LCCC NEWS BULLETIN
JANUARY 6/2006

Below news from the Daily Star 6.1.06
Cabinet approves official mission to represent PLO
Siniora hopes 2006 will witness unveiling of truth behind assassinations
Straw: Unveiling the truth key for Lebanon's future

Solidere stocks continue their spectacular surge
EFG-Hermes acquires stake in Banque Audi
Siniora's economic program a hard sell
Mikati meets Nasrallah, backs treaty with Syria
Shiite ministers set to return to Cabinet
Abu Faour: Jumblatt did not call for U.S. invasion of Syria

Franjieh accuses LF and Future of training for 'new war'
Syrian government freezes Khaddam's assets
Killers elude justice as investigations hit impasse
Lebanon's elusive place under the sun

Below News from Naharnet for 6.1.06
Lebanese, Israeli Media Agree Over Huge Uncertainty after Sharon
Rice Vows US Concern for Lebanon Unwavering
Britain Piles Up Pressure on Syria to Cooperate with Hariri Probe
Below News from Naharnet for 5.1.06
Sharon in Life-Threatening Coma after Brain Hemorrhage
Lebanese, Israeli Media Agree Over Huge Uncertainty after Sharon
Jumblat Wants Washington to Overthrow Assad
Straw Urges Hizbullah to Disarm
Chirac Urges Syria to Cooperate with U.N. Investigation
Assad Deserves the Nobel Prize, Says Former Syrian Official
Hariri Supports Berri's Initiative for Dialogue
Maronite Bishops Call For End of Cabinet Boycott, Correcting Relations with Syria
Israel Scraps Plans to Build Wall Dividing Border Town of Ghajar
Human Rights Report
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Amnesty International: Latest charge against human rights lawyer Dr Muhamad Mugraby must be dropped and all harassment against him cease 6.1.06

Cabinet approves official mission to represent PLO
Friday, January 06, 2006-Daily Star
BEIRUT: The Lebanese government agreed to establish an official mission, but not an embassy, to represent the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), attend to Palestinian-Lebanese relations and help administer the affairs of the Palestinian population in Lebanon's refugee camps. The PLO Bureau in Beirut was closed down following the Israeli invasion in 1982 that led to the departure of Palestinian armed forces to Tunisia. However, the Palestinian groups that have not joined the PLO until now will have to regulate their mutual affairs with the Lebanese authorities separately, especially in issues regarding the military presence outside their refugee camps. At a news conference in Rashedieh Camp in Tyre, the secretary of Fatah and the PLO groups in Lebanon Sultan Abu al-Ainain said he welcomed the government's decision as an appropriate step to regulate the mutual relations. "We waited long time for this decision to come true; however, better late than never. The PLO Bureau in Beirut was never closed by a law or government decree but by the effect of the Israeli invasion and the occupation of Beirut," he said. He added the government did not need to issue a new resolution or decision but only revive the original law regarding PLO representation.
The new element in the government decision would be the official recognition of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which Lebanon and Syria has never recognized because it resulted from the Oslo Accord. The original representation until 1982 was based on the Arab League resolutions following two Arab summits in 1973 and 1974 in Algiers and Morocco respectively, recognizing the PLO as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Many countries in the world recognized the PLO, especially when it became an observer member to the United Nations in 1974. "Reinstating the PLO representation in Lebanon would facilitate the ongoing negotiations and dialogue between the Palestinians and the Lebanese authorities," Ainain said. "The PLO would negotiate in the name of all Palestinian groups on equal basis taking into account the mutual interests of all parties."
He added that the PLO would not exclude any group even those that do not belong to its institutions. "However, if these groups want to go their separate way, we would not enforce our choices on them." "The PLO is not a group of gangsters as some would like to believe; it is officially the sole representative of the Palestinian people inside Palestine and in the diaspora," Ainain said. He added that all the legal problems involving individuals or groups would be solved through negotiations and said no one is above the law. "We have to look at the issues, however, from a just and objective angle."
"The Palestinian people," he said, "consider that UN Security Council Resolution 1559 has already implemented because we are not militias and the legitimacy of our arms is covered by Arab League decisions."Palestinian sources said the countdown for reinstating the PLO Bureau in Beirut had begun and the appropriate officials are preparing to appoint a Palestinian official residing in Lebanon. The officials who have the legal authority to appoint a new representative include the PA President Mahmoud Abbas, the Minister of Palestinian Refugees Abbas Zaki and the President of the PLO Executive Committee Farouk Qaddoumi. Certain official regulations have to be worked out with Premier Fouad Siniora and Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh. But Salloukh was not present during the Cabinet session on Thursday when the decision to reopen the PLO bureau was approved to give his comments. Salloukh and four other Shiite ministers are currently boycotting the Cabinet sessions.
Sources close to Fatah say the new post will go to Ainain after resolving the legal obstacles with the Lebanese authorities.
"Abu al-Ainain is very familiar with all Palestinian issues related to the Lebanese government on economic, political and social levels," the sources added. - A.G

