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

Issues in the News

Compiled by Delinda C. Hanley

ARABIAN PENINSULA

Saudi Arabia Restricts U.S. Aircraft:

A Saudi Arabian official told The New York Times that U.S. pilots based in Saudi Arabia remain authorized to use force against Iraq when they are directly threatened, but “We object to any nation taking matters into its own hands, and using bombing as an instrument of diplomacy.” The senior official stated, “We have adopted the principle that our bases will not be used as a means of punitive operations that go beyond the purpose of the no-flight zones.”

Iraqi Pilgrims Guests of Saudi Arabia:

Saudi Arabian King Fahd offered to pay all hajj expenses for 18,000 Iraqi pilgrims who entered the Kingdom March 19, after they requested the U.N. to pay their foreign exchange expenses from Iraqi oil revenues. The U.N. sanctions committee and Iraq could not agree on Iraqi flights and expenses.

Nevertheless, the Iraqi pilgrims briefly joined this year’s two million participants in the hajj until they were called back to Iraq by their government on March 20. Kuwaiti newspapers called the Iraqi orders to the pilgrims to return home before completing the pilgrimage rituals “the mother of all scandals” and a “cheap ploy of political exploitation.”

NASA Offers Saudi Woman Job:

Saudi woman scientist Hayat Sindi has been offered jobs by the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the American Space Center in California. Sindi, the first Arab woman to win a scholarship from Cambridge University in England to pursue a doctoral program in biotechnology, invented a sensor device with great possibilities in the fields of medicine and space. The Saudi Gazette reports, however, that despite the offers she still plans to teach and do research at the Faculty of Medicine at King Abdel Aziz University in Saudi Arabia after her studies in England.

Separate IDs for Saudi Women:

Saudi Arabian women will soon have their own civilian identity cards, Interior Minister Prince Naif bin Abdel Aziz announced March 20. “Women make up half of our society, and the government, especially the Interior Ministry, has always looked after their concerns,” Prince Naif told the Arab News of Jeddah. Women in modern society, especially divorced, widowed, single and working women, need individual IDs in order to have the financial independence guaranteed by Islamic law, the Saudi paper reported.

Saudi Organ Donations Encouraged:

The first annual organ donation day was held in Jeddah at the King Khaled National Guard Hospital in collaboration with the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation (SCOT) March 9. Worried by a drop in organ donations, Dr. Walid Al-Yafi, chairman of the Anesthetic Department, told a symposium audience, “Recycle your life and be an organ donor.” Dr. Al-Bar, a member of the Islamic Medicine department at King Abdul Aziz University, discussed the Islamic point of view on organ donations. “All organ donations are halal [religiously approved] except ones to do with genes,” he said, adding that a Muslim can accept a kidney from a Christian donor and vice versa.

Sheikha Fatima Discusses Women’s Role in UAE:

Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, wife of UAE President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, called for a greater role for women in all fields of work. In an interview with the London-based Arabic-language women’s magazine Hiya [She], Sheikha Fatima, who is chairwoman of the UAE Women’s Federation, said women should direct their energy to national work now that technology has simplified household chores. She said education was the real force of development and advancement for people, regardless of gender, and the United Arab Emirates has made tremendous progress in the field.

Sheikha Fatima’s appeal for aid for Kosovo refugees has filled planeloads with mother-child relief packages airlifted by the UAE Red Crescent Society and Médecins Sans Frontiúres. Collection centers have had a huge response from school volunteer groups, and coupons are sold in shopping malls for Kosovo relief.

Abu Dhabi Festival of Sales Is a Glittering Success:

Discounts, free gifts, amusement rides, a circus, and car raffles brought 60,000 visitors a day to Abu Dhabi’s new Madinat Zayed Shopping Center in February. Lively events commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Khaleej Times of Dubai reported the weekly themes focused on glitter, glamour, gourmet and gadgetry, with special discounts of up to 80 percent for gold, fashion ware, foods and appliances. Three cars were given away in a single day and a 4.1-kilometer gold chain earned a new world record at the festival. Plans are already underway for a March 2000 shopping festival with a motherhood theme.

Gulf Waste Disposal Plan Could Cost $75 Million:

Experts from Iran, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, Australia and Denmark attended a two-day conference in Manama, Bahrain to discuss a $75 million plan for waste disposal facilities for the Persian/Arabian Gulf. Experts from Kuwait- and Bahrain-based marine environment protection agencies discussed ways to protect the area’s marine life from discharge from oil tankers and commercial ships.

