Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, October/November 1997, Pages 38-42

Issues In The News

Compiled by Shawn L. Twing

ARABIAN PENINSULA

Bahrain Takes Delivery of U.S. Ship:

The former U.S. Navy frigate Jack Williams arrived in Bahrain in July, fulfilling a September 1996 agreement to transfer the ship to the Gulf Cooperation Council state. Renamed the Sabha, it is the largest warship to enter service with any GCC navy. Although it was a gift, Jane's Defence Weekly reported that Bahrain paid some $50 million for maintenance, upgrades and training for the ship's crew.

Kuwait, Iraq Exchange Gunfire:

Kuwaiti police and Iraqi gunmen exchanged gunfire on the Kuwait-Iraq border in July, the Associated Press reported on July 8. According to Kuwait's Interior Ministry, several Iraqis fired machine guns at a group of Kuwaitis building an observation post on the Kuwaiti side of the border. Kuwaiti border police returned fire, but no injuries were reported on either side. Several similar incidents have been reported in the past. Kuwait has built a trench along its border with Iraq and recently announced plans to build an additional trench with barbed wire and electronic surveillance equipment to prevent Iraqis from infiltrating into Kuwait.

Kuwaiti MPs Criticize Government-Sponsored Rapprochement:

Kuwaiti parliamentarians criticized their government for improving ties with countries that supported Iraq during the 1990-91 Gulf crisis, Reuters reported July 11. Kuwait's Arabic newspaper Al Rai Al Aam quoted MP Nasser Al Sanea saying: "The government should have taken its time until parliament ends debates on the matter," referring to recent Kuwaiti diplomatic openings toward Jordan, Sudan and Yemen. In July Jordan and Kuwait resumed direct air travel suspended since 1990. The same week a Sudanese minister visited Kuwait, the first such visit by a Sudanese official since the Gulf crisis, and the president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, met in Sana'a with a group of Kuwaiti intellectuals including two former ministers. Another Kuwaiti MP, Badr Al Gea'an, expressed his "surprise" at the government's initiative.

U.S. General Warns Militants Targeting U.S. Troops:

Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Anthony Zinni told the Senate Armed Services Committee he believes U.S. forces in the Middle East "are being stalked." Citing the November 1995 bombing of a U.S. National Guard building in Riyadh that killed five Americans and the June 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers complex in Dhahran that killed 19 U.S. airmen, Zinni said, "There will be other tries, I'm convinced." He said that after completion of an evaluation of U.S. troop security in the Middle East, "We feel we are adequately protected...We have averted [terrorist] attempts just because our force protection was so good. I know that for a fact." Zinni currently is deputy commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command, the division of the military charged with protecting U.S. interests in the Gulf and Red Sea regions. He is President Clinton's nominee for commander-in-chief of Central Command, to replace outgoing General J.H. Binford Peay, III.

Arabic Office97 Arrives with Hebrew Label:

Seattle, Washington-based software giant Microsoft Corporation apologized in July after releasing an Arabic version of its software suite Office97 packaged with a Hebrew label, the UAE daily Khaleej Times reported. Microsoft officials say the mistake happened in the United States when a third-party contracting facility mislabeled the products bound for the Middle East. Marketing manager Helena Gilman said that Microsoft has "taken up this issue very seriously and [is] investigating the causes." Customers who bought the mislabeled software were offered immediate replacements with correctly labeled products.

Dubai Best Mideast Destination:

The World Travel Association named Dubai the "Best Middle East Destination" and Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) the "Best Middle East Tourism and Convention Bureau" during its fourth annual awards ceremony in New York, according to July reports in the Khaleej Times. The awards are based on the results of 850,000 ballots distributed to travel industry professionals worldwide. This is the second straight year Dubai has won the award for best travel destination. The award given to Dubai's tourism bureau follows three years as runner-up in this category. Director-general Khalid bin Sulayem of the DTCM promised that "we will not rest on our laurels. We will be working hard to maintain and improve our performance in the future."

