UK £2 www.thearabweekly.com Issue 154, Year 4 April 29, 2018 EU €2.50 Traditional Tensions over Curtain-raiser: art of henna energy in the Elections in MENA Page 23 region Page 18 Page 12-13 Momentum builds for tougher transatlantic stance on Iran Uncertainty remains over Trump’s final decision on nuclear deal

Thomas Seibert Macron’s efforts to convince Trump not to tear up the JCPOA. Like Ma- cron, the chancellor admitted there Istanbul were flaws in the agreement, which constituted a “first step” only. “Eu- he United States is leav- rope and the United States ought to ing both friends and foes be in lockstep on this,” she said. guessing about its course in Macron’s plan would leave the T Iran and Syria. US President JCPOA in place but also put pres- Donald Trump and senior adminis- sure on Iran with moves designed tration officials have offered differ- to make sure that Tehran will never ing views on the fate of the nuclear acquire nuclear weapons and end agreement with Tehran and a possi- its ballistic missile programme. ble troop withdrawal from the Syr- European countries, including ian conflict. Britain, France and Germany, seem The uncertainty means new to have concluded that a trans- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, atlantic solution might delay the viewed as a hawk on Iran, is likely date of lifting of the restrictions on to have much explaining to do on Iran’s uranium enrichment, known his first foreign trip. Pompeo was as “sunset clause,” and address is- to visit Israel, Saudi Arabia and Jor- sues that are not covered by the Iran dan after attending a NATO meeting deal, including Tehran’s ballistic April 27 — less than 24 hours after development programme and its being sworn in — in Brussels. The support for Syrian President Bashar US State Department said the stops Assad. were chosen to reflect their “impor- A confidential document cited by tance as key allies and partners in Reuters stated that the three coun- the region.” tries “are concerned that Iranian missiles are being used in wars in (Reuters) Yemen and Syria, where Iran is di- Like Macron, the German rectly involved in the fighting.” Hawk landing chancellor admitted there US Defence Minister James Mat- After attending NATO talks in Brussels on April 27, new US Secretary of State Mike were flaws in the Iran deal, tis told the Senate Armed Services Pompeo embarked on a 3-day trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan to update allies on which constituted a “first Committee the decision about the US President Donald Trump’s plans for the Iran nuclear deal. It was his first visit to the step” only. nuclear deal had not been made. He said the question being discussed Middle East since his confirmation as Secretary of State. In talks with French President within the administration, and be- Emmanuel Macron in Washington, tween the United States and its Eu- Iranian Foreign Minister Moham- said he wants to bring the 2,000 US Asked whether it would be risky Trump reiterated his rejection of ropean allies, was “whether we can mad Javad Zarif told the Associ- military personnel in Syria home to have local holding partners with- the Joint Comprehensive Plan of repair it enough to stay in it or if the ated Press that Tehran would not as soon as possible. A withdrawal out US forces, Mattis replied: “I am Action (JCPOA), the international president is going to decide to with- “change a line” in the agreement. would leave Kurdish forces allied confident that we would probably agreement drawn up in 2015 to pre- draw from it.” As the administration con- with the United States open to at- regret it.” The defence secretary vent Iran from developing nuclear Pompeo, a prominent critic of tinues its internal deliberations tacks by ISIS in eastern Syria and to said there were plans for a “re-en- weapons. Trump called the agree- the Iran accord, said during his Sen- about the JCPOA, the future of US military pressure by Turkey, which ergised” effort against ISIS in Syria ment “insane.” ate confirmation process that he troops in northern Syria is also un- sent troops into Syria in January. and that US troops there had been Macron, who presented a plan to wanted to “fix” the agreement rath- clear. A strategic plan presented by In his talks with Macron, Trump reinforced with French special forc- save the JCPOA to the US president, er than destroy it. US envoy Christo- Pompeo’s predecessor Rex Tillerson softened his position, saying he es in recent weeks. admitted that Trump was leaning pher Ford, speaking on the sidelines in January said the United States wanted to leave a “strong and last- towards ripping up the accord by of a non-proliferation conference in would keep a military presence in ing footprint” in Syria, a term that Thomas Seibert is a reintroducing US sanctions against Geneva, said Washington is consid- Syria to prevent the Islamic State suggests a continuation of US mili- Washington correspondent Iran before a May 12 deadline. ering a “supplemental agreement” (ISIS) from re-emerging and to limit tary engagement. Mattis told the for The Arab Weekly. Meeting with Trump just days to add rules and restrictions. Iran’s influence and Russia’s role in Senate committee that the United after Macron, German Chancel- Iran says it is opposed to any new the war-torn country. States was not withdrawing “right lor Angela Merkel followed up on negotiations about the nuclear deal. Since then, however, Trump has n o w.” P2-3,6

Iraq’s children main victims of decades of sanctions and wars The refugee

Oumayma Omar “They are the biggest victims council member in Nineveh, point- refugee camps of Hammam al-Alil 1 crisis continues of the vast destruction that swept ed out the enormous problems fac- and Hammam al-Alil 2. Iraq. Many families have refrained ing the region, saying: “The prov- “These are big, frightening num- Baghdad from sending their children to ince has been suffering for years bers. We’ve tried hard with the Min- school due to harsh living condi- from negligence, lack of construc- istry of Education and international e have no money for tions and abject poverty. They can’t tion and development, lack of in- aid groups to secure some kind of studying. My father even afford the minimum cost of tellectual and educational progress education for them to no avail,” he “ is paralysed and my education, which is basically free,” and poor human rights.” added. Wmother is unable to Khatib said. Hadidi urged the central govern- work,” says 12-year-old Shams Ali, Khatib described the work of the ment to give special attention to who, along with her two younger government and humanitarian or- Iraqi children deprived of educa- brothers, sells chewing gum and ganisations in Mosul as “unorgan- 5 million tion and basic conditions for lead- tissue paper on the streets of Mosul ised and confusing.” ing a relatively normal childhood. in northern Iraq to help her family “They are operating without any Iraqi children need He warned that “unless it acts survive. strategy or any carefully designed humanitarian quickly to save these children and Life has been very harsh for plans, a matter that reflected ad- their families, Iraq will have an il- Shams and her siblings since their versely on education, health care assistance and 3 million literate future generation.” father was wounded in an explosion and other basic services for chil- do not attend school on Despite laws against child labour, while they were fleeing the old part dren,” he said. “The well-being and a regular basis. large numbers of children are com- of Mosul at the height of the war future of Iraqi children should be at pelled to work to be able to meet to dislodge militants of the Islamic the top of the government’s priori- their basic needs and to help their State (ISIS) last year. “The family re- ties as well as that of aid organisa- “Violence and displacement families. lies on us to bring some food to the tions.” have deprived scores of children (An extended version of this table. There is no time for study- The United Nations said 5 mil- from education and normal life,” article can be found at: ing,” she said in a distressed tone in lion Iraqi children need humanitar- Hadidi said, noting that there are www.thearabweekly.com.) a phone conversation arranged by ian assistance, 3 million do not at- more than 5,000 orphans and social activists. tend school on a regular basis and 5,000 widows in Mosul who have Oumayma Omar, based in Mustafa Khatib, a social activist in 1.2 million children are out of lost their home and provider, in Baghdad, is a contributor to the Mosul, described the children’s con- school. addition to approximately 6,000 Culture and Society section of ditions as “desolate and miserable.” Khalaf al-Hadidi, a provincial children without schooling in the The Arab Weekly. Page 16 2 April 29, 2018 Cover Story

As ‘bigger deal’ is explored, Iran comes under fresh pressure

Thomas Seibert have a great shot at doing a much bigger — maybe — deal, maybe not deal,” Trump said. “We’re going to Istanbul find out but we’ll know fairly soon.” Macron’s proposals were based ran could come under fresh on months of internal discussions international pressure over its between the United States and its ballistic missile programme European partners — France, Ger- and its expansion of influence many and the United Kingdom in the Middle East because of — that are signatories to the 2015 Ia “bigger deal” between European agreement. powers and the United States that German Chancellor Angela Mer- would keep the controversial nu- kel was to press the same points clear agreement in place. during a visit to Washington. A In a state visit to the White House, consensus between key Western French President Emmanuel Ma- powers on Iran could end more cron laid out a four-pronged ap- than a year of uncertainty caused proach to rein in Iran well beyond by Trump’s vocal opposition to the limits of the Joint Comprehen- the JCPOA. It would also be a face- sive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the saving way for the US president to 2015 nuclear accord is formally avoid losing leverage over Tehran known. by withdrawing from the accord, as Macron’s vision, spelled out dur- he promised he would during the ing a news conference with US Pres- 2016 election campaign. ident Donald Trump, is based on While not denying its flaws, the keeping the JCPOA in place, mak- Europeans say the JCPOA offers a ing sure there is “no nuclear Iranian way to put the brakes on at least activity” in the long run and ending some of Iran’s activities. “This Iran’s ballistic missile programme. agreement may not address all con- It aims to create conditions for po- cerns but we should not abandon it litical solutions to crises in Syria, without having something substan- Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon, where tial and more substantial instead,” Iranian meddling is seen as a threat Macron said in a speech before a by the West and its allies in the re- joint session of the US Congress in gion. Macron said the goal was to Washington. Body language. US President Donald Trump (R) and French President Emmanuel Macron at the “contain Iran.” New negotiations about the ac- White House in Washington, on April 24. (Reuters) cord itself and Trump’s positive Macron laid out a response to them indicate that the sworn in secretary of state and a won’t leave the JCPOA just because JCPOA. “If the United States were four-pronged approach to US president is unlikely to bring the hawk on Iran issues, said during his the United States does; they will to withdraw from the nuclear deal, Iran deal down by announcing a re- US Senate confirmation hearings measure the overall value of the the immediate consequence, in all rein in Iran well beyond the turn of sanctions against Tehran by that his task was to “fix the Iran agreement and not just the parts likelihood, would be that Iran limits of the 2015 nuclear May 12, observers said. deal, not to destroy it.” that pertain to the United States.” would reciprocate and withdraw,” accord. “I don’t think it will be a categori- “The Europeans are not blinded Iranian President Hassan Rohani Zarif told the Associated Press. Trump, who faces a decision cal break,” says Alex Vatanka, an to the fact that much of the US rejected the idea of rewriting the “There won’t be any deal for Iran to about whether to scrap the Iran deal Iran expert at the Middle East In- foreign policy community also nuclear deal but new talks about the stay in.” by May 12, remains opposed to the stitute in Washington. “He will at supports the JCPOA while Trump JCPOA itself would not be necessary Reports said Macron’s plan in- agreement, which, he said, “should most take the United States out but himself does not want to go to war under Macron’s plan. US non-prolif- cludes supplemental agreements have never, ever been made.” He then let it be known that the United with Iran over the matter,” Vatanka eration envoy Christopher Ford laid that would run parallel to the warned Tehran against embarking States will not reimpose sanctions wrote. “Simple logic then tells us out such an approach without pro- JCPOA. The separate deals would on aggressive behaviour. “If Iran in the immediate future,” Vatanka some kind of a diplomatic path viding details. “We are not aiming serve to ensure that Iran would not threatens us in any way, [it] will pay wrote via e-mail in response to forward ought to be possible given to renegotiate the JCPOA or reopen be able to seek nuclear weapons a price like few countries have ever questions. these realities.” it or change its terms,” he said in even after the JCPOA’s time limits paid,” he said. One reason Macron could make Vatanka said he does not expect Geneva. “We are seeking a supple- start to run out in 2025. One model Trump stopped short of an- headway with his plan in Washing- the Iranians to walk away from the mental agreement that would in could be a definition by Western nouncing a US withdrawal from ton is that many members of the US JCPOA if Trump stays within those some fashion layer upon it a series powers of criteria for a purely ci- the pact, indicating instead that he national security community want limits. “As long as there are no of additional rules.” vilian nuclear programme for Iran, might side with Macron in seeking to keep the United States in the new UN sanctions on Iran, which Iranian Foreign Minister Moham- with the threat of sanctions should a more comprehensive counter to JCPOA. is unlikely, the Iranians will prob- mad Javad Zarif said reintroduction Tehran exceed the limits set in that Iran’s influence. “I think we will Mike Pompeo, Trump’s newly ably just learn to live with it. They of US sanctions would collapse the document.

Viewpoint Will Macron’s visit to Washington prolong the life of the Iran deal by another day?

rench President Emma- optimism about future negotia- tone and language and approach were the staunchest supporters of nuel Macron’s state visit tions: “I think we will have a great of the current administration the nuclear agreement in Tehran. to the United States shot at doing a much bigger, in Washington, you would have If they are reacting to Trump’s Ali Alfoneh served the purpose of maybe, deal.” much prospect.” threatened pullout in this way, it’s committing US Presi- Macron agreed that Tehran’s Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secre- not hard to imagine the prevailing dent Donald Trump regional influence must be part of tary of Iran’s Supreme National view within the Islamic Revolu- Fto the transatlantic alliance but further negotiations but warned Security Council, was more direct. tionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The also to make the case for the Iran against ending the nuclear agree- Shamkhani, who was visiting IRGC accuses the government of nuclear deal. Macron argued that ment altogether. “We signed Sochi, Russia, said: “As a repre- having made too many conces- the agreement — the Joint Com- it, both the United States and sentative of the Islamic Republic of sions to the West while negotiating prehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) France. That is why we cannot say Iran, I declare that any agreement the nuclear agreement. — should be kept alive. we should get rid of it like that,” between Europe and the United Still worse, Macron should fear His success depends on two fac- Macron told the US Congress on States concerning the future of the next foreign leader to visit tors: Is Tehran ready to renegotiate April 25. the JCPOA and Iran’s nuclear Washington after Merkel. The the nuclear deal? More important, Despite his diplomatic efforts, programme… is worthless in our American president, after all, who will be the next foreign leader the French president may face his view…” seems to agree with the last person to arrive in Washington? German Waterloo on the deal. “Renewed negotiations con- with whom he has had a conversa- Chancellor Angela Merkel had a Tehran does not seem par- cerning an end to sunset clauses tion. He could be swayed against private chat with Trump in the ticularly willing to renegotiate the concerning Iran’s peaceful nuclear the deal by the Israeli prime min- Oval Office on April 27 and deliv- nuclear deal. On April 23, Iranian activities means the destruction of ister or any Arab head of state who ered the same message as Macron President Hassan Rohani threat- the JCPOA,” he added. happens to be in town. on the Iran deal. The foreign ened “severe consequences” if Ali Akbar Velayati, foreign policy Whether the French president’s leader who arrives in Washington the United States withdrew from adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatol- visit to Washington will prolong after Macron and Merkel could the nuclear deal. Visiting Tabriz lah Ali Khamenei, threatened: the life of the Iran nuclear deal play a crucial role. in East Azerbaijan province on “The Europeans managed to reach remains to be seen, but Trump’s Trump, who is threatening to April 25, Rohani rhetorically asked an agreement with the Americans thinking is likely to be further scrap the Obama-era nuclear pact Washington: “If the JCPOA was and persuaded Trump to remain swayed by the next foreign leader between Tehran and world powers bad, why did you sign up to it?” in the JCPOA. However, should the to visit Washington. As Macron In spite of his by May 12, used the opportunity of Iranian Foreign Minister Mo- US commitment to the JCPOA be said before flying home: “I don’t diplomatic Macron’s visit to rage against the hammad Javad Zarif has warned at the cost of continuation of the know what your president will efforts, the “insane” 2015 accord. He empha- that Iran would restart uranium sanctions, it is not acceptable to decide… my view is that there is a sised: “They should have made enrichment if Washington walks the Islamic Republic of Iran.” He big risk he will leave.” French president a deal that covered Yemen, that away from the nuclear deal. Zarif concluded: “Iran is not ready to may face his covered Syria, that covered other expressed scepticism about rene- recognise a JCPOA from which it Ali Alfoneh is a non-resident parts of the Middle East.” gotiating the deal. He said: “I do does not benefit.” senior fellow at Rafik Hariri Centre Waterloo on the More remarkably, the mercurial not believe that, under the present It’s worth noting that Rohani, for the Middle East at the Atlantic deal. American president expressed circumstances, with the present Zarif, Shamkhani and Velayati Council. April 29, 2018 3 Cover Story

Place your bet: Three options for the Iran nuclear deal

ashington has been aflutter with the Trump-Ma- Mark Habeeb cron bromance: The two leaders spoke glowingly Wof each other, cheek-kissed, seemed to be holding hands at times and sat down together — with their wives — for US President Donald Trump’s first official state dinner. Not since the Marquis de Lafay- ette came to the aid of the Ameri- can colonies in their war against Britain has a French leader been so welcomed in the US capital. French President Emmanuel Macron, however, was on a mission. The “Trump whisperer” — as he has been flippantly referred to in Europe — went to Washington to try to talk Trump out of abandoning the nuclear deal with Iran. Macron faced an uphill battle: Trump campaigned in 2016 against the deal with Tehran; his new national security adviser, John Bolton, has said there is no problem with Iran that cannot be resolved Beyond the JCPOA. Handwritten edits on French President Emmanuel Macron’s speech in the section by a US-imposed regime change; regarding the Iran nuclear deal as he addresses a joint meeting of the US Congress in Washington, on and when Mike Pompeo, Trump’s April 25. (Reuters) new secretary of state, served in the US Congress, he advocated for mis- sile strikes against Iran’s nuclear that he had no intention of doing so word will be added to or removed remain committed to the deal and facilities. again on May 12, the next date by from the agreement” and warned encourage Tehran to stay in as well. Macron is a clever man who which he must make a decision. of “severe consequences” if the Iran does not react immediately but seems to have a good read on For Trump to agree to a new agreement falls apart. Ali Larijani, an internal struggle breaks out be- Trump and his need for ego gratifi- agreement, it must contain tighter the speaker of the Iranian parlia- tween Rohani and more hard-line cation. Instead of trying to per- sanctions against Iran for its missile ment, said: “The Iranian nation is factions over what to do. suade the US president to preserve programme and its interference in not scared of Trump’s ludicrous Option 2: On May 12, Trump lays an agreement reached by Trump’s regional conflicts, which has un- diplomatic manoeuvres. We will out a “new deal” worked out with predecessor, former President nerved US allies in the Arab world respond to America at the appropri- France that includes new sanctions Barack Obama, Macron pledged to as well as Israel. Macron’s task will ate time.” Iranian Defence Minister related to Iran’s non-nuclear ac- work with Trump on a “new deal” — be to persuade his European allies Amir Hatami chimed in that his tions but will the United Kingdom a “Trump deal” to replace the hated — especially the United Kingdom ministry would “execute its own and Germany join in? Will Iran “Obama deal.” and Germany, which, like France, plan at the appropriate time” if the dismiss it out of hand? In fact, any “new deal” would were signatories to the agreement United States pulls out of the agree- Option 3: On May 12, Trump consist of changes to the accord — to agree to tighter sanctions. The ment. reluctantly renews the waivers to negotiated by Obama’s secretary of other signatories, Russia and China, At his April 24 news conference give Macron and Europe another state, John Kerry, but Macron’s lan- are adamant about maintaining the with Macron, Trump said: “Nobody four months to craft a new arrange- guage would allow Trump to claim agreement as it is. knows what I am going to do on the ment. Tehran will spend the four that he had torn out the flawed old Even if Macron can get Trump 12th.” Presumably, this means that months spitting fire and we will go agreement and brought in a shiny to forestall action on May 12 while he doesn’t know either. The best we through all of this again in Septem- new one. Trump seemed to take the a new deal is being worked out can do is consider the options and ber. Even if Macron can bait: At a news conference with Ma- and even if the French president place our bets: Bets must be placed by midnight get Trump to forestall cron on April 24, he said: “I think can convince his European allies Option 1: On May 12, Trump has May 11. we will have a great shot at doing a to go along, there is no indication forgotten his warm and cuddly action on May 12, much bigger, maybe, deal.” that Iran will play ball. In fact, all talks with Macron and announces Mark Habeeb is East-West Editor there is no In January, Trump reluctantly indications point to the opposite that the United States is reimpos- of The Arab Weekly and adjunct agreed to continue the waiver on US reaction. ing sanctions on Iran, effectively professor of Global Politics and indication that sanctions on Iran, thus preserving On April 25, Iranian President terminating the agreement. Euro- Security at Georgetown University Iran will play ball. the nuclear accord, but indicated Hassan Rohani said “not a single pean countries, including France, in Washington. To scrap the Iran deal would hurt European interests, stir up tensions

very week brings yet First, the only alternative to previously espoused preventive either breaching the deal or another example of the a deal allowing Iran to enrich strikes. His hostility towards Iran pulling out of it, his chances of unreality of the United uranium under strict international and North Korea is intense. Before reaching a deal with Kim are slim. Francis Ghilès States’ Middle East control is war; second, rooting out his appointment, Bolton wrote The North Koreans would policies, which confuse ISIS’s barbarism effectively aligns that “it is perfectly legitimate for have to conclude that the United reality and rhetoric and the United States with Iran; and the United States to respond to States cannot be trusted to respect Egeopolitics with empty slogans. last, that most of the problems the current ‘necessity’ posed by its internationally negotiated Beyond what one senior resulting from the US invasion of North Korea’s nuclear weapons by commitments. Their concern European diplomat called “such Iraq can only be solved with Iran. striking first.” would be shared by Russia, China pie in the sky ideas,” the United The Europeans are in a tight Preventive war is a concept and India, the first two of which States’ hard operative policies spot. They have failed to agree that has no legitimacy under have close ties with Pyongyang in the Middle East are to smash to impose sanctions on Iranian international law. It was rejected and all three of which have close the Islamic State (ISIS) and inflict institutions and individuals by all post-1945 US presidents ties with Tehran. painful damage on Iran. ISIS might over Tehran’s support for Bashar except George W. Bush, who used In the words of one senior be formally smashed but the Assad’s regime in Syria. They are it to justify his invasion of Iraq, a European diplomat, if Trump United States has no real plan for unable to reach an agreement on monumental blunder that boosted walks away from the 2015 the governance of Iraq, or Syria this because some fear that such Iran’s influence in Iraq and beyond nuclear accord, known as the for that matter. It has abandoned countermeasures would fail to to Lebanon. Bolton continues to Joint Comprehensive Plan of its Iraqi Kurdish allies and might persuade Trump to stay in the deal defend the war. Action, it will amount to an act of well do the same with their Syrian while strengthening hardliners in He also favours what he calls “diplomatic vandalism,” which peers soon. Tehran who would argue that the the “Libyan option” — quick and will seriously undermine the Iran will be a tougher nut European Union is re-imposing total destruction in North Korea rules-based international order to crack. US President Donald sanctions through the back door. and Iran. North Korean leader Kim the United States took so much Trump has yet to understand, let The United States is pressing Jong-un is aware of the fate of energy and skill to build after alone acknowledge, that in 2003 the European Union to agree former Libyan leader Muammar 1945. the United States changed the to tougher measures on Iran’s Qaddafi and the aftermath in Despite Macron’s endeavours centuries-old balance of power in ballistic missile programme and Libya, as is French President during his state visit to the Middle East to favour Iran. regional role, as well as a removal Emmanuel Macron, who has, in Washington, neither he, Merkel As much as Trump criticises of so-called “sunset clauses” no uncertain words, criticised his nor May seem able to deter Trump his predecessor for trying to reach under which restrictions on predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, for from an outcome that would some form of detente with Iran, Tehran’s nuclear activities start to his Libyan policy. undermine European security, If Trump refuses to he has failed to understand three be lifted in 2025. Europeans know European leaders, such as deprive major companies of major things that former President that a decision by Western powers British Prime Minister Theresa markets and make an already extend a waiver to Barack Obama, senior figures to extend the clauses unilaterally May and German Chancellor tense Middle East an even more new sanctions on Iran in the US establishment and a would certainly scupper the deal. Angela Merkel are well appraised dangerous place. by May 12, his chances majority of military and political After all, Russia and China are of the fact that, if Trump refuses leaders in France, the United parties to the agreement. to extend a waiver to new Francis Ghilès is an associate of reaching a deal Kingdom and Germany have taken Trump’s national security sanctions on Iran by May 12, fellow at the Barcelona Centre for with Kim are slim. on board for years. adviser, John Bolton, has resulting in the United States International Affairs. 4 April 29, 2018 News & Analysis Iraq Electioneering may have cost Iraq big oil deals

