LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 02/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 3,7-15. Do not be amazed that I told you, 'You must be born from above.' The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."Nicodemus answered and said to him, "How can this happen?" Jesus answered and said to him, "You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this? Amen, amen, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony. If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Westminister Notes Arab-Israel Tension-Dar Al-Hayat. 01/04/08
Turkey's latest political crisis puts those of its neighbors to shame-The Daily Star. 01/04/08
Arab summit: Big words, little substance-Middle East Times. 01/04/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 01/08
Muallem: Syria Rejected Bargain Offer over Hariri Tribunal-Naharnet
Fatfat: Arab League Focuses on Holding Emergency Session on Lebanon-Naharnet
Fatfat: Arab League Focuses on Holding Emergency Session on Lebanon-Naharnet
Ads with an agenda: Lebanon's battle of the billboards-AFP
Iran Incites Cold War With US in Lebanon Roiled by Hezbollah-Bloomberg
Israeli Arab accused of spying for Hezbollah-Reuters
Lebanese majority leader denounces Syria as "the first title for ...Xinhua
Sfeir condemns Lebanon's 'crumbling institutions' as result of political crisis-Daily Star
IDF tracker charged with 'aiding Hezbollah against Israel-Ha'aretz
No more visits by Moussa until Arab foreign ministers meet - Fatfat-Daily Star
Graziano 'still waiting' for Israeli pullout from Ghajar-Daily Star
Labor calls strike for May 7 to press Beirut for higher wage-Daily Star
UN 'completes' formation of Hariri tribunal-Daily Star
US official meets local leaders to discuss law enforcement -Daily Star
Lebanon kicks off vaccination program against measles, rubella-Daily Star
Study links exposure to war with mental disorders-Daily Star
Sidon holds 'rally paper' as Batroun stresses road safety-Daily Star
Some call it a dead animal, others call it art--Daily Star
Norwegian ambassador sees NGO projects in North-Daily Star
Analysts say crisis could drag on for another year-By IRIN News.org
Ministry for the Displaced receives LL10 billion for Chouf village-Daily Star
Tourism Ministry moves to close 20 pubs in Gemmayzeh after residents complain -Daily Star
Labor calls strike for May 7 to press Beirut for higher wage-Daily Star
Where's the beef? Not in Cairo-AFP
Abbas to meet Olmert next week for resumption of stalled peace talks-AFP
US and Lebanon discuss security assistance-Jerusalem Post
Aoun Criticizes Saniora for Boycotting Damascus and Participating in Dakar-Naharnet
Jumblat Calls for Toppling the Syrian Regime-Naharnet
U.S. Law Enforcement Official Visits Lebanon-Naharnet
Hamade: Dialogue would be Held only Under an Elected President-Naharnet
Khoja Warns of Grave Situation if Arab Initiative Collapsed-Naharnet
Assad: We Should Not Build High Hopes on Summit-Naharnet
Lebanon's top Shiite cleric bans attacks against public utilities ...The Canadian Press
A snub for Syria-International Herald Tribune
Hamas leader says Israel is exaggerating militant group's strength -International Herald Tribune
Saudi FM Rejects Claims Of Saudi Attempt To Isolate Syria-MEMRI
Abbas to Meet Olmert on April 7-Naharnet
Top Turkish Court to Put Ruling Party on Trial-Naharnet
Israelis to Spend Less Time on Army Reserve Duty-Naharnet
Sadr Fighters Disappear from Iraq's Streets-Naharnet
Palestinian Leader to Visit Moscow in April-Naharnet
Rice Pushes Israel to Remove Roadblocks-Naharnet
Meshaal: Captured Israeli Soldier Alive-Naharnet

U.S. Law Enforcement Official Visits Lebanon
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, David T. Johnson discussed with Lebanese officials Washington's support for the rule of law, a U.S. Embassy statement reported Monday.
Johnson held separate talks on Sunday and Monday with Prime Minister Fouad Saniora, Minister of Interior and Municipal Affairs Hassan Sabaa, Director General of the Internal Security Forces, Achraf Rifi, Director General of General Security, Wafiq Jazzine, and Internal Security Forces (ISF) General Robert Jabbour.
Johnson reaffirmed the "United States' steadfast support of Lebanon and discussed the ongoing $60 million ISF assistance program, which is helping the ISF enforce the rule of law and protect the Lebanese people within their sovereign state," according to the statement.
The multi-year U.S. Government assistance program to the ISF is focused on training, equipment donations and infrastructure development. American police advisors are working with their Lebanese colleagues to train police recruits and instructors in modern police practices, administration, democratic policing, human rights, criminal investigations and other essential law enforcement skills.
U.S.-sponsored training also assists Lebanese police advisers in drafting curriculum and training police recruits, skills which are essential for the sustainability of the program, the statement added.
The U.S. Government has been assisting the ISF in its development since October 2006 through several programs.
Such programs have provided 3000 sets of civil disorder management equipment to the ISF Mobile Forces, 60 new sports utility vehicles and duty gear to 4000 cadets in various ISF units, and new academy classrooms, offices and equipment with which to provide training.
Over the next three months, 300 new police cars will be delivered, and the program will finance the establishment of a state-of-the-art central Command and Control Center in Beirut with technologically advanced communications equipment, computers and software, the embassy statement said.
Ten additional police substations will be refurbished throughout Lebanon, with the ultimate goal of providing communications connectivity to the entirety of the ISF, it added. The statement noted that the "professional development of the ISF is critical for Lebanon's sovereignty and security."
It reaffirmed that the U.S. Government is "committed to supporting Lebanon, the ISF, and the Lebanese people. U.S. assistance to the ISF is an important part of the United States' contribution to these efforts." Beirut, 31 Mar 08, 16:56