Siniora hopes 2006 will witness unveiling of truth behind assassinations
By Nafez Qawas -Daily Star correspondent
Friday, January 06, 2006
BEIRUT: Premier Fouad Siniora said during the Cabinet session held Thursday in the absence of Shiite ministers that he hoped 2006 would be the year in which the truth behind the killing of former Premier Rafik Hariri and all the other murders will be uncovered, according to Information Minister Ghazi Aridi. Aridi also said Cabinet followed up on the latest calls with the Shiite ministers and hoped they would return soon. The Cabinet regretted Wednesdays' statement by the Higher Shiite Council saying the Cabinet session had not been legitimate in the absence of the Shiites.
Following a five-hour meeting, Aridi said Cabinet passed a series of decisions, including the reopening of the Palestine Liberation Organization bureau in Beirut. The bureau was closed in 1982 after the Israeli invasion. Aridi said Cabinet discussed the Al-Madina scandal and the Casino du Liban file. "We want justice to take its course and the truth to be revealed," he said. Cabinet also approved the Defense Ministry's request to extend the army's term in Baalbek and Hermel for another three months. In addition to the five ministers, Deputy Prime Minister Elias Murr and Interior Minister Hassan Sabaa were absent from the Cabinet session as they were outside the country.

Straw: Unveiling the truth key for Lebanon's future
By Nada Bakri -Special to The Daily Star
Friday, January 06, 2006
BEIRUT: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said uncovering the truth behind the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri and other murders is "important and essential for Lebanon's future." Straw was speaking following a meeting with his Lebanese counterpart Fawzi Salloukh, during the second day of his visit to Lebanon.
"On top of the topics we have discussed were [UN Security Council] resolutions 1559 and 1595 and what followed them and I told the minister that it is important and essential for Lebanon's future to uncover the truth behind all the assassinations."
He rejected allegations his visit to Lebanon is interference in the country's internal affairs. "We as a member of the international community and a member of the Security Council are responsible to provide the region with peace and security and our commitment toward Lebanon is to help it become a free and sovereign state. That is not interference," Straw told reporters. He emphasized the international community is looking forward to seeing all UN resolutions fully implemented and Lebanon "a prosperous, independent and sovereign country within the international community."
"And we [the international community] are of course ready to enhance our cooperation and support to resolve problems or difficulties between the Lebanese people and the Israeli people." His comments came as news from Israel indicated Premier Ariel Sharon was in critical health after suffering from a mental stroke late Wednesday. Straw said he was praying for Sharon to regain his health, but refrained from commenting on the consequences of the premier's possible death.
"Sharon is a towering figure not only in Israel but in the whole region. He is very ill and remains the prime minister. We hope and pray that he recovers. We hope and pray for that miracle."
Straw further added that Sharon had won "huge respect across the world" as prime minister particularly after his unilateral decision to pull out his troops from Gaza strip during the past summer. "Israel is a resilient and strong democracy. My view is that whoever is running Israel will be able to take his policy forward," Straw added.
For his part, Salloukh said that the Arab region is interested in seeing an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict. "We in Lebanon are interested in freeing territories that are still under Israeli occupation, and that in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 425. We are also interested in preserving Lebanon's independence and sovereignty."
Salloukh said that he was not certain whether Sharon's death would have positive consequences on the region, but added "we hope that Sharon's successor will be more understanding and more appreciative of the 2002 Arab peace initiative.
Salloukh added that once the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved, all the regions' problems will be resolved.
"We hope that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza will be followed by other similar moves that will lead to the creation of the Palestinian state and its capital Jerusalem," said Salloukh. Straw then had a series of meetings with Lebanon's religious leaders including Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir and Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani. His talks with the religious figures focused on the political situation in the country following the extension of President Emile Lahoud's presidential term and the assassination of rafik Hariri, as well as on the Arab-Israeli conflict and Lebanese prisoners in the Israeli and Syrian jails. It also focused on the latest developments in the region. Straw was not scheduled to meet with pro-Syrian president Lahoud. He also met with father of slain MP Gebran Tueni, Ghassan. Tueni was the last anti-Syrian official who was murdered last year.

