between Israel and three Arab countries
have already sparked outrage among the Palestinians who view the agreements as
stabs on their back and a betrayal of their cause.
“The
submission of these governments to the US and Zionist blackmail policy in the
hope of achieving gains here or lifting sanctions there, are nothing but
illusions and mirages from which they will not gain anything, and they will
quickly discover that they have reaped nothing but disappointment and that
their country has become exposed to the Israeli enemy and its dangerous conspiracies,”
Hezbollah added.
Palestinian
groups condemn Morocco’s agreement as betrayal of Palestine
A
number of the Palestinian resistance groups, in a joint statement on Friday,
also condemned Morocco’s normalization agreement with Israel, saying that the
move is a flagrant betrayal of Palestinians and their cause, al-Mayadeen
television network reported.
They
also stressed that because of the flagrant act of betrayal, Morocco is no
longer qualified to be the chair of al-Quds Committee of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
“The
compromising regimes betrayed the firm will of their brave nations by agreeing
to compromise. These shameful agreements do not reflect the will of the free
Arab nations, especially the Moroccan nation, which has always supported the
Palestinian cause,” the groups said.
The
Palestinian resistance groups, in conclusion, called on Moroccans and all other
Arab nations to make a massive protest movement to reject the compromise and
expose the scandal of the compromisers.
Following
the Morocco-Israel agreement on Thursday and in reaction to it, Palestinian
resistance movement Hamas issued a statement strongly condemning the agreement
as a “political sin.”
Islamic
Jihad Movement of Palestine also condemned the normalization of relations
between Morocco and Israel, describing it as a betrayal of Jerusalem al-Quds.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/12/640537/Palestine-Hezbollah-Morocco-Israel-US-Trump-normalization-UAE-Bahrain-Sudan
--------
Car
bomb kills at least four in Turkish-controlled north Syria
DECEMBER
10, 2020
ANKARA
(Reuters) - At least four people were killed in a Turkish-controlled region of
northern Syria on Thursday when a car bomb detonated at a checkpoint in the
border town of Ras Al Ain, according to a Turkish official and a war monitor.
The
governor’s office in the Turkish town of Sanliurfa identified the dead as two
Turkish police gendarmes and two members of local Syrian security forces. It
blamed the blast on the Syrian Kurdish YPG, which Ankara views as a terrorist
group.
The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, put the total
death toll at 12, including seven Syrian fighters, two Turkish security
personel, two civilians and one unidentified victim.
Turkey,
which is allied with some Syrian rebel groups opposed to Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad, seized control of the town last year in an offensive to push
back YPG fighters from the border.
https://www.reuters.com/article/syria-security-turkey/car-bomb-kills-at-least-four-in-turkish-controlled-north-syria-idUSKBN28K22P?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1808826_
--------
North
America
US
and Israel won’t stop trying to shackle Iran
11
December 2020
By
J Michael Springman
Well
over the last few years ever since the United States withdrew unilaterally from
the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran has scrupulously adhered to the
agreement and granted that it enriched uranium in greater amounts than the
agreement provided and increased its holding of heavy water, which is beyond
what the original agreement provided but as the Iranian government has
repeatedly said we can wipe this all away and we can get rid of this stuff if
the United States and the European signatories Britain, France and Germany
agree to abide by the agreement and drop the sanctions against Iran which is
crippling the economy, crippling the population itself by blocking imports of
necessary medical goods and doing its very best to destroy the operation of the
Iranian government.
It's
a simple matter to do, but I am not optimistic that the United States will do
it. Should Joe Biden be inaugurated as president on January 20 he has said that
he's going to engage the hard-nosed negotiations with Iran over its missile
systems, something dear to the heart of the Israelis and dear to the heart of
the right-wing neocons that have infested the American government for years and
which Joe Biden is bringing back to power throughout his administration.
So
I think that it's a simple matter of dropping the sanctions and rejoining the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which really provides for outrageous
invasions of Iranian privacy within international inspections, teams filled
with espionage agents, I believe.
But,
Iran has adhered to this and it's been proven at least 15 times by the
International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran is adhering strictly to the
provisions of the JCPOA. So I am not optimistic that anything's really going to
change.
