Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for June 29/12
Former culture ministers criticize Layoun’s decision on ancient Phoenician port
Suleiman to Head to Paris in July as Miqati Travels to Berlin
Siniora responsible for safety of Saida protesters, Assir warns
Rifai: Future Movement group behind Assir ‘phenomenon’
Lebanese army deploys in Saida
Wahhab slams Assir over statements on Berri, Nasrallah
Authorities in Saida call on Assir to reopen highway
Barjawi’s sympathizers protest in Beirut's Bir Hassan against Assir
Sleiman follows up on security situation with Mikati, Charbel
Geagea: Security incidents affect state prestige
Houri blames Assir ‘phenomenon’ on Hezbollah
Israeli troops detain Lebanese shepherd, says security source
Sleiman reviews security situation with Kahwaji, Ibrahim
NLP condemns attack on Al-Jadeed
Wehbe: Hezbollah refusing to discuss arms due to Iranian ties
Al-Jadeed: Why is Hezbollah protecting perpetrators of station attack?
Annan says “external powers” encourage Syria violence
Annan Plan Demands 'Irreversible' Steps to End Syria War
Russia calls upcoming Geneva talks on Syria “positive step”
Syria talks to go ahead in Geneva Saturday, says Annan spokesperson
AFP: Egypt President-elect Mohamed Morsi says to work for release of US-held 'blind sheikh'
President-elect addresses Egypt from Tahrir Square
Amnesty urges new Egypt leader to champion rights
Turkey extends troop mandate in Lebanon by one year
Slain Hamas official buried in Jordan
UNESCO urgently lists Church of Nativity as world heritage
US says “profoundly disappointed” by UNESCO Bethlehem move
Palestinians hail “historic” Bethlehem UNESCO move
SSNP re-elects Hardane as leader
Address by Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird at Plenary Session of Review of UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy
Canada Further Increases Its Commitment to Global Terror Fight
Canada Condemns Iran for Anti-Semitic Remarks at UN Forum
Last-minute preparations under way for crucial Syria talks

Al-Jadeed: Why is Hezbollah protecting perpetrators of station attack?
June 28, 2012 /Al-Jadeed television on Thursday issued an open letter to Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah asking why his party was “protecting” the perpetrators who attacked the station earlier this week. “[Hezbollah] should not mediate talks for the purpose of releasing a detainee who [aimed] to set [Al-Jadeed] and its staff on fire,” the television station said in the letter.
“We were threatened and when we reviewed this issue [with Hezbollah officials] we found that we were in greater danger. We were told to take precautions, but we emphasize that we will not negotiate to release the detainee.” Unidentified masked men attacked on Monday evening the headquarters of Al-Jadeed television in the Beirut area of Wata al-Msaytbeh and burned tires on the TV station’s property.
Later in the evening the TV station reported that the army’s intelligence service arrested one of the assailants, identified as Wissam Alaeddine. The arrest sparked several protests in Beirut later in the week.
-NOW Lebanon

Geagea: Security incidents affect state prestige
June 29, 2012 /Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said on Friday security incidents affected the state’s prestige and added that security forces must strike with an iron fist to impose its authority.
“Security incidents in Beirut, Tripoli, Akkar and other areas as well as on the Lebanese-Syrian border must [end] because they [tarnish] the state’s prestige,” Geagea said according to a statement issued by the LF. The LF leader added that the cabinet must order security and judicial authorities to “strike with an iron fist” to impose the state’s authority. Commenting on Syrian developments, Geagea said the Syrian regime which has become “isolated will not last for a long time.” He added that the fall of the Syrian regime will not have “negative repercussions” on Lebanon because the Syrian revolution erupted “to seek democracy and freedom.” More than 15,800 people have been killed in the Syrian uprising which erupted in March 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
-NOW Lebanon

Wehbe: Hezbollah refusing to discuss arms due to Iranian ties
June 29, 2012 /Future bloc MP Amin Wehbe said in remarks published Friday that Hezbollah’s refusal to discuss its controversial military arsenal was due to the Shia group’s close ties with Iran.
