Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Am wichtigsten / Most important
Allgemein / General
Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
Südjemen / Southern Yemen
Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
USA
Großbritannien / Great Britain
Deutschland / Germany
Schweiz / Switzerland
Saudische Verbündete / Saudi allies
Wirtschaft / Economy
Dengue-Fieber / Dengue fever
Propaganda
Terrorismus / Terrorism
Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Am wichtigsten / Most important
5.1.2016 – SRF
«Der Konflikt zwischen Sunniten und Schiiten wird geschürt»
Interview mit Reinhard Schulze. Schulze leitet seit rund 20 Jahren das Institut für Islamwissenschaft und Neuere Orientalische Philologie an der Universität Bern.
Ich habe den Eindruck, Saudi-Arabien schürt im Moment den Konflikt. Zuerst mit der Hinrichtung des schiitischen Geistlichen Nimr al-Nimr und nun mit der Abberufung des Botschaftspersonals in Teheran. Saudi-Arabien versucht damit seine Hegemonie zu wahren und durchzusetzen – auch mit dem konfessionellen Konflikt zwischen Sunniten und Schiiten, der sich in den letzten Jahren aufgetan hat.
Was wir heute erleben ist eine konfessionelle Differenzierung, die es so in der islamischen Geschichte noch nicht gegeben hat. Die Art und Weise wie sich beide Gemeinschaften gegenseitig aus der islamischen Gemeinschaft ausschliessen, einander als Ungläubige taxieren, das ist etwas, das sich erst in den letzten Jahrzehnten herausgebildet hat.
Welcher Lehre man angehört, ist in den letzten Jahren zudem immer stärker politisiert worden und zum Gegenstand von Machtpolitik gemacht worden. Das heisst, die Regimes identifizieren sich zunehmend mit einer schiitischen oder einer sunnitischen Tradition, sie bauen Feindbilder auf, die schon über Jahrzehnte tradiert worden sind – vor allem in Saudi-Arabien.
Indem es Schiiten und ultraislamische Bünde in einen Topf wirft, versucht sich das Land als Beschützer eines «wahren Islams» darzustellen – der sich gegen alles richtet, was nicht mit der saudi-arabischen Tradition vereinbar ist.
Diese ganzen Konfessionalisierungs-Prozesse sind auch ganz stark mit sozialer Ungerechtigkeit verbunden. Und solange sich die soziale Situation für die Bevölkerung nicht fundamental ändert, solange wird es die Option des Feinbildes Sunniten oder Schiiten geben.
Die jeweiligen Bevölkerungen haben kaum Handlungsmöglichkeiten, um sich gegen eine solche machtpolitische Nutzung zu wehren. Sie haben keine Stimme in der Gesellschaft oder der Politik. Das macht es schwierig, den Konflikt von unten nach oben zu befrieden.
Wenn der Westen aber seiner eigenen Wertetradition treu bleiben möchte, muss er klar zeigen, dass er für Menschenrechte und Demokratie einsteht. Er muss also auch die Ermordung des schiitischen Geistlichen Nimr al-Nimr nicht nur zur Kenntnis nehmen, er muss klar machen, dass es nicht hinnehmbar ist, jemanden hinzurichten, weil er von einem Land Bürgerrechte verlangt. Einem Land, das bisher immer als Verbündeter des Westens gegolten hat.
Der Westen muss aber auch politische Konsequenzen ziehen: durch ein Waffenboykott gegenüber Saudi-Arabien. Andernfalls verliert der Westen seine moralische Integrität. Das Interview führte Carla Schubert
http://www.srf.ch/news/international/der-konflikt-zwischen-sunniten-und-schiiten-wird-geschuert
Kommentar: Das muss man unbedingt vollständig auf der Originalseite lesen.
27.8.2014 – Huffington Post
You Can't Understand ISIS If You Don't Know the History of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia
One dominant strand to the Saudi identity pertains directly to Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab (the founder of Wahhabism), and the use to which his radical, exclusionist puritanism was put by Ibn Saud. (The latter was then no more than a minor leader -- amongst many -- of continually sparring and raiding Bedouin tribes)
The second strand to this perplexing duality, relates precisely to King Abd-al Aziz's subsequent shift towards statehood in the 1920s: his curbing of Ikhwani violence (in order to have diplomatic standing as a nation-state with Britain and America); his institutionalization of the original Wahhabist impulse -- and the subsequent seizing of the opportunely surging petrodollar spigot in the 1970s, to channel the volatile Ikhwani current away from home towards export -- by diffusing a cultural revolution, rather than violent revolution throughout the Muslim world.
But this "cultural revolution" was no docile reformism. It was a revolution based on Abd al-Wahhab's Jacobin-like hatred for the putrescence and deviationism that he perceived all about him -- hence his call to purge Islam of all its heresies and idolatries.
Like Taymiyyah before him, Abd al-Wahhab believed that the period of the Prophet Muhammad's stay in Medina was the ideal of Muslim society (the "best of times"), to which all Muslims should aspire to emulate (this, essentially, is Salafism).
Taymiyyah had declared war on Shi'ism, Sufism and Greek philosophy. He spoke out, too against visiting the grave of the prophet and the celebration of his birthday, declaring that all such behavior represented mere imitation of the Christian worship of Jesus as God (i.e. idolatry).
One of the main tenets of Abd al-Wahhab's doctrine has become the key idea of takfir. Under the takfiri doctrine, Abd al-Wahhab and his followers could deem fellow Muslims infidels should they engage in activities that in any way could be said to encroach on the sovereignty of the absolute Authority (that is, the King). Abd al-Wahhab denounced all Muslims who honored the dead, saints, or angels.
There is nothing here that separates Wahhabism from ISIS. The rift would emerge only later: from the subsequent institutionalization of Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab's doctrine of "One Ruler, One Authority, One Mosque" -- these three pillars being taken respectively to refer to the Saudi king, the absolute authority of official Wahhabism, and its control of "the word" (i.e. the mosque). It is this rift -- the ISIS denial of these three pillars on which the whole of Sunni authority presently rests -- makes ISIS, which in all other respects conforms to Wahhabism, a deep threat to Saudi Arabia.
[ … Follows: History of Saudi Arabia and Wahabism …]
With the advent of the oil bonanza -- as the French scholar, Giles Kepel writes, Saudi goals were to "reach out and spread Wahhabism across the Muslim world ... to "Wahhabise" Islam, thereby reducing the "multitude of voices within the religion" to a "single creed" -- a movement which would transcend national divisions. Billions of dollars were -- and continue to be -- invested in this manifestation of soft power.
It was this heady mix of billion dollar soft power projection -- and the Saudi willingness to manage Sunni Islam both to further America's interests, as it concomitantly embedded Wahhabism educationally, socially and culturally throughout the lands of Islam -- that brought into being a western policy dependency on Saudi Arabia.
In the collaborative management of the region by the Saudis and the West in pursuit of the many western projects (countering socialism, Ba'athism, Nasserism, Soviet and Iranian influence), western politicians have highlighted their chosen reading of Saudi Arabia (wealth, modernization and influence), but they chose to ignore the Wahhabist impulse.
