LCCC NEWS BULLETIN
May 9/2006

Below news from miscellaneous sources for 9/05/06
UPI Interview: Lebanese PM Fouad Siniora-World Peace Herald
Siniora wants pressure on Israel-BBC News - UK
Lebanon - Syria borders on UN security agenda-Alarab online
Syria, a slightly less secular state-Alarab online
General Philippe Rondot: A Lonely Wolf in Political Jungle-Axis News
Sarkozy and Michel Aoun-Dar Al-Hayat
Lebanese PM`s diplomatic tactic-Monsters and Critics.com
Khaddam dismisses Syrian summons-BBC News
Below news from the Daily Star for 9/05/06
Civil servants' protest gets green light
Has Berri's Damascus trip paved the way for Siniora?
Parliamentary panel looks into decentralization law
Gemayel: Don't drag politics into the street
Hariri sees Syrian hand in anti-reform movement
Expert: Judges issued at least 1,250 unjust verdicts
Civil servants' protest gets green light
Siniora promotes reform agenda in nonstop London talks
Khaddam denies receiving warrant, says Assad has 'lost his mind'
Ahmadinejad reaches out to Bush in search for 'solutions'
No, Saudi Arabia does not consider Hamas a terrorist group
China backs away from tough Security Council action on Iran

Expert: Judges issued at least 1,250 unjust verdicts
By Nada Bakri -Daily Star staff
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
BEIRUT: The Lebanese judiciary has issued at least 1,250 arbitrary and unjust verdicts in the past 10 years, according to a legal expert who proposes establishing a special court to look into and possibly reconsider these rulings. Speaking during a news conference on Monday organized by the Foundation for Human and Humanitarian Rights in Lebanon, Victor Ghoraib also said the Lebanese judiciary includes 20-25 corrupt or incompetent judges, according to the Justice Ministry.
"If each corrupt judge has issued an average of 10 verdicts every year since 1995, the result is 1,250 unjust and unfair verdicts passed through pressure on the judiciary exerted by the former Lebanese-Syrian security system," said Ghoraib.
Ghoraib said he had proposed in May 2005 a draft law to establish a special court or judicial committee composed of three judges to look into verdicts issued by judges accused of corruption or inadequacy or issued against someone to meet the interests of the Lebanese-Syrian security regime and its allies.
"This draft law will help reform the judicial system. Therefore it should be adopted as soon as possible," he argued. Ghoraib said that Justice Minister Charles Rizk acknowledged last summer that the judiciary suffers from flaws and imperfection and announced that corrupt judges will be dismissed as soon as the Higher Judicial Council files its report on them.
However, he added that "it is insufficient to dismiss the corrupt judges without reopening all the cases where verdicts were unjust." The Higher Judicial Council has primary responsibility for disciplining judges and ensuring judicial independence.
The council is a permanent tribunal of five senior judges that adjudicates threats to national security and five others appointed by the Cabinet and approved by the president based on their sectarian affiliation.
A failure to appoint three new judges - due to disputes over their identities between Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's Cabinet and President Emile Lahoud - impeded Rizk's efforts to adjudicate this case. Verdicts from this tribunal cannot be appealed.


MP Saad al-Hariri extols Kuwait''s unabated support of Lebanon
POL-SAUDI-KUWAIT-HARIRI
MP Saad al-Hariri extols Kuwait's unabated support of Lebanon
BY Abdulrazzaq al-Hizami RIYADH, May 8 (KUNA) -- Head of the Coalition of the Future at the Lebanese parliament, MP Saad al-Hariri extolled Monday in lofty terms Kuwait, leadership and people, for their unyielding support of Lebanon In an interview here with KUNA on the eve of his departure to Kuwait tomorrow, al-Hariri expressed his delight at having to meet with the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and be enriched by the Amir's long experience in regional and world political affairs. In that regard he recalled that his late father Rafiq al-Hariri often sought advice from the Amir with whom al-Hariri nurtured a close relationship. Citing instances of the Amir's benevolence to Lebanon, Saad al-Hariri pointed out Kuwait's role in ending the Lebanese civil war by recalling that Sheikh Sabah chaired the six-party Arab committee whose offshoot, the Tripartie Committee, was instrumental in bringing the civil war to a standstill. The Lebanese MP furthermore cited Kuwait's ambitious and magnanimous support of post civil war reconstruction efforts in Lebanon, as he appreciated present day Kuwait's welcoming arms to Lebanese expatriates who have made Kuwait their home away from home.Saad al-Hariri intimated that his talks with the Amir and Kuwaiti officials will focus on bilateral ties as well as on regional and international developments. Al-Hariri's Coalition of the Future is the largest representative group in the Lebanese parliament, numbering 37 MPs. The group itself is part of a larger orverarching coalition that has about 71 MPs under its wings.

