LCCC NEWS BULLETINS
FEBRUARY 21/2006

Below News from Miscellaneous Sources for 21/2/06
Hezbollah's Dilemmas. By: Rodger Shanahan-Mideast Monitor 21.2.06
Hariri remembered.By: Massoud A. Derhally -ITP newsletters 21.2.06
Below news from the Daily Star for 21/2/06
France responds to Lahoud, denies meddling in Lebanon's affairs
Aoun criticizes March 14 Forces' 'random style'
Hizbullah secures release of Lebanese arrested in Syria while paying respects
Future Movement, Hizbullah, FPM to participate in Berri dialogue
Jamil Sayyed interrogated for five hours
Dakkash thanks Nasrallah for efforts to reach consensus
Hoss 'never pressured by Damascus'
Hariri denounces efforts aimed at creating instability
Harb: Petition drive will form legal basis to oust Lahoud
Black Sunday detainees include minors
Fattoush rejects decision to extend quarry permits
Syria abuses Lebanese cellular network
Rockets found near home of MP Bahia Hariri

Aoun criticizes March 14 Forces' 'random style'
By Raed El Rafei -Daily Star staff
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
BEIRUT: MP Michel Aoun criticized what he called the March 14 Forces' "random style" in trying to oust President Emile Lahoud on Monday. "Reverting to the street is not a democratic act and carries dangers," Aoun told reporters in reference to the parliamentary majority's call for public pressure to topple Lahoud. Stressing that there are doubts about the parliamentary majority's unity, Aoun called for "dialogue and consensus" to solve the issue of the presidency. He said that calling for people to demonstrate in order to topple Lahoud is against constitutional institutions because it comes from high officials and ruling parties. He added that the government would be responsible for any riots or attacks or blood which could take place following these calls. Meanwhile, the March 14 Forces continued their declarations and meetings to pursue their legal and popular campaign to topple Lahoud before mid-March by all means, including reverting to the street, without announcing any timetables or clear strategies for reaching their goal.
Following a visit to Maronite Patriarch Butros Sfeir on Monday, MP Wael Bou Faour said that "the campaign will continue and will escalate in the coming days." Contacted by The Daily Star after his meeting with Sfeir, Bou Faour said: "There are no timetables for our next steps."Asked about the Patriarch's refusal of street pressure to topple Lahoud, Bou Faour said that sources close to Sfeir had claimed the Patriarch was not against demonstrations in principle but stressed that any action should be carried out in "a peaceful way." MP Elias Atallah said: "The red line for March 14 forces is confrontation with political forces represented in Lebanon," in an interview with New TV local station on Monday. Stressing that all actions to be taken by their political group be "peaceful," he said that "public pressure" was essential in their campaign to topple Lahoud.
Former MP Fares Soueid criticized Hizbullah for its continued support of the president, saying the Shiite party's position is "depriving the Christians from being true partners in the reconstruction of the state." "Hizbullah cannot impose on the Lebanese in general and Christians in particular a President of the Republic who is rejected by his sect," he told the Central News Agency. Hizbullah has announced it will not sign any petition to end Lahoud's term.
On Sunday, the March 14 Forces finalized a petition claiming Lahoud's September 3, 2004 extension was made under Syrian threat. The petition is to be circulated to the members of the Parliament which approved the extension. A second petition will then be circulated to current MPs to demand a termination of Lahoud's term. In an interview with The Daily Star, Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah said the authorities are attempting to evade their "political failure" by taking their political demands to the street. Asked whether Hizbullah would stage counter-demonstrations, he said: "Let's wait and see what their (March 14 Forces) next step will be." Meanwhile, Aoun's Change and Reform parliamentary bloc launched a fierce verbal attack on the March 14 Forces - without naming them - criticizing the camp's calls for demonstrations. In a statement, the bloc said "Some of the positions of the past weeks reached a very dangerous level by alluding to negative steps." It added that these steps "endanger civil peace if taken outside the framework of the general national agreement laws and in opposition to the Constitution and the principle of consensual democracy."  Concerning agreement over the next president, Bou Faour said Aoun's name is one of those people proposed, but that discussion among the various parties is still underway. He added that any decision regarding a new president will have "Sfeir's support."
Speaking after a meeting with Social Affairs Minister Nayla Mouawad, former President Amine Gemayel said most political powers, even those that initially supported Lahoud, were convinced that "a new phase of freedom and sovereignty" can only take place when Lahoud is toppled. "Hizbullah will realize that the reconstruction of the state is obstructed," Gemayel said. "I think they would agree on the solution." Meanwhile, Democratic Left Movement Deputy Secretary General Ziad Majed said that failing to topple Lahoud after the massive demonstration on March 14, 2005 was "a strategic mistake made by the opposition at that time." During an interview with Iranian TV on Monday, Majed said talk of a replacement for Lahoud as a prerequisite for his removal was "misplaced," and that agreement on a new president could take place as part of the national dialogue.

France responds to Lahoud, denies meddling in Lebanon's affairs
Compiled by Daily Star staff -Tuesday, February 21, 2006
PARIS: France Monday rejected a Lebanese presidential accusation that it was working with anti-Syrian political forces in Lebanon in a bid to oust the country's embattled head of state."France does not interfere in Lebanon's internal affairs," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said in response to the charge, which was made by an unnamed official in the office of President Emile Lahoud. "Its action is aimed on the contrary at stopping foreign interference in the country and allowing the Lebanese to recover their full sovereignty and independence in line with UN resolution 1559," said the spokesman, Denis Simonneau.
The official from Lahoud's office accused French President Jacques Chirac of personally supervising a group working with the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority to push the president out of office.
"Chirac is personally supervising an urgent plan to oust Lahoud," wrote the Lebanese daily An-Nahar Sunday, citing sources close to the presidency. The official source told AFP that Chirac was personally implicated in "supervising a working group charged with coordinating ... [an action] ... to provoke a constitutional coup aiming at ousting President Lahoud before the end of his mandate on October 24, 2007." Lahoud "regrets Chirac's positions, which take a side in the conflict, instead of treating all Lebanese with equality, as France always did in its history," the official source said.
Lahoud has been under severe pressure ever since Lebanese security officials close to him were arrested over the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and a UN probe accused his Syrian allies of involvement in the killing. The anti-Syrian parliamentary majority late Thursday gave the president a month-long deadline to resign. But Lahoud, effectively boycotted by France since his extension, has repeatedly vowed to serve out his full term. Saad Hariri, the son of the slain Rafik Hariri and who leads the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority, described the attack by the presidency on Chirac as harmful.
The accusations leveled against Chirac came as a Syrian government daily claimed U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman was also working to push Lahoud out of office. "The U.S. ambassador in Beirut has established a command post to manage attacks against President Emile Lahoud and the Lebanese resistance represented by Hizbullah," the Tishreen daily wrote Sunday. It said Feltman was "intervening in all details and coordinating to this end with Israeli security services, 200 of

Future Movement, Hizbullah, FPM to participate in Berri dialogue
Amal MP: talks do not contradict efforts to oust Lahoud
By Nada Bakri -Daily Star staff
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
BEIRUT: The Future Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement and Hizbullah confirmed Monday their participation in the national dialogue which Speaker and Amal leader Nabih Berri called for and said would begin on March 2.
A special committee formed by the Amal parliamentary bloc announced the confirmation on Monday and added it would finish extending its invitations by Wednesday. "We are meeting on Tuesday with Former President Amin Gemayel and with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt. On Wednesday we will meet with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea," Amal MP and committee member Ali Hassan Khalil told The Daily Star. Khalil said participants are preparing their dialogue papers, adding: "So far no conditions or exclusions have been made."He dismissed allegations that March 14 political forces' call to shorten the mandate of President Emile Lahoud contradicts with the call for holding a national dialogue.
"The two issues are not at odds. Issues that have emerged lately made us more insistent on holding this dialogue as
soon as possible. The roundtable will gather all the parties and will take in all national issues to be discussed thoroughly," Khalil said after the committee met with Aoun on Monday. The committee met with Future Movement leader Saad Hariri on Sunday. Khalil said Hariri encouraged all parties to participate in the dialogue.He said that the agenda of the dialogue - which includes the investigation into the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, the Lebanese-Syrian relations and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 - is constant and contains all the debatable issues "including the presidency issue which is covered in Resolution 1559."Amal MP and committee member Michel Moussa said each parliamentary bloc represented by at least four MPs will be invited to take part in the talks. Moussa added that participants will be senior members in their parliamentary blocs or parties. He added that discussions will be based on the Taif Accord "as it is the current Constitution of the country."He added that the dialogue will be held in the surroundings of Nijmeh Square and "could take one or more weeks."A parliamentary source close to Berri said that a 3-meter diameter roundtable with a capacity of hosting 10 people was prepared for the dialogue and is present in Parliament.
PSP's participation in the dialogue remains indefinite. PSP MP Wael Bou Faour said the party's priority at this stage is to overthrow Lahoud. "Overthrowing President Lahoud is a political priority for us. This matter is not debatable and can't be subject for dialogue," Bou Faour told The Daily Star. Bou Faour added that if his party decides not to participate "this will not have any negative effects on the political life while the continuous presence of Lahoud has a major negative impact."
"Let's say we participate in the dialogue and agree on a number of issues. Will we then be able to implement what we have reached? No, because Lahoud will be an obstacle," said Bou Faour. Meanwhile political parties who are not represented in Parliament voiced dissatisfaction regarding the decision not to invite them.
"This dialogue would have been much more important if it included political forces represented and unrepresented in Parliament," said Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) leader and former Minister Ali Qanso after meeting with Berri.
Qanso said the parties that should have been invited included the Communist party, the National Bloc, Baath Party in Lebanon, People's Movement, Former Premier Omar Karami, Former Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh and former MP Talal Arslan.
Franjieh and Arslan told Berri that Aoun represents them in the dialogue. The Lebanese branch of the Baath Party and the SSNP also said they were represented by Berri, parliamentary sources close to the speaker said.
In another development Lahoud welcomed Monday the consensus reached between the LF and the FPM over the Baabda-Aley by-election.

