LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 30/2007
Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 10,28-31. Peter began to say
to him, "We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or
brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for
the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in
this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and
lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are
first will be last, and (the) last will be first."
Free Opinion
Expect a dialogue of the deaf with Syria.By Barry
Rubin. May 30/07
Jihadists moving into Lebanon from Syria.By Christopher Allbritton.THE
WASHINGTON TIMES. May 30/07
Latest News Reports
From Miscellaneous Sources for May 30/05/07
Terrorist Mastermind Arrested at Beirut
Hotel. Naharnet
Soldier killed in fighting at Lebanon camp.Middle
East Online
UN readies for landmark vote on Hariri court.Gulf
Times
Sporadic clashes rattle north Lebanon camp.Reuters
Lebanon court could come to Cyprus.Cyprus
Mail
Syria's Assad: anti-US president.France24
Lebanese tourism staggered by another summer on the edge of disaster.Globe
and Mail
Aoun told France supports Lebanon's independence & stability.Ya
Libnan
Qatar sides with Syria & Iran in opposing Lebanon tribunal.Ya
Libnan
Why Lebanon's Army will invade Naher al-Bared.Ya Libnan
Hariri: 'Evacuation of civilians at Lebanon camp is our first
priority.Ya Libnan
Regional leaders scramble to resolve Lebanon's political and ...Daily
Star
Siniora: 'Peaceful solution' must purge Fatah al-Islam.Daily
Star
UN team set to assess security on Syrian border-Daily
Star
Clerics mediate as army tightens grip on Nahr al-Bared-Daily
Star
Brammertz wants to switch jobs - report-Daily
Star
American legislator voices support for strengthening of Lebanese Parliament-Daily
Star
Committee scraps Karami memorial ceremony-Daily
Star
Sfeir expresses concern over security situation-Daily
Star
Europe pledges aid to displaced Nahr al-Bared refugees-Daily
Star
Uneasy Barbir residents resume daily routines following late-night blast that
wounded five-Daily
Star
Accident of geography turns building with view of camp fighting into media Mecca-Daily
Star
Nahr al-Bared crisis takes toll on most vulnerable-Daily
Star
Weak regulations block efforts to reduce tobacco usage-Daily
Star
Swiss-run children's camp gears up for summer program-Daily
Star
Lebanese
Soldier Killed in Nahr al-Bared Fighting
A soldier who was shot by Fatah al-Islam militants during exchanges of gunfire
with Lebanese troops at the northern Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared
has died of his wounds, security officials said Tuesday. They said the soldier
was hit in the head by sniper fire Monday afternoon and later died in hospital.
His death brings to 31 the number of soldiers killed in the fighting since May
20. On-again-off-again clashes with automatic rifle fire, rockets and artillery
in the early afternoon on Monday and again late at night left one Lebanese army
soldier wounded. Lebanese troops have been besieging Nahr al-Bared since last
Sunday when fighting broke out with Fatah al-Islam militants holed up inside the
camp. A truce Tuesday halted the fighting, but intermittent clashes have ensued
on an almost daily basis. Hundreds of troops have been encircling the camp, with
the government threatening to storm the shantytown if the militants do not
surrender. Fatah al-Islam has vowed to fight to death. Mediators from major
Palestinian factions have been pressing for a negotiated solution.(AP-Naharnet)
Beirut, 29 May 07, 07:21
Woman Killed in Car Chase in
Beirut
A woman passenger was killed in a car chase in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh neighborhood
overnight after the vehicle her husband was driving failed to stop at a police
checkpoint, police said on Tuesday. They said after a chase of several hours,
the woman was found in the car, bleeding from a bullet wound.
Police said the driver, who had refused to stop at the checkpoint because he was
wanted on undisclosed charges, was later caught by security forces.
The death of the woman, who was identified as Fatmeh Fattouh, brings to four the
number of people killed in similar incidents in Beirut where security has been
intensified because of heightened tensions in Lebanon. Lebanese troops on Monday
opened fire at a speeding taxi cab which drove past their checkpoint near Beirut
Airport, killing three people, including a Syrian convicted of
forgery.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 29 May 07, 12:37
Terrorist Mastermind Arrested at Beirut Hotel
Lebanese security agents
arrested a terrorist mastermind at a Beirut hotel Tuesday and confiscated a list
of targets for possible terrorist attacks, a reliable source told Naharnet. The
source said the suspect was carrying a forged Lebanese identity card that
identified his first name as Hagop, which is a common Armenian name.
However, the suspect is a national of a gulf country and has been living in a
hotel in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district for 10 days, according to the source.
The source, who asked not to be identified, said police anti-terrorism officers
busted the suspect's suite, arrested him and confiscated at least 10 forged
passports for Arab and western countries. The bust also resulted in confiscating
"maps, pictures and lists of names for targets of terror attacks in Lebanon, the
Arab world and Europe," the source added. He said the bust was a "major catch.
We have foiled a series of terrorist attacks that would have claimed thousands
of lives if carried out," the source told Naharnet. The suspect's "hotel suite"
had been under surveillance for a while, the source said. He said Fatah al-Islam
terrorists arrested by police in the northern town of Tripoli "told
investigators about the suspect." Police have arrested at least 90 people
suspected of affiliation with the Fatah al-Islam terror network that is based in
north Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared. Beirut, 29 May 07,
16:45
Expect a dialogue of the deaf with Syria
By Barry Rubin
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Recently, there have been calls in the United States to "talk" to Syria.
