November/December 1994, Pages 22-27

Issues in the News

Compiled by Greg Noakes

From the Israeli and U.S. Jewish Press:

Joint Oil Deal Discussed:

Israeli Energy Minister Moshe Shahal told Labor Party ministers that Tel Aviv and Amman have reached a tentative agreement for Jordan to sell Iraqi oil to Israel at low rates. The Jerusalem Post notes that the deal appears to violate continuing United Nations sanctions against Baghdad. Shahal also announced that Israel and Jordan will link electricity grids in the Eilat-Aqaba area to save money during hours of peak use. Shahal said Israel's $940,000 investment in the link, reportedly considerably more than Jordan's financial stake in the project, would eventually pay for itself.

Rabbis Ratify Washington Declaration:

Israel's Chief Rabbinical Council, the country's highest Jewish religious body, approved the July 28 Washington Declaration formally declaring an end to hostilities between Israel and Jordan, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. The council asked to be included in any future discussions on the disposition of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, however, saying that the Jewish claim to the Temple Mount is not open to dispute. "The Mount is the sanctuary which was the holy place of the Jewish people, to which they directed their prayers daily for thousands of years," the council noted.

Palestinians Plan Christmas Festivities:

Palestinians will organize and direct the traditional Christmas ceremonies in Bethlehem's Manger Square this year, according to Israeli Tourism Minister Uzi Baram. Bethlehem Mayor Elias Freij told the Jerusalem Post that he is looking forward to celebrating the holiday under the flags of peace this year. During the intifada, Christmas festivities organized by the Israeli authorities were muted, with a relatively small number of tourists visiting the West Bank town for the holiday.

Television Ads Tightly Regulated:

Israel's first commercial television channel, New Channel 2, will strictly regulate advertising on the European model rather than opening the airwaves as in the U.S., according to the World Zionist Press Service. Ads for cigarettes, firearms, gambling, pornography, escort services, contraceptives, private investigators and cults are prohibited, as are political advertisements. Spots for alcohol, dating and financial services, direct marketing and children's vitamins will be limited, and television personalities cannot appear in advertisements within one hour of their programs. Under the regulations, 75 percent of the commercials must be original productions shot for the Israeli market, rather than dubbed American or European ads. Finally, New Channel 2 will allow a maximum of six minutes of advertising per hour, according to a network spokesman, instead of the 12 to 14 minutes permitted in the U.S.

Jewish Agency Official Urges Change in Law:

Uri Gordon, head of the Jewish Agency's Immigration and Absorption Department, says Israel should change the Law of Return to redefine who can claim to be a Jew and thus freely immigrate into Israel. Under the current Law, anyone claiming to have a Jewish grandparent is deemed Jewish for purposes of immigration, although under religious law only the child of a Jewish mother or a formal convert is considered Jewish. "Israel has to decide whether to convert to Judaism millions of persons living in poverty in Third World countries who claim they are of Jewish ancestry," Gordon said. "These are people who will do anything to reach the West." Gordon's remarks came in response to Israeli press reports that millions of Indians who consider themselves descendants of the lost Jewish tribe of Menashe want to emigrate to Israel. Gordon noted that some 15 million Bnei Menashe live in India, Pakistan, Burma and the Philippines, with another 40 million people around the world claiming Jewish roots. Gordon said, "They are not regarded as Jewish in any way by the rabbinate," but added that some activist rabbis encourage them to convert and immigrate into Israel. Immigration Minister Yair Tsaban said any of the Bnei Menashe who desire Israeli citizenship should wait for the coming of the Messiah before applying, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Pollard's Spouse Critical of Israeli Complacency:

Esther Zeitz-Pollard, the new wife of convicted spy Jonathan Jay Pollard, charges Israeli leaders with complacency in her husband's case, arguing that Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and other Israeli officials and diplomats should have done more to press President Bill Clinton to commute Pollard's life sentence. According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Zeitz-Pollard is convinced her husband's request for parole next year will be denied, and is looking to Israel to demand his release from federal prison. During a visit to Jerusalem, Zeitz-Pollard called Clinton's refusal last March to commute the sentence "a slap in the face" to Jews all over the world, and argued Israel's subsequent silence "sent a message to the American administration—maybe inadvertently—saying 'this one is expendable.'" Zeitz-Pollard met with Israeli President Ezer Weizman during her visit, but Rabin "flatly refused to speak to her," according to the report.

Boycott Penalties Assessed:

The U.S. Commerce Department has fined two banks and a car dealership for violations of the Export Administration Act, which prohibits companies or institutions from providing information about their business activities in Israel or relations with businesses blacklisted under the Arab boycott. The three firms—Chemical Bank of New York, Bank America International of San Francisco and Cedars Motors of Miami—agreed to pay civil penalties ranging from $18,000 to $44,000 while neither admitting nor denying the alleged violations. The companies were accused of providing information about dealings with companies blacklisted by the Arab League for doing business with Israel, forcing an individual to sever ties to boycotted companies and failing to notify the Commerce Department of boycott-related requests from Arab countries.

Latin American Embassies Embark for Jerusalem:

Bolivia, the Dominican Republic and Paraguay will move their diplomatic offices to Jerusalem to dissuade Israel from closing its embassies in La Paz, Santo Domingo and Asunciòn as a cost-saving measure, according to the Itim news agency. "We won't close embassies in countries that move their embassies to the Jerusalem area," an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said. Only Costa Rica and El Salvador currently maintain their embassies in Jerusalem, as most other diplomatic missions operate in Tel Aviv to avoid endorsing Israel's disputed claim to East Jerusalem. The Dominican Republic's new embassy will be in Jerusalem itself, while the Bolivian embassy and the Paraguayan consulate will relocate to Mevasseret Yerushalayim, a suburb seven miles west of the city.

Sarid to Seek Top Party Post:

Israeli Environment Minister Yossi Sarid will challenge Meretz party leader Shulamit Aloni for the top spot in next year's party elections, according to the Jerusalem Post. Sarid has maintained a running rivalry with Aloni, who is currently minister of communications and science in the Rabin cabinet. Sarid anounced he would not run for prime minister on a Meretz ticket in 1996 if Yitzhak Rabin stands for re-election, saying, "After all, we don't want to shoot ourselves in the foot." Meretz Knesset leader Ran Cohen, however, is urging the party to join with Labor defector Haim Ramon's new Ram faction to present a joint list in the '96 elections.

Media Set Off Ethiopian AIDS Scare:

Leaders of Israel's Ethiopian Jewish community and Absorption Minister Yair Tsaban criticized Israel television for its reporting of the incidence of the AIDS virus among Ethiopian immigrants. Tsaban argued it was wrong to focus on AIDS in one ethnic community because such a report would automatically stigmatize its members and could spark racist reactions. "The Ethiopian absorption is a test of honor for Israeli society and because of media competition, the absorption could be ruined," Tsaban said. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that in one incident, following the media coverage, some Israelis removed their children from a camp attended by Ethiopian children, while Ethiopian youngsters also were banned from a beach near Haifa. Israel's Health Ministry confirmed that of the country's 1,123 known carriers of the AIDS virus 393 are Ethiopians, but noted Ethiopian immigrants were the only group in Israel that has been universally screened for AIDS and that only 0.7 percent have tested positive. Ethiopian community leaders argued that since the general Israeli public has not been universally tested, Israel television's reporting of the Health Ministry figures was misleading and irresponsible. Jewish Agency Acting Chairman Yehiel Leket noted that Israel had absorbed tens of thousands of Ethiopian immigrants with "no massive occurrences of serious diseases."

Israel Sets Sights on EU Status:

Israel appears to be a step closer to associate status in the European Union after France announced it would support opening EU research and development projects to Israeli firms on the same terms given to European companies. Israel is seeking to upgrade its 1975 trade and economic agreement with the European body by asking for the same associate status as that given to Switzerland and Iceland, which provides economic benefits similar to regular EU membership but without voting rights. The EU has adopted a friendlier attitude toward Israel since the signing of the Declaration of Principles, particularly in the areas of research and development and agricultural imports. Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, in Bonn for meetings with German officials, said, "If Israel opens its market to Palestinian agricultural products, it is only just that Israel should be compensated." According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Israel currently has a $5 billion trade deficit with the EU, its main trading partner. During his Bonn visit, Peres also voiced support for Germany's bid to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, declaring, "Germany should no longer be looked upon from the past, but rather from a view to the future. Germany should play a greater role in world politics."

