LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 29/09
Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Matthew 25:1-13. Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten
virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them
were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight, there was a cry, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to
the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise
ones replied, 'No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the
merchants and buy some for yourselves.' While they went off to buy it, the
bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.
Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, 'Lord,
Lord, open the door for us!'But he said in
reply, 'Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.'Therefore, stay awake, for you
know neither the day nor the hour.
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special
Reports
Editorial: Inexcusable delay/Arab
News/28 August 09
On freedom and being free. By: Elie
Fawwaz/Now Lebanon/August 28, 09
Syria-France: why the new friendship?National
August
28/09
What I told the president-Ha'aretz
August
28/09
Who
will liberate Lebanon from the growing burden of enormous public debt?-
The Daily Star
August
28/09
Get
rid of three illusions on Lebanese-Israeli negotiations.By
Joseph Bahout
August
28/09
Why won’t you talk to us?Now
Lebanon/August 28, 2009
Latest
News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August
28/09
Parliamentary Majority Meets on
Monday to Support Hariri-Naharnet
Geagea
for Cabinet with Largest Possible Number of Blocs-Naharnet
Solana
in Beirut Next Week-Naharnet
Harb: Cabinet formation is an
attempt to “overthrow constitution;” opposition does not have the right to set
conditions/Now Lebanon
Syrian Action Plan on Hariri
Tribunal toward U.N. Security Council-Naharnet
UNIFIL,
Lebanese Army Take Measures following Israeli Border Action-Naharnet
Gemayel Suggests Indirect
Talks with Israel-Naharnet
Proposal to Split Up
Interior, Foreign Ministries-Naharnet
Egypt: Hizbullah Cell Used
Women as Disguise-Naharnet
Majority MPs, including
Jumblatis, Likely to Meet Next Week-Naharnet
Israeli Returned after
Crossing into Lebanon-Naharnet
Aoun's
Visit to Hariri Out of Question as Hizbullah Seeks to Soften Political
Atmosphere-Naharnet
Abdel
Menhem Ariss Denies Inviting Haifa Municipality Chief to Conference on Water-Naharnet
Machnouk: for a national unity
government to stabilize civil peace/Future News
Bassil informs Sleiman
that Aoun will not attend presidential Iftar for logistical reasons-Now
Lebanon
Marouni: Aoun’s snub of invitation
a setback to Sleiman’s initiative-Future News
Sleiman: to adopt administrative decentralization-Future
News
Rayess: Hizbullah must play a positive role-Future
News
Syria and Hezbollah Backing Salafist Groups in Northern Lebanon ...Asharq
Alawsat
UN council extends Lebanon force with same mandate-Reuters
Lebanon sees no cabinet in two months as blocs keep
negotiating-Xinhua
UN Security Council extends UNIFIL
mandate until
August 31, 2010-Daily
Star
Deadlines loom large as Lebanon
awaits
cabinet-Daily
Star
Christians continue to slam
criticism directed
at Sfeir-Daily
Star
Ministries scuffle over illegal
Barouk
telecom network-Daily
Star
Hizb ul-Tahrir slams Lebanon's
political mafia-Daily
Star
Man impersonates security to hijack
two cars-Daily
Star
Delays in government formation
damaging Lebanon's hospitality
industry-Daily
Star
Nine-month-old
baby abandoned
in Ajaltoun-Daily
Star
Thieves raid restaurant in Raouche,
steal $14,000-Daily
Star
Top officials meet to discuss
prison conditions-Daily
Star
Beirut: Sex capital for Arab tourists-Daily
Star
Survivor of 1996 Qana massacre gets
$25,000 from Hariri committee-Daily
Star
Sweets industry in full swing
during holy month
of Ramadan-Daily
Star
Baalbeck sees tourism surge as
expats and foreigners visit city's
marvels-Daily
Star
Editorial: Inexcusable delay
28 August 2009
Arab News
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=125858&d=28&m=8&y=2009
The tourist industry in Lebanon is unhappy. According to the head of the
country’s hoteliers’ association, the delay in forming a government has put
$2-billion worth of investment in hotel development and 6,000 new jobs on hold.
But there is a lot more at risk than new hotels. Lebanon’s precarious unity and
stability could vanish if a coalition government does not emerge soon. It is
over two and a half months since the alliance led by Saad Hariri known as March
14 defeated the pro-Syrian alliance led by Hezbollah in the country’s general
elections. Since then Hariri, as prime minister designate, has bent over
backwards to bring all Lebanon’s political factions into his Cabinet.
Last week he said that Hezbollah would be included, ignoring warnings from the
Israelis that they would hold his government responsible for any attacks on
Israel by Hezbollah if that were the case. He has since indicated he plans equal
numbers of Muslim and Christian ministers. His one no-go area is the
opposition’s demand of a veto in government.
It is unreasonable given that it convincingly lost the election. He is sticking
to the agreed formula which, while denying it a veto, ensures he does not have
an absolute majority: 15 ministers from his alliance, 10 from the opposition and
five appointed by President Michel Sleiman. It is a fair formula, given that
March 14 won and the opposition lost; anywhere else the opposition would not be
in government at all.
Despite these reconciliatory efforts, no government of national unity has
emerged so far. On the contrary, there is increasing rancor.
It is cause for concern. It is impossible to ignore growing allegations that the
opposition is out to sabotage the process. The excessive demands of Hezbollah’s
principal ally, Michel Aoun — he wants five of the Christian ministers in the
government to be from his Free Patriotic Movement plus the Interior Ministry for
himself and his son-in-law to remain telecommunications minister — and his
refusal to meet with Hariri unless the latter’s MPs apologized for perceived
insults to him look like calculated sabotage. No one, genuinely interested in
Lebanon’s future could be that self-centered. Moreover, claims by March 14
coordinator Fares Soaid that Aoun is play acting on Hezbollah’s behalf, to give
the impression that the delays are purely Lebanese rather than directed from
outside, inevitably begin to look credible the longer the deadlock lasts.