Why should we be surprised then, that from Prince Bandar's Saudi-Western mandate to manage the insurgency in Syria against President Assad should have emerged a neo-Ikhwan type of violent, fear-inducing vanguard movement: ISIS? And why should we be surprised -- knowing a little about Wahhabism -- that "moderate" insurgents in Syria would become rarer than a mythical unicorn? Why should we have imagined that radical Wahhabism would create moderates? Or why could we imagine that a doctrine of "One leader, One authority, One mosque: submit to it, or be killed" could ever ultimately lead to moderation or tolerance? – by Alastair Crooke
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alastair-crooke/isis-wahhabism-saudi-arabia_b_5717157.html
and Part 2:
2.9.2014 – Middle East Time Bomb: The Real Aim of ISIS Is to Replace the Saud Family as the New Emirs of Arabia
ISIS is indeed a veritable time bomb inserted into the heart of the Middle East. But its destructive power is not as commonly understood. It is not with the "March of the Beheaders"; it is not with the killings; the seizure of towns and villages; the harshest of "justice" -- terrible though they are -- that its true explosive power lies. It is yet more potent than its exponential pull on young Muslims, its huge arsenal of weapons and its hundreds of millions of dollars.
Its real potential for destruction lies elsewhere -- in the implosion of Saudi Arabia as a foundation stone of the modern Middle East. We should understand that there is really almost nothing that the West can now do about it but sit and watch.
The clue to its truly explosive potential, as Saudi scholar Fouad Ibrahim has pointed out (but which has passed, almost wholly overlooked, or its significance has gone unnoticed), is ISIS' deliberate and intentional use in its doctrine -- of the language of Abd-al Wahhab, the 18th century founder, together with Ibn Saud, of Wahhabism and the Saudi project – by Alastair Crooke
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alastair-crooke/isis-aim-saudi-arabia_b_5748744.html
Comment: Even if already more than a year old – these two long and profound articles explain a lot on Saudi Arabia and it’s Wahabism. Extremely worth to be read in full at the original site. Here only can be given short excerpts, totally omitting the long interesting history going back to long before the 18. century.
Allgemein / General
4.1.2015 – Format.at von APA
Sunniten und Schiiten: Der islamische Machtkampf im Nahen Osten
Wer den Konflikt zwischen Saudi Arabien und Iran diskutieren will, der muss die Unterschiede zwischen Sunniten und Schiiten verstehen. Ein Überblick über den Ursprung der islamischen Spaltung und deren geographische Verteilung.
Worum geht es beim Machtkampf im Nahen Osten? Wie differenzieren sich Sunniten und Schiiten? Als wichtiger Akteur des Konflikts gilt der Iran: Der Iran sieht sich allein schon aufgrund seiner Geschichte als große Regionalmacht und will sich dementsprechend behaupten. Als Ventil dient ihm der schiitische Halbmond. Im Nahen und Mittleren Osten werden die Länder, die einen hohen Anteil von Schiiten oder gar eine schiitische Mehrheit in der Bevölkerung aufweisen, als "schiitischer Halbmond" bezeichnet.
Der schiitische Halbmond wird vom Gottesstaat genutzt, um die Regionalmacht des Iran und den Einfluss der Schiiten als Gegenpol zu den von Saudi-Arabien gelenkten Geschicken der sunnitischen Mehrheit innerhalb der Muslime der Region zu stärken.
Nach den Ereignissen rund um den Arabischen Frühling und nach den jüngsten Spannungen in der Region wegen der anhaltenden Syrien- und Irakkrise sprechen Experten neben dem schiitischen Halbmond auch von einem Gegenpol, nämlich vom "sunnitischen Dreieck" mit der Türkei, Saudi-Arabien und Ägypten. Trotz ihrer unterschiedlichen Interessen verfolgen die drei Länder ein gemeinsames Ziel: das Zurückdrängen des Einflusses des Iran beziehungsweise der USA in der Region.
http://www.format.at/politik/international/sunniten-schiiten-kurden-islam-iran-karte-tuerkei-5122902
Kommentar: Den Einfluss der USA wollen die sunnitischen Staaten nicht unbedingt zurückdrängen. Dazu brauchen sie die USA zu sehr. Sie wollen eher die USA für ihre eigenen Zwecke benutzen – was ja umgekehrt ebenso gilt. – Sehen Sie sich auch die sehr informativen Karten an!
4.1.2015 – Spiegel Online
Konflikt zwischen Iran und Saudi-Arabien: Es geht um viel, viel mehr
Die jüngste Krise hat Konsequenzen für den gesamten Nahen Osten. Denn Saudi-Arabien und Iran konkurrieren gleich in mehreren arabischen Staaten um Macht und Einfluss.
Syrien: Die Eskalation nach Nimrs Hinrichtung macht die Hoffnungen auf eine politische Lösung des Syrien-Konflikts zunichte.
Jemen: Eine Lösung des Konflikts kann es nur geben, wenn beide Seiten sich auf einen Kompromiss einigen und diesen dann auch umsetzen. Die Verschärfung des saudisch-iranischen Streits lässt auch dies auf absehbare Zeit unrealistisch erscheinen.
Irak: Der Konflikt zwischen Riad und Teheran lässt die Chancen für einen Ausgleich zwischen den Religionsgemeinschaften schwinden.
Öl: Nach Nimrs Hinrichtung hat sich der Ton zwischen den politischen Lagern im Libanon wieder verschärft, das Präsidentendrama dürfte sich weiter hinziehen – von Christoph Sydow
http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/saudi-arabien-was-der-konflikt-mit-iran-fuer-den-nahen-osten-bedeutet-a-1070350.html siehe auch http://web.de/magazine/politik/syrien-jemen-bahrain-riads-konflikt-teheran-bedroht-region-31251896
4.1.2016 – taz
Es droht ein vierter Golfkrieg
Mittelfristig könnte der Konflikt zwischen Riad und Teheran sogar zu einem vierten Golfkrieg eskalieren, der die drei seit 1980 geführten an Menschenopfern, Zerstörungen und negativen Folgen für die ganze Region noch übertreffen dürfte. Diese Gefahr ist vor allem wegen der wachsenden wirtschaftlichen, sozialen und politischen Spannungen in Saudi-Arabien größer als je zuvor. Zur bislang praktizierten innenpolitischen Befriedung durch finanzielle Mittel ist das Regime wegen des drastischen Ölpreisverfalls kaum mehr in der Lage. Daher wächst die Versuchung, auf angebliche oder tatsächliche äußere Feinde und Bedrohungen abzulenken.
In dieser Situation sollten Deutschland, die USA und die anderen Verbündeten Riads jegliche Waffenlieferung einstellen und auch alle anderen Formen militärischer, wirtschaftlicher und politischer Unterstützung unterlassen, die in Riad als Ermunterung, Beihilfe oder gar Beistandsgarantie für einen Krieg gegen Iran verstanden werden könnten – von Andreas Zumach
http://www.taz.de/Kommentar-Gefaehrliche-Politik-der-Saudis/!5262746/ = http://www.lebenshaus-alb.de/magazin/009579.html
5.1.2016 - Der Stern
Die saudische Politik ist naiv und brandgefährlich
Schlechte Nachrichten für den Nahen Osten: Saudi-Arabien vollzieht den totalen Bruch mit dem Iran. Das Land, das bis an die Zähne bewaffnet ist, betreibt eine Politik, die eine ganze Region immer mehr ins Chaos stürzt.
Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
4.1.2016 – Press TV Iran
Saudi-backed militants fire shells at aid convoy in Yemen
Saudi-backed militants have fired shells at a humanitarian aid convoy in the southwestern Yemeni province of Ta’izz.
