“No-fault divorce and other things”

Fatima Kheir reported in Elaph, a pan-Arab website, on March 30 that: “Year 2000, a law was issued that allowed Egyptian wives for the first time to use Khula as a way to end their marriages [Khula is a no-fault divorce that women can use. To do so, they must agree to forfeit their financial rights and repay the dowry given to them by their husbands upon marriage. Adopted as a way to speed up the divorce process, no-fault divorce still requires women to petition the court to terminate their marriages. To initiate a fault-based divorce, which can provide full financial rights, a woman must show evidence of harm inflicted by her spouse during the course of their marriage. Even physical abuse often needs to be supported by eyewitness testimony]. "The Egyptian street witnesses an uproar on such a decision with some saying that women will use this to get rid of their husbands without being rational, others who said that Khula is for rich women because poor women cannot return the dowry or forfeit their rights while others considered the Khula as providing too many rights to the divorcees. In other words, many attacked the Khula and few supported it. Positive consequences, however, came with this decision as a decline in the number of divorce cases which occurred in addition to radical changes in marital relations as husbands felt threatened with the fact that women at any time can end a marriage if they are prepared to forfeit financial rights. “Women with no shelter”“A new study issued last March revealed many interesting results. During the research, a number of cases were revealed that shocked the Egyptian community. The researcher, Intisar Badr, had been conducting field research for three years for an organization called ‘Women's Advancement and Development’ that provides services to women who are family providers. During their work with these women, the Organization is continuously discovering new problems. One of the problems that it recently discovered and which was not the aim of the study itself is the large number of homeless Egyptian women.“Despite the famous Egyptian proverb ‘the shadow of a man and not the shadow of a wall’ [meaning to have any man is better than to not have a man at all], the changes that the Egyptian community has been witnessing in the last years has made the proverb seem more like no shadow of a man does not necessary mean that there will be a shadow of a wall. According to the study, the main reasons why so many women have been left homeless are: Khula, divorced women with full financial rights [and] the law of child custody. In these three cases the divorcee does not have the right to live in the marital home unless she is still nursing the children who are still at a nursing age. That is, the Khula women and divorcees without any children usually find them selves on the streets.”Kheir added: “The other results that the study found-although it was not the aim of their study- are that women who should have financial rights and do not get it, nannies and the women who had Khula (that is the majority of women without a shelter) were all married to unemployed...men; that is, most of their husbands did not have stable jobs. Despite the terrible financial situation, most of these women chose divorce because they were mistreated by their husbands (especially those that resorted to Khula). In fact, 80% of separation cases are related to violence. Women who resorted to the no-fault divorces (Khula) would have been able to get a divorce but preferred to forfeit their rights in order to speed up the divorce process. It appeared that most of these women are mothers or have very simple jobs and 60% of them do not have independent incomes.”Kheir concluded: “The true issue here is poverty, yes poverty. Men who are unemployed or who feel threatened in their jobs or do not know whether they will be able to provide dinner that night for their children...are all men who treat their wives badly and beat them. Women who do not have independent salaries, are illiterate and marry a man who asked for their hand in marriage [usually from the parents] and without the right to choose still do not hesitate to choose their freedom rather than live with a man in hell. So poverty is the real problem here and the government is to blame for not providing job opportunities….citizens at the age of marriage are then obliged to establish families without having a constant source of income…this is what the study reveals to us even if it did not mean to!!” - Elaph, United Kingdom

“…Committee for Democratic Change does not recognize Brussels conference”

In its March 30 edition, Al Quds Al Arabi, an independent daily, reported that: “The opposition Coordination Committee for Democratic Change in Syria, stated it did not recognize the National Liberation Front, the establishment of which was proclaimed in Brussels during a meeting chaired by Mr. Abdel Halim Khaddam, the former-vice-president, and the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Ali Sadreddine Al Bayanouni, between Syrian opposition parties, and considered it to be contributing to creating sedition within the Syrian opposition.“The Committee that is based in Paris, considered that the Syrian opposition still lacks a strong political structure that represents democratic nationalism, and that building such a structure is still hindered until this day despite the efforts and sacrifices made by the Syrian people during the last three decades. In its statement, the Committee accused the Syrian authority that it referred to as a generic oppressive regime, of bargaining with the American policy, fighting against the forces of liberation and democracy, [and of] continuing to violate human rights and starving and impoverishing the Syrian people. “The Committee also wondered how Khaddam, after having contributed to implementing the policy of oppression, theft and impoverishment that was led by General Hafez Al Assad in Syria and Lebanon, and after being one of the biggest figures of corruption, had turned to the opposition side. It also condemned the fact that, because it sought a political role, the Brotherhood allied with Khaddam who supported the policy of genocides and political assassinations, without even requesting that he present an apology, whether it is accepted or not by the Syrian people. This came as a shock to all those who counted on them [the MB] to play a positive political role… “In its statement, the Committee declared that with this alliance, it was as though the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood had withdrawn his signature from the Damascus Declaration and has placed himself as well as the MB outside of the Declaration’s democratic choices. It then reiterated its support of the Damascus Declaration, and stated it was one step further towards establishing a national and democratic opposition, that is free from the Western rules and circles of power, the first of which is the United States…” - Al Quds Al Arabi, United Kingdom

“Aakef invites Nazif to stop attacking the MB & fight corruption instead…”

In its March 23 edition, Al Quds Al Arabi, an independent, Palestinian owned newspaper, reported that: “In exclusive statements to Al Quds Al Arabi, Mohammad Mahdi Aakef, the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, confirmed the Brotherhood’s refusal of the governmental statement that was issued by PM Dr. Ahmed Al Nazif before the People’s Council. He said that the statement was gelatinous and that it didn’t solve any of the Egyptian economy’s chronic problems. “Aakef also assured that what Nazif said regarding economic development was pure fantasy, which is confirmed in reality by the [declining status] of many classes after poverty has crept in on many Egyptians. This clearly indicated that the National Party failed to execute its program, except for the part related to the arrest of more politicians, whether members of the Muslim Brotherhood or members of other political forces. Aakef stated that the upcoming days will witness more crises, unless the National Party relinquishes its authority and surrenders the reins of power, peacefully, to another faction that will steer the wheel of the ship, because it is on the verge of sinking. “In response to the attack that was launched by Egyptian PM Ahmed Al Nazif against the Muslim Brotherhood, whereby he stated it had no program and no popularity, Mahdi Aakef asked: ‘If the Brotherhood has no clear program to save the country, why do the people trust it and give it their votes?’. He indicated that Nazif’s statements regarding the Brotherhood’s plan to liberate Egypt from the Egyptians was surprising, because indeed, Egypt needed to be liberated from the corrupt, the thieves, the torturers and those who feed on people’s livelihoods… “He said: ‘If Hamas’s goal in Palestine is to liberate the country from the Jews, a goal like liberating Egypt from the thieves is just as important’. He also added that: ‘We are the new spirit that is running in this nation’s blood and we will revive it with the Koran… We are the new light that will shine and obliterate material darkness with the knowledge of the Holy Allah’. The Guide called on Nazif to stop making accusations against the Brotherhood and the opposition parties and factions, and to solve the ever-growing economic crises and catastrophes instead, ones that were due to the corruption that has spread in the governmental institutions… “On the other hand, the Brotherhood has participated in demonstrations that condemned the occupation of Iraq in light of the third anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. The Brotherhood has also issued a statement, in which it condemned the conspiracies that are being weaved against the Arab and the Muslim world, and strongly criticized the official Arab silence…” - Al Quds Al Arabi, United Kingdom

“Amidst the political mud-slinging and the lack of balance”

Nizar Abdel-Kader, a regular columnist and political analyst for the pro-Syrian newspaper Ad Diyyar, wrote on March 23: “Do the ‘national’ leaderships that have gathered yesterday around the dialogue table at the Nejmeh Square without reaching a decisive solution realize the intensity of the feelings of doubt and ambiguity that the Lebanese people have, regarding the future of the country, that of their children and businesses? The answer is certainly ‘no’. “If these leaders knew how worried and concerned the people were, especially those whose businesses are around the parliament’s premises, they would’ve figured that the least they could do, before adjourning their meeting yesterday, was to issue a statement that would give the people some hope, instead of the brief statement that was issued by the head of parliament to declare that the meeting was adjourned until next Monday. Wherever you go, you can detect the astonishment that sometimes comes near to pessimism and the fear of the unknown in people’s eyes. “People are afraid for the destiny of the nation and the future of their children, and are suffocated by the economic stagnation and paralysis that has placed them on the verge of bankruptcy and [which] threatens to close down their businesses, if this barren political debate between the different leaderships continues… “The people do not expect the participants in the dialogue to reach a solution regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict or any of the regional crises, do not expect them to contain the fundamentalist movements that are flourishing in Arab societies, solve the crisis between the West on one hand and Iran and Syria on the other, or even find a solution for the complex Lebanese-Syrian relations. All that is required from them is to reach a minimum level of agreement that would result in achieving a political truce, and give the government and its institutions the chance to deal with the economic and social affairs. “We do realize that the security threats that these leaderships are exposed to keeps them from going out and mingling with the people to see how they are doing, like the good rulers used to do… It is thus necessary that we tell them about the apprehensions of the different categories of the people, and about the scary and frustrating phenomena that they are encountering. “Last Monday, I went to the main branch of a Lebanese bank to wire some money to one of my sons that lives abroad. It took me a whole hour. The director of the bank asked me how I viewed the current situation and about my hopes regarding the Wednesday dialogue. Before I answered, I asked him why he was so disconcerted. He told me that he had never witnessed such a commercial stagnation and paralysis in the country… On the night of the dialogue session, I went to a restaurant in downtown Beirut to have dinner with my friends… There were no cars on the streets surrounding the area, no pedestrians on the sidewalks and no customers in the restaurants and cafés. “We were the only customers in the big restaurant we went to. The owner of the restaurant approached us and introduced himself, then asked me to assess the situation and inquired about my expectations regarding the dialogue. He also complained about the security siege over the whole area, whether due to the dialogue sessions at the parliament or the Cabinet sessions at the Economic and Social Council headquarters… These are some samples of the people’s complaints… whereas the political leaderships that have imposed their custody on the country, continue with their political mud-slinging while exchanging the most repulsive terms and the most dangerous of accusations… “Yes the Lebanese leaderships are divided between two camps, and the reasons for the dissent aren’t the future of the country, the image of the government, the economic projects or the social programs. Truth be told, the dissent is caused by foreign authority in Lebanon. Half of us want the Syrian regime to come back and control the internal and external Lebanese decisions, whereas the other half wants to replace the Syrian authority with the American or the French authority. Each of the two halves is trying to turn the internal political equation in its favor so that it can annul the other half.“Nations can’t be established and ruled, and societies can’t grow and prosper, unless they enjoy a certain balance in their internal and external environments. The political balance is lost, when one of the two environments undergoes a major change. The current unbalance is the inevitable outcome, entailed by the changes in the external environment, changes that have had a major effect on the internal environment dynamics. The balance and stability can only be regained by achieving an internal balance, through a national concord on the fundamental interests [of the nation], in preparation for dealing with the external changes, i.e. on the Syrian-Iranian and international-American levels…” - Ad Diyyar, Lebanon

“…Washington & Sanaa accused of collaborating on human rights violations”

In its March 17 edition, Al Quds Al Arabi, an independent newspaper, reported that: “The section related to Yemen in the US Department of State's report on human rights has raised a lot of controversy in the Yemeni political milieu. The politicians accuse the US administration, in collaboration with the Yemeni government, of committing many human rights violations in Yemen, and considered what was published in the American report about Yemen far less serious than what is happening in reality. Yemeni politicians from different political affiliations mentioned that the American report was lacking and inaccurate and failed to mention many violations that occurred in Yemen last year. They also accused the US administration of partnering with the Yemeni authorities in committing many of the violations that occurred in Yemen since the September 11 events and until today.

“Dr. Muhammad Abdel Malek Al Mutawakkel, a professor of political science at the Sanaa University… criticized the official Yemeni response to the American report, and considered it illogical and shameful. He also added that the US was not the model to be followed and that: ‘We the Muslims, have a religion that bans unfairness and demands that justice be implemented and that rights be protected’…

“For his part, Muhammad Yahya Al Sabri, a Yemeni leader, stated that the US report on human rights lacks credibility and that American diplomacy was in no position to talk about human rights in Yemen, because it had partnered with the Yemeni authorities in committing many of the violations that were perpetrated in Yemen since 2001 and until this day. Al Sabri, who is also a researcher on Yemeni-American relations, pointed out that the trial of the Yemeni Sheikh Muhammad Al Muayyad in the US, [did not ensure even] the simplest defense rights, because [the trial] was conducted on the basis of fabricated charges…

“Al Sabri also demanded that the Yemeni government protect human rights, by reforming the state of the prisons and improving [the lives] of the prisoners, and reforming the judicial system before responding to the US Department of State report… On the other hand, Ahmed Al Sufi, head of the people’s organizations at the Ministers’ Council, denied that the American report was an unbiased evaluation far from any political goals, but admitted that there were shortcomings in the human rights field in Yemen…He also stated that the assessment relied on a selective approach to the facts and incidents...

“The official media had strongly criticized the part related to Yemen in the US Department of State's report on human rights. A source in the Yemeni Foreign Ministry had said that the US Department of State's report on human rights that was issued last week contained inaccurate and false information, relied on leaks and intentionally omitted the facts…” - Al Quds Al Arabi, United Kingdom

"Arab students accuse authorities in Kirkuk of 'Kurdicizing' education"

Al Hayat, a privately owned newspaper, reported in its March 9 issue about the recent developments in the northern city of Kirkuk in Iraq which is ethnically diverse and thus suffers from confrontations between the Arab, Kurdish, and Turkish inhabitants. The newspaper wrote: "The political crisis between the Kurds and the Shiites moved into the schools of Kirkuk. The Iraqi police broke apart several fistfights between Kurdish students opposed to the nomination of Ibrahim Al Jaafari for the office of prime minister and Shiite students who support him in Al Askari neighborhood which is inhabited by Kurdish, Arab, and Turkish families. Members of the [Shiite] Sadr movement accused the local (Kurdish) government of attempting to 'Kurdicize' the education."

The newspaper continued: "The schools and educational institutes in the city which is known for its ethnic diversity have witnessed ethnic tensions ever since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, because of the insistence of the Kurdish teachers to teach in Kurdish, added to the spread of posters calling for the declaration of Kirkuk as a Kurdish city. The Kurdish Mostapha Al Jabari, who works as an educational supervisor in the educational department in the city, announced that the 'fights, exchanging curses, and mocking the leaders of political movements are often the reasons behind the clashes between students in regions with multiple ethnicities'. He added that 'sometimes we are obliged to threaten the students with calling the police to arrest them for fomenting ethnic tension, but with no result'. He added that 'We have to stand outside the entrance of the school after the bell to prevent the students from shouting slogans: 'No No or Yes Yes for Jaafari,' because that leads to fights with fists and stones'…" - Al Hayat, United Kingdom

"Bosnia: Expelling Arabs that recieved nationality illegally"

Abed el-Baqi reported in Asharq Al Awsat, a pan-Arab newspaper, on March 9 that: “Media sources in Bosnia said yesterday that all Arabs that received citizenships illegally will be expelled from the country after completing their review by committees that were formed to carry this out after the war.

