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MIDDLE EAST BULLETIN GÜNLÜK ORTADOĞU BÜLTENİ 21 DECEMBER / ARALIK 2010
CONTENTS / İÇİNDEKİLER
1. IRAQ / IRAK
2. IRAN / İRAN
3. ISRAEL - PALESTINE / İSRAİL – FİLİSTİN
4. EGYPT / MISIR
5. LEBANON / LÜBNAN
6. SYRIA / SURİYE
7. ARABIAN PENINSULA AND THE GULF OF BASRA / ARAP YARIMADASI VE BASRA KÖRFEZİ
8. SOUTH ASIA / GÜNEY ASYA
PAKISTAN / PAKİSTAN
INDIA / HINDISTAN
AFGHANISTAN / AFGANISTAN
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1. IRAQ / IRAK
The new government, comprising 42 ministers, state ministers, vice-presidents and
deputy-prime ministers, includes 18 cabinet posts for the National Alliance, occupying
159 seats in the 325-seat Parlilament, representing Maliki’s State of Law Coalition, the
Sadrist Trend, the Supreme Islamic Council and al-Fadhila (Vertue) Party.
The share of al-Iraqiya Coalition, led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, occupying 91
parliament seats, will be 11 cabinet seats, whilst the share of North Iraq’s Kurdistan
Coalition, led by Iraq’s President and leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and
Kurdistan President and leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), holding 49
parliament seats, will be 7 cabinet posts, and the remaining cabinet posts will be
distributed among the small and independent blocs.
President Talabani had officially assigned Prime Minister Maliki on 25/11/2010 to form
the new Iraqi government, 14 days after Talabini’s election by the Parliament of a second
Presidency session, and the Parliament’s election of al-Iraqiya leader, Usama al-Nujeifi
for its Speaker’s post, with the leader of the Sadrist Trend, Qusay al-Suheil for his 1st
Deputy and the Kurdistan Coalition’s candidate, Aref Teifor, for the Speaker’s 2nd
Deputy’s post.
The Iraqi political status, that followed a Marathon discussions among different political
blocs had led to the formation of a national-partnership government, comprising the
main political forces, that encouraged Kurdistan President, Massoud Barzani, to call on
the main forces occupying the majority of Parliament seats, to meet in Arbil.
The Arbil meeting had succeeded to reach an agreement to distribute the leading State
positions and form a new cabinet, led by Nouri al-Maliki and shared by al-Iraqiya
Coalition, led by Iyad Allawi, that laid certain conditions to sharre in the new
government, forefronted by the formation of the National Council for Strategic Policies
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(NCSP), enjoying new authorities, led by Allawi, along with an agreement to share power
among Masoud Barzani, Iyad Allawi and Nouri al-Maliki, on 10/11/2010.
“The candidates’ names are Hoshyar Zebari, Rafia al-Issawi, Ahmad Nasser Dali,
Mohammad Tamim, Ezz al-Din al-Dawla, Jassem Mohammad Jaafar, Hassan al-Shemri,
Mohammad Allawi, Abdulkarim al-Samerraie, Dindar Najman, Majid Hamid Amin,
Abdulkarim al-Laaibi, Ziyad Tareq, Saadon al-Dalimi, Ali al-Adib, Safaa al-Din al-Safi,
Gorgis Slewa, Aamer al-Khuzaai, Ali al-Dabbagh, Mohammad al-Shayaa, Ali al-Sajri,” the
government’s spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
“Salah Muzahem, Hassan al-Sari, Sabah Muzahem and Tourhan Mazhar will be state
ministers in the new line up,” he added.
The majority of former ministers have been replaced by new personalities in the new
cabinet, with the exception of Kurdish Leader, Roz Nouri Shawes, who kept his deputy
prime-minister’s post, Kurdish Hoshiar Zibari of the foreign minister’s post, al-Iraqiya’s
leader, Tareq al-Hahshimi of the vice-president’s post, whilst Oil Minister Hussein al-
Shahristani, close to Maliki, had been assigned to receive the post of deputy prime-
minister for Energy Affairs. (Aswat al Iraq)
The new Iraqi government will consist of 42 ministers, including state ministers, a
members of the National Coalition Ali al-Dabbagh said on Monday.
The Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki presented the ministers’ names today to
the parliament’s chairmanship to vote on them on Tuesday.
“The candidates’ names are Hoshyar Zebari, Rafia al-Issawi, Ahmad Nasser Dali,
Mohammad Tamim, Ezz al-Din al-Dawla, Jassem Mohammad Jaafar, Hassan al-Shemri,
Mohammad Allawi, Abdulkarim al-Samerraie, Dindar Najman, Majid Hamid Amin,
Abdulkarim al-Laaibi, Ziyad Tareq, Saadon al-Dalimi, Ali al-Adib, Safaa al-Din al-Safi,
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Korkis Saliwa, Aamer al-Khuzaai, Ali al-Dabbagh, Mohammad al-Shayaa, Ali al-Sajri,” al-
Dabbagh told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
“Salah Muzahem, Hassan al-Sari, Sabah Muzahem and Tourhan Mazhar will be state
ministers in the new line up,” he added.
On Nov. 25, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani officially asked incumbent Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki to form the country’s next government after the rival political blocs approved
earlier a power-sharing deal that ended the eight-month political deadlock.
According to the Iraqi constitution, Maliki has to pick his cabinet within 30 days after his
official nomination as prime minister-designate by the president.
The new government and its programs will have to win the approval of an absolute
majority of the members of the parliament. (Aswat al Iraq)
A Katyusha rocket hit a house in Kirkuk, causing material damage, while police forces
arrested nine wanted men in southwest of Kirkuk, a source from the joint coordination
center said on Monday.
“The rocket landed on Monday on a house in Baghdad road region in al-Askari
neighborhood, southern Kirkuk, causing material damage to the house,” the source told
Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
“Joint force from the Kirkuk Districts Police Department and Tarklan police arrested at a
checkpoint on main road between Kirkuk-Huweija, a man belongs to al-Naqshabandiya
group,” the same source said.
“Another joint force arrested eight wanted men in accordance with Article IV Terrorism
Law in al-Huweija district, southwest of Kirkuk,” he added.
Kirkuk is 250 km northeast of Baghdad. (Aswat al Iraq)
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“A group of armed men opened fire from silencer guns on an Iraqi Intelligence officer,
with a colonel rank, when driving his car close to central Baghdad’s al-Nisour Square late
Tuesday night, killing on the spot” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The security source also said that a security force, cooperating with several citizens, have
managed to arrest an armed man, trying to plant an explosive charge pinpinted against a
Shiite procession in New Baghdad district, also on Tuesday night. (Aswat al Iraq)
Iraq has decided to sell all its aircrafts, parked in the airports of Jordan, Tunisia and Iran,
by its former Baath regime, the Flights Affairs Director in Iraq’s Transportation Ministry
said on Tuesday.
“The Transportation Ministry has got the approval of the Council of Ministers to sell all
its aircrafts, parked in Jordan, Tunisia and Iran, possessed by the Iraqi Airways and
covered by exception from the law on sellilng state property, because they have become
scrap and can’t return to service, as well as the rejection of international airports to
allow them land in them,” Nasser al-Shibly told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Shibly said that his Ministry “had sold 5 of the said planes to Jordan and its expected to
rehabilitate one of them only, whilst the close sale of two other aircrafts for Tunisia,
whilst Iran had refused to return the planes parked in its airports, as talks with it in this
regard had reached to a closed end.”
Noteworthy is that Iraq had flown the said aircrafts to Jordan, Tunisia and Iran, to avoid
their destruction by the U.S.-led attacks during the 2nd Gulf War, launched against Iraq
in 1991, following its occupation of Kuwait in 1990. (Aswat al Iraq)
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“The number of families covered by the social welfare salaries in different parts of Iraq
has reached about 1.2 millions,” a Ministry’s media source told Aswat al-Iraq news
agency, adding that their salaries will be distributed at the end of the current month,
according to the mechanism laid by the Ministry for the elderly, disabled and
unemployed people.
He said that the salaries range from 50,000 Iraqi dinars for each person, 70,000 dinars for
two, 90,000 for three, 100,000 for four, 110,000 for five, 120,000 for 6 and above.
A U.S. dollars equals about 1,118 Iraq dinars approx.
“The Ministry has laid a new mechanism for persons, covered with social welfare,
comprising a committee of social researchers, a municipality member in earch area,
along with a social welfare employee, and the committee would carry out visits on
random basis to different areas of Iraq,” the source concluded. (Aswat al Iraq)
2. IRAN / İRAN
Iran has hanged 11 people with alleged connections to a Sunni Muslim opposition group
that killed 39 people in a mosque bombing.
The Justice Ministry said on Monday that those executed were all supporters of
Jundollah, which claimed a double suicide bombing of Shia worshippers in the southeast
on December 15.
"The people of Sistan-Baluchestan province, in their continuing campaign against the
elements of cruelty and insecurity, hanged 11 people at Zahedan prison," the ministry
said in a statement on the semi-official Fars news agency.
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Iran has said that Jundollah members, who say they are fighting for the rights of the
ethnic-minority Baluch people, find shelter across Iran's southeastern border with
Pakistan.
Iran asserts that the group is linked to al-Qaeda.
'Serious measures'
According to state television, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, held a
telephone conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari, urging Pakistan to
arrest "identified terrorists" and hand them over to Iran.
Iran hoped it had neutralised Jundollah when it executed its leader, Abdolmalek Rigi, last
June. But the mosque bombing in the town of Chabahar, which wounded more than 100
people, was the group's latest riposte.
The families of the bombing victims sent a letter to Zardari calling for "serious measures"
against Jundollah and other "terrorist" groups, echoing a call from some Iranian officials.
"These anti-revolutionary groups which have been given shelter in neighbouring
countries like Pakistan and are being supported there should be pursued and suppressed
on Pakistani soil," Qolamali Rashid, a senior military official, said.
"The land forces of the Revolutionary Guard have the ability to do this," he said, referring
to Iran's elite military force.
A member of Iran's parliamentary national security and foreign policy committee said on
Sunday that "Pakistan should be served notice" to destroy what he called terrorist
training camps.
"If the Pakistan government refused to take measures to destroy the terrorist centres in
that country, then the Islamic Republic would have the right to take steps and make the
atmosphere unsafe for the terrorists in defence of its own nationals," Kazem Jalali told
the semi-official Mehr news agency.
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Film director sentenced
Meanwhile, an Iranian court has sentenced Jaraf Panahi, an internaitonally renowned
film director, to six years in prison on Saturday, according to Farideh Gheyrat, his lawyer.
The court has also ruled that Panahi cannot make films, nor travel abroad for 20 years.
Gheyrat said that he was convicted of gathering, colluding and propaganda against the
Iranian government.
"Mr Panahi has been sentenced to six years in jail for acting and propaganda against the
system," Gheyrat was quoted as saying by the Isna news agency.
"He has also been banned from making films, writing any kind of scripts, travelling
abroad and talking to local and foreign media for 20 years."
Gheyrat called it a "heavy verdict" and said that she had 20 days to make an appeal.
Panahi, 49, supports Mirhossein Mousavi, Iran's opposition leader, in last year's disputed
presidential election.
The filmmaker was arrested in Iran in early March and detained for 88 days, when he
went on hunger strike due to his treatment. (Al Jazeera)
An earthquake in southeast Iran has killed at least five people and destroyed homes, a
regional governor has said.
The quake struck late on Monday in a mountainous region and was given a 6.3
magnitude by the US Geological Survey.
Kerman province is said to be the worst affected area.
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"Seven people have been killed and hundreds have been injured. Hundreds of people are
still trapped under the rubbles," Esmail Najjar, governor of Iran's Kerman province, the
centre of the quake, told the semi-official Mehr news agency.
At least three villages were destroyed, leaving hundreds of people trapped under rubble,
according to Mehr, a semi-official news agency.
Nine aftershocks
There were nine aftershocks following the earthquake, one that was given a 5
magnitude, according to IRNA, the official news agency.
Mohammad Javad Kamyab, an employee of Kerman province governor's office, said that
30 villages lay in the affected area.
"These villages are not heavily populated ... We are not expecting a high death toll and so
far 25 people have been injured," Kamyab said.
Telephone lines were down while rescue teams have been dispatched, according to
authorities.
Some reports said that the quake was felt in Sistan-Baluchestan province, including the
towns of Zahedan, Bam, Khash and Iranshahr. However, there were no reports of
damage in those locations.
In 2003, Bam was the scene of a devastating earthquake that killed more than 26,000
people. (Al Jazeera)
İslam inkılâbı rehberi Ayetullah Seyyid Ali Hamanei, bölgede Şii ve Sünni birlikteliğinin çok
önemli olduğunu ve her iki kesimin de yıllardan beri samimiyet ile yaşadıklarını söyledi.
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Ayetullah Hamenei, Katar emiri Şeyh Hamed bin Halife Al-ı Sani'yi kabulünde yaptığı
açıklamada, bazıların Şii ve Sünniler arasındaki samimiyeti bozmak ve Şiilerle Ehli Sünnet
arasındaki bazı inanç ayrışmalarını sosyal bir ihtilafa dönüştürmeye çalıştıklarını belirtti.
İslam inkılabı rehberi Fars körfezi bölgesi güvenliğinin büyük öneminin farkında olmayan
bazı bölge ülkelerine sitem ederek, Amerika ile Siyonistlerin bu ülkelerin bölge
güvenliğinin öneminden habersizliğinden yararlanarak, bu yöndeki zihniyeti
körüklediklerini belirtti.
Ayetullah Hamenei, İran İslam cumhuriyetiyle Katar arasındaki ilişkileri iyi ilişkiler olarak
değerlendirip bu ilişkilerin gün geçtikçe gelişmesi gerektiği zira iki ülke ve bölge lehine
olacağını belirtti.
İslam İnkilabı Rehberi, başta Fars körfezi olmak üzere bölgede güvenliğin önemine
değinerek Fars körfezinde güvenliğin ayırım konusu olamayacağı, zira bölge güvenlikli
olursa tüm bölge ülkelerinin bundan faydalanacağı ancak bu güvenlik zedelenirse tüm
bölge ülkelerinin güvensizleşip zararlı çıkacağını belirtti.
Ayetullah Hamenei,katar emirinin Lübnan'daki hassas durum ve Refik Hariri mahkemesi
kararının çıkması ihtimali hususundaki sözlerine değinerek bu mahkemenin göstermelik
olup vereceği her hangi bir kararın da geçersiz olacağını vurguladı. (IRNA)
İran İslam Cumhuriyeti ve Rusya üçüncü ülkelerde santral kurmak için ortak iş birliğini
sıcak karşılıyor.
Rusya’nın Gazprom Techno Export şirketi yetkilisi ile görüşen Enerji Bakan Yardımcısı
Muhammed Behzad, şirketin geçen yıllarda santral alanında enerji bakanlığıyla iyi iş birliği
içinde olduğunu ve ülkesinin de elektrik sanayisinde Rus şirketlerin daha aktif katılmasını
sıcak karşıladığını belirtti.
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Behzad “İran şirketleri, Rus şirketiyle İran, Rusya ve üçüncü ülkelerde yeni santraller
kurmak için hazırdır” dedi. (IRNA)
Analysts warned that France's harsh stance at the Geneva talks between Iran and the
Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) and its
expectations from the next round of talks in Istanbul will pose a major threat to the
trend of talks.
Two weeks after the talks between Iran and the six powers in Geneva, Switzerland, the
western members of the G5+1 are trying to distort the atmosphere for the upcoming
talks in Istanbul in January.
Similar to Britain and the US, France is also seeking to ignore the agreement attained in
the Geneva talks and is talking about its unilateral preconditions for the next round of
talks, sources said.
Meantime, diplomats privy to the talks said that Jacques Audibert, the general and
strategic affairs director of France who also represented Paris in the Tehran-powers
negotiations, had taken the harshest stance towards Iran compared with other parties in
the Geneva talks.
Commenting on the reasons behind France's stance, analysts say that the unbalanced
stance adopted by Paris stems from France's willingness to move ahead of the US in a bid
to maintain a European identity for itself.
The second reason for France's stance lies in its intense feelings for revenge and
retaliation against Tehran's last year move for excluding Paris from the Vienna talks over
the supply of nuclear fuel for the Tehran research reactor, analysts say.
The pressure imposed on Paris by France-based pro-Israel lobbies is also viewed by the
analysts as yet another cause of France's harsh stance on talks with Iran.
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As for the fourth reason, analysts say that France has always underlined the necessity for
banning Iran's uranium enrichment activities because it fears that the issue might lead to
bilateral bargaining and talks between Tehran and Washington.
The statements made by some of the western envoys to the Geneva talks with Iran is
fully different from they had said before. Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili underlined
during a press conference after the end of the talks in Geneva that "our agreement was
one sentence which was concluded by Mrs. Ashton and we accepted it after all the 6
countries (of the Group 5+1) approved it, and that sentence is 'talks for cooperation over
common points in January in Istanbul'".
"Anything beyond this sentence is against our agreement and this sentence itself was not
my conclusion, rather it was the conclusion made by Mrs. Ashton, which was first
approved by the 6 countries and then by us."
The development came amid media reports that the United States and its allies are
planning to impose more sanctions on Iran ahead of next round of talks.
High-level envoys from London, Paris and Washington discussed the matter last Tuesday
in the French capital, the report said.
According to an article published in the Wall Street Journal on December 18, the US and
representatives of the European Union have agreed to impose joint sanctions against
Iran in January. It is unclear what shape the new sanctions will take, but it has been
agreed that the US and EU should act together with a uniform set of sanctions, rather
than seeking further United Nations sanctions.
The report said the US and its allies plan to finalize details of the plan by the end of the
year, then deliver the proposal to the EU sanctions committee to get the new measures
in place before talks are resumed in Istanbul.
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Iran has strongly warned that any attempt to impose fresh pressures and sanctions
against Tehran would threaten continuation of talks between the two sides. (Fars News
Agency)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a phone conversation with his Pakistani
counterpart Asif Ali Zardari called on Islamabad to take immediate action to identify and
extradite the terrorists behind the recent bombing in Chabahar city, Southeastern Iran.
During the phone call on Monday, Ahmadinejad announced Tehran's readiness for
exchange of intelligence and mutual cooperation with Islamabad in fighting terrorism,
and said, "Cooperation and firm action by the two countries will certainly uproot
terrorism in the region."
He also reiterated that eradication of terrorism is wished and demanded by both nations.
Zardari, for his part, assured Ahmadinejad that his country would spare no efforts to
eradicate the ominous phenomenon of terrorism through assistance and cooperation
with Iran.
Ahmadinejad made the phone call less than a week after a suicide attack near a mosque
in Southeastern Iran took the lives of at least 39 and wounded 95 people in a mourning
ceremony held to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hossein (AS),
Shiite Islam's third Imam.
The attack took place outside Imam Hossein Mosque in the port city of Chabahar, in
Sistan and Balouchestan province, near the border with Pakistan on Wednesday.
The Pakistani-based Jundollah terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack. The
notorious group has built a safe haven in Pakistan and escapes to this Eastern neighbor
of the Islamic Republic after staging its terrorist operations.
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Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar announced later on Wednesday
that the terrorists who carried out the bombings in Chabahar had received their
necessary trainings in Pakistan.
"A number of terrorists that are being trained beyond (Iran's) Eastern borders in Pakistan
have carried out this terrorist attack," Najjar told reporters on Wednesday.
The Iranian official pointed out that the terrorists received equipment and training from
foreign elements, adding that the Islamic Republic has warned Pakistan against providing
a safe haven for terrorists.
Meantime senior commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and the Army on
Monday stressed Iran's capability to chase and destroy terrorist cells beyond Iran's
borders.
"The anti-revolution grouplets which have been sheltered in the neighboring countries,
like Pakistan, and are supported there should be chased and suppressed there in
Pakistani territories and this is the only way to confront terrorist actions," Deputy Head
of the General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General Gholam Ali Rashid told FNA.
Rashid also underscored that the IRGC Ground Forces enjoy such capability and can end
terrorist activities across Iran's Southeastern borders. (Fars News Agency)
3. ISRAEL - PALESTINE / İSRAİL – FİLİSTİN
Israeli fighter jets have attacked the Gaza Strip, wounding two Palestinian fighters,
according to a Palestinian medical source and witnesses.
The overnight raids came after the Israeli army accused Palestinian fighters of firing nine
mortar shells on Monday into southern Israel, which fell on open ground and caused no
deaths.
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Three raids targeted the town of Khan Younis in the south of the Palestinian enclave
governed by Hamas, wounding two fighters of the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades, the
armed wing of Hamas, one of them seriously, the sources said.
Four other attacks were carried out in the north of Gaza, targeting the Jabailya refugee
camp and the towns of Beit Lahya, Beit Hanoun and Zeitoun, with no casualties reported.
The Israeli jets also attacked a tunnel between the Gaza Strip and Egypt near the
southern town of Rafah, without causing any injuries.
An Israeli military spokeswoman, contacted by the AFP news agency, spoke of seven air
attacks against tunnels used for smuggling weapons and "arms dumps used for terrorist
attacks".
She described the raids as "reprisals for attacks on Israeli territory".
Nine mortar rounds were fired at southern Israel from Gaza on Monday, without hurting
anyone, the Israeli military spokeswoman said.
Earlier, on Saturday night, Israeli jets struck central Gaza, killing five fighters as they were
about to launch a rocket attack, according to the Israeli army and witnesses.
The raid was one of the deadliest since Israel's December 2008-January 2009 war on
Gaza's Hamas rulers, codenamed Operation Cast Lead, which cost the lives of 1,400
Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers.
Since Israel's war on Gaza, the number of rocket attacks has has gone down
considerably. The Israeli army says more than 200 rockets or shells have been fired since
the beginning of this year. (Al Jazeera)
Israeli security force have arrested nine suspects over the last two weeks suspected in a
string of attacks against Arab in central Jerusalem, a gag order lifted Tuesday revealed.
Sayfa 16
Seven of the nine suspects are minors and all are residents of Jerusalem or West Bank
settlements. The suspects were released to house arrest following questioning.
An initial investigation has found that the nine individuals formed a gang that used the
prowess of a 14-year-old girl to lure their prey. She would approach the chosen victim,
ask them for a cigarette or invite them for a walk, and then lead them to where the
assailants were waiting – the schoolyard of the Experimental School in Jerusalem, the
Independence Park or a nearby pedestrian plaza.
As soon as the girl would arrive with the victim, the assailants would begin to pelt them
with rocks, bottles or even spray tear gas at them, according to details of the
investigation.
The Jerusalem Police believe that the nine are members of an organized gang led by a
14-year-old boy, that has made nationalist attacks against Arabs its central goal.
The young men have reportedly been roaming in and around Independence Park seeking
Arabs to attack, trying to identify them by their accent. Haaretz has learned of a number
of attacks over the last few months, and the stabbing of an Arab in July.
The same gang is suspected of attacking a Chilean tourist who they mistook for an Arab,
an incident that stirred uproar in the South American media and angered the local
immigrant community.
Silwan resident Annan Yagmor, 21, an alleged victim of one of these attacks in
November, he was approached by a group of men in Independence Park as he was
walking home.
They asked him for a cigarette, accompanied him a short way, jumped him and beat him.
He said they wanted to see his ID card and shouted "Arab, Arab." They also sprayed him
with tear gas.
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Adem Sabih said he was similarly attacked on October 31 in the same area, by 20 or 30
skullcap-wearing young men. They asked him his name and then jumped him; one
shouted "kill that Arab." He said he was smashed in the head with a rock several times
before he could flee.
Jerusalem City Councilman Meir Margalit said it appeared that "a gang of thugs," some
with large knitted skullcaps and others with black skullcaps, were terrorizing East
Jerusalem Arabs. He said he could not "shake the feeling that if the situation were
reversed, if Jews were being attacked by Arabs, the authorities' response would be
different (Haaretz)
Fatah has rejected comments made by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad
regarding the unilateral declaration of an independent Palestine, which he said would
render it a "Mickey Mouse" state.
Fatah sources told Asharq al-Awsat that these statements were unacceptable,
incomprehensible, and surprising. The Fatah source said that this statement came at a
critical time and represented a blow to the efforts being undertaken by Fatah and
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to gain international recognition for an
independent Palestinian state. Fayyad’s comments came at a time that the Palestinian
Authority [PA] has gained the support of several Latin American countries that have
officially recognized the State of Palestine within its 1967 borders; the PA is also trying to
pressure European countries to officially recognize a Palestinian State.
Sources also confirmed that Fatah was extremely angered by Fayyad’s comments. The
source also told Asharq Al-Awsat that Fatah Central Committee member, Nabil Shaath,
contacted Fayyad to reprimand him and ask him to explain his comments. Fayyad
responded that the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian State – without first obtaining
official agreements on the sovereignty of this state – would mean that it is nothing more
than a "Mickey Mouse" state. Fayyad had also told Israel’s Channel 2 that he was not in
Sayfa 18
favor of unilateral recognition of the state of Palestine, as this does not change the
reality on the ground. In an interview that was recorded earlier this week in Washington,
and broadcast on Saturday in Israel, Fayyad said: "We want an independent Palestinian
state, not just more declarations [of independence]" in reference to the 1988 Palestinian
Declaration of Independence in Algiers. However the Fatah leadership has said that what
is happening now is actually an extension of the previous Declaration of Independence,
and that the Palestinian Authority wants countries which did not recognize Palestine in
1988 to do so now.
Fatah has linked Fayyad’s refusal to declare an independent state of Palestine to
Fayyad's call last year for Palestinian state institutes to be established prior to the
summer of 2011, as a prelude to the establishment of an independent state. Fayyad
stressed that his proposal was going according to plan; however sovereignty ultimately
depends on the approval of Israel. He said: "The reality is that the state can exist in terms
of functioning institutions, but whilst the [Israeli] army remains on our soil, it would
never be a sovereign Palestine, but rather a 'Mickey Mouse’ State."
Prime Minister Fayyad explicitly announced his refusal for the unilateral declaration of
the Palestinian state. Responding to Fayyad, Nabil Shaath told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the
people [of Palestine] do not need the permission of anyone to declare their
independence."
The Palestinian Authority is planning to go to the Security Council, aiming to secure a set
of resolutions that condemn Israel for its violations of Palestinian territories and force it
to halt its settlement activity, as well as call for the international recognition of an
independent Palestinian state. (Asharq Alawsat)
ABD ve İsrail Ortak Siyasi Askeri Grubu’nun 40’ıncı toplantısı 2009 yılının Kasım ayında
yapıldı. ABD Dışişleri Bakanlığı’na gönderilen kriptoya göre toplantılarda İsrail hükümeti
Sayfa 19
Suudi Arabistan’a F-15 uçaklarının satışından duyduğu kaygıyı gündeme getirmeye devam
etti.
Her iki taraf ta İran’a baskının, özellikle de Kum kentindeki nükleer tesisin açığa
çıkmasından sonra sürmesinde mutabık kaldı. İsrail tarafı Rusya ve Çin’in İran’a
yaptırımların genişletilmesindeki işbirliği konusundaki endişelerini aktardı. İsrail Hükümet
yetkilileri hassas teknolojiye erişimde çifte vatandaşlığın oluşturduğu tehlikeye ilişkin
endişelerini ve Türkiye’nin Suriye ve İran’a doğru “rahatsız edici yön değişikliği” ve
İsrail’den uzaklaşması hakkındaki görüşlerini dile getirdi.
ABD’nin Tel Aviv Büyükelçiliği’nden Dışişleri Bakanlığı’na 18 Kasım 2009 günü gönderilen
kriptonun “Türkiye” başlıklı paragrafında ise şöyle denildi:
“Türkiye: İsrail hükümeti, Türkiye hükümetinin şu anda Suriye ve İran’a doğru çevrilen
yönünü –ve İsrail’den uzaklaşmasını- gündeme getirdi. İsrailli katılımcılar Türkiye’nin,
bölgesel bir süper güç olma hedefiyle daha ‘İslami’ bir yön izlerken Gazze’de Hamas’ın
destekçisi olduğunu iddia etti. İsrail Hükümeti Türk ordusunun hükümet kararları ve
stratejik yön üzerindeki etkide bulunma yeterliliğini kaybettiğini iddia etti. İsrail Hükümeti
katılımcıları geçtiğimiz yıldan sonra, Türkiye’yle ilgili ‘kötü hisler’e sahip olduklarını
söylediler. İsrail hükümeti, İsrail Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanı’nın geçmişte Türk Hava
Kuvvetleri Komutanı ile konuşmak istediğini, fakat Türk mevkidaşı tarafından
reddedildiğini belirtti.” (anka)
4. EGYPT / MISIR
Egypt’s State announced Monday it had seized a group working for Israel's spy agency,
Mossad, and planning to wiretap telephone conversations of high ranking Egyptian
officials.
Sayfa 20
The group includes an Egyptian, Tarek Abdel Razzak, 37, and two Mossad officers, “Diddy
Moshe” and “Joseph Dimore” who are currently fugitives.
The Egyptian is accused of supplying the two Israelis, from May 2007 to May 2010,
information on the Egyptians, Syrians and Lebanese working in the field of
telecommunications, and have selected those likely to cooperate with Mossad, the
Israeli secret service.
Abdel Razek allegedly was on contact with a spy working for Israel in Syria and he was
also recruiting spies from Syria and Lebanon, according to Emergency State Security High
Court.
He also allegedly received a call in 2007 from Israeli officer Dimore and both agreed to
meet in India and discussed ways of working together.
He faces charges of “Engaging in hostile action against neighbor countries and
endangering the diplomatic and political relations of Egypt with these countries”.
Egypt's telecom company Mobinil denied Egyptian media reports that some of its
employees were involved in the espionage case. (Al Arabiya)
Parliament alone holds the right to decide on the legitimacy of its elected members, said
Parliamentary Speaker Fathi Sorour in a interview with Egyptian Television aired on
Monday.
Egypt's opposition says the recent parliamentary poll was marred by pervasive fraud and
voter intimidation. Some judicial officials echoed those calls and ruled to nullify electoral
results.
Sorour said he would not recognize a fraudulently elected candidate. He added that the
Constitution states that a two-thirds parliamentary majority is required for parliament to
invalidate the elected status of one of its members.
Sayfa 21
The weak opposition representation in the newly formed parliament is troublesome,
Sorour said, since differing views positively influence the legislative process.
