LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِApril 25/2010

Bible Of the Day
Psalm 120/A Song of Ascents.
120:1 In my distress, I cried to Yahweh. He answered me. 120:2 Deliver my soul, Yahweh, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. 120:3 What will be given to you, and what will be done more to you, you deceitful tongue? 120:4 Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper. 120:5 Woe is me, that I live in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! 120:6 My soul has had her dwelling too long with him who hates peace. 120:7 I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Strong US leadership key to regional peace/Daily Star/April 24/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 24/10
Barak: Advanced Hizbullah Arms Destabilize Regional Balance of Power/Naharnet
U.S. Diplomat: Syria Providing 'Wider Array' of Missiles to Hizbullah/Naharnet
Feltman: We are Headed towards a Very Unstable Direction If Scud Reports are True/Naharnet
Abul Gheit: Scud Missile Reports a Big Meaningless Lie/Naharnet
Suleiman: Israel Getting ahead of Itself through its Threats/Naharnet
Murr Says Army Intelligence Hasn't Spotted Any Scuds/Naharnet
Even as Lebanon rebuilds, Civil War wounds remain deeply buried/Daily Star
Berri upbeat after talks with Sfeir on abolishing political sectarianism/Daily Star
Media 'needs money' to shun fake herbal-med ads/Daily Star
Qatari premier to discuss regional tensions during visit/Daily Star
Beirut lodges UN complaint over Israel memorial in Shebaa Farms/AFP
Sleiman reiterates commitment to electoral reforms/Daily Star
LF to avoid confrontation with Jumblatt over March 14 snipes
Major Beirut roads to close for Armenian genocide events/Daily Star
Lebanon clarifies Hariri remarks regarding Scud missiles/Daily Star
Bank Audi sees 31.6 percent rise in Q1 net profits/Daily Star
Capital Intelligence approves Byblos Bank's 'B' ratings/Daily Star
EDL to crack down on unpaid power bills/Daily Star

Abul Gheit: Scud Missile Reports a Big Meaningless Lie
Naharnet/Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Saturday dismissed reports that Hizbullah has been supplied with Scud missiles. He said after holding talks with Prime Minister Saad Hariri the reports over the Scud missiles "are a big meaningless lie." He added that whoever is knowledgeable about these missiles knows that they cannot be hidden and smuggled, and that they require extensive preparation to set them up. The Egyptian official continued that he could not find any other explanation for the United States' ongoing debate over the issue, narrowing it down to a provocation aimed at the sides involved. Abul Gheit explained that his visit is aimed at "expressing support to Lebanon during what we deem as sensitive conditions."
Asked if he fears that a war may erupt in the region, he replied: "Israel is making a lot of strong statements that we should monitor and analyze," adding that any development should be dealt with accordingly. He also denied that he was delivering a message from an enemy state to an Arab one by saying that as an Arab side, Egypt responds to any Israeli statements as soon as they happen. In addition, he welcomed a visit by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Egypt, saying that the visit will take place soon, but it has not yet been scheduled.
Besides Hariri, Abul Gheit is expected to hold talks with Speaker Nabih Berri and Foreign Minister Ali al-Shami during his one-day visit to Lebanon.

Feltman: We are Headed towards a Very Unstable Direction If Scud Reports are True
Naharnet/U.S. Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman voiced his concern over recent reports that Syria may have provided Hizbullah with Scud missiles.He told the daily An Nahar Saturday that these reports are very dangerous if they are true, and all steps should be taken to reverse or end this situation because it takes all sides involved into a very unstable direction. He revealed that U.S. sources tipped them about this issue, saying that the United States is still examining available information in this matter. Feltman added that his country had acquired sufficient evidence to actually address Syria about the reports. Despite this, he said that the U.S. administration will maintain its policy of holding dialogue with Syria.
The U.S. official added however that sides within the United States opposing this approach have voiced their concern over the meeting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Damascus earlier this year, saying that the meeting is evidence against the policy of dialogue. Feltman stated that if he were Lebanese, he would have been worried about that meeting. Addressing Lebanon's non-permanent membership in the U.N. Security Council and the United States' aim to impose new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, he said that Lebanon chose this responsibility and is aware of his duties in the Council.
He voiced his confidence that Lebanon takes its responsibility very seriously, and is committed to maintaining regional and international peace and security. A U.S. diplomat, who chose to remain anonymous, told Agence France Presse on Friday that Syria is providing Hizbullah with a "wide array" of missiles, stopping short of accusing it of supplying it with Scuds.

Barak: Advanced Hizbullah Arms Destabilize Regional Balance of Power
Naharnet/Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated that Israel takes reports that Hizbullah is acquiring advance weapons, including Scud missiles, very seriously. He said in a television interview on Friday that weapons that destabilize the balance of power in the region will endanger the whole region if such reports were true, adding, however, that Israel "would not launch a war in the North."Barak is set to visit the United States on Sunday where he is scheduled to hold talks with a number of high-ranking State Department and intelligence officials. Israel Radio reported that his talks will focus on Iran's nuclear program, Hizbullah's acquiring of arms, and Palestine.

Murr Says Army Intelligence Hasn't Spotted Any Scuds
Naharnet/Defense Minister Elias Murr stressed Friday that the Lebanese Army's intelligence has no information about Scud missiles crossing into Lebanon as Israel claims. "There's no info about this topic whatsoever," Murr said, answering a question during a chat with reporters after his meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri. "We had no previous information and the army's intelligence hasn't revealed anything about this topic," he added. Murr noted the presence of "satellites to provide the United Nations with imagery of arms smuggling into Lebanon in case of its occurrence," stressing that "the army will commit -- in case that turned out to be true – to implementing Resolution 1701 in all its stipulations." Murr added that what Israel says "doesn't concern us. The Israeli enemy is spreading the propaganda that serves its interest and intimidating the country (Lebanon)." Israeli President Shimon Peres on April 13 accused Syria of providing Hizbullah with Scud ballistic missiles, prompting Washington to warn that the trade "potentially puts Lebanon at significant risk." Syria has strongly denied the accusations.

U.S. Diplomat: Syria Providing 'Wider Array' of Missiles to Hizbullah
Naharnet/Syria is providing a "wider array" of missiles to Hizbullah, a U.S. diplomat said Friday, while stopping short of accusing Damascus of supplying Scuds to the Lebanese party.
"We are concerned with the broadening nature of cooperation between Syria and Hizbullah. They are providing a wider array of missiles to Hizbullah," a senior State Department official said on condition of anonymity. "As to the narrower question of do we have evidence of Scuds crossing into Lebanon, that's something... to watch carefully." Earlier, other U.S. officials have said there were no signs that Scud missiles were transferred to Hizbullah from Syria. They said they do not think that Scuds "of any shape or size" have been moved to Lebanon, the officials said. The officials said Damascus is not always known for making the "right political calculations." But in this case, surely they realize that transferring this kind of weapons system to Hizbullah … could lead to serious consequences."(AFP)

Jumblat Attacks Geagea: He's Walking in Bashir Gemayel's Footsteps
Naharnet/Druze leader Walid Jumblat criticized one-time friend Samir Geagea, blaming him for not learning from his past mistakes.
"Geagea's statements remind us of the years 1982 and 1983 when Palestinian weapons and what they used to call 'International Left' were created as a pretext," Jumblat said.
"Their pretext today is Resistance arms," Jumblat complained. "I wish they understand the significance of these weapons and the importance of establishing a defense strategy where Resistance arms are part of it," Jumblat said in an interview published Friday by the daily Al-Akhbar. "Today, they are attacking Resistance weapons and tomorrow they will attack the Lebanese Army's Arab combat doctrine. Then they will attack the Armistice Agreement in a bid to push Lebanon into sealing a peace treaty with Israel," Jumblat added.
"They want the army without an Arab combat doctrine so as to become an army of mercenaries just like the U.S. army," he protested. "All that this worries me."
"This guy, Geagea, I don't know what he wants. I cannot understand him. At the dialogue table, he said he wants to send 4,000 trained Lebanese troops to confront Israel. True, we can resist Israel, but this would result in lost lives. We will lose all 4,000 soldiers," Jumblat stated. Geagea, Jumblat argued, was "speaking the same language today as (ex-President) Bashir Gemayel and the Lebanese Right which is not only Christian."He said the LF leader "exposes himself day after day and uses worrying words." "He (Geagea) does not want to learn from his past experience. If I were him I would have remained silent. LF to avoid confrontation with Jumblatt over March 14 snipes

