LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
March 28/08
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Luke 24,35-48. Then the two recounted what had taken place on
the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. While
they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them,
"Peace be with you."But they were startled and terrified and thought that they
were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do
questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I
myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you
can see I have." And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, "Have
you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and
ate it in front of them. He said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to
you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of
Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their
minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them, "Thus it is written
that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that
repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all
the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
Free
Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
The Islamists really are true believers.By
Michael Young. 27/03/08
The Arab summit: Lebanon's missed opportunity was
Syria's, too-The Daily Star. 27/03/08
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for March 27/08
Syria defiant on Lebanon despite summit snubs-Peninsula
On-line
The ticking timebomb: UN tribunal gears up to try Lebanon PM's killers-Guardian
- UK
Aoun attacks Lebanon government & defends Syria-Ya
Libnan
Damascus blames Washington for crumbling Arab
summit-Daily
Star
US steps up pressure for Hariri court to start
work-Daily
Star
Union for Lebanon slams Arab summit boycott-Daily
Star
Lebanon's UN envoy briefs Security Council-Daily
Star
Fadlallah calls on Arabs to band together for
protection-Daily
Star
Khalilzad demands disarmament of HizbullahDaily
Star
Moody's raises Lebanon's credit ratings to
stable, cites 'impressive resilience-Daily
Star
US raps Lebanon over money laundering-Daily
Star
GLC meets to discuss raising minimum wage-Daily
Star
Two dead as truck crashes at Syrian border-Daily
Star
Islamist official laments violence at Ain
al-Hilweh-Daily
Star
New project aims to highlight role of science
in culture-Daily
Star
Southern town still hurting from 2006 war-Daily
Star
UNIFIL keeps close watch on Israeli border
works-Daily
Star
It's official: 'Persepolis' won't screen in
Lebanon-Daily
Star
Egypt Latest Country to Snub Arab Summit in Damascus-Naharnet
Unions Head to
Confrontation with Employers, Government-Naharnet
Saniora to address
the Arab Summit and the World-Naharnet
Muallem: Lebanon
Lost Golden Chances by Boycotting The Summit-Naharnet
Syrian Truck Crushes Two Cars at Masnaa,
Two Killed-Naharnet
Rice to Raise Lebanon Issue During Middle
East Meetings-Naharnet
Khalilzad: Hizbullah Must Disarm Now-Naharnet
Arab Foreign Ministers to Discuss Lebanese
Crisis Thursday-Naharnet
The Jerusalem Post: Syria-Hizbullah
Tensions Running High-Naharnet
U.S.: Tribunal Starts Operating in April,
Names of Judges to be Unveiled Soon-Naharnet
Lebanon Stresses at U.N. Need to Quickly
Elect a President-Naharnet
Arab Summit to Discuss Lebanese Crisis
Despite Boycott-Naharnet
Mughniyeh Lover Grounds French Jetliner-Naharnet
Lebanon Boycotts Damascus Summit, Urges
Arabs to 'Shepherd' Relations with Syria-Naharnet
Abbas Fires Hamas-appointed Police Chief-Naharnet
Egypt Editor Jailed Six Months for Mubarak
Rumors-Naharnet
Iraq PM Gives 72-Hour Deadline to Shiite
Fighters in Basra-Naharnet
Aoun attacks Lebanon government & defends Syria
Thursday, 27 March, 2008 @ 12:56 AM
Beirut - Another defiant TV interview for FPM leader General Michel Aoun in
which he attacked the Lebanese government and its allies and supporters and
defended Hezbollah and Syria .
During an interview with the his own OTV station he said the following:
He supports Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem's criticism of the Lebanese
government 's decision to boycott the Damascus summit .
"The Siniora Government decision to boycott the Damascus summit is "wrong," Aoun
said
He defended Syria's position regarding its innocence over the assassination of
Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and its opposition to the
International Tribunal .
"I believe that he who had killed Hariri is the enemy of Syria", Aoun said and
added " the Charges made in the Hariri crime are mere political blackmailing".
Aoun attacked the government for jailing the four generals accused by the UN
chief investigator of involvement in the Hariri crime " The four generals are
jailed without charges", Aoun said
Aoun also attacked the United states: " the U.S. policy is against Lebanon and
no one can convince me of the opposite." And added " we should defend ourselves
against the American policy "
Aoun blamed the US for blocking the Lebanese crises when he said "a settlement
could be reached if the United States convinced March 14 to accept partnership"
Aoun said "it would be better for Lebanon if the United States loses interest in
it to avoid sending it a democracy similar to what has been established in
Iraq."
Aoun complained about the way he is being treated by the 'hostile 'media and
that he is being subjected to a "character assassination"
" The hostile media has linked my understanding with Hezbollah to Syria and
Iran.
Aoun also complained that is he being targeted by the Christian religious
leaders. He said he differs with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir over
politics, but has no issues with the church
Aoun reiterated what His ally Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in his
speech last Sunday that "Israel is not capable of winning a war either against
Lebanon or Syria " and added that it will be a fatal mistake if it opted for
war"
Aoun defended Hezbollah tent city and said : The Siniora headquarters is a
"camp" similar to the Hezbollah-sponsored tent city, but the camp of Siniora
should be destroyed "
Aoun attacked all the foreign governments that are supporting the government of
Prime Minister Siniora and accused him (Siniora) of following orders from the
following governments Aoun claimed that the Lebanese people support him and his
alliance with Hezbollah
Aoun said he still supports the nomination of General Michel Suleiman for the
presidency of the republic as long as the Arab initiative persists and that he
is personally no longer a candidate.
The Arab summit: Lebanon's missed opportunity was Syria's, too
By The Daily Star
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Editorial
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem got two things right on Wednesday, opining
that Lebanon was wasting an opportunity by staying away from the upcoming Arab
League summit in Damascus and that America was conspiring to undermine the
gathering. The Lebanese government, after all, might have achieved considerable
gains by taking part in the event. And it is clear that the US government
continues to hold several peoples hostage to its own designs for a new order in
the region.
What Moallem failed to note, though, was that Syria has also missed out on a
chance to significantly enhance its own position and safeguard its own
interests. It did this by sending Lebanon's invitation to the summit in a manner
that it knew would be interpreted as a slap in the face. Instead of making it
difficult for Beirut to reject the invitation, Damascus made it more likely that
a boycott would ensue. The same mistake has helped to ensure that other
pro-American Arab regimes like Egypt's and Saudi Arabia's would downgrade their
representation at the summit. By extension, therefore, the Syrians also played
into Washington's hands.
And what has Syria lost by this multi-faceted mistake? Plenty. The tendency is
to label the continuing crisis a "Lebanese" one, but it is also a Syrian one. On
the bilateral level, every day that passes under a cloud of Lebanese-Syrian
discord is one that erodes the natural business and social ties between the two
countries. The summit might have been a superb forum for both open and private
discussions of how to restore trust and cordiality to the relationship.
Regionally, the same problem continues to alienate Damascus from many Arab
capitals, thereby preventing it from influencing their own choices on a variety
of issues. - especially their reactions to the Iranian overtures that America
has done so much to derail.
Syria and Lebanon are neighbors, and what happens in one cannot help but to
affect events in the other. Beirut has every right to fear, for example, that
its sovereignty remains unrecognized by a foreign government that held sway here
for almost 30 years. Damascus is entitled, too, to worry about things like the
possibility that its own stability might be threatened by American and/or
Israeli plans to co-opt and reorient Lebanese foreign policy. Those concerns
cannot be addressed, however, when there is no dialogue - and thus far Syria has
failed utterly to demonstrate a genuine desire for that.
Syria's hosting of this year's Arab League summit was a convenient coincidence
that might have helped break the ice for the ordered resumption of its relations
with Lebanon on a more equitable basis. Instead, it has become yet another point
of contention between the two sides. The Americans wanted that to happen, and
the Lebanese let it happen - but it was the Syrians who made it happen by being
flippant and taciturn when they should have been serious and conciliatory.
Lebanon's UN envoy briefs Security Council
Daily Star
Thursday, March 27, 2008
BEIRUT: Lebanon's ambassador to the United Nations Nawaf Salam on Tuesday
stressed the need to elect a new president without delay. He told the UN
Security Council during its monthly meetings on the Middle East that a head of
state should have been elected during a parliamentary session scheduled for
Tuesday. "We can't but stress on the necessity to hold these elections as soon
as possible in accordance with the constitution and the Arab initiative for my
country's stability and security," Salam said. During the Security Council
briefing which included more than 20 other speakers, UN Undersecretary General
for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe said Lebanon continues to be in the grip of
a deep political crisis. "The longer the stalemate continues, the greater the
chance for the situation to deteriorate further, both politically and in terms
of the security situation," Pascoe said.
US raps Lebanon over money laundering
Report lists country as one of region's worst offenders
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
BEIRUT: Lebanon remains one of the worst money laundering offenders in the
Middle East, despite government efforts to crack down on the activity, according
to a report released by the US State Department. The US State Department's
international narcotics control strategy report also identified the United Arab
Emirates, Israel and Cyprus as countries that need to do more to crack down on
money laundering.
The United States and several European countries also made the list of major
money laundering states.
Lebanon has in recent years made numerous changes to laws and regulations in an
effort to crack down on money laundering. As a result, the Financial Action Task
Force (FATC) removed Lebanon from a list of countries that it says have failed
to combat money laundering.
The Lebanese central bank has said that money laundering activity has
drastically diminished since 2001, after Parliament approved a new law on money
laundering.
But the State Department report suggests that more efforts need to be made to
curb the illegal activity in Lebanon.
"Laundered criminal proceeds come primarily from domestic criminal activity,
which is largely controlled by organized crime," the report said.
It added that in May 2007, members of the Fatah al-Islam militant group stole
$150,000 from a BankMed branch in Tripoli in northern Lebanon.
The report said that there is some smuggling of cigarettes and pirated software,
but this does not generate large amounts of funds that are laundered through the
banking system.
Lebanese customs officials have had some recent success in combating counterfeit
and pirated goods.
The illicit narcotics trade is not a principal source of money laundering
proceeds.
The report acknowledged that Lebanon has made important progress over the past
few years in combating money laundering at all levels.
It said that Lebanon has continued to make progress toward developing an
effective anti-laundering and anti-terrorist financing regime by incorporating
the FATF recommendations and facilitating access to banking information and
records by judicial authorities.
The report added that Lebanon receives a substantial influx of remittances from
expatriate workers and family members, estimated by banking sources to reach $4
to $5 billion a year. "Such family ties are reportedly involved in underground
finance and trade-based money laundering," it said.
The report noted that Lebanon has a large expatriate community throughout the
Middle East, Africa and parts of Latin America.
"They often work as brokers and traders. Many Lebanese 'import-export' concerns
are found in free trade zones. Many of these Lebanese brokers network via family
ties and are involved with underground finance and trade-based money
laundering," the report said.
It added that informal remittances and value transfer in the form of trade goods
add substantially to the remittance flows from expatriates via official banking
channels.
"For example, expatriate Lebanese brokers are actively involved in the trade of
counterfeit goods in the tri-border region of South America and the smuggling
and laundering of diamonds in Africa. There are also reports that many in the
Lebanese expatriate business community willingly or unwillingly give 'charitable
donationsCharity-Makes-Wealth Nov-07 ' to representatives of Hizbullah," the
report said.
The report also focused on diamond and jewelry trading in Lebanon.
In 2004, Lebanon passed a law requiring diamond traders to seek proper
certification of origin for imported diamonds. The Economy and Trade Ministry is
in charge of issuing certification for re-exported diamonds.
This law was designed to prevent the trafficking of "conflict diamonds" and
allowed Lebanon to join the Kimberley Process in September 2005.
"However, in 2005, investigations by Global Witness, a nongovernmental
organization, discovered that according to Lebanese customs data, Lebanon
imported rough diamonds worth $156 million from the Republic of Congo, a country
removed from the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for having a 'massive
discrepancy' between its actual diamond production and declared exports," the
report said.
It added that this documented example of suspect imports from the Republic of
Congo throws serious doubts on the Lebanese authorities' commitment to
countering the trade in conflict diamonds.
"Moreover, there have been consistent reports that many Lebanese diamond brokers
in Africa are engaged in the laundering of diamonds - the most condensed form of
physical wealth in the world," it said.
"The government of Lebanon should encourage more efficient cooperation between
financial investigators and other concerned parties, such as police and customs,
which could yield significant improvements in initiating and conducting
investigations," the report recommended. - The Daily Star
Khalilzad demands disarmament of Hizbullah
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Thursday, March 27, 2008
The US ambassador to the United Nations said Tuesday that Hizbullah must
"immediately" disarm and urged member states to "generously support" the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri. "I would like to underscore our deep concern about the
illegal arms transfers across the Syrian-Lebanese border, and in particular
claims by Hizbullah that it has replenished its military capacity since the
summer 2006 war," US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad told the 15-member Security Council.
"Hizbullah must disarm, and it must do so now," in accordance with resolutions
1559 and 1701, Khalilzad added during the monthly meetings of the UN Security
Council on the Middle East.
On the court that will try the suspects in Hariri's assassination and related
crimes, the ambassador said: "I urge all council members to generously support
the tribunal as a clear signal that the international community backs the effort
of the Lebanese people to end the era of impunity for political assassinations
in their country."
He reiterated support to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government and pointed
the finger at Syria and its allies in Lebanon for obstructing the election of a
new president."Although the Lebanese agree on a candidate, Syria and its allies within Lebanon
are using other preconditions to perpetuate the political stalemate.
"It should be clear, however, until a new president takes office, the United
States has full confidence in, and fully supports, the legitimate Lebanese
government in managing the affairs of the state and the Lebanese armed forces in
continuing to provide security," Khalilzad said.
He also questioned the value of the council's meetings on the Middle East,
saying the angry speeches delivered often made the problem worse.
