LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِNovember 26/2010

Bible Of The Day
The Good News According to Matthew 12/46-50
12:46 While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him. 12:47 One said to him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to you.” 12:48 But he answered him who spoke to him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 12:49 He stretched out his hand towards his disciples, and said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! 12:50 For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Trials and tribulations for Mr. Bellemare/By Michael Young/November 25/10
From North Korea, lessons about Syria/By: Tony Badran/November 25/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November 25/10
Minor Quake Hits Southern Lebanon/Naharnet
CBC report tarnishes Hizbullah image further/Daily Star
Israel 'infiltrating' phone network/Daily Star
Erdogan: We Won't Remain Silent to Any Israeli Attack on Lebanon/Naharnet
Sleiman Franjieh discusses Lebanese situation with Qatari emir/Now Lebanon
MP Ali Khreiss hopes Hariri has conviction Hezbollah is innocent/Now Lebanon
Lebanon will be fine, says Hariri/Now Lebanon
MP Ziad al-Qadiri: STL’s indictment is basis for achieving justice/Now Lebanon
Hariri for Boosting Channels of Cooperation with Turkey, says Lebanon's Growth Hit 8 Percent/Naharnet
Jumblat: Bellemare 'Bewildered' by Media Leaks, Cabinet Should Reject STL/Naharnet
Hariri Announces Free Trade Deal with Turkey, Erdogan Stresses Full Support for Lebanon/Naharnet
CBC Reporter Defends His Info, Says Hasan, Hariri, Jumblat Refused to Be Interviewed by Him/Naharnet
AMAL Members Dispute Erupts into Gunfire in Barbour/Naharnet
Jumblat: Bellemare 'Bewildered' by Media Leaks, Cabinet Should Reject STL/Naharnet
Erdogan from Akkar: We Will Continue on Supporting Lebanon, Israel Should Stop its Provocations/Naharnet
Berri: CBC Report an Attempt to Expedite Indictment/Naharnet
Hariri Announces Free Trade Deal with Turkey, Erdogan Stresses Full Support for Lebanon/Naharnet
Iran's Ambassador: Optimism on Lebanon Has Solid Foundations/Naharnet
Syria-Saudi Efforts Ongoing, Berri Sources/Naharnet
CBC Reporter Defends His Info, Says Hasan, Hariri, Jumblat Refused to Be Interviewed by Him/Naharnet
Inter-AMAL Dispute Erupts into Gunfire in Barbour/Naharnet
Islamist Preacher Bakri Bailed from Jail/Naharnet
Geagea Says Saudi-Syrian Efforts Stalled since Two Weeks/Naharnet
March 14 Urges Lebanese to Stay Clear of Leaked Information that Harms Justice/Naharnet
Abadi: Erdogan's Visit Helps Tackle Situation Lebanon is Enduring/Naharnet
Armenians Protest Erdogan's Visit: Lebanese Haven't Forgotten Turkey's Bloody History/Naharnet
Mustafa Allouch: Syrian, Saudi and Turkish efforts do not resolve crisis/Now Lebanon
March 8 student coalition clinches victory in AUB elections/Daily Star

Minor Quake Hits Southern Lebanon
Naharnet/A minor earthquake hit the area of Bint Jbeil-Tyre on Thursday, but there were no reports of casualties or damage. The 3.5 magnitude quake was felt by residents around noon, Beirut media reported. Several earthquakes have hit south Lebanon in the past few years. Beirut, 25 Nov 10, 14:41