An-Nahar puts Ghassan Tueni back in charge
Daily Star 9/5/06:An-Nahar's board of directors has elected veteran journalist Ghassan Tueni as its new head and appointed him general manager of the newspaper, An-Nahar said Monday. It also said that journalist Fran�ois Akl, who has been working for the newspaper since 1963, was elected editor-in-chief to replace Tueni, who currently occupies the position. According to the daily, Akl is working on "developing and modernizing the newspaper" in cooperation with a team including Gebran Tueni's daughter, journalist Nayla Tueni. Nicholas Jean Tueni, a prominent businessman, will represent Ghassan Tueni in An-Nahar's administrative affairs, the daily added. Ghassan Tueni replaces his late son Gebran, who was killed by a car bomb on December 12, 2005. Tueni will continue writing his front-page editorials every Monday, the paper added.

New program will help protect ozone layer
Daily Star 9/5/06:The Environment Ministry, in cooperation with the UN Development Program (UNDP), has launched a series of projects and training sessions in the air-conditioning sector in order to limit the use of chemical compounds known as CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) which cause ozone depletion, a statement issued by the ministry said Monday. The project will be implemented according to the Montreal Protocol, a landmark international agreement designed to protect the ozone layer, the statement added. The ministry urged the owners of maintenance projects and technicians working in air conditioning to contact the Environment Ministry to obtain the necessary technical assistance and expertise to limit the use of CFCs by replacing them with alternative ozone-friendly products. For more information, contact the ministry at 01-976555 or call 1789, extension 432 and 476 or send an e-mail to ozone@moe.gov.lb

Forty articles on Cabinet agenda for Thursday
Daily Star 9/5/06:The Cabinet's Secretariat said Monday that 40 articles would be on the agenda of the ordinary session to be held Thursday. The articles include a draft law pertaining to taxes, a cooperation accord between Lebanon and Oman, and a project to determine and classify tourist regions and resort areas. The ministers will also discuss a project to build a campus for the Arab University of Beirut in Tripoli and a request from the Environment Ministry have the Lebanese Army survey the stocks of pebbles, sand, stones and earth located inside or outside quarries.

Employees protest outside Information Ministry
Daily Star 9/5/06:Surplus employees at the Information Ministry held a protest Monday in front of the ministry's headquarters to demand the payment of transportation and production fees. Elham Zouaiter spoke on behalf of the employees, saying: "Being Lebanese is our sin and being among the workers in the Information Ministry is what makes things worse, for it is denying our presence and rights under the slogan of administrative reform."

Police question suspects in attack on writer
Daily Star 9/5/06:Investigators have identified suspects in the case of assaults and threats against political writer Elias Zogbi, security reports said Monday. Members of the Maatouk and Mereeb families from Dahr Sawan, Metn, have been brought in for questioning, the reports said.

EU agrees to fund youth program at CDR
Daily Star 9/5/06: Sports and Youth Minister Ahmad Fatfat, European Union Ambassador Patrick Renauld and Council for Development (CDR) and Reconstruction chief Al-Fadel Chalak signed an accord on Monday to finance the third stage of the Euro-Mediterranean youth program at the CDR's headquarters. The deal is part of a 300,000-euro grant, of which210,000 euros have been earmarked for youth programs. According to Fatfat, the program "aims to encourage cultural dialogue among youths from 15-25 years old. It also aims to encourage the activities of youth associations."

