LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 14/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 8,51-59. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death." (So) the Jews said to him, "Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, 'Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.' Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?"Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.' You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do know him and I keep his word. Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad. So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?"
Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM."So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Time may play against Syria in Lebanon.By: Michael Young 13/08/08
Iran and America share responsibility for the bad blood between them-Daily Star 13/03/08
Sanctions aren't working, so what's next with Iran?By: Bennett Ramberg. 13/03/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for March 13/08
Syria Invites Lebanon to Attend Arab Summit in Damascus-Naharnet
Syria officially invites Lebanon to Arab summit-AFP
US Rivals Overseas Now Bide Their Time-Wall Street Journal
Israel, Iran Practically At War-CBS News
Israel Threatens to Hit Back if Hizbullah Launched Retaliatory Attack-Naharnet
Shiite Crackdown after Mughniyeh Mourning Stirs Up Sectarian Tension in Kuwait-Naharnet
Syrian Attempt to Block Lebanon Backing Thwarted at Dakar Summit-Naharnet
Iran has 'Strong Bonds' with Lebanon, Official-Naharnet
Mottaki: Only Lebanese Unanimity Leads to Solution-Naharnet
Berri to Come Up with New Ideas after Damascus Summit-Naharnet
Murr: Aoun's Bloc Blocks Presidential Elections-Naharnet
Geagea Urges Arabs To Boycott Damascus Summit-Naharnet
Lebanon's Tension Prevails over the Damascus Summit-Naharnet
Jamaa Islamiya Criticizes Berri-Naharnet
Lebanon Crisis Looms over Dakar Summit-Naharnet
Murr accuses allies of keeping presidency empty-Daily Star
Time may play against Syria in Lebanon-Daily Star
In Middle East the challenge is to be “truly” Christian, thus ...AsiaNews.it
Murr: Aoun's Bloc Blocks Presidential Elections-Naharnet
Former Lebanese MP warns of US Plot to murder Lebanese Christian ...Center for Research on Globalization
Opposition brushes off American rights report on Lebanon-Daily Star
Beirut crisis keeps Damascus summit in limbo-Daily Star
Hizbullah all set for confrontation to avenge Mughniyeh - Israeli newspaper-Daily Star
Ban fills key staff spot as Hariri tribunal starts to take shape-Daily Star
Union for Lebanon votes for 1960 electoral law-Daily Star
Canadian envoy voices support for Arab initiative-Daily Star
Sayyed thanks UN researcher for comments-Daily Star
Greek Catholic leaders stress local leadership-Daily Star
Prospect of new war with Israel has many Lebanese preparing for the worst-Daily Star
Kuwait releases cleric held in Mughniyeh eulogy-Daily Star
Berri mocks White House for criticizing latest delay of presidential election-Daily Star
Lebanese man badly wounded in Nigeria-Daily Star
Peacekeepers show UN flag across South-Daily Star
Former USJ rector signs copies of latest book-Daily Star
Psychological study says most Lebanese still carry effects of wartime stresses-Daily Star

Opposition brushes off American rights report on Lebanon
Daily Star staff-Thursday, March 13, 2008
BEIRUT: A US State Department report on the state of human rights in Lebanon received mixed reactions from Lebanese politicians on Wednesday. The US State Department issued late on Tuesday its yearly report on the situation of human rights across the world, including in Lebanon. "The Lebanese opposition, backed by foreign powers, is still obstructing the election of a new president in Lebanon," the report said. "These people should be the last ones to talk about human rights," opposition Free Patriotic Movement MP Nabil Nicholas told The Daily Star on Wednesday. "Let them pay attention to the thousands of homeless in New York first."Nicholas said the opposition sit-in in Downtown Beirut and the protests staged by the opposition against the government, both of which are mentioned in the report, "are done because we are demanding our basic human rights."
The report added that the progress toward democracy and respect for human rights in Lebanon was still facing a fierce campaign of violence and political assassinations. "Efforts to block the Lebanese government are backed by foreign powers," the State Department report added. Also commenting to The Daily Star, Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh saluted the report's reference to the violence and threats being practiced against Lebanese politicians. "We are satisfied that the whole world, through the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, acknowledges those crimes," Hamadeh added.
Regarding abuse and torture in Lebanon, the State Department said 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." As for 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 Daily Star

Syria Invites Lebanon to Attend Arab Summit in Damascus
Naharnet/Syria on Thursday delivered an invitation to Lebanon to attend an Arab summit scheduled in Damascus later this month, in a measure seen as defusing tensions with Arab countries which hinted at boycotting the conference if Beirut was excluded. Syria's deputy foreign minister Ahmed Arnous handed over the invitation to resigned opposition Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh. Salloukh is one of six opposition ministers who quit Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's cabinet in November 2006, but has still been fulfilling some of his official duties. Salloukh told reporters he would hand over the invitation to Saniora once the Premier returns from the Islamic Summit in Dakar. The Organization of the Islamic Conference opened its 11th leaders' summit in the Senegalese capital on Thursday.
The Syrian delegation, which left the foreign ministry through the back door apparently to avoid media attention, did not make any statement.
The Arab summit, due in Damascus March 29-30, has been mired in controversy over Lebanon's participation and the presidential crisis it is facing as the government remained at loggerheads with the Hizbullah-led opposition. Both Saudi Arabia and Egypt accuse Syria of blocking the election of a new president in Lebanon. The two Arab powers have linked the level of their participation at the Damascus summit to the election of a president in Lebanon. The two countries also hinted they could boycott the summit to show their displeasure at Syria's interference in Lebanese affairs. Beirut, 13 Mar 08, 13:21

Shiite Crackdown after Mughniyeh Mourning Stirs Up Sectarian Tension in Kuwait
Naharnet/A crackdown on leading clerics and politicians from Kuwait's Shiite minority has stoked sectarian tensions in the oil-rich Gulf state, raising questions about its aim and timing, analysts say. Claims that Shiite activists who took part in a controversial rally in February are seeking to topple the regime "amount to a sectarian campaign by the security agencies ... against prominent figures of the Shiite community," a group of leading Shiite clerics said in a statement.
"If you're a Shiite in Kuwait, you have to swear five times a day after each prayer that you hate Iran and love Israel" in order to prove loyalty to the majority Sunni Muslim country, Shiite writer Abdulhameed Dashti lamented in the newspaper An-Nahar.
Some commentators have blamed the regional standoff between the United States and Iran for the crisis which began after a rally by Shiite activists to mourn Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in a Damascus car bombing last month.
Eight activists were arrested in Kuwait for eulogizing Mughniyeh. They included two former MPs, a cleric and senior members of the National Islamic Alliance (NIA), a Shiite political grouping which holds two seats in parliament. Mughniyeh is accused in Kuwait of hijacking a passenger plane in 1988 that led to the killing of two Kuwaiti civilians. Instead of being questioned about the rally, the activists were accused of being members of Hizbullah Kuwait, a previously unknown group, and of working to overthrow the regime, their lawyer said. The men were also accused of spreading false news about Kuwait to undermine its position abroad, Abdulkarim bin Haider told AFP. The charges "were based on information from the 1980s" when Sunni-Shiite tensions peaked at the height of the Iran-Iraq war, he added. Seven of the eight men were released on bail after paying hefty sureties. The eighth, former MP Abdulmohsen Jamal, remains in police custody.
The public prosecution also asked parliament to strip two Shiite MPs, Adnan Abdulsamad and Ahmad Lari, of their parliamentary immunity so they could be questioned in the same case. Parliament is expected to debate the request next week.
The crackdown has angered the Shiite community, which makes up about a third of Kuwait's native population of one million, sparking two noisy demonstrations during which anti-U.S. and anti-Israel slogans were chanted. Shiites have only four MPs in the 50-member parliament and two ministers in the 16-member cabinet.
"I love Kuwait. It is my country, but actions like these make me feel I am not welcome," Abbas, a young Kuwaiti Shiite, told AFP.
Shiites were also angered by calls in some Kuwaiti papers for those who took part in the Mughniyeh rally to have their citizenship withdrawn and be deported to Iran. "The issue has snowballed from an action against the Mughniyeh rally into a major crackdown on a political grouping known for its bold national positions," said the chairman of the Kuwait Society for the Advancement of Democracy, Nasser al-Abdali.
"It has raised sectarian tensions. I really don't see any threat by the group that warrants making such serious accusations against its members," he told AFP.
The scope of the accusations reminded Shiites of a crackdown launched two decades ago when Kuwait backed Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated Iraqi regime in its 1980-1988 war with Shiite Iran. Some liberal Kuwaiti writers have claimed that the crackdown was instigated by the United States and some neighboring countries to rein in potential pro-Iran elements. "I'm afraid that Kuwait has become a target -- like Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Pakistan -- for the so-called 'creative chaos' plot launched by the neo-conservatives in Washington," Ahmad al-Dayeen wrote in Aalam Al-Yaum daily.
However, columnist Nabil al-Fadhl charged that Iran was behind the current escalation, with the aim of deterring Kuwait from providing the launchpad for any future U.S. military action against it. "What is happening in Kuwait is a clear threat (to show) what Iran can do through its parties and followers if Kuwait became a springboard for the (U.S.) military strike against Iran," Fadhl wrote in Al-Watan.(AFP) Beirut, 13 Mar 08, 12:07

Syrian Attempt to Block Lebanon Backing Thwarted at Dakar Summit
Naharnet/The Lebanese delegation has thwarted an attempt by Syria to change a clause in the final statement of the Islamic summit in Dakar which backs the immediate election of a president. The Syrian delegation headed by Assistant Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad on Wednesday faced objection by other delegations after it asked for an amendment in the text of the statement that will be issued at the end of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in the Senegalese capital. Lebanese media said Thursday that the Syrian move delayed for one and a half hours evening sessions held ahead of the March 13-14 summit, but conferees adopted the version suggested by Yemen and okayed by Lebanon. Miqdad, however, accused Premier Fouad Saniora of introducing changes that contravene the Arab initiative, which is a sign that all sides that have adopted the Arab plan are trying "to torpedo it by all available means."
The clause stresses the need for "backing of the Arab League initiative to solve the Lebanese crisis" and urges Lebanese politicians "to elect the consensus presidential candidate" during the next scheduled parliamentary session.
The clause also urges "agreement on the basis of the formation of a national unity government as soon as possible" to prevent disunity among Lebanese and "to guarantee that Lebanon is on the path of unity, security and stability."Meanwhile, Saniora, who arrived in Dakar on Wednesday along with acting Foreign Minister Tareq Mitri and other officials, held talks on the sidelines of the summit with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and Senegal's Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidiane Gadio.He also discussed the situation in Lebanon and the region with Omani Foreign Minister Youssef bin Alawi who was optimistic about an end to the country's political crisis. U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon also informed Saniora of the world body's latest moves to set up the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Saniora is to address the two-day summit outlining Lebanon's ongoing presidential crisis. Beirut, 13 Mar 08, 04:39