Batroun MP says party ‘understands’ motives of PSP leader
By Elias Sakr /Daily Star staff
Saturday, April 24, 2010
BEIRUT: The Lebanese Forces (LF) will avoid a confrontation with Druze leader Walid Jumblatt over the latter’s latest criticism of his former allies in the March 14 coalition.
Batroun MP Antoine Zahra, an LF official, said Friday that his party “understood” the motives of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader. “I understand Jumblatt’s motives, since the beginning of the shift in his political stances,” Zahra said, in remarks carried by the Central News Agency. He added that “there are major anxieties about all of the current regional and international circumstances … We’re not involved in a truce with Jumblatt, but we are keen on preserving Lebanese co-existence.” In an interview with Al-Akhbar newspaper, published on Friday, Jumblatt slammed the policies of LF leader Samir Geagea, saying the latter had adopted the stances of Bashir Gemayel, and sought a peace agreement with Israel. “Geagea’s statements reminded me of the years 1982 and 1983. The alibi was back then the Palestinian weapons, and what they used to call international left; today the alibi is the resistance’s weapons,” Jumblatt said in the interview. The Israeli Army invaded south Lebanon in June 1982 and reached Beirut, as Gemayel was elected president shortly afterward. Gemayel was assassinated in an explosion at the Phalange Party headquarters in Achrafieh three weeks later. Following the June 2009 parliamentary elections, Jumblatt announced his withdrawal from the March 14 alliance, saying that it was driven by necessity, and adopted a centrist position in Lebanese politics, moving closer to Syria’s allies in Lebanon. Since 2009 Jumblatt has performed a ritual of public apologies and reconciliations, paving his return to Damascus, after expressing regret for his accusation of the Syrian regime of being involved in former Premier Rafik Hariri’s 2005 killing. Jumblatt went further with his criticism of Geagea and his closest allies, saying “they want the army to lose its doctrine, to become an army of mercenaries like the US army, so they can use it to sneak into to Lebanon, like they did with the security deal.” A recent security agreement between the Lebanese and US government to donate military equipment and train internal security forces has been criticized by groups in the parliamentary minority, which say it allows Israel, via the United States, access to sensitive Lebanese security databases. “I thought he joined the Taif Accord, but I was wrong; joining Taif has its conditions. Today, Geagea is speaking the language of Bashir and that of the Lebanese right,” Jumblatt said, referring to the Civil War era. “We resisted the Lebanese right with the help of Speaker Nabih Berri, [former President] Sleiman Franjieh and we agreed secretly and then publicly on the Taif Accord with Rafik Hariri, delegated by Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd bin Abdel-Aziz,” Jumblatt said. “Today they attack the resistance’s weapons and tomorrow they will attack the Lebanese Army’s Arab combat doctrine, and then the (1949) Armistice agreement to abolish it and push Lebanon to sign a peace accord with Israel,” he added Friday. Jumblatt also slammed LF leader Geagea’s position during National Dialogue talks when the latter proposed the deployment of 4,000 Lebanese Army Special Forces personnel to defend south Lebanon against any future Israeli aggression. “The result will be the loss of 4,000 soldiers to the enemy … rather than cooperation between the army and the resistance,” he said.
“If I was in Geagea’s position I would remain silent or voice support for the resistance. If he continues [to adopt the same positions], I don’t know what will be left of the Christian presence in Lebanon,” he added.

