LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober
23/2010
Bible Of The
Day
James 2/1-13: "1 My
brothers, don’t hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with
partiality. 2:2 For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your
synagogue, and a poor man in filthy clothing also comes in; 2:3 and you pay
special attention to him who wears the fine clothing, and say, “Sit here in a
good place”; and you tell the poor man, “Stand there,” or “Sit by my footstool”;
2:4 haven’t you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil
thoughts? 2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor
in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to
those who love him? 2:6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich
oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts? 2:7 Don’t they blaspheme
the honorable name by which you are called? 2:8 However, if you fulfill the
royal law, according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as
yourself,”* you do well. 2:9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being
convicted by the law as transgressors. 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law, and
yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 2:11 For he who said,
“Do not commit adultery,”* also said, “Do not commit murder.”* Now if you do not
commit adultery, but murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 2:12 So
speak, and so do, as men who are to be judged by a law of freedom. 2:13 For
judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over
judgment.
Free
Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Beirut’s parking fiasco/By: Aline
Sara/October 22/10
Out of touch/Now Lebanon/October 22/10
Pierre al-Daher's interview with
the LBC/October 22/10
Another Plot in Iran the Land of
Conspiracies/By Amir Taheri/October 22/10
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for
October 22/10
First joint Saudi-Egyptian maneuver
ever was geared to Iranian threat/DEBKAfile Exclusive Report
United States, France reiterate
support for STL/Daily Star
Defendants in Sayyed case to
counter-sue in Western courts, report says/Now Lebanon
Cassese sets deadline for judges to
respond to Sayyed’s recusal request, report says/Now Lebanon
Ahmadinejad Tells Saudi King He Wants United Lebanon/Naharnet
Reports about Confidentiality of
Hariri Murder Indictment 'Not True'/Naharnet
STL
Reality in The Hague Contradicts Beirut Wishes to Eliminate Tribunal/Naharnet
Former Belgian PM: Commitment to
the STL aids Lebanese sovereignty/Now Lebanon
Yugoslavia Tribunal Prosecution
Recalls Experience with Telecom Data, False Witnesses, Crime Scene Tampering:
Bellemare is Right!/Naharnet
International Media Forum:
Indictments to be Issued against Individuals, Not Entities/Naharnt
Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad: March 8
has the power to confront STL indictment/Now Lebanon
Court Action Begins in The Hague:
International Media Forum Accompanied by STL 'Explosive Experiment'/Naharnet
Feltman: Instability is Hizbullah's
Choice/Naharnet
Lebanese Forces Fires back at LBC’s
Pierre al-Daher/Now Lebanon
Jumblat in Syria on Sunday/Naharnet
Wahhab Calls on Hariri to Resign:
Feltman Main Instigator of Strife/Naharnet
Funeral held for LAF adjutant
killed in Thursday incident/Now Lebanon/Naharnet
Major, Sergeant Killed in
Majdal Anjar Raid: Mustaqbal Condemns, Army Warns against Harboring Fugitives/Naharnet
Geagea: Most Important
Reform in Lebanon is STL/Naharnet
Nasrallah-Hariri Meeting
Only Hours Away, Report/Naharnet
Qassem after Meeting
Wahhab: Tackling False Witnesses File Fortifies Internal Scene against External
Accusations/Naharnet
Press Freedom Rankings:
Lebanon Tops List in Arab World at 78th Place/Naharnet
First
joint Saudi-Egyptian maneuver ever was geared to Iranian threat
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report October 22, 2010, Egypt and Saudi Arabia secretly
carried out their first ever joint exercise this week with the participation of
their special operations, marine, armored, missile, air and naval forces,
debkafile's military sources reveal. Exercise Tabuk-2 was programmed to repulse
a potential Iranian attack on Saudi Arabia by taking the battle over to Islamic
Republican territory. Our sources note that a new chapter was written in Middle
East military history this week: The two largest Arab nations deployed their
military strength in position for combating the Iranian army and its
Revolutionary Guards Corps and showed they were willing to counter Iranian
belligerence by invading the aggressor.
Tabuk-2, which Riyadh and Cairo took care to keep under wraps, took place from
Sunday, Oct. 17 to Wednesday Oct.21 under the command of Acting Saudi Defense
and Aviation Minister, Prince Khaled Bin Sultan, son of Crown Prince Sultan.
Khaled's military record goes back to 1991 when he led the Saudi contingents
taking part in the American invasion of Kuwait for ending the Iraqi takeover. In
2009, he commanded the Saudi expedition force which fought Iran-backed and
funded Huthi rebels in northern Yemen.
This week's joint exercise was conducted in Egypt's northern desert up to its
Mediterranean shoreline, an area whose terrain is similar to conditions on the
Persian Gulf coast of eastern Saudi Arabia. Although Iran was not named, the two
armies practiced responses to "enemy landings" in the kingdom's eastern regions,
where its oil fields, facilities and ports are situated. The script provided for
Egyptian forces to be rushed to the area under attack and join up with the
Saudis to throw the invaders back while at the same time a joint Saudi-Egyptian
commando force standing by in the northwest would make for the western coast of
Iran and launch a counter-attack on Revolutionary Guards bases.
In the weeks leading up to Tabuk-2, large-scale Saudi marine, air force, tanks
and artillery forces arrived in Egypt, their first landing on Egyptian soil.
