LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِJuly
01/2010
Bible Of
the Day
Isaiah 11/1-9
A shoot will come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will
bear fruit. 11:2 The Spirit of Yahweh will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of
the fear of Yahweh. 11:3 His delight will be in the fear of Yahweh. He will not
judge by the sight of his eyes, neither decide by the hearing of his ears; 11:4
but with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with equity for the
humble of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; and
with the breath of his lips he will kill the wicked. 11:5 Righteousness will be
the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his waist. 11:6 The wolf
will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; The
calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together; and a little child will
lead them. 11:7 The cow and the bear will graze. Their young ones will lie down
together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. 11:8 The nursing child will play
near a cobra’s hole, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
11:9 They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth will
be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea.
11:10 It will happen in that day that the
nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and
his resting place will be glorious. 11:11 It will happen in that day that the
Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant that is left
of his people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from
Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 11:12 He will set up a
banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather
together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 11:13 The
envy also of Ephraim will depart, and those who persecute Judah will be cut off.
Ephraim won’t envy Judah, and Judah won’t persecute Ephraim. 11:14 They will fly
down on the shoulders of the Philistines on the west. Together they will plunder
the children of the east. They will extend their power over Edom and Moab, and
the children of Ammon will obey them. 11:15 Yahweh will utterly destroy the
tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind he will wave his hand
over the River, and will split it into seven streams, and cause men to march
over in sandals. 11:16 There will be a highway for the remnant that is left of
his people from Assyria, like there was for Israel in the day that he came up
out of the land of Egypt.
Free Opinions, Releases,
letters, Interviews & Special Reports
What to do about torture/By: Aline
Sar/June
30/10
Arab League needs to be
reinvented/Daily Star/June 30/10
Latest News
Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for June 30/10
Lebanon's Southern villagers accost
UNIFIL patrol during demonstration/Daily Star
Court charges man for insulting
Military Tribunal in Lebanon/Daily Star
Gaza Rocket Lightly Damages Israeli
Factory/Naharnet
Hugo Chavez Stands in the Terrorist
Vanguard/Heritage.org
(blog)
Minister Landau: Another
withdrawal? Barak like battered woman/Ynetnews
Media Exaggeration of
Latest Israeli Spy Aims at Causing Confusion in UN Hariri Probe/Naharnet
UNIFIL Responds to
Hizbullah: Activities Conducted in Coordination with Lebanese Army/Naharnet
Hariri to Tehran Soon,
Iran's Ambassador Says/Naharnet
Vatican FM to Meet
Lebanese Leaders in Beirut/Naharnet
Baroud: Administrative
Decentralization at Core of State Strategy despite Obstacles/Naharnet
Moussa in Beirut on
Thursday/Naharnet
Raad on Arrest of Mobile
Operator Spy: Israel Capable of Sowing Strife through Calls/Naharnet
Obama, Saudi King Agree on
Need to Renew Israel-Lebanon-Syria Talks/Naharnet
Teachers Likely to Bow
Down after Education Minister Warned He has Other Options/Naharnet
Cabinet Seeking to Speed
up Approval of Oil Exploration Law/Naharnet
Series of Wildfires Engulf
Several Parts of Shouf, South Lebanon/Naharnet
Latest 'Israeli Spy' Owns
Building near Brummana/Naharnet
Israeli Minister: Barak
Like Battered Wife, Lebanon Pullout Bolstered Hizbullah/Naharnet
No Shebaa Pullout without
Lebanon-Israel Negotiations, Israeli Officer Says/Naharnet
Aoun: The Scattering of
Palestinians throughout Lebanese Territories Eliminates Their Cause/Naharnet
Report: Visit to Riyadh by
Geagea Kept Secret to Avoid Tension with Damascus/Naharnet
Salam to Security Council:
Lebanon is with Force of Law and not Law of Force/Naharnet
Sayyed to Challenge U.N.
Hariri Court in Public Hearing on July 13/Naharnet
PLO Envoy Urges Lebanese
Unity on Refugee Rights/Naharnet
UNIFIL Responds to
Hizbullah: Activities Conducted in Coordination with Lebanese Army
/Naharnet/UNIFIL hit back at Hizbullah which accused the peacekeepers of
violating Resolution 1701 for conducting border patrols by themselves. A source
at UNIFIL's command said the peacekeepers' activities are conducted in
coordination with the Lebanese army. "UNIFIL command is in close contact with
the Lebanese army and it does not carry out any act or exercise before notifying
the Lebanese army first," the source told the daily An-Nahar in remarks
published Wednesday. Hizbullah MP Ali Fayyad slammed UNIFIL, criticizing
continued border patrol operations in southern Lebanon as a violation to U.N.
resolution 1701. Beirut, 30 Jun 10, 09:39
Southern villagers accost UNIFIL
patrol during demonstration
Incident occurs amid 36-hour capacity-testing operation
By Patrick Galey /Daily Star staff
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
BEIRUT: A United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol was attacked
by Lebanese villagers Tuesday, as the force deployed heavily across the south of
the country.
“During the course of our operations today there have been some protests by
local villagers at some locations and in one incident in the Khirbet Silim area
stones were pelted at a UNIFIL vehicle, breaking a window and causing minor
injuries to a peacekeeper,” UNIFIL spokesperson Neeraj Singh told The Daily
Star. The incident occurred during a 36-hour capacity-testing operation, which
will see the UN task force deployed to its maximum strength in its mandated area
of operations, south of the Litani River. “Since last evening, UNIFIL is
carrying out activities aimed at checking its own internal capacity for
deploying maximum troops on the ground on a regular day of operations,” Singh
said. “This is to enable the commander to have a clear picture of the military
assets that can be available to him at any given time,” he added.
