Syrian army breaks siege of army base near Damascus

2018-01-08

BEIRUT - Syria's army has broken the siege of an army base encircled by opposition forces on the eastern outskirts of Damascus, state television and a war monitor reported on Sunday.

Last Sunday, rebels, mainly belonging to the Islamist Ahrar al Sham faction, widened their control of parts of the Military Vehicles Administration base in the Eastern Ghouta town of Harasta.

Army elite forces, backed by Russian jets, launched an offensive to break the siege and liberate at least 200 troops who were believed to be trapped within its sprawling, heavily defended grounds.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the Syrian forces had "opened a loophole" that led them into the base.

Extensive bombing and violent clashes were taking place inside and around the base late at night, while the army fought its way to recapture the compound's buildings, the state tv reporter said during a live broadcast from a nearby location.

"Fighting is underway to expand the route that was opened into the base ... and the army will press on with its offensive beyond liberating the base," he added, expecting the battle for the base to end in the coming few hours.

The tv station aired footage of the battles earlier in the day that showed heavy smoke billowing from the battered buildings targeted by the army fire.

Rebel fighters had stormed the base last November in a drive to relieve pressure on Eastern Ghouta's towns and villages.

The base has long been used to strike at the densely populated Eastern Ghouta in an attempt to force the rebel enclave into submission. More than 300,000 people there have lived under siege by army troops since 2013.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=86688.

Syrians continue to flee violent clashes in Idlib

January 1, 2018

Thousands of Syrian families have fled violent clashes between Daesh and the Syrian forces in the country’s north-western province of Idlib, Anadolu Agency reported yesterday. Many have taken refuge in camps scattered along the border with Turkey.

Early last week, the Syrian army, backed by Russian air power and pro-Iranian fighters, launched intense airstrikes targeting areas in the southern countryside of Idlib province. Idlib and the eastern countryside of Hama province are the only areas that still remain outside government control.

The ten-day offensive and clashes between the regime army and Daesh fighters have also forced the refugees to head to Idlib’s southern countryside of Sinjar, which was later targeted by the army, displacing at least 6,500 civilians.

At least nine civilians were reported dead by the regime airstrikes over the weekend.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180101-syrians-continue-to-flee-violent-clashes-in-idlib/.

Displaced from Syria's Beit Jin Arrive in Idlib, Daraa

Sunday, 31 December, 2017

Hundreds of opposition fighters arrived on Saturday in the Syrian provinces of Idlib and Daraa after they were displaced from the towns of Beit Jin and Mogher al-Meer in Damascus’ western Ghouta suburb.

The evacuation was made possible after an agreement with the Syrian regime forces that began sweeping the two towns.

State television showed footage of the convoy of buses containing the rebels moving out of Beit Jin.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday that six bus convoys left Beit Jin as part of the agreement between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other factions and between the regime.

The buses that arrived in the southern region of Daraa were transporting some 100 fighters from the factions, as well as some 30 of their family members. The buses that arrived in the northern Idlib province also held similar numbers.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Red Crescent said on Friday they had finished a medical evacuation of 29 very sick people from eastern Ghouta as part of a swap deal for prisoners held by the rebels.

Beit Jin’s location near Israeli-controlled territory made it a strategic flashpoint given the role of Lebanon’s “Hezbollah” in fighting the rebels there.

Israel has bombed “Hezbollah” convoys and weapons caches several times in Syria this year and fired on military positions in Syria after projectiles landed in the Golan Heights.

Source: Asharq al-Awsat.
Link: https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1128841/displaced-syria%E2%80%99s-beit-jin-arrive-idlib-daraa.

Free Syrian Army subgroups unite to form national army

December 31, 2017

Around 30 sub-groups of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have unified under the banner of the country’s “National Army”, the Syrian interim government announced on Saturday.

The announcement came after the head of the interim government, Jawad Abu Hatab, met the subgroup leaders in the northern city of Azaz.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Abu Hatab noted their primary aim as keeping hold of the area liberated from Daesh through Operation Euphrates Shield and defending people by standing against the Assad regime and terror groups like Daesh and the PKK/PYD.

In the wide-ranging Euphrates Shield Operation launched last summer, the Free Syrian Army — with the support of the Turkish army — had cleared 2,000 square kilometers (772 square miles) of land along the Turkish-Syrian border of terrorist elements.

Abu Hatab said they have unified three army corps through the project totaling 22,000 soldiers.

“First army corps is the one trained in Turkey. The second and the third consists of nearly 30 groups,” he said, adding that the most important matter is to form an army from the whole region.

“This is possible with Turkey’s support,” Hatab said, who also recalled Turkey’s efforts through Operation Euphrates Shield, which let thousands of Syrian refugees to return to their country.

Chief of General Staff of the interim government Col. Haitham Ofeisi said the formation of the “National Army” was the result of the unification of three corps.

“First we took this decision in the Euphrates Shield Operation Zone. Of course, we have made this decision with the support of Turkey,” he said adding that they would continue the process in remaining places.

Ofeisi vowed that they would clear Daesh and PKK/PYD terrorists group as well as Assad forces from the region while more army corps would be formed under the General Staff in the freed areas.

“We believe that the future of Syria will be good and we will go to all lengths of this revolution that we have started in 2011.

He said one of the targets “is to give all type of struggles against the division of our lands by Daesh and PKK/PYD terrorist organizations”.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20171231-free-syrian-army-subgroups-unite-to-form-national-army/.

Syria Muslim Brotherhood rejects Russia-sponsored peace talks

December 28, 2017

The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood has categorically rejected the Sochi conference sponsored by Russia scheduled for the end of January.

In a statement released yesterday, the group said that the conference is an attempt to consolidate the Russian occupation and ignore the political solution stipulated in the Geneva resolutions, which starts with the formation of a fully-fledged transitional authority which does not include Bashar Al-Assad and his regime.

The group reiterated its adherence to the principles of the Syrian revolution of overthrowing Al-Assad and his regime and rebuilding the country as a state of justice, freedom, equality and human dignity.

It also called on all revolutionary forces and Syrian national figures to boycott the Sochi conference. The Syrian opposition negotiating body said there was widespread rejection of the conference among opposition groups.

Russia, Turkey and Iran, the guarantors of the ceasefire in Syria agreed at the conclusion of the Astana 8 meeting last week to hold the Syrian national dialogue conference in the Russian resort of Sochi on 29-30 January.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20171228-syria-muslim-brotherhood-rejects-russia-sponsored-peace-talks/.

Syria rebels reject Russian-led peace initiative

2017-12-26

BEIRUT - More than three dozen Syrian rebel groups, including influential Islamists, have rejected a Russian-led initiative for talks next month in Sochi on ending Syria's war.

Russia and Iran, both key allies of Syria's regime, agreed with opposition backer Turkey on Friday to hold a "Congress of National Dialogue" in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on January 29 and 30.

Syria's government swiftly said it would attend but rebels have pushed back, calling it a Russian bid to eclipse a United Nations-led process in Geneva.

"We completely reject Russia's attempt to circumvent the Geneva track," the rebels said in a joint statement published Monday.

"We call on all forces to stand in one rank against these alarming dangers."

It was signed by 40 factions, including Islamist powerhouse Ahrar al-Sham and groups that have been backed by the United States such as the Mutasem Brigades.

Some of the factions played a significant role in the rebellion since the war broke out in 2011 but most have either been sidelined by other groups or control only small pockets of land.

Mustefa Sejari, a top Mutasem Brigades figure, said on Tuesday that rebels could not see Russia as an honest broker.

"From the beginning, we said whoever wants to play an intermediary and guarantor role in Syria needs to be neutral, fair, and honest in its support of political transition," Sejari said.

"Russia has not done these things -- it is a partner in the killing of the Syrian people," he added.

Syria's conflict erupted in 2011 with anti-government demonstrations, but it has since morphed into a complex war drawing in world powers, including Russia.

Repeated attempts to reach a political solution to the war have failed, with the UN-backed process in Switzerland bearing little fruit.

Russia, Turkey, and Iran began hosting talks between Syria's government and armed rebels in Kazakhstan earlier this year, and announced the Sochi conference at the most recent round last week.

The United Nations has yet to firmly endorse the summit, and opposition representatives have largely been wary of it.

The main stumbling block over any political solution remains the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with much of the opposition sticking firm to calls for his ouster.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=86561.

Fatah lights 53rd anniversary torch in Gaza

January 1, 2018

The Palestinian Fatah movement lit its 53rd anniversary torch of freedom in Gaza on Sunday, Anadolu has reported. The event took place in the presence of hundreds of Fatah supporters in the Square of the Unknown Soldier in the middle of Gaza City.

The movement’s yellow flag was raised alongside photographs of the late President Yasser Arafat and his successor Mahmoud Abbas. Fatah regards itself as the torchbearer of Palestinian liberation, and has lit a symbolic torch every year since its foundation on 1 January, 1965.

Fatah’s Central Committee member Ahmed Hellis told the rally that the torch will be kept alight as a symbol against all aggressors. The movement, he pointed out, has been involved in several struggles to achieve Palestinian national unity.

“This is the choice of the movement,” he insisted. “Today, we are sticking with national unity more than any time in the past due to the dangers engulfing our cause and our national rights.” He added that Fatah will continue its unity efforts with other national and Islamic factions despite “disparities” in their views. “We will continue looking for the common factor among the Palestinian factions because Palestine needs all the Palestinians.”

Earlier, Fatah had announced that it would turn the celebration of its anniversary into popular resistance activities in solidarity with Jerusalem and against the US move.

Fatah was founded as a military movement with the goal of liberating Palestine. It became involved in direct and indirect secret talks with Israel until a peace deal was agreed in 1993. In 1998, Fatah dropped all articles of its Charter calling for military resistance against the Israeli occupation.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180101-fatah-lights-53rd-anniversary-torch-in-gaza/.

