LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 06/09

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 6:1-5. While he was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?" Jesus said to them in reply, "Have you not read what David did when he and those (who were) with him were hungry? (How) he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering, which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it, and shared it with his companions." Then he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath." -Naharnet

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
The Battle on Lebanon. By: Hanin Ghaddar, Now Lebanon/September 05/09
Saad Hariri's Speech on September 03/09
Now arrives the autumn of our discontent with Iran-By Joschka Fischer/September 05/09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for September 05/09
Israel Fears Hizbullah Chemical Weapons Use as it Prepares for 'Action' in Case of an Attack -Naharnet
Army Makes Arrests in Deadly Hermel and Qubbah Incidents -Naharnet
Fears of Terrorist Attacks with Advanced Booby-Trapping Techniques -Naharnet
Salloukh: Not a Single Lebanese Hurt in Violence-Hit Gabon -Naharnet
ISF Captures Network that Steals Cars in Bekaa to Sell them in South -Naharnet
Palestinians, Lebanese 'forced' to leave UAE-Daily Star
Hariri set to propose unity cabinet befo re Sleiman goes to UN-Daily Star
Jumblatt son calls for non-s ectarianism-Daily Star
Sleiman meets wit h top advisers-Daily Star
Qabbani warns of campaign aga inst STL-Daily Star
140 Danish troops set to join UNIFIL-(AFP)
Hizbullah helped locate ba nkrupt businessman-Daily Star
Delays in cabinet formation undermine Hari ri's standing-Daily Star
Investment injection is a show of faith in Lebanon-Daily Star
Two dead in separate family feuds in Lebanon-Daily Star
Communist party urges power protests-Daily Star
Palestinian camps protest Nahr al-Bared delay-Daily Star
NGO helps turn bottle tops into wheelchairs-Daily Star
Lebanese mine clearer rushes back to work despite loss of limb-Daily Star
Donors losing interest in demining Lebanon-Daily Star
Iran cleric: 'Time to export revolution'-Daily Star

Hizbullah helped locate bankrupt businessman
Daily Star staff/Saturday, September 05, 2009
BEIRUT: Hizbullah in association with the Telecommunications Ministry helped locate bankrupt businessman Salah Ezzedine in his hideout in the Beirut southern suburbs, well-informed judicial sources told The Central News Agency (CNA) on Friday. According to the judicial sources quoted by the CNA, Hizbullah carried out “a quick raid” of his hideout, “questioned him and later handed him to judicial authorities. Earlier reports had mentioned that Ezzedine gave himself up to authorities. The sources added that one of Ezzedine’s associates, a businessman only identified as “Youssef F” had been recently arrested by the judiciary. Ezzedine, a wealthy businessman from the town of Maaroub near the southern port city of Tyre, is a prominent financier particularly among Shiite circles in Lebanon. He is the owner of Dar Al-Hadi Publishing House – one of Lebanon’s most prominent publishers of religious Shiite books that also prints books written by Hizbullah officials – and Al-Hadi TV for children.
As-Safir newspaper reported on that Ezzedine’s publishing house Dar al-Hadi was shut down on Thursday based on a court order to close down some of Ezzedine’s enterprises. More than 250 employees lost their jobs overnight as a result of the court’s decision. The judicial officials said Ezzedine had major business interests, particularly in oil and iron industries, in Eastern Europe and suffered substantial losses when oil prices dropped starting mid last year. He tried to make up for his losses by taking money from Lebanese investors, promising up to 40 percent interest which he could not repay, the officials said on condition of anonymity. Many Muslims consider interest paid by banks as un-Islamic and therefore prefer to invest their money in businesses such as the ones run by Ezzeddine. Media reports said that those who invested with Ezzedine included high-ranking members of Hizbullah, as well as Shiite investors from south Lebanon and the Hizbullah stronghold south of Beirut.
Former Hizbullah MP Amin Sherry denied any links to Ezzedine in a statement released on Friday. Earlier Friday, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel had reported that Sherry, along with the head of Hizbullah’s parliamentary bloc MP Mohammad Raad and the party’s politburo member Wafiq Safa, were among those who invested their money with Ezzedine.
As-Safir newspaper also interviewed a relative of Ezzedine who inistsed that his kin was not the only person implicated in the bankruptcy case. “He is one of five associates,” he said, adding that one of them had fled the country. Judicial sources told the CNA that one of Ezzedine’s relatives “stands behind or knows the true reasons behind the bankruptcy.”
The bankruptcy case made headlines earlier this week as Ezzedine gave himself up to authorities after declaring himself bankrupt. The officials said he was then taken into custody and was investigated for possible crimes including “the fraud of large amounts of money.” – The Daily Star

Israel Fears Hizbullah Chemical Weapons Use as it Prepares for 'Action' in Case of an Attack
Naharnet/Israel has warned Hizbullah against obtaining chemical weapons at a time when a wide-scale exercise of the Israeli army's field intelligence unit, Shahaf, was completed on the northern border. Shahaf Commander Lt. Col. Motti said that Hizbullah continues to make preparations for war. "Below the surface, there is extensive activity whose goal, quite clearly, is to prepare for the day of visit." "We are likely to take a hit, but even if we don't manage to thwart every event, we will be able to inflict a price. This is why we are strenuously preparing a 'target bank'. When the need arises, we'll know how to take action against them," Israeli media quoted Motti as saying. "From their first day in the field until their release, these soldiers are in the same territorial area and are well-acquainted with Hizbullah, its activities, the differences between villages, and know how to notice any unusual incident," explained the regiment commander. During the exercise, the soldiers were loaded onto helicopters on their way to "the battle zone," and carried out complex movements. They acted out the role of civilian Hizbullah fighters who fire "rockets" into Israeli territory. The maneuvers included four days of walking with heavy load on the back of the soldiers, settling into undetectable positions, locating targets deep inside Lebanese territory to kidnap or kill Hizbullah members. The extensive exercise was part of a series of Israeli army maneuvers, including ground and naval. Meanwhile, Israel has expressed fears over reports that Hizbullah had obtained chemical weapons from Iran. The Kuwaiti daily Al-Seyassah had quoted Western and European intelligence sources as claiming that Iran had provided Hizbullah with chemical weapons and "thousands" of gas masks. A high-ranking Israeli officer told Israeli radio: "The issue is not new … However there is a big difference between attempts to acquire such weapons and the ability to use them.""If a chemical weapon was used against Israel, then the rules of the game would change. If either Hizbullah or Hamas movement decided to use such a weapon, they should know that the Israeli army will respond with force," he added. Beirut, 05 Sep 09, 09:17

Army Makes Arrests in Deadly Hermel and Qubbah Incidents
Naharnet/The Lebanese army said on Saturday that it arrested several people involved in shooting incidents in the eastern town of Hermel and the northern city of Tripoli's Qubbah region which resulted in the death of three people. An army communiqué said the military arrested 11 people involved in the shooting on a policeman in Hermel and seized arms and ammunition from them. "Corporal Anwar Mohammad Nasseredine, who was in his 20s, was killed on the spot when gunmen opened fire from their jeep as he drove through town in his private car," a security official said Friday. "The incident was a settling of accounts in a family feud," he said. The communiqué also said that the army arrested several gunmen, who took part in the Qubbah clashes, which killed two brothers. An argument over a child hit by a car escalated into an exchange of gunfire between two families, an army spokesman said Friday.
"The child was hit by a car earlier today in Qubbah, Tripoli but was unharmed," the spokesman said. Beirut, 05 Sep 09, 14:32

Fears of Terrorist Attacks with Advanced Booby-Trapping Techniques
Naharnet/Security sources have warned that extremists could use advanced technology to carry out terrorist attacks against security forces and officials in Lebanon, al-Mustaqbal daily reported on Saturday. According to the newspaper, the sources said that a man with an Arab nationality had visited Ain el-Hilweh camp and delivered three Palestinians, who have been charged in absentia for carrying out terrorist activities, a CD that explains how to booby-trap cameras, mail packages and mobile phones. The sources said the CD was circulated among extremist organizations inside the southern refugee camp. The report prompted security institutions to ask officers to carry out intensive search of packages, cameras and phones near military posts and public institutions. Beirut, 05 Sep 09, 10:34

Salloukh: Not a Single Lebanese Hurt in Violence-Hit Gabon
Naharnet/Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh reassured the Lebanese on Saturday that all citizens living in Gabon were doing fine as gangs went on a looting spree in new unrest after Ali Bongo, son of the country's late strongman, was declared winner of the presidential poll. "Not a single person from the Lebanese community was physically hurt and security forces are working on calming the situation," Salloukh said. His comment came following conflicting reports on the condition of Lebanese expatriates in Gabon. Protesters torched the consulate of former colonial ruler France in Port-Gentil, the oil-rich country's economic hub on Friday, and attacked other French interests, including offices of oil firm Total the day before after Bongo's contested win was declared. Vehicles owned by Lebanese were destroyed and several shops were also vandalized by demonstrators in the city. The Lebanese Foreign Ministry's Director General Haitham Jemaa also told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that "Lebanese expatriates in Gabon are doing fine." However, Sharif Ahmed Taleb, 27, a Lebanese man who works in Gabon, told As Safir daily: "It is not true that we are ok. Our lives are in danger." Jemaa said that around 5,000 Lebanese work in Gabon. Most of them are owners of big investment companies. Taleb told As Safir that the Lebanese are currently hiding in their homes and Ambassador Micheline Baz told him that she was coordinating with the French army to pull them out of the city or protect them. However, he said the French army is only working on protecting its nationals and interests.
Police said more than 50 arrests were made during the night as gangs destroyed service stations and pillaged stores despite a curfew.
On Friday, demonstrators ransacked and then burnt a police station in Port-Gentil. In the evening, marauding gangs pillaged shops on the northern fringes of the coastal city, prompting speedy police intervention. Residents said many shots were fired as police tried to stop looters and a sports and recreation center for Total workers was set on fire.
A family member and a lawmaker said at least two people were taken to the city's morgue on Friday with bullet wounds.
Early Friday afternoon, police and gendarmes used tear gas to disperse hundreds of looters and residents, who had gathered to complain and list damages during rioting the previous evening, near Port-Gentil's city center. Gabon Interior and Security Minister Jean-Francois Ndongou said a curfew, imposed in the city on Thursday evening, would remain in place until further notice. He also confirmed damage and pillaging in the capital.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 05 Sep 09, 10:04

Denmark to Send 140 Soldiers to South Lebanon
Naharnet/Denmark plans to send 140 soldiers to Lebanon to join the United Nations Interim Force in the south, Danish Defense Minister Soeren Gade told AFP on Friday.
"We are responding positively to a request from the United Nations which asked for logistical support in south Lebanon," Gade said, stressing that Danish soldiers would not be involved in monitoring of the border or any counter-terror operations. Gade said the majority of Danish lawmakers backed the decision to send the troops. The Danish troops will leave in December.
He said the reduction of troop numbers in Kosovo had made the deployment possible.(AFP) Beirut, 05 Sep 09, 08:18

