LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
DECEMBER 18/2006Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 3,10-18.
And the crowds asked him, "What then should we do?" He said to them in reply, "Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise." Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, "Teacher, what should we do?" He answered them, "Stop collecting more than what is prescribed." Soldiers also asked him, "And what is it that we should do?" He told them, "Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages." Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. John answered them all, saying, "I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people.Free Opinions
Palestinian clashes are the inevitable result of outside pressure, meddling. Daily Star 18.12.06
Resolving the Middle East's crises needs integrated efforts-By Christian Hanelt 18.12.06
Lebanon's war altered the region-By Amr Hamzawy 18.12Latest news from the Daily Star for December 18/06
Hamas and Fatah trade bloody blows in streets of Gaza Strip
Olmert gives short shrift to Assad overture
Hariri: Syria, Iran trying to block tribunal
Assad, Putin to discuss Mideast messes
Demonstrators in Chouf and Bsharri declare 'unshaken' support for Siniora
Lahoud backs Aoun as successor
March 14 Forces weigh lawsuit against Lahoud for refusal to approve by-election
3 held over shots fired at late Franjieh's residence
Opposition singles out Geagea, Jumblatt
9-year-old girl wounded by crossfire in Ain al-Hilweh
Hizbullah helped defuse spat, club owner says
Water conference laments Lebanon's wasteful ways
Latest news from Miscellaneous sources for December 18/06
If you love Lebanon, set it free-International Herald Tribune
Blair Makes Surprise Iraq Visit-CBS2 Chicago
Mortars fired at Abbas's Gaza office-Reuters
Iraq reconciliation bid falls flat among factions-Chicago Tribune
Syria: Partner or Spoiler?Newsweek
Saniora Returns to Beirut with Moscow's Support for International Tribunal-Naharnet
Assad in Moscow Monday to Discuss Lebanon, Mideast Crises-Naharnet
Olmert Rejects Assad's Call for Talks-Naharnet
Official: Hizbullah Seeking More Power to Avoid Disarmament-Naharnet
Olmert: Israel mustn't undermine US stance on Syria-Ynetnews
Syria ready to resume unconditional peace talks with Israel-HULIQ - Hickory,NC,USA
PM: Now is the wrong for peace talks with Syria-Jerusalem Post
Arab League in tough mission to end Lebanon crisis-Reuters
Israel's Defense Minister: Syria's Statements-Focus News
Syria offers "peace" in response to ISG proposals-Jerusalem Newswire
Syria says no preconditions for resuming dialogue with United ...International Herald Tribune
PMO: Syria peace proposal 'mere words'-Jerusalem Post
Israel arms sales peak despite Lebanon war fallout-Reuters
Peretz: Syria's statements deserve thorough examination-Ynetnews
No talks with Iran and Syria-Los Angeles Times
Officials warn of impending humanitarian disaster in Lebanon-International News Service
Hariri: Syria & Iran blocking the course of Justice in Lebanon-Ya Libnan
Moallem's comments lead MKs to call for dialogue with Syria-Jerusalem Post
UN peacekeepers bring calm to troubled Lebanon area-Monsters and Critics.com
Editorial: Hands off Lebanon-New Straits Times
Hamadeh accuses Hezbollah of trying to scuttle League deal-Gulf News - Dubai,United Arab Emirates
Op-Ed Contributor If You Love Lebanon, Set It Free-New York Times - United States
Hosseini: Iran not a factor of instability in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine-Islamic Republic News AgencyIf you love Lebanon, set it free
Robert Grenier -International Herald Tribune
Published: December 17, 2006
WASHINGTON: Once more, Lebanon is in political crisis. This time, we are told, it pits "Syrian- and Iranian-backed" Shiite parties (Hezbollah and Amal) and the Christian faction led by Michel Aoun against the "Western-backed" Christian, Sunni and Druze groups that support the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. These very descriptions — citing one external backer or another as a mark of political identification — illustrate the fundamental problem Lebanon must overcome. Call it the Lebanese Disease: Rather than sorting out their differences internally and addressing the fundamental injustices at the heart of their disputes, the Lebanese constantly look to outsiders to gain an advantage over their rivals.