ISRAEL AGAINST THE WORLD
The new UN Human Rights Council is heading straight into the anti-Zionist morass
that helped destroy the body it's meant to replace.
By David Matas
Ottawa Citizen, May 08, 2006
We have witnessed the death throes of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, soon to be replaced by a newly created Human Rights Council. The inauguration of this body should rightly signal a promising new era in human rights-building. However, with the General Assembly due to elect members tomorrow to the Council and its first meeting set for June 19, the ostensibly new and improved body looks as if it will fall into the same pitfalls that led to the commission's abolition.
The commission was abolished because it had ceased to function. Human rights violators had come to realize that they could avoid accountability by becoming members of the commission and then diverting attention away from their violations. The principle diversionary tactic was to focus on Israel. Of the commission's two agenda items dealing with country-specific human rights violations, one was reserved solely for Israel, while the other was meant to cover the rest of the world.
The commission became an Israel-bashing consortium, automatically condemning whatever the Jewish state was doing to defend itself against terrorist attacks. For years, one-third of the time and the resolutions of the Human Rights Commission were devoted to Israel alone. At the same time, there were no resolutions on major human rights violators, not on China or Zimbabwe or Iran.
Will the new council be different? Although it was the UN in New York that decided to create the council, it will be the UN in Geneva deciding its agenda and working methods. In the Geneva discussions, Israel has been sidelined -- a bad sign.
Country representatives have met in regional groupings in Geneva to discuss the council. Israel was not allowed into any meeting, the only country so excluded. Israel was never allowed into the Asia regional group even though it is the geographic area in which Israel belongs, because the anti-Zionist states have never allowed its inclusion. The next logical choice was the Western European and Others Group (WEOG), which includes Canada. The WEOG group has allowed Israel membership in New York, but not so far in Geneva.
Although Israel should on principle have full membership in WEOG in Geneva, it has expressed a more modest ambition for the run-up to the council, simply to be part of the WEOG Geneva discussions on the new body. Even this, WEOG has so far refused.
The French essayist Rochefoucauld once said that the absent are always wrong. By barring Israel from discussions on how to prevent the new council from becoming a replica of the Israel-bashing commission, UN member states look well on their way to re-creating the old commission problems in the new human rights body.
In meetings I had in Geneva in March as part of the B'nai Brith International delegation at time when the commission was effectively disbanded, I heard a number of comments that give us insight into what we can expect at the new Council. A representative of one state said that Israel is not "like-minded" to the members of WEOG, that its behaviour disentitles it to membership or even joining in discussions on the new council. Yet, what Israel is criticized for is its attempts to defend itself; ceasing its self-defence would no doubt please some states, but at the cost of its existence.
This is very much like the old response individual Jews used to receive when complaining about discrimination that barred their membership in private clubs -- just convert to Christianity and you can join us.
Another state said membership in a regional grouping does not really matter because the members of the regional groups have such different points of view that they do not generate any useful consensus. This response obviously contradicts the premise that WEOG gathers together like-minded states. As well, it should undoubtedly be left to Israel to judge whether its participation in regional meetings is useful, not to those trying to keep Israel out.
Yet another response I heard is that Israel is friendly with the United States, the U.S. is a member of WEOG, and the U.S. can bring Israel's views to the table. But surely if Israeli opinions are appropriate and useful enough to be conveyed through an intermediary, then they can be conveyed directly. As well, the U.S., of all countries, clearly has its own interests at stake in the new council and cannot be expected to act as the voice of another member state. No other country is required to use the good offices of another member to convey its points of view.
Perhaps the feeblest response I heard, though the competition is steep, was the answer that Israeli participation in WEOG discussions on the new council would annoy the Arab and Muslim states. There are too many of these states, the argument ran, and it is politically unwise to get on their bad side. This answer indicates more than any other that the new council is heading into the anti-Zionist morass that, in part, led to the abolition of the old commission.
Canada is a member of WEOG and to its credit has striven for the inclusion of Israel in WEOG in Geneva. These efforts need to be redoubled to ensure that Israel is accepted as a full partner with all other WEOG members in all discussions, including those on the new Human Rights Council.
Furthermore, if Canada, an avid promoter and architect of the new Human Rights Council, wants the new body to be taken seriously, it must work to prevent the Council from falling into the anti-Zionist trap of its predecessor.
Given the proclivities of many of the contenders in tomorrow's election, not just for rabid anti-Zionism but for egregious human rights abuses in their own home ground, the prospects for a truly reformed Council appear dim.
David Matas is senior honorary counsel to B'nai Brith Canada and the author of Aftershock: Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism. He is a Winnipeg lawyer and was present in Geneva during the concluding commission session just before its final collapse.
B’nai Brith has been active in Canada since 1875 as the Jewish community’s foremost human rights organization. To learn more about its advocacy work and diverse community and social programs, please visit http://www.bnaibrith.ca.

