LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِJuly
18/2010
Bible Of
the Day
The Good News According to
Luke
11:27 It came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the
multitude lifted up her voice, and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore
you, and the breasts which nursed you!” 11:28 But he said, “On the contrary,
blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.” 11:29 When the
multitudes were gathering together to him, he began to say, “This is an evil
generation. It seeks after a sign. No sign will be given to it but the sign of
Jonah, the prophet. 11:30 For even as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so
will also the Son of Man be to this generation. 11:31 The Queen of the South
will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and will condemn
them: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and
behold, one greater than Solomon is here. 11:32 The men of Nineveh will stand up
in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it: for they repented at
the preaching of Jonah, and behold, one greater than Jonah is here.
Free Opinions, Releases,
letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Nasrallah calls Tribunal
'Israeli project'/Daily Star/July
17/10
Who is sending Mamoun
Homsi back to Syrian prison?/By:Hanin Ghaddar/July 17/10
Egypt Versus Gaza/By
Barry Rubin/July 17/10
Latest News
Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for July 17/10
Hariri and Almost Half of Cabinet
in Unprecedented Visit to Damascus Sunday/Naharnet
Intelligence Bureau Unveils Spy
but Army Intelligence Arrests Him/Naharnet
Hariri's visit to Syria will open
'new page' in ties - minister/Daily
Star
Britain to continue
assessing policy toward Hizbullah/Daily Star
Legal changes needed to deal with
espionage/Daily Star
Lebanon arrests third suspected
Israel spy in telecom sector/Daily Star
France says security pact
'standard' as Hizbullah demands text clarifications/AFP
Gas field threatens fresh
Lebanon-Israel dispute/Financial
Times
Arab World: Losing the scent in south
Lebanon/Jerusalem
Post
Al Assad marks a decade in power/GulfNews
Who Can Prevent a Hezbollah War
with Israel This Summer?/Huffington
Post (blog)
Assad: Turkey is
best mediator/Jerusalem
Post
Paris
Urges Lebanese Parliament to be Responsible/Naharnet
Shuqeir: No Turning Back from Decision to Be Relieved of My Duties/Naharnet
Saqr:
Hariri Denied Informing Nasrallah About Tribunal Indictment Compromise/Naharnet
Aoun
Reportedly Advised Nasrallah to Change Rules of the Game Over Tribunal
Indictment, Strife, Israel Attack/Naharnet
Aridi to Propose Airport Development Plan Amid Report of 'Monitoring Slackness'/Naharnet
Jumblat Calls for Executing Israeli Spies: Thank God I Left March 14/Naharnet
Zahra: Governmental Change
Not Possible, We are Ready to Discuss What May Fulfill Palestinian Refugee Needs/Naharnet
Nasrallah, Franjieh Stress Cooperation in Facing Future Challenges/Naharnet
Qahwaji: We are Always Ready to Make Sacrifices and Uncovering Enemy Agents One
after the Other/Naharnet
Foreigners, Including
Lebanese, Among 30 Dead in Iraq Hotel Blaze/Naharnet
Nasrallah calls Tribunal 'Israeli project'
Hizbullah leader warns espionage networks put STL evidence in doubt
By Elias Sakr /Daily Star staff
Saturday, July 17, 2010
BEIRUT: Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday issued a blanket condemnation of the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon, calling it an “Israeli project” that aimed to
exploit Israel’s penetration of Lebanon’s telecommunications network to
manufacture strife.
The Hizbullah leader made his remarks in the wake of three reported arrests of
former and current employees at the Alfa mobile phone company, on suspicion of
spying for Israel.
Nasrallah suggested that Israel’s infiltration of the telecommunication network
would allow manipulating call patterns, among other technical procedures, which
discredited the basis of any investigations based on the analysis of mobile
phone call records.
“The wager on false witnesses has failed, and the wager today has turned to the
telecommunication sector, to build upon to issue an indictment,” Nasrallah said.
Tarek Rabaa, an engineer, has been detained for spying for Israel after being
identified as the partner of Charbel Qazzi, a technician at Lebanon’s Alfa
mobile service provider.
Qazzi was detained last month by Lebanese authorities on suspicion of providing
the Israelis with crucial data. The detainee has confessed to collaborating with
Israeli authorities since 1996, reports said.
“Since the false witnesses’ theory did not stand, they went on to fabricate the
telecommunications theory to build upon it an indictment … thus the
telecommunication world is sacred for those wagering on the STL,” Nasrallah
said.
Nasrallah was referring to the case of Zuheir Siddiq, a former witness in the
investigation of the 2005 killing of former Premier Rafik Hariri, who later
recanted his testimony.
The Hizbullah leader criticized those who have called for playing down the
importance of the arrests until the investigations are complete, which he said
were aimed at safeguarding the STL’s investigations against suspicions.
“We hear that an indictment will be issued against Hizbullah members,” Nasrallah
said, “and those making the claims know of the investigations, and the timing of
the indictment, while the investigations with us have barely started, and our
brothers in Hizbullah went as witnesses rather than suspects.”