Despite Hezbollah’s statement that it wants to join a unity government,
questions remain over its real agenda. It has denied allegations of arming
extremists in the northern city of Tripoli but it has threatened to bring
violence to the country if the international tribunal on Rafik Hariri’s
assassination in The Hague dares implicate it. Such threats throw into doubt its
commitment to Lebanese peace, other than on its terms. It is not difficult to
imagine others outside Lebanon intent on derailing Hariri’s plans. The Israelis
would certainly like to do so, and they are not the only ones. The political
confusion has not been improved by the decision of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt
to pull out of the March 14 alliance and realign with Damascus, though not with
Hezbollah or Aoun. The situation is worrying. A government is desperately
needed, if only to address Lebanon’s’ grave economic and social issues. The
longer the delay, the greater the chance of failure — and of recriminations
turning violent.
Egypt: Hizbullah Cell Used Women as Disguise
Naharnet/The so-called Hizbullah cell has used a number of women as camouflage
to counter Egyptian security measures, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat said Friday,
citing documents in the case.
Documents that were reviewed by al-Hayat uncovered that these women were having
affairs with the cell members accused of plotting attacks in Egypt, "an
indication that they had been used as a cover up to evade security
measures."Meanwhile, forensic reports proved that torture had not taken place,
contrary to defense claims. The 22 alleged members of the Hizbullah cell had
claimed they were tortured by police in custody ahead of their trial on Sunday.
They include two Lebanese, five Palestinians and 19 Egyptians. Four more accused
are on the run and are being tried in absentia, including alleged Lebanese
mastermind Mohammed Qabalan. During Sunday's hearing one man shouted "We are at
your command Nasrallah," in an apparent reference to Hizbullah leader Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah who admitted in April that one of the defendants, Lebanese
Mohammed Youssef Ahmed Mansour known as Sami Shehab, was a Hizbullah agent
tasked with smuggling weapons to militants in the Gaza Strip. Authorities began
arresting members of what has become known as the "Hizbullah cell" in 2008,
accusing them of plotting attacks against Israeli tourists and on ships in the
Suez Canal. The next hearing is scheduled for October 24. Beirut, 28 Aug 09,
23:50
Geagea for Cabinet with Largest
Possible Number of Blocs
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea urged the president and
premier-designate on Friday to include in the cabinet the largest possible
number of parliamentary blocs.
"There is no Lebanon without the constitution and no state without its
institutions," Geagea said during a ceremony in honor of LF students in Dbayeh.
"However, there is neither a state nor a constitution without the Cedar
revolution.""We strongly back the efforts of the president and premier-designate
to form the new cabinet," Geagea said, urging Michel Suleiman and Saad Hariri
"to use their constitutional authorities and form a government that includes the
largest possible number of parliamentary blocs."The LF leader said Suleiman and
Hariri should neither exclude any side nor allow Lebanon to become a "victim of
interests." In an apparent reference to Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah's
criticism of Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, Geagea said: "Lebanon's glory
has been given to it. We don't want glory from anyone."During an Iftar earlier
this week, Fadlallah stressed that "Lebanon's glory has been given to the
struggling and resilient people." He was referring to a popular proverb in
Lebanon saying that the "glory of Lebanon is given to the Maronite patriarch."
Beirut, 28 Aug 09, 20:43
Parliamentary Majority Meets on Monday to Support Hariri
Naharnet/Parliamentary majority lawmakers are expected to hold a meeting at
Premier-designate Saad Hariri's Center house in downtown Beirut on Monday to
declare support for the Mustaqbal movement leader.According to information
received by Naharnet, the 71 MPs who represent the March 14 forces, the
Progressive Socialist Party, the Democratic Gathering in addition to MPs Michel
Murr, Ahmed Karami and former PM Najib Miqati will be present. Following the
meeting, a statement will express support for the premier-designate's efforts to
form a cabinet and will stress the parliamentary majority's backing for Hariri
despite the latest rift between the March 14 forces and Druze leader Walid
Jumblat.The meeting comes following contacts in the last few days to repair ties
between Hariri and Jumblat and after channels of dialogue were opened between
the Progressive Socialist Party and March 14.
Beirut, 28 Aug 09, 21:10
Gemayel Suggests Indirect Talks with Israel
Naharnet/Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel suggested Friday indirect talks with
Israel to settle the border dispute between the two countries. Gemayel stressed
in a lecture at the Faculty of Law at the University of Sao Paulo that "we are
not talking about peace negotiations with Israel, but rather about interim
arrangements to allow a return to the Armistice Agreement of 1949." He believed
that the policy of the new Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu "does
not encourage the Palestinians to engage in a serious and constructive
dialogue." Gemayel said the election of U.S. President Barack Obama has "sparked
a new dialogue spirit" in Arab-Israeli talks. He suggested a four-point plan to
consolidate Lebanon's role, develop its institutions and promote national
security based on the principle of secularism within the national bodies as well
as administrative decentralization. Beirut, 28 Aug 09, 12:42
Proposal to Split Up Interior, Foreign Ministries
Naharnet/Hizbullah has reportedly offered to separate the interior ministry from
that of the municipalities and the foreign ministry from that of the
expatriates. This move would allow President Michel Suleiman to maintain the
interior ministry while Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun would get the
ministry of municipalities, said a report published by the daily al-Liwaa on
Friday. As-Safir newspaper, however, said this proposal was quickly retracted
since creating new ministries requires Cabinet approval, which is impossible at
the moment.
As-Safir quoted a political source as saying there was a "black out" on a key
obstacle which is aimed against highlighting the snag of March 14 forces'
Christian representation, particularly ministerial portfolio shares of the
Lebanese Forces. The source said Aoun believed that he is under pressure from
Hariri's camp in a "clear attempt to resolve the Geagea obstacle at his
expense." "This is something he (Aoun) won't accept," the source added.
Meanwhile, An-Nahar daily quoted sources following up on consultations as saying
that the majority March 14 coalition is under strong impression that "internal
obstacles are only a reflection of an external problem." Beirut, 28 Aug 09,
09:35
Syrian Action Plan on Hariri Tribunal toward U.N.