According to debkafile's military sources, this was the first maneuver in a
series planned for the coming months in the Mediterranean, Red Sea and Persian
Gulf arenas. Riyadh and Cairo are firmly resolved to have their armies at peak
war readiness at all times for going into battle in any security contingency
that might arise.
Egyptgave Israel advance notice of the maneuver and met with its approval.
United States,
France reiterate support for STL
By Elias Sakr
Daily Star staff
Friday, October 22, 2010
BEIRUT: The US has reiterated support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)
and to the country’s stability amid ongoing regional and internal talks to seek
an end to the standoff between Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s coalition and
Hizbullah over the UN-backed court. “Secretary Hillary Clinton called Lebanese
President Michel Sleiman earlier today to reaffirm the strong commitment of the
US to Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence, and stability,” a statement by the US
State Department said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed the latest political
developments with Sleiman, “including the troubling rise of tensions in
Lebanon,” and conveyed “the Obama administration’s steadfast support for the
development of strong and effective Lebanese state institutions,” the statement
added.
Clinton’s support for the STL is the second stand made public in less than a
week after a brief visit Sunday by her assistant for Middle East Affairs to
Lebanon, Jeffrey Feltman, where he held talks with Sleiman. A US State
Department official said Feltman’s visit to France Thursday was in line with
French-US efforts to reduce tensions.
Echoing Clinton, French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton reiterated his
country’s support for Lebanon against ongoing challenges, a statement by the
Phalange Party said following a meeting between party leader Amin Gemayel and
Pietton at the French Embassy.
For his part, Gemayel said Wednesday night following a dinner at the Iranian
Embassy in Beirut that the Islamic Republic was a very influential state in the
region, and was expected to play a positive role in supporting stability in
Lebanon. Meanwhile, as The Daily Star went to press, there were unconfirmed
reports that Hariri was to meet Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
Thursday evening. Speaker Nabih Berri, who held talks with Syrian President
Bashar Assad in Damascus Wednesday, reportedly mediated efforts to set up the
meeting in line with Saudi-Syrian talks Sunday in Riyadh in a bid to preserve
stability in Lebanon. In line with regional efforts to ease tensions in Lebanon,
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Saudi King Abdullah during a phone
call that the aim of his visit to Lebanon last week was to promote its unity,
his office said Thursday. Ahmadinejad’s visit has sparked controversy and was
described by March 14 groups as a visit to an Iranian advanced base on the
Mediterranean, with Hizbullah as its proxy in the war against Israel.
Hizbullah’s deputy secretary general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, reiterated the demand
by March 8 forces to refer the issue of false witnesses to the Justice Council,
while Environment Minister Mohammad Rahhal said Hizbullah and its allies had
exploited the issue to pave the way for a campaign against the STL. “Addressing
the issue of false witnesses is a priority to strengthen the Lebanese scene
against international meddling, fabricated news and false accusations, whereas
maneuvers relying on support by foreign powers will not work,” Qassem said.
But Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea reiterated that on one hand, the issue
of false witnesses could not be tackled before the STL indictment is released
while on the other, the Justice Council had no jurisdiction to look into the
case.
Reports about Confidentiality of Hariri Murder Indictment 'Not True'
Naharnet/It is not true that the German head of the Prosecution Division in the
Office of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare has said that
the Hariri murder indictment is going to be confidential.
It seems that some journalists taking part in the International Media Forum in
The Hague were caught in a cloud of confusion.
The German official started off by explaining in detail the elements of the
indictment being prepared in a bid to compare its content with the charges to be
issued by the Lebanese judiciary, or those already issued by the international
judiciary in war crimes in the former Yugoslavia (according to details published
by Naharnet earlier).
In response to a question asked by a Lebanese journalist about the possibility
that the indictment be kept confidential, he said that "Article 74 of the Rules
of Procedure and Evidence allows, under exceptional circumstances at the request
of the Prosecutor or the defense, the pre-trial judge to order not to make the
indictment public pending another order in this respect."
Senior STL sources stressed to Naharnet that the German officer in Bellemare's
office was responding to a question and that his answer does not reflect the
trend the Prosecutor intends to adopt in the indictment.
They explained that the journalist who asked the question is known for his
anti-Tribunal stances and growing suspicions in STL work.
In his question, the journalist referred to paragraph B of Article 74 of the
Rules of Procedure and Evidence, which states that "notwithstanding the
provisions of paragraph (A), the Prosecutor may announce the indictment or any
part of it to the authorities of a particular country if he sees the need for
that."
The journalist went on to ask whether it was possible for Bellemare to use the
content of this article to brief Israel on the content of the indictment. The
German officer believed this was more of a political position and decided not to
answer, prompting the Lebanese journalist in an article he published in his
newspaper to consider the non-answer as an increase in the doubts raised by some
Lebanese political parties about the politicization of the Court and the Israeli
role in its work.
The source concluded by saying that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was
"keeping a close eye" on the stances made by Lebanese political officials as
well as the work of the Lebanese media. They believe that the problem is one of
credibility with their followers and not a professional problem. Beirut, 22 Oct
10, 08:34
Feltman: Instability is Hizbullah's Choice
Naharnet/U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey
Feltman affirmed that he did not visit Damascus during his recent trip that took
him to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and France. He said the reason he did not
visit Damascus was because he was on a specific mission in which he, along with
the new U.S. Ambassador Maura Connell, was scheduled to convey a message to
President Michel Suleiman from Obama. On the possible indictment against
Hizbullah members or Syria, Feltman said in remarks published Friday by pan-Arab
al-Hayat there is "no alternative" to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. "One
cannot choose between instability and justice," Feltman stressed, adding that
Washington was maintaining ongoing contacts with Lebanese officials and friends
of Lebanon abroad to defuse tensions. He believed that instability was
Hizbullah's choice.