Jordan gets German military vehicles for border control

January 14, 2018

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Germany's defense minister says her country is delivering millions of dollars' worth of equipment to Jordan's military to improve the kingdom's border surveillance. Jordan borders Syria and Iraq, where Islamic State extremists held large areas until being pushed back in recent months by a U.S.-led military campaign. Jordan is a key ally in the battle against IS.

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen attended a handover ceremony near Jordan's capital, Amman, on Sunday. Germany is providing two training planes and dozens of military support vehicles to Jordan, worth a total of $22 million.

Von der Leyen says the equipment is meant to "improve mobility at the border," as part of a plan to support Jordan. She praised Jordan as an anchor of stability in a violence-wracked region.

Bitcoin appeal beats ban and warnings in Jordan

2018-01-14

By Roufan Nahhas - Amman

Amman - Despite its uncertain value and an official warning against trading with it, Jordanians are seeking to make transactions with bitcoin, the cryptocurrency and worldwide payment system that has been providing fast and big profits. While some are attracted to the digital currency, which has sky­rocketed in value over the past year, others look at it with skepticism.

The Central Bank of Jordan and the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission warned against deal­ings with any virtual currency, es­pecially bitcoin, but trades through financial brokers are still being con­ducted, though in a very limited way, the Jordanian Exchange Asso­ciation said.

“The whole world is doing it, so why not us?” asked one bitcoin dealer, who spoke to The Arab Weekly on condition of anonym­ity. “I bought some digital currency last year and I saw my money grow more than 200%. I can cash the money anytime but I don’t need it now so I am waiting for the right moment.”

“I know that there are many doubts surrounding the bitcoin but I have many friends in the United States who have made big fortunes there. The digital currency world is happening and we need to be part of it,” said the 31-year-old, adding that his initial $1,000 investment saw big returns in just four months.

“There are other options that are strong, too, and worth investing in. I am being careful not to invest a lot of money (in bitcoin) but it is fine with me to focus on one currency and see how things go,” he said.

While digital currencies are a trendy trading item, many Jordani­an economists have raised concerns about dealing with them.

“We are happy that the authori­ties banned dealings in such a vir­tual world because these curren­cies are not controlled by the price of gold or in any other normal way. Still, there is some interest here in Jordan to invest in them,” said jour­nalist Ziad Momani.

“The virtual world is full of threats and this could be one way for laundering money. So it is better to forget about it though some Eu­ropean countries allowed dealings with it.”

Fahed Khaled, 40, a business­man, said he is interested in invest­ing in digital currency but finds it risky and unclear.

“It is a kind of revolution on tra­ditional currency and, despite all warnings, many people are making money depending on how much you are willing to invest,” he said. “I find it a bit risky but I am sure every­one will follow soon as the world is catching up. We can see, for exam­ple, the British Central Bank plans to issue its own digital currency, so it is a matter of time only.”

“Today, there are many options in which a person can invest digi­tal currency but the general feel­ing, at least here, is not encourag­ing, although around the world and in the United States, for instance, there are machines in the streets where you can buy or sell bitcoins, which means it is legal to do so and I am sure soon it will be all over the world,” he added.

Some countries, such as Austral­ia, the United Kingdom, the Unit­ed States, Finland, South Korea, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Estonia have taken a positive stance towards bitcoin, others have banned the use of vir­tual currencies. In the Arab world, those restricting the use of bitcoin include Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.

Innovations often take time to be accepted in the Arab region. Egypt announced a ban on using any type of virtual currency and the coun­try’s top Islamic cleric issued a fat­wa against the currency. However, many people are trying to demon­strate the positive aspect of dealing with bitcoin, taking to social media to encourage others to trade with it.

“Bitcoin Egypt” is a Facebook page managed by Atef al-Khateeb, a Cairo-based bitcoin trader, with more than 2,000 followers. Khateeb said he is lucky to trade with bitcoin and invites followers to follow suit.

Last year in Dubai, the company behind a $325 million luxury hous­ing development said it would accept bitcoin payments, which shows confidence in the currency.

“The world cannot be wrong and if respectful companies are saying OK to bitcoin, I think there should be some truth in it,” Khaled said. “What is wrong about making mon­ey the easy way, many people are (doing it), bitcoin or no bitcoin.”

While many Arabs are hoping to become the next Erik Finman, the teenage bitcoin investor who reput­edly turned $1,000 into more than $5 million, they need to wait until their governments agree to enter the new world, even a virtual one.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=86774.

Seven years since Tunisian revolution, hope turns to despair

2018-01-13

TUNIS - Seven years since the Tunisian revolution that ignited the Arab Spring uprisings, 38-year-old Walid has no job and says people are even more hungry than they were under dictatorship.

Anger over poverty and unemployment erupted into protests and clashes this week that have led to hundreds of arrests ahead of Sunday's anniversary of the overthrow of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

"It's been seven years and we've seen nothing happen. We've had freedom, it's true, but we're more hungry than before," Walid said in Tebourba near the capital Tunis.

Desperation over police harassment and unemployment drove a Tunisian street vendor to set himself on fire on December 17, 2010 in a town in the country's neglected interior.

Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old university graduate who eked out a living selling fruit, died weeks later, fueling social unrest that spread across much of the Arab world.

Following a wave of protests, Ben Ali resigned on January 14, 2011 after 23 years in power.

He fled to Saudi Arabia, becoming the first leader to stand down in the Arab Spring.

Compared to other countries rocked by uprisings such as Libya and Yemen which are still deep in turmoil, Tunisia has been praised for its steps towards democracy.

A new constitution was adopted and legislative and presidential polls held in 2014.

But disillusion remains rife.

The country has "the same economic model, with the same problems" as before, the president of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, Messaoud Romdhani, told AFP.

"So the situation keeps getting worse."

In a report released last month, the group warned that despite democratic advances, "unemployment, misery and social and regional inequalities have worsened".

Tunisia has been convulsed by sometimes-violent demonstrations since Monday in which youths throwing stones and Molotov cocktails have clashed with security forces who responded with tear gas.

Dozens of people have been injured and more than 800 arrested on charges including theft, looting and arson.

One protester died on Monday night in Tebourba though police have insisted they did not kill him.

- 'Potential for resistance' -

In the latest protest, hundreds of Tunisians took to the streets of Tunis and the coastal city of Sfax on Friday, waving yellow cards and demanding that the government reverse austerity measures.

The demonstrations "reveal an anger carried by the same people who mobilized in 2011 and obtained nothing in terms of economic and social rights," said political scientist Olfa Lamloum.

The trigger of the new protests was a finance law imposing tax hikes after a year of rising prices.

The Tunisian economy has never recovered from the instability that followed the revolution.

The key tourism sector was dealt another crushing blow by jihadist attacks that shook the country in 2015 including the beachside massacre of 38 foreign holidaymakers.

The government was forced to turn to the International Monetary Fund which lent Tunisia $2.9 billion in 2016 on condition that it reduced its budget and trade deficits.

Youth unemployment remains above 35 percent according to the International Labor Organization.

Every year since 2011, 10,000 children have dropped out of primary school and 100,000 young people have left college or high school without diplomas, says the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights.

In a sign of growing disenchantment, illegal emigration reached the highest level since 2011 in the autumn.

Municipal polls seen as the final stage in Tunisia's transition to democracy have been delayed until May, while fresh legislative and presidential elections are planned for 2019.

But the democratic steps have not extinguished the revolutionary fervor altogether.

"The potential for resistance is still there," Lamloum said. "Young people still have the same dream for Tunisia even if it will take time."

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=86763.

Tunisians continue anti-austerity protests

2018-01-12

TUNIS - Fresh scuffles broke out Friday as hundreds of Tunisians took to the streets of the capital and coastal city of Sfax, waving yellow cards and demanding the government reverse austerity measures.

More than 200 young people rallied in Tunis following a call from the Fech Nestannew (What Are We Waiting For?) campaign for a major protest against the measures imposed at the start of the year.

They held up yellow cards, chanted slogans and scuffled with riot police as they marched on administrative offices in the capital.

"The people want the Finance Act repealed" and "The people are fed up with the new Trabelsi", they shouted, referring to the graft-tainted in-laws of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

"We believe that dialogue and reforms are still possible," said Henda Chennaoui of the Fech Nestannew campaign.

"We've got the same demands we've been seeking for years -- to tackle real problems like the economic crisis and the high cost of living," she said.

In Sfax, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Tunis, around 200 people vented their anger over rising prices.

"The people's money is in the palaces, and the children of the people are in the prisons," read one placard.

Tunisian authorities said Friday the number of people detained in the wave of violent protests had risen to nearly 800, after a provincial town was hit by a night of unrest over the austerity measures.

Correspondents in the northern town of Siliana said police fired tear gas at dozens of youths who pelted them with stones during skirmishes that lasted around three hours overnight.

- 'Heavy-handed' -

Interior ministry spokesman Khalifa Chibani said 151 people were arrested Thursday, taking the number detained for alleged involvement in the violence to 778 after several nights of unrest.

Chibani said clashes between youths and police were "limited" and "not serious", and insisted no acts of violence, theft or looting were recorded Thursday evening.

Rights group Amnesty International accused the authorities of using "increasingly heavy-handed methods to disperse rallies and subsequently arrest protesters" during the unrest.

"Tunisian security forces must refrain from using excessive force and end their use of intimidation tactics against peaceful demonstrators," the watchdog said.

One man died in the unrest on Monday night, but the authorities have insisted the police were not responsible for this.

A number of left-wing activists have been arrested by the authorities in recent days, after officials accused them of fueling the violence.

Several dozen members of the Popular Front party demonstrated Friday in front of a court in the town of Gafsa after the arrest of several local activists.

Tunisia is considered a rare success story of the Arab Spring uprisings that began in the North African country in 2011 and spread across the region, toppling autocrats.

But the authorities have failed to resolve the issues of poverty and unemployment.

Protests are common in Tunisia in January, when people mark the anniversary of the revolution that ousted long-time dictator Ben Ali.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=86754.

Protests in Tunisia over austerity

2018-01-09

By Tarek Amara - Tunis

One person was killed on Monday during clashes between security forces and protesters in a Tunisian town, the government said, as demonstrations over rising prices and tax increases spread in the North African country.

A man was killed during a protest against government austerity measures in Tebourba, 40 km (25 miles) west of Tunis, the interior ministry said in a statement. He had had chronic breathing problems and died due to suffocation from inhaling tear gas, it said.

The protest had turned violent when security forces tried stopping some youths from burning down a government building, witnesses said. Five people were wounded and taken to a hospital, state news agency TAP said.

Tunisia, widely seen in the West as the only democratic success among nations where "Arab Spring" revolts took place in 2011, is suffering increasing economic hardship.

Anger has been building up since the government said that, from Jan. 1, it would increase the price of gasoil, some goods, and taxes on cars, phone calls, the internet, hotel accommodation and other items, part of austerity measures agreed with its foreign lenders.

The 2018 budget also raises customs taxes on some products imported from abroad, such as cosmetics, and some agricultural products.

The economy has been in crisis since a 2011 uprising unseated the government and two major militant attacks in 2015 damaged tourism, which comprises 8 percent of gross domestic product. Tunisia is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund to speed up policy changes and help the economy recover from the attacks.

Violent protests spread in the evening to at least 10 towns.

There was also a protest turning violent in the capital, residents said. Security forces had already dispersed small protests in Tunis late on Sunday.

On Monday, about 300 people took to the streets in the central Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, cradle of the country's Arab Spring revolution, carrying banners with slogans denouncing high prices.

A lack of tourists and new foreign investors pushed Tunisia's trade deficit up by 23.5 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2017 to a record $5.8 billion, official data showed at the end of December.

Concerns about the rising deficit have hurt the dinar currency, sending it to 3.011 versus the euro on Monday, breaking the psychologically important 3 dinar mark for the first time, traders said.

The currency is likely to weaken further, said Tunisian financial risk expert Mourad Hattab.

"The sharp decline of the dinar threatens to deepen the trade deficit and make debt service payments tighter, which will increase Tunisia's financial difficulties," he said.

Hattab said the dinar may fall to 3.3 versus the euro in the coming months because of high demand for foreign currency and little expectation of intervention from the authorities.

Last year, former Finance Minister Lamia Zribi said the central bank would reduce its interventions so that the dinar steadily declined in value, but it would prevent any dramatic slide.

The central bank has denied any plans to liberalise the currency but Hattab said Monday's decline showed there was an "undeclared float" of the dinar.

A weaker currency could further drive up the cost of imported food after the annual inflation rate rose to 6.4 percent in December, its highest rate since July 2014, from 6.3 percent in November, data showed on Monday.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=86697.

Mass protest in northeast Morocco after two die in coal mine

2017-12-26

RABAT - Thousands of people protested in northeast Morocco on Monday against economic marginalization after two young men died while digging in an abandoned coal mine.

The deaths on Friday of the two brothers, aged 23 and 30, sparked a wave of anger in the city of Jerada, according to Moroccan media.

On Monday several thousand people gathered for a second day in a row to denounce harsh living conditions, Said Zeroual of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights said.

"The whole city is observing a general strike" in solidarity, he added.

The demonstrators have adopted the slogans of the Al-Hirak al-Shaabi movement that staged a string of protests this year in the neighboring Rif region.

Jerada, long dependent on mining, suffered a major blow in the late 1990s with the closure of a coal pit that employed 9,000 people.

Source: Middle East Online.
Link: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=86564.

Algeria doctors' union extends strikes

January 15, 2018

Algeria’s doctors have continued their strike until further notice following a week of protests in the country after a sit-in calling for better working conditions in the capital Algiers was dispersed violently by authorities.

The national office of the Autonomous Collective of Algerian Resident Doctors (CAMRA) said in a statement that its demands were discussed with the Minister of Health, Mokhtar Hasbellaoui.

The national CAMRA office said on Saturday that the national representatives of the group held its third meeting with Hasbellaoui in which the compulsory civil and military services were discussed.

A number of terms were agreed to by the Ministry of Health “verbally”, according to CAMRA which include more flexibility during civil service, the right to housing and transportation access and better training.

The Ministry of Health has reportedly not taken any decision yet on the lifting of compulsory civil service which doctors are expected to work following their graduation, for 4-5 years, and sent to remote places in the country with poor facilities and living conditions.

