LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِApril
09/2010
Bible Of the
Day
Exodus 20:12: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days
may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving
you."
Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
US blinkered by a simplistic
view of Middle East peace/By: Michael Young/April
08/10
Will White House Tone Down Terror Terminology?FOXNews/April
08/10
The
son also rises, for Arab misfortune/By
Michael Young/April 08/10
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 08/10
Hariri meets with Zapatero, pushes
for Mideast peace talks/Now
Lebanon
Conflicting reports on Kfar Zabad
fighting/Now
Lebanon
STL Dismisses Recent
Allegations against its Spokesperson, Other Tribunal's Officials/Naharnet
Report: 1559 to be
Discussed before Lebanon's Security Council Presidency/Naharnet
Hizbullah Cordons Off Dahiyeh
after 1 Killed, Several Wounded/Naharnet
Steinitz: Syria no less fanatical than Iran, N.
Korea/Ynetnews
Wahhab: Syria knows STL is
politicized/Now Lebanon
Hariri Won't Visit Syria Next Week/Naharnet
Hariri to Lebanese: Get
Ready to Head to Polling Stations/Naharnet
Aridi Confirms Damascus
Visit/Naharnet
Bassil, Harb Differ in
Views Over Water Agreement with Syria/Naharnet
German MP Meets Hizbullah,
Inquires about Local, Regional Situation/Naharnet
Jumblat-Hariri Relations
Turn Cold/Naharnet
Phalange Kicks off
Electoral Campaign/Naharnet
Bassil Blames Allies for Failing to be in Reform Solidarity with FPM
Hariri: Stronger Ties with
Syria Mean Firmer Position toward Israel/Naharnet
Military Prosecutor Presses Charges against Joseph, Habib Tawq over Oyoun
Orghosh Incident/Naharnet
March 14: No Role for
Armed Resistance until after State Announces Defense Incapacity/Naharnet
Arab youth who held Hezbollah poster during
rally to stay in custody/Ynetnews
Israel army chief
spied on at gym/ABC
Online
Lebanese president says will join Hezbollah to
defend against Israeli attack/Ynetnews
Lebanese president: Citizens united behind
Hezbollah/Ynetnews
German lawmaker in Beirut, will meet Hezbollah official/Earthtimes
(press release)
One man was killed in
Hezbollah stronghold/Ya
Libnan
Maronite bishops hail 'improving
situation' in Lebanon /Daily Star
Commissioner files lawsuit against suspects in Oyoun Orghosh incident
/Daily Star
US agreement 'will not harm Hizbullah' /Daily Star
Lebanese spying for Mossad get life, hard labor /Daily Star
Lebanon's Cabinet reviews bilateral pacts with Syria
Hariri: Municipal elections will be
held on time/AFP
One man killed in south Beirut
shootout/Daily
Star
STL dismisses leaks by tribunal
officials as false/Daily
Star
Conflicting reports on Kfar Zabad fighting
April 8, 2010/Now Lebanon
Clashes broke out on Thursday in the Bekaa town of Kfar Zabad between members of
the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), and
later expanded to the party’s Qosaya military bases. Members allegedly used arms
and heavy artillery in the fighting, however, reports remain conflicting as to
the exact number of those injured and dead. Several reports said that the
clashes led to the injury of one Palestinian, whose name remained undisclosed.
However, OTV reported one dead and two injured. Al-Arabiya television touched on
the cause of the fighting, saying that it is a direct result of dismissing a
PFLP-GC military official. However, the TV station did not name him. The
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) reportedly deployed in the area to restore calm.
Surprisingly, the representative of the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) in Lebanon, Anwar Raja, denied on Thursday
that his party members clashed, insisting that all reports on the incident are
simply inaccurate.-NOW Lebanon
US blinkered by a simplistic
view of Middle East peace
Michael Young/National
April 07. 2010
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100408/OPINION/704079952/1080
An interesting logic is taking hold in Washington, but where it will lead no one
knows. The idea is that in order for the United States to contain Iran in the
Middle East, it must impose a Palestinian-Israeli peace settlement, in that way
denying Tehran the ability to mobilise regional animosities against Washington’s
interests.
