LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 30/09

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6,35-40. Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you that although you have seen (me), you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it (on) the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him (on) the last day."
 

The Syrian-Iranian Mouthpiece General Aoun in an audio that must be seen
كل الحقيقة عن الجنرال عون بصوته وصورته/فيلم/اضغط هنا لدخول الصفحة  
The whole truth on Michel Aoun, by Michel Aoun himself/Click Here

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
The Arrogance of Bashar AlAssad/Future News 29/04/09
The anniversary of Syria's withdrawal has become a non-event in Lebanon- The Daily Star 29/04/09
Syria: UN Rules Dissident's Detention Illegal-Human Rights Watch (press release) 29/04/09
Terrorism: A Cultural Phenomenon/By:Turki al-Hamad  29/04/09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 29/09
Four Generals Leave Roumieh Prison following Tribunal's Decision-Naharnet
Lebanon Frees Four Generals Held in Hariri Killing-Wall Street Journal
Hariri: Ruling on Generals Is Proof of Tribunal's Impartiality
-Naharnet
Hizbullah Praises Generals' Release, Blames Authority for Lengthy Detention
-Naharnet
17 arrested in Curacao in alleged drug ring-Washington Post
Ben-Eliezer: Netanyahu will surprise us with 'serious' Syria talks-Ha'aretz
Hezbollah, allies positioning to win election-Washington Times
International Tribunal Orders Release of Four Generals for 'Lack of Evidence'-Naharnet
Fate of 4 Generals to be Announced Today: Will they Stay in Custody or Go Free?-Naharnet
Defense Strategy Talks Centered on Raad's Warning of Massive Israeli Maneuvers-Naharnet
Egypt Asks Interpol to Detain 3 Hizbullah Members-Naharnet
UN forces in southern Lebanon-Financial Times
Police Crack Down on Curacao Drug Ring with Ties to Hizbullah-Naharnet
Qahwaji: Military Takes Israeli Maneuvers Seriously, Ready to Confront Aggression
-Naharnet
Suleiman in London, Britain Lauds President's Role
-Naharnet
Another Israeli Spy Arrested in Sidon
-Naharnet
Soaid-Khoury Competition Ongoing in Jbeil
-Naharnet
Protesters Prevent Sison from Reaching School
-Naharnet
Raad: Lebanon Target in Massive Israeli Military Maneuvers on May 31
-Naharnet
March 8 Unveils Baalbek-Hermel List
-Naharnet
7th National Dialogue Session on June 1
-Naharnet
Lebanon Plans to Complain to U.N. About Israel-Linked Cells
-Naharnet
'Deliver Me, O My Lord, from My Friends' [Americans]-Worldmeets.us
Syria won't help Hizbullah or Hamas attack Israel - Assad-Daily Star
Lebanese leaders vow to maintain calm during polls-Daily Star
Constitutional Council seats remain vacant with elections approaching fast-Daily Star
Lebanon arrests another suspected spy for Israel-Daily Star
Hundreds protest as US ambassador visits south-Daily Star
Sleiman in London for talks with top British officials, meeting with queen-Daily Star
Italy funds project for Mount Lebanon development-Daily Star
Lebanese explorer first Arab to reach N. Pole-Daily Star
Renewable energy can prevent foreign influence - expert-Daily Star
LAU students highlight impact of climate change-Daily Star
'Vast human rights violations' took place in 2008 - NGO-Daily Star
Beirut is going crazy for books-Daily Star
Barak says Netanyahu will bend on two-state solution-Daily Star

Police Crack Down on Curacao Drug Ring with Ties to Hizbullah
Naharnet/Police from seven countries arrested 17 people in the island of Curacao Tuesday suspected of involvement in an international drug ring with links to Hizbullah, Dutch authorities said. The group is suspected of having traded in some 2,000 kilograms of cocaine per year, the Dutch prosecution service said in a statement.
"The group shipped containers with cocaine from Curacao to the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Jordan," it said. "From Venezuela, containers with drugs went to West Africa and then to the Netherlands, Lebanon and Spain. Carriers smuggled the cocaine as airline passengers from Curacao and Aruba into the Netherlands."
The proceeds were allegedly invested in several countries, said the statement. "The organization had international contacts with other criminal networks that financially supported Hizbullah in the Middle East. Large sums of drug money flooded into Lebanon, from where orders were placed for weapons that were to have been delivered from South America."The suspects were from Curacao, the largest of the Dutch Antilles islands, as well as from Venezuela, Colombia, Lebanon and Cuba, said the statement.The arrests were the result of a joint operation between the police and judicial authorities of Curacao, the Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia, Venezuela and the United States.(AFP) Beirut, 29 Apr 09, 08:08