THE MIRACLE OF SAN CHARBEL IN LATIN AMERICA, CHILI, FREIRINA
María, daughter of Toufic Simón, a Lebanese emigrant, born in Chiyah, Lebanon. Next to their mother Haziba Haddad Tacla, emigrated to America in 1922, leaving from Beirut in a ship to Genoa. Italy and from there to cross the Mediterranean and then the Atlantic, until the port of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Then in another ship to study Magellan's Strait and to arrive until the port of Valparaíso, where they were received by the Lebanese Community that had settled previously and he lent help to the new emigrants that move to different town of Chile, to begin a new life. From that important Chilean port, Haziba and their son Toufic travels in train until Atacama, to a called town Vallenar, where you began to agglutinate an important family of Lebanese.
Antonio Simón Shiaun, it had emigrated in 1910, next to relatives and others that desired to leave the cruelty of the war and the invasion of the Ottoman Empire that it had acted sanguinarily against the Lebanese town, what I force the intervention of the European nations to put an end to the occupation, that that but it takes I mean the protectorate of the government from France in the country. He arrived firstly in Brazil, then Argentina, until San Juan's town and news of rich location of gold in the town of "The Mortars" in the north of Chile, they began a painful pilgrimage, reaching the summits of the solid Andes in mules, guided by expert jeans that you/they helped the emigrants the search of a new life. There they settled, mounting precarious camps, to sell merchandises to the miners.
María, worked as teacher in the School Alejandro Noemí Huerta, an outstanding one political, first deputy, then senator and that you was invited by the decade of the 60 to visit Lebanon and to speak in the parliament, to be a son of Lebanese.
María suffers an illness that attacks her lungs and she doesn't allow it to breathe. It joins of doctors and deep exams determine that their life finishes and she doesn't have the possibility of an improvement. Interned in a hospital in the port of Coquimbo, IV Region of Chile is not able to arrive to the capital Santiago, for the delicate of the health.
A meeting of doctors advises to the family to return her to its home and to wait, already anything seizes she can make.
The siblings, not conformed they begin a vigil of sentences, arriving their laments beyond the frontiers, where other relatives in the exterior, jointly with sentence groups "Charismatic", they clamor for María's life.
The winds take the message to the Lebanon, until Chiyah. There Nehman Abboud, Mary young friend who they were known through the Internet. He communicates to a friend and mushroom calls its aunt Zomorod who appeals to the monastery where San Charbel this buried and that he is a very miraculous saint, an oil usually sprouts and that it is used by the believers, effects that the science prescribes taking place and scientist would not be able to understand.
This oil and a small piece of the saint's cloth, trip in a flask to Chile, sent by Nehman. The oil arrives in Chile and from there it travels to the hospital of the port of Coquimbo, where Mary sister, Perla Rahil and its brother Antonio, they receive the day February 22 the envelope with the flask that contained the it finishes hope for the family. It is anointed their delicate body and she fall in a deep dream.
She says that he was transfigured and it was seen writing a letter in the same room of the hospital. It was lifted, healthy and it was said: For that I am here, if I am healthy! - the following day to the awakening, she realized that it had passed the pressure of the chest and their lungs, he could breathe better. It is this way as day after day it improved. She already walked without depending on the tube of I oxygenate. It returned to their improved city. Where she receives hundred of calls asking for San Charbel and as getting the miraculous oil.
One day April 22 of it records a documentary for a channel of television of the capital. That day there were not classes in the city. But to complete the series, there are classes in the school where Mary Simón is a teacher, she went when already seeing them walking. All the children and professors cried of emotion, 6 months had passed that she had left of attending the school.
All Chile, he could see this message of faith, Christendom and I eat San Charbel it had acted producing this miracle in a daughter Phoenician of first generation. Their sacred hand had been able to conquer the seas and the distance,
The good will of Nehman Abboud, a generous Lebanese of Chiyah and the aunt Zomorod that got the oil and the sentences in the Monastery of Annaya, a beautiful valley in that blessed called millennial country LEBANON.
This message of Christian love allows to remember the famous poet's words Gibran Khalil Gibran in its maxims work THE PROPHET, BROKEN WINGS and more.
Mary Simon, is sister of Amir Ibn Taufik.
LEBANESE CULTURAL UNION BOLIVIA
http://bolivian-lebanese-cultural-union.blogspot.com /
Antonio Simon
asimongcl@yahoo.com
http://www.meganoticias.cl/2006/html/2604_2100_santo.php
http://200.72.1.107/meganoticias/videos/wmv
/26042006_2100_reportajesanto.wmv
Nehman Abboud" <nehman_abb@yahoo.com>

UPI Interview: Lebanese PM Fouad Siniora
By Dalal Saoud- United Press International
Published May 8, 2006
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is pursuing a new diplomatic offensive to force Israel to withdraw from the Shabaa farms. This move, the prime minister believes, will extend Lebanon's sovereignty over the occupied area while at the same time strip Hezbollah of any pretext to pursue its anti-Israeli resistance which Syria sponsors and Iran backs.
When asked in an interview with United Press International whether the liberation of Shabaa -- possibly by diplomatic means -- would see Hezbollah losing its main argument for maintaining its arms, Siniora replied: "Yes."
Initially, as many anti-Syrian Lebanese officials argued, such a move would weaken Syria's hand -- it was using Shabaa to maintain its grip on Lebanon and boost its chances in any future peace accord with Israel.
This would be only possible if the United States, the United Nations and other influential international players back Siniora's diplomatic approach. The Lebanese prime minister, however, was quick to say his efforts were not directly targeting Syria or any party in Lebanon.
Trying to force Israel out of the Shabaa farms by diplomatic means was "not a hostile action against any party. It is not a hostile action against Syria," Siniora told UPI before traveling to London on Sunday.
"On the contrary, Lebanon is pursuing an action that serves itself, Syria and the Arab world. Therefore, there is no contradiction," he said.
Israel refused to relinquish the border area of Shabaa farms when it ended its 22-year occupation and withdrew its troops from south Lebanon in May 2000. The U.N., which confirmed Israel's pullout, ruled that Israel seized the Shabaa farms from Syria during the 1967 war -- an argument rejected by the Lebanese government and Hezbollah.
The Shabaa issue has been the subject of heated debate in Lebanon since Syria's pullout from the country last year, and became more prominent when the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 1559, which calls for the disarming of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias and demanded that the Lebanese government extend its authority over all Lebanese territories; the issues covered in the resolution formed the core of an ongoing Lebanese political dialogue.
Siniora said that once Shabaa was confirmed to be Lebanese through a process that would involve Syria and the U.N., Israel would have to withdraw from it and this would be "a step on the road for Lebanon to achieve complete sovereignty... In the meantime, Lebanon would be building a strategy to defend Lebanon, a strategy that Lebanese would agree upon."
Hezbollah was pushing for such a strategy to protect Lebanon against any possible future Israeli aggressions -- even after regaining control of Shabaa -- as part of any discussions targeting its disarmament.
The key point, according to Siniora, is how to coordinate the diplomatic efforts on all fronts to enable Lebanon to extend its complete authority over all its territory, including the Shabaa farms, and whereby no group, except the national army be allowed to retain their weapons.
Asked whether there has so far been any positive response from the western countries regarding his diplomatic efforts, Siniora said: "The contacts we are holding allow the other parties to listen to our point of view. Therefore, we should make progress. I believe (there is progress), but nothing yet concrete on the ground."
But what would happen if Israel does not bow to diplomatic pressures and remain in Shabaa?
"Hezbollah weapons still exist," Siniora said.
Siniora's other diplomatic efforts to normalize strained relations with neighboring Syria have so far failed.
The Lebanese prime minister was still waiting for a green light from Syria to visit Damascus to discuss issues such as border demarcation, arms smuggling into Lebanon and exchanging diplomatic representation. Siniora has so far been shunned by Syrian officials, who appear uneasy about dealing with him on the basis that he represents an anti-Syrian political movement in Lebanon.
Lebanese-Syrian relations sharply deteriorated following the assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a powerful explosion that targeted his convoy in Beirut on Feb. 14, 2005. A U.N. investigation has suggested Syrian and Lebanese officers were involved in Hariri's killing.
Siniora, a long-time close aide to Hariri, emphasized that he was eager to preserve "strong ties" between Lebanon and Syria, but wanted Lebanon to be respected as a sovereign and independent country.
"We will not change even if the meeting (with the Syrians) takes years, and I am not saying that it will take years," he said, confident that "with calm, wisdom and firmness," Lebanon would be able to engage in talks with Syria about border demarcation and exchanging ambassadors -- issues that Damascus seems unready to discuss or accept for the time being.
Efforts by Saudi Arabia and Egypt to smooth the way for a rapprochement between Syria and Lebanon have so far failed.
"We need to encourage such good-will initiatives. If they haven't yet achieved results, it doesn't mean they won't," Siniora said. "The most important is to revive relations with Syria. We have made a separation between the ongoing U.N. investigation into Hariri's assassination and the relations with Damascus."
The fear that Lebanon would be affected by the developments in the region, especially in Iraq and Iran, is a real and key Lebanese concern.
But the difficult task is "to prevent Lebanon from becoming a ball in others' playfield or becoming a playfield for the others," as Siniora concluded.

