LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober
30/2010
Bible Of The
Day
James 4/1-10: "Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they
come from your pleasures that war in your members? 4:2 You lust, and don’t have.
You kill, covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have,
because you don’t ask. 4:3 You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with
wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures. 4:4 You adulterers
and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is enmity with
God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy
of God. 4:5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who
lives in us yearns jealously”? 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says,
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”* 4:7 Be subject
therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 4:8 Draw near
to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and
purify your hearts, you double-minded. 4:9 Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your
laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom. 4:10 Humble yourselves in
the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you."
Free Opinions,
Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Girl power/Now Lebanon/October 29/10
Nasrallah at his wits’ end with
STL/Now Lebanon/
October 29/10
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for
October 29/10
Ban Ki-moon condemns Wednesday’s
Dahiyeh incident/Now Lebanon
STL Condemns Nasrallah's Boycott
Call, Vows to Continue Cooperation with Lebanon Government/Naharnet
Feltman
Cautions Assad: Deeds, Not Words, Matter Most/Naharnet
Sarkozy-Berri Meeting: France
Stresses Support for STL, Berri Offers Ideas for 'True Justice/Naharnet
Larsen
Says 'Heavily Armed Militias' Put Lebanon in 'Hyper-Dangerous Situation'/Naharnet
US Accuses Syria, Iran
over Lebanon Tensions/Naharnet
Geagea
Says Nasrallah's 'Very Dangerous' Speech Threatens Lebanese State/Naharnet
Lebanon called
hyper-dangerous/UPI.com
Israel traded 52 prisoners in
exchange for missing airman's gun - report/Daily Star
Britain deems Lebanese political
situation stable - Guy/Daily Star
US: Syria, Iran and Hezbollah undermine Lebanon/CNN
Assad: Israel not ready to achieve peace,
reports say/J.Post
US: Syria flouts Lebanon sovereignty; arms militants/Ynetnews
Grave robbers desecrate body at Lebanon
cemetery/AFP
Hizbullah chief urges Lebanese to
boycott STL investigation/Daily
Star
US Accuses Syria of
Destabilizing Lebanon/New York Times
Mustaqbal Sources: Dahiyeh Incident Coordinated/Naharnet
Khalife: Access to Patient
Records is Against Medical Ethics Law/Naharnet
Men Disguised as Women
Likely Involved in Attack on UN Investigators in Dahiyeh/Naharnet
Security Warnings to Jumblat
after His Recent Positions/Naharnet
Al-Rai to Publish
'Classified Document Signed by Hariri Investigation Commission'/Naharnet
Israel Reportedly Traded
52 Prisoners for Arad's Gun/Naharnet
March 14 in a Letter to
Berri: We Demand Fulfillment of Pledges to Grant Expatriates Right to Vote/Naharnet
Serail Visitors: No
Settlement Soon, Matters Headed towards Street Action/Naharnet
Najjar: Lebanon is
Obligated to Protect International Investigators Based on Agreements it Signed/Naharnet
Hizbullah: We Are Not
Involved in Attack on STL Investigators/Naharnet
Zahra: Nasrallah’s analysis of
Wednesday’s incident is unrealistic/Now Lebanon
Lebanese Army Arrest Man
after Confiscating Bombs, Explosives/Naharnet
Soueid says Nasrallah was trying to
be intimidating/Now Lebanon
Nicola: Nasrallah has the Right to
Demand Lebanese Not to Cooperate with STL and International Investigators/Naharnet
Israel traded 52 prisoners
in exchange for missing airman's gun - report
By Agence France Presse (AFP) Friday, October 29, 2010
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel traded 52 Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners to
Hizbullah in exchange for the gun of an Israeli airman who went missing in
southern Lebanon in 1986, a newspaper said Thursday. Details of the December
2000 deal were revealed by the mass-selling Yediot Aharonot newspaper, which
said it was a secret part of negotiations to release three soldiers and a
businessman captured in separate incidents that year. The ArmaLite AR-7 rifle, a
light firearm designed to be used as a survival weapon, was carried by Ron Arad
when his plane went down over southern Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War.
“With our hands shaking, we opened the package, compared the serial number, and
when it turned out the numbers corresponded, we called [Arad’s wife] Tami,” one
of the officials involved in the operation told the paper. Eight years of
indirect talks mediated by a German intelligence official failed to secure
Arad’s release and his whereabouts remains unknown. After his plane went down,
Arad was captured by the Amal movement – another Shiite group – headed by Nabih
Berri, who is now speaker of the Lebanese Parliament. Two years ago, Hizbullah
turned over previously unseen photographs and excerpts from a diary Arad kept
until 1987 as part of another prisoner exchange deal. It also provided a report
saying Arad was dead, which Israel dismissed, vowing to continue the search for
him. He has been a cause celebre in Israel, where bringing home lost or captured
soldiers is considered a sacred duty. Israel has in the past agreed to several
deals that have involved trading hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners
in return for captured soldiers and the remains of troops killed in battle.
Yediot Aharonot said the 52 prisoners were included in the 2004 prisoner
exchange for the four captured Israelis, which saw Israel release a total of 400
Palestinian prisoners and dozens more from Lebanon and other Arab states. – AFP
Susan
Rice: 'Hizbullah, Syria, and Iran endanger Lebanon'
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
10/28/2010 19:32
US Ambassador: Syria displays "flagrant disregard" for Lebanese sovereignty;
Syrian official: Rice "gave credibility to wrong facts."
UNITED NATIONS — The United States on Thursday accused Hizbullah and its allies
Iran and Syria of attempting to endanger Lebanon's stability and undermine its
independence.
US Ambassador Susan Rice singled out Syria for displaying "flagrant disregard"
for Lebanon's sovereignty and political independence, citing its provision of
increasingly sophisticated weapons to Hizbullah and other militias in violation
of a UN resolution and issuance of 33 arrest warrants for senior Lebanese
officials and foreigners.
"Hizbullah remains the most significant and most heavily armed Lebanese
militia," she said. "It could not have done so if not for Syria's aid, and
facilitation of Syrian and Iranian arms."
Rice delivered the statement on behalf of the Obama administration to reporters
outside the UN Security Council where members were holding a closed-door meeting
Thursday on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's latest report on Lebanon.
She said the United States welcomes Ban's report, which stressed the continuing
threat to Lebanon's sovereignty and security posed by Hizbullah and other armed
militias.
"We continue to have deep concerns about Hizbullah's destructive and
destabilizing influence in the region as well as attempts by other foreign
players, including Syria and Iran, to undermine Lebanon's independence and
endanger its stability," Rice said.
Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari said Rice "gave credibility to wrong
facts, wrong information," pointing out that the secretary-general's report says
senior Lebanese officials confirmed to the UN Secretariat that no weapons
smuggling took place across the Syria-Lebanon border.
Many Lebanese fear that if the UN tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination
of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri — the current prime minister's father —
accuses members of Hizbullah in his killing, the government could collapse and
clashes could erupt between Shiite fighters and Hariri's mainly Sunni allies.
Hizbullah and Syria have mounted a campaign to try to undermine the tribunal by
raising questions about its neutrality. Earlier this month, Syria's judiciary
issued arrest warrants against 33 Lebanese officials and foreigners for
allegedly misleading the investigation, among them figures close to Saad Hariri
and the first UN chief investigator, Detlev Mehlis. Rice said Hizbullah is not
accountable to Lebanon's democratic institutions.
"The United States urges all friends and neighbors of Lebanon to play a
constructive role in supporting the Lebanese government in good faith," she
said. "We remain firmly committed to a sovereign, stable and independent Lebanon
with strong Lebanese institutions. This is the only way to secure the best
interests of the Lebanese people and the region as a whole."
Ban Ki-moon condemns Wednesday’s Dahiyeh incident
October 29, 2010 /UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned Wednesday’s attack
on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s (STL) investigators in Dahiyeh, according
to a statement issued on Thursday. Ban described the attack as unacceptable and
called on Lebanese authorities to launch an investigation into the incident.
“This attack reflects the extent of interference and intimidation [in the
investigation].”An investigation team from the STL was attacked Wednesday by a
group of around 30 women at a gynecology clinic in Hezbollah-controlled Dahiyeh,
southern suburb of Beirut, snatching a briefcase but causing no injuries. The
investigators had scheduled a meeting with Dr. Iman Charara – the physician who
runs the clinic.
