Arab Gulf leaders to discuss Saudi-backed union

May 13, 2012

Gulf leaders at a meeting in Riyadh on Monday will discuss a Saudi proposal to develop their six-nation council into a union, likely to start with the kingdom and unrest-hit Bahrain, officials said.

The Gulf Cooperation Council leaders “will discuss a form of union between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain,” said a top Gulf official, requesting anonymity.

Bahrain’s state minister for information, Samira Rajab, revealed that a Saudi proposal to evolve the GCC into a union will be on the agenda of the Riyadh meeting, adding that the idea backed by Bahrain could start with two or three members.

“This union could start with two or three” GCC members, she told AFP.

Saudi King Abdullah proposed forming a GCC union last December at a summit of the group

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal has backed the proposal.

“The threats of all kinds necessitate a serious move by the GCC countries to cross from the cooperation phase to a unity that is acceptable for all,” he said last month.

Emirati analyst Abdulkhaliq Abdullah said the idea of a Gulf union was in the offing, expecting an announcement from the consultative summit “at least at a bilateral level.”

But he warned that the six members were “not all enthusiastic about a union,” as they struggle to shape an economic integration which has proved elusive ever since the GCC was founded.

Saudi analyst Anwar Eshqi, who heads the Jeddah-based Middle East Centre for Strategic and Legal Studies, said the Saudi enthusiasm for a Gulf union was due to “pressure from Iran,” which is accused of meddling in Gulf affairs.

The Gulf Cooperation Council was formed in 1981 when the Sunni-dominated monarchies aimed to bolster security after the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran and its war with Iraq.

The tension between Shiite Iran and Saudi Arabia escalated last year after Saudi troops rolled into Bahrain to help quell protests led by the Sunni-ruled state’s Shiite majority.

Tensions mounted further with the deadly clampdown on the uprising in Syria, whose President Bashar al-Assad is a staunch ally of Tehran, while Riyadh and other Arab states in the Gulf have called for the fall of his regime.

Tehran’s growing influence in Iraq since the withdrawal of US troops as well as its territorial dispute with the United Arab Emirates have also contributed to fuelling cross-Gulf animosity.

“It is interesting to know if this union (between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia) is going to be economic, political, or military,” said Salman Sheikh, director of the Brookings Doha Centre.

“I wonder if this union is going to solve the problems of Bahrain,” he added, pointing out that the results of the Riyadh summit would “give an indication of the (regional) ambitions of Saudi Arabia.”

Bahrain’s Shiite-led opposition has already warned that a union or federation with Saudi Arabia would have to be put to a referendum.

Saudi Arabia is by far the largest Gulf country in terms of population, and size of territory and economy, but other GCC countries, mainly Qatar and the UAE, are unlikely to accept Saudi domination.

Riyadh argues that evolving the GCC into a union has economic potential.

Such a union would turn the oil-rich GCC into a “solid economic bloc,” said the Saudi foreign minister, as the combined economic output of the group hit $1,400 billion in 2011.

But the GCC continues to face hurdles preventing the group from reaching goals set at its launch.

Only four members — Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia — have signed a monetary council agreement, and analysts said Gulf states still have a long way to go in their bid to launch a single currency initially slated for 2010.

A customs union launched at the start of 2003 for a three-year transition period has been put off until 2015, as issues of revenues, dumping and protectionism repeatedly delay its full implementation.

Turmoil within the Syrian National Council

May 14, 2012

BEIRUT // Since its inception nine months ago, the Syrian National Council (SNC) has been beset by internal divisions, lack of transparency and doubts about the quality of its leaders. Today, as the main umbrella group opposed to Bashar Al Assad meets in Rome, more controversy looms.

The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood has emerged as the SNC's most powerful group, holding the largest number of seats on the council and controlling its relief committee, which distributes money and aid to those fighting to unseat the minority Alawite-dominated government in Damascus.

That, in turn, is certain to arouse fears in some neighbouring countries that the electoral success of Islamists in Egypt and Tunisia could be matched by the triumph in Syria of yet another branch of the Brotherhood.