Opposition Says it won't Participate in Cabinet without Aoun
Naharnet/News reports said Saturday that Premier-designate Saad Hariri could propose a cabinet list to President Michel Suleiman within days despite the Free Patriotic Movement's insistence on getting five portfolios, including one key ministry, and its right to choose its own ministers. An opposition leader told As Safir daily that Hizbullah will not participate in the government without FPM leader Michel Aoun. Another top-ranking official with Hizbullah told al-Liwaa that "the Shiite team (Hizbullah and Amal) didn't and won't hand over the premier-designate the list of suggested ministers as long as the PM-designate is not complying with Aoun's demands."
Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Ali Fayyad, who took part in the talks between Hizbullah, Amal and Hariri in Qoreitem on Thursday, told An Nahar daily that the conferees asked the premier-designate what he meant by saying during an Iftar speech that "the premiership is not for compromise." Fayyad said Hariri refused to comment and did not announce what steps he would take in the next few days. Opposition sources said the Qoreitem meeting "was nothing but a continuation of ongoing dialogue about cabinet formation." Hariri reiterated during the talks his rejection to bring to cabinet candidates who had lost in the parliamentary elections, a clear reference to Telecommunications Minister Jebran Bassil.
FPM sources, meanwhile, told An Nahar that they had "no idea about any proposal that the premier-designate would make to President Suleiman."
They stressed that the FPM continues to insist on getting five cabinet seats, including one key portfolio, the right to name its own ministers and the right to choose the ministries it wants.
As Safir daily said a meeting could be held again between Hariri and Bassil in an attempt to find a way out of the government crisis. Beirut, 05 Sep 09, 11:53

Wahab Warns of Another May7 if Political Decisions were Similar to May 5, 2008
Naharnet/Tawheed Movement leader Wiam Wahab on Friday warned of another "May 7" events in case the Lebanese officials took a decision similar to that adopted on May 5, 2008.
He was referring to the bloody fighting on May 7, 2008 when Hizbullah, angered by a government decision two days before to dismantle Hizbullah's telecommunication network and fire pro-Hizbullah airport security chief Wafiq Shqeir, seized control of West Beirut. In an interview with NBN TV, Wahhab reiterated that "internal obstacles are facing the Cabinet lineup." He pointed that the problem to government formation lies with Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and not with Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun.
Wahab accused Hariri "of starting the problem regarding the telecommunications ministry." Turning to the Middle East, he said the Syrian-Saudi rapprochement "prevents Lebanon from being an arena for external conflicts." He objected to any dialogue with the March 14 forces "if they insist to hold onto their stances vis-à-vis Hizbullah's weapons."
On the other hand, Wahab lauded as "more than excellent" Jumblat's latest political positions regarding Druze relations with Syria. He said a get-together between Jumblat and Aoun is not likely to happen "as the meeting would be considered a new blow to MP-designate Hariri." Beirut, 04 Sep 09, 18:10

Palestinians, Lebanese 'forced' to leave UAE
Saturday, September 05, 2009/Daily Star
GAZA: Palestinian officials say many Palestinians have been forced to leave the United Arab Emirates in recent months, but there were conflicting reports on whether the reason for the exodus was political. Hussam Ahmad, head of the Refugee Affairs Department in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Islamist group Hamas, said hundreds of Palestinians had been dismissed from their jobs for purported security reasons. “[This is] an operation of mass displacement of Palestinians in the UAE, especially those of Gaza origins, without known reasons other than security pretexts,” he said in a statement issued in Gaza on Thursday, citing the UAE town of al-Ain.
He said many did not have passports and Arab states would not accept them with the travel documents they have. According to arrangements with Israel, diaspora Palestinians are usually not eligible for a travel document issued by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in Ramallah that is recognized as a passport by many governments around the world.
Palestinians seeking an independent state and an end to Israeli occupation have been split between the Palestinian Authority run by Fatah under Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza since fighting erupted in 2007. Western-allied Arab governments blamed Hamas for a three-week Israeli war in December and January on Gaza, an enclave of 1.5 million Palestinians under blockade. During the conflict approximately 1400 Palestinians were killed, over a third of them civilians. Thirteen Israelis were killed, three of them civilians.
The war raised tension in the region between US-allied Arab states and opposition groups supported by Iran, including Hamas and Lebanese Shiite group Hizbullah.
In phone calls to the UAE Nationality and Residency Department in Dubai, officials denied Palestinians had been asked to leave. An Interior Ministry spokesman in Abu Dhabi said he was not aware of the matter.
Khairy al-Aridi, the Palestinian ambassador to the UAE, was quoted by the Ramallah-based official Palestinian news agency Wafa on Thursday as denying a deliberate policy of expulsion.
But he said Palestinians and other foreigners had lost jobs as teachers through the UAE government replacing posts occupied by expatriate professionals with UAE citizens.
“The charitable policy of the UAE toward Palestinians has not changed,” he said in the comments which were carried on the front page of UAE Arabic newspapers on Friday. Aridi did not say how many Palestinians left the UAE or where they had gone. Ismail Haniyya, Hamas government head in Gaza, said he was seeking clarification about the issue. “I have received official reports from there and I have urged some Palestinian leaders outside to intervene,” he told reporters in Gaza on Wednesday.
Security authorities in the United Arab Emirates have also expelled in the past two months more than 45 Lebanese businessmen and employees allegedly for security reasons. Al-Akhbar daily said Friday that most of those expelled are Shiites and had received offers to work for the UAE’s security services to gather information on the Lebanese community in the country and Hizbullah in Lebanon. The newspaper added that the move by UAE authorities intensified following the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah and reached its climax last year. President Michel Sleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri have discussed the issue and the head of state sent an envoy mid-August to discuss with UAE authorities the reason for expelling the Lebanese men. – Reuters with The Daily Star

