Doubts Linger Over Saudi-Led, Islamic Anti-Terrorism Coalition

Saudi Arabia announced on Monday that it will lead an anti-terror military alliance of predominately Muslim countries, with a joint operations center located in Riyadh. The formation of this coalition comes amid calls for Gulf states to do more to comprehensively fight radicalism.

Saudi security forces take part in a military parade in preparation for the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia said Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015 that 34 nations have agreed to form a new "Islamic military alliance" to fight terrorism with a joint operations center based in the kingdom's capital, Riyadh.

This new anti-terror alliance has drawn skepticism from some analysts for a number of reasons. Gulf states faced heavy criticism for funding regional proxies, particularly in the Syrian civil war, including certain extremist groups. Saudi Arabia in particular has come under fire as of late, with many commentators suggesting that the exportation of their Wahhabi ideology is to blame for the rise of extremists around the Muslim world.

It’s unclear what effect the new coalition will have on the U.S.’ fight against ISIS, as Saudi Arabia provided few details, other than that the coalition would focus on more than just fighting ISIS. But analysts also wonder if this coalition will focus on fighting extremism or simply further crack down on local activists, something that Saudi Arabia is notorious for.

“…there is the question of the exact definition of terrorism. The Saudi authorities’ interpretation of it extends far beyond the violent actions of armed insurgents,” BBC’s Security Correspondent Frank Gardner said. “Recent legislation has branded peaceful opposition activists and reformers, whether online or in the street, as suspected “terrorists” and a security risk to the state. Amnesty International said it had concerns that this new coalition could be used to further restrict human rights.”

Farea al-Muslimi, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Centre, told AFP that most of the coalition countries could be called “honorary members.” “[The coalition] seemed to have been cooked at the last minute,” he said. Muslimi said the coalition seems like an attempt by Saudi Arabia to ease some of the international pressure it has faced on the issue.

Ten Middle Eastern countries bombed ISIS to date, but statistics are hard to find considering this is a politically sensitive topic for Middle Eastern populations. While Arab and Muslim countries overwhelmingly disapprove of groups like ISIS, their populations might be apprehensive to bomb civilians, or help the United States — a country many view with hostility after years of what they perceive to be anti-Muslim or anti-Arab policies.

The Saudi-led coalition will include Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Chad, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Mali, Malaysia, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Qatar, the Palestinians, Pakistan, Senegal, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

“Currently, every Muslim country is fighting terrorism individually,” Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince said at a news conference in Riyadh. “So co-ordinating efforts is very important.”

Saudi Arabia Forms Muslim 'Anti-Terrorism' Coalition

Saudi Arabia has formed a coalition of 34 mainly Muslim countries - including powers such as Egypt and Turkey - to coordinate a fight against "terrorist organisations". The alliance was announced by Mohammed bin Salman, the country's defence minister and deputy crown prince, on Tuesday. Arab countries such as Qatar and the UAE will join the coalition, as well as Middle Eastern, Asian and African states including Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Nigeria.

Saudi security forces show their skills in handling a 'terrorist' attack as part of military exercises [Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP]

"It is time that the Islamic world take a stand, and they have done that by creating a coalition to push back and confront the terrorists and those who promote their violent ideologies," said Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi's foreign minister, speaking in Paris. When asked if the alliance would deploy troops on the ground, Jubeir said "nothing is off the table". Saudi Arabia's regional rival Iran and its allies Syria and Iraq were excluded from the alliance, despite the states sharing a common enemy in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

Bin Salman said the states would work together to target "any terrorist organisation, not just ISIL" in countries including Iraq, Syria. Libya, Egypt, and Afghanistan. Military operations would work in accordance with local laws and in cooperation with the international community, he added. In an earlier press statement issued by the Saudi Press Agency, officials said the group would be led by Saudi Arabia, which would host a "joint operations centre to coordinate" efforts. The United States welcomed the announcement of the anti-terrorism alliance. "We look forward to learning more about what Saudi Arabia has in mind in terms of this coalition," Defence Secretary Ashton Carter told journalists in Turkey.

"But in general, it appears it is very much in line with something we've been urging for quite some time, which is greater involvement in the campaign to combat ISIL by Sunni Arab countries." Turkey said it was set to assist any time, anywhere. "Turkey is ready to contribute by all its means to all gatherings that aim to fight terrorism, no matter where or by whom they are organised," Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara. Most of the countries in the coalition are currently involved in military operations against ISIL or have been targeted by the group.

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have carried out air strikes against the fighters in Syria and were targeted by the group in Yemen, where they are involved in a separate war against Iran-backed Houthi rebels. In August, an ISIL suicide bomber killed 15 people, mainly special forces soldiers, at a mosque in Asir province, bordering Yemen. ISIL has also targeted Saudi Arabia's Shia minority, killing dozens in bomb attacks on mosques. Saudi authorities have carried out raids detaining hundreds of suspected ISIL members and sympathisers in response.

Map: The countries that recognize Palestine as a state - The Washington Post

The 135th member (Sweden) of the United Nations to officially recognize Palestine as an independent state. The act sparked a tetchy diplomatic incident with Israel.

 

 Map of the countries that recognize Palestine as a state.

 

On the ground, a separate, viable Palestinian state is far from a reality. Israel occupies the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and it partially blockades the Gaza Strip, the territories that would comprise it. The continued expansion of Israeli settlements into the West Bank makes tackling the question of Palestinian sovereignty all the more difficult. So, too, the apparentcollapse of talks between the Israeli government and its Palestinian interlocutors.

Sweden's Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said her government's decision was aimed at supporting the Palestinian Authority and its beleaguered President Mahmoud Abbas, particularly given the present tensions in Jerusalem. "It is important to support those who believe in negotiations and not violence," she told Al Jazeera. "This will give hope to young Palestinians and Israelis that there is an alternative to violence."

In the absence of progress in negotiations with Israel, Abbas has taken the Palestinians' case to the United Nations in recent years. The effort is mostly symbolic — a bid to deepen the political isolation of the right-wing government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sweden's move reflects a wider European frustration with Netanyahu. This week, French socialist lawmakers said they were preparing a bill calling on the government to recognize Palestine. In mid-October, British lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a motion indicating "that the Government should recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel, as a contribution to securing a negotiated two state solution."

The motion is nonbinding, but serves as one more sign of Europe's growing impatience with the Mideast status quo. The United States would want to see the two-state solution come into fruition before conferring official recognition upon Palestine. But that is, at present, a naive hope: A number of prominent ministers in Netanyahu's government reject outright the possibility of the two-state solution ever being realized.

Before Sweden's decision, tiny Iceland was the only Western European country to recognize Palestine.

As you can see in the map, most of the other nations that have not officially recognized Palestine are in the E.U. or are U.S. partners who wouldn't want to ruffle Washington's feathers. These include South Pacific island nations like Kiribati and Nauru.

Even then, it's quite likely that the U.S. will find itself on this map within a steadily shrinking patch of gray in the months and years to come.

Source: The Washington Post

Can't ban Kashmir 'Million March', UK tells India

The United Kingdom government has told India that it cannot ban the planned ‘Kashmir Million March’ in London 'as it will be against the principles of free speech espoused by Britain', a news report said on Friday. 

Details have emerged that Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister (EAM) of India, met British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg last week here and raised concerns with him about the march, which will be led by former Pakistan-administered Kashmir prime minister Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhary and other Kashmiri leaders.

The British PM was told that the issue of Indian-controlled Kashmir was a “matter between India and Islamabad and such a rally would be against an open society”. Swaraj told Clegg that the ‘Kashmir Million March’ doesn’t “bode well for the relationship between the two countries” but the deputy PM told her that the march cannot be stopped, The News International said.

Clegg told the Indian minister that he appreciated her concerns but the rally in London will not be banned as it will be against the principles of free speech espoused by Britain, the report said.

He told the Indian minister that Britain greatly valued its relations with India but will not go against a democratic march which is expected to bring thousands of Kashmiris to the streets of London on Sunday.

India is taking this march so seriously that Prime Minister David Cameron was also asked about the ‘Kashmir Million March’ during an interview with a leading Indian channel but the PM refused to be drawn into the controversy. Cameron, however, said that Indo-Pak ties were a “bilateral issue” and the UK “wanted to see good relations between India and Pakistan”. The PM said that the UK didn’t want to see “any incursions across the Line of Control” and “its important that India and Pakistan have those coversations”. But Syed Akbaruddin, the spokesperson of Indian Ministry of External Affairs, said that it’s “normal for open societies to have platforms where people express their opinions”.

He went on: “However, at times these platforms are misused by enemies of open societies and its for those open societies to ensure that nothing is done which is inimical to their interests.”

The Indian irritation with the march was further evident when occupied Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that the “Million March” should have been held in the valley rather than the “cozy capitals of the United States and United Kingdom”.

“I have no problem in these people propounding an ideology but it would be better doing it from here rather than cozy environs of London, Washington, Paris and places like that,” Omar told reporters.

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has also objected to the “Kashmir Million March” which coincides with the day when the then ruler of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession of the state with India against the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

BJP Kashmiri spokespersons Sunil Sethi and Balbir Ram Rattan said that those organsing the march in London were “anti nationals and divisive forces”.

Barrister Sultan Mahmood said that India doesn’t need to panic over the march and should show grace by not trying to arm-twist the UK government. “This march is independent and being organised by the Kashmiris who want to expose the barbaric face of India before the western world. Thousands had marched against Israel in London over the Gaza bombings. More than 120,000 Kashmiris have been massacred by India and India has acted worse than Israel but its crimes have not been exposed before the civilised world. This cannot go on. India must be held accountable.”

Veteran Kashmiri campaigner Hameed Pothi said that the UK government was aware that British Kashmiris are pro-democracy and peace-loving people who have taken part in the UK politics actively. “The UK govt is very much aware of the role of British Kashmiris and will never bow before the Indian pressure. India thinks that it can use its economic clout to suppress its dark deeds but that policy has failed and we will not rest until India is fully exposed.”

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