Cult followers seek to hasten the return of the Mahdi 70 dead as Iraqi forces defeat doomsday cult Security forces raided a mosque were the cultists were holed up Nasiriyah, IRAQ (AFP) Security forces on Saturday overran a mosque in southern Iraq where Shiite doomsday cultists were holed up, ending two days of clashes in two cities that killed at least 70 people, police said. The fighting came as millions of Shiites across Iraq marked the climax of 10-day Ashura rituals, which commemorate the killing of Imam Hussein by armies of the Sunni caliph Yazid in 680. The mosque was the last stronghold of the cultists. Wearing yellow headbands and sporting the Star of David, they attacked police simultaneously early Friday afternoon in the southern port city of Basra and in Nasiriyah, about 350 kilometers (220 miles) south of Baghdad. Fighting raged in both cities through the afternoon, during which, according to officials, police posts and several Shiite processions marking Ashura were attacked with machine-guns and assault rifles. The clashes died down in Basra during the night but continued sporadically in Nasiriyah. Police officials said at least 35 cultists were killed in Basra and 18 in Nasiriyah. A total of 12 police, two Iraqi soldiers and three civilians were also killed, according to the latest police figures. More than 120 cultists were arrested in Nasiriyah, Basra and in a raid Saturday in the town of Musayyib, 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Baghdad. Followers of the cult, led by Ahmed al-Hassani al- Yamani, seek to hasten the return of Imam Mahdi, an eighth century imam who vanished as a boy and whom Shiites believe will return to bring justice to the world. Yamani has his own website on which he claims to be an ambassador for the Mahdi, who he says is imminently to re-appear. The fighting came as around two million Shiites descended on the holy city of Karbala in central Iraq for Saturday's climax of the Ashura rituals. During Ashura last January, another militant sect dubbing itself the Jund al-Samaa, or "Soldiers of Heaven," clashed with U.S. and Iraqi forces outside Karbala and another holy Shiite city, Najaf. Last year's fighting left 263 sect followers dead, including their leader Dhia Abdul Zahra Kadhim al- Krimawi, also known as Abu Kamar, who believed he was descended from the Prophet Mohammed. 70 dead as Iraqi forces defeat doomsday cult Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film Comments Leave a Comment Security forces on high alert as Ashura climax nears Attacks mar Shiite festival in Iraq, Pakistan Pakistan attack Shiite devotees in the Iraqi city of Karbala (File) Kerbala, IRAQ, Peshawar, PAKISTAN (AFP) As tens of thousands of Shiites gathered in the Iraqi city of Karbala on Thursday for the festival of Ashura, a suicide attack on a ceremony elsewhere in the country marred the build-up to the event. The suicide bomber blew himself up outside a Shiite mosque in the central city of Baquba during an Ashura ceremony, killing eight people and wounding 15, police said. The attacker struck as devotees were leaving the mosque to begin a street procession as part of rituals commemorating the killing of Imam Hussein by armies of the Sunni caliph Yazid in 680. In Karbala -- the focus of the festival, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of Baquba -- the streets were packed with pilgrims from across the Muslim world, two days ahead of the climax of Ashura on Saturday. Tradition holds that Hussein was decapitated and his body mutilated by Yazid's armies. To express remorse and guilt for not saving Hussein, Shiite volunteers flay themselves with chains or slice their scalps during processions to the two centre points of the pilgrimage -- the imposing shrines to Imam Hussein and his half- brother Imam Abbas. According to the governor of Karbala, Akil al- Khazali, more than 3,400 pilgrims have already arrived from countries as far away as India, Pakistan and Tanzania. At least 15,000 Iranians are also in the city. Khazali told a news conference on Thursday that around two million Shiite devotees, mainly from across Iraq, were expected in Karbala by Friday night. He added that some 20,000 security personnel were on duty in the city for the event, which has been attacked by Sunni insurgents in the past, including by suicide bombers. There are also 500 women officers to frisk female pilgrims, following a spate of suicide bombings by women in Iraq in recent weeks. A vehicle curfew came into force in Baghdad, Karbala and nine other provinces on Thursday evening. In 2004, 170 pilgrims were killed by bomb attacks in Karbala and Baghdad during the festival, and in January 2005, 44 people died when a man armed with an explosives belt and grenades blew himself up next to a crowd of pilgrims near the Hussein mausoleum. Pakistan attack A teenage suicide attacker blew himself up at a packed Shiite mosque in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Thursday, killing eight people and wounding 20, officials said. The explosion ripped through crowds of people marking the Ashura festival. Cities across Pakistan were placed on high alert amid fears that the blast could heighten instability ahead of key elections in mid- February, which have been delayed following the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto. Witnesses said the attacker opened fire with an assault rifle before detonating himself just inside the mosque in the mainly Sunni city near the Afghan border while more than 100 people were worshipping there. A blast in the same area of Peshawar during Ashura last year killed the city's police chief and 13 other people. The country has been on edge since the start on January 10 of the holy month of Moharram, which has in previous years seen a surge in sectarian violence between the minority Shiite and majority Sunni communities. There have now been four deadly bombings in Pakistan this year, including a suicide attack in Lahore one week ago that killed 16 policemen and four civilians. Much of Iraq under curfew for Ashura festival 70 dead as Iraqi forces defeat doomsday cult Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film Comments Leave a Comme Thousands of police deployed to protect pilgrims Much of Iraq under curfew for Ashura festival Iraqis shiites flail themselves as they perform a procession (File) BAGHDAD (AFP) A curfew will be slapped on Baghdad and 10 Iraqi provinces on Thursday for the three-day Shiite Muslim festival of Ashura, state television reported on Wednesday. All traffic will be banned from Thursday night in nine southern provinces as weel as in Baghdad and the Diyala province in the centre-north of the country where many Shiites live, the channel quoted an interior ministry statement as saying. Up to a million pilgrims are expected to descend on Karbala in time for the climax of the annual rituals on Saturday. Many travel on foot and in past years have been exposed to attacks by Sunni insurgents. Police have said tens of thousands of Iraqi troops and police would be on duty in Karbala and nearby Najaf for Ashura, which marks Shiite Islam's holiest days. Some 12,000 Iraqi soldiers and police have been deployed along with 3,000 members of a police rapid response unit in Karbala, according to city police. Last August a pilgrimage in Karbala became a bloodbath when police and gunmen of the Mahdi Army militia of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr clashed at two holy shrines in the city centre. Sadr suspended the activities of his militia two days after the clashes, which killed 52 people and ended the pilgrimage abruptly. Police are also on alert in Najaf, site of the shrine of Imam Ali and headquarters of revered Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, which is one of the main stopping points on the way to Karbala.. Some 4,000 officers are patrolling the 50- kilometre (30-mile) route between Najaf and Karbala. Checkpoints have been set up along all routes to Karbala and the security forces are using special equipment to detect explosives, police said. In the past suicide bombers have mingled among crowds of pilgrims before detonating their explosive vests, causing carnage. Ashura, which means the tenth in Arabic, falls on the 10th day of the Muslim month of Muharrem. The climax of Ashura, which commemorates the killing in Karbala of Imam Hussein by armies of the Sunni caliph Yazid in 680, falls on January 19. Tradition holds that Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh), was decapitated and his body mutilated by Yazid's armies. To express remorse and guilt for not saving Hussein, Shiite volunteers flay themselves with chains or slice their scalps during processions to the Karbala shrines.

Ramadan…Fasting, feasting, praying, partying Ramadan Banquets Price Hikes Traffic Jams TV Drama Ramadan cannon Historic Month Pillar of Islam DUBAI (AlArabiya.net) Ideally, Ramadan is the month where Muslims should not only abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn to dusk, but also practice self-discipline, sacrifice, patience and sympathy for those less fortunate. Fasting in Ramadan is one of the five pillars (duties) of Islam and is believed to be the month during which the Muslim Holy book known as the Qur'an was revealed. It is defined as the ninth and holiest month of the Islamic calendar. In reality, things are not that perfect. Ramadan banquets mean people eat more food in this month than any other. The youth in some countries turn to drugs when alcohol is banned from restaurants. And people spend copious amounts of time watching special TV sitcoms and soaps. Ramadan changes almost every aspect of a Muslim's life, especially in the Arab world. Work hours are shorter in both public and private sectors. Mosques are packed, especially during the evening prayers that are followed by tarawih (prayers peculiar to the month of Ramadan). Ramadan Banquets Pakistani Muslims at a Ramadan banquet One of the most unique features of Ramadan is Iftar banquets -- “Mawaid Al-Rahman” or literally “Banquets of the Gracious”. Large banquets offering free Iftar meals to the poor or passers-by at Iftar are a common scene in the Arab and Muslim worlds in Ramadan. Rich people race to offer the symbol of solidarity among Muslims during the holy month of fasting. The tradition has expanded vastly in the last three decades. In Egypt, even the church and some Christian businessmen offer Ramadan banquets as a token of national unity among Muslims and Christians in the biggest Arab country. Price Hikes Through the years, certain traditions have become associated with the month of Ramadan in the Arab world, which are not necessarily religion-related. The prices of foodstuff soar during the month of fasting, without apparent reasons. According to Egyptian daily Al-Ahram, prices of vegetables, poultry and other foodstuffs increased 75 to 100 percent since the start of Ramadan. The problem has been an annual ritual in the most populous Arab country, despite government promises to introduce strict measures to control Ramadan prices. All Arab countries face the same problem. Saudi Arabia has, this year, introduced a society to protect consumers against price hikes during the holy fasting month. Traffic Jams Traffic gets heavier before Iftar During Ramadan, Arab capitals and major cities tend to witness almost daily traffic jams, especially at rush hours. Ramadan rush hours are usually an hour or two before Iftar, when everybody is keen on making it home in time for the meal. Streets of all Arab capitals and major cities (Cairo, Riyadh, Damascus…etc) also tend to look almost deserted during Iftar time. TV Drama Watching TV in Ramadan Another aspect associated with the holy month is the large number of TV series produced and broadcast in Ramadan around the Arab world. Egypt’s TV is the oldest in the Arab world and it has for decades set the tradition of showing its most viewed shows in Ramadan. With the advent of satellite channels, the race to win the highest Ramadan ratings intensified further. MBC, for example, shows eight special TV series. Ramadan turns into a season for TV series because people tend to spend more time at home or visiting family. After the iftar banquet, men go to pray at a mosque and then families sit together to watch Ramadan shows. While work hours are two or three hours shorter during the month, primetime TV programming tends to expand to 10-12 hours daily. Ramadan cannon The Ramadan cannon has sounded for 562 years “Madfa’ Ramadan” – the Ramadan cannon -- dates back to the Memluk era in Egypt and the Arab world. Over 562 years ago, Memluk Sultan Khoush Qadam accidentally triggered a tradition that still stands today. The Sultan received a German- made cannon and wanted to try it. It was almost sunset of the first day of Ramadan and when the cannon went off, people thought it was a sign to break their fast. Seeing how happy the people were, the Sultan made it a daily tradition in Ramadan. Historic Month The month of Ramadan has witnessed some of the most important Muslim victories since the advent of the Islamic era over 14 centuries ago. The first Muslim victory was against the infidels of Quraish in the battle of Badr in 624 (Ramadan 17). Every year Muslims celebrate Badr in Ramadan 17. The conquest of Mecca happened in Ramadan 630. Other Ramadan victories are the famous battle of Hittin, when Muslims led by the great leader Saladin Al-Ayubi crushed the crusaders and regained Jerusalem and the battle of Ain Jalut against Tatars in 1260. Finally, Muslims, especially Egyptians and Arabs, celebrate the 1973 victory against Israel which fell on Ramadan 6. Pillar of Islam Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “Islam is built upon five pillars: testifying that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing Prayers 5 times a day, paying the Zakah (a certain sum paid by capable Muslims to help sustain the poor), making the pilgrimage to the Sacred House in Mecca, Saudi Arabia (Hajj), and fasting the month of Ramadan.” The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar. Months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. With the Islamic lunar calendar year being 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year, Ramadan migrates throughout the seasons. In 2006, Ramadan started September 23 in most Arab and Muslim countries, with a few exceptions. This year, Ramadan started September 13. Fasting in the month of Ramadan is obligatory upon every Muslim, male or female, who is adult and sane and who is not sick or on a journey. During Ramadan, Muslims around the world fast from dawn until dusk, refraining from food, drink and all vices. After "iftar" (the breaking of the fast or "breakfast") Muslims enjoy a feast of treats but must still refrain from all vices, such as anger, envy, greed, backbiting, gossip and lust. Refraining from food and drink from dawn till dusk is not enough, slowing down from worldly affairs and focusing on self reformation, spiritual cleansing and enlightenment through prayers, fasting, charity, and self-accountability should also be stressed during the month. Fasting is intended to be an act of deep and personal worship in which the individual seeks a raised level of closeness to God, taking his/her heart away from worldly wants and desires and cleansing the soul. Properly observing the fast is supposed to induce a comfortable feeling of inner peace and tranquility. Since Ramadan is a festival of giving and sharing, Muslims prepare special foods and buy gifts for their family and friends and generally are more charitable by giving to the poor and needy. Eid al-Fitr -- the Festival of Breaking the Fast -- marks the end of the fasting period of Ramadan and the first day of the following month, when a special celebration is made. (Compiled by Khaled Mamdouh and Mona Moussly). 70 dead as Iraqi forces defeat doomsday cult Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film Comments 1 - Ramadan Muslim [ Friday, September 28, 2007 ] Ramadan is the month where contradictions between the spirit of Islam and stupidity of most Muslims in realizing the goal of that spirit is most reflected. Thank you for this revealing article JAZAKUL ALLAH KHAIRAN 2 - its good ,but not too good also thesemantisist@hotmail.com [ Sunday, September 30, 2007 ] can u say me y have u given the example of EGYPT only...wht is the story u kinda quite entusiastic wth egyptian...did u ever see RAMADAN IN SAUDIA...ASK ANY MUSLIM WHO HAVE SPEND HIS RAMADAN IN SAUDIA...HE WILL SAY BY GOD'S PROMISE...THERS NO RAMADAN MORE CHEERFUL AND MORE ENJOYABLE THAN OF SAUDIA..... SOOO PLZZ STOP BEING SLIGHTING COMPLETELY TOWARDS EGYPT... NEWAY THANKS ...JAZAKUM ALLAH KHAIR 3 - ramadan kareem inshallah Palestinian [ Tuesday, October 09, 2007 ] u r right " reply number 2 " why you are slighting about agypt ... and when you want talk about any other country you say arab countries ... i think ramadan in egypt is not the same of palestine and saudi arabia as well.... if you want to write a report about something like ramadan or el eid as well you have to be rational anyway thank you, it's a good report by the way jazak allah kol kheer. peace Leave a Comment Ramadan: A Return to God How to reform the past How to prepare for the future Amr Khaled Ramadan is the time of the year when the soul is revamped from the previous year and reconstructed for the coming one. The human being is like a machine that needs regular fixing and continuous upgrading for better performance. Ramadan is how God proves His love for His subjects and His keenness to grant them happiness both in this life as well as the next. It is the best opportunity for them to cleanse their souls of any evil from the previous year. In Ramadan, people go back to their original good selves. It's a return to God and the constitution He blessed humanity with -- the Quran, a restoration of the true spirit of Islam that calls for love and compassion between people. After getting rid of impurities, the soul is rejuvenated in preparation for the coming year. It becomes ready for a strong affinity with God, for the determination to resist sins and conquer the devil. Thus, people start becoming true Muslims who obeys God everywhere they go—at work, in the street, at school, in the mosque, etc. The Prophet (PBUH) said that in Ramadan "all the gates of heaven are open. The gates of hell are closed, and the devils are shackled." The devil has no access to the human soul in this month. How to reform the past 1- Self evaluation: Be accountable to yourself. Whether privately or publicly, think of everything you've done and ask yourself where you went wrong. This is the best way to begin to cleanse your soul. 2- Atonement: This erases your sins and allows you to start anew. Even infidels will be forgiven if they repent, so imagine what it would be like for the believer who just went astray for a while. 