Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March 1999, pages 38-41

Issues in the News

Compiled by Delinda C. Hanley

ARABIAN PENINSULA

Saudi Arabia Celebrates Centennial:

This year Saudi Arabia is celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the lunar calendar date on which Abdel Aziz Ibn Saud recaptured Riyadh, from which his family had been driven, and then went on to become the first king of a unified Saudi Arabia. Academic conferences, cultural festivals, books, songs and films throughout the year will mark the occasion.

Saudi Arabia’s Centennial Challenges:

The collapse of oil prices caused Saudi revenues to fall by a third last year, and this year’s planned state spending was cut by almost 16 percent. According to The Gulf News of Dubai, for every dollar drop in the price of petroleum, the country loses $2.5 billion in budget revenues. In 1997 the price per barrel was more than $18, while today it is just over $10 per barrel. As a result, the total value of export revenues shrank by almost 30 percent (or $13 billion) to $31 billion for 1998, and defense spending has been reduced by $1.9 billion. Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah told the Arabian Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Abu Dhabi in December, “The boom period is over and will never return.” He added that Saudis “must get used to a new way of life that is not based on total dependence on the state.” One vital challenge for the next century, according to a Jan. 23 article in The Economist, must be to accelerate training of the kingdom’s young men and women—75 percent of the population is under 30—to replace at least some of the five million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia.

Give Little Arab Girls Leila Dolls:

“There are 60 million Arab little girls out there who share the same language, culture and history,” the head of the Arab League’s children’s department, Abla Ibrahim, said in a recent interview with the Arab News of Jeddah. These girls are playing with blonde Barbie dolls or the chadored Sarah dolls from Iran. “We must make dolls that have dark skin, eyes and hair and non-religious Arab names like Leila or Amira,” she said, deploring the lack of Arab-made toys for children in the region. Ibrahim’s dream doll would have modern dresses and national costumes representing the 22 different countries of the Arab League. She noted that Egypt, with a population of 65 million, imports 95 percent of its toys because it only has five toy factories. Israel has 30 toy factories.

Desert Fox Interrupts Ferry Service:

U.S. military strikes on Iraq have halted weekly ferry service between Dubai and the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr. The Khaleej Times of Dubai noted that the 36-hour sea trips were first launched with U.N. approval Nov. 7. The ferry provides the only direct transportation alternative to a 1,000-kilometer road trip via Jordan.

UAE Begins Two-Day Weekends:

Since Jan. 1, students, teachers and federal employees in the UAE have been enjoying two-day weekends. Employees will be able to spend Thursdays and Fridays with their families, and “return to work more relaxed after a long weekend,” said a government announcement, “and their productivity will increase.” This should also please employees who live in one emirate and work in another. Working hours were extended by an hour each day to create the longer weekend, and now UAE government offices will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Bahrain TV News Reader Weeps:

A Bahraini television reporter broke into tears as he read reports of the devastation caused by U.S. and British airstrikes on Iraq, the Saudi Gazette of Jeddah reported on Dec. 21. News reader Abdel Jalil Al-Tafif’s colleagues had to take his place when he broke down while watching film from Iraq. Scores of viewers called Bahrain’s TV station to express solidarity with Tarif and urge “an Arab and Islamic initiative to stop the aggression.”

Kuwait’s Economy Faces Slowdown:

Kuwaiti ruler Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah called on his people to tighten their belts Jan. 11 as oil prices plunged. The emir warned, “Those who do not wake up in time will be swept away by the torrent.” With oil accounting for over 90 percent of total exports and more than 80 percent of the national budget, Finance Minister Ali Al-Salem Al-Sabah told Kuwait’s parliament the government is facing a $6 billion deficit for the current fiscal year. Reform plans include raising the prices of water, electricity, fuel, and customs duties, and of medical services for non-nationals. Kuwaiti citizens, who comprise only one-third of Kuwait’s population, pay no income tax, receive free medical care, education, and guaranteed employment, and enjoy highly subsidized housing, utilities and fuel.

