Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March 1998, Pages 38-41

Issues in the News

Compiled by Shawn L. Twing

ARABIAN PENINSULA

18th Annual GCC Summit:

Leaders of the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates—held their annual three-day summit in Kuwait City Dec. 20-22. Among the new topics discussed by the leaders was the establishment of a citizens' Consultative (shura) Council and a $2 billion proposal to link the electrical grids of the six member countries. They also discussed a pan-GCC railroad and focused particularly on privatization issues and job creation for GCC citizens. Leaders concluded with a three-part statement that criticized Israel's efforts to destroy the Arab-Israeli peace process, welcomed Iranian overtures to improve relations with the GCC countries, and urged Iraq to implement all United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Bahrain Joins U.N. Security Council:

Bahrain assumed one of the rotating United Nations Security Council seats on Jan. 1 for the first time since the Gulf country joined the United Nations in 1961. Bahrain will occupy the seat for two years on behalf of Arab and Asian countries, a position that rotates every two years with Arab and African countries. The position previously had been held by Egypt. Bahrain's bid for Security Council membership was supported by 172 countries in the U.N. General Assembly.

Seven Qataris Tried for Coup Attempt:

Seven Qatari nationals appeared in court in Doha in December charged with divulging military secrets and setting up a clandestine group to overthrow the government, the English-language daily Khaleej Times of Dubai, reported. The defendants were denied bail by Judge Massud Al Ameri, and face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty. Prosecutors allege that the defendants received more than $30,000 from Omar Marzouk Al Abdallah, one of 110 foreigners accused of involvement in a failed February 1996 coup attempt.

One Million Pilgrims in Mecca:

More than a million Muslim pilgrims from around the world gathered in Saudi Arabia in January to perform umrah at the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medinah during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The English-language daily Saudi Gazette reported that more than a million Muslims gathered in Mecca alone for the first Friday prayers during Ramadan, with hundreds of thousands more in Medinah. The imam of the Grand Mosque, Sheikh Saud Al Shiraim, urged Muslims to use Ramadan as an opportunity to appeal to God for forgiveness. Ramadan "is a real opportunity for Muslims to purify themselves and become accustomed to patience, steadfastness and hard work," he said.

Saudi Aramco Top Oil Company:

Saudi Aramco was ranked the world's number one oil company in 1997 by Petroleum Intelligence Weekly, an industry newsletter that ranks the top 50 oil companies around the world based on oil and gas reserves, production, refinery capacity and overall sales. Ranked fourth was the National Iranian Oil Company, with the U.S. firms Exxon and Mobil ranked sixth and seventh, respectively.

UAE Faces "Environmental Crisis":

An enormous oil spill off the coast of the United Arab Emirates has polluted beaches and imperils coastal fishing, according to UAE officials. Some 4,000 tons of heavy fuel oil were dumped into the Gulf Jan. 7 after an 11,000-ton-capacity barge ran aground and sank in rough waters. Divers managed to close 19 of the barge's 24 compartments, but the remaining five had their covers completely blown off. "Little effort has been made to fight the oil slick [and the area is] facing a real marine and environmental crisis," municipal adviser Abdullah Bu Rweidha told the Gulf News newspaper in Dubai.

Environmental and disaster consultants from around the world were called in by UAE authorities to help contain and clean up the oil spill. Experts believe that millions of fish larvae and other denizens of coastal mangrove swamps will be decimated. In mid-January, two desalinization facilities were closed to prevent damage from a 61Ž2-kilometer-wide oil slick threatening the beaches of Ajman, Sharjah, Ras Al-Khaimah and Dubai emirates.

Saudia Gets New Boeing Planes:

Saudia, Saudi Arabia's national airline, received four new Boeing passenger planes, including the brand new 747-400, during a December ceremony in Seattle, WA. The jets were accepted by Saudi Arabian Airlines director general Dr. Khaled Abdullah bin Bakr, and are part of a 61-plane package Boeing will deliver to the Kingdom by 2001.

