LCCC ENGLISH NEWS BULLETIN
JUNE 28/2006

News from miscellaneous sources for 28 June 2006
Italy Pushes for Diplomatic Relations Between Syria and Lebanon-Naharnet
Peres points finger at Syria for kidnapping-Ynetnews
Lebanon's anti-Syrian leaders added to Damascus guest list-Ya Libnan
LEBANON: French Magazine is censored-AKI
Sfeir prepares for month-long trip to America
Participants have mixed feelings about prospects for next session of dialogue
Lebanese PM: 'Accusatory statements' may make ties with Syria even worse
Beirut fires back at Damascus over invitation to Siniora
Gemayel detects 'positives' in Assad's comments
Shatila camp celebrates first visit by PLO official since 1982 invasion
Azour faces hard time selling reforms
Chouf residents band together in bid to head off new landfill
UN Agency Says Lebanon Important Producer of Cannabis but Notes Naharne
UK Cautions Nationals Against Traveling to Lebanon Naharnet
Syria accuses Lebanon of sheltering al-Qaida linked militants-People's Daily Online
Islam and secularism must go hand in hand in Syria-Gulf News
Syria vs. Islamist Militants: Is It Hype?Asharq Alawsat
Iran, Syria sign a further defence co-operation agreement-Jane's
Syrian President calls for dialogue with US-People's Daily Online
Syria: 3 Muslim Brotherhood members get 12 years-Jerusalem Post
Wary of the US, Syria and Iran strengthen ties-Bangkok Post

Syrian President calls for dialogue with U.S.
Syrian President Bashar Assad has called for dialogue with Washington while meeting with a U.S. delegation recently, the official Syria Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.
In an interview with the London-based pan-Arab al-Hayat newspaper which was published on Monday, Assad revealed that a U.S. team visited Syria last week who had asked for secret meeting to discuss bilateral relations.
"They said that the (U.S.) administration listens to our opinion. Perhaps, half of the delegation is from the administration," Assad said. "We always call for dialogue, regardless of the form of the call, whether by a message via a third party, or through media statements," the president said. But he doubted whether the Bush administration was ready for dialogue. U.S. has imposed sanction on Syria for sponsoring terrorism and insurgency against U.S.-led war in Iraq. Source: Xinhua

Sfeir prepares for month-long trip to America
Daily Star staff-Tuesday, June 27, 2006
BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir will leave for the United States Thursday on a trip expected to include meetings with senior US officials, and possibly President George W. Bush. Sfeir will spend nearly a month in the United States, where he will also meet with Lebanese expatriates in a bid to create a lobby to support Lebanon and promote a "constructive political dialogue" between Christians and Muslims.
Sources said he would hold several meetings with high-ranking US officials and some Congress members. While some sources said a meeting might be held between Bush and the patriarch, others said that Sfeir's itinerary "has not yet been finalized."
Meanwhile, political and diplomatic figures welcomed as a "national stand" Sfeir's comments on Sunday regarding a debate on Romania's exclusion of President Emile Lahoud from invitations to the Francophone Summit planned for September.
"Lebanese officials are taking part in a sterile debate ... [that does] not deserve snubbing our historical friendship with foreign countries, which we need the most at this time," Sfeir said. - The Daily Star