Settlers Plotted Orient House Attack:

Yediot Ahronot reports eight Jewish settlers were arrested when Israeli police rolled up a right-wing terror network which allegedly murdered five Palestinians during the last year. Some members of the group were arrested with guns and grenades in their car outside Orient House, the East Jerusalem headquarters of the Palestinian delegation to the peace talks. Police officials said the settlers were plotting an attack against the building and its Palestinian security detail. Most of the suspects, including two Israeli army officers, were from the Kiryat Arba settlement outside Hebron.

Damascus Hotel Map Discontinued:

The Sheraton Damascus Hotel and Towers has stopped distributing a map which labels all of Israel and the occupied territories as "Palestine" after protests from the American Jewish Committee, the Detroit Jewish News reports. The map was printed by the hotel and featured a front-cover advertisement for Austrian Airlines. "For anyone reading this map of Syria and the neighboring countries, Israel, established in 1948, simply does not exist," American Jewish Committee Executive Director David Harris wrote to Sheraton and Austrian Airlines officials. Acknowledging that the companies' endorsement of the map may have been unintentional, Harris wrote that he thought the hotel chain and airline "would not wish to be associated in any way with a publication which includes such a blatant geographical distortion based on political motivation."

Morocco Opens Office in Israel:

Although short of granting diplomatic recognition, Morocco became the second Arab country to establish formal diplomatic ties with Israel when it announced it would open a liaison office in Tel Aviv. Israel will open a similar office in Rabat. Before the Moroccan announcement, Egypt was the only Arab country to maintain any diplomatic ties with Israel. Morocco also said it will open a liaison office in Gaza, the Palestine Liberation Organization having maintained a diplomatic presence in the Moroccan capital for many years. Israeli officials said the exchange of offices represents a strengthening of longstanding informal channels with Morocco, whose King Hassan II often has acted as an intermediary in Middle East peace efforts. Pointing to Morocco's geographical position, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told Israeli army radio, "This is an opening of a regional system of relations" which goes beyond neighboring Arab states. King Hassan will play host in late October to a three-day Middle East-North Africa Economic Summit being convened by the Council on Foreign Relations. The conference, which is expected to draw more than a thousand business and political leaders and is designed to attract investment to the region, was first conceived by Israeli Foreign Minister Peres.

From the Middle East Press:

Palestinian Dissidents Protest DOP:

Some 250 dissident Palestinian leaders sent a letter to Palestinian National Authority President Yasser Arafat which stated they consider all of the Palestinian-Israeli agreements null and void, criticized attempts to delete the Palestine Liberation Organization Covenant's rejection of Israel, and refused a proposed meeting of the Palestine National Council (PNC) in Gaza. According to the Jerusalem Times, 82 members of the PNC were among the signatories, including former PNC Chairman Sheikh Abdul Hamid As-Sa'eh. Other leaders who signed the letter include George Habash of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Nayef Hawatmeh of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and Haidar Abdel Shafi, former leader of the Palestinian delegation to the Arab-Israeli peace talks. "We object to the Oslo agreement and all the accords signed by Yasser Arafat," the letter stated, "and in principle a session of the PNC cannot be held under the protection of Israeli security forces" in Gaza. "Mr. Arafat has no authority to talk on behalf of the PLO since there is no law that gives him such power," the letter declared.

Pakistan May Purchase MiGs:

As prospects dim for the delivery to Pakistan of 72 American F-16 aircraft embargoed under the Pressler Amendment, the Pakistani air force is turning to Russia for its jet fighter needs. Pakistan's News reports Islamabad received a quote of $19 million for each of the MiG-29s it wishes to purchase from Moscow, approximately half the $36 million price tag for a French Mirage 2000. The proposed Russian deal would cost $1.5 billion for 60 planes and logistical support equipment, spare parts and personnel training, and would be a welcome shot in the arm for Russia's sagging defense industry. Sources said it was unclear whether Moscow is demanding payment up front or is willing to structure an installment plan. The finance picture is clouded by the fact that Pakistan is strapped for hard currency and is unlikely to be repaid the $658 million in installment payments already made for the American aircraft since Lockheed, which purchased General Dynamics' F-16 division early last year, is facing an acute liquidity problem due to cuts in the U.S. defense budget. Sources also said Russia is trying to route the MiG-29 sale to Pakistan through Poland in order not to offend India, an important Russian trading partner. Last year Warsaw acted as an intermediary for Islamabad's purchase of 300 T-72 tanks from Moscow, buying the tanks from Russia and then reselling them to Pakistan.

