Tehran’s After Turkish elections Bazaar Expecting more revolt tensions with the West Page 15 and in the region Page 14

UK £2 July 1, 2018 Issue 163, Year 4 www.thearabweekly.com EU €2.50 EU migration deal appeases internal tensions but does not address Maghreb concerns ► European politicians are counting on the vulnerability of Maghreb countries to economic pressure to render the concept actionable.

Mahmud el-Shafey “We must work with Libya, of course, but also with other coun- tries such as Niger, Mauritania, London Mali, Chad, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria,” said European Parliament U leaders have agreed to a President Antonio Tajani, a strong hard-fought but vaguely advocate of the regional disembar- worded migration deal kation concept. E that includes a provision to “The proposal was put to the “swiftly explore” the possibility of head of our government a few setting up “regional disembarka- months ago during a visit to Ger- tion platforms” that are likely to many. It was also asked by Italy, fuel tensions with Maghreb coun- and the answer is clear: No!” said tries. Tunisian Ambassador to the Euro- While the agreement seems to pean Union Tahar Cherif. “We have have partly appeased the European neither the capacity nor the means Union’s internal tensions and was to organise these detention centres. cautiously welcomed by European We are already suffering a lot from leaders, it did not seem to fac- what is happening in Libya, which tor in the strong reservations that has been the effect of European ac- Maghreb countries have about “re- tion.” gional disembarkation platforms” The European Union is said to be on their shores. considering the duplication of its The EU agreement does not spe- 2015 deal with Turkey. Europe al- Populists at the helm. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (L) speaks with French President cifically mention the Maghreb as located $3.5 billion to Turkey in ex- Emmanuel Macron at EU summit in Brussels, on June 28. Since end of June, Austria has assumed the the site for such “platforms” but change for help controlling the mi- rotating presidency of the European Union for six months. (AP) the consensus among experts is grant and refugee flow to Europe, that European politicians intend with a second $3.5 billion tranche to negotiate the idea with North following the meeting. Maghreb ex- IOM spokesman Leonard Doyle relocated throughout the bloc if eli- up external borders, clamp down African countries. They are count- perts expressed serious doubts over said: “We are not talking about ex- gible for asylum or returned to their on people smuggling and allocate ing on the vulnerability of Maghreb the applicability of the Turkish deal ternal processing centres, that is the countries of origin if not. more funds to countries such as countries to economic pressure to to the much more complex situa- key point… These centres should The deal confirms that the crea- Turkey and Morocco to help pre- render the concept actionable. tion in North Africa where socio- be in Europe.” He added that “dis- tion of the controlled centres would vent migrants from leaving for Eu- Before the June 28-29 summit, economic pressures are a key driver embarkation” points cannot be in be “on a voluntary basis” and fund- rope. EU officials asserted intentions to of the region’s own illegal migration Libya considering the chaotic situ- ed by the European Union. France The issue of “secondary move- “intensify cooperation” with Alge- problem. ation there. and Austria have said they should ment,” which threatened to cause ria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Mo- Maghreb countries see these “re- The deal states that migrants res- be counted out. a rift in the German government rocco. An EU delegation visited var- gional disembarkation platforms” cued in the Mediterranean would The hypothetical controlled cen- between Chancellor Angela Merkel ious sites, including refugee camps, as refugee camps that are politically be sent to “regional disembarka- tres promise “rapid and secure pro- and her migration hardliner Interior in Libya. unpalatable and a potential source tion platforms,” not Greece, Italy or cessing” to sift economic migrants Minister Horst Seehofer also looked However, Morocco, Egypt and of endless problems. The European Spain, which have complained they from genuine asylum seekers, with to be resolved. Seehofer threatened Tunisia have shown little enthusi- Union is seeking to assure critics by were bearing the brunt of the so- relocation measures being up to the to start turning failed asylum seek- asm for hosting the centres. War- confirming that they will only be called migration crisis. member state in question, some- ers back from German borders un- torn Libya is hardly an ideal loca- established in cooperation with the Migrants and asylum seekers al- thing that potentially allows differ- less Merkel agreed to a deal. tion, given the absence of a central UN High Commissioner for Refu- ready in the European Union would ent criteria among EU members on authority to guarantee the enforce- gees and the International Organi- be moved to so-called controlled who gets to stay. Mahmud el-Shafey is an Arab ment of any deal. sation for Migration (IOM). centres from where they could be EU leaders also agreed to beef Weekly correspondent in London. Renovation of Christian sites in Egypt raises hopes of greater religious tolerance

Amr Emam the Holy Family. Catholic pilgrims Muslims and Christians. rity, a recent poll by the US-based have already started arriving to “By renovating the churches and research centre Gallup indicated. take part in the pilgrimage. sanctuaries visited by the Holy Nonetheless, the Interior Minis- Cairo The itinerary of the pilgrims in- Family the authorities are lead- try deployed additional police and Tunisian cludes sites reportedly visited by ing the way to the change and also security forces at sites being visited he restoration of Christian Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus functioning as a role model for all by Christian pilgrims. foreign minister sites in Egypt, in prepara- after they escaped King Herod’s members of society,” Ibrahim said. The Tourism Promotion Author- tion for receiving Christian Massacre of the Innocents. The Egypt is pinning its hopes that the ity referred to what it described as on migration T pilgrims, is raising hope of sites had been neglected for hun- Holy Family pilgrimage will bring in “special” security measures to se- a renewed spirit of religious toler- dreds of years but recent renova- Christian pilgrims from across the cure the visits. Page 3 ance between the country’s Muslim tions amount to a national reawak- world and benefit its tourism sec- “Security agencies are taking all majority and Christian minority. ening to the importance of Egypt’s tor. Egypt also worked to register measures to make the visits the “Several Christian sites have Christian heritage. the route of the Holy Family in UN- Christian pilgrims will pay to sites been renovated and others are on Egypt’s Coptic Christians, who ESCO’s list of intangible heritage, visited by the Holy Family totally Editorial the list for renovation,” said Ishaq make up almost 10% of the popu- which, experts said, gives prepara- secure,” said retired police general Ibrahim, the Christian affairs spe- lation, had been effectively barred tions for the visits of the Christian Mamdouh al-Kidwani. “Egypt is cialist at local NGO Egyptian Initia- from restoring decaying churches pilgrims another dimension. generally safe and the pilgrims will The EU’s tive for Personal Rights. “If this says for years. Rumours about Chris- Egyptian authorities have taken see this for themselves when they anything, it says that this country is tians rebuilding a decaying wall a series of security measures to en- come here.” ‘regional changing.” or fixing a broken door in a church sure that Christian pilgrims would The renovation of the Christian in Egypt inevitably led to Muslim be safe. Security conditions are Amr Emam is a Cairo-based disembarkation sites came after approval by Roman neighbours complaining to local generally improving in Egypt with contributor to The Arab Weekly. Catholic Pope Francis last October authorities. Some of the objections many Egyptians expressing a high platforms’ of Egypt as part of the journey of morphed into violence between degree of contentment about secu- P20 Page 6 2 July 1, 2018 Cover Story

EU sees Maghreb as ‘outer wall’ against migrants

Lamine Ghanmi external border, including the dis- embarkation platforms project,” he added. Tunis Leverage from the European Un- ion, a key trade and security part- he European Union is pres- ner, could push Maghreb countries suring Maghreb countries to find common ground with the to host migrant screening Europeans but the North African T centres to stem the flow of nations are not going to blindly ac- migrants to Europe. cept any plan. Algeria voiced fierce EU leaders pledged at a summit opposition to the proposal and Lib- in Brussels move ahead with plans ya outlined conditions that should to screen migrants in North Africa be met. for asylum eligibility. The plan, Deputy Prime Minister of Libya’s modelled after the EU-Turkey deal Government of National Accord in which Turkey took in millions Ahmed Maiteeq urged European of refugees in exchange for billions states to reach a broader agreement of dollars in foreign aid, shows Eu- on migration. rope’s deep sense of anxiety over “If Europe wants to stop the flow migration. of migrants to its shores, it needs to However, the proposal received help Libya monitor its southern bor- pushback from Maghreb countries, der and put pressure on the coun- some of which categorically reject- tries of departure,” said Maiteeq, ed the idea. who hosted Italy’s far-right Interior German Chancellor Angela Mer- Minister Matteo Salvini in the Liby- kel, speaking at the summit, said: an capital on June 25. “We can talk about landing ships (of It remains to be seen, however, migrants) in other countries, for ex- if Libya, with no strong central au- ample in North Africa, but we need thority, can enforce any deal with to talk with these countries. We the European Union, especially re- Already under strain. Illegal migrants of different African nationalities arrive at a naval base (AFP) can’t do this over their heads. The garding border control. in Tripoli after they were rescued off the coast of Al-Zawiyah, last May. EU-Turkey deal was one that both Strong objections have been also sides agreed to.” expressed by Tunisia and Morocco. in more. of the Algerian Red Crescent, said Europe. In June, at least 20 foreign Moroccan Director of Migration “Because Algeria does not accept the reports were part of a European Africans were among an estimated Khalid Zerouali said: “That is not to be a centre for the detention of campaign to pressure Algeria into 100 migrants who died when a boat Maghreb countries say the the solution” and that Morocco African migrants for the interest of opening “platforms” for migrants. capsized off the coast of the Tuni- European Union is not would not agree to be a screening Europe, it is the target of attacks by “Algeria has no role in the trag- sian isle of Kerkennah. doing enough to help their station. foreign organisations that even dare edy that is experienced by African Merkel said addressing the issue countries deal with a youth Rabat has tightened control of its accuse our country of being racist,” countries from famine, war and of illegal migration would be critical unemployment problem borders and maritime gates to Eu- said Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed other conflicts. Algeria is a sover- for EU stability. that is often at the root of rope, making it more difficult for Ouyahia. eign country that does not give in to “Europe has many challenges but the illegal migration. migrants to use Morocco as a spring- Ouyahia was responding to re- pressure,” she said. that of migration could determine board to Spain. Moroccan authori- ports that Algeria was forcing mi- Many Maghreb states have repa- the fate of the European Union,” The European Union did not re- ties stopped an estimated 25,000 grants to “die” in the desert after triation deals with EU members and Merkel said. lease details of the plan but it would people this year from travelling il- expelling them from the country. the European Union has praised Maghreb countries say the Eu- reportedly include detaining pro- legally to Spain. The International Organisation Morocco and Tunisia for their ef- ropean Union is not doing enough spective migrants in centres in Al- Most migrants seeking to enter for Migration (IOM) said Algeria has forts regarding migrants. to help their countries deal with a geria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. Spain converge at the northern sent thousands of migrants over its However, despite government ef- youth unemployment problem that Egypt and Niger would host “un- Moroccan town of Nador, which is southern border into Niger since forts, illegal migration routes con- is often at the root of the illegal mi- loading docks.” on the edge of the Spanish town of 2017, a journey that many say is rife tinue to pop up. gration. Maghreb governments see European Council President Melilla, on the north coast of Africa. with exploitation. “Migration is like water. You can- negotiations with the European Un- Donald Tusk said that, since 2015, Melilla is encircled by four fences, The Associated Press reported not stop it,” said Anna Fonseca, IOM ion of wider prospects for legal mi- migration was down 96% “only be- one topped with razor wire, to pre- that Algeria abandoned more than chief of mission in Morocco. “You gration as a more appropriate solu- cause we decided to cooperate with vent migrants from crossing. 13,000 people, including pregnant close one part and another route tion than setting up holding centres third countries and to block illegal Algeria, which experienced a women and children, in the Sahara will open.” on their shores. migration outside the EU.” surge of illegal migration after the Desert over the past 14 months. Although not comparable to Lib- “That is why I am urging that at Libyan route closed, said it would Some of those died. ya, Tunisia is a secondary hub for Lamine Ghanmi is an Arab Weekly the summit we focus on the EU’s not accept Europe’s proposal to take Saida Benhabyles, chairwoman African migrants on their way to correspondent in Tunis.

Viewpoint Salvini is a man with a mission: Change immigration patterns

ith a new popu- reversing immigration patterns. list government While European countries such as in place, Italy’s France and the United Kingdom Justin Salhani immigration have a long history of immigra- policy was tion, Italy’s immigrant communi- expected to shift ties arrived much more recently. Wto the right but the actions of new And it’s long been a thorn in the Interior Minister Matteo Salvini side of a radical nationalist like have begun a new era in a country Salvini. media. Perceptions of a quickly wanted the former Italian colony where the majority of the border Earlier this year, a man in central evolving Italy mean that even Ital- to present itself as a “great oppor- faces the sea. Italy drove around and shot at ians who tend to lean left politi- tunity” for Italy by building strong Immigration is a common bogey- dark-skinned people, wounding cally are saying the immigration trade relations. Previous meetings man used to drive up fear among six. After he was apprehended, rate is growing too fast. between the two countries focused local populations. It’s an easy scare it turned out the shooter had run While immigration generally heavily on Libya’s security and tactic for nativist and populist in local elections as a member of stimulates economies, and Italy’s stability, issues intrinsically linked politicians seeking a scapegoat for Salvini’s party. Rather than disa- can use all the help it can get, ex- to migration through the North larger national problems. Often, vow the man, Salvini spoke about perts say that Italian governments African country. however, once the nativists and Italy’s need to halt illegal immigra- in the last few decades have done Salvini though made one point populists attain power, their rheto- tion. a poor job of setting up institutions that his predecessors did not. His ric and actions moderate. It seems that support for Salvini and laws that would help immi- goal, he said, is “blocking the full- This has not been the case with and his methods are growing in grants settle and integrate in Italy. on invasion of those associations Salvini, whose Trump-like rhetoric Italy, despite the country’s strug- Instead, the view of immigrants is that would like to substitute the during the campaign has carried gle against right-wing fascism largely negative — they take jobs, government and authorities and in over into office. For instance, he during the second world war they bring crime. fact help illegal migrant traffick- closed a Sicilian port to a boat car- never being far from memory. What could have been an op- ers.” It’s telling that he describes rying migrants who were crossing Since national elections on March portunity has turned into a crisis of the ships arriving on Italian shores the Mediterranean. 4, support for Salvini’s party, the social and cultural acceptance. as an “invasion.” Expect more ships Salvini’s rhetoric dehumanises League, has grown from 17.4% to Salvini was recently in Tripoli As long as such rhetoric is win- turned away and segments of the population. He 28.5%. The League only trails the meeting with Ahmed Maiteeq, ning him support in the polls, recently said he has the “answer to country’s top political party, the deputy prime minister of the UN- expect a continuation of his push expect an the Roma question” and claimed Five Star Movement, by 2 percent- backed Libyan government. While against immigration. Expect more acceleration of that, after a census solely on the age points. immigration in Italy is diverse — ships turned away and expect an policies that target Roma people, he will expel foreign Salvini’s rise is largely due to his people from the Philippines, Peru acceleration of policies that target Roma from Italy. “Unfortunately, pithy talking points and ambitious and Romania are among the largest foreigners and other people who foreigners and other we will have to keep the Italian promises. He’s promised tax cuts diasporas — Libya has long been don’t fit Salvini’s definition of an people who don’t fit Roma because we can’t expel but his key focal issue is to cut the launching point for migrants Italian. them,” he also said. down on immigration. from sub-Saharan and North Salvini’s definition Salvini’s drive, it appears, aims The immigration issue has been Africa. Justin Salhani is an Arab Weekly of an Italian. not only at consolidating but at the heavy focus of the country’s While in Libya, Salvini said he contributor in Milan, Italy. July 1, 2018 3 Cover Story

Interview Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui speaks about his country’s stance on migration

new phenomenon linked unfortu- Jemai Guesmi For a win-win nately to a number of aspects that partnership. can be seen as dangerous on the Tunisian Tunis international level, such as the Foreign Minister closing off of borders, isolation- Khemaies ere are excerpts ism and the rejection of the other. Jhinaoui. regarding (Tunisian Foreign Tunisia’s ● On recent talks with Italy: Ministry) stance on On June 20, I met with my migration- Italian counterpart. I was, in fact, related issues the first foreign minister to meet from an with the new Italian foreign interview with minister since he assumed office HTunisian Foreign Minister on June 1. We had an excellent Khemaies Jhinaoui: and friendly meeting and we addressed many issues of interest ● On migration as a global phe- to both Tunisia and Italy, includ- nomenon: ing the question of migration. He We must point out that migra- assured me that his country will tion is a human phenomenon that continue implementing what was has existed since early times. agreed upon in April of 2011 so Without human migration there that illegal migration could be wouldn’t be today countries like stopped and tragedies like the the United States of America and recent one in Kerkennah would be Australia. avoided. Generally speaking, we look at migration as a factor of enrich- ● On how Europe can help ment rather than a source of Tunisia: threat. Forty years ago, we didn’t We must insist first that Tunisia need visas to go to this or that is against illegal migration and country; so the question of that it has during the past decade migration as we see it today is a signed a significant number of bilateral agreements with France and with Italy, Switzerland and “Tunisia is exercising Belgium. visa, young Tunisian university position regarding this issue. right to protect its own shores and its sovereign right to We are still proposing to our graduates could be admitted to This is a question of sovereignty categorically refuses to set up European friends that, given that Europe and granted a stay permit and we don’t think that such an centres on its territory for protect its own Tunisia has about 300,000 there provided they find employ- idea will solve the problem at receiving and holding illegal shores and university graduates and that we ment within a limited period of hand for it is based on transfer- migrants. know that Europe is in need of time. This could be a win-win ring the problem from the sea to Tunisia has a different approach categorically refuses migrants, legal migrants of partnership between us, as we the land. to this question by advocating the to set up centres on course, why not seek together the seek to absorb unemployment, We do cooperate with the facilitation of legal migration. its territory for appropriate legal ways of allow- and for Europe, which needs Italians and the Europeans in No party has claimed that ing our young job seekers who qualified labour. rescuing migrants but within the Tunisia has become a crossing receiving and holding can make contributions to framework of humanitarian duty zone for sub-Saharan illegal illegal migrants.” Europe’s economy to enter the ● On the proposal by some and international law. We are not migrants. Tunisia has so far European zone and seek jobs European leaders that “disembar- responsible for the situation and succeeded in guarding its borders there. kation platforms” be set up we refuse to set up holding and is in total control of the Tunisian Foreign Minister We have suggested to the outside of the EU centres on our territory. situation. Khemaies Jhinaoui European side that under a form We are opposed to this idea and Tunisia’s position is clear. of temporary and conditional the Europeans know Tunisia’s Tunisia is exercising its sovereign Jemai Guesmi is a Tunisian writer. Viewpoint That other European Union

n person, Hungarian For- 2.4%. So is it possible anymore to eign Minister Peter Szijjarto ignore the possibility the V4 may Rashmee is entirely believable when one day be the engine of European Roshan Lall he insists that Europe has growth, replacing the Franco-Ger- a problem. Unfortunately, man core? Szijjarto scores an own Is the European Union ripe to Igoal. He convinces listeners that be refashioned in the image of the Europe’s problem has less to do Visegrad Group, which champions with uninvited migrants than with a muscular Christianity and unre- the four-member Visegrad Group mitting malevolence towards unin- of central European countries, of vited migrants, especially Muslims, which Hungary is a part. Arabs and Africans? Will European This had something to do with values come to symbolise exclu- Szijjarto’s audience — a well-heeled sivism rather than enlightenment part of the global village that is the values? London think-tank called Chatham Szijjarto — His Master’s Voice — House. It also had a great deal to doesn’t answer such broad ques- do with Szijjarto himself. A former tions but offers a vision of the ideal spokesman for Hungarian Prime Europe as seen from Budapest. A Minister Viktor Orban, in his cur- vast and wealthy “Christian conti- rent role as foreign minister Szij- Fake problems. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto speaks nent” paying reasonable sums into jarto is still his master’s voice. during the “Visegrad-4 plus Balkan-4 plus” meeting in Greece, on the Middle East and North Africa That voice was heard loud and May 11. (Reuters) to keep the peril of migrants well clear ahead of the EU summit in away from Europe. Brussels. It decisively claimed sible to protect Europe’s maritime snowflakes, this is what the future Hungary, he says, “support(s) ro- Europe’s right and responsibility borders… Australia has proved it.” looks like. bust financial assistance to Jordan, to “preserve Christianity,” assailed The reference was to Australia’s Is this then to be the future of Lebanon and Iraq” and Turkey, migrants as “a security issue,” mandatory detention from 1992 of Europe, the world’s most ambitious so they can look after refugees. identified “29 terrorist attacks in visa-less migrants trying to enter trading bloc, a vast, imperfect but “We want to bring help where it’s three years by people with a migra- its waters by boat. well-intentioned project for peace needed,” he said, to let refugees tory background” and celebrated And then, the proud claim: “In built on the rubble of destructive and the displaced stay near their recent election victories in Europe Hungary, a government with a 20th century nationalisms and two home countries. of “anti-migrant” parties. very clear anti-migrant agenda wars? On July 1, Austria began its That sounds remarkably con- Closing European ports to boats has won.” The April 8 election was turn in the European Union’s rotat- siderate until one considers the carrying African migrants is the Orban’s third consecutive win after ing presidency for six months. The implications of the Budapest vi- way forward, Szijjarto declared, a campaign described by observers government in Vienna, Szijjarto sion. That the world is better off in Will European even as a rescue vessel bearing of the Organisation for Security and triumphantly pointed out, is anti- distinct orbits, bounded by religion values come to migrants wandered the Mediterra- Co-operation in Europe as marked migrant too, just like his own. and race, that never intersect. nean in search of a place to dock. by “intimidating and xenophobic Is Hungary and the Visegrad symbolise “[Italian Interior] Minister [Mat- rhetoric, media bias and opaque Group (V4) the future then? The Rashmee Roshan Lall is a exclusivism rather teo] Salvini made the decision campaign financing.” V4 — the Czech Republic, Hungary, columnist for The Arab Weekly. for illegal migrants not to enter Szijjarto might have added, in Poland and Slovakia — Szijjarto Her blog can be found at www. than enlightenment the port of Italy and it’s a game keeping with the punchy tone of boasted, is growing at an average of rashmee.com and she is on values? changer,” said Szijjarto. “It is pos- his remarks, suck it up libtards and 4.1% while the European average is Twitter: @rashmeerl. 4 July 1, 2018 News & Analysis Gulf Houthis said to agree to hand over Hodeidah to UN but fighting continues

Saleh Baidhani since the last talks on Yemen,” he said. Griffiths confirmed that the Sana’a Houthi militia had offered to hand over control of the port to the Unit- ven with the UN special en- ed Nations, provided there was an voy’s shuttle diplomacy to overall ceasefire but it appears de- broker a ceasefire in Yem- tails are far from being agreed to. E en, the battle for Hodeidah “At the moment we are still in continued and the internationally negotiations as to whether a UN recognised Yemeni government de- role would help to avoid an attack manded a complete pullout by the and, more importantly — and this is Houthis from the strategic port city. where I think we’re going — wheth- Yemeni President Abd Rabbo er, in fact, the restart of negotiations Mansour Hadi told UN Special En- will mean the attack on Hodeidah or voy for Yemen Martin Griffiths that, the move towards war will be avoid- as a precondition to any peace deal, ed,” he said. the Houthi rebels must withdraw Hadi’s demand for a complete from Hodeidah. Griffiths had pre- Houthi withdrawal was echoed by viously met with Houthi leaders in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Sana’a where the rebels said they Arabia’s main partner in the Arab would hand over control of Hodei- coalition fighting the Houthis. dah to the United Nations. “We continue to support the UN- led efforts in Hodeidah and Yemen,” UAE Minister of State for Foreign Griffiths confirmed that Affairs Anwar Mohammad Gargash the Houthi militia had posted on Twitter before Hadi’s offered to hand over meeting with Griffiths. control of the port to the “A UN-Yemeni led political pro- United Nations, provided cess will accelerate with a Houthi there was an overall decision to withdraw from Hodei- ceasefire. dah and avoid a confrontation,” he Complex task. UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths (C) is escorted by bodyguards as he wrote, adding that securing Hodei- arrives at Sana’a airport, on June 16. (Reuters) “President Hadi insisted on the dah was an essential step towards a need for the Houthis to withdraw political conclusion. completely and without conditions Yemeni Deputy Minister of In- ened their military presence outside own safety.” Houthi militia’s main source of from Hodeidah or face a military formation Najeeb Ghallab said bat- Hodeidah while securing liberated The coalition reported that eight weapons smuggled from Iran. Those solution,” a Yemeni government tlefield strategies were designed to areas. They also targeted Houthi members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah weapons include missiles that have source told Agence France-Presse. pressure the Houthis to return to supply lines from At Tuhayat to Ad group were killed in north-western been fired into Saudi Arabia. Rebels Griffiths gave UN radio a positive the negotiating table as a precursor Durayhimi on Yemen’s west coast. Yemen. The coalition said 41 “ter- also threatened to launch missile at- assessment of the drive to resolve to surrender. The Saudi-led coalition urged ci- rorist elements” had been attacked tacks against the United Arab Emir- the 3-year-old conflict, saying he Ghallab said that to “bet on the vilians to stay away from Hodeidah near Oqbat Marraan in the moun- ates. would like to convene a meeting of political solution is not possible by province. tainous Saada region and members The United Nations and several both parties “within the next few virtue of the nature of the Houthi Al Arabiya news channel quoted of Hezbollah were among those Western countries, including the weeks.” group and its doctrines.” He accused local sources as saying coalition killed. United States, have said they were “Both parties have confirmed to the Houthis of being war profiteers planes dropped leaflets reading: “A Iran is the main backer of Hezbol- aware of Iran’s support for the Hou- me their willingness to come to the who see monetary losses should the call from the coalition: dear citizens, lah in Lebanon and the Arab coali- this through arms supplies. table to restart negotiations. I think conflict end. we urge you not to head to Hodei- tion previously noted Hezbollah’s it’s long overdue that that should Pro-government Yemeni troops dah province and its neighbouring presence in Yemen. Saleh Baidhani is an Arab Weekly take place. It’s been about two years and the Saudi-led coalition strength- areas, unless it is necessary, for your Hodeidah is believed to be the contributor in Sana’a. Hezbollah’s covert agenda in Yemen comes to the open

