While Western Governments Looked Askance at Israel ...

Entitled “Egypt and Tunisia – The Power of Prediction,” the following article, by Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer, comes from the antipodean J-Wire service.


The West has been caught with its pants down following the popular revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia during the past month. I wonder why.

There was plenty of evidence floating around to indicate that Egypt and Tunisia were repressive states where human rights abuses were the order of the day and people power was set to explode.

Rather the West preferred to avert its gaze and focus its concentration on alleged human rights abuses carried out by Israel – the only true democracy in the Middle East – to the total exclusion of subjecting.dynastic Arab dictators to the same scrutiny. Iran was shamefully allowed to retain its membership of the United Nations and strut the world stage calling for the destruction of Israel to the applause of these dictators.

Trade unions, church groups and human rights organizations led the chorus of campaigns and campaigners to boycott Israel and delegitimize its right to recognition as the Jewish National Home – whilst abuses of human rights in Arab countries never rated a mention on their radar screens.

The terrorist government of Hamas in Gaza democratically elected to power by the choice of the West Bank and Gazan Arabs – and removed by presidential decree of Mahmoud Abbas – became the focus of the world’s sympathy as the Gazan Arabs became dragged into confrontation with Israel and the Palestinian Authority by a government they had freely elected.

That the mayhem in Gaza was the direct result of their own voting decisions seemed inconsequential as the West sent in flotillas and demanded an easing of the blockade instituted by Israel and Egypt.

Meanwhile hundreds of millions of Arabs in other countries suffered ongoing abuse and persecution perpetrated by rulers those populations were never given the opportunity to elect – or reject. Were any protests made for their redemption or flotillas sent to their aid?

The banning of blogging and web sites on the Internet in 2009 in Arab countries was allowed to happen without any whimper of international protest – as contrasted to the outrage this repressive practice has hypocritically – and belatedly – received in 2011.

The UN Human Rights Council (with Egypt as a member) led the howling pack against Israel whilst serious human rights abuses in Arab countries were ignored, America sought engagement with this outrageous organization rather than identifying and isolating it as an affront to human dignity.

In December 2009 I wrote about a highly critical Report that came out of Cairo indicating in detail the human rights abuses occurring in many Arab countries – including Egypt and Tunisia.

I guess all the advisers to Presidents, Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers, as well as the Gaza do-gooders – not to mention the media – had enough information and stage managed events being spoon fed to them to lambast Israel and allow these Arab dictators to continue on their merry way unchallenged and uncriticised in the face of this very comprehensive report. The silence following its release was deafening.

We are all going to pay the price for the chaos and suffering that must now inevitably occur.

The new buzzwords “orderly transition” are meaningless. They may have been relevant fourteen months ago had the fundamental concerns in this report been addressed then using a modicum of the time and diplomatic pressure spent in exerting pressure on Israel. But the genie has now been let out of the bottle as events of the last month in Egypt and Tunisia have proved.

My [i.e. David Singer's] article is reprinted below for your reading:
Arab Human Rights Abuses Uncovered In Explosive Report

Saturday, December 12, 2009

“A man spends his first years learning how to speak and the Arab regimes teach him silence for the rest of his life” Algerian writer Ahlem Mosteghanemi, “Memory in the Flesh”

The above quote forms the backdrop to an explosive report titled “Bastion of Impunity, Mirage of Reform” released this week by the Cairo Institute For Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) on the state of human rights in the Arab World for 2009.

Given the Report’s contents and the existence of CIHRS as a non government organization since 1993 - one wonders how it has managed to survive to continue its valuable work openly in Egypt exposing human rights abuses in the Arab World.

Perhaps the reason can be found in the associations CIHRS has built up over the years with other human rights organizations around the world that has now enabled it to produce this second comprehensive annual report in which it notes the worsening of human rights in the Arab world since 2008..

The CHIRS web site describes these associations as follows:

“CIHRS enjoys consultative status with the United Nations ECOSOC, and observer status in the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. CIHRS is also a member of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) and the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX). CIHRS is registered in Egypt, France and Geneva, has its main offices in Cairo, an office in Geneva for its work at UN human rights mechanisms and an institutional presence in Paris. CIHRS was awarded the French Republic Award for Human Rights in December 2007. “

The Report notes that in the Arab world in 2009

“Human rights defenders and advocates of democratic reforms were targeted for various threats and acts of repression.”

The Report cites Syria as the worst offender, describes Tunisia as a “Police State” and includes Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Yemen, Algeria, Egypt and Sudan as sanctioning state authorized acts of repression against human rights defenders. It lists a large number of specific individual cases and actions taken in these countries to support its claims.

The report is particularly revealing about three of the six Arab countries that currently sit on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) – Bahrain, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia – a body that spends most of its time and discussions on condemning human rights abuses committed by Israel.

Saudi Arabia is exposed as having no independent media and according to the Report

“… it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of internet websites are blocked. Some Saudi bloggers were subjected to arbitrary arrest, and one Saudi citizen was sentenced to five years in prison and 1,000 lashes on charges of publicly proclaiming a sin, following statements he made on a program carried by a Lebanese satellite channel…

… remains dangerous for human rights defenders and advocates of reform. Authorities refuse to grant legal status to the few human rights organizations that exist in the Kingdom and many reformers have been detained for long periods of time without trial and tortured. An Islamist reform activist was sentenced to a prison term for opposing government policies, and several rights defenders were banned from travel… a great many people detained in connection with terrorism cases were subjected to physical and psychological torture, including cuffing, beatings, sleep deprivations, and the denial of family visits. Some people detained for their advocacy of political reform were also tortured.”

Bahrain – according to the Report:

“… continued to block political, news, and advocacy websites, as well as online forums. In a space of just three months in early 2009, more than 70 websites were blocked, among them online newspaper sites. Lawsuits were filed against journalists on charges ranging from slandering officials to undermining the judicial authority to harming national unity…

…Torture remains a routine practice in Bahrain, used especially against activists in social and political movements seeking an end to the institutionalized discrimination against Shiites; several human rights defenders were also tortured.”

Egypt has been in a state of emergency for the last 28 years and according to the Report:

“The greatest infringements of freedom of expression in Egypt were seen in the broad attacks launched by the security apparatus on bloggers and internet activists, dozens of whom were placed under administrative detention, abducted, or temporarily taken to undisclosed locations, usually State Security police headquarters; some have been detained for more than two years without charge or trial….

… continued to top the list of countries in which torture is routinely and systematically practiced. In 2009 Egyptian authorities used torture not only against those accused of political crimes or terrorism, but also against adherents of minority religions such as Shiites as well as suspects of criminal offences. Indeed, the threat of torture hangs over anyone who steps foot in a police station, whether to give a statement or file an assault charge, or pursuant to a summons by an officer, who might discipline or abuse citizens on behalf of influential persons.”

The Report comments as follows on the consequences of the split governance by Hamas in Gaza and by Fatah in the West Bank :

“Under the cover of the war in Gaza, Hamas embarked on several repressive measures targeting Fateh members, figures who oppose Hamas’ rule, and suspected collaborators with Israel, and it is suspected that dozens of people were killed, either shot to death or as a result of torture. Hamas personnel also broke the legs and arms of dozens of other people to compel them to stay in their homes. Also, some government employees in Gaza were replaced with Hamas loyalists.

In the West Bank, under the authority of Fatah, hundreds of Hamas sympathizers remain in detention; it is thought that at least two of the detainees have died as a result of torture. The West Bank authorities fired civil servants and teachers suspected of Hamas sympathies, while the salaries of thousands of employees of the Palestinian authority inside the Gaza Strip were suspended. Licensing for associations and companies in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip is now preceded by a security check,and those organizations that have affiliations with the “wrong” party are refused Licenses.”

Few of the 22 members of the Arab League are spared criticism in the Report which should be required reading for anyone interested in seeing some balance restored in any deliberations regarding the numerous and ongoing conflicts in the region.

No doubt this Report will not even rate any serious review or investigation by the UNHCR.

Whilst the Arab man in the street is prevented from expressing his opinion freely and without fear – the Arab world shall continue to present the monolithic Arab view of those few repressive regimes who rule to the detriment of the rest of the populations they rule over.

Such is the state of denial that the world currently finds itself in where the Arab world is concerned.

The Danger for Israel from the Muslim Brotherhood: Its Leaders in Their Own Words

Below is the text of a speech (2 February 2011) in the United States Senate by Senator Mark Kirk (Republican, Illinois). I recommend it to the BBC’s Jon Donnison, who in reporting the expressed fears regarding the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt by Dan Gillerson, a former Israeli envoy to the UN ("We are already facing Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the prospect of, God forbid, an autocratic, fundamentalist, Islamic organisation taking over in Egypt is obviously not something we can ignore") intruded the aside “Many analysts would disagree with his description, seeing the Brotherhood as a conservative, but more moderate, Islamic organisation.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12338222

Just pimping his boss Jeremy Bowen’s mindset on the Brotherhood, is Jon – evidently a lad who knows the side on which his bread’s buttered, if nothing else.

Hamas, (pictured) is,  of course, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, and just as the BBC obfuscates the true nature of the Brotherhood, so Britain's licence-funded "national broadcaster" with its incorrigible anti-American, anti-Western, pro-Islam agenda does not explain on its website the genocidal antisemitic nature of Hamas as seen in the Hamas Charter.   (I fear that only a campaign of mass civil disobedience - refusing to pay the TV licence fee and risk being carted off to goal will lead to a clear-out of the Augean Stable that is Al Beeb.)

Said Senator Kirk:

[W]ill Egypt follow Poland or Georgia to foster a new democratic government or will it follow Iran's revolution, converting Egypt into a state-sponsor of terror?

While US policy should support human rights and democracy, we face the risk that the Muslim Brotherhood (al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun) could seize power. Who is part of the Brotherhood and what are its political objectives?

