Saturday, May 21, 2016

ثورة يقتلها أبناؤها

ميشيل كيلو

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عرب جرب

لا مجال لضرب الأخماس بالأسداس حول هوية المنتصر في الاقتتال الإجرامي الدائر في الغوطة الشرقية، منذ 28 إبريل/ نيسان، بين جيش الإسلام من جهة وفيلق الرحمن وجيش الفسطاط من جهة أخرى: إنه بشار الأسد ونظامه الذي يحقّق، اليوم، ومن دون أية تكلفةٍ، انتصاراً سهلاً لم يحقق جزءاً صغيراً منه طوال ثلاثة أعوام، على الرغم من خسائره الفادحة في الرجال والعتاد، في محاولاته استعادة الغوطة إلى بيت طاعته، وها هم الأبطال المتأسلمون يعيدونها إليه، ويغطي كل طرف منهم جريمته بآياتٍ قرآنيةٍ، كأن كتاب الله أنزل لتبرير جرائم مدّعي الإسلام الذين يقتتلون، منذ شهر، في مناطق آهلةٍ بأناسٍ رفضوا مغادرة قراهم ومنازلهم، وقدّموا لهم بيئةً اجتماعيةً مواليةً حمتهم، على الرغم من حصار تجويعي وتدميري، فرضه الأسد عليها في الليل والنهار، وعلى الرغم من قتل آلافٍ منهم، وجرحهم واعتقالهم وإخفائهم وتجويعهم. 

يقتل أدعياء الإسلام بعضهم بعضاً، من دون وازعٍ من ضمير أو خلقٍ أو شعور وطني، ويدّعون أنهم ملتزمون بما يتطلبه الإسلام من أخوّةٍ دينيةٍ وشراكةٍ جهاديةٍ، وتفرضه الوطنية من عداء للأسد الذي يعيدونه إلى الغوطة الشرقية، ويسلمونه عشر قرى في أقل من يومين، يؤكد سقوطها السهل أن اقتتالهم أدّى إلى انكشاف جبهة الغوطة الجنوبية أمام شبيحة الأسد، لأنه لم يكن هناك من يدافع عنها، لانشغال الجميع في قتل بعضهم بعضاً، أو لأن ما تكبّدوه من خسائر جسيمة في قتالهم "الأخوي" ذهب بقواهم، وجعلها أشد عجزاً من أن تحمي أحداً أو مكاناً، فدخل النظام مناطقَ لا رباط فيها، واستعادها هديةً سائبة قدّمها إليه من يتقاتلون، وسقف البيت الذي يسكنونه يسقط على رؤوسهم الخالية من العقل. 
يتقاتل "جيش الإسلام" و"فيلق الرحمن"، منذ أسبوعين، ويغطي اقتتالهما معظم مناطق وقرى الغوطة الشرقية التي حكمها "جيش الإسلام" بالحديد والنار والتجويع والاختطاف والاعتقال والتعذيب، نيّفاً وأربعة أعوام، وطاولت ارتكاباته مناضلين موصوفين، كرزان زيتونة وسميرة الخليل ورفيقيهما، وكذا التنظيمات التي دأب الجيش على اتهامها بالداعشية طوراً، وبالخيانة أطواراً، فلا عجب أن واجهه سكان الغوطة بمظاهراتٍ قمعها بعنفٍ، لا يقل عن عنف النظام الأسدي، ولا عجب أن "فيلق الرحمن" الذي كان على وشك الانضمام إلى جيش زهران علوش قبل مقتله تحالف مع تنظيمات أخرى، كجيش الفسطاط وجبهة النصرة، وضل السبيل، حين انصاع لفتوى أبو عبد الله الأردني أن مقاتلة "جيش الإسلام" أبدى من قتال النظام. في أجواء كهذه مهّدت للحرب المجنونة، بدأ الطرفان استخدام الدبابات والمدافع والصواريخ والراجمات ومضادات الطيران والأسلحة المتوسطة والخفيفة، أحدهما ضد الآخر، وغطى قتالهما مناطق الرباط مع شبّيحة الأسد الذين استعادوا بفضله الغوطة، ونجحوا، خلال يومين، في استرجاع مناطق عجزوا أربعة أعوام عن الاقتراب منها

مهما كانت دوافع هؤلاء، فإنها ليست مسوّغة، وكان من المحتم تسويتها بالتفاهم، قبولاً بمبدأ التزمت به ثورات الدنيا المنتصرة، يجعل التناقض مع النظام عدائياً، وغير قابل للتسوية. لذلك، له أولوية مطلقة على أي تناقضٍ أو خلافٍ بين قوى الثورة التي تقاتله. هل يجهل قادة الجيش والفيلق أن تناقضهم مع النظام يبطل جذرياً حقهم في التقاتل، ويجعل تناقضاتهم غير عدائية، ومن يخالف هذا المبدأ يكون عدواً للثورة، وخادماً للنظام، وإن تأسلم وتدروش وتديّن. 
هناك من يزعم أن تدخلاتٍ خارجيةً وراء اقتتال "إخوة الإسلام" في الغوطة. لو كان هؤلاء إخوةً حقاً، لما اقتتلوا انصياعاً لإرادات خارجية. ولو كانوا ملتزمين بشعبهم، هل كانوا يقتلونه ويسلمونه للنظام الذي سيبيد من نجوا منه؟
ما يجري في الغوطة بداية نهاية ثورة دمشق، وعودة النظام إلى مناطق ظلت حرّة أربعة أعوام منه، قد تنضم إلى ما سيسطر عليه من مناطق، يتم عمل إقليمي ودولي لتهدئتها، لإقامة أمر واقع يُفرض بسلاح إيران وروسيا، يسهم اليوم متأسلمو الغوطة الشرقية في إقامته، بدمائهم ودماء ودموع شعبهم الذي لو أنهم يحترمون إرادته وحياته، لما أطلق أحدٌ منهم رصاصةً على من يقف إلى جانبه في الرباط، مهما بلغ خلافه معه، ولما نسي أن الرصاص الذي يوجّه إلى الشعب لا يخدم غير الأسد ونظامه. 
ولا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله. 