Nasrallah added that his party was preparing a comprehensive report on the STL’s
investigations, and that it might be released “soon” to the public. “When we
discover spies, it means discovering the cornerstone in a new plot against the
country and the region based on the indictment that will not take place,”
Nasrallah added.
He was speaking on the occasion of Hizbullah’s annual commemoration of wounded
resistance members.
Nasrallah also questioned whether the Information Department of the Internal
Security Forces had prior knowledge of Qazzi’s role before Lebanese Army
Intelligence uncovered his alleged activities. “If the Information Department
had knowledge of Qazzi prior to his arrest by Lebanese Army Intelligence; what
did they know about him, since when, and why haven’t they arrested him?”
Nasrallah asked.
He called on Premier Saad Hariri and Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud to launch a
probe into to the issue. “This is a very big issue,” Nasrallah said. “I have the
answer, but we haven’t made any decision yet and we will decide upon the issue
based on the response of the Information Department.”
Tackling the issue of Israeli espionage networks in Lebanon, Nasrallah said
despite being capable of gathering information through technologically advanced
techniques, the human factor remained very essential in planning a list of
Israeli targets ahead of any upcoming war against Lebanon.
Nasrallah warned that Lebanon’s telecommunication infrastructure had been
totally exposed to Israeli for a “very long time,” which was a major factor in
providing to support to Israel in its July 2006 war against Lebanon.
Nasrallah said that the Cabinet’s attempt in May 2008 to dismantle Hizbullah’s
telecommunication network was neither innocent nor technical, but rather
masterminded by the Israelis, since the resistance's network did not constitute
a threat to internal security.
The decision by then-Premier Fouad Siniora’s Cabinet sparked armed clashes in
Beirut and the Chouf between government supporters and pro-Hizbullah fighters in
May 2008.
Nasrallah called on the Cabinet to launch a probe in the issue to determine
those who provoked politicians into taking such a decision, since “the source
behind the operation lies in Israel” as the decision almost led to civil strife.
Nasrallah also called on the judiciary and officials to swiftly approve death
sentences for all collaborators, irrespective of their religious affiliations.
Under the Penal Code, only enemy agents whose activities lead directly to the
death of individuals or material destruction can be sentenced to death.
The Hizbullah leader also mocked Lebanon’s strictly confessional political
system, expressing his fear that no death sentences would be issued for a
collaborator from a given sect, until others from other sects had been
discovered, to preserve sectarian “balance.”
He said convicted collaborators, some of whom have been active since the 1990s,
should face the death penalty for their crimes.
France says security pact 'standard' as Hizbullah demands text clarifications
By Agence France Presse (AFP) and The Daily Star
Friday, July 16, 2010
BEIRUT: France on Thursday defended a controversial security accord with Lebanon
as Hizbullah demanded a clear definition of the word “terrorism” in the text.
“This is a classic agreement like those France’s interior minister has already
signed with our foreign partners,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard
Valero. “The text includes technical terms, for example, for the fight against
organized crime as well as cooperation in … homeland security, crisis management
… and decentralized administration,” Valero said in a statement distributed by
the French Embassy.
The pact stipulates the two countries should “boost cooperation” in fighting
terrorism, money laundering and drugs.
Spokesperson Valero’s statement made no mention of the word “terrorism.”
Lebanon and France signed the deal in Paris on January 21. The accord must be
ratified by the Lebanese Parliament and the French Senate to take effect.
Hizbullah has demanded “a text that either clearly defines ‘terrorism’ as per
Lebanese and Arab laws or the omission of the clause that deals with
counter-terrorism entirely,” Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah told AFP.
France’s definition of terrorism includes Palestinian resistance movements, and
that clashes with Lebanese law, which is in line with the Arab League’s
definition, he added.
“Without resolving this matter, the accord will not be passed in Parliament.”
The 22-member Arab League does not regard “armed struggle against foreign
occupation,” such as the Palestinian Hamas or Lebanese Hizbullah, as terrorist
movements.
During a Cabinet session on Wednesday, Prime Minister Saad Hariri said there was
no definition of the word “terrorism” in the security agreement between Lebanon
and France.
“Obsession with the definition of terrorism is common among all parties,” Hariri
said.
He added that the Lebanon-France agreement fails to mention any definition of
the word “terrorism,” adding that the only text that defines terrorism was found
in the Arab League Convention, “which everybody has agreed upon.” – AFP, with
The Daily Star
Hariri's visit to Syria will open 'new page' in ties - minister
By Antoine Amrieh /Daily Star correspondent
Saturday, July 17, 2010
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri chaired a ministerial meeting on Friday in
preparation for his upcoming visit to Damascus this weekend, at the head of a
13-member ministerial delegation.
The visit to Damascus by Hariri is a step in the right direction, according to
Minister of State Adnan Kassar, who said that the event would open a “new page”
in Syrian-Lebanese bilateral relations, following last year’s establishment of
diplomatic relations between Beirut and Damascus.
He said that historical events have proved that Syria and Lebanon were in mutual
need of each other.
