Lebanon Retirees Scuffle with Police

Arab World

September 27th, 5:08am

Asharq Al-Awsat

A retired army member lies on the ground and chants slogans as others try to enter to the parliament building while the legislature was in session discussing the 2022 budget in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese army retirees scuffled with parliamentary guard troops as they briefly broke through a cordon leading to Parliament in downtown Beirut during a rally Monday over their decimated monthly pay amid the country’s economic meltdown. The troops managed to push the crowd back and fired teargas, forcing the elderly retirees to turn away from the street. After a short while, they gathered nearby to continue their protest and demand higher pay. The rally came as banks in this crisis-hit Lebanon partially reopened Monday following a weeklong closure amid a wave of heists in which assailants stormed at least seven bank branches earlier this month, demanding to withdraw their trapped savings. The Association of Banks in Lebanon had said last Monday it was going on strike amid bank holdups by depositors and activists. Public sector workers and retired officers and soldiers frequently protest in Lebanon, demanding better wages and pensions. However, scuffles with active officers are a sign of the ongoing meltdown and growing chaos in the tiny Mideast nation. Lebanon’s cash-strapped banks had last closed for a prolonged period back in October 2019, for two weeks, during mass anti-government protests triggered by the crisis. That year, the banks imposed strict limits on cash withdrawals, tying up the savings of millions of people. The country’s economy has since spiraled, with about three-quarters of the population plunged into poverty. The Lebanese pound has lost over 90% of its value against the dollar. The frustrations boiled over this month, with angry and desperate depositors — including one armed with a hunting rifle — started holding up the banks. One of them, Sali Hafez, broke into a Beirut bank branch with a fake pistol and retrieved some $13,000 in her savings to cover her sister’s cancer treatment. However, only a handful of bank branches opened Monday — accepting only customers with prior appointments for corporate transactions. The partial reopening was to continue indefinitely, until banks can secure the safety of their employees. Crowds of anxious Lebanese gathered around ATM machines. “I’ve been here for three hours, and they won’t let me in or schedule an appoint,” Fadi Al-Osta told The Associated Press outside a bank branch in Beirut. “The security guards can let us in one at a time and check for weapons. Isn’t that their job?” George al-Hajj, president of Lebanon’s Federation of Bank Employees Syndicates, said branches have downsized, to have a larger number of security guards per branch. “Our goal isn’t to harm anyone, but we want to go to work feeling safe and secure,” al-Hajj said. “We’re also human beings.” Tensions were simmering in the southern city of Sidon, where State Security forces armed with assault rifles stood outside some bank branches. Some police officers and army soldiers, whose salaries have lost over 90% of their value, unsuccessfully tried to break into a bank branch to collect small cash bonus recently granted by the government. Depositors’ Outcry, a protest group that has supported bank heists to retrieve savings, said Monday it was committed to a “war on the banks” but that it had also called for a meeting with the bankers to find solutions so that “depositors can live with dignity.” “We will continue organizing actions, including strong actions that will target and shock the banks,” said the group’s media coordinator, Moussa Agassi. Lebanon’s talks with the International Monetary Fund on a bailout have progressed sluggishly, with authorities failing to implement critical reforms, including restructuring the banking sector and lifting banking secrecy laws. Last week, a visiting IMF delegation criticized the government’s slowness to implement desperately-needed financial reforms.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3897346/lebanon-retirees-scuffle-police

Iran Steps Up Activist, Journalist Arrests in Protest Crackdown

Iran

September 27th, 4:54am

Asharq Al-Awsat

In this photo taken by an individual not employed by The Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran, protesters chant slogans during a protest over the death of a woman who was detained by the morality police, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Sept. 21, 2022. (AP)