"The absence of justice leads to instability. The choice between instability and
the Court is not a right choice. It is Hizbullah's and others' choice. They are
trying to impose it on the Lebanese," Feltman said. Beirut, 22 Oct 10, 07:06
STL Reality in The Hague Contradicts Beirut Wishes to Eliminate Tribunal
Naharnet Special Report - The Hague
The International Media Forum agenda, organized by the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon in The Hague, reflects a completely different view on the Court from
what is going on in Beirut.
STL managers in The Hague simply refuse to discuss the majority March 14
coalition's or March 8's approaches to the Tribunal.
While March 14 is committed to the STL as part of its political strategy adopted
five years ago without having sufficient means to provide local protection for
the Court, the Opposition March 8 alliance has launched a relentless campaign
against the Tribunal, accusing it of politicization.
On this basis, it seems that the International Media Forum -- which includes
visits to three headquarters: Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Court
– is a message in itself to the Lebanese who are divided in their outlook on the
STL, set to try killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The March 14 coalition which appears to be making reactions on the dynamism of
Hizbullah and its allies who reject the Court and demand that the Tribunal be
shut down "should be more confident in the future of the Tribunal and its work
and stop doubting themselves and the Court and its ability to reach results.
March 8 forces, which seek to bypass the Court, also "should be less ambitious
and more modest in their quest to topple the Special Tribunal for Lebanon."
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, at least from the standpoint of the
International Media Forum, is part of the international justice system alongside
the Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal
Court. It seemed that STL managers wanted through the first episode of the first
day under the title: "The evolution of International Justice," to send a message
to the Lebanese via the vice president of the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia that there has been no precedents in international
justice where a court has been stopped or suspended. Beirut, 21 Oct 10, 09:16
Yugoslavia Tribunal Prosecution Recalls Experience with Telecom Data, False
Witnesses, Crime Scene Tampering: Bellemare is Right!
Naharnet Special Report – The Hague:
The morning period of the second day of the International Media Forum organized
by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the Dutch city of The Hague was
characterized by a visit to the headquarters of the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.The highlight of the visit was a
demonstration made by Bob Reed, Operations Officer in the Office of the Attorney
General to the International Criminal Tribunal for War Crimes in Former
Yugoslavia. The aforementioned presentation triggered a quest by the Lebanese
journalists in an attempt to find answers for the thorny questions the Lebanese
are bickering about. These questions are considered part of the junctures
and essentials of the investigation conducted by Danielle Bellemare, Prosecutor
of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the murder of ex-PM Rafik Hariri and
his companions.
In this regard, the following headlines must be contemplated:
1. Telecommunications Data: Asked whether investigations into crimes under the
jurisdiction of the tribunal he was part of had focused on telecom data, and
whether the database of phone calls can be considered as an evidence to be
relied on in indicting individuals, the official at the prosecutor's office of
the Yugoslavia tribunal, Australian, said the investigations into the cases the
tribunal was looking into had not been based on the phone calls issue because it
was not an element in the probe.
"Had they existed, we would've used them … and nothing prevents resorting to
them (telecom data) in other probes if they existed," he added, noting that
before he joined the Yugoslavia tribunal, he had managed during his tenure in
Australia to unveil two major drug trafficking cells through analyzing the
database of phone calls.
After intercepting and monitoring phone calls, Reed added, an "empire" for drug
trafficking and dealing had been dismantled. The aforementioned database was
used to unveil the cells and interrogate their members in addition to being
used, along with other material, as accusatory instruments and criminal
evidences, according to Reed.
2. False Witnesses: Asked whether the investigation had bumped at some stage
into "false witnesses" who had given incorrect information that led to
misleading the probe, and whether those witnesses had negatively affected the
investigation's credibility and the indictment, the official at the prosecutor's
office of the Yugoslavia tribunal said that such matters cannot affect the
probe's credibility if it was based on other data, presumptions and evidences
that lead to the same result.
Reed added that the prosecutor can drop some testimonies and even presumptions
from his indictment, even during the trial, without that affecting the
credibility of his indictment. But if the prosecutor was to act against all
individuals who give information he deems as incorrect, that would require him
to prosecute all defense witnesses because they usually contradict prosecution
witnesses, said the official.
He clarified that the false witnesses to be prosecuted are the ones who appear
before court and give their false testimonies under oath, adding that only one
person was tried over this charge before the Yugoslavia tribunal, which gave him
three months in prison.
3. Tampering with Crime Scene: Asked about tampering with the crime scene and
whether the crimes investigated by the Yugoslavia tribunal had witnessed such
cases, and whether those responsible had been prosecuted, the official at the
prosecutor's office of the Yugoslavia tribunal said that a case of tampering
with the crime scene had been recorded during the Srebrenica massacres.
Reed noted that the then U.S. secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, had
disclosed in the media pictures of mass graves in that region. But the
authorities, he added, moved the bodies buried in the mass graves to other
places after the news broke out.
"But the international investigators managed, through the advanced technologies
they used, to find a link between the Srebrenica mass graves and the unearthed
bodies," he said, adding that "no matter how much the perpetrators try to clean
their crime scene, they can't remove all evidences."