Kuwait releases cleric held in Mughniyeh eulogy
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
A Kuwaiti Shiite cleric detained in connection with a eulogy for a slain top Hizbullah commander was released on bail Tuesday along with four others in a case that has sharply highlighted the sectarian tensions in this tiny, oil-rich Gulf emirate that is a close US ally.
When members of Kuwait's Shiite minority praised the memory of Imad Mughniyeh, killed by a car bomb in Damascus last month, they were harshly criticized by the country's ruling Sunni majority and prominent Shiite Sheikh Hussein Maatouk was arrested for his alleged involvement.
"Thank God they have been released and things will calm down," said defense attorney Abdel-Karim Haidar, who is representing the imprisoned Shiites. The issue is especially sensitive because Mughniyeh is blamed by the Kuwaiti government for a 1988 hijacking of a Kuwait Airways flight and murdering two Kuwaiti passengers.Hundreds of Maatouk's supporters demonstrated over his detention and while there were no clashes with police, the protests underlined the tensions between the Sunnis and the minority Shiites who make up 30 percent of the million-strong population in Kuwait.
Haidar said the cleric and the four others were released on a bail of 5,000 Kuwaiti dinars ($18,500) each. Another suspect, former lawmaker Abdel-Mohsen Jamal, however, remains in custody. The eulogy for Mughniyeh sparked a wave of outrage among the country's Sunnis and was publicly condemned by the Cabinet.
Two Shiite MPs who took part in it, Adnan Abdel-Samad and Ahmad Lari, were expelled from their parliamentary bloc, and while they remain members of the 50-seat house, prosecutors have asked that their parliamentary immunity be lifted so they can be questioned.
Haidar, who maintains that Maatouk was not present at the eulogy, said his clients were questioned about belonging to Hizbullah's alleged branch in Kuwait and "spreading principles that aim at destroying the basic systems of the country." A leading Lebanese Shiite cleric called on Kuwaiti authorities Monday to release Maatouk. Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, vice president of the of the influential Higher Shiite Council, the main religious body for Lebanon's 1.2 million Shiites, said Maatouk is a cleric who called for unity among Kuwaitis "and should not be treated this way."
"The participation of Kuwaitis, Lebanese and Arabs in eulogizing martyr and great holy warrior Imad Mughniyeh should not lead to their detention," Qabalan said in a statement released by his office. "This matter should not be turned into a pretext for strife."
Kuwaiti authorities, who do not usually comment on cases under investigation, have not commented publicly on Maatouk's detention.
Tensions between the country's Sunnis and Shiites started during the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran war because of Kuwait's support for Iraq under then leader Saddam Hussein. After the 1991 Gulf War that liberated Kuwait from a seven-month Iraqi occupation, there was some friction, but no violence, over the circulation of tapes and books seen as insulting to Shiites. Kuwait's government appealed for unity on Monday amid rising sectarian tension in the Gulf state following the demonstrations in support of the slain commander of Lebanon's Hizbullah. "The Cabinet urges citizens and the media to avoid issues that could undermine our national unity and the solidarity of the Kuwaiti people," said a statement issued after the weekly Cabinet meeting. "We should work together to safeguard Kuwait's security and stability," said the statement, adding that legal measures will be applied to all. "I call on Kuwaiti society ... to be solidly united and stay away from these tensions ... which are against our national interests," Parliament speaker Jassem al-Khorafi said. "Our country cannot bear this ... we should remember what happened to us when our country was occupied," by Iraqi troops in August 1990, Khorafi said. - Agencies

Time may play against Syria in Lebanon
By Michael Young
Daily Star staff
Thursday, March 13, 2008
In recent weeks, a message has been coming out of Iran, one transmitted to Arab leaders and now through proliferating press reports. It is roughly this: Lebanon is in for a prolonged stalemate, but Tehran won't allow the security situation to get out of hand. The Iranians are buying time until a new administration arrives in Washington, but won't cross Syria in Lebanon by pushing for a solution to the political crisis in the country.
If one wants to see the cup as half full, this might be relatively good news. It means Iran is giving the Syrians latitude to return to Lebanon, but also paralyzing them by blocking any recourse to civil war - civil war the Syrians would readily push Hizbullah into were it not for Tehran's insistence on protecting its investment in the party. If one wants to see the glass as half empty, then all the Iranians are saying is that they will do nothing to end the debilitating stalemate in Lebanon, with the terrible consequences this might have for the country's economy and institutions.
But a question that needs to be answered is whether Syria actually benefits from a long Lebanese void. The conventional wisdom is that the regime of President Bashar Assad has nothing to lose. By imposing a vacuum it strengthens its hand; no new administration will be worse for Damascus than the Bush administration; and Arab divisions will, sooner or later, permit the Syrians to return to the center of regional politics, particularly if the situation in the Palestinian areas worsens and Hamas' armed struggle turns Syria into an inevitable interlocutor.
That may be true, but there may be another way of looking at things - one less advantageous to Damascus. For starters, Syria, while it can enforce a vacuum in Lebanon, is proving less able than ever to shape that vacuum. The problem with the Assad regime is that it is both too rigid and too hasty. It refuses to budge on army commander General Michel Suleiman's election, fearing it might lead to normalization Syria could not reverse. At the same time, it has shown itself incapable of presenting any alternative scheme. The Syrian plan is obstruction, nothing less, but also nothing more. Without that alternative - or rather without an alternative different than absolute Syrian rule in Lebanon - Assad will not get very far in advancing what he would like Syria's Lebanese role to be. That's as good a sign as any of the essential weakness in Syrian conduct today.
The second problem, Syrian hastiness, has been just as damaging. Assad is acting today much as he did before the botched extension of President Emile Lahoud's mandate in 2004. He is under the impression that intimidation alone will allow Syria to achieve its aims. Rarely does the Syrian leader bother to carefully prepare the terrain for his policies. Yet in the same way that he provoked a major crisis by forcing Lebanon's Parliament to keep Lahoud on, his insistence now on re-imposing Syrian hegemony in Lebanon has led to a regional and even an international crisis in which everyone is focused on denying Damascus any gains.
Time also plays to Assad's disadvantage in perpetuating a dilemma the Syrian regime never resolved after 2005. The choice, until now, has been a stark one: Lebanon or the Hariri tribunal. It was made clear to Assad in one way or another during the past two years that the only way he could expect a baroque deal on the tribunal sparing the top tier of his leadership was by accepting an end to Syria's domination of Lebanon. What he could not have, however, was Lebanon and the tribunal's disappearance. Yet that is precisely what the Syrians regularly demand, oblivious to the fact that the international community will never sign off on this.
Syria's leeway to choose between the tribunal and Lebanon is quickly evaporating. Within the next 10 months, Syria may well find several of its officials facing legal accusations they could have avoided not long ago. But the Assad regime, by repeatedly trying to thwart the tribunal, actually helped breathe new life into it and is today accelerating its formation. In early 2006, few were the Arab states that wanted to see Hariri's assassination go to trial. Today, the Saudis in particular, but not them alone, view the tribunal as the best means available to bring about a change in Syria's alliance with Iran, but also, and as important, in its destructive approach to Lebanon, Iraq, and the Palestinian territories.
Time also doesn't play to Syria's favor inside Lebanon. One success of the March 14 coalition was to engineer a smooth transfer of Lahoud's prerogatives to the Siniora government after the president's departure. The Syrian campaign of assassination has partly been destined to alter the balance of forces inside Parliament and the government; but its more pervasive impact has been to prevent the parliamentary majority from engaging in politics on the ground by forcing its representatives indoors. Yet by blocking Suleiman's election and hoping time will take its toll, Syria has allowed Siniora's government to stay in place, engage in politics, and strengthen its hold over key ministries such as defense, interior, justice, foreign affairs, and finance. This has allowed the majority to build up protective networks inside the army and security services, move ahead on the Hariri tribunal, and portray itself as the true representative of the state while Syria and its allies expose themselves as anti-state.
And finally time may be meaningless with respect to the coming administration in Washington. Assad errs if he imagines that a new American president will suddenly reverse course when it comes to Syria. First of all, the Syrian regime is infamous for being a lousy gamble - as US Secretary of State Colin Powell learned to his detriment when Assad lied to him about ending Syria's illicit trade with Iraq in 2001. No new president will make improving relations with Syria a priority issue so early in his or her presidency if the likelihood of embarrassment is high, especially as the more significant aim of opening up to Iran could be difficult to sell domestically if weighed down by a simultaneous opening to Damascus.
Second, Syria is unlikely to agree to minimal American conditions for a dialogue: accepting that its Lebanon interregnum is permanently over and ending Syrian support for Hamas and Hizbullah, but also for Al-Qaeda in Iraq. No administration could realistically enter into serious talks by demanding less than that, regardless of the irresponsible Democratic campaign rhetoric heard today. A new president will have to show something for risking talking to the Syrians, but Assad, as is his way, will doubtless open negotiations by demanding what the US can offer him.
Third, the Syrians shouldn't underestimate that President George W. Bush still has 10 months in which to take decisions on Syria that a new administration will have trouble reversing - assuming it wants to reverse anything. That includes economic sanctions, the bolstering of a consensus against Syria internationally, and actions in Iraq's Sunni areas that would make engaging Syria unnecessary. Most important, US efforts also include ensuring that the Hariri tribunal is established as soon as possible, and that Daniel Bellemare, the future prosecutor of the tribunal, issues his act of accusation before the US administration leaves office. This seems likely, according to diplomats in Beirut. As Bush knows, no successor would engage Assad once the Syrian regime is implicated in Hariri's murder, particularly if it rebuffs all cooperation with the tribunal.
So time may not be on Syria's side after all, even if Iran can afford to wait. That poses a question: Are Iran's priorities beginning to undermine those of Damascus, despite their close alliance? There is no obvious answer, but in an odd way Syria has never seemed so far from succeeding in its Lebanese endeavors, and playing out the clock may be its latest blunder.
Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR.

Berri to Come Up with New Ideas after Damascus Summit
Naharnet/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said in remarks published Thursday that he will propose "new ideas" following the Arab Summit in Damascus later this month if a solution to end the ongoing presidential crisis was not reached. Sources close to Berri said the Speaker stressed that he will pursue contacts with the pro-government majority March 14 coalition in his capacity as Parliament Speaker. "I am a leader in the opposition. But as Parliament Speaker, I'm not like Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah or like Gen. (Michel) Aoun," Berri was quoted as saying. "Therefore, I can maneuver independently," Berri said, vowing to continue to seek solutions and ease tension. "If there was difficulty in communicating with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, I can communicate with head of the Democratic Gathering bloc Walid Jumblat," one source quoted Berri as saying. "And if there were an obstacle getting in touch with (Premier Fouad) Saniora, I can talk to al-Mustaqbal leader Saad Hariri," Berri explained. The sources said Berri continues to find ways to alleviate tension. He was even considering removing posters pasted on the walls of Beirut. Beirut, 13 Mar 08, 10:54

Israel Threatens to Hit Back if Hizbullah Launched Retaliatory Attack
Naharnet/Israel's Channel 10 News said the Jewish state has sent a letter to Hizbullah threatening to wage war against Lebanon if the Shiite group launched a massive retaliatory attack to avenge the killing of Imad Mughniyeh. It said Israeli security forces were put on high alert "inside and outside" Israel over fears of possible attacks by Hizbullah at the end of the 40-day mourning period for Mughniyeh, who was assassinated by a car bombing in Damascus Feb. 12.
In response to a question about the likelihood of a Hizbullah reprisal, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said: "We are ready on all fronts."
Meanwhile, Channel 10's military correspondent Alon Bin David believed that Hizbullah and Iran are threatening Israel with destruction "because Israel is aware that a (Hizbullah) attack countdown is almost over." Beirut, 13 Mar 08, 09:30

Mottaki: Only Lebanese Unanimity Leads to Solution
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said Lebanon's bickering political parties are unanimously and without foreign intervention capable of finding a solution to the country's ongoing political crisis. He told An Nahar daily that the Lebanese must "unanimously" reach a settlement to the crisis, stressing that "neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia, Syria, France or any other foreign party should take a decision on behalf of the Lebanese people." Mottaki made the remarks in Dakar Wednesday, on the eve of the 11th Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit. "We are convinced that the solution to the Lebanese problem is in Lebanon itself. As part of the Lebanese composition, decision-making used to happen through unanimity," he told An Nahar. All Arab countries are eager to solve the Lebanese crisis as soon as possible, he said, adding that calm in Lebanon leads to stability in the entire region. The Iranian foreign minister said he was convinced that the Lebanese "will be able to overcome this stage," and that Lebanese parties have enough "wisdom" to find a solution to the crisis. He accused Israel of causing an unstable security situation in Lebanon and the region and said he believed Hizbullah stood against the Jewish State's offensive in the summer of 2006 because the Shiite group represents all Lebanese sects and denominations. "The resistance represents Lebanon first and then it represents the entire region's peoples," he said. When asked if Iran backed the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that will try ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's suspected assassins, Mottaki said: "We are with everything that the various Lebanese movements agree upon unanimously." Beirut, 13 Mar 08, 07:34

