Frankly Speaking: Senior EU aid official denies Europe is selective on refugees, says Syrians were treated same as Ukrainians

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Updated 16 May 2022
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Frankly Speaking: Senior EU aid official denies Europe is selective on refugees, says Syrians were treated same as Ukrainians

  • Michael Koehler, deputy director general of ECHO, tells Arab News that Assad regime atrocities ‘have not been forgotten’
  • Claims EU takes principled position on Palestine but explains cuts in EU development assistance to Palestinian Authority
  • Koehler names and shames EU member countries that did not pay their share of promised aid

JEDDAH: Denying that the European Union discriminates between refugees Michael Koehler, the deputy director general of the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), has claimed that Syrians were welcomed in the same way as Ukrainians and that the crimes of the Bashar Assad regime will not be forgotten.

In a wide-ranging interview with Arab News, Koehler also reiterated Europe’s commitment to supporting Palestinian humanitarian needs, stating that any cut in EU aid relates solely to financial transfers for development assistance, not humanitarian aid.

Koehler denied that Europe’s treatment of Ukrainians fleeing their country because of the war with Russia and those from the Middle East has revealed racism, double standards and hypocrisy. “The only difference that I see is that refugees from Ukraine have, on the basis of a decision of the European ministers of interior, immediately been granted work permits,” he told the host of Arab News’ “Frankly Speaking” interview show, Katie Jensen. “But apart from that, the treatment is not different from refugees from other parts of the world.”

“Frankly Speaking” features in-depth discussions with leading policymakers and business leaders, diving deep into the biggest news-making headlines across the Middle East and around the world. During his appearance on the show, Koehler spoke on a number of issues, including what the future holds for displaced Ukrainians and whether the EU plans to pull funding from Middle East crisis zones to make up for the humanitarian aid gap. 

Koehler said one needs to look back at the arrival of the Syrians and Iraqis in 2015 and 2016 when slightly more comparable numbers of refugees were pouring into Europe. “The million Syrians that poured into (Germany) were very much welcomed,” he said. “It is not quite fair in a way to compare the welcome that now Ukrainians are receiving two months into the crisis, with the situation of other refugees that have been in Europe for four years, five years, six years or seven years, and where certain problems have arisen.”

“We are absolutely not yet there in the Ukraine crisis, but it’s a very general phenomenon. Structurally, this is a very well-known phenomenon,” he said, pointing to instances where the initial warm welcome given to refugees by the host population gave way to problems that “led sometimes to populist reactions.”

Still, Koehler expressed regret at comments such as those made by Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov (“These are not the refugees we are used to, these people are Europeans, intelligent, educated people”), and the implication that countries have the right to choose refugees based on race, religion or politics.

“No, absolutely not. Absolutely not,” he said. “It is, however, of course, normal that if you are a direct neighbor of a country that is in the situation Ukraine finds itself in, then of course there is perhaps a slightly bigger emotion. There’s a slightly bigger readiness of private persons to help, but we’ve seen the same thing in other scenarios.”

Alluding to the insensitive remarks of European politicians, Koehler said: “We shouldn’t take the statements of this or that individual politician as the kind of policy line of European member states and of the EU. Politicians can voice their personal opinions, but this doesn’t mean that the legal order that settles the way refugees are welcomed, the support they receive and so forth, that this would be changed.”

Koehler disagreed with the notion that with the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis holding the spotlight, the atrocities committed by the Assad regime in Syria, where 6.2 million people remain internally displaced, have been forgotten. “No, they have not been forgotten,” he responded. “In fact, I shared via Twitter part of the ministerial meeting on Syria in the region that we are hosting here at Brussels for the sixth time. This is the annual meeting of the international community.

“The international community has put together a record pledge: €6.4 billion for 2022-2023, which is half a billion more than the equivalent pledge of last year. So, what this tells us is that there is no fatigue in the international community when it comes to assisting Syrians. The donors are there, there is no donor fatigue and the international organizations are mobilized.”

But what about all the complaints of humanitarian agencies that they are running out of money? Koehler says he does not deny there is a problem of “donor insufficiency.”

“If you look at the amount of money that’s mobilized every year for humanitarian aid, you see an increase of money. This is totally outpaced by the needs, because every year we have more crises. The existing crises unfortunately don’t go away and the number of people that are suffering keeps increasing.”

Asked how the humanitarian funding gap could be filled, Koehler said the solution is a mixture of elements, starting with more donors, especially those in the EU. “Look at the clubs of rich countries. There are 38 members of OECD or the G20,” he said. “Not all of these countries have already started to deliver humanitarian aid. Some do, but not very consistently. There may be a year where they may put a lot of money on the table, and in other years they are a bit more (tight-fisted) with their resources.”

Among the many ways the Middle East is exposed to the vagaries of the Ukraine war, Russia has hinted at vetoing the renewing of the mandate that allows the UN to use the Bab Al-Hawa crossing in northern Syria when it expires on July 9. This means that EU aid might have to go through Damascus and thus be under the control of the Assad regime. “If Bab Al-Hawa was closed, there would be a huge supply problem and we have seen what it means already in the northeast of Syria,” Koehler said.

“However, we are also very much in favor of cross-line cooperation, so we have no problem with bringing aid from Damascus to the northeast, for example, or the northwest. Unfortunately, this is happening only on a small scale, which has to do with political but also logistical problems.”

According to Koehler, there is a new system by which aid is always delivered through specialized partners, never through governments, “so delivering aid, for example in the part of Syria that is controlled by the authorities in Damascus, does not mean to give money to the Assad government.

“It is implemented through specialized owned organizations, NGOs, UN agencies and so forth. For that we have monitoring, we have audits, we have independent audits by third parties,” he said. “We have our offices on the ground. ECHO has an office in Damascus that can monitor what’s going on, and as soon as there is some kind of suspicion of diversion of aid, we stop. We stop, we enquire and we only resume aid once we are sufficiently, let’s say, reassured about the way the aid is implemented.”

Koehler said ECHO was using the same modus operandi in Afghanistan. “As I said earlier, we never work through governments. So, we work with the local NGOs. We work with the Red Crescent, we work, for example, with UNICEF and other organizations and we make sure that this money comes to the benefit directly of the population concerned,” he said.

However, he acknowledged that with more restrictions announced by the Taliban, many of them targeted at women, “we are frankly disappointed with the way things are developing in Afghanistan.”

Last April the EU pledged €525 million of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, and according to Koehler, as a consequence of the developments in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of the country last year, the international community, in particular the EU, have stepped up humanitarian funding.

“The Taliban came up with a number of assurances, concerning, for example, girls’ education and women’s rights. However, we now see that many of these assurances have proved questionable or even formally revoked. and this of course creates major problems.”

Moving on to another humanitarian hotspot, Koehler played down fears that humanitarian aid funding will stop despite a UN warning this month that more than five and a half million Palestinian refugees may no longer have access to basic services such as food, education and health care due to a drop in contributions from member states, the EU in particular.

“We support UNRWA and we continue our assistance,” he said, referring to the UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees.

With regard to the EU’s contribution, he said this is “not a cut in funding. This is about negotiating the conditions for the 2021-2022 installments.”

He added: “What has stopped for a short while is not humanitarian aid but direct financial transfers that EU development assistance is making available for the benefit of the Palestinian National Authority. And this is not a stop for good, but this is about agreeing to a certain number of conditions, under which this money would be made available.”

But amid concerns over possible closure of UNRWA, what is the EU’s position on the right of return? “The EU has a principled position in this regard and we stand still behind the two-state solution. We want a negotiated solution between the parties,” Koehler said. “We see the occupation of Palestine as something that has to be brought to an end, in accordance with relevant UN resolutions on the basis of bilateral negotiations that we are ready to incentivize and support as much as possible.”

Koehler concluded by saying that aid agencies and donors must unite and “speak with one voice” for effective humanitarian relief efforts in crisis zones. “Wherever the international community, the donors from the US to the UK, to the EU, to Sweden, to Germany, to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, wherever the donors speak with one voice, this one voice has an effect,” he said, citing the example of the failed attempt in 2020 by the Iran-backed Houthi militia to impose a 2 percent tax on humanitarian aid deliveries in Yemen.

“The international community said ‘no way.’ Also, the World Food Programme said ‘no way.’ We said, ‘If that is what you want to do, we will simply discontinue our operations in the territory that you have control over.’”


McLaughlin-Levrone, Thomas cruise to wins at Grand Slam Track opening leg

Updated 51 sec ago
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McLaughlin-Levrone, Thomas cruise to wins at Grand Slam Track opening leg

  • The lucrative prize money on offer is one of the notable features of the four-event series, which was conceived by US Olympic legend Michael Johnson with the aim of revitalizing interest in track racing
  • Newly crowned world indoor 400m champion Chris Bailey continued his impressive start to the season with victory in the 400m in a time of 44.34sec, pipping Olympic silver medalist Matt Hudson-Smith of Great Britain

KINGSTON: Two-time Olympic 400m hurdles champion and world record-holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone cruised to victory as the opening leg of the new Grand Slam Track athletics circuit got under way in Jamaica on Friday.

American track star McLaughlin-Levrone — racing in her signature event for the first time since winning gold at the Paris Olympics last year — romped home in 52.76sec at Kingston’s National Stadium.

The 25-year-old, who will also race in Sunday’s 400m, was always in control and had opened a significant lead as she came off the final bend before pulling away to finish several meters clear of 2016 Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad, who was second in 54.59sec.

“You know, just shaking the cobwebs off,” McLaughlin-Levrone said after her first race of the year. “The first one always hurts, but happy to be here.”

McLaughlin-Levrone is now in pole position to claim the $100,000 being offered to the athlete with the best combined result from the 400m hurdles and 400m.

The lucrative prize money on offer is one of the notable features of the four-event series, which was conceived by US Olympic legend Michael Johnson with the aim of revitalizing interest in track racing.

The opening action of a series that has been billed as the dawn of a new era for the sport was played out in front of a mostly empty stadium.

In other action on Friday, Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas was a similarly emphatic winner in her specialist race.

The 28-year-old surged home in 22.62sec to finish well clear of Marileidy Paulino, the Dominican Republic’s Paris Olympics 400m gold medalist, who clocked 22.96sec.

Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith was third in 22.96sec.

“It’s really exciting to be here,” Thomas said after her win.

Thomas said the prize money offered by the circuit had created an unusually intense degree of competition for an early season event.

“Normally, these early season meets we’re just practicing and feeling it out,” Thomas said. “Here...the stakes are high, the prize pot is huge and the level of competition is also really high.

“That’s not something that we’re really used to in our sport and I think it’s really good.”

In the men’s 100m, where Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles was a notable absentee, two-time Olympic 200m silver medalist Kenny Bednarek took victory in a thrilling duel with Jamaica’s Oblique Seville.

US sprinter Bednarek took the tape in 10.07sec, with Seville second in 10.08sec. Britain’s Zharnel Hughes was third in 10.13 while the USA’s Fred Kerley, the 2022 world 100m champion, was seventh in 10.30sec.

In other action on Friday, newly crowned world indoor 400m champion Chris Bailey continued his impressive start to the season with victory in the 400m in a time of 44.34sec, pipping Olympic silver medalist Matt Hudson-Smith of Great Britain, who was second in 44.65sec, with veteran US one-lap specialist Vernon Norwood third.

The men’s 400m hurdles saw a win for Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos in a world-leading time of 47.61sec, with Jamaica’s Roshawn Clarke second in 48.20 and Caleb Dean of the US third in 48.58.

In the women’s 3,000m, Ethiopia’s Ejgayehu Taye produced a devastating late kick to win in 8min 28.42sec ahead of Kenya’s Agnes Jebet Ngetich, with another Ethiopian Tsige Gebreselama third in 8:38.15.

The women’s 800m saw a world-leading time from the USA’s Nikki Hiltz, the American record-holder in the mile who is better known as a 1,500m runner.

Hiltz won in 1min 58.23sec, with Diribe Welteji second in 1:58.29 and Australia’s Jessica Hull third in 1:58.58.

Kenya’s Mary Moraa, the reigning world champion, finished last in 2:00.97.

