Excerpts: US waivering on Saudi religious freedom violation. Tunnel wealth.
2 October 2005
+++JORDAN TIMES 2 Oct.'05:
"US delays showdown with Saudis over rights"
QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"Rice has decided to postpone by six months
imposing sanctions ... in the wake of a US finding
that the Saudi government denied residents some of
the most basic religious freedoms, according to a
State Department official."
"In a report on religious freedom released a year ago,
the US government for the first time designated
Saudi Arabia a country 'of particular concern'."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------EXCERPTS:
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States late Friday put off a showdown with
Saudi Arabia over its alleged violations of religious minority rights
... Rice has decided to postpone by six months imposing sanctions ... in
the wake of a US finding that the Saudi government denied residents some of
the most basic religious freedoms, according to a State Department official.
"The waiver is a temporary measure that allows us to continue discussions
leading to progress on important religious freedom issues," department
spokeswoman Amanda Rogers-Harper told AFP.
In a report on religious freedom released a year ago, the US government for
the first time designated Saudi Arabia a country "of particular concern."
"Freedom of religion is not recognised or protected under the country's
laws, and basic religious freedoms are denied to all but those who adhere to
the state-sanctioned version of Sunni Islam," the report stated.
The Saudi government has repeatedly rejected the charges as unfounded.
The designation, introduced into US diplomatic practice by the 1998
International Religious Freedom Act, usually entails severe penalties,
including economic sanctions, if the designated country fails to institute
reforms.
But the law also gives the secretary of state the right to waive action, if
higher US national interests are at stake.
[IMRA: Oil trumphs religious freedom How about US suspending for six
months its support of Saudi being accepted into the World Trade
Organization?]
Rice decided to exercise her right to a waiver after talks with Saudi
Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal, who visited ... last week to discuss
key security and economic issues ... .
... Rice was able to extract from her Saudi interlocutors what was described
by officials as "Saudi recognition of the need to make improvements" on
religious issues. Political cover thus found, the department vowed to
continue working with Saudi Arabia on the matter.
+++HAARETZ MAGAZINE 29 Sept. '05 :"The Burrowers"By Shlomi Eldar
[IMRA Note, By Dr. Joseph Lerner: Shlomi Eldar omits one support of the
tunnel builders -- volunteers who oppose bulldozing of dwellings crucial to
tunnel excavation and
operation. These "morality"- oriented individuals and organizations
pointedly denounced the bulldozing of such structures as a high level of
evil, but are silent regarding all that goes on in the tunnels and their
wealthy entrepeneurs.]
QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"with the Palestinian Authority in charge of one side of Philadelphia...
suspicion will lead at most to a few days' interrogation and detention"
"When ... the smuggling route operated lethargically, the price of a
Kalashnikov assault rifle soared to $600. In a routine, active market the
price ranges between $250 and $300, a price that everey sensible person
with an instinct for survival can afford in order to safeguard himself and
his family."
"An active tunnel can yield for the entrepeneur and his partners close
to $500,000 in one smuggling operation." [IMRA: 1 smuggling operation
transmits 1,700 to 2,000 Kalashnikovs rifles.]
"For 20,000 dinars ($28,000) the smuggling tunnel can become an escape
route."
"bought 50 hand grenades for $250 each"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
EXCERPTS:
. . .
... the IDF's struggle against the diggers and against the owners of the
tunnels was not totally in vain. It greatly reduced the technical level of
the tunnels... . Unlike in the past, the tunnel owners, the "entrepreneurs,"
understood that there is no chance of building a tunnel that will last for
years, so they decided to go for an "instant" tunnel for one good
arms-smuggling operation, or at most two, before it would be discovered.
When the IDF left the Gaza Strip ... tension decreased tremendously ...with
the Palestinian Authority in charge of one side of Philadelphi, ...
suspicion will lead at most to a few days' interrogation and detention. ...
.
...For a few days the smuggling route moved above ground, driving down the
price of the smuggled goods by dozens of percent and leaving the tunnel
owners fearful of losing their highly lucrative source of livelihood.
. . .