A detailed study shows why these questions should command the attention of the President and Congress. With so much at stake in the Middle East, Americans must be clear-eyed about the Muslim Brotherhood and its radical Islamic agenda with a pledge of jihad against the West and the State of Israel.

The Muslim Brotherhood is the largest Islamist movement in the Middle East and is widely described as the most organized political force in Egypt.

Its membership is estimated at over 600,000.

Although it claims to be a “non-violent,” conservative organization, the Muslim Brotherhood has profoundly influenced Islamic terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda, Islamic Jihad and Hamas.

One of its disciples was the prominent Islamist theologian Sayyid Qutb, who provided the intellectual underpinnings of Al-Qaeda. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command, was once a member of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.

As recently as 2004, the organization’s motto was as follows:

“Allah is our objective.

The Prophet is our leader.

Qur'an is our law.

Jihad is our way.

Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.”

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna. Banna is famously quoted as saying that “it is the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet.”

The Muslim Brotherhood has a violent history. In 1946, the US Army issued an intelligence report, stating that the Muslim Brotherhood “maintains commando units and secret caches of arms.”

Throughout the 1940s, the paramilitary branch of the movement carried out targeted bombings and assassinations. In 1948, the Muslim Brotherhood was implicated in the murder of Egyptian prime minister Mahmoud Naqrashi. In 1954, the group allegedly tried to assassinate then-prime minister Gamal Abdul Nasser. The government banned the Brotherhood as a political party the same year.

The Muslim Brotherhood went underground only to resurface during the 1980s. It claimed to disavow violence and attempted to win political power as a religious and social organization. It was increasingly successful with allied candidates winning 17 seats in the parliament in 2000 and then a stunning 88 seats (or 20%) in 2005.

The Muslim Brotherhood is not a monolithic organization, but it does maintain a leadership structure and a core set of beliefs.

Its leader is called the “General Guide.” He has several “Deputy Guides.” Below them is the “Guidance Council” comprised of 15-16 senior leaders as well as a broader body (“The Shura”) comprised of roughly 100 members.

Mohammed Badi was elected the Eighth General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in January 2010. As noted by the U.S. Government’s Open Source Center, Badi is “influenced by the writings of famous MB ideologue Sayyid Qutb… [and is] known for his conservative views.”

In an interview on April 14, 2010, Mr. Badi said “we will continue to raise the banner of Jihad and the Koran in our confrontation with the enemy of Islam.” He went on to say, “The Muslim Brotherhood still considers the Zionists to be its main and only enemy. The Jews who occupy Palestine have their eyes set on Egypt.” [My emphasis]

Two days ago, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Muhammad Ghannem, reportedly told the Al-Alam Iranian news network that he “would like to see the Egyptian peopleprepare for war against Israel” adding that the world should understand that “the Egyptian people are prepared for anything to get rid of this regime.” He went on to say that the Suez Canal should be “closed immediately,” and that the flow of gas from Egypt to Israel should cease “in order to bring about the downfall of the Mubarak regime.” [My emphasis]

In 2007, the Muslim Brotherhood released a political platform, which contained a number of indications on how this organization would govern Egypt if it came to power.

According to the Congressional Research Service, the platform “called for the establishment of a board of religious scholars with whom the president and the legislature would have to consult before passing laws.”

As noted by Mohamed Elmenshawy – the editor-in-chief of Taqrir Washington and Arab Insight: “Reminiscent of Iran's Guardian Council, this undemocratically selected body could have the power vested by the state to veto any and all legislation passed by the Egyptian parliament and approved by the president that is not compatible with Islamic Sharia law.”

The same document raises the important question of the Muslim Brotherhood’s commitment to a pluralistic society. Despite pledges to treat minorities and women as equals, the platform allows neither to hold high public office. As stated in the platform, “non-Muslims are excused from holding this mission.” For women, the post of the Presidency or Prime Minister would “contradict with her nature, social and other humanitarian roles.” The draft also cautions against “burdening women with duties against their nature or role in the family.”
[My emphasis]

Mr. President, the people of Egypt and apparently its army are mandating the fall of the Mubarak regime. While we support human rights and democracy, we must heed growing warnings about the Muslim Brotherhood, their leaders and plans for taking Egypt back to the 13th century.

We have seen this movie before – in Iran, in Lebanon and in Gaza. To prevent a strategic reversal on the scale of what happened in Iran, the United States and her allies should do all it can to support Egypt’s army and secular leaders, ensuring no future for the Muslim Brotherhood. An Egypt locked under Sharia law and oppressing women, Christians or Jews would be a catastrophic setback for progress in the Middle East. Such a state could renounce the Camp David peace accords or even start yet another war with Israel. [My emphasis]

Decisive action and influence now will benefit the national security and economy of the United States later. The defeat of the Muslim Brotherhood and victory for Egyptian secular nationalists will be the best way to avoid war and restore economic confidence to the Middle East and wider world.

For Bibi Netanyahu's speech in the Knesset on 2 February regarding the situation in Egypt see http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Communication/PMSpeaks/speech40020211.htm

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