LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 01/2010
Bible Of the
Day
Matthew 25/31-45: “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy
angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 25:32 Before him
all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as
a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 25:33 He will set the sheep on
his right hand, but the goats on the left. 25:34 Then the King will tell those
on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world; 25:35 for I was hungry, and you gave me
food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you
took me in. 25:36 I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited
me. I was in prison, and you came to me.’ 25:37 “Then the righteous will answer
him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and
give you a drink? 25:38 When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or
naked, and clothe you? 25:39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to
you?’ 25:40 “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as
you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 25:41
Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed,
into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; 25:42 for
I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me
no drink; 25:43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you
didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ 25:44 “Then
they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or
a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’ 25:45 “Then
he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you didn’t
do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ 25:46 These will go
away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special
Reports
Lebanon: Conflict Widens to
Syria. By Jonathan Spyer/January 31/10
Seaside Beirut/By: Sarah Lynch/Now
Lebanon/January 31, 10
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for January 31/10
March 14 Calls for Massive Turnout
to Mark Hariri's Assassination/Naharnet
Sison: Hezbollah is a threat to Lebanon & entire
region/Ya Libnan
US official: Hezbollah arms flow may signal
plans for war with Israe/Ha'aretz
Israel "responsible" on Iran, Obama adviser says/Reuters
IDF arrests Lebanese shepherd carrying knife near
border/Ha'aretz
4 suspects behind Mabhouh's murder
identified/Khaleej Times
Iraq Inaugurates Span of New Border Security
Fence with Syria/Voice of America
Ocean
Alert Lowers Device to Seabed to Find Plane Wreckage/Naharnet
Report: Berri, Hariri for
Coordination to Speed up Adoption of Draft Laws/Naharnet
Jumblat for Transforming
Feb. 14 into 'Broad National Occasion'/Naharnet
Hariri: Lebanon Committed
to 1701/Naharnet
Sami Gemayel Rejects
Settlements on Hizbullah Arms, Missing Lebanese/Naharnet
Feltman: No Seriousness in
Implementation of 1701 in South Lebanon/Naharnet
Army Defuses Bomb in
Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen/Naharnet
Qabalan Calls for
Boycotting Libya's Arab Summit/Naharnet
Israel may be behind Hamas
chief's murder: police/AFP
Hit squad injected Al Mabhouh with a drug that
induced heart attack: report/GulfNews
Dubai Police tight-lipped on Hamas man murder probe/GulfNews
Obama aide says Iran may lash out at Israel/Washington
Post
Long history of Israel's 'covert killing'/BBC
News
Put a chokehold on Iran: Time for sanctions to
block Tehran's nuke ambitions/New
York Daily News
Syria: A year in review
2009/Middle
East North Africa Financial Network
Ship Rescued after Running Aground
off Tripoli/Naharnet
Geagea:
Christians Won't Accept Popular Democracy/Naharnet
Democratic Gathering will stay out
of political alignments/Now Lebanon
Feltman:
No Seriousness in Implementation of 1701 in South Lebanon
/Naharnet/U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey
Feltman has expressed concern over Israeli threats to attack Lebanon as a result
of alleged arms smuggling to Hizbullah. "I am worried," Feltman told pan-Arab
daily al-Hayat when asked if he was worried about Israeli threats to launch war
on Lebanon. "We don't have any idea (about Israeli views on this issue).
However, I am worried about the reports that talk about the types and quantities
of weapons that are still reaching Hizbullah."
He said the U.S. believes that the arms are heading to south Lebanon in
violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. "We don't find any
seriousness in the implementation of this resolution in south Lebanon. This
honestly is a source of concern." Asked about the possibility of a peace deal
between Israel and Lebanon, Feltman said: "The Lebanese feel that it would be
better to sign this peace (deal) after a peace (agreement between Israel and)
the Palestinians." "However, our official stance is that we want peace on all
tracks," the diplomat told al-Hayat. On the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that
would try ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's suspected assassins, Feltman said the U.S.
is seeking to "keep a distance" between the court and Washington. "We don't
know, and we don't want to know or interfere in the (tribunal's) work," he
added. Beirut, 31 Jan 10, 08:32
March 14
Calls for Massive Turnout to Mark Hariri's Assassination
The majority March 14 coalition on Sunday called on its supporters to take part
in a mass rally on Feb. 14 to commemorate the fifth anniversary of former Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination. A statement at the end of its meeting at
the Bristol Hotel in Beirut called on all Lebanese to gather outside Martyr's
Square in downtown Beirut to "ensure continuance on the path of independence."
