January/Februray 1997, pgs. 30-34

Issues in the News

Compiled by Shawn L. Twing

ARABIAN PENINSULA

Kuwait

Kuwait, Austria Sign Trade Agreement:

Kuwait and Austria signed a trade agreement on Nov. 16 to promote business and investment between the two countries. During a four-day visit to the Gulf emirate, Austria’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, announced the two countries also are discussing another agreement to eliminate double taxation.

Oman

Sultan Inaugurates LNG Plant:

Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said inaugurated on Nov. 16 a $1.2 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant to be built in Al Galila near the Port of Sur on the Gulf of Oman. The contract for the plant’s construction was awarded a week earlier to a consortium of the U.S. firm Foster Wheeler and the Japanese company Chiyoda. The facility is part of a $6 billion LNG project undertaken by Oman which is expected to generate more than $24 billion in revenues during the next 25 years.

GCC Interior Ministers Meet in Oman:

Interior ministers from the six Gulf Cooperation Council states—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—met in Muscat, Oman in November. Topping the meeting’s agenda was the development of an information network to help combat terrorist organizations operating within the GCC countries.

Qatar

Qatar Signs Defense Deal With U.K.:

Qatar and the United Kingdom signed an $833 million defense agreement that includes armored personnel carriers, missiles, patrol boats and aircraft. The Memorandum of Understanding, signed in November by UK Minister of Defense Michael Portillo and Qatar’s Minister of State Sheikh Ahmad bin Saif Al Thani, challenges France’s dominant role as a supplier of an estimated 80 percent of Qatar’s military needs in the past, according to Jane’s Defence Weekly. Companies from the United States, France and the United Kingdom are vying for another substantial contract to provide Qatar with 50 main battle tanks.

Emir Enlarges Consultative Council:

The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, announced in November that Qatar’s consultative council will be expanded by six members to 35. The announcement was made after the country’s basic law was amended to stipulate that the emir can appoint more members to the council as long as it serves the public interest.

IMF Sees Doubling of Qatar’s Oil and Gas Revenues:

The International Monetary Fund forecast in November that Qatar’s revenue from oil and gas exports will more than double public sector income to $7 billion by the year 2000, according to the Qatar Economic Review. In 1995 Qatar earned $2.4 billion from oil exports and approximately $800 million from related exports including petrochemicals, condensates and fertilizers. The income growth will come mainly from natural gas exports from Qatar’s North Field, the single largest gas reserve in the world. These export earnings will, according to the IMF, eliminate any fiscal deficit in Qatar by the end of the century.

Saudi Arabia

National Airline Signs Training Deal With American School:

Saudia, Saudi Arabia’s national airline, has chosen the Emby-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida as the training center for its pilot trainees, according to the English-language daily Arab News. Saudia, which previously had trained pilots across the United States, will continue its advanced pilot training at its flight operations center in Jeddah.

Arabic Encyclopedia Released:

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz officially released on Nov. 17 the Global Arabic Encyclopedia, a 30-volume, 16,200-page comprehensive reference for the Arab and Islamic worlds, with contributions by more than 1,000 scientists, writers, researchers and editors. The encyclopedia contains more than 20,800 entries and 18,000 photographs related to Arab and Islamic culture and history, according to the English-language daily Saudi Gazette.

United Arab Emirates

UAE Marks 25th Anniversary:

The United Arab Emirates celebrated Dec. 2, the 25th anniversary of its independence from Britain in 1971, with a massive display of military equipment, fireworks, laser shows and folklore performances, as well as joint appearances of leaders of the seven emirates that make up the federation. Adding to the silver anniversary festivities was the recovery of the country’s founding president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan of Abu Dhabi, who had returned from the United States after undergoing successful surgery on his neck.