The Arab Weekly staff asked for more time but the dead- A margin to line was extended only 11 days, manoeuvre. leaving the companies with a short Iraqi Oil London period to study the offered con- Minister Jabar tracts. Ali al-Luaibi raq opened more of its un- Addressing the bidders, Luaibi speaks in tapped oil and gas resources to denied any reason other than de- Baghdad, last foreign developers, hoping to veloping the country’s border November. (Reuters) I boost revenues after its costly fields that “were neglected for five war against the Islamic State (ISIS) decades in a best way possible.” but the rushed bidding process — A UAE energy company and two rescheduled to precede national Chinese firms emerged as the only elections — may have resulted in a winners in Iraq’s rushed bidding lukewarm response. round for nearly a dozen hydrocar- Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar Ali al- bon-rich areas. Luaibi in March unexpectedly Only nine companies out of 26 moved the date to receive bids pre-qualified took part. Major oil from late June to April, meaning companies — Russia’s Bashneft, the bidding would be before May Lukoil and Gasprom, the United 12 national elections. Some said States’ Exxon Mobil and France’s Luaibi, who is campaigning for a Total — withdrew. seat in parliament, moved up the The auction was Iraq’s fifth since date for political reasons. opening its vast resources to in- Luaibi hopes to represent the oil- ternational energy companies in rich southern province of Basra as 2009. a member of the Victory Alliance, The UAE Crescent Petroleum respectively. oil and gas fields that hold more oil prices plummeted. Iraqi forces which is led by Iraqi Prime Minis- landed three deals almost without China’s UEG won the rights than half of its 153.1 billion barrels concluded major military opera- ter Haider al-Abadi, who is running competition. Two are for the Gila- to explore and develop Sindbad of proven oil reserves. Then, the tions against the extremists last for re-election. bat-Qumar and Khashim Ahmer- green oil field in Iraq’s Basra re- auctions drew majors like Exxon year but large parts of the country “Personal and partisan interests Injana gas fields in Diyala province gion. It will be entitled to 4.55% of Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, the Unit- were reduced to rubble. are taking priority over national in north-western Iraq. The com- the net profit. ed Kingdom’s BP, China’s CNPC In February, Iraq secured $30 interests,” Ruba Husari, managing pany will be entitled to 9.21% and Six blocks — Zurbatiya, Shihabi, and Russia’s Lukoil. billion from international donors director of the consulting firm Iraq 19.99%, respectively, of net profits Jebal Sanam, Fao and the Arabian As a result, Iraq’s daily produc- to help rebuild devastated areas, Insight, told the Associated Press. from the two fields. Gulf in Iraq’s territorial waters in tion and exports have jumped far from the $88.2 billion Baghdad “The objective of the exercise is The third deal is to explore and the Persian Gulf — in central and to levels not seen since the early estimates it needs. The Iraqi cabi- aimed doubtlessly at portraying develop the oil-rich Khider Al-Mai southern Iraq received no bids. 1980s. The country is OPEC’s sec- net has approved a 5-year develop- the ministry — and the minister — block shared by the southern Basra The deals will be initially signed ond-largest producer, behind Sau- ment plan with a target of 6.5 mil- as aggressive in developing the na- and Muthana provinces. The UAE on May 10, Abdul-Mahdi al-Amee- di Arabia, with daily production of lion barrels a day by 2022. tion’s resources ahead of the (elec- company’s share in the net profit di, the head of the Oil Ministry’s around 4.36 million barrels a day Iraq’s 2018 budget of nearly $88 tions).” will be 13.75%. Licensing and Petroleum Contracts from Baghdad-controlled oil fields, billion comes with a deficit of more In previous bidding rounds, offi- China’s Geo-Jade company won Department, said. If they are not up from nearly 2.4 million a day in than $10 billion. It is based on a cials spent months hosting confer- the rights to explore Naft Khana approved by the government be- 2009. Daily exports averaged 3.45 projected oil price of $46 per bar- ences, road shows and discussions block in Diyala, rich with oil and fore the elections, they will be million barrels a day last month. rel and a daily export capacity of with companies before issuing fi- dried gas, and Huwaiza block in left for the next government, he In the summer of 2014, Iraq’s 3.8 million barrels. nal contracts. southern Maysan province. Its added. economy suffered a double shock When Luaibi changed the bid share of net profits from the two Iraq’s previous bidding rounds when ISIS swept across much of The Arab Weekly staff and news date to April 15, potential bidders blocks will be 14.67% and 7.15%, awarded rights to develop major northern and western areas and agencies. Viewpoint Building an American University on grounds of Saddam’s palace is heavy on symbolism

raq’s al-Faw Palace, built by of the new Iraqi government but provided the first mention of Khal- was met with a resounding ‘no’,” Iraqi President Saddam Hus- not without a grandiose send-off at ilzad’s announcement. It confirmed Baghdad medical college graduate sein and used by US forces as the palace ballroom in June 2010. the story, citing official approval Saif Ali said. Nazli Tarzi a war command centre, has The symbolic reinvention of regime from Baghdad. Its unnamed source Another Baghdadi resident in his been chosen for the site of architecture has continued. The in- mentioned, “facilities will first mid-20s shrugged off the news, un- Iraq’s third American Univer- auguration of Iraq’s third American house a College of Law, College of sure of whether AU Baghdad will be Isity to be established by the end of University is merely an extension of Medicine, College of Arts and Sci- another unfulfilled promise. “We’ll 2019. what began in 2003. ences and College of Business.” see if tomorrow comes,” he said. The Kurdish region of Iraq is Disjointed facts shared trans- The foundations, as Rudaw men- A job advertisement on Global home to the other two American continentally about those develop- tioned, were laid during a meeting Academy Jobs site confirmed what Universities (AU) erected in the last ments were first dismissed, mainly in March between US Ambassador few in the capital have heard about. decade. as Baghdad’s residents had not been Douglas Silliman and Iraqi Minister One paragraph read: “Grass and Fifteen years ago, the broader informed. The story was verified in for Higher Education Abdul Razzaq trees will be planted. Wildlife will collection of Saddam’s palaces was a tweet shared by former US Am- Abdul Jaleel al-Essa. be returned [and] the lakes will be among sites high on the United bassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad. A dozen students contacted by cleaned… it will be a quiet, contem- States’ target list. Unlike other Khalilzad congratulated the local The Arab Weekly for comment ap- plative place as a university should architectural crown jewels belong- government, remembering when he peared largely unaware of develop- be.” “To locate a university at this ing to the regime, al-Faw had to be helped open the American Univer- ments, which bemused some and site makes perfect sense,” it added. reinvented to be spared and was sity of Kurdistan and dreamt of the saddened others. It is not entirely clear who wrote the renamed Camp Victory. It housed day when that could be replicated “I never heard anything but a poorly written advertisement. 42,000 military personnel and in Baghdad. suggestion proposed last year to Macro-level transformations such 20,000 civilian staff. Kurdish-run media outlet Rudaw establish another medical school as these will help refashion the Memoirs published by some of huge structure’s identity and, while its former settlers capture happier new architectural identities can be times of social gatherings, private forged, the memory of the past is barbecues and flown-in entertain- harder to erase. ment, including WWE wrestlers, The palace is becoming an endur- celebrity BMXers and skaters all ing symbol of US imperial designs invited by Iraq’s occupying force. in the region. The association with Photographs of soldiers grinning Saddam lives on, considering the mischievously into the camera sit- combined failures of the United ting on Saddam’s throne, a gift from States and its Iraqi allies to build Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, can new structures. They are tak- be unearthed online. ing over those built to mirror the The American From April 2003-December imagined eternity and invincibility University 2011, the palace evolved into an once felt by the power they toppled. American-occupied playground The palace remains trapped in a promises the housing war commanders and never-ending cycle of occupation highest quality of imported entertainers. It bore “few and imperial policymaking. telltale signs that reminded me we The American University prom- education, while were in Iraq,” veteran Wesley Gray ises the highest quality of education some of wrote in his book “Embedded: A while some of Baghdad’s oldest and Baghdad’s oldest Marine Corps Adviser Inside the most revered academic institutions Iraqi Army,” resembling a shrunken are ignored and left to crumble. and most revered settler colony. “A home-away-from- academic home” as described by Jim Loney, Nazli Tarzi is an independent Reuters breaking news editor. Reinvented. A 2011 file picture showing a US soldier touring journalist whose writings and films institutions are Six years since its creation, the al-Faw Palace in Victory Base Compound in Baghdad before it was focus on Iraq’s ancient history a nd ignored. complex was placed in receivership handed over to the Iraqi government. (Reuters) contemporary political scene. April 29, 2018 5 News & Analysis Syria In the face of international confusion, Russia maintains Syria policy

Simon Speakman Cordall

Tunis

omments on the future of the Syrian conflict from senior Russian Foreign C Ministry figures provide clear indicators of both the war the Kremlin is prepared to wage and the peace it intends to impose on the country. However, like so much in Syria’s war, appearances deceive and true meanings remain opaque. Senior officials in the Foreign Ministry said Russia is preparing for a prolonged rivalry in Syria with the United States. The Kremlin, mean- while, is apparently ready to bar- ter its ally’s territory in return for a lasting settlement while simultane- ously shoring up Syrian President The S-300, my Bashar Assad’s grip on Damascus brother’s keeper. by providing his forces with the A missile of an Russian S300 missile defence sys- anti-aircraft tem. defence mobile Russian Foreign Minister Sergei missile system is Lavrov, speaking April 24 in Beijing, seen in front of a contradicted US President Donald missile launched Trump’s claim that US troops would from the S-300 be returning from Syria “soon.” In- system. (Reuters) stead, he suggested, US forces were digging into position east of the Eu- phrates River and preparing for the said Mark Galeotti, a senior re- of firepower and there wasn’t really cussed for various regions of Syria. known partners.” long-term occupation of that ter- searcher at the Institute of Interna- much of a response.” This doesn’t really seem to be too However, while the S300 system rain in conjunction with the Kurd- tional Relations in Prague. “First, Likewise, Ryabkov’s apparent radical a departure from that.” may be deployed at Syrian bases, ish-dominated Syrian Democratic they’re looking to maintain their flexibility over Syria’s frontiers rep- As the dust from the Western the extent that it would be under Forces, as well as the newly arrived foothold within the region and resents little that has not already air strikes still hangs in the air and Syrian control is open to question. French special forces. secondly they’re determined to use been mooted in the Kremlin-spon- French troops bolster Paris’s exist- “Russia enjoys a pretty good re- Perhaps reflecting that thinking, Syria as leverage against the West.” sored Astana peace talks. “Much ing presence, “the Kremlin’s ready lationship with Israel, which has Lavrov’s deputy, Sergei Ryabkov, As such, Lavrov’s assertion that of this is already implicit with the to put anything on the table that’ll been striking at targets within Syria told Deutsche Welle on April 19: the United States is preparing for Astana process.” Galeotti said. “Ei- move its own agenda forward,” for some time and is going to be un- “We don’t know how the situation a prolonged occupation of eastern ther autonomy or a high degree Galeotti noted. willing to have its own missile de- is going to develop on the question Syria may not reflect the Kremlin’s of self-rule has already been dis- Likewise, Russia’s suggestion fence system used against its ally,” of whether it is possible to keep Syr- thinking so much as it is an effort to that it may provide Damascus with Galeotti noted. “So, while [the Rus- ia as a single country.” force Washington’s hand. Sergei Ryabkov the S300 missile defence system sians] may deploy it, they’re going Rather than signal the pragmatic “It really could just be as sim- Russian deputy as a response to the Western air to make sure that it’s either entirely foreign minister acceptance of a changed reality on ple as Lavrov calling the [United strikes on Syria is less than straight- reliant upon Russian radar systems the ground, both comments sug- States’] bluff,” Galeotti said. “More- forward. Lavrov told the Russian or that, at the least, it’s Russian fin- “We don’t know how the gest that little in the Kremlin’s over, there’s not really a great deal news agency RIA Novosti: “Now, gers on the trigger.” situation is going to develop outlook has undergone significant that Russia can do about the Ameri- we have no moral obligations. We on the question of whether it change. can presence. Just a few months had the moral obligations, we had Simon Speakman Cordall is Syria/ is possible to keep Syria as a “Russian policy in Syria is driven ago, we saw the US wipe out Rus- promised not to do it some 10 years Lebanon section editor with single country.” by two principal considerations,” sian mercenaries in a major display ago, I think, upon the request of our The Arab Weekly.

Viewpoint Is Moscow suggesting a new Sykes-Picot Agreement over partition of Syria?

he idea of a partition of Syr- region. sect or religion, thus strengthening realising there can be no military ia was considered to exist The Sykes-Picot Agreement laid the legitimacy and the reason for solution to the conflict? solely in the conspiratorial the groundwork for much of the the existence of a Jewish state. Has the Kremlin’s analysis of the T imagination of the region’s upheaval that followed in the dec- Until now, talk of dividing Syria situation concluded that Syria, in suspicious minds, of which there ades to come. found no support among Syria’s its current composition, is inde- is no shortage. However, such talk With the Syrian civil war turned principal ally, Russia, which has fensible? Does Moscow, in looking appears to have gone from political into a regional conflict with mili- consistently stood by the govern- at its own interests, realise that, Claude Salhani fiction to plausible reality. The par- tary forces defending the interests ment of Bashar Assad, stating as far as Russian interests were tition of Syria seems to be a viable of all kinds of global and regional that his forces would recapture all concerned, an Alawite state would option. The Sykes-Picot agreement powers, one must not forget the Syrian territories that came under be easier to defend and more use- may be revisited. Kurds, who see there an oppor- ISIS control. Indeed, the army, with ful as an ally, from both a military Signed secretly by Great Britain tunity to relaunch their quest for much help from Russia, Iran and perspective as well as from a and France at the close of the first an independent homeland, or the Lebanon’s Hezbollah, has recap- commercial reconstruction point world war, the agreement div- radical Islamists such as ISIS, or tured most of the territory that of view? vied up the spoils of the Ottoman Israel. had been under the control of the Russian President Vladimir Empire, which after more than a Although the Jewish state is not Islamists. Putin, who has achieved Moscow’s century was forced out of the Mid- actively engaged in the fighting “We consider Syria’s territorial centuries-old dream of securing dle East. Russia was kept informed on the ground, Israel’s military integrity an absolute necessity. For a year-round warm water port of the accords but was not party to has been keeping a very close eye now, nobody claims to act against for its Mediterranean fleet, will them. on developments, periodically this principle and I hope they not risk losing everything for the Since Sir Mark Sykes, represent- “rectifying” a misdirected piece of won’t,” Russian Foreign Minister sake of maintaining Syria united ing the British Foreign Office, and Syrian, Islamist or Iranian field ar- Sergei Lavrov said last November. if it means continuing the Syrian Francois Georges-Picot, of the Quai tillery, or, as of late, shooting down Much water has flowed un- civil war for years and sustaining d’Orsay, signed the controversial Iranian drones. der the bridges. Russian Deputy casualties. document, they came under severe Since the start of the Syrian Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov That would indicate redrawing criticism for how the lands were civil war seven years ago there recently expressed a very different the region’s maps and replacing divided and how the colonial rul- have been rumours of Syria being opinion on Deutsche Welle Radio: the Sykes-Picot Agreement with ers seemed to have created new splintered into three or four states. “We do not know if things will de- one reached by Russia, Iran and Putin will not boundaries by tracing straight lines The rumours differ over how the velop in a way that will end up in a Turkey. If Arab world residents in the sand. country would break up but, basi- Syria as a single country.” thought poorly of the Franco- risk losing The borders of many of the new- cally, give or take a border or two, Why would a high-ranking Rus- British accord that divvied up their everything for ly emerged countries of the Middle the outcome would be the same: sian official come out with such a lands, they should brace for the the sake of East failed to consider issues such Divided, weakened and militarily statement when all of Russia’s mili- Russian-Iranian-Turkish version. as tribes, clans and family, which exhausted, Syria would be replaced tary might has been deployed in maintaining traditionally played paramount by a number of smaller states, each support of the Syrian government? Claude Salhani is a regular Syria united. roles in societal structure in the representing a single ethnicity or Does it mean the Russians are columnist for The Arab Weekly. 6 April 29, 2018 Opinion

Editorial Nuclear deal discussions put focus on Iran’s behaviour

t remains unclear whether the US admin- istration will pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. Recent talks between US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel offer little indication of what lies ahead. IThe May 12 deadline for the multilateral deal is looming. That is the date by which Trump must decide whether to keep the agreement or effectively scrap it. What’s clear is Trump’s opposition to the basic structure of the agreement. It was negotiated on the watch of his predecessor Barack Obama. During Macron’s visit to Washington, Trump described it as “a deal with decayed founda- tions… a bad deal. It’s falling down.” Aside from the hyperbole, there does appear to be greater awareness in Western capitals of the inherent flaws of the deal. Discussions in Washington and elsewhere reflect growing European dismay at the agreement’s inability to constrain Tehran. This has become a more pointed issue in the years since the agreement was signed. It is because of Tehran’s unconstrained behaviour in the region. The agreement provides no way to prevent Iran from pursuing a ballistic missile pro- © Yaser Ahmed for The Arab Weekly gramme. Nor does it penalise Iran’s support to extremist proxies across the Middle East, from Syria to Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and elsewhere. As a result, Tehran has been emboldened. It Can Iran learn something has felt free to pursue an aggressively expan- sionist agenda in the region. The agenda kept pace with Iran’s budgetary resources, as economic sanctions wound down and the from North Korea? regime in Tehran felt more able to spend. Furthermore, the so-called “sunset” provi- Khairallah Khairallah sions of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of If those in power in Syria and Iran had one ounce of common Action (JCPOA) end restrictions on Iran’s ability to enrich uranium by 2025. Experts say sense, they would have surrendered to common sense. that Iran can, even now, enrich enough uranium to build a nuclear weapon within a t’s only common sense that from his vainglorious boast- bases in Syria, in addition to year. Once restrictions are lifted, it can do this North Korea said it would ing and threats and accept the those created in Lebanon by its in a matter of weeks. The danger is obviously stop testing its nuclear United States’ conditions. That proxy, Hezbollah. compounded by Iran’s unrestricted ballistic weapons and long-range means, among other things, that Cooperation between the missile programme development. missiles; such experiments North Korea must stop supply- Iranian regime and North Ko- Allowing Iran a nuclear-free hand will do not feed a hungry popu- ing ballistic missile technology rea in developing long-range Ilation. However, that’s bad news to rogue states for a pittance. missiles, like those launched endanger international peace and security and Strange as he may be, the vain set off a regional nuclear proliferation spiral. for the so-called Axis of Refusal from Yemen by the Houthis in the Middle East. It’s going to Kim admitted that he needed to against Saudi Arabia, is quite France and other European countries want try to trivialise North Korean save face and cover his regime’s well-known. The Syrian regime to address these concerns by imposing addi- leader Kim Jong-un’s decision as bankruptcy. Pompeo’s visit also cooperates with North tional restrictions on Iran as part of a revised giving in to American pressure. to North Korea is paving the Korea in developing interna- version of the 2015 deal. Alternatively, these The Axis of Refusal will do way for a historic direct meet- tionally banned weapons. In issues could be addressed in supplemental that because North Korea plays ing between the North Korean 2007, Israel destroyed installa- agreements to the deal. a major role in providing Iran leader and Trump in July. A tions for a nuclear reactor built It’s hard, however, to square such aspira- with technology and knowledge summit between North Korea by North Korea in the Syrian tions with Iran’s bellicose and uncompromis- to develop its ballistic missiles and South Korea is going to pre- region of Deir ez-Zor. ing response to any suggestion that further and nuclear programmes. Both cede the meeting, the first since Now, in 2018, the world is negotiations may be in order. Iranian Foreign the Syrian and Iranian regimes the beginning of the Cold War, wondering whether North Ko- Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has already look to North Korea as a model ushering a new era of openness rea is truly willing to abandon said: “We will not add anything to the deal or to emulate in defying Washing- on the Korean Peninsula. its vocation of merchant of remove anything from it, even one sentence.” ton and US President Donald The winds of change are weapons of mass destruction Zarif’s boss, President Hassan Rohani, has Trump in particular. coming to North Korea and the and turn into a normal state issued his own chilling ultimatum. “Mr Trump North Korea’s decision Korean Peninsula. Kim Jong- concerned with providing thinks that it is just hot air when we say that if came after CIA Director Mike un’s regime had no choice but to enough food for its 25 million the nuclear deal falls apart, we will restart (our Pompeo’s secret visit to Pyong- give in to US demands and start citizens. We will soon find nuclear programme) at a new speed which will yang. With respect to the building new relations with out how far Kim is willing to be shocking to them. His threats are empty,” Iranian file, Pompeo is a hawk in South Korea, which has become go on the path of change. The an international economic pow- Rohani declared. the Trump administration and trouble is that it is unknown if was sworn in April 26 as secre- erhouse. his autocratic regime will sur- To underline his defiance and in an obvious tary of state. If those in power in Syria and vive the effects of opening to attempt to avoid discussing the issues at hand, Iran does not want to accept Iran had one ounce of common a modern state such as South Rohani engaged in personal attacks on the US that, sooner or later, the reper- sense, they, too, would have Korea. president. “You have no expertise in politics, cussions of Kim’s change of surrendered, not to the United We’re not sure about the nor in law, nor in international accords,” heart will reach it. It would be in States, but to common sense. survival of the North Korean Rohani said of his American counterpart. Iran’s best interest to follow in Common sense says that no regime. What we’re sure of This kind of discourse plays well with the the footsteps of Kim and learn country could have an expan- though is that Kim’s move is crowd back home. It also allows Iranian from his experience. All this sion project if it doesn’t have a going to make orphans out leaders to stifle attempts to have a serious big talk about nuclear weapons solid economic base on the one of the Axis of Refusal, espe- discussion about legitimate concerns. These and ballistic missiles does not hand and a model to emulate on cially Iran, where the regime include the regime’s bellicose attitude, the make any sense in a country the other. does not seem to realise that ballistic missile programme and hostile where citizens die of hunger or China, as well as the former the population does not need regional agenda. are reduced to eating tree roots. Soviet Union and then Rus- missiles or nuclear bombs or In contrast to this unrelenting posture, there Kim’s regime could offer North sia, had for a long time used control over Arab capitals such was the French president’s categorical state- Korean citizens nothing more North Korea as a pawn in their as Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut ment to the US Congress. Iran, Macron said, than dictatorship. competition with the United or Sana’a, as much as it yearns “shall never possess any nuclear weapons. Not In the Arab world, the closest States. China was the lifeblood Iran does for better living conditions. now. Not in 5 years. Not in 10 years. Never.” regime to the North Korean of the North Korean regime for not want to Such an objective, of course, Macron did not explain the basis for his model is the Syrian regime. Like six decades but now it seems implies abandoning hollow that Pyongyang has become a accept that, confidence that Iran will “never” possess a Kim, Syrian President Bashar slogans and useless acts of Assad inherited power from his burden to its mighty neighbour. sooner or aggression and embarking nuclear weapon. father. In that respect, Hafez The timing for the North Ko- later, the on good relations with the Today, there is only one absolute certainty. Assad must have been a very rean change of heart is intrigu- international community at In the months and years ahead, the interna- repercus- good student to Kim Il-sung, ing. It coincides with foreboding sions of large and the United States tional community will have to brace itself for founder of the presidency-by- mighty changes in the Middle in particular. Can the Iranian further tensions with Iran until it sees the error inheritance regime. East. Iran, however, continues Kim’s regime grasp that? of its ways and drops its expansionist and Despite Kim’s strangeness, to ignore the signs of change change of belligerent policies. he still turned out to possess and pushes forward with its heart will Khairallah Khairallah is a enough common sense to back programme to establish military reach it. Lebanese writer. April 29, 2018 7 Opinion Contact editor at: [email protected] Lebanese elections will not change Published by Al Arab much of the landscape Publishing House Bassem Ajami Publisher and Group Executive Editor The lack of political change will not be the Haitham El-Zobaidi, PhD only source of disappointment. Editor-in-Chief he Lebanese will go branch, members of the new to the polls May 6 parliament will play the role of Oussama Romdhani to elect a new par- notables — “ayan,” which is a liament. Although class of dignitaries with access Managing Editor there is little hope to the machinery of state who Iman Zayat the results will act as intermediaries between Tfundamentally change the the population and the govern- Deputy Managing Editor country’s political landscape, ment. Their popular designa- and Online Editor the fact that the elections are tion is “service providers.” Mamoon Alabbasi taking place has generated The Lebanese inherited much excitement. the system of ayan from the Senior Editor The current parliament was Ottoman era. While its role John Hendel elected in 2009 for a 4-year diminished in other former term. Its duration was ex- Ottoman areas, in Lebanon the Chief Copy Editor tended twice due to turbulent system flourished under the Richard Pretorius circumstances in the country sectarian regime that sways that made having elections a the country’s political culture, Copy Editor security risk. especially since the end of the Stephen Quillen That, however, is not the 1975-90 civil war. only reason for the excitement. The result was that the polit- Analysis Section Editor The coming elections will take ical campaigns that accompany Ed Blanche place under a new electoral parliamentary elections lack East/West Section Editor law that embraces proportional meaningful reference to seri- representation instead of one ous issues that affect the lives Mark Habeeb in which the winner takes all. of the Lebanese. No mention of Gulf Section Editor The new law initially gave educational policy, for exam- Mohammed Alkhereiji ple, and almost a total disre- hope to those who sought Form over substance. Electoral billboards for the May parliamentary change. Such hopes, though, gard for such issues as health elections in Lebanon by the largely Shia Amal movement with the tagline Society and Travel were dashed when it became care, housing and financial reading in Arabic “Your vote is a hope (Amal) for the borders.” (AFP) Sections Editor apparent that the new law policies that directly affect the Samar Kadi would allow change only in daily lives of the population. form. Fighting corruption has been housing lease law. The law Traditionally a Hezbollah Syria and Lebanon A few faces may change but an issue that every candidate was passed two years ago and stronghold, the Iran-backed Section Editor the coming parliament will be is addressing in the campaign continues to be controversial. party is facing a serious chal- Simon Speakman Cordall dominated by the same five or but only in the most ambigu- Many candidates have assailed lenge from competing Shia six sectarian blocs. The new ous terms. “We will work hard the law but without offering groups that accuse the party of Contributing Editor government will also remain to end corruption and to bring alternatives. failing to promote the interests Rashmee Roshan Lall a mini-parliament composed corrupt officials to justice,” On the other hand, Hezbol- of the region. of representatives of the same pledged one candidate at a lah is waging its campaign fo- Regardless of the intensity Senior Correspondents blocs that dominate the parlia- recent political rally. However, cusing on the fight against Is- of the campaign, few say the Mahmud el-Shafey (London) ment. he spelt out no programme rael. Its propaganda apparatus anticipated parliamentary Lamine Ghanmi (Tunis) The lack of political change for how he plans to carry out highlights the party’s efforts to election will bring needed will not be the only source such a mission. The same can liberate southern Lebanon and new blood into the Lebanese Regular Columnists of disappointment. The role be said about the other 750 on its war in 2006. political system. Claude Salhani of the new parliamentarians candidates competing for the Such focus has made Hez- Yavuz Baydar will not change. Instead of 128 seats of parliament. bollah a single-issue party and Bassem Ajami is a acting as legislators and as Another issue that attracted it has backfired at least in one Lebanese-British journalist Correspondents watchdogs over the executive wide public attention is the constituency: Baalbek. who lives in Beirut. Saad Guerraoui (Casablanca) Dunia El-Zobaidi (London) Roua Khlifi (Tunis) Another lens to view Thomas Seibert (Washington) Chief Designer Marwen el-Hmedi