"The polarization and divisions of the United Nations membership over the
conflict all too often manifest themselves as heated political statements," he
argued.
These "do little to help advance the cause of peace or help the Palestinian
people in any tangible way," he added.
In separate developments, an Israeli newspaper reported on Wednesday that what
is described as Syria's reticence in blaming Israel for the assassination of
senior Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh "indicates that the issue is causing
some friction between Syria and the Shiite group."
The Jerusalem Post said Syria was not pointing the finger at Israel despite
Hizbullah's claims of being "100 percent" sure that the Jewish state was
involved in the February 12 car bombing in Damascus that killed Mughniyeh.
According to Israeli assessments, the paper said, Damascus' "silence" may be an
indication that the investigation has revealed information that could be very
embarrassing to Syria, such as the involvement of Syrian nationals in the
assassination - even if they were not at all connected to the government - or
the involvement of agents from other Arab states.
If Syria has information linking the killing to another Arab state, it would
likely hold on to that information until after the Arab League summit in
Damascus later this week, in order not to do anything to further undermine the
event, The Jerusalem Post said.
The 40 days of mourning for Mughniyeh ended on Saturday, and Israel has raised
its level of alert worldwide out of fear that Hizbullah will avenge the hit.
On Monday Hizbullah's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, renewed his vow to
retaliate for the death of Mughniyeh.
"The one who killed our commander must be punished. The killers must be
punished, and they will be punished, God willing," Nasrallah told a rally in
Beirut to commemorate Mughniyeh. "We will choose the time, place and manner of
punishment." - Agencies
Fadlallah calls on Arabs to band together for protection
Daily Star staff
Thursday, March 27, 2008
BEIRUT: Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah urged the Arabs
on Wednesday to get out of their "internal complications" and work on protecting
the "Arab authenticity and personality in the face of the conservative US
administration."
"We want the Arabs to stick to each other before claiming that some parties in
the Islamic arena have thrown out their role in the region," Fadlallah said.
"The Arab role can only develop through its reinforcement on the internal level
in the face of US attempts to find secondary and marginal roles for some Arab
countries."
Fadlallah accused the US of bringing those countries into its own system, which
he said, "aspires to preserve Israeli interests before drawing up any project in
the region.""If the American generals of war ... want to set the alarm for new fires, the
latter will hit them before anybody else," he said.
According to Fadlallah, the US is no longer as strong as it once was.
"If the US wants to recover its strength, it will do so though a historic
reconciliation with itself first, then with the Islamic and Arab peoples, and
not through its planes, tanks and fleets," he said.
Meanwhile, Higher Shiite Council vice president Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan voiced
surprise over Lebanon's boycott of the Arab summit held in Damascus this
weekend.
"The summit will succeed even if Lebanon boycotts it," Qabalan said. "Lebanon's
non-participation will not harm the meeting; on the contrary, Lebanon needs to
take part in the summit in order for it to talk openly to Syria and discuss ways
to resolve the current Lebanese crisis."
The Lebanese government decided to boycott the Damascus summit on Tuesday
without ruling out the possibility of sending a message that could be read
there.
Qabalan urged Syria to invite Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to
participate in the Arab summit meetings.
"Iran, Saudi Arabia and all Arab countries should take part in the summit and
hold discussions over ways to settle Arab crises in Iraq, Palestine and
Lebanon," Qabalan said. "We need to promote Arab solidarity to confront
challenges and dangers threatening our country and people."
He also called on Lebanese to preserve their country "because it is a precious
jewel.""Politicians should also serve the people so we can protect our country and its
border against Israel, Lebanon's sole enemy," he said. - The Daily Star
The Islamists really are true believers
By Michael Young
Daily Star staff-Thursday, March 27, 2008
Recently, we've heard Hizbullah's secretary general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,
pick up on a theme dear to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It goes
something like this, to borrow from Nasrallah's speech last Monday commemorating
Imad Mughniyeh, Hizbullah's operations chief: "Now we are left with one
question: Will Israel cease to exist one day? ... Yes ... Israel will cease to
exist."
Nasrallah has often mentioned Israel's eventual evaporation. In 1992, following
his appointment as head of Hizbullah, he described the party's long-term
strategy as "fighting against Israel and liberating Jerusalem, as well as Imam
Khomeini's proposal - namely ending Israel as a state."
One can debate the merits or demerits of such a pledge at great length. But the
more interesting question, at least in this interregnum between thought and
practice, between promise and fulfillment, is whether Nasrallah himself believes
what he says. And then to ask what this tells us about armed Islamist movements
located in Israel's neighborhood.
First, does Nasrallah believe? The answer would seem to be obvious. Rarely does
the Sayyed utter a phrase that analysts will not quote with a rider firmly
informing us that he says what he means and means what he says. One can
certainly find quite numerous exceptions to that rule, particularly when
Nasrallah pronounces on the slippery substance of Lebanese domestic politics.
