LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
May 03/08
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to
Saint John 14,6-14. Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also
know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to
him, "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." Jesus said to
him, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me,
Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the
Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The
words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me
is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones
than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I
will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of
me in my name, I will do it.
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Barack Obama's Muslim
Childhood.By Daniel Pipes 03/05/08
The Syrian-Palestinian lie. By Akiva Eldar -Ha'aretz
03/05/08
'Land for peace' a fantasy. By: Haim Misgav.Ynetnews 03/05/08
Diplomacy: New Heights-By: HERB KEINON
Jerusalem Post 03/05/08
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for May 03/08
First person by Muhamad Mugraby-Daily
Star
Hizbullah: US 'terror' rap is 'a badge of honor-Daily
Star
Hizbullah dismisses latest Jumblatt charges as
fiction-Daily Star
Visiting Moussa holds out hope for new talks with
Berri, Hariri-Daily Star
May day mayday Lebanese protest worsening economy
(AFP)
Sfeir to court US assistance in ending crisis on
trip to America-Daily Star
Conference participants lament setbacks for
journalistic freedoms in Lebanon-Daily Star
Draft charter aims to produce more professional
media-Daily Star
Lebanon hikes prices of fuel oil, gasoline-Daily
Star
Azour hails exchange of $882 million of Eurobonds
as sign of stability-Daily Star
Beirut hosts regional Rotary conference-Daily
Star
For obvious reasons, many Lebanese Shiites have a
love-hate relationship with America-Daily Star
Smuggling a lifeline for Lebanese villages on Syrian border-Economic
Times
Lebanese PM supports "special" relations with Syria-Trading
Markets (press release) -Daily Star
'Claims about reactor manufactured'-Jerusalem Post
Where the royals roam-MSNBC
Take a hard look at Syria charges-Baltimore Sun
Iranians Suspected of Monitoring Geagea's Residence-Naharnet
Gemayel: 3 Factors Dominate the Lebanon Crisis-Naharnet
Arab League Chief Optimistic About Resolving Lebanon's Crisis-Voice
of America
Syria and the prospect of an Iraqi.GulfNews
Jumblat: Hizbullah Monitors Beirut Airport, Attack Appears Imminent-Naharnet
Hizbullah Prides
Itself on Being on U.S. Terrorist List-Naharnet
Rival Lebanese
Leaders Set for 1st Talks in Nearly 5 Months-Naharnet
Moussa: Persisting
Presidential Void is 'Serious' Issue-Naharnet
Abul Gheit Sees No Breakthrough in Lebanon
Crisis Soon-Naharnet
Bush Deplores Unsolved Murders of
Journalists in Belarus, Lebanon, Russia-Naharnet
Moussa Speaks of Chance to Achieve
Progress-Naharnet
Cheney Tells Mouawad: International
Tribunal is a Priority-Naharnet
Iranians Suspected of
Monitoring Geagea's Residence
Naharnet/Three Iranians and
a Lebanese man living in Hizbullah-controlled south Beirut were arrested last
week on charges of monitoring the residence of Lebanese Forces leader Samir
Geagea in Meerab, security sources reported Friday.
The report came hours after Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat
accused Hizbullah of monitoring a Beirut airport runway used by executive jets
and warned against a terrorist attack targeting an aircraft using the facility.
The sources told a local newsletter the four men were spotted in a rented car
near Geagea's residence last week. Upon checking the plate number of the
red-painted car it was found owned by a car rental company based in south Beirut
and it had been rented to three Iranians and a Lebanese man. Police
interrogated the four who claimed to have lost their way as they were on a trip
along the "Jesus Trail", and ended up in Meerab, northeast of Beirut. Jesus
Christ, according to biblical history, visited south Lebanon and may have
reached as far as the Sidon coastline, 45 kilometers south of Beirut.
Meerab, however, is almost 80 kilometers north of Sidon. One of the Iranian
suspects said in his testimony that he visits Lebanon because he is married to a
Lebanese woman. The two others said they were students at the Beirut Arab
University and the Islamic University, respectively. The three, however, did not
know Arabic and asked for interpretation to Farsi during their interrogation,
which sounded strange, especially for alleged students at BAU and IU that teach
in Arabic. The three also said they resided in an apartment owned by a Lebanese
friend in south Beirut, a Hizbullah stronghold that is off limits to Lebanese
police and state authority. It also could not be determined why the Iranian, who
claims to be married to a Lebanese woman, was residing with friends in south
Beirut and not with his wife's parents. The four were set free after the
investigation, but lawyers following up the case demanded further interrogation
of the four in light of contradictions in their testimonies. However, the
Iranian embassy officially asked the Lebanese judiciary to postpone for four
days the issuing of a subpoena, the central news agency reported.Mystery shrouds
whereabouts of the four, while Geagea's lawyers demand expanded investigation
with them in light of information about a possible attack targeting residence of
the Lebanese Forces leader either by rockets or projectiles loaded with chemical
or biological warheads, the report added. Beirut, 02 May 08, 15:50
Sfeir
to court US assistance in ending crisis on trip to America
By The Daily Star
Saturday, May 03, 2008
BKIRKI: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir said on Friday his imminent
visit to the United States would include meetings with US President George W.
Bush "if he will be in Washington" and with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
"The American officials know about the situation in Lebanon. If they can
contribute to promoting the security that we want in our country, their efforts
will be welcome," Sfeir told the British Broadcasting Corporation.
Asked about the upcoming parliamentary session to elect a new president,
scheduled for May 13, Sfeir slammed the delay in conducting the election.
"The presidential elections have been delayed for 19 times, which is very
exceptional in Lebanon," he said. "All MPs are responsible for hampering those
elections because they are the ones who elect the president." "Each MP who
refrains from fulfilling his parliamentarian duty is responsible for impeding
the presidential elections," he added. "We do not want our country to be
paralyzed, but rather effective," he said. "All constitutional institutions are
inoperative, and this fact harms the Lebanese people."