الواقع العربي-جرائم قيادات الجيش السوري



A VERY GOOD VIDEO!

محور إيران يريد مزيداً من "الحرب المفيدة"

A VERY GOOD ANALYSIS

محور إيران يريد مزيداً من "الحرب المفيدة"
محمود الريماوي

Link

شدّد أمين عام حزب الله، حسن نصر الله، في أحد خطاباته الأخيرة، على أن مفاوضات الكويت اليمنية وجنيف السورية ستفشل.
وحين يخوض نصر الله في هذه الأمور، يتعيّن تصديقه، فهو يمثل مرجعية أساسية للحوثيين الانقلابيين، وحزبه شريك وثيق لنظام دمشق في كل ما يتعلق بمصير السوريين ومستقبل وطنهم، وهو يتحدّث حديث العارف ببواطن الأمور. 
والظاهر أن ما أدلى به نصر الله يتعدّى النبوءة أو التوقع إلى البوح بقرار مستتر للمحور الإيراني في المنطقة العربية، فخلال الأيام الماضية، انقلب الحوثيون في مفاوضات الكويت على ما تم الاتفاق عليه من قبل في المفاوضات، وأعادوا الأمور إلى نقطة الصفر، وقادوا التفاوض إلى الانسداد التام، فقد باتوا لا يعترفون إلا بالأمر الواقع الانقلابي، أو بحكومةٍ يشاركون فيها من موقع المقرّر، وقد يسلّمون فيها السلاح الثقيل الذي استولوا عليه من معسكرات الجيش لأنفسهم داخل هذه الحكومة، حسب السيناريوهات، وما يتصل بها من خطط تفاوضية، يتم وضعها في طهران وبيروت الجنوبية. وحين يقول السيد بدر الحوثي إن جماعته وحزب الله في خندق واحد، فهو لا يضيف جديداً، بل يثبّت ما هو ثابت، فمعركة تكريس الالتحاق بإيران، والتضحية باستقلال الدول، وتصديع المجتمعات، هي معركة واحدة بجبهات متعددة، في صنعاء وبيروت ودمشق وبغداد. معركة ترتدي لبوس المقاومة، مقاومة حق الشعوب في تقرير مصيرها. والحؤول دون أن تؤدي موجة الربيع العربي إلى تمتيع الشعوب بحق الإمساك بمصيرها. ونستذكر، هنا، أن الحوثيين انقلبوا على مخرجات موجة الربيع في اليمن، وتحالفوا لهذا الغرض مع الرئيس الذي خلعته الثورة اليمنية. وفي سورية، جرى اعتبار وصول الموجة إلى بلد الأمويين على أنه مؤامرةٌ وقع الشعب في شباكها، وعلى الشعب، تبعاً لذلك، أن يرحل عن وطنه، وعلى دول العالم أن تتدبّر أمر استقبال ملايين اللاجئين إليها. 
ليس من المصادفة أن تصطدم المفاوضات السورية في جنيف واليمنية في الكويت بجدارٍ صلد، وبصورة متواقتة، فالأمر يتعلق بإرادة الحرب التي يشهرها "محور الممانعة"، وبغير تردد أو هوادة على الشعوب، فالهدنات ووقف إطلاق النار ووقف الأعمال العدائية يجري نقضها بصورة روتينية، مع احتساب هذا النقض على أنه من فنون السياسة والحرب، ومن تدابير التفاوض الميداني. أما استهداف المدنيين والمرافق المدنية فهو بدوره من أفانين التغليب، حتى لو كان ذلك يعني العودة إلى منطق القرون الوسطى، فالعبرة في الخواتيم، ومحور الممانعة ذو نزعة عملية صرفة، ويتجه نحو هدفه كالسهم، ولا يتوقف عند تفاصيل هامشية، مثل حق البشر في الحياة والكرامة، فالبشر الملتحقون بهذا المحور وحدهم من يستحقون أن ينعموا بالحياة. وإذا كان الفتك بالمدنيين في تعز أو حلب يؤدي إلى تحسين ميزان القوى لمصلحة محور الممانعة، فلن يكون هناك تردّد في الإقدام على ذلك، وهو ما يكشف عنه أرشيف ثقيل لسنوات "الجهاد" الأخيرة في اليمن وسورية. وأبعد من ذلك، باتت إبادة البشر تندرج في سياق مكافحة الإرهاب، ذلك أن محور الممانعة يتقن لغة العصر، وهذه اللغة تقضي بترديد عبارة مكافحة الإرهاب على مدار الساعة، وبلا توقف، بما في ذلك في أثناء ارتكاب المجازر. 
في الحالتين، اليمنية والسورية، تم القفز عن مرجعيات التفاوض. القرار 2216 المتعلق باليمن 
والقرار 2254 الخاص بسورية. وهذا القفز هو أفضل وصفةٍ لضمان الفشل الذي يثق به السيد نصر الله مصيراً محتوماً للتفاوض. هذا على الرغم من أن القافزين يؤمنون بالحل السياسي، كما يهذرون لوسائل الإعلام. وبما أن الفشل أخذ يلقي بظلاله، فقد دخلت مفاوضات الكويت في نفقٍ معتم، بعدما بدا الحوثيون وكأنهم يسخرون من أطراف التفاوض، ومن الرعاية الأممية، ومن الاستضافة الكويتية. أما محادثات جنيف فهي متوقفة إلى إشعار آخر، والمهلة المتاحة والفسيحة مخصصة لموسكو، لكي ترعى الهدنة، ولكي تنقض الهدنة، وتنقضّ عليها في الوقت نفسه، بالتنسيق مع طهران، ومع النظام. وبشبه تواطؤ من وزير الخارجية الأميركي، جون كيري، وذلك من أجل تحقيق نتائج ميدانية تدفع المعارضة إلى اليأس والاستسلام، وتكافئ النظام على ما جناه بحق شعبه. 
ليس غريباً أن يتنبأ أمين عام حزب الله بفشل المفاوضات، وأن يبوح بهذا القرار المستتر. المستغرب كان لو أنه توقّع نجاحها، أو بعض التوفيق لها، أو تعهد بالعمل، من جهته، على نجاحها، فالتفاوض والمخارج السلمية العادلة يناقض خيار حربٍ مديدةٍ، لا محرّمات فيها، لتثبيت استتباعٍ أبدي لطهران، ومن دون أدنى فرصة لأحد للمعارضة، أو الاعتراض، وبما يغلق أبواب المستقبل أمام اليمنيين والسوريين. هذه الحرب التي تُحرم فيها شعوب من أبسط حقوقها توصف بأنها ضد الرجعية الخليجية، وكذلك ضد أميركا وإسرائيل. والانتصار على الخصوم والأعداء يتطلب إفراغ سورية من شعبها، وشن حربٍ طائفيةٍ استئصالية على الأكثرية، وتهديم حواضر تاريخية ومدن كاملة. ولمّا أنهم جزء من محور الممانعة، فإنه يجب أن يتحكّم الحوثيون الأقلية في اليمن بأغلبية اليمنيين، بسلاح إيران وأموالها وخبرائها ومدربيها. وبذلك، تُهزم أميركا شر هزيمة. 
من الواضح، في ضوء هذا التصعيد، أن المحور الإيراني استقرّ على قراءةٍ مفادها بأن الوضع الدولي مواتٍ لإعادة ترتيب أوضاع المنطقة، بما يخدم تمدّد إيران، ويعيد هندسة المجتمعات العربية، وفق متطلبات التغليب الطائفي، وإقصاء السنّة، كلما أمكن ذلك، عن الصدارة السياسية (السيد نصر الله حذّر مقتدى الصدر قبل أسابيع من حكومات إصلاحية بديلة مقترحة في بغداد، يتولى فيها سياسيون عراقيون سنّة وزارات سيادية في بلدهم، وقد تم الضغط على الصدر من السيد نصرالله، كما من قاسم سليماني، لفك حصاره عن المنطقة الخضراء في العاصمة العراقية). والطرف الأميركي غير معني سوى بدعم الاحتلال الإسرائيلي ومكافحة داعش، والأطراف الأوروبية لا تملك أن تفعل شيئاً ذا بال، بغير تغطية أميركية، وروسيا حليف موثوق "يخوض معنا حربنا كتفاً إلى كتف"، ويهمّ الكرملين تثبيت وجوده في سورية، وفي المتوسط، وفي حصر وجود النفوذين، الأميركي والتركي، ومجلس الأمن، إن لم يكن مشلولاً، فإنه يسهل شلّه عند الاقتضاء، فالصين، وإن بدت سلبية مع الجميع، فإنها تقف أوتوماتيكياً مع روسيا، وليست لها سياسة خاصة في الشرق الأوسط، وجُلّ مرادها معاكسة واشنطن، أياً كانت النتائج المترتبة على ذلك. 
إذن، وبناء على ما تقدم، لا حاجة للإقدام على "تنازلاتٍ" في الكويت واليمن، بل ولا حاجة للمفاوضات من أساسها، ولا تملك السعودية، وفق هذه التقديرات، أن تخوض حرباً مفتوحةً، لا سقف زمنيا لها، ومقابل أي عدد يسقط من الحوثيين، أو من أنصار علي عبدالله صالح، فإنه يمكن الفتك بأعداد مقابلة من المدنيين في أي مكان، على يد الانقلابيين، فيبقى ميزان القوى، والحالة هذه، على حاله.

