05 Nov 2018 - NPWJ News Digest on Middle East and North Africa Democracy

Articles

Bahrain court gives opposition figures life sentences for spying
The Guardian, 04 Nov 2018

A Bahraini court has given life sentences to three senior opposition members in a case criticised as a “travesty of justice” by human rights groups and as “very concerning” by the British Foreign Office. A close ally of the UK and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain is due to hold elections on 24 November and the sentences will again raise questions about the west’s willingness to put security concerns ahead of human rights in the Gulf. In Bahrain the US and UK each have military bases, the latter funding, for years, aspects of the country’s human rights, prisons and police work.

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The future of the Middle East depends on justice for Jamal Khashoggi
The Washington Post, 02 Nov 2018

The most important question in the case of Jamal Khashoggi is whether Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, will be held accountable for what his regime acknowledges was a premeditated act of murder. Much of the available evidence points to the prince. We cannot find a Middle East expert who believes the official story that the 15-member assassination team sent to Istanbul, including five probable members of the prince’s security detail, was a rogue operation. 

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'Race against time': flag revoked for Aquarius migrant rescue ship
The Guardian, 02 Nov 2018

A desperate search is under way for a country willing to issue a flag to the Aquarius, the last civilian migrant rescue ship operational in the Mediterranean, after its Panamanian flag officially expired this week. The Aquarius is unable to sail without a flag and is now grounded in Marseilles, starting an effective blackout across the Mediterranean, with no vessels aside from the Libyan coastguard conducting search and rescue operations.

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Turkey-U.S. start joint Syria patrols but Turkey strikes at Kurds
Reuters, 01 Nov 2018

Turkish and U.S. troops began joint patrols in northern Syria on Thursday aimed at averting clashes between Turkey and Washington’s Kurdish allies, but Turkey pressed on with a new threatened offensive nearby to crush the Kurds. Turkish military advances into northern Syria over the past two years have put U.S. forces directly in the path of advancing troops from Turkey, Washington’s main Muslim NATO ally.
 

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U.N. chief taps Norwegian diplomat as new Syria envoy: letter
Reuters, 31 Oct 2018

Norwegian diplomat Geir Pedersen will be the new United Nations Syria envoy, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the U.N. Security Council in a letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Pedersen will replace Staffan de Mistura when he steps down for family reasons at the end of November, quitting as the Syrian government - backed by Iran and Russia - has retaken most of the country and a political deal remains elusive. The Norwegian diplomat faces obstacles in negotiating a political deal, which the West has said is needed to unlock its reconstruction support and to encourage the bulk of the millions of refugees in Europe and the Middle East to return. 

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North African Countries Need to Protect Their Economies From Illicit Trade
All Africa, 31 Oct 2018

Since the 2011 revolution, Tunisia has been heralded as a model of democratic transition. However, nine governments in the past seven years have been struggling to revive the economy and the North African state faces the difficult task of maintaining faith in democracy amid a lagging economy, rising security challenges, and widespread corruption. This challenge is exacerbated by a historic dependence on informal cross-border trade coupled with an economy that is itself largely informal, accounting for as much as 50% of Tunisia's GDP. Taken together, these factors have provided fertile grounds for illicit trade to flourish. 

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