region:arabian gulf

    • Merci @gonzo, j’archive ! C’est assez marrant de voir cette guerre des noms se poursuivre, comme d’ailleurs entre la Corée et le Japon.

      Il y a eu une époque où les journalistes des médias qui écrivaient « Golfe » tout court ou « Golfe arabique » se voyaient notifié d’un refus d’entrer sur le territoire iranien quand ils se présentaient à la douane de l’aéroport (et faisaient donc un aller retour Téhéran par le même avion).

      Je savais les Iraniens ultra-sensibles sur cette question (j’ai reçu au cours de ma carrière des tonnes de documents et de lettres m’enjoignant d’abandonner l’expression « Golfe » pour « Golfe persique », seule dénomination « légale »... Mais jusqu’ici, c’était un peu plus discret du côté des États du Golfe qui avaient l’air d’avoir d’autres chats à fouetter plutôt que de s’occuper de toponymie.

      Je vais rechercher quelques exemples de cette propagande et les partager avec vous.

      #cartographie #propagande #manipulation #toponymie #golfe #golfe_persique #golfe_arabique

    • Je profite de ce post pour regrouper un certain nombre de liens et de docs :

      Congratulations ! Google Maps has recently added the term « Persian Gulf » on it’s maps !
      http://www.persianorarabiangulf.com

      Polémique sur le Net : Golfe persique ou Golfe arabique ? Juin 2010 (c’est pas récent mais ça reste d’actualité)
      http://observers.france24.com/fr/20100611-polemique-net-golfe-persique-golfe-arabique

      Persian Gulf ? Arabian Gulf ? One big gulf in understanding by Brian Whitaker
      https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/oct/27/gulf-of-understanding

      Persian (or Arabian) Gulf Is Caught in the Middle of Regional Rivalries
      http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/13/world/middleeast/persian-gulf-arabian-gulf-iran-saudi-arabia.html?_r=0

      How Google is showing Arabian Gulf on Maps
      http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/society/how-google-is-showing-arabian-gulf-on-maps-1.1560237

    • Reçu ce mail en copie en 2011. C’est un ancien prisonier politique iranien qui s’adresse à un journaliste d’un mensuel français :

      Cher Monsieur,

      Comme vous le savez, nous, des gens d’origine iranienne, avons un très grand respect pour vous et vos écrits, que nous traduisons d’ailleurs immédiatement et diffusons à travers le monde entier.

      Dans une de vos dernières livraisons, vous aviez utilisé le vocable « Le Golfe » au lieu du « Golfe persique ». Vous qui êtes un journaliste du haut rang et qu’avec vos prises de position courageuses vous forcez l’admiration de tout un chacun, pourquoi alors s’incliner devant un « nationalisme » à la c... de certains Arabes et écrire ce qui est faux, historiquement et géographiquement ?

      Avez-vous peur d’eux ? Ou vous ne voulez pas les vexer ? Dans ce dernier cas alors, vous devriez prendre des positions anti-palestiniennes, de peur de vexer les Israëliens ??!

      Je ne veux pas critiquer davantage un Maître alors que je ne suis qu’un tout petit disciple. Mais je continue à penser que détourner la vérité historique pour plaire à l’un ou à l’autre, ne devrait pas faire partie de la personnalité d’un très grand journaliste que vous êtes...

      Avec mes salutations resprectueuses.

      XX, ancien prisonnier politique iranien

    • Et cette dépêche publiée par la BBC en 2010

      Iran protests to China on distortion of Persian Gulf name
      Text of report in English by Iranian official government news agency IRNA website

      Beijing, 13 November: Iran protested to China on Saturday [13 November] for distorting the name of the Persian Gulf during the opening ceremony of the Guangzhou Asian Games.

      Iran’s Ambassador to China Mehdi Safari told IRNA that separate notes of protest were sent to the Foreign Ministry of China and organizers of the Guangzhou 2010 on the issue.

      While showing maps of countries on the big screens of the opening ceremony at the Asian Games, a map of Iran appeared for a few seconds with the fake name of ’Arabian’ instead of ’Persian Gulf’ on it, said the Iranian ambassador. He stressed that the term ’Persian Gulf’ was written in all international maps of Iran.

      Safari added that officials of China’s Foreign Ministry as well as organizers of the Asian Games have apologized for the incident admitting that the protest was completely relevant.

      Immediately after Iran’s protest, the Foreign Ministry of China issued an instruction which required all its affiliated bodies to pay due attention to the use of the correct name of the ’Persian Gulf’ in the future.

