September 1990, Page 47, 48

Issues in the News

Compiled by Parker L. Payson

From the Arab Press:

Pakistan Launches First Satellite: Pakistan's first satellite, the BADR-1, was launched into orbit from a Chinese rocket in July, according to Pakistani government officials quoted in the Saudi Gazette.

Central Asian Unrest Continues: Over 200 people have died since early June as ethnic violence resurfaced in the Soviet Central Asian Republic of Kirghizia between the Sunni Muslim, but ethnically distinct, Kirghiz and Uzbeks. A dispute over the allocation of land sparked intra-racial fighting in the densely populated city of Osh, near the Kirghizi border with Uzbekistan, where the Uzbeks form a majority of the population. Soviet troops have enforced a state of emergency in the region over the opposition of the ethnic Uzbeks, who are calling for the resignation of Soviet Interior Minister Viktor Goncharov. The Uzbekistan parliament in June became the first Soviet Central Asian republic to call for independence to pursue its own foreign policy, the Saudi Gazette reported.

Kurdish Broadcasts Proposed: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee mandated funding in July for one hour of Kurdish broadcasts by the Voice of America to be heard in Iraq, Iran and Turkey, the Turkish Times reported. According to a spokesperson for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chances of approval of the bill dramatically increased following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. A spokesperson for the Voice of America, which is facing budgetary cutbacks, does not anticipate that the proposal will become law.

Assad's Influence Felt: Egyptian Foreign Minister Abdel Meguid announced that Egypt had entered into a dialogue to normalize relations with Iran and press for the release of Egyptian prisoners captured during the Iran-Iraq war, the Lebanese daily Al Liwa reported in July. The talks came after Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad visited Egypt for the first time since Egypt signed the Camp David Accords in 1979.

Mojahedin Reject U.N. Plan: Afghan resistance leaders have condemned a U.N. plan to repatriate Afghan refugees living in Pakistan as part of a "new international conspiracy" aimed at stopping the establishment of an Islamic government in Kabul. Under the U.N. plan, Pakistan is hoping to ease "social strain" by voluntarily repatriating some 250,000 of the estimated 3.4 million refugees living in Pakistan over the next three months, the Middle East Times reported. Leaders of the Afghan resistance have called the repatriation effort premature and have predicted a bloodbath for returning Afghans, which would send even more refugees across Pakistan's northern border.

Brotherhood Rejects New Party: Several of Jordan's left-leaning political parties merged in July to form the Arab-Jordanian National Democratic Bloc. The new group, which includes seven members of Jordan's 80-seat parliament, called for "the revival of an eastern Arab front against Israel, promoting national unity among Jordanians and Palestinians [which make up over half of Jordan's population], and supporting the Palestinian Intifada in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip." The Muslim Brotherhood Party, which controls a majority in the Jordanian parliament, rejected the new party alliance because the group endorsed the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, the Saudi Gazette reported.

Domestic Benefits Evident: Executives at the General Dynamics Corporation announced that Congress's decision to approve Saudi Arabia's purchase of 315 M-1A2 tanks for $3.1 billion will allow the company to keep open at least one of its two manufacturing plants in Lima, Ohio and Warren, Michigan. If the sale had not received approval, both factories would have been closed down due to a U.S. Army decision in 1989 to stop buying the tanks.

Local Officials Face Reprisals: The Indian government announced that municipal workers in Kashmir could face detention and additional disciplinary measures for taking part in a three-day strike protesting the imposition of direct rule from New Delhi. Over 80 percent of government workers in the province participated in the July strikes, following the dispatch of Indian security forces to Kashmir, which since 1988 has been rocked with secessionist violence that has left an estimated 5,000 people dead, the Saudi Gazette reported.