“There are no other special operations or activities being carried out and the
Lebanese Army is fully informed about this activity, its nature and purpose,” he
added. “Also, this is not related to any incident or development, but is a
regular activity like the numerous others that we conduct from time to time to
ensure the readiness of the troops on the ground.”
UNIFIL, whose capacity was boosted following the signing of UN Security Council
resolution 1701 – drafted to end the 2006 July-August War between Israel and
Hizbullah – has more than 12,000 soldiers stationed in southern Lebanon. Force
commander Major General Alberto Asarta Cuevas took to reins in January, and
Singh said the operations being carried out over the next few days were designed
to test capacity before the busy summer tourist season. “Since the activity
requires increased movements of UNIFIL troops in some areas, particular care has
been taken to minimize disturbance or inconvenience to the local population
during the operation,” he said. “For this reason it was decided to hold this
activity now, before the peak summer and tourist season.” “Also, the enhanced
troop movements are mostly being done during daylight hours and the locations
have been carefully chosen so as not to interfere with normal daily lives of the
people,” Singh added.
Nevertheless, the clash at Khirbet Silim is not the first altercation UNIFIL has
endured with southern residents, with a similar confrontation taking place in
July 2009, where more than a dozen peacekeepers were injured in the same village
after villages hurled stones at a patrol. The soldiers were conducting a probe
into a blast at a Hizbullah arms cache before being accosted by angry villagers.
Singh said work was being done to ensure local villagers knew the movements and
motivations of UNIFIL companies. “We are making every effort to talk to the
communities and explain to them the nature and purpose of the operations in
order to clear any misunderstandings they may have in this regard,” he said.
Singh said that UNIFIL’s main goal was to preserve stability in south Lebanon
and close to the Blue Line and that the force’s coordination with the Lebanese
Army would continue.
“The primary aim of UNIFIL is to maintain a high level of preparedness in order
to effectively assist the Lebanese army in ensuring the safety and security of
the people of south Lebanon,” he said. “During the period we are conducting this
activity, our routine coordinated operational activities with the Lebanese Army
are continuing as usual.”
He added that negotiations were under way to undertake a similar series of
capacity evaluation drills later in the summer.
“In the meantime, what we are doing right now is a purely internal evaluation
within UNIFIL to test the availability and capacity of our own contingents to
deploy maximum troops and assets on the ground for a period of time,” Singh
said.
Court charges man for insulting Military Tribunal
By The Daily Star /Wednesday, June 30, 2010
BEIRUT: The Court of Publications charged a man Tuesday with slander against the
Military Tribunal. The court fined Ahmad Fahed al-Ayoubi LL6 million for slander
against the tribunal during a television interview, in which he criticized the
tribunal and the way it was prosecuting radical groups. He described the
tribunal as “the graveyard of justice” and said it postponed the trials of
arrested Islamists. The court considered Ayoubi’s remarks an insult to the
tribunal as they undermined its power and the power of its judges. – The Daily
Star
Arab League needs to be reinvented
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Editorial/Daily Star
Although few seem to have noticed, the Arab League met in Libya during the past
days and announced a series of restructuring measures at the Monday close of its
powwow.
We hear the snickering. To be sure, if we were to set out to catalogue the
achievements of the Arab League, we could still make other plans for the
afternoon. Yes, we’ve heard the comparisons, how European Union powers the UK,
France and Germany together barely exceed the land mass of Egypt, leaving aside
the much larger states such as Libya, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. But a comparison
between the EU and the Arab League is unfair to both.
The Arab League has important roles to play, and we need to reinvent it. Three
major changes leap immediately to mind; first, the league must evolve from being
a foreign-policy tool for Egypt. Having headquarters in Cairo is fine, but we
need a leader of the Arab League who does not view the post as secondary to the
Egyptian political game.
Second, we must find a way to use the Arab League to spread relevant social
programs. At present, the Arab League is the last place one would go to find out
anything about what is happening in the Arab world. It lacks a connection to
life as lived by Arabs, and Arabs feel no connection – and have no access – to
the Arab League.
They may be few and far between, but some quiet clerks at the lower levels of
league bureaucracy are involved in good projects. Alas, these initiatives never
come to any scale. Higher in the bureaucracy, many promising programs are
adopted, but we never see them. The league must develop the mechanisms to
implement its decisions; specifically, when a program in education or health
care succeeds in one Arab country, the Arab League must be able to implement
that program in other Arab nations.
This gets at the major malfunction of the league – it is spineless when it comes
to action. For far too long, bloviating officials have made the league an
orchestra of permanent cacophony, specializing in discord between its its
pronouncements and reality.
Third, the free exchange of goods and services is the very minimum that the
league should accomplish. We need to harmonize laws and create standard
import-export practices. Trade between Arab countries must no longer involve
conquering mountains of bureaucracy. At the Libyan summit, the Arab League
apparently discussed changing its name. If the Arab League changed its name to
Google, would it operate like a successful organization? Unfortunately, the
league needs to change practices, not names; without reform, this rose – by any
name – would still retain its traditional smell.