Reed noted that the remnants of a blood drop for instance can lead to unveiling
a lot of evidences. As to trying those behind tampering with the crime scene in
former Yugoslavia, he added, the international tribunal did not look into the
case, given that its jurisdiction was limited to probing the massacres as acts
of killing.
The Australian official noted that probing the act of tampering with the crime
scene was under the jurisdiction of the Sarajevo tribunal.
Lebanese journalists sought to project the controversial topics accompanying the
investigation conducted by STL Prosecutor Bellemare into the Hariri crime on the
course of the investigation conducted by the prosecutor of the Yugoslavia
tribunal.
They tried to compare between the courses of the two probes and to anticipate
the answers Bellemare is supposed to present in his indictment regarding the
telecom data, evidences and other information; testimonies given by individuals
whose "credibility is in question"; and the criminal liability of those behind
tampering with the crime scene.
If the Lebanese are divided, due to their political backgrounds, in tackling
these issues and defining their legal worth, that is because they read in
conflicting political and factional books. However, the international
prosecutors seem to have one legal opinion in evaluating the questions being
raised, even without prior coordination, because they read in the same book of
law, which has nothing to do with the divides and disputes of the Lebanese.
Beirut, 21 Oct 10, 22:23
LF fires back at LBC’s Pierre al-Daher
October 22, 2010 /The Lebanese Forces released a statement on Friday that
Chairperson of LBC Pierre al-Daher’s Thursday comments on LF leader Samir
Geagea’s 2007 lawsuit are “lies.”Investigative Judge in Beirut Fadi al-Anissi
indicted Daher and called for his imprisonment. Geagea filed a lawsuit charging
LBC should have been returned to the LF once he was released from prison in
2005, while Daher disputes the claim and says LBC grew with outside investment.
During a Thursday interview on LBC, Daher said he bought the indebted company
for $5 million.However, the LF said that the chairperson’s Thursday interview
“turned into a television trial of the LF and its leader, Samir Geagea.”“The LF
will resort to the relevant judiciary to file lawsuits against Daher and against
all those who made claims during the [Thursday interview],” the statement
added.-NOW Lebanon
Funeral held for LAF adjutant killed in Thursday incident
October 22, 2010 /On Friday the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) held a funeral for
Adjutant Ziad al-Mayss, who was killed in an incident in the Bekaa valley on
Thursday, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.“Major Abdo Jasser and his
adjutant, Ziad al-Mayss, were killed during a raid in the town of Majdel Aanjar
[in the Bekaa Valley] in an attempt to find [an army] deserter who had sought
refuge there," an army spokesperson told AFP on Thursday.Political and religious
figures attended Mayss’ funeral and a speech was delivered by a representative
of LAF commander General Jean Kahwaji, the NNA added. The NNA also said
that army units are currently deployed in the Majdel Aanjar area in pursuit of
those involved in the incident. -NOW Lebanon
Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad: March 8 has the power to confront STL indictment
October 22, 2010
Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Ali Fayyad told NBN television on Friday that
the March 8 coalition has the power to confront the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
(STL)’s pending indictment through the use of state institutions.He also said
that the US does not care about Lebanon but only about the court’s indictment.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton backed Lebanon's independence and
stability as she voiced concern about tension there when she spoke Wednesday to
President Michel Sleiman over the phone, the US State Department said. Her call
comes after US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey
Feltman met with Sleiman on Sunday to deliver a message from US President Barack
Obama reaffirming Washington’s commitment to a “stable, secure, independent and
sovereign Lebanon.” Tensions are high in Lebanon after reports said that the STL
will soon issue its indictment in the Rafik Hariri murder. March 8 figures are
calling for the abolition of the tribunal.-NOW Lebanon
Beirut’s parking fiasco
Aline Sara, October 22, 2010 /Now Lebanon
Twenty-four-year-old Lebanese Xriss Jor was in for a surprise when she recently
went for her vehicle’s yearly inspection. “Four hundred dollars in parking
ticket fees,” she exclaimed. “I don’t remember seeing any slips on my car
window!”
Jor was able to obtain a detailed listing of where and when she received the
fines. Because they were given around lunchtime, in the always bustling Gemmayze
and Hamra neighborhoods, it was very clear, she said, that “the valet people had
illegally parked my car and tossed the resulting ticket before bringing it back
to me.”
She is not the only one with such a story.
“We have been receiving many complaints, especially in Gemmayze, of VIP parkers
driving recklessly, parking illegally, not having licenses and even having
criminal or drug records,” said Chadi Habr, CEO of VIP Parking Control. Despite
the complaints against his company, Habr insists employees receive training,
ensuring they have both the manners and driving skills necessary for the job. He
added that his company provides full insurance for any car damage.
Habr estimates there are more than 5,000 valet parkers in Beirut and more than
60 unregistered valet parking companies in the country.
Reference website Nation Master compiled statistics to rank Lebanon seventeenth
worldwide for the number of motor vehicles per capita (4.3) and eighth in
vehicle abundance (104.9 cars per square kilometer). These figures combined with
poor parking infrastructure, frequent abuse of the traffic law and near
universal valet services means vehicles are less of a convenience and more of a
headache.
According to Information International’s The Monthly, in 2009 there were more
than 1.3 million privately owned vehicles in the country. Half of the vehicles
have not passed inspection, and thus are driving illegally, said one expert in
the car industry who preferred to remain anonymous. Poor urban planning and low
vehicle occupancy contribute to the problem, and so, said the source, even if
the Ministry of Interior wanted to do something, the situation is so disastrous
that it would be a Herculean undertaking.