Interview with Sheikh Samy Gemayel, son of former President Gemayel
The Lebanese are left to choose their own path and destiny
By: Manuela Paraipan
01 Apr 2008
Sheikh Samy Gemayel, son of former President Gemayel
Exclusive WSN- interview with Samy Gemayel conducted by Manuela Paraipan, WSN Editor “Broader Middle East”
WSN: We met in 2005 to discuss Lebanon's political situation. What has changed and what has stayed the same since that time?
Samy Gemayel: Let's make a brief panorama of the current situation. I will start with the things that changed. No Syrian occupation. This is a major change.
The Lebanese are left alone to try to build their country even if a part of the population is still under Syrian influence or attached to Syrian interests and views. This is based on their free will. Nobody is pointing a gun at the Shiite population to defend Syria. They could be taking the same stance as “March 14”, but they are not doing it(“March 14” is the alliance between the Sunni Future Movement led by Saad Hariri, the Christian Lebanese ForcesParty led by Samir Geagea, the Druze Progressive Socialist Party of Wallid Jumblatt, the Christian Kataeb Party- Lebanese Phalanges – led by Amine Gemayel. “March 14” has been labelled as a pro-West group, close to USA, Saudi Arabia and few European countries). For different reasons and maybe we'll talk about it later, why Hezbollah has this attitude and why the population follows Hezbollah.
The Lebanese are left to choose their own path and destiny. In previous years, it was the Syrians and not the Lebanese that chose the political course for us. We feel that we have much more freedom today, to say whatever we want, to have the political language that we want. There is no oppression of any kind today. The politically correct language is the only restraint. Maybe if you talk outside the box, you cannot be part of the alliances or you cannot be in the front line with all the great leaders we have today, but no one is putting you in jail for your views.
WSN: You have freedom at the people level. Do you have freedom - politically speaking - at the highest level? Like the freedom to elect the president?
SG: We have freedom. However, nowadays we have a conflict between factions and parties.
The Lebanese population is divided on the crucial issues. And the Lebanese constitution, which is a consensual one based on consensual democracy, is made so that decisions cannot be taken without consent. This is why we have this situation today, not because someone is preventing us from taking decisions. Because our political system is based on consent. If you do not have it, you cannot go further. This is the problem.
WSN: You have two blocks: “March 14” and “March 8”(“March 8”is the alliance between the Christian Free Patriotic Movement(FPM) of General Michel Amoun, the Shia Amal Party of Speaker Nabih Berri and the Shia Hezbollah of Sheik Hassan Nasrallah. (“March 8” has been labelled as pro-Iran and pro-Syria)
What are the most important matters the blocks cannot agree upon?
SG: In all the countries in the world, the majority rules and the minority is in the opposition. When a majority wins, it forms a government and the government is free to make all the decisions it wants, as long as it has the blessing of the parliament. In a normal country, things work like that. In Lebanon, the government cannot be formed unless all the Lebanese religious communities or community parties are represented. There is no opposition.
What I am saying is that we cannot today elect a president or do any institutional process if one of the communities wants to veto the institutions, to block the institutions. Every community today has the power to do so. This is consensual democracy. There are strict rules for the presidential elections. Two thirds of the members of parliament must be present in order to validate presidential elections. In other words, if more than a third of the deputies don't want the elections to be held, then the elections cannot be held.
We cannot make any decisions without the approval of the principle communities, the Druze, Christians, Shiia and the Sunnis.
WSN: What other issues are there in addition to the presidential elections?
SG: The international tribunal was and still is one very important matter that divides the two camps. Even if the tribunal was voted and is now in the hands of the UN, there are still ways of interfering in the process of the international tribunal. It is a half-international, half-Lebanese tribunal. You have Lebanese judges, therefore in a way the process can be slowed down or maybe stopped by any change in the country. Perhaps the minister of justice can ask the judges to retire and as such the tribunal can be blocked.
The question of Hezbollah’s weapons is another matter opposing the two camps. And the relations with Syria. “March 14” has a view on these issues that “March 8” does not share. “March 14” accuses Syria of perpetrating all the assassinations in Lebanon in the past years. The opposition says that the Israelis did it.
In all countries, there is a diversity of views. You resort to the people, to the parliamentary elections and people decide what they want. They take side with one party or the other and then the winning party has the right to implement its policies. In Lebanon this is not the case. In order to rule, you need the blessing of the opposition. This is blocking the institutions. The consensual democracy and the political regime are the core problems. The current crisis is proof of what I said to you in 2005.
WSN: How do you see the role of Christians in this conflict?
SG: Christians should have their own realistic and objective views. You have to say on the one hand that Hezbollah should be disarmed, that the Syrian regime should be brought to justice for all the acts it perpetrated in the last 30 years, for bombing the country, for assassinating personalities for the past 30 years. On the other hand, Christians should be asking for the international tribunal and also for more participation in the government. They have to be more aggressive regarding their rights. Christians should adopt the good slogans from both camps and be very strict when it comes to Hezbollah's arms, the international tribunal, Lebanese sovereignty, independence and freedom and the alignment with the West. At the same time, they should ask for more rights and a better electoral law that would ensure a fair representation for them.
WSN: What do you think of the law from 1960 and the Fuad Boutros alternative?
SG: The Foud Boutros law is a very good one, although it is not easy for the population to understand because it mixes the proportional system with the majority system. It needs more clarification and awareness campaigns at the local level.
WSN: For the time being, would the 1960 law work?
SG: The law of 1960 is better than the law adopted today, but we think it is not sufficient. We want to have three deputies by area, and thus smaller constituencies. With the 1960 law you have bigger areas.
WSN: Have you had talks about this law with March 8?
SG: No. Not yet. We think that the talk about the electoral law is a diversion from electing the president. We don't want to divert the focus from the presidential elections to something else.
WSN: Will you have a president before the summit?
SG: You should ask someone who reads the moon and stars.
WSN: There have been talks on this matter for a long time now. Is there agreement on who should be the next president?
SG: Officially everyone agrees on the person.
WSN: Then what is the problem? The March 8 requests?
SG: At first they asked for a consensus president, they did not ask for anything else. When we agreed, they started to put up more conditions and ask for more - from the formation of the government, to minister distribution, the electoral law, the president of the government and this can go on and on.
This is why we think they do not want elections to he held.
WSN: We talked about Hezbollah’s weapons. Has there been a discussion as to how to disarm Hezbollah? Any new developments on the matter? I know Nabih Berri initiated the talks in 2006, then the war broke out and everything stopped.
SG: We never reached an agreement on this problem. This is a delicate subject for “March 8”. They do not want to talk about it.
WSN: Then this is not a subject on the table?
SG: It is on the table. It’s just that “March 8” does not want to talk about it.
We should start by not complying with their requests. We should start a political debate on the matter of the weapons and let the Lebanese people decide what to do about them. After the July war and taking into consideration what Hezbollah is doing today, I believe that the people of Lebanon are convinced that we cannot continue to tolerate a militia that remains outside the control of government decisions.
WSN: Did “March 14” enter into a defensive mood? And if it did, why? In 2005 you had momentum - everyone backed “March 14” - but then something happened and “March 14” started to step back.
SG: We wanted to remove Lahoud from office. That was the situation back then. Today, we are paying the price for the bad decisions that were taken a few years ago.
WSN: It appears that Lebanon is being used by various countries regionally and internationally in their struggle for power and influence in the region. What are your thoughts on this?
SG: You have the regional conflict today opposing Sunni and Shiia in all of the Middle Eastern countries. The United States and Europe are concerned because oil is crucial and so is the energy exported from the region.
That's why this conflict is very important for the West and that's why everybody is putting their nose into the current crisis. What we have in Lebanon is a small example of the whole picture. If the Shiia win, Iran will have the upper hand and alongside it, Syria. If the Sunni win, Saudi Arabia will be the winner. Maybe 50% if not more of the current crisis is a consequence of a much larger conflict at greater level.
WSN: It has then gone beyond being a national crisis. That makes it more difficult for the Lebanese to make decisions for themselves.
SG: It would have been easier without the problems that we have at the regional level. However, this is an internal problem based on the problem of power sharing between communities.
WSN: The international, regional and national problems are then intertwined?
SG: It has always been like this in Lebanon. When the war started in 1975 between the Palestinians and Christians, it was pushed by the United States and by Israel. The Kissinger plan was to settle the Palestinians here.
The eternal division along sectarian lines (Christian and Muslim) was added to the Kissinger project. In 1958 when Gamal Abdul Nasser brought Egypt and Syria together to form the United Arab Republic and tried to pull Lebanon into this plan, there were also conflicts between Muslims and Christians on the identity of Lebanon. One way or another, it is always the division between the Lebanese that has been exploited by regional powers. If the Lebanese were united and really close to each other, the regional problems would have little or no consequence on our internal affairs.
WSN: In your opinion, do you see any solution being adopted anytime soon?
SG: No.
WSN: Things will remain status quo?
SG: Yes, status quo until there is change on a certain level - regional, international or maybe internal.
http://www.analyst-network.com/article.php?art_id=1915

