23 May 2016 - NPWJ News Digest on Middle East and North Africa Democracy

NPWJ press release

ADHOC: “The roots and causes of Islamic violence? Secularism is the solution"
By NPWJ, 22 May 2016

Since the start of the Arab Spring in 2011, divisions between different parts of society in the Middle Eastern and North Africa have become evident. The widest rift appears between those who want society to return to a perceived order from centuries ago, under the emblem of religion, and those who want to promote the establishment of open societies based on the principles of secularity, pluralism and modernity. At the same time, religious extremism has spread within some countries in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. Its worst manifestation is the rise of Daesh and its acts of terrorism, intolerance and brutal violence, notably across Syria and Iraq, representing the culmination of a distorted and radical vision of Islam. It is time to put an end to the ever-escalating violence committed in the name of religion and to promote a world in which all may live freely, irrespective of their religious beliefs. It is therefore essential to coordinate and reinforce the voices of the grassroots activists who strive to address the challenges of religious extremism and anchor the future of their countries on the principles of secularism and pluralism. To this end, the newly established organisation “ADHOC: Secular, Modernist and Pluralist” is organising its first conference under the title “The roots and causes of Islamic violence? Secularism is the solution”,which will take place in Brussels on Sunday 22 May 2016.

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Articles

Erdoğan calls on Europe to take in more Syrian refugees
By The Guardian, 23 May 2016

In an article for the Guardian, Turkish president says Europe not doing enough to redistribute the 3 million Syrians living in Turkey. The Turkish president has asked Europe to welcome more of the 3 million refugees currently living in Turkey, as the main group campaigning to take Britain out of the EU suggested that higher levels of immigration from Turkey could pose a security risk if the country is admitted to the EU. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sunday that Europe was not doing enough to shoulder the refugee burden in Turkey, which now holds more refugees than any other country in the world, after the Syrian civil war forced 2.7 million Syrians to flee northwards across the Turkish border. The president made his comments as he confirmed Binali Yıldırım as the new prime minister, following the ousting of his predecessot Ahmet Davutoğlu earlier in the month for allegedly blocking Erdoğan’s path to power. Yıldırım, a long-time ally, vowed to give greater authority to the president’s office while eroding the powers of the prime minister.

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Dozens dead in car bomb attack in Yemen
By Aljazeera, 23 May 2016

Bomb exploded outside Badr base in Khormaksar, where government of President Hadi is based. A car bomb hit a crowd of young men queueing to join the Yemeni army in the city of Aden, causing dozens of casualties, a security official has said. The official was not immediately able to give a precise casualty toll from the bombing on Monday outside the Badr base in the Khormaksar district of the city, where the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi is based. Local news website Aden al-Ghad showed pictures of soldiers picking up bloodied comrades in uniform from the ground and witnesses reported seeing ambulances with blaring sirens collecting the wounded from the scene. Armed groups have gained ground in Aden since forces loyal to Hadi, and backed by the Saudi-led coalition, drove Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, out of the city in July last year. The conflict between those two sides created a power vacuum that was exploited by al-Qaeda and allied groups.

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Syria rebels set 48-hour deadline to end regime assault
By Aljazeera, 23 May 2016

Opposition fighters say they will start fighting back if government continues offensive in suburbs of capital. Syrian rebel groups have said that they will no longer abide by a ceasefire deal unless the Syrian army ends a major offensive on their positions in the suburbs of Damascus within 48 hours. A statement by the Free Syrian Army (FSA), signed by nearly 30 rebel groups that operate across Syria, said that they would deem the ceasefire as having "totally collapsed" if the assault by Syrian government and allied Lebanese Hezbollah forces fighters did not cease within two days. The signatories, who include Western and Turkish-backed groups operating on the main frontlines in northern and southern Syria, said that once the two-day period had ended, rebels would respond with "all the legitimate means to defend the civilians living in these areas". Syrian forces and allied fighters seized an extensive area southeast of the capital on Thursday. The rebel-held town of Daraya, located just a few kilometres from President Bashar al-Assad's Damascus palace, was also pounded for the first time since the broader "cessation of hostilities" accord, which took effect at the end of February.

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Iran human rights activist Narges Mohammadi receives 16-year prison sentence
By Iran News Update, 21 May 2016

The shocking 16-year prison sentence against prominent human rights defender Narges Mohammadi, who has several serious, chronic illnesses, represents an all-out attack on human rights defenders in Iran, and demonstrates how Iran’s abusive criminal justice system is used as a tool of repression, said Amnesty International. Mohammadi, a distinguished human rights defender, a supporter of the anti-death penalty campaign Legam (Step by Step to Abolish the Death Penalty) and vice president of the Center for Human Rights Defenders in Iran, was sentenced by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran which convicted her of several trumped-up national security related offences in connection with her human rights work. The verdict was communicated to her lawyer on May 17.

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