However, the problem is not so much talking to Syria, in a manner equivalent to
having a cup of coffee with someone of the opposite gender. The real issue is
that the West is looking for a long-term meaningful relationship with the
possibility of compatibility or even marriage. But Syria is already married to
Iran, a sugar daddy too well-heeled to give up. Besides, it wouldn't be long
before Syrian President Bashar Assad would ask to borrow the keys to Lebanon,
dent the car, and refuse to return it. Certainly, he might swear that it is all
over between him and Hamas or Hizbullah, but soon you'd be finding that's not
the case. He would soon expect the US to wash his dirty laundry for him. Syria's
regime has gotten plenty of changes from the West and each time the result is
the same: a broken heart and the need to get a restraining order.
The Syrian regime and its apologists, as well well-intentioned but poorly
informed people, advocate concessions to get talks started and keep them going
to prove Western good intentions. How, they say, could Syria negotiate while
under investigation for the former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri's,
murder? How could Syria be asked to cease provoking instability in Lebanon
unless it be given power there? If Syria sponsors terrorist attacks, subverts
Lebanon, represses dissidents, or promotes violence in Iraq, nothing in a
talking process would punish Damascus in the hope of having the matter solved.
In the meantime, Syria would have a free hand to do what it pleases.
What can negotiators offer Syria that it wants without further destabilizing the
region? Should they force Lebanon once again to become a Syrian colony? Implant
a government that Syria likes in Iraq? Give the regime money so it can better
pursue its ambitions? Hand over all the Golan Heights plus a slice of Israeli
territory without Syria making fulland permanent peace with Israel - an outcome
ensuring more war?
Consider, for example, this fully frank dialogue with Syria over Iraq's future:
American negotiator: "So, President Bashar, what kind of Iraq would you like?"
Bashar: "An Iraq that would be anti-American, dominated by Iran, supporting
Hizbullah and Hamas, ready to fight the Arab-Israeli conflict forever, dominated
by the Sunni minority holding down the Shiite-Kurdish majority or an Islamist
state, and not too democratic so as to avoid giving my own people a bad
example."
American negotiator: "I'm sure we can work something out!"
Similarly, the regime will not give up its enmity against an independent
Lebanon, or Israel, under any circumstances because it needs to control the
former and fight the latter in order to win the struggle to retain popular
support at home. Thus, the issues on which it has grievances cannot be resolved
because its own actions and inflexibly maximalist demands are the very factors
blocking a solution.
Syria has been brilliant at creating and maintaining such Catch-22 situations,
where the only way to "solve" a problem is to buy Syrian "cooperation" with
deals that would make things worse. Syria has acted as the arsonist who sets the
fire, then has played the role of fireman who would put it out only on condition
that the burning property be given to it. This was how Syria fomented terrorism
in Lebanon against Western peacekeeping forces in the early 1980s, driving them
out and then offering to stabilize Lebanon by controlling it completely. The
same approach was applied to the Palestinians, in post-Baath Iraq, and in
Lebanon again.
Lebanon was indeed the masterpiece of this political genre. Thus, Syrian
Minister of Information Mohsen Bilal explained, "How can we be asked to disarm
Hizbullah [since] we're out of Lebanon?" But what if Syria was allowed to return
to Lebanon in force, would it then clamp down on Hizballah? Well, on another
occasion, Bilal was asked: "Will you be using your influence to persuade
Hizbullah to disarm, or not?" His response: "Why on earth should we?" In fact,
Hizballah is the main element in Syria's plan to recapture Lebanon entirely. If
the West wants a stable Lebanon, or to avoid more Lebanon-Israel wars, it has to
confront Syria, not make a deal with it.
What the West needs to deal with Syria is a properly realistic assessment based
on the facts about Assad, the regime, and the country. Syria is a weak and
fragile entity, dependent largely on oil income and European commerce. The
regime has flourished to the degree it has from enjoying a free ride - a lack of
pressure except for American economic sanctions.
There is a proper, traditional "realistic" way to handle such problems. It is
not by propitiating aggressors and begging them to make a deal on their terms
but by pressuring and deterring them. To do so requires credibility and
patience, a demonstration that the West will not cave in or be worn down to
surrender. In Syria's case, it must be denied assets, isolated, and its
endeavors frustrated. This requires using everything from trade measures to
counter-alliances, serious criticism, and other types of operations.
Likewise, Syrians must be shown that their leaders are a failure and can offer
neither lasting glory nor material gains. The regime must be contained until it
retreats. This can be a long process but it is ultimately a less costly one than
the alternatives.
**Barry Rubin is author of the recently published "The Truth About Syria"
(Palgrave-Macmillan). This is an edited extract from his book.
Jihadists moving into Lebanon
from Syria
By Christopher Allbritton
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
May 29, 2007
NAHR EL-BARED, Lebanon -- Heavily armed foreign jihadists have been entering
Lebanon from Syria from around the time Western authorities noticed a drop in
the infiltration of foreign fighters from Syria to Iraq, Lebanese officials say.