Security Council
Naharnet/Syria has reportedly decided to move toward the U.N. Security Council
to deal in advance with any development regarding the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon.
The daily Al-Akhbar, which carried the report on Friday, quoted well-informed
sources as saying Syria is seeking to "remind" the Security Council of its
responsibilities toward the STL.
It said a Syrian team made of legal, security and diplomatic officials has been
set up for that purpose. The team, according to Al-Akhbar, has prepared a
presentation to the Security Council aimed at urging the United Nations to "bear
responsibility to prevent errors and hold all the perpetrators accountable."The
presentation also calls on the Security Council to "refute errors of the (U.N.)
investigation commissions and settle the record straight on issues that require
follow up in order to prevent recurrence of mistakes in any future phase of the
work of the tribunal."
Syria, al-Akhbar went on, would ask the Security Council to initiate steps "that
would commit it to force the tribunal not to ignore any fraud operation that has
occurred, whether with interrogators who have worked in investigation
commissions or figures with political links to the team that has filed a lawsuit
and is involved in throwing accusations against Syria.
Beirut, 28 Aug 09, 10:11
Abdel Menhem Ariss Denies Inviting Haifa Municipality Chief to Conference on
Water
Naharnet/Beirut Municipality head Abdel Menhem Ariss denied Friday he has
invited Haifa municipality chief to attend a conference on water in the French
city of Leon.
Ariss told Hizbullah's al-Manar TV that the report, which was carried by the
Israeli newspaper Yedioth Aharonoth is "baseless."He reiterated the position of
the Lebanese government which stresses that Lebanon will not negotiate with
Israel and that it will be the last Arab country to sign a deal with the Jewish
state. Aharonoth claimed that the head of Haifa municipality was "touched" by
the invitation from his Lebanese counterpart, Ariss, and responded that he would
be happy to attend the conference. Beirut, 28 Aug 09, 12:07
Aoun's Visit to Hariri Out of Question as Hizbullah Seeks to Soften Political
Atmosphere
Naharnet/Government formation entered its third month with no signs of a deal on
a Cabinet lineup as contacts between Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and
Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun remained frozen. "No formula, no
names, no breakthrough with the beginning of the third month of the crisis,"
read An-Nahar newspaper's front-page headline.
The daily As-Safir, however, asked in its front-page article: "Will Hariri visit
Aoun or vice versa?" It quoted sources close to Aoun as saying that the former
army general "insists on receiving an apology from the other team after attacks
against him took on a personal tone." The sources said that despite the
difficulty of such a meeting, a get-together could still take place if Hariri
visits Aoun as part of his duties as premier-designate. Hariri sources, however,
rejected the idea. They told As-Safir "this issue (of visiting Aoun) is out of
the question. Hariri is a PM and logically people would visit him and not vice
versa." While Al-Liwaa daily did not rule out the possibility of a meeting
between Hariri and Aoun on the sidelines of an iftar in Baabda next Tuesday, Ad-Diyar
newspaper said Aoun has turned down the invitation for dinner at the
Presidential Palace. Meanwhile, Hizbullah resumed efforts to soften the
political atmosphere and bridge the gap between Qoreitem and Rabiyeh. Al-Liwaa
said a Hizbullah delegation has been in touch with Hariri in an effort to remove
obstacles facing formation of a national unity government and narrow the
differences between Aoun and the premier-designate. Beirut, 28 Aug 09, 08:26
UNIFIL, Lebanese Army Take Measures following Israeli Border Action
Naharnet/U.N. peacekeepers and Lebanese troops intensified patrols along the
Arqoub region overnight and early Friday following Israeli army action around
Shebaa Farms and nearby Kfarshouba, the state-run National news Agency reported.
It said UNIFIL together with the Lebanese army intensified patrols around the
Arqoub region from Shebaa Farms as far north as Kfarshouba and Mjaidiyeh and
Abbasssiyeh to the south all the way to the vicinity of Ghajar and Wazzani
River. U.N. peacekeepers stepped up military and security measures along the
border following a decision by the U.N. Security Council on Thursday to extend
UNIFIL's mandate for one year without amending its jurisdictions. Beirut, 28 Aug
09, 14:09
Majority MPs, including Jumblatis, Likely to Meet Next Week
Naharnet/A meeting is likely to take place at Center House next week among
majority lawmakers, including MPs from Walid Jumblat's Democratic Gathering
bloc. The daily al-Liwaa on Friday said the conferees are expected to issue a
"decisive stance" toward the support of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri in
his task to form a national unity government. It said the meeting is to be
followed by a wide-ranging conference of the March 14 forces General Secretary.
March 14 sources told al-Liwaa that talks between Hariri and Jumblat earlier
this week put the final touches on the expanded March 14 meeting. They said
Hariri had informed both Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel and Lebanese Forces
chief Samir Geagea that disputes which had prevented a meeting of the majority
leaders had been "permanently" resolved. Beirut, 28 Aug 09, 11:19
Israeli Returned after Crossing into Lebanon
Naharnet/An Israeli man who crossed the border into Lebanon was sent back and
handed over to police, the Israeli army said in a statement on Friday. It said
his return was made possible thanks to "the efficiency and determination" of the
U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) which worked in cooperation with the
Lebanese army. Military sources said the 30-year-old man who was returned to
Israel overnight is apparently mentally ill. Israel fought a 34-day war against
Hizbullah in 2006 that killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon and 160
Israelis.(AFP) Beirut, 28 Aug 09, 09:07
Harb: Cabinet formation is an attempt to “overthrow constitution;” opposition
does not have the right to set conditions
August 28, 2009 Now Lebanon/During an interview with LBC on Thursday, MP Boutros
Harb said that the current unreeling of the cabinet formation is an attempt to
“overthrow” the constitution, stressing that seeking to include the opposition
in the new cabinet “does not give it [the opposition] the right to set
conditions.”“The danger of having all parties included in the governement is
that it can become a custom, which would negatively affect the parliament’s
accountability and the opposition’s monitoring role,” said Harb. He stressed
that a majority cabinet does not “exclude the opposition from the state,” and
that Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir’s position on such a cabinet is
“normal and reflects the true nature of our political system.”reiterated his
opposition to the 15-10-5 formula,which grants the majority 15 ministers, the
opposition 10 and the president five, saying that it will hamper the cabinet’s
functioning and “weaken” the Prime Minister-designate. Harb also said the
security issue was being blown out of proportion because of the political
upheaval, adding that some parties are using the rising tension between
residents of Jabal Mohsen and Nahr al-Bared to form armed cells. On reappointing
Telecommunications Minister Gebran Bassil, Harb said that voters in the Batroun
district questioned the purpose of the June 2009 parliamentary elections,
arguing that by custom and to avoid “offending voters,” those who have been
defeated are not granted ministerial posts in the new government. Harb touched
on Lebanon’s relationship with Syria, saying he will only visit Damascus when
the time is “right,” highlighting the need for a state-to-state relationship
between the two countries. The MP denied reports that foreign powers are seeking
to reappoint Outgoing Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, noting that Siniora himself
had even nominated Hariri.
