LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
December 01/08
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Mark 13,33-37. Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when
the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places
his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on
the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is
coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the
morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I
say to all: 'Watch!'"
Saint Paschasius Radbertus (?-c.849), Benedictine monk
Commentary on St Matthew's Gospel, 11, 24; PL 120, 799 (trans. ©Friends of Henry
Ashworth)
"Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come"
We must always be on the lookout for Christ's twofold coming, the one when we
shall have to give an account of everything we have done, and the other when he
comes day after day to stir our consciences. He comes to us now in order that
his future coming may find us prepared. If my conscience is burdened with sin
what good will it do me to know when the Day of Judgment will be? Unless the
Lord comes to my soul beforehand and makes his home with me, unless Christ lives
in me and speaks his word in my heart, it is useless for me to know if and when
his coming will take place. Only if Christ is already living in me and I in him
will it go well with me when he comes in judgment. If I have already died to the
world and am able to say, «The world is crucified to me, and I to the world»
(Gal 6,14), then, in a sense, his final coming is already present to me.
Consider also our Lord's warning: «Many will come in my name» (Mt 24,5). It is
only the Antichrist and his members who, albeit falsely, claim the name of
Christ...You will never find the Lord in Scripture actually declaring, "I am the
Christ." His teaching and miracles revealed it clearly enough, for the Father
was at work in him. Louder than a thousand acclamations his teaching and mighty
works proclaimed: "I am the Christ." And so whether or not you find him
describing himself in so many words, the «works of the Father» (Jn 5,36) and his
own message of love declared what he was, whereas the false Christs, who
possessed neither godly deeds nor holy doctrine, loudly claimed to be what they
were not.
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special
Reports
Iran: Talk Tough With Tehran-By:
By Dennis Ross-Newsweek 30/11/08
WCCR: “Lebanon in danger of being
classified a terrorist nation”.
By:
Maj. W. Thomas Smith Jr.
30/11/08
Palestinian Refugees´ Future is not in Lebanon. By:
Dr. Joseph Hitti 30/11/08
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for November
30/08
Saniora Calls World Leaders to Confront Corruption-Naharnet
Hizbullah Criticizes Gemayel, Phalange Party-Naharnet
Phalange and Hizbullah Exchange Blame-Naharnet
Saniora to Discuss Shebaa
Farms in Doha-Naharnet
Assad Backs Lebanon's Army-Naharnet
Army Contains AMAL-Jamaa
Islamiya Conflict in Beirut-Naharnet
Syria Showers Aoun With Titles-Naharnet
Belgium PM Reiterates Support for Lebanon, Emphasizes Need for Elections-Naharnet
Sarkozy Asks Saudi to Trust His Lebanon Policy-Naharnet
Mouawad Demands End of Christian Cover for Hizbullah Arms-Naharnet
Qahwaji Discusses Border Control, Prevention of Arms Smuggling with Assad-Naharnet
Bazzi Attacks
Commemoration of Mouawad's Assassination-Naharnet
Lebanese army commander returns from Syria-Xinhua
Bush to Israel's PM: Why give away Golan for free?Ha'aretz
Army Contains AMAL-Jamaa Islamiya Conflict
in Beirut
Naharnet/Army troops contained what could have developed into a clash between
members of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's AMAL movement and guards of the
Jamaa Islamiya headquarters in Beirut's Aisheh Bakkar district. Tension ran high
after a member of AMAL went into a quarrel with a guard of the Jamaa Islamiya
headquarters late Saturday evening. The Jamaa Islamiya, in a statement, said its
main office was targeted by "an aggression staged by AMAL squads, involving
scores of the movement's elements, who insulted guards and tried to attack them.
This required a counter massing of elements." Later, the Jamaa issued a second
statement saying the conflict was settled and members of both factions have been
"withdrawn from the street." Witnesses told Naharnet army troops moved in,
sealed off the district, disengaged members of both factions and supervised
field reconciliation. The Jamaa, Lebanon's chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood,
said in a statement it was "keen on good relations with AMAL Command and all
parties in line with the ongoing reconciliation efforts." Beirut, 30 Nov 08,
08:49
Sarkozy Asks Saudi to Trust His
Lebanon Policy
Naharnet/French President Nicolas Sarkozy has pledged to Saudi King Abdullah
that Paris would "adapt" its policy to Syria's behavior regarding Lebanon.