In a Washington Post column on Wednesday, David Ignatius quoted an American
official in support of this rationale. “The American peace plan [to propose the
outlines of a final settlement] would be linked with the issue of confronting
Iran, which is Israel’s top priority,” the official said. “We want to get the
debate away from settlements and East Jerusalem and take it to a 30,000-feet
level that can involve Jordan, Syria and other countries in the region.”
There is some merit to the argument. To limit Iranian influence throughout the
region, the Obama administration will need to multitask, gradually taking away
from Tehran the many cards it has accumulated and played effectively in recent
years.
One of these has been the “resistance” card – the notion that because Israel
does not want peace, the best option for Arabs in general and Palestinians in
particular is to pursue armed struggle. This has undergirded Iran’s military
support for Hamas and Hizbollah, who have enjoyed some popularity in the Arab
world, despite the fact that in Gaza and southern Lebanon their actions in
recent years have been disastrous. But that matters little to Iran’s regime,
since both organisations have given Iran the means to thwart Arab-Israeli talks.
But if containing Iran requires adopting a multifaceted approach in the Middle
East, then a similar approach is required in other places where the
Iranian-American rivalry is playing out. In Iraq, for instance, the Obama
administration has taken great pride in saying that it did not interfere in the
recent parliamentary elections. That is honourable, but with just under 90,000
troops in the country, and Iran not hesitating to shape electoral and
post-electoral outcomes, such apathy also happens to be inane. The elections
created an opening for the US to begin rolling back Iranian influence in Iraq by
working toward a Sunni-Shiite consensus in a new government. Instead,
Washington’s lethargy merely allowed Tehran to regroup.
It would also be a mistake to expect too much from a Palestinian-Israeli accord.
The skies of the Middle East will not suddenly open up to a new morning of
harmony. Washington continues to have a naive impression that its interests in
the broader region are somehow tied in to America being popular. By resolving
the running sore of the Palestinian problem, the reasoning goes, the US would be
less hated by the peoples of the region, who would therefore be more reluctant
to reflexively oppose American actions as they are now doing.
Yet the problem is more prosaic. The US is disliked, and will continue to be
disliked even after a Palestinian-Israeli settlement, because it is powerful.
The US president, Barack Obama, entered office with the quaint notion that
America’s problems stemmed from George W Bush’s tendency to employ force.
Actually, Mr Bush’s problem was that he stumbled in Iraq. If no one likes
powerful nations, what people despise most is a nation that fails to use its
power effectively. Worst than being hated is not being feared.
Nowhere will that lesson be more important than in dealing with one of the
likely by-products of an American push to secure Palestinian-Israeli peace. As
the official cited by David Ignatius implies, negotiations on the Palestinian
track must bring in other regional actors, including Syria, which is still at
war with Israel. But the Syrian track is the Godot of Arab-Israeli peacemaking –
the person everyone is waiting for, without any certainty that he will ever
appear.
Much is expected of a revived Syrian track – that it will break Syria away from
Iran, that it will be the icing on the regional peace cake, that it will lead
Damascus to abandon Hizbollah and Hamas, and more. Yet the regime of the Syrian
president Bashar Assad has quite clearly, and quite honestly, declared that it
has no intention of accepting these conditions.
Syria sees no advantages in relinquishing relationships that have greatly
increased its leverage. Ultimately, peace with Israel is less useful than
open-ended negotiations that allow Mr Assad to cash in on this leverage, but
also neutralise outside efforts to curb Syria’s efforts to enhance its clout in
Lebanon and Iraq.
That is where American power comes in. Mr Assad is confident that the Obama
administration can do nothing against him today. He sees the US ensnared in
Afghanistan and on its way out of Iraq; he feels there will be no breakthrough
on the Palestinian front; Syria’s leading regional counterparts, Egypt and Saudi
Arabia, are weak and their leaders getting on in years. The Syrian president’s
buoyancy is not good news for the US.
The Bush administration used to say that it sought behaviour change, not regime
change, in Damascus. Yet the behaviour change is happening in Washington, where
the administration has embraced warmer ties with Syria, even though Mr Assad has
methodically undermined American interests in Iraq, Lebanon, and the Palestinian
areas for years, and continues to do so with abandon.
A settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is vital, now more than ever,
and tying it to containment of Iran is defensible. However, a settlement is not,
and should not become, the whole story. Stability in the Middle East
necessitates a clearer American understanding of those regional dynamics little
affected by Palestine. It also dictates a more hard-nosed reading of American
power to fill the destabilising vacuums the Obama administration has created all
around.
*Michael Young is opinion editor of the Daily Star newspaper in Beirut
US agreement 'will not harm Hizbullah'
Sleiman:any deal signed by cabinet with foreign states can be reviewed for flaws
By Elias Sakr /Daily Star staff
Thursday, April 08, 2010
BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman stressed Wednesday that Lebanon would not allow
the US-Lebanese security agreement to harm Hizbullah. Sleiman’s firm stance in
defense of the resistance followed harsh criticism by Hizbullah officials and
the party’s secretary general of a US donation program to train Internal
Security Forces members and equip them.
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said earlier last week that the
agreement granted the US access to Lebanese security institutions’ databases,
thus exposing national security information to foreign parties that might
transfer it to Israel. Hizbullah officials also slammed another article of the
US program which holds the Lebanese state responsible for denying training to
members of parties listed by the US as terrorist organizations. The US lists
Al-Qaeda, Hizbullah and Hamas as terrorist groups.
Sleiman’s remarks to be published by the daily Qatari Al-Watan Thursday
anticipated a report by the media and telecommunication parliamentary committee
which was tasked with evaluating the agreement before submitting its report to
the Cabinet.
The committee, which concluded its report Wednesday, submitted its
recommendations to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri “in order to take the
appropriate measures.”
The head of the committee, Hizbullah’s Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Hassan
Fadlallah, told reporters following the committee’s meeting that its members
were divided as certain members considered the security agreement as
unconstitutional and thus void.
However, others argued that the donation program included controversial articles
relating to terrorism and human rights issues that needed to be amended by the
Cabinet.
“The committee decided in conclusion to adopt another point of view demanding to
submit the recommendations to Speaker Berri who will decide upon the issue,”
Fadlallah added.
Fadlallah said the committee tackled the US Embassy request for a map of the
cellular network broadcasting stations which Telecommunication Minister Charbel
Nahhas said disclosed sensitive information. “The US request included a program
related to private personal information whose implementation Congress has not
even approved in the US,” Fadlallah said, adding that “the information could be
used to conduct aggressive acts against cell-phone users.”
The committee’s members also argued whether the US-Lebanese agreement required
the presidency’s approval since the Constitution states that the president
should negotiate international accords. However, others stressed that the
agreement was a donation program rather than an international agreement.
“The agreement was evaluated in accordance with constitutional and legal
regulations by the committee and when the executive authority gets and examines
the report, we will take the appropriate decision,” the president said.
Sleiman added that he would not anticipate the report of the media and
telecommunication committee but stressed that any agreement signed by the
Lebanese Cabinet with foreign countries could be reviewed for flaws. “The
Lebanese are united behind their army and participate along with the resistance
in defending their land against any aggression; thus they will not allow any
harm or trap to hurt the resistance,” Sleiman said. He added that Israel could
launch an aggression against Lebanon “any time” but that the Israelis were aware
that any offensive against the Lebanese “was no longer a picnic but rather a
foolish act. On Wednesday, Sleiman discussed with Progressive Socialist Party
leader MP Walid Jumblatt local developments.
Sleiman also met with visiting head of the Belgian Senate Armand De Decker. He
thanked the European official for the role played by the Belgian contingent
working as part of UNIFIL.
Belgium “will seek through the European Union to sign agreements to assist
Lebanon,” said De Decker, who also held talks with Speaker Nabih Berri and
Premier Saad Hariri.
