Sarkozy repeating Chirac’s mistakes in Syria

Arab affairs

Editorial: A mark of shame for the ‘International Community’
In the Arab East, the expression ‘international community’ has become a synonym for all sorts of international crimes targeting the region, its wealth and the security of its people. This expression which was spread by the North Americans –especially following the collapse on the Soviet Union - conveys the new international order that is subjected to the United States’ hegemony, and through which dozens of international crimes were committed during the last twenty years.
The lie of the two-state solution was exposed after most of the West Bank was swallowed and turned into a stage for the construction of Zionist colonies. The West Bank was thus dismantled, while the remaining places in which the Palestinians can live were transformed into isolated blocks that are closer to detention and segregation camps surrounded by the occupation and the settlers from all sides, just like the Apartheid isolation camps seen in South Africa.
Today, Palestine – from Galilee to Gaza and the West Bank - has become a new South Africa, while the illusion of the recognition of a fictive state that has no land and no sovereignty and is wagered on by the leaders of the Palestinian settlement course, is just like the Ad extirpanda in Medieval Europe, and the Palestinians have known that truth since the wretched Oslo accords.
The supporters of justice and human rights around the world will face a major question revolving around what they are doing to confront the last strongholds of colonialism and racial segregation on the face of the earth. For its part, the upcoming Palestinian revolution will be able to reinstate the justice that was eradicated by the so-called international community 63 years ago, through the establishment of a racist entity that displaced an entire population, waged wars against the Arabs to occupy their land and committed massacres and crimes against humanity with Western arms and funding and under the protection of the American-European veto.

International affairs

Editorial: Sarkozy repeating Chirac’s mistakes
The transformation in the positions of the French president towards Syria constitutes a clear repetition of the mistakes committed by former French President Jacques Chirac when he turned against Bashar al-Assad on the day that followed the occupation of Baghdad. At the time, Chirac went from being a violent oppositionist of the American military invasion and from enjoying a political and strategic partnership with Syria against the so-called American monopolization, to a seeker of a secondary and partial position in the American colonial invasion of the region and to a conspirer against Syria and Lebanon via resolution 1559.
Back then, he considered that the American occupation of Iraq marked the beginning of a balance of powers in the Middle East, in light of which France could no longer maintain an influential position. Therefore the only option was to partner up or become affiliated with the American empire in order to serve it at the expense of the projects of partnership with Syria.
Sarkozy for his part, perceived the American plan as being an opportunity to contain the failure through the direct participation of his forces in NATO’s invasion of Libya, based on calculations similar to those of his predecessor but with the only difference that he immediately rushed to join this American plan, while considering that the Libyan opportunity would compensate for the retreat of the French influence before the American progress from Sudan to the Ivory Coast among many other countries in the Dark Continent. Indeed, the latter countries were cleansed from any French traditional influence and the price which Sarkozy decided to pay to the Americans in advance – i.e. before earning his promised share of the oil and political influence from the Libyan cake - was particularly the participation in targeting and pressuring Syria in order to subdue it.
President Assad decided to launch reforms and is proceeding towards the building of a modern and pluralistic civil state based on Syrian national calculations. However, Sarkozy wants President Al-Assad to succumb to the American and Israeli conditions at the level of the affairs of the region and to stop supporting the resistance movements. In order to do that, he chose to provide a political climate from which the terrorist Takifiri groups in Syria are benefiting. Last Friday, it was proven that when the terrorists were placed in prison, hundreds of demonstrators were able to move throughout the country without any incidents worth mentioning. So did Sarkozy understand the message or is the Zionist influence that is surrounding and motivating him blocking the view, especially since he is seeking the Libyan oil and a lot of Qatari money to fund his upcoming electoral campaign?