Emirates to Buy 16 New Aircraft:

Emirates Airlines announced in November from its headquarters in Dubai that it will buy 16 A330-200 aircraft from the European consortium Airbus Industries. The aircraft, with an expected price tag exceeding $2 billion, will be delivered in stages from January 1999 through mid-2002, according to the UAE daily Khaleej Times. They will replace Emirates’ current fleet of A300-600s and A310 jetliners, which will be returned to Airbus Industries.

UAE, UK Sign Defense Agreement:

Representatives from the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom signed a bilateral defense agreement on Nov. 28 during a visit to the country by UK Defense Minister Michael Portillo. The agreement stipulates that the UK will aid the UAE against external military threats. In an interview with the UAE Arabic newspaper Al Ittihad, Portillo described the agreement as a “very significant and important development.”

Yemen

Progress in $5 Billion Gas Talks:

Yemeni officials announced in November that they had made progress in negotiations with international firms interested in developing a $5 billion natural gas project in Yemen. Following six days of talks in Paris with representatives from France’s Total SA, the U.S. Exxon Corp., and Hunt Oil, Yemen’s deputy oil minister, Moheiddine Al Dhabi, told London’s Al Hayat daily that an “agreement was reached on most points under discussion, especially the basics of joining the project.” Under the agreement Hunt and Exxon would jointly hold 38 percent of shares in the project, Total SA 36 percent and Yemen’s government 26 percent. The proposed facility will be located in Balhalf on the Arabian Sea and is expected to produce five millions tons of liquefied natural gas per year beginning in the year 2001.

FERTILE CRESCENT

Jordan

Jordan Will Get Non-NATO Status:

The Clinton administration announced in November that it will grant Jordan non-NATO status, which authorizes the pre-positioning of U.S. military equipment, training and access to U.S. high technology military hardware. The administration’s decision must be approved by Congress, which seems certain after it convenes in January.

“Open Skies” Agreement Signed:

The United States and Jordan signed an agreement on Nov. 10 allowing Royal Jordanian airlines access to airports in all 50 U.S. states and direct flights to the U.S. from all European countries. Prior to the agreement, Jordan’s national airline was allowed to land in only five U.S. states and could fly directly from only three European countries. Royal Jordanian general manager Nader Thahabi said the agreement will give the airline a substantial economic boost by eliminating the necessity for passengers to change airlines to reach their destinations.

McDonald’s Opens in Amman:

Jordan’s Prince Faisal opened the first McDonald’s restaurant in Jordan on Nov. 7. The fast food restaurant in Amman has more than 200 employees and can accommodate nearly 250 customers, according to McDonald’s International vice-president Roger Lexell. The restaurant chain has outlets in eight other Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, Bahrain and Qatar.

Syria

Syrian GNP Increases 20 Percent:

Syria’s gross national product increased by 20 percent in 1995, according to official Syrian press reports circulated in November. The reports showed that GNP increased from $11.5 billion at the official exchange rate of 43.5 Syrian pounds to the U.S. dollar to $13.7 billion in 1995.

Assad Reaffirms Syria’s Commitment to Peace with Israel:

Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad reaffirmed Syria’s commitment to a land-for-peace agreement with Israel during a November dinner held in honor of visiting President Cheddi Jagan of Guyana. Assad told the gathering that “Syria is committed to a just and comprehensive peace as a strategic option…on the basis of land-for-peace.” The Syrian president said such a peace “would provide security and stability to the region [and] the appropriate climate for economic development.” Assad’s comments followed heightened tensions with Israel after newly elected Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu rejected Israeli withdrawal from Syria’s Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967, and Syria deployed 12,000 troops to nearby areas.

Turkey

Turkey Denies Major Military Offensive in Iraq:

Turkish military officials denied press reports that Turkey had launched a major military offensive into northern Iraq on Nov. 5. The mass circulation newspaper Milliyet had claimed that some 8,000 Turkish soldiers, backed up by attack aircraft, penetrated 15 kilometers into northern Iraq in pursuit of rebels from the Kurdish Workers’ Party of Turkey. Turkish officials admitted that there had been so-called “hot pursuit” incursions on a much smaller scale when Turkish commandoes followed rebel Kurds into northern Iraq.

