Articles
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, May 2004, pages 45-47
Issues in the News
Compiled by Laila Al-Arian
ARABIAN PENINSULA
Gulf Nations May Teach Human Rights in Schools
The six-member Arab Gulf Cooperation Council and Yemen are looking into the possibility of incorporating classes on human rights in schools, the Khaleej Times reported Feb. 17. The idea had been discussed the previous day at an education workshop in Doha, Qatar, as part of a four-day workshop where education officials responsible for forming academic policies and curricula exchanged ideas with members of human rights NGOs. In her inaugural speech at the workshop, Qatari Minister of Education Shaikha Ahmed Al Mahmoud “underlined the need for a common approach to teaching human rights in schools,” according to the Times. She announced that, in association with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Qatar will implement a project to educate schoolchildren on human rights. Meanwhile, chairman of the National Committee on Human Rights in Qatar, Khalid bin Mohammed Al Atiyya, emphasized the importance of introducing human rights as a subject in the curricula of AGCC member states.Arab Countries Urged to Join WTO
Agence France Presse (AFP) reported Feb. 22 that former World Trade Organization director-general Mike Moore is urging Arab nations that have not already done so to join the WTO as soon as possible. “Many Arab nations are not members of the WTO,” he noted, “although we did navigate Oman into the WTO and already have strong and vocal members from the Islamic world, such as Pakistan, Egypt and others.” Moore made his remarks at a two-day conference on the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “Open regionalism can be a good base to project onwards to the wider WTO and help integrate economies into the wider world economy,” Moore explained. GCC members Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) joined the WTO between 1995 and 2000. However, according to AFP, the GCC’s other member state, Saudi Arabia, “has been negotiating membership terms for the past eight years.” Saudi officials said in December that the Kingdom is looking to enact legislation bringing Saudi Arabia in line with WTO regulations and standards, the report stated. Only half of the 22-member Arab League states belong to the WTO.Hajj Tragedy Was “Avoidable”
Saudi Arabian Interior Minister Prince Naif said Feb. 4 that the stampede that took place three days earlier during the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca or Hajj “could have been avoided if pilgrims had behaved calmly,” reported the Feb. 5 Arab News. Prince Naif, who is chairman of the Supreme Hajj Committee, called upon Hajj officials in Muslim countries to instruct their pilgrims in what is necessary in order to prevent future stampedes like this year’s, in which 251 pilgrims were crushed to death and nearly 240 injured. However he added, the stampede, while tragic, was not any different from what might occur in crowded places elsewhere in the world and should be kept in perspective.EU Diplomatic Mission in Riyadh
In an effort to establish closer ties between the Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Union, the EU opened its first diplomatic mission in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, according to the Feb. 19 Arab News. The opening coincides with a tour by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal to three European countries. EU Spokesperson Cristina Gellech told the paper, “Prince Saud, who was in Brussels on [Feb.18] after wrapping up his visit to Switzerland, held wide-ranging talks with the EU’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana on how to revive the stalled road map for Middle East peace.” Gellech added that the leaders also addressed issues of “mutual concern, including the situation in Iraq.” The new diplomatic mission, referred to as the European Commission, “will have the mandate to promote relations between the two major economic and political blocs—the GCC and the 15-member EU,” the paper reported.Dairy Farm Donates 5 Million Riyals for Disability Projects
Saudi Arabia’s Al-Safi-Danone, the largest integrated dairy farm in the world with a herd of 29,000 cows, will donate 5 million Saudi Riyals to create a disability awareness drive. The private initiative, to be carried out in conjunction with the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research (PSCDR), would work toward integrating handicapped children into mainstream Saudi society, the Arab News reported March 8. “The PSCDR is the first research facility of its kind in the Arab world working to improve the quality of life for handicapped people,” said Prince Sultan ibn Salman, chairman of the PSCDR board of trustees. Ten to 15 percent of the Saudi population suffers from a disability, while nearly 18 percent suffer from disabilities due to genetic factors. According to Al-Safi-Danone’s Prince Muhammad ibn Khaled ibn Abdullah Al-Faisal, revenue from the farm’s dairy products would support the awareness campaign.Kuwait Scraps Visa Requirements
In an effort to boost tourism in the aftermath of the Iraq war, Kuwait announced March 12 that citizens of 34 countries need no longer fulfill certain visa requirements. The decision, effective immediately, applies to nationals from North America, most of Western Europe, Southeast Asia, New Zealand and Australia, according to the March 13 Khaleej Times. Maj. Gen. Thabet al-Muhanna, Interior Ministry assistant undersecretary, said the new measure is “consistent with the openness policy” being adopted by the emirate, and aims to enhance Kuwait’s economy. Since Saddam Hussain’s fall, Kuwait also has adopted a number of measures to encourage foreign investment and make it easier for foreign guest workers to bring in their families.FERTILE CRESCENT
More Syrians Call for Democracy
The Knight Ridder News Service reported March 19 that an increasing number of professionals and activists in Syria are calling for President Bashar Al-Assad and his ruling Ba’ath Party to “make fundamental changes to Syria’s ossified economy and politics or risk losing power in the years ahead.” Former World Bank economist Nabil Sukkar told the news wire, “The party has to reform itself. If it doesn’t want to reform itself, it’s in big trouble.” However, reformists like Sukkar maintain, “pressure from the United States, including new sanctions and President Bush’s Greater Middle East Initiative for reform in Arab countries, is backfiring.” Those who call for change are accused of being agents of the United States and the West in general, the report noted. When Bashar took office following his father’s death in 2000, he promised to bring modern reforms to Syria and to allow for more political and economic freedom.Jordan May Sue Israel Over Ramallah Bank Raid
The BBC reported March 16 that Jordan is considering suing Israel in an effort to recover “millions of dollars seized from banks” in the West Bank city of Ramallah. On Feb. 25, Israeli soldiers conducted a raid of several Ramallah banks, including branches of the Arab Bank and the Cairo-Amman Bank, allegedly to cut off funding for Palestinian militants. Jordanian and Palestinian officials deny holding activists’ accounts. Amman said the raid was illegal and “violates Israel’s 1994 peace treaty with Jordan,” according to the report. As a result, Jordan said it might sue Israel for its confiscation of approximately $9 million from Jordanian banks in Ramallah. Jordanian government spokeswoman Asma Khader said there is no precedent in banking history for Israel’s action, the BBC reported. The raid sparked protests in which 42 people were injured as they threw stones at Israeli troops, who retaliated with tear gas and rubber bullets. According to the news service, “U.S. officials also criticized the raid and said the action could destabilize the Palestinian banking system.”Drug Sweep in Lebanon
On Feb. 14, Lebanese police conducted a broad anti-drug raid, during which they wounded a suspected kingpin in a gunfight and arrested 54 other suspects, Interior Minister Elias Murr told AFP the following day. The drug raid aimed to “clean all parts of Lebanon of the traffickers who are poisoning society,” he said. The latest operation follows an even larger one conducted last December, primarily as a result of pressure from the United States. The raid resulted in the confiscation of quantities of hashish and cocaine, in addition to “light weapons,” according to AFP. “Drug cultivation and trafficking brought the country an income of some four billion dollars annually in the 1980s,” the report noted, “at the height of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.”IRAN/IRAQ
Iran-Japan Seal Oil Deal
On Feb. 18 Japan reached a deal with Iran to develop the latter’s massive Azadegan oilfield in order to guarantee stable oil supplies. The controversial project had been postponed due to U.S. concerns that Tehran is developing a nuclear weapons program, Reuters reported the next day. The contract, valued at $2 billion, is one of Tehran’s biggest international deals since the 1979 Islamic revolution. According to the report, it also “represent[s] a significant boost for Iran’s efforts to attract foreign capital.” Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, reported that the deal, in which Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. (JAPEX) and INPEX Corp and Tomen Corp. will develop the southern half of Azadegan, one of the world’s largest untapped oilfields, was the culmination of four years of negotiations.Iraq’s Postal Operations Studied
A high-level team from Iraq’s Coalition Provisional Authority visited the United Arab Emirates Feb. 25 to study the postal operations of Emirates Post, the Khaleej Times reported that day. The trip was the latest effort aimed at reconstructing Iraq’s postal infrastructure. The team consisted of Raymond T. Murphy, a senior postal adviser from the U.S. Postal Service in New York, and Steven J. Lucks, a senior technical liaison representative. The officials also visited the British Royal Mail and the Irish Post to evaluate potential systems that could be implemented in Iraq. “There is a plan to create a separate postal authority that will oversee the creation of a highly modern postal system,” Murphy told the paper. Lucks said he hopes Iraq’s postal system will involve a network of over 2,000 post offices serving a population of 25 million.Iraqi Wrestlers Face Problems
A March 2 Reuters article described the obstacles facing Iraqi wrestlers with Olympic dreams. According to the report, Iraq will send four wrestlers to the Athens Games in August. The competitors, however, “feel shackled by the economic and political problems that have plagued Iraq for years.” Since they must work full-time to support their families, they cannot dedicate the necessary time to train for the contest. To help them overcome the lack of modern training equipment in Iraq, the United States Olympic Committee has invited the four wrestlers to Colorado Springs to train with the U.S. team. The last time Iraqi wrestlers participated in an international competition was prior to the 1991 Gulf War.ISRAEL/PALESTINE
Brazil to Open Ramallah Office
Brazil’s Foreign Ministry announced March 18 its plans to open a diplomatic office in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the Gulf News reported the following day. Officials said the move is in preparation for the creation of a Palestinian state, according to the newspaper. “The office will serve mainly to carry out consular functions for Brazilian citizens in the West Bank who have difficulty reaching Tel Aviv because of Israeli blockades,” the paper reported, citing the ministry’s press office. Furthermore, it will work toward “fostering trade and improving diplomatic contacts.” The idea for the Brazil office was introduced during a meeting between Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and Palestinian Minister for International Cooperation Nabil Shaath during Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s visit to Cairo in December.Palestinian Internet Use Up
Internet use in the West Bank and Gaza is higher than in some Arab nations, according to an article in the Feb. 18 New York Times. Reporter Joshua Mitnick described Internet cafés that charge 45 cents an hour in impoverished areas of Gaza “where the average daily wage is $11 for those who can find work,” he wrote. For many Palestinians, logging on to the Internet is a “way to bypass Israeli army closings and curfews” the writer noted. Among the West Bank and Gaza’s 3.2 million Palestinians, Internet use has quadrupled to 8 percent in three years, Mitnick wrote, citing the Palestinian chapter of the Internet Society. Another purpose the Internet serves is to provide online chat sessions, which allow Palestinians to stay in touch with friends and relatives in other towns. It was also useful when Birzeit University, in Ramallah, was forced to close down in 2002, and professors created a portal in which they posted lecture notes, Mitnick reported.