Naturally, any advantages thus gained are short-lived, for both the Lebanese and their foreign backers. In the end, the only result is greater popular suffering and instability in Lebanon and the entire Middle East.
Only the Lebanese can cure themselves of this disease, but a bit of enlightened self-interest on the part of the "Western backers" — primarily the United States and France — would greatly help. It may seem counterintuitive, but the best hope for American interests in the Middle East is not to isolate and minimize Hezbollah, but to further integrate it politically, socially and militarily into the Lebanese state.
Let's dial back half a year, to the start of this latest crisis. The immediate reaction of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel to the cross-border attack by Hezbollah on Israeli troops was his most honest. This was not, he said, an act of terrorism — it was an act of war. And, issues of proportionality aside, it was quite justifiable to hold the Lebanese government to account.
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The honesty of that initial reaction, however, was quickly replaced by the old formula to which Israel has resorted since 1978. Israel did not intend to attack Lebanon, its spokesmen insisted, but was just trying to help the Lebanese by attacking Iran-controlled Hezbollah. This was a polite way of saying to Siniora: We're going to rid ourselves — and you — of Hezbollah, for which you should be grateful, and you'd better make sure they don't rise again.
Now let's try to view this from the perspective of a Lebanese nationalist. To acquiesce to the American-Israeli formula for Lebanon would be to accept that one's nation should be entirely supine before a neighbor; that any time the Israelis decided to react to a limited provocation or threat, the only defense one could mount would be the tearful pleas of a powerless prime minister.
Thus it should not be surprising that many Lebanese, including Siniora, at least temporarily put aside their factional mistrust and embraced Hezbollah as the sole available means of national resistance. This, along with Hezbollah's surprisingly successful resistance, has permanently changed the political calculus of the nation.
For one thing, it is harder today to suggest to Lebanese nationalists that Hezbollah is simply a mindless proxy for the Iranians. Throughout the Middle East, religious extremism and Arab nationalism are becoming identical, with the former becoming the only effective means of pursuing the latter. This is true of the Sunni extremists in Iraq and throughout the Arab world, as well as of the Shiite extremists of Hezbollah in Lebanon, whose resistance to the Israelis, clearly motivated at least in part by a desire to support the Sunni Palestinians, has paradoxically made them a hero of the Sunni Arab street.
Likewise, Hezbollah's support of the Syrian presence in Lebanon — which should be anathema to any Lebanese nationalist — should be seen less as obeisance to a neighbor than as the cynical price the group must pay to ensure its logistical link with Iran.
As Hezbollah becomes more enmeshed in Lebanese politics, however, domestic political considerations will become increasingly influential in its calculations — a tendency that should be encouraged. Indeed, the closing stages of last summer's war provided a fleeting opportunity for the Beirut government to gain a greater measure of state control over Hezbollah.
The hardship caused to average Lebanese by its recklessness meant that the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, had some explaining to do. He quickly admitted that the raid had been a mistake. And his desire for a cease-fire, gained through the external political engagement of Siniora, put the prime minister in a relatively strong position to demand Hezbollah's cooperation in demonstrating that it was being brought under at least the partial control of the state.
On the other hand, the potent demonstration of Hezbollah's ability to resist Israeli forces gave many Lebanese nationalists, even Sunnis, a new desire to preserve the radical group in the service of all Lebanon.
Given a more farsighted leadership, these two factors could have given the Lebanese an impetus to forge a new political compact for the country. It has long been obvious that the Shiites are under-represented in Lebanon's complicated power-sharing arrangements. In return for a greater measure of political representation for Shiites, Siniora could have insisted that Hezbollah's militia be brought under some sort of state control — perhaps as a sort of home guard for the south, with its fighters under the command of senior officers drawn from the Lebanese armed forces.
This sort of overarching agreement would not have been easy to reach, and it would be naive to suppose that somehow the Hezbollah leadership would allow itself to be totally stripped of control of its militia overnight. But its involvement in Lebanese politics since the summer has already brought discernible changes in Hezbollah's attitudes and behavior. Its leaders understand that if they want to influence the policies of the state, they will have to accommodate the interests of other religious groups and political factions. This change of attitude would, over time, undoubtedly have a moderating effect. In sum, if Hezbollah were given a greater stake in Lebanon, it would progressively become more Lebanese.