The problem is the city’s lack of control, combined with a paucity of municipal
parking, said Rachid Chamoun, director of the Urban Planning Institute at the
Lebanese American University. “The general master plan for Lebanon does not
include public transport, nor is there proper use of ‘leftover spaces’ between
bridges and roads,” he told NOW Lebanon.
If such empty spaces were transformed into parking lots, a shuttle service could
be used to transport people around, he said, asserting that such a system is
feasible. “When I was a teenager, I used the bus and tramway, but it was
demolished during the war. Now people do not use public transport,” he said.
“Valet parking is a Lebanese gimmick,” he added, reiterating that in the end,
the problem is above all municipal.
In the fall of 2009, Interior Minister Ziad Baroud urged the Beirut municipality
to use the Charles Helou Bus Station as a parking lot for people going to
Gemmayze’s bars and restaurants. A year later, the project has yet to get off
the ground. The only visible change regarding parking is the ever-shrinking
number of available parking spaces compared to the increasing number of new pubs
and eateries, most of which offer valet parking.
Twenty-five-year-old Marc Van del Wiel, a Danish graduate working in conflict
resolution, said that even on a Tuesday evening, he and his friend drove around
for 30 minutes before finding a place to park. “We finally found a delineated
parking spot with a meter set up, but when we tried to park, the valet from the
jewelry shop told us it was for his boutique only,” he said, a story reflective
of the ever increasing habit of valet employees appropriating public space.
The head of the Beirut Municipality and Beirut’s Governor ultimately denied NOW
Lebanon’s repeated interview requests, which were made in person, over the phone
and via fax over the course of two weeks.
Although VIP Parking Control’s Habr says his company works with the
municipality, he feels city officials are doing little to alleviate the
situation.
“The problem is that we need a new system, a robotic automated parking system,”
he said, noting he has just returned from Abu Dhabi, where he attended a
symposium on the system. “We have space, starting with Charles Helou, but
nothing is being done … Everything is political here.”
For example, Habr said, “Every six months, we meet with the Ministry of Tourism,
Gemmayze’s restaurant committee and the neighborhood’s residents. We discuss the
problem, possibilities for regulating the number and types of shops that have
valet service, but then, as usual, nothing is done.”
Until the government acts, it seems that even national cultural heritage sites
will be used to cram the capital’s bountiful vehicles in. Parking will only
continue to be a headache along Beirut’s narrow and dangerous streets.
Out of touch
Now Lebanon
October 21, 2010
As politicians bicker about false witnesses, many citizens lack electricity and
water and an alarming number live in poverty. (AFP Photo/Joseph Eid)
It was a minor incident but it encapsulated perfectly the rotten state into
which Lebanon has sunk. On Wednesday night, the son of Internal Security Forces
(ISF) Colonel Hussein Saleh apparently pulled a gun on another motorist after an
alleged traffic dispute. His father intervened only to become embroiled in a
fight with the army patrol that was trying to resolve the incident. It was
reported in the local press that ministers discussed the fracas during their
cabinet meeting with Interior Minister Ziad Baroud declaring that an
investigation would be launched into the matter.
The millions of Lebanese who are enduring power cuts and water shortages – not
to mention the recent disruption caused by the state visit of Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmedinajad – will no doubt be surprised that a street scuffle merited
cabinet debate while their own circumstances are continuously ignored. The
reality is that today most citizens must be sick to the back teeth of the
self-seeking and parochial antics of the representatives they elected. However
naïve it might sound, it is worth reminding members of the political class, from
both sides of the divide, where the country’s real priorities lie.
Firstly, the March 8 bloc, and Hezbollah in particular, must pledge to play a
constructive role in the government of national unity and reaffirm its ongoing
commitment to the national dialogue process in which it has agreed to discuss a
national defense strategy and a mechanism for its eventual disarmament. It
cannot be a member of the government one day while planning for the “return
match” with Israel the next, and it should not see its primary task as one of
holding the government – of which it is part – accountable. That is the job of
parliament.
The state must also abide by the various UN Security Council Resolutions –
namely 1559 and 1701 – that were passed to guarantee Lebanon’s sovereign
aspirations. It must work to attain equitable diplomatic relations with its
neighbors and work toward establishing a clear demarcation of all its national
boundaries.
Meanwhile, the STL must be allowed to do its job. News from The Hague today has
virtually confirmed it is now a case of when, and not if, indictments will be
handed down against those suspected of involvement in the murder of former Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri. They will be done so according to the strictest judicial
standards and underpinned by the tenets of international law.
The issue of the false witnesses must be put to rest until this happens. The
game of tarnishing the STL for political capital only serves to diminish
Lebanon’s credibility and commitment to the rule of law, and besmirches the
memory of those victims of political terror in whose name the court was founded.
The government must act to provide basic services for its people. It is no use
cheering the fact that President Ahmadinejad signed several protocols in which
he pledged to help Lebanon’s infrastructure. Other nations have made similar
gestures over the decades and still families live in darkness with no running
water. The will must come from within. The average Lebanese home now pays two
utility bills – one to the state and one to the private sector that covers the
state’s shortfall. It is a situation for which patience is wearing thin and one
which more than any other reflects the state’s lack of respect for its citizens.
There must be a commitment to an economic blue print for prosperity, from
reforming the public sector to encouraging foreign investment (and we don’t mean
just in property) that will lead to genuine and sustained job creation across
all sectors. The state must also take a responsible position on the rampant
construction boom that is pricing many thousands of families out of the housing
market, while at the same time destroying what was left of Beirut’s heritage.