The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat quoted a French source as saying Sarkozy vowed that
Paris would "persist with its efforts to achieve the steps required by Syria on
respect for Lebanon's sovereignty, stability and security, so that things
progress in the right direction for Lebanon."
Sarkozy asked the Saudi Monarch to "trust his efforts for Lebanon," the report
said.
The French head of state met King Abdullah in Jedda on Saturday and discussed
regional and international developments. Beirut, 30 Nov 08, 11:41
Sarkozy: Eyes on Lebanon's Elections
Naharnet/French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the international community would
closely watch the forthcoming Parliamentary elections that are "decisive for the
Lebanon reconciliation." In an interview with the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat,
Sarkozy pledged that "no one would accept that Lebanon's independence and the
sovereignty of its people are targeted in any way." The elections, he added,
should be held with "maximum transparency and fairness."
Sarkozy expressed "satisfaction, in general, with the Lebanon developments."
"Six months ago Lebanon was plunged in a very deep political crisis … the shadow
of civil war was hanging over the country," Sarkozy explained. "President Michel
Suleiman was elected, a national unity government was formed, Lebanese
institutions are functioning again, the security situation improved, an election
law was adopted and preparations are underway for the elections of the
forthcoming spring," he recalled.
Nevertheless, Sarkozy noted, "we haven't reached end of the March. So many
stages have to be crossed, but we should admit that the situation is better."
He expressed hope that Lebanon and Syria would exchange ambassadors before end
of the year. Beirut, 29 Nov 08, 11:15
Syria Showers Aoun With Titles
Naharnet/Syria has proclaimed Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun "leader
of Christians in the Orient" who has an "historic mission." The government daily
Tishrine also said Aoun, "through his strategic insight, found out that the
national interest requires understanding with Arab and regional powers."
"His visit to Iran resulted in positive accomplishment and made him leader of
the Christians in the Orient," the newspaper added. Syrian Foreign Minister
Mohsen Bilal said Syria has "high appreciation and respect" for Aoun. Aoun,
Bilal added, is an "objective, national Lebanese personality." Beirut, 30 Nov
08, 09:57
Mouawad Demands End of Christian
Cover for Hizbullah Arms
Independence Movement leader Michel Mouawad demanded Saturday an end to
Christian cover for Hizbullah arms. Mouawad's plea came during a ceremony to
mark the 19th anniversary of the assassination of his father, the late President
Rene Mouawad. "Lebanon's future lies in the hands of you, Christians," Mouawad
told the crowd who attended a mass at Rene Mouawad Institute in Mejdlaya,
Zghorta in northern Lebanon. "Lift the Christian (political) cover off Hizbullah
weapons," he demanded. On the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik
Hariri, Mouawad accused "those trying to defend or cover up the four arrested
generals are certainly accomplice in crime."He was referring to Jamil Sayyed,
Ali Hajj, Raymond Azar and Mustafa Hamdan who respectively headed the General
Security Department, the Internal Security Forces, Military Intelligence and the
Presidential Guards Brigade.
Turning to March 8 Forces, Mouawad said: "Let them tell us how can protecting a
political crime, non-demarcation of the border, turning the borders into
passages for smuggling arms and weakening the Lebanese army protect Lebanon."
"Let them tell us where does the Resistance end and where does the militia
start," he added in reference to Hizbullah. "Defending our territories requires
a defense strategy based on the Taef accord, the Doha agreement and U.N.
resolutions, particularly 1701," Mouawad argued, adding that Lebanon's "real
protection" demands an immediate call on everybody to return to the legitimate
authority. Addressing his fellow Zghorta citizens, he said: "It's time for
change, but change does not mean coup." Turning to March 14 Forces public,
Mouawad concluded his speech by vowing to "continue our battle, together
peacefully and democratically, to revive Lebanon."Among those who attended the
ceremony were political and military personalities as well as representatives of
President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and Speaker Nabih Berri.
Beirut, 29 Nov 08, 19:06
Qahwaji Discusses Border Control,
Prevention of Arms Smuggling with Assad
Naharnet/Army Commander Gen. Jean Qahwaji met Saturday with Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad and Syrian Defense Minister Gen. Hassan Turkmani.
Qahwaji is in Damascus on an official visit. The state-run National News Agency
said the talks focused on issues of common interest, including border control,
prevention of arms smuggling across the border as well as fighting terrorism.
