LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
April 04/08
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to
Saint John 3,31-36. The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of
the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from
heaven (is above all). He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one
accepts his testimony. Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is
trustworthy. For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not
ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything
over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever
disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Dorry Chamoun to Naharnet:
Breaking 'Syria's Neck' to Achieve Lebanon's Stability
03/04/08
The slow boat to the Hariri tribunal.By:
Michael Young. 03/04/08
Beirut's victory in Damascus.By Joseph A. Kechichian. 03/04/08
Lebanon's teachers deserve a fair hearing on their
grievances. The Daily Star. 03/04/08
A positive
dimension of the Iraq Campaign. By: Dr. Walid Phares 03/04/08
Oprn Letter to
Ex-minister Suleiman Franjieh.By:
Lawson Kass Hanna. 03/04/08
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for April 03/08
Teachers Go on
Strike-Naharnet
Suleiman Tired of Ongoing Bickering: I will Step Down in August-Naharnet
Efforts to Solve
Crisis Come to Standstill-Naharnet
Kuwait to Mediate
between Feuding Saudi Arabia, Syria-Naharnet
Kuwait to Mediate between Feuding Saudi Arabia, Syria-Naharnet
Israel Plays Down Risk of Conflict with Syria-Naharnet
Deputy PM Ramon: "Israel has no intention of attacking
SyriaJerusalem Post
WarIsTalk Of Syria And Israel-New York Sun
Israel Plays Down
Risk of Conflict with Syria-Naharnet
Assad Praises Self-Proclaimed Success of
Damascus Summit-Naharnet
Australian Police
Find Body of Missing Lebanese-Canadian Student-Naharnet
Syria Sponsors
Lebanon's Mushrooming Confrontation-Naharnet
Till when will Syria deceive the Arabs over Lebanon, Palestine ?Ya
Libnan
Crossfire War - Israel/ Iran-Hezbollah-Syria Rush to Complete War ...NewsBlaze
Lebanon's Maronite bishops urge rival parties to
adopt Arab initiative-Daily
Star
Security forces on high alert against any possible
violence-Daily
Star
Maronite bishops sound alarm on economic woes-Daily
Star
Union for Lebanon laments summit boycott-Daily Star
Future MP decries 'overuse' of dialogue-Daily
Star
Arslan slams government as 'illegal-Daily
Star
MP says Moallem's remarks prove Syria's guilt-Daily
Star
America's charge d'affaires meets LOG head-Daily
Star
Israeli intelligence suspects Hizbullah plans
attack via proxy-Daily
Star
Safadi looks into fees slapped on diesel vehicles
leaving Syria-Daily
Star
UN legal chief insists Special Tribunal is not
open to compromises-Daily
Star
Italy boosts contribution for demining-Daily
Star
Labor calls strike for May 7 to press Beirut for
higher wage-Daily
Star
Ministry shuts down 20 Gemmayzeh night spots-Daily
Star
Teachers go on strike to demand their 'just rights-Daily
Star
NGOs complete projects aimed at helping Lebanon's
most vulnerable children-Daily
Star
200 schools to take part in reforestation program-Daily
Star
Religious symbols: mark of identity or cause for
alarm?-Daily
Star
EC offers prizes for student art on gender
equality-Daily
Star
Lebanon MP: Moallem's statement is a proof that Syria killed Hariri-Ya
Libnan
Basra battle shows Iraqi Army not ready yet - US
general-AFP
The Great Escape from Lebanon-Ya
Libnan
Mahdi Army on Hizbullah's Path-Naharnet
Report: Syria calling up reserve forces fearing Israeli offensive-Ha'aretz
Syria Denies Concentrating Forces, Summoning Reserves-The
Media Line
Israel: Iran has set up listening stations in Syria to intercept
...International
Herald Tribune
Exclusive: Israel orders bio/chemical warfare masks redistributed ...DEBKA
file
Egypt Says Lebanon Solution Would Ease Arab Relations-AHN
U.N: Any Country that Fails to Cooperate
with Hariri Court will Face 'Difficult Situation-Naharnet
Chamoun for Breaking 'Syria's
Neck' to Achieve Lebanon's Stability
By Dalia Nehme-Naharnet
National Liberal Party leader Dory Chamoun said Lebanon's long-term stability
can be achieved through "breaking Syria's neck" and proposed a parliamentary
election law based on the single MP constituency. Chamoun, in an interview with
Naharnet, said he "wouldn't feel sad if Iran met the same (neck breaking) fate."
Syria, he said, "wants to dominate Lebanon. That is why it works for spreading
void and chaos to enter Lebanon again."
