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Excerpts: Travel ban disrupts Hizbullah financing. Syrian FM calls on
Excerpts: Travel ban disrupts Hizbullah financing. Syrian FM calls on
refugees to come home. Jordan-US relations January 31, 2017
+++SOURCE:Naharnet(Lebanon)31 Jan.’17:”Trump Travel Ban Angers L A’s Iranian
Community,Disrupts Hizbullah Financing”,by Agence France Presse
SUBJECT: Travel ban disrupts Hizbullah financing
EXCERPTS:Members of California’s large Iranian-American community expressed
shock and disbelief on Monday[30 Jan] at President Donald Trump’s travel
ban, saying it would tear families apart and tarnish America’s image abroad,
but would also help stop financing for Hizbullah party.
“It’s affecting everybody from the community because everybody has family
and friends that have been coming back and forth from Europe and all over
the world to America,” said Alex Helmi, sitting in his carpet store in
Westwood, an upmarket Los Angeles neighborhood dubbed “Tehrangeles.”
An estimated 300,000 to 500,000 Iranians live in southern California, many
of them in “Tehrangeles,” and Trump’s executive order has had a chilling
effect on the community.
Fahrad Besharati, who runs a travel agency along Westwood Boulevard, where
almost all the signs above the shops are in Persian, said his phone has not
stopped ringing since Trump’s order came into effect on Friday.[27 Jan]
“We had a disaster in the last couple of days,” he said. “People are not
able to come back.
“We have tried to explain that this is a temporary measure but they say that
90 days is not temporary, they say ‘we’re gonna lose the lives we have
here’.”………………….
……………But despite all the outrage at Trump’s actions, Besharati said the
travel ban could help disrupt the financing of networks such as the
Iranian-backed Hizbullah.
“There are rich people coming from Iran with millions or billions of dollars
and they spend $500,000 and get a Green Card,” he claimed. “These are not
regular people who come for education or work.
“These are the people protecting Syria and Hizbullah.”
Helmi said while he understands that strict vetting measures are needed to
ward off those intent on inflicting harm to America, he hoped democratic
principles would prevail.
“America is the land of freedom,” he said. “All the religions here live
together and respect each other and respect democracy.”
+++SOURCE:Jordan Times 31 Jan.’17:”Syrian FM calls on refugees to return
home”,by Agence France Presse
SUBJECT:Syrian FM calls on refugees to come home
DAMASCUS — Syria’s foreign minister on Monday[30 Jan] called on the
country’s refugees to return home, official media reported, without directly
commenting on a US ban targeting them.
Walid Muallem “renewed the invitation of the government to Syrian refugees
living in neighbouring countries to return to their country”, the SANA news
agency said.
The minister “stressed the country was ready to receive them and grant them
a dignified life”, the agency reported, as Muallem met UN refugee agency
chief Filippo Grandi.
On Friday[27 Jan], US President Donald Trump issued an executive order to
suspend Syrian refugee arrivals indefinitely and impose tough controls on
travelers from seven countries, including Syria, for 90 days.
The minister spoke after President Bashar Al Assad’s forces on Sunday[29
Jan] retook control of a key region that supplies water to the capital.
The army’s recapture of Wadi Barada from rebels comes a month after Assad’s
forces pushed the armed opposition out of east Aleppo, taking back control
of the whole of the northern city.
Syria’s rebels still hold to the northwestern province of Idlib, the Western
Ghouta area outside the capital and areas in the south of the country.
Syria’s conflict has killed more than 310,000 people since it erupted in
2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.
The war has forced 4.8 million people to flee Syria, according to the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Turkey has taken in more than 2.7 million Syrians, the UNHCR says, and is
now the main host country.
It is followed by Lebanon with more than one million Syrian refugees,
according to the UN.
The UNHCR says Jordan has taken in 655,000 Syrians, but authorities say the
number is much higher at 1.4 million.
At least another 228,000 Syrians have taken refuge in Iraq and 115,000 in
Egypt, the refugee agency says.
Syrian refugees have in increasing numbers travelled to, or tried to reach,
Europe, making the perilous journey overground or by sea.
+++SOURCE:Jordan Times 31 Jan.’17:”Muslims are primary victims of
terrorism — King”,byJT
SUBJECT: Jordan-U.S.relations
QUOTE:”the strength of the strategic Jordanian-U.S.relationship as well the
role US plays in ensuring regional stability
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday[30 Jan] met with US Vice
President Mike Pence.
His Majesty and the vice president emphasised the strength of the strategic
Jordanian-US relationship as well the role the US plays in ensuring regional
stability.
His Majesty stressed that terrorism is a common enemy that “threatens all of
us”, a Royal Court statement said.
He emphasised that Muslims are number one victims of the outlaws of Islam
(Khawarej), “who pose a global problem and do not represent any faith or
nationality and target all of us who do not subscribe to their ideology of
hate,” the statement said.
They also discussed efforts to end the Syrian crisis as well as the
importance of international cooperation in efforts to bring a political
solution to this crisis.
Both sides also discussed efforts to revive the Palestinian-Israeli peace
process and means to bring both sides back to the negotiating table.
The US side is committed to working closely with Jordan when addressing
these issues in the spirit of strategic partnership between both countries,
Pence said.
US-Jordanian bilateral relations were also discussed, and Vice President
Pence reaffirmed the US continuous support for Jordan in implementing
economic reforms and sustaining the burden of refugees.
Also on Monday, King Abdullah held two separate meetings with US Secretary
of Defence James Mattis and Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly
over strategic relations between both countries and ways to develop them at
all levels.
In His Majesty’s meeting with Mattis, talks were focused on mechanisms of
coordination and consultation between Amman and Washington regarding Middle
East developments and how best to deal with them, seeking eventually to
achieve security and stability for the region and its people, according to
the Royal Court.
King Abdullah and Mattis stressed the importance of having in place a
comprehensive strategy to fight terrorism, with the King urging war against
terror groups in the region.
They reiterated the importance of achieving progress in forging political
solutions to regional crises.
Other issues tackled in the meeting, held at the Pentagon, included military
cooperation between Jordan and the US to overcome challenges facing both
countries.
The Syrian crisis, the war against terrorism and the latest developments in
Iraq were also on the meeting’s agenda.
For his part, Mattis commended the efforts of His Majesty and the Kingdom in
achieving regional stability and fighting terrorism, stressing the need to
work with Jordan in preparing a sound anti-terror strategy, based on
partnership, mutual interests and shared challenges.
He praised the King’s advice to the new US government, voicing the US
administration’s commitment to supporting Jordan in overcoming a multitude
of challenges.
As for the meeting with Kelly, discussions covered ways to enhance security
cooperation between both countries.
They also called for boosting cooperation between security institutions and
further exchange of expertise, as well as facilitating procedures pertaining
to Jordanians travelling to the US.
Kelly underscored the significance of working with the Kingdom to prepare a
comprehensive strategy for the war against terrorism, calling on all
countries to contribute to such efforts, he said, especially since terrorism
is an indiscriminate, global phenomenon.
====================
Sue Lerner – Associate, IMRA
Source: http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=72117
