LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِDecember 25/2010

Bible Of The Day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 2,1-14. In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria.  So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests

Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports  
Christian Exodus From Iraq Gathers Pace/AINA/December 24/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for December 24/10
Report: Syria official arrested for allegedly aiding Israel 'espionage/Haaretz
Sfeir urges Lebanese to unite for the sake of the nation/Daily Star
Sayyed describes Bellemare's views on Court skeptics as absurd/Daily Star
Future MPs defend use of telecom evidence/Daily Star

Lebanon's microfinance sector suffers from lack of regulation/Daily Star
Beirut airport sees rise in December traffic over 2009/Daily Star
Australian court finds 3 men guilty of terror plot/AFP
Hajj Hasan: STL is Completely Politicized, Any Indictment against the Resistance Doesn't Concern it /Naharnet
Rayyes: Obstructing Saudi-Syrian Initiative Will Negatively Affect Lebanon /Naharnet
Arab Diplomat: S-S Equation in Hands of Saudi Arabia's Ability to Promote it to U.S. /Naharnet
Italian FM in Beirut Early Next Year Seeking Exit to STL Crisis /Naharnet
Jumblat: Indictment is Politicized and Leaves Lebanon at High Risk /Naharnet
Geagea Discusses Syria-Saudi Effort in Riyadh /Naharnet
Mustaqbal Bloc: Strife Can't Erupt unless Some Lebanese Push Toward It /Naharnet
Jumblat, Berri Discuss S-S: Working to Ward Off Repercussions of Indictment /Naharnet
Russia's Ambassador from the Serail: Tribunal Should Continue its Work /Naharnet
Israeli Troops Arrest Ethiopian Trying to Enter Lebanon /Naharnet
Zahra: Solution to Crisis Remains Lebanese, Eliminating STL Will Fail /Naharnet
Sfeir in Christmas Message Urges Lebanese to 'Sacrifice' for Nation /Naharnet
Sayyed: As the International Investigation, the STL Will Be Politicized Because Security Council Formed Them /Naharnet
Army Drill in Beirut Suburbs on Arresting Supposed Foreign Terrorists /Naharnet
Mustaqbal Responds to Raad: We Don't Know if Indictments are Based on Telecoms Evidence /Naharnet
Iran's Ambassador: Khamenei's Remarks Don't Contradict Arab Effort /Naharnet
Qabalan's Christmas Message Urges Muslims, Christians to Walk in Jesus' Footsteps /Naharnet
Assad to Sarkozy: Opposition Ministers Will Resign if Indictment Issued against Hizbullah, Report/Naharnet

Sfeir urges Lebanese to unite for the sake of the nation
In Christmas message, patriarch says nation is big enough to embrace all its sons

By The Daily Star /Friday, December 24, 2010
BEIRUT: The Maronite patriarch’s annual Christmas message called on Lebanese to stand united and uphold their country’s best interests, rather than remain divided between their allegiances to the East and West.
Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir said Thursday that “there are some who are loyal to the East while others are loyal to the West. This [difference] will create distance among people whereas they should be united in their love and sacrifice for their nation.”
“Nations fail to rise in the absence of their people’s sacrifices,” he added.
Sfeir said divisions along sectarian lines and conflicting objectives endorsed by the country’s diverse political parties, which were aimed at serving foreign interests, had widened the divisions among the Lebanese.
“Each one of us wants a nation that suits his goals and wants to serve his interests separate from these of his countrymen unless they adopt their political views,” Sfeir said. “This is a big mistake. The nation is big enough to embrace all its sons if they are loyal only to it irrespective of their religious and political differences.”
“Interests shared with friendly foreign states should remain minimal, in comparison to loyalty to the nation, which should not be shared,” he added. Addressing the country’s Christians, Sfeir urged the church’s followers to maintain hope despite mounting concerns over their fate and that of their country.
“God has given us a beautiful country, a small nation with various climates, rich in its history, destined to be a land of prophets and saints. This alone is enough to encourage us to love (Lebanon) and sacrifice for it,” Sfeir said.
Some analysts fear that rising tension between Hizbullah and Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s led coalition over the disputed issue of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) could erupt in sectarian violence if no compromise is reached before the UN-backed court issues an indictment expected to implicate Hizbullah members.
Sfeir will celebrate Saturday’s Christmas mass at the Maronite Patriarchate’s residence in Bkirki with the participation of President Michel Sleiman.
The mass will be followed by a closed-door meeting between the patriarch and the president to address the latest political domestic and regional developments.
In a separate Christmas message, the deputy head of the Higher Shiite Council called on Lebanese Christians and Muslims to follow the footsteps of Christ by spreading the culture of love, harmony and cooperation among the Lebanese. Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan said “the day Christ was born, hearts were comforted … Muslim and Christian lovers of Christ should return to him, follow his path and cooperate for good to spread the culture of love, cooperation and harmony among the Lebanese,” Qabalan said Qabalan said the followers of Prophets Mohammad and Issa (Christ) should stand firm against the evil embodied in the Zionist entity, which terrorizing innocents and violating holy places in Palestine. – The Daily Star


