LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 06/2010

Bible Of the Day
Saint Matthew 21:33-43.45-46.
Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.' They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?" They answered him, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times." Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes'? Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit. When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

Friday of the Second week of Lent/Commentary of the day
Saint Bernard (1091-1153), Cistercian monk and doctor of the Church
Sermon 30 on the Song of Songs (©Cistercian publications)
The mystery of God's vineyard
Brethren, if we understand the Lord's vineyard to be the Church... it seems to me that we here encounter a significant prerogative. Note in a special way how the Church extended her boundaries all over the world...By this I understand that company of believers who were described as "of one heart and soul." (Acts 4,32)... For during the persecution it had not been so uprooted that it could not be elsewhere replanted and leased "to other tenants who will deliver the produce to her when the season arrives." No indeed, it did not perish, it changed to a new location; it even increased and spread further afield under the blessing of the Lord. So, brethren, lift up your eyes round about and see if «the mountains were not covered with its shade, the cedars of God with its branches; if its tendrils did not extend to the sea and its offshoots all the way to the river» (Ps 80[79],11-12). No wonder this: it is God's building, God's farm (1Cor 3,9). He waters it; he propagates it, prunes and cleanses it that it may bear even more fruit. When did he ever deprive of his care and labor that which his right hand planted? (Ps 80[79],15). There can be no question of neglect where the apostles are the branches, the Lord is the vine, and his Father is the vinedresser (Jn 15,1-5). Planted in faith, its roots are grounded in love, dug in with the hoe of discipline, fertilized with penitential tears, watered with the words of preachers, and so it abounds with the wine that inspires joy rather than debauchery, wine full of the pleasure that is never licentious. This is the wine that gladdens heart (Ps 104[103],15)... Be consoled, daughter of Sion! Yours is to wonder at the mystery rather than bewail the harm; let your heart be expanded to gather together the fullness of the pagans!

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Resurrecting Michel Sleiman/By: Michael Young/March 05/10
Mediterranean Union signals potential/Daily Star/March 05/10
Awakening ghosts/Now Lebanon/March 05/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for March 05/10
Washington, Damascus Renew Security Cooperation /Naharnet
U.S., Israel Worry Over Hizbullah Possession of Rockets Capable of Bringing Down F-16s/Naharnet
Hariri: Local and Foreign Policies Decided by the State, Only Death Would Separate Me from/Naharnet
Israel Avoiding Scenario of 'War with Syria,' Limiting it to Hizbullah, Hamas/Naharnet
Syria FM: Netanyahu is putting the cart before the horse/Ha'aretz
Israel treading carefully to avoid war with Syria/Ha'aretz
Washington, Damascus Renew Security Cooperation/Naharnet
Williams Lauds Lebanon's National Dialogue on 'Defense Strategy, Arms Outside State Control'/Naharnet
Lebanese Cabinet Appoints Banking Control Committee Members, Refers Municipal Law to Parliament/Naharnet
Sami Gemayel Meets Suleiman to Submit Phalange's Suggestions on Proportional Representation/Naharnet
Army Contains Quarrel in al-Souani between Villagers, French UNIFIL Patrol/Naharnet
Hezbollah won't disarm, scholar says/UPI
Cosmopolitan Dubai was perfect spot for Hamas killing/Reuters
LF: Hizbullah seeks to appease Karami/Daily Star
Shami denies claims of downplaying seriousness of allegations against US/Daily Star
Cabinet approves draft municipal electoral law/Daily Star
Professors strike as Cabinet fails to meet demands/Daily Star
Draft law to ban tobacco advertisement approved/Daily Star
Study looks into Arabic as a heritage language/Daily Star
Abboud, Wardeh discuss diaspora at news conference/Daily Star
Chouf project hopes to reconnect people with nature/Daily Star
Who is she in Lebanon?/Daily Star
LAU creates web database of prominent women/Daily Star