Ads with an agenda: Lebanon's battle of the billboards
BEIRUT (AFP) — Hours after Hezbollah commander Imad Mughnieh was killed, huge billboards of his burly face stencilled like the iconic Che Guevara portrait or a photo of him in battle fatigues were printed and ready to display all over Lebanon.
Pictures of this man on America's Most Wanted list are among the first images to greet visitors to the country, lining the road from the airport to downtown Beirut.
Farther inside the capital, assassinated former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, on his own or flanked by his son and political heir Saad, looks down from larger-than-life posters adorning city buildings.
The picture changes again in the northern town of Bsharre, this time with vast signs showing Christian leader Samir Geagea. In the eastern Bekaa region, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and other Shiite leaders are the poster of choice.
Images of political players -- dead or alive -- are omnipresent in Lebanon. They are plastered on bridges, electricity poles, cars and just about every standing structure in a battle of the billboards mirroring the deep political divide that has paralysed the country for more than a year.
"The political crisis allows for this sort of advertising... and there are many messages you can spread much faster on billboards than through political speeches," Mohammed al-Amin, managing director of Impulse, which rented Hezbollah the billboard space for the Mughnieh campaign, told AFP.
Energy that once went into recruiting militiamen now fuels advertising firms run by the parties themselves, which like the fighters of the 1970s and 1980s have carved their own niche in Beirut and elsewhere to bombard citizens with this modern weapon.
One of these is Ressalat, a Hezbollah-funded organisation that handles advertising and cultural events for the militant group.
Like any ad firm, Ressalat's creative director Mohamed Noureddine and his team hunkered down after Mughnieh's killing in a car bombing in Damascus in February to come up with a sophisticated campaign.
"We came up with a stencil of him so that people can remember him like they do Che Guevara," Noureddine said. "This guy sacrificed his life and it is his right to be recognised and for people to see his picture."
Al-Amin said for the Mughnieh campaign Hezbollah rented the entire network of billboards along the airport road and within the group's stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut at a cost of at least 100,000 dollars.
Across town at Allied Advertising, which handles publicity for the ruling March 14 coalition, managing director Karim Diab also has a special team that enters crisis mode if a political figure is assassinated or a political event needs to be commemorated.
"Unfortunately whenever anybody dies we work," Diab said. "Every time someone is assassinated we automatically begin a campaign so that the person's blood is not spilled in vain.
"We want that person to be in the minds of people."
The team has been kept busy since the February 2005 assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri and a slew of other murders and political events that have shaken Lebanon and also left it without a president since November.
Depending on the area, the photos on display reflect the country's protracted crisis which has pitted the Western-backed government against the Hezbollah-led opposition backed by Syria and Iran.
But the advertising war is not to everyone's liking. It is seen by some as a stain on the country's image and as a constant reminder of the tense political situation.
"The first thing that visitors see on arrival in any country is the airport and the road leading to town, which are a sort of calling card," said Tourism Minister Joseph Sarkis.
"But unfortunately in recent years, with Hezbollah becoming more powerful politically and the fact that the road leading to the airport is in an area they control, we have started seeing ads that glorify the resistance... and pictures of Hezbollah leaders and martyrs."
He said that while the group had a right to express its views, the airport road was not the proper place to do so.
"Such publicity is not in tune at all with what a tourist would like to see on arrival in Beirut," Sarkis said. "These are not exactly very welcoming images."
He said that although the government could order that posters and billboards put up illegally be torn down, it had chosen to look the other way pending an improvement in the political situation.
That would not be soon enough for many Lebanese, who are tired of being bombarded with images of political leaders at every turn.
"All these posters and images make for a very ugly environment," said one doctor who lives in Beirut. "They are just a sign that we are an under-developed country with people subservient to a group of political families."