Siniora wants pressure on Israel
By Kim Ghattas -BBC News, Beirut
Siniora is pushing fro Israeli withdrawal form the Shebaa farms Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, is in London for a two-day visit. He is due to meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday.
Mr Siniora told the BBC that his mission is to convince world leaders to pressure Israel into withdrawing from the area of Shebaa farms. He added that he is convinced that such a withdrawal will lead to the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Mr Siniora is a member of the anti-Syrian coalition in Lebanon. Lebanon claims the disputed Shebaa farms as its territory but according to the UN, the area is part of the Syrian Golan Heights occupied by Israel since 1967.
An Israeli withdrawal will empower the internal security and the Lebanese economy
The Lebanese prime minister told the BBC he was confident that if Israel withdrew from the area, Hezbollah, the anti-Israeli guerrilla movement, would finally disarm and the Lebanese army would be the sole armed body in the country.
Mr Siniora said international support was crucial on that and other issues.
"We want to empower Lebanon so that we will have an Israeli withdrawal empowering the internal security, empowering the Lebanese economy. This is for all the Lebanese. We want to seek the support of our friends around the world for all Lebanon," Mr Siniora told the BBC. He also said that Syria had to recognise Lebanon as an independent sovereign country.
Mr Siniora also said that although change was not always as fast as people wished for, a lot had been achieved in Lebanon in the last year. The militant Lebanese Hezbollah group has used the Israeli presence in Shebaa farms to justify continued armed conflict. On Monday, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qasim affirmed that the group's disarmament is not open to discussion. He was quoted by Hezbollah TV, al-Manar, saying that Hezbollah is willing to discuss what would be the role of Hezbollah's weapons in a Lebanese defensive strategy.

Lebanon - Syria borders on UN security agenda
The UN Security Council may vote on Tuesday on a new resolution defining future relations between Lebanon and Syria including the geographical border between the two neighbours.
"The resolution requests Syria to accept the demands of the Lebanese government regarding the demarcation of the border and the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations," a Lebanese Foreign Ministry official said.
"In addition Damascus will be required to block the illegal movement of men and weapons across the border into Lebanon," said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The resolution will likely include a paragraph praising Lebanese political forces for the "National Dialogue" process which is seeking an agreement to persuade groups in Lebanon to hand in their weapons and join the regular armed forces, the offical said. Meanwhile US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to meet French foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy later on Monday to discuss the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme as well "as possible sanctions against Syria if it fails to comply with the new resolution," the Lebanese official added.
Also on Monday, the head of a UN probe on the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri, Belgian magistrate Serge Brammertz who is currently in Paris would, sources said, meet the dissident former Syrian deputy-president Abd al-Halim Khaddam. cxlbx