The statement read by March 14 General Secretariat Coordinator Fares Soaid also
stressed that "change in circumstances won't change our commitment to our
principles." "We want to turn the black pages and open a new page of hope,"
March 14 said. "We want a state where we can combine both accomplishments --
liberation and second independence," the alliance added. Prime Minister Saad
Hariri attended the Bristol meeting which dealt with preparations for the
upcoming Hariri assassination anniversary.
Druze leader Walid Jumblat, however, failed to attend. A statement issued Sunday
after a meeting of the Democratic Gathering under Jumblat said the group will
not take part in the Bristol meeting. The statement, though, stressed the
Gathering's eagerness to take part in the Feb. 14 rally. Beirut, 31 Jan 10,
19:41
Ocean Alert Lowers Device to Seabed to Find Plane Wreckage
Naharnet/Civilian vessel Ocean Alert on Sunday lowered to the seabed a device
that locates the area from which it received signals from the Ethiopian plane's
black boxes.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri's office said in a statement Saturday that the device
would film the seabed to find the plane's body and human remains. The statement
added that Ocean Alert located a spot 10 kilometers off Manara at a depth of
1400 meters where geometrical items were detected. On Saturday, salvage teams
turned over debris to the Lebanese army. Among the remains of the wreck handed
over were personal effects and plane seats recovered from the area where the
Boeing 737-800 crashed into the sea soon after takeoff during a raging
thunderstorm on Monday. Transport and Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi told OTV
on Sunday that there were no new developments in the rescue operations. "All
means have been used and we eagerly wait for any positive development," he said.
Beirut, 31 Jan 10, 13:27
Ship Rescued after Running Aground off Tripoli
Naharnet/Lebanese coastguards rescued Sunday a Panama-flagged cargo ship which
ran aground off the northern coast of Tripoli.
An official at the port of Tripoli said the cargo, bearing the initials C.Y.,
ran aground in territorial waters off Tripoli as it traveled from Iskenderun in
Turkey to Alexandria in Egypt.
Beirut, 31 Jan 10, 15:42
Geagea: Christians Won't Accept Popular Democracy
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has said that Lebanon's Christians
will not accept popular democracy because they have already agreed on division
of powers between Christians and Muslims. During a conference for LF
businessmen, Geagea wondered why Christians had fears on their existence. "The
survival or demise of any society depends on its members' response to
difficulties." He urged Christians to have faith in themselves and "let history
play its role." The LF leader also urged businessmen to confront economic crises
and encouraged them to invest in their country. Beirut, 31 Jan 10, 12:44
U.S.: Naming of Ambassador to Syria Doesn't Mean Settlement of Differences over
Hizbullah
Naharnet/A U.S. State Department official has said that the naming of a
candidate to fill the U.S. ambassador's post in Damascus does not mean
differences with Syria over Iran, Hamas and Hizbullah were settled. Although
Washington is relieved over the improvement of ties with Damascus, relations
between the two countries are still strained over Syria's role in Iraq and its
ties with Iran, Hamas and Hizbullah, the official told pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat
newspaper in remarks published Sunday. U.S. officials in Washington and Damascus
told the daily that the Obama administration has named Robert Stephen Ford as
its ambassador to the Syrian capital. Ford has until now served as the deputy
ambassador to Iraq. He has also served as the U.S. envoy to Algeria from 2006 to
2008, and is considered to be an expert in Mideast affairs. The U.S. had not had
an ambassador in Syria since the Bush administration called back its envoy
following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February
2005. U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell reportedly named the new ambassador
in a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad last week. CBS news quoted a
State Department official as saying that the move "is a concrete example of the
administration's commitment to use our tools, including dialogue, to address our
concerns." "The decision reflects recognition of the importance of Syria's role
in the region and we hope that it will play constructive efforts to promote
peace and stability in the region," said the official. Beirut, 31 Jan 10, 08:06
Report: Berri, Hariri for Coordination to Speed up Adoption of Draft Laws
Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Speaker Nabih Berri have reportedly
stressed the necessity of coordination between the cabinet and parliament to
speed up adoption of draft laws. Informed sources told Ad-Diyar daily in remarks
published Sunday that the two officials have agreed on the need to speed up the
adoption of the draft laws in order to boost the functions of the state. The two
men also discussed at Center House operations aimed at finding the wreckage and
flight recorders of the Ethiopian plane that crashed early Monday.