Commissioner files lawsuit against suspects in Oyoun Orghosh incident
By Carol Rizk /Daily Star staff
Thursday, April 08, 2010
BEIRUT: Government Commissioner to the Military Tribunal Judge Saqr Saqr filed a
lawsuit on Wednesday against Joseph Tawq and Habib Tawq, suspected of firing
gunshots in the air in Oyoun Orghosh in the Bekaa last weekend. The suspects
allegedly used illegal arms and RPGs against a number of citizens, wounding one
person, and are suspected of possessing illegal weapons, hand grenades, old war
ammunitions and drugs. Over the weekend gunshots were fired into the air and
rocket propelled grenades were launched in Oyoun Orghosh which led army commando
forces to raid several houses in the region and arrest four suspects. The army
also found illegal arms and 1 ton of hashish. However, two of the arrested
suspects were freed and no official Lebanese Army statement was issued,
according to an article published in the An-Nahar newspaper Wednesday. The
article also quoted several mukhtars from the region who confirmed that the
confiscated hashish consisted only of stems and was used as a fertilizer not as
a drug. The local officials went on to explain that the weapons found included
an RPG rocket, three bombs, a 12.7 caliber machine gun and a revolver while the
arrested suspects were guards paid by restaurant owners to guard the region in
the winter.
As for the people who were targeted by the gunshots, the mukhtars ruled out the
possibility that they were simply out for a walk because roads were blocked by
snow. “Three Jeeps entered the region and their drivers escaped when the guards
appeared, which led the latter to fire gunshots to intimidate the outsiders,”
said the article.
The controversial security incident took a political turn when media reports,
allegedly launched by March 8 factions, linked the Lebanese Forces (LF) to the
shootings. Defense Minister Elias Murr called for not linking the case away to
politics as it was related to narcotics.
Nonetheless, the An-Nahar article mentioned that probes in the case did not
refer to the confiscated drugs but stressed the arms possession instead.
LF head Samir Geagea condemned the media allegations against his party, saying
they were campaigns “from behind the borders.” He was referring to comments made
by MP Hassan al-Miqdad in the Syrian newspaper Al-Watan. Geagea also rejected
all accusations that the LF was jeopardizing civil peace. “Why didn’t they
mention civil peace in other occasions such as May 7 when 80 Lebanese were
killed,” he said, noting that no injuries were recorded in the Oyoun Orghosh
incident.
“Every Lebanese house owns a weapon and that is not a secret. During the past
two years at least three battles were fought using heavy weaponry but they were
not exaggerated as was the Oyoun Orghosh incident,” he added. Geagea added that
his party had been asking the Lebanese Army to erect military bases in the
region because robberies were frequent in the area, especially during the winter
when locals abandoned their homes.
“We condemn these actions and we reject any violation of the law. But
politicians should not use this incident to point fingers when they themselves
are not innocent,” he added.
Lebanon: We love Hizballah
Thursday, April 08, 2010 Israel News
Israel Today Staff /Though the United Nations has officially demanded that
Lebanon disarm and dismantle Hizballah as a fighting force, Beirut continues to
insist it will do no such thing and that the terrorist militia enjoys broad
popular support. Speaking to reporters in Qatar, Lebanese President Michel
Suleiman stressed that "all the Lebanese are united both behind the army and
behind the resistance [Hizballah], defending their land and their dignity
against aggression." Suleiman was adamant that "no one in Lebanon, especially in
the government, will harm the resistance's status." Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime
Minister Saad Hariri, widely regarded as a moderate in Western capitals, visited
Damascus on Wednesday to solidify his country's renewed ties with Syria. Hariri
called the newfound friendship between Lebanon and Syria, which illegally
occupied and controlled its neighbor for decades, a response to what he called
"Israeli aggression."
Lebanese spying for Mossad get life, hard labor
By The Daily Star
Thursday, April 08, 2010
BEIRUT: The Lebanese judiciary demanded on Wednesday a lifetime of hard labor
for three suspects who allegedly collaborated with the Israel intelligence and
provided it with information about Hizbullah officials. First Military
Investigative Magistrate Riyad Abu Ghayda demanded the sentence for suspect
Mussa Mussa and for two runaway suspects Ali Soueid and Ahmad Abdullah. He
transferred them to the Permanent Military Tribunal to be tried for entering
Israel without the approval of the Lebanese government and for working with the
Mossad.
After examining Mussa’s telephone calls and questioning him, the judiciary
revealed that the suspect had first entered Israeli territories in 1977 and
underwent military training with the Israeli Army for 25 days. He then returned
to his hometown of Khiyam in south Lebanon before Suweid and Abdullah offered
him to work with Mossad in 1998.