CBC report tarnishes Hizbullah image further
Analysts say group cannot tolerate to be accused since ‘it would be delegitimized’ locally and abroad
By Michael Bluhm /Daily Star staff
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Analysis
BEIRUT: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) report alleging Hizbullah’s involvement in former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination has further tarnished the party’s reputation, even thought the documentary did not budge the polarized stances paralyzing the political scene, a number of analysts told The Daily Star Wednesday.
The report spurred immediate reactions from Hizbullah and its allies in the March 8 political coalition; their response did not deviate from their established strategy of attacking the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), said retired General Elias Hanna, who teaches political science at various universities. CBC said it had acquired its information implicating Hizbullah from a number of former tribunal investigators. Political tensions have risen in Lebanon as the court prepares to file its indictment in the Hariri case, and political leaders have said they expect the court to accuse Hizbullah members.
Telecommunications Minister Charbel Nahhas of the March 8 camp’s Free Patriotic Movement held a news conference Tuesday, presenting evidence which he said showed that Lebanon’s telecommunications sector had been under Israeli control at the time of Hariri’s February 2005 killing.
March 8 leaders are trying to “hollow out” the looming tribunal indictment by rejecting any telecommunications data used to connect Hizbullah cadres to Hariri’s assassination, Hanna said. Hizbullah and March 8 tactics to undermine the court also include a call to boycott the STL from Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, as well as moves to block the payment of Lebanon’s 49-percent share of STL funding, Hanna said. Hizbullah “cannot tolerate to be accused,” he added. “Locally, it will be delegitimized, [and] regionally and internationally.”
The Hizbullah response to the CBC documentary also hinted that the group considers the accusation of some of its members as a fait accompli, said Habib Malik, who teaches history at the Lebanese American University and is the son of Charles Malik, one of the co-founders of modern Lebanon and co-author of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Hizbullah knows it cannot respond to any potential indictment by using its weapons either in Lebanon or against Israel, so the group is angling to minimize the possible damage, Malik added. “They’re getting ready, in a sense, to cut their losses.”
While adding to the sense of inevitability surrounding the indictment of Hizbullah members, the CBC report also serves to further chip away at Hizbullah’s shaken reputation of in the Middle East, said Hilal Khashan, who teaches political studies at the American University of Beirut. Since its military successes against Israel in the summer 2006 war, Hizbullah has seen its image sullied by the sit-in that emptied Beirut’s Downtown from December 2006 and armed clashes in western Beirut in May 2008, Khashan added. Hizbullah gunmen seized swathes of western Beirut after the former Cabinet took steps that Hizbullah believed encroached on its prerogatives.
“Hassan Nasrallah has resigned himself to the issuance of the indictment,” he said. “Hizbullah’s position in the Arab-Islamic world reached its peak right after the summer 2006 war. Since then its image in the Arab-Islamic world has been declining. Their invasion of West Beirut in 2008 did a lot of damage to Hizbullah.
“Hizbullah is seen more as an instrument in Iran’s hands rather than as an agent of anti-Israel liberation.”
In spite of the turmoil accompanying the wait for the indictment, the CBC documentary did not increase the chances for violence over the expected charges, Malik said. Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of the slain former premier, moved quickly Tuesday to defuse any heated reactions to the CBC report, saying he did not believe any leaks served the cause of justice and that he would wait for the official indictment. In his response, Hariri did not deviate from his approach of taking any steps necessary to avoid confrontation over the tribunal, Khashan said; the prime minister had previously apologized for rushing to blame Syria in the killing and said only rogue elements of Hizbullah might have been involved in his father’s assassination.
Hariri and his partners in the March 14 faction have long been deadlocked with March 8 representatives in the Cabinet, and the CBC documentary might only make it harder for the wrangling ministers to reach consensus on any issue, said Raghid al-Solh, political analyst and adviser to the Issam Fares Center, a non-partisan think tank.
Hanna said that “political paralysis all over Lebanon for a certain period of time” will likely reign until the indictment is revealed.
Khashan said the possible leaks of information to CBC appear part of a plan to intermittently let out the results of the investigation, in order to preempt any shock in Lebanon when the charges are announced. A May 2009 article in the German magazine Der Spiegel first said investigators believed Hizbullah participated in Rafik Hariri’s assassination, while Saad Hariri told Nasrallah early this summer that the indictment would name Hizbullah members, Khashan added.
“This is allowing the Lebanese to brace themselves for the indictment,” Khashan added. “What we are seeing right now [in CBC] is just preparation for Lebanese politicians and the public.”
Indeed, CBC’s investigation will only likely reinforce opinions that have become hardened in the country’s various communities, he said. Backers of the March 14 camp “would see the evidence as compelling; if you are a Hizbullah supporter, you would talk about conspiracy theories,” he added. “If you talk to level-headed Lebanese … they will still place the tribunal in high esteem.”
“New information in Lebanon does seem to alter people’s perception of the situation,” Khashan said.
Hanna, meanwhile, said that the CBC report, in hewing to the standard line of speculation about the investigation’s direction, can also serve as encouragement for Hariri and his allies in resisting Hizbullah attempts to stymie the court, while yet again blackening Hizbullah’s name before the indictment comes out. Whether accurate or not, the appearance of the CBC story stemming from a leak in the tribunal could also harm the reputation of the court, he added. Some might accuse the STL of selectively leaking information for political purposes, while at the very least such a significant leak would do little to burnish the tribunal’s credibility, Hanna added.
In the end, the CBC report only serves to swathe the court in more speculation and conspiracy theories, which only sabotage the causes that the tribunal was founded to pursue: fostering accountability and ending impunity for political violence, Malik said.
“It’s really disappointing and sad that international law should have to undergo this kind of abuse,” he said. “The greatest loser in this whole drama since the tribunal was created is international law.”

