LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 01/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 12,28-34. One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?"Jesus replied, "The first is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.' And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that (he) answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
March 14 needs to lead or get out of the way. By Ghassan Karam,Ya Libnan. 29/02/08
Kuwait, Lebanon and the Damascus Summit!From: Dar Al-Hayat. February 29/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 29/08
Hamadeh to Hizbullah: Lebanon Cannot Bear Two States-Naharnet
Hizbullah: Deployment of U.S. Warships Will Not Affect Us-Naharnet
Israel Intensifies Training Following Nasrallah Threats as Europe ...Naharnet
Lebanon: European ambassadors worried about stability in the South-(AKI)
Hezbollah Rejects US Ships Off Lebanon-The Associated Press
Germany hands over maritime supervision in Lebanon to the Italians-Earthtimes
Hamas: Israel will flounder in Gaza like it did in Lebanon-Ynetnews
Peoples court condemns Israel for war crimes in Lebanon-Workers World
Hariri int'l tribunal to proceed-Middle East Times
Aoun: I Will Not Facilitate Presidential Elections-Naharnet
Ahmadinejad's Challenging Visit to Iraq-Naharnet
No End in Sight for Presidential Deadlock-Naharnet
Playing on Volcano Edge-Naharnet
U.S. Blacklists 4 Men for Backing Qaida in Iraq from Syria-Naharnet
Arab leaders press Syria over Lebanon impasse-Financial Times
Impatient with Syria, US sends warship off Lebanon coast-Ha'aretz
US sends warship near Lebanon-AFP
New Sanctions Aimed at Syrians-The Associated Press
Israel Kills Hamas Terrorists Recently Trained in Iran, Syria-ThreatsWatch.Org
USS Cole 'ordered to position off Lebanese coast-Daily Star
Political crisis drags on with no end in sigh-AFP
Moussa warns Damascus to help out in Beirut-Daily Star
Union for Lebanon, Popular Bloc heads hold talks-Daily Star
Karami blames international issues for local crisis-Daily Star
USAID donates $50,000 to Dar al-Fatwa health center-Daily Star
Credit the Lebanese for getting this far-Daily Star
Kuwait summons 1,500 people in probe of Mughniyeh ceremony-Daily Star
Graziano stresses UNIFIL's humanitarian role-Daily Star
Free improv makes inroads into Lebanon's palate-Daily Star
NGO lets children in Palestinian refugee camps view homes from new angle-Daily Star
Lebanese healthcare: Some are more equal than others-By IRIN News.org
Sarkis laments loss of $3 billion in tourism revenues to instability-Daily Star
Michel Murr Supports Three Equal Tens-Naharnet
Syria slow on Saudi invite to summit amid Lebanon row-AFP
Karami: War is Coming and Damascus Summit Would be Held-Naharnet
Safadi Rejects Veto Powers for Opposition-Naharnet

Hamadeh to Hizbullah: Lebanon Cannot Bear Two States
Naharnet/Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh said Friday Lebanon cannot bear a state within a state. "Lebanon cannot bear two states – a Hizbullah state from one side and a central Lebanese state on the other," Hamadeh said in an interview with the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat. Hamadeh reiterated accusations against Syria and Iran for obstructing the Arab League initiative. "Either Hizbullah merges its might, wealth and communication (system) into the Lebanese state or there's going to be a confrontational issue with the central state," Hamadeh warned. The ruling March 14 coalition has long accused Hizbullah, which is backed by both Syria and Iran, of continuing its quest to establish its state within the state. Hamadeh hoped that peaceful means could be used on Damascus, adding that "we are not by any means calling for war on Syria." "But we say that Syria should succumb to the international judiciary and respect an independent state that is one of the founders of the Arab League – and that state is Lebanon," he said. Beirut, 29 Feb 08, 10:11