Oman’s Social Insurance Project Covers 63,000 Workers:

Oman’s Public Authority for Social Insurance (PASI) reports the number of private-sector workers covered by Oman’s social insurance project launched in 1992 has reached 63,000. The program ensures a monthly income for a worker and his or her family in the event of disability, death, injury or sickness, an article in the Khaleej Times notes. A total of 3,663 businesses were registered by August 1998 to provide this “social insurance umbrella.” PASI invests some of its proceeds in investment and commercial banks.

Camel Antibodies Cure Blindness:

Researchers hope to clone camel antibodies to cure river blindness, a disease that affects 35 million people in the world. This disease is the second most common source of infectious blindness and is caused by a parasitic worm that is transmitted by flies. Researchers examining the camel’s immune system told the Oman Daily Observer they had isolated antibodies in camels that protect them from this disease. They hope to clone the camel’s antibodies to protect humans.

Qatar Plans Elected Parliament:

Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has announced a plan for an elected parliament, the Oman Observer reports. “We have decided to form a committee of competent and efficient people to draw a permanent constitution for the country,” Sheikh Hamad said, with “one of its basic provisions to be the formation of a parliament elected directly by the public.” All male and female Qatari citizens who are 18 years of age and older may vote in the country’s first municipal elections being held in February 1999.

Tourists Killed in Yemen:

Yemeni authorities learned of an anti-British plot after detaining two extremists Dec. 23, but no one informed British diplomats, according to the Arab News of Jeddah. Instead, a Yemeni group called Islamic Jihad kidnapped 16 tourists Dec. 28, offering to exchange them for the release of the group’s leader, Saleh Haydara Atwani. Yemeni security forces launched a rescue Dec. 29 that ended in tragedy as kidnappers used hostages as human shields, resulting in the death of three Britons and one Australian and the wounding of two other tourists. In the past five years, heavily armed Yemeni tribesmen have kidnapped 150 foreigners, but no one previously had been killed.

FERTILE CRESCENT

King Hussein Suffers Relapse:

On Jan. 26, only a week after his triumphant return to Amman following six months of cancer treatment, Jordan’s King Hussein, accompanied by Queen Noor, returned to the United States for further hospitalization. During his week in Amman, the 63-year-old monarch announced the appointment of his son Abdullah, a 36-year-old army major general, to be crown prince, replacing the king’s brother, Prince Hassan ibn Talal, who had held the post for 34 years. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Qatar’s emir Sheikh Hamad ibn Khalifah Al-Thani, and Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Salah were among the many dignitaries greeting the king upon his brief return to Amman.

Mother and Six Children Killed in Israeli Air Raid in Lebanon:

A 35-year-old Lebanese mother, Nadwa Othman, and her six children, aged between 18 months and 18 years, were killed Dec. 22 by Israeli warplanes in their home near Baalbeck on Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria. The family was preparing to break the Ramadan fast as the father, a member of no political group, returned from the fields, narrowly missing the attack himself. The Israeli air force raided southern Lebanon more than 100 times in 1998, killing 28 civilians and 37 Hezbollah guerrilla fighters. Twenty Israeli soldiers were killed in south Lebanon in 1998. Israeli peace activists, led by the Four Mothers’ Movement, have demanded a unilateral pullout from south Lebanon. U.N. Security Council Resolution 425, passed 20 years ago, called for Israel’s immediate withdrawal from Lebanon.

Lebanon Warns Against Air Attacks:

Lebanon’s Hezbollah warned Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu against attacking Lebanon to boost his popularity before Israel’s May 17 elections, the Jerusalem Post reported Jan. 11. Israeli cabinet ministers had called for military strikes against Beirut’s water and power supplies as low-level flights breaking the sound barrier over Beirut triggered panic in December. Noting the country has been the “graveyard” of many an Israeli government, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, the Shi’i Muslim group trying to oust Israel from Lebanese territory it has occupied since 1978, told Reuters in Beirut: “The lives of people of the south should not become votes to stuff the ballot boxes.” In April 1996, just before the last Israeli general election, the Israeli government of Shimon Peres launched the 17-day Grapes of Wrath offensive in Lebanon, killing 200 civilians and destroying infrastructure rebuilt after Lebanon’s civil war. Israel’s Ha’aretz newspaper reported Jan. 10 that even Washington fears Netanyahu may attack to revive his popularity.