Hasbellaoui informed strikers that he had met with Deputy Defense Minister Gaid Salah to discuss the compulsory military service for men, promising a report as soon as possible.

He blamed hospital and health directors for the deterioration of the medical residents’ situation and deferred any responsibility for the recent demonstrations in the country’s main cities.

The Minister of Health also called on the Directors of Public Health to do all they can to benefit resident doctors so that they perform their civil service in the best conditions.

Last week, protest marches and solidarity sit-ins were organised by resident doctors in several regions in Algeria to make their voices heard and bring their demands to the country’s highest authorities.

Source: Middle East Monitor.
Link: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20180115-algeria-doctors-union-extends-strikes/.

Former Catalan leader seeks long-distance 'tech' government

January 19, 2018

MADRID (AP) — Catalonia's fugitive former leader, who wants his old job back, says new technologies would allow him to govern from Belgium. Carles Puigdemont spoke to Catalan public radio from Belgium, where he fled to avoid a judicial probe in Spain over secession attempts.

The challenge led Spanish central authorities to disband the Catalan Cabinet and call an election in the northeastern region. Results granted separatists a slim parliamentary majority. But with ousted Catalan Cabinet members under investigation, jailed or in Belgium and facing arrest if they return home, the Catalan parliament's new governing body must decide by the end of January whether to permit Puigdemont's re-election through a proxy delegate.

Spain's central government has vowed to impede Puigdemont's reinstatement by challenging it in courts if necessary.

Catalan separatists agree deal to re-elect Puigdemont

January 10, 2018

MADRID (AP) — Catalonia's main separatist parties said Wednesday they have agreed to re-elect fugitive Carles Puigdemont as president of the region later this month, although how to make that legally possible is still up in the air.

Puigdemont, who has been in Brussels since he was sacked in October over an attempt to secede from Spain, faces immediate arrest if he returns home. He wants the separatist majority in the new regional parliament to appoint him despite his absence.

The Catalan assembly's regulations are ambiguous about that possibility, but the anti-independence opposition says that a president can't govern from afar. "It's evident that for governing Catalonia you have to be in Catalonia, you can't do that via WhatsApp or as a hologram," said Ines Arrimadas, the leader of the anti-independence Ciutadans (Citizens) party. "A person who is fleeing justice can't be the president."

A spokesman with Puigdemont's Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia) ticket said that the separatist politician secured the backing of the left-republican ERC party Tuesday evening in Brussels. The parties jointly hold 66 of the 135 seats in the regional chamber, and can add the support of four anti-establishment lawmakers.

The separatists' dominance of the chamber, however, depends on jailed or fugitive elected lawmakers who won't be able to vote unless they are released or give up their seats to someone else on the party list. But a new president can form government with a simple majority in a second attempt.

An ERC spokesman also confirmed the deal, adding that Puigdemont will propose to speak via video conference to the regional parliament later this month or have a fellow party lawmaker read the mandatory speech that candidates to the regional leadership need to deliver before being voted in.

Both officials spoke anonymously because they weren't authorized to be identified in news reports. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy ordered the Dec. 21 regional election under constitutional powers he invoked in October to dissolve the previous parliament after separatist lawmakers voted to declare Catalonia an independent republic. He also removed Puigdemont and his Cabinet.

While the anti-secession Ciutadans (Citizens) collected the most votes of any single party, the prime minister's hope that the separatists would suffer a stinging rebuke at the polls went unfulfilled.

The two separatist parties have also agreed to elect a separatist parliamentary speaker at the inaugural session on Jan. 17. It's the speaker who calls on a candidate to try to form a government in the following days.

Puigdemont boasted again on Wednesday that the three Catalan pro-independence parties had secured a majority despite some of their candidates campaigning from self-imposed exile or in jail while facing possible charges of rebellion.

"The desire to be free from Madrid is rising, it is in the majority and it is lasting over time, despite the huge difficulties it faces," he wrote in an editorial published on the Politico news website. "That calls for attention and respect — neither of which have been offered by the Spanish government and the European Union."

Polls consistently show most Catalans want the right to decide their future but are evenly divided over splitting from Spain.

Ecuador grants nationality to WikiLeaks founder

January 11, 2018

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador has granted citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after more than five years of living in asylum at the nation's embassy in London, officials announced Thursday.

Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said officials accepted Assange's request for naturalization in December, and they continue to look for a long-term resolution to a situation that has vexed officials since 2012.

"What naturalization does is provide the asylum seeker another layer of protection," Espinosa said. Ecuador gave Assange asylum after he sought refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden for investigation of sex-related claims. Sweden dropped the case, but Assange has remained in the embassy because he is still subject to arrest in Britain for jumping bail.

He also fears a possible U.S. extradition request based on his leaking of classified State Department documents. The Australian-born Assange posted a photograph of himself wearing a yellow Ecuadorean national soccer team jersey on Instagram Wednesday and his name now appears in the Andean country's national registry.

