LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 02/09
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus
Christ according to Saint John 6,52-59. The Jews quarreled among themselves,
saying, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink
his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my
blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is
true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life
because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of
me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate
and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." These things he said
while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Free Opinions, Releases, letters &
Special Reports
March 8 Militias/Future News
01/04/09
Accountability time for UN investigators-By
Michael Young May 01/04/09
Lebanon's judiciary is dead - but don't expect politicians to resurrect it-The
Daily Star May 01/05/09
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for May
01/09
Suleiman back from Britain-Future
News
March 14’s ready to face the return
of the tutelage regime-Future
News
The Cabinet renews its commitment
to the international tribunal-Future
News
Geagea: El Sayyed’s statement an
unprecedented malice-Future
News
The Supreme Judiciary will respond
to March 8’s accusations-Future News
Sami Gemayel: The minority does not
have the right to strike the state-Future
News
Ahmad el-Assaad: I will continue
electoral battle despite all intimidation attempts-Future
News
US:
Limited Army Control over Border, Hizbullah World's Most Effective Terrorist
Group-Naharnet
Hubbub over Generals' Release
Echoed Heated Debate in Cabinet-Naharnet
Key
Lebanese Suspect in Attack on Army Arrested in Turkey-Naharnet
Suleiman's London Visit: Renewed Support for Lebanon and Tribunal Funding-Naharnet
Judicial Council to
Respond to Opposition Campaign on Tuesday-Naharnet
Minor Changes in Aoun's
Kesrouan List-Naharnet
Lebanon Foils Major
Attempt to Smuggle Keptagon Tablets into Saudi-Naharnet
Cassesse in Lebanon May
11, Syria Awaits his Visit to Discuss Cooperation-Naharnet
Aoun-Berri Consensus Over
Jizzine Likely-Naharnet
Sayyed Vows Comeback, Says
'Tables Have Turned'-Naharnet
Geagea Optimistic About
Poll Results Despite Release of 4 Generals-Naharnet
Political Dynasties Poised
for Strong Show in Elections-Naharnet
France Reaffirms Support
for International Tribunal-Naharnet
Health Ministry: No Cases
of Swine Flu in Lebanon So Far-Naharnet
Opposition Demands
Accountability of Lebanese Judiciary over 'Arbitrary' Detention of 4 Generals-Naharnet
Iran most active state sponsor of terrorism, says
US-WashingtonTV
Why Jane Fonda Is Banned in Beirut-Wall
Street Journal
US State Department Labels Iran “Most Active
State Sponsor of terrorism...TransWorldNews
(press release)
UNIFIL chief expects polls to impact work of peacekeepers-Daily
Star
Brown: Sleiman playing key role in peace effort-Daily
Star
Vincent reassures Lebanese on Tribunal-Daily
Star
March 14 Forces accuse rivals of electoral violations-Daily
Star
New centers around Bint Jbeil aim to boost quality of living-Daily
Star
Lebanon judges concerned over mounting criticism-Daily
Star
New children's books teach lessons about respecting domestic workers-(AFP)
Bekaa orphanage, ACS reap rewards of teacher exchange-Daily
Star
Disabled have little to celebrate on Labor Day-Daily
Star
Brown hails end to British combat operations in Iraq-
(AFP)
7 Iranians plead guilty in US court to terror charges-
(AFP)
U.S. State Department Labels
Iran “Most Active State Sponsor of Terrorism”
4/30/2009 TransWorldNews -
The United States state department has once again labeled Iran the “most active
state sponsor of terrorism,” the second straight year in which the country
topped the government’s list. In the annual report the U.S. charges Iran of
playing a role in the planning and financing of terrorism in the Middle East and
Afghanistan and pointed to the role of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and more
specifically the Quds force, in those activities. While the U.S. placed Iran
atop the list and called them a deterrent to peace and economic stability they
still pointed to al-Qaeda as the biggest danger to the West. The report noted
the advancement of al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan as a major concern.
March 8 Militias
Date: May 1st, 2009 Source: Future News
The heinous deeds committed by March 8 gang are nothing less than renewing their
vows to “Thank Syria again and again.” The Syrian regime that made its way into
Lebanon on the blood of martyr Kamal Jumblatt and came out on martyr Rafic
Hariri’s blood, passing by Mufti Hassan Khaled, presidents martyrs Bachir
Gemayel and René Mouawad in addition to dozens of political, partisans and
intellects who were assassinated. So believes Democratic Gathering leader MP
Walid Jumblatt.
What those armed militias committed stripped its logic in dealing with the
International Tribunal. However their fear from establishing the Special
Tribunal provoked them to react violently, starting from urging its ministers to
boycott the government then resign, the closure of the parliament, their
compulsorily occupation of downtown Beirut to prevent the establishment of the
court under the pretext of being politicized and the assassination of 56
innocent Lebanese on a black day, on 7 May, which was the culmination of their
atrocious acts.
Those militias are widely known to be notorious for the most hideous logic,
which is its insatiable doctrine to coup and its continuous endeavors to target
institutions, especially by turning a blind eye toward Jamil el-Sayed detention.
March 8 is disregarding the fact that al-Sayed was detained according to the
Lebanese applicable law that he approved, and forced the parliament at the time
to amend its provision in term of the detention period.
Probably the worst that could occur to the Lebanese incarcerated in Israeli and
Syrian dark prisons is to equalize them to the four generals. Those who provided
an appropriate security and political atmosphere for the perpetrators to
brutally assassinate president martyr Rafic Hariri.
Ironically, the zenith of those militias dreadful achievements was when they
transformed their MPs into bodyguards to the released generals: One of them was
preoccupied in fending off applauders back stage; while the other was enhancing
the hearing aids and adjusting the microphone’s position. But unfortunately none
of them could make a dim effort to remember the journalist martyr Samir Kassir,
the incidents of August 7 or the least the arbitrary summoning of people from
their houses to pledge and sign petitions not to take part in politics.
The logic of March 8 is a continued effort to fool the public, but this did not
succeed in the past and will not today nor tomorrow.
They re-thanked Syria for whom they gathered in downtown Beirut on March 8,
2005, but the callers for independence responded on March 14.
On April 29 they said thank you Syria again and unveiled their determined will
for the return of the tutelage regime, but on June 7 the public of March 14 will
respond through the ballots: No to the return of the DARK AGE.
