LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 12/2010
Bible Of the
Day
Matthew15/29-39: "Jesus departed there, and came near to the sea of Galilee; and
he went up into the mountain, and sat there. 15:30 Great multitudes came to him,
having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and they put
them down at his feet. He healed them, 15:31 so that the multitude wondered when
they saw the mute speaking, injured whole, lame walking, and blind seeing—and
they glorified the God of Israel. 15:32 Jesus summoned his disciples and said,
“I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three
days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away fasting, or they
might faint on the way.” 15:33 The disciples said to him, “Where should we get
so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?” 15:34
Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few
small fish.” 15:35 He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground; 15:36
and he took the seven loaves and the fish. He gave thanks and broke them, and
gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. 15:37 They all ate,
and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were
left over. 15:38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and
children. 15:39 Then he sent away the multitudes, got into the boat, and came
into the borders of Magdala".
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special
Reports
Canada Concerned by Settlement
Expansion in East Jerusalem/March
11/10
Nigerian Military Accomplices
in Massacre Against Christians?/icc/March 11/10
Cassese's optimism hides real worries/By
Michael Young/March
11/10
Boycott and madness/By:Hanin
Ghaddar/March
11/10
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for March 11/10
Hariri to Visit Damascus for a
Second Time in as Many Months/Naharnet
Syria
Turns Blind Eye on Trials in Absentia for Lebanese Officials/Naharnet
Cabinet
Considering Mechanism for Appointments/Naharnet
Parliament Not Eager to Adopt Proportional Representation Elections/Naharnet
Ex-Lebanese Policeman Files Lawsuit against 4 Syrian Officers/Naharnet
Naharnet Exclusive: Guy Says 'No
Imminent War on Lebanon, We Expect More from Syria/Naharnet
Qassem
Says Hizbullah Has Succeeded through Armed Resistance but Doesn't Oppose
Diplomacy/Naharnet
Gemayel
Fears Lebanon May Become 'Lab for Israeli, Iranian Weapons/Naharnet
Berri
Meets Families of Plane Crash Victims, Promises Financial Aid/Naharnet
Tribunal
for Lebanon courtroom to host its first trial in May/Daily
Star
Biden
condemns Israel's move to build more settlements/Daily
Star
Israel
scraps military maneuvers after US pressure reports/Daily
Star
UNIFIL
and Lebanese Army conduct joint drills/Daily
Star
Gates in
Riyadh to discuss bolstering Saudi air defense, Iran's nuclear program/AFP
Prize
signals Saudi nod for Erdogan as Mideast force/AFP
Israel and Syria 'to
renew talks'/National
Palestinians Warn Israel on Talks/Wall
Street Journal
Hizbullah: Disarming Resistance Not In Lebanon's
Interest/MEMRI (blog)
Fatah
reshuffle in Lebanon could spark intra-factional clashes/Daily
Star
Berri
pledges to provide aid to families of Ethiopian Airlines crash vicitms/Daily
Star
Siniora
earns Raad's ire in war over words/Daily
Star
Hariri
to pay another visit to Syria by end of month/Daily
Star
Lebanon
ranks 82nd globally, 13th in MENA in country risk/Daily
Star
Najjar: I will accompany
Hariri to Syria if asked to do so/Now Lebanon
Saadeh says Geagea should make
first move, not Franjieh/Now Lebanon
Ahmadinejad warns
“corrupt” powers against destabilizing Gulf/Now Lebanon
Pietton pessimistic over
national dialogue outcome/Now Lebanon
Riyadh, Ankara keen on
improving Lebanese-Syrian relations/Now Lebanon
Cassese's optimism hides real worries
By Michael Young
/Daily Star/Thursday, March 11, 2010
There was excitement in Beirut this week, after the Lebanese heard about the
60-page report issued by the president of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon,
Antonio Cassese. The document, describing the tribunal’s progress during its
first year, was well-structured, informative about the institution’s legal
framework, and elegant, with erudite references to Hegel, Voltaire and Plato.
But it’s not at all obvious why so many people managed to read good news into
the text.
Cassese did express optimism, writing that the tribunal had made “significant
progress towards building a case which will bring perpetrators to justice.”