Iman Zayat vided funds and training to Houthi rency to Yemen, through Saudi fighters and al-Quds Force oversaw Arabia and the UAE” and, in late the transfer of advanced weaponry, 2012, “Harb advised the leader of a Tunis such as anti-aircraft missiles. Yemeni political party that the par- In addition, Iran has long been ac- ty’s monthly Hezbollah funding of ebanon’s Shia Hezbollah cused of providing the Houthis with $50,000 was ready for pick up,” the movement and the Iran- ballistic missiles that have been statement said. backed Houthi rebels are de- launched at Saudi Arabia and, last Hezbollah’s Unit 3800, modelled L veloping closer ties, reports November, Saudi Foreign Minister on al-Quds Force, counts highly say, fuelling sectarian divides and Adel al-Jubeir told CNN that Hezbol- skilled operatives sworn to uphold driving instability in the region. lah fired a missile provided by Iran at the Iranian regime’s expansionist The Arab coalition fighting the the kingdom from Yemeni territory. project. Their Yemen activities have Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen said An early indication of Iran’s activi- been key in helping the Houthis gain on June 25 that their allies killed ties in Yemen came in 2009 when control of much of northern Yemen, eight Hezbollah fighters in battles former Yemeni President Ali Abdul- including Sana’a, and improving in the mountainous Saada region lah Saleh appeared on Al Jazeera ac- their military capabilities. Hezbol- in north-western Yemen. Coalition cusing Tehran of providing financial lah’s involvement is also believed spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki and military support to the Houthi to have helped entrench the Iranian said the Hezbollah fighters were part rebels. In 2014, news of direct Hez- presence in Yemen. of a group heading to the Saudi bor- bollah involvement in Yemen broke Head of the US Central Command, der when they were spotted. when some of its operatives were US Army General Joseph Votel, arrested in Yemen and charged with warned the US Congress in February Dangerous mix. Shia Houthi rebels hold a poster of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during a rally in Sana’a. (AP) Hezbollah’s Unit 3800, training Houthi rebels. Those men that Iran “is attempting to do in five were connected to Hezbollah’s Unit years with the Houthis in Yemen” modelled on al-Quds Force, 3800, which was first tasked with what it took “20 years (to do) with counts highly skilled training Shia militants in Iraq. Hezbollah in Lebanon.” clearest in Lebanon, where it is per- Houthi covert connection appears to operatives sworn to uphold In mid-2015, Hezbollah was again Votel’s warning signalled grow- ceived as a legitimate political actor be coming into the open. the Iranian regime’s revealed to be active in Yemen when ing concern in the United States that and secured a strong presence in the Tangible proof of Hezbollah’s di- expansionist project. Saudi Arabia sanctioned senior Hez- a new Hezbollah could be born in government. Hezbollah’s foreign rect involvement in Yemen would bollah members Khalil Harb and Yemen, further imperilling regional policy objectives, which include put the Shia group in a tough spot. “Terrorist members… from Hez- Muhammad Qabalan for “terrorist security and giving Iran more lever- training and arming Shia fighters Being seen as a Shia expeditionary bollah and from the Iranian regime actions.” age. across the region, have cast such le- force fighting at Iran’s behest could are coming to help the rebels launch Saudi Arabia accused Harb of com- While Hezbollah and the Houthis gitimacy into question. cause Hezbollah to lose respect from ballistic missiles and train them in manding Hezbollah’s “central mili- are both considered Iranian prox- As for the Houthis, their political its fighters and see its popularity de- combat,” he said. “Both Iran and… tary unit” and of being responsible ies, Hezbollah, with more than 30 ambition took the form of a bloody crease at home and abroad. Hezbol- Hezbollah must stop sending mili- for the group’s activities in Yemen. It years of experience, has proven far coup that plunged Yemen into a cy- lah’s regional forays also threaten to tary experts to Yemen.” pointed to Qabalan’s role in terrorist more aggressive and effective. Its cle of violence and chaos that has put Lebanon at risk of Arab econom- The statement, which came as activities in Egypt and accused him involvement in the Syrian civil war yet to end. In 2015, the Arab coali- ic sanctions. Yemeni pro-government forces were of “spreading chaos and instability.” has seen it transformed from a lo- tion intervened in Yemen to restore Whether Saudi Arabia and other locked in heavy battles with Houthi Harb, who took charge of Unit calised resistance force to one of the the country’s internationally recog- Arab countries can formulate a rebels to take the key aid hub of Ho- 3800 in 2012, “was responsible for most significant powers within the nised government and thwart what comprehensive strategy to contain deidah, pointed to a growing Hez- Hezbollah’s Yemen activities and region. The Houthis, on the other it sees as Iran’s expansionist ambi- Hezbollah’s increased operational bollah presence in the country but was involved in the political side of hand, have displayed less discipline tions. tempo in the region remains to be was not the first indication of its ac- Hezbollah’s Yemen portfolio,” a 2013 and skill. With the Arab coalition intensi- seen. So far, disjointed and incoher- tivities there. statement by the US Treasury De- What the two groups share, how- fying its campaign to dislodge the ent efforts are proving insufficient. Hezbollah and the Iranian al-Quds partment claimed. ever, is political ambition and devo- Houthis from the strategic port city Force have long coordinated opera- That summer, Harb was involved tion to the Iranian cause. of Hodeidah, thus severing their Iman Zayat is the Managing Editor tions in Yemen. Hezbollah has pro- in moving “large amounts of cur- Hezbollah’s political ambition is supply line to Sana’a, the Hezbollah- of The Arab Weekly. July 1, 2018 5 News & Analysis Lebanon Drug smuggling, tribal violence produce rich crop for Hezbollah recruiters

Nicholas Blanford were required to develop the Bekaa but the funds never materialised. The initiative was dropped and Bekaa Valley hashish continues to be grown. The northern Bekaa is also known he Lebanese Army has be- as the “Barracks of Hezbollah,” the gun yet another security Iran-backed militia that emerged operation in the northern from the hill villages of the eastern T Bekaa Valley to end the en- Bekaa in 1982. The hills flanking demic violence and criminality in the valley are riddled with training the fiercely tribal region that has camps and guarded military facili- been neglected for decades by the ties. The Shia organisation remains Lebanese government. a key source of employment for Lebanese troops fanned out June the region’s young people because 26, across Baalbek, the largest town there are scant alternative means of in the northern Bekaa, and took generating an income. stricter measures at checkpoints That reliance on Hezbollah has on the main roads in the area. But led to accusations that the powerful the crackdown is likely to have lit- organisation deliberately keeps the tle effect in an area that has become Bekaa impoverished to foster de- synonymous with criminal activi- pendency on the party. During the ties such as hashish cultivation, car height of the conflict in neighbour- theft and currency counterfeiting ing Syria, recruits were paid $600 a underpinned by strict adherence to month and given a month of basic traditional tribal codes, which often training in the Bekaa before being leads to blood feuds, shoot-outs sent to Syria’s bloody battlefields. and eye-for-an-eye retribution. “Do you think we would risk our Part of the problem is that the area lives for $600 a month if we had remains neglected and underdevel- another choice?” asks a member of oped even though it is one of the the Jaafar clan, one of the largest most fertile regions in the Levant and most powerful in the Bekaa. “If and was once known as the “Bread- we had alternative options for work Narcopolitics. A file picture shows a man working inside a factory that processes hashish in the basket of the Roman Empire.” in the Bekaa, you would see people Bekaa Valley. (Reuters) Hashish is widely cultivated in leave Hezbollah in the hundreds.” the northern Bekaa, although it is Certainly, Hezbollah retains the the dealers, rather than the farmers, support of a substantial number of found an additional layer of protec- Syria set beside a narrow stream “Here, look at this,” said the lead- who make substantial profits mani- Shia residents in the Bekaa but it tion by offering to fight on behalf and shaded by poplar trees sway- er of the group of men, who goes by fested in ostentatious mansions has had to work hard to placate and of the regime of Syrian President ing in the stiff, hot breeze. All the “Haj.” A video on his phone showed dotting hills around the valley in cajole the tribes for whom loyalty to Bashar Assad. men were armed, some with AK- a Jaafar firing a belt-fed machine sharp contrast to the hard-scrabble the clan is paramount and far above 47 rifles, others with automatic gun into the village of Assafouriyah dwellings in the villages. allegiance to a political party or the pistols stuffed into trouser waist- where the Jamals live. Another vid- Turn off the main roads in the state. The challenges Hezbollah Part of the problem is bands. Most of them were wanted eo through a night-vision camera northern Bekaa and one soon stum- faces are compounded by a long- that the area remains for hashish cultivation and clashing showed burning buildings in the bles across green fields of spiky standing grievance that the party’s neglected and with Lebanese troops. village. saw-toothed cannabis sativa plants. leadership is dominated by south- underdeveloped even They scoffed at the latest crack- “The Jamals have all run away Its cultivation is illegal and each ern Lebanese while the foot soldiers though it is one of the down by the Lebanese Army, not- from their village,” Haj chuckled. year the government tried to eradi- are mainly drawn from the Bekaa. most fertile regions in ing that news of the operation had No doubt the Jamals will be back cate the crop ahead of the harvest, In the border village of Qasr in the Levant. been released several days in ad- and the feud will continue until which can lead to gun battles be- the northern tip of the Bekaa Val- vance allowing wanted men the op- there is some reconciliation. As for tween Lebanese police and farmers ley, the frontier with Syria is essen- With Russian training and equip- portunity to leave their homes and the security clampdown, it is not determined to protect their liveli- tially non-existent. Passing over a ment and a $200 a month salary. go into hiding. the first and will certainly not be the hoods. 1.2-metre concrete bridge spanning Some 300 Shia tribesmen fought Uppermost in their minds, last unless the Lebanese govern- During the 1980s, at the height an irrigation ditch takes one from alongside Russian special forces though, was a deadly feud that has ment begins to seriously address of Lebanon’s civil war, the Bekaa Lebanon into Syria but there are no troops against Islamic State mili- erupted between members of the the socio-economic shortcomings was awash with hashish and opium signs, flags or security personnel to tants in theatres as far removed Jaafar clan and the rival Jamal fam- of the northern Bekaa. plants. In the early 1990s, the Leba- indicate passage from one country from Lebanon as Palmyra and Deir ily. The origins of the dispute were nese government and the UN De- to another. Ez-Zor, earning the gratitude and murky but the Jaafars said that one Nicholas Blanford is the author velopment Programme (UNDP) be- The ease of cross-border access respect of Moscow and Damascus. of their relatives was shot in the of “Warriors of God: Inside gan an initiative to replace hashish into Syria has proved useful for Shia A group of Jaafars in June sipped back of the head by a Jamal, an in- Hezbollah’s Thirty-Year with legitimate crops. The UNDP tribesmen who are wanted by the sodas and smoked water pipes at a cident that triggered two days of Struggle Against Israel” (Random estimated that some $300 million Lebanese authorities. Some have small cafe about a kilometre inside fighting. House 2011). New Sunni opposition, supported by Hezbollah, challenges Hariri

Sami Moubayed The Karamis, like the Salams of and possibly two, based on a pro- yeh, North Lebanon); Usama Saad, faction with the term “Sunni,” see- Beirut, with legacies stretching into posal by Lebanese President Michel a Nasserist; and Kassem Hachem, ing himself as a leader for all Leba- the 19th century, feel they were col- Aoun, saying that major blocs are a dentist turned politician from nese. The former prime minister did Beirut lectively sidelined by the dramatic entitled to one seat in government South Lebanon. None can match up not attend the opposition meeting rise — and death — of Rafik Hariri, for every four they control in parlia- to powerful — and wealthy — Sunni and nor did Fouad Makhzoumi, the handful of Sunni politicians who was from an unknown politi- ment. politicians such as Hariri or former self-made Beiruti tycoon who was have created an “independ- cal family in Sidon, rose to power Hariri has declined to name any Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who just voted into parliament while ent Sunni bloc” to challenge through his incredible wealth and member of the Sunni opposition, swept votes in his native northern running on an independent ticket. A Lebanon’s interim Prime the backing of Saudi Arabia. His leaving it for Aoun to decide. The city of Tripoli, winning all four seats. The reasons behind their absence, Minister Saad Hariri, who won 20 death in a February 2005 bombing Hariri team would get five seats in The only heavyweight among said political analyst Nidal al-Sabe, seats in May’s parliamentary elec- made the country’s established no- the government but Karami’s allies them is Abdul Rahim Murad, a sea- is Mikati’s attempts at keeping the tions. bility look and feel insignificant. in the March 8 Alliance would whip soned politician, former defence Saudis satisfied “while remaining as Leading the meeting was Faisal Faisal Karami, saying he com- up an impressive 14 portfolios, giv- minister, philanthropist and self- far as possible from Syria and Hez- Karami, 46, scion of a leading po- mands a bloc of ten seats in parlia- en their high representation in the made billionaire who owns and runs bollah, whereas Makhzoumi sees litical family from the northern city ment, hopes to revive his family leg- Lebanese chamber. the Lebanese International Univer- that the opposition meeting’s main of Tripoli. His father Omar, uncle acy and is demanding a post in the sity. However, within the bloc, he objective is to make Faisal Karami Rashid and grandfather Abdul Ha- upcoming cabinet. His alignment is as politically ambitious as Karami ministers, at a time when he too mid Karami were all prime ministers with ten MPs effectively breaks Faisal Karami, saying he — if not more — and would rather wants a ministerial post.” before the Rafik Hariri era (1992-98). Hariri’s monopoly over Sunni rep- commands a bloc of ten see himself in the Hariri cabinet, if Sabe added: “Additionally, Makh- Omar Karami was toppled in 1992 resentation, given that none are as- seats in parliament, hopes one name were to make it from the zoumi doesn’t want to enter into a and 2005, most recently after the sociated with Hariri’s Future Move- to revive his family legacy “Sunni Opposition.” confrontation with Hariri, especially Rafik Hariri assassination. Rashid ment. and is demanding a post in Second, Karami is on bad terms not in Beirut, insisting that he is an Karami was one of the pillars of Leb- They instead have branded them- the upcoming cabinet. with Saudi Arabia, the traditional independent standing at a distance anese politics, who created ten gov- selves as the “Sunni Opposition” to backer of the Lebanese Sunnis. from both the March 8 (pro-Syria) ernments in his country’s history, the Hariri, who is Sunni as well. They Lobbying on his behalf by Hezbol- True, Riyadh has been reaching out and March 14 (anti-Syria) alliances. first in 1955 and the last in 1984. He say they are critical more of his per- lah will determine whether Karami to a wider assortment of allies in “Prime Minister Hariri is facing was killed in 1987 during the civil war formance than his policies in gov- makes it into the Hariri cabinet. The Lebanon but has not reached the a new Sunni reality that he is unfa- after a bomb exploded on his heli- ernment. same cannot be said for his Sunni point of courting figures — such as miliar with, especially after the last copter, a crime Samir Geagea of the Karami served as a cabinet min- partners, however, who are mostly Karami — who were highly critical of elections created a new Sunni real- Lebanese Forces, an present ally of ister in 2011, when he was literally colourless parliamentarians. Their its policies in Syria and Yemen. ity. He has to either accept this real- Saad Hariri, was accused of plotting. imposed on the cabinet by his allies only chance for serious political ele- In the past three years, Saudi Ara- ity or reach a collision with Hezbol- As for their father Abdul Hamid in Hezbollah. Some coined him the vation is if Karami makes it into gov- bia has tried telling the world that lah and its allies, resulting in a delay — Faisal’s grandfather — he was one “sixth Shia minister” because of his ernment, giving them a real voice in Hariri is its ally in Lebanon but he is of the cabinet formation.” of the leaders of the Lebanese inde- allegiance to the all-Shia party and parliament. not its only ally, promoting Mikati as pendence movement from colonial to the Syrians. The Karami bloc includes Adnan an alternative favourite. Sami Moubayed is a Syrian France who served as a prime minis- Karami says his bloc is entitled to Trabulsi (Beirut); Elwaleed Sukari- Third, Mikati refused to join the historian and author of “Under the ter in 1945. at least one seat in the next cabinet yeh (Bekaa); Jihad al-Samad (Danni- Karami bloc, expressing his dissatis- Black Flag” (IB Tauris, 2015). 6 July 1, 2018 Opinion

Editorial The EU’s ‘regional disembarkation platforms’

he EU summit in Brussels on June 28-29 may have helped contain the bloc’s political differences over the issue of migration but has yet to reach a clear understanding with the Maghreb on how to deal with the problem. Leaders of the EU 28 seem to have Tworked out a broadly acceptable deal. They were able to respond to Italy’s demand for greater burden sharing by agreeing to establish “controlled” screening centres on European soil and they promised to do more to manage the flow of migrants across Europe. What is likely to be controversial and difficult to implement, however, is the summit’s decision to “swiftly explore” the idea of “regional disembarka- tion platforms” outside of Europe, possibly in North Africa. The “platforms” would theoretically distinguish between rescued migrants eligible for asylum and those who are economic migrants. The European Union has never been so divided over migration policies. Populist ruling parties in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia © Yaser Ahmed for The Arab Weekly dispute the very notion of burden sharing. In Germany, migration has thrown the governing coalition’s future into doubt. Italy has been playing a particularly active role on the migration issue since Iran had no future in Iraq and the last elections, which put two populist parties in power. Its far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has said he wants “reception and identification centres” for migrants outside of Europe, specifically it cannot change that on Libya’s southern border. The centres, south of the Mediterranean, would be Khairallah Khairallah in line with a deal the European Union struck with Turkey in 2015. Europe agreed to pay $3.5 billion in If any sense can be made of the victory of al-Sadr’s exchange for Turkey’s help in preventing migrants Saairun list, it must be that there is a strong desire from crossing the Aegean to Greece and then further into Europe. among Iraqis to escape Iran’s dominance. Now, the European Union would like the United Nations to play an active role in setting up these ran is not happy with the re- of the May 12 elections risk to Bush administration, Paul Bremer external “platforms.” Leonard Doyle, of the United sults of the May 12 elections yank away that war booty from dissolved the Iraqi Army and es- Nations’ International Organisation for Migration, in Iraq. It insists that Iraq Tehran. tablished a governing council on however, insists “these centres should be in be an Iranian colony ruled Granted, Saddam Hussein was sectarian and ethnic bases. Barack Europe.” by Tehran even though that no saint. He was a full-fledged Obama carried on with the task of There are other problems with the idea of such “platforms.” No one is sure where, if anywhere, they is totally opposite to the brutal dictator. He lacked po- offering Iraq to Iran by withdraw- might be established. Most North African countries Inature of things. So, Iran simply litical common sense and was ing US troops from Iraq and bless- reject the concept, which they see as infringing carried out a coup over election totally ignorant of the balances ing Nuri al-Maliki, Iran’s man, for upon their sovereignty. results. of power regionally and interna- a second term as prime minister There are other reasons the 2015 Turkish deal The chaos in Iraq is but the tionally. A savvy politician would after the 2010 elections in which cannot be duplicated in the Maghreb. Libya, beset result of that coup. Things can’t not invade Kuwait and then pre- Ayad Allawi’s list finished first. by a lack of central authority, is unable to exercise get any lower than when the old pare to negotiate with the United Iraq can no longer fulfil its func- effective control over its borders. In the Maghreb, guard is seeking to extend the States as if he were holding all tion as a war chest for Iran. The migration is contemplated by thousands of unem- term of the current parliament. the winning cards. recent elections not only revealed ployed young men and women with few opportuni- Frankly, the political system put Most of Saddam’s political that the country is broke but also ties at home. Their socio-economic problem needs in place following the 2003 US- mistakes were catastrophic that its political parties are not solutions that cannot be addressed by “disembarka- led invasion of Iraq is the worst for Iraq. In 1980, for example, capable of rising to the challenge tion platforms.” there is. It’s been 15 years and instead of looking for other posed by its internal crisis. nothing has improved in Iraq. ways of responding to Iran’s It is futile to try to solve Iran’s Post-election What we’re seeing, especially provocations, he chose to plunge crisis in Iraq by concocting an since election results were chal- Iraq into a senseless war with a incongruous alliance between lenged and the rumour spread retrograde regime that belittled Muqtada al-Sadr and Hadi al- risks in Turkey that some ballot boxes had been its Arab neighbours on sectar- Amiri. Such an alliance seems espite the high voter turnout and the burned, are signs of a boding ian grounds. For the mullahs’ to have taken place so Iran can clear victory by President Recep civil war rather than the reassur- regime, the war with Iraq served boast about being able to absorb Tayyip Erdogan and his parliamen- ing foundations of a democratic quite well its purpose of keeping the elections’ negative effects tary allies, profound risks loom for state promised by the Americans. the Iranian army busy and away and remain in control of things Turkey. Iran is in denial of the reality from politics. in Iraq. The opposition accepted the results that Iraq cannot and must not At any rate, Iran is reaping But surely Iran is not going even as it pointed out the election be controlled by Tehran. Iran its rewards today. It is true that to find a survival niche in Iraq D“was not fair.” The electoral campaign was con- is behaving like a child whose Iraq was gifted to Iran by the by just undermining the elec- ducted under restrictive conditions, which reflected toy has been taken away. That Americans but it seems that Iran tion results. If any sense can be the curbs faced by the opposition under Turkey’s state of emergency. goes a long way in explaining did not know what to do with its made of the victory of al-Sadr’s Unsurprisingly, international election observers Tehran’s reaction to the Iraqi easy victory. Iraq turned out to Saairun list, it must be that there have been critical. The Organisation of Security and elections. When US President be not an easy bite to swallow af- is a strong desire among Iraqis to Cooperation in Europe said the incumbent president George W. Bush waged war on ter all, even with America’s help. escape Iran’s dominance, even at and ruling party enjoyed “an undue advantage, Iraq using fictitious reasons, Iran Yes, the United States has the cost of backing someone such including an excessive coverage by government- was the sole winner. The results helped Iran in Iraq. During the as al-Sadr, who is well-known for affiliated public and private media outlets.” his past of very close ties with The criticism was quickly rejected by Ankara. Iran. The elections are over and nothing prevents Above all of this, we must not Erdogan from wielding enormous power, entirely lose sight that this time there is unchallenged. As Turkey’s executive president, no US administration ready to Erdogan has virtually complete control of the executive, legislative and judiciary branches. He can back Iran in Iraq, especially after issue decrees and appoint cabinet members without US President Donald Trump’s parliamentary approval. This came about because of pulling out of the nuclear deal the constitutional amendments Erdogan pushed with Tehran. through last year that abolished the office of prime With this background, Iran is minister. Erdogan becomes head of Turkey’s new out of cover in Iraq. If it wants to, executive presidential system and could serve for Tehran can still enjoy destroying two other terms till 2028. a few more places or perhaps eth- Jana Jabbour, professor of political science at nically and religiously “cleanse” Sciences Po university in Paris, said the purges in more cities and regions in Iraq Turkey will continue and acquire “new magnitude.” or even subcontract the Islamic The reference is to the thousands arrested or sacked State to raze a historical city such after the failed July 2016 coup. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party is as Mosul but it won’t change the dependent for its majority on the Nationalist fact that Tehran has no future Movement Party (MHP). A conservative party, the in Iraq, assuming that Iraq has a MHP is unlikely to encourage more compromise future other than a civil war. from Erdogan. It is for instance opposed to lifting It is a great pity that a country the state of emergency, seen by opposition activists with a unique history of cultural as a threat to political and media freedoms. diversity and wealth in the Mid- Erdogan’s immense power will have ramifications dle East before the coming of abroad. His neo-Ottomanism will encourage military then Ba’ath Party rule in regional ambitions. These are already reflected in 1958 should end this way. Erdogan’s military intervention in Syria and Iraq and it is not a good omen for peace and stability in the Middle East. Out of Iran’s orbit. Iraqi men wave their national flags on the streets of Baghdad. Khairallah Khairallah is a (AFP) Lebanese writer. July 1, 2018 7 Opinion Contact editor at: [email protected] Sisi’s broken promises www.thearabweekly.com Saad al-Qarsh Published by Al Arab The Egyptians have never experienced such demoralising Publishing House conditions, except perhaps during the colonisation period. Publisher he biggest pessimists Painful in their path until the end. and Group Executive Editor in 2011 could not have decisions. Ironically, he bested his pre- Haitham El-Zobaidi, PhD imagined that the Egyptian decessors in popularity. Plain, revolution in Egypt President simple citizens loved to print Editor-in-Chief posters of his ID and paste them would someday serve Abdel Fattah Oussama Romdhani the Muslim Brother- al-Sisi speaks everywhere. So, instead of using Thood and, in a repeat scenario, during that capital of popular strength the huge mobs of June 30, 2013, the Fifth to fend off attempts to put Egypt Managing Editor were far from imagining that National down, our hero could think of Iman Zayat the price of recovering from the Youth nothing better to do than waste disastrous rule of the Brother- Congress at that capital and disappoint his Deputy Managing Editor hood would be very high. Relent- an “Ask the fervent supporters. He has lost and Online Editor lessly, people were being driven President” the right to represent Egypt. Mamoon Alabbasi towards the precipice that keeps session in There will be no treachery demanding more of their longing Cairo, last from the Egyptian people. They Senior Editor for freedom. May. are dignified folks who believe in John Hendel Two Egyptian islands were (The Egyptian destiny and are famous for their surrendered in blatant defiance Presidency) patience but they don’t forget. Chief Copy Editor of popular will; prices for goods They consider the constitution Richard Pretorius and services simply shot up; an and personal promises as their unconstitutional law deprived from Eid prayers and were In January 2011, we were covenant with the ruler. In 2014, Copy Editor young people and students dem- stunned to hear that Sisi had 80 million; in seven years we Sisi promised to improve living Stephen Quillen onstrating peacefully of perhaps ratified the so-called maritime became 100 million. In four years conditions in Egypt in just two the best years of their lives, and border agreement between Egypt there will be more voters such years. The people had whole- Analysis Section Editor any wise suggestion or opinion is and Saudi Arabia. Nobody really that misrepresenting the people’s heartedly given him a reprieve of Ed Blanche swiftly swept aside. knows how much money was will is practically impossible. We two years but living conditions Too many disasters and still no spent on heart, blood pressure must act fast or else we will open deteriorated. East/West Section Editor light at the end of the tunnel for and depression medicine on that our eyes four years down the Then, in April 2016, Sisi con- Mark Habeeb the Egyptian people. sad day and its aftermath. It felt road and be blinded once more fidently declared: “There will That’s where the danger lies as if one had lost a child for no by the horrible reality. be no hike in the prices of basic Gulf Section Editor because the people cannot see a reason. Then we’ll simply blot out goods… and that’s a promise, Mohammed Alkhereiji decent outcome for their sacrific- A particularity in Sisi’s that horrible reality by closing Inshallah (God willing). It’s a es and no hope for their dreams discourse might shed light on our eyes and abdicating all our promise, Inshallah.” Society and Travel of more equity and freedom. It how easy it is for him to make responsibilities. We will indulge He asked for another reprieve Sections Editor seems more and more that their decisions that are painful for in self-flagellation and treat the of six months and 24 months Samar Kadi hopes are dependent on a new everyone else. When addressing wounds of dictatorship with later, around mid-June 2018, he beginning after Abdel Fattah al- the Egyptian people, Sisi does irony, opium of the meek and los- announced that a happy surprise Syria and Lebanon Sisi’s term. not open with the usual Arabic ers. In the meantime, the rulers awaits the Egyptians after Eid. Section Editor After the four years of Sisi’s interjection “O people” or “O will not lose any sleep over our Eid, June 15, comes and goes and Simon Speakman Cordall first term, anyone who had a citizens.” He begins with “Hey, lot and will be happily repeating we haven’t lost another island shred of hope for social equity Egyptians.” Caliph Muawiyah’s slogan: “We but the following day, people Contributing Editor got confirmation that he was just There does not seem to be a will not come between people wake up to learn that fuel prices Rashmee Roshan Lall a copy of Anwar Sadat, Hosni wise person in his entourage to and their tongues as long as they went up 66% as promised to the Mubarak and Muhammad Morsi. draw his attention that that style do not come between us and International Monetary Fund. Senior Correspondents He was slightly different from the is fit for invaders. Napoleon used our kingdom.” Even the salutary Egypt needs a complete Mahmud el-Shafey (London) others in that he did not fear the a similar style to try to win the opium of irony on social media overhaul of the existing system Lamine Ghanmi (Tunis) people and has an extraordinary trust of the Egyptians and turn will eventually be taken away but can’t afford a hunger revolu- gall for making painful and disas- them against the Mamelukes. An from the oppressed. tion. It is best for the wise to Regular Columnists trous decisions. invader cannot say: “O citizens.” When examining history, we abandon any hope for reforms Claude Salhani The Egyptians have never Sisi’s term will end in 2022. cannot say “what if…?” Who during the next four years and to Yavuz Baydar experienced such demoralising We, Egyptians, therefore have would have predicted the start thinking of a scenario for a conditions, except perhaps dur- four years to rearrange our cards modern tragedy we see in Egypt peaceful transition. Correspondents ing the colonisation period. for a better future. Four years today? Here is a hero who likes to Saad Guerraoui (Casablanca) In the early hours of June 25, is a short time but enough for a ignore the tragic fate of his pre- Saad al-Qarsh is an Egyptian Dunia El-Zobaidi (London) 2017, Egyptians returned home peaceful transformation. decessors but insists on treading writer. Roua Khlifi (Tunis) Thomas Seibert (Washington) Chief Designer For the EU, Turkey is now only a Marwen el-Hmedi