They (Syrians) believe that history can repeat itself, but this would not
happen," Chamoun said in reference to the three-decade deployment of Syria's
army in Lebanon that ended in April 2005. Hizbullah, according to Chamoun, "also
does not want a strong state in Lebanon because a strong state would dismantle
Hizbullah's mini-state. Hizbullah wants to dismantle the state of Lebanon to set
up its own state with Iranian backing."
He described Majority Premier Fouad Saniora as a "hero who has foiled all such
schemes."Chamoun said the Syrians "want to hamper the international tribunal"
that would try suspects in the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri.
"They cannot do this in the United States, but here in Lebanon … so if they
controlled the government they would be able to freeze the tribunal in Lebanon,"
he added. "They are certainly involved in the Hariri assassination and all the
other killings and blasts," Chamoun added. He termed Parliament Speaker Nabih
Berri's intention to sponsor national dialogue as "a maneuver to exhaust time.
They do not want entente."Chamoun said renewed civil war in Lebanon is unlikely
because "Hizbullah, the only party that has weapons, is banned by Iran from
getting involved in a civil war. Iran realizes that deploying Hizbullah's
weapons in a local dispute could kindle a Sunni-Shiite war that would spread
across the whole Islamic world."
He predicted a "movie-like war between Syria and Israel" that would lead to
peace talks between the two states.
He criticized the various Christian factions for fighting each other for
marginal political gains then complaining about losing their role in Lebanon's
politics.
"Then Christians should blame no one but themselves," he stressed. In answering
a question as to whether he thought Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa
would succeed in implementing the Arab initiative on Lebanon in his forthcoming
mission, Chamoun said: "He did not succeed in the past and would not succeed in
the future, that is if he decided to come" to Lebanon. On a new law for general
elections, Chamoun proposed 88 single MP constituencies that would result in an
88-seat house. He also proposed the formation of an elected senate, changing the
traditional unicameral house into two chambers handling the legislative
authority. "We acknowledge that Lebanon is some sort of a federal rule by
religious factions. What is wrong with that?" Chamoun asked. Chamoun pledged
that "we might, eventually, resort to the option of electing a president by
simple majority because we cannot accept to leave the country without a
president.""We should have a president," Chamoun concluded. Beirut, 03 Apr 08,
09:05
Lebanon's Maronite bishops urge
rival parties to adopt Arab initiative
Feuding camps tout apposite interpretations following Damascus summit
By Hussein Abdallah
Daily Star staff
Thursday, April 03, 2008
BEIRUT: Lebanon's Maronite bishops on Wednesday called on rival parties in the
country to commit to the three-point Arab initiative to end Lebanon's protracted
political crisis.
A regular statement released by the bishops regretted Lebanon's nonparticipation
in the recent Arab summit. "Not electing a president led to Lebanon's boycott of
the summit," the statement said.
Meanwhile, Lebanese rival parties seem to be moving in two different directions
after the Damascus summit.
Pro-government forces seem to be seeking an Arab foreign ministers meeting to
discuss Lebanese-Syrian relations, while the opposition believes the next step
would be Speaker Nabih Berri's call for national dialogue.
Aref al-Abed, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's adviser, told The Daily Star on
Wednesday that Siniora has not yet officially requested the holding of an Arab
foreign ministers' meeting and is still in the process of making consultations.
Abed said Berri's pursuance of national dialogue does not conflict with
Siniora's effort on the Lebanese-Syrian issue.
"Both tracks can move together," he said.
In a televised speech on the eve of the Arab summit, Siniora urged Arab foreign
ministers to hold an emergency session to discuss ways to improve ties between
Lebanon and Syria.
Sources close to Berri told the Central News Agency (CNA) Wednesday that Berri
would call for roundtable national dialogue in the coming weeks.
The sources said Berri would return to Lebanon before heading on a regional
tour, adding that Berri was looking forward for holding a national dialogue in
the presence of Arab League chief Amr Moussa.
But a governmental source told Lebanese daily An-Nahar Wednesday that Arab
efforts were more focused on holding an Arab foreign ministers' meeting to
address the strained ties between Beirut and Damascus.
However, former President Amine Gemayel expressed hope on Wednesday that Berri
would return to Beirut soon to pursue national dialogue.
Gemayel argued after meeting head of the Islamic Shiite Council Sheikh
Abdel-Amir Qabalan that Lebanon should stay away from conflicts in the Middle
East and adopt a policy of "positive neutrality."
Meanwhile, Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc said Wednesday that the Damascus
summit had laid down the foundations for improving inter-Arab relations.
The Loyalty to the Resistance bloc highlighted the summit's position on
implementing the Arab initiative.
"The summit's final statement called on Lebanese parties to implement all three
items of the initiative," the bloc said.
