LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِNovember 25/2010

On going Christian persecution in Iraq while the whole world is mute
http://www.aina.org/releases/20101124002721.htm
The Baghdad Assyrian Church Massacre: Waiting for Godot!
AINA/November 24/10/Assyrian International News Agency
من المؤسف أن العالم بأكمله يتفرج دون موقف محدد وواضح فيما الشعب الأشوري يذبح ويعذب ويتم تهجيره من بلده الأصلي، العراق. هذا عار على الأمم المتحدة وعلى العالم الحر ويدين الدول العربية التي تتبنى موقف الصمت كأبو الهول تماماً. أما الجامعة المسماة عربية فهي غائبة عن السمع والبصر وتتصرف وكأن الأمر لا يعنيها. مؤسف ومحزن هذا السكوت القاتل

Bible Of The Day
Paul's Letter to the Romans
3/5-18: " But if our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God, what will we say? Is God unrighteous who inflicts wrath? I speak like men do. 3:6 May it never be! For then how will God judge the world? 3:7 For if the truth of God through my lie abounded to his glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? 3:8 Why not (as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say), “Let us do evil, that good may come?” Those who say so are justly condemned. 3:9 What then? Are we better than they? No, in no way. For we previously warned both Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin. 3:10 As it is written, “There is no one righteous; no, not one. 3:11 There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks after God. 3:12 They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not, so much as one.” 3:13 “Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit.”“The poison of vipers is under their lips”; 3:14 “whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” 3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood. 3:16 Destruction and misery are in their ways. 3:17 The way of peace, they haven’t known.”3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Israel's top ministers convening as tension escalates in Lebanon/Haaretz/
November 24/10
The Baghdad Assyrian Church Massacre: Waiting for Godot!/AINA/November 24/10
Assyrian Man Learns of His Cousin's Murder in Iraq While Protesting Baghdad Baghdad Church Massacre/AINA/November 24/10
Tripoli will remain calm… unless /By: Matt Nash/November 24/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November 24/10
Erdogan in Beirut amid Mounting Tensions /Naharnet
Erdogan: Turkey Will Do Everything to Prevent Lebanon Civil War/Naharnet
Armenians Protest Erdogan's Visit: Lebanese Haven't Forgotten Turkey's Bloody History/Naharnet
Bellemare: CBC Report May Put People's Lives in Jeopardy /Naharnet
Top ministers convening as tension escalates in Lebanon/Haaretz
Erdogan: I won't let Lebanon deteriorate into civil war/Ynetnews
Army peacekeepers off to Lebanon/Sunday Observer
Contents of Indictment Not to Be Revealed at Once/Naharnet
Security Source: CBC 'Leaks' Cannot be Relied On
/Naharnet
Wissam Eid's Big Discovery: Everything Connected to Landlines inside Hizbullah's Great Prophet Hospital, Report
/Naharnet
Phalange Party Did Not Regain VDL, Radio Says
/Naharnet
Roumieh's Fatah al-Islam Inmates Go on Hunger Strike
/Naharnet
Hizbullah's Sukarriyeh: Even if We Killed Hariri ... Why Destroy Lebanon?
/Naharnet
Mustaqbal MP Calls on 'Everybody' to Ignore CBC Report
/Naharnet
Report: Qatar PM Warned Lebanese that Strife Encourages Israel to Attack Lebanon
/Naharnet
Nasrallah Makes New Speech on Sunday
/Naharnet
Aoun: CBC Report was a Big Surprise, Investigation Must Look into Hasan's Possible Involvement in the Crime
/Naharnet
Hizbullah Says Israel Planted Secret Lines in Its Members Cell Phones
/Naharnet
Nahhas: Lebanon is Facing One of the Most Advanced Countries in the Telecommunications Protection Field
/Naharnet
Jumblat: Cabinet Should Unanimously Denounce the Tribunal /Naharnet
Aoun's statement after his Parliamentary block weekly meeting/LNNA

Erdogan in Beirut amid Mounting Tensions
Naharnet/Erdogan arrived in Beirut Wednesday as tensions mount in Lebanon over rumors that U.N. prosecutors are poised to indict Hizbullah members in the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri. Erdogan was welcomed at Beirut airport by Prime Minister Saad Hariri and other Lebanese officials. After reviewing the Guard of Honor, Erdogan headed to Baabda Palace for talks with President Michel Suleiman. On the eve of his visit, Erdogan said Turkey will do everything in its power to prevent war in Lebanon. "Today we stand by Lebanon as we always have," he said, adding that he did not wish to see Lebanon descend again into civil war. Erdogan is also scheduled to meet Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Hariri, son of the slain ex-PM, as well as other political officials. Erdogan's trip comes as Turkey aims to play a bigger role as regional mediator in the Middle East. The Turkish premier is scheduled to visit a village in northern Lebanon inhabited by Turkish families. He will also visit Turkish troops serving with UNIFIL and will inaugurate a Turkish-funded medical center that specializes in treating burn victims in Sidon. Beirut, 24 Nov 10, 12:52

Bellemare: CBC Report May Put People's Lives in Jeopardy

Naharnet/The Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is extremely disappointed about the recent reports of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), broadcast at a time when the Office of the Prosecutor is working flat out to ensure that a draft indictment is submitted to the Pre-Trial Judge for confirmation in the near future, the OTP said in a press release on Tuesday. "The Office of the Prosecutor's decision not to comment on matters relating to the investigation will not change. This decision is based on considerations of utmost concern for the integrity of the investigation and the safety of victims, witnesses, suspects and staff," the press release added. "The most serious impact of the CBC reports is that their broadcast may put people's lives in jeopardy," it quoted STL Prosecutor Danielle Bellemare as saying. Bellemare noted that "it will be for the Judges, and the Judges alone, to assess the evidence and reach conclusions based on the facts as established at trial, and the law." The OTP announced that it was assessing the impact of these reports on the investigation. "Whatever the challenges faced in this investigation, which has been conducted in extremely difficult circumstances, the staff of the Office of the Prosecutor remain committed to bringing it to a successful conclusion," Bellemare stressed, according to OTP's press release. Beirut, 23 Nov 10, 21:09

Armenians Protest Erdogan's Visit: Lebanese Haven't Forgotten Turkey's Bloody History

Naharnet/More than 100 members of Lebanon's Armenian community gathered outside Beirut airport on Wednesday to protest a two-day official visit by Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The demonstrators stood amid tight security outside the main entrance of the airport, hoisting banners that read: "The Lebanese have not forgotten Turkey's bloody history in the region" and "Erdogan should bow before our martyrs." "Today's Turkey is yesterday's Turkey: malicious, oppressive and an ally of the enemy," or Israel, read another banner.
An AFP correspondent said police, army and SWAT teams were on hand to control the crowd, which had amassed across the street from a rival gathering of more than 100 Lebanese students who waved banners welcoming Erdogan as well as the red flag of Turkey. Erdogan, whose country is seeking to emerge as a key mediator in the Middle East, will meet top officials during his visit. He will also inaugurate a burn treatment center in southern Lebanon and inspect his country's troops serving with UNIFIL. Lebanon is home to a 140,000-strong Armenian community, mostly made up of the descendants of those who survived the genocide in eastern Anatolia under Ottoman rule almost a century ago. Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were systematically killed between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart. Turkey rejects the genocide label and argues that 300,000-500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians took up arms against their Ottoman rulers and sided with invading Russian troops. On Thursday, Armenian demonstrators are planning to hold another protest at the Martyrs Square in downtown Beirut.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 24 Nov 10, 11:35

Security Source: CBC 'Leaks' Cannot be Relied On
Naharnet/A security source, commenting on a CBC report that said evidence shows Hizbullah was behind Hariri's 2005 assassination, believed these "leaks cannot be relied on.""The report falls within the framework of leaks that cannot be relied on before the investigation committee completes its work or before an indictment is issued," the source told Al-Liwaa newspaper in remarks published Wednesday. The official reiterated that the Internal Security Forces remain ready to fully cooperate with the U.N. probe "which alone has the facts and the whole truth." Beirut, 24 Nov 10, 09:11

Contents of Indictment Not to Be Revealed at Once

Naharnet/Sources following up on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon said in the event an indictment was issued, STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare will not "immediately" reveal contents of the indictment. The source told As-Safir newspaper in remarks published Wednesday that he expects no more than Bellemare's office to issue a statement stating that the indictment had been handed down in the Hariri case. He believed that Bellemare has no interest in revealing contents of the indictment at once. The source pointed out that the Judge "will review what Bellemare has submitted and he has the right to ask questions and clarifications, a matter that would take some time and therefore the resolution's contents would not be immediately announced." Beirut, 24 Nov 10, 10:01

Security Source: CBC 'Leaks' Cannot be Relied On

Naharnet/A security source, commenting on a CBC report that said evidence shows Hizbullah was behind Hariri's 2005 assassination, believed these "leaks cannot be relied on."
"The report falls within the framework of leaks that cannot be relied on before the investigation committee completes its work or before an indictment is issued," the source told Al-Liwaa newspaper in remarks published Wednesday. The official reiterated that the Internal Security Forces remain ready to fully cooperate with the U.N. probe "which alone has the facts and the whole truth." Beirut, 24 Nov 10, 09:11

Mustaqbal MP Calls on 'Everybody' to Ignore CBC Report

Naharnet/Mustaqbal MP Oqab Saqr called on Lebanese to ignore a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. in which it said evidence shows Hizbullah was behind former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination. Saqr, in remarks published Wednesday by An-Nahar newspaper, said the CBC report contains "poisonous information aimed at disrupting efforts to reach a settlement." "We call on everybody not to take the report seriously," he added. Beirut, 24 Nov 10, 07:31

Wissam Eid's Big Discovery: Everything Connected to Landlines inside Hizbullah's Great Prophet Hospital, Report

Naharnet/An investigative report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) has revealed that Capt. Wissam Eid's discovery showed that "everything" in the assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri was connected to landlines inside Hizbullah's Great Prophet Hospital south of Beirut. It gave a detailed report about Eid, saying that before his violent death in 2008, he was an unusual figure in the murky, often corrupt world of Arab policing. Eid had never actually wanted to be a policeman, or an intelligence officer, CBC wrote. In authoritarian Arab society, he had no interest in becoming an authority figure. And yet, he'd had no choice. When he was doing his military service in the 1990s, the Internal Security Forces (ISF) noticed Eid's degree in computer engineering. The security service was then trying to build an information technology department. And that was that. By the time Hariri was killed in 2005, Eid was a captain in the ISF. His boss, Lt. Col. Samer Shehadeh, brought him into the investigation. It was a Lebanese investigation, Eid was told, but it was also a U.N. one. Eid was to co-operate with the foreigners working out of the old abandoned hotel in the hills above Beirut, CBC went on to say. It said Eid reasoned that finding the first traces of the killers was a process of elimination.
From Lebanon's phone companies, he obtained the call records of all the cellphones that had registered with the cell towers in the immediate vicinity of the Hotel St. George, where the massive blast had torn a deep crater. Once Eid had those records, he began thinning out the hundreds of phones in the area that morning, subtracting those held by each of the 22 dead, then those in Hariri's entourage, then those of people nearby who had been interviewed and had alibis.
Soon enough, he had found the phones the Hariri hit team had used, the CBC report added. The U.N. would eventually dub it the "red" network.
But he didn't stop there, it said. Exhaustively tracking which towers the red phones had "shaken hands with" in the days before the assassination, and comparing those records to Hariri's schedule, Eid discovered that this network had been shadowing the former Premier.
The red-phone carriers were clearly a disciplined group. They communicated with one another and almost never with an outside phone. And directly after the assassination, the red network went dead forever. But Eid, according to the report, had found another connection. He eventually identified eight other phones that had for months simultaneously used the same cell towers as the red phones. Signals intelligence professionals call these "co-location" phones. What Capt. Eid had discovered was that everyone on the hit team had carried a second phone, and that the team members had used their second phones to communicate with a much larger support network that had been in existence for at least a year.
Eventually, the U.N. would label that group the "blue" network. CBC said the blue network also exercised considerable discipline. It, too, remained a "closed" network. Not once did any blue-network member make the sort of slip that telecom sleuths look for. But these people also carried co-location phones and Eid kept following the ever-widening trail of crumbs, it said.
The big break came when the blue network was closed down and the phones were collected by a minor electronics specialist who worked for Hizbullah, Abd al Majid al Ghamloush, the report said. It said Ghamloush was, in the words of one former UN investigator, "an idiot."
Given the job of collecting and disposing of the blue phones, he noticed some still had time remaining on them and used one to call his girlfriend, Sawan, in the process basically identifying himself to Capt. Eid. He might as well have written his name on a whiteboard and held it up outside ISF headquarters.
Ghamloush's "stupidity" eventually led Eid to a pair of brothers named Hussein and Mouin Khreis, both Hizbullah operatives. One of them had actually been at the site of the blast.
Capt. Eid kept going, identifying more and more phones directly or indirectly associated with the hit team. He found the core of a third network, a longer-term surveillance team that would eventually be dubbed the "yellows." Eid's work would also lead to another discovery: Everything connected, however elliptically, to land lines inside Hizbullah's Great Prophet Hospital in South Beirut, a sector of the city entirely controlled by Hizbullah, CBC added. It has long been said that the fundamentalist fighters operate a command centre in the hospital.
Eventually, telecom sleuths would identify another network of four so-called "pink phones" that had been communicating both with the hospital and, indirectly, with the other networks.
These phones turned out to be tremendously important. It turned out they had been issued by the Lebanese government itself and when the ministry of communications was queried about who they had been issued to, the answer came back in the form of a bland government record.
CBC has obtained a copy of this record provided to the commission. On it, someone has highlighted four entries in a long column of six-digit numbers. Beside the highlighted numbers, in Arabic, was the word "Hizbullah."
Finally, Eid was handed a clue from the best source possible: He was contacted by Hizbullah itself and told that some of the phones he was chasing were being used by Hizbullah agents conducting a counter-espionage operation against Israel's Mossad spy agency and that he needed to back off.
The warning could not have been more clear, CBC said. As though to underscore it, Eid's boss, Lt. Col. Shehadeh, was targeted by bombers in September 2006. The blast killed four of his bodyguards and nearly killed Shehadeh, who was sent to Quebec for medical treatment and resettlement.
By that time, Capt. Eid had sent his report to the U.N. inquiry and moved on to another operation.
The Eid report, according to CBC was entered into the U.N.'s database by someone who either didn't understand it or didn't care enough to bring it forward. It disappeared.
A year and a half later, in December 2007, when the Eid report finally resurfaced, the immediate reaction of the U.N. telecom team was embarrassment. And then suspicion.
Eid claimed to have performed his analysis using nothing but Excel spreadsheets and that, said the British specialist, was impossible.
No one, he declared, could accomplish such a thing without powerful computer assistance and the requisite training. No amateur, which is how the specialists regarded Eid, could possibly have waded through the millions of possible permutations posed by the phone records and extracted individual networks.
The most recent outbreak of large-scale sectarian violence was in January and February 2008 when armed militias fought in the streets of Tripoli and other large centers, the report said.
This Capt. Eid must have had help, it said, thought the telecom experts. Someone must have given him this information. Perhaps he was involved somehow?
By now it was January 2008. A new U.N. commissioner was in charge, Daniel Bellemare. Investigators were finally beginning to believe they were getting somewhere.
A deputation of telecom experts was dispatched to meet Eid. They questioned him and returned convinced that, somehow, he had indeed identified the networks himself.
Eid appeared to be one of those people who could intuit mathematical patterns, the sort who thinks several moves ahead in chess. Even better, he was willing to help directly. He wanted Hariri's killers to face justice, Hizbullah's warning be damned.
It was an exciting prospect for the U.N. team. Here was an actual Lebanese investigator, with insights and contacts the UN foreigners could never match.
A week later, a larger U.N. team met with Capt. Eid and, again, all went well. Then, the next day, Jan. 25, 2008, eight days after his first meeting with the UN investigators, Capt. Wissam Eid met precisely the same fate as Hariri. The bomb that ripped apart his four-wheel-drive vehicle also killed his bodyguard and three innocent bystanders. Because there was no doubt in the mind of any member of the telecom team why Eid had died: Hizbullah, they deduced, had found out that Capt. Eid's report had been discovered, that he'd met with the U.N. investigators and that he had agreed to work with them. Immediately, the telecom team had the records of the cell towers near the Eid blast site collected, reasoning the killers might once again have left digital footprints they could follow. Not this time, though. There was nothing. This time the killers did what they should have been doing all along: They'd used radios, not cellphones. Radios don't leave a trace. That left the U.N. team with the obvious problem. Their adversary obviously knew not only what the U.N. investigators were doing, but knew in considerable detail. And the more the U.N. investigators thought about it, CBC said, the more they focused on one man: Col. Wissam al-Hassan, the new head of Lebanese police intelligence. Beirut, 23 Nov 10, 07:53

Aoun: CBC Report was a Big Surprise, Investigation Must Look into Hasan's Possible Involvement in the Crime

Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun stated on Tuesday that the CBC report on the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri came as a "big surprise".
He said after the FPM's weekly meeting: "The investigation should look into police intelligence chief Col. Wissam al-Hasan's possible involvement in the crime.""All sides should wait for Hasan's reply to the report," he added. "All options are open if the situation in the country remains as it is, but we are working to contain it to avoid an explosion," the MP said. Addressing the arrest of senior FPM official Fayez Karam on suspicion of spying for Israel, Aoun said that investigations with him have violated criminal law, which makes them illegal and which grants Karam the right to file a lawsuit in this matter. Commenting on his recent trip to France, he described it as "very beneficial and we clarified our position on developments in Lebanon."Regarding matters at the Finance Ministry, Aoun stated: "The assassination of a prime minister is very important for a nation, but it does not wreak havoc in it the same way as failure to approve the state budget." "We cannot abandon public funds because they belong to everyone," he stressed. He demanded that an investigation committee be formed in order to look into the ministry's missing funds. Beirut, 23 Nov 10, 18:31

Jumblat: Cabinet Should Unanimously Denounce the Tribunal

Naharnet/Druze leader Walid Jumblat on Wednesday accused the U.N.-backed probe into the murder of ex-premier Rafik Hariri of being politically motivated and urged the cabinet to unanimously reject it. "This tribunal is aimed at destabilizing Lebanon rather than rendering justice," Jumblat told Agence France Presse. "It would be appropriate at this time for the cabinet to meet and unanimously denounce the tribunal and its (upcoming) verdict)." According to unconfirmed reports, high-ranking Hizbullah members stand to be accused by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) for Hariri's murder. Jumblat said the rumors and press reports surrounding the STL probe and its findings had become "a dangerous soap opera" that threatened Lebanon's stability. "It is clear that this probe is being used for political purposes," he said. "It is clear that the investigators are leaking information and are working for countries that have accounts to settle." He added that Lebanon's politicians would do better to address mounting extremism in certain regions of the country rather than focus on the tribunal.
"The real danger facing Lebanon is the rise of extremist groups and the political class should stop being distracted by these endless arguments over the tribunal and face the real danger," Jumblat said.(AFP) Beirut, 24 Nov 10, 12:59

Report: Qatar PM Warned Lebanese that Strife Encourages Israel to Attack Lebanon

Naharnet/Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani, has reportedly warned the Lebanese that any internal strife would encourage Israel to attack Lebanon.
Al-Liwaa daily on Wednesday quoted ministerial sources as saying that Sheikh Hamad told Lebanese officials during his brief visit on Independence Day that they should protect national unity and not give Israel the pretext to attack their country. The premier warned the officials that Israel would take the opportunity to compensate for the loss it suffered in the 2006 war if the Lebanese do not hold onto their unity, the sources said. They added that Sheikh Hamad promised continued assistance to help Lebanon avoid civil strife. "There is still a chance … to achieve a consensus formula to isolate any fire that could be ignited by the indictment" of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the Qatari premier reportedly told the Lebanese officials. An Nahar daily quoted other sources as saying that Sheikh Hamad stressed the Doha and Taef accords were the bases of all solutions. Meanwhile, well-informed sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that other than meeting with President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and Premier Saad Hariri, the Qatari prime minister held talks with a Hizbullah official away from the media spotlight. The meeting took place at the Phoenicia hotel in downtown Beirut, the sources said. Beirut, 24 Nov 10, 08:22

Phalange Party Did Not Regain VDL, Radio Says

Naharnet/The Phalange party did not regain the Voice of Lebanon radio station, VDL said Wednesday. It said a report carried by the Central News Agency that Kataeb regained the radio station through a legal procedure "is not true."VDL said the Modern Media Company is the sole owner. VDL offices will move to a new building in Dbayeh once the present lease of the building ends, the radio confirmed.VDL is located in Ashrafiyeh. It said Pastor of the Maronite diocese in Jbeil Bechara Rai will hold a mass Dec. 3 to bless VDL's new building. Beirut, 24 Nov 10, 10:39

Roumieh's Fatah al-Islam Inmates Go on Hunger Strike

Naharnet/Fatah al-Islam inmates at Roumieh prison have reportedly gone on an open-ended hunger strike until the interior minister and head of the Internal Security Forces meet their demands. Voice of Lebanon radio said Wednesday the prisoners were demanding to meet with Interior Minister Ziad Baroud or ISF chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi to raise their demands with them. Police are hunting a Fatah al-Islam militant who escaped from Roumieh prison last week. Two members of the terror group had attempted a prison break. However, only one succeeded in escaping. Beirut, 24 Nov 10, 10:22

Nahhas: Lebanon is Facing One of the Most Advanced Countries in the Telecommunications Protection Field

Naharnet/Telecommunications Minister Charbel Nahhas stressed on Tuesday that Lebanon is facing the aggression of a country that is one of the most advanced in the world in the telecommunications protection field. He said during a press conference aimed at demonstrating Israel's infiltration of Lebanon's telecommunications sector that the sector's modern capabilities are also subject to infiltration, where the mechanisms to protect it can easily be used to infiltrate it. The minister added that there is a responsibility to ensure that proper telecommunications services are provided to the Lebanese, while simultaneously being fortified against foreign interference in order to protect personal and national liberties.
"The state is working with the institutions of the private sector and it should monitor their progress in order that they reach the desired level of fortification that was not available earlier," Nahhas continued. Beirut, 23 Nov 10, 16:50

French ambassador tours Southern towns

November 24, 2010 /French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton, along with a UNIFIL delegation and members of the French embassy, toured towns in the southern district of Bent Jbeil. According to NOW Lebanon’s correspondent, Pietton visited the Agricultural Coop at the town of Ain Ebel, adding he will help facilitate its exports to France.-NOW Lebanon

Michel Aoun

November 24, 2010
The Lebanese National News Agency carried the following report on November 23:
Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun headed his bloc’s weekly meeting in Rabieh. Aoun, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, issue the following statement.
“Today, we tackled many issues and it turned out that the prevailing crisis is waiting. But this state of waiting is the greatest jailer for the people since it is a wasted time that is not invested to secure any results. I wrote about this in an article and said that this state was fruitless because time is like a bowl and whatever we put inside of it can be used in the future. If we place a vacuum in it, our future will be one of a vacuum. We also discussed my visit to France which was very beneficial, since we were able to clarify our position toward what is happening in Lebanon. We requested the respect of the conditions of justice, so that the judiciary is not used to eliminate justice, but rather to maintain it. We also requested amending [our] course to reach the desired truth by all the sides. I think that the French president and the French officials interested in this case were very perceptive.
These positions are certainly not new to you but they were all new to the community over there, and almost in opposition to what they hear on a daily basis from the conventional Lebanese visitors who have become accustomed to drawing their political ideas abroad while their feet are here in Lebanon, while for our part, our ideas and minds were in Lebanon, but we were voicing them in France. We also addressed other issues, namely the major surprise seen on the Canadian CBC channel yesterday. It turned out there were numerous question marks which require the expansion of the international investigation in order to clarify the charges made against Wissam al-Hassan, one of the main accused in the issue of the false witnesses. According to leaks, he seems to have played a concealed role at this level. I think that CBC is the official Canadian channel affiliated with the Canadian state, and not a private company. Until now, no statement was issued by Wissam al-Hassan to respond to the report and we must all await this response. As journalists, did you not try to ask him about that? Twenty-four hours have gone by and we still have not heard anything from him.”
Journalists then interrupted Aoun, saying, “Prime Minister Hariri responded to that issue.” Aoun replied, “what did he say?” Journalists answered, saying, “That he trusted Wissam al-Hassan.” However, Aoun then said, “This has nothing to do with trust. We trust many people who are being accused. Trust is a personal affair while the tribunal is an independent body and the clues that were put forward prove the doubts. In any case, we are not here to make accusations, rather to wonder and we wonder when we will be hearing the response.
We are still awaiting the closure of Brigadier General Fayez Karam’s case. The investigations are about to end and we are waiting for the issuance of the indictment. His lawyer spoke twice about this issue and about the non-respect of criminal law which led to many violations, namely beating, threats and the extraction of depositions by use of force. All of these practices confirm our doubts. At first, we said that the apparatus that arrested him and is interrogating him was illegitimate and provided with an illegitimate cover by an authority that is not allowed to violate the law. In other words, the general prosecutor is not allowed to assign an apparatus – whose formation is illegal to begin with - to investigate. This breach was committed by a judicial authority. Now, in addition to this breach, it turned out that the apparatus committed major legal violations by exercising coercion, beating and torture. Therefore, any investigation it carries out is illegal and null. At this point, the accused is allowed to file a lawsuit against this apparatus because detention of freedom, coercion and torture took place. This matter will also take its course.
The bloc also discussed the financial files. It is certain that the assassination of the prime minister was a major event in the country. In the past, Prime Minister Riad al-Solh, Prime Minister Rashid Karame and Presidents Bashir Gemayel and Rene Muawwad were all assassinated and they were all important people in our lives. But although assassinations generate turmoil and instability in the country, at the level of the results nothing sabotages the country like the absence of public accountability and the absence of any control over the expenditures and the budget because this threatens the entire country with bankruptcy. Therefore, when there is talk about a settlement, let no one mix two courses that are completely unrelated. There is the corruption course and the course of the trial, the tribunal and the dispute revolving around them. There is no intertwinement between the two.
So, the Lebanese can be reassured because no one is entitled to relinquish public funds because these funds do not belong to us, rather to the Lebanese people. These funds belong to you and no one has the right to give them up… If you want to donate these funds after we collect them for you or after we put an end to squandering, you are free to do whatever you want. However, they must firstly be collected [end of statement].”

Tripoli will remain calm… unless

Matt Nash,
November 24, 2010/Now Lebanon
A Sunni fighter involved in a battle with his mostly Alawi neighbors in Tripoli as fighting raged in the city in late June 2008. (AFP/ Joseph Barrak)
In a country where neighbors have been massacring each other for generations, the public debate today centers on the idea that no new bouts of civil strife will break out because of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). Unless, the other side starts it.
The Sunnis in the northern Tripoli neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Abi Samra are divided, but everyone NOW Lebanon spoke to in a series of interviews agreed on one thing: intra-communal violence will not happen, unless it does. Supporters of Prime Minister Saad Hariri – who are reportedly dwindling in number – insist if the “far-fetched” idea of Sunni-Sunni violence in Tripoli manifests, then it is only because Hezbollah wanted it to happen.
An ally of Hezbollah, using the same word to describe potential unrest – “far-fetched” – was less direct, saying street clashes would only break out if a “security apparatus” wanted violence and sparked it. Bilal Shaaban – leader of the Islamist Tawhid Movement, which is close to Hezbollah and has been allied with Iran for decades – refused to explain what he meant by “security apparatus,” adopting typically vague Lebanese political lingo, such as “these sides are known.”
Given that just over a month ago, leader of the opposition-allied Free Patriotic Movement Michel Aoun called the Internal Security Forces - Information Branch a “militia” for Hariri, it stands to reason that the Information Branch – an intelligence unit – was the “security apparatus” Shaaban referenced, but would not name.
Tripoli is Lebanon’s second-largest city after Beirut and is overwhelmingly Sunni. More so than other cities in the country, it has also been – and remains to be – a base of Islamist and Salafist movements, particularly the Bab al-Tabbaneh and Abi Samra districts.
On the Islamist side, the Islamic Action Front – a coalition of groups – and Tawhid are close to Hezbollah, while al-Jamaa al-Islamiya sides with Hariri. The three together comprise the most popular Islamist movements in the city.
Tripoli’s Salafists, meanwhile, are divided into numerous small groups, and while this is disputed, many agree the movement led by Dai Islam al-Shahal, whose father, Salem, founded the Salafist movement in Lebanon, is the strongest. In general, Salafists reject all “western” forms of government and eschew politics.
“The Salafists are divided, but not mainly because of politics, there are other reasons,” Safwan Zoabi, head of the Brotherhood Association for Development and Education, a Salafist group Zoabi said is not politically affiliated.
“There is no [Salafist] group that supports Hezbollah. They contact them, try to have talks with them, but no one really supports them,” Zoabi said. “Also, the majority of Salafists do not support Hariri either.” Zoabi chalked intra-community divisions up to the lack of a universally respected Salafi religious reference in Tripoli and the fact that Salafism is a sect and not a political party.
Following a weekend of violence in Beirut in May 2008 between Hezbollah and Hariri supporters, Salafists in Tripoli’s Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood fought intermittently for weeks – Zoabi and others argue on behalf of Hariri and Saudi Arabia – with mostly Alawi residents in neighboring Jabal Mohsen, who are historically close to Syria.
Both Tawhid’s Shaaban and Bilal Doqmaq, a Salafist leader supportive of Hariri, told NOW Lebanon that elements of the Salafist community do choose a political side today. They also agreed that the PM’s Future Movement has been losing support in Tripoli among all Sunnis – Islamist, Salafist or otherwise – in the past year as it has stopped charitable funding for the city’s residents, such as food donations and reimbursements for education.
“The Future Movement says it is having financial problems, and they’re not giving out the same level of services,” Doqmaq told NOW Lebanon. “The [people] are upset with the Future Movement, because it is not giving the same levels of support.”
Doqmaq argued that “Hezbollah has been abusing this unhappiness to [further its interests].” Shaaban agreed that, particularly among Salafists, Hezbollah has gained support in the city, but argued Hariri used them as a “tool to frighten others,” and they are beginning to reject that.
A recent briefing written by the International Crisis Group (ICG) suggested that Tripoli – as a microcosm of Lebanon’s divisions – could soon be used as a flashpoint for local parties and their regional patrons to score points as tension rise nationally. With the STL expected to soon indict members of Hezbollah for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, there has been no end to talk – both in Lebanon and in the international press – of the country possibly plunging into internal violence.
That said, Doqmaq and Shaaban stuck to their positions that nothing will happen unless one side starts a fight, and agreed that more money or arms are flowing into the Tripoli.
Reflective of his self-professed political non-affiliation, Zoabi said Sunni-Sunni violence will not happen, unless “one of the parties decided to make a move and initiate something.” Uniquely, however, Zoabi agued both sides are running guns and money into the city, but that the March 14 coalition was doing so “in a simple, weak way and unprofessionally.”
When asked if people are being trained or mobilized, Shaaban smiled and said, “They’re all trained already.”

Army peacekeepers off to Lebanon
[November 24 2010]/
Sunday Observer
A contingent of 150 soldiers of the Sri Lanka army will be sent toLebanon as UN peacekeepers next week.
Military Spokesman Major General Ubaya Medawala said this was thefirst time Sri Lanka was sending army soldiers to Lebanon.
The contingent is comprises of all regiments including the MechanicalInfantry Regiment, Special Forces, the Commandos, Military Police,Army Engineer Battalion, Medical Battalion and Engineer ServicesRegiment.
Sri Lanka sent its first UN peacekeeping force, the six soldiers, in1960 to Congo and later Sri Lankan peace keepers were deployed asobservers in Congo, Sudan and Western Sahara.
Over 1,000 Sri Lankan soldiers are serving as UN peacekeepers inseveral countries including Haiti.

The Baghdad Assyrian Church Massacre: Waiting for Godot!
The Baghdad Assyrian Church Massacre: Waiting for Godot!/AINA/November 24/10
11-24-2010
Assyrian International News Agency
(AINA) -- When the Church of Our Lady of Salvation in Baghdad was seized by terrorists on October 31, 2010, Al-Qaida's Iraqi affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), claimed responsibility and defined churches as "The dirty place belonging to the infidels that Iraqi Christians have long used as a base to fight Islam."
The well-organized attack on civilian parishioners and priests resulted in a terrifying hostage takeover. As the drama unfolded, it became one of the bloodiest massacres against the Assyrians since the beginning of the 2003 Iraq War. Three priests and 58 non-combative parishioners were murdered and dozens of terrorized men, women and children wounded, leaving a nation forever emotionally bewildered and scarred. Amnesty International called the barbaric attack a "war crime" while worldwide, Assyrians view this massacre as yet another attempt to uproot their existence from the Middle East.
In a press release, ISI stated: "All Christian centers, organizations and institutions, leaders and followers, are legitimate targets for the mujahedeen (holy warriors) wherever they can be found."
However, the selection of Christian Assyrians as "legitimate targets" by fundamentalists is not a new phenomenon. One can find similar events throughout the course of history.
But why do they want to target the Christian Assyrians?
The simple answer is that these fundamentalists want to rid Iraq of its Christian population. Historically, one can find deeply rooted discourses towards Christians in the Middle East, which also constitute the background for the present-day discrimination, oppression and massacres.
Hostages and Infidels
It is common knowledge that Christians in the Middle East are viewed as "infidels" and "collaborators" with Western countries and as such have become targets whenever there is a crisis in the region involving Western countries, particularly if the west is the aggressor. Fundamentalists such as Al-Qaida often act out their aggression against Western politics by attacking Christians in their own backyard. The rapidly shrinking number of Christians in the region attests to that.
What is remarkable in the case of the Assyrians of Iraq is that they are not only in the midst of an ethnic cleansing but also a religious cleansing since they are essentially the people of the cross and as such, not only have they become hostages in their own churches, but are also hostages in their own homeland. The tolerant behavior of the Assyrians particularly their acceptance of others in the region is viewed by the oppressors as being submissive and since the Assyrians do not strike back in retaliation, they continue to remain easy prey.
Even though Assyrians are the indigenous people of today's Iraq, having been there long before the creation of Iraq and the birth of Christianity, they are treated as outsiders and are being forced to leave their homeland. This peaceful nation has been turned into a "hostage nation" with no one negotiating a release. They are hostages since so many have virtually nowhere to go and no means to help the situation they are trapped in.
The mass migration into neighboring countries in the past several years has produced catastrophic results. Poverty, kidnappings for ransom, and the lack of provisions for even a meager existence is what this "hostage nation" is forced to contend with since the international community has until now to a large extent ignored this massive problem. Their thunderous silence is a contributing factor to the ongoing violation of the human rights of the Assyrian nation and all Christians who call the Middle East home.
In the eyes of the Assyrians, this indifference to their suffering is nothing new. The 20th Century was wroth with events that shaped the future of this small nation as it clung to survival through periods of genocide, massacres, discrimination, death marches, and forced mass migration to distant shores. To say they are disappointed in the international community for not having shown interest in their crisis is indeed an understatement.
Sometimes it is difficult to find the right words when confronted with unbearable reality. The bloody Church Massacre in Baghdad is indeed one of those times. It leaves one speechless. To convey mere words of condolences is simply not enough for the survivors and a nation in mourning. This is more than just a tragedy when one hears the testimonies of the surviving eyewitnesses and studies the published and unpublished photos and videos of the bloodshed. Bodies ripped to pieces, chunks of flesh stuck to wood and plaster and a desecrated house of worship turned into a house of death.
How does one begin the healing process? How does one mend the minds and hearts of the survivors who will forever recount the long ordeal and the aftermath of such a tragic event? The bombed church will be rebuilt. Bullet holes will be repaired. Shattered glass will be replaced and a new coat of paint will cover the bloodstained walls and ceiling. But what does one do with the memories that will linger on at Our Lady of Salvation? How can one push the ghosts away that will remain there for all eternity?
These collective images reconstruct the post-modern version of El Guernica. For the minorities of Iraq, the war against human rights and humanity has reached its boiling point. All polite social behavior is meaningless when despicable acts are unleashed on the meek. Offers of condolences are hollow words to the Assyrians who are facing extinction.
What this nation needs is a concrete plan of action to be formulated and enforced immediately for their protection.
Admittedly, the Church Massacre in Baghdad did generate a modicum of sentiment from the international community, more so than in the past. But the overall reaction has been weak. The obligation for a serious global address of the ethnic and religious cleansing of the Assyrians including all its various Christian denominations in Iraq is met by avoidance of the issue altogether. Most Western leaders and in particular the U.S. are defining this critical moment in history by their words or lack there of. It is not only this ancient civilization that is on the verge of extinction. It is rather the beginning of the demise of all civilizations when humanity crumbles and no one attempts to stop the domino effect that will soon become a global epidemic.
Is it just wishful thinking on the part of the Assyrians and many other ethno-religious minorities to continue to wait for the Iraqi Government and the international community to bring about peace and safety to the region?
Samuel Beckett's 1948 absurdist play, Waiting for Godot, serves as a grotesque metaphor for the Assyrians. They are much like the two main characters of the play who wait for Godot while occupying themselves over a course of two days with everything from the mundane to even contemplating suicide. And Godot never arrives.
Assyrians have been waiting for Godot for many years. They waited for Godot during and after the Assyrian Genocide (1914-1918) when two-thirds of that nation perished in Ottoman Turkey and Northwestern Iran. They waited for Godot during the 1933 Simmele Massacre. They waited for Godot during the first and second Gulf Wars. Today Assyrians are still desperately waiting for Godot.
ESTRAGON: What do we do now?
VLADIMIR: Wait for Godot.
ESTRAGON: Ah!
Silence.
VLADIMIR: …What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in this immense confusion one thing alone is clear. We are waiting for Godot to come--
ESTRAGON: Ah!
Post Saddam: Unfolding the Assyrian Destiny in Iraq
Before the US-led invasion of Iraq, there were around 1.4 million Assyrians living in the Iraq. Today less than 400,000 remain. Following Saddam's fall and during the reconstruction of Iraq, many NGOs reported that minorities have become even more isolated and discriminated against in all aspects of social and political life, inevitably turning into soft targets for Al-Qaida and related sub-contractor organizations.
To date, the Iraqi Government has proven to be incapable and grossly unmotivated to protect the ethnic and religious minorities who are citizens of its own country. This indifference is resulting in massacres and mass exodus particularly in the case of the Assyrian Christians. Assyrians are facing two choices: either continue to wait for Godot or flee from Iraq. The latter is a difficult decision in light of the fact that many do not want to leave what they recognize to be their ancestral homeland dating back thousands of years. Despite this, multitudes have been forced to leave for Western countries.
According to UNHCR statistics, although Assyrian Christians constituted 6% of the Iraqi population before the war, 15% of the registered refugees are in fact Assyrians of all Christian denominations. According to church sources, 40% of Iraq's post-war refugees are Christians.
Those who fled to neighboring countries continue to live in deplorable conditions. There are numerous published reports on the alarming circumstances of these refugees in Syria and Jordan.
Refugees who are able to reach Western countries, more often than none, will face an unfriendly reception. This attitude partly stems from the financial burden host countries are forced to bear, resulting in the development of inhumane and unethical policies in dealing with Iraqi refugees. Closing their borders and sending these helpless refugees back into the middle of conflict and doing almost nothing for their protection in Iraq, is unjustified and does not fit with democratic moral values.
The Approach of the International Community
Western countries have moral and political obligations to act effectively not only by voicing their concern, but by actively protecting the human rights of at risk nations. Why are they then casting themselves in the role of Godot?
On 26 October 2009, the US Senate adopted Resolution 322 whereby expressing the need to call for a more effective policy. However, the crux of the problem has not been addressed and nor has a specific measure been developed regarding the protection of the ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq.
A statement issued by the White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, in the aftermath of the Assyrian Church Massacre in Baghdad, is indicative of the superficial approach to this massive problem in Iraq: "The United States strongly condemns this senseless act of hostage taking and violence by terrorists linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq…"
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has stated that it is time for the Obama administration to "ensure that U.S.-Iraq policy prioritizes the plight of the country's vulnerable religious minority communities (…)".
On the issue of "political agenda", political scientist, John W. Kingdon (1984), theorizes that the first necessary step is the recognition of a question as a "political problem." Applying this to the situation of the Assyrians, their problems in Iraq are not recognized as a specific "political problem" to warrant the issuance of a strategic policy. Thus, many countries are not becoming vested in this issue and do not see this as worthy enough problem.
One of the obvious pitfalls of isolating the Christian question is that since they are in fact Iraqi citizens, they are being treated equally and not looked at as a separate ethnic group that is internally under attack by other Iraqi citizens. Inserting this kind of diplomacy is just a polite way of overlooking the question altogether. This argument is definitely blind and unethical with regards to the specific problems of minority groups.
The March Towards the End of Time for the Assyrians and Other Minorities in Iraq
The end of time is close at hand for the Assyrians in Iraq. On the heels of the Church Massacre there were additional attacks on individuals and on Christian Assyrian homes resulting in more murders and devastation. One does not need to be an analyst to predict the future. It is rapidly writing itself.
Assyrians have lost their patience after seven years of endless attacks, constant threats and the nonchalant shrug of the international community. Peace is nowhere in their future and their homeland.
The UK based, Archbishop Athanasios Dawood, has openly advised all Christians to leave Iraq. A week after the massacre, in an interview with an Assyrian, the respondent said, "In my neighborhood they all hate me…When you see people on the streets, they ask, 'Why are you still here? You should leave…'"
Although it may seem wrong to advise people to leave their homeland or country of origin, however, one must consider the safety and welfare of the innocent who are caught in the crossfire of a situation not of their own making or choosing.
If this acute condition persists and no serious efforts are taken for the protection of these people, they will rapidly flee. In that case, is any Western country ready and willing to receive thousands of refugees? Is any government ready and willing to orchestrate a safe mass exodus without merely distributing them around the globe but relocating them near already established Assyrian communities in order that the integration into a new life will not be a complete culture shock? They will need the support of their own communities in the diaspora.
It must be noted that German and French officials have offered asylum to Iraq's Christians, however, according to the Washington Post (23 November 2010), Yonadam Kanna, the Christian Representative in Iraq, has rejected asylum offers from the west, criticizing them as "meddling in Iraq's problems."
No Democratic Future for Iraq Without Minorities
The U.S. must develop a clear and concrete policy to address the core problem it had a hand in creating. The United Nations Secretary General must play a key role by taking immediate initiative to follow through with a solid plan to insure the security and well-being of these minorities. Similarly, the European Union, particularly the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy must become involved in the process in order to develop a European approach to the question at hand. Considering the fact that many refugees are seeking protection in EU Member States, this question should be of high priority to the EU. International humanitarian organizations, the Iraqi Government and even other Middle Eastern countries must all step up to the plate.
In order to discuss the different dimensions of the problem and focus on finding common solutions, an international conference focusing on the situation of Iraqi minorities can be a significant starting point. With the UN or Iraqi government's initiative, such an international conference may be able to bring all concerned policy makers, including states and NGOs under one roof leading to the development of a new policy for the protection of all minorities in Iraq and eventually all minorities in the Middle East.
Finally, it is essential to consider as a viable solution, the realization of a self-administrative area in the Nineveh Plains in Northern Iraq where Assyrians and other ethnic and religious minorities constitute the majority of the population. Aside from its potentially democratic function, a self-administrative area can become a "shelter" for Christian Assyrians and other minorities in Iraq. If the true aim of Iraq is to realize a democratic society and not an Islamic state, it must tolerate and safeguard all its citizens regardless of differences in religion, language, ethnicity, race and gender. As a matter of policy, Iraq should immediately provide effective security measures in Baghdad, Mosul and particularly in other areas where minority groups are targets of Al-Qaida and other terrorists groups. With the disappearance of its indigenous people, there will be no democratic future for Iraq. Without democracy in the region, the demise of the human race is at hand.
*By Rosie Malek-Yonan and Soner Önder
*Rosie Malek-Yonan is the author of The Crimson Field. Soner Önder is a political scientist at Stockholm University.
Copyright (C) 2010, Assyrian International News Agency. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use.

Assyrian Man Learns of His Cousin's Murder in Iraq While Protesting Baghdad Baghdad Church Massacre
http://www.aina.org/news/2010112323579.htm
AINA/ 11-24-2010
When Joseph Taylor joined Assyrian protesters from Fairfield to demand the Australian Government help persecuted Christians in Iraq, he was not prepared for the tragic news that lay ahead.
He was one of the hundreds of protesters bearing crucifixes and photos of murdered children who descended upon Martin Place to re-enact the slaughter of 58 Christians in Baghdad last month.
The Christians were celebrating evening mass when their Syriac Catholic church was stormed by al-Qa'ida-linked militants.
During the protest Mr Taylor was delivered the grim news that one of his relatives had been gunned down in Mosul, Iraq.
"While we were there someone announced on the megaphone that people in Mosul had died and then an hour later I found out they were my aunty's first cousins," he said. "It was a very big shock that it hits so close to home, but it's expected.
"But the big shock was the way it happened. They knocked on the door and they blew him to bits with guns - it's just crazy what is going on. It was very emotional, women were crying because we know that all these people want is peace and no one is paying attention to them so what are we supposed to do?"
Mr Taylor, of Hoxton Park, said the people were dreading Christmas and predicted a "massive culling" of Christians.
"They either kill you on the spot or they kick you out or force conversion," he said.
"They never convert so they always die, they always kill them.
"We just want protection for our people, they are the indigenous people of the country."
Black March organiser, Ninva Yakou, of Bonnyrigg Heights, said she wanted the Australian Government to work with the Iraqi Government to secure some protection for her people.
"It's a genocide that's happening to our people in Iraq, we are all devastated." she said.
"We are going to continue to do more things to raise awareness. We have had a lot of support from the Fairfield community."
http://fairfield-advance.whereilive.com.au
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