LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
August 21/08
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 20,1-16.
The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them
for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine
o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them,
'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.'So they went
off. (And) he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock, and did
likewise.
Going out about five o'clock, he found others standing around, and said to them,
'Why do you stand here idle all day?' They answered, 'Because no one has hired
us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.' When it was evening the
owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them
their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.'When those who had
started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the
first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got
the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, 'These last
ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the
day's burden and the heat.' He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am
not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?Take what
is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?(Or) am I
not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am
generous?' Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."
Saint John Chrysostom (c.345-407), Bishop, first
of Antioch then of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church
Homily 64/Each in his own time
«You also go to my vineyard.» My brethren,
you may perhaps ask why all these laborers were not sent into the Lord's
vineyard at the same time? I reply that God's intention was to call them all at
once. But they hadn't wanted to come as soon as they were called at the first
hour and this was the cause of their refusal. That was why God himself went to
call each one individually... at the moment when he thought they might turn back
and respond to his invitation. This is what the apostle Paul clearly notes with
regard to himself: «When it pleased God, he set me apart in my mother's womb,» (cf
Gal 1,15). When was it that it pleased God if not when he saw that Paul would
surrender to his call? God would have liked to have called him, to be sure, at
the beginning of his life, but because Paul would not have responded to his
voice, God opted not to call him until he saw that he would respond. In the same
way, God did not call the good thief until the last moment even though he could
have done so earlier if he had foreseen that the man would have surrendered to
his call. And so, if the laborers of the parable say that no one hired them, we
must remember God's patience... He himself demonstrates well enough that, for
his part, he had done all he could to make it possible for all to come to him
from the very first hour of the day. Thus Jesus' parable makes us see that
people give themselves to God at very different ages. And God desires before all
else to prevent those who were called first from despising the last.
Free
Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Iraqi Christians: Round trip to
Death Street. By Simon Roughneen. ISN Security Watch 21/08/08
Fear of new Mid East 'Cold War' as Syria strengthens military-Times
Online 21/08/08
A tale of two Sleimans-Menassat
20/08/08
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August
20/08
Israel Threatens to Hit All of
Lebanon if Hizbullah Takes Over-Naharnet
Lebanon PM holds talks in Baghdad-AFP
All of Lebanon a target if Hezbollah takes over: Israeli minister-AFP
Khalil Warns Against a Plot to Separate the North From Lebanon-Naharnet
Olmert warns Israelis next war will hit their cities-Daily
Star
Don't blame the messenger for the bad behavior of politicians-Daily Star
Abu
Jamra Wants Office in Serail to Keep an Eye on Saniora-Naharnet
No New
Army Commander for Lebanon unless Consensus is Reached-Naharnet
Tabourian Boycotts Iraq Visit-Naharnet
Nasrallah, Berri, Jumblat
Call for Calm-Naharnet
High-Voltage Power Lines
Draw Strong Protests in Metn-Naharnet
Relentless Campaign by
Families of Islamists to 'Free Dads'-Naharnet
Salafis Abandon
Understanding With Hizbullah-Naharnet
Acting Army Commander Says
the Establishment is Targeted-Naharnet
Sheikh Mawlawi: Hizbullah
in Real Sedition with Most of Lebanon-Naharnet
Geagea: Expanding Dialogue
Requires a New Doha Accord-Naharnet
Jumblat for Discussing
Hizbullah Weapons to Defend the State-Naharnet
Nasrallah Amazed by
Opposition to Understanding with Salafis-Naharnet
Suicide Terrorists
Reportedly Infiltrate into Lebanon as Tourists-Naharnet
Sheikh Mawlawi: Hizbullah in Real Sedition with Most of Lebanon
Naharnet/The Jamaa Islamiya, Lebanon's chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood, on
Tuesday said Hizbullah is in a state of "real sedition with most of the
Lebanese, especially the Sunni Muslims." Secretary-General of the Jamaa, Sheikh
Faisal Mawlawi, declared the stand while commenting on a document of
understanding between Hizbullah and some Salafi factions that was declared on
Monday and aborted the next day. "Confronting sedition can only be achieved
through entering homes from their gates," Mawlawi added. "Hizbullah should go
into serious and objective dialogue with authorities and effective factions so
that mistakes committed by both sides would be clearly stated and defined to
avoid committing them anew," Mawlawi stressed. Any other attempts, he concluded,
"would be mere media crackling." Beirut, 19 Aug 08, 22:08
Salafis Abandon Understanding
With Hizbullah
Naharnet/The Salafi groups
in Lebanon on Tuesday announced indefinite freezing of an understanding with
Hizbullah, 24 hours after it was announced at a press conference in Beirut.