However, the president also added that “much remains to be done, and the
unwavering support and continued cooperation of Lebanon and all other States, as
well as donor Countries and relevant organizations, are needed in order for the
[prosecution] to successfully fulfill its mandate.” Unwavering support is
something states rarely give, particularly to a tribunal whose work has
significant political repercussions, so Cassese was sounding a cautionary note.
Cassese wrote that the assassins of the former prime minister, Rafik Hariri,
“carried out the attack with the complicity of a wider group.” Nothing new here.
Recall that in his first report in March 2006, the then commissioner of the
United Nations investigation, Serge Brammertz, uncharacteristically provided
real information when he wrote: “The Commission believes that there is a layer
of perpetrators between those who initially commissioned the crime and the
actual perpetrators on the day of the crime, namely those who enabled the crime
to occur.”
International investigators, particularly the prosecutor of the tribunal, Daniel
Bellemare, know very well who was behind the killing of Hariri, and how it was
done. Cassese’s report, if one reads carefully, confirms this. We know that
there was someone who commissioned the crime, and it doesn’t require much
imagination to say who it was. We know there was a suicide bomber who actually
detonated the device. And we know there was an intermediate circle of enablers
observing the former prime minister’s movements who communicated only between
themselves. Someone in that group apparently made an unauthorized telephone call
that broke the closed circle, pointing investigators in the direction of
specific individuals. How do we know this? From the mass of confirmed
information out there, through the UN commission’s reports, and because two
Lebanese officers in charge of analyzing telecommunications intercepts, Samir
Shehadeh and Wissam Eid, were the victims of assassination attempts, one of them
successful.
As Cassese implies in his report, it is the intermediate group of enablers that
is posing the most problems for tribunal investigators. “[T]he authors of
terrorist crimes generally make up small and secretive cells, which sometimes
act in clandestine fashion. Hence, it is extremely difficult to identify the
perpetrators of a specific crime.”
More disturbing is that little information appears to exist for indicting those
who commissioned the crime. Cassese’s report indicates that the attention is on
the “secretive cell” of enablers-perpetrators, not on Syria, which alone had the
influence and motive to organize a conspiracy to eliminate Hariri. One reason is
that the testimony of Mohammad Zuheir al-Saddiq has been discredited; but also
that Serge Brammertz never moved beyond that setback to pursue an aggressive
police investigation inside Syrian territory, although his mandate permitted
this and his hypothesis for how the crime was committed demanded it.
The tribunal president also tries to explain that the Lebanese need to be
patient about the timeframe for indictments. “As a rule, at least two or three
years elapse between the beginning of criminal investigations proper by an
International Tribunal’s Prosecution and the initiation of trial proceedings,”
he writes. That is a sleight of hand. Investigators have had almost five years
to look at Hariri’s assassination, with no sign of indictments coming soon, even
if it’s true that the first investigator, Detlev Mehlis, was not preparing a
formal legal case.
But worse, international tribunals do not generally find themselves without any
identified suspects this late in the game. Suspects in custody are the backbone
of an investigation. They are the ones who can provide information about the
nuts and bolts of a crime. As Cassese admits, the problem with terrorist crimes
is that it is difficult for investigators to gather information on the structure
and chain of command of the perpetrators, because they are so cautious. If
Daniel Bellemare doesn’t have enough to prepare indictments now, why should we
expect this to change in the future?
We understand from Cassese’s report that in the coming months Bellemare will try
to garner more information about the enablers and the suicide bomber to indict.
This will require the assistance of the Lebanese authorities, who, according to
the agreement reached between the Lebanese judiciary and the tribunal, “may not
refuse to cooperate on any of the grounds usually applicable in inter-State
legal assistance or extradition treaties (such as non-extradition of nationals,
political offence exception, double criminality requirement or [double
jeopardy]).” And, according to the tribunal’s statutes, provision is made for
conducting trials in the absence of the accused.
In other words, for Bellemare to make headway he must ask the Lebanese to bring
in individuals either who can shine a light on the cell of enablers or who
actually belonged to it. Cassese doesn’t name names, but it’s very easy to guess
to whom he is referring. There is one group that fits the profile he outlines,
and we can be confident that the Lebanese authorities will reply that they are
unable to implement Bellemare’s summons. This leaves the prosecutor with the
option of indicting suspects in absentia, although the disadvantage there is
that it will be nearly impossible for him to subsequently uncover the chain of
command in the crime. It may also provoke civil discord in Lebanon.
This makes for an odd disconnect in Cassese’s report. He tries to reassure the
Lebanese that the delay in an indictment is normal, that these kinds of cases
take time. But in the end, the obstacles he describes are structural, having
little to do with time. If Bellemare cannot bring in certain suspects today for
questioning or arrest, it’s doubtful that he will be able to do so tomorrow
either. The prosecutor is not in the dark about what happened. But he needs the
key to unlock an indictment, and he needs the Lebanese to help him find that
key. The Lebanese will most probably not do so, leaving Bellemare only with bad
choices.
That’s why Cassese’s optimism seems contrived. The tribunal president knows
what’s wrong. He has to somehow induce the Lebanese to do what they have no
intention of doing. Despite the claims to the contrary, Lebanese and regional
politics will profoundly shape what lies ahead. Cassese’s report essentially
admits this, albeit in the subtle language of the jurist. The Lebanese have no
reason to feel especially upbeat.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR.
500 Christians Slaughtered
Where is the worldwide outrage for such an atrocity?
How could the murder of a six-week-old child be revenge for anything?
On 7 March 2010, in the middle of the night, Muslims murdered 500 Christian
women and children in the village of Dogo Nahawa, near the city of Jos. The
Muslims massacred children as young as six weeks old.
Muslim extremists invaded the village at 2 a.m. local time and slaughtered
Christians with machetes. In some cases, the Muslims wiped out entire families.
Of those murdered, 380 were buried in a mass grave. The police have arrested 93
people and recovered guns, knives and other types of weapons from the suspects.
The security officials knew what was happening but did not intervene.
The Reverend Chuwang Avou, General Secretary of the Christian Association of
Nigeria in Plateau State said Christians from the village called him as soon as
the Muslims started their attack. He immediately alerted the security officials.
The security officials went to the village, where they witnessed Muslims were
killing Christians, but didn’t intervene to stop the massacre. When other
Christians from surrounding villages attempted to intervene, the security forces
stopped them by stating they couldn’t enter the village until 6 a.m. The Muslims
carried out the massacre until 5:30 a.m. and then left the village.
Reverend Avou, said, “Christians are intimidated. We need assistance from
outside Nigeria because we don’t have confidence in this country. We have lost
confidence in the security forces in our country . . . . Military people,
especially the army, are taking sides. We want the United Nation to come to our
aid.”
Jonah John Jang, the Governor of Plateau State, where the attack took place,
confirmed the failure of the military to stop the killing. According to the
Nigerian newspaper, This Day, on March 6, at 9 p.m., the governor reported the
possibility of the attack to Major-General Maina Saleh, the commanding officer
of the military in the area. But the military failed to take actions despite the
warning by the governor.
According to Governor Jang, the massacre “could have been avoided, if they acted
on my report.”
Canada Concerned by Settlement Expansion in East Jerusalem
http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2010/100.aspx
(No. 100 - March 11, 2010 - 12:15 p.m. ET) The Honourable Lawrence Cannon,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement expressing
Canada’s concern regarding the planned expansion of Israeli settlements in East
Jerusalem, and encouraging Israelis and Palestinians to move ahead with indirect
peace talks:
“The Government of Canada regrets the Government of Israel’s announcement of
plans for the construction of further housing units in East Jerusalem.
“Consistent with the positions of the United States, the European Union, the
United Nations and other key partners, the Canadian government sees the
construction of permanent settlements in East Jerusalem as an obstacle to the
prospects for peace.
“Canada believes that all parties should abide by their international
commitments. This announcement does not advance the cause of peace in the
region.
“Canada welcomes the recent announcement that Israelis and Palestinians intend
to start indirect peace talks. Canada has consistently held that the way forward
for both parties must be through a negotiated settlement of this decades-old
conflict, in accordance with the commitments they have each undertaken. We hope
that the parties, with U.S. participation, can achieve progress that will lead
to a resumption of direct negotiations in pursuit of a comprehensive peace
agreement.”
