‘My beard is my right’: Egypt’s policemen protest against ban

Policemen take part in a strike in front of the Interior Ministry headquarters in Cairo March 8, 2013. (Reuters)

Dozens of Egyptian policemen are staging an open-ended sit-in in front of the Interior Ministry to demand their right to wear a beard while on duty.

"We want Egypt to be based on the values of the revolution: to not ban people based on gender or religion," police officer and beard ban protester, Hany Al-Shakery, told a CNN reporter in Cairo.

After the 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak, many Egyptians felt that they were free to practice Islam, which – some believe – stipulates men have to wear beards.

"The Islamic sharia requires me to wear a beard, and I respect my religion," Shakery added.

During Mubarak's era, police used to quell Islamist groups, who were seen as enemies of the state. During his rule, sporting any kind of beard precluded Egyptians from holding senior government posts.

However, after his ouster, police officers and army men continued to be barred from growing their beards. Those who chose to do so were suspended.

Court rule

After previous protests and sit-ins by police officers demanding to be allowed back to work without being forced to shave their beards, Egypt's high Administrative Court ruled in March that policemen may grow beards, ending the decades-old convention of barring them to do so.

However, the Interior Ministry denied that there was any final decision on the beard ban.

"The Interior Ministry has not been officially notified of any court verdicts or instructions to implement a court verdict. ... When the Interior Ministry is notified of such a verdict, it will take the necessary legal measures to implement [it]," Egypt Independent quoted the ministry as saying.

The beard ban has also accentuated the secularist-Islamist divide in Egypt.

Blogger rights activist Wael Abbas claims that bearded officers are on a mission to Islamize the police force.

"I will not feel comfortable that the cop, who stops me to ask me for a deriving license is a bearded officer," he told CNN.

During his campaign to presidency, Egypt's President Mohammed Mursi -- a member of the Muslim Brotherhood – said he had no objection to members of the security forces growing beards.

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/18/-My-beard-is-my-right-Egypt-s-policemen-protest-against-ban-.html
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‘Pharoah’s Magicians’: Egypt’s TV puts a spell on you, warns Islamist preacher

'Pharoah's Magicians': Egypt's TV puts a spell on you, warns Islamist preacher

Beware, viewers watching Egyptian satellite channels, for you could be "watching Pharaoh's spell" at work. (Courtesy: Shourouknews.com)

We've heard of the jinx of the Sphinx, mystic curses from the lands of Ancient Egypt and the odd sprinkle of magic over all things mysterious.

But recent claims from a prominent Egyptian preacher have perhaps reached new heights.

Beware, viewers watching Egyptian satellite channels – warns preacher Safwat Hegazy – for you could be "watching Pharaoh's spell" at work.

This week, Hegazy called on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip not to watch the channels because they were "Pharaoh's magicians."

"Pharaoh (Ramses II) had only one Haman but now there are 1,000 Hamans in Egypt," Hegazy said in reference to Haman, who along with Pharaoh, were believed by Muslims to have rejected Prophet Moses' call to worship God.

During the speech, delivered at a conference called "The Palestinian Cause in the Shadow of the Arab Spring," the preacher criticized Egyptian magazines and dailies that accused Hamas of targeting and killing Egyptian forces during the "terrorist" Rafah attack. 

"We in Egypt do not believe what is published in newspapers," he said, the Egyptian daily al-Masry al-Youm reported.

Recently, members of Islamist groups in Egypt have spoken out against the many televised news talk shows and presenters that appear to be overtly against the country's Islamist rule.

"Quality assurance in Egyptian media is direly needed across the board," Dr H.A. Hellyer, of the Brookings Institution and specialist on Egyptian politics told Al Arabiya English on Monday.

"The irony is, however, that the government that Hegazy directly supports has not taken such reforms seriously at all. If anything, the state media has simply switched allegiances, and pro-Islamist independent media has hardly been leading the way in non-polarizing news," Hellyer added.

Meanwhile, ties between Gaza and Egypt were shaken after an Aug. 5 attack last year in which gunmen in the Sinai Peninsula, next to Gaza, killed 16 Egyptian soldiers. The incident raised new worries about the smuggling of weapons and militants through border tunnels, and Egypt is investigating whether the assailants had ties to Gaza.

Hegazy also criticized attempts to topple Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood's rule saying, "Even if the revolution falls, Islam will not fall and President Mursi will not fall and (will stay until) the end of his term."

Hegazy added that Arab Spring revolutions "will succeed" and that Jerusalem will be the capital of the Islamic Caliphate. This was similar to a comment he made last year.