Syrian authorities, hoping to disrupt Lebanon so they can reassert control of
the country, "have stopped sending [the jihadists] to Iraq and are now sending
them here," charged Mohammed Salam, a specialist in Palestinian affairs in
Lebanon. "They sent those people to die in Lebanon."
Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, commander of Lebanon's Internal Security Forces, said
about half of the militants who have been battling Lebanese forces in the Nahr
el-Bared refugee camp outside Tripoli for nine days had fought previously in
Iraq.
"They are very dangerous," he said in an interview. "We have no choice, we have
to combat them."
Officials traveling with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said before Miss
Rice's meeting with her Syrian counterpart in Egypt early this month that Syria
appeared to be taking "positive" steps to guard its border with Iraq, resulting
in a reduced number of jihadists crossing the border.
But U.N. officials running the Nahr el-Bared camp told The Washington Times that
a large band of foreigners carrying mortars, rockets, explosive belts and other
heavy weapons entered the camp in a group several months ago.
That is near the time that infiltration of militants from Syria into Iraq fell
off, according to Lebanese authorities, who suspect the jihadists were simply
redirected by Damascus. Several thousand residents have been trapped in the
Palestinian refugee camp since fighting broke out May 20 between the army and
several hundred militants of a group called Fatah Islam, which includes a large
number of foreign fighters.
Palestinian leaders tried yesterday to negotiate an end to the standoff, in
which Lebanese army forces are ringed around the camp, but Prime Minister Fuad
Siniora insisted that the militants surrender and face justice. Gen. Rifi said
the foreigners began arriving in Lebanon during the war between Hezbollah and
Israel last summer, when between 60 and 70 jihadists were integrated into Fatah
al-Intifada, a group set up by Syrian intelligence in the 1980s.
In November last year, a Palestinian with Jordanian citizenship named Shaker
Youssef al-Absi broke with Fatah al-Intifada and set up a new group, Fatah
Islam, based in the Nahr el-Bared camp. Gen. Rifi said Fatah Islam has about 250
fighters, of which about 50 have been killed so far.
"They are parasites," the general said. "Even in Nahr el-Bared, there are not a
lot of Palestinians with Fatah Islam."
The original group had about 30 to 40 Lebanese members and 20 Palestinians in
the leadership positions, Gen. Rifi said. The rest were made up of fighters from
Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Yemen, Algeria and even from as far as
Bangladesh.
Residents of the camp appear to have been terrorized by the jihadists, according
to interviews with Palestinians who fled for their lives over the past week.
The militants "were shooting at anyone who moved," said one refugee who declined
to give his name. He said he could tell they were foreign by listening to their
accents, but his wife shushed him and he said no more. Gen. Rifi said there are
several more cells of foreign jihadists scattered around Lebanon. Some are in
the Palestinian camps, some are in Tripoli and some are in Beirut. Another
government official said some were based in the Bekaa Valley.
"Some [Gulf] Arabs, originally from al Qaeda, joined the group," Gen. Rifi said.
"But they are false al Qaeda. Our al Qaeda is made in Syria."
Money for the fighters comes from local criminal activities, such as bank
robberies -- one of which sparked the current standoff -- and support from Gulf
countries and "local politicians," said a senior regional military source.
"They're part of the global jihad," he said. Many government supporters think
the timing of this flare-up, given an upcoming U.N. Security Council vote on the
formation of an international tribunal to investigate the murder of former Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri, indicates Syria's involvement. "It's actually a
Syrian-sponsored and -coordinated move to send these jihadis into Lebanon to
topple the regime," said Mr. Salam.
Syria has been using the militant Shi'ite group Hezbollah to advance its
interests in Lebanon, but Mr. Salam suggested Damascus was worried about
inflaming religious tensions with the Sunni-led government that could spill over
into Syria. The Syrians "wouldn't mind demolishing Lebanon, but they didn't want
to do it with a Sunni-Shi'ite war because that could cross the border into
Syria. So they got Sunnis to fight Sunnis," the analyst said.
Three People, Including
Syrian Convicted of Forgery, Killed at Army Checkpoint
Lebanese troops opened fire at a speeding taxi cab which drove past their
checkpoint near Beirut Airport, killing a Syrian convicted of forgery as well as
two other Lebanese citizens. Police identified the fatalities as Hamadeh Mahmoud
Haj Ahmad, a Syrian, and Hussein Karaki and Qassem Noureddine, both Lebanese
citizens.
Security Sources told Naharnet on Monday that Haj Ahmad was driving the vehicle
at high speed, and refused to slow down upon instructions from soldiers manning
a checkpoint near the airport. "He smashed the obstacles and drove past the
checkpoint waving his middle finger at soldiers," one source told Naharnet.
The troops fired "warning shots, and when the driver failed to pull over they
opened fire at the car. Hussein Karaki, a Lebanese citizen who was sitting next
to the driver, was killed and Haj Ahmad was seriously wounded," the source
added. Haj Ahmad later died in the hospital, said the sources, adding that
Noureddine, a passer-by who was caught in the shooting, also died from his
wounds shortly afterwards. The sources said Haj Ahmed did not stop at the
checkpoint apparently because he had been convicted by a Lebanese court on
forgery charges. They noted that non-Lebanese are banned by law from driving
taxi cabs "which raises questions as why Haj Ahmad, a Syrian, was driving a
commuting vehicle owned by a Lebanese citizen."Registration documents show the
car, a white Mercedes Benz, is owned by Lebanese citizen Ali Mohammed Fares who
would be interrogated to find out why his vehicle was being used by a foreigner,
the source told Naharnet. The sources said the car was carrying two passengers,
in addition to the Syrian driver. They said only one traveler obeyed orders to
step out of the vehicle before Haj Ahmed and Karaki sped away. They said the
passenger who got out of the car was detained for questioning. TV footage showed
the car, with its front damaged, resting on a ramp in the middle of the road
about 200 meters from the terminal building. Troops manned the sidewalk checking
IDs, but the road to and from the country's only international airport remained
open. Later Monday, an assailant tossed a concussion grenade at a municipal
building containing a prison in the eastern city of Zahle, causing panic but no
injuries, police officials said. On Sunday evening, five people, including three
servicemen, were wounded when unknown assailants tossed a hand grenade from a
speeding car off Beirut's Barbir Bridge, falling near an army checkpoint.
Lebanese troops and police officers have erected hundreds of checkpoints in
Beirut and other cities to tighten security following what appears to be a
series of bomb blasts aimed at destabilizing Lebanon. Fatah al-Islam, a
terrorist faction fighting the Lebanese army in the north, has vowed to strike
at other areas. Lebanese authorities say Fatah al-Islam is a Syrian-sponsored
terrorist organization. Syria denies the claim. Beirut, 28 May 07, 19:01
UN readies for landmark vote
on Hariri court
Published: Tuesday, 29 May, 2007, 07:29 AM Doha Time
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council gears up for a landmark vote this week
to set up an international court to try suspects in the murder of Lebanese
ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri, which could heighten divisions in volatile Lebanon.
Acting at the request of embattled Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, the
council is weighing a draft resolution put forward by the US, Britain and France
to create the court in line with a deal reached between the UN and the Beirut
government.
“We are headed toward a vote on that resolution early next week,” US Ambassador
to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad, who chairs the council this month, told reporters on
Friday. Late Friday, the Western sponsors circulated an amended version of the
draft setting June 10 as the date for the creation of the court unless rival
Lebanese factions reach their own deal first, which would allow the treaty to
come into force sooner.
The treaty signed by the UN and Lebanon “shall enter into force on June 10,
2007, unless the government of Lebanon has provided notification ... before that
date” that it and the opposition have agreed to ratify it within the national
constitutional framework, said the amended draft.
A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said delaying until June
10 the coming into force of the tribunal treaty was a response to objections by
some council members who pressed for a grace period to allow the Lebanese rival
parties to reach an internal agreement.
But in any case the tribunal is not likely to be up and running until several
months after the treaty enters into force.
Hariri and 22 other people were killed in a massive bomb blast in February 2005,
widely blamed on Syria, which was then forced to end nearly 30 years of military
and political domination in Lebanon. An initial UN inquiry into the Hariri
slaying implicated Damascus, which has denied any involvement. The sponsors of
the draft are stressing the need for the council to act in view of the failure
of the rival Lebanese parties to ratify the tribunal plan. Lebanon’s pro-Syrian
opposition objects to the way the Beirut government has handled plans to create
the court under UN auspices and has so far managed to block all moves to set up
the court.
Siniora’s Western-backed government in turn accuses allies of Syria of trying to
block the creation of the tribunal under pressure from Damascus.
Khalilzad made it clear that setting up the tribunal was meant to ensure that
there be no “impunity for political assassinations” and to deter such crimes in
future.
But Russia, a veto-wielding council member and traditional ally of Syria,
objects to the draft’s reference to Chapter Seven of the UN Charter, which is
invoked in cases of threats to international peace and security.
A Western diplomat however said the sponsors were insisting on invoking the
chapter to send “the clearest signal” to the Lebanese parties that the creation
of the tribunal cannot be challenged. The 15-member council scheduled
discussions on Lebanon for today after the long US Memorial Day weekend and
diplomats said a vote on the draft was likely tomorrow. The Lebanon-UN deal
envisages a mixed tribunal composed of two chambers, a trial court composed of
three judges - one of them Lebanese alongside two foreigners - and an appeals
court with five judges, including two Lebanese.
For reasons of security, administrative efficiency and fairness, the tribunal
would be located outside Lebanon. Both Cyprus, Italy and the Netherlands have
been mooted as possible sites, diplomats said. n A UN team arrived in Lebanon
yesterday to check on reports of arms smuggling from across the border with
Syria in violation of UN resolutions, a diplomatic source said. The team was due
to meet army and security officials controlling the border during the two-week
mission requested by the UN Security Council, and then draw up a report for UN
chief Ban Ki-moon, the source said. Ban said last week the team “will review the
roles of relevant agencies, with particular attention to current national
customs and border monitoring capacities, as well as progress made by security
and customs agencies in strengthening their control of the border.” – AFP
Lebanon court could come to
Cyprus
THE UN is expected to decide this week whether it will set up an international
court to try the suspects in the murder of Lebanon’s ex-premier Rafiq Hariri and
whether it will be in Cyprus or the Netherlands. The US, Britain and France have
drawn up a draft resolution to create the court in line with a deal between the
Lebanese government and the UN. “We are headed toward a vote on that resolution
early next week,” US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad, who chairs the
council this month, told reporters in New York at the weekend. On Friday, an
amended draft set a deadline of June 10 for the creation of the court, which
must be set up outside of Lebanon for security reasons. It said the treaty
“shall enter into force on June 10, 2007, unless the government of Lebanon has
provided notification... before that date” that it and the opposition have
agreed to ratify it within the national constitutional framework, the amended
draft said.