Designers Ibrahim Ben Bechir transactional partner. Period Hanen Jebali Yavuz Baydar Ankara’s relationship with EU capitals and the EU Commission will be based on issues Al Arab Publishing House Quadrant Building of security, stability and trade, none of which involve a commitment to “values.” 177-179 Hammersmith Road London W6 8BS he game — mem- posed after the failed uprising policies with respect to Turkey’s actional. It will be based on issues Tel: (+44) 20 7602 3999 bership accession of July 15, 2016, signifies An- EU membership application. of security, stability and trade, Fax: (+44) 20 8846 9520 negotiations between kara’s lack of commitment to the In fact, the recent EU summit none of which involve a commit- Turkey and the Euro- process of European accession. in Brussels degraded Turkey’s ment to “values.” Both sides have pean Union — is more After all, the Copenhagen Criteria status, for all practical purposes, an interest in keeping the volume or less over. require a candidate for EU mem- from negotiating partner to a of trade high and Ankara, there- Contributions TThis is one of the main conse- bership to have the institutions to transactional one. fore, is not expected to unilater- and Editorial Queries quences of Turkey’s June 24 elec- preserve democratic governance Forget membership under these ally abolish the customs union. [email protected] tion, in which Turkish President and human rights. conditions, it says, and equally The European Union needs Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s extended The recent elections were the dramatically, to Ankara’s fury, Erdogan’s iron hand to curb the process of “autogolpe” has been final nails in the coffin of Turkish- best to forget modernisation of refugee influx. The issue is even institutionalised. EU membership negotiations. As the customs union. more important now, especially Tunis Office “Autogolpe” is a term coined some observers put it, Turkey is What does the EU statement the possibility that domestic Tel: (+ 216) 71 669 174 in Latin America for the person- no longer in the European Union’s mean? Clearly, that Brussels has oppression may trigger a new Tel: (+216) 71 669 175 alisation of power by way of a orbit. A new Central Asian regime read the architecture of the new wave of refugees among Turkish “self-coup.” In Turkey, it has been is establishing itself, one that can- regime, which the election is sup- citizens. fully achieved. not be reconciled with European posed to have legitimised. The era Counterterrorism will remain The votes that went to opposi- standards. Erdogan and his ruling dominated by Kemalist doctrine important and European capitals tion parties were not enough coalition no longer have any inter- is over. can be expected to invest more to provide checks on Erdogan’s est in EU membership, either. This, the Fourth Republic of in security cooperation with the move to assume sweeping powers In a rapid and unexpectedly Turkey, will be in defiance of even Erdogan administration. US Publisher: and indefinitely shelve the return blunt statement, the Council of minimum democratic standards However, there is no point look- Ibrahim Zobeidi to democratic norms. the European Union confirmed or so the European Union seems ing at the new era as one that will Turkey’s destiny rests in a the above. It said: “The coun- to reason. Thus far, each repub- be less fraught with tension. For (248) 803 1946 single ruler, backed by a power- cil notes that Turkey has been lic — 1924, when the constitution all those involved it will require ful Islamist-nationalist coalition, moving further away from the was adopted; and in 1961 and brinkmanship and anger man- which is sometimes branded European Union… Turkey’s acces- 1980 after military coups — had agement. The Fourth Republic as a “Turko-Islamic Synthesis.” sion negotiations have therefore sought to maintain some demo- of Turkey has one clear feature: Some call it a regional version of effectively come to a standstill cratic standards but in the Fourth dominant cadres in the state ap- fascism. Others say it is simply and no further chapters can be Republic, there is the striking paratus are fiercely anti-Western, Subscription & Advertising: “super-presidential rule.” considered for opening or closing absence of the separation of pow- as reflected by their words and Mohamed Al Mufti Whatever happens on that and no further work towards the ers, checks and balances and rule deeds. [email protected] front, one point is clear: The Turk- modernisation of the EU-Turkey of law. Expect even tougher times Tel: (+44) 20 8742 9262 ish government has been sliding customs union is foreseen.” That said, the European Union ahead. inch by inch away from the Co- That means a bit more than still says Turkey remains a “key penhagen Criteria, the rules that what it appears to say. Basically, it partner.” This means Ankara’s Yavuz Baydar is a Turkish define a country’s EU eligibility. ends the long period of “mum- relationship with EU capitals and journalist and regular columnist The state of emergency, im- bling,” appeasement and ostrich the EU Commission will be trans- for The Arab Weekly. 8 July 1, 2018 News & Analysis Syria Further escalation likely after Iranian involvement in Damascus’s offensive

Simon Speakman Cordall

Tunis

s Damascus prepares to escalate its campaign to retake Syria’s rebel-held A south-west, debate has cen- tred on what resources the regime can direct towards the Israeli and Jordanian border and what part Iran and its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, may play. Israeli intolerance towards Iran and its auxiliaries’ presence in Syria has been growing and clashes be- tween Israeli and Iranian forces in Syria likewise increasing. Since a confrontation between Israel and Iran in February, which resulted in the downing of an Israeli F-16, to the Storm clouds. firing of two suspected Israeli mis- Smoke rises siles at Damascus in late June, Isra- above oppo- el’s willingness to strike at Iran and sition-held its proxies within Syria has become areas of unarguable. the Daraa In south-western Syria, close to province the Golan Heights, Russian nego- countryside tiators scramble for a last minute during air reconciliation deal with the rebels, strikes by as Syrian artillery pounds their posi- Syrian regime tions around Daraa and Russin air- forces, on craft reportedly provide air support June 27. (AFP) ahead of the regime’s anticipated escalation. two of its key allies in the Mid- they don’t believe any of this,” Smyth They’ve got pretty old equipment, and torturous. However, with much of Syria re- dle East, Russia sought to broker a said, “They’re under no illusions and, in light of who the neighbours “Let us be aware of what this turned to some degree of regime compromise, insisting in May that over Iranian and Hezbollah’s inten- are, Russian air support is going to be would mean,” UN Special Envoy for control, troop numbers to police cap- Hezbollah and Iran withdraw from tions. Instead, they’ve accepted the limited. Look at past campaigns the Syria Staffan de Mistura warned the tured areas and carry the advance Israel’s and Jordan’s borders. fact that Iran is going to be part of regime had to fight largely unaided. UN Security Council on June 27. “If into the south-west are limited. The UK-based Syrian Observatory the attack. For now, that means more They took years.” Smyth concluded. the south-west sees a full-scale bat- “Iran has demonstrated again and of Human Rights reported that Hez- missile strikes and more aggressive Assad’s shelling campaign is evi- tle to the end, it could be like eastern again that [it wants] to get to the Go- bollah was withdrawing its forces military action targeted at anything dence of the likely horror to come. Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta com- lan. It’s a grand strategic necessity but there was no indication that Iran even believed to be Iran-linked.” The United Nations said 45,000 citi- bined together.” for them,” said Philip Smyth, Soref was doing so. Whether Hezbollah Given Iran’s and Hezbollah’s pen- zens had fled to the closed Jordanian “We… cannot allow… this to be- fellow at the Washington Institute was withdrawing was in doubt when etration into the Syrian Army and border amid reports of strikes on come another Ghouta, another for Near East Policy. “[Syrian Presi- the Wall Street Journal reported its militias, “I’m not even sure how residential areas, hospitals and the Douma or another Aleppo, where so dent Bashar] Assad has tried repeat- Hezbollah fighters in the area were close they’ll let Assad get to the Is- use of barrel bombs. many civilians were sacrificed and edly to demonstrate his freedom to switching from Hezbollah to Syrian raeli border. This is really going to Uninhibited by the United States, died and yet I see things moving in operate in Syria without Iranian sup- Army uniforms. test their mettle,” Smyth said. which has pledged not to inter- this direction,” he said. port but there is hardly any aspect Tehran’s sleight of hand notwith- With Iran and its allies limiting vene, and Russia’s nervousness of regime operations Tehran doesn’t standing, what is accepted in Tel their visibility and exposure to Israeli over fully committing its air force so Simon Speakman Cordall is Syria/ have its talons in.” Aviv will be what counts. “The Is- attacks: “It’s going to be hard for As- close to the Israeli border, Damas- Lebanon section editor with The Expecting a showdown between raelis have made it abundantly clear sad to project power that far south. cus’s advance promises to be long Arab Weekly. In the face of Western discomfort, Syrian Democratic Forces trade ISIS prisoners

James Snell fighters extradited and tried in surrendering their areas. A similar Britain. There are legal obstacles to deal may not come as a complete proving crimes committed openly surprise.” Cambridge but for which evidence is hard Haid noted that the SDF doesn’t to gather in the Syrian war zone. have the capacity or resources to he Islamic State (ISIS) is not However, Britain and some other secure prisoners indefinitely. Thus, defeated but it is dimin- countries also operate on the hope such a deal would allow the SDF to have back some of its fighters, in ished. The fates of those that their foreign fighters might be- A hard day’s night. Alexanda Kotey (L) and El Shafee Elsheikh, who exchange for prisoners who will be Twho fought and are fighting come someone else’s problem and were allegedly among four British jihadis who made up a brutal ISIS trapped and killed later, he said. for ISIS similarly exist in two states. no longer trouble their home states cell, sit on a sofa during an interview in Kobani, last March 30. (AP) Many ISIS members have been and domestic politics. The coalition pleaded ignorance captured on the battlefield and It is not surprising that, in such when questioned about these pris- these fighters, some from foreign a situation, the SDF and other re- oner exchanges but it is unlikely of what to do with ISIS fighters. has information that might be use- countries unwilling to have them gional partners may use these that the process, which included The coalition does not want to deal ful in embarrassing its critics. back, languish in jails administered fighters to advance their own aims. extensive mediation by local tribes, with ISIS prisoners but in no way The SDF and other local partners, by local forces. Keeping them is a The Telegraph reported that from could be carried out without the co- wants them free. such as Turkey, know the details of burden. So, too, is dealing with the February-June, the SDF struck alition and its constituent nations Shiraz Maher, a lecturer in War coalition troop deployments east lapses of Western countries that are three deals with ISIS remnants to learning what was happening. Studies at King’s College London, of the Euphrates. More important, refusing to prosecute those who exchange former ISIS fighters and The SDF struck a deal with ISIS tweeted: “Western governments SDF leaders know how coalition travelled to fight for ISIS. It can, their families for captured SDF in Raqqa, which allowed the mili- have a lot of blame here — they’ve countries deal with foreign fight- however, have its uses. soldiers. February’s deal involved tants to evacuate their fighters and shown a complete unwillingness ers: targeting them specifically The Syrian Democratic Forces 200 fighters, some of whom were their families as the battle reached to prosecute these guys. Everyone with special forces on the battle- (SDF), the Kurdish-led militia that French and German foreign fight- its final and bloodiest stage. This buried their heads in the sand.” fields of Syria and Iraq, drawing up controls a large portion of north- ers. Another in April included spared the SDF forcing a hard de- Condemnation of SDF actions “kill lists” for aerial strikes and, if eastern Syria and serves as the pri- French, Belgian and Dutch fighters, nouement. It made tactical sense would not invalidate the tactical such people are caught, refusing mary proxy of the global coalition in addition to women and children. but it did not match up to coalition advantage the SDF sees in such ex- to extradite and prosecute them at fighting ISIS, holds many ISIS mili- Speaking by telephone, Haid and SDF rhetoric of defeating ISIS changes. home. This information could be tants as prisoners. Haid, a research fellow at the In- fully and preventing it from ever All the while, coalition countries embarrassing if it had wide circula- They are both locals and foreign- ternational Centre for the Study of again holding territory. can be assailed with charges of hy- tion. ers. Recently, the SDF captured two Radicalisation (ICSR), said: “More When the Raqqa deal was re- pocrisy. Not only did coalition na- This suggests that, at least so far British foreign fighters, Alexanda information is needed to verify that ported after an investigation by tions fail to deal with their foreign as dealing with ISIS prisoners is Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, who existence of the deal and to know… the BBC, the coalition, per Haid, re- fighters; they are unlikely to elicit concerned, the coalition’s reason- had formed part of a cell of black- whether this is a one-off. sponded: “We are aware of the deal sympathy for appearing shocked able concerns can be diminished clad executioners dubbed the “In general, the SDF has previ- but we are not part of it.” that the SDF has acted in this way. dramatically with legitimate charg- “Beatles.” ously brokered deals with ISIS This option of stressing deniabil- This knowledge runs both ways. es of real hypocrisy. The United Kingdom has been fighters that would mainly allow ity is possible for prisoner exchang- If coalition nations criticised the stalling any attempt to have these them to escape in exchange for es but it does not solve the problem deals more aggressively, the SDF James Snell is a British journalist. July 1, 2018 9 News & Analysis Iraq Iraqi parliament’s term ends before resolving election crisis

Mamoon Alabbasi

London

he term of the Iraqi parlia- ment ended June 30 before a manual recount of votes T from Iraq’s May national election could take place, leaving the country without a legislative body in the face of widespread vot- er fraud allegations. The recount, expected to start in early July, is to be overseen by a panel of judges as ordered by the outgoing parliament and endorsed by the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq. Chief Justice Medhat al- Mahmoud had announced that all 11 million ballots cast in the May vote would have to be recounted but the appointed judges declared that the recount would only in- volve problematic ballots from polling centres where candidates filed complaints and sites of official reports of suspected fraud, said Laith Hamza, the judges’ spokes- man.

A disagreement about who will be the country’s next prime minister is the primary reason for the delay in forming a coalition.

Once the final election results Sinking differences. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (R) attends a news conference with Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf, are ratified, the new lawmakers on June 23. (AFP) can take their seats in parliament. Some outgoing lawmakers sought tory Alliance finished third in the Iraqi political commentators the same programme, also said “the ise that to become statesmen, and to extend the mandate of the cur- elections, agreed to a coalition with termed the alliances “initial under- basic problem” was agreeing on a to play politics, you can’t have an rent parliament but the move was influential Shia cleric Muqtada al- standings” that have yet to be final- prime minister. explicitly inflammatory or antago- deemed unconstitutional. Sadr, whose Marching Towards ised. It’s not clear if the alliances An alliance of al-Sadr, Amiri and nistic policy against the US,” Re- “I do not want to interfere in Reform bloc won the most seats in will all be part of a united front led Abadi would create a Shia-domi- nad Mansour, a fellow at Chatham legislative work but I remember parliament. by al-Sadr because some members nated government, which would be House, told the Public Broadcasting in 2010… law experts, politicians, “We announce a cross-sectarian, may not wish to work with each counter to election promises by al- Service in the United States. judges and the federal court failed cross-ethnic alliance to speed up other. Sadr and Abadi of a more-inclusive Iraqis, however, are likely to need to find constitutional grounds to forming the next government and “The [Shia] leaders, like their government. more than just a government that extend parliament’s term,” said to agree on common points that Sunni and Kurdish counterparts, Such a government would be wel- gets along with Iran and the United Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Aba- guarantee the interests of the Iraqi have personal problems among comed by Iran, which yields great States to face the challenges of cor- di. “The federal court was clear in people,” al-Sadr said at a news con- each other. Their differences are influence in Iraq and has pushed for ruption, sectarianism, reconstruc- saying [last January] that there is ference with Abadi in Najaf. personal,” Bahaa al-Araji, former a Shia-dominated state, but Iraqi tion, unemployment and a strug- no constitutional text that would Al-Sadr also made an alliance deputy prime minister, told Al leaders may not risk creating a con- gling economy. allow for the extension of parlia- with militia leader Hadi al-Amiri, Sharqiya television. flict with the United States. Keeping the status quo when ment’s term.” whose Conquest Alliance was sec- A disagreement about who will “[Al-Sadr and Amiri] both view many voted for change may in- Abadi’s government is consti- ond in the race. Before that, al-Sadr be the country’s next prime min- the US as a negative actor in Iraq, in crease allegations of voter fraud. tutionally authorised to run the joined with the National Wisdom ister is the primary reason for the so far as the US is looking to pursue country until a new government is Movement, headed by Ammar al- delay in forming a coalition, Araji its interests at the expense of what Mamoon Alabbasi is Deputy formed. Hakim and the National Alliance, said. Adnan al-Assadi a former dep- they would see as Iraq’s interests. Managing Editor and Online Editor The prime minister, whose Vic- led by Vice-President Ayad Allawi. uty interior minister, appearing on Nonetheless, they both also real- of The Arab Weekly. Viewpoint Al-Sadr’s deal with Iran proxies proves Iraqi elections were a farce

hile casual ob- ure in Iraqi politics, the Shia cleric natural anti-Iran sentiments, ensured was boycotted by more servers of Iraq is a pragmatist and not a national- wide-scale disillusionment with than 55% of the electorate due to Tallha were filled with ist. Al-Sadr was keenly aware that the political process and a cata- rampant corruption, incessant Abdulrazaq hope that May’s the Iraqi people — whether Sunni, strophically low voter turnout of violence and the industrialised elections would Shia or any other demographic 44% to rebrand himself as the violation of human rights and the lead to change — were sick and tired of foreign Iraqi version of Barack Obama, dignity of the Iraqi people over the Wand usher in a new era of the meddling in their country’s affairs, a change candidate armed with past 15 years. curtailment of foreign meddling — particularly from neighbouring religion and guns. Al-Sadr’s actions prove that the particularly Iranian — those hopes Iran, which has become a bigger His success allowed him to show Iraqis who boycotted the vote have been dashed a little more shot-caller in Iraq than Baghdad. his usefulness to Tehran’s mul- were right to do so and that the than a month later. Feeding off this mass discon- lahs once more. Considering the political process has gone beyond The winner of the elections, tent, al-Sadr positioned himself United States has walked away the realm of the farcical to the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his as an anti-Iran political force, from the woefully inadequate dangerously dysfunctional, allow- alliance of secularists and commu- promising to draw Iraq out of nuclear deal negotiated by the ing for the continued rape of Iraq’s nists, campaigned on an anti-cor- Tehran’s sphere of influence. The Obama administration, Iran was human and natural resources and ruption platform and the promise cleric did this despite Tehran’s getting jittery about losing influ- its continued subordination to the that he was anti-Iranian. Al-Sadr long-term support for him and his ence in the linchpin to its regional will of Iranian interlopers. has instead declared his intention various Shia jihadist militias that success — Iraq. This shameful turn of events to form a governing coalition with wreaked havoc across central and In comes al-Sadr, pragmatically may have sealed the fate of Iraq’s Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Ab- southern Iraq, perpetrating some and shamefully betraying the few “democracy.” Voters know that adi’s Victory Alliance bloc, which of the worst sectarian atrocities in Iraqis who did vote, by aligning their vote means nothing because came in third in the vote, and the modern Iraqi history. himself with Amiri, whose Badr their political elite will curse each Al-Sadr’s actions staunchly pro-Tehran Conquest Due to Iran’s belief that al-Sadr Organisation is all but certain to other before every election, only prove that the Alliance list headed by long-time did not have the political weight maintain its grip of power on the to kiss and make up afterwards so political process has Iranian stooge Hadi al-Amiri. required for its machinations, Interior Ministry and all the police they may all profit at the expense So much for sticking to cam- Tehran gave him the cold shoulder and intelligence forces that come of the normal Iraqi citizen. gone beyond the paign promises. and favoured his rivals, such as with it. realm of the farcical As I wrote last June, and despite former Prime Minister Nuri al- Al-Sadr showed the Iranians Tallha Abdulrazaq is a researcher the excited buzzing from the Maliki and militant jihadist leaders that he was far from spent as a at the University of Exeter’s to the dangerously mainstream media that attempted such as Amiri. resource to them by winning an Strategy and Security Institute in dysfunctional. to portray al-Sadr as a unifying fig- Al-Sadr capitalised on Iraqis’ election that their other proxies England. 10 July 1, 2018 News & Analysis Egypt Five years on, how the Brotherhood’s ouster transformed Egypt and the Middle East