Israel 'infiltrating' phone network
Telecoms officials say technicians found devices used for phone tapping, data manipulation
By The Daily Star
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
BEIRUT: Telecommunications Minister Charbel Nahhas said Tuesday there was proof of Israeli infiltration into the Lebanese telecommunications network “on a large scale.” “Everybody knows that modern telecommunications technology … is exposed to infiltration in different ways in order reach specified results,” Nahhas told a news conference held in Beirut.
Nahhas said that the telecommunications sector in Lebanon should not be seen as a mere commercial sector “in a country that is confronting the aggressiveness of a state reported to be one of the most advanced countries in telecommunication techniques, decoding and the protection of systems.”
Nahhas said it was the duty of the state to deal with the sector as “commercial and economic first, taxable and monopolistic second, and we should add technical and security.” Nahhas touched on the recent endorsement of Resolution 75 by the International Telecommunication Union, condemning Israeli violations of Lebanon’s telecommunications infrastructure.
MP Hassan Fadlallah, a Hizbullah official, and chairman of Pariament’s Telecommunications Committee, was at the conference, along with the acting head of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), Imad Hoballah.
The move is a clear attempt to discredit an impending indictment by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which media reports have said would rely on telecommunications data in implicating members of Hizbullah in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Nahhas said the information that was presented in the news conference was collected in detail by the ministry in cooperation with Hoballah and specialized technicians from the ministry.
The group of technicians, with the help of specialized teams, also analyzed information available at companies operating Lebanese telecommunication networks, Nahhas added.
Hoballah highlighted the “chaos in distributing passwords and the absence of any criteria based upon which the prerogatives of workers in the telecommunications sector are determined.”
The TRA official disclosed that Israel had erected devices along the Lebanese-Israeli border capable of penetrating the Lebanese telecommunications network, along with other devices that could gather information about the network.
Hoballah also noted that Israel hacked into the network by implanting devices in the network that allowed it to manipulate data.
While noting that penetrating the network could take place via different means, Hoballah said Lebanese detained on charges of collaborating with Israel played a major role in facilitating such acts.
Fadlallah explained how Adib Alam, a Lebanese who was arrested by the Lebanese authorities earlier on charges of collaborating with Israel, had provided Israeli authorities with the password of the sim cards of three members from Hizbullah.
He added that the information passed to the Israelis enabled them to implant a second line which allowed them to tap the Hizbullah fighters and listen to all their conversations, even when their cell phones were closed.
Fadlallah said that Tarek Rabaa, another Lebanese detainee charged with collaborating with Israel, had confessed that he presented detailed information about the designs and telecommunication networks of ALFA, one of two telecommunication companies in Lebanon. Rabaa was an employee of ALFA.
According to Fadlallah, Rabaa informed Israeli intelligence services of ALFA’s plans to rebuild antenae destroyed by Israel during its 2006 war on Lebanon.
Fadlallah said the issue of Israeli infiltration of the telecommunications network was a national one that has to do with national security. “This is an issue that has to do with … the security of various political parties,” he said. While praising the collection of information as an “achievement for Lebanon,” Fadlallah said the information revealed “a bitter truth that demonstrates the absence of security, safety and freedom of our telecommunications sector.” – The Daily Star


 

Erdogan: We Won't Remain Silent to Any Israeli Attack on Lebanon
Naharnet/isiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Thursday not to stand idle during any future Israeli attack on Lebanon or Gaza."You are asking us to remain silent while you enter Lebanon with the most advanced tanks and destroy schools and hospitals," Erdogan said about Israel.He made his comment during a speech at the Annual Arab Banking Conference in Beirut.Turkey's only objective in the region is peace and stability, Erdogan said.His speech came ahead of a trip to south Lebanon to visit Turkish troops serving with UNIFIL and inaugurate a Turkish-funded medical center that specializes in treating burn victims in Sidon. During the inauguration later in the day, Erdogan said the Lebanese should not allow some parties to harm coexistence. "On the contrary, we should work together for a future that has Lebanese foundations." Beirut, 25 Nov 10, 11:59

Hariri for Boosting Channels of Cooperation with Turkey, says Lebanon's Growth Hit 8 Percent
Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri said at the Union of Arab Banks conference on Thursday that Lebanon was looking forward to increasing the channels of cooperation with Turkey.
"The meeting of the Union of Arab Banks is one aspect of the Arab economic integrated vision, which we want to develop beyond the geographic and political boundaries, to become a regional banking bloc serving Arab and neighboring states whose economic and banking goals complement ours," Hariri said. He said Turkey comes at the forefront of these states, praising the role of Turkish Prime Minister Racep Tayyib Erdogan in "laying the foundations of economic, social and political development in the 21st Century." "We are looking forward to increasing the channels of cooperation between Lebanon and Turkey in the various economic, development and investment sectors," Hariri said. He believed the "business environment" in Lebanon is ready to attract foreign investments, adding that Lebanon also was seeking to develop partnerships between Lebanon's and France's private sectors. "We want to increase the volume of trade exchange between the two sides," Hariri added.  He said Turkey "has become a regional power with global weight in various fields, and it supports the just causes of the Arab and Islamic worlds." Hariri hailed Turkey's support for Lebanon during hardships, adding that Turkey also seeks to achieve both political and security stability in Lebanon.
Beirut, 25 Nov 10, 12:00

Jumblat: Bellemare 'Bewildered' by Media Leaks, Cabinet Should Reject STL
Naharnet/Druze leader Walid Jumblat believed that Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare was "bewildered" by media leaks. Bellemare is "bewildered and embarrassed," Jumblat said in remarks published Thursday by Asharq al-Awsat daily. "Here we see that information is being leaked about the work of a Court which in principle should be 'ideal' – starting from the Der Spiegel report to the CBC report," Jumblat said. "There is no room for justice in the dictionaries of those who are unleashing these leaks," he added.
"Efforts are underway via the Syrian-Saudi initiative to work out a scenario that would torpedo the largest quantity possible of the impacts of the indictment before it is issued," Jumblat said.
He stressed on the need for the Lebanese Government to "take action to avert the negative repercussions that could destabilize Lebanon." Jumblat on Wednesday accused the U.N.-backed probe into the murder of ex-premier Rafik Hariri of being politically motivated and urged the Cabinet to unanimously reject it. "This tribunal is aimed at destabilizing Lebanon rather than rendering justice," Jumblat told Agence France Presse. "It would be appropriate at this time for the cabinet to meet and unanimously denounce the tribunal and its (upcoming) verdict)."
Tension mounted in Lebanon amid reports that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was poised to indict Hizbullah members in Hariri's case. Jumblat said the rumors and press reports surrounding the STL probe and its findings had become "a dangerous soap opera" that threatened Lebanon's stability. "It is clear that this probe is being used for political purposes," he said. "It is clear that the investigators are leaking information and are working for countries that have accounts to settle." Beirut, 25 Nov 10, 07:29