Lebanon's microfinance sector suffers from lack of regulation
By The Daily Star /Friday, December 24, 2010
BEIRUT: The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) indicated that the microfinance sector in Lebanon has seen substantial growth in recent years and is expected to continue to expand. It said, however, that the industry remains underdeveloped and suffers from a lack of regulation, measurement problems and a lack of reliable data, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group. It noted that donor money is in short supply due to the global economic downturn, making it increasingly difficult for microfinance institutions (MFIs), which depend on donations, to get money. It added that, rather than create new MFIs, it would be more appropriate to upgrade and improve existing ones. The International Finance Corporation estimated the microfinance market in Lebanon at $286 million, with only 11.5 percent of demand met by existing financing sources.
The UN agency noted that the Lebanese government has adopted a laissez-faire attitude about microfinance, as there are no laws regulating the industry and the government has no clear role in the sector. It added that micro-lending is not explicitly regulated by any authoritative legal text, with the Interior & Municipalities Ministry, rather than the Finance Ministry or the Central Bank, currently supervising all MFIs that work in the sector. It said the only form of government support has come from the Central Bank, which issued a directive allowing local banks to use 5 percent of their required reserves for microfinance initiatives. However, the Central Bank has been unresponsive to requests to use this liquidity. It added that MFIs have inherent weaknesses in terms of micro-credit provision. They are bound by the legal provisions and restrictions to charitable organizations and, consequently, have limited access to funds since Lebanese charities are not allowed to take deposits. Further, their legal structure makes it difficult to access funds from the financial sector in the form of loans. As such, MFIs depend greatly on donor funds, which translate into a lack of stability in access to credit. They also face a greater financial risk in case of default due to the absence of regulations. These factors greatly contribute to limit their growth potential.
The ESCWA indicated that the government should play a critical role by implementing effective policies to ensure the soundness of financial service providers, minimize market distortions, and make MFIs subject to the supervision and regulatory requirements of the Central Bank.
It specified that the government should develop a proper legal environment through appropriate and enforceable credit laws as well as appropriate institutional regulations. It said proper laws would facilitate collection and increase accountability of the client, and must allow for cost-effective enforcement through the courts and on the ground. It noted that another important role for the government is information sharing through the development of an adequate credit bureau or Centrale des Risques to allow for the sharing of information between various organizations on delinquent clients. It also encouraged promoting best practices within the context of information sharing that include the lifting of subsidies on interest rates; implementing policies that encourage small loans with short maturities; the delivery of services in a market-oriented manner; promoting partnerships between donors and the private sector; and having long-term action plans.
It noted that there is an urgent need for human resource development in the sector, specifically in advisory services and training on best practice in credit methodology and marketing. It stressed the need for additional funding to help providers expand their product portfolios and reach in the regions, therefore increasing access to finance. – The Daily Star


Beirut airport sees rise in December traffic over 2009

By The Daily Star /Friday, December 24, 2010
BEIRUT: Air traffic through Rafik Hariri International Airport this December has exceeded that of last December by 12.61 percent, according to official figures. There has been a 23.43 percent rise in the number of passengers on commercial flights, according to the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority. The Authority also reports an 8.63 percent rise in traffic from cargo planes as well as a 29.74 percent increase in private jet traffic. The number of passengers going through the Beirut airport has totaled around 5 million. The Tourism Ministry has previously reported that Lebanon has received 2.2 million tourists as of the end of November. – The Daily Star