Emirates Best Mideast Airline:

The UAE national Emirates airline was voted the best Middle East airline by travel agents in 41 countries, according to a press release issued by the airline July 1. The award, given by the United Kingdom's World Travel Group, publishers of World Travel Monthly, recognizes the travel industry's outstanding achievers. It is the 132nd award received by Emirates since the airline began operations in 1985.

Shura Council Expanded:

King Fahd of Saudi Arabia appointed a 90-member shura (consultative) council July 6 to replace the outgoing 60-member council that had ended its four-year term July 5. The new council is "dominated by technocrats, retired police and army officers and tribal leaders," according to the English-language Jeddah daily Saudi Gazette. The new members include 56 with doctoral degrees, six retired senior officers, four engineers and several tribal leaders. The shura council was begun in 1993 to advise the king and is appointed by King Fahd for four-year terms.

Yemen Wants GCC Membership:

During a July 12 visit to Kuwait, a Yemeni official indicated his country's strong desire to join the Gulf Cooperation Council. "Most of the GCC states agree to Yemen joining the council and say to us frankly 'Your place is in the GCC,'" Yemeni Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ghaleb Ali Jameel is quoted as saying by Agence France Presse "We say to our Gulf brothers: Do not fear Yemen's joining because it will not place a financial or economic burden on you," he added.

Saudia Will Outfit Airplanes With Collision Protection:

Saudi Arabia's national airline Saudia announced in June that it will outfit its 61 new aircraft with the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), a state-of-the-art aviation safety device that helps prevent aircraft accidents, Arab News reported June 30. In addition to its new aircraft purchased in multi-billion-dollar contracts with Boeing and McDonnell Douglas last year, Saudia also will retrofit its existing fleet of Boeing 747s and Airbuses with TCAS, Saudia's vice-president of technical services, Ahmad Jazzar, said. The TCAS system alerts pilots of other aircraft within a dangerous range, providing time for pilots to maneuver away from a potential collision. The TCAS system will cost approximately $300,000 per airplane in the Saudia fleet.

King Fahd Receives FAO Award:

Saudi Arabia's King Fahd was awarded a gold medal from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in June in appreciation for Saudi Arabia's efforts for agricultural development and combating poverty in developing countries, the English-language Jeddah daily Arab News reported June 22. FAO director-general Jacques Diouf traveled to Jeddah to make the presentation on behalf of the international organization.

USAF Completes Qatar Deployment:

On June 18, the U.S. Air Force's 4th Air Expeditionary Wing completed a four-month deployment in Qatar, where it helped enforce the no-fly zone over southern Iraq and conducted training missions with Qatari pilots, Jane's Defence Weekly reported in July. The air wing, which began arriving in Qatar Feb. 20, comprised 18 F-16s, 12 F-15Es and four aerial refueling tankers. Other Air Expeditionary Wings have been deployed to Qatar in the past, as well as to neighboring Bahrain and in Jordan.

UAE to Buy 80 F-16s:

The United Arab Emirates unofficially notified the U.S. Department of Defense that it plans to purchase up to 80 F-16 combat aircraft, The Washington Times reported July 21. The UAE has been evaluating combat aircraft for years including the French Rafale and the Lockheed Martin F-16 built in Fort Worth, TX. U.S. officials were upset in March when the UAE announced at its biannual defense conference IDEX '97 that the Emirates also would evaluate the Eurofighter 2000, a move many industry analysts interpreted as a blow to the F-16 sale. Lockheed Martin faced several hurdles in the negotiations, including U.S. reluctance to transfer high-technology military components to the UAE and disagreements about legal jurisdiction over U.S. troops on leave in the United Arab Emirates. The contract, with an estimated value of several billion dollars including spare parts and maintenance, is one of the last major aircraft buys of this century and is a dramatic boost for defense giant Lockheed Martin.

