LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober 31/2010

Bible Of The Day
James 4/11-17: " Don’t speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. 4:12 Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another? 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.” 4:14 Whereas you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. 4:15 For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that.” 4:16 But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil. 4:17 To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin".

Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Interview with Dr. Samir Geagea/Al Arabia/October 30/10
Battle over the budget/By: Matt Nash/October 30/10
Hizbullah unlikely to use force to unseat Cabinet - analysts/By Michael Bluhm/October 30/10
Middle East Christians are told to embrace secularist drive/Austen Ivereigh/October 30/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October 30/10
Sfeir: STL Should Specifically Name the Criminals, Hizbullah is Adopting Control Methods/Naharnet
Saudi-Syrian-Iranian Rapprochement Enforces A-A-G Equation/Naharnet
Hariri to Visit Kuwait, London, and Moscow, Predicts False Witnesses Cabinet Session to be Held Wednesday/Naharnet
Amin Gemayel: Nasrallah is Wrong in his Calculations/Naharnet
British Foreign Ministry Spokesperson: We Hope STL May Freely Complete its Investigations/Naharnet
Cassese to Hariri, Ban: It's Our Firm Intention Not to Bow to Any Act of Interference, Intimidation/Naharnet
Ban on Dahiyeh Incident: Acts of Interference, Intimidation are Unacceptable/Naharnet
Hizbullah's boycott call bid to obstruct justice - Ban/Daily Star
STL Condemns Nasrallah's Boycott Call, Vows to Continue Cooperation with Lebanon Government/Naharnet
Larsen Says 'Heavily Armed Militias' Put Lebanon in 'Hyper-Dangerous Situation/Naharnet
Feltman Cautions Assad: Deeds, Not Words, Matter Most/Naharnet
Saudi envoy meets with officials in Tripoli/Daily Star
Cemetery vandalism draws ire of Jiyyeh residents/Daily Star
Lebanon politicians attack Hezbollah over boycott call/The Guardian
LEBANON: In Yugoslavia experience, parallels and threats for Hariri tribunal/Los Angeles Times
Mustaqbal: We Call on All Political Forces to Respect Internal Dialogue on International Investigation /Naharnet
Hizbullah Denies Mustaqbal 'Claim' that Safa Knew about Investigators Visit /Naharnet
Sarkozy-Berri Meeting: France Stresses Support for STL, Berri Offers Ideas for 'True Justice' /Naharnet
New York Times: Nasrallah's Speech is Additional Pressure on the Weak Government /Naharnet
Nasrallah Calls on Citizens, Officials to Boycott UN Investigators /Naharnet
Hariri Allies Criticize Nasrallah's Call to Boycott UN Tribunal /Naharnet
Zahra: Hizbullah has Turned into a Group that Oppresses the Lebanese to Halt the STL /Naharnet
Nicola: Nasrallah has the Right to Demand Lebanese Not to Cooperate with STL and International Investigators /Naharnet
Hashem: Nasrallah's Speech Didn't Embarrass Us, But We Support it and there is No Way to Doubt it /Naharnet
Mustaqbal Sources: Dahiyeh Incident Coordinated /Naharnet
Khalife: Access to Patient Records is Against Medical Ethics Law /Naharnet
Geagea Says Nasrallah's 'Very Dangerous' Speech Threatens Lebanese State /Naharnet
Turkush document defines Israel as central threat/J.Post
Lebanon claims world's largest glass of wine/Reuters


Sfeir: STL Should Specifically Name the Criminals, Hizbullah is Adopting Control Methods
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir stressed on Friday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon should be explicit in naming the suspects involved in the assassinations that have taken place in Lebanon. He told Al-Jazeera television in an interview to be broadcast on Saturday: "If we want to put an end to political assassinations then the international tribunal should issue its indictment and specifically names those in Lebanon who committed the crime." "If we want matters to continue as they are, then the assassinations will continue, which would harm Lebanon and other nations as well," he added. Furthermore, he noted that it would be "worrisome" if Hizbullah were to take control of Lebanon, saying: "Lebanon should remain as it was, for all its sects … and if one were to overpower the others, then that would oppose the foundations upon which Lebanon is built." Asked whether he believes that Hizbullah wants to control Lebanon, Sfeir responded with a denial, but noted: "Its methods are forceful and of course, force leads to power." Addressing the possibility of paying a visit to Iran, the patriarch said: "The conditions are not suitable yet to allow us to make the trip."
As for visiting Syria, Sfeir said that if the conditions are appropriate then he would head to Damascus. "So far it has not appeared that relations between Lebanon and Syria are sound because one country possibly seeks to gain interests in the other, which the Lebanese oppose," he continued. "If Syria wants to befriend Lebanon in order to control it as it wishes, then we do not want this friendship," he added.

