LCC NEWS BULLETIN
APRIL 3/2006

Below news from the Daily Star for 3/04/06
UN's Gambari: Hizbullah is an obstacle to 1559
Berri insists public scuffles will not disrupt dialogue
Aoun, Jumblatt put differences aside
Environmental study approved for Sidon dump
Aoun attacks politicians 'used to tutelage'
Jibril tells Hariri he had no role in father's assassination
No mention of Hariri murder in extradition request for Qoleilat
Adwan: Economic crisis demands action
Experts: Iran will use Hizbullah to respond to U.S. strike
Come what may, Lebanon thrives on chaos
March 14 candidates on top in Engineers and Architects poll
Official: Lebanese banks profiting from debt
Shock weather conditions cause chaos across country
Young Lebanese have their say
Zarqawi 'replaced' as political head of rebels in Iraq
Hamas vows crackdown on 'armed chaos' after three die in clashes
Below news from miscellaneous sources
U.S. Experts Say Iran Could Ask Hizbullah to Use Military Action Over Nuclear Program-Nahernet
Jibreel Discusses With Lebanese Top Officials the Issue of Palestinian Disarmament-Naharnet
Bumpy Restart Expected for National Dialogue Talks After Latest Crisis-Naharnet
Fatfat's Lawsuit Against Lahoud Turned Down-Naharnet
Russia Says it Does Not in Principle Oppose International Hariri Tribunal-Naharnet
PLO officer went to the military court by appointment-CGGL.org
Arab League, UN discuss regional, international issues-Xinhua
Gul: Iran and Syria to confront PKK forces-IranMania News
No rush to mending relations with Syria-Ya Libnan
U.S. attack on Iran may prompt terror-© 2006 The Washington Post Company
Rights activist sentenced to five years prison in Syria-Khaleej Times
Lebanese Muslims join jobless queues-Australian - Sydney,Australia

U.S. Experts Say Iran Could Ask Hizbullah to Use Military Action Over Nuclear Program
As tensions increase between the United States and Iran, U.S. intelligence experts say they believe Iran would respond to U.S. military strikes on its nuclear sites by deploying its intelligence operatives and Hizbullah teams to carry out military attacks worldwide, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.
Iran would mount attacks against U.S. targets inside Iraq, where Iranian intelligence agents are already plentiful, predicted these experts. There is also a growing consensus that Iran's agents would target civilians in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, they said.
U.S. officials would not discuss what evidence they have indicating Iran would undertake such action, but the matter "is consuming a lot of time" throughout the U.S. intelligence apparatus, one senior official told the newspaper.
Intelligence experts considered Iranian-backed or controlled groups -- namely the country's Ministry of Intelligence and Security operatives, its Revolutionary Guards and the Lebanon-based Hizbullah -- to be better organized, trained and equipped than the al-Qaida network that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The Iranian government views Hizbullah, "as an extension of their state. . . . operational teams could be deployed without a long period of preparation," Ambassador Henry A. Crumpton, the State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism, was quoted as saying. The possibility of a military confrontation has been raised only obliquely in recent months by U.S. President George Bush and Iran's government. Bush says he is pursuing a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but he has added that all options are on the table for stopping Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons.
Speaking in Vienna last month, Javad Vaeedi, a senior Iranian nuclear negotiator, warned the United States that "it may have the power to cause harm and pain, but it is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if the United States wants to pursue that path, let the ball roll," although he did not specify what type of harm he was talking about.
Government officials said their interest in Iran's intelligence services is not an indication that a military confrontation is imminent or likely, but rather a reflection of a decades-long adversarial relationship.
U.N. Security Council members continue to debate how best to pressure Iran to prove that its nuclear program is not meant for weapons. The United States, Britain and France want the Security Council to threaten Iran with economic sanctions if it does not end its uranium enrichment activities. Russia and China, however, have declined to endorse such action and insist on continued negotiations. Iran says it seeks nuclear power but not nuclear weapons.
Former CIA terrorism analyst Paul R. Pillar said that any U.S. or Israeli air-strike on Iranian territory "would be regarded as an act of war" by Tehran, and that Iran would strike back with what he called "terrorist" groups. "There's no doubt in my mind about that. . . . Whether it's overseas at the hands of Hizbullah, in Iraq or possibly Europe, within the regime there would be pressure to take violent action."(Photo shows Hizbullah soldiers parading) Beirut, Updated 02 Apr 06, 09:18

Bumpy Restart Expected for National Dialogue Talks After Latest Crisis
The latest row between Lebanon's top government leaders has led to a crisis that may threaten national dialogue talks scheduled to resume next week to continue discussing the most contentious political issues currently facing the country.
