Hezbollah denies sending drone shot by Israel

Michele Chabin, Special for USA TODAY3:12 p.m. EDT April 25, 2013

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said he viewed the infiltration attempt with “utmost gravity.”

The unmanned aircraft was detected as it was flying over Lebanon
Military waited for aircraft to enter Israeli airspace before shooting it down
Drone was downed roughly 5 miles off Israeli coast near Haifa

JERUSALEM – After Israel’s military shot down a drone Thursday, suspicion quickly fell on Hezbollah, which denied sending the unmanned aircraft.

The militant Lebanese Hezbollah group denied responsibility for sending the drone in a one-line statement that flashed as an urgent news bar on the group’s Al Manar TV.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, whose helicopter was temporarily grounded as a result of the situation, called the drone — the second one shot down by Israel in the past six months — “a very serious issue” and said he viewed the infiltration attempt with “utmost gravity.”

“On my way here in the helicopter, I was told that there is an infiltration attempt of a drone inside the skies of Israel,” Netanyahu said in the northern Arab-Israeli town of Daliyat al-Karmel. “We will continue to do everything necessary to safeguard the security of Israel’s citizens.”

The incident was likely to raise already heightened tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, a bitter enemy that battled Israel to a stalemate during a month-long war in 2006.

Tal Inbar, who heads Israel’s Space Research Center at the Fischer Institute for Air & Space Strategic Studies, said that “even a drone with a small amount of high explosives could be directed to high-level” Israeli targets, including the country’s national gas platform and power stations.

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a military spokesman, said the unmanned aircraft was detected as it was flying over Lebanon and tracked as it approached Israeli airspace.

Lerner said the military waited for the aircraft to enter Israeli airspace, confirmed it was “enemy,” and then an F-16 warplane shot it down. The drone was shot down roughly five miles off the coast of the northern Israeli city of Haifa.

Daniel Nisman, intelligence manager of the Middle East division of Max Security Solutions, a Tel Aviv-based geopolitical risk consulting firm, said the drone incident has wider ramifications.

“Iran is distributing military technology both to the Assad regime in Syria and to Hezbollah in Lebanon. So if Hezbollah is experimenting with technology, it means Iran is experimenting as well,” he said.

Nisman emphasized that Thursday’s drone didn’t catch the air force off-guard.

“We know from Lebanon’s own media that Israel was already doing many over-flights over Lebanon, and it will continue,” he said.

Despite the provocation, which he said might be Hezbollah’s way of flexing its political muscles prior to Lebanese elections slated for June, Nisman doesn’t expect an all-out response from Israel.

“This isn’t a red line Israel is willing to act on, and neither is Hezbollah, which is being criticized for supporting Assad’s regime,” he said. “Neither side wants to be blamed for a military escalation.”

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes flew over the Christian town of Jezzine and the highlands of the Iqlim al-Tuffah province, a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon, Thursday morning.

The Lebanese army also reported Israeli jets violated Lebanese airspace on Tuesday and Wednesday. Israel has stepped up its flights over Lebanon amid fears that Hezbollah is taking advantage of the chaos caused by the Syrian civil war.

Contributing: The Associated Press

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/04/25/israel-hezbollah-drone/2112127/

Russia: Arab League decision to recognize Syrian rebels denies peaceful solution – War till the end now!
http://rt.com/news/arab-league-lavrov-syria-001/
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Published time: March 28, 2013 14:56
Edited time: March 28, 2013 20:11

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (AFP Photo)
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The Arab League’s recognition of the Syrian opposition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people means that the League is refusing to allow a peaceful settlement in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

“We have learned the results of the Arab League summit in Doha with regret, I can tell you frankly,” Lavrov said at a media briefing on Thursday.
“We consider the main meaning of the decisions made that the Arab League has refused a peaceful settlement for Syria.”

“The recognition of the national coalition as the only legitimate representative of the Syrian people contradicts the Geneva Communique,” Lavrov argued.
In the wake of the decisions made at the Arab League’s summit, Moscow does not see how the UN-Arab League peace envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi is going to perform his duties, Lavrov said.
Lavrov said that one “big question” is emerging concerning Brahimi’s UN-Arab League mandate: If one of the founders of the mandate, the Arab League, proclaims that the national opposition coalition in Syria is the only legitimate power, “there will be no negotiations, only arming of the forces set to oust the regime.”
“I simply cannot see how Mr Brahimi could still be considered not only the UN mediator for Syria, but for the Arab League as well,” Lavrov said.
As for decision to supply arms to the Syrian opposition, this decision does not only violates international law, but “is an encouragement of confrontation of the irreconcilable forces on both sides to make them fight this war to the bitter end,” Lavrov said.

On Tuesday, a two-day Arab League annual summit kicked off in the Qatari capital of Doha. Receiving a round of applause, a delegation of Syria’s opposition National Coalition entered the hall and took the country’s official seat at the gathering.

The chair had remained vacant for some time as the League suspended the Arab republic’s membership in the organization back in November 2011 – as punishment for President Bashar Assad’s government crackdown on protests.

The leader of the delegation – the head of the Coalition Ahmed Moaz Khatib – called on “friends and brothers” for support in granting the opposition a seat at the United Nations as well as other international organizations.

Khatib – who had earlier said he wanted to resign as the head of the coalition – also used the forum to urge Arab leaders to beef up assistance to the Syrian opposition, including the provision of military aid.

The Arab League agreed that member-states had the right to provide military support to Syrian rebels.
Moscow called the decisions made at the summit “unlawful and indefensible.” The country maintains that the only solution to the Syrian bloodshed that has been going on for two years is a political dialogue with all parties of the conflict involved.

Meanwhile, the EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton “saluted the vision and leadership of Khatib.”

“On several occasions, she welcomed Mr Khatib’s courageous efforts to engage with representatives of the Syrian regime and launch a dialogue leading to a peaceful resolution of the conflict,” her spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Syrian President Assad addressed leaders of the BRICS states – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – with a letter, to help halt the conflict in his country. The group of five emerging powers “has become a hope for our oppressed peoples that suffer from blatant foreign interference in their affairs against their interests,” Assad’s message read as cited by state-run Syrian SANA agency.

Russia denies that it has changed its position on Syria, despite remarks by a senior diplomat suggesting that a rebel victory is possible.

The remarks, made by the deputy Foreign Minister and Middle East Envoy Mikhail Bogdanov, were greeted by the US and its allies as a sign that Russia was edging away from its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but Russia now says that he was misinterpreted.

Mr Bogdanov touched off speculation about a possible change in the Russian stance by saying an insurgent military victory was conceivable, but had added that this would not happen for a long time and would ruin Syria.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said yesterday that Mr Bogdanov’s words had been misunderstood and taken out of context. It reiterated Moscow’s view that any resolution of the conflict in Syria must be political and not military, and that Mr Assad’s departure from power should not be a precondition. “We have never changed our position and we will not change it,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich told a news conference in Moscow.

The Russians say their policy is based on a communiqué issued in Geneva on 30 June after a meeting of world and regional powers on Syria which called for a transitional government in Damascus, but did not say what role Mr Assad would play in it.

It is unclear if the US and its European allies now believe the rebels can overthrow the Syrian government militarily, a prospect that still seems far off when viewed from Damascus. The rebels control large parts of north and east Syria and sections of cities such as Aleppo, but most of the cities and towns are still with the government.

The sound of heavy artillery fire resounded across Damascus yesterday but the government remained in control. Those neighbourhoods which the rebels seized in past offensives have been heavily damaged and most inhabitants have fled to other parts of the city. There is a shortage of bread and cooking gas, but the capital has not been reduced to siege conditions.

An apparent weakening of Russian resolve over support for the Syrian government was greeted by Washington as Moscow finally waking up to reality. But it is by no means clear that claims by Western leaders, such as that by NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen, that the regime in Damascus is approaching collapse are themselves realistic.

Such statements may be propaganda, aimed at demoralising the Syrian government and emboldening its opponents, but do not truly reflect the present balance of forces in Syria.

The country is divided by sect, ethnicity and class. In Damascus there are deep worries, even among critics of the government, that the capital may share the fate of Aleppo, parts of which are in ruins. Neither side appears to have the strength to achieve a knockout blow against its opponents.

The Syrian army remains much the strongest single armed force in the country. The growth of Sunni Jihadi groups as the most effective fighting force on the rebel side is frightening not only for the minorities such as the Alawites, Christians and Druze, but for many urban Sunni. They watch with horror YouTube videos of army officers being decapitated by the rebels in the north or Shia mosques being burned in Idlib.

Posted GMT 12-13-2012 1:10:6

This striking statement of Sait Susin, the chairman of the Beyoglu Assyrian Church of the Virgin Mary Foundation, summarizes the situation: “I am the head of the only Assyrian foundation, but I don’t know the Assyrian language.”

Assyrians, who are among the oldest inhabitants of Anatolia, have departed from their homeland, Mardin, in huge waves since 1950. Until the 1950s, there were about 60,000 to 70,000 Assyrians in Istanbul, but that number dropped to 15,000. Assyrians have also abandoned a significant part of their culture due to this migration, and now they are about to lose their 5,500-year-old language, Assyrian, which is one of the oldest languages in the world.

Susin said, “We just want permission to teach our children the Assyrian language in kindergarten. However, this permission was not granted as they are not seen as a minority, but part of the Turkish population.”

Radikal: Does the history of the Assyrians in Anatolia go back to the era before Christ?

Susin: The Antioch Church was the first church established after the Christian church was established in Jerusalem. The foundation of the Alexandria church follows this. Later on, the Antioch Church was renamed the Assyrian Church.

There were many splits from the church. Up until 1932, the seat of the patriarch was always in Turkey. First it was in Diyarbakir, than Malatya and then finally Mardin. Now it is in Damascus. The Assyrian population in Turkey has dwindled to 25,000 or so. After the foundation of the Turkish Republic, less than 10% of the Assyrian population remained in Turkey. Due to the small number of Assyrians in Turkey, it was not possible to keep the patriarchate within the Turkish borders.

Arameans assumed the name “Assyrian” after they converted to Christianity, in order to distinguish themselves from the pagan Arameans. Our origins go back 3,500 years. The Assyrian language is one of the oldest languages in the world, with a history of 5,500 years. However it is about to be forgotten, since we are not allowed to establish schools in which we can use our language as the language of education.

Radikal: You were adversely affected by migrations and conflicts. How does the new generation pass on their language to the upcoming generations?

Susin: We face severe problems. Assyrians, when they were living in their homeland, used to learn their language at home or in the church. Yet now, every day, the number of Assyrian speakers decreases. About 80-85% of the Assyrians now live in Istanbul. The only foundation we have in Istanbul is the Beyoglu Assyrian Church of Virgin Mary Foundation. As the president of this foundation, unfortunately, even I can’t speak Assyrian.

Radikal: You mentioned that there are more than 10,000 Assyrians living in Istanbul. Is one church enough for the whole population?

Susin: The recent migrations have significantly decreased the Assyrian population in Turkey. Especially after the 1950s, Assyrians migrated to different parts of the world in large numbers. They established their churches everywhere they went. Assyrians have 63 churches in Germany alone. There are 70,000 Assyrians in Germany. We even have churches in South America. The only exception is Istanbul. Here we use seven different churches, but none of these churches are Assyrian churches. Our rituals and timing of religious ceremonies are different from other Christians. Our rites last longer. The Assyrians in Istanbul don’t have property; therefore, our foundation doesn’t have any revenues.

We want to build our own church. With a contribution from the municipality of Istanbul, we will soon establish our own church near Yesilkoy.

Our request to establish a kindergarten was denied. Due to a misinterpretation of the Treaty of Lausanne, we are not considered as a minority. Certain rights are bestowed on the minorities in Turkey as a result of this treaty. These rights include the right to establish schools and the right to have their own educational systems. However, these rights are only granted to Armenians, Jews and Greeks.