Ex-Lebanese Policeman Files Lawsuit against 4 Syrian Officers
/Naharnet/A former policeman with Lebanon's Internal Security Forces Elias
Tanious has filed a lawsuit against four Syrian officers on kidnapping on
nine-year imprisonment charges.
The lawsuit identified the Syrian officers as Jameh Jameh, who was head of
security at the Beau Rivage Hotel in Beirut during the Syrian tutelage over
Lebanon and Kamal Youssef, better known as Nabi Youssef, Col. Deeb Zaytouni and
Col. Barakat al-Ish, in addition to Ghassan Alloush, a Syrian native who became
a naturalized Lebanese citizen.
It charged the officers snatched him from a friend's house in Beirut's Talet al-Khayyat
neighborhood the night of Dec. 15, 1991 and took him to Beau Rivage where Jameh
was waiting for him. Tanious told the story of his torture to the daily An-Nahar.
"I was beaten almost to death," Tanious recalled, before moving him to Anjar
where he fell into the hands of Nabi Youssef. "There, I wished I would rather
die than go through all these phases of torture," he said. Tanious said torture
included pulling out his nails, the wheel and the electric chair. The former
policeman said that from Anjar he was taken to Mazzeh prison in Syria and then
to other Syrian jails after he was tried in a "mock court" in Jdeidit Yabous
where a number of Syrian officers, including Zaytoni, were present. Beirut, 11
Mar 10, 10:39
Syria Turns Blind Eye on Trials in Absentia for Lebanese Officials
Naharnet/Syria has reportedly turned a blind eye on trials in absentia for
Lebanese officials in the lawsuit filed against them by former head of Lebanon's
General Security Jamil Sayyed.
Syria has threatened to try Lebanese political and security officials in
absentia over Sayyed's lawsuit which accuses them of slander, depriving him of
his freedom and falsifying witnesses in the assassination case of former Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri. A senior political source told pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat on
Thursday that talks between Syrian and Saudi officials during King Abdullah's
recent visit to Damascus and between Syria and Turkey during Turkish FM's visit
to Damascus discussed the progress made in Lebanese-Syrian ties.
The source said Saudi and Turkish talks with Syrian officials succeeded in
diverting Damascus'attention on the issue of trials in absentia for Lebanese
figures. Beirut, 11 Mar 10, 10:06
Hariri to Visit Damascus for a Second Time in as Many Months
Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri has plans for a second visit to Damascus in
the beginning of April to review old deals between Lebanon and Syria and propose
new agreements as needed. Following a Cabinet meeting Wednesday at the Grand
Serail, Information Minister Tareq Mitri announced that Hariri is scheduled to
visit Syria beginning of April after an official state visit to Germany on
Saturday. The announcement of Hariri's Damascus visit apparently came to silence
recent media reports that said relations between Hariri and Syrian have
deteriorated following remarks made by the Lebanese premier which reportedly
upset Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Hariri said Syria had rejected
diplomatic ties with Lebanon and compared Lebanese-Syrian relations with those
that prevailed during Saddam Hussein's era between Iraq and Kuwait. "Syrian
behavior was similar to the one that existed between Iraq and Kuwait when former
President Saddam Hussein refused to recognize Kuwait," Hariri said in a recent
interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. Saudi Arabia was said
to have stepped in to mend bridges between Hariri and Assad. Hariri's office had
denied a press report that said Hariri was not forced to respond to Syrian
demands before Damascus fulfill its promises. A statement issued by Hariri's
office said "many parties were harmed by the positive relations" between Hariri
and Assad. Beirut, 11 Mar 10, 08:04
Cabinet Considering Mechanism for Appointments
A Cabinet meeting on Wednesday again failed to approve administrative
appointments. Naharnet/Cabinet, however, approved a proposal by the Higher
Judicial Council to name two active members among its ranks and appoint one
additional member to the Justice Council, Information Minister Tareq Mitri
announced following a Cabinet session held at the Grand Serail on Wednesday.