Syria: its merchants Designers Rashmee Roshan Lall Ibrahim Ben Bechir The book acknowledges that Syria faces a situation Hanen Jebali much different from the turmoil of its recent past. Subscription & Advertising: [email protected] owards the end the grittiness that marks out The book acknowledges that There is Rana Haddad’s novel, Tel 020 3667 7249 of her book “The the Syrian people. Every other Syria faces a situation much “The Unexpected Love Objects Merchant of Syria: A chapter of the book recounts different from the turmoil of of Dunya Noor.” Chemical History of Survival,” the life and times of the late its recent past — the capricious attack-survivor Kassem Eid’s Mohamed Al Mufti British Arabist Diana Mohammad Chaker Chamsi- and self-serving carve-up of “My Country: A Syrian Memoir” Marketing & Advertising Darke quotes a Syr- Pasha, known as Abu Chaker. Greater Syria by the French; the is due out next month. Manager Tian proverb. “All roads lead to He was from Homs and was fall of the Ottoman Empire; or, Journalist Rania Abouzeid’s the mill” it goes, a reference to born in 1921, nine years before further back, the events of 1860 “No Turning Back: Life, Loss, Tel (Main) +44 20 7602 3999 the Syrian people’s indomitable Syria’s long-serving Ba’athist that are often called a civil war. and Hope in Wartime Syria” was Direct: +44 20 8742 9262 instinct for survival through dictator Hafez Assad. Abu The “complicating factor” in published in March. It tracked www.alarab.co.uk commerce over hundreds of Chaker dealt in textiles, lost Syria, Darke writes, is the rise the trajectory of the Syrian years. everything twice over, Darke of Islamist extremist organisa- uprising through the eyes of a It may seem like an uncom- writes, “through political in- tions. The ideology “will con- handful of characters. fortably Panglossian sentiment stability and war” but went on tinue to find fertile Last year, there was “The when the bloody, long-running to take over (and save) Hield, a breeding ground Home That Was our Coun- civil war has metastasised into famous wool manufacturer in among a brutalised try: A Memoir of Syria,” a wider Syria war, one that has Bradford in Britain. and unemployed in which Alia Malek drawn in foreign armies, trig- Eventually, he returned to youth who have recounted her return gered fears of devastating great Homs, leaving his city for the nothing to lose.” from the United States to US Publisher: power rivalry and left Syrians last time in 2011, a couple of As long as Damascus to reclaim her with little control of their own years before he died. Towards wealthy Syr- grandmother’s apartment. Ibrahim Zobeidi destiny. the end of his life, he watched ian elites refuse to In their 2016 book, “Burn- (248) 803 1946 But Darke, who has known the conflict raging in his coun- share opportunity ing Country: Syrians in Syria since the 1970s and lived try from afar. Darke describes and good fortune Revolution and War,” Robin there, bought and restored an Abu Chaker as “the archetypal with the disad- Yassin-Kassab and Leila old house in Damascus, is not Syrian merchant” and examines vantaged under- al-Shami offered a people’s being overly sentimental about his stubborn refusal to give up class, she writes, history of the uprising. Syrians’ capacity to survive. for clues to the future of war- “even moderate The many genres that are She grounds the book in Syria’s torn Syria. Muslims may be being used to tell Syria’s socio-economic history — its In the book, she seems to driven to join the story underline its complex- people’s talent for trade and come away from that particular ranks of the ex- ity. Darke’s book offers a dif- entrepreneurship and their exercise hopeful, not sanguine. tremists.” It is in ferent lens to view a country manifest ability to construct In e-mailed responses to ques- such dispiriting that is all too often seen as Al Arab Publishing House a “mosaic society… (of) Sunni tions from The Arab Weekly, conditions, she no more than a long-running Quadrant Building and Shia Muslims, Alawis, Darke is more upbeat. “Given argues, that the war, a constant flow of refu- 177-179 Hammersmith Road Druze, Orthodox and Catholic its history, Syria will survive role of the Syrian gees or a bad news story that London W6 8BS Christians, Syriacs, Armenians, thanks to its people and their merchant, especially with Different lens. never ends. Kurds, Turkmens, Circassians, resilience,” she said. “Based on the ingenuity of resourceful, Cover of Diana Ismailis and, historically, my researches and my experi- determined Abu Chaker “will Darke’s “The Rashmee Roshan Lall is a Jews…” ence of how Syrian society is continue to be pivotal.” Merchant columnist for The Arab Weekly. Tel: (+44) 20 7602 3999 She splices the story of Syria still holding together. It is dam- Darke’s book adds to a of Syria: Her blog can be found at Fax: (+44) 20 7602 8778 with that of one man, the mer- aged, bruised and battered but lengthening list of memoirs, A History of www.rashmee.com and she is chant of the title, to illustrate not irreparably,” Darke said. novels and non-fiction on Syria. Survival.” on Twitter: @rashmeerl. 8 April 29, 2018 News & Analysis Gulf Qatar continues antagonistic behaviour while seeking Kuwaiti mediation efforts

Mohammed Alkhereiji Risky moves. London Qatari Mirage rospects of a resolution to 2000-5 the 11-month-old dispute fighter jets with Qatar deteriorated with prepare to the United Arab Emirates ac- take-off. P (AFP) cusing Qatar’s Air Force of intercept- ing one of its commercial jetliners. The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority said Qatari fighter jets flew dangerously close to an Emirati civilian Airbus carrying 86 passen- gers in Bahraini airspace. The authority said in a statement that the move “is a clear repetition of a threat to the safety of civil avia- tion and a breach of international laws and agreements” and that it would file a complaint with the In- ternational Civil Aviation Organisa- tion. A statement from the Bahraini Foreign Ministry said the commer- cial Airbus 320 was on its usual route from King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, to Abu Dhabi. It said the flight was scheduled and had all required per- mits. The Foreign Ministry state- ment claimed repeated provoca- tions from Qatar were a threat to passengers’ lives and a serious vio- lation of international laws. The statement from the Bahraini government came as the trial in- antagonistic acts by Qatar since emerge from the crisis unscathed. Although the likelihood of a al-Jubeir warned that without US volving three Bahraini nationals last June when Saudi Arabia, the The sources said Kuwaiti Emir breakthrough is slim, the sources military protection, Doha would charged with spying for Qatar was United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sheikh Sabah Ahmad al-Jaber al- said Kuwaiti officials were optimis- “fall in less than a week.” winding down, with a verdict ex- Egypt severed commercial and dip- Sabah intended to reach a break- tic they can achieve one because The official Saudi Press Agen- pected in June, Bahrain’s public lomatic ties with Qatar over issues, through to the crisis at the recent there apparently is a willingness by cy quoted Jubeir as saying Qatar prosecutor said. including its support for the Muslim Arab League summit. However, Qatar to accept the 13 conditions set should pay for the presence of US Bahraini Public Prosecutor Osama Brotherhood and its ties with Iran. with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim forth by the Arab Quartet, provid- troops in Syria and should deploy al-Oufi said the three suspects were Doha’s leadership has reportedly bin Hamad al-Thani opting not to ed Sheikh Tamim can find a face- troops there itself before the United charged with sharing intelligence been trying to rekindle mediation attend the meeting due to what saving scenario in which to accept States removes its support for Qatar. with a foreign country with the aim efforts to end the dispute with the sources said were unfavourable them. The comments were very similar to of carrying out hostile acts to un- quartet of countries. conditions, Sheikh Sabah brought Before the Arab League summit, those made by US President Donald dermine the kingdom’s political and Gulf Arab sources said the April up mediation talks on the sidelines foreign ministers for the Arab Quar- Trump during a news conference economic institutions. The defend- 23 visit by Qatari Foreign Minis- of the meeting. tet stressed their “firm position on with French President Emmanuel ants are also charged with passing ter Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Qatar’s addressing the list of 13 de- Macron in Washington. defence secrets to a foreign country al-Thani to Kuwait was linked to a mands and their adherence to the The US military has a significant and providing it with information Qatari request to revive mediation The interception of the Six Principles of the Cairo meeting presence at Al Udeid Airbase in related to the internal situation of efforts regarding the dispute with Emirati Airbus is the and Manama Declaration as a foun- Qatar. the country. the so-called Arab Quartet. Publicly latest in a series of dation for normalising relations,” The interception of the Emirati the trip was intended to show that antagonistic acts by the official Saudi press agency said. Mohammed Alkhereiji is the Gulf Airbus is the latest in a series of Doha is not isolated and that it can Qatar since last June. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel section editor of The Arab Weekly. Houthis’ second-in-command killed in Saudi-led coalition air strike

The Arab Weekly staff he said he was open to turning “a Houthis are not flexible on the po- Rajih Badi, spokesman for the firms that Abdelmalik al-Houthi new page” with the Saudi-led coa- litical settlement and — people are internationally recognised gov- only appoints personalities very lition. not noticing — there is real progress ernment of President Abd Rabbo close to him, due to internal rela- London Analysts said the targeting of on the ground for the coalition.” Mansour Hadi, described Sam- tions. As you know, he was Abdel- Sammad indicated that prospects “This is certainly a key setback,” mad’s death as “a huge blow” malik’s office manager. The third Saudi-led coalition air for a political solution were dete- said Adam Baron of the European for the rebels and said Sammad’s indication is that he is from Saada,” strike killed dozens of riorating and the coalition’s intelli- Council on Foreign Relations to announced successor, Mahdi al- Badi told the Saudi-owned Al Ara- Iran-allied Houthi rebels, gence capabilities were improving. AFP. “With regards to targeting Mashat, was “a poor choice.” biya news channel. A including two command- “There is no other option at Houthi leaders, it represents the “Whoever knows Mashat In other developments in Yem- ers, dealing the group a new blow this stage,” Mustafa Alani, analyst biggest hit for the coalition so far through talks, knows that he is a en, forces loyal to Major-General following the assassination of their at the Gulf Research Centre, told and suggests their intelligence ca- weak personality, very young and Tariq Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, political chief. Agence France-Presse (AFP). “The pabilities are improving.” without any experience. This con- nephew of the former Yemeni The Houthi militia on April 28 president, said they would join had a public funeral for Saleh al- forces with the Saudi-led coalition. Sammad, head of their Supreme Sources told Reuters that Saleh Political Council and effectively led thousands of soldiers, includ- the Houthis’ second-in-command. ing former members of Yemen’s Sammad and six members of his Republican Guards, the paramili- entourage were killed April 19 in tary Central Security Forces and an attack on the port city of Hodei- other elite troops, backed by coali- dah. tion forces, in a battle against the The funeral was hours after Sau- Houthis in the Red Sea port of Mo- di Arabia’s state-run Al-Ekhbariya cha on the day Sammad was killed. television said two high-ranking Despite fighting with the coali- insurgents were among more than tion, Saleh and his troops are not 50 Houthis killed in a new strike on under the umbrella of the interna- Sana’a. tionally recognised government of Since the start of the war in 2015, Hadi, a point likely to become an Sammad had been the Saudi-led issue of contention. coalition’s second most wanted Yemen’s Aden al-Ghad news Houthi leader because of his abil- website reported that former Yem- ity to broker alliances with Yem- eni Culture Minister Khalid al-Ru- en’s tribes. The Saudis offered $20 waishan urged Saleh to recognise million for information leading to the legitimacy of Hadi’s govern- Sammad’s capture. ment. Sammad was instrumental in Ruwaishan said Saleh had every establishing an alliance with the right to fight the Iran-allied rebels late Yemeni President Ali Abdullah “because he has [personal] mo- Saleh’s General People’s Congress tives and has the means” but that it (GPC) when the conflict began. The had to be done within “the frame- Houthis turned on Saleh and killed Returning to battle. A file photo of Major-General Tariq Saleh, a nephew of former Yemeni leader Ali work of legitimacy and in coordi- him last December, however, after Abdullah Saleh, at the Republican Palace in Sana’a. (Reuters) nation with the government.” April 29, 2018 9 News & Analysis Egypt

On the edge. A 2016 file picture shows members of the Somali military performing a defensive drill at the UAE military training camp in Mogadishu. (Reuters)

Cairo follows Somali developments with concern

Amr Emam Somalia fell into lawlessness in In addition, Turkey and Qatar influence in Somalia were fuelled late 2017, Turkish President Recep 1991 with the downfall of the Siad have shown increased interest in by tensions between Mogadishu Tayyip Erdogan agreed with Suda- Barre regime. The country’s sub- Somalia. Qatar has been accused of and Abu Dhabi. Egyptian observers nese President Omar al-Bashir to Cairo sequent civil war allowed for the offering to fund al-Shabab through have expressed concern that unrest take administrative control of the emergence of terrorist groups, in- neighbouring Djibouti. Doha is also in Somalia could jeopardise security Red Sea island of Suakin, 400km ollowing reports that the cluding al-Shabab, which swore al- known to support Somalia’s Islah in the Bab el Mandeb Strait, the Red south of Egypt. United Arab Emirates can- legiance to al-Qaeda in 2012. Movement, an ideological offshoot Sea and consequently Egypt’s Suez Egypt, which is fighting terrorism celled a military training Combining brutality, military skill of the Muslim Brotherhood that is Canal. at home and in neighbouring Libya, F programme in Somalia, and financial support from regional designated as a terrorist organisa- “Security in Somalia has a direct is afraid that Turkey and Qatar’s Egypt’s political parties have called powers, al-Shabab overran large tion in Egypt. influence on security in Egypt, the presence in the southern part of the for Cairo to pursue “aggressive” parts of Somalia, killed hundreds of News that the UAE ended its mili- Arab Gulf and North Africa,” She- Red Sea and in the Horn of Africa diplomatic efforts amid fears that people, including civilians. Somalia tary training programme in Soma- habi said. “We cannot leave this im- will ease the movement of terrorists the Horn of Africa country could be- had been at the centre of interest for lia in response to the grounding of portant part of our national security in the region. come a security threat. terrorist groups, especially al-Qae- a plane carrying Emirati officials, in the hands of others.” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Egyptian observers view recent da, since the mid-1990s when the which was preceded by Somali se- Egypt has several reasons to act al-Sisi spoke with Somali President developments in Somalia, includ- terrorist organisation was forced to curity officials seizing an estimated on Somalia. Cairo, which is engaged Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed by ing the increasing influence of Qa- leave Sudan. $10 million in cash, is considered a in an all-out conflict with the Mus- phone in mid-April to discuss Cairo tar and Turkey, with trepidation. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden result of increasing Qatari and Turk- lim Brotherhood, cannot tolerate offering technical support to Soma- Although Egypt does not share a was swayed by one of his military ish influence in the country. the rise of a Brotherhood party in lia in the war against terrorism. border with Somalia, it occupies a commanders to consider Somalia Emirati writer Khalid bin Daha a country so close to its vital inter- “Interference by regional powers strategic position along the Gulf of as a refuge. Somalia was competing al-Kaabi accused Qatar of trying to ests, Egyptian analysts said. in Somalia aims to destabilise the Aden, which leads to the Red Sea, with Afghanistan, where the Taliban prevent the UAE from securing a Turkey and Qatar, viewed as re- country, which will at the end harm across from Yemen. had just taken over, and welcoming role in Somalia. gional rivals by Cairo, have been Arab security,” said Tarek Fahmi, a “Somalia is important for security bin Laden and his comrades. Bin “Some countries have (an) in- seeking to increase their presence political science professor at Cairo in Egypt and other Arab countries, Laden chose Afghanistan. terest in undermining the Somali in Africa. Turkey established its first University. “This makes it necessary especially in the Arab Gulf,” said Na- Since then, Somalia has been rav- state and making chaos reign in this military base in the Gulf of Aden re- for the Arab anti-terrorism camp, gui al-Shehabi, chairman of Egypt’s aged by al-Shabab, which sought to country,” Kaabi said. “Somalia is an gion in 2017. namely Egypt, the UAE, Saudi liberal Geel (Generation) Party. apply sharia law on the resource- intrinsic part of Arab national secu- In Egypt, Turkish attempts to gain Arabia and Bahrain to move to stop “This is why Egypt should not fall poor east African state. The Islamic rity and its stability is essential for a toehold in Somalia are viewed as this interference.” silent, while regional powers har- State (ISIS), losing ground in Syria, this security.” part of wider attempts by Ankara to row to abort every serious attempt Iraq and Libya, has also sought to Calls by Egyptian political parties secure a presence along Egypt’s bor- Amr Emam is a Cairo-based to stabilise it.” increase its presence in the country. for Egypt to curb Qatari and Turkish ders. During a visit to Khartoum in contributor to The Arab Weekly. Egypt strengthens terror financing crackdown

Amr Emam Groups affiliated with the outlawed issue in Egypt. Some militant or- the Russian news channel RT that October this year. Muslim Brotherhood have also tar- ganisations active in the country Egyptian-Qatari scholar Yusuf al- Egypt, however, remains suspi- geted military and police in Egypt. receive funds from international or Qaradawi encouraged the Qatari cious of Doha’s intentions in the Cairo Following the ouster of Islamist regional sponsors, observers said. leadership to send money to the region and is keen to take unilateral President Muhammad Morsi in July “Apart from this, some of the lo- Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt so it action to deal with the issue. The gypt has increased its crack- 2013 and an ensuing crackdown cal terrorist organisations have a could destabilise the country and new law, observers said, will help down on the financing of against the Muslim Brotherhood, lot of money,” said Sameh Eid, an maintain its war against its regime. Cairo crack down on a variety of terrorist organisations by Cairo formed a judicial committee expert on Islamist and terrorist Many Muslim Brotherhood fig- financial channels for terrorist or- E formulating a law that al- to seize the organisation’s assets. groups. “The Muslim Brotherhood, ures, such as Qaradawi, sought ref- ganisations operating in the coun- lows the government to seize funds The Muslim Brotherhood was for- for example, has huge amounts of uge in Qatar, despite facing charges try. and assets of terrorist groups. mally designated as a terrorist or- money it uses in supporting its mi- in Egyptian court. The challenge of tracing funds The law, which has been ap- ganisation by Egypt in December litias.” Supporters of the new bill stress used in terrorism financing re- proved by a parliament committee 2013. that it is not about targeting the mains, with the hope that the new Muslim Brotherhood specifically, legislation will allow police to more and endorsed by Egyptian Presi- The committee listed dozens of Some militant organisations dent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, repre- companies registered in the names but part of a broader initiative to efficiently uncover terrorism fi- sents a major step to help Cairo in of Brotherhood affiliates and hun- active in the country receive target terrorism financing in Egypt nancing networks. its fight against terrorists. dreds of millions of dollars in bank funds from international or and internationally. Terrorist organisations, experts “The law fills a legal gap that per- accounts of Muslim Brotherhood regional sponsors. Paris recently hosted an inter- said, often have business activities sisted for years, namely about the charities and affiliated entities. national conference on terrorism they use as fronts for their opera- legality of official action to seize Questions were raised about the Last December, a judicial com- financing to seek ways of putting tions. the money and assets of terrorist legality of the committee’s work in mittee that had been formed to list an end to this financing. Before the “Most of the time these busi- organisations,” said MP Mohamed the absence of a law that gave the properties owned by the Brother- meeting, France’s intelligence and ness activities are run by people Masoud. “Egypt is a state and it government an explicit mandate hood estimated the organisation’s counterterrorism national coordi- who are not linked to terrorist must put its war against terrorism to seize funds of terrorist organisa- wealth at $3.5 billion. The list of nator Pierre de Bousquet de Florian groups,” said Khalid Okasha, a within a legal framework, which tions. properties included dozens of com- said ISIS had as much as $3 billion security expert and a member of makes the new law acquire extreme The new law would establish a panies, hospitals, schools, charities in secret bank accounts. Egypt’s Anti-Terrorism Council, importance.” committee of seven judges respon- and businesses. Apart from its local De Florian said French President an advisory body of the Egyptian Egypt has been locked in a brutal sible for executing court rulings on wealth, the Brotherhood received Emmanuel Macron raised the issue presidency. “This is why discover- war against terrorism for several organisations or individuals desig- funding from regional sponsors, of Qatar’s support to some organi- ing links between these activities years. Cairo has been trying to erad- nated as “terrorist” and authorising such as Qatar, experts said. sations with Qatari Emir Sheikh or these persons on one hand and icate a branch of the Islamic State the seizure of assets. Former Russian Ambassador Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who terrorist groups on the other is (ISIS) from the Sinai Peninsula. Terrorism financing is a major to Doha Vladimir Titorenko told promised to address the issue by never easy.” 10 April 29, 2018 News & Analysis Maghreb The field-marshal returns to Libya while talks shift back to Morocco

Michel Cousins Haftar vowed to continue the fight the latter welcomed. Saleh refused against terrorism. This is expected to meet in Tripoli, however, so both Paris to result in renewed efforts against accepted an invitation from the Islamist-controlled Derna, 300km head of Morocco’s House of Repre- fter a 2-week stay in France east of Benghazi and the last town in sentatives to meet in Rabat. for medical treatment, the east to hold out against the LNA. Prior to heading to Morocco, Libya’s eastern strongman, During Haftar’s absence, other LNA Mishri said the objective of the new A Field-Marshal Khalifa Haf- leaders said Haftar authorised an of- talks was to amend the LPA and re- tar returned to Libya April 26 to a fensive and that it was imminent. duce the Presidential Council from hero’s welcome. A new offensive would certainly nine members to a president and Libyans celebrated in the streets show that he is back in the saddle. two deputies, to choose them and of Benghazi with cars horns blaring While Haftar was out of the coun- to discuss who should hold “sover- and fireworks in the sky. There were try and people in the east held their eign positions” — the heads of the celebrations elsewhere in eastern breath about the future, attention central bank, the Libyan Investment Libya and even similar expressions in Libya shifted to talks on amend- Authority and the like. in Tripoli. People were demonstra- ing the Libyan Political Agreement No major breakthrough was bly relieved that Haftar was back. (LPA) between Aguila Saleh Issa, reached, however. There was an There had been fears that, with- president of the House of Represent- agreement to reduce the Presiden- out Haftar, the east, and particu- atives (HoR), and Khalid al-Mishri, a tial Council to three members and larly Benghazi, would slide back Muslim Brotherhood supporter who to split the government from it with into the violence and mayhem that, was recently elected president of the appointment of a separate prime Back in the saddle. Libya’s eastern strongman, Field-Marshal four years ago, prompted Haftar to the High Council of State (HCS). minister but that had already been Khalifa Haftar. (AFP) launch Operation Dignity. accepted by negotiators from the Addressing top security and civil- HoR and HCS last year. opposed the appointment on bankroll a Presidential Council led ian officials and eastern tribal lead- Haftar’s return pushed the In an indication of their lack of grounds it contravened Article 15 of by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj? ers when he arrived at his Rajma Saleh-Mishri talks into the progress, Saleh and Mishri agreed the LPA, which states that the HoR Also, Kabir is accepted by militias headquarters near Benghazi, Haftar shadows, demonstrating his on the need for further talks and the must consult with the State Council that control what happens in Tripo- looked relaxed and fit for a 75-year- dominant position in Libyan establishment of dialogue commit- on appointments to several posts, li. If he refuses to go and they back old who reportedly received medi- politics. tees to discuss amending the LPA. including the governorship of the him, can the Central Bank operate? cal treatment abroad. However, this did not stop Saleh Central Bank. Either way, the result could be a pa- What he had been suffering from The LPA, signed in Morocco in De- from boldly declaring he expected Abdulrahman Sewehli, then the ralysis of state finances. and why he needed about two cember 2015, was designed to end the formation of a national unity HCS president, refused to accept Haftar’s return pushed the Saleh- weeks in a military hospital in Paris the country’s divisions and install a government by the end of 2018. Shukri’s appointment because the Mishri talks into the shadows, dem- remains a mystery. His spokesman nine-member Presidential Council There was one development of HCS had not been involved in the onstrating his dominant position in and other officials in the Libyan and a Government of National Ac- potential significance. It has been decision. Kabir also said the ap- Libyan politics. Questions, however, National Army (LNA) insist it was a cord (GNA) accepted by all. A host widely reported but not confirmed pointment was void because there remain about Haftar’s health, what chest infection but there were ru- of Libyan political players put their that Saleh and Mishri agreed to re- had been no HCS involvement. The a future without him would mean mours of a much more serious con- names to the UN-brokered accord place Central Bank of Libya Gover- Presidential Council continued to and who should be appointed his dition. but not all went as planned. The nor Sadiq al-Kabir with Mohamed work with Kabir. potential successor. When the cel- Haftar gave nothing away. In his HoR has consistently refused to al-Shukri. If Mishri has now accepted ebrations about his return subside, arrival speech, he said that he was in approve the LPA, the Presidential Shukri was appointed governor Shukri’s appointment, it would those questions are likely to come to good health and thanked those who Council or the GNA. of the Central Bank by the HoR in make it impossible for the UN Sup- the fore. had asked about it. He claimed that Immediately after Mishri was December. It had already sacked port Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), he delayed his return to see how loy- elected HCS president on April 8, Kabir twice. However, UN Special the Presidential Council or Kabir Michel Cousins is a contributor to al his forces were. he called for talks with Saleh, which Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame to reject it. Would Shukri agree to The Arab Weekly on Libyan issues. Displaced Tawerghans continue to suffer at the hands of militias

Lamine Ghanmi “There were many poor in Taw- ergha,” Jemmali said. “They got jobs in the army to earn a living. Tunis They are not to blame for the abuses of the regime. They took orders as owerful militias from the simple soldiers.” Libyan city of Misrata have Resolving the Tawerghan issue, blocked Tawerghans from he added, would help in making a P returning to their town de- big step towards broader peace in spite a government-brokered deal Libya. to facilitate re-entry. “Tawergha is the barometer of The renewed accord, reached the situation in all of Libya… If Taw- between the neighbouring towns ergha’s problem is resolved and its of Misrata and Tawergha last year, population returned home to live in would see the return of about peace that will breathe new life into 40,000 Tawerghans who were driv- the whole process of reconciliation en away by militias in retaliation for in Libya,” Jemmali said. their presumed support of former Tawerghans are scattered across Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. refugee camps in eastern Benghazi, Militias from Misrata overran Hun and Sabha in the south and in Tawergha in 2011 after repelling an the outskirts of Tripoli. attack from Qaddafi loyalists based The United Nations has brokered in the area. The militias destroyed two deals to return the displaced houses and buildings and terrorised since 2013 but the plans stalled. Last residents, vowing to keep them out June, Libya’s UN-backed govern- of the town. Human rights groups ment in Tripoli endorsed a renewed said the Tawerghans’ displacement reconciliation accord between Mis- was a form of collective punish- rata and Tawergha that would en- ment and that militias had commit- sure the return of the displaced. Dire conditions. Displaced people from the Libyan town of Tawergha at a temporary refugee camp, ted crimes against humanity. Militias from Misrata, however, last February. (AFP) Arab League envoy to Libya Sla- failed to respect the accord, block- heddine Jemmali, at a gathering of ing thousands of Tawerghans from activists April 25 in Tunis, said the returning home in February. Sabbar, who was part of a fact- been deprived of proper schooling Misratans set impossible conditions effect on Tawerghan children has “When the first returnees reached finding mission in the town, said for seven years.” for reconciliation each time and we been devastating. the edge of Tawergha in February, racism — Tawerghans are dark- Some Tawerghan activists urged are at an impasse,” he added. “It is not a badge of honour for Misratan militias came out to meet skinned — plays a large part in the the Arab League and other inter- Jemmali, however, said the use of politicians to hold children hos- them with weapons and abuse be- Tawerghan issue. national bodies to pressure Misrata force would make the issue worse. tages,” Jemmali said. “The children fore they were banished again,” said Amina Abdelkarim, a Tawerghan militias — with force if necessary — “The government of Tripoli gives have been out of schools for seven former Tawergha Mayor Abdelmou- woman who lives in a refugee camp to allow the displaced to return. the highest priority to protecting years. They have lived with their men Addouma. with her children, said children “Should these children be pun- the lives of the people and safe- parents in squalid conditions for “Our children in the refugee have lost ties to their home and ished as if they were part of the guarding the security of Libya,” he seven years.” camps are suffering from being up- family. Jamahiriya’s regime of Qaddafi?” said. “The militias do not care about “Tawerghan children played no rooted from their homes and town,” “Children are suffering as they asked Ali Mohtar Bousif, a Taw- the life or the security. They are role in what happened and they he added. “They are living in dire are aware that their city is a ghost erghan activist. “Tawergha is suffer- only interested in money. are suffering very much, away psychological conditions. town,” she said. “They have lost the ing from racism in Libyan society “Dialogue is continuing and from their homes and their town in “If that situation continues, we warmth of family ties. They have and neighbouring countries. We are hope is alive that a solution will be squalid refugee camps,” he added. fear our children will become easy not seen their grandmothers or thrown in the middle of the Sahara reached to end the ordeal of the Tawerghans often worked as sol- prey for radical Islamist groups. brothers or uncles for seven years as Desert and no one cares about us.” population of Tawergha who have diers for Qaddafi. The animus di- They do not understand why they they are either scattered in several “Our adversaries in Misrata our full support.” rected at their community reflects are treated differently from other camps or in jails or missing. have never wanted dialogue. Af- the ethnic, regional and political children in Libya.” “Their social and familial fabric ter rounds of dialogue and recon- Lamine Ghanmi is an Arab Weekly fault lines in Libya. Lebanese rights activist Nadaa has been destroyed and they have ciliation we reached a dead end. correspondent in Tunis. April 29, 2018 11 News & Analysis Palestine Israel

Not even US challenge on Jerusalem is unifying Palestinians

The Arab Weekly staff

London

s the date of formally re- locating the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem A nears, Palestinian factions are struggling to present a united front to counter Israeli-backed measures set out by the Trump ad- ministration. More than 100 members of the 700-seat Palestinian National Council (PNC) want to delay a rare session of the Palestinians’ top decision-making body, saying they were concerned some factions would be shut out. The PNC is to convene April 30 in Ramallah to discuss US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Je- rusalem as Israel’s capital, a policy change that outraged the Palestin- ians. In a letter obtained by Reuters to PNC Speaker Saleem al-Zanoun, 109 legislators, including independents and delegates from Hamas and the mainstream Fatah faction, urged the session’s postponement. They said that going ahead with The clock is ticking. The US consulate building complex in Jerusalem. (AFP) a meeting that had only narrow factional representation due to Is- The PNC last met in extraordi- US State Department removed the for the West Bank in his official re- Ivanka Trump and Treasury Secre- raeli travel restrictions on delegates nary session in 2009 to replace term “occupied territories” from marks and statements, administra- tary Steven Mnuchin. from Hamas-controlled Gaza and several members of the Palestine the title of sections covering Israel, tion officials said. The US delegation could be led by outside the Palestinian territories, Liberation Organisation’s Execu- the West Bank and Gaza, which had Emergency food aid for approxi- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, would deepen internal divisions. tive Committee. It last had a regu- been the standard for more than 20 mately 1 million Palestinians in the Times of Israel reported. “To spare our Palestinian cause lar session in 1996. years. Gaza may run out from June if the Guatemala is reportedly inaugu- imminent dangers and out of our Political analysts in Gaza said UN agency for Palestinian refugees rating its embassy in Jerusalem two eagerness to achieve unity and end a PNC meeting without wide fac- cannot raise another $200 million days after the United States. Israeli splits and division, we urge you to tional representation would weak- Guatemala is reportedly following a cut in US funding. Prime Minister Binyamin Netan- delay the PNC session,” the letter en the legitimacy of any decisions inaugurating its Pierre Kraehenbuehl, who heads yahu said Israel has been talking said. made. embassy in Jerusalem the UN Relief and Works Agency with Romania, the Czech Repub- There was no immediate word The embassy move marked a two days after the providing aid for Palestinians lic, Honduras and three unnamed from Zanoun about the request, striking shift by the Trump admin- United States. across the Middle East, said Trump countries to follow suit. which followed word from the istration away from a half-century had withheld $305 million in fund- Netanyahu thanked his visiting Popular Front for the Liberation of of traditional US policy towards Is- The 2017 report did not elimi- ing, far more than the $65 million Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Palestine that it would boycott the rael and the Palestinians. nate the term from the report but reported in January. Dancila for her government’s stand session because it wanted more fac- “Since the beginning of this ad- it significantly reduced its use. “If you suddenly have no cer- on possibly moving its embassy to tions to attend. ministration there has been specu- Compared with more than 40 refer- tainty about the amount of food aid Jerusalem. Romanian President PNC Secretary Mohammad Sbeih lation about the real intention of ences in the 2016 report, the words coming from the United Nations Klaus Iohannis, who oversees for- declined to comment directly on this administration and of the team “occupation” or “occupied” ap- for a million people… you can just eign policy, however, downplayed the letter but told Reuters there around the president,” Husam peared only six times in the latest imagine the kind of effects it could Dancila’s announcement. would be no delays. Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassa- version. have,” Kraehenbuehl told Reuters. The Czech Republic announced Signatories of the letter said ad- dor to Washington, told the Associ- Removal of the phrase had been Israel is expecting some 800 the reopening of its honorary con- ditional time should be given for ated Press. “This is no longer per- championed by US Ambassador to US dignitaries to attend the em- sulate in Jerusalem and Czech the implementation of a reconcili- ception, expectation, speculation. Israel David Friedman, who also bassy opening ceremony on May President Milos Zeman reiterated ation deal that Fatah and Hamas It’s reality. We are in the arena of lobbied for the recognition of Jeru- 14, Israeli website Ynetnews.com his wish to move the Czech Embas- signed in October. The agreement certainty.” salem as Israel’s capital and the US reported. The delegation includes sy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. has faltered over power-sharing in Some of the shifts from previous embassy move. He has, however, Trump’s adviser and son-in-law the Gaza Strip, territory that Hamas US policy have been subtle. In its been prevented from adopting the Jared Kushner, Trump’s eldest The Arab Weekly staff and news seized from Fatah in 2007. annual human rights reports, the Israeli name “Judea and Samaria” daughter and White House adviser agencies.

Viewpoint As Israel marks Independence Day, Palestinians ask for right of return

n estimated 15,000 Palestinians and to demand the demographic. The denial of return forces to suppress these weekly Palestinians partici- realisation of their right to return. of this group of Palestinians marches has led to 33 Palestinians pated in the March of The large numbers participating shows that Israel does not simply being killed and more than 4,000 Maya al-Orzza Return protests April in the protest constitute a very want to maintain a Jewish-Israeli injured, drawing considerable at- 19 in Atlit, a Palestin- real threat to the views of David majority with the minimum num- tention to the march and, with it, ian village near Haifa Ben Gurion, one of the found- ber of Palestinians but also control the issue of return. Looking at the insideA Israel that was destroyed ers of Israel, who said, referring the maximum amount of land. demonstrations for return in Gaza during the Palestinian Nakba in to Palestinians: “The old will die One of the first measures taken and the march in Atlit, there seems 1948. and the young will forget.” As the by the Israeli government after its to be a resurgence of the issue of Participants waved Palestinian march in Atlit showed, even 70 establishment was to destroy the return in the Palestinian context. flags and marched demanding the years after the Nakba, Palestin- villages from which Palestinians This resurgence should serve right to return for the hundreds of ians have not forgotten and the were expelled to erase the possi- as a wake-up call for the interna- thousands of internally displaced young remember and continue to bility of return to those areas. Not tional community and a reminder Palestinians and the more than 7 demand their rights. only that, it confiscated the lands of their obligations vis-a-vis dis- million refugees uprooted from The slogan of the march is and properties of those displaced, placed Palestinians. their homes. “Their Independence Day is our Judaised historical sites and built Despite Israel’s attempts to The March of Return has been Nakba,” a phrase that touches on the remains of the villages. put the issue of return to rest, organised annually since 1998, on the core of the conflict: The Israeli policies are not simply these marches are evidence that each year in one of the 500 vil- fact that Israel came to be at the about displacing Palestinians but the issue is alive. While address- lages depopulated during the expense of the forced displace- erasing any remains or memo- ing the crimes committed by the Nakba, its date coinciding with ment of hundreds of thousands of ries of their presence in the land. Israeli military in suppressing the Israel’s Independence Day. Palestinians from their homes. This is precisely what the March marches in Gaza is very impor- The march is organised by the This reality prevails and is the of Return is trying to challenge. tant, it is essential that the core Association for the Defence of the basis of Israel’s denial of the right By keeping the memory alive, by issue, the main reason behind the Rights of the Internally Displaced of return. Israel argues that the re- bringing Palestinian presence back marches themselves, is addressed (ADRID) and has become increas- turn of refugees would constitute to those villages, the march is and solved. ingly popular, as shown by the the end of the Jewish nation-state confronting the Israeli policies of The international community growing participation of younger and, therefore, Palestinians in erasure while demanding the right recognised the Palestinian right Palestinians. It is the biggest event exile cannot return and must be of return. of return in 1948. Palestinians in of the year for Palestinians inside absorbed by host countries. The March of Return organised 2018 are marching by the thou- Israel. Participants include people This argument illustrates the by Palestinian citizens of Israel sands in the streets, risking their Will the from across the Palestinian politi- fact that demographics are a cen- has influenced the more recent lives, demanding its realisation. cal and geographical spectrum. tral element of the conflict but not “Great March of Return” in the Will the international community international The march aims to draw at- the only one. Internally displaced Gaza Strip. That march began finally listen and, more impor- community finally tention to the plight of forcibly Palestinians constitute a hole in March 30 and will continue until tantly, act? displaced Palestinians, including the Israeli case since they were May 15 when Palestinians com- listen and, more the more than 380,000 often-for- given Israeli citizenship and memorate Nakba Day. Maya al-Orzza is a legal researcher importantly, act? gotten internally displaced are, therefore, part of Israel’s The violence used by Israeli in the West Bank. 12 April 29, 2018 Special Focus

Lebanese Going after Lebanon’s first-time voters election assault Samar Kadi victim says attack ‘reflects Beirut Hezbollah’s n the nine years since Lebanon’s most recent general elections, confusion’ more than 500,000 people have crossed the 21-year-old thresh- I The Arab Weekly staff old and become eligible to vote. Some political groups, notably those formed by civil society, are banking Beirut on young people’s participation and a nationwide online campaign called ebanese journalist and “Take Action” is using social media, parliamentary candidate concerts and other nontraditional Ali al-Amin was hospital- platforms to woo first-time voters to L ised after being attacked the polls on May 6. by a group of suspected “Hez- “The main mission of the cam- bollah thugs” near his home in paign is to motivate first-time voters Chaqra. aged 21-30 to actually go and exer- Amin, an outspoken critic of cise their constitutional right. We Hezbollah who is challenging started in December with events and the party’s coalition in legislative activities across Lebanon to intro- elections May 6, was allegedly duce and explain the new electoral beaten by dozens of men while law through presentations, vox pops hanging campaign posters near and promotional visuals,” said cam- his home. Amin said a group of paign activist Sally Halawi. Concerts and social media. A young man inks his thumb after casting his ballot at a polling station approximately 30 men attacked “The number of first-time voters during the 2016 municipal elections in Beirut. (AP) him after he refused to take down this year is very big and we believe the posters on April 22. that they are going to make a differ- “I’m at the hospital now. My ence in the election. They are not re- to vote, although at the beginning A survey of the attitudes of first- from the youth but they really want tooth is broken, I have very se- ally politicised but they want to see they said: “Why should I vote? What time voters, conducted by Statistics to vote this time and most of them vere back pain and was hit in the change, to see new faces in parlia- difference would it make?” Lebanon on behalf of the Konrad have already made their choices as head,” said Amin, adding that ment.” Campaigners, who stress they are Adenauer Stiftung political founda- to whom they are going to vote.” the attack was by “an organised Several NGOs and political parties neutral and not collaborating with tion, indicated that 76% of respond- While Take Action is mobilising group of well-known guys, au- estimate the number of first-time any political party, also had mock ents said they intend to vote, 16% first-time voters to cast their vote, thorised by Hezbollah.” voters who have registered for the elections in universities, festivals, said the election is useless and 9% political groups, especially those Hezbollah denied involvement 2018 elections at about 700,000 — concerts and pubs, quizzing young claimed the results are predeter- forged from the civil society such in the attack and said it “con- approximately 20% of the voting people on their preferences and ap- mined. as LiBaladi (For My Country) are demned resorting to violence” population. The electoral law under proach to the polls. The study sampled 1,200 people also running a dynamic social me- during the democratic process. which the 2018 election will be con- On March 28, at a free concert or- equally distributed across gender dia campaign and youth events to Amin and his supporters, how- ducted has changed Lebanon’s ma- ganised by Take Action at a night- and covering all Lebanese governo- attract a younger tech-savvy crowd. ever, say the attack was part of an joritarian system to a proportional club in Beirut, the audience, made rates and socio-economic groups. It “Come dance and support people orchestrated campaign to intimi- one, raising hopes that the vote will up mostly of 21-30 year olds, was indicated that 35% of respondents who are hopeful that change is still date opponents. bring fresh blood to parliament. asked to choose between three elec- said that casting their votes is a na- possible!” said the announcement Amin, who is a columnist with The message that Take Action is toral options — “I am going to vote,” tional right and duty, 19% wanted to of the Dance LiBaladi fundraising The Arab Weekly’s sister publica- passing along is that, regardless of “I am not going to vote” and “I do express an opinion and 7% said they party on April 20. With some of tion Al Arab, told The Arab Week- political affiliations or preferences, not know.” are voting to improve the situation in the most popular artists in Beirut’s ly that the attack came after his “the youth should be active mem- “The response was positive. The the country. nightlife scene in its lineup, the list — the Shabi’na Haki (We’ve bers in the society,” Halawi said. list that won was the ‘I am going to Despite criticism against the al- event sought to cement the party’s Had Enough Talk) — garnered Since it began in December, the vote’ list, which could be a sign that leged corruption of traditional sec- reputation as a hip, progressive significant support in the Third campaign’s activists have travelled our campaign is succeeding,” Halawi tarian political parties, the young choice. Southern District (Nabatiyeh, across Lebanon to raise awareness said. voters’ choices are influenced by In addition to being a campaigner Bint Jbeil, Hasbaya, Marjayoun), among first-time voters and deliver While young attendees were danc- sectarianism, said Khalil Toubia, for Take Action, Halawi, 30, is also a a traditional Hezbollah strong- necessary information regarding ing and buying drinks at discounted programme manager at Konrad Ade- first-time voter. “No candidate in my hold. elections. prices, Take Action’s thought-pro- nauer Stiftung. (electoral) district represents me,” “We went to the different regions voking slogans were splashed over “We found out from the survey she said, “Nonetheless, I am going to Ali al-Amin several times, asking questions such a giant screen between songs. “Just that young Lebanese voters mostly vote by tossing a blank vote, just to Lebanese journalist as ‘Do you know about the new elec- vote,” one slogan read, while an- reflect the divisions within the so- exercise my right.” and parliamentary candidate toral law?’ ‘Are you going to vote or other said “Every Saturday there’s a ciety. They are a mirror of the politi- no and why?’,” Halawi said. She not- party but not every Sunday are there cal scene,” Toubia said. “We do not Samar Kadi is The Arab Weekly “I’m at the hospital now. ed that more people were persuaded elections.” see any particular change coming Travel and Society section editor. My tooth is broken, I have very severe back pain and Viewpoint was hit in the head.” “Things seemed to progress well at first. We noticed after- Why Islamists around the region are watching local elections in Tunisia ward that their [Hezbollah’s] re- actions became confused. On the one hand, they want to allow our Theoretically, at least, Nidaa mission from its political mission so should expected shocks occur. activities but, on the other, they Tounes shouldn’t have conceded as to be (even if it might be tempo- In addition to reassuring local can’t stand losing to us,” Amin this specific distinction to Ennahda rary or in appearance only) akin to allies and rivals, the Islamist party said. Tarek Guizani because the political fallout in this other parties that state a belief in must, by its performance, help He accused Hezbollah of organ- aspect could be compounded. republican values and a civil state. boost the axis of like-minded or- ising a smear campaign against Ennahda scored further points It would have been hard for En- ganisations that consider Tunisia’s him and his list that has grown early in the match when it opened nahda to ignore the repercussions of democratic experiment a yardstick more intense leading up to the unisia’s Islamists have its lists to ethnic and religious diver- regional events that directly affected with which one can evaluate the elections. The attack, Amin said, changed their hues sity. In Monastir, a Jewish Tunisian political Islam, such as the demise results of the “Arab spring” in other has been adopted by the entire many times in the few citizen is running for elections on of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt regions. Lebanese political class, includ- years since their defeat the Ennahda list. The significance and the significant ebbing of the For those reasons, Ennahda in ing “those who were supposed to in the 2014 elections of the move cannot be ignored. Mo- popular support for nascent Islamist Tunisia is perceived as the standard be our allies.” and their unimpressive nastir is Bourguiba’s birthplace and movements racing for power (in bearer for Islamist organisations “This is why we opted to form Tperformance during their time in is considered the historical bastion Morocco and Libya, for example). Of exercising power. Therefore, the an independent list,” he said. power. of Bourguibist ideology. Ennahda course, one cannot also dismiss the biggest challenge facing it is to keep “We had no illusion of being able Today, the Ennahda Movement, scored against Nidaa Tounes right nightmare of the failed coup in Tur- its feet solidly planted in power, to beat the opposing lists. We the standard bearer of Islamists in on the latter’s traditional turf. key and the sanctions against Qatar, whether by winning votes or by did, however, feel that we had Tunisia, tops the list of the political These outward changes by En- which is accused of backing Islamist striking alliances and deals, even something important that would parties most observant of the rule nahda might not conform with its extremist groups. with its rivals. enable us to establish our pres- of gender parity in election lists for deep Islamist convictions but they Islamist movements and their In the Tunisian municipal elec- ence, which in turn will give us municipal elections in Tunisia. The at least show the Islamist party is political and financial backers, tions, Ennahda must accomplish more space for post-election ma- party went a step further, dropping willing to unreservedly go with willingly or unwittingly, must bear several things. First, it must win noeuvring.” its tacit requirement of having only the flow of the current stage in the the fallout from the turmoil and back public trust and regain the Amin, a Shia Muslim, said that veiled female candidates on its lists. democratic transition process and tragedies of the region since the votes it lost in the 2014 elections. despite his list’s principled op- It is not uncommon to find unveiled deal with the requirements of this early days of the “Arab spring.” Tu- It must score a landslide victory in position to Hezbollah, members female Ennahda candidates, clad stage with more pragmatism. nisia’s Ennahda and similar Islamist the elections and remain close and tried to tone down rhetoric con- in ripped jeans, running in districts The party does not stand to lose organisations elsewhere have their attentive to people’s needs and be sidered provocative to the Iran- usually dominated by secular par- a thing if it takes two steps forward share of political responsibility in ready for the general and presiden- backed group. ties. then one step back. The important the systematic destruction of the tial elections next year. “In our discourse, we focused The paradox takes on surreal thing is to reach the goal of winning region. Since the ends justify the means, on corruption and on the role of dimensions as Nidaa Tounes, which power and avoiding the disastrous Tunisia’s Islamists are walking Ennahda’s seemingly exaggerated the Lebanese state and army and leads the current government fate of fellow Islamist movements in a tightrope. Ennahda co-founder openness reflects a powerful desire on [Lebanon’s] sovereignty with- coalition in Tunisia and which has neighbouring countries. Rached Ghannouchi finds himself to return to power. Its success in the out necessarily meaning to pro- cultivated the image of being the le- There are many factors motivat- in the unenviable position of try- democratic game in Tunisia offers voke Hezbollah,” he said. gitimate guardian of women’s rights ing Ennahda’s political decision to ing to reassure friends and foes at similar political organisations in the “We should not say that life in and inheritor of the modernist opt for change and for making con- the same time. Above all, he and region opportunities for returning to South Lebanon is normal or that policies of Tunisia’s first president, cessions. The Islamist party began his party must remain part of the the political scene in new clothes. democracy there is thriving,” Habib Bourguiba, has come last in its metamorphosis by agreeing to governing coalition. That provides Amin insisted. the parity game. separate the party’s proselytising the party with a political safety net Tarek Guizani is a Tunisian writer. April 29, 2018 13 Elections in MENA After long history of defeats, Turkish opposition sees a chance to beat Erdogan

Thomas Seibert in an interview. “People feel like they might finally have a viable pathway to defeating Erdogan.” Istanbul Erdogan called the elections 17 months early to capitalise on fter more than a decade strong public support for Turkey’s of being defeated by Tur- military intervention in Syria, key’s leader Recep Tayyip to avoid a crash of the economy, A Erdogan and his party at which is showing signs of over- the polls, Turkey’s opposition sees heating, before Election Day and a strong chance to beat the presi- to catch the opposition by sur- dent in early elections in June. prise. Buoyed by opinion polls that in- Victory for Erdogan in the presi- dicate Erdogan would struggle to dential election would complete reach more than 50% of the vote a switch from a parliamentary to June 24 and win the presidential a presidential system in Turkey, election in the first round, oppo- which would give the 64-year-old sition parties have thrown them- the power to rule by decree, draw selves into a flurry of talks about up the budget and appoint judges, possible alliances. while parliamentary rights would In political constellations unu- be limited. Critics say that system sual for Turkey, the talks brought would cement authoritarianism in together secularists, Islamists Turkey. and nationalists bent on prevent- Since Erdogan announced the ing Erdogan from winning a new early election on April 18, Turkish 5-year term with vastly expanded politics has been consumed by the executive powers. If no candidate question of who will be his chal- gets more than 50% of the vote in lengers in the presidential poll. the first round, the two highest Former President Abdullah Gul, finishing contenders would face a 67, an ex-Erdogan ally, had been July 8 run-off. among the front-runners expect- ed to challenge the incumbent but ruled himself out April 28. Opinion polls see Erdogan Gul said “it became clear there struggling to reach more was no consensus” around his than 50% of the vote in the candidacy. “For this reason, I will presidential election on not run as a presidential candi- June 24. date,” he said. Some members of the Turkish Key challenger out. Former Turkish President Abdullah Gul (L) and Saadet Party leader Temel opposition, especially on the left, Karamollaoglu during a ceremony in Istanbul, on April 24. (Reuters) Preparations for the elections had been critical of Gul’s support included extraordinary political for many of Erdogan’s policies manoeuvres. In a move that en- that had moved the country to- for him out of obligation but the since November 2016, his candi- Reports said Erdogan, who had raged Erdogan’s Justice and De- wards authoritarianism. more likely scenario is that many dacy is largely symbolic. declared for months that the elec- velopment Party (AKP), the secu- Howard Eissenstat, associate in the opposition — who detest Gul While the opposition is looking tions would take place at the regu- larist Republican People’s Party professor at St Lawrence Univer- as an enabler of Erdogan — would for the best way to end the Erdog- lar date in November 2019, made (CHP) had 15 of its lawmakers in sity in New York and non-resident simply stay home.” an era, the president is showing the decision for early elections parliament join the nationalist senior fellow at the Project on In Gul’s absence, other Erdogan signs of nervousness. He angrily after being prodded by his nation- Iyi (Good) Party to give the newly Middle East Democracy in Wash- challengers have come forward. left his presidential suite in par- alist partner Devlet Bahceli, who formed Iyi enough deputies to ington, said the backlash against Iyi leader Meral Aksener has said liament during the speech of an leads the Nationalist Movement take part in the election. The AKP, Gul showed that a candidacy by she is running. opposition deputy and said the Party. Other reports say a group of in power since 2002, could lose its the former president could actu- Selahattin Demirtas, former transfer of CHP deputies to Iyi had up to 50 AKP lawmakers is prepar- majority in parliamentary elec- ally be bad for the opposition. leader of the pro-Kurdish Peo- “polluted” parliament. ing to join Saadet. tions, also scheduled for June 24, “I don’t think he would neces- ple’s Democratic Party who scored Sazak said Erdogan was keenly “Erdogan has reasons to worry some polls indicate. sarily be a good choice,” Eissenstat about 10% of the vote in the presi- aware that any development that about the AKP’s stability,” Sazak “There is a sense of hope and said about Gul in an e-mail mes- dential election in 2014, is also makes him look weak could shat- said. “If he looks vulnerable, optimism within the opposition sage. “The calculation is that he running. As Demirtas has been in ter the unity of the AKP, which many of those in the party but not that is new,” Washington-based would pull away some AKP votes pretrial detention for alleged sup- would be dangerous for his own in his personal circle will run for Turkey analyst Selim Sazak said while the opposition would vote port for a Kurdish terrorist group position at the top. the exits.” Viewpoint Iraqi Sunnis face greater election challenges than ISIS threat

he threat by the Islamic we assure the Iraqi people that the Previous anti-government There is an additional problem State (ISIS) to attack Iraqi forces are exerting great effort insurgencies that enjoyed support faced by the Sunni electorate: the Iraqi polling stations and will secure the polling stations from Iraq’s Sunnis did not actually questions they are likely going to Mamoon Alabbasi and voters during completely.” govern their host communities. be asking are not just “Should we parliamentary elections There are nearly 7,000 candidates That changed when ISIS declared vote at all?” or “Whom to vote for?” is unlikely to seriously competing for 329 parliament seats its “caliphate” from Mosul in 2014, but also “Can we vote even if we Taffect voter turnout or results of in the May 12 elections. More than unveiling an unimaginable reign of choose to?” the polls. The country’s electoral 24 million people are eligible to horror. There are concerns that not all process faces greater challenges. vote. In addition, many Sunnis see of those who were displaced by The message by ISIS appears to The ISIS threat is not a new Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi the war on ISIS — an estimated 2.3 be a bid to dissuade Sunni voters in development; all of the militant as a non-sectarian Shia leader, million Iraqis — would be able to particular from taking part in the group’s predecessors have threat- who stands in stark contrast to cast ballots despite government elections. ened and attacked Iraqi voters his predecessors since 2003. They assurances. “Oh Sunnis… we know that the since 2005. Their threats had little may doubt his ability to make real “The commission has a special government of Rafida (a pejora- effect on the participation of Shia changes in Iraq but not necessarily concern for this issue,” Riyadh al- tive Arabic term for Shias) is on and Kurdish voters but Sunnis have his intentions. Badran, the chief electoral officer the verge of what they call elec- always been split on whether to Still, a Sunni trust in Abadi does of the Independent High Electoral tions,” ISIS spokesman Abu Hassan take part in the polls. not automatically translate into Commission, told Reuters. Badran al-Muhajir posted on the Telegram Sunnis who have boycotted votes. Most of the Sunnis who said that displaced Iraqis who don’t messaging app. the polls argue that the electoral won’t be boycotting the elections have the new electronic identifica- “Our judgment will apply to those process is skewed to their commu- will likely vote for Sunni-dominat- tion cards — introduced to coun- who call for them and participate nity’s disadvantage and that they ed lists, which may form electoral ter voter fraud that took place in in them… The voting centres and would never get a fair representa- alliances with Abadi after the re- previous elections — will be offered those in them are targets for our tion while corrupt Shia or Kurdish sults come out. alternative options to prove their swords, so stay away from them officials oversee the elections. This, however, will only mean identities. and do not walk nearby,” he added. They add that, by taking part, that more Sunnis will face the Will all the predominately Sunni Iraqi politicians, the electoral voters would be giving credibility dilemma that their counterparts in displaced voters be able to vote and commission and security officials to a corrupt system and a boycott the Shia and Kurdish communities, do so freely? Will more of those dismissed the threat, promising to undermines the legitimacy of the who are increasingly disillusioned who boycotted previous elections protect polling stations and foil ISIS outcome. with the country’s biggest parties, take part in May’s polling? Will the The message by attacks. Other Sunnis argue that, with- are already facing: Whom to vote elections be less marred in fraud ISIS appears to be “We have pre-emptive operations out political participation, their for? and corruption? These issues affect by our units, including searches, community would not have a Many Sunni politicians who Iraqi elections more than any ISIS a bid to dissuade raids and arrests, and the destruc- voice — no matter how small — in became part of the post-2003 Iraqi threat. Sunni voters from tion of the remaining ISIS cells,” parliament and would be further establishment were accused of Iraqi Brigadier-General Yehya marginalised. This camp seems to seeking to further their personal Mamoon Alabbasi is Deputy taking part in the Rasoul said in a statement. “We are be gaining traction after the defeat interests instead of serving their Managing Editor and Online Editor elections. dealing with a terrorist enemy and of ISIS in December. community or county. of The Arab Weekly. 14 April 29, 2018 News & Analysis Turkey Erdogan uses army to boost his political agenda

Thomas Seibert

Istanbul

hen Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inspected troops at W the Syrian border, the visit to the southern province of Hatay made headlines not for what the 64-year-old leader told the sol- diers but for what he was wearing. Erdogan appeared not in his usual suit and tie but in full battle fa- tigues. For Turks who remember Er- dogan’s early days as the leader of a party inspired by political Islam, the change was astounding. After becoming prime minister in 2003, Erdogan spent the first years in power sparring with the strictly secular generals who publicly threatened to topple him in 2007. The military has pushed four Turkish governments from power since 1960 but Erdogan ended the military’s role as a self-appointed guardian of the secular republic in 2011. He has sought closer ties with the military leadership since. The recent operation to occupy the Syrian region of Afrin and an earlier incursion into the neigh- Publicity stunt. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) poses with Turkish pop stars during a visit to border units in Hatay bouring country in 2016, both or- province. (Turkish Presidential Press Service) dered by Erdogan as commander- in-chief, are signs that — for better government election campaign. dent. “What is your business in a conscript near Istanbul in 1982. approval rates have slipped. Al- or for worse — Turkey’s military is Erdogan wants to use a win at the Hatay?” Erdogan asked in a speech, The main pillar of public respect most 16,000 members of the mili- answerable to the civilian govern- polls in June to secure wide-rang- addressing Kilicdaroglu. for the army is the decisive role the tary, from generals to privates, ment in ways that are new for the ing powers for himself under a new The campaign-style exchange be- military played in the creation of were investigated for suspected in- country. presidential system. tween the head of state and the op- modern Turkey following the first volvement in the movement of the “Regardless of what anyone Given the high political stakes, position leader over the army dem- world war. The founder and first US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah thinks about the justness of An- the opposition’s response to Erdog- onstrates that the political fight president of the republic, Mustafa Gulen, a former ally of the presi- kara’s cause in Syria, civilian con- an’s choice of battle dress during about who is closest to the mili- Kemal Ataturk, was a former Otto- dent who is blamed by the govern- trol of the armed forces in Turkey the Hatay visit was scathing. Bulent tary is heating up. So far, Erdogan man general. ment for a coup attempt against Er- is now a reality,” Steven Cook of Tezcan, spokesman of the secular is winning. He has even called on dogan in 2016. Approximately 44% the Council on Foreign Relations Republican People’s Party (CHP), composers to come up with an “Af- Critics accuse Erdogan of of generals in the land forces have in Washington wrote in Foreign said Afrin, which borders Hatay and rin March” to celebrate the exploits been suspended or arrested, the Policy magazine. “That is some- was occupied by Turkey in March, of the army in Syria. launching the incursion Posta daily reported. thing quite new. The very real dan- was a “place where martyrs shed “Although there is widespread into Afrin to create a wave Erdemir said the coup has dented ger given Erdogan’s authoritarian their blood,” the word used in Tur- recognition among the public that of patriotism ahead of the military’s popularity. Citing the worldview and approach to politics key for soldiers killed in war. “This Erdogan has eroded the institutions crucial elections called European Commission’s Euroba- is that he transforms the military is not a place to put on a show with and traditions of the Turkish mili- for June 24. rometer surveys, he said: “Turkish into an instrument of his trans- a uniform.” tary, the rally-round-the-flag effect citizens’ trust in the military hit the formative vision for Turkey.” Another reason opposition offi- of cross-border operations into Decades of guerrilla warfare lowest in a decade, 62%, in Novem- Critics say the danger described cials were angry was that Erdogan northern Syria has offset this sen- against Kurdish rebels in south- ber 2016, shortly after the abortive by Cook has become a reality. They took prominent Turkish sing- timent,” Aykan Erdemir, a former eastern Anatolia have hardened coup.” accuse Erdogan of launching the ers with him to Hatay as a morale member of Turkey’s parliament the Turkish public against the sight Since then, the army’s reputa- incursion into Afrin to create a booster for the troops. CHP leader who works for the Washington of coffins arriving from the battle- tion has recovered somewhat. Op- wave of patriotism ahead of cru- Kemal Kilicdaroglu accused Erdog- think-tank Foundation for Defense fields. Burials of “martyrs” are of- eration Euphrates Shield, Turkey’s cial parliamentary and presidential an of dishonouring soldiers killed of Democracies, said via e-mail. ten attended by tens of thousands cross-border operation into north- elections called by him for June 24. in the Afrin operation for the sake Turkey’s army, NATO’s biggest of people and high-ranking civilian ern Syria in 2016, helped the army’s Long seen as an institution that is of a publicity stunt. fighting force after the US military, and military officials. approval rating, Erdemir wrote. above the fray of day-to-day poli- Kilicdaroglu visited the troops is a conscription outfit of 500,000 Polls indicate the military is “The recent Turkish operation in tics, the military is considered by in Hatay a few days after Erdogan, men. All able-bodied males are ex- among the most respected insti- Afrin will likely result in a similar some in Turkey as a tool of the triggering criticism from the presi- pected to serve; Erdogan served as tutions in Turkey, even though uplifting effect.” Viewpoint Without a unified opposition, Erdogan stands to achieve his goal

urkish politics is in cil can merge electoral districts. CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu est vote tally — Erdogan versus a fast-forward mode, Clearly, the changes favour had been standing firm but the single candidate. moving quickly Erdogan’s Justice and Develop- Iyi’s Meral Aksener copped out. Erdogan will do his utmost to Yavuz Baydar towards the decisive, ment Party (AKP), as it seeks to She claimed she had about 20% win outright in the first round ultimate choice on consolidate power after 16 years of the vote and her right-wing and he is eager to leave nothing to whether it wants to be in government and vest greater party could not afford to lose chance. Tan autocracy or a democracy. power in Erdogan. At best, they support by collaborating with the Gul had presented the one seri- In announcing snap elections are likely to turn Turkey into a pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic ous threat to Erdogan, appealing for June 24, Turkish President two-party system, enabling those Party. Credible surveys suggest to supporters of the AKP, the Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again in power to subsume the far-right Aksener has no more than 7% party they had founded together. caught a fragmented opposition Nationalist Movement Party. of the vote but sees herself as a Perhaps recognising this, Erdogan unprepared. All four opposition Once this happens, all that would larger-than-life figure. discreetly sent his chief adviser, parties are stuck in identity poli- stand between Erdogan and un- For all Kilicdaroglu’s support Ibrahim Kalin, and top com- tics and they are constantly hav- matched, unrivalled power would for Gul as a single opposition mander, Hulusi Akar (a friend of ing second thoughts on a united be a rubberstamp parliament. candidate, sections of his party the youthful Gul), to the former democracy ticket. “They are like The main opposition Repub- acrimoniously objected. Some president’s office to “convince” a bunch of dogs chasing their own lican People’s Party (CHP) may leading CHP members tried to Gul not to run for election. tails,” as a colleague said. have been hoping for a two-party nominate themselves as candi- The opposition, meanwhile, The odds in favour of Turkey’s system but that doesn’t change dates. In what may now appear a is concentrating on winning a strongman remain virtually the question mark it poses for a flawed tactic, Kilicdaroglu exer- majority in parliament. The hope unchanged from the day he called Turkey in political crisis. cised his prerogative to nominate is that it can utilise the change elections. As the Economist put The elections, therefore, will be the party’s candidate and initially in electoral regulation on politi- it: “Armed with emergency pow- the penultimate test for the oppo- kept the position open for Gul. cal alliances. There is still time ers, in control of nearly all media sition. So far, it seems the opposi- This seems to be a relatively weak to build these cross-party link- outlets and state institutions and tion is united only in the notion proposition and, in light of Gul’s ages. Parties have until May 9 to enduringly popular with conserv- that Erdogan is the problem. withdrawal, may weaken its posi- declare alliances. ative voters, Erdogan is expected There has been an attempt to tion. That said, given the climate to win easily in a contest that no strongly challenge Erdogan. There It seems as if Erdogan will of fear and the lack of a single, one expects to be fair.” had been frenzied efforts to nomi- face four challengers — one from unifying challenger to Erdogan, Add to this changes to the elec- nate former President Abdullah each of the opposition parties. If Turkey’s president seems poised toral law: Parties are now allowed Gul as sole challenger to Erdogan Erdogan wins the first round of to achieve his dream — supreme to create alliances to enter parlia- for the presidency before Gul the presidential vote with more ruler. Erdogan will do his ment, members of the security ruled himself out, citing a lack of than 50% of the vote, the game forces can be present at polling “consensus” over his nomination. will more or less be over. If he Yavuz Baydar is a Turkish utmost to leave stations if invited by a voter and Hopes for a united front to chal- does not, he will have to face the journalist and regular columnist nothing to chance. Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Coun- lenge Erdogan did not last long. challenger with the second-high- for The Arab Weekly. April 29, 2018 15 Debate Iran Iran’s risky game in Syria and the shadow of showdown with Israel

alk of a showdown between Israel and Iran in Syria has grown Iman Zayat since an armed Iranian drone infiltrated Israeli territory in February. TIsrael downed the drone but lost an F-16 jet to Syrian ground fire during a reprisal raid. Two months later, an air strike on an Iranian facility at a Syr- ian airbase killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) troops. Tehran blamed Israel and vowed retaliation, drawing Israeli counter-threats to broaden attacks on Iranian military assets in Syria. The recent strikes build off a long history of altercations be- tween Iran and Israel. A 2017 statement by outgo- ing Israeli Air Force commander Major-General Amir Eshel said the Israelis have launched more than 100 strikes on suspected Iranian and Hezbollah-linked positions since 2012. Israel argues that the strikes are necessary to confront the Iranian threat on its border and curb the flow of weaponry to Unwise steps. A file picture shows an Iran-backed Shia fighter clashing with members of the Free its Shia proxy, Hezbollah. Syrian Army rebels in the countryside of Damascus. (AP) Iran’s military intervention in Syria began in late 2011 following the uprising against Syrian Presi- the survival of the Assad regime “Don’t trust your airbases. Israel has continued its violations dent Bashar Assad. Iran initially as the civil war winds down and They’re within reach,” IRGC with international law, hoping kept a low profile in the conflict to create a permanent threat to Deputy Commander Brigadier- to be able to do it with impunity but ramped up its presence in mid- Israel to deter any Israeli attack General Hossein Salami said. He because of the US support and try- 2014 after the rise of the Islamic on Iran. was referring to the recent bomb- ing to find smokescreens to hide State (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq. Israel is clearly frustrated with ing of an Iran-controlled airbase behind,” Zarif told CBS News. The Israeli military said Iran the developments, especially as in central Syria. While Israel Zarif warned that Israel was sent thousands of fighters from the United States seems reluctant neither confirmed nor denied playing a risky game. “They various military organisations to help counter Iranian expan- the attack, Russia and the United should expect that if they contin- to fight in Syria under Tehran’s sion. Without any real strategy States indicated that Tel Aviv was ue to violate territorial integrity leadership. Its operations there, in the Syria conflict, Washington responsible. of other states, there’ll be conse- which are chiefly orchestrated has apparently left the country’s Despite the rhetoric, Iran is nei- quences,” he said. by the IRGC’s elite al-Quds Force, future to be determined by other ther prepared nor interested in a After parliamentary elections in have two separate contingents. regional powers, namely Iran and showdown with Israel, at least not Lebanon, Iran could respond with The first is exclusively made up Russia. before parliamentary elections in greater hostility to any new Israeli of Iranian forces, most of them Israel is increasingly aware that Lebanon in May. Iran’s Lebanese strike, even conducting reprisal IRGC ground forces. The second is it cannot rely on direct US military proxy, Hezbollah, is hoping to attacks. a smaller group of units from the assistance against Iran’s military sweep electoral seats in the elec- While neither side wants a Iranian Army, which began arriv- presence in western Syria. If it tion, shifting the balance of power war, a single misstep could prove ing in Syria in early 2016. wants to carry out military op- in its favour to ensure that any disastrous. Ever since the 1979 Israel is clearly Iran has expressed no desire erations against Iran or any of its government formed is a “Hezbol- Islamic Revolution, Tehran and frustrated with the to withdraw from Syria and has proxies, it knows it must embark lah government.” Tel Aviv have been fighting each reinforced its military control on this path alone. On April 22, Iranian Foreign other through proxies, cyber- developments, by mobilising proxy forces from “No matter the price, we will Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attacks and assassination squads. especially as the Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and not allow a noose to form around said in a US television interview The covert war will not last for- United States seems Pakistan. These proxies have been us,” Israeli Defence Minister Avig- that further Israeli sorties in ever, however, and any open and trained, mobilised and deployed dor Lieberman told Israel Radio. Syria would have “consequences” direct confrontation, if it comes, reluctant across Syrian territory by al-Quds At the same time, Iran is ratch- but that a major escalation was will have dire implications for the to help Force. eting up its rhetoric. On April 20, unlikely. Middle East. Iran-backed forces deployed in a senior Iranian military official “I do not believe that we are counter Iranian the western part of the country warned that Tehran is ready to at- headed towards regional war but Iman Zayat is the Managing Editor expansion. have two objectives: to guarantee tack Israel at any moment. I do believe that, unfortunately, of The Arab Weekly. Iran: One country, two armies