Iran is stepping up arrests of activists and journalists in a crackdown against civil society as anti-regime protests rage nationwide, activists say. Twenty journalists have been imprisoned since the protests erupted earlier this month over the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested by the country's notorious morality police, according to the Washington-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Numerous activists and lawyers have also been held, including the prominent freedom of speech campaigner Hossein Ronaghi who was arrested over the weekend, AFP said. The arrests come on top of severe internet restrictions and blocking of sites including Instagram and WhatsApp, which activists say is aimed at preventing details of the protests from reaching the outside world. "By targeting journalists amid a great deal of violence after restricting access to WhatsApp and Instagram, the Iranian authorities are sending a clear message that there must be no coverage of the protests," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement. - 'Defending prohibited' - Ronaghi, bitterly critical of Iran's leadership, said in a video posted at the weekend that he had initially eluded arrest by escaping his flat when agents came for him. But he was then detained on Saturday when he went to Tehran's Evin prison to meet prosecutors and was also beaten by security agents, his brother Hassan wrote on Twitter. His mother told Manoto TV in an interview that Hossein Ronaghi's leg was broken. Reports said that his lawyers, who accompanied him to Evin, had themselves been detained. Two other lawyers have also been arrested, lawyer Saeid Dehghan wrote on Twitter. "This means defending protesters is prohibited!" he said. Security forces on Monday raided the home of activist and writer Golrokh Iraee and arrested her, according to a message on her Twitter account. Iraee, well known for campaigning against stoning sentences in Iran, has spent much of the past decade behind bars. And activist Majid Tavakoli, who has been repeatedly imprisoned in Iran in recent years including after disputed 2009 elections, remains in jail after his arrest in the early hours of Friday. - 'We are not safe' - Activists said two university students in their early 20s who were also beginning careers as writers -- Banafsheh Kamali and Maedeh Jamal -- had also been arrested. Videos posted on social media claimed to show the moment Jamal was arrested, with a female voice heard yelling for help. Among the 20 journalists held, according to the CPJ, are photojournalist Yalda Moaiery, who won international recognition for an iconic 2019 photo of protests, and reporter Nilufar Hamedi -- who exposed the case of Amini by going to the hospital where she was in a coma. Hamedi's husband wrote on Twitter that Hamedi had said in a call from jail that she was in solitary confinement, and was unaware of the charges against her. Moaiery is being held in the notorious Qarchak women's prison outside Tehran, from where she told the Iran Wire news website that "we are not safe here" and "the situation is very bad". The authorities also arrested five prominent members of the Bahai religious minority in different cities across the country, said Diane Alai, representative of the Bahai International Community to the UN in Geneva. The Bahai -- Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority but not recognized in the Iranian Republic -- had already been experiencing a crackdown even before the protests started, with senior figures arrested and homes destroyed. Activists had accused the Iranian authorities of being in the throes of a crackdown even before the protests began. Two of the country's most acclaimed filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof were among those arrested.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3897341/iran-steps-activist-journalist-arrests-protest-crackdown

How Will the Situation in Tehran Unfold?

Opinion

September 27th, 4:41am

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed - Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is the former general manager of Al-Arabiya television. He is also the former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly magazine Al-Majalla. He is also a senior columnist in the daily newspapers Al-Madina and Al-Bilad.