Thirteen ministers will accompany Hariri on his Syria visit, which is expected
to see the signing of agreements and memorandums of understanding between the
two countries on legal, health, agricultural, public works, tourism, education,
environmental, and cultural affairs issues, in addition to anti-drug efforts. It
will also be an opportunity to encourage bilateral investment projects.
During the visit, the Lebanese Syrian Follow-up and Coordination Committee will
hold a meeting presided over by Hariri and his Syrian counterpart Naji Otari.
Separately on Friday, Minister of State Jean Hogassapian toured the border
crossings along the northern Lebanese-Syrian border, heading a security and
technical delegation.
Hogassapian toured the border area of Wadi Khaled in Akkar last week.
Upon arriving at the Arida border crossing, Hogassapian was received by a number
of Akkar MPs as well as security officials and other figures.
After inspecting the premises of the Customs Authority and General Security, as
well as the Arida Rest House, Hogassapian told reporters that the aim of the
visit was to “get introduced to the Abboudieh and Arida border crossings, along
with the site that will witness the construction of the Sheikh Ayyash border
crossing.”
“We are here to discuss with the consultancy team the existing plans, along with
installations to be used to develop those border crossings,” he added.
He said the development plan aimed at enabling the border crossings to
accommodate “the largest [possible] number of travelers and at the same time to
ease measures taken at the borders.”
“This move is part of a study we are conducting as a technical committee tasked
with coming up with a strategy [to control] all Lebanese-Syrian land borders,”
said the minister.
Hogassapian said that the study addressed the socio-economic conditions of
border villages as well. With porous border control, the area has become home to
smuggling.
He said he hoped the funds needed to implement future plans to develop the
Abboudieh, Arida and Sheikh Ayyash crossings would be secured soon and followed
by a prompt commencement of works.
“It is unacceptable that Lebanon’s border crossings remain in this situation.
It’s not in line with Lebanon’s civilized face,” said Hogassapian.
He noted that the issue of the borders required cooperation between the Lebanese
and Syrian authorities, adding that the Customs Authority was working on a study
to establish the computer-linking of crossings.
“This means that any person crossing the border point is not required to perform
the same formalities on the other side of the border,” said the minister, adding
that the implementation of a similar project in the Bekaa Valley would be
discussed Syrian officials.
Asked about the level of Syrian cooperation regarding the control and monitoring
of borders, Hogassapian said the matter has yet to be discussed Syrian
officials, and voiced hope that it would be on the agenda during Sunday’s visit
by Hariri.
Asked about reports of Syrian nibbling away at Lebanese territory, Hogassapian
said that tackling this matter was the duty of the committee tasked with
demarcating Lebanese-Syrian borders.
The delegation also visited the site where the Sheikh Ayyash border crossing is
to be constructed in coordination with the Syrian authorities. The crossing will
only be used by trucks carrying commercial loads.
Britain to continue assessing policy toward Hizbullah
By Patrick Galey /Daily Star staff
Saturday, July 17, 2010
BEIRUT: The British government will continue to assess its relationship with
Hizbullah, the Minister of State for the Middle East said in remarks published
Friday.
Alistair Burt MP, who this week conducted a two-day tour of the region,
including visits to Lebanon and Syria, said the Foreign Office was continually
reevaluating contact with the party.
“I know the previous government had contact with Hizbullah within limited
regulations,” Burt was quoted as saying in the pan-Arab daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.
“It’s still too early to say that we will adopt the same approach the former
government had toward separating Hizbullah’s military side from its political
side.
“There might be some occasions where limited contact might be beneficial to
everyone and to the peace process but we will keep this contact under review
always,” Burt added.
A Foreign Office spokesperson, when contacted by The Daily Star, said Burt’s
comments were in line with “an ongoing review of policy in the region, which
includes Hizbullah.”
Burt, however, stressed that any contact with the party would be undertaken
extremely tentatively.
“We are careful of this contact for known reasons,” he was quoted as saying. “We
consider Hizbullah’s commitment to armed resistance as unacceptable and we don’t
support it.”
Hizbullah is included on the US State Department list of terrorist
organizations, and the military wing of the organization was banned by the UK
Home Office in 2008.
Burt also said that Hizbullah was most likely to blame for the recent anti-UNIFIL
protests in south Lebanon, which saw villagers throw stones and confiscate the
weapons of a French peacekeeping patrol, injuring three soldiers.
“It seems unlikely that Hizbullah is not involved in the tensions between locals
and UNIFIL, considering its strong presence in the region,” Burt said. “But it
is difficult to get a confirmation, even though their strong presence indicates
they incited this tension.”
During Burt’s visit, the Member of Parliament visited south Lebanon to survey
how mine-clearing efforts were progressing four years after Israel’s bombardment
during the 2006 July War. He also met with a number of Lebanese officials.
Burt refused to comment on Israeli claims that Hizbullah had received long-range
Scud missiles from Syria. “I can’t comment on what Israel suspects to have found
in the region,” he said. “We have a clear commitment from the Lebanese
government that the Army will work closely with UNIFIL so that they can fulfill
their job.
