LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
March 13/08
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 8,31-42. Jesus then said to
those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my
disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They
answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to
anyone. How can you say, 'You will become free'?"Jesus answered them, "Amen,
amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not
remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if a son frees you,
then you will truly be free.
I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me,
because my word has no room among you. I tell you what I have seen in the
Father's presence; then do what you have heard from the Father."They answered
and said to him, "Our father is Abraham." Jesus said to them, "If you were
Abraham's children, you would be doing the works of Abraham. But now you are
trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God;
Abraham did not do this. You are doing the works of your father!" (So) they said
to him, "We are not illegitimate. We have one Father, God." Jesus said to them,
"If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I
did not come on my own, but he sent me.
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for March 12/08
Lebanese Bracing for
Worst?-Naharnet
Lebanon Crisis Looms over Dakar Summit-Naharnet
Ahmadinejad: No
President, No Government in Lebanon before End of Bush's Term-Naharnet
Moussa: Lebanon to be Invited to Damascus
Summit Soon-Naharnet
Geagea from Washington: We Focused on
Protection of Lebanon-Naharnet
Israeli Activist Banned from UK Jealous of
Hizbullah Journalist-Naharnet
Russian FM Likely to Discuss Lebanon,
Syria during Mideast Talks-Naharnet
U.S. Assessment of Human Rights Conditions
in Lebanon-Naharnet
Lavrov, Kouchner United Against Foreign
Meddling in Lebanon-Naharnet
Ban Names British Judge for Hariri
Tribunal-Naharnet
Africa Coup Plotter Points Finger at
Spain, South Africa, Lebanese Man-Naharnet
Lebanese Shot in Nigerian Oil Hub-Naharnet
Suspects in Hariri Killing Detained
Arbitrarily, Expert-Naharnet
Syria will not invite foreign leaders to Arab summit-Monsters
and Critics.com
Iran wants to take control of Syria, Peres says-Monsters
and Critics.com
To rescue the two-state solution, Israel must make peace with Syria-Guardian
Kingdom Ready to Attend Arab Summit in Syria: Prince Sultan-Arab
News
US: Syria, Iran destabilize Iraq-PRESS
TV
Lebanon postpones elections for 16th time-United
Press International
Washington: Syria Iran, North Korea Run by unaccountable Rights
Violators-Naharnet
Shaker Abssi and Four Aides Indicted in
Ein Alaq Bombings-Naharnet
Kuwait releases cleric held in Mughniyeh eulogy-Daily
Star
Berri mocks White House for criticizing latest
delay of presidential election-Daily
Star
Sfeir says Lebanon near 'abyss,' and Fadlallah
blames pressure from outside-Daily
Star
US envoy to UN says funds are on hand to launch
Hariri court-Daily
Star
Israeli criticizes UK for banning him instead
of Lebanese journalist-Daily
Star
Geagea gets pledge of support from officials in
Washington-Daily
Star .
UN chief names top official for Lebanon tribunal-Xinhua
Lebanon Charges 5 in Bus Bombings-The
Associated Press
Sleiman: I Have Good Relations With Syria-MEMRI
Psychological study says most Lebanese still carry
effects of wartime stresses-By Anthony Elghossain
More Nahr al-Bared displaced return to
makeshift homes-Daily
Star
Unregistered Palestinians hope major changes are
in the offing-By IRIN News.org
Persistent tensions whittle away at Beirut's
legendary nightlife-Daily
Star
Annapolis process about to collapse - Moussa-AFP
Lebanon plunges on list of risky countries-Daily
Star
Would Kuwaiti Parliament Strip Two Shiite MPs of Immunity-Naharnet
Lebanon can send PM to Arab summit if vote fails: Sudan-AFP
Syria and Saudi on Collision Course in Lebanon-Naharnet
Bassil
Charges March 14 with Seeking Backing from Israel, U.S., NATO, U.N. Security
Council …Naharnet
Lebanon Crisis Looms over Dakar
Summit
Naharnet/The deep political crisis in Lebanon is expected to loom large over the
11th session of the Islamic Summit Conference due to take place in Dakar on
Wednesday. Will Syria deliver an invitation to Lebanon to join an Arab Summit in
Damascus at the end of the month? asked the daily An Nahar in its front-page
article on Wednesday. Syria was expected to hand over the invitation to Prime
Minister Fouad Saniora on the sidelines of the summit of the Organization of the
Islamic Conference Summit.Saniora, who will head the Lebanese delegation to
Senegal's capital, will likely seize the opportunity to discuss the political
deadlock with Arab officials and Arab League chief Amr Moussa. Saniora was also
to meet with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to find out about the latest on
the international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former
Premier Rafik Hariri. Ban is to attend a mini-summit on Sudan-Chad to be held
Wednesday in Dakar on the margin of the Islamic Summit Conference. The U.N.