Hariri Announces Free Trade Deal with Turkey, Erdogan Stresses Full Support for Lebanon
Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri and visiting Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyib Erdogan signed a free trade agreement between Lebanon and Turkey, after an agreement was reached earlier this year on establishing a free trade zone that also includes Jordan and Syria. They also signed a joint political declaration on the establishment of the High Level Strategic Cooperation and Coordination Committee. The agreements were signed following late night talks Wednesday between Hariri and Erdogan at the Grand Serail. A statement issued by Hariri's office said the two men discussed regional developments and bilateral relations, in addition to the progress of the peace process in the Middle East. Erdogan stressed on Wednesday his country's support for Lebanon. "No one can harm this brotherhood and friendship," Erdogan said during a visit to northern Lebanon in Hariri's company.
Hariri said of Erdogan: "A great and dear brother has arrived as guest on this land." "You are garnering the love of the people of Lebanon and Akkar because you have taken the initiative to plant the trees of knowledge, goodness, and progress in this region," he stated during a popular gathering. Addressing the crowd, Hariri said: "I have not forgotten Akkar, its people, and your loyalty." For his part, Erdogan said: "Lebanese-Turkish ties have become an example to be followed through my brother Saad Hariri's efforts." Expressing concerns over Lebanon, the Turkish premier stressed: "We will continue to raise our voices against oppression and we will continue on defending the innocents." Of Turkey's policy in the region, Erdogan said: "We will unite and strive for peace, justice, and stability … The Israeli government should realize that it too can gain from the prevalence of security and peace." He called on the Israeli government to apologize to the people of the region and work for peace, demanding it to "halt its provocative actions." Erdogan, who met President Michel Suleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri, is scheduled to visit Turkish troops serving UNIFIL. He will also inaugurate a Turkish-funded medical center that specializes in treating burn victims in Sidon. Beirut, 25 Nov 10, 06:44

Berri: CBC Report an Attempt to Expedite Indictment
Naharnet/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri believed that a CBC report implicating Hizbullah in the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri was an attempt to "put pressure to expedite an indictment" by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Berri, in remarks published Thursday by As-Safir newspaper, said he believed that "repetitive leaks aimed to push toward a speedy indictment." A senior authoritative source, meanwhile, said media leaks have affected STL credibility. "A court with doors open to leaks is not to be trusted," he told As-Safir.
Beirut, 25 Nov 10, 08:00

CBC Reporter Defends His Info, Says Hasan, Hariri, Jumblat Refused to Be Interviewed by Him
Naharnet/Neil Macdonald, the author of the latest CBC report on the U.N.-backed probe into the murder of ex-PM Rafik Hariri, has noted that he decided to prepare his news story given the fact that Canada was one of the donor states financing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. In an interview with the French edition of the Lebanese daily Sada Al-Balad, Macdonald said that the Canadians wanted to know where their money was going and if the probe was making any progress at all. He stated that the repercussions of his report were not of his concern, noting that he had verified his information before publishing them. The 53-year-old award-winning veteran Canadian journalist described his work as honest and professional.
Macdonald noted that he did not interview any Hizbullah members because he was told they would not cooperate with him, adding that the position of Hizbullah regarding the STL was "already clear" through the speeches of the group's number one Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. However, the Canadian journalist said he tried to contact Abdul Majid Ghamloush, an alleged Hizbullah operative who Macdonald described in his report as a "minor electronics specialist who worked for Hizbullah."
Quoting "one former U.N. investigator," Macdonald said in his CBC report that Ghamloush had been tasked with "collecting and disposing" the mobile phones allegedly used by the hit squad that murdered Hariri. "We knew that he had fled to Syria after the death of Major General Wissam Eid, maybe he was killed after that," Macdonald told Sada al-Balad.
The CBC reporter also noted that he tried to interview Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Druze leader Walid Jumblat, who allegedly refused to appear in the report.
Moreover, Macdonald said that he tried more than once to contact Col. Wissam al-Hasan, head of the police Intelligence Bureau, noting that he obtained his phone number from one of the U.N. investigation commission's employees. Col. Hasan, however, refused to cooperate with the Canadian journalist.
The CBC report claims that Hasan's alibi in the Hariri assassination case was weak and that he had told another story entirely. It said Hasan was "on the U.N. radar from the beginning, for two reasons: He quickly became one of the inquiry's main liaisons with the Internal Security Forces; plus he was in charge of Hariri's security at the time of the assassination." The report depicts Hasan as a possible suspect in the case. On the other hand, Macdonald reiterated that the United Nations had "threatened" him not to publish the report and to handover all U.N. documents in his possession. Macdonald is the senior Washington correspondent for CBC News. He started his career in 1976.  He joined CBC News in 1988 following 12 years in newspapers and was initially assigned to Parliament Hill where he reported on federal politics for The National. Before taking up his post in Washington, in March 2003, Macdonald reported from the Middle East for five years. He won Gemini Awards in 2004 and 2009 for best reportage. Beirut, 24 Nov 10, 19:32

