LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
February 14/08
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to
Saint Luke 11,29-32. While still more people gathered in the crowd, he said to
them, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will
be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the
Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment the
queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will
condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of
Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the
men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the
preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah
here.
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Imad Mughniyah's death: Hezbollah terror chief was higher than Nasrallah-By:Yossi
Melman 13/02/08
More divisiveness can only render a
disservice to Hariri's legacy-
The Daily Star-13/02/08
Politics & Policies: Peril in Lebanon.By CLAUDE SALHANI. February
13/08
Apply the 'Daniel Pearl standard'
to news coverage-By
Judea Pearl- 13/02/08
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 13/08
Hizbullah's Imad Mughniyeh Killed, Israel Blamed-Naharnet
Israel Accused of 'Terrorism' After Mughniyeh's Killing-Naharnet
Jumblat: No Way to
Coexist with Hizbullah-Naharnet
Clashes in Beirut between Opposition, Majority Supporters-Naharnet
Kouchner: Solution Is
in Lebanon Hands-Naharnet
Woman Wounded in
Lebanon Bank Robbery-Naharnet
EU, Arab League Discuss
Lebanon, Mideast Peace Process-Naharnet
Explosion Kills 1 in Syria's Capital-The
Associated Press
Nerves frayed on anniversary of Lebanon's Valentine's Day
massacre-Guardian Unlimited
Hariri's Murder
Anniversary Seen Pushing Lebanon to Brink of Strife-Naharnet
Lebanon's Balance of Terror-Naharnet
Christian Split on Lebanon Presidency Prolongs Hezbollah Fight-Bloomberg
Lebanon: Saudi Arabia as sugar daddy-Los
Angeles Times
28.5 percent of Lebanese live in
poverty - study-Daily Star
19 soldiers among 79 charged in protests-Daily
Star
Hizbullah still trying to define new role for
itself-Daily Star
Gap widens as March 8, March 14 find new way to
disagree on old issue-Daily Star
South Lebanon quake shakes local area, Israel and
Syria-Daily Star
Leading clerics urge divided Lebanese to work
together-Daily Star
UN agency eases woes of Lebanese hit by housing
crisis since 2006 war with israel-Daily Star
Mixed feelings about Thursday's rally for Hariri-Daily
Star
Heavy security planned for Hariri demonstration-Daily
Star
UNRWA gets under way with plan to rebuild Nahr
al-Bared-Daily Star
Commerce gets day off for rally marking Hariri
slaying-Daily Star
Gemayel Un-Contested Phalange Party President-Naharnet
'But, I Can't Let Go' turns pieces
of Beirut into art-Daily Star
Iran reinstates 280 candidates barred from
legislative poll-Daily Star-Daily Star
Bush Criticizes Iran,
Syria, Supports Lebanon and Tribunal-Naharnet
Wakim Urges Suleiman to
Withdraw From The Presidential Race-Naharnet
Americans Restricted On
Hariri Murder Anniversary-Naharnet
Gemayel Declared Uncontested Phalange
Party President-Naharnet
Qandil Predicts 'Return' of Syria's Army to Bekaa, North-Naharnet
Hizbullah's Imad Mughniyeh Killed, Israel Blamed
(AP-AFP-Naharnet)/Imad Mughniyeh, a senior Hizbullah official and one of
America's most wanted men, has been killed by Israeli agents, the party
announced in a statement Wednesday. Hizbullah's statement did not say how he was
assassinated. But a party official said that Mughniyeh was killed in Syria at a
late night explosion Tuesday that destroyed a vehicle in Damascus' upscale Kafar
Soussa neighborhood. Mughniyeh, who has been in hiding for years, was among the
fugitives indicted in the United States for the 1985 hijacking of a TWA airliner
in which a U.S. Navy diver was killed. He was also suspected of masterminding
attacks that killed more than 260 Americans in Lebanon in the 1980s when he was
then Hizbullah's security chief. Mughniyeh, 45, was also wanted for his
suspected role in the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in the Argentinean
capital which killed 29 people and for being involved in the planning of a blast
at a Buenos Aires Jewish Center two years later that killed 95 people. "With all
pride we declare a great Jihadist leader of the Islamic resistance in Lebanon
joining the martyrs ... The brother commander hajj Imad Mughniyeh became a
martyr at the hands of the Zionist Israelis," said a statement carried on
Hizbullah's Al Manar television which broke into Qoranic verses after the
announcement. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office refused to comment on
Hizbullah's claims. When asked by Agence France Presse about the accusation,
Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said: "We are not making any comment."