Jamil Sayyed interrogated for five hours
By Leila Hatoum -Daily Star staff
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
BEIRUT: Investigating Magistrate Elias Eid interrogated Jamil Sayyed, the arrested former chief of the Surete Generale, "for five-and-a-half hours Saturday," according to Lebanese judicial sources. Sayyed is one of four former top security chiefs who have been charged with planning, or executing the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri and of carrying out terrorist acts. The four officers, Sayyed, Raymond Azar, former head of Army Intelligence, Ali Hajj, former head of the Internal Security Forces, and Mustafa Hamdan, former head of the Presidential Guards, have been questioned several times since their arrest last August. The sources added that Azar, Hajj and Hamdan will also be questioned "based on new information," without elaborating on what that information was.
The four former security chiefs are currently detained in Roumieh prison awaiting trial, with Hamdan, Hajj and Azar's several petitions for release on bail denied by the Lebanese Judiciary. Meanwhile, Serge Brammertz, the head of the UN probe investigating the assassination of Hariri, was flown by a helicopter to Lebanon's Southern borders where he met with Alain Pelligrini, the head of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon. According to Lebanon's National News Agency, "Brammertz discussed the position of the UNIFIL forces." Brammertz is expected to head to Syria by the end of the month, as the international community has demanded that Syria offer full cooperation to the UN probe and present officials and citizens named by Brammertz for questioning. Brammertz is expected to present the UN with his first report on the case by mid-March. The sources speculated the report would contain information about the level of Syrian cooperation in the investigations. The UN Security Council demanded Syria extend its full cooperation to the UN probe in several resolutions passed last year.
Damascus has been widely accused in Lebanon, by the group now known as the March 14 Forces, which include Chouf MPs Walid Jumblatt and Marwan Hamade, of assassinating Hariri.
These accusations, along with heavy international pressure led Syria to withdraw its troops from its tiny neighbor after almost three decades of military presence. Meanwhile, two high-profile magistrates, Ralf Riachi and Choukri Sadr are preparing to head to the UN headquarters in New York to discuss what type of tribunal can be formed to try the perpetrators of Hariri's assassination. Another judicial source told The Daily Star Monday that the Justice Ministry has prepared several prototypes for the tribunal which will be of an international nature. "The models include suggestions about the headquarters of the tribunal, its jurisdiction, the procedures it should follow, the laws it should apply ... what we are presenting is just suggestions, because the final draft should be approved by everyone," the source said. A top judicial source told The Daily Star a week ago that "When you want to discuss the creation of such a special tribunal you have to take into consideration the safety of its judges and that they are immune from any sort of external pressure; the cost of moving witnesses and suspects and so on."  The main question remains where would be the best place for such a tribunal? Many have speculated that Cyprus or Egypt would constitute good choices as they are close to Lebanon and it would cost less to move witnesses and suspects.

Hizbullah secures release of Lebanese arrested in Syria while paying respects
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Daily Star: BEIRUT: Five Lebanese from Ersal, Bekaa, arrested by Syrian security forces, were released after Hizbullah officials intervened to secure their release. Two weeks ago Syrian authorities arrested the five citizens after they had gone to Qara, a Syrian village adjacent to Ersal, to pay condolences to one of the Syrians who was killed in clashes with the Syrian security forces. Hizbullah's senior official Sheikh Mohammad Yazbek, among others, mediated Monday's release. Immediately after being set free, they headed for Yazbek's office in Baalbek accompanied by Hizbullah's officials in the Bekaa.
Yazbek said Lebanon now "desperately needs more interaction and cooperation to strengthen national unity."
He called for a "good neighborhood policy" with Lebanon's neighboring countries, namely Syria. "There are social ties between the Lebanese and Syrians and no one can breach them no matter what." Meanwhile, Ersal's Mayor Basel al-Hojeiri stressed "Ersal will continue to stand united with Syria because of the strong historical and geographical ties and common destiny."
He also praised Hizbullah for its support.

Dakkash thanks Nasrallah for efforts to reach consensus
By Hadi Tawil -Special to The Daily Star
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
BEIRUT: Consensus candidate for the Baabda-Aley by-elections Pierre Dakkash thanked on Monday Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah "for his efforts in making the consensus a success."Dakkash met with Nasrallah, whose party would have been the decisive factor in Baabda-Aley electoral district due to the strong Shiite influence in the area.
Speaking on behalf of Nasrallah, Hizbullah MP Ali Ammar said "the arrival of Dakkash to Parliament by a consensus is a great victory to the people of the southern suburbs." For his part, Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah said the consensus reached on Dakkash "is the first natural result of the agreement between Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement, which constitute the major electoral force in the district of Baabda-Aley."Fadlallah said "we welcome the rationalism that was a major factor in the decision of the of the March 14 Forces to agree on Dakkash as a consensus candidate."
Hinting to the presidency issue, he added: "We hope that the March 14 Forces will pursue the same rationalism in dealing with other national matters."Dakkash also visited Monday former MP Talal Arslan, who holds a strong popular presence in the Baabda-Aley electoral district. Arslan said: "We welcome Dakkash ... and I also congratulate Patriarch Sfeir for his vital mediating role."Arslan also congratulated Aoun and Nasrallah, because, he said: "I consider that the understanding between the Free Patriotic Movement and Hizbullah was directly related to reaching a consensus on the elections."
Regarding the March 14 plans to oust the president, Arslan said he "refuses to oust Lahoud in the streets" but that he was willing to ask for the president's resignation only if Aoun would be his replacement."
National Liberal Party (NLP) President Dory Chamoun, a member of the March 14 Forces who was a potential consensus candidate for the elections, told The Daily Star Monday he had never officially presented his candidacy for the by-elections and would not do so now. Chamoun added that he was against toppling Lahoud by "any means."
Chamoun said: "I disagreed with the March 14 Forces during their last meeting in the idea of toppling Lahoud in the streets."
But he added that he was also against having Aoun as the new president. "I already had a trial period with him 15 years ago and don't want to go through it again."