Murr accuses allies of keeping presidency empty
Metn MP blames reform and change bloc 'as a whole' for election delay
By Hussein Abdallah
Daily Star staff
Thursday, March 13, 2008
BEIRUT: MP Michel Murr said Wednesday a new Lebanese president would neither be elected now nor in 2009 if some parties continued to obstruct solutions by imposing new conditions every do often. Murr said Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun was not to blame for blocking the election of a president, but he accused other members of the Reform and Change parliamentary bloc of obstructing the vote. Murr is a member of the bloc, which is headed by Aoun."Aoun is the head of the bloc. What about the other Maronite lawmakers in the bloc? Are they happy with the presidential vacuum?" Murr told reporters after meeting Russian Ambassador Sergey Bukin. Murr explained that despite being a member of Aoun's bloc, he still had his own views. "I have my personal views and General Aoun knows it," he said. Asked whether strained Syrian-Saudi ties were reflecting negatively on the situation in Lebanon, Murr said a common Arab understanding would help end the crisis, "but Lebanese consensus will always be the foundation for any solution."  Murr said "the Lebanese people are fed up with Lebanese politicians, including ourselves."FPM lawmaker Camille Khoury told The Daily Star on Wednesday that Maronite MPs in the opposition were making a large sacrifice by not electing a president. "We Maronite MPs are proud of being responsible for not electing a president so far," he said.
"MP Murr has always been enthusiastic about speeding up the election of a president, but we want such an election to be the first step toward a bigger solution for the country's political crisis," he added. "We do not want to elect a president without regard for all other issues."
Khoury said each member of the Reform and Change bloc, including Murr, had his personal views on many issues.
"Being members of the same bloc does not mean we should have identical positions on all issues. There is always room for differences," he added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora arrived in Dakar, Senegal, on Wednesday to represent Lebanon at the summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which opens on Thursday. Siniora was expected to meet UN chief Ban Ki-moon late Wednesday.
The OIC summit will bring together representatives of Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other states that are said to be involved in either mediating or exacerbating Lebanon's political crisis. But while the representatives of these countries could meet on the sidelines of the summit, few people in Beirut expect them to produce recommendations that would help resolve Lebanon's crisis ahead of an upcoming Arab League summit, scheduled for March 29-30 in Damascus.
Lebanon is still awaiting an official invitation to the Arab summit. Arab League chief Amr Moussa told the BBC Arabic television Tuesday he was ready to deliver the invitation to Lebanon as soon as he receives it.
But Siniora has said that Lebanon will not accept to be invited through the Arab League. Damascus is not likely to send a minister to Beirut to deliver an invitation to the Siniora government, which represents Lebanon's anti-Syrian parliamentary majority. As the political crisis dragged on in Beirut, Russia and France rejected all foreign meddling in Lebanese affairs. "There should be absolutely no foreign interference in Lebanon's political crisis," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a joint news conference with his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner in Paris on Tuesday. He added that Russia was using its regional influence to help solve the crisis in Beirut. "The recent postponement of a House session to elect a new president for Lebanon must not take us to despair," Lavrov said.
For his part, Kouchner reiterated Lavrov's call for no foreign meddling in Lebanese affairs and said France is still determined to work with Syria to achieve a solution in Beirut. In a separate development Wednesday, Lebanese Forces (LF) boss Samir Geagea said after a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch inWashington that the United States is against naturalizing Palestinians refugees in Lebanon.
"There is no foreign plan to naturalize Palestinians in Lebanon," he said. "It is true that the issue of Palestinian refugees is linked to the formation of a Palestinian state, but whatever the fate of the refugees will be, it is clear that they will not be naturalized in Lebanon," he added. Geagea told reporters that he discussed with US officials the issue of the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms and the possibility of placing the occupied territory under UN custody. "We also discussed the issue of Lebanese prisoners in Israeli and Syrian jails and what needs to be done to end this problem," he said.Geagea denied that the US was planning to engage Syria in the near future. "The US position on Syria has not changed until further notice," he said.

Beirut crisis keeps Damascus summit in limbo
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Thursday, March 13, 2008
DAMASCUS: Syria's plans to host an Arab summit this month are mired in tensions focused on the presidential crisis in Lebanon and uncertainties over who will represent Arab heavyweights Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Lebanon has yet to be invited to the March 29-30 summit in Damascus, while regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia only got its invitation last week - days after most of the other members of the 22-strong Arab League.
Lebanon has been without a president since November amid feuding between a parliamentary majority which is backed by the West and several Arab countries, and a Hizbullah-led opposition, backed by Syria and Iran. Saudi Arabia and Egypt accuse Syria of blocking the election of a new president in Lebanon, which was under Syrian military domination for 29 years until Damascus withdrew its troops in 2005. The two heavyweights, which along with Syria and Lebanon are among the seven founding members of the Arab League, have linked the level of their participation at the summit to the election of a president in Beirut.
Syria's official press has meanwhile accused the United States of responsibility for the Lebanon crisis and has charged that Washington is now trying to torpedo the summit as well. "The United States are exerting pressure in order to sabotage the summit in Syria," said Elias Murad, chief editor of Syria's Al-Baath newspaper.
Murad said US pressure on Syria was due to its support of "political forces in Lebanon and Palestine opposed to Israel," namely Lebanon's Hizbullah movement and the Palestinian Hamas, whose chief, Khaled Meshaal, lives in Syria. "The summit has nothing to do with the election of a president in Lebanon. It is an ordinary summit decided by the Arab League as part of joint Arab action," Murad added.
The United States has also turned the heat up on Syria in recent weeks. The US Navy has deployed warships to waters off Lebanon, amid concern over the protracted crisis in Beirut, which US President George W. Bush blames on Syria. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem has slammed the US deployment as a "show of force" aimed at undermining a political solution to Lebanon's long-running crisis. Last week Washington also put ships making port calls in Syria on a watchlist in the latest step to ratchet up the pressure on Damascus over its alleged links with terrorism. Syria has repeatedly denied charges of involvment with terrorism or responsibility for the Lebanon crisis. "The Bush administration is behind the crisis in Lebanon," said the official Ath-Thawra daily. "The United States wants to provoke a conflict between Arab countries and Iran as an alternative to the Arab-Israeli conflict, and wants to divide the Arabs into moderates and extremists." According to Murad, "all Arab countries" will be represented at the summit. But several countries including regional US allies Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan have not revealed the level of their participation.
Questions also abound on when Lebanon will be formally invited to attend the summit and who will represent the country in the absence of a president. The Lebanese Constitution says the government fills in for the head of state. "An invitation will be sent in an adequate fashion," a Syrian official said, without providing further details. Meanwhile a parliamentary session on Tuesday to elect Lebanon's president was postponed to March 25 - the 16th delay since September, when Parliament was first due to pick a successor for Emile Lahoud, who left office in November. - AFP

Hizbullah all set for confrontation to avenge Mughniyeh - Israeli newspaper
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot quoted an Israeli security source as saying that Hizbullah has completed military and logistical preparations for a confrontation with Israel. "Hizbullah's preparations reinforce the Israeli intelligence services' estimations that a confrontation on the northern borders of Israel is coming before one in the Gaza Strip," the source told the daily. "This is probably what is preventing Israel from opening a wider front in Gaza," he added.
The source also pointed at the statements of top Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak, about Hizbullah restocking its rocket arsenal after the 2006 war. According to Yediot, reports from several Israeli intelligence agencies have warned of impending Hizbullah strikes, especially in the wake of the February 12 Damascus car bombing that claimed Imad Mughniyeh, one of the resistance group's top commanders. The assassination has been widely attributed to Israel, which has denied any involvement.
"The Israeli Army is preparing itself for possible confrontations this year," the source said, predicting that Hizbullah would take the first chance to retaliate for the assassination of Mughniyeh. In separate developments, a Kuwaiti Shiite cleric detained in connection with a eulogy for Mughniyeh in the Gulf emirate was released on bail Tuesday, along with four others, in a case that has sharply highlighted the sectarian tensions in the tiny US ally.
When members of Kuwait's Shiite minority joined foreign residents, including many Lebanese, in praising the memory of Mughniyeh, they were harshly criticized by the country's ruling Sunni majority and prominent Shiite Sheikh Hussein Maatouk was arrested for his alleged involvement.
"Thank God they have been released and things will calm down," said defense attorney Abdel-Karim Haidar, who represents Maatouk and the others.
The issue is especially sensitive because Mughniyeh is accused by the Kuwaiti government in the 1988 hijacking of a Kuwait Airways flight and the killing of two passengers. Hundreds of Maatouk's supporters demonstrated over his detention and while there were no clashes with police, the protests underlined the tensions between Sunnis and minority Shiites who make up at least 30 percent of the million-strong population in Kuwait.
Haidar said the cleric and the four others were released on bail of 5,000 Kuwaiti dinars ($18,500) each. Another suspect, former MP Abdel-Mohsen Jamal remains in custody. The eulogy sparked a wave of outrage among the country's Sunnis and was publicly condemned by the Cabinet.
Two Shiite MPs who took part in it, Adnan Abdel-Samad and Ahmad Lari, were expelled from their parliamentary bloc, and prosecutors have asked that their immunity be lifted so they can be questioned. - Agencies

Ban fills key staff spot as Hariri tribunal starts to take shape
UN chief appoints british legal expert to serve as registrar
Compiled by Daily Star staff -Thursday, March 13, 2008
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed a senior British legal expert as registrar for the international tribunal to try suspects in the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and other killings. 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 late Tuesday.
From 2002 to 2005, Vincent served as registrar of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the statement said. Since then, he has served as the temporary deputy registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and has advised on the establishment of other international tribunals, including the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Washington's ambassador to the United Nations has said that the world body has secured enough donations and pledges to establish and operate the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Donors have handed more than $28.7 million and pledged another $21.3 million for the tribunal, envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said ahead of a UN Security Council session late Monday night in New York.
UN officials refused to comment on Khalilzad's remarks, although Ban had said in a February 13 statement that he had had "indications" the UN would receive enough contributions to cover the tribunal's first 12 months of operations.
"We are making good progress toward the establishment of the tribunal in a timely manner, as requested by the Security Council in Resolution 1757," Radhia Achouri, senior communications adviser to the UN Office of Legal Counsel, told The Daily Star on Tuesday.
The Security Council approved Resolution 1757 on May 30 last year to create the tribunal, which can also try suspects in the string of political killings and attempted assassinations following Hariri's killing in a massive car bombing in Beirut on February 14, 2005.
The UN commission investigating Hariri's assassination and others will submit its next report to the UN on March 27.
Khalilzad also revealed that the US was one of the members of the management committee that would run the tribunal, although the committee is not to interfere in judicial matters. Other committee members include the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Holland and the UN, he said.
The US, along with frequently strong French support, has been exerting added pressure since Hariri's killing on the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad, which many leaders of the March 14 camp blame for the assassination.
Damascus has denied any involvement and has said it will not allow its citizens to appear before the tribunal, which Syria has said could be used as a political tool against it. According to UN legal chief Nicolas Michel, the UN has set three conditions for the tribunal to arise: In addition to enough money to meet one year's expenses and pledges to cover another two years, the investigation commission must make sufficient headway, after which the UN will consult with the Lebanese government. - The Daily Star, with Agencies

Union for Lebanon votes for 1960 electoral law
Daily Start/Thursday, March 13, 2008
BEIRUT: The Union for Lebanon said Wednesday that the 1960 qada electoral law should be adopted because it assures "a fair representation of the Christians in Parliament." "The 1960 law is not the perfect law but it is the best law ... in such circumstances unless a law that assures Christians better representation is drafted," a statement issued by the union said following their weekly meeting headed by Massoud Ashkar.

