Excerpts: Iran charges Swedish firm as Western spy agency. Saudi deals with
smuggled weapons, ammunition, etc. Iraq on highest alert. France willing to
arm Lebanese army, Syria: a new embrace of civil society August 29, 2010

+++SOURCE: Egyptiian Gazette 29 Aug '10:"Swedish firm aimed to harm regime-
Iran", A.F.P.
EXCERPTS:
SUBJECT: Iran charges Swedish firm as Western spy agency

EXCERPTS:TEHRAN- Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi accused Swedish
cosmetics firm Oriflame on Saturday(28 Aug) of trying to harm Iran's
security after five of its employees were arrested amid allegations of
espionage.

"Oriflame intended to fight the (Iranian) system. There are no economic
reasons behind the company," Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi was quoted
by state television as telling reporters at the Imam Khomeini mausoleum in
Tehran.
"We realised through the evidence that the arrogance (Western powers)
and intelligence agencies sought to create security problems for the country
through this company," he said.
In Stockholm, an Oriflame representative said the firm is not involved
in any political activities.
"We are a cosmetics company, we are selling direct. We are of course not
involved in any political activities in the country (Iran). It is very very
difficult to comment on" the accusations, chief financial officer Gabriel
Bennet told AFP.
Iranian authorities on August 22 closed the Tehran office of the
direct-sales cosmetics firm and arrested five of its employees amid
allegations that it was running a pyramid scheme and was possibly backed by
a spy agency.
One of those being held is a dual Swedish-Iranian national.
Oriflame says it has not yet received information as to why its office
was shuttered and its employees detained.
"It's very difficult to comment on this because we don't know why our
colleagues have been detained, we don't know why the company has been shut
down," Bennet said.
"We are seeking a dialogue with the authorities but we need to know more
about why we are in this situation before we can make any comments.
"We are doing our utmost to solve the situation in Iran and especially
for our colleagues being detained," he added.
Moslehi's latest charge comes just days after he accused firms such as
Oriflame of being backed by intelligence agencies.
"These companies operate with outside support and are not engaged in
economic activities. They are under the guidance of spy agencies," he said
on Wednesday(25 Aug).
Bennet said last Monday (23 Aug)Oriflame believed the closure and
arrests may be linked to its business model.
He told AFP then that the firm's business model was to "sell cosmetics
and give 40,000 Iranians, mainly women, a possibility to earn money through
direct sales."
He dismissed any reference to Oriflame operating a pyramid scheme as
"ridiculous."
Earlier this week the Swedish foreign ministry quizzed Iran's ambassador
in Stockholm Rasoul Eslami over the shutdown and arrests.. . .

+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 29 Aug.'10:"Smuggling of large quantity of firearms
foiled" By Mansour Al-Shehri
SUBJECT: Saudi deals with smuggled weapons, ammunition, etc

FULL TEXT:RIYADH - The Saudi Customs Department, in collaboration with the
Ministry of Interior, last year foiled attempts to smuggle considerable
amounts of illegal items, including 1,190 weapons and military materials,
and investigated 354 people involved in smuggling, sources said.
An estimated 71 percent of smuggling attempts were foiled and the smugglers
were referred to authorities in the Ministry of Interior, sources said.
The Customs Department, which seized 1,153 firearms that 180 people tried to
smuggle into the Kingdom and 37 packages of military materials that were
being carried by ten people, also made numerous seizures of forged
documents, drugs, alcohol, jewelry and other items, according to sources.
Officials found 2,083,871 bullets that 164 smugglers tried to bring into the
country, they added.
More than 7 tons of narcotics, over 43 million Captagon pills and 103,000
bottles of liquor were seized, according to the report, which found that
most smuggling attempts were made at land borders.
Authorities arrested 82 people who attempted to bring 103,978 forged
documents into the country, department sources said.
Also, 5,167 banned religious books and materials were seized from 379
people and four people were arrested for trying to smuggle 28 banned
political books and materials, sources said.
Officials caught 2,326 people who tried to smuggle 9,851 items that
contravened the public taste and morals, along with 20 others who tried to
bring 7,477 banned literary and technical materials into Saudi Arabia.
Customs investigators also foiled attempts to smuggle 9,252,098 pieces of
jewelry and precious metals that were carried by 67 people, the sources
disclosed.
The number of seizures was the highest on King Fahd Causeway, which connects
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and Al-Hadeetha border post was the site of the
highest number of seizures of narcotic pills; 21 million pills were seized
there, followed by Al-Durra with more than 10 million pills and Dhiba
Seaport on the Red Sea with seizures of more than 6 million narcotic pills,
Customs Department sources said.
Smuggling through airports reached 25 percent of the total seizures with the
highest number of cases at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh,
followed by King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, according to
sources.
Smuggling attempts through sea ports represented the lowest number of cases,
just two percent of the seizures. King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam had the
highest number of sea-based smuggling attempts, followed by Jeddah Islamic
Port. - Okaz/SG OTHER NEWS FROM Front Page
13,000-strong special force to control crowd at Holy Haram
250,000 visitors expected in Madina by Ramadan-end

+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 29 Aug.'10:"Iraq on highest alert; US mission nears
end"

SUBJECT:' Iraq on higest alert '

QUOTE:" 'Obama: ' The bottom line is this; the war is ending.' "