Four Generals Leave Roumieh Prison following Tribunal's Decision

Naharnet/Lebanon released on Wednesday four generals who had been held for nearly four years without charge over the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri following a ruling by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The four were escorted separately out of Roumieh prison on the outskirts of Beirut in a convoy of vehicles after The Hague-based STL said there was insufficient evidence to charge them.
Speaking from their respective homes after their release, the generals said they had been vindicated by the court and insisted they had nothing to do with Hariri's 2005 murder in a massive car-bombing that also killed 22 others. "Four generals were freed today but the only remaining inmate is Rafik Hariri and his jailer is Lebanon's justice system," security services director Jamil Sayyed told a crowd of cheering supporters outside his home that included several MPs from Hizbullah.
Saad Hariri agreed to "exchange his father for the sake of politics. He embraced people who do not want the truth to be uncovered," he said, referring to al-Mustaqbal Movement leader. "I thank everyone who stood by us, and above all Hassan Nasrallah," he said, referring to the head of Hizbullah. "Never in the history of Lebanon have people been jailed for four years with no charge or evidence." In the ruling, the tribunal's first since opening its doors on March 1, pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen granted a request by prosecutor Daniel Bellemare who said the available evidence was "not sufficiently credible" to hold the generals.
The men "cannot at this stage of the investigation be considered as either suspects or accused persons," said Fransen in a decision broadcast live on Lebanese television and via an Internet webcast. "As a result ... they do not meet the conditions to be placed in provisional detention."
The four have been detained in Lebanon since 2005, but are legally in the custody of the tribunal since Beirut relinquished its jurisdiction in the Hariri case this month following the official opening of the STL in March. They are the former head of the presidential guard, Mustafa Hamdan, 53, security services director Jamil Sayyed, 58, domestic security chief Ali Hajj, 52, and military intelligence chief Raymond Azar, 56. Fransen said a key witness had retracted a statement that initially incriminated the generals, undermining the case against them. Bellemare said in court he would not appeal.
So far, Bellemare has not indicted anyone and has not identified any other suspects in the 2005 suicide bombing. But he vowed to continue his investigation.
"Not only should people understand that the investigation is bigger than the case of the four officers, they should also understand that should any of the investigative leads direct us back to them with sufficient credible evidence I will seek their detention and indictment," he said in a statement.
Fransen instructed the Lebanese authorities "immediately to take the measures necessary to ensure the safety" of the four generals, and to free them without delay.
"We worked to establish this tribunal, we have complete confidence in this tribunal and we must therefore abide by all its decisions," Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar told AFP. Interior Minister Ziad Baroud said before their release: "We have ordered immediate measures be taken to free the four generals and see them home safely."
Lawyers for the generals said the decision was four years too late. "After 44 months, justice has been done and it should have been 43 months ago," Naji Bustany, counsel for Hamdan and Azar, told AFP. Bustany welcomed Wednesday's ruling saying Fransen and Bellemare had shown objectivity and fairness in their decision.
"This is the result I was waiting for a long time ago," Hajj's lawyer Issam Karam told AFP. "I followed the case from the onset and there is nothing in the file that implicates the generals." After the decision, celebratory gunfire broke out in the southern suburbs of Beirut while relatives of the four generals wept with joy.(AFP-AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 29 Apr 09, 08:33

Hariri: Ruling on Generals Is Proof of Tribunal's Impartiality
Al-Mustaqbal movement leader Saad Hariri on Wednesday welcomed a U.N. court ruling ordering the release of four generals detained since 2005 in connection with the assassination of his father, ex-Premier Rafik Hariri. "The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is now responsible for what happens after its decisions, which we accept and respect," Hariri said in a televised press conference. He said Wednesday's ruling proved that the court was "impartial and was not politicized." "What has happened is a clear declaration that the international tribunal has started work and it will reveal the truth," Hariri said. "We will not undermine the tribunal by criticizing its work in order not to serve those who stand to lose" from its rulings, the MP said. "We do not want revenge. All we want is justice." Hariri stressed that Wednesday's decision did not mean the end of the tribunal's work. "This court is here to stay and is not up for bargaining," he said. "Those who should be fearful today are the killers and no one else." The four generals were released Wednesday after The Hague-based tribunal ruled there was insufficient evidence to keep them in custody.(AFP-Naharnet)
Beirut, 29 Apr 09, 19:31

Hizbullah Praises Generals' Release, Blames Authority for Lengthy Detention
Naharnet/Hizbullah welcomed Wednesday a U.N. court ruling ordering the release of 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. "The detention of the four generals is a major scandal in the history of the country, and exposes those who hold the logic of vengeance and monopoly," of power, it said. The high-ranking officials are the former head of the presidential guard, Mustafa Hamdan, 53, security services director Jamil Sayyed, 58, domestic security chief Ali Hajj, 52, and military intelligence chief Raymond Azar, 56. Wednesday's decision to release the officials "should be a significant juncture in the life of the country and the citizens," Hizbullah said, adding that "it served as a blunt condemnation to the authority."
Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah, speaking from Sayyed's house where many well-wishers had gathered, said it was clear from the onset that the case against the four was politically motivated. "We had hoped that the Lebanese would have the courage and conscience to apply the law rather than their political calculations," he told reporters. "This should be a day of joy and celebration for all Lebanese and a day of mourning for the country's judiciary."(Naharnet-AFP)
Beirut, 29 Apr 09, 20:00


Egypt Asks Interpol to Detain 3 Hizbullah Members

Naharnet/Egyptian authorities were trying to identify the real names of three Hizbullah members who supervised the work of the so-called Hizbullah cell in order to give their names to the Interpol to detain them and hand them over to Cairo. The daily Al Mustaqbal quoted sources close to the investigation as saying that confessions made by detained suspects have revealed the names of the three wanted Hizbullah members: Mohammed Qabalan, Abbas and Abu Hassan.
Egypt was expected to announce by Sunday the indictments in the Hizbullah cell case, according to al-Akhbar newspaper. It said the indictments were unlikely to include the name of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Beirut, 29 Apr 09, 10:12

International Tribunal Orders Release of Four Generals for 'Lack of Evidence'
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon ordered Wednesday the release of four Lebanese generals held for nearly four years without charge over the assassination of Lebanon's ex-premier Rafik Hariri. "The pre-trial judge orders, unless they are held in another case, the release with immediate effect" of the four generals, judge Daniel Fransen said in a decision broadcast live to Lebanese television and via an Internet webcast. Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare handed his recommendations on the generals' fate to Fransen on Monday. Bellemare found that "evidence was not enough to continue the detention of the four officials." Fransen said the four will "be kept under strict security measures to ensure their safety."
He also said Article 62 stipulates that suspects "cannot be arrested unless charges were confirmed by a judge." The prosecutor has 24 hours to appeal to the ruling, and the generals a week. If the judge decides to keep them in jail, tribunal rules allow for suspects and their lawyers to address the court via video conference.
The decision was broadcast live on television in Lebanon, where it is eagerly awaited in political circles, as well as through an Internet webcast. Neither journalists nor the public were allowed to attend the tribunal's first-ever sitting. The generals have been detained in Lebanon since 2005 but are legally in the custody of the tribunal since Beirut relinquished its jurisdiction in the Hariri case this month following the official opening of the STL in March.
They are the former head of the presidential guard, Mustafa Hamdan, security services director Jamil Sayyed, domestic security chief Ali Hajj and military intelligence chief Raymond Azar. The four men were detained following the massive February 2005 bomb blast on the Beirut seafront that killed Hariri and 22 other people.
"If the generals are kept in detention or released there will probably be someone in Lebanon who will make the best use of this in the electoral competition," Lebanese Information Minister Tarek Mitri said. A U.N. investigative commission has found evidence that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services were linked to Hariri's killing. Damascus has consistently denied any involvement. Fransen's decision will have no bearing on the general's guilt or innocence, and they can still be indicted at a later stage. Under Lebanese law, which also guides the activities of the STL, suspects detained for crimes perceived to threaten national security can be held indefinitely without charge. Jamil Sayyed's attorney Akram Azouri told AFP that if Bellemare had recommended the release of one or more of the generals and the judge concurs, they would be freed immediately. Mitri said that the Lebanese government would abide by any decision handed down. "If you support the tribunal, you support its independence and you respect its decisions no matter what they are," he said. No date has yet been set for the tribunal's first trial. Lebanon supplied a list of those detained for Hariri's murder to the tribunal earlier this month, and Bellemare has stated he would only file indictments once convinced that he had enough evidence.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 29 Apr 09, 08:33

Defense Strategy Talks Centered on Raad's Warning of Massive Israeli Maneuvers
Naharnet/Just like the previous sessions, national dialogue talks on Tuesday did not tackle the main issue – Defense Strategy.
Discussions, instead, centered on a warning by Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad that Israel will undergo a massive military maneuver May 31 – June 4, only days ahead of the parliamentary elections. Raad on Tuesday said Lebanon must go on high alert in anticipation of Israel's largest-ever military maneuvers which are scheduled to kick off May 31. "Lebanon is one of Israel's targets during the exercises. The country must be fully prepared for such an emergency," Raad told the national dialogue session. He distributed extensive literature on the operation dubbed "Turning Point 3" with details on targets, scenarios and steps to counter a possible threat.
The daily An Nahar on Wednesday said several dialogue participants saw Raad's warning an indication that Hizbullah will this time go to war with Israel after having informed Lebanon about the likelihood of a possible confrontation -- unlike in 2006 when the Shiite group took the decision to meet head-on with the Israeli army without prior permission from the Lebanese government. "This time Hizbullah has alerted everyone about the Israeli maneuvers and the developments that could occur as a result of those maneuvers," one dialogue official told An Nahar. Lebanese army commander, meanwhile, assured that his troops were ready for any Israeli offensive. "The military takes seriously and with great caution the Israeli military maneuvers mentioned by Hizbullah representative during (Tuesday's) national dialogue session," Qahwaji said. Beirut, 29 Apr 09, 11:11