3- Supplication: It is like atonement, only more effective. The prophet always reiterated that God listens to all supplicants and forgives their sins. Pleading to God directly makes you closer to Him and eliminates all the wrongdoing you may have done. 4- Invocation: Uttering God's name protects you from disobeying Him. It revives the soul and alerts the conscience. It is like waking up from the dead, as the prophet said. 5- Contemplation: Ponder God's creation and the blessings He bestowed upon you and the world. This strengthens your faith and revives the good inherent in you. 6- Praying: Surrendering yourself to God in this act of reverence and humility absolves you of all sins. 7- Good deeds: The more good you do, the more sins you are absolved of. How to prepare for the future 1- Real fasting: Fasting makes your will stronger and enhances your determination to resist sins. Fasting is not only about abstaining from food drink; it is avoiding words that hurt and deeds that harm. The power to resist is the core of fasting. 2- The Quran: It is the law that guides you to the right path and grants you the ultimate bliss on earth and in the afterlife. 3- Honesty: In fasting, you are only answerable to God; nobody else knows if you're really fasting. It trains you to be sincere in everything you do, and this sincerity will stay with you all year long and will be applied to everything you do. 4- Ethics: Stay away from foul words and immoral deeds. Honesty, justice, hard work, and cooperation are the most important virtues. If every Ramadan you work on atoning for past sins and preparing for future chastity, you will find that this process gets easier every year. There will come a time when you will be totally free sin, and in the Ramadans that follow, you will focus on attaining higher and higher levels of spirituality. * Published on Amr Khaled's official Web site in Arabic. Amr Khaled is a Muslim activist and preacher from Egypt, who was ranked among the world's most influential people by Time Magazine. (Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid). 70 dead as Iraqi forces defeat doomsday cult Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film Comments 1 - Computer Engineer Mansoor Ahmad [ Monday, October 01, 2007 ] Khaled, Salaamz!!! Kindly refer to Para 3 of Section "how to reform the past". "Appealing to God and the Prophet directly brings you closer" The above advise is an act of Shirk. Prophet taught us to Appeal ONLY to God. We must nevr appeal to Prophet. We must only follow him (what he did) and act as he advised (Deen). He never taught sahabas to ever appeal to him after his death... He rather appealed to keep beard (as Allah loves it) and do acts of Dawah (personally meet people and explain the vitues of living an Islamic life and the rewards in the hereafter). I liked everything else in the article very much... Keep up the good job... Just make a note to get your Islamic arcticles reviewed by a mufti before you unleash it. May Allah guide us. A Month of Virtue Tarik Al Maeena The month of Ramadan has come up on us again. For some it would be the first time they would be venturing into and exercising their Ramadan duties. During this blessed month, Muslims all over the world abstain from food, drink, and other physical needs during the daylight hours; but Ramadan is much more than that. Ramadan is not just about holding off food and drink. Beyond such physical restraints, it is also a time to purify one’s being, refocus attention on God, and practice patience and self-sacrifice. During Ramadan, every part of the body must be restrained. The tongue must be restrained from backbiting and gossip. The eyes must restrain themselves from looking at unlawful things. The hand must not touch or take anything that does not belong to it. The ears must refrain from listening to idle talk or obscene words. The feet must refrain from going to sinful places. In such a way, every part of one’s body submits to the conditions of the fast. Spiritually, we are called upon to use this month to re-evaluate our lives in light of Islamic guidance. We are to make peace with those who have wronged us, strengthen ties with family and friends, do away with bad habits — essentially to clean up our lives, our thoughts, and our feelings. This month is also a means of making some of us understand the trials and tribulations of the less fortunate who suffer from lack of food and drink not just during this month. “Siyam”, the Arabic word for “fasting” literally means, “to refrain”. That restriction does not apply only to food and drink, but from evil actions, thoughts, and words. Therefore, fasting is not merely physical, but is rather the total commitment of the person’s body and soul to the spirit of the fast. Ramadan is a time to practice self-restraint; a time to cleanse the body and soul of impurities and refocus one’s self on the worship of God. Ramadan is not a time to exercise one’s impatience or aggressive behavior, or to look at oneself, as if he or she is the only one fasting and putting up with hardship. It is perhaps a time when our civic sense should be at its peak. So should be our code of ethics and behavior toward others. Those of us speeding erratically on our roads with not a hint of concern to the plight or safety of others are not practicing Ramadan. Others who boorishly barge in and jump queues because they are fasting are also not observing the sanctity of this month. They are simply not eating and drinking during daylight hours. By placing others at some level of stress just to appease one’s own desires does not qualify a successful fast. By ignoring work responsibilities and schedules, by sleeping in when duty calls, or by avoiding responsibility toward others does not do for a good Ramadan. Cats and dogs often go without food during daylight hours. But that does not qualify them to be fasting spiritually. Let us then elevate our consciousness this month to a much higher plateau — one that strives to spiritually guide us toward the care and concern of others who may need our assistance. Let this be a month when our spirit of welfare toward our community is marked by concrete steps that etch our progress. Let this month not be simply reduced to food or sleep deprivation, for then it would have no spiritual value. Let this indeed be a month of virtue within us. * Published in Saudi Arabia's ARAB NEWS on September 15, 2007. Some ignore Ramadan etiquette, others see advantages Dubai expats unfazed by Ramadan restrictions Dubai is one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (File) DUBAI (AFP) Several mainly Western expatriates sit down for lunch at a popular cafe in a well-heeled Dubai district. An unremarkable scene for the cosmopolitan free-wheeling Gulf emirate -- except the diners entered by a back door. Their low-key arrival is one example of the restrictions observed by thousands of Dubai's non- Muslim residents during Ramadan, when Muslims have to abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and dusk. As well as being discouraged from eating and drinking in public during Ramadan, everyone -- regardless of faith -- is urged to act and dress modestly out of respect for the holy month and the native Muslim population. But given the amount of tanned flesh on display at many of Dubai's outlandish shopping malls and chic bars, this call for propriety fails to resonate with some residents and visitors to a city-state aiming to become a global business and leisure hub. Linda Mirdad, an Irish-born Muslim convert who has lived in Dubai for 10 years, told AFP that the relatively liberal nature of the emirate made some people forget about or disregard its Islamic foundations. "Expatriates living in Dubai could show a little bit more respect for Islam during Ramadan. We do have a lot of freedom here, so I would ask people not to abuse it," she said. English-language radio stations broadcast public announcements during the holy month urging people to keep the volume down on their car stereos and to act with decorum in a city which for many is the major entertainment center of the Middle East. Help is on hand for anyone unfamiliar with the norms and practices of Ramadan and Islam as a whole. The Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was established a decade ago to raise awareness of and understanding between the estimated 150 nationalities living in the emirate. The non-profit group, named after Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum, organizes regular activities during Ramadan, with one of the most popular being a guided tour of a mosque. While some of the emirate's non-Muslim residents might feel inconvenienced during the month of Ramadan, others are quick to point out its advantages. "It's great. I get to leave work much earlier," one British expatriate who declined to be named told AFP. He was referring to the five-hour day his company introduced for all of its employees during Ramadan, whether they were fasting or not. Dubai is one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates with foreigners comprising a majority of the 1.3-million population. Most of the world's 1.2 billion Muslims started the fast of Ramadan on September 13. The beginning of the holiest month in the Muslim calendar is traditionally determined by the sighting of a new crescent moon. The end of Ramadan is marked by Eid al-Fitr, which in Arabic means the festival of the breaking of the fast. 70 dead as Iraqi forces defeat doomsday cult Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film Comments 1 - Shame Khaled [ Friday, September 28, 2007 ] It seems when Arabs decide to enlighten themselves, liberlise the economy and open up their culture, the first thing to go down the drain is their religion. What a sad sight! Sometimes I am ashaemd to be called an Arab. 2 - why why ???? brig [ Friday, September 28, 2007 ] ..... told AFP that the relatively liberal nature of the emirate made some people forget about or disregard its Islamic ) why this people Abase my country Printers4.blogspot.com 3 - eeee thesemantisist@hotmail.com here yeeeeep this peooples will drain religion at frst [ Tuesday, October 02, 2007 ] dunno wht this guys r doing..Everyone is frgetting tht we r muslims...me too ashamed to be called arab..wht can i do its in my blood...those guys r changing the whole structure of islam..gone the days of strictly obetying islamic rules..whtever. 4 - respect for other faiths. razzak haatam [ Thursday, October 04, 2007 ] Islam is one of the few foremost faiths that recognizes the the right of people to be different, promoting tolerance and diversity. We are the most tolerant people and expect others to respect our sensitivities. Love God and be righteous in your deeds, Thank God for bestowing me with the ability to be a Muslim, the most intellectual faith on this globe. 5 - There is only One God Paul Abrahamson [ Saturday, October 06, 2007 ] During Judgment Day those who did not know will tell those who knew: "Why did you not share with us the Message of Prophet Muhammad in words and in practice.?" Fasting month becomes "all about the food" Bahrainis pack on pounds in Ramadan feasts Hotels offer rich iftar buffets in Gulf countries (File) MANAMA (Reuters) Guests at a hotel buffet in Bahrain queue for meats, stews, curries and pastries, balancing food on their plates in increasingly precarious mounds to break the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The banquet often continues late into the night in Gulf Arab countries, and many Muslims end up gaining weight during a month that is meant to improve health and remind the devout of the plight of the poor. Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset in Ramadan, during which followers are meant to renew their ties with God through prayer. Islam's Prophet Mohammed is said to have broken his fast gradually and eaten modestly, starting with dates and water -- a far cry from guests seen pouncing on piles of rich food at any of the Gulf's iftar, or breakfast, banquets. "I always put on a lot of weight during Ramadan. It's a big problem," said student Ali Hussein. "Firstly people eat too much, secondly they don't carry on their normal routine and sleep a lot, and thirdly Ramadan food is very rich." Tents are erected around the Gulf during Ramadan to house the banquets, usually buffets laid on by hotel chains. Many are lavish affairs sponsored by large corporations. Tasty but calorific delights particular to the season's feasts include various pastries stuffed with cream and nuts or soaked in syrup, or both. Iftar weight gain is compounded by sohour or ghabga feasts, a similar meal to iftar scheduled later in the evening, and also by the Gulf's shorter Ramadan working hours, when many choose to sleep during pre-iftar hours rather than feel hungry. "There's a health angle to Ramadan. The Prophet said to fast and be healthy ... one of the fundamentals of fasting in modern and ancient medicine is to get rid of toxins and excess body fat," said Sayed Jaffer al Alawi, a religious scholar. But many Gulf Muslims say this is difficult given the variety of rich foods rarely seen outside Ramadan, and the tendency to do little more than sleep or watch television after the heavy iftar meal. "There are quite a few people who come after Ramadan saying they've put on weight," said Ahmed Farooq, a doctor specializing in obesity at Bahrain's International Hospital. "When you eat too much rich food late, there's not much activity afterwards. Most people eat and sleep, and so the body conserves more. The blood runs to the stomach and so you feel lethargic," he added. Iftar banquet guest Ahmed Yousef said he followed the teachings of the Prophet and broke his fast with moderation, consequently losing weight during Ramadan. More importantly, he said, he felt closer to God through extra prayers and Quran readings, and more empathy for the poor. "Unfortunately, I'd say for about half of Bahrainis, Ramadan is all about the food," he said, adding that other Gulf Muslims were the same. 70 dead as Iraqi forces defeat doomsday cult Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film Comments 1 - FOR MUSLIMS NOW A DAYS RAMADAN IS MEANT FOR FOOD "thesemantisist@hotmail.com" [ Sunday, September 30, 2007 ] NOW A DAYS MANY MUSLIMS KEEP ON EATING N EATING DURING IFTAAR..I MY SELF HAVE SEEN SUCH PEOPLES EATING WHILE THE MAGHRIB PRAYER IS GOING ON...AND THE PEOPLES WANTS GET MORE DURING RAMADAN....I DUNNO WHT HAPPENED TO THE PEOPLES Roams the streets, waking people for pre-dawn meal Return of Ramadan drummer signals safer Gaza GAZA (Ola Al-Madhoun, AlArabiya.net) The return of the traditional dawn drummer – who wakes fasting Muslims for their last meal before sunrise – to the streets of Gaza has brought a bit of Ramadan cheer to the otherwise deadly territory. Many see the return of al-Mesaharati, who wakes people up so they can have sohour -- the pre-dawn meal before the daytime fast begins -- as a synonym for peace. Residents say that if the traditional drummer can walk from street to street, down camps and alleyways, beating his little drum at 3 a.m., he must feel a sense of security. Nassar Salem, a mesaharati who inherited the profession from his father, says that the return of peace and quiet is a good opportunity to make some money. Salem told Al-Arabiya.net that he has not worked for the past two years as "kidnappings and assassinations were everywhere." People pay him "what they can afford" after the month comes to an end, he said. "Palestinians can now enjoy Ramadan in the full sense," said resident Ma'een al-Agha. "Despite all the problems that might have made the holy month lose part of its joy, traditions like al- mesaharati could make up for that." But Mohamed, a graduate student at the Islamic University, begs to differ. "I get annoyed when I listen to the drum beating, and he does it too early—almost 3 hours before dawn prayers." According to Mohamed, the mesaharati is no longer needed, since most people stay up watching Ramadan serials and programs into the early hours of the morning. Sociologist Randa Mahmoud says the tradition is deeply-rooted in the psyche of Palestinians, pointing out that it was never rendered obsolete even by modern technology. "It disappeared for security reasons. Plus mesaharatis had to obtain permits from the Israeli army to do their job," said Mahmoud. "The way Gazans welcome the return of el- mesaharati is very nostalgic. They want to reconnect with their past and their roots even if it's by hanging on to ancient traditions." (Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid). People blame merchants, government Price hikes ruin Ramadan joy in Jordan Government moves Despite Royal directives, food prices are soaring AMMAN (AFP) The large increase of food prices in Jordan is making it hard many people to enjoy the spirit of Ramadan, with some putting the blame on the government and others blaming merchants. "I have five children and had to borrow money to cope with a sudden jump in food prices during Ramadan," said Salem Saeed, a school teacher in the Jordanian capital Amman. Saeed is one of many cash-strapped Jordanians who are scrambling to cover expenses during the Muslim holy month, during which people fast during the day but then feast after sundown as lavishly as their budgets permit. "I do not know what I will do when Eid (the feast marking the end of Ramadan) comes," Saeed told AFP. Prices of poultry, dairy and other essential products have recently surged by between seven and 30 percent since the start of Ramadan. In a country where minimum wages are set at 110 dinars (around 156 dollars), the last thing impoverished Jordanians want is a hefty price for foodstuffs for their elaborate meals that break each day's fast. "Greedy merchants have increased the prices without a mercy. I love the holy month, but they have spoiled our joy," Saeed