American runners meanwhile claimed a 1-2-3 finish in the men’s 5,000m, with Grant Fisher winning in 14min 39.14sec.


Match Play defending champion Nelly Korda ousted in group play

Updated 3 min 30 sec ago
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Match Play defending champion Nelly Korda ousted in group play

  • In Group 7, Japan’s Mao Saigo upset South Korea’s Haeran Ryu by sinking a birdie on the par-4 playoff hole
  • In Group 3, Carlota Ciganda of Spain defeated New Zealand’s Lydia Ko 2 up to win the group at 2-1-0 and push Ko to a surprising last-place finish (1-2-0)

LAS VEGAS: Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand defeated Nelly Korda 1 up to win Group 1 and eliminate the World No. 1 from the T-Mobile Match Play on Friday in North Las Vegas, Nevada

Jutanugarn went 3-0-0 in the group, but entering the day the group was up for grabs between her and Korda, who tallied 1 1/2 points through the first two days of competition.

“It’s pretty tough today because of the wind. And it’s match play. You kind of have to be really patient,” Jutanugarn said. “I have some (ups and downs). I’ve been missing some shots and hit some pretty good. Overall, it’s just like so much fun to have chance to play with Nelly. She’s one of the best players.”

Other than one brief hole on which Jutanugarn moved 2 up, the score of the match stayed within a hole throughout. Jutanugarn led for most of the front nine before Korda tied it with a birdie at the par-5 ninth hole at Shadow Creek Golf Course.

Korda moved 1 up when Jutanugarn bogeyed the par-3 13th, but Korda took a bogey on the par-4 No. 15 to let Jutanugarn win the hole and tie it back up. Jutanugarn’s birdie put at the par-5 16th gave her back the lead for good.

Korda was the defending champion of the event.

The 64-player field was divided into 16 four-player groups competing in three days of round-robin matches. A win earned one point, a tie earned a half-point and a loss was worth zero points. The winner of each group moves on to a 16-player, single-elimination bracket beginning Saturday.

The quarterfinals also will be played on Saturday, with the semifinals and final on Sunday.

Two groups needed playoffs to break ties for first place following the Friday round. In Group 7, Japan’s Mao Saigo upset South Korea’s Haeran Ryu by sinking a birdie on the par-4 playoff hole. Ryu was the highest seed in her group.

In Group 13, Lauren Coughlin beat Lucy Li when Li bogeyed the first hole.

“All three of my matches have been really close, kind of back and forth,” Coughlin said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more than 1 up all week. I’ve been down 2 at times, but kind of fought back in every one. Took it to 18 every day.

“Yeah, I mean, I rolled — started rolling it really well (Thursday). Made a ton of putts today that kind of kept me in it.”

Eight other players besides Jutanugarn went 3-0-0 in their respective groups: Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul (Group 2), Sei Young Kim of South Korea (Group 4), Brooke M. Henderson of Canada (Group 8), Sweden’s Maja Stark (Group 9), France’s Celine Boutier (Group 11) and A Lim Kim of South Korea (Group 12), Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom (Group 14) and Narin An of South Korea (Group 16).

In Group 3, Carlota Ciganda of Spain defeated New Zealand’s Lydia Ko 2 up to win the group at 2-1-0 and push Ko to a surprising last-place finish (1-2-0). South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai beat Alexa Pano 4 and 3 to capture first in Group 6 (2-0-1). Russia’s Nataliya Guseva beat Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela 1 up to win Group 15 (2-0-1).

Also advancing were Australia’s Stephanie Kyriacou (Group 5) and Angel Yin (Group 10).


Israel is trying to destabilize Lebanon and Syria, Arab League chief laments

Updated 20 min 10 sec ago
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Israel is trying to destabilize Lebanon and Syria, Arab League chief laments

  • Israel’s resumption of targeted assassinations in Lebanon is an unacceptable and condemnable breach of the ceasefire agreement it signed with Lebanon late last year, Aboul Gheit said in a statement

CAIRO: Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Saturday accused Israel of trying to destabilize Syria and Lebanon through irresponsible military provocations, in “flagrant disregard for international legal norms.”