When we applied to open a kindergarten that would teach Assyrian, our demand was denied on the grounds that the Turkish citizens belonging to the Assyrian community are not considered a minority, but are merely part of the Turkish nation. If this were so, then why are we subject to the same treatment that is applied to Turkish minorities in other fields? Why are we, as Assyrians, not allowed to be commissioned officers? Why are our foundations treated as minority foundations? When we publish a magazine, we are supervised by an office that deals with minorities.

Radikal: There are reports suggesting that Assyrians that migrated abroad are returning back to Turkey. Is this true?

Susin: Those who left after the 1950s are still suffering from homesickness. Those who are affluent return to their villages and build new homes. There are only about 17 to 18 families returning back. There is no place on earth where we can feel comfortable apart from Turkey. However there are two issues that are waiting to be fixed. First, we want to enjoy the rights granted to us as minorities. Secondly, we want to see revisions in the history books that give incorrect information about us.

Radikal: How are Assyrian children educated in Istanbul?

Susin: Assyrian children go to Turkish schools. We don’t ask for different treatment, either. We only want schools that are subject to the Ministry of National Education and teach in Assyrian.

Here there is another problem. Unfortunately, the official text books accuse Assyrians of treason. The following is a statement [from a Turkish textbook]: “Some Assyrian groups took part in World War I and supported the Russians.” We informed the Ministry of Education about this issue and they said necessary changes would be made. However the same statement can be found in the books published this year. Our children are also educated with these books. An Assyrian child reads this sentence with his Turkish friend next to him. In the minds of the youth, Assyrians are associated with the label of traitor and that discomforts us. We are taking this to court. We attempted to solve the issue through the political avenue, but we couldn’t, so now we will take our chances with legal action.

By Ayca Orer
http://www.al-monitor.com

Translated from Radikal (Turkey)

t U.S. denies visas to Iran officials for U.N. meeting: report
Reuters – 14 hrstDUBAI (Reuters) – The United States has denied visas to Iranian officials hoping to attend a U.N. meeting in New York, Iran’s state news agency reported on Saturday.

The Iranian judiciary’s Human Rights Headquarters said in a statement that the United States denied visas to members of an Iranian delegation that planned to travel to a meeting of the United Nations’ Third Committee, which focuses on social issues and human rights, state news agency IRNA said.

“The U.S. government, by not issuing visas to the members of the delegation, wants to ruin the possibility of the presence of the delegation, and prevent its members from conducting their mission of interacting and cooperating with the United Nations,” said the statement, according to IRNA.

The judiciary body urged U.N. officials to warn the United States against such decisions and remind it of its obligations as U.N. host country, IRNA reported. It did not say how many Iranian officials had applied for visas from the United States or when they wanted to travel.

The Swiss embassy, which handles U.S. consular services in Iran, did not respond immediately to a request from comment. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said it did not comment on visa cases.

As U.N. host country, the United States has a policy of issuing visas for members of delegations, in line with a 1947 pact with the United Nations, regardless of disputes with individual countries.

However, it does sometimes refuse entry to government officials and professionals from Iran with which it has had no diplomatic ties since 1979 and which it accuses of seeking nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

In September, Iran’s Fars news agency reported that the U.S. had denied visas to about 20 government officials hoping to attend the U.N. General Assembly, including two ministers, although President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did attend and addressed the assembly.

At the time, a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Visas for foreign officials to attend U.N. meetings in the U.N. headquarters district are adjudicated in accordance with all applicable laws and procedures including both U.S. law and the U.N. Headquarters Agreement, however, visa records are confidential.”

In 2009, as Iranian authorities were crushing protests against the re-election of Ahmadinejad, Iran said a delegation headed by its first vice president had been refused visas to attend a U.N. conference on the global financial crisis.

(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Alison Williams)

http://news.yahoo.com/u-denies-visas-iran-officials-u-n-meeting-175007466.html