"Peace with Israel is not a strategic option. There will be no peace and no surrender. The Palestinian land will be freed despite the Jews' [will]," he said.

Previous quirks

Last year, before Islamist Mursi took office, Hegazy caused uproar while he was rallying for Mursi.

In a speech, he said if Mursi became president, Egypt's new capital would no longer be Cairo; it would be Jerusalem.

"Our capital shall not be Cairo, Mecca or Medina. It shall be Jerusalem with God's will. Our chants shall be: 'millions of martyrs will march towards Jerusalem'," prominent preacher Safwat Hagazy said, according to the video aired by Egypt's religious Annas TV in June 2012.

"The United States of the Arabs will be restored on the hands of that man [Mursi] and his supporters. The capital of the [Muslim] Caliphate will be Jerusalem with God's will," Hegazy said, as crowds listening to him cheered, waving the Egyptian flags along with the flags of the Islamist Hamas group, which rules the Gaza Strip.

"Tomorrow Mursi will liberate Gaza," the crowds chanted.

More recently, Hegazy also kicked up a fuss when he told Al Arabiya earlier this month that that Shiite Islam "will never exist in Egypt." He had been commenting on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent visit to Egypt.

"Any country's intervention in another country to spread its own doctrine means either that this country has a new religion to spread or that it believes the old religion is more valid," he said.

Hegazy claimed the International Union of Muslim Scholars has researched Shiite Islam within the Sunni world, alleging that "the research includes numbers that refer to what Iran does to turn Sunnis to Shiites."

"Were there Shiites in Egypt 20 years ago?" he asked rhetorically, before claiming that there were no Egyptian Shiites in 1973 and slamming Shia Islam as "blasphemous" and "wrong."

18 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/18/-Pharoah-s-Magicians-Egypt-s-TV-puts-a-spell-on-you-warns-Islamist-cleric.html
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Obama: Now is the time for Iran to settle nuclear dispute

Obama said the United States preferred a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the dispute. (AFP)

Shortly before leaving for a trip to Israel, President Barack Obama on Monday said now was the time for Iran to take "immediate and meaningful steps" to reduce tensions with the international community over its nuclear program.

As he has done in previous years, Obama used the occasion of Iran's new year celebration to urge Tehran to resolve differences with Washington and other Western nations over its nuclear ambitions.

"Iran's leaders say that their nuclear program is for medical research and electricity. To date, however, they have been unable to convince the international community that their nuclear activities are solely for peaceful purposes," Obama said in a statement.

"Now is the time for the Iranian government to take immediate and meaningful steps to reduce tensions and work toward an enduring, long-term settlement of the nuclear issue," he said.

Obama said the United States preferred a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the dispute. Later this week the president will visit Israel and Jordan, where the topic of Iran is expected to be high on his agenda.
 

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/19/Obama-Now-is-the-time-for-Iran-to-settle-nuclear-dispute.html
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Report: Israel fires flares over Lebanon

Lebanon's National News Agency says Israeli warplanes dropped flares over the Mediterranean Sea, just off the coast near the southernmost town of Naqoura.(Reuters)

Lebanon's state-run news agency says Israeli warplanes have violated Lebanese airspace.

Lebanon's National News Agency says Israeli warplanes dropped flares on Monday over the Mediterranean Sea, just off the coast near the southernmost town of Naqoura.

The Lebanese army did not immediately confirm the report.

But earlier Monday, the army issued statements alleging a series of violations of Lebanese airspace by Israeli jets.

Israel has escalated its flights over Lebanon in recent weeks amid regional tensions resulting mainly from the civil war in neighboring Syria.

The Israeli military declined to comment on the reports.

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/19/Report-Israel-fires-flares-over-Lebanon.html
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Sunni sheikhs beaten up, testing Lebanon peace

Prominent conservative cleric Dai al-Islam al-Shahhal (L) takes part in a protest in the majority Sunni Beirut district of Tariq al-Jadideh where around 1,000 men gathered to protest the attacks on Sunni Muslim scholars. (Reuters)

Four Sunni Muslim scholars were beaten up in two separate attacks in Beirut on Sunday night, testing a fragile peace between the sects and factions that fought Lebanon's 15-year civil war.

Mazen Hariri and Ahmed Fekhran, both scholars at Lebanon's highest Sunni seat of learning, Dar al-Fatwa, were attacked by a group of men in the mainly Shi'ite Khandak al-Ghamik area after they left the Mohammed al-Amin mosque in downtown Beirut, security sources said on Monday.

Ibrahim Abdul-Latif and Omar Imani, also Sunni scholars, were assaulted in Shiyah, a Shi'ite district in southern Beirut.

The two main Shi'ite parties in Lebanon, the militant Hezbollah group and Amal, were quick to condemn the attacks and handed over five suspects to security forces, the sources said. They said the five men had been under the influence of drugs.

Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel later said that 10men had been arrested.

The two-year-old conflict in neighboring Syria - which pits mainly Sunni Muslims against President Bashar al-Assad, who comes from the Shi'ite-derived Alawite sect - has deepened divisions in Lebanon between some Sunnis and Shi'ites.

Lebanon-based political scientist Hilal Khashan said Syria could be implicated in the attacks as it had warned Lebanese groups not to support the uprising against Assad.

The extent of the injuries inflicted on the Sunni sheikhs was not clear, but a photo of two of them posted on Facebook showed one in a neck brace and the other with a bruised face.

Lebanon's civil war ended in 1990 but its political system remains based on sectarian allegiances and the country is plagued by occasional clashes between militant groups and vitriolic rhetoric from some politicians.

Lebanon's Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani said on Monday the attacks were the result of a "political war" by Sunni and Shi'ite leaders. He described condemnations of the perpetrators as insufficient and demanded swift action.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati, a Sunni, said on his Twitter account that the assailants would be held accountable as countrywide protests erupted on Sunday night.

On Monday afternoon, in the majority Sunni Beirut district of Tariq al-Jadideh, around 1,000 men gathered to protest the attacks. Prominent conservative cleric Da'i al-Islam al-Shahhal told the crowd that Lebanese state security and Shi'ite leaders had not made efforts to prevent the attacks.

"Why are these clerics being attacked when there are powerful groups controlling these (Shi'ite) areas," he screamed, waving his finger. Many protesters had long Sunni-style beards and booed and hissed when a speaker said the word "Shi'ite".

"These were two coordinated attacks. The fact that Hezbollah and Amal were quick to condemn the attacks means they wanted to dissociate themselves," Shahhal said. "There are those in the region that want to destabilize the country, such as the Syrian regime."
 

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/18/Sunni-sheikhs-beaten-up-testing-Lebanon-peace-.html
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U.S. will not block European efforts to arm Syria rebels

U.S. will not block European efforts to arm Syria rebels

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) and Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr deliver remarks on March 18, 2013 in the Treaty Room after their private bilateral meeting at the State Department in Washington. (AFP)

The United States will not oppose moves by some European nations to arm Syrian rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad, top U.S. diplomat John Kerry said Monday.

"President (Barack) Obama has made it clear that the United States does not stand in the way of other countries that have made a decision to provide arms, whether it's France or Britain or others," Kerry told reporters.

EU leaders are due to meet this week to discuss easing an EU arms embargo, amid statements from Paris and London that it is time to start arming the Syrian opposition.

Obama "believes we need to change President Assad's calculation," Kerry said, after talks with his Australian counterpart Bob Carr.

Kerry reiterated that Obama "is evaluating and will continue to evaluate any additional options available in order to make that happen."

The United States has provided non-lethal and humanitarian aid to the Syrian opposition but refused to supply arms, fearful of pouring more weapons into a complex conflict now into its third year which has claimed some 70,000 lives.

"Assad is receiving help from the Iranians, he is receiving help from some Al-Qaeda related elements, he's receiving help from Hezbollah and obviously some help that is coming in through the Russians," Kerry said.

"If he believes he can shoot it out, Syrians and region have a problem, and the world has a problem."
 

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/18/U-S-will-not-block-European-efforts-to-arm-Syria-rebels.html
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U.N defends aid work in Syria

Radhouane Nouicer, the regional coordinator for the U.N.'S OCHA humanitarian affairs office, said the organization was working under tough conditions and repeated a call for additional funding. (Courtesy UN.org)

The United Nations defended its humanitarian work in Syria on Monday, saying it deals with all parties in a "neutral and transparent manner" and offers assistance to all those affected by the conflict.

Radhouane Nouicer, the regional coordinator for the U.N.'S OCHA humanitarian affairs office, said the organization was working under tough conditions and repeated a call for additional funding.

But he brushed off allegations that the body has delivered little aid to rebel-held areas, focusing its work in regions still under regime control.

"We are in contact with all the parties, without distinction, because the goal is to provide aid to every Syrian and every Syrian family that in is need," he told a press conference in Damascus.