Future MPs defend use of telecom evidence
Lawmakers point out that Lebanon’s own authorities relied on similar data to bust Israeli spy networks

By Mirella Hodeib /Daily Star staff
Friday, December 24, 2010
BEIRUT: Future Movement lawmakers said Thursday that questioning the validity of telecom evidence in the probe into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was unreasonable, but the MPs said their party would reject an unfair accusation targeting any group.
“Rejecting evidence based on telecom data is greatly unreasonable,” Akkar MP Hadi Hobeish told reporters, while slamming Hizbullah’s attempts to downplay the validity of any indictment to be issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) based upon telecom evidence. Hobeish held a joint news conference at Parliament with his colleague in the Future Movement parliamentary bloc, Tripoli MP Samir al-Jisr. Titled “The Constitutionality of the STL,” the conference was held to respond to arguments put forward earlier this month by head of Hizbullah’s parliamentary bloc MP Mohammed Raad, who slammed the tribunal as “unconstitutional.” Raad’s conference was part of several steps Hizbullah has undertaken to discredit the STL. The Hizbullah MP and his legal adviser, retired Judge Salim Jreisati, had discredited during their news conference the validity of using phone-call data as evidence upon which the STL’s prosecutor would base his indictment. Jreisati described the telecommunications evidence as “circumstantial par excellence.” In November, Telecommunications Minister Charbel Nahhas revealed that Israel had widely infiltrated the country’s telecoms network and even had the capability to manipulate phone calls.
Hobeish described Nahhas’ revelations as “fictitious to a certain extent,” Hobeish said Lebanon’s security forces relied heavily on telecom data to uncover Israeli spy cells. “Circumstantial evidence is now an internationally recognized system of evidence,” Hobeish said. He also called for establishing a national commission to draft a report on Israel’s infiltration of Lebanon’s telecoms sector in order to demonstrate whether or not the telecoms data was actually unreliable.
Tensions are mounting in Lebanon over the indictment to be issued by the Netherlands-based court which is probing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The UN-backed tribunal is widely expected to point the finger at Hizbullah.
Hizbullah has condemned the court as an “Israeli project” and has blatantly refused any cooperation with it. Many fear that if the STL issues an indictment against Hizbullah, violence will erupt between the party’s supporters and those of the Future Movement, founded by the slain Hariri and currently headed by his son Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Jisr and Hobeish also held the Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance responsible for having impeded government attempts in 2006 to draft an international treaty for the establishment of the STL. “Lebanon missed [in 2006] a chance to discuss and sign an international treaty to set up the court because Parliament was closed back then,” said Jisr.
He also said Raad’s December 8 conference included “many flaws,” particularly claims that the STL was unconstitutional and that it violated the country’s sovereignty.
After talks to form a national unity government failed, ministers affiliated with Hizbullah and the Amal Movement quit the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in November 2006. The resignation of the March 8 ministers dragged the country into an 18-month impasse, the worst since the end of the country’s 1975-90 Civil War.
Jisr said “resilience” demonstrated by the March 8 alliance to discuss the procedure for the establishment of the STL had led the Siniora government to seek the help of the UN, “after all local efforts to ratify the establishment of the court failed.”
Under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the UN Security Council approved Resolution 1757 of 2007 to establish the STL. “Since the court was established under Chapter VII, claims that the court violates Lebanon’s legitimacy no longer stand,” Jisr said.
Jisr and Hobeish distributed to reporters a timeline of the events in Lebanon that preceded the establishment of the court. “We wanted the court to be established in order to preserve Lebanon’s sovereignty and alleviate the fears of the Lebanese,” Jisr said.
The MP dismissed claims by Raad that the UN Security Council operated upon the request of an “illegitimate government.” Hizbullah and its allies in the March 8 alliance say the Siniora government was rendered “illegitimate” after the resignation of its Shiite component. Jisr said Article 69 of the Constitution, which deals with the resignation of the Cabinet, does mention the resignation of ministers from the same sect as leading to the dissolution of the whole Cabinet.
Hobeish, meanwhile, accused the March 8 alliance of taking contradictory stances concerning the tribunal. “They seek to discredit the tribunal, while demanding that the STL look into the issue of false witnesses.”
Hizbullah argues that the key to revealing the truth in Hariri’s assassination lies in probing witnesses who gave false testimonies to the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC). The Future Movement and its allies in the March 14 coalition believe the matter should be addressed after the STL issues its indictment. The STL, however, had announced it had no jurisdiction to look into the issue of “false witnesses.”
Hobeish said the term “false witnesses” could only be attributed to those who lie under oath during trials undertaken by the STL, thus concluding that those who provided testimonies before the UNIIIC cannot be referred to as “false witnesses.” Hobeish and Jisr, however, concluded their news conference by reiterating their party’s commitment to revealing the truth. Jisr also thanked Raad for “bringing back the conflict to Parliament instead of leaving it to the streets.” “We don’t accept injustice and we also don’t accept that anyone is unjustly accused of wrongdoing,” said Jisr. “Strife is dormant,” he added, “May God curse anybody who awakens it.”