Friday, May 20, 2016

متظاهرون يقتحمون المنطقة الخضراء وسط بغداد

ما وراء الخبر- هل سقطت الطائرة المصرية بفعل فاعل؟

الواقع العربي-تهديدات العامري لأهالي الفلوجة

DNA- 20/05/2016 محور المقاومة لموسكو : حليفي او مش حليفي ؟

UN: Press Turkey to Open Border

Summit Should Tackle Responsibility for Refugees



Link

(Istanbul) – United Nations member states and UN agencies attending the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul on May 23-24, 2016, should press the Turkish authorities to reopen Turkey’s border to Syrian asylum seekers, Human Rights Watch said today. Partners should make clear that any border guards who shoot at or beat asylum seekers should be held accountable.
A border guard manning Turkey’s closed border with Syria patrols near the Turkish village of Guvecci, February 7, 2016.
A border guard manning Turkey’s closed border with Syria patrols near the Turkish village of Guvecci, February 7, 2016. 
Since Turkey closed its border to all but seriously injured Syrian asylum seekers in early 2015, Turkish border guards have pushed back thousands of Syrians and – according to victims and witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch have killed at least five and seriously injured at least 14 Syrians who tried to cross the border into Turkey. The closure is trapping tens of thousands of people fleeing conflict, including those previously pushed back at the border, in dangerous Syrian border displacement camps where recent shelling and airstrikes have killed and injured dozens of civilians.
“Turkey casts a dark shadow over the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul as its border guards have killed Syrian asylum seekers and pushed others back into the world’s worst war zone,” said Gerry Simpson, senior refugee researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Governments and UN agencies should end their deafening silence on Turkey’s abuse of Syrian asylum seekers and press Turkey to reopen its border to civilians fleeing the horrors in Syria.”
Turkey’s president and other officials deny the border is closed to refugees. Neither the European Commission nor any European Union member state – or any other country – has called on Turkey to reopen its border to Syrian asylum seekers and to end border guard violence, while UN agencies have remained publicly silent.
The world’s – and in particular the EU’s – silence over Turkey’s breach of the cornerstone of international refugee law condones Turkey’s border abuses, Human Rights Watch said.
Governments, UN agencies, and nongovernmental organizations will meet at the first World Humanitarian Summit to discuss how to halt the global erosion of international human rights and humanitarian law and to improve protection for people in need. Human Rights Watch is participating in events on including people with disabilities in humanitarian response and protecting schools in conflict, but has also questioned whether the governments that are frequently the cause of serious abuses will alter their conduct as a result of the summit.
Turkey hosts more Syrian refugees – 2.75 million – than the whole of the EU and rest of the world combined, but Human Rights Watch has documented that, since at least mid-August 2015, Turkish border guards enforcing the country’s March 2015 border closure have pushed back Syrians trying to reach Turkey.
In early May 2016, Human Rights Watch also documented that Turkish border guards killed three asylum seekers and two smugglers and seriously injured 14, including three children and a woman. In April, Human Rights Watch reported that Turkish border guards at the country’s new border wall with Syria shot at Syrians escaping advances by the extremist group Islamic State (also known as ISIS), northeast of Aleppo.
Human Rights Watch has also revealed that Turkish border guards blocked thousands of fleeing displaced people from entering Turkey after their camps near the border were hit by artillery fire on April 13 and 15. Most had previously tried to flee to Turkey but were pushed back by Turkish border guards. On May 5, airstrikes hit the Kamuna camp, five kilometers from Turkey’s closed border, which had been sheltering 4,500 displaced Syrians. The attack killed at least 20 people, including two children, and injured at least 37, including 10 who lost limbs and who were transferred to Turkey for medical care.
Turkey has long promoted the concept of a “safe zone” inside Syria where people fleeing the fighting could go instead of entering Turkey. As part of its controversial migration deal with Ankara to curb refugee and migration flows to Europe, the EU has pledged to work with Turkey to create in Syria “areas which will be more safe” where “the local population and refugees [will be able] to live.”
“The attack on Syria’s Kamuna camp underscores that ‘safe zones’ are often little more than wishful thinking,” Simpson said. “Wasting time discussing ‘safe zones’ is a dangerous distraction from developing workable systems to protect Syrian refugees in Turkey and the EU.”
Turkish military sources have denied turning Syrian asylum seekers back at the border and using violence against them. On May 17, Human Rights Watch wrote to the Turkish Interior Ministry asking for clarification of the Turkish military’s position.
Turkey is entitled to secure its border with Syria, but is obliged to respect the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits rejecting asylum seekers at borders when that would expose them to the threat of persecution, torture, and threats to life and freedom. Turkey is also obliged to respect international norms on use of lethal force as well as the rights to life and bodily integrity, including the absolute prohibition on subjecting anyone to inhuman and degrading treatment.
Although no other country has called on Turkey to reopen its border, on May 12, Germany’s foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said that the Human Rights Watch May 10 reporting on Turkish border guard killing and injuring Syrian asylum seekers was “alarming” and that it was in Turkey’s “own interest” to explain what was happening at the border.
The EU’s failure to take in more Syrian asylum seekers and refugees also contributes to the pressure on Turkey to deal with greater numbers. The EU should swiftly fulfill commitments to relocate Syrian and other asylum seekers from Greece and, together with other countries, should expand safe and legal channels for people to reach safety from Turkey, including through increased refugee resettlement, humanitarian admissions, humanitarian and other visas, and facilitated family reunification.
“As host of the World Humanitarian Summit, Turkey should be setting a positive example on the treatment of people at its borders and not trapping them in a war zone,” Simpson said. “It has been a year since Turkey shut down its border to the world’s most war-ravaged people, and it is well past time for the world’s leaders to speak up.”

A COMMENT BY AZMI BISHARA

Link

لا فرق سياسي بين يعلون وليبرمان بالنسبة لفلسطين والعرب. وإذا كان من فرق فلن يجده إلى ميكروسكوب من نوع لم يخترع بعد. ومع ذلك من الملفت "تجاوب" نتنياهو مع خطاب السيسي يتعيين ليبرمان الذي هدد بقصف السد العالي وزيرا للدفاع. هكذا يكون الاحترام للحلفاء.

طبعا يمتلك ليبرمان لسانا طويلا وفما كبيرا، ولن يقصف شيئأ في مصر، وسوف ينسجم فورا في عملية تمتين العلاقات الوثيقة مع النظام القائم في مصر. ولكن طريقة التعامل هذه، والرد بهذه الطريقة يقول شيئا عن نظرة الإسرائيليين إلى الأنظمة العربية الحليفة، ومدى احترام هذه الأنظمة لذاتها.