secretary-general will address the summit on Thursday and will hold bilateral
talks with some of the heads of state attending the meeting, his spokesperson
said. An Nahar said Dakar was likely to be the "scene for confrontation" at
various levels concerning the Lebanese crisis. It also raised the possibility of
a similar confrontation to take place at the Damascus summit scheduled for March
29-30. Beirut, 12 Mar 08, 08:31
Prosecutor Demands Death for Abssi, 4 Syrians
Naharnet/Lebanon's military magistrate Rashid Mizher demanded the death penalty
for Fatah al-Islam leader Shaker Abssi and four Syrians in the Ain Alaq twin bus
bombings that killed three people and wounded at least 20 others. Abssi and the
four others were indicted on terrorism charges and the killing of innocent
civilians for the Feb. 13, 2007 blasts, according to the charge sheet issued by
Mizher late Tuesday. It said the five were also charged with undermining
Lebanon's security.
The bus bombings in Ain Alaq, northeast of Beirut, shocked Lebanon and brought
into the spotlight Fatah al-Islam which has been accused of the twin explosions.
Fatah al-Islam terrorists in the northern Nahr al-Bared refugee camp fought
fierce battles with the Lebanese army three months following the Ain Alaq
blasts.
Mizher said two of the five charged remain at large, including Abssi. Mizher, in
the charge sheet, also issued arrest warrants for ringleader Mustafa Sayou,
Kamal Farid Naasan, Yasser Mohammed Shuqeiri and Mubarak Ghazi Naasan, the
state-run National News Agency reported. The report said Mizher instructed
law-enforcement agencies to detect the full identification of seven suspects,
known only by code names. No date has been set for trial. Beirut, 11 Mar 08,
20:06
Lebanese Bracing for Worst?
Naharnet/Hizbullah's recent threat of open war on Israel and Lebanon's seemingly
endless political crisis have many jittery Lebanese getting their passports
ready to flee the country or renting apartments in "safe" regions. Officials in
southern Lebanon, which bore the brunt of the 2006 war between the Jewish state
and Hizbullah, say they have been overwhelmed by the number of people seeking to
get their documents in order since February 14, when the Shiite group's leader
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah issued his threat against Israel. Residents of
Hizbullah's stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut, which was also heavily
bombed during the 34-day summer war, are also bracing for the worst. "I renewed
my passport and those of the three children because I'm scared something is
going to happen," said Lina Melhem, 35, as she stood outside Beirut's General
Security headquarters, which handles official documents.
"We suffered a lot during the 2006 war and I am not willing to go through this
again," said Melhem, whose family lives in the southern suburb of Dahiyeh. "If
war breaks out, I will immediately leave to join my husband who works in Qatar."
Nasrallah's threat came following the assassination in Damascus of one of
Hizbullah's top commanders, Imad Mughniyeh. Hizbullah blamed Israel, which
denied any involvement. That warning added fuel to an already tense situation in
Lebanon, which is mired in a bad political crisis. A standoff between the
government and the Hizbullah-led opposition has left the country without a
president since November, when pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end
of his term. Tension also mounted last month when the United States dispatched
one of its warships to the region in what was seen as a warning to Syria and
Iran -- two key players in the Lebanese crisis.
Although politicians are downplaying fears of a renewed war, As-Safir newspaper
summed up the general feeling in a commentary Tuesday.
"The Lebanese are worried about the situation and are acting as if war was
imminent as they set up emergency plans: getting their passports ready, seeking
visas, renting apartments far from what they believe will be the battlefront and
changing their whole lifestyle," the newspaper said.
Mohammed, 43, is a resident of the southern village of El Qlayle, which was
heavily bombed during the 2006 war. He told Agence France Presse he was looking
to rent an apartment in Aley, east of Beirut, for the coming months out of fear
the crisis will escalate into a full-blown war. Several residents in the eastern
Bekaa region, which has a strong Hizbullah presence, said they were looking for
housing in Christian villages in the area, where they believe they would be
safer in the event of Israeli air strikes. "I rented a house in a Christian
village near Baalbeck for me and my five children in case we have a new war,"
Abu Ali Balluk, 70, told AFP.
Baalbeck resident Mona, 40, has three children and a husband who works in Saudi
Arabia. She is stocking up on food.
