The New Club of Arab Monarchies

By PIERRE RAZOUX
Published: June 1, 2011

The proposal to enlarge the Gulf Cooperation Council to Jordan and Morocco, made at a council summit meeting in Riyadh last month , marks a profound change in the nature of the organization as it reaches its 30th anniversary. This decision, which went practically unnoticed in the West, is all the more worthy of attention in that it is likely to usher in long-term changes in the region’s political scenario.

Initially set up to provide a safeguard against an Iranian military threat and to create regional economic integration in the Arabian peninsula, the Gulf Cooperation Council has moved away from its early agenda and now operates as a club for the Arab monarchies.

The council’s aim is simple: to defend by all means possible the region’s eight monarchic regimes. It fears that the fall of even a single monarchy could have irreversible consequences for all the rest, undermining the legitimacy of the reigning families and opening the gates to all those in the Arab world who are looking for more liberty, justice and equality. This is why the Gulf monarchies have intervened to quash the popular uprising in Bahrain.

Today, it is Jordan and Morocco that are seen as the weak links in this chain of interests. Both monarchies are highly in debt and face considerable social unrest. This is why the countries of the G.C.C. — Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar — have extended a hand to Kings Abdullah II and Mohammed VI.

The council’s initiative is a clear sign of the panic sweeping the royal courts in the Gulf, particularly in Riyadh. The Saudi royal family has had to come to terms with the power of the Arab Spring, which has exceeded all expectations. The rise in popular discontent could reach dangerous levels in the Arabian peninsula if the Yemenites manage to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Saudi government is trying at all costs to prevent his fall — and also pledging its support to Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad.

Another important consideration is the fact that the containment of Iran no longer seems to be a priority for the international community. The fall of Hosni Mubarak brought the curtain down on the alliance between Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The Egyptian generals now seem to be turning more toward Ankara and Tehran, snubbing Riyadh.

Moreover, the Obama administration is no longer perceived as giving its unconditional support to the Saudi regime. The way Washington left the autocratic regimes of Tunisia and Egypt to their fate frightens the princes of the Gulf states, who know that they do not enjoy great popular support among the Arab peoples. Though the Gulf monarchies account for only a tenth of the total Arab population, they hold half its wealth. By bringing Jordan and Morocco into the fold, members of the Gulf Cooperation Council hope to reinforce their strength both demographically (22 percent of the Arab population) and economically (58 percent of Arab G.D.P.).

Another advantage for Saudi Arabia is that it can count on the complete support of Jordan and Morocco within the council and thereby increase its political clout at the expense of its rival Qatar.

What are the potential advantages for Jordan and Morocco? Both monarchies stand to gain massive financial assistance and precious political support. In exchange, they will declare allegiance to the Gulf monarchies and undertake to uphold them in all circumstances, even to the point of having to send armed forces to maintain order and security in the Gulf. It is thus not inconceivable that Jordanian troops might intervene in Saudi Arabia to quell a popular uprising there. Finally, the kings of Jordan and of Morocco are likely to find that they have to limit the scope of the democratic reforms they are preparing to implement, so as not to offer the peoples of the Gulf states a worrying precedent.

All told, this enlargement — which also serves the interests of the Israeli government in that it reinforces the Jordanian monarchy and increases the isolation of the Palestinians — accentuates regional antagonisms. It marginalizes Yemen, isolates Iraq, and aggravates the frustration of Palestinians and other Arabs.

The initiative taken by the Gulf Cooperation Council is not necessarily consistent with the course that history is taking. Given that President Obama has spoken out firmly in support of the Middle East peace process and the move toward democratization in the Arab world, the council’s efforts could be the precursor to a political crisis between the United States and Saudi Arabia. If so, that would indeed prove to be a major revolution.

Pierre Razoux is a senior research adviser at the NATO Defense College.

