LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 01/09
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 15:26-27.16:12-15. When the
Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that
proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because
you have been with me from the beginning. I have much more to tell you, but you
cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to
all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and
will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he
will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father
has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and
declare it to you.
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special
Reports
Dr. Samir Geagea: If Hezbollah-Aoun
win the elections Lebanon will become a bananna Republic/Future News 31/05/09
Dorry
Chamoun: Hizbullah will rule if
March 8 wins the elections/Furure News 31/05/09
Elie
Mahfoud: Hizbullah is transforming
Lebanon into a rocket
31/05/09
Lebanon not for sale/Future
News 31/05/09
Syria's top dissident,Riad al-Turkm
backs detente with U.S-Reuters 31/05/09
Never Forgive, Never Forget, Never Stop Looking-Strategy
Page 31/05/09
Israel-Palestine: The Myth of a
Two-State Solution.By Peter C. Glover
Canada Free Press 31/05/09
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for May
31/09-Future
News
Israel carries out biggest civil defence exercise-Reuters
Israel 'Will Not Bow' to U.S. Settlement Freeze Call-Naharnet
Azerbaijan Accuses Hizbullah,
Iran of Plotting Attack on Israeli Embassy-Naharnet
Sfeir: Listen to Your
Conscience and Do What Is Best for the Country-Naharnet
Sami Gemayel: priority of the
army and state-Future
News
Abul Gheit: Hizbullah Cell
Will Pay the Price-Naharnet
Syrian authorities arrest 10
Lebanese for meeting with Hariri-Future
News
Musawi: Calls for
Disarming Resistance is Same as Calls for Displacing Palestinians, Southerners-Naharnet
Williams: No Foreign
Interference in Polls, U.N. Concerned over Spy Cells-Naharnet
Aoun Labels Geagea an
'Executioner'-Naharnet
Geagea Accuses March 8 of
Seeking to Transform Lebanon into a Banana Republic-Naharnet
Aoun seeks to be a single partner
with the Sunni and Shiite-Future
News
Beydoun expects a March 14 victory-Future
News
Hariri: the northerners are the
most honorable of all-Future
News
De Freij: Aoun aims at thwarting
the Taëf Agreement-Future
News
Siniora and Hariri: to vote against
obstruction-Future
News
Fatfat: those who cross out a
candidate would
-Future News
MP.
Zahra: the Lebanese will vote
for ‘Lebanon first’
-Future News
Souaid warns of Hizbullah’s
militias in Jbeil-Future
News
Hariri Slams Political
Extremism and Calls for Christian-Muslim Division of Power-Naharnet
'Israelis must ready for missile attack'-Jerusalem
Post
Likely Hizbollah electoral victory in Lebanon raises prospect of ...Telegraph.co.uk
Israel to hold biggest civil defense drill in state
history-Ha'aretz
Sfeir: Listen to Your Conscience and Do What Is Best for the Country
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Sunday urged the Lebanese to "listen to
the voice of conscience" as the date of elections draws closer.
In Sunday's sermon, Sfeir said: "Listen to your conscience and to what is best
for the country, your future and the future of your children. Do not pay
attention to intimidation and spectacular promises being made from in and
outside Lebanon."He also reminded listeners of the code of political conduct outlined by the
church. Sfeir also said Lebanon must be "neutralized" in regional conflicts and
international wrangling. Beirut, 31 May 09, 11:51
Azerbaijan Accuses Hizbullah, Iran of Plotting Attack on Israeli Embassy
Naharnet/Azerbaijan has accused Hizbullah and Iran of planning to bomb the Israeli
Embassy in the capital Baku to avenge the 2008 assassination of top military
leader Imad Mughniyeh, the pan-Arab daily asharq al-Awsat reported Sunday.
The accusation coincided with the start of a closed-trial of four Lebanese and
four Azeri nationals who were arrested last year on charges related to
terrorism, espionage and other crimes, the paper said.
Authorities said the eight were arrested beginning of May 2008 after
intercepting calls between "local armed men and two members of Hizbullah." They
said police also arrested two suspected Hizbullah members following a car chase
and confiscated explosives, binoculars, cameras and silencers.
The two men were identified as Ali Karaki "an expert in Hizbullah's overseas
operations unit" and Ali Najmeldine who is described as "an expert in
explosives."
According to investigations, the two Lebanese men arrived in Baku from Tehran at
the beginning of 2008 using Iranian passports, according to asharq al-Awsat.
They stayed in five star hotels and created a cell for the purpose of carrying
out the embassy attack.
It said the cell "monitored the Israeli Embassy which is located in al-Hayat
Tower complex next to the Thai and Japanese embassies. The plan was to set an
explosion in the surveillance tower by radar. The suspects were also planning to
"place three to four bomb-laden cars around the embassy. The bombs were to be
set off by a timer."
According to anti-terrorism officials, top officials in the Iranian
Revolutionary Guards appeared to be involved in the plan. Karaki said a
Revolutionary Guard members under the name of Fadli was his source in Iran.
Beirut, 31 May 09, 09:37
Abul Gheit: Hizbullah Cell Will Pay the Price
Naharnet/Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Sunday said that a
suspected Hizbullah cell will' "pay the price" for the party's violation of
Egypt's sovereignty.
"There is no way to overcome the Hizbullah issue. Egypt has a problem with this
party and its leadership," he said.
"It is unacceptable for one side to believe that its own vision of how to help
the Palestinians gives it the right to act at the expense of another country's
sovereignty… This is completely intolerable," he added. "It was a sad day in
Egypt when (Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan) Nasrallah reacted to the discovery of
the cell by saying 'why not?'"
