• Barak Ravid (Haaretz) détaille les raisons qui ont conduit le président Abou Mazen à se défaire de son premier ministre: son aura internationale, son refus de la corruption et du népotisme, la jalousie qu’il éveillait chez les envieux, la rancœur du président à son égard parce qu’il avait jugé en novembre dernier que la reconnaissance de la Palestine aux Nations Unies n’avait qu’une valeur symbolique, l’affrontement des deux autour de la récente démission de Nabil Qassis, ministre des Finances. L’auteur de l’article voit dans cette démission le signe d’une désintégration de l’Autorité palestinienne et s’interroge sur l’attitude des bailleurs de fond internationaux – notamment américains -qui pourraient être réticents à l’idée d’accorder leurs aides au prochain gouvernement palestinien. Il y voit aussi le résultat de l’attitude ambiguë adoptée par Netanyahu à l’égard de Salam Fayyad : reconnaissance de ses compétences mais aussi inquiétude de voir qu’il réussissait à construire les infrastructures de l’Etat palestinien.

    Fayyad’s resignation: The beginning of the end of the PA?

    It was actually the PA prime minister’s successes that eventually led to his downfall. His effective management and relative popularity meant he was a threat to too many people.

    By Barak Ravid | Apr.14, 2013 | 1:24 AM | 41
    Haaretz

    http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/fayyad-s-resignation-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-pa-1.515292

    “The resignation of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Saturday is a dramatic development. Its ramifications won’t just reverberate in the part of the West Bank under Palestinian control, but also affect Israel and the Obama administration’s efforts to renew the peace process, as well as the European Union’s policy towards the Palestinians.

    For Israel’s government and defense establishment, the U.S., and the EU, which both regularly provide economic aid to the Palestinian Authority, Fayyad was the go-to man. The former International Monetary Fund economist was educated in the U.S. and was a symbol of good governance and the war on corruption. His plan to build Palestinian state institutions from the bottom up received much international support.

    But it was this success that itself bore within it the seeds of his demise. Fayyad, who served as prime minister since 2007, resigned after his relations with PA President Mahmoud Abbas deteriorated, reaching an unprecedented low. The crisis of confidence between the two leaders was sharp and irreparable. Abbas and the Fatah party’s old guard that surround him saw Fayyad as a political rival who needed to be eliminated.

    Fayyad’s resignation is another sign of the PA’s internal disintegration and the deep political crisis it is struggling with. In order to survive, Abbas imposed a semi-autocratic regime in the West Bank styled after that of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Journalists and bloggers are sent to prison, demonstrations and criticism are suppressed with an iron fist and the government doesn’t function while the ruler travels the globe.”

    #Salam_Fayyad #Obama #Mahmoud_Abbas #Fatah #Palestinian_independence #Nabil_Kassis #Netanyahu

  • Démission du Premier ministre palestinien Salam Fayyad

    http://www.ism-france.org/communiques/Le-Fatah-satisfait-de-la-demission-de-Fayyad-article-18050

    Cisjordanie - 14 avril 2013
    Le Fatah satisfait de la démission de Fayyad
    Par Maan News (traduction de l’arabe)

    Quelques heures après que le président Mahmoud Abbas a accepté la démission de Salam Fayyad de son poste de Premier ministre, un haut-fonctionnaire du Fatah a déclaré que le mouvement était satisfait de la décision.

    Amin Makboul, secrétaire du Conseil révolutionnaire du Fatah, a dit à Ma’an aujourd’hui que le gouvernement Fayyad avait lamentablement échoué à gérer et à résoudre les problèmes économiques ; l’Autorité palestinienne est confrontée à des dettes massives et ne peut pas payer ses employés.

    Makboul a dit qu’il était trop tôt pour annoncer les noms des candidats au remplacement de Fayyad, mais que des discussions étaient en cours.

    Le Hamas a besoin de deux semaines pour mettre la touche finale à la distribution des sièges dans son bureau politique, a dit Makboul.
    « Si le Hamas agit pour mettre fin à la scission et mettre en œuvre la réconciliation, alors le Président Mahmoud Abbas sera le président du nouveau gouvernement d’unité jusqu’à la tenue d’élections globales. »

    Un dirigeant du Hamas a cependant dit que la démission de Fayyad n’était pas liée au processus de réconciliation. Salah Bardawil a déclaré à Ma’an que « il ne faut pas lier la démission de Fayyad à la réconciliation, parce qu’il a démissionné pour des raisons internes. » (Lire également : « Abou Zouhri : la démission de Fayyad n’a aucune relation à la réconciliation », Centre palestinien d’information) Le porte-parole du Hamas Sami Abou Zouhri a dit à l’AFP que « Fayyad laissait le gouvernement après avoir criblé de dettes notre peuple et le Fatah doit en assumer la responsabilité parce que c’est lui, au début, qui l’a imposé. »

    Le processus de réconciliation a été suspendu pendant que le secrétaire d’Etat US John Kerry visitait la région ces derniers temps, et il n’y a pas de calendrier pour le continuer, a ajouté Bardawil.

    • La démission du premier ministre Salam Fayyad satisfait l’une des revendications principales du Hamas pour qui le « premier ministre de Ramallah » aura toujours été un agent de l’Occident et d’Israël. Ancien du FMI et de la Banque mondiale, Fayyad s’était notamment attaché à la formation des forces de sécurité dont l’une des responsabilités était de combattre le Hamas. Les islamistes palestiniens, (mais aussi d’autres Palestiniens non islamistes) lui reprochaient de travailler davantage pour la sécurité d’Israël que pour celle des Palestiniens. En outre, comme le montre l’article de Ma’an, les relations entre Fayyad et le Fatah (auquel il n’appartient pas) ont toujours été mauvaises. C’est donc un homme reconnu par la communauté internationale mais sans pouvoir électoral qui quitte la scène politique.

      Cette démission devrait ouvrir la voie à un gouvernement palestinien de réconciliation nationale ou, à tout du moins, à une accélération du processus de réconciliation entre Gaza et la Cisjordanie (la coupure date de juin 2007). Cette réconciliation donnerait un peu plus de sens à la reconnaissance de la Palestine comme Etat observateur non membre de l’ONU mais serait utilisée par Israël pour mettre un terme au principe des négociations bilatérales (« on ne négocie pas avec des terroristes »). La réconciliation palestinienne est avant tout une affaire intérieure palestinienne qui pourrait entraîner la refonte de l’OLP - que le Hamas pourrait finalement intégrer – et aussi remettre au premier plan la question de Palestine.

  • Guerre d’Iraq. Portrait au vitriol de Tony Blair (actuellement Envoyé spécial du Quartet pour le processus de paix au Proche Orient) pour son rôle avant et pendant l’invasion de l’Iraq. Abdel Bari Atwan (Editeur en chef d’AlQuds Alarabi) demande son expulsion de la région et le retrait de son mandat dans le cadre du Quartet. Il plaide pour une enquête sur les responsabilités des dirigeants arabes pendant la guerre d’Iraq qui serait placée sous la supervision de la Ligue arabe. Tout en soulignant les hypocrisies arabes, il dénonce les conspirations de l’Occident soupçonné de vouloir détruire la nation arabe en favorisant l’expansion des affrontements intercommunautaires, entreprise qui aurait commencé en Iraq en 2003 et qui se poursuivrait aujourd’hui en Syrie avant d’affecter l’Egypte.