“We are still largely worried about Hizbullah, of course, and we are worried
about reports of amassing weapons.”
He added that in order for Resolution 1701 to be considered fulfilled, Hizbullah
was obliged to relinquish its arms.
“Resolution 1701 is not only about land; it’s about disarmament. If 1701 is to
be implemented, there must be disarmament and a good relationship with UNIFIL
and Hizbullah should be capable of answering [what is asked],” Burt said.
Legal changes needed to deal with espionage
Arrests of alleged spies increases level of political anxiety about country’s
security
By Youssef Diab /Daily Star staff
Saturday, July 17, 2010
BEIRUT: The issue of Israeli agents has returned to the fore, as political
parties make their pronouncements on national security and urge the harshest
possible punishment for collaborators, in the wake of the latest discoveries of
a spy network at mobile phone company Alfa.
Top judicial officials, however, point out that blanket calls for executing
spies won’t lead anywhere unless parts of the Penal Code are amended.
The arrests have increased the level of political anxiety about the country’s
security with regard to the role of the alleged spies in exposing the country to
the Israelis, especially in terms of Israel’s ability to penetrate military and
security organizations.
The arrests have covered high-ranking officers in the Lebanese Army and General
Security, who had access to sensitive information, as well as the mobile
telephone firm Alfa, with the arrests of Charbel Qazzi and Tarek Rabaa for
suspicion of spying for Israel. A third individual from Alfa was reportedly
arrested this week.
The arrests mean that a total of 158 alleged Israeli agents have been rounded up
since April 2009, the biggest discovery of Israeli intelligence penetration
since the liberation of the south in May 2000.
Several security bodies have been active in tracking and discovering the alleged
agents, namely the Internal Security Forces’ Information Branch, Army
Intelligence and State Intelligence, alongside Hizbullah’s own security
apparatus.
The level of danger represented by the suspected agents differs from case to
case, with the most important catches thought to be five high-ranking military
officers, of whom four have been detained.
Investigations have revealed that retired General Security General Adib Alam had
been active since 1984, meaning the Israelis are thought to have received a
considerable amount of information and documents from General Security while
Alam served in his post.
Another high-ranking figure is the army’s Colonel Mansour Diab, who served in
key posts that allegedly allowed him to transfer sensitive information on
military and security matters. Diab was reportedly headed for appointment to a
high-ranking post before his arrest and was slated to become the army’s head of
operations.
The investigations into the cases of Shahid Toumia and Ghazwan Shahin, both
colonels, have revealed their alleged involvement in spying for Israel and
passing on sensitive information about army and Hizbullah positions before,
during and after the July 2006 war, relying on advanced communications equipment
supplied to them by Israeli handlers and funding their operations through money
received in dead drops by the Israelis.
A fifth officer, Colonel Daher Jarjouri, managed to flee to Israel when his
alleged spying activities were discovered by Lebanese authorities.
The discovery of the officers has shaken the military, which was caught
off-guard by the high-level penetration.
Other suspected Israeli spies have focused on monitoring the movements of
Hizbullah officials, to gather information to be used in assassination attempts.
The commander of the ISF, General Ashraf Rifi, revealed last year that his
Information Branch discovered three Hizbullah cadres were involved in spying for
Israel and informed Wafiq Safa, the party’s liaison officer, of the matter. The
cases have not come to the official attention of the judiciary, and the steps
taken by the party to investigate and possibly punish the suspected agents
remain unknown.
One of the most striking cases involves Mahmoud Rafeh, believed to have been
involved in helping the Israelis assassinate Jihad Jibril, the son of a
Palestinian faction leader, in 2002; Hussein Saleh, a Hizbullah official, by
booby-trapping his car in the southern suburbs of Beirut in 2004, and Islamic
Jihad members Nidal and Mahmoud Majzoub in Sidon in 2006.
Rafeh is the only one who has been found guilty, of the Majzoub killings, while
the cases of the other alleged and suspected agents are still before the courts.
Meanwhile, the judiciary is facing increasing pressure, as politicians have
taken recently to calling for “setting up the gallows” to deal with the guilty
agents, to serve as a lesson for other would-be collaborators.
A judicial source told The Daily Star that “the campaign in favor of capital
punishment for spies is an attempt to pressure and embarrass the judiciary,”
which the source said is following the appropriate legal procedures in each
case.
The source added that the harshest possible punishments are being issued, while
capital punishment only applies to certain cases: when it’s proved that death or
material destruction results from an agent’s activities.
The judicial official advised politicians to put their efforts into amending the
Penal Code, in order to add clear statutes that necessitate a death sentence for
any collaborator, whatever the type of crime.
“If the judiciary adheres to such a law,” the source said, “it will apply to
every collaborator, and there will be no discrimination or mitigating
circumstances” cited in the process of deciding on punishments.
Lebanon arrests third suspected Israel spy in telecom sector
By The Daily Star and Agence France Presse (AFP) /Saturday, July 17, 2010
BEIRUT: Lebanon has arrested a third person in a widening probe into a suspected
network of Israeli spies employed in the country’s telecom sector, a source
close to the investigation said on Friday.