Thursday, May 19, 2016

COME FLY WITH US......



COME AND VISIT EGYPT.......

IT IS A TRIP TO DIE FOR.

DNA 19/05/2016 إسرائيل..التهمة للسعودية والفعل لإيران

EgyptAir: More pain for Egypt, more embarrassment for government

Karim Traboulsi

Link

Analysis: What will be the implications of the crash of EgyptAir flight MS804 for the country's economy, reputation and the credibility of its regime?
With the reported crash of EgyptAir flight MS804 off the Greek coast, with the presumed death of of all 66 on board, the embattled nation should expect more difficulties for its aviation industry and tourism sector, as well as its reputation and political credibility, including that of its authoritarian president Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, analysts have remarked.

This the third high-profile aviation incident related to Egypt since a Russian airliner blew up over Sinai in October 2015; Russia and Western governments have said the plane was probably brought down by a bomb, and the Islamic State militant group claimed it had smuggled an explosive device hidden in a soft drinks can on board.

And it is the second involving EgyptAir, since the hijacking of an internal flight which was forced to land in Cyprus in March. That EgyptAir plane was flying from Alexandria to Cairo, before a man - with what authorities said was a fake suicide belt - forced the pilot to make a detour.

Thursday's crash could have been caused by a terrorist act, according to suggestions from French and Egyptian officials and independent experts.

But whether or not it is found to be the cause of Thursday morning's crash, EgyptAir, the state-owned national carrier, will face further scrutiny over its safety record.

In November, Russia barred the airline from flying into its airports.
EgyptAir, the state-owned national carrier, will face further scrutiny over its safety record
Since these incidents, there have been reports the carrier's passenger numbers were tanking, with flights often taking off at less than 50 percent capacity, with inevitable implications for its profitability. Thursday's doomed plane had a capacity of 150, but had only 66 passengers on board, including crew and security officers.

Reports of chaos at Cairo airport following the crash underscored the country's lack of preparedness to deal with disasters, even after these series of incidents. Dozens of flights were cancelled, as conflicting statements were made by officials.

Families of the victims, at least 30 of whom were Egyptian nationals, gathered at the airport awaiting clarification over the fate of their relatives.

At least 15 were French, alongside two Iraqi victims and one Briton, though embassy officials have yet to confirm this.

EgyptAir has since urged the media not to publish any information that had not been confirmed by Egyptian authorities.
Families of the victims, at least 30 of whom were Egyptian nationals, gathered at the airport awaiting clarifications about the fate of their relatives
In broader terms, the tragic crash cannot be good news for the country's collapsing tourism sector, which is disproportionately sensitive to any negative publicity.
Egypt is a popular destination for Western tourists, but the industry has been badly hit since unrest riled the country in 2011, made worse by a military coup in 2013 led by current President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.

A group of eight Mexican tourists and four Egyptians were mistakenly killed by security forces in September 2015 when they came under fire during a lunch break in Egypt's vast Western Desert while on their way to the Bahariya oasis. The Sisi administration was widely accused of mishandling the incident.

Tourism, a cornerstone of the Egyptian economy, slumped further following the downing of a Russian jet last year, amid an Islamist insurgency and a string of bomb attacks in the country.
Commensurate with this, there will be further economic pain for Egypt. On Thursday morning, Egypt's stock exchange opened to a four-billion Egyptian pound ($450m) loss in early trading, as news of the crash spread.
On Thursday morning, Egypt's stock exchange opened to a 4-billion Egyptian pound loss in early trading, as news of the crash spread
Politically, the credibility of the country's powerful president Sisi and his government could take another hit, should the crisis be mishandled like previous ones, from the Russian plane crash to the case of murdered Italian studentGiulio Regeni.

Sisi headed a meeting of the National Security Council following the crash, and contacted the French president to coordinate investigations.

"The meeting focused on protecting the regime and avoiding further embarrassment and incidents amid the current popular anger and deterioration at all levels in the country," an Egyptian military source told The New Arabon condition of anonymity.

Following the two-hour meeting, a statement was issued saying the army had been tasked with coordinating search and rescue operations with Greece and France. Assistance will also be offered to the families of the victims.

However, conflicting announcements by Egyptian officials over the cause of the crash, and whether or not a distress call had been made by the plane before it disappeared suddenly from the radar, raise concerns over the government's transparency with this and previous incidents.
If the Egyptian government focuses on warding off responsibility to insulate itself from domestic public opinion, rather than on investigating the facts of the matter, it will only serve to worsen its reputation in the eyes of its international partners, with major implications for the country's economy, finances and stability.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