IRAN/IRAQ

Iran

Iran Takes Delivery of Third Kilo Submarine:

Iran took delivery of its third Kilo-class diesel submarine from Russia in November, further enhancing its military capabilities as the sole indigenous operator of submarines in the Persian/Arabian Gulf. In Washington, defense officials have expressed concern that the additional submarine will allow Iran to have at least one operating in the region at all times. Following the delivery of the first Kilo to Iran, the United States sent the USS Topeka, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, to the Gulf to demonstrate its commitment to the region’s security.

Iran Signs $1 Billion Deal with Italy:

Iran signed a $1 billion deal in November for construction by an Italian company of two new steel producing plants and increased production in two other existing plants, according to Reuters news service. The two new facilities are expected to produce 1.1 million tons of steel yearly and will be based in the northern Khorasan province and the Azerbaijan province in the northwest. The two existing plants will expand production to 2.35 million tons annually.

Iran Blames Germany for Iraqi Chemical Weapons Attack:

Iran’s speaker of parliament Ali Akbar Nateq Nuri announced on Tehran radio on Nov. 16 that Germany bears responsibility for a 1987 Iraqi chemical weapons attack on the Iraqi Kurdish town of Halabja while it was occupied by Iranian forces. The attack killed a large number of Kurdish civilians. Nuri claimed that Germany’s chemical exports and assistance to Iraq gave Saddam Hussain the capability to carry out a number of such chemical attacks against Iran during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. He said that Iran will sue Germany in an international tribunal because of that country’s aid to Iraq. Nuri’s comments followed heightened tension between Iran and Germany resulting from the trial in Germany of the alleged assassins of four Iranian Kurdish leaders in Berlin’s Mykonos restaurant. Prosecutors charge the killings were directed by Iranian intelligence operatives.

Iran Rejects British Proposal for Regional Security Organization:

Iran’s interior minister, Muhammad Ali Bashrani, rejected a British proposal for a multilateral security organization among Gulf countries, saying that the region has enough organizations and doesn’t need any more. Speaking in Doha, Qatar during a November security conference, Bashrani said that “the peoples of this region are brothers, neighbors and Muslims,” and that Iran’s relationship with the GCC states is “family-like.” Bashrani stressed that his presence in Qatar for the conference was “an indication that we are keen on maintaining good relations with the countries of the GCC.”

He said Iran’s dispute with the United Arab Emirates over Iranian occupation of three strategic islands—Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs—will be settled through proper international channels.

Iraq

China and Iraq Hold Oil Exploration Talks:

China announced in November that it was holding talks with Iraq on potentially “massive” oil exploration contracts. China’s official Xinhua news agency said that talks between China’s National Petroleum Corporation and Iraqi officials include plans for the production of five million tons of oil per year, and also for Chinese aid in developing an Iraqi oil field thought to have a 15 million ton-per-year output capacity.

China also recently signed a $400 million deal to build oil facilities in Kuwait and is negotiating with Saudi Arabia to construct refineries in eastern China.

French Companies Ready to Re-arm Iraq:

British and U.S. intelligence services allegedly discovered signed agreements between French companies and Iraq to re-equip Iraq’s military machine after sanctions are lifted, according to London’s Mail on Sunday. One of the alleged contracts provides French companies Total and Elf Aquitaine oil rights in southern Iraq for undisclosed weapons and services. Another contract involves a high-speed railway connecting Iraqi ports in the Gulf with Turkey, Georgia and Russia.

Iraq-Turkey Bridge Reopens:

A bridge connecting Turkey and Iraq reopened in November following five years of repairs. The bridge spanning the Hezil River had been closed since 1991 and had created substantial traffic problems at other key crossing points.