Morocco: Quincy Jones produces Arabic charity record

From Rima Maktabi, CNN
June 1, 2011 -- Updated 1512 GMT (2312 HKT)



Rabat, Morocco (CNN) -- Quincy Jones has joined some of the biggest names in Arab music to produce a charity single aimed at helping a new generation of artists and musicians.
Jones, the veteran music producer who has worked with Michael Jackson, Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra, worked on the single called "Bokra" -- an Arabic version of his song "Tomorrow (A Better You, A Better Me)" -- with Badr Jafar, an Emirati social entrepreneur.
The artists involved include Lebanese star Majida El Roumi, who wrote the lyrics; Moroccan-born Grammy-winning producer RedOne, who co-produced the track with Jones; Kadim Al Sahir, from Iraq; Saber El Rebai from Tunisia; Amr Diab, from Egypt and Asma Lmnawar, from Morocco.
It is 26 years since Jones produced the iconic record "We Are The World," which sold tens of millions of copies to raise money for victims of famine in Africa. A contemporary version of the song was also released last year to aid the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
Badr Jafar, Quincy Jones work together Bringing harmony through music
Jones, who first toured the Middle East and North Africa in 1953 with the jazz musician Lionel Hampton, said: "I have long been a vocal proponent of music and the arts being a great asset in building bridges between people and cultures."
He added: "I believe that given a choice, people want to live in a world of peace and prosperity, and it is my hope that this song will serve as a clarion call for the people of the Middle East and North Africa who share that desire for peace, hope, unity and a better tomorrow to come together to achieve that dream."
The money raised will help finance educational arts and culture scholarships and projects for children in the Middle East and North Africa.
Jafar said in a press release: "This song comes at such an important time for the Middle East and brings together the region's leading talent to produce a song of inspiration and hope for all.
"There is no better time in the region's history than now for us to be producing a song of this magnitude, and we have the very best people in the industry behind it."
The Arabic lyrics, written by Roumi, are aimed to provide a beacon of solidarity and hope for the region, the organizers said.
RedOne, the co-producer who has worked with artists such as Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, and Enrique Iglesias, told CNN: "It's such an honor to have been chosen by Quincy Jones to join the team and recreate this legendary song.
"We will be trying this new thing, inspire young people, the new generation thinking about peace, thinking about a better tomorrow."
The song was recorded in Rabat, Morocco, during the 10th edition of the Mawazine Festival Rhythms of the World.
Kadim Al Sahir, an Iraqi singer and composer who fled the violence in his own country, said the project was an opportunity to bridge divisions across the Middle East.
Al Sahir said it's not the first time he's worked with Jones, adding "he called me personally to ask for my help in doing the song in Arabic with an Eastern melody. I was happy then because I enjoy songs composed for humanity."
The team is also creating a music video for the song, as well as a behind-the-scenes documentary that will trace the "Tomorrow/Bokra" project, incorporating footage from various countries in the region where artists involved will be performing.
"Bokra" is expected to be released after Ramadan, which will run throughout August.

French ex-cabinet minister 'travelled to Morocco for orgy with little boys'

Former French Education Minister Luc Ferry received the information from top government sources Photo: AP