Rockets found near home of MP Bahia Hariri
By Mohammed Zaatari -Daily Star staff
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
SIDON: Seven rockets were found late Monday near the south Lebanon home of MP Bahia Hariri, sister of assassinated former Premier Rafiq Hariri, police said. After a Syrian worker informed guards at the family's Majdalyoun residence about a suspicious black plastic bag on the premises, the guards carried out an inspection, police said. They found rockets in the bag which was on the side of a road near the villa, located east of the port city of Sidon. Dozens of Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces members scattered throughout the surrounding area in search of additional ordnance. Nothing was reported to have been found. After blocking the roads leading to the villa, an army bomb disposal expert examined the rockets. He later said the Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) were in good condition but not primed for firing. The explosives were taken to a military facility. Sources familiar with the issue said that Hariri rarely takes the road where the rockets were found.
Hariri told reporters it was an act of "intimidation" but that it would "not force us to capitulate or to halt our action aimed at unity and understanding between all Lebanese."Like several other anti-Syrian figures, the MP has received death threats and scaled back her movements in recent months. - With AFP

Rockets found near home of MP Bahia Hariri
By Mohammed Zaatari
Daily Star staff-Tuesday, February 21, 2006
SIDON: Seven rockets were found late Monday near the south Lebanon home of MP Bahia Hariri, sister of assassinated former Premier Rafiq Hariri, police said. After a Syrian worker informed guards at the family's Majdalyoun residence about a suspicious black plastic bag on the premises, the guards carried out an inspection, police said. They found rockets in the bag which was on the side of a road near the villa, located east of the port city of Sidon.
Dozens of Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces members scattered throughout the surrounding area in search of additional ordnance. Nothing was reported to have been found.
After blocking the roads leading to the villa, an army bomb disposal expert examined the rockets. He later said the Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) were in good condition but not primed for firing. The explosives were taken to a military facility.
Sources familiar with the issue said that Hariri rarely takes the road where the rockets were found.
Hariri told reporters it was an act of "intimidation" but that it would "not force us to capitulate or to halt our action aimed at unity and understanding between all Lebanese."Like several other anti-Syrian figures, the MP has received death threats and scaled back her movements in recent months. - With AFP

Chirac accused of working to oust Lebanese President Lahoud
Posted: 20-02-2006 , 13:51 GMT
French President Jacques Chirac has been accused of meddling in Lebanese affairs and attempting to oust Lebanese President Emile Lahoud. An unnamed official from Lahoud's office also claimed that Chirac had joined forces with the anti-Syrian political movements in the effort.
The French leader, according to the sources, was supervising a Lebanese political group as part of the effort to replace Lahoud, said the AFP. "Chirac is personally supervising an urgent plan to oust Lahoud," he said to An-Nahar.
The source also added that Chirac was personally implicated in "supervising a working group charged with coordinating ... (an action) ... to provoke a constitutional coup aiming at ousting President Lahoud before the end of his mandate on October 24, 2007."Moreover, the source went on, was that Lahoud "regrets Chirac's positions, which take a side in the conflict, instead of treating all Lebanese with equality, as France always did in its history." Lahoud, who is a pro-Syrian Maronite Christian, has been under pressure ever since security officials close to him were arrested in connection with the assassination of late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.The Lebanese president's term, moreover, was extended by three-years from 2004 to 2007, drawing widespread criticism including a French boycott. © 2006 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

Hizbullah Refuses to Sign Petition to Oust Lahoud,
 Aoun Won't Endorse Before Knowing Alternative
Naharnet 20.2.06: The March 14 anti-Syria coalition is expected to start circulating Monday a petition among members of parliament that calls for an early end to President Emile Lahoud's mandate, stepping up the pressure on the head of state to step down. Newspapers reported that two appeals will be passed around for signature. One of them calls for Lahoud's resignation on the grounds that his tenure was extended illegally. In the other, deputies who voted in favor of amending the constitution to endorse the extension, will testify that they consented under duress. Legislators who are members of the March 14 alliance are expected to vote in favor of the petition demanding Lahoud's resignation. This would guarantee 71 votes that constitute the majority of the 128 members of parliament. It is not clear if this number will be enough to force Lahoud to step down or if the coalition would have to win over additional votes from other parliamentary blocs such as Gen. Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement to guarantee two thirds of the votes necessary to modify the constitution. As Safir newspaper reported Monday that Aoun would not endorse this step unless he knew beforehand who the alternative president would be.
In recent days the FPM leader's relations with the March 14 group improved as they agreed on a consensus candidate for parliamentary by-elections in the Baabda-Aley district to avoid an electoral battle.
Asked if this understanding may have positive repercussions on the presidential issue, Aoun said he was hopeful that all difficult matters would be resolved in a similar manner. "We hope that consensus will be reached with regards to all difficult issues especially the presidency," Aoun told reporters.
Aoun was a key member of the March 14 alliance that along with international pressure drove Syrian troops out of Lebanon in the aftermath of ex-premier Rafik Hariri's assassination. However, he broke with the group during parliamentary elections in June and has recently made overtures to Syria's closest Lebanese ally Hizbullah with whom he signed a cooperation agreement this month. Hizbullah, on Sunday announced that it will not sign the petition requesting Lahoud's resignation because it does not reflect the group's political views. "We will not sign the parliamentary petition that calls for an end to the president's term because it represents a political stand that is different from ours," said Naim Kassem, Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General.
"The petition expresses a political position and is not a legal step," he added.
He said that his party favored dialogue without pre-conditions to solve the country's current crisis.
As Safir quoted Hizbullah officials as saying that the party was concerned that deposing Lahoud would be tantamount to "removing the defense line for the resistance."The Party of God considers the pro-Syrian Lahoud a close ally who has resisted the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 that calls for the disarmament of all militias in Lebanon. The party fears that a new president would not be equally committed to Hizbullah's right to keep its weapons.
Lahoud's six-year term was extended for three years in September 2004 when Syria forced legislators to vote in favor of the extension. Beirut, Updated 20 Feb 06, 11:13

Footage Shows Hussam Hussam at Site of 2004 Army Clashes with Rioters
Naharnet 20.2.06: Self confessed Syrian intelligence operative Hussam Hussam was at the site of army clashes with rioters in Beirut's southern suburbs almost two years ago, as shown by the footage of a local television station. The New TV station aired footage Saturday during its evening news program showing Hussam at the May 2004 disturbances standing near soldiers on the airport road, across the street from the Rassoul el Azam mosque. A strike called for by labor unions to protest soaring fuel prices turned violent when rioters clashed with soldiers in the Hizbullah stronghold of Hay el Sullom. The clashes left six people killed and 50 wounded. One of the floors of the labor ministry in another part of town was torched during the riots.
The protests were aimed against the policies of former slain Prime Minister Rafik Hariri who was in office at the time. Many rioters shouted abusive chants against Hariri and the taxes his government had imposed causing a sharp rise in the costs of living. The controversial Hussam was a key witness in the investigation into Hariri's assassination on Feb 14, 2005. However, the masked witness later surfaced in Damascus where he gave a press conference saying he had been coerced into fingering Syria in the murder. Last month, a news photographer found in his archives a picture of Hussam at the funeral of George Hawi, an anti-Syrian politician who was assassinated last June. Beirut, Updated 20 Feb 06, 13:06

Syrian Lawsuit Against Jumblat for Inciting To Oust Assad
Naharnet 20.2.06:Syria's military prosecution has begun working on a case filed by a Syrian lawyer against Walid Jumblat for urging Washington to overthrow the regime in Damascus, Al Hayat newspaper reported. The case against the Druze leader falls under Article 298 of the Syrian penal code according to which such a crime is punishable by life imprisonment with hard labor.The suit was filed by a lawyer called Hossam al-Din al-Habash, who said Jumblat incited foreign troops to occupy Syria.
Jumblat told The Washington Post last month that the United States should topple the Syrian regime and bring its president to trial before an internationally-recognized tribunal. When asked what he wanted from America, Jumblat answered: "You came to Iraq in the name of majority rule. You can do the same thing in Syria." The case is the first of its kind against a Lebanese political figure, according to the London-based daily. Jumblat, a leading anti-Syrian politician in Lebanon, has been on a collision course with Damascus since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri a year ago. Jumblat also blames Syria for the 1977 murder of his father Kamal Jumblat. Beirut, Updated 20 Feb 06, 12:05

Baabda Accuses France, US of Pressuring March 14 Groups To Stage a Coup
Naharnet 20.2.06: Presidential sources have accused France and the United States of pressuring the anti-Syrian coalition to remove President Emile Lahoud from office. "It is not a secret that some states are interfering directly in Lebanese affairs or through their ambassadors to push the March 14 groups to escalate the political situation," the sources said in a statement distributed to the Lebanese media on Friday. The statement said French President Jacques Chirac was encouraging the March 14 groups to topple Lahoud before May of this year, because he would be too busy afterwards in campaigning for next year's French presidential elections. The statement described the plan announced Thursday by the anti-Syrian alliance to oust Lahoud as a "coup against the constitution." On Sunday the presidential sources stepped up their criticism of Chirac accusing the French leader of dealing with the presidential controversy as if he was one of the Lebanese parties.
"(Lahoud) wonders about the reasons that are pushing the French president to handle the presidential issue in a way that makes him a party in the internal disagreement instead of maintaining an equal distance from all Lebanese," the sources said.
The March 14 groups began taking steps to end Lahoud's term by signing a parliamentary petition to invalidate the legitimacy of the president. But the statement issued by the presidential sources warned that such steps could lead the country to face huge uncertainties, especially if protests were used to overthrow the president. Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir said in an interview with An Nahar Friday that it was necessary for the Lebanese to agree on a successor to Lahoud before forcing him out. The Maronite spiritual leader also called on politicians trying to topple Lahoud to resort to legal means, saying that he was against ousting the president by staging protests. Beirut, Updated 20 Feb 06, 11:47