Canadian envoy voices support for Arab initiative
Daily Start/Thursday, March 13, 2008
BEIRUT: Canadian Ambassador Louis de Lorimier expressed on Wednesday his country's support for the Arab initiative aimed at ending the political impasse in Lebanon. "Canada condemns violence and encourages dialogue," he said. Following a meeting with resigned Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, de Lorimier added that "the relationship between Canada and Lebanon is excellent."

Sayyed thanks UN researcher for comments
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Daily Start/BEIRUT: The former director of General Security, Major General Jamil Sayyed, expressed gratitude on Wednesday to a UN-affiliated expert for saying that some have tried to affect the investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri with fake eyewitnesses. "Those who encouraged these false witnesses will be put on trial along with them, irrespective of their ranks or positions," independent UN researcher Leila Zerroughi said. Sayyed has been in detention, along with three other high-level officers, for suspicion of involvement in Hariri's assassination. "This statement comes after reports were submitted to the UN that General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza and Investigating Magistrate Saqr Saqr did not arrest or press charges against fake eyewitnesses," Sayyed said in a statement through his lawyer, Akram Azouri.

Greek Catholic leaders stress local leadership
Daily Start/Thursday, March 13, 2008
BEIRUT: The Higher Council of the Greek Catholic sect in Lebanon stressed on Wednesday the historical responsibility of all politicians and political factions in the country to help find a solution to the continuing political deadlock. "Foreign initiatives and efforts cannot cover this responsibility but must be directed toward solving non-Lebanese obstacles that are influencing the presidential elections and the implementation of Arab and international resolutions aimed at ensuring sovereignty and stability," read a statement from the council, released after a regular meeting headed by its vice president, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Michel Pharaon. "Any obstruction or vacuum of constitutional institutions jeopardizes the country and its citizens," the statement added. The council also stressed the need to dissociate the Lebanese presidential election from any Arab, regional or international events.

Prospect of new war with Israel has many Lebanese preparing for the worst
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Jihad Siqlawi-Agence France Presse
TYRE: Hizbullah's expressing its readiness to confront Israel if the latter decides to launch a war on Lebanon and the country'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 South Lebanon, which bore the brunt of the 2006 war with the Jewish state, say they have been overwhelmed by the number of people seeking to get their documents in order since February 14, when Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah issued his threat of retaliation.
Residents of Hizbullah's base of support in the southern suburbs of Beirut (Dahiyeh), which were also heavily bombed during the 34-day 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," added Melhem, whose family lives in Dahiyeh. "If war breaks out, I will immediately leave to join my husband, who works in Qatar."
Nasrallah's came following the assassination of one of the group's top commanders, Imad Mughniyeh, in a car bombing in Damascus. Hizbullah blamed Israel, which denied any involvement but did not hide its satisfaction at the killing.
That warning added fuel to an already tense situation in Lebanon, which is mired in its worst internal crisis since the end of the 1975-1990 Civil War.
A standoff between the Western-backed government and the Hizbullah-led opposition has left the country without a president since November, when Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term.
Tension also mounted last month when the United States dispatched 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, which is close to the opposition, 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 battle front and changing their whole way of life," the newspaper said.
Mohammad, 43, is a resident of the southern village of Qlayle, which was heavily bombed during the 2006 war. He told AFP he was looking to rent an apartment in Aley, west 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 Baalbek for me and my five children in case we have a new war," Abu Ali Balluk, 70, told AFP.
Baalbek 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 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 Baalbek said he has seen a 30 percent surge in the number of passports issued in recent weeks. In 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," said the official, who requested anonymity.
Mohammad Issa, a mechanic who lives with his five children and his parents and sisters 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 [Ivory Coast] and it won't be for tourism. I'll be starting fresh there, working with my son."

The State Department appraises respect for human rights in Lebanon
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Report
Lebanon, with a population of approximately 4 million, is a parliamentary republic in which the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the chamber of deputies a Shi'a Muslim. Parliament elected President Emile Lahoud, who is the head of state, in 1998 for a six-year term; however, in 2004 the Syrian regime pressured parliamentarians to pass a constitutional amendment that extended President Lahoud's term until November 2007. President Lahoud stepped down on November 23 at the end of his term, and, as stipulated in the constitution, the powers of the presidency were transferred to the cabinet, led by Prime Minister (PM) Fouad Siniora, until the election of a new president. On September 25, parliament was scheduled to meet and begin the process of choosing a new president; however, the speaker subsequently rescheduled the session eleven times, and parliament was unable to elect a president by year's end. According to international observers, the 2005 legislative elections were considered generally free and fair, although most political observers considered the boundaries of the electoral districts to be unfair. The May 20 to September 2 conflict involving the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and militant Islamic fundamentalist group Fatah al-Islam (FAI) erupted in Nahr al-Barid, a Palestinian refugee camp in the north of the country. The Lebanese Army took control of the camp. The death toll during the conflict was 168 LAF soldiers and an estimated 42 civilians. During the fighting, security forces forced some 30,000 Palestinians living in Nahr al-Barid to leave their homes and detained and reportedly physically abused some Palestinian men who were suspected of collaborating with FAI. Palestinian authorities retained control of the other eleven refugee camps in the country.Despite the deployment of the LAF and the expansion of the United Nations Interim Forces (UNIFIL) in the south in August 2006, Hizballah retained significant influence over parts of the country. UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions 1559 and 1701 call upon the government to take effective control of all Lebanese territory and disarm militia groups operating there. Due to several factors, including internal political differences and a lack of capacity in the security forces, the government did not take the necessary steps to disarm extralegal armed groups, including Hizballah.There were limitations on the right of citizens to peacefully change their government. In a climate of impunity, there were instances of arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life, torture, and other abuses. Security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained individuals, while poor prison conditions, lengthy pretrial detention and long delays in the court system remained serious problems. The government violated citizens' privacy rights, and there were some restrictions on freedoms of speech and press, including intimidation of journalists. Government corruption and a lack of transparency remained problems. There were limitations on freedom of movement for unregistered refugees, while widespread, systematic discrimination against Palestinian refugees continued. Domestic violence and societal discrimination against women continued. Violence against children and child labor also remained problems.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:

a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life

There were reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings during the year.

On June 29, Reuters reported that security forces killed three Palestinian protesters during a demonstration in Al-Baddawi refugee camp. Palestinian protesters were demanding to return to their homes in Nahr al-Barid.

During the year, the UN International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC), established under UNSC resolution 1595, continued its investigation into the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri. While preliminary reports pointed to possible linkages to Syrian intelligence services, they did not reach a firm conclusion by year's end.

Militant groups continued efforts to terrorize the public and political figures, including through a series of car bombings during the year. On June 13, a car bomb explosion killed Member of Parliament (MP) Walid Eido and his elder son Khaled, along with nine others. On September 19, a car bomb explosion killed MP Antoine Ghanem and eight others. Both MPs were part of the pro-government "March 14" coalition, and several political allies of the two MPs charged that the Syrian government was responsible for the assassinations, which Syria strongly denied. On December 12, a car bomb killed LAF Chief of Operations Brigadier General Francois el-Hajj along with his bodyguard. El-Hajj was in charge of the Nahr al-Barid operations. Investigations into the three incidents continued at year's end.On March 12, authorities detained four suspected members of the terrorist group FAI for the February 2006 Ain Alaq twin bus bombings that reportedly killed three and injured more than 20.

On June 22, the news Web site Al-Mustaqbal reported that Judge Sa'id Mirza brought charges against Lebanese citizen Ibrahim Hasan Awadah and Syrian citizens Firas Abd al-Rahman, Mahmoud Abd al-Karim Imran, and Izzat Muhamad Tartusi for the 2005 attempted assassination of the defense minister and incoming deputy prime minister Elias Murr, which injured Murr and killed one person. The suspects allegedly remained outside of the country at year's end.

On July 5, according to the news Web site Elaph, security authorities arrested alleged FAI official Walid al-Bustani for his connections with the assassination of deputy and former industry minister Pierre Gemayal, who was assassinated in November 2006 in the Judaydat al-Matn area near Beirut. Al-Bustani remained detained at year's end.

There were no further developments in the May 2006 killings of Islamic Jihad member Mahmoud Majzoub and his brother or the September 2006 roadside bombs in Rmeileh that injured Internal Security Forces (ISF) Lieutenant Colonel Samir Shehade and killed four of his bodyguards.

During the year there were reports of killings by unknown actors. For example, on June 24, six soldiers in the Spanish contingent of UNIFIL were killed and another three were injured when two IED devices exploded near their vehicle in southern Lebanon. While no organization claimed credit for the attack, it was widely viewed as an effort by actors who oppose UNIFIL and its efforts to prevent attacks against Israel launched from southern Lebanon.

The UN Mine Action Coordination Center in southern Lebanon (UNMACC) estimated that 40 percent of Israeli cluster munitions fired during the July-August 2006 conflict failed to explode, leaving an estimated 560,000 to 1.1 million unexploded munitions in southern Lebanon. As of December UNMACC stated that 138,750 pieces of munitions and mines had been removed and estimated that 430,000 unexploded munitions remained. On December 4, UNMACC stated that approximately 15 square miles of land in southern Lebanon remained infested. According to the UNMACC, as of December 4, the munitions have killed 30 people and injured dozens of others since the end of the July-August 2006 conflict.

There were reports of killings of civilians during the year in connection with the conflict in the Nahr al-Barid refugee camp (see Section 1.g.).

b. Disappearance

On April 26, security forces found the bodies of two youths affiliated with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt, a Druze Muslim allied with the government, after they went missing a few days earlier. Security forces arrested five suspects, four Lebanese and one Syrian, and charged them with planning the kidnapping. At year's end the suspects remained in detention.

In July 2006 Hizballah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers on Israeli territory, which prompted Israeli retaliation leading to the July-August 2006 conflict. Hizballah had yet to allow access or communications with the two soldiers at year's end.

c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

The law does not specifically prohibit torture, and security forces abused detainees and in some instances used torture. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW), reported that torture was common.

On May 11, HRW and the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) called for an investigation into allegations of torture and ill-treatment of nine detainees whose trial before a military court began on April 21. Authorities accused the nine individuals of forming an illegal group; conspiring to commit crimes against the state with the aim of inciting sectarian strife; possession and transfer of weapons and explosive material; and planning to assassinate the leader of Hizballah, Hassan Nasrallah. HRW and CLDH interviewed seven of the nine detainees and monitored their trial on April 21. Four detainees alleged that interrogators tortured them during their detention at the Ministry of Defense in order to force confessions, while other detainees say they were ill-treated and intimidated. According to HRW and CLDH, the remaining five detainees reported that interrogators blindfolded and frequently punched them during questioning. Three of the nine detainees were released on bail. The trial was ongoing at year's end.

On May 13, the Lebanese daily Al-Diyar reported that the Information Section of the ISF called Muhammad Abd-al-Amir Salhab in for questioning following the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri. According to Al-Diyar, security forces detained Salhab for three days, during which he "was subjected to all types of torture." Salhab was in France seeking political asylum at year's end.

In October 2006 the nongovernmental human rights organization Support of Lebanese in Arbitrary Detention (SOLIDA) issued a report documenting the various types of torture allegedly practiced at the Ministry of Defense between 1992 and 2005. Torture methods included physical abuse, sleep deprivation, and prolonged isolation. On April 26, the army released a statement dismissing news reports that detainees suspected of belonging to armed groups were subjected to torture during interrogation. According to The Daily Star, the statement denied that any detainees had undergone "any sort of physical or psychological torment in order to force them to give false testimonies."

However, the government acknowledged that violent abuse of detainees sometimes occurred during preliminary investigations conducted at police stations or military installations, in which suspects were interrogated without an attorney. Such abuse occurred despite national laws that prevent judges from accepting confessions extracted under duress.