Cabinet Appoints Banking Control Committee Members, Refers Municipal Law to Parliament
/Naharnet/The Cabinet on Thursday appointed the members of Lebanon's Banking Control Committee and referred the amended municipal electoral law to Parliament for final approval.
Osama Mekdashi was appointed as the head of the committee while Ahmed Safa, Amin Awwad, Sami Azar and Munir Elian were appointed as members.
During the extraordinary session headed by President Michel Suleiman, Interior Minister Ziad Baroud demonstrated the report prepared by the minimized ministerial committee tasked with submitting suggestions on the Elections Supervision Committee. The Cabinet then adopted the municipal electoral draft law and referred it to Parliament, deeming it as urgent according to article 58 of the Lebanese Constitution. The reforms call for proportional representation in all districts as well as the direct election of mayors and their deputies by the people.
They also imply a 20-percent female quota and pre-printed ballots. President Suleiman stressed the need to hold the elections as PM Saad Hariri noted that the law has the largest amount of reforms ever adopted by a Lebanese government. Hariri hoped for a speedy debate in the parliament in order to pass reforms within the constitutional timeframe and to accomplish the elections before the tourism season starts. "A large number of embassies have expressed their admiration for the ability of the Lebanese to develop the electoral process in Lebanon, the thing that boosts the State's credibility," State Minister Jean Ogassapian said after the session.
He noted that the political factions comprising the government are "almost" the same political factions of the parliament, expecting the endorsement of the amended law, "as is," by the parliament. "The appointments of the Banking Control Committee were approved without any objections amid a total consensus among the ministers. Some colleagues suggested some amendments related to the Elections Supervision Committee, and as a result, the electoral law has been unanimously adopted." Beirut, 04 Mar 10, 21:42

U.S., Israel Worry Over Hizbullah Possession of Rockets Capable of Bringing Down F-16s
Naharnet/.S. and Israeli concerns mounted after Syria reportedly supplied Hizbullah with rockets capable of brining down F-16 warplanes. Head of the Israeli army Intelligence Research Department Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz has uncovered that Syria recently provided Hizbullah with Russian-made surface-to-air missiles type "GLA 9K338" which can bring down reconnaissance planes, helicopter gunships and advanced F-16 fighter jets, which form the backbone of the Israeli air force. He told the Foreign and Security Committee in the Knesset that "this dangerous development is a strategic shift in the balance of power in Lebanon." "Israel cannot remain silent on that," he warned. Meanwhile, Russian news agency Novosti reported that Hizbullah's possession of sophisticated Russian-made surface-to-air "Igla" type rockets will hold back the Israeli air force from destroying the projectiles Hizbullah own for fear of bringing down the attacking jet fighters. Novosti quoted sources in Moscow as saying that these missiles are shoulder-mounted and cannot be detected by radar or obliterated by any means.
The sources said "Syria regards these missiles as defensive projectiles and, therefore, does not see any problem in providing them to Hizbullah." Washington has conveyed its concerns to France over Syria's continued supply of weapons to Hizbullah, particularly since they include the more sophisticated surface-to-air missiles. Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Friday, citing Western sources in New York, said the U.S. State Department pointed out that "the Syrian arms supplies to Hizbullah have reached a point where Damascus now is providing the group with weapons from its own national military stockpile." Beirut, 05 Mar 10, 08:04

Washington, Damascus Renew Security Cooperation
Naharnet/Washington's security cooperation with Damascus on counterterrorism issues has been resumed after ties had been strained since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the U.S. Embassy in Damascus announced.The embassy revealed in a statement broadcast by the German national news agency that Daniel Benjamin, the U.S. State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism, met with a group of Syrian officials to discuss "shared counterterrorism concerns and threats." The statement described Syria's role as "constructive," stressing that "Syria can play a constructive role in mitigating these and other threats in cooperation with regional states and the United States." The renewal of security cooperation between Damascus and Washington kicked off two days after William Burns, the undersecretary for political affairs and third-ranking U.S. diplomat held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad. "There are challenges on the road but my meeting with President Assad leaves me hopeful that we can make progress together in the interest of both our countries," Burns said. U.S. President Barack Obama had promised to appoint a new ambassador to Damascus, ending a five-year hiatus. Washington recalled its ambassador in 2005 following the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri. That killing was widely blamed on Syria, which has roundly denied any involvement. Beirut, 04 Mar 10, 19:25