IDF conducts drills in Shebaa Farms
June 30, 2010 /NOW Lebanon’s correspondent in South Lebanon reported on
Wednesday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) held drills using heavy artillery
in the Shebaa Farms, adding the Israeli Air Force (IAF) flew over the area as
well as Hasbaya and al-Arqoub. -NOW Lebanon
Israeli Sources: Lebanese Government Backed Off from Ghajar Deal
Naharnet/The Lebanese government backed off from agreements over the border
village of Ghajar most probably under pressure from Hizbullah, political sources
told Israel radio.
The sources said, however, that such a move does not create an obstacle to
reaching a deal on Israel's pullout from the northern part of the village. The
sources spoke after the security cabinet convened to review a report from the
foreign ministry secretary-general, Yossi Gal, over his contacts with the UNIFIL
leadership on the Ghajar withdrawal. Beirut, 30 Jun 10, 14:30
Hizbullah Slams UNIFIL, Says Patrols in Violation of 1701
Naharnet/Continued border patrols conducted by U.N. peacekeepers in southern
Lebanon not only have angered residents but Hizbullah, too.
Hizbullah MP Ali Fayyad slammed UNIFIL, criticizing the patrol operations as
"maneuvers." He told An-Nahar newspaper in remarks published Wednesday that
residents were surprised by UNIFIL's "unprecedented" heavy military presence in
villages and neighborhoods. Angry residents on Tuesday blocked Adeisseh-Kfar
Kila road in southern Lebanon and hurled stones at a U.N. vehicle in Khirbit
Selim to protest passing of UNIFIL patrols. Considering the peacekeepers' action
as "provocative" and "noisy," Fayyad said he also noticed that UNIFIL troops
were not accompanied "as usual" by Lebanese army patrols. He said the move
angered residents who expected UNIFIL to deter Israeli forces from kidnapping a
Lebanese shepherd a few days ago instead of making all this action in their
villages. Residents, instead, were surprised to see UNIFIL has intensified it
military movement within the villages, Fayyad said, adding that this act was
"not in line with U.N. Resolution 1701."Responding to calls made over the
loudspeakers, southerners on Tuesday gathered outside Adeisseh's main square,
protesting against what they called "maneuvers" by Spanish peacekeepers around
their village. Lebanese troops managed to reopen the road several hours later.
Similar demonstrations took place almost simultaneously in Khirbit Selim where
residents gathered in the main square demanding an end to UNFIL patrols inside
their village. At Tibnin-Kfardounine-Bir Salasel road junction, residents took
to the streets, hurling stones at an armored vehicle manned by French U.N.
troops. The APC's windshield was shattered and U.N. troops were forced to leave.
Beirut, 30 Jun 10, 09:21
Bassil: Working on Law to Protect Oil Wealth for Future Generations
Naharnet/Energy Minister Jebran Bassil said Wednesday the government was working
on a law to preserve and protect Lebanon's oil wealth for future generations.
"We are working on a law that protects the oil wealth for future generations and
that would also encourage investors," Bassil told LBC television channel.
Beirut, 30 Jun 10,
Media Exaggeration of Latest Israeli Spy Aims at Causing Confusion in UN Hariri
Probe
Naharnet/An MP with the March 14 coalition said media exaggeration of the latest
arrest of an Alfa employee on suspicion of spying for Israel was an attempt
aimed at causing confusion in the investigation into the assassination of former
PM Rafik Hariri. "It also targets the credibility of the investigations"
conducted by police officer Wissan Eid in the Hariri murder case before his
assassination. Eid, Lebanese Internal Security Forces senior terrorism
investigator, was assassinated Jan. 25, 2008. At the time of assassination, Eid
was also top Lebanese investigator into the Hariri murder. "There is an attempt
to exaggerate the issue of the (Alfa) detainee to discredit all reports" issued
by the U.N. Committee investigating Hariri's assassination "and to signal that
the probe may have been manipulated," the March 14 lawmaker said in remarks
published Wednesday by Ad-Diyar newspaper. Beirut, 30 Jun 10, 07:22
Vatican FM to Meet Lebanese Leaders in Beirut
Naharnet/Vatican's Foreign Minister Dominique Mamberti arrives in Beirut
Thursday for talks with top Lebanese leaders.He is scheduled to meet Friday
President Michel Suleiman, Foreign Minister Ali Shami, and Prime Minister Saad
Hariri. On Saturday Mamberti will meet Speaker Nabih Berri. Beirut, 30 Jun 10,
13:41
Hariri to Tehran Soon, Iran's Ambassador Says
Naharnet/Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon Ghadanfar Abadi on Wednesday met Prime
Minister Saad Hariri at the Grand Serail.He told reporters after the meeting
that Hariri's visit to Iran was imminent
Gaza Rocket Lightly Damages Israeli Factory
Naharnet/A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip lightly damaged a factory in
southern Israel, the military said on Wednesday.It said no-one was injured in
the attack, which occurred in Sdot Negev, a district which lies close to the
northern Gaza Strip.Israel launched a devastating assault on the Palestinian
enclave in December 2008 aimed at halting rocket fire from the besieged coastal
Strip.Some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed in the 22-day
war.After a year of quiet following the assault, Gaza militants have stepped up
the cross-border rocket fire, with more than 60 rockets and mortars striking
Israeli territory since January, the military says.(AFP) Beirut, 30 Jun 10,
10:28
Obama, Saudi King Agree on Need to Renew Israel-Lebanon-Syria Talks
Naharnet/President Barack Obama and Saudi King Abdullah agreed in a meeting in
Washington on the need to renew talks between Israel and Syria and Lebanon
respectively, the White House said in a statement. Obama urged bold action to
secure the "Palestinian homeland" on Tuesday as he welcomed Abdullah to the
White House for the first time since taking office.