For example, the press reported that on June 20, security forces arrested five dual Australian-Lebanese citizens, Hussein Elomar, Omar al-Hadba, Ibrahim Sabbough, Ahmed Elomar, and Mohammed Bassel, during a raid on al-Habda's workshop in Tripoli. Security forces arrested Al-Hadba on suspicion of supplying weapons to FAI. Security forces reportedly broke Elomar's jaw in detention and forced his nephew, Ahmed Elomar, to stand for long periods of time and beat him severely if he tried to rest. Ahmed's injuries included damage to his knee. Police dropped charges against Ahmed Elomar and Mohammed Bassel. The other individuals remained in custody at year's end.

Abuses also occurred in areas outside the government's control, including in Palestinian refugee camps. During the year there were reports that members of the various Palestinian groups that controlled specific camps detained their rivals during clashes over territorial control of the camps.

Prison and Detention Center Conditions

Prison conditions were poor and did not meet minimum international standards. Prisons were overcrowded, and sanitary conditions in the women's prison, in particular, were very poor. There were no serious threats to health, but indirect threats existed. For example, physical and mental stress caused by cramped conditions was especially noteworthy in the Yarze prison in southeast Beirut. The government did not consider prison reform a high priority. The number of inmates was estimated to be 5,870, including pretrial detainees and remand prisoners. The government made a modest effort to rehabilitate some inmates through education and training programs.

While there were no government reports on juveniles held in the same prison facilities as adults during the year, it could not be confirmed that the situation did not occasionally happen due to limited prison facilities. Despite some effort to keep pretrial detainees separate from convicted prisoners, overcrowding often prevented such separation. Due to the limited space, prisoners convicted of terrorist crimes were placed in the same prison facilities but on a separate floor.

The police institution in charge of border posts and internal security, the Surete Generale (SG), operated a detention facility for detainees pending deportation. According to SG, detention is to be for one to two months, pending the regularization of their status. However, some persons, primarily asylum seekers, were detained for more than a year before being eventually deported.

The government permitted independent monitoring of prison conditions by local and international human rights groups and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). On February 20, ICRC and judicial and security authorities signed a protocol enabling ICRC to visit all prisons in the country in accordance with decree 8800.

d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention

Although the law requires judicial warrants before arrests, except in immediate pursuit situations, the government arbitrarily arrested and detained persons.

Role of the Police and Security Apparatus

The security forces consist of the LAF under the Ministry of Defense, which may arrest and detain suspects on national security grounds; the ISF under the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), which enforces laws, conducts searches and arrests, and refers cases to the judiciary; the State Security Apparatus, which reports to the prime minister; and the SG under the MOI. Both the State Security Apparatus and the SG collect information on groups deemed a possible threat to state security.

Laws against bribery and extortion by government security officials and agencies also apply to the police force. In practice, however, a lack of strong enforcement limited their effectiveness. The government acknowledged the need to reform law enforcement, but the lack of political stability and security hampered these efforts. The ISF maintained a hotline for complaints.

Arrest and Detention

Military intelligence personnel made arrests without warrants in cases involving military personnel and those involving espionage, treason, weapons possession, and draft evasion. According to ISF statistics, out of the 5,870 persons held in prison, 3,669 had not been convicted of crimes. Also, there were reports that security forces arrested civilians without warrants.

The law provides the right to a lawyer, a medical examination, and referral to a prosecutor within 48 hours of arrest. If a detainee is held more than 48 hours without formal charges, the arrest is considered arbitrary, and the detainee must be released. In such cases officials responsible for the prolonged arrest may be prosecuted on charges of depriving personal freedom. A suspect caught in hot pursuit must be referred to an examining judge, who decides whether to issue an indictment or order the release of the suspect. Bail is available in all cases regardless of the charges. While there was no state-funded public defender's office, the bar association operated an office for those who could not afford a lawyer, and a lawyer was often provided for indigent defendants.

Many provisions of the law were not observed in practice, and security forces continued the practice of arbitrary arrest and detention.

On January 23 and 25, according to security sources, security forces arrested approximately 450 individuals following clashes at the Beirut Arab University and protests by the political opposition. Following investigations, security forces detained more than 15 individuals because they had former arrest warrants. Others were sentenced to between three days and three months imprisonment, and some were fined.

On February 1, authorities released on bail three journalists from New TV after 44 days in prison without a trial date. In December 2006 authorities arrested the journalists following a broadcast of their investigative report depicting the home of Mohammad Siddiq, a witness in the assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri. At year's end, the journalists had freedom to travel within and outside the country but were expected to appear before investigators when required.

On June 13, HRW reported that the Lebanese army and ISF arbitrarily detained and physically abused some Palestinian men fleeing the fighting in the Nahr al-Barid refugee camp (see Section 1.g.).

At year's end four Lebanese generals, who in 2005 the UNIIIC arrested and declared as suspects in the assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri, remained in custody. According to an August 28 Daily Star report, one of the detainees, General Security Major General Sayyed, reported that State Prosecutor Said Mirza informed UN Chief Investigator Brammertz that "local political considerations" were the cause for their continued detention without charges.

Also in relation to the case, on September 13, Justice Minister Charles Rizk appointed Judge Saqr Saqr as the new investigative magistrate, replacing Magistrate Eid Eid, who was handling the 2005 Hariri assassination. Eid was replaced following a request filed by lawyer Mohammed Mattar, who represented the heirs of four victims in the Hariri assassination, claiming that Eid was going to release the four generals. In November a working group of the UN Commission for Human Rights cited the case as an example of arbitrary detention. There were no new developments in their cases during the year, and the suspects remained imprisoned at year's end.

In February 2006, according to an international human rights organization, authorities arrested and detained more than 400 individuals in the wake of violent protests outside the Danish Embassy in Beirut related to the Danish cartoon controversy. Six days following their arrest, approximately 250 of these individuals were brought before the Military Court in Beirut and were ordered released. The remaining detainees were imprisoned for a time period of two weeks to nine months.

Palestinian refugees were subject to arrest, detention, and harassment by state security forces and rival Palestinian factions.

Human rights activists believed that there were numerous Lebanese, Palestinians, and Jordanians in prolonged and often secret detention in Syria. According to SOLIDA, the estimated number of remaining Lebanese prisoners in Syria is between 200 and 250. During the year there were no reports of Syrian forces operating in the country carrying out searches, arrests, or detentions of citizens outside any legal framework.

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

While the constitution provides for an independent judiciary, in practice the judiciary was subject to political pressure, particularly in the appointments of key prosecutors and investigating magistrates. With the support of the UNIIIC, however, the judiciary continued judicial proceedings against once-powerful security and intelligence chiefs who had cooperated with Syria's occupation. The law provides for a fair public trial; however, influential politicians as well as Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officers at times intervened and protected their supporters from prosecution. Despite intimidation generated by a series of unresolved political assassinations committed by unidentified assailants beginning in 2004, the aftermath of the 2005 assassination of Rafiq Hariri led to gradual progress in eliminating political and security influence over the judiciary.

The judicial system consists of a constitutional council to determine the constitutionality of newly adopted laws upon the request of 10 members of parliament; the civilian courts; the Military Court, which tries cases involving military personnel and civilians in security-related issues; and the Judicial Council, which tries national security cases. There are also tribunals of the various religious affiliations, which adjudicate matters of personal status, including marriage, divorce, inheritance, and child custody. The religious Shari'a courts are often used by both the Shi'a and Sunni religious communities to resolve family legal matters. There are also religious courts in the various Christian sects and Druze communities; these tribunals were also restricted to family legal matters.

The Judicial Council is a permanent tribunal of five senior judges that adjudicates threats to national security and some high-profile cases. Upon the recommendation of the minister of justice, the cabinet decides whether to try a case before this tribunal. Verdicts from this tribunal may not be appealed. For example, the cabinet referred the assassination cases of MP Walid Eido, MP Antoine Ghanem, and MP Pierre Gemayel to the Judicial Council.

The Ministry of Justice appoints all other judges, taking into account the sectarian affiliation of the prospective judge. A shortage of qualified judges impeded efforts to adjudicate cases backlogged during the years of internal conflict. Trial delays were aggravated by the government's inability to conduct investigations in areas outside of its control, specifically in the Hizballah-controlled areas in the south and in the 11 Palestinian-controlled refugee camps in the country.

Trial Procedures

There is no trial by jury; trials were generally public, but judges had the discretion to order a closed court session. Defendants have the right to be present at trial and the right of timely consultation with an attorney. While defendants do not have the presumption of innocence, they have the right to confront or question witnesses against them, but they must do so through the court panel, which decides whether or not to permit the defendant's question. Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases and the right of appeal. These rights generally were observed. While there was no state-funded public defender's office, the bar association operated an office for those who could not afford a lawyer, and a lawyer was often provided for indigent defendants.

Defendants on trial for security cases, which were heard before the Judicial Council, have the same procedural rights as other defendants; however, there was no right to appeal in such cases. Trials for security cases were generally public; however, judges had the discretion to order a closed court session.

The Military Court has jurisdiction over cases involving the military as well as those involving civilians in espionage, treason, weapons possession, and draft evasion cases. Civilians may be tried for security issues, and military personnel may be tried for civil issues. The Military Court has two tribunals: the permanent tribunal and the cassation tribunal. The latter hears appeals from the former. A civilian judge chairs the higher court. Defendants on trial under the military tribunal have the same procedural rights as defendants in ordinary courts.

Palestinian groups in refugee camps operated an autonomous and arbitrary system of justice not under the control of the state. For example, local popular committees in the camps attempted to solve disputes using tribal methods of reconciliation. If the case involved a killing, the committees occasionally handed over the perpetrator to state authorities for trial.

Political Prisoners and Detainees

During the year there were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.

Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies

While there is an independent judiciary in civil matters, in practice it was seldom used for bringing civil lawsuits for seeking damages for human rights violations committed by the government. During the year there were no examples of a civil court awarding an individual compensation for human rights violations committed against them by the government.

f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence

While the law prohibits such actions, authorities frequently interfered with the privacy of persons regarded as enemies of the government. The law requires that prosecutors obtain warrants before entering homes, except when the security forces are in close pursuit of armed attackers; these rights were generally observed.

The Army Intelligence Service monitored the movements and activities of members of opposition groups. Although the law regulates eavesdropping, security services continued to eavesdrop without prior authorization.

Militias and non-Lebanese forces operating outside the area of central government authority frequently violated citizens' privacy rights. Various factions also used informer networks and monitoring of telephones to obtain information regarding their perceived adversaries.

There were no developments in the 2005 decree to create an independent judicial committee to receive complaints from parties who believe their phones are tapped and provide permission for security services to monitor telephones of criminals. Similarly, there were no developments in the 2005 decree to create a centralized unit to supervise tapping phones related to military personnel only.

g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts

Killings

An estimated 42 civilians in the Nahr al-Barid refugee camp and 168 LAF soldiers were killed during the May 20 to September 2 conflict between the LAF and FAI. Some human rights groups criticized the LAF's disproportionate use of heavy weapons during the conflict, claiming that the army shelled the camp in an indiscriminate manner once the camp had been evacuated.

Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture

On June 13, HRW reported that LAF and ISF forces arbitrarily detained and physically abused some Palestinian men fleeing the fighting in Nahr al-Barid refugee camp. During the conflict, the LAF interrogated many men as they left the camp and detained those suspected of supporting or having information about FAI. The LAF interrogated some Palestinian detainees at the Kobbeh military base near Tripoli, about 16 kilometers from Nahr al-Barid. HRW reported that other interrogations took place at checkpoints and private houses near the camp.

In one case documented by HRW on June 13, the Lebanese military detained a Palestinian man from Nahr al-Barid for interrogation at different locations for four days. During the interrogations, army interrogators reportedly punched and slapped him and gave him food only twice in four days. HRW also reported that during interrogation, members of the Lebanese military intelligence allegedly subjected detainees to kicks, punches, and beatings with rifle butts.