Williams Lauds Lebanon's National Dialogue on 'Defense Strategy, Arms Outside State Control'
Naharnet/U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams on Thursday welcomed the decision of President Michel Suleiman "to convene the national dialogue next week to discuss the issue of a national defense strategy and of the arms outside state control." "It is a long standing belief of the United Nations that this issue should be addressed through a Lebanese political process, and we believe reconvening the national dialogue is important in this regard," he added. Williams' remarks came after visiting PM Saad Hariri to discuss regional and domestic issues, and the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. "I informed the Prime Minister that I will be travelling to New York next week to brief the Security Council on the latest report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolution 1701," Williams said. "The briefing of the Security Council will take place on Friday, March 12. The most recent report highlights that despite recent rhetoric, the situation along the Blue Line has remained relatively stable, and all parties have continued to reassure the United Nations of their commitment to the cessation of hostilities and the full implementation of resolution 1701," he added. Williams noted that the relative calm "should not detract from the importance of working towards a permanent ceasefire as called for in Resolution 1701." Williams welcomed the decision of the Cabinet on Wednesday to appoint State Minister Jean Ogassapian as the government's coordinator for the development of a "comprehensive" strategy to manage Lebanon's borders. "On behalf of the United Nations, I give our full commitment to work with Minister Ogassapian in this regard," Williams stressed. On the other hand, Williams described the debate on municipal elections as "an indication of the exercise of the regular democratic process in Lebanon and of continuing efforts of reform." Beirut, 04 Mar 10, 18:28

Israel Avoiding Scenario of 'War with Syria,' Limiting it to Hizbullah, Hamas
Naharnet/Israel has taken steps in recent weeks to lower tensions with Syria and prevent a misunderstanding that could spark an escalation along the northern border, Haaretz reported.
It said a General Staff exercise code-named Firestones-12 last week did not include the scenario of a war with Syria -- only a clash with Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Although originally considered, the report said, the Israeli army opted not to include an element in the exercise that required the rushing of large numbers of conscript soldiers to the north, so that the Syrians would not mistake this as an offensive. Haaretz said Israel also relayed messages to Syria, assuring them that no nasty action was being considered. It quoted military sources as saying that the desire to avoid escalating tensions was one of the considerations that led to the cancelation of part of the exercise. Beirut, 05 Mar 10, 07:28

Army Contains Quarrel in al-Souani between Villagers, French UNIFIL Patrol
Naharnet/A quarrel took place Thursday in the southern village of al-Souani between local residents and a French UNIFIL patrol over "the frequent patrols in the internal neighborhoods and streets of the village," according to the state-run National News Agency. A number of youths and women hurled stones at the patrol, leading to shattering the glass of two patrol vehicles and damaging a civilian car after a speeding troop carrier bumped into it while fleeing the village. Immediately, Lebanese Army troops intervened and managed to end the quarrel and control the situation. Beirut, 04 Mar 10, 16:18