FULL TEXT:BAGHDAD - Iraq's prime minister put his nation on its highest
level of alert for terror attacks, warning of plots to sow fear and chaos as
the US combat mission in the country formally ends Tuesday (31 Aug.).
The Iraqi security forces who will be left in charge of guarding the nation
have been hammered by near-daily bomb attacks, prompting criticism of the
government's readiness for the American troop drawdown.
Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki said Friday(27 Aug) that Iraqi intelligence
indicated an Al-Qaeda front group and members of Saddam Hussein's outlawed
Baath party are collaborating to launch attacks "to create fear and chaos
and kill more innocents." "We direct the Iraqi forces, police and army and
other security forces, to take the highest alert and precautionary measures
to foil this criminal planning," Al-Maliki said in a statement to state-run
television.
A senior Iraqi intelligence official said security forces believe suicide
bombers have entered the country with plans to strike unspecified targets in
Baghdad by month's end.
President Barack Obama, meanwhile, used his weekly radio address to reaffirm
his campaign promise to end the war in Iraq and refocus on Afghanistan as
home to the top threats against America. "The bottom line is this: the war
is ending," Obama said from the Massachusetts island retreat of Martha's
Vineyard, where he was on vacation.
"Like any sovereign, independent nation, Iraq is free to chart its own
course."
"In the months ahead, our troops will continue to support and train Iraqi
forces, partner with Iraqis in counterterrorism missions and protect our
civilian and military efforts," Obama said.
And by the end of next year, all of our troops will be home."
Al-Maliki said insurgents would try to exploit widespread frustration with
years of frequent power outages and problems with other public services by
staging riots and attacks on government offices.
"They will also work on taking advantage of some of the crises of services
... to spread chaos," he said.
Hours after his remarks, the Al-Qaeda-linked militants claimed
responsibility for more than two dozen bombings and shootings across the
nation this week that killed 56 people - more than half of them Iraqi
soldiers and policemen.
In a statement posted on a militant website Saturday(28 Aug), the group said
the coordinated attacks targeted the "headquarters and centers and security
barriers for the army and the apostate police."
Under a security agreement between Washington and Baghdad, all US troops are
to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.
The prime minister seemed to recognize that security forces alone would not
be able to stop the attacks, and he appealed to citizens to be vigilant.
"We call on the nation to have open eyes to monitor the movements of those
terrorists and keep such criminal gangs from halting the progress of our
nation." - Agencies

+++SOURCE: Naharnet 29 Aug.'10:"Paris Adamant to Fulfill its Promise of
Arming
Military"

SUBJECT: France willing to arm Lebanese army.

QUOTE:" 'France ... intends to fulfill ... its commitment to Lebanon's
sovereignty, independence and stability ' "

Paris reportedly intends to keep its promise of arming the Lebanese Armed
Forces, pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat daily reported Sunday(29 Aug).
Citing official French sources, the newspapers said Paris considers arming
the military, not from an Israeli or U.S. perspective, but from the need for
maintaining civil peace and protecting Lebanese institutions as well as
Lebanon's sovereignty and independence.

"Lebanon needs a strong army and France promised to help provide weapons and
intends to fulfill its promise . its commitment to Lebanon's sovereignty,
independence and stability," one French source said.

Ashara al-Awsat also quoted well-informed French sources as saying that
Paris has shown disapproval of the way Lebanese authorities deal with this
key issue amidst lack of effective communication between political and
military leaders where top political leaders seem to be unfamiliar with the
details.

French political sources, meanwhile, said Congress and the U.S. Senate's
demands that France backs down on decision to supply Lebanon with 100 "hot"
missiles (mounted on Gazelle helicopter gunships) comes in the context of
Washington's reaction following the Adeisseh border clash between Lebanese
and Israel troops.

The sources believed that "the quantity of these missiles cannot change
anything in the balance of power, which blatantly tips toward Israel." [
IMRA: Who is Lebanon's enemy?]

+++SOURCE: New York Times 29 Aug.'10:"Doors Start to Open to Activists in
Syria",By KAREEM FAHIM

SUBJECT: Syria:a new embrace of civil society

QUOTE:" 'Part of the challenge we face in Syria,' Mrs. Assad said ...'is how
do you take incredible people and incredible ideas and make them an
incredible reality.' "
EXCERPTS:ALEPPO, Syria - For five years, Chavia Ali's attempts to start a
disability rights group were thwarted - by prejudice, a lack of money and
the Syrian government's stranglehold on civic life. The government gave her
a license, but prevented the group from meeting because of what Ms. Ali
believes was a whisper campaign against her, a Kurd with a growing profile.
Then everything changed.
Last year, Ms. Ali was told that a third of her budget would be paid by a
group led by Asma al-Assad, the wife of the Syrian president, Bashar
al-Assad. Now Ms. Ali, 29, is everywhere, giving television interviews,
speaking at ministry conferences and having her picture taken with the first
lady.
The reversal of her group's fortunes is part of an overture that government
officials have described as a new embrace of civil society.
But the embrace is complicated. Even as doors have opened for a few people,
like Ms. Ali, they have shut with increasing frequency on activists
demanding greater political rights, according to human rights lawyers here.
While some rights advocates welcome any opening, no matter how small, others
say it extends only to groups that pose no challenge to the established
order.
"Civil society means free people create free initiatives," said one Syrian
activist, one of many who, fearing government reprisal, requested anonymity.
"How can un-free people do that?"
Ms. Ali embodies the conundrum. Her cousin was arrested this summer by the
security services during one of their regular sweeps through Kurdish
villages, but she refuses to talk about what happened.
"Some ideas you can't touch," she said. "I don't want to go outside of my
case. I am working on disabilities."
. . ."Part of the challenge we face in Syria," Mrs. Assad said at the
gathering, "is how do you take incredible people and incredible ideas and
make them an incredible reality?" . . .
======
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA