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Rothschilds Stage Revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt To Kill Islamic Banks In
Emerging North African Markets
PwP Exclusive ©Feb 9 2011
Background: Tunisia has undergone increasing economic liberalization over
the last decade: In the 2010-2011 World Economic Forum’s Global
Competitiveness Report, it was ranked as the most competitive country in
Africa, as well as the 32nd most economically competitive country globally.
North Africa’s large Muslim populations are a vast business opportunity
for Islamic banking and other businesses.
Contrary to popular belief, the world’s finances are controlled by
privately-owned “central banks” masquerading as federal government banks
in nearly every country in the world [The U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth
Circuit, ruled that The Federal Reserve (U.S.' central bank) was privately
owned in 680 F.2d 1239, LEWIS v. UNITED STATES of America, No. 80-5905].
Though it is a carefully guarded secret, the Rothschilds and their
associates own most the shares in the central banks (Federal Reserve
Directors: A Study of Corporate and Banking Influence, Committee on Banking,
Currency and Housing, House of Representatives, 1976, Charts 1-5) (Mullins,
Eustice Secrets of the Federal Reserve 1983). With extremely little
government input, the economies of Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, and
Algeria are strictly controlled by the Rothschild’s central banks and their
International Monetary Fund.
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THE MOTIVE: FOLLOW THE MONEY
Islamic banks have been eating into Rothschild profits in the Middle East
because: they don’t charge interest (Shariah Law), they are growing very
rapidly among the world’s exploding Muslim populations, and (in these
catastrophic economic times) they are more stable than western banks.
While it is a very good thing that people are freed from the tyranny of
dictators, they also need to be freed from the tyranny of economic control
and serfdom. The relevant moral question is: Do the means justify the end?.
Deposed Tunisian President Ben Ali’s son-in-law, Sakher El Materi, opened
Tunisia’s first Islamic bank, Zitouna Bank, on May 26, 2010. Zitouna Bank
is the first Islamic bank in the Maghreb region [North Africa]. The bank
was a first step toward Ben Ali’s new program of extensive reforms, “
Tunisia, a Pole for Banking Services and a Regional Financial Centre”,
which would have undermined the power and the profits of the Central Bank of
Tunisia (privately-owned by the Rothschilds and their associates).
The Telegraph (October 19 2010) reported on the opening of the megaproject
Tunis Financial Harbour –President Ben Ali’s bid to make Tunisia the
regional financial centre of North Africa and beyond: “Islamic investment
bank Gulf Finance House (GFH) and the Tunisian government have created the
first offshore finance centre in North Africa. The centre will be part of
Tunis Financial Harbour, a $3 billion waterfront development in Tunis . . .
GFH, which is based in Bahrain, hopes the centre will allow Tunisia to take
advantage of its strategic position on the Mediterranean sea, and operate
as a bridge between the EU and the rapidly growing economies of North Africa
[and subSaharan Africa].”
“However, despite the current poor climate, the potential for Islamic
banking in Egypt is huge, and one should expect more moves from Abu Dhabi
Islamic Bank into Egypt, possibly in the form of a buyout,” Executive
Magazine (Feb 8 2011) reports, “A recent Middle East Business Intelligence
report said it best, when it opined, ‘If Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank can make a
success of offering Islamic products, the whole market will open up. We have
already seen some of the local banks start to advertise their Islamic
products in view of the competition for customers they see about to begin.’
“Clearly Islamic banks in the Gulf are already anticipating the day when
their home markets are saturated. And it appears that Egypt will be on the
next front-line in the development of regional Islamic banking and finance.”
“African countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and
Sudan are keen on future sukuk exercises (issuing Islamic bonds). Gambia
debuted with a US$166m sukuk deal, privately sold in the US in 2006.” [
International Finance Review (Reuters), 2008]
The New York Times article “Islamic banking rises on oil wealth, drawing
non-Muslims” ( November 22, 2007) reported: “Rising oil wealth is
lifting Islamic banking – which adheres to the laws of the Koran and its
prohibition against charging interest – into the financial mainstream. . .
. In addition to Islamic loans, there are Islamic bonds, Islamic credit
cards . . . Loans and bonds that conform to the Koran are already available
in the United States. . . .
“’This is an industry on its way from a niche industry to becoming a truly
global industry,’ said Khawaja Mohammad Salman Younis, the managing
director for operations in Malaysia for Kuwait Finance House, the world’s
second-largest Islamic bank. ‘In the next three to five years you’ll see
Islamic banks coming out in Australia, China, Japan and other parts of the
world.’
“In Islamic banking, financiers are required to share borrowers’ risks,
meaning that depositors are treated more like shareholders, earning a
portion of profits. Financing deals resemble lease-to-own arrangements,
layaway plans, joint purchase and sale agreements, or partnerships.
“The stampede into Islamic finance is mostly an effort to tap an estimated
$1.5 trillion of funds sloshing around the Middle East, largely from higher
oil prices. . . .Those investments have helped ignite an economic revival
throughout the Muslim world at a time of increasing religious conservatism
among Islam’s 1.6 billion faithful. A result is expanding demand for
financial services that adhere to Islamic law . . .
“And while the biggest Islamic banks are in the wealthy Gulf states, the
most attractive potential markets are in Turkey and North Africa (emphasis
added) and among European Muslims. . . .
“. . . even non-Muslims are taking advantage of a growing range of Islamic
products offering competitive returns. For instance, David Ong-Yeoh, a
public relations executive tired of fretting over the rising interest rate
on his adjustable rate mortgage, refinanced to a 30-year fixed loan from an
Islamic financial institution. Now, he pays regular installments that
include a predetermined profit margin for the bank.
“’The terms are better than on conventional loans,’ said Ong-Yeoh, 41.
“Islamic finance also avoids other prohibited practices. Shariah-compliant
bankers cannot receive or provide funds for anything involving alcohol,
gambling, pornography, tobacco, weapons or pork. Proponents of Islamic
banking say these are limits any socially conscious investor can support,
Muslim or not. They also envision wider appeal for Islamic banking’s ban on
interest, which stems from the Koran’s prohibition against usury.
“This is a view that has a long religious and historical tradition.
Interest is repeatedly condemned in the Bible. Aristotle denounced it, the
Romans limited it, and the early Christian church prohibited it. . . .
“The belief that all interest charges are unjust now underpins Islamic
finance. . . .Hoarding is frowned upon in the Koran, so savings earn no
return unless put to productive use.
“’Money should be used for creating better value in the country or the
economy,’ Maraj said. ‘Money cannot generate money.’
“Nor can Islamic banks simply trade money. ‘In the Islamic finance model,
the banks are supposed to mobilize funds through a fund management concept,
’ said Rafe Haneef, head of Islamic banking in Asia for Citigroup.
“Indeed, Islamic banking is supposed to function more like private equity
firms than conventional banking. ‘Private equity is an Islamic concept,’
Haneef said.
“Industry proponents say this risk-sharing requirement helps reduce the
kind of abuses that led to the subprime mortgage mess in the United States.
Scholars consider it un-Islamic to overload a customer with debt or invest
in a company with excessive debt.”
The Washington Post, “Islamic Banking: Steady In Shaky Times” (Oct 31 2008
), reported: “As big Western financial institutions have teetered one
after the other in the crisis of recent weeks, another financial sector is
gaining new confidence: Islamic banking. Proponents of the ancient practice
, which looks to sharia law for guidance and bans interest and trading in
debt, have been promoting Islamic finance as a cure for the global financial
meltdown.
“This week, Kuwait’s commerce minister, Ahmad Baqer, was quoted as saying
that the global crisis will prompt more countries to use Islamic principles
in running their economies. U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert M. Kimmet,
visiting Jiddah, said experts at his agency have been learning the features
of Islamic banking.
“Though the trillion-dollar Islamic banking industry faces challenges with
the slump in real estate and stock prices, advocates say the system has
built-in protection from the kind of runaway collapse that has afflicted so
many institutions. For one thing, the use of financial instruments such as
derivatives, blamed for the downfall of banking, insurance and investment
giants, is banned. So is excessive risk-taking.
“’The beauty of Islamic banking and the reason it can be used as a
replacement for the current market is that you only promise what you own [
contrast to western banks fractional reserve system]. Islamic banks are not
protected if the economy goes down — they suffer — but you don’t lose
your shirt,’ said Majed al-Refaie, who heads Bahrain-based Unicorn
Investment Bank.
“The theological underpinning of Islamic banking is scripture that declares
that collection of interest is a form of usury, which is banned in Islam.
In the modern world, that translates into an attitude toward money that is
different from that found in the West: Money cannot just sit and generate
more money. To grow, it must be invested in productive enterprises.
“’In Islamic finance you cannot make money out of thin air,’ said Amr al-
Faisal, a board member of Dar al-Mal al-Islami, a holding company that owns
several Islamic banks and financial institutions. ‘Our dealings have to be
tied to actual economic activity, like an asset or a service. You cannot
make money off of money. You have to have a building that was actually
purchased, a service actually rendered, or a good that was actually sold.’
“Islamic bankers describe depositors as akin to partners — their money is
invested, and they share in the profits or, theoretically, the losses that
result. (In interviews, bankers couldn’t recall a case in which depositors
actually lost money; this shows that banks put such funds only in very low-
risk investments, they said.)”
It is easy to see why the Rothschilds and their network of conventional
western banks would be threatened by competition from the more appealing,
more conservative Islamic banks.
Late in 2008, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde announced France’s
intention to make Paris “the capital of Islamic finance” and said several
Islamic banks would open branches in the French capital in 2009. French
sources estimate this area of the financial market is worth from 500 to 600
billion dollars and could grow by an average 11 percent a year.
John Sandwick, managing director of Swiss asset management firm Encore
Management, characterized the opening of several Swiss Islamic banks as, “
the race to control the rich prize: which today is worth hundreds of
billions, but in the future will be trillions of dollars of Islamic wealth.”
“According to Standard and Poor’s, Islamic banking assets reached about $
400 billion throughout the world in 2009. In November 2010, The Banker
published its latest authoritative list of the Top 500 Islamic Finance
Institutions with Iran topping the list. Seven out of ten top Islamic banks
in the world are Iranian according to the list.” (iStockAnalyst, Feb 8,
2011)
BEN ALI’S SON OPENS FIRST ISLAMIC BANK IN ATTRACTIVE NORTH AFRICAN MARKET
Commenting on the opening of Zitouna (Islamic) Bank, International Business
Times (May 28 2010) reported, “North Africa has begun to embrace Islamic
finance after years watching from the sidelines, partly to channel more Arab
Gulf petrodollars into the region. . . .Tunisia has one of the most open
economies in the region and attracts substantial investment from the
European Union, something that is expected to accelerate after 2014, when
the government has said it will make the currency (the Tunisian dinar) fully
convertible.”
Global Islamic Finance News (May 31, 2010) reported, “Zitouna Bank also
seeks to impart a regional dimension on its activities, particularly in the
Maghreb region [North Africa], all the more so that it is the first
specialised bank not belonging to a foreign banking group,” and went on to
add, “The Bank will also seek to forge strong relations with the Maghreb
and Mediterranean banks to ensure needed flow of financial operations for
its customers. The bank officials stressed that the financial institution
has established relations with 12 Islamic banks in collaboration with the
Institute of Islamic banks in Bahrain.
Zitouna bank’s formation had been announced earlier in the Official Gazette
of the Republic of Tunisia on 10 September 2009. Tunisia and Morocco
authorized Islamic finance in 2007, partly to channel more investment into
their fast-growing tourism and real estate industries.
Due to his being the son-in-law of President Ben Ali, El Materi’s Zitouna
Bank was expanding in Tunisia to the level of monopoly. El Materi had
built a powerful business empire: he ran businesses in News and Media,
Banking and Financial Services, Automotive, Shipping and Cruises, Real
Estate and Agriculture, Pharmaceuticals and last November 22 he bought a 50
% stake in Orascom Telecom for 0.2 billion.
The newly-opened Tunis Financial Harbour was on the brink of becoming the
regional financial centre of North Africa and, with its strategic position
on the Mediterranean sea, becoming a bridge between the EU and the rapidly
growing economies of North Africa and subSaharan Africa.
On January 20 2011, ZItouna Bank, Tunisia’s first Islamic bank was seized
by the Central Bank of Tunisia (Rothschilds). The bank owned by Sakher El
Materi, the thirty-year-old son-in-law of deposed Tunisian leader Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali has been placed under “the control” of the central bank.
Materi is presently in Dubai. The move came a day after 33 of Ben Ali’s
clan were arrested for crimes against the nation. State television showed
what it said was seized gold and jewellery. Switzerland has also frozen Ben
Ali’s family assets.
EGYPT’S ISLAMIC BANKS THREATENED BY ROTHSCHILD REVOLUTION: OLD MAN POTTER
VS HARRY BAILEY
The following scenario is right out of the 1946, Frank Capra film It’s a
Wonderful Life with Old Man Potter (Rothschild) creating a run on Harry
Bailey’s traditional Savings and Loans (Islamic bank):
Islamic (halal) banking products have not made significant inroads in North
Africa yet, except in Egypt. “. . . There are several Islamic banks
operating in Egypt: Faisal Islamic Bank, Al Baraka Egypt (Al Ahram Bank) and
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank NBD . . . There may be others as well,” says Blake
Goud, an expert on Islamic Finance (The Review – Middle East, Jan 31 2011)
, “. . . and the risks of a run on the bank should concern those interested
in Islamic banking around the world because it could provide a test of how
resilient Islamic banks really are to crisis.
“What I mean is that the Egyptian situation, which could be a fantastic
opportunity for the Egyptian people, could expose a weakness within the
Islamic banking industry if it is problematic. The main risk to any bank is
that there is a run and the bank cannot meet depositor withdrawals with the
cash available on hand. This forces the bank to raise cash from other means.
In most cases, it can either get an inter-bank loan from another bank
overnight that allows it to handle withdrawals. If other banks are hesitant
to lend to a given bank because of fears of asset quality, then the bank
will usually have access to an overnight borrowing facility with the central
bank, which operates as the lender of last resort.
“The key for Islamic banks is that they are not able to take advantage of
the inter-bank lending market, nor are they able to borrow from (or lend to)
the central bank (emphasis added) because those loans are interest-bearing.
The only alternative is to find other banks (mostly Islamic banks) willing
to extend Shari’ah-compliant, bilateral loans often using commodity
murabaha. In a country like Egypt where the Islamic banking industry is a
small portion of the total banking system, it does not create a systemic
risk if Islamic banks fail, but it does matter a lot to the depositors of
other Islamic banks in the country and globally. If there is the potential
that a run on an Islamic bank will not be stopped by someone; whether that
is a foreign bank, a multi-lateral bank like the Islamic Development Bank or
the central bank of Egypt (through emergency measures), then it could hurt
confidence in Islamic banks.
“If neither of these options are available, the bank will have to try to
raise funds by selling its assets, most of which (loans) are illiquid in the
short run. It will have to take a loss on the sale to realize the cash it
needs to meet withdrawals. If this continues and the bank sells enough
assets at a discount to the value they are held on the balance sheet, the
bank’s equity will be negative (the value of assets minus liabilities) and
it will become insolvent (having earlier only been illiquid). This is the
fundamental danger in banking from a financial stability perspective. If
enough banks face runs and have to sell assets, the run could become self-
sustaining and contagious. Even a healthy bank facing a run can become
insolvent.
“The loss of confidence is more than just a reputational hit and a hit on
the egos of Islamic bankers. It would make it more difficult for Islamic
banks to attract and retain depositors and it could raise the cost at which
it can attract depositors. This would make the bank, all other things equal,
less profitable (it makes profit of the spread between the return on
invested funds and the cost of funds borrowed from depositors). Lower
profitability will lower the attractiveness of Islamic banks to equity
investors limiting their ability to increase capital through equity
offerings (or at least increasing the dilution to current shareholders). It
will lower the amount available to supplement capital as well as pay
dividends to its shareholders.
“Therefore, it is important that the Islamic banks in Egypt make it through
the ‘run’ that is predicted if it materializes, not just for those banks
’ shareholders, but also for the Islamic banking industry.”
In contrast, Bloomberg reports, “Egypt’s banks may risk a surge in
customer withdrawals when they open for business, placing them among
companies worst hit by the nationwide uprising against President Hosni
Mubarak. … Central Bank Governor Farouk El-Okdah said in a telephone
interview Jan. 29 that his bank has $36 billion in reserves, enough to
accommodate investors should they wish to withdraw funds. His deputy, Hisham
Ramez, said interbank lending “will function properly” when banks are
reopened. He said the security situation will determine when that is
possible.
“Asked about the risk of a bank run, Mohamed Barakat, chairman of state-run
Banque Misr and head of the country’s banking association, said in a
telephone interview that Egyptian lenders are ‘very liquid,’” with
average loan-to-deposit ratios of 53 percent. […] “The Egyptian interbank
offered rate, the rate banks charge to lend to each other, is at a 16-month
high of 8.5 percent.”
THE MEANS: SPONSOR PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS
These Rothschild revolutions are done under the pretense of bringing
democracy and deposing despots, but the real aim is to initially create
chaos and a leadership vacuum, then quickly offer a solution: install a
puppet that will do the economic bidding of the Rothschilds. The citizens
gain freedom of speech and association, but become economic serfs.
These revolutions are most likely coordinated at the highest levels by the
Rothschild’s International Crisis Group. Mohamed ElBaradei is already
being touted as a new leader for Egypt. ElBaradei is a trustee of the
International Crisis Group. Another board member of this group is Zbigniew
Brzezinski. George Soros sits on the executive committee. The later two
are ubiquitous front men for the Rothschilds.
The revolutions are from the same playbook as the fairly nonviolent “color
revolutions”. These revolutions have been successful in Serbia (especially
the Bulldozer Revolution (2000), in Georgia’s Rose Revolution (2003), in
Ukraine’s Orange Revolution (2004), in Lebanon’s Cedar Revolution and (
though more violent than the previous ones) in Kyrgyzstan’s Tulip
Revolution (2005), and Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution. Iran’s Green
Revolution (2009) was unsuccessful.
The Guardian reported (Nov 26, 2004) that the following were “directly
involved” in organizing the colour revolutions: George Soros’ Open
Society Foundation, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the
International Republican Institute, and Freedom House. The Washington Post
and the New York Times also reported substantial Western involvement in
some of these events.
Activists from Otpor in Serbia have said that publications and training
they received from the US based Albert Einstein Institution staff have been
instrumental in the formation of their strategies. The Albert Einstein
Institution is funded by the Soros Foundation and NED. (Wikipedia)
In the article, “Georgia revolt carried mark of Soros” (November 26, 2003)
, the Globe & Mail reported, “[Soros' Open Society Institute] sent a 31-
year-old Tbilisi activist named Giga Bokeria to Serbia to meet with members
of the Otpor (Resistance) movement and learn how they used street
demonstrations to topple dictator Slobodan Milosevic. Then, in the summer,
Mr. Soros’s foundation paid for a return trip to Georgia by Otpor activists
, who ran three-day courses teaching more than 1,000 students how to stage a
peaceful revolution.”
Several protest organizers on the streets in Egypt last week were wearing
Otpor t-shirts. These t-shirts are given out by Otpor at training sessions
. This is only to say that there may be a link here, between Soros and
Tunisian protesters.
In 2007-08, Freedom House [funded by Soros and the Middle Eastern
Partnership Initiative (MEPI)] ran the following program: “New Generation
of Advocates, a MEPI-funded program that supports young civil society
activists working for peaceful political change in the Middle East and North
Africa, spearheaded the “Lawyers against Corruption” campaign in Tunisia.
”(Freedom House website). The group of “journalists, lawyers, and other
activists who advocate for democratic reform” had a meeting with then
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on a trip to Washington on
International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2008. In May 2009, U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the group of activist/dissidents
. Freedom House reported on their website that the group also visited “U.S
. government officials, members of Congress, media outlets and think tanks .