Why won’t you talk to us?
August 28, 2009
Now Lebanon/Hezbollah MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan speaks to reporters, but like
many opposition figures will not speak with NOW to defend their points of view.
AFP PHOTO/MARWAN NAAMANI
Hezbollah does it. Wiam Wahhab does it; even educated FPM members do it!
Or rather they don’t.
Since its launch in May 2007, NOW Lebanon, the nation’s most popular English
news site, has tirelessly hounded leading March 8 politicians to get their side
of the story. Our liberal instincts make us want to talk to the others, even if
we disagree with them. But surprisingly, the overwhelming majority have refused,
citing NOW’s “bias” as the reason they will not comment.
Is it any wonder that NOW Lebanon is accused of harboring this bias, when no one
will talk to us? Former environment minister and Syrian apparatchik, Wiam Wahhab
had made it very clear that he will not answer the phone to NOW Lebanon. So has
Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc MP Mohammad Raad and a whole cohort of
lieutenants. Only FPM MPs have gone on record with us. As for Michel Aoun
himself, one would think that, for all our harrying of the former army commander
– the scathing editorials, the Special Report and the relentless highlighting of
his contradictions – he would want to set the record straight.
So why all the shyness from March 8? Surely they are not intimidated by a news
site that represents the aspirations of the freedom-loving bourgeoisie, the
soft-handed people who took to the streets to end Syrian occupation and promote
Lebanese democracy, sovereignty and freedom on March 14, 2005?
If we were misguided back then, tell us. If we were wrong to blame Hezbollah for
initiating the 2006 summer war, a conflict that cost the lives of over 1,200
Lebanese, tell us why? If we shouldn’t have been appalled by the opposition’s
18-month occupation of the centre of Beirut, a gesture of popular defiance that
laid siege to the seat of government and blocked a major economic artery, then
why not set us straight.
If we cannot see why it was necessary for the stability of the nation to take to
the streets and kill innocent civilians in May of 2008 and call it a swift and
decisive “police action,” we should be shown. If we cannot fathom why a
heavily-armed political party has the say on matters of war, and why every now
and then – but more ‘now’ than ‘then’ these days – they use their sacred weapons
to bully and coerce the rest of us to achieve domestic ends, doesn’t it want to
enlighten us?
And finally, if we are wrong for wanting to get on with our lives, and by that
we mean demanding the immediate election of a government that can undo the years
of public sector neglect – utilities, education, health to name but a few – an
area that has clearly been deemed secondary to corruption, self interest and the
headlong pursuit of a rapidly ossifying Arab ideal, then we really would love to
know.
Contrary to popular belief, NOW Lebanon does not exist to just parrot a party
line; it seeks to reflect the yawning chasm between decades of political
stagnation and the rapid social awakening that has affected, not just Lebanon,
but the Arab world as a whole. It is worth remembering that 50% of the Arab
population is under 25, born on or after 1984. They reached maturity in a
globalized planet, part of a globalized economy. They want the opportunities and
the lifestyle that they see via the globalized media. They recognize that
prosperity and happiness, not to mention enlightenment, do not happen as a
by-product of violence and a state of perpetual fear and suspicion. They want
democracy; they understand consensus and they respect dialogue. Now all we need
is for Hassan Nasrallah to take our phone calls. (And he can even review his
quotes before publication) Let’s do it!
Bassil informs Sleiman that Aoun will not attend presidential Iftar for
logistical reasons
August 28, 2009 /Now Lebanon
Telecommunication Minister Gebran Bassil told LBC Television on Friday that he
has informed President Michel Sleiman that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP
Michel Aoun will not attend the presidential Iftar, explaining that the reason
is logistical, and not political. “The attempts to create a problem between Aoun
and Sleiman will not work,” he said.
Bassil also said that everyone is waiting for Prime Minister-designate Saad
Hariri to make a move to restart the cabinet formation process because he is the
sole decision maker, adding that President Sleiman’s role is limited to giving
his blessings to a cabinet at the end of the process. -NOW Staff
Machnouk: for a national unity government to
stabilize civil peace
Future News/Date: August 28th, 2009
Almustaqbal Movement MP Nohad Machnouk reiterated Friday his adherence to the
Taïf accord, confirming his commitment to achieve a national unity government
from a strong perspective in order to stabilize civil peace. Machnouk’s word
came at an Iftar organized by Almustaqbal Movement-Beirut coordinate for the
Arab coordinate at the Pavilion Royal hall at Biel, during which he represented
Prime Minister designate Saad Hariri. Several political, Arab tribes and
dignitary figures attended the Iftar including outgoing minister of state Jean
Ogassapian, General Coordinator of Almustaqbal in Beirut Khalid Chehab,
coordinator of Arab files of Almustaqbal Saadeddine Baasiri.
Machnouk addressed the attendees as saying “despite all the difficulties and
harsh circumstances Premier designate Saad Hariri’s patience and faith remained
steadfast and he remained committed to grant you decent lives.” He expressed his
surprised regarding the talks about the popular majority, indicating that those
allegations devoid of politics, democracy and deny the results of the elections
that produced majority and minority, and above all refute civil peace.