The new citizenship status, however, appears to change little for Assange in the immediate future. He would still need to alert British authorities of any movement outside the embassy. "Even if he has two or three nationalities, the United Kingdom will continue in its efforts against him," said Fredy Rivera, an expert in foreign affairs at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences in Ecuador.

Espinosa said Ecuador is trying to make Assange a member of its diplomatic team, which would grant him additional rights under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, including special legal immunity and safe passage.

Britain's Foreign Office said earlier Thursday it has rejected Ecuador's request to grant him diplomatic status in the U.K. "Ecuador knows that the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice," the office said.

Though protected by Ecuador, the relationship between Assange and nation's leaders has at times been dicey. Ecuador has repeatedly urged Assange not to interfere in the affairs of other countries following his frequent online comments on international issues.

The biggest crisis came in October 2016, when the embassy cut his internet service after WikiLeaks published a trove of emails from then-U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign. He was also a point of contention in Ecuador's 2017 presidential election. Conservative candidate Guillermo Lasso pledged to evict the Australian within 30 days of taking office, while current President Lenin Moreno said he would allow him to stay. Assange later taunted after Lasso's loss that he would "cordially invite Lasso to leave Ecuador within 30 days."

Moreno issued a warning reminding Assange not to meddle in politics. He has also called Assange a hacker.

Tens of thousands stage anti-corruption protest in Romania

January 21, 2018

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Tens of thousands of Romanians on Saturday protested against legislation passed by Parliament which critics say will make it harder to prosecute crime and high-level corruption.

Protesters briefly scuffled with riot police as they massed in Bucharest's University Square. Protesters shouted: "Thieves, thieves!" and "Resign!" and blew whistles and waved Romanian flags. They then marched toward Parliament.

Protesters of all ages came to vent their anger at the left-wing government, some accompanied by dogs or children. Architect Tiberiu Calinescu, 30, who was carrying his 4-month-old daughter, said: "I have come here for the future of my daughter," adding "I want to live in a Romania that is civilized and close to European" standards.

Diana Gradinaru, a 45-year-old economist, said the new legislation could result in "terrible thefts" by high-level officials, citing legislation that meant video and audio recordings could no longer be used as evidence in prosecutions.

There were smaller protests in the cities of Cluj, Timisoara, Constanta, Bacau, Sibiu and Iasi. Protesters began arriving earlier in the capital by train from other Romanian cities and were greeted by people waving Romanian flags.

Last year, Romania saw the biggest protests since communism ended after the left-wing government tried to decriminalize official misconduct. Parliament last month approved amendments to laws that many say will lead to a backsliding on its anti-corruption fight.

Prime Minister-designate Viorica Dancila supports revamping the judicial system. She is an ally of Liviu Dragnea, chairman of the Social Democracy Party, who can't be premier due to a conviction for vote-rigging.

President Klaus Iohannis, a critic of the amendments, needs to sign them into law. On Friday, he wrote to the Constitutional Court saying one amendment that would allow public officials to own businesses "diminished the standards of integrity" expected from public officials.

Polish gov't pressured to act following report on neo-Nazis

January 22, 2018

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's right-wing government faced pressure on Monday to act forcefully against far-right extremists following an expose of Polish neo-Nazis who celebrated Adolf Hitler, burning a swastika and dressing in Nazi German uniforms.

Private news channel TVN24 broadcast hidden-camera footage Saturday of neo-Nazis celebrating what would have been Hitler's 128th birthday in a wooded area in southwestern Poland last spring. The participants chanted "Sieg Heil" and praised Hitler as they burned a large swastika.

The report revealed that the same neo-Nazi group, "Pride and Modernity," was behind a November protest where pictures of centrist European Parliament lawmakers from Poland were hung on mock gallows in the city of Katowice. The far-right participants at that protest called the lawmakers traitors to Poland for having voted against the Polish government in a resolution in the European Parliament over alleged rule of law violations and the government's response to an Independence Day march organized by far-right nationalists.

The weekend TVN24 report has provoked widespread revulsion in Poland, which was occupied by Germany during World War II and subjected to widespread destruction and mass killings. Poles and other Slavs were considered subhuman in Hitler's ideology, and scenes of young Poles praising the man who unleashed such atrocities on the country are hard for many in Poland to fathom.

On Sunday, Poland's chief prosecutor launched an investigation into whether the crime of propagating fascism had been committed, which can carry a prison sentence of up to two years. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also said propagating fascism tramples "the memory of our ancestors and their heroic fight for a Poland that is just and free from hatred."

Grzegorz Schetyna, leader of Civic Platform, the largest opposition party in parliament, called Monday for the neo-Nazi group to be criminalized. He also accused the ruling right-wing Law and Justice party of having allowed extremism to grow during its more than two years in power. In one example, he faulted the government for abolishing a special government office aimed at fighting discrimination and racism soon after it took power in late 2015.