FERTILE CRESCENT

Israeli Chief of Staff Visits Jordan:

Israeli chief of staff Gen. Amnon Shahak arrived in Amman July 8 for meetings with his Jordanian counterpart Abdul Hafiz Mari Al Kabnah, the Jordan Times reported. The two-day visit, the first by an Israeli chief of staff to an Arab country since the creation of Israel in 1948, was closed to reporters. Israel radio reported, however, that General Shahak was accompanied by a delegation of senior military and intelligence officials. An official from the Israeli Embassy in Amman told Associated Press that the visit focused on "cooperation and closer relations between the armies of the two countries."

Jordanian Gets Life Sentence:

Ahmed Daqamseh, the Jordanian soldier who killed seven Israeli schoolgirls last March 13, received a life sentence July 19 from a Jordanian military court. The five judges decided against the death penalty because Daqamseh did not appear to be mentally sound and "the court found that the act was instant and there was no premeditation," according to Brigadier Maamoun Khassawneh, who presided over the tribunal. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu welcomed the verdict. His spokesman, David Bar-Ilan, said Israel has "complete trust in the integrity and the sense of justice of King Hussein and the Jordanian courts." Jordanian public opinion, particularly among the majority Palestinians in Jordan, was critical. "He should have been acquitted," said Palestinian shopkeeper Mohammed Al Adib. "Israelis have killed scores of Palestinians and they received reduced prison terms," he told Associated Press. A life sentence in Jordan carries a maximum sentence of 25 years, which would allow Daqamseh to leave prison when he is 51.

Muslim Brethren Boycott Polls:

Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood announced July 9 that it will boycott November parliamentary elections to protest what it called a crackdown on democratic freedoms, Reuters news service reported in July. The Islamic Action Front, political wing of Jordan's Islamist organization, is the largest opposition party in the Jordanian parliament. Other reasons cited for the boycott were Jordan's increasingly close relations with Israel despite the apparent collapse of the Arab-Israeli peace process.

Mufti Urges Boycott of U.S., Israel:

Syria's highest-ranking Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Kiftaro, called on Arabs and Muslims to boycott U.S. and Israeli products, the Associated Press reported July 12. During Friday prayers at the Abu Al Nour mosque in Damascus, Kiftaro said that "Arab and Muslim nations are facing the most violent and aggressive campaign represented by Israel and the American regime which supports it." The Syrian mufti urged Arabs and Muslims not to buy American and Israeli products and to stop putting money in banks in countries that support Israel.

Damascus Declaration States Meet:

Syria, Egypt and the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates)—the so-called Damascus Declaration countries—met in Latakia, Syria in June to discuss regional developments and the possibility of creating a Middle East common market. Other topics discussed at the two-day meeting of foreign ministers and ministers of state included recent Turkish-Israeli military and diplomatic cooperation, the apparent failure of the peace process under Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and a non-binding resolution passed by the U.S. Congress recognizing Israeli sovereignty over all of Jerusalem.

A seven-page communiqu’ issued at the end of the meeting read, in part: "The policies of the Israeli government, which is hostile to peace and avoids implementing accords already signed, threaten the peace process." The statement also said that Turkish-Israeli military cooperation "threatens the security of Arab states," and asked Ankara to "review the question of its cooperation with Israel and to give priority to good neighborly relations with Arab countries."

Thousands Protest In Lebanon:

Some 10,000 people gathered in Lebanon's Shi'i city of Baalbek July 4 as part of a "revolution of the hungry" called by Hezbollah leader Sheikh Subhi Tofaili. Under heavy security by the Lebanese army, men, women and children gathered in Baalbek's main square to hear Tofaili demand that the Lebanese government provide free education and hospital care, review its tax system and create an agricultural development program, Agence France Presse reported. Sheikh Tofaili vowed to "escalate the revolution of the hungry" that began as a civil disobedience campaign in May and called on the people to "crawl to Beirut" to protest what he called the Lebanese government's abandonment of the poor.