Participants have mixed feelings about prospects for next session of dialogue
Many doubt likelihood of unified stance on defense strategy
By Nada Bakri -Daily Star staff
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
BEIRUT: In the run up to the upcoming session of Lebanon's national dialogue, participants are divided over the talks' ability to reach a unified defense strategy against Israel. The Free Patriotic Movement said this dialogue has been "a comedy for the public opinion," deeming the talks will fail to reach a consensus on a national defense strategy as it failed to agree on the fate of the embattled President Emile Lahoud.
The March 14 Forces also doubted the likelihood of a consensus being reached on a defense policy.
The Lebanese government has failed to implement the few decisions agreed upon by rival leaders at the talks, namely establishing diplomatic relations with Syria, demarcating the joint borders and establishing the Lebanese identity of the occupied Shebaa Farms.But Amal said if participants adopted "an optimistic and positive approach" a breakthrough could be reached.
"The public opinion is asking about the use of this dialogue and we are conveying this message," FPM MP Ibrahim Kanaan told The Daily Star.Kanaan said the reason his parliamentary bloc, MP Michel Aoun's Reform and Change, is still participating in the dialogue is because they don't want to be accused of causing its failure.
"Our principle is to participate in the dialogue. We don't want to be accused of hindering any positive efforts," he added. "But at the end of the day we also have to see if our participation has any positive input, and this is something we are assessing hour by hour."During the dialogue's ninth session, set for Thursday, participants are set to continue debating their views on the best defense strategy in the face of continuing Israeli aggression. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Hizbullah leader, kicked of the debate during the previous session, followed by the Progressive Socialist Party, Lebanese Forces and Future Movement.
PSP MP Marwan Hamade said "within the current local and regional circumstances there will be no agreement over Nasrallah's proposal."In the coming session, the Phalange Party, the Amal Movement and the FPM are expected to make their case.Kanaan said the Reform and Change bloc will meet in the coming days with the dialogue's sponsor, Amal leader Speaker Nabih Berri, for discussions on the next round of talks.
Amal MP Ali Hassan Khalil said Berri is "optimistic" about reaching an agreement over the defense strategy. "He [Berri] has a detailed paper on the defense strategy prepared by military, political and diplomatic experts."
Khalil said it was not yet clear whether Thursday's session would be the last, but said the question would be answered at the roundtable.Berri told As-Safir newspaper in an article published Monday that two additional sessions might be needed in order for all participants to present their defense proposals.Sources close to a participant in the talks said there is "a tendency among some participants" to lobby for continuing the dialogue without a deadline to avoid reaching a deadlock over the fate of Hizbullah arms.

Lebanese PM: 'Accusatory statements' may make ties with Syria even worse
By Rym Ghazal -Daily Star staff
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Monday that his people "know the truth" about the continuing diplomatic deadlock between Beirut and Damascus. "We need to avoid making accusatory statements that may cause further disturbances between Lebanon and Syria," Siniora said from Berne after meeting with Swiss President Moritz Leuenberger and Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey. Siniora is in Switzerland to discuss the Beirut I international donor conference expected to be held later this year. However, the premier said the convening of the conference hinges on two issues being resolved beforehand.
"It depends on the progress made within the next two months in the national dialogue, as a unified consensus is needed, and on the efforts by Lebanon in contacting and securing neighboring countries' participation in this conference," he said.
Siniora stressed the importance of European countries' attending the conference in order to "ensure its success."
Siniora arrived in Switzerland on Sunday, accompanied by Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, with the aim of gaining "humanitarian and economic" support on some of Lebanon's major issues, namely the management of Palestinian refugee camps and technical support in drafting a new election law. "The Swiss expressed tremendous support for many of our stances and we saw eye-to-eye on many of the issues," said Siniora, adding that the Swiss will be reviewing UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) policies and studying ways of improving its services to refugees in Lebanon.
Siniora also met Monday with Arab ambassadors and representatives in Switzerland, and delivered a lecture in front of Lebanese-Swiss businessmen on the latest political and economic developments in Lebanon, with special reference to Israel's repeated violations. "Lebanon has long struggled to rebuild itself after the destruction left behind by the Israeli invasion and their attacks, along with the repercussions of instability that it causes within the whole region," Siniora said.
The premier was expected to leave for Rome Monday night to participate in the International Union of Arab Banks, where he will also meet with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.
It will be the second time Siniora has been to Italy, a close ally of Syria, in the span of a few months.
The last trip included a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI and other Vatican officials, as well as prominent members of the Italian government.