Westminister Notes (Arab-Israel Tension)
Al-Hayat
31/03/08//
Even by the standards of the region the present tension between the Palestinians and the Israelis has reached a remarkably dangerous level, and beyond powerful players wait and watch, calculating when might be the most opportune moment for their intervention.
A shocking action by one side, such as the recent tightening of sanctions on Gaza and the recent rocket attacks on Southern Israel, is followed a few days later, after time for hurried preparations, by a shocking action by the other side.
On the 6th March a Palestinian gunman Ala Hashem Abu Dhaim, 25, from Jabel Mukaber in East Jerusalem killed 8 students in a Jerusalem seminary. I presume the Mercaz Herav yeshiva, which is well known for its national religious Zionism, had been carefully chosen. The attacker, who was well supplied with ammunition, was no doubt disappointed he failed to kill more students in the library and elsewhere. He was shot by an off-duty Army Officer who is an occasional student at the Jewish religious school. Like many Israeli men, this Officer carries a weapon at all times in Jerusalem. It was the first major attack in that historic city for four years.
Alarmingly, there was talk of the starting of a third intifada in Israel and the far-right settler movement there claimed they had been targeted, and vowed to build a new settlement in the West Bank to mark the death of each student killed. Of course, this was a direct challenge to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has been severely criticised by the Winograd Inquiry over the war against Hezbollah and who faces new sleaze charges. The Prime Minister relies on the religious right to maintain his groggy Coalition Government. The religious right is contemptuous of the Annapolis peace talks and is concerned they are going nowhere. It would be equally critical if it thought they were going somewhere!
In Europe insufficient attention is given to the illegal settlements which are at the heart of the Arab-Israel dispute. The Palestinians point out correctly that day after day the settlements are expanding on Palestinian territory. The Israeli Government has just approved the construction of 750 housing units at the West Bank settlement of Giv'at Ze'er near Jerusalem.
Hamas at first claimed responsibility for the attack on the seminary, and then denied Hamas was involved. There is the suggestion that it was a joint effort by Hamas and Hezbollah to avenge the alleged assassination of a senior Hezbollah commander by Israel, and Israel's vicious incursion into Gaza. Hezbollah flags were flown at the funeral of Ala Hashem Abu Dhaim, the gunman at the seminary.
Israel's military incursion at the end of February into the Gaza Strip, only 35km by 10km, containing 1.5m desperately poor residents, many living in crowded, muddy at this time of year and miserable refugee camps, led to what have been the bloodiest days since this intifada began seven years ago. Some 125 Gazans were killed, and over half that number were innocent civilians unconnected with the rocket attacks over the border into Israel. A number of children died, including a 21-month-old baby.
President Mahmoud Abbas broke of talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert over Gaza. However within days, and presumably under considerable pressure in private from the Americans, he changed his mind. An elderly technocrat lacking popular support, he is in an increasingly difficult position. It could be asked, what is the point of a Palestinian President sitting in the West Bank if he does not keep a diplomatic channel open to the United States and Israel? Neither the Palestinian Authority nor secular Fatah have much to show after months of talking to Israel. The Israeli Prime Minister has mentioned returning more Palestinian prisoners, but Ehud Barak, Israel's Defence Minister, has spoken of bringing down the Hamas Government in Gaza.
Condoleezza Rice, the American Secretary of State, during her visit to the region, avoided pointing the finger. Sensibly, she is encouraging Egypt to mediate with Hamas over a ceasefire. I have thought for sometime Egypt could be in a position to make progress with Israelis and Gazans. An Arab League summit is due shortly in Damascus, and the State Department will be hoping Arab countries will seek to advance the Annapolis peace process.
Against this troubled background it must be possible that Hezbollah, with Iranian and Syrian support, will want to work closely with Hamas, which is being supplied by Tehran with better rockets, and step up its operations against Israel.
The international community, while being horrified by recent events in the Middle East, should not be entirely surprised. Since 1967 Israel has been allowed to keep that which it holds after conflict. America's influence is fading, that of Iran in increasing, and Iraq has played its part in this process

Muallem: Syria Rejected Bargain Offer over Hariri Tribunal
Naharnet/Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said a bargain offer was made to Syria to exchange the International Tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri with presidential elections in Lebanon. Muallem said Damascus rejected the deal. "The court has been used as a political tool," Muallem told the ANB television channel late Monday."We have an interest to reach the truth. We want to know the truth," Muallem stressed.
"Since the court issue is politicized, this is another matter," Muallem explained. "We do not accept political pressure as long as the tribunal is politicized."
"Bargain offers were made to us that went unnoticed and did not get our attention," he told ANB. "We were told 'facilitate presidential elections (in Lebanon), and we will terminate the tribunal,'" Muallem said. He said offers such as imposing years-long freeze on the court and prevent tribunal financing were among the bargains.
"We do not enter into such bargains," Muallem said. "Syria's stand from the Lebanon crisis has nothing to do with the tribunal."
He said "success" of the Arab summit held in Damascus over the weekend will "increase Syria's foes." On the Arab League initiative to end the ongoing political crisis that has pitted the Lebanese government against the Hizbullah-led opposition, Muallem stressed the need to "implement" the three-point Arab plan.
Consensus over the election of Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman as president was "over and done with," the Syrian foreign minister said, adding that it was now time to agree on "the basis" of forming a national unity government. "Then implementation starts by electing a president and setting up a national unity cabinet," Muallem said. Beirut, 01 Apr 08, 09:11

Fatfat: Arab League Focuses on Holding Emergency Session on Lebanon
Naharnet/Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Fatfat said in remarks published Tuesday that Arab League chief Amr Moussa will not return to Beirut until Arab foreign ministers hold an emergency session to discuss the strained Lebanon-Syria relations.
"I don't think that Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa will return to Lebanon any time soon," Fatfat told The Daily Star.
"There is nothing much to be said or done before Arab foreign ministers meet to address the issue of Lebanese-Syrian relations," he added.
Meanwhile, Ali Hamdan, Speaker Nabih Berri's media adviser, said Berri has started initiating contacts and holding consultations in preparation for a possible all-party national dialogue.
"Berri promised he will pursue such dialogue in the light of the outcome of the Arab summit, whose final statement urged Lebanese parties to reach consensus on the disputed issues," Hamdan told The Daily Star.
"Consensus can only be pursued through national dialogue and this is what Berri is looking for," he added.
The Daily Star also quoted well-informed governmental sources as saying that the presidential vacuum was likely to persist until 2009, "unless some miracle occurs."
"Electing a president by simple majority is no longer an option and so is the restoration of the government," one source told The Daily Star.
Beirut, 01 Apr 08, 11:05