Hizbullah: Deployment of U.S. Warships Will Not Affect Us
Naharnet/Hizbullah on Friday rejected the deployment of U.S. warships off the coast of Lebanon, calling it a threat to Lebanese sovereignty and independence that will not affect the Shiite group. "We are facing an American threat against Lebanon," Hizbullah legislator Hasan Fadlallah said. "It is clear this threat and intimidation will not affect us," he said on local television. Fadlallah, speaking on New TV, called on Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government to reject the deployment as well. His remarks came a day after the U.S. revealed it has sent its USS Cole destroyer off Lebanon's coast and was dispatching two more warships in a show of strength as tensions with Syria and political uncertainly mount. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in Washington Thursday the deployment should not be viewed as threatening or in response to events in any single country in the volatile region.
"This is an area that is important to us, the eastern Med," he said when asked about news reports of the ship movements. "It's a group of ships that will operate in the vicinity there for a while," adding that "it isn't meant to send any stronger signals than that. But it does signal that we're engaged, we're going to be in the vicinity, and that's a very, very important part of the world." Another military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because full details about the ship movements are not yet public, said a Navy guided missile destroyer, the USS Cole, was headed for patrol in the eastern Mediterranean and that it is accompanied by two refueling ships. The Cole is equipped to engage in a variety of offensive actions, including anti-aircraft and land attack missions.
Another group led by the USS Nassau, an amphibious warship, is headed in that direction on a normally scheduled deployment and some or all six ships in the Nassau group might operate in the eastern Mediterranean also, the official said. The officer said a third ship would go later, but he did not identify it by type or name. A Navy news release said the Nassau Expeditionary Strike Group entered the 6th Fleet's operational area on Monday. Besides the Nassau, the group included a guided missile cruiser, two guided missile destroyers and two other amphibious warfare ships. The amphibious warfare ships can carry thousands of U.S. Marines. The U.S. 6th Fleet, whose area of operations includes the entire Mediterranean, is based at Naples, Italy.
The decision to send the ships appeared to be a not-too-subtle show of U.S. force in the region as international frustration mounts over a long political deadlock in tiny Lebanon. The United States blames Syria for the impasse, saying Syria has never given up its ambitions to control its smaller neighbor.
The presidential election in Lebanon has been delayed 15 times. Just this week the date was pushed back to March 11. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to visit the Middle East next week. Fadlallah told NTV that Hizbullah would not be affected by "threats and intimidation and such American military shows which do not affect our choices and decisions." "Lebanese sovereignty and independence are clearly threatened through these direct American moves," he added.
Stretching its military muscle is "proof of failure" of the United States, the Hizbullah MP said. "There is a clear American decision to interfere directly through military pressure," he added. He also told the daily As Safir that the U.S. move proves that the "real confrontation is with effective decision makers in Washington."
"America's show of strength is proof of failure and indication that it had consumed all political pressure to impose the American tutelage," Fadlallah said in remarks published by As Safir Friday.
Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun, a major opposition leader, said the ship movements looked like a calculated show of force by the U.S.
"There is no need for it," Aoun said. Other Arab countries appear to be becoming involved in the Lebanese impasse.
Syria is to host an Arab summit in Damascus next month, and pro-U.S. Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt reportedly are threatening to boycott if no president is elected in Lebanon by then. This could be a tactic by the Saudis and Egyptians to force Syrian concessions in Lebanon to save the summit. The Syrians so far have said the summit will go ahead as planned, regardless of who refuses to attend. MP Mustafa Alloush of Saad Hariri's al-Mustaqbal Movement said that neither the government nor the anti-Syrian March 14 coalition had any links to the dispatching of the Cole.
"But we remind what caused the situation to bring the American equation into the arena," he said, blaming Syria indirectly for inviting such American intervention. "It (the deployment) could be aimed directly at Syria or a declaration by the United States of America that it could be part of this equation that could develop if conditions remain the way they are," Alloush said. Mullen was asked whether the deployment of the ships was linked to the timing of the Lebanese election.
"To say it's absolutely directly tied would be incorrect, but we are certainly aware that elections out there are both important, and they are due at some point in time," he replied.
And when asked whether Syria is the reason for the deployment, he said, "It's not specifically sent to any one country, as much as it is to the region itself."
The Cole was rebuilt after being almost sunk in a terror attack in Aden, Yemen, in October 2000. It was re-commissioned in April 2002 and went on its first post-attack deployment in November 2003. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the deployment of the Cole is meant as "a show of support for regional stability." He added that President George Bush is concerned about the situation in Lebanon. The Cole is sailing to the region from Malta.(AP-Naharnet