The Shiite party called on its supporters to join a funeral procession for
Mughniyeh in Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday, the same day the
pro-government majority March 14 coalition is planning to hold a rally to
commemorate the third anniversary of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination in
Martyrs Square.
"Let us make our voice heard by all the enemies and murderers that we will make
victory no matter how the sacrifices are," Hizbullah said, urging supporters "to
carry on our shoulders a leader we were proud with his leadership." Mughniyeh
was suspected by Western intelligence services of working directly for Iranian
intelligence and was on the U.S. State Department's list of most wanted
terrorism suspects. American intelligence officials have described Mughniyeh as
Hizbullah's operations chief and was believed to have moved between Lebanon,
Syria and Iran in disguise. His last public appearance was believed to be at the
funeral of his brother Fouad, who was killed on Dec. 12, 1994, when a
booby-trapped car blew up in Beirut's southern suburbs.
Syrian security forces on Tuesday quickly sealed off the area of the blast and
removed the destroyed Mitsubishi Pajero, which had its driver's seat and the
rear seat blown away by the force of the explosion. Witnesses in Damascus said
that a passerby was killed as security forces removed the body, but Syrian
authorities would not give details. Iran's English-language satellite station
Press TV said an Iranian school and a Syrian intelligence office were in the
same area of Kafar Soussa where the explosion occurred. Mughniyeh's
assassination was the first major attack against a leader of Hizbullah since the
1992 helicopter strike that killed the party's secretary-general Sheikh Abbas
Moussawi in southern Lebanon.(AP-AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 13 Feb 08, 11:32
Israel Accused of 'Terrorism' After Mughniyeh's Killing
Naharnet/A Syrian human rights watchdog, which regularly reports
the jailing of dissidents by the Damascus regime, accused Israel on Wednesday of
state terrorism after Hizbullah said the Jewish state assassinated one of its
top officials. The Palestinian militant group Hamas also spoke out against Imad
Mughniyeh's murder in a bombing in Damascus Tuesday night. "The killing of Imad
Mughniyeh in the Kafar Soussa neighborhood of Damascus followed repeated threats
by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to have Hizbullah and Hamas leaders killed
wherever they are," the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria said.
"The action carried out by the Israeli government is a terrorist act of the sort
condemned under international law," the watchdog's chairman Ammar Qorabi said.
Hamas urged Muslims to confront Israel. "We condemn this crime and we emphasize
the Muslim nation must rise up to confront the Zionist devil which is backed by
the Americans," said Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Samir Abu Zuhri. Hizbullah did not
threaten immediate revenge but Al Manar television urged supporters to turn out
in its stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs for Mughniyeh's funeral
procession Thursday.(AFP-AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 13 Feb 08, 13:14
Clashes in Beirut between Opposition, Majority Supporters
Naharnet/Clashes pitting followers of the opposition against supporters of the
majority March 14 alliance broke out in Beirut late Tuesday ahead of a mass
rally called by the government to commemorate the third anniversary of the
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Supporters of the Amal movement, headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and
members of MP Saad Hariri's al-Mustaqbal Movement threw stones at each other in
the mixed Beirut neighborhood of Mazraa, an AFP correspondent witnessed. Shots
were fired as the army deployed troops to prevent any escalation.
Stones littered the street and the windshields of several cars were shattered.
One motorbike was also set on fire. A security official said there were no
casualties in the clashes. An official with the Amal movement played down the
incident saying it was a settling of scores between rival gangs. Similar clashes
in recent days between supporters of the government and the opposition have
raised tensions in a country already embroiled in its worst political crisis
since the 1975-1990 civil war. Fears of violence have mounted in the run-up to
the mass rally called for Thursday to mark the February 14, 2005 assassination
of Hariri.
Lebanon has also been without a president since November, when pro-Syrian Emile
Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term of office with no successor in place
amid deadlock between the anti-Syrian government and the pro-Syrian
opposition.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 13 Feb 08, 07:52
Kouchner: Solution is in Lebanon's Hands
Naharnet/French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who has unsuccessfully tried
to mediate between rival Lebanese factions, paid respects to the late former
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Tuesday at the U.N. headquarters in New York.
Kouchner said the world remained "ready, still ready to push in favor of peace"
and an end to Lebanon's political crisis. But the international community
"cannot make a miracle ... The solution is in the hands of the Lebanese
themselves," Kouchner stressed. "They have to talk to each other. They have to
believe that all the communities are part of the nation," he added. Beirut, 13
Feb 08, 10:32
Suspect Identified in Lebanon Bank Robbery
Naharnet/A masked man held up a Byblos Bank branch in north
Lebanon on Wednesday and security sources were able to identify the robbery
suspect.