The Hizbullah-led opposition insists on reaching an agreement on forming a
national unity government and drafting a new electoral law for the 2009
parliamentary election before electing a president.
The ruling coalition, however, insists that election of a president should not
be part of a package deal.
The three-point Arab initiative calls for electing commander of Lebanese Armed
Forces General Michel Suleiman as president, forming a unity government, and
drafting a new electoral law.
Lebanese rival parties agreed on electing Suleiman but are still at odds over
the two remaining points of the initiative.
Lebanon has been without a president since last November when Emile Lahoud
stepped down from office.
Parliament has failed to elect a successor on 17 occasions due to the absence of
consensus among the rival parties.
The next election session is scheduled for April 22.
Meanwhile, Moussa told Future News television late Tuesday that he would be
resuming his mediation efforts in Lebanon, but only after local leaders provide
enough indications of their readiness to cooperate.
"The Arab initiative gives priority to the election of Suleiman as a consensus
president and the formation of a national unity government," Moussa said, adding
that the initiative does not go into the details of the government.
"However, the new government must insure that none of the key parties are
marginalized," Moussa said.
The Arab League chief said the Lebanese situation may now seem under control but
is so vulnerable that it could change in the long term.
In another development, Egyptian sources told Lebanon's Al-Akhbar daily that
Algerian President Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika is working on improving the strained
ties between Syria and Saudi Arabia.
Syrian-Saudi relations are mainly strained over the political crisis in Lebanon.
Algerian Ambassador to Cairo Abdel-Qader Hajjar told Al-Akhbar that Algeria was
testing the possibility of acting as a mediator between Syria and Saudi Arabia.
Hajjar said that Bouteflika has already made efforts at improving relations
between Syria and Egypt, hoping such efforts would be followed by a similar one
on the Syrian-Saudi arena.
Bouteflika met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Monday and
reportedly delivered a message to Mubarak from his Syrian counterpart Bashar
Assad.
Assad was quoted by diplomatic sources on Wednesday as saying he was ready to
establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon after a national unity government is
formed.
Teachers Go on Strike
Naharnet/The teaching sector, except for private universities, goes on a one-day
"warning" strike Thursday to demand higher wages amid a dramatic increase in the
cost of living. An Nahar daily said that the strikers haven't set numbers in
their wage increase demand except for a study carried out by the General Labor
Confederation which says that a family needs around LL960,000 ($640) as a
minimum monthly income. The strike, called for by the Teachers Union, aims at
increasing teachers' wages, which have not risen since 1996, and to offset
rising inflation. Next month, the GLC will hold another strike over the
government's refusal to raise the minimum wage from LL300,000 to LL960,000 per
month. In a statement, the confederation called on employees from the private
and public sectors to participate in the strike on May 7.An Nahar quoted
government sources as saying Premier Fouad Saniora's cabinet "supports contacts
and consultations to improve wages on condition that such improvement takes into
consideration the ability of institutions" to pay higher salaries. The sources
said the deteriorating economic situation prevents institutions from paying
"unreasonable" amounts of money on wages. Beirut, 03 Apr 08, 02:45
Suleiman Tired of Ongoing Bickering: I will Step Down in August
Naharnet/Army chief Gen. Michel Suleiman said on Thursday he would step down
next August as commander of the military and expressed resentment over the
continued bickering on his nomination for the presidency. "I'm tired of the
ongoing bickering over my name as a consensus presidential candidate," Suleiman
said in an interview with As Safir daily. "If one side nominates me, the other
objects. If one country backs my nomination, other countries object…Every time
we make a step forward, we find ourselves" facing more demands, he said. The
election of a president has reached a point where it "needs to cross mountains
of conditions and counter conditions…all that at the expense of the presidential
vacuum," the army chief added. The military commander said he will "benefit from
his annual vacations that have piled up in the past three years to step down on
August 21 instead of November 21."
He informed the military council of his "final decision" of his intended
retirement three months before the end of his term, he told As Safir.
"I have no intention of extending my term. I did my job the best I could and
preserved the unity of the military institution during the hardest times," he
added.
"The Army has succeeded in defending the country against occupation and
terrorism and safeguarded internal peace and stability and we will not throw
away these achievements," Suleiman stressed. The Army chief made clear in his
interview that if his retirement would "facilitate choosing another consensus
candidate then I will support such efforts with all the power I have and I will
never be an obstacle." Suleiman ruled out the possibility of a new Israeli war
but stressed that the Lebanese army would defend Lebanon if such an attack took
place. Suleiman also rejected rumors that summer 2008 will be shaky, warning
from attempts to target Lebanon's tourism season. "Had we had stability we would
have taken advantage of Gulf investments," he said. He also welcomed the 1960
electoral law, yet he ruled out any possibility of taking power in a non-violent
military coup. "Lebanon in not a country of military coups," he said. "All we
can do as Lebanese is to keep calm and be patient." Beirut, 03 Apr 08, 10:45
Israel Plays Down Risk of Conflict with Syria
Naharnet/Israeli Defense spokesman Shlomo Dror said Syria has staged military
maneuvers and made other preparations for possible confrontation in the event
Hizbullah seeks to avenge the February 12 killing of its military leader Imad
Mughniyeh, which it blames on Israel.