Machnouk, a staunch partisan affiliated to Almustaqbal Movement, confirmed that
the constitution is the guarantor of all the Lebanese regardless of any other
considerations. “The constitution necessitates equality between Christians and
Muslims regardless of number of votes, minority, majority, Pro-government and
opposition,” he argued.
Machnouk strongly denounced the Syrian talks in which they stressed that the
Lebanese need Doha-2 or Taïf-2, calling all the Lebanese counterparts to
preserve civil peace and the Taïf accord and all its articles. He also stressed
on the importance of establishing normal and stable relations between Lebanon
and Syria.
In turn, Baasiri said the gathering is a warm and equitable occasion towards
uniting the Lebanese with all its sects and diversity, as it also expresses
solidarity and harmony symbolizing the convergence. He vowed that Arab tribes
will remain committed to the covenant, to the path of martyr President Rafic
Hariri and to Almustaqbal Movement which represents moderation and loyalty. It
also pledged to resume the road with the leader Saad Rafic Hariri. General
Coordinator of Almustaqbal in Beirut Khalid Chehab also delivered a word in
which he blamed some politicians for the crisis in the country, which according
to him is due to their inability to interpret the policy of extending arms that
Premier-designate Hariri called for on June 7.
“Hariri’s initiative stems from his conviction that national unity is mandatory
to deter the political-economical Israeli threats that jeopardize the country,”
Chehab asserted.
He called on all the Lebanese factions to respect the constitution and the
procedure of the formation of the new government. Chehab confirmed that Premier
designate Saad Hariri, who is appointed by the President of the republic Michel
Sleiman, “is authorized to form the cabinet, and no one has the right to
interfere in the process.”
Chehab urged the different Lebanese factions to support the ongoing efforts of
Premier designate Hariri aimed at forming a new cabinet to resolve the national,
social, economic problems of the citizen without any disruption or obstruction.
“No one supersedes our patriotism and our determination to combat the Israeli
enemy, Beirut has always been the pioneer in fighting the aggressor,” he said
fervently. Chehab expressed adamant determination in preventing Lebanon from
becoming an arena for any foreign conflicts, “We are committed to save our
democracy and will never abandon Saad as a leader and President. We will not
allow anybody to tamper with the legacy of our martyr Prime Minister Rafic
Hariri," he concluded.
On freedom and being free
Elie Fawwaz , August 27, 2009
Now Lebanon/As chance would have it, a few days ago I stumbled upon a speech
Walid Jumblatt delivered at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy less
than two years ago.
On that day, the hall was packed with political, press and media activists who
had come to listen to the leader of the Cedar Revolution, the popular uprising
that swept through Beirut and shocked the entire world by overcoming fear and
terror and demanding freedom and independence.
In that speech, Jumblatt spoke in detail about that revolution and about how it
came to be and the difficulties it faced. He spoke about fallen comrades and
about Syria’s war on Lebanon. He spoke about the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
and the necessity of seeing it through. He concluded by saying it took him a
long time to “to grasp and comprehend the extent of the importance of values
such as democracy, freedom and justice.” He said that he discovered, late as it
might have been, that justice cannot coexist with despots, describing his hope
that those who killed Rafik Hariri and the other martyrs of the Cedar Revolution
would be brought to justice and receive the punishment they deserve. He added
that, in so doing, he would be holding true to the memory of his father, Kamal
Jumblatt.
However, not much time would pass before Jumblatt betrayed his own words and
came to regard that day as a black mark on his life’s work. He is setting his
sights on Syria and has embraced the Syrian-Iranian rejectionism as his own
principle. He pines for the days of Honecker’s East Germany and Mao’s People’s
Republic of China. But perhaps if he began to watch the Iranian televised
broadcasts of the trials of those who dared to demonstrate and protest the
results of Iran’s presidential elections, he would undoubtedly recall the era of
trials in Maoist China which witnessed the executions of hundreds of thousands
of innocent people.
As such, once more Walid Jumblatt has become the focus of attention and the talk
of the town. Some have welcomed the change, attributing it to Jumblatt’s sensing
that Syria is reasserting its previous role in Lebanon and the region. Others
have attributed the change to his wanting to avert a civil war were the STL to
come out and charge a Lebanese political party with the assassination of Rafik
Hariri. There are many such analyses available, but none have thus far been able
to quench the thirst of many Lebanese for answers, while questions continue to
mount as people rightly wonder, “What brought this about?”
Has Syria become such a vast expanse of freedom and democracy to prompt Jumblatt
to so alter his position on it? Has the Damascus Spring come to bloom? Have
6,000 Syrian prisoners, among whom notable authors and human-rights activists
such as Anwar al-Bunni and Riyad Seif, who lie rotting in Syrian prisons, been
freed? Will it be Jumblatt’s repositioning that spares us from a civil war if a
Lebanese party is indicted in the assassination of Rafik Hariri? If Hezbollah
were to back Iran, under orders from Khamenei, in defense of its nuclear
program, and launch its missiles upon Tel Aviv while dragging all of us, our
country, cities and infrastructure along a path of destruction, will it be
Jumblatt’s repositioning that spares us from civil war?
Absolutely not… unless Jumblatt is requested to help undermine the STL and
justice, turning back the clock to the time of a security apparatus that weighed
so heavily upon the lives and livelihoods of the Lebanese.
When Jumblatt spoke about freedom as a principle without which human development
would not be possible, many thought that he was talking about freedom of the
mind to criticize and question, the freedom to ponder and examine, and the
freedom of the conscience to reject or object as the sole means of building an
Arab society effective in providing culture, education and development. For, Mr.
Jumblatt, even if Palestine were liberated by Ahmadinejad’s rockets, who do you
think will liberate Arab society from the veils of ignorance and deprivation?
How nice it would be if Mr. Jumblatt were to read the 2009 United Nations Arab
Human Development Report.
**This article is a translation of the original, which appeared on the NOW
Arabic site on August 20
Christians continue to slam criticism directed at Sfeir
By Elias Sakr /Daily Star staff
Friday, August 28, 2009
BEIRUT: Christian parties and figures are continuing to criticize “attacks”
against the Maronite patriarch, saying they were aimed to weaken
Christian-Muslim ties but would fail to shake the patriarch’s position.