Syria, a slightly less secular state
Under the influence of the nearby Gulf states secular Syria is becoming increasingly Islamic, according to Syrian film-maker and freelance journalist, Hanan Kassab Hassan.
"For the past five or six years the influence of Islam in everyday life is becoming increasingly evident, young women have begun to wear the veil and men to frequent the mosques" Hassan said in an interview.
"There is a profound change in the secular spirit" of the country, the Syrian filmmaker noted, adding that this growing presence of Islam had "social and spiritual characteristics" that were only vaguely political.
Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar in Rome, on Islam and West in the Mediterranean, Hassan underlined that the growing presence of Islam was not a question of extremist, rather a widespread tendency, especially among young people, to reassert their "identity", which signifies "Arabness and belonging to Islam", and puts them in contrast with previous generations.
Fueling this tendency, according to Hassan, are the petrol-dollars from the Gulf countries, which have invested in Islamic movements intent on supressing secular thinking and left wing consciousness.
These governments, she said, had set up a highly efficient and well-organized system of propaganda based on the use of preachers and religious course and on "the influence of the mass media on young people."
After the attacks of 11 September 2001, they also played on a widespread sentiment of rejection of Western values. She notes that the media, in particular satellite television channels have been tools of Islamist propaganda "leaving less and less space to secular voices."

Sarkozy and Michel Aoun
Abdel Wahab Badrakhan Al-Hayat - 08/05/06//
Why is Nicolas Sarkozy referred to as Michel Aoun in the French political arena? The answer is, simply, because both aspire only for the presidency, day and night, on holidays and vacations, seven days a week, twenty four hours a day… The French Minister even stated once that he thinks about the presidency while shaving everyday. The answer also includes that Sarkozy, Minister of Interior, is only preoccupied with his ministry for a short part of the day, as he has good aides managing the ministry's affairs. Besides, he is using the ministry to move forward his greater battle; in fact, it has turned into a surveillance body and political radar to pick up winds, storms, opposing currents and unexpected cheap shots.
How and why is the French Minister being called by the Lebanese General's name? Politicians following Lebanese affairs, who are Aoun's friends and Sarkozy's enemies, are the ones who came up with this name. But the most important justification for this similarity in their opinion is that both men, first, consider themselves to be faultless in what they have said, are saying, and will say. Secondly, they both argue they can exercise the power of their political positions even if they left these positions.
In any case, it seems that both men will part over the next year; as one of them could become president, depending on his luck, while the other will not be so lucky. This is not a mere predication, but the result of the study and analysis of Sarkozy's and Aoun's situations. Some say that neither will ever become president, however, nothing calls for such pessimism, particularly in General Aoun's case. Perhaps the positive factor in the similarity between both men is that they suggest new ideas and bold stances. They also express a clear political drive to the extent that Sarkozy is siding and, in fact, competing with the Extreme Right leader on some of his anti-immigrant stances. But it is certain that both men are totally different when it comes to their position on Israel. Aoun has reached an authenticated 'understanding' with Hezbollah, while Sarkozy, who had gone to Cairo to flatter Sheikh al-Azhar when he needed his support in the 'anti-veil bill', did not hesitate to seek advice from the Israeli Ministry of Security after the outbreak of riots in Parisian suburbs. In fact, it was said that he accompanied a delegation of the ministry's experts on a tour of the suburbs.
As for the great difference between Aoun and Sarkozy, it is, obviously, that they are active in different countries. Thus, the French Minister is able to enjoy the luxury provided by the political life in his country, while the Lebanese General, like other Lebanese politicians, cannot claim that such luxury is accessible. In fact, it would be absurd if they acted accordingly. If Sarkozy fails to reach the presidency, he will remain within the party that nominated and supported him. But if General Aoun does not get lucky, he is implying at the moment that Armageddon will befall us and the world will change. There are many who support Aoun for the Lebanese presidency, but Aoun does not want to have any part in the battle to remove incumbent President Emile Lahoud. He does not mind if Lahoud is removed or retires of his own accord, but he does not want to contribute to this step which has become a national demand. Even those who support Aoun, wish that Lahoud would step down tomorrow if not today, but they back the General in not having a hand in displacing him. And just when it seemed that the issue was coming to a close, and that Lahoud would remain until the end of his term, Aoun's supporters felt that such an option was not for the benefit of their General. In situations such as this one, at least Sarkozy knows that he cannot have the thesis and its antithesis at the same time.
It remains that the French Minister can, out of his animosity for Chirac and for the latter's Lebanese friends, provide useful advice for General Aoun, the gist of which is that over the remaining 18 months in Lahoud's miserable term, it is better to take political and economic steps that would prepare the country for the post-Lahoud state, or at least, to establish a true and deep dialogue about Lebanon after the end of the Syrian presence. Otherwise, merits will only be realized with the next president and the political community will not have found itself any 'national consensus' such as a 'new Taif agreement', or anything of the kind.