Beirut fires back at Damascus over invitation to Siniora
By Leila Hatoum -Daily Star staff
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
BEIRUT: Any improvement in Lebanese-Syrian relations seemed further out of reach on Monday after the March 14 Forces lashed out at Syrian President Bashar Assad for derogatory comments he made about Lebanon. Telecommunication Minister Marwan Hamade accused Syria of having questionable intentions toward Lebanon and of disrespecting its premier.
"The invitation was sent as if it were a summons, which is an improper thing to do to the prime minister of Lebanon," the minister said in reference to an invitation extended for Siniora to visit Damascus.
"It was natural that Siniora asked for a two-day delay of his meeting with Syrian officials. If Syria had good intentions toward Lebanon, then why didn't they reschedule the date?" Hamade asked. Hamade was replying to comments by Assad published by pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat on Monday in which the president said Syria had twice invited Siniora to Damascus for talks on bilateral relations. Siniora has said that he had meetings scheduled for the date specified in the invitation and requested another date. Glossing over Assad's reported open invitation to Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, Hamade had harsh words for the idea that parliamentary leader Saad Hariri should travel to Damascus.
"When it comes to Aoun it is a matter between Assad and the former general," Hamade said. "As for Hariri, it is as if Assad is trying to buy forgiveness after being involved in one way or another in the assassination of [Hariri's] father."
"I don't see anyone from the Hariri family asking for such an appointment ... I don't see Hariri visiting Damascus, nor would he accept the invitation before the investigations are over," he added.
Many Lebanese politicians, including Hariri, accuse Syria of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination.
"We used to have a troubled relation with Aoun in the past with some confrontations, but now he doesn't attempt to attack Syria, and at some points he defends it," Assad had told Al-Hayat.
Aoun, then-army commander, had launched a "War of Liberation" against Syria's military presence in Lebanon in 1990, which he eventually lost and was forced to live in exile. The FPM hailed Assad's comments as confirmation of Aoun's policies.
"Assad's words prove that Aoun is a man of integrity because he acts based on the national interest and not on personal interests," Reform and Change MP Nabil Nicolas said. "The Syrian Army is outside Lebanon now and the Lebanese should fight their remains," he added. "We also have to note that Israel never got out of Lebanon as well."
However, Nicolas had few words for Assad's warnings that the number of Al-Qaeda members was on the rise in Lebanon.
"It is up to the security system in Lebanon to protect and reassure the Lebanese," he said.
After a meeting with the US ambassador, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi accused Syria of mounting a personal campaign against Siniora. The March 14 Forces have repeatedly accused pro-Syrian forces in Lebanon of trying, with Damascus' assistance, to topple Siniora's government. "Assad's comments come as a continuation of what the Syrian Information Minister said earlier and what the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said days ago about refusing Siniora's visit," Aridi said.
In an interview with Kuwaiti daily Al-Anbaa also published Monday, Bilal took aim at the parliamentary majority.
"Syria was attacked by those who consider themselves the friends of the great powers France and the US," the Syrian minister said. "Our problem isn't with them because they are little; it is in fact with their masters that are these powers."
"Israel and the United States were the ones who created the gap between Lebanon and Syria and have pointed early accusations at Syria," Bilal added. Bilal reiterated, however, Syria's "full support to Serge Brammertz," the chief of the UN probe investigating the Hariri assassination.

Gemayel detects 'positives' in Assad's comments
By Leila Hatoum -Daily Star staff
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
BEIRUT: Former President Amine Gemayel said there were many favorable points to be found in Syrian President Bashar Assad's comments about Lebanon this week. "We have found many positives in the initial reading, but we need to study the details [of Assad's comments] further," the Phalange leader said after a party meeting.
"There is some negativity in what he said, including when he said that the Lebanese are divided and cannot reach an agreement on several matters," he said. "I remind Assad that the Lebanese were able to reach consensus on many thorny issues during the national dialogue, which used to be considered impossible to solve by some in the past," he added.
Gemayel suggested that Lebanon would have a better chance at unity if it were left alone to work at it.
"I just want to say if the Lebanese were left alone to make their own decisions, they would be able to do so without external interference. We also hope to reach transparent and excellent relations with Syria."Gemayel also reiterated his stance on the Constitutional Council debate."We all know the importance of this council in monitoring the constitutionality of the laws," he said. "In the meantime we are trying to fill the positions in accordance with the new law. The old council was under the influence of the Syrian mandate and issued dangerous decisions against the national interest."
Replying to similar comments made by Gemayel on the issue on Sunday, Reform and Change MP Ibrahim Kanaan said the Phalange leader was not an MP and had no knowledge of what was taking place within the Parliament.
Meanwhile, MP Robert Ghanem, the head of Parliament's Administration and Justice Committee, said 14 MPs will form a panel to conduct interviews with candidates to the new Constitutional Council.
"These MPs' mission is to look up the files of the candidates to see if they have a black past, because some of the past members on the council didn't have a clean past," he said. "The committee will start interviewing candidates starting as of next Tuesday."The deadline for applications to the council expired Monday at midnight with 72 names submitted.
The council is formed of 10 members; five appointed by the Cabinet and five appointed by the Parliament.