Franjieh accuses LF and Future of training for 'new war'
By Karen Mneimne -Special to The Daily Star
Friday, January 06, 2006
BEIRUT: Former Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh warned of the possibility of a "new war" in Lebanon, and criticized some Christians as "mercenaries who have become the voice of their master Saad Hariri." Franjieh's remarks came during an interview with Le Magazine published on Friday. As proof some Christian groups were preparing for war, Franjieh said members of "the Lebanese Forces (LF) are undergoing training in Laqlouq and the Future Movement in Jordan." The former interior minister added that MPs Walid Jumblatt and Hariri "deceived Hizbullah during the parliamentary elections, and when the time for the truth came they chose the international community." Franjieh said he expected the string of assassinations in Lebanon to continue if the political climate remains unresolved. He added that the aim of these assassinations was "to isolate the Christian sect from the Shiite sect and bring them close to the Sunnis." He identified moderate Christians as "the most targeted," and said he feared for the lives of Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir and MP Michel Aoun.
Franjieh called on Christians to take "neutral positions" regarding the Sunni-Shiite tensions "or else they face great danger in Lebanon." Commenting on former Syrian Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam, Franjieh said: "I am not one of those people who served the political plots and personal interests of that man." Talking about the recent reconciliation between LF leader Samir Geagea and Jumblatt, Franjieh said: "Geagea always pointed his rifle at the Christians; he never had problems with any of the other sects." But, the Lebanese Forces issued a statement Thursday night denying Franjieh's allegations and affirming it was not training members in Laqlouq.

Abu Faour: Jumblatt did not call for U.S. invasion of Syria
By Karen Mneimne -Special to The Daily Star
Friday, January 06, 2006
BEIRUT: Democratic Gathering bloc MP Wael Abu Faour denied on Thursday that MP Walid Jumblatt had called for Syria to be occupied by the United States. Abu Faour's comments came in response to an editorial written by Ad Diyar's Charles Ayoub, in which the latter lashed out at the Druze leader for his statements made to The Washington Post.
In a statement, Abu Faour said Jumblatt's position was a "defensive position regarding the crimes and political assassinations the Syrian regime is committing in Lebanon." The row is over comments Jumblatt made to Washington Post columnist David Ignatius that he "feared a deadly new attack by the Syrians that would attempt to trigger sectarian conflict in Lebanon and take the heat off Damascus." According to Jumblatt, "regime change in Syria, a Milosevic solution, is the only stable outcome that will bring Assad to justice through the United Nations."Addressing U.S. officials, the Chouf MP said: "You came to Iraq in the name of majority rule. You can do the same thing in Syria." Abu Faour noted that "when Walid Jumblatt commented on Iraq and had his entry visa to the U.S. withdrawn, none of those who claim Arabism in Lebanon sided with him because, at that time, they did not want to disturb the Syrian-U.S. relations or thwart the possibility of renewing a Syrian-U.S. deal in Lebanon." Meanwhile, the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) announced the establishment of a "unit to respond to the Syrian media campaigns that have been promoting creative ideas for the Syrian regime for a while."In a statement, the new PSP office slammed Ad-Diyar's "pro-Syrian" Ayoub, mocking the editorialist for "the psychological and physical strain he is enduring because of his daily visits to Damascus looking for someone to pat his shoulder and give him money."
The PSP office sarcastically added it "highly appreciates Ayoub's noble patriotic role and continuous efforts in continuing the role of the hired press."

