IT Social Syrian refugees Third media not going home anniversary anytime soon issue Page 20 Page 21 Page 6 UK £2 www.thearabweekly.com Issue 153, Year 4 April 22, 2018 EU €2.50 Facing mounting What will elections in challenges, Iran MENA change? number of countries mobilises its in North Africa and the Middle East will be having national and local elections in proxies in Syria theA period ahead. On May 6, Lebanon will have its first legislative elections in Ed Blanche Another key element in Tehran’s many years. The same day, Tuni- thinking, veteran observers of the sians will vote in their first mu- Middle East’s serpentine affairs say, nicipal elections since the fall of Beirut is that Supreme Leader Ayatollah the Ben Ali regime. Ali Khamenei has long been con- On May 12, Iraq will elect the little-known Iran-backed vinced that the Americans want members of its council of repre- Shia group calling itself to eradicate the clerical regime in sentatives who will be picking the Baqir Brigade has Tehran. the president and the prime min- declared “jihad” on US The return of Bolton, a former ister. forces in Syria. US ambassador to the United Na- Elections will not resolve the AThe declaration April 6 was eight tions, only strengthens that convic- region’s complex problems but days before US President Donald tion, the sources say. the rate of voter participation Trump ordered a barrage of 105 Recent events in Syria, including and gender representation, as missiles unleashed against Syrian the April 14 missile barrage, have well as the political balance that President Bashar Assad’s chemical fuelled Tehran’s urge to rely even the polls are likely to yield, will weapons arsenal. more on its army of diverse Shia be revealing of the forces at play The brigade’s move, however, groups. in each country. is seen as the precursor of a coun- That may already have started It remains to be seen to what trywide mobilisation by Tehran of and could intensify as the foreign extent even transparent elec- its proxies, especially against the powers in Syria — the United States, tions serve citizens’ long-term United States, at a time of increased Russia, Turkey and regional states — freedom of choice. In Turkey, for wariness by Iran over mounting scramble to adjust, each on its own instance, President Recep Tayyip challenges from the United States terms, to Trump’s pre-dawn assault Erdogan has called for snap elec- and the West and its growing diver- on Syria’s illegal chemical weapons tions in June, which could, ironi- gences with regional powers, such arsenal with 105 cruise missiles cally, enable him to tighten his as Turkey. fired by aircraft and naval forces in grip on power until 2028. The declaration by the Baqir the Mediterranean and the Arabian Brigade and similar groups could Gulf. Pages 12-14 contain ignite a war within a war that could Ironically, Russia’s attitude the first of our series on wreak a new wave of havoc on em- after the strikes has shown it to Youth factor. Young Tunisians look at lists of candidates for the MENA elections. battled Syria and provoke region- be less interested than Tehran municipal elections in the city of Ariana. (AP) wide consequences, including a in a showdown with the United long-brewing Iran-Israel conflict. States. Such recent developments The emergence of the Baqir Bri- are likely to accentuate Tehran’s gade, with its logo of a clenched concerns about being left alone to New generation of Emirati women fist holding aloft an AK-47 that’s al- fend for its regional strategy of ex- most identical to that of the Islamic pansion. Revolutionary Guard Corps and On April 5, an ostensibly pro- is breaking down social barriers Hezbollah, appears to have been Assad militia calling itself the a deliberate attempt to upgrade Popular Resistance in the Eastern Iran’s military presence in Syria Region claimed a rocket attack on Caline Malek “I got some pushback from platforms was a coincidence at first and provide additional firepower US forces. The next day, the Baqir some people but it’s very normal,” but I noticed it was very necessary as expansionist Iran pursues its Brigade declared “jihad” on Amer- she said. “It doesn’t make anyone because our country needs people long-term objectives in Syria. icans and their allies in Syria. Abu Dhabi right or wrong, we just see life dif- who are well aware of what the so- Tehran, which has recruited “These and other cases indicate ferently. People abroad were sur- ciety and community needs,” she large numbers of Shia militants that the so-called ‘pro-Assad’ Shia espite old-school ste- prised when they