Chouf residents band together in bid to head off new landfill
By Mira Borji -Daily Star staff
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
CHOUF: Residents of Iqlim al-Kharroub and Jiyye demonstrated in front of the Iqlim al-Kharroub municipality Monday to protest an Environment Ministry plan for a landfill in the area.
Among the protesters were Democratic Gathering MP Elie Aoun, Future MP Mohammad Hajjar and representatives of the Progressive Socialist Party. "We have drowned in tons of waste and from now on, we don't care who else drowns or not," Aoun said. "We love our region and we are ready to sacrifice ourselves for it."
An extraordinary Cabinet session was held last week to discuss Environment Minister Yaacoub Sarraf's plan to resolve the worsening solid waste problem. Sarraf's proposal calls for the creation of six regional landfills, in addition to two existing facilities in Metn and Zahle. It also proposes that a landfill should be moved from Naameh to Jiyye and one added in Mounsif, Jbeil. The proposal was met with criticism from Democratic Gathering ministers, and has found little support since.
"Instead of proposing developmental projects, they are threatening us with a landfill," Hajjar said. "Isn't it the environment minister's responsibility to prevent pollution and put an end to diseases?"
Baasir Mayor Samir Qaaqour said the proposed site of the landfill contains a water course and is near a residential area and beaches.Meanwhile, a delegation from the Reform and Change Bloc and the Jbeil municipality met with Sarraf to oppose the creation of a landfill in Mounsif."The landfill will negatively affect the region's economic, environmental and tourist life, especially since the ministry did not discuss the issue with the relevant municipality," the delegation said in a statement. "It did not submit any study of the location ... and no one visited."Sarraf said he would not act "in defiance of Jbeil citizens," vowing to transfer the delegation's complaint to Parliament.