said desperately as he looked for bargains. Issa Salem, a public servant, blamed both merchants and the government for the "crazy" prices. "Prices and living expenses have drastically risen because a lot of merchants exploited the high demand on food during Ramadan and the government does not monitor them," Salem said angrily. But Haidar Murad, who heads the Amman Chamber of Commerce, urged people to be fair to merchants. "Honestly, I have to say that prices increased in Ramadan because they have surged internationally, and local merchants should not be blamed for all of this.” Government moves The problem has prompted King Abdullah II to ask the government to clamp down on food price rises. "The most important things for me are prices and the availability of basic foodstuffs for the people," the king told a cabinet meeting, two days before Ramadan started on September 13. "We must protect the people. There are various mechanisms and I will monitor this very seriously," he warned. The King instructed Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit to take "quick measures" to protect low- and middle-income Jordanians and to sanction those who manipulate food prices. Bakhit last week urged the private sector to "do whatever it takes to lower the unacceptable prices," formed committees to control them and asked producers to set up "public markets" to sell directly to consumers at wholesale prices. On the other hand, veteran economist Fahed Fanek described the price argument as "unjustified fuss." "If the government is serious in its attempt to interfere in the market to suppress prices, the only method allowed under our present free economic system is to employ positive and negative incentives through its management of the macro economy," Fanek wrote in the English-language Jordan Times. "If prices made a jump, the reason will not be inflation, which is under control, but the big noise made by the press and the hasty measures taken by the government. They are self-fulfilling predictions." But whether Jordanians are frustrated at paying more for food during Ramadan, most agree that when it comes to dessert they are ready to make the necessary sacrifices. There is one staple that will always have its place on the Ramadan table and that is "katayef" -- a sort of pancake made from flour and milk that is filled with cheese, cream or nuts that can be fried or baked. "Shops in Ramadan are full of things that a lot of people can't buy, but katayef are a must for me during the holy month. I will buy them regardless of the cost," said Abdullah, a mechanic. The price of a kilogram (more than two pounds) of katayef has doubled to one dinar (1.4 dollars) in several areas around Amman since last year, Abdullah said. Dramatic price hikes have also been reported in several other Muslim countries ahead of Ramadan, including Qatar, Egypt and Tunisia. Want dancing and music videos banned Egyptian MPs call for Ramadan crackdown A traditional Ramadan tent (File) DUBAI (AlArabiya.net) Egyptian legislators called for a wide-ranging crackdown on un-Islamic practices during Ramadan, including a ban on dancing in festive tents and music videos that violate the religious spirit of the Muslim holy month. The members of parliament – who cross the spectrum of independent as well as ruling party MPs, the Muslim Brotherhood and the opposition -- said music videos should be replaced with religious chanting and spiritual programs, according to a report by Quds Press news agency. Indignant MPs said tent owners break the law by getting permits for "cultural and religious" gatherings, then turn them into nightclubs. The MPs claim they also hire "hookers" who act like customers, but dance provocatively and encourage deviant behavior. They charge that the tourism and vice police are unable to act since the women are not officially hired by the tent operators. The MPs also called on the government to crack down on restaurants that hike the prices of meals and hotels that serve alcohol in Ramadan. Two Egyptian lawyers have already filed suit -- demanding a ban on Ramadan tents and the return of money spent on Ramadan soap operas. In the first case, lawyer Salah El-Din Galal filed a suit against the ministries of Culture and Tourism as well as the Cairo governorate. According to Galal, the three bodies are responsible for maintaining propriety, issuing licenses for tents and granting permits to singers and dancers. In the second case, lawyer Nabih El-Wahsh, known for filing lawsuits against "erotic" movies, sued the Minister of Information, Anas El-Feqi, and an television station accusing them of squandering millions of Egyptian pounds on TV shows while other people are starving. Wahsh said he filed this lawsuit on behalf of "unmarried women, the unemployed and the millions of barefoot, naked Egyptians who are starving and commit suicide for not being able to support their families." He called for the money to be returned and given to those who really need it. (Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid). New report says team slaps fines on rule breakers Malaysian team on lookout for Ramadan violators During Ramadan Muslims must abstain from eating, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk (File) KUALA LAMPUR (AFP) An undercover Islamic team in Malaysia is on the look-out for Muslims who violate Ramadan by eating, drinking or smoking during the day-time, a report said Monday. Authorities in Kota Baru, state capital of Kelantan, told the New Straits Times that plain- clothes officers would spy on food outlets and hand out fines of 20 ringgit (six dollars) to those caught cheating during the Muslim fasting month. During Ramadan, which began last week, observant Muslims abstain from eating, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. "This is the first time the council is taking this action as we have received numerous complaints about those who eat openly during the fasting period," city council public relations director Azman Mohd Daham said. Muslim food outlets will be slapped with 500 ringgit (144 dollar) fines for violating a directive to remain closed until 3pm, he said. Kelantan is the only Malaysian state governed by the Islamic opposition party, PAS. Last year it triggered a furor by introducing fines for women who work in shops and restaurants wearing revealing clothes such as mini-skirts or see-through blouses.

Abbas and Haniya: Conflicting visions, approaches Haniya, L, and Abbas (Alarabiya.net graphic) Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and his sacked Prime Minister Ismail Haniya both cut their teeth in the politics of the armed struggle against Israel but a generation divides their approach to the Middle East conflict. The 71-year-old Abbas had already been involved in underground Palestinian politics for the best part of a decade when the 44-year-old Haniya was born. He co-founded the mainstream rebel faction Fatah with Yasser Arafat in the diaspora in Kuwait in the 1950s and was intimately involved in its armed resistance against Israel in the late 1960s and early 1970s. But as early as 1974 when Haniya was just 11, Abbas had already concluded that armed struggle was not an end in itself and that year he became the first senior Palestinian figure to hold talks with Israelis. Those early talks involved fringe left-wingers and peace activists but eventually paved the way for the secret talks masterminded by Abbas that led to the 1993 Oslo accords with Israel and the creation of the Palestinian Authority he now heads. It was only as a result of those agreements that Abbas was able to enter the Palestinian territories in 1994 after spending most of his life in exile. Born in Safed in British mandate Palestine in 1935, he had fled with his family when the historic center of Jewish learning was incorporated into the new state of Israel in 1948. Haniya by contrast was born and raised in the Palestinian territories in an impoverished Gaza refugee camp just kilometers (miles) from his family's ancestral home in the port of Ashkelon in what is now Israel. Educated at Gaza's Islamic University, he rapidly became involved in Islamist politics when the eruption of the first Palestinian uprising sparked the formation of Hamas in 1987. He was jailed several times by Israel before being deported to southern Lebanon with more than 400 fellow Islamists in December 1992. On his return he rose to prominence as the private secretary of Hamas's iconic wheelchair-bound spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and survived a 2003 assassination attempt against the Hamas founder before the Israeli military finally got their man the following year. After the assassination of both Yassin and his successor Abdelaziz Rantissi in retaliation for a wave of deadly suicide bombings by Hamas militants inside Israel, Haniya sided with those inside the movement calling for a rethink of its strategy. The father of 13 championed both the idea of a conditional truce with Israel and the strategy of using the movement's huge grass-roots base to enter mainstream electoral politics. The first bore fruit in early 2005. Since then Hamas has not carried out a single suicide bombing inside Israel, although it has fired dozens of rockets into the Jewish state from Gaza and also took part in deadly cross-border raid last year in which militants seized an Israeli soldier. The entry into electoral politics saw Hamas rout Abbas's long-dominant Fatah faction in January 2006 parliamentary elections that catapulted Haniya to the premiership. But the victory at the ballot box failed to win the Islamists the international respectability Haniya had hoped for. The European Union praised the conduct of the elections but joined Israel and the United States in maintaining its blacklisting of Hamas as a terrorist organization and suspended all aid to the Palestinian Authority when Haniya took power, crippling his administration. The election victory also forced Haniya into an uneasy sharing of power with Abbas, in which both men realized the key importance of control of the security forces. Abbas himself had had a near-career-breaking row with Arafat in 2003 when as prime minister he could not agree with his longtime mentor on the chain of command. Faced with the domination of the security forces by Abbas loyalists, Haniya's government set up its own interior ministry paramilitary force in defiance of the president, supplementing its substantial militia presence in its Gaza bastion. It was those forces that were ultimately able to overwhelm the official security forces in Gaza overnight, enabling Haniya to defy Abbas's decree ousting him and effectively creating two rival Palestinian administrations. (AFP) Doomsday cult and security clash in Iraq, 70 dead Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film Comments 1 - ll easy [ Thursday, September 13, 2007 ] Hanyieh is controlled by Iran, just like hezbollah is. Their people is the last thing in their mind. Isreal made Hamas. Print Save Send [ Tuesday, 04 September 2007 ] [Analysis] Guillotining Gaza Noam Chomsky The death of a nation is a rare and sombre event. But the vision of a unified, independent Palestine threatens to be another casualty of a Hamas-Fatah civil war, stoked by Israel and its enabling ally the United States. Last month’s chaos may mark the beginning of the end of the Palestinian Authority. That might not be an altogether unfortunate development for Palestinians, given U.S.-Israeli programs of rendering it nothing more than a quisling regime to oversee these allies’ utter rejection of an independent state. The events in Gaza took place in a developing context. In January 2006, Palestinians voted in a carefully monitored election, pronounced to be free and fair by international observers, despite U.S.-Israeli efforts to swing the election towards their favorite, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party. But Hamas won a surprising victory. The punishment of Palestinians for the crime of voting the wrong way was severe. With U.S. backing, Israel stepped up its violence in Gaza, withheld funds it was legally obligated to transmit to the Palestinian Authority, tightened its siege and even cut off the flow of water to the arid Gaza Strip. The United States and Israel made sure that Hamas would not have a chance to govern. They rejected Hamas’s call for a long-term cease-fire to allow for negotiations on a two-state settlement, along the lines of an international consensus that Israel and United States have opposed, in virtual isolation, for more than 30 years, with rare and temporary departures. Meanwhile, Israel stepped up its programs of annexation, dismemberment and imprisonment of the shrinking Palestinian cantons in the West Bank, always with U.S. backing despite occasional minor complaints, accompanied by the wink of an eye and munificent funding. Powers-that-be have a standard operating procedure for overthrowing an unwanted government: Arm the military to prepare for a coup. Israel and its U.S. ally helped arm and train Fatah to win by force what it lost at the ballot box. The United States also encouraged Abbas to amass power in his own hands, appropriate behavior in the eyes of Bush administration advocates of presidential dictatorship. The strategy backfired. Despite the military aid, Fatah forces in Gaza were defeated last month in a vicious conflict, which many close observers describe as a pre-emptive strike targeting primarily the security forces of the brutal Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan. Israel and the United States quickly moved to turn the outcome to their benefit. They now have a pretext for tightening the stranglehold on the people of Gaza. ‘To persist with such an approach under present circumstances is indeed genocidal, and risks destroying an entire Palestinian community that is an integral part of an ethnic whole,’ writes international law scholar Richard Falk. This worst-case scenario may unfold unless Hamas meets the three conditions imposed by the ‘international community’ — a technical term referring to the U.S. government and whoever goes along with it. For Palestinians to be permitted to peek out of the walls of their Gaza dungeon, Hamas must recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept past agreements, in particular, the Road Map of the Quartet (the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations). The hypocrisy is stunning. Obviously, the United States and Israel do not recognize Palestine or renounce violence. Nor do they accept past agreements. While Israel formally accepted the Road Map, it attached 14 reservations that eviscerate it. To take just the first, Israel demanded that for the process to commence and continue, the Palestinians must ensure full quiet, education for peace, cessation of incitement, dismantling of Hamas and other organizations, and other conditions; and even if they were to satisfy this virtually impossible demand, the Israeli cabinet proclaimed that ‘the Roadmap will not state that Israel must cease violence and incitement against the Palestinians.’ Israel’s rejection of the Road Map, with U.S. support, is unacceptable to the Western self- image, so it has been suppressed. The facts finally broke into the mainstream with Jimmy Carter’s book, ‘Palestine: Peace not Apartheid,’ which elicited a torrent of abuse and desperate efforts to discredit it. While now in a position to crush Gaza, Israel can also proceed, with U.S. backing, to implement its plans in the West Bank, expecting to have the tacit cooperation of Fatah leaders who will be rewarded for their capitulation. Among other steps, Israel began to release the funds — estimated at $600 million — that it had illegally frozen in reaction to the January 2006 election. Ex-prime minister Tony Blair is now to ride to the rescue. To Lebanese political analyst Rami Khouri, ‘appointing Tony Blair as special envoy for Arab-Israeli peace is something like appointing the Emperor Nero to be the chief fireman of Rome.’ Blair is the Quartet’s envoy only in name. The Bush administration made it clear at once that he is Washington’s envoy, with a very limited mandate. Secretary of State Rice (and President Bush) retain unilateral control over the important issues, while Blair would be permitted to deal only with problems of institution-building. As for the short-term future, the best case would be a two-state settlement, per the international consensus. That is still by no means impossible. It is supported by virtually the entire world, including the majority of the U.S. population. It has come rather close, once, during the last month of Bill Clinton’s presidency — the sole meaningful U.S. departure from extreme rejectionism during the past 30 years. In January 2001, the United States lent its support to the negotiations in Taba, Egypt, that nearly achieved such a settlement before they were called off by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. In their final Press conference, the Taba negotiators expressed hope that if they had been permitted to continue their joint work, a settlement could have been reached. The years since have seen many horrors, but the possibility remains. As for the likeliest scenario, it looks unpleasantly close to the worst case, but human affairs are not predictable: Too much depends on will and choice. * Published in the UAE's KHALEEJ TIMES July 18, 2007. Noam Chomsky’s most recent book is ‘Interventions,’ a collection of his commentary pieces distributed by The New York Times Syndicate. Chomsky is emeritus professor of linguistics and philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. [Analysis] Peace in Palestine requires involving all parties International Crisis Group Hamas’s takeover of Gaza and President Abbas’s dismissal of the national unity government and appointment of one led by Salam Fayyad amount to a watershed in the Palestinian national movement’s history. Some paint a positive picture, seeing the new government as one with which Israel can make peace. They hope that, with progress in the West Bank, stagnation in Gaza and growing pressure from ordinary Palestinians, a discredited Hamas will be forced out or forced to surrender. They are mistaken. The Ramallah-based government is adopting overdue decisions to reorganize security forces and control armed militants; Israel has reciprocated in some ways; and Hamas is struggling with its victory. But as long as the Palestinian schism endures, progress is on shaky ground. Security and a credible peace process depend on minimal intra-Palestinian consensus. Isolating Hamas strengthens its more radical wing and more radical Palestinian forces. The appointment of Tony Blair as new Quartet Special Envoy, the scheduled international meeting and reported Israeli-Palestinian talks on political issues are reasons for limited optimism. But a new Fatah- Hamas power-sharing arrangement is a prerequisite for a sustainable peace. If and when it happens the rest of the world must do what it should have before: accept it. The events in Gaza have given rise to wholly conflicting accounts. For Fatah and those close to Abbas, they were a murderous, illegitimate coup that exposed the Islamists’ true face. The plan, they say, was premeditated and carried out with Iranian backing. They claim to have video proof of a Hamas-led plot to assassinate Abbas. Hamas, too, denounces an attempted coup, though one planned by Fatah elements determined to rob the Islamists of their electoral victory and overturn the Mecca Agreement between the two rival organizations. They say those elements were fostering lawlessness in the Gaza Strip and that the U.S., Israel and several Arab countries conspired to isolate Hamas as well as arm and train forces loyal to Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan in anticipation of a showdown. Hamas’s actions, they insist, were preemptive. There is truth to both accounts. Evidence and eye- witness stories collected by Crisis Group suggest Hamas’s armed forces – the Executive Security Force and the Qassam Brigades – were strengthening their arsenal and taking steps in preparation for a fight. Their brutality and disregard for human life at the height of the confrontation also is beyond doubt. But Fatah cannot escape blame. From the moment the Mecca Agreement was signed, several of its officials and presidential advisers undercut it. They urged European governments to neither end their boycott of Hamas nor too closely embrace the unity government. Security plans in Gaza understandably could be read by the Islamists as attempts to bolster a force intended to confront them. The Mecca Agreement’s collapse reflected conflicting domestic agendas: Fatah’s inability to come to terms with the loss of hegemony over the political system coupled with Hamas’s inability to come to terms with the limitations of its own power. But it would be disingenuous in the extreme to minimize the role of outside players, the U.S. and the European Union in particular. By refusing to deal with the national unity government and only selectively engaging some of its non-Hamas members, by maintaining economic sanctions and providing security assistance to one of the parties in order to outmaneuver the other, they contributed mightily to the outcome they now publicly lament. Through their words and deeds, they helped persuade important Fatah elements that the unity government was a transient phenomenon and that their former control of the Palestinian Authority (PA) could be restored. And they helped convince important Hamas elements that the unity government was a trap, that time was not on their side and they should act before their adversaries became too strong. The crisis was not produced by the Mecca Agreement but rather by deliberate and systematic attempts to undermine it. Recent events present a mixed picture. In Gaza, Hamas has made undeniable strides in restoring order. Alan Johnston, the kidnapped British journalist, was released, and Gazans testify to feeling more secure than in a long time. But the Islamists’ takeover of virtually all PA institutions, the curtailment of basic freedoms and harassment of Fatah members bode ill. Nor has Hamas found a way to cope with the closing of vital crossing points, the sharp drop in trade and the accelerating humanitarian crisis. In the West Bank, too, there are signs of progress, including steps to reorganize the security sector, the infusion of international funds, renewed Israeli- Palestinian cooperation and talk of political negotiations. There is also a darker side, however, including the suspension of basic laws, separation between Gaza and the West Bank and revival of obsolete Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) institutions at the expense of elected PA bodies such as the parliament. The basic question, to which neither Palestinians nor the international community has responded, is whether it is possible to ensure security and move toward a two-state settlement with a politically and geographically divided Palestinian polity. Paradoxically, the more successful the strategy of strengthening Abbas, the greater Hamas’s motivation to sabotage it. Progress thus would create its own threats. If past is prologue, putting Hamas under pressure without giving it a reasonable alternative would lead it to escalate violence against Israel in the expectation that renewed confrontation would embarrass Abbas, torpedo diplomatic progress and alter intra- Palestinian dynamics. How can Abbas deliver a ceasefire without the Islamists and their allies? How can he legitimize a political agreement with Israel – which must entail difficult and unpopular concessions – if Hamas’s significant constituency feels excluded? How can he move toward building a state if Gaza is left out? A more promising course would be for Fatah and Hamas to immediately cease hostile action against each other and begin to reverse steps that are entrenching separation between Gaza and the West Bank and undermining democratic institutions. In the longer run, they should seek a new power- sharing arrangement, including: - a clearer political platform, explicitly endorsing the Arab Peace Initiative; - a commitment to a reciprocal and comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire; - reform of the security services, to include de- fictionalization and integration of Hamas’s Executive Security Force; - reform of the PLO, expanding it to include Hamas and Islamic Jihad; - formation of a new unified government approved by the parliament; and - consideration of early presidential and legislative elections, although not before one year before the establishment of new government. To facilitate this, Arab states and other third parties should offer their mediation and monitoring of any agreement. If an agreement is reached, the Quartet should be prepared to engage with a new government politically and economically. Under current circumstances and given outside interference from various parties, reconciliation is hard to contemplate. Fatah must accept a truly pluralistic system. Hamas owes the Palestinian people answers as to its ultimate political goals and how it wants the national movement to achieve them. Israel must internalize the need to bring the occupation to an end. The international community must accept the right of Palestinians to select their own leaders. Ultimately, a stable Palestinian consensus and the Islamists’ inclusion in the political system are vital to any peace process. That was Abbas’s original intuition. It led to the January 2006 elections and then to Mecca. The parties’ understandable current anger notwithstanding, it remains the right one. * This analysis is the executive summary of a report entitled, "After Gaza," released by the International Crisis Group in August 2007. The full text can be found in English and Arabic at http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4975 70 dead as Iraqi forces defeat doomsday cult Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film Comments Leave a Comment [Facts] Players after the Hamas takeover Abbas, Rice and Olmert from L to R (File) HAMAS Hamas was created in 1987 at the start of the first Palestinian uprising by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin of the Muslim Brotherhood's Gaza wing. The group's supporters carried out suicide bombings in Israel during the 1990s and early 2000s before agreeing a conditional truce with Israel in 2005. Hamas was elected as the government of the Palestinian people in January 2006. The Islamist group took over the Gaza Strip by force in June 2007 after Fatah refused to hand over control. Hamas is branded as a terrorist organization by the US, EU, Israel and other international countries. FATAH Fatah was founded by Palestinian President Abbas and Yasser Arafat in the diaspora in Kuwait in the 1950s and fought an armed struggle against Israeli occupation in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Its leadership only returned to the Palestinian territories after Arafat signed the 1993 Oslo Accords recognizing Israel. Arafat led the party until his death in 2004, while Abbas was elected President in 2005. In the January 2006 parliamentary election, the party lost its majority to Hamas, assuming the role of main opposition. PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS Abbas dismissed a Hamas-led national unity government on June 14 and formed an emergency cabinet in the Israeli-occupied West Bank after Hamas seized control of Gaza following a week of fighting with forces loyal to Abbas's secular Fatah movement. Abbas accused Hamas of trying to assassinate him, launched a crackdown against the Islamist group in the West Bank, and issued emergency decrees to consolidate his control. Some of those decrees have drawn fire from lawyers who drafted the interim constitution. ABBAS'S PRIME MINISTER SALAM FAYYAD Abbas appointed Fayyad, a Western-backed, U.S.- trained economist, as prime minister of his new government rejected by Hamas. Fayyad has promised to crack down on militants but has said success depends on Israel stopping pursuing the gunmen. DISMISSED PRIME MINISTER ISMAIL HANIYA Hamas's Gaza leader Haniya still considers himself prime minister, but faces the problem of running an aid-dependent enclave cut off economically and diplomatically -- not only from Israel and major Western and Arab powers, but also from the West Bank. Haniya and exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal have called for renewed dialogue with Fatah. Israel and Western powers have shunned Hamas. ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER EHUD OLMERT Olmert cautiously welcomed the new administration, ending a freeze on transfers of funds imposed last year after Hamas won a parliamentary election and formed a government. He balked at removing major West Bank checkpoints and roadblocks to help Abbas's administration, but is handing over in stages hundreds of millions of dollars in frozen tax funds and has freed 250 Fatah prisoners. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE Rice backed Abbas's decision to install Fayyad. Washington wants to create momentum towards statehood in the hope of bolstering Abbas and Fatah and undercutting support for Hamas. Washington has discussed with Western diplomats the possibility of Palestinian elections by mid- 2008. MIDDLE EAST ENVOY TONY BLAIR The former British prime minister visited the West Bank and Israel in July for the first time as the new envoy for the Quartet of Middle East mediators -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations. He is tasked with helping to create a stable Palestinian government and promoting economic development, but reportedly wants to extend his work to restarting peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. 70 dead as Iraqi forces defeat doomsday cult Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film Comments [Voices] People caught in the crossfire Here is what some Palestinians are saying about their internal divisions: - "What happened in Gaza has destroyed our hopes and inspirations for statehood forever," said Khadija Hamed, a 52-year-old housewife from the West Bank town of Qalqilya. - "Now there is a wound that cannot be healed. What happened in Gaza has put the state project in a coffin before its birth. Both Fatah and Hamas are responsible for what has happened. I do not trust any of them," said Mohammad Abu al-Hassan, a merchant from the West Bank town of Jenin. - "The Palestinians will wait another 100 years and maybe future generations will learn from the mistakes of Fatah and Hamas. Both should step down. It has become evident that they are only after their factional interests," said Abdel-Qader Said, 38, a teacher from Jenin, in the West Bank. - "Having two entities, one ruling in Gaza and the other ruling the West Bank undermines the Palestinian cause. There is a lost people, without a leadership," said Palestinian political analyst Hani al-Masri. - "We have blurred vision in terms of identifying our goal. A year ago, the goal was to end the occupation. Now I do not know. The power struggle will continue for a long time," said Ahmad al- Khatib, a 32-year-old government employee from Ramallah, in the West Bank. - "If we had a vision to establish a state in the coming 20 years, the events in Gaza have added another 20 years, and perhaps more," said Salwa al- Hureimi, a women's rights activist from the West Bank town of Bethlehem. - "The situation will never be stable with Hamas alone or with Fatah alone. Gaza cannot be separated from the West Bank. The biggest sin is to divide the homeland," said Hisham Abu Ali, 21, a university student in Gaza. - "I did not expect brothers to kill brothers. We, as Palestinians, are lost and Israel is the sole winner," said Rula Dannoun, a Bethlehem housewife. - "We are heading towards the unknown," said Ibrahim Toma, a bank employee from Bethlehem [Facts] Life in the Gaza Strip Hamas's violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in June created two separate Palestinian administrations whose schism is likely to persist for some time. LIFE IN GAZA: * Gaza is an arid rectangle of territory at the southeast end of the Mediterranean, wedged between Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. It is tiny -- about 45 km (25 miles) long and 10 km (6 miles) wide. * About 1.5 million Palestinians live in Gaza, more than half of them refugees from past wars with Israel and their descendants. Gaza has one of the world's highest population densities and demographic growth rates. * Most Gazans live on less than $2 a day. Unemployment stood at 35 percent in 2006, according to the World Bank. Israeli security closures curbing cross-border trade and access to jobs and Western sanctions imposed after Hamas came to power in early 2006 have hit the Palestinian economy hard. * Concrete slums, facades covered by murals of Palestinian militants killed by Israel, sprawl across sand dunes dotted by palm groves. HISTORY OF THE TERRITORY: * Gaza has been continuously inhabited for more than 3,000 years. It was a crossroads of ancient civilizations and a strategic outpost on the Mediterranean. It is believed to be the burial place of the Prophet Mohammad's grandfather. * The Ottoman Empire ruled Gaza for hundreds of years until World War One, when it came under British rule along with the rest of Palestine. It came under Egyptian control in 1948 during the Arab-Israeli war that led to Israel's creation. * Gaza's population tripled in 1948-49 when it absorbed about a quarter of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees fleeing areas now part of Israel. * Israel captured Gaza from Egypt in the 1967 war and ended its military presence there in September 2005, having removed 8,500 Jewish settlers from 21 enclaves and demolished their homes after almost four decades of occupation. * Israel resumed ground operations in June 2006 after militants from Gaza tunneled across the border and seized an Israeli soldier, who is still being held. More recently Israel has killed dozens of Palestinians in Gaza since mid-May. Gaza militants have fired over 220 rockets into Israel in the same period. * Hamas was elected to power in January 2006, and took over the Gaza Strip by force in June 2007 after Fatah refused to hand over control. In June 2007, Abbas dismissed Haniya's government, and formed an emergency cabinet – actions Hamas declared as illegal and unconstitutional. Haniya exercises de facto authority in Gaza, while Fayyad's authority is limited to the West Bank