"I live alone with the kids and far from the main market," she said, as she held
10 bags of pita bread outside a bakery. "I am putting food in the freezer and
stocking up just in case war erupts." An official at the passport office in
Baalbeck said he has seen a 30 percent surge in the number of passports issued
in recent weeks. In the southern port city of Tyre, a security official told AFP
his office was receiving up to 400 requests a day for passport renewals,
compared to 75 previously.
"Demand has peaked since Nasrallah's speech on February 14 threatening Israel
with a new war," said the official, who requested anonymity.
Mohammed Issa, a mechanic who lives with his five children and his parents and
sisters near a Hizbullah position in the Bekaa said he has readied passports for
the entire family and visas to Turkey. "We'll head there via Syria," he said.
Mohammed Jaafar, 54, says he is taking no chances.
"My nerves are shattered, especially when I think of what we went through in
2006," he said, standing outside the passport office in Tyre. "Tomorrow, me and
my family are boarding a plane to Abidjan (Ivory Coast) and it won't be for
tourism. "I'll be starting fresh there, working with my son."(AFP) (AP photo
shows a Lebanese soldier standing guard at the border fence between Lebanon and
Israel) Beirut, 12 Mar 08, 04:46
Ahmadinejad: No President, No Government in Lebanon before
End of Bush's Term
Naharnet/Diplomatic sources close to Tehran on Wednesday quoted
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as telling a high-ranking Arab official
that Lebanon will not have a new President or a new government before the end of
U.S. President George Bush's term Jan. 20, 2009. Meanwhile, a French diplomatic
source familiar with Iran's policy, said Tehran was "waiting for a change in the
U.S. administration before it decides whether it wants negotiations on the
nuclear issue." The source said Iran's priority "is to negotiate with
Washington, not with Europeans.""If Tehran decides to negotiate with a new U.S.
Administration, then it would want comprehensive talks including its role in
Iraq in return for the nuclear issue, just as Syria wants to negotiate its role
in Iraq in exchange for Lebanon," the French source said. Beirut, 12 Mar 08,
13:25
Moussa: Lebanon to be Invited to Damascus Summit Soon
Arab League chief Amr Moussa has said that Lebanon will soon be invited to join
an Arab summit scheduled in Damascus March 29-30.
He said Tuesday that the Arab League was looking for ways to hand over the
invitation. Lebanon is the only Arab country yet to be invited to the summit.
Moussa expressed readiness to "personally" hand over the invitation to Lebanon.
He said Speaker Nabih Berri "must have a reason" for postponing a parliament
session to elect a new President for Lebanon. Beirut, 12 Mar 08, 12:44
Geagea from Washington: We Focused on Protection of Lebanon
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, who is on a two-weak visit to the
United States, met Tuesday with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
A statement issued by the Lebanese Forces (LF) said Geagea also held talks at
the White House with U.S. National Security Advisor Steven Hadley, Assistant to
the Vice President for National Security Affairs John Hannah and Chairman of the
House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia Gary Ackerman.
It said the Bush administration's support for the Lebanese government topped
talks between the U.S. officials and Geagea along with the delegation
accompanying him. Also discussed was military and economic aid, the statement
said. "We focused on the protection of Lebanon," Geagea told reporters after the
meetings.
Issues like the occupied Shabaa Farms and Lebanese held in Israeli and Syrian
jails were also tackled. Geagea said there is a tendency toward setting up a
special U.N. committee to pursue the issue of Lebanese prisoners. He stressed
that the U.S. rejects naturalization of Palestinians in Lebanon. "The U.S. is
still strongly committed to help the Lebanese people fulfill their dream of
building a free, independent and prosperous state," Hadley told Geagea on
Monday. Beirut, 12 Mar 08, 12:02
Israeli Activist Banned from UK Jealous of Hizbullah Journalist
A far-right Israeli political activist banned from the UK for fear that his
views could foment violence is jealous from Hizbullah journalist Ibrahim Mousawi
who was allowed to give lectures in Britain. The activist, Moshe Feiglin, is a
West Bank settler who heads a faction in the hardline Likud Party. His
theocratic platform, which calls for harsh military action against Palestinians,
pulling Israel out of the U.N. and encouraging non-Jews to emigrate, is
considered extreme even by some settlers.
A British government official confirmed Feiglin had been barred from entering
the country. The official would not say whether Feiglin had requested entry, or
whether it was common to preemptively bar a foreign national. Feiglin said
Tuesday he was surprised by the Home Office's decision and had no plans to visit
Britain in any case. He questioned why the British government banned him,
although he has never been tied to violent activity, while allowing Mousawi to
hold a lecture tour in Britain this month. "Why would a political activist be
banned while a representative of Hizbullah is allowed in? It appears that Great
Britain, like all of Europe, has surrendered to extremist Islam," Feiglin said.