"There were no appointments," Mirti told reporters. "There were some
reservations but discussions did not take a long time." Those who expressed
reservations were ministers Elias Murr, Jebran Bassil, Charbel Nahhas, Abraham
Dedeyan, Adnan Sayyed Hussein and Mona Ofeish. Nevertheless, Council approved
the nominations. Cabinet will hold an extraordinary session at Baabda Palace
later Thursday to discuss a mechanism for appointments. State Minister for
Administrative Development Mohammed Fneish said Cabinet will "engage in the
discussion of several appointment mechanisms by taking into account the text of
the Constitution and based on the competence of a person." Beirut, 11 Mar 10,
09:04
Parliament Not Eager to Adopt Proportional Representation Elections
Naharnet/The Justice and Administration parliamentary committee is due to
convene on Thursday to continue debate on a draft law on municipal elections
that was forwarded by Parliament in a hasty manner. Other committees met
Wednesday to discuss reforms introduced to the municipal electoral law. Pan-Arab
daily al-Hayat said Thursday lawmakers did not show eagerness to adopt
proportional representation elections "because of the complexity and difficulty
in applying it in both big and small towns." Beirut, 11 Mar 10, 11:32
New Appointments in Fatah Leadership, Maqdah Excluded
Naharnet/Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has ordered new appointments within
the leadership of Fatah in Lebanon, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported Thursday.
The newspaper said Mounir al-Maqdah, the head of the Palestinian Armed Struggle
in Lebanon, wasn't given any new post. As for Fatah's commander in Lebanon,
Sultan Abul Aynayn, he was appointed as Abbas' advisor for Palestinian refugee
affairs. He could be based in Amman. Fatah's military commander in Lebanon,
Sobhi Abu Arab, who remained in his post said Maqdah was not appointed to
another position as a result of the mistake he made during the clashes that
broke out on February 15 between members of the Fatah faction and Osbat al-Ansar
militants at Ain el-Hilweh camp. Abu Arab said that Maqdah was biased in favor
of Osbat al-Ansar and had differences with Abul Aynayn. Beirut, 11 Mar 10, 11:12
Naharnet Exclusive: Guy Says 'No Imminent War on Lebanon, We Expect More from
Syria'
Naharnet/British Ambassador to Lebanon Frances Guy on Wednesday reassured that
there is no imminent war between Hizbullah and Israel looming on the horizon.
Guy described as "reassuring" Tuesday's remarks of Israeli Defense Minister Ehud
Barak who stated that his country will not attack Lebanon unless Hizbullah
starts the war.
She also reminisced the latest speech of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
in which he stressed that war will only be in response to an Israeli attack.
"Syria's role in the region is improving; however, we expect further
cooperation," Guy said in an interview with Naharnet.
The British ambassador expressed optimism regarding the Lebanese-Syrian
relations "which are developing in a positive direction and leaning toward more
seriousness."
As to the January murder in Dubai of Hamas top military commander Mahmoud
Mabhouh, Guy said that an investigation is taking place in Britain that will be
followed by an investigation on Israeli soil in order to take the appropriate
measures. Mabhouh, a founder of Hamas' military wing, was found dead in a room
of the luxurious Al Bustan Rotana Hotel near Dubai's airport on January 20.
Twelve British, six Irish, four French, three Australian and one German
passports were used by 26 named suspects, according to Dubai police, who say
they fled the Gulf emirate on flights to Europe and Asia. Israeli officials have
refused to confirm or deny the charges against Mossad but the killing has caused
a diplomatic headache for the Jewish state with the states whose passports were
used summoning its envoys to hear angry protests. Beirut, 10 Mar 10, 22:28
Nigerian Military Accomplices
in Massacre Against Christians?/icc/March 11/10
http://www.persecution.org/suffering/newssummpopup.php?newscode=11903&PHPSESSID=f0e88144c4e3ebaa1b9443357a5f0ce0
Washington, D.C. (March 10, 2010)–International Christian Concern (ICC) has
learned that the Nigerian military refused to intervene when clearly warned that
Muslims were planning to slaughter Christians in the village Dogo Nahawa.
