LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِApril
06/2010
Bible Of the
Day
The
fifth of the Ten Commandments is “Honor Your Parents, i.e., honor your father
and mother.” in the merit of doing that, you will have a long life. As a matter
of fact, when the Ten Commandments are repeated a second time, in the final book
(Deuteronomy), it even adds another element there: that you will not just have a
long life, but you will also live in peace, and have a good life.
Proverbs 23:22/Listen to
your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 05/10
5 Years
After Syrian Withdrawal, Lebanese Rush to Mend Ties with Damascus/Naharnet
Jumblat: Damascus Visit
Stressed Importance of Fundamental Principles/Naharnet
Assad, Arslan Discuss Efforts
Exerted to Consolidate Syrian-Lebanese Ties/Naharnet
LF Denies Link to Ouyoun
Orghosh Incident, Says Accusations Coming from 'Behind the/Naharnet
5 Years After Syrian Withdrawal, Lebanese Rush to Mend Ties with Damascus
/Naharnet/Five years after Syrian troops withdrew from their country, Lebanese
leaders who were once Damascus's staunchest critics are scrambling to heal rifts
as Syria breaks out of isolation, analysts say. With nations like the United
States and France warming up to Damascus, the Lebanese leaders are rekindling
ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom they initially blamed for the
2005 murder of ex-premier Rafik Hariri. "The Lebanese went too far in their
hostility toward Damascus and have realized the international community has
since let them down," said Fadia Kiwan, head of political science at Beirut's
Saint Joseph University.
"The Lebanese are confused," Kiwan told AFP. "Countries like the United States,
which mobilized them against Syria in the days of former president George W.
Bush, changed course after the election of President Barack Obama." Prime
Minister Saad Hariri, son of the slain ex-premier, is readying for his second
visit to Syria since taking office in November. He had initially accused Assad
of ordering the February 14, 2005 Beirut bombing that killed his father.
Once Lebanon's main powerbroker, Syria has consistently denied involvement in
the murder but pulled its troops out of Lebanon in April 2005, ending 29 years
of military and political dominance over its smaller neighbor. French President
Nicolas Sarkozy made a breakthrough with his 2008 visit to Damascus, the first
such diplomatic trip by a Western head of state since Hariri's assassination.
U.S. officials have also increased their stops in Syria, and Washington recently
announced it is planning to send its first ambassador to Damascus since 2005.
Influential Druze chief Walid Jumblat, formerly one of Lebanon's most outspoken
critics of Syria, last week visited Assad in Damascus for the first time in
years, saying the past was "over."
Jumblat had previously accused Syria of the Hariri murder, branding Assad "the
dictator of Damascus... a savage... an Israeli product, a liar... and a
criminal."
He had also blamed Syria for the 1977 assassination of his father Kamal Jumblat,
but last month said his attack on Assad was "unworthy and unusual, unsuited to
the ethics of politics even during a quarrel." Jumblat began to show signs of an
about-face after last June's general election, when he defected from a
Western-backed parliamentary majority led by Hariri to reconcile with the rival
Hezbollah camp backed by Syria and Iran.
Tensions between the two camps led to week-long battles in May 2008 that left
more than 100 dead and brought the country to the brink of civil war.
But as regional and international politics shift, leaders like Hariri and
Jumblatt have been forced to soften their stance against their more powerful
neighbour.
Observers say Hariri is caught in a delicate balancing act and sources close to
the premier have said his main backer, Saudi Arabia, has urged him to "bury the
hatchet" with Syria.
"Hariri for one has unequivocally distanced himself from his allies in the
(anti-Syrian) parliamentary majority through his truce with the Syrians," Kiwan
said.
But many in the Hariri-led camp fear the premier's rapprochement with Damascus
is a sign Syria has regained its influence over Lebanon.
"Today, Damascus has made it clear that it defeated Washington in the battle for
Lebanon," said Ghassan al-Azzi, a Lebanese University political science
professor.
"Syria still sees Lebanon as its back yard and that view is now reinforced by
the fact that Western governments are requesting Damascus help maintain
stability in Lebanon" and neighboring countries like Iraq, Azzi told AFP.
Analyst Emile Khoury voiced similar sentiments in a commentary published in the
French-language daily L'Orient-Le Jour. "Syria is back on track" in its
involvement in Lebanese politics, Khoury wrote. "The days when Syria used the
stick in Lebanon are over as neither its army nor its intelligence services are
present in Lebanon," he added. "This time around, Damascus is using the carrot.
"It is no longer a question of giving the orders in Lebanon, but rather how
Syria participates in the Lebanese government: by proxy (through its ally
Hezbollah) or by negotiation" with Hariri or Jumblat, he wrote.(AFP) Beirut, 05
Apr 10, 15:12
Assad, Arslan Discuss Efforts Exerted to Consolidate Syrian-Lebanese Ties
Naharnet/yrian President Bashar Assad discussed with head of the Lebanese
Democratic Party Talal Arslan "efforts exerted to consolidate Syrian-Lebanese
relations," Syria's state-run news agency, SANA, reported Monday.
Arslan thanked Assad for "his keenness on establishing the best of ties
with Lebanon and his openness to all forces that back the resistance and are on
keen on the future of Syrian-Lebanese ties," SANA said.
In his turn, the Syrian president lauded the MP for his role in
"strengthening consensus among Lebanese and his steadfast national stances in
the past years," the news agency said. It also quoted
Assad as telling Arslan that his role along with the efforts of "other national
forces in Lebanon have restored stability" in the country.