The decision to allow Mousawi to enter the UK as a guest of the Stop the War
organization was roundly criticized by Jewish groups and by opposition
Conservative leader David Cameron. Hizbullah, which has close ties to Iran,
openly calls for Israel's destruction.
In a letter Feiglin received in December, the Home Office's Border and
Immigration Agency alleged he has used his position "to propagate views which
foment and provoke others to serious criminal acts and also foster hatred which
might lead to inter-community violence in the UK." Feiglin said he ignored the
letter until early March because he had suspected it was a practical joke. The
letter did not allege Feiglin had ever engaged in armed activities, but listed
several quotes from articles he wrote, including one in which he calls for "a
holy war, now" against Arabs, and another referring to the Prophet Muhammad as
"strong, cruel and deceitful."
In another quote cited in the letter, Feiglin wrote, "Arabs are not sons of the
desert but its father. They created the desert -- everywhere they come,
vegetation stops and the wind blows everything away." Feiglin acknowledged he
wrote the statements, but said the reference to Arabs being the desert's
"father" came from a 1938 book by Sir Claude Jarvis, then the British High
Commissioner of Sinai.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 12 Mar 08, 11:04
Russian FM Likely to Discuss Lebanon, Syria during Mideast
Talks
Naharnet/Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said he expects to discuss
Lebanon and Syria at a Mideast conference to be held in Moscow.
Moscow has offered to host a follow-up meeting to the conference, but no
concrete plans have been announced. "Discussions of Syria and Lebanon could be
included" in the Moscow talks, Lavrov told reporters in Paris Tuesday. He said
he would seek to understand "who is ready and who is not" for the Mideast
conference. "If everyone is ready, then we are also ready to host such a
meeting," Lavrov said. A peace conference held last year in Annapolis, Maryland,
gave new hope that Israel and the Palestinians could reach some sort of lasting
accord. But since then, negotiations have sputtered amid continuing Israeli
construction of settlements and ongoing violence between Israel and Palestinian
militants in the Gaza Strip. "It is obvious that the impulse that the peace
process received from the international conference in Annapolis is in need of
support," said a Russian foreign ministry official. He said Lavrov will head to
the Middle East next week to help stem growing violence in the region and
improve deteriorating relations between Israel and the Palestinians. Lavrov will
visit Syria and Israel, as well as the Palestinian territories, ministry
spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said in a statement. During the March 19-21 visit,
Lavrov will address "the problems with Palestinian-Israeli relations, ways out
of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the suspension of violence, the resumption
of negotiations aimed at the Palestinian-Israeli situation and other negotiating
tracks, including the Syrian one," Kamynin said.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 12 Mar 08,
10:24
U.S. Assessment of Human Rights Conditions in Lebanon
The United States gave Lebanon a mixed assessment of its human rights record in
2007, a year marked by clashes between the army and Fatah al-Islam and
"foreign-backed efforts to prevent the functioning of the government."An
estimated 42 civilians and 168 soldiers were killed during the May 20 to
September 2 clashes between the Lebanese military and Fatah al-Islam fighters at
the northern Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared, the State Department
said Tuesday in a review of worldwide human rights conditions last year. It said
that some human rights groups criticized the Lebanese military's
"disproportionate use of heavy weapons during the conflict, claiming that the
army shelled the camp in an indiscriminate manner" once it was evacuated.
The review said that the fighting reportedly left the shantytown's residents
"without running water, sewage, or electricity for weeks. Refugees who left the
camp were treated for dehydration, diarrhea, and stomach illnesses."The annual
report also referred to the assassination of MPs Walid Eido and Antoine Ghanem
respectively on June 13 and Sept. 19.It mentioned the killing on Dec. 12 of the
army's Chief of Operations Brig. Gen. Francois al-Hajj, who was in charge of the
Nahr al-Bared operations. "Militant groups continued efforts to terrorize the
public and political figures, including through a series of car bombings during
the year," it said.
"Democracy and human rights progress in Lebanon continued to face opposition in
the form of a campaign of violence and assassination and foreign-backed efforts
to prevent the functioning of the government," the report said.
"The Lebanese opposition, backed by outside forces, continued to block the
election of a president by refusing to allow parliament to convene. Nonetheless,
the Lebanese cabinet, led by Prime Minister Fouad Saniora, continued to work
intensively to ensure the functioning of the government," the report said.
On abuse and torture, the State Department said in its survey of human rights
practices that "security forces abused detainees and in some instances used
torture. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights
Watch, reported that torture was common." It said "the government acknowledged
that violent abuse of detainees sometimes occurred during preliminary
investigations…Such abuse occurred despite national laws that prevent judges
from accepting confessions extracted under duress."On prison conditions, the
report said Lebanon's jails did not meet minimum international standards, adding
that they were overcrowded, and sanitary conditions particularly in the women's
prison were very poor.
The Department also criticized arbitrary arrests "although the law requires
judicial warrants before arrests, except in immediate pursuit situations."
"Military intelligence personnel made arrests without warrants in cases
involving military personnel and those involving espionage, treason, weapons
possession, and draft evasion," the review said. It said there were no reports
of political prisoners or detainees in 2007 and lauded Saniora's government for
promoting internet usage and for generally respecting freedom of speech and of
the press in practice.As for freedom of association, "the government did not
interfere with most organizations. however, it imposed limits on this right,"
according to the report. Beirut, 12 Mar 08, 07:51
Lavrov, Kouchner United Against Foreign Meddling in Lebanon
Naharnet/Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned against any
interference in Lebanon's political crisis, in an apparent message to Syria.
"There must be absolutely no meddling, regardless of where it comes from, in
solving this problem," he said in Paris Tuesday.
The Russian foreign minister was speaking in a joint press conference with his
French counterpart Bernard Kouchner. "All possible means must be exerted to
guarantee the sovereignty, security, stability and independence of Lebanon,"
Lavrov said. He said Russia was using its influence in the region to help solve
Lebanon's presidential crisis. The postponement (of a parliamentary session to
elect a new president "must not take us to despair over the election of a head
of state and solving the crisis," Lavrov added. Kouchner, in his turn, said he
agreed with Lavrov over demands for "no foreign meddling" in Lebanon.
"We tried to create the conditions necessary for elections" but we were not
successful, the French foreign minister said, adding "we hope that foreign
meddling stops and the Lebanese enjoy more unity." He said his government was
determined to work with Syria over Lebanon's crisis to achieve a solution.
On Iran, Lavrov urged the international community to do "everything possible" to
engage the Islamic Republic in negotiations over its contested nuclear program.
"We must seek an innovative approach. This means first and foremost doing
everything possible -- and even impossible -- to begin discussions with Iran,"
he said.
Lavrov's comments on Iran came a week after the U.N. Security Council tightened
sanctions against Tehran over its refusal to heed the world body's calls to
freeze uranium enrichment, a potential weapons-making process. Iran on Sunday
said it would only hold talks over its nuclear program if world powers stopped
threatening it with further punitive measures.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 12 Mar 08,
04:11
Africa Coup Plotter Points Finger at Spain, South Africa,
Lebanese Man
Naharnet/A British former special forces soldier, who admitted
his part in a failed 2004 coup in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, has pointed his
finger at Spain, South Africa and a Nigerian-born Lebanese businessman. "I was
involved and I was the manager... I was the manager. Not the architect and not
the main man," Simon Mann told Britain's Channel 4 News on Tuesday in an
interview conducted in the jail where he is being held in the capital, Malabo.
The former Special Air Services (SAS) soldier instead pointed the finger at the
governments of former colonial power Spain and South Africa as well as Ely Calil,
a Nigerian-born Lebanese businessman who has British citizenship. He accused
Calil of backing the exiled leader of Equatorial Guinea and of misleading him
about the pressing need to overthrow the country's President Teodoro Obiang
Nguema. The Spanish government described Mann's claims as "completely baseless"
while South Africa said the allegations were "fabrication" in similar
statements. Calil said in a statement to the broadcaster that he had "no
involvement in or responsibility" for the plot. Britain's The Guardian daily
said the 62-year-old Lebanese tycoon has long been accused of being one of the
principal financiers of the attempted coup.
Calil lives in a mansion on millionaire's row in Hampstead, north London, the
newspaper said. "Born in Nigeria, his father made his fortune in groundnut oil.
Calil went into oil trading and property. Three times married, he is extremely
well connected in Britain and west Africa," The Guardian said.
Mann, who is facing trial in Equatorial Guinea, was arrested in March 2004 at
Zimbabwe's Harare airport on a plane with 70 other mercenaries as they were en
route to allegedly stage the coup. He was later convicted of buying illegal
weapons and taken in secret to Equatorial Guinea earlier this year.
