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Ottobre 2017 - page 7

European Parliament and Saudi Arabia confirmed their strong ties

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A seven-member delegation from the Saudi Parliamentary Friendship Committee, led by Prince Khalid bin Abdullah bin Mishari, met in Brussels on Monday with members of the European Parliament, who reaffirmed the strong ties between the Kingdom and Europe. The head of the Parliament’s Delegation for relations with the Arabian Peninsula (DARP), Michele Alliot-Marie, said that the presence of the Saudi delegation was very significant and reflected the desire to strengthen the Kingdom’s relations with the EU. Saudi Arabia is determined to end the suffering of the Yemeni people by supporting the legitimacy and efforts of friendly countries to negotiate reconciliation. Alliot-Marie pointed out that the political crisis between Qatar and Saudi, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt is of concern to the EU, which hopes a quick solution can be reached.

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AEOI Chief: Possible US Sanctions against IRGC Means Declaration of War

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Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi warned that his country considers sanctions and blacklisting of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as declaration of war by Washington. “Given the fact that the Army and Armed Forces guarantee protection and security of any country, we consider this measure as declaration of war”, Salehi said, addressing a group of media elites and analysts of British think tanks in London on Wednesday. He also warned that breaching the 2015 nuclear deal by the US President Donald Trump will entail global repercussions. More in his meeting in London, Salehi hailed European states and other parties’ stances in support of the JCPOA, saying that Iran will take appropriate decision considering US administration’s behavior towards the nuclear deal.

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Violation of JCPOA by Trump will have int’l consequences: Salehi

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Iran’s top atomic energy official said on Wednesday that breaching the 2015 nuclear deal by the US President Donald Trump will entail global repercussions. Chairman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi made the remarks in a meeting with a group of media elites and researchers of British think tanks. The US president is to decide whether he certify the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and the world six major powers or not. He has signaled that he is to withdraw his endorsement of the 2015 nuclear deal which is also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Trump’s administration has so far twice certified Iran’s compliance with the deal. However, if he refuses to do so for a third time, then the Congress will have 60 days to decide whether to re-impose sanctions waived under the deal. That would let Congress effectively decide whether to kill the historic deal.

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China offers support to Spanish government amid Catalonia crisis

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China understands and supports the Spanish government’s efforts to protect the country’s unity and territorial integrity, Beijing said on Thursday, amid moves by Catalonia to declare independence.  Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing. China “understands and supports the Spanish government’s efforts to protect national unity … and its territorial integrity”, Hua said. It believes Spain has the ability to guarantee social order and people’s interests in accordance with the law, she said. Beijing says it adheres to a policy of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, but it generally takes a dim view of independence or secessionist movements around the world. hough it generally remains officially agnostic on such issues abroad, Beijing has expressed more openness towards independence votes when both sides have agreed to them, such as Scotland’s unsuccessful 2014 referendum to leave the United Kingdom, and South Sudan’s 2011 vote in favour of independence from Sudan.

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Girl group leader becomes powerful political figure in North Korea

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Hyon Song-wol, the leader of North Korea’s all-girl propaganda band Moranbong Band, is among the noteworthy figures joining the North Korean Workers’ Party’s Central Committee at the party’s recent reshuffle. She now co-serves as an alternate member of the committee’s political bureau, its most powerful body. There have been prior cases of artists joining the party’s Central Committee, as either regular or alternate members, according to sources, Wednesday. But Hyon’s rise still surprised many because she was once believed to have been executed by Kim Jong-un after being embroiled in a pornography scandal in 2013. The sources speculated Kim “highly assessed” Hyon’s loyalty in December 2015 when her band visited Beijing. The band had been scheduled to perform before high-ranking Chinese officials as part of efforts to bolster Pyongyang-Beijing ties. But Hyon called off the gig abruptly and returned to Pyongyang with her band just hours before the performance, after Chinese authorities asked them to modify part of the programme. The authorities reportedly found the programme problematic for excessively idolising Kim. But Hyon refused their request and decided to cancel the performance instead. She reportedly claimed “not a single dot can be taken out of the programme because it is already supervised by our leader”. Kim would promote her to join the Korean Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, Meanwhile, there are growing complaints among senior North Korean officials over Hyon excessively wielding power, the sources said.

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Fear of forced repatriation rising among defectors in China

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North Korean defectors living in northeast China continue to fear for their safety as North Korean and Chinese authorities ramp up efforts to arrest and repatriate them back to the North. Although such individuals have always been mindful of their illegal status, the past year has seen a shift in policy to a point where even the children of defectors are being forcefully repatriated to North Korea. Daily NK has been collecting their stories since June last year and found over 120 instances of forced repatriation of North Koreans residing in areas across China’s northeast, including Shenyang in Liaoning Province, Kunming in Yunnan Province, Changbai, Tumen, and Yanji in Jilin Province, Qinhuangdao in Hebei Province, and other regions. While a considerable number of defectors have already been repatriated to North Korea, many more sit languishing in detention centers in China, awaiting their own deportation. A source in China informed Daily NK that “unlike previously, when defectors could easily pass through these routes simply by blending in, the authorities have stepped up their surveillance and questioning, establishing more checkpoints and generally making it much more challenging. Making their way to third countries like Thailand or Laos has now become much harder than crossing the China-North Korea border itself. International human rights organizations are also sounding the alarm at the increase in arrests and forced repatriations in China. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported earlier this month that in July and August of this year alone, at least 41 North Koreans were detained on suspicion of defection. From July 2016 until this June 2017, HRW recorded 51 separate instances, bringing the total during this period to at least 92 persons, including a newborn baby, an 11 year-old child, and four elderly women.

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Systemic solution against abuse of security services

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 A public debate on the Government’s reforms in the security system, including the Administration for Security and Counterintelligence (UBK) and the Law on Interception of Electronic Communications, is to open in less than a month. The objective is to offer a solution that guarantees no abuses in the system, the Government said on Thursday. According to Government Spokesman Mile Bosnjakovski , the Government’s motion to halt the Constitutional Court procedure over assessment of the constitutionality of Article 175 of the Law on Electronic Communications aims at avoiding partial solutions until a specific systemic solution is available, one ensuring that abuses of the system would not occur.Therefore, the Government believes that the Law on Interception of Communications in general can be subject of assessment regarding its constitutionality, but not Article 175 as a separate provision. The Government is committed to the reforms in UBK and the Law on Interception of Electronic Communications, which are in the final stages.

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FM Dimitrov attends meeting of OSCE permanent council

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Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov said in an address Thursday before the Permanent Representatives of OSCE members as part of a session Thursday of the OSCE Permanent Council that Macedonia is strongly determined to use the new chance it is given to finally affirm the country in the family of developed democratic societies Dimitrov presented the optimism prevailing in Macedonia’s society after the prolonged crisis saying the citizens had great expectations both from the new government and the international community as well involving a long-awaited fulfillment of the aspirations to join NATO and the EU, the Foreign Ministry (MoFA) said.The Macedonian Minister presented the reform agenda included in the government’s Plan 3-6-9 all the while referring to the areas covered by the reforms in separate fields, namely rule of law, electoral system, strong, professional institutions, development of sound control mechanisms, especially independent judiciary and freedom of the press.

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AEOI Chief: Iran’s Nuclear Activities Meant for Peaceful Purposes

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Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi underlined that Tehran has always sought nuclear activities for only peaceful purposes. “Despite the fact that Iran’s original interest in the nuclear industry dates back to the post-WWII ‘Atom for Peace Program’ era, its nuclear program is yet at a humble stage in comparison with the state of the industry in more advanced countries”, Salehi said on Tuesday, addressing the 20th Edoardo Amaldi Conference on International Cooperation for Enhancing Nuclear Safety, Security, Safeguards and Non-Proliferation. He reiterated that nowadays nothing appears to be more pressing and important than the fate of Iran nuclear deal, also known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and said, “So, that constitutes the thrust of my remarks here today; what it means for us and presumably for the international community”.

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International community shifts blame to Kosovo after Thaci’s criticism

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The local paper Koha reports on the front page that the representatives of the international community have pointed the finger at Kosovo institutions as responsible for a number of failures which few days ago the President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, blamed on the international community. Thaci’s office maintains that Kosovo agreed to the establishment of the specialist chambers “by respecting the advice from the international community”. “In exchange, the international community, as always, has pledged support for membership in the Council of Europe, speedy visa liberalisation, massive support for UNESCO membership, swift establishment of the Kosovo Armed Forces, and new recognitions”, Thaci’s office replied in a statement to the paper. Meanwhile, European Commission spokesperson, Maja Kocijancic, told the paper that the EU has reconftimed the Western Balkans’ European perspective noting however that Kosovo needs to immediately implement reforms in the field of rule of law and economy, play an active role in the region and make progress in the dialogue with Belgrade. “Kosovo has no time to lose”, Kocijancic said.

 

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