Syrian government freezes Khaddam's assets
Judiciary is investigating former vice president's links to corruption files
By Leila Hatoum -Daily Star staff
Friday, January 06, 2006
BEIRUT: Syrian former Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam said Thursday President Bashar Assad should be thrown in jail. "He should go. To the house ... to prison," he said on the France 3 station when asked about Assad's future.
"The most important thing is to save Syria from the regime," he said, adding "those who were behind the assassination in Lebanon continue to kill because their goal is to create chaos in the country."Khaddam also said he believed his life was "in danger" even in France but insisted that he was not scared. On Thursday, Damascus had frozen Khaddam's assets and that of his family, few days after the Syrian government asked the judiciary to file a lawsuit against Khaddam.
The vice president practically accused the Syrian regime and the remnants of the pro-Syrian Lebanese intelligence agents of assassinating former Premier Rafik Hariri last February, in an explosive interview to pan-Arab satellite television station Al-Arabiyya last Friday. Syria's official newspaper Al-Thawra reported Thursday that the Syrian Finance Ministry "has decided to seize the assets of Khaddam and his family, namely his wife, his children and their own families pending the conclusions of the judiciary," which is investigating Khaddam's links to corruption files. Khaddam and his family's assets, estimated at billions of dollars, stretches over an empire of restaurants, palaces in luxurious residential areas, sole agencies for food and industrial brands, yachts, bank accounts, a mobile phone-line company, an oil company and others.
According to Arabic daily Elaph, Khaddam and his family liquidated their assets a while ago and the only assets which the Syrian government has managed to get its hands on was estimated to be $1.25 billion, which raises the question of the real size of Khaddam's financial empire. This empire is shared by his wife and three children, two boys and a girl, all who have fled to France to join Khaddam, who has been in Paris for the past seven months, on vacation to write a book, as he told Al-Arabiyya. Khaddam, who also said that Syrian President Bashar Assad had threatened Hariri shortly before the latter was assassinated, was fired from his post in the ruling Baath Party and was called a traitor by the Syrian Parliament and government.
Lebanese Arabic daily As-Safir reported diplomatic sources Thursday as saying that Khaddam was interviewed by a member of the UN probe investigating Hariri's assassination regarding his fiery statements, and that "the probe will have further meetings with Khaddam afterwards," but sources close to the probe said there was no information on the matter.
The probe's spokesperson had said earlier Monday that the probe was seeking to interview Khaddam "as soon as possible," and that the probe had already sent a request to interview Assad and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa. Syrian diplomats had said Wednesday that Sharaa has agreed to be interviewed, but there was no reply regarding an interview with Assad. The Saudi Press Agency reported Thursday that the Saudi King Abdullah had had a phone conversation with Assad who also spoke to his Egyptian counterpart, and that the discussions revolved mainly around the Syrian-Lebanese relations, and Syria's level of cooperation with the UN probe. mAbdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held talks on the matter in Jeddah Tuesday. Diplomatic sources revealed there was a meeting between Khaddam and Mubarak in Paris Wednesday in which they discussed the recent developments in the Hariri case based on Khaddam's accusations. Khaddam, who was supposed to have an interview with another pan-Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera Wednesday, canceled the interview following a Saudi-Egyptian pressure, according to the same sources. Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said during his visit to Beirut Thursday that his country supports UN resolutions calling for Syria's full cooperation with the UN probe.The U.S. had warned Damascus that it should grant the UN probe interviews in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1636 which calls upon Syria to give "complete and unconditioned cooperation."
On Wednesday, the United States said Sharaa agreeing to be interviewed constitutes a "positive step" but there has to be more cooperation. Also Thursday, As-Safir reported that another Syrian witness in Hariri's case, Ibrahim Jarjoura, has revealed that he had testified to the Lebanese authorities that he was assigned by Syrian intelligence to monitor Hariri's convoy.He added that some Lebanese figures, whom he didn't name, supplied him with a list of names and fabricated events to give to the UN probe. Jarjoura is currently detained by the Lebanese Judiciary. - With agencies

Killers elude justice as investigations hit impasse
Over a year since the outbreak of explosions, and no progress has been made to uncover perpetrators
By Majdoline Hatoum -Daily Star staff
Friday, January 06, 2006
BEIRUT: As Lebanon's security situation remains in the red zone amid continued assassinations of the country's top officials, investigations into the series of bombings that have struck the country for over a year have remained static. Aside from a single arrest in the case of the assassination of anti-Syrian journalist MP Gebran Tueni, no arrests were made in other killings or bombing incidents, with Tueni's file not even assigned to an investigating magistrate yet.
Still, Tueni's case remains the only one that saw the arrest of a suspect, as investigations in all the other cases faced a dead end, with the judiciary maintaining silence under the title of "protecting the secrecy of the investigation."
According to MP Salim Aoun, a member of MP Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement, the reason there has been no progress in any case so far is is because there is a certain "negligence from the investigative security agencies" when dealing with the cases. "I do not think the problem is from our judiciary," Aoun said. "For a judge to carry on his job, he has to have information from the security agencies in charge of gathering information on any case," he added. "What can a judge do if he does not have, for example, information on where the car used in a certain bombing was wired and transferred from?" Aoun asked. He added that it was up to the government to enhance the work of such security agencies. "We have raised this issue several times in Parliament. The government keeps saying it will protect the security of Lebanon, when it does not have a highly needed clear security plan," Aoun said. "We have to keep in mind that our security system is still operating, largely, in the same way as it was operating during the years of Syrian hegemony over Lebanon," he added. "A new security plan is strongly needed, and until we have it, the lack of security and tardiness in the investigation process - which is currently driving us to protect our security with our own hands - will go on."
TIMELINE AND EXPLOSION DETAILS:
December 12: Prominent anti-Syrian MP and journalist Gebran Tueni and two others are killed in a car bomb attack in Mkalles area of eastern Beirut, less than 24 hours following Tueni's return from France. The case sits idle pending the appointment of an investigative magistrate, despite the arrest of one Syrian national, Abdel-Qader Abdel-Qader. The case sits with Military Magistrate Rashid Mezher.
September 25: May Chidiac, a well-known television news journalist for the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, was seriously wounded and maimed by a car bomb in Jounieh, north of Beirut. No arrests were made, and the case sits with Investigative Magistrate Adnan Belbol. September 17: A powerful blast rocked Achrafieh, killing one person and injuring at least another 22. The case sits with Military Magistrate Rashid Mezher, with no arrests made in the case so far.
August 22: At least two people are injured when an explosion takes place outside a hotel and shopping centre in the Zalka suburb of Beirut. The case sits with Military Magistrate Rashid Mezher, no arrests made in the case so far.
July 22: Several people injured in a car bomb blast in Monnot Street, one of the busiest night-life streets in Beirut. The case sits with Military Magistrate Rashid Mezher, with no arrests made in the case so far.
July 12: Former Defense Minister Elias Murr - a staunch supporter of Syria - was injured and two others were killed in a bomb attack as his motorcade passed through Antelias, north of Beirut. The case sits with Military Magistrate Rashid Mezher, with no arrests made in the case so far.
June 21: Ex-Lebanese Communist Party leader George Hawi was killed when his car blew up near his home in the Wata Mouseitbeh district of Beirut. The case sits with Investigative Magistrate Abdel-Rahim Hammoud, with no arrests made in the case so far.
June 2: Anti-Syrian journalist Samir Kassir was killed in a car bomb outside his home in Achrafieh. The case sits with Investigative Magistrate Mohammad Sodki, with no arrests made in the case so far.
May 7: At least one person was killed and seven were injured in an explosion in Jounieh, east of Beirut. The case sits with Military Magistrate Rashid Mezher, with no arrests made in the case so far.
March 27: A bomb in Jal al-Dib, a mainly Christian area of Beirut, wounded at least six people. The case sits with Military Magistrate Rashid Mezher, with no arrests made in the case so far. March 23: Three people were killed when a bomb exploded in a shopping centre in Kaslik, near Jounieh. The case sits with Military Magistrate Rashid Mezher, with no arrests made in the case so far.
March 19 2005: A car bomb wounded at least 11 people in New Jdeideh, a predominantly Christian suburb of Beirut. The case sits with Military Magistrate Rashid Mezher, with no arrests made in the case so far.
October 1 2004: Marwan Hamade, one of several staunch opponents of the extension for President Emile Lahoud's mandate, was injured and his driver killed in a blast near his home in Beirut. The case sits with Investigative Magistrate Sakr Sakr, with no arrests made in the case so far.

War of words by phone on Future TV program
A violent argument broke out on Future Television on Wednesday after comments made by former head of Syrian Internal Security Major General Bahjat Suleiman drew a sharp reply from Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamade and Democratic Gathering leader Walid Jumblatt.
During a segment of "Al-Istihqaq," Suleiman phoned in to denounce the Lebanese media's "attacks against Syria" and spoke of Syria's defense of Lebanese Christians and Druze. He also condemned the Druze for not joining the fight against Israel.
In reply, Hamade called in to say blood was shed for Syria by parties which Suleiman was accusing of collaboration with Israel, and added "if Assad were to be given an award it would be the 'Nobel Crime Prize.'"
Jumblatt also phoned the program to say he would let history "bear witness" to who killed his father Kamal Jumblatt.

Veteran journalist Hussein Mohieddine passes away
Daily Star 6/1/06: Press Federation President Mohammad Baalbaki and Journalists' Union President Melhem Karam announced with deep regret on Thursday the passing of correspondent, reporter, analyst and writer Hussein Mohieddine.
He first entered the field of journalism in 1948. Over the years he worked for Al-Kifah, Al-Anwar, Al-Yawm, Ash-Sharq, Al-Rouwad, Ad-Diyar and Al-Bayraq.
Mohieddine, born in 1927, is survived by his wife Leila and eight children. Prayers for his soul will be held on Friday, January 6 in his hometown of Kfar Kila, Nabatieh. Condolences can be paid on January 8 and 9 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Imam Mohammad Mehdi Shamseddine's Cultural and Educational Complex, the Shatilla roundabout, main hall.

Pederson stresses need to maintain calm in South
Daily Star 6/1/06: Following Israel's rejection of a defensive wall in Ghajar, a town split between Israel and Lebanon, the UN Secretary General's Personal Representative for South Lebanon Geir Pederson stressed the need for "maintaining calmness from the Israeli side and the Lebanese side." Pederson was speaking after a meeting on Thursday with Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh. Asked if he believed Al-Qaeda was behind the recent launch of Katyusha rockets to Israel, the UN official said he hadn't discussed the issue with Salloukh and denied he had any information on the incident. Salloukh also met with the UNIFIL Commander in South Lebanon General Alain Pelligrini, who feared "dangerous attacks if anything happens in the tense South Lebanon."

Pierre Gemayel: March 14 forces turned page on war
Daily Star 6/1/06: In response to recent comments from MP Michel Aoun against the March 14 forces, Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel said the group is composed of Lebanese parties and forces that "turned the page of war and called for Lebanon's independence, sovereignty and freedom of decision." In a statement, Gemayel said "the March 14 forces are those of October 13." Gemayel was referring to the day when a Syrian military operation ousted Aoun in 1990. Gemayel reminded Aoun that "once again, the journey of liberation, freedom and sovereignty is waiting for him to be a part of building a strong state." However, the forces that are joining alliances with Aoun in "secret or in public continue to follow the same lead that was on October 13 and who seek to take control of the state's authorities."