"The Bosnian daily ‘Dnevni Avaz’ published yesterday that ‘the committee that supervises the review of the Bosnian nationalities is on the verge of making a decision to kick out foreigners, over the next 12 months, who received the Bosnian nationally illegally’. The paper added ‘the nationalities that are being reviewed go back to the time [that they were granted] between 6 April 1992 and 1 January 2006’. The paper said that there are thousands of nationalities that are being reviewed, not 700 cases as was previously stated on this matter. However it confirmed that individuals from afro-Asian origins are at the front of the target of this continuous and recurring campaign. Close sources to the newspaper said that the committee that supervises the review operations said that ‘Individuals who received the nationality illegally will become foreigners and be immediately departed form the country. There are over 11,000 Arabs citizens of Serbia and Montenegro that have the Bosnian nationality. The paper said ‘the Bosnian law entitles Serbia and Montenegrean citizens to have a Bosnian nationality’.”

El-Baqi added: “On another front, well-informed sources told Asharq Al Awsat that Kuwaiti aid organizations are exposed to pressure from the Bosnian financial police that Serbia and Croatia dominate. The sources, who chose not to be identified, said ‘foreign authorities are increasingly becoming tight [vis a vis] Islamic aid organizations and specifically Arab ones. Many Saudi institutions have already been dissolved and have been leaving the [Bosnia] arena over last few years’. Arab sources in Sarajevo told Asharq Al Awsat that ‘the manager of one of the Kuwaiti institutions asked for help in solving a crisis that his company was exposed to due to the hard-line financial police’s position towards the company’s finances. No one could help, as all different sides he called informed him that they were incapable of helping him in front of the Serbian and Croatian power over the financial police's work, especially around anything connected to the Arab presence in the country’.

The former president of the Qozaz orphan house organization in Sarajevo told Asharq Al Awsat that ‘there are transactions that do not need receipts, for example donating help to a family cannot be billed. Only a signature is required from the recipient and it is impossible for an aid organization to ask the poor and helpless to have promissory notes that they can give to the aid enterprises, as it is in the business world’. A former aid worker told Asharq Al Awsat that ‘Arab aid organizations working in Bosnia have laid off most of their Arab staff and replaced them with locals. They fear terrorist accusations will be directed at Arab workers or they will create suspicions from the local and foreign security authorities that have around 15,000 people working in Bosnia alone under an international cover.” - Asharq Al Awsat, United Kingdom

Child Prostitution in Lebanon

This article was written by Majdoline Hatoum, one of the team members at mideastwire.com, for the United Nations IRIN news website.
The article has appeared on IRIN news website, in The Daily Star newspaper, and via Reuters Alert Net so far.

BEIRUT, 6 March (IRIN) - At a glance, Nadine (not her real name) is an innocent, 16 year-old-girl, but a conversation with her soon reveals the shocking details of the hard life she endured as a child. "I didn't choose to work as a prostitute," she said. "It's just my luck in life."
Explaining how she was raped at the age of nine by a neighbour, and therefore "had nothing to lose" when she accepted money for the first time in exchange for sex with an older man, Nadine blamed her situation on her family's financial needs.
"My parents needed money so they sent me to work as a housemaid at the age of 12. Do you know how much I had to put up with in my situation?" Nadine asked rhetorically. "All men want is one thing – your body! So I decided to ask for money in exchange for what I was offering."
Now in her fourth year of working in the sex trade, Nadine talks about the abuses she suffered by men she has slept with. "I've been beaten up, forced to have unprotected sex, thrown out in the middle of the night without getting paid… but life goes on," she said.
There is little protection for sex workers in Lebanon, where prostitution is illegal. Even though some amendments in the law have been made to encourage exploited children to come forward, they often remain reluctant. The official age of adulthood in Lebanon is 18.
"I can't go to the authorities and file a complaint. What would I say? 'I slept with this man and he refused to pay me my money'?" said Nadine, refusing to say how much she usually charged customers.
Although not a widespread phenomena in Lebanese society, child prostitution does exist. But there are no official statistics on the numbers or nationalities of minors working, or forced to work, in the illicit industry. "There's no way of telling the number of children working as prostitutes," said Rania Mansour, a social worker with Dar Al-Amal, a local NGO that helps sex workers.
"We work with a lot of sex workers, many of whom are minors," said Mansour. "But there are many obstacles, such as the lack of funds and prevailing social norms, which stand in the way of a solid study specifying the numbers." Even though Lebanon is considered one of the more liberal Arab countries, the sex trade – as in other countries in the region – remains a taboo subject.
According to Mansour, most prostitutes start at as young as nine years old, when they are most easily influenced. While most children in the trade here are Lebanese, there are also Palestinian, Syrian and Jordanian prostitutes, she said.
Reasons for working the trade
Most of the girls who visit Dar Al-Amal come from broken homes or very poor, underprivileged backgrounds. "Many girls we've helped have slept with men for very basic needs, like food or shelter – sometimes even a cigarette," she explained.
Zeina (not her real name), 21, said she was sold to a man for sex by her mother when she was just nine-years-old. She has since continued to sell herself.
"People are very judgmental, but at that age, if your own parents don't want you, how are you supposed to survive? Tell me if there is any other way," she said.
Others, according to Mansour, confess to also doing it because they want to feel that someone cares about them, even if for a short while. "They're minors, and at this age they need affection, which for them comes in a sexual form," Mansour said.
Psychological support is one of the most important services provided by Dar Al-Amal. "We notice that most of these girls lack self esteem and any sense of values, so we work with them on strengthening their personalities," the social worker said.
"It's a hard job, since many of them have a problem trusting people."
The NGO, which carries out projects aimed at empowering women, dedicates a session in its day centre to the needs of women and girls in the sex trade. "We aim at supporting these women and girls, and offer them social, medical and psychological support in addition to legal support if they need it," Mansour explained. "A network of social workers, doctors and lawyers – mostly volunteers – is helping us with our work."
Dar Al-Amal is also devoted to raising awareness about the health risks such as HIV/AIDS inherent in working in the trade. "They're in constant danger of being infected with sexually transmitted diseases. This is why we offer them sexual awareness classes," Mansour said. "But there's always the threat of men forcing them to have unprotected sex."
Vocational training is also provided in hopes of steering sex workers into different careers. "We think this is the only way they can stop," said Mansour.
Funding problems
Although the NGO offers a drop-in centre for girls, it hopes to expand services further, said Dar Al-Amal Director Hoda Qarra. "The service we offer right now isn't enough to help girls get off the streets," she said. "At the end of the day, we can't offer them shelter, and these girls find themselves back on the streets."
While there are plans to build a permanent centre to host them, Mansour says that, without sufficient funds, such planning is futile. According to Qarra, the NGO, which depends on donations for about 80 percent of its budget, was supposed to get 20 percent of its funding from the state. "We still haven't gotten all our money for the year 2005," she said.
Elie Mikhael, head of the Lebanese Higher Council for Childhood (HCC), blamed the shortfall on the country's struggling economy. "Everyone knows the economic crisis Lebanon is passing through, and this affects everything, including social help," he explained.
According to Mikhael, progress is steadily being made, albeit slowly. "We've been on the right track when it comes to protecting children from sexual abuse and preventing child prostitution," he said.
The HCC, established in 1994, works under the patronage of the Ministry of Social Affairs and serves as a national framework for cooperation on social issues between NGOs and the public sector.
Government steps to protect children
In June 2002, Law 422 was passed, allowing children subject to sexual abuse or physical violence to raise lawsuits against offenders.
"This was very important legislation because it gives the child the means to protect him or herself through resorting directly to the legal authorities," said Mikhael.
In the same year, Lebanon ratified an optional protocol as part of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.
"We have to keep in mind that minors are often pushed into prostitution following some sort of sexual abuse practiced on them, a subject considered taboo in our societies," Mikhael said. "But the ratification of the optional protocol was a confident first step aimed at breaking the silence."
Meanwhile, for girls like Nadine, the worst part of the job is the stigma attached to the trade, as well as the constant fear of her parents finding out what she does.
"I know my neighbours are talking about me behind my back, and I'm ashamed when my family hears rumours about me," she said. "But I keep assuring them that it's not true, and they turn a blind eye because they need the money."

“Egypt: Was the political progress an illusion?...”

Omayma Abdel Latif commented in the March 7 issue of As Safir, an independent newspaper, about the current standstill in the Egyptian political scene after all the promise of the previous year. Omayma wrote: “Since it has become conventional that the advancement and reverses in the track of political reform in Egypt be dated from the date of the constitutional amendment issued by president Husni Mubarak of the 76th article in the constitution in February of 2005, the passage of a whole year since that event is a occasion to evaluate the losses and gains in that year. This is especially important since the rise in the voices clamoring for that political reform, the most prominent title in the political changes, has come to a standstill since the end of the parliamentary elections. After Egypt appeared to be hanging in a spot between the collapsing old and the incomplete new, warnings arose that the situation has become frozen and that there is a will to backtrack away from all the promises about reform which were issued by the regime in the past election year.”Omayma continued: “Despite the decisive official denials, the [constitutional] amendment came as a result of American pressures. Then the results followed with the ‘Enough’ movement hitting the streets followed by presidential elections, American style, then presidential promises about reform on a wide scale that would turn the constitution into a ‘modern’ document, then enhancing the role of the parliament in questioning the government, followed by the parliamentary elections which gave the Muslim Brotherhood political legitimacy and accompanied by the white collar revolt by the lawyers, judges, and university professors. But when the Egyptians tally up their calculations after the passage of a whole year, then their sense of disappointment and disillusion… is summed up by what one of them said, that the whole ‘political stir was only an illusion, nothing more’…” - As Safir, Lebanon

"Marxism, Baathism and the Torah in Riyadh”

Sultan Al-Qahtani reported in Elaph, a pan-Arab website, on March 5 that: “During the past few days that passed, Saudi Arabians could read Marxists and Baathists books and buy copies of the Torah and Bible in their home town of Riyadh where the majority follow a conservative vision of the Muslim religion. This occurred during the past few days of the opening of the ‘International Riyadh book fair’ in a bold step by the Saudi government that revealed the extent of the fast rhythm of reform in the petrol rich Kingdom. A decade or two ago, finding books that are prohibited in the country was not conceivable. For almost a week or more, Saudi males and females wondered around the cultural exhibition halls holding heavy bags filled with books that they will not find after the end of the exhibition in their libraries.”Al-Qahtani continued: “Observers found Riyadh’s position to be [based on] multiple standards; allowing what is banned for a few days then returning the ban until the next round of the fair. Saudi critics observing the consequences of the different reform steps of the Saudi government since the events of September 11 see the Saudi cultural and Information Ministry as attempting to balance the Saudi government, headed by the Saudi king Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz, that is encouraging openness and the religious clerics that claim that the steps [diverge from] the conservative line in the country considered to be the cradle of Islam. “The [information] Ministry and its minister are moving in a field of suspicions along two conflicting paths; the pressure to increase the open initiatives supported by the liberal movements and those from the conservative Muslim movements that have already instigated many attacks on the Saudi Minister, the latest of which reached the extent of the demand to dispose of him following the bold steps that that he took with the TV programs that the first official channel broadcast in the country; [the critics issued a] warning ‘concerned leaders of his dangers and plans’.”Al Qahtani concluded: “The Saudis spent around $50 million in the international book fair during the short period of ten days making it the biggest Gulf fair... For the first time, Saudi’s experienced the culture of live book signing by the authors. Moreover, the majority of the publishing houses did not shut down their exhibition [spaces] during prayer times as all places do in Saudi Arabia due to an absence of the moral religious police that follows up on these issues and described as the moral ruler of the country. Consequently, Arab intellectuals visited the halls at different times while repeating that the fair is like a liberal space inside a wide ‘conservative’ circle that the Saudi capital Riyadh is known for.” - Elaph, United Kingdom

"A Saddam approach is required for Iraq”

Khadir Taher, a regular writer at Elaph, a pan-Arab website, wrote on March 2 that: “I regret that my pessimistic presentations concerning Iraq are usually right and experiences have proven their correctness. I’m one of the Iraqis distinguished for demanding [that Iraq be put] under American custodianship because it lacks a national, politically honorable choice of parties and because of its failure, during all of Iraq’s contemporary history, to rule itself. Taher continued: “Despite the fact that I was in opposition to the Saddam regime and my positions were often written in the Iraqi opposition press during his era, and that I severely condemn the crimes of the Saddam regime from the arrests, torture, executions and money theft, however, I find myself obliged to accept the facts and recognize the correctness of the Saddam regime's approach represented by firmness, an iron fist, fighting religious parties and the resistance to the Iranian danger.“The philosophy of the government in the Saddam regime was based on the nature of individual relationships in Iraqi society. It applied the method of the ‘shepherd and his sheep’ beginning [with] the relationship inside the family, to the clan, school, college, parties, religious institutions and community…this approach to relationships-the venerable absolutes - produced in the people a submission to authority, admiration of its prestige, and its sanctification ...the Iraqi society was inflicted with masochism; that is pleasure from submission to authority and the demand of more of it. If [masochists] lose this authority then they begin to revolt, rebel and vandalize…this is unintentional behaviors that masochists resort to upon their deprivation of submission to an authority.”Taher continued: “After the fall of the Saddam regime, the Iraqi community lost the authority that it was facing and at the same time feeding its masochistic need of repression. [Repression] for them is like a drug. With the entry of the Iraqi gang parties, [we have all] that they carried from experiences in emigrant countries, from theft, treachery and deceit. Indeed an explosion of administrative corruption, money theft, and sabotage occurred and society entered into the lines of the Iranina-Syrian intelligence and directly contributed to directing and supporting terrorist acts from explosions, to killings to importing drugs into Iraq and the abuse of the main authority. “Today Iraq is swimming in a flood of a civil war disaster. What is asked for is an immediate solution that will save what remains of the country after its complete burning. The nation has tried democracy in its widest applications and it became its biggest danger and proved that the Iraqi society is used to a centralized, firm government and democracy is not suited for it, so what is the solution? The only solution for Iraq’s current situation is for the United States to step forward and cancel the political process, freeze the activities of the parties-except for the Kurdish ones-and to appoint a military Iraqi officer to govern Iraq in an emergency government that America will supervise. The military governor should be strict, return veneration to the country, hit terrorism, militias and agents of Iran and Syria and impose the authority of the law on everyone.” Taher concluded: “I repeat that I severely reject and condemn the crimes of the Saddam regime. But I recognize the view of this regime in its centralized strict goverment...it is too bad that we find ourselves obliged to confess that our enemy regime of the criminal Saddam succeeded in imposing organization, stability and containing the brutality of the society…well Saddam truly understood the nature of the Iraqi society.” - Elaph, United Kingdom