-NOW Lebanon
Zahra: Nasrallah’s analysis of Wednesday’s incident is unrealistic
October 29, 2010 /Lebanese Forces bloc MP Antoine Zahra told New TV on Friday
that Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s interpretation of
Wednesday’s incident as sacrilegious is unrealistic. Nasrallah’s statements to
those who are committed to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) are an
unacceptable direct threat, Zahra said, adding that most Lebanese believe in the
tribunal’s work. On Thursday, the Hezbollah chief called on all Lebanese to
boycott the tribunal and to end cooperation with its investigators, saying that
“whoever cooperates with the [STL] is working against the Resistance.” An STL
investigation team was attacked Wednesday by a group of around 30 women at a
gynecology clinic in Hezbollah-controlled Dahiyeh, southern suburb of Beirut,
snatching a briefcase but causing no injuries. The investigators had scheduled a
meeting with Dr. Iman Charara – the physician who runs the clinic. -NOW Lebanon
Soueid says Nasrallah was trying to be intimidating
October 29, 2010 /March 14 General Secretariat Coordinator Fares Soueid told the
Voice of Lebanon (VOL) radio on Friday that Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah spoke from a position of superiority and intimidation during
his Thursday speech. “Such threatening [attitude] negatively affects
[Hezbollah].”Most people consider Hezbollah’s arms to endanger their security,
Soueid also said, adding that “talks about sacrilege did not convince anyone.”On
Thursday, Nasrallah called on all Lebanese to boycott the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon (STL) and to end all cooperation with its investigators.The Hezbollah
chief also said that “we have reached a very dangerous point where we can no
longer remain silent… Our honor has been breached.”One day preceding Nasrallah’s
speech, a team from the UN probe into the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik
Hariri was attacked by a group of around 30 women at a gynecology clinic in
Hezbollah-controlled Dahiyeh, southern suburb of Beirut, snatching a briefcase
but causing no injuries.The investigators had scheduled a meeting with Dr. Iman
Charara – the physician who runs the clinic.-NOW Lebanon
Girl power
October 28, 2010
Now Lebanon/Libyan President Moammar Qaddafi has his phalanx of female
bodyguards. Now, it appears that Hezbollah has created its own company of female
irregulars, a mobile hit squad of marauding women that it can deploy at a
moment’s notice to disrupt the state and the STL going about their business.
At least this appeared to be the case on Wednesday, when a group of women
descended upon the clinic of Dr. Iman Charara, who was assisting investigators
working with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) with their inquiries. The
three UN staff members were manhandled and a briefcase was stolen.
But we must not forget that the almost-comical attacks on the tribunal staff,
which are in effect attacks on the UN’s authority and that of the Lebanese
government, are clearly part of an organized campaign aimed at discrediting the
STL – the court established to find the killers of former Prime Minister Rafik
Hariri and other victims of subsequent political violence. Dr. Charara had
canceled her appointments for the day, so it is highly unlikely that the
incident was a spontaneous eruption of indignation that began in the waiting
room.
Hezbollah has done its best to sell to its community the idea that Israel was
behind Hariri’s murder, that the tribunal is nothing more than an international
conspiracy hatched by the Zionist state and that the US wants to wipe out the
Resistance once and for all.
Indeed, before they launched their assault on Dr Charara’s clinic, Hezbollah’s
women warriors were chanting slogans at the investigators, calling them Israeli
and Americans. (In fact, the tribunal is made up of many nationalities, but this
is clearly a minor detail, and in any case, in Hezbollah’s narrow worldview,
anyone who is not on its side is by default a US-Israeli agent.)
In an interview with Lebanese media, Amal Movement MP Yassine Jaber said the
incident was a sign the tribunal was “not welcome” in Lebanon. Jaber, who was
Minister of Economy in Rafik Hariri’s government from 1995 to 1998, should get
out more. The only evidence of anti-tribunal feeling among the general
population so far has been the harassment of UNIFIL troops in July and
yesterday’s demonstration of girl power in southern Beirut. Both were clearly
staged, and both took place in Hezbollah-controlled areas.
In case he missed it, for a clearer indication of how the country feels about
the tribunal, former Minister Jaber should consult the results of the 2009
parliamentary elections, a ballot that was in effect a referendum on many
matters pertaining to Lebanon’s sovereignty, including the STL. But even more
than that, millions of Lebanese – at home and abroad – simply want to know who
killed their leaders, soldiers and journalists. The UN has given us the chance.
In the meantime, the state must play its part in allowing tribunal investigators
to go about their duties. The Lebanese government is a judicial and financial
partner in the court, and as such, must been seen to be playing its part on the
ground.
But even if for practical political reasons the state cannot exert its authority
in Dahiyeh, which is Hezbollah’s stronghold, and certain areas of the South; and
even if, for argument’s sake, we assume that Jaber is right when he says the STL
is “not welcome,” the investigators will carry on doing their job regardless,
because the wheels of international justice have been set in motion.