His old friend Mark Thatcher, the son of former British Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher, pleaded guilty in 2005 to breaking South Africa's anti-mercenary laws
but escaped prison with a fine. Mann said that while money was a motivating
factor in his actions, the "primary motivation was to help, as I saw it, the
people of Equatorial Guinea who were in a lot of trouble." He described Thatcher
as "a part of the team," and rejected reports that novelist Jeffrey Archer and
EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson had anything to do with the coup plot.
Channel 4 had to overturn a British court injunction banning the interview's
broadcast after Mann's lawyers said he had only taken part under duress from the
authorities. His sister then went to the High Court in London to say he wanted
the interview shown.(AFP-Naharnet) (AFP file photo shows British former special
forces soldier Simon Mann) Beirut, 12 Mar 08, 04:31
Ban Names British Judge for Hariri Tribunal
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed a senior British legal expert
as registrar for the international tribunal that would try ex-Premier Rafik
Hariri's suspected assassins.Britain's Robin Vincent will start his duties on
the Special Tribunal for Lebanon at a date yet to be determined, but "the
appointment of the Registrar reflects the steady progress being accomplished in
establishing" the court, said a statement issued by Ban's spokesperson on
Tuesday.
From 2002 to 2005, Vincent served as Registrar of the Special Court for Sierra
Leone (SCSL), the statement said. Since then, he has served as the temporary
Deputy Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY) and has advised on the establishment of other international
tribunals, including the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)
and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Hariri was killed in a massive car bombing
in Beirut in February 2005 that also took the lives of 22 others. Beirut, 12 Mar
08, 07:27
Lebanese Shot in Nigerian Oil Hub
Unidentified gunmen in Nigeria's main oil city Port Harcourt have
shot a Lebanese trader, leaving him in critical condition, police and diplomatic
sources said.
Ibrahim Takla, 36, was dragged from his home around 3:00 am (0200 GMT) Tuesday
and shot in the head, police spokeswoman Ireju Barasua said.
Takla will be evacuated to Lebanon for treatment, a Lebanese diplomat said. No
further details were available. Violent attacks and kidnappings have been
frequent throughout the Niger Delta and in Port Harcourt in particular since
January 2006. Some are carried out by militants claiming to be fighting for a
larger share of the region's oil wealth for the local people, others by criminal
gangs out to make ransom money. Most of those taken hostage have been released
unharmed after a few days or a few weeks, very often after the payment of a
ransom.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 12 Mar 08, 03:41
Suspects in Hariri Killing
Detained Arbitrarily, Expert
Naharnet/An independent U.N. expert has criticized Lebanon's
handling of suspects detained in the assassination of former Prime Minister
Rafik Hariri.
Leila Zerrougui said Tuesday Lebanese authorities were arbitrarily detaining
seven people more than two years in the bombing because they had yet to be
indicted.
"They have to be indicted," said Zerrougui, who heads the U.N. working group on
arbitrary detention.
She said that, otherwise, the seven detainees -- four military officials and
three civilians -- should be released. They are being held for alleged
involvement in the Feb. 14, 2005, bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others. The
four security officials are: Jamil Sayyed of the Surete Generale, Mustafa Hamdan
of the Presidential Guard Brigade, Raymond Azar of the army's Intelligence
Service and Ali Hajj of the Internal Security Forces.
They were arrested in August 2005 on the recommendation of former U.N. probe
chief Detlev Mehlis and charged with "terrorism" and "willful murder" that are
punishable by death under Lebanese law if convicted. They have been held at
Roumieh prison since their arrest.
Zerrougui said that either the United Nations should create a tribunal in The
Hague to try them or the Lebanese should bring charges against them in Lebanon.
"They cannot be detained indefinitely waiting for a tribunal to be set up
someday," Zerrougui said from Geneva.
A deeply divided U.N. Security Council voted last May to create an international
tribunal after the Lebanese parliament was unable to agree on the proposal.
The proposed tribunal, which has yet to be established, has created deep
divisions in Lebanon and fueled criticism from Syria and Hizbullah.
U.N. experts are assisting Lebanese authorities in their investigations of
Hariri's assassination and of 19 other assassinations and bombings. Many
Lebanese believe Syria was behind the Hariri assassination, but Damascus rejects
the allegation.
"The government acknowledges that they are detained without indictment,"
Zerrougui told reporters, adding that Lebanese criminal law allows indefinite
detention without charge, which is contrary to the principle of fair trial.
Zerrougui's working group, which is made up of five independent legal experts,
does not represent the U.N.'s view and lacks enforcement power. It regularly
carries out country visits and reports to the U.N. Human Rights Council.
She said the group of experts is supposed to examine countries' procedures in
detaining individuals regardless of whether the detainees are guilty or
innocent.