Sheikh Hassan Shahhal, who signed the understanding on Monday with Hizbullah's
Ibrahim Amin al-Sayyed, declared freezing the agreement pending "appropriate
circumstances that allow its implementation."Sheikh Hassan made the announcement
after a meeting with leaders of Salafi factions presided over by their highest
authority Dai al-Islam al-Shahhal who had rushed to denounce and criticize the
deal with Hizbullah, minutes after it was announced on Monday.
The Dai, or Preacher, on Monday termed the agreement "media crackling in favor
of Hizbullah and the Shiite community" and called for abolishing it.
The freeze was announced in the northern town of Tripoli, power base of the
Salafi movement. "The Salafi movement totally rejects this document … and who
signed it has no right to claim belonging to the Salafi movement or representing
it," the ageing Dai al-Islam Shahhal said on Monday.
"This document is … harmful to the Sunni community and would end up in vain, God
willing," he added. "Those who signed it have no influence, and whoever wants to
defuse tension should talk to forces that do exist," he stressed. Hizbullah and
its allies welcomed the understanding that was sharply rejected by almost all
Sunni factions and members of the March 14 majority alliance. Mustaqbal Movement
leader Saad Hariri, who heads the largest Sunni bloc, had avoided direct comment
on the understanding. But his aides and members of his parliamentary bloc said
he opposed it. Beirut, 19 Aug 08, 19:43
Nasrallah Amazed by Opposition to Understanding with Salafis
Naharnet/Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday criticized factions
that had rejected an agreement of understanding with a Salafi faction.
Nasrallah, addressing a Hizbullah rally, said he was "amazed by tension
resulting from rapprochement between the Lebanese."
He said all controversial issues should be tackled "within institutions." All
efforts should concentrate on "facilitating the launching of the dialogue
mechanism to tackle all standing issues," according to Nasrallah. He said
safeguarding Lebanon against threats targeting it could only be achieved through
"calm atmosphere."
Beirut, 19 Aug 08, 20:52
Acting Army Commander Says
the Establishment is Targeted
Naharnet/Acting Army
Commander Gen. Shawqi Masri on Tuesday said the latest terrorist bombing in
Tripoli targeted the military institution and, through it, the whole of Lebanon.
Masri, addressing staff officers and commanders of the army units, urged the
troops to "interfere quickly to contain security problems, arrest suspects and
turn them over to judiciary authorities."The army, Masri said, is the "guarantee
to safeguard the nation's unity." Beirut, 19 Aug 08, 22:16
A tale of two Sleimans
Posted August 20th, 2008
Naharnet/The abundant Syrian media coverage of Lebanese President Michel
Sleiman's visit to Syria contrasts sharply with its almost nonexistent coverage
of another Sleiman, the Syrian general who was assassinated earlier this month.
Syrian first lady Asmaa' Al Assad and Lebanese first lady Wafa Suleiman
accompany their husbands on an historic visit by the Lebanese President to
Syria. R.R.
DAMASCUS, August 19, 2008 (MENASSAT) - The visit of Lebanese President Michel
Sleiman to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad's palace on August 13 was big news
in Syria. "A new era of diplomatic relations between between Syria and Lebanon,"
several papers headlined.
It was the first visit of a high-ranking Lebanese official to Syria since Syria
was forced to end its 29-year security presence in Lebanon in 2005. Relations
between the countries have been rocky at best ever since. But if the Syrian
media went all out in covering President Sleiman's visit, they were extremely
tight-lipped about in its coverage of the assassination of Syrian General
Mohammad Sleiman, a top adviser to President Assad.
Official confirmation of Sleiman's assassination only came on August 6, five
days after his death, a reminder of the Syrian media coverage of the
assassination of Hezbollah's top military commander, Imad Mighnieh, in Damascus
some six months before.
Hezbollah liaison
"Suleiman is an officer in the Arab Syrian army. He was murdered in an
assassination, and the investigation is still ongoing," was all that President
Assad's media adviser, Butheina Sha'ban, had to tell the press.