UAE Donates Supplies to Iraq:

Some 1,800 tons of food, medicine and clothing were donated by UAE citizens in January to help alleviate the suffering of Iraqi civilians. A ship loaded with the donations left the UAE on Jan. 19, the Emirates News of Abu Dhabi reported. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the wife of UAE president Sheikh Zayyed bin Sultan Al Nayahan, also reportedly donated $540,000 to help Iraqi children at a charity function that same day.

FERTILE CRESCENT

Turkey Ends Iraq Operation:

The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced Dec. 21 that the Turkish army's most recent operations against Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) guerrillas in northern Iraq had ended, Deutsch Presse Agentur reported. The operations, described as limited in scope and duration by a Foreign Ministry spokesman, involved some 15,000 Turkish soldiers who crossed into northern Iraq on Dec. 19 to support Massoud Barzani's Democratic Party of Kurdistan (DPK). At least 16 Kurdish guerrillas were killed during the weekend raids, according to Turkish military sources. They are in addition to more than 180 killed in an earlier cross-border operation that ended in mid-December.

Syria Urges EU Role in Mideast:

Syria's official press called on France to urge the European Union to increase its involvement in the Arab-Israeli peace process just prior to an unscheduled Jan. 4 visit to Paris by Syria's Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam and Foreign Minister Farouq Al Chaara. "France has already made efforts to reactivate the peace process, particularly with the arrival in power of President Jacques Chirac, and it would be useful if Paris played the role of catalyst for an active and efficient European position," said the official government newspaper Tishrin. "Tangible measures must be taken against Israeli leaders to get them to review their policies." The Syrian officials met with French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine during their trip to Paris.

Jordan, Iran Resume Flights:

Jordan and Iran are expected to resume flights between the two countries in early 1998 following a joint suspension of air travel during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war because of Jordan's support for Iraq in that conflict. Jordanian officials quoted in the Al Arab Al Youm newspaper in December said that both sides have agreed in principle to resume air travel, with a formal announcement expected after technical details have been worked out.

Jordan Receives U.S. Fighter Aircraft:

Jordan received the first four F-16 multi-role combat aircraft from the United States Dec. 17, part of a $200 million package to reward the Hashemite Kingdom for making peace with Israel. Jordanian pilots landed the planes at Azraq air base 70 miles northeast of Amman, where they were received by King Hussein. The remaining 12 aircraft were scheduled for delivery in late January.

Israel Releasing Lebanese:

France will oversee an exchange of prisoners and bodies of Lebanese guerrillas and Israeli soldiers in September, Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah announced on Lebanese television Dec. 16. Nasrallah said that the exchange was negotiated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and will involve Hezbollah prisoners held in Israeli prisons in southern Lebanon and the remains of Israeli soldiers recovered in Lebanon. France will guarantee the exchange because "an international presence gives [the] accord. . .more force," the Hezbollah leader said. The list of Lebanese prisoners has not been made public.

Syria May Reopen Iraqi Pipeline:

Syria is considering reopening an oil pipeline from Iraq closed since 1982, Syrian Oil Minister Muhammad Maher Jamal told the London-based Arabic daily Al Hayat in December. Jamal and his Iraqi counterpart, Amir Muhammad Rasheed, discussed reopening the pipeline at a recent meeting in Cairo of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The pipeline, once one of Iraq's major outlets for its oil exports, carried some 800,000 barrels per day from oilfields in Kirkuk in northern Iraq to Syria's Mediterranean terminal in Banias. The pipeline currently carries some 400,000 barrels per day of Syrian crude.

First Israeli Textbook in Jordan:

The first Israeli-produced textbook to be used in an Arab country recently was purchased by a professor in Jordan, according to a January article in Israel's English-language Jerusalem Post. Why Don't Different People Live in Peace?, written by Dr. Avraham Stahl, was purchased by Jordanian publisher Mahmoud Alkhalili, who first saw it at last year's International Book Fair in Jerusalem. After learning that Alkhalili wanted to purchase the book for use in Jordanian schools, "I went through it and changed the material that was geared for a Jewish or Israeli audience to fit a Muslim, Arab one," Stahl said. Other changes made by the Jordanian publisher included removing the Israeli flag that appeared on the original cover. "Overall, I think it's very nice, it's a small step, and I'm glad to have made a small contribution to the peace process," Stahl said.