Parliamentary Review
A Review of Canadian Parliamentary Proceedings of Interest to Canada’s Jewish Community
Published as a Community Service by B’nai Brith Canada
June 22, 2006
Background: In this final Parliamentary session prior to summer recess, the Government was applauded for its strong stance on terrorism and for its leading role in isolating Hamas on the world stage. Opposition to the planned CUPE Ontario anti-Israel boycott was voiced. B’nai Brith Canada’s petition on this issue, which continues to circulate and which has garnered signatures from Canadians across the country, can be accessed on the organization’s website at www.bnaibrith.ca. Canadians who wish to reaffirm support for the State of Israel and who wish to add their voices to those decrying the boycott are encouraged to sign the Manifesto document.
Parliament
Mr. Pierre Poilievre (Nepean—Carleton, CPC): Mr. Speaker, these petitioners strongly support the government's decision to cut off both diplomatically and financially the Hamas government in the Palestinian territories. They believe that Canada should stand four square behind the Middle East's leading democracy in Israel and that Canada should not finance a terrorist-led regime.
The petitioners also resent very strongly CUPE's decision to boycott products that emanate from that leading democracy, the state of Israel. I am proud to support them in introducing this petition.
Senate
Hon. Roméo Antonius Dallaire: Honourable senators, when the United Nations was founded, great trouble was taken to protect state sovereignty. A notable exception — echoed in the Responsibility to Protect concept created by Canada and accepted by the United Nations General Assembly last September — was the 1948 genocide convention, which allowed any signatory to call upon the United Nations to take appropriate action to prevent and suppress acts of genocide.
Still, the international community failed Cambodia in the 1970s, we failed Rwanda in 1994, and for three years we have repeatedly failed the people of Darfur. Since the Darfur Peace Agreement was signed in May, there has been no respite to the violence in Darfur. Now that the rainy season is close at hand and access becomes totally impossible in that land, all forms of transport will be immobilized and the people will enter another period of famine.
I am not arguing that the situation in Darfur can or should be labelled genocide necessarily. However, some might say that the 2 million people slaughtered by the Khmer Rouge were not victims of genocide since most belonged to the same national, political, ethnic or religious group as the perpetrators. How productive would this be? Leave labels to the courts. We need action now and not words, for as we remain crippled by words, we have allowed over 180,000 Darfurians to die over this three-year period. That number is equal to the population of Regina.
(1345)
This is why UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, by mandate of the Security Council, appointed a Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. He appointed the adviser to incite action, not argue semantics. I am proud to say I have been asked to serve on the Advisory Committee on Genocide Prevention established to assist the special adviser. I am honoured to say I will serve along side people such as Garth Evans, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs from Australia who authored for us the responsibility to protect concept; and Archbishop Desmond Tutu Supported by Dr. Frank Chalk at Concordia University's Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, I humbly hope to contribute an impact to the warding off of genocide by early prevention.
Having said that, our first meeting last week has convinced me that every member is not content to be just another talking head. We are there to move the yardsticks at the UN, and move them we will. However, this is only part of the picture. The UN is only as effective as the will of its members allows it to be. Leadership and initiative from member states is crucial, and as a senator I call on Canada to fill that void of leadership as a leading middle power in the world. With regard to Darfur in particular, the time is now to act. The longer we wait, the greater the failure.

Aoun bloc accuses parliamentary majority of 'fomenting tension'
Daily Star staff- Tuesday, June 27, 2006
BEIRUT: MP Michel Aoun's Change and Reform bloc accused the parliamentary majority on Monday of having anticipated the results of Thursday's national dialogue session by "fomenting tension" in an attempt to abort any past or future agreements.
In a statement released Monday following its regular weekly meeting, Aoun's parliamentary bloc criticized the majority's definition of legitimate decisions under the era of Syrian tutelage. "This definition legitimizes what serves the majority's interests and challenges what does not," the statement said. The bloc said it respected "all opinions and stands," provided they stemmed from personal convictions aimed at serving public interests. "Changing convictions ... after only one phone call sets a bad example and shows that the majority's performance is nothing but a clone of the tutelage regime," it added. The bloc said it was keen on "preserving, promoting and stabilizing" Lebanese-French relations - free from "circumstantial personal interests that vary according to profits and losses."
The bloc also slammed alleged attempts to subdue the opposition by excluding specific areas from development projects, comparing the practice to that of the Syrian regime. "It is a cloned image of the performance of the tutelage regime, which flagrantly exploited and politicized development in exchange for a relinquishment of natural rights," the bloc said.
Meanwhile, Aoun met with Iranian Ambassador Mohammed Rida Shibani, who said that the meeting focused on Iran's "peaceful nuclear file and the historic Lebanese-Iranian ties." Shibani praised Aoun's national stands and his "remarkable and constructive role" in helping Lebanon overcome adversity. - The Daily Star

Syria accuses Lebanon of sheltering al-Qaida linked militants
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused Lebanon of providing shelter for the al-Qaida linked militants who fled Syrian crackdown recently, the official Syria Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.
In a wide-ranging interview with the London-based pan-Arab al- Hayat newspaper published on Monday, Assad said that some of al- Qaida linked groups were chased by Syrian security forces into Lebanon through the mountainous routes.
"When Syria was present in Lebanon, al-Qaida was there, but in a very limited way," Assad said.
Syria ended a 29-year military presence in its small neighbor in April 2005 following massive anti-Syrian protest over the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri in February 2005. Syrian security forces have clashed several times with Islamist militants since last summer. Source: Xinhua