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Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, April 2002, pages 38-41 Issues in the News
Compiled by Nizar Wattad
ARABIAN PENINSULA
GCC Approves Tobacco TariffHealth ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including newly admitted member state Yemen, met Jan. 8 to discuss a number of health-related issues, particularly an alarming increase in the number of smokers in the region. The Jan. 7 Arab News reported that the GCC already has taken some steps to curb the effect of smoking on its population, such as prohibiting smoking in public places and banning tobacco advertising in the local media. Still, according to the Jan. 9 Saudi Gazette, 30 to 50 percent of Saudi medical professionals are smokers. The Arab News reported the same day that 39 of every 100,000 Saudis suffer from cancer caused by smoking. While numbers in other GCC countries are lower, an overall increase in the number of smokers and smoking-related diseases led the ministers to consider an increase in the customs tariff on tobacco. After some debate, the 52nd conference of GCC health ministers ended with a list of 25 recommendations, including a 150 percent increase in the tobacco tariff. Members states were urged to adopt these recommendations, which included the formation by each state of a national committee for the effective implementation of health strategy to control a number of problems, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Kuwait, Qatar Sign $2 Billion Gas DealAccording to the Jan. 31 Saudi Gazette, Qatar and Kuwait have signed a gas deal worth an estimated $2 billion. The deal, which was announced on Jan. 30 and will take effect in 2005, involves the daily transfer via submarine pipeline of anywhere between 800 million and 1.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas from Qatar to Kuwait. That’s enough to fill the Goodyear blimp about 4,000 times, or to power a 9,000-megawatt electricity generation network that Kuwait plans to build over the next few years. Kuwait, which sits on one of the world’s largest reserves of crude oil, has no non-oil-related gas reserves of any significance. Qatar, on the other hand, is the smallest producer in OPEC and controls the third largest reserve of natural gas in the world.
Kuwaiti Women Rally for VoteIn what has become an annual event, Kuwaiti women marched to voting stations on Jan. 17 to demand their political rights, specifically the right to vote. According to that day’s Times of India, the women were demanding rights as granted in a 1999 royal decree, which was later rejected by parliament. Maasuma Abdullah, coordinator of the Women’s Cultural and Social Society, remained hopeful in spite of yet another official rejection: “It’s only a matter of time before we get our rights,” she said. “We will continue to work quietly and seriously.” Parliament, it seems, can be sure to expect similar protests next year.
Abused Saudis to Sue U.S.Some Saudi citizens are accusing the United States of denying them their rights following the events of Sept. 11. According to the Jan. 17 Saudi Gazette, an American Embassy official in Riyadh insists that “Saudi students in the U.S. are being well treated. There is no discrimination whatsoever, except in a few cases.” Those “few cases” tell a very different story, however: according to the Saudi Embassy in Washington, 173 Saudis were arrested in the United States. The majority were released almost immediately, but some 50 still are behind bars. Those released, such as aviation student Adel Al-Otaibi, describe multiple arrests, unfounded accusations, and mental torture. Otaibi claims that prison supervisors laughed and told him that they had killed many in Palestine and Afghanistan. The Jan. 8 Saudi Gazette reports that after Otaibi was ordered deported, his U.S. guard allegedly threatened to shoot him if he strayed away at the airport. Another victim was Dr. Al-Badr Al-Hamzi, one of the first to be arrested, who although acquitted of all accusations experienced extreme difficulty in obtaining a re-entry visa to continue his Ph.D. studies in the U.S. On Jan. 15, the Saudi Gazette quoted Jonathan Shapiro, an American lawyer representing a man arrested in a case of mistaken identity, as saying that the treatment of his client was “one of the worst incidents in terms of the abuse of civil rights by the government.” Saudis “were pretty outrageously abused,” Shapiro said. In response to these abuses, according to the Jan. 19 Saudi Gazette, some of the students arrested have reached an agreement with Saudi lawyer Kateb Al-Shemri, who will file a lawsuit against U.S. authorities.