The meeting on Saturday night was followed by a dinner banquet thrown by Hariri
in Berri's honor. The prime minister's sources described the meeting as "very
positive." The two officials discussed current issues, they told An Nahar daily.
Beirut, 31 Jan 10, 09:00
Jumblat for Transforming Feb. 14 into 'Broad National Occasion'
Naharnet/Druze leader Walid Jumblat has called for the transformation of the 5th
anniversary of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination into a broad national
event that would overcome divisions. Jumblat, who returned to Beirut on Saturday
night following a private visit to London, told An Nahar newspaper that his
Democratic Gathering bloc insists on making the Feb. 2005 killing anniversary a
"comprehensive national occasion." The Doha agreement has laid the groundwork
for "dialogue which is fundamental for crossing into statehood," he said.
The Democratic Gathering held a meeting at Jumblat's home in Clemenceau on
Sunday morning to discuss "the size of its participation" in Hariri's Feb. 14
assassination anniversary.
Democratic Gathering sources told LBC TV network that the bloc's participation
in the Feb. 14 event depends on the results of the Bristol meeting of March 14
forces on Sunday.
Beirut, 31 Jan 10, 09:28
Hariri: Lebanon Committed to 1701
Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri stressed that Lebanon was committed to the
implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 and rejected Israeli
threats to the country.
Hariri said in an interview with the Egyptian al-Ahram newspaper that the Jewish
state should implement international resolutions. Furthermore, he considered
proposals on abolishment of political sectarianism and lowering voting age from
21 to 18 part of Lebanese democracy. Hariri said he had confidence in the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon and believed the truth in his father's killing will
emerge and justice will triumph. Beirut, 31 Jan 10, 09:58
Sami Gemayel Rejects Settlements on Hizbullah Arms, Missing Lebanese
Naharnet/MP Sami Gemayel said Sunday the Lebanese citizen has lost faith in the
state as a result of procrastination into the issue of Hizbullah's arms and
missing and jailed Lebanese in Syria. Gemayel told Free Lebanon radio that both
issues should be solved without settlements. About relations with Damascus, the
MP said the ball is now in Syria's court. He hoped Syria's historic view of
Lebanon would change and the Assad regime would stop inciting its tools in the
country to create tension. Beirut, 31 Jan 10, 11:51
Army Defuses Bomb in Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen
Naharnet/A Lebanese Army explosives expert defused Saturday afternoon a bomb
planted inside a gallon of fuel in Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen area. The army
cordoned the area after a local resident reported an identified suspicious
object. The bomb was reportedly set for detonation. On Thursday, two grenades
were found near the home of Arab Democratic Party leader Ali Eid in the same
district. The grenades were also found inside a gallon filled with fuel. Beirut,
30 Jan 10, 16:14
Qabalan Calls for Boycotting Libya's Arab Summit
Naharnet/Deputy Head of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council Sheikh Abdul Amir
Qabalan stressed that Lebanon should boycott the forthcoming Arab Summit that
will be held in Libya. In an interview with An Nahar daily, Qabalan described
Libya as "a hostile and tyrant state." Qabalan accused Libya of kidnapping
AMAL's founder Imam Moussa Sadr and his companions in 1978. "Is that how we
respect Imam Sadr and his Lebanese, Arab, and Islamic position?" added Qabalan,
admonishing Lebanon's decision to participate in Libya's summit.
As Qabalan hailed the inter-Arab reconciliations, he voiced refusal for them to
happen "on expense of Imam Sadr's cause," adding that participation becomes
legitimate if the case was solved before the occurrence of the summit and if the
Lebanese officials put prior conditions on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to
reveal the truth in Sadr's case.