"No matter how serious the crimes committed are, you have the right to a fair
trial," she said.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 12 Mar 08, 10:05
Bassil Charges March 14 with Seeking Backing from
Israel, U.S., NATO, U.N. Security Council …
By Dalia Nehme-Naharnet
Free Patriotic Movement official Gibran Bassil accused the Majority of waiting
for a war to change the domestic balance of power, after which they would return
to negotiations with new conditions.
Bassil, in an interview with Naharnet, said the immediate future would be
"stagnant because the authority team awaits war."
"As long as they place bets on war and wait for it they would make no move until
the war comes and topples the balance of power after which they would return to
negotiate but on a new base. As long as they are waiting they are not prepared
to present anything," Bassil said.
War, presumably between Israel and Hizbullah, "would not alter the balance of
power and they would feel depressed and disappointed," he predicted.
Bassil pointed an accusing finger at Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, the
traditional Christian foe of the FPM, charging that he would have "non declared
meetings" in Washington. "That worries us in light of his past," Bassil said of
Geagea's ongoing visit to the United States.
He accused the March 14 majority for rejecting the re-activated of the 1960
general elections law "because they do not want an election law, neither at the
county-constituency level nor at any other level." He also accused the March 14
majority alliance of rejecting the 1960 law "because they do not want the
Christians to have an influence on even one legislator in Beirut." "Let them
tell us what amendments they want to the (1960) law … we might approve them … we
made a proposal and let them tell us what their proposals are," Bassil added.
He accused the majority of "trying to maintain their majority and extend it.
They want to extend the mandate of parliament in which they control the
majority."
"Their game has been unveiled … they are adamant in maintaining the majority
irrespective of the cost, even at the cost of war," Bassil added.
In answering a question as to whether he expects a parliamentary session set for
March 25 to succeed in electing a president, he said: "We hope so. But until
March 25 they would persist with placing bets on war. There will be no easing of
the complexities."
Bassil concluding by charging that the majority believes Israel alone would not
be able to win the war and that requires U.S. intervention.
"They say Israel alone is not enough to alter the balance of power and they are
now asking the United States to intervene militarily to change the power
balance."
"If they failed to convince the United States, according to our information,
they would try the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and if they failed
there, they would go to the U.N. Security Council," he added.Beirut, 11 Mar 08,
19:14
CCD calls on Minister Bernier to disclose conditions for latest $300 million to
Palestinian Authority
For Immediate Release
March 11, 2008
Ottawa, Canada - In December, Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier announced
$300 million in new funding over five years to the Fatah-led Palestinian
Authority (PA). This amount was on top of the $500 million given to the PA since
1993. As part of the new announcement, Minister Bernier proclaimed that "our
funding is not unconditional. We will need to see … a viable Palestinian state
that is democratic, accountable, and living in peace and security as a neighbour
to Israel.”
“Canadians look forward to Minister Bernier disclosing the exact conditions
under which Canadian tax dollars will flow to the Palestinian Authority,”, said
Alastair Gordon, president, Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD). "We are
reassured by the promise of conditions, but disappointed that those conditions
have never been made public."
CCD is deeply concerned that our tax dollars continue to fund the glorification
of terror, the incitement of children and adults, a steady diet of Jew-hatred,
and endless dependency on foreign aid, all being promoted by the Fatah-led
Palestinian Authority and its military wing Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a
designated terrorist entity in Canada.
This week, journalist Khaled Abu Toameh in Jerusalem reported that Fatah's
military wing celebrated the murder of eight young students by calling the
massacre "heroic," and proclaimed that the "option of resistance remains the
only method to restore our rights, free our prisoners and liberate all our
lands." Also this week, Palestinian Media Watch reported that in the
Fatah-controlled daily newspaper, Al Hayat Al Jadida, a picture of the killer
appeared on the front page, with the caption, "The Shahid Alaa Abu D'heim,"
honoring him as a holy warrior and a martyr to be emulated.
“The PA’s Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade is a designated terrorist entity in Canada.
Any Canadian directly or indirectly funding that entity can be charged and
imprisoned under our anti-terror laws”, added Gordon. “Do Canadians have to seek
a court ruling to force disclosure of how our money is being spent in the Middle
East and to determine whether or not our open-ended foreign aid to the
Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority violates our own anti-terror legislation
or international treaties?"
"Should Canadians fund a Palestinian government whose charter -- as inviolable
as our own Charter of Rights and Freedoms -- states 'Armed struggle is the only
way to liberate Palestine' (article 9) and 'Commando action constitutes the
nucleus of the Palestinian popular liberation war' (article 10)? If we fund the
PA, we are supporting these violent governing principles, not a peace process.
