LCCC NEWS BULLETIN
APRIL 15/06
Below news from the Daily Star for
15/04/06
Sfeir: Leaders deliver only 'desperation'
Thirty-one years on, is Lebanon's unity just hype?
Parents of missing say government committee failed to do its job
Nasrallah insists dialogue only option
Suspects questioned in alleged Nasrallah plot
Bankers urge amicable settlement with LibanCell
Rights groups urge Lebanese ministers to drop charges against
Karami, Franjieh call for new unity government, early elections
Leaders see six-month barrier to true change
Brammertz heads for New York after grilling suspects
Hizbullah questions timing of Siniora trip to U.S.
No Cabinet meetings until PM returns
On Iran, Arab heads should come out of the sand
Below news from miscellaneous sources for
15/04/06
Rafsanjani Tells Nasrallah Political Differences in Lebanon Should not Lead to
Violence-naharnet
Enough handouts-Ha'aretz
Cyprus may host Hariri murder trial-Khaleej Times
US: Syria making efforts on Iraq border-Jerusalem Post
Syria, Iran move closer-World Peace Herald - Washington,DC,USA
Ex-Lebanese leader urges Syria to end intervention-Gulf Times
Syria, a stronghold to defend Palestine, Iran's EC chairman says-IRNA
Down a dangerous road-Los Angeles Times
Death by Suicide-Asharq Alawsat
Lebanon: Step one for reform and ending of corruption-Ya Libnan
Cyprus denies being approached by UN to host Hariri assassination-Khaleej
Times
Denmark Reopens Embassy in Syria-CRI
Syrian dissident urges Assad to compensate victims.Khaleej
Times
Sfeir: Leaders deliver only 'desperation'
By Maroun Khoury -Daily Star correspondent
Saturday, April 15, 2006
BKIRKI: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir called on the Lebanese to rise
above personal interests and to seek unity and coexistence Friday, reflecting
fear about Lebanon's fate and unity in light of the disjointed current political
situation.
In a sermon delivered on the occasion of Good Friday in Bkirki, the prelate said
the country was divided into two opposite blocs, adding that the politicians
were leading the people to poverty and desperation. "The people are confused;
they expect their leaders to lead them to a safe haven, while those are leading
them to desperation, poverty and perdition," he said. He continued: "The
government seems to be abandoned; many governmental posts are empty due to the
politicians' bickering and misunderstandings."Sfeir further criticized the
disputes over the presidency. He said: "The presidency is about to lose its
dignity and respect due to the disputes over it.
"This would lead to a disorder in the governmental positions, as some positions
might prevail over others," he added.
Lebanon's anti-Syrian majority is currently seeking a way to oust President
Emile Lahoud, with the next session of the national dialogue, set to take place
on April 28, designated to discuss this issue. However, there is little
assurance that a deal will be reached over the presidency, with pro-Syrian
powers including Hizbullah clinging to Lahoud as their "strategic" choice and
implying that the only candidate they would accept to replace Lahoud is Free
Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.
Aoun, who returned Friday from a trip to Qatar, has been seeking the post since
his return from his Syrian-imposed exile in 2005. But the shift in his political
alliances - in which he moved closer to Syria's allies in Lebanon including
Hizbullah and former minister Suleiman Franjieh - drove the March 14 Forces to
refuse him as the option to replace Lahoud.
"If the Lebanese do not care but about their personal interests and if they do
not seek to give anything to their country but always to take from it, then we
will reach a desperate situation," the prelate said. He further said: "But by
arming ourselves with faith and hope, we will never surrender to desperation."
Sfeir also tackled the government's economic reform blueprint, voicing
dissatisfaction with the tax hikes the paper entails.
"They (politicians) want to impose on the people taxes that they cannot bear,
instead of putting an end to useless squandering of money," he added. The
blueprint is currently being discussed by Cabinet, with Saturday's special
session that was expected to deal with the issues of electricity and
telecommunication postponed until the April 27, following Premier Fouad
Siniora's return from his trip to the U.S. The prelate also talked about the
emigration of the youth, saying: "Most of them earned high degrees and they are
not able to find decent work in their country, so they immigrate to faraway
countries and usually don't return to their homeland."Meanwhile former Iranian
President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani reportedly warned the Lebanese against a
new civil war.Speaking during a meeting with Hizbullah's Secretary General
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Syria Wednesday, sources said the former Iranian
president told Nasrallah that "the differences between political parties in
Lebanon should not transform the country into a battle field." - Additional
reporting by Majdoline Hatoum.
Nasrallah insists dialogue only option
By Nada Bakri -Daily Star staff
Saturday, April 15, 2006
BEIRUT: Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Friday the ongoing national
dialogue and the need to establish a national defense strategy is the only
option before the Lebanese to end their worst political crisis since the end of
the Civil War. "The national dialogue, the discussions and continued
communication among Lebanese leaders are our only option to end this political
crisis," said Nasrallah during a ceremony commemorating the birthday of the
Prophet Mohammad Friday.
"I will keep on participating in the dialogue no matter how hard it becomes for
me to get to the Parliament ... this is the lesson we should learn from the
Lebanese Civil War," he said, speaking a day after the 31st anniversary of the
start of the war.
Earlier this week Lebanese authorities arrested nine Sunni Muslims suspected of
planning to assassinate Nasrallah.
Nasrallah said he will not accuse any party of planning to murder him until the
results of the official investigation are out.
He also criticized officials and party leaders who exaggerated the assassination
plot, saying: "They should have at least said we will not comment before the
investigation is over."
The national dialogue will resume on April 28 and will decide the fate of
pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, who is under severe pressure from Lebanon's
parliamentary majority led by Future Movement leader, MP Saad Hariri, to resign.
The next topic to be discussed in the dialogue is establishing a defense
strategy against any possible Israeli aggression.
Nasrallah said if the leaders fail to agree to ask the president to resign, the
parliamentary majority as well as the Cabinet should normalize their relations
with him until the end of his term, which ends in September 2007.
"If the president is to serve until the end of his term, the parliamentary
majority and the Cabinet should cooperate with him for the best interest of the
country," said Nasrallah. When the dialogue starts discussing Lebanon's defense
strategy, Nasrallah said all Lebanese should volunteer and bear the
responsibility of protecting their land. "When we discuss the defense strategy,
we will look for one by which all parties, religions and sects participate in
defending and protecting the country," said Nasrallah whose party is under
international and local pressure to disarm. "A defense strategy means an armed
power. Lebanon cannot be protected through the 1994 cease-fire truce or any
international guarantees," he said. The international guarantees, Nasrallah
said, are granted by the U.S., which is the main defender and supporter of
Israel. "[US President George W.] Bush cannot be entrusted with a cat in
Lebanon, let alone the entire country," he added. The pro-Syrian party, which is
financed by Iran, is also criticized by some Lebanese leaders for monopolizing
the resistance. But Nasrallah lashed out at these accusations. "Who is stopping
them from resisting? No one is. Go ahead resist and I will leave an empty place
for you.""It's is a shame to accuse us of monopolizing the resistance after all
the sacrifices we made and the martyrs who died," he said.
Egyptian churches attacked on Good
Friday
April 14, 2006 UPI -CAIRO -- Muslim extremists posing as beggars attacked three churches in north
Egypt on Good Friday, killing one worshipper and injuring 16 others.
A security source told United Press International that the incident occurred in
the morning as worshippers attended mass in the churches of Saint Georges, the
Two Saints and Abu Keer in the city of Alexandria on the Mediterranean Sea.
The source said the three attackers wearing rugged clothes used swords and
knives in their attacks, before managing to flee.
Police imposed a cordon around the churches and began a thorough search for the
attackers. Hundreds of policemen were deployed in Christian-inhabited areas to
prevent any possible retaliation that could lead to sectarian violence. Friday's
incident is the second piece of sectarian violence to rock Alexandria in less
than a year. Last October, sectarian clashes erupted when thousands of Muslims
besieged the church of Saint Georges following rumors about the distribution of
video tapes of a play filmed in the church in 2002 which contained slandering of
Islam. A nun was killed and parts of the church were burned.
Muslims constitute the overwhelming majority in Egypt, which also has a minority
Christian Copt community of no more than 10 percent of the population.
Man With Knife Attacks Egypt Worshippers
By WILLA THAYER , Associated Press 04.14.2006,
A man with a knife attacked worshippers at two Coptic churches in the northern
Mediterranean city of Alexandria during Mass on Friday, killing one person and
wounding five before he was arrested, the government said.
The Interior Ministry identified the attacker as Mahmoud Salah-Eddin Abdel-Raziq
and said he suffered from "psychological disturbances."
The attacks came on what is Good Friday to many of the world's Christians,
although Egypt's Copts - and other followers of the Greek Orthodox church - mark
the holiday a week later.
Earlier, police officials said three men had been arrested in four simultaneous
church assaults, one of them foiled by police. They said 17 people were wounded,
and one later died.
There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancies between the reports. In
the past, the government has tried to play down incidents that can be perceived
as sectarian in nature so as not to inflame tensions between the Coptic minority
and Muslim majority.
"This morning, a citizen attacked three worshippers inside the Mar Girgis Church
in al-Hadhra with a knife and then fled and went into the Saints Church, where
he attacked three other worshippers and again fled," the ministry statement
said.
While he was trying to enter a third church, he was stopped and arrested by
police, the statement said.
It said one of the worshippers died of his wounds. The semiofficial Middle East
News Agency identified the victim as Nushi Atta Girgis, 78.
Abdel-Raziq "suffers from psychological disturbances," the Interior Ministry
said.
About 600 angry Copts, mostly young men, gathered to protest the attacks in the
Sidi Bishr neighborhood, outside Saints Church. The area was ringed by about 200
riot police, and truckloads more were nearby.
"Stop the persecution of Copts in Egypt," read one banner.
Coptic Christians, who account for about 10 percent of Egypt's 72 million
people, complain of discrimination in getting jobs, particularly in senior
levels of government. They generally live in harmony with the Muslim majority,
although violence flares occasionally.
"Hosni Mubarak, where are you? State security is between us and you!" some
chanted.
Nearby, bloodstains could be seen on the top step of the church.
Government and church officials were trying to restore calm.
"We are trying to calm the situation after many of our youth started
protesting," said Father Augustinos, who heads the church where the attack was
foiled. "We are telling them to calm down. It doesn't do any good for the
country to make protests. We want to live in peace and tranquility but these are
people who had their family members killed or wounded. We are doing our best."
Abdullah Osman of the ruling National Democratic Party said party officials and
legislators were also doing what they could to ease the situation.
Coptic Christians account for about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 72
million and generally live in harmony with the Muslim majority, though violence
flares occasionally.
Egypt's last sectarian clashes were in Alexandria in October, when Muslims
attacked churches and shops over the distribution of a DVD of a play deemed
offensive to their religion. Four people were killed in weeklong riots.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
One killed, 5 wounded in Egypt church stabbings
Fri Apr 14, 2006 5:44 PM GMT
By Kheiry Hussein- CAIRO (Reuters) - A mentally ill Egyptian man killed a
worshipper and wounded five others on Friday in knife attacks at two Coptic
Christian churches in the coastal city of Alexandria, the Interior Ministry said
in a statement.
Security and police officials said earlier three Egyptians working together had
killed one person and wounded three others in separate attacks on three churches
and another man had been apprehended before attacking worshippers in a fourth
church.
"(He) was apprehended as he tried to enter (a third church)," the ministry said
in the statement. "The aforementioned is called Mahmoud Abdul Razik Salah Eddin
Hussein," it added.
The ministry said Hussein had wounded three people in St. George's Church and
then wounded three others in Saints Church before being stopped trying to enter
another church named after St. George.
"The attacks ... led to six being wounded, one of whom died from his wounds,"
the ministry said, adding that Hussein suffered from mental illness and the
prosecutor was investigating the incident.
An Interior Ministry official said Hussein's mental illness was the cause of the
attacks and there was no political motivation. The official added Hussein had
insulted worshippers at the first church before later returning.
Copts account for up to 10 percent of Egypt's population of 73 million. They
were the majority until several centuries after the Islamic conquest in the 7th
century.
The governor of Alexandria told Egyptian state television by telephone that
Hussein, a supermarket employee, carried out the attack holding two knives and
walked from church to church.
Governor Abdul Salam Mahgoub said three of the people wounded in the attacks
were in hospital but would leave later in the day.
A news broadcast showed three men with bandages around their faces lying in
hospital beds and also showed groups of men in traditional clothes crowding
around a building and one man sitting on the road crying.
Police officials said about 500 people gathered peacefully in and around Saints
Church, where the 67-year-old worshipper died, chanting prayers and condemning
the attack.
The Egyptian authorities have in the past blamed mental illness for attacks
against European or Western tourists.
An Egyptian man stabbed and wounded two Hungarian tourists in Cairo in March
2005, saying he was exacting revenge for Western policies towards Iraqis and
Palestinians. The prosecutor general ordered him to be placed in a psychiatric
hospital.
Alexandria was the scene of violent protests in October over a church play
demonstrators said was offensive to Islam. Three people died when the protesters
clashed with police.
Relations between Muslims and Christians in Egypt are generally peaceful but
there are occasional outbreaks of sectarian violence, notably in 1999 when 22
people were killed in the southern village of Kosheh.© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Delegation of Dutch Lawyers to
attend Mugraby trial before Military Court
Dutch Lawyers for Lawyers Foundation- 04/14/2006
Lebanese attorney prosecuted for speech in European Parliament
Delegation of Dutch Lawyers to attend trial before Military Court
Press Release April 13, 2006
Muhamad Mugraby, Human rights-lawyer in Lebanon, will stand trial before the
Military Tribunal of Beirut on April 17. The Lebanese Authorities accuse Mugraby
of slandering the Military Establishment. This accusation is based on a
presentation Dr Mugraby delivered at the invitation of the Euro Parliament about
the Human Rights situation in Lebanon. In his presentation he criticized the
system of Military Courts especially trailing ordinary citizens, for instance
people who had been arrested because they criticized the Authorities. Such
people have been tortured to obtain confessions and than had to appear before
officers without legal background. It is striking that now Mugraby himself has
to appear before those he is supposed to have slandered. This can not be
reconciled with the principals of 'fair trial'. The members of the Military
Court are appointed by the Minister of Defence who also determines the sentence.
The case of Dr Mugraby embodies a far reaching limitation of the freedom of
speech. Mugraby can be sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison. The
Dutch Lawyers for Lawyers foundation has been supporting Mugraby for several
years and is sending seven Dutch attorneys and a member of the British House of
Commons, who has been watching the case for a long time already, to Beirut in
order to attend the trial and offer support to Dr Mugraby. More information can
be found at: http://www.advocatenvooradvocaten.nl/projects.html
700,000 European lawyers declare,
through CCBE, their support for Dr. Mugraby
Manuel Cavaleiro Brandão - Council of Bars and Law Societies
of Europe
04/14/2006
Dear President Lahoud,
I am writing to you on behalf of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe
(CCBE), which, through the national Bars and Law Societies of the Member States
of the European Union and the European Economic Area, represents more than
700,000 European lawyers. The CCBE, through its Human Rights Committee, places
great emphasis on respect for human rights and the rule of law. The CCBE is
particularly concerned by the situation of human rights defenders in the world.
The CCBE writes to express its concern about human rights lawyer Dr Muhamad
Mugraby who is due to appear before the Military Court in Beirut on 9 January
charged with slandering the “military establishment and its officers”. The CCBE
understands that, if found guilty, he may be sentenced to up to three years’
imprisonment.
The CCBE is informed that the charge relates to a statement he made to the
European Parliament’s Mashreq Delegation in Brussels on 4 November 2003, in
which he criticised the military court system in Lebanon including for, he
stated, the inadequate legal training of the courts’ judges, and for the torture
suffered by suspects tried before military courts in order to force them to
“confess”. In this context, the CCBE would urge that the charge against him be
dropped immediately as it is the CCBE’s belief that it is based on Dr Muhamad
Mugraby exercising his right to freedom of expression guaranteed in Article 19
of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Lebanon is
a state party. The CCBE would also draw your attention to Article 23 of the
United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (1990) which states that:
Lawyers like other citizens are entitled to freedom of expression, belief,
association and assembly. In particular, they shall have the right to take part
in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of
justice and the promotion and protection of human rights and to join or form
local, national or international organisations and attend their meetings,
without suffering professional restrictions by reason of their lawful action or
their membership in a lawful organization. In exercising these rights, lawyers
shall always conduct themselves in accordance with the law and the recognized
standards and ethics of the legal profession.
The CCBE is also concerned that this case against Dr Mugraby falls within a
pattern of harassment against him that may be related to his legitimate work in
defence of human rights. You will recall that Dr Mugraby was arrested on 8
August 2003 and subsequently released on bail three weeks later for his alleged
“impersonation of a lawyer”. The CCBE understands that this charge has yet to be
dropped against him. In view of the above, the CCBE respectfully urges you to
drop all charges against Dr Mugraby and stop all future prosecutions in this
regard and ensure that he can carry out his legitimate work without fear of
further harassment.
Yours sincerely,
Manuel Cavaleiro Brandão
President
Mild earthquake rattles Mount Lebanon, Beirut
Daily Star 15/4/06:The country experienced a mild earthquake at 9 a.m., reports
said Friday. The Seismography and Scientific Research Center in Bhannis detected
an earthquake off the coast stretching between Batroun and Jbeil at a depth of
40 kilometers. It recorded 3.5 degrees on the Richter scale and was the third
earthquake this month. An official of the center said the quake was part of
normal seismic activity in the region and poses no threat and therefore there is
no reason to panic. The earthquake was felt in Mount Lebanon and Beirut.
Berri attends Tehran conference on Palestinians
Daily Star 15/4/06: Speaker Nabih Berri arrived to Tehran on Thursday night to
participate in a conference entitled "Holy Quds and Support for Palestinian
People's Rights," held in Iran in the presence of parliament speakers of the
Islamic world. Berri concluded on Thursday a visit to Istanbul, where he
participated in the 4th session of Parliamentary Union of the Organization of
Islamic Conference Member States. At the end of the conference, the participants
issued the Istanbul Declaration, which included a paragraph on the situation in
Lebanon, in which they "condemned the continuous Israeli occupation of Shebaa
Farms and other Lebanese areas and stressed the resistance's right to liberate
the Lebanese occupied territories and to face any Israeli attacks."
Fadlallah condemns efforts to 'plant strife in country'
Daily Star 15/4/06:Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah
condemned "those who are planning to plant strife in the country" during his
Friday sermon. Fadlallah said that the U.S. "is using Lebanon as a bargain
card." The cleric also urged the government "to study all the problems which
Lebanon is suffering from instead of focusing on one single issue." Meanwhile,
Higher Shiite Council Vice President Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan urged the
authorities to "reveal to the public the criminals who planned to kill Hizbullah
chief Hassan Nasrallah." Qabalan also urged the government to "deploy its
efforts to rescue the country's economic situation."
Thirty-one years on, is Lebanon's unity just hype?
sectarian divisions still dominate everyday life
By Mayssam Zaaroura -Daily Star staff
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Analysis
The date marking the start of Lebanon's Civil War 31 years ago passed again this
year - safely, without incident. The people who rule this small country now are
the same people who tore it apart 31 years ago, slaughtering the others' family,
community, religion.
But 31 years later, we lit candles, revived images of the war, said it was to be
"remembered, but not repeated." We ran mini-marathons, joined by victims and
survivors of the war and their families pledging to love one another and stay
united.
It was a good show for the people. For the world to see. Peace, or its lesser
sibling truce, is here to stay, apparently.
But here and there, little incidents broke out giving glimpses of a conflict not
yet truly laid to rest.
The mini-marathon yielded photographs of youths carrying old wooden rifles,
mouth to the ground to symbolically bury the war, and the party flags held high.
A television program on the country's most watched channel gathered 16 youths
representing all sects together for an exercise in conflict resolution. It was
supposed to be a lesson in achieving "national unity." Instead, it peeled back
the veneer of stability to expose seething sectarianism beneath the surface and
between the participants, as each proclaimed the exclusive right to rule the
country at the expense of all others.
The program ended with the show's host throwing up his hands, exasperated,
announcing: "Well, after this dialogue, apparently, we haven't changed.
Nothing's changed."
Basketball games have yet to pass without incident as teams are sponsored by one
political party or another and racial slurs are hurled across the courts at the
other side.
On April 13, different political parties lit candles at different sites, because
they couldn't agree with one another and couldn't hold a united commemoration.
Hang on. Wasn't this commemoration supposed to be united? We were all supposed
to do this together, yes?
No. Armed to the teeth, Lebanon's young people are more than ready to rekindle a
war that most of them did not live through, or worse, have forgotten the
consequences it entailed. They follow the same leaders - it seems - down the
same road.
In the meantime, the country's leading politicians are "taking care of
business," at best oblivious to, at worst benefiting from, the simmering
sectarian sentiments in the country's youngsters.
One leading party chief heads to Damascus to confer with allies. Another to
Iran. Another heads to the United States. Yet another heads to France. And
another heads to Saudi Arabia. Instructions, instructions galore on "how to move
forward."
At home, the country is at an impasse. At every avenue, there is a stalemate.
The president cannot be toppled, despite the parliamentary majority's demands
and promises that he will be by date X or Y.
Constitutionally, we have not found a way yet. The president will not willingly
quit his post unless he is given his walking papers from the Syrian presidential
palace. Taking to the streets in protest is a no-no. The country's politically
influential patriarch has "forbidden it - so that option's out," to quote
countless political leaders.
The power - or rather domination - of a Vatican-approved clergyman on a
country's political path is proof positive that religion in Lebanon is never far
from the surface, no matter who claims that the clash between Muslims and
Christians is done and dusted.Lebanon is a country where one gets a job based on
his or her religious affiliation. Where the death penalty is equally distributed
among sects - whether the crime is equal or not - for fear of being dubbed
sectarian. Where - out of habit, not law - one must inform one's bank of his or
her religion or sect before opening an account, and where the country's National
Pact dictates "President: Maronite, Speaker: Shiite and Premier: Sunni."
How can one get away from religion and start accepting the other when everyday
life is based on sectarian divisions?
Lebanon is a country that is being eerily compared to Iraq in its current state.
We haven't gotten there yet. Politicians, local and international, are keeping a
desperate rein on situations that have the potential to start the fireworks
rolling again.
For the United States, Lebanon is the last chance in the region to claim "we did
establish democracy somewhere in the Middle East."For the Arabs, Lebanon is the
excuse to hide behind cloaks of patriarchal power through initiatives that seek
to "save the day" - but not at home where oppression is the name of the game.
For Syria and Iran, Lebanon is the link in the chain of rule through Hizbullah
and the launching ground for their skirmishes in the region.
For the Lebanese, this "new" Lebanon is the only chance they have. But as the
upper echelons of the country's political class cry "national unity and amnesty
to all," some families still wait for their children to come home from a war
that ended three decades ago. Mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters still await
the knock on the door - for someone to tell them, "Yes, we found them. They died
in some prison or another."
War takes many forms. Lebanon has only now set foot on the right path. The idea
is there, which is a start. But until everyone is on board the same ship, with
equal status and not judged on their faith, this baby's not going nowhere!
Parents of missing say government committee failed to do
its job
By Leila Hatoum -Daily Star staff
Saturday, April 15, 2006
BEIRUT: The parents of those missing and kidnapped in Lebanon during the Civil
War accused Brigadier General Salim Abou Ismael, the head of the committee that
was formed in 2000 to investigate the fate of those who went missing, of not
conducting his work properly. Mariam Soeity from Jowaya, whose son was kidnapped
during the war, said that some of those who were behind the kidnappings were
"willing to step out and confess what they did," but that Abou Ismael's
committee refused to listen to the volunteers' depositions. She told The Daily
Star that the parents have informed Abou Ismael of such a volunteer named Assaad
Shaftari, from the Lebanese Forces, "who said he is willing to step forward and
speak of all of those whom he knew from kidnappings or killings to start a new
blank page, but the committee refused to even interrogate Shaftary."
When Soeity confronted Abou Ismael about this, he denied any knowledge of
Shaftary. But Soeity insists there "are witnesses" that can confirm that Abou
Ismael knew of Shaftary and many others.
The parents also accused various individuals and parties - including Chouf MP
Walid Jumblatt and his Progressive Socialist Party, the Phalange Party, Samir
Geagea and his Lebanese Forces and MP George Adwan, and Amal leader and
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri - of supporting the abduction of their husbands,
children, brothers and sisters.
They also accused the Lebanese Forces of handing over their beloved family
members to the Israelis during the war, a charge which the LF refused to either
confirm or deny. "There were some 60 students who were abducted by the LF from
the Science campus of the Lebanese University. They were later taken to the LF's
war council and then handed over to the Israelis. Shaftari said that he was
going to speak of this," said Soeity.Abou Ismael said that the number of missing
persons that the parents repeatedly cite is completely inaccurate. "They keep
speaking of 17,000 missing or abducted," he said, adding that official
applications indicate that the number of missing persons is "2,064 only."MP
Ghassan Mokhaiber addressed Abou Ismael saying that the Lebanese authority is
responsible for its short handedness in looking into the fate of its missing and
kidnapped citizens, regardless of whether they number 17,000 or one.
Rafsanjani Tells Nasrallah Political
Differences in Lebanon Should not Lead to Violence
Iran's influential former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has met with
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Damascus and urged the Lebanese not
to let their disputes transform the country into a "battle field," reports said
Friday.
Rafsanjani is on a four-day visit to the Syrian capital amid worldwide alarm
over Iran's announcement that it had successfully enriched uranium, a process
that can lead to the production of fuel for nuclear power plants or the fissile
core of an atomic bomb. Rafsanjani met Nasrallah late Wednesday at the Iranian
embassy in Damascus, an Iranian source said.
An Nahar newspaper quoted sources as saying that Rafsanjani told the Hizbullah
leader that "the differences between political parties in Lebanon should not
transform the country into a battle field."Nasrallah said that Iran's ability to
enrich uranium would "be a large moral boost to the resistance."Some anti-Syrian
Lebanese politicians accused the Party of God, that is financed by Iran and
backed by Syria, of refusing to lay down its arms to serve its allies' regional
interests. The group's weapons are one of the contentious issues that are being
discussed at national dialogue talks between the country's top 14 rival
political leaders, including Nasrallah. Rafsanjani also met Hamas' political
leader Khaled Meshaal and Islamic Jihad's Secretary-General Ramadan Shalah. "The
Palestinian resistance has today reached a new phase which requires the support
of all Muslim countries... to reach victory," Rafsanjani said, according to an
Iranian source.
"The Muslim world is proud that Tehran has acquired nuclear technology," Meshaal
reportedly said during their meeting.
"Uranium enrichment provides a great deal of moral support to the Palestinian
people and heroes of the resistance," he said.
Rafsanjani assured that Iran would continue its support for the Palestinian
resistance and criticized "Western states that have suspended aid to the
Palestinian Authority."
Rafsanjani also met with Syrian Prime Minister Naji Otri and Foreign Minister
Walid Moallem over "external pressures confronting Syria and Iran," the official
SANA news agency said. Rafsanjani vowed Tehran would not give in to U.N.
pressures to halt its enrichment of uranium, which he hailed as a great
achievement. Tehran's announcement put Iran on a collision course with the U.N.
Security Council, which has given the country until April 28 to accede to
demands that it halt enrichment or face possible sanctions. Iran insists that
its nuclear program is aimed purely at producing nuclear power, but the country
is widely suspected of using it to conceal efforts to develop atomic weapons.
Asked about international pressures on Syria over issues ranging from its
alleged interference in neighboring Lebanon to alleged support for Iraqi rebels,
Rafsanjani said Wednesday: "Iran and Syria are in the same boat."
Rafsanjani, who heads Iran's powerful Expediency Council, is slated to hold
talks with President Bashar Assad at some point during his visit. On Friday,
Rafsanjani is to visit the tomb in Qarhaba of the president's father and
predecessor in office, Hafez al-Assad. The following day, he is set to visit
Shiite Muslim holy sites in Damascus before heading home.(AFP-Naharnet)
Beirut, Updated 14 Apr 06, 09:51
Enough handouts
By Aluf Benn -Haaretz-Last update - 09:03 14/04/2006
America's friendship is Israel's most important political asset. The Jewish
state's security and prosperity, and maybe even its survival, depend on American
support. The problem is that the relationship between the two countries is based
on a narrow foundation. Nobody has any doubt that George Bush is sympathetic to
Israel but he won't serve forever, his popularity is in free fall and America is
not only run from the White House.
That's the view prevalent among those in the Israeli establishment who deal with
ties to the U.S. They are worried about demography, as America turns more
Hispanic. They are worried about the dwindling Jewish community and the way its
youth are distanced from Israel. They're worried about the hostility that has
grown in the Pentagon, from the general fatigue in American public opinion
regarding the Israeli-Arab conflict and the polite refusal to finance the
unilateral withdrawal from south Lebanon and Gaza. And lately, from the open
criticism of the "Israel lobby," which seemed to have pushed America into the
Iraqi morass and is now trying to entangle it in an assault on Iran.
In recent years, Israeli policy toward Washington has had one goal: getting
backing for Israeli moves in the conflict with the Palestinians. Ariel Sharon
attributed great importance to every American expression of support and avoiding
any visible disagreement. That was the mission for his special envoy to America,
Dov Weisglas, and Ambassador Danny Ayalon. The climax of Weisglas's achievements
was the famous "Bush letter" from two years ago, which strengthened Israel's
position in the permanent agreement. AIPAC promised that Congress would lend
support.
Now Ehud Olmert wants to outdo his master and go to Washington with a ravenous
"shipping basket": recognition of the separation fence as a permanent border,
economic support, improved strategic relations with the U.S., defense against
Iran. Common to all those ideas, are that they continue the tradition of "gimme,
gimme," toward America. More aid, more weapons, another letter from the
president. The Israeli establishment is completely petrified into that "gimme"
tradition and doesn't stop to ask what the Americans get out of it. Once, they
said that Israel gives them their wonderful intelligence. Presumably, there's a
lot of exaggeration and now the stories are aimed against Israel, with its
rivals accusing it of tendentious intelligence meant to promote its regional
goals.
The time has come to change the diskette and broaden the basis of the ties, so
they stand firm in the course of changing demographics, governments and public
opinion. Slogans like "special relations" and "shared values" are not enough.
Interests must be strengthened. The AIPAC model, which was a great success,
should be copied in the American political system, to economics, academics,
science and culture.
Here's an assignment for Tzipi Livni's Foreign Ministry: to make sure that in
the next five years, the CEOs of all the Fortune 500 companies, the 100
presidents of the most prestigious universities, the heads of the most important
research institutions and key artists and writers visit Israel; and to ensure
that they leave here with joint projects, research plans and plots for new
novels. It is possible that they'll need an encouraging word from their
congressman to get them on their planes. But Israel has nothing to be ashamed of
when it comes to what it has to offer America, especially when compared to its
Arab neighbors. And it will benefit from the closer ties to the most developed
economy and educational system in the world. Olmert should think about this, and
not only about the list of handouts he'll ask for from Bush, when he goes to
America next month.
Cyprus may host Hariri murder trial
(DPA)-14 April 2006 -BEIRUT — Cyprus is considering a proposal to host a United
Nations-backed international court to try suspects accused in the assassination
of ex-Lebanese premier Rafik Al Hariri, Lebanese judicial sources said
yesterday.
“Cyprus has been approached by the UN to host the trial (and) they are
considering the proposal,” the sources said.
Last month, the UN Security Council directed UN chief Kofi Annan to negotiate a
deal with Lebanon to create a tribunal for suspects in the assassination of
Hariri and twenty others in a February 14, 2005 bombing at a seafront area of
Beirut.
Annan has suggested the establishment of a mixed tribunal involving Lebanese and
international judges. Having such a high-profile trial in Lebanon has been ruled
out due to security reasons.
US: Syria making efforts on Iraq border
By NATHAN GUTTMAN-WASHINGTON
For the first time since the war in Iraq began three year ago, the US is seeing
positive moves from Syria to stop the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq.
Ambassador Jim Jeffrey, the senior adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice on Iraq, said this week that the US has seen a decline in the number of
insurgents entering Iraq through the Syrian border.
According to Jeffery, this decline can be attributed partly to the Syrian
decision to impose a visa regime that limits the ability of foreign fighters to
enter the country "which is something that we pressed them to do."
Jeffrey called this decision by Damascus "a positive development." The senior
adviser on Iraq said, at the same time, that another reason for the decline was
the successful American military operations along the entry route.
In a meeting with a group of Middle Eastern journalists at the State Department
Tuesday, Ambassador Jeffrey stressed that, though there was some positive action
from Syria, there was still much to be done in order to close the border. "This
is something the Syrians can do more about and we want them to do that," Jeffrey
said.
The issue has been a major point of conflict between the US and Damascus in the
past three years and the US has focused much of its diplomatic power on attempts
to get Bashar Assad's regime to close the border. While the Syrians have claimed
that they did not have the ability to control their long land border with Iraq,
the US argued that much of the infiltration could be stopped by tightening the
control over foreigners entering Syria and by patrolling known entry areas to
Iraq.
Apart from the issue of infiltration, which was now in decline, the US also
asked Syria to stop giving shelter to former Ba'athists and supporters of the
resistance in Iraq "who are being wined and dined - well, maybe not wined - in
Damascus and Aleppo and other places," according to Jeffrey.
Diplomatic sources in Washington confirmed that the issue of the Syrian-Iraqi
border was "a smaller problem than in the past" for the US, but pointed out that
the US still had other issues with the Assad regime, among them the Syrian role
in the assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri, the involvement of
Syria in Lebanon and their support for the Hizbullah.
While the US was issuing praise for the Syrian regime's actions on the Iraqi
border, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem on Thursday blamed America's
"double standard" in the Middle East for the current turbulence in the world.
"The double-standard [policy] practiced against Iran and Syria is regretfully
the reason for the confusion in the international arena," Moallem told reporters
after meeting with former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani. "Those who
espouse such a policy should bear full responsibility for the turbulence in the
international arena." Moallem was apparently referring to the US.
Moallem said the US's diplomatic pressure was directed at Syria's "stands and
policies that serve their peoples' interests and do not serve hegemony and
occupation." "There is an international law and international agreements and
treaties, which, if applied in all world countries, would lead to a more just
world," Moallem said.
Ex-Lebanese leader urges Syria to end
intervention
Published: Friday, 14 April, 2006, - Doha Time
By Anwar al-Khateeb
The Former Lebanese president Amin Gemayel has called for an end to Syrian
intervention in the internal affairs of his country.
He said Syria was not interested in finding a solution to Lebanon’s problems.
“Syria believes Lebanon is not yet ready to move to another stage.”
Commenting on calls for the Syrian backed President Emile Lahoud to step down,
he said that Damascus was very much involved in Lebanese affairs by supporting
Lahoud and imposing direct influence on the Shias in the country.
When asked about foreign intervention in his country’s internal affairs, the
veteran politician said that he appreciated “advices” coming from abroad but he
stood against “direct dictations” as in the case of the Syrian involvement.
Gemayel, who is in Doha to take part in the Democracy and Free Trade conference,
said Syria can contribute to Lebanon’s stability by taking steps as demarcating
bilateral borders, co-operating in the investigation on the assassination of the
former Lebanese premier Rafiq al-Hariri and exchange of diplomats.
The former Lebanese President urged Syria to change the UN records and announce
Sheba’a farms as occupied Lebanese territory. “Without such a step, the
resistance against the Israeli occupation will be unjustified and illegal from
an international point of view,” the Lebanese leader said.
Gemayel said that President Lahoud was unable to discharge the presidential
responsibilities in accordance with Lebanese tradition and Constitution. He said
if Lahoud stayed in office for the rest of his term, that would be at the
expense of the country’s international relations. He said he has no alternatives
in the meantime for the presidency, saying that the protests against Lahoud will
continue until the aim is achieved. Gemayel (64) was Lebanese President from
1982 to 1988 before he went into exile in the US and France from where he led
the anti-Syrian parties. He came back to Beirut in July 2000 and resumed
political activity. On the disarmament of the Palestinians living in refugee
camps in Lebanon, he stressed that the weapons should stay “in the first stage”
inside the camps under the supervision of the Lebanese Army.
“There can be only one sovereign authority in a country that ensures the
security, dignity and welfare of its people.”
Syria, a stronghold to defend
Palestine, Iran's EC chairman says
April 14, IRNA -Syria-Iran-EC
Iran's Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said here Thursday
Syria is regarded as the most important stronghold to defend the rights of the
oppressed Palestine nation.
The US and Britain established Israel to save their base in the region but the
resistance of the Syrians has prevented them from attaining their goals, said
Rafsanjani while addressing a group of cultural and political elite of Syria.
Israel, the US and Britain have launched a smear propaganda campaign to
introduce Iran as a risky and nuclear power country and to prevent the country's
access to modern science, he said in support of Iran's peaceful nuclear
activities.
"We are determined to acquire modern science and we will pay its heavy cost."
"We take seriously the possible threats posed by Israel and the US. The US and
Israel can definitely make disturbances for Iran, the region and themselves but
they will get due response," he warned.
"I have nothing to do with the upcoming talks between Iran and the US. Iran's
Supreme National Security Council and the Foreign Ministry will hold talks with
the US ambassador to Iraq," he said when asked if he is the head of Iranian team
in talks with the US. He top Iranian official also briefed the audience on the
upcoming strategies Iran may adopt to confront the US threats, stressing that
there would be various strategies to deal with the threats against Iran's
nuclear case.
"If Iran is told that Israel destroy its nuclear weapons and Iran should also do
the same. What is Iran's reaction?," a participant in the meeting asked.
Rafsanjani, heading a delegation, arrived in Damascus on Wednesday at the
official invitation of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Down a dangerous road
Like Lebanon in the '70s, Iraq may be descending into civil war. Worse, it
threatens to take the region with it.
By David Hirst, DAVID HIRST, the Guardian's Middle East correspondent from 1963
to 1997, lives in Beirut. He is the author of "The Gun and the Olive Branch: The
Roots of Violence in the Middle East."
April 14, 2006
IS IT REALLY CIVIL WAR in Iraq? Donald Rumsfeld, secretary of Defense, says not.
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, concedes that "the potential is
there." But former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is categoric: "If 60 dead a
day isn't civil war, God knows what is."
Civil wars are rarely "declared"; they steal up. Not surprisingly, this was the
same question that foreign correspondents — myself included — kept asking when,
in 1975, intercommunal clashes began erupting in Lebanon. From sporadic,
isolated beginnings, they steadily grew in scale and intensity, ever closer to
the heart of the capital, Beirut.
Yet, for many months, most of us held back from concluding the worst, convinced
that in the cosmopolitan, pluralistic, Levantine city we knew, this must all be
an aberration and that somehow, before long, the growing madness would go into
reverse.
We now know how naively optimistic we were. And perhaps, in light of it, someone
like myself now inclines to an excess of pessimism when I contemplate what is
happening in Iraq today: the steady rise of what in Lebanon used to be called
"identity card killings"; the "flying roadblocks" improvised by militiamen
across the city where, typically, these sectarian atrocities most randomly
occurred; the prevalence of inter-communal slaughter in the poorer, newly
developed, religiously mixed suburbs encircling the capital; the complicity of
soldiers from the national, multi-sectarian army in the activities of sectarian
militias.
In Iraq, not only are these things now taking place on at least the same scale,
proportionally, as they did in Lebanon, and with even greater barbarity, but
there are already other things — like the bombing of holy places — that rarely
happened even in Lebanon's darkest days.
Ever since the U.S. invasion, Arab commentators, alarmed at where Iraq is
headed, have searched for parallels — in Vietnam, Somalia, Algeria, Cyprus, the
Balkans — but their favorite by far is Lebanon. And when they forecast the
"Lebanonization" of Iraq, they also, as an almost automatic corollary, consider
its implications for the entire Arab world. For it is all but axiomatic: Fire in
one Arab country is liable to spread elsewhere.
In the end, the Lebanese fire didn't spread; it was contained, instead, and
ultimately extinguished by the Arab League with help from the rest of the world.
But will we be so lucky again, in the case of so weighty and pivotal a country
as Iraq?
"Iraq," wrote Ghassan Charbel in the pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat, "resides in
the Arabs' very conscience and in their calculations for the future. Its very
veins are interlinked with the Arabs'. Its pains and hopes cross borders on the
map. Many factors prevent Iraq from being able to commit suicide on its own."
Lebanon didn't spread, in part, because it was not a typical Arab state. In its
main axis, the Lebanese civil war was fought between traditionally militant
Maronite Christians and other sects in turn — Sunnis, Druzes, Shiites. But there
are so few Christians (and hardly any Maronites) in the Arab world at large that
it was never going to trigger a similar confrontation there.
By contrast, both in its ruling system and the identity of the protagonists,
Iraq is — or was — far more representative of the wider Arab world. Saddam
Hussein was the very model of the Arab tyrant, with sectarianism, in the shape
of Sunni domination, as his chief instrument. At bloody loggerheads with itself,
Iraq would become the model of Arab anarchy, embodying the two most disruptive,
retrogressive yet popularly mobilizing forces in the Middle East today —
sectarianism and ideologically driven Islamism.
It is now becoming a commonplace of Arab discourse that Iraq's agony is likely,
ultimately, to equal in scale the post-World War I Middle East settlement that
was the last great upheaval of its kind. Shaped chiefly by the Sykes-Picot
agreement — the secret Anglo-French understanding of 1916 about how to divide
territory between the colonial powers — the postwar settlement drew arbitrary,
colonial-style frontiers across the more natural ethnic, sectarian, tribal and
commercial lines that preceded it.
For some in the region at least, the new upheaval will "correct" what went wrong
then.
How, then, will the fire spread? Syria — once the contentious nub of Sykes-Picot
and the closest in recent historical experience to Iraq — will be most severely
at risk. For, alone among Iraq's neighbors, it is exposed to both the ethnic and
sectarian dimensions of the Iraqi contagion.
Syrian Kurds sense a weakness in their own, deeply troubled Baathist regime
similar to that which ended in the downfall of its Iraq counterpart. If it
finally does collapse amid general chaos, many will push for secession and
amalgamation with their brethren in northern Iraq.
Syria has very few Shiites. But if sectarian identity is now to become the
organizing principle of Arab polities, then Syria is vulnerable: A small
religious minority, the Alawites, have effectively run it for more than 40
years. In a predominantly Sunni society, that Alawite rule historically
represents an even greater anomaly than was Sunni minority rule in Iraq.
A Sunni majority restoration in Syria would become especially unstoppable if
Iraq's increasingly disempowered Sunnis turn to Syria — where, but for
Sykes-Picot, a great many would long have been citizens anyway.
The next most vulnerable region is the Persian Gulf, where Shiite minorities (or
majorities, as in Bahrain), have long been discriminated against in varying
degrees by Sunni establishments. Already excited by the dramatic emancipation of
their co-religionists in Iraq, civil war there would only encourage Gulf Shiites
to press their claims with greater vigor.
Nor is Jordan, with neither Kurdish nor Shiite minorities, any less alarmed.
Jordan's King Abdullah was the first Arab leader to make public reference to an
Iranian-sponsored "Shiite crescent," in effect labeling Shiites everywhere as a
kind of "fifth column" challenging the traditional Sunni dominance of the Arab
world.
Jordanian politicians even speak of building a "Sunni wall" through Iraq to
contain the peril from the east. Because it is so small a country, because its
loyalty to the U.S. and the peace treaty with Israel are so unpopular, and
because its relatively benign autocracy depends on discrimination of a kind —
favoring a conservative, tribal-minded Transjordanian minority over the more
advanced and dynamic Palestinian majority — Jordan is peculiarly sensitive to
political upheavals in its neighbors.
The "Lebanonization" of the Arab world would, of course, be most appalling for
the inhabitants of that region themselves. But it would be pretty bad too for
the U.S., which, with its invasion, precipitated it, and for its regional
protege, Israel, which urged it on. Who knows what might arise out of the ruins
of their grandiose ambitions to "reshape" the entire region in their favor?
Death by Suicide
14/04/2006- Asharq Alawsat Newspaper
The recourse to suicide operations for Islamist militant currents has become
part of the current culture of fundamentalism. If we want to discuss the current
era, secular groups were the first to adopt this phenomenon, especially in the
operations of the Communist Party or the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP)
in Lebanon against the Israelis or other foreign forces. The most famous
operation was carried out by Sanaa Mehaydali, a Shia Lebanese woman and member
of the SSNP, when she detonated herself against an Israeli target in April 1985,
in South Lebanon.
Observers point out that the Iraqi Shia Dawa Party, as part of its operations
against Saddam Hussein’s regime, used to carry out what could be referred to as
suicide operations, the most famous being an attack in the Mustansiriyah
University in Baghdad in 1981. A member of the Iraqi Shia Dawa Party who was in
possession of a bomb, thrust himself into a hall where the then Minister Tariq
Aziz was holding a conference. Nevertheless, suicide operations using belts or
cars have become a more recent phenomenon. Perhaps it owes its infamy to the
attacks carried out by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah members in the Occupied
Territories. These operations have provoked huge controversy between Muslim
scholars with some allowing them and supporting them whilst others prohibited
them and considered them haram (religiously forbidden).
Scholars have disagreed upon the consideration that suicide is haram or even
extremely prohibited in Islam however, a group of Muslim scholars in Jordan
produced a fatwa on the legitimacy of suicide operations and the Ulema of Al
Azhar issued a fatwa in the same direction. Dr. Youssef al Qardawi says, “These
operations are considered one of the greatest types of jihad in the name of God.
They are part of legitimate terrorism.” He demonstrated that the designation of
“suicide” was erroneous, preferring instead to define them as “martyrdom
operations by freedom fighters”. For his part, Said Ramadan Al Bouti, a faqih
(Islamic scholar) in Syria, underlined the legitimacy of these acts saying,
“These operations are 100% valid.” The sheikh of Al Azhar held different views
in this respect; he was cautious about these operations in Sharia but then
supported them in reply to Jewish religious leaders who had asked him to
intervene to stop these operations by Palestinians.
In Saudi Arabia, some of the most prominent scholars rejected the legitimacy of
suicide operations. Sheikh Mohammad bin Uthaymeen, one of the most well-known
faqihs in Saudi Arabia, who died prior to the September 11 attacks said, “My
opinion is that the subject is killing himself and that he will suffer in hell
with what he killed himself with… It is extraordinary that these [men] kill
themselves despite God forbidding this. Many of them simply seek revenge from
the enemy, irrespective of it being haram or not. He seeks only to alleviate his
anger.” This was also the opinion of Saudi Arabia’s Mufti Abdul Aziz Al Sheikh.
In one of the most infamous suicide bombings, the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad,
Pakistan was targeted in November 1995. A bomber believed to be a member of
Egypt’s Islamic Jihad rammed his car into the building.
Yet, the attacks on New York and Washington DC on September 11, 2001 remain the
most well known and biggest suicide operation in recent years. Nineteen
hijackers took control of four internal US flights and flew them into the World
Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in the capital. The fourth flight
crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
Saudi Arabia has been rocked by several suicide bombings over the past few
years, including the bombing of the Al Hamra and Granada complexes in Riyadh in
May 2003 and the bombing of Al Mahya complex in November of the same year, which
was carried out by two Saudi nationals. The General Security offices were also
targeted in the Saudi capital in Al Washm neighborhood in April 2004 by a young
and newly religious Saudi man. Suicide operations are a recent phenomenon in
Saudi Arabia and a new facet of terrorism in the Kingdom. The first attack took
place in November 1995 when a National Guards building was targeted but no
people were involved in the operation as a car exploded by the building.
One of the least effective operations in Saudi Arabia, given that the only
casualties were those executing it, was the operation that targeted the Ministry
of Interior and the training buildings that are annexed to it in 2005. Five
organizers were killed when their car bomb detonated.
However, suicide bombings are not exclusive to Saudi Arabia, as they have
recently hit Midan Al Tahrir and Khan Al Khalili, historical landmarks in Cairo,
Egypt as well as other important locations in the city in April and May 2005.
Unusually, women took part in these operations and detonated their explosives
after being surrounded by security forces. The two women were the fiancée and
sister of bomber Raafat Bashandi. This highlights the issue of suicide bombers
detonating their explosives and killing themselves before causing harm to others
out of fear being caught.
One of the most famous operations of this kind took place in Suwayr mosque in Al
Jawf, in northern Saudi Arabia in July 2003, when a number of terrorists were
killed, most prominent of which was Turki Al Dandani, after security forces
besieged them. Strangely, this was a suicide attack without an explicit
target/enemy. However, it later became evident that there is a religious
justification for these types of actions. One of the preachers of terrorism (who
is currently in jail following the wave of terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia)
issued a fatwa that allows these acts by basing precedents in Islamic
jurisprudence that he believed could be applied to similar situations. For
example, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Ibrahim Al Shiekh, a former Saudi Mufti who died in
1969, issued a fatwa that allows a prisoner to kill himself in order not to
divulge secrets under torture. This came in response to the queries of some
muhajideen in Algeria during the liberation war against France about whether it
is legitimate for prisoners to kill themselves instead of revealing secrets to
the enemy. “Algerian Muslims asked whether it was valid for an individual to
commit suicide out of fear of being tortured. I said to them: If the situation
is as you say, then it is permitted.” Nevertheless, the Mufti is quick to add
his reservations about the issue and to qualify his reply.
This argument was included in a book entitled “selected passages on suicide out
of fear of revealing secrets,” published on numerous extremist websites. The
writer appears not to have found a jurist opinion that would permit him outright
to commit suicide if about to fall into enemy hands. He said, “On this matter, I
say we do not need to ask the Ulema to give their legal opinion on issues that
might occur.” However, he continues in his discussion and divides prisoners into
two categories saying that those who carry relatively valuable and minor secrets
should suffer and that it would not be permitted for him to kill himself.
Nevertheless, those who carry valuable secrets and are the leaders of movements
should not surrender themselves if they believe that they would divulge their
secrets. Instead, he should commit suicide and become a martyr, according to
this justification.
In conclusion, suicide operations that have now become synonymous with Islamic
extremism have been linked to Islamic jurisprudence and past operations.
Lebanon: Step one for reform and ending of
corruption
Friday, 14 April, 2006 @ 4:53 PM
Beirut- The government met Thursday and approved an ambitious economic reform
program which calls for review of the accounts of private and public figures and
auditing them, a step one for reform and ending of corruption ...
After the meeting, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi clarified that this decision
was tantamount to an audit of the accounts and management of all government
institutions and tenders since 1990, which coincides with the end of the civil
war that erupted in 1975. He said the proposal was suggested by Prime Minister
Fouad Siniora and Finance Minister Jihad Azour.
"It is therefore part of the reform operation that the government is seriously
starting to implement," Aridi added.
He said the results of the financial investigation, that will take two years,
will be made public allowing the Lebanese to judge for themselves the
performance of officials while they were in power.
"This is the beginning of the fight against corruption, on the one hand and
political and popular accountability on the other," the information minister
said. The Lebanese government has been under pressure to launch economic reforms
before the Beirut-1 international donor conference to help boost its ailing
economy that is plagued by a staggering $38 billion debt.
The meeting, grouping Lebanon, the European Union, the United States, United
Nations, International Monetary Fund and Arab countries, was scheduled to be
held at the end of last year. However, it was postponed because of the political
crisis that followed former PM Rafik Hariri's murder in Feb. 2005.
Economic reforms are expected to be among the top issues in the talks between
Siniora and President George Bush when the premier visits Washington on April
18. French President Jacques Chirac, after talks with legislator Saad Hariri
Wednesday, urged Lebanon to adopt the reforms and called on the international
community to boost economic support for Lebanon.
The reform program is aimed at reducing public spending, which includes fighting
corruption and stimulating growth through privatization and boosting the private
sector to attract foreign investment. Aridi said that the cabinet has already
decided to assign an international auditing company to investigate the financial
records of the National Social Security Fund. Reports of rampant corruption and
mismanagement that have led to a serious loss of funds in the NSSF, have
recently dominated the press. The case of the debt-ridden utility company,
Electricite du Liban will be discussed at a session scheduled on April 25. The
ministries of health, environment, transport and agriculture will also be
discussed in the weeks to come.
Youth and Sports Minister Ahmed Fatfatt on Thursday asked for an audit of all
sports unions, associations and clubs to determine the truth behind allegations
of corruption and waste. The government meeting was headed by president Lahoud
and prime Minister Siniora The Lebanese should watch out and make sure the
auditing company is independent and wont' be influenced by any of the
politicians, otherwise we will be back to square one...
Sources: Ya Libnan, Naharnet