An-Nahar daily said Qahwaji, who heads a military delegation, would also
discuss, among other topics, the whereabouts of missing Lebanese soldiers.
Hundreds of Lebanese soldiers have been missing since Oct. 13, 1990 when they
fought against the Syrian army that attacked an enclave controlled by then army
commander and interim Premier Gen. Michel Aoun. Beirut, 29 Nov 08, 19:30
Bazzi Attacks Commemoration of
Mouawad's Assassination
Naharnet/MP Ali Bazzi, representative of Speaker Nabih Berri at the
commemoration of the 19th anniversary of the assassination of President Rene
Mouawad, criticized the event Saturday, saying he did not come to sit and listen
to "insults." "I did not come to hear proposals of the so-called (March 14)
secretariat general which is reputed for its animosity against the nation and
enmity to nationalism," Bazzi said in a statement released by his office. He
accused the majority March 14 coalition of not distinguishing between the
Israeli enemy "which has always targeted Lebanon and the Lebanese" and the
Iranians and Syrians "who have always stood by Lebanon.""Using the commemoration
event into a platform for insults and division is such a sad thing," Bazzi
complained.
Beirut, 29 Nov 08, 22:27
Iran: Talk Tough With Tehran
By Dennis Ross | NEWSWEEK
Published Nov 29, 2008
Everywhere you look in the Middle East today, Iran is threatening U.S. interests
and the political order. One Arab ambassador told me recently that the Iranians
are reminding Arab leaders that America didn't help Fuad Siniora, the prime
minister of Lebanon, or Mikheil Saakashvili, the president of Georgia, when they
got into trouble—that in fact Washington left them high and dry. Iran, by
contrast, is close by and not going anywhere. If the Iranians are throwing their
weight around now, imagine what will happen if they go nuclear.
It's not too late to stop Iran from getting the bomb. Tehran clearly wants nukes
for both defensive and offensive purposes. But it's not clear the Supreme
Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would sacrifice anything to get nuclear weapons.
In fact, history shows that his government responds to outside pressure,
restricting its actions when it feels threatened and taking advantage when it
judges it can.
In 2003, for example, after the U.S. military made short work of the Iraqi
Army—something Iran hadn't managed in eight years of war—Tehran quickly reached
out to Washington, sending a proposal through the Swiss ambassador in Tehran
that sought to allay U.S. concerns about Iran's weapons program and its support
for Hizbullah and Hamas. (Sadegh Kharrazi, the main drafter of the proposal,
said last year that fear among the Iranian elite led to the overture.) By
contrast, when the U.S. government released a National Intelligence Estimate a
year ago concluding that Iran had suspended its weaponization program, President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad quickly crowed that confrontation had worked and the
Americans had backed down.
Iran has continued to pursue nuclear weapons because the Bush administration
hasn't applied enough pressure—or offered Iran enough rewards for reversing
course. The U.N. sanctions adopted in the past three years primarily target
Iran's nuclear and missile industries, not the broader economy. Hitting the
economy more directly would force the mullahs to make a choice. Iran has
profound economic vulnerabilities: it imports 43 percent of its gas. Its oil and
natural-gas industries—the government's key source of revenue, which it uses to
buy off its population—desperately require new investment and technology. Smart
sanctions would force Iran's leaders to see the high costs of not changing their
behavior.
The way to achieve such pressure is to focus less on the United Nations and more
on getting the Europeans, Japanese, Chinese and Saudis to cooperate. The more
Washington shows it's willing to engage Iran directly, the more these other
parties, will feel comfortable ratcheting up the pressure. Europeans have also
complained that if they reduce their business with Iran, the Chinese will pick
up the slack. But having the Chinese onboard will allay that fear.
Sharp sticks, of course, must be balanced by appetizing carrots. We need to
offer political, economic and security benefits to Tehran, on the condition that
Iran change its behavior not just on nukes but on terrorism as well. Sticks will
show Iran what it stands to lose by going nuclear; carrots will show its leaders
what they would gain by moderating their behavior. Smart statecraft involves
wielding them together. It's needed now to avoid two terrible outcomes: living
with a nuclear Iran, or acting militarily to try to prevent it.
Ross, A former U.S. Middle East envoy, is a Distinguished Fellow at the
Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the author of “Statecraft: And How
to Restore America’s Standing in the World.”