Sayyed describes Bellemare's views on Court skeptics as absurd

By The Daily Star /Friday, December 24, 2010
BEIRUT: Former Major General Jamil Sayyed said Thursday criticism of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) did not stem from fear over its eventual issuing of indictments, but because earlier probes had proven to be politicized. Sayyed issued a statement in which he responded to STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare’s defense of the tribunal a day earlier in a two-minute interview that was posted on the STL’s website.
Calling Bellemare’s remarks “absurd,” Sayyed said the Canadian prosecutor “simplified matters and mocked half the Lebanese people and most of the international and Arab public, which deems international justice as politicized, particularly in the assassination case of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.”
Bellemare had said those who feared the indictment to be issued by the STL indictment were falsely accusing the court of politicization.
“Those allegations of politicization are groundless … it seems to me that [they] are made by people who may fear the outcome of the tribunal’s decision,” Bellemare said.
Sayyed argued that the STL had been established by a UN Security Council resolution, similarly to the UN investigation committee, which he said turned out to be a “politicized probe.” “So what prevents the STL from being politicized, similarly to the UN investigation committee, which endorsed the false witnesses’ plot and the arbitrary detainment [of the four officers]?” he asked. The four officers Sayyed referred to are himself and three other top security officers who were detained in 2005 upon the request of the former head of the UN investigation committee Detlev Mehlis, on suspicion of involvement in the 2005 assassination of Hariri.
Sayyed was released by Bellemare after the STL was established in 2009 due to a lack of evidence. The former general has demanded access to the files of “false witnesses,” whom he accuses of misleading investigations that led to his arrest. The STL has rejected Sayyed’s demands to obtain the information. Sayyed said Bellemare had played with terminology by describing “false witnesses” as “unreliable witnesses,” which would fail to change the fact they were backed, financed and protected by Lebanese judicial, security and political authorities. – The Daily Star


Australian court finds 3 men guilty of terror plot
By Agence France Presse (AFP) /Friday, December 24, 2010
MELBOURNE, Australia: Three men who believed Islam was under threat from Western nations were found guilty in an Australian court Thursday of plotting a suicide attack against a Sydney army base. The men, all Australian citizens of Somali or Lebanese origin, were convicted in Victoria state Supreme Court of conspiring to plot a terrorist attack, and could face life in prison. Two other men were found not guilty of the same charge. The five men were arrested in pre-dawn raids in the southern city of Melbourne in 2009. Police said that the group planned to send a team of men with automatic rifles on a suicide attack against Holsworthy Barracks, an army base on the outskirts of Sydney. Officials said the men were motivated by a belief that Islam was under attack from the West, and planned to keep on shooting until they were killed. During the trial, prosecutors said the men were upset about Australia's involvement in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Australia became a staunch US ally in the war on terrorism after September 11. Prosecutors said one of the men visited Somalia in the hopes of gaining approval for the attack from an Islamic cleric. The men were accused of having ties to Al-Shabaab, Somalia’s powerful Al-Qaeda-linked militia group. Had the plot been successful, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Tony Negus said it would have been the most serious attack ever in Australia. Terrorism is extremely rare in Australia, though dozens of Australians have died in terrorist attacks overseas, mostly in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings. The trial began in September and the jury deliberated for more than five days before returning guilty verdicts against Wissam Mahmoud Fattal, 34, Saney Edow Aweys, 27, and Nayef al-Sayed, 26. Abdirahman Mohamud Ahmed, 26, and Yacoub Khayre, 23, were found not guilty. As jurors left the court following the verdict, Fattal said: “Islam is truth religion. Thank you very much.” Fattal, Aweys and Sayed embraced their acquitted co-defendants before they were led away. Justice Betty King ordered Fattal, Aweys and Sayed into custody. They will appear in court again on January 24. – AFP