Lebanon will be fine, says Hariri
November 25, 2010 /“Lebanon will be fine. The Lebanese will not abandon their national unity no matter how much political rhetoric escalates,” Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Thursday. During the inauguration of a hospital funded by Turkey in Saida, Hariri also said “our choice is to adopt dialogue between one another.”“I believe that Lebanese unity is an important element for regional unity that we and Turkey look forward to [achieving]. Lebanon’s stability is [a part] of regional stability.”The Lebanese will not forget Turkey’s support during the 2006 July War, Hariri also said, adding that Turkey is a friendly country. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived on Wednesday for a two-day official visit. His visit comes as tensions soar in Lebanon amid rumors the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) will indict high-ranking members of Hezbollah in connection with the 2005 murder of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri. There are fears that should the tribunal implicate Hezbollah, it could lead to sectarian violence that would pit Hariri's Sunni supporters against the Shia Hezbollah.
-NOW Lebanon

MP Ziad al-Qadiri: STL’s indictment is basis for achieving justice
November 25, 2010 /Lebanon First bloc MP Ziad al-Qadiri told OTV on Wednesday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s (STL) indictment is the basis for achieving justice and truth.
“Justice should not [lead] to sedition. It should [lead] to stability,” Qadiri said. “We have to increase dialogue between the Lebanese. [We are] thankful for all Arab efforts, but efforts will not be serious if there is no dialogue between the Lebanese.” Tension is high in Lebanon amid unconfirmed reports that the UN-backed probe will soon issue its indictment in its investigation of the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. There are fears that should the court indict Hezbollah members, it could lead to clashes similar to those of the 2008 May Events – when gunmen led by the party took over half of Beirut. -NOW Lebanon

Mustafa Allouch: Syrian, Saudi and Turkish efforts do not resolve crisis
November 25, 2010 /Future Movement official Mustafa Allouch told LBCI television on Thursday that Syrian, Saudi and Turkish efforts do not resolve the crisis in Lebanon but only lessen it for a while. Allouch said he does not think that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s (STL) indictment is based solely on telecom information. Commenting on the Canadian Broadcast Corporation’s (CBC) report, Allouch said he thinks the main goal of it is have a scoop. “I do not really know what is its aim at this time, but I [consider] it one of the several leaks [on the matter] that have to be carefully dealt with,” he added. “The report is not logical. We cannot discuss the STL’s investigation until the indictment is issued.”Tensions are rising in Lebanon amid reports that the UN-backed probe is set to issue an indictment for the Rafik Hariri murder. CBC said Sunday it had evidence from the STL strongly linking Hezbollah to the massive car bomb in 2005 that killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and that investigators became suspicious of Internal Security Forces (ISF) – Information Branch head Wissam al-Hassan.
-NOW Lebanon

Sleiman Franjieh discusses Lebanese situation with Qatari emir
November 25, 2010 /Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani discussed the political situation with Marada Movement leader MP Sleiman Franjieh in Doha on Thursday, the National News Agency (NNA) reported. The NNA added that Franjieh and the Qatari emir discussed means of improving bilateral relations. Tension is high in Lebanon amid unconfirmed reports that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) will soon issue its indictment in its investigation of the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. There are fears that should the court indict Hezbollah members, it could lead to clashes similar to those of the 2008 May Events – when gunmen led by the party took over half of Beirut.
-NOW Lebanon

MP Ali Khreiss hopes Hariri has conviction Hezbollah is innocent
November 25, 2010/Development and Liberation bloc MP Ali Khreiss voiced hope on Thursday that Prime Minister Saad Hariri has the conviction that Hezbollah is not involved in the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri the way he has a conviction that Syria is not involved. In an interview with Magazine and Al-Ousbou al-Arabi magazines, Khreiss said accusing Hezbollah of a crime it did not commit is not simple. “Hezbollah will defend itself, and this does not mean that the [party] or the [March 8 coalition] will ruin the domestic situation,” he added. “The [March 8 alliance] is concerned about stability, security and national unity.”Khreiss denied that there will be a scenario similar to the 2008 May Events, and added that there is no alternative to dialogue. Tension is high in Lebanon amid unconfirmed reports that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) will soon issue its indictment in its investigation of the Rafik Hariri murder. There are fears that should the court indict Hezbollah members, it could lead to clashes similar to those of the 2008 May Events – when gunmen led by the party took over half of Beirut.-NOW Lebanon

