Compiled by Parker L. Payson

From the Middle East Press:

Mengistu on Rocks, Boschwitz on Plane:

The State Department in May ordered all non-essential US government officials out of Ethiopia and recommended that the estimated 600 American citizens there leave because of increased violence and the likelihood of a change in government in Addis Ababa. In an attempt to preserve his rule, Ethiopian President Mengistu Haile Mariam in April offered a cease-fire and amnesty to rebel fighters from the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), who launched a joint offensive in February to drive Mengistu from power. Mengistu also authorized the call-up of all men over 18 "to safeguard the national integrity, " the Saudi Gazette reported. In a related story, US President Bush in April dispatched former Sen. Rudy Boschwitz (R-MN) to meet with Mengistu to negotiate the immigration of an estimated 17,000 Ethiopian Jews, or Falashas, to Israel. If the rebels take over, US and Israeli officials have predicted severe retaliation against the Falashas for Israel's long-term support for Mengistu, which has included the export by Israel to Ethiopia of US-made cluster bombs and other weapons. Although both Israel and Ethiopia have denied that Falasha emigration is linked to arms shipments, Kessa Kebde, an Ethiopian government official, told Israeli Defense Forces Radio in April that Falasha emigration was cut because of "promises which Israel made in the past and has not honored. " Emigration could resume whenever "the Israelis keep their promises," he said.

Turkey Enacts Reforms:

In response to Kurdish pressures and decades of public debate, the Turkish parliament in April revamped its penal code and lifted many restrictions on political and cultural expression. According to the Anatolia News Agency, the reforms abolished the death sentence in Turkey and allowed for the phased release of over 40,000 of the country's estimated 65,000 prisoners. The government also lifted laws banning extreme leftist parties and laws outlawing efforts to create an Islamic state passed in the 1920s by Turkish secularist Kemal Ataturk. The parliament also overturned laws passed in 1983 which stipulated that all Turkish citizens, including Turkey's estimated 12 million Kurds, speak Turkish.

Iran Upgrades Ties with Arab States:

Saudi Arabia and Iran in March restored relations, broken off in 1988 following clashes in Mecca between Iranian pilgrims and Saudi security forces, which left over 400 dead and prevented Iran from joining the Haj for the next three years. Following Saudi Arabia's decision to accept 110,000 Iranian pilgrims to Mecca for the 1991 Haj, Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani forced the resignation of Iranian Haj Director Hojatoleslam Ahmad Khomeini, son of former Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini. Ahmad Khomeini was appointed by Iranian spiritual leader and Rafsanjani rival Ayatollah Khameini, who reportedly urged Khomeini to organize political demonstrations in Mecca. In related news, Iran and Egypt in March agreed to reopen interest sections as the first step toward renewing diplomatic relations, which were strained in 1979, when Egypt offered asylum to the shah of Iran, and broken in 1987, when Egypt accused Iran's only diplomat in Cairo of financing anti-government protests. Analysts believe that Iran's neutrality during the Gulf war and the increased need for regional stability helped mend relations between Iran and the two Arab countries, both strong supporters of Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war. According to the Egyptian edition of the Middle East Times, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he would welcome an Iranian role in Gulf security arrangements, including a regional peacekeeping force, once Iran improves its relations with Arab states.

Famine Relief Needed:

Starvation threatens 5.3 million people living in the Sahel region which divides Arab North Africa from sub-Saharan Africa, stretching across Ethiopia, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Mauritania, the Middle East Times reported. According to officials of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), drought has caused the lowest crop yields since 1984, and in many areas across the Sahel all existing food supplies have been used up until next September, when the next harvest begins. Chadian President Idriss Deby in March told FAO officials that people in eastern Chad are dying of famine and "the situation is likely to spread. " Chad reported a gross food deficit of 200,000 tons in 1990, and this year the deficit is expected to increase because of a massive influx of Sudanese refugees and looting during the December coup that brought Deby to power. Chad has asked donors for 150,000 tons of emergency food, of which the US has pledged 15,000 tons.