The official Syrian media has said nothing of the fact that general Sleiman held
vital positions militarily, overseeing Syria's arms research and development and
heading Syria's army recruitment office. They also negelected to mention that
Sleiman was rumored to be Syria's main liaison with Hezbollah in Lebanon, as the
Arab news website Al-Bawaba reported.
Only after other Arab media outlets began to report General Sleiman's death was
pressure significant enough for Sha'ban to announce the official confirmation of
his death, three days after he was buried in his home town of Driekesh.
Both events illustrated the Syrian government's control over official versions
of events.
Take the political salvos official media threw at the anti-Syrian Lebanese
political parties during president Suleiman's visit. Syria had grown accustomed
to harsh treatment by pro-Western Lebanese political parties (the so-called
March 14 coalition) ever since the assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafiq
Hariri in 2005.
In an editorial titled, "Welcome, Lebanon," Al Thawra's editor-in-chief As'ad
Abboud’s said, "Because Lebanon is an independent sovereign country, Syria can
only deal with the state of Lebanon… and will not accept claims by any Lebanese
political parties that say they represent all of Lebanon.
"All false claims and accusations against Syria and Lebanon are made from
faraway capitals to cover up crimes committed in the service of their foreign
policy projects. Forces of corruption, domination, and oppression have tried to
make Lebanon a problem for Syria."
Here Abboud is making a veiled reference to the Lebanese parliamentary
majority's accusations that Syrian leadership had a hand in the 2005
assassination of Hariri.
Media attacks
Another official newspaper, Tishreen, carried an Op-Ed by editor-in-chief Issam
Dari, titled "Mending relationships and a step towards the future."
"President Suleiman's visit ushers in a new beginning for both countries," Dari
said, adding that the disagreements and fabricated crises aimed at keeping the
two countries apart could only be resolved through Lebanese-Syrian cooperation.
Echoing Abboud's editorial, he added that the "hostile projects" of other
foreign countries were driving the Syrian-Lebanese split.
In order to learn about the other general Sleiman, Syrians had to rely mostly on
the foreign media.
Ironically, it was by lashing out at perceived foreign media bias surrounding
the Sleiman assassination that the Syrian media eventually provided some
information about the event.
Al Dunya, a Syrian private TV channel, attacked "Saudi-backed" media
establishments like the anti-Syrian Lebanese newspaper Al-Mustaqbal for "turning
Sleiman’s assassination into a media attack on the Syrian government."
It was only through these media attacks that the Syrians learned that general
Sleiman was killed by a sniper at the Rimal Al Zahabieh resort, northwest of the
town of Tartus.
Al Dunya reported, "What Saudi politics failed to achieve on the ground against
the Syrian position of supporting Arab resistance, it is trying to achieve
through the media. Saudi media is an official arm of Saudi government policy
which seeks to block Syrian attempts at reaching Arab consensus on regional
issues."
One Syrian source told TIME magazine that Sleiman's assassination could be
connected to the fallout surrounding Imad Mughnieh’s killing last February.
After a lengthy Syrian investigation, Arab news sources had claimed that Saudi
Arabian intelligence was involved.
Several senior Syrian officers were purged from the intelligence services as a
result of the investigation, fueling speculation that "these purges may have
created a revenge motive for Sleiman’s assassination."
(MENASSAT correspondents in Syria contributed to this report; their names are
withheld for security reasons.)
Israel Threatens to Hit All of Lebanon if Hizbullah Takes Over
Naharnet/All of Lebanon,
including its civilian infrastructure, will be a target in any new Israeli war
with Hizbullah, an Israeli minister said on Wednesday.
"The moment the Lebanese government confers legitimacy on Hizbullah, it must
understand that the entire Lebanese state will be a target in the same way that
all of Israel is a target for Hizbullah," Environment Minister Gideon Ezra told
public radio. "During the Second Lebanese War we considered the possibility of
attacking Lebanon's infrastructure but we never resorted to this option, because
we thought at the time that all the Lebanese were not responsible for the
Hizbullah attacks," added Ezra, who is close to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert. Israeli bombing during the 2006 conflict with Hizbullah was largely
confined to Beirut and the south but the military did hit civilian
infrastructure, including Lebanon's main international airport, roads, bridges
and a power station. The conflict followed Hizbullah's capture of two Israeli
soldiers in a deadly cross-border raid. The military failed to secure the
soldiers' return in the 34-day war and also failed to destroy Hizbullah's
ability to rain rockets on northern Israel. The bodies of the two men were
finally handed over by the Shiite group in a prisoner exchange last month.
Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev said Israel does not consider the entire state of
Lebanon to be an enemy but that "the moment Hizbullah takes control of the
Lebanese government we will have to address the consequences."
"Israel will hit back harder than before" if Hizbullah fighters launch a new
attack, Olmert warned.
Israel "did not use all means to respond then (in 2006), but if Lebanon becomes
a Hizbullah state, then we won't have any restrictions in this regard," Olmert
said in remarks released by his office on Tuesday. He warned that the next war
with Lebanon would involve attacks on Israel's cities, saying a future conflict
"will reach the cities and homes of Israeli citizens and the goal of our enemy
will be to hurt the home front," the Israeli daily Haaretz said on its website.
Olmert himself made similar remarks to Ezra's during a visit to Israel's
homefront defense headquarters on Tuesday. "During the war in Lebanon we had a
massive capacity that we refrained from using because we were fighting a
terrorist organization and not a state, but if Lebanon becomes a Hizbullah state
we will not be so restrained," he said. Hizbullah fired around 4,000 rockets
into northern Israel during the 34-day war between the Shiite group and the
Jewish state in the summer of 2006. Olmert, according to Haaretz, further
stressed the importance of maintaining calm and preventing panic among the
public in light of media reports about increasingly dangerous threats to the
country.
"We don't need to scare ourselves too much with regards to the threats," Olmert
said. "Ultimately, the threat that we foresee in our imaginations is more
demonic than it really is," Haaretz quoted Olmert as saying. "In many respects,
the Home Front Command will be the first and most important command in any
future war and I am impressed by the astounding progress in its readiness and
the change in its mindset," Olmert said.
Last month, Prime Minister Fouad Saniora formed a national unity government that
gives the Hizbullah-led opposition 11 ministries and the power of veto over
cabinet decisions. In a policy statement earlier this month, the new government
affirmed "the right of Lebanon, its people, its army and its resistance to
liberate its land," a reference to some disputed border districts still held by
Israel.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hizbullah of violating U.N. Security Council
Resolution 1701, which ended the war, by importing increasingly advanced weapons
from Syria. Israel has meanwhile carried out routine overflights of southern
Lebanon, which is also in violation of the resolution.(AFP-Naharnet)
Beirut, 20 Aug 08, 08:06
Abu Jamra Wants Office in
Serail to Keep an Eye on Saniora
Naharnet/Deputy Premier
Issam Abu Jamra called in remarks published Wednesday for establishing his own
office at the Grand Serail so he can keep an eye on Prime Minister Fouad
Saniora. "I will not accept to play a marginal role and watch what Saniora does
without knowing the documents he is signing or discussing," Abu Jamra told the
daily As Safir. Abu Jamra said he would suggest amending the text of the prime
minister performance management system "such as it preserves the role of deputy
prime minister." The deputy premier also said he would reject a proposal for
renting property near the finance ministry where Abu Jamra's offices would be
located, pointing out that rehabilitation of the office building would cost $2
million, let alone the expensive rental. Beirut, 20 Aug 08, 10:09
No New Army Commander for Lebanon unless Consensus is Reached
Naharnet/Lebanon's political leaders were engaged in intensive contacts on
Tuesday in an effort to reach consensus on the new army commander.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in this regard, held talks with Druze leader
Walid Jumblat Tuesday evening after he had earlier met with Defense Minister
Elias Murr. Also Tuesday, Murr met with Berri and Prime Minister Fouad Saniora
to discuss the issue of appointing directors to key security posts.
The daily As Safir on Wednesday said the appointment of the army command post is
likely to be finalized on Wednesday after the names had been pin pointed.
It identified the candidates – all of them brigadier generals -- as Intelligence
chief George Khoury, head of the Lebanese-Syrian Coordination committee Marwan
Bitar as well as Jean Qahwaji and Charles Shikhani. Jumblat acknowledged after
his meeting with Berri that debate over military appointments "is tense up till
now," which he described as an "unhealthy sign." Jumblat, however, called for
"calm and peaceful dialogue" when discussing controversial issues. He said of
his relationship with Hizbullah that he had no "direct contact" with the Shiite
group. He stressed that the issue of Hizbullah arms "can be conducted in a quiet
manner."
Jumblat also dismissed news reports that all-party national dialogue could be
put off due to a dispute over meeting participation and items on the agenda,
insisting leaders were awaiting President Michel Suleiman's invitation.
Meanwhile, head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP
Mohammed Raad, called for drafting of the electoral law before moving on to
roundtable talks. Beirut, 20 Aug 08, 08:54
Tabourian
Boycotts Iraq Visit
Naharnet/Energy Minister Alain Tabourian has decided to boycott a visit to Iraq
in protest against the way he was treated when he was in the company of Prime
Minister Fouad Saniora on his trip to Alexandria, Egypt recently. Saniora
sources said Tabourian had been invited to Baghdad, but that he apologized and
said he had other commitments elsewhere. The daily As Safir on Wednesday said
Tabourian refused to go into details about why he was not going to Iraq,
expressing, however, deep anger over the "campaign" launched against him in
light of comments he made on the Egypt trip. Saniora arrived in Baghdad on
Wednesday for trade talks, becoming the first Lebanese leader to visit Iraq
since the fall of Saddam Hussein, officials said on Monday. It follows a trip to
Iraq on August 11 by Jordan's King Abdullah II, the first by an Arab head of
state since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion which toppled Saddam.
After the king's visit, Amman said it has appointed an ambassador to Baghdad
where its embassy has been run by a charge d'affaires since it came under deadly
attack in 2003. Iraq has an embassy in Beirut, while Jawad al-Haeri was in 2006
named Lebanon's first ambassador in post-Saddam Baghdad. He died on July 12 and
has not yet been replaced. "The discussions with Iraqi leaders will be on
bilateral relations and particularly trade and oil," Saniora's spokesman had
said.
Baghdad is working to rebuild relations with its neighbors in the wake of five
years of bloodshed that continues despite violence having now dipped to a
four-year low. Washington has been pushing its Sunni Arab allies, notably
regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia, to send ambassadors and high-level officials
to Baghdad to help shore up support for the country's Shiite leadership. The
United States also hopes that these countries will offer financial support to
Iraq and counterbalance the influence of Iran, which U.S. President George Bush
has accused of negative interference in Iraqi affairs. Prior to 2003, Lebanon
and Iraq had had a strong trading relationship, mainly in food
products.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 20 Aug 08, 12:37
Nasrallah, Berri, Jumblat
Call for Calm
Naharnet/Hizbullah chief
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as well as Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Druze
leader Walid Jumblat have called for calm.
"Calm ... is a national interest under which serious dialogue can be conducted,"
Nasrallah said in remarks published by several Beirut dailies on Wednesday.
He warned that the ongoing tense situation would "sabotage dialogue and obstruct
the work of the government." Druze leader Walid Jumblat, for his part, called
for calm, saying "tense situations cannot be dealt with tension." Meanwhile,
visitors quoted Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri as expressing his commitment to
support all national consensus efforts. Beirut, 20 Aug 08, 23:30
High-Voltage Power Lines Draw
Strong Protests in Metn
Naharnet/Ain
Saadeh-Mansourieh residents in the Metn province kept up their pressure on the
government for the fourth day in a row to prevent the installation of
high-voltage power lines above residential areas and educational institutions.
Residents expressed fear that the power lines could cause cancer, urging the
government to install them underground. Change and Reform Bloc MPs Ghassan
Mukhaiber and Ibrahim Kanaan, Sami Gemayel from the Phalange Party, Lebanese
Forces member Eddy Abi Lamaa and Father Marwan Tabet, the secretary general of
Catholic schools in Lebanon also joined the protesters.
"We will continue to work with the residents to reach the solution that
satisfies them," said Mukhaiber during Tuesday's protest. "We want executive
decisions by the Council of Development and Reconstruction and the
cabinet."Kanaan said MPs and Metn residents would start meeting with Premier
Fouad Saniora, the ministers and the CDR to reach a suitable solution. "This is
a humanitarian matter and not a political one," he stressed. Abi Lamaa also
urged the water and energy ministry to stop the process of installing the
high-voltage lines. Beirut, 20 Aug 08, 09:04
Relentless Campaign by
Families of Islamists to 'Free Dads'
Naharnet/The families of
Islamists held by the Lebanese authorities for their alleged links with Fatah
al-Islam staged another protest on Tuesday, demanding the release of the
prisoners. Around 200 women and children took part in the protest outside the
U.N. headquarters in downtown Beirut.
Some held balloons that read "Free my Dad." Some other children were blindfolded
and handcuffed and wore t-shirts urging the release of their fathers.