ran marked Army Day and country’s territorial integrity and IRGC was a surprise. and counter-revolutionary media Ali Alfoneh President Hassan Rohani deter a Soviet incursion. Fur- “The army has always per- and their lackeys within Iran,” had been expected to call ther goals at the time included formed its duties without ever the IRGC statement said. for unity in the face of do- preventing a military coup and demanding concessions from Brigadier-General Gholam-Hos- mestic and foreign threats to facilitating the peaceful transfer the government and the nation,” sein Gheibparvar, commander of the regime. Instead, Rohani of power from the monarchy to Rohani said in indirect reference the IRGC auxiliary Basij, contin- Ilavished praise on the army and Khomeini and his revolutionary to the political demands made by ued the counteroffensive at the simultaneously shot a series of allies. The United States naively the IRGC leadership. “The army Martyr Mahallati mosque in the poison arrows at the Islamic Rev- hoped to secure good relations knows politics well but never heart of the IRGC Social Hous- olutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). with post-revolutionary Iran. entered the realm of political ing neighbourhood in Tehran. Clearly, internal and external Part of the plan worked. After games,” he continued, hitting He said: “Official tribunes can threats no longer necessarily secret meetings between the out again at the IRGC. certainly not weaken the guards mean Iran’s ruling elites will army leadership and Khomeini’s Then he tackled a particularly since the community of the rally around the flag. representatives, he granted a sensitive issue: “Today, there is guardsmen is committed to the This is an extraordinary general amnesty to commanders no mention of army commanders revolution and the leader.” change. Iran’s Army Day, cel- and, in February 1979, the army when it comes to economic cor- IRGC deputy chief commander ebrated each April 18, dates to declared its “neutrality” towards ruption!” This sentence can only Brigadier-General Hossein Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s the revolution. be interpreted as the president’s Salami used the Friday prayer 1979 public declaration of sup- The revolutionaries seized reference to IRGC involvement in to condemn Rohani’s speech, port for what once was known as power but betrayed their prom- economic scandals. saying: “We sometimes see our the imperial army. At the time, ise to the army by executing top The IRGC publicly responded friends looking us in the eyes and Khomeini said: “The army is now generals. They created the IRGC to the thinly veiled criticism echo the words of our enemies.” in the service of the nation and to prevent coups by revanchist condemning the “disuniting Even army chief Major-General Islam.” monarchist officers of the regular statements of some elements Abdolrahim Mousavi expressed The declaration marked an im- army. The body of the army had and individuals, whose improper solidarity with the IRGC. He at- portant shift in the relationship been preserved by Khomeini. In quibble and sarcasm weaken tended IRGC Day festivities and between Iran’s revolutionary return, it showed its loyalty by the proud commanders of the publicly declared: “I’m here to Clearly, internal and leadership and the military. suppressing irredentist move- guards.” strike a blow to the mouth of the external threats no Before the revolution, the ments in the country and its The IRGC statement took enemies of the regime!” imperial army was the monar- sacrifices in eight years of war further aim at Rohani by accus- Such expressions of solidarity, longer necessarily chy’s main support. During the against Iraq. ing him of joining the ranks of however, can no longer hide the mean Iran’s ruling revolution, the shah, who was This long and painful history US and Israel supporters with his deep divisions among the rul- determined to leave Iran, and featured in the initial part of Ro- remarks. “In doing so, they sing ing elites in Iran, even at a time elites will rally the US administration wanted to hani’s Army Day speech this year the tune of the hegemonic order of domestic crisis and external around the flag. preserve the army to secure the but the contrast he drew with the and provide pretexts to foreign pressure. 16 April 29, 2018 Debate Refugee Crisis Normalising relations with Assad will not ease Lebanon’s refugee problem

n Lebanon, public opinion of At the core reported that municipalities and the war in Syria is divided. of debates. A the army in Lebanon are gradu- The Lebanese state has main- Syrian refugee ally evicting Syrian refugees with Abdulrahman al-Masri tained a somewhat neutral carries his more than 42,000 at risk of such official position towards the matresses at attempts. Syria problem, branding its an unofficial Politicising the struggle of Iapproach as a “disassociation” refugee camp Syrian refugees in Lebanon is policy, which is based on fear of in the area of problematic; politicians continue spillover of the conflict that could Arida, north of to suggest that some parts of compromise Lebanon’s fragile Beirut. (AFP) Syria have become safe because of security. regime control. This is an argu- However, as the Lebanese ment that UN High Commissioner people head to the polling stations for Refugees Filippo Grandi has on May 6 to elect legislators for repeatedly opposed. the first time in almost a decade, What’s more, the pro-Assad political campaigns — particularly political bloc in Lebanon wants to those of politicians linked to Hez- normalising relations with Syria. softening. More so, Hariri and normalise relations with Damas- bollah and its allies — are propos- This pro-Assad rhetoric has the anti-Assad March 14 Alliance cus for its benefit within Lebanese ing normalising relations with increased since December 2016 would lose power and influence if politics. In doing so, Lebanon the Syrian regime to facilitate the when a new Lebanese cabinet was the elections, which are the first would give Assad a window out return of more than 1 million Syr- formed. The cabinet represents a under a new proportional repre- of his regional isolation and ian refugees in Lebanon. government that is divided along sentation law, provide a parlia- further slide Lebanon into the There is no proof that normalis- confessional and political lines. It mentary majority to Hezbollah pro-Iran camp. Hezbollah and ing relations with Syrian President includes ministers from various and its allies. others would open their areas in Bashar Assad would ease the rivals, each with their own politi- However, Hezbollah has long Lebanon to economically benefit refugee burden in Lebanon. Re-es- cal views on domestic and foreign advocated for a proportional sys- from what they perceive to be an tablishing official connection with policy. However, it is distinctively tem to replace the plurality voting upcoming “reconstitution” oppor- Damascus would likely increase dominated by Hezbollah and its system, which would enable the tunity in neighbouring Syria. sectarian tensions in the country allies in the March 8 Alliance. Shia militia and political party to As it has ever been, Damascus and reintroduce Syrian meddling The Free Patriotic Movement, enter competitions in new dis- and the prospects of its role in into Lebanese internal affairs. a political party led by Aoun and tricts (in Beirut, for example) and Lebanese politics are at the core Since elected in October 2016, members of the March 8 coali- expand their political dominance. of debates during elections, given Lebanese President Michel Aoun tion, noted on its website that Some are predicting that the pro- the lengthy history of Syrian oc- has called on his country’s gov- “forced repatriation” of refugees Western March 14 Alliance will cupation of Lebanon. ernment to work with the Syrian is among the country’s priorities lose seats with the new law and Additionally, normalisation regime to expedite the return of in 2018. The Lebanese Forces, a Hezbollah and other supporters of would likely have internal rami- Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The Christian rival political party that the Syrian regime may expect to fications. Different constituen- same call has been heard from officially states its opposition to win a bigger bloc. cies in Lebanon would not only Aoun’s political ally, Hezbollah the Syrian regime, has also been Dialogue with the Assad regime be disappointed by the hare- Secretary-General Hassan Nasral- vocal about the need for refugee to forge a solution to the Syr- brained promise of repatriation of lah, who feels emboldened to return; however, it wants that to ian refugee problem in Lebanon refugees but also by having their push the issue of refugee return happen without coordination with may likely prove futile. Far more country open for renewed Syrian following recent territorial ad- Damascus. refugees have fled Syria because influence over and meddling in vances by the Syrian regime. Opposition to refugee repa- of the brutality exercised by internal affairs. Building on a widely shared triation has come from Lebanon’s the regime than by other armed This, along with the grievances Hariri says that any sentiment against refugee popula- Sunni leader, Prime Minister Saad counterparts. Fears of bombard- among the Lebanese Sunni com- effort towards tions and political consensus Hariri, who said Lebanon would ment, kidnapping, detention and munity, would probably inflame refugee transfers among many Lebanese parties to not force refugees to return. persecution are among the many sectarian tensions in Lebanon. begin a dialogue with Damascus, Hariri affirmed that any effort reasons Syrian refugees would not should be politicians are raising fears among towards refugee transfers should return to Assad’s Syria any time Abdulrahman al-Masri reports coordinated their constituencies to reach be coordinated by the United Na- soon. on politics and news in the Middle their narrow political objective tions. Yet, the powers of the prime Regardless, efforts in Lebanon East and Syria in particular. by the United of strengthening the pro-Assad minister’s office and Hariri’s have begun to force out Syrian He can be followed on Twitter: Nations. Lebanese clique through pro-Western camp appear to be refugees. Human Rights Watch @AbdulrhmanMasri. Refugees: A global crisis that defies solutions

alking about the world’s of Rohingya villages were burned its protocol have been adopted by beach dressed in a red T-shirt and worst refugee crisis and an estimated 655,000 refu- 142 countries. blue shorts. It was a tragedy made since the second world gees poured across the border into The countries most involved in visible. Bernd Debusmann war, Pope Francis rou- Bangladesh. Most live in miserable the refugee crisis — either as host The visibility contrasts with the tinely complains about conditions in makeshift camps and or donor — have something in plight of refugees and displaced the “globalisation of settlements. common. They have sharp politi- people in Africa. The African Tindifference.” The United Nations’ These conditions provide breed- cal divisions over refugee policies continent has some of the world’s top refugee official, Filippo Grandi, ing grounds for radicalisation, crim- in particular and immigration in largest refugee camps but Grandi notes the onset of “donation inals and traffickers, UN Secretary- general. Public attitudes in those says “they are invisible.” He adds fatigue.” For David Miliband, of the General Antonio Guterres told the countries flow from the leadership. that “Africa is far away so it is more International Rescue Committee, Security Council in September. At the extreme end of anti-refu- difficult to make the case for Afri- dealing with more than 66 million While the Myanmar government gee animus is US President Donald can refugees” when asking for help people driven from their homes is has announced plans to repatriate Trump. He has effectively shut the from rich countries. “a test of our humanity.” refugees, there is deep scepticism door to Syrian refugees and he has Scant attention from the West- Some countries have fared better this will happen. What’s more likely cut the overall number the US plans ern media has contributed to this on that test than others but, almost is that areas along the Myanmar- to admit this year from countries invisibility. The average news everywhere, the idea that there can Bangladesh border will turn into other than Syria to 45,000, the low- consumer could be forgiven for not be short-term solutions to refugee “protracted refugee situations.” est in modern American history. having heard of Bidi Bidi, a vast emergencies has proved illusory. That is the term used by the On the other end of refugee camp and settlement in northern “The average stay of a refugee in a UN refugee agency when at least policy from Trump is German Uganda. It holds 285,000 refugees foreign country these days is maybe 25,000 refugees of the same Chancellor Angela Merkel. In 2015, from South Sudan. Other camps are 15 to 20 years,” Grandi said in a re- nationality have been stranded in she opened the door to more than little known in the West: Kenya’s cent US television interview. “This exile in a host country for five years 1 million refugees, mostly from Kakuma (population: 185,000); is the nature of the crisis today.” or more. The definition applies Syria. She defied predictions that Tanzania’s Nyarugusu (population: That goes along with fears that to most of the world’s refugees. this controversial open-door policy 140,000). the protracted presence of foreign- The UN High Commissioner for would end her political career, Exhibit A for the failure of the ers fosters the growth of a semi- Refugees lists 33 locations that have though she did pay a price. In idea that there are short-term solu- permanent underclass of people “protracted refugee situations.” September’s elections, the far-right tions to emergency situations is who are often banned from working They are, in effect, warehouses for anti-immigrant Alternative for probably Dadaab in Kenya. It was while waiting for asylum requests people who are not allowed to as- Germany (AfD) became the third- set up in 1991 to accommodate the to be processed or for an end to the similate into the host country. biggest party in parliament. thousands of Somalis fleeing civil violence and repression that drove This was not what international The AfD’s message — that war. It grew larger with successive them from their homes in the first lawyers and humanitarian experts refugees equal Islam, which equals waves of refugees. Dadaab was the place. The situation continues to had in mind when they were work- danger — resonates elsewhere in world’s biggest refugee camp, with be dire in Syria, Afghanistan and ing out how to shelter and resettle Europe, particularly in Hungary nearly 250,000 people, until it was The countries most South Sudan, the three countries millions of people uprooted by the and Poland. Both countries have relegated to second place by the Ro- involved in the that accounted for the bulk of second world war. leaders whose rhetoric echoes that hingyas streaming into Bangladesh. refugee crisis have displaced people in the past two The convention relating to the of Trump. Most of the children born in decades. status of refugees was signed at a The globalisation of indiffer- Dadaab are third-generation sharp political The situation appears equally UN conference in Geneva in 1951. It ence, to use the pope’s words, was inhabitants of the camp. divisions over bleak for the victims of what the was designed to address the prob- pierced on occasion during the 2015 United Nations has called a cam- lems of Europe. A 1967 protocol and 2016 rush of refugees towards Bernd Debusmann is a writer refugee policies in paign of “ethnic cleansing” of the ended the geographical limita- Europe. This happened when pic- on foreign affairs based in particular Muslim Rohingya in predominantly tion, by which mainly Europeans tures touched hearts in a way statis- Washington. He has reported from and immigration Buddhist Myanmar. Since August, involved in events occurring before tics and analyses could not. There more than 100 countries and was when the Myanmar military began January 1, 1951, could apply for was the drowned 3-year-old Syrian wounded twice while covering the in general. an anti-Rohingya campaign, scores refugee status. The convention and boy lying face down on a Turkish civil war in Lebanon. April 29, 2018 17 News & Analysis East West Open letter on anti-Semitism sparks fierce debate on Islam in France

Mahmud el-Shafey crimes, the letter stated. The most recent anti-Semitic attack to rock France was in March when 85-year- London old Mireille Knoll, a Holocaust sur- vivor, was stabbed 11 times and her n open letter published in body was set on fire. Two men, aged French newspaper Le Par- 22 and 29, have been charged with isien condemning a “new the crime. Knoll’s granddaughter A anti-Semitism” and signed claimed she was killed by a Muslim by numerous public figures trained neighbour. a spotlight on the relationship be- The incident recalled the killing tween France’s Jewish and Muslim of Jewish teacher Sarah Halimi, 66, communities. in April 2017, whom prosecutors say The letter drew a direct link was killed in an anti-Semitic attack between rising anti-Semitism in by “a Muslim neighbour she knew France and Muslims, explicitly well.” blaming “Islamic radicalisation” for While some praised the letter’s what it described as a “quiet ethnic intent to raise the issue of anti-Se- purge” of Jews from Paris. mitic crimes, others said Muslims Written as a manifesto “against were being unjustly singled out and the new anti-Semitism,” the letter that the manifesto’s tone could lead was drafted by former Charlie Heb- to further division. do Editor Philippe Val and signed “This letter, which unfairly puts Stirring up hate. A woman by more than 300 prominent pub- French citizens of the Muslim faith holds a white rose as she lic figures, including former Presi- and Islam on trial for anti-Semitism, stands outside Mireille dent Nicolas Sarkozy, former Prime presents the obvious risk of dividing Knoll’s apartment during a Ministers Manuel Valls and Bernard religious communities,” Dalil Bou- silent march in Paris. (AP) Cazeneuve, former Paris Mayor Ber- bakeur, rector of the Grand Mosque trand Delanoe, actor Gerard Depar- of Paris, warned in a statement. between the inherent threats of be- A few days later, 30 imams signed in France to “show greater discern- dieu and singers Charles Aznavour Boubakeur called for “reason, ci- ing Jewish and those inherent to be- an open letter in Le Monde in re- ment between Islamic extremists and Francoise Hardy. vility and fraternity” to avoid fall- ing Muslim.” sponse to the Le Parisien “manifes- who have attacked France in recent ing into the “trap” of division and “I was most reticent about the to.” The letter argued that mistaken years and Islam itself.” highlighted examples of interfaith fact that it was [presented as] a sort interpretation of Islam by extrem- The letter was signed by senior The controversial letter outreach between France’s Muslim of competition. Who was the most ists — not the Quran itself — is the imams tied to the Alpes-Maritimes called for certain verses of and Jewish communities. at risk,” he told Franceinfo radio. problem. region in south-eastern France. the Quran to be “declared “We, French citizens of Muslim Abdallah Zekri, head of France’s The imams’ letter warned that Is- While the issue of anti-Semitism obsolescence by theological faith, wish to make the fight against National Observatory against Is- lam had fallen into the hands of “an came to the fore following Knoll’s authorities” and played both anti-Semitism and anti-Mus- lamophobia, described the letter ignorant, disrupted and idle youth. death, official figures from France’s down Islamophobia. lim racism a national cause to eradi- as opening a “nauseating and cata- A naive youth, easy prey for ideo- Interior Ministry indicate that the cate these poisonous and extremely strophic debate.” logues who exploit this dismay.” number of anti-Semitic crimes fell The letter called for certain vers- harmful views,” he added. “In Islam and France’s Muslims, “For more than two decades, in France in 2017 for a third consec- es of the Quran that are used by “The only thing we can agree on the failed politicians who are suffer- subversive readings and practices utive year, down 7% from the previ- extremists to justify anti-Semitic is that we must all unite against ing from a lack of media attention of Islam have been rampant in the ous year. views to be “declared obsolescence anti-Semitism,” Ahmet Ogras, head have found a new scapegoat,” he Muslim community, generating a France has the largest Jewish by theological authorities” and of the French Council of the Muslim said. religious anarchy, rife throughout community in Europe, with ap- played down Islamophobia, say- Faith umbrella group, told Agence Tareq Oubrou, imam of the Grand society. A cancerous situation to proximately 400,000 members. ing that Jews in France were more France-Presse. Mosque of Bordeaux, criticised the which some imams unfortunately However, this number is down from likely to be victims of assault than Even France’s chief rabbi, Haim idea that verses of the Quran should contributed, often unconsciously,” 500,000 in 2000. Muslims. Korsia, a signatory of the letter said be excised. “Any number of holy the letter said. Since 2006, 11 Jews have been he disagreed with some aspects texts are violent, even the Gospel,” The imams also called on non- Mahmud el-Shafey is an Arab killed in France in anti-Semitic of it, including the “comparison he said. Muslim leaders, schools and police Weekly correspondent in London. Viewpoint Can the Great Middle East Platform make a difference for Arab youth?

y 2020, the Middle East would help with knowledge-ex- to be discussed with policy-maker The guiding principle was “Arab and North Africa will change and the creative growth of counterparts in the region,” she Dawn,” whose author, Bessma Khadija need more than 60 mil- young people in the region. said. Momani, specifically aimed to Hamouchi lion new jobs. Current- “We have met many young No one is sure if the Dutch dispel Western negativity about ly, youth unemploy- people who are eager and willing. government and the European the Middle East. ment is as high as 30% Unfortunately, many young people Commission will agree to follow Her young Arab students, said Bin some countries in the region. cannot afford to be creative be- those clear steps but it’s true that Momani, a political science profes- Unemployment is understandably cause they are too busy surviving,” the Great Middle East Platform’s sor, give her intense hope. That a source of much concern: People van Rosse said. recommendations offer a long- hope, Momani said, stems from under 30 represent 60% of the Fair enough but how is the term holistic strategy rather than “a fundamental intergenerational Arab population and they live in a overall approach different from the short-term reactive policies change.” The Great Middle East politically and economically torn any other Western talking shop’s adopted in and for the region. Platform’s recommendations also region. recommendations on the Middle The foundation takes pride in drew upon the UN Development Somewhat outrageously, Het East? the brevity and succinctness of Programme “Arab Development Grote Midden Oosten Platform Its specificity, van Rosse sug- its recommendations. These were Report 2016” because it focused on (Dutch for “The Great Middle East gested. “Instead of writing a 1,000- put together after consultations enabling youth to shape their own Platform”) sees the problem as page recommendation that won’t in February with 30 Dutch Middle future. eminently solvable. get implemented, we wanted to East experts and four young rep- The Great Middle East Platform Led by Vanessa Lambrecht and provide Dutch Foreign Trade and resentatives from Egypt, Morocco, says investment in the region is Sylva van Rosse, the independ- Development Cooperation Minis- Libya and Jordan and regional key and Dutch companies should ent foundation from The Hague ter Sigrid Kaag (with clear steps) non-profits. lead the way with construction, has cobbled together a go-local water management and renewa- strategy for the Dutch government bles companies that have in-built to execute in the Middle East. Next training programmes for young stop, the European Commission in locals. Brussels. It is a bright and hopeful pro- The foundation said stakehold- posal but even the foundation’s ers should support local networks relentless optimism admits there and NGOs that boast sizeable is a big roadblock on the path to youth participation and influence change. and that stakeholders should fund “We asked ourselves, ‘How alternative media that showcases much room do young people have young people, especially women, to participate?’” van Rosse said. The Great Middle as role models. “We felt that there was very little East Platform’s “We need to hear stories from space for people in the region to diverse people and invest heavily develop themselves. We under- recommendations in young role models,” Lambrecht stood that so many brilliant minds offer a long-term said. are boxed in and tired by the lack holistic strategy As a long-term strategy, the of support.” foundation recommended a laser rather than the focus on vocational education and Khadija Hamouchi is a Belgian- short-term reactive online learning, particularly in Moroccan social entrepreneur and Arabic, to democratise learning in founder of SEJAAL, an initiative policies adopted in the region. A Dutch-Arab partner- Investing in youth. Sylva van Rosse (L) and two young participants that is building an app for young and for the region. ship at the higher education level in the Great Middle East Platform. (Great Middle East Platform) people. 18 April 29, 2018 Spotlight Regional Energy Tensions

Gaza cut ‘Witch’s brew’: out of gas Energy key boom Ed Blanche factor in Beirut n the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and Egypt, region’s wars the Israelis agreed that the I newly established Pales- tinian Authority would have complete control of the waters off the Gaza Strip, with British Gas to develop what were then thought to be relatively small natural gas deposits in Palestin- ian waters. Seven years later, the Jew- ish state found itself facing a chronic energy shortage and swiftly overturned that deal as it became clear the gas fields were bigger than expected. After the Gazans signed a 2013 deal with Russia’s energy giant Gazprom to operate the gas fields, Professor Michael Schwartz of Stony Brook Uni- versity, author of “War Without End: The Iraq War in Context,” said Israel took the gloves off New energy frontier. A gas drilling rig in the eastern Mediterranean. (Reuters) and resorted to blunt force. “The Israelis launched their Ed Blanche one-third of the island. equivalent of more than 1 billion market. fifth military effort to force the Egypt, which discovered the barrels of oil. “Saudi Arabia… leader of the Palestinian acquiescence,” Op- rich Zohr offshore gas field in the The contesting states cannot Organisation of the Petroleum Ex- eration Protective Edge, he ob- Beirut eastern Mediterranean in 2015, is even agree on what to do with the porting Countries, has long used served. at odds with neighbouring Israel, gas once it is extracted. Some sup- whatever means are necessary or centuries the Mediter- which was the first regional coun- port underwater export pipelines to to ensure that its business never ranean was the scene of try to exploit gas, tapping into its Turkey. Others favour establishing shrinks,” Downey observed. Gaza’s natural gas is under savage epoch-defining en- vast Leviathan and Tamar offshore infrastructure on Cyprus to process The Saudis, backed by the United water and “the same can F counters between powerful fields. the gas for export. Arab Emirates and other regional be said for almost all of navies seeking to control the seas There are security conflicts over Egypt, with Zohr now producing, allies, are fighting a largely proxy the Levantine gas.” that the far-sailing Phoenicians the choke points on the key ship- argues it should be the transporta- conflict with Iran-backed Houthi once ruled. ping routes between the Suez Ca- tion hub. rebels in neighbouring Yemen. It’s Now the world’s oil majors are nal, particularly the Bab el Mandeb The territorial disputes mean lit- a messy affair that is escalating into It was ostensibly aimed at scrapping over the vast mineral Strait between the Red Sea and the tle of this bonanza is being exploit- what many fear will be an all-out knocking out Hamas’s ability riches deep below the wreckage- Indian Ocean and the Strait of Ma- ed or is likely to be exploited for war between the two energy giants to mount rocket attacks but, in strewn seabed. Control of oilfields lacca to the east between Indonesia years to come — if ever. long riven by deep religious and fact, the real objective was to in the Middle East, whether on land and Malaysia, which links with the All the while, the Israelis have ideological differences. deter Gaza’s plans to exploit the or hundreds of metres beneath the South China Sea. been sharpening their swords in For Saudi hawks, their efforts to offshore gas fields. This was not seabed, is a leading cause of con- Israel is vying with neighbouring preparation for resources wars that boost the value of oil would benefit achieved: Hamas is still firing flict, particularly in the eastern Lebanon over gas fields that stretch Schwartz and others are convinced from higher prices. One way of do- salvos of rockets from Gaza. On Mediterranean. beneath ill-defined borders, while are looming. ing that would be sharply reduce the oil front, however, Gazprom Between one-quarter and one- Turkey seeks to block the interna- The scramble for energy includes the flow of natural gas to Europe, if pulled out, leaving the Palestin- half of interstate wars in the world tionally recognised Cypriot gov- war-torn Syria, which also has an not the entire world, from Iran and ians at a loss. since 1973 have been linked to oil, ernment in Nicosia from exploiting offshore exclusion zone in the east- Qatar, key gas producers — both of Now, Schwartz wrote in a a report by Harvard’s Belfer Centre sizeable gas fields that will trans- ern Mediterranean. It is witness- which are currently at sharp odds recent analysis, that after a se- for Science and International Af- form the resource-poor island’s ing fierce fighting for control of its with Saudi Arabia. ries of “failed military efforts, fairs stated. precarious economy. north-eastern oilfields in Deir ez- US President Donald Trump, de- Gaza’s natural gas is under wa- “No other commodity has had Zor province, a key source of rev- spite recent criticism of Riyadh, ter and “the same can be said such an impact on international af- enue for the embattled Damascus strongly supports the Saudis and for almost all of the Levantine fairs,” said the report’s author, Jeff The scramble for regime before the conflict erupted recently signed a $100 billion arms gas. D. Colgan of American University in energy includes war-torn in March 2011. deal with the kingdom, the largest “But things are not the same. Washington. Syria, which also has an Syria also has claims on offshore such agreement in US-Saudi his- Israel is ever more desperate, These fossil-fuelled conflicts are offshore exclusion blocks in the eastern Mediterrane- tory. even as it has been building up The region’s immense energy re- expected to get worse, with a dozen zone in the eastern an but exploring them will have to its military, including its navy, countries, mainly in Africa and the wait until the war is over. sources have long made the Middle in significant ways… The other Middle East, on the cusp of becom- Mediterranean. “Four years of manoeuvring East central to strategic planning by claimants have, in turn, found ing oil and gas producers. around the newly discovered Le- Washington and Moscow. larger and more powerful part- The eastern Mediterranean has The Turkish Navy has intercept- vantine Basin deposits have pro- Michael T. Klare, an American ners to help reinforce their eco- become important territory as ed seismic vessels seeking new duced little energy but brought energy specialist and author who is nomic and military claims” and countries and corporations vie for fields and has threatened worse new and powerful claimants into a professor of peace and world se- the Oslo Accords are officially control of the 223 trillion cubic feet if Turkey’s self-styled republic in the mix, launched a significant curity studies at Hampshire College doomed. of recoverable gas and 1.8 billion northern Cyprus is not recognised military build-up in the region and in the United States, describes the “All this undoubtedly means barrels of oil that the US Geological and given its share of the bonanza. heightened tensions immeasur- energy conflicts as “a witch’s brew that for the first-quarter cen- Survey estimates it contains. Only Ankara acknowledges Tur- ably,” Schwartz observed. of ethnic, religious and national tury of crisis over eastern Medi- Lebanon and Israel, enemies key’s war-won enclave. The Middle East accounts for antagonisms that have been stirred terranean natural gas has been of old, are feuding over a major Egypt’s Zohr gas field, one of the one-quarter of all world oil supplies to boiling point by a fixation on en- nothing but prelude,” Schwartz gas field that straddles disputed largest in the Mediterranean with and has two-thirds to three-quar- e r g y.” remarked. “Ahead lies the pos- territorial waters between them. an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of ters of all known oil reserves. Klare explained that “these inten- sibility of bigger gas wars with Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah, gas, is currently producing 350 mil- “The importance of energy with- sifying conflicts are not just about the devastation they will likely armed with anti-ship cruise mis- lion cubic feet a day. Cairo plans to in the Middle East and its ever- age-old hatreds,” but are driven by bring.” siles, has threatened military action increase that so it can halt imports present role in regional conflict is “the desire to control valuable oil and the Israelis have armed their by 2019 and achieve self-sufficien- hard to overstate,” Kevin Downey, a and gas assets. Make no mistake drilling platforms and naval forces cy. US-based environmental specialist about it, they’re 21st-century en- with defence systems designed to Israel has also found oil in Arab wrote in a recent analysis. “Control ergy wars.” intercept the Chinese-designed territory it occupied in the West of the global energy market means The struggle over energy resourc- missiles. Bank and the Golan Heights, al- being able to exert huge influence es has been a conspicuous factor in “Resource wars are, of course, though it has not begun production on the international economy and many recent conflicts, including the nothing new,” observed Profes- in appropriated Palestinian lands. the Middle East’s vast fossil fuel re- Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88 in which 1 sor Michael Schwartz of Stony Fossil fuel only moved to centre serves have always attracted the in- million people reportedly died, the Brook University in the United stage in the Israeli-Palestinian rela- terest of intentional superpowers. Gulf War of 1990-91, the Sudanese States. “Virtually the entire his- tionship in the 1990s and, although “The last two decades of constant civil war of 1983-2005 and the sav- tory of Western colonialism and it was initially a circumscribed con- regional conflict have been a con- age conflict in South Sudan. post-World War II globalisation has flict, it spread to include Syria, Cy- sistently perilous struggle for pow- “As these conflicts and others like been driven by the effort to find and prus, Turkey and Russia after 2010. er and market control, especially them suggest, fighting for control market the raw materials needed to Israel has found large gas fields between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the over key energy assets or the dis- build or maintain industrial capital- in its waters but there are disputes two largest economies in the Mid- tribution of oil revenues is a critical ism.” with Lebanon and Cyprus over the dle East.” factor in most contemporary war- Turkey and Greece are squab- parameters of those finds. Taken This will continue. The Saudis, fare,” Klare stressed. Chronic deficit. bling over a major gas field off together, these amount to a major seeking to preserve their status A Palestinian boy carries an the island of Cyprus, divided into economic prize for all concerned. as the world’s largest energy pro- Ed Blanche is a regular empty gas canister outside Greek-influenced and Turkish The US Geological Survey estimates ducer, have blocked efforts to de- contributor to The Arab Weekly. a gas filling station in Rafah sectors since Turkey invaded in the offshore zones hold at least 130 velop new export routes that could He has reported on the Middle East in the southern Gaza Strip. July 1974 and seized the northern trillion cubic feet of gas and the dramatically change the global gas since 1967. (Reuters) April 29, 2018 19 Economy