Ahmed Megahid elections. Morsi, head of the Broth- erhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, won the subsequent presidential Cairo elections despite promises that the Brotherhood did not intend to field s Egyptians celebrated a a candidate for the vote. public holiday to com- When the Brotherhood rose to memorate the June 30, power, however, it was intent on A 2013, military-backed pop- gaining complete control over the ular uprising against the Muslim Egyptian government and society, Brotherhood, few could have imag- which critics said resulted in a ne- ined how much Egypt and the rest glect of the day-to-day running of of the region would change in just the country. five years. Morsi’s government faced criti- Egypt’s democracy advocates cism for failing to meet basic re- tend to view the events of summer quirements, such as organising traf- 2013 as the beginning of the end of fic, facilitating transport, removing political freedoms in the country. trash from the streets, making fuel However, the changes started be- available at petrol stations, secur- fore June 30 that year with a show of ing the streets and ensuring enough anger against the failure of Muslim bread for citizens. Brotherhood President Muhammad This mismanagement translated Morsi in running Egypt’s affairs, in- into mass street protests only a year cluding addressing the problems of after Morsi became president. He the Egyptian people, analysts said. sent his supporters into the streets, “The Brotherhood came to power creating fear of widespread civil un- in Egypt with an eye on Islamising rest. politics in the whole region,” said “This was why intervention by Tarek Fahmy, a political science the army was inevitable,” said Mu- professor at Cairo University. “For nir Adeeb, an Egyptian specialist them, Egypt was only the first step in jihadism and author of “Map of on a long road that culminated in Armed Jihadism in Egypt, “but this reaching power in all Arab coun- intervention proved to be manna Dormant threat. A 2016 file picture shows a defendant, who is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, (AFP) tries.” from heaven for political systems during his trial at a court on the outskirts of Cairo. The Muslim Brotherhood, an ed- in the region.” ucational and charity organisation The Brotherhood wanted to es- mas movement, a political offshoot The most important outcome, uprising, say the ouster of the Mus- created in 1928, took power in Egypt tablish a dynasty in Egypt. Brother- of the Brotherhood, disengaged analysts said, was less about the lim Brotherhood regime in Egypt in June 2012 after decades of politi- hood Supreme Guide Mohammed from the movement in Egypt. In collapse of the Muslim Brother- should have been followed with po- cal marginalisation and conflicts Badie said the group intended to Jordan, the Brotherhood did the hood in Egypt and more about the litical openness and the expansion with the Egyptian government. stay in power for five centuries. same. In Tunisia, the Islamist En- demise of political Islam as an in- of political freedoms. The movement had been banned Its rise to power in Egypt fuelled nahda movement accepted to re- ternational project. This is something that did not under Egyptian President Hosni ideological offshoots in other parts linquish power through a National “The Brotherhood has a pro- happen with the post-Brotherhood Mubarak after having being given of the region, including the Gaza Dialogue process and sought to ject for international supremacy, authorities showing little tolerance some freedoms under his predeces- Strip, Jordan, Libya, Tunisia and distance itself from Egypt’s Muslim one that starts with the control for freedom of expression. sor Anwar Sadat. It also cooperated Morocco. Brotherhood. of individual countries and ends “Conditions for the political briefly with Gamal Abdel Nasser be- The Brotherhood set its sights The political weakening of Islam- with controlling the whole world,” forces are going from bad to worse fore antagonising him. on stable political systems in the ists in countries such as Libya, Mo- Adeeb said. “The movement works with political freedoms almost dis- Mubarak’s ouster in 2011 gave the Arab Gulf region and worked to em- rocco and Yemen, was set in motion through its own charities and socie- appearing,” said Khaled Dawoud, group the chance to claim power, power movements affiliated to it. It as the mother organisation in Egypt ties to control individual states on leader of the liberal Constitution especially with Egypt’s secular par- mended fences with Iran, causing was dealt one blow after another, the road to controlling the globe but Party. “The future does not look ties, which also suffered marginali- worries in Arab Gulf countries that culminating in the group being this project was dealt a fatal blow bright with this growing antago- sation under Mubarak, unprepared contend Tehran is trying to destabi- formally designated as a terrorist with the downfall of the mother nism at the level of decision-mak- for elections. lise the region. organisation by Cairo in December movement in Egypt.” ing to freedoms in general.” The Brotherhood and other Islam- The downfall of the Brotherhood 2013. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab However, Egypt’s secular politi- ist parties won most of the seats in in Egypt rocked political conditions Emirates and other Arab countries cal forces, which were at the heart Ahmed Megahid is an Egyptian parliament in the first post-Mubarak in the region. The Gaza-ruling Ha- followed suit. of the anti-Brotherhood popular reporter in Cairo. Egypt strives to be hub for foreign universities

Amr Emam vate universities and regional ri- Egypt wants to use its geographi- vals. The national universities in- cal proximity to an important mar- clude some of the oldest in the Arab ket for top international universi- Cairo world and provide free education ties in functioning as a meeting to Egyptians. point between students and insti- gypt took a firm step on Agreements signed with foreign tutions of higher learning. the road towards becom- universities in Europe and North Eight international universities ing an international centre America include articles for cooper- have established campuses in the E for higher education with ation in scientific research between new administrative capital. Can- the signing of an agreement with them and Egyptian universities. ada’s University of Prince Edward the University of Liverpool, which The agreements also allow for Island will open its campus in Sep- could lead to the construction of a Egyptian university staff members tember. branch of the British university in to acquire training and experience at Accompanying the University Cairo. the international universities before of Liverpool officials visiting Cairo The agreement is the latest deal returning to Egypt’s national univer- in late June were those from other in which campuses and branches of sities to lead educational reform. British universities who were ex- top international universities are to The Egyptian cabinet approved ploring the prospect of establishing be established in a new administra- Egypt’s first bill on the work of for- branches in Egypt. tive capital Egypt is building on the eign universities in May. The bill “UK and Egyptian universities outskirts of Cairo. has been referred to parliament for have been working together for Some of the university branches debate and approval. It includes many years. It’s extremely impor- are nearing completion and others incentives for foreign universities tant that we expand access to the Aiming high. Egyptian female American football players from the are preparing to receive students in to open branches in Egypt, such as highest quality of education to American University in Cairo (AUC) play against Gezira Thunder September. cheap land and tax exemptions. Egypt’s large youth population,” (green) at the Maadi Olympic Centre. (AFP) “The construction of branches of Behind the drive for convincing said delegation head Vivienne international universities here is a foreign universities to establish Stern, director of the Universities large numbers of students — both The new drive is mixed with long- top priority for us,” said Adel Abdel branches in Egypt is Cairo’s desire UK International group. Egyptian and international — every ing on the part of Egyptians for the Ghaffar, a spokesman for Egypt’s to function as a magnet for inter- “It is exciting to mark the group year, education can become an im- country to return to its traditional Higher Education Ministry. “The national investments in education. of UK-Egyptian university engage- portant source of national income. supremacy in education and cul- government takes this drive very Egypt is banking on huge demand ment across a variety of areas, par- “Other countries, including the ture. In the past, Egypt was the cul- seriously.” for quality education services from ticularly in the last five years: the US, have succeeded in turning edu- tural and educational powerhouse Egypt is hoping the foreign uni- Egyptians and Arab and African ex- delivery of UK degrees in Egypt; cation into a huge industry and a of the Arab world, a position Cairo versity branches will contribute to pats. Egyptian scholars welcomed to the major source of income,” said Mag- struggles to reoccupy now. raising the educational and scien- The Ministry of Higher Education UK; and research collaboration.” da Bakri, an educational expert and One of the challenges facing tific standards of national universi- surveyed 30,000 Egyptians who The officials met with Prime Min- a member of the Education Com- Egypt is to convince Arab, African ties. There are several established are studying at universities in other ister Mostafa Madbouli, who ex- mittee in parliament. and national students to prefer Cai- international university campuses parts of the world, especially in the pressed enthusiasm about the pres- “Egypt is even more qualified ro for study over London or other in Egypt, including the American United States, Canada and Europe. ence of foreign universities in his than these countries to do this, international cities. University, the British University “A huge number of Arab students country. They, Madbouli said, would thanks to affordable living condi- “This will not be easy at all, giv- and the German University, all in also travel to the same areas for have very positive effects on the tions in it, its proximity to other en the strong record of competi- Cairo. study,” Abdel Ghaffar said. “They standards of Egyptian education. countries in the region and also to tors,” Bakri said. “Success will take Egypt’s national universities, can come here to receive the same It would help the Egyptian econ- the presence of strong cultural af- time to happen but the rewards are once the top in the region, have educational services and the same omy, educational experts said. If finities between it and other Arab worth the effort that will be made dropped behind international pri- educational certificates.” the university branches attract and African states.” to reach this success.” July 1, 2018 11 News & Analysis Maghreb Campaign against Bouteflika re-election bid gains momentum but government pushes back

Lamine Ghanmi tial elections in 2019, though crucial, must be seen as a stage. The out- come of this trial of force will decide Tunis on the new balance of strengths that will weigh on the future of the coun- rominent Algerian figures try,” the movement said. initiated a campaign to urge The leaders of the campaign, who President Abdelaziz Boutefli- include writer Yasmina Khadra, P ka from pursuing re-election former Prime Minister Ahmed Ben- but the president’s supporters con- bitour, two party leaders and ten tinue to position him as the best can- leading university and civil society didate ahead of the 2019 campaign. figures, previously wrote an open The government is using a large- letter urging Bouteflika not to pur- scale housing scheme to shore up sue a fifth mandate. They argued support and fulfil one of Bouteflika’s that it would be “painful” for him previous campaign promises. Five and “tragic” for the country if he government ministers presided over were to stay in power beyond 2019. a ceremony in which keys to subsi- “We have resorted to this letter- dised housing units were given to writing style because of the self- some 50,000 families in Cheraga, on evident fact that your health condi- the outskirts of Algiers. tion does not permit you to receive “The ambience was overexcited Algerian citizens anymore,” read the as the families gathered to get the open letter. keys of their houses were over- “When immoral forces get excited whelmed by joy and excitement,” to lead you on the path of a fifth reported L’Expression daily news- mandate, we want respectfully but paper, which is close to the presi- frankly to tell you about the tragic dency. “These families took part in mistake if you reject once again the the biggest operation of handing out voice of wisdom that calls out every houses since Algerian independence soul at an hour of fateful choices. At Few options. A woman walks past posters of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in Algiers. (in 1962).” such an hour, as you know, making a (Reuters) The government announced that choice is giving up.” 700,000 housing units were being Bouteflika has suffered two built and would be given to people strokes since 2013 and makes few 48 key areas of the country, are part very slow now,” said political ana- “common programme for political “as soon as the final touches were public appearances, which fuels of the strategy to drum up support lyst and Algiers university instructor reforms,” push new initiatives and completed.” questions about his health. for Bouteflika’s re-election. Mokrane Ait Orabi. “After 19 years of pressure Bouteflika to not seek a In early June, opponents an- While Bouteflika has yet to an- Responding to the open letter ad- Bouteflika’s rule, the political land- fifth term. nounced a movement against Boutef- nounce whether he will stand for re- dressed to Bouteflika, a leading sup- scape had been swept by erosion The government’s distribution of lika, 81 and in his fourth 5-year term election, his supporters want him to porter of the president said the ini- and desertification; no debate and housing units is a sign Bouteflika’s as president, extending his stay run and ramped up efforts to boost tiative was a display of “emotions.” few initiatives of significance. backers aim to highlight his eco- in power in 2019. The movement, his popularity. “This initiative looks like an emo- “The task of the regime has been nomic record and downplay con- called Citizenship-Democracy, said “After a meeting of the high coun- tional reaction from a group of per- made easier by divisions and infight- cerns about his health. Over the last it wants to “change this regime and cil of the party, we have taken the sons rather than a political move,” ing among the opposition.” 19 years, Algeria has invested signifi- lay the ground for genuine condi- decision to all on President Boutef- said Abdelaziz Ziari, a leading FLN Analysts said authorities under cant funds in infrastructure. Roads, tions of a peaceful transition.” lika to pursue his mission,” said figure and former parliament speak- Bouteflika used repression and co- bridges, railways, dams, ports, uni- “Algeria needs political and insti- Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyhia at the er. “It mirrors the incapacity of fol- optation to weaken the opposition. versities, hospitals and housing tutional reforms of wider scope,” end a National Rally for Democracy lowing the institutional and con- “About 127 young people have units have been revamped. reads the movement’s manifesto. (RND) party leadership gathering on stitutional paths to make positive been killed since October 1988 in When Bouteflika was re-elected in “This task can only be carried out by June 23. proposals in order to tackle the chal- protests. Peaceful marches — for 2014, he promised to continue social a trans-partisan movement backed The RND, which forms the coali- lenges of the country’s future. better purchasing power, for hous- housing projects regardless of the by a large majority of the popula- tion government with the National “After all, it is for the Algerian peo- ing, for better working conditions, country’s financial situation. tion.” Liberation Front (FLN), “assures the ple to decide.” for less pollution and against shale “The financial crisis of the coun- The campaigners hope to reform President Bouteflika of its support to Analysts said the letter’s signato- gas industry — had all been faced by try will not hinder the housing a regime that has been nearly un- accomplish a new mandate as head ries were motivated by a lack of po- police baton and muzzling,” said so- programme,” said Housing Minis- changed since Algeria’s independ- of the state,” he added. litical alternatives and an opposition ciologist Nacer Djabi. ter Abdelwahid Temmar. “We will ence 56 years ago. Ceremonies to distribute subsi- divided by leadership infighting. The Citizenship-Democracy continue delivering houses at a high “With this in mind, the presiden- dised housing units, to be repeated “The political scene is running movement said it plans to draft a speed.” Viewpoint International tensions rise over control of Libyan oil terminals

n September 2016, after the never doubt the LNA would retake demned in a statement by the averaging about 1 million barrels Libyan National Army them. It took just a week. United States, the United King- per day (bpd) until Jadhran seized (LNA) captured the What came as a shock to many dom, France and Italy, which said Ras Lanuf and Sidra, will plummet Michel Cousins country’s eastern oil Libyans and the international the terminals must be handed to less than 230,000 bpd —­ the terminals of Ras Lanuf and community was Haftar’s decision back to the official NOC and that most Zawia can handle. Sidra from Ibrahim to hand them, not to the official anyone trying to circumvent UN Apart from alienating key mem- Jadhran, the Petroleum NOC, but to the internationally Security Council sanctions on bers of the international commu- IDefence Guards commander who rejected Benghazi parallel body. Libya will be held to account. That nity, two of which — France and was supposed to protect them It was unacceptable, his spokes- clearly includes Haftar. the United States — had been seen but instead kept them closed for man said, that Libyan oil income The French have particular as sympathetic to him, Haftar’s three years, Field-Marshal should be used to pay terrorists reason to be angry: The deal decision does not answer the Khalifa Haftar immediately and those the LNA was fighting announced in Paris at the end fundamental problem that he has handed them over to the coun- against. of May, mentored by President raised: state money being used to try’s National Oil Corporation The fact that the salaries of all Emmanuel Macron, in which fund warring militias. (NOC) in Tripoli to get oil exports the various rival military groups in Haftar verbally approved, as did The NOC does not hand out any flowing through them again. the country are paid by the state Presidency Council head Fayez al- money to anyone. Oil revenues Given the divisions in Libya and because all have been registered Sarraj along with the presidents of go straight to the Central Bank of the fact that the LNA is officially at some point as official by one Libya’s House of Representatives Libya, which makes the payments part of the eastern-based politi- government ministry or another is and its State Council, specifically based on government budgets. cal establishment, which has its at the heart of Libya’s problems. said that there had to be an end Some Haftar apologists are sug- own parallel oil corporation in For many Libyans and outside to all parallel institutions and that gesting the decision to hand over Benghazi, it was considered a very observers, the willingness to pay the NOCs must be united. the terminals was a bargaining shrewd move and it gained Haftar what in many cases are private Although the four did not spe- ploy to pressure the international a lot of political goodwill interna- armies to keep the peace and not cifically say that they would take community to replace central tionally. cause problems perpetuates the over tankers exporting oil without bank Governor Saddek Elkabir It was also the obvious move: country’s woes. They see them the approval of the official NOC, as with Mohamed Shukri, whom Haf- The United Nations had made as no more than mafias. Even happened with the Morning Glory tar’s allies in the House of Rep- it clear that no one other than in Tripoli, there is considerable in 2014, there is little doubt they resentatives want in the job. The the Tripoli-based NOC would be support for Haftar’s view that this would. The European Union has international community’s view allowed to export oil from Libya. must end. specifically said it would counter is that this is a decision that the For many Libyans, the That was made clear in March Nonetheless, his move has put any attempt to trade Libyan oil House of Representatives and the 2014 when Jadhran tried to export him on a collision course with outside the internationally recog- State Council must make. willingness to pay a consignment of oil and the many in the international commu- nised official channels.” Unless the NOCs can agree to what in many cases tanker involved, the MV Morning nity, including governments that No international oil purchas- work together, oil flows will dwin- are private armies to Glory, was seized by the US Navy. either secretly or openly support ers or oil tanker companies are dle and with them state funds In June, the two terminals were him. It also threatens to slash Lib- going to want to get involved in and there is little sign that the keep the peace and not recaptured by Jadhran, backed ya’s oil exports, to further weaken deals viewed as illegal. The only two NOCs have any intention of cause problems this time by the quasi-Islamist the country’s currency and fuel terminal they can now deal with is cooperating. Benghazi Defence Brigades and, inflation, thus making Libyans’ Zawia, west of Tripoli, still under perpetuates the allegedly, Chadian Tebu mercenar- lives even more miserable. the control of the official NOC. The Michel Cousins is a contributor to country’s woes. ies. From the outset, there was The move was angrily con- result is that Libya’s oil exports, The Arab Weekly on Libyan issues. 12 July 1, 2018 News & Analysis Palestine Israel Israel faces dilemma in dealing with critical UN bodies

The Arab Weekly staff ed after the Palestinians became members in 2011. Before that, the United States contributed $80 mil- London lion annually, 22% of UNESCO’s budget. srael is facing a dilemma on The Old City of Jerusalem and the how to deal with UN bodies ancient city of Hebron are on the critical of its policies while the World Heritage List of endangered Palestinian leadership is trying sites, meaning their status must be to join more organisations that reviewed annually. Last year’s deci- Irepresent the international commu- sion to add Hebron as a Palestinian nity. heritage site outraged Israelis. A The United States, quickly fol- UNESCO resolution on Jerusalem lowed by Israel, decided last year that criticised Israel’s occupation of to leave the UN Educational, Scien- the eastern part of the city was also tific and Cultural Organisation (UN- met with anger in Tel Aviv. ESCO), citing an alleged anti-Israel The Israeli and US withdrawal bias. However, Israel’s ambassador process from UNESCO requires a Political sensitivities. Flags fly in front of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural to UNESCO said he would recom- year and both exits are scheduled Organisation (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris. (AFP) mend his government reconsider to take effect December 31. It is un- leaving the group. clear what the US position would be if Israel decides to stay. The move comes as the United Israel reluctantly follows suit, even The Palestinian Authority The United States also said it Nations’ human rights office was to though the reasons cited by Wash- achieved non-member observer sta- Whether at the UNESCO or would leave the United Nations’ release a list of companies whose ington include anti-Israel bias. tus at the United Nations in 2012 but the UNHRC, it appears the main human rights body, again cit- activities in Israeli settlements are As part of their bid for interna- the move that infuriated the United United States is leading the ing bias against Israel. Israeli Prime seen to harm human rights, notably tional recognition for statehood, States and Israel the most was that walkouts while Israel Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ap- of Palestinians. The council voted Palestinian officials reportedly it became a member state of the In- reluctantly follows suit. plauded the walkout by the Trump two years ago, over US objections, submitted applications seeking full ternational Criminal Court at The administration but stopped quit- to order the rights office to compile membership in three UN agencies, Hague in 2015. ting the UN Human Rights Council the list. despite strong US objections. Palestinian President Mahmoud Ambassador Carmel Shama Haco- (UNHRC) himself. Instead, Israel Israel is concerned that the so- “We decided to submit papers Abbas announced in 2016 that the hen’s remarks came after UNESCO’s temporarily reduced its participa- called blacklist could drive com- to join three UN organisations to Palestinian Authority had joined World Heritage Committee agreed tion with the UNHRC. panies away and cast a further pall strengthen the standing of the State 44 international organisations and at a meeting in Bahrain to delay res- Diplomats in Geneva told the As- over its presence in the Israeli-oc- of Palestine in the international vowed to work until “we will join olutions regarding the Old City of sociated Press the situation could cupied Palestinian West Bank. community,” an unnamed Palestin- all (522) of them.” Jerusalem and the West Bank town change at any time. Israel is not one Whether at the UNESCO or the ian Authority official told the Jeru- of Hebron. of the council’s 47 members but has UNHRC, it appears the United salem Post, without naming which The Arab Weekly staff and news US funding of UNESCO was halt- participated as an observer. States is leading the walkouts while organisations. agencies. Viewpoint Solving Gaza’s problems would reduce tensions in the West Bank

cenes of Palestinian also reject Hamas’s closed-minded security members, approach that does not consider many in plain clothes, other parties or the national inter- Yousef Alhelou cracking down on est. The general feeling among Palestinian protesters Palestinians is that they have been are not new but recent taken hostage by their own leader- mass demonstrations ship, whether in Gaza or the West Scalling for the lifting of sanctions Bank. on the Gaza Strip have tapped into Every Palestinian agrees that a strong yearning for national Palestinian unity is a must to face unity. the Israeli occupation and US pres- Activists, human rights advo- sure for the “Deal of the Century” cates and Fatah affiliates were proposed by the Trump administra- attacked in the occupied West tion. Bank city of Ramallah by Palestin- The prolonged Palestinian disu- ian Authority (PA) security forces. nity is an obstacle to any peaceful Journalists’ cameras and protest- settlement between the Palestin- ers’ phones were thrown to the ians and Israelis. Numerous rounds ground or confiscated. of internal unity talks mediated by That did not reduce the resolve Indispensable but elusive unity. A Palestinian woman holds a Arab and regional countries failed of protesters who shouted slogans banner reading “Gaza unites us, lift the sanctions” as she takes to end the divide. Lack of trust and raised banners in solidarity part in a protest in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, on has been the main reason for not with Gaza, even as stun grenades June 23. (AFP) achieving reconciliation, observers and tear gas were used, in one of said. the most violent incidents in years However, if Palestinians are to against freedom of expression in populated strip. The measures have Ahmad said that for unity to be face the unilateral US deal that the West Bank. worsened the dire humanitarian reached, Hamas must relinquish its could be imposed, then the two Activists on social media called situation under Israel’s 12-year-old power. That includes “overground” main rival political factions must for the demonstration under the siege. — border crossings, security ap- narrow their differences and end Arabic language hashtag that Approximately 40 activists were paratuses — and “underground” the power struggle that has cost the translated to #LiftTheSanctions. arrested and many others were — the network of tunnels designed Palestinian people dearly. Prominent figures shared recorded injured. Rights groups and the for arms smuggling and military Palestinian national unity can be messages on Facebook accounts Palestinian journalists’ syndicate purposes against Israel. attained and peace with enemies urging participation in the protests. condemned the violence. The Pal- As the protest campaign gained can be reached but that requires Campaigners urged Palestinian estinian Independent Commission momentum outside the Palestinian both sides to acknowledge mis- President Mahmoud Abbas to lift for Human Rights issued a state- territories, activists staged sit-ins in takes, learn from them and — most punitive measures the PA imposed ment indicating that Palestinian front of the Palestinian Embassy in importantly — put the interests of on Gaza. law allows peaceful public gather- Lebanon and the Palestinian mis- the Palestinian people above fac- The protests came after sanctions ings and protests if written notice sion in the United Kingdom. tional and personal considerations. ordered by Abbas that included was presented. No permission is In Gaza, a separate protest by Lifting the punitive measures on Palestinian national cutting the salaries of about 60,000 needed from local authorities. Fatah members and prisoners freed Gaza would not only reduce the governmental civil servants more Azzam al-Ahmad, a senior mem- from Israeli jails called for the end misery of people living there, it unity can be attained than 30% and the forced early ber of the Executive Committee of to the internal Palestinian split but would reduce tensions in the West and peace with retirement of nearly one-third of PA the Palestine Liberation Organisa- the protesters were attacked by Bank. enemies can be employees in Gaza. Many of the af- tion said talks about punitive sanc- unidentified assailants. Fatah said fected employees in Gaza are mem- tions on Gaza are a lie, suggesting the attackers were Hamas support- Yousef Alhelou is a Palestinian reached but that bers of Fatah, Abbas’s own party. that were merely administrative ers who infiltrated the crowds, a journalist living in London. He requires rival factions The PA’s payments for electricity measures related to salaries. He charge denied by Hamas. attended Oxford University on a Israel supplies to Gaza have been said Hamas was responsible for not Palestinians are unhappy with Reuters fellowship in journalism to acknowledge halted, which exacerbated acute implementing unity deals in 2011 the PA’s security crackdowns and and is pursuing a master’s degree in mistakes. power shortages in the densely and 2017. coordination with Israel but they international relations. July 1, 2018 13 News & Analysis Regional Issues Egypt reaches out to Sahel and Sahara region to help contain terrorism threat