After visiting Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir on Thursday, Koura MP Farid Habib
stressed that parties criticizing the patriarch aimed to push the country to the
brink of civil strife, adding that Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun
had laid the groundwork for the criticism, given his attacks on the patriarch.
The Lebanese Forces MP expressed surprise that “some religious authorities that
consider themselves “moderate circles in Hizbullah” had subjected Sfeir to
criticism, adding that sectarian strife takes place due to pre-set plans as to
initiate it. Habib was responding to senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad
Hussein Fadlallah, who on Tuesday said that “Lebanon’s glory has been given to
struggling and resilient people.” The remark was taken as a retort to the
popular saying that Lebanon’s glory belonged to the Maronite patriarch.
Habib said Sfeir’s position on the national level would not be weakened given
the patriarchate’s leading role in establishing Lebanon’s independence and
defending its sovereignty.
At Tuesday’s iftar, Fadlallah also criticized Sfeir’s call to form a majority
cabinet if efforts to form a national unity government face obstacles.
“Why do you restrict the issue to the parliamentary majority?” Fadlallah had
asked, responding to Sfeir’s demands for ditching the idea of a coalition
government. “We call for a popular majority and popular referendum, so that
people can have their say.” However, Nabatieh MP Mohammad Raad said Thursday
that Fadlallah was expressing his personal opinion, adding that Fadlallah was a
religious and national spiritual authority. Sfeir stressed that the previous
cabinet’s experience had not been encouraging since it proved a government
embracing the majority and the opposition was subject to obstruction. The
patriarch added that “if the majority governed and the minority opposed, matters
would progress better.”
“A government based on a horse in the front and another in the rear would mean
the wagon remains broken and at a standstill,” Sfeir said.
Visitors to the patriarch at his summer residence in Diman said that Sfeir had
been surprised by the campaign against him, since he was devoted to preserving
the country’s national unity and consensus. Head of the Islamic-Christian
dialogue committee, Hareth Shehab, stressed that Sfeir had always advocated
consensus among the Lebanese as the best form of democracy.
Shehab said due to the failure to reach an agreement between the parliamentary
majority and the opposition on the cabinet, Sfeir had concluded it was time for
a majority to rule and a minority to be in opposition. Separately, Syriac Union
head Ibrahim Mrad said that organized attacks by opposition groups on Sfeir were
aimed to weaken the Middle East’s leading Christian figure, since the patriarch
stood against Syrian tutelage over Lebanon.
Mrad added that Sfeir had always urged the Lebanese to refrain from “wagering”
on regional intervention, which led in the past to long years of devastating
civil war, adding that “figures known for their moderation and modesty,” a
reference to Fadlallah, were now attacking the patriarch.
UN Security Council extends UNIFIL mandate until August 31, 2010
Friday, August 28, 2009
Patrick Worsnip/Reuters
UNITED NATIONS: The Security Council extended on Thursday the mandate of UN
peacekeepers in Lebanon but sidestepped the issue of whether they could do more
to stop Hizbullah building up an armed presence in the south. Israel has
criticized the UNIFIL force for not stopping weapons it says are flowing to
Hizbullah guerrillas who might again bombard northern Israel with rockets as
they did during the 2006 summer war. The United Nations says that is the primary
responsibility of the Lebanese authorities.
On July 14, an arms dump exploded in the south Lebanese village of Khirbet Silim.
Israel said the incident showed Hizbullah was stockpiling weapons in breach of
Resolution 1701.
UNIFIL is still investigating the blast. In a letter this month to the Security
Council, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said there were signs the dump was
Hizbullah controlled although it appeared to have been in place for several
years. A resolution approved unanimously by the council extended UNIFIL’s
mandate until August 31, 2010. The force, currently 12,000-strong, has been in
Lebanon in various forms since 1978 but was beefed up after the 2006 war.
Israeli Ambassador Gabriela Shalev told the council that following the July 14
incident, the extension “is an excellent opportunity for the Security Council
and the [UN peacekeeping department] to further encourage UNIFIL to strengthen
its good work.”
Shalev told reporters earlier this week that Israel was not seeking changes to
UNIFIL’s mandate, though council diplomats said privately that Israel made clear
it would like UNIFIL to more aggressively counter any rearming by Hizbullah.
No changes to the mandate were provided for in Thursday’s resolution, which
encouraged further coordination between UNIFIL and Lebanon’s army.
The resolution expressed “deep concern” at the “serious violations” cited in
Ban’s letter, but did not specifically mention the arms explosion or Israeli
overflights of Lebanon, also a breach of resolution 1701 that Beirut regularly
raises. Thursday’s French-drafted text reaffirmed UNIFIL’s authority “to ensure
that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind”
but said it should take action “as it deems within its capabilities.” Ban’s
August 6 letter stated that the Lebanese authorities “have the primary
responsibility to ensure that there are no unauthorized personnel, assets or
weapons” between the Litani River and the Israeli border, and that UNIFIL merely
helped.
UNIFIL says disarming Hizbullah is not in its mandate. A war of words between
Israel and Hizbullah has heated up in recent weeks as Lebanese Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri seeks to form a cabinet expected to include
civilian representatives of Hizbullah. The group has said its guerrilla force is
back to full strength after the 2006 war and has hinted it could add
anti-aircraft missiles to its arsenal of short-range rockets and small arms.
Thursday’s resolution also endorsed a review of the force structure of UNIFIL
that Ban plans to launch. This will include an evaluation of UNIFIL’s naval task
force, which Ban said was “stretched to the limits” because its original 12
vessels had been reduced to seven.