Chavez slams Israel as 'genocidal' and 'killer' state
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Saturday, September 05, 2009
DAMASCUS: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, on a visit to Damascus on Thursday, lambasted Israel as a “genocidal” and “killer” state and demanded the return of the Golan Heights to Syria. “The state of Israel has become a genocidal state, a killer state, enemy of peace,” Chavez said at a press conference with Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad.
Venezuela and Syria are facing the same “struggles” and have the same “enemies,” Chavez said, adding: “Israel has become the enforcer of the policies of the American empire.”
He called for the end to Israel’s 42-year occupation of the Golan Heights and urged the lifting of “the blockade of Palestinian territories.”
“It is time to raise Nasser’s flag again, for socialism, people power and the liberation of the Arab people,” the Venezuelan firebrand said, referring to Egyptian pan-Arab nationalist former president Gamel Abdel-Nasser. Assad said: “Israel is not ready to make peace either in the short term or the long term all Israeli governments since 1991 are identical and right up to the present the peace process has produced nothing new. “The only thing differentiating these governments is their tactics but deep down they are the same and opinion polls show that Israelis are not ready to make peace because they do not want to give the land back,” the Syrian president said. Chavez said the two countries will sign several agreements, mainly about energy. One is a plan for a refinery joint venture in Syria. The Venezuelan president arrived on Thursday for a two-day visit, part of a regional tour which has already taken him to Libya and Algeria. Afterwards he is scheduled to go to Iran, Belarus and Russia and he said at the press conference he will also stop briefly in Turkmenistan. – AFP