    AlQuds Alarabi est un quotidien édité à Londres, indépendamment de l’Arabie saoudite contrairement aux deux autres publications panarabes Al-Hayat et Asharq Al-Awsat. Les commentaires d’Abdel Bari Atwan sur Tony Blair ne sont que l’écho de ce que l’on entend dans les pays arabes.

    http://www.bariatwan.com/english/?p=1549

    Blair’s further lies revelation as Arabs fooled again
    Abdel Bari Atwan

    Apr 8 2013

    More humiliating revelations for Arab people in this week’s Independent on Sunday which showed how the invasion of Iraq was an ugly intervention designed solely to serve Western interests and strengthen Israel’s regional domination. The IoS detailed how British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, had no intention of going to war with Iraq until he visited George W. Bush in April 2002. MI6 officers told the paper that Blair was ’star struck’ by Bush, with whom he spent an evening alone, and returned from the trip ’a changed man’. The same sources also revealed that Blair went to visit Bush on his ranch thinking they would be planning a war against Libya’s Colonel Gadhafi, whom Blair considered much more dangerous. He knew from the outset that what little stocks of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Saddam possessed would fit ’in the back of a small truck’. Blair, having overcome his surprise that the target was to be Saddam Hussein and not Gadhafi, and being a paragon of democracy, like the overwhelming majority of Western rulers, returned to London and prepared a series of lies in order to rally the British public behind a war on Iraq. A war against a besieged country, with a starved people, on the pretext of a lie. (…) On the tenth anniversary of the occupation of Iraq, the prominent role played by Rafid Janabi was revealed. Rafid is the Iraqi who fabricated – following instructions from the CIA and German intelligence – the lie of mobile biological and chemical weapons laboratories.

    (…) We now demand an investigation, conducted by Arabs, into the role of our Arab leaders in this war, which led to the martyrdom of millions of Iraqis, orphaned four million children, and destroyed an Arab country.

    (…) As long as the league is active in support of Arab Spring revolutions, we call upon them and the secretary general once again, to expel Tony Blair from the entire region, and relinquish his ridiculously inappropriate job as International Peace Envoy for the Middle East. His hands are stained with the blood of Iraqis. The man is a war criminal, and above all he is a liar who spread lies and fabrications. The only thing he does not conceal is his bias towards Israel; he even works as a consultant to Benjamin Netanyahu, giving him advice on how to deal with Western campaigns aimed at delegitimising Israel internationally and morally. (…) We know about the hypocrisy, the deception and brainwashing that is going on in the Arab region (…) North Korea defends its dignity, saying a big “no” to USA and does not hesitate to go to war in defence of its dignity and people, just as the Afghani resistance and then the Iraqi resistance did. Will the Arabs rise up for their dignity?

  • A New Deal for Israel
    Rafe MAIR (Canada)
    12.04.2013

    Strategic Culture Foundation (Strategic Culture Foundation provides a platform for exclusive analysis, research and policy comment on Eurasian and global affairs)
    Online Journal

    http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2013/04/12/a-new-deal-for-israel.html

    “Just like bouts of poison ivy, every few years we see a watershed visit to Israel by a sitting US president. And every time that happens we’re all supposed to take heart. Then the usual drift sets in, there are international incidents and resolutions of the United Nations.
    President Obama has just concluded such a session with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and although it depends upon who’s reporting, Mr Obama was seen to be backing Israel while belittling the Palestinians. This is understandable in terms of US current internal politics but is folly for the long term…

    (…) America must survey not just what is today but what the unfolding landscape will look like and judge its position with Israel in that light. In the mix it must be recognized that Israel’s population is over 20% Arab and growing.

    Here’s what President Obama must do.
    First he speak at home a new and more aggressive policy towards Israel, In that regard, Mr Obama must establish as a condition precedent to future discussions that she tear down the settlements – all of them – and pledge to desist in this practice. One suspects that the only reason Israel has followed this policy is an «up yours» to its neighbours.

    Second, Israel must consent to a «two state» policy including Gaza.

    Thirdly the United States must guarantee the safety of Israel’s new boundaries.

    Fourthly, America must set up but not be part of, an organization much like the Organization Of American States (OAS) if only as a «talk shop» to keep dialogues going amongst the various states.

    How can the US force Israel to seek reason?
    With money, the oldest and best weapon in history. The US funds to Israel are critical. They must be the pressure points in US policy.
    This isn’t intended to state that Israelis the only naughty child in the region but it is to say that she is the object of hatred throughout. No one expects that new firm boundaries will mean peace and harmony in the area. As I often say to my wife, we’ll have peace in the world just as soon as a village can draw up a dog by law that everyone can live with. (…)

    #Israel #Obama #Jewish_lobby #Mahmoud_Abbas #Palestine #Arab_Spring #Syria #Pakistan #Afghanistan #Iran #Jordan #Saudi_Arabia

  • Tunisie/ Syrie. Résumé: Entre 6 et 10.000 Tunisiens auraient rejoint les rangs des combattants anti-Assad. Les recrutements se feraient par le truchement des mosquées et d’organisations caritatives. Leurs familles, qui n’apprennent qu’a posteriori le départ de l’un des leurs, recevraient jusqu’à 4000 dollars par combattant. Les autorités tunisiennes estiment qu’elles n’ont pas le droit d’empêcher un jeune de partir combattre en Syrie.

    INTER PRESS SERVICE
    News Agency

    Tunisia Now Exporting “Jihadis”
    By Giuliana Sgrena
    Friday, April 12, 2013

    http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/04/tunisia-now-exporting-jihadis

    TUNIS, Apr 6 2013 (IPS) –
    “Tunisian families have begun to dread knocks on their doors, or late-night phone calls, fearing that the messenger will bear the news that their son has been smuggled out of the country to join the “jihad” in Syria. Families here told IPS that they have no way of contacting their sons once they leave — whether by choice or coercion they will never know — for the warring nation nearly 3,000 miles away. At most, family members receive an inaudible telephone call from Libya, where the soon-to-be militants are trained, the muffled voice on the other end of the line saying a quiet and final goodbye.

    (…) There are no reliable data on exactly when young Tunisian men began rushing to join the Free Syrian Army, currently engaged in a battle to depose Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, but experts and civil society activists are agreed on one thing: the number is increasing. On Mar. 29, local sources reported that between 6,000 and 10,000 men have left the country, while the Algerian press say the number could be closer to 12,000.

    (…) The election of the moderate Islamist party Ennahda in October 2011 further raised hopes that the country would stay on track towards a more inclusive future. But beneath the moderate veneer, a strong ultra-conservative undercurrent remained, steered by Salafist-controlled mosques – like Fath, Ennassr, Ettadhamen, and the great mosque of Ben Arous located on the outskirts of Tunis – that are now serving as headquarters for the smuggling of fighters.

    (…) Charity organisations like Karama wa Horrya, Arrahma, Horrya wa Insaf, which provide basic humanitarian assistance to the poor, also play a role in this network that gathers able-bodied Tunisians, transports them to Libya and then, after a brief stop in Turkey, sends them onwards to the frontlines of the Syrian war such as the north-western border with Lebanon, and the city of Aleppo. Young fighters’ first point of contact in Syria is with the Jabhat al Nusra (meaning the ‘Support Front for the People of Syria’), considered the most aggressively militant arm of the FSA. (…)”

    #Jabhat_al_Nusra #Tunisia #Syria #Free_Syrian_Army #jihad #jihadi #Fath #Ennassr #Ettadhamen #Ben_Arous #Karama_wa_Horrya #Ennahda #Arrahma #Horrya_wa_Insaf

  • Football. Al Jazeera poursuit ses achats de droits télévisés dans une Espagne en difficulté financière.

    Madrid, Viernes 12 de Abril de 2013

    Televisión
    El Boletin.com
    Roures quiere que Al Jazeera ‘compre’ los derechos televisivos del fútbol español

    http://www.elboletin.com/index.php?noticia=73001&name=contraportada

    « Lo cuentan algunos confidenciales de Internet. Las dificultades de Prisa y Mediapro para pagar a los clubes de Primera División el dinero comprometido a cambio de los derechos de emisión abre la puerta a la entrada en el negocio de Al Jazeera, la poderosa cadena de Qatar. Y viene de la mano de Jaime Roures.

    Según explica elconfidencialdigital.com, algunos enviados de la emisora habrían tenido ya contactos informales con varios implicados en el negocio. Como decíamos antes, la ocasión surge, sobre todo, porque los 3.000 millones de deuda del Grupo Prisa, obligan a esta empresa a pensar en la retirada.

    Mediapro, debería menos, sólo 300 millones, pero su principal responsable, Jaume Roures planearía cambiar de rumbo y, además, de hecho, su productora ya es un aliado estratégico de la cadena catarí. Y se beneficiaría si Al Jazeera concreta su oferta. »

  • Résumé. Si le Liban n’est pas une terre de djihad, les djihadistes n’ont jamais dédaigné utiliser le pays pour y conduire leurs activités. Ces dernières années, ils y ont notamment combattu les forces de sécurité libanaises (Bassam Kanj, al-Qaïda, 1999), se sont adonnés au trafic d’armes à destination de la Jordanie et revendiqué l’assassinat de Rafiq Hariri (Groupe Al-Nousra, 2005). Un ressortissant libanais faisait partie du groupe des 19 personnes impliquées dans les attentats du 11 septembre (Ziad Jarrah, pilote de l’avion qui s’est écrasé en Pennsylvanie). Certains d’entre eux continuent de jouer un rôle à partir des prisons libanaises ou des camps de réfugiés palestiniens (camp d’Ein el-Hilweh notamment). En 2007, les djihadistes palestiniens de Fatah al-Islam, retranchés dans le camp de Nahr al-Bared, ont combattu l’armée libanaise pendant plusieurs mois. Les Brigades Abdullah Azzam ont revendiqué des attaques sur les forces de l’ONU (FINUL/ UNIFIL). La guerre en Syrie contre le régime d’Assad a suscité des vocations libanaises. Des Libanais y ont rejoint des groupes djihadistes, comme le Front al-Nousra. L’auteur de l’article fait dire à l’un de ses interlocuteurs que le Liban pourrait devenir une terre de djihad.

    Lebanon Is Pivotal For Syria’s Jihadists
    By: Ali Hashem for Al-Monitor Lebanon Pulse Posted on April 9.

    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/contents/articles/opinion/2013/04/jabhat-al-nusra-lebanese-jihadists-rafik-hariri.html#ixzz2Q9zUDFzv

    “It was not until Sept. 11, 2001, that people started talking seriously about the Lebanese connection to al-Qaeda. The name of Ziad Jarrah, one of the 19 men who took part in the Sept. 11 attacks, emerged and people started asking seriously then whether al-Qaeda was present in Lebanon.

    In Beirut, I met Abu Baraa, a code name used by our source who was once an inmate of Roumieh prison’s Islamist building. He fought with Kanj in Dounieh, but now he’s doing nothing but “preaching Islam.” He saw several of his “brothers,” the word used by Islamists when mentioning comrades, working from the prison without any interference from Lebanese security forces. “We had phones, and I have recently learned that prisoners have Internet access now; they used to communicate with the outside world and give orders.” According to Abu Baraa, Lebanese jihadists should be grateful to the Palestinians for where they are now. Palestinian jihadists, along with a few Lebanese, had the chance “to go to Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya, etc. … and come back more experienced, with a larger network, capable of tougher tactics, and they also helped in providing hideouts for the brothers whenever they needed it.”
    Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are a busy hub for jihadists. Ain al-Hilweh camp in Sidon, southern Lebanon, is home to several groups — Abdullah Azzam Brigades, Osbat al-Ansar, Jund al-Sham and others are active groups which are now exporting experts to Syria.” (…)

    #Lebanon #Syria #Hariri #Al_Nusra #Ahmad_Abu_Adas #Bassam_Kanj #al-Qaeda #Abu_Aisha #Osama_bin_Laden #Ayman_al_Zawahiri #Ayman_Kamaldine #Ziad_Jarrah #Islamist #Jihadist #Ain_al_Hilweh #Abdullah_Azzam_Brigades #Osbat_al-Ansar #Jund_al_Sham #Fatah_al_Islam #Nahr_al_Bared #Palestinian_camp #UNIFIL #Syrian_revolution #Hezballat #Khaled_Mahmoud

  • Hamas, Fatah renew efforts for Palestinian unity
    By Khaled Abu Toameh

    Jerusalem Post
    10/04/2013

    http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=309375

    Despite tension, Hamas and Fatah officials meet in Cairo to discuss implementation of previous reconciliation agreements.

    Despite ongoing tensions between them, Hamas and Fatah resumed on Wednesday efforts to end their dispute and form a Palestinian unity government. Fatah’s Azzam al-Ahmed and Hamas’s Musa Abu Marzouk held talks in Cairo to discuss the implementation of previous reconciliation agreements signed between the two parties.
    Earlier this week, Ahmed announced that the US administration has “softened” its opposition to Fatah efforts to form a unity government with Hamas. The announcement came shortly after US Secretary of State John Kerry held talks in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

    • Palestine. La réconciliation Gaza/ Cisjordanie et Hamas/Fatah - comme la formation d’un gouvernement de réconciliation nationale - est l’un des serpents de mer de la vie politique palestinienne depuis la victoire électorale du Hamas en 2006. Cette réconciliation a toujours buté sur des divergences idéologiques. Mais ce qui distingue le cas palestinien des autres pays arabes qui connaissent de profonds bouleversements, c’est probablement la déstructuration d’une société civile travaillée par l’occupation israélienne. Le Fatah continue de craindre le changement, n’est pas capable de se remettre en cause et ne semble pas en mesure de préparer la relève du Président Abbas. En face, le Hamas a souvent prouvé qu’il savait créer du consensus en son sein. Il a également su s’adapter aux évolutions régionales actuelles, notamment en se coupant volontairement du régime d’Assad, qui avait été l’un de ses principaux soutiens, et en se rapprochant de Doha. Mais il ne peut encore s’accorder avec le Fatah qu’il perçoit comme l’instrument sécuritaire des Israéliens et des Américains. En outre, le manque d’organisation de la société civile palestinienne ne peut être compensé par un Etat qui remplirait ses fonctions essentielles dont la sécurité physique de sa population.

      Au final, tant que la réconciliation Hamas/Fatah ne sera pas exigée par la population, elle a peu de chances de se réaliser. Elle peut naturellement être imposée de l’extérieur (avec l’aide du Qatar et de l’Egypte aujourd’hui, des Saoudiens et des Syriens hier) mais ses chances de durer s’en trouveraient amoindries. Les conditions actuelles n’étant pas différentes de celles des dernières années, on voit mal comment la réconciliation Hamas/Fatah pourrait devenir une réalité.

  • Affaire à suivre.
    Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad offers resignation
    By Ali Sawafta

    Reuters
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/10/us-palestinians-fayyad-abbas-idUSBRE93917I20130410

    RAMALLAH, West Bank | Wed Apr 10, 2013 5:47pm EDT
    RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad offered his resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday following a rift between the two men over government policy, two sources told Reuters.

    Abbas was due to return to the occupied West Bank from Jordan on Thursday, and it was not immediately clear whether he would accept the resignation of the U.S.-educated economist.

    A spokeswoman at Fayyad’s office declined to comment on the reports, which followed persistent rumors that Abbas wanted to sack Fayyad following internal political wrangling.
    Western governments have offered staunch support to Fayyad ever since he became prime minister in 2007, seeing him as the architect of Palestinian state-building efforts, and his departure could complicate their ties with Abbas.

    Long-strained relations between the 61-year-old Fayyad and Abbas worsened last month when the prime minister accepted the resignation of his finance minister, against the wishes of the president.

  • Syrie. Seyed Hossein Mousavian (ancien porte-parole iranien pour les négociations sur le nucléaire, installé désormais aux Etats Unis) synthétise les enjeux syriens actuels. On pourra juger que les sept mesures qu’il propose pour éviter l’effondrement de la Syrie relèvent plus du vœu pieux que d’un programme de sortie de crise: un cessez-le-feu général ; une aide humanitaire ; des mesures pour éviter la chute de l’Etat, les vengeances intercommunautaires, la guerre civile et la désintégration du pays ; des élections présidentielles supervisées par l’ONU ; dans l’attente de cette élection, des mesures aptes à garantir la sécurité et la stabilité des Syriens ; enfin, au-delà de la présidentielle, un référendum sur la Constitution sous la supervision de l’ONU.

    A Seven-Point Plan to Prevent The Collapse of Syria
    Seyed Hossein Mousavian for Al-Monitor. Posted on April 7

    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/preventing-collapse-of-syria.html#ixzz2Ps9XFghq

    “Since March 2011, 70,000 Syrian civilians, military, government officials and opposition forces have been killed, 3 million have been displaced and 1.1 million Syrians have become refugees

    — plunging the country into turmoil and placing the security of the whole region at risk. The Syrian instability is dragging the country toward the throes of all out civil war, sectarian war and ultimately disintegration. If no immediate and robust actions are taken, this process could set into motion a chain of events that would pose a grave threat to the stability of the entire Middle East and beyond.

    While the West advocates for “secular” systems, they are paradoxically opposing the current secular government of Bashar al-Assad and backing the opposition led by radical Islamists and terrorist groups. On the other hand, Iran, which is often portrayed as pro-Islamist, has been accused by the West of promoting fundamentalism and extremism, even as Tehran continues its support for the secular government of Assad in Syria.

    Arab governments and Turkey, with the help of the CIA, have sharply increased their military aid to Syria’s rebel forces, with signs of having an impact on the ground. Increasing covert efforts, permitted by President Obama, have paved the way for CIA and other US agencies to provide considerable financial, material and intelligence support to the rebels in an effort to oust Assad.”

    Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian is a research scholar at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School and a former spokesman for Iran’s nuclear negotiators. His latest book is The Iranian Nuclear Crisis: A Memoir published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

  • Syrie. Propos sans surprise de Haytham al-Manna, chef du Comité National de Coordination des Forces de Changement Démocratique en Syrie (CNCD) : une solution militaire ne résoudrait rien ; la Syrie doit choisir entre solution politique ou somalisation ; les opposants au régime n’ont pas la possibilité de l’emporter par des moyens militaires ; Assad ne s’est pas résolu à négocier ; le régime est capable de supporter encore deux années d’affrontement. Il est également convaincu que le départ d’Assad ne mettrait pas fin à la violence et que les Frères Musulmans ne renonceront pas à leurs privilèges.

    Syrian Opposition: Assad’s Overthrow Wouldn’t End Violence

    By: Mohammad al-Shazli Translated from Al-Hayat
    Posted on : April 9 2013

    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2013/04/syria-violence-assad-departure.html

    The head of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change (NCC) in exile, Haytham al-Manna, said that the Syrian regime is seeking to “clone the Algerian solution” to solve the crisis in the country. He called on “friends” of the regime to pressure the regime for serious negotiations that can “rescue those whose hands haven’t been stained with the blood of Syrians.”

    In an interview with Al-Hayat, Manna added that the conflict could not be solved militarily. He said, “We have the choice of either the somalization of the country or a political solution. We blame the regime for wanting to clone the Algerian solution; it will not succeed.” He added that the opposition “will not succeed in reaching a military solution.”

    “Thus far, the regime has not made any progress toward serious negotiations," he said. “It is focusing on public relations and agreeing to anything it is offered. However, when it comes to implementation, there is no practical element to this approval.”

    #Syrian_National_Coalition #somalization #Lakhdar_Brahimi #political_solution #transitional_government #Haytham_al_Manna #Muslim_Brotherhood #National_Coordination_Body_for_Democratic_Change

    • Le constat est a peu pres le meme depuis un an. Et concretement, le CCND propose quoi ? Est-il interesse par l’offre de « dialogue national » de Bachar al-Assad ? A-t-il des propositions concretes autres pour aider a une sortie de crise ?

  • Conflit israélo-arabe. Télégramme diplomatique américain diffusé par WikiLeaks.