Nouicer stressed that "humanitarian aid has reached all of the conflict zones," but noted that "multiple obstacles impede the work of humanitarian organizations... particularly the dangerous security situation, which prevent us from moving freely and safely."

Nouicer also repeated a U.N. call for additional funding for its work in Syria, saying the international community should "pay more attention to the painful humanitarian situation and deliver the necessary funds."

He said just over 20 percent of the $519 million dollars the U.N. was seeking to fund its work had been pledged so far.

"It is difficult to apply an assistance program with this modest sum," he said, warning "the resources are minimal and the needs are enormous."

"The international community accords more importance to the political and military side than to resources intended for humanitarian aid," he added.

The Syrian civil war, now in its third year, has created a major humanitarian crisis, with over one million Syrians seeking refuge in neighboring countries and some four million internally displaced by the conflict.

 

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/18/U-N-defends-aid-work-in-Syria-.html
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Jailed PKK leader confirms ceasefire call on Thursday

Abdullah Ocalan has confirmed he will call for a "historic" ceasefire on Thursday, the day of the Kurdish New Year. (AFP)

Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has confirmed he will call for a "historic" ceasefire on Thursday, the day of the Kurdish New Year, a pro-Kurdish lawmaker told reporters in Istanbul after meeting the jailed PKK chief.

"I continue with my preparations to make a call on March 21, during the Newroz celebrations. The declaration I am going to make will be historic," lawmaker Selahattin Demirtas said Monday, reading from a letter penned by Ocalan.

Demirtas was in the Kurdish delegation that visited Ocalan on the prison island of Imrali on Monday, the third such visit since peace talks between the state and Ocalan as chief of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) began late last year.

"I want to solve the issue of guns with haste and without a single life being lost," Ocalan said in the letter.

He also called on the Turkish parliament to do "its part" to make the peace process a permanent one, allowing thousands of Kurdish rebels to lay down arms and withdraw from Turkey in the coming months.

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/18/Jailed-PKK-leader-confirms-ceasefire-call-on-Thursday.html
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Saudi petition hopes to reopen talks on women driving

Aziza Al Yousuf took a 15-minute drive in the Saudi capital on Friday, June 29, 2012 to mark the first anniversary of a campaign to end the ban on women drivers in the kingdom. (Reuters)

A petition signed by 3,000 Saudis is calling for the country's consultative Shura Council to renew discussions on women driving, a report stated on Monday.

The council includes 30 women members for the first time since King Abdullah issued a decree earlier this year.

But it remains unclear over the status of the petition, signed by Saudi activists and academics.

A report from Saudi daily, Arab News, said the petition had reached the council. The newspaper, quoting Abdullah al-Alami, a signatory to the petition, said that the human rights committee of the council considered the demand and decided to present it for a debate.

But an unnamed member of the council told the daily that he had no information about the petition coming up for debate in the council

When contacted by Al Arabiya, two female Shura Council members denied that the petition was agreed on or that it would be discussed in the council, declining to comment further.

Saudi Arabia restricts women, including a ban on driving, unique of its kind worldwide.

19 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/18/Saudi-petition-hopes-to-reopen-talks-on-women-driving-.html
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Egypt’s Mursi arrives in Pakistan on south Asia tour

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi arrived in Pakistan on Monday, on a South Asian tour that will also take in India as he works to promote trade and investment in his nation's troubled economy.

Mursi will meet with President Asif Ali Zardari during the one-day visit, the first to Pakistan by an Egyptian leader since Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1960s, Pakistan's foreign ministry said.

The ministry said the visit is a 'watershed and a landmark' in relations between the two Muslim nations which would 'give a new impetus to economic, trade and cultural relations.'

'President Mursi's decision to choose Pakistan as the first South Asian country for a bilateral visit manifests Egypt's desire to add a new chapter to its bilateral ties with Pakistan,' it added.

Officials from the two countries signed agreements to promote cooperation in shipping, investment, information technology and science and technology.

Pakistani state television showed live footage of the ceremony at the presidential palace where Mursi was greeted and presented with a military honor guard.

Late Monday he is due to travel to India, where he will meet with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and business groups to bolster a blossoming trade relationship worth $4.5 billion in 2012/11 compared to $3.2 billion the previous financial year.

'Our trade with Egypt has increased so rapidly in the last three years that India is now Egypt's seventh-largest trading partner,' India's ambassador to Egypt Navdeep Suri told reporters ahead of the visit.

'We talk often in general terms about space, technology and cooperation but during this visit we are talking in specific terms about launching an Egyptian satellite,' he added.

Egypt is struggling to restore investor and foreign lenders' confidence in the nation, which has suffered a sharp economic decline since the uprising that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.