Hariri set to propose unity cabinet before Sleiman goes to UN
By Elias Sakr/Daily Star staff
Saturday, September 05, 2009
BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is expected to submit a proposal on the make-up of the national unity government to President Michel Sleiman prior to September 23, informed sources said on Friday. Meanwhile, Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) officials stressed Friday that the opposition stance was unified and no government would be formed if the FPM was excluded.
Hariri will submit a proposal on the cabinet make-up to President Sleiman prior to the latter’s trip to New York on September 23, to take part in the UN General Assembly, Future Movement officials told The Daily Star on Friday. Future Movement MP Ammar Houri said the premier-designate would exercise his constitutional rights related to suggesting a government line-up to Sleiman in order to conclude the formation process in cooperation with the president.
Houri added that an accord on the distribution of ministerial portfolios has “almost been finalized” between the parliamentary majority and the president, as well as opposition groups Hizbullah and Amal. The only remaining obstacles to the cabinet’s formation were the set of conditions imposed by FPM leader MP Michel Aoun, Houri said.
Media reports said on Friday that Hariri would include in his proposal to the president his view on the distribution of ministerial portfolios among political parties.
The reports said Hariri’s proposal would assign portfolios to 25 candidates, and would leave to Aoun the freedom to nominate his ministers for the five remaining seats allotted to the FPM, counting four portfolios and a state ministry. However, the report said, Hariri would couple his proposal with a clause which denies candidates, who lost the race to Parliament on June 7, the right to be nominated ministers, the reports said.
The press leaks added that Hariri’s proposal would be valid for 48 hours after which Hariri would form a cabinet in cooperation with Sleiman that excludes the FPM.
But FPM official and caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Mario Aoun denied during a phone interview with The Daily Star the validity of such claims.
Aoun said the reports aimed “to pressure and weaken” the FPM, adding that the premier-designate would not attempt such a move. “Such a move is controversial and will lead to escalation,” he said. The FPM official added that his party was in constant contact with Hizbullah and the Amal Movement, its allies in the opposition, in order coordinate every step” with regard to the formation process.
“The president had also declared that he would not sign the cabinet formation decree if it is not one of national unity,” he said. Aoun also stressed that if the FPM leader’s demands were not met by the premier-designate, “the cabinet would not be formed anytime soon.” In support of Michel Aoun, Hizbullah MP Nawaf Moussawi called on the premier-designate to “withdraw from the battle launched by majority Christian groups to weaken Aoun and the FPM representation in a national-unity cabinet.” Speaking during an iftar on Friday, Moussawi stressed that Lebanon could only be governed through consensus, “since its political regime is built on sectarianism.” On Thursday, efforts to form a cabinet hit a dead end after recent deliberations between the FPM leader’s son-in-law caretaker Telecommunication Minister Jebran Bassil and the premier-designate failed to make any breakthroughs.
Aoun is adamant that Bassil retain the telecommunications portfolio for a second term. But Hariri and others in March 14 have strong objections to Bassil heading the ministry because he lost in the election. Aoun also insists on getting one of the key ministerial posts, dubbed “sovereign portfolios” and which include the Interior, Defense, Finance and Foreign ministries.
The National News Agency quoted well informed sources in remarks published Friday saying that Bassil would visit Hariri at his residence in Qoreitim for another round of consultations before the Future Movement leader submits his proposal to Sleiman.
Hariri had reiterated on several occasions that while he was keen on the opposition’s participation in a unity cabinet, the opposition’s involvement ought not to be governed by preconditions.
Some Figures of the March 14 coalition had called on Hariri to form a majority cabinet if he failed to reach an agreement with opposition groups.
Separately, Tawheed Movement head Wi’am Wahhab warned on Friday against incidents similar to that of May 7, 2008, if state officials adopted a stance similar to that of May 5, 2008.
On May 7, 2008, bloody clashes erupted between pro-government and opposition supporters in Beirut and the Chouf mountainous region following a decision by the cabinet headed by Premier Fouad Siniora to dismantle Hizbullah’s telecommunication network on May 5, 2008. In other news, Siniora said Friday the parliamentary majority was adamant to preserve Lebanon’s democratic regime, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, investigating former Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination, and coexistence among Lebanese factions. – With additional reporting by Nafez Qawas

Jumblatt son calls for non-sectarianism
By Maher Zeineddine/Daily Star correspondent
Saturday, September 05, 2009
BEIRUT: The Lebanese have to free themselves from the sectarian mentality, according to Taymour Jumblatt, son of Progressive Social Party (PSP) leader Walid Jumblatt, during a visit to the southern town of Hasbaya and to the Bekaa town of Rashaya on Friday. Jumblatt met with Minister of State Wael Abu Faour and MP Antoine Saad during his visit and attended a youth gathering in the Hasbaya region. “Youths are the ones who build a nation since they represent the future,” he said, addressing the crowd. “Let us all participate in building this country on correct and flawless grounds” he added. Jumblatt also met with PSP officials in the regions of Rashaya and Hasbaya.