Whether Islamists and non-Islamists can govern a post-Assad Syria together is not the immediate problem facing the opponents of Mr Al Assad gathered in the Italian capital for a three-day meeting. Far more pressing is the problem of how to close ranks now in their fight to end the Al Assad dynasty.

"We have to change the way decisions are made between people, between the establishments of the SNC, between the components of the SNC," George Sabra, a Christian Syrian, said in Rome, where the group will hold elections tomorrow to decide whether to replace its leader, Burhan Ghalioun.

Critics say the gulf between the opposition abroad and those fighting the regime inside Syria is too wide. They say the SNC's top leaders should spend less time on far-flung diplomacy and more time channelling support to embattled communities back home.

A Skype conversation in February between the SNC's 10-member executive committee and activists inside the besieged areas of Homs and Hama disintegrated into bickering over finances: the executive committee members were speaking from the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha, the Qatari capital.

Also raising questions about the SNC's priorities was the decision to dispatch representatives to Miami to sign an agreement last week with opponents of Cuba's communist government. That deal coincided with a four-day visit to Tokyo by Mr Ghalioun, a Paris-based academic.

Such globetrotting strikes Haitham Al Maleh as frivolous. "They have to be in one place, working 24 hours if they want to succeed," said Mr Maleh, a veteran opposition figure who was jailed by both Mr Al Assad and his late father Hafez. He resigned from the group this year in frustration.

"We are in a revolution. People are getting killed daily."

Others are more scathing, and fear the group may not only have lost relevance to people inside Syria but may actually be hindering the uprising.

"Until now, they have handicapped the revolution," said Kamal Al Labwani, a prominent dissident who distanced himself from his activities in the group until "they make reforms".

"We need one council and real leaders for our revolution."

Nevertheless, some SNC members insist change is coming. Wael Merza, a senior council member, said restructuring efforts would "enable the SNC to regain the trust of the international community and the people, which at the moment is weak".

Once those changes are made, he asserted, then the group could "lead the process of unifying" opposition groups and "move forward to serve the revolution," because "that's what the SNC was founded for".

Tomorrow's leadership vote could set the stage for an overhaul. Disillusionment with Mr Ghalioun has grown steadily since the SNC was founded in October.

"We are in heated discussions over the presidency. We are against an extension or a renewal of Burhan Ghalioun's term," said Samir Nashar, an executive committee member and a leader in the Damascus Declaration, one of several factions within the SNC.

Minister Minister for Information: Al-Shamali will not resign

13 May 2012

KUWAIT: The Minister of Information Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah dismissed on Saturday press reports claiming that the Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali intends to resign ahead of the planned questioning in Parliament.

The minister made the comments during an exhibition organized by Grade 10 students at the Movenpick Hotel.

Al-Mubarak called for the formation of a Parliamentary Ethics Committee to curb malpractices, particularly the use of derogatory language in the National Assembly on the part of executive and legislative authorities, alike.

Meanwhile, the minister of finance has reportedly assigned a team to examine the two interpellations filed against him by a group of lawmakers. The minister is facing questioning from MP Obeid Al-Wasmi, on one hand, and MPs Musallam Al-Barrak, Khaled Al-Tahous and Abdurrahman Al-Anjeri, on the other. Reports have merged that the minister plans to compile two memos in order to refute the claims highlighted in the motions. According to parliamentary sources, Minister Al-Shamali is determined to step up to the podium and deal with the interpellations despite numerous recommendations that he resort to other choices within Constitutional and legal parameters. The sources said that certain top government officials have affirmed that the Cabinet will hold on to Al-Shamali, being an instrumental technocrat in the government. The minister's outstanding performance, despite the mammoth tasks on his shoulders, was reportedly praised by these unnamed officials.

Furthermore, the sources indicated that Al-Shamali has been a target since the previous Parliament, adding that the issue at stake has nothing to do with the alleged malpractices or shortcomings on the part of the minister.

A moderate member of the Majority Bloc revealed that he has been informed that a Cabinet reshuffle may take place, in which Al-Shamali might be redeployed to another ministerial portfolio such as Development Affairs if need arises. The source however expressed confidence that Al-Shamali will be able to rebut the claims made by his interpellators.