Digital PilgrimageHeightened security at this year’s hajj—the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that is one of the five pillars of Islam—marked the introduction of high-tech equipment such as digital eye scanners and fingerprint machines to the centuries-old event. Saudi Arabia expected about 2.5 million pilgrims, one-third of whom enter the country via King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah. According to the Feb. 5 online New York Times, scanning equipment will be used “at random or on suspicious individuals.” Thankfully, according to Lt. Col. Ibrahim bin Saleh al-Hamdan, the airport “receives more than 750,000 pilgrims and we’re not going to scan every single one of them.” Although the Saudi government did not officially announce the number of security forces deployed in Mecca, they are believed to have numbered in the tens of thousands.
Free Speech Maintained in BahrainIn the tiny Gulf state of Bahrain, a government intent on reform has lived up to its promises: In December, as the country prepared for the revival of municipal elections, eventual parliamentary elections, the construction of homes for low-income families, and the granting of citizenship to thousands of non-Bahrainis, the Information Ministry seemed to be taking a step backward by banning journalist Hafez Al-Shaikh from writing. According to the Jan. 4 Arab News, the ministry alleged that Al-Shaikh’s articles, which dealt with Bahrain’s majority Shi’i community, Iranians in the country, and other sensitive issues, incited sectarian strife. On Jan. 2, however, a court ruled in favor of Al-Shaikh, prompting Information Minister Nabeel Yacoub Al-Hamer to appeal the decision and issue the following statement: “We will not allow any incitement or damage to national unity by any person under any circumstances.” Despite these strong words, the Jan. 7 Arab News reported that the appeal eventually was dropped. “We are all committed to justice and to the rights of people to justice,” the minister said in a new statement, asserting the independence and integrity of the judiciary in still-reforming Bahrain.
FERTILE CRESCENT
Book Fair BeirutThe 45th Beirut Arab International Book Fair ended with its highest profits ever, exceeding last year’s $1 million record. According to the Jan. 28 Saudi Gazette, more than 170 Arab publishing houses participated in the fair, which featured 17 days of book signings and seminars on literary, social, cultural and political issues. Some 600,000 children visited the fair, which was appropriate given this year’s focus on environmental education and children’s books. Adnan Hamoud, director of the Arab Cultural Club that organized the fair, said that visitors browsed through upward of 80,000 titles. “The level of reading and attendance depended largely on the amount of money people have,” he noted, “and those who have only a bit of money to spend pick one book—after a long selection process—and buy it.”
Lebanese Fund to Sue SharonAccording to the Jan. 23 Khaleej Times, a fund has been created in Lebanon to support the 23 plaintiffs suing Ariel Sharon over the 1982 massacres at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. The committee that established the fund included Palestinian-Lebanese banker Rifaat Nimr, owner of the As-Safir newspaper Talal Salman, and two advisers to Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. According to a statement issued by the committee, “all freedom will be left to the lawyers in the trial and the committee will not interfere in legal issues, but hopes to draw international contributions to its efforts for the application of international law and the principles of humanity.”
Jordan: Not There YetWhen Jordan’s King Abdullah took the throne in 1999, he pledged to improve the status of women in the kingdom. Abdullah began to uphold that pledge last year, when he ordered the establishment of a Royal Human Rights Commission, which recently issued a proposal on the question of marriage rights. The Dec. 25 Khaleej Times announced that Jordanian women have won the right to divorce their husbands, as long as they abandon any claims whatsoever for financial compensation. This is considered progress in Jordan, where the old civil code allowed only men to demand a divorce except in extreme circumstances and when the husband granted his wife the divorce-right in a marriage contract. That law was amended to include a clause obliging any man to inform his wife if he marries again, and to tell the new spouse about the old one. With King Abdullah’s approval of the new law, a judge will order a divorce if the woman attests “she can no longer live with her husband” and does not pursue claims for money. In a country where 82 percent of women are unemployed, however, that may be easier said than done.