Farmers unhappy over Egyptian Briefs Iraq resumes payments of Gulf government-set prices for wheat War reparations Amr Emam to Kuwait

Iraq resumed paying Kuwait com- Cairo pensation for the destruction of Ku- waiti oil fields and facilities during gypt’s food security is the 1990-91 Gulf War, the United Na- at risk because tens of tions said in a statement. thousands of farmers are The payment had been suspended E threatening to stop grow- since October 2014 because of secu- ing wheat against the backdrop of rity and budgetary problems faced feuds with the government on crop by the Iraqi government in its fight prices. against the Islamic State. The wheat harvest, expected to “The UN Compensation Commis- begin soon in Egypt, is usually a sion (UNCC) today made available time of joy in the countryside with $90 million to the Government of farmers preparing grain for sale and the State of Kuwait,” the United Na- expecting major revenue streams. tions said in a statement. “With to- Farmers, however, have been baf- day’s payment, the commission has fled by wheat prices announced paid out $47.9 billion, leaving ap- by Egypt’s Ministry of Supply, the proximately $4.5 billion remaining only buyer of the grain. to be paid to the only outstanding “The prices announced by the claim.” government cause huge losses to the farmers,” said Nasser Abdel (Reuters) Gawad, one of thousands of wheat farmers in the southern province of Qena. “If I sell the wheat at the declared rate, I will not even be Qatar Airways covering the cost of growing the product.” expects ‘large loss’ The Egyptian Ministry of Supply Money feud. A farmer harvests wheat in a field in the Beheira governorate, north of Cairo, on April 4. (Reuters) said it would purchase wheat (with Akbar al-Baker, Qatar Airways a purity rate of at least 23.5%) from chief executive, said the Gulf car- farmers at 600 Egyptian pounds largest buyer of wheat, plans to im- “We have decided this price af- Noureddin said. rier was being heavily affected by a ($34) per 150 kilograms. Wheat with port 7 million tonnes of wheat in ter calculating the cost of produc- Egypt specified $1.2 billion in regional diplomatic dispute that has a purity of 22% would bring in 570 the 2018-19 financial year, Reuters tion,” said Mohamed Suweidi, the the 2017-18 budget to buy wheat seen it lose access to routes across pounds ($32) per 150 kilograms. reported. spokesman for the Ministry of Sup- on international markets. Lower Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emir- Egyptian farmers said they were Egypt relies on wheat to produce ply. “Farmers who sell their pro- national production would mean ates, Bahrain and Egypt. receiving $200-$230 per tonne of billions of loaves of bread for the duce for this price will end up mak- Egypt would have to spend its lim- “Yes, it will be a large loss. When I wheat. International wheat prices approximately 80 million Egyp- ing a profit.” ited foreign currency reserves on say we will be declaring a large loss, are about $246 per tonne. tians registered in the national food The farmers can either sell the wheat imports. for me, after making profit, then The Supply Ministry disputed the rationing system. produce to the ministry or feed it This is what wheat importers even if I lost only 10 million, it’s a claim, asserting that it is offering Reports indicate that Egypt to livestock but they cannot legally want, observers said, with alle- large loss,” Baker told a news confer- $11 higher than the international hopes to pay an average price of sell to the private sector, leaving gations of corruption in the sec- ence. price. However, with the Egyptian $220 a tonne cost and freight for the Ministry of Supply as the only tor. Local importers are accused He added that the national carrier pound down against international the wheat; however, there are indi- game in town. of buying third-class wheat from is not in danger of a collapse. New currencies, the issue is in flux. cations that this could rise to $280 international markets and selling results will be announced in June. Farmers stressed the price of a tonne. it to the government at first-class wheat production — fertiliser and “By paying more for the imported Weddings may be down this prices. (AFP) farming machinery — has risen wheat, the government is buying year with the government When Egyptian farmers sell the dramatically. The wages of farm this wheat at the expense of the lo- proposing a low rate for the wheat to the government, they workers have also risen, along with cal farmers,” said Nader Noureddin, produce of the farmers. must deliver the crop to state-op- land rents. That leaves the price for professor of soil and water sciences erated silos. In 2016, amounts of Algeria says growing wheat much higher than at Cairo University’s Faculty of Ag- Wheat is a big issue in Egypt. wheat delivered to the silos were it was a few years ago, cutting into riculture. “The price the govern- Egyptians favour a diet heavy on much lower than those registered current global oil profits. ment wants to buy the local wheat the grain and its extracts, particu- in official records. “This is why the price of selling for is totally unfair for the farmers.” larly bread and pasta. An average This meant that the government price ‘fair’: state the produce does not equal the suf- The wheat harvest season has its Egyptian consumes around 175 paid for wheat that it did not re- fering sustained in growing it,” Ab- own peculiarities in the Egyptian kilograms of wheat every year; the ceive. The money went to silo of- firm CEO del Gawad said. “Some of the farm- countryside. The money farmers international wheat consumption ficials in a scandal that resulted in ers are in debt, even after they sell earn from selling the wheat fuels rate is 100 kilograms, unofficial the supply minister being fired. OPEC member Algeria said the the produce.” major expenses, including wed- studies indicate. “There is huge corruption in the current global crude oil price is fair Egypt has approximately 1.2 mil- dings. There is a sharp rise in the Threats by farmers that they will wheat business in this country,” and hoped it would remain un- lion hectares cultivated with wheat number of weddings in the post- not grow wheat next year and plant said Mahmud al-Asqalani, spokes- changed for a long time, the CEO this year and is expected to produce wheat harvest season in Egypt’s a more profit-friendly crop could man for the Citizens Against Price of the country’s state energy firm 4 million tonnes of grain. However, countryside. threaten Egypt’s dependence on Rises group. “The corruption has Sonatrach said. the country needs about 9.5 million However, weddings may be down wheat. reached dangerous levels and it is “Oil is currently around $75 a barrel tonnes of wheat to cover domestic this year because of the govern- “This will also mean that we will all at the expense of the poor con- and we (producing countries) think needs. Egypt, which is the world’s ment’s expected prices for wheat. have to depend more on imports,” sumers and poor farmers.” that it’s the fair price,” Sonatrach CEO Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour was quoted as saying by state news agency APS. Good crops expected to boost Morocco’s economic growth The situation remains “positive” for both producers and consumers with Saad Guerraoui However, ample precipitation “The Plan Maroc Vert has largely on soft wheat imports to 75% from prices in the $70-$80 range, Ould during the rest of the season in- promoted the access of young peo- 17.5% in 2015 to protect the local Kaddour said. creased the rain totals to 16% higher ple to agriculture. It has facilitated harvest. Casablanca than average, which offset the 61% access to credit, supported agricul- Morocco has witnessed repeated (Reuters) deficit at the start of the sowing tural entrepreneurship and devel- cycles of drought in the last ten ate but consistent rainfall period. The filling rate of dams for oped training in both higher and years. The country’s population is saved Morocco’s agricultural agricultural use and groundwater technical education and vocational forecast to reach 38 million in 2030, season, which has a strong levels also improved. training,” said Akhannouch at the triggering increases in food and wa- L effect on the country’s eco- The increase in cereal production Agricultural Conference in Meknes ter consumption. Libya’s NOC says nomic growth. The Ministry of Agri- was even more impressive consid- on the sidelines of the International France and Morocco plan to boost culture and Fisheries said Morocco ering only 4.5 million hectares were Agricultural Fair of Meknes in late cooperation in agriculture through Marathon’s Waha was expecting a “favourable” 2017- planted in this year’s agricultural April. two new partnership agreements. 18 agricultural season and “excep- campaign, compared to 5.4 million The PMV, begun in 2008 by King French Food and Agriculture Min- Oil Co stake tional” cereal production. hectares last year, Minister of Agri- Mohammed VI, helped increase ag- ister Stephane Travert said France The ministry said cereal produc- culture and Fisheries Aziz Akhan- ricultural GDP 7.7% per year, nearly and Morocco have maintained in- sale to Total not tion would total 9.8 million tonnes, nouch said. $12 billion in 2015. tensive relations of cooperation in approved up 3% from the previous season. The outstanding performance The investments that have been various fields, particularly in train- Because Rabat is one of the was credited to a record average used for various agricultural sec- ing and education. Libya’s National Oil Corp said it world’s biggest cereal importers, a yield of 2.2 tonnes per hectare, an tors since the PMV’s inception have “It is because our relationships was discussing arrangements over decrease in cereal imports would increase of 23% over the previous borne fruit. More than 250,000 are close and have been built on the Marathon Oil’s planned sale of its boost Morocco’s overall trade bal- season. jobs have been created, half of trust and friendship for many years share of the Waha oil company con- ance. The ministry said the abundance which were in 2016 and 2017, which that I wish today that we can go cession and that Marathon had not The delay of rainfall at the be- of forage supply led to a drop in helped stem rural migration. even further and use this friendship received NOC approval for the sale. ginning of the agricultural season food prices and remunerative pric- The livestock sector grew 72% to ensure that our two countries can “Any transaction of this nature prompted fears of drought that es for shepherds because of good and plantations increased by more still build for the future and that our must have the approval of NOC and would have badly affected Moroc- rainfall and favourable tempera- than 415,000 hectares. agriculture is the spearhead of our the Libyan authorities,” NOC Chair- co’s GDP. The High Commission for tures. The agricultural sector accounts economies,” said Travert. man Mustafa Sanalla said in a state- Planning said in January it forecast Akhannouch said the Plan Maroc for almost 15% of Morocco’s GDP ment. 2.8% growth for 2018 based on what Vert (Green Morocco Plan — PMV) and employs 40% of the coun- Saad Guerraoui is a contributor it termed an “average” farming allowed a 65% increase in agricul- try’s workforce. The North African to The Arab Weekly on Maghreb (Reuters) season. tural exports in ten years.” country raised the customs duties issues. 20 April 29, 2018 Culture London exhibition revives memories of Libya

Karen Dabrowska digitally manipulating the origi- nals to provide a new interpreta- tion of family history. London In “Sidi,” through audio recol- lections, the curator’s father-in- he works of 25 Libyan law, Ibrahim Dugdug, talks about artists on display in Lon- growing up in Tripoli in the late don’s P21 Gallery explore 1930s and ’40s. He refers to old T their direct experience streets and clans who were neigh- and memories of Libya through bours and reflects on the history of paintings, installations, films and the monarchy and the 1969 coup photography, both archival and that put former dictator Muammar recent. Qaddafi in power. “Retracing a Disappearing Land- scape” is curated by Najlaa el- Ageli, the founder of Noon Arts Libya’s tragic recent history is Projects, a private arts founda- seen in the work of tion that aims to bring the work of photographers Guy Martin Libyan artists to the international and Mohammed Ben Khalifa. stage. “A sense of trauma is always present when addressing Libya’s Libya’s traditional crafts, which modern history and I think Liby- are in danger of disappearing, are ans generally haven’t dealt with seen in the works of Haab Alro- it properly or directly,” said Ageli, man, the only woman in Libya fa- who has been planning the exhibi- miliar with the pomegranate seed tion for three years. weave made from cotton or wool “The exhibition became a tool and mixed with silk thread using of looking back. I wanted to ques- geometric designs and symbols. tion and retrace how the collec- Arwa Massoudi’s embroidered tive memories could be nudged to collection pays tribute to the dy- understand where we seem to be ing craft of silk thread embroidery — somehow lost on what Libyan used to decorate household cush- identity is. History always pro- ions and tapestries. vides the clues. Also, Libya’s cur- The mysterious disappearance rent social, cultural, political and in 2014 of the Ghazala Fountain, economic scenes are shifting at a which stood as an iconic landmark speedy rate and, unfortunately, in Tripoli for decades, is investi- the younger generations are not gated by Marcella Mameli-Badi, very aware of the past. Alla Budabbus and Takwa Barnosa in an installation that uses ceram- ics, photos, visual art and archival Tripoli is a recurring material. The fountain was de- monumental backdrop signed and built by Italian sculptor in the artworks. Antonio Vanetti in 1933. Libya’s tragic recent history is seen in the work of photographers “So I want people to reflect on Guy Martin and Mohammed Ben the past, the present and where do Khalifa. When reporting on the we go now as Libyans at home and Libyan revolution in 2011, Martin abroad.” came across photographs of disap- Ageli started with her own fam- peared Libyan men on the walls of ily album in deciding which works the courthouse in Benghazi. to select. “The photos opened up “Are they the faces of men who many narratives and provided had not returned from a brutal war the visual evidence of what was. with Chad in the 1970s, men ar- I thought about how I could de- rested by Qaddafi’s secret police, velop this to explore the personal those publicly executed in Beng- and collective memories as crea- hazi in the 1980s or men who de- African migrants who drowned at- city’s past and architecture be- to be a powerful force in their tive concepts in tandem with the cided to go to the frontline in 2011 tempting to cross to Europe. come intermingled with the art- lives. By sharing their experiences, historical context. I reached out to to defend the family home from In calligraphic block strokes ists’ stories and their attempt to it is hoped to develop a meaning- artists whose work already tackled the forces of the dictator?” Mar- visual evidence on white ceram- retrace the city’s disappearing and ful discourse on what Libya repre- this,” she said. tin asks in a statement next to the ic, Mohamed Alkharrubi’s seven ever-changing landscape. sents for its people and the hopes The works are from artists in the photos. plates carry the names of places “Looking at the known and un- for its future,” Ageli said. diaspora and at home. Ben Khalifa’s photographs show that have disappeared in Libya known memories of Libya as a “By looking at the personal and Leila Sharif used the photo ar- washed-up love letters, prayer due to political upheaval. homeland through the work of collective memories — through chives of a family from Tripoli to beads, flip-flops, photos and other Tripoli is a recurring monumen- its citizens — both at home and the visual artworks, the installa- reflect Libya’s recent history by belongings of Syrian refugees and tal backdrop in the artworks: The abroad — the country is revealed tions, the photography, the audio, Iraqi artists in Jordan helping young talents blossom

Roufan Nahhas a unique talent and working with the ultimate satisfaction and the who had fled the war in Iraq but them makes it easier to discover motivation to transfer what he then sought asylum in Europe. To- their inner self. They have a lot has learned during his career “to day there are fewer than 20 who Amman of imagination that tells so much those who discovered their talent decided like me to stay and share about their personality and this is holding a brush and not a musical their art,” said Khalidi. atalie Nahhas was 6 what we lack in the Arab world, the instrument or a tennis racket or a “Many Jordanian families are when she discovered her opportunity to express ourselves.” football.” interested in art and decide to en- capacity to draw beauti- Shaikh, the recipient of several “Painting and tennis, for ex- roll their children in art classes. We N ful sketches, an aptitude awards, including Al-Wasti Fes- ample, have so much in common have many students who have the she developed with the support tival of Baghdad Award and the but the creativity is different in right talent to become professional and encouragement of her fam- 2008 Ashtar Festival Award of the both. Winning is needed in a ten- artists but the economic factors ily. Today, at 14, she is learning Iraqi Artists Association, teaches nis match but in art you always and financial situation of their par- to paint with the guidance of an art at the Mariam Centre for Arts come in the second place and your ents can be an obstacle,” he added. award-winning Iraqi painter keen and Crafts in Amman. He said painting or work takes the top spot Khalidi, who teaches art in sev- on investing in young and promis- there are not enough art facilities at the podium,” he said. eral schools and universities, ob- ing Jordanian talents. in the Arab world to accommodate “What I teach students here is to served that, unlike Jordan, Iraq Baqer al-Shaikh is among Iraqi the talents of Arab children. express their feelings while paint- embraced art a long time ago. artists who fled violence at home ing. For me, painting is an expres- “In Iraq, it is easy to find a sim- and are now in Amman guiding sion of a feeling that transcends ple employee with a simple salary young Jordanians who can tell a Shaikh, the recipient of past light and dark brushstrokes.” paying for a painting he saw in the story with a stroke of a brush and several awards, teaches art Students said they had learned a market because art is in the blood. manipulate the forces of light to at the Mariam Centre for Arts lot from Shaikh’s classes at the cen- In my opinion, there should be bring their vision into life, as he and Crafts in Amman. tre. “By giving us the freedom to more interest in young talents in says. express and learn and by allowing Arab countries,” he said, noting “It is a 2-way course in the our imagination to run wild, we are that marking World Art Day, cel- sense that I can get inspiration “The centre I work for was es- learning so much and this is what ebrated April 15, could be a vector from young students, who I pre- tablished in 2008 by passionate we need as we love to paint and we for raising awareness about the im- fer to call artists, and at the same Jordanian artists and since then it love to express,” Nahhas said. portance of promoting children’s time they can learn how to create has developed the talents of many Another Iraqi artist, Imad Kha- artistic talents in the Arab world. ubiquitous sets of lines that are children but we need more centres lidi, who is married to a Jordanian Meanwhile, at the art centre, as transformed into a beautiful piece and schools because art is a sign of and settled in Amman in 1997, Nahhas holds her brush with con- of art whether it symbolises their culture and we are a society who happily shared his artistic talent fidence gazing at the plain white, own vision or the vision of others,” has a deep culture,” he said. with Jordanian youth. stretched canvas, she closed her Shaikh said. Shaikh said working closely “Several years ago, there were eyes to imagine what to paint and “I believe that all children have with inspired children gives him hundreds of Iraqi artists in Jordan how to bring her thoughts to life. Cultivating talent. Iraqi artist Imad Khalidi. (Roufan Nahhas) April 29, 2018 21 Culture London exhibition revives memories of Libya Emirati play grabs attention at Sharm el-Sheikh

An engaging performance. An actress performs in “A Seeing Heart” theatre festival during the Sharm el-Sheikh International Theatre for Youth. (Ibrahim Ouf)