The three men met with an Israeli officer and agreed to a sum of money in
exchange for their services. The first mission assigned to Mussa was to deliver
a brown envelope to a person in Hamra Street in Beirut. Later assignments
included providing information about Hizbullah locations in Khiyam and about
Hizbullah leaders, their vehicles, their meetings and their movements.
Mussa confessed during questioning that he received an Israeli telephone number
to communicate with the Mossad and that he was paid for his efforts through what
he called “The Fast Dead Mail Service.” He explained that an Israeli officer
would place a mark near a rock or a tree, which indicated that he should dig in
that location to find the money.
Mussa went on to say that he was paid a total of $30,000 for the information he
gave, which he gathered from south Lebanon villages disguised as a cattle
merchant. – The Daily Star
Lebanon's Cabinet reviews bilateral pacts with Syria
By Nafez Kawas
Daily Star correspondent
Thursday, April 08, 2010
BEIRUT: The Cabinet tackled Wednesday the Lebanese-Syrian bilateral agreements
ahead of Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s expected visit to Damascus next week when
the premier would be accompanied by a ministerial delegation that would
re-evaluate the accords with its Syrian counterparts.
However, the government which convened at Baabda Palace failed to conclude
discussions over a procedure to fill the vacant state administrative positions
as ministers only agreed to appoint full timers rather than contractors.
The proposal submitted to the government by a ministerial committee headed by
Hariri preserved, in accordance with the Constitution, the ministers’ right to
propose candidates and the government’s right to approve them based on requisite
qualifications.
The government is scheduled to convene again next Monday to continue its
evaluation of the procedure as Hariri is scheduled to leave to Spain on a
two-day official visit.
Prior to the Cabinet meeting, President Michel Sleiman held closed-door talks
with Hariri.
Following the Interior Ministry’s announcement of April 4, 2010, as a deadline
for submitting candidacies in the upcoming municipal polls for the Mount Lebanon
district to take place on May 2, Sleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated that
the electoral process would take place on time.
The president’s and the speaker’s stances also followed the announcement over
the past few days of the Amal Movement-Hizbullah and Progressive Socialist
Party-Lebanese Democratic Party alliances in the upcoming elections, enforcing
belief that the polls would take place on time and based on the current law.
Earlier Wednesday, Sleiman highlighted the importance of adopting reforms in the
upcoming municipal elections but stressed that it was more more important to
hold the electoral process within the legal deadline.
“If we can hold the elections coupled with reforms, this will be good; and if we
cannot, the reforms will not escape and will be implemented in the next
elections,” he said.
“Reforms are important but more importantly is to hold the elections which will
be the top reformist and democratic step that follows,” Sleiman added.
Last month, the Cabinet approved the amended electoral law after a long round of
discussions before transferring it to parliamentary committees for evaluation.
The reforms include proportional representation in all districts, a 20-percent
female quota and pre-printed ballots.
However, parliamentary committees have failed to conclude discussions over the
draft law, delaying its submission to Parliament for ratification, and leaving
no time for the implementation of reforms in the upcoming elections.
Similarly, Berri stressed Wednesday that the municipal elections would be held
on May 2 while dismissing the possibility of Parliament postponing the
elections. “If there is a wish to postpone the elections, and then let the
Cabinet assume responsibility for it and send a law proposal to Parliament,”
Berri added. According to the Constitution, Parliament could pass a law amending
the deadline of the elections either based on a law proposal submitted by the
Cabinet or by no less than 10 MPs.
The son also rises, for Arab misfortune
By Michael Young
Daily Star
Thursday, April 08, 2010
In his book “What’s Left,” the British author Nick Cohen quotes a onetime
Foreign Office official as saying, “All isms are wasms.” That amusing phrase is
an apt summation of Arab nationalism, as regimes throughout the Middle East
claiming some sort of fealty to nationalist ideology find themselves at
different levels of political breakdown.