I
think Biden is going to follow Trump's viewpoint, and, of course, Obama. He
created this Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with restrictions on Iran and
restrictions on Iran's nuclear program. So I think it's near to the heart of
the American government and to the Israeli government, the apartheid entity to
shackle Iran, and to prevent Iran from supporting people fighting against
American imperialism in Syria and Lebanon and Iraq and other countries.
So
I think that the Americans want Iran to stop this. Israel wants Iran to stop
this. And I think we're gonna have more the same throughout the Biden
administration.
J.
Michael Springmann is an American political commentator, author and former US
diplomat in Saudi Arabia. He is based in Washington. He recorded this article
for Press TV website.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/11/640517/US-and-Israel-won%E2%80%99t-stop-trying-to-shackle-Iran
--------
Pentagon
planning to withdraw support for most CIA counter-terror missions
By
Jim Sciutto, Ryan Browne and Zachary Cohen
December
10, 2020
Washington
(CNN)The US Department of Defense is planning to withdraw most support for CIA
counter-terror missions by the beginning of next year, in a move expected to
have a broad effect on the scope of the intelligence agency's paramilitary
operations, a senior defense official and former senior administration official
with direct knowledge of the move told CNN.
Acting
Defense Secretary Christopher Miller informed CIA Director Gina Haspel of the
decision in a letter this week.
The
US military provides a wide range of support to CIA paramilitary operations,
including air transportation, logistics and medical evacuation. The changes,
which will take place by January 5, involve returning DOD personnel detailed to
the CIA and some military equipment, including Predator drones.
The
move was first reported by Defense One, citing multiple sources.
The
move would be the latest major policy change since President Donald Trump
initiated a major personnel shakeup at the Pentagon following his election loss
to Joe Biden.
The
Trump administration has announced troop withdrawals from Afghanistan, Iraq and
Somalia and has jettisoned much of the Pentagon's civilian leadership in recent
weeks, replacing officials with a slew of political loyalists in a wave of
disruption as his administration winds to a close. Since firing Defense
Secretary Mark Esper by tweet November 9, the President has ousted at least
three other top officials and replaced them with perceived loyalists and
targeted two advisory boards.
A
former senior administration official told CNN the Biden administration plans
to reverse the move.
"The
Department of Defense routinely provides logistical and other support to U.S.
Government departments and agencies around the world. This support is provided
in accordance with the Economy Act, and other applicable law. As a responsible
actor, the Department has taken a look to better align its allocation of
resources with the 2018 National Defense Strategy's shift to great power
competition," Defense Department spokesperson Lt. Col. Uriah L. Orland
said in a statement later Thursday.
"Much
has changed in the first two decades of this century, and DoD simply is working
with CIA to ensure that both DoD and CIA are able to jointly confront the
national security challenges facing the United States" consistent with the
National Defense Strategy, he added.
CIA
spokesperson Nicole de Haay also told CNN that "there is no stronger
relationship nor better partnership than that between CIA and DoD."
"That
partnership has led to accomplishments that significantly advanced US national
security, and we are confident that DoD and CIA will continue this close
collaboration for years to come," she said.
A
US official told CNN that the letter sent by Miller to the CIA said the
Department of Defense is looking into how to update department memorandum of
understanding with the CIA for the first time since 2005.
The
letter asks the CIA to respond with its input by January 5, the official said,
adding that it is tied to the Pentagon's focus on the National Defense
Strategy, which emphasizes a focus on Russia and China -- something Esper
advocated for.
Esper
had been already in the middle of major reviews of all Pentagon components when
he left to ensure they were aligned with the National Defense Strategy, the
official added.
News
of the plan comes after CNN reported that a CIA operator was killed last month
in an operation in Somalia, according to a senior administration official
familiar with the matter. The officer was wounded in an operation in the country
and later died, the official said.
The
identity of the officer has not been made public but the source said the
officer was a former Navy SEAL.
Last
week the administration confirmed plans to withdraw almost all the troops from
the country by early 2021.
US
Special Operations forces have been embedded with the Somali National Army,
assisting in the fight against the militant group Al-Shabaab. As well as
advising on airstrikes and ground assaults, the Navy SEAL-led team's primary
task is to train and build Somalia its own elite light infantry force.