Israel Intensifies Training Following Nasrallah Threats as Europe Cautions Hizbullah
Naharnet/Israel has intensified its military training along the border with Lebanon following threats by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah as Europe cautioned the Shiite group against a retaliatory attack to avenge Imad Mughniyeh's killing. Press reports, citing senior Israeli officers taking part in training along the Lebanon-Israel border, said that the Jewish state takes Nasrallah's threat seriously. The officer, commander of a Merkava tank battalion, said Israel was improving these tanks which were hit by Hizbullah rockets during the summer 2006 war. The military training coincided with Israeli overflights of Lebanon. Meanwhile, a number of European ambassadors promptly contacted Hizbullah's leadership, urging it to be on full alert in light of a possible Israeli incursion in the event that the group launched a reprisal to avenge Mughniyeh's killing. Press reports said the situation in south Lebanon will continue to be a cause for concern in Europe not just because of its role in the U.N. peacekeeping force, but for fear that stability in the south could deteriorate in the event that Hizbullah launched an attack against Israel. Hizbullah has blamed Israel for Mughniyeh's killing in Damascus Feb. 12. Israel has denied the charge. Beirut, 29 Feb 08, 12:25

Lebanon: European ambassadors worried about stability in the South
Beirut, 29 Feb. (AKI) - European Union ambassadors in Lebanon are afraid for the stability and security in the south of the country, following the death of Shia militant group Hezbollah's military chief, Imad Mughniyeh, and its possible repercussions. Imad Mughniyeh was killed in a bombing in Damascus on 13 February and Hezbollah has blamed Israel for assassinating him. Mughniyeh was widely believed to be responsible for a wave of bombings, assassinations and kidnappings in Lebanon during the 1980s. Ambassadors are worried about a possible retaliation against Israel by Hezbollah, according to European diplomatic sources cited by pan Arab daily Al-Hayat. According to the paper, the diplomats asked Hezbollah for 'restraint', avoiding to respond to Israel, afraid that this could result in a new war. Hezbollah was reportedly warned that should an attack be carried out against an Israeli institution anywhere in the world, the response to the attack could be overwhelming. Some 13,000 peacekeepers from over 20 countries, who make up the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), were deployed to the south of the country in 2006 following the war between Israeli troops and guerrillas from Hezbollah in July-August that year. Meanwhile, the USS Cole, America's assault warship has reportedly been deployed off the coast of Lebanon, ahead of a presidential vote which on Tuesday was postponed until March 11 for the 15th time since September 2007.

Germany hands over maritime supervision in Lebanon to the Italians
Posted : Fri, 29 Feb 2008
Author : DPA
Beirut - A ceremony to mark Germany's handover to Italy of its command of the United Nations naval mission patrolling the Lebanese coast was under way on board a German frigate in the area on Friday. Germany led the naval mission of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for 17 months, with a maritime force consisting of among others two frigates, two supply ships. German Defence Minster Franz Josef Jung attended the ceremony.
Rear Admiral Ruggiero Di Biase from Italy will take charge of the mission from its German commander, Christian Luther. Italy heads a joint European maritime force, which also includes ships from France, Spain and Portugal. The UN Maritime Task Force was created under UN Resolution 1701 to end the 33-day Israeli Lebanon conflict in 2006, with German warships patrolling the Lebanese coast. The frigate F218 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern under Commander Ulrich Reinecke left Germany in mid-September and is the flagship of the naval group. Germany contributed 2,400 personnel to the mission.
Germans have been questioning the purpose of the mission aimed an stopping illegal arms supplies from reaching Lebanon after the conflict ended.
The UNIFIL mission, created in 1978, was beefed up to a 13,000- strong force. After Germany hands over command of the mission on Friday, it will reduce its naval presence from seven ships to four and the number of sailors from 650 to 500. There has been much speculation in recent months whether the UNIFIL task force has contributed towards strengthening Lebanon's sovereignty or stopping arms supplies to the pro-Iranian Hezbollah.
Germany has been helping to replace Lebanese coastal radars and has granted about 1.6 million dollars for the training.
The handover between the Germans and the Italians comes amid reports that the United States is sending a warship toward waters off the Lebanese coast in a move it says amounts to a "a show of support for regional stability."The USS Cole, a destroyer armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, was dispatched to the area from Malta amid the political crisis in Lebanon that Washington has blamed on Syrian interference. Copyright, respective author or news agency