To believe they can be stopped by allegations manipulation by US and Israeli
cabals, dubious aerial footage that shows us nothing at all, stone throwing
crowds and an angry mob, is to ignore the track record of similar courts, such
as the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which faced
even greater hostility and was still able to prosecute.
The STL, which was established by UN Security Council Resolution 1757, marks the
first time that a UN-based international criminal court tries a terrorist crime
committed against a specific person. It is, according to earlier UN Security
Council Resolution 1664, a court based on the “highest international standards
of criminal justice,” one that will not be deterred from its stated path, not
even by a well-aimed handbag.
Nasrallah at his wits’ end with STL
October 29, 2010 /Now Lebanon/Hours after UN special envoy for Lebanon Terje
Roed-Larsen said Lebanon was in a "hyper-dangerous" state, Hezbollah Secretary
General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday called on all Lebanese to boycott a
UN-probe into the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and
to end all cooperation with its investigators. “Whoever cooperates with the
[Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)] is working against the Resistance,” he said
in a televised speech, adding that the STL is sending all data gathered on
Lebanon to Israel. He addressed the issue of Wednesday’s incident in Dahiyeh,
asking, “Why would the STL need the medical records of women affiliated with
Hezbollah?”
“Who of you would agree to allow someone to look at the medical records of your
women?”
Nasrallah also said that the international tribunal was given access to all
telecommunications information since 2003, files of students enrolled in
Lebanese universities between 2003 and 2006 as well as the fingerprints of 893
Lebanese people. He added he received information that the US is pressuring STL
Prosecutor General Daniel Bellemare to speed up the process of issuing the
verdict, reiterating that members of his party will be indicted in the Rafik
Hariri murder. “We have reached a very dangerous point where we can no longer
remain silent…Our honor has been breached.”An STL team was attacked by a group
of around 30 women at a gynecology clinic in Hezbollah-controlled Dahiyeh,
southern suburb of Beirut, snatching a briefcase but causing no injuries The
investigators had scheduled a meeting with Dr. Iman Charara – who runs the
clinic. The-Hague-based STL condemned the incident, saying no act of violence
would prevent the probe from moving forward. Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea
responded to Nasrallah later in the evening, saying that the Hezbollah chief’s
Thursday statements were “very dangerous.” He told Al-Arabiya television that
Nasrallah’s position that “cooperating with the STL is working against the
Resistance” threatens the Lebanese government, which deals with the
investigators of the UN probe. “It is not acceptable for any party to take a
decision on behalf of all Lebanese,” Geagea said.
The LF leader called on President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Saad Hariri
to schedule an emergency cabinet meeting.
He also said that Syria considers Lebanon to be a county, adding that Damascus
threatens Lebanon through Hezbollah.
Earlier in the day, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice accused Syria and Iran of
fuelling tensions in Lebanon by supplying illicit arms to the Party of God.
Meanwhile, the Élysée Palace issued a statement Thursday that French President
Nicolas Sarkozy reiterated his country’s support for the international tribunal
during his meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri. According to the statement, the
French president did not discuss with Berri Wednesday’s Dahiyeh incident.
However, it said that the UN probe must continue its work without causing
instability in Lebanon.-NOW Lebanon
Hizbullah chief urges Lebanese to boycott STL investigation
Nasrallah warns cooperation akin to assault on resistance
By Elias Sakr /Daily Star staff
Friday, October 29, 2010
BEIRUT: Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah urged Lebanese officials and
citizens Thursday to boycott probes carried out by the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon (STL), warning that those who continue to cooperate will be
participating in an attack against the resistance. “I ask every official and
every citizen in Lebanon to boycott those investigators and refrain from
cooperating with them … because all that is presented is passed on to the
Israelis,” Nasrallah said in the wake of an incident involving STL investigators
and women at a medical clinic in the southern suburbs of Beirut. “Continued
cooperation … on the one hand helps to desecrate the country on all levels and
on the other hand assaults the resistance,” he added.
Nasrallah said examinations of a gynecologist’s patient records, primarily
records of prominent Hizbullah officials’ wives, is a breach of ethical,
religious and humanitarian norms that is no longer acceptable. “We reached a
very critical point that cannot be ignored irrespective of any internal,
political or foreign considerations … This is a turning point and what will
follow will be different from before,” Nasrallah said. He said current
investigations by the UN-backed tribunal were attempts to collect information on
Hizbullah rather than to investigate former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s murder
“since the STL indictment was formulated back in 2006 to frame Hizbullah
members.”