Israeli Bulldozers Demolish 14 Lebanese Homes:

The Israeli army demolished 14 homes Jan. 7 in southern Lebanon, two and a half miles outside its self-declared Israeli “security zone.” It was the second demolition action in two weeks. Israeli soldiers based at Beaufort Castle spent four hours leveling homes in the village of Arnoun with a bulldozer, according to the Saudi Gazette. A military spokesman in Jerusalem confirmed a total of 19 house demolitions, saying the homes were used to attack Israeli troops and their South Lebanon Army allies.

Twenty-four family members in the Sunni Muslim village of Shebaa, in the Israeli-occupied zone of Lebanon, were expelled Jan 7, Agence France-Presse reported. More than 100 of Shebaa’s youth had been sent to SLA headquarters for interrogation in the two weeks prior to the deportation. Before Israel’s occupation, the village had 40,000 residents, compared to only 3,000 who remain now.

Syria Votes for New Parliament:

Syrian voters chose a new parliament, or People’s Assembly, in Nov. 30 elections dominated by President Hafez Assad’s National Progressive Front (NPF). Voter turnout was high in this country of 17 million people, of whom 8.5 million are of voting age. Members of the armed forces and police do not vote. Voters selected 250 members from a sea of close to 7,400 candidates, including 815 women. Arab News also reports Syrian President Assad, 69, has been chosen by his party for another seven-year term, starting in March. He first took power in 1970, and became president in March 1971. The People’s Assembly will discuss the nomination, in accordance with Syria’s constitution.

U.S. Embassy Restores Service:

Consular services were suspended when the U.S. Embassy in Syria was damaged on Dec. 19 by a mob protesting the bombing of Iraq. The embassy resumed issuing immigrant visas Jan. 5, but visa services for visitors, students and business travelers have not yet been restored. Some demonstrators forced their way into Ambassador Ryan Crocker’s nearby residence, causing extensive damage.

IRAN/IRAQ

Military Training for Iranian Teens:

Iranian teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 will be required to take military training courses, according to reports in the Iranian daily Abrar.

Iranian Intelligence Officers Arrested:

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has authorized the arrest of 25 low-ranking Intelligence Ministry personnel for the recent murders of dissident intellectuals. Two other Intelligence Ministry agents have been implicated but have not been arrested. According to a government source, “irresponsible, misguided and unruly personnel” were responsible for the murders of the regime’s critics. “I cannot believe that these murders have happened without a foreign scenario,” Khamenei insisted. “These murders aimed to damage the system and the government,” he concluded.

Iraq and Iran Discuss Air Strikes:

Iraq sent a delegation to Iran to discuss recent joint U.S.-British air strikes and the “no-fly” zones imposed on two-thirds of Iraq without U.N. approval. One U.S. missile strayed into Iranian territory, hitting the Iranian port city of Khorramshahr, close to the Iran-Iraq border. Iraqi delegation leader Ajeel Jalal Ismael told the Iraqi News Agency Jan. 3 that Iran has agreed to release another 1,000 Iraqi prisoners of war held since the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

UNICEF and UNESCO Deplore Bomb Attacks:

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) officials reported bomb damage in Iraq to five schools, 12 hospitals, a granary, a huge rice storage center, the principal oil-refining factory used for domestic consumption, and various water supply networks. The Iraqi government announced that thousands of civilians were killed and the Pentagon estimated that 2,000 Iraqi soldiers were killed. On the other hand, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said only 62 military personnel had been killed and 180 wounded. UNESCO Director General Federico Mayor called for the international community to aid Iraq, suggesting that a school should be built for every missile fired. “If we’re capable of sending 425 missiles, let’s now build 425 schools. Replace war with education, bombs with books, and missiles with school teachers,” he said in a Spanish radio interview. Each cruise missile costs $750,000. Jean Marie Benjamin, a priest from a Christian foundation that collaborates with UNICEF, said he saw burned children and children being operated on without anesthesia. He said the so-called “smart bombs” have destroyed houses and civilian facilities and killed hundreds of victims.