Stolen Collection Returns Home: After twenty years of legal disputes, a U.S. federal judge ruled that the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City must return a collection of antique artifacts that were smuggled out of Turkey between 1965 and 1967 and subsequently sold to the museum. The judge in July made the decision because the museum had purchased the 300-piece collection, popularly known as the Croesus treasure, with full knowledge that it was illegally smuggled out of Turkey, the Anatolia News Agency reported.

Prisoners' Rights Upheld: The Egyptian Supreme Court acquitted 14 Muslim militants of treason because the police used torture to extract some of the confessions, the Middle East Times reported in July. The 14 were suspected of plotting to overthrow the government and leading December 1988 anti-government riots in the Ain Shams district of Cairo which led to the death of an Egyptian security officer.

PLO Condemns Hamas: The PLO strongly accused the rival Palestinian group Hamas of playing into the hands of Israel by positioning itself as an alternative force to lead the intifada. Analysts have called the attack, printed in the PLO's magazine Palestine Al-Thwara and distributed to Reuters, the most forceful denunciation the PLO has openly levied against the Islamic fundamentalist group, which is challenging the PLO-affiliated underground leadership for control of the occupied territories.

Somali Elections Promised: Somalia's President Mohammed Siad Barre in July met with 45 Somalis following their court acquittal on sedition charges for allegedly signing a document calling for the removal of Barre's regime in favor of a caretaker government. One day after meeting with the group, Barre pledged multi-party elections scheduled for February 1, 1991, the Middle East Times reported.

Fez Needs Emptying: Moroccan officials announced in July that some 100,000 residents will have to leave the ancient city of Fez due to structural decay. According to Minister of State Moulay Ahmed Alaoui, the 1,200-year-old walled city should only support 120,000 inhabitants, but its population has expanded to over 300,000. Local authorities, working with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), are planning to build 25,000 apartments in the surrounding area to house people now living within the city walls, the Middle East Times reported.

Sampson Behind Bars: Greek-Cypriot Nicos Sampson, whose short-lived coup prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, was arrested in June, following his return to the island, the Middle East Times reported. Sampson, who faces a ten-year sentence for treason, fled authorities in 1979 after being granted permission to undergo medical treatment in Europe.

From the Jewish Press:

Underground Leader Caught: Police in July arrested Yoel Adler, suspected leader of the Jewish underground group Sicarii, which has been linked to the murder of one Palestinian during a shooting spree at the Jaffa Gate in the Old City in April 1989, and to several attacks against left-wing Israeli government workers, artists and journalists, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported in June. Police searched Adler's home and reportedly found pamphlets inciting violent behavior, lists of prominent Israelis and the oath of the Sicarii, which takes its name from the "sica" dagger carried by a small band of zealots during the Jewish revolt against Rome in the first century B.C.

Poll Results Hushed: A survey commissioned by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith for Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir was immediately suppressed after results showed that only 28 percent of college-educated Americans favored Israel and 48 percent were "more sympathetic" to Palestinian than Israeli causes. Some 36 percent agreed with Shamir's policies, while 44 percent held "an unfavorable opinion" of the prime minister, the Indiana Jewish Post and Observer reported in July.

Jewish Fund Pressured to Buy Land in Territories: A New York appeals court in June reinstated charges that the Jewish National Fund, which has been financing land purchases in Israel since 1901, defrauded contributors by using literature that included maps of the occupied territories, even though the group only funds afforestation and takeover projects within Israel proper. The Jewish Week of Queens, NY reported that the organization has been pressed to buy land in the occupied territories by a group led by Michael Teplow, head of the U.S. branch of the right-wing Israeli party, Tehiya, which favors West Bank annexation.

Corruption Charges Face New Minister: National Religious Party leader Avner Shaki was accused of impropriety within one month of his appointment as Israel's Minister of Religious Affairs. The Washington Jewish Week reported in July that Shaki's ministerial committee allegedly distributed $500,000 in grants to charitable societies which were either founded or run by Shaki's wife, son and son-in-law.