Commenting on Speaker Nabih Berri's call to hold dialogue, Sfeir said: "We have
tried expanded roundtable dialogue outside and inside Parliament, but it did not
give any result." "Serious talks should be held in Parliament because it
provides an official frame for dialogue and approves recommendations, if there
are any," he added. Separately, Sfeir met on Friday with a delegation from the
families of Nasri Maruni and Salim Assi, both supporters of the Phalange party,
who were gunned down earlier last month in Zahle. Sfeir voiced regret over the
incident, hoping that justice would take its course. "We do not know whether or
not the incident was planned ... but things like that should not be passed over
without punishment," he said.
Meanwhile, senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah said on Friday
the ongoing Lebanese standoff would remain unresolved because the Lebanese have
no role in resolving their internal crisis. "The Lebanese crisis is surrounded
by foreign forces which are preventing it from dealing with [ongoing] meetings
in a realistic way, away from political opinions launched by this or that
party," Fadlallah said in his weekly Friday sermon from the Imam Hassanayn
Mosque in Haret Hreik. According to Fadlallah, the "outside" is planning to keep
Lebanon an arena for its conflicts despite the refusal of many Lebanese
politicians.
Criticizing the US administration, Fadlallah said: "America treats our people as
if they are mice in the US and Israeli laboratories of murder."
Higher Shiite Council vice president Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan called on the
government "not to turn its back" to employees' demands and rights.
"The government is called to take care of this great portion of the Lebanese
people in order to protect their source of revenue," Qabalan said in his weekly
Friday sermon.Qabalan urged Lebanon's MPs to cooperate with Berri's initiative.
Otherwise, he warned, "everyone will lose."
"We should cooperate with it in order to recover peace and stability," he said.
Also on Friday, Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani urged the UN to take
"severe" measures against Israel, which he said, "is killing and destroying the
Palestinian people on a daily basis." "The international silence encourages the
Zionist enemy to continue to commit massacres against children, women and the
elderly," Qabbani said.He also urged Arab leaders to offer the Palestinians the
assistance they need to resist against Israel
For obvious reasons, many
Lebanese Shiites have a love-hate relationship with America
US support for Israeli aggression makes government very unpopular, but many dual
citizens have made new lives for themselves in place like Michigan
By Inter Press Service
Saturday, May 03, 2008
BEIRUT: Lebanon's Hizbullah resistance group has a long history of being at odds
with the US government. flags. But ironically, for many of Hizbullah's Shia
constituency, the United States is home. Lebanese have been flocking to the US
since the first emigrant left for Ellis Island, then the main gateway for
immigration to America, in 1849. Looking for better work opportunities and an
escape from war, it has been a journey thousands and thousands of Lebanese have
made over the past 150 years. Ahmad, a dual Lebanese-American citizen and a Shia
from the southern region of Nabatieh on vacation in Lebanon, has been living in
the US for the past 10 years. A security specialist, he was sponsored by his
elder brother, an engineer who studied in Texas.
"My three brothers and I currently live in the USA. We are happy to live in a
country ruled by law and order," he says.
His aunt Hiba, a hairdresser, dreams of following in the footsteps of her other
family members and moving to the US.
"My sister lives comfortably in America, where everyone enjoys equal rights.
Lebanon is a country where only the rich can buy their way out of problems and
live happily," she says. During the July 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon,
Lebanese-Americans visiting their hometowns were caught in the line of fire. The
website of the Arab American Institute still features postings of those stranded
in Lebanon at the time. As South Lebanon and Beirut's mostly Shia southern
suburbs were hit by millions of shells, rockets, and aerial bombs, the US
military evacuated some 15,000 nationals. Many of the US citizens were picked up
from the southern city of Tyre. But underneath the sorrow and pain of the
evacuees, the images underlined an enormous contradiction: people torn between
their allegiance to their community, represented by Hizbullah, and to the US,
their adoptive country.
Abbas, a young realtor in his thirties originally from Bint Jbeil, is visiting
from California. Sipping on a bottle of Bacardi Breezer while lounging poolside
at the posh Movenpick Hotel in Beirut, he expresses in broken Arabic (reverting
to English when he can) his admiration for Hizbullah's leader, SayyedHassan
Nasrallah.
"Sayyed Nasrallah, a charismatic and intelligent figure, definitely had good
reasons" to order the capture of two Israeli soldiers in July 2006, he says,
referring to the incident that caused Israel to launch the war.
"America should never have blindly supported Israel's aggression," he adds.
Since the birth of Israel in 1948, the US has been associated in the Lebanese
collective unconscious with its southern neighbor. Years of occupation, repeated
aggression, and wars have made the Lebanese wary of the alliance between the two
countries. Shia southerners have born the brunt of Israel's wrath, and thousands
of them have died. The 2006 war led to the death of about 1,200 people, most of
the civilians, and the displacement of at least a million people from the South.
Rana, a young Shia mother of two who lives in Washington, explains that the
stance of most south Lebanese against the US results from the strategic mistakes
the country has made in the region. "When youngsters burn the American flag,
they express their hatred of America's support of Israel, not of the country
itself," she says. According to Nasser Beydoun, chairman of the Arab-American
Chamber of Commerce quoted in the Arab American news report of Aug. 1, 2006,
some 10,000 Detroit residents have direct ties with the southern town of Bint
Jbeil, which was the scene of heavy combat in 2006 between Hizbullah and Israeli
soldiers.
By working in the US, many Lebanese-Americans originally from the South have
been able to provide for their families still residing in their home country.
Ahmad and his brothers, for instance, support their extended family.