Sami Gemayel Meets Suleiman to Submit Phalange's Suggestions on Proportional Representation
Naharnet/Phalange parliamentary bloc MP Sami Gemayel on Thursday met with President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda Palace to submit the draft law suggested by Phalange Party aiming at amending some clauses in the municipal law.
Gemayel stressed to Suleiman the importance of preferential voting and allowing voters to arrange candidates' names in electoral ballot papers "to prevent any problems that may obstruct lists formation." He reiterated that his party holds onto the necessity of holding municipal elections on time "despite all considerations," stressing "the party's support for President Suleiman and his stances."On Wednesday, Gemayel stressed that "the type of proportional representation law suggested by the cabinet, in regards to predetermined ranking of candidates, undermines the concept of proportionality.""How would we convince villagers and residents of some areas to agree on who ranks first and who ranks second in a given list?" he added.
"This method generates a negative response to the concept of proportionality, while it is an excellent law, but improper implementation will fire back negatively."
At a press conference, Gemayel called for adopting preferential voting through giving the voter the right to arrange names in a list instead of predetermined ranking imposed by those who put the lists together. "That would lead to dilemmas and disputes among families, the thing that leads to halting the process of list formation," he added.
Gemayel also suggested to rank candidates according to alphabetical order giving the voters the right to choose their favorite candidates. He stressed: "This is the best way to achieve proportional representation, and not to get into problems. We have started to hear objections in opposition to proportionality coming from Zahle and Majdal Anjar."
As to March 14 general-secretariat's demand to invite the Arab League to participate in national dialogue, Gemayel said: "We want inter-Lebanese dialogue away from any foreign intervention." "This dialogue is for the Lebanese to talk to each other and find solutions without anyone's sponsorship," he added.
Commenting on the issue of expanding the national dialogue agenda to include topics other than the defensive strategy, Gemayel said: "We reiterate that Lebanon can't go on with the current approach. We are facing fundamental problems in the Lebanese political regime and a major crisis of confidence among the Lebanese that all need treatment. We do not oppose discussing important issues at the dialogue table, related to Lebanon's future, and topped by Hizbullah's arms issue."
Beirut, 04 Mar 10, 17:22

Roux: Tribunal Will Go On for Many Months, Facts Will Be Kept Confidential
Naharnet/The Head of the Defense Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, François Roux, has said the court will go on for many months, stressing that all the facts disclosed will be kept confidential given that the scope of charges is being expanded in the absence of evidence. His remarks were made during training seminars on international criminal law which have been organized with the Bars of Beirut and Tripoli. On Thursday, Roux met with Prime Minister Saad Hariri where he discussed the nature and role of the Defense Office.
A statement issued by the STL said Roux underlined that the Defense Office does not represent accused, but shall assist future Defense Counsel by providing legal advice and practical support. Roux also underlined that his office is fully committed to achieving fairness in the pursuit of justice for the assassination attack on former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others as well as the related crimes falling within the Tribunal's jurisdiction. Roux emphasized that the Defense plays an important role towards the credibility and legitimacy of an independent and impartial Tribunal. He also discussed with Hariri the responsibilities of the Head of Defense Office under the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, notably concerning the list of Defense Counsel and monitoring the effectiveness of Defense teams.
Beirut, 05 Mar 10, 09:09

Aoun Angry at Dedeyan, Tashnag Rushes to Clarify Situation
Naharnet/The one vote by Tashnag Cabinet Minister Abraham Dedeyan that tipped the balance in the voting for administrative appointments has angered Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun. MP Hagop Pakardonian rushed to clarify Tashnag's position, stressing to Aoun in a telephone conversation that Dedeyan's move is not to be taken as a coup against the Change and Reform bloc. Dedeyan is a member in Aoun's Change and Reform bloc.
On Wednesday, 20 Cabinet ministers voted in favor of a series of appointments.
Selection of names was not itself shocking, but the way Prime Minister Saad Hariri handled the issue when he insisted that the appointments be made by a majority vote of the Cabinet.
Those who voted in favor of the measure where ministers representing Future Movement, Progressive Socialist Party, AMAL, Lebanese Forces and Phalange Party.
Three ministers from Aoun's Change and Reform bloc vetoed the appointments and two Hizbullah members abstained from voting.
And to complete the surprise, Dedeyan was the person who tipped the balance in the voting.
Aoun expressed frustration as he listened to Pakradonian's explanations, according to pan-Arab daily al-Hayat.
Al-Hayat said Aoun, nevertheless, described as "sound" his relationship with Tashnag "even though Dedeyan's latest stance has created a gap."
It said that it has been found that "no political motive was behind Dedeyan's decision which was taken on his own."
Tashnag Secretary-General Hovik Mikhtarian also told As-Safir newspaper in remarks published Friday that the party's Central Committee has not taken any prior decision in this regard. Beirut, 05 Mar 10, 11:28