would see me said. “I want to carry the UAE’s from Syria as well as Pakistan, Af- militias are increasingly march- reotypes of women in but I’m the kind of person who message to the world: We’re a ghanistan and Iraq, has played a ing to [Iran’s] tune, presenting an the Middle East and the lives my life and I try to be a thick- young country but we’re not be- disproportionate part in the war, even greater threat to US and al- role they play in society, skinned person, so I don’t care hind.” fighting alongside Assad’s men to lied interests,” Phillip Smyth of young Emirati females who looks at me.” She said Emirati women were keep his harsh regime in power. the Washington Institute for Near Dare breaking down barriers and proud, especially given how high It may be that the timing of East Policy observed in an April 12 leading the country and the region Bakhita al-Muhairi, the UAE ranks in its gender distri- the Baqir Brigade’s declaration is analysis. into a new era of modernisation. Emirati commercial pilot bution in different sectors. linked to the fate of the landmark These and other Shia groups From pilots to engineers and “People abroad were Many women blame Western July 2015 agreement between Iran that are springing up are increas- pioneers in renewable energy and surprised when they media for the flawed portrayal of and the Obama administration cur- ingly controlled by Iran’s Islamic diplomacy, women are single- would see me.” their image. “Bits and pieces might tailing Tehran’s contentious nucle- Revolutionary Guard Corps and handedly putting the United Arab have been added in the past with- ar programme. espousing Ayatollah Ruhollah Emirates on the map. Much has improved for women out being checked or reviewed,” Trump has bitterly denounced Khomeini’s ideology of Islamic “We get a lot of support from in the Middle East, especially in a said Aysha al-Remeithi, a 22-year- the deal and wants to tear it up. rule. our government, especially when country such as the UAE, which old Emirati who started out as an German Chancellor Angela Merkel There has been friction, ideo- it comes to choosing our career,” created the Gender Balance Coun- engineer specialising in sustain- and French President Emmanuel logical and military, between As- said Bakhita al-Muhairi, a 24-year- cil to help empower women in able and renewable energy. Macron will try to convince the sad’s forces and Hezbollah and its old Emirati commercial pilot in 2015. It also has more women in its “I see more women going up in US president during their upcom- allies since the Lebanese group the UAE. “Sheikh Mohammed bin government percentage-wise than this region because our govern- ing White House meetings to safe- went to Assad’s support in early Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of the United States, with almost 30% ment definitely pushes women guard the deal in exchange for the 2012. This has grown as Assad’s Dubai, said himself that your job of the UAE’s cabinet positions oc- forward,” she said. “Our minis- imposition of tighter sanctions on army fell apart and the Shias had doesn’t ask for your gender.” cupied by females. ter of youth is 22 and she went to Iran. to do most of the fighting. One of the youngest Emirati fe- Jawaher al-Mehairi, 25, became Oxford. That, in itself, shows the Nonetheless, “Tehran seems to Smyth noted ominously, how- male pilots in the country, Muhairi another example when she was country’s forward thinking.” believe that President Trump will ever, that “the forces gaining as- was confronted with surprised and selected as the UAE ambassador to kill the deal (in May), so it may start cendancy in regime-controlled confused reactions when she start- the UN Youth Assembly. Caline Malek is an Arab Weekly prepping its dormant nuclear fa- areas will be more prone to sup- ed her career with Emirates Airline. “My presence on these contributor in Abu Dhabi. cilities, sowing divisions between porting Tehran’s foreign policy US allies or courting other global agenda instead of Assad’s.” powers,” observed Israeli analyst That augurs ill for Syria and Why Saudis need Omer Carmi, director of intelli- Assad’s shrunken regime. He is gence for the Israeli cyber-security in danger of being badly out-ma- to lift the veil on firm Sixgill. noeuvred by an expanding enemy Trump’s appointment of Iran that has long bided its time. heritage treasures uber-hawk John Bolton as his na- tional security adviser and the Ed Blanche is a regular equally hawkish Mike Pompeo contributor to The Arab Weekly. as secretary of state feed Teh- He has reported on the Middle ran’s wariness.