"The number of signs indicating that the attack is brewing is taking shape and
is approaching," the Yedioth Ahronoth daily said. "And the more these signs
accumulate -- unusual movements, meetings between various figures, information
from all sorts of sources -- the more the temperature rises," it wrote.
However, Israel on Thursday played down media reports of heightened tension
along the Syrian border, insisting that there was little likelihood of military
confrontation between the two neighbors. "Israel has no intention of attacking
Syria, and the latter says only it is ready to respond to any attack, so the
risk of a military confrontation is very low," Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon
Ramon told public radio. His comments came as Israeli newspapers splashed
front-page stories claiming the Israeli military was on high alert along the
border amid reports that Syria has been boosting its armed forces.
The Jerusalem Post said the increased tension along the border, as well as in
the Gaza Strip, led Defense Minister Ehud Barak to cancel a planned trip to
Germany.
The London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi on Wednesday reported that Syria had deployed
three armored divisions and nine infantry brigades near the border with
Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, fearing Israeli forces may infiltrate the area. But
General Dan Harel, Israel's deputy chief of staff, also dismissed the likelihood
of confrontation with Syria. "Neither of the two parties wants such a conflict,"
he said. "What is certain is that Israel is the most powerful country in the
region and that our response to any aggression would be very tough," he added.
Ramon stressed that Israel remained interested in holding talks with Damascus.
"We are constantly assessing whether peace negotiations with Syria are possible.
Unfortunately that country is deeply anchored in its relations with the axis of
evil of Iran and Hizbullah," said the close ally of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
"The prime minister has sent several messages indicating that we are ready to
hold negotiations, but Syria refuses to give up terrorism and join moderate
nations," Ramon said. The last round of negotiations between the two neighbors,
technically at war since 1948, broke down in 2000 over disagreements over the
strategic Golan Heights plateau, which Israel seized in the 1967 war and annexed
in 1981.(AFP)
Beirut, 03 Apr 08, 11:00
Kuwait to Mediate between Feuding Saudi Arabia, Syria
Naharnet/The Emir of Kuwait plans to visit Riyadh later this week to mediate
between Saudi Arabia and Syria whose ties have deteriorated because of Lebanon's
crisis, a newspaper reported on Thursday. Quoting unnamed high-level sources,
the daily Al-Qabas said Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah will travel to Riyadh on
Saturday for talks with King Abdullah in an effort to resolve "differences"
between Syria and Saudi Arabia. The paper said the Kuwaiti ruler, who headed his
country's delegation to an Arab summit in Damascus last weekend, was expected to
convey a Syrian "message" to Saudi Arabia.
Relations between the two Arab states have deteriorated over the crisis in
Lebanon which has been without a president since November, prompting Riyadh to
send only a low-level delegation to the Damascus gathering. Riyadh blames the
Syrian- and Iranian-backed opposition in Beirut for blocking an Arab League plan
that calls for the election of Lebanese army chief Gen. Michel Suleiman
president. On Saturday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal urged Syria
to make a "positive move" towards resolving the political crisis in Lebanon.
Syria, which was the power broker in Lebanon for nearly three decades until it
pulled its troops out in 2005, denies meddling in its smaller neighbor's affairs
or blocking the election of a head of state.(AFP) Beirut, 03 Apr 08, 11:25
Efforts to Solve Crisis Come to Standstill
Naharnet/Local and Arab efforts to find a way out of Lebanon's political crisis
have come to a standstill until after a scheduled parliamentary session later
this month, An Nahar newspaper reported Thursday. It said it did not expect any
move aimed at solving the deadlock between Lebanon's majority and the Hizbullah-led
opposition before the parliamentary session to elect a new president scheduled
for April 22. An Nahar also said that "Arab League chief Amr Moussa doesn't
intend to return to Beirut before that date" so that he holds consultations with
Arab leaders in the aftermath of the Arab Summit. The daily reported that
Speaker Nabih Berri is also not planning to launch a national dialogue pending
talks with Moussa, who has been mandated by the Arab League to continue his
efforts to implement the three-point Arab plan aimed at solving Lebanon's
presidential crisis. Berri had said he would launch talks among bickering
Lebanese politicians if the Arab summit failed to find a solution to the
country's protracted crisis. The speaker's close circles confirmed that Berri
will return to Beirut soon after he traveled from Greece to an undisclosed
European capital. As for Premier Fouad Saniora's planned tour of Arab countries,
An Nahar said no dates have been set yet although the PM confirmed that he is
making contacts in this regard. Saniora has called for an urgent Arab foreign
ministers meeting to discuss strained Lebanese-Syrian relations. He said he will
follow up with Moussa Lebanon's demand for the meeting. Beirut, 03 Apr 08, 07:44
Hizbullah for Arab-Iranian Cooperation Against
Israel
Naharnet/Hizbullah's Parliamentary bloc on
Wednesday said the recent Arab Summit in Damascus has set the grounds for
patching up Arab differences.