IRAN/IRAQ

Former CIA Director Urges Flexible Policy Toward Iran:

Former Clinton administration Central Intelligence Agency director John Deutch, told a Tel Aviv audience in December that the United States should soften its approach toward Iran and concentrate its focus on Iraq. "The [dual containment] policy that we have had in the United States of trying to contain both Iran and Iraq is a failure," he said, adding that the policy failed primarily because "it does not have the support of [U.S.] allies, including France and Japan and especially Russia." Deutch said Washington should focus on Iraqi President Saddam Hussain, whom he described as "a source of instability in the region."

Iran Air Interested in Boeing Planes:

Iran's national airline has renewed its interest in buying Boeing aircraft to replace its aging fleet of commercial airliners, according to an Iranian official. Ahmad Reza Kazemi, Iran Air's recently appointed chairman, told reporters in December that he had received a proposal from Europe's Airbus Industries to replace 20 Boeing jets, but would prefer to buy the planes from the Seattle, WA-based Boeing firm. Kazemi also told reporters that he had met with Boeing officials at the Dubai Air Show in November and discussed the possibility of a sale, currently banned under U.S. law, beginning in 2001 or 2002. Boeing officials told the Associated Press that, because of sanctions imposed against the Islamic Republic since 1979, Boeing "can't get an export license." Spokesperson Maria Sheehan said, however, that Boeing is helping Iran apply for clearance to purchase service manuals for its fleet of aircraft. "The company supports promoting safety for anybody who flies our aircraft," she said.

Iran Predicts $14 Billion in Oil Sales:

Iran's parliament revised its earning projections for oil and gas revenues in 1998 because of a recent plunge in oil prices worldwide, the Iranian News Agency reported in January. Original estimates were based on an average $16 per barrel price, for a total yearly revenue of nearly $15 billion. The drop in oil prices will cost Iran an estimated $1 billion in 1998. Other Iranian officials are skeptical, however, and believe that current production levels cannot be maintained at their present 2.5 million barrel per day level. They argue that Iran will lose some $2 billion in 1998 because of a decline in production capability.

Iraq Begins Pumping Oil Again:

Iraq started pumping oil for export Jan. 7 following a month-long suspension of its "oil-for-food" agreement with the United Nations Security Council. Iraqi officials said that crude was being pumped to Ceyhan in Turkey and Mina Al-Bakr in southern Iraq where it is stored before loading on tankers for distribution. Oil prices opened Jan. 7 at $15.52 per barrel, the lowest price since October 1996.

Britain At Center of Iran Weapons Procurement Network:

Britain is the hub of Iran's international network to purchase banned technology and materials to produce ballistic missiles and nuclear materials, London's Sunday Times reported Jan. 18. A two-year investigation by Britain's MI5 intelligence agency, in cooperation with other European intelligence services, concludes that Iran has developed an arms network stretching from London through Dusseldorf and Vienna to Tehran. One front company discovered in Dusseldorf allegedly contained documents and other evidence of a massive purchasing effort of unconventional weapons by the Defense Industries Organization, a division of the Iranian military. Following the discovery some experts predicted that Iran may now be within two years of developing a nuclear weapon.

Saddam Deputy Has Heart Surgery:

The second in command of the Iraqi leadership, Izzat Ibrahim, recently underwent successful bypass heart surgery in a Baghdad hospital, Iraqi President Saddam Hussain announced Jan. 7. Ibrahim, vice chairman of Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council and deputy commander of the armed forces, is "now in good health," Saddam was quoted as saying by official Iraqi newspapers.