From North Korea, lessons about Syria
Tony Badran, November 25, 2010
The West’s experience with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il could teach it lessons about dealing with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. (AFP Photo/KCNA via KNS)
Commenting on North Korea’s newly revealed uranium enrichment facility, and its subsequent unprovoked shelling of the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, former US president Jimmy Carter offered the following trite assessment: “No one can completely understand the motivations of the North Koreans.”
As less credulous others have pointed out, Pyongyang’s game is a rather transparent case of “nuclear blackmail.” A proper understanding of this type of chronic extortion could lead to a better grasp of the ways of other rogue regimes, such as Syria, and how best to deal with them.
The US has been involved in an embarrassing failed endeavor to get the North Koreans to denuclearize. The regime in Pyongyang has notoriously played the world for fools and has mastered the art of nuclear blackmail, using talks over its nuclear program as a shakedown racket to extract aid from its interlocutors.
At the same time, not only does Kim Jong-Il renege on his commitments, he also proceeds to sell banned nuclear and ballistic technology to other rogue states, including Iran and Syria. The latter’s secret nuclear reactor, which was destroyed by Israel in September 2007, was built with the North Koreans’ help. Secure in the conviction that he will not face serious retaliation, Kim continues to stick his thumb in the world’s eye.
Some analysts have understandably focused on these developments’ implications for the ongoing standoff with Tehran and what it means for the future, should Iran achieve breakout capability. However, Pyongyang’s actions, at their core, also mirror Syrian behavior, namely, the regime’s support and sponsorship of terrorist and militant groups – a fact which, remarkably, appears to escape observers and policy makers alike.
Jimmy Carter’s remark about North Korea was echoed not long ago by an anonymous US official who voiced similar befuddlement vis-à-vis Syria.
“We do not understand Syrian intentions. No one does,” the official told Foreign Policy magazine in April.
The established approach to Syria’s relationship with radical groups has been governed by the premise that all of Damascus’ alliances are driven by a single preoccupation: retrieving the Golan Heights from Israel. This makes the resolution of the conflict a rather straightforward transaction: offering the Syrians what they want will result in the termination of their unsavory alliances and destructive behavior. Similar to what Jimmy Carter wrote about North Korea's new centrifuges, Syria's ties to militant groups are assumed to be "on the table."
The US continues to conceptualize the problem along those lines, which is why we always hear Western officials asserting that what Syria’s president Bashar Assad “really” wants is to align with the West, as that would be the path to prosperity for the Syrian people. Somehow it is lost on these officials that for the last four years, as a result of a series of devastating droughts, hundreds of thousands of people from eastern Syria have been forced to abandon their villages, are severely impoverished and are facing malnourishment. The Assad regime, meanwhile, has been busy stepping up transfers of advanced weaponry to Hezbollah and setting up logistical bases for the Shia group in Syria.
As with Pyongyang, Damascus’ calculations and priorities are clearly very different from what Western officials presume. What matters for the Syrian regime is pursuing the policies that best fit its self-image, one of the primary “key player” in the region – if not the nexus of the “five seas,” as Assad is fond of saying.
Just as the nuclear shakedown and the sale of nuclear and ballistic technologies are North Korea’s only currency, so too does support for extremist groups constitute Syria’s only asset in its quest to actualize the role it envisions itself playing, both with respect to its interaction with the West, as well as its maneuvering with regional, especially Arab, rivals. It is these alliances that afford Syria the ability to project power – or at least the illusion thereof – beyond its actual weight.
As such, the entire conceptualization of the negotiation process with states such as Syria and North Korea becomes problematic. For the West, negotiations are a means to the definite end of a one-time, quid pro quo transaction that will result, in Syria’s case, in the cessation of support for militant groups once and for all in return for redressing a particular grievance. The Syrians meanwhile have made it clear that their view is radically different. As one official told the International Crisis Group in a January 2009 interview, “They [the Americans] talk to us when it is a question of cutting ties with Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah. But if we do, will they carry on speaking to us?” To expect the Syrians to abandon their only access to relevance is to engage in fantasy. If decades of failure with the Syrians have not been enough to drive this point home, perhaps watching the ongoing North Korean extortion racket might help. But then again, don’t hold your breath.
**Tony Badran is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Cairo police clash with Christians
Protester killed as Egyptian security forces fight with Copts demonstrating over the construction of a new church.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/11/20101124102023223936.html
Last Modified: 24 Nov 2010 11:57 GMT
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Clashes erupted outside the Giza governor's office after construction of a church was halted [AFP]
A demonstrator has been killed and several others injured as hundreds of Orthodox Coptic Christian protesters clashed with Egyptian police after permission for the building of a new church was refused.Al Jazeera has learned that the Christian protester was killed after being shot by the security forces.
The riots erupted on Wednesday outside a municipal building in the Cairo suburb of Giza, after authorities halted construction of the church, claiming the local Christian community had violated a building permit. Protersters threw stone and petrol bombs as scores of police surrounded the area and fired tear gas to break up the demonstration. A security source said at least 93 protesters were detained after a scuffle with police.
Rocks thrown
Around 20 police were injured in the clashes, including Giza's deputy security chief, as well as around 15 demonstrators.
Some of the protesters were led away with blood on their faces, after police hurled rocks at them from a bridge, a security official told the AFP news agency.
"Look, this is our government throwing rocks at us. All this because of a church," Samuel Ibrahim, on of the Coptic protesters, told the Reuters news agency.
Christians make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's 79 million population and often complain about discrimination in the Muslim-majority country.
Church permits are often a source of tension, as Christians say they are not given the same freedom to build places of worship as Muslims.
Non-Muslims are required to obtain a presidential decree to construct new religious buildings and must satisfy numerous conditions before permission is granted.
"People here feel very discriminated against. We can't build the church - why are they stopping us?" Samih Rashid, one of the Copts at the protest, said.
"Every street has a mosque, every church has a mosque next to it."
The protestors had blocked the road near the governor's office before the violence began.
"With our blood and with our souls, we will sacrifice our lives for you, oh cross," the crowd chanted.
'No authorisation'
Sayyed Abdel-Aziz, the governor of Giza, said the Christians appeared to have used a permit for a social centre to start work on the church. "When we noticed indications that it was turning into a church, we told the church authorities to halt construction because a church would require a different licence," he told the state news agency.
"I am completely willing to help Christian leaders get the permit for a church, but they have to stop turning it into a church without authorisation."
The Copts said they did have permission and were continuing to work without machinery, which was being blocked from entering the site, the reports said.
Christian and Muslim religious leaders emphasise sectarian harmony, but communal tensions can erupt into criminality and violence, usually sparked by land disputes or cross-faith relationships.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