Hassan Abdel Zaher

Cairo

gypt is reaching out to coun- tries in the Sahara and Sahel as the region becomes a dan- E gerous sanctuary for interna- tional terrorism. A high-level delegation from the Egyptian Ministry of Defence met with ministers of defence of the Sahel and Sahara states in Nigeria, showing Cairo’s desire to cooperate with African countries to counter terrorist threats. Many terrorist groups thrive in the Sahel and Sahara, feeding off ram- pant poverty and corruption, grow- ing public discontent at economic conditions and the inefficiency of local militaries in securing borders. The Islamic State (ISIS) is becom- ing a threat in the Sahel and Sahara. Small local groups, which swore al- legiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi in 2015, are joining other terrorist groups, including some af- filiated with al-Qaeda, in turning the area into a concentration point for terrorist organisations Egypt’s main fear is that the terror- ist groups use porous borders in the region and merge with other organi- sations in North Africa, especially in Libya. “This will be a doomsday scenario, not only for Egypt but also for Eu- Rising up to the challenges. Egyptian Army soldiers stand guard outside a polling station during last day of the presidential election in rope and other parts of the world,” Cairo, on March 28. (Reuters) said security analyst Khaled Okasha. “Sahel and Sahara countries need to tional Army, commanded by Field- formally designated the ISIS branch and Sahara countries are badly in ministers conference, Egyptian As- get support from other members of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, announced operating in the region, Islamic State need of this training, especially in sistant Defence Minister Mohamed the international community to help the capture of numerous terrorists in the Greater Sahara, as a “foreign guerrilla warfare,” said retired army al-Kishki said his country would in- them rise up to the challenges they from Africa. terrorist organisation.” General Gamal Eddin Mazloum. vite 1,000 servicemen from the re- are facing.” Deteriorating security condi- The same organisation has at- “They are also in need of technical gion for training at the centre. A prime example is Libya where tions in Libya have a direct effect tacked sites in Burkina Faso and Ni- support, something Egypt can easily “We will work to offer support to years of chaos following the 2011 on Egypt, where officials say arms, ger. Together with a long list of other provide.” the countries of the region,” Kishki ouster of Muammar Qaddafi turned explosives and militants are being terrorist groups in the region, ISIS’s The Egyptian Army has great ex- said. “We will also cooperate with the country into fertile ground for smuggled into the country through presence is the main reason Egypt is perience in guerrilla warfare, having these countries until they are able to terrorism. the Western Desert. looking to cooperate with Sahel and been fighting ISIS in the Sinai Pen- bring about the aspired security and ISIS is already a main player in Gunmen affiliated with ISIS in the Sahara countries to counter terror- insula for several years. Egypt has stability.” Libya. There are reports of mergers Sahel and Sahara ambushed and ism. a major training centre on the out- between terrorist groups in Libya killed nine US and Nigerian service- Training is one area in which Egypt skirts of Cairo for military personnel Hassan Abdel Zaher is a Cairo- and other parts of Africa, including men on patrol in northern Nigeria. can help, military analysts said. from the Sahel and Sahara countries. based contributor to The Arab the Sahel and Sahara. The Libyan Na- In May, the US State Department “Military personnel in the Sahel At the Sahel and Sahara defence Weekly. Viewpoint Qatar’s proposed purchase of Russian missile system threatens regional game change

egy, which is arguably becoming Sabahat Khan he French newspa- boycott by Saudi Arabia, the United cause the country’s circumstances per Le Monde has Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. keep it vulnerable and sooner or more contrarian to the Saudi-led reported that Saudi The boycott of Qatar, which began later it will be forced to rebuild bloc. Arabia sought the June 5, 2017, was intended to end bridges. Assessing the potential effects intervention of its alleged support for radical and As such, the boycotting countries of an S-400 purchase by Qatar is France in preventing militant actors that the boycott- have been content to wait for Doha difficult because few details have Qatar’s purchase of ing countries identify as strategic to recognise there is no politically been disclosed. Key considerations Tthe Russia-made S-400, a highly threats. and economically sustainable include what the system would en- advanced air defence system that, Whatever the specifics of Qatar’s alternative to ignore their demands tail in terms of scale, how it would if deployed, could have far-reach- proposed S-400 purchase, such a and expectations. International be integrated with other military ing implications for the Gulf. development would posit highly mediation efforts came to little assets and who would operate the While there was no official com- significant ramifications. After all, because of the Saudi-led bloc’s system after it is deployed. ment from Paris on the concerns Russia designed the S-400 pri- uncompromising stance on their The effects of Doha deploying Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz marily keeping in mind its NATO list of demands. the S-400 can be managed but, Al Saud communicated to French adversaries. With an engagement In that context, Doha has been when the stakes are raised this President Emmanuel Macron, the range of 250km-400km with drifting towards new partners, high, the probability of miscalcula- report suggested Saudi Arabia upgraded surface-to-air missiles countries recognised as regional tion and unintended consequences views the development as a nation- and radars with detection ranges rivals and even enemies — Turkey, grow. al security threat so severe it could much greater, the S-400 is a highly Iran and Russia. Doha has a sense Consider that Iran operates the be compelled to take military ac- capable air defence system. that the combined importance of S-400 and Turkey has announced tion. The Saudis hope that France, Qatar could react to develop- Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and its intention to purchase the same which has close ties with Qatar, can ments deep within Saudi and Emi- Egypt to the United States is huge system. Iraq is a prospective moderate Doha’s growing defiance rati airspace and cover Bahrain en- and their position regarding Qatar customer for the S-400, along with to Saudi Arabia and its allies. tirely with the S-400. The system can neither be easily outweighed Sudan and possibly Egypt. With a Qatar disclosed in January that is designed to target Western-made or reversed. commonality of key systems, users it was in “advanced” stages of military aircraft and, in this case, In the unlikely, but plausible, of the S-400 could hypothetically negotiations to purchase the S-400 Qatar could hypothetically engage event that the United States heads integrate their assets into a multi- system but few believed Doha US- and European-made aircraft for a Qatari exit or in the low- national network. was serious about moving ahead. operated by air forces in the region probability scenario of some Arab Combining these factors, the The deployment of the S-400 by from some distance. military intervention, which the sense of security from a military Doha, probably to be operated by Arab Gulf air forces do not have Saudi-led bloc has repeatedly ruled and geopolitical perspective the Russians in its early phases, would stealth aircraft offering low-risk out, Doha is hedging its bets. The S-400 brings could embolden Doha The sense of security likely introduce immediate ten- or high-probability solutions for Turkish military base in Qatar and to continue its policies and perhaps from a military and sions into US-Qatar ties and could defeating a system as sophisticated growing Turkish-Qatari alignment go even further. In doing so, it may geopolitical hasten the US military’s exit from as the S-400. is one example of this, while closer make the possibility of military what is arguably the most impor- However, officials from the ties with Iran is another. confrontation with the Saudi-led perspective the S-400 tant overseas US military airbase at Saudi-led bloc regularly reiterate Following the visit of Russian bloc less, not more, unlikely. brings could Al Udeid. that they are yet to see a change in Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to Doha has been searching for new Doha’s policies and Qatar appears Doha last October, the purchase of Sabahat Khan is a senior analyst at embolden Doha to partners since it was faced with to be showing a lack of urgency in the S-400 system represents the the Institute for Near East and Gulf continue its policies. the crippling isolation from the resolving the issue, ostensibly be- latest element to Qatar’s new strat- Military Analysis (INEGMA). 14 July 1, 2018 News & Analysis Turkey After Erdogan’s victory, Turkey unlikely to make up with the West

Thomas Seibert detention for one-and-a-half years. Unofficial results said Erdogan won 52.6% of the vote, thus avoid- Istanbul ing a run-off against Muharrem Ince, who led an aggressive cam- urkey is unlikely to repair its paign but ended up with 30.6%. strained ties to the West fol- In parliamentary elections the lowing an election victory same day, Erdogan’s ruling Jus- T by President Recep Tayyip tice and Development Party (AKP) Erdogan that gives a smaller nation- lost its majority in the chamber, alist partner an important say about shedding more than 7 percentage the direction of Ankara’s policies. points, compared to the parliamen- As cars filled with jubilant Er- tary poll in November 2015, and dogan supporters honking horns in finished with 42.6%. The AKP was the streets of Istanbul late June 24, expected to get 295 of the 600 seats Darkening clouds. A billboard with the image of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on display Turkey marked the end of its tradi- in parliament and has to rely on its in Istanbul, on June 25. (AP) tional parliamentary system. With partner, the right-wing Nationalist the election, Erdogan, 64, became Movement Party (MHP), and its 49 Cross-border military action against more nationalist stance,” Halil Kara- MHP in parliament could mean that the country’s first head of state with members of parliament to produce Kurdish militants in Syria and Iraq veli, an analyst at the Institute for Erdogan will have to tread carefully wide-ranging executive powers un- laws. might intensify.” Security and Development Policy in in policy areas that have poisoned der a new constitutional order, ush- MHP leader Devlet Bahceli hint- Rebecca Harms, a member of the Stockholm, said. Under the MHP’s Turkey’s ties with the West. Er- ered in with a referendum last year, ed his party does not intend to act European Parliament for Germany’s influence, “Turkey is likely to push dogan promised to lift the state of that transfers key functions from on Erdogan’s behalf in parliament. Green Party, said Turkey’s switch the United States to make more con- emergency in the country, in force parliament to the president. “Our party has become the key to a presidential system meant that cessions in Syria.” Karaveli, how- since the coup attempt two years Erdogan said the result placed a party [in parliament] and has taken Ankara’s long-running efforts to ever, said he does not expect that ago, but the MHP wants to keep it “great responsibility” on his shoul- on the task of providing checks and join the European Union were, in Ankara will start a headlong rush in place, even though ending the ders. He called on his political rivals balances,” Bahceli said. Erdogan ad- effect, over. “The presidential sys- into cross-border adventure. “Tur- state of emergency is a key demand to bury the hatchet and work for the mitted that the AKP failed to reach tem pulls the carpet from under the key will not become a rogue state,” by the European Union. country’s future. goals it set for itself in the parlia- accession process,” she said. he said. The MHP’s influence could com- “We will continue to fight for Tur- mentary race. Kerem Oktem, a Turkey special- Under the new system, the presi- plicate efforts to end Turkey’s disa- key’s progress in all areas,” he said “Erdogan’s AKP will have to rely ist at the University of Graz in Aus- dent needs parliament’s coopera- greements with the United States during a victory speech in Istanbul, on the far-right MHP’s support,” tria, said Erdogan’s victory was an tion in enacting laws and passing over Syria, where Washington has adding that his government would Aykan Erdemir, a senior fellow at example of an international trend the budget, even though the gov- been supporting a Kurdish militia “strengthen democracy.” the Washington think-tank Foun- towards “strong man” systems of ernment will no longer need par- seen as a terrorist organisation by Critics say Erdogan has used a dation for Defense of Democracies, government. “There is a global liamentary approval but will be an- Ankara. The MHP is strictly op- coup attempt in 2016 to clamp down said via e-mail. “This will result in movement away from liberal de- swerable to the president, with the posed to any moves that could be on dissidents, putting tens of thou- further concessions to ultranation- mocracy,” he said. post of prime minister being abol- considered a compromise with sands of people behind bars. One alist policies at home and abroad. That trend could show itself in ished. Erdogan says he intends to Kurdish players. presidential hopeful had to conduct MHP’s chokehold on Erdogan Erdogan’s foreign policy. “Turkey’s rule with a stripped-down cabinet his election campaign from behind would rule out the possibility of a posture in Europe and the Mid- and a set of vice-presidents. Thomas Seibert is an Arab Weekly bars because he has been in pretrial return to the Kurdish peace process. dle East will be defined by an even The AKP’s dependence on the correspondent. Viewpoint How the Kurdish-rooted HDP party survived Erdogan’s onslaught

rdogan the sultan. an emerging multi-interest move- Erdogan the victor. ment set to grow. The results of Speaking to Hisyar Ozsoy, the Stephen Starr Turkey’s presiden- HDP’s deputy chairman, the day tial and parliamen- after the election, there was a tary elections have distinct sense that he felt the party shown the world could have done even better had Ethat one man — and one man it been given half a chance. This alone — is in charge in Turkey. is a party with big ambitions and Under the all-dominating, all- one that has not been cowed by victorious Justice and Develop- the violence to which it’s been ment Party (AKP) win in which subjected. Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured The question remains what Er- the presidency with 52.6% of the dogan will do. Now that he has an vote and a majority in parliament, absolute grip on Turkey through another political movement has his newly minted executive presi- cause for celebration. dency, will Erdogan care enough to The minority-focused Peoples’ go after the HDP and the Kurdish Democratic Party (HDP) defied minority once again? the odds and made it past the 10% After the election, it appears the threshold to enter parliament. It HDP’s nemesis may turn out to secured about 67 seats, despite Against all odds. An election committee member shows a ballot be the ultranationalist National- 4,000 officials and supporters im- displaying a vote for Selahattin Demirtas, presidential candidate ist Movement Party (MHP) party, prisoned since 2015 and its former of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) at a polling the junior partner in the AKP’s co-leader, Selahattin Demirtas, station in Istanbul, on June 24, 2018. (AFP) parliamentary alliance. For the running for president from a jail MHP, reconciliation with the Kurds cell. The HDP could count on is anathema. almost no positive exposure during votes in its traditional stronghold What else explains the HDP’s elec- The HDP does not look to be the campaign in the rabidly pro- — the Kurdish-majority south-east toral gains in Istanbul province? courting support from its fel- government media. region, including more than 6% in In the November 2015 election, low opposition parties, claiming “While other candidates could Diyarbakir, the unofficial capital the HDP won just seven seats. On their “timid and anxious attitude stage 100 campaign rallies, I was for Kurds in Turkey. June 24, it secured 12. How to ex- regarding the development of able to send out 100 tweets,” said How has the HDP endured? plain that nearly two-fifths of the democratic opposition” failed to an exasperated Demirtas after There have been suggestions that HDP’s parliamentary representa- “prevent the institutionalisation of the vote. Prior to the elections, traditional secular-nationalist vot- tives will be women, compared to the one-man regime.” Erdogan was caught on camera ers from the Republican People’s 17% for the AKP? It’s clear that no credible alterna- telling AKP activists in Ankara that Party (CHP), a social-democratic A further point: The HDP’s tive to Erdogan exists in Turkey “if the HDP falls below the election party, backed HDP candidates. The co-chairmen are vying for further but, under the surface, a new po- The election results threshold it would mean that we argument goes that CHP voters gender equality, recently stating: litical alternative is slowly forming. would be in a much better place.” were trying to prevent Erdogan’s “We realise that it is a shortcom- The HDP is central to that. Don’t show that the HDP is Despite the overt oppression, the AKP winning a majority in parlia- ing in achieving the goal of equal say it too loudly but there may be no longer simply an HDP came out of the elections a ment. That’s an unlikely theory, representation.” another movement taking root issues-focused party robust, multiplatform and progres- given the deep ideological differ- Though Erdogan succeeded in in Turkey, one that seeks a more sive alternative to the doom and ences between the CHP and HDP. nearly every plan he put in place inclusive future for all. but an emerging gloom that has recently coloured Instead, the answer may lie in in the past 15 years, he’s failed to multi-interest life in Turkey. Founded just five the fact the HDP pursued a mes- stamp out Kurdish aspirations. Stephen Starr is the author of “Re- years ago, the HDP is now the third sage of inclusivity and tolerance in What the election results make volt in Syria: Eye-Witness to the movement set to largest party in Turkey. the face of a negative onslaught by clear is that the HDP is no longer Uprising” and has lived in Syria grow. It achieved this despite losing the Turkish authorities and media. simply an issues-focused party but and Turkey since 2007. July 1, 2018 15 Debate Iran Falling rial has Iranians slamming regional adventurism

savings would disappear as the rial’s depreciated, responded. They forced the closure of two Ali Alfoneh major shopping centres that sold mobile phones and consumer electronics. The markets remained closed ith the rial in on June 26 as protesters set fire free fall, Iran’s to trash bins in the streets and financial crisis clashed with Tehran police. is igniting anti- Bazaaris in Isfahan, Arak and government Kermanshah shut their busi- protests and nesses in solidarity. Wwidespread dissatisfaction with Initially, the Islamic Revolu- Iranian President Hassan Rohani. tionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Just as in December 2017 and its media allies endorsed the January 2018, the current pro- protesters. They are perceived by tests are bound to become stead- the IRGC as useful allies in the ily more anti-regime. That’s when campaign against Rohani they will test the solidarity of the This was the context of the regime’s competing factions as speech made by former IRGC well as its overall resilience. commander Major-General Public dissatisfaction has been Yahya Rahim Safavi to an as- on the rise for months. The rial sembly of war veterans in Fars has been in free fall since US province on June 25. Safavi, who President Donald Trump abro- is a senior adviser to Supreme gated the Iran nuclear deal. The Leader Ali Khamenei, said: “The Rohani government promised to people reach out to the central flood the domestic market with administration, the organisa- gold and foreign currency to sta- tions and municipalities but bilise the rial but clearly lacked their problems are not solved. In trouble. A vendor counts money in a shop in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar. (Reuters) the means to do so. This creates unhappiness, which That increased the incentive is immediately taken advantage for people to buy foreign cur- of by the counter-revolution. It services and the Law Enforce- the bazaar was instrumental in rencies and precious metals to depicts the people as dissatis- ment Force have let down the To compound financing the revolutionary Shia secure their savings. The panic fied. Some of the dissatisfaction bazaar and abandoned them to the existing clergy. Now, it is voicing support caused the collapse of the rial, is because of the incompetence economic terrorists.” problems, the for the deposed secular monar- which dropped to 90,000 to the of the authorities.” It was not long before anti-gov- ruling elites chy. US dollar on June 24 on the black Even more surprisingly, Safavi ernment protests morphed into are busy For now, the regime seems in market, more than twice the of- said: “Sometimes, it appears as if anti-regime rallies. Now, they control of the situation in Tehran ficial rate. the country is administered bet- were targeting the regime in its blaming each and the Grand Bazaar has reo- Therefore, it was no surprise ter if there is no government!” entirety. Videos show protesters other for the pened. However, the problems the protests started in Tehran’s On June 26, Hossein Shariat- making demands and berating state of affairs. remain. Economically and ideo- Grand Bazaar on June 25. Des- madari, editor of the conserva- the regime: “Let Syria be, think logically bankrupt, Iran is under perate consumers and small tive Kayhan newspaper, blamed about our plight.” “Death to Pal- internal pressure from an angry shopkeepers, both fearful their the government for allowing estine.” “Let go of the country public and external pressure from some individuals to manipulate you shameless.” “Reza Shah, Washington. To compound those the Iranian currency by purchas- blessed be your soul.” problems, the ruling elites are The slogans are catastrophic for ing gold and dollars. Shariatma- The slogans are catastrophic busy blaming each other for the dari accused the Rohani govern- for the regime because they state of affairs. the regime because they show the ment of being unprepared to deal show the Iranian public no long- Iranian public no longer supports with protests. er supports the regime’s military Ali Alfoneh is a non-resident “The entire affair was predict- adventures in the region. Even senior fellow at the Rafik Hariri the regime’s military adventures able,” Shariatmadari wrote. “… more embarrassing is the way Centre for the Middle East at the in the region. the government, the intelligence the bazaar is behaving. In 1979, Atlantic Council. Tehran’s Grand Bazaar unrest a harbinger of change to come

tests forced two major shopping centres selling mobile phones and electronics in Tehran to close but Claude Salhani there is wider unease beneath the surface in Iran after Trump’s decision to withdraw the United espite the opening of States from Tehran’s nuclear deal two modern shop- with world powers. ping malls in Tehran, It wasn’t immediately clear who the country’s Grand led the protests. Iran’s semi-offi- Bazaar has always cial news agencies Fars, ISNA and been the pulse of Tasnim described the protests DIraq’s trade and commerce. The as erupting after the Iranian rial bazaar has constantly provided an dropped to 90,000 to the dollar accurate reflection of the coun- on the country’s black market, try’s political mood. despite government attempts to The historic Grand Bazaar control the currency rate. represents an important seg- Videos on social media showed ment of the country’s business protesters at the bazaar heckling community. Its members tend shopkeepers who refused to close, to be conservative and opposed shouting in Farsi: “Coward!” to risky interventions in foreign The economy and politics are lands. The multitude of small not the only headaches facing the shop owners and proprietors of rulers in Tehran. The conservative stalls have proven that, besides Rare show of discontent. Protesters chant slogans at the historic Grand Bazaar in mullahs are losing some of the au- being an important segment of Tehran, on June 25. (AP) thority they previously held over Iran’s business world, they can be the citizens, particularly women. counted on as a political force to their political disapproval of the financial resources in support of During the FIFA World Cup be reckoned with. situation but showed they carry foreign military and political mis- The economy games in Russia there were plenty The Grand Bazaar owners financial clout by slowing com- adventures, even if such interven- and politics of Iranian supporters but nary played a vital role in overthrow- merce in the heart of the capital to tions are presented by the Islamic a chador in sight. From looking ing the shah in 1979, a revolution a standstill. Revolutionary Guard Corps as are not the at the scores of unveiled faces of that replaced the monarchy with So when the bazaaris went on being of paramount importance only Iranian women standing amid an Islamic republic. The dem- strike, the ruling mullahs could to the regime. headaches hundreds of men and shouting onstrators’ cries of “Death to the only take note. For those who Iranian leaders are trying to facing the their support for Team Melli, the Dictator” echoed chants of “Death remember the role the bazaar quash the protests, knowing full rulers in yearning of freedom in Iranian so- to the Shah” decades ago in the played in ousting the shah, this well the far-reaching consequenc- Tehran. ciety might be stronger than what bazaar. By going on strike and expression of discontent by the es of bazaar-originated protests. the mullahs and the guardians of closing their shops and stalls, on bazaaris was not seen as a good As a result, the mullahs are show- the revolution can smother. June 25, the merchants not only omen. ing signs of nervousness about There comes a time when in- demonstrated to the authorities The mullahs who owe much the effects that US economic sanc- timidation and repression do not gratitude to the bazaar owners tions can have inside Iran. work. In Iran, the fear through have not forgotten that those who In Washington, the events in which the mullahs have ruled The mullahs who owe much helped bring them into power can Tehran did not go unnoticed. US could quickly cease to be effec- also help get them out of power. President Donald Trump pressed tive. Change is creeping in. That gratitude to the bazaar owners With the Iranian economy ahead with sanctions on Iran and is inevitable as Iranians just want- have not forgotten that those who faltering, demonstrators have pushed for other countries to stop ing better lives. taken to the streets, reflecting a importing Iranian oil. helped bring them into power can resentment of what they see as The unplanned demonstra- Claude Salhani is a regular also help get them out of power. the government squandering of tions occurred a day after pro- columnist for The Arab Weekly. 16 July 1, 2018 Spotlight Fighting Terrorism Al-Qaeda 2.0 emerges from power struggles