      Safari stressed that the distortion of the name of the Persian Gulf had nothing to do with Beijing’s foreign policy and its attitude towards Iran but was instead a mistake made by the organizers of the Asian games. The Iranian ambassador reassured the friendly ties between Iran and China.

      Source: Islamic Republic News Agency website, Tehran, in English 0755 gmt 13 Nov 10

    • Voilà une des lettres type que j’ai reçu pendant une bonne trentaine d’années. Et à les relire, et a considérer les arguments les uns derrière les autres, on finit presque par comprendre pourquoi la guerre.

      Dear Friends,

      I am writing to express my concern regarding your articleq and maps. I am very disappointed to see that the Persian Gulf is erroneously referred to as The Gulf. I do not know where to begin to express my sheer outrage and disappointment in this.

      As a respected organization, how is this mistake allowed to take place” I sincerely hope it is not an intentional doing. If so,
      let me explain why this should not be allowed to take place.

      The Persian Gulf has always been known as just that, the Persian Gulf. The country with the largest single maritime boarder along it is Iran, and in Iran the majority (51% according to The World Factbook 2003) are ethnic Persians. This puts the numbers at roughly 34 million Persians out of 67 million
      Iranians. The official language is also Persian. Many people are under the false assumption that Persia changed its name to Iran, when in fact this is not the case.

      Persia still exists today, as a large southwestern province in Iran. Persia was always but one piece of the Iranian Empire. Its central piece, and all the emperors, even up until modern times, were Persian. Iran is just the name of the Empire, because it encompasses more than just Persia (such as
      Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, Baluchistan, etc.). In 1935 the Emperor, or Shah, of Iran officially asked all world leaders to refer to the nation as Iran, not Persia, which is but one part of Iran. It is similar to England versus United Kingdom or Holland versus The Netherlands. Officially calling England the United Kingdom does not mean that the English do not exist anymore.

      So why has this most unfortunate fate been assigned to the Persians. In Persian, the word Persia is pronounced Pars hence the native way of saying the language, Parsi, Perisan Gulf, or Khalije Pars has been the accepted name of that body of water since ancient times, not just by Persians, but by all Iranians, and indeed, all neighboring Asians, such as Arabs, Indians, and Turks. It is also officially used by all European nations.

      There are many corrupt Arab leaders who insist on calling the Persian Gulf, The Gulf or worse yet, the Arabian Gulf. This is not for cultural or historic reasons, but rather for their own selfish purposes to express their power to foreign investors, and to try to take advantage of Iran‚s current unfortunate political situation.

      If respected organizations, and Newspaper allow these corrupt Arab leaders to systematically attack the respect and cultural integrity of the Persians, it will destroy a piece of history
      forever. Persians do not deserve this unjust treatment. Arabs have the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Gulf of Oman. Calling it The Gulf is not only unwarranted, but also violates an entire people‚s cultural heritage.

      Besides, there are literally hundreds of gulfs in the world ! Both the United States and Mexico touch the Gulf of Mexico, but it is still called the Gulf of Mexico; the same holds true for the English Channel, which is half French.

      I urge you to take back this damage and refer to this body of water as the Persian Gulf in your future articles and on your website. It is not too late to reverse this terrible damage.

      Sincerely,

      XX
      Teaching Assistant & Fellow Department of Anthropology
      University of XX in United States

    • En 2004, alors que je participais à la rédaction d’un rapport environnemental dans la région du Golfe [persique, donc], j’avais reçu à deux jours d’intervalle, un plainte violente de l’ambassadeur d’Iran à Genève et un avertissement de mon patron, en l’occurrence le PNUE à l’époque, qui me demandait de « mettre à jour les documents » non pas avec l’expression « Golfe persique » comme le demandait les iraniens mais avec une expression complètement incertaine qui encore aujourd’hui me laisse perplexe :

      ERRATUM

      The name “Golfe” on the map ’Water Management and Water Conflicts in the Middle East’ should be changed to the name “ROPME SEA Area” in accordance with the agreed upon terminology under the:

      Regional Convention for Cooperation on the Protection of the Marine Emnvironment from Pollution (ROMPE) or the Kuwait Convention of 1978.

      Thank you,

      XX, UNEP, Nairobi.

    • Et quand l’ONU s’en mêle et sort un Working paper de 8 pages reprenant des arguments historiques, c’est tr§-ès très intéressant :

      Fichier pdf téléchargeable
      https://www.dropbox.com/s/2y0poljlig4n1se/carto%20golfe%20justif%20historique%20un.pdf?dl=0

      https://www.dropbox.com/s/1z6id6pm0j9i0lu/persian%20gulf%20brochure.pdf?dl=0

      In the end, it is worth mentioning that the name of Persian Gulf has been admitted in all the live languages of the world so far and all the countries throughout the world, name this
      Iranian Sea, just in the language of the people: PERSIAN GULF. Even our Arab brothers do not need to alter a historical name to have a gulf of their own, because there had been a gulf in
      their own name previously mentioned in the historical and geographical works and drawings, which is called at present the Red Sea (Bahr Ahmar).

  • Shippers get the news: Hanjin finally reveals where its ships are - The Loadstar
    http://theloadstar.co.uk/shippers-get-news-hanjin-finally-reveals-ships

    (localisation, mais sans carte…)

    Unloading operations have begun on some Hanjin vessels after the line finally began to update shippers and forwarders on where its vessels actually are.

    A fleet update issued by the carrier this morning shows the vast majority of its vessels still “waiting in open sea” for instructions from headquarters.

    So far six vessels are confirmed to have been arrested – the Hanjin Baltimore at Panama, with the Panama Canal “impassable” to the line; Hanjin Vienna in Vancouver; Hanjin California in Sydney; Hanjin Rome, as widely reported, in Singapore; and Hanjin Rotterdam in Yantian; and Hanjin Sooho in Shanghai; while the Hanjin Montevideo has been arrested by its bunker supplier in Long Beach, California.

    Another seven vessels are at port under embargo and three more – Sky Pride, Sky Love and Pacita – have been returned to their owners.

    Ten vessels are waiting off the coast of China and two off Japan; a further 12 are waiting off South Korea, two of which – Hanjin Chongqing and Asian Trader – have now run out of fuel and are waiting for bunker supplies. Another nine vessels are underway to Pusan, where they won’t run the risk of arrest.

    The Hanjin Europe is under embargo in Hamburg, with Hanjin Harmony waiting in the North Sea, while five vessels wait in the Mediterranean. Two of the latter were refused entry to the Suez Canal and now face circumventing the Cape of Good Hope on their journey to Asia.

    There are nine vessels waiting in the waters of South-east Asia, the Indian Ocean and around Australia, and a further three in the Arabian Gulf.

    In the US, Hanjin Greece began unloading at a Long Beach terminal, while five vessels wait off the coast, with reports that one, the Hanjin Gdynia, will dock this week.

  • Future temperature in southwest Asia projected to exceed a threshold for human adaptability
    http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2833.html

    A human body may be able to adapt to extremes of dry-bulb temperature (commonly referred to as simply temperature) through perspiration and associated evaporative cooling provided that the wet-bulb temperature (a combined measure of temperature and humidity or degree of ‘mugginess’) remains below a threshold of 35 °C. (ref. 1). This threshold defines a limit of survivability for a fit human under well-ventilated outdoor conditions and is lower for most people. We project using an ensemble of high-resolution regional climate model simulations that extremes of wet-bulb temperature in the region around the Arabian Gulf are likely to approach and exceed this critical threshold under the business-as-usual scenario of future greenhouse gas concentrations. Our results expose a specific regional hotspot where climate change, in the absence of significant mitigation, is likely to severely impact human habitability in the future.

  • #Baghdad calls for #US aerial intervention in growing conflict
    http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/baghdad-calls-us-aerial-intervention-growing-conflict

    In this image released by the US Navy, sailors direct an F/A-18C Hornet on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush during flight operations in the Arabian Gulf on June 17, 2014. (Photo: AFP / US Navy - Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Maggie Keith)

    Baghdad has called for US air strikes on militants who attacked #Iraq's main oil refinery and seized more territory in the north, putting US President Barack Obama under pressure Thursday amid warnings the country could unravel. The White House said Obama has not ruled out such strikes after a lightning eight-day offensive by fighters led by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), that has seen them rapidly bear down on the capital. read (...)

    #ISIS

  • US Navy reiterates commitment to Bahrain, region | GulfNews.com
    http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/us-navy-reiterates-commitment-to-bahrain-region-1.1321204

    Referring to the $580 million base expansion in Bahrain that includes modifications to accommodate the US Navy’s new littoral combat ships (LCS), due to be operational in the Arabian Gulf by 2018, Vice Admiral John Miller said that it indicated “an enduring presence.”
    “Some of the modifications that we are doing right now will help us get the base ready for the arrival of the littoral combat ships, which will start right around 2018,” Miller told Defense News. “Those are ships that will serve in the US Navy and this area right until the middle of the current century. We would not plan for this infrastructure if we did not plan on staying here and the second thing is that we plan on staying not just as the US Navy but in a coalition environment,” he said.