Hariri int'l tribunal to proceed
By CLAUDE SALHANI (Editor, Middle East Times)Published: February 29, 2008
The international tribunal to judge the case of Rafiq Hariri's assassination is to proceed, despite strong objections from Damascus.
"Rafiq Hariri was a legend," said Charles Rizk, Lebanon's minister of justice. "And legends never die," Rizk said of the former Lebanese prime minister who was assassinated just over three years ago.
"Despite his assassination, Rafiq Hariri is today more alive than he has ever been," continued the Lebanese justice minister, addressing a packed audience at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.
Rizk said the slain Lebanese leader had not only excelled at rebuilding the destroyed city center of Beirut, but had also had rebuilt the state.
At least he was on his way to doing so when he was brutally murdered on St. Valentine's Day in 2005, when a bomb ripped through his convoy killing him and nearly a dozen others.
An international investigation established by the United Nations led the inquiry into his murder. A number of sources have accused the Syrians of having played a role in the killing; accusations rejected by the leadership in Damascus, who equally refute the notion of an international tribunal hearing the proceedings.
Rizk, in his capacity as minister of justice, finds himself facing the arduous – not to say extremely dangerous – task of pushing through the formalities that some Lebanese hope will eventually lead to the trial of those who committed the crime. He confronts not only the "traditional opposition," but none other than the president of Syria, Bashar Assad. Syria has been accused by the United States and the Lebanese government of having had a hand in the killing of the popular prime minister.
Syria has been opposed to the idea of the international tribunal, which Rizk said was scheduled to begin hearings in The Hague, "in the very near future." With that in mind, Assad has been exerting pressure on the Lebanese in any which way he can, including delaying the election of the country's president, a position that has been vacant since November 2007 when Emile Lahoud's term expired.
The political arm-wrestling between Syria and its allies (including Iran), and the pro-government March 14 Movement backed by Saudi Arabia, became even more intense Thursday when Riyadh announced that it was pulling its ambassador from Damascus. Coming up only weeks shy of a scheduled Arab summit due to be held in the Syrian capital, the latest development causes a serious setback in the attempted negotiations at finding a way out of the Lebanese political impasse.
Some observers qualify this political struggle between the March 14 Movement, backed by the United States, the European Union and Saudi Arabia among others, and the opposition made up primarily of Hezbollah and their strange bedfellow ally, Gen. Michele Aoun, and backed by Syria and Iran, as a political bashing of heads between Washington and the Damascus-Tehran axis.
Rizk said that in order to keep the memory of Hariri alive, it was important for the tribunal to move forward so as to "clean the country of the consequences of this crime … and to complete what Hariri had started."
Still, despite the enormous difficulties along the way, including the assassination of nearly 20 prominent politicians, journalists and parliamentarians – all of whom happened to oppose Syria's attempts at imposing its political will on Lebanon – Rizk said that the setting for the tribunal was already.
"We expect very, very, very soon for the tribunal to be on track and the machine will be launched." He added that "far from being a divisive element in the Lebanese and regional life, the tribunal should be considered as a factor of unity, of reconciliation, to wash our consciences and our country from this horrendous crime, which was committed three years and two weeks ago."
Jeffrey Feltman, former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, summed it up: "The tribunal is not solely to find out the truth behind the murder of Rafiq Hariri; it's also about ending an era of impunity for murder in Lebanon."