A civilian was injured during the attack, which occurred in the Dahi district of Ta’izz on Monday, Yemen’s al-Masirah news channel reported.
The militants also blocked an aid convoy that was heading toward the Habil Salman district of the province.
The report also said that Saudi-backed snipers have recently targeted a number of Yemeni civilians in Ta’izz, including one in Dahi and another in Habil Salman on Sunday.
http://presstv.ir/Detail/2016/01/04/444421/Saudi-Arabia-Yemen-aid-convoy-Taizz/
Comment: Now it is also the Houthi side who accuses it’s enemies to block humanitarian aid for Taiz.
4.1.2016 – Middle East Monitor
Global e-campaign launched to break siege in Yemen
International activists have launched a global campaign through social networking sites calling for an end to the nine-month siege imposed by Houthi rebels on Taiz in northern Yemen.
The campaign was kicked-off on Saturday and aims to highlight the humanitarian disaster and suffering in the city. The hope is to mobilise the international community, including regional and international powers as well as humanitarian organisations, in order to break the siege.
The e-campaign is being conducted in several languages, including English, French, German, Chinese, Russian, Turkish and Farsi.
Comment: This needs to be done ALL over Yemen. The suffering is unbearable everywhere. 124,000 displaced people in Sanaa have NO international aid and supplies are drying up everywhere - aggrevated by Saudi attacks on a food warehouse, an agricultural research station, farms and chicken farms yesterday.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1082176968601460
UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and Peace talks
5.1.2016 – Deutsche Welle
Der UN-Sicherheitsrat schaltet sich in den Zwist zwischen Saudi-Arabien und Iran ein. Er verurteilt den Angriff auf die saudische Botschaft in Teheran. Saudi-Arabien verteidigt sich bei den UN für die 47 Hinrichtungen.
In einer einstimmig verabschiedeten Erklärung forderte der Sicherheitsrat den Iran nachdrücklich auf, "diplomatisches und konsularisches Eigentum und Personal zu schützen und den internationalen Verpflichtungen auf diesem Gebiet voll nachzukommen". Zugleich wurden alle Seiten zum Dialog aufgerufen. Nicht erwähnt wurde in der Erklärung die Hinrichtung von Scheich Nimr Baker al-Nimr in Saudi-Arabien, die den Sturm wütender Demonstranten auf die Botschaft des Königreichs in Teheran ausgelöst hatte.
http://www.dw.com/de/un-sicherheitsrat-verurteilt-angriff-auf-saudische-botschaft-in-teheran/a-18958534 siehe auch http://www.krone.at/Welt/UNO_verurteilt_Sturm_auf_Saudi-Botschaft-Tumulte_in_Teheran-Story-489669
Kommentar: Das ist schon seltsam. Weder die Hinrichtungen noch jemals (!!) die saudischen Luftangriffe auf den Jemen hat der Sicherheitsrat verurteilt. Kein Wunder, dass diese Einseitigkeit eine Meldung hierzu zu der Betitelung: „UNO stellt sich hinter die Saudis“ (http://www.stol.it/Artikel/Politik-im-Ueberblick/Politik/UNO-stellt-sich-hinter-die-Saudis) Anlass gibt – völlig zu recht. Für den Sicherheitsrat ist es also schwerwiegender, wenn ein Mob eine Botschaft stürmt (und dann von der Polizei zurückgedrängt und aufgelöst wird), als ein Land mit Tausenden von Toten in Schutt und Asche zu bomben.
5.1.2016 – Focus
Saudi-Arabien bekennt sich bei UN zu Friedensbemühungen für Syrien und Jemen
Die saudiarabische Regierung hat bei den Vereinigten Nationen die Hinrichtung von 47 Menschen verteidigt. Die Regierung werde weiterhin hart arbeiten, um die Friedensbemühungen für Syrien und Jemen zu unterstützen.
Saudi-Arabien hat bei denVereinten Nationen die Massenhinrichtung von 47 Menschen verteidigt, die scharfe internationale Proteste ausgelöst hat. "Alle verurteilten Personen hatten einen fairen Prozess", erklärte am Montag die Vertretung des Königreiches bei der UNO in New York. Die gefällten Urteile gründeten sich allein auf die Gesetze und "das kriminelle und illegale Handeln" der Betroffenen. Die saudiarabische Vertretung äußerte in diesem Zusammenhang ihr "tiefes Bedauern" über eine Erklärung von UN-Generalsekretär Ban Ki Moon. Dieser hatte sich zuvor "tief bestürzt" über die Hinrichtungen gezeigt.
Kommentar: Dreist.
4.1.2016 – Reuters
Saudi U.N. Ambassador: Despite Iran Rift, Peace Still Possible in Syria, Yemen
Saudi Arabia's decision to break off diplomatic ties with Iran will not affect its own efforts to secure peace in Syria and Yemen, the kingdom's ambassador to the United Nations, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, said on Monday.
"From our side it should have no effect because we will continue to work very hard to support the peace efforts in Syria, in Yemen," he told reporters. "We will attend the next Syria talks and we're not going to boycott them because of Iran or anybody else for that matter."
"The Iranians, even before the break of diplomatic relations, have not been very supportive, have not been very positive in these peace efforts," he added. "I don't think the break in relations is going to dissuade them from such behavior." – by Tim Stelloh
4.1.2016 – AFP
UN fears Saudi-Iran fallout on Syria, Yemen
The United Nations moved quickly on Monday to shelter peace efforts in Syria and Yemen from the diplomatic storm unleashed by the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura traveled to Riyadh for urgent talks and was to head later this week to Tehran to seek assurances that hard-fought gains in the Syria peace process had not been derailed.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke by phone with the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers to urge them to "avoid any actions that could further exacerbate the situation between two countries and in the region as a whole," said Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric – by Carole Landry
http://news.yahoo.com/un-fears-saudi-iran-fallout-syria-yemen-195609946.html = http://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/un-fears-saudi-iran-fallout-syria-yemen
Südjemen / Southern Yemen
4.1.2016 – Nasser Arabyee
This is moderate mosque preacher,Ali Othman,who was killed by Qaeda/ISIS early morning in group-taken Aden S Yemen
https://twitter.com/narrabyee/status/683942048194539520
4.1.2016 – Der Standard und ORF von APA
Ausgangssperre über südjemenitische Stadt Aden verhängt
Nach heftigen Kämpfen mit mutmaßlichen Jihadisten haben die jemenitischen Behörden über die Stadt Aden im Süden des Landes eine nächtliche Ausgangssperre verhängt. Wie die regierungsnahe Agentur sabanews am Montag meldete, soll die Ausgangssperre ab sofort zwischen 20 Uhr und 5 Uhr Ortszeit gelten. Am Vortag wurden bei Kämpfen in einem Hafengelände von Aden 17 Menschen getötet, darunter neun Sicherheitskräfte. Die blutigen Auseinandersetzungen vom Sonntag entwickelten sich nach Angaben der Sicherheitskräfte, als Einheiten von Präsident Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi einen Versuch unternahmen, den Hafen Adens vollständig unter ihre Kontrolle zu bringen. Sie trafen demnach auf den Widerstand bewaffneter Einheiten.
http://derstandard.at/2000028453206/Ausgangssperre-ueber-suedjemenitische-Stadt-Aden-verhaengt = http://orf.at/stories/2317325/
4.1.2016 – Middle East Eye
Curfew declared in Yemen's Aden after 17 killed in fighting
Security in the port city of Aden is shaky as IS-linked militants battle with forces loyal to the exiled government
Authorities in Yemen's southern city of Aden imposed a curfew on Monday after violence killed at least 17 people, pro-government media and security sources said.