Iraq Executes Political Prisoners:

Iraq executed 81 political prisoners, including army officers who were accused of plotting to kill Iraqi leader Saddam Hussain, the Center for Human Rights, an Iraqi opposition group, announced Jan. 8. The center said the executions took place in mid-December in a prison near Baghdad. When the bodies of 15 of the victims were returned, their families were warned not to conduct any public funerals.

ISRAEL/PALESTINE

Israel Deports Doomsday Cult:

Fourteen members of a Denver-based doomsday cult were deported from Israel in January, the Washington Jewish Week reports, because the cultists were planning vio lent actions disguised as the work of Islamic fundamentalists in order to try to bring about the second coming of Jesus. Israel’s recent TV coverage of the cult may have been the cause of subsequent threats and violence by Jewish extremists against other Christian organizations in Jerusalem. Vandals have broken stained glass windows in Jerusalem’s St. Andrew’s Church of Scotland, the Jerusalem Post reports. Posters showing a Swiss Catholic woman who was recently shot through the head and whose apartment was burned down in November were plastered outside churches and bookstores.

Jews to Hunt For Lost Assets in Seven Arab Lands:

Flushed with recent success in recovering Jewish property lost in the Holocaust in Europe, Israel’s Knesset is launching a similar hunt for Jewish assets in the Arab world. A national center will collect documents and testimony about property left behind by Jews who emigrated to Israel after they fled Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.

Israeli Police Ban Reporting on Jewish Bomber in Jerusalem:

Israel Army Radio reported a Jewish man was injured while planting a bomb near the gates of Jerusalem’s Old City. The bomb went off prematurely and the man, when questioned, told police he was only moving a suspicious object. Police are investigating if the case of the Jewish bomber is related to the Jeru salem serial stabber who has recently attacked and killed Arab men. Police have announced a gag order on the case. Since March 1994, Jewish extremists, many of whom go unpunished by Israeli authorities, have killed 56 Palestinians.

Women Victims of Domestic Violence:

One in seven Israeli women is a victim of domestic violence. Statistics released to the Jerusalem Post state that every month one woman is murdered by her partner. In mid-December two foreign women were severely beaten by the former boyfriend of one of the victims. Police took the three into custody, quickly releasing the attacker, who was Israeli. The two women were detained for hours with no medical treatment and they still languish in the Neveh Tirzah detention center weeks later because authorities say they are illegally in Israel.

Netanyahu Prevents Rebuilding of Two Christian Arab Villages:

In 1948 the Israeli army swept into two Christian Arab villages, Ikrit and Biram, close to the Lebanese border, without resistance. Villagers were ordered to leave and their homes were demolished. Now residents have asked Israel’s Supreme Court to allow them to return and rebuild their villages, which are situated inside Israel’s Green Line borders. The courts have ruled in favor of the residents, but Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opposes the ruling and has prevented their return because he says it would set a dangerous precedent. A first-hand account of the Israeli seizure of Biram is contained in the book Blood Brothers by Father Elias Chacour, a Palestinian Catholic priest who as a child was expelled from his village with his family.

Final Palestinian Census Results:

The final results of a two-year Palestinian census are in. Almost 1.9 million people live in the West Bank and 1.02 million in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians living in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem number 210,209 and there are 113,628 people in the villages and suburbs surrounding East Jerusalem, which Palestinians consider Jerusalem districts. Israel says its population is six million, including Arab residents of East Jerusalem and some one million Palestinian Arabs living within Israel’s Green Line border. One Palestinian in five lives on less than U.S. $2 a day. More than half a million live below the poverty line in the territories currently under Palestinian Authority administration, with unemployment at 30 percent. Only 57,000 Palestinians are allowed to work in Israel and the occupied territories.