However, even if a decision is taken this week to set up the court, it is
expected to take months before it is up and running. A discussion is due to take
place today at the Security Council and a vote could happen as early as
tomorrow. The treaty between Lebanon and the UN calls for a three-bench court
made up of one Lebanese judge and two foreign judges. A second chamber to handle
appeals would be composed of five judges, including two Lebanese and three
foreigners.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2007
Syria's Assad: anti-US
president wins second term
Send by e-mail Save Print Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is a young would-be
reformer who has won another seven-year term in power after refusing to bow to
Western pressure for reform or to renounce his anti-US credentials.Assad,
running in a no-contest referendum on Sunday, came to power in July 2000 with
the reputation of a modernist, but his efforts to implement change fell flat in
the face of his late father's rigid military-political system.
For the second time, he was elected president with more than 97 percent of the
vote, according to the official results.
The sternest political challenges have been a UN probe implicating Syria in
Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri's murder in 2005 and isolation over US claims
Damascus is backing the insurgency in Iraq and Middle East "terrorists". Assad
-- which means lion in Arabic -- showed little interest in politics as a young
man but the June 2000 death of his father, Hafez al-Assad who had ruled Syria
with an iron grip for three decades, propelled him to power. When he took
office, the slim, blue-eyed opthalmology major promised to inject new freedoms
and open up Syrian society. But the reforms he began, known as the "Damascus
Spring," proved short-lived, as members of the old guard stifled his initiative
and steered him toward more orthodox, authoritarian policies.
With little room for manoeuvre, Assad soon began to speak of "economic reform
before political reform", like in China. In 2003, he said the opposition had
"misunderstood" his references to democracy during a speech on investment.
"Syria has said no to a false democracy which brings chaos," Interior Minister
Bassam Abdel Mejid said on Tuesday, announcing the referendum results. Earlier
this month, the United States condemned Syria's jailing of several prominent
political activists as proof of what it called the country's "continued contempt
for human rights".
On the economic front, with oil reserves running out, almost 10 percent of
Syrians live below the poverty line, according to a UN document, amid a housing
crisis and high inflation although the economy grew 5.4 percent in 2006. Syria
forecasts economic growth of around seven percent for 2007, Economy Minister
Amer Lutfi said in state newspapers on voting day. Tall but shy, Assad bears a
physical resemblance to his father, from the breakaway Alawite Muslim sect, who
took power in a 1970 coup. The elder Assad proved remarkably adept at navigating
crises -- both domestic and international -- during his 30 years in power, but
his son has yet to establish himself in a similar way. Critics say Assad's
inexperience has made it difficult for him to establish Syria's place in the new
world order, with its former Soviet ally dissolved, the 2003 US-led invasion of
Iraq that toppled neighbouring Baath party leader Saddam Hussein, and increasing
Western pressure for Syria to democratise.
"Syria has become a dictatorship without a dictator," said a European diplomat
in Damascus. Born on September 11, 1965, Assad speaks perfect English and
French, having studied at the Franco-Arab Al-Hurriyet school in Damascus before
going to medical school.
There was nothing to suggest that, as the second son of the president, Bashar
was destined for high office. Between 1988 and 1992 he chose to study
opthalmology in Tehran, before going to London for further studies.But his life
was changed in 1994 by the death in a car crash of his older brother Bassel who
was being groomed for the presidency. Bashar was forced to return to Damascus to
embrace politics. In a country where a military career often opens the door to a
political career, Bashar became a tank battalion commander in 1994, then
lieutenant-colonel in 1997, before being promoted to colonel in January 1999.
He was elected to the top body of the Baath party at its first congress for 15
years in June 2000, and parliament passed an amendment to the constitution,
scrapping the minimum age limit of 40 to allow Bashar to run for president.He
took office as president on July 11, 2000.
Assad has two sons and a daughter with his wife, Asma, who comes from a wealthy
Sunni family and studied economics and computer technology. The president shares
her passion for computers and information technology.
Lebanese
tourism staggered by another summer on the edge of disaster
MARK MACKINNON
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
May 28, 2007 at 10:48 PM EDT
BYBLOS, LEBANON — Jose Abed had to think a bit before he could remember the last
time business was good at his family's fish restaurant. It was three years ago,
he decided, just before this country began to jerkily, often violently, unravel.
In better times, Pepe's Fishing Club was a magnet for tourists and wealthy
Lebanese who came to drink arak and munch mezze, or appetizers, on the
restaurant's stone terrace, which leans out over the idyllic port of this
ancient city.