Obama said the two leaders discussed Iraq, Iran's nuclear challenge and Pakistan
and Afghanistan, while the king dispensed warm personal praise for his host,
though there were few in-depth details of the private talks. "We discussed the
Middle East peace process and the importance of moving forward in a significant
and bold way in securing a Palestinian homeland that can live side by side with
a secure and prosperous Israeli state," Obama said. Abdullah, 86, arrived at the
White House just a week before Obama is due to welcome Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, following Israel's decision to allow some "civilian" goods
into Gaza after its deadly flotilla raid.
Obama, who pushed for such a step, may try to use the Israeli move as a spur to
intensify US-brokered indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians, as he
seeks to open a direct channel between the two sides.
In a later statement about the meeting, the White House said Obama and Abdullah,
in their third meeting since Obama became president, also agreed on the need to
renew talks between Israel and Syria and Lebanon respectively. Given a grim
year, the president was surprisingly upbeat when he met Palestinian leader
Mahmud Abbas this month, saying he believed progress was possible in the Middle
East before the end of the year. But so far, despite investing substantial
personal political capital, Obama has failed to budge Israel and the Arab states
and the Palestinians from entrenched positions, and his efforts have yielded few
results.
Abdullah and Obama met a year ago in Riyadh, the day before the U.S. leader's
landmark address to the Muslim world, at a time when Washington was seeking
inducements to Israel from the Arab world to prod peace moves forward. Those
movements were not forthcoming, and Obama's own relationship with Israel has
since deteriorated -- though both governments now seem keen to patch up their
public rift over settlement building. After the working lunch and the Oval
Office talks, Adbullah praised Obama's leadership.
"You are an honorable man and you are a good man. I don't say this in order to
compliment you -- I say this because this is the truth as I hear it from people
around the world," Abdullah said. Abdullah also offered a tongue-in-cheek prayer
to "our friends here in the media." "May God spare us from all of the bad things
they can do to us," he said, drawing laughter from Obama, who frequently offers
commentaries of the perceived failings of the press. The State Department noted
that in its last Human Rights Report that Saudi authorities "strictly limit
freedom of speech and mass and publishing media." The White House said the two
leaders also stated strong support for new international sanctions against Iran
over its nuclear program, agreed on the need for a "secure and prosperous Yemen,
and an "inclusive" Iraqi government. "The President welcomed Saudi Arabia's
successful counterterrorism actions against Al-Qaeda," the White House said.
Saudi Arabia sees the Iranian nuclear challenge as a key foreign policy threat,
and have also registered concern about the U.S. posture in the Middle East and
Gulf when American troops withdraw from Iraq. Washington may want the Saudis to
do more to use its influence to get rival factions in Afghanistan to unite, or
talk peace with the government, and both sides have strong concerns over
instability in Yemen.(AFP) Beirut, 30 Jun 10, 06:34
What to do about torture
Aline Sara, June 30, 2010
Now Lebanon
Beating different parts of the body, crushing toes, pulling out hair or nails,
and exposing inmates to the screams of other detainees being tortured. These are
just a few of the practices to which inmates can be subject in Lebanon’s main
interrogation centers, which include Tripoli’s al-Qubba detention center,
Zahle’s Palais de Justice, Beirut’s Hobeish police station, Roumieh Prison and
the Military Intelligence Unit of the Defense Ministry.
According to Marie Daunay, president of the Centre Libanais des Droits de
l’Homme (CLDH), although Lebanon ratified the UN Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) in October of
2000, few if any of its stipulations are actually implemented. What happens
behind closed doors has left victims of torture both physically and emotionally
scarred, and human rights advocates are eager to voice their anger.
As such, last Friday, a day before the International Day to support Victims of
Torture on June 26, several NGOs led by the CLDH marched down the streets of
Nejmeh Square toward parliament. Despite a small turnout, the group consisted of
mostly 15 to 20 NGO representatives who joined hands to form a “human chain of
torture,” participants loudly decried the theoretically illegal practice.
Theoretically, only because despite being technically bound by Article 7 of the
CAT, Lebanon has its own penal code, which does not criminalize torture
explicitly. “Crimes are rather evaluated according to the consequences on the
individual, and the penal code includes just about everything but the term
‘torture’,” said Daunay.
Lebanese officials are convinced of the efficacy of torture, which at the moment
is still very much engrained in the system, noted Daunay. “It seems almost
cultural,” she said, “as if Arab states feel their pride is compromised if they
fail to find a culprit, so they condemn people unjustly.” Unsurprisingly, many
detainees are forced to confess to crimes they have not committed. According to
a 2003 Amnesty International report, Dr. Muhammed Khaled, who endured days of
torture as a detainee at the Ministry of Defense back in 2000, claimed
interrogators also threatened to rape his wife if he did not sign certain
papers.
Daunay recalled when CLDH, at the time known as SOLIDA, first released its
report on the practice of torture in 2006. The next day, their offices were
raided. “We were being followed by cars; there were even some intrusions into
employees’ homes.” Yet, ironically, when compared to the rest of the region,
Daunay said Lebanon is slightly better off, specifically because NGOs have more
freedom to express themselves.