© 2008
Two Canadians killed in Mumbai assault: FM
Fri Nov 28,
OTTAWA (AFP) - Two Canadians have been killed in the wave of attacks on Mumbai
blamed on Pakistan-linked militants, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said on
Friday.
"On behalf of all Canadians and the Government of Canada, I offer my deepest
sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased," Cannon said in a
statement released on the death of a second Canadian citizen in the terrorist
attacks.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this difficult time," said
Cannon, whose statement in French said the victim was female.
"Canada strongly condemns these despicable acts of violence, which targeted
innocent civilians," he said.
Earlier Canada had confirmed the death of one Canadian in the attacks that have
left up to 155 dead in two days in India's financial capital.
The foreign minister said the government was closely following events in India
and working to assist Canadians in Mumbai.
"I want to reassure Canadians and the families affected that the government of
Canada is making every effort to help and support Canadians in Mumbai. We
continue to monitor the situation very closely."There are about one million
Canadians of Indian origin living in Canada, mostly in the Toronto area.
WCCR: “Lebanon in danger of being classified a
terrorist nation” Maj. W. Thomas Smith Jr.
29 Nov 2008
No one can travel to Lebanon nor establish relationships with the Lebanese
people—there and here in the states—without falling in love with that country.
And no military commander, planner, or analyst in 2008 can consider Lebanon
without appreciating the strategic significance of the country as a critical
front – which cannot for any sound justification be sacrificed – in the overall
war on terror.
But that is exactly what we – meaning the United States and Europe – are
allowing to happen.
As I’ve been writing for the past several days – actually for more than a year –
we are losing the Lebanese front. In fact, the front may already be lost.
Yesterday, Joseph P. Baini, president of the World Council of the Cedars
Revolution (Lebanon’s largest pro-democracy movement, which continues to be a
majority in that country), stated in a letter to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora
that what may be considered a loss, actually represents something much darker
for Lebanon.
“Lebanon is in danger of being classified as a terrorist nation,” Baini writes.
At the heart of Baini’s letter are the recent military and political gains made
by the Lebanon-based, Iranian-Syrian sponsored terrorist group, Hizballah, as
well as Hizballah’s increasing influence in both Lebanese and international
media (I’ve been writing about Hizballah’s media influence for months and much
of that analysis may be accessed here, here, and here.).
As an example, Baini points to the German government’s blocking of the reception
of Hizballah’s satellite television network, “Al-Manar,” on Nov. 21, 2008.
No problem. Right? The U.S., France, and other sovereign states have also
blocked terrorist TV, as they have a right to do, and I would argue an
obligation from the standpoint of national security.
According to an article in Variety magazine:
“The [European Foundation for Democracy] said Al-Manar is used by Hizballah to
recruit terrorists and communicate with sleeper cells around the globe, and it
urged all European countries to ban the web.
“‘The German government has taken an important step in contributing to European
efforts to counter the spread of radicalization and violent ideologies,’ said
EFD exec director Robert Bonazzi.”
Problem is, Hizballah – hellbent on exporting its Islamist radicalism worldwide
– is not content with Germany’s decision. It’s not enough that Hizballah control
all of previously sovereign Lebanon. These birds – who burned property; seized
major roads, villages, and districts of cities; murdered innocent civilians; and
generally shot Lebanon to pieces because they could not have their way in May;
are now demanding that Al Manar NOT be banned in a country that should have no
connection to them whatsoever.
According to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), “Lebanese
Information Minister Tarek Mitri phoned Al-Manar director-general Abdallah
Kassir to say that the German measure against the channel was strange and
unacceptable and was not in line with the freedom of expression believed to be
an evident right in democratic societies.”
Folks, have you seen the violent vitriol Al Manar spews?
According to Baini’s letter, “The free world is today hailing the German
government for its courageous action in banning the telecast of Al Manar …
However, there appears to be a good deal of pressure being brought to bear by
Hizballah and their affiliated members of the Lebanese parliament, upon the
Lebanese government to take a position pressuring the German government to
withdraw the ban.”
The letter also mentions Lebanese Pres. Michel Sleiman’s planned visit to
Germany in a few days, and adds “It is also common knowledge that the president
is a strong supporter of Hizballah.”
An article published in today’s Alseyassah (Al-Siyassa), a Kuwait-based
newspaper, says (translated and paraphrased):
The Lebanese government must remain on the side of free world, not on the side
of terrorists.
The Lebanese government should not interfere in the national security of any
nation.