Ed Blanche ances with its globalist campaign.” After the Iraq war, which spawned ISIS and its savage dog- Beirut ma, al-Qaeda had to contend with the challenge posed by the upstart here seems little doubt that group at a time when it had lost key al-Qaeda has not only sur- leaders, ideologues, strategic think- vived a global onslaught ers and combat commanders. T and severe internal rup- The rift was centred in Syria, tures but has overcome the loss of apex of the Middle East’s myriad its founder, Osama bin Laden, and conflicts and where, in 2014, ISIS other leaders in a US-led campaign proclaimed an Islamic caliphate of assassination to quietly rebuild after capturing large expanses of itself into a force that boasts as Iraq and Syria. ISIS’s success en- many as 40,000 hardcore fighters. couraged a significant number of “Nearly seven years after the kill- al-Qaeda-affiliated militants to ing of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda break with al-Qaeda central and its is numerically larger and present longer-term strategy. in more countries than at any oth- The most significant of these was er time in its history,” US analyst a mutiny within al-Qaeda ranks in Bruce Hoffman has observed. northern Syria, in which Abu Mo- In the four years it took the Amer- hammad al-Jolani, leader of al-Nus- icans to dispatch al-Qaeda’s savage ra Front, defected and set up a rival offspring, the Islamic State (ISIS), organisation. This led to bloodshed and shatter its self-proclaimed ca- and deep fractures within the ji- liphate in Iraq and Syria, al-Qaeda hadist establishment. tended to its wounds and resurrect- ed itself out of the debris left by the Al-Qaeda 2.0 represents a long and bruising ideological rift within the jihadist movement trig- major threat to the West, gered by ISIS’s apocalyptic creed. particularly from its Syrian Bin Laden’s successor, the vet- and Yemeni branches. eran Egyptian jihadist Ayman al- Zawahiri, has forged a restructured Hoffman said Zawahiri’s strategy organisation that Hoffman, a spe- was designed “to protect its remain- cialist on terrorism and insurgency, ing senior leadership and discreetly says poses an unprecedented threat consolidate its influence over wher- to the West and Muslim rulers who ever the movement had a signifi- oppose al-Qaeda. cant presence.” “From north-west Africa to Zawahiri’s plan, he explained, south-east Asia, al-Qaeda has been was based on three strategic moves: able to knit together a global move- “strengthening the decentralised ment of some two dozen local fran- franchise approach”; avoiding chises,” Hoffman wrote in an anal- mass-casualty operations, “espe- Strengthening in the shadows. A 2015 file picture shows al-Qaeda-linked fighters carrying their ysis for the US-based Council on cially those that might kill Mus- weapons on the back of a pick-up truck in Lebanon’s Arsal. (Reuters) Foreign Relations. Other analysts lim civilians” and alienate large agree. numbers of Muslims; and “letting Zawahiri, often derided as lack- ISIS absorb all the blows from the tion of Muslim religious observance ing bin Laden’s charisma, held al- coalition arrayed against it” while in his ideological battle with ISIS. Qaeda together following the May al-Qaeda unobtrusively rebuilt its Thomas R. McCabe, a former US Bin Laden loyalists 2011 killing of bin Laden in his Pa- military strength. Defence Department counterter- kistani hideout by US special forces This plan allowed the new al- rorism analyst, observed in a Mid- dominate new al-Qaeda and the systematic elimination of Qaeda to portray itself as “moderate dle East Forum paper published other senior leaders in US Presi- extremists — a less-unhinged and on March 1: “To whatever degree Ed Blanche June 2006. dent Barack Obama’s remorseless ostensibly more palatable rival to al-Qaeda has learned from its mis- Waiting in the wings to take a air strikes. Zawahiri expanded the ISIS,” Hoffman added. takes and modified its strategy, the Beirut leading role is bin Laden’s young- organisation to include branches in Zawahiri apparently made a fate- group’s recent adaptations make it est and reportedly favourite son strategically important zones. ful decision to avoid attacks on the more dangerous — and potentially anzim Huras al-Din, estab- Hamza, now 28 or 29, schooled by Hoffman calculates that al-Qae- United States and the West — for the more successful.” lished on February 27, is an such notorious and able mentors da, having survived the heaviest time being, at least — to minimise McCabe concluded: “A war amalgamation of six jihad- as Adl and branded a “global ter- counterterrorism campaign un- actions that could threaten the de- against a revamped al-Qaeda will T ist factions. Since then, sev- rorist” by the United States dertaken by the West, has about velopment of the new al-Qaeda and be even more difficult than against eral smaller groups have joined it. “Smaller than HTS, Huras al-Din “10,000-20,000 fighters in Syria, give him time and space to firmly existing jihadist groups. Since it will Various sources identified the operates deeper in the shadows, 7,000-9,000 in Somalia, 5,000 in establish the new order. not threaten the West at home, it leader of the new unit as Abu pursuing global terror objectives Libya, 4,000 in Yemen, a similar It is not clear how long Zawahiri will be harder to marshal the will to Hamam al-Shami, real name Farouq with little or no footprint,” Lister number spread across the Maghreb expects to maintain that pause. Al- resist… Such an al-Qaeda would be al-Suri, an al-Qaeda veteran, for- observed. and the Sahel, 3,000 in Indonesia Qaeda has not carried out a major harder to defeat than ISIS and hence mer commander of al-Nusra Front Even though “counterterrorism and approximately 1,000 in South attack in the West since four suicide a bigger threat.” and a stalwart supporter of Ayman has long shaped US policy towards Asia.” bombers attacked London’s trans- Hoffman and his contemporaries al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s the Middle East… the US is doing He made no mention of Central portation system on July 7, 2005, agree that al-Qaeda 2.0 represents successor as leader of al-Qaeda. literally nothing to deal with the Asia, where large numbers of Mus- killing 56 people, including the a major threat to the West, particu- “Several of its leaders are thought very real terrorist threat posed by lims adhere to al-Qaeda’s brand of bombers, and wounding 700. larly from its Syrian and Yemeni to have been involved with al-Qae- the likes of Huras al-Din.” jihadism. Several thousand fight- Its only foray in the West since branches. da’s brief foray into foreign-attack To some extent this is because ers from Central Asian organisa- then was the Charlie Hebdo killings Charles Lister, director of coun- plotting from Syria, which the US it has severely reduced its opera- tions are in northern Syria and are in Paris on January 7, 2015, but he terterrorism and extremism at the labelled the Khorasan group,” ex- tional capabilities in Syria. US Pres- believed to follow the policies of can presumably reactivate al-Qae- Middle East Institute who studied plained analyst Charles Lister, an ident Donald Trump has spoken of Zawahiri’s al-Qaeda Central, which da’s external operations at any time jihadists in the field for years, ob- expert on al-Qaeda. reducing the US military presence he runs from hideouts in the Paki- he chooses. Indeed, Zawahiri’s new serves that, even with Zawahiri’s A group by that name dates from even further. stan badlands. organisation is reportedly led by sweeping reorganisation, many 2015, when US officials identified “Much like al-Qaeda before 9/11 hardened veterans of such opera- committed jihadists remain outside what they claimed was a select or ISIS before its shocking expan- tions. the rebranded al-Qaeda, although team of veteran fighters embedded sion in 2014, this al-Qaeda group Bin Laden’s successor, It should be noted that Zawahiri they “remain wholly loyal to Osama by Zawahiri within what was then is operating in north-western Syria Ayman al-Zawahiri, has stressed in a March 20 rallying cry bin Laden’s vision of global jihad. al-Qaeda Central’s Syrian affili- with virtual impunity, with Ameri- forged a restructured released through al-Qaeda’s com- “For these terrorists, the US re- ate — Jabhat al-Nusra (now known ca back in the bullseye,” Lister cau- organisation that poses an munications arm, As-Sahab, that mains enemy Number One and as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS) tioned. unprecedented threat to the United States remains the Mus- north-western Syria has become an — specifically to plot operations He stressed that Russia and Tur- the West and Muslim rulers lim world’s “first enemy.” invaluable safe-haven from which against the West and the United key have “locked US aircraft out who oppose al-Qaeda. He declared: “Here is our Muslim al-Qaeda can exert itself interna- States in particular. of north-western Syria’s airspace, Ummah, so let us fight America eve- tionally,” he noted in a June 1 analy- Its members were considered prohibiting even CIA drones from rywhere as they transgress against sis. high-priority targets. They includ- operating there,” while neither has Hoffman, who is a senior fellow us. Let us unite in confronting it and “Many of these al-Qaeda loyal- ed such veterans as Saif al-Adl, a made any move against Huras al- at the US Military Academy’s Com- do not divide.” ists have now coalesced with a former colonel with Egypt’s special Din and other al-Qaeda units. bating Terrorism Centre, added: One of the reasons ISIS lost its new jihadist group known as Tan- forces who was close to bin Laden The longer Huras al-Din “remains “Advances in commercial digital self-proclaimed caliphate was the zim Huras al-Din, or the Religious and is arguably al-Qaeda’s most untouched, the more dangerous it communication tools… have ena- widespread alienation of Muslims Guardians Organisation,” which battle-hardened surviving com- will become,” Lister warned. bled al-Qaeda’s leaders and com- it ruled during its brief caliphate appears to fall within the ambit of mander and strategist. With ISIS on the run and striv- manders to maintain contact via through its highly organised sav- Zawahiri’s new-look flagship organ- Adl is a key member of Huras al- ing to regroup, just as al-Qaeda has secure end-to-end encryption… agery and merciless interpretation isation in Syria. Din’s ruling Shura Council. Others done, Zawahiri’s restored organisa- “Accordingly, its leaders have of sharia. Lister warned: “Headed by al- have been identified as Sami Iyad tion seems ready to fill the vacuum been dispersed to Syria, Iran, Tur- In the early stages of its opera- Qaeda veterans, including at least al-Tubasi of Jordan, a jihadist for in the global jihadi sphere. key, Libya and Yemen, with only tions, al-Qaeda was guilty of alien- three members of the group’s global 20 years and a co-founder of al- US counterterrorism expert Rob- a hardcore remnant of top com- ating Muslims, mainly through its leadership council, Huras al-Din is Nusra Front whose nom de guerre ert McCabe observed that al-Qae- manders still in Afghanistan and austere and intolerant form of Sun- a deeply dangerous movement that is Abu Julaybib; and Khalid Khalifa da’s new Syrian branch “may turn Pakistan.” ni Islam and hostility towards tribal poses a potent terrorist threat to US al-Aruri, aka Abu Qassam al-Urda- out to be the greater long-term Isaac Kfir, director of the National interests and practices, which are assets in the Middle East and be- ni, a top aide and brother-in-law of threat, having survived a massive Security Programme at the Austral- prevalent in the Muslim world. yond.” Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the brutal worldwide campaign to destroy it ian Strategic Policy Institute, ob- Zawahiri, however, long es- leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, fore- and having modified its strategy served that secure communications poused a more moderate approach Ed Blanche is a regular contributor runner of the Islamic State (ISIS), to reflect lessons learned from past allow “al-Qaeda to adopt a ‘glocal- and played on ISIS’s brutal excesses to The Arab Weekly. He has reported who was killed by the Americans in mistakes.” ist’ strategy that links local griev- to promote al-Qaeda’s interpreta- on Middle Eastern affairs since 1967. July 1, 2018 17 News & Analysis US Foreign Policy US Middle East peace plan draws mixed reactions

Thomas Frank Indyk said he was sceptical “not because of the good intentions of Jared Kushner and Jason Greenb- Washington latt but because the conditions are not ripe for resolving this conflict. he US effort to draft a Mid- There’s too much distrust between dle East peace plan without the parties. You can’t get there from talking to Palestinian lead- here.” T ers is drawing mixed reac- Greenblatt, the Trump adminis- tions, with some officials saying tration’s top international negotia- it is a good start and others calling tor, and Kushner met with leaders the effort unrealistic and potentially of Israel, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia harmful. and Jordan in late June. Kushner The reaction came in response to and Greenblatt talked of “ways to statements by Jared Kushner, a sen- provide humanitarian relief to Pal- ior adviser to US President Donald estinians in Gaza” and Washington’s Trump, that the White House was “efforts to facilitate peace between planning to release a Palestinian- the Israelis and Palestinians,” White Israeli peace plan. Kushner had met House statements said. with Middle East leaders but not Kushner elaborated in an inter- Palestinian ones, whom Washing- view with the Palestinian newspa- ton alienated by moving the US Em- per Al-Quds published on June 24 bassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. that “prospects for peace are very “It’s better than the alternative much alive” and that the Trump ad- because there has been no peace ministration would “soon” release plan. Nobody was using the words its plan for Palestinian-Israeli peace. ‘peace plan’ for quite a while now,” Senior officials in the four Arab Yair Lapid, leader of Israel’s centrist countries told Kushner and Green- Yesh Atid party said June 25 at the blatt they would not block a White Brookings Institution. “It is always House peace plan developed with- better to be proactive.” out Palestinian input, Israel Hayom Long wait. Copies of the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds that published an interview with US President Lapid said the “attrition of rela- newspaper reported. The newspa- Donald Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner on display for sale in Ramallah, on June 24. (Reuters) tions between Israelis and Palestin- per said the Arab leaders had tried to ians is the result of not doing any- get Palestinian President Mahmoud thing on the peace process front.” Abbas to meet with the Americans tinian leadership that is refusing to with only “some vague reference to and former intelligence officer, Recalling his own failed effort in and were annoyed that he refused. talk to the American administra- a future [peace] process.” wrote in the Forward, a Jewish peace talks in 2014, Lapid said: Asked how the Trump administra- tion so it’s hard for me to see in that Kushner, who is married to American newspaper, that the plan “Maybe a new or renewed point of tion would achieve peace without context how we get much progress,” Trump’s daughter Ivanka and had would create “an Islamist emirate in view is the right thing to do.” Abbas’s participation, White House Wittes said. no previous diplomatic experi- Gaza propped up economically by Two former senior US govern- Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee “It’s very difficult to imagine that ence, told Al-Quds that “the actual Egypt.” Such a plan “won’t work,” ment officials said they were scep- Sanders said: “We’re going to con- they’ll be able to release a proposal deal points are between Israelis and Alpher said, “and when the new tical that any peace plan could tinue meeting with the other part- with a lot of detail in it about the Palestinians but the economic plan ‘deal’ doesn’t work, matters will get succeed because of the hostility be- ners in the region… We had produc- core final status issues — borders, we are working on can show what worse for both Israel and the Pales- tween Israeli and Palestinian lead- tive meetings over the last week.” Jerusalem, refugee settlements — comes as part of a deal when it is tinians.” ers and an Israeli analyst said the Tamara Cofman Wittes, a deputy that won’t be too hard for one side if achieved with some huge invest- More controversially, Kush- effort could worsen conditions. assistant secretary of state from not both sides to swallow.” ments that extend to the Jordanian ner said Arab leaders he met with “It’s easy to come up with a plan. 2009-12 who oversaw the US State The Trump administration might and Egyptian people as well.” “made it clear that they want to see The question is whether it can get Department’s Middle East Partner- release a plan that it knows one side Kushner said he has been work- a Palestinian state with East Jerusa- the parties back into a negotiated ship Initiative, said the discord be- will reject but which it would put ing on an economic plan that would lem as its capital.” effort to solve the problems,” said tween the United States and Pales- forth nonetheless “to put something “attract very large investments in Lapid said: “I’m against any sort Martin Indyk, who was the US spe- tinian officials makes any peace plan on the table because they promised public and private sector infrastruc- of division of Jerusalem. It’s our cial envoy for Palestinian-Israeli ne- unlikely. they would put something on the ture to make the entire region more capital.” gotiations in 2013 and 2014 and the “We have a Trump administration table,” she said, adding that the ad- interdependent and stimulate fu- US ambassador to Israel in the late that is upset with the Palestinian ministration might release a plan ture economies.” Thomas Frank is an Arab Weekly 1990s and early 2000s. leadership… and you have a Pales- focusing on the humanitarian crisis Yossi Alpher, an Israeli analyst correspondent in Washington.

Viewpoint Trump’s ‘disruptive’ approach rattles traditional allies

urning openly their investment plans. Jacob Israeli prime minister and infuriat- war between Iran and Israel can against tradi- Wallenberg, one of Europe’s lead- ing the Palestinians. be avoided and what role Russian tional allies ing industrialists, whose family On Iran, US Secretary of State President Vladimir Putin might Francis Ghilès such as Canada, controls Ericsson, Saab and other Mike Pompeo offered a list of what play in avoiding such an escala- “ Mexico and companies with combined reve- he expected Tehran to do, which tion. leading nues of more than $130 billion, has affected every dimension of Ira- Macron at least is engaging the European spoken out against the policies. In nian foreign, security and interna- Russian leader, which Trump is countriesT such as France, the March, home appliance company tional policy. not. Putin scored another impor- United Kingdom and Germany for Electrolux, also controlled by the One senior European diplomat tant goal in a country — Turkey the sake of a reality show means Wallenberg family, demonstrated remarked that it was akin to say- — that is still a member of NATO sacrificing core values, future the potential fallout from Trump’s ing to Iran: “We will remove your but fast drifting away from its interests and the possibility of policies by putting on hold a $250 democratically elected president traditional alliance with the United solving urgent problems for the million investment in a home ap- by force if he does not comply, States. whole of humanity.” Thus a pliance factory in Tennessee. as we did with the elected PM The first concrete has been seasoned American observer Trump’s policies are disrupt- Dr [Mohammad] Mosaddegh in poured into the foundations at sums up the way US President ing the intricate network of value 1953.” Short of “asking the Iranians Akkuyu, in the southern Turkish Donald Trump is slowly but chains across the world and the to convert to Christianity,” he province of Mersin, for Turkey’s surely writing America out of the greater the disruption, the less quipped, what does the United first atomic power plant. The plant script of international diplomacy. America’s influence on interna- States expect? is being built by Rosatom, the This observation applies across a tional economic and financial mat- US policy in the Middle East Russia-owned nuclear company, broad range of issues as the United ters. Powerful Middle Eastern in- infuriates European leaders and at the cost of $20 billion for four States walls itself off from inter- vestors should take note: As much diplomats. In private, they show 1,200-megawatt reactors designed national commitments made by as they like Trump’s policies in the a mixture of rage, disbelief and to meet 10% of Turkish electric- Trump’s immediate predecessor Middle East, their international irony. French President Emma- ity needs. The groundbreaking — such as the Paris Agreement on investments could get caught in nuel Macron, who invested much ceremony was watched via video climate change — or earlier presi- some very awkward situations. political capital in trying to change from Ankara by Turkish President dents, notably on free trade. The Every time the United States Trump’s mind on Iran, is well Recep Tayyip Erdogan and from United States has been the pivot of spurns its international commit- aware of the need to engage Iran Moscow by Putin. international efforts to free trade ments, be it over trade, climate or on its game in Syria and ambitious Timed to mark the 100th an- between countries since 1945 and Iran, it invites allies to step back ballistic missile programme. niversary of the founding of the is now going into reverse gear. and look for new friends and ad- The French admit in private that Turkish republic, this project The recent G7 meeting of finance versaries to press their advantage. US policy is akin to a wrecking ball. reinforces the energy link between ministers provoked harsh criticism The White House likes to boast Last year, Macron boldly inter- Russia and Turkey, which is the of US policies from countries such that the president’s “disruptive” vened to ease Saudi-Lebanese ten- second biggest market for Rus- as Canada and Japan, a close US approach has broken a series of sions, as he explained on French sian gas after Germany. A few Every time the US ally in Asia, that would have been historical logjams but are moving TV at the end of May. He has years ago, a US company would spurns its unthinkable a year or so ago. Slap- the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusa- sought to bring the warring parties no doubt have built the plant at ping tariffs on steel and aluminium lem or tearing up the Iran nuclear to the negotiating table in Libya. Akkuyu. international invites tit-for-tat measures from agreement really game changers? Such efforts are not helped by Now the United States is written commitments, it Canada and the European Union. No one expects Trump’s abrupt the exodus of top-flight diplomats out of the script. Economics and Europeans may give the United decisions to be embedded into from the US State Department politics are closely linked and the invites allies to step States a few weeks to think again policy through calculation of how when it was under the steward- fall of American diplomacy will back and look for new before placing their own tariffs but others might respond; no one can ship of Rex Tillerson. Pompeo’s carry a heavy price tag. friends and China will be less shy. accuse him of being a chess player. bombast offers no substitute to the What is not in doubt is that the Time will tell whether moving the painstaking work of professional Francis Ghilès is an associate adversaries to press growing prospect of a trade war embassy to Jerusalem achieved diplomats. fellow at the Barcelona Centre for their advantage. will force businesses to question anything other than pleasing the It is too early to say whether a International Affairs. 18 July 1, 2018 Economy

Egypt issues final liquefied gas Briefs Bahrain says Gulf tender on road to self-sufficiency allies to boost fi-