But when it comes to Israel, where the lines are far clearer, Nasrallah actually
does mean what he says, and has been saying it with considerable consistency for
quite a long time.
For example, in an interview with the newspaper Al-Wahda al-Islamiyya in
February 1989, when Nasrallah was still only a Hizbullah field commander, he
remarked: "The future is one of war [against Israel], not settlement; the line
that [Yasser] Arafat is pursuing will only lead him to a closed door, and the
day will come when warfare and the elimination of Israel will be the only
options." (For a rundown of Nasrallah's statements translated into English, read
the indispensible "Voice of Hezbollah: The Statements of Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah", edited by Nicholas Noe.)
Why is the topic important? Because over the years academics, analysts,
journalists, and others, particularly the Westerners among them, who write about
militant Islamist groups, have tended to project their own liberal attitudes and
desires onto such groups, misinterpreting their intentions and largely ignoring
what these groups say about themselves. Inasmuch as most such observers cannot
really fathom the totalitarian strain in the aims and language of armed
Islamists, totalitarian in the sense of pursuing a total idea, total in its
purity, they cannot accept that the total idea can also be apocalyptic. Where
Nasrallah and the leaders of Hamas will repeat that Israel's elimination is a
quasi-religious duty, the sympathetic Westernized observer, for whom the concept
of elimination is intolerable, will think much more benignly in terms of
well-intentioned "bargaining." Hamas and Hizbullah are pragmatic, they will
argue, so that their statements and deeds are only leverage to achieve specific
political ends that, once attained, will allow a return to harmonious
equilibrium.
This argument, so tirelessly made, is tiresomely irrelevant. No one has
seriously suggested that Hizbullah or Hamas are not pragmatic. But one can be
pragmatic in the means and not in the ends. If anything, pragmatism is
obligatory in the pursuit of an absolute idea. And what characterizes those
pursuing the absolute idea? In his essay "Terror and Liberalism", Paul Berman
provides a partial answer, writing how French author Albert Camus noticed that
out of the French Revolution and the 19th century had grown a modern impulse to
rebel. That impulse, Berman wrote, "mutated into a cult of death. And the ideal
was always the same. It was not skepticism and doubt. It was the ideal of
submission ... it was the ideal of the one, instead of the many. The ideal of
something godlike. The total state, the total doctrine, the total movement."
Hizbullah and Hamas are themselves products of rebellion - rebellion against
what they took and still take to be a foul, unjust political order in Lebanon or
Palestine or the Middle East in general. That drive has, naturally, even
necessarily, pushed them to advocate the absolute negation of everything
embodying that allegedly unjust order. Their motivating force is submission to
the pursuit of the just idea, and this goes to the very heart of Islam itself,
indeed denotes its very meaning, which is based on the embrace of total
submission to God. Nasrallah may rarely employ religious terminology, but
everything about the way he structures his thoughts, contentions, or vows
reflects a deeply religious mindset.
One thing eternally confusing outside observers is that Hamas and Hizbullah are
what have come to be described as "nationalist Islamists." Because nationalism
started essentially as a Western notion, because its reference point is
something reassuringly tangible like territory, not Armageddon, the Westernized
writer will see something of himself or herself in such Islamists groups, and
will resort to the terminology of modern nationalism to describe their actions.
Hizbullah liberated South Lebanon, Hamas is trying to do the same in Palestine;
their goals are no different than those of courageous patriots everywhere who
have fought against foreign occupation. The American professor Norman
Finkelstein recently went on Lebanese television to compare Hizbullah with the
Red Army during World War II. Others liken Hamas to the National Liberation
Front in Algeria - or why not its namesake in South Vietnam?
But what the observers won't grasp is that nationalism does not necessarily
disqualify religion; time and again the two have advanced hand in hand, even in
unlikely settings. Take the avowedly atheistic Vietnamese communists, for
instance. Did they not pray at the secular altar of communism, so that their
nationalist triumph was part of a higher historical movement toward the
classless millennium? By the same token, when Hamas describes the land of
Palestine as an endowment handed down from God (and in this agree with their
foes, the religious Zionists), is it not terribly na•ve to suppose that the
group's refusal to recognize Israel is just a ploy to strengthen its hand for a
Camp David II or III?
One has to be careful in reading the statements of Islamist groups - or any
political group for that matter. The flexibility of tactics counts for much.
When Nasrallah argues that he will continue negotiating with Israel for the
release of Arab prisoners, he's temporarily replacing his long-term undertaking
to hasten Israel's demise with short-term gain. Ultimately, Hizbullah may fail
in making Israel vanish, but it's what Hizbullah and Hamas say about themselves,
the way they define their aspirations, that determines their behavior. For
outside observers to ignore or reinterpret their words in order to justify a
personal weakness for these groups' revolutionary seductions is both
self-centered and analytically useless.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR.