Mammoth Mosque Slated for Baghdad:

Plans for the world's largest mosque have been completed by Iraqi engineers, with work on the project to begin soon in central Baghdad, according to Iraqi television. The proposed mosque, which would be larger than the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the Prophet's Mosque in Medina and the new Hassan Mosque in Casablanca, will be more than a mile long and nearly half a mile wide, boast eight minarets and feature a 600-foot diameter dome. Senior members of the ruling Ba'th Party have suggested the mosque be named "Saddam Grand Mosque," according to the Iraqi News Agency.

Repatriation Accords Reached:

Mali and Algeria have signed an accord allowing the voluntary repatriation of tens of thousands of Tuareg refugees living in primitive camps in southern Algeria. The refugees fled civil unrest in northern Mali between Tuareg separatists and government troops. According to Algeria's APS news agency, the accord between Bamako and Algiers provides for repatriation centers, financial assistance for those choosing to return and guarantees for the rights of Tuareg refugees. The United Nations will assist in the implementation of the accord, the report noted. The SUNA news agency reports Sudan and Eritrea have signed a similar repatriation accord which also will be overseen by the U.N. Under the agreement some 25,000 Eritrean refugees currently in Sudan will return voluntarily to their homeland. Several hundred thousand other Eritreans, some of whom fled the secessionist war with Ethiopia a quarter century ago, will remain in Sudan.

Uzbek Poet Charged:

Vasilya Inoyatova, an Uzbek poet and acting leader of the banned Birlik ("Unity") Party, has been charged with "anti-state activities" after she was found in possession of numerous copies of the outlawed Erk newspaper. The Saudi Gazette reports Inoyatova has been at the center of Uzbekistan's ravaged opposition since independence in 1991, and has been detained a number of times over the last three years. Once she was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison for insulting President Islam Karimov, who has banned all opposition parties and non-government media outlets, but later was given amnesty. Inoyatova said she was told by officials to prepare for a trial, though no date has been set for criminal proceedings.

Split Jolts Jamaat-i Islami:

Pakistan's largest Islamist party, the Jamaat-i Islami, faces what observers are calling the gravest crisis of its five-decade existence, as several top leaders opposed to the policies of party chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed have broken away to start a splinter group. Dawn reports that the new Tehrik Fikr-e Mawdudi (TFM) group is led by Mawlana Naeem Siddiqui and Kamaluddin Kamal Salarpuri, both high-ranking Jamaat leaders, and that a consultative convention would be held soon to transform the breakaway interim organization into a functioning party. A TFM statement said the "organization would endeavor to restore the pristine glory of the Jamaat," which was founded in pre-partition India by Mawlana Abul Alaa Mawdudi and is one of the most influential Islamist parties in the Muslim world. Siddiqui, Salarpuri and other Jamaat leaders object to Qazi Hussain Ahmed's efforts to transform the party from a conservative religious organization into a popular political movement. The Jamaat fared badly in Pakistan's 1993 parliamentary elections, a result many saw as a repudiation of Qazi Hussain's electoral strategy. Observers outside the party said the Jamaat would remain the country's pre-eminent Islamist movement despite the TFM defection, noting that the Jamaat's student wing and core activists are likely to remain loyal to the party. One Jamaat leader in Karachi labeled the TFM split a conspiracy directed at the party by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in revenge for his 1993 election losses in the state of Punjab, where Jamaat candidates drew votes from Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League in several races.

Sarajevo Stifles Serb Street Names:

The Bosnian government is dropping Sarajevo street names which commemorate Serbian national heroes and replacing them either with names from Muslim history or their traditional pre-1945 names. The Saudi Gazette reports city officials said they were dropping the Serb names because "we had incessant calls from people who urged us to change the names," though some Sarajevo residents said it was a matter of indifference to them. A bridge named for Gavrilo Princip, the Serbian nationalist whose assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand touched off World War I, is now known by its traditional name of Latin Bridge, while the infamous "Sniper Alley" now honors the "Dragon of Bosnia," a feudal Muslim leader, rather than Serb warrior Vojvoda Putnik.

Subsidized Drug Smuggler Detained:

Airport security authorities in Cairo arrested Emanuel Abouja, a 27-year-old Nigerian, when he tried to smuggle 500,000 insulin injections loaded in 12 suitcases out of Egypt, according to the MENA news agency. It was the biggest attempt to date to smuggle subsidized medicines out of the country, according to officials. Abouja said he and his friends purchased the insulin at pharmacies at subsidized prices and were planning to sell the medication, valued at $295,000, on the market in Nigeria.