Bahraini Youth Numbers Climb:

Bahrain’s Central Statistics Organization released population figures that show 60 percent of Bahraini nationals are under the age of 25, an increase of 3.6 percent over 1997. Bahraini citizens account for 60 percent of the population (391,000 nationals and 252,000 expatriates). Around 40 percent of all Gulf nationals are under 15, according to reports published by the Saudi Gazette.

Oman Almost Free of Major Childhood Diseases:

In the mid-1960s about one-third of children born in Oman died before their fifth birthday and the infant mortality rate was over 200 per 1,000 live births. Infant and child mortality rates are now 18 per 1,000 and 22 per 1,000 respectively, according to the Khaleej Times of Dubai, which reported also that 99 percent of all children under the age of two in Oman have been immunized against major childhood diseases like diphtheria, measles, polio and neonatal tetanus. Oman now is tackling chronic genetic diseases like sickle cell anemia, congenital heart disease, immune-deficiency syndromes, bronchial asthma and other problems.

Qatar Looks Into Power Privatization:

In order to ease the present financial stresses caused by low oil prices and to provide for future economic growth, Qatar is seeking to privatize its electrical industry. Five international bidders have been asked to submit offers for a 60 percent stake in a power plant. There has been no increase in Qatar’s electricity generation capacity since 1994, despite the country’s construction boom that has created a rising demand for power. The country will require nearly double its current level of electricity by the year 2005.

FERTILE CRESCENT

Jordan Angered by Israel Water Cuts:

Israel’s decision to cut the water it guaranteed to supply to Jordan in their 1994 peace treaty has angered Jordan and violated the agreement. Jordan’s 80-member Chamber of Deputies declared, “The Israeli move casts suspicion on the Middle East peace process as a whole.” Jordan’s Parliament said, “Jordan’s water belongs to it by right—it is not a donation or a gift of kindness for Israel to grant or withhold as it pleases.” This winter was particularly dry in the Middle East and a drought is expected this summer.

Jordan’s King Abdullah Pledges Support:

“Jordan is Arab first and last and cannot shed its skin,” Jordan’s King Abdullah told the London-based Palestinian newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi, the Washington Jewish Week reports. He pledged not to pursue relations with Israel at the expense of relations with other Arab countries and said he would give full support to the Palestinians during final status negotiations with Israel. When asked about Palestinian overtures to establish a Jordanian-Palestinian confederation, Abdullah said, “Our doors are open to any possible formula for cooperation with the Palestinians but only after the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and the conclusion of final status negotiations.”

Hamas Prepares for Israeli Terrorism:

The Palestinian group Hamas has stepped up security for its leaders, the Jordanian paper Al-Arab Al-Yom reported in March. Jordanian Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, who survived an assassination attempt by Israeli Mossad agents in September 1997, told the paper that during Israeli election campaigns “He who commits the most terrorist attacks will win.” He added that securing the Jewish extremist vote was crucial to any Israeli campaign.

Antiquities Scandal Uncovered in Lebanon:

Lebanese financial prosecutor Judge Khaled Hammoud ordered the seizure of more than 2,200 archeological treasures missing since the 1975 outbreak of the civil war from homes and stores. National antiquities were removed in 11 raids in March on galleries, shops, and even the home of the former director general of antiquities. The antiquities crackdown is part of Lebanon’s anti-corruption campaign, which included the arrest of senior oil ministry officials accused of embezzling an estimated $800 million in shady fuel deals in the last four years.

Report Lists Cost of Lebanese Civil War:

A United Nations Development Program study reports the 16-year Lebanese civil war left 150,000 people dead, 200,000 injured, 50,000 with serious disabilities, 500,000 displaced and about 900,000 persons who had left the country. “These numbers, impossible as they are, must be appreciated in relation to the small size of the country, about three million people,” the report says. “In terms of proportions, they are extremely poignant. Compared to the United States, for example, they translate into 9 million dead, 18 million injured, 5 million disabled, 45 million displaced and 80 million emigrants.” The war cost the country between $25 and $30 billion in infrastructure damage, and unknown losses incurred by the private sector. The report said that no country in Western Europe suffered a physical loss near this scale as a result of the Second World War.

Lebanese Village of Arnoun Again Besieged:

Once again Israeli troops sealed off and annexed Arnoun, the Lebanese village they first fenced off Feb. 17 until Lebanese university students marched in and cut down the barbed wire. This time Israeli forces used smoke grenades and firepower, shooting Abu Dhabi television cameraman Kassem Durgham in the back. A statement issued April 16, presumably to discourage future student rescue plans, warns that anyone who enters the village without a permit will be endangering his or her life.