Despite room to vent, most demonstrations, like last Friday’s, are small, which
offsets their impact. “It is not easy to mobilize civil society here,” said
Sofia Palandri from the Italian human rights organization COSV during the rally
on Friday. “Participants are usually foreigners, many from NGOs, because
Lebanese society is very individualistic and caught up in protecting its own
sect.” About half of the protesters at the march were international.
Despite challenges, Wadih al-Asmar, secretary general of the CLDH, says there
have been efforts to make a change. He pointed to a global decrease in the
practice of torture in police headquarters and commended the efforts of certain
Lebanese cabinet members, namely Minister of Defense Elias al-Murr, Interior
Minister Ziad Baroud and Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar, insisting their
attempts have come within their personal capacity. The problem lies in the
system, he said, and changing the system requires a new law in parliament.
Saadedine Shatila, from the Swiss-based human rights organization Al-Karama also
acknowledges timid although present efforts by the state. He noted that Lebanon
signed the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT), which
stipulates that the government must conduct regular visits to detention centers
in an effort to stop the practice. An official proposal was submitted to the
Ministry of Justice on September 30. However, governmental action since then has
come to a halt. Human Rights Watch reported back in December that the country
missed the deadline to set up a national institution to prevent torture. The
watchdog added that Lebanon is more than eight years behind on submitting a
relevant report to the UN, as required by the CAT.
If Lebanon has failed in prevention, it has certainly not offered any type of
initiative to compensate for damages and false condemnations. “We only receive
support from private donors, and maybe a few hospitals and NGOs,” said Manal
Najem from the Centre Nassim, which intervenes to help torture victims,
providing them with medical, psychological and legal assistance. “We help both
direct and indirect victims,” said Najem, who is one of the social workers. “In
fact, the wives of men who are detained and tortured are those who suffer the
most, as they are left with the burden of providing both affection and financial
support to their children.” According to Najem, the women benefit tremendously
from routine soubhiyehs (morning gatherings over coffee) at the center, where
they find mutual comfort and can express worries freely.
Besides private donors, the European Union has been essential in helping NGOs in
their research. The EU, along with the Netherlands Embassy and Pax Christi
International, gave the Association Libanaise pour l’Éducation et la Formation (ALEF),
which monitors human rights in Lebanon, almost 200,000 Euros to implement a
prevention and monitoring project. The resulting report found that some
detainees did not even survive the ill treatment they received in certain
prisons. Another finding was that Lebanon extradites many of its refugees to
countries where they are at risk of being tortured. The EU’s Centre Restart,
which is similar in its operations to Centre Nassim, provides relief for 250
victims of torture.
Ultimately, it seems that like in most areas of national concern, despite
efforts to change the system, tangible governmental action is lagging. While
human rights organizations reiterated their call in a joint public statement
issued last Saturday, they can only hope the cabinet will someday take concrete
measures, beginning with an official condemnation of torture in the country’s
penal code.
Corruption a
way of life in Lebanon
Paige Kollock, June 28, 2010
Now Lebanon
Transparency International, a Berlin-based watchdog, ranks Lebanon as one of the
world's most corrupt countries. Among 180 nations surveyed in a 2009 report on
corruption, Lebanon ranked 130th – the same as Nigeria and Libya. TI also gave
Lebanon a corruption ranking of 2.5, considered “rampant corruption.” NOW
Lebanon gathered several individual accounts of corruption from Lebanese who
have experienced it, none of whom wanted their names to be printed.
To submit a corruption story of your own, please write to mailbox@nowlebnaon.com
Actor, 28, Jounieh
I know a guy who owns a gas station that is located on the highway north of
Beirut. The station lacked access to the highway… so he paid $25,000 to… to be
allowed to construct an entrance from the highway to his station. Two months
later, a guy from the municipality came and closed the entrance. The gas station
owner had no way of proving that he paid the money because he paid it in cash.
Activist, 37, Beirut
I lost my driver’s license, so I went to the department of motor vehicles to get
a new one. They gave me the runaround, and I spent hours going from one
department to another, from one municipality to the next, getting papers,
filling out forms, waiting for officials. Finally, one guy, who was a police
officer, told me that he had someone who could get it done for me the next day
for 80,000 LL ($53). Because I didn’t want to spend any more of my time running
around and wasting my days, I paid him the money. I felt so guilty about it
because it was the first time in my life that I paid a bribe. The next day, he
called me and said he can’t get the license. Until now, I don’t have a driver’s
license.
Lawyer, 28, Beirut
In Lebanon, there are six to seven commercial registers … Beirut, Baabda, etc.,
in the centers of governance. Most of the time, you have to pay money for the
clerk to proceed with your profile. It’s becoming a custom for lawyers to bribe
clerks. We’re talking about amounts from $10 to $100. Sometimes you put the
money in the papers, or you just hand it over. When I first did it, I was really
annoyed. There was a kind of conflict inside me: Why am I doing this? But in the
end I realized, we are not bribing him to do something bad, just to get things
done.
Real Estate Developer, 53, Beirut
There is no way to have a construction permit without bribes, even if you are
100 percent legal.
According to the law, within two months, if the municipality hasn’t responded to
your request for a permit, it’s considered you have your permit, then you can
start building, but if you do this, you have the municipality on your back all
the time and they will thwart you. So what we do is we pay anywhere from $7,000
to $70,000 in bribes just to have the formality approved. Usually you pay one of
the guys in the municipality. He pays the others and keeps some for himself.