The curfew will come into force at 8pm (1700 GMT) and last until 5am (0200 GMT), the sabanews.net website said, citing a decision taken by the Aden Security Commission.
The decision comes after fierce battles on Sunday in the port of Aden that killed 17 people, among them nine members of the security forces including a colonel, the security sources said.
Security sources said the clashes erupted when forces loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi met resistance as they tried to deploy in the port to secure it completely.
They said the fighting lasted several hours and that pro-Hadi forces eventually managed to take control of the port.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/curfew-declared-yemens-aden-after-17-killed-fighting-992692497 see also http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-curfew-idUSKBN0UI0LG20160104 (Reuters) and http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/01/04/yemen-nighttime-curfew/78249748/ (AP)
Comment: Saudi "liberated" Aden seems more insecure than at any other time.
https://www.facebook.com/yemen.crisis/posts/548431668656407
Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
5.1.2016 – Die Welt
Die Felder in der Wüste trocknen aus
Kommentar: Es gäbe schon auch echte Probleme für die Araber.
4.1.2016 – Epictimes
Saudi Arabia Is Murdering Freedom
How One Man Was Sacrificed To Silence A Movement
It was King Salman of Saudi Arabia who back in May 2015 told the world that “The Saudi Arabian government guarantees freedom of expression and opposes discrimination.” Addressing Bandar Al-Aiban, president of the Human Rights Commission (HRC), Mufleh Al-Qahtani, president of the National Society for Human Rights, and other senior officials during their visit to Riyadh, the Saudi monarch continued confident: “The pillars of this state are built on Islamic law that calls for the protection of human rights; and governance in the country is based on justice, consultation and equality.”
While such words would carry undeniable dignity if they were indeed enacted on the ground, they ring hypocritical in the mouth of those leaders who continue to argue justice while oppressing a people.
Contrary to the vile propaganda spewed by Riyadh, Sheikh al-Nimr never once called up for violence, or armed retribution against the regime. What he preached, what he, himself demonstrated was peaceful resistance.
Through his calls for social justice, fair political representation and civil liberties, this one man held a mirror to the ignominy which is Saudi Arabia’s absolute monarchy. And because he stood defiant before al-Saud Royals’ threats of violent persecution, his courage became a rallying call for resistance, across both the kingdom and the Islamic world.
But not only that – Al Nimr offered a democratic vision all Saudis, and beyond, all Arabs could get on board with ; a model which would have in essence united and bridged communities when only enmity and mistrust had reigned. Under his impetus, it is a united and free Arabia imperial powers would have had to contend with. And so his voice had to be silenced, and the future he offered had to be distorted to the tune of sectarian hatred and allegations of terrorism.
Al-Nimr’s words were not of violence, hate or division – his teachings were of unity, acceptance and solidarity. And if indeed he was a dissident, it is only because he could not accept the injustices which were carried against his fellow men.
With over 30,000 political prisoners languishing in prison, Saudi Arabia has become the epitome of oppression. – by Catherine Shakdam
http://www.epictimes.com/catherineshakdam/2016/01/murdering-freedom-in-saudi-arabia/
4.1.2016 – The Independent
Cartoons highlight anger at Saudi Arabia's position as head of key UN human rights panel
Some social media users have started questioning the kingdom's place on the UN human rights council
Cartoons taunting Saudi Arabia's membership of the United Nations human rights council have gone viral on social media after the kingdom executed 47 people in one day.
In retaliation to the state executions people on social media started sharing cartoons mocking the Saudi regime’s membership of the United Nations human rights council – by Ashley Cowburn
4.1.2016 – New York Times
Saudi Arabia Cuts Ties With Iran Amid Fallout From Cleric’s Execution
The cutting of diplomatic ties came at a time when the United States and others had hoped that even limited cooperation between the two powers could help end the crushing civil wars in Syria and Yemen while easing tensions in Iraq, Bahrain, Lebanon and elsewhere.
Instead, analysts feared it would increase sectarian divisions and investment in proxy wars. “This is a very disturbing escalation,” said Michael Stephens, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, a research center based in London. “It has enormous consequences for the people of the region, and the tensions between the two sides are going to mean that instability across the region will continue.” – by Ben Hubbard
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/04/world/middleeast/iran-saudi-arabia-execution-sheikh-nimr.html?_r=0
Kommentar: Dieser neue Konflikt wird nicht nur die Lösung der Krise in Syrien, sondern ebenso auch im Jemen erschweren oder sogar unmöglich machen. Da kommt auch der Verdacht auf, die Saudis hätten es absichtlich genau darauf abgesehen. Hierzu mehr unter Allgemeines / General.
4.1.2016 – Human Rights Watch
Saudi Arabia: Mass Execution Largest Since 1980
The charges against al-Nimr included “breaking allegiance with the ruler,” “inciting sectarian strife,” and supporting rioting and destruction of public property during 2011-2012 protests in Shia-majority towns and cities. The proceedings of Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court, which conducted his trial in 13 sessions over a year and a half, raised serious fair trial concerns, including vague charges that do not resemble recognizable crimes and trial sessions held without informing al-Nimr’s legal advocate.
Local activists and family members told Human Rights Watch that al-Nimr supported only peaceful protests and eschewed all violent opposition to the government. A 2011 BBC report quoted him as supporting “the roar of the word against authorities rather than weapons … the weapon of the word is stronger than bullets, because authorities will profit from a battle of weapons.” In another video available on YouTube, al-Nimr states, “It is not permitted to use weapons and spread corruption in society.”
Saudi Arabia systematically discriminates against its Shia citizens, who constitute 10 to 15 percent of the population. This discrimination reduces Shias’ access to public education and government employment. They do not receive equal treatment under the justice system and the government impairs their ability to practice their religion freely, rarely providing permission for Shia citizens to build mosques.
“Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shia cleric following an unfair trial only adds to the existing sectarian discord and unrest,” Whitson said. “Saudi Arabia’s path to stability in the Eastern Province lies in ending systematic discrimination against Shia citizens, not in executions.”
https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/01/04/saudi-arabia-mass-execution-largest-1980
4.1.2016 – The Guardian
The Guardian view on the Saudi execution: unjust, and an unwise provocation
The execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr could deepen the confrontation between Iran and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s execution at the weekend of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a leading Shia cleric, and the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran which was the response to it, must worsen what is already a toxic relationship. It could also weaken pragmatists and inflame internal differences in both countries at a time when efforts to bring about settlements in Syria and Yemen need all the help they can get.
The parallels between the Saudi kingdom and the Islamic republic are in some ways very close. Both are influenced by a sense of Islamic mission, a sense which has encouraged them in ambitions well beyond their means. Both are quick to violence, abroad and at home, where there is little to choose between them, for instance, in the high rate of public executions.
In Saudi Arabia there are fissures between the religious and the monarchical establishments which go back to the beginning of the state, another between most Sunnis and jihadists such as al-Qaida, and a further divide between central Arabia and the western region, where there are memories of an independent past under the Hashemites. Then there is the Shia community, which makes up between 10 and 15% of the population, suffers discrimination in state employment and education, and is regarded as apostate and potentially disloyal by a significant number of Saudis. When the Arab spring reached Saudi Arabia in 2011, Shia discontent came into the open.