"I tell him: you have crossed the line. Not only the red lines, but also any
kind of respect for the state of Egypt and this cell will pay the price. "When
the judiciary addresses the matter, then we will uncover the size of the plot to
harm Egypt by a force bigger than Hizbullah," he said. On the Lebanese polls,
the foreign minister refused to say whether there were "any guarantees" that
political forces will accept the outcome of the June 7 elections. He expressed
confidence in the Lebanese public's "wisdom and ability to reject external
interference, hegemony and control." "This (wisdom) ensures that June 8 will
reflect the ongoing consensus among the Lebanese," he said. Abul Gheit cautioned
that statements dubbing the results as "a victory of an ideology over the other
only served to influence the Lebanese public opinion and the outcome of the
elections."He reiterated Egypt's call for an end to "interferences in Lebanese
domestic affairs" pointing to the absence of an Egyptian position "favoring one
team over the other." Beirut, 31 May 09, 12:41
Chamoun: Hizbullah will rule if March 8 wins the elections
Date: May 31st, 2009 Source: MTV /Dori Chamoun, head of the Liberal National
Party, asserted Sunday that if March 8 coalition force wins the June 7
parliamentary elections next week, Hizbullah or Party of God will solely rule
the country and banish its political partners from joining in. Chamoun, who was
speaking in a televised interview, said that Hizbullah is working for Wilayat El
Fakih, or the Iranian Islamic ruling, and called on Lebanese to work for their
nation’s interests and avoid giving any reason for Israel to launch any attack
on Lebanon.
Chamoun is a March 14 candidate for one of the three Maronite seats of the Chouf
district competing elections against the Hizbullah-led March 8 opposition camp
backed by Iran and Syria. Chamoun is the son of late President Camille Chamoun.
He accused deputy Michel Aoun, a March 8 partner, “of working for Syria’s
interests not for Lebanon’s, and his only dream is to reach the Presidency.” He
added that the Doha agreement, which ended last year’s May violence, was a
necessary “surgery”, asserting that if the current majority wins again the
elections, then it should rule and the minority must go to the opposition
without the veto share power and the President must be granted additional
powers.
Syrian authorities arrest 10 Lebanese for meeting with
Hariri
Date: May 31st, 2009 Source: Future News /Syrian authorities arrested Sunday,
ten Lebanese citizens in the eastern Bekaa valley for meeting with the Leader of
the Almustaqbal parliamentary bloc Saad Hariri. The detained are Mohammad
Jalloul, Sami Hammoud, Yehya Saleh, Hussein Jumaa, Abdel Ghani Jalloul and Rida
Khaled. Head of Almustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Saad Hariri was in the Bekaa
Area during the week in the context of a tour he is engaging prior to the
upcoming elections due on June 7 where the March 14 alliance is competing
against the March 8 forces led by the Syrian-Iranian backed Hizbullah.
Mahfoud: Hizbullah is transforming Lebanon into a rocket
launching platform
Date: May 31st, 2009 Source: ANB /Elie Mahfoud, head of the Change Movement,
accused on Sunday, eight days ahead of the parliamentary elections, Hizbullah of
working on transforming Lebanon to a rocket launching platform. He also
regretted that “MP Michel Aoun does not have a political project which is
leading him to attack Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, the Lebanese Forces
Party and the martyrs.” Mahfoud is a member of the pro-government March 14
coalition that will compete in the elections against the Hizbullah-led March 8
opposition camp backed by Iran and Syria. He considered that if Hizbullah wins
the authority, there will be a bankrupt to the state institutions except the
Presidency, adding that MP Michel Aoun must declare the source that is funding
his electoral campaign.
Lebanon not for sale
Date: May 31st, 2009 /Future News
The Lebanese citizens experienced many difficulties during the past four years,
in which they assumed their full responsibilities, and were threatened with
their lives, while the supporters of the Syrian regime were putting Lebanon for
sale in the American, Israeli, Syrian and Iranian auctions.
The Cedar Revolution is making efforts, since it was launched five years ago, to
re-attain the components of the Lebanese state and its independence and free
decision. But “Thank You Syria” camp is taking the state towards the direction
of fragmentation and is mortgaging its decision to the credentials of the Syrian
and Iranian regimes at the United States of America.
According to this reality, June 7 will be the date to announce that Lebanon is
not for sale and belongs to all its citizens. It will not include security blocs
and sectarian ghettos. June 7 is a poll for March 14’s principles, the free will
of the independent state, and the strong army. It is the date for refusing the
state divided into cantons and mini-states, and the state of cutting tongues and
breaking arms, and stepping on people’s dignity.
On this day, we will renew our loyalty to Lebanon and the principles of fair,
right and beauty so that Lebanon becomes the state which we dream to live in,
with dignity and freedom, under a state that provides the rights of citizens,
and an army that protects its borders, not an army whose task is to separate
between football and basketball crowds. We will participate on the 7th of June
to launch a political process which prevents turning Lebanon into mini-states,
and prevents any arm stronger than the legitimate arms of the state.
If this stage is an obligatory passage for crossing towards the state, we are
making efforts to launch the project of building the state, and keeping Lebanon
away from the earthquake course which it was placed on due to Syrian and Iranian
policies and it agents inside Lebanon.
Lebanon is not for sale, this is what we will assure on June 7. We will declare
that Lebanon is an absolute nation, a free independent strong state which will
never be a playground for others. Our blood is not the property of the Pasdaran,
Pasijj or Syrian intelligence.
Lebanon a ‘bananas republic’ ?
Date: May 31st, 2009
Future News
Seven days separate us from the battle of “major choices” on the 7th of June,
and the electoral panorama is jammed with festivals of “mutual barrage”.
Each of the two teams defends its slogans but with a bit of “overdose” in the
speech of ‘March 8’ alliance which is smeared with accusations of treason,
threats, and prompting security incidents.
Leader of the Free Patriotic Gathering MP Michel Aoun crossed over all rules of
political discourse and launched a personal attack against Chief Executive of
the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea saying “I praise the wits of Dr. Geagea, the
butcher who was able to unite all of his victims in one list. As Christians we
were raised on forgiveness, but forgiveness can only be allotted to the
regretful!”
Meanwhile, leader of Almustaqbal parliament’s bloc MP Saad Hariri went to
Tripoli, within his electoral tour over Lebanese regions, from where he stressed
the necessity to vote in favor of the ‘Tripoli Coalition’ list saying “when
Almustaqbal movement makes a commitment, it respects it and never pulls out of
it”.