The Arab file

Syria
• President Bashar al-Assad proceeding with his meetings, as he has already met with a number of clerics from Rif Damascus and popular delegations from all the Syrian provinces and cities, including heads of clans, clerics, dignitaries youth and ordinary citizens. In this context, Al-Hayat newspaper tackled these meetings by saying that a number of religious figures from the province of Hama said after a meeting they held with President Bashar al-Assad that the recent events enhanced the relationship between the president and his people. They also considered that the crisis was almost over. In the meantime, Damascus announced that a new committee was formed to draw up a new electoral law.
• In this respect the Hama director of endowments Sheikh Abdul Basset Hajj Suleiman who took part in the meeting noted that the religious figures in Hama played a positive role in appeasing the situation and the protests.
_ • The Syrian Al-Watan newspaper commented on the current Turkish position in an article published this week, saying that the “Turkish model” was presenting itself as a “secret recipe” for the Islamic world and especially the Arab world that rejected rejecting the principles of the modern state governed by “secularism.” It added that since the eruption of the events in Syria about a month ago, the Turkish official performance looked improvised, and that apart from the arrogant “reformatory preaching” of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the architect of “neo-Ottomanism” Ahmet Davutoğlu was unable to create solutions for the alleged problem of dealing with these incidents. The article then pointed to the ties between Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood whose leader Riad al-Shaqfa appeared from Istanbul, but also, to the conference staged in Istanbul by the Syrian opposition, assuring that the “Turkish model” was going through a test whose outcome will determine its fate.
• It is worth mentioning that former Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam, who is currently living in exile, had thwarted all the efforts to launch dialogue between the newly-elected president Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian intellectuals and people back in 2002. Now, he is claiming to represent one the main figures of the so-called Syrian opposition, and has exposed his goals and dubious connections when he gave an interview to the Israel television in which he promised that once Al-Assad’s regime is toppled, the peace negotiations with Israel will be launched. He also announced that NATO will invade and occupy Syria just like it is currently attempting to do in Libya.

Egypt
• The Egyptian armed forces thwarted on Monday an attempt carried out by thousands of Copts to break into the radio and television building against the backdrop of the sectarian incidents witnessed in the country last Saturday.
• Clashes erupted between some Muslims and Copts who were staging protests, thus leading to injuries in the ranks of the two sides before the military forces interfered to disperse the crowds.
• Thousands of Copts had announced the staging of a sit-in before the television building in protest against the Imbaba incidents and the violent clashes that erupted between Muslims and Copts around the Saint Mina and Virgin Mary churches, resulting in the death of twelve people, the injuring of 240, the burning of the Virgin Mary Church and the sabotaging of the Saint Mina church along with the stores around it.
• The general prosecutor issued a decision to arrest the wife of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Suzanne, against the backdrop of charges of corruption and illicit profiting. With this last decision, the entire family of the former president is now in prison, knowing that his sons Alaa and Gamal have been under arrest for over a month.

Al-Qaeda
• The Iranian minister of intelligence announced there were documents proving the death of leader of Al-Qaeda Osama Bin laden due to an illness a while ago, and that he was consequently not killed by the American forces.
• The leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula Nasser al-Wahishi pledged to continue the fight following the death of leader of the organization Osama Bin Laden. He addressed the Americans in a statement carried online by saying: “What is worse is yet to come and much greater things are awaiting you.”
• Asharq al-Awsat daily carried a report on the repercussions of Bin Laden’s death. It noted that although many observers believe that the death of Osama Bin Laden will not weaken the jihadists in Pakistan, Afghanistan and other places around the world, the fact that Al-Qaeda was created by Bin Laden could not be ignored. It quoted Naaman Bin Othman, a former leader in the Libyan Fighting Group, as saying that that Al-Qaeda had lost its financial backing since the funds which were mainly coming from the Gulf and Pakistan were offered to Bin Laden personally, because the man was highly trusted and valued.

Yemen
• Forces affiliated with the presidential guards and the central security apparatus raided the square of an open sit-in staged in the province of Taez south of the Yemeni capital Sana’a, thus resulting in the fall of a number of dead and wounded.
• The security authorities accused teachers who had stopped working and were affiliated with the Joint Meeting Parties of besieging an education office in Taez, of closing its doors with chains and preventing its employees from going out or receiving food and water from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon.
• In the meantime, Taez, Sana’a, Al-Hadida, Zammar, and the coastal city of Eden in the south witnessed civil disobedience which also featured armed clashes between the governmental forces and those opposing the ruling regime.

Libya
• The pro-Kaddafi army has launched a compulsory military service campaign in all the cities of Tripoli, in an attempt to recruit additional military elements.
• Valerie Amos, the United Nations undersecretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs and emergency relief coordinator, called on all the sides in Libya to stop the hostilities and allow the entry of the necessary aid to those who need it.
• In the meantime, the opposition gained control over the Misratah airport following violent clashes with Kaddafi’s forces, while the NATO aircrafts proceeded with their bombing of several locations.

The Israeli file

• The Israeli papers published this week tackled the Israeli preparations to avoid a third Intifada on the anniversary of the Nakba on May 15, the possible proclamation of the Palestinian state in September and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to Washington.

• Haaretz talked about the preparations undertaken by the Israeli army to confront the activities that will be staged on the anniversary of Al-Nakba and later on the proclamation by the UN of the establishment of the Palestinian state.

• As for Yediot Aharonot, it tackled Ehud Barak’s peace plan, which he will propose in preparation for the Netanyahu-Obama meeting.