General Philippe Rondot: A Lonely Wolf in Political Jungle
AIA =Publication in Le Figaro on the
Clearstream affair
France is overwhelmed by yet another political crisis, but this time in the center of it is a "maitre of espionage" – that's how the General Philippe Rondot is called by his former colleagues in the French intelligence community. Officer who was once on the edge of ending his career as a Romanian agent, turned to be a reliable man to all of his political chiefs, no matter from the left or from the right. That's what makes him so dangerous in the eyes of the politicians…
Philippe Rondot was born in Nancy (Lorraine region) in 1936. His father, General Pierre Rondot, was the graduate of prestigious Saint Cyr military school, who became a prominent expert of the Muslim world after finishing his military career. But before that, in the 1940s, during the period of the French mandate, the General Pierre Rondot had a key role in creating Syrian and Lebanese secret services. In the 1970s, Pierre Rondot was teaching geopolitics at the Lille Superior School of Journalism.
Philippe Rondot followed his father's steps. In 1961, he participated in the Algerian war, serving in the commando. That is when he made up his mind not to continue a military career. In 1965, Rondot-junior joins the SDECE (External Documentation and Counterespionage Service, the predecessor of the General Directorate for External Security - DGSE). Here he is very quickly recognized as an expert of the Arab world. Later on, in the first half of the 1970, he returns to the university to accomplish his doctorate in political sociology, and publishes a number of booklets on Syria, Jordan, and Iraq (Que-sais-je? collection, very popular in France and abroad). With regard of his academic success and linguistic skills (he speaks Arabic, Romanian, Russian, English, and German), Philippe Rondot is perceived as an atypical spy, more of an intellectual.
His personality is covered with a secrecy mist. His only picture that was ever published in the press is thirty years old. Although not much is known about his missions, there are several successes and failures that gained publicity. One of the latter had almost cost him his further career, when, in the 1970s, while serving in Bucharest, captain Rondot was suspected of being enrolled by Securitate, the Romanian security service. As it became known later, Rondot "disappeared" from his apartment for about 48 hours, what made his supervisor suspect him and contact Paris. But as it turned out, the young officer had lost the keys of his flat, and was bounded to stay in hotel.
Philippe Rondot quits DGSE in 1981 to join the Directorate for Territorial Surveillance (DST), despite the rivalry between the two bodies. Here he is in the frontline of the struggle against the Algerian and Middle Eastern terrorism. He played an important role in liberation of the French hostages in Beirut, in 1986, and that of the Valente family in Libya, in 1990. He was also one of the key figures in the operation for withdrawal of the Christian Lebanese General Michel Aoun to France in 1991. The same year General Rondot takes an active part in establishing of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM).
The arrest of Carlos in Khartoum (Sudan), in August 1994, after twenty years of chase, is considered to be the most important success in Rondot's intelligence career. Since then, though, his name has become heard of in a much less positive context, in connection with such affairs as the alleged detention of Jacques Chirac's bank accounts in Japan and Lebanon, or the Clearstream affair.
In November 1997, General Philippe Rondot becomes the counsellor for intelligence issues and special operations (Cros) within the apparatus of the socialist Defense Minister Alain Richard. His discreet office is situated within the ministerial headquarters, in Hotel de Brienne, Paris. Among other things, he was in charge of a secret investigation of illegal pre-election financing from the arms sales, allegedly involving the associates of the former Defense Minister Francois Leotard.
In November 2001, General Rondot paid a visit to the Pakistani and Afghan mountainous regions in order to assess the situation in person.
When the center-right Michele Alliot-Marie becomes Defense Minister in 2002, Rondot keeps his post to carry out similar missions. Therefore, it is not by chance that it was him to cope with the Clearstream affair, though there were other reasons as well.
French mass media call him "a shadow general", and his military comrades call him "Colonel Lawrence". Like Lawrence of Arabia, General Philippe Rondot dreams of a desert, likes motorcycling, and is fascinated by the Arab world. After a forty-year-long intelligence career, Rondot's name is associated with almost all French antiterrorist operations of that period.
However, having spoiled the relations with the DGSE chief over the French hostages in Iraq (where General Rondot went on Chirac's personal order, to assess the situation), and being effected by the decease of his wife and his father, General Rondot discreetly submits his resignation on December 31, 2005. He transfers his personal archives, carrying forty years of intelligence experience, to the historical service of Defense Ministry.
Almost nothing is known about his private life. According to the French sources, he is very solitary and discreet man, and his most confidant person is his niece, Stephane Queroy. He lives in Meudon (town near Paris), and has another residence in Nievre (Bourgogne region). He likes trips in the mountains, and never expresses any political views.

Khaddam dismisses Syrian summons
Khaddam is now a leading figure in the Syrian opposition Former Syrian vice-President Abdul Halim Khaddam, has dismissed a summons issued against him by a Syrian court. Mr Khaddam, who is living in exile in France, told the BBC he did not recognise the legitimacy of the court or the allegations against him.
Mr Khaddam is wanted in Syria on numerous charges including corruption and plotting to take power in Syria.
The summons calls for Mr Khaddam, his wife and 23 family members to appear in court on 12 June in the town of Banias.
If they do not, the summons said, they will tried in their absence. Mr Khaddam said the fact that some of those listed on the summons were children as young as two years old, showed that the case was baseless.
He also said that president Bashar Assad himself will be tried over corruption in the future: "This corruption has developed under the noses of the Assad family since 1970, and I'm sure that they will be tried soon."
Mr Khaddam alleged last year that President Bashar Assad had threatened the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, months before Mr Hariri was assassinated in February 2005. Syria has denied the allegation and dismissed any suggestions that it was involved in the killing.