New Calls for Conference: Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), a long-time supporter of Israel, urged President Bush in July to consider hosting with the Soviet Union an international conference on the Middle East. Although the European community has long endorsed an international conference, Specter's comments mark the first time that "staunch supporters of Israel" have backed the idea, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.

U.S. Pledges Support for Arrow: After meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Arens in July, U.S. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney pledged that the U.S. will continue to fund 80 percent, or $358 million, of Israel's Arrow anti-tactical ballistic missile program as part of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported. The missiles, expected to be ready for deployment in 1994, are designed to intercept and destroy Soviet-made Scud and SS-21 missiles. Because of U.S. support for the Israeli project, Cheney has asked the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to lobby for full congressional funding for SDI.

Fabricating Housing: Some 30 homeless Israeli Jews, including pregnant women and small children, climbed to the roof of a Tel Aviv court house, threw firebombs, and threatened to commit mass suicide in protest of recent evictions and an acute housing shortage. U.S. recommendations that Israel reduce import duties on prefabricated houses shipped to Israel were rejected by Israeli officials in July. Meanwhile, former Israeli Housing Minister David Levy has taken increased blame in the Israeli media for the housing crunch. Levy, who is now foreign minister, called the reports "base and baseless attacks" and accused current Housing Minister Ariel Sharon of initiating a smear campaign intended to discredit Levy in future political decisions, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.

Dome of Rock Rubbed Out: A picture on the first page of the May-June brochure issued by Israel's official airline, El Al, showed a beautiful panorama of Jerusalem including the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site. A Jewish temple appeared where the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest site after Mecca and Medina, now stand. Peace Now spokesman Dr. Amiram Goldenblum called on El Al to recall the pamphlets, which he called a deliberate provocation to Muslims and an insult to Israelis, the Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported.

Reversal Surprises EC: Israel approved European Community (EC) plans to open an office in East Jerusalem to monitor EC aid programs in the occupied territories as long as the office "confines itself to humanitarian matters," the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported in July. Foreign Minister David Levy described the "clarification" in policy as a conciliatory gesture to the EC, whose Council of Ministers has criticized Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

Probe Dismissed: The Knesset in July turned down two requests to investigate charges that Palestinian beatings were officially sanctioned by Israeli government leaders, including former Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The charges were leveled by Lt. Col. Yehuda Meir, who has been accused of ordering soldiers to bind Palestinian villagers and break their bones, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.

Murder Made Easy: A seven-page manual explaining how to shoot Palestinians without legal retribution is being distributed by Jewish "settlers" in the occupied territories, according to the Jerusalem Post. The booklet, which criticizes the Israeli army's "defeatist" attitude and encourages Israelis to "impose justice themselves," has been called a "model" guide by Israelis living in the occupied territories.

MAPAM Pays Price: MAPAM, Israel's Socialist-Democratic Party, invited African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela to visit Israel as an official guest of the party, the Indiana Jewish Post and Observer reported in June. Gary Brenner, the U.S. representative of MAPAM, told Mandela that "peace is the key to achieving equality between Jews and Palestinians inside Israel and to achieving social justice and progress. . . There is no doubt in our minds that your visit will be a source of inspiration in this difficult struggle." One month later, police arrested six members of the anti-Arab Kach Movement for vandalizing MAPAM offices in Israel.

Knesset Receives Expulsion Proposal: Tehiya party members introduced a bill in the Knesset calling for the revocation of Israeli citizenship and the expulsion of parents of stone throwers inside the "green line," which separates Israel proper from the occupied territories, the Jerusalem Post reported in July. The bill also includes provisions to limit appeal time for Arab Israelis to three days and mandates swift expulsions on all cases which do not receive a court ruling within 15 days.

Goland Sentenced: Former member of AIPAC Michael Goland was sentenced in July to 1,000 hours of community service and to three months in prison for violating federal election laws by concealing contributions in excess of legal limits to Senator Alan Cranston (D-CA) in 1986, the American Jewish World reported.