Health Ministry: No Cases of Swine Flu in Lebanon So Far
Naharnet/The Health Ministry announced Thursday that Lebanon was so far free of
swine flu, after the World Health Organization (WHO) ratcheted up its alert to
Phase 5 warning that "all of humanity" is threatened. The ministry has
implemented several "preventative measures" to contain a possible outbreak and
imposed a ban on the import of live pigs, MP Ismail Sukariyeh told a press
conference. The ministry is also developing a plan for a comprehensive survey of
pig farms across Lebanon, said Sukariyeh who is head of the Lebanese Health
Body. The WHO's Phase Five alert means widespread transmission from person to
person.
The ministry issued a statement explaining the virus' symptoms and listing
precautionary steps that citizens must follow in case of a suspected
contamination:
-Avoid contact with anyone demonstrating traditional flu symptoms (cold). - Wear
a mask in the presence of infected people.
- Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after contact with infected people
or after being in contaminated places.
- Avoid public and crowded venues.
- In case of a suspected swine flu case, temperature should be regularly
monitored, particularly with the exacerbation of other symptoms, including
vomiting and diarrhea.
-Immediately consult a doctor in case of such symptoms.
-Refrain from using anti-inflammatory drugs before consulting a doctor.
-Notify your physician of recent travel, especially to countries where the swine
flu pandemic was reported.
In this context, the WHO said the symptoms of swine flu resembled those of a
mild form of influenza, but with the addition of fever, coughing, sore throat,
body aches, headaches, chills, and fatigue and in few cases diarrhea and
vomiting.
Swine flu is believed to be a new strain that combines bird, swine and common
human influenza. Yet, there is no risk of infection from the consumption of
well-cooked pork and pork products, WHO said. WHO officials are already taking
the first steps towards making a vaccine against the virus which might take a
few months.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 30 Apr 09, 18:23
US: Limited Army Control over Border, Hizbullah World's
Most Effective Terrorist Group
Naharnet/The U.S. government said the Lebanese army has "limited" control over
the border and labeled Hizbullah the "world's most effective terrorist
organization."
A State Department report for 2008 said Iran "remained the most active state
sponsor of terrorism," including supporting terrorist groups such as Hamas,
Hizbullah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, all of which opposed the Middle East
peace process, as well as Iraq-based militants and the Taliban fighters in
Afghanistan.
Iran was lumped with Syria, Sudan and Cuba as terrorism sponsors in the report,
the same countries that appeared in previous annual reports.
North Korea was dropped from the blacklist in October 2008 after it struck a
verbal deal with the United States aimed at verifying its nuclear disarmament,
even though a formal agreement was never sealed. "Iran's involvement in the
planning and financial support of terrorist attacks throughout the Middle East,
Europe, and Central Asia had a direct impact on international efforts to promote
peace, threatened economic stability in the Gulf, and undermined the growth of
democracy," the report said. It singled out the Qods Force, an elite branch of
the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as the Islamic republic's main
means to cultivate and support terrorists overseas. The Qods Force gave
"weapons, training and funding" to Hamas and other Palestinian anti-Israeli
groups, Lebanon's Hizbullah as well as Iraq-based militants and Taliban fighters
in Afghanistan, the report said. It also said the Qods Force trained the Taliban
"on small unit tactics, small arms, explosives, and indirect fire weapons." Iran
broke its own pledges to help stabilize Iraq by giving "weapons, training,
funding, and guidance" to Iraqi militant groups that attack U.S.-led coalition
and Iraqi forces as well as Iraqi civilians, the U.S. said. The report also took
to task Syria. Some of the leaders of Hamas and Hizbullah are based in Damascus.
"Throughout the year, Syria continued to strengthen ties with fellow state
sponsor of terrorism, Iran," the report said. It said "Syria has not been
directly implicated in an act of terrorism since 1986," but it pointed out that
the United Nations was still investigating a suspected Syrian role in the
February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The State
Department sounded more upbeat on Sudan. Sudan generally believed it was in its
interest to cooperate with U.S. efforts to thwart attacks against the United
States, but yet allowed groups like Hamas to operate on its territory, the
report said. It also said that "Al-Qaida-inspired elements" were also in Sudan.
The U.S. said communist Cuba, which has been under a U.S. embargo for decades,
continued to "provide safe haven to several terrorists" such as members of the
Basque separatist group ETA and the Colombian rebel group FARC. But it added
that some members of these groups stayed in Cuba last year after having arrived
"in connection with peace negotiations with the governments of Spain and
Colombia."(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 01 May 09, 09:32
Hubbub over Generals' Release Echoed Heated Debate in
Cabinet
Naharnet/Clamor over the release of the four generals echoed a heated debate in
Cabinet between the majority and opposition that finally ended with an agreement
that Lebanese judiciary be given the authority to handle this issue. The daily
An Nahar on Friday said the argument lasted more than three hours, with the
opposition demanding accountability of the Lebanese judiciary over the long
detention of the four generals who were held for nearly four years without
charge in the murder case of former Premier Rafik Hariri. Cabinet ministers
loyal to the government, for their part, rejected any manipulation of the
judiciary, the paper said.
It said the rival ministers finally agreed in stressing the importance of the
launch of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the need to "respect its
decisions," in reference to the latest court ruling ordering the release of the
four generals from nearly four years of detention. Hizbullah minister Mohammed
Fneish pledged commitment to the Cabinet decision, saying: "True, we are calling
for accountability, but within the limits of respecting jurisdictions as well as
separation of powers and independence of the judiciary."Al Akhbar newspaper,
meanwhile, said when Prime Minister Fouad Saniora mentioned he wanted to issue a
statement to thank local judicial authorities, opposition ministers threatened
him to come out to deny that any agreement was made in this regard. It quoted
Telecommunications Minister Jebran Bassil as saying: "…I want to know who
distorted or misled the investigation and who produced false witnesses" leading
to the arrest of the four generals. Beirut, 01 May 09, 08:33
Key Lebanese Suspect in Attack on Army Arrested in Turkey
Naharnet/Turkish authorities have arrested a key suspect in the deadly attack on
a Lebanese army patrol in the Bekaa Valley two weeks ago, the daily An Nahar
reported Friday. It identified the suspect as Hussein Jaafar, a Lebanese. An
Nahar said "essential" interrogation is ongoing with Jaafar ahead of his
extradition to Lebanon, while search is still underway for three other Lebanese
suspects in Turkey. The four fugitives made their way over the Syrian border to
Turkey, it added.
On April 13, unidentified gunmen attacked an army patrol in eastern Lebanon,
killing four soldiers and injuring at least 13 others. The attack occurred on a
highway near the town of Zahle in the Bekaa Valley, when two mortar shells were
launched at the patrol before it came under automatic gun fire. The assault was
in apparent revenge for anti-drug raids the Lebanese army has been conducting in
the area. Beirut, 01 May 09, 09:29
Suleiman's London Visit: Renewed Support for Lebanon and
Tribunal Funding
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman returned home early Friday concluding an
official visit in Britain where he met Queen Elizabeth II who pledged renewed
support for Lebanon and increase funding for the U.N. tribunal set to try
suspects in the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri. Suleiman, for his
part, again welcomed the release of the four generals from nearly four years in
custody without charge, telling the Lebanese community in Britain: "I feel
comfortable each time it is proved to me that no soldiers are breaking the
military oath." Earlier, he expressed relief at a decision to release the
four generals detained since August 2005, stressing the move proves that the
international tribunal has started functioning. Suleiman said the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon's decision to release the generals means "the international
court began its work in a transparent way and free from politicization." He
stressed that Hizbullah is committed to Security Council resolution 1701 and
that recently discovered Israel-linked networks constitute a violation of the
2006 resolution and "proof of the extent of Israeli danger on Lebanon and its
surroundings." Suleiman also held talks with Defense Secretary John Hutton who
stressed Britain's backing for the army and security forces. Beirut, 01 May 09,
10:18
Judicial Council to Respond to Opposition Campaign on
Tuesday
Naharnet/The Higher Judicial Council will hold a meeting next Tuesday to discuss
the Opposition campaign in the wake of the release of the four generals who were
held in custody in Lebanon for nearly four years without charge. The daily Al
Mustaqbal on Friday, citing well-informed sources, said the Council would "not
stand hands tied in the face of biased campaigns targeting it," particularly
statements made by the freed generals that were accompanied by similar remarks
from opposition officials. The sources did not rule out the possibility that the
Council could "step up it measures in this regard and assign the public
prosecution to pursue those who overstep the judiciary's bounds." A judicial
source, meanwhile, told pan-Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat that accusations made
against the Lebanese judicial system were "very serious."Al Akhbar newspaper,
for its part, said the majority March 14 coalition was working toward a joint
stance aimed at "politically investing" the file in the Hariri murder case and
considering what happened with them "as a big mistake." Beirut, 01 May 09, 10:04
Minor Changes in Aoun's Kesrouan List
According to the daily al-Akhbar on Friday, Free Patriotic Movement leader
Michel Aoun is now closer to announcing his list of candidates in the Kesrouan
region. The paper added that Aoun would only change one name on that list. The
parliamentary majority on the other hand is moving to issue two electoral lists.
One composed of party candidates and the other composed of independents,
including Mansour el Bon and Farid al-Khazen. The daily Ad-Diyar on Friday
referred to a "secret recipe" for exchanging votes that could lead Aoun's list
and only one of his political opponents to win. For the Jbeil district, al-Akhbar
said that stagnation continues between candidates Nazim el-Khoury and Fares
Soaid. It pointed that Soaid was informed of President Michel Suleiman's wish
that the March 14 Forces secretariat-general coordinator abandons his candidacy
in favor of an independent runner. Beirut, 01 May 09, 11:39
Lebanon Foils Major Attempt to Smuggle Keptagon Tablets
into Saudi
Lebanese security forces have foiled a major operation to smuggle Keptagon
tables into Saudi Arabia. Judicial police Chief Brig. Gen. Anwar Yehya announced
the arrest of five suspects involved in the smuggling network. He said police
was looking for other suspects. Yehya said the Keptagon tablets were wrapped in
plastic bags and hidden inside a crane that was intercepted in Dahr el-Baidar.
He said another 1,140,000 Keptagon pills were confiscated from the house of a
suspect in the Bekaa Valley. Beirut, 01 May 09, 11:29
Cassesse in Lebanon May 11, Syria Awaits his Visit to
Discuss Cooperation
Naharnet/Special Tribunal for Lebanon Judge Antonio Cassesse will reportedly
visit Lebanon May 11, according to a report published by the daily Al Akhbar on
Friday. The short report said Cassesse is expected to give a lecture at Jesuit
University on May 12. He is also scheduled to hold meetings with President
Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Saniora, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri
and head of the Higher Judicial Council Judge Ghaleb Ghanem. The daily Al Liwaa,
however, said Damascus was awaiting Cassesse's visit in mid-May to discuss "the
nature of future cooperation between Syria and the international tribunal in the
event Cassesse requested to cut a deal in this regard." Beirut, 01 May 09, 10:12
Aoun-Berri Consensus Over Jizzine Likely
Press reports on Friday indicted a possible consensus between Free Patriotic
Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri over the
Christian seat in the southern town of Jezzine. The daily pan-Arab newspaper al-Hayat
quoted sources from the Lebanese opposition as saying Aoun and Berri could
arrive at a settlement on the issue. Al-Akhbar newspaper agreed, saying
consensus is more visible between both leaders on the issue.
It said Hizbullah is diligently working on a proposal made by Aoun that would
allow him to name two parliamentary candidates, while Berri would announce the
nomination of his candidate Samir Azar. In return, Hizbullah would commit to
vote for all three candidates on June 7, thus avoiding an electoral battle
between Amal and the FPM and would create a possible exit to the second Shiite
seat in Baabda between Hizbullah and the FPM. Beirut, 01 May 09, 11:16
Sayyed Vows Comeback, Says 'Tables Have Turned'
Naharnet/Former Lebanese security services director Jamil Sayyed, detained for
four years in connection with the murder of ex-premier Rafik Hariri, vowed on
Thursday a comeback as he savored his first day of freedom. "It is a strange
feeling that I can't describe," he told AFP in an interview, sitting at a
seaside hotel in Beirut where he greeted visitors and well-wishers. "I have to
get used to being free again." Sayyed, 58, was freed after nearly four
years in jail on Wednesday along with three other generals after a U.N.-backed
court ordered their release on grounds there was insufficient evidence to indict
them for Hariri's 2005 murder.
The four generals had been held without charge in a Lebanese prison since the
killing. Sayyed said he felt especially bitter toward Lebanon's judicial system
which, he claimed, had allowed itself to be politically manipulated in the case.
He added that he saw no reason why Hizbullah and its allies, which have treated
the generals as heroes, should not exploit the situation now. "Our detention was
politically motivated and was exploited for four years by the majority," he
said, referring to the ruling alliance in parliament headed by Hariri's son Saad.
"So it is perfectly normal that the tables are turned now." Sayyed also accused
Saad Hariri of having pressured Lebanese judges to keep him and the three other
generals behind bars. "The judges would tell us 'we have nothing against you,
but if we free you Mr. Hariri will cut off our heads'," he said. Hariri's
adviser Hani Hammoud denied any bid to corrupt the judicial system. "It is a
well-known fact that Saad Hariri made it a point to not interfere in the
investigation on the Lebanese or international side from day one," he told AFP.
Sayyed said he considers the ruling issued by The Hague-based Special Tribunal
for Lebanon (STL) as proof of his innocence. Lebanon relinquished its authority
in the Hariri case to the STL in early April. "For four years we defied
investigators and everyone else to find any evidence against us and they came up
empty handed," Sayyed said. "They followed the wrong trail and came up with the
wrong conclusions. "What happened is unheard of in the annals of Lebanese
justice. It is unimaginable." He said he spent his time in Roumieh prison,
northeast of Beirut, writing legal memos and reading history books. "I wrote
about two memos a week," Sayyed said. "I kept the pens I used for writing, all
250 of them." Sayyed and his fellow detainees, all considered pro-Syrian, had
been in key security positions at the time of their arrest and as such were
suspected of having helped plot and carry out the assassination.(AFP) Beirut, 30
Apr 09, 19:44
Geagea Optimistic About Poll Results Despite Release of 4
Generals
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Thursday that the release of
the four generals will reflect positively on the upcoming parliamentary
elections. "This step will reflect positively on the results of the
parliamentary elections (and will come) in favor of the March 14 forces," Geagea
stressed during a press conference in Merab. He described the release of the
officers as an "achievement if it's true that there is no evidence" of their
involvement in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's murder. "There is no political identity
in justice," Geagea stressed, adding that Wednesday's first ruling to release
the four officers is proof that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is not
politicized. Geagea accused the March 8 forces of trying to cripple the
formation of the tribunal in all its stages.He also criticized those who are
accusing Lebanese authorities of being responsible for the four generals'
arrest, saying former chief U.N. investigator Detlev Mehlis is the one who
ordered their detention and not the March 14 forces. "Our agenda was never and
will never be based on the foundation that the four generals are the ones who
carried out the assassination. Our cause is based on state-building," the LF
leader stressed. On the elections, Geagea said: "The voters should know where
their wrong votes will lead to."
Beirut, 30 Apr 09, 13:44
Political Dynasties Poised for Strong Show in Elections
The political heirs of slain Lebanese leaders are poised to make a strong
showing in June's parliamentary election, keeping a tradition of Kennedy-like
dynasties very much alive. "I have the family name and now I'm forging myself a
first name," said Nadim Gemayel, 27-year-old son of assassinated president-elect
Bashir Gemayel. He is a member of a Maronite Christian family which founded the
right-wing Kataeb or Phalange party back in 1936 and has remained at the
forefront of Lebanese politics ever since, giving rise to the "Kennedies of
Lebanon" nickname. Both Bashir and his brother Amin Gemayel rose to the post of
head of state. Bashir's widow Solange is currently a MP but is not running in
the June vote in the hope her son Nadim will take over the mantle.
Amin's son Pierre became industry minister in 2005 before being assassinated a
year later. To complete the picture, Amin's only surviving son, Sami, is also
running for a seat in parliament in the June 7 election. Hereditary politics has
for decades been a part of life in Lebanon, where a system based on
confessional, family and feudal arrangements remains strong. At the Kataeb
offices in the Beirut district of Ashrafiyeh where his father was blown up,
Nadim told AFP he sees himself as "the heir of (his father) and of a cause... I
am faithful to all the sacrifices of the Gemayel family."
Michel Moawwad, son of another president, Rene Moawwad, who was assassinated in
1989, has also entered the political fray, encouraged by mother Nayla who has
served as a minister and is currently in parliament. "I was 17 when my father
was killed," he said from the family home in Zghorta, northern Lebanon. "At
first I didn't want to come back from France where I was studying." Zghorta is
also home to a rival Maronite family on the political front, the Frangiehs.
Candidate Suleiman Frangieh is the son of a former president of the same name.
His grandfather Tony was a deputy for Zghorta and minister before being
assassinated in 1978 during Lebanon's 15-year civil war. MP Walid Jumblat is
running to keep his seat, having inherited his leadership of Lebanon's mountain
Druze community from father Kamal, a historic chief who was also assassinated
during the 1975-1990 civil war. Among the Sunni Muslims, Saad Hariri has taken
over as parliamentary majority leader since the February 2005 murder of his
father, the billionaire five-time former prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Only Hizbullah, at the forefront of an alliance opposed to Hariri's majority
bloc, prides itself on not mixing politics with family ties.
But its Christian ally, Gen. Michel Aoun, has a son-in-law who is in the
government as telecommunications minister, while his own rival Samir Geagea has
wife Setrida in parliament. Candidate Nayla Tueni was a 22-year-old student when
her father Jebran Tueni, publisher of Lebanon's leading An-Nahar newspaper, was
assassinated in December 2005. She is running for the Beirut seat once held by
her father.
"I had never thought of entering politics but I had to continue Jebran's
mission," she said, seated in her An-Nahar office surrounded by portraits of her
father.
Her grandfather Ghassan, considered a founding father of the Arab press, had
several stints as minister and MP. He returned to office at the grand old age of
79 to replace his son in 2006. Tueni's maternal grandfather is former minister
Michel Murr whose own son Elias is now Lebanon's defense minister.
For many Lebanese, the political lineage has grown tiresome and there is growing
discontent with the status quo.