By Henry Samuel, Paris

12:43PM BST 01 Jun 2011

A French former minister went to Morocco for an orgy with "little boys", according to an ex-minister, who claims the country's strict privacy laws led to a cover-up.
Luc Ferry, a French philosopher who was in government from 2002 to 2004, told a TV chat show that an unnamed minister had been "caught" taking part in "an orgy with little boys" in the tourist town of Marrakesh.
"All of us here probably all know who I'm talking about," he told Le Grand Journal on channel Canal Plus on Monday night. Asked if he had any proof, he said: "Of course not. But I have testimony from cabinet members at the highest level, state authorities at the highest level."
He said he received the information from top government sources, "particularly from the prime minister", suggesting that reporting of the affair never reached the public due to strict libel and privacy laws.
Mr Ferry declined to name the former minister, implying that he feared France's notoriously strict libel laws. "If I let his name out now, it's me who will be charged and doubtlessly convicted, even if I know that the story is true."
His comments came amid an emotive national debate over whether journalists had failed to lift the lid on cases of sexual harassment because politicians' private lives have long been deemed off limits.
Still reeling from the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former International Monetary Fund chief, on sexual assault charges, France's political class was struck by a fresh sex scandal last weekend with the resignation of Georges Tron. The public works minister is accused of molesting two former female staff members. He denies the allegations but resigned as he did not want to be a burden to the government.
French journalists and women's rights campaigners have predicted a "before and after Strauss-Kahn", suggesting that France will henceforth adopt a less tolerant, "Anglo-Saxon" approach to sexual harassment or overtly sexist behaviour in politics.
But Mr Ferry came under heavy criticism from members of President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP party for his comments.
Alain Juppé, the foreign minister, said: "If one has the conviction about a crime, one seizes the justice system, one doesn't simply go and gossip in the press."
Dominique Paillé, a former UMP spokesman, said: "When one makes such claims, founded or not, one has the courage to say who (the person is)." He claimed the Strauss-Kahn affair had pushed the privacy pendulum from "omerta to a free-for-all".
"We will no longer return to the former methods, unfortunately, which guaranteed a certain tranquillity regarding public figures' private lives," he added.
Rachida Dati, the former justice minister and a Euro MP, said that Mr Ferry risked prosecution for failing to report a crime – an offence that carries a maximum three-year jail term and 45,000-euro fine.
Several members of the cabinet when Mr Ferry was education minister, including then prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, said they had "no knowledge" of any paedophile affair.
Mr Ferry on Wednesday said his comments had been misinterpreted and were in fact a defence of France's privacy laws. "I wanted to defend the press that respect(s) privacy and which (doesn't) make itself guilty of libel," he said. "I have no proof (of the paedophile claims), nor any precise facts on this affair, but at the time when I was minister I heard about it. People relayed thousands of things on thousands of ministers but I will never say anything (about them), except if something puts France in danger."
Mr Ferry's claims come two years after a scandal involving Frédéric Mitterrand, the French culture minister, who admitted to having sex with Thai male prostitutes in an autobiography.
He later said his actions were a "mistake" and his book was not "an apology for sex tourism". Still in office, Mr Mitterrand is not thought to be the minister referred to by Mr Ferry.

Morocco no one is save from almakhzen sticks

Morocco Board News Service

The next Protests by the Feb-20th Youth Group are supposed to be held next Sunday, June 5, across the country. The group is calling the "citizens to protest against repression" and "to demand democratic reforms". The protests will take place two weeks before the advisory committee, appointed last March by Morocco's King Mohammed VI, to provide proposals for a constitutional reform.

The Feb-20 Group is calling "all democratic forces of citizens to participate massively in the peaceful demonstrations on Sunday, June 5th, everywhere in Morocco, and even in some Western countries… " Several political parties, trade unions and NGOs are supporting the demonstrators who are protesting against , among other things, "the repression of peaceful demonstrations that have become routine and to continue to support legitimate democratic demands of the Feb-20th Group" said a press release.

Fear of further slippage.

Although peaceful, the protests could lead to violent excesses by over reaching demonstrators, or over zealous law enforcement forces. Last Monday, the European Commission expressed its concern over violence against demonstrators, during Sunday protests in Casablanca and Tangier, in particular. "We are concerned by the violence that has been used during demonstrators in Morocco, this weekend" said Natasha Butler, spokesman for the European Neighbourhood Policy.

Following a suspicious bombing in Marrakech that killed several tourists and locals, the government has shown an ever increasing hard line policy against dissent. An editor of the largest daily has been jailed and accused of various offenses; the demonstrators are systematically chased and clubbed. The government spokesman said that the Islamists and leftists are piggybacking on the current wave of protests and using it for their own purposes and hurting the country' economy.

There is an ever increasing danger of serious slippage with the current policy of repression. It may provide a fortuitous spark to radicalize the majority of protesters who are, so far, calling for democratic reforms and not an end to the regime as in Libya and Syria.

Last week's reports have shown officers clubbing a woman holding a child. Such scenes showcase how easy it is for events to go out of control and for a seminal and powerful scene to happen and to be instantly transmitted for everyone, which will lead to an increased radicalization, and a larger dissent among the public.