Cyprus Urges "Coercive Measures":

In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides asks the U.N. Security Council to take "coercive measures" against the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north of the island if it continues to reject U.N. resolutions on reunification of the island and insist on recognition of its sovereignty. The Cyprus Weekly reports Clerides cited Boutros-Ghali's report last May which said the Turkish Cypriot state "has consistently flouted the wishes of the international community," and that the Cypriot leader urged the Security Council to take measures against the Turkish side. Clerides endorsed Boutros-Ghali's call for an international conference on Cyprus and said he is prepared to resume stalled peace talks if Turkey and the separatist Turkish Cypriots accept that a settlement of the conflict must be based on reunification of the island in a single state. Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership have ignored U.N. resolutions calling for reunification, the withdrawal of Turkish troops and settlers from the island and the right of return to the north for Greek Cypriots.

French Flag Flap:

France has lodged protests with Libyan officials in Tripoli and Paris over the trampling of a French flag during official celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of Muammar Qaddafi's accession to power. Libyan officials told French Ambassador Alain Azouaou that he had not been invited to the ceremony and was not supposed to witness the flag-trampling. Libyan television broadcast scenes of teenagers marching over French, British and American flags during a mock battle in a Tripoli stadium. Fewer foreign heads of state than expected were present for the ceremonies, reflecting Qaddafi's growing international isolation. Nearly two dozen heads of state attended 20th-anniversary celebrations in 1989, while only the presidents of Algeria, Sudan, Mali and Chad came to Tripoli this year. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who on occasion has acted as an intermediary between Libya and the international community, was a notable absentee, while neighboring Tunisia sent only a token delegation for the event.

Kurdish Exodus Mounts to 3 Million:

The Turkish Human Rights Association says that in the last decade some 500,000 Kurdish families, roughly 3 million people, have been forced by government forces to flee their homes in southeast Turkey. The group says at least 1,500 villages have been evacuated since 1984 as part of the Turkish government's campaign against the separatist Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK. Resisting international pressure to curb human rights abuses, Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller rejected an American economic aid package conditioned on Ankara's respect for human rights and support for a peaceful solution to the conflict in Cyprus. According to Turkish television, Ciller announced the American aid legislation "stipulates that a certain amount of the credit to be extended to Turkey will depend on a report to be drafted by the U.S. State Department on human rights in Turkey and on the Cyprus issue. We have been saying from the beginning that we are sensitive about linking aid to such conditions. Consequently, I am announcing that the conditional portion of the credit will not be used by the Turkish Republic."

Professor Demands Economic "Divorce":

Manuel Hassassian, a political scientist at Bethlehem University, said that while integration and cooperation were ultimate aims, the Palestinian and Israeli economies should develop separately until parity between them can be achieved, according to the Saudi Gazette. "We need to divorce from Israel first," Hassassian told a development conference in Jerusalem, "because we don't want to fall into the trap of being legitimately occupied economically by...the state of Israel." Noting that "statistically, the West Bank and Gaza Strip don't produce 1.5 percent of the total Israeli economy," Hassassian said, "We are kidding ourselves if we say we can have economic cooperation when we are recouping our destroyed economy."

India to Table TADA:

The Indian government has signalled its willingness to dismantle the 1985 Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA), which human rights monitors say has been used to imprison thousands of innocent people without recourse to due process of the law. Observers say the move is part of a campaign to improve the country's tarnished human rights image and restore support for the government among India's disaffected Muslim population, since TADA has been directed in large part at separatists in Kashmir and Muslim suspects in the 1992 Bombay bombing campaign which followed the destruction by radical Hindu activists of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. Some 65,000 people have been jailed under TADA since 1985, although few of them have been formally charged and only one percent of the detainees eventually are convicted of security offenses. The law originally was applied to unrest in the state of Punjab, but has since been extended to 23 of India's 26 states. Indian Internal Security Minister Rajesh Pilot announced, "If overzealous arrests and misuse of TADA continues by the states, the government will not hesitate to repeal the law." An editorial in The Economic Times of India said, "The sudden chorus of unanimity about amending TADA seems aimed at showing the United Nations that India is serious about ending human rights violations."