ISRAEL/PALESTINE

Israel

Majority of Israelis Favor Tel Aviv Over Jerusalem for Israel’s Capital:

A slight majority of Israelis favor moving the country’s capital from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, according to a survey published in the Hebrew daily Ma’ariv. Israeli Knesset member and co-chair of the Knesset’s Jerusalem caucus Ophir Pines (Labor) described the report as “very worrying,” saying that the government should make every effort to improve living conditions in Jerusalem. He maintained that the Knesset’s actions “must be based on the premise that Jerusalem is not only Israel’s capital, but Israel’s undivided capital, and the capital of Israel only.” Following the publication of the report, the Jerusalem caucus submitted a bill to the Knesset that would make the city a free-trade zone, like the port city of Eilat, in hopes that the move would attract investment to the city.

David Ivry Leaves Defense Ministry:

David Ivry stepped down from his post as director-general of the defense ministry in November after more than 10 years of service. Ivry, who served under Defense Ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Moshe Arens, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Mordechai, will continue to serve as a senior adviser to the Defense Ministry. He was replaced by Maj. Gen. (reserves) Ilan Biran, 50, a former commander in the occupied territories who has been the chairman of Oil Refineries, Ltd. since retiring from the IDF last April.

Mayor Indicted for Fraud:

A Tel Aviv district court indicted Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert on charges of fraud, forgery and breach of trust related to the 1988 national elections when he was Likud Party treasurer. Sources cited in the Jerusalem Post say that is unlikely that he will voluntarily suspend himself during the court’s proceedings.

New Ambassadors to Egypt, Vatican Named:

Israeli Foreign Ministry Director for African Affairs Zvi Mazel was appointed Israel’s ambassador to Egypt in November. Mazel, a former ambassador to Romania, previously served in Cairo in 1980 immediately following the Egyptian-Israeli peace agreements. The Foreign Ministry also named Aharon Lopez, a career diplomat, as Israel’s ambassador to the Vatican.

Whitman Cancels Tunnel Visit:

New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman canceled plans to visit the disputed Jerusalem tunnel during a week-long visit to Israel that began on Nov. 7. Whitman, on a visit to promote trade between Israel and New Jersey, called off her planned trip to Jerusalem’s Old City ostensibly for medical reasons, according to the Palestinian English-language paper The Jerusalem Times. The New Jersey governor reportedly was advised by Arab-American constituents that visiting the tunnel would be viewed as tacit recognition of Israeli sovereignty in East Jerusalem. Although she managed to avoid the tunnel issue, Whitman did travel to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights during her visit.

IBM, Israel Sign Barter Deal:

U.S. computer giant International Business Machines (IBM) signed a three-year barter deal with the government of Israel, according to Israel Line news service. The first-of-its-kind agreement commits IBM to buying Israeli products worth an amount equal to that spent by the Israeli government and public corporations on IBM products. In 1995 alone, Israel’s purchases of IBM products reached $1 billion.

Israeli Majority Favors Palestine State:

Fifty-seven percent of Israelis would agree to the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state, according to a survey published in the Hebrew daily Ha’aretz. The survey also found that 57 percent of Israel’s population would agree to dismantling some Jewish settlements, including the enclave of some 450 radical settlers in Hebron.

The poll, conducted by the Steinmatz Center for Peace Studies at Tel Aviv University, presented 509 Israelis with three options that included maintaining the status quo, a Palestinian state encompassing the entire West Bank and Gaza with the dismantling of all settlements, and a third option including limited Israeli annexation of border areas containing settlements and a Palestinian state without a standing army. The third option was modeled on a proposed agreement reportedly reached last year by Palestinian aide to President Yasser Arafat Mahmoud Abbas and Labor Party official Yossi Beilin.

Immigrants to Settle in West Bank:

The Jewish Agency has created a “secret plan” to settle Jewish immigrants from the United States, Central Europe and the former Soviet Union in the West Bank (and Gaza) according to the Hebrew-language daily Ha’aretz. Although the Jewish Agency declined to comment officially, Agency chairman Avraham Burg said that “anyone who brings immigrants to Israel should be welcomed.” The newspaper’s report followed an Israeli government announcement that it will provide $14.6 million in loans for building 200 apartments in the West Bank and Gaza.

Israeli Citizen is No. 2 in Russia’s National Security Establishment:

The No. 2 position in Russia’s national security establishment now is held by an Israeli citizen, according to a report in the Forward newspaper. Boris Abramovich Berezovsky, a Russian Jewish businessman who also holds Israeli citizenship, owns a bank, a national television station, oil interests and an automobile dealership. He ascended to the position after Russian President Boris Yeltsin fired Alexander Lebed from his post as national security adviser in November. Lebed has accused Berezovsky of war profiteering during the war in Chechnya. He also donated money and television time to Yeltsin’s re-election campaign.

Palestine

2.5 Million Palestinians in West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem:

More than 2.5 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, according to a report issued in November by the Palestinian Authority. The PA’s Central Statistics Bureau said that the population has reached 2,534,000, with 1,326,000 living in the West Bank, 245,000 in East Jerusalem, and 963,000 in Gaza. The Bureau predicts that the Palestinian population in these three areas will exceed three million by the year 2000.

Gaza Industrial Park to Open Soon:

The first Palestinian industrial park will open at the Karni junction along Gaza’s border with Israel, according to remarks by U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce Stuart Eisenstadt published in the Jerusalem Post. The park is the first of nine planned industrial facilities and will be financed primarily with aid from Western countries. Israel committed itself publicly to $14 million for the project in November following months of disagreement over its role in the industrial park projects.

Descendants of Hebron’s Jews Say Settlers Don’t Represent Them:

Children and grandchildren of Jews who lived in Hebron before 1948 met with Arab officials in Hebron on Nov. 10 and expressed their solidarity with the estimated 120,000 Arabs who live there. During a meeting with Hebron Mayor Mustafa Natshe, the group’s spokesman, Yosef Ben Yacov Ben Ezra, accused the 450 fanatical settlers in the West Bank city of “smearing the name of the Jews of Hebron” and “harming our relations with our Palestinian neighbors.” Another member of the group, Haim Hanegbi, whose grandfather was rabbi of the Jewish community in Hebron in 1932, declared that “authentic Hebron Jews have nothing to do with the fanatic settlers who are anti-Arab and anti-peace....We, the Jews of Hebron, declare that only through the people of Hebron, the municipal council and a future Palestinian state, will we be able to recover our rights and reclaim our property in Hebron,” Hanegbi said.

Histradut Supports Palestinians:

Amir Perez, secretary-general of Israel’s powerful Histradut labor union, called on the Israeli government to allow Palestinian day workers back into Israel and to send the replacement workers from the Far East and Eastern Europe back home. Following a Nov. 10 meeting with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, Perez also voiced the union’s support for a settlement in Hebron. “We wish to see the agreement on Hebron signed as soon as possible, despite the settlers’ protests,” he said. He also encouraged the army and the government to do “their utmost to show that the settlers are trying to place obstacles in the way of the redeployment process.”

THE NILE VALLEY

Egypt

Cairo Arrests Suspected Israeli Spy:

Egyptian security officials arrested a Palestinian Israeli citizen in November on charges of spying for Israel. Azzam Azzam, 35, a mechanic at the Tafron Egyptian-Israeli textile joint venture, will be tried in an Egyptian military court. Azzam was arrested in Cairo after Egyptian security officials allegedly found traces of invisible ink on a bag he had given to an unnamed accomplice. An Egyptian citizen, Emad Eddin Abdel Hamid, confessed to receiving payments from Azzam for aiding in his espionage activities. Israel maintains that Azzam is not involved in espionage activities and should be returned to Israel.