Fate of 4 Generals to be Announced Today: Will they Stay in Custody or Go Free?
Naharnet/3 p.m. Wednesday is the deadline for the international tribunal to announce its decision whether to release or keep in custody the four Lebanese generals held for nearly four years without charges over the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Daniel Fransen, the pre-trial judge of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon based in The Hague, is set to make public his decision in a broadcast transmitted live on Lebanese television and in an Internet webcast.
Neither journalists nor the public will be allowed to attend the tribunal's first-ever sitting when Fransen reads his decision.
Fransen can either follow the recommendations of the STL's prosecutor Daniel Bellemare which were submitted earlier this week but have not been made public, or issue a different ruling. A U.N. investigative commission has said there was evidence that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services were linked to Hariri's killing. Damascus has consistently denied any involvement. The ruling will also carry political impact as it comes ahead of a crucial legislative election in June which will see the current parliamentary majority headed by Hariri's son Saad fight it out with a Hizbullah-led alliance.
"If the generals are kept in detention or released there will probably be someone in Lebanon who will make the best use of this in the electoral competition," Information Minister Tarek Mitri said. The daily As Safir on Wednesday quoted well-informed sources as saying that the four generals are more likely to be awarded freedom but placed under house arrest. The STL's decision is eagerly awaited in Lebanese political circles as the court has been at the center of a tug of war between Lebanon's pro- and anti-Syrian factions. The four generals are Jamil Sayyed, the General Security chief and probably the most powerful Lebanese under Syrian dominance, police chief Ali Hajj, the army intelligence chief Raymond Azar, and the head of the Presidential Guard Brigade Mustafa Hamdan. They allegedly met to plot the killing of Hariri. Al Akhbar newspaper for its part carried different viewpoints in this regard.
It quoted former Justice Minister Samir Jisr as saying that the generals are kept in detention as suspects and that the decision to release them or keep them in custody has nothing to do with their conviction or their innocence. "The final decision is issued by the international tribunal," he said.
Head of Beirut Bar Association Ramzi Jreij agreed, stressing that Fransen "cannot deal lightly with such decisions."
Professor of international law at Georgetown University Daoud Khairallah, however, expressed doubt over the continuation of the generals' detention, saying they are likely to be freed but not allowed to leave Lebanese territory. Fransen's decision will have no bearing on the general's guilt or innocence, and they can still be indicted at a later stage. Under Lebanese law, which also guides the activities of the STL, suspects detained for crimes perceived to threaten national security can be held indefinitely without charge. Jamil Sayyed's attorney Akram Azouri told AFP that if Bellemare had recommended the release of one or more of the generals and the judge concurs, they would be freed immediately. The prosecutor would have 24 hours to appeal to the ruling, and the generals a week. If the judge decides to keep them in jail, tribunal rules allow for suspects and their lawyers to address the court via videoconference. Mitri said that the Lebanese government would abide by any decision handed down. "If you support the tribunal, you support its independence and you respect its decisions no matter what they are," he said. No date has yet been set for the tribunal's first trial. Lebanon supplied a list of those detained for Hariri's murder to the tribunal earlier this month, and Bellemare has stated he would only file indictments once convinced that he had enough evidence.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 29 Apr 09, 08:33