Much depends now on events in Saudi Arabia. If protests there grow, and if they are then suppressed by force, followed by more arrests and, potentially, more executions, the situation could slip out of the control of governments in both Tehran and Riyadh. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia are wasting their resources on aggressive foreign policies which have little chance of ultimate success. Both are taking large risks. As they pull back from this crisis it is to be hoped both will exhibit more sense in the future.
Comment: This is so true. I hate to imagine what effect this is going to have on the Yemen war. I don't think Iran will start fighting there, but it will encourage those who are - my own opinion for what it's worth is that Iran is quite happy to sit this one out, watching Saudi get bogged down with this endless war.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1082053281947162
USA
4.1.2016 – Ritholtz Blog
Countries Scaled to the Economic Aid Received From the US – by Barry Ritholtz
Interesting Map!! Israel is getting the most of all countries.
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2015/12/countries-scaled-to-the-economic-aid-received-from-the-us/
2.1.2016 – US department of State
Saudi Executions
Press Statement by John Kirby, Spokesperson, Bureau of Public Affairs, Washington, DC, January 2, 2016
We have seen the Saudi government's announcement that it executed 47 people.
We have previously expressed our concerns about the legal process in Saudi Arabia and have frequently raised these concerns at high levels of the Saudi Government. We reaffirm our calls on the Government of Saudi Arabia to respect and protect human rights, and to ensure fair and transparent judicial proceedings in all cases.
The United States also urges the Government of Saudi Arabia to permit peaceful expression of dissent and to work together with all community leaders to defuse tensions in the wake of these executions.
We are particularly concerned that the execution of prominent Shia cleric and political activist Nimr al-Nimr risks exacerbating sectarian tensions at a time when they urgently need to be reduced.
In this context, we reiterate the need for leaders throughout the region to redouble efforts aimed at de-escalating regional tensions.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/01/250934.htm
Comment: A quite meager declaration. And? What now?
Großbritannien / Great Britain
4.1.2016 – BBC Newsnight
Saudi arms sales: Court threat by campaign group
Campaign Against The Arms Trade (CAAT) says Britain is breaching international humanitarian law over the use of weapons in the conflict in Yemen.
CAAT said it would take legal action by issuing judicial review proceedings unless the government halts such sales.
Leigh Day, the law firm representing CAAT, wrote to the government in November, highlighting concerns over allegations of violations of the laws of war by the Saudi-led coalition.
In particular they pointed to reports by respected NGOs of the targeting of civilians and civilian objectives in coalition airstrikes.
"The UK has a very clear legal regime, and that regime says that the UK won't provide licences for arms exports if there is a clear risk there may be violations of international humanitarian law," said Rosa Curling, from Leigh Day.
"The facts on the ground of what is happening in Yemen suggest there is that clear risk."
Ms Curling added: "The current position of the UK government is unlawful.
"They're failing to comply with their own obligations to make sure that they don't export arms when there is a clear risk that those arms may be involved in violations of IHL (International Humanitarian Law)." – by Gabriel Gatehouse
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35118296?SThisFB
4.1.2015 – Global Research
Political Executions and the Bombing of Yemen. Britain must Stop arming Saudi Arabia
Statement by UK based Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT)
Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) has called for the UK government to condemn the recent execution of 47 people in Saudi Arabia in the strongest terms and end all arms sales to the regime.
Since taking office in May 2010, David Cameron’s governments have overseen over £5.6 billion of military licences to Saudi Arabia. It is by far the largest buyer of UK arms. These licences included fighter jets, tear gas military vehicles and targeting equipment.
The mass execution, which took place on 2 January, was met with widespread protest across the region. It coincided with a breakdown to the ceasefire in Yemen, with the Saudi led coalition restarting its bombing campaign. UK made fighter jets and bombs have been used in the bombardment.
Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade said:
“The Saudi regime has a history of locking up bloggers, executing critics and cracking down on dissent. Despite this they can always rely on getting almost uncritical support from countries like the UK that prioritise arms company profits over human rights.”
In December 2015 CAAT announced that it is working with lawyers at Leigh Day to explore legal action against the UK government in relation to arms export licences to Saudi Arabia. This followed widespread reports of UK arms being used in violation of international humanitarian law in Yemen.
Andrew continued:
“UK bombs and fighter jets have been central to the destruction of Yemen. As long as Saudi enjoys the political and military support of the most powerful Western nations, then it will continue oppressing its own population and those of neighbouring states.”
A recent study by Opinium LLP for CAAT found that 62% of UK adults oppose arms sales to Saudi Arabia, with only 16% supporting them.
Andrew Smith is a spokesperson for Campaign Against Arms Trade
http://www.globalresearch.ca/political-executions-and-the-bombing-of-yemen-britain-must-stop-arming-saudi-arabia/5499219 See also the petition at the CAAT website: https://www.caat.org.uk/get-involved/act-now/petition/stop-arming-saudi
4.1.2016 – The Independent
UK Government urged to reveal its role in getting Saudi Arabia onto UN Human Rights Council
Liberal Democrat and Green Party leaders call on David Cameron to reveal whether British government supported Saudi bid
David Cameron has been urged to "come clean" over the role the UK Government played in voting Saudi Arabia on to the UN Human Rights Council after the kingdom's execution of 47 people in a single day sparked outrage across the Middle East.
The leaders of the Liberal Democrat and Green parties have demanded a public inquiry into whether the UK was involved in a secret vote-trading deal in 2013 to secure both countries a place on an influential UN panel.
Diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks last year purported to show that UK initiated the secret negotiations by asking Saudi Arabia for its support.
The exchanges have never been commented on by UK officials. Both Britain and Saudi Arabia were later named among the 47 member states of the UNHRC following the secret ballot.
Following the execution of dozens of people including the prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, Mr Cameron has been accused by human rights campaigners of “turning a blind eye” to Saudi abuses – by Adam Withnall and Charly Cooper
Comment: How much more can the American and British governments continue to turn a blind eye to their Saudi allies and their crimes?!
https://www.facebook.com/yemen.crisis/posts/548382298661344
Deutschland / Germany
Nach der Massenhinrichtung in Saudi-Arabien wird auch in Deutschland die Frage wieder laut, wie Deutschland mit Saudi-Arabien umgehen soll, und es werden Forderungen nach einem Ende der Waffenlieferungen, nach einer Neuausrichtung der Politik gegenüber Saudi-Arabien laut. Die Hinrichtungen, ihre Hintergründe und ihre internationalen Folgen wurden hier oben und im vorigen Yemen Press Reader unter „Saudi-Arabien“ ausführlich besprochen.