Christian Exodus From Iraq Gathers Pace
GMT 12-24-2010 3:56:49/Assyrian International News Agency
Baghdad -- Their cathedrals stand silent and their neighbourhoods are rapidly emptying. Now Iraq's Christians face two further unthinkable realities: that Christmas this year is all but cancelled, and that few among them will stay around to celebrate future holy days.
It has been the worst of years for the country's Christians, with thousands fleeing in the past month and more leaving the country during 2010 than at any time since the invasion nearly eight years ago. Christian leaders say there have been few more defining years in their 2,000-year history in central Arabia.
The latest exodus follows a massacre led by al-Qaida at a Chaldean Catholic church in central Baghdad on 31 October (coverage), which left about 60 people dead, almost 100 maimed and an already apprehensive community terrified. Since then, the terrorist group has targeted Christians in their homes, including family members of those who survived the attack.
In Baghdad, as well as the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk, Christmas services have been cancelled for fear of further violence. Church leaders said they would not put up Christmas decorations or celebrate midnight mass. They told families not to decorate their homes, for fear of attack after al-Qaida reiterated its threat to target Christians earlier this week.
"Now more than 80% of Christians are not going to the churches," said the head of Iraq's Christian Endowment group, Abdullah al-Noufali. "There is no more sunday school, no school for teaching Christianity. Yesterday we had a discussion about what we would do for Christmas. We took a decision just to do one mass. In years before we had many masses."
Noufali's church was closed and barricaded in 2005 when violence was consuming Baghdad. Many others had stayed open since then. Until now. In the wake of the attack on the Our Lady of Salvation church, at least 10 churches are believed to have been closed. At others, congregations are down to a handful.
Iraq's Christian population has halved since the ousting of Saddam Hussein. But in the past two months, the rate of departure has soared. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees is reporting high numbers of registrations by Christians in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. And in Iraq's Kurdish north, the number of refugees is overwhelming.
Christians have been arriving since the president of the Kurdish regional government, Massoud Barazani, offered them protection and refuge days after the massacre.
Kurdish officials say at least 1,000 families have taken up the offer. Noufali believes the number is far higher. He says the Kurds have been warm and welcoming, but fears that moving there does not offer his community a long-term solution.
"We have seen in Kurdistan that they have no ability to accept the Kurdish students in the universities," he said. "There are not enough chairs in the university for them. They must have opportunity to learn and work. The problem is not just security."
In Lebanon, the plight of Iraq's Christians is being carefully scrutinised. Father Yusef Muwaness, of the Council of Catholic Churches in the Middle East, said: "We understand the shock [the Iraqis] are enduring. We want them to know that they won't be left alone.
"There are ancient issues at work. These people [al-Qaida] are killing because of a fatwa. There has not been a mufti who has stood up and said this is wrong."
Lebanon's Christians once held a demographic majority. Emigration and a brutal civil war has whittled numbers away. Amin Gemayel, a former Lebanese president and now patriarch of many of the country's remaining Christians, believes far more could be done by Muslim leaders to ensure that the exodus is not total.
"The Christians were very nationalistic," he said. "They are part of the foundations of this area. We can't understand such extremity then passivity from the leaders. When the region is completely cleansed of other religions (apart from Islam) it will be a surrender to the fundamentalists."
In the Chaldean archdiocese in Baabda, above Beirut, Father Hanna has been receiving Iraqi families fleeing their homeland. "I would go back there to give a service in front of one person, if I had to," he said. "But even that may not be possible now. Since 1 November, we have seen 450 families register here. Many more have gone to the UN."
Among those who have stayed in Iraq and tried to build a new life in the north, there are mixed feelings. "Three days after the church attack I left my house (in Baghdad) and came to the KRG," said Georges Qudah, 30, a pharmacy assistant. "At the main checkpoint I said we are a Christian family, and they said we are welcome to stay as long as we want. I feel safe and comfortable here, but the problem is how to live. The council here has given us blankets and beds, but housing is very expensive."
In Baghdad, there are few signs of the joy of Christmas.
"There is no hope here anymore," says Noufali. "No one can believe they [the Christians] will stay. Christmas came with two messages, peace in the world and hope for the people and we need these two things for our life in Iraq. If there are no more Christians here, I am certain Iraq will become a more dangerous country." Christianity in the Middle East Freedom of worship for Christians varies greatly across the Middle East.
In Lebanon, where about half the population are Christian, believers are allowed to practise their faith without fear of persecution. The Maronite Church is the largest, most politically active and influential denomination, holding 34 of the 64 Christian seats in the Lebanese parliament.
In Jordan, Christians are free to profess their faith, build churches, schools, hospitals and universities. They attend mass and there are public celebrations of religious festivals and ceremonies. They experience less discrimination and more freedom than fellow believers in Egypt and Iraq. There is a similar portrait of stability and freedom in Syria, where Christians comprise up to 10% of the population.
Evangelising bvy Protestants in Jordan has prompted a crackdown on churches, visas and summer camps. Attempting to convert Muslims is illegal, but there is no law against proselytising to other Christians and some Catholic and Orthodox groups have complained of energetic wooing from Protestants. It is this evangelising that has offended authorities, keen to avoid religious zealotry of any sort.
What Saudi Arabia lacks in violent persecution it makes up for in outright intolerance. There is no religious freedom in Saudi Arabia, which counts a million Catholics in its population. The country allows Christians to enter for work purposes but severely restricts the practise of their faith.
Christians worship in private homes and there are bans on religious articles including Bibles, crucifixes, statues, carvings and items bearing religious symbols. The religious police bar the practice of any religion other than Islam. Conversion of a Muslim to another religion is considered apostasy and carries a death sentence if the accused does not recant. Still, Christians in Saudi Arabia are positively blessed compared with those of Iraq.
By Martin Chulov
www.guardian.co.uk/
Copyright (C) 2010, Assyrian International News Agency. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use.