According to the Nigerian daily This Day, on March 6 at 9 PM, Jonah John Jang (a
Christian), the governor of Plateau State (the State where the attack took
place) reported the possibility of the attack to Major-General Maina Saleh(a
Muslim), the commanding officer of the military in the area. But the military
failed to take action despite the specific information from the governor. “It
(the massacre) could have been avoided if they acted on my report,” said the
governor. Reverend Chuwang Avou, General Secretary of the Christian Association
of Nigeria in Plateau State, told ICC that Christians from the village of Dogo
Nahawa called him as soon as the Muslims started the carnage at 2 AM local time.
He immediately alerted the security officials. The security officials went to
the village while Muslims were killing Christians and still didn’t intervene to
stop the massacre. Further, when Christians from surrounding villages attempted
to intervene, the security forces stopped them by stating they could not enter
the village until 6 AM. The Muslims slaughtered more than 500 Christians before
they left the village at 5:30 AM.“Christians are intimidated and getting
frustrated. We need assistance from outside Nigeria because we don’t have
confidence in this country. We have lost confidence in the security forces in
our country. ..Military people, especially the army, are taking sides…We want
the United Nation to come to our aid.” said Reverend Avou.
Religious, Not Ethnic Violence
Nigerian Christian leaders also expressed their frustration that the Muslim
attack has been labeled “ethnic” violence by the media and politicians. Leaders
of the Christian Association of Nigeria told ICC that the violence was part of
an Islamic Jihad against Christian minorities in northern Nigeria.
An eye witness of the violence told ICC that the Muslims were “shouting allahu
akbar, allahu akbar (God is great). If you hear them shouting allahu akbar,
allahu akbar, then it means that they have killed somebody.”
“They burn our churches. They burn our Christian schools. They burn properties
belonging to Christians. And they get support from all over the Islamic nation,”
said Reverend Avou.
During the attack the Muslims burned down a Roman Catholic Church, the
Evangelical Church of West Africa and the Church of Christ in Nigeria.
Church leaders said that the Muslims are bent on forcefully converting everyone
in Plateau State to Islam.
ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho, said, “Its unfortunate for
the mainstream media to ignore the central Jihad motivation of the massacre of
Christians. We strongly condemn Nigerian security officials for refusing to
intervene and stop the Muslim carnage. We call upon the international community
to investigate this latest attack against Christians.”
Boycott
and madness
Is working with anti-Zionist Israelis an act of treason?
Hanin Ghaddar, March 11, 2010
Now Lebanon/A protester shouts anti-Israeli slogans during a demonstration in
Beirut (AFP).
A crusade was launched this week against Sari Hanafi, assistant professor of
Sociology at the American University in Beirut. The reason behind the campaign
is that Hanafi, a Palestinian born in Syria, co-edited the book The Power of
Inclusive Exclusion: Anatomy of Israeli Rule in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories with two Israeli academics, thereby violating the guidelines of the
Palestinian Academic Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)
at AUB. But did he?
The fact that Hanafi worked with two Israelis could understandably offend
Lebanese who suffered from Israeli aggression for years, and who consider Israel
an enemy of the Lebanese state. But if Hanafi’s critics stopped to think for a
second or actually tried reading the book, they would realize that Hanafi did
not really offend anyone. On the contrary, the content of the book cannot but be
regarded as supportive of the Palestinians.
But in Lebanon, things tend to be either black or white.
Hanafi, at a town hall meeting held Monday at AUB, told members of the audience
that the book “provides a detailed analysis of the ways in which Israel deploys
technologies of power and systems of control to maintain its stranglehold over
the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It is a book that concentrates on the
illegality of the occupation regime.” Moreover, the two Israelis Hanafi
co-edited the book with, Adi Ophir and Michal Givoni, are anti-Zionist.
In their introduction, the editors said the book was an attempt to examine the
occupation and came from their belief “that such an inquiry is essential for
forming effective resistance to the occupation and for coming to terms with the
real prospects of bringing it to an end.”
Ending the occupation through peaceful, intellectual and scientific resistance
is the aim of the book. But no, according to those who launched the campaign
against Hanafi, this is not resistance; this is normalization. They believe only
in armed resistance and that breaking certain debatable “rules” to end the
occupation is collaboration with the enemy.
