CAIRO: Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the secretary-general of the Arab League, will on Thursday attend the 10th session of the ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing.
The event will be attended by China’s President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, as well as monarchs and political leaders from several Arab countries.
Aboul Gheit’s spokesperson, Gamal Roshdy, said the visit would include a number of meetings with senior Chinese officials, including Wang and Vice President Han Zheng.
The meeting in Beijing — which comes after Aboul Gheit met EU foreign ministers to discuss the Palestinian cause earlier in the week — aims to provide a platform for the exchange of views on regional and international issues, particularly the Palestinian cause, which remains a priority for the Arab League, especially in light of efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.
To mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, Roshdy said the Arab League had produced a commemorative book that highlighted some of the key milestones in its history.
The forum is a framework for dialogue and cooperation between Arab states and China. Its founding document was signed in September 2004 at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo, following a visit by then Chinese President Hu Yintao.
Arab League chief to attend China-Arab Cooperation Forum in Beijing
https://arab.news/bkpw2
Arab League chief to attend China-Arab Cooperation Forum in Beijing
- The event will be attended by China’s President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi
- The meeting in Beijing aims to provide a platform for the exchange of views on regional and international issues, particularly the Palestinian cause
Iraq executes a former senior officer under Saddam for the 1980 killing of a Shiite cleric
- Al-Sadr was a leading critic of Saddam’s secular Baathist government whose dissent intensified after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran
- The cleric’s execution in 1980 became a symbol of oppression under Saddam
BAGHDAD: Iraq announced on Monday that a high-level security officer during the rule of Saddam Hussein has been hanged for his involvement in the 1980 killing of a prominent Shiite cleric.
The National Security Service said that Saadoun Sabri Al-Qaisi, who held the rank of major general under Saddam and was arrested last year, was convicted of “grave crimes against humanity,” including the killing of prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric Mohammed Baqir Al-Sadr, members of the Al-Hakim family, and other civilians.
The agency did not say when Al-Qaisi was executed.
Al-Sadr was a leading critic of Iraq’s secular Baathist government and Saddam, his opposition intensifying following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, which heightened Saddam’s fears of a Shiite-led uprising in Iraq.
In 1980, as the government moved against Shiite activists, Al-Sadr and his sister Bint Al-Huda — a religious scholar and activist who spoke out against government oppression — were arrested. Reports indicate they were tortured before being executed by hanging on April 8, 1980.
The execution sparked widespread outrage at the time and remains a symbol of repression under Saddam’s rule. Saddam was from Iraq’s Sunni minority.
Since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, authorities have pursued former officials accused of crimes against humanity and abuses against political and religious opponents. Iraq has faced criticism from human rights groups over its application of the death penalty.