IRAN/IRAQ
Iran Frees Iraqi POWsTalks held in early January bore results later that month, when Iran released 682 prisoners captured during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. According to the Jan. 24 Saudi Gazette, the prisoner exchange would be followed by an exchange of remains of those prisoners who died in jail. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) supervised the handover, which took place at a border crossing 106 miles east of Baghdad. The Jan. 23 Khaleej Times quoted ICRC representative Kasandra Vartell calling the move an “unconditional release.” The former prisoners were given a hero’s welcome when they got home.
Saddam’s Moral Lessons?In a move that would embarrass any U.S. statesman, Iraqi President and “evildoer” Saddam Hussain has loudly denounced the treatment of prisoners held by the U.S. in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. According to the Jan. 23 Khaleej Times, Hussain issued the following statement: “The Americans are violating the laws that they themselves enacted. They used human rights and the rights of prisoners for propaganda purposes against other countries, but when their turn came to uphold those rights, they openly violated them.” Apt criticism, some say, notwithstanding the source…
New Iran-Turkey PipelineAccording to the Jan. 23 Arab News, an inaugural ceremony was held the previous day to officially open a major gas pipeline on the northwestern border of Iran. The pipeline, which has been operating since mid-December, delivers natural gas to Turkey at the rate of 140 billion cubic feet per year. “This is the pipeline of peace and friendship between our two countries and peoples,” said Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar-Zangeneh at the ceremony. “This is also the symbol of understanding between our two nations and we hope it will allow us to export gas to Europe through Turkey.” No problem, said Turkish Energy Minister Cakan Zeki. “We are ready to increase the volume of gas supply in order to export it to Europe via Turkey.” He added that such an arrangement “will benefit Turkey as well.” The deal, Iran’s first such project in 23 years, was closed despite U.S. objections that the pipeline rivaled a project to carry natural gas to Europe, via Turkey, from Turkmenistan.
Iranian Teachers ProtestOn Jan. 22, around 10,000 Iranian teachers staged a demonstration in the capital city of Tehran to protest poor pay and work conditions throughout the country. Protesters marched in front of the Majlis (parliament) building telling government officials that the officials earned more in one day than teachers did in a year. Police were deployed due to a ban on such demonstrations, but did not intervene. According to the Jan. 23 Arab News, Iran’s two million teachers have an average monthly salary of between $130 and $190, not including state assistance for housing. The teachers demanded “a complete reform of pay scales” and equality between teachers from poor neighborhoods and others. “We want to see our pay tripled at least,” said one, “plus decent working conditions, which is not the case in south Tehran.” A few days later, as protesters gathered in front of President Khatami’s office, police blocked their path and ordered the teachers to disperse. Some who did not comply were arrested or beaten, reported the Jan. 27 Arab News.
Khatami Asserts Islamic DemocracyIn a speech to establishment hard-liners on Jan. 17, Iran’s President Muhammad Khatami warned those opposed to reform that in the past years the people of Iran have voted several times in favor of the president’s reform policies, reported the Jan. 18 Arab News. “If some officials under whatever pretext ignore or even block the people’s will, then they take the risk of losing the people,” Khatami said, “and that would be an alarming signal for the establishment.” He went on to insist that “the people have the right to reject all imposed decisions...they even have the right to call for a change in the ruling system.” That is exactly what Iranian hard-liners fear, as they accuse some reformist wings of plotting to topple the country’s Islamic system and replace it with secular government. But Khatami maintains that democracy and Islam go hand in hand, and noted that his main efforts will be concentrated on implementing an Islamic democracy in Iran.
ISRAEL/PALESTINE
Israel Demolishes EU PropertySome members of the European Union are furious at the demolitions Israel is carrying out in Palestine, but it’s not only homes the Europeans are worried about: the Jan. 23 British Independent reported that the EU has blamed Israel for destroying more than $15 million of EU-funded property, including a school building program, the Gaza airport, and a seaport. In response to Israel’s security claims, EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten had this to say: “We ask whether it really contributes to security if everything we try to support with EU assistance is destroyed.” The most expensive property damaged was Gaza International Airport ($8 million). The Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation ($3 million) also was destroyed. The EU will present Israel with a list of damages, but does not anticipate that Israel will pay compensation.