The Lebanese government may make itself liable if it pressures any foreign
government in this manner, especially if a terrorist attack takes place in that
country.
If the Lebanese government pressures Germany in this way, might Germany pull its
troops out of UNIFIL and might other western nations (France, Italy, Spain) do
likewise in support of Germany?
By the way, Sleiman just signed a new Defense pact with Iran, Hizballah’s
primary benefactor (I write about that here), after spending time in Iran this
week. And Sleiman’s newly dubbed commander of the Lebanese Army, General Jean
Kahwaji, is currently in Damascus schmoozing with his Syrian counterpart General
Ali Habib. Syria, by the way, has long provided operational support to Hizballah
and many other terrorist organizations.
If these actions alone aren’t leading Lebanon down the path of being designated
a “state sponsor of terrorism,” as Baini suggests, I’m not sure what is?
— Visit W. Thomas Smith Jr. at uswriter.com.
Palestinian Refugees´ Future is
not in Lebanon
Joseph Hitti
November 29, 2008
The Lebanese continue to be the target of attacks in the media by Western and
Arab governments and aid groups who claim that the Lebanese are not doing enough
to help the Palestinian refugees integrate and improve their standard of living.
Headlines such as "Lebanon is the worst place for Palestinian refugees" or
"Palestinians in Lebanon suffer from complete lack of integration" are almost
daily reminders of the pressure to which Lebanon is being subjected for the sole
purpose of forcing a "final solution" to the refugees´ plight, namely to
permanently settle them in Lebanon, close that chapter of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, deny them their Right of Return and thus bring
moral and material relief to Israel.
According to Zara Sejberg, Manager at Save the Children Sweden, and as quoted in
the Daily Star of November 29, 2008, Lebanon "is the most difficult place to be
a Palestinian refugee." Sejberg was speaking on Saturday ahead of the
UN-designated "International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People".
Sejberg said that over 409,700 Palestinians living in squalid, overcrowded camps
in Lebanon, suffer from a "complete lack of integration, inadequate services,
harmful stereotypes, and discriminatory laws." Over 3,000 Palestinians in
Lebanon do not even have formal documentation, meaning they are not recognized
by either the Lebanese state or UNRWA.
Likewise, Haifa Jammal, Human Rights and Advocacy program coordinator at
Norwegian People's Aid, which works with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, told
The Daily Star that the Lebanese government was not working hard enough to
improve the situation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. "The government took
the initiative to establish the LPDC (Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee),
but that committee has not done nearly enough. Regarding the right of
Palestinians to work or to own property, there has been nothing done yet."
According to UNRWA, refugees in Lebanon suffer from the highest levels of abject
poverty of all Palestinian refugees, in contradiction to the UN Refugee
Convention of 1951, which stipulates that all refugees must be given the right
to work and to own property. But Palestinians in Lebanon do not enjoy those
rights. Nor are they entitled to state health care. Their status has long been
an issue of bitter dispute between Lebanese political parties, many of whom
argue that Palestinians are temporary guests and vehemently oppose the
possibility of Palestinian naturalization.
Aid groups such as the Save the Children Sweden and Norwegian People´s Aid have
indeed become the mouthpieces for an international effort at pressuring Lebanon
into permanently settling the refugees and thus helping Israel evade its
historic responsibilities which consist in allowing the refugees to return to
their homes and homeland in Palestine-Israel. These groups and their governments
behind them are trying to impose a fait accompli on the Lebanese people and
government by calling for "better integration" or "more humanitarian conditions"
for the Palestinian refugees as a ploy to begin the process of the permanent
settlement of the refugees in Lebanon.
In the opinion of this writer, this is a cop out designed by the international
community to escape from its own responsibility in the genesis of the
Palestinian refugee problem and to ultimately deny those refugees the basic
right of any refugee, which is to return home and not be forced to stay in a
foreign and alien country that does not want them. Lebanon has more than enough
problems of its own between its diverse ethnic and religious communities to have
to integrate yet another ethnic group into its complex society. Lebanon has been
in economic disarray for years – primarily as a result of the armed Palestinian
movement and its destabilization of the country in the 1970s and 1980s – and is
itself surviving on foreign aid while it suffers from a public debt that is
several times its own GDP. Lebanon cannot provide for its 500,000 Palestinian
residents (or 15% of the total population) at the expense of its own people and
welfare.