Nasrallah added that he had been informed “minutes” earlier that the US was
pressing STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare to issue the indictment before December
in a bid to deal a blow to Saudi-Syrian efforts to preserve stability in Lebanon
and spark strife in the country. In one of the first reactions to Nasrallah’s
remarks, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said the comments were threats
against the Lebanese state and called for an urgent meeting of Prime Minister
Saad Hariri’s Cabinet.
“What Sayyed Nasrallah said is very dangerous and include threats against the
Lebanese state, since there is a memorandum between Lebanon and the UN that
compels Lebanese institutions to cooperate with the investigation,” Geagea told
Al-Arabiya satellite news channel. “The Cabinet was committed in its policy
statement to the STL and to support it and I call for a government session very
soon to evaluate whether we should continue with this government and its policy
statement,” he added. Commenting on the news conference, political science
professor at the American University of Beirut Hilal Khashan told The Daily Star
that “Hizbullah cornered itself, making it hard to find a way out [of the
crisis].”
Khashan said Nasrallah’s statements were extremely defensive and indicated that
the party would start escalating its stances. “Will they take a step similar to
Hamas in Gaza? I do not know how this escalation will proceed,” Khashan added.
March 14 officials said Wednesday’s attack by a crowd of women against STL
investigators in Beirut’s southern suburbs was a Hizbullah-engineered attack to
obstruct the court similarly to earlier incidents that pitted south Lebanon
residents against the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
Police sources and witnesses said 150 women were transported to the clinic where
two investigators accompanied by a Lebanese interpreter arrived to interview the
gynecologist.
President Michel Sleiman gave instructions to continue investigations “to
establish the facts about the incident in order to adopt the appropriate
measures to determine responsibilities and prevent future similar incidents,” a
statement by the National News Agency said.
Separately, Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar said Lebanon was committed to
protecting UN investigators. Earlier Thursday, Hizbullah officials denied that
the incident had been coordinated but said it “was rather a normal and
spontaneous reaction to the STL’s violations of the sanctity of humanitarian
institutions.” Future Movement MP Mohammad Kabbara said Hizbullah’s masked
attack against the investigation committee was an attempt to tamper with
evidence and deal a blow to the international probe. Kabbara said Hizbullah
would not have ventured in public and attacked investigators “had it not been
that their situation was precarious.” “Why would Hizbullah want to shatter
evidence? What is its interest in doing so? And why does Hizbullah fear such
evidence?” Kabbara asked. In the meantime, March 8 MP Qassem Hashem said the
sanctity of clinics should not be invaded despite clearance granted by the order
of physicians. “This is a normal reaction,” he said.
Lebanon called 'hyper-dangerous'
Published: Oct. 28, 2010 at 8:24 PM/UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Well-armed
militias and heated rhetoric have turned Lebanon into a tinderbox for violence
in the Middle East, a United Nations official warned Thursday. "We know that in
Lebanon you have militias which are very heavily armed and increasingly so. This
creates a hyper-dangerous situation," Terje Roed-Larsen, a special U.N. envoy
told reporters in New York after briefing the U.N. Security Council in private.
Roed-Larsen called the combination of armed forces and political tensions in
Lebanon "the most critical issue of international peace and security today," a
U.N. release said. "This is why all parties in Lebanon, in the region and beyond
must now shoulder their responsibilities to stop irresponsible and reckless
rhetoric," he said. "Critical to this is also the disbanding and disarming of
all militias. Militias holding arms in Lebanon today is an intimidation in
itself, particularly when it is paired with reckless and irresponsible
rhetoric." In a report Roed-Larsen delivered to the Security Council, U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on all players to focus on strengthening
Lebanon's sovereignty and security. "The country should not be used as a staging
ground for furthering regional aspirations or promoting conflict," Ban wrote.
Roed-Larsen said he believes the Middle East is at "an extremely critical
juncture," with "crosswinds and a hurricane blowing up" in the region. "And in
the middle of those crosswinds, there is a tent standing, and that tent is
critically upheld by two poles," he said. "One is the Palestinian one and the
other one is the Lebanese. If one of those poles cracks, the whole tent will go
down."The report dealt with the status of Resolution 1559, which was adopted by
the Security Council in 2004 and calls for free and fair elections, an end to
foreign interference and the disbanding of all militias.