Lebanese PM`s diplomatic tactic
By Dalal Saoud May 8, 2006, 15:56 GMT
BEIRUT, Lebanon (UPI) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is pursuing a new diplomatic offensive to force Israel to withdraw from the Shabaa farms. This move, the prime minister believes, will extend Lebanon`s sovereignty over the occupied area while at the same time strip Hezbollah of any pretext to pursue its anti-Israeli resistance which Syria sponsors and Iran backs.When asked in an interview with United Press International whether the liberation of Shabaa -- possibly by diplomatic means -- would see Hezbollah losing its main argument for maintaining its arms, Siniora replied: 'Yes.'
Initially, as many anti-Syrian Lebanese officials argued, such a move would weaken Syria`s hand -- it was using Shabaa to maintain its grip on Lebanon and boost its chances in any future peace accord with Israel.
This would be only possible if the United States, the United Nations and other influential international players back Siniora`s diplomatic approach. The Lebanese prime minister, however, was quick to say his efforts were not directly targeting Syria or any party in Lebanon.
Trying to force Israel out of the Shabaa farms by diplomatic means was 'not a hostile action against any party. It is not a hostile action against Syria,' Siniora told UPI before traveling to London on Sunday.
'On the contrary, Lebanon is pursuing an action that serves itself, Syria and the Arab world. Therefore, there is no contradiction,' he said.
Israel refused to relinquish the border area of Shabaa farms when it ended its 22-year occupation and withdrew its troops from south Lebanon in May 2000. The U.N., which confirmed Israel`s pullout, ruled that Israel seized the Shabaa farms from Syria during the 1967 war -- an argument rejected by the Lebanese government and Hezbollah.
The Shabaa issue has been the subject of heated debate in Lebanon since Syria`s pullout from the country last year, and became more prominent when the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 1559, which calls for the disarming of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias and demanded that the Lebanese government extend its authority over all Lebanese territories; the issues covered in the resolution formed the core of an ongoing Lebanese political dialogue.
Siniora said that once Shabaa was confirmed to be Lebanese through a process that would involve Syria and the U.N., Israel would have to withdraw from it and this would be 'a step on the road for Lebanon to achieve complete sovereignty... In the meantime, Lebanon would be building a strategy to defend Lebanon, a strategy that Lebanese would agree upon.'
Hezbollah was pushing for such a strategy to protect Lebanon against any possible future Israeli aggressions -- even after regaining control of Shabaa -- as part of any discussions targeting its disarmament.
The key point, according to Siniora, is how to coordinate the diplomatic efforts on all fronts to enable Lebanon to extend its complete authority over all its territory, including the Shabaa farms, and whereby no group, except the national army be allowed to retain their weapons. Asked whether there has so far been any positive response from the western countries regarding his diplomatic efforts, Siniora said: 'The contacts we are holding allow the other parties to listen to our point of view. Therefore, we should make progress. I believe (there is progress), but nothing yet concrete on the ground.'But what would happen if Israel does not bow to diplomatic pressures and remain in Shabaa?
'Hezbollah weapons still exist,' Siniora said. Siniora`s other diplomatic efforts to normalize strained relations with neighboring Syria have so far failed. The Lebanese prime minister was still waiting for a green light from Syria to visit Damascus to discuss issues such as border demarcation, arms smuggling into Lebanon and exchanging diplomatic representation. Siniora has so far been shunned by Syrian officials, who appear uneasy about dealing with him on the basis that he represents an anti-Syrian political movement in Lebanon.
Lebanese-Syrian relations sharply deteriorated following the assassination of Lebanon`s former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a powerful explosion that targeted his convoy in Beirut on Feb. 14, 2005. A U.N. investigation has suggested Syrian and Lebanese officers were involved in Hariri`s killing.
Siniora, a long-time close aide to Hariri, emphasized that he was eager to preserve 'strong ties' between Lebanon and Syria, but wanted Lebanon to be respected as a sovereign and independent country.
'We will not change even if the meeting (with the Syrians) takes years, and I am not saying that it will take years,' he said, confident that 'with calm, wisdom and firmness,' Lebanon would be able to engage in talks with Syria about border demarcation and exchanging ambassadors -- issues that Damascus seems unready to discuss or accept for the time being.
Efforts by Saudi Arabia and Egypt to smooth the way for a rapprochement between Syria and Lebanon have so far failed.
'We need to encourage such good-will initiatives. If they haven`t yet achieved results, it doesn`t mean they won`t,' Siniora said. 'The most important is to revive relations with Syria. We have made a separation between the ongoing U.N. investigation into Hariri`s assassination and the relations with Damascus.'The fear that Lebanon would be affected by the developments in the region, especially in Iraq and Iran, is a real and key Lebanese concern.But the difficult task is 'to prevent Lebanon from becoming a ball in others` playfield or becoming a playfield for the others,' as Siniora concluded.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International