Which brings us back to the barricades now dividing the center of Beirut. All sides are indulging themselves in an orgy of historical recrimination, and stoking fantasies that they can achieve their goals through confrontation. Not only would a civil war be a disaster for all Lebanese, but among the ever- present foreign backers, the United States would lose most.
Tacitly encouraging civil war is seldom wise, and particularly when the side with which one is affiliated cannot win. It should be obvious that American — and Israeli — interests are best served by a unified Lebanese state that has clear control over its people and its territory. We now know that Hezbollah is not going to be eradicated, nor its influence reduced.
So the only way of making the Lebanese government accountable is to encourage the progressive, moderating integration of Hezbollah into the political, social and military fabric of the state.
How could Washington help this happen? Well, for one thing, the United States should give up talk of greatly enlarging the multinational force in southern Lebanon, and convince the Europeans to do likewise. Fortunately, the plan to insert such a force this fall foundered when the French (wisely) decided they were not up to the task of disarming Hezbollah, although smaller numbers of European troops are apparently headed there soon. It is folly, particularly with lightly armed foreign forces, to try to get regional actors to do things that they see as fundamentally against their interests.
Second is to end the proxy battles between foreign powers. I don't know what the Americans are telling the Lebanese government privately, but the public statements are disappointing. Last month the White House issued an official statement citing "attempts by Syria, Iran, and their allies within Lebanon to foment instability and violence" and insisting the United States would "continue its efforts with allied nations and democratic forces in Lebanon to resist these efforts." In other words, America is still trying to rile Lebanese sentiment as a wedge against U.S. enemies in the region.
A far more genuine American commitment to Lebanon would focus on helping the parties to come up with a reasonable formula to redress the under-representation of Shiites in the power structure while getting greater government control over Hezbollah's war-making capacity.
Make no mistake: Hezbollah is no friend to America. As a former U.S. intelligence officer, I know there are a few accounts yet to be settled with that organization. But Washington will never achieve its objectives in the Middle East — including its obligation to ensure Israel's long-term security — unless it puts emotions aside and deals realistically with facts on the ground. Like it or not, Hezbollah is one of those facts. A less-than-pliable but strong government in Lebanon would be far preferable to no real government at all, which is what we have now.
**Robert Grenier, a former director of the CIA's counterintelligence center, is a security consultant
Arab League in tough mission to end Lebanon crisis
Sun Dec 17, 2006 6:52 PM IST
By Yara Bayoumy/ BEIRUT (Reuters) - Efforts by Arab League chief Amr Moussa this week to resolve Lebanon's political crisis will be complicated by the influence of foreign powers on the country's rival factions, analysts say.
Despite shuttling among the opposing political leaders last week, he had little to show except to say some progress had been made.
He is expected to return early this week to try to end the standoff between the pro-Western government and the opposition, led by pro-Syrian Hezbollah. Demonstrators have been holding a mass protest in Beirut since December 1, threatening to topple the government unless it gives the opposition a strong voice in the cabinet. But it will be difficult for Moussa to reach a deal unless Syria and Iran on the one hand, and the United States and Saudi Arabia on the other, can agree to a balance of power in Lebanon.
The government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is backed by the United States and Saudi Arabia, which see any rise in the power of the Shi'ite Hezbollah as enhancing Syrian and Iranian influence in the region, analysts say. The Arab League has had little success in mediating regional disputes because of the conflicting interests of its members and Moussa, who visits Saudi Arabia on Sunday, will have to navigate the political cross-currents in Lebanon."The Arab League has not been an effective mediator because it is always under pressure from parochial interests," said Oussama Safa, head of the Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies. He told Reuters on Friday that without support from regional countries "Moussa's mission won't go anywhere".Former Prime Minister Salim al-Hoss told Reuters Moussa must "obtain a clear green light for his mission ... especially from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and naturally the United States".Syria and Shi'ite Iran, staunch backers of Hezbollah, want the militant group to have more legislative power to reflect its strength in the country, analysts say. Syria had more influence in Lebanon until it was forced to withdraw its troops last year after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Many Lebanese blame Syria for Hariri's killing but Damascus denies any involvement.