The member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, reported that the interpellation intends to undermine key economic sectors such as the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) and its overseas offices. He added that the incumbent minister of finance has always faced up to his critics and remained steadfast, in the face of the scathing attacks from critics.

In another development, the Rapporteur for the Parliamentary Legislative Committee MP Mohammad Al-Dallal revealed that the committee expects the National Assembly Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun to refer a formal letter, which assigns the committee to enforce the Parliament's Internal Charter in relation to barring MP Mohammad Al-Juwaihel from entering the Parliament following his unruly action toward MP Dr. Hamad Al-Matar. The lawmaker added that the committee will equally consider a request to expedite the process of forming a Parliamentary Ethics Committee and set out a mechanism for reinforcing the provisions of the Internal Charter.

For his part, MP Nabeel Al-Fadhl said the blunder committed by Al-Juwaihel is indefensible. However, he warned that the action should not be a cover for the mistakes involving the members of the Majority Bloc, while expressing hope that the Ethics Committee will be set up soon.

In a similar vein, MP Marzouq Al-Ghanem affirmed that the actions that take place at the National Assembly do not befit the status of the Abdullah Al-Salem Chamber (Parliament). The MP suggested that all these problems can only be addressed through raising the level of awareness amongst the people of Kuwait.

Kuwait warns against campaigning for candidates

Manama: Kuwait has pledged a zero-tolerance policy towards organising campaigns or using mosques to promote candidates in Egypt's presidential elections.

As the May 24 date for the first round of the historic elections approaches, several Egyptians living in Kuwait have used mosques to encourage their fellow citizens to vote for Mohammad Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate.

However, Kuwait said foreigners did not have the right to organise political rallies or to campaign for candidates and urged all expatriates to comply with the law.

On Friday, five Egyptians were briefly detained for distributing leaflets calling for casting ballots in favour of Morsi.

The police seized more than 1,000 brochures during the operation to break up a rally organised after Friday prayers at a mosque in Kuwait City, local Arabic daily Al Anba reported.

The five Egyptians said they wanted the Muslim Brotherhood to win the presidential elections. The police made them sign a pledge to refrain from engaging in campaigns to promote candidates or engaging in unlicensed political activism before allowing them to go home, the daily said.

According to security sources that the paper did not name, Shaikh Ahamd Al Humoud, the Interior Minister, has told the interior ministry to ensure that mosques are not used to campaign for any of the candidates vying for the presidency in Egypt.

Israel agrees to a deal to end Palestinian strike

May 13, 2012

An Egyptian official says Israel has agreed to a proposal that would end a mass hunger strike by Palestinians in Israeli jails.

The official says the Egyptian-drafted proposal still needs to be approved by the prisoners.

Some 1,600 Palestinians held in Israeli jails are striking, most for a month, but two men have refused food two for more than 70 days.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Sunday that under the deal Israel will move prisoners currently in solitary confinement to regular cells.

Israel also will soften its “administrative detention” policy, under which prisoners deemed a security risk can be held without charges.

Israeli officials would not comment.

30 Al-Qaida Militants Killed In Fighting In Yemen

May 13, 2012

Government troops backed by warplanes and heavy artillery pounded al-Qaida positions in southern Yemen on Sunday, killing at least 30 militants, officials said.

The army launched its assault on the al-Hurur region of Abyan province at dawn Sunday, pushing out al-Qaida-linked fighters who have controlled the area since taking it over last year. Abdullah Ahmed, who lives in the area, said the militants fled by foot after government soldiers destroyed nearly a dozen tanks and vehicles mounted with rocket launchers seized by the militants last year and kept in al-Hurur.

The attack was part of the Yemeni military’s broader campaign against al-Qaida-linked fighters. The militants have seized towns and territory across southern Yemen over the past year, taking advantage of a security vacuum linked to the country’s political turmoil that pushed longtime authoritarian leader Ali Abdullah Saleh from power.

Saleh’s successor and former deputy, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, took office in February in a U.S.-backed power transfer deal. He has since ramped up the fight against al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen, which the U.S. says is one of the group’s most active.

The White House’s top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, met with Hadi on Sunday in the capital, Sanaa. Hadi’s office said in a statement that the Yemeni leader briefed Brennan on the army’s progress against al-Qaida in the south.