March 8 student coalition clinches victory in AUB elections
Voter turnout far lower, campus more restrained than in previous polls, says university official
By Patrick Galey and Richard Hall
Daily Star staff
Thursday, November 25, 2010
BEIRUT: The March 8-supported “We Will” coalition romped to victory over rivals “Students at Work” Wednesday in the American University of Beirut’s (AUB) Student Representative Committee (SRC) elections.
The result represented a remarkable 12-month downturn in fortunes for the group supported by March 14, who took the majority of SRC seats last year.
Voter turnout, however, was far lower than in previous elections, something the coordinator of student affairs Hiba Hamadeh attributed to the vote’s close proximity to the November holiday period.
“The holidays are probably a big reason [for low voter turnout],” Hamadeh told The Daily Star.
She added that campus was far more restrained than in previous elections.
“It depends on the students, but even the campaigns have been calmer [than previous years]. There are definitely more independent candidates than last year,” Hamadeh said.
AUB Provost Ahmad Dallal praised the increased amount of independent candidates. “I wish there were less sectarian slogans, but otherwise it was a good competition and I think [the vote] was more civilized than usual.
There were more independents who ran for election [than in previous years],” he told The Daily Star. “Of course, people are free to have their political views but my hope is that candidates will run on student, not political agendas. There is enough politics in the country.” Lebanese Association for Democratic Election Coordinator at AUB Tamim Bou Karroum described the vote as “very well-organized.” With 264 candidates for 109 positions, the announcement of each victor was met alternatively by cheers and boos, rival blocs separated by metal barriers amid heavy security.
Although student politics still reflects wider factionalism, the mood on campus was one more of conviviality than conflict. No security incidents, which have marred previous student votes, were recorded Wednesday.
All the talk in the run up to voting had been of a schism in the March 8 camp; Hizbullah and Free Patriotic Movement supporters had formed their own “Order out of Chaos” bloc to rival the “We Will” group of Amal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party. A deal was struck at the eleventh hour between camps and the unified “We Will” front benefited from unanimous opposition support, winning majorities in medicine, engineering and architecture and arts and sciences faculties.
Abeer Lotfy, a senior “We Will” arts and sciences candidate attributed her bloc’s surprise victory to a more informed electorate.
“There is now an alliance between the parties and they are stronger than the other side,” she said. “They had some conflicts, but everything will now be fine. The student body is becoming more active and that is a good thing.” Tracy Helou, a senior victor with “Students at Work,” said her bloc was politically marginalized throughout the vote.
“We are not satisfied with the result. We are just two allies; they have all the other parties against us. I think people vote more for political reasons than for anything else,” she said. The “Students at Work” spent upward of $15,000 on its campaign, its candidates sporting yellow scarves and fluorescent vests. Ultimately, the outfits – though noticeable – couldn’t avert defeat.
Christel Ghandour, a sophomore winner with “We Will” said that students voted on policy, not personality.
“I did not expect to win at all. It shows you can’t win with just a bunch of shiny jackets. There are two types of candidates, those who are stupid and those who have something to say,” she said.
Amid politicized voting, some students cast their ballot based on student policy alone.
Muhieddine Itani, a sophomore, said he supported the coalition that successfully led the fight earlier this year against a rise in tuition fees.
“I voted for “Students at Work” because they believe in the things that I believe in,” he said. “They are working against rising tuition fees. They were the ones who stopped that rise.” More than 35 candidates opted to run for positions independent of political affiliation.
Fouad Baddou, a senior running by himself, said he hoped the increase of independent candidates prefigured a shift away from partisanship in student politics. “Year after year of this political system, we are slowly chipping away at a system which only gives students token representation,” he said.
He admitted he had been courted by political candidates “hating each other to a point that they will finish their lists with me.”
“Several have approached me asking to exchange votes. The point of running as an independent is I can’t ask people to vote for someone else,” he added.
Muhammed Ghotmeh, a supporter of the independent “Alternative Front” bloc, said younger students didn’t fully understand why they were voting.
“They don’t think about what they are voting for. We [the independents] are working on encouraging critical thinking, they are just following leaders blindly at the moment,” he said. – With additional reporting by Alexandra Taylor

