From Arabic Ahlan wa sahlan (أهلا وسهلا), welcome to Fragments of the East, a roundup where we bring you the most outstanding news from the Middle East region and surrounding countries every Sunday. in synthesis from March 6th to 12ththat’s what we focus on Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria And Iraq.
1) How will the rapprochement of the Iranians and Saudis affect the region?
The announcement of the restoration of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia has shaken the region after seven years of tension, triggering numerous reactions, analyzes and questions.
Beginning with the growing Chinese influence in the Middle East: the mediating role it has played China In this deal, a nation that sees more fertile ground for its economic interests in this part of the world relinquishes the dominant role of the United States, which continues to lose credibility.
“The not-so-subtle message China is sending is that while the United States is the predominant military power in the Gulf, China is a powerful and potentially growing diplomatic presence,” said Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. from Washington to the Portal agency.
But while countries in the region and even Washington welcomed the deal, in Israel It hit like cold water because it discouraged their efforts to strengthen ties with their Arab neighbors and form a diplomatic axis against their “enemy” Iran and its nuclear program. The Israeli opposition was quick to blame Benjamin Netanyahuwhom they accuse of focusing more on theirs controversial judicial reform than in the dialogues with the Saudis, as Israel wants to include them in the so-called “Abraham Accords” – signed with various Arab states since 2020.
On the Netanyahu side, on the other hand, they defended that possible Saudi-Israeli normalization is still on the table and that those who urged Riyadh to move closer to Tehran were the previous government of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, who painted a picture had weakness.
Saudi National Security Advisor Musaad bin Mohammed Al Aiban, Chinese diplomat Wang Xi and Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani pose after a meeting in Beijing March 10, 2023. © China Daily via Portal
Nevertheless, there were not a few votes relativize the breadth and firmness that the rapprochement between the two powers can have. One Shiite and one Sunni, Iran and Saudi Arabia have had turbulent relations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. and various attempts at cooperation have failed with crossed ambitions.
In fact, the announcement didn’t set out a precise timeline for the embassies to reopen, describing a two-month period, a period during which each individual’s movements will be crucial in determining whether the relationship has a future.
The thermometer in this approach could represent it Yemen, where the Saudi-led international coalition has intervened since 2015 against the Iran-backed Houthi rebel advance. If there is an agreement or at least a compromise on peace in the country, this would give the Riyadh-Tehran pact a boost.
Other scenarios to focus on are Syria – Saudi Arabia is increasingly supportive of a rapprochement with the regime of Bashar al-Assad, already backed by Iran – and Iran itself, whose nuclear progress worries the Saudis alike.
2) “Gender Apartheid”, the common demand of Iranian and Afghan women
As part of International Women’s Day, Iranians and Afghans came together to denounce the oppression they suffer in their countries and they did so by launching a campaign for women’s inclusion and recognition “Gender Apartheid” as a crime under international law.
According to its proponents, this legal figure would allow for a more accurate capture of the patriarchal systemic oppression women face the regimes of Islamic Republic of Iran and the Taliban of Afghanistanand strengthening instruments to put an end to this violence.
The campaign recalls that the term “apartheid” arose out of South Africa’s system of institutionalized racial discrimination and segregation, which “came to an end, in part due to decades of pressure and isolation from international actors”. For the women of Iran and Afghanistan, the same components are present in their countries, but not for racial reasons, but for gender reasons: “trying to establish and maintain the subordination of women to men and the state”denounced the activists.
Spanish demonstrators protest for Iranian women at the International Women’s Day march in Madrid March 8, 2023. © Bernat Armangue/AP
In the public letter soliciting support at a global level, the initiative’s organizers remind that Afghan women are “banned from education, NGO and government employment, and long-distance travel without a male guardian while dating must adhere to a strict dress code.” While Iranian women are “prohibited from participating in many subjects of study, sporting events, applying for a passport, and traveling outside the country without the permission of their husbands,” while “a woman’s life and her testimony are only half so are worth as much as that of a man under the law and are forced to wear hijab.”
Behind the campaign are personalities such as the Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner, Schirin Ebadi; the first woman to hold the vice presidency of the Afghan parliament, Fawzia Koofi; British-Iranian actress Nazanin Boniadi; the former Afghan judge Wahida Rahimi; and several women’s rights activists fighting from abroad as well as inside Iran and Afghanistan.
3) The lack of electricity, another element that deepens poverty in Lebanon
The electricity shortage Lebanon “has exacerbated inequality and severely restricted people’s ability to exercise their most basic rights and pushed them further into poverty”denounced Human Rights Watch In a 127-page report published on 9th March. According to the NGO, mismanagement by the Lebanese authorities has meant that a large part of the population does not have adequate access to a key right for the development of basic activities.