Gazan Girl Recalls Clinton’s Promise:

When U.S. President Clinton and President Yasser Arafat met four young daughters of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel on Dec. 12, both leaders were moved to tears. Clinton wiped his eyes and then gave his handkerchief to nine-year-old Nihad Zaqqout, who cried as she begged Clinton to help her father come home in time for the Ramadan holidays. Nihad says she is deeply sad that Clinton broke his promise to do whatever he could to release her father. “I was not able to hug my father on the morning of the Eid like all the children of the world,” she said. Over 2,500 Palestinians are imprisoned in Israel.

Israeli Bulldozers Demolish Palestinian Homes and Orchards:

The Israeli army destroyed 147 Palestinian homes in 1998, the U.S.-based Solidarity International group announced in January. “Last year was a bad year for demolitions and next year is going to be worse,” Ahmed Abu Shalal told Agence France-Press. Nearly 700 homes have been destroyed since the 1993 Oslo accords were signed, and some 2,000 more homes have been targeted for demolition. On Jan. 12 Israeli troops bulldozed an orchard of 90 olive, almond and fig trees near the village of Aboud, across from the Jewish settlement of Beit Ariye. When owner Hanna Saba asked why they were uprooting his trees, a soldier said he just couldn’t plant there.

NORTH AFRICA

Algeria Ramadan Toll 80 Dead:

Armed extremists killed 38 people, including a nomadic family, in a 48-hour period beginning Jan. 1. The cattle-raising family lost 22 members in Algeria’s Saida region, which was also the scene of serious massacres in 1996 and 1997. In the month of Ramadan, from mid-December to mid-January, nearly 80 civilians and soldiers were killed and 30 injured by the extremists fighting against the military-backed government. More than 65,000 Algerians have been killed since early 1992, when authorities canceled a general election in which the Islamic Salvation Front, the major Islamist party, had taken a decisive lead.

Egyptian Excavations Uncover Earliest Writing:

The discovery of records of linen and oil deliveries made 5,300 years ago in southern Egypt challenges the theory that the Sumerians of southern Mesopotamia were the first people to develop writing around 5,000 years ago. A German archeologist announced that recently discovered carbon-dated (between 3,300 BC and 3,200 BC) Egyptian line drawings of animals, plants and mountains were the initial stages of what later became intricate hieroglyphics. Early Sumerian writing, he said, was not as developed as the writing found on these Egyptian clay tablets. The tablets document taxes, and contain lists of kings’ names, institutions, and traded goods, indicating an advanced society.

U.S. Embassy Warning in Egypt:

The U.S. Embassy in Cairo warned Americans of possible unspecified “extremist” attacks on U.S. targets in Egypt, the Washington Times reported Jan 6. “The embassy urges Americans to remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness in order to reduce their vulnerability,” the embassy said in a statement also posted on its Web site. On Christmas, Osama bin Laden told viewers of the Qatari satellite television station Al-Jazira, “Every American should be a target for Muslims. Every American, those who fought us or paid for it through taxes, is our enemy.”

Morocco’s Foreign Debt Reaches $19.5 Billion:

Morocco’s foreign debt in 1998 is $19.5 billion, unchanged from 1997. The debt was $21.7 billion in 1996 and $23 billion in 1995, a senior Finance Ministry official said. Morocco has allocated around $1.7 billion in its 1998-99 fiscal budget to service foreign debt. The ministry said 45 percent, or $8.7 billion, of Morocco’s global debt is held by nations of the Paris Club. The remaining debt is held by various financial institutions, including the World Bank.