Egyptian Veil Ban Blocked:

Egypt's Education Ministry will not seek to overturn an administrative court ruling blocking its attempt to ban the veil in Egyptian schools as a means of curtailing Islamist influence in the classroom. The Education Ministry had demanded written parental approval for girls wishing to wear the hijab in class. Education Minister Hussein Kamel Bahaa El-Din told the daily Ash Shaab , "The ruling [of the court] is binding and it must be implemented."

Islah Official Soothes Southerners:

Yemeni Deputy Prime Minister Abdel Wahab Al Ansi, an official of the Islamist Islah group, tried to assuage fears his party would enforce Islamic laws across the country by telling reporters, "We will not impose anything the people are not convinced of. We will seek to convince people of what we believe in." Islah, led by Sheikh Abdullah Al Ahmar and based primarily in the north, allied itself with President Ali Abdullah Saleh during the recent Yemeni civil war, leading southern rebels to charge they were planning to impose an Islamic state that would threaten the region. According to the SPA news agency, following the collapse of the rebellion Yemen's only brewery, located in the southern port of Aden, was burned down and stocks of liquor destroyed, while many women in the south have taken to wearing the veil to avoid harassment. "What is going on in Yemen is a reflection of deep religious feeling and not a reaction to acts of terrorism and oppression," Al Ansi said, stressing that Islah was strictly a Yemeni party and should not be associated with Islamic movements in Egypt, Sudan, Algeria or Iran. "There should be no confusion between what is going on in Yemen and what is going on in other countries," he said. Al Ansi argued that greater contact between Muslims and the West was "essential," and that "it is our feeling that the West in general and the U.S. in particular is adopting a clear attitude toward Islam. They affirm they are not against Islam and they reject the assumption that following the disappearance of the former Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, Islam has become the enemy."

Palestinian Police Detained in Prison Death:

The Palestinian National Authority's attorney general in Gaza, Judge Khaled Kudra, told the Jerusalem Times that four Palestinian police officers participated in the torture and killing of a Palestinian prisoner while in custody. Farid Jarbou, 28, was arrested in June on suspicion of collaborating with Israeli authorities, and was pronounced dead from a heart attack two weeks after being apprehended. Jarbou's father said there was evidence of violence on his son's body, however, and Judge Kudra said it was apparent he had been tortured to death. The three policemen accused of direct involvement in the killing could face life imprisonment if convicted. In reponse to protests from human rights organizations, PNA President Yasser Arafat promised to open an investigation into Jarbou's death.

India Refutes Afghan Role:

Officials in New Delhi say allegations that India is providing money and arms, in addition to military pilots, to one or more factions in the Afghan civil war are "absolutely false and baseless," the Hindustan Times reports. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Afghanistan's prime minister-designate and leader of a hard-line political faction, charged that Indian pilots have carried out several bombing runs on his personal residence, while a spokesman from Pakistan's Foreign Office alleged India was funneling military and monetary support to Afghan factions. "India has never interfered in the internal affairs of Afghanistan and wants all external interference to end and the country's territorial integrity and independent status to be preserved," Indian officials declared.

New Egyptian-U.S. Partnership:

U.S. Vice President Al Gore, in Cairo for the U.N.'s population conference, struck a deal with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to improve trade and private sector links between Egyptian and American firms. In a joint statement the leaders said the new partnership "will encourage and facilitate private sector contacts, intensify trade flows, strengthen science and technology cooperation and launch a dialogue on economic policies that will promote growth and development." The MENA news agency quoted Mubarak as saying the pact will "enhance our cooperation and render it more sustainable and institutionalized," while Gore praised Egypt as "an emerging economic success story that is attracting a great deal of investment." Gore added that he would be involved personally in implementing the partnership, which is "within the framework of existing aid" to Egypt, roughly $2.1 billion annually.

Iranian Parliament Debates Dish Ban:

After two days of debate, Iran's parliament passed draft legislation banning satellite dishes used to receive Western and Asian television programs, according to Iranian radio. Islamic Culture and Guidance Minister Mostafa Mirsalim argued that "the impact of satellite programs is like cultural occupation." One parliamentarian said, "Spreading corruption, robbing the youth of moral values, decadent clothes and sexual problems are all deviations bred by satellite television," while others said Iran had to ban the dishes since other Muslim countries—a reference to Saudi Arabia—had already prohibited them. A minority of the parliament argued that the people should not be deprived of entertainment from abroad since Iranian state television was unable to provide an alternative. Others said enforcing a satellite dish ban would be impossible. One deputy praised satellite programming, in particular news, sports and drama on the British Broadcasting Corporation, dubbed Japanese films, and "interesting and educational" Pakistani programming. "Parents would not let their children watch anything that might be bad," Baratali Mohammadifar argued. The draft law prohibits the import, manufacture, distribution or use of satellite TV dishes, and sets fines for any dishes still in use after a one-month grace period.