Then you have your permit, you start the construction, but the guy from the
municipality will say that you need a new permit for every month. For this, he
gets about $100 to $200 every month. Then you finish the construction and you
have to pay another bribe to get a housing permit, which is about the same as a
construction permit, for the building to be livable. Once you have your housing
permit, you have to split your permit into lots, so that each apartment has its
own deed. This requires another bribe. I pay around $40,000 in bribes for each
project.
Translator, 29, Metn
If you’re building a house in my municipality, there is a law that says you can
put up a fence or a wall around your property. There’s a guy who owns a plot to
the left and a plot to the right of us. He pushed so much toward our property
that our stone wall defining our property crumbled. He refused to pay to have it
re-built. We filed a complaint to the municipality, to the union of
municipalities, and they didn’t do anything, so we had to rebuild the wall using
money from our own pocket. Then this neighbor of ours had the guts to call the
ISF, bribe them, and have them come to the house and threaten my grandma that if
she didn’t stop annoying the neighbor, she would be sorry for it. And when we
used to file complaints, they used to ask us where we vote, and if we don’t vote
in the municipality, they would basically say “Bug off, we’re not going to help
you.” It’s a mess, it’s a bloody mess.
Communications Consultant, 60, Beirut
The former director of Middle East Airlines in Africa used to let his friends
and family fly for free. He was fired from MEA, then certain politicians
attacked MEA for the firing and made them re-accept him. I don’t know if he took
his old position or not, but this is one kind of corruption.
Another example is that there are a handful of families in Lebanon who control
the petrol business. The electricity factories are built to use gas, but even
still they use petrol because these five families make money. From 1990 until
today, we’ve lost roughly $20 billion because of the electricity. As Lebanese,
we’ve become habituated to corruption. It’s systematic.
URGENT ACTION
FORCIBLE RETURN from lebanon OF IRANIAN ARAB
Iranian national and member of Iran’s Arab minority, Mohammad Taher Batili, is
at risk of being forcibly returned from Lebanon to Iran. If returned, Amnesty
International fears that he would be at risk of torture and possibly the death
penalty.
Mohammad Taher Batili, aged 29, is recognized as a refugee by the UN refugee
agency, UNHCR. He was arrested by members of the security forces when he was
getting into a car in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on 2 June 2010. He produced
a UNHCR document proving his refugee status but was nevertheless arrested on the
grounds that he entered Lebanon illegally from Syria and was detained in Zahle
prison, in the Bekaa Valley in east Lebanon. On 26 June he was convicted for
“irregular entry”, and sentenced to two months’ imprisonment and payment of a
fine. He faces forcible return to Iran after serving the sentence.
Mohammad Taher Batili arrived in Lebanon from Syria with his family on 28 May
2009 and sought asylum there. They had fled Iran due to his and his father’s
political activities in support of the Arab minority in Ahvaz, Khuzestan
province, Iran. If returned to Iran, he would be at risk of torture and may face
the death penalty because of his political activities.
Following his detention in Zahle prison, officials from Iran’s embassy in
Lebanon twice interrogated Mohammad Taher Batili. They interrogated him at
length about his father’s political activities and that of other members of
Iran’s Arab minority in Syria and Lebanon. They threatened him that other
inmates in the prison would harm him.
Lebanon hosts a large population of asylum-seekers and refugees, mostly from
countries suffering from war or systematic human rights violations. Hundreds of
them face arrest and prolonged detention as well as forcible return irrespective
of whether they are formally registered as refugees by UNHCR. In 2008, the
Lebanese authorities agreed informally to allow refugees a grace period of three
months, renewable once, to find an employer to sponsor them and provide them
with a residence permit, but the authorities do not appear to be keeping to this
agreement.
PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Arabic, French, English or your own language:
Urging the Lebanese authorities not to forcibly return Mohammad Taher Batili to
Iran, where he would be at risk of torture and possible execution;
Expressing concern that his removal would violate Lebanon’s obligations under
the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment, and contravene the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits
the return in any manner whatsoever of any person to a situation where they
would be at risk of torture or other serious human rights violations;
Calling on the Lebanese authorities to ensure that, while held, he is protected
from torture or other ill-treatment, and is granted immediate access to his
family, a lawyer of his choice, and adequate medical care. Iranian officials in
Iran should not be allowed to interrogate him while in the custody of Lebanese
security forces.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 11 AUGUST 2010 TO:
President
Michel Sleiman
Baabda Palace
Baabda, Mount Lebanon, Lebanon
Fax: + 961 5 959 210/922 400
Email:president_office@presidency.gov.lb
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Interior
Ziyad Baroud
Sanayeh, Beirut, Lebanon
Fax: + 961 1 751 618/750 084
Email: ministry@interior.gov.lb
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
Minister of Justice
Ibrahim Najjar
Rue Sami Solh, Beirut, Lebanon
Fax: + 961 1 612 564/427 975
Email: webmaster@justice.gov.lb
Salutation: Your Excellency
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.
URGENT ACTION
FORCIBLE RETURN OF IRANIAN ARAB FROM LEBANON
Additional Information
Ahwazi Arabs are one of Iran’s many ethnic minorities and live mainly in
Khuzestan province in south-western Iran, bordering Iraq. Khuzestan is
strategically important because it is the site of much of Iran’s oil reserves.
The Arab population do not feel they have benefited as much from the oil revenue
as the Persian population. Historically they have been marginalized and
discriminated against, for instance by being denied the right to an education in
their own language.