Tunisia Sets Economic Goals:

Tunisia’s ninth economic plan has set a growth rate target of 5.4 percent in tourism nights (a “tourism night” is defined as one night spent by a tourist in a Tunisian hotel). This growth rate would represent a continuation of Tunisia’s impressive tourism boom of the past four decades. In 1962, Tunisia had 4,000 hotel beds, while today it boasts nearly 180,000. Tunisia is one of the most popular Arab tourist destinations, attracting around 4.5 million visitors a year, according to the Khaleej Times. International companies are submitting tenders for the first installment of the National Amusement Park in Soukra, Tunisia. The coming attraction will have a water park and amusement center.

Libya’s People’s Congress Agrees to Lockerbie Trial:

Libya’s People’s Congress is satisfied with the plan to hold a trial in a neutral country for two Libyans accused of the 1988 bombing of a Pan American plane over Lockerbie, Scotland. But after an eight-day session, Arab News reports the People’s Congress failed to issue a specific pronouncement on whether the suspects should be extradited to The Hague for trial. The resolution only called upon all parties to help “remove obstacles so that the trial can take place as soon as possible.” It did not elaborate on what the “obstacles” are.

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

Bosnian Civil War Reporter Was British MI6 Officer:

Dominic Lawson, currently the editor of London’s Sunday Telegraph, admitted that articles written for Spectator magazine while he was its editor were “probably” written by a British foreign intelligence officer. An MI6 officer used the pseudonym Kenneth Roberts with a Sarajevo dateline for articles he wrote in 1994 in the Spectator and the London SundayTimes, London’s Guardian reported Dec. 21, 1998. The articles appeared to be part of an attempt to influence public opinion during the Bosnian civil war by suggesting that all sides, not just the Serbs, carried out atrocities.

TURKEY

Turks Find Puppy Love:

While some question improvements in Turkey’s human-rights record, there is no doubt that dogs are treated much better than ever before. A front-page story in Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper in January described an abandoned collie that refused to eat because his heart was broken. Hundreds of readers tried to adopt him. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Russian traders brought pedigreed puppies at bargain prices into Turkey, starting a doggy trend. Now laws are making their way through parliament to prevent crimes against animals. Posters of Mesut Yilmaz, Turkey’s recently unseated prime minister, display him with his family and Daisy, his Great Dane.

THE SUBCONTINENT

Peace Boat Joins India Peace March:

In a recent visit to Bombay, Fumiko Amano, a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bomb, appealed to the people of India, and especially mothers, to demand milk and bread—not bombs. She told fellow peace marchers, including 200 Japanese students on Dec. 19, that repeating the mistakes of the past was like walking through the gates of hell. The Japanese students were part of a world cruise sponsored by Peace Boat, a Japan-based organization that sails the world each year in search of peaceful solutions to international problems. The marchers also condemned recent air strikes in Iraq.

Bangladeshi Feminist Faces Charges:

Bangladeshi feminist writer Taslima Nasreen, who has been in hiding for four years since religious extremists put a bounty on her head, appeared before judges and was granted her request for bail. She was accused of blasphemy for some remarks in her book Nirbachita Column in 1994.

Pakistan Bullies Its Newspapers:

Critics charge that Pakistan’s state-run TV selects news bulletins featuring the prime minister awarding degrees or walking through the park showing his concern for animals, while ignoring the country’s economic turmoil and growing lawlessness. The critics insist that for real news and commentary, citizens must turn to the newspapers. Now there is concern that the government is pressuring newspapers to be less vocal by using tax probes and investigations to tie newspapers in knots and freeze their bank accounts so that employees are prevented from receiving their salaries.

Kashmiris Hold Rallies:

Kashmiris in Pakistan held rallies Jan. 5 to mark the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the U.N. Security Council resolution calling for Kashmiris to choose their form of government in a plebiscite. Demonstrators presented a memorandum to the U.N. observers’ office calling on the world community “to honor its pledge with Kashmiri people.” Massacres in the Indian-occupied side of the line of control in Kashmir have resulted in 60,000 deaths, the Arab News reports, and rape, torture, plunder, abductions, arbitrary detentions and shelling of civilian homes have become routine.