As enraged people pour into the streets in most (if not all) Iranian cities, it is widely believed that this is the most dramatic development in the country in the last four decades. Yet, despite their gravity, these protests are not likely to bring down the current regime, unlike the 1979 protests that overthrew the Shah. After all, today’s regime is more violent. Yet, albeit still standing, and though still far from collapsing, it is crumbling piece by piece. The resurgence of protests affirms that the state is in crisis and that anti-government protests are a chronic disease eating away at its weakening body. Not one year in the last two decades has gone by without people taking to the street to take a stand against their leadership. The faces changed: there was Khatami, then Ahmadinejad, then Rouhani, and now Raissi, but the people’s desire for change has not. The root cause lies in the Iranian leadership’s inability to deal with the changing reality among its youth, threatening the regime’s sustainability. Indeed, ideological regimes rarely find it easy to backtrack on their rhetoric and methodologies. In Russia, for instance, the Communist Party embraced the revolution from within in 1991 when it stood on the brink of collapse. For its part, China progressively shifted toward a more modern, flexible approach to administration, keeping the Communist Party but doing away with communist practices, be they uniform clothing, bicycles as the primary mode of transportation, or the hours-long daily preaches from the government about the virtues of communism and the evils of capitalism. The entire world changed its ways bar two countries: Iran and North Korea. But Iran’s problem is domestic, and it will only grow if it insists on not admitting that both the problem and the solution lie within it. Instead of embracing change, and in its bid to evade responsibility, Tehran is resorting to the good old conspiracy narrative to explain current developments. It is pointing the finger at Americans, its neighbors, and the media. After all, its chain of Arabic-speaking media outlets whose sole occupation is to attack Iran’s rivals has never engendered a single protest in those rival countries. The adage goes, “sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind.” It does not mean, though, that Iran can forever live in its glasshouse in a region that’s constantly on fire. The chaos we see in Iran today is simply the result of the confusion sown by Khamenei’s regime in the region. Since their ascent to power, religious leaders in Iran have oppressively governed the lives of 70 million people, down to the smallest detail. The recent unrest was ignited by the murder of a young Kurdish woman who was beaten to death by the morality police for wearing her hijab loosely. The murder enraged Iranians fed up with their regime’s failure to provide them with a decent life and its ongoing oppression of its people. In a remarkable development, videos of the protests showed protesters attacking security forces in face-to-face confrontations. Another notable observation is that the regime resorted to isolating its people this time, shutting down the internet and social media access. However, it is unlikely that it will take any decisive measures to restore calm in the streets besides accusing the protesters of being ISIS militants or traitors. Initially, President Ebrahim Raissi spoke to the crowds of protestors in an attempt to sway them, claiming that what the morality police did was a mistake and would be investigated and expressing his sympathies to the young woman’s family as if she were his daughter. Had the people taken to the streets solely to protest the crime, the regime might have succeeded in soothing their rage with promises of investigation and punishment for the perpetrators. But the regime is facing an existential crisis, not simply a wave of protests against the cost of living or individual violations and practices. The theocratic regime is no longer tolerated or effective. Gone are the days of sanctifying the Supreme Leader and religious leaders. They have become symbols of corruption and autocracy in the eyes of the protesters. Today, Iran is a poor country boasting about military achievements that cannot possibly put food on the tables of its starving citizens. The current unrest is the latest in a chain of protests that started in 2009 in universities and mushroomed into widespread protests across the capital, led then by religious figures rebelling against their leadership. Then in 2017, they resurfaced, protesting living conditions, and then in 2019, when they lasted several months across the countryside and remote governorates. The current uprising began in Kurdistan and quickly made its way to Tehran. Protests are here to stay and will eventually exhaust the regime, forcing it to make the concessions it refuses to make today.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3897336/abdulrahman-al-rashed/how-will-situation-tehran-unfold

UAE President to Meet with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq in Oman

Gulf

September 27th, 4:38am

Abu Dhabi - Asharq Al-Awsat

Oman’s royal seal is pictured on the gatehouse outside al-Alam ceremonial palace in Muscat in 2018. (AFP)

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will begin a two-day state visit to the Sultanate of Oman on Tuesday. During his second state visit as president, he will meet with the Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq to build upon the longstanding, brotherly ties and cooperation that exist between the two nations and their people, reported the UAE’s state news agency (WAM). Sheikh Mohamed’s visit, which comes at the Sultan’s invitation, will allow the UAE and Oman to reinforce their burgeoning economic relations and explore opportunities for increased collaboration in a number of sectors, including finance and industry, as well as reinforcing the importance of youth and culture to the future progress of both countries. The visit will also cement the two nations' shared vision for a secure and stable region that promotes sustainable development and supports a thriving economy in which people can realize their full potential.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3897331/uae-president-meet-sultan-haitham-bin-tariq-oman

Saudi Leadership Congratulates Yemen on September 26 Anniversary

Gulf

September 27th, 4:30am

Riyadh - Asharq Al-Awsat

The Saudi leadership congratulated Yemen on the September 26 anniversary. (SPA)