An anti-normalization petition was released and signed by 274 AUB staff,
students and alumni, calling on the university “to recognizes that normal
academic exchange with Israeli academic institutions and their faculty is not an
option open to AUB faculty and staff.”
The town hall meeting, which was supposed to be an academic debate on the
implications of PACBI at AUB, thus turned into a trial where critics accused
Hanafi of committing the unspeakable, ignoring both the content of the book and
Hanafi’s history of defending the Palestinians against Israeli occupation.
Hanafi is known for his activism for the civil and human rights of the
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Although the petition states that it does not
have anything personal against Hanafi, something signees have repeated to the
press, the professor was verbally attacked by AUB students who showed a glaring
lack of respect for his position and past work.
One of the critics’ claims, that Hanafi violated Lebanese law by collaborating
with Israelis, is not true, as he worked on the book seven years ago, before
coming to Lebanon, though it was only published now. But this is a moot point,
as those who attacked him were not offering well-though-out, reasoned arguments.
They reacted emotionally, as is always the case when Israel is mentioned.
Neither the content of the book nor its aim mattered to the angry crowd.
Hanafi did what he thought was right, and his choice and point of view should
have been respected. But we live in Lebanon. Viewpoints and personal choices are
rarely respected here; they are used as material to provoke the masses.
The masses did not read the book. They did not even listen to Hanafi when he
said that the book has been attacked by pro-Israeli organizations, condemning it
as a publication intended to “delegitimize Israel.”
They did not hear him say that the editors he worked with have for years
expressed a clear position in favor of ending the occupation and recognizing
refugees’ right to return.
They did not listen to him saying repeatedly that the project was not funded by
the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, as some claimed during the campaign.
The angry masses did not even stop to consider that their own idols “committed
the same crime.” Famed Arabist Edward Said, and Israeli-Palestinian politician
Azmi Bechara were not criticized for exchanging ideas with anti-occupation
Israelis. Even the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine worked with
leftist Israelis at some point. But for the angry crowd gathered at the AUB town
hall, that is inconsequential. Said and Bechara were not based in Lebanon, nor
did they teach at AUB.
The double standards are striking.
Even PACBI, which initially criticized the book for violating its guidelines,
immediately issued a statement clarifying that neither the book nor its editors
should fall under the boycott. So what’s really the problem?
If it is only because AUB was mentioned next to Tel Aviv University in the book,
it does not warrant the vicious and aggressive attack Hanafi suffered. The
problem is that some people live off of their righteous anger and need fuel for
their wrath. They do not care if the book serves the Palestinians or not,
because the issue is apparently not Palestine or the Palestinians. It is about
politics and the desire to keep the masses angry.
Hanafi tried to logically explain his position. He said that he and his
co-editors were trying to reach a wider audience. “Fortunately or unfortunately,
we know from experience that we have a larger audience when we present more
sides. At least in instances like these, the other side is one that is critical
of the Israeli occupation and is not giving counterarguments to our ideas,” he
concluded. However, logic is not a welcome guest in the heart of madness. Hanafi
was forced to apologize. *Hanin Ghaddar is managing editor of NOW Lebanon
Michel Aoun
March 10, 2010
On March 9, the Lebanese National News Agency carried the following report:
The Change and Reform bloc held its weekly meeting at the house of Deputy
General Michel Aoun in Rabieh. Following the meeting, General Aoun said:
“We have discussed several issues and informed the bloc about the dialogue
session which was held today and did not witness anything of importance because
it is still at the stage of proposing the ideas without addressing the core of
the different topics. I suggested the annulment of certain expressions from the
political climate because they obstructed sound thinking, such as the question
revolving around whether Lebanon was a confrontation state or a back-up state.
This question does not apply to Lebanon because it is a targeted country and in
such cases, confrontation is imposed on it and is not a choice. If Lebanon is a
back-up state, will it run backwards? And if it does retreat, who will be in the
front?
There is another question we are hearing about the peace and war decision and in
whose hand it is. However, neither the peace decision nor the war decision is in
our hands. In 2006, the entire world accused Hezbollah of waging war, but it
later turned out that Israel was the one that adopted the decision to wage war.