However, political leaders are exerting efforts to restore calm after days of accusations and insults between pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and the anti-Syria parliamentary majority that is seeking to oust him from power.
Prime Minister Fouad Saniora, who is at the center of the dispute that started between him and the president at the Arab summit in Khartoum, was quoted on Saturday by As Safir newspaper as saying that the dialogue would resume on Monday.
The paper also quoted sources close to the premier as saying that he would pursue all efforts to reopen the channels of communication with Damascus to restore relations between the two countries, despite the Syrian snub he received in Khartoum. It said he may take such a step as early as next week.
An Nahar newspaper quoted diplomatic sources as saying that a new Arab initiative is expected to be launched soon to mend ties between the two neighbors. It would focus on the decisions taken at the dialogue talks to establish diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria, delineate the border, define the Lebanese identity of the Shabaa Farms and disarm Palestinian factions outside the refugee camps.
Syria's cooperation in implementing these decisions is crucial, the paper said adding that "without Arab pressure on Syria, these decisions will remain ink on paper."
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who along with the Saudi leadership has been closely monitoring the Beirut dialogue, is expected to visit Damascus as part of an upcoming Middle East tour aimed at launching the Arab initiative, the paper said.
The latest political crisis began with a public dispute between Lahoud and Saniora before Arab leaders at the Khartoum summit over a draft resolution pledging to support the resistance or Hizbullah.
While Lahoud backed a clause that outright supports the group, Saniora agued that it should be replaced with one that expresses the "Lebanese people's right to liberate their land."
The row was carried back to Beirut where the premier was admonished by Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hizbullah ally, during a televised parliamentary session for his position in Khartoum. Berri then abruptly ended the meeting stripping Saniora of his chance to respond. In the cabinet session that followed anti-Syria ministers, rallying behind the premier, attacked Lahoud on camera angering the president who lashed back. The quarrel poured out into the street where the two camps separately briefed reporters about what happened. The president's fate is scheduled to be the focus of the discussions between the 14 top rival leaders when they resume their talks next week. The majority is seeking to remove Lahoud whose term was extended under Syrian pressure in 2004 for three more years. However, it does not command the necessary two thirds votes in parliament to oust the incumbent leader. The group needs to win over the support of other parties such as Hizbullah and Gen Michel Aoun.
However, since the Khartoum episode, Hizbullah has renewed its support of the president whom it has always viewed as a political ally. It has sent its cabinet ministers Energy Minister Mohamed Fneish and Labor Minister Trad Hamadeh to meet Lahoud to show appreciation for his position. Beirut, Updated 02 Apr 06, 09:19

Fatfat's Lawsuit Against Lahoud Turned Down
A lawsuit filed by Minister Ahmed Fatfat against the president for threatening his life at a cabinet session was turned down by the court for lack of jurisdiction. An Nahar newspaper reported Saturday that Fatfat, who is acting interior minister as well as minister of youth and sports, filed a suit against President Emile Lahoud the day after the latter allegedly threatened him.
However, Chief Investigative Judge Abdel Rahim Hammoud dismissed the case on the basis that civil judiciary has no jurisdiction over the president who enjoys immunity under article 60 of the constitution. Fatfat says Lahoud threatened to "crush" him during a stormy cabinet session Thursday that started with an on-camera row between Lahoud and Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh. The president was making a pun on Fatfat's last name which in Arabic means "break into pieces." The minister's lawyers argue in their dismissed lawsuit that presidential immunity should not apply in this case as Lahoud's term was extended illegally in 2004 when Syria forced parliamentarians to extend the constitution to keep him in power for three more years. "The immunity that he enjoys is therefore considered invalid and non-existent," the text said.
It also said since the threat constitutes a "witnessed crime," immunity does not apply.
The lawsuit asked the judiciary to hold the case until parliament decides on the legitimacy of Lahoud's extended term.