The bloc said after a meeting under MP Mohammed Raad the summit that adjourned
in Damascus on Sunday stressed that "states of the region should reconsider the
mechanism of dealing with the Zionist enemy … that usurps Arab rights and
occupies Arab lands." By referring to states of the region, the Hizbullah bloc
was obviously calling for Arab-Iranian cooperation to confront Israel. The
statement said the United States has "failed in blocking the Arab summit" that
was boycotted by almost half of the Arab heads of state. It also said there was
no legal justification for the detention of four generals held in connection
with the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri. Beirut, 02 Apr 08, 18:24
Mahdi Army on Hizbullah's Path
Naharnet/The Iraqi government's failure to wipe out Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army
militia during a crackdown in Basra last week may put the group along the path
of Lebanon's Hizbullah, a senior U.S. senator said Tuesday. Joseph Biden,
chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters on a
conference call that despite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's crackdown, Shiite
cleric Sadr "lives to fight another day."
"One of the things that concerns me is that this is a little bit like what
happened to Hizbullah in Lebanon (in 2006)... the Israelis used full force that
they had in Lebanon and Hizbullah survived and they grew in strength as a
consequence," he said. "Here, Maliki says he's going down and he's going to take
out all these malcontents, as well as take out Sadr and his Mahdi Army. And it
looks to me like, at least on the surface, Sadr may have come out a winner here.
You know, he lives to fight another day." A week ago, Maliki ordered a military
crackdown on militants in the southern oil city of Basra, mostly from Sadr's
Mahdi Army militia.
The offensive quickly set off a wave of clashes between the militiamen and
security forces in Basra and other Shiite areas of Iraq in which at least 461
people were killed and more than 1,100 wounded.
Sadr reined in his fighters and ordered them off the streets Sunday, while
Maliki ordered his security forces Tuesday to stop random raids and arrests.
Biden said "there's a lot more to learn" about the ceasefire and whether there
was "any serious damage done" to the central government or to Sadr.
He said he had not been officially briefed on the situation but believed the
U.S. did not play a large part in negotiating the ceasefire.
"There's some reason to believe that that may very well have occurred in Iran
through the Iranians," he said. Biden was speaking a week before he presides
over a hearing in which U.S. ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker and General
David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, will brief Congress on the
situation in the country. He expressed skepticism about President George Bush's
assertion Friday that the upsurge in violence was a "defining moment" for Iraq's
progress and particularly for Maliki's government. "Using the phrase 'defining
moment' makes it sound like this democratic leader in Baghdad decided to put a
stop to the thugs of the extreme elements of the Shia movement and move with his
forces of democracy against them," Biden said.
"Well, that isn't the way that place plays out," he added. Biden said
"everybody knows Sadr is not a good guy" but noted: "There's a lot of other bad
guys in this Shia (governing) coalition. And so, which bad guys are we working
with?""I don't know this administration has a policy," he concluded.
He added that he would be pressing Crocker and Petraeus on the effect of last
year's "surge" of troops into Iraq and plans for the future, "both in terms of
U.S. force levels and U.S. policy for succeeding in Iraq."(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut,
02 Apr 08, 15:39
Security forces on high alert against any possible violence
By Hussein Abdallah
Daily Star staff
Thursday, April 03, 2008
BEIRUT: Amid fears that the security situation will deteriorate and violence
will erupt after the Arab summit ended without achieving a breakthrough in
Lebanon, security sources told The Daily Star on Wednesday that Lebanese
security authorities were in a state of readiness in anticipation of possible
security developments.
The sources played down the possibility that the feuding parties would resort to
violence, stressing that it is more likely that the current status-quo will
persist for some time. The sources added that security authorities have already
identified "areas of tension" and are taking all the necessary measures to
contain any possible escalation. The security sources said the Lebanese Army was
watching the movement of Syrian troops along the Lebanese-Syrian border after
Syria allegedly deployed three brigades on the border with Lebanon.