Britain deems Lebanese political situation stable - Guy
By The Daily Star
Friday, October 29, 2010
BEIRUT: The British government considers the political situation in Lebanon to
be stable and is not worried about an outbreak of hostilities, the British
Ambassador to Lebanon, Frances Guy, said this week. Travel warnings on the UK
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website presently advise British citizens
not to venture into the Palestinian camps or south of the Litani River, but such
restrictions are merely routine and apply to a small section of the country,
said Guy in an address to Issam Fares Center for Lebanon.
“If there is any advice to give to the Lebanese, although they do not need mine,
[it] would be to stop seeking advice from abroad, and take care of your own
issues!” she said.
Britain, as a former colonial power, bears special responsibility for its past
interference in the region, especially over the manner in which the state of
Israel was formed and the subsequent refugee problem it created for hundreds of
thousands of Palestinians and their descendants, she said.
The country has since tried to rectify some of these “regrettable” injustices
while urging all parties to find long-term international policies which may lead
to a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli struggle, she said. The British
Embassy holds annual ceremonies to remember those who lost their lives during
World Wars I and II, while Guy has actively campaigned for increased service
provision for the 60 aging Palestinian veterans who fought with the British Army
during the war but now face extreme economic hardship in Lebanese refugee camps.
Reiterating her commitment to Lebanon, Guy, who has served as the British envoy
to the country since 2006, expressed her desire to stay on as ambassador and act
as a bridge between the two countries, while benefitting Lebanon and accurately
informing her country about developments.
Being a diplomat to Lebanon is an opportunity with a political responsibility,
she said.
Rumors circulated in July that Israeli pressure might force Guy to resign for
publicly praising the late Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah on her
blog. Guy wrote that the Shiite cleric was a “decent man” whose passing left
Lebanon a “lesser place.” While the British government removed her post,
claiming that it did not reflect FCO opinion, they refused to escalate the
matter. As a fluent Arabic speaker and one of Lebanon’s 11 female ambassadors,
Guy has played a prominent role in advancing gender equality and human rights in
the country and will be participating in next month’s Beirut marathon to raise
money for charity. She has also spoken out publicly about the state of the
country’s media which stands accused of a lack of objectivity and tendency to be
manipulated by various political parties for personal gain. The biased nature of
reporting remains an obstacle to her duties, Guy said.
Prior to her time in Lebanon, Guy served as the head of FCO’s “Engaging with the
Islamic World Group” and the country’s first female ambassador to Yemen. – The
Daily Star
Security Warnings to Jumblat after His Recent Positions
Naharnet/Warnings and tips from several security agencies have been given to
Head of Democratic Gathering MP Walid Jumblat, according to Ad-Diyar newspaper.
The Druze leader has been advised to take precautions after his positions that
have recently shifted towards supporting the Resistance and its project, added
the daily.
Ad-Diyar said that heavy security measures have been noticed around Jumblat's
residence in Clemenceau where the Lebanese army and his own bodyguards have
imposed tight procedures. Beirut, 28 Oct 10, 22:43
Larsen Says 'Heavily Armed Militias' Put Lebanon in 'Hyper-Dangerous Situation'
Naharnet/Terje Roed-Larsen, U.N. Special Envoy for the implementation of
Security Council Resolution 1559, said Thursday that Lebanon is in a
"hyper-dangerous" state because of the "heavily armed militias" operating in it.
The envoy, Terje Roed Larsen, called for urgent efforts to disarm groups such as
Hizbullah in Lebanon, warning that there is "a hurricane blowing up" in the
Middle East. "Militias holding arms in Lebanon today is an intimidation in
itself, particularly when it is paired with reckless and irresponsible
rhetoric," Larsen told reporters after briefing the U.N. Security Council in a
closed session on Lebanon. "Lebanon is more conflicted every day we see now. And
we know that in Lebanon we have militias which are very heavily armed and
increasingly so and this creates a hyper-dangerous situation," he said. He did
not comment on U.S. allegations that Syria and Iran were providing arms to
Hizbullah but said: "There is a consistency between allegations we are hearing
and statements from Hizbullah itself concerning their capabilities." "These
weapons are of course not coming from the moon." The Middle East is "a region
where we have cross-winds and a hurricane blowing up," Larsen warned. "In the
middle of those cross-winds there is a tent standing and that tent is critically
held up by two poles. One is the Palestinian one and one is the Lebanese. If one
of those poles crack, the whole tent will go down. "In other words, if the
Lebanese situation is destabilized I am afraid that it will have rippling
effects across the region," he told reporters.(AFP) Beirut, 28 Oct 10, 21:32
Geagea Says Nasrallah's 'Very Dangerous' Speech Threatens
Lebanese State
Naharnet/Around one hour after Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called on
the Lebanese to boycott the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Lebanese Forces leader
Samir Geagea criticized Nasrallah's televised speech, describing it as "very
dangerous." Geagea described Nasrallah's stances as threats against the Lebanese
State, noting that the State is "the side mainly dealing with U.N.