Aoun: I Will Not Facilitate Presidential Elections
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun said he will not facilitate the election of a new President in Lebanon "after the majority stripped the opposition of its rights." "The opposition constitutes 45 percent of Lebanon's Parliament. We want to have the same share in Cabinet. It is our right," Aoun told Thursday's Kalam el Nass talk show on LBCI. Aoun denied that his position was influenced by Damascus.
"Syria had nothing to do with the oppositions' demands," Aoun stressed. "Damascus told the troika (representatives of Spain, France and Italy) that Syria is incapable of influencing two people in Lebanon -- the Maronite patriarch and myself." Aoun said the opposition has made two compromise proposals at the latest quartet meeting hosted by Arab League chief Amr Moussa. "But both were turned down by the majority," Aoun charged.
"We asked for veto power ... for the purpose of influencing and not blocking cabinet decisions," he said.
Aoun said that when the majority March 14 coalition rejected veto power, "we proposed the three tens formula on condition that the elected president would play a conciliatory role in cabinet." He accused March 14 of blocking all settlements to the Lebanon crisis by rejecting partnership, saying they failed to propose a "serious alternative" to his offers.He said Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman is the majority's candidate, not the opposition's. Beirut, 29 Feb 08, 09:31

Playing on Volcano Edge
Naharnet/Arab leaders are required to achieve consensus not just to salvage a summit conference, but to avert serial collapses the repercussions of which would spare nobody, columnist Zuheir Qsaybati wrote on Thursday. Qsaybati made his point under the headline "Alarm Bells" published by the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat.
Achieving minimum consensus, he wrote, requires a similar level of trust that had been cracked by foreign influence in Arab decision-making, he wrote.
Arab leaders, he added, "realize that the region is heading to what is worst than Somalization." He was referring to the lack of central authority in Somalia.
Qsaybati noted that American occupation forces in Iraq "would not permit all out internal conflicts … but if all-out conflicts were unleashed in Lebanon and Palestine only Arabs would harvest catastrophes." "Playing on the edge of a volcano leaves no immunity for any of the players," he concluded.
Beirut, 28 Feb 08, 14:07

Kuwait, Lebanon and the Damascus Summit!
Al-Hayat - 28/02/08//
Usually, Arab summits have two sessions: one is an opening session for speeches, and the second is a concluding session, whereby resolutions and stances are announced. The formulas, settlements and actual negotiations about a given issue are taken up by foreign ministers in bilateral or multilateral deliberations that either precede or accompany the summit. This is so that when the leaders meet, everything is pretty much ready, except for the small details or "surprise" cryptic positions that affect bilateral relations, such as those that Colonel Qaddafi engages in time after time.
It is well-known that the Arabs have never reached a unanimous stance on any important issue of those in their region or the world. There are always reservations about an item, a policy or timing. However, since the establishment of the Arab League, they have been satisfied to find compromise solutions that preserve the minimum of solidarity at these summits, as the general interest takes precedence over the interest of an individual state.
However, on very few occasions, such as with Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the division among Arabs becomes very obvious, if not flagrant. Neither diplomacy nor slogans can hide the divergent positions, despite the danger of any Arab state occupying another. Two and a half months after Iraqi forces entered Kuwaiti territory an emergency summit was held in Cairo, in which 20 countries took part. They condemned the invasion and Iraq's violation of the sovereignty of a member state then decided to send a joint force to participate in Kuwait's liberation. However, only 12 states voted yes (the six Gulf states, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, Somalia and Djibouti), while three objected (Iraq, Palestine and Libya), three others had reservations (Sudan, Jordan and Mauritania), and two states abstained (Algeria and Yemen). We all know the rest of the story.

Today, the summit scheduled for Damascus at the end of the month appears to face a similar division. There is a big and influential Arab state, which is Syria itself, the host of the summit, that has decided after the exit of its troops from the territory of its small neighbor Lebanon, to do away with, by proxy, the remaining sovereignty and independence of this country. It has prevented the election of a president through its allies, whom it prompted to withdraw from the government - partially paralyzing the latter's activity - and to exercise considerable pressure on the country's economy and security. It also inflamed divisions and pursued its policy of heavily arming one of Lebanon's confessions. This has reached the point where the country's stability and future as a state are threatened to a dangerous extent. There appears to be no hope in seeing the situation change soon, especially after the failure of the Arab League initiative to defuse the crisis, even if in stages, despite the wide Arab and international support.
Thus, Damascus has insisted on "eliminating" Lebanon, striving to convene a summit of "the victor and the vanquished," exactly as it is doing in Beirut, and not a summit of reconciliation and solidarity.
What are the possible alternatives for other Arab states that oppose this situation? It's simple: Syria must come to its senses and put positive pressure on its allies to permit the election of a consensus president who will attend the summit in Lebanon's name and facilitate the formation of a national unity government without any side being able to obstruct the process. Otherwise, these countries will be obliged to boycott the summit and reduce their level of representation, which means the likelihood of its failure, or perhaps think about convening an alternative summit for the states that believe Lebanon has the right to sovereignty, independence and equal treatment by all other states, including Syria. This will mean exchanging diplomatic representation and achieving a final delineation of the countries' borders, which will reduce the permanent anxiety over seeing these borders violated.
Damascus' behavior in Lebanon might not be as crude as Saddam Hussein's in Kuwait, but history is full of lessons for those who want to learn