Syria and Jordan Seek Closer Ties:

The April 21 Syrian-Jordanian summit between King Abdullah and President Hafez al-Assad will result in “full coordination” between the two states, Jubran Koreyeh, a Syrian official, stated. Damascus seeks to “restore matters back to normalcy” rather than “formulate a new axis” in the region, he said. Talks dealt with “conditions in the region, the Arab arena and bilateral relations.”

Syria’s Oldest Man Dies:

The oldest man in Syria died in March at the age of 148, the Arab News of Jeddah reported, leaving more than 100 grandchildren. Hussein al-Chazli lived in the town of al-Mseifra in Deraa province, read without eyeglasses, and rarely visited a doctor. He was a popular historical reference who gave many interviews in his later years for he had a good memory and had been a part of so much history.

IRAN /IRAQ

Former American Hostage Sues Iranian Government:

Former Associated Press Beirut bureau chief Terry Anderson filed a $100 million lawsuit on March 22 against the Iranian government, claiming it supported the extremists who kidnapped him and held him captive in Lebanon for nearly seven years. Anderson, now a journalism professor at Ohio University, said, “Iran seems intent on rejoining the community of nations. Our position is, before they can do that, they have to take responsibility for what they have done.”

Iranian Press Quotes Former Iranian Empress:

For the first time since the 1979 revolution, the ex-empress of Iran, Farah Diba, has been quoted in an Iranian paper. Her New Year message to the people of Iran was printed in the newspaper Zan, published by Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. The moderate paper quotes Farah Diba’s hope that “In the coming third millennium, our ancient Iran will begin a new glorious period by the efforts of its worthy children.” The shah died a year after he and his family left Iran during the revolution, and his widow now resides in the U.S.

Iran Is Haven to Refugees:

A little known fact in the West is that for nearly two decades Iran has taken in more refugees than any other country. Afghans, Tajiks, Azeris, Iraqi Arabs and Kurds have come to Iran to escape invasions, civil war and oppression at home. Refugees are not left in squalid camps but are allowed to work, attend school and live with Iranians. Soren Jessen-Petersen, assistant high commissioner of the U.N. refugee agency, praised Iran for commendable treatment of more than 2 million refugees, saying, “Iran, believe it or not—outlaw of the world—has been the most generous asylum country in the world,” while getting little credit from the international community.

Iraq Now Poorer than Sub-Saharan Africa:

Iraq’s total GDP has fallen to $5.7 billion, or $247 per capita, according to the Economist’s annual supplement, “The World in 1999.” Before the Gulf war, Iraq’s GDP was 10 times higher, around $60 billion. Tiny Jordan has a GDP of $8.6 billion. Once one of the most developed countries in the Middle East, Iraq is now poorer than many countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

ISRAEL/PALESTINE

Jewish Terrorists Convicted of Sedition, Arson and Desecration:

A Jewish terrorist was convicted March 30 of plotting to throw a pig’s head into Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, while thousands would be worshipping. Damian Peckovich and his accomplice, Avigdor Eskin, were arrested in December 1997 before their desecration of Islam’s third holiest site could be carried out. Peckovich was also convicted of placing the head of a pig, impure to both Muslims and Jews, on the grave of a Muslim cleric and setting fire to the office of the Dor Shalom peace group, founded by the son of murdered Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Eskin served four months in jail for placing a death curse on Rabin two weeks before his assassination.

Another suspected Israeli terrorist, Herzl Mazuz, 44, is accused of planning to blow up the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, the Chicago Tribune reported. He has been banished from Jerusalem to his hometown of Beersheba March 17 and ordered to report to the police twice a week.

Palestinian Wounded by Jewish Terrorist Must Pay Own Hospitalization Costs:

Fayez Zeitawi, the Palestinian Jerusalemite stabbed in January by a Jewish serial knifer, has learned that his hospitalization expenses will not be covered because his right to reside in Jerusalem was withdrawn in 1998. He must pay NIS 72,000 out of pocket for the medical care he received after being attacked by a Jewish terrorist. Under Israeli law, as a Palestinian, he cannot be recognized as the victim of terrorist activity.

Israel stripped 788 Palestinians of their East Jerusalem residency rights in 1998 in what critics call a “silent transfer” of Arabs from the contested city, Arab News reports. The loss of Jerusalem residency deprives families of the right to enter Israel and access to schooling or social and medical benefits in the country. Since Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967, it has settled more than 160,000 Jews in the area.

U.S. Brass Forbidden to Visit Occupied Territories With Israeli Officials:

U.S. researchers and ex-generals attending a conference at the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies on March 15 were told by U.S. officials that they could not visit the Golan Heights or the Old City of Jerusalem because they are occupied territories. A U.S. Embassy spokesman told Israel’s Ha’aretz that since 1967 there has been a ban on U.S. officials traveling to the occupied territories accompanied by Israeli officials. The U.S. experts traveled to Masada instead.