Other Conflict-related Abuses

The Nahr al-Barid conflict caused other humanitarian concerns. Residents were reportedly without running water, sewage, or electricity for weeks. Refugees who left the camp were treated for dehydration, diarrhea, and stomach illnesses, and the regular health care clinics in the camp, including those run by UNRWA, were not fully functioning because of the fighting.

Members of international humanitarian organizations were attacked by FAI when attempting to enter the Nahr al-Barid camp. On May 23, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour condemned an attack by FAI on a UN aid convoy at Nahr al-Barid during the conflict, which claimed the lives of two Palestinian refugees.

Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

a. Freedom of Speech and Press

The law provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice. The law permitted censoring of pornographic, political opinion, and religious materials when they were considered a threat to national security. Despite a general increase in media freedom since 2005, due to the tense political atmosphere and a weak judiciary, journalists continued to exercise some self-censorship. Although there were no reported killings of journalists during the year, journalists continued to experience intimidation due to the 2005 killings of prominent journalists Samir Kassir and Gibran Tueni, and the failure to apprehend those responsible. In part due to the political divisions in the country, several journalists received threats from parties, politicians, or other fellow journalists.

The government utilized several legal mechanisms to control freedom of expression. The SG reviews and censors all foreign newspapers, magazines, and books before they enter the country. The SG must also approve all plays and films. The law prohibits attacks on the dignity of the head of state or foreign leaders. The government may prosecute offending journalists and publications in the Publications Court. The 1991 security agreement between the government and Syria, still in effect, contains a provision that prohibits the publication of any information deemed harmful to the security of either state. The 2005 withdrawal of Syrian troops and a decrease in Syrian influence, however, encouraged Lebanese journalists to be open in their criticism of Syrian and Lebanese authorities alike.

Dozens of newspapers and hundreds of periodicals were published throughout the country and were financed by and reflected the views of various local, sectarian, and foreign interest groups. There was very limited state ownership of newspapers and periodicals.

On February 22, authorities fined the editor in chief of the daily Lebanese newspaper Al-Mustaqbal, Tawfiq Khattab, and a staff reporter, Fares Khasan, $33,000 (50 million pounds) each for charges of libel and damaging the reputation of President Lahoud. In February 2006, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Beirut prosecutor Joseph Me'mari had filed criminal charges against Khattab and Khassan for defaming President Lahoud. The prosecutor filed the charges four days after Al-Mustaqbal published an interview with the former Lebanese ambassador to France and former army intelligence chief Johnny Abdo, who criticized Lahoud's performance. Khattab and Khashan lodged an appeal, and the case remained pending at year's end.

In June 2006 the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) broadcast an episode of weekly political satire Basmat Wattan that ridiculed Hizballah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. The program prompted violent demonstrations in Beirut. The National Media Council, which falls under the Ministry of Information and is responsible for monitoring television programs, ruled the next day that LBC was guilty of broadcasting offensive material and forwarded the case to the cabinet. The case remained pending at year's end.

There was no update in the October 2006 case in which the minister of justice filed a complaint in the Publications Court against Al-Akhbar daily, naming specifically director Ibrahim Awad and reporter Antoine Al-Khoury Harb, for alleging that two members of the Judicial Council had met with the head of the ISF Intelligence Department to discuss judicial appointments.

Judicial cases launched in previous years against journalists were not pursued during the year. Investigations into the 2005

killings of Samir Kassir and Gebran Tueni, and into the 2005 attack on May Chidiac continued at year's end. There were no developments in the 2005 case against Al-Mustaqbal reporter and Future TV anchor Zahi Wehbe.

Films that offended religious or social sensitivities were prohibited. In May 2006 the SG prohibited the film "The Da Vinci Code" from being shown because of religious sensitivities. Filmmakers, as well as festival organizers, consistently practice self-censorship.

In May 2006 the SG obliged Lebanese playwright Lina Khoury to make numerous revisions to her adaptation of the play "Hakeh Niswan" ("Women's Talk") inspired by the "Vagina Monologues" before it could be performed in Beirut because of the sensitivity of the topics in the play.

There were seven television stations and 33 radio stations. The government owned one television and one radio station; the remaining stations were owned privately. Inexpensive satellite television was widely available.

Internet Freedom

There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms, and the government promoted Internet usage. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail and Internet discus-sion groups. Internet providers are sometimes contacted by the SG and Ministry of Justice to block pornographic and religiously provocative sites.

Academic Freedom and Cultural Events

There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

Freedom of Assembly

The law provides for freedom of assembly; however, the government sometimes restricted this right. The MOI required prior approval to hold rallies, and groups opposing government positions sometimes were not granted permits.

On January 23, protestors from the parliamentary opposition (Hizballah, the Amal Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement, and Marada) effectively caused a general strike in Beirut by burning tires and cars on major roads in and around the capital. The riots and violent clashes the demonstrations provided left three dead and 133 injured.

On January 25, Sunni and Shi'a students clashed violently at the Beirut Arab University, which later escalated into civil unrest in parts of Beirut. Four people were killed and more than 150 were injured. As a result, the LAF declared an overnight curfew for one day.

On June 29, Reuters reported that security forces fired at Palestinian civilians demanding to return to their homes in Nahr al-Barid, killing three protesters and wounding 50. Witnesses reported that soldiers opened fire first into the air as hundreds of refugees, including women and children, tried to storm through an army checkpoint and into the Nahr al-Barid camp. When the crowd did not disperse and attacked soldiers with stones and sticks, the troops fired automatic rifles at the protesters.

The "sit-in" that began in December 2006 in Beirut with a few thousand demonstrators of Shi'a loyal to Hizballah and the allied Amal movement and Christian supporters of Michel Aoun was ongoing throughout the year. However, a very small number of protestors remained at year's end. Isolated violence between Sunnis and Shi'a occurred during the period of the demonstration. In December 2006 one incident resulted in the death of protester Ahmad Mahmoud. The opposition called for the protests in an attempt to force the government to resign or expand the number of cabinet seats belonging to Amal, Hizballah, and Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement to a one-third-plus-one minority, which would be sufficient to block legislation or force the cabinet's dissolution.

Coinciding with the protests, a number of pro-government rallies were held in several areas around the country. For example, on February 14, a generally peaceful mass rally in Beirut to mark the second anniversary of the killing of former PM Rafiq Hariri took place.

Freedom of Association

The law provides for freedom of association, and the government did not interfere with most organizations; however, it imposed limits on this right. The law requires every new organization to submit a notification of formation to the MOI, which issues a receipt. However, the MOI imposed on organizations additional restrictions and requirements that were not enforced consistently. For example, the MOI in some cases sent notification of formation papers to the security forces to conduct inquiries on an organization's founding members, the results of which the MOI may use in deciding whether to approve the group. The ministry at times withheld the receipt, essentially transforming the notification procedure into an approval process. For example, in October 2006 the Lebanese Center for Human Rights applied for a notification of formation. However, at year's end, they had not received approval of their notification request.

Organizations must invite MOI representatives to any association's general assembly where votes are held for by-law amendments or elections are held for positions on the board of directors. The MOI also required every association to obtain its approval for any change in by-laws; failure to do so could result in the dissolution of the association.

The cabinet must license all political parties. The government scrutinized requests to establish political movements or parties and to some extent monitored their activities. The Army Intelligence Service monitored the movements and activities of members of some opposition groups.

c. Freedom of Religion

The constitution provides for freedom of belief and guarantees the freedom to practice all religious rites, provided that the public order is not disturbed. The constitution declares equality of rights and duties for all citizens without discrimination or preference but stipulates a balance of power distributed among the major religious groups. The government generally respected these rights; however, there were some restrictions. The government subsidized all religions and appointed and paid the salaries of Muslim and Druze judges.

Although there is no state religion, politics were based on the principle of religious representation, which has been applied to nearly every aspect of public life.

A group seeking official recognition must submit its principles for government review to ensure that such principles do not contradict "popular values" and the constitution. The group must ensure the number of its adherents is sufficient to maintain its continuity.

Alternatively, religious groups may apply for recognition through existing religious groups. Official recognition conveys certain benefits, such as tax-exempt status and the right to apply the recognized religion's codes to personal status matters. Each recognized religious group has its own courts for family law matters, such as marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance. State recognition is not a legal requirement for religious worship or practice. For example, although the government did not recognize officially some Baha'i, Buddhists, Hindus, and some protestant Christian groups, they were allowed to practice their faith without government interference; however, their marriages, divorces, and inheritances in the country were not recognized under the law.


Protestant evangelical churches are required to register with the Evangelical Synod, which represents those churches to the government. Representatives of some churches complained that the Synod has refused to accept new members since 1975, thereby preventing their clergy from ministering to adherents in accordance with their beliefs. The Pentecostal Church applied for recognition from the Evangelical Sect, but the leadership of the Evangelical Sect, in contravention of the law, refused to register new groups. The Pentecostal Church pursued recourse through the MOI; however, at years end, it had not been registered.

The unwritten "National Pact" of 1943 stipulates that the president, the prime minister, and the speaker of parliament be a Maronite Christian, a Sunni Muslim, and a Shi'a Muslim, respectively. The 1989 Taif Accord, which ended the country's 15-year civil war, reaffirmed this arrangement, but also codified increased Muslim representation in parliament and reduced the power of the Maronite president.

Religious affiliation is encoded on national identity cards and indicated on civil status registry documents but not on passports.

The law provides that only religious authorities may perform marriages; however, civil marriage ceremonies performed outside the country were recognized by the government.

There were no legal barriers to proselytizing; however, traditional attitudes and edicts of the clerical establishment strongly discouraged such activity. Religious authorities appointed the clerical establishments to which they are affiliated.

Although the law stipulates that any one who "blasphemes God publicly" may face imprisonment for up to one year, no prosecutions were reported under this law during the year.

Societal Abuses and Discrimination

Lebanese media outlets regularly directed strong rhetoric against Israel and its Jewish population and commonly characterized events in the region as part of a Zionist conspiracy.

For example, on October 22, Lebanon's NBN TV aired a program based on the anti-Semitic forgery the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The program's narrator stated that "Jews are annihilating the peoples of the world using drugs," and that "Jews use drug trafficking to control the world and subjugate other nations." The program's narrator also accused the Jews of playing a part in the Holocaust.

In another Lebanese television program aired on January 30, Lebanese poet Marwan Chamoun promoted anti-Semitic false accusations of blood libel in which Jews are accused of murder and using blood for religious purposes.

The country's legislation does not specifically designate or address hate crimes.

For a more detailed discussion, see the 2007 International Religious Freedom Report.

d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons

The law provides for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights with some limitations. The law prohibits direct travel to Israel. All men between 18 and 21 years of age are required to obtain a travel authorization document from the government before leaving the country.

The government maintained security checkpoints, primarily in military and other restricted areas. There were few police checkpoints on main roads or in populated areas. The security services used checkpoints to conduct warrantless searches for smuggled goods, weapons, narcotics, and subversive literature.

The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)

As a result of the May-September Nahr al-Barid conflict, an estimated 35,000 Palestinian refugees were displaced. The majority sought shelter with host families in the neighboring Beddawi camp in northern Lebanon, while several hundred families sought shelter in UNRWA as well as government-run schools throughout the north of the country. In October refugees began returning to the "new camp" along the periphery of Nahr al-Barid. At year's end, UNRWA estimated that approximately 6,000 refugees returned to the new camp.

Following the August 2006 cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizballah, the government encouraged the return to their homes of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, at the height of the conflict, up to one million persons fled their homes; approximately 735,000 were internally displaced, while some 230,000 fled to neighboring countries. In addition, some 16,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon were displaced. According to the government's Higher Relief Council, more than 700,000 displaced persons and refugees returned to their homes. While the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) believes there is no official and reliable figure, according to its data on the number of houses completely destroyed and damaged, UNHCR reported that 80,000 persons remain displaced.