The restaurant's walls are lined with photographs of those good old days, when
everyone from Marlon Brando and Brigitte Bardot to Paul Anka and Jacques Chirac
made the short trek north of Beirut to be seen dining here. There were nights,
it's said, when you could hear the party at Pepe's echo across the bay.
Monday afternoon, the restaurant sat so quiet and empty that if you strained,
you could hear the fishing boats bobbing in the harbour. Only a single waiter
was needed to serve the few diners who sat clutching guidebooks in one hand and
scooping hummus with the other.
The latest crisis to hit Lebanon's crucial tourism industry is the nine-day-old
armed standoff between the fundamentalists of Fatah al-Islam and the Lebanese
army at a refugee camp in the north of the country. The battle, which has left
dozens dead, has been accompanied by a series of mysterious bombings that have
targeted shopping malls and cafés in and around Beirut, scaring away business
just as the normally busy summer season was about to start.
“If it lasts, it will be a disaster. Not only for our business, but for the
whole country,” Mr. Abed said. “The country lives on tourists.”
The militants and the army exchanged heavy gunfire again Monday at the besieged
Nahr al-Bared camp, an hour's drive north of Byblos and Pepe's restaurant, while
in a separate development that reflected the growing tensions around the
country, two men were killed by army fire when they refused to halt at a
checkpoint near Beirut airport, an hour's drive to the south.
It's the third summer on the edge for Lebanon, a nation deeply divided between
Christians and Muslims, Sunnis and Shiites, Palestinians and Lebanese, as well
as pro- and anti-government forces. Many worry that the tiny country, which was
only starting to emerge from the nightmare of 15 years of civil war, can no
longer stand the strain. Mr. Abed identifies Feb. 14, 2005, as the moment his
business, and Lebanon, started to sour. That was the day former prime minister
Rafik Hariri and 20 others were killed by a massive truck bomb in the centre of
Beirut. In the 28 months since then, Lebanon has seen a pro-Western revolution,
a string of more than a dozen assassinations and assassination attempts, and a
34-day war between Israel and the Hezbollah militia.
In addition to the current crisis at Nahr al-Bared, the centre of Beirut is
blocked by a non-stop protest by Hezbollah and its allies that is aimed at
bringing down the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. Mr. Siniora,
incidentally, is the third man to try to head a government in the past two
years. He remains in control, but parliament hasn't been able to meet since the
standoff with Hezbollah began more than six months ago. The words “failed state”
are hard for observers to avoid.
If many Lebanese are becoming increasingly used to living with the drama,
tourists are staying away.
Even before the fighting at Nahr al-Bared began, more than 100 restaurants and
tourism-related businesses were forced to close in the first four months of this
year as the number of arrivals at Beirut airport plunged by more than a third
compared with the start of 2006. “People are scared. They won't come here,” said
Salam Jaber, whose money-changing shop's front was blown in by a bombing last
week in the mountain resort town of Aley. The town is usually popular with
tourists from the Persian Gulf, and the blast damaged several fast-food
restaurants and clothing stores on a stretch that another year might have been
packed with tourists.
Mr. Jaber blamed Syria, which he said wants to control its smaller neighbour,
for the explosion across the street and for the country's other troubles,
including Fatah al-Islam. It's a popular theory, but one that has as many
doubters as adherents. Not only the Syrian government, but also Israel, Iran and
the United States more than dabble in Lebanon. Damascus and Tehran aid
Hezbollah, while the West has repeatedly propped up Mr. Siniora's wobbly
administration. All sides see the power struggle as one that could influence the
fate of the entire Middle East.
To the 200,000 Lebanese employed in the tourism sector, the protests, bombs and
gunfights add up to a sustained attack on their wallets. Tourism accounts for
more than 10 per cent of all economic activity, and hopes were once high that
the industry could rapidly triple in size as memories finally faded of the
country's devastating 1975-1990 civil war. But as summer comes, the country is
once more in the headlines for violence and instability, rather than its
beaches, vineyards and Roman temples.“We have a lot of bad luck,” said Fadi Abu
Ali, who helps run a camping and eco-tourism business in the mountains east of
Beirut. The campground sat empty Monday, just as it did last summer.“Every year,
it's something else.”
Aoun told France supports
Lebanon's independence & stability
Tuesday, 29 May, 2007 @ 12:20 AM
Paris - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told the leader of Lebanon's
Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) Monday that France supports the independence and
stability of Lebanon. Aoun ( pictured right) left for Paris Sunday to attend a
signing event for his new book "Une Vision Certaine du Liban," (A Definite
Vision for Lebanon), published by Fayard, said an FPM statement. He will be in
Paris for few days, during which he is expected to meet with a number of French
officials and Lebanese nationals. Aoun is accompanied by MPs Edgar Maalouf and
Nabil Nicholas of FPM.
Kouchner ( pictured left) , who traveled to Lebanon last week, held talks with
retired general Michel Aoun in Paris as part of a regular series of meetings
with Lebanese political leaders, said foreign ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste
Mattei. According to FPM Aoun and Kouchner were to discuss recent developments
in Lebanon as well as Lebanese-French bilateral ties. Aoun who is now an ally of
the pro-Syrian Hezbollah has seen his relationship with the west deteriorate
after his return from exile in Paris. Aoun has been defending Hezbollah , which
the west considers a terrorist organization, that is undermining Lebanon's
independence and sovereignty.