Siniora's government took office after Syria's withdrawal, which was brought about by mass anti-Syrian street protests and international pressure.
Political sources said Moussa's proposals would expand the cabinet to 30 ministers from 24, and give Siniora's ruling coalition 19 ministers and the opposition 10. One minister would be neutral. The stumbling bloc was opposition insistence the "neutral" minister be a close ally. A third of the ministers plus one can block decisions or bring down the cabinet down by resigning. "All the sticking points remain. There was no real progress in the core issues," a political source said. Anti-Syrian leaders say Hezbollah wants to defend Syria by derailing plans for an international tribunal to try suspects in the Hariri assassination.Analysts say regional powers need to agree on four points: whether to make the tribunal more palatable for Syria, whether the ruling coalition should lose its two-thirds majority, whether to agree on a compromise presidential candidate and whether to hold early parliamentary elections.(Additional reporting by Nadim Ladki in Beirut)
Saniora Returns to Beirut with Moscow's Support for International Tribunal
Prime Minister Fouad Saniora has returned to Beirut from Moscow after winning a pledge from President Vladimir Putin that Russia supports a Special International Tribunal for Lebanon to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri.
The leading daily An Nahar said Sunday that Saniora asserted the government's commitment to the creation of an international tribunal.
"We will not bargain over the demands to form an international tribunal to find out the truth and bring the criminals to justice," the daily quoted Saniora as saying after arrival in Beirut Saturday. Saniora told reporters after meeting Putin on Friday that the Russian president "expressed support for what has been done at the level of forming the international tribunal … I am satisfied with the level of the Russian leadership's support to Lebanon and its interest in stability in the region."An Nahar on Saturday quoted sources in the delegation that accompanied Saniora to Moscow as saying Russia will not back off from its stand regarding the international tribunal which it had backed by voting in favor of its formation at the U.N. Security Council.
"The Russian Leadership informed the Lebanese side (Saniora) that Moscow deals with Lebanon separately from any other issue. It voted in favor of international resolutions regarding Lebanon and Moscow is keen on (preserving) the Russian-Lebanese relations," one source told An Nahar.
Russian officials, according to the sources, also stressed that the Kremlin "would inform whoever visits Moscow of this stand. Russia doesn't have dual stands."The Russian side was obviously referring to Syrian President Bashar Assad who is due in Moscow early next week for talks with Putin. His agenda reportedly includes the international tribunal that would tackle the Hariri assassination and related crimes.
The Majority March 14 coalition that backs Saniora's government blames the killings on Syria. Meanwhile, the Hizbullah-led open-ended protest in downtown Beirut demanding the resignation of Saniora's government has geared up for winter, setting up a massive tent that can hold several dozen people on Riad Solh Square, just outside the Grand Serail. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa had worked out a package deal to contain the widening split in Lebanon and expressed hope to strike a breakthrough in a couple of weeks if leaders of the various Lebanese factions agreed on specifics of his package. However, differences persisted between the March 14 majority coalition and the Hizbullah-led anti-government camp on priorities of implementing the Moussa-brokered package that includes ratifying by parliament of the international tribunal's by-law, the formation of a broad coalition cabinet, early presidential elections to choose a successor to controversial President Emile Lahoud and early parliamentary elections.
The Lebanese parliamentary majority accuses Lahoud, Hizbullah and their allies of receiving instructions from Assad's Syrian regime to obstruct the international tribunal. Beirut, 17 Dec 06, 09:10
Assad in Moscow Monday to Discuss Lebanon, Mideast Crises
Syrian President Bashar Assad will visit Moscow on Monday to discuss the Lebanon, Iraq and Palestinian crises as Russia seeks to restore its role as a key actor in the Middle East. Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin will examine "means to resolve the crises", in a visit focused more on politics than economic ties, according to Evgeny Posukhov, a Russian diplomat posted in the Syrian capital.
The three-day mission comes hot on the heels of a Moscow visit by Prime Minister Fouad Saniora. Assad and Putin will discuss the U.N. plan to set up a Special International Tribunal for Lebanon to try suspects in the February 2005 murder of former Premier Rafik Hariri after which probes have implicated Syria, the Russian diplomat said. Syria denied any involvement and ended a military deployment in Lebanon of almost three decades in April 2005. Saniora's government now accuses former powerbroker Damascus of orchestrating the political crisis in Lebanon.