• The papers also addressed the Israeli estimates pointing to the fact that 130 United Nations member states will support the Palestinian state despite Israel’s opposition, as well as the secret document revealing that Israel undertook secret measures to withdraw the residency papers of Palestinians who left the West Bank and travelled abroad between 1967 and 1994.

The Lebanese affairs

Editorial: Concerned about the events in Syria because we are Lebanese
Some addressed numerous criticisms to Lebanese forces and figures who rushed to issue positions and statements related to the plan to sabotage Syria and the incidents recently witnessed in many Syrian provinces. Some among these ‘somes’ such as colleague Ibrahim al-Amin were known for their commitment to the resistance’s course and to pan-Arabism in Lebanon, and established their credibility and moral immunity among the public based on the latter positions.
Some of those issuing criticisms actually acknowledged the existence of a foreign conspiracy against Syria based on the exploitation of gaps and holes on the Syrian domestic arena, but also the spread of the protests infection. However, with the emergence of an armed rebellion against the Syrian state, along with the activities of terrorist Takifiri groups, it has become the responsibility of the Lebanese to raise their voices in support of Syria and its command, especially since some Lebanese forces have established media and political platforms in the country and received American correspondents to participate in the foreign plan against Syria. This plan is being carried out with the participation of Syrian forces such as the Khaddam-Muslim Brotherhood alliance which is known by the Lebanese since 2005, particularly in light of what was revealed by Wikileaks regarding the role played by Saad al-Hariri and his partners.

The Lebanese file

• The meetings that were held this week to secure the formation of the government spread a climate of optimism which was soon thwarted.

• Head of the National Struggle Front Deputy Walid Jumblat accused the majority forces of having miserably failed to form the government. He said to Al-Intiqad website that at a time when Syria is going through a crisis, its waist in Lebanon should become immunized through the swift formation of a government. He believed that President Bashar al-Assad met the promises of reform he made to the Syrian people to a wide extent, stressing that the relations with Syria were good and that Syria offered a lot to Lebanon and protected the resistance.

• Deputy Nawaf al-Moussawi stressed that the government formation had become a national obligation, assuring that those wagering on the issuance of the indictment to go back in time and impose a past formula were delusional. He continued: “There is an insistence on moving forward at the level of the change process and no compromise or blackmail will be tolerated neither at the level of the designation nor the formation.”

• Head of the Change and Reform Bloc Deputy General Michel Aoun said there was no will to form the government, assuring that even if the Interior Ministry problem is solved, another problem will be created in regard to another ministry.

• In the meantime, international Prosecutor Judge Daniel Bellemare surrendered a third version of the indictment in the case of Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri to pretrial judge Daniel Fransen after having introduced drastic changes to it. For his part, Judge Fransen adopted a decision allowing General Jamil al-Sayyed to look at several documents from the investigations related to the false witnesses.

News analysis: The illusion of the Ottoman tutelage and the American failure
The Turkish positions towards the Syrian events constituted a major shock to many due to the exposure of the ties linking the Justice and Development party’s government with the Muslim Brotherhood organization in Syria, which actually constitutes the main political nerve of the so-called Syrian opposition and the organizational custodian of the Takfiri groups that recently emerged in the Syrian cities and villages.
This is true, despite what is known regarding its limited influence in the Syrian community ever since it became involved in the dangerous bloody incidents witnessed in the eighties. Back then, the Syrian MB was carrying out explosions and assassinations in broad daylight, with Saudi funding and support offered by the American intelligence to sabotage Syria in parallel to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
– Firstly: It is clear that Turkey has signed a strategic agreement with Obama’s administration in order to contain the American failure in the region by convincing the policymakers in Washington that an agreement could be reached with the MB in order to reproduce the Turkish model at the level of the rule in some Arab countries.
– Secondly: These Turkish-American agreements were not prompted by a proposal produced by Erdoğan’s genius. It is known at this level that the American studies and research centers – ever since the formation of the Baker-Hamilton group - started circulating what is dubbed the Turkish model to contain the American failure. This particularly meant the search for Western coexistence formulas with the MB in partnership with the armies inside which the Americans would maintain a great deal of influence. But this concept cannot be applied in Syria due to the presence of a national and doctrinal army.
– The Americans and the Turks were thus obstructed by the Syrian problem as they were studying the project to contain the failure. Unluckily for them, Syria is a major player at the level of all he files in the region, from Iraq to Lebanon, Palestinian, Yemen, and Bahrain, and most certainly at the level of the Iranian file due to the strong alliance between Tehran and Damascus. Erdoğan who is involved in a plan to target Syria will be facing - during the next few weeks - great challenges that will mark the true beginning of the fall of the Ottoman illusion