"Don't worry ... the border will be closed again, the way it was. The owners
of the tunnels will see to it that it does not become wide open."
. . .
How many tunnels are below us here?
... Maybe a hundred ... but not all of them are active, especially now after
the price went down and the new situation with the Egyptians isn't clear
yet. Everyone is on hold ... ."
The smuggling market
To own a tunnel in Rafah is a profitable business. The cost of building an
average one, 800 meters long, from the nearby Brazil neighborhood ... is
approximately $30,000. Another $30,000 has to be added to the cost for
paying the owner of the house under which the tunnel is dug a great deal
of money in Gaza terms but a drop in the ocean compared to the profits a
good tunnel can yield ... .
..., there are ups and downs in the prices of the "goods." When ... the
smuggling route operated lethargically, the price of a Kalashnikov assault
rifle soared to $600. In a routine, active market the price ranges between
$250 and $300, a price that every sensible person with an instinct for
survival can afford in order to safeguard himself and his family.
When the border was breached and the smuggling proceeded freely, the price
of a Kalashnikov plummeted to below $200 almost below cost price, ... Smart
"entrepreneurs" have stopped all subterranean activity until the market ...
gets back to normal operations.
Supply and demand also affect the salary of the "moles." In "good" periods a
master excavator could make almost 50 Jordanian dinars ($70) in a day. The
first and second assistants to the team head earn between 30 and 40 dinars,
a huge salary in ... Gaza terms.
An active tunnel can yield for the entrepreneur and his partners close to
$500,000 in one smuggling operation. Just about everything is smuggled:
weapons, ammunition,
explosive charges, hand grenades, drugs and other in-demand merchandise in
the Gaza market which Egyptian merchants can offer in abundance. But not
only merchandise has passed through the tunnels. People sought by the
authorities in Egypt and there are no few of them who flee the wrath of
...the Egyptian secret service found "political asylum" in Gaza. For
20,000 d inra ($28,000), the smuggling tunnel can become an escape route.
The Rafah entrepreneurs will be pleased to offer a one-way ticket ... for
escapees from Egypt or for those wishing to return to Gaza but have been
blocked by Israel.
. . .
After a suitable house has been located under which a tunnel can be dug, the
entrepreneur negotiates its purchase with the owner. ... .
... "The entrepreneur asks the owner how much the house costs. And he tells
him, my house is worth 3,000 dinars ($4,200). Ya'ani, he exaggerated the
price of the house, which is perforated from bullets that slammed into it
all through the intifada. But the merchant does not argue. ... on condition
that you all live in one room and don't say a word about the work. ... ."
"Partnership is also possible. ... If there is a big house, in which all the
unoccupied rooms can be filled with the sand instead of dealing with
dangerous removal,
the owner haggles with the entrepreneur and demands part of the profits."
. . .
...disposing of the sacks of sand is the most sensitive task in the tunnel
business. . . . All the sand of Rafah moved to Khan Yunis."
. . .
By a rough estimate, a tunnel that is 60 centemeters wide, 80 centimetrs
high and 800 meters long will produce more than 750 tons of sand ... .
We stop near a house that was partially destroyed by a bulldozer . ... "its
nothing. People live here." ... .
. . .
"Since ... the Israelis ... being replaced by the Egyptians tunneling has
stopped ... everyone wants to see which way the wind is blowing."
The Egyptians don't kid around... "on the other side, if they find a house
where a tunnel has been dug, it is the death penalty for everyone ... we do
not go into the houses with the tunnels there, no family will agree to that.
... we leave via orchards and groves, whch are camouflaged well. There is a
liason man there who gets $1,000 just to guard the opening and open and
close it ..."
How is the cooperation on the other side arranged?
..."We have guys there who wait for s to get below them and then guide us
there so that we will get to the finishing point." By telephone? "Yes, by
telephone."
. . .
My "contact" also took advantage of ...the breached border immediately after
the IDF pullout. He bought 50 hand grenades for $250 each, he said "because
here in Gaza no one knows what tomorrow will bring."
Dr. Joseph Lerner, Co-Director IMRA
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