. . After returning to Egypt, the fellows received small grants to
implement innovative initiatives such as advocating for political reform
through Facebook and SMS messaging.” (emphasis added)
And also from the Freedom House website: “From February 27 to March 13 [
2010], Freedom House hosted 11 bloggers from the Middle East and North
Africa for a two-week Advanced New Media Study Tour in Washington, D.C.”
In 2010, Soros’ Open Society Institute funded a grant called ‘Can It Tweet
its way to Democracy? The promise of Participatory Media in Africa’
described on the OSI website as “. . . . Ethiopia and Egypt have been the
current focus of the research programme; the OSI funding will allow the
project to be expanded to include: Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Eritrea and
Rwanda. . . . it is hoped that it will contribute to the understanding of
the new media in Africa and its links to democratization. It is also
intended that the study will be used as a source material for future
research.”
Facebook and Twitter were the primary means of organizing the revolution in
Egypt: “Activists from Egypt’s Kifaya (Enough) movement – a coalition of
government opponents – and the 6th of April Youth Movement organized the
protests on the Facebook and Twitter . . . .” (Voice of America)
In the Foreign Policy Journal, Dr. D.K. Bolton (Jan 19 2011) writes, “NED [
National Endowment for Democracy] and Soros work in tandem, targeting the
same regimes and using the same methods. . . . At least ten of the twenty-
two directors of NED are also members of the plutocratic think tank, the
Council on Foreign Relations . . . .” (The Council of Foreign Relations is
the American sister of the Rothschild’s Royal Institute of International
Affairs in Britain: both are instruments of plutocratic control hiding in
plain sight.
The following is a partial list of grants from the NED website for 2009 (the
latest year available):
In Tunisia the focus was on training youth activists:
“Al-Jahedh Forum for Free Thought $131,000 To strengthen the capacity and
build a democratic culture among Tunisian youth activists.
“Mohamed Ali Center for Research, Studies and Training $33,500 To train a
core group of Tunisian youth activists on leadership and organizational
skills to encourage their involvement in public life. [MACRST] will conduct
a four-day intensive training of trainers program for a core group of 10
young Tunisian civic activists on leadership and organizational skills;
train 50 male and female activists aged 20 to 40 on leadership and empowered
decision-making; and work with the trained activists through 50 on-site
visits to their respective organizations.
“Association for the Promotion of Education $27,000 To strengthen the
capacity of Tunisian high school teachers to promote democratic and civic
values in their classrooms. APES will conduct a training-of-trainers
workshop for 10 university professors and school inspectors, and hold three
two-day capacity building seminars for 120 high school teachers . . . .”
The above organizations and others have been recipients of ongoing NED
grants in Tunisia, as the following list from previous years indicates:
2008: Al-Jahedh Forum for Free Thought received $57,000 to train Tunisian
activists; Mohamed Ali Centre for Research got $37,800; Tunisian Arab
Civitas Institute, $43,000 for training teachers in “civic values” and
the Center for International Private Enterprise, $163,205 “to inculcate
free enterprise doctrines among Tunisian businessmen, which reflects what
NED is really aiming for in its promotion of “democracy and civil values”:
globalization” (Bolton, 2011)
2007: AJFFT received $45,000 to develop Tunisian Activists; The Arab
Institute for Human Rights got $43,900; The Center for International
Private Enterprise (CIPE) $175, 818; The Mohamed Ali Center for Research,
Studies, and Training $38,500; Moroccan Organization for Human Rights $60,
000 “To strengthen a group of young Tunisian attorneys as they mobilize
citizens on reform issues.”
In Egypt, the number of NED grants doubled in 2009 to 33 democracy projects
totaling $1.4 million and the focus changed from promoting private
enterprise to training young human-rights lawyers, and identifying and
training youth activists. It will be interesting to see when (if?) NED
publishes its 2010 grants. From the NED website—a sample of the grants for
2009:
Egyptian Union of Liberal Youth (EULY) $33,300 To expand the use of new
media among youth activists for the promotion of democratic ideas and values
. EULY will train 60 youth activists to use filmmaking for the dissemination
of democratic ideas and values. The Union will lead a total of four two-
month long training workshops in Cairo to build the political knowledge and
technical filmmaking skills of participating youth involved in NGOs.
Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies (AITAS) $48,900 To
strengthen youth understanding of the Egyptian parliament and enhance
regional activists’ use of new technologies as accountability tools. AITAS
will conduct a series of workshops for 300 university students to raise
their awareness of parliament’s functions and engage them in monitoring
parliamentary committees. AITAS will also host 8 month-long internships for
youth activists from the Middle East and North Africa to share its
experiences using web-based technologies in monitoring efforts.
Bridge Center for Dialogue and Development (BTRD) $25,000 To promote youth
expression and engagement in community issues through new media. BTRD will
train youth between the ages of 16 and 26 in the use of new and traditional
media tools to report on issues facing their communities. BRTD will also
create a website for human rights videos and new media campaigns in Egypt.
Egyptian Democracy Institute (EDI) $48,900 To promote accountability and
transparency in parliament through public participation, and to build
legislative capacity. EDI will produce quarterly monitoring reports and hold
seminars to discuss the overall performance of Parliament and offer
recommendations on legislation proposed in the People’s Assembly. EDI will
monitor, collect, and document evidence of corruption in Cairo and
Alexandria
Lawyers Union for Democratic and Legal Studies (LUDLS) $20,000 To support
freedom of association by strengthening young activists’ ability to express
and organize themselves peacefully within the bounds of the law. LUDLS will
train 250 youth activists on peaceful assembly and dispute resolution
Our Hands for Comprehensive Development $19,200 To engage Minya youth in
civic activism and encourage youth-led initiatives and volunteerism. Our
Hands will hold two public meetings for local youth to discuss challenges
and to identify youth leaders who would benefit from additional training
courses. Participants will produce a short film on youth political
participation, and develop and implement action plans for resolving problems
facing youth in the governorate. Our Hands will also provide Minya youth an
opportunity to learn from the experience of and network with Cairo-based
activists and NGOs.
“Youth Forum $19,000 To expand and maintain a network of youth activists
on Egyptian university campuses and to encourage the participation of
university students in student union elections and civic activities on
campus. . . .”
NED and Soros have been injecting millions of dollars into the training of
North African, pro-democracy teachers, lawyers, journalists and youth
activists. In 2009 they more than doubled their training efforts. Why, at
this time, has the 30-year support of these dictators been undermined? The
prize is the rapidly-rising economies of North Africa. It coincides with
the efforts of Ben Ali to make Tunisia the financial center of North Africa
and to promote Islamic banking. The Rothschilds want North African Muslims
to borrow from Rothschild banks and pay interest at rates the Rothschild
central bank decides: they do not want them to be able to borrow from
Islamic banks and not pay any interest. The Rothschilds want Muslims to
trade their present political oppression at the hands of brutal dictators
for future economic serfdom under the control of banker Lord Rothschild.
Emerging North African Markets
PwP Exclusive ©Feb 9 2011
Background: Tunisia has undergone increasing economic liberalization over
the last decade: In the 2010-2011 World Economic Forum’s Global
Competitiveness Report, it was ranked as the most competitive country in
Africa, as well as the 32nd most economically competitive country globally.
North Africa’s large Muslim populations are a vast business opportunity
for Islamic banking and other businesses.
Contrary to popular belief, the world’s finances are controlled by
privately-owned “central banks” masquerading as federal government banks
in nearly every country in the world [The U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth
Circuit, ruled that The Federal Reserve (U.S.' central bank) was privately
owned in 680 F.2d 1239, LEWIS v. UNITED STATES of America, No. 80-5905].
Though it is a carefully guarded secret, the Rothschilds and their
associates own most the shares in the central banks (Federal Reserve
Directors: A Study of Corporate and Banking Influence, Committee on Banking,
Currency and Housing, House of Representatives, 1976, Charts 1-5) (Mullins,
Eustice Secrets of the Federal Reserve 1983). With extremely little
government input, the economies of Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, and
Algeria are strictly controlled by the Rothschild’s central banks and their
International Monetary Fund.
——————————————————————————————————————
——–
THE MOTIVE: FOLLOW THE MONEY
Islamic banks have been eating into Rothschild profits in the Middle East
because: they don’t charge interest (Shariah Law), they are growing very
rapidly among the world’s exploding Muslim populations, and (in these
catastrophic economic times) they are more stable than western banks.
While it is a very good thing that people are freed from the tyranny of
dictators, they also need to be freed from the tyranny of economic control
and serfdom. The relevant moral question is: Do the means justify the end?.
Deposed Tunisian President Ben Ali’s son-in-law, Sakher El Materi, opened
Tunisia’s first Islamic bank, Zitouna Bank, on May 26, 2010. Zitouna Bank
is the first Islamic bank in the Maghreb region [North Africa]. The bank
was a first step toward Ben Ali’s new program of extensive reforms, “
Tunisia, a Pole for Banking Services and a Regional Financial Centre”,
which would have undermined the power and the profits of the Central Bank of
Tunisia (privately-owned by the Rothschilds and their associates).
The Telegraph (October 19 2010) reported on the opening of the megaproject
Tunis Financial Harbour –President Ben Ali’s bid to make Tunisia the
regional financial centre of North Africa and beyond: “Islamic investment
bank Gulf Finance House (GFH) and the Tunisian government have created the
first offshore finance centre in North Africa. The centre will be part of
Tunis Financial Harbour, a $3 billion waterfront development in Tunis . . .
GFH, which is based in Bahrain, hopes the centre will allow Tunisia to take
advantage of its strategic position on the Mediterranean sea, and operate
as a bridge between the EU and the rapidly growing economies of North Africa
[and subSaharan Africa].”
“However, despite the current poor climate, the potential for Islamic
banking in Egypt is huge, and one should expect more moves from Abu Dhabi
Islamic Bank into Egypt, possibly in the form of a buyout,” Executive
Magazine (Feb 8 2011) reports, “A recent Middle East Business Intelligence
report said it best, when it opined, ‘If Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank can make a
success of offering Islamic products, the whole market will open up. We have
already seen some of the local banks start to advertise their Islamic
products in view of the competition for customers they see about to begin.’
“Clearly Islamic banks in the Gulf are already anticipating the day when
their home markets are saturated. And it appears that Egypt will be on the
next front-line in the development of regional Islamic banking and finance.”
“African countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and
Sudan are keen on future sukuk exercises (issuing Islamic bonds). Gambia
debuted with a US$166m sukuk deal, privately sold in the US in 2006.” [
International Finance Review (Reuters), 2008]
The New York Times article “Islamic banking rises on oil wealth, drawing
non-Muslims” ( November 22, 2007) reported: “Rising oil wealth is
lifting Islamic banking – which adheres to the laws of the Koran and its
prohibition against charging interest – into the financial mainstream. . .
. In addition to Islamic loans, there are Islamic bonds, Islamic credit
cards . . . Loans and bonds that conform to the Koran are already available
in the United States. . . .
“’This is an industry on its way from a niche industry to becoming a truly
global industry,’ said Khawaja Mohammad Salman Younis, the managing
director for operations in Malaysia for Kuwait Finance House, the world’s
second-largest Islamic bank. ‘In the next three to five years you’ll see
Islamic banks coming out in Australia, China, Japan and other parts of the
world.’
“In Islamic banking, financiers are required to share borrowers’ risks,
meaning that depositors are treated more like shareholders, earning a
portion of profits. Financing deals resemble lease-to-own arrangements,
layaway plans, joint purchase and sale agreements, or partnerships.
“The stampede into Islamic finance is mostly an effort to tap an estimated
$1.5 trillion of funds sloshing around the Middle East, largely from higher
oil prices. . . .Those investments have helped ignite an economic revival
throughout the Muslim world at a time of increasing religious conservatism
among Islam’s 1.6 billion faithful. A result is expanding demand for
financial services that adhere to Islamic law . . .
“And while the biggest Islamic banks are in the wealthy Gulf states, the
most attractive potential markets are in Turkey and North Africa (emphasis
added) and among European Muslims. . . .
“. . . even non-Muslims are taking advantage of a growing range of Islamic
products offering competitive returns. For instance, David Ong-Yeoh, a
public relations executive tired of fretting over the rising interest rate
on his adjustable rate mortgage, refinanced to a 30-year fixed loan from an
Islamic financial institution. Now, he pays regular installments that
include a predetermined profit margin for the bank.
“’The terms are better than on conventional loans,’ said Ong-Yeoh, 41.
“Islamic finance also avoids other prohibited practices. Shariah-compliant
bankers cannot receive or provide funds for anything involving alcohol,
gambling, pornography, tobacco, weapons or pork. Proponents of Islamic
banking say these are limits any socially conscious investor can support,
Muslim or not. They also envision wider appeal for Islamic banking’s ban on
interest, which stems from the Koran’s prohibition against usury.
“This is a view that has a long religious and historical tradition.
Interest is repeatedly condemned in the Bible. Aristotle denounced it, the
Romans limited it, and the early Christian church prohibited it. . . .
“The belief that all interest charges are unjust now underpins Islamic
finance. . . .Hoarding is frowned upon in the Koran, so savings earn no
return unless put to productive use.
“’Money should be used for creating better value in the country or the
economy,’ Maraj said. ‘Money cannot generate money.’
“Nor can Islamic banks simply trade money. ‘In the Islamic finance model,
the banks are supposed to mobilize funds through a fund management concept,
’ said Rafe Haneef, head of Islamic banking in Asia for Citigroup.
“Indeed, Islamic banking is supposed to function more like private equity
firms than conventional banking. ‘Private equity is an Islamic concept,’
Haneef said.
“Industry proponents say this risk-sharing requirement helps reduce the
kind of abuses that led to the subprime mortgage mess in the United States.
Scholars consider it un-Islamic to overload a customer with debt or invest
in a company with excessive debt.”
The Washington Post, “Islamic Banking: Steady In Shaky Times” (Oct 31 2008
), reported: “As big Western financial institutions have teetered one
after the other in the crisis of recent weeks, another financial sector is
gaining new confidence: Islamic banking. Proponents of the ancient practice
, which looks to sharia law for guidance and bans interest and trading in
debt, have been promoting Islamic finance as a cure for the global financial
meltdown.
“This week, Kuwait’s commerce minister, Ahmad Baqer, was quoted as saying
that the global crisis will prompt more countries to use Islamic principles
in running their economies. U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert M. Kimmet,
visiting Jiddah, said experts at his agency have been learning the features
of Islamic banking.
“Though the trillion-dollar Islamic banking industry faces challenges with
the slump in real estate and stock prices, advocates say the system has
built-in protection from the kind of runaway collapse that has afflicted so
many institutions. For one thing, the use of financial instruments such as
derivatives, blamed for the downfall of banking, insurance and investment
giants, is banned. So is excessive risk-taking.
“’The beauty of Islamic banking and the reason it can be used as a
replacement for the current market is that you only promise what you own [
contrast to western banks fractional reserve system]. Islamic banks are not
protected if the economy goes down — they suffer — but you don’t lose
your shirt,’ said Majed al-Refaie, who heads Bahrain-based Unicorn
Investment Bank.
“The theological underpinning of Islamic banking is scripture that declares
that collection of interest is a form of usury, which is banned in Islam.
In the modern world, that translates into an attitude toward money that is
different from that found in the West: Money cannot just sit and generate
more money. To grow, it must be invested in productive enterprises.
“’In Islamic finance you cannot make money out of thin air,’ said Amr al-
Faisal, a board member of Dar al-Mal al-Islami, a holding company that owns
several Islamic banks and financial institutions. ‘Our dealings have to be
tied to actual economic activity, like an asset or a service. You cannot
make money off of money. You have to have a building that was actually
purchased, a service actually rendered, or a good that was actually sold.’
“Islamic bankers describe depositors as akin to partners — their money is
invested, and they share in the profits or, theoretically, the losses that
result. (In interviews, bankers couldn’t recall a case in which depositors
actually lost money; this shows that banks put such funds only in very low-
risk investments, they said.)”
It is easy to see why the Rothschilds and their network of conventional
western banks would be threatened by competition from the more appealing,
more conservative Islamic banks.
Late in 2008, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde announced France’s
intention to make Paris “the capital of Islamic finance” and said several
Islamic banks would open branches in the French capital in 2009. French
sources estimate this area of the financial market is worth from 500 to 600
billion dollars and could grow by an average 11 percent a year.
John Sandwick, managing director of Swiss asset management firm Encore
Management, characterized the opening of several Swiss Islamic banks as, “
the race to control the rich prize: which today is worth hundreds of
billions, but in the future will be trillions of dollars of Islamic wealth.”
“According to Standard and Poor’s, Islamic banking assets reached about $
400 billion throughout the world in 2009. In November 2010, The Banker
published its latest authoritative list of the Top 500 Islamic Finance
Institutions with Iran topping the list. Seven out of ten top Islamic banks
in the world are Iranian according to the list.” (iStockAnalyst, Feb 8,
2011)
BEN ALI’S SON OPENS FIRST ISLAMIC BANK IN ATTRACTIVE NORTH AFRICAN MARKET
Commenting on the opening of Zitouna (Islamic) Bank, International Business
Times (May 28 2010) reported, “North Africa has begun to embrace Islamic
finance after years watching from the sidelines, partly to channel more Arab
Gulf petrodollars into the region. . . .Tunisia has one of the most open
economies in the region and attracts substantial investment from the
European Union, something that is expected to accelerate after 2014, when
the government has said it will make the currency (the Tunisian dinar) fully
convertible.”
Global Islamic Finance News (May 31, 2010) reported, “Zitouna Bank also
seeks to impart a regional dimension on its activities, particularly in the
Maghreb region [North Africa], all the more so that it is the first
specialised bank not belonging to a foreign banking group,” and went on to
add, “The Bank will also seek to forge strong relations with the Maghreb
and Mediterranean banks to ensure needed flow of financial operations for
its customers. The bank officials stressed that the financial institution
has established relations with 12 Islamic banks in collaboration with the
Institute of Islamic banks in Bahrain.
Zitouna bank’s formation had been announced earlier in the Official Gazette
of the Republic of Tunisia on 10 September 2009. Tunisia and Morocco
authorized Islamic finance in 2007, partly to channel more investment into
their fast-growing tourism and real estate industries.
Due to his being the son-in-law of President Ben Ali, El Materi’s Zitouna
Bank was expanding in Tunisia to the level of monopoly. El Materi had
built a powerful business empire: he ran businesses in News and Media,
Banking and Financial Services, Automotive, Shipping and Cruises, Real
Estate and Agriculture, Pharmaceuticals and last November 22 he bought a 50
% stake in Orascom Telecom for 0.2 billion.
The newly-opened Tunis Financial Harbour was on the brink of becoming the
regional financial centre of North Africa and, with its strategic position
on the Mediterranean sea, becoming a bridge between the EU and the rapidly
growing economies of North Africa and subSaharan Africa.
On January 20 2011, ZItouna Bank, Tunisia’s first Islamic bank was seized
by the Central Bank of Tunisia (Rothschilds). The bank owned by Sakher El
Materi, the thirty-year-old son-in-law of deposed Tunisian leader Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali has been placed under “the control” of the central bank.
Materi is presently in Dubai. The move came a day after 33 of Ben Ali’s
clan were arrested for crimes against the nation. State television showed
what it said was seized gold and jewellery. Switzerland has also frozen Ben
Ali’s family assets.
EGYPT’S ISLAMIC BANKS THREATENED BY ROTHSCHILD REVOLUTION: OLD MAN POTTER
VS HARRY BAILEY
The following scenario is right out of the 1946, Frank Capra film It’s a
Wonderful Life with Old Man Potter (Rothschild) creating a run on Harry
Bailey’s traditional Savings and Loans (Islamic bank):
Islamic (halal) banking products have not made significant inroads in North
Africa yet, except in Egypt. “. . . There are several Islamic banks
operating in Egypt: Faisal Islamic Bank, Al Baraka Egypt (Al Ahram Bank) and
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank NBD . . . There may be others as well,” says Blake
Goud, an expert on Islamic Finance (The Review – Middle East, Jan 31 2011)
, “. . . and the risks of a run on the bank should concern those interested
in Islamic banking around the world because it could provide a test of how
resilient Islamic banks really are to crisis.