“The primary reason why Hezbollah is refusing to discuss its arms is because [Tehran] is the source of these weapons; and Hezbollah shares the Islamic Republic [of Iran’s] convictions,” Wehbe told Kuwaiti newspaper As-Seyassah. Hezbollah spearheads the pro-Syrian regime March 8 alliance in Lebanon and it is mainly backed by Damascus and Tehran. -NOW Lebanon

Lebanese army deploys in Saida
June 29, 2012 /Lebanese army troops deployed in the southern coastal city of Saida, the National News Agency (NNA) reported on Friday. The report added that the troops deployed in the afternoon in most of the city’s areas following the failure of talks seeking to end a sit-in organized by Salafi Sunni cleric Ahmad al-Assir. Saida’s economic organizations also expressed their dismay at the repercussions of the protest and called for “setting [Saida] free after it had been held hostage by the Assir protest,” according to the NNA. Assir started a sit-in on Thursday in Saida demanding the disarmament of Hezbollah, while protesters blocked the highway at the city’s northern entrance.-NOW Lebanon

Siniora responsible for safety of Saida protesters, Assir warns
June 29, 2012 /Salafi cleric Ahmad al-Assir held Future bloc leader MP Fouad Siniora responsible for any harm that may happen to the protesters participating in the sit-in in the southern coastal city of Saida. “We hold Siniora responsible for any harm against the protesters because his speech [during Friday’s Saida meeting] gave the green light [for actions against protesters],” Assir told reporters.
Local authorities in South Lebanon’s port city of Saida, including Siniora, held a meeting Friday and called on Assir to end his protest. Siniora called for reopening the highway, saying that the act of blocking roads affects peoples’ lives. Addressing Siniora, Assir said: “You [might] be afraid of [Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed] Hassan Nasrallah’s [actions], but we are not.”He added that he will not end the sit-in and reopen the road “even if the [UN] Security Council convenes [on the matter].” Assir led a sit-in on Thursday in Saida demanding the disarmament of Hezbollah, and protesters blocked the highway at the city’s northern entrance.-NOW Lebanon

Former culture ministers criticize Layoun’s decision on ancient Phoenician port
June 29, 2012 /Former Culture Ministers Tamam Salam, Tarek Mitri, and Salim Warde criticized the decision taken by Culture Minister Gaby Layoun to axe from a heritage list a site activists allege is an ancient Phoenician port in Lebanon’s capital. The former ministers held a press conference during which Salam lashed out at Layoun, the National News Agency reported on Friday.
“We are witnessing a blunt violation of our heritage and history; sadly, this violation is coming from those who are supposed to be protecting our heritage and history,” the report quoted Salam as saying.
“Is this a ministry of financial and property investment or a ministry of culture and heritage?” Salam inquired. The former culture minister also called for cooperation between investors and authorities in order to secure investments without harming heritage sites. Meanwhile, Mitri said that Layoun had provided unscientific responses in the past regarding the issue of Beirut’s Roman hippodrome. Layoun has allegedly agreed that the hippodrome be built over.  “This time around we are encountering a similar situation in that we are questioning the real [political] motives behind [Layoun’s decision over the ancient Phoenician port],” Mitri added. Moreover, Warde said during the conference that Layoun disregarded expert reports regarding the importance of preserving the site and the heritage value that it carries, adding that the current culture minister “did not act legally and removed the site from the heritage list.” On Thursday, protesters held a sit-in outside the Culture Ministry near Beirut’s Hamra neighborhood to protest Layoun’s decision to axe from a heritage list the site activists allege is an ancient Phoenician port in Lebanon’s capital. -NOW Lebanon

Al-Jadeed TV
Hazem al-Amin, June 29, 2012 /Now Lebanon
On the eve of Wednesday June 27, I decided to watch the news bulletin on Al-Jadeed TV, since the station was a victim on that day after young men who are not affiliated with the Amal Movement tried to burn it down. I said to myself that watching the Al-Jadeed news bulletin would be something of an expression of solidarity with the TV station. Strangely enough, I was unable to understand a single word of the bulletin preamble that night. The station was reluctant to demonstrate solidarity with itself and confused about reporting the “popular” reactions to the arrest of those who tried to take it by storm and burn it to the ground. In a manner that people of medium intelligence – like myself – were unable to comprehend, the presenter of the news bulletin moved to speaking of Syria and concluded the preamble with this expression: “… Burhan Ghalioun infiltrated the Syrian scene under the guise of clans knowing that he had lived his life under the guise of the opposition until the [Syrian] National Council dismissed him from its presidency.”
My average intelligence did not allow me to understand what the station meant by saying “he had lived his life under the guise of the opposition.” I reckoned, at first, that the Al-Jadeed TV newsroom was in possession of information whereby Burhan Ghalioun secretly supported the Syrian regime and was hiding under the cloak of the opposition. I later discarded that possibility and labeled the expression as part of the meaningless political rhetoric. In other words, the person who wrote the preamble of the news bulletin used empty words that left the meaning open to all interpretations, as is often the case in Lebanon.
However, my perplexity with regard to the preamble of the Al-Jadeed TV news bulletin took me to the situation of the station and its status on the Lebanese political landscape. Al-Jadeed TV inherited its name and the building housing it from the Lebanese Communist Party, which had established it in the early 1990s before its ownership totally went to Tahsin Khayyat, a businessman who decided to delve into the media experience. It seems that among many things that are remnants of its Communist past, the station inherited a certain kind of “masochism”, which had always characterized the Communist Party’s relation with allies that did not think twice about flogging it.
In truth, the fact that a businessman owns a TV station in Lebanon could have been unique had it not been for the lure exerted by politics on the owner. Khayyat did not enter the media world from the gateway of politics, but he still chose to position his station on the divided political scene. At the same time, he sought to draw away or closer to politics by making use of the knowledge that his ownership of Al-Jadeed TV and his investment in it is not directly linked to any of the political forces towards whom the station is biased. In between the narrow media space separating Al-Jadeed TV from its political allies, the station was punished by the very people whom it supports, as they would accept nothing short of full commitment to their instructions.
On one given day, Syrian general Rustom Ghazali lashed out against the station and on another recent occasion, the Syrian army opened fired towards a Al-Jadeed TV crew, killing a fellow journalist. Today, it is targeted by people who are not affiliated with the Amal Movement and Hezbollah, thus putting the station once again in a state of confusion vis-à-vis its community.
Nevertheless, the owner of the station is undoubtedly courageous, as he went into a direct confrontation with Rustom Ghazali at a time when no one else dared to do so. Even if he reverted to being biased towards those who flogged his station a few days after the death of one of its journalists in Akkar, he still adamantly asserted that the man was shot dead by the Syrian army.
The preamble of the news bulletin was lost somewhere in between the clear political stance adopted by Al-Jadeed TV, the courage of its owner and the fact that it is not owned by any Lebanese political party. The station thought that it could host a rude opponent of Hezbollah with impunity and was almost burnt to the ground. Before this incident, it had thought that it could prepare a report on the tragic situation of Syrian refugees against a backdrop of a general stance that supports the Syrian regime, and its reporter was killed as a result.
The details pertaining to its story with Rustom Ghazali have yet to emerge, but one thing remains certain: at the time, the station was not pitted in a confrontation with the Syrian regime.
Part of the station’s inheritance from its Communist past is its status as part of the opposition. As developments came in succession in Lebanon, it moved to a pro-government stance but was never able to recant the opposition rhetoric. It thus became a pro-government station using opposition rhetoric. Today, it has become a victim of this equation when it hosted Ahmad Asir in his capacity as a March 14 scandal, but it did not heed the fact that this does not abide by the logic of partiality, as people who are not affiliated with March 8 forces tried to torch its headquarters.
Tahsin Khayyat is a courageous journalist, hence this tribute to Al-Jadeed TV on the day it came under attack.
This article is a translation of the original, which appeared on the NOW Arabic site on Friday June 29, 2012

Inside the Salafist “intifada”
Alex Rowell and Luna Safwan/Now Lebanon
June 29, 2012 /As Ahmad al-Assir brings a lengthy and emotive sentence to a close from the pulpit, a voice pipes up from the middle of the crowd: “To heaven we go! Martyrs by the millions!” The Salafist cleric has earned a reputation for divisive rhetoric, but here at the sit-in he launched on Wednesday on a main road in his hometown of Saida, the audience is gripped. “Take your hand down, O Nasrallah, you are not greater than Allah!” cries another voice, referring to the Hezbollah secretary general, and suddenly 500 people are echoing the chant and clapping their hands excitedly. “Go forward, O Assir, we are all with you for change!” goes a third one. After the speech, in which Assir reiterated his refusal to unblock the road despite numerous requests from local political and religious notables, NOW Lebanon spoke to him about the reasons for the protest and his followers’ possible next steps. “The issue of non-state weapons has reached a point where we can’t take it anymore,” he said, referring to the Resistance’s arsenal. “Lebanese dignity is being taken for granted. Our patience has its limits. We will keep the road blocked until, at the very least, we see evidence that the weapons situation will be taken seriously by the government.” He added that the protest was also a reaction to intimidation of his co-religionists in Saida. “Saida is controlled by Hezbollah’s thugs, who continually insult us and our mosques. Everyone who goes to our mosques is being threatened. This must stop.”
Asked what he meant by remarks that he will “escalate” the protest if this goal isn’t achieved, Assir was evasive. “I don’t like to reveal the steps I’m going to take before I take them.”
NOW also asked whether he would take complaints about the protest from locals into consideration. “From the days of Adam until today, there has never been a demand that everybody agrees on. This [issue] is my pain, and it’s my right to raise my voice. If others don’t share my pain, they are free not to join. Some asked me to open the road again, and I told them, ‘Sorry, I’m not convinced.’”
Also present was Omar Bakri Muhammad, former head of the Islamist Hizb al-Tahrir party in London, who is now banned from the UK. “It’s my duty as a Muslim to support a just cause,” he told NOW when asked what brought him to the sit-in. “We are asking peacefully for an end to non-state weapons because we can’t take anymore. And this is not just about Hezbollah; this applies to everyone, whether you’re Muslim or Christian, a supporter of the atrocities in Syria or of the Free Syria Army.”
Attendees at the sit-in tended to voice similar concerns. “We want our dignity back, not only for ourselves but for all of Lebanon,” said Rima Shaaban, who stood with other female supporters in a designated women-only area. “We simply want all weapons to be with the army, as is the case in any other country.”
“We share Assir’s demands,” said a young man. “To live in freedom and dignity, with no person or group above any other. This is what Lebanon should be; a place for peace and tourism, not weapons and war.” “We want to be under the protection of the army,” added another man. “We definitely are not for disrespecting the army.”Elsewhere in Saida, however, some residents are less enthusiastic about the whole enterprise. “None of us want roads to be closed,” said a grocer on the main road. “If I’m forced to close my shop, who would notice? This is not the way to solve these issues. It should be done with dialogue. People shouldn’t take to the streets like this. It scares people, and this is not the image we want for our country.”
Others are sympathetic to Assir’s general message, but have reservations about his confrontational approach. “I definitely agree with his demands as far as weapons are concerned. But to face up to Hezbollah, which is so powerful, you need to be equally powerful. It’s his right to protest, and it’s a correct demand, but I don’t know if he really has the necessary strength.”
Whether or not Assir’s “intifada,” as he calls it, ends up yielding tangible results, it’s clear that the cleric’s various initiatives in recent months have established his name on the Sunni Islamist street. “Assir has broken down the barriers of fear,” says Bakri. “No longer do the Sunnis in Lebanon feel fear. Now, for the first time, they are able to speak out.”

Last-minute preparations under way for crucial Syria talks
June 29, 2012/Senior officials were making last-minute preparations in Geneva on Friday ahead of a crucial meeting on the conflict in Syria which some diplomats say may still be in doubt.
Representatives from countries and groups on the guest list of the so-called Action Group drawn up by peace envoy Kofi Annan were meeting on the eve of the talks aimed at halting the bloodshed and promoting a political transition. Annan spokesperson Ahmad Fawzi said the preparatory meeting, beginning Friday morning, would be attended by "senior officials" but it was not clear what loose ends needed tying up before Saturday's talks. The former UN secretary general has convened the meeting to shore up his faltering peace plan, with invitations to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus other key regional players including Turkey. Annan says participants will seek to ensure the full implementation of his six-point plan which came into force on April 12 but has been repeatedly breached by both the Syrian authorities and the opposition. Following on from this, Annan was hoping for an agreement on guidelines for a Syrian-led political transition "that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people.” But diplomats say Western governments have told Annan that there was no point in going ahead with Saturday's meeting unless prior agreement can be reached on his proposals for such a political transition. They say the fate of the conference could remain in the balance until a Friday afternoon meeting in Saint Petersburg between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Russia, one of the last major allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has objected to a proposal which could limit membership of a transitional unity government in Syria, diplomats said. Annan's plan, obtained by AFP, said the interim government could include Assad officials and the opposition "but would exclude from government those whose continued presence and participation would undermine the credibility of the transition and jeopardize stability and reconciliation.” Diplomats have said this means that Assad could be ruled out of the government but did not automatically exclude his participation. Opposition figures could also be kept out under the same formula. Lavrov insisted on Thursday that Assad's fate "must be decided within the framework of a Syrian dialogue by the Syrian people themselves.” Speaking in Latvia before her departure for Saint Petersburg, Clinton rejected any suggestion that Annan was proposing a transition imposed from outside.
"In his transition document it is a Syrian-led transition, but you have to have a transition that complies with international standards on human rights, accountable governance, the rule of law," she said.
Clinton also insisted that by agreeing to attend the Geneva conference, Russia had implicitly signed up to Annan's proposals. The Action Group conference was due to be attended by Clinton, Lavrov and the foreign ministers of fellow permanent Security Council members Britain, China, France as well as Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey. Syria's ally Iran has been excluded from the meeting, a decision Russia said was a mistake.-AFP/NOW Lebanon

UNESCO urgently lists Church of Nativity as world heritage
June 29, 2012 /The UN cultural body UNESCO overrode Israeli objections Friday to urgently grant world heritage status to a church in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem worshipped as the birthplace of Jesus. UNESCO's 13-6 secret vote to add the Church of the Nativity and its pilgrimage route to the prestigious list was received with a round of rousing applause and a celebratory fist pump by the beaming head of the Palestinian delegation at the meeting in Russia's second city of Saint Petersburg. "These sites are threatened with total destruction through the Israeli occupation, through the building of the separation wall, because of all the Israeli sanctions and the measures that have been taken to stifle the Palestinian identity," the Palestinian delegate said after the vote. The Israeli delegate said the Jewish state supported awarding world heritage status to the ancient church under a completely different procedure that carried no implications for the Middle East peace process. "The decision taken now was totally political and does great damage in our opinion to the [UN] convention and its image," the delegate said. The bid, the first since the Palestinians won controversial membership of UNESCO in October 2011, was submitted "on an emergency basis" because the Palestinians say urgent restoration work is needed. Their membership has cost the body tens of millions of dollars in lost funding from the United States, Israel's staunchest ally. Israel said the "emergency basis" status essentially meant that the United Nations as a world body was backing the Palestinian view that the church was threatened by the Jewish state's troops. It had proposed co-sponsoring the church's application at a future date – an idea whose prospects seem remote amid a continuing stalemate in the grueling Middle East peace process.
The Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Churches for their part have only given lukewarm approval to the idea because of the dangers the move potentially poses to their own rights to the shrine.
The Palestinian bid had faced serious hurdles, including the continued opposition from the United States and Israel, a negative report from the body that evaluates sites for UNESCO and, reportedly, domestic disagreements.-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Wahhab slams Assir over statements on Berri, Nasrallah
June 29, 2012/Arab Tawhid Party leader Wiam Wahhab on Friday lashed out at Salafi Sunni cleric Ahmad al-Assir over statements directed at Speaker Nabih Berri and Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.“Who is he to attack Berri and Nasrallah,” Al-Jadeed television station quoted Wahhad as saying on Friday.
Assir started a sit-in on Thursday in Saida demanding the disarmament of Hezbollah, while protesters blocked the highway at the city’s northern entrance.
The Salafi cleric has also lashed out at Berri and Nasrallah. -NOW Lebanon

NLP condemns attack on Al-Jadeed
June 29, 2012 /The National Liberal Party condemned Friday the latest attack that targeted Al-Jadeed television station’s headquarters, saying it was an assault against “freedom in general.”
Unidentified masked men attacked on Monday evening the headquarters of Al-Jadeed television in the Beirut area of Wata al-Msaytbeh and burned tires on the TV station’s property.
Later in the evening the TV station reported that the army’s intelligence service arrested one of the assailants, identified as Wissam Alaeddine. The arrest sparked several protests in Beirut later in the week.
The NLP also criticized in a statement the blocking of roads across Lebanon. The party called on the government to fulfill its responsibilities, saying that slackness “would encourage chaotic actions.”
-NOW Lebanon

Amnesty urges new Egypt leader to champion rights
June 29, 2012 /Amnesty International urged incoming Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Friday to break the cycle of abuse under Hosni Mubarak and put the country on the path to the rule of law and respect for human rights. Since the 2011 uprising that ousted the former president, "Egyptians have heard many promises that their demands would be listened to and that things would change, but so far their hopes have largely been frustrated," said Salil Shetty, Amnesty's secretary general. "We hope, as they do, that this stage of the transition might herald a turning of the corner."
"It will be important to scrutinize the early months of the new president, and hold him to account for the actions he takes, or does not take, to get to grips with the pressing human rights priorities in Egypt."
Ahead of Morsi's swearing-in on Saturday, the London-based organization said it had presented the former Muslim Brotherhood official with a memorandum of what it considers the key human rights priorities. These include ending the military's power to police civilians, reforming the security forces, launching independent investigations into violations of the past –both under Mubarak and the military that replaced him – and putting in place measures to stop discrimination against women and religious minorities. Amnesty also said urgent measures are needed to end systematic restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. With journalists, bloggers and others who spoke out against repression having been arbitrarily arrested and jailed, the group pointed out that Egyptian human rights organizations have also faced reprisals. "As recognition of the vital role played by human rights organizations, all impediments to their activities in law and practice should be immediately lifted," Shetty said. However, Amnesty warned that the "road to human rights will be made difficult by the army's attempts to hold on to its powers and to remove itself from civilian oversight."
He also said the commitment to human rights of the Freedom and Justice Party, which Morsi chaired until he was elected, remains unknown.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Canada Condemns Iran for Anti-Semitic Remarks at UN Forum
June 28, 2012 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement from New York, where he is addressing a UN conference on countering terrorism:
“Media reports suggest that Iran’s First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi used an appearance at a UN conference on drugs to make abusive and deeply offensive slurs toward the Jewish people and misrepresent the teachings of Judaism.
“Mr. Rahimi is quoted to have said that the Talmud is responsible for the spread of illegal drugs around the world; this claim is patently absurd.
“Iran’s ongoing use of UN forums to harass Israel and insult Jewish people around the world is completely unacceptable.
“Canada hopes the international community joins us in speaking out against, and utterly rejecting, such ridiculous and anti-Semitic assertions.”
For details of today’s constructive UN engagement by Canada, visit Canada Further Increases Its Commitment to Global Terror Fight.
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Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
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Address by Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird at Plenary Session of Review of UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy
June 28, 2012 - New York City, New York
Check Against Delivery
As we gather to renew our multilateral commitment to fighting terrorism, we are mindful of a powerful monument, just five kilometres from this hall.
I am referring to Ground Zero, site of the single deadliest terrorist attack in world history.
As I said in my address to the General Assembly last fall, 9/11 was a stark reminder that evil exists, that life is fragile, that freedom has enemies and that the poison of radical terrorism is real.
While fascism and communism were the great challenges of previous generations, terrorism is the great challenge of ours.
No country is immune from this threat, nor can any country ignore this challenge. From the truck bombings in Al-Qataniyah and Al-Adnaniyah, Iraq, to the Cinema Rex arson in Abadan, Iran, to the Beslan school massacre in Russia to the mid-air destruction of Air India Flight 182 to the synchronized Mumbai bombings of 1993, the most deadly attacks in our history demonstrate that terrorism observes no boundaries, respects no civilians and favours no regions.
With sadness and with no sense of pride, I convey Canada’s first-hand experience with the brutality of terrorism.
•The 1985 Air India bombing, to which I referred, was planned and executed on our soil and killed 280 Canadians.
•On 9/11, 24 Canadians lost their lives.
•And because Canada is a nation enriched by the contributions of immigrants from other lands, no matter where in the world a terror attack occurs, the pain is felt and shared by Canadian families and friends.
Canada defines terrorism as an act aimed at intentionally causing serious harm to intimidate the public with respect to its security or to pressure a person, government or organization for a political, religious or ideological purpose.
Political, religious or ideological causes are not terrorism. But using violence in support of politics, religion or ideology is.
I make this point to underscore the fact that terrorist acts are never justified. Regardless of the cause. No matter how legitimate the grievance.
In this regard, it is telling that the united nations of the world have come together to condemn terrorism in clear and unambiguous terms.
The 2006 UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, Resolution 60/288, is categorical and absolute about states members resolve
to consistently, unequivocally and strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes, as it constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.
It is said that pragmatic vagueness is the language of diplomacy. Solutions to the issues before this General Assembly are often sketched, not in black and white, but in shades of grey.
The same cannot be said of our resolve against terrorism. It is not fuzzy or ambiguous.
The words are clear as crystal: “…in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes…”
Far too often, international news media refuse to use the word terrorist, in the naive and mistaken belief that to report violence as a terrorist act is to cast judgement on the perpetrators’ cause.
By pretending that everything is relative, these news media deny the very existence of terrorism.
Terrorism is not a political or religious cause. Terrorism is using violence against civilian, police and military targets to pursue a cause.
In the same vein, the teachings of the great Mohandas Gandhi remind us that we must not confuse the righteousness of a cause with the use of terrorist violence to advance that cause.
Gandhi wrote, “truth can never be propagated by doing violence.”
Canada welcomed the adoption of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in September 2006. I am pleased to renew our commitment to it today.
Canada embraces the four pillars of the United Nations Strategy, specifically by:
•addressing the conditions that spread terrorism;
•preventing and combating terrorism;
•capacity building; and
•respecting human rights and the rule of law.
Member states are primarily responsible for implementing the Strategy. Canada has made significant progress in doing so, both at home and around the globe.
This year, in February, the Government of Canada released our formal counter-terrorism strategy.
Canada’s strategy is based on four reinforcing elements: prevention, detection, denial and response
Addressing the conditions that spread terrorism
The first pillar of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy corresponds to the first element of the Canadian strategy, which is to prevent individuals from engaging in terrorism.
We are working to make Canadian communities more resilient against violent extremism and radicalization. We will not hesitate to challenge and counter violent extremist ideology. We intend to reduce the risk that individuals will succumb to violent extremism and radicalization.
Our government is also investing significantly in research on terrorism and counter-terrorism, such as how to prevent and to counter violent extremism.
Preventing and combatting terrorism
Regarding the second pillar of the UN Strategy, preventing and combatting terrorism, Canada is taking many concrete steps. These include:
•adoption of domestic laws to implement and to give effect to the 12 UN conventions and protocols on terrorism to which Canada is a party;
•an asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo on individuals or organizations identified as supporting or being associated with terrorism;
•a new law that allows victims of terrorism to sue perpetrators and supporters of terrorism, including state supporters;
•criminal law amendments to give law enforcement officers the tools they need to respond effectively to terrorism, and to address nuclear terrorism better;
•a cyber-security strategy for Canada; and
•investment in enhanced security for air travel and air cargo.
Currently, our parliament is reviewing the Nuclear Terrorism Act. Once enacted, this will put Canada in a position to ratify both the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism and the Amendments to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials.
Capacity building
Terrorism is a global phenomenon—it knows no borders. An effective response to terrorism must both be global and leave no gaps for terrorists to exploit.
This is why the third pillar of the UN Strategy—developing state capacity to prevent and combat terrorism—is vital.
Canada’s Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building Program provides other countries with training, equipment and technical, legal and other security assistance and expertise to help them prevent and respond to terrorist activities.
We give other countries the training and equipment they need to enable law enforcement agencies to share information and launch investigations, to enhance border security and to stop terrorist groups from using funds to finance attacks around the world.
To that end, I am pleased to confirm that Canada, through the Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building Program, will be contributing up to an additional $8 million in support for capacity building projects that aim to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation globally.
We attach great value to the recent creation of the Global Counter Terrorism Forum (GCTF). The GCTF is an action-oriented coordination forum mobilizing commitment and capacity to combat terrorism and strengthen international counter-terrorism cooperation.
Canada is pleased to act as co-chair, along with Algeria, of the Sahel Working Group within the GCTF.
Working group members are bringing together experts to build networks across borders, share best practices, and enhance skill sets to detect and combat terrorism.
We have also renewed Canada’s Global Partnership Program, which helps combat the threat of nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical terrorism.
As Prime Minister Stephen Harper said when he announced its renewal at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul:
Canada’s Global Partnership Program is essential to the international effort to combat nuclear terrorism and to prevent weapons of mass destruction and related materials from falling into the wrong hands.
All of our partnerships allow us to strengthen our counter-terrorism efforts and share best practices.
Respect for human rights and the rule of law
The final pillar of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy—respect for human rights and the rule of law—echoes Canada’s own principles.
Canadian society is built on the rule of law as a cornerstone of peace, order and good government. It follows that all counter-terrorism activities must adhere to the rule of law. Government institutions must act within legal mandates while countering terrorism.
Upholding the rule of law includes adherence to international and domestic legal obligations to protect human rights. Respecting and promoting human rights are core Canadian values.
Security is also a human right. Terrorism is an attack against those very rights that are fundamental to our society, such as freedom of thought, expression and association, and the right to life, liberty and security of the person.
The belief in human rights is fundamental. It governs policy choices and decision making, and it governs standards in investigations.
While our capacity to counter threats on all fronts has increased significantly over the past decade, the threat of terrorism persists and evolves.
So the fight against terrorism continues and must also evolve.
In this ongoing struggle, it is important for the nations and the citizens of the world to keep faith. We must maintain hope. We will prevail.
No matter how dark the storm clouds of terror and violence, let us remember the confidence with which John F. Kennedy approached this challenge.
Speaking to the General Assembly in 1961, President Kennedy shared the certain knowledge that terrorism will not succeed:
Terror is not a new weapon. Throughout history it has been used by those who could not prevail, either by persuasion or example. But inevitably they fail, either because men are not afraid to die for a life worth living, or because the terrorists themselves came to realize that free men cannot be frightened by threats, and that aggression would meet its own response.
I thank the President of the General Assembly for the opportunity to address today’s session.
And I reaffirm Canada’s commitment to working with other member states, the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force and relevant UN agencies toward full and timely implementation of the UN Strategy.
Thank you.
 

Canada Further Increases Its Commitment to Global Terror Fight
http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2012/06/28a.aspx?lang=eng&view=d
June 28, 2012 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today announced Canadian support for projects that enhance global peace and security, support that demonstrates Canada’s continued leadership in the international effort to combat terrorism.
Baird made the announcement at the United Nations in New York City during the third biennial review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. Canada is committed to implementing the Strategy, and Baird urged other countries to continue building resilience against terrorism.
“Terrorism is the great struggle of our generation and a global phenomenon that knows no borders,” said Baird. “Global threats require global action. Canada will continue to work with our friends and allies to root out terrorism and promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”
Through its Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building Program (CTCBP), Canada is contributing up to an additional $8 million in support for capacity-building projects that aim to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation globally. The program funds training, equipment and technical assistance to help other states prevent and respond to global terrorist activity.
“The fight against global terrorism continues and must evolve with the threat,” said Baird. “In this ongoing struggle, it is important for freedom-loving nations and their citizens to keep faith and keep vigilant, if we are to prevail.”
Canada remains committed to ensuring the safety and security of Canadians and their interests at home and abroad.
For more information, please visit Address by Minister Baird at Plenary Session of Review of UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
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A backgrounder follows.
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Backgrounder - Support for Security Cooperation Initiatives Through Canada’s Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building Program
On June 28, 2012, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced up to $8 million for security-capacity-building programming that aims to enhance security cooperation globally. These projects are supported by Canada’s Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building Program (CTCBP) and contribute to the international effort to combat global terrorism.
Law enforcement capacity-building projects
Strengthening counter-terrorism responses in the Horn of Africa in support of the East Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation Counter-terrorism Strategy
Implementing partner: Institute for Security Studies
Funding announced: $743,043
Timeframe: September 2011 to March 2014
This project will support the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation’s counter-terrorism capacity-building efforts by providing tailored training programs to law enforcement officials. Training in areas such as managing crime scenes and investigating complex crimes will strengthen the capacity of law enforcement officials from East African countries to effectively address the transnational nature of terrorism, through counter-terrorism and international cooperation mechanisms.
Strengthening counter-terrorism responses in the Sahel in support of the ECOWAS Counter-Terrorism Strategy
Implementing partner: Institute for Security Studies
Funding announced: $758,040
Timeframe: December 2011 to March 2014
This project will support counter-terrorism capacity-building efforts in West Africa by providing tailored training programs to law enforcement officials. Training in areas such as managing crime scenes and investigating complex crimes will strengthen the capacity of law enforcement officials from West African countries to effectively address the transnational nature of terrorism, through counter-terrorism and international cooperation mechanisms.
Expanding the use of Interpol tools to combat terrorism in the Sahel region of Africa
Implementing partner: Interpol
Funding announced: $714,029
Timeframe: November 2011 to September 2013
Through this project, law enforcement agencies from selected countries in the Sahel region of Africa will receive training on the use of Interpol’s tools and services as well as equipment to detect and share information about terrorist threats. Training in the use of Interpol systems will result in more thorough data collection and information gathering, which is essential to preventing and responding to terrorist threats.
Expanding the use of Interpol tools to combat terrorism in Asia and the Horn of Africa
Implementing partner: Interpol
Funding announced: $3,785,786
Timeframe: November 2011 to March 2014
This project will provide training to law enforcement agencies from selected countries in Asia and the Horn of Africa on the use of Interpol’s tools and services as well as equipment to detect and share information about terrorist threats. Training in the use of Interpol systems will result in more thorough data collection and information gathering, which is essential to preventing and responding to terrorist threats.
Capacity-building projects to counter the financing of terrorism
Multi-donor anti-money laundering/combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) trust fund
Implementing partner: International Monetary Fund
Funding announced: $2,300,000
Timeframe: April 2010 to March 2014
This global capacity-building project will support the development of robust and effective anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) mechanisms in beneficiary countries around the world. As a result, beneficiary countries will strengthen their financial frameworks, which will be reflected in the implementation of national and agency-specific AML/CFT strategies as well as the development of comprehensive laws and regulations and effective and efficient institutional infrastructure for financial-institution supervisors and financial-intelligence units.
Strengthening national training institutions to assist in building capacity to combat financing of terrorism
Implementing partner: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Funding announced: $374,990
Timeframe: April 2010 to December 2013
This project will provide anti-money laundering/combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) training for police academies, prosecutors’ colleges and other relevant national training institutions in Bangladesh, Morocco and Tunisia. The training will assist these countries in increasing the specialized expertise and skills of criminal-justice officials who investigate complex financial crimes, particularly those related to terrorist financing.
Preventing abuse of the non-profit sector to finance terrorism
Implementing partner: The Fourth Freedom Forum
Funding announced: $1,228,057
Timeframe: January 2011 to December 2012
Through a series of training sessions, government finance officials from selected regions, including the Horn of Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Southeast Asia, will learn how to establish sound regulatory approaches to manage the risk of terrorism financing resulting from abuse of the non-profit sector. As a result of this training, officials will gain a strengthened understanding of best practices and implementation tools for non-profit organizations, for safeguarding the non-profit sector against terrorist abuse.
Strengthening the capacity of Yemeni financial authorities to counter the financing of terrorism
Implementing partner: World Bank
Funding announced: $288,500
Timeframe: August 2012 to March 2014
This project will provide anti-money laundering/combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) training for analysts from financial intelligence units, prosecutors, investigating magistrates, judges, supervisors from banking and non-banking financial institutions, and financial investigators in Yemen. The training will enhance the capacity of Yemeni authorities to implement standardized AML/CFT practices, leading to an increased capacity to monitor suspicious transactions as well as investigate, prosecute and adjudicate money-laundering cases.
Countering the financing of terrorism in Pakistan
Implementing partner: World Bank
Funding announced: $595,200
Timeframe: August 2012 to March 2014
This project will provide training to Pakistani officials on how to identify suspicious money-laundering and terrorist-financing activities. Improving investigative skills for authorities will result in an increased number of prosecutions resulting from financial investigations and increased confiscations of assets. A train-the-trainer approach will facilitate ongoing AML/CFT training. Combatting terrorist financing and illicit flows of money in Pakistan is critical to regional stability and in the fight against terrorism.