Trials and tribulations for Mr. Bellemare
By Michael Young
Daily Star/Thursday, November 25, 2010
The documentary aired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation earlier this week has set in motion various conspiracy theories. However, the urgent question is what the information disclosed means for the case that will be presented by Daniel Bellemare, the prosecutor of the Special Tribunal of Lebanon, presumably in the near future.
The program provides compelling evidence of Hizbullah’s alleged involvement in the assassination of the former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, based mainly on telephone analyses. These analyses, the CBC contends, were significantly advanced by the doggedness of the late Internal Security Forces captain, Wissam Eid, who was assassinated in January 2008. Eid’s boss, Colonel Samir Shehadeh, miraculously survived an earlier assassination attempt in September 2006.
Several things can be said about the matter. The first is that the detailed information in the documentary was not handed over recently to the journalist who broke the story, Neil Macdonald, therefore is not tied into recent political developments, as some are contending. This I know because I had heard that such documents were circulating at the beginning of this year (although I was unaware of their content). If one had to guess, the highly sensitive documents were passed on to Macdonald by someone unhappy with the lack of progress in the investigation. It’s best to keep an open mind on the agenda of a leaker, or leakers, but much of what Macdonald says about the shortcomings of the United Nations investigation between 2006 and 2008 under the stewardship of Serge Brammertz, like his criticism of Bellemare’s investigative and management skills, has long been echoed by others working with the investigation or familiar with its progress.
But let’s give Bellemare the benefit of the doubt. Unlike Brammertz, he appears to have seriously tried to investigate, even if the results until now remain, at best, uncertain. However, on the basis of the CBC report, does the prosecutor have enough to make his indictments stick – bearing in mind that we may not necessarily see indictments soon. Bellemare must first earn the formal approval of the pretrial judge, and this will be determined by the strength of his legal arguments. If these are found wanting, the prosecutor may be asked to rework his indictments.
Assuming his indictments are accepted, however, and that the details provided in the CBC documentary represent the core of Bellemare’s arguments, could he easily win a trial? Surprisingly, the revelations, regardless of how forceful they may look, suggest the prosecutor has a tough judicial climb ahead of him. Here’s why.
If the telephone analyses are Bellemare’s best shot, then as Macdonald pointed out in an article posted on the CBC website, he will first have to prove that the telephones used in the Hariri assassination were actually in the hands of Hizbullah members. Unless he has witness testimony affirming this, or suspects in custody willing to speak up, providing proof will not be easy. In fact it seems increasingly likely that Bellemare will suffer from two major handicaps in convincing the judges: his case may largely be conducted with suspects tried in absentia; and because of the dearth of witness testimony, brought on by Hizbullah’s secretive nature and its refusal to cooperate with the tribunal, the prosecutor may be overly reliant on circumstantial evidence – in other words indirect evidence that leads to conclusions effectively reached through deduction.
In an interview conducted with the Now Lebanon website last August, Bellemare defended circumstantial evidence, declaring “I am strongly of the view that circumstantial evidence is more powerful than direct evidence.” Circumstantial evidence is doubtless important in certain situations, but most lawyers would count it as less persuasive, and more difficult to prove, than witness testimony and documentary or physical evidence. There is also the matter of how much circumstantial evidence a prosecutor relies upon. That is especially relevant to Bellemare.
In a vast conspiracy like the assassination of Rafik Hariri, there are multiple circles of involvement and different levels of decision-making. For Bellemare to win his case, he will need to peel back the many layers and identify who did what when, and who said what to whom. He will need to shed light on significant segments of the crime to expose the whole. The most effective way of doing so is to have suspects in hand willing to spill the beans, and physical or documentary evidence to lend credence to what they say. But to prosecute a complex political killing by relying heavily on conclusions reached through deduction against suspects most or all of whom are not in court can only favor the defense.
No matter how compelling is the material passed on to the CBC, it only casts light on a small corner of the Hariri assassination, and most probably not the one disclosing who ordered the crime. That is why Brammertz’s two years in office were so damaging. The former commissioner focused on crime scene analysis, failed to arrest new suspects, pushed the burden of telephone analysis onto the Lebanese, and more generally did not competently advance his investigation. This was perhaps unintentional, but I am increasingly convinced it was intentional.
Now we are hearing Hizbullah and its political allies stating that Israel has infiltrated the telephone network, as if that will somehow help discredit the CBC’s information. But what the party must now accept is that this latest information cannot be explained away by false witnesses. It is considerably more difficult for the prime minister, Saad Hariri, to dismiss the hard work of Wissam Eid – work that ultimately cost the ISF captain his life – and subsequently that of UN telecom analysts, than it is for him to swallow the insidious idiocy of the false witnesses claim.
But come to think of it, who did kill Eid? Was it the Israelis? If so, that makes no sense at all, since his conclusions were pointing in the direction of Hizbullah, which is precisely, one assumes, what the Israelis wanted. The more those opposed to the tribunal try to manufacture ways to undermine its work, the more absurd their contortions become. Most worrisome is that UN ineptitude or manipulation may have already undermined the possibility of a successful prosecution, when or if the trial ever begins.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR and author of “The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life Struggle” (Simon & Schuster).