Editoral-OTHER VOICES - Middle East Press EU curbs

…RUSSIA has slammed the United States and European Union for bringing in fresh, unilateral sanctions against Iran. President Dmitry Medevdev, whose country had, under intense pressure from the United States, voted for the punitive international sanctions against Iran earlier this month at the United Nations, is upset that the new US-EU sanctions go beyond what had been sanctioned by the world body and target investments in Iran’s crucial oil industry and trade with the Islamic republic. …Russia and China … had decided to go with the US-sponsored sanctions … because they had been assured that the sanctions would persuade Iran to “cooperate” with the IAEA and not hurt Iran’s … economic and commercial interests.

The new US-EU sanctions … dramatically change all that. The new punitive measures not just threaten Iran’s vital oil industry and financial sector but also undermine Russian and Chinese economic interests in Iran and the Middle East. …Since this campaign against Iran was kicked off under President George W Bush, egged on by the Israelis and the neocons at home, the Middle East … has looked to Europe for leadership, reason and balancing the hawkish US policies. … — (June 21)

Rejuvenation

SINCE the … elections for its new chairman, Al Wafd Party … has managed to attract a number of notable new members. Al Wafd … hasn’t come up with a new programme to attract these people.

Instead, they’ve joined Al Wafd because they believe it’s strong enough to compete with the ruling National Democratic Party in the next … elections. What they would like to see is a real rotation of power, something that Egypt has lacked since the emergence of the multi-party system….

These new members hope Al Wafd will … run a strong candidate…. Al Wafd wants society to know that it is ready … to breathe new life into the political process with the help of these new members. ... The fair election of its new chairman shows that it has successfully espoused the notion of rotation of power.

Al Wafd has given its new members a warm welcome, while the new chairman, el-Sayyed el-Badawi, has stressed that Al Wafd’s candidate in the presidential election won’ t necessarily be he. …Things have changed since the days of Al Wafd’s former chairman, Mahmoud Abaza, who refused to let any ‘convert’ to the party run as its candidate … — (June 22)

Posted in: