Ghosn Flies to Lebanon, Blasts 'Rigged' Japanese Justice

World

December 31st, 5:46am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn. (Reuters)

Former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn, who was awaiting trial in Japan on financial misconduct charges, confirmed Tuesday he had flown to Lebanon, the latest stunning twist in a rollercoaster journey that saw him fall from boardroom to detention center. In a statement, the 65-year-old tycoon said he would "no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system, where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant, and basic human rights are denied." "I have not fled justice -- I have escaped injustice and political persecution," said Ghosn, who vowed to communicate "freely" with the media "starting next week." It is not clear how he managed to leave Japan, as his bail conditions prevent him from exiting the country he had been held in since his sudden arrest in November 2018 sent shockwaves through the business world. He and his lawyers have repeatedly voiced fears over the impossibility of a fair trial in Japan and have called for the case to be thrown out, citing missteps by the prosecutors' office. Lebanese media reported Ghosn had flown by private plane from Turkey to Lebanon, where his parents were born and where he spent most of his childhood, after arriving there as a toddler. Many Lebanese view Ghosn as a symbol of their country's large diaspora, and a prime example of Lebanese entrepreneurial genius and have been shocked by his arrest. But in Tokyo, the unexpected turn of events will spark questions about how he could apparently have given authorities the slip. His Japanese lawyers were seemingly caught unawares by Ghosn's travel plans and declined to comment to reporters. Public broadcaster NHK cited a foreign ministry official as saying: "He was not supposed to leave the country. Had we known about it beforehand, we would have reported that to proper law enforcement authorities." Government officials could not be reached immediately on a public holiday. 'Conspiracy' His sudden departure from Japan is nearly as dramatic as his arrest out of the blue at a Tokyo airport. Prosecutors stormed his private jet in scenes captured by a local paper, and whisked him off to a Tokyo detention center where he spent more than 100 days in spartan conditions far removed from his sometimes extravagant lifestyle. He eventually won bail, striding out of the detention center disguised in a workman's uniform complete with mask and cap in an apparent bid to fool the world's media camped outside. Then one morning in April, he was rearrested on another set of charges just days before he was due to give a hotly anticipated news conference. He released a video apparently pre-recorded in which he accused "backstabbing" Nissan executives of a "conspiracy". Later that month, he was released again on bail -- this time leaving in a business suit -- and he had been in Tokyo ever since preparing for his trial in "combative" mood, according to his lawyers. He stands accused of two counts of under-reporting his salary to the tune of 9.23 billion yen ($85 million) from 2010 to 2018, deferring some of his pay and failing to declare this to shareholders. Prosecutors also allege he attempted to get Nissan to cover around 1.85 billion yen in personal foreign exchange losses during the 2008 financial crisis. The fourth charge against him is that he allegedly transferred millions from Nissan funds to a dealership in Oman, from which the executive supposedly skimmed off $5 million for his personal use. He has consistently denied all charges against him, saying they are a "plot" by Nissan executives to get rid of him because they feared he was moving the Japanese firm to a closer tie-up with Renault. In the meantime, Ghosn has lost the business empire he was once lauded for creating. Sacked from Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, he resigned from Renault -- the third firm in the uneasy car alliance he forged.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2059731/ghosn-flies-lebanon-blasts-rigged-japanese-justice

Iran Continues Repression Campaign Amid Concerns About Detainees’ Fate

Iran

December 30th, 2:42pm

London, Tehran- Asharq Al-Awsat

Police forces confront protesters who stormed central Tehran’s streets last November against the decision to increase gasoline prices (Mehr)