Saniora met Putin on Friday in a bid to have Moscow pressure Syria over the political unrest, seen by his government as a Damascus-backed coup bid. The visit came amid EU warnings for Iran and Syria not to meddle in Lebanon. According to Posukhov, Moscow supports the establishment of an international tribunal but Putin will seek to reassure Assad that it "not be used as a means of pressure on Syria".
Growing calls for Syria and Iran to be consulted on efforts to curb the burgeoning violence in Iraq, despite the opposition of the U.S. administration which seeks to isolate Damascus, will also feature in the Putin-Assad talks. On the Israeli-Palestinian front, Posukhov said Syria's links with the ruling Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas whose political supremo Khaled Meshaal is based in Damascus would also be raised.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday brushed off a call by Assad for a resumption of peace talks, saying Damascus first had to stop supporting militant groups. In an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica, Assad called on Israeli and US leaders to negotiate with Damascus to revive peace talks which have been frozen for almost seven years. Russian press reports said that Russia was seeking to restore its role as a key actor in the Middle East following the collapse of the former Soviet Union. "Syria is a key country in the region ... It is not possible to resolve the situation in Iraq without contacts with Damascus," wrote Fedor Lukianov, editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Politics. "Russia wants to reserve the role of privileged interlocutor of Bashar Assad," he wrote. On the economic front, the Russian diplomat in Damascus said that Syria and Russia aim to double their two-trade from the current level of some 300 million dollars a year. Moscow remains Syria's main arms supplier. Assad heads to Russia after visits to Yemen and the United Arab Emirates.(AFP-Naharnet)) Beirut, 17 Dec 06, 16:17
Hamadeh: Hizbullah Trying to Scuttle Moussa's Deal
Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh accused Hizbullah on Saturday of trying to scuttle a deal brokered by Arab League chief Amr Moussa to resolve Lebanon's deepening political crisis.Hamadeh lashed out at the group which is holding an open-ended sit-in in downtown Beirut aimed at toppling the government of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and the formation of a national unity cabinet.
"Of course, there is a chance for an agreement if the parties move toward a compromise," Hamadeh told The Associated Press. "But apparently Hizbullah is setting conditions that are still far from what Amr Moussa has proposed to solve the crisis.""Which means that the political deadlock is still there," Hamadeh said in English. "Only Moussa's proposal is acceptable."After two days of marathon talks with rival Lebanese factions, Moussa announced Thursday that the government and opposition have agreed on a national unity cabinet that would make major decisions only by consensus.Moussa said the parties had agreed on a formula that would give the pro-government side less than two-thirds of the cabinet and leave the opposition short of its demand for just over one-third. A neutral minister would maintain the balance between the rival sides.But the Arab League head said additional negotiations are needed for a deal, and will return to Lebanon in the coming days.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 16 Dec 06, 21:08
Olmert Rejects Assad's Call for Talks
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday rejected a call by Syrian President Bashar Assad for a resumption of peace talks, saying Damascus first had to stop supporting militant groups. "It is difficult to take Syria's declarations seriously while this country continues to support terrorism by helping Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas among the Palestinians," Olmert's spokeswoman Miri Eisin told Agence France-Presse.
Israel accuses Syria of arming the two militant groups, a charge Damascus denies. In an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica on Friday, Assad called on Israeli and U.S. leaders to negotiate with Damascus to revive peace talks which have been frozen for almost seven years.
"Many voices are being raised in Israel" for dialogue with Damascus, Assad said. "So I say to Olmert: let him try, and see if we are bluffing."
Assad's overture dominated the headlines in the Israeli press Sunday and continued to draw mixed reactions among its politicians.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz, of the center-left Labor party that is Olmert's main coalition partner, told AFP that Assad's statement had to be studied carefully. "We must examine the Syrian declaration and thoroughly discuss the issue," he said before heading into a government meeting.