“The arrest was made late last night and the suspect is a former employee in
Lebanon’s telecommunications sector,” the source told AFP.
He could not say whether the suspect was linked to two telecom employees
arrested in the past month, who he said were suspected of being accomplices at
the company Alfa, one of Lebanon’s two mobile service providers.
The high-profile arrest of Charbel Qazzi, a technician at Alfa, last month
sparked government concern over the security of Lebanon’s telecom sector.
Qazzi was charged on Tuesday with “entering enemy territory, collaborating with
Israel and providing it with information.” He faces the death penalty if
convicted.
Tarek Rabaa, also an employee at Alfa, was arrested this week and is suspected
of collaborating with Qazzi, the source told AFP on Thursday.
Reports have identified Rabaa as a transmission engineer for the company.
Telecommunications Minister Charbel Nahhas said the government had taken
measures to protect the mobile phone network and described the suspected spying
operations as “dangerous.”
“We are facing the most dangerous case of espionage” since a national crackdown
was launched on spy rings in Lebanon in April 2009, As-Safir quoted Nahhas as
saying.
“We are trying to verify if [this espionage] managed to introduce viruses” to
the mobile phone network, he said.
Nahhas told the paper that the authorities had taken steps to change passwords
in order to prevent anyone from accessing the system from outside.
On Friday, Nahhas told a local radio station the telecommunications system was
in “intensive care,” and that measures were under way to inspect various
telecommunications links.
“Nothing will change for the public,” said Nahhas, who described the measures as
“necessary” and explained that the automatic operations of certain links had
been halted.
Convicted spies face life in prison with hard labor, or the death penalty if
found guilty of contributing to Lebanese loss of life. Since April 2009, Lebanon
has arrested more than 150 people on suspicion of spying for Israel, including
security officials. – The Daily Star with AFP
Paris Urges Lebanese Parliament to be Responsible
Naharnet/France has called on the Lebanese parliament to be responsible and
urged all parties to distinguish between the controversial security agreement
and the French contingent in the south. "There is no link between the security
agreement and the French contingent working as part of UNIFIL which is an
international force similar to the Spanish or Italian forces," French Foreign
Ministry Spokesman Bernard Valero said Friday. Valero did not comment on the
dispute between Lebanese MPs over the adoption of the security agreement. March
14 lawmakers and pro-Hizbullah and Amal MPs have been bickering over the
definition of terrorism in the agreement which needs parliamentary approval. The
agreement was signed between the Lebanese and French interior ministers on
January 21. The spokesman said, however, that the "Lebanese side should take
responsibility" and parliament would either approve the agreement or reject it.
Asharq al-Awsat newspaper said Saturday that Paris believes the agreement is
similar to deals it has signed with other countries. It is amazed by the uproar
over the issue in Lebanon, the daily added. Beirut, 17 Jul 10,
Hariri and Almost Half of Cabinet in Unprecedented Visit to Damascus Sunday
Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri's visit to Damascus on Sunday is
unprecedented because almost half of cabinet members from around the political
spectrum, except for the Phalange party, would be joining him. Phalange party
representative Social Affairs Minister Salim al-Sayegh will not head to Syria
for technical reasons. He told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that his absence
"has no political reasons." He said he did not join the delegation because there
are no plans to sign agreements with his Syrian counterpart on social affairs.
The Lebanese team will sign 14 agreements and 6 protocols and memorandums of
understanding with Syria. Political sources told al-Liwaa daily that the meeting
between Hariri and President Bashar Assad will be an important step in building
confidence between the two men. Hariri informed the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc
on Friday that Assad will throw a dinner banquet in honor of the Lebanese
delegation while Syrian PM Mohammed Naji Otari will meet with Hariri over lunch.
The lunch will be followed by a large-scale meeting between the Lebanese and
Syrian sides. Following the talks, they will announce during a press conference
all deals they have reached. Beirut, 17 Jul 10,
Intelligence Bureau Unveils Spy but Army Intelligence Arrests Him
Naharnet/Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's unprecedented campaign
against the pending indictment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has created a
stir over the agency involved in the arrest of spies. Nasrallah linked the
arrests of mobile phone company employees, including Charbel Qazzi and Tareq al-Rabaa,
to the international probe into the 2005 assassination of ex-premier Rafik
Hariri, slamming the pending indictment as "fabricated."
"The Israelis, who today stand impotent before the will, steadfastness, pride
and readiness of the resistance in Lebanon are banking on another Israeli
project, which is called the Special Tribunal for Lebanon," Nasrallah said. He
wondered whether the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau had
information about Qazzi before he was arrested by the Army Intelligence.