Under article 60, the president can only be held responsible for violating the Constitution or in the case of high treason. However, when it comes to ordinary crimes, he is subject to ordinary laws. In both cases, the accusations are only valid when endorsed by two thirds votes in parliament. The president would then be tried by the Supreme Council, the only legitimate body to conduct such a trial. Fatfat had said on a television program that he took the president's comment as a threat against his life and informed the U.N. commission investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
"The defendant holds the claimant responsible for any harm which he may be subjected to and asks for a written pledge that he will not harm his life in any way," the lawsuit text said. Beirut, Updated 01 Apr 06, 11:18

PLO officer went to the military court "by appointment", says a Lebanese newspaper
CGGL Staff-Local News-04/02/2006
Beirut, March 31: Sultan Abul Aynain, a "brigadier general" in PLO who was speedily tried and acquitted by Lebanon's military court on Thursday, received well-wishers at his base in the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidiah in South Lebanon then gave a press conference in which he thanked the Lebanese Government for his exonerartion and praised the late Rafik Hariri. The Beirut English language daily, the Daily Star, cited unnamed "sources" in reporting that Abul Aynain went to the military court "by appointment" and that two earlier appointments had been set and aborted.

Arab League, UN discuss regional, international issues
www.chinaview.cn 2006-04-02 03:39:39
CAIRO, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa on Saturday discussed with visiting UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Jambari key regional and international issues of common concern.
The Egyptian official MENA news agency reported that talks between the two sides focused on the current situation on the Palestinian territories, Iraq, Sudan's Darfur region, Syria and Lebanon. Jambari, who represented UN chief Kofi Annan at an Arab League summit which just ended in Sudan's capital Khartoum on March 29, said that the meeting with Moussa was a continuation of consultations they had started in Khartoum. The two sides exchanged views about issues of mutual concern given that the Arab League and the United Nations are partners in efforts for enhancing international peace and security, he said.AL Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs Ambassador Ahmed bin Helli, who also attended Saturday's meeting, said that Moussa expressed hope during the meeting that the UN would play its role in helping to achieve stability in Syria and Lebanon. Helli pointed out that a plenary meeting of AL and UN organizations would be held in Vienna on April 10-12 for talks on means of boosting joint cooperation. The meeting will include 14 AL organizations and 24 UN agencies, he added. Enditem Editor: Luan Shanglin

No rush to mending relations with Syria
Sunday, 2 April, 2006 @ 10:10 AM
Beirut- Naturally Lebanon and Syria should have good relationship , but there should be no rush to mend the relationship with the current Syrian regime as long as it is a suspect in the murder of former prime Minister Rafik el Hariri. The Arab countries that are pushing for this reconciliation should instead concentrate on getting Syria to cooperate with the UN investigation team that is charged with finding out the killers of Hariri
Lebanon is a victim of Syria's criminal acts in Lebanon. Siniora should therefore ignore the request of the Arab countries to mend the relationship as long as Lebanon remains the victim of unresolved crimes and Syria remains the mystery murderer that refuses to cooperate with the investigators.It has been over a year since Hariri was murdered and so far Syria has only cooperated in form but not substance...Syria has been playing two types of games at the same time to get itself off the hook
- The waiting game...
- The divide and rule game
The waiting game gives Syria breathing space and marginalizes the importance of the crime... Syria is counting on the fact that as time passes the importance of the crime will slowly diminish and regardless of the outcome of the investigation, its impact on Syria will then be minimal.
At the same Syria is doing what it does best...divide and rule the Lebanese community… using its allies such as Hezbollah and Lahoud to sabotage any plans to bring about the required changes in Lebanon in order for the country to get back on its feet to tackle the mountains of problems that have plagued the country for the past 30 years.
Lebanon cannot depend on the Arab countries to solve its problems…
The Arab countries at the Khartoum summit were only interested in getting Syria off the hook . The communiqué that followed the summit and which sided with the most unpopular president (Lahoud ) was another proof that the Arab leaders are more interested in words than action and don’t really care about Lebanon and its future. They are only interested in supporting and preserving antiquated regimes like theirs …to keep Lebanon under Syria’s thumbs by making sure Lebanon never lives in peace .
The Arab league seems to be completely impotent in solving problems of the Arab countries. The war in Iraq is a very good example of the impotence of the league , under the leadership of Amr Mousa . The league had a golden opportunity after the fall of Saddam Hussein to step in and play a constructive role in shaping the new Iraq….but instead they waited until it was too little too late…
The opposing of the UN security council resolutions (with regards to Lebanon) by the Arab countries is another clear indication of the impotence of the Arab league. These were extremely important resolutions not only for Lebanon but for the Arab countries as well , since any of their leaders could be assassinated like Hariri was and surely they would want to know who the assassins were…
If heads of state like Moammar Qaddafi of Libya who lied to his people and to the international community for several years and finally admitted that he was behind the Lockerbie crime and ended up footing billions of dollars is expected to support a democratic , sovereign and free Lebanon, then we should be dreaming…leaders like him are the reason why the Arab nations are so far behind the rest of the developed world.
It is not the first time the Arabs let Lebanon down…in 1968 the Arab league supported the Palestinian revolution against Israel…and turned a blind eye on calls by the Lebanese to preserve the security of their land. Yasser Arafat then acted as if he was the president of the country …the war was in the streets of Beirut and not in Israel…. hell followed and led to the civil war…and the rest is a shameful history for Arabs and Lebanese alike…
Every time the Arab league committed a mistake in Lebanon, it held the Lebanese responsible and pressured it to accept solutions that were against the interest of the country.
The Lebanese leaders should have learned the lessons long time ago…that they cannot depend on the Arab league to solve their problems.
We need to start thinking independently in order for us to solve our own problems.
Lebanese people are capable of solving their own problems if they really care about the country and its future. The Lebanese people are some of the best problem shooters in the world and are leaders in any community they are found…why can’t we act as leaders in our own community.
To lead , the Lebanese leadership should start thinking like Gibran Khalil Gibran said” ask not what the country can do for me …ask what I can do for my country”.
The Lebanese should therefore start thinking Lebanon …and what is good for Lebanon is good for each and every Lebanese…
The Lebanese should start thinking what is good for the Christians should be good for the Sunnites , the Shiites and the Druze… and visa versa …regardless of what religion we have it shouldn’t really matter, since our allegiance should be first and foremost to the country… since this is what really binds us all together…
The Lebanese should start thinking what is good for the north should be good for the south , east and west of Lebanon…otherwise it is not good enough .
Lebanon should be a melting pot for all the Lebanese regardless of religion, origin, gender, age etc…etc…
The dialogue therefore that was started by speaker Nabih Berri not only should continue but should be accelerated so that solutions are found and implemented as soon as possible. Lebanon has missed the boat during the past 30 years and has a lot of catch up to do….
Time is of the essence… it s time to start and now!
Each leader at the dialogue meeting should ask himself or herself: Can we do it ?
If you can Remember what Gibran said… then you can do it !
Once an agreement is reached then the Lebanese will be talking as a united front from a position of strength.
Only a united Lebanon can be strong enough to tackle the mountains of problems lying ahead…
To achieve unity, the Parliament majority should stop thinking that they alone should dictate the future of the country…specially since this has become a divisive issue… no one can ignore the fact that they are the majority but a united Lebanon is so much more important…
To achieve unity, General Aoun should stop thinking he is the only viable candidate to replace Lahoud…specially since his candidacy has become a polarizing factor in Lebanon . General Aoun has great ideas about a future Lebanon and most of the constructive ideas should be adopted by the new leadership.
To achieve unity, Hezbollah should stop thinking that arms in their own hands only will ensure the protection of Lebanon… specially since these arms seem to scare the Lebanese more than the Israelis. The best place for these arms is a strong Lebanese army, regardless what the Syrians think and say…
Lahoud should think Lebanon too … it is disgraceful for any politician to be more popular outside the country than inside and specially if his main support comes from a country whose leadership is a suspect in the murder of the most important prime minister in the history of Lebanon. The most honorable action for Lahoud to take for the sake of the country is to step down… and now!
The big question remains : Is the Lebanese leadership up to the challenge ???
Only time will tell…but the alternative is hell…
Source: Ya Libnan

U.S. attack on Iran may prompt terror
© 2006 The Washington Post Company
2/4/06: Experts say strikes on nuclear facilities could spark worldwide retaliation
Technicians inspect a reactor at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant near Tehran. U.S. intelligence experts say the sheer number of nuclear facilities in Iran and their distance from one another make them difficult targets for a military strike.
As tensions increase between the United States and Iran, U.S. intelligence and terrorism experts say they believe Iran would respond to U.S. military strikes on its nuclear sites by deploying its intelligence operatives and Hezbollah teams to carry out terrorist attacks worldwide.
Iran would mount attacks against U.S. targets inside Iraq, where Iranian intelligence agents are already plentiful, predicted these experts. There is also a growing consensus that Iran's agents would target civilians in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, they said.
U.S. officials would not discuss what evidence they have indicating Iran would undertake terrorist action, but the matter "is consuming a lot of time" throughout the U.S. intelligence apparatus, one senior official said. "It's a huge issue," another said.
Citing prohibitions against discussing classified information, U.S. intelligence officials declined to say whether they have detected preparatory measures, such as increased surveillance, counter-surveillance or message traffic, on the part of Iran's foreign-based intelligence operatives.
Bigger threat than al-Qaeda?
But terrorism experts considered Iranian-backed or controlled groups -- namely the country's Ministry of Intelligence and Security operatives, its Revolutionary Guards and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah -- to be better organized, trained and equipped than the al-Qaeda network that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The Iranian government views the Islamic Jihad, the name of Hezbollah's terrorist organization, "as an extension of their state. . . . operational teams could be deployed without a long period of preparation," said Ambassador Henry A. Crumpton, the State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism.
The possibility of a military confrontation has been raised only obliquely in recent months by President Bush and Iran's government. Bush says he is pursuing a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but he has added that all options are on the table for stopping Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons.
Speaking in Vienna last month, Javad Vaeedi, a senior Iranian nuclear negotiator, warned the United States that "it may have the power to cause harm and pain, but it is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if the United States wants to pursue that path, let the ball roll," although he did not specify what type of harm he was talking about.
Rise in tension raises stakes
Government officials said their interest in Iran's intelligence services is not an indication that a military confrontation is imminent or likely, but rather a reflection of a decades-long adversarial relationship in which Iran's agents have worked secretly against U.S. interests, most recently in Iraq and Pakistan. As confrontation over Iran's nuclear program has escalated, so has the effort to assess the threat from Iran's covert operatives.
U.N. Security Council members continue to debate how best to pressure Iran to prove that its nuclear program is not meant for weapons. The United States, Britain and France want the Security Council to threaten Iran with economic sanctions if it does not end its uranium enrichment activities. Russia and China, however, have declined to endorse such action and insist on continued negotiations. Security Council diplomats are meeting this weekend to try to break the impasse. Iran says it seeks nuclear power but not nuclear weapons.
Former CIA terrorism analyst Paul R. Pillar said that any U.S. or Israeli airstrike on Iranian territory "would be regarded as an act of war" by Tehran, and that Iran would strike back with its terrorist groups. "There's no doubt in my mind about that. . . . Whether it's overseas at the hands of Hezbollah, in Iraq or possibly Europe, within the regime there would be pressure to take violent action."
History of reprisals
Before Sept. 11, the armed wing of Hezbollah, often working on behalf of Iran, was responsible for more American deaths than in any other terrorist attacks. In 1983 Hezbollah truck-bombed the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241, and in 1996 truck-bombed Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 U.S. service members.
Iran's intelligence service, operating out of its embassies around the world, assassinated dozens of monarchists and political dissidents in Europe, Pakistan, Turkey and the Middle East in the two decades after the 1979 Iranian revolution, which brought to power a religious Shiite government. Argentine officials also believe Iranian agents bombed a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994, killing 86 people. Iran has denied involvement in that attack.
Iran's intelligence services "are well trained, fairly sophisticated and have been doing this for decades," said Crumpton, a former deputy of operations at the CIA's Counterterrorist Center. "They are still very capable. I don't see their capabilities as having diminished."
Both sides have increased their activities against the other. The Bush administration is spending $75 million to step up pressure on the Iranian government, including funding non-governmental organizations and alternative media broadcasts. Iran's parliament then approved $13.6 million to counter what it calls "plots and acts of meddling" by the United States.
"Given the uptick in interest in Iran" on the part of the United States, "it would be a very logical assumption that we have both ratcheted up [intelligence] collection, absolutely," said Fred Barton, a former counterterrorism official who is now vice president of counterterrorism for Stratfor, a security consulting and forecasting firm. "It would be a more fevered pitch on the Iranian side because they have fewer options."
Agencies mum on true threat
The office of the director of national intelligence, which recently began to manage the U.S. intelligence agencies, declined to allow its analysts to discuss their assessment of Iran's intelligence services and Hezbollah and their capabilities to retaliate against U.S. interests.
"We are unable to address your questions in an unclassified manner," a spokesman for the office, Carl Kropf, wrote in response to a Washington Post query.
The current state of Iran's intelligence apparatus is the subject of debate among experts. Some experts who spent their careers tracking the intelligence ministry's operatives describe them as deployed worldwide and easier to monitor than Hezbollah cells because they operate out of embassies and behave more like a traditional spy service such as the Soviet KGB.
Other experts believe the Iranian service has become bogged down in intense, regional concerns: attacks on Shiites in Pakistan, the Iraq war and efforts to combat drug trafficking in Iran.
As a result, said Bahman Baktiari, an Iran expert at the University of Maine, the intelligence service has downsized its operations in Europe and the United States. But, said Baktiari, "I think the U.S. government doesn't have a handle on this."
Facilities make difficult targets
Because Iran's nuclear facilities are scattered around the country, some military specialists doubt a strike could effectively end the program and would require hundreds of strikes beforehand to disable Iran's vast air defenses. They say airstrikes would most likely inflame the Muslim world, alienate reformers within Iran and could serve to unite Hezbollah and al-Qaeda, which have only limited contact currently.
A report by the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks cited al-Qaeda's long-standing cooperation with the Iranian-back Hezbollah on certain operations and said Osama bin Laden may have had a previously undisclosed role in the Khobar attack. Several al-Qaeda figures are reportedly under house arrest in Iran.
Others in the law enforcement and intelligence circles have been more dubious about cooperation between al-Qaeda and Hezbollah, largely because of the rivalries between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Al-Qaeda adherents are Sunni Muslims; Hezbollah's are Shiites.
Iran "certainly wants to remind governments that they can create a lot of difficulty if strikes were to occur," said a senior European counterterrorism official interviewed recently. "That they might react with all means, Hezbollah inside Lebanon and outside Lebanon, this is certain. Al-Qaeda could become a tactical alliance."
Researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
© 2006 The Washington Post Company

Rights activist sentenced to five years prison in Syria
(DPA)-2 April 2006
DAMASCUS - Islamic researcher and a human rights activist was sentenced on Sunday by Syria’s State Security Court to five years in prison on charges of disseminating false information, inciting sectarian riots and forming a secret organization, a human rights activist said. Riyadh Darar, a human rights activist, was arrested last June after delivering a speech during the funeral of a Kurdish Sheikh, Ammar Qurabi, a member of the National Organization for Human Rights, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa). Darar was a member of the Committees for Reviving the Civil Society. No comment was available from Syrian officials, who routinely decline to comment on such reports. Since taking office in July 2000, President Bashar Assad has released hundreds of political prisoners, but also clamped down on pro-democracy activists.

Lebanese Muslims join jobless queues
Dennis Shanahan, Political editor
April 03, 2006
The Australian/AUSTRALIAN-BORN Lebanese Muslims experience higher unemployment and lower educational achievements than second-generation Lebanese Christians or Muslims from other countries.
A Monash University study carried out in the wake of Sydney's Cronulla beach riots considered whether there was a difference in disadvantage between Christian and Muslim Lebanese."Lebanese Muslims are disadvantaged compared to Lebanese Christians (and compared to all Australians, both migrant and native-born)," the report says. "Thirty-nine per cent of first-generation Lebanese Muslim men aged 25 to 44 in Sydney are unemployed or not in the labour force, as are 26per cent of the second generation of the same age (compared with 16 per cent of all Australian men in this age group)." Social alienation and unemployment among Muslim youths has been blamed for rioting in Paris and contributing to terrorist sympathies and actions in London.
The same factors were cited as the underlying reasons behind the tensions between beachside Sydney's youths with an Anglo-Celtic background and southwestern Sydney's young people of Lebanese heritage. Most of Australia's Muslims live in Sydney and are concentrated in the Bankstown and Rockdale areas, in Sydney's southwest and on Botany Bay, in the city's south.
Melbourne academics Katherine Betts and Ernest Healy, in the paper to be published in the Monash population study, People and Place, used the 2001 census and Centrelink reports to detect levels of disadvantage among Lebanese Muslims and Christians. The study found that the highest levels of disadvantage, measured by unemployment, reliance on welfare payments and education qualifications, were among older Lebanese Muslim men concentrated in Bankstown.
The study also found that while other migrant groups, such as Vietnamese Buddhists or Bosnian Muslims, had high unemployment and poor education qualifications, Lebanese Muslims were worse off and second-generation Lebanese Muslims were not improving at the rates of other migrant groups.
The study suggests the Rockdale concentration of Muslims tend to have higher employment and educational levels and that the Muslims with the highest incomes and qualifications tend to live outside the heaviest concentrations of Muslims.
"Lebanese Muslim households are large and much more likely to be poor than all households, or than Lebanese Christian households," it concludes. "Lebanese Muslim men have low levels of education, relatively high levels of unemployment, and a very high tendency not to be in paid work." People born in Lebanon or who identify themselves as Lebanese account for a third of all Muslims in Australia and also account for most of the increase between 1971, when 22,000 Muslims were in Australia, and 2001, when there were 282,000, an annual growth rate of 8.8per cent.