Although mainly Shi’a Muslims, some Ahwazi Arabs converted to Sunni Islam,
leading the authorities to accuse some local activists of being Wahhabis
(followers of a conservative form of Sunni Islam). Tension mounted among the
Arab population after April 2005, when it was alleged that the government
planned to disperse the country’s Arab population or to force them to relinquish
their Arab identity. Following bomb explosions in the city of Ahvaz in June and
October 2005, killing at least 14 people, and explosions at oil installations in
September and October 2005, the violence intensified, with hundreds of people
reportedly arrested. There were reports of torture. Further bombings on 24
January 2006, in which at least six people were killed, were followed by further
mass arbitrary arrests. At least 15 men have been executed as a result of their
alleged involvement in the bombings. Around the end of September 2009, at least
one Ahwazi man was executed following trials of some 10 Ahwazi men, some of whom
were known political activists, before a branch of the Revolutionary Court in
Ahvaz. They received unfair trials in which they had no access to a lawyer (see
Amnesty International,Iran: Seven men at risk of execution in Iran, (Index: MDE
13/109/2009), 21 October 2009. http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/109/2009/en).
Mohammad Taher Batili’s father, Hadi Mohammad Jawad Batili, has been arrested in
Iran several times for his political activities and his support to families of
detained or killed Ahwazi people. In 1993 he was sentenced to 10 years’
imprisonment; he served five years of the sentence, including seven months in
solitary confinement, before being released on bail. He was reportedly tortured
and otherwise ill-treated during this period. In 2004 he was handed a three-year
suspended sentence and in 2005 he was arrested and detained for four months
before being released on bail. He was summoned to appear before Branch 12 of the
Revolutionary Court in Khuzestan on 9 July 2009 and the case is ongoing.
On 27 September 2008, six Ahwazi asylum-seekers, Ma’soumeh Ka’bi and her five
children aged between four and 14, were forcibly returned to Iran from Syria.
She and her children were immediately arrested upon arrival in Tehran. Her five
children were released in late October 2008 (see Iran: Forcible return/
Prisoners of conscience/ Fear of torture and ill-treatment, (Index: MDE
13/147/2008), 10 October 2008, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/147/2008/en).
On 1 January 2009, Ma’soumeh Ka’bi was sentenced by the Revolutionary Court in
Ahwaz, Khuzestan province, to four and a half years’ imprisonment for leaving
Iran using false travel documents and reportedly in connection with her
husband’s political activities. She appealed the sentence and was released on
bail of around US$151,000. Amnesty International has not received information on
the outcome of her appeal.
Although Lebanon is not a state party to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the
Status of Refugees, it is, like all other countries, bound by international
customary law, including the principle of non-refoulement: countries may not
forcibly return people to countries where they would face serious human rights
violations, including torture and other ill-treatment. It is also a party to the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.
UA: 147/10 Index: MDE 18/005/2010 Issue Date: 30 June 2010
-------------------------------------
East Mediterranean Team
Amnesty International, International Secretariat
Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street
London WC1X 0DW
United Kingdom
E-mail: Eastmed@amnesty.org
Tel: +44 (0)20 7413 5500
Fax: +44 (0)20 7413 5719
CENTCOM thinks outside the box on Hamas and Hezbollah.
BY MARK PERRY
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/06/29/red_team?page=0,0
| JUNE 30, 2010
While it is anathema to broach the subject of engaging militant groups like
Hizballah* and Hamas in official Washington circles (to say nothing of Israel),
that is exactly what a team of senior intelligence officers at U.S. Central
Command -- CENTCOM -- has been doing. In a "Red Team" report issued on May 7 and
entitled "Managing Hizballah and Hamas," senior CENTCOM intelligence officers
question the current U.S. policy of isolating and marginalizing the two
movements. Instead, the Red Team recommends a mix of strategies that would
integrate the two organizations into their respective political mainstreams.
While a Red Team exercise is deliberately designed to provide senior commanders
with briefings and assumptions that challenge accepted strategies, the report is
at once provocative, controversial -- and at odds with current U.S. policy.
More... Among its other findings, the five-page report calls for the integration
of Hizballah into the Lebanese Armed Forces, and Hamas into the Palestinian
security forces led by Fatah, the party of Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas. The Red Team's conclusion, expressed in the final sentence of the
executive summary, is perhaps its most controversial finding: "The U.S. role of
assistance to an integrated Lebanese defense force that includes Hizballah; and
the continued training of Palestinian security forces in a Palestinian entity
that includes Hamas in its government, would be more effective than providing
assistance to entities -- the government of Lebanon and Fatah -- that represent
only a part of the Lebanese and Palestinian populace respectively" (emphasis in
the original). The report goes on to note that while Hizballah and Hamas
"embrace staunch anti-Israel rejectionist policies," the two groups are
"pragmatic and opportunistic."
The report opens with a quote from former U.S. peace negotiator Aaron David
Miller's book, The Much Too Promised Land, which notes that both Hizballah and
Hamas "have emerged as serious political players respected on the streets, in
Arab capitals, and throughout the region. Destroying them was never really an
option. Ignoring them may not be either." The report's writers are quick to
acknowledge that the two militant groups "are vastly different," and that
treating them together is a mistake. Nevertheless, the CENTCOM team directly
repudiates Israel's publicly stated view -- that the two movements are incapable
of change and must be confronted with force. The report says that "failing to
recognize their separate grievances and objectives will result in continued
failure in moderating their behavior."
"There is a lot of thinking going on in the military and particularly among
intelligence officers in Tampa [the site of CENTCOM headquarters] about these
groups," acknowledged a senior CENTCOM officer familiar with the report.