Baabda Accuses France, US of Pressuring March 14 Groups To Stage a Coup
Naharnet 20.2.06: Presidential sources have accused France and the United States of pressuring the anti-Syrian coalition to remove President Emile Lahoud from office. "It is not a secret that some states are interfering directly in Lebanese affairs or through their ambassadors to push the March 14 groups to escalate the political situation," the sources said in a statement distributed to the Lebanese media on Friday. The statement said French President Jacques Chirac was encouraging the March 14 groups to topple Lahoud before May of this year, because he would be too busy afterwards in campaigning for next year's French presidential elections.The statement described the plan announced Thursday by the anti-Syrian alliance to oust Lahoud as a "coup against the constitution."The March 14 groups began taking steps to end Lahoud's term by signing a parliamentary petition to invalidate the legitimacy of the president.
But the statement issued by the presidential sources warned that such steps could lead the country to face huge uncertainties, especially if protests were used to overthrow the president. Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir said in an interview with An Nahar Friday that it was necessary for the Lebanese to agree on a successor to Lahoud before forcing him out.
The Maronite spiritual leader also called on politicians trying to topple Lahoud to resort to legal means, saying that he was against ousting the president by staging protests. Beirut, Updated 19 Feb 06, 12:46

Legislators To Sign Two Parliamentary Petitions To Oust Lahoud
Naharnet 20.2.06: The March 14 coalition has formulated two petitions to invalidate the legitimacy of President Emile Lahoud and eventually remove him from office, Lebanese newspapers reported on Sunday.
The first petition states that the signatories would include current and former legislators who were forced by Syria to vote in favor of the amendment of the constitution in September 2004, enabling Lahoud to stay in power for another three years.
Based on the testimonies of those legislators, the other petition would demand that the extension of Lahoud's term be cancelled, because Syria had threatened the Lebanese members of parliament to secure their approval to amend the constitution. Legislator Boutros Harb told An Nahar that the first petition was now being circulated to concerned legislators to obtain their signatures. "This petition is a legal and political document that justifies the second petition," he said. Some 71 legislators, who constitute the majority of the 128 members of parliament, will then sign the second petition requesting an end to the president's term. On Thursday, the anti-Syria coalition announced a plan to topple Emile Lahoud, setting the first anniversary of the historic demonstration of March 14 as a deadline for the pro-Syrian president to step down.
Beirut, Updated 19 Feb 06, 13:53

Hizbullah, Amal See Plan To Oust Lahoud As Threat to Shiites
Naharnet 20.2.06: Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Speaker Nabih Berri are alarmed by the March 14 coalition's plan to oust President Emile Lahoud, saying such an action would eventually lead to Hizbullah's disarmament, An Nahar reported on Sunday. The two Shiite leaders agreed during an unannounced meeting Thursday that the anti-Syrian alliance's plan to end Lahoud's term was an acquiescent step aimed at pleasing the international community, sources told An Nahar.
"The plan to topple Lahoud was not the only goal for the anti-Syrian alliance," a source said. "It is a step on the way to a full implementation of Resolution 1559." The 2004 resolution calls for free and fair presidential elections in Lebanon without foreign interference. It was adopted by the Security Council shortly before the Lebanese parliament bowed to Syrian pressure and amended the constitution to enable Lahoud to extend his term for another three years.
But the concerns voiced by Hizbullah and Berri's Amal Movement are based on an article in the resolution that calls for the disarmament of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias.Sources said that the two Shiite leaders were concerned that removing Lahoud from office without reaching a comprehensive political agreement over major issues of difference among the Lebanese, including the weapons in the hands of the resistance, would constitute a direct threat to the Shiite community.
Hizbullah spearheaded a military campaign that forced Israel to pull out its troops from southern Lebanon in May 2000. But the Shiite group says it wants to keep its arms to liberate the Shabaa Farms, a disputed land on the western slopes of Mount Hermon along the Lebanese-Syrian border. But Druze leader Walid Jumblat has repeatedly demanded the party to disarm, saying the issue of the farms could be resolved through legal means in an international court. According to Nasrallah and Berri, the comprehensive agreement should also tackle issues, such as the Lebanese-Syrian relations and the international investigation into ex-premier Rafik Hariri's assassination. "Nasrallah and Berri agreed that the Shiite parties should not be mere observers to what is happening," the source was quoted as saying in An Nahar.
But the two Shiite leaders have not reached a decision on how to act and are waiting to see what steps the March 14 groups will take before reacting.They both said there was no constitutional mechanism that could be taken to force out Lahoud, according to the sources. They said they supported Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir's position against overthrowing the president through protests. Beirut, 19 Feb 06, 11:14

President should be 'accepted by all parties'
Daily Star staff-Monday, February 20, 2006
BEIRUT: Former minister and retired Major General Issam Abu Jamra said that the next president should be a president that everybody approves of in order to prevent tensions from arising in the country. Speaking in an interview with local television station LBCI on Saturday, Abu Jamra, who returned from exile with MP Michel Aoun in May 2005, said: "He [the president] should be accepted by all parties so that he will be able hold dialogues with everyone." Abu Jamra cited examples of the diverse parties the president will need to interact with: "Hizbullah, Future Movement, the Progressive Socialist Party and the Lebanese Forces." According to Abu Jamra, a former minister during the interim government headed by Aoun from 1988 to 1990, "if a new president who is in dispute with Hizbullah is elected, that would bring new problems to the country."
He called for a consensus on issues such as the presidency, Hizbullah's arms and the Palestinians' weapons in order "to save the country." Abu Jamra said UN Security Council Resolution 1559 is "a resolution for the benefit of Lebanon and its independence." In a separate development, the Free Patriotic Movement held a meeting to discuss its by-laws related to the movement's elections and the various responsibilities of members. The meeting, which was convened Sunday by the FPM's founding committee, also addressed the overall political situation. Participants tackled the executive committee's report concerning the mobilization of members and new affiliates. They also discussed the preparation and training of FPM members. FPM members in the diaspora participated in the meeting via the Internet. Later, participants met with Aoun to discuss the latest political developments and other issues related to the movement. - The Daily Star