"I call on everyone not to line up with our enemy and to respect the feelings of
our people … because we have suffered a series of failed experiences with
Gadhafi whom we have always called to send back the Imam and his companions to
their country in order to establish the best relations between the Lebanese and
Libyan peoples, and now he bears the responsibility." Beirut, 30 Jan 10, 16:04
Analysis:
Lebanon: Conflict Widens to Syria
By Jonathan Spyer *
January 31, 2010
http://www.gloria-center.org/gloria/2010/01/lebanon-conflict-widens
In the last week, senior Israeli policymakers made statements of an
uncharacteristically bellicose nature regarding Syria.
It is unlikely that these statements were made because of sudden random
irritation toward Israel's hostile northeastern neighbor. Rather, the statements
probably constituted part of a message of deterrence to Damascus.
The need to project deterrence itself derives from a series of significant
changes currently under way on the ground in Lebanon - reflecting Syria's ever
tighter alignment with Hizbullah and the pro-Iranian regional bloc of which it
is a part.
These changes take place against the backdrop of awareness that the tactics
likely to be adopted by Israel in a future war with Hizbullah carry with them
the very real possibility that Syria could, on one level or another, be drawn
in.
On Saturday night, Minister-without-Portfolio Yossi Peled said that another
conflict on the northern border was a "matter of time." Peled noted that in the
event of such a conflict breaking out, Israel would hold "Syria and Lebanon
alike responsible."
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, meeting with Michael Williams, the UN
special coordinator for Lebanon earlier this week, expressed his concern that
Hizbullah fighters have been training on surface-to-surface missile systems in
Syria.
Then, on Tuesday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak noted in a speech that if Israel
was forced to fight Syria, "we won't fear and we'll defeat them." Why the sudden
ministerial loquaciousness?
It may with some justification be asserted that to assume any coordination
behind the statements of Israeli ministers is to betray a touching naivete. All
the same, the near-simultaneous ministerial recollection of the Syrian threat
should be considered in conjunction with the following facts:
Hizbullah has in the last weeks deployed advanced Syrian-made surface-to-surface
M-600 missiles on the territory of Lebanon. The missiles, which according to
Jane's Defence Weekly are copies of the Iranian Fateh-110 system, have a range
of 250 kilometers and carry a 500-kg warhead.
They bring the entirety of central Israel within Hizbullah's range. The missiles
are precision-guided, meaning that in the event of renewed conflict, Hizbullah
would be able to use them to target military facilities or heavily populated
areas.
According to Jane's, the deployment of the M-600s adds to concerns already
expressed by Israel at Syrian supplying of the (relatively unsophisticated) SA-2
air defense system and the SS-N-26 surface-to-sea missile to Hizbullah.
Syria's undaunted and increased support for Hizbullah appears to reflect a clear
strategic turn taken by Damascus. Lebanese analyst Tony Badran this week drew
attention to a recent and relevant report in the Qatari daily al-Watan which
quoted Syrian sources who claimed that "a strategic decision has been taken not
to allow Israel to defeat the resistance movements."
Such statements, if genuine, indicate that the Syrian regime is aware of the
potential price to be paid for its current orientation, but feels that the risk
is worth taking.
The Syrians have not, according to available evidence, yet passed the point of
no return - which, as Badran notes, would be the provision of sophisticated
anti-aircraft systems to Hizbullah. The SA-2, if deployed, could constitute a
danger to IAF helicopters, but not aircraft.
Israel has made clear that the deployment of systems capable of threatening
Israeli aircraft by Hizbullah would constitute a casus belli.
But beyond the specific issue of weapons systems, the logic of confrontation in
Lebanon suggests that Syria may find it hard to avoid direct engagement in a
future Israel-Hizbullah clash.
Since 2006, Lebanon's eastern border with Syria has formed the key conduit for
weapons supplies to Hizbullah. And Hizbullah is reported to have relocated its
main military infrastructure north of the Litani River, in the Bekaa Valley, in
areas close to the Syrian border.
Which suggests that if Israel wants in a future conflict to strike a real blow
against Hizbullah, this implies an Israeli ground incursion into the Bekaa.
Should such an incursion take place, the Syrians would be intimately involved in
supplying Hizbullah just across the border, and the possibility of Syrian
casualties at Israeli hands would become very real. It is again worth
remembering that on August 4, 2006, 34 Syrians were killed when the IAF bombed a
packing house on the Syrian side of the border thought to contain weapons for
Hizbullah. The Syrians did not respond at that time.
