LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 24/09

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 3,31-36. The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven (is above all). He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Jumblatt's Disappointment . By: Zuheir Kseibati/Dar Al-Hayat 23/04/09
Time of imaginary champs/Future News 23/04/09
With Votes for Sale in Lebanon, Money From Abroad Floods In-New York Times 23/04/09
Clinton has now shown Iran the sticks, but where are the carrots? The Daily Star 23/04/09
Video may have killed March 14's star.By Michael Young 23/04/09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 23 /09
Najjar: No Official Word from UAE on Siddiq Arrest-Naharnet
Tueni Files Judicial Complaint Against FPM Media-Naharnet
Retired Lebanese General Charged With Spying For Israel-Naharnet
French Justice Minister Arrives in Beirut-Naharnet
Cassesse Tours Mideast, Including Syria and Iran, Seeking Cooperation in Hariri Murder Case-Naharnet
Lebanon's First Syria Ambassador Begins Work-Naharnet
Retired Lebanese General Charged With Spying For Israel-Naharnet
Aoun Announces Metn, Jbeil Electoral Lists-Naharnet
Arakji escapes his Syrian allies/Future News
Sherri Drops Out of Beirut, Hatoum from Baabda as Differences Continue Over Jezzine-Naharnet
Siddiq: From Sharjah to Abu Dhabi-Naharnet
Miqati Announces Tripoli's Coalition List, Jabal Mohsen Residents Protest-Naharnet
Qanso Joins Baalbek-Hermel List as Hussein Drops Out of Race-Naharnet
Jumblat Seeks to Appease Christians After 'Insulting' and 'Unintentional' Remarks on Maronites-Naharnet
Hariri Names Fatfat, Abdul Aziz and Alameddine in Minieh-Dinniyeh-Naharnet
Moussa in Beirut Saturday as Egypt Plans to Take Strict Measures in Issuing Visas for Lebanese-Naharnet
Nadim Gemayel Stresses on Army's Sole Right to Carry Arms-Naharnet
Internal Security Forces Officers Trained in the U.S.-Naharnet
Jumblatt says his remarks on Maronites were 'unintentional'-Daily Star
More parties announce electoral lists as elections race intensifies-Daily Star
March 14 renews commitment to alliance's 'principles'-Daily Star
Cabinet expected to decide on key appointments in next session-Daily Star
Sleiman ends Turkey visit with call for Mideast peace effort-Daily Star
Moussa to visit Beirut amid Cairo's escalating spat with Hizbullah-Daily Star
MPs, UNDP discuss national rights plan-Daily Star
Israel violates Lebanese airspace-Daily Star
Sfeir backs 'new blood' in Parliament-Daily Star
Indonesia to send more troops to join UNIFIL force-Daily Star
Hizbullah backs Ahmadinejad's Geneva speech-Daily Star
Swedish-Lebanese accused of planning militant camp in US-(AFP)
Anti-Hezbollah Outrage Flares Up In Egypt-NPR
Israel: Halt Iran to allow Mideast peace efforts/The Associated Press
US and Lebanese officials open Chamber of Commerce-Daily Star
Lebanon expects to receive approval for WTO accession, 'but much work remains-Daily Star
AUB's Volunteering Day set to begin-Daily Star
Renowned architect to lecture at AUB-Daily Star
Army conducts raids in Baalbek-Daily Star
Missing elderly man found dead, wrapped in carpet-Daily Star
Iran ready for 'constructive' nuclear talks-Daily Star
Turkey recalls Canada envoy as ministers attend genocide event-Daily Star

Siddiq: From Sharjah to Abu Dhabi
Naharnet/Sharjah police handed over "King Witness" Mohammed Zuhair Siddiq to security authorities in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, As Safir newspaper reported Thursday. The daily said the move was made on the basis that he posed a threat to the national security of the United Arab Emirates and had a fake passport.
Abu Dhabi authorities will next decide what step to take by either imprisoning him or handing him over to Syria if Damascus makes an official request for his extradition.
U.N. Special Tribunal for Lebanon spokeswoman Suzanne Khan refused to comment on the report. "The tribunal has nothing to do with Siddiq's handing over and Belgian pre-trial magistrate Daniel Fransen did not order the arrest of anyone," she told As Safir. Newspaper reports in 2006 quoted Siddiq as saying that Syrian President Bashar Assad and his then Lebanese counterpart Emile Lahoud ordered ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's killing in a massive Beirut car bombing. Siddiq, who was under an international arrest warrant requested by a Lebanese prosecutor, was detained in October 2005 in a Paris suburb on grounds he gave false evidence to U.N. investigators. He had been living in France under house arrest until he disappeared a year ago. Beirut, 23 Apr 09, 08:25