Lebanon clarifies Hariri remarks regarding Scud missiles
American officials voice doubts about alleged transfer
Compiled by Daily Star staff /Saturday, April 24, 2010
Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s adviser for foreign affairs Mohammad Shatah highlighted on Friday US attempts to change the course of the peace process in the region, and clarified Lebanon’s position on recent developments. Shatah said during a televised interview on LBC that he had the opportunity to inform US Assistant Secretary of State for Middle Eastern affairs Jeffrey Feltman of the Lebanese perspective regarding accusations that Syria has transferred SCUD missiles to Hizbullah. Shatah said that Feltman had called him to clarify certain unclear statements, a reference to a comment made by Hariri on an official visit to Italy when the premier compared the alleged transfer of SCUD missiles to the accusations that Saddam Hussein’s Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. “Prime Minister Saad Hariri did not mean in his statement before the Lebanese expatriates in Rome that the US is doing in Lebanon what they were doing in Iraq … contrary to what the media reported,” he said. He added that the Lebanese state was unaware of any Scud missile transfers and Lebanon was not banned from owning Scud missiles, but rather international resolutions ban sending such weapons to armed groups other than the Lebanese Army.
Also on Friday, a US diplomat said Syria was providing a “wider array” of missiles to Hizbullah, while stopping short of accusing Damascus of supplying Scuds to the Lebanese Shiite resistance. “We are concerned with the broadening nature of cooperation between Syria and Hizbullah. They are providing a wider array of missiles to Hizbullah,” a senior State Department official said on condition of anonymity. “As to the narrower question of do we have evidence of Scuds crossing into Lebanon, that’s something … to watch carefully,” the official added.
Tackling the security situation in the Middle East, Lebanese President Michel Sleiman said Friday that Israeli threats against Lebanon were an attempt by Israel to escape pressure to accept the Arab Peace Initiative. Speaking during an official visit to Brazil, Sleiman added that Israeli threats could only be challenged with unity among the Lebanese as Israel was aware that aggressing Lebanon was a difficult option. “This is why we hold National Dialogue talks in order to establish a defense strategy that guarantees Lebanon’s protection and increase its capabilities including that of the army, people and resistance,” he said.
US officials said on Thursday that doubts were growing within the US defense and intelligence community about allegations that long-range Scud missiles from Syria have been shipped to Hizbullah in Lebanon. Washington believes Syria was moving toward transferring more sophisticated Scuds to Hizbullah, but US intelligence agencies have not been able to confirm Israeli allegations that the missiles have changed hands, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. While the US suspects some kind of transfer may have occurred in Syria, two US officials said there were “no indications” any Scud rockets were transported into Lebanon, which would sharply escalate the risk of a conflict.
“We don’t think Scuds of any shape or size have been moved to Lebanon,” one of the officials said. “The Syrians aren’t always known for making the right political calculations. But in this case, surely they realize transferring this kind of weapons system to Hizbullah – and especially to Hizbullah in Lebanon – could lead to serious consequences,” the official added.
Washington has long accused Iran of arming Hizbullah, a militant and political group that fought a war with Israel in 2006 and enjoys deep support in mainly Shiite south Lebanon.
In a report to Congress made public this week, the Pentagon credited Iran with helping Hizbullah build up its arsenal beyond 2006 levels, despite UN-backed efforts to curb weapons shipments to the group. In addition to arms, Iran provides about $100 million to $200 million per year in funding to support Hizbullah, the Pentagon report said.
Washington fears a transfer of more sophisticated missile technology to Hizbullah would increase the likelihood of another bloody conflict between Israel and its long-time foe.
US officials voiced confidence that Scuds crossing the Syrian-Lebanese border would be detected. The large rockets cannot be readily broken down into small parts for transport, the officials said. Last week, Israeli President Shimon Peres accused Syria of sending Scuds to Hizbullah. Syria has denied the charge and said Israel might be using the accusation as a pretext for a military strike. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday in Estonia that “as of today” the United States sought to pursue deeper ties with Syria, suggesting Obama’s policy could change if Damascus was found to be sending missiles. – The Daily Star, with Reuters