Also, the Lebanese War of 1970-1990 was essentially a war between the Lebanese
and the Palestinians, represented at the time by the PLO and a horde of radical
extremist groups (PFLP and others). Today, the situation is no better, since the
Palestinian civil war between Hamas and Fatah has been transplanted inside the
refugee camps of Lebanon where radicals on both sides have attacked each other
and attacked and killed Lebanese civilians and military personnel. The latest
episode in this bloody hatred between the Palestinians refugees themselves on
one hand, and with the Lebanese on the other, was in 2007 when the Lebanese Army
besieged the Nahr El-Bared camp in the north of the country and destroyed it
completely in its effort to dislodge al-Qaeda affiliated Palestinian groups
barricaded in it. Not surprisingly, the same countries and groups who attack the
Lebanese government for not caring enough for the Palestinians have put down
hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild the camp and thus force the continued
settlement of the Palestinian refugees in decrepit and squalid conditions in a
Lebanon that does not want them. A better solution for the Nahr el-Bared
residents and all the other Palestinians in Lebanon is to re-settle them in
Sweden, Norway and every other Western or Arab country that has the will, the
compassion, the space and the wealth to properly care for them.
In order to confuse the issue, the proponents of the permanent settlement of the
Palestinians in Lebanon argue that the right to work, own property, access to
health care and other benefits for the Palestinians do not amount to permanent
settlement and/or naturalization. They say that the majority (no numbers or
statistics cited here) of Palestinians themselves have no interest in becoming
Lebanese. Indeed, they cite Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad al-Maliki
as saying that "the naturalization of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon would not
be tolerated." "I don't even know why we're bothering to talk about
naturalization when that's not the issue," said Sejberg. "The issue is how to
improve the life of these people who have been in Lebanon's backyard since
1948." Yet, these people want us to forget that more than half of the Jordanian
population is of Palestinian descent, and because Jordan granted its
Palestinians the right to work, own property and other social benefits, those
Palestinian refugees essentially no longer make any claims to their rights in
the homeland of Palestine. That is exactly what is being asked of Lebanon.
The better response to improving the conditions of the Palestinians in Lebanon
should come from the international community, particularly the European
countries – whose colonialism and anti-Semitism led to the creation of Israel
and the displacement of the Palestinians – as well as from other Arab countries
that are much bigger, wealthier, less densely populated than Lebanon, and more
culturally and religiously related to the Palestinians, and also from countries
of traditional emigration such as the US, Canada, Australia and Latin America.
For Sejberg and others to demand that Lebanon bears the burden of integrating
the refugees and relieving Israel of its obligations is criminally unfair, a
violation of extant UN resolutions, a dangerous precedent that encourages future
ethnic cleansing and atrocities, and a recipe for future wars and instability as
the past three decades in Lebanon have shown. In fact, according to former
Ambassador Khalil Makkawi, president of the LPDC, which since 2005 has been
working on the issue of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, responsibility for the
Palestinians lay "not with Lebanon, but with UNRWA and the international
community."
Moreover, the Palestinian Authority itself continues to insist on the so-called
Right of Return of the Palestinian refugees, and has lately reconciled itself
with the idea of absorbing all the Palestinian refugees into the West Bank and
Gaza, instead of demanding their return to the Israeli cities and the Galilee
villages from which the refugees came. Israel has also indicated its willingness
to accept this compromise.
Thus, there are several solutions – some temporary and some permanent – to the
Palestinian refugees condition in Lebanon. Whichever of these solutions obtains
in the end, temporary relief for the refugees in Lebanon consists in settling
them under less crowded and more humane conditions than exist in Lebanon.
Lebanon is the wrong country for the Palestinians to wait for a solution to
their plight. Lebanon has opened its door since 1948 and has provided temporary
shelter to the Palestinians who, sadly, abused that hospitality and attempted to
topple the Lebanese government and seize the country in the 1970s (as they did
in Jordan too).
Still, Lebanon is not responsible for the genesis of the Palestinian refugee
problem and has no obligation whatsoever towards the refugees beyond temporary
relief. Those members of the international community – Sweden, Norway, Great
Britain, etc. – who feel otherwise should open their own countries for the
re-settlement and absorption of the Palestinians who do not want to return to
Palestine, or for those who hold on to their Right of Return, until a resolution
of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is reached. [Sources: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
and http://nopalestineinlebanon.blogspot.com]