However, he denied that senior military leaders are actively lobbying Barack
Obama's administration to forge an opening to the two organizations. "That's
probably not in the cards just yet," he said.
In the wake of the Gaza flotilla incident, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister
Daniel Ayalon said that those on board the Mavi Marmara, the scene of the May 31
showdown between Israeli commandos and largely Turkish activists, had ties to
"agents of international terror, international Islam, Hamas, al Qaeda and
others." The same senior officer wasn't impressed. "Putting Hizballah, Hamas,
the Muslim Brotherhood and al Qaeda in the same sentence, as if they are all the
same, is just stupid," he said. "I don't know any intelligence officer at
CENTCOM who buys that." Another mid-level SOCOM [Special Operations Command]
officer echoed these views: "As the U.S. strategy in the war on terrorism
evolves, military planners have come to realize that they are all motivated by
different factors, and we need to address this if we are going to effectively
prosecute a successful campaign in the Middle East." most interesting aspects of
the report deal with Hizbollah. The Red Team downplays the argument that the
Lebanese Shiite group acts as a proxy for Iran. The report includes a quote from
Hizballah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, stating that if Lebanon and Iran's
interests ever conflicted, his organization would favor Lebanese interests. "Hizballah's
activities increasingly reflect the movement's needs and aspirations in Lebanon,
as opposed to the interests of its Iranian backers," the report concludes. It
also criticizes Israel's August 2006 war against Hizballah as counterproductive.
"Instead of exploiting Hizballah's independent streak ... Israeli actions in
Lebanon may have had the reverse effect of tightening its bonds with Iran," the
authors note.
The report goes on to say that, while there are "many ways in which Lebanese
Hizballah is not like the IRA," there are "parallels" between the Irish
Republican Army's eventual participation in the Northern Ireland peace process
and a potentially productive U.S. strategy for dealing with Hizballah. CENTCOM
officers cite a meeting between the British ambassador to Lebanon and Hizballah
leaders in 2009 as providing an appropriate model to begin the integration of
the organization into the LAF. Such talks should "be pursued again with the same
vigor that peace talks in Northern Ireland were pursued," the report recommends.
"As the US took the lead with peace talks in Northern Ireland, the British could
take the lead with unity talks between the LAF and Hizballah in Lebanon."
The brief's authors also have interesting things to say about Hamas, which has
ruled in Gaza since its takeover of the impoverished coastal strip in 2007.
While the Red Team report does not make explicit policy recommendations, the
senior intelligence experts that drafted the statement signal their unease with
Israel's anti-Hamas policies, particularly the continuing Israeli siege of Gaza.
CENTCOM officers note that Israel's strategy of keeping Gaza under siege also
keeps "the area on the verge of a perpetual humanitarian collapse" -- a policy
that the intelligence report says "may be radicalizing more people, especially
the young, increasing the number of potential recruits" for the organization.
The report argues that an Israeli decision to lift the siege might pave the way
for reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, which would be "the best hope for
mainstreaming Hamas." The Red Team also claims that reconciliation with Fatah,
when coupled with Hamas's explicit renunciation of violence, would gain
"widespread international support and deprive the Israelis of any legitimate
justification to continue settlement building and delay statehood negotiations."
In supporting the creation of a unified Palestinian security service, CENTCOM's
Red Team distances itself from the U.S. effort to provide training to the
Fatah-controlled security forces in the West Bank, which began during George W.
Bush's administration. While that effort, currently headed by Lt. Gen. Keith
Dayton, is not mentioned specifically in the report, the Red Team makes it clear
that it believes that such initiatives will fail unless the Israelis and
Palestinians negotiate an end to the conflict. While Dayton and the
administration are focused on building a "National Security Force" in the West
Bank that excludes Hamas, and jails its members, the focus of Palestinians is
elsewhere. "But all Palestinians are watching the clashes in East Jerusalem,
which continue to feed into the Palestinians perception the Israelis are
incapable of negotiating in good faith," according to the report.
CENTCOM's implicit criticism of Dayton is not a surprise: the general's program
is controversial among some senior military officers, who question an effort
that, in Palestinian perceptions, makes the U.S. a partner in the Israeli
occupation. Dayton is also criticized in military circles for making a May 2009
speech before the pro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy (which he
described as "the foremost think tank on Middle East issues, not only in
Washington, but in the world"). In the speech (pdf), he said that the reason a
high-ranking general was appointed as security coordinator was because he "would
be trusted and respected by the Israelis." The statement was not universally
welcomed at the Pentagon, where one officer shook his head. "You would have
thought Dayton's primary mission would be to win the respect and trust of the
Palestinians," he told me.
According to a senior CENTCOM officer, while the CENTCOM Red Team report has
been read by outgoing CENTCOM chief Gen. David Petraeus, it's unknown whether
its recommendations have been passed on to the White House. Even so, there's
little question the report reflects the thinking among a significant number of
senior officers at CENTCOM headquarters -- and among senior CENTCOM intelligence
officers and analysts serving in the Middle East. And while any "Red Team"
report by definition reflects a view that is contrary to accepted policy, a
CENTCOM senior officer told me that -- so far as he knows -- there is, in fact,
no parallel "Blue Team" report contradicting the Red Team's conclusion. "Well,
that's not exactly right," this senior officer added. "The Blue Team is the
Obama administration."
*Note: To avoid confusion, this story uses the spelling “Hizballah” throughout,
although Hezbollah is FP’s preferred spelling.