India Lobbies to Block Rights Resolution:

The Hindu reports India is dispatching a number of diplomats to various countries in an attempt to block a move by Pakistan to introduce a U.N. General Assembly resolution criticizing New Delhi's human rights record. The Indian envoys reportedly will charge that Pakistan's condemnation of Indian human rights violations in Kashmir stems from political rather than humanitarian concerns, and represents interference in internal Indian affairs. A Pakistani effort to pass a similar resolution failed narrowly at a meeting of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva last March. Indian observers noted, however, that in Geneva only some 50 delegates voted on the resolution, while at the General Assembly all U.N. members can cast their ballots, meaning New Delhi has to lobby a large number of countries.

Bogus Passport Business Booming:

Jordan's Ar Rai reports that Iraqis trying to leave their country for the West are paying tens of thousands of dollars for stolen or counterfeited passports, the demand for which has grown steadily since the Gulf war and the imposition of economic sanctions against Baghdad. Jordanian middlemen reportedly are involved in the bogus passport trade, which involves both genuine passports pasted over with the buyer's photograph and less expensive forged documents which are more easily detected by consular and immigration officials. Prices for passports vary according to nationality. A passport from Guinea runs $7-8,000, a Venezuelan passport fetches some $10,000, while travel documents from Belize, a British Commonwealth nation and thus considered to provide greater ease in obtaining visas, go for $18,000. Most Iraqis traveling on fake passports journey to a developing country outside the region, then try to obtain visas for Western Europe or the Americas. Consular officials at embassies in Amman reportedly have tightened their visa operations, since several thousand Iraqis residing in the Jordanian capital with six-month visas are seeking to emigrate to the West with false papers.

Algerians See Boost from Border Imbroglio:

Algeria's border with Morocco, only open since 1989 due to longstanding bilateral tensions, recently was closed again by Algerian authorities in retaliation for Morocco's decision to demand entry visas for all Algerians. The new Moroccan regulations were a security move which resulted from an armed attack on a Marrakech hotel which left two Spanish tourists dead. The MAP news agency says Moroccan authorities arrested four suspects in the assault, all of whom are residents of France with family ties to Algeria or Morocco, while a fifth reportedly escaped across the border into Algeria. Algiers closed the border, saying Rabat's visa order violates the terms of the Arab Maghreb Union charter, which both nations have signed. The closure produced an economic windfall for Algerians, particularly in the west of the country, who reported finding stores with increased stocks of meat, milk, sugar and other foodstuffs which previously were taken across the border by Algerian "tourists" and resold on the Moroccan market at a profit. Algeria's weakened currency also got a boost from the closure, with the previous exchange rate of 12 Algerian dinars to one Moroccan dirham narrowing to four dinars to the dirham. Reports say residents of western Morocco are having difficulty finding reasonably priced powdered milk and coffee, much of which previously was supplied by Algerians.

Sharif Bids to Oust Bhutto:

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, on the eve of a whistle-stop train tour of the country designed to rally opposition to the present government of Benazir Bhutto, proclaimed, "The people will not rest until they throw out the present rulers." The former premier's "caravan of deliverance" drew small audiences throughout Bhutto's home province of Sindh, but was received by a large crowd in Sharif's stronghold of Lahore in the Punjab, where Sharif said he was "going to give a call to come to Islamabad to topple Benazir Bhutto." The prime minister dismissed Sharif's agitation as an attempt to draw attention from allegations of wrongdoing during his two and a half years as head of government, as well as pending criminal charges on counts of fraud and tax evasion related to his business dealings. "He has clearly stated he does not believe in the constitution," Bhutto charged, "so he wants to topple the government through unconstitutional means." Sharif stepped down as prime minister last year to end a power struggle with then-President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in a deal put together by the Pakistani army, then lost to Benazir Bhutto in elections held last October. Since that time Sharif has refused Bhutto's offer to hold talks on their political differences, choosing instead to maintain a vocal opposition to the government.