investigators."In an interview on Al-Arabiya television, Geagea urged President
Michel Suleiman and Premier Saad Hariri to call an urgent ministerial meeting
"to remind about the ministerial Policy Statement, which had legitimized the
tribunal." "The indictment should be faced with the logic of the indictment, and
not as Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah responded today."We are with stability. This is
why we are holding onto the Special Tribunal for Lebanon," Geagea added. On the
other hand, the LF leader said that "the issue of Hizbullah's arms is very
worrying." "Hizbullah has regional reach, which puts us in the circle of
danger," he added. Geagea said he was not "surprised" by the massive welcoming
Iranian President Mahmoud hmadinejad had received during his recent visit to
Lebanon. "The problem was with the political speech delivered by him at Al-Raya
Stadium" in Beirut Southern Suburbs, he added.
Geagea voiced his rejection of the recent calls for the resignation of PM
Hariri, wondering about what the "other solution" might be. "An option like that
might take Lebanon back to the pre-2005 period," he warned. Beirut, 28 Oct 10,
23:54
Sarkozy-Berri Meeting: France Stresses Support for STL, Berri Offers Ideas for
'True Justice'
Naharnet/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri returned home from an official visit to
France where he met President Michel Sarkozy. Berri announced after the meeting
with Sarkozy that he discussed "everything" related to the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon and the investigation into the assassination of former Premier Rafik
Hariri. French Presidential sources said Sarkozy announced his intention to make
a visit to Lebanon, without specifying a date.They said conclusions about the
Lebanese situation were identical, pointing to fears" resulting from the "very
tense" situation in Lebanon. The sources stressed France's support for the
International Tribunal, adding that Sarkozy "expressed hope that finding the
truth will not lead to unrest in Lebanon." Berri, for his part, said he spoke of
a Lebanon-made solution "and we agreed to keep in touch in this
respect."An-Nahar newspaper on Friday said Berri's talks with Sarkozy stressed
on two points: - A detailed vision on the crisis in Lebanon and the Middle East
which included several proposals on a comprehensive peace. - A vision on Lebanon
based on the Saudi-Syria agreement and the possibility of French support for
this bridge which will have a positive impact on Lebanon. Beirut, 29 Oct 10,
10:32
STL Condemns Nasrallah's Boycott Call, Vows to Continue Cooperation with Lebanon
Government
Naharnet/A tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri said Thursday a Hizbullah call for a boycott was a
"deliberate attempt to obstruct justice". Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah urged
all Lebanese to boycott the U.N.-backed probe Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL),
warning that cooperation amounted to an attack on Hizbullah. He also said the
probe was passing on information to Israel, Hizbullah's arch-foe. "Any call to
boycott the Tribunal is a deliberate attempt to obstruct justice," a spokeswoman
for The Hague-based tribunal told AFP. "The STL will continue to rely on full
cooperation by the Lebanese government and the support of the international
community in fulfilling its mandate," she said. Lebanon is facing a full-blown
crisis over The Hague-based STL amid reports it is set to accuse members of
Hizbullah over the murder of Hariri, who was killed with 22 other people in a
bombing in Beirut on February 14, 2005. Hizbullah has accused the United Nations
of interfering in Lebanese affairs and called instead for a local
investigation.(AFP)
Beirut, 29 Oct 10, 06:39
Nasrallah Calls on Citizens, Officials to Boycott UN Investigators
Naharnet/Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday called
on "every official and every citizen to boycott the work of U.N. investigators"
probing the murder of former premier Rafik Hariri. "I call on all officials to
do what their conscience and honor tell them … Enough violations." "All
cooperation with the investigators is a contribution to the assault on the
Resistance. We call on everyone to boycott these investigators," Nasrallah
added. In a brief televised address, Nasrallah noted that the investigation has
reached "a sensitive point, which is related to our honor and dignity, the thing
that requires us to have a different stance." Nasrallah's speech came one day
after two investigators from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon were attacked by a
group of angry women at a gynecology clinic in a Hizbullah-controlled southern
suburb of Beirut. The investigators had requested information on patients from
the clinic's head doctor and were leaving when about 30 women charged at the
pair and snatched a briefcase from them. "I was stunned by the promptness of the
STL prosecutor in opening an investigation (into the Dahiyeh incident) while he
has remained mum for years regarding false witnesses," said Hizbullah's chief.