Resurrecting Michel Sleiman
Michael Young, March 5, 2010
Now Lebanon/President Michel Sleiman has come under fire by both sides as being ineffective. (Archive)
President Michel Sleiman decided to convene a national dialogue session, and all hell broke loose. You have to wonder why. Absolutely nothing will be achieved once it is held, particularly on the major topic at hand, Hezbollah’s weapons, so why all the fuss over who will attend? At best the invitation will mean having to listen to several hours of tedious monologues only partially compensated for by a free lunch.
As low as expectations are, however, the national dialogue is one of the few instruments that Sleiman has to reassert his dwindling power. Since entering office in May 2008, the president has found himself being repeatedly sniped at by Michel Aoun, Hezbollah and pro-Syrian figures, even as members of the friendlier March 14 coalition have increasingly, if privately, lamented Sleiman’s passivity and urge to please everyone.
The president is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t, much as was President Elias Sarkis during the late 1970s. Incapable of pleasing everyone, Sleiman has, instead, displeased everyone. The Syrians and Hezbollah, along with their allies, have sought to weaken him because, somewhere, he represents the sovereign state. Aoun has rarely missed an opportunity to discredit the president because he fears that Sleiman might emerge as the paramount Christian representative. That fear, albeit more quietly expressed, is shared by Samir Geagea, while March 14 would welcome a Sleiman more robust in support of its agenda, which the president will avoid so that he can remain a consensual leader.
So what is Michel Sleiman to do? There is no obvious answer, but a good start is to stop trying to pursue the mirage of consensus and, instead, play sectarian politics. The president has to shore up his Christian base of support, especially his Maronite base, even if that sometimes involves resorting to the crassest demagoguery. Only as a potent Christian representative will he be able to bargain from a position of relative strength domestically, while turning every attack against him into one against the Christians. Aoun has done very well with that tactic, but Sleiman, as head of state, has even greater potential to make it work.
For starters, the president needs to get out much more, so that he can work his community at the local level. He may not have many allies, but here he does have one who counts: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir. There is nothing wrong with relying on competent ministers, such as Ziad Baroud, to burnish a reputation, but that’s hardly enough. Sfeir is the most significant ticket to communal legitimacy, and can help Sleiman immensely through the clout and networks of the Maronite Church.
Legitimacy requires more than attending mass. The president must develop patronage relations with his coreligionists, but also be cunning enough not to publicly replicate the sordid behavior of other politicians. Saad Hariri and Nabih Berri have managed to balance their national roles with their communal ones. And while Berri’s sway is perhaps nothing compared to that of Hezbollah, the speaker has always cleverly played on Shia sensibilities to remain relevant. In other words, a leader who tries to remain above the fray only marginalizes himself. Lebanese politics requires getting down into the mud, and Sleiman cannot evade this.
Some might argue that the president would only diminish himself by engaging in retail politics. But all presidents, in all countries, take retail politics very seriously. Having support at the base, in the same way that Hezbollah does, or Walid Jumblatt, or Saad Hariri, buys a politician or a political organization a wider berth to maneuver. More important, it associates them with the broader aspirations of their community, making political enemies think twice before going after them.
Certainly, there would be difficulties. Neither Aoun nor Geagea would take kindly if the president hunted for clients among their constituents. But Sleiman has the authority of the state behind him, so that sometimes rivals will see an interest in accepting compromises with the president. The stronger Sleiman becomes, the more he will be regarded as a threat by all those who want to keep the presidency weak. There will be times when Sleiman will have to take decisive decisions, against one side or the other, even if that means inviting a confrontation. But he might also want to remember that nothing builds support for politicians as well as well-chosen confrontations they can define on their own terms.
Let’s be honest: Michel Sleiman has nothing to lose. He’s as weak as a president does not want to be, and his reviving the moribund national dialogue is a sign that he understands his dire predicament. But Sleiman is not without resources. He has former comrades in the army on whom he can rely in the right moments; he surely has a lot of insalubrious information on a lot of insalubrious people; the Maronite Church is looking for him to be more forceful; and by being dependent on no one in particular, Sleiman can better play adversaries off against one other.
Most important, Sleiman is a Maronite. His community may not be what it once was politically or demographically, but it does still hold the balance in a Lebanon alas polarized along sectarian lines between the two major Muslim sects. It may sound cynical to advise the president to exploit those divisions for his own purposes. But everyone else in the political class is doing precisely that. At least Sleiman would have a justifiable cause: saving his office from terminal insignificance. **Michael Young is opinion editor of the Daily Star newspaper in Beirut.