Oman Prepares for Elections:

Leaders from Oman's 59 counties in April began selecting candidates for elections to fill the Sultanate's first consultative assembly, the Omani news agency reported. Each county will select three candidates to stand in popular elections to form the parliament, which was promised last November by Oman's ruling monarch, Sultan Qaboos. "The nominating sessions will be held without any interference by the government. Prominent personalities and notables in each county will chose the candidates, " Oman's Interior Minister Badr Bin Saoud Bin Hareb told the Saudi Gazette.

US Pledges to Aid Egyptian Debt:

After meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo in April, US Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady pledged to persuade other creditor countries to reduce Egypt's $35 billion foreign debt by at least 50 percent, the Egyptian edition of the Middle East Times reported. Following a US decision to cancel over $7 billion in Egyptian military debt in December as a reward for Cairo's stance during the Gulf crisis, several of Egypt's largest creditors have pledged to reduce their portion of Egyptian debt once Egypt signs an International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement on economic reform. After three years of negotiations, Egypt announced it is close to signing an agreement, which would include implementing a sales tax, cutting commodity subsidies, and raising customs duties and domestic energy prices. A sharp jump in food prices caused by previous agreements led to violent rioting throughout the country in 1975.

War in Somalia Continues:

Members of the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), which allied itself with the United Somali Congress (USC) to overthrow dictator Muhammad Said Barre in January, joined remnants of Barre's army and attacked the ruling USC in Mogadishu in April, the Saudi Gazette reported. The coup attempt was inspired by the government's inability to control looting and violence throughout the capital and by government sponsored attacks on members of Barre's Darod clan, which makes up the majority of the SPM. Another rebel group, the Issak clan-based Somali National Movement (SNM), which effectively avoided fighting between the USC and the SPM by setting up a semi-autonomous state in northern Somalia, rejected a USC proposal to join the government, and called for peace talks to be held in the northern city of Berbera in May.

Settlers Celebrate Deliberate Snub Against Baker:

Some 7,000 Jewish settlers in April defied a law prohibiting political demonstrations in the occupied territories, and marched through the West Bank celebrating the construction of a new Jewish settlement less than 48 hours before US Secretary of State James Baker arrived in Israel to pursue an Arab-Israeli peace. Two weeks later, less than one day before Baker's following trip to Israel, settlers fought with members of Israel's Peace Now, who protested the creation of another settlement in the occupied territories. "Both the settlement[s] and the march were intended as gestures of defiance to the United States, which regards Jewish settlements in the territories as an 'obstacle to peace, "' the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.

Mossad Agents Arrested in Cyprus:

Four Israelis were arrested in Cyprus in April for allegedly trying to tap the telephone wires of the Iranian Embassy in Nicosia, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported. Several Israeli newspapers, quoting foreign sources, said the four Israelis, who were caught in the basement of the embassy building with pliers, wire-cutters and a transistor radio, were members of Mossad, the Israeli secret service.

No Prison Sentence for Israeli Defense Force Colonel:

Israeli Defense Force (IDF) Col. Yehuda Meir was convicted of "brutality, " stripped in rank and discharged from the army in April for ordering IDF soldiers under his command in January 1988 to break the limbs of Palestinians arrested on suspicion of rioting, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported. Meir claimed that he was following instructions from then-Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Although Israeli law allows up to a 20-year sentence for the charge, Meir faces no prison term and will be eligible for a full army pension. Several members of the Israeli Knesset, including Yossi Sarid of the Citizens Rights Party, protested the sentence and accused the military court of being overly lenient.

US Treaty Contingent Upon Land-for-Peace:

Six members of Congress in March signed a resolution calling for a US treaty guaranteeing the military security of Israel following Israel's acceptance of a "Palestinian homeland. " The resolution, which also calls for a regional economic development program, including a plan for water resources, and regional arms control negotiations, was introduced by David Bonior (D-MI), and, as of May 6, signed by Neil Abercrombie (DHI), Albert Bustamante (D-TX), Barbara Rose Collins (D-MI), Mervyn Dymally (DCA), Bill Ford (D-MI), Gerald Kleczka (DWI), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Mary Rose Oakar (D-OH), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Nick Joe Rahall (DVV'V), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Pete Stark (DCA), Estaban Torres (D-CA) and James Traficant (D-OH).