“What I mean is that the Egyptian situation, which could be a fantastic
opportunity for the Egyptian people, could expose a weakness within the
Islamic banking industry if it is problematic. The main risk to any bank is
that there is a run and the bank cannot meet depositor withdrawals with the
cash available on hand. This forces the bank to raise cash from other means.
In most cases, it can either get an inter-bank loan from another bank
overnight that allows it to handle withdrawals. If other banks are hesitant
to lend to a given bank because of fears of asset quality, then the bank
will usually have access to an overnight borrowing facility with the central
bank, which operates as the lender of last resort.
“The key for Islamic banks is that they are not able to take advantage of
the inter-bank lending market, nor are they able to borrow from (or lend to)
the central bank (emphasis added) because those loans are interest-bearing.
The only alternative is to find other banks (mostly Islamic banks) willing
to extend Shari’ah-compliant, bilateral loans often using commodity
murabaha. In a country like Egypt where the Islamic banking industry is a
small portion of the total banking system, it does not create a systemic
risk if Islamic banks fail, but it does matter a lot to the depositors of
other Islamic banks in the country and globally. If there is the potential
that a run on an Islamic bank will not be stopped by someone; whether that
is a foreign bank, a multi-lateral bank like the Islamic Development Bank or
the central bank of Egypt (through emergency measures), then it could hurt
confidence in Islamic banks.
“If neither of these options are available, the bank will have to try to
raise funds by selling its assets, most of which (loans) are illiquid in the
short run. It will have to take a loss on the sale to realize the cash it
needs to meet withdrawals. If this continues and the bank sells enough
assets at a discount to the value they are held on the balance sheet, the
bank’s equity will be negative (the value of assets minus liabilities) and
it will become insolvent (having earlier only been illiquid). This is the
fundamental danger in banking from a financial stability perspective. If
enough banks face runs and have to sell assets, the run could become self-
sustaining and contagious. Even a healthy bank facing a run can become
insolvent.
“The loss of confidence is more than just a reputational hit and a hit on
the egos of Islamic bankers. It would make it more difficult for Islamic
banks to attract and retain depositors and it could raise the cost at which
it can attract depositors. This would make the bank, all other things equal,
less profitable (it makes profit of the spread between the return on
invested funds and the cost of funds borrowed from depositors). Lower
profitability will lower the attractiveness of Islamic banks to equity
investors limiting their ability to increase capital through equity
offerings (or at least increasing the dilution to current shareholders). It
will lower the amount available to supplement capital as well as pay
dividends to its shareholders.
“Therefore, it is important that the Islamic banks in Egypt make it through
the ‘run’ that is predicted if it materializes, not just for those banks
’ shareholders, but also for the Islamic banking industry.”
In contrast, Bloomberg reports, “Egypt’s banks may risk a surge in
customer withdrawals when they open for business, placing them among
companies worst hit by the nationwide uprising against President Hosni
Mubarak. … Central Bank Governor Farouk El-Okdah said in a telephone
interview Jan. 29 that his bank has $36 billion in reserves, enough to
accommodate investors should they wish to withdraw funds. His deputy, Hisham
Ramez, said interbank lending “will function properly” when banks are
reopened. He said the security situation will determine when that is
possible.
“Asked about the risk of a bank run, Mohamed Barakat, chairman of state-run
Banque Misr and head of the country’s banking association, said in a
telephone interview that Egyptian lenders are ‘very liquid,’” with
average loan-to-deposit ratios of 53 percent. […] “The Egyptian interbank
offered rate, the rate banks charge to lend to each other, is at a 16-month
high of 8.5 percent.”
THE MEANS: SPONSOR PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS
These Rothschild revolutions are done under the pretense of bringing
democracy and deposing despots, but the real aim is to initially create
chaos and a leadership vacuum, then quickly offer a solution: install a
puppet that will do the economic bidding of the Rothschilds. The citizens
gain freedom of speech and association, but become economic serfs.
These revolutions are most likely coordinated at the highest levels by the
Rothschild’s International Crisis Group. Mohamed ElBaradei is already
being touted as a new leader for Egypt. ElBaradei is a trustee of the
International Crisis Group. Another board member of this group is Zbigniew
Brzezinski. George Soros sits on the executive committee. The later two
are ubiquitous front men for the Rothschilds.
The revolutions are from the same playbook as the fairly nonviolent “color
revolutions”. These revolutions have been successful in Serbia (especially
the Bulldozer Revolution (2000), in Georgia’s Rose Revolution (2003), in
Ukraine’s Orange Revolution (2004), in Lebanon’s Cedar Revolution and (
though more violent than the previous ones) in Kyrgyzstan’s Tulip
Revolution (2005), and Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution. Iran’s Green
Revolution (2009) was unsuccessful.
The Guardian reported (Nov 26, 2004) that the following were “directly
involved” in organizing the colour revolutions: George Soros’ Open
Society Foundation, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the
International Republican Institute, and Freedom House. The Washington Post
and the New York Times also reported substantial Western involvement in
some of these events.
Activists from Otpor in Serbia have said that publications and training
they received from the US based Albert Einstein Institution staff have been
instrumental in the formation of their strategies. The Albert Einstein
Institution is funded by the Soros Foundation and NED. (Wikipedia)
In the article, “Georgia revolt carried mark of Soros” (November 26, 2003)
, the Globe & Mail reported, “[Soros' Open Society Institute] sent a 31-
year-old Tbilisi activist named Giga Bokeria to Serbia to meet with members
of the Otpor (Resistance) movement and learn how they used street
demonstrations to topple dictator Slobodan Milosevic. Then, in the summer,
Mr. Soros’s foundation paid for a return trip to Georgia by Otpor activists
, who ran three-day courses teaching more than 1,000 students how to stage a
peaceful revolution.”
Several protest organizers on the streets in Egypt last week were wearing
Otpor t-shirts. These t-shirts are given out by Otpor at training sessions
. This is only to say that there may be a link here, between Soros and
Tunisian protesters.
In 2007-08, Freedom House [funded by Soros and the Middle Eastern
Partnership Initiative (MEPI)] ran the following program: “New Generation
of Advocates, a MEPI-funded program that supports young civil society
activists working for peaceful political change in the Middle East and North
Africa, spearheaded the “Lawyers against Corruption” campaign in Tunisia.
”(Freedom House website). The group of “journalists, lawyers, and other
activists who advocate for democratic reform” had a meeting with then
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on a trip to Washington on
International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2008. In May 2009, U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the group of activist/dissidents
. Freedom House reported on their website that the group also visited “U.S
. government officials, members of Congress, media outlets and think tanks .