Damascus blames Washington for crumbling Arab summit
Moallem says Beirut 'lost a golden opportunity'
Compiled by Daily Star staff -Thursday, March 27, 2008
Syria on Wednesday accused the United States of trying to torpedo this weekend's
Arab summit in Damascus, as more Arab states signaled that they would not be
sending heads of state to attend the gathering. Egypt announced Wednesday that
it would send only a junior minister to the gathering in a snub to Syria. Local
television stations also reported that Jordan is likely to send a low-level
delegation.
The summit in Damascus has been marred by divisions between Syria and US-allied
Arab countries, which have been at odds over a host of issues for the past three
years. Lebanon has announced it is boycotting the summit, and Saudi Arabia is
also sending a low-level official rather than King Abdullah.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt are particularly angry at Syria over the political crisis
in Lebanon, where they accuse Damascus of blocking the election of a new
president through its Hizbullah allies. The United States and its Arab allies
back Lebanon's anti-Syrian government led by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit told the state news agency MENA on
Wednesday that Mufid Shihab, minister of state for legal affairs and legislative
councils, will lead the Egyptian delegation to the summit, rather than President
Hosni Mubarak.
Saudi Arabia said earlier this week that its Arab League ambassador will
represent the kingdom at the summit, which takes place Saturday and Sunday.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem stopped short of criticizing Saudi Arabia
and Egypt, telling reporters in Damascus that "it is a sovereign decision ...
Syria welcomes any kind of representation."
But he said Siniora's government in Lebanon, by boycotting the gathering, "lost
a golden opportunity at the Damascus summit to discuss its crisis ... and
Lebanese-Syrian relations."
He said the Arab leaders intended to discuss the presidential crisis in the
summit's closed-door meetings.
He suggested the US was behind the Lebanese boycott.
"Whoever thinks that the Lebanese decision lies in the Lebanese Cabinet does not
know how to read the Lebanese arena," he said.
"The United States has been at a loss as to how put pressure on this summit," he
said. "These are all attempts to torpedo the summit because it is a summit that
the US has nothing to do with, neither in its agenda nor in the decisions it
will take."
The pro-US leaders are suspicious of Syria's alliance with Iran, which they fear
is increasing its influence in the region. But the Lebanon dispute has sparked
the most overt divide.Lebanon's presidency has been empty since November, when the term of Emile
Lahoud ended. The Lebanese opposition, led by Syria's ally Hizbullah, has been
boycotting Parliament to prevent it from choosing a successor.
Washington and Lebanese supporters of Siniora accuse Damascus of trying to
reimpose its control in the country, and many in Lebanon believe Damascus is
behind a string of bombings over the past three years, including a 2005 attack
that killed former Premier Rafik Hariri.
In Beirut, Telecommunication Minister Marwan Hamadeh said Wednesday that Siniora
would address the world to relay Lebanon's message as the Arab Summit convenes
in Damascus.
Hamadeh said in a radio interview that Lebanon would ask for a meeting at
another venue with either Arab foreign ministers or heads of state to tackle
Lebanese-Syrian relations.
The Siniora "statement or address to be screened worldwide could have a better
impact than the summit discussions that would be held behind closed doors at
Syria's wish," Hamadeh added.
Siniora's "words would be broadcast to the whole world, not just to the summit,"
he said.
Hamadeh said Lebanon wants its relations with Syria to be discussed at a meeting
not chaired by a Syrian official and in a neutral venue.
"The summit's chairperson [Syrian President Bashar Assad] cannot be an
arbitrator and a party to the conflict at the same time. He cannot list Lebanon
on the agenda while Lebanon is absent," Hamadeh added.
In a news conference on Wednesday, the ruling March 14 Forces coalition praised
the Cabinet's decision to boycott.
MP Fouad Saad said that Lebanon could not attend the summit while major Arab
countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt are sending low-level delegations to
represent them.
Saudi Arabia "is absent from the summit in support for Lebanon, so how can
Lebanon attend?" Saad asked.
The coalition also said Lebanon would not attend the summit because Parliament
had not elected a president and urged Speaker Nabih Berri to hold an electoral
session soon.
"Closing Parliament is a clear and dangerous violation of the Constitution and
parliamentary regulations," Saad said. "The speaker is demanded to protect what
he has been trusted to protect and put his politics aside and open Parliament
immediately." - Agencies
US steps up pressure for Hariri court to start work
By Michael Bluhm
Daily Star staff-Thursday, March 27, 2008
BEIRUT: The US continued calling attention to the establishment of the UN
Special Tribunal for Lebanon to try suspects in the assassination of former
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, as the UN's legal chief presents a report on the
tribunal and the UN's investigation to the Security Council on Thursday.