"The continued existence of Mahmoud Abbas' terrorist military wing, Al Aqsa
Martyrs' Brigade, the anointing of Alaa Abu D'heim as a shahid, and a governing
Palestinian charter that calls for the destruction of Israel -- these
abominations all serve to perpetuate the death cult that imbues much of
Palestinian culture, a culture that Canada should not bankroll.”
"The Palestinians will receive nearly a billion Canadian tax dollars with
Ottawa’s new funding commitments, and peace is more remote than ever. Clearly
the medicine of foreign aid – more per capita to the Palestinians in today’s
dollars than the Europeans received under the Marshall Plan -- is making the
patient sicker and sicker,” added Gordon. "It is time for a new prescription."
“Minister Bernier needs to tell Canadians the exact conditions under which the
Palestinians will continue to receive our aid, and to show he is enforcing those
conditions. Taxpayers must continue to see that the present Conservative
government is different from previous Liberal administrations when it comes to
the unaccountable squandering of their tax dollars to perpetuate the racism,
dependency, hatred and violence in Palestinian society.”
For more information, please contact:
Naresh Raghubeer, Executive Director, CCD 613-216-2095
If you would like to comment on this statement or other topics relating to
foreign policy, please visit our public message forum and post your comments:
http://canadiancoalition.com/forum/messages/29144.shtml
For an index of CCD in the Media, please visit: http://canadiancoalition.com/media.shtml
Founded in 2003, the Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD) is a national,
non-partisan, multi-ethnic, multi-religious organization of concerned Canadians
dedicated to civil liberties, national security and the protection and promotion
of democracy at home and abroad. CCD focuses on research, education and media
publishing to build a greater understanding of the importance of national
security and a pro-democracy foreign policy. http://canadiancoalition.com
Washington: Syria Iran, North Korea Run by unaccountable
Rights Violators
Naharnet/The United States added Syria, Sudan and Uzbekistan to
its list of the world's alleged worst human rights violators that also includes
Iran and North Korea, but dropped China from its annual report released
Tuesday.The State Department's 2007 Human Rights Report showed China, which has
raised hopes it will improve human rights by hosting the 2008 Olympics, had
parted company with countries like North Korea, Myanmar and Iran.
No reason was given for removing China -- which has been a key partner in talks
with Washington to denuclearize North Korea -- from the list but the new report
said China's "overall human rights record remained poor" in 2007.
In its report, the State Department listed 10 "countries in which power was
concentrated in the hands of unaccountable rulers remained the world's most
systematic human rights violators." The 2007 top 10 offenders included North
Korea, Myanmar, Iran, Syria Zimbabwe, Cuba, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Eritrea and
Sudan.
Beijing had figured in the top 10 in the 2006 and 2005 reports.
This year China was classified among authoritarian countries that are undergoing
economic reform and rapid social change but which "have not undertaken
democratic political reform," the report said.
In China, controls were "tightened on religious freedom in Tibetan areas and in
the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and the treatment of petitioners in
Beijing worsened," the report said. "The government also continued to monitor,
harass, detain, arrest, and imprison activists, writers, journalists, and
defense lawyers and their families, many of whom were seeking to exercise their
rights under the law," it said. "Although the government pursued some important
reforms, such as the resumption by Supreme People's Court of death penalty
review power in cases handed down for immediate execution, efforts to reform or
abolish the reeducation-through-labor system remained stalled," it said. Human
rights had improved however in four countries since 2006: Mauritania, Ghana,
Morocco and Haiti.
Little or no progress had been made in Nepal, Georgia, Kyrghyzstan, Iraq,
Afghanistan or Russia, while the situation had deteriorated in Pakistan,
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the report added.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 11 Mar 08,
20:30
Shaker Abssi and Four Aides Indicted in Ein Alaq Bombings
Naharnet/Military examining magistrate Rachid Mizhir on Tuesday indicted Fatah
al-Islam leader Shaker Abssi and four other suspects in the Ein Alq twin bus
bombings and referred them to trial.If convicted the suspects face the death
penalty. Mizher, in the charge sheet, also issued arrest warrants for Abssi,
Mustafa Sayyed, Kamal Farid Naasan, Yasser Mohammed Shuqeiri and Mubarak Ghazi
Naasan, the state-run National News Agency reported.
The report said Mizher also instructed law-enforcement agencies to detect the
full identification of seven suspects, known only by code names.
No date has been set for trial of suspects in the Feb. 2007 bombings that killed
three people and wounded several others.
Beirut, 11 Mar 08, 20:06