Iran:Former EU Commissioners Warn Against Deals with Iran

Iran:Former EU Commissioners Warn Against Deals with Iran

Brussels, 20 Jul - EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini announced the lifting of “multilateral and national” sanctions on Iran on 16 January this year, saying the nuclear deal showed that intense diplomacy could resolve even “the most difficult issues”. However, this new position came despite the EU sanctions still imposed on Tehran due to its poor human right record and links with terrorist organizations.

As the European Union now moves towards more business dealings with Iran, former Commissioners Karel de Gucht and Louis Michel have urged EU institutions and member states to make any dealings conditional upon Tehran improving its human rights record.

Michel, father of Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, was European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid between 2004 and 2009. De Gucht was in charge of the trade portfolio between 2010 and 2014. Both men played an important role in forging the EU’s business relationships with other countries over the last decade.

Iraq: West Must Learn the Bitter Lessons of Ramadi in Mosul

Struan Stevenson

Press release by the President of the European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA), Struan Stevenson, 12 February 2016

The European Iraqi Freedom Association (EIFA) calls upon the UN, US and EU to learn the lessons of Ramadi and not allow the wanton slaughter of the Sunni population of Mosul in the looming battle to liberate that city. Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has conducted an international tour to bolster support for the impending battle for Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, which was captured by ISIS (Daesh) in June 2014. Abadi visited Washington DC, pleading with Obama for more US airstrikes and for US military personnel to train Iraqi forces. He also wants military equipment and cash. Abadi also visited Erbil in Northern Iraq, where he asked Kurdish President Masoud Barzani to pledge assistance from the Peshmerga in the forthcoming battle to liberate Mosul.

Mosul is in Nineveh Province, Northern Iraq; it is home to over two and a half million people. Strict restrictions have been placed on the local population with only trusted traders being allowed to leave and return to the city. The remaining, largely Sunni population has been held hostage. Daesh captured vast quantities of modern American weaponry when the Iraqi army fled and the city has become an almost impregnable fortress. US military commanders who are advising the Iraqis estimate that it may take another year before Mosul can be recaptured.

Aylan Kurdi’s relatives arrive in Canada to start all over again

Aylan Kurdi’s 

Montreal, AFP, 29 December 2015 - Relatives of Aylan Kurdi -- the toddler whose lifeless body was washed ashore on a Turkish beach and has become a heartbreaking symbol of the Syrian refugee crisis -- arrived Monday in Canada where they hope to rebuild their shattered lives.

Canadian media showed the boy’s aunt Tima Kurdi, who now lives in Vancouver after emigrating to Canada in 1992, in tears as she welcomed her brother Mohammed, his wife Ghousun and their three children, at the airport.

Tima Kurdi, from Canada, stands next to a painting of her late nephew, Aylan on a board outside of EU headquarters in Brussels

'Thank you to the Canadian people,' Kurdi said.

'Thank you to our Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau for opening the door and showing the world how everyone should welcome refugees and save lives. Thank you very much for doing this.'

The refugee policy became a political issue some months back, when the Canadian government earlier was accused of refusing asylum to some members of the family who since drowned. Ottawa said it never received the applications.

Abdullah Kurdi, 40, father of Syrian boys Aylan, 3, and Galip, 5,

Trudeau’s Liberal government has pledged to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of February.

The prime minister earlier this month personally welcomed the first group to arrive at the Toronto airport aboard a military transport plane.

Syrian refugees are greeted by Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on their arrival from Beirut at the Toronto Pearson International Airport