"Although America has certainly made foreign policy mistakes in Lebanon, I still
believe that many local factions on both sides of the divide are serving foreign
interests and destroying the country in the process," he says, referring to the
ongoing political conflict between the Hizbullah-led opposition and the
Western-backed ruling coalition. In spite of Hizbullah's frequent criticisms of
the US government, and although southerners are quick to voice criticism of US
policies in the Middle East, many Lebanese Shias are still likely to jump at the
chance to get a visa or green card to the US, and live out the American dream
Barack Obama's Muslim
Childhood
By Daniel Pipes
FrontPageMagazine.com
April 29, 2008
http://www.meforum.org/article/pipes/5544
As Barack Obama's candidacy comes under increasing scrutiny, his account of his
religious upbringing deserves careful attention for what it tells us about the
candidate's integrity.
Obama asserted in December, "I've always been a Christian," and he has adamantly
denied ever having been a Muslim. "The only connection I've had to Islam is that
my grandfather on my father's side came from that country [Kenya]. But I've
never practiced Islam." In February, he claimed: "I have never been a Muslim.
other than my name and the fact that I lived in a populous Muslim country for 4
years when I was a child [Indonesia, 1967-71] I have very little connection to
the Islamic religion."
"Always" and "never" leave little room for equivocation. But many biographical
facts, culled mainly from the American press, suggest that, when growing up, the
Democratic candidate for president both saw himself and was seen as a Muslim.
Obama's Kenyan birth father: In Islam, religion passes from the father to the
child. Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. (19361982) was a Muslim who named his boy
Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. Only Muslim children are named "Hussein".
Obama's Indonesian family: His stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, was also a Muslim. In
fact, as Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng explained to Jodi Kantor of the
New York Times: "My whole family was Muslim, and most of the people I knew were
Muslim." An Indonesian publication, the Banjarmasin Post reports a former
classmate, Rony Amir, recalling that "All the relatives of Barry's father were
very devout Muslims."
Barack Obama's Catholic school in Jakarta.
The Catholic school: Nedra Pickler of the Associated Press reports that
"documents showed he enrolled as a Muslim" while at a Catholic school during
first through third grades. Kim Barker of the Chicago Tribune confirms that
Obama was "listed as a Muslim on the registration form for the Catholic school."
A blogger who goes by "An American Expat in Southeast Asia" found that "Barack
Hussein Obama was registered under the name Barry Soetoro' serial number 203
and entered the Franciscan Asisi Primary School on 1 January 1968 and sat in
class 1B.
Barry's religion was listed as Islam."
The public school: Paul Watson of the Los Angeles Times learned from Indonesians
familiar with Obama when he lived in Jakarta that he "was registered by his
family as a Muslim at both schools he attended." Haroon Siddiqui of the Toronto
Star visited the Jakarta public school Obama attended and found that "Three of
his teachers have said he was enrolled as a Muslim." Although Siddiqui cautions
that "With the school records missing, eaten by bugs, one has to rely on
people's shifting memories," he cites only one retired teacher, Tine Hahiyari,
retracting her earlier certainty about Obama's being registered as a Muslim.
Barack Obama's public school in Jakarta.
Koran class: In his autobiography, Dreams of My Father, Obama relates how he got
into trouble for making faces during Koranic studies, thereby revealing he was a
Muslim, for Indonesian students in his day attended religious classes according
to their faith. Indeed, Obama still retains knowledge from that class: Nicholas
D. Kristof of the New York Times, reports that Obama "recalled the opening lines
of the Arabic call to prayer, reciting them [to Kristof] with a first-rate
accent."
Mosque attendance: Obama's half-sister recalled that the family attended the
mosque "for big communal events." Watson learned from childhood friends that
"Obama sometimes went to Friday prayers at the local mosque." Barker found that
"Obama occasionally followed his stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers."
One Indonesia friend, Zulfin Adi, states that Obama "was Muslim. He went to the
mosque. I remember him wearing a sarong" (a garment associated with Muslims).
Piety: Obama himself says that while living in Indonesia, a Muslim country, he
"didn't practice [Islam]," implicitly acknowledging a Muslim identity.
Indonesians differ in their memories of him. One, Rony Amir, describes Obama as
"previously quite religious in Islam."
Obama's having been born and raised a Muslim and having left the faith to become
a Christian make him neither more nor less qualified to become president of the
United States. But if he was born and raised a Muslim and is now hiding that
fact, this points to a major deceit, a fundamental misrepresentation about
himself that has profound implications about his character and his suitability
as president.
Cheney Tells Mouawad:
International Tribunal is a Priority
Naharnet/Social Affairs Minister Nayla Mouawad on Thursday said the March 14
majority alliance would not get involved in dialogue aimed at exonerating Syria
from blocking presidential elections. Mouawad, on a visit to the United States,
made the remark to reporters after meeting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
In answering a question about her stand on Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's call
for dialogue, Mouawad said: "We are ready for dialogue and for the declaration
of intentions. But, certainly, we are not for dialogue that aims at hampering
the election of a president and legalizing void by Lebanese tools in order to
exonerate Syria and Iran." Mouawad also held a meeting at the White House with
Vice President Dick Cheney and quoted him as saying the international tribunal
is a "priority for the international community." "The rule of law in Lebanon
cannot be established unless the criminals were brought to justice," Cheney was
quoted as saying.
He was referring to the international tribunal that would try suspects in the
2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri. Mouawad also quoted Cheney as
saying there "would be no bargains at all on the international tribunal" issue.
Beirut, 01 May 08, 15:02
Jumblat: Hizbullah Monitors
Beirut Airport, Attack Appears Imminent
Naharnet/Progressive
Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat warned Thursday against a possible attack
on Beirut airport's runway, saying it is subject to monitoring by a Hizbullah-operated
camera. Jumblat said Hizbullah has placed a container on a side road in the
Ouzai district overlooking Beirut airport's western runway and placed a camera
in it to monitor aircraft traffic along the facility. He also said three people
in civilian outfits were observed near the container with one of them carrying a
camera. The PSP leader attributed the information to a "secret document on a
scheme by Hizbullah.""It seems certain sides are monitoring (Key) figures at
present and the trend is to carry out a major security operation," Jumblat
added. He noted that a shoulder-fired Strella-M heat-seeking missile "would be
capable of hitting a jetliner on the runway, for example.""It seems a major
security operation is being prepared," Jumblat said. Beirut, 01 May 08, 20:20
Moussa: Persisting
Presidential Void is 'Serious' Issue
Naharnet/Arab League chief
Amr Moussa said Friday the persisting void in the presidential office is a very
"serious" issue. Moussa, addressing the Arab Economic Forum in Beirut, said
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's call for dialogue "cannot be rejected.""The
persisting vacancy in the presidency is a very serious issue," Moussa said. "I
did all I can to solve the Lebanon crisis. The crisis, however, is not
incurable," he insisted. Moussa said there is "consensus on several points,"
stressing the need to implement the Arab League plan designed to end the
political impasse. Beirut, 02 May 08, 12:43
Hizbullah Prides Itself on
Being on U.S. Terrorist List
Naharnet/Hizbullah on
Friday said it prides itself on being on the United States' terrorist list. "The
U.S. administration has no right to give statements on nationalism and terrorism
when it is making the peoples of the world, including the American people, pay
the price for its wars and bloody policies," said a statement by Hizbullah.
Hizbullah's remarks came in response to a report by the U.S. State Department in
which it accused Iran of providing aid to Palestinian "terrorist" groups like
Hamas, Hizbullah, "Iraq-based militants," and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
Hizbullah believed that listing "specific" groups under the U.S. terrorist list
was tantamount to receiving the "medal of honor."The statement criticized
Washington for its Lebanon policy and accused the U.S. of "provoking its allies
in Lebanon against fellow citizens who support the resistance and the
opposition."Hizbullah slammed the U.S. as the biggest threat to international
peace and stability. Beirut, 02 May 08, 11:25
Abul Gheit Sees No
Breakthrough in Lebanon Crisis Soon
Naharnet/Egyptian Foreign
Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit ruled out a breakthrough in the ongoing Lebanon crisis
in the short term. "Syria plays an influential role in Lebanon, and I hope it
works toward a settlement to the political crisis," Abul Gheit said in an
interview with BBC TV. He said Egypt has maintained contact with the various
Lebanese political groups, including Hizbullah. Abul Gheit said Cairo is "ready"
to receive Lebanese leaders from both the pro-government March 14 coalition and
the Hizbullah-led opposition to discuss ways to end the political impasse,
stressing that Egypt "is not taking sides" in Lebanon.
Beirut, 02 May 08, 10:45
Rival Lebanese Leaders Set for 1st Talks in Nearly 5 Months
Naharnet/Lebanon's feuding government and opposition leaders are poised to hold
their first talks in nearly five months under Arab League auspices on Friday, an
aide to Speaker Nabih Berri said. "The (opposition) speaker of parliament Nabih
Berri and the leader of the (pro-government) Future Movement Saad Hariri will
meet on Friday for talks also to be attended by (Arab League Secretary General
Amr) Moussa," a Berri aide told AFP.
The announcement followed talks between the visiting Arab League chief and Berri,
who has refused to recognize the legitimacy of the rump cabinet of Prime
Minister Fouad Saniora since six opposition ministers quit in November 2006. He
has since declined to convene parliament to pass government legislation and the
standoff has left Lebanon without a president since pro-opposition incumbent
Emile Lahoud stood down at the end of his term of office in November.
Moussa, who has been involved in repeated efforts to broker a solution to the
standoff, expressed new optimism after his latest talks.
"There is a basis for understanding and a situation that could prove
profitable," he said after his hour-long meeting with Berri.
The Arab League chief stressed both the "importance of dialogue" between the two
sides, the opposition's key demand, and the "need to elect a new president," the
consistent demand of the government. The two sides have agreed on a compromise
candidate for the presidency -- army chief General Michel Suleiman. However,
they remain at odds over the make-up of a controversial government of national
unity and a new electoral law.
Berri has repeatedly called for a dialogue with the ruling pro-government March
14 coalition on the two issues but the anti-Syrian alliance has said that a new
president must be elected by parliament first. A 19th attempt to elect a
president has been scheduled for May 13. A previous session, set for April 22,
was postponed amid continuing disagreement.(AFP) Beirut, 02 May 08, 09:47
Gemayel: 3 Factors Dominate Lebanon Crisis
Naharnet/Former President Amin Gemayel has said three factors dominated the
Lebanese crisis and were responsible for blocking presidential elections.
In an interview with Al Arabiya television channel late Thursday, Gemayel stated
the factors as:
1- Gen. Michel Aoun's greediness for the presidency.
2- The Syrian issue
3- Hizbullah's alliance with Iran
"Syria has an interest with what Hizbullah and Iran are doing and wants Lebanon
a non-separable part of its strategy," Gemayel said.
He accused Hizbullah of trying to "torpedo the Lebanon equation."
"We don't even know what equation is going to replace it," he added.
"There is a state within the state called Hizbullah; and this state has its own
army, intelligence and a communication network and plenty of money," Gemayel
protested. "Lebanon is witnessing a real coup," he said, accusing "some" of
seeking to steer Lebanon according to regional wishes.
"This is against our traditions," Gemayel stressed. Beirut, 02 May 08, 08:03
Bush Deplores Unsolved Murders of Journalists in Belarus, Lebanon, Russia
Naharnet/U.S. President George Bush on Thursday denounced governments which
muzzle the media and condemned the unsolved murders of journalists in Belarus,
Lebanon and Russia. "The United States condemns the harassment, physical
intimidation, persecution, and other abuse that journalists, including bloggers
and Internet reporters, have faced in China, Cuba, Egypt, Tunisia, Venezuela,
and Vietnam," Bush said on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, which falls
on Saturday. He also deplored "the unsolved murders of journalists in Belarus,
Lebanon, and Russia."
Several journalists have been targeted in Lebanon since the Feb. 2005
assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri.
An Nahar daily columnist Samir Kassir was killed in June 2005, while LBCI
anchorwoman May Chidiac suffered critical wounds in an assassination attempt in
September the same year. An Nahar's General Manager and MP Gebran Tueni was also
killed in December 2005.
"We call on all governments to guarantee the inalienable rights of their people,
including, consistent with Article 19 of the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the right to freedom of speech and the press," the
U.S. president said. Bush cited Belarus, Myanmar, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran,
Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe for repressive anti-free
speech laws and for often imprisoning media workers. "In 2007, for the ninth
consecutive year, China remained the world's top jailer of journalists, followed
by Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, and Azerbaijan," he said. "Just and open societies
protect and rely on the freedom of the press," Bush said in the statement.
"Brutal regimes and others who seek to stifle liberty often do so by closing
down private newspapers and radio and television stations. They kidnap,
arbitrarily jail, and beat journalists," he said. Beirut, 02 May 08, 06:57
'Land for peace' a fantasy
Lebanon pullout, Gaza disengagement make it clear that withdrawals don't pay off
Haim Misgav
Published: 05.02.08, 01:22 / Israel Opinion
Some one over at the Prime Minister's Office thinks that if he disseminates Ehud Olmert's willingness to bid the Golan Heights farewell, the media will protect
him and guarantee that he completes a full term in office; Israel's citizens
will forgive him for his foolish acts during the last war in Lebanon and forget
the endless police investigations he faces, while treating him as they did Ariel
Sharon - full impunity in exchange for full withdrawal.
Yet this won't happen again, we should hope. The capitulation at Gush Katif and
expulsion of thousands of families from their homes will not repeat. Neither for
the peace offered by Syria, nor in exchange for anything else. Even if Iran and
Hizbullah and Hamas and al-Qaeda promise that their members will become Jewish
after the withdrawal, it won't happen that is, we should hope it won't happen.
Past experience shows us that there is no such thing "land for peace" only
exists in fantasies. It didn't happen in south Lebanon after Ehud Barak fled,
and it didn't happen in the Gaza Strip after Ariel Sharon's "disengagement"
move." It also didn't happen after the withdrawal from the entire Sinai
Peninsula and ruined Yamit and other communities.
The Egyptians indeed refrain from shooting at us for the time being, but
everything is temporary and fragile and will likely explode Advertisement
in our face one of these days. The giant Egyptian army trains for war against
the only enemy it has and it could happen much faster than what many think. It
would be enough to see a regime change in Cairo, as happened to the Persian
Shah, and everything will change for the worse for us. From a seeming ally,
Egypt, just like Iran, will turn into a bitter enemy that closes in on us from
the south and joins the Hamas terror brigades.
There is no doubt that Ehud Olmert also knows that withdrawal from the Golan
Heights is not good for Israel. Syrian troops on the shores of the Sea of
Galilee would encourage the Arabs in the Galilee region to demand autonomy, and
those who think that this would put an end to the demands of the Arabs in other
areas of Israel are making a grave mistake.
Collapse could be painful, quick
Any kind of withdrawal, in Samaria, or Judea, or the Golan Heights would only
reinforce the Arab sense that the Jews don't really believe in their right for
the country and boost the Arab appetite. The knowledge that each additional
territorial concession weakens Israel and makes it more vulnerable will
certainly also make the Arabs more demanding.
And eventually a day will come where we can no longer refuse any demand; we
won't be able to reject the demand to bring back the millions of "refugees" to
the places they fled in 1948; or give back territory occupied during that war;
or to change Israel's definition from a Jewish State that serves as a national
home to the Jewish people to a multinational state where the Arab majority
dictates ghetto-like rules to the Jewish minority.
All this has been stated before, even before the Oslo Accords were signed with
murderers who did not stop massacring us since then, yet the leftist camp
doesn't let go. Everything is enlisted in order to annul the "mistake" made by
David Ben Gurion 60 years ago. The celebrations planned for the upcoming
Independence Day won't help. If we fail to show determination and stamina we can
expect a collapse that would be bitter, painful, and quick.
One thrust of the sword could put an end to a 2,000-year-old dream that is only
starting to be realized now. Those who fail to understand this, or who think
that they can buy a bit more time in power in exchange for a little more
territory, are gambling on our future.
**Dr. Haim Misgav is an attorney and lecturer of law at the Netanya Academic
College
The Syrian-Palestinian lie
By Akiva Eldar
AQABA, Jordan - Last Friday, a few hours after a terrorist killed two
Israeli security guards in the West Bank and helicopters chased the launchers of
Qassam rockets in the Gaza Strip, a small group of young Israelis and
Palestinians sat together in a hotel in Aqaba. A top Jordanian official proudly
told the guests, activists of the Seeds of Peace organization, about joint
economic projects benefiting all three peoples. During the break, the lecturer
led me to a corner and asked, "Can you explain to me why your government is
ignoring Jordan and the Arab peace initiative?" Moreover, he asked, "Don't you
understand what catastrophe will befall us, both the Jordanians and the
Israelis, if you do not reach an arrangement with the Palestinians this year?"
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had a chance to hear the same thing
from higher up. King Abdullah invited Olmert to Amman, to repeat the message of
distress he had conveyed to President George W. Bush a few days earlier. You did
not need to be a fly on the wall to know what was said at the royal palace.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Salah Bashir, who accompanied the king on his visit
to the U.S., warned Jewish activists in New York that missing the opportunity to
strike a peace deal this year "will affect us all." The Jordanian officials did
not mean peace between Israel and Syria.
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In his book "The Much Too Promised Land," Aaron David Miller, who was deputy
head of the U.S. Israeli-Palestinian peace team, writes that in the days of
Yitzhak Rabin's government, the "Syria first" approach ended in deep
disappointment. Under Ehud Barak, Miller claims, the same approach led both to
the blocking of the Israel-Syria channel and a crisis between Israel and the
Palestinians. Olmert's attempt to reopen the Syrian channel at the expense of
the talks with the Palestinians will not only accomplish nothing on either
front; with the long arms of Iran and Al-Qaida (a new periodical the
organization published in Gaza received the blessing of Ayman al-Zawahiri)
reaching every corner of the region, such a move might unsettle even the fragile
peace with Jordan and Egypt and bury the Arab peace initiative.
According to briefings held by close Olmert associates, there is a race
between Olmert's emissaries to Syrian President Bashar Assad and the discreet
talks that Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is holding with chief Palestinian
negotiator Ahmed Qureia. Recent reports have portrayed the prime minister as a
vigorous statesman without requiring him to pay a political price for it. After
Washington publicly exposed the nefarious ties between Syria and North Korea,
what are the odds that President Bush will remove Damascus from the "axis of
evil"? It is hard to imagine that Olmert believes Assad will cut off his ties to
Iran and Hezbollah as long as the U.S. is keeping him outside a locked door.
In fact, Olmert is part of a big charade being held for the upcoming visit by
President Bush, patron of the Annapolis declaration: "an effort to reach an
agreement by the end of 2008." The talk of an alleged breakthrough in the
attempts to renew negotiations between Jerusalem and Damascus are nothing more
than camouflage for a major setback in Israel's talks with the Palestinians. A
deep source in the negotiations revealed this week that the disagreements
between the two sides far exceed the points of agreement.
It is hard to imagine that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will be tempted
to embrace the Israeli proposal, which requires the Palestinians to give up 8
percent of the West Bank (for compensation of no more than 2 percent) and to
agree to Israeli sovereignty over the Holy Basin in Jerusalem, including the Old
City, as well as to mere crumbs on the refugee issue (family unification for
10,000 people). All while Israel continues to enlarge outposts and add
roadblocks.
When the negotiations with the Palestinians come to a noisy end, and Hamas,
having obtained calm in Gaza, drives the remnants of the "two-state camp" out of
the Muqata in Ramallah, the balloon of the Turkish-mediated romance with Syria
will also pop loudly. The supposed negotiations in two simultaneous channels
will become a case of double Israeli recalcitrance.
Assad will wave around his fruitless wooing of Olmert and the violation of the
Annapolis declaration. He will call for the implementation of the Arab League's
Damascus declaration from March, he will claim that the peace initiative with
Israel must be reexamined, and he will demand that Egypt and Jordan adhere to
the standard of making normalization with the Jewish State conditional on its
withdrawal to the June 4, 1967 borders. That is the danger of which King
Abdullah spoke to Bush. That is why he invited Olmert to Amman
Diplomacy: New Heights
By HERB KEINON
Diplomacy: New Heights-By: HERB KEINON
Jerusalem Post 03/05/08
One long-standing axiom of Israeli "peace making" is that this country cannot
"juggle while sitting on a unicycle," or - to put matters in diplomatic terms -
it can't hold intensive negotiations on two tracks at the same time.
What this means practically is that if there are intensive negotiations with the
Palestinians, then the Syrian track has to be left for another day; and when
Syria is the focus, the Palestinians are shunted aside.
A senior western diplomatic official said recently that considering that the
number of people who are doing the serious diplomatic heavy-lifting in this
country is so small - essentially three people at the Defense Ministry, headed
by Amos Gilad; and Yoram Turbowicz and Shalom Turgeman in the Prime Minister's
Office - he was very skeptical about Israel's ability to handle intensive
negotiations with the Palestinians and the Syrians at one and the same time.
Yet that is precisely what is being discussed. Currently, intensive negotiations
with the Palestinians are taking place at four different levels: between Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas; between
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei; between
technical teams; and between Defense Minister Ehud Barak, PA Prime Minister
Salaam Fayad and US General William Fraser on the road map. Nevertheless, the
specter of negotiations with the Syrians is gaining traction.
Which raises the question: Why?
Why is Olmert expressing a willingness, precisely now, to withdraw from the
Golan Heights in exchange for a peace deal with Syria? Is it out of a
realization that the true existential threat to this country comes from the
North, not the South, and that a genuine effort needs to be made to reduce
Iran's regional influence?
Is it a bid to keep the Syrians from retaliating for embarrassment caused by the
congressional hearings last week showing just how impotent Damascus was in the
face of Israel's destruction of an alleged North Korean-style nuclear reactor?
Is it a "divide and conquer tactic," as some in the Arab world seem to suspect?
Or is Olmert - by now universally recognized as a political wizard - getting
ready for the elections and positioning himself for an upcoming leadership
battle inside Kadima?
The answer, it seems, is a little bit of all of the above.
When Olmert, from his perch in the Prime Minister's Office, looks out at that
vast array of threats facing the country, the most worrisome - obviously - comes
from the North. Gaza is a nuisance, but is not an existential threat (unless, of
course, you live in the South, where the threat of a rocket crashing into your
home and ending your life is about as existential as they come). Kassam rockets,
as opposed to nuclear missiles, are not an immediate threat to the country's
continued existence into the next 60 years. Iran, however, is.
Olmert's interest in keeping the fires of a potential agreement with Syria
stoked seems geared, at least in part, to weakening Iran by pulling Syria out of
its orbit. The isolation of Iran is an overarching aim of Israel and the US, and
pulling Syria away would help achieve that goal.
But then the question arises as to whether this is even possible. Can Syria be
pulled out of Iran's orbit, or is it spinning so tightly around Teheran that at
this point attempts to pull it away would be futile?
On this issue there is disagreement. While Military Intelligence believes it is
is possible to tear the Iranian-Syrian alliance asunder, the Mossad doesn't.