Hariri asserted that Tripoli has been targeted throughout the last four years,
recalling “the confrontations of Nahr el Bared refugee camp and the attempts of
prompting disputes between Jabal Mohsen and Bab el Tabbeneh, as well as
accusations which attempted to depict Tripoli and Dinnieh as supporters of
extremism and terrorism”.
Leader of Almustaqbal movement pointed that “Lebanon was targeted in its Arab
identity, its freedom, temperateness, independence, and economy in order to
replace it with the project for which martyr Premier Rafic Hariri was
assassinated.”
Grown Sidon
From Northern Lebanon to the South, the candidates for Almustaqbal movement in
Sidon district Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Minister of Education and Higher
Education Bahia Hariri called the people of the district to “vote against
obstruction and tutelage and in favor of the project of developing Sidon and the
state draft”.
PM Siniora said “Sidon, the city of loyalty and Arabism which defended Lebanon’s
independence, will not take instructions from anyone”. He called the people of
Sidon to decide who will represent their city and to vote for ‘Sidon’s Future’
list “as it is”.
For her part, Minister Hariri asserted she will work with PM Siniora to carry on
the project which martyr Rafic Hariri has started adding “Sidon is grown and
will grow bigger in the future”.
Lebanon a ‘Bananas Republic’
From Sidon to Batroun, Geagea called the people “not to be intimidated by the
noisiness and hype of the other team (March 8 opposition alliance) or the
abilities of the countries supporting them”. Geagea said “Lebanon is a mountain
and a faith that will not be shaken”.
During a ceremony for the list of ‘March 14’ coalition in Batroun, the LF leader
said “if March 8 won the election Lebanon’s status will be tragic and heart
breaking.
Geagea warned if the opposition won the upcoming elections “the country will
soon become an abandoned banana republic which first indications we recognized
between years 1990 and 2005, a lifeless country only dwelled by the whack of
weapons and the sound of death.”
More ceremonies ahead of elections
The ‘Metn Salvation’ list of the alliance of independents with ‘March 14’
coalition held an electoral festival Saturday, as ‘March 14’ coalition held
another ceremony in Beirut I district in Gemmayze region during which the
candidates condemned the approach of ‘March 8’ alliance to the elections saying
it is “an approach of clash and undermining martyrs”.
Responding to Nasrallah’s heresy
Former President and leader of the Kataeb party Amine Gemayel perceived the
latest speech of Hizbullah’s Chief Hassan Nasrallah as “pure heresy which aims
at balancing between the resistance and the Lebanese Army through letting the
latter only decide how to defend the nation and the people, while the resistance
has the exclusive command and decision making.”
The political leaders responded to Nasrallah’s promise that if March 8 won
elections “Iran will arm the Lebanese Army”. Leader of the National Bloc and
candidate for Keserwan district Carlos Eddeh said “Iran will not arm the LAF for
free”, but that it will do those through Iranian trainers “who will seek to
change Lebanon’s defense ideology and political orientation.”
Eddeh warned that Iran aims at transforming Lebanon into “a launching point for
Iran’s battles, even if it was at the expense of the Lebanese.”
Member of Almustaqbal parliament’s bloc MP Ahmed Fatfat said “if Hizbullah
turned in its weapons to the LAF, the latter would be able to defend Lebanon
against the Israeli enemy within a unified state for all the Lebanese.”
Fatfat wondered “Is Iran Caritas (a charity association) to provide Lebanon with
weapons unconditionally?”
On the other hand, Hizbullah’s candidate for Tyre district Nawaf el Moussawi
said “if we do not win the upcoming elections Lebanon will be engaged in the
tunnel of Israel’s regional project which aims at replacing the Arab-Israeli
conflict with sectary conflicts and replacing the conflict with Israel with
Shiite-Sunni sedition and an Arab-Persian dispute.”
Southern borders on the alert
On the eve of the kick start of the large-scale Israeli maneuver
“Transformation-3”, the borderline across the blue line was on the alert. The
Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon took precautions
deploying 25 thousand soldiers all over the region, provided that the Israeli
air force has recurrently violated Lebanon’s airspace Saturday.
De Freij: Aoun aims at thwarting the Taëf Agreement
Date: May 31st, 2009 Source: Ad-Dar
Nabil De Freij, accused Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun of aiming to
topple the 1989 Taëf Agreement, Lebanon’s only guarantee for civil peace, the
Ad-Dar Kuwaiti newspaper reported Sunday. “General Aoun aims at thwarting the
Taëf accord which is the constitution of the country and the only guarantee for
civil peace,” De Freij, a Beirut MP member of Almustaqbal parliamentary bloc
told ad-Dar paper. The Taëf Agreement is the most important political accord
since the National Pact of 1943, which set the parameters for Lebanon’s
post-independence sectarian political system. The agreement was hammered out in
the eponymous Saudi resort city in 1989 in a Saudi-brokered attempt to end
Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war. “Aoun is specialized in thwarting republics, one
after the other,” the outspoken De Freij added. “He wants to involve the
Lebanese and the precisely the Christians in a new phase of his Don Quixote
adventures that started with his war of Liberation, through the War of
Cancellation and continued with demanding the establishment of the third
republic.”
Aoun had declared the war of Liberation against the Syrians in 1989 and the war
of cancelation against Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in 1990 which have
only brought destruction to Lebanon. “The March 8 coalition is already applying
tripartite ruling. The constitution divided power evenly between Muslims and
Christians which meant that even if ministers from a certain sect resign, this
would not deprive the government of its legitimacy. The constitution mentions
Christian-Muslim coexistence, but if they consider the Shiites a necessary
constituent, then they would be calling for tripartite rule.”“What if an
Evangelical minister, who represents eight out of the 18 Lebanese sects,
resigns? Would they consider the cabinet as illegitimate? We are not convinced
that the tripartite rule is an illusionary slogan because they are practically
working for its consecration,” he maintained. “The June 7 parliamentary
elections are a democratic crucial entitlement for preserving the
Islamic-Christian coexistence,” De Freij who is running for the minority seat in
Beirut 3 district concluded.