Fears gridlock may spark violence Lebanon’s presidential saga…Failure not an option DUBAI (AlArabiya.net) Since the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005, the whole political system in Lebanon has almost come to a standstill. To add salt to injury, regional and international affiliations resulted in a dangerous process of polarization on the local politics. The country was split down sectarian lines in a way that risks uncontrollable violence. The war Israel launched on Lebanon, in retaliation for an operation by Hezbollah fighters that resulted in killing and wounding several soldiers and capturing two more, also had its own repercussions politically. Despite the apparent unity during the 33-day long war, differences among the two major blocks in Lebanon went out of hand following the end of that war in August 2006. The country has, since then, been divided into two rival camps. The ruling majority – in terms of parliamentary seat – is called the March 14 camp. That camp includes the parliamentary majority, led by Hariris son Saad and Sunni Muslim Prime Minster Fouad Siniora. It is called the anti-Syria and/or pro-western camp. The other camp is called March 8 and it includes the Hezbollah-led opposition forces. That camp comprises two main posts; current president Emil Lahoud and parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri. According to Lebanon’s constitution, parliament elects the president, who must be a Christian Maronite, in line with Al-Taif Agreement that put an end to the country’s destructive civil war (1975-1989). In the first reading in parliament, at least a two-third majority is a must to elect a president. The second reading requires a simple majority. Why is this presidential vote different then? The ruling majority insists they have constitutional rights to elect a president with a simple majority in the second reading even if a consensus president proposal fails. The opposition, on the other hand, argues the current Siniora government is unconstitutional after the six Shiite ministers pulled out of it. The opposition is supported by the current pro- Syria president. The reasons for the current standoff are simple. Hezbollah and other pro-Syrian parties do not want a president who will favor the West and facilitate a U.N. investigation into the murder of Hariri and other anti-Syrian politicians. They also argue the Taif Agreement recognized the role of Syria whose decisive intervention did bring an end to the civil war, even though Damascus itself had been one of the behind-the-scenes players in that awful bloodletting. The so-called pro-Washington parties believe that only by working closely with the West will Lebanon restore its former pivotal place in Arab affairs, not least as a financial and commercial center. At first sight there would seem to be no common ground. The Lebanese president, who is elected for six years, is more than a constitutional figurehead; in fact, he has substantial powers. Though the role is by agreement always held by a Maronite Christian while the premier is a Muslim, the presidential contest is between the pro-Syrian Michel Aoun (once no friend of Damascus) and three anti-Syrian candidates who have all been variously characterized as pro-Washington. Worst-case scenario Worst-case scenario if the parliament fails to agree on a president until Lahoud’s term expires in November may be that Lahoud goes ahead with his threat and appoint a new government. This means Lebanon may have two rival governments. This would be a grim reminder of violence simply because a similar situation ignited the civil war. Compiled by Khaled Mamdouh Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film UN names George Clooney "messenger of peace" Comments 1 - Let Shawki Abu Ayash [ Saturday, October 20, 2007 ] Since Lahoud came to power, there was two scenario: Either he will be the saviour of an independent souvereign state, or he will be the last president who demolish the state of Lebanon . Let's wait and see how he will end up his era!!! 2 - Funny Khaled alshoubassy [ Monday, October 22, 2007 ] Lebanon is very funny :) 3 - dont know ? [ Saturday, October 27, 2007 ] as long as the president is a maronite i think everyone will be happy :) 4 - Not Funny Jamal [ Tuesday, November 06, 2007 ] I don't understand what Khaled thinks is funny. Having 6 members of parliament assassinated in the span of two years is not funny. The country is under attack from outside forces that refuse to let it live and be the modern democratic nation that it yearns to be after roughly 30 years of occupation by its "lovely" neighbors. 5 - lebnan moharer al ahruf [ Tuesday, November 13, 2007 ] you every body knows that lebanon is the greatest country in the world sooooo be broud all the lebanes are great toogood bye 6 - Lebanon JoeSchmoe [ Friday, November 23, 2007 ] Since when an election is superseded by a consensus? There is a difference between electing a president and appointing one. Iran and Syria, in their continuation of using Lebanon and the Lebanese people as proxies in their ultimate and selfish motives (Iran: If the west attacks its nuclear projects, it will use Hezbollah (Their agents) to attack Israel. Syria: Is willing to fight till the last Lebanese in its quest to trade Lebanon for the Golan). So Lebanon ends up as deck of cards in the hands of the Arabs (BROTHERS) and the Persians in their selfish aspirations. Unfortunately and despite all the pride and narcissism that the Lebanese people show, they are proving to the world that they are not the smartest as they claim, but the biggest idiots, allowing themselves to become traitors and agents to foreign dictatorships at the expense of their own country. 7 - All sides have legitimate arguments, all sides have flaws. Tamir [ Wednesday, December 05, 2007 ] The political problems that reside in Lebanon will not end until this ridiculous confessional system of governance is ended. The Lebanese need to abolish the confessional system and have a true democracy where leaders are elected by MERIT and not by the religious sect that they come from. Lebanon will continue to have a weak and divided state unless they abolish this system. Also, it is important to note that Hezbollah, whether one agrees or disagrees with their ideology is the representative of the Shi'a people in Lebanon. One can not dismiss them as an Iranian proxy. The Shi'a are now the largest minority in Lebanon, and Hezbollah is their main representative, to marginalize Hezbollah is to marginalize an entire people. There needs to be an understanding, although Syria was involved in the vast corruption of the economy in Lebanon, one must give Syria credit for supporting Selim al-Hoss, and reconstructing the Lebanese army. We need to stop looking at things as BLACK and WHITE or GOOD or EVIL, there are so many shades of gray. Syria is not EVIL, and neither are the members of Sanyoura's government. All sides have faults and flaws, and ALL sides have legitimate arguments. 8 - The Futere President Of Lebanon ????????? Dr Riad Awwad [ Friday, December 07, 2007 ] THE FUTURE PRESIDENT OF LEBANON BETWEEN THE SIRIAN HAMMER AND THE INTERNATIONAL ANVIL By Riad Awwad "Lebanon of democracy" and "Switzerland of the Middle East", like it is being called, has become a country in witch anarchy and destruction have settled, especially after the assassination of former prime-minister Rafik Al-Hariri and after a series of other political assassinations to witch personalities of a certain political color, different from the one of the foreign presence, have fallen victims. Once the Syrian army retreated from Lebanon, in 2005, after a 30 year presence in this country, Lebanon found itself before the imperative to eradicate the chaos created by international interferences (Syria, Iran, Israel) and the one of the great powers (USA, France). The acting president, Emile Lahoud, ends his mandate on the 23rd of November 2007, so Damascus will lose a chief of state Lebanese by identity and Syrian by mentality and feeling. Syria cramps to the Lebanese trump according to the "to be or not to be" law, and the president of the parliament in Beirut, Nabib Berri is also a soldier faithful to Syria, just like the Hezbollah movement, considered to be an active battalion of Damascus in Lebanon, together with other currents and personalities in this country - The Baas party, Syrian Social National Party, or a series of Palestinian factions like "The Peoples Front- General Command, Fattah AL-Islam and so on witch, all, constitute fuel for the Syrian presence on Lebanese territory. The presidential elections have been postponed three times, and seems will be postponed even further, because the parliamentary majority lead by member of the parliament Saad Hariri together with Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, wish the future chief of state to be of Lebanese extraction and orientation exclusively, a president dedicated to the Lebanese dignity and free of any exterior dependence, while the opposing forces wish the future president to be a simple soldier devoted to Syria, fact witch makes their choice orientated to the superannuated figure of general Michel Aoun, one willing to reach the high position in the state even by stepping over the bodies of the Christian community. Like Nero, he is only interested in power, after he followed Amin Gemayel as president, in 1995, and ruined the country, being then constrained by the Syrians themselves to choose the way of exile in France until the year 2005. Not even the Maronite patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir managed to play more active of a role, fearing for the unity of the Lebanese Christians, in this country fallen victim to the ambitions of local and external forces. Iran wishes for a Lebanon that can serve as a combat front with the US and Israel; Syria looks to foreclose the application of the decisions to be made by the international court which investigates the death of former prime minister Rafik Al-Hariri, eventually by repeating the civil war and by enlarging the gap which separates the legitimate government from the pro Syrian-Iranian opposition. The crisis could not be solved, even after the mediation demarches made by The Arab League, France or US. The powerful political cleavage on internal matters, and the external encroachment had both a strong contribution also on this situation. According to the Constitution, the president of Lebanon is elected with a majority of two thirds, and if none of the candidates reaches this level then he will be elected with a simple majority of votes in the first poll, which, until now, the opposition has boycotted, in the hope that they could superimpose General Michel Aoun, in the conditions of boycotting the efforts for obtaining the majority of two thirds, which means that the perspective of electing a new president remains, at the time, a long way to go. But in Annapolis , we suppose that a Syrian - American agreement took place, and the name of the general in army Michel Suleiman could suddenly appear in the picture, no one knows for sure. A president exclusively Lebanese: no one has managed, this far along the way, to truly define the meaning of this dream, and Lebanon - the country of cedars and peace, remains a country resembling a fragile leaf in the winds of a storm, caught between the Syrian hammer and the international anvil, making the Lebanese citizen - be him Christian or Muslim, the only victim. Leave a Comment (Analysis) Lebanon's next options are mostly bad Sarkis Naoum The Lebanese Parliament is due to elect a new president for a six-year term during the 60-day period beginning September 25. As is often the case with Lebanon, numerous domestic and foreign factors complicate what should be a straightforward political process. First of all there is a legal-constitutional dispute between the two major blocs, the Sunni-Druze-Christian alliance of the March 14 coalition, which has named as Prime Minister Fouad Siniora; and the Shiite-Christian bloc led by Hizbullah. The March 14 bloc, currently holding a parliamentary majority, insists on continuing to govern despite the resignation of Shiite ministers in November 2006. Hizbullah and its allies claim that this violates the unwritten 1943 National Pact regulating relations among confessional groups, as well as the Constitution. They insist on a consensus democracy in which all sects are represented in the Parliament and the Cabinet, regardless of the outcome of parliamentary elections. The second domestic dispute is over the insistence of Hizbullah, validated by its struggle against Israel, to maintain its state within the Lebanese state - and to try to take control of the Lebanese nation while pretending to preserve the roles of the other sects. To accomplish this, Hizbullah relies on the Shiite community (the most populous in Lebanon), its military strength, and its foreign relations, assets which the other sects cannot match. The March 14 bloc rejects Hizbullah domination and is attempting to prevent it by - like Hizbullah - relying on foreign support, and also by trying to convince Hizbullah that it will succeed only in destroying Lebanon. The major foreign factor is the sharp confrontation between Iran and Syria on the one side, and the United States and most of the Arab and international community on the other. This confrontation has found ideal ground in Lebanon due to the presence of a Hizbullah army representing the military, political, security, and sectarian interests of Iran; the presence of Syrian allies who will have no political future if Lebanon gains true independence; the existence of no less important factions that refuse to allow Lebanon to be dominated by Syria and Iran; and the determination of the US and the international community to prevent such domination, even if they cannot gain victory for their own Lebanese allies. None of these disputes will be resolved in the short time before the presidential election. Similar to what happened during the Civil War that began in 1975, the Lebanese factions have lost their independence and have become incapable of solving their own problems. At the moment each group is pleased with its foreign allies, but a time will come when they will recognize their incapacity and that their allies are taking advantage of them. Even then they will not be able to do anything, perhaps because by then Lebanon will have lost its justification for existence or the entire region will have begun to fragment. In the current predicament, the Lebanese have five options. The first is for all parties to agree to a truce, rather than a solution, and then elect a president who will oversee this truce. His job would be to maintain the present situation with some improvements in living conditions, and perhaps to ward off the specter of greater strife. The second option is to form a government of national unity, in which Hizbullah and the opposition become an empowered minority, which would rule the nation temporarily if a compromise president cannot be agreed upon. The third would be to form a provisional government, perhaps headed by the military, to maintain security and prepare for the election of a new president. The fourth option is to elect for a two-year term a president who is acceptable to all parties (perhaps because he will be relatively weak and unable to rule) while waiting for an end to the confrontation to determine in what direction Lebanon is headed. The fifth possibility is to delay the presidential election with the agreement of all parties. The parliamentary majority could elect the president from within (although this is contrary to the Constitution), or the current government could be allowed to exercise the powers of the president for a time. This would compel the Iranian- and Syrian-supported opposition - particularly President Emile Lahoud - to form a new government, and perhaps to elect a new president. But it would also be a step on the path to partition, and could open the door to further conflict and perhaps civil war. Which of these scenarios is likely? Unfortunately, the fourth and fifth scenarios are the most probable, although there is some hope for the third. However, we must not resign ourselves to this fate as there are more than two months before Lahoud's term ends, during which time anything could happen. * Pulished in Lebanon’s THE DAILY STAR on September 19, 2007. Sarkis Naoum is a commentator for the Lebanese daily An-Nahar. This commentary, translated from Arabic by Kevin Burnham, is reprinted with permission from the Arab Reform Bulletin, Vol. 5, issue 7 (September 2007) www.CarnegieEndowment.org/ArabReform (c) 2007, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Doomsday cult and security clash in Iraq, 70 dead Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film Comments 1 - political crisis in Lebanon daya [ Thursday, November 22, 2007 ] I agree with the analysis of Mr . Naoum . He descrbed the complex and itreguing political situation in Lebanon succinctly . However , I would like to draw attention to the linkage between the worsening political crisis in Lebanon and Iran's demand to be recognised by the U.S. as a world power, and a major player in Iraq and the the region . The Iranian president Ahmadi Nijad maintained , during a visit by the Syrian Foreign minister Walid Mo'alle toTehran recently ,that an "alliance" between Iran , Syria and , Lebanon is "the only road to achieve victory in the region".(an-Nahar,Nov.,21,2007). A fourth round of talks between Iran and The U.S. over the issue of "security" in Iraq at the instigation of the latter is underway . Iranian strategy seems to be working. 2 - Why not settle for Edde? Jester [ Friday, November 23, 2007 ] Not electing a president today is unlawful, unjust and unfair. Lebanese have been dragged and exhausted. Kalam el Nas’ insightful and amusing political show last night as discussion kept on brewing, leaked two names, out of the Original 7 down to 5, down to 2 by removing each camps candidate, Michel Aoun from the opposition (in a courageous and courteous move) and the march 14 to remove their preferred candidates Nassib Lahoud and Boutros Harb, which both are highly respectable. Down to two names to be announced before the deadline set by Aoun, 2 hours before Lahoud steps out of office. The two names are down to: Michel Edde and Robert Ghanem. The first, an intellectual character with long experience on record to Ghanem’s younger outlook but calmer tone. I find, any decision from any MP not to go to Parliament today to elect our right-given representation, would be unconstitutional and unlawful by their part. n.b. In the wake of a president not being elected by midnight tonight, the republic government goes to the hands of the Prime Minister. Lahoud, may hand over that privilege to M. Sleiman. Leave a Comment (Facts) Timeline of Lebanon's history Independence Civil war Taif Era Turn of the century 1920: France divides Lebanon and Syria into separate colonial enclaves and forms the State of Greater Lebanon as one of several ethnic enclaves within Syria. 1926: France declares the Lebanese Republic. The Republic becomes a separate entity from Syria but still is administered under the French Mandate for Syria. 1940: Lebanon comes under Vichy French government control, General Henri Dentz, the Vichy High Commissioner for Syria and Lebanon, plays a major role in the future independence of the nation. 1941: Turmoil in Europe sparks fears Germany will gain control of Syria and Lebanon, leading French and British troops to occupy Lebanon. After 20 years of French mandate, Lebanon's independence is declared in November, however full independence comes in stages. Independence 1943: -An unwritten National agreement is established laying the foundations of the state. The agreement confirms Lebanon as an independent Arab country with ties to the West. -The National Assembly is established, Bechara El Khoury is named president, the arrangement works for about 20 years. 1957-1958: -Lebanon plunges into political crisis caused by political and religious tensions in the country. -Muslim factions rise in revolt against Maronite Christian President Kamil Chamoun, Lebanon's first civil war breaks out. -Chamoun calls on U.S. President Eisenhower to send U.S. troops to reestablish the government's authority, "Operation Blue Bat" is launched on July 15. 