Earlier security reports had denied any such deployments. The security sources
added that the Syrian deployment could be connected to the planned Israeli
military maneuvers, scheduled for April 6. The sources added that the Lebanese
government fears that violence would erupt in the Palestinian refugee camps,
namely the Ain al-Hilweh camp in the South. Such fears are the result of the
latest clashes at Ain al-Hilweh, according to the sources.
The clashes were triggered by Fatah's abduction of Jund al-Sham militant Samir
Maarouf, wanted by Lebanese authorities for suspected bomb attacks.
The sources said the Lebanese Army was also keeping any eye on the areas of
Qosaya and Halwa in the Western Bekaa, where the Syrian-backed Popular Front for
the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) runs military training
camps. "After voices of explosions were repeatedly heard in the past days in the
vicinity of the camps, security reports uncovered that militants were training
inside a tunnel network," the sources said, adding that the tunnel network
connects Lebanese and Syrian territories.
The slow boat to the Hariri tribunal
By Michael Young
Daily Star staff
Thursday, April 03, 2008
When Syria's foreign minister and one of its Lebanese marionettes both mention
the Hariri tribunal in the space of two days, you know the topic is gaining
ground in the Syrian attention span. In an interview with the ANB television
station the foreign minister, Walid Moallem, stated that Syria had been offered
"deals" by "friends of the tribunal and others," in exchange for facilitating a
presidential election in Lebanon. Moallem specified that the offers ranged from
"killing the tribunal and freezing it for several years to not participating in
its financing." He insisted Syria had rejected all options, because it "has no
connection to the crisis in Lebanon or the tribunal." On Tuesday former Minister
Wiam Wahab, one of Syria's licensed spokesmen, released a statement saying that
Muhammad Zuheir al-Siddiq, who is both a key witness and suspect in the Hariri
murder and who now resides in France, had vanished and "may have been kidnapped
and liquidated." Nothing suggested the story was correct. Moallem's comments
were interesting because he protested too much. His insistence that Syria had
nothing to do with the crisis in Lebanon and Hariri's murder affirmed that it
did. That was the point. The fact is that Syrian President Bashar Assad has
repeatedly brought up the tribunal with his Arab interlocutors, including Arab
League Secretary General Amr Moussa. Moussa's statement on the matter to an Arab
foreign ministers' gathering several weeks ago was leaked to the Kuwaiti Al-Qabas
daily. He told the ministers that when he had traveled to Damascus to ask for
help in resolving the stalemate in Beirut, Assad showed no interest in Lebanon,
instead inquiring about the tribunal. Assad's message was clear, as was
Moallem's in his interview: As long as the tribunal question remains unresolved
to Syria's satisfaction, the deadlock in Lebanon will persist.
But Moallem's statement, like Wahhab's implied threat, could signal something
else as well. As the tribunal goes forward, the Syrian regime may find that it
has to clean house in preparation for an accusation. By underlining again that
Syria was not involved in the Hariri killing, was the foreign minister laying
the groundwork for a time when such involvement cannot be proven because all
suspects will have by then disappeared?
Certainly the former Syrian vice president, Abdel-Halim Khaddam, was playing on
that theme when speaking to an Italian news agency. He noted that a prime
suspect in the Hariri assassination, the head of Syrian military intelligence,
Assef Shawqat, had also gone missing and would, Khaddam predicted, meet the same
fate as the late interior minister, Ghazi Kanaan, who either committed suicide
or received help in doing so. This could have been Khaddam just throwing a
firecracker into the chambers of the paranoid Syrian leadership; or it could
have been a preventive measure to avoid Shawqat's elimination. Whichever it was,
the old serpent knows the tribunal is beginning to hit home in Damascus.
Not that there was much in the most recent report of Daniel Bellemare, the
latest United Nations commissioner investigating the Hariri assassination, to
either alarm or reassure the Syrians. The document was destined more to avoid
providing information than the contrary, and showed that one could be even more
taciturn than Serge Brammertz.
Bellemare insulted our intelligence by telling us more than two years after the
UN investigation began that the "Commission can now confirm, on the basis of
available evidence, that a network of individuals acted in concert to carry out
the assassination of Rafik Hariri and that this criminal network - the "Hariri
Network" - or parts thereof are linked to some of the other cases within the
Commission's mandate."
What's new here? This obvious conclusion was consistently confirmed in all
previous reports, including those written by Brammertz. And why did Bellemare
use the awkward term "criminal network," suggesting a mafia hit, when he
implicitly endorsed the view of Brammertz (and his predecessor Detlev Mehlis)
that Hariri's murder was political, if only by virtue of being linked to other
crimes in Lebanon that were plainly political?