Qabbani warns of campaign against STL
By Nafez Qawas /Daily Star correspondent
Saturday, September 05, 2009
BEIRUT: Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani warned on Friday against the “renewed and organized” suspicious campaign against the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). In a statement issued on Friday the cleric said such attacks were both “surprising and disturbing.” Qabbani added that attempts to hamper Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s mission to form a cabinet were “part of the efforts to obstruct the STL.”

Saad Hariri Speech on September 03/09
September 4, 2009
On September 3, the Lebanese National News Agency carried the following speech delivered by Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri during an Iftar he hosted in Qoreitem:
“Your Excellencies, Eminences, brothers and friends, Peace Be Upon You. May this month see you well and see Muslim unity well. May every year and every Holy Ramadan brings us together around the love of Lebanon, its safety and stability. This Iftar is not a random meeting, for we wanted it to be a message to all the Lebanese and to all those concerned about Lebanon, saying that Muslims in this country, regardless of their inclinations and sects, are too wise to fall in the trap of strife and that the political disputes between us will not undermine the solid foundations bringing us together.
"Today, we meet under the roof of the house of martyred Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. We meet while the spirit of the martyred Prime Minister is with us, rejoicing about this gathering and calling on us to protect Lebanon and defend it, no matter how costly the sacrifices may be. We have gone through a difficult stage in which strife almost knocked on all doors and toppled our unity and stability in our country. However, wisdom eventually prevailed and we managed thanks to Allah to place the language of the mind and public interest ahead of the language of division, instigation and sectarian mobilization.
“This is the school of Rafik al-Hariri and we will not shift away from the teachings of this school which has been and will continue to be a headline for national unity, coexistence and true nationalism. It will also remain a headline for our support of the main Arab cause: that of our Palestinian brothers and their right to return to a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Honorable brothers, we are facing numerous challenges, at the head of which are the Israeli threats and all the foreign projects that want Lebanon to be an open arena of conflicts. It is our responsibility not to surrender the management of these challenges to any form of domestic dispute and especially not to an inter-Islamic dispute, after the experiences have proven that this only led to chaos and instability and served the Israeli enemy. Our unity is our strongest weapon in the face of the Israeli threats, and I do not mean Muslim unity solely, but that of all the Lebanese people, i.e. the Muslims and the Christians with all their spiritual and political factions which agreed in Taif on considering national reconciliation and coexistence as being the basis of Lebanon’s stability and advancement and the main source of strength and safety.
“On this occasion, we would like to corroborate that the Taif Accord is a national trust we must all protect and upon which we must build a modern and capable state and consecrate our democratic parliamentary regime, the main headline of the Lebanese formula which should remain unique in its surrounding no matter how many challenges it will face. Lebanon’s soul resides in this formula, but also its strength. It is the formula of coexistence between Muslims and Christians and of the division of powers between them. We will continue to corroborate that to convey the Muslims’ commitment to true national partnership which extends beyond numbers and demographics... Your Excellencies and Eminences, I will not address the governmental situation and the progress affecting the formation of the coming government on this evening, thus allowing the consultations which will be held throughout the coming days to adopt the required democratic and constitutional path to secure the establishment of a national unity government that does not annul anyone.
“However, I would like to assure you that Saad Rafik al-Hariri will not allow the premiership to become a bargaining card and that national interest will remain more precious than all the positions. National interest is what is bringing us together today and I hope that this meeting will enhance the logic of dialogue and rapprochement... Thank you for your attendance and may Ramadan see you well every year and peace be upon you. Long live the people, long live Lebanon.”