Awakening ghosts
March 4, 2010
Now Lebanon/
A new and worrying argument is being peddled by March 8 on the eve of the latest installment of the national dialogue. It goes something like this: Those political parties that created armed wings to fight in the 1975-90 civil war are in no position to dictate who should or should not – in this case Hezbollah – bear arms today or have a say in any discussion on the defense strategy at the upcoming talks.
In such a politically charged atmosphere, such an argument at the very least takes a swipe at the legitimacy of the Taif Accord and, at worst, threatens to undo two decades of relative peace, reawakening ghosts we thought had been put to rest.
Among those hawking this wicked ideology is Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, who has shown time and time again that he is no slouch in using hypocrisy to claim the moral high ground. “Let those who say that no one authorized [Nasrallah] to defend himself [sic] ask themselves who authorized them to bear arms in the 1970s for self-defense,” he sermonized.
Moving from pulpit to pit-bull, it was left to Tawhid Party leader Wiam Wahhab to issue the coup de grace by declaring that, seeing as Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea “worked in Israel’s favor and killed former Prime Minister Rashid Karami and thousands of Lebanese” he in particular is in no position to propose a defense strategy.
Wahhab is an unapologetic pro-Syrian who owed his short-lived ministerial portfolio to Damascus. It is hardly surprising that he should be adopting a line that resists Hezbollah’s disarmament, but what is alarming is the venom in his rhetoric. Wahhab must know that accusing Geagea of treason and raking over his alleged war crimes is hardly conducive to national reconciliation. And yet he does so with gusto.
This new discourse is symptomatic of a mentality that constantly looks for precedents to muddy the waters of debate and justify actions that stand in the way of meaningful progress. Championed by March 8, the same binary rationale was used to target and discredit March 14’s pro-independence ticket on the basis that many of its leaders had dealt with Syria during its 29-year “occupation”.
Still, with Damascus currently riding high in the region, the pro-Syrian March 8 coalition appears to be oblivious to the dangers of sowing such a dangerous seed in the minds of Lebanon’s partisan public, asking them to reach back and drag the past into the present, a volatile mix at the best of times.
It is no secret that many of our current politicians cut their teeth in the dark days of the civil war, but that war ended in the Saudi Arabian city of Taif on October 22, 1989, when Lebanon’s aging MPs signed the National Reconciliation Accord, an agreement that was “the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon.”
It may not be to the tastes of many Lebanese that those who represented Lebanon during those 15 difficult years and whose followers unleashed so much bloodshed still wield considerable influence, but the fact remains that they are a product of a free and fair democratic process.
But then again, Aoun and Wahhab clearly have no interest in helping steer Lebanon into unified and sovereign nationhood. Their words demonstrate that short term political gain, in all probability for the benefit of Iran and Syria, is their only goal.
Those who insist on discussing the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons and a future defense strategy are seeking to comply with United Nation’s Security Council Resolution 1701, which stresses “the importance of the extension of the control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory in accordance with the provisions of resolution 1559 (2004) and resolution 1680 (2006), and of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, for it to exercise its full sovereignty, so that there will be no weapons without the consent of the Government of Lebanon and no authority other than that of the Government of Lebanon.”
This must be the goal and there should be no distractions. Because the trouble with weapons is that one day someone is going to want to use them. And we all know where that leads.