They said the burglar tossed a concussion bomb to cover his escape from Byblos
Bank in Bishmizzine in the Koura province. The bank's deputy manager, Mary Abi
Farah, was slightly wounded in the 9 am robbery, police said. They said the
robber escaped with $42,000 and 35 million Lebanese pounds.
Security forces rushed to assess and examine the robbed bank. The bank's
surveillance camera snapped a picture of the robber, identified by police as
George A.N. The sources said George escaped in a beige Mercedes-300 he had
rented from a Tripoli auto exhibition. He returned the car after the robbery,
only to rent a dark blue Hyundai and drive away. Police launched a manhunt for
the suspect. Last May, four masked gunmen robbed around $120,000 from the
Mediterranean Bank branch in the northern town of Amioun. Security sources had
said that the car used by the gunmen to escape was identified as one of the
vehicles used by Fatah al-Islam terrorist group in north Lebanon's Nahr al-Bared
Palestinian refugee camp. The sources at the time noted that members of Fatah
al-Islam had robbed two banks in the northern town of Tripoli and the southern
coastal village of Ghaziyeh early in 2007 to finance terrorist attacks in
Lebanon. Beirut, 13 Feb 08, 09:46
Jumblat: No Way to Coexist with Hizbullah
Naharnet/Druze leader Walid Jumblat has declared that there was
no way to coexist with Hizbullah and called for a "friendly divorce" from the
Iranian and Syrian backed group. "I say this very quietly 'that there is no way
to coexist with Hizbullah,'" Jumblat said in an interview with Future News TV
late Tuesday.
"It is impossible to coexist with a totalitarian party," Jumblat said.
"Coexistence is a lie.""I don't want to live according to their way of life,
according to their terror," Jumblat said. "I don't want to live the rest of my
life under a terrorist regime that believes only in death," Jumblat said.
"I want a friendly divorce," Jumblat demanded. "Let him (Hizbullah chief Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah) keep his arms, his culture and his media, and leave me live."
"I don't want war with Israel, I want armistice, they can keep their weapons and
they can fight Israel for as long as they wish, provided we don't pay for it,"
Jumblat said. "We don't want Lebanon to be an arena for conflicts with Israel."
"Let him live the way he wants, but we want to live the way we want," he said
during the interview. He accused Hizbullah of the assassination of top
intelligence police officer Maj. Wissan Eid, saying that explosive-laden cars
used in his murder as well as other killings were being "imported" from
Hizbullah's Security Square in Beirut's southern suburbs. "They can carry out a
car bomb attack any time, they can bring it out of the southern suburbs or
Naameh," he said. On Syria, Jumblat said that if the Damascus regime continued
to survive, "nothing would prevent it from carrying out assassination attacks."
"Toppling any tyrant is necessary," he said. The leader of the Progressive
Socialist Party also said that he had tried with late former Prime Minister
Rafik Hariri to work out a relation with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but
"we failed." Jumblat described Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as "crazy
and claims to be God." "I don't want Lebanon to follow Iran or to be a Syrian
province," Jumblat added insisting that he reflects the concept of the majority
March 14 coalition but said that "each one puts it in his own words."On
roundtable talks among the various Lebanese political factions, Jumblat said he
no longer "believed in dialogue."
He accused Hizbullah of secluding House Speaker Nabih Berri and appointing Gen.
Michel Aoun negotiator on behalf of the opposition "to prevent the speaker from
opening parliament." On the international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005
assassination of Hariri, Jumblat said Assad cannot tolerate the court, adding
that the Damascus regime "would collapse" if an assistant to former Syrian
intelligence Chief in Lebanon Rustom Ghazaeh was implicated.
He stressed that a financial contribution by Russia to the international
tribunal was a message to Assad. Beirut, 13 Feb 08, 08:49
EU, Arab League Discuss Lebanon, Mideast Peace Process
European Union and Arab foreign ministers have stressed that the Arab League
plan is the "appropriate basis" for an end to Lebanon's political crisis.
The plan which was unanimously endorsed by Arab League foreign ministers in
January "is an appropriate basis for a solution to the ongoing crisis," the
ministers said Tuesday after wrapping up two days of talks in Malta. Lebanon has
been without a president since Emile Lahoud left office Nov. 23 without a
successor, and parliament has so far failed to elect Army chief Gen. Michel
Suleiman as called by the Arab League plan. Arab League chief Amr Moussa also
slammed a lack of progress in the Middle East peace process. "We see no
progress. We want to send a message, a message of concern," he said following
the talks, the first between the two blocs at the level of foreign minister. In
a final communique, the ministers said they supported "the current
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which are the only way to achieve a peaceful
two-state solution." "Only a comprehensive political agreement can deliver
sustainable security for all peoples of this region," it added.