ISRAEL/PALESTINE

Knesset Caucus for Pollard:

Members of Israel's parliament have set up a group to push for "open and intensive activity" to release convicted American-spy-for-Israel Jonathan Pollard, Israel's Jerusalem Post reported in January. Knesset member Ophir Pines (Labor) inaugurated in December the Knesset Caucus for Pollard that will pressure the U.S. government to release Pollard, a civilian U.S. naval counter-intelligence analyst who divulged massive amounts of U.S. secrets to Israel. Pollard was sentenced to life in prison in 1986.

Israeli Women Get Combat Duty:

Israel's air force will assign women to anti-aircraft batteries beginning next summer, the first combat duty position allowed for Israeli women, the Jerusalem Post reported in January. According to Israel's Air Force Magazine, some 30 recruits will participate in training this summer. Although they will be in women-only units, they will receive the same training as their male counterparts and after completing training will serve in Hawk and Patriot air defense batteries. However, women will not be allowed to serve in Chapparal missile batteries that are more mobile and generally forward deployed. Women who serve in air defense units will have to do reserve duty until they are 34.

Two Years for Hebron "Pig Poster":

Tatiana Susskin, the Russian immigrant who drew and distributed in Hebron a poster portraying the Prophet Muhammad as a pig June 27, was sentenced in January to two years in jail by a Jerusalem District Court. Susskin enraged Palestinians in predominantly Muslim Hebron and caused an international uproar throughout the Islamic world with her caricature. "What do I have to be sorry for?," she asked reporters following her sentencing. "Everything I did was out of love for the Land of Israel. There is nothing to be sorry about." Judge Zvi Segal compared Susskin's drawings to those made of Jews in Nazi Germany. Susskin's lawyer, Shmuel Caspar, called the judge's remarks "outrageous." He also told reporters that with good behavior and the time already served by Susskin, she could be free in as few as nine-and-a-half months.

Five Charged in Bridge Collapse:

Five Israelis were charged Dec. 23 with negligence and other offenses related to the collapse of a pedestrian bridge in Tel Aviv during the Maccabiah Games that killed two Australian athletes and injured some 70 others. An 11-page indictment from the Tel Aviv Magistrate charged engineer Micha Bar-Ilan, metalwork contractors Yehoshua Ben-Ezra and Baruch Caragula, production company director Adam Meshori, and Yoram Eyal, chairman of the Maccabiah Games organizing committee, with responsibility for the accident. The bridge collapsed during the opening ceremonies of Israel's international "Jewish Olympics" festival in August.

Birds Hinder Tel Aviv Airport:

Israel's Ben-Gurion international airport will close two hours per day beginning in mid-January because a nearby garbage dump is attracting hundreds of birds, Cable News Network reported. Birds feeding at the 260-foot-high Hiriya garbage dump west of the airport threaten to create a disaster, Israeli officials said, particularly if one is sucked into an aircraft's engines. Israel's mass-circulation Hebrew daily Ha'aretz estimates that 10 to 15 flights per day will be affected by the interruption. Last year an Israeli pilot was killed when a bird was sucked into the engine of his fighter aircraft during a routine training exercise in the Negev.

Israeli Police Chief Warns of Jewish Extremists:

Israel's national police chief warned in December that extremist groups are planning attacks aimed at scuttling the peace process. "Far-right groups are still planning ways to seize the [Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa] complex," Commissioner Asaf Hefetz told Israeli radio. One week earlier, two Jewish extremists who allegedly planned to throw a pig's head wrapped in the Qur'an into the Haram Al Sharif during the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan were arrested by Israeli police. Hefetz said that hundreds of Jewish right-wing activists are planning similar measures hoping that a violent backlash by Palestinians will destroy the remnants of the Oslo accords.