Iran Incites Cold War With U.S. in Lebanon Roiled by Hezbollah
By Janine Zacharia
April 1 (Bloomberg) -- When David Welch, the U.S. State Department's top Middle East envoy, wakes each morning, he asks himself, ``Is everything OK over there?'' ``Over there'' is Lebanon, caught in a political stalemate that is putting American officials and much of the Arab world on edge. During six months of paralysis in electing a Lebanese president, Iranian and Syrian support for the Shiite Muslim party, Hezbollah, has flourished while the U.S. has tried to keep its Sunni ally, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, from being ousted. In this contest is the danger that Lebanon may turn into a full-fledged battleground in the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran, which is allied with Syria to derail Lebanon's fragile democracy. The possibility of bloodshed within Lebanon's sensitive patchwork of Sunnis, Shiites and Christians recalls the civil war that savaged Beirut from 1975 to 1990, killing thousands of Lebanese and hundreds of Americans, too.
Syria and Hezbollah ``are all Iranian cards in the cold war with the U.S.,'' Mouafac Harb, a Beirut-based Lebanese- American political consultant, said in a Washington interview. Iran is arming Hezbollah with long-range missiles that are being trucked across Syria's border, according to U.S., British and Israeli officials. Iran has also funneled at least $50 million to Hezbollah-linked organizations ``that support acts of violence,'' Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt said in a Feb. 8 speech.
Warships, Humvees
The Bush administration has been pushing unsuccessfully for Hezbollah to be disarmed in accordance with a United Nations resolution that ended the group's 2006 war with Israel. It has positioned American warships off Lebanon's coast and is delivering U.S. Humvees and ammunition to the Lebanese army.
``Lebanon is the battlefield'' in a ``fierce struggle,'' says Fawaz Gerges, an expert on Islamic militancy at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. ``The country stands at the brink of another major conflict.'' The 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah illustrates how quickly one violent incident -- a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on Israeli soldiers -- might escalate. Hezbollah fired Iranian-made rockets into Israel during the conflict.
Oussama Safa, director of Beirut's Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, says Iran's influence in Lebanon ``is part of a conflict with the U.S. across the region,'' and in Lebanon, ``Iran plays the role of spoiler without much cost.''
Syrian Dominance
The dispatch of American warships was meant to signal to Syria and Iran that their interference in Lebanon won't be tolerated, U.S. officials say. Syria dominated Lebanon during a 29-year occupation that ended in 2005 amid protests over the murder of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.
To combat Iranian and Syrian influence in Lebanon, the U.S. has made some unusual allies. One is Samir Geagea, a Maronite Christian aligned with Siniora who was sentenced to death for crimes committed during Lebanon's civil war and later pardoned. He now runs Lebanese Forces, a party with its roots in the militia he headed. Last month, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice welcomed Geagea in Washington.
U.S. assistance to the Lebanese military soared to more than $320 million last year from less than $1 million in 2005. The Bush administration pledged an additional $770 million at a Paris donors' conference to rebuild Lebanon following the 2006 war.
`Score Political Points'
Still, the U.S. has made little headway in isolating Syria and Iran, Gerges says. ``The opposition, led by Hezbollah, has used the deployment of U.S. warships to score political points against the pro-Western governing coalition,'' he says. Arab allies of the U.S. are also concerned. Saudi Arabia and Egypt sent lower-level officials rather than heads of state to the March 29 Arab League summit in Damascus to reflect their discontent with Syria for helping Iran grow its foothold in Lebanon. Syria invited Iran to the gathering. To keep Lebanon in a state of political disarray, Syria is working with Hezbollah -- Party of God in Arabic -- to prevent a vote for president in Lebanon's parliament, U.S. officials and analysts say. Balloting has been postponed 17 times and is now scheduled for April 22.
The Bush administration is concerned that if the presidential stalemate goes on, Lebanon will begin to fracture.
``We're trying to organize it so everybody will be supportive of the current government, so there's a new president and so that the political crisis'' doesn't escalate, Welch says. ``It's already grave enough as it is. We don't want to see an economic or social crisis, and by social, what I mean is sectarian.''
Deadly Bombing
In an echo of Lebanon's past violence, an American embassy car was targeted in a January bombing that killed three Lebanese bystanders.
Whether Lebanon again descends into chaos might depend on whether Iran and Syria retaliate against U.S. and international sanctions imposed to thwart Iran's nuclear program. ``If the Iranians and the Syrians feel the heat, then the chances of a major confrontation in Lebanon are higher,'' Harb says.
For Welch, the worry of Lebanon becoming a battlefield again is intertwined with personal experience. In 1983, as a young diplomat in Washington, he was in charge of monitoring the country. There are still ``two opposing forces in the region,'' he says. The U.S. and its allies ``would propose to resolve their conflicts'' through negotiation, while Iran, Syria and Hezbollah favor resistance and believe ``patience in combination with violence will win out.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Janine Zacharia in Washington at jzacharia@bloomberg.net Last Updated: March 31, 2008 20:13 EDT

Lebanese majority leader denounces Syria as "the first title for terror"
www.chinaview.cn 2008-04-01
BEIRUT, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese majority leader Walid Jumblat called Monday for confronting and toppling the Syrian regime which he described as "the first title for terror." Jumblat, also leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, made the call in an editorial of his party's weekly magazine to be issued Tuesday.
"Everyone knows that the Syrian regime is hindering the solution of the Lebanese crisis", said Jumblat, adding that the only objective of Syrian regime is to "practise programmed sabotage" in neighboring states. In addition, he described the Damascus summit held on March 29-30 as "dim that lack political vision."
The 20th Arab summit was staged in Syrian capital of Damascus. The Lebanese cabinet boycotted the summit and urged Arabs to tackle the deteriorating Lebanese-Syrian relations. Relations between Syria and the ruling majority coalition in Lebanon have been deteriorating since the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Feb. 14, 2005. The Lebanese majority bloc has accused Syria of being responsible for the Hariri assassination, which forced Syria to pull out its troops from Lebanon after 29-years military presence. But Damascus has repeatedly denied the accusation.

IDF tracker charged with 'aiding Hezbollah in war against Israel'
By Fadi Eyadat, Haaretz Correspondent
An indictment was submitted to the Haifa military court on Monday against an Israel Defense Forces tracker who was accused of divulging military intelligence to Hezbollah in order to facilitate the smuggling of illicit drugs from Lebanon into Israel. The indictment included charges of treason, aiding an enemy during wartime, contact with a foreign agent, conspiracy to commit a crime and "assisting an enemy in a war against Israel." The indictment reveals that between December 2007 and February 2008 Louai Balut made contact on several occasions with a Lebanese citizen named Elias Hazbani, who is a member of the Lebanon-based guerilla group Hezbollah. The indictment adds that the defendant used cellular phones to contact two other Lebanese citizens, Abu Hassan and Abu Ali, who also belong to the militant group. During that time, the indictment continues, the defendant gave Abu Hassan "secret code, a password, recognizable signals or numbers of IDF forces, IDF positions, locations of IDF equipment, military orders regarding operations and movements and other important details in reference to the military."
Balut was also charged with conspiring to commit a crime by contacting Lebanese citizens and an Israeli citizen, Nazareth resident Abed al-Baset Zuabi, in order to commit crimes relating to import, export and drug trafficking from Lebanon into Israel. Israel fought a 34-day war with Hezbollah in 2006 and, though a UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon has since been expanded, tensions remain high. Balut denied the charges against him. "I committed no treason. I am loyal to the state of Israel," he told Army Radio at Haifa Military Court. He hinted to reporters that several people had lured him into committing the crimes, but didn't say whether those people were Israeli or Lebanese. "I have never imagined I would find myself in a situation such as this. I didn't smuggle drugs, I didn't betray my country, I only killed terrorists. I am hurt and pained," he said. Balut's attorney, Tammy Ullman, said that in cases like these, the court usually opens the indictment with serious charges, and ultimately acquits "with a whimper" that doesn't even get a headline in the media. Ullman also said that the prosecution has refused grant her access to the evidence