Fourteen members of the opposition and seventy independents were elected to the
People's Assembly in 2010. (Al Masry al Youm)
Frustrated with the recent parliamentary electoral results, a number of former
opposition parliamentarians announced last week the formation of a parallel People’s
Assembly as the nation’s “true” representative body.
Analysts expect the shadow parliament to bring under its fold dozens of ousted MPs.
Opposition members and rights group say the parliamentary poll was marred by
pervasive fraud and voter intimidation.
Speaking to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Alaa Eddin Abdul Monem, one of the alternative
parliament’s founders, objected to the use of the term “parallel,” preferring the moniker
“the popular parliament.”
“There is nothing called a 'parallel' parliament because the word parallel implies the
existence of another parliament," Abdul Monem said. "We do not recognize the existing
parliament.”
The ruling National Democratic Party has a more than eighty-percent majority in the
newly-initiated People's Assembly, Egypt's lower house of parliament. Rigging allegations
and electoral violence that left at least 16 people dead prompted major opposition
groups to boycott the second round of the electoral race and dismiss the new parliament
as “void.”
“The existing parliament does not have a serious opposition that could level questioning
debate on legislation," said Abdul Monem who lost his seat to an NDP candidate.
"Whatever the government suggests will be accepted.”
Sayfa 22
In the last parliament, Abdul Monem was an established and ruthless critic of the NDP-
led legislative agenda. He is recognized for unveiling suspicious deals of public land
misappropriation perpetrated by former Housing Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Suleiman.
Aside from the participation of former MPs, the shadow parliament is expected to
include a number of public figures widely known for their vehement criticism of the
government. Founders are currently hashing out the details of their venture, including
the number of seats and the nature of bylaws to regulate the shadow institution,
according to Abdul Monem.
The initiative has been already endorsed by several groups including the Wafd, Nasserist
and Tagammu parties as well as non-official opposition entities such the Muslim
Brotherhood, Kefaya, the youth-based April 6 Movement and the Mohamed Elbaradei-
initiated National Association for Change, added Abdul Monem.
This wide endorsement, however, did not discourage President Hosni Mubarak from
voicing a sarcastic critique of the initiative.
“Let them have fun,” Mubarak mocked those involved in a recent speech. Critics cite
such comments as further evidence of the disconnect between the presidency and the
Egyptian population.
“It shows that he takes the people and their choices lightly,” said Saad Aboud, another
founder of the parallel institution. “We will leave the matter to the future. Only the
future can show whether this idea is worth implementing.”
For some experts, however, time will not benefit the initiative. Samer Suleiman, a
political scientist with the American University in Cairo, said the parallel parliament is
only for media consumption and is destined for failure.
“It is a joke more than anything else,” said Suleiman. “It is more of a media rather than a
political phenomenon. Politically, the issue is dead before it even starts.”
Sayfa 23
“This *parallel+ parliament does not represent different segments of the society and it
has no democratic mechanism of selecting the members. The selection is only based on
compromises between opposition figures,” he added.
“If it is truly a political project, it should be mobilizing people. Are they engaged in
mobilizing people or do they just talk to the press? Can this initiative garner a wide
appeal among Egyptians?"
For the founders, however, their initiative enjoys popular appeal. “If you check different
[local] sites, you will find that there is a big number of people who expressed their
support for the idea,” said Abdul Monem.
“Plus, as former MPs, we know what is going on in the street. We know how people feel
and we are aware of the level of outrage and disenchantment among people,” he added.
A number of groups endorsing the initiative have recently popped up on the social
networking site Facebook. Still, only a few hundred users have joined these platforms.
“I am not aware of a parallel parliament in any other country,” said Mostafa Kamel al-
Sayyed, professor of Political Science at Cairo University. “The parallel parliament is an
Egyptian innovation in order to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the existing parliament.”
Shadow cabinets are the only well-known example of parallel institutions, according to
al-Sayyed. “The most famous example is in Great Britain where opposition parties form
shadow cabinets as a sort of preparation for their members in case they win the majority
in parliament.”
But unlike Egypt’s parallel parliament, the British paradigm is not intended to cast doubt
over the legitimacy of the official government, explained al-Sayyed.
In recent weeks, the liberal Wafd Party formed a shadow government with nearly forty
ministers in an attempt to question the efficiency of the existing NDP-led cabinet.
Sayfa 24
“We cannot tolerate more failures. There should be alterative ways to solve all the crises
that surround us,"said Ali al-Salmi, the head of the Wafd shadow cabinet, in an interview
published in Al-Masry Al-Youm Arabic edition earlier this week. "This [cabinet] is also
meant to prove that Egypt has experts who could save it.”
The Wafd Party was dealt a blow in the last parliamentary elections. In the first round,
only two out of more than 200 candidates secured seats while less than ten were set to
stand in a run-off. Outraged by the result, the party boycotted the second round and
froze the membership of candidates who defied the boycott decision and persisted with
their bids.
“This is an imitation of the British example,” said al-Sayyed. “The only difference is that
in Britain the shadow government consists of MPs and the system allows for the transfer
of power through the ballot box. However, in Egypt, it is not made up of MPs and there is
no possibility for transfer of power through the ballot box.”
But al-Sayyed voiced skepticism over the future of the shadow parliament.
“There could be practical obstacles,"he said. "I am not sure that authorities will allow this
parallel parliament to meet."
Echoing this notion, Fathi Sorour, Egypt's re-elected speaker of the parliament, in a
threatening gesture told Egyptian television on Monday that he "worries" about
members of the parallel parliament, since Article 86 of the Constitution may be applied
against them for disturbing social stability. (Al Masry Al Youm)
5. LEBANON / LÜBNAN
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday dismissed as "null and void"
imminent rulings by the UN court probing the 2005 murder of ex-Lebanese premier Rafiq
Hariri, state television reported.
Sayfa 25
The UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is reportedly set to indict high-ranking
operatives of the Shiite movement Hezbollah, Lebanon's most powerful military force,
which is backed by Tehran and Damascus.
"This tribunal is receiving orders from elsewhere and whatever ruling it hands down is
null and void," Khamenei told visiting Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani in a
meeting, state television reported.
"We hope that the influential sides which have a say in Lebanon act based on logic and
wisdom, so that this issue will not turn into a problem," said Khamenei, Iran's all-
powerful commander-in-chief.
The STL said on December 9 that it will "very, very soon" file indictments over the
February 14, 2005 killing of Hariri and 22 others in a Beirut bomb blast.
Iran is the ideological and financial backer of Shiite Hezbollah, which fought a devastating
war against Israel in 2006 that killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, most of them civilians, and
160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
Iran's English-language Press TV carried a similar report.
"Khamenei says any ruling by the US-sponsored Special Tribunal for Lebanon is null and
void," it said on its website.
Hezbollah has said it expects to be falsely accused of involvement in the former
premier's killing and warned against any attempt to arrest its members, raising fears of
instability in the small, multi-religious Mediterranean country.
Hassan Nasrallah, who heads the militant movement, has urged Lebanon's deeply
divided unity government to step aside and allow him to deal with the STL, which he
brands a US-Israeli plot.
The Beirut government is meanwhile in paralysis, business deals are on hold and
rumours abound as Lebanon anxiously awaits indictments by the tribunal.
Sayfa 26
The awaited indictments have split the unity government, with Hezbollah and its
supporters pitted against the Western-backed camp of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of
the assassinated Sunni leader.
Iranian state television quoted the Qatari Emir as telling Khamenei that attempts were
being made to trigger a sedition in Lebanon.
"Some seek to create a new sedition in Lebanon, but we are trying to avoid this sedition
with the help of regional countries," the emir said. The report did not elaborate.
Last month during a visit to Tehran by Prime Minister Hariri, Khamenei told him to
strengthen his ties with Hezbollah.
Ahead of Hariri's visit, the media said the prime minister was coming to Iran hoping that
Tehran would help to reconcile his pro-Western camp and Hezbollah.
Hezbollah and Iran enjoy deep ties which were evident during President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad's visit in October to Lebanon, where he received a rousing welcome.
The two also share a deep animosity towards Israel, which has not ruled out a military
strike against Tehran to stop its controversial nuclear programme. (Asharq Alawsat)
“Accusing a Shia group of killing a Sunni leader leads to a catastrophe,” Development and
Liberation bloc MP Ali Khreiss said on Tuesday, in a reference to the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon’s (STL) possible implication of Shia Hezbollah members in the murder of Sunni
former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.
“The international community must understand this issue,” Khreiss told the Voice of
Lebanon -100.5 (VOL) radio station.
Sayfa 27
He also said that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Monday statement –
that the STL’s rulings are “null” – was made “because Khamenei *believes+ that the
tribunal will likely indict Shia members *in the Hariri murder+.”
The STL said on December 9 that it will "very, very soon" file indictments for the killing of
Hariri and 22 others.
The court is reportedly set to indict high-ranking operatives of Hezbollah, which is
backed by Tehran and Damascus. (Now Lebanon)
6. SYRIA / SURİYE
The Convoy 'Asia 1', which is a constituent of the Asian People's Solidarity for Palestine
(APSP), reached Aleppo city on Monday.
The Convoy includes more than 70 activists from 20 Asian countries, of which are India,
Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Iran and Bahrain.
The Convoy received mass public and popular welcome that reflected the Syrian people's
support to the besieged Palestinians in Gaza Strip.
Governor of Aleppo, Ali Ahmad Mansoura, said that Asia 1 Convoy is one of many
convoys that headed to Gaza through Syria to break the Israeli siege on the Strip.
"Syria became a passage for all honest people in the world, and it will continue
supporting the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Cause until the liberation of the
lands and realizing the right of self-determination", he added.
For his part, Convoy Leader, Feroze Mithiborwala, said that the Convoy represents the
Asian countries and peoples and it aims at reaching Gaza, breaking the Israeli siege and
unmasking the Israeli policies.
Sayfa 28
Mithiborwala thanked Syria, leadership and people, for the warm welcome and the
facilitations provided to the convoy in the Syrian lands.