Hariri remembered
By: Massoud A. Derhally
20/2/06: ITP newsletters »
PROTEST: Thosands of Lebanese take to the streets of Beirut on the anniversary of the death of former prime minister Rafik Hariri. On the eve of the one-year anniversary of Rafik Hariri’s assassination, loudspeakers at the Al Riyadi Sports Club on the Rouche seafront in Beirut were blasting out songs eulogising the former Lebanese prime minister. A large, six metre picture of Hariri and Saad, his son and political heir, adorned the front of the sports club.
The past year has been an eventful one, as well as a tumultuous one. Under mounting international pressure after an unprecedented show of unity by Lebanese in what some called the Beirut Spring or the Cedar Revolution, Syria withdrew its troops from the country on April 26 last year. It had entered Lebanon in 1976, to stop what later became a 15 year civil war. But its soldiers had overstayed their welcome and become an icon of a brutal and resented occupation that had plundered and pillaged the country economically and politically.
The exodus of Syrian troops brought respite to the one million Lebanese that had converged on the centre of Beirut on March 14, blaming Syria for the killing of Hariri and 22 others a month earlier in a huge explosion.
But what looked like a momentous opportunity for change, where people appeared to be ready to shun the confessionalism that has defined the fabric of the country and dominated its political landscape, would lose its lustre come parliamentary elections in May and June.
The march for freedom had hardly ended before the horse trading began in the run up to parliamentary elections — when despite Syria’s absence, Lebanese politicians found it difficult to shed their political masks and break with the confessional system that characterises the political landscape of the country.
As a result of the political posturing, the enthusiasm that had come to the fore when thousands of Lebanese took to the streets to demand that Syria leave their country, for democracy to take root in their country, to have national unity among the 18 communities of various confessions and for violence to be shunned, had waned.
As the Syrians withdrew, the euphoria that gripped the country slowly dispersed. Lebanon’s intricate history of confessionalism once again became a dominant force that essentially shaped the context in which the upcoming elections would take place.
Lebanon is a complicated, multi-layered country with many faiths, sects and ethnicities. But by the same token, it is this rich melting pot that makes the country so fragile. It was, therefore, only natural that all the various political figures that have a stake in Lebanon began to jostle in the run up to the parliamentary elections — and that the political posturing set in and alliances began to take form.
General Michel Aoun, the staunch anti-Syrian commander who had fought against the Syrians and Palestinians in Lebanon, was initially welcomed with open arms by the Lebanese opposition.
However, they later fell out because he couldn’t secure enough seats in parliament, and he is now a thorn in the side of the ‘March 14 movement'. And there's no turning back.
Aoun’s inability to forge electoral alliances with the opposition, largely due to a disagreement on seat allocation in the constituency of Mount Lebanon with Druze MP Walid Jumblatt, led the 70-year-old former army general to ironically team up with pro-Syrian contenders.
The general allied himself with Talal Arslan, a principal rival of Jumblatt and also with Michel Murr, who had a monopoly over the portfolio of the Interior Ministry. More ironic still was Aoun's understanding with the Shiite movement Hezbollah earlier this month, to counter Jumblatt, Saad Hariri and the Christian Lebanese Forces, headed by Samir Geagea.
Saad Hariri, the son of the former premier, whose pictures are now plastered all over the walls of Beirut along with his father, cooked up a shrewd strategy as he set out to make his own alliances in the elections. The 35-year-old businessman, who has taken over the mantle of his father but has little political experience, aligned himself with Jumblatt and various other personalities to consolidate his constituency. He claimed a clean sweep of the elections in Beirut, although his succes has since been attributed to sympathy voting and the decision of most of his political rivals not to contest the available seats.
But since the elections last June, much has happened in Lebanon, and a good deal hasn’t. As well as an international UN investigation that culminated in two reports implicating Syria in the assassination of Hariri; and the imprisonment of four senior figures in the Lebanese security apparatus that were complicit with the Syrian era of tutelage over Lebanon; a number of political assassinations have taken place.
Prominent journalist Samir Kassir, a vehement anti-Syrian critic, was killed in June. The head of the communist party, George Hawi was then assassinated. May Chidiac, an anchor with the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation television station, was targeted, and prominent journalist Gebran Tueni, who had vigorously opposed Syria’s hold on Lebanon, was assassinated last December.
It is therefore understandable that there is a sense of anxiety that still hovers over Lebanon one year on from Hariri's killing. As a result of the unabated political assassinations and a series of bombings that have targeted Christian neighbourhoods over the past 12 months, there is a widespread security presence across the city.
Attendants at parking lots monitor cars for bombs, electronic cameras photograph cars, and prime minister Fouad Siniora refrains from going home every day, choosing instead to sleep in the prime ministry known as the sarrai.
A walk out by five Shiite members of the Hezbollah and Amal Shiite movements from the majority anti-Syrian parliament has also led to a political gridlock that has lasted for two months. The cracks in the alliances that were forged in the parliamentary elections have widened as some MPs want Hezbollah to disarm and integrate itself into the Lebanese army, in addition to widening calls for an international tribunal to look into the deaths of Hariri and other figures that were assassinated.
The political crisis only subsided after Siniora said in parliament that Hezbollah would only be called by the name it has always been called by, the resistance. Many Lebanese feel the clash of interests with Hezbollah is because of the anti-Syrian government, which has a majority in parliament but, some think, has behaved like a minority and appeased the Shiite organisation without getting anything in return. “The pro-Syria alliance, however hazy it is, is trying to dictate an agenda through the president and the speaker of the parliament," explains Chibli Mallat, a prominent lawyer. “The Syrians are physically out but they still retain two positions. Aoun and Hezbollah play as if they are a majority and dictate the agenda. Parliament should take the initiative and vote for a new president.”
Fayez, a 53-year civil engineer that shuttles between Beirut and Cambridge in England, believes the birth of a nation requires painful decisions and that the incumbent government should have been tougher in parliament. “You pay with your blood to get democracy, the US had its civil war. You had Oliver Cromwell who got rid of the king in England and that was a turning point of the country becoming a constitutional monarchy,” he says.
“You have to be pragmatic. Jumblatt broke with Hezbollah because Syria is implicated in Hariri’s killing. Hezbollah needs Syrian and Iranian support but it can’t expect a majority in parliament to stay quiet. Which Lebanon does it want?”
He continued: “All of Hezbollah and Amal’s statements are pro-Syrian while you have had 14 government officials or politicians assassinated in the past year. A great man says the truth and that’s what the American president Lincoln did in fighting his brothers in the South during the US civil war and Nasrallah will never unite Lebanon.”
Though the crisis in parliament was diffused, Hezbollah’s secretary general Hassan Nasrallah and former general Michel Aoun who heads the Free Patriotic Movement surprised everyone later when they entered into an alliance to counter Saad Hariri and his allies that include Walid Jumblatt. Aoun had been adamantly anti-Syrian during the 15-year civil war in which he fought a “war of liberation” in the last days against the Syrians. And now after having returned from exile, the former army general that prides himself on wanting to implement a social, economic and political programme, which he claims is unparalleled by anything any of the other politicians have to offer, enters into an alliance with Hezbollah, a group that is backed by the Syrians and the Iranians. Rana Ballout, a 31-year-old secular Shiite who says she would never vote for Hezbollah because she disagrees with a lot of what they stand for, believes there is a new dynamic on the ground in this new alliance that could bring about change. “I would never vote for Hezbollah because I don’t agree with their social codes. But whether one likes it or not, Hezbollah is the strongest. The alliance with Aoun is going to shift things dramatically. They had to form the alliance to counter and isolate Walid Jumblatt and Lebanese Forces.
“A lot of people lost heart when the politics started. But this is a chance for the Lebanese to face their demons. Taif was a reconciliation of the warlords not of the people. Taif sold the country to the Syrians under the auspices of the Americans.”
Ballout says people seem to forget that Hariri and the leaders that presently make up the anti-Syrian camp worked with the Syrians during the era of tutelage.
“They all benefited from the last 15 years …how much did these people make out of this consensual agreement? These four generals that are in jail now, I don’t want them in jail because of being implicated in Hariri’s killing but because they aided and abetted in the Syrian oppression.”
Ali Fadlallah, a 32-year-old Shiite a relative of Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah and Shiite spiritual leader Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah that the Israelis tried to kill, somewhat agrees with Ballout but also believes the country cannot extricate itself from a system of consensus to one where decisions are shaped by majority rule.
“People who were warlords should not be politicians. All they did was take off their military garb and put on a suit after the war ended. Nobody represents what I believe and that’s why I didn’t vote in the last elections. I would like to see a secular state when all religious and secular groups are treated equally. You don’t get that here so I don’t bother,” he explains.
“I’m happy the Hezbollah-Aoun alliance happened. Both are very nationalistic. Hezbollah and Aoun make up the majority of the population but you cannot leave out the Sunnis and the Druze. This country cannot live just on the majority.”
Misbah Ahdab, a member of parliament, believes Hezbollah has no choice but to lay down its arms eventually and assimilate. “We need to know there is a will from Hezbollah that it will transform to become part of the Lebanese state. You want to follow the Lebanese constitution then the majority means something. You cannot wait for those who disagree — we have a responsibility to the people,” says Ahdab.