"We've remained mum throughout this period out of consideration for the family
of martyr premier Rafik Hariri, and so that no one thinks we're obstructing the
investigation. We ask: what does the probe need our women's medical files for?"
Nasrallah wondered. "We ask everyone: Who among you accepts the idea of someone
taking a look at the gynecology files of a mother, a sister or a daughter?" he
added.
Quoting legal experts, Nasrallah described the investigators' step as "illegal,"
adding that it insults "religious and moral values." On the other hand, he noted
that his party has obtained information that "the U.S. is pressuring (STL
Prosecutor Danielle) Bellemare to accelerate the issuance of the indictment
before December.""We have been aware that the international community is
violating everything in Lebanon, and they have been collecting information about
Hizbullah that go beyond the goal of serving the investigation," added Nasrallah.
He charged that "everything the international investigators obtain reaches the
hands of the U.S. and Israel. "The investigation has already ended and the
indictment has already been written and finalized, and it is the same one that
was published by Der Spiegel and Le Figaro" newspapers, Nasrallah concluded.
Beirut, 28 Oct 10, 22:17
Al-Rai to Publish 'Classified Document Signed by Hariri Investigation
Commission'
Naharnet/Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai has announced that it will publish Friday "a
classified document it obtained," which is allegedly related to Abdul Baset Bani
Audeh, a witness in the Hariri case. According to Al-Rai, the classified
document is signed by the international investigation commission into the murder
of ex-PM Rafik Hariri.
In the document, Al-Rai added, the commission takes upon itself to meet the
conditions Bani Audeh has put in order to give a written testimony, which
include providing protection for him and his family, restructuring his facial
features and granting him Swedish citizenship. Hizbullah, Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed
and a part of the Lebanese have been calling for trying Bani Audeh as one of the
so-called "false witnesses." Al-Rai noted that Bani Audeh is an Arab-Israeli and
he had previously worked for Israel's Mossad spy agency before collaborating
with the Palestinian Authority, according to his allegations. "He had sneaked
into the Lebanese territories through the South before being arrested. He then
suddenly appeared in Sweden and he stresses that he had been assigned to
assassinate Hariri -- in Paris -- and Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir."
Despite the many accusations against him of being a false witness, Bani Audeh
has been stressing that he is a "real witness" and that he possesses a lot of
information he intends to reveal later. For its part, Al-Rai will include in its
report that will be published Friday a scanned image of the "original"
English-language document in which the investigation commission allegedly
pledges to meet Bani Audeh's conditions. Beirut, 28 Oct 10, 19:18
Nicola: Nasrallah has the Right to Demand Lebanese Not to Cooperate with STL and
International Investigators
Naharne t/Reform and Change bloc MP Nabil Nicola stressed on Friday that
Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has the right to demand the
Lebanese not to cooperate with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the
international investigators. Addressing the Dahiyeh incident, he said that
medical ethics obligate all doctors not to divulge patient information to
anyone, not even the international investigators. Therefore, the tribunal
violated Lebanese, international, and humanitarian laws, which would force
people not to cooperate with it, he said. Beirut, 29 Oct 10, 14:36
March 14 in a Letter to Berri: We Demand Fulfillment of Pledges to Grant
Expatriates Right to Vote
Naharnet/The March 14 forces in France demanded on Thursday House Speaker Nabih
Berri to fulfill pledges on granting expatriates the right to vote.
It said in a letter to the speaker that the right should be granted as
stipulated in the presidential oath, the ministerial statement, and parliament's
decisions.
"Granting expatriates, who are an integral part of the nation, the vote is a
natural and constitutional right due to the economic and developmental
implications it would have on Lebanon," the letter said. Beirut, 28 Oct 10,
16:56
Najjar: Lebanon is Obligated to Protect International Investigators Based on
Agreements it Signed
Naharnet/Lebanon is obligated to protect the international investigators based
on international agreements it signed, Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar stressed
on Thursday commenting on Wednesday's attack against international investigators
in Dahiyeh. He added that this responsibility applies to all ministries and
concerned administrations, emphasizing that Lebanon will fulfill its obligations
in this respect. Beirut, 28 Oct 10, 15:54