  • Qaradawi does not represent Doha foreign policy | GulfNews.com
    http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/qaradawi-does-not-represent-doha-foreign-policy-1.1284935

    “The foreign policy of Qatar is expressed and conveyed only through the official channels of the state,” Khalid Bin Mohammad Al Atiyyah said.
    “ It is shameful that we allow Al Qaradawi to continue his insults of the UAE and ties [that bind] the peoples of the Arabian Gulf.” ”
    Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash | UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
    “Qatar’s policy is not expressed or conveyed by the media or platforms here and there. What was said by Shaikh Yousuf Al Qaradawi does not reflect the foreign policy of the state of Qatar.

  • Beijing’s westward pivot will make the Gulf a critical ally
    http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/beijings-westward-pivot-will-make-the-gulf-a-critical-ally

    Where does the Arabian Gulf fit in China’s emerging new diplomacy? Based on the recent flurry of diplomatic activities involving the Gulf and China (Chinese premier Wen Jiabao visited three Gulf states in January last year and the speaker of the Federal National Council of the UAE, Mohammed Al Murr, met last week in Beijing the head of the Chinese parliament), the Gulf remains an essential part of China’s resource-focused diplomacy.
    China, already the world’s largest importer of crude oil, depends on the Gulf for 44 per cent of its oil imports.

    Given the worsening air-pollution in China, Beijing must also find the Gulf’s abundant natural gas supply attractive. To be sure, China has massive deposits of shale gas, but the geological challenges, lack of infrastructure, scarcity of water and uncertain property rights make it unlikely that China will start tapping into its shale gas as a source of energy any time soon.
    In the meantime, any sensible Chinese official in Beijing knows that he must get his hands on as much clean natural gas as possible. Compared with Russian gas, which will not start shipping until 2018, gas from the Gulf can be imported immediately.

    To some, Beijing may even have a long-term military design on the Arabian Gulf. With its growing military might, China will naturally want to protect its own energy sources. However, it is unlikely that Beijing would risk confronting the Americans by deploying its navy to the Gulf (at the moment, it simply does not have a blue water navy capable of being deployed far away from China). The Chinese are experienced free-riders. As long as the United States is keeping the international shipping lanes open for them, China needs not waste its own money duplicating the task.

  • Christianity in the Gulf during the first centuries of Islam | Robert Carter - Academia.edu
    http://www.academia.edu/173150/Christianity_in_the_Gulf_during_the_first_centuries_of_Islam

    This article re-examines the ceramics of SBY-9, a church and monastery site on the island of Sir Bani Yas, Abu Dhabi emirate, U.A.E. It then explores other archaeological evidence for Christianity in the Arabian Gulf and compares it to the textual data, resulting in a reconsideration of the history and activities of the Church of the East. The pottery of SBY-9 indicates that the monastery complex was occupied some time between the second half of the seventh century and the mid-eighth century AD and not, as previously believed, the sixth–seventh centuries AD. Other excavated churches and monasteries in the Gulf region should also be redated to the eighth and ninth centuries AD (al-Qusur, Kharg). These findings cast a new light on the history of Christianity in the Arabian Gulf after the Muslim conquest

  • J’aimerais être une petite souris pour assister à la réunion où on décide ce genre de choses chez Google.

    BBC News - Google Map’s missing Gulf angers Iranians
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17959145

    Iranians have been complaining that Google Maps now has no name on the body of water they call the Persian Gulf and is also known as the Arabian Gulf.
    The issue has stirred controversy in recent years between Iranians and Arabs, who each say their name is the only one that should be used.
    A Google representative told the BBC it did not name every place in the world.

    #iran

  • Un documentaire absolument passionnant sur la révolution de Bahreïn (50 minutes).

    ‪Bahrain : Shouting in the dark‬‏ - YouTube
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaTKDMYOBOU

    Bahrain: An island kingdom in the Arabian Gulf where the Shia Muslim majority are ruled by a family from the Sunni minority. Where people fighting for democratic rights broke the barriers of fear, only to find themselves alone and crushed.

    This is their story and Al Jazeera is their witness - the only TV journalists who remained to follow their journey of hope to the carnage that followed.

    This is the Arab revolution that was abandoned by the Arabs, forsaken by the West and forgotten by the world.