The most flagrant sign of the decline of Arab nationalist regimes is their
transformation into hereditary republics. Recently, Hosni Mubarak returned from
an operation in Germany to face questions about his future. What ailed him
remains unknown, but it is no secret that the 81-year-old Egyptian president has
long sought to prepare the way for his son, Gamal, to succeed him. In this,
Mubarak is little different than the late Hafez Assad, whose son Bashar followed
him as president of Syria. Had Saddam Hussein remained in power in Iraq, he
would almost certainly have handed over to one of his psychopathic sons. Yemen’s
president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, hopes one day to see his son Ahmad in office. In
Libya, Moammar Gadhafi appears to have similar aspirations for one of his boys,
perhaps Seif al-Islam or the younger Moatassem. And in Tunisia, President Zein
al-Abedin bin Ali is rumored to want his son in law, Sakher al-Materi, to one
day lead the country.
Forgotten in these family plots is that, in several countries, nationalist
regimes once drew their legitimacy from overthrowing monarchical orders
perceived as corrupt or in the pocket of foreign powers. Inherent in the Arab
nationalism of the latter years of colonial rule and the first decades of
independence was a conviction that the ideology was a byword for reform.
Baathism in Syria and Iraq introduced purportedly egalitarian socialist
principles, as did Nasserism in Egypt. Habib Bourghuiba gave Tunisian women
rights while also introducing improvements in education and more.
Yet that did not prevent all Arab regimes from consolidating autocratic rule,
usually in the guise of family-led kleptocracies. Whereas specific nationalist
leaders may have enjoyed legitimacy upon taking office, all came later on to
rely substantially on violence to maintain order. This was the case in Syria,
Iraq, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia after Bin Ali, and the list goes on.
Arab nationalists, previously thought of as representing the vanguard of a new
Middle East, instead merely reproduced the methods of pre-Independence regimes,
usually in far more brutal ways. At its heart, Arab nationalism is about unity,
the establishment of a broader Arab nation reflecting the professed oneness of
the Arab people. National borders were always regarded as the unnatural legacy
of Western colonialism. However, what has emerged from that ideological conceit
is a region more divided than virtually all others in the world. In the same way
that Arab republics became the near-private domains of families, minorities, or
ruling classes sharing the narrow goals of self-preservation and profit, did
their interests (in reality those of its leaders) collide with those of other
states.
In other words, Arab regimes have spent decades generating and relying upon
antagonism to preserve their authority, because only antagonism allowed them to
impose the massive security apparatuses propping up such authority. This always
went beyond fighting Israel, which all major Arab countries have studiously
avoided doing since 1973. Arab regimes deploy violence most frequently against
their own populations and neighboring countries. In this context, the political
unity of the Arab nation is not just a mirage, it is also a cruel joke.
Not surprisingly, many ostensibly secular national regimes have compensated for
their waning legitimacy by falling back on Islam and religious symbolism. After
his regime crushed the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1980s, Hafez Assad began
a massive program of building mosques and religious schools. The aim was to
better control believers, certainly, but also to burnish Assad’s Muslim
credentials. After his ouster from Kuwait in 1991, Saddam Hussein placed the
words “God is Great” on the Iraqi flag. The Egyptian state has supported
legislation favoring Islam as the flip side of a policy to marginalize the
opposition Muslim Brotherhood.
The notion that secular Arab nationalists are necessarily hostile to Islam is
simply untrue. There has always been a complex interplay between Arab
nationalists and Islamists, particularly when both opposed colonialism. Even
today their objectives may overlap, for example when Syria decides to support
Hamas against the Palestinian Authority, or allows Al-Qaeda militants to pass
through its territory to destabilize Iraq. For that matter, consider the sheer
poverty of Iraqi Baathists, who have spent years collaborating with Al-Qaeda
against the emergence of a secure Shiite-dominated system in Baghdad.
Arab nationalism has turned into what it was supposed to displace. The ensuing
democratic degradation in Arab countries has been to the advantage of the Middle
East’s periphery, where relatively democratic systems, or at least pluralistic
ones, prevail. Israel may treat Palestinians abominably, but its leaders are
disposable, therefore legitimate domestically. Turkey, although the religious
proclivities of its government have hit up against state secularism, is
nonetheless representative, making a military coup less likely today.
To describe Iran as a democracy would be naïve. However, until the fraudulent
presidential election last year, the country’s elections were more than
rubber-stamp processes. The system preserved, and in many respects still does,
the pluralistic structures needed to absorb its complex hierarchies of
authority. Who knows where Iran is heading, but few believe that a dictatorship
of the Revolutionary Guards will do anything but weaken the Islamic Republic
down the road.
Arab nationalism’s obituary has been written many times, and no one can deny
that what we have here is a corpse. However, the ideology retains its vivacity,
as would any nostalgic yearning for an Arab world never attained. Self-delusion
has mitigated the hisses of intimidation.
*Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR.
Report: 1559 to be Discussed before Lebanon's Security Council Presidency
Naharnet/The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to discuss Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon's report on the implementation of resolution 1559 by the end of April to
avoid debating it under the Lebanese presidency of the council next month. Al-Mustaqbal
daily said Thursday that the Council prefers that an issue is not discussed
under the presidency of a country that is linked to the topic under discussion.
There is also a preference that the president of the Council becomes neutral
during the discussion of an issue linked to countries. Beirut, 08 Apr 10, 09:28
German MP Meets Hizbullah, Inquires about Local, Regional Situation
Naharnet/German MP and spokeswoman for the Free Democratic Party in security
issues, Elke Hoff, has expressed optimism at talks between Iran and the West
during a meeting with Hizbullah lawmaker Ali Fayyad. Hoff visited Fayyad at his
office in parliament at the head of a German embassy delegation on Wednesday.
Informed diplomatic sources told As Safir newspaper in remarks published
Thursday that the German lawmaker inquired Fayyad about Hizbullah's point of
view on the local and regional situation and the effects of events in the region
on each other. The Lebanese MP, in his turn, stressed to Hoff that Lebanon was
respecting U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 amid daily violations of
Lebanese airspace and continued threats by Israel. Hoff also met with Premier
Saad Hariri at the Grand Serail and discussed with him the situation in Lebanon,
bilateral ties and UNIFIL. Beirut, 08 Apr 10, 11:23
Jumblat-Hariri Relations Turn Cold
Naharnet/Relations between Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Druze leader Walid
Jumblat have turned distance, the daily al-Akhbar reported Thursday.
It said Jumblat has not met Hariri since the PSP leader's visit to Damascus
March 31. Beirut, 08 Apr 10, 10:37
Hizbullah Cordons Off Dahiyeh after 1 Killed, Several Wounded
Naharnet/Family disputes moved from Beirut's southern suburbs to east Lebanon's
Bekaa Valley, leaving at least one person killed and several others wounded.
There were conflicting reports as to the shooting that took place Wednesday
afternoon in Beirut's southern suburbs and left one person killed and several
others wounded.
A security source told Asharq al-Awsat on Thursday that the security mishap
occurred at 3:30pm in Sfeir when gunmen stepped out of two civilian cars and
opened fire on a GMC jeep, triggering panic among residents. Aid workers were
seen removing a corpse and several casualties as Hizubllah members cordoned off
the area, preventing people from approaching the scene where the shootout took
place. While unofficial reports said the incident is likely
politically-motivated, sources close to Hizbullah stressed that the mishap was
retaliatory crime between Miqdad and Jaafar families. In Hermel in east Lebanon,
an argument before midday Thursday between Gherbawi and Allaou clans developed
into a shootout in which machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades were used.
Mufida Hajj Hussein was reportedly wounded in the cross-fire. Beirut, 08 Apr 10,
08:39
Hariri Won't Visit Syria Next Week
Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri will not visit Syria next week as planned.
Reasons behind the postponement of the mid-April trip, however, remained
unclear.
Press reports on Thursday agreed that Hariri's visit, scheduled for April 13-14,
was put off for some time. But they did not agree on the reason for the delay.