Cutting a Slice:

Hot pizza was banned from fast-food restaurants in the religious township of Bnei Brak in Israel to prevent the intermingling of sexes while people waited for the pizza to be heated. Boys and girls "might look at each other, an offense against modesty, or God forbid, even touch each other, " a rabbinical aide told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Economic Catastrophe May Force Emigration:

Michael Bruno, governor of the Bank of Israel, called on the Israeli government to implement emergency economic reforms, including cutting the minimum wage, abolishing cost-of-living allowances and increasing taxes to forestall economic disaster. Bruno's report to Israel's Treasury, which predicted a 20 percent unemployment rate, was designed to "stun the government out of lethargy, " a government official told the Forward newspaper. "We are heading for catastrophe, " said Israeli Absorption Minister Peretz, who predicted massive emigration, especially among Soviet Jews, if the economic situation does not improve. According to the Israeli daily Maariv, as many as one-third of the 4,500 newly arrived Soviet Jews in Carmiel township plan to leave Israel because of poor employment prospects.

UN Protection Plan Rejected by Israel:

UN Secretary General Perez de Cuellar in April called for a meeting of the signatories of the Geneva Conventions to discuss ways to protect Palestinians living under Israeli rule in the West Bank and Gaza, the Jewish Week of Queens, NY reported. In a report to the UN Security Council, De Cuellar recommended using members of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which oversees Palestinian refugee camps, to monitor Palestinian rights throughout the territories. Israeli UN representative Yoram Aridor said Israel, which does not recognize the validity of the Geneva Conventions in the occupied territories, "categorically objects" to De Cuellar's suggestions.

Private Israeli Aid and Loan Guarantees for Soviet Immigration:

The Council for Jewish Federations (CJF), which represents over 200 North American Jewish local fundraising organizations, agreed in April to underwrite $900 million in loans and raise $450 million in grants for Soviet Jewish immigration, the Detroit Jewish News reported. The decision to provide loan guarantees came over protests from several groups whose assets were less than the loans they were underwriting. "We're betting the ranch, " said OF President Charles Goodman. Under the program, each new immigrant to Israel will receive a $2,450 ten-year loan from the OF, in addition to a $7,500 Israeli government grant. In 1990, the OF raised $420 million, and Jewish federations outside North America raised $180 million, which together with US aid and loan guarantees initially was expected to meet the cost of Soviet Jewish immigration for the next three to five years.

New Restrictions on Palestinians:

The Israeli cabinet in March increased restrictions, including mandatory body checks, on Palestinians entering Israel, prohibited Palestinian vehicles from the West Bank or Gaza from entering the country and increased deportations of Palestinian activists in an attempt to curb Palestinian-Israeli violence, the Forward newspaper reported. The measures were immediately criticized by the US State Department, which said that Israel needed to "look for ways of opening dialogue and trust with the Palestinians rather than imposing new restrictions on them." Israeli cabinet ministers Ariel Sharon, Raphael Eitan and Rehavam Ze'evi criticized the government's decision not to pass additional restrictions, including a ban on unmarried Palestinian men under 30 entering Israel and a plan by Police Chief Roni Milo allowing Israeli civilians to open fire on Palestinians in hostile situations whether or not they are endangered.

US Threatens UN Action:

After Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir rejected US proposals to advance Arab-Israeli peace talks, Secretary of State James Baker reportedly stood up, closed his briefcase and said, "Well if that is the case, then we have nothing to talk about, and the best option for us is to move the issue to the United Nations Security Council," Shamir associate Yousef Harif told the Israeli daily Ma'ariv. Shamir responded by asking, "What happened? We are conducting negotiations over very serious issues. Is it a requirement that I agree with everything you say?" According to Harif, Shamir's answer brought Baker back to his seat to resume negotiations until some 10 minutes later, when Baker broke off talks after learning that his mother had died.