"Anyone has the right to run for parliament but the people should stop following
leaders and their sons and their sons' sons," said Nizar Wehbe, 24.
Fadia Kiwan, head of the political science department at Saint Joseph University
in Beirut, said the new batch of candidates from political dynasties must above
all convince their constituents that they can stand on their own. "They must
come up with new ideas because looming over them is the shadow of their slain
father," she said.(AFP) Beirut, 01 May 09, 07:31
France Reaffirms Support for International Tribunal
Naharnet/French Foreign Ministry spokesman Eric Chevalier said Thursday that
France's position on the International Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is "firm" and
voiced his country's respect of the court's "independence." "The decision to
release the four generals is a sovereign decision of the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon," Chevalier said. "It was taken according to the regulations and rules
of the tribunal and in compliance with international law. It is not up to us to
comment on" the ruling, he added.
STL's pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen ordered Wednesday the immediate release of
the four generals in custody since August 2005 in connection to the
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Beirut, 30 Apr 09, 19:32
Opposition Demands Accountability of Lebanese Judiciary
over 'Arbitrary' Detention of 4 Generals
Fears of renewed tension and political bickering between the Hizbullah-led
opposition and the parliamentary majority rose following the release of the four
generals after a long imprisonment that was accompanied by Hizbullah accusations
toward its foes and calls to hold accountable those responsible for the
"arbitrary" detention.
Hizbullah hailed Wednesday a U.N. court ruling ordering the release of the four
generals after a long "arbitrary" detention imposed by those in power following
the 2005 murder of ex-premier Rafik Hariri. "Hizbullah welcomes the release of
the four generals and congratulates their families after a long arbitrary
detention in prison cells without any evidence," it said in a statement. It
accused its political foes of "flouting all laws and established procedures" and
politicizing Lebanese jurisdiction.
"The priority should now be to hold accountable and prosecute all those
responsible for years of deception and procrastination," the statement read.
Sources loyal to the government described as an "atmosphere more like a coup
d'état" the mood that surrounded the aftermath of the generals' release,
according to the daily Al Liwaa on Thursday. They said they feared the
atmosphere will look similar to the one that prevailed after the generals'
arrest in August 2005.
Al Liwaa pointed to the huge Hizbullah presence -- including several Hizbullah
MPs who gathered along with well-wishers at the generals' homes.
The paper, however, noticed the absence of lawmakers from Nabih Berri's and
Michel Aoun's parliamentary blocs.
As Safir newspaper, for its part, believed the release of the generals -- which
took place not very far from the Lebanese parliamentary elections --will be the
"focus of investment" by the opposition. The daily also believed that the
generals' release could lead to "more radicalism among some doctrinal and
political environments."
As Safir expressed regret that what the Lebanese judiciary could not accomplish
in four years the international tribunal was able to do in less than months
since launch of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in March. It quoted François
Roux, head of STL's defense office, as saying that the court did what it had to
do concerning the generals. "All what the international tribunal did is put an
end to a situation that had caused the court legal difficulties and we saw that
the release of the generals complies with the principles of justice," Roux said.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar told As Safir that Lebanon "swiftly
implemented the court's ruling…and I'm very comfortable with that." Beirut, 30
Apr 09, 08:24
Brown: Sleiman playing key role in peace effort
By Nafez Kawas
Daily Star correspondent
Friday, May 01, 2009
BEIRUT: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Thursday that Lebanese
President Michel Sleiman was playing a key role in efforts on Middle East peace.
Following talks in London, Brown said Sleiman had brought stability to Lebanon's
"complex political environment."
Sleiman continued his visit to London, where he met Brown and Foreign Secretary
David Miliband.
Miliband said that Sleiman had helped shift Lebanon away from old political
confrontations, adding that the Lebanese president's work on reconciliation was
an example for the whole region.
The British foreign secretary said Britain would offer an extra 250,000 pounds
($371,000) to Lebanon's Special Tribunal on the assassination of former Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri
Meanwhile, Sleiman said Thursday he discussed with British officials the need to
promote military cooperation between the two countries at the training and
equipment levels.He also praised Britain's role in "assisting the Lebanese Army and security
forces."Commenting on the upcoming parliamentary polls, Sleiman said those would be
transparent and would consolidate Lebanon's democracy.
Sleiman called on the Lebanese to abide by the Taif Accord and the Constitution.
He said Lebanese authorities had not yet received written documents from Egypt
about accusations against the resistance.
Addressing Lebanese and foreign reporters at his hotel in London, Sleiman said
the crisis between Egypt and Hizbullah should be resolved "in a calm atmosphere
in order to preserve good relations between Lebanon and Egypt."
Egypt's public prosecutor is interrogating 49 people it claims plotted to carry
out "hostile operations" on orders from Hizbullah. The suspects, who face
charges of espionage and planning to overthrow the regime, are allegedly led by
Hizbullah operative Sami Shehab.
Sleiman started a three-day official visit to the United Kingdom on Wednesday,
with a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.
The British monarch told Sleiman that she had urged British NGOs "to provide
necessary help to alleviate the pain of the Lebanese." - With AP
March 14 Forces accuse rivals of electoral violations
By Therese Sfeir /Daily Star staff
Friday, May 01, 2009
BEIRUT: The March 14 coalition will file an official complaint against its
electoral rivals, as the final make-up of two of the group's candidate lists are
scheduled to be announced over the Labor Day holiday weekend.
After a meeting at the home of Batroun MP Boutros Harb, March 14 politicians
said their rivals in the north were guilty of "major electoral violations."
They vowed to file a complaint before the Election Campaign Supervisory
Committee and follow up the issue with the relevant authorities, mainly with
Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud.
They also accused the parliamentary minority's candidates in Batroun of
"confiscating citizens' identity cards and abusing public resources for
electoral purposes."
The attendees also criticized Telecommunications Minister Gibran Bassil, an ally
of General Michel Aoun, for sending voice messages to mobile-phone owners as
part of his electoral campaign. They also claimed electoral pamphlets
highlighting what they called "false accomplishments to promote March 8's
candidates" were being distributed.
Meanwhile, Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri paid a visit late on Wednesday
to Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea.
A statement issued by the LF press office said discussions focused on the
parliamentary elections and the importance of cooperation among members of the
March 14 movement.
For his part, Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader MP Walid Jumblatt said
Thursday that disagreements in Lebanon were "political par excellence."
"Disagreements are not and will never be based on confessional issues," Jumblatt
said following a visit to Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh.
The PSP leader stressed the need for dialogue to "overcome all obstacles and
reach a solution" to political disagreements.
Meanwhile, former MP Fares Soueid warned that his side faced defeat in two
districts if it could not forge an alliance with independent candidates.
Following a meeting with Geagea on Thursday, Soueid said: "If an alliance
between the March 14 Forces and independent candidates in Jbeil is not reached
in Jbeil, the March 14 Forces will not have a chance to win the elections in
that district." He added that the same applied to Kesrouan.
For his part, Kesrouan candidate Carlos Edde said the head of the Reform and
Change parliamentary bloc, MP Michel Aoun, "lives on another planet and mixes
dreams with reality."
In an interview with Al-Massira magazine Thursday, Edde said his main concern
was to "raise Kesrouan voters' awareness on the risks to support Aoun's bloc,"
adding that Aoun's victory would open the doors for Hizbullah to interfere in
the Christian area.
Edde, the head of the National Bloc, added that talks were ongoing to finalize
the March 14 Forces' list in Kesrouan.
Regarding the March 14 list in Aley, the PSP said the slate would be unveiled at
a ceremony in Bhamdoun on Friday. It added that the list included MPs Akram
Chehayeb, Fouad Saad and Henry Helou, as well as Fadi Habr.to file complaint
against rivals
Vincent reassures Lebanese on Tribunal
By Dalila Mahdawi /Daily Star staff
Friday, May 01, 2009
BEIRUT: Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) registrar Robin Vincent highlighted
developments at the UN-backed court on Wednesday, just hours before pre-trial
judge Daniel Fransen announced of the release of four suspects held since 2005.
"There is a great deal in front of us, but most importantly we want this to be a
transparent tribunal, and it is important for us to let the people of Lebanon
know that we are working close to them," Vincent said in a taped statement. His
comments were part of a conference exploring the implications of the tribunal,
organized by the Carnegie Middle East Center, the Lebanese Center for Policy
Studies, the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and
Friedreich-Ebert-Stiftung.
STL officials were "very pleased" with the progress in transforming the
tribunal's headquarters in Leidschendam, The Hague. The building was previously
used by the Dutch intelligence services. The STL was also "very close to
completing an agreement for a Beirut office," he said, adding it was essential
the trial kept "people up to date."
A British national, Vincent was the first official to take up his post at the
tribunal after being appointed in March 2008. He announced his resignation
earlier this month, citing personal reasons. He will stay on in the post until
June.
The STL is the fifth UN international criminal tribunal, but is substantially
different from its predecessors, said Larry Johnson, a law professor at New
York's Columbia University and former UN Assistant Secretary General for Legal
Affairs. The tribunal was the first to prosecute "terrorist" crimes, and could
set a precedent for terrorism to be incorporated into international law as
crimes against humanity, he said. The STL was also the first to allow trials in
absentia and to partly use national law, said Johnson, adding that the move
could be seen in future criminal tribunals.
Majed Fayyad, a lawyer and member of the council of the Beirut Bar Association,
meanwhile expressed disappointment in the translation of legal documents in the
tribunal. "There might have been discrepancies between the translations of the
legal terms from English to Arabic, and this has the potential to cause
problems" in meaning, he said. Fayyad also believed the Lebanese judiciary had
made an error in agreeing to waive their rights to the STL dossier.
ICTJ's Director of Prosecutions Marieke Wierda said the tribunal's narrow
mandate was controversial in Lebanon, where there had been little investigation
into the whereabouts of 17,000 people who disappeared during the 1975-1990 Civil
War. "Much violence was committed both in the Lebanese Civil War and in the war
of 2006, and it may be hard for people to accept that there can be justice in
some cases, but not others."
Ending the conference, Associate Fellow at the Royal Institute for International
Affairs (Chatam House) Nadim Shehadi said popular opinion about the STL could
adversely affect the tribunal's credibility. "One of the biggest challenges to
the tribunal will be overcoming the public perceptions, which could influence
the results," he said.
Reacting to the news of the men's release after the conference, Wierda said the
decision was a sign of the tribunal's judicial integrity. "The overall state of
evidence is so far unclear and it will take a while before all the evidence in
publicized," she said. "Putting this issue to immediate judicial scrutiny is an
important step that has been taken by the tribunal."
Vincent also commented on the generals' release Wednesday evening, saying: "The
investigation into the assassination is very complicated, and the Lebanese
should be patient."
Former Lebanese generals Raymond Azar, Mustafa Hamdan, Ali Hajj and Jamil
al-Sayyed were released Wednesday after the tribunal's prosecutor Daniel
Bellemare said he could not justify their continued detention.
Lebanon judges concerned over mounting criticism
Sayyed: Tribunal ruling 'downfall of judiciary'
By Therese Sfeir /Daily Star staff
Friday, May 01, 2009
BEIRUT: The Higher Judicial Council will meet next week to discuss mounting
criticism against Lebanon's judiciary in the wake of the controversial 44-month
detention and surprise release of four generals in the Hariri assassination
case.
A well-informed judicial source said the meeting, which was announced Thursday
by the council's president, Magistrate Ghaleb Ghanem, would focus on the
"unprecedented campaign against the judicial body."
Brigadier General Jamil Sayyed, one of the security officials the tribunal
ordered released on Wednesday, citing insufficient evidence, called for the
resignation of senior Lebanese judges.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Sayyed said: "What happened
[Wednesday] amounts to the downfall of the Lebanese judiciary at the hands of
the international justice."
He added that would consider himself compensated "if the judges who erred, the
officers and the journalists who fed the false witnesses with information,
resign as a result of the court's decision."
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon ordered on Wednesday the release of four
Lebanese generals held without charge since 2005 on suspicion of involvement in
the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The release of the
generals stirred a wave of reactions among pro-government and opposition forces.
Opposition figures called for holding the country's judicial authorities
accountable for keeping the generals in detention without charge.
Sayyed said he would wait for the resignation or dismissal of judges, but if
this did not happen, he and the others might eventually bring a lawsuit against
those responsible for his detention.
"I do not seek revenge. ... Hate is for the weak, but at the same time I like
accountability," he said.
For his part, Brigadier Raymond Azar, another released officer, said that "the
coming days will prove our innocence," while General Ali Hajj urged Lebanon's
judiciary to justify the detention of him and his comrades.
Meanwhile, President Michel Sleiman said he was relieved by the decision to
release the four generals, adding that the move proved that the international
tribunal was not politicized.
Addressing Arab and foreign reporters in London on Thursday, Sleiman said the
Special
Tribunal for Lebanon's decision to release the generals means "the international
court began its work in a transparent way and free of politicization."Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said Thursday that he would
not drop his political accusations against Syria, although he accepted the
decision reached this week.
"We accept the tribunal's ruling," Jumblatt said following talks with Future
Movement leader MP Saad Hariri in Qoreitem.
He added that the STL"decided for the time being" that the officers were not
involved in the assassination of Hariri.
Former Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Thursday that the decision to release
the four officers was a good sign that "political influence" had no role in the
STL's actions."Certainly, this decision has negative repercussions for the Lebanese judiciary
and raised major questions that cannot be disregarded," Mikati said in a
statement. He also stressed the need to "stop political interference in judicial
issues."
Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will give a televised
address on Al-Manar television channel on Friday. A statement issued by
Hizbullah said Nasrallah would tackle the party's crisis with Egypt and the
release of the four officers.
Also on Thursday, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said the March 14 Forces
should be "proud" of the release of the four generals, stressing that the
opposition "has always attempted to hamper the establishment of the tribunal."
In remarks to reporters, Geagea said: "Some parties are trying to benefit from
this event to attack the government and Lebanese authorities."
"It wasn't [former President] Amin Gemayel or Saad Hariri or [MP] Marwan Hamadeh
who ordered the arrest of the generals, but Detlev Mehlis and all the
prosecutors who succeeded him," Geagea added.
The LF leader also said that the release of the four generals would have a
"positive influence on the March 14 Forces and its Cedar Revolution."
The head of the European Commission delegation to Lebanon, Patrick Laurent, said
Thursday that the STL was not politicized. During a visit to South Lebanon,
Laurent said the tribunal was looking for facts based on a professional process.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet convened on Thursday in an ordinary session, during which
ministers commented on the release of the four generals.
Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud said the security bodies would cooperate to
protect the officers. However, Baroud added that he had learned, via the
tribunal, that some of the four did not want protection.
For his part, Minister of State Wael Bou Faour urged the Lebanese politicians
not to misuse the issue to "destroy the judiciary and government institutions."
Energy Minister Minister Mohammed Fneish, a member of Hizbullah, said that his
party's stance on the politicization of the tribunal did not change with the
release of the generals. The Cabinet was still in session when The Daily Star
went to press.
UNIFIL chief expects polls to impact work of peacekeepers/By Nicholas Kimbrell
Daily Star staff/Friday, May 01, 2009
BEIRUT: June's parliamentary elections will likely impact the work of UN
peacekeepers in the south of Lebanon, the commander of the United Nations
Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), General Claudio Graziano, has said.
"The times ahead of us will be challenging for UNIFIL," Graziano said during a
French Medal Parade on Wednesday. "The situation in our area of operations
remains somewhat volatile and the upcoming electoral period in Lebanon is likely
to impact our operations."UNIFIL's primary mission is to provide assistance to the Lebanese Army in the
ongoing effort to maintain stability on the Lebanese-Israeli border and to
facilitate the implementation of UN resolutions 1701 and 1559 which call for,
among obligations, full respect for Lebanese sovereignty and the disbanding of
militias.
How exactly the upcoming parliamentary elections, pitting Lebanon's March 14
majority against the Hizbullah-led opposition, would affect UNIFIL's operations
is unclear.
Timor Goksel, a long-serving former UN adviser in Lebanon, seemed unsure of what
exactly Graziano meant.
"Normally, according to my knowledge, this is not the case," Goksel said,
referring to any operational changes resulting from the elections. "From what I
know we have never had any problems, any incidents."
In addition, he noted that parliamentary elections in the south, a stronghold of
Hizbullah, generally aren't that competitive, adding that the Lebanese Army is
now more heavily deployed in the region.
However, Goksel acknowledged that the force commander could be acting on
information that he was not aware of.
Elias Hanna, a defense analyst and former Lebanese Armed Forces general, said
that Graziano was right in calling the situation in the south volatile.
With daily violations of Resolution 1701 (in the form of Israeli overflights),
the several Israeli spy networks recently uncovered in Lebanon, and the
continued threat of a Hizbullah response to the assassination of its commander
Imad Mughniyeh last year, Hanna said UNIFIL is worried that it could get caught
in the middle of a new Israel-Hizbullah conflict.
In addition, he noted that Israel will be carrying out large-scale military
maneuvers on its side of the Lebanese-Israeli border several days ahead of the
polls, from May 31-June 4.
As for any operational changes, Hanna said Graziano was likely referring the
post-election period and how a new government might define its policies.
"The government will be different after the elections," Hanna said. "If March 8
and Hizbullah win ... the decisions [vis-a-vis 1701 and 1559] will be
different."
For his part, Graziano reiterated UNIFIL's "full commitment" to fulfill its
mission and help bring a sustainable peace to Lebanon.
Lebanon's judiciary is dead - but don't expect politicians to resurrect it
By The Daily Star /Friday, May 01, 2009
Editorial
The reactions from across Lebanon's divided political spectrum to Wednesday's
release of four generals detained since 2005 on suspicion of involvement in the
assassination of Rafik Hariri have amounted to a collective reading of the
obituary for this country's judiciary. Everyone, it seems, can now agree that
Lebanon's judiciary is as good as dead.
The parliamentary majority has long argued that the creation of the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon was necessary in view of the Lebanese courts' inability to
prosecute a crime of the magnitude of the five-time former premier's murder. But
the opposition criticized early calls to hand the crime over to international
prosecutors, saying that such a move would potentially expose the pursuit of
justice to political manipulation.
But now that the international court has demonstrated its objectivity and
interest in pursuing the culprits of the crime in accordance with the law, all
and sundry in Lebanon are welcoming the tribunal's decision. Unfortunately,
however, some parties are using the verdict to score cheap political points, by
accusing "those in power" of having exerted undue influence over the decisions
of local judges.
Such accusations may be justified, but they certainly do not paint an accurate
picture. Contrary to the suggestion that political interference in Lebanon's
courts is something new or that it is the exclusive domain of the parliamentary
majority, nearly everyone who has held power in this country has mutilated the
law for their own political purposes. Everyone from Saad Hariri, Walid Jumblatt,
Samir Geagea and Pierre Gemayel to Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Nabih Berri, Michel
Aoun and even the four newly released generals has used their powers to trample
on the law - whether local law or international law - at one point or another.
Although the sudden widespread interest among political leaders in the failings
of Lebanon's justice system is new, this country's judiciary has been virtually
dead since the 1990s - long before the advent of the March 14-March 8 division.
And despite the heavy price paid by ordinary citizens as a result of the
travesty of justice in this country, the issue of creating an independent
judiciary has never been high on any politician's agenda.
Don't expect that to change now, even though the judiciary has become the cause
celebre in Lebanon. Those who are clamouring about the need to fix the judicial
process are unlikely to take any real steps toward that end.
The sudden interest in the topic does, however, create an opening for the silent
majority in Lebanon. Non-governmental organizations can and should make use of
this opportunity to force the issue of an independent judiciary onto the
national agenda. The revival of Lebanon's judiciary will have to come from civil
society, not from the politicians who killed it.
Accountability time for UN investigators
By Michael Young
Commentary by
Friday, May 01, 2009
The release of four Lebanese generals by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
considering the murder of Rafik Hariri has shocked many in the March 14
majority, prompting them to assume that there will be no justice for the late
prime minister. That may end up being true, but it's too early to affirm such a
thing; and the generals' liberation came as no surprise.
If anyone, or anything, came out of the decision looking worse off, it was not
the Lebanese judiciary; it was the United Nations commission that has spent the
last four years investigating the crime, and which, after 2006, managed to add
nothing new to its file on the generals to justify their continued detention.
Months ago judicial sources in Beirut knew their release was imminent, precisely
for that reason. We can, of course, assume that there was nothing to add, but
anyone who recalls the behavior of the generals after the Hariri assassination
(the clumsy efforts at altering the crime scene mentioned by the first UN
investigator, Peter Fitzgerald, or the highly suspicious distribution of the
video of Ahmad Abu Adas, who claimed responsibility for the killing) could not
readily make such a case.
It is time to ask what in heaven's name the Belgian investigator, Serge
Brammertz, did during his two years in office. This question has repeatedly
surfaced among members of the Lebanese judiciary, outside observers, and, most
compellingly, Brammertz's predecessor, Detlev Mehlis. In an interview in January
2008, Mehlis damningly observed that he had not "seen a word in [Brammertz's]
reports during the past two years confirming that he has moved forward. When I
left we were ready to name suspects, but [the investigation] seems not to have
progressed from that stage."
The Belgian did identify "persons of interest" in his reports, but Mehlis
quickly cut that idea down to size as well by observing that "a 'person of
interest' is definitely not a suspect. If you have identified suspects in a case
like this one, you don't allow them to roam free for years to tamper with
evidence, flee the country, or commit similar crimes."
Was Mehlis correct? It's difficult to say, but it's far more difficult to make
the contrary argument when Brammertz and his successor, Daniel Bellemare, have
together spent three and a half years looking into Hariri's assassination, yet
we still remain many months away from any kind of formal legal accusation. Time,
like silence, can be eloquent, and since 2006 the UN investigation has eaten up
an ever greater amount of time while its commissioners have become increasingly
silent on their alleged progress.
There are compelling signs to suggest that Brammertz did little of consequence
while in Beirut. He unnecessarily reopened the crime scene when there were
already three reports suggesting that the explosion that killed Hariri had been
above the ground. Brammertz focused too much on analysis of the crime, at the
expense of a police investigation that would have required identifying suspects,
comparing their testimonies, making arrests, playing suspects and witnesses off
against one another, and going to the heart of the matter on who killed Hariri.
For the investigators there was little doubt about who committed the crime; all
it took was competently following that thread down the decision-making
hierarchy. We're still waiting.
What does the freeing of the generals tell us about the UN investigation?
Unfortunately, it hits at a central contention presented by both Fitzgerald and
Mehlis, namely that when Hariri was eliminated in an extensive conspiracy, the
Lebanese security and intelligence services were acting with and under the
auspices and authority of the Syrian intelligence services. By releasing the
generals, Bellemare admitted he could not fit the four into that relationship.
Yet such a relationship cannot seriously be doubted by anyone who knew how the
Syrian-led system in Lebanon functioned, which really points us more to the
failings of the UN commission, Brammertz's in particular, than to the inaccuracy
of Fitzgerald's and Mehlis' findings.
In his submission to the pre-trial judge, Bellemare wrote, in a footnote to
paragraph 13, that a "very limited number of documents" were provided by the UN
commission in the response to the pre-trial judge's request on whether to hold
or release the generals - the vast majority coming from the Lebanese. This tells
us that the international investigation offered up very little on the generals,
who until yesterday happened to be the only suspects held in the crime. So,
Bellemare today has the dubious honor of presiding over a four-year
investigation with almost no suspects, and none in custody.
Is it time to write off the Special Tribunal for Lebanon? Almost, but we
shouldn't be too hasty. Bellemare would have liked to delay the start of the
tribunal in order to complete his investigation. It was the Lebanese who
insisted he take on his prosecutorial duties earlier rather than later, because
they couldn't handle the pressure of detaining the generals much longer. In so
doing, they set in motion a legal process that was always, potentially, going to
end with the generals' release. Once Bellemare had the four in hand, the
tribunal was given a limited period of time to decide their fate.
But does Bellemare have enough to put together an accusation that will stand up
in court? Only time, more time, will tell. Bellemare's own competence is also
something to watch, since he has never prosecuted a political crime of this
nature. Perhaps the assassination of Wissam Eid, the Internal Security Forces
officer who was working on telephone intercepts, implies progress was being made
elsewhere. However, the right questions aren't being asked: If Bellemare gets
nowhere in the end, then precisely at what stage, and why, did the UN
investigation fail Lebanon?
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR. His commentary will not be
published next week.