Mursi's administration has been plagued by unrest and deadly clashes between protesters and police, blocking efforts to build broad-based support for a needed program of economic reform.

18 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/18/Egypt-s-Mursi-arrives-in-Pakistan-on-south-Asia-tour.html
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New Israel housing minister pledges more settlement building

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet will continue expanding the Jewish settlements in the West Bank. (Reuters)

Israel's new housing minister said on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's incoming cabinet would keep expanding Jewish settlements to the same extent as his previous government.

The remarks came two days ahead of a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama who has urged Israel to halt settlement on land that Palestinians seek for a state. They suggested that Netanyahu's new cabinet could prove to be as hawkish as his outgoing coalition.

Housing Minister Uri Ariel, a Jewish settler and member of the pro-settler Jewish Home party, said in a television interview that in occupied territory "building will continue in accordance with what the government's policy has been thus far."

Using the biblical names for the territory Israel captured in a 1967 war, Ariel told Israel's Channel 10 television the government "will build in Judea and Samaria more or less as it has done previously. I see no reason to change it."

Ariel added that Israel planned the bulk of housing construction for more sparsely populated areas within its sovereign borders in the Negev desert to the south and Galilee region in its north.

He said construction in the West Bank was "not the main story" for his housing plans.

Most world powers see settlements as illegal under international law. Some Israelis claim historical and biblical ties to the West Bank and East Jerusalem, home to some 500,000settlers, and dispute that building in these areas is illegal.

Peace talks for a two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been frozen since 2010, in a dispute over settlement building.

Netanyahu has accelerated settlement plans anew after Palestinians won recognition for statehood in the United Nations General Assembly in November, a move Israel opposed as a unilateral step that undermines peace efforts.

In December and January, Israel announced plans to build more than 11,000 new houses in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, almost double the 6,800 built under Netanyahu's previous administration since March 2009, figures by the settlement watch group Peace Now showed.

Netanyahu has built a new government since a Jan. 22 election, based on centrists elected on the strength of popular protests against steep cost of living rises, and right-wing parties championing the concerns of Jewish settlers.

18 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/18/New-Israel-housing-minister-pledges-more-settlement-building.html
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Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike exiled to Gaza

Freed Palestinian prisoner Ayman Sharawneh gestures as he holds a copy of the Koran inside an ambulance upon his arrival near Erez crossing in the northern Gaza Strip March 17, 2013. (Reuters)

One of four Palestinian prisoners, whose intermittent hunger strikes stoked clashes with Israel, has been exiled on Sunday (March 17) from his native occupied West Bank to the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official said.

The deal freeing Ayman Sharawneh seemed an effort to ease tensions ahead of Wednesday's visit by U.S. President Barack Obama to Israel and Palestinian territory. Two other inmates held by Israel stopped their fasts last month after a deal was reached for their release.

"The deportation of the prisoner Ayman Sharawneh by the Israeli occupation from where he lives is an example of oppression which the Palestinian prisoners face. We in Hamas assure our rejection of the deportation policy but we also assure that Gaza will welcome Ayman Sharawneh and all of our Palestinian nation," said Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesperson.

Qadura Fares, head of an advocacy group for Palestinian prisoners told Reuters that said Sharawneh, from the Hebron area of the West Bank, was en route to Gaza where he has agreed to remain for 10 years.

"Ayman has agreed on the deal from the beginning and today he signed a paper for the deal to deport him to Gaza Strip for ten years before he is back to the West Bank," Fares said.

Sharawneh, 37, was freed from an Israeli prison as part of a 2011 swap in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, held more than five years in Gaza, but was rearrested last year.

He had been jailed in 2002 for involvement in the violence of a deadly uprising that erupted when peace talks failed, in which several thousand Palestinians and more than a thousand Israelis were killed.

"As for Ayman Sharawneh's family, I repeat saying that we refuse the deportation deal but we have no other choice. My brother has no choice other than be sentenced for 28 years - his old sentence - before he was freed in Shalit's deal or be deported to Gaza. I think that Ayman's choice is right and at the end he is a winner against the warden and the Zionist intelligence," said Jihad Sharawneh, prisoner's brother.

He was among four prisoners who launched intermittent hunger strikes against being held without charge. Two others stopped their hunger protests last month after being assured they would be released when their terms are up in May.

The worsening state of Israeli prisons, coupled with the death of another Palestinian, Arafat Jaradat, in detention last month, had fuelled violence in which six Palestinian protesters were shot and badly wounded.