If any praise is to be afforded, Fayez, the engineer, believes it should go to the Druze leader Walid Jumblatt who has been unwavering in his opposition to Syria and its supporters within Lebanon. “Walid Jumblatt was a brilliant politician during the Syrian withdrawal and he wants a united Lebanon without regional interference that destroys the country again. Events make a man. The message he is giving is that he wants a sovereign Lebanon. Whereas Aoun is a liar.
“From the day he first arrived he said the March 14 movement started well before Hariri’s assassination, because of his efforts. He’s very ambiguous. He says ‘Syria is out so I no longer have any business with them.’ What about the Lebanese in Syrian prisons?”
Zeina Halabi, a 30-year-old Christian, is disgusted by the political posturing. “I didn’t vote because none of these people were asked what they stood for and what they had to offer.”
When he characterises Lebanon’s terrain, Ali Ballout, seasoned journalist and political commentator once targeted by the Syrians, likes to quote Riad El-Solh, Lebanon’s first prime minister, who said: “Lebanon is like a bird with two wings — one Christian, one Muslim — and a bird can’t fly with one wing.”
In the midst of this electrified atmosphere, the country has also witnessed violence relating to the controversy of the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad published in Denmark. This led to a showdown in the Christian suburb of Achrafiyeh where the Danish Embassy was burnt and the Christian churches attacked. Parallels were drawn between this episode and the start of the civil war in 1975.
“The recent demonstrations were a confluence of anger factors; instigation following on the tracks of Syrians allowing embassies to be burned and Islamists wanting to impose their own agenda,” explains Chibli Mallat, a prominent Lebanese lawyer, who announced his intention to run in the presidential elections.
Mallat believes what helped prevent a bad situation from turning worse was the reluctance of the interior minister to issue orders to fire at the crowd. “The interior minister, the prime minister and the wisdom of those in Achrafiyeh not taking up weapons saved the day.”
Fayez, the engineer, agrees. “Last Sunday was like an experiment and you have to make sure the variables don’t repeat themselves. It could have gone to civil strife but it was well contained by the Christians. Ignorant people and extremists hijacked religion and this country is still not out of danger. There is a power struggle,” he says.
For many Lebanese, much of what has taken place in the past year typifies the politics of a country defined by the detritus of a treacherous civil war. The very warlords that had fought each other for so long had ended the conflict with Saudi mediation, culminating in the Taif agreement. But that agreement embodied the very fundamental element of confessionalism that divides the Lebanese more than it unifies them. And now a year since Hariri’s killing, the system was still being tested at the expense of the people.
While the March 14 demonstration last year united a certain strata of the Lebanese population, the ominous and debilitating political impasse had marred the country for a year and taken its toll on the economy and society. As of end of December 2005, the debt stood at US$38.5 billion equivalent to 170% of the country’s GDP, according to Nassib Ghobril a Lebanese economist. “There was 0% growth in 2005 compared to 5-6% in 2004 and that was highest growth since 1997 driven by external demand and tourism,” says Ghobril.
The political infighting has prevented any meaningful reforms from happening and reforms require political will. “Reforms in Lebanon have been diluted in order to reach political consensus. International organisations like the IMF and the World Bank are ready to help but want to see a program,” says Ghobril.
“The country is not in growth mode and not in an ideal economic condition. We need a donor conference to happen soon. Right now we need this jolt. That will generate confidence in economy.”
The fallout among the political leaders, illustrated by the elevation of rhetoric in the media, has confirmed to many around the country that things have not changed and essentially that secularism remains the Achilles heel of Lebanon.
A week before the one-year anniversary of Hariri’s assassination, the country was in a visible state of limbo. In addition to the political bickering, Lebanese president Emile Lahoud, a pro-Syrian that Damascus had imposed on the Lebanese by forcing parliament to amend the constitution and extend his term in office by three years, remains a fundamental obstacle to any meaningful development in the country.
“I think so long as president Lahoud is in power I consider that the movement of March 14 is not in control of authority because they have not been able to take control of the internal security apparatus or the judicial system and you can’t have authority without these,” says Giselle Khouri, the widow of prominent journalist Samir Kassir who was killed last June by a bomb in his car. “So long as Lahoud is at the head of the security system we can’t do anything. I think the journey to independence is a long one and we have paid a very very heavy price and we need to continue.”
The calls for Lahoud to resign and step aside were be echoed loud and clear on February 14, 2006 when some one million Lebanese descended on martyrs square for the one year anniversary of Hariri’s killing. Many demonstrators had Lebanese flags painted on their faces. Others fashioned the flags as bandanas. Some of the demonstrators held the Quran in one hand and the cross in another as a pledge of unity. And in addition to the sea of white and red flags that painted the heart of Beirut there were placards that read: “Take out Bashar’s collaborator in Baabda,” in reference to the pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud.
Dressed in a white shirt with a picture of slain journalist Samir Kassir and a Lebanese flag in her hand, Asma Andraos, a 35 -year-old Christian activist that played a formidable role in civil society during the Lebanese intifada against the Syrians is hard hitting in her criticism of Lahoud.
“Our executive power in Lebanon is split between our government and our president,” she says. “It is my belief and the belief of quite a few people that until the president resigns or is made to resign, because it seems like he doesn’t want to resign, we will keep on having a government that cannot govern. For the very simple reason he can block every single decision they take. He can block nominations; he can block laws and decisions. The president of Lebanon today represents for a lot of Lebanese people if not all, the old regime that was in Lebanon for years; that was a security-mafia authoritarian force and Emile Lahoud comes from that era. His mandate was prolonged by force. Deputies were threatened for him to stay in power. So long as he is here we are going to keep on having a blocked government,” adds Andraos, who was picked by Time magazine as one of the 37 heroes of 2005 who are “changing the world for the better.”
The hatred of Lahoud was visible at the February 14 anniversary. As they marched towards the centre of Beirut to Martyrs Square, a hundred metres from Hariri’s grave, the Lebanese chanted anti-Lahoud and anti-Syrian slogans. The scene at the square was akin to that of a concert. In the middle lay the “Freedom Camp,” erected ironically by Syrian workers, where Lebanese politicians like Walid Jumblatt, Samir Geagea and former Lebanese president Amine Gemayel came to before making their way up to podium to deliver their speeches.
“We came to tell you rulers of Damascus, you tyrants and your allies that we are not a passing minority or an imaginary majority…We came to say that if forgetting is impossible then forgiving is impossible and impossible and impossible. We are seeking revenge from Lahoud and Bashar. You rulers of Damascus you are the helpless slaves and we are the free men,” Jumblatt, an icon of the Lebanese uprising against the Syrians, said to cheering crowds.
“We say to the terrorist tyrant Bashar Assad that the Lebanese are free men. We say to him he can take back his agent Emile Lahoud. Instead of liberating the Sheba Farms, let’s liberate the Baabda farm. There will be no sovereignty as long as the symbol of betrayal and submission to the Syrian regime remains in Baabda. We tell him, Bashar the terrorist brought you and the proud Lebanese people will remove you,” Jumblatt added.
Jawad Boulos, a member of parliament, also lambasted Lahoud for standing in the way of the country’s future. “Lahoud is a lame duck president in a constitutional sense and he is now an obstacle to building institutions in a non-constitutional sense. He no longer represents the Christian community and is no longer able to partake in dialogue that is building up. He should resign and pave the way to a successor who is able to engage all Lebanese,” Boulos explains.
Jumblatt’s wife, Noura echoes the sentiments of Saad Hariri who returned to the country after being abroad for six months because of security reasons.
“We believe in Lebanon, first of all, before everything. This [day] proves one more time after March 14 that the Lebanese people are united. Yesterday I thought we had a long way to go. Today I am full of hope,” she says.
Nayla Tueni, daughter of Gebran Tueini, the prominent publisher of the An Nahar daily who was killed last December after returning from Paris, believes the momentum of the Lebanese people was strong as ever. “It’s a great day. If my father were here it would be like March 14. Today the Lebanese proved that we are united and together for all those martyrs who gave their life for our country. My father is proud. I am sure he is proud. We have a long way to go. We have to be united to continue the dream of the martyrs,” says Tueni.
When she went up to the podium to give her speech, Tueni recited the oath of her late father from a year ago that called on the Lebanese to pull together as one. “Today we came to renew our loyalty to Martyr Hariri and to repeat Gebran Tueni’s oath of unity and freedom: In the name of God, we, Muslims and Christians swear that to remain united till the end of time.”
Saad Hariri launched a scathing attack on Syria and Lahoud. “My fellow countrymen, when Rafik Hariri wrote his last resignation letter, he said: ‘I confine this beloved country, Lebanon, and its good people to God.’ And when they killed Rafik Hariri exactly one year ago, Lebanon, the country which Rafik Hariri loved said, 'we refuse to say goodbye' and the Lebanese people stood to say that Rafik Hariri’s Lebanon will not leave us. Brothers and sisters, they left us a ‘deposit’ in Baabda, a deposit that goes back to the tutelage regime. We tell them: Remove the ‘deposit’ of your tutelage from Baabda. Remove the symbol of your tutelage from Baabda. Remove the embodiment of your oppression of Lebanon and the Lebanese people,” he added, in a clear swipe at Lebanese president Emile Lahoud.