WHAT IS emerging, it seems, is a middle position which posits that while it may
be impossible to completely sever Syrian-Iranian ties, perhaps they can be
diluted to some extent, and in the process end Syrian support for two of
Israel's greatest problems: Hamas and Hizbullah.
One reason severing Syria's ties with Iran appears so difficult has to do with
Syria's uncomfortable geographical situation. Look, for a second, at the world
through Syria's eyes. To the north is Turkey, a country with which Damascus now
has friendly ties, but with which, just a few years ago, it was actually on the
verge of war.
To the east is Iraq, with US troops amassed on the border. To the south is
Jordan, for which there is little love lost, and Israel.
And to the west is Lebanon, which in Syria's eyes the US and EU are hell bent on
prying loose from its control.
In that less-than-friendly neighborhood, Iran - a rapidly growing regional power
that, while not a direct neighbor, is very close by - gives Syria some strategic
depth. It seems highly improbable that Syria, in its current situation, would
forfeit that particular asset.
Then there is the issue of money. It isn't Syria's booming economy (there isn't
one) that is enabling it to buy billions of dollars' worth of weapons from
Russia. It's not its oil industry (not that significant) or high-tech prowess
(non-existent). It is Iran. One diplomatic official said that expecting Syria to
detach itself from Iran now would be similar to asking Damascus to cut off ties
with its Soviet patron in the 1980s, something patently impossible.
STILL, OLMERT'S recent messages to Damascus imply that it is worth a try. The
effort itself, interestingly enough, has recalibrated the whole discussion
regarding Syria. In a matter of days, the talk in Israel went from possible war
with Syria - large IDF drills on the Golan Heights and messages that Syria would
be held responsible for a terrorist act to avenge the assassination of
Hizbullah's Imad Mugniyah - to possible peace with Syria.
Indeed, there is a school of thought that maintains the timing of the whole
Golan-is-back-on-the-table gambit had to do with last week's testimony in the US
Congress about what Israel hit in its September 6 raid on Syria, and real
concerns that the ensuing embarrassment that Israel took out a nuclear reactor
would spur Assad into some military action to regain his, and his country's,
tarnished pride.
Israel's putting forward a possible Golan Heights withdrawal, according to this
reasoning, made such a step much more difficult for Assad, for if he took
military action now he would be blamed for setting back a fledgling "peace
process."
This process itself already has some in the Arab world smelling an Israeli
maneuver. For instance, Walid Choucair, a columnist for the pan-Arab daily, Al
Hayat, wrote this week that "Washington and Tel Aviv have always tried to use
the opening of negotiations on the Syrian track as a means to isolate the
Palestinians and force them to make more concessions."
Indeed, the same newspaper reported on Wednesday that Syrian Foreign Minister
Walid Muallem briefed Damascus-based Hamas head Khaled Mashaal on Turkey's
efforts to renew the Israeli-Syrian negotiations. According to the paper, the
Syrians made clear there were two conditions for this: that it not "negatively
impact" on the Israeli-Palestinian track, and that it not be used as an umbrella
for "continued aggression" against the Palestinians.
Obviously, there is concern among the Syrians and the Palestinians that by
turning to the Syrian option, Israel is admitting that there are serious
problems in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. And, indeed, it is widely
believed that there are considerable problems on that track, and that things are
not necessarily running on a schedule that would enable the unveiling of a shelf
agreement with the Palestinians before the end of US President George W. Bush's
term - something Bush wants badly. But whether this is behind the renewed
interest in a Syrian track is an open question.
SOME OFFICIALS in Jerusalem say the renewed interest in Syria has more to do
with Olmert's naked political considerations than with his trying to wring
concessions out of the Palestinians. According to this reasoning, Olmert is
concerned that the current negotiations with the Palestinians could fail in the
end, and he would be left in the unenviable political position of having no
diplomatic process to show for all his efforts. To prevent that from happening,
according to this reasoning, he is interested in a back-up track - the Syrians -
so he could say to political detractors both inside his party and to his left,
that while he may not have concluded a shelf agreement with the Palestinians, he
has kick-started some kind of process with Syria.
Olmert, according to this analysis, is looking for constituents, for an issue.
History has shown that Israelis like their leaders to talk peace and be willing
to make war. Olmert has shown, both in Lebanon in July 2006 and in Syria in
September 2007, that he is willing to make war. Now he is talking peace. It is a
magic combination the prime minister is betting is attractive to the political
center - precisely the ground he is trying to conquer.
First person by Muhamad Mugraby
Electoral reform in Lebanon begins with respect for human rights - commencing
with a census
By Muhamad Mugraby
Saturday, May 03, 2008
It is hard for foreign observers to grasp that the districting for general
parliamentary elections in Lebanon is not guided by any recent population census
that draws the demographic map and measures the demographic changes in and
between villages and towns on a continuous basis. For what looks today like a
heavily populated district could become less populated tomorrow, and vice versa.
It is strange but true: There has not been a general population census in the
country since the year 1932. That census was ordered under the law of November
24, 1931, and organized by Presidential Decree No. 8837 of January 15, 1932,
signed by President Charles Dabbas. It was carried out house-to-house where the
actual residents were counted and then registered. That process gave rise to the
population lists in each administrative district. Those lists subsequently
became basic to the electoral lists.
After the 1932 census served its intended purpose, no other census was ever
conducted, which amounts to a gross violation of human rights for the Lebanese.
To begin with, many rules of Lebanese law have been chronically violated, to
wit:
1. The rule that the population lists are not static: The names of persons who
no longer reside in the village or city quarter must, by law, be stricken off
the population list in such quarter and transferred to the list of their new
residence.
2. The rule that electoral lists must consist of the names of those citizens who
resided in the electoral district for six months or longer: As the population
lists are, by law, supposed to be made current, the electoral lists are
extracted from the population lists and reflect similar dynamics.