    Intéressante reprise de commentaires faits par Kissinger en 1975. Depuis l’Arabie saoudite, il y fait montre de compréhension à l’égard des positions arabes et critique la direction israélienne – Rabin est alors premier ministre – qui reste sourde aux évolutions des pays arabes et à leur désir de paix. Kissinger parle d’arrangement pacifique (peaceful accomodation) qu’Israël aurait pu aisément accepté si le pays ne souffrait pas des « complexes de Massada et de Samson ».

    http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=309306

    WikiLeaks: US blamed Israel for holding back peace in 1975
    By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON

    10/04/2013

    “The ’Post’ uncovers WikiLeak’s ’Kissinger cables’ from US Embassy in Saudi Arabia analyzing Israeli-Arab conflict, sympathizing with Arab position; Israel depicted as panicky and suffering from a Samson complex.

    WikiLeaks has published 1.7 million US diplomatic documents ranging from 1973-1976 online. It is their largest release to date and it is named after the former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger because many of the documents were addressed to or written by him.

    The Jerusalem Post has uncovered a cable sent from the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia on January 9, 1975, which analyzed the Israeli-Arab conflict. It was concluded that it was Israel’s stubborn position that was holding back peace.

    At one point the cable stated, “Nevertheless, viewed from here, the Israeli pessimism seems largely if not entirely unwarranted. It seems based on an extraordinary lack of understanding of what happened in the Arab world in the last year and a half. Rather than girding their loins for the fifth, sixth, seventh Israeli-Arab wars. The Israelis might examine more carefully than they seem to have done so far the alternative of a peaceful accommodation with the Arabs.” (…) The report goes on to make stinging criticism against the Israeli position.

    “Before talking about extermination, and before allowing either the Masada or the Samson complex to progress to obsession, the Israelis might usefully examine their own position and that of the Arabs,” the report stated, adding that Cairo and Damascus strongly yearn for peace.

    “All reports we have heard and read from Egypt and Syria lead us to believe that those two countries strongly yearn for peace and that they would like to devote their energies to reconstruction of their countries.” Then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, the cables continued, was not helping the Arab leaders who sought peace.
    “The advocates of this approach, however, have not been helped by statements of Rabin and others in Israel that the next withdrawal will be the last for several years.” The report concluded with a policy prediction reminiscent of contemporary arguments.

    “The Palestinians might consider a demilitarized state as humiliating or detracting from their sovereignty, but it is unlikely they would get much sympathy or help from the Saudis if they tried to spoil a settlement. If they agreed they could expect massive Saudi financial support to make their tiny new state viable. Jordan and Israel would benefit vicariously.”

  • Syrie. La ville d’Amoud a été fin mars le théâtre d’affrontements violents entre des manifestants venus protester contre l’indigence des services municipaux et les milices du Parti de l’Union démocratique kurde (PYD, une branche du PKK) qui contrôlent une partie des zones kurdes du nord de la Syrie. Ces affrontements entre Kurdes sont récurrents. Cette fois-ci, ils ont conduit les partisans d’Öcalan (PKK) et ceux de Massoud Barzani, président de la région du Kurdistan en Iraq (KDP), à s’opposer. Il est douteux que ces affrontements conduisent à une guerre civile entre Kurdes, mais il est certain qu’ils affaiblissent leurs positions au sein de la coalition syrienne. Il n’est pas impossible qu’Ankara se soit résolu à prendre langue avec le PKK d’Öcalan par crainte de voir le Parti de l’Union démocratique kurde (PYD) renforcer son contrôle dans les zones syriennes frontalières de la Turquie.

    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/kurdish-clashes-syria-pyd-kdp-pkk-ocalan-barzani.html#ixzz2Ps9AirNm

    Clashes Break Out Between Kurdish Groups In Syria

    By : Wladimir van Wilgenburg for Al-Monitor Iraq Pulse, Posted on April 4 (2013)

    Kurdish protesters clashed with the militia of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in the rebellious town of Amude on March 27 over the lack of services which resulted in several wounded and led to fears of more fights between Kurds in Syria
    The clash lead again to tensions between the supporters of the imprisoned PKK-leader Öcalan and supporters of Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan region in neighboring Iraq and head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Syria. The Syrian Kurds have been heavily influenced by Kurdish parties from outside, although they have their local parties.

    #Syria #Kurdish_Democratic_Union_Party #Öcalan_PKK #Massoud_Barzani #Kurdistan_Democratic_Party #Syrian_Kurds #Turkey #Supreme_Kurdish_Council Kurdistan_Worker_ Party_PKK #Arbil_agreement

  • Mohammad Ballout décrit comment les diverses composantes de l’opposition syrienne mènent, à la fois, un combat contre le régime d’Assad et une lutte interne pour la prise du pouvoir. Ces affrontements respectifs et concomitants retardent leur unification et, dans l’immédiat, la formation d’un gouvernement intérimaire. Ils se nourrissent, financièrement, politiquement et militairement, de forces extérieures venues d’Occident, du Qatar ou d’Arabie saoudite, chacune ayant son propre agenda (inclusion et protection des minorités pour les uns, islamisme pour les autres, etc.)

    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2013/04/syrian-opposition-formation.html

    Sectarianism, Saudi-Qatar Jostling Prevail in Syrian Opposition
    By: Mohammad Ballout Translated from As-Safir (Lebanon)

    The Syrian opposition finds itself at a standstill, following the moment of rapture when the National Coalition appropriated Syria’s seat at the Arab League.

    The pace of consultations within the coalition points to a lack of urgency in moving forward toward the next step of forming an “interim government,” following the appointment of Ghassan Hito as its head. The task of forming the government is hindered by an American and Qatari insistence on nominating people who would help restructure and expand its level of representation and legitimacy, so that posts and ministries are more equitably divided. It also awaits a Qatari-Saudi consensus on the manner in which Hito’s government would be run, and the nature of that government: technocratic or political.

    The Saudis have put all their media and financial potential at the service of the Syrian opposition, with the aim of reducing Qatar’s monopoly over the opposition, to the point of encouraging and enlisting secularists in their fight with Doha. Furthermore, the Americans, in the last few days, have also requested that the formation process be put on hold, as a result of it becoming a great point of contention between the different political and military Syrian opposition factions.” (…)

    #Syria #National_Coalition #Arab_League #Ghassan_Hito #Qatar #Saudi_Arabia #Muslim_Brotherhood #Burhan_Ghalioun #Georges_Sabra #National_Council #Khatib #Friends_of_Syria #Lakhdar_Brahimi # Organization_of_the_Islamic_Conference #recognizing_the_Syrian_opposition #Syrian_revolution #interim_government

  • Al Qaeda in Iraq confirms Syrian Nusra as members
    DEBKAfile April 9, 2013, 11:59 AM (GMT+02:00)

    http://debka.com/newsupdatepopup/4099

    The Al-Nusra Front battling the Assad regime within the Syrian rebel movement is part of our network and fighting for an Islamic state in Syria, said Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Al Qaeda group in Iraq, in a dramatic statement Tuesday. This confirms past DEBKAfile and DEBKA Weekly disclosures of this affiliation. Our sources stress that the disclosure confirms the merger of the two al Qaeda fronts - not only as threats to Israel, Jordan and Arabia, but also by erasing the the Syrian-Iraqi border enabling a common al Qaeda attempt to overthrow the regimes in Damascus and Baghdad.