 

18 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/18/Palestinian-prisoner-on-hunger-strike-exiled-to-Gaza.html
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Yemen begins national reconciliation talks amid protests

Yemen's national reconciliation talks are being boycotted by hardline southern factions. (Al Arabiya)

Yemenis launched Monday U.N.-backed national reconciliation talks aimed at drawing the state's divisive players towards into a negotiated settlement.

The opening session, aired on Al Arabiya television, began with background noise from people who protested against the talks. President Abdo Rabu Mansour Hadi interfered to ask to demand that those to who are against the talks must leave the venue.

The talks are being boycotted by hardline southern factions who staged a general strike and protests in the port city of Aden on Sunday against the dialogue initiative.

The difficult talks, scheduled to run six months, bring together 565 representatives of Yemen's various political groups -- from secessionists in the south to Zaidi Shiite rebels in the north, in addition to civil society representatives.

They aim to draft a new constitution and prepare for general elections in February 2014, after a two-year transition led by President Hadi.

The dialogue should take place as per the U.N.-brokered deal that eased former strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh out of office following an 11-month uprising against his 33-year rule.

The talks, originally scheduled to start in mid-November, were delayed mainly due to the refusal of factions in the Southern Movement -- campaigning for autonomy or secession for the formerly independent south -- to join the talks.

Most factions have finally agreed to take part after months of negotiations and under U.N. pressure.

But the movement's hardliners led by South Yemen's former president Ali Salem al-Baid have dug in their heels, insisting instead on negotiations between two independent states in the north and south.

On Sunday, thousands of their supporters protested against the national dialogue, demanding that their region be seceded from the north.

Protesters carrying placards saying, "No dialogue under occupation!, Independence is our choice!" demonstrated in the port city of Aden waving flags of the formerly independent South Yemen which was united with the north in 1990.

"We are here by the thousands to reject the dialogue as it is an issue of northerners and those southerners who are involved in it do not represent the people," Khaled Junaidi, an activist told AFP.

The hardliners also held a six-hour general strike in Aden, capital of the formerly independent south.

Several anti-dialogue slogans and calls for the secession of the south were smeared on walls of many buildings, while flags of the former South Yemen were displayed in parts of the city.

On February 15, the United Nations voiced support for the national dialogue and threatened sanctions against any party impeding the talks, mainly referring to Saleh and Baid.

Despite his ouster, Saleh remains head of the formerly ruling General People's Congress Party (GPC).

But a source from the dialogue's preparatory committee told AFP that he will not represent his party at the talks, in which it has been granted the lion's share of seats with 112 representatives.

In addition to the southern question, Zaidi Shiite rebels, who have mounted repeated uprisings in the far north since 2004, have clashed with Sunni Salafists in northern Yemen. They are both taking part in the dialogue.

But influential tribal chief Hamid al-Ahmar, who heads the powerful Sunni Islamist Al-Islah (reform) Party, will not represent his party at the conference in protest against the Zaidis being handed most seats representing the northern Saada province, organisers said.

The Southern Movement is represented at the talks by 85 seats while the Zaidi rebels have 35 representatives.

 

18 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/18/Yemen-begins-national-reconciliation-talks-amid-protests.html
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Seized military fabric used in ‘children’s clothing:’ Hamas spokesman

Children in the Gaza Strip celebrate Hamas's founding. (Reuters)

Military uniform fabrics seized en route to Gaza by Egyptian forces are being used in "children's clothing," a Hamas spokesman said Sunday, denying accusations that the group's militants are using Egypt's army uniforms to infiltrate Sinai.

Taher al-Nounou, a spokesman for the Hamas government, said in an interview with Egypt's al-Mihwar television, "This fabric could be used in children's clothing, and you know children tend to wear such [military] clothing in festivities."

Egyptian Army spokesman Ahmed Mohammed Ali had said army troops had confiscated the khaki and white fabrics "similar to those used for uniforms" by the Egyptian troops as they were about to be smuggled into Gaza via tunnels in the Sinai peninsula.

The army "urges Egyptian citizens to be cautious and increase security awareness in the coming period in anticipation of the possibility of (people) posing as military officers," Ali warned.

Recent press reports have suggested that Palestinians entered Egypt with plans to destabilize security, something Gaza's Hamas rulers have vehemently denied.

Senior Hamas official Mahmud Zahar stressed that Hamas "is keen on Egypt's security and does not want to engage in any clash with anyone," in a recent interview with the state-owned MENA news agency.

He said stories in the media based on unidentified sources "are just meant to pit the Egyptians and Gazans against each other."