"The Palestinians as a people of beggars”

Abdel-Beri Atwan, editor-in-chief of Al Quds Al Arabi, a Palestinian-owned, independent pan-Arab newspaper, wrote on March 3 that: “The news regarding the financial crisis that the Palestinian authority is going through, have overridden other developments in the Arab occupied territory, namely the continuous assassination of the leaders of the military wings in the Resistance Movement, the latest of which was martyr Abu Al Walid Al Dahdouh, one of the most prominent leaders of the Islamic Jihad. The number one concern of the Palestinians is now whether they will get their salaries on time or not. “The Palestinian people that have always been a symbol of struggle, dignity and pride, have now become a begging, lazy and dependent people, that live on the crumbs of Western and Arab aid thanks to the Oslo accords…. Maintaining the corrupt authority and its continuity has taken priority over the Palestinian doctrines and releasing the frozen money of the authority by the Hebrew state has become more important than the liberation of Palestine and its violated territory. “Not too long ago, money was collected from the Arab states to finance the Palestinian struggle, support the families of the martyrs and rebuild the houses that the Israeli bulldozers had demolished over the heads of their inhabitants. Now the money is collected as charity to support the Palestinian people and provide them with the bare essentials at the beginning of each month. The Palestinian people have become a people of beggars, whose leaders beseech crumbs from Europe and America, as though they were victims of an earthquake or a dry spell, just like their fellows in Ethiopia and Somalia. “No one wants to speak the truth and I am enraged by the shameful reality of this honorable and beloved people that has, and still is, offering many martyrs and that was disgraced by its authority and the disastrous decisions of his leaders. The Palestinian officials shouldn’t have roamed the Arab capitals of the world begging and pleading for charity. They should’ve turned down these donations and demanded Europe and America to put an end to the occupation and to remove that suffocating embargo that is killing the Palestinian economy. “The starvation of Palestinians is a strong card not a weak card, because if these Palestinian tigers starve, they will direct their anger towards their jailers in Tel Aviv and Washington, and their starvation will echo in destruction in many European capitals, just like what happened in the seventies. That is why they want to train them to be lazy and dependent on the crumbs of aids, so that they forget their cause. “We want the people in power to tell their Washington friends, to use their authority and put an end to the Israeli blackmail, conducted through the freezing of the transfer of the Palestinian tax revenues that amount to $5 million monthly. This is Palestinian money, and using it for blackmail against the authority and the Hamas movement is insulting, unacceptable and should not continue in any way. “The problem of the Palestinian people is in their weak leadership that has settled for the role of the beggar that goes around knocking on doors, complaining and weeping, asking for charity and pity and reminding of Allah’s reward and repayment [the concept of God rewarding all those who do good deeds during their life]. What is unfortunate, is that the Palestinian authority is begging for the money of Arab countries and that of donating countries to finance the Israeli occupation of their territories. “What is also unfortunate, is that most of this money goes to the Israeli treasury and revives the Israeli economy, because those who have signed the Oslo accord and its protocols, have linked the Palestinian economy to its Israeli counterpart, and have turned it into a vermiform appendix that is glued to the Israeli economy’s large intestine. This is the first time in history that a people, that is under occupation, had to beg for financial aid from the outside, to relieve the occupying state from its commitments towards it, ones that are clearly stated in the fourth Geneva accord regarding the occupied territories.“The Hebrew state is responsible for providing security, services, jobs, education and healthcare to the people in the occupied territory, but the Oslo accords have relieved it from all these burdens, without ending the occupation and its oppressive practices. For many decades, the Palestinian people have lived under occupation, and has declared an Intifada that lasted for years, and even in those times, it enjoyed much better living conditions than it does now, under the forthcoming authority. “The Palestinian people never begged for a penny from Europe and America, and even considered that money as dishonorable and their pride would not allow them to accept it, because what would be required of them in return would be to give up their doctrines and their legitimate national rights. The Palestinian authority and its knights have corrupted the people and have linked their livelihood to American and European aid…. “The Palestinians must remove that begging mark of disgrace that the authority has imposed upon them, and regain their pure and honorable image, as a people that is struggling and fighting to restore its rights and liberate its territory… Those who are begging in the name of the Palestinian people, are not achieving anything by coming back with a few crumbs in their begging platter. Those are the people that have led the Palestinians into this deplorable state. “It is time for a new Intifada of dignity that will reshape the Palestinian work frame, bring it back to its principles of fighting the occupation and refusing all forms of Israeli, American and European blackmail. The primary target of this Intifada should be this corrupt authority and all of its symbols, policies and laws, as well as the begging culture that it has added to the Palestinian people’s dictionary.” - Al Quds Al Arabi, United Kingdom

"Hamas victory to Syria: Regional victory with internal challenges"