While
US military advisers in Somalia typically seek to let Somali forces take the
lead during operations, there have been incidents where US forces have found
themselves in combat situations.
In
September, a US service member was injured in the country when Al-Shabaab
attacked US and Somali forces. And in August, the US military carried out an
airstrike targeting Al-Shabaab fighters in the vicinity of Dar as Salam, after
local US-backed forces came under fire from a building.
A
Pentagon Inspector General report released this year described the conflict in
Somalia as being at a "stalemate," with US-backed Somali government
forces continuing to battle Al-Shabaab, with the insurgent group continuing to
target Somali and international forces in the country's southern provinces.
Al-Shabaab
is estimated to command between 5,000 and 10,000 fighters, according to
estimates from Africa Command and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Though
US military advisers have been in Somalia since at least 2013, the effort got a
major boost under the Trump administration, which volunteered to undertake the
Danab advisory mission in 2017 in addition to expanding drone strikes.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/10/politics/pentagon-cia-counterterrorism/index.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1808826_
--------
Southeast
Asia
Ibrahim
Ali says Putra to play check and balance role on govt policies
12
Dec 2020
KUALA
LUMPUR, Dec 12 — Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) will play a role as
an agent of check and balance to ensure that government policies can be
implemented in the best possible way.
Its
president Datuk Ibrahim Ali said it was among the motions tabled at the party’s
first annual general meeting (AGM) for the term 2020-2023 which would also
serve as the manifesto in the 15th General Election.
“Putra
will be firm to ensure that any implementation of national policies and laws
does not contain elements of leakage, malpractice, corruption and abuse of
power, not only among political leaders but also civil servants.
“We
will also continue our fight to limit the tenure for Prime Minister, Deputy
Prime Minister, ministers, Mentri Besar, and state executive councillors, to
only two terms. It will ensure a check and balance, clean and integrity,” he
told reporters after the AGM here, today.
Today’s
meeting was attended by only 250 senior leaders of the party to comply with the
standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb the spread of Covid-19.
In
addition, another proposal tabled is that the party to continue the fight for
the creation of a new law to protect the sanctity of Islam as the religion of
the federation and uphold the sovereignty of the institution of the Malay
Rulers. — Bernama
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/12/12/ibrahim-ali-says-putra-to-play-check-and-balance-role-on-govt-policies/1931307
--------
Perak
PAS apologises to Sultan Nazrin for no-show at palace
11
Dec 2020
BY
JOHN BUNYAN
IPOH,
Dec 11 — Perak PAS today publicly apologised for failing to appear before
Perak’s Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah when instructed to do so on Tuesday.
State
PAS commissioner Razman Zakaria (Gunong Semanggol), Mohd Akmal Kamaruddin
(Selama); and Khalil Yahaya (Kubu Gajah) made the apology in a joint press
conference at their party headquarters in Medan Istana here.
“We
humbly express our apology to the Sultan for failing to heed his decree for an
audience on December 8 at 3pm in Istana Kinta,” said Razman.
“In
regard to this, Perak PAS will personally hand over a letter of apology,” he
added.
On
Tuesday, Sultan Nazrin summoned the three assemblymen to an audience at 3pm to
ascertain their position in the selection of a new mentri besar of Perak.
However,
the PAS assemblymen did not turn up for the audience.
Razman
initially said that PAS leadership instructed them to cancel the audience.
PAS
secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said the matter was to prevent
an error during the lawmakers’ audience with Sultan Nazrin.
However,
Razman later claimed that PAS did not receive an official invitation to meet
with Sultan Nazrin.
It
was learnt that the PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang today sought an
audience with the Perak Sultan.
A
letter seeking an audience with the Perak Sultan with the signature of Abdul
Hadi has been circulated on social media. Razman confirmed that the letter was
indeed issued by the party.
However,
a source from the Palace said that the Sultan did not give his consent to the
audience.
“Istana
has officially received (a) letter (to seek audience).