But an Israeli incursion into the Bekaa would logically raise the question of
either the Syrians ceasing their real-time supplying of Hizbullah (very
unlikely), or Israel acting to prevent this.
Of course, the point of deterrence is to deter. The ominous statements from
Israeli officials are not meant to signal an imminent war. Rather, they are
intended to convey to the Syrians that they should not think their alliance with
Hizbullah is cost free, and that they would be advised to adhere to red lines.
The developing logic of the situation in Lebanon is nevertheless widening the
circle of future conflict. The bottom line is that any future strike at
Hizbullah that does not take into account its status as a client of Iran and
Syria, is unlikely to be able to land the kind of decisive blow to the
organization which alone would justify such a strike.
*Dr. Jonathan Spyer is a senior research fellow at the Global Research in
International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, Herzliya, Israel
Hit squad injected Al Mabhouh with a drug that induced heart attack: report
Blood samples sent to Paris for analysis showed signs of poison
By Habib Toumi, Bahrain Bureau Chief
Published: 18:42 January 30, 2010
The hit squad that killed a top Hamas commander in a hotel room in Dubai
injected him with a drug that induced a heart attack, The Sunday Times reported
on Sunday.
The squad then photographed all the documents in the briefcase of Mahmoud Al
Mabhouh, 50, and left a "do not disturb" sign on the door, the London paper
reported.
The body, with no suspicious signs, was discovered by staff at the hotel after
lunch on January 20 and doctors diagnosed a heart attack.
Read the Gulf News editorial on the case
However, nine days later, after blood samples sent to Paris for analysis showed
signs of poison, Hamas announced his death and blamed Mossad for the
assassination, the paper said.
Citing unnamed Middle Eastern sources, The Sunday Times said that Al Mabhouh had
been tracked from the moment he boarded Emirates flight EK 912 at Damascus at
10.05am on January 19. "He was said to have been travelling on a false passport
and on arrival in Dubai was followed by two men described as Europeans carrying
European passports."
Al Mabhouh, who moved to Damascus after leaving Gaza in 1989, is blamed by
Israel for the abduction of two Israeli soldiers who were later killed.
Audacious killers must face justice
The men who murdered a Hamas commander should be tried in the UAE
Gulf News
Published: 00:00 January 31, 2010
AP/ Police in Dubai have been left a long list of evidence following the violent
murder of a Hamas commander in a hotel room 10 days ago. That trail of evidence
points to professional assassins using fake European passports operating on the
orders of secret security minions in Tel Aviv.
Mahmoud Al Mabhouh was no stranger to attempts by Israeli agents to kill him.
Six months ago, he was poisoned in Beirut, an attempt that left him unconscious
for 30 hours.
There is no doubt that the Hamas commander was tailed to Dubai by those waiting
for an opportunity to assassinate him he arrived in Dubai on January 19, less
that 24 hours later he was poisoned, strangled and electrocuted.
His assassins made sure they finished their bloody job, likely torturing him
before ending his life.
That operatives of the Jewish state had the bloody-minded audacity to carry out
their dirty work on UAE soil is repugnant and a grave slight to the sovereignty
of the nation.
Dubai Police are actively hunting down the assassins with the help of Interpol.
When cornered, these killers must face justice here, feeling the fullest and
severest consequences of the law for their actions.
On a grander scale, this act of state-sponsored terrorism fully underlines the
odious nature of those who sanctioned such a foul and bloody deed. This is not
the act of peacemakers but that is all too obvious. In every action and every
deed, the government of Israel has stymied any attempt at every stage to find a
just and peaceful resolution to its unlawful occupation of Palestinian lands and
the subjugation of its people.
How can one have a peace process when colonies are built in blatant disregard
for international law?
Sadly, there will likely be many more victims like Al Mabhouh.
Seaside
Beirut
Sarah Lynch,
January 31, 2010 /Now Lebanon
Madame Fanous used to be able to see two distinct shades of blue from her
balcony — the lighter was that of the sky and the darker was its reflection off
the Mediterranean Sea. Now all she sees is tan — the dull tint of the towering
skyscraper that stole her view when it was built two decades ago.