Tourism minister Isaac Herzog cautiously echoed the call. "The statement is interesting, but Syria is working with one hand that calls for negotiations and the second that continues to supply weapons to the worst terror organization, and shelters (Hamas political supreme) Khaled Meshaal," he told AFP. "I'm not rejecting any call for negotiations, but past disappointment from the dialogue with Syrians call for cautions," Herzog said.
Israel captured the strategic Golan Heights plateau from Syria during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and disputes over the return of the territory contributed to the collapse of peace talks in 2000. In an interview with the Washington Post last week, Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said that Damascus was willing to resume negotiations without conditions, including on the Golan. "There is no precondition," Moallem said. "A constructive dialogue has to start without preconditions. Our only goal is to bring back Syrian occupied territories, to get Syrian regional stability."(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 17 Dec 06, 12:33
Hariri Accuses Syria and Iran of Blocking the Course of Justice in Lebanon
Parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri on Saturday accused Syria, Iran and local affiliates of launching an onslaught against Premier Fouad Saniora's government to abort the establishment of an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of his late father, ex-premier Rafik Hariri and related crimes.Hariri, who heads the March 14 majority alliance, said "it is no coincidence that the current onslaught by Syria, Iran and their local affiliates in Lebanon against the democratically elected government and the March 14 Independence Movement is precisely aimed at aborting the establishment of the International Tribunal." Addressing a conference by Socialist International at Beirut's Bristol Hotel in support of the March 14 alliance, Hariri said: "indeed, the will of the Lebanese people has been subverted and corrupted throughout the past 30 years, not only through direct military presence by Syria and Iranian affiliates, but also and more importantly by continuous political assassinations designed to submit the free choice of the Lebanese to terrorist extortion and coercion by regional powers."He explained that "these assassinations have targeted Statesmen, writers, clerics and opinion leaders, throughout the past 30 years. Their victims all had one thing in common: they all opposed Syrian hegemony and worked for the unity of all Lebanese to achieve a free, democratic, independent and sovereign nation. The crimes all had one thing in common: impunity."
The series of assassination started with an attempt to kill Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh by a booby-trapped car bomb in Beirut on Oct.1, 2004. He suffered serious wounds that did not prevent him from maintaining his cabinet post.
Ex-Premier Hariri was killed by a powerful blast that targeted his motorcade in Beirut on Feb. 14, 2005. The latest of such crimes targeted Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel who was killed Nov. 21. Hariri noted that "the assassins brutally killed Lebanon's leaders, ruthlessly submitted the will of the Lebanese, and walked free to enjoy the political, material and criminal rewards of their evil enterprise, no questions asked."
He stressed that "the International Tribunal unfolding under their eyes today, by Resolution of the U.N. Security Council, is the first expression of the will of the Arab and International communities to hold these terrorist political assassins accountable to some form of Justice."
Hariri said that establishing the international tribunal "is a vital, crucial and indispensable condition for democracy and its survival to have any hope in Lebanon, and indeed, in this part of the world."He warned that "if a brutal, terrorist dictatorship can murder in broad daylight a historical figure of Lebanon's democratic rebirth, then decapitate the leaders of Lebanon's independence and democratic movement, including five members of parliament elected by the free will of the people, then attempt to topple Lebanon's government on live television broadcast via satellite in every home of the Arab world, and walk away with impunity, then the message will be clear: Democracy will never blossom, let alone grow in this region."
Hariri told the participants that "although you may find among us here a sad collection of Fathers, Sons, Brothers, Sisters, Mothers and Widows of victims, it is of the utmost importance that you understand, and through you, your constituencies, that this is not about personal revenge. It is about justice, democracy and the universal ideals of freedom, human rights, moderation and modernity that cut across our movement and yours from the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean where democracy was born to the farthest shores of the globe where it has flourished."
He was referring to the participation in the conference by ex-President Amine Gemayel, father of the slain industry minister, and Progressive Socialist Party Leader Walid Jumblat, son of slain Druze leader Kamal Jumblat, and relatives of other assassinated Lebanese figures.(AP photo shows protesters holding posters of slain ex-premier Rafik Hariri and his son Saad Hariri during a pro-government rally) Beirut, 16 Dec 06, 19:48
Syria ready to resume unconditional peace talks with Israel
Foreign Minister Walid Mualem of Syria has urged Israel to resume peace talks with Damascus and this time, without any preconditions.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Mualem said the return of the Golan Heights would not be a precondition, nor did he refer to the traditional Syrian stance that talks resume at the same point at which they were stopped in the 1990s.