Boulos, the Member of Parliament believes the fundamental issues in the country remain the same. “The issues today are sovereignty, liberty, independence and freedom. These are the issues the Lebanese are fighting for…People here today represent a cross section of society and its very useful here to see what the people are saying and not just the politicians,” says Boulos.
Andraos, the activist, believes the wide attendance of Lebanese is indicative that the will of the Lebanese had not faded. “I feel very very happy because we have proved our point, because we have sent out a message to those who thought that we were no longer hopeful. Happy because it is a clear way of saying we will not give up, however long it takes and until we are perfectly free and perfectly independent,” she says.
Andraos concedes that what Lebanon needs is a national reconciliation initiative much like the one South Africa had after the era of Apartheid ended. “What we have done is pretty much played with amnesia and I think you cannot go very far when you go amnesiac. I think we have to at one point to actually sit down and say ‘yes we did kill each other. Yes we did fight a war for 15 years [and] no we don’t want to go back to that.”
“For years we were not governing ourselves. It’s been a year since we’ve actually started working on our memory too and forgiving one another and accepting our differences and realising that this was our strength. Our salvation will come with time from the understanding that inevitably we have to live together and accept each other’s differences. But we have to all agree on one thing; a free independent country.”

Consensus on Dakkash settles Baabda-Aley race
By Majdoline Hatoum -Daily Star staff
Monday, February 20, 2006
BEIRUT: Consensus over a candidate in Lebanon's Baabda-Aley by-elections was reached Sunday between the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement, leaving the way open for the real battle of ousting President Emile Lahoud, according to LF leader Samir Geagea.
"We hope that this agreement over the Baabda-Aley by-election will lead to a consensus over the need to oust Lahoud, which is the most important battle we should focus on," Geagea said in a news conference he held to announce the selection of Pierre Dakkash to fill the Baabda-Aley seat left vacant by LF MP Edmond Naim's death.
Asked whether Hizbullah will agree to oust Lahoud, Geagea said he was optimistic and does not believe the resistance party will defend Lahoud's staying in power. "They have not said anything over the past five days indicating their intention to protect him," Geagea said. "Hizbullah's guarantee in Lebanon is the presence of a strong state ... and that could only happen if we have a strong and independent president." However, Hizbullah's deputy chief Naim Qassem said Sunday in an interview with Syrian state newspaper Tishreen that Hizbullah would not sign a petition the March 14 MPs are distributing calling for the ousting of Lahoud. Qassem explained that the Shiite party won't sign the petition because it "is based on a political and not legal point of view which Hizbullah does not share."
Addressing Geagea, Qassem asked: "What are you aiming to do? Do you think that this direction [to topple the president] is approved by all the Lebanese?" Dakkash, who had vowed to be an independent MP upon his candidacy, was first adopted by MP Michel Aoun's FPM as a compromise candidate in order to avoid an electoral battle in the district. Attributing the agreement over Dakkash to efforts made by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, Geagea admitted that reaching the consensus over Dakkash demanded "huge concessions" by the LF, but added that it took place with the "blessings of all concerned political parties in Baabda-Aley."
Geagea said March 14 forces are looking ahead to the battle to oust Lahoud. "The presidency cannot stay disabled, as it is right now, with the presence of Lahoud. It is time to end Lahoud's forced term," he said. Geagea added that it would be easy to reach a consensus over the name of the new president, which he said would happen by March 14. He stressed that he was not a candidate. He insisted LF ministers would withdraw from any Cabinet session attended by Lahoud.
"Even if this disables work in the country, it is for a short period, and it is better than accepting the presence of a person who has been disabling the work of Cabinet for the past year," he said. Geagea also welcomed Speaker Nabih Berri's call for dialogue, saying it was "an excellent idea." However, he added that they might not take part in it if by March 2, the date set to initiate the dialogue, if Lahoud were still in power.
Talking from his residence in Rabieh, Aoun - who was receiving LF MP George Adwan while Geagea was announcing the agreement - said he hoped the mechanism of consensus would be adopted over all controversial issues in the country, instead of solving them through "fighting and bickering."Aoun, who also thanked the prelate for his efforts, said that
the state of the presidency should be discussed thoroughly, especially since "Lebanon is ruled by a constitution."
"Dialogue should be conducted through the official institutions," he said. The March 14 Forces' agreement to a candidate backed by Aoun came shortly after they announced a plan to remove Lahoud from office. The anti-Syrian coalition had been trying to lure Aoun back to their ranks in order to built a majority in Parliament sufficient to take constitutional action to end the extended mandate of Lahoud. Aoun had initially fallen out with the rest of the anti-Syrian coalition after he forged electoral alliances with pro-Syrian figures during the last parliamentary elections, which took place following the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon. The prelate also welcomed the consensus over Dakkash, and said "this is very important for establishing the sovereignty and unity of Lebanon."
Dakkash, who visited Druze MP Walid Jumblatt and Parliament majority leader MP Saad Hariri before he was announced as the consensus candidate, gave assurances that his role would be that of an independent MP in Parliament. Accompanied by Adwan, FPM MP Ibrahim Kenaan added that he will serve as a "mediator between the blocs," something he had said during his visit to Geagea late Saturday night. Dakkash also said he will soon visit Hizbullah, who "played a part in allowing this agreement to take place." Asked about his stance on the party's arms, Dakkash said: "This is a very complicated issue that has to be solved over a dialogue table."Other candidates running for the Baabda-Aley by-election were Dory Chamoun, the National Liberal Party leader, and prominent anchorwoman May Chidiac, who was maimed following an assassination attempt last September. Chidiac, who is viewed as a strong LF supporter, had announced she would step down for any consensus candidate. The agreement was also welcomed by Premier Siniora and Berri, in addition to Jumblatt, who dubbed the step as a victory for Lebanon and March 14 Forces."This is a great step because it saved the country from an electoral battle it did not need at this time," Siniora said in a statement.

Cabinet agrees $6.6 million for Achrafieh riot damage
By Nafez Qawas -Daily Star correspondent
Monday, February 20, 2006
BEIRUT: A decision was reached by Cabinet Saturday to allocate LL10 billion ($6.6 million) as a first payment to compensate the residents of Achrafieh, following damage resulting from the "Black Sunday" riots in Achrafieh on February 5. The Cabinet session was held at Mathaf rather than Baabda and without the attendance of President Emile Lahoud.
During the riots, demonstrators vandalized cars, desecrated two churches and burned the building that houses the Danish Consulate as they voiced their anger against a Danish newspaper for publishing cartoons of Prophet Mohammad.
Acting Information Minister Jean Hogasapian, who read the Cabinet's statement in the absence of Information Minister Ghazi Aridi, said following the session held Saturday "after a complete survey has been done all damage will be compensated for." Payments began being made early last week. The session tackled several crucial issues among them the security situation. Hogasapian said "up until now no terrorist groups were accused of involvement in the riots."
Security forces arrested a total of 460 persons out of which 130 are Syrians, 55 Palestinians, one Sudanese and the rest Lebanese. "The innocent have been released," he said. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora will hold a meeting with acting Interior Minister Ahmad Fatfat and Defense Minister Elias Murr to discuss events during the riots.
Hogasapian added that the Cabinet has given instructions to set up a temporary headquarters in the Mathaf district of Beirut in order to hold other sessions there.
Regarding whether ministers will boycott Cabinet if Lahoud attends, Hogasapian said "President Emile Lahoud can choose to attend sessions or not, that's his business and the Constitution gives him the authority to do whatever he likes."Hogasapian denied the issue of toppling the president was raised during Saturday's session. As for a statement released last week by the Lebanese Army concerning Hizbullah's weapons, Hogasapian said "ministers discussed the matter and the events that occurred recently," reiterating that Siniora will "take all measures to control the security situation after meeting with relevant ministers."
When asked about which items from the Taif Accord are considered urgent, he said "the Taif Accord is the basis on which all dialogue is held. All items are equal; there are no exceptions, and no preferences." Other decisions included the appointment of Christian Mashbahani as secretary general of the Higher Privatization Council and Zuheir Chukr as president of the Lebanese University.