March 14 needs to lead or get out of the way
Thursday, 28 February, 2008 @ 6:06 PM
By Ghassan Karam,
Special to Ya Libnan
That Lebanon is at a crucial inflection point in its short history as an independent republic is clear to all players. Two irreconcilable forces are pulling at its weak social, political and economic fabric from diametrically opposite directions.
The current government, represented by the March 14 political gathering, can best be described as the camp whose vested interest is in the preservation of the status quo. They express the belief in an independent Lebanon but are content with (i) the traditional “feudal” make up of the political sphere, (ii) withhold their support from the forces that wish to depart from the sick and undemocratic confessional system (iii) have failed to adopt measures to reflect any commitment to law and order and (iv) have over two years a record that stands out by its lack of accomplishments in any field.
The opposition on the other hand, as represented by Hezbollah and its allies is at best a mixture of dissatisfied and disgruntled has been traditional “feudal” lords (Arslan, Franjieh and Karami), a delusional General (Aoun) and an ideologically bankrupt religious party established, funded and trained by Iranian Mullahs in order to promote the idea of Wilayat Al Faqih and wage war against Israel.
The opposition, especially Hezbollah, has no interest in the establishment of a democratic state, economic prosperity, personal liberty or peaceful co-existence with Israel. Each of the above is a move that raises major obstacles in establishing a theocratic state whose only objective is to wage war. Democracy implies accountability, economic prosperity makes waging war more expensive, personal liberty forces upon society diversity and peaceful coexistence nullifies the need for martyrdom and war.
It should be abundantly clear based on the above that the Hezbollah led opposition in Lebanon has no interest in promoting a modern Lebanese state and as a result all efforts to reach a compromise or establish a constructive dialogue should be seen for what they are: a total waste of effort since no one should entertain positive results when the two groups in question are as incongruous as any incongruity can be.
So what is to be done under such circumstances? The solution is self evident or at least it should be since the above circumstances constitute a clear case for the application of Neo Hegelian dialectics. When two ideas are antithetical then the synthesis has to be a total rejection of the backward and absurd option; the Hezbollah ideology; and the rejection of the stifling and archaic ideas held by the other group.
It is time that March 14 forces reassess their strategy and work assiduously for the inevitability of an outcome that promotes a society based on the rule of law, rejects the oppositions’ demand to flaunt sovereignty and to announce the formation of a truly national and secular political party with a detailed program to rid the country of the all pernicious disease of confessionalism which has been gnawing at the Lebanese fabric for over sixty years.
Unless the current Lebanese government can find the courage to undertake courageous acts demanded by the times then history will not be kind in its judgment. To have witnessed a wrong and not acted is to have acquiesced. That is not any different than to have aided and abetted the opposition in achieving its goal of supplanting the aspirations of peaceful, democratic and freedom loving citizens.
The Nobel Laureate Eli Wiesel never tires of emphasizing that ”to be silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all time” because to be silent once you have seen injustice is to be an accomplice to these evil acts. Actually a strong case can be made that the current cabinet led by PM Siniora has done just that. Its inactions and continued “silence” have been major contributors to the standoff which has allowed the opposition to achieve most of the goals that they have aspired for.
Source: Ya Libnan Exclusive
*Ghassan Karam welcomes your correspondence at wp.karam@gmail.com