Cassesse Tours Mideast, Including Syria and Iran, Seeking Cooperation in Hariri Murder Case
Naharnet/Lebanese judge Ralf Riashi has been appointed deputy president of the international tribunal as the court president uncovered he will visit Lebanon mid-May and tour Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Iran seeking judicial cooperation in the murder case of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Antonio Cassesse said his tour is aimed at urging Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Iran to sign "cooperation agreements" with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon "in order to allow the court to listen to statements of the witnesses and suspects in a manner that takes into account the sovereignty of these countries. "
The Italian judge, speaking in separate interviews published in Lebanese newspapers on Thursday, said signing a similar agreement with Israel is related to the viewpoint of the STL prosecutor Daniel Bellemare "in terms of the possibility of the presence of witnesses or suspects there." He said similar deals would be cut with countries where "many Lebanese citizens reside," including France, Brazil, Australia and Venezuela. Cassesse spoke about possible scenarios regarding the fate of the four top former security generals, stressing that Bellemare is the one to decide whether or not to keep them in custody. He stressed the need to reach a decision on the fate of the four generals in a period not later than three weeks. "If we release them and the prosecutor decided to re-arrest one of them, they could escape," Cassesse warned.
He pointed to two scenarios: the first that the prosecutor could come out with a conclusion that there is not enough evidence to charge the four generals and thus would demand their release. The second scenario, according to Cassesse, is that the prosecutor would find evidence to convict at least one or two generals.
Bellemare, at this point, would ask the judge to release some of the generals and request the transfer of the others to a prison in The Hague.
Following their transfer, the defense attorneys could request their release on conditional bail. Cassesse said it is likely in the event the judge agrees to release them on conditional bail that they would come to Beirut. He said court officials heard about the arrest of key witness in the Hariri case Mohammed Zuhair Siddiq through the media, adding that the United Arab Emirates has sent no official letter in this regard. For his part, Lebanese judge Riashi defended measures taken by Lebanese judicial authorities which led to the arrest of the four generals for nearly four years. The daily As Safir, meanwhile, said Bellemare has requested from Belgian pre-trial magistrate Daniel Fransen "extra time" to justify the detention of the four generals or order their release. Beirut, 23 Apr 09, 09:05

Aoun Announces Metn, Jbeil Electoral Lists
Naharnet/Change and Reform parliamentary bloc leader Michel Aoun on Thursday announced his electoral lists for the Metn and Jbeil districts.
Running for Metn are: Ibrahim Kanaan, Ghassan al-Ashqar, Salim Salhab, Ghassan Mukhaiber, Ghassan Rahbani, Edgard Maalouf and Nabil Nicola.
The Jbeil list includes Abbas Hashem, Simon Abi Ramia and Walid Khoury. Beirut, 23 Apr 09, 13:46

Nadim Gemayel Stresses on Army's Sole Right to Carry Arms
Naharnet/Candidate Nadim Gemayel, who is running for the Maronite seat in Beirut 1 district, announced his electoral platform from Ashrafiyeh on Wednesday.
"We remain loyal to Bashir's legacy and to the martyrs. We want a state protected by one army, which has the sole right to carry arms," said the son of slain President-elect Bashir Gemayel. He said there should be no weapons in the hands of the Palestinians or the Lebanese even under the banner of resistance.
The young Gemayel also called for remembering the families of those who were martyred and were injured during the war. "We must compensate them for the rights they missed." Gemayel also stressed on Lebanon's sovereignty, saying June 7 must not be a passageway for the Syrian's return to Lebanon. "We stand firm on our convictions and principles and Lebanon's 10452 square kilometers," Gemayel said. Beirut, 22 Apr 09, 20:39

Sherri Drops Out of Beirut, Hatoum from Baabda as Differences Continue Over Jezzine
Naharnet/As the constitutional deadline for withdrawing candidacies passed at midnight Wednesday, formation of lists came under the spotlight as 115 candidates pulled out of the race and 587 decided to engage in the electoral battle. Three Armenians have already been selected unopposed in seats in Beirut and the Metn after rival candidates withdrew, Interior Minister Ziad Baroud said at a press conference. The major changes came from Hizbullah whose number of candidates dropped from 11 to 10 after the withdrawal of Beirut 2 candidate MP Amin Sherri in favor of Amal candidate Hani Qobeisi. Baabda's second Shiite seat problem was also resolved after it went to Free Patriotic Movement candidate Ramzi Kanj at the expense of Amal candidate Talal Hatoum. Al-Akhbar newspaper said Thursday that the changes do not mean the problem between Speaker Nabih Berri and FPM leader Gen. Michel Aoun was solved. Aoun still holds onto "competition" in Jezzine although Hizbullah tried to give him Baabda's Shiite seat in return for keeping Berri-backed MP Samir Azar in Jezzine.Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat, in its turn, quoted sources following up Hizbullah's continued mediation between Berri and Aoun as saying that the Shiite party decided to sacrifice Sherri although he is the strongest in Beirut 2 district in order to send a message of the need to stay loyal to allies even at one's own expense. The message also stressed the need to remain unified despite differences over electoral seats. The newspaper said that the mediation's final results will start appearing beginning Thursday. Beirut, 23 Apr 09, 10:07

Qanso Joins Baalbek-Hermel List as Hussein Drops Out of Race
Naharnet/Former MP Assem Qanso announced Wednesday he was officially informed by Hizbullah that he would be included in the opposition's Baalbek-Hermel list as Former Speaker Hussein al-Husseini dropped out of the election race in the same district. With Qanso joining the ticket, Shiite seats were complete. The list now includes 6 Shiites: Hussein Hajj Hassan, Sayyed Hussein Moussawi, Nawwar Sahili, Ali Miqdad, Minister Ghazi Zoaiter and Qanso. The list is expected to be announced in Baalbek on Friday. "Our agenda is not based on the monopolization or the forging of representation. It is not founded on the idea of replacing the community and the homeland with one individual or a single party," said Husseini while announcing his withdrawal from the race."Mine is not a sectarian vision. It is one of civil (state-building)," he told reporters. Beirut, 23 Apr 09, 09:31