Hassan Abdel Zaher nancial support

Bahrain said its Gulf allies were Cairo to unveil a support package to shore up its finances. gypt is close to reaching Bahrain’s central bank inter- self-sufficiency in natural vened on June 26 to defend the gas and resuming exports, value of the dinar, promising to E which would end almost a maintain its peg to the US dollar decade of dependence on imports. against pressure on spot markets, Egyptian Petroleum Minister London-based Capital Economics Tarek el-Molla said Egypt’s lat- said. est liquefied natural gas tender “The kingdom of Bahrain along for nine shipments of natural gas with its sisters Saudi Arabia, the could be its last because local pro- United Arab Emirates and Kuwait duction would meet domestic de- will announce a programme to sup- mand and even allow for energy port the stability of the financial exports next year. situation in Bahrain,” Finance Min- “I don’t think there will be more Towards ister Sheikh Ahmed bin Moham- tenders beyond this. I think this is maximising med al-Khalifa said. it,” Molla said. “Local production benefits. Gas should cover our needs.” tanks at the (Agence France-Presse) Egypt would look to export nat- desert road ural gas to international markets of Suez city almost a decade after halting ex- north of Cairo. East Libyan ports due to increasing consump- (Reuters) tion, decreasing production and a officials say oil lack of upgrade for Egypt’s natural reach 1.7 billion cubic feet per day from 69 trillion cubic feet to 104 After satisfying domestic con- gas fields. Natural gas finds, par- this year and is predicted to be 2.7 trillion cubic feet. sumption needs, Egypt expects money will go to ticularly in the eastern Mediter- billion cubic feet per day by the Italian company Eni, which has to resume exports and the current ranean, have revamped Egypt’s end of 2019. The field, which has invested $8.4 billion on projects in Egyptian administration has been their central bank energy plans. total confirmed reserves of 30 tril- Egypt with plans to spend an ad- stressing the need to add value “This self-sufficiency means lion cubic feet, will bring Egypt’s ditional $3 billion, has specified to the raw materials found in the East Libyan officials said they that we will stop spending hun- total daily production to 7.1 billion 70% of its overseas investments country. would send oil revenue from areas dreds of millions of dollars on the cubic feet. Egypt consumes 6 bil- for Egypt. Apart from its sprawling liq- under their control to a central imports every month,” said Rama- lion cubic feet of gas every day. This, Abu el Ela said, reflected uefaction facilities, Egypt has 11 bank based in the east, defying dan Abu el Ela, a petroleum engi- Self-sufficiency, experts said, growing international interest in gigantic petrochemical factories, pressure to return recently recap- neering professor at Suez Canal would mean that Egypt’s facto- the Egyptian market. which can be used to offer a wide tured ports to the internationally University. “This will have deep ries would have enough energy to Molla is keen to portray Egypt range of products. recognised state oil firm. effects on economic conditions in operate, which will reflect posi- as a main player in the natural “This is necessary for max- The comments were made as a our country.” tively on attracting investments. gas industry in the Middle East. imising economic benefits from parallel National Oil Corporation Egypt spends around $220 mil- Hundreds of factories were closed He attended the recent World Gas the gas,” said Gamal al-Quluibi, (NOC) in the eastern city of Beng- lion on energy imports every after the January 2011 revolution Conference in Washington, which a member of the Egyptian Petro- hazi said it had formally taken month. Total production was 4.4 because, in addition to a security provided an opportunity for Egypt leum Association, an advisory delivery of eastern oil ports at a billion cubic feet every day be- crisis, Egypt faced an energy crisis to tout investment opportunities agency of the Petroleum Ministry. ceremony at Es Sider terminal. fore production from the gigantic with widespread power outages in its energy sector. “The international petrochemical Mediterranean gas field, Zohr, in- and brownouts. Egypt’s oil and gas sector is ex- market has a value of more than (Reuters) creased production to 5.5 billion Zohr is only one in a series of dis- pected to receive $10 billion in in- $1.6 trillion and Egypt will be rac- cubic feet. coveries that have raised Egypt’s vestments in the next two years, ing against other players to get its Production from Zohr should confirmed natural gas reserves Molla said. share of this market.” Iraq to plant Viewpoint 70,000 date palms to revive once The ramifications of Saudi-Russian oil legendary crop Iraq is to plant 70,000 date palms south of Baghdad, hoping to revive production of a crop it was policy coordination could be huge once famed for. The country once produced ill growing coop- not be seen in isolation. In late Saudi Arabia and Russia, both of three-quarters of the world’s dates eration among 2016, OPEC and 11 independent which had pushed to boost output but now accounts for 5% after it Saudi Arabia, oil-exporting countries — including to alleviate high prices. switched economic focus to oil and John C.K. Daly Russia and OPEC Russia — entered into an agree- Beyond the agreement, much after decades of conflict devas- increase US iso- ment to reduce oil production. The eventually depends on Riyadh. tated its farms. lation in energy informal arrangement came to be Alone among OPEC members, Sau- Backed by a state loan worth Wmarkets? known as OPEC+. di Arabia can increase or decrease $8.4 million, a Shia Muslim Now that we’re halfway through The pact stipulated that in the production according to market foundation has planted 16,000 the World Cup, it’s worth remem- January-June 2017 period, the sig- needs. In the past, this has served date trees outside the holy city of bering that even before their coun- natories collectively had to reduce as a financial levelling mechanism, Karbala, 90km south of Baghdad. tries met on the football pitch for production. Their output had to fall both to shore up prices as well as to It is the biggest state-backed farm- the tournament’s opening match, 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) on prevent them from rising too high. ing project for the crop since the Russian President Vladimir Putin October 2016 levels. Russia agreed Saudi Arabia controls most of US-led invasion toppling Saddam and Saudi Crown Prince Moham- to cut its oil production by 300,000 OPEC’s spare oil capacity, can boost Hussein in 2003. med bin Salman bin Abdulaziz bpd. The agreement was designed production within 30 days and can worked on a different sort of game, to reduce global oil reserves to lev- sustain output for at least three (Reuters) talking about coordinating oil els that would allow prices to rise. months. If the Saudis substantially policy. The ramifications of their The Saudi-Russian agreement is increase exports that would rever- face-to-face meeting could be huge. significant but it is hardly deci- berate throughout OPEC because Shell hands over Saudi Arabia and Russia have sive in the volatile global energy it would leave the cartel’s reserve been coordinating energy policies market. OPEC members have in the capacity at a lower level. Iraq’s Majnoon since 2016 but this was a new and past ignored production agree- Volatility in global oil prices can potentially significant develop- ments. Further wildcards include play havoc with economies around oilfield ment for the global oil industry. slumping Venezuelan production the world. In June 2008, oil prices Saudi Arabia and Russia together and the ratcheting up of sanctions soared to an all-time high of $143 Royal Dutch Shell has exited the account for approximately 25% of on Iran by the Trump adminis- per barrel but OPEC prosperity Majnoon oilfield in southern Iraq global oil output. The day before tration. From Europe to Asia, from the windfall was short-lived. and handed its operations to the Putin and Crown Prince Moham- purchasers of Iranian crude are The global recession, which began state-run Basra Oil Company, two med met, the International Energy nervous. later that year, sent oil prices Iraqi oil officials close to the deal Agency (IEA) said the combined OPEC countries and Russia met plummeting to $33.73 per barrel by said. output from Venezuela and Iran on June 22 in Vienna to discuss December 2008. Shell has said it planned to focus could fall 30% by 2019 due to US several options, not least an agree- In the end, what is most notable on developing its gas joint venture sanctions and economic upheaval. ment to increase production by 1 about the Saudi-Russian agree- in Iraq. Shell also sold its stake Russia and Saudi Arabia have million bpd as of July 1. Venezuela ment is the countries’ increasing in West Qurna 1 to Japan’s Itochu been coordinating their policies and Iran expressed opposition but coordination in the global energy Corporation (8001.T). with OPEC, which did not sit well the four main producers — Kuwait, market. In many ways, it can be Crude oil output from Majnoon The Saudi-Russian with US President Donald Trump. the United Arab Emirates, Saudi read as one more sign of the fur- is about 235,000 barrels per day agreement is On the day the IEA made its predic- Arabia and Russia — went ahead ther marginalisation of the United (bpd). Iraq plans to boost output tion, Trump tweeted: “Oil prices anyway. The increase in produc- States, one of the world’s leading to 450,000 bpd in three years, oil significant but it is are too high. OPEC is at it again. tion is to be pro-rated among all oil producers, on world markets. officials said. hardly decisive in Not good!” OPEC members, including Ven- It was obvious what was under ezuela, Iran and Iraq, which lack John C.K. Daly is a Washington- (Reuters) the volatile global way. Saudi Arabia and Russia’s spare capacity. based specialist on Russian and energy market. strategic energy cooperation can- The pact is a major victory for post-Soviet affairs. July 1, 2018 19 Economy

Algeria lags behind neighbours in attracting foreign Losing investment. investment Algerian Foreign Minister Lamine Ghanmi ing to the UNCTAD report, said the Abdelkader country’s slumping FDI was part of Messahel a general trend across the continent. speaks Tunis “The problem with the official during a news media explanation is that the FDI conference in espite a thriving domestic in North Africa was down 4% to $13 Brussels, on market, Algeria’s economy billion,” said Haddouche. “The FDI May 14. (AFP) remains comparatively in Tunisia rose in 2017 to [$900 mil- D closed and struggles to at- lion] after a bad year in 2016 while in increased diversification. stake in local mobile phone service The World Bank’s “Doing Busi- tract foreign direct investment, a Morocco the FDI had jumped 23%. “In 2017, the diversification of network Djezzy in 2009. ness” index recently ranked Algeria recently released report by the UN “The low record in the continent foreign direct investment (in Al- As tension built up between Al- 153rd out of 180 in investment envi- Conference on Trade and Develop- was due to the bad performance geria) was supported by FDI made giers and Cairo due to clashes dur- ronment — the worst in the region. ment (UNCTAD) said. of Algeria because it has the third by Chinese telecoms group Huawei ing World Cup qualifying matches, A World Bank report stated that 14 A UNCTAD report said foreign di- most important economy in the and South Korean Samsung, which Algeria presented Orascom with an separate procedures are needed to rect investment (FDI) shrank 26% continent.” opened its first smartphone assem- unexpected $600 million tax bill. start a business in Algeria, com- to $1.2 billion year-on-year in 2017, While Algeria has significant bly plant in the country,” said the The Algerian government blocked pared to eight in the rest of the re- although it was dispersed more natural resources and opportunity UNCTAD. the sale of Djezzy to a South African gion. evenly across various sectors. for growth, businesses have stayed However, low overall investment investor and prevented Orascom The loss of investment, particu- “Despite its strong potential in away because of restrictive govern- figures point to lingering obstacles. from importing equipment or re- larly in fields other than the oil sec- terms of domestic market, natural ment policies. Apart from protectionist measures, patriating dividends. tor, which creates relatively few resources and opportunities, Alge- In 2014, Doug Wallace, US com- international firms operating in The incident was resolved jobs, has affected Algeria’s employ- ria remains less attractive in direct mercial attache for North Africa, Algeria complain that regulations through a Russian buyer but Oras- ment rate, which is upward of 10% foreign investment,” said Algerian said that Algeria “has historically often change and are unevenly com declared a loss of more than $2 and exceeds 25% for young people. economist Hassan Haddouche. “It been one of the hardest places in applied, raising the perception of billion in 2014. Some 70% of jobs are in the public has the weakest results in attract- the region to do business.” He cited commercial risk for foreign inves- Algeria-born Dalia Ghanem- sector. ing foreign investment compared protectionist laws, including a 2009 tors. Yazbeck, a resident scholar at the Abdelhak Lamiri, an economist to other states in North Africa.” measure requiring Algerian firms to Other drawbacks include inad- Carnegie Middle East Centre, cited at the Algiers-based International The trend, which analysts said own 51% of any joint venture. equate enforcement of protections corruption as another obstacle in- Management Institute, said there was due to protectionist laws, ex- Pierre Gattaz, chairman of French for intellectual property rights, lim- vestors face in Algeria. were 680,000 companies in the tensive bureaucratic procedures electronics manufacturer Radiall, ited regional trade, arduous foreign She said one project can require country of 41 million people when and corruption, came after the said during a visit to Algiers this currency exchange requirements approval from several cabinet de- comparably sized countries have at country’s foreign minister said year that the “49-51 business own- and prohibitive bureaucratic cus- partments and that investors are least 1.5 million. business was booming in the North ership rule is a lock and obstacle toms, all of which impede the ef- often met with requests for bribes While Algeria has largely kept African country. for business. French investors are ficiency and reliability of supply or “facilitation” payments. The ju- the public’s needs met by provid- “Algeria is more stable and more willing to come to Algeria but they chains. diciary system is “not very inde- ing jobs and handing out subsi- attractive than (other countries in are afraid that they could not own a International investors were es- pendent,” Ghanem-Yazbeck added. dised housing and food, it could be the region),” Foreign Minister Ab- majority stake in their businesses.” pecially put off by the treatment of “Investors complain in Algeria that forced to look for alternative means delkader Messahel said. While Algeria received less for- Egyptian telecommunications firm [laws and regulations] are inconsist- of employment if no new oil finds Algerian state media, respond- eign investment in 2017, it did see Orascom Telecom, which took a ent and applied unevenly,” she said. emerge. Viewpoint Lebanon’s economy continues to struggle despite international support

Sabahat Khan it hard by political ies estimate it may hold around uncertainty, outside 700 billion cubic metres of gas, a interference and the game-changing scenario for the fallout from the de- country. bilitating Syrian civil Although the commercial vi- war, the Lebanese ability of Lebanon’s oil and gas Heconomy has struggled to retain reserves are still to be ascertained the resilience that once helped it and even if Israel is disputing achieve buoyant growth. rights in some contested waters, With $11 billion in economic Lebanon has put in place agree- assistance pledged and recent ments for drilling with the likes of significant oil and gas discover- Total, Eni and Novatek. Lebanese ies, Lebanon would hope it is on conditions require 80% of work- the verge of tapping into its vast ers employed by exploration and potential. However, low growth drilling companies be Lebanese in rates, widespread unemployment, addition to local companies being rising poverty and the effects of preferred for support services in the Syrian conflict combine with a the supply chain. Crumbling foundations. A woman walks outside of Lebanon’s highly uncertain political scenario Alas, Lebanon’s economic des- Central Bank building in Beirut. (Reuters) to seriously endanger Lebanon’s tiny may not be in its own hands. economic future. The outcome of the conflict in Prior to the Syrian civil war, etary Fund (IMF) said Lebanon’s Eurobonds jumped by as much Syria will be a major factor to de- Lebanon’s economic growth was debt-to-GDP ratio could balloon as 300 basis points as depositors termine the direction of Lebanon’s touching an impressive 10%. This to 180% by 2023, if underlying shifted their money into other cur- economy. The severe economic and next year’s economic growth economic challenges are not ad- rencies or even out of the country. effects of even more refugees and is forecasted to be less than 2%, dressed quickly enough. A rise of 100 basis points in inter- a potential Israeli-Iranian face-off with fiscal deficits high at 7-10%. Exacerbating Lebanon’s chal- est rates, estimates suggest, raise could mean the worst is yet to Tourism, real estate and construc- lenges are cracks forming in the Lebanon’s cost of debt servicing, come. tion, previously key contributors country’s once resilient banking which eats up half of the govern- Alternatively, some form of to the Lebanese economy, are sector. ment revenue, 7%. political settlement would gener- suffering and its banking sec- Attracted by high interest rates The crisis was short-lived but ate a significant role for Lebanon tor — the strength of which has and buoyed by local confidence, the increasingly poor state of in Syria’s reconstruction, poten- traditionally allowed it to navigate a large Lebanese diaspora has national finances has increased tially helping it recover from its severe shocks — may be losing its deposited billions of dollars in the the risk that Lebanon might not economic slowdown and be a net resilience. country’s banking system, allow- weather a larger shock as well. gainer, economically speaking. Challenges lie across Leba- ing the central bank much-needed For so many reasons Lebanon, There is then the Iranian fac- non’s economic landscape, with leverage and flexibility. Deposits however, remains a key area of in- tor to which Hezbollah — and by unemployment exceeding 30% from the Lebanese diaspora had terest for peace and security in the extension Lebanon — is delicately and more than 1 million Syrian accounted for as much as 40% of Middle East and so its economic but intricately linked. Lebanon’s refugees in the country. The UN GDP but now, the IMF said, the woes have drawn international first parliamentary elections in Development Programme said rate of private sector deposit in- attention. More than $11 billion of nearly 10 years delivered Hezbol- poverty in Lebanon has risen more flows has fallen below its histori- economic assistance was pledged lah and its allies its biggest success than two-thirds since 2011. cal average. to Lebanon in April, including $4 at the polls while Hariri’s bloc lost Exacerbating Naturally, the outbreak of hostil- It is a trend that could, unfortu- billion from the World Bank, $1.3 almost one-third of its seats. Lebanon’s ities in Syria marked a major turn- nately for Lebanon, consolidate billion from the European Bank for US-Arab sanctions quickly challenges are ing point for Lebanon’s economy in the years ahead with political Reconstruction and Development followed against Hezbollah and, as evidenced by its debt-to-GDP uncertainty unlikely to fade away. and the renewal of a $1 billion while much remains to be seen cracks forming in ratio, which climbed from 130% When Saad Hariri unexpectedly credit line from Saudi Arabia, con- about their longer-term effects, the country’s in 2011 to more than 150% today, resigned as prime minister last ditional on economic reforms such observers are watching closely to making Lebanon the world’s November, the Lebanese Central as reducing the budget deficit. understand if Hezbollah could be once resilient third-most indebted country in Bank’s foreign assets fell $1.6 Lebanon may also be in for a pushed out of Hariri’s new cabinet banking sector. the world. The International Mon- billion and spreads on Lebanese hydrocarbon boon. Seismic stud- in the national interest. 20 July 1, 2018 Society Christian pilgrims arrive in Egypt amid hopes of tourism sector revival

southern Egypt. Amr Emam The route of the Holy Family contains 25 main landmarks, in- Cairo cluding churches, mountains and hills in what are at the heart of a hristian pilgrims have trav- massive upgrade by the Egyptian elled to Egypt to follow the government. Egypt has formulated path of the Holy Family, a a plan to improve landmarks along C tour that authorities envi- the route to gain recognition from sion as a potential important aid to UNESCO as an international herit- improve the country’s vital tourism age site. sector. The plan is bringing many Egyp- A group of 70 Italian pilgrims tian authorities together, as well as arrived in Cairo on June 17 to visit the Coptic Orthodox Church. Be- sites frequented by the Holy Fam- hind the effort is Egypt’s desire to ily in the Egyptian capital and in provide greater services to its Cop- the Western Desert. Egypt enthu- tic Christian minority. siastically welcomed the pilgrims, The plan aims to turn the Holy having prepared for the tour since Family’s route into an important it received the approval of Roman asset for the tourism sector, which Catholic Pope Francis last year. was hard hit by the political turmoil “We have made enough prepa- after the 2011 uprising against long- rations to make the visits of the standing President Hosni Mubarak. pilgrims both enjoyable and in- Egypt earned $12.5 billion in rev- formative,” said Gamal Mostafa, a enues from tourism in 2010, com- member of the Antiquities Ministry pared to $3.8 billion in 2016 and committee formed to prepare for $7.6 billion in 2017. the pilgrimage. “Christian pilgrims Former Tourism Minister Yehia who will come here will find a very Rashed described the Christian pil- rich and diverse spiritual and his- grims’ arrival on June 17 as “time- torical treat.” ly.” He said he expected revenues from visits by Catholic pilgrims to rival those of the Suez Canal. Egypt The route of the Holy received almost $5.6 billion in rev- Family contains 25 main enues from it this year, the highest Spiritual treat. Italian pilgrims pose for a photo at the Egyptian Orthodox Church at the start of their landmarks, including in years. visit to Egypt, on June 17. (Media Office of the Egyptian Orthodox Church) churches, mountains “The visits will bring in huge rev- and hills in what are at enues, if things go as planned and the heart of a massive as hoped,” Rashed said. Pope Tawadros II told the Italian has a huge spiritual and religious Egyptian tour operators have upgrade by the Egyptian The Coptic Orthodox Church, tourist delegation during a special potential that has not been exploit- been advertising tours but tourism government. a major partner in the effort, has reception in June at Saint Mark’s ed to its fullest yet.” experts said there are challenges prepared books and materials that Coptic Orthodox Cathedral. The Italian pilgrims who arrived in attracting pilgrims, including The Gospel of Matthew states document the Holy Family’s jour- Egyptian officials said they hope June 17 spent four days in Egypt, overhauling sites visited by the that Joseph, Mary and their in- ney. The material is distributed to attract 5 million pilgrims a year during which they visited five main Holy Family. This, they said, would fant son Jesus spent three years in to pilgrims on their arrival. The to Holy Family pilgrimage sites. sites in Cairo and Wadi El Natrun in make the package diverse and Egypt after escaping King Herod’s church is offering training courses This, Mostafa said, would be an the Western Desert. The other sites more enjoyable. Massacre of the Innocents. They for tour guides who accompany the important boost for the tourism are to be restored in the coming “So far, the package contains supposedly passed through north- pilgrims. sector. months so they can be included in five sites only, which is far from ern Sinai and arrived in what is now “Christianity is rooted in Egypt “The fact is that we are compet- the itinerary. enough,” said tourism expert Amr Cairo, before moving to the West- and there are many Christian ing with other countries that offer Other pilgrims are scheduled to Sedki. “Few tourists will be ready ern Desert, sojourning in Minya in monuments [across the country], the same type of tourism for the arrive in September and October, to travel thousands of kilometres central Egypt and then in Assiut in including the Coptic monasteries,” pilgrims,” Mostafa said, “but Egypt the Tourism Ministry said. to visit five sites only.” Research on Emirati dialect to help children in need of speech-language therapy

Caline Malek “As far as I know, the Health Au- ings were put together, with almost thority of Abu Dhabi licensed only all children — three girls and three about two or three Emiratis work- boys — speaking approximately Abu Dhabi ing in this sector, so those who 90,000 sentences, including their work in this field in the UAE come utterances and language develop- anguage disorders in Emi- from other Arab countries, such as ment. Most of the children took rati children can be detected Jordan, Egypt and Syria.” part in most of the recordings, early because of a new pro- To rectify the situation, Ntelithe- while two participated in half of the L ject undertaken by research- os’s department proposed a degree 41 sessions. Timely project. Dimitrios Ntelitheos, an associate professor at the ers at the United Arab Emirates programme in communication sci- The children were from a middle- Department of Linguistics at the United Arab Emirates University University in Al Ain. The univer- ences and disorders. It would be the class socio-economic background in Al Ain. (The United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain.) sity’s Department of Linguistics has first of its kind in the country, with with high school- and university- mapped out the Emirati dialect in a an aim of compiling research from educated parents, either employed database. the EMALAC project to include in in government positions or staying Emirati Arabic-speaking child un- veloping Emirati children, for in- The research entails informa- the curriculum and develop tests at home. Their home environment- dergoes and forms an essential pic- stance, those who have autism and tion that could benefit researchers for teaching children and adults in language was Emirati Arabic, al- ture on which child language devel- those with special language impair- around the world. Emirati Arabic language delay. though they were occasionally ex- opment can be mapped. ment,” Ntelitheos said. is one of the few dialects that have The project is timely, as no data- posed to a pidgin variety of Arabic Research will not stop there. “It’s “We will try to collect a corpus of yet to be studied in depth in early base had existed on Emirati chil- and English, spoken by domestic not enough,” Ntelitheos said. “We children who have a language delay childhood. dren’s speech development over helpers in the house. need a lot more but it’s something and compare it with those with au- Six young Emirati children speak- time, Ntelitheos said. This will al- “This type of project is a good to start with to get an idea of what tism, to eventually see what the dif- ing with caregivers at home formed low experts to diagnose potential idea,” said Rashad Bukhash, execu- a child of 3 to 4 years old should be ference is.” the bulk of the groundbreaking language delay in children by com- tive director of architecture at the able to produce.” Such research is strongly need- research, which was compiled in paring their speech to what is con- Dubai Municipality. “I am a man Another project, in collaboration ed in the UAE. “Having such tools a database called the Emirati Ara- sidered expected of a child that age. of heritage and I know how impor- with Zayed University in Abu Dha- available for us in the UAE is essen- bic Language Acquisition Corpus “There was no corpus of a typically tant it is to keep everything relative bi, will collect data from four chil- tial,” said Hessa Alnuaimi, whose (EMALAC). developed child,” he said. “It’s the to our heritage, such as traditional dren of a younger age. “Our current 10-year-old son is autistic. “It’s im- Dimitrios Ntelitheos, an associate first time and it’s a fundamental games, architecture, language, food project starts from around 4 years portant for us to invest in language professor at the Department of Lin- step in this field.” and music. It’s part of our history old but we want the early stages, impairment solutions as not many guistics at the university, spoke of The database was compiled by a and strengthens our national iden- from around 18 months, when they people think about it as a major is- the importance of such a compila- university research assistant over tity.” start producing their first words,” sue. They just assume children will tion considering the lack of Emirati two years starting in 2008. The re- He said new instruments in tech- Ntelitheos said. grow without any problems but specialists, speech therapists and searcher interacted with her nieces nology helped facilitate the preser- Eventually, language samples this will truly help all these families language disorder experts in the and nephews for 30 minutes every vation of local heritage. “It’s vital will be gathered from many more that have encountered any type of UAE. week and recorded the sessions. for us to preserve any element of children — about 300 to 400 — of language disorders and give us an “There are only about two or The six children were aged between our history because it truly repre- different ages. “There is a proposal easier way to tackle them.” three, to my knowledge, who have 2 and 4 years when the project be- sents who we are,” he added. we have with collaborators from graduated and they’re from our de- gan. The database provides glimpses the University of Montreal in which Caline Malek is an Arab Weekly partment,” he said. A total of 41 half-hour record- of the developmental stages the we will try to test non-typically de- correspondent in Abu Dhabi. July 1, 2018 21 Society Saudi Women Lifting the driving ban on Saudi women carries economic dividends

The Arab Weekly staff

London

here is no denying the positive sociological im- portance of Saudi Arabia T lifting the female driving ban. However, the chief motiva- tor in changing Saudi law is the kingdom’s necessity to diversify its economy beyond the energy sector. The kingdom’s female population makes up 22% of the workforce. The Saudi government made it one of the main targets of Saudi Vision 2030 to increase that percentage. The first obstacle removing driv- ing ban resolves is the issue of get- ting around and analysts have said increased mobility would improve women’s access to the Saudi job market. The Gulf Research Cen- tre think-tank said eliminating the “major handicap” of transportation and allowing women to drive could enable more than 400,000 women to “contribute to the labour force and the economy.”

Ride-hailing services such as Uber and its main regional competitor Careem have plans to capitalise on the opportunity.

The Saudi Gazette said the driv- ing decision would create 500,000 job opportunities in ten years, help- About turn. A Saudi woman drives her car through the streets of Riyadh for the first time, on June 24. (AFP) ing achieve the goal of increasing women’s work force participation, particularly among those from mid- Sheikha told Forbes Middle East. Cooperative Insurance saw increas- showroom, which opened the same optimistic estimate, the selling of dle-class families, to 30% by 2030. He said the company’s target was es of 7.9% and 4.8%, respectively, month in Jeddah. 5% of Saudi Aramco would gener- Ride-hailing services such as to have 20,000 females signed up Thomson Reuters reported. A recent report by Bloomberg ate approximately $100 billion. Uber and its main regional com- region-wide by 2020. The Saudi automobile industry Economics asserted that the rever- “Lifting the ban on driving is petitor Careem have plans to capi- There have already been positive suffered a 20% drop in sales in 2017 sal of the driving ban could help likely to increase the number of talise on the opportunity. Uber said economic benefits resulting from due to regional economic factors Saudi Arabia acquire “as much in- women seeking jobs, boosting the it planned on hiring women this the lifting of the female driving but is predicted to see 10% growth come as selling shares in Saudi Ara- size of the workforce and lifting autumn and Careem has already ban — the Saudi insurance industry as more Saudi women drive. Mar- mco,” considered the cornerstone overall incomes and output,” said begun. reported a considerable boost on ket analysis firm BMI said there of the Saudi economy and the most Ziad Daoud, Dubai-based chief “We are delighted to welcome June 24, the day the law went into were indications of increased de- valuable company in the world. Middle East economist for Bloomb- these pioneering women to Careem effect. mand, with more than 165,000 fe- Saudi Arabia could add as much as erg Economics, “but it’ll take time and in line with Careem’s com- Al Rajhi Company for Coopera- male applicants to the first Saudi $90 billion to its economy by 2030, before these gains are realised as mitment to create job opportuni- tive Insurance reported a 10% in- driving school for women when it with economic benefits extending the economy adapts to absorbing a ties across the wider Middle East crease while SABB Takaful Compa- opened online registration in Janu- beyond that date, the Bloomberg growing number of women seeking region,” Careem CEO Mudassir ny and Saudi Indian Company for ary and the first women-only car report said, adding that, at its most work.”