Israel Silences Ramadan Cannon:

Israeli authorities silenced a centuries-old tradition in January when they forbade the firing of a ceremonial cannon that announces the end of day-time fasting during Ramadan, instead replacing it with a "sound grenade." The cannon, fired from a graveyard that abuts the walls of the Old City in East Jerusalem, "is a part of the tradition of Ramadan and Jerusalem," said Rejai Sunduqeh, Jerusalem's madafaji, who is responsible for firing the cannon. In the past Israeli officials provided Sunduqeh a small amount of gunpowder each day and forced him to prove that he used all of it. Last year they insisted that he build a secure building to house the daily allotment, something he said he cannot afford to do. This year Israel will provide one large firecracker per day to announce the end of each day's fast, but will not provide extras to allow Sunduqeh to announce special events like Eid al-Fitr when he fired an average of 15 cannon shots per day.

Al-Aqsa Ramadan Prayers Attract 250,000:

More than 250,000 worshipers attended Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque during the second week of Ramadan after Israel lifted a ban preventing Palestinians from entering Jerusalem from the West Bank. Thousands filled the mosque itself—the third holiest site in Islam, from which the Prophet Muhammad was said to have visited heaven—with tens of thousands of others in the courtyard that surrounds it and the Dome of the Rock mosque. Some 2,000 Israeli police and border guards reinforced troops already there, but an Israeli police spokesperson said the event passed "very quietly." Sheikh Yousef Salameh, one of the imams at the Al Aqsa mosque, called on Israeli authorities to prevent Jewish religious fanatics from attacking the Haram Al Sharif and worshippers praying there.

Hamas Marks 10th Anniversary:

The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas held a Dec. 26 rally in Gaza to commemorate the 10th anniversary of its founding in 1987, the English-language Palestinian daily Jerusalem Times reported in January. Speaking at the event was Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder and leader of Hamas who spent eight years in an Israeli prison before being released last year in exchange for Israeli Mossad agents caught in a failed assassination attempt in Amman, Jordan. Yassin stressed that Hamas wants a just peace, and urged Palestinians not to normalize relations with Israelis in economic, political or cultural fields. He also called on the Palestinian Authority to use the anniversary and its proximity to Ramadan to release Hamas members jailed by the PA and to reopen 16 Islamic institutions closed by the Palestinian Authority following September 1997 suicide bombings.

"Bethlehem 2000" Logo Finalized:

A design by French artist Pierre-Luc Poujol became the official logo for the Palestinian "Bethlehem 2000" celebrations that will celebrate the end of the century. Poujol's work was selected from some 100 designs submitted by artists from around the world by the Bethlehem 2000 steering committee headed by Palestinian Education Minister Hanan Ashrawi. It depicts the baby Jesus surrounded by Mary and Joseph sitting on top of the planet Earth. Above them is a star with five flashes of color surrounding it. Below the graphic script reads "Bethlehem 2000" in blue. Celebrations will begin at Christmas 1999 and will continue for 15 consecutive months through Easter 2000, according to the Jerusalem Times.

Farrakhan Makes Surprise Visit to the West Bank:

Controversial African-American Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan made his first visit to the occupied territories in January as part of his three-month, 52-nation "World Friendship Tour." Farrakhan, who previously had been told he would be refused a visa to enter Israel if he didn't retract statements about Jews he had made in the past, crossed into the West Bank from Jordan through an Israeli border post at the Allenby Bridge. "My mission is peace and I would hope to encourage that process because if this area breaks out into war it could engulf the entire world," Farrakhan told reporters in Ramallah after lunch with Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Jamil Tarifi. Farrakhan earlier met with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to express the Nation of Islam's solidarity with the Palestinian people. "I would like to thank the Israeli authorities for granting me permission to enter Israel. I'm very honored and happy to be in this sacred place," he said.

NORTH AFRICA

Algerian Editor Wins Palme Prize:

Algerian journalist Salima Ghezali, editor of the Algerian weekly La Nation, was awarded Sweden's 1997 Olaf Palme Prize in January for her reporting of the ongoing conflict in Algeria, Reuters news service reported. The Olaf Palme Memorial Fund chose Ghezali for her "courage to continue her unbiased and concrete reporting of the violence done to the Algerian people in spite of being in constant mortal danger," it said in a statement. Some 59 journalists have been killed in Algeria since the outbreak of civil war in 1992 when the military-led government canceled elections that the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was poised to win. Ghezali also received $30,000 from the organization founded to honor former Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme, who was shot and killed in Stockholm in 1986, a murder that remains unsolved. Previous winners of the award include former U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar and Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel.