There are more than 300 suspects held in Roumieh prison east of Beirut on
terrorism-related charges, including members of the al-Qaida-inspired Fatah
al-Islam group which fought the Lebanese army for more than three months last
year. Last week, the prisoners' families also staged a protest in front of the
military tribunal in Beirut. Beirut, 20 Aug 08, 10:04
Geagea: Expanding Dialogue Requires a New Doha Accord
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has criticized calls by Hizbullah
and its allies to expand the list of participants in the proposed national
dialogue, saying it aims at distorting the effort. He said on Tuesday that only
participants in the 2006 dialogue sessions should take part in the new round of
talks to be sponsored by President Michel Suleiman at Baabda Palace. Geagea,
talking to partisans at his Meerab residence, said expanding the list of
participants in the national dialogue would require "another Doha accord."
Beirut, 19 Aug 08, 21:52
Jumblat for Discussing Hizbullah Weapons to Defend the State
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat said the issue of
Hizbullah weapons should be tackled through national dialogue "to safeguard
Lebanon and the Lebanese state against Zionist aggressions." Jumblat made the
remark to reporters after talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. He
expressed hope that President Michel Suleiman would invite us to the National
Dialogue Conference to "discuss issues, in an atmosphere of calm, taking into
consideration wounds" that had been sustained by all factions. The general
atmosphere is tense "but tension can only be defused by dialogue," Jumblat said.
"We should be a united rank in confronting Israeli aggressions … let us rise
above wounds," Jumblat stressed. Jumblat recalled that Iraqis "under the
auspices of Shiite Authority Ayatollah Ali Sistani and Premier Nouri Maliki
exerted huge efforts to confront fragmentation schemes and support the state."
Beirut, 19 Aug 08, 21:33
Suicide Terrorists Reportedly
Infiltrate into Lebanon as Tourists
Naharnet/Walid Jumblat's
Progressive Socialist Party has informed Interior Minister Ziad Baroud that
terrorists disguised as tourists have entered Lebanon to carry out apparent
suicide attacks. The PSP's media official Rami al-Rayyes told Naharnet "we have
received information about suicide attackers entering Lebanon disguised as
terrorists." "We've relayed the information to Interior Minister Baroud. This is
a major threat that could destabilize the whole situation," Rayyes explained. He
said the PSP relayed the information to Baroud to help "counter-terrorism
officials follow up the issue and control the situation.""Lebanon is surrounded
by threats at various levels," Rayyes said, predicting renewed attempts to
assassinate political figures in Lebanon. The previous round of political
assassinations, which started on Oct. 1, 2004, had targeted politicians opposed
to Syria's role in Lebanon. Beirut, 19 Aug 08, 19:24
Don't blame the messenger for the bad behavior of
politicians
By The Daily Star
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Editorial
Politicians in Lebanon frequently criticize local media outlets whenever we
report or analyze events and statements that are bound to stir up controversy.
Some have called for clamping down on media freedoms, claiming that such an
effort would reduce sectarian or political tensions in the country. Others have
even indirectly supported physical violence against the press by remaining
silent about assassinations or other attacks that warrant strong condemnation.
But before any politician casts blame on the media for the state of affairs in
the nation, he or she ought to take a long hard look in the mirror.
The Lebanese media, for all of its faults, only reports the stories that
politicians themselves tend to generate. The country's various television
stations, newspapers and magazines might misinterpret the facts or put a
dizzying political spin on the day's events, but they are generally not in the
business of completely fabricating the news. After all, who would need to craft
a fictitious report about a bizarre or horrific event or statement, when real
material is so readily provided by the country's political class?
Even when the media distorts the news for political purposes, it usually does so
at the behest of politicians. It is no secret that nearly all of the country's
media outlets are either directly owned or indirectly manipulated by influential
politicians and political parties. For example, Future Television, NBN and Al-Manar
are owned by MP Saad Hariri, Speaker Nabih Berri and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's
Hizbullah, respectively, while LBC continues to express the views of MP Samir
Geagea's Lebanese Forces and Orange TV comes under the obvious sway of MP Michel
Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement. The vast majority of viewers who choose to tune
in to any of those channels do so knowing that they will get the day's news
complete with their favorite partisan spin. They have the country's
politicians-cum-media moguls, not its journalists, to thank for that.
If politicians are really so offended by the way the news is reported, perhaps
they ought to consider collectively desisting from their own manipulation of the
media. Or better yet, they could all uphold their previous agreements to refrain
from providing us members of the press with such inflammatory material. After
all, it was the country's political leaders, not its journalists, who signed an
agreement in Doha in May to "immediately abstain from resorting to the rhetoric
of treason or political or sectarian instigation." How can politicians blame
members of the media for merely upholding the call of duty by reporting their
continual breaches of that agreement?
Lebanon's freewheeling media might offend, annoy or even at times incite with
its diverse and outspoken coverage of the news, but it remains one of the few
hallmarks of freedom and democracy in Lebanon. For that reason, the country's
journalists, despite all their flaws, are still miles ahead of those politicians
who call for clamping down on freedom of the press.
Iraqi Christians: Round trip to Death Street
Iraqi Christian refugees flee the horror of sectarian violence at home to
struggle with life in Lebanon.
By Simon Roughneen in Lebanon
ISN Security Watch - (20/08/08)
"My friend was stopped at a checkpoint on the road to Irbil from Baghdad. The
people in the car had to show their ID cards to the masked men.
"They could see she was Christian from her name. They dragged her from the car,
pushed her to her knees and put a gun to her head.
"They told her to convert to Islam, or die. She refused and started praying out
loud. But they did not kill her, not straight away. They raped her and then she
was shot in the head."
Pascale (her name and the names of her family members have been changed to
protect their identity) has recounted this tale too many times to cry any more.
However this story, as elemental as it is heart-rending, is not unique among the
estimated 2 million Iraqi refugees who have fled their country since 2003.
Maybe the heroism of this story loses some of its currency with each telling, or
maybe each individual tragedy gets lost in Iraq's deluge of blood-letting.
But before this reporter can overcome his pitiful inability to cope with what
has just been said and ask more details, Pascale's husband Paulos picks up the
thread.
"Our neighborhood in Mosul was nicknamed Death Street. Two weeks before we left,
my next-door neighbor was shot in his home. The terrorists said 'give the child
to your wife.' When he did this, they shot him four or five times, in front of
the woman and her little one."
Pausing momentarily, he adds, "Later, two of my sisters were widowed by car
bombs."
The family has spent the past year in a claustrophobic one-room apartment in
Beirut's outskirts. Kitchen and living room by day, bedroom by night, the entire
flat is a little bigger than the average western bathroom and opens into a
covered car park.
Lebanon hosts some 50,000 Iraqis while neighboring Syria and Jordan have around
1.5 million and 500,000, respectively, though these are high-end estimates used
by the governments in Damascus and Amman, and are disputed by refugee agencies
who posit lower figures.
But in global terms, displacement in and from Iraq outranks Sudan and is second
only to Afghanistan.
Of Iraqis in Lebanon, 30 percent are Christian, with over half Shia, reflecting
long-standing links between the respective communities in both countries. The
rest are Sunni - around 17 percent of the total - and the balance minorities
such as Mandeans and Yazidi.
Iraq's Chaldeans speak a form of Aramaic, the language used by Jesus Christ.
Chaldeans converted to Christianity in the 1st century AD and have been in Iraq
ever since. Like Lebanon's Maronites - the majority Christian community in that
country - the Chaldeans are part of the Roman Catholic Church.
Michel Kasdano, a retired Lebanese armed forces general, told ISN Security
Watch, "In the past six months, most of the arrivals have been from Mosul as
security there deteriorates."
Kasdano leads a diocesan team that helps Christian Iraqis arriving in Lebanon,
providing financial and educational support, medical aid and assistance in
finding accommodation and employment, all mirroring similar work by Shiite and
Sunni Muslim groups.
A precipitous decline in Iraq's ancient Christian population has left
approximately 450,000 to 700,000 in the country. Estimates vary but between
300,000-500,000 have fled since the fall of Saddam's regime in 2003, while a
similar number left during the final 15 years of Baath dictatorship in
Mesopotamia.
In February 2008, Christian persecution in Iraq – and Mosul in particular -
claimed its highest-profile victim: Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paul Faraj
Rahho. His body was found days after he and three companions were ambushed by
gunmen, and a month after the archbishop had called for Christians to cease
paying the jizya, once a tax paid by Christians and Jews to Muslim rulers. Since
the fall of Saddam, the jizya has morphed into a protection racket extorted by
paramilitaries, with the proceeds apparently funding terrorist groups.