Assad to Sarkozy: Opposition Ministers Will Resign if Indictment Issued against Hizbullah, Report
Naharnet/Syrian President Bashar Assad has reportedly informed his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy that Lebanese Opposition Cabinet ministers will quit the national unity government if an indictment should be issued against Hizbullah. Al-Akhbar newspaper on Friday said Sarkozy briefed Assad during the Nov. 30 summit in Paris about Prime Minister Saad Hariri's concerns over the possibility of the resignation of Opposition ministers. Sarkozy, according to the report, also expressed concerns over the Syrian arrest warrants against a number of pro-Hariri Lebanese politicians. Al-Akhbar said Assad assured Sarkozy that his relationship with Hariri is "good."
"I am head of State while he (Hariri) is head of the government. And a personal relationship is not enough in bilateral ties between two countries. The basis is political relations," Assad reportedly told Sarkozy. Assad has provided an explanation to Sarkozy for Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed's lawsuit against Lebanese politicians, describing Sayyed's complaint as "personal."
In Dec. 2009, Sayyed filed a lawsuit in Damascus because he "did not have faith in Lebanon's judiciary," which he accused of covering up for the false witnesses.
"I do not understand how can the false witnesses not be prosecuted?" Assad reportedly told Sarkozy.
Al-Akhbar said Sarkozy appreciated Assad's point of view, but added that the French President wondered about the motives behind the lack of prosecution of the false witnesses "given that they have caused damage to the international investigation." Assad informed Sarkozy that an indictment against Hizbullah members in the Hariri murder "would lead to the resignation of (Lebanese) Opposition ministers." He said efforts should be exerted in order not to reach a stage of resignation. Beirut, 24 Dec 10, 08:17