Eurasia Security Watch: No. 192

HAJJ ROW RAISES SAUDI-HAMAS TENSIONS
Every year, the annual hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca sees roughly two million Muslims from across the Islamic world flock to Islam's two holiest sites, located in Saudi Arabia. The logistical problems the pilgrimage can create for Riyadh are legendary, but the annual hajj has been known to raise political tensions as well. This year, a spat over the issuing of visas has spilled into a shouting match between Saudi Arabia and Hamas, the de facto ruler of the Gazan section of the Palestinian Territories. Saudi Arabia (an ally of Fatah, Hamas' political rival in West Bank) is accused by the militant group of issuing hajj visas to thousands of West Bank residents while denying all 2,200 applications from the Gaza Strip. In retaliation, Hamas refused visa holders from the West Bank access to the Rafah crossing which would take them to Saudi Arabia through Egypt. A strongly-worded commentary on Hamas' website warned Saudi Arabia that it was "making a political mistake that will have negative consequences on the Saudi regime and the whole region." (Agence France Presse, December 1, 2008)

JONES PLAN FOR WEST BANK GETS COLD RECEPTION
Israel is sending an early message to President-elect Obama that a plan favored by his National Security Advisor, Gen. James Jones, will not go down well in Jerusalem. Gen. Jones is on the record as supporting the insertion of a NATO force into the West Bank if and when Israel withdraws from the territory as part of the peace process. The international force would then provide security until Palestinian security forces proved capable enough to assume control. However, the plan is making the Israeli Defense Forces "particularly wary," according to a top IDF officer. "NATO is a very bad idea... NATO will not want to endanger its soldiers on behalf of Israeli citizens." (Jerusalem Post, December 3, 2008)

TURKEY, EU SPAR OVER MEMBERSHIP
The matter of Turkey's accession to the European Union has been a sensitive and increasingly controversial topic for both Brussels and Ankara for years. Turkey has long been frustrated by what it sees as excessive demands and special requirements from the EU, while skeptics in European capitals have raised the alarm about opening the Union's borders to Turkey's 70 million Muslims. Now, a scathing report from the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs - full of "serious warnings" for Ankara - is hardening opinions on the Turkish side. "We are not a country which can only maintain its existence by joining a group... Turkey is already a very important country on its own," Turkey's foreign minister, Ali Babacan, told reporters on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels. An equally critical report by the European Commission released in November evoked a similar response, when Ankara warned the EU that without Turkey, its status as a global power was at risk. (Istanbul Zaman, December 5, 2008)

MEDIA CRACKDOWN IN BAKU AND BISHKEK
A decision by Azerbaijan to ban foreign radio broadcasts on local frequencies is being heavily criticized by Baku's western allies, who are mounting a campaign to have the proposed law revoked before it takes effect on January 1, 2009. The BBC, Radio Free Europe, and the Voice of America would all be affected by the regulation. During a recent trip to Baku, Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis reminded Azerbaijan that "freedom of expression is one of the most important European values." While Senator Richard Lugar, ranking member of the Senate's powerful Foreign Relations Committee, sent a strongly-worded letter to Azeri president Ilham Aliyev, stressing his "disappointment" at the new ordinance. "The removal of these stations from FM frequencies would undoubtedly be viewed as a negative and unhelpful signal in Washington as we enter the transition between presidential administrations," Lugar's letter read.

If successful, Azerbaijan's move would mirror action taken in October by Kyrgyzstan to silence western radio programs. It was then that U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe found itself unable to transmit into the former Soviet republic. Attempts by RFE to engage the Kyrgyz government on the matter have been either "ignored or rebuffed," and it strenuously denies a charge that it has run up service bills of $57,000. London's BBC joined Radio Free Europe in exile on December 6th when its programs were also cut from Kyrgyz airwaves. Western media outlets are not the only news outlets under fire in Kyrgyzstan, however. A slew of other outlets have recently been the targets of growing governmental pressure from Baku. Paul Quinn-Judge of the International Crisis Group believes the hostile media environment "reflects the insecurity of the regime" and that the decision to clamp down on media "was taken at a high level." (Radio Free Europe, December 2 and 9, 2008; eurasianet.org, December 9, 2008)