4.1.2016 – Südwestpresse / Neckar-Chronik / Schwäbische Post / Schwäbisches Tagblatt
Saudi-Arabien: Kommentar von Wilhelm Hölkemeier
Lässt Nordkoreas Diktator Oppositionelle hinrichten, attackiert Russland völkerrechtswidrig ein Nachbarland, dann ist die Regierung in Berlin mit den gebotenen Distanzierungen schnell bei der Hand. Eliminiert aber das saudische Königshaus Kritiker oder terrorisiert es den Jemen mit Luftschlägen, dann hört man nur Flötentöne von der Spree. Es ist die Stunde der Diplomatie - sprich: Es wird geheuchelt auf Teufel komm raus. "Die bilateralen Beziehungen zwischen Deutschland und Saudi-Arabien sind traditionell eng und im Allgemeinen spannungsfrei" beschreibt das Auswärtige Amt korrekt Berlins Haltung zum absolutistischen Herrscherclan in Riad. […] Als "Realpolitik" wird oft verbrämt, wenn man um lukrativer Geschäfte willen jeglichen humanen und demokratischen Anspruch fallenlässt. Doch diese Art von "Realpolitik" des Westens hat nicht wenig dazu beigetragen, dass jetzt fast der ganze arabische Raum in Flammen steht – von Wilhelm Hölkemeier
http://www.presseportal.de/pm/59110/3216828 = http://www.neckar-chronik.de/Nachrichten/Stunde-der-Heuchler-271867.html = http://www.schwaebische-post.de/10443998
Kommentar: Korrekt, kurz und knackig: Dieser Kommentar aus der südwestdeutschen Lokalpresse trifft ins Schwarze!! Lesen Sie ihn komplett auf der Originalseite, Gabriel und Seehofer werden passend gewürdigt und den Menschenrechtsverletzungen samt Jemenkrieg gegenübergestellt.
5.1.2016 – Merkur
Bundesaußenminister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) hat Saudi-Arabien und den Iran nachdrücklich zur Deeskalation aufgerufen. "Der ganze Mittlere Osten, und gerade Saudi-Arabien und Iran, sind uns etwas schuldig."
Das sagte Steinmeier der "Bild"-Zeitung (Dienstagsausgabe). Die Weltgemeinschaft habe sich seit Jahren massiv für die Befriedung der miteinander verflochtenen Konflikte in der Region eingesetzt. "Jetzt brauchen wir verantwortliche Akteure in der Region, die verantwortlich handeln, in Riad genauso wie in Teheran. Ich setze darauf, und ich erwarte auch, dass die Entscheidungsträger dem auch gerecht werden."
"Ich hoffe sehr, dass die Turbulenzen möglichst bald wieder enden, Vernunft einkehrt", sagte der Minister weiter. Die Regierungen in Riad und Teheran müssten "sich darauf besinnen, worauf es wirklich ankommt: die militärischen Konflikte zu entschärfen, in Syrien, im Jemen und anderswo politische Lösungen zu befördern und dadurch ISIS den Boden zu entziehen".
Kommentar: Geschwafel. Und: Wer sollte „uns etwas schuldig“ sein?
4.1.2016 – ZDF heute
Beziehungen mit Riad auf dem Prüfstand
"Zurzeit müssen politische Interessen im Vordergrund stehen, wirtschaftliche Fragen haben dahinter zurückzustehen", forderte der stellvertretende Vorsitzende der SPD-Bundestagsfraktion, Rolf Mützenich, in den Zeitungen der Funke-Mediengruppe. "Ich plädiere dafür, bei den Waffenlieferungen sehr zurückhaltend und auch ablehnend zu sein."
Dem Deutschlandfunk sagte Mützenich, die SPD-Fraktion habe Bundeswirtschaftsminister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) immer wieder ermutigt, an seinem restriktiven Kurs festzuhalten und Rüstungsexporte in Frage zu stellen. Zugleich sei jedoch der Dialog mit dem Königreich notwendig, auch wenn im Vergleich zu Vorgängerregierungen niemand mehr von Saudi-Arabien als einem "strategischen Partner" spreche.
4.1.2015 – Deutschlandradio Kultur
Mehrere Beiträge zum Thema
4.1.2016 – Der Tagesspiegel
Sigmar Gabriel will Waffenexporte genauer prüfen
Angesichts der jüngsten Spannungen in der Region will Vizekanzler und Wirtschaftsminister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) Rüstungsexporte an Saudi-Arabien künftig noch genauer unter die Lupe nehmen. Rückblickend sei es richtig gewesen, weder Kampfpanzer noch Gewehre vom Typ G36 an das Königreich zu liefern. „Wir müssen jetzt überprüfen, ob wir in Zukunft auch defensive Rüstungsgüter kritischer beurteilen müssen, die wir Saudi-Arabien bislang zur Landesverteidigung geliefert haben.“
Trotz der Kritik an den Hinrichtungen in Saudi-Arabien hält die Bundesregierung an "konstruktiven Beziehungen" mit dem Königreich fest. Dies sei "in deutschem Interesse wie im Interesse der Stabilität der Region", sagte Regierungssprecher Steffen Seibert am Montag in Berlin. [... s. unten] Seibert betonte, Saudi-Arabien spiele als Regionalmacht eine "ganz entscheidende Rolle" dabei, die Konflikte in der Region beizulegen. Dem widersprach Markus Kaim, Experte für Sicherheitspolitik bei der Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik. Die neue Eskalation zwischen Saudi-Arabien und dem Iran bedeute nicht zuletzt eine „krachende Ohrfeige“ für die deutsche und europäische Politik der „Ertüchtigung“. „Das Konzept, dass man ein Land als Schlüsselpartner für Sicherheit und Stabilität in der Region aufbaut und im Gegenzug Einfluss auf diesen Partner gewinnt, ist gescheitert“, sagt der Sicherheitsexperte dem Tagesspiegel. Es sei eine Illusion zu glauben, ein Land wie Saudi-Arabien lasse sich von außen beeinflussen. „Weder Waffen noch politische Unterstützung können daran etwas ändern.“
Der verschärfte Konflikt zwischen dem Iran und Saudi-Arabien hat nach Einschätzung von Markus Kaim vermutlich auch erhebliche Auswirkungen auf das Management internationaler Krisen. „Es gibt zum Beispiel wenig Aussicht auf einen baldigen Kompromiss bei den Friedensgesprächen für den Jemen“, sagt der Experte bei der Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik.
Gleiches dürfte für den Krieg in Syrien gelten. Auch dort stehen sich der Iran und Saudi-Arabien indirekt gegenüber – von Christian Böhme
Kommentar: Sigmar Gabriel sagt alles und das genaue Gegenteil davon, wenn man nur ein bisschen wartet.
4.1.2015 – Bundesregierung
Bundesregierung ruft zum Dialog auf
Die Bundesregierung setzt sich für die bedingungslose Abschaffung der Todesstrafe ein, so Regierungssprecher Seibert. Gleichzeitig ruft die Bundesregierung Saudi-Arabien und Iran zum Dialog auf. Nach Ausschreitungen in Teheran hat Saudi-Arabien die diplomatischen Beziehungen zum Iran abgebrochen.
"Die Bundesregierung hat die Hinrichtung von 47 Gefangenen in Saudi-Arabien mit Bestürzung zur Kenntnis genommen, zum einen weil wir Gegner der Todesstrafe sind, wo immer sie praktiziert wird, und ihre bedingungslose Abschaffung fordern, zum anderen weil die Hinrichtung von Scheich Nimr das Potential hat, religiöse und politische Spannungen in der Region zu verschärfen", sagte Regierungssprecher Steffen Seibert in Berlin.
Der Regierungssprecher erklärte, die Bundesregierung habe mit größtem Bedauern zur Kenntnis genommen, dass Saudi-Arabien die diplomatischen Beziehungen zu Iran abgebrochen habe. Seibert: "Wir rufen beide Staaten zum Dialog auf. Wir appellieren an beide Staaten, alle Möglichkeiten zu nutzen, um ihre bilateralen Beziehungen zu verbessern."
Die Beziehungen zwischen den beiden Staaten seien von grundlegender Bedeutung für die Lösung der Krisen in Syrien, im Jemen und für die Stabilität der ganzen Region, betonte Seibert. "Deshalb muss die Tür für Diplomatie geöffnet bleiben."
Kommentar: Dazu hat Wilhelm Hölkemeier (s. oben) das Nötige gesagt. Die interessante Aussage, dass die Bundesregierung im Grunde gar nichts ändern will am Verhältnis zu den Saudis, kommt in dieser offiziellen Verlautbarung seltsamerweise gar nicht vor. Dazu braucht man noch die dpa-Meldung:
Bundesregierung: Keine Sanktionen gegen Saudi-Arabien
Die Bundesregierung setzt trotz der jüngsten Massenhinrichtungen in Saudi-Arabien weiter auf einen konstruktiven Dialog mit dem islamischen Königreich. Regierungssprecher Steffen Seibert machte in Berlin deutlich, dass derzeit keine Sanktionen ins Auge gefasst werden.
http://www.nachrichten.de/politik/Bundesregierung-Keine-Sanktionen-gegen-Saudi-Arabien-aid_urn-newsml-dpa-com-20090101-160104-99-698557.html = http://www.bkz-online.de/node/925099
4.1.2016 – Web.de
Grüne fordern Stopp der Handelsbeziehungen zu Saudi-Arabien
Es könne keine Wirtschaftsbeziehungen mehr geben und es dürften vor allem keine Waffen mehr exportiert werden, sagte die Fraktionschefin im Bundestag, Katrin Göring-Eckardt, im ZDF-"Morgenmagazin". Nötig sei "ein Stoppschild - und zwar ein ganz großes".
http://web.de/magazine/politik/gruene-stopp-handelsbeziehungen-saudi-arabien-31250434
Schweiz / Switzerland
5.1.2016 – 20 Minuten
Schweiz liefert Munition nach Saudiarabien
Der Export von Kriegsmaterial ist seit 2009 verboten. Dennoch verkaufte die Schweiz 2015 Munition und Ersatzteile für 5,5 Millionen Franken an Saudiarabien.
Die Ausfuhr von Munition und Ersatzteilen für früher erfolgte Lieferungen bleibt aber trotz seit März 2015 andauernder saudischer Kriegsoffensive im Jemen zulässig. «Die Schweizer Industrie muss Verträge einhalten, weil sonst Entschädigungsforderungen gestellt werden», sagt Seco-Sprecher Fabian Maienfisch gegenüber der «Nordwestschweiz». «Zudem würde sich die Schweiz andernfalls als zuverlässiger Partner aus dem Markt verabschieden, was zu erheblichen Reputationsschäden für die gesamte Industrie und das Land führte.»
Der Bund scheint das Verbot für Kriegsmaterialexporte ziemlich lasch auszulegen: Als vor zwei Monaten ein Transportflugzeug der saudischen Armee in der Schweiz Fliegerabwehrmunition abholte, tauchte diese Lieferung in der Exportstatistik später nicht einmal auf, berichtet die «Nordwestschweiz». Maienfisch bestätigt dies: Es habe sich um Munition gehandelt, die in der Schweiz repariert worden sei. «Im Rahmen der Herstellergarantie.»
http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/news/story/Schweiz-liefert-Munition-nach-Saudiarabien-20421996
Saudische Verbündete / Saudi allies
5.1.2016 - Daily Witness
Saudi Arabian Allies Sever, Downgrade Diplomatic Ties With Iran
Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates(UAE) and Sudan followed ally Saudi Arabia’s lead in severing or downgrading ties with Iran as regional tensions escalate over the Saudi execution of a Shiite dissident cleric.
Bahrain and Sudan cut off diplomatic links with Iran on Monday, and the UAEdowngraded its ties with the Islamic republic.
Riyadh meanwhile stepped up its own measures against Tehran, with Saudi Arabia’s General Civil Aviation Authority announcing that airlines had been instructed to stop all flights to and from Iran.
The diplomatic fallout came only hours after the Saudi government broke off relations with Tehran, where protesters had stormed the Saudi embassy on Saturday night to protest Riyadh’s execution of Shiite sheikhNimr al-Nimr, a fiery critic of the Saudi authorities.
Bahrain and the UAE accused Iran of interfering in the internal affairs of Gulf and Arab countries, and Sudansaid it was acting “in solidarity” with Riyadh.
Manama has ordered Iranian diplomats to leave its territory within 48 hours, the official Bahrain News Agency reported.
Bahrain charged Iran with “blatant and dangerous interference” in the internal affairs of Arab countries and support for terrorism.
The island state, whose Sunni ruling family is closely allied to Saudi Arabia, has seen two days of protests by members of its Shiite majority since al-Nimr’s execution.
The UAE meanwhile pulled its ambassador from Tehran and said it was downgrading links to the level of charge d’affaire.
The country would also cut the number of Iranian diplomats on its soil, its Foreign Ministry said.
http://dailywitness.com/saudi-arabian-allies-sever-downgrade-diplomatic-ties-with-iran/
Wirtschaft / Economy
Yemen Economy
Yemen: Gdp and National debt / Bruttoinlandsprodukt und Staatsschulden
Running clock / Laufende Uhr
http://countrymeters.info/en/Yemen/economy
Dengue-Fieber / Dengue fever
4.1.2016 – Aljazeera
Dengue fever spreads in Yemeni city ravaged by cyclone
Mukalla's fight against the disease is hampered by a sewage crisis and the fact that al-Qaeda controls the city.
Early last November, a rare cyclone hit the port of Mukalla and neighbouring regions in Hadramout province. The cyclone produced flash floods that ruined roads, houses and sewer systems.
Two months later, the city remains submerged in sewage swamps, and locals passing by are forced to inhale the noxious fumes. The already miserable situation was exacerbated when Mukalla was hit by a second outbreak of dengue fever in mid-November, months after recovering from a similar wave earlier in the year.
Mukalla residents, including government officials and medics, have complained that the city has been left alone to handle the cyclone's aftermath.
Officials say that regional and international aid organisations have expressed reluctance to dispatch aid to a city under the control of al-Qaeda.
Today, Mukalla residents say the most dangerous consequence of the cyclone is the fresh outbreak of dengue fever.
Riad al-Juriri, who heads the provincial office of the minister of health in Mukalla, told Al Jazeera that his office has logged 1,040 suspected cases of dengue fever and 280 confirmed cases since mid-November. So far, seven have died.
The spread of the disease is "due to large swamps, damaged sewer systems and accumulation of garbage", Juriri said – by Saeed Al Batati
Comment: The cyclone would have happened anyway - unless the 155,000 bombs in 9 months had a direct effect on the weather. But had Yemen not been at war the army would have taken a prominent role in sorting the post cyclone damage. As it is - another place for acute suffering.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1082052748613882
Terrorismus / Terrorism
4.1.2016 – Khaber Agency (in Arab)
Yemen .. "al-Qaeda" executed two doctors in the Republican Hospital in Taiz
A security source told "news", that elements of "Al Qaeda" they make the execution of two doctors, within the Republican hospital, in the "Republican district" of the city, the evening last Saturday, January 2, 2016, without referring to any charge and part group terrorist doctors.