“As
of now to my knowledge, He (Perak Sultan) has not given any consent,” the
source told Malay Mail.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/12/11/perak-pas-apologises-to-sultan-nazrin-for-no-show-at-palace/1931075
--------
No
question of disobedience in Perak, says PAS No 2
December
12, 2020
PETALING
JAYA: The deputy president of PAS said tonight that the question of
disobedience towards the Perak Sultan did not arise in the recently resolved
political crisis in the state.
The
party’s representatives had skipped an audience with Sultan Nazrin Shah shortly
before a new state government was formed.
Tuan
Ibrahim Tuan Man said a political crisis ought to be viewed in its entirety and
we should not draw conclusions from a particular angle.
“We
need to be given leeway to manage a crisis in a short time. In such instances,
it is not surprising for any misunderstanding to take place, misinformation
being relayed or opportunists taking advantage,” he said on Facebook.
His
statement comes in the wake of Perak PAS apologising to Sultan Nazrin Shah, for
failing to appear for their audience with the Ruler on Tuesday.
The
apology was issued by all three of the party’s state assemblymen; Gunung
Semanggol assemblyman Razman Zakaria, Selama assemblyman Mohd Akmal Kamarudin
and Kubu Gajah assemblyman Mohd Khalil Yahaya.
Sultan
Nazrin was to have held an audience with all PAS and PPBM assemblymen at Istana
Kinta in Ipoh to show their support for Umno’s candidate for the menteri besar
and to form the new government.
Razman
previously said the assemblymen did not attend the audience following a
directive from the party’s central leadership, which wanted to wait before
deciding on its support for Umno’s candidate for the menteri besar’s post.
Tuan
Ibrahim also said the party would leave it to the Perak Ruler to decide on
appointing its representatives to the exco lineup.
“We
will accept his views as we are certain that a stable government is his
priority.”
Saarani
Mohamad, the Kota Tampan assemblyman from Umno, took his oath as the 14th Perak
menteri besar at Istana Iskandariah yesterday.
He
later named five assemblymen to his executive council: Zainol Fadzi Paharudin
of PPBM and incumbents Zolkafly Harun, Shahrul Zaman Yahya, Wan Norashikin Wan
Noordin and Khairul Shahril Mohamed, all from Umno.
Saarani
succeeded Ahmad Faizal Azumu of PPBM after the latter lost the confidence of
the state assembly last week, sparking a six-day political crisis in the state.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/12/12/no-question-of-disobedience-in-perak-says-pas-no-2/
--------
Hadi
seeks audience with Perak Sultan to explain PAS’ situation
December
11, 2020
PETALING
JAYA: Abdul Hadi Awang is seeking an audience with Sultan Nazrin Shah to inform
the Perak Ruler of the “political situation involving PAS”.
The
PAS president sent a letter to the palace days after the party had ordered its
representatives not to go to the palace during the Perak menteri besar crisis,
although they had been summoned by the Sultan.
Hadi’s
letter was sighted by FMT and it is understood that no date has been set for
the audience yet.
In
the most recent events involving the party, PAS was left out of a five-man exco
team named by new Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad yesterday.
Sultan
Nazrin had been scheduled to meet all Perak PAS assemblymen at 3pm on Tuesday,
but it was called off by PAS’ central leadership.
Party
secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan later issued a statement saying all of the
party’s assemblymen have been instructed to meet the ruler once they receive
the decree from the Sultan.
He
had said the party upholds the sovereignty of the monarchy and did not wish to
make any mistakes in its decision, especially when it involved the Sultan’s
decree.
Yesterday,
Saarani, the Kota Tampan assemblyman, took his oath as the 14th Perak menteri
besar at Istana Iskandariah.
Perak
PPBM secretary and Sungai Manik assemblyman Zainol Fadzi Paharudin was also
sworn in as a Perak executive councillor, along with Umno members Zolkafly
Harun (Lintang), Shahrul Zaman Yahya (Rungkup), Wan Norashikin Wan Noordin
(Kampong Gajah) and Khairul Shahril Mohamed (Bota).
It
is understood that the other exco members will be named after discussions with
other Perikatan Nasional leaders are completed.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/12/11/hadi-seeks-audience-with-perak-sultan-to-explain-pas-situation/
--------
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