Well-informed sources told An Nahar daily in remarks published Saturday that the
Intelligence Bureau had been monitoring Qazzi for a long time and asked the
Interior Ministry for permission from the Telecommunications Ministry to check
data that would unveil the truth behind the network. The sources said that as
soon as the request was made, the army intelligence arrested Qazzi. An Nahar
said the man has confessed that he began spying for Israel 15 years ago, meaning
during the Syrian hegemony in Lebanon when former chief of the General Security
Department Maj. Gen. Jamil al-Sayyed was still in power. It added that Hizbullah
enjoyed wide powers on the security level during that period. The pro-Hizbullah
al-Akhbar daily, on the other hand, quoted sources close to PM Saad Hariri as
saying that the Intelligence Bureau had put a suspected mobile phone number
under monitoring before Qazzi's arrest by the Army Intelligence. The bureau was
surprised by the identity of the suspect because it was dealing with his case as
part of other spy network cases, it said.
Beirut, 17 Jul 10,
Shuqeir: No Turning Back from Decision to Be Relieved of My Duties
Naharnet/Beirut Airport Security chief Brig. Gen. Wafiq Shuqeir, who has
submitted his resignation to Interior Minister Ziad Baroud, has said there is no
turning back from his decision.
Shuqeir told the Kuwaiti al-Rai daily in remarks published Saturday that
"several reasons" were behind his decision to resign over the discovery of the
body of a man in the rear tire of a Saudi-bound plane. "I did not act this way
to make a stance," he said, adding he wasn't seeking to get another post. Baroud
did not accept Shuqeir's request to be relieved of his duties, granting him a
one-month leave permit pending end of the investigation into the security
incident at Rafik Hariri International Airport. "I took this decision because I
respect myself and the minister," he told al-Rai. Beirut, 17 Jul 10,
Saqr: Hariri Denied Informing Nasrallah About Tribunal Indictment Compromise
Naharnet/MP Oqab Saqr has said Premier Saad Hariri denied reports he had
informed Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah that he would dub Hizbullah members as
"uncontrolled" elements in case the international tribunal indicts them. "I have
only heard such information from the media," Saqr quoted Hariri as telling his
visitors. "I believe that neither Nasrallah knows anything about it," Saqr said.
The MP told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that no one can claim that he has any
info about the indictment. He wondered why all expectations were negative and
information about the court is from sources that have nothing to do with the
tribunal's prosecutor. Beirut, 17 Jul 10,
Jumblat Calls for Executing Israeli Spies: Thank God I Left March 14
Naharnet/One has to acknowledge his mistakes and not hide behind a finger, we
were taken by the mottos of freedom and independence while the reality was
different. I'm not ashamed to perform self-criticism and some have to understand
that, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat announced Friday.
In a live interview on Hizbullah's mouthpiece al-Manar television, Jumblat said:
"Spying is a dangerous thing and all spies must be executed. Enough with some
civil society calls on the need to abolish the death penalty for the sake of the
Euro-Mediterranean Partnership because the country's security is more important
than that partnership."Answering a question on the division among the Lebanese
on the consequences of the July 2006 War, Jumblat noted that Lebanese division
regarding wars with Israel is "historical, since in 1982 there had been division
and also in 1978." Jumblat thanked God for leaving the March 14 camp, calling on
his one-time allies to benefit from Hizbullah's resistance against Israel –
"from those who volunteer to defend Lebanon for nothing in return." "Some still
long for the neutrality theory and they adopt the theory that says that the
Resistance's arms give Israel an alibi," Jumblat added.
"I took part in the lunch at the U.S. Embassy with (former U.S. Secretary of
State) Condoleezza Rice (in 2006), and I believe that was a shameful scene:
Lebanon was being destroyed and we were waiting for the U.S. envoy."
Jumblat noted that the decision to wage an all-out aggression against Lebanon in
2006 "was not taken only by Israel, because Israel can't do anything without the
permission of the U.S."
"The Americans were trying to employ some Lebanese for the sake of their plan to
push Lebanon away from its natural environment, and maybe the 2006 aggression
had aimed at making Lebanon abandon the Taef Accord, but that aim failed."Asked
whether he sees a war looming on the horizon, Jumblat said: "I don't believe
there would be a war in the near future because the U.S. administration has the
midterm elections soon, and if (U.S. President Barack) Obama was defeated, hawks
would rise to power. The timing of war is related to Iraq and Afghanistan."
Jumblat revealed that "Mount Lebanon will become a strategic depth for the
Resistance in any new war, as all areas must be."
"I tell some hesitators that Israel has not and will not be merciful on anyone
in its war."On the other hand, Jumblat said that some of UNIFIL's behaviors and
photographing of some places, "and maybe provocations and maneuvers without
coordinating with the army, led to the reaction of the southerners.""Lebanese
theoreticians are the ones who want to change (UNIFIL's) rules of engagement and
I don't believe that the West wants to reach the foolishness of changing the
rules of engagement because they would be subjecting themselves and Lebanon to
dangers." As to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the possible repercussions
of its indictment on Lebanon, Jumblat said: "When (Israeli Army Chief of Staff
Gabi) Ashkenazi said that September would be unstable due to the indictment of
the STL, I remembered the Der Spiegel remarks, and we must foil any Israeli
infiltration of the Lebanese interior."
Beirut, 16 Jul 10,
Fatfat: Agreement with France Cannot be Modified
Naharnet/MP Ahmed Fatfat said Friday that a security agreement between Lebanon
and France cannot be modified. He told the Voice of Lebanon radio station,
however, that there is an exit to the controversial issue. "There is a way out
of the standoff over the France-Lebanon security deal if they (Opposition) want
to be positive," Fatfat said. "The only way out is to emphasize that Lebanon has
its own interpretation," Fatfat argued. He said that the accord points to the
legal interpretations based on Lebanese laws and regulations. Beirut, 16 Jul 10,
Foreigners, Including Lebanese, Among 30 Dead in Iraq Hotel Blaze
Naharnet/Guests leapt desperately to their deaths from upper-floor windows as a
fire tore through a hotel in northern Iraq killing 30 people, 14 of them
foreigners, police and medics said on Friday. Citizens of Australia, Britain,
Canada, Lebanon and several Asian and South American countries were among those
killed in Thursday night's blaze in Sulaimaniyah, which raged for seven hours
before being brought under control, officials said. A preliminary report
prepared by the city's hospital said people from 12 countries had died.
Visiting telecommunications engineers from Sri Lanka, the Philippines and
Cambodia, were among the victims, according to hospital officials and the
chairman of the telecoms company.
"The number killed is 30, among whom there are 14 foreigners," said Rikot Hama
Rasheed, the director of Sulaimaniyah hospital, following the fire, which rose
rapidly from the second floor of the six-storey Soma hotel. "The regional
government will contact the embassies of the foreigners who were killed," said
Rasheed, listing Iraq, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Venezuela, Lebanon, South Africa and
Bangladesh as among the victims' nationalities. Witnesses told Agence France
Presse at least three of those who died did so after leaping from the hotel's
windows in a desperate bid to save themselves as flames and smoke engulfed their
rooms. Mirwan Saeed, 30, broke both his legs after making his way to the hotel
roof and jumping towards a lower building near the hotel to save his life. "We
were in the hotel when the smoke started coming in," he told AFP from his
hospital bed. "I had no choice but to jump." Colonel Araz Bakr, chief of
Sulaimaniyah rescue services, confirmed the death toll and said 42 people were
injured, including seven firefighters. He said most of those who died were
suffocated by smoke. A city council official said an electrical fault caused the
blaze, which also damaged several adjacent buildings. "Women and children are
among the victims of the incident which happened in the Soma Hotel," said the
official, Razgar Ahmed. Sulaimaniyah, 260 kilometers northeast of Baghdad, is
the capital of one of three northern provinces that make up Iraq's autonomous
Kurdish region.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 16 Jul 10, 14:03
Who is sending Mamoun Homsi back to Syrian prison?
Hanin Ghaddar, July 17, 2010
Former Syrian MP and opposition activist Mamoun Homsi, 55, holds his UN
documents at his home in Beirut on July 13, 2010 (AFP photo/Anwar Amro).
As Prime Minister Saad Hariri gets ready to visit Syria for the second time
since becoming premier, the Ministry of Interior told Mamoun Homsi that it will
not renew his residency. Homsi, a former MP and Syrian opposition figure, was
previously jailed by the Syrian authorities for his political opinions. General
Security gave him until July 20 to get out of the country.
As Homsi’s passport expired and its renewal was denied by the Syrian
authorities, his only choice is to go back to his home country. Given his record
of political activism against the Syrian regime, which continued during his stay
in Beirut, we can say that Homsi has little to look forward to but persecution.
Mamoun al-Homsi was first arrested in 2001, during the crackdown against the
Damascus Spring Movement, which followed the election of Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad in 2000. He was sentenced to five years in jail for "attempting to
illegally change the constitution." After his release, he fled Syria in June of
2006 and came to Lebanon.
The Syrian regime then seized his assets with the purpose of pressuring him and
his family. However, Homsi did not budge. He continued criticizing the Syrian
regime from Beirut, backed by March 14 and the principle of freedom of
expression they cherished.
From Beirut, Homsi called on the Syrian people in 2007 to boycott the
parliamentary elections there. He also revealed to the press that he had sent a
letter to US Senator Nancy Pelosi asking her not to visit Damascus. Homsi added
that the idea of engaging the Syrian regime is "a very dangerous proposition
because next will be a call to engage terrorist organizations."
Mamoun Homsi was also a signee of the Beirut-Damascus Declaration of May 2006,
calling on the Syrian regime to respect Lebanon's sovereignty and independence.
The Syrian authorities arrested and jailed some of the other signatories, such
as writer Michel Kilo and attorney Anwar al-Bunni. The activists were taken to
trial in Damascus on charges of threatening civil peace, inciting sectarian
differences and stirring civil war.
Homsi is facing similar charges if he goes back to Damascus. Though he signed a
declaration in support of Lebanon’s sovereignty and freedom, he was banished by
the country he thought would protect him.
In his statement announcing the decision of the Lebanese General Security, Homsi
said that he feels defeated. “I see no reason for my banishment except the
recent Lebanese opening to Syria,” he said. “However” he added, “Lebanon should
amend its constitution and laws that make the country an oasis of freedom and
democracy in the Arab world.”