SLA Opens New Crossing Point:

Israel's proxy South Lebanon Army announced July 17 that it had agreed to the opening of a second crossing point between the Israeli-occupied section of southern Lebanon and the rest of the country, according to Agence France Presse. SLA commander Antoine Lahad said that members of his militia would not prevent the Lebanese government from opening the Kfar Falous crossing point, closed since 1985. The government's plan to open the second crossing area stemmed from complaints by residents of Jezzine, who are forced to make a long detour to travel to Beirut.

IRAN/IRAQ

U.S. Says Iran Will Have Nuclear Weapons Soon:

Iran could have nuclear weapons by the turn of the century if it obtains fissionable material, according to U.S. Central Command commander-in-chief Gen. J.H. Binford Peay, III. In a June meeting with defense reporters in Washington, General Peay warned that Iranian engineers could "bring to weaponization" fissile materials by "the near-end of the turn of the century." Peay also said the Iranian military build-up in the Gulf has increased the "operational risk" for U.S. forces in the region. "We're not picking a fight with Iran...On the other hand, we've got to be very, very concerned that we don't have some error and some escalation take place," he said.

Defector Says Khomeini Ordered Pan Am Lockerbie Bombing:

A former top Iranian intelligence officer has charged that the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini ordered the 1988 bombing of Pan Am 103 that killed 270 people when it exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. Germany's weekly Der Spiegel said that Abolghassem Mesbahi, a co-founder of the Iranian intelligence service now living in exile, told German investigators that Khomeini ordered the attack in retaliation for the downing of an Iranian passenger plane by a U.S. warship in 1988. In 1992, members of the Palestine Liberation Organization also claimed that Iran was responsible for the attack, but U.S. and Scottish authorities said they have no evidence to support that claim. The United Nations, at the urging of the United States, continues to enforce sanctions against Libya for its alleged involvement in the Dec. 21, 1988 attack that killed 259 people on board the aircraft and 11 on the ground.

Iran MPs Ask For Corruption Probe:

Conservative members of Iran's parliament have called for a thorough investigation of the personal finances of members of the outgoing government of President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Agence France Presse reported July 1. More than 150 of the 270 deputies in parliament asked the judiciary to publish the results of their findings after their investigation is completed. The parliamentary demand followed remarks by spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei in June attacking corruption among public officials. Iran's constitution allows for the confiscation of personal property acquired through bribery, usury, embezzlement, theft or abuse of authority.

Uday's Health Unclear:

The physical condition of Uday Hussain, son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussain, remains unclear after a December assassination attempt. According to a July statement by the opposition Iraqi Broadcasting Corporation, Uday cannot walk because German doctors were unable to rebuild his left knee, shattered in the failed assassination attempt. On July 9, however, the Iraqi newspaper Babel published a picture of Uday standing without crutches and shaking hands with a visiting Qatari delegation. Iraqi media announced in June that Uday had left the hospital after a "full recovery."

U.N. Rejects Iraqi Food Plan:

The United Nations rejected a food distribution plan put forth by Iraq saying it is incomplete, Agence France Presse reported July 9. "It is a good step in the right direction, but it does lack some details on important sectors," said U.N. coordinator for humanitarian affairs in Iraq Stafan de Mistura. "Therefore we need further discussion before its submission to the secretary-general." The food distribution plan is part of the oil-for-food agreement between the United Nations and Iraq that allows Iraq to sell $2 billion worth of oil every six months to pay for food and medicine. So far Iraq has taken delivery of one million tons of the 2.3 million tons of supplies paid for in the first six months. Iraqi officials have refused to continue selling oil, however, until an arrangement is made with the United Nations for continued food purchases and their distribution.