The convoy is scheduled to head to Hama and Homs provinces before arriving to
Damascus. (SANA)
Türkiye Başbakanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Suriye ve Türkiye arasında geçen yıl teşkil
edilen Yüksek Düzeyli Stratejik işbirliği Konseyi YDSİK’nin iki ülke arasındaki ilişkiler ve iki
ülke ekonomilerinin gelişmesine önemli katkı sağlayan sağlam bir alt yapının
kurulmasında büyük bir payı olduğunu belirtti.
Başbakan Erdoğan YDSİK’nin Ankara’da düzenleyeceği toplantılar münasebetiyle SANA’ya
verdiği röportajda, YDSİK’nin, bölgenin sadece kendisinin olduğunu bilmesi gereken
halklarımız için barış, istikrar ve refahı sağlayacak bölgesel bir dayanışmada ciddi ve
pratik bir çekirdeğe dönüştüğünü söyledi.
Suriye-Türkiye ilişkilerindeki güçlü ve hızlı gelişmelerin, halklarımızın ideallerine ilaveten
ortak sosyal ve tarihi bağlara dayalı bir şekilde politik yöneticilerden beklenenler ve iki
tarafın sahip oldukları güçlü politik irade ışığında meydana geldiğini kaydeden Erdoğan,
sayın Cumhurbaşkanı Beşşar el-Esad’ın ayrıcalık kazandığı ve kendilerinin de paylaştığı
uzun süreçli stratejik vizyonunun iki ülke arasındaki bu hızlı gelişmelerde önemli bir rol
oynadığını belirtti.
Yüzyıllar Boyunca Kardeşlik İçinde Yaşayan Halklarımızın Önündeki Tüm Engelleri
Kaldırmaya Birlikte Çaba Harcıyoruz
Türkiye Başbakanı Erdoğan, yüzyıllar boyunca kardeşlik içinde yaşayan halklarımızın
arasındaki soğuk savaş döneminden kalma tüm engelleri kaldırmaya ve tarih sürecini
doğru yola koymaya hep birlikte çalışıldığını açıkladı. Ayrıca halklarımıza daha parlak ve
ileri bir gelecek kurma yönünde ilişkileri genişletmeye yönünde iki tarafın birlikte çaba
harcadığını kaydetti.
Sayfa 29
Erdoğan, YDSİK’nin 2009 yılının Aralık ayında Şam’da düzenlediği birinci toplantısında; iki
taraf arasında anlaşmaya varılan belgelerin genelinin imzalandığını ve onaylandığın işaret
ederek, bir kısım anlaşmaların imzalanmadan önce Suriye ve Türkiye tarafından
uygulamaya konulduğuna dikkat çekti.
Suriye ve Türkiye'nin aralarındaki anlaşmaların kapsadığı alanların tümünde büyük ve
geniş bir ilerleme kaydettiklerine değinen Başbakan Erdoğan, Asi Nehri üzerine kurulması
planlanan Dostluk Barajı ve Türkiye'nin Suriye'ye gönderdiği su ve elektrik enerjisinin
miktarını arttırma çerçevesinde ortak teknik komitenin kurulduğuna işaret etti.
Türkiye Başbakanı, Turizm sektörünün iki ülke arasında yine büyük gelişmelere tanık
olduğunu ve geçen süre içinde turist sayısında büyük bir artışın kaydedildiğini söyledi. Bu
bağlamda Erdoğan, Suriye'yi ziyaret eden Türk vatandaşlarının 1.5 milyon, Türkiye'yi
ziyaret eden Suriyeli vatandaşların sayısının da yaklaşık olarak bir milyonu bulduğunu
ifade etti.
İki Ülke Doğalgaz Şebekerlerini Birleştirme Projesi 2011'in Sonundan Önce Bitecek
İki ülke doğalgaz şebekelerinin birleştirilmesi projesi ve bu projenin 2011 yılının
sonundan önce tamamlanacağına dikkat çeken Erdoğan, iki ülke arasındaki sınır
kapılarının ortak çalıştırılması projesi, gümrük standartları, sistemleri ve kriterlerinin
birleştirilmesi projelerine değindi. Ayrıca iki ülkeden işadamları arasında önemli bir çok
buluşmanın düzenlenmesi ve ortak fuarların organize edilmesi çalışmalarının
bulunduğunu söyledi.
İki ülke arasındaki ticaret hacminin arttırılması yönünde ise Türkiye Başbakanı Erdoğan,
bu konuda ilerlemenin sağlandığını ve 2010 yılının ilk 10 ayında ikili ticaret hacminin 2
milyar 2 yüz milyon doları bulduğunu söyledi. Erdoğan bu rakamın 2009 yılının aynı
süresinde 1 milyar 400 milyon dolar olduğunu hatırlattı. Aynı zamanda Suriye'nin
Türkiye'ye bulunduğu ihracat hacminin 2009 yılında 283 milyon dolardan 2010 yılının ilk
10 ayında 602 milyon dolar yükseldiğini ifade etti.
Sayfa 30
Türkiye Başbakanı Erdoğan, iki ülke yetkilileri arasında değişik düzeylerdeki karşılıklı
ziyaretlere ilaveten üstüne imza atılan anlaşmaların Suriye ve Türkiye ekonomilerine
gayet ciddi ve büyük olumlu etkilerde bulunacağını kaydetti. Ayrıca tüm bunların iki ülke
halklarının günlük yaşamlarını kısa ve uzun vadeli olarak olumlu etkileyeceğini belirtti.
YDSİK'nin Büyük Çalışmaları Uzun Süreçlidir
Erdoğan, YDSİK’nin büyük çalışmalarının ortak çıkarlarımızın hizmetinde uzun süreçli
olduğunu ve bu sürecin sürekli bir şekilde ilerlediğini ve geliştiğini belirtti.
Daha güvenirli bir dayanışmanın yanı sıra sadece iki halkın değil aynı zamanda tüm bölge
halkları için kalkınma, refah ve barışın sağlanması için iki ülkenin ileriye doğru adım
atacakları yönünde güvenini dile getiren Erdoğan, Suriye-Türkiye arasındaki bu sürecin el
ele kol kola yoluna devam edeceğini vurguladı. Ayrıca bu bağlamda, tüm bu konularda
inanç ve iradeye sahip iki ülkenin çıkarlarına hizmet ilkesi temelinin bulunduğunu
kaydetti.
Suriye ve Türkiye arasındaki koordinasyon ve görüş alışverişinin devam ettiğini, bölgesel
davalara çözüm bulma amacıyla Cumhurbaşkanı el-Esad ve üst düzeyli Suriyeli kardeş
yetkililerle sürekli iletişim içinde olduğunu belirten Erdoğan, son seçimlerden sonra
Irak’ta ulusal birlik hükümetinin kurulması önündeki bir kısım engellerin yada geciktirici
faktörlerin kaldırılmasında ortak çabalara işaret etti. Ayrıca kardeş Lübnan'daki politik
gerginliklerin önlenmesi yönünde Suriye ile sürekli bir koordinasyonun mevcut olduğunu
ekledi.
Dörtlü İşbirliği Projesi Büyük İdealler Taşıyor
Suriye, ürkiye, Lübnan ve Ürdün arasında vaat edici dörtlü işbirliği projesine dikkat çeken
Türkiye Başbakanı Erdoğan, bu modelin gelişmesinin bölgede barış, istikrar ve refahın
sağlanmasına ciddi ve etkin bir katkı sağlayacağına işaret etti.
Erdoğan bu önemli dörtlü işbirliğinin, bölgenin daha önce benzerine tanık olmadığı
ayrıcalıklı bir model teşkil ettiğini ifade ederek, kapılarının tüm bölge ülkelerine açık
Sayfa 31
olduğunu belirtti. Aynı zamanda bu dörtlü işbirliğinin temel ilkesinin ideal bir gelecek
kurma yönünde tüm ortak olanakları kullanmak olduğuna işaret eden Erdoğan, ortak
gelecek, coğrafya ve çıkarları paylaşan halklarımızın kültürel ve tarihi bağlarından güç
aldığına vurgu yaptı.
Türkiye Başbakanı pratik düzeyde ise stratejik işbirliğinden amacın mevcut anlaşmalar ve
birleştirilmiş uygulamalar ışığında vizeleri kaldırmak ve serbest ticaret bölgesi kurmak
olduğunu kaydetti. Bu çerçevede Türkiye'nin Suriye, Lübnan ve Ürdün ile serbest ticaret
bölgesi ve vizeleri kaldırma anlaşmasına imza attığını belirten Erdoğan, dört ülkedeki
turizm, ulaştırma, enerji ve ticaret bakanlarının daha fazla işbirliği olanaklarını araştırmak
için sürekli olarak bir araya geldiklerine işaret etti.
Erdoğan bu görüşmelerden önemli, somut ve olumlu sonuçların elde edilmesi yönünde
inancını ifade ederek, Türkiye'nin önümüzdeki bir kaç ay içinde düzenlenecek önemli
dörtlü zirveye ev sahipliği yapma sorumluluğunu üstlendiğini belirtti.
Dörtlü işbirliğinin bölge sorunlarının çözümüne katkısı çerçevesinde Erdoğan, bölge
halklarının ancak ve ancak bu yol ile onurlu ve refahlı bir yaşama kavuşacağına inancıyla
Türkiye'nin Ortadoğu'da barış ve istikrarı sağlamaya çalıştığına vurgu yaptı. Aynı zamanda
dörtlü işbirliğinden hedefin; daha geniş bir çerçevede bu işbirliğini desteklemek ve
güçlendirmek olduğunu ifade ederek, ilkenin mevcut stratejik işbirliğini sürdürme aracılığı
ile uzun süreçli ekonomik entegrasyonu sağlama yolunda yayan yürümekle birlikte pratik
mekanizmalarla olduğunu açıkladı.
Türkiye Olumlu Ajandalarla Komşuları ve Bölgenin Tüm Ülkeleri İle Koordinasyon Kuruyor
Türkiye Başbakanı ülkesinin herkesin çıkarı için daha fazla dayanışma, çatışmalar ve
anlaşmazlıkları ortadan kaldırma, ortak çıkarlar ve planlar sağlamak için olumlu
ajandalarla komşuları ve tüm bölge ülkeleri ile koordinasyon kurmaya çalıştığını kaydetti.
Aynı zamanda bölge halkları ve politik liderlerinin bölge sorunlarının çatışmalar yerine
barışçıl yollarla çözülmesi yönünde sürekli olarak birlikte çalıştıklarını ve görüş alış
verişinde bulunduğuna dikkat çekti.