Says group received “wider array” of missilesSyria providing missiles to Hezbollah: US
A top U.S. diplomat says Hezbollah received a "wide array" of missiles to Hezbollah
WASHINGTON (AFP)/Syria is providing a "wider array" of missiles to Hezbollah, a U.S. diplomat said Friday, while stopping short of accusing Damascus of supplying Scuds to the Lebanese Shiite militia. "We are concerned with the broadening nature of cooperation between Syria and Hezbollah. They are providing a wider array of missiles to Hezbollah," a senior State Department official said on condition of anonymity. " We are concerned with the broadening nature of cooperation between Syria and Hezbollah. They are providing a wider array of missiles to Hezbollah "A senior State Department official A Washington-based correspondent for Kuwaiti newspaper al-Rai first reports the delivery of the long-range Scud missiles, adding that Israel had urged the United States to foil the perceived threat or see Israel "take steps" unilaterally. Asked about the report, Israeli President Shimon Peres tells journalists: "Syria continues its doublespeak -- on the one hand it speaks about peace and on the other hand it passes sophisticated Scud missiles to Hezbollah that threaten Israel ... We will not allow Syria to play this double game." The Israeli government offers no statements to corroborate the charges by Peres, whose post is largely ceremonial. The official silence holds.Syria's Foreign Ministry reacted accusing Israel of disseminating "fabrications" about Scud transfers to Hezbollah in order "to create an atmosphere for probable Israeli aggression" against Syria.

Washington does not think Scuds were moved into Lebanon
Tracking Scud missiles not so simple: US experts "Most vulnerable" Promoting dialogue with Syria
Friday, 23 April 2010 ]
WASHINGTON (Agencies)
As Syria faces charges it may have supplied Hezbollah with Scud missiles, experts say spotting the weapons is no easy task -- which U.S. and British forces learned in the first Gulf war.
Smuggling missiles and mobile launchers into Lebanon without U.S. or Israeli intelligence agencies noticing would be "possible, but difficult," one U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
Missiles and mobile launchers could be taken apart to avoid detection, analysts said.
"All you have to do is separate the tail from the missile, which is something you can do easily. And then move it to some other vehicle," said Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
" We flew thousands of missions to try to destroy Saddam’s Scuds which he was firing at Israel and Saudi Arabia. After the war we discovered we had missed every single time "
Bruce Riedel, former CIA officerIsrael has accused Syria of arming Hezbollah with the ballistic missiles, a charge Damascus vehemently denies. U.S. officials meanwhile say they cannot confirm if the weapons have been delivered to the Lebanese Shiite armed group.
In the 1990-91 Gulf war, allied aircraft -- along with U.S. and British special forces on the ground -- struggled to track and take out Saddam Hussein's mobile Scuds, which were hidden in gullies and culverts and quickly shifted out of sight after any launch.
"We flew thousands of missions to try to destroy Saddam’s Scuds which he was firing at Israel and Saudi Arabia. After the war we discovered we had missed every single time," said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Sensors and other military technology have improved since then, and Lebanon offers a smaller area to monitor than Iraq.
Moreover, Israel has "very good intelligence there," Riedel said, "so they would probably do better."
"Most vulnerable"
Once inside Lebanon, the missiles and launchers could be reassembled and hidden until Hezbollah was ready to use them.
"The missiles are most vulnerable when they are preparing to launch. Still it would be difficult to destroy every launcher before they fired," he said.
Scud-type missiles, originally designed and produced by the Soviets, are usually about 11 meters (yards) long and have a range of roughly 300 kilometers (186 miles), though some versions can strike beyond 500 kilometers.
Adding Scuds to Hezbollah's arsenal of rockets would strengthen the militia's position even though Israel would retain its military edge, analysts said.
"It does not dramatically change the equation but it means Hezbollah can fire at any target in Israel," Cordesman said.
A much bigger concern for Israel would be if the Scuds came with chemical warheads, experts said, but no one has made that allegation so far.
Whether or not Scuds have been delivered, the Obama administration is convinced that Syria is stepping up military support to Hezbollah, U.S. officials said.
"There's a narrow question of Scuds but there is a much broader concern about advanced weaponry," a U.S. official, who asked not to be named, told reporters.
"The cooperation between Syria and Hezbollah is escalating and we think that is potentially destabilizing and adds risks in a region that already has more risks than it knows what to do with."
Promoting dialogue with Syria
It remained unclear why the accusation against Syria was leveled by the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, and not by military or intelligence officials who usually present such charges along with more details, analysts said.
Some lawmakers in the U.S. Congress have seized on the allegations to argue against Washington's efforts to promote dialogue with Syria.
President Barack Obama in February appointed Robert Ford as the first US ambassador to Damascus in five years, although the Senate has yet to confirm him.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday in Estonia that "as of today" the United States sought to pursue deeper ties with Syria, suggesting Obama's policy could change if Damascus was found to be sending missiles.
Opting to supply Hezbollah with more powerful weaponry would fit in with a recent pattern in which Syria appears to have adopted a "triumphalist mindset," wrote Steven Heydemann at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
U.S. and European diplomacy has failed so far to persuade Syria to move away from Iran's orbit and forge stronger ties to the West, he wrote on the Foreign Policy website.
In a report to Congress made public this week, the Pentagon credited Iran with helping Hezbollah build up its arsenal beyond 2006 levels, despite U.N.-backed efforts to curb weapons shipments to the group.
In addition to arms, Iran provides about $100 million to $200 million per year in funding to support Hezbollah, the Pentagon report said.
Washington fears a transfer of more sophisticated missile technology to Hezbollah would increase the likelihood of another bloody conflict between Israel and its long-time foe.