UN forces aim to ease tensions in Lebanon
Naharnet/April 29 2009
The Financial Times Limited 2009
“Tae-kwon-do, tae-kwon-do,” shout the dozens of children and teenagers jumping around in white uniforms, kicking their feet in the air in a hall in the southern Lebanese village of Burghliyeh.
Under the instruction of Sergeant Bang Yong-jin, a South Korean peacekeeper in the United Nations forces that patrol the Lebanese border with Israel, they shout numbers in a language they don’t speak, performing a sport they had never heard of, from a country they would not have been able to find on a map.
“Unifil” forces have patrolled this area for 30 years, since the early days of the civil war. But troop numbers have more than tripled to 15,000 since the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbollah, the armed Lebanese Shia movement with strongholds in the south.
UN forces in southern Lebanon View full-size slideshow
Extra troops have been deployed since the Israeli assault on Hamas, Hizbollah’s ideological ally in the Gaza Strip earlier this year. Numerous salvos of rockets have since been fired into Israel from Unifil-patrolled areas, and Israel has retaliated by sending rockets back.
The situation remains tense, with the airborne to-and-fro underlining the continued need for a foreign presence in this tinderbox.
With contingents coming from countries as diverse and Nepal, Ghana, Indonesia and France, the rural villages in some ways feel even more international than famously cosmopolitan Beirut.
Laundries are emblazoned with “Lavanderia” signs and restaurants offer “Unifil shish kebab”.
Just as the Koreans teach taekwondo, the Spanish offer language lessons, the Italians hold cooking classes, and the Indians give yoga and English courses.
“When you walk into a shop they often greet you with ‘ola, que tal’,” says Lieutenant Manuel del Hoyo of the Spanish battalion, whose headquarters are at Base Cervantes near the town of Khiam, heavily shelled in 2006.
Studying Spanish has become fashionable across the country as a whole, and those in the south are taking advantage of the opportunities to converse with native speakers.
“This region is a closed one, so we wouldn’t usually have the opportunity to learn a language like this,” says Sister Emily Tannous, who is learning Spanish when she is not running the Sacred Heart School near Khiam.
Not everyone is so happy about the large foreign presence, which some residents view another occupation.
“The rockets fired from the south into Israel [this year] are evidence that Unifil is not fulfilling their job well,” says Nadia Ramadan, a Shia lawyer from the village of Froun.
Stephanie Hajj, a Christian nurse, adds that if Unifil troops were doing their job properly, “they would definitely have caught” the people firing the rockets before they launched them.
Regardless of its impact on security, Unifil’s presence has certainly helped boost the economy of an area that suffered widespread devastation during the 2006 fighting.
It has played a large part in reconstructing southern Lebanon, building roads and water pipes, and clearing unexploded ordnance. This helped bring record numbers of holiday-makers to the area last summer.
The troops also represent a sizeable market for local shopkeepers and restaurateurs.
“A shop selling cheap Chinese stuff has opened across the road. Sometimes we go over there to buy stuff we don’t even need, just for the fun of going out,” says Chief Warrant Officer Roberto Maddedu of the Italian contingent. With 2,200 troops, Italy is the biggest contributor to Unifil.
“This is an opportunity for the local population to increase the level of their economy,” he says.
Arguably the most popular of the 15,000 Unifil troops is Lieutenant Colonel Satvir Singh, a vet who tends to the livestock that many families rely on for income as well as food. He has treated 20,000 animals in the 10 months that he has been in Lebanon.
In the Bastra Farms area, under an Israeli border post, Lt Col Singh recently visited Ismail Nasser and his flock of 300 goats. Mr Nasser brought him the sick goats and Lt Col Singh treated the weeping eye of one with an injection, before giving antibiotics to another with an injured hoof.
“I give my full thanks to this vet,” Mr Nasser says as he holds one of his injured goats still. “This year he has taken care of many cases for me and solved a problem of miscarriages among my flock.”
The Indian vet had also provided him with medicine that would have cost $500 if Mr Nasser had gone to the private veterinary clinic 30km away.
“This is all about bonding with the local population,” says Colonel GP Singh, head of the Indian battalion. “It’s the healing touch to show our concern and that we care about them.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009

Qahwaji: Military Takes Israeli Maneuvers Seriously, Ready to Confront Aggression
Naharnet/Lebanese Armed Forces Commander General Jean Qahwaji said: "The military takes seriously and with great caution the Israeli military maneuvers mentioned by Hizbullah representative on [Tuesday's] national dialogue session." Qahwaji reiterated to the daily an-Nahar, the Lebanese military readiness in confronting any aggression adding that the army remains in contact on this issue with the political leadership. He added that his recent trip to Washington was important, a first for Lebanon's armed forces commander. Qahwaji said that he did not request added U.S. military aid, but indicated U.S. officials continued commitment in supporting the Lebanese military. "Any U.S. military assistance to Lebanon should be unconditioned," Qahwaji said, adding that he assured his U.S. hosts that Lebanese military armor; equipment and arms would not fall into hands outside the Lebanese armed forces. Regarding his recent visit to Egypt, Qahwaji said that talks focused on the importance of the Lebanese military's role in extending legitimate state authority over all Lebanese territory. He denied news that he was asked by Washington and Cairo to disarm Hizbullah. "Hizbullah is a continued resistance pending an end its cause," Qahwaji said. The daily as-Safir quoted an unnamed U.S. state department official saying the United States has "mechanisms that guarantee Hizbullah would not obtain U.S. military aid given to the Lebanese armed forces."
eirut, 29 Apr 09, 11:21


'Vast human rights violations' took place in 2008 - NGO
May 7 clashes and poor prison conditions cited by report