While some reports cited "technical reasons" for the delay, others pointed to a
"crisis of confidence" between Hariri and Syria. Al-Liwa newspaper quoted
informed sources as saying the delay is likely due to what they described as a
"date conflict" between Hariri and Syrian President Bashar Assad, particularly
since Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji al-Otari will be in Algiers on April
13. The sources said that Hariri's Damascus visit would become clearer after his
return from a visit to Rome on April 19-20.Hariri flew to Spain late Wednesday
on a two-day official visit. The daily al-Akbar, however, believed there was a
"crisis of confidence" between the two sides, pointing out that Hariri has
failed to meet commitments he made to Syria. It said the "main source of
tension" between Hariri and Syria came from the premier's ties with Lebanese
Forces leader Samir Geagea. Al-Akhbar quoted Lebanese sources as saying Syria
was "disturbed" by Geagea's statement claiming that he "visits Syria through
Hariri." "Who told you that we welcome Geagea through you, or receive you if
Geagea was under your wing?" the sources asked.
Al-Akhbar said Saudi King's son, Prince Abdul Aziz, will visit Damascus soon to
discuss the relationship between Hariri and Syria. Beirut, 08 Apr 10, 08:01
Hariri to Lebanese: Get Ready to Head to Polling Stations
Naharnet/Premier Saad Hariri has stressed that the municipal elections would be
held on time and urged the Lebanese to "head to polling stations."
"Be ready to cast your ballots as everyone should be sure from this moment on
that the elections will be held on time," Hariri said during a ceremony to
launch "Beit Beirut" project at the Grand Serail on Wednesday. The project,
which was launched by Beirut municipality in cooperation with its French
counterpart, is a museum located inside a historical building in the Beirut
neighborhood of Sodeco to commemorate the 1975-1990 Civil War. Hariri said the
elections will be held starting May 2 based on the current law "because it is
clear that reforms won't be adopted at the appropriate time.""I do not support
one Lebanese faction over another but I am not neutral when it comes to
Lebanon's right to determine its fate, freedom, sovereignty and friendship with
its neighbors," Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe said after Hariri's speech. The
prime minister later threw a dinner banquet in Delanoe's honor. Beirut, 08 Apr
10, 08:04
Aridi Confirms Damascus Visit
Naharnet/Druze leader Walid Jumblat dispatched Transportation Minister Ghazi
Aridi to Damascus for meetings with senior Syrian army officers. Aridi, in a
phone call with Naharnet, confirmed that he held separate meetings on Wednesday
with Maj. Gen. Mohammed Nassif and Maj. Gen. Hikmat al-Shahabi. "The meetings
were excellent," Aridi told Naharnet.
Beirut, 08 Apr 10, 10:02
Phalange Kicks off Electoral Campaign
Naharnet/MP Sami Gemayel unveiled that the Phalange party has kicked off its
election campaign and said "preparations for the (municipal) polls were in full
swing."
Gemayel told An Nahar daily in remarks published Thursday that "next week
contacts will start with all allies from the Lebanese Forces, the National
Liberal Party, all the way to officials like MP Michel Murr, Minister Boutros
Harb and others."The lawmaker said that villages and towns will be given some
independence in working for the interest of their regions.
"Priority will be to develop the regions and not stir trouble or have political
standpoints," he added. Beirut, 08 Apr 10, 10:23
Hariri: Stronger Ties with Syria Mean Firmer Position toward Israel
Naharnet/The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is "much more
explosive" than the Iranian nuclear crisis, Prime Minister Saad Hariri said in
an interview published Wednesday.
The Middle East conflict "is much more explosive, brimming over with 'uranium
and extremism', than any other regional issue," he told the Spanish newspaper El
Mundo, without elaborating.
Hariri, who is expected for a two-day visit in Madrid on Thursday, said Lebanon
was in favor of a "Middle East without nuclear weapons" which he said "includes
Israel" and not only Iran.
As Hariri prepares to make his second visit to Syria since taking office in
November, he also said closer ties with Damascus were key to counter an "Israeli
threat".
"Stronger ties with Syria mean there is a firmer position toward Israel," Hariri
said. He also accused the media of under-reporting Israeli "atrocities" toward
the Palestinians.
While pedophile priests in the Roman Catholic Church were given "extensive media
coverage" amid "attacks against the Vatican", "atrocities committed by Israel
against Palestinians" go practically unreported, said Hariri. For Israel "war is
always an option," he added.(AFP) Beirut, 07 Apr 10, 18:18