Three U.N. Inspection Teams in Iraq:

Several groups of inspectors and experts from the United Nations visited Iraq in July to monitor compliance with U.N. Security Council resolutions and to examine ways to ease sanctions against Iraqi civilians without easing pressure on Iraqi President Saddam Hussain. An eight-person team of U.N. weapons inspectors arrived in Baghdad July 12 to continue investigating Iraq's banned missile delivery programs. Other teams of weapons inspectors arrived to investigate chemical and biological weapons programs in July following a June dispute when teams of U.N. inspectors were denied access to three Iraqi installations. Saddam Hussain responded to U.N. criticism by saying that weapons inspections could reach a "dead end" unless the U.N. "respects Iraq's sovereignty and national security."

Another U.N. delegation spent four days in Iraq discussing expansion of the June agreement to open the Syrian-Iraqi border to businessmen after a 15-year closure. The U.N. team left Baghdad July 14 but did not announce if Iraqi expansion plans had been accepted.

ISRAEL/PALESTINE

Israel Rehearses Plans for Military Reoccupation of West Bank Cities:

The Israel Defense Forces have developed detailed plans to reoccupy the West Bank and Gaza in the event of major violence or a collapse of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian National Authority, Jane's Defence Weekly reported in July. Israeli armored forces have conducted mock exercises across the West Bank and rehearsed several contingency plans that eventually would impose a new Israeli military administration on PA-governed territories. Other aspects of the IDF's plans include the arrest of Palestinian officials and an economic blockade against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli press reports suggest that this reoccupation would result in the deaths of hundreds of Israelis and thousands of Palestinians.

Israeli Mine Wounds 6 U.N. Soldiers:

Six Irish soldiers assigned to a U.N. peacekeeping force were wounded, one of them very seriously, June 21 when an Israeli mine exploded near Beit Yahoun, a Lebanese town on the border of Israel's self-imposed "security zone" in southern Lebanon. The six soldiers, part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), were disarming land mines left by Israel and its proxy South Lebanon Army in an area that Israel assured them already had been cleared of mines. After disarming and removing four mines, a fifth detonated, wounding the six soldiers.

Israeli General Will Kill Protesters:

Israel's military commander in charge of the West Bank warned Palestinians that Israel would respond with deadly force if Palestinian protests continued in Hebron. General Gabi Ofir warned Palestinians that "Those who throw [Molotov cocktails] must understand that they will die, because those are the shooting orders." The day before Gen. Ofir's announcement, 25 Palestinian protesters were wounded in Hebron by rubber-coated Israeli bullets and live ammunition fired at crowds reacting to a poster by a Jewish settler depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a pig. Shortly after Gen. Ofir's announcement, IDF snipers and infantry took up positions in several parts of Israeli-controlled Hebron in anticipation of more Palestinian protests.

Hamas Member Gets 46 Life Terms:

Alleged Hamas bombing mastermind Hassan Salameh was sentenced to 46 life terms—one term per victim—for his role in orchestrating three suicide bombings in Israel in 1996. A three-judge Israeli military court handed down the sentence July 7 for Salameh's role in two suicide bombings in Jerusalem and one in Ashkelon last spring. One member of the court's panel recommended the death penalty but Israeli prosecutors had refrained from asking for capital punishment in this case. Salameh also was sentenced to an additional 20 years in jail for weapons possession and other offenses.

Israeli Official Admits Killing Palestinian Prisoners:

A security adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu bragged that he had killed two Palestinians captured after they seized an Israeli bus in 1984. Israel's Hebrew-daily Yediot Ahronot quoted Ehud Yatom saying: "We put them in our van and then I received instructions from [Shin Bet domestic security chief] Avraham Shalom to kill them, so I killed them with a big stone, I crushed their skulls." When asked about Yatom's position in the Netanyahu government, the prime minister's office responded that he "is a member of a special council on counter-terrorism," Reuters reported.