The meeting held in the Maltese capital of Valetta called "for the immediate
re-opening of the crossings between Gaza and Israel so that essential goods and
services, including fuel, can be supplied on a continuous basis."The ministers
also discussed energy and climate change. "People would think that in the area
of environment, producing countries and consuming countries, like Europe, would
have a conflict in this area. Completely not true," said Saudi Foreign Minister
Prince Saud Al Faisal, who co-chaired the meeting with his Maltese and Slovenian
counterparts. "We are in the same boat. After all, we breathe the same air and
we drink the same water, we live on the same earth. So these elements affect us
all," he said. The ministers also discussed, migration and inter-cultural
dialogue, said Maltese Foreign Minister Michael Frendo. Nine EU countries and 12
member states of the Arab League were represented at the foreign minister level
at the talks, including Spain, Italy, Ireland, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Egypt offered to host the next meeting of the two blocs, but no dates were set
in the final communique.(AFP-Naharnet)
Beirut, 13 Feb 08, 10:23
Qandil Predicts 'Return' of Syria's Army to Bekaa, North
Ex-MP Nasser Qandil, a staunch supporter of Syria, has rejected the
international tribunal as "illegitimate" and predicted the return of Syria's
army to Lebanon.
Qandil told a news conference Tuesday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is
based on an agreement between the government of Premier Fouad Saniora and the
United Nations. "The Saniora government is illegitimate and does not have the
right to conclude agreements. Any contract concluded with the Saniora government
is binding to this particular government and not to the Lebanese people," Qandil
said.
He criticized the arrest of the four generals who are suspected of involvement
in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination, claiming they were mere "political
detainees.""Unless the four generals were released … there will be no justice,
no truth and, consequently, no international tribunal," Qandil said.
He urged the Hizbullah-led opposition to include release of the four generals on
its agenda for any understanding to settle the political situation.
He spoke of a "scheme to stage riots on Thursday," the third anniversary of
Hariri's assassination that would be commemorated by the March 14 majority.
"There is a plan (by the majority) to flood the squares (with majority
supporters) to sweep the sit-in tents," Qandil claimed. He did not attribute his
allegations to any source."The conspiracy also calls for instigating civil war …
in Rashaya and the western Bekaa because the Israeli enemy wants to enter
scorched earth," Qandil added. He predicted that "this would probably push the
Syrians to make a powerful return to the region to strike at trouble."
He also spoke of an alleged plot to stir trouble in north Lebanon, cautioning
that it would reflect on Syria's internal situation "and might require direct
Syrian intervention to preserve security."He noted: "The Turkish army enters
Iraq at any chosen time to safeguard Turkey's security." Beirut, 12 Feb 08,
17:41
ANALYSIS: Hezbollah terror chief was more wanted than Nasrallah
By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Hezbollah, Imad Mughniyah
If there is a definition for the term "the snake's head," it is Imad Mughniyah,
who started his terrorist activities as a militant with Fatah, and joined
Hezbollah afterwards with the establishment of the Shi'ite organization.
He first started as head of security for Hezbollah, afterwards leading their
operational command, until he reached his current status of a type of "super
chief of staff."
In past years he saw himself as the probable successor to Nasrallah in leading
Hezbollah, leaving the shadowy world where he lived most of his life. According
to different reports, because of the international chase after him, Mughniyah
frequently changed identities and even went through numerous plastic surgeries.
Advertisement
Imad Mughniyah was the number one wanted terrorist on Israel's list, ahead of
Hassan Nasrallah.
In the past, in the 1990's, according to foreign reports, the Mossad tried to
assassinate him in a complex operation in southern Beirut.
However, the operation killed his brother, a car shop owner in Beirut. Mughniyah
was expected to be present at the funeral, giving an additional chance to
assassinate him, but he never showed.
Imad Mughniyah was high on the FBI's wanted list as well, for his involvement in
the kidnapping of a TWA airliner to Beirut in 1985, where one of the passengers
was killed. He was also involved with planning and carrying out a number of
kidnappings of Westerners in Lebanon in those same years. He started the
international terror attacks of the organization
Politics & Policies: Peril in Lebanon
By CLAUDE SALHANI (Editor, Middle East Times
February 12, 2008
Claude Salhani
http://www.metimes.com/International/2008/02/12/politics_policies_peril_in_lebanon/2447/
The situation in Lebanon is reaching a critical point that could plunge the
country into a war far more devastating than the 17-year civil war that tore the
country apart, divided communities, destroyed the country's infrastructure and
claimed the lives of more than 150,000 civilians – and in which nothing was
resolved.