The report – title, ‘Disconnected from life itself: Lebanon’s failure of the right to electricity– based on interviews with 1,200 families, “a high percentage” of whom said ongoing power cuts made it difficult for them to access basic rights such as food, water, education and health. While nine out of ten households said high electricity prices limit their ability to pay for other essential services.
The investigation reminds that after the total collapse of the sector in 2021, the state electricity supply is guaranteed only one to three hours of electricity per day. Complementing the vacuum is a lucrative private market for diesel generators, which are expensive and highly polluting due to their reliance on fossil fuels. This option can only be used by solvent households with a high income Totals of over $100 for every five amps (barely enough to run a fridge and a few lightbulbs). And even then, these generators only provide electricity half the day in winter and significantly less in summer.
“Constant electricity supply in Lebanon has become a virtual service only the wealthiest can afford, fueling deep-seated inequality in the country and pushing people further into poverty,” HRW pointed out in its study.
4) 12 years after the start of the war in Syria, the UN calls for “renewable energy”
The March 11 The Syrian Civil War ended 12 years with no end in sight, despite the enormous human cost: between 500,000 and 610,000 dead, about 6.7 million internally displaced persons And 6.6 million refugees. A conflict also damaged by the earthquakes, which have pushed humanitarian needs to their highest level since the fighting began.
In this scenario, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterresclaimed that “the support provided after these earthquakes to a new energy on the political track to address the fundamental issues underlying the conflict in Syria, which he described as “devastating, with systematic atrocities and unspeakable human pain.”
In this March 12, 2020 file photo, a group of women walk through a neighborhood devastated by airstrikes in Idlib, Syria. © AP Photo/Felipe Dana
“Now is the time for us to act together to achieve a nationwide ceasefire, advance the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people and create the necessary conditions for the voluntary return of refugees in safety and dignity, with our firm commitment to sovereignty.” and independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria and regional stability,” she added in a statement.
At the same time, the UN chief called for more collective containment measures “the arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of tens of thousands of people in Syria” and reiterated his call for the General Assembly to create a new international body to investigate the whereabouts of the disappeared.
“Syrians have been victims of massive and systematic violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. These crimes have killed hundreds of thousands, displaced half the population and left deep scars visible and invisible. There must be no impunity if we are to ensure a path to lasting peace‘ he condemned.
5) Iraq begins enforcing a law prohibiting the sale of alcohol
Seven years after its approval in Parliament Iraq ordered the enforcement of a law Ban on the import, manufacture and sale of alcoholic beveragesa belated impertinence that analysts attribute to the growing influence of Islamic religious parties that threaten civil liberties in a society that, while conservative, is considered relatively liberal in the Arab world.
According to the regulations, published in the official bulletin on Feb. 20, imported alcoholic beverages are banned and cannot be sold in local markets or substituted with nationally-made versions.
And also the General Customs Authority ordered to confiscate all alcoholic beverages in the possession of travelers Arrival at border crossings and airports. However, Portal agency reported that liquor stores around Baghdad and in some Iraqi provinces are still open and their owners have not been notified of their closure.
A man buys alcohol at a liquor store in Baghdad, Iraq, March 8, 2023. Hadi Mizban/AP
The strict twist changes the rules in a country where alcohol is shunned by the majority of Muslims and licenses for its sale have only been granted to non-Muslims. In addition, drinking in public, while not prohibited, is frowned upon, which has not prevented young people from drinking on the banks of the Tigris River in Baghdad for years.
The measure was quickly rejected, particularly by the Christian minority, who denounced it as “unconstitutional” while its critics fear it encourages a parallel illegal market controlled by armed militias allied with political parties are.
According to experts, legislation is also deepening a growing authoritarian trend in Iraq. Well, this comes after another law was sanctioned that penalizes the publication of material that “offended public integrity or decency” and could be used to stalk network influentials, including comedians and musicians.
A trader sorts truffles at a market stall in the city of Hama, Syria, March 6, 2023. © Louai Beshara / AFP
As statements The photo of the week leads us to a truffle market in the city of Hama, in the center-west of Syria. This lucrative activity is also very dangerous for the hundreds of locals who travel to the vast Badia desert in search of the “yellow gold” as it is a hiding place for jihadist groups and a landmine-riddled area. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, this season – which runs from February to April – has so far more than 130 truffle hunters have diedmost due to jihadist attacks and mine detonations.