Viewpoint Saudi women’s road ahead

audi Arabia needs quali- ered to female lawyers increased fied women in decision- 240% in the last three years. The Abdullah making positions in number of female lawyers in Saudi al-Alami governmental and civil Arabia has jumped from 63 to 280. institutions. The daz- There are dedicated female sec- zling renaissance push, tions in the military, passport ser- Scompetently led by Saudi Crown vices, the penal system, airports, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin civil defence and drug enforcement Abdulaziz, necessitates a serious but the participation of females in examination to expand the range the public sector and at different of work options available to Saudi ranks remains low. women and increase their partici- The number of males in high- pation in executive and legislative level positions stands at 9,795 but bodies. that of women does not exceed 154. The presence of Saudi women in The Saudi Basic Law of Govern- positions of public service is very ance guarantees equal rights and limited despite their becoming duties for all Saudi citizens without effective and important partners in gender discrimination. So opportu- national committees and institu- nities need to be afforded to quali- tions, such as chambers of com- fied and deserving Saudi women merce, literary clubs, social service Still a way to go. Women leave the Saudi Driving School inside to become university presidents organisations and some govern- Princess Nora University in Riyadh, on June 23. (AP) and ambassadors and to effectively ment institutions. We can cite head official delegations represent- positive and encouraging exam- the highest positions, such members of the current Shura ing the kingdom in international ples, such as Tamader al-Rammah, as deputy minister and university Council are females. forums. first female deputy minister of dean and we look forward to Riyadh has also decreed the right Today, Saudi women are work- labour and social development, seeing their potential tapped for of women to participate as candi- ing, flying aeroplanes and driving and Noura al-Fayez, former deputy even higher positions and to see- dates and voters in municipal elec- cars. The future is even brighter. minister of education. ing them participate in cabinet tions but Saudi Arabia is far from To get there, Saudi Arabia needs Today, Saudi This is good but we aspire to see meetings with ministerial portfo- achieving gender equity to reduce to create a work culture based on women are working, more capable and deserving Saudi lios. the gap between the public and the merit and equality without regard females accede to high leadership A royal decree issued December private sectors. Saudi Vision 2030 to gender. It’s going to be a rough flying aeroplanes positions. 12, 2014, stipulated that women aims to increase Saudi women’s and bumpy road but only for those and driving cars. Increasing women’s share in the enjoy full membership rights in share in the labour market to 22- who would lose hope. labour market is among the most the Saudi Shura Council and sets 30% by 2030. The future is even prominent goals of Saudi Vision aside a minimum of 20% of the The Ministry of Justice revealed Abdullah al-Alami is a member of brighter. 2030. Saudi women have attained seats for women; 30 of the 150 that the number of licences deliv- the Saudi Economic Association. 22 July 1, 2018 Culture Summer Festivals Jerash Festival entertains Jordanians in tough times

Roufan Nahhas with their choreographies and di- verse styles. In addition to Reda Troupe, Amman Palestinian Smoud for Dabke, Saudi Arabia’s Nagham, the UAE’s abelled one of the liveliest Al Awayed Al Harbiah, Kuwait’s cultural events in the re- Takht Sharqi and Egyptian Daraw- gion for its colourful hand- eesh Abu Ghiat are to take part in L picked music and art per- the event. The Lebanese presence formances, the 33rd Jerash Festival will also be strong with singers Assi for Culture and Arts will bring life Hellani and Wael Jassar perform- Exceptional atmosphere. A file picture shows dancers from Al-Jeel Al-Jadeed Circassian Folklore to the ancient Roman city of Jerash ing. Dance Troupe performing at the Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts. (Reuters) from July 19 through August 3. “In Jerash, there is always a need The much-awaited festival at to have Lebanese singers around the well-preserved Roman amphi- as they have strong popularity and thousands of fans attended the followers on Twitter and was one year she will sing at Jerash Festi- theatre will have performances people tend to attend their events,” concerts of Jordanian and Leba- of the top 100 influential social me- val,” said Hanin Awwad, a student from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Abu Summaqa said. nese singers Omar al-Abdallat and dia personalities in the United Arab and fan of the singer. Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Taking into account the coun- Wael Kfoury,” Tell said. Emirates in 2016, will participate in “That’s what I love about the Iraq, the Palestinian territories, try’s economic malaise, some “For such a festival, which has the festival after a 17-year absence. Jerash Festival. They always have Spain and Portugal. It will be a events will be free. been around for many years, peo- surprises and seek to showcase happy celebration in a country that “We have lowered the prices of ple expect diversity and a colourful popular artists and present events has faced economic strains and tickets from $28 to $9 as a way of programme because this is how it In addition to Reda Troupe, that people are waiting for. I don’t demonstrations that ended with a facilitating attendance of families is and this is how it should be. Fans Palestinian Smoud for feel it is very expensive to attend change in government and with- because we empathise with the wait to see if their favourite singer Dabke, Saudi Arabia’s the festival as there are many free drawal of a controversial income hardships of the society that trig- is performing or not and plan their Nagham, the UAE’s Al activities, which is a good thing.” tax law. gered the latest events in the king- trip accordingly.” Awayed Al Harbiah, Many Jordanians say the festival “What makes this year special dom. Moreover, there will be many “For many, the festival means Kuwait’s Takht Sharqi and is a positive way to promote Jordan is the new and popular perform- free-to-attend events,” Abu Sum- the end of summer and the time to Egyptian Daraweesh Abu globally. ers who are taking part for the first maqa said. enjoy before schools start. Having Ghiat are to take part in the The Jerash Festival was estab- time in the festival such as the fa- Jordan faced rare nationwide a reading of this year’s programme, lished in 1981 by Queen Noor, the mous Egyptian Reda Troupe, the strikes to protest the income tax I think it is different from other event. wife of late King Hussein, in coor- pioneering dance troupe that start- law, which was withdrawn after years because not many big names Despite Ahlam’s outspoken com- dination with Yarmouk University. ed as a family business and was the King Abdullah II’s intervention. are taking part. Instead there are ments, she is loved by millions. It was cancelled during Israel’s beginning for many artistic perfor- Majdi Tell, a journalist who re- new names and new experience for Her performances at Paris Olym- invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and mances we see today,” said festival ports on cultural events, said ex- many, which is good,” he added. pia Theatre and Misr Opera House in 2006 during the war between Is- Executive Director Mohammad pectations are always high for Tell said the festival provides an in Cairo, her 4-year tenure as head rael and Hezbollah. After a 3-year Abu Summaqa. Jerash Festival. opportunity for many Jordanian judge on the “Arab Idol” music suspension due to financial rea- The Reda Troupe for folkloric “The festival is a very popular performers to meet their fans such competition programme and more sons, the festival was revived in arts has been around for 50 years. event among locals and tourists, as Nancy Petro, Macadi Nahhas than 12 albums make her a must- 2011. It was founded by Mahmoud Reda especially from the Gulf region. In and Jihad Sarkis. see for residents and visitors. and the troupe’s lead dancer, Fari- 2016, the festival attracted more The controversial Bahraini-Emir- “We have been waiting for Ahl- Roufan Nahhas is a journalist da Fahmy. They amazed audiences than 100,000 visitors and last year, ati singer Ahlam, who has 9 million am for such a long time and this based in Jordan. Morocco’s music festivals take place amid calls to boycott Mawazine

Saad Guerraoui surrounding areas. Long last the Gnaoua World Music Festival. Nei- concept of fusion,” said Tazi. cred Music, under the theme “An- bonds of brotherhood and cohe- la Tazi, the festival’s founder and Gnaoua music has blended with cestral Knowledge,” took place in sion between us,” wrote Larbi producer, said the event helped other music styles, such as blues Fez. From global solidarity with Casablanca Lababsi on Facebook. keep Gnaoui art from becoming and jazz, building bridges between Goran Bregovic and his “Three Let- Arab Diva Ahlam, who said she extinct. different civilisations and cultures ters from Sarajevo” to Jordi Savall nternational music festivals considers herself Moroccan, said “We have a principle at the heart through enriching the music scene. and his “Ibn Battuta, Traveller of took place across Morocco de- her concert earnings would be of our project, The event included Snarky Pup- Islam,” the events were rich and spite calls for the boycott of the given to a Moroccan hospital as which is the py, Shabaka Hutchings, Africa Unit- breathtaking. I 2018 Mawazine — Rhythms of a goodwill gesture and solidarity ed and Maalem Hamid El Kasri. The inaugural concert saw a the World Festival on social media. with the boycott campaign. “It’s the tradition of this festi- great poetic and musical evoca- Mawazine, an 8-day event in Ra- “I am participating with you val to have bands that visit to play tion, reflecting the city’s blend of bat and Sale that ended June 30, in this campaign by giving... a with Gnaoua musicians, doing spirituality, architecture, crafts and featured more than 80 local and in- donation to one of the hospitals a whole set brotherhood. ternational artists. American singer in Morocco. My participation is is interest- The Garden Jnan Sbil in Fez host- Bruno Mars performed before a a support and a declaration of ing,” said ed Italy’s Doulce Memoire band, packed audience to promote his sincerity and love that I carry Snarky Pup- which performed music of the “24K Magic” album in Rabat. for you. Meeting the Moroc- py. Italian Renaissance. The festival “The performance was incred- can public is for me the real The festival linked the region’s craft heritage, ible. Thank you, Bruno Mars,” said gain that I will receive,” drew 500,000 peo- based on spirituality, and a con- Sofia Lahlou who travelled from Ahlam wrote on Insta- ple from around the temporary creation offering prom- Casablanca for the concert. gram. world thanks to its ising prospects. The second day of the festival Further south, peaceful cultural dia- featured hip-hop artist French the coastal city of logue that brings together Saad Guerraoui is a contributor Montana, who returned to his Essaouira was the East and West. to The Arab Weekly on Maghreb home city of Rabat a year after per- site of the 21st The 24th Festival of Sa- issues. forming in Casablanca. Montana’s concert was attended by more than 50,000 people de- spite calls for a boycott of the fes- tival. Boycott organisers said the privately sponsored festival’s rev- enue should be invested in socio- economic projects to improve Mo- roccans’ standard of living. While festival organisers did not comment on the boycott, the hashtag #boycott_mawazine was trending on Facebook and pictures of empty stages at some concerts were posted on social media, al- lowing boycott organisers to call their campaign a success. “Greetings, respect and appre- ciation to all honourable Moroc- cans who contributed to the suc- cess of the boycott, especially the Breathtaking performance. Classical Persian music singer Sepideh Raissadat performs during the 17th Mawazine World Rhythms inhabitants of Sale, Rabat and the International Music Festival in Rabat. (Sife Elamine – Courtesy of Mawazine) July 1, 2018 23 Culture Books Al Makan: Beirut’s community hub that feels like home

Samar Kadi Homey space. Al Majlis, the Beirut central room at Al Makan t is not home but it feels very community much like home. That is how centre in regular visitors describe Al Beirut. I Makan, a cultural commu- (Al Makan) nity hub in one of Beirut’s most crowded neighbourhoods where bookworms, students looking for a peaceful space to study and advo- cates of free expression and deep conversations meet. Tucked in a side street branching out of bustling Mar Elias, Al Makan offers a minimalist “homey” space with its spacious rooms impreg- nated with incense and its small garden, a rare luxury in an overbuilt city such as Beirut. “Al Makan is what I call the third space, in other words, the place where people will find you if you are not at home or in the university or at work,” says Hiba Khodr, an as- sociate professor of public policy at the American University of Beirut and Al Makan’s founder. “It is like home but it is not your house and it is not your favourite coffee house. It is a cultural hub where we are cultivating a com- munity spirit. The concept of com- munity is very inclusive as different people are part of a community.” Established last October, Al Ma- kan has a library, co-working area, personally helped me at one point or coffee and grab a snack from the lectures on alternative medicine. cetera. Nobody is leading anybody a space for meditation and spiritual in my life grow as a human being glass jars packed with cookies and As of September, the space will but all are just sharing views and exercise and a self-service kitchen. and helped me discover the purpose salty treats that line the shelves. double as an art residency, Khodr opinions,” Khodr said. Following the Andalusian tradi- of life. But the problem with the Once a week, Al Makan hosts a said. The place is sustained by major tion of naming things and places new generation is that they don’t movie night showing alternative “A French artist will be the first supporters in addition to its mem- during Mediaeval Islam in Spain, read much,” Khodr said. non-Hollywood movies, followed comer. She will stay for one month, bers and visitors. “We sustain each each room in Al Makan carries an The central room dubbed “Al Ma- by thought-provoking debates. live here, work here and, at the other in Al Makan. There is support indicative title. The “khan” is the jlis” is the most spacious and where “We essentially show movies that same time, mingle with Al Makan’s from different people who believe concept store where artisanal prod- most activities and events take will initiate discussion, movies that frequenters who will then have the in the concept and we have the ucts are displayed for sale; “al Dar” place. One of its walls is adorned come from all over the world, from opportunity to watch her work,” members who are always contribut- is where calligraphy and arts work- with the inscription “The place that Afghanistan, Iran, et cetera,” Khodr Khodr said. “It would be to stimu- ing,” Khodr said. shops are held; “al Mihrab” is the is not feminised cannot be depend- noted. late arts culture, appreciation and “At Al Makan, we embrace each space devoted for tranquillity and ed upon.” The quote by Andalusian The weekly “Let’s Talk” event knowledge. At the same time, the other. We want to introduce the val- meditation; “al Mashghal” is the poet Ibn Arabi is indicative of the provides an opportunity for visitors artist can give workshops and, at ues of love and service not through study and work; and “al Diwan” has place’s predominantly female users. to discuss topics such as identity, the end of the month, display her lectures but by living the experi- shelves stacked with books care- “Al Makan is mostly for women relationships and privacy. work.” ence. Where everybody knows your fully selected by Khodr to enhance but guys can come when we have Al Makan organises special events “Al Makan is a warm and welcom- name,” she said quoting the theme cultural, spiritual and intellectual public events. Women need privacy hosting professionals such as Brit- ing place. People from different from “Cheers.” “They are always development. and feel comfortable having a space ish photographer Peter Sanders, backgrounds and ages are welcome. glad you came. You come as you “The books available kind of re- for them,” Khodr said. who gave lectures and a workshop They could be atheists, churchgoers are,” she added. flect what Al Makan is all about Al Makan visitors can help them- on photography, and Hakim Archu- or of different nationalities and rac- and help conceptualise the place,” selves to Beit el Mouneh, the cen- letta, an expert in homoeopathy, es. They discuss different issues, be Samar Kadi is The Arab Weekly Khodr said. “We have books that tre’s kitchen, make their own tea who flew from Mexico to deliver it social, psychological, spiritual, et Travel and Society section editor. Book Review ‘The Arab’s Ox: Stories of Morocco’ by Tony Ardizzone

arrakech is the makes the point that, “no matter would be hit and fears that by de- university he had his own bowl. eighth most the situation, the world belongs to siring the accident, he has caused “A bowl in my house in Ifrane was popular tourist the strong.” it. simply a bowl, belonging equally Dunia El-Zobaidi destination in A dreamy boy with a wheelbar- The story ends that “at first the to everyone and to no one. West- the world, row witnesses what happens and Arab’s mind will deny what he ern children are given their own TripAdvisor prods the ox while an American sees, will tell him the animal is bowls, their own forks and spoons. says. It is tourist takes photographs. A Mo- only resting, or asleep, or at worst The family’s food is partitioned, Mknown for its warm, friendly roccan complains: “This is our life, has slipped, injured its snow-white separated. American children sleep people, delicious authentic the reality we live with each day.” left foreleg. Then when his eyes in their own beds. In my family, cuisine and its rich culture, The dreamy boy is glad he was will see that the beast in the ditch the children had one bed.” heritage and traditions. Folktales not hit. He is bored with his life is dead, he will think that surely He describes the joy of eating and music have been passed on and dreams he is a horseman in this dead, bloated beast is another food with his hands from a shared for generations. a festival. The boy hoped the ox man’s misfortune. Then he will bowl: “I find eating with my hand Award-winning author Tony fall to his knees in mourning and more sensual and enjoyable than Ardizzone presents a new collec- in recognition of God’s will and eating with a piece of metal. With tion of short interwoven stories his fingers will scratch sad furrows my hand, I can feel the food’s of Morocco in “The Arab’s Ox: into the darkened earth.” warmth and texture and thus I Stories of Morocco.” Another story details advice enjoy it with my fingertips as well The accounts are of three given by a Moroccan to an Ameri- as my mouth. In contrast, Western travellers and their experi- can to not be “so American.” The meals can be quite cold, I think, ences in Morocco. The first American asks what he means so particularly when one is forced to story “The Arab’s Ox” is the the Moroccan responds, “I mean forget the food and focus on select- richest and most dramatic. weak. I mean you asked a man ing the proper utensil.” It describes the reactions of in your hotel for peanuts, and he There are many other parables Moroccans when an ox is hit brought you olives. Then you left and traveller experiences in the by a shuttle bus from the him a tip. The weasel’s laughing book such as folktales detailing Casablanca airport. at you right now, believe me. The how “the travellers had to ask eve- The driver tells himself story is going from one to another ryone if they were human or djinn, that it is “maktub and the throughout the whole hotel. You’ll because when you were travelling road belongs to the strong… be lucky to get clean sheets. You you could never tell and you’d Ardizzone’s artistry in the ox failed to understand must learn how to handle these think someone was good and nice depicting the beauty this.” Ardizzone details Arabs if you expect to stay here and then suddenly he’d turn into a and flaws of Arab the driver’s background, and work.” monster.” which explains the driver’s The Arab way of eating is com- However, it is Ardizzone’s art- culture introduces a thoughts. He used to be pared to the Western way of eating istry in depicting the beauty and new lens for a city bus driver, which in another story. A Moroccan flaws of Arab culture that introduc- paid less. Growing up, said it was only until he reached es a new lens for Westerners to see Westerners to see all he knew was the life Morocco in another way than what Morocco in another of peasantry and he Captivating fiction. Cover of Tony they have seen already. denies it when he says Ardizzone’s “The Arab’s Ox: Stories way than what they he’s “no fellah from the Dunia El-Zobaidi is a regular Arab have seen already. countryside.” He repeatedly of Morocco.” Weekly contributor in London. 24 July 1, 2018 Travel www.thearabweekly.com

Agenda

Marrakech: Through July 31

The Marrakech Festival of Popular Arts and Folklore showcases traditional Moroc- can music, dance and customs from through the ages. Visitors are invited to attend concerts, exhibitions and Moroccan street troupe performances.

Dubai: July 6

Comedy Night will take place at the Dubai Opera, featuring comedians with mixed origins: Omar Hamdi, Prince Abdi, Esther Manito and Karim Duval. The show will be in English. A winding pathway on Al Noor Island, with the El Jem: skyline of Sharjah city July 7- August 11 in the background. (Shurooq) El Jem Roman Amphitheatre, 160km south of Tunis, hosts classical musicians from all over the world for the International Festival of Symphonic Music Al Noor Island: of El Jem. In its 33rd year, the festival programme includes symphonic and orchestral A tranquil destination music from Spain, Russia, Italy, Austria, South Korea and fashioned by art Tunisia. Zouk Mikael: July 8-17 and nature Set in a renovated Lebanese souk in a town 14km north of N.P. Krishna Kumar ly designed structure that encloses Beirut, the annual Zouk Mikael the Butterfly House and the cafe International Summer Festival within a few steps. The Butterfly features Arab and international Sharjah House, a glass-enclosed aviary that artists. recreates a tropical environment s part of its development and atmospheric ambience by let- Hammamet: vision, Sharjah has sought ting in natural light and retaining The exterior view of the nature-inspired main structure of the July 8-August 26 to create unique destina- humidity, has butterflies of all hues, Butterfly House. (Shurooq) A tions that engage people patterns and designs gracefully flut- Hammamet, a Tunisian town with nature and highlight artistic tering around and transporting visi- on the northern edge of the Gulf and cultural values. One of those tors into a wonderland of colours. every turn, one can be surprised by with its pink-ceilinged, white struc- of Hammamet, is the site of the projects is the 45,470-sq.metre Al With its ornamentally perforated native and exotic birds of passage, ture with white curtains swaying in 54th Hammamet International Noor Island being developed in the shadow roof inspired by ornate as well as a carefully curated collec- the wind offering a sense of privacy. Festival. Concerts and plays city. Arab windows (mashrabiya), the tion of art installations from around The soothing sounds of a fountain are scheduled for more than a Near Buhaira Corniche, Al Noor aviary houses exotic butterflies na- the world. and curved seating areas, with col- month. Island can be reached via the wind- tive to a variety of countries. The egg-shaped “OVO” installa- ourful cushions, provide additional ing pedestrian bridge across Khalid Butterfly species include the Afri- tion over a water setting combines incentive to sit down, write a few Beiteddine: Lagoon, beside the famous Al Noor can Monarch (Danaus chrysippus), wood and LED lighting to create a lines or curl up with a favourite July 12-August 15 Mosque, an architectural landmark the Autumn Leaf (Doleschallia bi- stunning visual treat at nightfall. book. of Ottoman architecture character- saltide) from India and the Com- The shiny mirror-polished “To- Many of the trees were saved Beiteddine Art Festival, in ised with multiple domes. mon Rose swallowtail butterfly rus” sculpture by David Harber dis- from destruction from elsewhere. picturesque Beiteddine in the As one approaches the thick green (Pachliopta aristolochiae), which is torts its surroundings in reflections An open photo exhibition of birds Chouf mountains, includes a canopy of trees, the golden struc- found across South-East Asia and is and challenges our visual percep- on the island by local and interna- variety of performances from ture of the main building on the known for its bright colouration and tions. tional photographers — mounted opera to theatre and art exhibi- idyllic island, which features the unique wing pattern. Two Fossil Crystal Rocks, an il- on tree trunks — on one part of the tions. The festival welcomes Butterfly House, looms large. Long The layout aims to provide in- luminated rock crystal that is island makes the winding journey more than 50,000 visitors, as before one reaches the island, visi- sight and education into the deli- about 300 million years old, and a more entertaining and informative. well as numerous star perform- tors hear hundreds of birds chirp- cate balance of nature and its living large amethyst lava blister stand as Not far from the Literature Pavil- ers. Ziad Rahbani, Carla Bruni ing, a sign that a special tryst with environment. guardians to the island. ion is the Cactus Garden, housing an and Kadim Al Sahir are to per- Mother Nature awaits. Al Noor Island’s greenery consists Edgar Tezak’s ornamental, flow- interesting collection of specimens. form at this year’s festival. The island brings nature, art and of local and imported plants and er-shaped metal sculpture, Susanne In late evening, Al Noor Island architecture together in one fas- trees; tall, medium and small woody Schmogner’s colourfully painted comes into its own. Incredible at- cinating composition inspired by and evergreen trees with brown and “Columns” sculpture and Monika mospheric lighting displays of twin- We welcome submissions of Austrian artist Andre Heller. black spines, low and medium- GilSing’s flag installations titled kling fairly lights, warm glow and calendar items related to The main attractions are spread sized tropical shrubs, cacti, fast- “Wind Images” embody the harmo- bright neon beckon, inviting explo- cultural events of interest to out but easily accessible. A tour- growing and spreading herbaceous niously magical spirit of nature on rations of nature and art. travellers in the Middle East ist in a hurry can take in the entire groundcover, trees with flowers of the island. The journey of amazement and North Africa. island in about 40 minutes. Those various colours, thorny ornamental Also near the entrance to the is- through Al Noor Island is an experi- who want to linger can easily spend vines, bushes and roses. land is the Literature Pavilion, a ence a visitor will never forget. a whole day there. Visitors can take the winding, place of quiet and secluded calm. Please send tips to: On the island, one can find the wooden pathways to every corner Gently lilting, instrumental music N.P. Krishna Kumar is an Arab [email protected] main nature-inspired, ergonomical- of the island at a leisurely pace. At beckons visitors to the pavilion, Weekly contributor in Dubai.

The egg-shaped “OVO” installation. (Shurooq) The winding pedestrian bridge across Khalid Lagoon with the famous Al Noor Mosque in the background. (Shurooq)