Ibrahime Hamidi commented in the March 1 issue of Al Hayat, a privately owned newspaper, about the implications of the victory of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas in the Palestinian elections on Syria at both the regional and internal levels. Hamidi wrote: "The victory of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas in the Palestinian legislative elections sets many internal challenges for Syria in the long run despite the fact that it entails political victories in the short run."Hamidi wrote: "Damscus' right to express its intense relief at the overwhelming victory achieved by the Hamas movement is due to many reasons, some of which are: Firstly, the victory belonged to a great political ally of Damascus which constituted one of the major cards for the Syrian regional role that Syria worked hard not to give up despite all the pressure applied by the United States after the war on Iraq in the spring of 2003…Secondly the victory of the Hamas movement constitutes the first hole in the 'isolation wall' around Syria according to the head of the politburo of the movement; for the American administration as well as Arab and European countries started to discover the 'danger [encouraged] by the isolation policy on the stability in the Middle East' and the possibility that the pressures might empower the 'forces of extremism' in the region… "Thirdly, the Syrian authorities had already informed western envoys that free elections in the Middle East and regime changing would lead to the victory of moderate or extremist Islamists and would result in regimes that are hostile to the West, and that the American and Israeli policies are weakening the Palestinian president and helping the forces of extremism… No doubt the victory of Hamas would lead, according to Syrian opinion, to a revaluation of the theory of regime change externally and would lead to the stopping of the wheel of the pressure to impose democracy in countries where Islam is deepening its spread as opposed to the fragile layer of secularism."Hamidi added: "But against these 'victories' we can talk about three threats to the Syrian regime in the long run: Firstly, it is true that Hamas's victory confused the American administration… but what appeared so far points to the fact that the Bush administration is not about to reevaluate its course of action and that some of its factions 'does not mind the entry of Islamists through the gate of elections'…Secondly, Syria is now and for the first time surrounded by Islamic regimes brought to power through a democratic or sectarian or even revolutionary means. In the north there is the Turkish 'Justice and Development Party' governing through democracy… In the east the Shiite coalition stood out in the elections through democracy… and behind Iraq lays the Islamic Iran. To the west lies the Lebanese Hezbollah who gained its legitimacy through its resistance and to the south lies Hamas… and near Gaza the Muslim Brotherhood gained a lot of parliamentary seats in the recent Egyptian elections. "Expectations also point to an important victory for the Jordanian Islamic brotherhood in the upcoming elections. Therefore Syria who is governed by a secular-nationalist-socialist party seems isolated…Thirdly one of the reasons of the Hamas victory is that the people voted against the ruling Fatah movement… Fatah only stayed in power for a decade, so how about the Baath party which has been governing for the past 43 years? How would the voters vote in any free and honest elections?..." - Al Hayat, United Kingdom

“Saudi female students working from home to overcome unemployment”

In its March 1 edition, the government-influenced Al Watan newspaper reported that: “Many Saudi female university students have broken the barrier of routine jobs that are open to women, by taking on other jobs from their own homes. Among these jobs are cooking, conducting marketing studies, filling out questionnaires, arranging flowers, wrapping gifts, knitting, sowing, catering, typing masters theses and researches, designing websites, after they found in these occupations a way to overcome unemployment. “Raja’ Ismail (who works in marketing) said that: ‘Collecting data and filling out questionnaires are jobs that a young woman can do from home…’, and indicated that the person who writes the questionnaire gets a pretty good pay for every research. Raja believes that the hard part of this profession is the fact that people do not trust the woman who is conducting the questionnaire and do not reveal too much information, or are even suspicious of the questions. She said: ‘We were so embarrassed at first and there wasn’t much cooperation. But now people have started to accept our work and are no longer astonished by the questions we distribute’. “Many young women are in the catering business, cooking popular meals, and are indifferent to how society perceives their job, despite the looks of amazement they encounter with some families. Aziza Ibrahim Sabgha (a business graduate) said that when she was unable to find a job in the same line as her major, she decided to become a cook, which was her favorite hobby. “She stated that she worked from home and was able to open up a small restaurant in her house with the help of other young women… She added that: ‘I provide the raw material and the mixtures and I supervise the execution. To market my products, I prepared a menu on my computer and distributed it in schools and colleges. My little project is a success and my net monthly income is over SR3,000. I have also encouraged my Saudi female neighbors to work with me during the holidays’…. “The Dean of the Faculty of Social Service at the King Khaled University, Dr. Muhammad Said Al Shahrani, indicated that the government sector is the biggest employer of the female workforce, but that things should not stop at that… He added that young women can be taught to take advantage of the Internet that gives Saudi women a better work opportunity through the concept of remote employment…. He also stated that the employment market can benefit from women working from their homes, since it allows it to use women’s competence instead of relying on permanent employment. “Dr. Al Shahrani said that this will reflect positively on the morale of Saudi women who will feel productive and not a burden on her society. She is entitled to these positions more than anyone else…. He also assured that Saudi women can tap into the local and international work markets from their homes, just by clicking on their keyboard. This will benefit businesswomen who will maintain their privacy through electronic communication, in filling out the required documents and getting the proper licenses to conduct their businesses….” - Al Watan, Saudi Arabia