Miqati Announces Tripoli's Coalition List, Jabal Mohsen Residents Protest
Naharnet/Former Premier Najib Miqati announced the "Tripoli Coalition List" on Wednesday, stressing that the ticket would work for a strong and modern state that would preserve the country's sovereignty and independence. The ticket includes: Miqati, Samir Jisr, Mohammed Safadi, Mohammed Kabbara and Ahmed Karami who are Sunnis, Badr Wannous, who is Alawite, Orthodox Robert Fadel and Maronite Samer Saade. "We are convinced that there will be no security and political stability if there was no social stability, not only in Tripoli and the north but also in all of Lebanon," Miqati said at a rally in the northern port city. "We are running in Tripoli on a unified ticket. You wanted a list which unites not one that divides," Miqati stressed. In his turn, Economy and Trade Minister Safadi urged supporters to make June 7 a date of victory for those who believe in the Taef accord and legitimate institutions. MP Saad Hariri also addressed the rally, saying "in line with the will of the residents of Tripoli we have worked to reach the best coalition and agreement among the political forces, who believe in sovereignty and independence in Tripoli."Meanwhile, several residents of mostly Alawite area of Jabal Mohsen blocked the road leading to the area with stones and earth mounds to protest Wannous' inclusion in the "Tripoli Coalition List."The National News Agency said army patrols in Bab al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen tried to contain the situation after young men attacked a passing vehicle with stones and broke its window. Jabal Mohsen residents later cut with burning tires the road that separates the area from Bab al-Tebbaneh, according to NNA. The situation, however, returned to normal in Tripoli as the army patrolled the two Tripoli neighborhoods after sporadic bursts of gunfire were heard in the areas. Beirut, 22 Apr 09, 19:28

Hariri Names Fatfat, Abdul Aziz and Alameddine in Minieh-Dinniyeh
Naharnet/Al-Mustaqbal Movement ticket in Minieh-Dinniyeh includes Ahmed Fatfat, Qassem Abdul Aziz and Hashem Alameddine for the Sunni seats, MP Saad Hariri announced on Wednesday at a public rally in Minieh. "The elections will take place according to clear choices," he told his supporters. "Our choice is to have a capable and strong state, one that has control over all its territories. Our choice is to have civil peace and equal sharing among … Muslims and Christians under the Lebanese flag, which we all hoisted on that great day of March 14, 2005," he added. Hariri again took a swipe at his political opponents saying their candidates who "are today posing as independents were the ones who attacked (former) Premier Rafik Hariri and took part in all of March 8 protests." "Minieh-Dinniyeh will expel those candidates," he said to cheers. Hariri paid special tribute to the martyrs of the Lebanese Army singling out, Wissam Eid, for "sacrificing their lives for the sake of the homeland."He then said that "the victims of Nahr el-Bared war must be compensated." Beirut, 22 Apr 09, 19:24

Lebanon's First Syria Ambassador Begins Work
Naharnet/Lebanon's first ever ambassador to former powerbroker Syria began work on Thursday almost six months after the two neighbors set up diplomatic ties, Syria's official news agency said. Michel el-Khoury presented his credentials to Foreign Minister Walid Muallem marking the official start of his tenure in Syria, SANA news agency reported. During the meeting they discussed "ways of developing relations to serve the interests of both countries," SANA news agency said.
Khoury, a career diplomat and former ambassador to Cyprus, was named at the start of the year and an embassy was opened in the Syrian capital in March.
Also in March Lebanon approved the nomination of Ali Abdel Karim Ali as Syria's first ambassador to Beirut, where it opened an embassy in December.
After several years of strained relations, Lebanon and its former powerbroker agreed to establish diplomatic ties in October for the first time since their independence 60 years ago. Syria pulled out its troops from Lebanon after almost 30 years of political and military domination in April 2005 following the assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Many in Lebanon pointed the finger at Damascus for the murder and a spate of attacks against anti-Syrian figures since, but Syria has strongly denied any involvement.(AFP) Beirut, 23 Apr 09, 14:34

Retired Lebanese General Charged With Spying For Israel
Naharnet/A retired Lebanese general, his wife and a nephew were charged on Thursday with spying for Israel, a crime that can lead to life imprisonment or a death sentence, a judicial official told Agence France Presse (AFP). Former security services officer Brigadier General Adib al-Aalam, his wife Hayat Saloumi and nephew Joseph Semaan al-Aalam -- also a security official -- are accused of informing Israel about Lebanese and Syrian military and civilian sites "with the aim of facilitating Israeli attacks," the official said. A fourth suspect, Nicolas Assad Habib, remains at large, said the official, who requested anonymity. The charge is punishable by life imprisonment with hard labor and possibly the death sentence should the court rule that the spying resulted in the death of Lebanese citizens. Aalam is also charged with the illegal possession of weapons and the forgery of false identity cards, which he and his wife allegedly used to cross into Israel "without authorization," the official told AFP. The case is now in the hands of Lebanon's top prosecutor for matters of national security, Judge Rashid Mezher. Aalam and his wife were taken into custody on April 14 on suspicion of spying for Israel, with which Lebanon is still technically at war. Several other Lebanese people have been arrested in recent months on similar allegations.(AFP) Beirut, 23 Apr 09, 16:05