The current political standoff over the appointment of the next president,
pitting pro-Syrian factions against the March 14 Movement opposed to Syria's
meddling in Lebanese affairs, appears to be coming to a head after months of
stagnation. The division between the various Lebanese political camps is
somewhat more complicated this time than during the 1975-91 civil war. Renewed
outbreak of violence in Lebanon could well result with its two neighbors – Syria
and Israel, as well as Iran - being pulled into the dispute, thus turning the
conflict into a larger regional war.
Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, who commands the
loyalty of the majority of Lebanon's Druze community, and a leading figure in
the pro-government March 14 Movement, has in two separate television interviews
spared no words in accusing Syria and their Lebanese allies, blaming them for
the current political impasse.
Hezbollah and its allies – backed by Syria and Iran – have repeatedly held up
the election of the next president over disagreements that the candidates
presented by the pro-government side were hostile to Syria. Parliament, whose
speaker Nabih Berri leans toward Damascus, has postponed the presidential vote
14 times.
Just a couple of months ago Jumblatt accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of
being responsible for the string of assassinations of anti-Syrian politicians
and journalists in Lebanon. For the first time Jumblatt publicly admitted that
the former Syrian President Hafez Assad was personally responsible for the
assassination of his own father, Kamal Jumblatt.
And earlier this week Jumblatt turned his frustration and anger at Hassan
Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader.
"Our existence, dignity and survival, and Lebanon, are the most important things
of all," Jumblatt said. "If you want chaos, we welcome chaos. If you want war,
we welcome one," added Jumblatt.
In the televised interview Jumblatt was particularly critical of Nasrallah,
accusing him of "dragging the country into anarchy."
Saad Hariri, son of assassinated Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, who now leads his
father's anti-Syrian coalition has also stepped up his verbal attacks against
the opposition Hezbollah movement, warning of pending anarchy and raising the
specter of another civil war.
Next Thursday will mark the third anniversary of Rafiq Hariri's assassination
and the pro-government forces are calling for a mega-march on the city center to
mark the event. Supporters of Hezbollah have been squatting the downtown area
for months now hoping to pressure the government of Fouad Siniora to resign.
Things could get ugly if the two sides were to come to blows.
Addressing Nasrallah, Jumblatt said: "If you think that we will stand with our
hands tied, this is pure imagination."
Saad Hariri, who assumed his father's mantle as leader of the parliamentary
majority, was also outspoken this week when he accused Syria of meddling in
Lebanon's affairs. He called for a massive march to commemorate the third
anniversary of his father's assassination.
"On February 14, we will all go down to Martyrs Square to say in one voice that
the Lebanese are united, that they reject terrorism and that all attempts to
intimidate us won't succeed," said the young Hariri.
"We are faced with the political and terrorist presence in Lebanon of the Syrian
and Iranian regimes, but we will not sit by and watch," he said.
Jumblatt told Nasrallah he would be ready to disarm the Shiite militia and take
their Katyusha rockets away. Since the end of the civil war in 1991 Hezbollah
has been the only militia to officially retain their weapons, including rockets,
claiming that they are defending Lebanese territory from possible Israeli
attacks. One area of contention has been the region in south Lebanon juxtaposed
between Lebanon and Syria and Israel called the Shebaa Farms. The "farms" are
currently occupied by Israel, who says they belong to Syria. Hezbollah claims
the farms as part of Lebanon's territory. During the Second Lebanon War – which
opposed Hezbollah to the Israeli army – the Shiite militia fired hundreds of
rockets at northern Israel.
The danger of an all out confrontation is not to be dismissed. Several analysts
believe that in the event of hostilities breaking out, Hezbollah will drag
Israel into the conflict by launching rockets at the Jewish state. Hamas, the
Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, which has been bombarding Israeli
population centers with Qassam rockets in recent weeks, may, at the behest of
Iran, join the fight.
Israel, which has already voiced its intention of decapitating the Hamas
leadership, may decide to go after the group's military leadership based in the
Syrian capital. An Israeli attack on Damascus may activate the Syrian-Iranian
defense pact.
Commenting on the precariousness hanging over his country, Hariri said: "If
confrontation is our destiny, then we stand ready."