Recent media reports suggested that Hamas elements had infiltrated Egypt through Gaza tunnels. Another report said seven Gazans held at Cairo airport were in possession of maps of vital establishments in the country.
 

18 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/18/Seized-military-fabric-used-in-children-s-clothing-Hamas-spokesman.html
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U.N. begins talks on arms trade treaty amid objections

U.N. begins talks on arms trade treaty amid objections

An Afghanistan National Army (ANA) commando stands guard near U.S.-made weapons during an exercise mission at Commando Unit Base on outskirts of Kabul on March 16, 2013. (AFP)

Representatives of about 150 countries gathered in New York on Monday to begin negotiations on a binding international treaty to end the sale of unconventional weapons, a pact that a powerful U.S. pro-gun lobby is urging Washington to reject.

After four weeks of negotiations failed in July, the United Nations will again attempt to hammer out an accord that could force states to assess, before making a sale, whether weapons will be used for human rights violations, terrorism or organized crime.

But hurdles loom large since major arms producers and buyers have fought to chip away at the sales conditions and even to exclude whole categories from the treaty.

The United States, for one, refuses to include ammunition. China wants to protect its small arms, and Russia opposed including gifts and transfers of arms that could be made to an ally.

Delegates to the July conference said that Washington had wanted to push the issue past the November 2012 presidential election, though the administration of President Barack Obama denied that. The current negotiations will run through March 28.

Obama is under pressure from the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA), the leading U.S. pro-gun group, to block the pact. The group has vowed to torpedo the convention's Senate ratification if Washington backs it at the United Nations.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry voiced conditional support for the treaty on Friday, saying Washington was "steadfast in its commitment to achieve a strong and effective Arms Trade Treaty that helps address the adverse effects of the international arms trade on global peace and stability."

But he repeated that the United States - the world's No. 1arms manufacturer - would not accept a treaty that imposed new limits on U.S. citizens' right to bear arms, a sensitive political issue in the United States.

The NRA has dismissed suggestions that a December U.S. school shooting massacre in Connecticut bolstered the case for a global arms pact. It has also warned that the treaty would undermine U.S. citizens' right to own guns, a position that supporters of the treaty say is false.

The American Bar Association, an attorneys' lobbying group, last month disputed the NRA position, saying in a paper "ratification of the treaty would not infringe upon rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment."

Ammo: 'the fuel of conflict'

The point of the treaty is to set standards for all cross-border transfers of any type of conventional weapon -light and heavy. It also would set binding requirements for nations to review all cross-border arms contracts to ensure the munitions will not be used in human rights abuses, do not violate embargoes and are not illegally diverted.

Diplomats say that if the treaty conference fails to reach the required consensus because the United States, Russia or another major arms producer opposes it, nations can still put the draft treaty to a vote in the U.N. General Assembly.

The other alternative is to amend the draft to make it acceptable to the U.S. and other delegations. But supporters of the treaty fear that could lead to a weak and meaningless pact.

"The U.S. traditionally has an allergy to treaties," a European diplomat told Reuters. "It might be better to have a good treaty without the U.S. and hope they come around later."

The treaty focuses solely on international arms transfers. If a pact is approved in New York, it will require ratification by national legislatures before it can take effect.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a pact "that regulates international transfers of both weapons and ammunition and provides for common standards for exporting states."

"These standards are important for assessing the risks that transferred weapons are not used to fuel conflict, arm criminals or abet violations of international humanitarian or human rights law," he said.

Negotiations over the next two weeks will not be easy, U.N. diplomats say. Washington opposes inclusion of ammunition in the treaty. Rights groups and arms control advocates hope the U.S. delegation will compromise on the question of ammunition.

"Ammunition is literally the fuel of conflict," said Roy Isbister of Saferworld, a peace lobby group. "Without ammunition, the guns fall silent."

Rights groups have urged delegations to repair loopholes in the current draft treaty, which they say could leave avenues for abusers of human rights to continue getting weapons.

They say the partial coverage of ammunition in the current draft is a major weakness. Rights groups say that the global ammunitions industry for small arms and light weapons is worth$4.3 billion, with 12 billion bullets produced each year. (Editing by Philip Barbara)

18 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/18/U-N-begins-talks-on-arms-trade-treaty-amid-objections.html
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Obama will not bring peace plan because Israel not interested: report

A Palestinian man walks past a poster depicting U.S. President Barack Obama in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on March 16, 2013. (AFP)

As U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Israel and the West Bank comes close, an official from Washington says the U.S. leader will not bring any peace place as the Jewish state is not ready to make concessions, a newspaper reported Sunday.