Ibrahim Ouf national influences and came out show Herculean efforts to present knowledge about the progress in with its own distinct nature.” it in Sharm el-Sheikh. The last time the performing art of other coun- The Sharm el-Sheikh Interna- the show was performed was in tries,” said Harsh, who participated Sharm el-Sheikh tional Festival for Youth concluded Dubai more than a year ago. in the workshops. April 8 after eight days of activity. Most of the original actors and Art critics positively reviewed the United Arab Emirates A total of 45 countries participated actresses could not travel to Egypt. Emirati group’s performance, not- play “A Seeing Heart” that in the festival this year along with Last-minute arrangements had the ing that UAE theatre would enrich grabbed the attention of dozens of theatre experts, actors, show’s team arriving in Sharm el- Arab theatre as a whole and allow A the audience at Sharm el- playwrights, critics and artists. Sheikh a short time before the fes- the Gulf country to influence stage Sheikh International Theatre for Attracting youth to theatre and tival started. performance for the first time. Youth, testifies to the progress in promoting Sharm el-Sheikh as a When they arrived, the cast “The Emiratis have succeeded in Emirati theatre. tourist destination has been a goal members discovered that the stage incorporating the theatre into their “A Seeing Heart” tells the story of of the festival since its first edition was not properly set, the decora- own local culture,” said Egyptian a man who is conscripted into the three years ago. tions were not complete, the light- theatre critic Khaled Raslan. “The army and goes to war to defend his ing system was far from perfect and UAE theatre mainly focuses on lo- country. His blind mother and age- Khaled Raslan the space was not adequate. cal themes with a human nature, ing father count the days before his Egyptian theatre critic Harsh said the troupe had to can- but this human nature gives the return, expecting him to come back cel many scenes and improvise on same themes an international di- with victory. They imagine him decorations and lighting. However, mension.” being carried as a war hero on the “The Emiratis have succeeded the effort and the mastery of the fi- Human nature is an intrinsic part shoulders of his colleagues. How- in incorporating the theatre nal show were duly appreciated. of the staging of “A Seeing Heart.” ever, when he returns from the bat- into their own local culture.” Festival Director Mazen el-Ghar- This was probably why theatre au- tlefield, the soldier is carried on his abawi said, “Like everybody else,” diences were keen to see the play, colleagues’ shoulders but as a dead he was touched by “A Seeing Heart.” even as it was scheduled to be per- body. The festival’s top prizes went to “The theme of the play was more formed at the end of the final day of The audience discovers he had “Making a Living,” an entry from than wonderful,” Gharabawi said. the festival. left for the battlefield only two days Oman from an adaptation of a text “The show was performed by a Harsh and his colleagues said after getting married. His wife is written by Bahraini playwright group of enthusiastic young people they would return to Sharm el- grieved at the news of his death but Jamal Saqr; Kuwait’s “Madness who succeeded in winning the ad- Sheikh next year with the goal of bears it bravely. Diary,” an adaptation by Youssef miration of everybody present.” winning the top prize. The show includes twists and al-Hashash of a work by Russian The festival was named this year “UAE theatre is coming up, I as- turns that keep audiences mesmer- dramatist Nikolai Gogol; and Ita- for Egyptian theatre and acting sure you,” he said. “We are in con- ised. ly’s “Wooden Prison,” which was icon Mohamed Sobhi. It included tinual development, working hard “We wanted to show everybody presented by a team of the Ameri- theatre workshops, providing plat- and improving day after day as we that we have a powerful theatre can Academy in Rome. “A Seeing forms for exchanging expertise and aim to the top.” in the United Arab Emirates,” said Heart” was awarded a certificate of networking between artists and ex- play director Saeed al-Harsh. “The appreciation. perts. Ibrahim Ouf is an Egyptian UAE theatre has absorbed all inter- It took the makers of the Emirati “They gave us the chance to get journalist in Cairo. Visual evidence. “Ghazala” by Tunis forum shows puppetry is not just for children Alla Budabbus. (Najlaa el-Ageli) Roua Khlifi revamp discourse, which is why the centre tries to attract the attention the videos — viewers will see the of adults as the adult audience has real connections that tie the Liby- Tunis an inner relationship with the pup- ans together and a unique Libyan pet,” Sellami said. “This direction sense of identity,” she added. unisia’s National Centre for was missing in the kind of shows “Retracing a Disappearing Land- Puppetry Art celebrated its for adults.” scape” is at London’s P21 Gallery, second national forum with He said puppetry, which has through May 12. T lectures and workshops on existed in many forms in Tunisia making and handling puppets, a since the 19th century, deserves Karen Dabrowska is an Arab longstanding art form in Tunisia. more attention as a key part of Tu- Weekly contributor in London. The National Forum for Puppetry nisia’s cultural heritage. Among Art included ten shows for adults the puppetry forms in Tunisia are and children showcasing theatrical Karakouz, glove puppets that were puppetry. introduced during French colonisa- Despite Tunisia’s long tradition tion, and the Sicilian “Pupi.” of puppetry, the artistic discipline “The history of puppetry started was not fully recognised by the with shadow puppets during the state until 1993, when the govern- rule of the beys of Tunis, when the ment founded the National Centre Palace of the Bey used to have pup- for Puppetry Art. petry shows. Then Sicilian puppets Unique discipline. A scene from the forum’s opening Hassen Sellami, the centre’s di- came with colonisation,” Sellami show, “The Storm,” based on Shakespeare’s “King Lear.” (Tunisia’s National Centre for Puppetry Art) rector, said the national forum is a explained. step towards organising an interna- “There were other traditional tional forum for puppetry. versions of puppets. For example, issues of the people working in this One of the forum’s workshops “The idea was to examine and in- in the south, women used to make discipline. Puppetry is a unique ar- focused on puppetry as a thera- vestigate the issues that puppetry puppets for children and create tistic discipline as it includes danc- peutic tool. Houda Lamouchi, who theatre faces in Tunisia and or- shows. These puppets were differ- ing, music, writing, painting and it specialises in therapeutic puppetry, ganise workshops on how to make ent than the rest. Accordingly, we should be recognised for that.” showed how the art could help chil- puppets and how to handle them,” include these traditional forms of In addition to its cultural and ar- dren dealing with psychological is- he said. “We worked in partner- puppetry in our shows to reintro- tistic value, Sellami said puppetry sues. ship with the puppetry section in duce and preserve our heritage.” could be used as an educational in- “We need to understand that the theatre school and we launched strument in schools. therapy through puppetry arts can a training programme to advance “We are also working on involv- be a medium for the child to ex- puppetry and its techniques.” One of the forum’s ing theatre teachers in the work- press his anxiety and stress and to He said the puppetry centre or- workshops focused on shops of the centre to implement communicate with others and with ganises programmes for adults and puppetry as a therapeutic our vision of puppetry theatre, themselves. This helped achieve children. There are opportunities tool. which consists of taking puppet important results; children com- to answer the audience’s questions shows to schools and to the streets municate with the puppet sharing on puppets, including how to make especially in the interior regions. their daily routines,” Lamouchi them, and introduce the various Mohamed Bchir Jalled, who has Today we recognise the role of pup- said. puppetry disciplines. 37 years of experience as a puppet- petry arts as a pedagogical tool and “Only the national centre offers The forum’s opening show, “The eer, said he was hopeful about the a mediator in raising and educating these kinds of workshops. What Storm,” based on Shakespeare’s future of puppetry in Tunisia. Par- children,” Sellami said. about the children of the rest of “King Lear,” was a hit with critics ticipating in the forum with a show “We are focusing on reaching re- the country? We need to figure and the audience. Sellami noted for children titled “The Fox Said,” gions where children are isolated out a way to spread this initiative “The Storm” was the first instal- Jalled recalled his experience work- and don’t have access to cultural by implementing cells of puppetry ment in a “Shakespeare in Puppets” ing in puppetry. centres, which is why we will have therapy in the centres of these gov- series of programmes for adults “People used to appreciate and the puppet shows in schools or in ernorates.” and children and aims to revive the come to the puppets show and used tents set in a public space. The fu- Centre for Puppetry Art. to react to them,” he said. “There ture of Tunisia lies in the children Roua Khlifi is a regular Travel “In the whole world, puppets are some glimpses of hope with a once raised on creativity and values and Culture contributor to Cultivating talent. Iraqi artist Imad Khalidi. (Roufan Nahhas) were used to modernise speech and law project that will regulate the of tolerance and respect.” The Arab Weekly. 22 April 29, 2018 Society Social Media IT New hashtag gives voice to unheard artists in Egypt

Marwa al-A’sar most important band member,” she said. “In a way, this reflects the state Cairo of art in Egypt. The singer, who stands for Cairo-based artists, is or hundreds, if not thou- placed in the front while the drum- sands, of artists across mer, who represents artists in Egypt, gaining public ex- marginalised provinces, sits in the F posure and fame is very dif- back.” ficult because they are not based Drummer Ahmed Mostafa, who in Cairo. For decades, almost all appears in the video, said he and cultural events and festivals get- other musicians in Alexandria ting media attention were in the lacked funding and facilities avail- capital, giving little opportunity able in Cairo. for artists outside the city to attract “We only have five or six low- public notice. quality sound studios all over Alex- However, Alexandria-born Maha andria, which is not the case in the Mohamed, 22, and her friends capital city,” he said. “Moreover, sought to change that perspective. we lack theatres that we can use They wanted to bring the voices to have concerts,” added Mostafa, of unheard artists to the public by who described himself as a “mar- encouraging those outside Cairo to ginalised artist.” post their works online under the Ahmed Rashad, a painter from hashtag #Art_Has_No_Place. Fayoum, south-west of Cairo, “We launched a campaign last shares Mostafa’s view. “To get ex- Forward-looking. A visitor looks at an operational robot policeman at the opening of the Gulf July urging artists from all Egyp- posure and to be known, I need to Information Security Expo and Conference (GISEC) in Dubai, last May. (Reuters) tian provinces to post their works move all my life to Cairo… What’s online under the hashtag #Art_Has_ available for us in Fayoum is ex- No_Place to remind people that art tremely limited,” he said. exists everywhere in the country, “It is so hard for a painter to have not just in the capital,” Mohamed an exhibition in Fayoum due to the UAE embraces emerging said. lack of equipped exhibition halls,” The aim was to abolish the cen- Rashad said, adding that #Art_Has_ tralisation of art and get as many No_Place can help pave the way for “provincial” artists as possible to his works to be known to the pub- technologies in education use the platform. lic. The campaign produced a pro- motional video to draw the atten- The campaign wanted to Caline Malek way for the UAE to become a pio- in Ireland, which uses augmented tion of artists. The video featured a neer in local innovations. “Prepar- reality in education, “but we can lone drummer sitting in a deserted bring the voices of unheard ing UAE classrooms with cutting- focus on helping children to get house, playing enthusiastically to artists to the public by Abu Dhabi edge technology today ensures ready for jobs and secure their fu- an unseen audience until his tired encouraging those outside that future challenges are met early ture.” hands dropped after long hours of Cairo to post their works rom artificial intelligence on in students’ understanding of The WEF’s research focused on drumming. online under the hashtag to e-books and robotics, innovation life cycles,” said Mat- specific skills that can be identified “You are not alone. There are #Art_Has_No_Place. the United Arab Emirates thew Cochran, co-founder and CEO in 2020. The difference, compared many like you who are successful F is revamping its educa- of URS Labs in the UAE. to 2015, is massive. Many of them but stuck inside a closed circle. “The campaign is a great oppor- tional system to include an array “Supporting students as early as are linked to problem solving, They worked hard but, like you, tunity for us as artists to see each of emerging technologies. With elementary school on robotics and critical thinking, creativity, entre- they reached a dead end,” the cam- other’s works. I saw really good the Fourth Industrial Revolution computer technology is vital.” preneurship and emotional intel- paign’s initiators said through the drawings by people I never knew increasingly shaping the world, He said the UAE leadership has ligence as well as people manage- voice of Egyptian voiceover art- existed simply because they used educators are adapting their pro- leveraged alliances among govern- ment, negotiation and cognitive ist Youssef el-Tohamy. He did the the hashtag,” Alexandrian painter grammes to ensure children are ment, academia and industry to flexibility. “To catch up with future video for free to support the cam- Ahmed el-Sayed said. equipped for tomorrow’s jobs. facilitate innovation and technol- jobs and be an adaptable person, paign. Hundreds of artists from across “Technology is a part of our dai- ogy into important steps for future you need to have a specific set of “Your eyes won’t see anything Egypt’s 26 provinces have posted ly life, just like electricity, food or capabilities “enabled” today. skills,” Yegorina said. but emptiness… a stadium with- their songs, drawings, photo- water,” said Fadi Aloul, head of the Some of the potential solutions out an audience. You need to know graphs and other works of art un- computer science and engineering found by the research include en- that you are not just another per- der the hashtag. department at the American Uni- In smart classrooms, trepreneurship, small and medi- son in the background. You control “Yet still some artists questioned versity of Sharjah (AUS). blackboards make room for um-sized enterprises and domestic the whole song. You are there but our efforts wondering: ‘Then “Using it is no longer an option, digital screens and student economic reforms. they just don’t see you,” the mes- what,’” Mohamed said. it’s a mandate in every sector, “The 20th-century education sage continued. That is why she is seeking to take whether education, health, utili- participation through system needs to be redesigned to Choosing a drummer as the sym- the campaign to the next level. ties or transportation. The goal is to tablets. meet the real-time needs of the bol of the self-funded campaign “We already had an art exhibi- make our life better, more efficient labour market,” she added. “We was meant to illustrate the condi- tion for unknown artists and we and easier.” “‘Made in the UAE’ is a brand need to develop 21st-century skills, tions of non-Cairo based artists, are in touch with cultural centres The UAE has strongly focused people will find equals great value as well as digital literacy, reskill- Mohamed said. to host dramatic performances. on technology in education in the and a competitive advantage than ing and upskilling programme and “The drummer is responsible We know this is not enough but we past year, including initiating an the current marketplace is pro- using big data to provide accurate for setting the beat and maintain- won’t give up trying,” Mohamed Innovation Hub by Oracle in Dubai, viding today,” Cochran said. “So information on educational skills. ing the tempo, yet he is always added. which allows students to pitch ide- [we will be] watching young UAE We need to get ready for these jobs placed at the very back of the stage as in the hopes of developing tech- students turn into the next Tesla and only access to technology will and the audience probably forgets Marwa al-A’sar is a Cairo-based nological breakthroughs. or Apple inventor of a major com- allow that.” about him even though he is the journalist. “Technology can play a signifi- pany, all created and based in the As the future moves rapidly to- cant role in making it easier for UAE.” wards digital transformation, chil- students to get the content and ap- However, time is pressing. Re- dren are unaware of the jobs they ply it in practice,” Aloul said. “Uni- search by the World Economic may have. “The jobs of today may versities and schools are moving Forum (WEF) indicated that more not exist in 20 to 30 years,” said from papers, books and pencils to than 61 million jobs have been lost Venkatasubramanian Hariharan, electronic-books, files and mate- since 2008 and more than 200 mil- business unit director at Canon rial, with multiple chapters from lion people are unemployed glob- Middle East, which integrates tech- different authors in one location.” ally. Youth unemployment rates nological programmes in schools In smart classrooms, blackboards are nearly three times higher than across the UAE. “Education is be- make room for digital screens and the rest of the population, while coming more based on tablets and student participation through tab- nearly 500 million jobs will need to robotics and that’s possibly what is lets. “In this digital age, young be created by 2020. pushing the UAE into a more tech- generations born with those digital Almost 90% of job creation will based education.” devices, have less concentration,” need to take place in the develop- With the Gulf’s population — one he added. “Technology solves this ing world, primarily in Africa and of the world’s youngest — estimat- problem — a disruptive change is Asia. That demands educators and ed to reach 65 million by 2030, one- happening in education today.” employers working together to third of whom will be younger than AUS has subscribed to Lynda, an adapt education accordingly. 25 years old, time is of the essence. online education company that of- It is estimated that 85% of to- “Investing in human capital and fers video courses by experts in day’s jobs will not exist by 2030. building a knowledge-based econ- software and business skills. “If Technologies that are said to shape omy will be key for the success of you don’t keep up, you’ll miss the the near future are connected to the UAE and the region,” Hariharan train,” Aloul said. “The competi- big data, cloud computing, mobile said. “We have to start empowering tion is fierce and students will al- solutions, the Internet of Things students with tools to transform ways opt for technology in today’s and cognitive computing. the learning experience.” mindset.” “We don’t know what the future Artificial intelligence (AI), block- jobs will be,” said Darya Yegorina, Caline Malek is an Arab Weekly Setting the beat. The lone drummer, the symbol of the campaign chain and robotics are paving the founder and CEO of CleverBooks, contributor in Abu Dhabi. #Art_Has_No_Place. (Marwa al-A’sar) April 29, 2018 23 Society

Joyful art. Designs seen on a bride’s hand. (Henna House) Traditional art of henna is resisting test of time in Jordan Preserving the tradition. A brownish henna design. (Henna House)

Roufan Nahhas customers,” Gharaibeh said of patterns on her hands and feet, Henna House, which she estab- which might be the first letter of lished in 2016. the groom’s name or beautiful Amman “The henna night used to be a drawings of curved lines and flow- sad occasion as the bride prepared ers. nce considered an essen- to leave her family home and Henna House became popular tial part of bridal ritual move to her new home with her through word of mouth and, de- and beautification, the groom. Today it is different and spite competition from various O art of henna is slowly the rituals are just a way of pre- tattoo parlours, henna has dedi- fading in Jordan. Many brides are serving the tradition.” cated customers, mainly females. skipping the tradition and heading Gharaibeh said henna was pre- “We receive many demands towards a more modern “shower pared for the bride on a tray with from men asking that we open a party” concept. scented oils and decorated with section for them,” Gharaibeh said. Henna comes from the leaves flowers and candles are used “Many feel that henna, which of a shrub, the Lawsonia inermis, in the dancing ritual during the comes in many colours today, is and is usually sold in Arab mar- event. Friends of the bride draw better than a tattoo because it only kets in powdered form. For Naqa’ lasts for a couple of weeks or so. It Gharaibeh, 33, henna is about his- is not permanent, so there is no tory and traditions, not only busi- risk of regrets.” ness. Henna comes mainly in brown “I fell in love with the art of and reddish colours, in ad- henna when I was a child living in dition to black and white the United Arab Emirates. Henna and it is usually done is very popular in the Gulf region with Indian or Arabesque where they have beautiful pat- patterns. Prices range terns and designs that are differ- from $7-$40, depending on ent from anywhere else. Henna in the size and the complexity the Gulf is a way of life and a very of the pattern. prestigious issue,” said Gharaibeh, “It is cheaper than doing a real a Jordanian henna artist. tattoo, which costs around $120 in Gharaibeh dreamt of sharing her Amman. Many come for a henna henna art talent with friends and session, which lasts around 1 hour, then saw an opportunity to open and then go to a party. It is a way of a business in one of the most adding beauty tips to the perfect Artistic celebration. Designs used by the Henna House in Jordan. prestigious areas in Amman dress and makeup,” Gharai- (Henna House) with a close friend. beh said. “We are considered one of Henna House offers costs $140 for beginners. the Arab world.” the pioneer places in Am- classes in henna art, a way To lure more business, including Gharaibeh’s clients include girls man that offer the art of of spreading knowledge about macho types, Gharaibeh said she as young as 5 years. “Kids tend to henna and we have a the art and helping keep the tra- is working on introducing a new do the same as their mothers and talented team who dition alive. henna technique. we have devised a special pro- work tirelessly “We give training courses cov- “We are planning to use the Ja- gramme for them in which they to satisfy our ering all levels from beginners gua tattoo, which comes from a learn about the history of henna,” to professionals. We have a lot of natural plant source — a fruit from she said. people who are interested in such the Amazon — and works in a very Henna was largely used in an- an art whether for personal use or similar way as henna but looks cient Egypt and India as a form of for professional use. We also do a more like a real tattoo, which we temporary tattoo for religious cer- follow-up and noticed that many believe will appeal to male cli- emonies, wedding festivals and for do freelancing jobs at girls’ parties ents,” she said. “For us, henna is simple body decoration and even Happy art. A popular design of and they make money,” Gharaibeh part of our history as Arabs, while to dye hair. Brides usually have henna tattoo in the Gulf region. said. foreigners come to the shop for their hands and feet decorated as (Henna House) A training course of 10 hours quick henna as a souvenir from part of wedding rituals. 24 April 29, 2018 Travel www.thearabweekly.com

Tourists visit the archaeological site of The Roman Capitol in Dougga. (Ministry of Tourism) Dougga. (Ministry of Tourism) Dougga: Tunisia’s majestic Agenda Beirut: Through May 7

The Metropolitan Opera of New York and the Bolshoi Ballet World Heritage Site perform at Empire Premiere Cinemas. Opera performances Roua Khlifi include the music of Giuseppe Verdi and Jules Massenet in April. A show by the Bolshoi Bal- Dougga let is scheduled for May 7.

n the heart of stretching plains Dubai: of green fields, a majestic tem- May 1-7 ple, stranded in the vast colour- patched scenery of northern “The Illusionists” show features Tunisia, beckons passers-by illusionists such as Jamie Raven, Ito venture inside the ruins of the Ben Blaque and Raymond Roman-Berber town of Dougga. The Crowe. Levitation, disappearing Dougga archaeological site, 110km acts, escapes and mindreading from Tunis, boasts historical and performances are part of the natural wealth. A general view of the performance at Madinat Theatre Overlooking a mesmerising tap- archaeological site in in Jumeirah. estry of colours, the archaeological Dougga. (Ministry of Tourism) site of Dougga boasts one of the few Dubai: preserved Roman thermaes, tem- conquests,” said Mohamed Ali Che- Punic worlds. During the Roman residents. The baths were decorated May 9-13 ples and mosaics, enticing visitors hidi, curator of the archaeological times, the town covered more than with mosaics that are on display at to explore the lives of the original site of Dougga. “These civilisa- 85 hectares. the Bardo National Museum in Tu- The tenth Dubai Tango Festi- dwellers of Dougga. The World Her- tions co-existed inside one space, “It has a strategic position being nis. val includes tango workshops itage Site is believed to be the best as shown in the architecture of the at the heart of a fertile land, stone There are majestic, 18-metre-tall with milongas for famous tango preserved Roman town in North place, which combines elements quarry and natural resources and, columns of the capitol that cover dancers and singers. Africa. from host civilisations and those especially for the Roman Empire, an area of nearly 400 sq.metres. Dougga is a must-see site for ad- pertaining to colonisers.” the town was of a high importance The pediment of the capitol depicts Rabat: venturers seeking to explore traces “When you hear of this, you think as it was on the trade road from Antoninus Pius ascending on the June 22-30 of ancient times. The town exempli- that there must have been a rivalry Carthage to Sbeitla,” said Mouna back of an eagle to God. The theatre fies a crossroad of civilisations, in- between all these groups. On the Bejaoui, a cultural guide at the site. of Dougga has marvellous statutes The 17th Mawazine Festival cluding Numidian-Berber, Ancient contrary, Dougga witnessed the The archaeological site of Dougga and scriptures on pillars that invite takes place in Rabat and features Roman, Punic and Byzantine that co-existence and tolerance among offers unique insight into the struc- reflection on the history of the stage international and local musical make its history exceptional. these groups,” he said. “This is ture and architecture of Roman that continues to be used for artistic performances. Dating to sixth century BC, the evidenced in the existence of the towns. The ruins of the city are tes- performances. name of the town has Berber ori- Temple of Massinissa, dedicated to timony to a history spanning more One of the most remarkable edi- Cairo: gins. It is derived from the word a Numidian king next to the biggest than 17 centuries, exemplifying the fices of the archaeological site is the June 25-July 2 “tbgg” in Berber, and “tucca” in Roman temple of the town, which is components of Roman towns and Libyco-Punic Mausoleum of Doug- Punic, which means “to be protect- the Capitol. illustrating the daily lives of the ga, which is one of three examples Raqs of Course is a one-week ed.” Historians say the name refers “It is rare that such temples, both town’s residents. of the royal architecture of Numidia Egyptian dance festival that in- to the town’s natural protection of great importance to their respec- In addition to market ruins and still in good condition. cludes workshops, competitions through its placement at the top of tive cultures, co-exist near each courtyards, the site showcases four “This was the tomb dedicated to a and performances. a plain and its rigorous natural sur- other. The communities lived in private and public baths. One of the Numidian prince dating to the sec- roundings. peace, the Berber and the Punic and highlights is the theatre, which is ond century. It was a prototype for Marrakech: “Dougga is deservedly a World the Roman at a later stage.” still used for concerts and theatrical construction of the Roman times,” July 1-31 Heritage Site for it witnessed the The town played an important performances during the Interna- Chehidi said. “It is an example of succession of all the civilisations role throughout history as it ex- tional Festival of Dougga. The site the royal architecture of Numidia. The Marrakech Festival of of Tunisia ranging from Berber to panded and became a connecting has many temples, such as the Ro- “The mausoleum is unique be- Popular Arts and Folklore Punic and Roman and Arab-Muslim point between the Berber and the man Capitol, the Temple of Pluto, cause its top was decorated with a showcases traditional Moroc- Temple of Saturn and the Temple stone that has a bilingual inscrip- can music, dance and customs of Massinissa, all preserved in their tion in Berber and Punic languages. from through the ages. Visitors original state. It was thanks to this Punic-Libyan are invited to attend concerts, “Dougga is a complete Roman inscription that historians were able exhibitions and Moroccan street city, which means that you won’t to decipher the (ancient Libyan) troupe performances. see only little pieces of what is left language. of the city as is the case for other “This stone is unique like the Ro- Carthage: towns,” Chehidi said. “For example, setta Stone because it enabled his- July 13-August 15 Carthage has only a little left to see torians to understand the ancient but it is the history of Carthage that Libyan language that no one before The Carthage Festival is one speaks and constructs the ruins for this finding was able to decipher. of the oldest arts and cultural visitors. The rock is on display in the British events in North Africa, drawing “In Dougga, you can see every- museum. Only the mausoleum is a mix of local and international thing for yourself. You don’t need still in Dougga.” performers to Tunisia over an architect to map the city for There are inscriptions in more several weeks. Performances you to imagine what the buildings than 2,000 languages in Dougga. take place at the Amphitheatre looked like.” “These inscriptions are highly im- of Carthage. “You can see the baths and how portant. It is not a question of stones they were constructed. You can see that have writing but it is a wealth of the old houses and you can see the scriptures that offer insight into the We welcome submissions of temples. In Dougga, visitors can see history of the town, ranging from calendar items related to a 3-dimensional authentic Roman Punic to ancient Libyan as well as cultural events of interest to city without resorting to software Latin and Greek,” Chehidi said. travellers in the Middle East The or architects to rebuild the ruins. Dougga is an enchanting town and North Africa. Libyco-Punic Dougga is unique in this sense,’’ he that takes visitors on a trip through Mausoleum said. ancient times, offering an authentic in Dougga. In Dougga, the preserved baths experience of the architecture of Please send tips to: (Ministry of offer visitors an authentic vision the civilisations that succeeded in [email protected] Tourism) of the daily lives of the town’s Tunisia.