Israeli Arab accused of spying for Hezbollah
Mon Mar 31, 2008
JERUSALEM, March 31 (Reuters) - An Israeli court-martial charged a military tracker from the Jewish state's Arab minority on Monday with spying for Lebanon's Hezbollah. Military sources said Sergeant Louai Balut was indicted for passing Hezbollah guerrillas information by telephone about Israeli troop deployments along the Lebanese border. He also took part in cross-border drug deals, according to prosecutors. Israel fought a 34-day war with Hezbollah in 2006 and, though a UN peacekeeper force in south Lebanon has since been expanded, tensions remain high. Balut denied the charges. "I committed no treason. I am loyal to the state of Israel," he told Army Radio at Haifa Military Court. Arabs make up about 20 percent of Israel's population and, while they seldom take up arms, at times voice sympathy with Hezbollah and Palestinian militant groups based in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli security forces are vigilant when it comes to drug trafficking from Lebanon, fearing smuggling routes could be used for militant attacks. Two Arab Israelis were arrested last week on suspicion of receiving 32kg of pure heroin that was thrown over the frontier fence by Lebanese accomplices, police said. (Reporting by Dan Williams, Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Sfeir condemns Lebanon's 'crumbling institutions' as result of political crisis
By Maroun Khoury -Daily Star correspondent
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
BKIRKI: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir voiced regret on Monday over what he described as "the crumbling of institutions" in Lebanon, saying the Lebanese no longer know how to get out of the current crisis. Speaking before journalists in Bkirki, Sfeir reiterated his denunciation of the ongoing presidential vacuum and inoperative Parliament. "What is the benefit of repairing the government by adding one or two ministers while there are resigned ministers who act at their discretion?" he asked. According to the prelate, the responsibility to elect a new president "starts with officials inside the country and ends with officials on the outside.""A president should be elected before discussing any other issue and this responsibility falls upon everybody, maybe on the Christians because they are divided," Sfeir said. About the outcome of the Arab summit held in Damascus in the weekend, Sfeir said: "It is early to comment."
Asked if the Syrian influence in Lebanon is stronger now than in the past when Syria had military presence in the country, Sfeir said that the Syrian Army had withdrawn from Lebanon but its influence "is still present in a stronger way and with other means."
Commenting on Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's call to hold a new dialogue table, Sfeir said that holding talks around a dialogue table "is more useful than doing so in the street," hoping that no security disorders occur again.
"A war starts with a word," Sfeir added.
Meanwhile, Higher Shiite Council vice president Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan urged the opposition and loyalists on Monday to hold an "extended" meeting with Berri and discuss ways to resolve the current political standoff. "Politicians are called to be wise and rational in order for them to reach agreement over all crises plaguing the country, given that there is not any Lebanese party that wants to eliminate or marginalize the other," Qabalan said.
Reiterating his "surprise" over Lebanon's absence from the Damascus summit, Qabalan said: "The summit has made achievements on the level of Arab solidarity and common Arab work." "Damascus was, and is still, at the heart of the Arab world where it had embraced all Arab causes," Qabalan added. "It was and is still the fortress of steadfastness against the Zionist project." Qabalan urged Arab leaders to cooperate and settle their discords through dialogue. He also urged them to take an interest in the fate of the poor, needy and sick.