“When they started digging, I started crying over the life that we reached,”
said Fanous, 65, who has lived in Beirut’s coastal neighborhood of Ain Mreisseh
since 1945. “It’s all now cement.”
Fanous used to climb down a ladder from her home to the sea, but that was long
before Beirut’s vertical sea-side boom. As a result of the post-war
reconstructive development taking place in the city’s downtown, high-rise
buildings are rapidly taking over Beirut’s northern coast in a new phase of the
city’s 5,000 year-old history—for better or for worse.
“The Corniche is benefitting from the redevelopment of Beirut,” said Dr. Rachid
Chamoun, director of the Urban Planning Institute at the Lebanese American
University. He said over the past 15 years he has witnessed about 20 new high
rise buildings go up along the waterfront promenade in Ain Mreisseh — something
he is not opposed to. “We have to be in line with what’s happening in the rest
of the world,” he told NOW.
Development in Beirut is typically associated with Lebanon’s largest post-war
reconstruction effort that began in 1994 when former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri
founded construction giant Solidere. In agreement with the state, Solidere began
spearheading a 50-year plan to rebuild Beirut’s downtown area, which was
flattened during 15 years of civil strife.
But apart from the company’s project, the city has witnessed independent
development that extends beyond Solidere’s reach. Walking along the Corniche
from the northwestern-most neighborhood of Ras Beirut, through Ain Mreisseh,
into Minet al-Hosn, and ending at the port neighborhood of Marfa, one can easily
see over a dozen cranes at work.
Since 2000, over 70 high rises, which by Lebanese law means any building taller
than 50 meters, have been approved by the Order of Architects and Engineers for
construction in these four coastal neighborhoods. Approximately 80 percent of
the buildings approved by the group typically make it to the stage of
construction after receiving additional approval from the Department of Urban
Planning and the offices of each municipality.
“A diverse city like Beirut is 5,000 years of civilization, of layers in the
city,” Chamoun said. “This layer could be considered the contemporary layer of
the city for the 20th and 21st century.”
In 2009 alone, Lebanon witnessed 11.5 million square meters of construction,
according to data compiled by the Order of Architects and Engineers. Last year,
5,376 buildings were under construction, up from 2,931 in 2007.
But modern development doesn’t come without costs. New infrastructure for the
Beirut Marina alone is setting Solidere back $61 million per square
kilometer—totaling over $280 million, Chamoun said.
Beirut’s citizens will pay too. According to the World Health Organization, one
major environmental health problem in Lebanon is “air pollution due to cars,
factories, power plants and quarries”—something winds from the Mediterranean
help disperse. “Sea breezes basically take the pollutants from the city over the
sea, dissipate them, and you get the fresh air in return,” said Dr. Najat Saliba,
associate professor of Analytical Chemistry at the American University of
Beirut.
But if high-rise buildings are constructed along the coast, this may no longer
be the case. A 2009 study conducted by researchers at The Hong Kong University
of Science and Technology found that the retention time of pollutants increased
80 percent when aligned high-rise buildings created a wall between the city and
the sea. The same study investigating this “wall effect” also found that the
velocity ratio of air ventilation within the simulated urban setting decreased
40 percent at 2 meters above ground level. “Any high rise, whether it’s next to
the sea or inside the city will form a block to pollutants,” Saliba said.
And the dangers are imminent. Air pollution from smoke and chemicals results in
the premature death of about 3 million people a year worldwide, according to a
2007 study released by Cornell University, and contributes to cancer and immune
system and birth defects.
Regardless, ocean views are in demand in coastal cities around the world. And
Beirut is no exception. Apartments in Venus Towers, the three-building complex
set to be completed in Beirut Marina in 2014, are selling for $7,500 per square
meter for a sea view, with an additional $100 per square meter for every higher
floor, according to Batoul Warde, property consultant for real estate agency
Plus Properties.
But some view the high costs of waterfront properties as incongruent with the
financial capacity of Beirut’s population. “Some architects, or some planners,
view this as a lack of coordination with the people, with the Beirutis,” said
Chamoun. “Some statistics say Beirut was built for Lebanese returning from
exile, or coming from the Gulf State with a lot of money.”
Fanous agrees. “My feeling is that this is something that’s not for us,” she
said. “What Lebanese person cay pay four million, five million dollars an
apartment? No one.”