Israeli Army Accused of Desecrating Soldier’s Corpse:

The father of an Israeli soldier who died in a training accident has accused the Israeli army of using his son’s body to practice a medical technique, despite the family’s denial of permission to operate. Jewish law prohibits autopsies under most circumstances and many Israelis oppose the procedure. Army Surgeon General Aryeh Eldad said that the need to save lives outweighs religious considerations. This incident is the latest in a series of disputes between the Israeli military and parents of soldiers who accuse the army of covering up circumstances surrounding their children’s deaths.

Airlift to Bring Voters to Israel:

Who can resist a round-trip ticket to Israel for $180? Cheap charter flights are part of a campaign to bring Americans with Israeli citizenship to Israel to vote in the May 17 Israeli elections. Advertisements to lure voters to Israel can be found in Jewish newspapers, and flyers and posters distributed to synagogues in Orthodox neighborhoods in New York. They do not mention any candidates by name, New York’s Jewish newspaper Forward reports in an April 16 article, though the locations of possible right-wing voters have been targeted. The Jerusalem Post reported Israel’s El Al airline will delay flights to enable the thousands of Israelis from Europe and the U.S. to vote before their May 17 departures.

Israel Closes Orient House:

The Israeli government ordered the closure of Orient House, the main Palestinian offices in East Jerusalem, and revoked the “VIP” travel permits of Faisal Husseini, Ziad Abu Ziad, Hanan Ashrawi and other Palestinian officials to prevent them from meeting diplomats in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Post reported Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat’s charges that these actions are an election campaign ploy. Erekat said, “I’m surprised that every Israeli who wants to get votes must get tough with the Palestinians.” The provocative pre-election move, a violation of the Oslo accords, is also designed to weaken the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem. Israel has closed some 40 Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem in the past two years.

Israel Doesn’t Make the Desert Bloom:

Israeli troops fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at 200 Palestinian youths during a protest March 22 outside Beit Dajan in the West Bank. The protest occurred when Israeli bulldozers ripped up 170 olive tree saplings that had been replanted nine days before by Palestinian villagers. The army first razed the orchard, uprooting 500 fully grown trees in February, saying that the area was designated “state land.”

Israeli settlers from Barakha B, south of Nablus, have taken to threatening shepherds from the villages of Borin and Kufr Kalil, forcing them to leave their own land at gunpoint. Last year it was revealed that settlers had dug tunnels around the Ein Makhna spring and poured toxic chemicals into the water, polluting the water required by area residents.

NORTH AFRICA

Algeria Elects Army-Backed Bouteflika:

Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 62, a former foreign minister favored by the military and a favorite throughout the election campaign in which he was the only candidate running by election day, won a controversial Algerian presidential election on April 15. The last six opposition candidates withdrew the day before the election amid charges of ballot rigging. The government-appointed election watchdog said that Bouteflika took 7.4 million of the 10.5 million votes cast. Voter turnout was low with 60.9 percent of Algeria’s 17.5 million voters casting a ballot. Opposition groups say that between 75 and 80 percent of voters boycotted the election. President Liamine Zeroual called for the election 19 months before his five-year term ended. Bouteflika has promised to end Algeria’s seven-year cycle of violence that has killed more than 70,000 people.

Egypt and Jordan Link Power:

In the first step toward forming a regional electricity network that it is hoped will eventually include northern Africa, Europe and Asia, the Arab News reported Egypt and Jordan officially linked their power grids March 16. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah attended the inauguration of the $229 million project which will reduce costs in setting up new power plants, increase power supply efficiency, and help countries share power in extraordinary situations. Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and other countries will gradually join the power system.

Libyan Sanctions Lifted:

After Libya turned over two suspects accused of being involved in the Lockerbie bombing for trial in an international court, the U.N. suspended Libyan trade sanctions. Two days later Libya’s energy minister invited U.S. oil firms to return to continue oil production in Libya, though U.S. trade sanctions remain in place. The European Union suspended trade sanctions on April 22, so it is likely European oil firms will fill any openings. However, Europe retains its international embargo on arms sales to Libya. After U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan issues a report this summer regarding Libya’s commitment to implementing U.N. resolutions, more sanctions may be lifted.