The Not-So-Stifled Voice of PalestineOn Jan. 19, the airwaves in Ramallah fell silent for a time as Israeli troops, tanks and bulldozers cleared the area around the Voice of Palestine Radio station, then blew it up. Half of the five-story building collapsed in the blast, which Israeli officials say was in retaliation for an attack that killed six Israelis attending a bat mitzvah in Hadera two days earlier. According to the Jan. 20 Saudi Gazette, Israeli government spokesman Are Mekel said that the Voice of Palestine had “long been a center of incitement against Israel.” Palestinians deny that claim, the Palestinian leadership insisting that Israel’s actions were “meant to silence the Palestinian voice so the world won’t know about the brutal crime the Israeli occupation has carried out against our people.” That voice has proven resilient, however, as the Voice of Palestine immediately resumed broadcasts on local FM frequencies used by private stations.
Networking RafahA unique form of urban network has developed in the Palestinian refugee camp of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians whose homes are directly on streets patrolled regularly by Israeli armored vehicles have knocked holes in each other’s walls to provide quick avenues of escape in the all-too-common event of an Israeli attack. Ibrahim Ghoneim, who lives in constant fear for the safety of his 10 children, is credited with being the first to suggest the drastic move, which has transformed some neighborhoods into labyrinths. According to the Dec. 31 Saudi Gazette, the majority of Palestinians in such neighborhoods prefer spending their nights elsewhere, in rented homes or with relatives.
Assassination RefusalThe Jan. 6 Saudi Gazette reported that an Israeli newspaper had published the first public admission that Israel’s security service Shin Bet orders assassinations. According to an army internal document published in the Israeli weekly Kol Hair, an officer refused to assassinate two activists of the Islamic Jihad on Dec. 14 last year. He ruled that the Shin Bet order to kill the men was “illegal” and insisted on capturing them instead. When the two fled, one was killed and the other captured without serious injury. Israeli Col. Yossi Adiri noted in the army document that “the officer was right to turn down the demand from the Shin Bet agent who went beyond his prerogatives.”
NORTH AFRICA
OPEC Gets Tested in AlgeriaThe toughest challenge in any multinational organization is ensuring that member states comply with policy decisions. For OPEC, this is especially difficult when a member state—in this case, Algeria—has ambitions to increase its output capacity while OPEC policy is asking for exactly the opposite. The Jan. 22 Khaleej Times reported that just two weeks after OPEC imposed its fourth supply cut in a year, Algeria tapped another oil field that began producing at around 75,000 barrels a day. The dispute arose after Algeria, with its largely unexplored petroleum basins and loose official regulations, managed to attract some of the world’s biggest oil companies to the country. As OPEC is asking it to cut output to the lowest level in years, Algeria has been working to boost overall capacity to 1.5 million barrels per day by 2005. As one analyst summed it up: “Algeria’s position within OPEC is difficult”—especially since the outcome of this impasse will likely serve as a precursor to similar situations elsewhere.
Sudan Gets Sugary DealGood news from Sudan regarding its relationship with Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom has agreed to import raw sugar from Sudan for a Jeddah refinery, while Sudan gets a $30 million factory to produce vegetable oil, reported the Jan. 22 Arab News. The deal will have Sudan growing 250,000 acres of sugarcane in central and eastern parts of the country. In addition, Saudi Arabia has resumed importing meat and livestock from Sudan after a year-long ban that Sudanese officials said cost their country more than $170 million in hard currency. Sudan hopes to export two million heads of livestock to Saudi Arabia during 2002.
Bizarre Trial in TunisiaThe BBC reported that on Jan. 2, after years of living underground, three men—Hamma Hammami, Abdel-Jabar Madouri and Samir Taamallah, all members of the opposition Communist Party—surrendered to Tunisian authorities because they thought pro-democracy forces and human rights groups had grown strong enough to ensure a fair trial. Instead, as they stood surrounded by their lawyers, a group of some 30 uniformed and plainclothes policemen burst into court and seized the men. According to the Feb. 4 Independent, the judge locked himself in his office as the police harassed the defendants and their lawyers. Hammami, whose 9-year in absentia sentence was renewed in court, said that “the police have confiscated all my past, the few pictures of my childhood, my high-school report cards, the poems I have written since I was 13, all the memories I kept from my childhood.” Human rights groups are protesting the in-court arrest, which they charged was neither fair nor legal.
Umm Kalthoum RememberedHer official birth certificate reads May 4, 1904, but the Dec. 28 opening of a museum dedicated to legendary Egyptian diva Umm Kalthoum coincided roughly with her “unofficial” birth date of Dec. 20, 1898. The permanent exhibit, “Memorabilia of Umm Kalthoum,” is being displayed at the Star of the Orient Museum in Cairo’s Manistirli pavilion, a 150-year-old palace that overlooks the Nile. On display are the beloved singer’s dresses, photographs, and her engraved oud, a traditional Arabic string instrument. A special display case at the exhibit entrance holds one of Umm Kalthoum’s trademark red handkerchiefs, which she would clutch on stage as millions of people tuned in to Egyptian radio to listen to live monthly broadcasts of her concerts. The museum also contains an audiovisual library and news archive, framed letters from dignitaries, handwritten poems, and 18 impressive rows of decorations awarded by Arab governments. Still, according to the Dec. 28 Khaleej Times, one lifelong fan of Umm Kalthoum insisted that no museum or government could give Umm Kalthoum her due. “She united us as Arabs,” said fan and scriptwriter Mohammed Abdel Ghani, “she united our souls.”
Leap Year Slab FoundArcheologists in Egypt have discovered a 2,200-year-old slab carved with a royal decree amending the astrological calendar. The limestone stela, whose year-old discovery was announced on Feb. 1 and reported in the Feb. 2 Khaleej Times, amends Egypt’s ancient 365-day calendar by order of Pharaoh Ptolemy III, adding an extra day every fourth year, creating the leap year. According to Upper Egypt antiquities chief Yehya Al Masri, the stela “is exactly like the Rosetta stone but without the Greek.” The artisan who carved the slab noted his intention to provide a third translation into Greek and left space to that purpose, but for some reason neglected to do so. Although the stela was found shattered into fragments 279 miles south of Cairo, archeologists were able to piece it together.
THE SUBCONTINENT
Gujarat Still SufferingOne year after a devastating earthquake struck the Indian state of Gujarat, thousands of victims are still homeless and poor, with little hope for government assistance, reported the Jan. 21 Saudi Gazette. The quake, which struck on Jan. 26, 2001, measured 7.8 on the Richter scale, killed over 20,000 people, injured 100,000 others, and destroyed about 230,000 homes. Problems with rehabilitation abound: “the new struggle is bad climatic conditions, improper housing facilities for thousands and, above all, rising state-level corruption,” said NGO director Lalji Desai. “Government officials are accepting bribes from the victims,” he continued, before granting them compensation. Those who have received reimbursement, therefore, tend to be influential, upper-class Indians, while the neediest are neglected. In addition, some Hindu fundamentalist organizations are distributing aid only to high-caste Hindus. Not surprisingly, state officials denied allegations of corruption. Many citizens are exasperated with the situation. “We do not want the best,” said one woman who lost her home in the quake, but “at least give us shelter, food and clothing.”
One Million Invited to RetireSince 1999, India has been trying to trim down its enormous, and enormously inefficient, bureaucracy. Acting on recommendations from a panel of experts set up that year, the government on Feb. 5 offered one million “surplus” central government workers a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS). The plan pays workers 35 days of wages for each year of service completed, and 25 days for each year left until their retirement. Those who choose not to retire will be retrained if possible, but may be fired, reported the Feb. 6 Arab News. The VRS includes normal retirement benefits and tax rebates.