More significantly, the constitutional and human rights rule of equality
enshrined in Article 7 of Lebanon's Constitution and Article 7 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights requires that democratic representation be directly
and proportionately related to the resident population of each district.
The sad truth is that the population lists in Lebanon are not kept current and,
consequently, the electoral lists do not reflect the actual residents of the
various districts.
As a result of the normal demographic changes that took place over the past
three-quarters of a century since the census of 1932, the names of large numbers
of Lebanese citizens do not appear on the population (and consequently the
electoral) lists of villages and cities where they actually live and work but on
the lists of localities where their grandparents and their great-grandparents
did. Hence they cannot vote in the parliamentary elections of their natural
districts. Furthermore, they are not entitled to vote in local elections and are
without say in the conduct of local government.
It is generally thought, in line with a definite trend observed worldwide, that
vast demographic shifts have expanded the population of cities and contracted
the population of villages in the country side. This has not been recognized in
Lebanon, where a largely fictitious distribution of the population continues in
general to be based on the results of the 1932 census.
The political, democratic and human rights consequences of this strange state of
affairs are far-reaching. For example:
Citizens are denied their legal, constitutional and human rights to participate
in the democratic process through voting in the districts where they actually
live.
Lebanese citizens are assigned, often against their free will, a tribal-like
affinity to the birthplaces of their grandparents and great-grandparents, where
they suffer from the feudal-confessional political bosses who thrive on the
forced political allegiance they secure through their domination of the local
instruments of government.
Electoral districts are based, one way or the other, on administrative districts
that were established centuries ago under the Ottoman Sultanate, and, hence, are
not necessarily representative of the modern-day demographic map of Lebanon.
It is generally believed that city dwellers may exercise a greater freedom of
political choice than residents of the countryside. This may not be necessarily
true but a voter stands a better chance of emancipation from domination of the
feudal-confessional political bosses if he or she severs their paper link,
through the population lists, to the homes of their ancestors.
In all events, the laws and the Constitution of Lebanon, as well as the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, must be fully upheld. The first step to
electoral law reform is a general population census to be conducted on a regular
basis, in intervals or no longer than 10 years. The results of such census will
determine the size of the base and the democratic representation in each
electoral district, both for parliamentary and local elections purposes. More
specifically, only the names of the actual residents for six months or longer
may appear on the electoral lists and be entitled to vote.
**Muhamad Mugraby is a Lebanese lawyer.
Hizbullah: US 'terror' rap is 'a badge of honor'
state department report also chides government
By The Daily Star
Saturday, May 03, 2008
BEIRUT: Hizbullah on Friday stated that it feels proud at being included on the
United States' "terrorism" list.
"The US administration has no right to give statements on nationalism and
terrorism when it is making the peoples of the world, including the American
people, pay the price for its wars and bloody policies," said a statement by the
group.
Hizbullah's remarks came in response to a report by the US State Department in
which it accused Iran of providing aid to Palestinian "terrorist" groups like
Hamas, Lebanon's Hizbullah, "Iraq-based militants," and Taliban fighters in
Afghanistan.
Hizbullah said that listing "specific" groups under the US terrorist list was
tantamount to receiving a "badge of honor."
The statement criticized Washington for its policies in Lebanon and accused the
US of "provoking its allies in Lebanon against fellow citizens who support the
resistance and the opposition."
Hizbullah slammed the US as the biggest threat to international peace and
stability.
In its Country Reports on Terrorism 2007, the US State Department said Hizbullah
continued to be a threat to Israel.
"Hizbullah's efforts to rebuild and re-arm after the previous summer's war [are]
evidence that Hizbullah remained a threat to Israel," it said
It also quoted Israeli security officials as saying that Hizbullah continued to
provide support to select Palestinian groups to augment their capacity to
conduct attacks against Israel. "Throughout the rest of the year, Israeli
officials claimed ... that Hizbullah had completely replenished its ranks,
possessed even more shorter and medium-range rockets than it had before the 2006
war, had moved arms back into southern Lebanon," the report said.
The State Department said that while the Lebanese government has made progress
in fighting "terrorism," it still harbored concerns about its ability to cdo so.
"The Lebanese government continued to recognize Hizbullah, a US-designated
Foreign Terrorist Organization, as a legitimate 'resistance group' and political
party," the report said. It added that Hizbullah retains strong influence among
Lebanon's Shiite community, which it said is a third of Lebanon's population.
The State Department's report on Lebanon mentions that although Syria withdrew
its military forces from Lebanon in April 2005, "it still maintains a covert
intelligence presence."It said the Lebanese government has accused Syria of
continuing to support and facilitate arms smuggling to Hizbullah and Palestinian
groups.
"Even with the continued Lebanese Armed Forces troop deployments, the government
of Lebanon still did not exercise full control over areas in the Hizbullah-dominated
South, the southern suburbs of Beirut, parts of the Bekaa Valley, and inside 11
Palestinian-controlled refugee camps," the report said.
"This lack of control provided opportunities for terrorist groups to operate
relatively freely in some of these locations," it added.
The report said Lebanon had not fully implemented provisions of UN Security
Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1559, which called for respect for the sovereignty
and political independence of Lebanon, the end of foreign interference in
Lebanon, and the disarming and disbanding of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese
militias.
"While the Lebanese government was committed to fulfilling the provisions of
UNSCR 1559, it maintained that implementation of Hizbullah's disarmament should
be accomplished through 'national dialogue' rather than force," it added.
Commenting on the political impasse in Lebanon, the report said the ongoing
stalemate over both the election of a president and the failure of Parliament to
meet "has contributed to enabling militant foreign Islamic extremists affiliated
with or sympathetic to Al-Qaeda to infiltrate Lebanon, and to set up operational
cells."
"Palestinian militant groups continued to capitalize on the lack of government
control within the camps," the report said