1967-1968: -The Six-day Arab Israeli War breaks out between Israel and Arab nations Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Lebanon has no active role in the war but is affected as Palestinian factions use Lebanon as a base for retaliation strikes against Israel. -Israel raids Beirut airport in retaliation to a Palestinian strike. 1973: Israel performs another raid on Beirut and kills three prominent Palestinian leaders associated with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. The Lebanese government resigns the next day. Civil war 1975: Clashes between Christian and Palestinian Militia breaks out, widely considered the start of a lengthy civil war that devastated Lebanon. 1976: -Fighting between Lebanese factions during March 1975 and November 1976 kills 40,000 Lebanese. -Lebanon asks Syria to intervene to restore peace and curb the Palestinians, Syrian troops enter Lebanon. -The Arab Summit hold meetings and arrange a ceasefire forming the Syrian Arab Deterrent Force (ADF) to maintain peace. 1978: -Israel invades Lebanon and occupies land reaching as far north as the Litani River. -The United Nations Security Council calls on Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territory and creates a 6,000-man peacekeeping force called UNIFIL to ensure it happens. -Israel hands over their strongholds to Christian Lebanese militia instead of UNIFIL. 1982: -A Palestinian assassination attempt on Israel's ambassador in London sparks Israel's second invasion and "Operation Peace for Galilee" is launched targeting the PLO based in Lebanon. -Approximately 7,000 Palestinians flee Lebanon to other Arab nations -President-elect Bashir Gemayel is assassinated at the headquarters of his Christian Phalangist Party. -Christian militia massacre about 1,000 Palestinians in the Israeli-controlled area of Sabra and Shatlia refugee camps, prompting the return of a multi-national U.S., French and Italian peace keeping force. -Amin Gemayel, Bashir's brother, is elected president. -Lebanese factions struggle for power, plunging Lebanon into further chaos and instability -Hezbollah (Party of God) is established mid- 1980's 1983: -A buffer zone is set up in south Lebanon; Israel and Lebanon sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal. -Suicide bombings kill 241 U.S. marines and 56 French soldiers; spring 1984 multinational troops withdraw. 1985: -Majority of Israeli troops withdraw but some remain along the south of the border and engage in clashes with Palestinian groups. -Israel supports the Christian South Lebanon Army financed and trained by Israel and led by Major General Antoine Lahd. 1986: -Syria monitors a peacekeeping agreement in Beirut -Clashes between Shiite and Druze militia in West Beirut breaks the agreement, Syrian troops mobilize to suppress militia resistance. 1989: -The Taif Accord is signed in Saudi Arabia, establishing a more equitable political system, giving Muslims a greater voice in the political process and institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Taif Era 1991: -Syria and Lebanon sign a treaty of Friendship, effectively giving Syria control over Lebanon's foreign relations. -The Lebanese government, backed by Syria, regains control of the south and disbands various militia groups, ending the 16-year civil war which destroyed most of Lebanon's infrastructure. 1992: -Hezbollah leader, Sheikh Abbas al-Musawi is killed by an Israeli attack on his motorcade. -Secretary General of the Shiite Amal organization, Nabih Berri, becomes speaker of the National Assembly. -A rich business man with Saudi Arabian citizenship, Rafiq Hariri, becomes prime minister, heading a cabinet of technocrats. 1993-1996: -Israel launches "Operation Accountability" on Hezbollah, its deadliest attack on Lebanon since 1982. -Israel launches "Operation Grapes of Wrath" bombing Hezbollah bases in south Lebanon. -Israel attacks a U.N. base, resulting in the deaths of more than 100 Lebanese refugees. -The United States negotiates a truce between Hezbollah and Israel under which Hezbollah agrees not to attack civilians in north Israel and Israel accepts Hezbollah's right to resist Israeli occupation in the south. Lebanon and Syria refuse to sign the agreement. 1999: Israel bombs south Lebanon the deadliest attack since 1996. Turn of the century 2000: Israeli cabinet votes to withdraw Israeli troops from south Lebanon after 18 consecutive years of occupation. 2001-2002 -Syria withdraws nearly all of its 25,000 troops from Lebanon, 14,000 troops remain. -Continued Israeli-Palestinian clashes, prompt Hezbollah to build up forces along the Lebanese- Israeli border. -A key figure in the 1982 Palestinian massacres is murdered after releasing information about videotapes and documents that challenged Israel's account of the events. 2004: -Syria insists pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud is permitted to serve three more years, beyond the constitutional six-year limit, despite outrage the Lebanese parliament vote. -U.N. Security council demands Syria remove its troops stationed in Lebanon for the past 28 years. -Syria removes about 3,000 out of 14,000 troops as a result Rafiq Hariri resigns. 2005: -Rafiq Hariri is assassinated and Syria is accused of involvement, sparking anti-Syria riots in Beirut calling for a full withdrawal of Syria from Lebanon. -Anti-Syrian alliance wins control of parliament, led by Saad Hariri (Rafiq's son), Fouad Siniora is chosen as prime minister. -Syria withdraws all of its troops ending its 29 year stance. 2006: -Hezbollah fighters capture two Israeli soldiers -Israel launches a deadly 33-day military attack on Lebanon on July 12 crippling major infrastructures; 1,200 Lebanese civilians and 160 Israeli soldiers are killed -Israel's attack deeply divides the Lebanese government; Six ministers (Five Shiite and 1 Christian Orthodox) withdraw from the government, deeming it unconstitutional -A Hezbollah-led opposition camp demands the government resigns calling for new general elections not based on the Taif agreement. - The situation leads to a political stalemate, resulting in the current impasse over electing a president. Doomsday cult and security clash in Iraq, 70 dead Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film Comments Leave a Comment (Facts) Lebanon outline Political system Official name: The Lebanese Republic Capital: Beirut Languages: Arabic (official), French, English Major religions: Christianity, Islam Population: 3.9 million Currency: Lebanese Lira Government: Republic, based on "confessionalism". Lebanon is a small Middle Eastern country located at the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a largely mountainous area and is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. Lebanon is one of the most complex and deeply divided countries in the region as government structures are divided between various groups. Lebanon was part of the Ottoman Empire for over 400 years, in a region known as Greater Syria. After World War I in 1916, the League of Nations granted France mandate over Lebanon and neighboring Syria. Political system Lebanon is a democratic republic which follows a special political system due to its sectarian diversity. The system is known as confessionalism and is meant to distribute an even amount of power among the various sects ensuring each sect is fairly represented in the governing body. The Lebanese parliament has 128 parliamentary seats, which are divided proportionally between Muslims and Christians. The confessionalism system holds that the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, the parliament speaker a Shiite Muslim and the deputy prime minister an Orthodox Christian. Before 1990 the Christians dominated with a ratio of 6:5, then the 1989 Taif Agreement adjusted the ratio to grant equal representation. The Lebanese constitution dictates that direct elections are held every four years, where parliament elects the president for a non-renewable six-year term. However, in Lebanon's shady history this rule has been bypassed with two ad hoc amendments by Syria. The first was during Elias Hrawi’s term which was extended for another three years after it was due to end in 1995. The second was in 2004 when the procedure was repeated to allow Émile Lahoud to remain in office until 2007. The system is run on a series of appointments where the President appoints a Prime Minister based on the nomination of the parliament. The prime minister then consults with the parliament and president and forms the cabinet, which is also based on equal sectarian distribution set out by confessionalism. Doomsday cult and security clash in Iraq, 70 dead Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film Comments 1 - Student Abdirahman [ Monday, December 10, 2007 ] This kind of set up is bound to collapse anytime and lead to disasterous consequences. The choice should be by the people. Leave a Comment (Analysis) Who will be Lebanon's next president? Sami Moubayed It seems like the big players have placed their bet in Lebanon. The Saudis "prefer" Nassib Lahhoud of the March 14 Coalition, a respected statesman from the Maronite community. The Americans, who "insist" that nobody should interfere in the elections, "prefer" Boutros Harb, another Maronite candidate from March 14. The Syrians want Michel Aoun, the Christian heavyweight who is allied to Hezbollah. French are undecided, with an official line saying that they would support whomever is chosen by the people of Lebanon. Some press reports, however, say that they were in favor of bringing Army Commander Michel Suleiman to Ba'abda Palace, for an interim period of two years, to avoid a constitutional vacuum. That proposal, apparently, was vetoed by the Americans and Saudis because of Suleiman's friendship with both the Syrians and Hezbollah. Suleiman, however, still stands as a possible president-in-waiting, depending on the outcome of events in the upcoming week. All of these "bets" are preliminary. Anything can change between now and September 25. According to the Lebanese weekly Al Kifah Al Arabi, if the Americans back out on Lahhoud, their second bet would be Riad Salameh, the compromise candidate who currently serves as Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon. Salameh, who is currently not officially standing for the presidential elections, is seen as an independent technocrat with an exceptionally unblemished record, who is acceptable by all parties in the Lebanese conflict. If the Hezbollah-led opposition vetoes all of March 14's candidates, then Salameh would stand a higher chance at becoming president. His candidacy, however, like that of Michel Suleiman, requires a constitutional amendment. Article 49 of the Constitution says that a candidate running for office must not be employed by the government. A period of no less than two years in retirement is needed before a civil servant can run for office - something that applies neither to Salameh nor Suleiman. Legal experts, however, are saying that although this clearly applies to Suleiman, it does not apply to Salameh, who is "contracted" for the post and not actually employed by the Lebanese government. Several politicians in Lebanon, including March 14 heavyweights such as Samir Gagegea and Walid Junblatt, argue that no constitutional amendments can be made after the constitutional deadline of September 25. They want to minimise the chances of bringing any figure who is not a member of March 14 to the Ba'abda Palace. After this given date, they argue, parliament loses its legislative powers and becomes strictly, a voting body. It can no longer amend the constitution. This means if Salameh or Suleiman stand any chance at running for office, this would have to be within the next week. The Syrians are worried about US plans for Lebanon, especially after US Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman said that Lebanon is a strategic partner for the US in the Middle East. They repeatedly claim that they will not tolerate an anti-Syrian president in Lebanon, who allows Lebanon to be used by the US for anti-Syrian activity. They fear that a president from March 14 would further the anti-Syrian campaign, and work for the disarming of Hezbollah, Syria's main ally in Lebanon. Likewise, a president from March 14, who rules with Fouad Siniora means that all of Syria's allies in Lebanon will be completely marginalised and kept out of government jobs. The fact that the US Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffery Feltman has prolonged his stay in Lebanon until after the elections, and that his successor Michele Sison has not arrived is worrying for Damascus. This means that the Americans are planning to manipulate the presidential elections through Feltman, an outright supporter of March 14. On the other hand, the Saudis "prefer" Lahhoud. They do not want to force their candidate on Lebanon, however, fearing that the opposition would refuse to vote or obey him, and resort to creating a parallel government, headed by a pro- Syrian president. That is why the Saudis supported the Berri Initiative, hoping to win support from Hezbollah for Lahhoud, or any candidate from March 14. Strong ally The other March 14 candidate is Boutros Harb. A lawyer by profession, he worked with Nassib Lahhoud in the Qornet Shehwan Gathering, but had previously been a strong ally of the Syrians, who made him Minister of Education in the early 1990s. One of the two Maronite candidates from March 14 has to step out of the presidential race, so that only one Christian runs in the race, supported by the Hariri bloc. This would take place after all Christian forces within March 14, which include the Lebanese Phalange and the Lebanese Forces, decide on one candidate. Sources in Lebanon still do not rule out the candidacy of former President Ameen Gemayel, whose record was seriously affected, however, after losing the Metn parliamentary elections earlier this summer, against a political nobody from the Free Patriotic Movement of General Michel Aoun. Respectable candidates, however, whether it is Lahhoud or Harb, will refuse coming to power with a purely Christian mandate. They will even refuse being voted into office under nothing more than US support and an umbrella from March 14. They want history to remember them as spokesmen for all of Lebanon. They also don't want Christian history to remember them as having come to power under Sunni patronage, thanks to Sa'ad Al Hariri and the Saudis, or US support. This is a long- standing norm in Lebanon. During the last proper elections that took place in 1975, between Suleiman Franjiyyieh and Elias Sarkis, each had an impressive mixture of Christians and Muslims among their parliamentary supports. Franjiyyieh, who won with a one vote difference over Sarkis, had Christian leaders behind him such as Pierre Gemayel and Raymond Edde, as well as Muslim heavyweights like Kamel Al Asaad and Saeb Salam. Sarkis's team had Christians such as Rene Mouawwad, and Muslim "giants" such as Rashid Karameh. Will history - or can history - repeat itself, given so much polarisation in Lebanese politics, and so many different "preferences" from Washington, Riyad, Paris, and Damascus? * Published in UAE's GULF NEWS on September 18, 2007. Sami Moubayed is a Syrian political analyst. Doomsday cult and security clash in Iraq, 70 dead Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film Comments 1 - Mr Nadim Aramouni [ Wednesday, November 07, 2007 ] I would like to see Mr Dimyanos Kattar as our next president ! we need someone who undestands the problem, does have a solution, and also have an action plan. General Aoun would have been perfect, but many people are afraid of him and this will hinder any future economical process for te country !!! And even better and better ,,,we need a civilized coutry to rule us for 25 yrs, in order for a whole new generation to become more respectful of the law, of others, and act with responsibility. 2 - President Of Lebanon Dr. Ziad [ Thursday, November 08, 2007 ] I like Mr. Aramouni's comments. adding to it my choise of president will be Mr. Butros Harb, would be a pefect candidate. He is moderate pro Lebanese, very independent in his thinking yet considetrate. He is Lebanese first and last, open minded and will be a president for all Lebanese. He can lead Lebanon to a properus future, with the help of his supporters in parliment I think he can make Lebanon paradise of the middle east. Leave a Comment Avoiding the emergence of two Lebanons Hady Amr As a Middle East policy analyst who also has family ties to Lebanon, I visit quite often. I rolled out of bed one day and tried jogging along Beirut's famed middle-class seaside walkway called the "Corniche" recently, only to discover that the simple concrete and metal rails overlooking the glittering Mediterranean were being pulled up to make way for gorgeous tiles and shiny aluminum. The prospect of these misplaced public works not only upset me but it disrupted my jog. However, it did get me thinking. Generic urban renewal is of course a good thing. But Lebanon is a country with the absolute highest per capita debt-to-GDP ratio in the Arab world. A year ago in Lebanon and Israel, Hizbullah and Israel pounded each other so hard that 30 percent of the Lebanese population became internal refugees. Swathes of South Lebanon were flattened to dust. Ask yourself: If you were running Lebanon, would you be spending the people's money renovating perfectly good waterfront in an area hardly affected by war, while a third of the country was devastated by war? The Lebanese government should have other priorities like catering to the civilian victims of the war, or unifying the electorate. The Corniche renewal, albeit small financially, is a highly visible and largely unnecessary renovation. Pair this with vociferous complaints of large areas of the country receiving more than their fair share of electricity blackouts. Lebanon's current ruling coalition, which is at odds with Hizbullah, must also do more to revitalize hard- hit South Lebanon, and other disadvantaged parts of the country. Imagine the public outcry that would occur in the United States if after Hurricane Katrina, George W. Bush undertook highly visible development projects in Republican strongholds that were left untouched by Katrina - that's how the situation looks to Lebanon's large Shiite community, the key source of support for Hizbullah. Perhaps a short-sighted policy, but why should this matter to Americans? Because over the past two decades, countries that have fallen apart have done so painfully and amid chaos. Yugoslavia divided into a half-dozen states, and Bosnia later broke apart into two further entities - one Serbian Greek Orthodox and one combined Croatian Catholic and Bosnian Muslim. Serbia and Montenegro broke apart. Kosovo may soon separate. The West Bank and Gaza are now ruled by two governments - Hamas in Gaza and Yasser Arafat's Fatah in the West Bank, and analysts are talking about partitioning Iraq into Arab Sunni, Arab Shiite, and Kurdish areas. Could Lebanon be heading in the same direction? Are we about to see the emergence of two Lebanons - North Lebanon and South Lebanon, one governed by Hizbullah in the South while the rest of the country is run by the Sunnis and the various Christian sects? This scenario is highly unlikely, largely because neither Hizbullah nor the Lebanese government want this. But with the Lebanese presidential elections due soon, we face the high likelihood that the two sides in Parliament might not agree on a president. If this happens, there is a chance that Lebanon could end having parallel state institutions, each claiming legitimacy. Where would that leave Lebanon, America and the rest of the international community? Lebanon's decade-and-a-half long Civil War has taught the Lebanese that violence does not solve problems. We must take steps to keep Lebanon's seams intact. What Lebanon needs is for each side to have the strength to stop relying on its international supporters to promote their interests. Instead, the international community should encourage the various factions within Lebanon to work together to ensure that the outcome of the upcoming presidential selection process does not lead to a divided Lebanon. What the region needs are more partners who are willing to sit around the table to solve problems. What the world needs is a Lebanese government that is building a positive future for all its citizens - and the support of the global community for a country in which government spending, electoral systems and the Constitution are not based on religious difference but on the common humanity of all Lebanese. Why wait for Lebanon to fall apart? Wouldn't it be better to talk now and build a common future, before it ends up like Bosnia, or perhaps soon Iraq? * Hady Amr is a foreign policy fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution and Director of the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. Published in THE DAILY STAR on September 10, 2007 in collaboration with the Common Ground News Service. Doomsday cult and security clash in Iraq, 70 dead Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film Comments