ما وراء الخبر- العقوبات الأميركية على حزب الله

DNA- 18/05/2016 "داعش" الأسد

Yemen: Spree of arbitrary arrests, disappearances and torture by Huthi forces



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The Huthi armed group, supported by state security forces, has carried out a wave of arrests of its opponents, arbitrarily seizing critics at gunpoint and subjecting some to enforced disappearance as part of a chilling campaign to quash dissent in areas of Yemen under its control, said Amnesty International in a new report published today.
Where is my father? Detention and disappearance in Huthi-controlled Yemen, which is based on 60 cases of detention examined in detail by the organization, reveals a pattern of arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances in Sana’a, Ibb, Ta’iz and Hodeidah between December 2014 and March 2016. Those targeted include political opposition figures, human rights defenders, journalists, academics and others. Many have been held incommunicado for prolonged periods, suffered torture and other ill-treatment and been denied access to a lawyer or their family.
“Huthi forces have presided over a brutal and deliberate campaign targeting their political opponents and other critics since December 2014. Hundreds of people have been rounded up and held without charge or trial, and in some cases they have been forcibly disappeared in flagrant violation of international law,” said James Lynch, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International.
“Enforced disappearance is an abhorrent crime and cannot be justified under any circumstances. Instead of incarcerating opponents for weeks or months on end, the Huthi armed group should release anyone who has been arbitrarily detained, implement safeguards to ensure detainees are treated humanely and issue clear instructions that anyone under their command committing abuses will be held accountable.”
Enforced disappearance is an abhorrent crime and cannot be justified under any circumstances.
James Lynch, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International
In the vast majority of cases those detained were given no reason for their arrest. Some prisoners have been held for up to 17 months without being brought before a prosecutor or a judge. None of the detainees featured in the report were ever officially charged or given an opportunity to challenge the lawfulness of their detention. Huthi officials told Amnesty International in May 2016 that those in detention were being held “because they gave GPS coordinates to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition”.
Amnesty International has obtained documents which show that prosecuting authorities in Sana’a have found the detention of dozens of political activists, journalists and others to be without legal basis and have ordered their release, apparently to no effect.
Many detainees have been held in secret, makeshift detention centres, including private homes and have been transferred multiple times between different locations. Eighteen individuals whose cases are featured in Amnesty International’s report are still being held. The whereabouts of three of them are unknown.
The report includes distressing accounts from former detainees, and from family members of detainees, who described to Amnesty International the use of torture and other ill-treatment in detention.
The family of 21-year-old student Abdul-ilah Saylan, who was arrested outside a Sana’a cade in August 2015 described how members of the security forces tortured him in front of them when they visited him in his place of detention in February 2016.
“The guard began to beat him. Three other guards joined in and we watched…as the four guards beat him viciously. Can you imagine how it felt to see him bleed from his nose and mouth and finally faint from the beatings while being unable to do anything to help him?...They dragged him back inside when he fainted and told us to go home,” said one family member.
The next time his family visited a few weeks later, Abdul-ilah Saylan’s face was black and blue with bruises. He told them that when he regained consciousness he was tied up and beaten by seven men until he nearly passed out again. He has not been charged or informed of the reason for his detention, despite his family urging the prison authorities to refer him to court. In September 2015 a film of his “confession” that he was a fighter with an anti-Huthi group, apparently made under duress, was aired on a Yemeni television channel.
One former detainee, who was among 25 men including journalists, activists and human rights defenders who were arbitrarily arrested from the Ibb Garden Hotel in October 2015, described to Amnesty International how his interrogators tortured him for 90 minutes. He was blindfolded with his hands tied together and beaten all over his body with a stick. The interrogators also gave him electric shocks to the chest, neck, forearms and groin.

Wide range of people targeted

The majority of those targeted are activists, journalists or other figures affiliated with al-Islah, a Sunni Islamist political party which opposed the Huthi takeover of power and announced its support for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in April 2015. However, in some cases those detained had no known political affiliation or history that could explain why they were targeted. At least 11 journalists are among those who have been arbitrarily detained.
Mohamed Qahtan, a prominent figure in the al-Islah Party and outspoken critic of the Huthis, is one of several members of the group who have been targeted, arrested or had their homes raided by the Huthi armed group. He has been missing since April 2015 when he was seized from his home by a dozen armed men in plainclothes. His family was only permitted to visit him once, three days after his arrest. His whereabouts have remained unknown ever since, leading his family to fear he may be dead.
Adel Hajr, a teacher from Hodeidah has been detained since December 2014. He was rounded up with a number of friends during Friday evening prayers, was given no reason for his arrest and has been held incommunicado for prolonged periods.
“Adel is a father of two, one little girl and one little boy, he is just a mathematics teacher. In his spare time he used to volunteer at an orphanage. Why did they take him?” his wife, Arwa, said to Amnesty International.
Depriving anyone of their liberty at random – without any legal basis for their arrest – is an unconscionable violation of their rights
James Lynch
“Depriving anyone of their liberty at random – without any legal basis for their arrest – is an unconscionable violation of their rights,” said James Lynch.
“It also has heart-breaking consequences for the family members left behind. They can spend months trying to find out the fates of their missing loved ones, or struggling to secure their release when there is not even any firm accusation against them.”
The Ministry of Human Rights in the Yemeni capital Sana’a, which is under Huthi control, told Amnesty International in a 16 May memorandum that accusations of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and torture were “baseless” and that those who criticise the authorities in Sana’a have “not been subjected to any repressive measures”, as “Yemen and its authorities firmly believe in freedom of expression”.
A special committee for prisoners and detainees has been created during peace talks on Yemen which are currently taking place in Kuwait. Amnesty International is calling on parties to the talks, as well as international actors facilitating or supporting the process, to ensure that the rights of those detained arbitrarily in areas under Huthi control and their families are prioritised during the negotiations.