Fatfat: those who cross out a candidate would be stabbing
Hariri politically
Date: May 31st, 2009 Source: NNA
Member of Almustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Ahmed Fatfat asserted that crossing
out candidates from Almustaqbal’s list “is not just treason, but it is a stab
against MP Saad Hariri (Almustaqbal leader) and his policy.” Fatfat warned,
during a ceremony for Almustaqbal movement’s list in Beddawi region, against the
campaigns launched against him.
“I’ve heard some dangerous rumors that say I am calling people to cross out
candidate Kassem Abdul Aziz from our list”, Fatfat said stressing that “all
three of us (candidates of Dinnieh region) are one.”Fatfat addressed the people
of Dinnieh district and its neighboring regions saying “you will be making the
decision on the 7th of June, and you carry the pledge”, calling them to vote for
Almustaqbal’s list “as it is.”
Aoun Labels Geagea an 'Executioner'
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun on Saturday slammed Lebanese
Forces chief Samir Geagea labeling him an "executioner" who put all his victims
in a single electoral list.Geagea is an "executioner who was able to gather all his victims in a single
electoral list," Aoun told a Change and Reform bloc rally at the Forum de
Beyrouth.
He vowed to liberate the Lebanese from repression if his party wins the June 7
elections.
"We are now in a stage of liberation from a hereditary repression that lasted
for years," he told the crowd.
"Our Christian belief urges us to forgive those who harmed us, but we should
only forgive those who repent," he added.
MP Ibrahim Kanaan also said during the rally: "Your victory in Metn district
means end of family monopoly, the fall of financial feudalism and fall of
authority and power.""You will tell your children in the future that you are the ones who produced
the Third Republic on June 7, 2009," he said.
MP Hagop Pakradounian, in his turn, said: "We want a Lebanon strong with its
army and a Lebanon represented by all factions."
"We are not ashamed of our alliances and from our past," he added.
For those who doubt the enthusiasm of the Armenians, Pakradounian said: "The
resolve of the Armenian citizen did not weaken. We are in the heart of the
battle."
Beirut, 30 May 09, 20:46
Musawi:
Calls for Disarming Resistance is Same as Calls for Displacing Palestinians,
Southerners
Naharnet/Hizbullah parliamentary candidate Nawaf Mousawi said Sunday that the
opposition took it upon itself to run the June 7 parliamentary elections "for
the sake of winning the majority." "Lebanon will not be an arena for passing a
new Camp David" deal, Mousawi said.He believed "any call for disarming the
resistance is tantamount to calls for displacing both Palestinians and
southerners." Beirut, 31 May 09, 15:00
Israel Begins Large-Scale Maneuvers
Naharnet/Israel began its largest-ever national exercise on Sunday to test the
response of emergency services to potential missile attacks, bombings and
natural disasters.
The five-day exercise will simulate simultaneous rocket strikes from the Gaza
Strip and Lebanon and missile attacks from arch-foes Syria and Iran and test the
way rescue services deal with the attacks.
"We will be exercising the doomsday scenario of simultaneous strikes against
Israel on all fronts and by different means," defense ministry spokesman Shlomo
Dror told AFP last week.
This will include conventional, chemical and biological strikes against large
population centers. It will also simulate a wave of Palestinian suicide
bombings.
On Tuesday, when air-raid sirens sound across the country and citizens must
scramble to shelters, in some areas within seconds and others within no more
than three minutes.
Exercise Turning Point 3 will also simulate the conduct of rescue and medical
services during earthquakes and epidemics. And there will be simulated cabinet
meetings in which ministers will weigh their response to such attacks and
scenarios. It is the third consecutive year Israel is conducting such an
exercise, although this year's drill is the largest-ever. The maneuvers began in
the aftermath of the July-August 2006 war with Lebanon, which revealed major
weaknesses in how the Jewish state's home-front dealt with the rocket attacks.
"The Second Lebanon War revealed that the home-front was not well prepared for
war and citizens found it hard to adapt to the special situation," Dror said.
The drill comes just two weeks after the air force wrapped up a massive four-day
exercise that tested its ability to defend against missile and jet strikes from
Syria and Iran. It was the first time the army has simulated strikes from the
Islamic republic, located more than 1,000 kilometers away, he said.(AFP) Beirut,
31 May 09, 11:56
Williams: No Foreign Interference in Polls, U.N. Concerned over Spy Cells
Naharnet/The special advisor to the U.N. secretary-general for the Middle East
has said that the international community was "interested" in the upcoming
parliamentary elections due to Lebanon's "pivotal" role in the region. In an
interview with al-Hayat daily published Sunday, Michael Williams said that a
"divided Lebanon" was not in the best interest of the Arab world or the
international community at large.He said that so far "there have been no
external interferences in the elections" adding that the electoral process has
been running "smoothly."
Williams also downplayed "(security-related) incidences as nothing out of the
ordinary in times of elections."He said that the political leadership in the
country was "aware of the need for national unity following June 7 in order to
embrace Lebanon's diversity." He said the United Nations was "concerned" over
the high number of Israeli espionage cells being uncovered in Lebanon. "Two
Lebanese staffers in UNIFIL have been arrested last Wednesday night, on
suspicion (of spying for Israel)," he added. Williams said he will address the
issue in his upcoming report on the implementation of Security Council
Resolution 1701. The top U.N. official said he discussed with Hizbullah members
a report presented earlier this month to the Security Council by Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon over the implementation of Resolution 1559. It addressed
"the continued flow of arms to Hizbullah in addition to Ban's position regarding
a standoff between Hizbullah and the Egyptian authorities." Beirut, 31 May 09,
10:19
Geagea Accuses March 8 of Seeking to Transform Lebanon into
a Banana Republic
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Saturday that if the
opposition wins the June 7 elections it will open new fronts in favor of
Hizbullah and will suppress public and media freedoms. "Can you imagine how the
situation will be like if the other team wins the elections?" Geagea wondered
during an election rally in Kfifan-Batroun. If March 8 wins, "new fronts will
open in favor of the resistance as Iranian President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad has
said," according to Geagea. "Lebanon will be transformed into a Banana
Republic," he stressed. Banana Republic is a derogatory term for a country that
is politically unstable, dependent on limited agriculture and ruled by a small
and corrupt clique. The LF leader also told the rally, which was attended LF MP
Antoine Zahra and MP Boutros Harb, that the March 8 forces will leave Lebanon
without friendly ties with foreign countries except Syria and Iran. "The
economy, development, education, society and environment and arts will be put in
favor of the big cause," Geagea said. The LF leader stressed that the "situation
will be tragic" if the March 8 forces win the polls, lauding the March 14
alliance which stood against "dragging Lebanon to such an end." "Don't hesitate
… Think about your country, the Lebanon that you want, the future of your
children and vote," he told the crowd. Beirut, 30 May 09, 20:16
Hariri Slams Political Extremism and Calls for
Christian-Muslim Division of Power
Naharnet/MP Saad Hariri said Saturday that Syria's symbols continue to carry out
its goals in Lebanon and called for division of power between Christians and
Muslims as guarantors for the country's future. "It's true that the Syrian
regime is out of Lebanon but it now moves (in the country) through some known
political parties," Hariri told Tripoli officials at Quality Inn hotel. "The
unity of Muslims and Christians and equally (divided powers) are the biggest
guarantee for Lebanon's future and coexistence. That's why we refused the
three-way share of power that some are trying to market," the Mustaqbal movement
leader stressed. The MP accused his foes of trying to transform Lebanon into an
extremist country.
"There are some who are now trying to changing Lebanon from moderation to
extremism. This doesn't only mean religious extremism but also political
extremism…which seeks to transform Lebanon into an arena for others," Hariri
said. He also stressed on the need to vote for the full list of the Tripoli
Coalition because "we are committed to the alliance we made with all the sides.
When the Mustaqbal movement makes a commitment, it does not back off." Hariri
said the current parliamentary majority prevented strife in the country and
backed President Michel Suleiman after the Doha accord "while the other party
refused his election."Hariri moved from the Bekaa valley to north Lebanon on
Saturday as part of efforts to promote his political platform prior to the June
7 parliamentary elections. Beirut, 30 May 09, 15:47
سوريا اعتقلت عشرة مواطنين من
البقاع الغربي لاجتماعهم مع النائب الحريري May-31-2009
افاد موقع تيار المستقبل على الانترنت ان السلطات السورية اعتقلت عشرة مواطنين من
البقاع الغربي لاجتماعهم مع النائب سعد الحريري. وعرف منهم محمد جلول، سامي حمود،
حي صالح، حسين جمعة، عبد الغني جلول ورضا خالد.
Never Forgive, Never Forget, Never Stop Looking
strategypage/May 31, 2009: The U.S. FBI has been reaching out to Lebanon, in an
attempt to catch an Islamic terrorist bomb maker it has been chasing for nearly
three decades. The suspect, Palestinian Abu Ibrahim, is 73 years old now, and
still active. U.S. intelligence found that he was in Iraq, providing technical
advice for Islamic terrorist groups. Attempts to catch Ibrahim in Iraq failed,
but apparently the dragnet came close enough to cause Ibrahim to flee. He was
recently spotted in north Lebanese city of Tripoli, and is apparently based in
Syria (which has been a safe haven for terrorists and war criminals for over
half a century). The FBI announcement may have been part of a plan to try and
smoke Ibrahim out, so that he can be caught and prosecuted before he dies of old
age.
Syria's top dissident,Riad al-Turkm backs detente with U.S
Sun May 31, 2009
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis
DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syria's leading dissident said on Sunday U.S. efforts to
improve ties with Damascus could help democratic reform in his homeland.
Riad al-Turk, 79, told Reuters in a rare interview that U.S. President Barack
Obama's initiative could also undermine what he called an "unconvincing
alliance" between Syria and Iran.
Although arrests of opposition figures have continued despite U.S.-Syrian
diplomatic contacts, mending relations between the two countries would make it
difficult for Damascus to crush dissent, Turk said. "The rapprochement helps
stabilize the Middle East and puts pressure on the Syrian regime to improve its
policies," he said.
"It could be difficult for the regime to change its attitude toward Lebanon or
Iraq and its role in the region without improving ties with its own society," he
added.
Such improvements would help reform, said Turk, who spent around 18 years in
solitary confinement as a political prisoner under the rule of President Bashar
al-Assad's father, the late Hafez al-Assad. "The regime would no longer be able
to justify internal policy by talking about external dangers," said Turk.
The United States started talking to Syria shortly after Obama took office in
January, departing from a policy of isolation under his predecessor, George W.
Bush.
Bush imposed sanctions on Damascus for what Washington described as Syrian
support for insurgents in Iraq, its role in Lebanon and backing for militant
groups such as Hezbollah -- also backed by Iran. The United States hopes that by
talking to Syria and supporting efforts to resume peace talks between the
Damascus government and Israel, Assad would break away from Iran.
OPPOSITION ALLIANCE
Undaunted by age, the scars of prison and six surgical operations, Turk remains
the leading opponent of the Baath Party's monopoly on Syria's political system.
He has worked to spread democratic thought and maintain a broad opposition
alliance known as the Damascus Declaration, after 12 of its younger members were
arrested in late 2007 and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail each. Senior
U.S. officials have visited Damascus twice this year since March, but the talks
have not prevented Syrian authorities from pursuing a campaign of arrests
against dissidents. Turk said he was under no illusion that Syria's ruling elite
might resist change, but ordinary Syrians also stand to benefit from a
normalization of ties with Washington that helps revive Syria's battered economy
and unhook the noose of sanctions Among high profile Syrian figures to be
convicted recently of political crimes was Meshaal Tammo, an advocate of Kurdish
self-determination who was sentenced this month to three-and-a-half years jail
for "weakening national moral."
Michel Kilo, a leading writer, served a three-year term on the same charge and
was released around 10 days ago. "Kilo said that jails do not change
convictions. Ruthlessness only undermines the regime," Turk said. Turk was
jailed after he refused to strike deals with Hafez al-Assad and criticized
Syria's armed intervention in Lebanon and a crackdown on Muslim fundamentalists
that culminated in thousands of deaths.
Turk spent 15 months more in prison for leading the Damascus Spring, a period
dominated by calls for democratic reform that lasted almost a year after Bashar
succeeded his father in 2000. Bashar took limited steps to open the economy but
made it clear political reform was not a priority with Syria under U.S.
pressure, which he said threatened national cohesion.
Turk welcomed Obama's commitment to seeking peace between Syria and Israel, and
between Israel and the Palestinians. But he said the two tracks should go hand
in hand and warned that peace alone would not guarantee Middle East stability.
"Since Israel was created in 1948, Arab countries, with the exception of
Lebanon, have only been ruled by tyrannies that shattered their societies
through terrorism, corruption and plunder," he said. "The crisis in the region
cannot be solved without moving from tyranny to freedom and the rule of law."
Turk urged Syria to mend ties with Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as boost an
Arab peace initiative launched at an Arab summit seven years ago that offers
Israel normal relations in return for full withdrawal from occupied Arab land.
"Iran would no longer use the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to its own ends if a
solution is reached," he said.
"Syria must not allow any compromise with Israel to come at the expense of the
Palestinian cause and to the advantage of the racist government in Israel, which
just wants to cause delays."
(Editing by Charles Dick)
الجمعيه الوطنيه القبطيه الامريكيه
national american coptic assembly
washingtonDC
Mr. Morris Sadek-ESQ President
visit&watch our website
http://www.nationalamericancopticassembly.webs.com/
http://nacopticas1.blogspot.com/
http://nacopts1.blogspot.com/
CFI Urges President Obama to Remember Persecuted Christians in Egypt
Saturday, 30 May 2009
Written by CFI Field Staff
SAULT STE. MARIE, MI --
President Obama has chosen Egypt to deliver a major address to the Muslim world.
Obama said after his election in November that he planned to make such a speech
to show Muslims that the United States was extending its hand in friendship
after years of tension.
On May 8, 2009, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said “…this gives the
President the opportunity hopefully to extend a hand to those that in many ways
are like us but just simply have a different religion.” Gibbs said that Egypt
“…in many ways represents the heart of the Arab world” and noted that “the
issues of democracy and human rights are things that are on the President’s
mind, and we’ll have a chance to discuss those in more depth on the trip.”
However, according to Christian Freedom International President Jim Jacobson,
“It is not enough for Americans to extend their hands. Muslim nations must
reciprocate. And that means treating Christians the same way Islamic governments
demand that Western nations treat Muslims.”
According to Jacobson, “When it comes to human rights and the treatment of
minority Christians, Egypt has an extremely poor track record. The president
should have a lot to talk about with Egyptian president Muhammad Hosni Mubarak,
one of the longest-serving leaders in the Arab world. We hope he uses this as an
opportunity to speak out for persecuted, minority Christians in Egypt.”
Overview
In Egypt Islam is the official state religion, and Shari’a (Islamic law) is the
primary authority for legislation.
The country has a population of 79 million, of whom almost 90 percent are Sunni
Muslims. Estimates of the number of Christians range from 8 to 12 percent, (10
to 15 million), the majority of whom belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church.
The Egyptian constitution, under Article 46, in theory provides for freedom of
belief and the practice of religious rites; however, in reality the government
severely restricts these rights. The Egyptian government persecutes those who
convert from Islam to Christianity.
In Egypt it is almost impossible to build or repair a church. Ministry of
Interior regulations specify a set of ten conditions that the government must
consider before a presidential decree for construction of a new “non-Muslim
place of worship” can be issued. The conditions include the requirement that the
distance between a church and a mosque be not less than 340 feet, and that
approval of the neighboring Muslim community be obtained before a permit to
build a new church may be issued. Permission is rarely, if ever, granted.
Local authorities routinely categorize repairs and maintenance such as the
painting of walls and plumbing repairs, as expansion or new construction
projects, thus requiring formal permits that are rarely, if ever granted. Local
authorities also routinely deny existing church buildings the supply of water
and electricity.
Under Shari’a as practiced in the country, non-Muslim males must convert to
Islam to marry Muslim women, but non-Muslim women need not convert to marry
Muslim men. Muslim women are prohibited from marrying Christian men. Under
Shari’a as interpreted by the government, a non-Muslim wife who converts to
Islam must divorce her “apostate,” non-Muslim husband. Upon the wife’s
conversion, local security authorities ask the non-Muslim husband if he is
willing to convert to Islam; if he chooses not to, divorce proceedings begin
immediately, and custody of children is awarded to the mother.
There are numerous reports that the Egyptian government harasses Christian
clergy and other Christian leaders at the international airport in Cairo while
they pass through immigration to board flights, and that they confiscate address
books, written materials, and various forms of recordable media.
The Egyptian government discriminates against Christians in hiring for the
public sector and in staff appointments to public universities, and bars them
from study at the popular Al-Azhar University (a publicly funded institution).
While there are no legal restrictions on the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam,
there are numerous reports that police persecute converts from Islam to
Christianity. Security services maintain regular and oftentimes hostile
surveillance of Muslim-born citizens who are suspected of having converted to
Christianity.
Although Christians and Muslims live as neighbors throughout the country,
violent sectarian attacks on Coptic Christians continue unabated, with police
ignoring requests for help from Christians.
Specific Requests
According to the U.S. based Copts Association (http://copts.com/english1/) which
represents Christians in Egypt, “Copts (Christians of Egypt) are not asking for
special treatment to compensate for centuries of discrimination and persecution.
They are only asking for equality. They don’t want anything more, and they will
not settle for anything less. It is hard to believe that, at the turn of the
21st century, equality to Copts remains a luxury they still dream of. This at a
time when the rest of the civilized world considers equality a birth right to be
taken for granted.”
The following are some of the demands the U.S. Copts Association is calling upon
the Egyptian government to implement:
The antiquated 19th Century Hamayouni Decree must be abolished. It is
inconceivable to require that the president of Egypt must approve permits to
build a church or even to repair a toilet in a church. Mosques in Egypt are
being built with no restrictions.
Equal air time must be available for Christians on the government controlled TV
and Radio stations to broadcast their beliefs to their people. The 15 million
Copts living in Egypt pay for the TV and Radio from their tax money, and they
should have time allocated for broadcasting.
Confiscated church lands must be returned. The income generated by these lands
was used to provide for needy Christians. The lands were seized by the Ministry
of Islamic Affairs, even though the courts had ordered that the lands must be
returned to their legitimate owners, the Copts.
There must be an end to the forced conversion of Christian girls who are
routinely kidnapped and raped by Muslim extremists. There are reports of police
protection given to the abductors.
All Egyptian citizens must have the freedom of belief, including the freedom to
change one’s religion. Christians are welcomed to convert to Islam, so Muslims
should be free to convert to Christianity, if they so choose. Converts to
Christianity are routinely subjected to imprisonment and torture.
Religious affiliation must be removed from national ID cards, job applications,
and other documents so that Christians cannot be identified and discriminated
against.
Educational curriculums must be revised to guarantee that they do not contain
any demeaning references to Christians and Christianity, but rather encourage
students to accept and respect each other.
Government controlled media must refrain from conducting a campaign of hate
against Christians, labeling them as infidels, thus creating a climate of
intolerance, in which attacks against the Christians can be easily propagated.
The media should also allow Coptic programs to be aired.
There must be an immediate end to the discrimination in job appointments and
promotions. Very few Christians are appointed to key jobs such as ministers, or
other government officials. At the present time there are no Christian
governors, mayors, chiefs of police, presidents of city councils, or college
deans in Egypt.
There must be an immediate end to the discrimination in government controlled
school admission against Christian students. Very few Christians are admitted to
the police academy and military schools. Very few Christians are appointed to
teaching assistant positions in all medical, pharmaceutical, engineering, and
all top education colleges.
The Egyptian government must be serious about apprehending those who murder
Christians, punish them to the fullest extent of the law, and adequately
compensate the victims of these crimes. No killers of Christians have been
sentenced to the same punishments as those of a killer of Muslims. Even the
terrorist Haridi, who murdered thirteen Christians, including small children in
Sanabu in 1992, did not get the usual punishment for murder for his horrifying
crimes.
Immediate orders should be issued to rebuild Kafr Demian village, which was
burned down by Muslim extremists in 1996. This should be done at the expense of
the State.
Christians should be treated with honor and dignity inside Police Departments
and in the sermons of Muslim clerics in Mosques. There is no justification for
humiliating somebody just because he or she is of a different religion.
Routine Persecution of Christians
A recent report by the Assyrian International News Agency ( http://www.aina.org)
illustrates what Christians in Egypt endure on a routine basis. According to an
AINA news report by Mary Abdelmassih, on May 6, 2009, in broad daylight, four
bearded Muslim men broke into the home of a Coptic Christian family in
Alexandria armed with swords, sticks, and knives, assaulted their son, bundled
him into an unregistered car waiting in front of the house, and disappeared. The
terrorized neighbors were fearful and did not stop them, according to an appeal
received by the Middle East Christian Association.
When the Coptic Basily family discovered the kidnapping of their 21-year-old
son, Mina, they went to “Montaza” Police Station to report the incident. “A
police officer came with us and saw the blood all over our home due to all the
serious injuries and broken bones caused by the assault on our son, questioned
the witnesses who all confirmed our story, and made an ‘unofficial’ report,”
said Ms.Cecile, the victim’s mother. “However, when my husband went with him to
the police station to issue a formal report, the officer flatly refused,” she
went on.
The Coptic family found no alternative but to go to the office of the General
Counsel of Alexandria/East with an appeal to give them an order to the Montaza
Police Station to issue an official report of the kidnapping, which he approved
and signed. “Still the officers at the police station refused this order, tore
the paper into bits and said bluntly, ‘We will never issue this report,’” said
Ms. Cecile.
This time the Basily’s had to seek the help of the Chief Prosecutor of the
Montaza district to force the police officers to issue a report. Finally the
police had to succumb and issue the incident report.
The victim’s mother, Mrs. Cecile Basily, sent a distress message to the renowned
Egypt4Christ organization, asking for help to find her only son.
The organization learned recently that the captors handed over Mina to the
Montaza police, and that the investigating officer was told by a Muslim girl’s
family living in the neighborhood, that Mina had a relationship with their
daughter Asma Osman. However, the girl had been hidden away by her family to
prevent the police from questioning her and exposing the truth of Mina’s
innocence, says Egypt4Christ.
The young Copt, Mina, is now detained at the State Security in Alexandria where
it was learned that he is being pressurized to convert to Islam and marry the
Muslim girl. (http://www.aina.org/news/20090513152152.htm)
Speak Out for Human Rights in Egypt
“Obviously, not all Muslims persecute members of other faiths. Yet most Islamic
nations, like Egypt, persecute religious minorities,” said Jacobson.
According to Jacobson, “Christians long ago demonstrated that they are sinners,
not saints. Nevertheless, no Christian society today oppresses Muslims. Sadly,
Christians seem largely unwilling to defend their own heritage. President Obama
proclaimed that, “the United States has been enriched by Muslim-Americans.” Yet
an increasing number of elected officials are unwilling or afraid to say the
same thing of the Judeo-Christian worldview which shaped our nation.”
“The president’s eloquence cannot disguise the fact that Islam has been and
continues to be opposed to many of the values which Americans hold dear,” said
Jacobson. “Yes, let’s avoid a war with Islam and seek ‘engagement based on
mutual interest and mutual respect,’ as President Obama recently told the
Turkish parliament. But let’s also hold Muslim nations to the same standards as
everyone else. And that means protecting freedom of conscience for members of
all religious faiths. We hope President Obama will speak to these important
human rights issues in Egypt.”
For more information on the persecution of Christians around the world, visit
www.christianfreedom.org.
freecopts.net
Israel-Palestine: The Myth of a Two-State Solution
By Peter C. Glover
Friday, May 29, 2009
The world and his brother perceive a “two-state solution” for Israel and
Palestine as the key to achieving Middle East peace. President Obama and the US
House (both sides) buy it. So too do Western leaders in Brussels. And with US
leftist Jews and ex-diplomats and even 58 percent of Israelis ‘on board’, one
wonders why Israel’s PM Netanyahu did not simply turn up at the recent White
House talks pen poised to sign up too.
At the talks Binyaman Netanyahu was unequivocal. He too wanted Palestinian
self-governance, but not necessarily in statehood form. At least, not until a
commitment to recognising Israel’s own statehood could be wrung from the
Palestinian negotiators. Splitting hairs? Far from it. Statehood carries with it
all kinds of international rights. For instance, a fledgling Palestinian state
might feel inclined to cut a deal with Palestinian Hamas sponsors, Iran. A deal
that would see Iran’s Revolutionary Guards massing on Israel’s border—and barely
needing a missile delivery system.
But Netanyahu got through to the US president on one count. “If we resume
negotiations,” said Barack Obama, “then I think the Palestinians will have to
recognise Israel as a Jewish state and also enable Israel to have the means to
defend itself.” But right there, on the twin-issues of Arab ‘recognition’ and,
more specifically, recognition as a Jewish State, is the reason why the
two-state solution will never happen.
Many Palestinians, in concert with some Western liberal commentators, would
prefer a ‘multicultural’ or ‘one-state solution’ where Palestinians and Israelis
can ‘live in harmony’. Not surprising with the size of the Israeli Palestinian
community fast-approaching parity with that of the Israeli-Jewish population.
Given the track record for ‘multiculturalism’ in the Arab-Muslim states however,
it is a solution with the prospective mileage of the average electric car. Add
to that the propensity of the Israeli-Palestinian community to hold a formal
remembrance of the Nakba, the ‘catastrophe’ of the creation of Israel, and you
get the drift. Which only leaves the two-state solution or that of the Islamist
zealots: obliterating the state of Israel.
While the armchair liberals in the West look, complaining two-states could be
formed if only Israel would do this or that, the Palestinian refusal to
recognize Israel’s status remains unyielding. As commentator David Harris points
out, “three successive Israeli governments have sought peace based on a
two-state settlement with the Palestinians—and failed.” At Camp David in 2001,
hosted by Bill Clinton, Israeli PM Ehud Barak acceded to every request of Yasser
Arafat bar agreeing to cede east Jerusalem as the new Palestinian capital.
Palestine would have achieved statehood way back then, with all the
international rights that go with it. Instead, perversely, Yasser Arafat walked
away.
A few years later allegedly hard-line Israeli PM Ariel Sharon, defying his own
party, unilaterally pulled thousands of Israeli settlers out of Gaza. Clearly,
Israeli settlements would not be allowed to be an impediment to peace for
Israel. Instead of Gazans seizing the opportunity to create, as Harris puts it,
“an unstoppable momentum for a second phase of withdrawal from the West Bank”,
Gaza was turned into a poverty-stricken terrorist enclave. Next PM Ehud Olmert
offered the Palestinians just about all of the West Bank and, for the first
time, was even prepared to “talk Jerusalem”, the only major stumbling block
previously for Palestinians. Amazingly, not only did the Palestinians refuse the
offer, they did not even bother to make a counter offer and walked away again.
While Israel has shown it has been prepared to talk and move on just about every
issue except that of its own right to exist, Palestinian intransigence has been
resolute. Something which only makes sense when one realizes that the
Palestinian/Arab cause is not interested in any solution, save that of
‘regaining the land’.
With Hamas and Hezbollah gaining broad-based democratic support in the
Palestinian territories and in Lebanon, the reality is that the Islamic
Jihadists wield unprecedented national influence in the region. As much as
Western leaders persist in denial, the goals of the Jihadists for Palestine and
beyond are, for the large part, supported by the people. What this means in
practice is, as the Hamas Charter proclaims, that peace can only be attained
“under the wing of Islam”. The founding documents of both Hamas and Hezbollah
are in total agreement that a Palestinian state is meaningless unless it first
achieves the destruction of Israel. The Hamas Charter further demands the
reclamation of “every inch of Palestine” as part of a greater struggle which
sees (Article 9) Islamic “homelands be retrieved” at the heart of a new
Caliphate. As the Charter goes on, “There is no solution for the Palestinian
question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international
conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavours.”
Osama Bin Laden himself summed it up thus: “What use is it to create a
Palestinian state? If you create a state, it will be like many other states. You
should try to mobilize the umma, the Muslim community, for your cause, but not
for creating a Palestinian state.” This critical theme is picked up by
Hezbollah’s Manifesto in a section entitled “The Necessity for the Destruction
of Israel”. Written in 1985, and today given the legitimacy of broad democratic
support, it states that Hezbollah looks not to national leadership (in Lebanon)
at all, but to leadership from Iran. “We are the sons of the umma...the vanguard
of which was made victorious by God in Iran.” Palestine’s Hamas has a similar
understanding. The objective for both is a new Islamic Caliphate—a state of
Islam—under Iranian leadership. Both Hamas and Hezbollah, of course, have
already been engaged in fighting Iran’s proxy war with Israel for some years.
Western leaders will no doubt persist in convincing themselves that the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict is not iconic for a far greater ideological clash of
civilizations. They will no doubt continue to scratch their heads and blame
Israel for the West’s failure to achieve the unachievable. It’s far easier to
make Israel jump through, ultimately pointless, hoops than accept the fact that
Palestinian negotiators have all along been applying vastly different rules of
engagement.
In 2007 a Pew Global Attitudes Project reported that 77% of Palestinians claimed
they could not live side-by-side with Israel. In May 2009, a new poll declares
that most Palestinians (58 percent) want a unity government. But, as the result
of the 2006 election made only too clear, majority grassroots Palestinian
opinion—the will of the people—supports the Hamas’ Islamist agenda that demands
the destruction of the state of Israel. Obama and other democratic Western
leaders can cover their ears and continue in denial all they want, but, as Mark
Twain once said, “The people have spoken—the bastards.”
(