Egyptian Charged as Israeli Spy:

An Egyptian citizen was arrested in November for allegedly spying for Israel. According to Egyptian press reports, Samir Othman delivered messages to Israeli officials about Egypt’s navy by swimming some 650 yards from the Egyptian to the Israeli side of the Red Sea near Taba. Othman, a member of the Egyptian armed forces trained as a frogman, apparently tried to conceal his espionage activities by posing as one of the thousands of divers who flock to the area every year.

Grand Mufti Appointed:

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak appointed in November a university professor as Egypt’s chief theologian. Nasser Fareed Muhammad Wassel, 59, dean of Al Azhar University’s Department of Islamic Jurisprudence, succeeds Muhammad Said Al Tantawi, who was appointed Grand Sheikh of Al Azhar on March 27.

Gold, Platinum Found in Egypt:

German geologists announced in November their discovery of substantial deposits of gold and platinum in Egypt. Jaber Naeem, the head of Egypt’s geological survey organization, told Egypt’s Arabic daily Al Akhbar that 15 new sites had been discovered in Egypt’s Sinai and southern Aswan areas. He also said that four international companies have applied for permission to search for precious metals in Egypt.

Gold mining stopped in Egypt in 1963 but the geological survey organization began exploration again in 1982. There are more than 90 ancient gold mines in Egypt, concentrated mainly in the southern part of the country.

NORTH AFRICA

Algeria

Algeria Inaugurates Gas Pipeline:

North African and European energy ministers announced in November a $2.3 billion project to pipe Algerian natural gas to Europe. Construction of the 785-mile pipeline began in October 1994 and was completed earlier this year. It carries natural gas from Algeria’s Hassi R’mel fields 250 miles south of Algiers through Morocco and across the Strait of Gibraltar into Cordoba, Spain. Initial capacity for the pipeline is eight billion cubic meters per year, with the potential of reaching 20 billion cubic meters by 2000. Other potential customers for Algerian natural gas include France and Germany.

Libya

Italian Firm Signs $3 Billion Deal:

Italian energy conglomerate ENI revealed in November that it had signed a $3 billion deal with Libya for a pipeline to deliver natural gas across the Mediterranean. The pipeline will extend 350 miles from fields in Libya and offshore to Capo Passero in Sicily, according to the Cyprus-based Middle East Economic Survey. The pipeline is part of Italy’s efforts to reduce its dependence on natural gas from Russia, Algeria and the Netherlands. American officials have not commented on whether the U.S. will sanction ENI under terms of recently passed U.S. legislation that penalizes foreign firms investing more than $40 million in Iran or Libya’s natural gas and oil industries.

THE SUBCONTINENT

Pakistan

Anti-Corruption Laws Passed:

Thirteen days after Pakistani President Farooq Leghari dissolved the lower house of parliament and ousted Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, officials from his administration drafted a new anti-corruption law aimed at politicians and government officials. The decree allows for amnesty from jail time if public officials voluntarily declare their corrupt practices and return illegally earned property and money.

Afghanistan

Taliban Seek Separate Girls’ Educational System:

An official from Afghanistan’s Taliban organization announced in November that education for Afghan girls and women would continue after “perfect security” was established in Kabul, according to Agence France Presse. Taliban Education Minister Maulavi Abdul Salam Hanifi said that a “specific program” had been developed to allow women teachers to educate girls and young women. According to the official, girls can continue to attend coeducational facilities until age 9, but they must be segregated from male students and instructors.

After seizing Kabul on Sept. 27, the Taliban instructed women to veil in public and to stay home from work and female students to stay home from school.

THE UNITED STATES

IMF Sees Middle East Upswing:

Despite political instability and a dramatic downturn in the Arab-Israeli peace process, the economic situation in the Middle East is improving, according to the Washington, DC-based International Monetary Fund. The Middle East could double economic growth to an annual average of four percent, according to an IMF report issued prior to the Cairo economic conference in November. IMF deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa Muhammad El Erian told Reuters news service that “1996 will be the first year of positive per capita growth [in the Middle East and North Africa] since 1992....Yes there are uncertainties but there is also potential,” he said.