Homsi was betrayed by the country he believed in. After the March 14 victory in
the 2009 parliamentary elections and the establishment of the so-called national
unity government, we forgot our own values.
Sadly, Homsi’s case did not provoke substantial reactions from Lebanese
politicians and civil society. Except for a joint statement by former MPs Samir
Franjieh and Fares Soueid, a press release by the National Bloc and the setup of
a Facebook group calling for revoking the General Security’s decision, no one
said anything.
Homsi has a document from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees
classifying him as a refugee, and he did not commit any act that would
contradict the terms of his residency in Lebanon. Therefore, there is no reason
except the one he pointed to for his being denied residency and put in danger of
imprisonment. He was the sacrificial lamb for “improved Lebanese-Syrian ties.”
Another distressing side to the story is that everybody thought Interior
Minister Ziad Baroud, who was a civil rights activist before his appointment as
minister, would never allow something like this to happen under his watch.
No one expected Baroud to act as a staunch critic of the Assad regime, but
handing a Syrian opposition activist to the authorities is like signing the
death penalty for someone because of his political opinions.
If Minister Baroud and those in charge at the General Security still believe in
the freedom of expression and in Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence, they
need to revoke their decision and extend Homsi’s residency. Otherwise, they will
not only be betraying independent Syrian citizens, but also their own values and
those of people like Samir Kassir and Gibran Tueni, who fought and died for
their convictions.
This is not about Homsi anymore, or freedom in Syria. It is about Lebanon and
what we want for it. We cannot send Homsi to Syrian prison after all we’ve been
through and all the sacrifices that we made.
We should not surrender that easily.
**Hanin Ghaddar is managing editor of NOW Lebanon.
Egypt
Versus Gaza
By Barry Rubin*
July 17, 2010
http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/07/egypt-vs-gaza
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There is a bit of silver lining, even in the Gaza cloud. It's this: the Egyptian
government, aware that the West won't help it get rid of the revolutionary
Islamist regime there, that Israel cannot do it, and that Hamas won't
voluntarily accept subordination to the Palestinian Authority, now understands
it has to protect itself from that threat.
For Egypt, the threat is multiple. Most directly, Hamas is a close ally to
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, a group that wants to overturn the nationalist
regime and give Egypt an Islamist state that would enjoy all the blessings of
Iran and Taliban Afghanistan. In or after their revolution, the Egyptian elite
would be murdered and all of its property confiscated.
A second threat to Egypt comes from the fact that Hamas is an Iranian client.
The days are long gone when Egypt could credibly present itself as the leader of
the Arab world and the trend-setter for the region, but it still has a real
national interest in what happens elsewhere in the area.
Iran is a threat to Egypt in four ways: Persian versus Arab; Shia versus Sunni;
Islamist versus nationalist; and Iran versus Egypt on a state-to-state level of
competition. One might well think of a hostile Gaza Strip in relation to Egypt
as parallel to what a Communist Cuba has been to the United States.
On a third level, Gaza could easily become a safe haven for terrorists operating
against Egypt. Any weapon smuggled into Gaza, for example, could reappear some
day in an attack on tourists in Cairo.
With Egypt approaching its first "normal" transition of leadership in forty
years the government seems to be all the more nervous about such things.
(President Gamal Abdel Nasser died in 1970 and there was a short-lived but
potentially dangerous factional battle, but when President Anwar Sadat was
assassinated in 1981 the elite united and Husni Mubarak had no trouble gaining
full power.)
So what can Egypt do? It doesn't want to rule Gaza, as it did between 1948 and
1967. Why ingest such a headache, to mix metaphors. And Egypt's obvious though
not explicit support for Israel's 2008-2009 retaliation against Hamas's war
brought it criticism. Egypt has also tried and failed to play mediator between
Hamas and the PA. Cairo also knows it cannot depend on the United States (who
can do so nowadays?)
Thus, the best Egyptian option is to isolate the contagion. An entire new
Egyptian security system, with more troops and several zones of control, has
been established. A wall has been constructed to prevent Gazans from breaking
through and houses have been demolished near the border line. Stepped-up efforts
try to control smuggling.
The government has made it clear that nothing crosses the border without its
permission, though it isn't able to enforce that completely of course. I haven't
seen figures on successful smuggling and-truth be told-a lot of Egyptian
officials like bribes. So I cannot say how much they have cut down on the
cross-border commerce. But they are trying harder.
Remember, the Hamas regime is not just a threat to Israel but to Egypt. Egypt's
government doesn't forget that for a moment.
*Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs
(GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA)
Journal. His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), with
Walter Laqueur (Viking-Penguin); the paperback edition of The Truth About Syria
(Palgrave-Macmillan); A Chronological History of Terrorism, with Judy Colp
Rubin, (Sharpe); and The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy
in the Middle East (Wiley). To read and subscribe to MERIA, GLORIA articles, or
to order books, go to http://www.gloria-center.org. You can read and subscribe
to his blog at http://www.rubinreports.blogspot.com.