The Law and Justice party has been often accused of turning a blind eye to far-right excesses hoping to win votes on the far right. Its adoption of anti-Muslim, anti-refugee rhetoric has also been seen as one factor leading to a rising number of reported attacks against people with dark skin in Poland.

The strong government denunciations come amid a broader attempt by Morawiecki to moderate the ruling party's radical image and improve strained ties with European partners. As part of this change, some of the government's most controversial ministers were fired earlier this month.

Rafal Pankowski, the head of Never Again, an organization that monitors and fights extremism, told The Associated Press that he believes "the far right has felt emboldened in the last two years, which has been expressed in many street marches and racist attacks."

"It's time for Polish leaders to condemn xenophobia and take concrete steps against it," Pankowski said. "I hope the recent statements by Prime Minister Morawiecki are just the beginning of a new attitude to the problem on the part of the ruling elite."

German Social Democrats OK coalition talks with Merkel bloc

January 21, 2018

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's Social Democrats voted Sunday to open talks on forming a new government with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives after party leaders urged members to overcome their apprehensions for the good of the country and stability of Europe.

Delegates of the center-left party voted 362 to 279 in favor of opening coalition negotiations with Merkel's Union bloc after an emotional daylong debate in Bonn. The vote was a major step toward ending the political gridlock that has prevented a new government from being formed since September's election. Social Democratic leader Martin Schulz called it "a key moment in the history of our party."

Merkel welcomed the decision, telling reporters she hoped to be able to soon build a "stable government that can tackle the questions of the future." "There's still a lot of work before us, but it should be goal-oriented, intensive and in a sensible atmosphere despite all of the controversial issues," she said.

Many Social Democrats expressed concerns that a 28-page agreement on the prerequisites for coalition talks hashed out between leaders of the Social Democrats, Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and her Bavarian-only sister Christian Social Union had watered down too many of their positions.

But after the vote, Schulz pledged to negotiate hard for more concessions on labor, health and migration policies. "We are now starting with the negotiations, and we will come back to all these points," he said, adding that the agreed-upon prerequisites were "no coalition agreement."

Before a new government can be established, another vote by the Social Democrats' membership will have to be held on the final coalition agreement. The closeness of Sunday's vote may end up helping Schulz squeeze more concessions out of Merkel's bloc, said Andrea Roemmele, a political science professor at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin.

"The Union now knows very well that (after) an extremely narrow result, this still has to go through an SPD membership ballot, so the SPD signature on this coalition agreement must be very clear," Roemmele told German public television station Phoenix.

Merkel suggested there might be some flexibility, saying the preliminary document outsides the parameters of the negotiations but "there will be a multitude of questions still to clarify in detail." Schulz and Merkel both said they expected the negotiations to start this week. Others have said they hope a new government might be in place before Easter.

Had the Social Democrats voted against opening negotiations, Merkel would have faced forming a minority government — which she has indicated she is not interested in doing — or a new election would have had to be called.

Ahead of Sunday's vote, Schulz said he opposed another election and that a stable German government was needed to strengthen Europe and as a bulwark against right-wing extremism. The Social Democrats have governed with Merkel's Union bloc since 2013, but Schulz had vowed not to renew the so-called "grand coalition" after his party took a beating in the September election.

He told the delegates in Bonn that the initial refusal was correct, but said his position changed along with the political situation after Merkel was unable to form a coalition with two smaller parties.

"Europe is waiting for a Germany that knows its responsibility and can act decisively," Schulz said. He said the stakes were high, with French President Emmanuel Macron needing support in his ambitious plans to reform the European Union.

"If he fails in his policies, then it can't be ruled out the extreme right will form the next government in Paris," Schulz said. Opposition to renewing the grand coalition was led by the Social Democrats' youth wing. The youth wing's leader, Kevin Kuehnert, told delegates that extending the alliance because it was the least-bad option would exacerbate the party's "crisis of trust" with its supporters.

"This loop needs to be broken," Kuehnert said. Many Social Democrats have voiced fears that should their party become part of a new coalition, the anti-migrant nationalist Alternative for Germany party would be left as the country's largest opposition party.

But Schulz said that holding out hope for a better outcome from another election was a risky strategy. "Who can say that new elections won't further strengthen the right fringe?" he asked. He suggested his party's best chance at regaining support from its grassroots was through vigorously pursuing its policies from within government and not behaving as a "junior partner" to Merkel.

"Any government the SPD takes part in, regardless of what coalition, must be an SPD government," Schulz said. "That has to be our stance."

Protesters, police clash at roadblocks in Honduras

January 21, 2018

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Clashes have broken out in Honduras as demonstrators protesting President Juan Orlando Hernandez's re-election blocked roads in several locations and police moved into to break up the barricades.

Police say four officers were injured Saturday, one seriously. At least seven demonstrators were detained. Former President Manuel Zelaya has supported protests on behalf of presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla, who claims there was fraud in counts of the November vote.

Hernandez was awarded the electoral win last month despite the disputed vote tally. The opposition plans to continue protesting through his swearing-in Jan. 27.