The foreign minister, who was appointed earlier this month, asserted France's
"support for the independence, sovereignty and stability of Lebanon" and for the
creation of an international tribunal to try the murderers of former prime
minister Rafik Hariri. The UN Security Council is to vote this week on setting
up the court in a vote that could heighten divisions in volatile Lebanon. Hariri
and 22 other people were killed in a massive bomb blast in February 2005, widely
blamed on Syria, which was then forced to end nearly 30 years of military and
political domination in Lebanon.
Former president Jacques Chirac was a close friend of Hariri and the anti-Syrian
cabinet of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has received staunch backing from
France.
Aoun's representative lost elections at Lebanon syndicate
In Beirut , the representative of Aoun and his pro-Syrian allies lost big time
in the elections for the presidency of the syndicate of Physicians. The result
was 2/ 1 in favor of the representative of March 14 anti-Syria majority.
According to Election observers the March 14 representative received 60 % of the
Christian vote. Aoun has always claimed that he represented 70 % of the
Christians. Election observers declared the result as a big blow for Aoun.
Why Lebanon's Army will
invade Naher al-Bared
Tuesday, 29 May, 2007 @ 5:56 PM
By David Kenner
First, a caveat: I am fully aware that trying to predict the outcome of a
political struggle in Lebanon is a recipe for failure and embarrassment.
Luckily for you, I am completely without fear or shame, and have a massively
overstated opinion of my own intelligence.
"We are ready to die," said Fatah al-Islam's Abu Salim Teha. One can only
imagine that most Lebanon feel the same way about Teha. There has been a
bizarre, little pause in the last few days in Tripoli. The fighting flares and
then quickly dies down; only a few grenades have been tossed here in Beirut.
That's what passes for a lull in Lebanon, these days. During the stalemate, U.S
military aid has been rushed to the Lebanese Army, Naher al-Bared is being
emptied of civilians, and the Palestinians are trying to broker a compromise.
But don't mistake the intermission for the end of the show. The Lebanese Army
probably will end up invading the camp, for both military and political reasons.
First, the obvious military reasons: thirty soldiers have died. Armies do not
just smile, accept that number of casualties, and walk away. Fatah al-Islam is
also an obvious danger to Lebanon's stability. The Palestinian negotiators have
proposed a deal where Fatah al-Islam is allowed to walk away, maybe back to
Syria. There simply is no common ground here. Unless its members are dead or in
jail, Fatah al-Islam will remain a threat to Lebanon.
This also is a (for lack of a better word) good battle for the Lebanese Army to
fight. It is a popular cause -- Fatah al-Islam is widely reviled among all
segments of the Lebanese population. They even lack a base of support among the
Palestinians. Nobody is more aware of their reputation for being an ineffective
fighting force than the Lebanese Army itself. They are also aware that their
authority within Lebanon is severely threatened by Hizbullah. A total victory
over Fatah al-Islam would do a great deal to establish their reputation as a
serious fighting force, and their legitimacy as the defender of Lebanese
security.
The government forces might also hope they can use the invasion of Naher
al-Bared to drive a wedge in the opposition. As Jeha pointed out, the FPM's site
is currently a giant Valentine's Day card to the Lebanese Army. They've pledged
to support any action the Army deems necessary, while Hizbullah vows to oppose
an incursion into the camp. A prolonged battle within the camp would put stress
on the Nasrallah/Aoun alliance, and establish a larger point about the Army's
authority within all of Lebanon. That's not the message a certain
state-within-a-state wants to see the Army deliver.
Right now, the government is happy to equip its soldiers with shiny new weapons,
evacuate civilians to make an assault less bloody, and make a show of looking
for a negotiated solution. But in the end, all the arrows point to a final,
decisive battle. The outcome will say a great deal about the strength of the
army, and its ability to keep order in Lebanon. Stick around. This could be one
of those weeks that define the political terrain for future months or years.
**Source: Beirut to the Beltway
Clerics mediate as army
tightens grip on Nahr al-Bared
Fatah al-islam spokesman reacts positively to suggestion of lebanese muslim
'buffer force'
By Hani M. Bathish
Daily Star staff
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army strengthened its positions on Monday around the Nahr
al-Bared refugee camp, where Fatah al-Islam militants are holed up and have
"persisted in their hostile actions by firing on and sniping at army positions
and setting up new fortifications," the military said in a statement.
Calm prevailed Monday morning over the camp, with only sporadic fire registered.
Clashes resumed toward the evening, with intermittent to heavy fire from inside
the camp while the army responded with mortar rounds. An army soldier was
wounded when militants fired at a position on the Mhamara heights overlooking
the camp. The army responded by shelling the northern end of the camp near Abdeh.
Few residents left the camp on Monday. Estimates on the number of civilians
remaining inside range from 5,000-7,000. The remaining residents include the
elderly and infirm and some who fear being attacked or permanently displaced if
they leave.
Fatah al-Islam spokesman Abu Salim Taha said mediation efforts by Palestinian
clerics have resulted in "one promising suggestion." The proposal is to install
an "Islamic peacekeeping force," drawn from Islamic organizations in Lebanon, as
a buffer between the army and Fatah al-Islam, he said. "We will never leave the
camp," Abu Salim told The Daily Star in a telephone interview. "The majority of
camp residents support us, and they do not want us to leave. Even if they did,
we would not leave. We have our purpose and mission to carry out."
He said that previous suggestions conveyed by clerics, including surrendering to
the Lebanese authorities and installing peacekeeping forces made up of other
Palestinian factions, were met with outright rejection. Abu Salim said the past
two days saw a relative calm, adding that his fighters fired only light rounds
"to remind the army we are still here."Fatah al-Islam again denied
responsibility for the spate of bombings in civilian areas since last Sunday.
Abu Salim said that while Fatah al-Islam will to take the fight outside the camp
if the army continues its attacks, the group does not target civilians.
A delegation of clerics from the Union of Palestinian Scholars has been leading
mediation efforts with the approval of Lebanese officials, Palestinian factions
and Fatah al-Islam. "We are still at the beginning of the mediation road, but we
are determined to continue and to work as fast as possible," delegation member
Sheikh Mohammad al-Hajj told AFP Monday.
Palestinian clerics trying to mediate the crisis came under fire Sunday,
although the source of the gunfire was not known. Khalil Makkawi, the former
ambassador who heads the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, said Prime
Minister Fouad Siniora remains in constant touch with mainstream Palestinian
factions, adding that everyone awaits Palestinian initiatives to resolve the
problem. Makkawi said the camp has been taken hostage by terrorists. In a
statement, he asked all Palestinian factions to condemn Fatah al-Islam's attacks
against the army, disown the group and resolve the crisis by dissolving the
group and handing over the attackers to the Lebanese judicial system. He said
there could be no compromise over these demands.
The commander of Fatah in Lebanon, Sultan Abu al-Aynayn, told reporters at his
headquarters in the Rashidiyeh refugee camp that he saw several obstacles that
Palestinian factions are facing in resolving the crisis. Some factions have
created a cover for this "gang," he said, adding that maneuvering among the
different Palestinian factions is like moving through a "minefield." Aby al-Aynayn
said there was no time limit set by the army or the government for peaceful
mediation, reiterating that a military solution is not the right one and calling
instead for "a creative solution" to the Fatah al-Islam problem.
Abu Emad al-Rifai, the Lebanon representative of the Palestinian group Islamic
Jihad, said the Palestinian factions have not yet agreed on how to "end the
phenomenon of Fatah al-Islam peacefully," telling Reuters more discussions were
needed. "We have not discussed the matter of handing them over," Rifai said of
the militants, adding that a military solution was "no longer an option."
Palestinian factions have agreed to set up a committee to shore up security in
Nahr al-Bared, which still houses armed members of several Palestinian factions.
The army checkpoint along the coastal road at the southern entrance to the camp
saw little activity, as the army refused to let anyone enter the camp. "There
are many disabled people still inside the camp [and] those who do not have
family to carry them out and cannot leave on foot," said Ahmad Serhan, a
resident of the nearby Beddawi camp who has been coordinating the evacuation of
Nahr al-Bared residents. "The Red Cross helped evacuate some. There are also
some old folks who are stubborn and do not want to leave."
Some residents who had managed to leave the camp in the last few days turned up
at the southern entrance, trying to get back in to retrieve belongings and to
check on their homes. Amin Sabeeni waited with his sister, who is due to fly
home to Australia. She evacuated the camp with her husband and six children with
only the clothes on their backs. "They won't let us in," he said. "My sister and
her husband need their suitcases." Sabeeni, who left the camp Wednesday, said
his home had been hit by eight shells. - With agencies
No casualties as grenade rocks Zahle
BEIRUT: An explosion shook the Bekaa Valley town of Zahle on Monday evening, the
fifth such attack in Lebanon since May 20.
Security sources said no one was hurt and no property damaged in the blast,
which was caused by a concussion grenade thrown into a garden adjacent to the
town municipality. The municipal building is also home to a jail operated by the
Internal Security Forces. - The Daily Star
Troops kill two men at airport checkpoint/ Two men were killed on Monday as
their car sped away from a Lebanese Army checkpoint near Beirut's Rafik Hariri
International Airport, an army source told AFP. The vehicle was reportedly a
Mercedes taxi registered to Ali Hussein Fares. "The driver of the car, asked by
soldiers to stop for an identity check ... fled with two passengers," an army
source said. "The soldiers fired at the tire of the vehicle, which smashed into
a wall."
A Lebanese man from the Southern village of Jbaa, Hassan Ali Karkai, who was a
passenger in the car, and the driver, a Syrian identified as Hmadeh Mahmoud
al-Hajj Ahmad, were killed on the spot. An investigation has been launched to
determine if they died of gunshot wounds or because of the crash.
The other passenger and a passerby, Hussein Assem Noureddine, were taken to a
hospital. Police arrested another wounded passenger, who was shot in the
abdomen, as well as a third passenger, who got out of the car at the checkpoint.
Some protests were reported in Hay al-Selom, where Karkai resided. - With
agencies