Facts] Current Conflict with the PKK Beginnings Renewed Violence Some 3,000 Turkish PKK fighters are based in northern Iraq and launch attacks on security and civilian targets in Turkish territory. A few thousand PKK rebels are also believed to be inside Turkey. Clashes have resumed in recent years and this October, PKK separatists, operating from northern Iraq, killed a dozen Turkish soldiers. The PKK said it also captured eight soldiers. Washington and Baghdad have so far failed to take action against the PKK guerrillas hiding in northern Iraq, and Turkish frustration has grown after clashes resumed. Beginnings Abdullah Ocalan founded the party in 1974 and it was formally named the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in 1978, a Marxist-Leninist insurgent group fighting for an independent Kurdish state. It earned a reputation for ruthlessness by killing members of rival groups, Kurdish "aga" landlords and pro-government tribesmen. The PKK took up arms against Turkey in 1984 with the aim of creating an ethnic homeland in the southeast. More than 30,000 people have been killed in the conflict since then. Ocalan was captured and sentenced to death by a Turkish court in 1999, but the sentence was reduced to life imprisonment in October 2002 after Turkey abolished the death penalty. Fighting dwindled after Ocalan's capture and it also led to a ceasefire and the withdrawal of rebel fighters from Turkey. Ocalan, after his capture, emphasized the importance of winning rights for the Kurds through political rather than armed struggle. That encouraged the rebels to establish a new political wing known as KONGRA-GEL in November 2003. Renewed Violence In June 2004, the PKK announced the end of its ceasefire and told investors and tourists to stay away from Turkey. In April 2006 authorities blamed the PKK for rioting between pro-Kurdish protesters and security forces in Turkey's southeast in the worst civil unrest since the mid-1990s. The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film UN names George Clooney "messenger of peace" Comments 1 - mr nusi [ Tuesday, November 13, 2007 ] there is no turkish pkk fighters,,and also there is not launch attacks on civilian targets in Turkish territory pkk is kurdistan workers party. you must go ture ahead. you as a arab webside but there is not diffrentes between you and a turkish racism., we will win as kurds and we will kill turkish soldiers like mouse. never read your web anymore. down for all kurdish enemy 2 - Yarrak PKAKA-meanin P S*** [ Wednesday, November 14, 2007 ] PKK is a fascist group. They fight 4 kurdish nationalism. They kill Turkish Mothers, Fathers, sons and daughters. Marxism-Leninism teaches there is no nationality, there is no such thing as a country, that the working class of all countries should unite yet u barstard kurds fight 4 a kurdish homeland at all costs. U would kill ur own mum 2 follow this ideology, and the sad thing is well known PKK memners 2 kill their entire families off just 2 protect their secrecy and the group. Ur Marx is dead, ur lenin is dead Leave a Comment [Analysis] The Kurdish Crisis and the Image of the State Abdullah Iskandar Once again, the current Turk-Kurdish crisis reinforces the argument that the image of nation and state in the Arab world is a matter open to different interpretations and exploitations. As far as politics and political interests are concerned, it matters not whether the image of the nation and the state is exploited for any purpose instead of maintaining it as a value free of all political agitation. The Kurdish problem in Turkey is a Turkish problem, pertaining to how a national centralized and egalitarian state deals with a significant ethnic and cultural minority. The emergence of the Kurdish Workers Party out of this issue has not contributed to reinforcing the recent opening of the Turkish state to the Kurdish cultural and humanitarian demands. As this party moved to North Iraq where a Kurdish majority resides as a result of the decline of the Iraqi state following the war to liberate Kuwait, the security problem imposed by this party has also shifted to Iraqi Kurdistan. The new Kurdish "authority" in this region, the Turkish state, and the Iraqi state, however, have failed to take into consideration the existence of internationally recognized borders and the presence of national sovereignty. They have also failed to recognize that when security-oriented activities exceed the standards of relations between neighboring countries, they turn into violations that create new problems without solving the original problem in the first place. While previous Turkish incursions are justified and legitimized by several security agreements with Baghdad, have exacerbated the crisis. The previous regime in Baghdad considered the Turkish incursions in the north as a source of power in its confrontation with the Iraqi Kurds who opposed the centralized authority and who were attempting to make the best out of its weakness as a result of the sanctions imposed by the Alliance both in the north and south. To some extent, this situation legitimized the violation of Iraq's national sovereignty and the state's waiving its right to maintain order within its borders. Almost a similar procedure is repeated in the current crisis. The attitude of the Iraqi state toward this state of affairs is determined in the light of current political interests and not in recognition of clear concepts and regulations that govern the relations between independent and sovereign states. The Iraqi Kurdish leadership, represented at the presidential level, declares its impotence in controlling the Kurdish Workers Party in Iraq. However, it is suspected that this impotence results from the failure of the central authority in Baghdad to recognize its own right to interfere in Kurdish affairs (which explains rejecting the recent agreement between the Iraqi and Turkish ministers of interior in Ankara) on the one hand. On the other hand, there are suspicions about cross-border Kurdish-Kurdish solidarity, even if this solidarity eventually leads to military confrontations and to violating the national sovereignty of Iraq. The Arab Iraqi parts are not far off from this process. The Shiites express reservation by virtue of their alliance with the Kurdish coalition, the primary constituent of the current government. Moreover, their agreement with the Kurds over the federation recognizes the Kurdish-Turkish nature of the conflict and Kurdish sensitivities. Sunni Arabs, on the other hand, believe that any military Turkish intervention in north Iraq will weaken the Kurdish autonomy and by default, the demand for federalism and the division of power within the centralized government. Iraq's neighbors, also home to Kurdish minorities, namely Syria and Iran, have a stake in the Kurdish question, and despite their calls for a political and peaceful resolution, justify the Turkish intervention. While Iran insists on such a resolution, it fails to adopt one, but to the contrary, it cannot stop from firing its guns at the Iraqi borders. Syria too, while its efforts to clarify its position, recognizes that Turkey has the right to adopt the appropriate means to strike the Kurdish terrorist threat. In both cases, neighbors overlook Iraq's national sovereignty as an independent state in favor of weakening the Kurdish hinterland which is accused by Teheran and Damascus of supporting the demands for cultural and human rights by the Kurds in both countries. As for Turkey, the rabble-rouser, it discovered that the "external" Kurdish threat is an entry to reconciliation between the military establishment and the ruling party, and that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - even as a terrorist organization - remains an expression of a Turkish- Kurdish situation, not an Iraqi one. Thus, it requires an internal Turkish solution rather than a further violation of Iraq's sovereignty by a process liable to be used by several sides for their benefit without actually resolving the problem itself. * Published in London-based DAR AL-HAYAT on September 23, 2007. Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film UN names George Clooney "messenger of peace" Comments 1 - resident in U.S. A.Weis [ Tuesday, November 13, 2007 ] This Article includes good Information but also some distortion.The Kurdish Problem did not start as a reaction of sovereignity of inhabited countries.While Kurds never wanted to harm Turks ,Arabs and Persians in the first place those folks did everything possible including inviting foreign forces-Turkish 1992-2003,Syrian 1962- 1963,Egyptian 1962-1963.to supress its Kurdish minority .It is their opinion that Kurds belong to them outright and as 3rd. class sitizens,references are too many about this.Kurds are Jointly more than Persians,Turks in Turkey and Arabs in Syria.in addition to common history and faith they are neighbours and that cannot be changed. Did the Arabs ,Turks and Persians ever think one time in last 85 years to treat Kurds as equals and neighbours?instead of killing and gassing them ,while crying loudly about Jews. Historical Justice cannot be limited by 50 or 60 years .it is definitive.Are we going to send all Arabs back to their motherland Yemenand Turks to Mongolia.Folks you have no choice but to accept Kurds as Equals and Neighbours if you want peace and prosperity.Muslims today have a big problem on their hand and they think if ignored can go away! no sir it doesn't,better to aknoledge it and try to find a solution. 2 - killer counries jak [ Tuesday, November 13, 2007 ] it is obivioius that Kurds' soil were invaded by turkey, iran,iraq and syria, and kurds have been massacared by these colonialists for many years. I think, our civilized world has to fight against these stuation, and stop these killer countries. The history shows us it is not turkey's first crime against humans, i affraid if we can't stop this country, one day it will threat us as they do in the past. We even never forget turkish genocide against armanians and other ancient civilizations. Leave a Comment Analysis] Is the crisis in Turkey only about the PKK? Khaled Salih "Is the latest crisis in Turkey really only about the Kurdistan Workers Party [PKK]?" a friend recently asked ironically. A reasonable answer would be both yes and no. This is certainly an issue with special complexities of its own, including a deep conflict in Turkey between civilians and the military and an ambition for regional domination. In recent weeks, the military confrontation between the PKK and the Turkish military has reached a new level. Inside Turkey, demonstrations, talk-shows, extensive media coverage and a general sense of war have led Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to publicly express concerns that some commentators were acting as "public servants working for provocation." The question is, what are they provoking? If Erdogan's fear is provocation of a war with the PKK, it is already a fact. Erdogan said it has become "inevitable for Turkey to start a more intense military process against terrorism. The operations in the region are under way." If the intent is to provoke a wider and more extensive war in which fighting the PKK is only one element or a pretext, as Kurdish commentators and politicians suspect, then the parallel is not the Turkish military's resolve to demonstrate strength - as it did in 1998 against Syria, leading to the expulsion of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. Rather, one has to look at a previous Turkish military adventure: the invasion and occupation of Northern Cyprus in 1974, in which the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee (between Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom) was invoked. Turkey's rationale then was to use its right to take unilateral military action ostensibly to restore constitutional order and ensure Cyprus' independence and sovereignty. Instead, Turkey ended up dividing the island, occupying 37 percent of its territory and displacing 160,000 Greek Cypriots and 50,000 Turkish Cypriots. Provoking a wider war for regional domination implies that some people within the Turkish political and military establishments would like to see an incursion into the Kurdistan region in Iraq that ends with a longer-term invasion and occupation. If Iraq disintegrates entirely, the final stage of occupation would then be extended to annexation. Many would say that we have not seen any justification in Turkish propaganda preparing for a second scenario that leads in that direction. However, the Turkish chief of the General Staff, General Yasar Buyukanit, made the point clearly at the Turkish War Academies a month ago when he said, "Iraq is rapidly moving toward a confederation. Division in Iraq is very close. An independent state in the north of Iraq would be not only a political threat but also a security threat. Turkey must look at the north of Iraq from a political, military and psychological perspective." It is fully possible that if an incursion takes place we will hear two arguments during the subsequent stages of invasion, occupation and annexation, in addition to the Kurdistan region being portrayed as a political, security, military and psychological threat to the Turkish Republic. One is the idea that Mosul should be returned to Turkey because no Turkish government has ever accepted the 1926 Anglo-Turkish Agreement under which Mosul became part of Iraq based on a decision reached by the League of Nations. The other is that anticipated tensions between Turkmens in the Kirkuk region and the Kurds resulting from a Turkish military adventure will be cited by the Turkish military and the "public servants of provocation" to justify Turkish occupation (and if possible also annexation) of Kirkuk to protect their kinsmen. No one has better expressed Erdogan's fear regarding a wider war than the president of the Kurdistan regional government Massoud Barzani, who said recently, "The continuous, direct threats of Turkey against the Kurdistan region ... have created a doubt, leading us close to the conviction that exactly this is the aim. The Kurdistan region is the target." Erdogan has also hinted, equally strongly, that the "public servants of the provocation" might want the moderate Islamist government not only to be embarrassed but also to face a third round of brinkmanship with the military - the first two being confrontations over the election of the president in 2007 in which the governing Justice and Development Party ultimately gained clear-cut democratic support. If Erdogan fails to prevent a massive incursion into the Kurdistan region by almost 100,000 Turkish troops to combat 3,000 to 4,000 PKK fighters, he will not only put Turkey in an extremely difficult position with the Kurds in Iraq, the United States, NATO, the European Union and the United Nations, but he will also risk the military winning this third round of brinkmanship in the struggle by the civilian government to control the military. At that point, EU attempts to promote democracy and peaceful conflict resolution and to coordinate European foreign policy with Turkey will face a severe challenge. * Published in Lebanon's THE DAILY STAR November 05, 2007. Khaled Salih is Kurdistan regional government spokesman. He is also a senior lecturer in Middle East politics at the University of Southern Denmark. The views expressed here are personal. His commentary first appeared at bitterlemons-international.org, an online newsletter. Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film UN names George Clooney "messenger of peace" Comments 1 - Cyprus is greatest proof that Turkey wants peace, not war Sevket Zaimoglu [ Thursday, November 15, 2007 ] It is interesting to see that Khaled Salih points to Cyprus as an example, but he conveniently forgets to add that in 1974, there had been a coup d'etat led by the terrorist organization EOKA under the leadership of Nikos Sampson, and that the president of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios had to flee the island. He also fails to note that thanks to the presence of the Turkish forces, Cyprus has been an island of peace, with no suicide bombings, assasinations, bombings or massacres taking place, amid all the chaos in the eastern Mediterranean. He finally fails to note that it was Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots, who overwhelmingly said YES to the UN peace plan, whereas the Greek Cypriots said NO (OXI). The simple fact is that the Turks want peace in the region, the Greek Cypriots want the conflict to continue. As to the pending Turkish operation to northern Iraq, the Iraqi central government and the Iraqi Kurdish leaders must make a decision between supporting terrorism and being a responsible, peaceful neighbor. The two cannot exist together. If they stop allowing PKK to flourish within their territory, they will find that Turkey is their best friend and Turkey will do its best to help rebuild a peaceful, prosperous Iraq. Leave a Comment [Facts] Who are the Kurds? The fight with Turkey Autonomy in Iraq Persecution in Iran Silent minority in Syria -- The Kurds are a non-Arab, mainly Sunni Muslim people, speaking a language related to Persian and living in a mountainous area straddling the borders of Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. -- For most of their history they have been subjugated. In modern times Iran, Iraq and Turkey have resisted an independent Kurdish state and the Western powers have seen no reason to help establish one. -- Perhaps the most famous of all Kurds is Saladin (1138–1193), who gained fame during the Crusades as one of the greatest rulers in Islamic history. -- Contemporary Kurdish nationalism stirred in the 1890s when the Ottoman Empire was on its last legs. The 1920 Treaty of Sevres, which imposed a settlement and colonial carve-up of Turkey after World War One, promised them independence. The fight with Turkey -- Three years after the 1920 Treaty of Sevres promised independence to Turkey's Kurds, Turkish leader Kemal Ataturk tore up the document. Kurdish revolts in the 1920s and 1930s were put down by Turkish forces. The Kurds were not recognized as a separate people or allowed to speak their language in public until 1991. -- The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), named in 1978, took up arms against Turkey in 1984 with the aim of creating an ethnic homeland in the southeast. Since then more than 30,000 people have been killed in the conflict. -- PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was captured in 1999, tried and sentenced to death. That was reduced to life imprisonment in October 2002 after Turkey abolished the death penalty. -- Fighting eased after Ocalan's capture, leading to a ceasefire and the withdrawal of rebel fighters from Turkey. Ocalan put new emphasis on seeking Kurdish rights through political, rather than armed struggle. -- Today, some 3,000 Turkish PKK fighters are based in northern Iraq and launch attacks on security and civilian targets in Turkish territory. A few thousand PKK rebels are also believed to be inside Turkey. -- Around 40 Turkish soldiers have been killed in fighting in the past month alone. Erdogan's government is under heavy domestic pressure to pursue the PKK into northern Iraq. -- Turkey has mobilized some 200,000 soldiers to the southeast, half of them along Turkey's border with Iraq, to stop PKK fighters crossing into Turkey from mountain bases in northern Iraq. Autonomy in Iraq -- The Kurds fared little better in northern Iraq where, under a British mandate, revolts were quashed in 1919, 1923 and 1932. -- Under leader Mustafa Barzani, the Iraqi Kurds waged an intermittent struggle against Baghdad after World War Two. -- Kurdish northern Iraq won autonomy from Saddam Hussein with U.S. help in 1991, and has benefited from more than a decade of economic development. There has been some violence but it has not approached the levels seen in Baghdad. -- Saddam's fall deepened the desire for autonomy and in September 2006 the president of Iraq's Kurdistan ordered the Kurdish flag to be flown on government buildings instead of the Iraqi national flag. Persecution in Iran *Twice as many Kurds live in Iran as Iraq, but the national movement has had much less success, with a series of Kurdish leaders put to death by the Iranian government. *Ismail Agha Simko led a major revolt in the 1920s but was killed by the Iranian government in 1930. *In 1946, the Iranian Kurds established a short- lived Kurdish Republic, the only one in the 20th century. After destroying the state, Iran hanged its president, Qasi Muhammad, in March 1947. *In 1981, Ayatollah Khomeini’s forces quashed an attempted revolt by the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI). In 1989, Iranian agents assassinated KDPI leader Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou in Austria. His successor,Sadegh Sharafkiandi was assassinated at a restaurant in Germany in 1992. Silent minority in Syria *There are around one million Kurds in Syria who live in separate parts of the country and are poorly organized. *Syria's Baathist regime has denied citizenship to many Kurds and bans Kurdish cultural centers, bookshops and similar activities. A 1992 decree prohibits the registration of children with Kurdish first names. *It has been suspected that in return for giving Turkish rebels sanctuary in Syria for many years, the PKK has kept a lid on any Kurdish unrest in the country. Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film UN names George Clooney "messenger of peace" Comments 1 - Thank you al arabia Deyary Rakhtawan [ Tuesday, November 13, 2007 ] it is a great feeling when you see a respected arab media telling the truth about the plight of Kurdish people. this shows that ordinary arabs are good people and only their regimes are bad. 2 - progress in democracy cwan [ Wednesday, November 21, 2007 ] Nowdays we notice a big interest in Al arabia Media showing and explaning kurds issue and their milestones ,all kurds people in Syria appreciat your your interst too much ,and wish for Al arabia Media flourish progress in democracy media . Leave a Comment [Facts] Nationalism pre-PKK -- The armed struggle for Kurdish independence did not begin with the founding of the PKK in 1979. It can be traced back to almost a century of persecution and segregation. -- The 1908 Young Turk Revolution initiated dissent against the Ottoman Empire and laid the foundation for the 1922 Atatürk revolt. Its strong nationalist sentiments urged the elimination of minority populations -- the Kurds, Armenians and Assyrians. -- Over the past eighty years, hundreds of thousands of Kurds have been killed by the Turkish state. The violent suppression of occasional uprisings also claimed many Kurdish lives. Sheikh Said Piran rebellion in 1924-1927, the declaration of the Republic of Ararat in 1927, and the 1937- 1938 Dersim uprising are but a few examples. -- The Turkish government has routinely imprisoned Kurdish members of parliament and human rights activists, and assassinated journalists and intellectuals. -- The Turkish state has also imposed a policy of forced assimilation on Kurds which American congressman Bob Filner terms "cultural genocide." It had banned the Kurdish language from media outlets and government institutions, denied the Kurdish part of Turkey's history, and forced the settlement of Kurds in non-Kurdish areas. -- The PKK's violent response made it easier for the Turkish government to label Kurds as "terrorists" and justify its campaign of segregation and persecution. It also gained the sympathy of Western powers already susceptible to the paranoia of "terrorism." -- It was only in 2002, when Turkey's human rights record became an obstacle to its EU membership, that the Turkish government permitted broadcasting Kurdish radio and TV programs and allowed private Kurdish education. (Compiled by Sonia Farid). Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film UN names George Clooney "messenger of peace" Comments 1 - This is true? Englishman [ Thursday, November 15, 2007 ] What a load of bull***s! I was in Turkey only a year ago and there is kurd tv and radio and media everywhere. Nearly all kurds in Turkey see them self as Turkish. The general population of Kurds oppose the PKK terrorist organisation. 2 - Thank you Sonia!!!! Pshtiwan [ Thursday, November 15, 2007 ] Everything in your article is truth and nothing but the trusth,but for som people who call himself englishman the truth can be very difficult and har to digest,No one can deny the brutality of the turks untill these days and stiil the kurds in turkey can not use kurdish names and there is no freedom of expression,its an insult to democracy to call turkey democracy. I wounder how could this so called Englishman ask evey Kurd in turkey if they can see them selvs as Turks?Most of the kurds in north KURDISTAN are supporting the PKK and that is what scare the turks to death,Just take a look at the turkish history to realize who is the terrorists. Pshtiwan Al-Sulaymania South Kurdistan 3 - you have just said little about the kurdish issue ARAM [ Friday, November 16, 2007 ] if anyone wants to be sure about the kurdish issue in turkey, just read about the recent turkish approach to the kurdish MPs. the crime of some of them is that, during the elections spoke kurdish.. 4 - facts about Kurdish history eamad j mazouri [ Friday, November 16, 2007 ] Dear Sonia What you mentioned is no more than facts in Kurdish history, these facts are mentioned in every history book pertains to Kurds, their sufferings, struggle and sucrifices.The Kurdish nation is grateful to you and any other friend who try to tell the truth.Mr. Englishman is obviously a Mr. Turkishman and an ultranationalist one who until this very day deny the very existence of Kurds quite in line with Attaturkism and its racist philosophy. The modern Kurdish history has been nothing other than successive uprising against Ottomans and later against Turkish state. Every single one was savagely crashed.Points you mentioned are only few salient ones. Regrettably some circles in Turkey until today like to continue on that same destructive path and keep on denying Kurds their legitimate rights.Turks need to open their eyes and see the light.There are no partial solutions here but to rewrite the constitution and recognize Kurds as such with all their rights , political, cultural, economicand administrative.Anything short of that not going to resolve the issue and the conflict will continue.Turkey needs courageous and visionary leaders who truly understand the history of the region and have an insight into the near future.Turkey has no future within Kemalism and must disregard that and embrace democratic principles. This is the right approach for Turkey to turn into a strong democratic state with a powerful economy, and the Kurds and other ethnic and religious groups are the main players and partners. Anything short of that will bring chaos, military rule,poverty and bachwardness to Turkey.Or rather Turks should ask themselves why have they failed to catch up with Europe while under Ottomans the same country was way ahead of them?The answer to that because the embraced change, human values, tolerance while Turks stood against every one of those principles. 5 - Turkey Jill [ Wednesday, November 28, 2007 ] Here are some tidbits of information on the REAL Kurdish situation in Turkey today.  Turkey’s ethnic Kurds are first class citizens.  Turkey, like the United States, is a multi-ethnic, multi- cultural nation. “Turks,” much like “Americans” represent a large variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds. Kurdish ethnicity is one of many other ethnicities in Turkey, which include Circassians, Abkhaz, Georgians, Bosnians, Albanians, Laz, Azeri, Turkmen, Tatar and many more.  Turkey has taken laudable steps to open space for ethnic cultures and Kurdish culture in recent years: radio and television broadcasts in Kurdish have not only been liberalized, but Turkish Public Television now broadcasts in Kurdish. Private language instruction in Kurdish is free. There is no doubt that Kurds in Turkey preserve their ethnic identity, language and local cultures.  Turks of Kurdish ethnicity are well represented in government and in business and industry. They have been Presidents, Prime Ministers, and have been well represented in the Turkish parliament.  As co-religionists, Kurds and Turks of other ethnic backgrounds have intermarried and lived peacefully together for centuries. The vast majority of Turkish Kurds is well integrated into society and has the same rights and liberties as all other citizens. Restrictions that existed on cultural expressions of ethnic identities have long been lifted.  The southeast of Turkey, where a large number of Kurdish Turks live, has received the greatest per capita public investment, totaling well over 150 billion dollars through the course of the past three decades. In the past few years only, investments to the southeast of Turkey have surpassed 20 billion dollars in contrast to the fact that the region generates a miniscule contribution to the overall GNP of Turkey.  In addition to public investment, Turkish civil society organizations, particularly charitable organizations that support education and healthcare, have poured millions of dollars in donations into projects specifically designed for the needs of this region.  In sum, Kurds enjoy equal opportunity to pursue their political, social and economic ambitions in Turkey. The vast majority of Kurds does not support the PKK, a Marxist-Leninist terrorist organization that has rejected Turkey’s democracy for violence and terror to pursue the illegal aim of secession. Leave a Comment Facts] Autonomy in Iraq Kurds in northern Iraq won autonomy from Saddam Hussein with U.S. help in 1991. Saddam's fall deepened the desire for autonomy, and in September 2006, the president of Iraq's Kurdistan ordered the Kurdish flag to be flown on government buildings instead of the Iraqi national flag. Turkey fears Iraqi Kurds could embolden Turkish Kurds. It has mobilized some 200,000 soldiers to the southeast, half of them along Turkey's border with Iraq, to stop PKK fighters crossing into Turkey from mountain bases in northern Iraq. But Iraq's Kurdistan government has called upon the PKK to eliminate violence and armed struggle as a mode of operation, calling for the current problems should be solved through political and diplomatic methods. Here is a history of Iraq's Kurks struggle for autonomy: 1918: Sheikh Mahmoud Barzinji becomes governor of Suleimaniah under British rule. He and other Kurdish leaders who want Kurdistan to be ruled independently of Baghdad rebel against the British. He is defeated a year later. 1923: The Treaty of Lausanne between Turkey and the allied powers invalidates the Treaty of Sevres, which had provided for the creation of a Kurdish state. 1925: After sending a fact-finding committee to Mosul province, the League of Nations decides that it will be part of Iraq, on condition that the U.K. hold the mandate for Iraq for another 25 years to assure the autonomy of the Kurdish population. The following year Turkey and Britain signed a treaty in line with the League of Nation’s decision. 1970: The Kurdistan Democratic Party, lead by Mustafa Barzani, reaches an agreement with Baghdad on autonomy for Kurdistan and political representation in the Baghdad government. By 1974, key parts of the agreement are not fulfilled, leading to disputes. 1971-1980: The Iraqi government expels more than 200,000 Faili (Shia) Kurds from Iraq. 1975: The Iraqi government signs the Algiers Agreement with Iran, in which they settle land disputes in exchange for Iran ending its support of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and other concessions. 1983: The Iraqi government disappears 8,000 boys and men from the Barzani clan. In 2005, 500 of them are found in mass graves near Iraq’s border with Saudi Arabia, hundreds of kilometers from the Kurdistan Region. 1987-1989: The Iraqi government carries out the genocidal Anfal campaign against Kurdistan’s civilians, of mass summary executions and disappearances, widespread use of chemical weapons, destruction of some 2,000 villages and of the rural economy and infrastructure. An estimated 180,000 are killed in the campaign. On 16 and 17 March 1988, Iraqi government airplanes drop chemical weapons on the town of Halabja. Between 4,000 and 5,000 people, almost all civilians, are killed. 1991: The people in Kurdistan rise up against the Iraqi government days after the Gulf War ceasefire. Within weeks the Iraqi military and helicopters suppress the uprising. Tens of thousands of people flee to the mountains, causing a humanitarian crisis. The U.S., Britain and France declare a no-fly zone at the 36th parallel and refugees return. Months later, Saddam Hussein withdraws the Iraqi Army and his administration, and imposes an internal blockade on Kurdistan. 1992: The Iraqi Kurdistan Front, an alliance of political parties, holds parliamentary and presidential elections and establishes the Kurdistan Regional Government. 1994: Power-sharing arrangements between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) fall apart, leading to civil war and two separate administrations, in Erbil and Suleimaniah respectively. 1998: The PUK and KDP sign the Washington Agreement, ending the civil war. 2003: The Peshmerga, Kurdistan’s official armed forces, fight alongside the coalition to liberate Iraq from Saddam Hussein’s rule. 2006: At the start of the year, the PUK and KDP agree to unify the two administrations. On 7th May, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani announces a new unified cabinet. (Source: Kurdistan Regional Government) Nasrallah in public for first time since Israel war Yemen tracks killers of Belgian tourists Israel continues Gaza blitz despite UN concern Dutch govt ready for anger over anti-Islam film UN names George Clooney "messenger of peace" Comments Leave a Comment