But most remarkable was Bellemare's informing us that the "priority is now to
gather more evidence about the Hariri network." Well what on earth was the
priority in 2006 and 2007? That phrase should have belonged to an earlier report
on the investigation, not one put out three months from the investigation
deadline set by the UN Security Council.
But even in Bellemare's catalogue of elision, revealing titbits did come
through. For example, when he wrote that the commission had "accelerated the
pace of its operations" by increasing its Requests for Assistance (RFA) sent to
Lebanon and other states from 123 to 256, you again had to wonder what Brammertz
was doing while commissioner. This increase could partly be explained by the
so-called "new practices" Bellemare has introduced, but for him to more than
double RFAs after just three months in office suggested there was a delay to be
overcome.
And in the event we didn't get that gathering speed had become a main concern,
the commissioner told us that he had increased the number of laboratories his
team would have access to, and had put in place a system "offering a new
approach to cooperation" beyond issuing specific RFAs, whereby states have been
informed of "generic areas of assistance that could match their capabilities and
the Commissions requirements." It was not apparent what a "generic area of
assistance" was, but it sounded suspiciously like Bellemare was widening his net
of inquiry, introducing flexibility in how states responded to his needs, to get
whatever more he could on the case. That would have been reasonable in 2005, but
not in 2008.
Bellemare also told us, without really telling us, that his deadline for putting
together a recommendation for an accusation may not come as soon as many would
like. Already, in his meetings with foreign representatives, the commissioner
has said that if he needs to extend his deadline beyond June to tighten his
prosecution case, he will do so. The report suggested that he is quite likely to
act on that basis.
What is one to make of the UN report? The most charitable thing one might say
about it is that Bellemare did his best to conceal the fact that Brammertz had
worked too slowly. But we won't know how true that interpretation is before the
new commissioner puts together an indictment. However, if the Syrians start
cleaning the decks to neutralize a legal accusation against the regime, then
Bellemare had better hurry up.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR.
Lebanon's teachers deserve a fair hearing on their grievances
By The Daily Star
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Editorial
Many Lebanese have been subjected to enormous economic hardship over the past
few years, and a variety of groups representing both general and specific parts
of the workforce have expressed their determination to improve benefits, pay and
other conditions of their employment. All of their arguments have some degree of
merit, including those who note that the minimum wage in this country has sat at
a pathetic LL300,000 - yes, just $200 - since 1996. The latest action of
organized labor protest merits particularly close attention from the government,
though, because it stems from understandable unrest among some of society's most
important members: teachers.
These are the men and women to whom we entrust our most precious treasures - our
children - for several hours a day. More importantly, it is their responsibility
to begin the task of preparing these youngsters for their own lives as
productive workers and capable parents. To devalue the contribution of our
teachers, therefore, is to jeopardize the future of both our families and our
country as a whole. And yet many of them have also seen their wages stagnate
since the mid-1990s, a situation that has been made even more painful by the
steep price rises that have affected Lebanon, like other countries around the
world. What does it say about a society if it fails to adequately compensate
those who carry out some of its most crucial functions?
Education Minister Khaled Qabbani has the capacity to be a genuine agent for
change by carefully examining the teachers' grievances and working to ensure
that at least some of their demands are met. He has been able to maintain open
relations with the leading factions, which means his recommendations are less
likely than those of others to be opposed for reasons of petty partisanship, and
few people understand more clearly than he that the next generation of Lebanese
will need to be better-educated than ever before if they are to succeed in an
increasingly competitive globalized economy. Most of the knowledge that allows
successful careers is acquired in university and from on-the-job experience, but
the essential building blocks and helpful habits required to excel are often
acquired in elementary or secondary school.
Lebanon faces no shortage of economic, political and social problems, and a
great many of these are self-inflicted. The last thing the country needs now is
to saddle its children with angry teachers who feel unappreciated,
under-rewarded and de-motivated. If the politicians cannot get their individual
and collective acts together on divisive issues like power-sharing, the least
they can do is to guarantee that while the country's adults are bickering about
one thing or another, its children will be learning something useful. That way,
they might just grow up with enough sense to avoid many of the mistakes that
their forebears have committed over the years - and with enough intellectual
horsepower to start repairing all the damage that has been done.
*Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR.
Beirut's victory in Damascus
By Joseph A. Kechichian, Special to Gulf News
Published: April 03, 2008, 00:05
Even absent from the latest League of Arab States (LAS) summit in Syria, Lebanon
scored a resounding political victory by identifying the core contention facing
Arab leaders in 2008. Put bluntly, the defining issue is the one embedded within
the Arab/Iran-ian competition for regional influence -with dangerous sectarian
connotations - one that sees the Muslim World divided and subject to
unbelievable outside interferences.