. . After returning to Egypt, the fellows received small grants to
implement innovative initiatives such as advocating for political reform
through Facebook and SMS messaging.” (emphasis added)
And also from the Freedom House website: “From February 27 to March 13 [
2010], Freedom House hosted 11 bloggers from the Middle East and North
Africa for a two-week Advanced New Media Study Tour in Washington, D.C.”
In 2010, Soros’ Open Society Institute funded a grant called ‘Can It Tweet
its way to Democracy? The promise of Participatory Media in Africa’
described on the OSI website as “. . . . Ethiopia and Egypt have been the
current focus of the research programme; the OSI funding will allow the
project to be expanded to include: Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Eritrea and
Rwanda. . . . it is hoped that it will contribute to the understanding of
the new media in Africa and its links to democratization. It is also
intended that the study will be used as a source material for future
research.”
Facebook and Twitter were the primary means of organizing the revolution in
Egypt: “Activists from Egypt’s Kifaya (Enough) movement – a coalition of
government opponents – and the 6th of April Youth Movement organized the
protests on the Facebook and Twitter . . . .” (Voice of America)
In the Foreign Policy Journal, Dr. D.K. Bolton (Jan 19 2011) writes, “NED [
National Endowment for Democracy] and Soros work in tandem, targeting the
same regimes and using the same methods. . . . At least ten of the twenty-
two directors of NED are also members of the plutocratic think tank, the
Council on Foreign Relations . . . .” (The Council of Foreign Relations is
the American sister of the Rothschild’s Royal Institute of International
Affairs in Britain: both are instruments of plutocratic control hiding in
plain sight.
The following is a partial list of grants from the NED website for 2009 (the
latest year available):
In Tunisia the focus was on training youth activists:
“Al-Jahedh Forum for Free Thought $131,000 To strengthen the capacity and
build a democratic culture among Tunisian youth activists.
“Mohamed Ali Center for Research, Studies and Training $33,500 To train a
core group of Tunisian youth activists on leadership and organizational
skills to encourage their involvement in public life. [MACRST] will conduct
a four-day intensive training of trainers program for a core group of 10
young Tunisian civic activists on leadership and organizational skills;
train 50 male and female activists aged 20 to 40 on leadership and empowered
decision-making; and work with the trained activists through 50 on-site
visits to their respective organizations.
“Association for the Promotion of Education $27,000 To strengthen the
capacity of Tunisian high school teachers to promote democratic and civic
values in their classrooms. APES will conduct a training-of-trainers
workshop for 10 university professors and school inspectors, and hold three
two-day capacity building seminars for 120 high school teachers . . . .”
The above organizations and others have been recipients of ongoing NED
grants in Tunisia, as the following list from previous years indicates:
2008: Al-Jahedh Forum for Free Thought received $57,000 to train Tunisian
activists; Mohamed Ali Centre for Research got $37,800; Tunisian Arab
Civitas Institute, $43,000 for training teachers in “civic values” and
the Center for International Private Enterprise, $163,205 “to inculcate
free enterprise doctrines among Tunisian businessmen, which reflects what
NED is really aiming for in its promotion of “democracy and civil values”:
globalization” (Bolton, 2011)
2007: AJFFT received $45,000 to develop Tunisian Activists; The Arab
Institute for Human Rights got $43,900; The Center for International
Private Enterprise (CIPE) $175, 818; The Mohamed Ali Center for Research,
Studies, and Training $38,500; Moroccan Organization for Human Rights $60,
000 “To strengthen a group of young Tunisian attorneys as they mobilize
citizens on reform issues.”
In Egypt, the number of NED grants doubled in 2009 to 33 democracy projects
totaling $1.4 million and the focus changed from promoting private
enterprise to training young human-rights lawyers, and identifying and
training youth activists. It will be interesting to see when (if?) NED
publishes its 2010 grants. From the NED website—a sample of the grants for
2009:
Egyptian Union of Liberal Youth (EULY) $33,300 To expand the use of new
media among youth activists for the promotion of democratic ideas and values
. EULY will train 60 youth activists to use filmmaking for the dissemination
of democratic ideas and values. The Union will lead a total of four two-
month long training workshops in Cairo to build the political knowledge and
technical filmmaking skills of participating youth involved in NGOs.
Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies (AITAS) $48,900 To
strengthen youth understanding of the Egyptian parliament and enhance
regional activists’ use of new technologies as accountability tools. AITAS
will conduct a series of workshops for 300 university students to raise
their awareness of parliament’s functions and engage them in monitoring
parliamentary committees. AITAS will also host 8 month-long internships for
youth activists from the Middle East and North Africa to share its
experiences using web-based technologies in monitoring efforts.
Bridge Center for Dialogue and Development (BTRD) $25,000 To promote youth
expression and engagement in community issues through new media. BTRD will
train youth between the ages of 16 and 26 in the use of new and traditional
media tools to report on issues facing their communities. BRTD will also
create a website for human rights videos and new media campaigns in Egypt.
Egyptian Democracy Institute (EDI) $48,900 To promote accountability and
transparency in parliament through public participation, and to build
legislative capacity. EDI will produce quarterly monitoring reports and hold
seminars to discuss the overall performance of Parliament and offer
recommendations on legislation proposed in the People’s Assembly. EDI will
monitor, collect, and document evidence of corruption in Cairo and
Alexandria
Lawyers Union for Democratic and Legal Studies (LUDLS) $20,000 To support
freedom of association by strengthening young activists’ ability to express
and organize themselves peacefully within the bounds of the law. LUDLS will
train 250 youth activists on peaceful assembly and dispute resolution
Our Hands for Comprehensive Development $19,200 To engage Minya youth in
civic activism and encourage youth-led initiatives and volunteerism. Our
Hands will hold two public meetings for local youth to discuss challenges
and to identify youth leaders who would benefit from additional training
courses. Participants will produce a short film on youth political
participation, and develop and implement action plans for resolving problems
facing youth in the governorate. Our Hands will also provide Minya youth an
opportunity to learn from the experience of and network with Cairo-based
activists and NGOs.
“Youth Forum $19,000 To expand and maintain a network of youth activists
on Egyptian university campuses and to encourage the participation of
university students in student union elections and civic activities on
campus. . . .”
NED and Soros have been injecting millions of dollars into the training of
North African, pro-democracy teachers, lawyers, journalists and youth
activists. In 2009 they more than doubled their training efforts. Why, at
this time, has the 30-year support of these dictators been undermined? The
prize is the rapidly-rising economies of North Africa. It coincides with
the efforts of Ben Ali to make Tunisia the financial center of North Africa
and to promote Islamic banking. The Rothschilds want North African Muslims
to borrow from Rothschild banks and pay interest at rates the Rothschild
central bank decides: they do not want them to be able to borrow from
Islamic banks and not pay any interest. The Rothschilds want Muslims to
trade their present political oppression at the hands of brutal dictators
for future economic serfdom under the control of banker Lord Rothschild.