Security services in Iran continue their arrest campaigns across the country in light of the protests against increased fuel prices. Meanwhile, concerns grow over the fate of detainees in the recent protests. According to the Iranian Police website, Chief of Qom Province Police Brigadier General Abdolreza Aghajani said 14 people were arrested on charges of “promoting Shah’s rule.” It said the detainees are members of a group active in Qom, which is the stronghold of the conservatives and the regime base. Aghajani accused the detainees of “contacting leaders of the Shah's regime abroad and engaging in organizational work within five active branches- each having 30 members.” He said they had attempted to disrupt public and commercial transport, incite labor strikes, and infiltrate trade unions “In connection with Phoenix Project and under the direct protection of Iran’s enemies, they were trying to incite unrest all over the country,” he claimed. The founders of Phoenix Project of Iran (PPI) was launched by the exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi on February 22, 2019, the anniversary of a coup that put an end to the rule of Qajar dynasty and brought his grandfather, Reza Shah, to power. Founders of the project say Phoenix is not a political organization. The mission statement of the organization says it aims to “build bridges with Iranians inside Iran and across the globe” and “empower Iranians by offering them tools and knowledge to measure and assess the performance of policies.” Mizan news agency quoted West Tehran Police Chief Mohsen Khancharli as saying that his forces had arrested eight in connection with the protests. Detainees face charges of “inciting to participate in the riots” in Islamshahr and Shahriar cities, west of Tehran, by establishing a group on Telegram that includes 300 people who are also active on Instagram. Iran still has not released any official statistics on the number of detainees and those killed in the ongoing protests for six weeks now. The country’s official news agency, IRNA, reported on Saturday that the police has arrested a person in Kazerun city near Shiraz on charges of burning a seminary and 11 banks during the protests.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2058841/iran-continues-repression-campaign-amid-concerns-about-detainees%E2%80%99-fate

Bank Controls Exacerbate Crisis for Lebanese Students Abroad

Business

December 30th, 2:04pm

Beirut- Paula Astih

Lebanese protesters raid theHamra branch of BLC Bank in Beirut the day before yesterday. AP

Susan, a fifty-year-old single mom with two children studying abroad, one in Paris and another in London, spends hours at the bank at least two days a week trying to transfer money to her children so that they can cover their tuition and living expenses. Since the popular uprising began on the 17th of October, the limit of the credit card of her son, who is studying computer engineering in London, has been capped at 300 Pounds a month after it had been 3000 Pounds. This forced him to pay his monthly rent, which greatly exceed 300 Pounds, in cash. He has many other expenses to pay as well. Even though weeks have passed since the Banks’ Association announced measures limiting clients’ transfers abroad to “pressing personal expenses”, she has not managed to find a suitable solution to her problem yet. International money transfer offices only accept to transfer money in dollars, which depositors, even those with accounts in dollars, have trouble accessing. Although the Association capped the weekly amount of dollar withdrawals at 1000 dollars, the banks are allowing depositors to withdraw only 200 or 300 dollars a week. The crisis Lebanese students studying abroad are facing will probably become worse in the next few weeks, as they run out of the money they already have. The parliamentary budget and finance committee tried to limit the damages of the crisis and asked the governor of the Central Bank and the Head of the Bankers’ Association to facilitate foreign transfers to students who need to pay their tuition and expenses. Nicolas Nahas, a member of the parliamentary committees, confirmed that the request was well received and that measures would be taken to solve this issue. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Nahas stressed this issue was not within the responsibilities of the budget and finance committee and that the banks would meet the people affected to follow up and come to a solution after determining the steps that need to be taken. He added: “We stressed that transfers should be determined according to their urgency, and there is no doubt that students pursuing their academic studies abroad fall within these priorities as do other humanitarian issues." He pointed out that the completion of the formation of the government "would speed up solutions on preventing the illegal measures taken with regard to the depositors’ money." The banks give back the measures that they take to prevent the sector from collapsing after hundreds of people flocked to withdraw their money in one go. It has been reported that 6 billion dollars have been withdrawn from banks and put at homes since the crisis began in October and that another billion were transferred out of the country, as recently revealed by the economist Marwan Iskandar. "Two billion dollars, belonging to nine high-ranking politicians were transferred to Switzerland over the last two weeks," Iskandar said.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2058786/bank-controls-exacerbate-crisis-lebanese-students-abroad

Netanyahu Defies ICC By Promoting Settlement Construction Plan

Arab World

December 30th, 12:18pm

Tel Aviv- Asharq Al-Awsat

A general view picture shows houses in the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the occupied West Bank on February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