Brennan, who also met with the head of Yemen’s military, reiterated Washington’s strong commitment to Hadi’s efforts to stabilize the country, and said the Yemeni leader is making “historical decisions during these critical times in modern day Yemen,” according to a statement released by the Yemeni Embassy in Washington.

Driving the militants out of the area of al-Hurur positions the army just outside the city of Jaar, where al-Qaida has held sway since March 2011. If the military can reclaim Jaar, it will have surrounded the provincial capital of Zinjibar, which also is currently under the control of al-Qaida.

The military has claimed control in recent weeks of some of the outlying areas of Zinjibar, but militants remain firmly entrenched in the heart of the city.

The army also battled militants Sunday around Zinjibar and in the town of al-Code in fighting that left at least 12 government troops dead, the officials said on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.

The U.S. is particularly concerned about the activities of al-Qaida’s Yemeni branch, known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

Yemen was the launching pad for two foiled al-Qaida attacks on U.S. territory: the Christmas 2009 attempt to down an American airliner over Detroit with an underwear bomb and the sending of printer cartridges packed with explosives to Chicago-area synagogues in 2010.

Last week, The Associated Press disclosed that the CIA thwarted yet another plot by AQAP to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb which could have been undetectable by conventional airport scanners.

AQAP released a guide for would-be fighters written by U.S. national Samir Khan before his death in an American missile strike last year that also killed American-born Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaida cleric.

The 16-page English-language guide, reported by SITE Intelligence Group on Sunday, advised potential fighters about how to remain physically and psychologically healthy during long operations, noting the “recent opening of Abyan” and saying the group is in a “state of expansion” there.

“It is not about just rushing to the enemy bases and attempting to take them over, but it is about what to do in the long run and how to build upon that,” the guide says.

Extreme heat, floods likely as weather evolves

Deborah Smith

May 14, 2012

EXTREME weather events in 2009 and March this year provided the people of NSW with an indication of what the state is increasingly likely to face as the climate changes, a report by the federal government's Climate Commission says.

The year 2009 was the hottest year on record in NSW and a rise in the number of similar heatwave events is predicted. The number of days reaching more than 35 degrees in Sydney is expected to triple by 2070.

Climate change ''cannot be ruled out'' as a factor in recent heavy rainfalls, such as the flash flooding in Sydney on March 8, the wettest March day for more than 25 years, the report says.

The state, on average, is expected to become drier, increasing the risk of longer, harsher droughts and of bushfires, but the intensity of downpours could also increase in a hotter climate, due to warmer ocean temperatures.

The report, The Critical Decade, NSW Climate Impacts and Opportunities, is released today. At a public forum at Parramatta Town Hall tomorrow night the public can question members of the commission, which is an independent panel of climate scientists and policy and business leaders.

The chief commissioner, Tim Flannery, said NSW was highly vulnerable to climate change.

''Changes in Sydney's climate will have far-reaching implications for health, agriculture, tourism, water security and biodiversity,'' said Professor Flannery, who will attend the forum.

But the state also had the opportunity to benefit from a boom in clean energy, he said.

NSW is a world leader in research on solar photovoltaics and has produced the heads of four of the six top global manufacturers of this technology, including Shi Zhengrong, the chief executive of the world's largest solar company, Suntech.

The report says an estimated $20 billion would be invested in solar power in Australia by 2020 and NSW was ''well placed'' to capitalise on this.

''Even if solar panels are imported from overseas, around 30 to 40 per cent of panel installation costs will go to local installers,'' it says.

The climate commissioners Will Steffen and Lesley Hughes, who will also attend the forum, said a shift to cleaner energy sources was needed to help minimise climate change risks.

''This is the critical decade for action. The longer we wait, the more difficult and costly it will be,'' Professor Steffen, of the Australian National University, and Professor Hughes, of Macquarie University, conclude in their report summary.

They say the coastal areas of NSW face significant risks from sea level rises. ''A 1.1-metre rise by the end of the century could put between 40,000 to 60,000 houses, 1200 commercial buildings and 250 kilometres of highway in NSW at risk of inundation.''

With a sea level rise of 0.5 metres, storm surge flooding in Sydney that is now considered a one-in-100-year event could occur every few months.