The Battle on Lebanon
March 8 is still trying to annul both the majority and the international tribunal
Hanin Ghaddar,
Now Lebanon/September 5, 2009
Hezbollah senior official and MP Mohammed Raad speaks to the press following a meeting with Lebanese parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri (unseen) under a huge portrait of the latter's assassinated father and former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri, in Beirut on September 24, 2008 (AFP PHOTO/JOSEPH BARRAK).
A poll question posted at Hezbollah’s official website addresses the issue of the opposition’s participation in the new cabinet: “What should the opposition attain in order to participate in the Lebanese government?” the opinion poll asks. Although the question is valid, considering the current political debate over a “national unity government,” the four options presented to the readers are very telling: a) the “guaranteeing” third, b) a proportional representation according to the number of MPs in parliament, c) 10+10+10 formula, and d) no participation.
Notable by its absence is the increasingly likely 15+10+5 formula, and yet Hezbollah is clearly implying on its official website that it does not acknowledge this as an option, although it had previously agreed on it after a series of consultations with Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri. As of Friday, the poll had been up on for 78 days.
Meanwhile, March 8 politicians, such as MP Wiam Wahhab, and affiliated media outlets are beginning to sell the 10+10+10 formula as a possible solution to the cabinet crisis. Their ‘logic’ is articulated in an article in Al-Akhbar by opinion writer Ibrahim al-Amin on President Michel Sleiman’s helplessness in finding any solution to the governmental crisis, mainly because of his role as a consensus president who cannot take sides.
Al-Amin suggests that dividing the ministerial seats equally is now a realistic option after Druze MP Walid Jumblatt distanced himself and his 11-MP parliamentary bloc from March 14. “Add to that three independent MPs (Najib Mikati, Ahmad Karami and Michel Murr), this leaves March 14 with 57 MPs against 57 MPs for the opposition,” he wrote.
Ever since Hariri was designated by the President to form the government, Sleiman has been indirectly warned by March 8 to stay out of it, even though the constitution clearly states that the PM-designate and President alone should form a cabinet.
March 8, despite the parliamentary elections that resulted in a clear March 14 majority in the parliament, still cannot accept its defeat. They are still acting as if they run the show, ignoring the people’s votes. No matter what Jumblatt has said or done subsequently, the people voted for him in June because he represented March 14.
However, this does not really matter if the opposition’s real aim is to cancel the results of the parliamentary elections and eliminate a majority led by March 14. It is not as fanciful as it seems. March 14 is protected by the constitution, while March 8 is protected by Hezbollah’s arms and ability to paralyze the state institutions. We’ve been there, and we know that they will do anything to protect their interests.
But what do they want to protect? The arms is certainly the main priority, and Hezbollah leaders have made it clear to us back in May 2008 that they will use the arms to protect the arms.
But there is more. Syrian and Iranian proxies in Lebanon have recently launched a campaign against the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the investigation committee. In his press conference Sunday; the formerly-imprisoned Brigadier General Jamil Al-Sayyed criticized both Hariri and Sleiman over the International Tribunal.
The first campaign against the tribunal last May after the release of the four generals stopped right before the elections March 8 thought it would win. Having done that, they could implement their agenda through the state institutions.
Now that that’s not an option, it has resumed its anti-tribunal campaign while trying to weaken the majority. Hezbollah and its allies do not only want to abolish the results of the parliamentary elections, they would like to wipe out all the achievements achieved in the past four years, including the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
It is a strategy in which the struggle for key portfolios between Hariri and Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Michel Aoun is merely a sideshow. Even if Hariri agrees to Aoun’s demand that his son-in-law retain the telecom portfolio, Hezbollah will find another way to hinder the cabinet formation.
Upping the ante is the Syrian press, which has been calling on Hariri to step down from his post as PM-designate and hinting that there is a link between the political crisis and the spate of security incidents that took place in the past few weeks. The message from Damascus is clear: Submit to our demands, or you will have no government, more security incidents, and in the end we will ‘regain’ Lebanon with regional and western approval.
Hariri’s position is unenviable. For the sake of stability he wants to form a cabinet, but he cannot, quite rightly, close his eyes to the results of an election in which the people said an emphatic ‘no’ to the return of a pro-Syrian system.

The Above Bejjani Editorial was published on the following sites
*Middle East Analysis *International Analyst Network *American Chronicle *Israelated Blog *Albawaba Blog *Yahoo Blog *World Sentinel