Deadlines loom large as Lebanon awaits cabinet
Hariri stresses need to avoid verbal sparring matches
By Nafez Qawas /Daily Star staff
Friday, August 28, 2009
BEIRUT: A meeting Thursday between President Michel Sleiman and Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri ended without breaking any new ground on the
formation of the next government, as the process enters its third month. Hariri
made no statement after leaving Baabda Palace for a short meeting with Sleiman,
as two dates loom large for the two men and others involved in forming the
government. The first is Monday, when Speaker Nabih Berri speaks at a rally to
commemorate the 1978 disappearance of Imam Musa Sadr, the founder of the Amal
Movement now headed by the speaker. Political sources told The Daily Star that
Berri will be expected at the event, which is being held in the southern suburbs
of Beirut, to comment on the impasse over the new cabinet and possibly launch an
initiative to end the stalemate.
The second date is in late September, when Sleiman is scheduled to travel to New
York to address the General Assembly of the United Nations.
The sources said that Sleiman would require the approval of a fully-fledged
cabinet to form the delegation that would accompany him, as well as the speech
that he would deliver at the event. The sources expected that Sleiman’s trip
might be affected if the cabinet impasse is not solved in time for his
departure.
For his part, Hariri commented on the impasse on Thursday evening, at an iftar
he hosted in Qoraytem for leading figures from the business community.
“Just like you are, I’m surprised by voices saying that the country is moving
forward without a government that is in session,” Hariri said, in an apparent
reference to opposition figure Suleiman Franjieh’s recent comments that the
country was functioning normally without a full-fledged executive branch of
government.
Hariri stressed that the next government would be formed in order to perform two
chief tasks: stand up to Israeli challenges and create job opportunities, to
spur economic growth.
The premier-designate said that in negotiating the formation of a cabinet, he
and his allies would not “give away” the results of June 7 parliamentary
elections, which saw a victory by the March 14 coalition. Hariri added that the
country’s stability was a “red line,” and said he was sticking to his strategy
of avoiding provocative statements, in the face of verbal attacks by his
critics. Bint Jbeil MP Hassan Fadlallah, a Hizbullah official, said that
contacts were under way between his party and Hariri, to “remove the obstacles
in form” to an agreement on the cabinet. He said establishing a “calm
atmosphere” would be key to seeing the process through. Nabatieh MP Mohammad
Raad also commented on the impasse between Hariri and Michel Aoun, the head of
the Free Patriotic Movement, who is sticking to demands for the naming of his
ally and son-in-law Gebran Bassil to the Telecommunications Ministry.
But Raad dismissed calls for Hizbullah to act as go-betweens in the dispute. “We
affirm that we’re not mediators, but allies of General Aoun,” Raad said, “and
consult with him, and with all other parties.” Earlier in the day, Hariri
received Metn MP and former minister Michel Murr at his residence in Qoraytem.
Murr said after the meeting that the responsibility for forming a government
rested with only two individuals – the president and the premier-designate. He
stressed that “something” needed to happen before Sleiman’s trip to New York, so
that the delegation could be formed and travel according to protocol. “The
Lebanese people can no longer tolerate the delay in forming a government,” Murr
said. “There is a crisis in the country, and the school year is about to start.”
Who will liberate Lebanon from the growing burden of enormous public debt?
By The Daily Star /Friday, August 28, 2009
Editorial
The petty factional disputes and personal political crusades that tend to grab
the headlines in Lebanon have overshadowed a major crisis that the country is
currently facing. Lebanon is already buried in debt, and all projections
indicate that things will only get worse if key reforms aren’t implemented soon.
According to Finance Minister Mohammad Shatah, the public debt could reach $52
billion – or nearly 165 percent of GDP – by the end of the year if no action is
taken to reduce spending and increase revenues. But the required measures,
including the privatization of state-owned assets, are likely to be delayed
until the deadlock over the formation of a unity government is resolved.
In the interim we are left with a situation that borders on the insane.
Everywhere we turn, we encounter tough-talking leaders who spew chest-beating
bravado, but all the while the country remains on the verge of complete
bankruptcy. The state-run power company, for example, is already unable to meet
rising demand for electricity, but instead of pressing ahead with plans to
privatize the firm or to introduce renewable energy projects, the government
continues to spend millions of dollars each year to cover the costs of running
aging power plants. If we continue to do things the same way the debt will only
keep mounting. The reality is that politicians show little concern for the local
problems that have such a tremendous impact on the day-to-day lives of Lebanese
citizens. Hizbullah champions the need to battle the Israelis, while several
March 14 factions prioritize the need to shake off Syrian influence, but nobody
is talking about the need to free this country from its self-imposed shackles of
mounting public debt. Most politicians instead seem content to pass along the
burden of paying off billions of dollars in debt and interest to the next
generation of Lebanese citizens. When the current caretaker cabinet took office
four years ago, it pledged to implement a wide range of reforms, but until now
political bickering has blocked any such effort. The situation is so bad that
the government has been unable to pass a budget for the current fiscal year.
Even those ministers who have tried to press for reforms have run up against the
brick walls of corruption and entrenched interests.
Lebanon was lucky to have avoided many of the ramifications of the credit crisis
that recently rocked countries around the world. But our heyday will be short
lived if the public debt is allowed to continue mounting unchecked. Our
politicians owe it to the citizens who elected them to do something to reduce
this burden before it breaks the country’s back.
Get rid of three illusions on Lebanese-Israeli negotiations
By Joseph Bahout
/Friday, August 28, 2009-Daily Star
War, peace, enforced truce: the Lebanese-Israeli issue has recently been caught
in a web of diametrically opposed outlooks. On the one hand, ideas are floated
that US President Barack Obama’s Middle East strategy would seek to tackle this
track first, since it is considered the easiest. On the other hand, the
drumbeats of war are sounding, induced by Hizbullah’s activities south of the
Litani (the Khirbet Silm depot explosion) as well as by Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu’s verbal escalation and threats.
In between, and much more realistically – though this realism remains to be
coldly reassessed, lays the idea of a resurrection of the Armistice Agreement
that imposed a truce after the 1948-1949 war between the two countries. This
agreement is still considered by some, especially in Lebanon, as the only
workable device to ensure a durable ceasefire, provided some “pending” issues
are resolved, foremost among them the Shebaa Farms.