  • Article de Bruce Riedel qui souligne la montée en puissance de Jabhat al-Nusra en Syrie (un quart des combattants selon lui) réalisant ainsi la prophétie auto-réalisatrice d’Assad qui laissait entendre, au début de la guerre civile, que la contestation syrienne n’était en réalité qu’une guerre menée de l’étranger. (Dans un message publié hier, Abou Bakr al-Baghdadi, responsable d’Al-Qaïda en Iraq, a confirmé que Jabhat al-Nusra était une branche de l’Etat islamique d’Iraq). Riedel voit dans cette expansion une menace directe pour Israël et les pays occidentaux.

    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/jabhat-al-nusra-jihadist-al-qaeda-syria.html#ixzz2PyG1uWek

    Jabhat al-Nusra Is Growing Menace To Mideast and Beyond
    By: Bruce Riedel for Al-Monitor, Posted on April 8.

    “As the Syrian civil war gets ever more violent and destructive, there is a big beneficiary: al-Qaeda and its franchise in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra— which is now the fastest-growing al-Qaeda front in the world, attracting fighters from across the Islamic world. Today it’s focused on destroying the Bashar al-Assad regime but its ultimate goals are much bigger, attacking America and its allies in the heart of the Middle East.

    The Syrian franchise gets crucial support from the al-Qaeda core in Pakistan. Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri issued a public call in February 2012 in which he urged “every Muslim and every free and honest person in Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon to rise and help their brothers in Syria with everything they have and can do.”
    Zawahiri’s call, just after the announcement of the creation of Jabhat al-Nusra and its first major attacks in Aleppo, was clearly coordinated with the fighters on the ground. Since that call, at least one senior member of the al-Qaeda Shura Council in Pakistan has traveled to Syria to further coordinate plans and operations with the core hiding in Pakistan. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton termed the exchanges of messages between al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria as “deeply disturbing” in one of her final interviews in office.”

    Bruce Riedel is the director of the Intelligence Project at the Brookings Institution. His latest book is Avoiding Armageddon: America, India and Pakistan to the Brink and Back.

  • C’est aussi à Gaza que la chevelure de Samson fut coupée, sur une intrigue de Dalila, pour qu’il perde sa force et devienne un « homme ordinaire ».

    PCHR Palestinian Centre for Human Rights Strongly Condemns the Arbitrary Detention of Young Men and Cutting of their Hair by the Palestinian Police in Gaza

    Sunday, April 7, 2013 9:48

    http://beforeitsnews.com/middle-east/2013/04/pchr-strongly-condemns-the-arbitrary-detention-of-young-men-and-cutti

    “PCHR Strongly Condemns the Arbitrary Detention of Young Men and Cutting of their Hair by the Palestinian Police in Gaza.

    The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the arbitrary detention of a number of young men and the cutting of their hair over the past days, by the Palestinian police in Gaza. The police has detained and attacked several men over the past days, stating that the hairstyle of these men was indecent. PCHR calls upon the Attorney General in Gaza to open investigations into these attacks, cases of arbitrary detention, and violation of civil rights of citizens. PCHR also calls upon the government in Gaza to respect citizens’ liberties, which are guaranteed under international human rights law.

    According to investigations conducted by PCHR, over the three past days, the Palestinian police stopped a number of young men, who were walking in different areas in the Gaza Strip, and took them to police stations under the pretext that their hairstyle was “indecent”. The hair of the men was cut while they were in detention. Some of the men also beaten while in detention. Finally, the detainees were forced to sign a statement declaring they would not grow long hair or have a strange hairstyle, or wear “low-waisted trousers” again.” (…)

  • Turquie. L’ambition du Premier ministre Erdogan de régler la question kurde doit être comprise dans le cadre de sa politique vis-à-vis de la Syrie et de l’Iraq.

    Turkey’s Kurdish Initiative In Regional Context

    By: Cengiz Çandar for Al-Monitor Turkey Pulse. Posted on April 7 (2013)

    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/syria-iraq-aspects-turkish-kurdish-peace.html#ixzz2Prjl2dS8

    “One of the most striking successes of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in Turkey has to be its masterful management of the most exciting agenda item of the country which the public refers to as the “peace process” instead of the “solution process.”

    As with many other issues, here too, the great communicator is Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself. In an appeal to the news media — that sounded more like an instruction — Erdogan wanted the steps he is taking to be seen as a “solution process.” Now he is working on being perceived as the leader who is taking his country step-by-step toward much desired peace. As perception becomes a reality, it will undoubtedly be added to Erdogan’s accomplishments.

    At the moment, Erdogan on stage and Abdullah Ocalan off stage from his prison island are taking Turkey toward peace with seemingly choreographed moves. Questioning this captivating dream is not allowed, even if prompted by intellectual curiosity, because it might spoil the dream of peace. Erdogan, the ultimate arbiter, announced 63 names of people who will make up the “Commission of Wise People,” which will take on the initiative to enlighten the public on the peace process through meetings, symposiums, panels, etc., in seven different Turkish regions. The group includes some well-known journalists, prominent leaders of nongovernmental organizations, celebrities such as movie stars and popular singers, and several academic experts.” (…)

  • Liban.
    Réunion de cheiks et de prédicateurs salafistes à Beyrouth le 17 mars dernier. Tentative de mise en ordre d’une maison salafiste largement composite. Ambition de constituer un front uni pour des raisons religieuses (l’unité islamique comme devoir religieux) et pour un intérêt médiatique (changer l’image véhiculée par les médias). Divers comités formés à cet effet. Contact pris ultérieurement avec des responsables sunnites.

    Lebanon: Rival Salafi Sheikhs Seek Unity

    Dai al-Islam al-Shahhal greets his supporters in the Beirut district of Tariq al-Jadideh during a protest against the attacks on Sunni Muslim scholars, March 18, 2013.

    By: Radwan Mortada
    Published Monday, April 1, 2013

    http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanon-rival-salafi-sheikhs-seek-unity

    “Notoriously divided, Lebanon’s Salafis convened recently at a Beirut mosque to form their version of a united front. Though some are skeptical of the motives, this could be the first step to uniting Lebanon’s Salafis. Lebanon’s Salafis dream of joining forces. Indeed, the faith itself exhorts the faithful to unite, but their multiplicity of factions keeps them apart. Rather than enriching them, their diversity leaves them fractious and divided. The Salafis have never acted as one. The saying attributed to the Prophet Mohammad, that any group of people, however small, should appoint one of their number as leader, has become a recipe for having a multitude of chiefs.They are currently attempting to close ranks and find a common voice, not least, as many Salafi sheikhs have frequently complained, because they feel increasingly misunderstood by the public and demonized by the media.”

    This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.

  • The west’s alliance against Assad is riddled with contradictions
    Claire Spencer
    The Guardian, Tuesday 26 March 2013 19.36 GMT

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/26/international-community-fails-syria-local-agendas

    The tragedy in Syria lies as much in the dysfunctional international response as in the war on the ground
    Over the past week there has been much wringing of hands over Syria, and rightly so. At every turn, the Gordian knot has been tightening, with little prospect of it being cut.