During the year there were no substantiated reports that the government deliberately attacked IDPs or made efforts to obstruct access of international humanitarian organizations from assisting IDPs in returning to their residence. Similarly, there were no reports that the government forcibly resettled IDPs.

According to international humanitarian organizations, a significant number of people still remain displaced from the 1975-90 civil war and as a result of the Israeli invasions and occupation of part of southern Lebanon that ended in 2000. No updated reliable survey exists to determine the current number, and estimates varied hugely, ranging between 16,750 and 600,000.

The government continued to encourage IDPs displaced during the 1975-90 civil war to return, reclaim their property, and rebuild their homes. Despite this encouragement, many have not attempted to reclaim and rebuild their property due to the hazardous social and economic situation in some areas.


Protection of Refugees

The law does not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, but the government has mechanisms to provide assistance. The government cooperated with the office of the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. The government provided temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention/1967 protocol.

A 2003 agreement between the SG and the UNHCR recognizes and grants protection to non-Palestinian refugees, providing temporary relief for those seeking determination of refugee status. Those wishing to claim refugee status do so within two months of arriving in the country. The SG issues residence permits, valid for three months, during which time UNHCR must make a refugee status determination. The SG extended residency permits for up to 12 months for those accorded refugee status by UNHCR. The government granted admission and temporary (six months) refuge to asylum seekers but not permanent asylum.

Most refugees were Palestinians. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reported that the number of Palestinian refugees in the country registered with the UNRWA was 394,532. This figure, which represented refugees who arrived in 1948 and their descendants, was presumed to include many thousands who resided outside of the country. According to UNRWA, during the year there were 409,714 Palestinian refugees in its 12 refugee camps throughout the country. According to SG records, the number of registered Palestinian refugees was approximately 427,000.

Most Palestinian refugees were unable to obtain citizenship and were subject to governmental and societal discrimination, particularly in the area of employment; however, Palestinian women who married Lebanese men could obtain citizenship. According to a credible international human rights group, Palestinian refugees faced severe restrictions in their access to work opportunities and diminished protection of their rights at work. Very few Palestinians received work permits, and those who found work usually were directed into unskilled occupations. Some Palestinian refugees worked in the informal sector, particularly in agriculture and construction. Palestinian incomes continued to decline. In 2005 the minister of labor issued a memorandum authorizing Palestinian nationals born in the country and duly registered with the MOI to work in 50 (out of 72) professions banned to foreigners. However, there were no indications that this memorandum was implemented consistently.

The law does not explicitly target Palestinian refugees but bars those who are not bearers of nationality of a recognized state from owning property. Under this law, Palestinians may not purchase property, and those who owned property prior to the 2001 issuance of this law are prohibited from passing it on to their children. The parliament justified these restrictions on the grounds that it was protecting the right of Palestinian refugees to return to the homes they fled after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Other foreigners may own a limited-size plot of land but only after obtaining the approval of five different district offices. The law applies to all foreigners.

Most Palestinian refugees lived in overpopulated camps that suffered repeated heavy damage as a result of fighting during the 1975-1990 civil war, the 1980s Israeli invasion of the country, continuing camp feuds, the July-August 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah, and the May-September Nahr al-Barid conflict. The government generally prohibited the construction of permanent structures in the camps on the grounds that such construction encouraged refugee settlement in the country. Refugees frequently feared that the government might reduce the size of the camps or eliminate them completely.

During and after the fighting in Nahr al-Barid in September, the government provided emergency relief, with assistance from UNRWA, the international donor community, and relief nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), to the Palestinian refugees who had fled Nahr al-Barid. The government provided temporary housing by opening school buildings and started efforts to begin removing the rubble in preparation for new camp housing to be built. At year’s end, the LAF had started the process of clearing the UXOs inside the camp, but had not given UNRWA and its partners permission to enter the main camp to begin rubble clearance and reconstruction.

Children of Palestinian refugees faced discrimination in birth registration and access to adequate housing, social security, and education. The government did not provide health services or education to Palestinian refugees, who relied on UNRWA for these services. Many Palestinian children reportedly had to leave school at an early age to help earn income. Other reasons for dropouts were marriage (especially for minor girls), frustration, and hopelessness. Poverty, drug addiction, prostitution, and crime reportedly prevailed in the camps, although reliable statistics were not available.

At year’s end the MOI had not yet rendered a decision on the legal status of approximately 4,000 persons who stood to lose their Lebanese citizenship due to the 2003 decision by the State Consultative Council to invalidate the 1994 naturalization decree, which naturalized several thousand Palestinians.

The government issued travel documents to Palestinian refugees to enable them to travel and work abroad. The government did not issue visitors visas to Jordanian nationals who were born in the country and were of Palestinian origin.

According to the UNHCR there were 8,300 Iraqi refugees registered with the UNHCR, as well as 241 non-Iraqi refugees and 522 non-Iraqi asylum seekers residing in the country. However, this number did not include Palestinian refugees and asylum seekers or a substantial number of refugees from Iraq who entered the country illegally in search of jobs, education, and security. According to the UN, an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 Iraqis were living in the country. During the year the government provided very limited services for them and no process for regularizing their status. At year’s end the government failed to institute a temporary protection regime for Iraqi asylum seekers, as advocated by UNHCR, and it regularly deported Iraqis who may well have had valid persecution claims. According to a December 4 HRW report, authorities during the year arrested Iraqi refugees without valid visas and detained them indefinitely to coerce them to return to Iraq. According to the Surete Generale, there were 360 detained Iraqis in the country by year’s end. During the year, 513 Iraqis were deported back to Iraq for illegal immigrationIllegal-Immigration-Ruling Dec-07 into Lebanon.

Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government

The law provides citizens the right to change their government in periodic, free, and fair elections; however, lack of control over parts of the country, defects in the electoral process, and corruption in public office significantly restricted this right.

Elections and Political Participation

The law provides that elections for the parliament must be held every four years, and the parliament elects the president every six years. The president and the parliament nominate the prime minister, who, with the president, chooses the cabinet. According to the unwritten National Pact of 1943, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of parliament a Shi’a Muslim.

The last presidential election was conducted in 1998. In 2004, amid evidence of heavy Syrian manipulation and coercion, parliament voted for a constitutional amendment extending the term of President Emile Lahoud to November 2007. Many citizens considered this amendment to violate the constitution. On September 25, parliament was scheduled to meet to begin the process of choosing a new president; however, because two-thirds of the members were not present, the speaker cancelled the session and rescheduled the first presidential election session for October 23. On November 23, President Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term and, as stipulated in the constitution, the powers of the presidency were transferred to the cabinet, led by PM Fouad Siniora, until the election of a new president. The speaker rescheduled the session another ten times, and the parliament was unable to elect a new president before year’s end.

On August 5, parliamentary by-elections in Metn and Beirut were held to replace two seats vacated by the assassinations of MPs Pierre Gemayel and Walid Eido. The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections monitored the elections and reported a few incidents of voter fraud, including instances in which voters used fake identity cards or national identity cards instead of the voter identity cards.

Individual citizens and parties can freely declare their candidacy and stand for election. Parties may organize, seek votes, and publicize their views with limited government restriction. The political system is based on confessional lines, and all parliamentary seats are primarily allotted on a sectarian basis. The smallest recognized confessions are allotted at least one seat in parliament.

There are four major and numerous smaller political parties. The largest party in the parliamentary majority is the Future Movement, led by Saad HaririSaad-Hariri-Profile Sep-07 . Its membership is predominantly Sunni, but Hariri’s parliamentary bloc includes a number of members from other sects. The Progressive Socialist Party, led by Walid Jumblatt, predominantly represented Druze interests and allied itself with the Future Movement. The Free Patriotic Movement, led by Michel Aoun, represented a significant portion of the Christian community. The party’s leadership decided to remain outside the cabinet. Two smaller Christian parties were the Lebanese Forces, led by Samir Geagea, and the Phalange party, led by former president Amine Gemeyal. The largest party representing the Shi’a community was Hizballah, a designated terrorist organization, led by Hassan Nasrallah. A smaller Shi’a party, Amal, was led by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. While a number of smaller parties existed or were in the process of forming, the larger, sectarian-based parties maintained the greatest influence in the country’s political system.

There were significant cultural barriers to women’s participation in politics. Prior to 2005 no woman held a cabinet position; however, at year’s end there was one woman in the cabinet.

Palestinian refugees had no political rights. An estimated 17 Palestinian factions operated in the country and were generally organized around prominent individuals. Most Palestinians lived in refugee camps controlled by one or more factions. Refugee leaders were not elected, but there were popular committees that met regularly with UNRWA and visitors.

Government Corruption and Transparency

The government provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but they were seldom enforced. According to the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators, government corruption was a serious problem.

Public officials were required by law to disclose their financial assets to the Constitutional Council; however, the information was not open to the public.

There are no laws regarding public access to government documents. In practice the government did not respond to requests for documents.

Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights

A number of local and international human rights groups, including the Lebanese Association for Human Rights, the Foundation for Human and Humanitarian Rights-Lebanon, the National Association for the Rights of the Disabled, ICRC, and AI, generally operated freely without overt government restriction and investigated and published their findings. Unlike in previous years, human rights groups did not report harassment and intimidation by the government.

On August 29, HRW canceled a press conference scheduled to be held in Beirut to announce the release of its report on Hizballah’s attacks on Israel during the July-August 2006 conflict due to reports from Hizballah-controlled media of planned demonstrations to prevent the press conference. The HRW report, later released, was critical of Hizballah as well as of Israel. Both Hizballah and PM Siniora criticized HRW over the report.

Government officials generally were cooperative with NGOs, except when groups sought to publicize the alleged detention in Syria of hundreds of Lebanese citizens. The bar association and other private organizations regularly held public events that included discussions of human rights issues.

The government cooperated with international governmental organizations and permitted visits by UN representatives and other organizations such as the ICRC.

Section 5 Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons

The law provides for equality among all citizens; however, in practice, some aspects of the law and traditional beliefs discriminated against women. Although the law reserves a percentage of private sector and government jobs to persons with disabilities, there were few accommodations made for them. Discrimination based on race, language, or social status is illegal and was not widespread among citizens; however, foreign domestic servants often were mistreated, sometimes suffered physical abuse, had pay withheld or unfairly reduced, or were forced to remain locked within their employer’s home for the duration of their contracts.

Women

The law prohibits rape, and the minimum prison sentence for a person convicted of rape is five years. The minimum sentence for a person convicted of raping a minor is seven years. The law was effectively enforced. Spousal rape was not criminalized.

The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, and domestic violence against women was a problem. There were no authoritative statistics on the extent of spousal abuse; however, most experts noted that it was a problem. Despite a law prohibiting battery with a maximum sentence of three years in prison for those convicted, some religious courts legally may require a battered wife to return to her home in spite of physical abuse. Women were sometimes compelled to remain in abusive marriages because of economic, social, and family pressures.

The government had no separate program to provide medical assistance to victims of domestic violence; however, it provided legal assistance to victims who could not afford it regardless of their gender. In most cases police ignored complaints submitted by battered or abused women. A local NGO, the Lebanese Council to Resist Violence against Women, worked actively to reduce violence against women by offering counseling and legal aid and raising awareness about domestic violence.

Foreign domestic servants often were mistreated, abused, and in some cases, raped or placed in slavery-like conditions. Asian and African female workers had no practical legal recourse available to them because of their low status, isolation from society, and because labor laws do not protect them. Because of such abuse, the government prohibited foreign women from working if they were from countries that did not have diplomatic representation in the country.