Cairo Ratifies Death Sentence for Tourist Killers:

The death sentence against two brothers who admitted killing nine German tourists and their Egyptian tour bus driver last September has been ratified, Egypt's Al Gomhouriya reported Dec. 18. The death penalty was issued by Egypt's Supreme Military Court Oct. 30 for Saber and Mahmoud Muhummad Farahat, who opened fire and threw gasoline bombs at a tourist bus parked in front of Cairo's Egyptian antiquities museum Sept. 18. Six co-defendants were found guilty as accomplices in the terrorist attack and sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labor.

Opposition Leader Named Speaker of Morocco's Parliament:

Morocco's lower house of parliament elected Abdelouahed Radi as its speaker Jan. 6, according to the biweekly intelligence journal The Estimate. Radi, a member of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces, a leftist opposition party that won the largest number of seats in Morocco's lower house, formerly was chairman of Morocco's unicameral legislature.

Egyptian-Sudanese Relations Continue to Improve:

Strained Egyptian-Sudanese relations showed signs of improving after a Jan. 12 visit to Cairo by Sudanese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mustafa Osman Ismail. Following a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, Amr Moussa, Ismail told reporters that a visit to Egypt by Sudanese President Umar Al Bashir was possible. Egypt conditioned its relationship with Sudan on the latter ending support for terrorism, a clear reference to Egyptian accusations that Sudan is harboring militants responsible for the 1995 attempted assassination of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Ethiopia. Sudan also accuses Egypt of harboring and sending military aid to Sudanese rebels.

SUBCONTINENT

Taliban Seeks General's Extradition:

The Taliban militia, which controls more than two-thirds of Afghanistan, called on Iran in January to extradite Afghan Gen. Abdul Malik on charges that he ordered the execution of some 2,000 Taliban prisoners. "The Islamic emirate strongly appeals to Iran to extradite General Malik for trial and punishment," Taliban Information and Culture Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told reporters in Kabul Dec. 28. "He has committed a big crime and his hands are stained with the blood of thousands of people." Gen. Malik and his opposition forces fled to Iran last November after a failed four-day alliance with the Taliban followed by several weeks of battle with Taliban forces in northern Afghanistan. Afghan warlord Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum showed reporters and U.N. officials mass graves outside Shiberghan containing bodies of prisoners allegedly killed by General Malik's forces.

Terrorist Ramzi Ahmed Yousef Sentenced to Life Without Parole:

Pakistan-born Ramzi Ahmed Yousef was sentenced to life without parole Jan. 8 for masterminding the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York that killed six people and injured hundreds of others. U.S. District Court Judge Kevin Duffy called Yousef a "follower of death," and sentenced him to a total of 240 years in solitary confinement with restricted visiting rights. "I am a terrorist and I am proud of it," Yousef said back to the judge. Saying that a publisher might be "perverse enough" to buy Yousef's story, Judge Duffy also fined Yousef $4.5 million and ordered him to pay $250 million to the families of the victims, ensuring that any profits made by Yousef would go to his victims.

Bhutto Family's Alleged Fortune:

The family of ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto amassed a $100 million fortune from corruption, The New York Times charged in a Jan. 8 article detailing corruption allegations currently under investigation. According to the Times report, evidence being examined by Pakistani investigators sheds little light on the role of Benazir Bhutto, but implicates her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, in numerous corrupt practices. Among them were monopolizing gold imports into Pakistan from the Middle East, and a potential $200 million kickback from a $4 billion fighter buy from Dassault Aviation of France that fell through when Bhutto was dismissed from power in 1996. Bhutto, who now is an opposition leader in Pakistan, accused Pakistan's current prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, of corruption and abusing his power, and denied any "connection with the ill-gotten money" referred to in the Times report. At the request of Pakistani investigators, Swiss authorities in December froze several accounts thought to contain money received from corrupt business practices.