    Monday’s grim news was that the founder of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the erstwhile Syrian army colonel Riad al-Asaad, was seriously wounded in a targeted car bomb just before the Syrian National Coalition assumed Syria’s seat in place of the Assad regime at the Arab League meeting in Doha.

    In war things rarely run smoothly, but the tragedy of Syria lies as much in the fragility of the coalition supporting the rebels as in the inconclusiveness of the rebels’ own political and military battles. Since the Russian and Chinese vetoes at the UN in early 2011, there has been no single “international community” voice on Syria. On team A we have the US, EU, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Russia, China, Iran and sundry others make up team B. Far from resolving the crisis, these competing actors cancelled out each other’s efforts over the ensuing two years. As the main instigators of Libya’s liberation from Muammar Gaddafi, the French and British clearly want to do more than train rebel soldiers in Jordan, or increase humanitarian assistance to refugees. In pushing for arms to reach the FSA in Syria, however, they are failing to manage their own allies, much less the opposing team.

    The Arab League, meeting this week, is once again calling for more robust UN action, but this reflects neither diplomatic realities nor developments on the ground. Journalists covering Syria from the inside have revealed how Turkey and the Gulf states are already training, funding and arming rebel groups; but from a Franco-British perspective, they are clearly the wrong ones. Last week’s news that a low-level, chlorine-based chemical weapons may have been deployed from an area controlled by Jabhat al-Nusra, the Islamist militia supported by Qatar, sits uneasily with the more secular FSA’s appeals for hardware from the west.

    So far, the US is sitting on the fence – the new secretary of state, John Kerry, having failed to convince President Obama that inserting more weaponry into Syria will save lives down the line. The alliance struck with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey over Syria remains circumstantial. It is not clear that all of team A wants the same thing. Opposing Iranian, or indeed Russian, influence in Syria is not the same thing as securing the best outcome for the Syrian people. With the shadow of 2003 Iraq hanging heavily over western intervention, which lacks domestic support in both Europe and the US, the next best options remain no-fly zones and humanitarian corridors. Neither is anywhere close to being legally viable or practical on the ground.

    What worked in Libya in 2011 now looks like a fortuitous sleight of hand. Given the EU’s tensions with Russia over Cyprus, the solid veto of China, and the regional activism of Qatar and Turkey, the Nato-led Libyan campaign may go down in history as one of the last actions of a consensus-based “international community”. The closer the crisis, the more local agendas prevail. Whether this means the Gulf favouring jihadist strongmen over democracy, or Turkey backing some of Syria’s ethnic and sectarian communities over others, it is not the Syrian people who will emerge victorious in any of the senses championed by the US and EU.

    Facing up to the dysfunctionality of its own alliance over Syria should now be the priority of any UK-French plan. The alternative is to continue to back one increasingly narrow, divided and poorly resourced set of Syrians against another armed and championed by the west’s own regional allies

  • Palestiniens.
    Important texte de Khaled Mechal, Chef du bureau politique du Hamas qui vient d’être reconduit à son poste (Le Caire, 1er avril 2013), publié par l’Afro-Middle East Centre/ AMEC (Johannesburg). Il s’agit d’un texte révisé dont la première mouture remonte à novembre 2012.

    Political thought and strategies of Hamas in light of the Arab uprisings
    By Khalid Mish’al
    Created on Monday, 01 April 2013 13:21

    http://amec.org.za

    “In August 2010, AMEC published the English translation of an interview with Khalid Mish’al, head of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). The interview laid out the vision and strategies of Hamas at the time. A few months later, uprisings began in North Africa and spread across the Middle East and North Africa, changing the nature of politics and the balance of power in the region. In November 2012, the Beirut-based Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations hosted a conference with the theme ‘Islamists in the Arab World and the Palestinian Issue in Light of the Arab uprisings’ at which Mish’al presented a paper outlining the views of his movement regarding the uprisings and how they affect Hamas’ plans for the future. The paper was rewritten by Mish’al, published in Arabic by Al-Zaytouna Centre and translated into English by Middle East Monitor (MEMO). We publish an edited version here, in terms of a partnership agreement with Al-Zaytouna, in order to expose English-speaking audiences to the views and strategies of Hamas, a critical player in the Palestinian-Israeli context. The paper is an important document reflecting the views of an important player in Palestinian and broader Middle Eastern politics and is therefore an important reference document. It explores Hamas’ vision and the practical application of its strategies. (…)”

  • No comment.

    2 April 2013 Last updated at 19:34 GMT

    Amnesty ’outrage’ at Saudi paralysis sentence

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22010122#TWEET703254

    The law of retribution means the victim can demand his attacker suffers the same punishment as he caused.

    The reported sentencing of paralysis for a Saudi man as punishment for paralysing another man has been described as “outrageous” by a leading human rights group. Saudi reports say the 24-year-old man could be paralysed from the waist down if he cannot pay his victim one million riyals (£250,000) in compensation. Amnesty International says the sentence is a form of torture. The man has been in prison for 10 years since he stabbed a friend in the back. Saudi newspapers say Ali al-Khawahir was 14 when he paralysed his friend in the attack in the Eastern Province town of al-Ahsa. The law of qisas, or retribution, in Saudi Arabia means his victim can demand that he suffers exactly the same punishment as he caused. “Paralysing someone as punishment for a crime would be torture,” said Ann Harrison, Middle East and North Africa deputy director at Amnesty. “It is time the authorities in Saudi Arabia start respecting their international legal obligations and remove these terrible punishments from the law.”

  • Arab Spring, Syria Crisis Were Key In Turkish-Israeli Rapprochement

    By : Mustafa al-Labbad Translated from As-Safir (Lebanon)

    First Published : March 26, 2013/ Posted on : March 31 2013
    Translated by : Al-Monitor

    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2013/03/turkey-israel-rapprochement-arab-spring.html

    Relations entre Ankara et Israël et perception de leurs intérêts réciproques :

    Relations entre les deux pays
    – Elles sont anciennes. Ankara a été le premier pays musulman de la région à reconnaître Israël et aura servi à limiter son isolement diplomatique. Cette relation s’est longtemps inscrite dans le cadre de la guerre froide.
    – La doctrine stratégique des deux pays était alors articulée autour de menaces communes que constituaient les Etats arabes radicaux de la région : Egypte, Iraq et Syrie.
    – La chute du régime soviétique a rapproché les deux pays.
    – Après l’occupation de l’Iraq en 2003, la Turquie s’est rapprochée de la Syrie et de l’Iran : dès lors, elle n’avait plus de voisins hostiles et pouvait imaginer une diplomatie régionale plus ambitieuse.
    – Les deux alliés ayant perdu leurs ennemis communs, la perception de leurs rôles respectifs dans la région s’en trouvait altérée et ouvrait la voie à une confrontation diplomatique.
    – Cette confrontation s’est déclarée à la Conférence de Davos (2009) et aggravée avec l’affaire de la flotilla (2010).
    – Le Printemps arabe, y compris la chute probable du régime d’Assad, ne pouvait qu’inciter la Turquie et Israël à réfléchir ensemble à l’avenir de la Syrie et de la région.

