Target Centermass

Day: March 20, 2006

  • Defiant Hamas Packs Cabinet with Hardliners

    Guess what. The terrorist group-become-democratic-victors of Hamas have yet to be mollified by the rigours of leadership.

    Hamas, the militant Palestinian group, has named a government dominated by its own leadership, defying international pressure and confounding hopes that it would moderate its extremist stance.
    After other Palestinian factions refused to join a coalition, the victorious Islamist group nominated a Cabinet whose senior members have all been jailed, deported and escaped Israeli assassination. Chief among Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniya’s 24 ministers are Dr Mahmoud al-Zahar, a hardliner, as Foreign Minister, and Said Siyam as Interior Minister. Most others are Hamas, with some pro-Islamist independents and technocrats, one woman and one Christian.
    President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to approve them but may try to delay the decision until after the Israeli general election on March 28. However, Shaul Mofaz, Israel’s Defence Minister, said that if President Abbas accepted the line-up he would “officially turn the Palestinian Authority into a terror entity”. Hamas faces a cash crisis, as EU foreign ministers met in Brussels yesterday to consider how to continue providing aid to Palestinians without endorsing what is regarded as a terrorist organisation by the EU and US.

    The article describes four of the key named figures as follows:

    Prime Minister: Ismail Haniya, 43. Imprisoned by Israelis twice

    Foreign Minister: Mahmoud al-Zahar, 55. Imprisoned once by Israelis. Survived Israeli assassination attempt but lost a son. Hardliner. Hostile to Israel and the US

    Finance Minister: Omar Abdel-Razeq, 48. Arrested twice by Israel

    Interior Minister: Said Siyam, 46. Teacher. Lost job with UN relief agency over political affiliations. Member of the Hamas’s political office in Gaza In charge of foreign relations for Hamas. Jailed four times by Israelis

    Should we be surprised that Hamas has yet to turn into a bunch of Pollyannas? No, of course not. First, they have yet to really shoulder the strain of actually trying to govern the madness that fills the Palestinian regions. They did get a taste of the “society” they’re expected to lead today, as Palestinian gunmen engaged in multiple firefights. Strangely, these violent outbursts of cordite involved no Israelis.

    Unfortunately, some of the immediate pressure of governing was alleviated from Hamas as the European Union agreed to a release of $78 million in emergency aid. Luckily, that largesse was accompanied with the oh-so-stern warning that Hamas must play nice.

    In Brussels on Monday, EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner handed a cheque for 64m euros to Karen AbuZayed, of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

    She was insistent that Hamas, which has refused to recognise Israel or renounce violence, needs to fall into line with the international community.

    Hamas immediately buckled. No, wait, they actually took the money and thumbed their nose at their naive benefactors.

    A Hamas spokesman, Salah Bardawil, said the group recognised that the PA faced economic difficulties.

    “But we will not go begging to the United States and Europe because we will not be blackmailed over our political positions,” he said.

    He said Hamas, an Islamic organisation, would seek new funding from the Islamic world.

    Ah, sweet progress toward peace. I do, however, look forward to the times when Hamas does actually try to govern the mess it has played no small part in creating. If only fools would quit enabling Hamas and actually force them to confront the consequences of their positions.

  • Belarus President Faces Challenge from Protesters

    After victory in an election that the U.S. has decidedly declared “invalid,” the president of Belarus is trying to ride out a swarm of protests.

    Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko faced a challenge to his electoral victory on Tuesday from international critics and protesters who camped out in the capital overnight accusing him of rigging the count.

    Lukashenko, in power since 1994 and criticized in the West for authoritarian Soviet-style rule, swept back into office on Monday with an official tally of 82.6 percent.

    Nearest rival Alexander Milinkevich, with 6 percent, called the poll fraudulent, a view shared widely in the West.

    About 300 protesters defied warnings by Lukashenko’s state security services and camped out in the early hours in dozens of tents in an action reminiscent of the highly organized 2004 “Orange Revolution” in Ukraine.

    Supporters brought sleeping bags, food, hot drinks and blankets to them.

    Witnesses said riot police were stationed in sidestreets near the square but there was no sign of any action against the unsanctioned rally, summoned by Milinkevich to demand a rerun of the election and denounce Lukashenko’s human rights policies.

    “We must stay here while we have the strength to do so. We must stay until victory,” Milinkevich told the rally on Monday.

    Unsurprisingly, Publius Pundit‘s Robert Mayer comes through with some of the best blogging on the region, this time providing lengthy and oft-updated coverage of the protest.