Women in ParliamentNew electoral rules have been announced in Pakistan and Bangladesh, with the aim of guaranteeing more seats for women in those countries’ parliaments. According to the Jan. 1 Arab News, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, in a bid to restore “genuine democracy,” also has promised to hold general elections and restore parliament in October of this year. In addition to increasing the number of women’s seats from 20 to 60, the new electoral rules will end discrimination against religious minorities in parliamentary elections. In Bangladesh, reported the Jan. 24 Saudi Gazette, an earlier bill ensuring women’s seats in parliament expired last year, and was re-introduced as a constitutional amendment in late January 2002. Secretary-General of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan said that Bangladesh wants “all including women…to take part in the country’s development process.”
Mission: MusharrafIndian police have arrested two teenagers (Manoj Ojha, 16, and Ram Namdev, 17) for allegedly abducting their employer’s son in a bid to extract enough ransom money to fund a trip to Pakistan and assassinate Pakistani President Musharraf. The boys say they got the idea from two Bollywood films—“Gadar” and “Mission: Kashmir”—both of which deal with the historically strained relations between India and Pakistan. Apparently, they also were upset at the attack on India’s parliament in mid-December, allegedly carried out by Pakistani militants. The victim was abducted on Jan. 11 and rescued five days later by police, who then arrested the captors.
CENTRAL ASIA
Turkey StumblesIn January, top officials addressed two major obstacles to Turkish membership in the EU, with mixed results. The Jan. 3 Arab News reported that Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, saying, “The EU will not accept that the death penalty still exists in our laws,” called for the abolition of the death penalty in order to appease the Europeans, who cite Turkey’s questionable human rights record as the main deterrent to its entry into the EU. Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has ruled out any possibility of allowing Kurdish-language education in Turkish classrooms, according to the Jan. 27 Arab News. The issuance of Kurdish cultural freedoms is another EU concern. Interestingly, the still-legal death penalty hasn’t been applied in Turkey since 1984, while the illegal Kurdish language is used every day.
Grieving Families MeetIn mid-January, a group of Americans who lost family members in the Sept. 11 attacks traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, to meet with families whose relatives died in subsequent U.S. bombings. The meeting was arranged by Global Exchange, a human rights organization, and four American participants intended to express their view that America’s primary responsibility is reconstruction, not revenge. Kelly Campbell lost her brother-in-law Craig Amundson in the Pentagon attack. Amundson’s widow, Amber, said: “I have heard angry rhetoric by some Americans, including many of our nation’s leaders, who advise a heavy dose of revenge and punishment. To those leaders, I would like to make clear that my family and I take no comfort in your words of rage. If you choose to respond to this incomprehensible brutality by perpetuating violence against other innocent human beings, you may not do so in the name of justice for my husband.” An Afghani participant, Abdul Basir Amiri, who lost his young daughter Nazila to misguided American bombs, noted that “an innocent life lost is a terrible thing, wherever it is. The life of my daughter was precious, but so were the lives of all those who died in America. The terrorists did something evil, and then a pilot dropped a bomb which killed Nazila. We can only grieve for each other.”
ISSUES IN BRIEFUAE training centers sought to encourage women in leadership positions; Saudi author Hanaa Hijazi’s first collection of short stories published after 10 years in the making; Two Lebanese men accused of collaborating with Israel in 1992 killing sentenced to death in absentia; 15 Iranian dissidents and parliament members they oppose went to trial on charges of subversion and corruption, respectively; Moroccan journalists Abou Bakr Jamai and Ali Ammar were fined $44,000 for defaming the foreign minister; 7,500-year-old “Lost River” civilization discovered off the western coast of Gujarat, India; Recession shut down 27,000 Turkish businesses in 2001; First local Afghani film in 10 years is ready to roll. |