    Perception israélienne
    – Un accord global avec les Palestiniens ne pourra être trouvé que grâce à des mouvements politiques organisés pouvant influencer la rue arabe.
    – Une explosion régionale provoquerait de graves difficultés économiques et sécuritaires pour Israël. La Turquie étant le premier soutien régional des Frères musulmans, un rapprochement ne peut qu’être bénéfique. La frontière israélo-syrienne s’en trouverait mieux sécurisée.

    Perception turque.
    – La diplomatie turque n’est désormais plus en mesure d’influencer Damas. Son « soft power » s’est érodé.
    – Sa coordination avec Israël et son alliance avec le Qatar renforcent sa main face à l’Iran et ses alliés régionaux, facilitent la réconciliation avec ses citoyens kurdes et la place en bonne position dans la négociation sur les droits gaziers dans le cadre des récentes découvertes de gaz au large des côtes de Chypre.

    Conclusion : Les relations entre la Turquie et Israël sont bonnes quand les intérêts de chacune des deux parties sont satisfaits, quand leurs préoccupations sécuritaires se rejoignent et quand leurs rivaux stratégiques sont les mêmes. C’est la situation actuelle qui explique les « excuses » d’Israël à Ankara. A contrario, leurs relations se dégradent quand leurs intérêts nationaux divergent et quand leurs ennemis communs se raréfient. En définitive, le Printemps arabe aura été le « liant » de la réconciliation entre les deux pays.

    Summary : While the US has helped broker a rapprochement between Israel and Turkey, Mustafa al-Labbad argues that the relationship between the two countries is based on mutual interests and is directly tied to the events in Syria.
    “The coordination between Ankara and Tel Aviv will soon put Damascus between the grips of a vise, minimizing the spillover effect of the civil war taking place within Syria upon Israel’s borders. Tel Aviv fears that, should Syria collapse, Israel’s northern border will be exposed to attacks by insurgents with radical Islamic affiliations. The regional balance of power in the Middle East changed after the phone conversation that took place several days ago [March 22] between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which the former apologized to the latter for the killing of nine Turkish citizens in the incident involving the 2010 freedom flotilla and offered to pay compensation to their family members. After the 2010 event, the relationship between Ankara and Tel Aviv deteriorated to the extent of harming American interests in the region ; Israel and Turkey had historically depended on the relationship in order to construct diplomatic arrangements that effectively safeguarded their own interests.
    Therefore, American President Barack Obama set out to repair Turkish-Israeli ties. During his visit to Israel, he encouraged Netanyahu to speak to Erdogan so that the door might be reopened to an improvement in relations. To be more precise, Netanyahu and Erdogan’s conversation highlighted developments in the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring, and the desire of both nations to cooperate in facing them.”

  • Syrian Newspapers Emerge to Fill Out War Reporting

    By NEIL MacFARQUHAR
    The New York Times
    Published: April 1, 2013

    “ANTAKYA, Turkey — Absi Smesem became the editor in chief of a new weekly Syrian newspaper hoping to leave behind what he disparaged as the “Facebook phase” of the uprising. The tall tales and outright misinformation that tainted so much reporting from Syria convinced him that more objective coverage was essential to bolster the effort to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. Too often, he said, he could not believe what passed for news on popular satellite channels, like the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera and the Saudi-runAl Arabiya, both staunch opposition supporters. The two channels relied heavily on unfiltered reports from local activists hired as correspondents, or, failing that, grabbed whatever they , Binnish, in northern Syria, was under siege by the Syrian Army, he said, one activist-cum-correspondent used the local expression “Dabahoona dbah,” which in Arabic literally means “We are being slaughtered” — but which the people of northern Syria use to mean “We cannot breathe.” Within minutes, a breaking-news headline scrolled across the television screen saying Syrian government forces were committing a massacre in Binnish. “There are no objective sources of information on either side, neither with the regime nor the rebels,” said Mr. Smesem, 46, a veteran reporter with graying hair and an easy laugh.” (…)

    Hala Droubi contributed reporting from Antakya, and Sebnem Arsu from Gaziantep, Turkey.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/world/middleeast/syrian-newspapers-emerge-to-fill-out-war-reporting.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0

    #Facebook #Sham_newspaper #Al_Ahd #Free_Syria #Brigades

    • Les médias, comme ceux qui les suivent, auront été mis à rude épreuve pendant la « révolution » puis la « guerre » en Syrie. Dans le suivi médiatique des événements, la palette est large qui va de la rareté de l’information à la désinformation en passant par le « wishful thinking » ou la distorsion. Un bilan de la manière dont les événements en Syrie ont été rapportés des deux côtés reste à faire. En attendant, il aura fallu apprendre à aimer puis à se distancier des actions de l’Armée libre syrienne, se gausser des mails échangés entre la famille Assad et un grand magasin londonien puis se demander si tous étaient authentiques, prendre pour argent comptant des articles qui ne reflétaient que les positions nationales de tel ou tel pays, se demander s’il fallait dire « révolutionnaires » ou « groupes armés, « combattants de l’intérieur » ou « conspiration de l’extérieur », « rebelles » ou « insurgés », « déserteurs » ou « combattants de la liberté ». Fallait-il, faute de temps ou de moyens, reprendre aveuglement les très nombreuses informations que Rami Abdulrahman - responsable de « l’Observatoire syrien des Droits de l’homme »- transmettaient à la presse occidentale depuis son domicile de Coventry ? A-t-on eu raison de ne porter qu’une attention discrète au rapport de la Ligue arabe dont les observateurs, dépêchés en Syrie fin 2011 début 2012, avaient déjà noté des distorsions entre réalité du terrain et image véhiculée dans les médias internationaux ?

  • En écho à l’information d’Al Jazira selon laquelle les femmes pourraient être autorisées, en Arabie Saoudite, à faire du vélo dans certaines zones, il est bon de rappeler le sympathique film de Haifaa al-Mansour’s, “Wadjda,” (2012) sur le même thème (voir ci-dessous).

    By AL ARABIYA WITH AGENCIES (2012)
    The Saudi female director of a new feature film, showing at the Venice film festival, has explained how she beat the odds to produce the heartwarming tale of a girl’s quest to own a bicycle. In Haifaa al-Mansour’s landmark film “Wadjda,” 10-year-old Waad Mohammed plays a girl who is also testing the boundaries of a woman’s place in a highly conservative society where her love for Western music and fashions land her in trouble. Mohammed’s impish personality and resilience in the face of adversity add to the poignancy of the story and left some of the film’s first viewers in tears. (…) Al-Mansour said she was forced to direct what is her first feature film from a van with a walkie-talkie in some of the more conservative neighborhoods where she could not be seen in public together with male crew and cast members. In some areas, screaming local residents would block shooting altogether.

    http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/09/01/235466.html
    http://riyadhconnect.com/wajda-film-by-first-female-saudi-director-wins-critical-acclaim-at-ve