US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Kristen
Silverberg had told reporters that the tribunal registrar, Robin Vincent, would
take office next month, but the UN said on Wednesday that it had not fixed a
date.
"As far as I know, no date has been set," Radhia Achouri, senior communications
adviser to UN Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Nicolas Michel, told The Daily
Star on Wednesday.
She added that no new developments had arisen regarding the tribunal since UN
chief Ban Ki-Moon made his last report to the Security Council on March 12, in
which he stated that Vincent had been appointed to a three-year term "to
commence at a later date."
"It's just business as usual," Achouri said. Michel will make a regular report
to the Security Council in New York on Thursday morning about progress in the
investigation into Hariri's killing and other political violence in Lebanon, as
well as on preparations for the tribunal.
Silverberg, who recently visited the former Dutch intelligence building in The
Hague which will host the tribunal, had invited Washington-based correspondents
to discuss the tribunal at the State Department on Tuesday.
The US and France, which have led the push for the creation of the tribunal,
have since Hariri's 2005 killing seen relations deteriorate markedly with the
Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad, which many in Lebanon's March 14
governing coalition blame for Hariri's death. Damascus has denied any
involvement and has said it will not allow its citizens to appear before the
tribunal, which Syria has said could be used as a political tool against it.
The US and its allies in the Middle East have been engaged since the 2003 US-led
invasion of Iraq in a face-off for hegemony in the region against Iran and its
allies, chief among them Syria. Some members of Lebanon's Syrian-backed March 8
opposition have expressed concerns that the camp led by the US will wield the
tribunal for leverage in the power struggle.
"The perpetrators of these crimes should already be quite concerned about,
first, the broad international commitment to this tribunal," Silverberg said.
"We saw major [financial] contributions from the Arab world, and really from a
broad range of countries - and again this was something that has enjoyed strong
support in the Security Council. So I think that whoever was responsible for
these terrible crimes should know that the international community strongly
supports the tribunal.
Ban "has said that progress on the tribunal is irreversible, absolutely
non-negotiable, irreversible, and we fully expect the tribunal to be able to
conduct serious trials against whoever perpetrated these crimes."Silverberg added that she wanted the Security Council and the international
community to take steps against any nation which did not work with the tribunal.
"I think that would be a matter we would very much want the Security Council to
be prepared to take action, to support, because it is essential that every
government cooperate with this tribunal," she said. "If the prosecutor is ready
to bring an indictment against any individual, that individual needs to be made
available to the tribunal. So we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but we
would obviously support action by the international community to make sure that
every government supports the tribunal."
Syria has faced pressure on a number of different fronts recently: Israel on
September 6 bombed a facility in Syria that the US later said was connected to
nuclear initiatives; Imad Mughniyeh, a senior commander of Syrian ally
Hizbullah, was assassinated in Damascus on February 12; and the US recently
deployed warships off Lebanon's coast, which many here interpreted as message to
Syria. - With agencies
UNIFIL keeps close watch on Israeli border 'works'
Peacekeepers asks Jewish state to respect coordination arrangements
By Mohammed Zaatari
Daily Star staff
Thursday, March 27, 2008
NAQOURA: United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesperson Yasmina
Bouzianne said on Wednesday that the Israeli Army informed UNIFIL that it would
be doing repair work within an area north of the occupied border village of
Ghajar. The National News Agency (NNA) correspondent in the South reported
earlier Wednesday that at around 10 a.m., an Israeli force composed of two
armored Humvees and a tractor crossed the Ghajar-Wazzani area, coming from
Ghajar.
The Israeli force crossed the Blue Line toward the area of the Wazzani River.
The NNA added that the force undertook excavation works on the Lebanese
territory. The report said the incursion coincided with an Israeli tractor's
removal of an iron gate which had been set up by UNIFIL's Spanish contingent on
the road that links Wazzani to Abbasieh.
"UNIFIL has increased its presence in the region to monitor the situation
constantly, and has sent a team to the site to assess the conditions," Bouzianne
said, adding that UNIFIL command was in contact with both the Israeli and
Lebanese armies to put an end to such behavior.
Bouziane issued a statement saying that throughout the period of UNIFIL's work
along the Lebanese-Israeli border, "the Israeli Army remains within the area
under its control," adding that UNIFIL asked the Israeli Army to stop its work
and respect the coordination arrangements agreed upon so as to avoid further
unnecessary escalation in the region
Meanwhile, UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) carried out joint military
maneuvers in the border region of Ras Naqoura on Wednesday.
The maneuvers lasted for four hours and included UNIFIL and LAF field artillery.