The MP traveled to Damascus on Monday morning. Beirut, 05 Apr 10, 14:37
Assad Meets Sayyed
Naharnet/Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday met former head of Lebanon's
General Security Department Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed.The state-run National News
Agency said noon meeting at al-Shaab presidential palace in Damascus lasted for
two hours. NNA said the two men discussed the
political situation. Earlier Monday, Assad discussed with head of the Lebanese
Democratic Party Talal Arslan "efforts exerted to consolidate Syrian-Lebanese
relations," according to the Syrian National News Agency SANA. Beirut, 05 Apr
10, 17:34
LF Denies Link to Ouyoun Orghosh Incident, Says Accusations Coming from 'Behind
the Border'
Naharnet/The Lebanese Forces on Monday denied it had any link with the attack in
Ouyoun Orghosh, vowing legal action against March 8 media outlets for allegedly
reporting false information. "The accusations
broadcasted by March 8 media are a forestallment of the Lebanese judiciary's
work, particularly that two of the suspects are still held at the (army)
intelligence directorate," the LF said in a statement.
March 8 media outlets said Sunday that LF gunmen had opened fire on the family
in Ouyoun Orghosh and then clashed with the army. Four people, who reportedly
admitted to being LF members, were arrested, according to the reports.
The LF statement accused the media organizations of taking orders from
"their masters behind the border" to alter facts and distort the image of the
party "which spearheads the independent and sovereign" movement in the country.
"The LF is making preparations to take judicial procedures against March
8 media that invented such lies," it added. Beirut, 05 Apr 10, 14:37
ISF Frees 3 Captive Guards in Roumieh
Naharnet/Internal Security Forces clamped down on a "protest" by inmates in
Roumieh prison at 2:30 am Monday after rescuing 3 guards who were taken captive,
ISF said in a communiqué. Interior Minister Ziad
Baroud and ISF chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi followed up the operation to release
the guards, the communiqué said.
No one was hurt and no material damage was reported in the operation. Beirut, 05
Apr 10, 10:00
Qaida Militant Slams Lebanon's Army and Sunnis, Says Opposition 'Liquidated'
Foes
Naharnet/One of Saudi Arabia's most wanted terrorists has slammed the Lebanese
army, Hizbullah and Sunni leaderships in Lebanon accusing them of defending
Israel's security and standing an obstacle to the infiltration of Qaida members
to northern Israel. Saleh al-Qaraawi, who is on the
list of 85 most wanted terrorists, said in an interview published by websites
close to Qaida, that his organization should have confronted "the traitors in
Lebanon, Hizbullah and UNIFIL." "All of those are
protecting southern Lebanon in favor of the security of the Jews," he said. The
wanted terrorist also criticized Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah who he
said had condemned rocket attacks on Israel and at the same time promised more
attacks on the Jewish state. Furthermore, al-Qaraawi
accused Lebanon's Shiites of controlling the Lebanese army intelligence which
"didn't defend Sunnis" during the May 7 clashes. Turning to the political and
security situation in Lebanon following ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination
in Feb. 2005, al-Qaraawi said the opposition "liquidated" officials from the
other team and accused Islamic groupings in Lebanon of carrying out the crimes.
He added that his organization is divided into several brigades,
including Ziad al-Jarrah brigade which claimed a rocket attach from southern
Lebanon on northern Israel more than 18 months ago. Beirut, 05 Apr 10, 09:19
Moussawi Says It'd Be 'Foolishness' for Some to Think They'd Be Able to Defeat
Hizbullah
Naharnet/Nawaf al-Moussawi, Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP and Hizbullah's former
International Relations Officer, on Sunday stressed that "it would be
foolishness for some in the world or in Lebanon to think that they would be able
to defeat the resistance through non-military means after they failed to defeat
it through military confrontation."
"After they had failed in the July 2006 confrontation, they resorted to other
means in attempting to target the resistance and penetrating security in Lebanon
is one of these attempts," Moussawi added. "The signed
treaty with the U.S. Embassy is one of the features of U.S. penetration of
Lebanese security, and that aims at penetrating the Lebanese security services
with U.S. security services that can interfere in Lebanese internal security
affairs anytime they want, according to the treaty.
"At times they (March 14 officials) approached it with sectarian incitement and
at other times they said that your (Hizbullah) ministers agreed on the security
treaty and that it is a grant and not a treaty, but no one of them was able to
stand and say that this article, which overflows with the humiliation of
Lebanon, can be defended. No one of them defended any of the articles that are
considered humiliating, but they rather resorted to another discussion."
Moussawi said Hizbullah is waiting for Prime Minister Saad Hariri to fulfill his
promise "by tackling the issue of the security treaty in a way that spares
Lebanon the harm caused by the content of some of the treaty's articles."
"We also positively evaluate the circulars issued lately by Internal Security
Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, which are better late than never. This means
that the battle we fought to contain the threats of the security treaty is
moving forward because this epoch is the epoch of liquidating U.S. hegemony in
Lebanon; and we will reach the moment during which the U.S. administration can
no longer decide anything in Lebanon."
Moussawi revealed that Hizbullah will reevaluate every treaty sealed between
Lebanon and the United States.
"The resistance considers that its priority is resistance and not anything else;
therefore, those who try to frighten the resistance with sectarian strife, in a
bid to contain its strength, are delusional because the resistance will not care
for anything when the matter is related to its strength." Beirut, 04 Apr 10,
20:36