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Public Statement
AI Index: MDE 18/001/2006 (Public)
News Service No: 004 -5 January 2006
Lebanon: Latest charge against human rights lawyer Dr Muhamad Mugraby must be dropped and all harassment against him cease
Human rights lawyer Dr Muhamad Mugraby is due to appear before the Military Court in Beirut on 9 January charged with slandering the “military establishment and its officers”. If found guilty he may be sentenced to up to three years’ imprisonment. The charge relates to a statement he made to the European Parliament’s Mashreq Delegation in Brussels on 4 November 2003, in which he criticised the military court system in Lebanon including for, he stated, the inadequate legal training of the courts’ judges, and for the torture suffered by suspects tried before military courts in order to force them to “confess”.
Amnesty International calls for the charge to be dropped immediately as it is based on Dr Muhamad Mugraby exercising his right to freedom of expression guaranteed in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Lebanon is a state party, and principle 23 of the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers. Dr Mugraby’s statements in the European Parliament contained legitimate human rights issues that reflect concerns well documented by Amnesty International.
Amnesty International has repeatedly expressed concern about the Lebanese military court system whose trials fall far short of international standards for fair trials. In particular, contrary to Lebanese legislation, military courts have been granted wide jurisdiction to try civilians; fail fully to explain their verdicts; use summary proceedings which undermine defence rights; and have judges who are predominantly military officers with inadequate legal training. The military courts’ proceedings are not subject to independent judicial review, an essential requirement for fair trial. (See A Human Rights Agenda for the Parliamentary Elections, May 2005 [MDE 18/005/2005]).
Over the years Amnesty International has also repeatedly documented the use of torture and ill-treatment in Lebanese detention centres particularly during pre-trial detention and as a means of obtaining “confessions”. The United Nations’ Human Rights Committee has also expressed concerns about Lebanon’s military courts and well-substantiated allegations of torture and ill-treatment by Lebanon’s police and security forces. (See Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee: Lebanon, CCPR/C/79/Add.78, 1 April 1997. Lebanon’s fourth periodic report to the HRC was due in 2003 but is yet to be submitted).
Amnesty International is also concerned that this case against Dr Mugraby falls within a pattern of harassment against him that may be related to his legitimate work in defence of human rights. Among a number of past and pending cases against him, in 1995 he was charged with defaming the state of Lebanon and its judiciary in a fax he sent to Amnesty International – a case that was finally dismissed in 2001. In an ongoing case against him which is pending before the Beirut Court of Appeal, Dr Mugraby was arrested on 8 August 2003, then released on bail three weeks later, for his alleged "impersonation of a lawyer". (See Dr al-Mugraby must be immediately released, [MDE 18/011/2003], 13 August 2003). Amnesty International is also calling on the Lebanese authorities to drop this charge against him and to cease the apparent pattern of harassment against him.
Background
"Lawyers like other citizens are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly. In particular, they shall have the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights and to join or form local, national or international organizations and attend their meetings, without suffering professional restrictions by reason of their lawful action or their membership in a lawful organization. In exercising these rights, lawyers shall always conduct themselves in accordance with the law and the recognized standards and ethics of the legal profession.” (Principle 23 of the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers)

On the road to DamascusA crack appears in the Syrian solidarity system
By RAMI KHOURI
Thursday, January 5, 2006
Special to Globe and Mail Update
Beirut — The dramatic interview that former Syrian vice-president Abdel-Halim Khaddam gave to Al-Arabiya television last week in which he sharply criticized the Syrian regime's policies in Lebanon and implicitly implicated it in the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri has injected a new political dimension into an already complex and fluid situation.
Mr. Khaddam's main revelations would seem to be that the Syrian leadership, including President Basher Assad, threatened Mr. Hariri before his assassination last February; that Syrian intelligence officers - including Rustom Ghazali, the former intelligence chief in Lebanon, exploited that country for years as a personal fief, working with Lebanese security officers and in close co-ordination with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud; and that a sophisticated act such as Mr. Hariri's murder could only be undertaken by a disciplined organization - and if Syrians were involved, it could not have happened without the knowledge of the top leadership.
None of this is new, but it is all very significant. The information that Mr. Khaddam provided in the TV interview from Paris corroborates numerous facts and allegations already gathered from other sources by the United Nations-run inquiry into Mr. Hariri's death. For corroboration to come from such a high source who intimately knows the inside of the Syrian political system is a major push forward for the UN investigation. Mr. Khaddam has been a senior political thug in Syria for 35 years, but, in such cases, a thug's testimony is very useful - assuming it is factually correct. The convergence of his statements with similar evidence from other sources, investigators say privately, is both clear and useful.
The second important thing about Mr. Khaddam's behaviour is that it seems to represent the first major political crack in the top-level Syrian solidarity system that has long defined the regime in Damascus. Whether this crack will give way to a torrent remains to be seen. Either way, its significance should not be underestimated. Mr. Khaddam's pointing of fingers at Mr. Assad is the equivalent of Vice-President Dick Cheney saying that George Bush knew all along that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction but was determined to overthrow Saddam Hussein on any pretext.
If the combination of the revelation and its source is compelling, the political consequences may be huge. The interview set off a new round of speculation and expectation in Syria and Lebanon, and coincided with moves by UN investigators to request interviews with Syria's President, foreign minister and other senior officials.
The cumulative impact of these developments raises the diplomatic and political heat on Syria, because Mr. Assad's government is now challenged by a new and dangerous phenomenon - his own regime's former pillars. This is extremely worrying for Syria, which now finds itself challenged simultaneously by a credible domestic force, the Lebanese public, and the world acting through the UN.
The UN probe's request to interview Mr. Assad and others will be the next litmus test.
It represents yet another step forward in the determination of the UN to keep investigating the Hariri murder and not get sidetracked by political diversions or tricks, whether from the Middle East or the West. It also reflects the determination of the investigators to speak with all potentially relevant persons, including the most senior political and security officials in Syria and Lebanon. And it will be a key test of the UN's demand, in Security Council Resolution 1644 of Dec. 15, that Syria must "co-operate fully and unconditionally with the commission," including a specific demand that Syria respond "unambiguously and immediately in those areas adduced by the commissioner and also that it implements without delay any future request of the commission."
Well, one such request is here: an interview with the top leaders in Damascus. Resolution 1644 also includes a key new wrinkle: It "requests the commission to report to the [Security] Council on the progress of the inquiry every three months from the adoption of this resolution, including on the co-operation received from the Syrian authorities, or any time before that date if the commission deems that such co-operation does not meet the requirements of this resolution and of Resolutions 1595 and 1636."
In other words, the element of time, or playing for time, seems to be changing hands from a mechanism the Syrian government has always used to one that the UN will use to press the Syrians to co-operate more diligently and quickly.
Another key development is the slow expansion of the Hariri murder probe into possible linkages with the dozen or so other bombings and killings that have occurred in Lebanon since October of 2004. This selective expansion, also on the basis of Resolution 1644, is critically important for Lebanon, because it holds out the hope that the perpetrators of the other bombings will also be identified and brought to justice - and presumably ending this ugly modern era of politics by bombs.
UN officials are also preparing to talk with their Lebanese counterparts about what kind of "tribunal of an international character" will be established to try those who are accused on the strength of the evidence being collected. The creeping expansion of the Hariri assassination probe into a wider international mechanism increases the likelihood of bringing to justice those who have perpetrated political terrorism in recent years - and also of reducing such criminality in the future.
**Rami Khouri is editor-at-large of the Beirut-based Daily Star.