Jumblat Seeks to Appease Christians After 'Insulting' and 'Unintentional' Remarks on Maronites
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat said Wednesday that his statement regarding Maronites was "unintentional" and he meant by it the isolationist trend in the country. "The video was part of a long discussion which talked about the isolationist trend in the country," Jumblat said about a mobile phone video in which the Druze leader criticized Maronites and some March 14 leaders. "I wish that (Maronite) Patriarch (Nasrallah) Sfeir and all Maronites would take the bad and insulting word I used – and which was taken out of context from a long discussion about isolation – as a mere description of the situation that caused isolationism" in Lebanese sects, Jumblat said during a press conference from his home in Clemenceau. The Druze leader stressed that he was expressing in the video broadcast by several TV stations, his frustration at ways in which politicians formed their electoral lists. "I was expressing (my point of view on) choosing candidates particularly by the March 14 alliance. The latest victim was Nassib Lahoud who decided to withdraw his candidacy. This attitude doesn't only exist among March 14 but also rests with the other party." After reminding the Lebanese about "great" Maronites who had major impact on the economy, politics and literature, Jumblat hoped his announcement would be enough to eliminate the "unintentional harm" he has done. The PSP leader urged media institutions to be aware of the current dangers particularly after agreement has been reached to maintain calm in the country. Beirut, 22 Apr 09, 10:26

Jumblatt's Disappointment
Zuheir Kseibati -Al-Hayat - 23/04/09//
As former speaker Hussein Al-Husseini pulled out from the electoral race, in the footsteps of minister Nassib Lahoud, Walid Jumblatt, the head of the Democratic Parliamentary Gathering, will soon retreat into the state of disappointment he complained of as he justified his use of an "insulting" word to describe the "states of isolationism among all the sects."
Whether Jumblatt succeeds or not in containing the uproar over his leaked tape, with his expressions of bitterness at the "media underhandedness" which misquoted some excerpts from the Druze leader's statements, it is certain that the gloating at the March 14 camp, which is what General Michel Aoun is doing these days, is but an aspect of the disappointment among this camp's supporters who are following Jumblatt's rounds of "self-criticism" which come around whenever he wants to warn from the repercussions of the regional and international shifts.
Why did this criticism of the "states of isolationism" take so long to come out until it emerged now to hit the heated electoral campaigns with cold shocks? If so is the question, then the talk about "the day erasing the words of night" cannot conceal the doubts over the March 14 coalition's ability to win the elections united, while the March 8 camp is managing to prevent any serious leaks about disagreements over candidates.
What is being said outside the political councils is not fair to Jumblatt and doesn't help with understanding the reasons behind his disappointment, especially as this disappointment is planting seeds of despair about people ever being able to understand the tumultuous shifts and turns of the Druze leader. He succeeded in salvaging the unity of the Druze after the May 7 storm, but in the heart of the electoral battle, he appears to be punishing his Cedars Revolution allies while justifying many of the propositions of the opposition.
While it is difficult for large segments of the March 14 supporters to accept Jumblatt's choice of timing to distance himself from the mistakes of his allies, especially when it comes to choosing candidates and their leaning towards, what he considers to be, extremism in following party standards "at the expense of moderation," the disappointment will prevent many people from hearing the second half of Jumblatt's complaint: that "the other side does not give moderation any consideration."
This state of confusion will not help the March 14 Christians, who consider that Jumblatt's "slip of tongue" or "last minute" mistake provides General Aoun with the opportunity to play his favorite tune in Christian circles: when he preaches about the imminent disintegration of the opposing team. But this is a sanctioned weapon in this battle which is supposed to end a transitional phase instituted by the Doha agreement. Yet this agreement has itself become a weapon; some factions want to maintain it even after the June 7 elections, at least among the opposition candidates.
While the menace posed by the attempts to turn the "truce" agreement into a permanent "weapon" after June 7 justifies Jumblatt's advice to both camps to maintain the truce, the same applies for MP Saad Hariri's refusal to enter into an argument with his ally to respond to the "slip of tongue" as he doesn't want the disappointment to spread 45 days before the elections.
The other explanation of Jumblatt's "leaked" criticism is that it is a ploy to spread "complacency" among the March 8 ranks who feel certain about their chances of victory especially because of the "confusion" among the other side. This "complacency" would then be met by extreme efforts on the voting day to "save" March 14.
Whatever the case might be, sectarian isolation is indeed a common characteristic of all the party candidates. While there are no great differences between the political programs of the independent and independence-seeking candidates, the main woe which causes many to despair lies in the electoral law and the suspended implementation of the section on eliminating political sectarianism. Enshrined in the constitution, this section will not change the nature of the electoral battles so long as it remains mere ink on paper.
As for speculating on the post-June 7 developments, this will not help change each side's credit or prevent surprises. Then we will return to square one and the ever-present question: Is Lebanon a state or an arena for struggles by proxies? Who will form the government, with or without an obstructing third? Who will dispel the disappointment in the country of endless struggles?

Internal Security Forces Officers Trained in the U.S.
Naharnet/The second group of Internal Security Forces (ISF) members participated in the U.S. sponsored Police Training Visitor's Program from March 29 to April 10, the U.S. embassy said in a statement. "The Lebanon Law Enforcement Visitor Program honors the highest-achieving students, instructors, and officers who have completed training in Lebanon in the U.S. supported police training program," it said. The first program took place in August, 2008. The third session will take place in September.
On this visit, the participants met with their professional colleagues in Washington D.C., Kansas City, Missouri, and Salt Lake City, Utah. "The group participated in police patrols, toured the training centers of the bomb detection canine training unit at ATF, a U.S. law enforcement agency, the National Parks Mounted Police Academy, and visited counter-narcotics units, detention units and emergency operations centers in Kansas City and Salt Lake City," according to the embassy statement. "Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams demonstrated search warrant implementation and specialized equipment. In each of the cities, the group learned about community policing programs that strengthen the trust and cooperation between the community and the police," the statement said. It concluded by saying that the police officers and recruits will use their skills to benefit Lebanon, and share their new knowledge with their professional colleagues in the ISF.
Beirut, 22 Apr 09, 21:04

Syria: Ahmadinejad speech reflected Arab views
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=31653
Middle East On Line
Syrian FM says large proportion of public opinion in Arab world supports Iranian president words.
DAMASCUS - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at a UN conference on racism had widespread Arab support even if it stirred a walkout over his anti-Israeli stand, Syria said on Wednesday. "A large proportion of public opinion in the Arab world supports the words of the Iranian president," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said at a joint press conference with his Luxembourg counterpart Jean Asselborn.
The president used his podium in Geneva on Monday to criticise the creation of a "totally racist government in occupied Palestine" in 1948, branding the Israeli administration "the most cruel and repressive racist regime." Ahmadinejad said the West "sent migrants from Europe, the United States ... in order to establish a racist government in the occupied Palestine." "The Palestinians should not be turned into victims of a Holocaust which they did not commit. It should not serve as a pretext for the Israelis to commit a Holocaust in Palestine, Gaza, the West Bank or Lebanon," Muallem said.
The Syrian minister referred to the "bad conscience of the Europeans towards the Holocaust" of six million Jews that was carried out in Europe by the Nazis during World War II.
For his part, Asselborn spoke up against any efforts to "deny history ... and deny the fundamental principles of humanity."
"Israel has the right to live in security, the Palestinians have the right to live in dignity. A two-state solution is necessary," the Luxembourg foreign minister said.

Saudi press mock Ahmadinejad’s Geneva speech
Semi-official Saudi press focuses on outcry that Iranian president's speech provoked in West.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=31649
First Published 2009-04-22
By Habib TRABELSI - PARIS
The Saudi press, often reflective of its government line, on Tuesday reacted with mockery to the speech of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in which he equated Israel to a “racist government”.
The press has largely focused on the outcry that the Iranian president has once again provoked in the West, at a time when the relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran are at an impasse.
In no position to lecture
“Has Iran sacrificed one date palm for Palestine? Has Tehran lost one single man in the battlefield during the six wars against Israel?” ironically asks Tareq Al-Homayed, editor in chief of top selling newspaper, Sharq Al-Awsat.
On its part, the newspaper Al-Madina believes that the Iranian president was not the person best qualified to denounce “Israel’s racism”.
“The Iranian president has rightly accused Israel of racism. But Ahmadinejad is not well placed to say it”, declares its editorial. “Israel, admittedly, is a racist and aggressor (State). It daily attacks our land and our people in Palestine and in the Golan. But it is also true that Iran has occupied Arab islands and has over the last 38 years persisted in keeping them under its own domination”, the newspaper adds.
This is a reference to the three islands (the Greater, the Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa, located near the Strait of Hormuz), claimed by the Arab Emirates, but that have been under Iranian control since 1971.
Al-Madina also denounces “the threat of Iran towards its Arab neighbours, despite its condemnation of Israeli expansionist aims.”
According to Al-Madina, in his speech at the “Durban II” World Conference against Racism in Geneva, “President Ahmadinejad has opted for a verbal escalation to reinforce the position of his country in future negotiations with the United States”. “Yet, Iranian nuclear ambitions head the menu” of the dialogue that on Monday Washington reaffirmed its commitment to open, despite Ahmadinejad’s “vile and hateful” comments towards Israel.
The outcry triggered in the United States, as well as in several countries, most notably in Europe - including France, is making the “headlines” of several Saudi newspapers.
“An inflammatory speech that sparks off violent reactions” writes Al-Riyadh, whose columnist, Youssef Al-Koulait, believes “Israel is the first winner of Durban II, because its politics have been advocated” and deplores Islam as, “the religion of more than one billion Muslims, still remaining equated with terrorism and fascism.”
Al-Hayat newspaper also expands on the “wave of violent Western criticism sparked off by Ahmadinejad’s speech” and gives coverage to the reactions of the United States and France who have respectively denounced the “hateful rhetoric” and “the intolerable call to racist hate” of the Iranian president.
The newspaper also provides good space for the comments of the Israeli chief of military intelligence, Major General Amos Yadlin, who warns that Iran constitutes a threat for the “moderate” Arab countries of the Middle-East.
Some informed internet users have even borrowed from the comments of Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre, qualifying Ahmadinejad’s violent diatribes as an electioneering “show”, before this year’s presidential ballot in Iran on the 12th June.
A “direct dialogue” with a bitter taste … for Riyadh
“Do we still need such palaver and such speeches? Obviously not” writes Tareq Al-Homayed, editor in chief of Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. According to him, “Ahmadinehad’s speech was addressed to (the masses) in the Arab and Islamic world”.
“By contrast, what needs following up” adds the editor in chief of the Saudi newspaper “is the encounter in Geneva, on Sunday that will take place between Ahmadinejad and the president of the Helvetic Confederation Hans-Rudolf Merz, whose nation represents the interests of the United States in Iran” following the breaking off of diplomatic relations between Washington and Tehran since 1980.
Robert Wood, a State Department spokesperson, said on Monday that Ahmadinejad’s comments were incompatible with “direct dialogue”. Wood nonetheless called on Tehran to “do a number of things to get back in the overall good graces of the international community.”
Such a dialogue would not be to the taste of Saudi Arabia whose relations with Iran are marked by increasing tension, against a background of accusations by Arab countries, notably Egypt, of Iran’s interference in Arab affairs and of its desire to exercise its hegemony in the region.
Over previous weeks the Saudi press has multiplied criticisms against Iran, accused of nurturing expansionist ambitions in the Gulf and of harbouring alleged members of Al Qaeda who are seeking to perpetrate terrorist attacks inside the Kingdom.
Translated by Naima Bouteldja

To fight anti-Semitism, anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia
First Published 2009-04-22
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=31652
UN racism conference passes declaration
Study shows racist violence in Europe largely unreported as UN seeks to bring boycotters to join declaration.
GENEVA - Delegates at the UN Conference on Racism adopted a final declaration on Tuesday without the support of the United States.
The US and several other Western nations have boycotted the conference over concerns it would include criticism of the Israeli government.
The conference president, Amos Wako, criticized the boycott.
“What we have decided shows the outcome when you remain engaged in the process. It shows that boycotts do not assist. It shows that one can remain constructively engaged and reach a consensus,” said Wako.
Bowing to US-Israeli concerns, the declaration avoids any references to Zionism. Instead, it reaffirms a conference text from 2001 that recognizes the Palestinian right to self-determination and calls for a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The text also urges signatories to fight all forms of racism, in particular naming anti-Semitism, anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia.
The declaration came one day after nearly two dozen diplomats walked out on a speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after he called Israel a “cruel and repressive racist regime.”
Ahmadinejad appeared to acknowledge the Nazi Holocaust his final speech, referring to the “abuse of the Holocaust.”
The UN Wednesday was seeking to convince 10 countries boycotting its anti-racism conference here to join in the declaration.
However, the Europeans among the boycotting nations had already agreed last week on the text of the declaration that was adopted by consensus on Tuesday.
Technically it is endorsed by the UN's member states, minus those that stayed away, officials said.
US-based rights campaign group Human Rights Watch on Wednesday publicly called on the 10 boycotting nations to endorse the meeting's anti-racism pledge.
The 16-page text enumerates a huge range of related issues that need to be tackled, such as discrimination against migrants, guarantees for HIV/AIDS patients, access to justice, social services, and racism in sports.
The UN rights chief had not received any explanation from the boycotting European nations.
"The countries that boycotted the conference, especially those that are members of the European Union, will have a lot of trouble explaining their position since the text has been adopted," Mexican ambassador Luis-Alfonso de Alba said.
Ahmadinejad on Wednesday criticised US President Barack Obama's boycott of the United Nations racism conference, dubbing it "unhelpful."
"I should give you, the new US administration, this advice. Mr Obama came to power with the slogan of 'change', meaning the American people like the rest of the world want a change in the colonialism policy," Ahmdinejad told crowds in a speech broadcast live from Varamin, a city south of Tehran.
"Therefore it would have been imperative for him to take part in the world's most important conference of racism and denounce racism, (confirming) that the US is pursuing a changed policy in confronting racism," he added.
"But to sit at his place and condemn my remarks is not helpful in solving the issues," he added.
Racist violence in Europe largely unreported
Discrimination and racially motivated violence are far more widespread than official statistics suggest in Europe, with the Roma and Africans bearing the brunt, a new EU study charged Wednesday.
The first ever EU-wide survey on immigrant and ethnic minority groups' experiences of discrimination and racist crime, carried out by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), uncovered "a sense of resignation among ethnic minorities and immigrants" on the issue.
They "appear to lack confidence in mechanisms to protect victims," the report's authors say.
"The survey reveals how large the 'dark figure' of racist crime and discrimination really is in the EU. Official racism figures only show the tip of the iceberg," warned FRA director Morten Kjaerum.
Of those minorities polled throughout the 27 EU nations, over a third, 37 percent, said they had personally experienced discrimination in the past year, with 12 percent saying they were the victim of a racist crime.
However, the report says, 80 percent of these did not report the incident to the police, leaving official crime statistics woefully inadequate.
The Roma gypsies reported the highest levels of discrimination, with one in two respondents saying they were the victims of discrimination in the last 12 months.
Sub-Saharan Africans were also among the worst affected, with 41 percent saying they had been discriminated against, followed by North Africans at 36 percent.
The report's authors did not wish to offer figures on which European nations were the worst for discrimination.
The European Commission voiced concern that the results show that "discrimination, racism and xenophobia are still persistent phenomena in the EU, that they affect the lives of members of ethnic minorities in the EU and of immigrants, and that they can hamper their integration into our societies."
The results of the survey "reaffirm the need for the European Union and its member states ... to strengthen their common fight against discrimination, racism and xenophobia," the EU's executive arm added.
EU Justice and Freedom Commissioner Jacques Barrot also raised concerns over the reports findings that racism was seen in everyday matters such as accessing to the labour market, housing, education, opening a bank account or obtaining a loan.
"There is no doubt that such experiences can negatively affect the integration process of immigrants, a process vital to ensure the social cohesion of our societies".

Stunt to Silence Meaningful Debate on Racism
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/opinion/?id=31642
First Published 2009-04-22, Last Updated 2009-04-22 09:33:14
Nobody has explained what was offensive about the Iranian president's speech. He presented the unvarnished truth. The offence was refusing to listen, says Stuart Littlewood. The truth never suits Israel's flag-wavers and stooges. They have to twist it or strangulate it.
When Mr Ahmadjinedad got up to speak at the UN racism conference the British Ambassador, Peter Gooderham, was among those who walked out in the worst show of diplomatic bad manners this century. Gooderham is reported to have said that "such inflammatory rhetoric has no place whatsoever in a United Nations conference addressing the whole issue of racism and how to address it. "As soon as President Ahmadinejad, started talking about Israel, that was the cue for us to walk out. We agreed in advance that if there was any such rhetoric there would be no tolerance for it." Referring to the Iranian leader's accusation of Israeli racism he added: "That is a charge we unreservedly condemn and so we had no hesitation at that point in leaving the conference hall."
TV inquisitor Jeremy Paxman asked Gooderham the difference between Zionism and racism, to which he replied that Zionism is a political movement and racism is something else - we recognise it when we see it. The trouble is, these dummies don't recognise it at all. Nor are they daily on the receiving end, as the Palestinians are, of Israel's brutal racist policies. Nor were they under Israel's genocidal blitzkrieg on Gaza that vaporized and incinerated women and children in their hundreds and blew their body-parts to kingdom-come.
Everyone knows that the Zionist project aims to create a Jewish state from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea and from the Euphrates to the Nile by ethnically cleansing the Arab population from their homeland, stealing their lands and resources at gunpoint, and effectively wiping Palestine off the map. If that isn't naked racism, what is it? Haven’t Mr Gooderham and his colleagues read the manifestoes of the Likud and Kadima parties?
The question is, why do supposedly moral and civilized people support it and seek to perpetuate it?
Right on cue David Miliband, Britain's foreign secretary, condemned President Ahmadinejad's remarks about Israel being a 'racist government' as “offensive, inflammatory and utterly unacceptable." He didn't say why.
Indeed, nobody has explained what was offensive about the Iranian president's speech. He presented the unvarnished truth. The offence was refusing to listen. But truth has been a major casualty at the UN for 60 years. It doesn't help when its Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, whines about "this august platform" being used "to accuse, divide and even incite. This is the opposite of what this conference seeks to achieve." And what exactly are the powers-that-be seeking to achieve, if not to whitewash the truth as usual?
Last November's Bulletin Board of the Board of Deputies of British Jews - the equivalent in Britain of AIPAC - announced that Elizabeth Harris, their Director of Public Affairs, attended the “preparatory committee” meeting in Geneva for the Anti-racism Conference and used the opportunity to have "constructive" meetings with the British Ambassador and representatives of other European countries. No doubt that's when the stooges received their orders.
So the walkout at the UN had long been premeditated and pre-planned. It was a stupid stunt.
The biggest disgrace is that racist thugs in Tel Aviv are able orchestrate such a thing. It is now self-evident that Zionists have infiltrated and embedded themselves in the political, financial, economic and social fabric of the western world to everyone else’s detriment.
**Stuart Littlewood is author of the book Radio Free Palestine, which tells the plight of the Palestinians under occupation.

With Votes for Sale in Lebanon, Money From Abroad Floods In
By ROBERT F. WORTH/New York Times
Published: April 22, 2009
BEIRUT, Lebanon — It is election season in Lebanon, and Hussein H., a jobless 24-year-old from south Beirut, is looking forward to selling his vote to the highest bidder.
Whoever pays the most will get my vote,” he said. “I won’t accept less than $800.”
He may get more. The parliamentary elections here in June are shaping up to be among the most expensive ever held anywhere, with hundreds of millions of dollars streaming into this small country from around the globe.
Lebanon has long been seen as a battleground for regional influence, and now, with no more foreign armies on the ground, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region are arming their allies here with campaign money in place of weapons. The result is a race that is widely seen as the freest and most competitive to be held here in decades, with a record number of candidates taking part. But it may also be the most corrupt.
Votes are being bought with cash or in-kind services. Candidates pay their competitors huge sums to withdraw. The price of favorable TV news coverage is rising, and thousands of expatriate Lebanese are being flown home, free, to vote in contested districts. The payments, according to voters, election monitors and various past and current candidates interviewed for this article, nurture a deep popular cynicism about politics in Lebanon, which is nominally perhaps the most democratic Arab state but in practice is largely governed through patronage and sectarian and clan loyalty.
Despite the vast amounts being spent, many Lebanese see the race — which pits Hezbollah and its allies against a fractious coalition of more West-friendly political groups — as almost irrelevant. Lebanon’s sectarian political structure virtually guarantees a continuation of the current “national unity” government, in which the winning coalition in the 128-seat Parliament grants the loser veto powers to preserve civil peace.
Still, even a narrow win by Hezbollah and its allies, now in the parliamentary opposition, would be seen as a victory for Iran — which has financed Hezbollah for decades — and a blow to American allies in the region, especially Saudi Arabia and Egypt. So the money flows.
“We are putting a lot into this,” said one adviser to the Saudi government, who added that the Saudi contribution was likely to reach hundreds of millions of dollars in a country of only four million people. “We’re supporting candidates running against Hezbollah, and we’re going to make Iran feel the pressure.”
As it happens, Lebanon has campaign spending limits this year for the first time, and the Arab world’s first system to monitor that spending, by the Lebanese chapter of Transparency International. But the limits — which are very loose to begin with — apply only in the last two months of the campaign. And they are laughably easy to circumvent, according to election monitors and Lebanese officials.
Reformers have tried and failed to introduce a uniform national ballot, which could reduce the influence of money and make the system less vulnerable to fraud. Currently, political parties or coalitions usually print up their own distinctive ballots and hand them to voters before they walk into the booth, making it easier to be sure they are getting the votes they have paid for.
Some voters, especially in competitive districts, receive cold calls offering cash for their vote. But mostly the political machines work through local patriarchs known as “electoral keys,” who can deliver the votes of an entire clan in exchange for money or services — scholarships, a hospital, repaved roads and so on.
In a country where the average public school teacher earns less than $700 a month, these payments are a significant source of support for many communities. And because each seat in the Lebanese Parliament is designated by religious sect, the elections tend to reinforce the essentially feudal power structure of Lebanon, with a network of men from known families providing for each sect and region.
All the major political groups deny buying votes, which is illegal under Lebanese law, but election monitors acknowledge that it is a routine practice. “Since the 1990s, more money has been coming in,” said Paul Salem, the director of the Carnegie Middle East Center here. “Unfortunately, the system adjusts to that and in a way comes to expect it, especially among the poor.”
In fact, many poorer Lebanese look to the elections as a kind of Christmas, when cash, health-care vouchers, meals and other handouts are abundant.
The largess extends across the globe. From Brazil to Australia, thousands of expatriates are being offered free plane trips back home to vote. Saad Hariri, the billionaire leader of the current parliamentary majority and a Saudi ally, is reputed to be the biggest election spender. It may not have helped that he kicked off his campaign with a gaudy televised event that resembled the set of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” But members of his movement say that the accusation is unfair, and that their own money is outmatched by the hundreds of millions of dollars Iran has given to Hezbollah over the years.
One of them, however, recently broke with convention by acknowledging it openly. Ahmed al-Asaad, 46, said that Saudi Arabia’s government was a “significant source of support” for his campaign against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. He said his goal was to pull the Shiites of Lebanon away from Iran.
“I need tools to fight back, and if the Saudis have an interest in building a state here, why shouldn’t I take advantage of that?” said Mr. Asaad, an American-educated businessman, during an interview at his office just outside Beirut.
Candidates who do not ally themselves with a powerful patronage machine are almost unheard of here.
Walid Maalouf, a banker who worked briefly as a diplomat while living in the United States, is running an independent campaign on a shoestring budget, barnstorming from town to town in his mountain district. He says most people in the villages tell him he is the only politician who bothers to visit them. They are grateful, but he does not offer cash or patronage, and they are unsure what to think of him.
Recently, Mr. Maalouf said, he was trying to explain to a village leader that he should think of candidates as employees, not patrons — someone they would hire to represent them effectively in the government.
“He looked at me,” Mr. Maalouf recalled, “and then he said, ‘Go back to America.’ ”

Israel: Halt Iran to allow Mideast peace efforts
By AMY TEIBEL –
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Wednesday that Iran must be reined in if Israel and the Palestinians hope to move along the path to peace. Ayalon made it clear, however, that this was not an Israeli condition for going ahead with peacemaking, though Israel charges that Iran is the main backer of the violent Islamic Hamas rulers of Gaza as well as Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. "We should continue on the path of peace with the Palestinians as if there is no Iran threat," Ayalon told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. "Simultaneously, we should move forward on stopping Iran as if there was no Palestinian issue," added Ayalon, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Tehran is working hard to derail any possibility of effective peacemaking through its backing of anti-Israel militants in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Lebanon, he said. "Realistically and effectively, if we want to go on the path without additional obstacles and dangers to the process, we have to rein in Iran" because of its nuclear program, its dissemination of extremist ideology and its support of terrorism, Ayalon said.
"But this is not a condition for going ahead with the Palestinians," he said. Israel's new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has refused to back Palestinian statehood, putting him at odds with the Obama administration. Netanyahu sees defusing the Iranian threat as Israel's top strategic priority. Israel has long considered Iran its chief threat because of its nuclear program and development of ballistic missiles that could reach Israel, possibly with a nuclear warhead. Israel does not believe Tehran's claims that its nuclear program is meant to produce energy, not weapons. Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Time of imaginary champs
Date: April 23rd, 2009 Future News
Nothing makes the Iranian Regime more contented than Benjamin Netanyahu’s congratulations to the countries which interrupted the ‘Anti-Racism conference’ during the statement of President Mahmud Ahmedinejad; and, nothing pleases the Iranian President as the “procedural threats” Tel Aviv launches against Tehran.
Both Iran and Israel are in a “verbal” conflict at the expense of Arabs. They both benefit from the “propaganda war” between them.
Israel invests Nejad’s belligerence and his threat to “abolish Israel” to gain international compassion, enhance its economy, and evade the international pressure urging to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Whereas Iran continues to revive its imperial project through exploiting religious and political slogans to violate Arab states and their diversified cultural specificities and through abusing the public support which perceives Iran as a challenge to Israel.
Iran and Israel had never clashed directly. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards or the Iranian army had never attacked the Hebrew state.
No one has ever heard of an Israeli military or intelligence operation against Iranian targets, as what happened against martyr Khalil El Wazeer (Abu Jihad) in Tunisia, or the attack against the Iraqi “July Reactor” in 1981.
The mutual threats between Tehran and Tel Aviv are based on the Lebanese and the Palestinian blood. Iran fights through Hizbullah, and Israel responds by suppressing, and murdering the Lebanese and Palestinians.
Despite all of these facts, some dim people still applaud for the approach of the “date of confrontation” which probably will not occur as both Iran and Israel want to manipulate the Arab region and its resources on the backdrop of the ethnic sense of both states.
It is the time of imaginary champs, since the time of Syrian President Hafez El Assad, who lost the Golan heights when he was a Defense Minister and convinced skeptics that he was the leader of the “opposition approach”, till the current time of Ahmedinejad who practically does not do anything except “verbal escalation.”