The Saudi leadership congratulated Yemen on Monday on the September 26 anniversary. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, sent separate cables of congratulations to Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi on the occasion. They expressed their best wishes to Alimi, and more security and stability to the Yemeni government and people.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3897326/saudi-leadership-congratulates-yemen-september-26-anniversary

Lebanese Banks Reopen Partially after Weeklong Closure

Arab World

September 26th, 8:40am

Asharq Al-Awsat

People wait outside a Blom Bank branch in Sidon, Lebanon September 26, 2022. (Reuters)

Banks in crisis-hit Lebanon partially reopened Monday following a weeklong closure amid a wave of heists in which assailants stormed at least seven bank branches earlier this month, demanding to withdraw their trapped savings. The Association of Banks in Lebanon said last Monday it was going on strike amid bank holdups by depositors and activists — a sign of growing chaos in the tiny Mideast nation. Lebanon’s cash-strapped banks had last closed for a prolonged period back in October 2019, for two weeks, during mass anti-government protests triggered by the crisis. That year, the banks imposed strict limits on cash withdrawals, tying up the savings of millions of people. The country’s economy has since spiraled, with about three-quarters of the population plunged into poverty. The Lebanese pound has lost over 90% of its value against the dollar. The frustrations boiled over this month, with angry and desperate depositors — including one armed with a hunting rifle — started holding up the banks. One of them, Sali Hafez, broke into a Beirut bank branch with a fake pistol and retrieved some $13,000 in her savings to cover her sister’s cancer treatment. However, only a handful of bank branches opened Monday — accepting only customers with prior appointments for corporate transactions. The partial reopening was to continue indefinitely, until banks can secure the safety of their employees. Crowds of anxious Lebanese gathered around ATM machines. “I've been here for three hours, and they won't let me in or schedule an appoint,” Fadi Al-Osta told The Associated Press outside a bank branch in Beirut. “The security guards can let us in one at a time and check for weapons. Isn't that their job?” George al-Hajj, president of Lebanon's Federation of Bank Employees Syndicates, said branches have downsized, to have a larger number of security guards per branch. “Our goal isn't to harm anyone, but we want to go to work feeling safe and secure,” al-Hajj said. “We're also human beings.” Tensions were simmering in the southern city of Sidon, where State Security forces armed with assault rifles stood outside some bank branches. Some police officers and army soldiers, whose salaries have lost over 90% of their value, unsuccessfully tried to break into a bank branch to collect small cash bonus recently granted by the government. Lebanon's talks with the International Monetary Fund on a bailout have progressed sluggishly, with authorities failing to implement critical reforms, including restructuring the banking sector and lifting banking secrecy laws. Last week, a visiting IMF delegation criticized the government’s slowness to implement desperately-needed financial reforms.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3895881/lebanese-banks-reopen-partially-after-weeklong-closure

Recruiter Wounded in Shooting at Mobilization Center in Siberia

World

September 26th, 6:58am

Asharq Al-Awsat

A Russian service member stands next to a mobile recruitment center for military service. Reuters

A man opened fire and wounded a recruitment officer at an enlistment center in Siberia on Monday, the local governor said, as tensions mount over Russia's military mobilization for the conflict in Ukraine. "In Ust-Ilimsk, a young man fired at the military registration and enlistment office," Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev said in a message on Telegram, adding that a military commissar was "in critical condition" and the shooter had been "immediately arrested". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an appeal to Russians in his evening address on Saturday, warning that their president was knowingly "sending citizens to their death". Speaking in Russian, Zelensky called on Moscow's forces to surrender, saying: "You will be treated in a civilized manner... no one will know the circumstances of your surrender". It came just hours after Russia passed a law toughening punishments for voluntary surrender and desertion following the partial mobilization President Vladimir Putin ordered this week. The announcement of the mobilization of 300,000 reservists on Wednesday sparked protests across Russia and a fresh exodus out of the country. The changes come as the Kremlin seeks to bolster the ranks of its army fighting a military operation in Ukraine.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3895661/recruiter-wounded-shooting-mobilization-center-siberia