According to a recent source, the "Republican district" is one of the most important strongholds of the militant groups involved under the so-called "resistance" of the Saudi-backed coalition.
And carried out "Al Qaeda" inter executions in Taiz, Aden and Mukalla, in the past months, under different justifications, since the extension of its control over areas in various parts of Yemen, with the support and the support of the Alliance of aggression led by Saudi Arabia.
http://khabaragency.net/news47802.html
4.1.2016 – Sultana at Twitter
Will cut both hands of Manager of AlJomhoriya Hospital &No female employees after 5pm
https://twitter.com/SultanetZman/status/684156787348627456
Any female employee (Nurse Doctor etc) who doesn't follow will be prosecuted
https://twitter.com/SultanetZman/status/684157135169695745
4.1.2016 – Zeit Online von AFP
Zeugen berichten über Steinigung von Frau im Jemen
Aden (AFP) Mitglieder des Terrornetzwerks Al-Kaida haben nach Angaben von Zeugen im Jemen eine Frau wegen "Ehebruchs"und "Prostitution" zu Tode gesteinigt.
http://www.zeit.de/news/2016-01/04/jemen-zeugen-berichten-ueber-steinigung-von-frau-im-jemen-04172002 = http://www.n-tv.de/der_tag/Al-Kaida-Mitglieder-steinigen-Frau-im-Jemen-article16690641.html
4.1.2016 – Middle East Eye
Al-Qaeda stones woman to death for adultery in Yemen
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula stoned a woman to death in a southeastern Yemeni city they control after accusing her of adultery and prostitution, several witnesses said on Monday.
The militants on Sunday "placed the woman in a hole in the middle of the courtyard of a military building and stoned her to death in the presence of dozens of residents" of Hadramawt provincial capital Mukalla, one witness said.
A local journalist at the scene confirmed the rare stoning, saying that the gunmen prevented photography of the execution.
"This was the first time we have seen such a thing," another witness said.
A copy of the purported verdict issued by the so-called Hadramawt court of al-Qaeda's Ansar al-Sharia in December said the married woman "confessed in front of the judges to committing adultery".
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/al-qaeda-stones-woman-death-adultery-yemen-reports-922981148 see also http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/al-qaeda-militants-stone-woman-death-yemen-1535970 and http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3383887/Qaeda-Yemen-stones-woman-death-adultery-witnesses.html and http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-05/al-qaeda-in-yemen-stones-woman-to-death-for-adultery/7067372 = http://tribune.com.pk/story/1021796/al-qaeda-in-yemen-stones-woman-to-death-for-adultery-witnesses/
4.1.2016 – Heavy
PHOTOS: al-Qaeda Whips Drug & Alcohol ‘Users’ in Al Mukalla, Yemen
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, AKA Ansar al-Sharia in Yemen, has purportedly released a photo series showing the public flogging of alleged breakers of sharia law. Flagellation is commonly used as a punishment for alcohol and drug related offenses as described in the Quran.
Propaganda
4.1.2016 – Gulf Today from WAM
Hadi reiterates full support for Saudi's anti-terror moves
Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi has reiterated his country's backing for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's fight against extremist and terrorist groups.
He said Yemen and Saudi Arabia have long been severely suffering from these groups' evils and hostile acts targeting peoples and assets.
In a letter to The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, Hadi also declared Yemen's support for the execution of the judicial sentences against 47 terrorism convicts in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has the right to take any measures to protect its homeland security. The execution of these terrorism convicts is an internal affair and one of the sovereign and authentic rights of the Kingdom and sends a deterrent message to the terrorist, backward, and sectarian ideology-driven groups that threaten peaceful coexistence in Yemen, Saudi Arabia and other Arab and Islamic countries," the Yemeni president said.
He categorically rejected any interference in the internal affairs of Saudi Arabia and all other Arab countries by what he called "foreign parties that seek to undermine security and stability and sow the seeds of sectarian strife in society in the Arab region.
Expressing the hope that the Saudi measures would be the beginning of the end of extremist groups, the Yemeni president further said, "Yemen has been long suffering from the acts of terrorist groups which have violated all sanctities, bombarded medical institutions, places of worship and civilian institutions, perpetrated all kinds of killing, bombing and torture against armless and innocent people and military and security servicemen, and severely damaged the country's economy and state institutions."
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/733cb5bb-4f79-4c04-b4ce-b08bc350ef63.aspx
Comment: This Saudi quisling mouths the world of King Salman - and at a stroke makes the Yemen crisis even worse - as if it could get worse, but this madman doesn't seem to understand cause and effect in his insane and unwanted quest for power.
https://www.facebook.com/yemennewstodayenglish/posts/1082053401947150
Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
5.1.2016 – Albawaba
Airstrikes hit maternity hospital, gas company in Yemen
The Saudi-led coalition bombed on Monday evening a number of civil areas and facilities in the capital Sana'a.
The hostile warplanes launched airstrikes on al-Sabeen area, a security official in Sana'a said.
The bombing caused serious damage to the al-Sabeen Hospital for Motherhood and Childhood and many nearby houses, he said, stressing that no casualties were reported.
Moreover, the coalition warplanes struck at dawn on Monday the western side of the capital Sana'a targeting the Gas Company at Asser area.
The capital's fire crew suffered for hours until putting out the fire set on the Company by the bombing, the official said.
http://www.albawaba.com/news/airstrikes-hit-maternity-hospital-gas-company-yemen-789064
4.1.2016 – Almanar
Yemen Army Clears Al-Tawila Mountains Range, Lahj Villages of Gunmen
The Yemeni army and the Popular Committees managed on Sunday to eliminate all mercenaries of the Saudi-US aggression along the Al-Tawila mountain range overlooking the region of Najd Shabab and the Joreiba area in Lahj province.
The national military also restored the villages of Sarih, Hadid, Alfaqi, Tabin, Aloub, Sahi in Sharija and Karsh directorate as a part of the wide scale military operation south of Taiz province.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=248015&cid=23&fromval=1
Kommentar: Hier also wieder Erfolge der Armeeteile und sonstigen Kämpfer auf Seiten der Huthis. Die Gegenseite meldet derweil, die Provinz Marib „befreit“ zu haben:
5.1.2016 -- UAE Interact from WAM
YEMEN'S GENERAL STAFF ANNOUNCES LIBERATION OF MA'RIB PROVINCE FROM HOUTHI MILITIAS
The Yemeni General Staff has announced the liberation of Ma'rib governorate from coup militias, as progress on a number of fronts has been achieved, according to Major-General Mohammed Al-Magdashi, Yemeni Chief of Staff said.
During a meeting with several military and security commanders in the Third Military Zone in Ma'rib, Yemeni Chief of Staff, Major-General Mohammed Al-Magdashi, said the province has been liberated by the legitimate Yemeni Government's Armed Forces, backed by the Yemeni People's Resistance Forces, from the control of Houthi rebel militias.
He said that further victories are forthcoming on all frontlines against the rebel militias, urging the essential boosting of efforts to consolidate normal public life in the liberated areas in Ma'rib and Al Jawf provinces.
He called on the governmental forces, and the popular resistance loyal to the legitimacy, to work as one team to liberate the capital, Sana'a, from Houthi militias and Ali Abduallah Saleh's coup militias.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2480747&language=en
Neue Artikel zum Nachlesen 1-80: / Yemen Press reader 1-80:
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