The Lebanese-Israeli track may seem the easiest to resolve. However, the
historical sequence of events and geopolitical legacies, as well as the many
entanglements and ramifications of this track, could just as well lead to the
opposite conclusion. If it is true that the 1948-1949 war ended with no
territorial difference between Lebanon and Israel, it planted the seeds of a
much deeper problem for the Lebanese polity, that of the Palestinian refugees
and their fate. If it is also true that the subsequent 1967 war left Lebanon on
the side, consequently not directly concerned by the process set in motion by
passage of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, the Shebaa
Farms issue finds its nexus here, since this tiny strip of land that was
occupied then was formally Lebanese, even if it was controlled de-facto by Syria
and was lost to Israel by the Syrian Army.
Soon after 1968, the Palestinian factor became an inseparable part of Lebanon’s
domestic political agenda, giving birth to the Cairo Agreement and the creation
of “Fatah-land,” a Palestinian-controlled enclave in south Lebanon that two
Israeli invasions, in 1978 and 1982, sought to sweep away. These in turn brought
further UN resolutions such as 425 and 520. The PLO and its military wing were
eventually ousted, but a substantial part of the Palestinian population remained
in Lebanon. Finally, the Israeli withdrawal in May 2000 reminded everyone again
of the forgotten Shebaa Farms issue, and the July 2006 war, ending with the
latest in that line of resolutions, Resolution 1701, stressed the need to
address it along with all other issues.
With this brief chronology of the Lebanese-Israeli dispute in mind, and if one
has to be truly realistic, it is obvious that it is no longer a truce but
Resolution 1701 that is today the only game in town to ensure a durable
cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel while we await peace; and
this despite all the grievances each party has about the incomplete
implementation of the resolution and its many shortcomings. If Israel is alarmed
by persistent quasi-military activity by Hizbullah south of the Litani and the
flow of weapons it still receives, the Lebanese side feels constantly provoked
by repeated Israeli military overflights, infringements across the Blue Line,
the expansion of spy rings inside the country, as well as the non-solution to
the Shebaa Farms issue and other territorial questions such as Ghajar.
Mutual recriminations aside, however, the true question is how to consolidate,
widen and upgrade the scope of Resolution 1701 in order to ensure a long-term
cooling of the front. It is exactly at this point that the internal Lebanese
political reality pops up, a reality that Netanyahu himself is stubbornly trying
to constrain and alter. In the real world, any effective Lebanese government
today is a government that will include an active and ever-more decisive
Hizbullah. This means that Israel, on its way to obtain any enhancement of
Resolution 1701, including on its Shebaa element, will have to acknowledge that
it is engaging Hizbullah in one way or another, with all the regional
implications that such a move might entail.
In a longer-term perspective, and if one is to accept that there is a US desire
to obtain a rapid breakthrough on the Lebanese-Israeli track, things are not as
easy as they may appear. Lebanon essentially faces two options: either to enter
into separate and direct negotiations with Israel or to join, at some point and
in coordination with Damascus, the Syrian-Israeli track. The first is a choice
completely ruled out by today’s official Lebanon. President Michel Sleiman
himself gave his word to Syrian President Bashar Assad, as a sine qua non
guarantee before his election, that Beirut would wait for significant progress
by Damascus before entering into any separate negotiating process with Israel.
The second is a choice the Lebanese majority still considers unacceptable, since
it represents a sad return to the inglorious days of Syrian tutelage over
Lebanese policies.
There is a third, fragile alternative: that of sticking to the global umbrella
of the Arab Peace Initiative, within which Lebanon itself insisted on adding the
clause on the right of return of Palestinian refugees, given the sensitive
character of this question in domestic Lebanese politics.
Obama’s Middle-East sherpas would be well advised to quickly get rid of three
illusions regarding a Lebanese-Israeli process. Any serious authority in today’s
Lebanon is one that will not ignore Syria’s own progress in talks. Any talks
that ignore Hizbullah will backfire sooner rather than later, torpedoing the
whole venture. And any structural solution that ignores the Palestinian
dimension is a sure recipe for Lebanese turmoil. The Lebanese track may seem an
easy path to go down. It is not.
**Joseph Bahout is a professor at Sciences-Po, Paris, and a researcher at
Academie Diplomatique Internationale. This commentary first appeared at
bitterlemons-international.org, an online newsletter that publishes views on
Middle Eastern and Islamic affairs.
Hizb ul-Tahrir slams Lebanon's political 'mafia'
Daily Star staff/Friday, August 28, 2009
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s political class is a “mafia” that is ready to work for foreign
governments “on demand,” according to Hizb ul-Tahrir The Islamist group released
a statement on Thursday, saying that June’s parliamentary elections had been
useless, since various figures had “re-positioned” themselves following the
polls. The party said that recent changes in Lebanese political alliances were a
result of US policies in the region, which were aimed at bringing about an
Arab-Israeli peace agreement, which required stable countries. “The time has
come, O people, for you to know that those who rule you in Lebanon are mere
traders in peoples, sacrificing you for their interests and those of their
masters, or heads of mafias and gangsters,” the statement said. – The Daily Star
Man impersonates security to hijack two cars
Daily Star staff/Friday, August 28, 2009
BEIRUT: A man impersonating a security official and wielding a gun committed two
carjacking robberies early on Thursday, security sources said. Internal Security
Forces sources said that the suspect in the crimes, believed to be in his 30s,
forced three 18-year-olds out of their car at gunpoint at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday
and forced them to accompany him in his vehicle, a black Golf, in Sahel Alma, a
suburb of Jounieh. The suspect, who claimed to be a security official, allegedly
stole a sum of LL140,000 from the three, before releasing two of them in Haret
Sakhr and a third in the Kesrouan village of Zeitoun. The sources said that an
approximately an hour later, the same man robbed two 18-year-olds in the Nahr
Ibrahim region of Jbeil-Kesrouan, pulling off another carjacking and relieving
his victims of LL25,000, two cell phones, a watch and a gold chain, before
freeing them in Qartaba, Jbeil. The victims filed charges against the assailant
and gave a description of the driver and his car before ISF and judicial
authorities issued a search warrant for him. – The Daily Star