Lebanon took a bold stand in this ongoing struggle, reaffirmed its particularity
as well as its Arab credentials, and welcomed LAS support to elect Army
Commander General Michel Suleiman president of the republic. It accomplished all
of this with a vacant seat. Will it now succeed in implementing this victory?
Although the "Damascus Declaration" allegedly failed to do more than support the
Arab initiative on Lebanon - to elect Suleiman as the next head of state -League
Secretary General Amr Moussa must have wondered whether his efforts during the
past several months were to naught.
In the event, Syrian President Bashar Assad asserted that summit debates were
honest, while his foreign minister, the gregarious Walid Mouallem, called for
Syrian-Saudi cooperation. One cannot but marvel at their prowess. Supposedly,
and although Mouallem insisted that "when the Lebanon issue was raised during
the closed session, [Arab] leaders deemed that it should not be discussed in
Lebanon's absence." Why then did Moussa contradict the host foreign minister, by
clarifying that "Lebanon was mentioned, and we heard several interventions and
debates pertaining to it"?
One of these men must have been out of the chambers when the discussions
occurred but it fell on Saudi Ambassador Ahmad Abdul Aziz Kattan, a veteran of
intra-Arab debates, to put the icing on the cake. He pointedly asked: "Are we to
go to the [Lebanese] majority and request it to relinquish the rights that were
granted to it by the ballot boxes?" Few missed the irony.
At this juncture, it may be useful to make two additional points. First,
Damascus was clearly giddy that the summit was held in the first place, even
with limited representations. Parenthetically, this writer stands corrected from
an earlier conclusion that no meeting was possible, especially as I failed to
envisage a truncated gathering. Second, the occasion elucidated structural
disparities between LAS member-states, with serious repercussions on Arab-Arab
ties for decades to come.
Mixed metaphors
If Colonel Muammar Gaddafi indicted the LAS for achieving little -"much like the
previous editions"- and mixed his metaphors by claiming that "80 per cent of
Arab Gulf citizens are of Iranian descent", he was reminded by Shaikh Sabah Al
Ahmad, the ruler of Kuwait, that all Arab Gulf ruling families were "100 per
cent Arab". In other words, the observant Gaddafi wished to underscore
divergences among GCC countries, which were further reinforced by Iranian
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who produced a familiar refrain that "the
three Gulf islands which the United Arab Emirates is claiming [belonged] to
Iran". Observers laughed at the Libyan leader's humorous diatribes but shook
their heads at the Iranian guest's affirmation.
In the context of such declarations, and ironically, it fell to the weakest LAS
member to articulate the core problem facing them. By staying away from Damascus
- and not from Dakar because the challenges facing the LAS were different from
those of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) - Lebanon reminded its
partners that Arabs were threatened by a permanent division of their sub-system.
With a winning streak to divide Arabs among themselves, Beirut highlighted that
Iran wished to emphasize routine intra- or inter-Arab disputes, which could not
be pushed under the proverbial political rug.
It defined specific interpretations that stood out at a time when Arab leaders
attempted to protect individual interests while paying lip-service to Arab
identities, not because it wanted to score a point against Syria, but because it
wanted to help Damascus return to its natural fold.
By calling on Syria to respect the will of the Lebanese people to put their
house in order, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora actually served long-term Syrian
interests just as much as he preserved Lebanese objectives. In person at the OIC
to show that Lebanon and all Arabs were ready to cooperate with Iran and by
snubbing Damascus to check Tehran's blitzkrieg on the Arab World.
Paradoxically, those who questioned Lebanon's Arab identity in the past finally
understood that Beirut represented the strongest amalgam of Arabism, and was
able to guide the debate onto its correct path. Every Lebanese, in the majority
as well as in the opposition, could thus take pride in the decisions reached by
Siniora. By reaching this painful decision, even risking his life for the sake
of the nascent nation, the astute politician demonstrated that he understood the
strategic end-game rather than wallow in tactical manoeuvres.
Lebanon and Syria are destined to remain neighbours forever, but must earn each
other's respect along the way. Siniora earned his. He went to Dakar to remind
the Muslim world of Lebanon's needs for mutual coexistence, but stayed away from
Damascus to induce the LAS to think of his president's unique role within it. In
other words, Siniora invited Arabs to reflect on their own alliances, benefit
from Lebanon's contributions to the LAS, and project an Arab vision of mutual
coexistence to the international community.
Not too shabby for a minor country shaken at its roots, challenged and assaulted
by many, while persevering with gusto against some odds.
**Dr Joseph A. Kechichian is a commentator and author of several books on Gulf
affairs.