Roots of the Conflict: Palestine’s Nakba in the Larger Arab ‘Catastrophe

By Ramzy Baroud

Link

On May 15th of every year, over the past 68 years, Palestinians have commemorated their collective exile from Palestine. The ethnic cleansing of Palestine to make room for a ‘Jewish homeland’ came at a price of unrelenting violence and perpetual suffering. Palestinians refer to that enduring experience as ‘Nakba’, or ‘Catastrophe’.
However, the ‘Nakba’ is not merely a Palestinian experience; it is also an Arab wound that never ceases from bleeding.
The Arab ‘Nakba’ was namely the Sykes-Picot Agreement, which divided much of the Arab world between competing Western powers. A year later, Palestine was removed from the Arab equation altogether and ‘promised’ to the Zionist movement in Europe, creating one of the most protracted conflicts in modern human history.
Despite all attempts at separating the current conflict in Palestine from its larger Arab environs, the two realities can never be delinked since they both go back to the same historical roots.
How Did This Come about?
When British diplomat, Mark Sykes, succumbed to the Spanish flu pandemic at the age of 39, in 1919, another diplomat, Harold Nicolson, described his influence on the Middle East region as follows:
“It was due to his endless push and perseverance, to his enthusiasm and faith, that Arab nationalism and Zionism became two of the most successful of our war causes.”
Retrospectively, we know that Nicolson spoke too soon. The breed of ‘Arab nationalism’ he was referencing in 1919 was fundamentally different from the nationalist movements that gripped several Arab countries in the 1950s and 60s. The rallying cry for Arab nationalism in those later years was liberation and sovereignty from Western colonialism and their local allies.
Sykes’ contribution to the rise of Zionism did not promote much stability, either. The Zionist project transformed into the State of Israel, itself established on the ruins of Palestine in 1948. Since then, Zionism and Arab nationalism have been in constant conflict, resulting in deplorable wars and seemingly perpetual blood-letting.
However, Sykes’ lasting contribution to the Arab region was his major role in the signing of the Sykes-Picot Agreement, also known as the Asia Minor Agreement, one hundred years ago. That infamous treaty between Britain and France, which was negotiated with the consent of Russia, has shaped the Middle East’s geopolitics for an entire century.
Throughout the years, challenges to the status quo imposed by Sykes-Picot failed to fundamentally alter its arbitrarily-sketched borders, which divided the Arabs into ‘spheres of influence’ to be administered and controlled by Western powers.
Yet, with the recent rise of ‘Daesh’ and the establishment of its own version of equally arbitrary borders encompassing large swathes of Syria and Iraq as of 2014, combined with the current discussion of dividing Syria into a federation, Sykes-Picot’s persisting legacy could possibly be dithering under the pressures of new, violent circumstances.
Why Sykes-Picot?
Sykes-Picot was signed as a result of violent circumstances that gripped much of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East at the time.
It all started when World War I broke out in July 1914. At the time, major European powers fell into two camps: the Allies – consisting mainly of Britain, France and Russia – vs. the Central Powers – Germany and Austria-Hungary.
The Ottoman Empire soon joined the war, siding with Germany, partly because it was aware that the Allies’ ambitions sought to control all Ottoman territories, which included the Arab regions of Syria, Mesopotamia, Arabia, Egypt and North Africa.
In March 1915 – Britain signed a secret agreement with Russia, which would allow the latter to annex the Ottoman capital and seize control of other strategic regions and waterways.
A few months later, in November 1915 – Britain and France began negotiations in earnest, aimed at dividing the territorial inheritance of the Ottoman Empire should the war conclude in their favor.
Russia was made aware of the agreement, and assented to its provisions.
Thus, a map that was marked with straight lines with the use of a Chinagraph pencil largely determined the fate of the Arabs, dividing them in accordance with various haphazard assumptions of tribal and sectarian lines.
Dividing the Loot
Negotiating on behalf of Britain was Mark Sykes, and representing France was François Georges-Picot. The diplomats resolved that, once the Ottomans were soundly defeated, France would receive areas marked (a), which include the region of south-eastern Turkey, northern Iraq – including Mosel, most of Syria and Lebanon.
Area (b) was marked as British-controlled territories, which included Jordan, southern Iraq, Haifa and Acre in Palestine and the coastal strip between the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan.
Russia, on the other hand, would be granted Istanbul, Armenia and the strategic Turkish Straits.
The improvised map consisted not only of lines but also colors, along with language that attested to the fact that the two countries viewed the Arab region on purely materialistic terms, without paying the slightest attention to the possible repercussions of slicing up entire civilizations with a multifarious history of co-operation and conflict.
The Sykes-Picot negotiations concluded in March 1916 and was official, although it was secretly signed on May 19, 1916.
Legacy of Betrayal
WWI concluded on November 11, 1918, after which the division of the Ottoman Empire began in earnest.
British and French mandates were extended over divided Arab entities, while Palestine was granted to the Zionist movement over which a Jewish state was established, three decades later.
The agreement, which was thoroughly designed to meet Western colonial interests, left behind a legacy of division, turmoil and war.
While the status quo it has created guaranteed the hegemony of Western countries over the fate of the Middle East, it failed to guarantee any degree of political stability or engender economic equality.
The Sykes-Picot Agreement took place in secret for a specific reason: it stood at complete odds with promises made to the Arabs during the Great War. The Arab leadership, under the command of Sharif Hussein, was promised complete independence following the war, in exchange for supporting the Allies against the Ottomans.
It took many years and successive rebellions for Arab countries to gain their independence. Conflict between the Arabs and colonial powers resulted in the rise of Arab nationalism, which was born in the midst of extremely violent and hostile environments, or more accurately, as an outcome of them.
Arab nationalism may have succeeded in maintaining a semblance of an Arab identity but failed to develop a sustainable and unified retort to Western colonialism.
When Palestine – which was promised by Britain as a national home for the Jews as early as November 1917 – became Israel, hosting mostly Europeans settlers, the fate of the Arab region east of the Mediterranean was sealed as the ground for perpetual conflict and antagonism.
It is here, in particular, that the terrible legacy of the Sykes-Picot Agreement is mostly felt, in all of its violence, shortsightedness and political unscrupulousness.
100 years after two British and French diplomats divided the Arabs into spheres of influence, the Sykes-Picot Agreement remains a pugnacious but dominant reality of the Middle East.
Five years after Syria descended into a violent civil war, the mark of Sykes-Picot are once more being felt as France, Britain, Russia – and now the United States – are considering what US Secretary of State, John Kerry, recently termed ‘Plan B’ – dividing Syria based on sectarian lines, likely in accordance with a new Western interpretation of ‘spheres of influence.’
The Sykes-Picot map might have been a crude vision drawn hastily during a global war but, since then, it has become the main frame of reference that the West uses to redraw the Arab world, and to “control (it) as they desire and as they may see fit.”
The Palestinian ‘Nakba’, therefore, must be understood as part and parcel of the larger western designs in the Middle East dating back a century, when the Arabs were (and remain) divided and Palestine was (and remains) conquered.
– Dr. Ramzy Baroud has been writing about the Middle East for over 20 years. He is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author of several books and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. His books include ‘Searching Jenin’, ‘The Second Palestinian Intifada’ and his latest ‘My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story’. His website is: www.ramzybaroud.net.