The Israeli government has returned to its practices a few days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) top prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s decision to move forward with an investigation into the Israeli war crimes against Palestinians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday that he would soon be promoting a plan to expand settlements by building about 3,000 new settlement housing units. According to political sources, Netanyahu still fears the ICC decision, yet he doesn’t want to bow to its dictates during his election battle. They revealed that he has started contacts with the “US administration to exert a joint effort and put pressure on countries that provide support for the ICC budget, especially Britain, Australia, the Netherlands, and others, in order to withdraw this support if it continues its judicial procedures to investigate with Israel.” “Netanyahu is confident that President Donald Trump’s administration will agree to the Israeli proposal in this regard and use its influence to financially besiege the ICC if it continues with the procedures,” sources stressed. Therefore, along with discussing the court’s powers, Netanyahu decided to continue his practices in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Supreme Planning Council of the Israeli army’s Civil Administration will meet in the coming days to approve many settlement projects. As seen by the draft resolutions in this regard, the council will most likely give legitimacy to settlement construction and to homes built by settlers without permits. According to Israeli law, building on private Palestinian land is considered illegal. The Israeli “Peace Now” movement, which monitors settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories, announced that “Netanyahu is taking a political step aimed at improving his position and that of the Minister of Defense in his government for electoral purposes.” “Netanyahu, without authority and without accountability, is advancing more and more construction in the West Bank settlements at the cost of making it even more difficult for Israel to ever be able to reach a political agreement with the Palestinians,” the left-wing group said. It called on Israel’s next government to freeze construction beyond the Green Line and start negotiations with the Palestinians to achieve a two-state solution.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2058601/netanyahu-defies-icc-promoting-settlement-construction-plan

Putin, Merkel Discuss Libya as Turkish Opposition Rejects Troop Deployment

Arab World

December 30th, 12:00pm

Asharq Al-Awsat

A courtyard empty of students inside a closed school as teachers strike in support of demands for a salary increase in Benghazi, Libya October 17, 2019. (Reuters)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed efforts to reach a diplomatic solution for the Libyan conflict in separate phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government intends to send troops to Libya, a government spokesman said on Monday. Turkey's foreign minister has warned that the Libyan conflict risks sliding into chaos and becoming the next Syria, as he sought to speed up domestic legislation to allow Ankara to send troops to the North African country. Last week, Erdogan announced his government's decision to seek parliamentary consent to send troops to Libya, at the request of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord. The troops would help to defend the GNA against General Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA). A German foreign ministry spokesman in Berlin said Germany was following the reports about Turkey's military plans in Libya with "great concern". He urged all involved parties to exercise maximum restraint, respect an international embargo for arms exports to Libya and step up efforts for a diplomatic solution. "A further exchange was agreed to strengthen diplomatic efforts," the government spokesman said, adding that Merkel also discussed the developments in Syria with Erdogan and Putin during the phone calls, which took place on Sunday. Germany has offered to host an international peace conference on Libya that the United Nations is planning. The conference could take place in Berlin after a planned meeting between Erdogan and Putin in January. Meanwhile, Turkey's main opposition party said on Monday it opposes a bill to allow a troop deployment to Libya, arguing such a move would exacerbate the country's conflict and cause it to spread across the region. Speaking after talks with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on the bill, Unal Cevikoz, deputy chairman for the Republican People's Party (CHP), said his party opposed such a move. "We believe diplomacy should be prioritized, rather than being a party to a proxy war. What is being done is making preparations to worsen the current situation, and we conveyed to the minister that this is not right," Cevikoz said. "Sending troops there in this case will expand the effects of the conflicts in the region and cause them to spread... We view the bill negatively," he added. The CHP has previously supported parliamentary bills to send troops into northern Syria, where Turkey has carried out three cross-border operations in three years. However, it has said it did not approve of Turkish military actions beyond its frontier. Cavusoglu subsequently met the opposition Iyi Party leader to discuss the troop deployment bill. Erdogan has said the bill will be presented to parliament in early January. Last month, Turkey signed two separate accords with the GNA, one on security and military cooperation and another on maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean. Ankara has also sent military supplies to the GNA despite a United Nations embargo, according to a UN report seen by Reuters last month.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2058591/putin-merkel-discuss-libya-turkish-opposition-rejects-troop-deployment

The Year of the Two Phenomena

Opinion

December 30th, 11:45am

Samir Atallah

Samir Atallah - Lebanese author and journalist, who worked for the Annahar newspaper, the Al Osbo' il Arabi and Lebanon’s Al-Sayad’s magazines and Kuwait’s Al-Anba newspaper.