Daily Star staff/Wednesday, April 29, 2009
BEIRUT: The year 2008 was characterized in Lebanon by grave human rights violations, a non-governmental organization said in a new report. Continuing Israeli infringements, widescale impunity for sectarian violence, abominable prison conditions and a lack of government initiative to uncover the fate of thousands of missing Lebanese all contributed to making 2008 "The Year of Vast Human Rights Violations," The Khiam Rehabilitating Center for Victims of Torture (KRC) said in its annual report of the same title, which was released this month.
The organization, which supports victims of torture and the families of missing Lebanese, lamented the government's decision to close the files on some 17,000 Lebanese who disappeared during the Civil War. A Lebanese-Syrian Committee established in 2005 to investigate the 640 Lebanese thought to be detained in Syrian prisons had not shown "any results," KRC said, labeling the government's lethargy a "disgrace."
Lebanese civilians were still falling victim to cluster bombs left by Israel during the summer 2006 war, said KRC. In the last 48 hours of fighting, Israeli warplanes dropped 4 million cluster bombs over southern Lebanon, but over 500,000 failed to explode. KRC urged the Lebanese government to prosecute Israel for damages and to pay compensation to the 288 Lebanese civilians who had been wounded by cluster munitions since the war's end.
The organization also noted Israel's ongoing violations to Lebanese sovereignty, detailing the cases of several civilians who had been kidnapped along the border area.
KRC meanwhile bemoaned Lebanon's growing sectarian divisions, making special reference to the May 7 clashes, when Hizbullah and its allies briefly took over parts of Beirut. At least 65 people were killed in the fighting, but there have been no investigations into the deaths and almost none of the perpetrators of violence prosecuted. May's fighting "brought back scenes from the civil war," KRC said, noting the setting up of "mobile militia checkpoints that stopped citizens for their political affiliations."
The organization also expressed regret for continuing impunity and called for the formation of a judicial committee to try all perpetrators of violence, saying that the current culture of impunity would "encourage perpetrators to repeat their violations." The report also noted concern for celebratory gunfire and detailed the deaths or injuries of seven Lebanese civilians, including a child, by gunfire following political speeches.
KRC called for a total abolition of Lebanon's sectarian system, which it said was a primary cause for national animosity.
Living conditions in Leban-ese prisons remained pitiful, the report noted, adding that Lebanon has still not presented the United Nations with a report on the issue due in 2001.
Zahle prison had no heating in winter, despite being 1,150 meters above sea level, said KRC, adding that inmates at the prison slept cramped rooms akin to "sardine cans." It quoted a report by Parliament's Human Rights Committee, which called Zahle prison "unsuitable for use as a pen for animals."
It referred to Lebanon's prisons as "time bombs" that would explode immediate reforms weren't introduced, citing increasing prison riots as proof. - The Daily Star

Syria won't help Hizbullah or Hamas attack Israel - Assad
By Andrew Wander

Daily Star staff
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
BEIRUT: Syrian President Bashar Assad pledged on Tuesday that neither Hamas nor Hizbullah would attack Israel with his country's help, but has said that the return of the Golan Heights is a "non-negotiable" condition to relations between Damascus and Tel Aviv being normalized.
Assad told the London-based Arabic newspaper Ash-Sharq al-Awsat Syria would not allow Hamas or Hizbullah to launch attacks on Israel from Syrian territory. "They both will never attack Israel through Syria under any circumstances," he said.
The two groups should not be linked to fledgling peace talks between Israel and Syria, Assad said, insisting that only the return of the Golan Heights would allow the negotiations to bear fruit.
Assad added that Syria and Israel were at the "closest point ever to a peace agreement."
However, Assad rebutted Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's assertion that peace talks were now based on "peace in exchange for peace" rather than the return of occupied land.
Assad warned that there would be "no peace" if this approach was adopted. "We could sign a peace deal without returning the land, but in such a situation there will be no peace and we won't be able to normalize the relations," he said. "Naturally we won't accept this under any circumstances. There is no such thing as peace for peace."
He also accused the Israelis of derailing the peace process by launching their military offensive against the Gaza Strip at the end of last year. "They attacked Gaza and thwarted everything," he said.
While distancing the activities of Hamas and Hizbullah from the Syrian-Israeli peace negotiations, Assad used the interview to wholeheartedly reject Cairo's accusations that Hizbullah was planning to attack targets in Egypt.
"Hizbullah has no reason to do this and it has denied that," he said. "They said they have nothing against Egypt or Egyptians," Assad added."What's Hizbullah's aim behind this?"
Egypt has arrested a group of 49 men whom it accuses of being members of a Hizbullah cell tasked with carrying out attacks on targets in the country. Hizbullah admits that one of the men is a member of the group, but says his mission was to arrange for the transfer of arms to Hamas in Gaza, not to launch attacks against Egypt.
Assad also said he had "no expectations" for the findings of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) tasked with investigating the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
He called for the tribunal to include authorities in Damascus in its investigations.
"There is an agreement between the STL and the Lebanese government," he said. "A similar deal should be cut with Syria if there is anything concerning a Syrian - whether he was guilty or innocent, any Syrian without exception."
Many in Lebanon believe Syria and its allies were behind the car bombing in Downtown Beirut that killed Hariri in 2005. Damascus has consistently denied the charges, which it says are politically motivated.

Syria: UN Rules Dissident’s Detention Illegal
Free Kamal Labwani, Rights Activist Serving 12-Year Sentence After Unfair Trial

April 29, 2009
Other Material: Syria: Rights Activist Detained After Travel Abroad
"The UN's finding confirms that Dr. Labwani should not be in jail...We hope that the Syrian authorities will respect the UN's decision and free him immediately."
Maureen Thomas, a retired teacher in the United Kingdom who knew of his plight and petitioned the UN Working Group to review his detention (London) - Syrian authorities should immediately free Dr. Kamal Labwani, a prominent political and human rights activist, following a UN finding that his detention is arbitrary and thus unlawful, a group of leading human rights organizations said today. The groups called on nations engaged in dialogue with Syria to make the release of Dr. Labwani and other activists a priority.
In March 2009, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the body mandated to investigate complaints of arbitrary deprivation of liberty, released its opinion that Dr. Labwani's imprisonment since November 2005 constituted arbitrary detention. The Working Group concluded that Dr. Labwani "had been condemned for the peaceful expression of his political views and for having carried out political activities" that are protected under international law. It also deemed that his trial was unfair.
"The UN's finding confirms that Dr. Labwani should not be in jail," said Maureen Thomas, a retired teacher in the United Kingdom who knew of his plight and petitioned the UN Working Group to review his detention. "We hope that the Syrian authorities will respect the UN's decision and free him immediately."
The groups that issued the joint statement are: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (a joint program of the World Organisation Against Torture and the International Federation for Human Rights), and ACAT France.
Dr. Labwani, a physician, is the founder of the Democratic Liberal Gathering, a group of Syrian intellectuals and activists who advocate for peaceful change in Syria. Security forces arrested him on November 8, 2005, upon his return from a two-month trip to Europe and the United States, where he had met with government officials, journalists, and human rights organizations. During his trip, he appeared on the pan-Arab Al-Mustaqilla and Alhurra television networks and called on the Syrian government to respect fundamental freedoms and human rights.
On May 10, 2007, a Damascus criminal court convicted Dr. Labwani of "communicating with a foreign country and inciting it to initiate aggression against Syria" and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. It was the harshest sentence imposed on an advocate of peaceful reform since President Bashar al-Assad took power in 2000.
Dr. Labwani's trial was marred by interference from state security agencies. Prosecutors added the charge of "communicating with a foreign country and inciting it to aggression" while the trial was under way, after the head of National Security wrote to the minister of justice asking him to add this accusation to the lesser charges that the General Prosecutor's Office had initially filed.
The UN Working Group decision noted that there had been serious violations of due process in Dr. Labwani's trial, including "the circumstances [of his] arrest and detention," his "minimal access to lawyers," his lack of opportunity to "present witnesses on his behalf," the fact that he was not "interrogated on the new serious charges brought against him at the end of the trial," and the fact that the court "did not consider the evidence presented by the defense." It concluded that "his judicial process seems having [sic] been grossly unfair and fundamental exigencies of due process of law were not respected."
"The UN has called the detention of Dr. Labwani and other dissidents in Syria illegal," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "It is now up to the UN member states, and especially countries like France and the US that are currently engaged in a dialogue with Syria, to make the release of these dissidents a top priority."
During the trial, Syrian security agencies frequently harassed Dr. Labwani's lawyer, Anwar al-Bunni. Al-Bunni was himself sentenced on April 24, 2007, to five years in prison on charges unrelated to Dr. Labwani's trial but apparently intended to punish al-Bunni for his own political and human rights activism and defense of detained dissidents.
An additional three years of imprisonment was handed down to Dr. Labwani on April 23, 2008, after a military court found him guilty of the vaguely worded and widely interpreted charge of "broadcasting false or exaggerated news which would affect the morale of the country," in connection with comments he reportedly made in his prison cell.
The Working Group's opinion on Labwani is the latest in a series it has issued declaring detentions of political and human rights activists, among others, in Syria to be violations of international law. In 2002, the Working Group declared arbitrary the previous detention of Dr. Labwani and that of nine others arrested in 2001 for their peaceful advocacy of reform during the "Damascus Spring" period, which flourished briefly after Bashar al-Assad became president.
In May 2006, the Working Group released its conclusion that Riad Drar, an activist serving a five-year sentence for making a speech at the funeral of a prominent Kurdish Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ma`shuq al-Khaznawi, was being detained arbitrarily. The UN experts said his trial was unfair and that Drar had been convicted merely for exercising his right to free expression. In May 2008, it declared the detention of human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni and seven young men involved in a peaceful discussion group to be arbitrary.
In March 2009, the Working Group declared the detention of another human rights defender, Nizar Ristnawi, to be arbitrary. Ristnawi is currently serving a four-year prison term for "spreading false news" and "insulting the President of the Republic" after a member of the security services overheard a conversation he was having on human rights and other issues.
"UN experts have once again concluded that the Syrian authorities have locked up an advocate of peaceful reform on the basis of spurious security-related charges," said Philip Luther, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International. "Stifling dissent in this way is totally unacceptable."