We knew that but many did not recognize it and the issue became the object of
countless debates. Whoever wants to adopt the war decision should be prepared to
attack. Neither we nor the resistance enjoy this decision because the resistance
was prepared to defend. Therefore, those who do not wish to move toward the
enemy’s territories cannot say they hold the peace and war decision since they
barely hold the decision to defend themselves. There is a third question being
raised regarding the state’s sovereignty and the spread of its authority. The
state is present on all the Lebanese territories. It is hunting down the
criminals on all the Lebanese territories and if there are zones in which it is
prohibited, let us know. There are gangs and outlaws but they are all being
pursued. No one is protected and there are no protected areas. There are very
limited locations enjoying personal protection but no one is above the law. They
are also talking about the policy of axes, saying: “We do not want to place
Lebanon in any axis.” We are not in an axis. We were under Israeli bombing and
nearby states such as Syria and Iran supported us. Israel was accusing these
states of fighting in Lebanon but this is not true and the proof of that is the
absence of any injuries in the ranks of any Syrian or Iranian nationals.
“We have carried all the burdens of the war and they started calling us the axis
of evil, knowing that we were affected on the personal level, at the level of
the country and externally. We are not part of axes and if we were to receive
support from a certain axis whose help we need and if this axis were to open its
country for us when we were blockaded, we will not turn this assistance down.
“Therefore, these expressions should be eliminated from our political dictionary
and we hope that all the politicians, whether those who are with the resistance
and those who want to disarm it, will be very accurate in using these
expressions so as not to mislead the public opinion. This is what I proposed
during the session with a clear conscience. We are not in any axis. We are
targeted and need someone to support us. We do not hold the peace and war
decision because it is not in our hands, and is rather exercised on us. We are
in a position of confrontation because we are targeted and are forced to be in
it and we support the state’s sovereignty and the spread of its authority over
all the Lebanese territories.
“During our meeting, we also talked about the municipal electoral law. We
approve it as it came out from the government and want it to be over as soon as
possible. We addressed the deterioration of the security situation, the use of
knives in front of the City Mall, the woman who was killed in Ghazieh and the
shooting in restaurants. It all started at the Maison Blanche [restaurant] and I
do not know in what other locations, all featuring the use of guns. It seems we
have entered the age of the mafia... and need the security apparatuses to move a
little and act fast. There are certain crimes whose perpetrators were arrested
and this is good, but we need more...”
There is talk about the fact that the national dialogue table will be expanded
to feature topics other than the arms, and some are saying that this aims at
postponing the discussion of this issue indefinitely. Do you think that
President of the Republic General Michel Suleiman issued his call for a national
dialogue too soon, especially since we have learned that there is a certain
Syrian discontent in this regard?
Each person knows what should be done based on his own circumstances. To me,
dialogue was expected and it could have been staged this week, the one before it
or the one after it. I do not know who approves it or disapproves it. I have
criticized some of its ideas not in terms of the date but in terms of the
representation and especially that of the Catholics... In regard to the
discussion of the defense strategy, it features the economic and military facets
as well as diplomacy and all the human, economic, educational and media
capabilities of the nation. What does the expression defense strategy mean? What
does economic strategy mean? It is about putting together all the available
tools to defend yourself in time of war or security imbalance threatening the
entity of the state and the people. Therefore, all the topics are on the table
to achieve this great accomplishment called national strategy...
The president of the republic considered that the work of the resistance started
when the Lebanese army was no longer capable of carrying out its tasks.
This is the defense strategy. Where does the work of the resistance begin? It
begins after the infiltration of the border. It is not a hostile act, but rather
a defensive act. If there is an attack, it would therefore not need anyone’s
permission and should be ready. I have said it before, the action of the
resistance is imposed by the legitimacy of existence. When there is an organized
state with a competent defensive army, the arms of the resistance may be
considered illegitimate and this is true, since it becomes like the arms of the
militia in the past. Some people [now] have illegitimate arms but have no
mission except “to poke each other.” This is illegitimate. However, the
legitimacy of existence is above the law.