No more visits by Moussa until Arab foreign ministers meet - Fatfat
Aoun says opposition has made more than its share of concessions
By Hussein Abdallah -Daily Star staff
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
BEIRUT: Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Fatfat told The Daily Star on Monday that the Arab League's efforts in the coming weeks will focus on holding an emergency session for Arab foreign ministers to discuss the strained relations between Beirut and Damascus. Premier Fouad Siniora on Friday had urged Arab foreign ministers to hold such a meeting. "I don't think that Arab League chief Amr Moussa will return to Lebanon any soon," Fatfat said.
"There is nothing much to be said or done before Arab foreign ministers meet to address the issue of Lebanese-Syrian relations," he added.
But Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's media adviser, Ali Hamdan, told The Daily Star on Monday that Berri has started initiating contacts and making consultations to prepare for a possible national dialogue that will group the feuding parties. "Berri promised he will pursue such dialogue in the light of the outcome of the Arab summit, whose final statement urged Lebanese parties to reach consensus on the disputed issues," Hamdan said.
"Consensus can only be pursued through national dialogue and this is what Berri is looking for," he added.
Well-informed governmental sources on Monday said the presidential vacuum was likely to persist until 2009, "unless some miracle occurs."
"Electing a president by simple majority is no longer an option and so is the restoration of the government," one of the sources told The Daily Star.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak insisted in talks with his Algerian counterpart, Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika, on Monday that a solution in Lebanon would ease strained ties between Arab states, his spokesman said. "Inter-Arab relations ... are not passing through the best of times ... Lebanon is the stepping stone to improving these ties," spokesman Suleiman Awad quoted Mubarak as saying.
Mubarak was among several heavyweight US-allied Arab leaders, including Saudi King Abdullah, who boycotted the summit in Damascus, which they blame for blocking a presidential election in Lebanon. Meanwhile, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun Monday criticized Saudi Arabia for blaming the Lebanese political crisis on the opposition. "I don't understand the Saudi position, especially since the opposition has openly agreed on implementing the Arab initiative," Aoun told reporters at the end of a weekly meeting for his Reform and Change parliamentary bloc.
Saudi Arabia recently blamed the opposition for Lebanon's protracted crisis. Aoun said the opposition has already made many concessions and cannot afford to eliminate itself. He criticized Siniora for "adopting double standards."
"Siniora justified his boycotting of the Damascus summit by saying that such a summit should only be attended by a Lebanese president."
"What about the Islamic summit in Dakar? Why didn't he boycott this summit too?" Aoun asked.
The retired general also argued that no foreign party is capable of exerting pressure on the Lebanese opposition: "We are ready to talk to everybody, but no party can force us to act against our national interests."
Commenting on the nonparticipation of MP Michel Murr in the bloc's meeting, Aoun said that neither Murr nor any other bloc member was invited to take part in the meeting. "The meeting is scheduled every week. We don't issue invitations unless there is an extraordinary meeting."
This is the second bloc meeting that Murr has not attended. The Metn MP appears to be at odds with the bloc's position on the presidential election.
Meanwhile, Siniora on Monday received a call from Moussa and later met with the Saudi and Russian ambassadors.
Siniora discussed with Moussa the outcome of the Arab summit, which was boycotted by the Lebanese government.
The Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, Abdel-Aziz Khojah, said after meeting Siniora that Moussa is likely to return to Lebanon to pursue the implementation of the Arab initiative to end Lebanon's crisis. "I am quite sure that Lebanese politicians will sit together and overcome their differences," he said.
Russia's ambassador to Lebanon, Sergey Bukin, warned against foreign meddling in Lebanese affairs, echoing an earlier statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin. "There is a need to elect a new president for Lebanon as soon as possible," he said. "The Arab ini-tiative on Lebanon is still there and it is backed by the Arab and international community." "We hope that Moussa continues his efforts to reach a settlement in Lebanon," he added.
Also on Monday, Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader MP Walid Jumblatt lashed out at Syrian President Bashar Assad, accusing him of controlling the Lebanese opposition and instructing it to block Lebanon's presidential election.
"I don't think that Syria is committed to implementing the Arab initiative to end Lebanon's crisis," Jumblatt said.
In comments to his party's Al-Anbaa weekly newspaper, Jumblatt criticized Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem for saying that the solution to Lebanon's political crisis should be made in Lebanon. "Moallem's statement sounds good, but does not reflect the reality," he said. "Everybody knows that the Syrian regime is responsible for blocking solutions in Lebanon." Jumblatt accused Damascus and its allies in Lebanon of blocking all initiatives to end the country's protracted crisis.
"They did their best to obstruct the formation of the international tribunal to try suspects in the murder of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri," he said.
Jumblatt praised what he called Saudi Arabia's balanced and moderate role in Lebanon.
"Saudi Arabia has always stood side by side with the Lebanese people in the face of many challenges," he said.
Amal MP Ali Hassan Khalil said on Sunday that Berri would continue his efforts to help Lebanon end its political crisis. "The Lebanese are more responsible than ever for tackling the crisis by themselves." He said the Lebanese should not wait for external powers to help them end the crisis. He added, however, that regional and international crises may hamper a settlement. "The opposition's discourse and policies will remain the same before and after the Arab summit," Khalil said.
He criticized the ruling majority for "not taking advantage of the Arab summit to establish good ties with Arab states, and especially Syria.
- Additional reporting by Nafez Qawas

Graziano 'still waiting' for Israeli pullout from Ghajar but 'optimistic' about mission
By Mohammed Zaatari -Daily Star staff
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
MARJAYOUN: Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Major General Claudio Graziano condemned Monday Israel's recurrent violations of UN Security Council resolution 1701 during a celebration in the Marjayoun region. "The northern part of the Ghajar border town is still under Israeli occupation and we are still waiting for the Israeli their withdrawal," Graziano said during a ceremony for the Spanish contingent. Since its withdrawal from most of South Lebanon in 2006, Israel had been controlling the northern part of Ghajar. Israel has rejected a UNIFIL suggestion aimed at organizing the responsibility over the security of the northern part of Ghajar, Haaretz newspaper reported on Sunday
Israel's Army Radio said UNIFIL had expressed its readiness to handle the security responsibility of the village in addition to ensuring civil services to villagers.
On Monday, Graziano said he would hold a meeting with the Lebanese and Israeli armies in order to discuss the matter and find a solution, adding that the peacekeepers were sparing no effort in trying to find a solution to this problem "that would be suitable to both the Lebanese and the Israelis."
Graziano stressed UNIFIL's total commitment to achieving its mission with the help of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). "We should remain optimistic and face the challenges in order to establish peace and stability in South Lebanon" Graziano said, adding that he was relying on the help of Southerners.
He saluted the peacekeepers' efforts in maintaining the cease-fire as well as security and stability along the Blue Line which divides Lebanon from Israel.
Finally, Graziano said that the Italian contingent had no intention to leave UNIFIL.
Over the weekend, the Italian contingent launched classes in Italian as a foreign language (IFL) in the Southern town of Bint Jbeil. The project was launched in association with the Bint Jbeil Cultural Center. Officers from the Italian contingent will teach the classes.
"As for the Malaysian troops being transferred to the headquarters of the departed Qatari contingent, nothing is certain for the moment," Graziano said.
"A contingent formed by Malaysian and Indonesian peacekeepers could take up the former Qatari locales," he said.
In other UNIFIL-related activities, the Belgian-Luxembourg contingent has been digging holes since Friday in support of a pine-tree planting project which was initiated by the municipality of Harris. Officers from the contingent said the works had to be executed "in a short period of time, since the planting season is nearly over." "This project is important for the ecological balance in the area and underlines the excellent relationship between the Belgian-Luxembourg Battalion and the municipality of Harris," a statement by the contingent said on Monday.

Aoun Criticizes Saniora for Boycotting Damascus and Participating in Dakar
Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun on Monday criticized Premier Fouad Saniora for boycotting the Damascus summit and claimed that a plan has been adopted in Switzerland to naturalize Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Aoun, talking to reporters after a regular meeting by members of his Change and Reform parliamentary bloc, asked "why did saniora go to Senegal (For the Islamic Summit) and did not go to Syria (for the Arab Summit)?"
He accused the majority premier of "cheating the people." Aoun also claimed that a plan was "adopted in Switzerland in 1996 for the gradual naturalization" of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, but failed to say who adopted the alleged agenda. Lebanon's population structure, according to Aoun, "cannot absorb any naturalization." "Would the Americans accept to naturalize 42 million people in one batch?" he asked. He accused the "Americans and Europeans of linking Lebanon's cause to the Middle East (conflict) after the July war" of 2006 between Hizbullah and Israel. He criticized the March 14 majority for accusing him of being an ally of Iran, asking: "Is Gen. Aoun's participation in the government an Iranian condition?" Beirut, 31 Mar 08, 17:46