Defense Chief Says Israel Will Stay in Lebanon:

Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai believes that Israel will need to remain in southern Lebanon for a "long time to come," according to reports by the Deutsche Presse Agentur. "I want to be realistic," he said. "Together with our efforts to reach peace it seems to me that we will have to fight in Lebanon for a long time in the future." Mordechai's comments were his first on Israel's presence in southern Lebanon.

CIA Absolves PA in Land Killings:

There is no evidence linking the Palestinian National Authority to the killings of Palestinian land dealers who sold land to Israelis, according to unnamed senior U.S. Central Intelligence Agency officials cited by Foreign Report, a publication of Jane's Information Group. At least three Palestinian land dealers were killed in May and June after Palestinian Justice Minister Freih Abu Medein told Palestinians they could face the death penalty for selling land to Jews. Israel repeatedly has said that the killings were orchestrated and supported by the PNA. The CIA, however, pointed out that PNA officials actually had arrested Palestinian intelligence officer Hussein Alyan in the West Bank town of Ramallah for his alleged involvement in the killings.

PNA Official Says Life Worse Than Under Israeli Occupation:

A PNA official told a meeting of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce that the dangerous situation in the West Bank and Gaza has created an environment worse than that under Israeli occupation. During a July meeting in Tel Aviv reported by the Jerusalem Post, Palestinian Deputy Industry Minister Adnan Samara said: "The people haven't seen any results. I believe, I am sorry to say, that people have more difficulties now than before the Authority was created. We in the Authority are very worried."

Palestinian Beer Brewed in Europe:

Taybeh beer now is being brewed and sold in Europe, making it the first Palestinian franchise ever sold to a European country. Brewer Nadim Khoury, a Palestinian who lived in Boston, MA, opened a brewery in the village of Taybeh outside Ramallah in August 1995 after receiving his inspiration from the Boston Beer Company, brewer of the popular Samuel Adams beers. Khoury and his family invested $1.2 million in the business, bringing in machinery from Canada, the United States, Italy, France, Germany and Japan. Since its opening, the brewery's output has tripled and business has been extremely successful. Khoury, whose beer adheres strictly to the German Purity Law of 1516 that allows for only four ingredients, explained his recent success to the Jerusalem Times, saying: "We made this beer for the local people. We did not intend to sell it to Germany and the U.S. and all over. But we were unable to send it to Jordan because of high taxes. I am making the first Palestinian beer, and I have the first Palestinian product to be made in Germany."

Palestinian Health Care Study Available on the Internet:

The Palestinian Health, Development, Information and Policy Institute, partnered with the Washington, DC-based International Republican Institute, released a comprehensive study of the Palestinian health care system along with a cost-benefit analysis of the PNA Ministry of Health's financial policies. The findings of the report can be found on the Internet at http://www.hdip.org

NORTH AFRICA

Sphinx Facelift Almost Finished:

The seven-year effort to restore the Sphinx will be complete in December, an Egyptian minister told Agence France Presse. Culture Minister Farouk Hosni told reporters in July that "the last pieces of restoration are concentrating on the rear part of the statue and will be officially completed in December." At the beginning of this year Egypt's Antiquities Council said that experts had successfully repaired crumbled parts of the shoulders, feet and nose of the statue depicting a mythical creature with the body of a lion and head of a pharaoh.

Egypt Receives U.S. Warships:

Egypt received two donated guided-missile frigates from the United States in July when the reconditioned vessels arrived in the Egyptian naval base at Ras El Tin near the port city of Alexandria. Egypt paid some $47 million to repair and upgrade the two vessels, formerly the USS Copeland and USS Gallery (renamed the Mubarak and Taba, respectively). They are armed with Harpoon anti-ship missiles, SM-1 surface-to-air missiles, MK-46 anti-submarine torpedoes and 76 mm cannons. Two other missile frigates donated by the United States are expected to arrive in Egypt next year.