Fifth Anniversary of the Syrian Withdrawal…A Real Withdraw?
23/04/2010/By Diana Mukkaled
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=2&id=20696
In Lebanon, an aggressive political and media heresy is currently prevailing and it is one that was committed previously in the 1990s and is being brought back today. It requires burying the hatchet and putting a stop to any discussions on this matter in the media and in political circles on the pretext of maintaining stability and social cohesion, preserving “the resistance” and protecting the “brotherly” ties with Syria in order to be entirely devoted to confronting Israel.
Once again, Lebanon is entering a tunnel in which meanings and roles intertwine; there is no resurrection of the state, in fact this is forbidden and it must remain fragile and broken until further notice for the sake of “arms and resistance.” All energy should be focused towards this particular goal, otherwise, any other talk would be considered treason of the worst kind and those who are guilty of this should serve the maximum penalty for treason.
Today, this heresy is about to become a norm, especially when it comes to Lebanon's major and most controversial issues such as Hezbollah’s weapons, the type of relationship that Syria and Lebanon should have and the results the International Criminal Court’s investigations should come up with. Hardly a day goes by without statements reaching the level of warning and threatening the media not to comment on the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons.
The amount of pressure that is being exerted to prevent open discussions is increasing, whilst we are only a few days ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Syrian military withdrawal from Lebanon. Anyone observing the Lebanese media’s coverage of the occasion will definitely see big differences in the way it is dealing with the occasion this year compared to last year. This led to several news media agencies getting caught up in serious inconsistencies thus becoming unconvincing to the people whether inside or outside Lebanon. In media and political circles, a long list of prohibitions is being discussed and this makes the Lebanese feel like they have returned to a period they thought was long gone.
No one can deny the significant and numerous changes that have taken place over the past five years, the most important of which is Syria’s military withdrawal from Lebanon. But has this had an impact on the nature of Syria’s ambitions in Lebanon, especially as the Lebanese internal situation seems to have no immunity at all from such ambitions?
The problem is that the front that should face these escalations now is cracked and is weak. This makes it easy for those who continue to carry the banners of “resistance” and “opposition” to frighten and target the front, and deal with it with only one goal in mind; to undo the changes that have taken place in the past five years and to go backwards. Some people are trying to bring back the Lebanon of the 1990s after the Lebanese thought that they were now in a stage of building, construction and peaceful division, but we are shocked to discover that the situation is totally different. It is true that the level of discussion and expression with regards to serious doubts concerning Lebanon’s destiny is decreasing and that political and cultural figures have been marginalized intentionally. As a result there is little room for optimism. However, since our age is rich in ideas and techniques, we can, at the very least, exert some effort to deceive the new reality in order to avoid repeating a pattern that many Lebanese had to pay a heavy price to confront.