That municipalities will be hard pressed to provide all these new real estate
developments with basic services merely highlights the fact that the state is
more concerned with short-term financial revenue streams than responsible urban
governance.
The government is currently choked by the issue of false witnesses and the
shadow of sectarian violence it has cast over Lebanese life. It is the latest in
a long line of obstacles thrown up to impede the execution of daily state
business in a war of attrition in which the endgame is political gridlock.
Sadly, in the meantime, the Lebanese political class has lost touch with the
people it serves. They should reconnect before it’s too late.
Cassese sets deadline for judges to respond to Sayyed’s recusal request, report
says
October 22, 2010 /Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) President Antonio Cassese
notified Judges Ralph Riachy and Afif Chamseddine that they have until October
27 to reply to former General Security chief Jamil as-Sayyed’s request that they
be recused from the STL’s Appeals Chamber, Al-Markaziya news agency reported on
Friday.
Earlier this month Cassese made public the names of the judges constituting the
chamber that will examine the appeal filed by STL Prosecutor General Daniel
Bellemare regarding Sayyed’s request for files related to his four-year
detention. Sayyed was arrested in 2005 on suspicion of involvement in former
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination and was released in 2009 due to lack
of evidence. In March 2010, he requested that the STL give him access to his
investigation’s files so that he could take legal action against witnesses he
says gave false testimony against him.STL pre-trial Judge Daniel Fransen held a
special hearing for Sayyed’s file request in July, then ruled on September 17
that the request falls within the tribunal’s jurisdiction and that Sayyed has
legal standing before the court. At the end of September, Bellemare appealed
Fransen’s ruling. Sayyed then countered by filing an appeal of his own.
-NOW Lebanon
Defendants in Sayyed case to counter-sue in Western courts, report says
October 22, 2010 /Some Lebanese nationals summoned by the Syrian judiciary in
former General Security chief Jamil as-Sayyed’s case are preparing to
counter-sue Sayyed, Syrian judges and the Syrian Justice Minister in Western
courts, Ad-Diyar newspaper reported on Friday. At the beginning of October,
Syria issued arrest warrants against 33 people named in a lawsuit filed by
Sayyed in Damascus in 2009 alleging that he was the victim of false testimonies.
Sayyed was arrested in 2005 on suspicion of involvement in the assassination of
former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and was released in 2009 due to lack of
evidence.One of the Lebanese named holds US nationality and will counter-sue in
an American court, Ad-Diyar’s report added. -NOW Lebanon
Former Belgian PM: Commitment to the STL aids Lebanese sovereignty
October 22, 2010 /“Commitment to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is an
important factor in Lebanon’s independence, sovereignty and stability,” former
Belgian Prime Minister and head of the European People's Party (EPP) Wilfried
Martens said after meeting with Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel on Friday,
according to a statement issued by the party.
Tensions are high in Lebanon amid reports that the STL could soon issue its
indictment in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
March 8 politicians have called for the tribunal’s abolition while arguing that
it has been politicized and misled by false testimonies.Martens also expressed
admiration for the Kataeb as a “party representing democratic Christian
values.”-NOW Lebanon
Pierre al-Daher interview with the LBC
October 22, 2010
On October 22, An-Nahar newspaper carried the following report:
Chairperson of the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation Pierre al-Daher spoke
yesterday in an interview with colleague Marcel Ghanem on Kalam al-Nass show
[People’s Talk] about the ownership of LBC, namely following the issuance of the
indictment. The show featured footage showing what the viewers thought about the
channel, its history and role in the Lebanese community and how it conveyed its
image to the outside world, in addition to the testimonies of politicians,
lawyers and media experts. Daher started off with questions he addressed to
Lebanese Forces [Samir Geagea] regarding the money he paid him when he sold the
station and the party’s real-estate properties, and about the weaponry money,
rejecting the accusations of disloyalty featured in the indictment.
He then explained that he had exited his silence following the issuance of the
indictment, assuring that he was committed to the request of the lawyers not to
speak at an earlier stage. After corroborating LBC’s openness to all the sides
in its media coverage, including the Lebanese Forces, he went over the history
of his relations with the party and the institution since the beginning of the
eighties, explaining how he returned from the United States to establish a
television channel similar to the French Canal +. He recalled his meetings with
the Lebanese Forces leader at the time, Bashir Gemayel, and how they tackled the
establishment of a television channel for the Lebanese Forces and how he
traveled abroad after Gemayel’s assassination and returned to Lebanon following
a phone call made by Mr. Karim Pakradoni (1985) in which he informed him about
the party’s intention to revive the idea of a television [station].
He said that Pakradoni offered him 34 percent of the shares, with 33 percent for
Sami Touma and a share for Ra’if al-Boustani. He continued that later on,
Pakradoni asked him to relinquish his share, especially after he became the head
of the LF media department, recalling the circumstances of his resignation in
1989 following altercations with Geagea and the appointment of Ibrahim al-Yaziji
in his place. As for the post-Taif stage, it was tackled during the interview
with Daher addressing many points starting with the efforts of Tele Liban
Chairperson George Skaff to restore the frequencies of the official television
[station], going through the drop which affected the party’s budget from $190
million to $30 million following the “Liberation War” and ending with the
efforts to get a license for LBC and the negotiations that were led by President
Elias al-Hrawi at the time in light of an official refusal to give a license to
any partisan television.