When President Obama was asked by a group of Arab-American leaders during a meeting last week on why he did not intend to launch a new peace process, the leader said that Israel was not ready to make concessions, the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, cited an official, who was present at the high-level meeting, as saying.

The official, who kept his identity anonymous, said the U.S. leader was frustrated with fruitlessness of the peace process, claiming it would be pointless to pressure the Israeli government at this time.

Obama arrives on Wednesday for his first trip to the region as president.

At the luxurious King David hotel in Jerusalem, where the president and his entourage will begin their stay, chefs have been busy finalizing special dishes and anticipating the VIP requests, the Associated Press reported.

The historic hotel, which opened in the 1930s and was once headquarters of the British government during the British
Mandate, is no stranger to hosting visiting dignitaries.

However, because Obama is visiting days before the Jewish holiday of Passover, when Jews are forbidden from eating unleavened bread, his menu will be bereft of breads, pastas and other starches.

Jerusalem municipality crews, meanwhile, have been busy hanging a plethora of Stars and Stripes flags, getting ready for the high-profile visitor from the United States.

A factory making those flags has been working full throttle, preparing U.S. flags for the visit.

The factory manufactures flags for official visits of leaders from around the world, but factory owner Avi Marom says the Obama visit is very special.

"As one of the workers said here: 'It's the president of the world'," he explains.

To protect Obama and keep order during the visit, hundreds of police officers and security personnel will be deployed.
"The Israeli police...will be in full action. There's a large amount of cooperation which is also taking place between the Israeli police and American security," says police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

He says the full deployment is understandable: "This is the most important visit that is taking place since President [George W.] Bush's visit in 2009."

Obama to visit West Bank

Obama is also expected to visit the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

Palestinian and American security forces have been preparing and inspecting the area of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, a revered site for Christians.

The Palestinians are intent on showing the president what life is like under Israeli occupation.

President Mahmoud Abbas leads a self-rule government that enjoys limited autonomy in the West Bank. But Israel wields overall control of the area, which the Palestinians claim as the heartland of their future state.

Upon reaching Ramallah, just a short distance from Jerusalem, Obama will be greeted by large posters with his image that read - "President Obama: Don't bring your smartphone to Ramallah. We have no 3G in Palestine!"

Israeli authorities, who control mobile networks in the West Bank, have not granted Palestinian telecommunication companies 3G frequencies.
 

17 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/17/Preparations-under-way-ahead-of-Obama-s-official-visit.html
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Egyptian protesters clash with police outside Brotherhood’s HQ

Egyptian protesters clash with riot police in front of the Muslim brotherhood headquarters in Cairo on March 17, 2013. (AFP)

Hundreds of Egyptian protesters clashed with riot police on Sunday, outside the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters in Cairo.

Security forces attempted to disperse protesters and more of them showed up to protect the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters. The police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters, Al Arabiya reported.

Anger at President Mohammed Mursi was on display again when protesters took their demands to the Brotherhood's doorstep.

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On Saturday night, clashes between Muslim Brotherhood members and oppositional protesters escalated in a southeastern Cairo suburb, with reports of "sticks and iron chains" being used during the attacks.

The crowd was responding to an assault on journalists, who claimed they were attacked by Brotherhood members Saturday evening during coverage of a meeting.

The journalists said that after a group of activists sprayed anti-Brotherhood graffiti on the ground outside the group's Cairo headquarters, the Brotherhood guards attacked with sticks and chains.

Brotherhood spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan said in a statement that guards outside the building were provoked and insulted by the activists and journalists.

Many of the group's offices were attacked across the country in December during violent protests over the drafting of the constitution.

Dozens of journalists rallied outside their syndicate in the capital Cairo against the incident.

Diaa Rashwan, the newly elected head of the syndicate who replaced a figure considered by most journalists as pro-Brotherhood, said he would file a lawsuit against the Brotherhood spokesman for suggesting that journalists had incited the violence.

The opposition party Al-Dustor, led by Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, blamed the Brotherhood's leadership for allegedly encouraging "militias" loyal to the group to join the fight.

There were clashes on Saturday during protests against Mursi and the Brotherhood during the president's trip to the impoverished governorate of Sohag. The presidency on Sunday denied that opposition protesters had tried to storm the hall where Mursi had been speaking, despite video that showed the attempt.

18 Mar, 2013

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Source: http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2013/03/18/Egyptian-protesters-clash-with-police-outside-Brotherhood-s-HQ-.html
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