It took place in the presence of commander of the Southern military region,
Brigadier Boulos Matar, commander of LAF's Sixth Brigade Brigadier Michel
Moussa, French artillery weapons officer De Kystpotter and UNIFIL military
spokesperson Enrico Matini in addition to several LAF and UNIFIL officers.
"This maneuver is the third of its kind between the LAF and the international
force," Matini said. "It involves members of the French contingent and Lebanese
Army personnel." He added that such maneuvers were aimed at boosting
coordination between the two forces as well as their "military competence."
"We really appreciate the constructive and positive cooperation between the two
parties," he added.
Created in 1978, UNIFIL was boosted to a 13,000-strong international force
following the summer 2006 war with Israel.
Resolution 1701 which ended the 34 days of hostilities called on UNIFIL and the
LAF to enhance cooperation.
Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Liu Zhiming said Tuesday that the ongoing
presidential vacuum was likely to have "negative repercussions on the overall
situation" in the country. "A new head of state should be immediately elected;
the Chinese governmentCatching-the-Shrimp urges all Lebanese groups to double
efforts to elect a new president as soon as possible," Liu said during a
ceremony to decorate departing Chinese peacekeepers serving as part of UNIFIL
with peace medals. The departing peacekeepers will be replaced by fresh troops
as part of ordinary rotation schedules
The ceremony was held in the Southern village of Henniyeh, near the coastal city
of Tyre.
During the award ceremony, Chinese peacekeepers performed a "dragon dance" and
held a martial-arts parade.
Speaking during the ceremony, newly appointed deputy commander of UNIFIL Indian
General Apurpa Qomar Bardalai said that since their deployment as part of UNIFIL
in September 2007, "Chinese troops have played a most significant role toward
furthering peace and stability in South Lebanon.""Chinese peacekeepers have exhibited true professionalism and zeal in all
spheres of activities," Bardalai said.
"They faced daunting challenges with grit and determination, whether by taking
part in demining activities, the erection of border pillars on the Blue Line, or
the daily engineering maintenance works, they have displayed devotion and
diligence throughout," he added.
It's official: 'Persepolis' won't screen in Lebanon
Daily Star staff
Thursday, March 27, 2008
BEIRUT: Officials with the Lebanese Interior Ministry's General Security
department have confirmed that the film "Persepolis" has indeed been banned in
this country. Speaking to AFP on Wednesday, the general security official would
not say why the French animated film - which has annoyed authorities in Iran for
its critical portrayal of the Islamic revolution - would not be shown in
Lebanon. The daily news service of the entertainment magazine Variety broke the
story that Lebanese authorities had banned the film on March 11.
Another Lebanese official, speaking under customary conditions of anonymity,
said the film had displeased the head of security services, who he claimed is
close to the militant Shiite Muslim group Hizbullah, which is backed by Iran.
"It is clear," the source told AFP, "that ... General Wafiq Jizzini is close to
Hizbullah and he doesn't want to allow such a movie, which he believes gives an
image of Iran as being worse off than it was before the shah."
Jizzini could not be reached for comment.
Bassam Eid, production manager at Circuit Empire, the company that was to
distribute the film, blasted the ban as ridiculous and unwarranted."The decision is even more ridiculous when you consider that you can buy for $2
pirated copies of the film in Hizbullah's stronghold in the southern suburbs of
Beirut," Eid told AFP. "I purchased two copies of the film from the suburbs and
from the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camp and handed one over to
Culture Minister Tarek Mitri."
Directed by Iranian-French emigre Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, and
based on Satrapi's comic strips, the film shows its young heroine's brushes with
the authorities in the early days of the Islamic revolution in the 1980s.
"Persepolis" was screened in Iran last month, though state authorities there
officially banned by in February 2007. The film is not expected to receive a
general release in the Islamic Republic.
Satrapi's film was joint winner of the Jury Prize at the 2007 Cannes Film
FestivalSundance-Buying-Frenzy and was later nominated for an Oscar for best
animated film. Despite its success in the US and France, "Persepolis" has been
condemned by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government as Islamophobic
and anti-Iranian.
It shows repression under the shah but also portrays the social crackdown,
arrests and executions that followed the Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979. The heroine's rebellious nature and conflicts with
the authorities force her to leave Iran temporarily for Austria and then for
France - this time never to return.
Maria Chakhtoura, culture editor at the pro-government French-language newspaper
L'Orient-Le Jour, said she feared the ban of might be a sign of worse to come.
"Does this mean that Lebanon has become a small suburb of Tehran" she asked in a
commentary piece on Wednesday.
"This is part of an effort to eat away at people's liberties in order to plunge
the country into darkness, to isolate it and to impose on it a culture it
rejects." - The Daily Star, with AFP