He then explained the details of the offer he received from Geagea in 1992 to
buy the station and the legal formula that was discussed with the late Antoine
Choueiri, accusing judge Fadi al-Oneissi of refusing to receive memos pointing
in this direction. He repeatedly assured he bought the company with its debt in
exchange for the sum of $5 million. He thus denied having signed any paper
saying he was the owner of the company in form, going over his relationship with
Shoueiri, his “existential meeting” with Geagea at the airport following his
exit from jail and the negotiations he conducted with Deputy George Adwan for
that purpose. He also assured he paid $500,000 to Geagea after 2006, pointing to
negotiations he held with the late prime minister, Rafik Hariri, over satellite
broadcasting, and during which the latter tried to interfere in the newscasts
and political programs of the channel.
Islam
Does Not Like Christians"
by Elad Benari/Arutz Sheva
Jewish Italian MP Fiamma Nirenstein was reconfirmed this week as Vice President
of Italy’s Foreign Affairs Committee. In addition, she was also appointed an
official consultant on Israel and the international Jewish communities by
Italian Foreign Minister Frattini.
Earlier this week, Nirenstein commented on Christian leaders who criticize
Israel yet ignore violence by Arabs. She pointed out that “Islam does not like
Eastern Christians: it has forced them to flee and now they account for only 6%
of the population in the Mideast”, and added that the only country where the
number of Christians has grown is Israel, where 163,000 Christians live today, a
number which is expected to grow to 187,000 by the year 2020. “In Muslim
countries, on the other hand, Christians are on the wane, but the 50 churches
present in the Holy Land seem not to notice. They prefer to dump on Israel,
where they enjoy full freedom of worship and expression,” said Nirenstein.
Commenting on the Vatican Synod about Middle East taking place in Rome these
days, Nirenstein pointed out a document “written in a tone of theological
excommunication towards the State of Israel,” which was signed by the Custodian
of the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who later denied involvement, saying
that “no church in the Holy Land had signed the document.” Nirenstein pointed
out, however, that the names of top-level signers are clearly visible on the
document which is available on the internet. The document speaks in the name of
"us Christian Palestinians," and says that “the military occupation is a sin
against God and against man”. It excommunicates Christian supporters of Israel,
takes sides against the very presence of Israel, likens the defensive barrier
that has blocked 98% of terrorism to apartheid, attacks the communities in Judea
and Samaria and essentially cancels the existence of the Jewish state. The
document goes so far as to legitimize terrorism when it talks about the
“thousands of prisoners who languish in Israeli jails” which are “part of the
society around us”. “Resistance to the evil of occupation is a Christian's right
and duty," says the document.
“In the final draft of the appeal which will be voted on Friday, the Synod is
once again offering the Catholic Church as the guarantor of freedom of religious
and personal freedom for all religions,” wrote Nirenstein. “But if there are no
sanctions against what Christians suffer in Islamic countries and if they
continue to blame the Jews who have nothing to do with it all, how do they think
they will be able—morally and practically—to sustain this?”
Other comments made by Nirenstein this past week addressed remarks made by
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said that Germany's multicultural approach
to immigration “has failed, utterly failed,” and that in the future, immigrants
should be expected to integrate into German culture.
“The point is that certain cultures very often have no intention of mixing in
with ours, despite our actions and best intentions,” said Nirenstein in
response. “Paris has become a city in which more than 200,000 people live in
families where polygamy is common practice. In Italy 30,000 women have been
subjected to genital mutilation and Islamic courts—ninety-odd in London
alone—inflict sentences that are inconceivable.”
She pointed out that despite the fact that immigrants should have freedom of
rights because of democracy, “they have other rules, not the ones of democracy.
In Germany, Chancellor Merkel’s homeland, a Berlin lawyer was beaten along with
her Muslim client who wanted a divorce; she was also attacked in the subway and
was forced to close her practice. Again in Germany, Mozart’s opera, Idomeneo,
was cancelled following Islamic threats. By pure luck, the editor-in-chief of
Die Welt, Roger Köppel, blocked the hand of a young Muslim who was about to stab
him in his office. In Germany, England and France, it is no longer possible to
trace the “missing girls” who become slaves following arranged marriages. Giulio
Meotti writes that, in Stockholm, the latest fashion is a T-shirt worn by young
Muslim on which is written: ‘In 2030 we will take over’. Just some incidents.
“When we are faced by a culture like that of Islam, there are forms of
irreducibility that run up against legal and moral issues with a whole range of
subtleties,” continued Nirenstein. “For us, ‘immigration’ is a sacred term,
filled of a sense of guilt, of generosity, of religion and liberal or left-wing
overtones. But democracy is also a sacred term, our most important conquest: the
masses of immigrants that do not share our democratic values put it in danger.
And while we think that allowing immigration is a duty of democracy, we don’t
understand that we are putting it at stake. Perhaps Chancellor Merkel—democratic
German, pro-Europe, middle-class, complex-ridden and shy as every cultured
German is—has succeeded in posing the question.”
Earlier this month, Nirenstein organized a mass rally-demonstration entitled
“For the truth, for Israel” which was held in Rome. 63 speeches were made by
personalities, politicians, intellectuals, artists and journalists from all over
Europe during the rally which was billed as "the first European, bipartisan
event aimed at restoring the truth regarding Israel, putting an end to the
barrage of lies that are hurled at Israel every day and to the double standard
used by the media and international organizations." According to estimates,
3,000 people attended the rally.