A GREAT CARTOON: 100th Anniversary of Sykes-Picot Agreement to Divide the Arab World

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

هل أسهم تشرذم المعارضة في بقاء نظام الأسد؟

DNA- 17/05/2016 ...وبتقولوا الصراع مذهبي؟!



AN EXCELLENT SEGMENT!

EXCLUSIVE: Iran orders Hezbollah to target Saudi Arabia

New head of military wing appointed directly by Revolutionary Guard in significant shift in relationship between Tehran and Lebanese movement 


A VERY IMPORTANT POST

By David Hearst

Link

The military wing of the Lebanese movement Hezbollah has been instructed by Iran to suspend operations against Israel and to target Saudi Arabia instead, Middle East Eye can reveal.
The instruction comes in the wake of widespread anger at the apparent assassination of Mustafa Badreddine, its military commander in Syria and head of the movement's military wing, which Hezbollah blamed on “takfiri” forces supported by Riyadh.
According to well informed sources in Lebanon, the order was conveyed in person by Qasim Soleimani, the head of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) who came to Beirut to give his condolescences.
Soleimani also named Badreddine’s successor and his two deputies, which is believed to be an unprecedented move in the relationship between Iran and the Lebanese movement. Previous appointments have been an internal matter for Hezbollah in consultation with Iran, MEE understands.
Badreddine’s replacement is Fuad Shukr, whose nom de guerre is al-Hajj Mohsen, the sources told MEE. 
Aged 55 and from the village al-Nabi Sheeth in the Bekaa Valley, Shukr comes from the core group which started Hezbollah along with Imad Mughniyeh, Badreddine, and Mustafa Shadah.
Whereas his predecessors came from the intelligence and security wing of the organisation, Shukr came to prominence as a military man, responsible for operations against Israel, including the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers. 
A graduate of the Imam Hussein University in Tehran, Shukr is regarded as well trained. Soleimani not only named the new head of Hezbollah’s military wing, but his two deputies as well, sources told MEE. They are Ibrahim Aqil, also know as al-Hajj Tahsin, but whose current pseudonym is al-Hajj Abdul Khader, and Talal Hamiah.
Shukr's appointment comes despite earlier reports in the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat suggesting that Badreddine’s nephew Mustafa Mughniyeh would be named as his successor.
MEE understands these reports to be incorrect.
Iran’s order to Hezbollah, and the fact that they have gone to such lengths as to appoint a successor, confirms the significance to Iran of Badreddine’s death, the exact circumstances of which are still a matter of speculation. His death near Damascus airport was initially blamed on an Israeli covert operation, but this was contradicted by a Hezbollah statement.
It read: ”Investigations have showed that the explosion, which targeted one of our bases near Damascus International Airport, and which led to the martyrdom of commander Mustafa Badreddine, was the result of artillery bombardment carried out by takfiri [Sunni militant] groups in the area."
The nearest opposition artillery positions however were 20 kilometres away and there are doubts that their shells could achieve pinpoint accuracy from that distance.
Hezbollah slogans at Badreddine’s funeral left little doubt that they held Saudi Arabia responsible for their military commander’s death.
Ever since Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic relations after the storming of their embassy in Tehran following the execution of the Shia leader Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, relations between the rival regional powers have plummeted. 
The latest sign of this was the failure to agree on arrangements for Iranian pilgrims to travel to this year’s Hajj.
The failure of four days of talks between the two sides last month has led to statements of mutual recrimination which will mean that Iranian pilgrims will almost certainly miss this year’s ceremonies.
Iran said that its citizens would not participate in the Hajj and blamed Saudi Arabia for the problem. Last year’s Hajj was marred by the death of at least 769 pilgrims, many of them Iranian, in a stampede at Mina on the outskirts of Mecca.
According to MEE sources the instruction Iran gave was to initiate actions against Saudi Arabia before the beginning of the Hajj in September.
Hezbollah operatives have been used in the past in the Gulf. A member of the al-Dawa militant group, Badreddine was arrested along with 17 others after the truck bombings of the US and French embassies in Kuwait City in 1983. In 1985 Badreddine was also reportedly involved in a failed assassination attempt of the Kuwaiti emir.
Amed Ibrahim al-Mughassil, a Saudi Shia member of Saudi Hezbollah who allegedly masterminded the attack on the US military barracks in Khobar in 1996, was captured last year after a 20-year manhunt. Saudi Hezbollah, also called Hezbollah el-Hajaz, is close to Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the IRGC.