On March 4, the Lebanese National News Agency carried the following report:
Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said in a speech delivered during an honorary celebration held by the Holy Koran Association: “Today, the Resistance has become a reality. It is no longer a debatable idea and is a fact that is recognized by all.
“The light of the Resistance did not shine to disappear, but rather to continue and light the way. Today, the rallying around the Resistance in Lebanon is bigger, wider and better than ever before and if we were to make a simple comparison between the situation in 2006 and today, we would find there is a great difference in favor of the Resistance. The Israeli enemy wanted to turn our participation in the Lebanese government into a burden and a predicament for Lebanon, but we turned participation in the government into a positive opportunity since all the presidents agreed on the support, praise and unity around the Resistance which, thwarted the Israeli plan. Therefore, instead of this participation being a problem, it became a deterrence power to be added to the other deterrence abilities of the Resistance fighters and the Lebanese people.
“Today, when we look at Israel, we see it committing war crimes every day while the world is watching. I say it to you clearly: If the world thinks that Israel is a problem for the Middle East region, it is mistaken. Israel is a problem for the whole world without any exception. It is a problem for the honest and the free, a problem for humanity, a problem for Europe and the United States and not just a problem for us. Now, you are only seeing one facet of its problem toward us, but the world will discover that it is a problem for humanity. This has already started with the discovery of the use of European passports and American credit cards by Israel, in order to drown the entire world in its crimes without this world being involved in them. It is saying that it can violate, falsify, play tricks, commit crimes and assassinate while using everyone and without any consideration for anyone’s sovereignty and rights.
“When we see the Arab concessions sought by Israel, being offered to Israel for free and promoting negotiations with it without conditions or restraints, we cannot help but wonder: What have you earned from that? What have you taken in return? Quite honestly, all that the Arabs did was lead Israel out of its predicament after it was in the spotlight for creating problems in the region and for refusing the solution and the settlement. While the Western world was talking about its hideousness and its crimes, from the Goldstone report to the demonstrations and positions issued by the deputies all around the Western world, some Arabs gave a certificate of good conduct to Israel for free and at the expense of the Palestinians and the honorable. I always said we did not want the Arabs to support the Palestinian cause, neither financially nor militarily. All we want from them is to remain quite and let the freedom-fighters liberate Palestine with their own hands.
“In Lebanon, death sentences were issued against some agents and we expect the officials in the Lebanese state to hasten the executive measures against the agents because the alleviated sentences in the past were the reason behind the opening of the arena before additional ones. In the past, some agents exited prison after having served an alleviated sentence and went back to collaborating with the enemy. Some others saw that this collaboration did not cost much, that the money was abundant and prison sentences comfortable and short. They even became sultans inside prison at times and this is why stringent measures must be implemented. The execution of the agents will enhance our deterrence power, fortify our arena and prevent the agents from thinking that the collaboration with Israel was easy...
“Hezbollah is in favor of the staging of municipal elections on time, whether with a law featuring reforms or not. What is important is for the municipal elections to be held on time, in the hope that they would give a new and lively image to the different towns. If the parties in the Cabinet and Parliament want to postpone it, we would not mind that since we have nothing to win or lose whether they were to be held on time or delayed... Therefore, there is no need for all these disputes. Just decide what you want to do. Either you want them to be held on time and we are ready for that, or you want to postpone them and we will carry the responsibility with you on the basis of the principle of putting concord ahead of conflicts.”