Kasdano added that "30 percent of the attacks [on Christians] are criminal
opportunists who see a weakened and vulnerable minority."
The start of the exodus
The refugee flight started in 2005, two years after the US invasion of Iraq, as
hoped-for reconstruction and nation building gave way to al-Qaida-infiltrated
sectarian and ethnic chaos that the US and its allies seemed incapable of
handling until the recent "surge" orchestrated by General David Petraeus. The
move saw local Sunni leaders partner with the US-led coalition to drive foreign
al-Qaida affiliates from the country, abetted by Iran-induced Shiite militia
ceasefires.
The number of Iraqis leaving the country skyrocketed with the attack on a shrine
in Samarra in early 2006, which sparked a de facto sectarian civil war between
Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq. Christians were caught in the middle.
In all, one-in-five Iraqis have left their homes since 2005. However the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees reports that 40 percent of Iraqi refugees are
Christian — a staggering number considering that Christians made up for only
some 4 percent, or 1.5 million, of Iraq's total pre-invasion population.
The caveat, however, for Iraq's Christians, is that they are an unprotected
minority, and unlike the Sunnis, Shia or Kurds, the Christians do not have a
homegrown militia. The US and its allies in Iraq have been shied from protecting
Christians, partly due to wariness of offending Iraq's Muslim majorities.
Paulos recounted to ISN Security Watch that in the vortex of violence and
extremism that started 2003, Sunnis aghast at losing power in Iraq told
Christians in the area "Your uncles are here, Crusaders."
But Uncle Sam's arrival did not do much for Iraqi Christians, with some accusing
the US Army of failing to protect them as it feared this would fuel insurgent
propagandists.
On the other hand, the US television news program 60 Minutes documented Iraqi
Christians asking that US Marines not be deployed near their churches, fearing
Sunni or Shia militia reprisals for this alleged "collaboration."
Paulos laughs, wistfully weighing the pros and cons: "We never expected the
Americans to put a soldier at every house."
When Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met Pope Benedict XVI in July this
year, he asked the pontiff to persuade Iraq's Christians to return to Iraq, and
stated his belief that they were not being targeted by Iraq's violent
ethno-religious strife.
But in response to the meeting, Iraqi Christian parliament member Younadam Kanna
told the Associated Press that the situation for Christians in Baghdad had
improved in recent months but, "in Mosul, the situation is the same as it used
to be and it's getting worse."
According to Kasdano, "Christian refugees from Iraq do not want to go back, they
feel they are being driven out."
Hardships in a foreign land
Lebanon's Iraqis face some onerous common challenges, irrespective of the
circumstances of their exile. First among those is the Lebanon's lack of refugee
legislation, leaving the Iraqis in a legal no-man's land.
Stephane Jaquemet of the UNCHR office in Beirut told ISN Security Watch,
"Lebanon does not have a refugee law. It treats most Iraqis as illegal
immigrants, regardless of their need to be protected as refugees."
A memorandum of understanding signed by Lebanon and the US in 2003 aimed to
loosen procedures, but this was intended for only hundreds of annual arrivals,
not the 50,000-plus influx, adding to Lebanon's long-present 400,000 Palestinian
refugees in camps across the country.
"The authorities here will not see Lebanon as an asylum country until the
Palestinian issue has been resolved," Jaquemet said.
For Paulos and Pascale, coping with three children struggling to find schools
and friends, with either parent seeking one decent work opportunity, capped by
the frustrations and struggles of the asylum system - it all makes for a
grinding, stultifying existence.
The family says it has already been turned down for entry to the US. With
relatives in Australia and Sweden, options to move to those countries have also
been ruled out for now due to the complicated legal issues concerning the number
of family members they will take.
Not shy on black humor, Paulos predicts, "We will go to Afghanistan!" But joking
aside, unless he finds better paying work, and in turn a more congenial place to
live, he even contemplates a return to Iraq, back home to Death Street.
Kasdano counsels otherwise, pointing out that he has heard of a factory owner in
East Beirut who needs workers; and of a neighborhood housing hundreds of Iraqis,
which means company and community support.
However, Paulos seems at his wits end. "Why not go back? Maybe I will be killed
at home, but we are dead living here like this."
*Simon Roughneen has reported from 30 countries and is author of "Post
Settlement Sudan - Between Power and Empowerment," in Beyond Settlement,
Associated University Press, 2008.