Hezbollah's Dilemmas
By: Rodger Shanahan
© 2006 Mideast Monitor. All rights reserved.
The advance of Shiite Muslim political empowerment has generated palpable anxiety in the Arab world, echoed by King Abdullah of Jordan's much publicized warning about the emergence of a "Shiite crescent" extending from Iran into the Levant.[1] The violence in Iraq, where majority Shiites now control the key levers of executive and legislative power, illustrates how loathe many non-Shiites are to lose their privileged political status.
In Lebanon, where Shiites are neither a majority large enough to legitimately claim political supremacy, nor a minority small enough to be legitimately overruled on major political issues, the challenges are even more complex.
Lebanon's most popular Shiite political force is the militant Islamist Hezbollah movement,[2] a product of its successful campaign to expel Israeli troops from the country, provision of social services to the Shiite community, and reputation for incorruptibility. The departure of Syrian forces last April has given Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah an unprecedented opportunity to convert the movement's popularity into political power. In order to do this, however, Hezbollah will have to resolve three critical dilemmas.
Shiite Political Emancipation
Shiites do not enjoy equality under Lebanon's constitution. Although estimated to comprise up to 40% or more of the population, they are limited to 21% of parliamentary seats and barred from becoming president or prime minister. Hezbollah initially opposed the 1989 Taif Accord because it failed to rectify this imbalance, but grudgingly suspended its calls for equal representation after Syria completed its takeover of Lebanon in 1990. The pullout of Syrian forces and the success of Iraqi Shiites in attaining political power commensurate with their demographic weight have brought the cause of Shiite political emancipation to the forefront of Lebanese politics (if not the forefront of public debate).
However, most Lebanese Christians, Sunnis, and Druze are unwilling to accept any sweeping alteration to the country's confessional power-sharing formula that would favor Shiites. Although Hezbollah long ago abandoned its early aspirations to import Iran's theocratic model into Lebanon, its militant Islamist identity and close relationship with Iran remain unpalatable to the other sectarian groups. In light of these obstacles, a full-fledged Hezbollah campaign to amend the constitution (peaceful or otherwise) would face enormous difficulties.
In the meantime, Hezbollah is faced with the question of how to advance its interests in the political system. It steered a middle path during the Syrian occupation, participating in parliamentary elections while remaining outside of the government. This was not entirely by choice (the Syrians barred Islamists from Lebanon's cabinet, fearing their presence might make the occupation less palatable to the West), but it fitted Hezbollah's needs. The movement's reputation for incorruptibility is derived in part from having remained outside of government for the first twenty-three years of its existence. During the occupation, Hezbollah didn't have to worry that the Lebanese government would act against its interests. With Syrian troops gone, however, this middle path is no longer viable.
Despite its limitations, the current political system still allows Hezbollah to exert powerful influence. Although Shiite representation in parliament is capped, Shiite votes nevertheless count the same as non-Shiite votes, so the community's demographic weight impacts the election of non-Shiites. In the May-June 2005 parliamentary elections, Hezbollah not only increased its parliamentary bloc by leading triumphant coalitions in the predominantly Shiite regions of south Lebanon and Beqaa, but also played the role of kingmaker in closely-contested districts where Shiites are a minority.[3]
After the elections, Hezbollah member Muhammad Fneish joined the Lebanese cabinet as energy minister (and a Shiite close to the movement, Trad Hamadeh, became labor minister). To be considered a serious contender for political power in the new Lebanon, Hezbollah must demonstrate that it can run ministerial portfolios and make the compromises necessary in political alliances.
Full-fledged participation in the political system carries risks. In addition to lending legitimacy to the confessional power-sharing formula, Hezbollah's entrance into government could taint its reputation for probity. The rival Shiite Amal movement started off as a religious movement striving for social justice, but largely abandoned its principles in exchange for political power over the years, growing enormously corrupt (and unpopular) in the process.
Disarmament
The second, related, dilemma faced by Hezbollah concerns the future of its paramilitary apparatus. Hezbollah was exempted from disarmament at the end of the civil war in 1990, partly because Iran and Syria wanted to encourage resistance to Israeli forces occupying south Lebanon and partly as a quid pro quo for the movement's tacit acceptance of the Taif Accord. Hezbollah's war against the Israeli occupation garnered broad support across the sectarian spectrum in Lebanon and admiration throughout the Arab world. Lebanese Shiites, once viewed as marginal to the Arab nationalist cause, clearly relished this spotlight.
The Israeli withdrawal also removed Hezbollah's most compelling rationale for maintaining a powerful paramilitary apparatus. Officially, Hezbollah's position is that it will disarm once Israel has withdrawn from the disputed Shebaa Farms and the Lebanese state is capable of defending the country from Israel. The UN ruled against the Lebanese claim to Shebaa in 2000, and UN Security Council Resolution 1559 called for the disarmament of all militias in Lebanon in 2004.
So long as Syria controlled Lebanon, few public figures were willing to openly criticize Hezbollah's continuing military buildup and periodic cross border operations against Israel, but the withdrawal of Syrian forces last year removed this critical political cover. Since then, most leading Sunni, Christian, and Druze politicians have openly said that Hezbollah must disarm, though they invariably insist that the issue must be resolved through internal dialogue and none have advocated forcibly disarming it.
The vast majority of Shiites, on the other hand, appear to support Hezbollah's refusal to disarm. According to Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, this is because they see its military apparatus as a form of "compensation for Shiite political under-representation."[4] In the absence of sweeping political reforms, Hezbollah will not face significant pressure to demilitarize from its constituents.
Under the present circumstances, any attempt by the new Lebanese government to confront Hezbollah militarily would likely provoke inter-sectarian conflict. Since there is no threat of external intervention to disarm Hezbollah, the movement has little political incentive to give up its weapons - on the contrary, they are a powerful political bargaining chip. Giving up its armed wing before reforms to the electoral laws are achieved would see Hezbollah become just another political party in a system that discriminates against Shiites.
In view of the election of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Iranian president last year, it is unlikely that Tehran will place any pressure on Hezbollah to disarm. As Iran continues its game of nuclear brinkmanship with the West and grows more isolated internationally, an armed Hezbollah will be an ever more important asset. Eventually, Iran's needs are going to conflict with Hezbollah's domestic political goals and the movement will have to decide where its loyalties lie.
Syria
The third dilemma faced by Hezbollah concerns its relations with Syria. Given the tremendous upsurge of anti-Syrian sentiments in Lebanon since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005, many observers expected Nasrallah to distance himself from Damascus. On the contrary, he has resolutely defended Syria, antagonizing Sunni, Druze and Christian political leaders.
Hezbollah's unwavering support for Syrian President Bashar Assad reflects several considerations. Since the porous Syrian-Lebanese border will probably be the only viable route for future Iranian resupply of Hezbollah, a good relationship with Damascus is critical to its fight against Israel. On the local level, Hezbollah continues to see Syria as a useful foil against those elements of Lebanese society that oppose it. While the Syrian presence in Lebanon was widely disliked, the shared history of the two countries and the size of Syria in relation to its smaller neighbor mean that Damascus will always feature strongly in domestic Lebanese affairs. Moreover, there is a degree of religious affinity between Lebanese Shiites and the minority Alawite sect that dominates the Syrian regime.[5]
Hezbollah's defense of Assad also reflects the desires of Iran, which has been a staunch ally of Syria for the past quarter century and has a keen interest in combating its political isolation. By allowing Hezbollah to protest so vociferously in support of Syria, Iran hopes to illustrate to the world that they were wrong in painting Syria as an unwelcome entrant in Lebanese politics.
Hezbollah has taken a political risk by being so supportive of Syria. Because of its firm nationalist credentials, this stance probably won't undermine its support among Lebanese Shiites, but it could interfere with its ability to negotiate compromises with other political groups. Vocal support for Syria at a time when anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians are still being killed (most recently Al-Nahar editor Gibran Tueni on December 12) increases the reservations that non-Shiite politicians have about its military apparatus.
In December, Hezbollah's two government ministers suspended their participation in the government (along with their three Amal colleagues) after Prime Minister Fouad Siniora asked the cabinet to vote on a proposal endorsing the establishment of an international court to try those indicted for Hariri's murder. Their main objection was not that the decision was anti-Syrian, but that it was taken through majority vote rather than consensus (a violation, Hezbollah claimed, of its conditions for joining the government). Once they withdrew, Nasrallah added a second condition for their return - that the cabinet issue a statement declaring Hezbollah to be a national resistance movement, not a militia, and therefore not subject to disarmament under the terms of Resolution 1559.
In early February, Siniora publicly declared that his government will not call Hezbollah "by any name other than the resistance" (skirting the question of whether it is a militia in violation of 1559) and pledged to rule by consensus, after which Hezbollah announced its intention to return to the cabinet. Although it's not clear what concessions Hezbollah made in the seven weeks of negotiations that preceded this announcement, the resolution of Lebanon's cabinet crisis suggests that the movement remains committed to advancing its interests through the political system.
**Dr. Rodger Shanahan is a visiting research fellow at the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific, University of Sydney. He is the author of Clans, Parties and Clerics: the Shi'a of Lebanon (2005, IB Tauris).
Notes
[1] See "Iraq, Jordan See Threat To Election From Iran; Leaders Warn Against Forming Religious State," The Washington Post, 8 December 2004.
[2] Hezbollah's capacity to mobilize mass demonstrations is unrivaled. Although a Syrian-imposed modus vivendi forced Hezbollah to join 50/50 electoral tickets with the secular Shiite Amal movement in parliamentary elections, it performed substantially better than Amal in the 2004 municipal elections. See Rodger Shanahan, Hizballah Rising: The Political Battle for the Loyalty of the Shi'a of Lebanon, Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol. 9, No. 1, March 2005.
[3] For example, Hezbollah's endorsement helped Druze leader Walid Jumblatt's coalition narrowly defeat Gen. Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement in Baabda-Aley.
[4] Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, "Hizbullah's arms and Shiite empowerment," The Daily Star (Beirut), 22 August 2005.
[5] The Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shiite Islam. In 1974 the founder of Amal, Musa Sadr (also highly regarded by Hezbollah), attested to the Islamic character of the Alawites. While this was largely seen as a politically astute move at the time, it has nonetheless created an ideological bridge between Lebanese Shiites and the Alawites that does not exist elsewhere.

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