Two phenomena dominated the past year: women and protests. Alaa al-Saleh led those unyielding and spontaneous protests that ended Omar al-Bashir’s reign that had run for thirty years and could have gone on forever, as the custom for Arabs and Africans, who grasp power through a coup and only come to lose it through another coup. Veiled Sudanese and Algerian women and veiled and unveiled Lebanese women took to the streets and squares to demand the rights of citizens, not women. They demanded the rule of law, freedom, and an end to militaristic abuses. They did so with bravery and boldness lacked by men. In Hong Kong, the island that stood up to the Chinese mainland and motherland, women rebelled against the notorious Chinese grip and played their role as though they were in the West, where the Finish prime minister became the world’s youngest female ruler and maybe the best one as well. The century during which Western women were the subject of amusement has passed, as were Princess Diana and Princes Margret before her or Princess Caroline in Monte Carlo, the woman who was on the cover of every political magazine. Women are now present at the heart of governments, not just on the margins. After they were partners in science, traveling to space and winning major literary awards, women are now natural equal partners in government in many parts of the world. What makes the Finish prime minister interesting is not that she is a woman, but that she is thirty-four years old. It is not rare at all anymore for women to hold power, as was the case when Thatcher or Andrea Gandhi came to power; it has become normal and natural. The phenomenon of governments falling as a result of protest reached its climax this year: Hong Kong altogether took to the streets in the face of the Communist regime ruling the mainland. Saad Hariri resigned in Beirut after protests covered the streets and squares of all of Lebanon’s cities. France has been overwhelmed by the yellow vest protests, which are leaderless like the ones in Lebanon, Hong Kong and Baghdad, for over a year. Some may argue that what is happening resembles the student protests of 1968, which, at the time, led to the resignation of a man of the magnitude of Charles De Gaulle. The main difference between the two is that in 1968 there were leaders as there were theorists like Regis Debray and Jean-Paul Sartre to endorse the Maoist faction of the revolutionaries. Is the emergence of the two phenomena positive? Each phenomenon has two sides. The demonstrations in Iraq forced the Prime Minister to resign and also led to the president of the republic to announce his willingness to submit his resignation to parliament. But the bloodshed in Baghdad and Basra took away from all the positives and brought images of historical atrocities people had dreamed of forgetting back to the forefront of their minds. This is the nature of the years and days we are in.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2058576/samir-atallah/year-two-phenomena

Death Toll in Somalia Bombing Rises to 81

Arab World

December 30th, 11:25am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Somali security forces at the scene of a car bomb explosion at a checkpoint in Mogadishu on December 28, 2019. (Reuters)

The death toll from a massive car bomb in the Somali capital has risen to 81, a government spokesman said Monday, as rescue workers pursued their search for the missing. The bombing Saturday at a busy intersection in Mogadishu was the country's deadliest attack in two years. No one has claimed responsibility, though President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed blamed the extremist Al-Shabaab group, which has regularly carried out car bombings and other attacks as part of its decade-long bid to topple the internationally-backed government. "The overall number of the dead stands at 81 currently. Two more people died from their injuries," Ismail Muktar, a spokesman for Somalia's information ministry, told AFP Monday. One of the new fatalities was among the injured who had been evacuated to Turkey via a Turkish military plane on Sunday, Muktar said. Muktar said the death toll could climb further as rescue operations entered a third day. Around two dozen people were listed as missing after the attack, but 12 have been located -- five of them dead -- and the rest remain unaccounted for, he said. Some 125 people were injured in Saturday's blast, a caseload that has overwhelmed health facilities in Mogadishu. At least 16 of those killed were students from the capital's private Banadir University, who had been traveling on a bus when the car bomb detonated. The attack was the biggest to hit Somalia since a truck exploded in 2017 near a fuel tanker in Mogadishu, creating a fireball that killed over 500 people. Al-Shabaab was blamed for that strike too, though it never formally claimed responsibility -- as it often does not do when there is a large amount of civilian casualties. The United States military said Sunday it had killed four "terrorists" in three airstrikes targeting Al-Shabaab. US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said two militants were killed and two vehicles destroyed in Qunyo Barrow, while two more militants were killed in Caliyoow Barrow. The US regularly carries out airstrikes in Somalia, though the frequency of such operations has risen sharply this year. In an April statement AFRICOM said it had killed more than 800 people in 110 strikes in Somalia since April 2017.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2058546/death-toll-somalia-bombing-rises-81