Sayfa 32
Lübnan'daki durumlara ilişkin Türkiye'nin vizyonu çerçevesinde Erdoğan, Türkiye
açısından ayrıcalıklı bir özellik taşıyan Lübnan'ı ziyaret ettiğine değinerek, Türkiye ve
Lübnan arasında tarihten gücünü alan sağlam ilişkilerin bulunduğunu söyledi. Aynı
zamanda Lübnan'ın doğu Akdeniz ve Ortadoğu açısından bir nevi kilit ülke olduğunu
açıkladı.
Lübnan'ın istikrarını korumanın bölge istikrarı açısından önemli olduğunu belirten
Erdoğan, Türkiye'nin Lübnan'ın egemenlik ve bağımsızlığını desteklediğine vurgu yaptı.
Ayrıca Lübnan'daki istikrara büyük bir önem verdiğini bu bağlamda da Lübnan'da ulusal
uzlaşma hükümetini desteklediğini ifade etti.
Lübnan'da Suriye-Suudi Arabistan Çabalarını Destekliyoruz
Türkiye Başbakanı Erdoğan, Lübnan'a bulunduğu son ziyareti ve Lübnanlı yetkilerle
temaslarında uluslararası mahkeme sürecinin politikleştirilmemesi, ulusal birlik diyalog ve
uzlaşmaya bağlı kalınması gereğine vurgu yapıldığını belirtti. Aynı zamanda Lübnanlı tüm
taraflardan eşit mesafede durduğunu ve Suriye-Suudi Arabistan çabalarını desteklediğini
kaydettiğine dikkat çekti.
Türkiye'nin Irak geleceğine ilişkin vizyonu çerçevesinde Başbakan Erdoğan, bu ülkenin
ulusal uzlaşma temelinde tüm sorunlarını aşmasıyla birlikte refah ve istikrara kavuşması
temennilerinde bulundu. Aynı zamanda Irak’a ilişkin son gelişmelerden Türkiye'nin
rahatlığını dile getirerek, Türkiye'nin geçici üye olarak katıldığı uluslararası güvenlik
konseyinin eskiden Irak’a uyguladığı yaptırımları kaldırmasına işaret etti.
İsrail Barış Çabalarını Çıkmaza Soktu
Türkiye başbakanı Erdoğan ülkesinin Filistin-İsrail barış çizgisinde olası katkıları
çerçevesinde; ABD’nin yahudi yerleşim birimlerinin inşasını dondurma kararını yenileme
konusunda İsrail'i ikna etmede başarısız kalmasının Türkiye açısından derin bir endişe
yarattığını açıkladı.
Sayfa 33
Erdoğan İsrail'in son tutum ve davranışlarıyla bölgede barışın sağlanması yönündeki
isteklerine dair çok sayıda şüpheler uyandırdığını ifade ederek, uluslararası toplumun tüm
çağrılarına sırt çevirip yahudi yerleşim birimlerini inşa etmeye devam ettiğini ve barış
çabalarını çıkmaza soktuğuna dikkat çekti.
Barış sürecinde Suriye çizgisi ve bu yönde nihai bir çözüme ulaşmanın Ortadoğu barışının
sağlanmasında oldukça ciddi bir önem taşıdığını varsayan Türkiye Başbakanı, İsrailli
yetkililerin Türkiye'nin bu konuda dürüst bir aracı rolü oynadığını itiraf ettiklerini, fakat
İsrail'in Gazze'ye yönelik düşmancıl savaşı nedeniyle bu aracı rolünün hedeflerine
ulaşamadığını söyledi.
Suriye'nin Türk Aracı Rolüne Tutunması Onun Barış ve İstikrraın Sağlanmasına Verdiği
Büyük Önemi Kanıtlıyor
Erdoğan, Suriye'nin dolaylı barış müzakerelerine dönmesinde Türkiye'nin aracı rolüne
tutunmasının onun Ortadoğu'da barış ve istikrarın sağlanmasına verdiği büyük önemi
yansıttığını ve kanıtladığını var saydı.
Türkiye Başbakanı; İsrail'i barışı istediğine dair ciddi bir şekilde pratikte ve sözde
kanıtlamasına çağırarak, aynı şekilde ABD ve AB’de üye ülkeleri Suriye çizgisi ve Türk aracı
rolünün önemini idrak etmeleriyle birlikte bölgede barış sürecini aksatan halihazırdaki
politikasını değiştirmesinde İsrail'i zorlamalarına davet etti. Aynı zamanda Türkiye-İsrail
ilişkilerinde olabilecek herhangi bir olumlu gelişmenin şüphesiz bu konuda olumlu
yansımaları olacağını belirtti.
Türkiye-İsrail İlişkilerinde Türkiye'nin İsteklerinde Bir Değişiklik Olmadı
Türkiye-İsrail ilişkileri ve bu ilişkilerden beklenenler çerçevesinde Erdoğan; bu bağlamda
iki ülke dışişleri bakanlıkları arasında yüksek düzeyde Cenevre’de temasların mevcut
olduğuna işaret ederek, fakat; Gazze'ye yardım götüren özgürlük filosundaki Mavi
Marmara gemisine karşı İsrail saldırısı ve hayatlarını kaybeden 9 Türk vatandaşına ilişkin
Türkiye'nin isteklerinde hiç bir değişikliğin olmadığını belirtti. Erdoğan Türkiye ve İsrail
Sayfa 34
arasındaki ilişkilerin normale dönmesini İsrail'in Türkiye Cumhuriyetinden özür dilemesi
ve tazminatlar ödemesine bağladı.
ABD ve AB’de üye ülkelerin İnsan hakları konseyinde özgürlük filosuna yönelik saldırıya
ilişkin tutumları hakkında Türkiye'nin vizyonu çerçevesinde Başbakan Erdoğan; insan
haklarının yegane savunucuları olarak kendilerini öne koyan bu ülkelerden daha değişik
bir tutum beklediklerini ve bu konuda büyük eseflerini dile getirdiklerini kaydetti.
Türkiye-AB İlişkileri Sürekli Gelişiyor
Türkiye Başbakanı ülkesinin AB ile ilişkileri bağlamında, iki taraf arasında dinamik, geniş
ve kapsamlı ilişkilerin bulunduğunu, bu ilişkilerin politik, ekonomik ve kültürel düzeylerde
sürekli geliştiğine işaret etti.
Türkiye'nin AB’ye katılım konusunda üstüne düşeni yerine getirdiğini fakat, katılım
müzakerelerinin istenilen hızda yürümediğini kaydeden Erdoğan, AB’de üye bir kısım
ülkelerin müzakereler önünde koydukları engellerin hiç bir şekilde vaatleri yerine getirme
kriterleriyle bağdaşmadığını kaydetti.
Kıbrıs davasında ise Erdoğan, ülkesinin bu davada kapsamlı çözüm sağlayacak tüm
çabaları desteklediğini açıkladı. (SANA)
7. ARABIAN PENINSULA AND THE GULF OF BASRA / ARAP YARIMADASI VE BASRA
KÖRFEZİ
A storage facility holding Yemen's radioactive material was left unguarded for up to a
week after its only guard was removed on December 30, 2009, according to a US cable
released by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.
Sayfa 35
The leaked cable, published by the UK's Guardian newspaper, was sent by a Yemeni
government official in Sanaa to the CIA, the FBI and the homeland security department
as well as the US secretary of state in Washington and others.
It was sent in the days following last year's failed Christmas day bomb plot targeting a
Detroit-bound airliner.
According to security sources, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian-born would-be
airline bomber, was radicalised in Yemen.
The cable also disclosed that the single closed-circuit television security camera
monitoring the facility had broken six months prior to that and it was never fixed.
According to the cable, small amounts of the radioactive materials were used by local
universities for agricultural research, by a Sanaa hospital and by international oilfield
services companies for well-logging equipment.
The message, dated January 9, shows the concerns of a Yemeni government official,
whose name was removed, about the unsecured state of a National Atomic Energy
Commission facility [NAEC].
'Bad guys' warning
The cable reveals that the official urged the US to help convince the Yemeni government
to "remove all materials from the country until they can be better secured, or
immediately improve security measures at the NAEC facility".
The official has been quoted in the cable as saying that "very little now stands between
the bad guys and Yemen's nuclear material".
The cable showed that the embassy would push senior Yemeni officials to provide an
accounting of its radioactive materials and ensure storage facilities were secure.
Sayfa 36
However, on January 7, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, Yemeni foreign minister told the US
ambassador that "no radioactive material was currently stored in Sanaa and that all
"radioactive waste was shipped to Syria".
Yemeni officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the Guardian report.
Attempted attacks
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula [AQAP], an extremely active branch of the group, has
its headquarters in Yemen, the poorest Arab country.
AQAP has not only frequently targeted the Yemeni government but has also attempted
several attacks against the West, including the failed cargo-bomb plot in October and the
failed 2009 Christmas Day bomb plot.
Unlike uranium, radioactive isotopes are not explosive on their own.
However, Western governments, including the US, fear that a nuclear device can be
made combining these isotopes with simple explosives.
The radioactive elements in such a nuclear device are not likely to kill a significant
number of people, but are sufficient to easily damage and contaminate large areas,
turning them into no-go zones.
Hence the concern voiced by the Yemeni official to secure the radioactive stocks as
quickly as possible before AQAP operatives could get their hands on these. (Al Jazeera)
Iran and Qatar on Monday pledged to cooperate for greater regional security during a
visit to Tehran by the emir of the tiny but energy-rich Gulf state, official media reported.
"By consultation and harmony Iran and Qatar can strengthen unity among regional
countries and implement security and stability," Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying in a meeting with Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.
Sayfa 37
Ahmadinejad also described ties between Tehran and Doha as "brotherly and excellent,"
state television reported.
"Cooperation between Iran and Qatar can guarantee security and stability in the region,"
the emir was quoted as saying.
It was the first visit by an Arab leader to the Islamic republic since US diplomatic memos
from Arab countries in the Gulf were released by whistleblower WikiLeaks late last
month, uncovering a fixation on the Iranian nuclear threat.
But another leaked memo revealed that Sheikh Hamad had dismissed the threats of
proliferation, saying they were made only to scare Iran.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, but world powers suspect Tehran
is working toward an atom bomb.