Moroccan Jews Rededicate Synagogue:

The 200-year-old Danan synagogue was rededicated in the historic Moroccan city of Fez in March after renovations to the building. The synagogue has not been used for 25 years and will not be used now for regular prayers, but will stand as a tribute to the history of Moroccan Jewry. Jews have lived in Morocco for 2,000 years, with an estimated 250,000 living in the country in 1948. Since the establishment of Israel the Jewish community has dwindled to around 5,000, most of whom live in Casablanca.

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Tour North Africa:

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and her 19-year-old daughter Chelsea enjoyed a 12-day trip to Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco billed as a bridge-building visit to the Islamic world. In her weekly column called “Talking It Over,” which is carried in Middle Eastern as well as U.S. newspapers, she wrote from Egypt after her March 21 arrival, “For too long, our relations have been affected by negative stereotyping on both sides, but I hope my visit will provide an opportunity to break down some of those stereotypes and strengthen the bond of friendship between us.” In Egypt they visited a reproductive-heath center, bazaar, mosques, synagogues, Coptic and Christian churches, and the world-renowned Egyptian Museum and Luxor’s temples, where militants had killed 58 tourists 16 months earlier. She pledged $34.4 million for health care in Egypt after inaugurating a U.S.-funded low-cost outpatient clinic for the poor. She also met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his wife, Suzanne, a staunch supporter of a reading-for-all program in Egypt.

In Tunisia women’s and human rights groups grilled the first lady on the U.S. human rights record, including the application of the death penalty, the treatment of women prisoners, and the fact that the U.S. has not ratified the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and the convention on eliminating all forms of discrimination against women. Mrs. Clinton and Chelsea toured a U.S. military cemetery for soldiers killed in World War II and Sidi Ashour, the National Solidarity-funded village described on p. 30 of the March 1999 issue of the Washington Report. They toured archeological sites in Carthage, visited the mosque of Kairouan, and met President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali and his wife, Leila Ben Ali.

Next, mother and daughter traveled to a desert encampment at the massive Merzouga dunes in south central Morocco for a camel-riding camping adventure. Their Muslim hosts cooked whole lambs to share Eid Al-Adha, “Feast of the Sacrifice,” with the Clintons and put on a lavish celebration in a modern Arabian Nights setting in the dunes. They visited Marrakesh, canceling a visit to the mountain city of Fez when their plane couldn’t land due to fog, and then heading to Rabat where they met with Moroccan Prime Minister Abderrahmane El Youssoufi.

TURKEY:

Capture of Kurdish Leader Provokes Bombers:

A 21-year-old female suicide bomber was killed and 10 persons wounded in an apparent attack on a police bus parked in the heart of Istanbul March 27. In another incident, children found a bomb outside a primary school in the southeastern town of Yuksekova. That bomb was soon defused. Authorities blamed both attacks on Kurdish rebels trying to avenge the Feb. 15 capture of their leader, Abdullah Ocalan, who awaits trial for treason. Turkish troops killed 27 Kurdish guerillas Friday, April 15, after rebels ambushed a Turkish military convoy in the southeast, killing six soldiers. The conflict over Kurdish autonomy has killed an estimated 37,000 people.

Turks Support Kosovo Refugees:

Turkish newspapers called on Turkish citizens to donate anything, even a pair of socks, to help the Kosovo refugees. Pictures of starving and crying Kosovar refugees dominated the press, pushing Turkey’s April 18 elections off the front pages. Although some observers said the issue of minority rights in Kosovo could be compared to the fight Kurdish separatists wage in Turkey, the plight of Kosovo refugees strikes this country especially hard because Turkey’s Ottoman Empire ruled the Balkans for hundreds of years. As the empire collapsed, hundreds of thousands of Muslims fled to Turkey. By now millions of Turks have Balkan ancestry.

THE SUBCONTINENT

Peace Bus Launched Between Pakistan and India:

Pakistan and India started the first cross-border bus service since the fighting that accompanied their 1947 partition on March 15. After decades of tension and three wars, observers in both countries expressed hope that simple steps like this will build trust and promote contact. The bus trip takes 11 hours to cover 485 kilometers and costs about $19, with breakfast, lunch and tea included. Prime Ministers Atal Behari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif pledged to avoid nuclear conflicts and to take steps to solve their dispute over Kashmir.

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

Kosovo Refugee Policy Nightmare:

With the number of Kosovo refugees reaching an estimated total of 850,000 at the end of April, a number of governments had agreed to transport victims out of the region by bus and plane. After touring camps in Macedonia, Clare Short, U.S. secretary of state for international development, said, “Thousands and thousands of people on the other side of the border are not being fed, babies are being born, people are becoming sick.” Western leaders are trying to coordinate a refugee policy, flying out a few, keeping most close to home and continuing the air campaign in an effort to force Belgrade to let the refugees return home.