Another Plot in the Land of Conspiracies
22/10/2010
By Amir Taheri
Asharq Al Awsat
Hardly a day passes without a claim by the leadership in Tehran that the regime
is facing yet another conspiracy. One day, the threat comes from the Kurds who
demand autonomy. Another day, it is the Baluch doing mischief in their corner.
On yet another day, the bazaar is at the centre of conspiracy. And, what about
industrial workers whose fight for independent trade unions indicates a penchant
for plotting?
The list is as long as the days in a year.
However, the latest claim, coming from no less a dignitary than Heydar Moslehi,
beats previous ones.
The claim, which is the talk of the town in Tehran, has attracted attention for
two reasons.
The first is that the man who made it is an ayatollah who heads the Ministry of
Intelligence and Security and controls at least some of the Islamic Republic's
secret services.
The second reason is the nature of the claim.
Here is what Moslehi says: Foreign missionaries are targeting the best, and the
brightest, Shi'ite students of theology, especially in Qom, and have already
succeeded in converting some of them to Christianity.
Moslehi does not reveal the nationality of those ' foreign missionaries' but
asserts that Turkey has become a base for the conversion attempt. Thus, students
of theology from Qom travel to Turkey to receive baptism along with further
instruction in Christian doctrine. The freshly baptised students, known as
tullab, return to Qom and other Shi'ite seminaries in the Islamic Republic, as
secret Christians charged with trying to convert fellow-students.
The ayatollah-cum-secret-police-chief, does not say what he intends to do about
this 'calamitous development.' After all, the young seminarians of Qom receive
enough instruction in the art of ' taqiyah' (dissimulation) to be able to hide
their conversion with relative ease.
So far, the Ministry of Intelligence has done nothing more than asking Christian
churches in Iran not to admit anyone before ascertaining his or her ' religious
identity.'
The task of trying to do something about the tullab seems to have been reserved
for another mullah, Ali Khamenei, the 'Supreme Guide' himself. Less than a week
after Moslehi issued his warning, the 'Supreme Guide', who rarely leaves his
bunker in Tehran, rushed to Qom to sermon the tullab on the virtues of sticking
to the faith of their fathers.
In a speech, extensively reported by the state-owned media, Khamenei warned
against what he described as 'cultural invasion' which, he claimed, was more
difficult than warding off a military attack.
Moslehi and Khamenei are not the first mullahs who fear the siren sounds of
Christianity. In the 18th century, at a time that Shi'ism had not yet struck
deep roots in Iran, mullahs frequently called for Jihad against ' the internal
Infidel.' In most cases, that led to the massacre of some Christian villages.
(Jews and Zoroastrians were spared because they have no proselytising
ambitions.)
According to some scholars, the tullab may be receptive to the Christian message
because of similarities between the two faiths.
Like Christianity, Shi'ism, especially in its duodecimal version, fosters a cult
of martyrdom. The martyr Imam Hussein is often seen as a Christ-like figure, a
defender of the right who is betrayed and ultimately put to death by a
tyrannical ruler.
The concept of the Mahdi, a messiah-like figure who comes at the end of times,
is also comparable to that of the second-coming of Christ.
Like Christianity, Shi'ism is a cult of saints. In Iran alone, we have more than
7000 locations designated as places of saints. Some places have become saintly
because they are supposed to bear footprints of a horse once ridden by this or
that imam. Some trees have become saintly because this or that ancient 'saint'
is supposed to have rested under their shadow. The latest of these saintly
places is the village of Jamkaran, southwest of Tehran, where the Hidden Imam is
supposed to maintain a line of communication with the faithful. Every year,
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Cabinet travel to the village to ' report'
to the Hidden Imam. The government's programme for the following year is thrown
into a well through which it is supposed to reach the Lord of the Times
Every year an estimated 20 million people go on what they call ' pilgrimage' to
these places to beg for a cure for an ailment, demand a better fortune, or
simply ask to be pardoned. Those who know Christian places of pilgrimage, such
as the one in Lourdes in southwest France, would feel at home in some of the
'saintly' locations in Iran.
The French specialist in Shi'ism Henry Corbin discovered numerous similarities
between Christian passion plays and the Iranian religious theatre known as '
ta'aziyeh' which depicts the martyrdom of Imam Hussein and his 71 companions.
The presence of a professional priesthood in both faiths and the concept of '
infallibility' of the imams or the popes are other common features that might
attract the wayward tullab. For example, Moslehi and Khamenei believe that
whatever the late Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini said is valid for ever thanks to
the infallibility that he had supposedly inherited from the imams.
Ali Shariati, a lay preacher who attracted a following in Iran in the 1960s, was
aware of these similarities and campaigned for major changes in which Shi'ism
was organised. He advocated the abolition of the professional clergy as an
institution. He was also opposed to the cult of the saints and pilgrimages to
places of doubtful authenticity. However, he fell for another Christian concept,
that of the cult of Mary which he dubbed into a poetical call for putting Fatima
at centre of the faith.
Were Shariati alive today he would realise that history has moved in the
direction opposite to what he had preached. In 1970, there were an estimated
50,000 mullahs and tullab in Iran for a population of 30 million. Today that
number is closer to half a million for a population of 73 million.
Moslehi and Khamenei might not know it, and Shariati is not around to know
either, but it is possible that the wayward tullab, whose exact number and
identity remains to be established, may simply be unhappy about a system that
uses, and often abuses, religion for political purposes in the service of a
small percentage of the clergy and its military partners.