In a statement, Aboul Gheit lamented that global inaction has further emboldened the Zionist state.

“(T)he wars waged by Israel on the occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and Syria have entered a new phase of complete recklessness, deliberately violating signed agreements, invading countries, and killing more civilians,” said the statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

He said Israel’s resumption of targeted assassinations in Lebanon is an unacceptable and condemnable breach of the ceasefire agreement it signed with Lebanon late last year. 

Aboul Gheit suggested that Israel’s actions were driven by narrow domestic agendas at the expense of civilian lives and regional peace.

“It seems that the Israeli war machine does not want to stop as long as the occupation leaders insist on facing their internal crises by exporting them abroad, and this situation has become clear to everyone,” he said.

As per the Gaza Ministry of Health’s count last week, more than 50,000 people have been killed and over 113,200 wounded in Israeli attacks on Palestinian territories in retaliation against the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas surprise attack on southern Israel.

In Lebanon, war monitors have said at least 3,961 people were killed and at least 16,520, wounded in Israel’s war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement from October 8, 2023, to November 26, 2024.

Syria’s new government accused Israel on April 3 of mounting a deadly destabilization campaign after a wave of strikes on military targets, including an airport, and a ground incursion killed 13 people, in the southern province of Daraa. 


Pakistan win toss, bowling in third New Zealand ODI

Updated 33 min 27 sec ago
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Pakistan win toss, bowling in third New Zealand ODI

  • The match has been reduced to 42 overs each after a wet outfield delayed the start of the play
  • New Zealand have an unassailable 2-0 lead after winning the first two matches by 73 and 84 runs

TAURANGA, New Zealand: Pakistan won the toss and elected to bowl Saturday in the weather-affected third and final one-day international against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui.
The match was reduced to 42 overs each after a wet outfield at Bay Oval delayed the start of play by nearly two hours.
The home side hold an unassailable 2-0 lead after winning in Napier by 73 runs and in Hamilton by 84 runs.
Despite having wrapped up the series, New Zealand have kept nearly the same team as the Hamilton match, only replacing allrounder Nathan Smith with batsman Tim Seifert.
Pakistan have also made one change, with Haris Rauf making way for fellow-pace bowler Naseem Shah.
New Zealand: Nick Kelly, Rhys Mariu, Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Tim Seifert, Michael Bracewell (capt), Muhammad Abbas, Mitchell Hay, Jacob Duffy, Ben Sears, Will O’Rourke
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam Ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (capt), Salman Ali Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Naseem Shah, Sufyan Moqim, Akif Javed
Umpires: Chris Brown (NZL), Paul Reiffel (AUS)
TV umpire: Michael Gough (ENG)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)


Pakistan says two militants killed in Balochistan amid ongoing separatist violence

Updated 52 min 57 sec ago
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Pakistan says two militants killed in Balochistan amid ongoing separatist violence

  • The military says both militants were ‘actively involved in numerous terrorist activities’ in the area
  • Shehbaz Sharif applauds the security forces for the operation, vows to eliminate militant violence

KARACHI: Pakistani security forces on Friday killed two militants during an intelligence-based operation in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military said, as the region continues to experience an uptick in separatist attacks.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by landmass and rich in mineral resources, has faced a low-level insurgency for nearly two decades. Baloch separatist groups accuse the central government of exploiting local resources, such as gold and copper, without benefiting the local population.
Islamabad denies the allegations, saying it is committed to improving the lives of local residents in the province through various development projects.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement security forces conducted the operation in Kech District on the reported presence of militants.
“During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location and after an intense fire exchange, two terrorists were sent to hell,” said the statement.
“The killed terrorists remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area against the law enforcement agencies as well as the innocent civilians,” it added.
The ISPR said a “sanitization operation” was continuing in the area to eliminate any remaining militants.
It maintained that Pakistani forces were “determined to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Balochistan.”
Reacting to the development, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the security forces for carrying out the operation.
“The nation is proud of the bravery of our officers and soldiers,” he said in a statement circulated by his office.
“Our war against terrorism will continue until it is completely eradicated from the country,” he added.