In a meeting with the emir, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that all
countries in the region would lose if security were undermined, the official IRNA news
agency reported.
"Unfortunately, the Americans and Zionists fuel these countries' ignorance of the
importance of security in the region," Khamenei said without naming any countries.
"If the security of the region is hurt all of its countries will be unsafe, and lose," he
warned.
Meanwhile on Monday a group of Iranian Revolutionary Guards navy commanders and
forces headed to Qatar on five warships for a three-day visit to its military centres, IRNA
reported.
Deputy head of the Revolutionary Guards' navy, Alireza Tangsiri, said the visit came at
the invitation of Qatar after its military officials participated in Iranian wargames this
year.
Sayfa 38
"Such programmes will definitely pave the way for mutual cooperation," he was quoted
as saying by the agency. (Asharq Alawsat)
In the Gulf, only water can be more precious than oil, and Arab leaders are taking steps
to protect their supply from possible sabotage by al-Qaeda militants or attacks by
another potential foe.
Abu Dhabi, in particular, is taking no chances.
In October, the wealthiest emirate of the United Arab Emirates federation launched a
pilot for the world's largest underground reservoir, with 26 million cubic meters of
desalinated water. Officials say they aim to protect from oil spills or plant breakdowns,
but others cite security fears.
Diminishing natural groundwater is a fundamental threat to Gulf Arab states. Today, Abu
Dhabi and its fellow emirates have only four days of water if desalination plants were
damaged.
"A desalination plant is a large factory sitting on the coast, something that you could
easily blow up with a bomb or a missile. You could bring the country to its knees," said
Hady Amr of the Brookings Doha Centre.
Abu Dhabi's massive aquifer project is buried beneath the scorching sands of the Empty
Quarter, a desert stretching from the UAE to Saudi Arabia. The completed reservoir will
store 90 days of rationed water for its citizens.
Now Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Oman are interested in making aquifers too, the
project's developers and analysts said.
"Iran and Iraq have rivers. We (other Gulf states) don't. So in the future, they have the
upper hand," said Sami al-Faraj, of the Kuwait Centre for Strategic Studies.
Sayfa 39
The UAE risks depleting groundwater within 50 years at current consumption rates.
Desalination capacity, which Abu Dhabi has quadrupled in the last ten years, is at risk
from natural disasters and oil spills in the Strait of Hormuz, where 40 percent of the
world's seaborne oil passes.
"We need strategic storage against any type of emergency. We have no specific crisis in
mind," said Mohammed Dawoud, head of Water Resources at Abu Dhabi's Environment
Agency.
But two sources close to the long-discussed project, to be built by the Arabian
Construction and POSCO Engineering and Construction companies, said the project was
also spurred on by growing fear of attack.
"They are concerned about unfriendly acts. It takes only a little effort to shut (a plant)
down," one source said.
Achilles' heel
Many see Gulf Arab states' water scarcity as an Achilles' heel. Saudi Arabia even
considered transporting icebergs from the South Pole for water.
Water installations are not only at risk of natural disasters, but attack as well.
Gulf Arab countries are among prime targets of the global militant network al-Qaeda,
which has an aggressive wing based in nearby Yemen. Several Gulf nations also fear the
possibility of attack from Iran.
Cables released by WikiLeaks showed the extent of Gulf Arab states' anxiety over Iran,
their non-Arab, Shiite neighbor.
The UAE may be known for whimsical schemes, from artificial palm-shaped islands to
Ferrari-themed amusement parks, but Abu Dhabi's aquifer plan is no vanity project.
Sayfa 40
"We can't plan (Abu Dhabi's) Ferrari World and not think about water supply, or a World
Cup in Qatar and not water," Faraj said.
Although energy facilities are the likeliest target for international impact, an attack on
water resources could cripple a Gulf Arab state like the UAE.
"They don't have any alternative to desalination plants," said Bruce Riedel of the
Brookings Institute in Washington. "Of their many vulnerabilities, this one is their most
acute."
Risk worth taking
Some question Abu Dhabi's $436 million plan.
"The reliability of such a system has not yet been demonstrated ... It's far from being a
fool-proof guarantee that they can store 90 days of water and don't have to worry," said
an expert from Exclusive Analysis, who asked not to be named.
"It's an unusual terrain, you're trying to store water underneath the desert near oil wells
that have salt water mixed with them," he said, pointing to the threat of contamination.
But Gulf Arab states may find this a risk worth taking.
Security experts envision many forms of attack to damage Gulf water supply, from
missile attacks to targeted oil leaks.
"It's easy with water, you can create a pollutant in say, the northern Gulf, and the water
will carry it, and you can disclaim responsibility," Faraj said.
Saddam Hussein in 1991 not only cut a water line to Kuwait City, he directed an oil leak
toward the Saudi coast, aiming to clog and shut down the desalination plant supplying
Riyadh. U.S. forces were able to stop that spill from reaching the coast.
But last summer's catastrophic five-month oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may have
sparked new anxieties that some slicks would be too powerful to contain.
Sayfa 41
"I'm sure Abu Dhabi leadership, probably (Crown Prince) Mohammed bin Zayed, a
strategist and military man, wants to make sure something doesn't happen like that in
the future," the Brookings Institute's Riedel said.
Iran is seen as the most likely aggressor in the event of armed conflict with the United
States, Israel, or Gulf Arab states.
"If we consider a scenario in which Iran is losing, it may hit water resources because it's
the only achievable way to address failure on the battlefield," Faraj said.
Militant attacks are less likely. Oil facilities, a symbol to them of Western exploitation,
would be the preferred target.
Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) lists the UAE fourth on their hit-
list after the United States, Britain, and Saudi Arabia. AQAP has no known UAE presence,
but Abu Dhabi is sensitive to becoming a future target, Riedel said.
"It's probably beyond AQAP capabilities right now. But you don't want to wake up one
morning with two days of water and say to yourself, boy I sure wish we put that hole in
the ground." (Al Arabiya)
8. SOUTH ASIA / GÜNEY ASYA
PAKISTAN / PAKİSTAN
Pakistan Ordusu Basın Bilgilendirme Merkezinden (ISPR) yapılan açıklamada, 1300
kilometre menzilli füzenin her türlü başlık taşıma kapasitesine sahip olduğu bildirildi.
ISPR, Cumhurbaşkanı Asif Ali Zerdari ve Başbakan Yusuf Rıza Gilani'nin, füze denemesini
başarıyla gerçekleştiren orduyu kutladığını belirtti. (AA)
Sayfa 42
India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday that friendly ties with Pakistan can
only come when Islamabad ensures its soil is not used for “terrorist” activities against
Indian targets.
“We want friendly relations with Pakistan. But we know this will be possible only when
our neighbour will see to it that its territory is not used for terrorist activities against us,”
Singh told a ruling Congress party meeting.
India is still pressing Pakistan to bring to justice the alleged masterminds of the attacks in
which 10 gunmen attacked a host of targets including luxury hotels, a Jewish centre and
a train station. Nine of the gunmen were killed and the sole survivor was condemned to
death by a Mumbai court in May.
Singh’s remarks came as the Congress party passed a resolution that called on Pakistan
to “deliver with sincerity on its assurances to dismantle terror outfits.”
Singh also said there was “great potential for working together with China, especially in
economic matters.”
Speaking on the heels of last week’s visit by his Chinese counterpart to New Delhi, the
prime minister said India has “some outstanding issues with them (the Chinese) which
we hope to resolve in an atmosphere of friendship.”
Last week, Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao agreed to double bilateral trade to 100
billion dollars by 2015. (Dawn)
Pakistan ruled out the notion of any foreign troops operating on its soil, with its top
diplomat in Washington stressing that Pakistani forces are capable of handling the
militant threat within the country’s borders.
Sayfa 43
“Pakistani forces are capable of handling the militant threat within our borders and no
foreign forces are allowed or required to operate inside our sovereign territory,”
Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani said.
He was commenting on a story in The New York Times, which claimed that US
commanders based in Afghanistan were pushing for special forces raids on militant
targets across the border into Pakistani territory.
Haqqani said “US and Pakistani forces understand each others terms of engagement
well” and have a very high-level of cooperation as allies fighting a common enemy, along
the Afghan border.
“We work with our allies, especially the US, and appreciate their material support but we
will not accept foreign troops on our soil — a position that is well known,” he stated.
Reminding critics of Pakistan’s anti-terror efforts along the Afghan border, where the
country has deployed well over 100,000 troops, Haqqani said: “We have made enormous
gains and tremendous sacrifices in fighting terrorists over the last two years and will
continue our efforts for our own security and that of the whole world.”
He pointed out that Pakistani and US officials remain constantly in touch and “do not
need anonymous source news reports to tell us about each others’ thinking.”
In this context, the ambassador cited the recent visit of US Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff
Admiral Mullen, who during his trip “acknowledged Pakistan’s contribution”.
“Nothing discussed during his trip indicates the likelihood of ill-advised escalation or
unilateral action by Nato troops beyond their mandate in Afghanistan.”
Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US will “continue to work together to root out al Qaeda
and other terrorists and bring stability and prosperity to our region,” the ambassador
noted. (Dawn)
Sayfa 44
Top US military commanders in Afghanistan are seeking to expand ground raids by
Special Operations Forces across the border in Pakistan’s tribal areas, The New York
Times reported Monday.
Amid growing US frustration with Pakistan’s lackluster efforts at removing militants from
strongholds there, the officials are proposing to escalate military activities in the nuclear-
armed nation, the Times said in its online edition.
US forces have been largely restricted to limited covert operations and unmanned drone
strikes in Pakistan due to fears of retaliation from a population that often holds strong
anti-American sentiment in a country rife with militants.
Even these limited operations have provoked angry reactions from Pakistani officials. The
drones are believed to be largely operated by the CIA.
Amid a looming July deadline for American troops to begin withdrawing from
Afghanistan, military and political leaders pointed to a renewed sense of urgency.
Military commanders told the newspaper that the Special Operations plan — which has
not yet been approved — could help them secure much-needed intelligence if militants
were captured, brought back across the border into Afghanistan and interrogated.
US officials said they were particularly keen to capture — rather than kill — militant
leaders from the Taliban or the Haqqani network in order to obtain intelligence about
future operations.
“We’ve never been as close as we are now to getting the go-ahead to go across,” a
senior US officer said.
But a senior official from President Barack Obama’s administration said he did not favor
cross-border operations, saying they have been mostly “counterproductive” unless they
targeted top al Qaeda leaders.
Sayfa 45
The official also worried that political fallout in Pakistan over the operations could
counter any tactical gains.
CIA-backed Afghan militias, previously believed to only carry out intelligence-gathering
operations, have also crossed the border into Pakistan’s tribal belt during secret
missions, including one in which a militia destroyed a militant weapons cache, officials
told the Times.
An Afghan political leader said one of the raids by the Paktika Defense Force — one of six
CIA-trained Afghan militias — was initiated to capture a Taliban commander in Pakistan.
The mission was ultimately unsuccessful but Pakistani militants opened fire on the
Afghans.
Another CIA-backed force near the eastern Afghan province of Khost was recently
deployed in the mountains along the Pakistan border, where it is due to try to intercept
Taliban fighters during the winter, an American military officer told the Times, saying the
militia has so far proven effective. (Dawn)
Pakistan on Tuesday successfully test fired a medium-range ballistic missile capable of
carrying nuclear and conventional warheads, the military said.
The military said in a statement that Ghauri Hatf 5, with a range of 1,300 kilometres (800
miles), could carry conventional and other warheads.
The launch was conducted by the Army Strategic Force command’s strategic missile
group at the end of a field-training exercise aimed at testing the force’s operational
readiness, the statement said.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman
General Khalid Shahmeem Wyne and other senior military officers and scientists
witnessed the tests, it said.
Sayfa 46
“You have made the nation proud and we salute you for your outstanding work,” Gilani
told the scientists and engineers.
Gilani said Pakistan could be proud of its defence capability and the reliability of its
nuclear deterrence. This capability, he added, formed the bedrock of Pakistan’s security
policy and will continue to be enhanced.
“The test amply demonstrates the credibility of our minimum deterrence strategy, which
is the cornerstone of our security policy and ensures peace in the region,” he said.
“It also sends the right signals internationally that Pakistan’s defence capability is
impregnable and should never be challenged.”Gilani said Pakistan was a responsible
nation with an extremely reliable nuclear capability and did not harbor any aggressive
designs against anyone.
South Asian rivals India and Pakistan — which have fought three wars, two of them over
the disputed territory of Kashmir — have routinely carried out missile tests since both
demonstrated nuclear weapons capability in 1998.
Pakistan’s arsenal includes short-, medium- and long-range missiles named after Muslim
conquerors.
“Let there be no doubt that Pakistan’s armed forces are highly professional, motivated
and fully capable of safeguarding Pakistan’s security against all types of aggression,”
Gilani added. (Dawn)
INDIA / HINDISTAN
Imparting a new impetus to their “special and privileged” ties, India and Russia on
Tuesday inked 30 pacts in several key areas such as civil nuclear cooperation and
Sayfa 47
defence, including development of Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) to augment
country’s military capabilities.
During their nearly two-hour long annual summit meeting which encompassed a whole
range of crucial bilateral, regional and global matters, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also took stock of the situation in Pakistan and
Afghanistan which impacts on the security of both the countries.
Besides deciding to enhance cooperation in crucial spheres of military, energy sector,
science and technology, space research and pharmaceuticals, the two sides agreed to
step up efforts to achieve the target of bilateral trade of USD 20 billion by 2015.
Apart from 11 pacts, which were signed after the talks, 19 agreements, including those
between private companies of both the countries were inked on the margins of the
summit.
The key pacts include Preliminary Design Contract for FGFA envisaging joint design and
development by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Russia’s Sukhoi Design Bureau and
Rosoboronexport, Framework Agreement on Cooperation in hydrocarbon sector and
MoU for joint research and development in reactor technology and related fields for
peaceful uses of atomic energy.
Other agreements
Other agreements pertained to simplification of visa procedure for certain categories,
including for businessmen, enhancement of cooperation in oil and gas sector, MoU for
cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector, MoU on combating irregular migration and
agreement on cooperation in the field of emergency management.
“Our talks have been comprehensive and result-oriented. We have signed several
important agreements covering a large number of sectors. This reflects our mutual
desire to bring our cooperation in other areas at par with our traditionally strong
Sayfa 48
cooperation in the defence and nuclear fields,” Dr. Singh said at a joint press interaction
with Mr. Medvedev.
Kudankulam
The two leaders also discussed construction of additional Russian designed nuclear
reactors at Kudankulam, where two units are ready to be commissioned. While first unit
will be commissioned by end of this month or early next month, the second unit will be
commissioned by next year-end.
Recalling their Moscow declaration on International Terrorism of 2001, the two leaders
agreed that there is no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism.
“The sides agreed that all terrorist networks must be defeated. They called upon
Pakistan to expeditiously bring all the perpetrators, authors and accomplices of the
November 2008 Mumbai attacks to justice,” the joint statement, issued after the talks,
said.
Describing Russia as “a time tested friend of India that has stood by us in our times of
need in the past”, Dr. Singh said .
“Ours is a special and privileged strategic partnership. It is a partnership that has and will
continue to develop independent of our relations with other countries“.
Deserving and strong candidate
On his part, Medvedev said Russia supports India as a “deserving and strong candidate”
for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council as and when a decision for its expansion
is taken.
Noting that the reform of the UNSC should be carried out in a manner that reflects
contemporary realities and makes this body more effective in dealing with both present-
day and emerging challenges, the two sides decided to work closely in the Security
Sayfa 49
Council during the 2011-12 period when India occupies a non-permanent seat in it for a
two-year term.
They also agreed to consider cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy with
third countries.
Reviewing the efforts to establish joint cooperation ventures between companies of the
two countries in the oil and gas sectors, it was agreed that the inter-governmental pact
on cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector signed today, must serve as an effective
enabling legal mechanism to expedite governmental clearances to facilitate the creation
and operation of such joint ventures.
Dialogue
The two countries agreed to promote specific projects to encourage direct business-to-
business dialogue between Indian and Russian oil and gas companies, to ensure that the
contacts result in concrete and mutually beneficial commercial agreements.
They expressed satisfaction at the extension of the Integrated Long Term Program (ILTP)
for scientific and technical cooperation for another decade and its focus on identifying
innovation—led technology programs.
The two sides agreed to make efforts to continuously upgrade joint military exercises in
all forms including in the field of counter-terrorism.
The Russian side also expressed its readiness to assist and promote a discussion and
positive decision in the NSG on India’s membership in the 46-nation grouping.
Russia also took into positive consideration India’s interest in full membership in MTCR
and the Wassenaar Arrangement.
Apart from this, the Russian Federation agreed to make efforts along with other
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) members to accelerate the process of India’s
entry into the organisation.
Sayfa 50
The sides expressed concern at the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, where
successful stabilization will be possible only after the elimination of safe havens and
infrastructure for terrorism and violent extremism that are present in Afghanistan and
Pakistan, the joint statement said.
Dr. Singh also said that India and Russia should cooperate in intelligence and information
sharing and devise effective counter-terrorism strategies.
Invitation
During the talks, Mr. Medvedev also extended an invitation to Dr. Singh to visit Russia
next year which was accepted by the Prime Minister.
The two leaders also discussed global economic situation and agreed that to progress
towards the shared goal of strong, sustainable and balanced growth it is essential for
G20 countries to fully implement the Seoul Action Plan adopted at the recent G20
summit.
They welcomed the reform of the World Bank and reiterated their commitment to the
successful completion of the reform of the International Monetary Fund as agreed to at
the G20 Seoul Summit which will be a significant achievement in the general reform of
the international financial architecture, the joint statement said.
Climate change
On climate change issue, the statement ‘celebrating a decade of the India-Russia
Federation strategic partnership and looking ahead’ said the sides stressed the
importance of enhancing international efforts to combat the change under the aegis of
the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
They expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the Cancun Climate Conference and
agreed that the post Cancun negotiations should be part of a comprehensive package
covering all the pillars of the Bali Action Plan.
Sayfa 51
Mr. Medvedev, who is on a three-day visit, will travel on Wednesday to Agra followed by
Mumbai where he will go to film-city and IIT.
During his interaction with press, the Russian President talked about the popularity of
the Indian movies and songs in his country. (The Hindu)
AFGHANISTAN / AFGANİSTAN
President Hamid Karzai could inaugurate Afghanistan's new parliament on January 20,
officials said Monday, after months of uncertainty triggered by widespread fraud during
elections in September.
"I think we can expect the new parliament to be inaugurated on 20th of January," said
Karzai's chief spokesman, Waheed Omer.
"The constitution requires the parliament to be inaugurated on the 20th of January, after
the (winter break) period ends," the spokesman added.
Afghans voted in their second post-Taliban parliamentary election on September 18 but
the attorney general's office has called on the Supreme Court to cancel the results of the
vote released last month.
Karzai has so far refused to endorse the election outcome, which appears to have sapped
his traditional Pashtun powerbase.
The chief prosecutor's office says its investigations show that the vote was tainted by
massive fraud involving election workers.
The attorney general's office says it has arrested several vote officials it alleges were
involved in election corruption.
Sayfa 52
Election officials dismiss the claims and accuse the attorney general's office of interfering
illegally in the ballot process.
Last week, dozens of lawmakers demanded Karzai inaugurate the new parliament on
December 19 and draw a line under the disputed results of the ballot.
Electoral authorities disqualified 24 early winners, including allies of the president, and
threw out around a quarter of about five million votes cast. (AFP)
*This media summary is prepared by ORSAM Middle East Research Assistants Nebahat Tanrıverdi O and Sercan
Doğan. It covers news and commentaries as reported by the national media sources publishing in the Middle
Eastern countries. The views expressed are not those of ORSAM and their inclusion does not imply factual
accuracy.
*Bu bülten Kasım 2009’dan beri ORSAM Ortadoğu Uzman Yardımcıları Nebahat Tanrıverdi O ve Sercan Doğan
tarafından hazırlanmaktadır. Bülten Ortadoğu ülkelerinin yerel haber kaynaklarından derlenmektedir. Belirtilen
görüşler bölge ülkelerinin haber kaynaklarına ve ismi geçen yazarlara ait olup ORSAM’ın görüşünü
yansıtmamaktadır.