Egypt Reshuffles Cabinet:

Egypt's Prime Minister Kamal El Ganzoury reshuffled his cabinet July 8, changing all but the ministers for defense, foreign affairs, culture and the interior. The new cabinet ministers, as reported by the Associated Press, are: Youssef Waly, deputy prime minister; Mervat El Tellawi, social affairs and insurance; Sulaiman Metwally, transport, communications and civil aviation; Maher Abaza, electricity and energy; Hussein Tantawi, defense and military production; Safwat El Sherif, information ; Amr Moussa, foreign minister; Atef Obeid, public sector; Ahmad Guwaili, supply and internal and external trade; Moheiddin El Gharib, finance; Mahmoud Hamdi Zaqzouq, religious endowment; Farouk Seif El Nasr, justice; Farouk Hosni, culture; Talaat Hammad, cabinet affairs; Mahmoud Sherif, rural development; Hussein Bahaeddin, education; Hamdy El Banbi, oil; Hassan El Alfy, interior; Youssef Boutros-Ghali, economy; Kamal El Shazli, parliament affairs; Muhammad Abu-Amer, minister of state for administrative development; Mamdouh El Beltagui, tourism; Mahmoud Abdul Halim Abu-Zeid, public works and water resources; Ismail Sallam, health and population; Sulaiman Reda, industry and mineral resources; Muhammad Ibrahim Suleiman, housing, construction and new communities; Mufeed Shehab, higher education and minister of state for scientific research; Muhammad El Ghamrawy; minister of state for military production; Ahmad El Amawi, labor and immigration affairs; Zafer El Bishry, minister of state for planning and international cooperation; and Nadia Makram, environmental affairs.

Algeria Frees FIS Leader:

Algeria freed the leader of the outlawed Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in July, an event many analysts interpret as a sign that the country's civil war may be easing. FIS leader Abbasi Madani, released after serving five years of a 12-year sentence for threatening state security, later called on fellow Algerians to "explode the bombs of life" rather than continue waging civil war. Some 60,000 people have been killed in Algeria since 1992, when the military-led government aborted national elections after it became clear that the Islamic Salvation Front would win. The exile FIS leadership in Germany issued a statement that called Madani's release "a positive act by President Liamine Zeroual and a contribution to the settlement of the crisis and to the return of peace."

Mobutu Likely to Stay in Morocco:

Deposed president of Zaire Mobutu Sese Seko likely will remain in Morocco because other countries have refused to allow him entry, Agence France Presse reported in June. "No one wants him," a close aide to Mobutu told AFP. Since he fled Zaire's capital, Kinshasa, May 17, Mobutu and his 40-person entourage have stayed first at the Amphirite Hotel near Rabat and later the Mirage Hotel in Tangiers. Medical sources cited by AFP say that the deposed dictator now has colon cancer in addition to prostate cancer and often is bedridden.

SUBCONTINENT

Zardari Indicted for Murder:

Asif Ali Zardari, husband of former Pakistani Prime Benazir Bhutto, was indicted July 5 along with 18 other people for conspiracy to murder Murtaza Bhutto, the politically estranged brother of the former prime who was killed in Karachi last September. Agence France Presse reported that the indictment took place in a Karachi jail for security reasons. "I am innocent," Zardari said. "They want to harass and mentally torture me, but I am not afraid." Mrs. Bhutto labeled the charges a "false case" against her husband, who has been detained since President Farooq Ahmed Leghari ousted Bhutto for alleged misrule and corruption.

FBI Steps Up Search for WTC Suspect:

The United States stepped up its search for Abdul Rehman Yaseen, an Iraqi national suspected of involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, after successfully capturing Aimal Kansi in Pakistan in June. Yaseen, the last of eight suspects in the fatal 1993 bombing in New York City, is thought to be hiding somewhere in the tribal areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The arrest of Kansi, who was wanted for two random murders outside the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in 1993, was interpreted as a breakthrough in a region that has proved difficult for U.S. intelligence operations in the past.