Jumblat Calls for Toppling the Syrian Regime
Democratic Gathering leader Walid Jumblat called Monday for toppling Syria's regime, terming it the "first title for terror."Jumblat, in an editorial to his progressive Socialist Party weekly magazine, said Arab leaders should "start confronting the Syrian regime's terror that has been inherited from father to son.""This regime is the first title for terror, confronting and toppling it are a must," Jumblatt added in the editorial to be published by al-Anbaa on Tuesday. Excerpts of Jumblat's editorial were distributed Monday by the state-run National News Agency (NNA).He said the Syrian regime's sole objective is to "practice programmed sabotage" in neighboring states. Jumblat described the Damascus summit as "dim that lacked political vision.""This dim summit, as its hosts are, did not achieve any progress in tackling major controversial topics, topped by the Palestinian cause, Iraq and Lebanon," Jumblat added. "The Syrian regime is active in practicing sabotage and widening rifts in all three arenas," he noted. Beirut, 31 Mar 08, 15:22

The World Council of the Cedars Revolution
Representing the hopes and aspirations of many millions of Lebanese in Lebanon and throughout the Diaspora
www.cedarsrevolution.org
cedarsrevolution@gmail.com
H.E. Fouad Siniora
Prime Minister
Republic of Lebanon
Beirut
Lebanon
March 30, 2008
Congratulations on your speech to the Arab Summit in Damascus .
The World Council of the Cedars Revolution (WCCR) takes this opportunity to congratulate you on your speech to the Arab Summit in which you have identified the Presidential vacuum as the main reason for boycotting the summit.
In stressing that the president of Lebanon is a Christian and only the president should lead the delegation to the summit, you have demonstrated the strength of our multiethnic society, as well as your support and loyalty to the concept of cultural diversity and co-existence.
With this statement you have expressed the feelings and aspirations of all Lebanese in Lebanon and throughout the Diaspora. We trust that all your future endeavors will serve the same purpose.
We also take this opportunity to convey to you once again that the WCCR has worked extensively with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), calling on the Council to fully implement UNSC Resolutions 1559 and 1701 under a Chapter 7 mandate in order to secure Lebanon’s border with Syria, put an end to Syrian supply of arms to Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations on Lebanese soil and disarm all militias and terrorists in Lebanon including Hezbollah.
My dear Prime Minister, at this moment in time, the world is your stage and you have this unique opportunity to demonstrate your leadership qualities in seeking the help of the UNSC to assist in calling for and holding constitutional presidential elections forthwith and help rid once and for all, the entire range of regional conflicts confronting our people and your government today.
Once again we extend our congratulations to you and encourage you to seek UNSC chapter 7 for the full implementation of UNSC resolutions 1559 and 1701.
Long live Lebanon , Sovereign, Independent and Free
Joe Baini, president/ WCCR

Arab summit: Big words, little substance
By SANA ABDALLAH (Middle East Times Writer)Published: March 31, 2008 .
Gadhafi implied that the leaders who boycotted the summit did so on the "orders" of the U.S. These leaders should be asked why they did not attend, he challenged, adding: “When we were asked why we attended, we said it was because we received no orders."
Add CommentsAMMAN – The 20th Arab summit convened and ended in Damascus over the weekend with legendary political divisions intact to belie its broad declarations, as member states succeeded to meet widespread expectations that they would be unable to agree over the region's deep crises.
Syrian President Bashar Assad boasted the summit he hosted was a success and held in a "frank" atmosphere despite the deep differences. In truth, he managed to convene it in his country on time, and rarely has an Arab summit been held without boycotts of leaders, arguments and walkouts.
The United States' close Arab allies, including Arab giants like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, sent low-level delegations to the meeting, while Lebanon stayed away; all to demonstrate their dismay at what they see as the host country's damaging role in Lebanon's worst political crisis since the end of its 1975-1990 civil war.
"It is like previous Arab summits," is what maverick Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, one of the 10 heads of state who attended, said about the two-day meeting. Many commentators agreed his words accurately illustrated this meeting.
Gadhafi, almost always the highlight of all Arab summits for his relentless and undiplomatic candor, told AFP after its conclusion on Sunday that while "there is nothing new to mention in this summit," there was "acknowledgment of the divisions and problems and hatred between the Arab states."
He added that the only result of the summit was "an attempt to mend fences and unify Arab ranks."
He was referring to parts of the final declaration that called for:
-- "Working to surpass inter-Arab disputes through deep, serious dialogue and overcoming weaknesses in some aspects of joint Arab action;
-- Giving priority to the higher interests of the Arab nation over any arguments or disputes, and dealing firmly with any foreign interference that attempts to increase inter-Arab disputes;
-- Standing together in the face of economic and political pressure campaigns imposed by some countries on any Arab country and taking necessary steps to confront them."
The final communiqué, however, did not define specific mechanisms to overcome the disputes between the region's U.S. allies and the states and groups that oppose U.S. policies in the Middle East, namely Syria and its alliance with non-Arab Iran.
Commentators warn that although all the Arab regimes claim to have the "Arab nation's higher interests" at heart, their continued disagreements over what these interests constitute and how to go about serving these interests would further aggravate their disputes, deepen their rifts and ultimately threaten their common security and stability.
They predict that the coming year, in which Syria holds the Arab summit's rotating gavel until the 2009 summit in Qatar, would prolong the region's problems. While the more pessimistic analysts expect the next 12 months to be packed with even more internal crises and struggles that could spiral out of control into civil wars, at worst.
Some Arab diplomats complained that this summit failed to demonstrate the parties' real commitment toward easing their feuding, and that the boycott of half of the leaders was a strong indication of a polarization that will last as long as the administration of George W. Bush remains at Washington's helm.
As the only Arab leader to publicly speak frankly about the sorry state of Arab affairs, Gadhafi implied the Arab heads who boycotted the Damascus summit did so upon the "orders" of the United States. He said these leaders should be asked why they did not attend "and who gave them the orders not to attend…. When we were asked why we attended, we said it was because we received no orders."
Washington had explicitly urged its allies to reconsider their participation at the meeting to punish Syria for instigating its allies in Lebanese Hezbollah-led opposition against voting for a president. The country has been without a president since pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud's term expired in November.
During the summit, the Libyan leader went as far as to warn some Arab countries that Washington could turn against them, just as they turned against former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who was hanged in December 2006 by the new U.S.-backed Shiite rulers.
Gadhafi reminded the Arabs that the U.S. was Saddam's ally during the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran war, "before they turned against him and executed him…. How can they execute a prisoner of war and the president of a member state of the Arab League?" He added, "You could all suffer the same fate."
Arab pundits say that while Gadhafi's bold words may have been amusing to some, they could also have sent chills through the palaces of the unelected Arab kings and presidents who opted to heed Washington's "orders," or "advice" – possibly to avoid Saddam's fate.