Secularism, a pride in Lebanon?
Talking to Laïque Pride co-organizer Yalda Younes
April 24, 2010 /Now Lebanon
A group of Lebanese youth believes it’s time to take to the streets and shout it out loud that they’ve had enough of sectarianism. They formed a group called Laïque Pride on Facebook almost six months ago, and have managed to organize a pro-secularism march that will take place in Beirut on Sunday.
The five co-organizers, all of whom are in their 30s, grew up during the civil war and learned about the realities of sectarianism the hard way. NOW Lebanon sat down with Yalda Younes, a Lebanese living in France and one of the organizers of the Laïque Pride march, to talk about the initiative, its future and its chances of success.
How did you come up with the idea to form Laïque Pride?
Younes: We are five Lebanese who got fed up with censorship and the interference of religion in our [civil] life. In order to break the silence and make our voices heard, the Laïque Pride idea was launched.
Barely a few weeks later, thousands of citizens had shown their support for this initiative and carried it as their own. Many of them volunteered to help in the organization. The march is being promoted on social networks on the internet. There was a music jingle composed and will be destined for the radio, which people are using as their ringtones on cell phones already. We are currently working on a video for TV, a lot of volunteers have been going around the country handing out flyers and hanging posters, and students have been promoting it in their universities, with diverse activities such as organizing conferences with intellectuals about secularism. Laïque Pride has had regular meetings with members of associations, institutions and collectives who work on civil society and human rights, to discuss our common goals and join forces to make it succeed.
What’s planned for Sunday?
Younes: People will start gathering from 10 a.m. at Ain Mreisseh in front of the Abdel Nasser statue. At 11 a.m. sharp, the march will start, heading to the parliament. There will be live music, mostly percussions. There will be a small truck playing recorded music and giving out the [banners]. Bicycle riders will also be riding along.
The Lebanese diaspora in London or Paris will also be gathering the same day, at 11 a.m., their local time.
How many people are you expecting to show up?
Younes: At least 2,000.
Are there any political movements participating?
Younes: We think that this movement will only succeed if we manage to keep it away from politics. There will be people affiliated with political movements participating in the march, yes. They will participate informally, as any other citizen, all united under the flag of secularism, putting aside political differences on that day. So it is irrelevant for us to name them. It's up to political movements to support the march if they wish to do so, and not the opposite. Our job is not to support or promote a party. We're supporting a cause, and politics should be at the service of this cause if they decide to join.
Does the movement have an action plan?
Younes: Laïque Pride is a citizens’ movement, and its ensuing actions will remain on the citizens’ level. One of the many ideas that we are planning is to create a website for Laïque Pride, which will be based on an E-forum, where all can discuss and debate about secularism in Lebanon, share ideas, point out our goals, point out the problems, and think together of possible answers and of ways to move forward on the ground; how to change things and by what means. Everyone could participate in those debates. We will try to establish a link between different secular organizations, to encourage thinking about "Lebanese secularism" and eventually adopt a common chart of work when we manage to reach a consensus.
Do you think it will have an impact and how?
Younes: The impact has already started. An event like the Laïque Pride reaches out to the new generation; it creates desire and hope for the youth, and among some of those who were too desperate to dream of a better Lebanon. It participates in creating awareness about secularism, in giving audience to future secular candidates, in showing support to existing associations or individuals currently working for civil rights...
Now whether the impact will continue or not is up to each one of us. We shouldn't wait for change to come from someone else, or from above. Things can change in Lebanon only if the citizens are conscious of their responsibilities, joined and united.
Do you think the Lebanese are ready for such a change?
Younes: Secularism will not be the system applied in Lebanon from one day to another. The Laïque Pride is not planning a reversal! As a start, it is working on the promotion of the concept of secularism. It is also giving space for secular citizens to prove how many they are, to debate around the subject and to create awareness around the importance of it. The Laïque Pride is by nature an attractive event to the media, which will give support to all parties working for the same. This is a long-term awareness project. The sectarian political system we're living under today should gradually evolve to include secular representation inside the government.