Foreign Minister Mualem said constructive dialogue has to start without preconditions, and he argued that peace talks between Israel and Syria would secure Israel's northern border because they would include a peace deal with Lebanon. And he called on the U.S. to allow Israel to advance peace talks with Syria. If peace is not advanced, he warned, the region would collapse under the weight of civil wars and the rule of extremists.
Copyright © 2005 Israel Broadcasting Authority.
PM: Time not ripe for talks with Syria
By HERB KEINON AND JPOST STAFF
Despite Defense Minister Amir Peretz's recommendation that Israel consider the peace overtures made by Syrian President Bashar Assad over the weekend, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reiterated Sunday that now was not the time to begin negotiations with Syria.
"We have to ask the question," Olmert said at the weekly cabinet meeting, "why is Assad making these declarations specifically today, after the publication of the Baker report in Washington, after President [George W.] Bush took a firm stance on the subject, and when the entire international community is demanding that the Syrians stop stirring up war and pitting its forces against the Saniora government in Lebanon? Is this right, when the whole international community seeks to put pressure on Khaled Mashaal in Syria?" Olmert seemed, however, to be most concerned about pressure from the American side, contending that at a time "when the President of the United States - Israel's most important ally, with whom we have a system of strategic relations - is struggling from every angle...against all the forces that want to impede him," Israel had no right to "do the opposite" and negotiate with an enemy country.
Reporting to the cabinet that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier returned from his visit to Damascus "disappointed," the prime minister indicated that conditions were not ripe for peace talks. He emphasized that before Israel begins developing new policies, "it is advisable to weigh things with restraint and caution." Peretz, also speaking at the cabinet meeting, earlier called Assad's peace offers "a topic worthy of serious examination," adding that "we need to look into it." The comments came a day after Syrian President Bashar Assad called on Israel to accept his proposal for opening peace negotiations, and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said that the return of the Golan Heights was not a precondition to talks.
Yet the Prime Minister's Office remained unimpressed Saturday night, saying that what was needed from Damascus were actions indicating a change of heart, not mere words. "Israel has stated that we are always willing to talk peace," sources in the Prime Minister's Office said. "But the Syrian government cannot just say they want peace, they have to show by their actions that they are serious."
Among the actions Israel was waiting to see, the official said, were an end to the transfer of arms to Hizbullah, an end to the backing of Hamas and an end to letting Damascus-based Hamas head Khaled Mashaal "to do whatever he pleases." In an interview published Friday with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Assad said, "I urge Olmert: 'Take the risk and discover if we are lying or not.'" In addition, Assad called on the US and Europe to conduct direct talks with Syria and with Iran "if they want to reach a comprehensive solution to the crisis in Iraq and to other disputes in the Middle East." Assad stressed that Damascus would be willing to cooperate with Washington since "if we don't solve the problems in Iraq and Lebanon, as well as between Israelis and Palestinians, the neighboring states will pay a heavy price."When asked about the Holocaust denial conference held this week in Iran, the Syrian president said, "Europe has a Holocaust complex - we don't because we didn't do it."
Moallem, meanwhile, told Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, that Syria was a potential partner in stabilizing the region, and referred at one point to "the noble cause of peace between Syria and Israel." Moallem said that although Syria hoped to recover the Golan Heights, it was not setting this as a precondition for dialogue. "A constructive dialogue has to start without preconditions," he said.
Moallem denied that Syria was seeking greater power in Lebanon as the price for its help in Iraq. "This is not a deal. This is not, 'We will do this if you give us Lebanon,'" Moallem said, adding that if America wanted dialogue, "you need to reassure us about your good intentions concerning our stability." Moallem said Syria wasn't shipping arms to Hizbullah and would "continue our cooperation" with the United Nations investigation of the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. He added that Syria was "ready" to "achieve a deal on exchanging prisoners" with Israel.
Ignatius wrote that the Syrian foreign minister also disclosed what he said was a previously unreported effort by Syria and Qatar to broker a compromise between Hamas and Fatah.