The legal system was discriminatory in its handling of honor crimes. According to the penal code, a man who kills his wife or other female relative may receive a reduced sentence if he demonstrates that he committed the crime in response to a socially unacceptable sexual relationship conducted by the victim. For example, while the penal code stipulates that murder is punishable by either a life sentence or the death penalty, if a defendant can prove it was an honor crime, the sentence is commuted to one to seven years imprisonment. Several honor crimes were reported in the media that resulted in convictions.

Although the law on prostitution requires that brothels be licensed, including regular testing for disease, government policy was not to issue new licenses for brothels in an attempt to gradually eliminate legal prostitution in the country. In practice most prostitution was unlicensed and illegal. The SG reported issuing 4,210 visas in 2006 to mostly eastern European women to work in adult clubs as artists. Although unlicensed prostitution is illegal, virtually all women who engaged in prostitution did so with the implicit consent of the government.

The law prohibits sexual harassment; however, it was a widespread problem, and the law was not effectively enforced. Social pressure against women pursuing careers was strong in some parts of society. Men sometimes exercised considerable control over female relatives, restricting their activities outside the home or their contact with friends and relatives. Women may own property, but often ceded control of it to male relatives for cultural reasons and because of family pressure.

The law provides for equal pay for equal work for men and women, but in the private sector there was some discrimination regarding the provision of benefits.

Many family and personal status laws discriminated against women. For example, Sunni inheritance law provides a son twice the inheritance of a daughter. Although Muslim men may divorce easily, Muslim women may do so only with the concurrence of their husbands.

Only men may confer citizenship on their spouses and children. Accordingly, children born to citizen mothers and foreign fathers are not eligible for citizenship. Citizen widows may confer citizenship on their minor children.

Children

Education was free in public schools and compulsory until the completion of the elementary level at age 12. However, implementation decrees were not issued. Public schools generally were inadequate, lacking proper facilities, equipment and trained staff. Although private schools were widespread in the country, the cost of private education was a significant problem for the middle and lower classes. In its latest report, the UN Children’s Fund reported that approximately 91 percent of children between the ages of three and five, and approximately 98 percent of children between the ages of six to 11 were enrolled in school. In some families with limited incomes, boys received more education than girls.

Boys and girls had equal access to medical care. The government provided vaccination and other pediatric health services in dispensaries operated by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Affairs. Boys and girls had equal access to hospitals.

Children of poor families often sought employment and took jobs that jeopardized their safety.

Children of Palestinian refugees were limited in their access to government services, including schools and health care.

Trafficking in Persons

The law does not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons, and although the government made progress in stemming some forms of trafficking in persons, it remained a problem. The penal code stipulates that “any person who deprives another of freedom either by abduction or any other means shall be sentenced to temporary hard labor.� The country was a destination for eastern European and Russian women, who were contracted as dancers in adult clubs. Most of these women engaged in voluntary illegal prostitution, but some reported facing intimidation or coercion and having their movements restricted while others were at risk as targets of abuse.

The country was also a destination for women from Africa and Asia, usually contracted as household workers. Women are required by law to have valid work contracts and sponsors but often found themselves in situations of involuntary servitude with little practical legal recourse. Primary traffickers were the employers and employment agencies.

If forced prostitution or sexual exploitation occurred as a result of abduction, the penal code stipulates that the abductor be sentenced to at least one year in prison; however, this law was applied inconsistently. Many women became illegal workers because their employers did not renew their work and residency permits or because they ran away from their employer, therefore becoming subject to detention and deportation. Workers’ illegal immigration status was also used by abusive sponsors as a tactic to intimidate employees and coerce them into labor. Unscrupulous employers sometimes falsely accused the employee of theft to relinquish responsibility for the employee as well as the taxes and a return airline ticket.

Employers often restricted foreign employees’ movement and withheld passports. A small number of exploited foreign workers won cases against their employers, but nonjudicial action resolved the majority of these cases. As a result of that process, workers frequently were repatriated without further judicial action. A few cases were referred to the judiciary for further action, although the government took minimal steps to prosecute traffickers.

The Ministry of Labor (MOL) regulates local employment agencies that place migrant workers with sponsors. During the year the MOL closed 15 employment agencies for a specified period and warned a number of others for noncompliance with MOL regulations.

Unlike in previous years, there were no reports of any attempt to smuggle persons into the country. Eastern European and Syrian women continued to receive “artiste� visas and were vulnerable to trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.

The government did not directly provide foreign workers with relief from deportation; shelter; or legal, medical, or psychological services. Social workers continued to be allowed to accompany victims during interviews by immigration authorities. The SG also allowed social workers from Caritas Lebanon Migrants Center unrestricted access to its retention center for foreign persons. These social workers provided detainees with counseling, assistance, and legal protection. In addition, the SG implemented screening and referral procedures for trafficking cases and during the year referred potential victims to Caritas, whose social workers conducted screening procedures and provided basic needs assistance and counseling. The SG sometimes granted out-of-visa status for workers who were victims of abuse and permission to stay up to two months to assist in the investigation of their cases and the prosecution of their abusers.

The SG allows migrant workers who do not wish to be repatriated to their home country to legally change their sponsor with a “release paper� from the original employer. A court may order an abusive employer to provide such a release paper as part of a decision, or this may be part of a negotiated out-of-court settlement.

NGOs indicated that the government did not have a zero-tolerance policy for physical abuse of domestic workers. However, according to Caritas/International Catholic Migration Commission, in December 2006 a judge awarded an Ethiopian migrant worker financial compensation to be paid by her abusive employer, which marked the first time a domestic worker was awarded compensation for physical abuse. The employer, however, was not criminally prosecuted for physical assault.

Two types of booklets explaining regulations governing migrant workers, including descriptions of their rights and responsibilities, were available upon request, or distributed as needed.

Persons with Disabilities

Discrimination against persons with disabilities continued. For example, the Civil Service Board, which is in charge of recruiting government employees, continued to refuse receiving applications from disabled persons. The law mandates disabled access to buildings; however, the government failed to take steps to amend building codes to conform to this law. Approximately 100,000 persons were disabled during the 1975-90 civil war. Families generally cared for their own family members with disabilities. Most efforts to assist persons with disabilities were made by approximately 100 relatively active, although poorly-funded private organizations.

Many persons with mental disabilities were cared for in private institutions, many of which were subsidized by the government.

The law on persons with disabilities stipulates that at least 3 percent of all government and private sector positions should be filled by persons with disabilities, provided that such persons fulfill the qualifications for the position. However, there was no evidence that the law was enforced in practice.

During the year the Ministry of Finance did not enforce its 2002 decision that it would not settle obligations with firms and domestic companies unless they proved that 3 percent of their workforce was composed of persons with disabilities.

National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

There were reports that Syrian workers, usually employed in manual labor occupations, continued to suffer discrimination following the 2005 withdrawal of Syrian forces. Many Syrian laborers also reportedly left Lebanon out of fear of harassment. There had been no further data collected on this situation during the year, and the true extent of the problem was unknown.

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination

Discrimination against homosexuals persisted during the year. The law prohibits what is termed unnatural sexual intercourse, which is punishable by up to one year in prison. The law was sometimes applied to homosexuals. There are no discriminatory laws against persons with HIV/AIDS.

Section 6 Worker Rights

a. The Right of Association

The law provides that all workers, except government employees, may establish and join unions with government approval, and workers exercised this right in practice. The formation of any union must be approved by the MOL. The MOL controlled all trade union elections, including the date of the election, election procedure, and the ratification of the results. The law permitted the administrative dissolution of trade unions and forbade them to engage in political activity.

The General Confederation of Labor (GCL) estimated that there were approximately 900,000 workers in the active labor force. Approximately 5 to 7 percent of workers were members of some 450 to 500 labor unions and associations, half of which were believed to be inactive. Most unions belonged to federations.

There are currently 43 federations that are voting members of the GCL, 5 of which were considered illegal by the judiciary. Many others are reportedly unrepresentative and created by political interest groups to offset the votes of the 13 established labor confederations that represent workers. The GCL remained the only organization recognized by the government as an interlocutor that represented workers.

Antiunion discrimination by private employers was a common practice. While the government did not have a good mechanism for measuring such practices, it appeared prevalent in many sectors of the economy.

Palestinian refugees may organize their own unions; however, because of restrictions on their right to work, few Palestinians participated actively in trade unions.

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The right of workers to organize and to bargain collectively exists in law and practice, and the government supported this right. Most worker groups engaged in some form of collective bargaining with their employers. Stronger federations obtained significant gains for their members and on occasions assisted nonunion workers. No government mechanisms promoted voluntary labor-management negotiations, and workers had no protection against antiunion discrimination.

In the immediate aftermath of the July-August 2006 conflict, employers arbitrarily dismissed employees from a variety of sectors, including agriculture and tourism, without compensation. Some employees were rehired soon after but at lower wages. The GCL was not able to protect workers from such practices.

The law provides for the right to strike. On January 25, the GLC protested against the government’s taxation policy, and on May 1, together with the Communist Party, protested the deterioration of living conditions. On August 23, the Communist Party also organized protests across the country against the government’s economic and social policies.

There are no export processing zones.

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The law does not specifically prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, articles within the law prohibit behavior that constitutes forced or compulsory labor. Nevertheless, children, foreign domestic workers, and other foreign workers sometimes were forced to remain in situations amounting to coerced or bonded labor.

Recruitment agencies and employers were required to have signed employment contracts with the foreign worker. According to NGOs assisting migrant workers, however, these agreements were often undermined by second contracts signed in the source countries that stipulated lower salaries. Employers and agencies used these changes to pay the migrant a lower salary. Anecdotal evidence suggested that some employers did not pay their workers on a regular basis, and some withheld the salary until the end of the contract, which was usually two years. Government regulations prohibited employment agencies from withholding foreign workers’ passports for any reason. However, in practice employment agencies and household employers often withheld maids’ passports.

d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment

There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace, but the government sometimes did not effectively enforce these laws. The minimum age for child employment is 14 years. Under the law juveniles are defined as children between 14 and 18 years of age. The law prohibits the employment of juveniles before they undergo a medical exam to ensure their fitness for the job for which they are hired. The labor code prohibits employment of juveniles under the age of 18 for more than six hours per day, and requires one hour of rest if work is more than four hours. The law entitles them to 21 days of paid annual leave.

Juveniles under the age of 17 are prohibited from working in jobs that jeopardize their health, safety, or morals, as well as working between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. The law also prohibits the employment of juveniles under 16 in industrial jobs or jobs that are physically demanding or harmful to their health. The MOL is currently working on drafting an amendment to the labor code on what is considered hazardous child labor.

The MOL was responsible for enforcing these requirements. Although not very effective, MOL enforcement of the law has witnessed slight improvements in recent years. Juveniles were interrogated in the presence of a social worker at the Center for Juvenile Victims of Physical Abuse, which was equipped according to international norms.

According to 2005 UNICEF statistics, 7 percent of children aged 5 to 14 were involved in child labor. The International Labor Organization estimated around 100,000 child workers during the year. Out of these, 25,000 are thought to be in the tobacco industry. Child workers are predominantly concentrated in the informal sector of the economy, where MOL inspectors have difficult access. These include mechanical workshops, carpentry, construction, welding, agriculture, and fisheries.

A 2004 MOL study on working street children showed that the average street child was a boy (only nine percent were girls), foreign (only 15 percent were citizens, the others were most often Palestinian and Syrian), approximately 12 years of age, and poorly educated or illiterate. Street children were concentrated in large urban centers, where approximately 47 percent of them were forced to work long hours on the streets by adults. The most common types of work were selling goods, including lottery tickets; shoe polishing; and washing car windshields. The children earned between $2 and $15 (3,000 to 25,000 pounds) per day. Only 19 percent of the children interviewed reported that they kept their income.

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

The legal minimum wage has been $200 (300,000 pounds) per month since 1997. Rarely is it found that employees are paid less than the minimum wage. However, the minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family.

The law prescribes a standard 48-hour workweek with a 24-hour rest period per week. In practice workers in the industrial sector worked