Recent development in neighbouring countries has shown that increased repression often leads to bigger opposition because the wall of fear has crumbled across the region.

Hitting with a stick a minor in Casablanca.

2M scenes exposed for the first time (in French)

2M used to be strong TV channel close to public opinion as it used to reveal any incident as soon as it happens and lost it’s glory as soon as it’s been taken over by the public sector and below you can see an example of the disaster media that became as the cameraman dictated to the student doctor what to say as it may sound dreadful once it’s broadcasted by 2M.

Morocco: Casablanca Sbeta 29 May 2011

Despite the shouts of the protesters in Sbeta streets in Casablanca: Peaceful, Peaceful demonstrations, the police didn’t hesitate to react violently to break them down.

‫برغم النداءات التي لا تمل في شوارع سباتة سلمية سلمية لا حجرة لا جنوية يواجه المتضاهرون بعنف من طرف ألوان وأنواع من الشرطة والقوات المساعدة

Cameron drops Israel 'racist' charity

27 May 2011
Stop the JNF Campaign: Media Release

Italian translation

Prime Minister David Cameron has quietly terminated his status as an Honorary Patron of the controversial Jewish National Fund (JNF).  His office confirmed he had “stepped down”.  For many years leaders of all three main political parties became Honorary Patrons of the JNF by convention.  According to Dick Pitt, a spokesperson for the Stop the JNF Campaign, “Cameron was the only leader of the three major parties remaining as a JNF Patron.  This decline in political support for the JNF at the highest levels of the political tree may be a sign of the increasing awareness in official quarters that a robust defence of the activities of the JNF may not be sustainable.”
The news of Cameron’s move has reached Palestinians in refugee camps, people whose land is under the control of the JNF.  Salah Ajarma in Bethlehem’s Aida Refugee Camp was “delighted to hear the news that the British Prime Minister has decided to withdraw his support for this sinister organisation involved in ethnic cleansing. My village, Ajjur, was taken by force from my family and given to the JNF who used money from JNF UK to plant the British Park on its ruins. For the Palestinians who were evicted from their villages and have been prevented from returning, Cameron's withdrawal is another victory on the road to achieving justice and freedom for the Palestinians".
The JNF chairman Samuel Hayek defends the work of the organisation saying, “for over 100 years we have had one mission: to settle and develop the Land of Israel” as pioneers of the “historic Zionist dream”.  The registered charity claims their work, especially in the Negev region of Israel, deals with “the rising demographic challenges faced by Israel”.  In recent months the JNF’s activities in the Negev have received extensive international media coverage, linking them to the demolition of Palestinian Bedouin villages and confiscation of the land of the village.  Campaigners report that “even Israeli courts have criticised the JNF as an organisation that discriminates against non-Jews and there is mounting evidence of the JNF’s involvement in Israel’s programme to change the ethnic composition of areas inside 1948 Israel as well as in Jerusalem and the Occupied Territories.  It is not acceptable that such an organisation is allowed to operate in the UK, much less to enjoy charity status”.  
Michael Kalmanovitz, UK co-ordinator of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, said “Cameron’s patronage of the JNF lent parliamentary credibility to a criminal organisation backed by a highly-equipped occupying army and masquerading as a ‘humanitarian charity’.  Now parliamentarians who are ‘Friends of Israel’ must consider how much longer they can defend Israeli apartheid and worse.“
Pressure has been mounting on Cameron and the JNF.  An Early Day Motion in the Westminster Parliament highlighted the Prime Minister’s status as honorary patron and claimed that “there is just cause to consider revocation of the JNF's charitable status in the UK”.  UK and international JNF fund-raising events increasingly face protests due, campaigners argue, to “a shift in public opinion on Israel generally”.  In 2007, the American JNF application for consultative status on a key UN committee was rejected because delegates were unable to distinguish between the activities of the US Branch and those of the JNF in Israel whose activities the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concerns about.
The Stop the JNF Campaign has workshops planned in London on 4 June 2011 and protests against JNF fundraising activities will be organised throughout the coming year.