The Arrogance of Bashar

Date: April 29th, 2009 Source: Future News
Who reads the interview of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to ‘Alsharq Al-Awsat’ daily bursts into laughter, and feels the urge of getting prepared for violence sessions that would only take place on our land and on the expense of the Lebanese and Palestinians. Bashar tells ‘sabotaged’ facts which the Lebanese hopelessly try to forget.
Assad had nothing new to say, and seemed like debating a companion, he found no solution for the struggle with Israel but fighting through the Lebanese and Palestinians, and did not mention his requests from the international society.
Strikingly, he comforted the Hebrew state that “Hizbullah” and “Hamas” will not mount strike on its lands from Syria, and stressed what we were familiar with for the last thirty years: the Lebanese or some of them, and the Palestinians are just tools for the Syrian regime, and their blood and wealth are invested only for liberating the lands of the Golan occupied for more than 40 years.
What was strange is that Al-Assad delegated himself on behalf of “Hizbullah” saying that the latter has no demands from Egypt. But during his interview, the Syrian President declared that this party is not related to the Syrian pathway. So how does he allow himself what he forbids others from? And since his country is the only basis to decide its path, why isn’t this allowed to Egypt, Lebanon and Palestine? Or does victory belongs to him while loss and the violation of sovereignty is ours, similar to what happened during July war year 2006, the day he called for investing victory in the Lebanese interior, which repercussion lead to invading Beirut.
Bashar pretends that he resists Israel, but his claims dropped at the Lebanese and Palestinian people. And this is due to the Syrian mismanagement and for the Lebanese and Palestinian luck. Both latter cannot forget what the Syrian regime committed, and how it traded their causes to renew its insurance policies to prevent any international and ethical questioning about its violence and dictatorship.
What’s remarkable about the arrogance of the Syrian regime is the confession of its leader that he offered the Turkish mediator to auspice the demarcation of the borders with the Zionist entity before the negotiations indicate any serious positive signals.
A question is posed: how does Al-Assad allows himself to demarcate the borders in the occupied lands of Golan with the Israel enemy under Turkish auspices, while at the same time, he refuses to demarcate the borders in Shebaa farms with Lebanon under the auspices of the United Nations.
A question waiting for an answer.

The whole truth on Michel Aoun, by Michel Aoun himself
Date: April 28th, 2009 Source: mediArabe.info
A particularly interesting video, that retraces the history of general Michel Aoun and that passes his course, his machinations and his suicidal politics, with a fine-toothed comb has just been achieved and on line setting on Youtube.
To some weeks of the legislative elections due on June 7, this documentary would constitute a piece of conviction to send general Aoun in jail, for high treason, or of the less to take him definitely out of the political landscape. Any other men worthy of this name would pull a bullet in the head. But the general's cowardice that pushed him to run away first, on October 1990, prevents him of doing so!
This documentary of one hour and quarter, achieved by" Zemma & Lemma Movies ", titled" the Michel Aoun Project - 1988-2009 ", retraces the General's course since his nomination to the head of the interim government, in 1988, while passing by his first war of liberation, lost against the Syrian occupation; then his second suicidal war against the Lebanese Forces, consistent by his defeat; to end with his return in Lebanon in 2005 thanks to an agreement concluded with Syria, Damascus having used him, since, to cover Hezbollah...
The video stresses on the General's dictatorial leaning that takes the liberty to insult his adversaries, to silence the journalists, to threaten the medias and to qualify the Lebanese of "sheep". The documentary explains how the general serves the Syrian and Iranian strategy, and covers the politics of the Hezbollah since his return from exile (2005). He assured the cover of Hezbollah in 2006 thanks to his document of understanding the party in February 2006 (some months before the war of July-August).
The video underlines how Aoun and his partisans paralyzed the country between December 2006 and June 2008, how they justified the political murders and cleared the presumed assassins, how they contributed to the riots and other violence in January 2007... How his course continued with his visits to Tehran and Damascus, and how he turned the page with the occupant and forgetting his partisans that disappeared in the jails of his new allies...
In a word, the documentary shows a suicidal general who doesn't have any place at the Parliament.
S.T
To watch the video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3733250393313583537
To download the video:
http://www.mediarabe.info/Michel_Aoun_Project.flv