British Foreign Ministry Spokesperson: We Hope STL May Freely Complete its Investigations
Naharnet/A spokesperson for the British Foreign Ministry noted that Lebanon is passing through a difficult period, voicing his country's support for Lebanon's stability and progress. He told the daily Asharq al-Awsat Saturday: "We are committed to international justice and we hop that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon would complete its investigations with freedom." Meanwhile, another British official said that England "strongly" supports the principle of not escaping punishment in Lebanon and all other areas.
"This is the main reason London supports the STL," he added. "The tribunal's support is derived first and foremost from the Lebanese government … and we believe that in order for Lebanon to advance, it should overcome hardships of the past," he noted. "Lebanon's main problem for several years has been that it served as an open ground for foreign powers … we want to help Lebanon put these bad days behind it," said the official. Beirut, 30 Oct 10, 12:59

Saudi-Syrian-Iranian Rapprochement Enforces A-A-G Equation
Rapprochement and friendliness between the Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Assiri and the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Rokn-Abadi was evident during a celebration of Turkey's Independence Day that was held at the Phoenicia Hotel on Friday. Assiri told Abadi: "Here is the A, meaning Ali, and G, meaning Ghazanfar, and there is the Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali," meaning that the solution to the crisis in Lebanon now requires an A-A-G equation.Meanwhile, information has revealed that the three ambassadors are expected to hold talks on Tuesday at the Syrian ambassador's residence on current developments in Lebanon and the region. Furthermore, widely informed sources told the daily An Nahar Saturday that urgent contacts will be held soon between Riyadh and Damascus in order to affirm the calm that was reached during the summer's Lebanese-Saudi-Syrian summit. Assiri had stressed on Friday during a trip to Tripoli that the Kingdom seeks to "bring all the Lebanese together and establish a united and stable Lebanon." His tour coincided with separate meetings between House Speaker Nabih Berri, Abadi, and Ali. Beirut, 30 Oct 10, 08:46

Gemayel: Nasrallah is Wrong in his Calculations
Naharnet/Phalange Party leader former president Amin Gemayel noted on Saturday that Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah "is mistaken in his calculations and his current line of action of relying on the party's weapons". He told Free Lebanon radio that no one in the world can eliminate Hizbullah, stressing the need to reach an understanding over its arms. Furthermore, he said that the indictment in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will reveal several matters, adding that President Michel Suleiman should defend the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in line with his presidential oath. The current developments in Lebanon are a gradual takeover of the system where intellectual and political terrorism is being exercised on the country's political class, Gemayel stated. Beirut, 30 Oct 10, 14:04

Hariri to Visit Kuwait, London, and Moscow, Predicts False Witnesses Cabinet Session to be Held Wednesday
Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri is expected to head to Kuwait on Saturday in a trip set to tackle bolstering cooperation between it and Lebanon, especially on the economic level. He is also scheduled to head to London on Monday on a two-day official visit. The premier plans on heading to Moscow in mid November on an official visit as well. On Friday, Hariri headed a meeting for the Mustaqbal bloc that wondered at the obstruction of the international tribunal's functioning, calling on all sides to respect international laws and agreements. Parliamentary sources revealed that the prime minister informed the bloc that Cabinet is expected to convene on Wednesday, with the false witnesses file being on its agenda, according to al-Liwa on Saturday.Other sources have meanwhile stated that regardless of developments in Cabinet, the false witnesses file will not be transferred to the justice council. On the other hand, a prominent minister told the paper that a date for Cabinet's upcoming session has not been scheduled yet. An official source said that intense presidential contacts are underway, and that matters are taking a positive turn, especially regarding setting a date for the next Cabinet session that would take place after Hariri's return from London. Beirut, 30 Oct 10, 11:06

Cassese to Hariri, Ban: It's Our Firm Intention Not to Bow to Any Act of Interference, Intimidation
Naharnet/Judge Antonio Cassese, President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, on Friday stressed STL's "firm intention not to bow to any act of interference and intimidation in carrying out our mandate in an independent and fair manner." In separate letters addressed to Premier Saad Hariri and U.N. chief Ban Ki Moon, Cassese conveyed the tribunal's "great concern about the incident which took place in Beirut on 27 October and resulted in the injury of STL staff and the unlawful removal of STL property." Cassese reassured both Hariri and Ban that "this most regrettable incident will not be allowed to jeopardize the work of the tribunal in discharging its truth-seeking mission for the Lebanese people and the international community." The president of the STL also underscored "that the tribunal continues to act independently in accordance with its legal framework." On the other hand, Cassese stated that both he and the tribunal's staff greatly appreciate "the strong commitment of Lebanon to cooperation with the Special Tribunal and the U.N. Secretary General's calls for all parties to refrain from interfering in the tribunal's work." Beirut, 29 Oct 10, 19:04

Hariri: Lebanon Won't Fall into Discord, One Opinion Dominance
Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Friday stressed that "Lebanon will not fall into discord or into the absence of dialogue, or into (the dominance of) one opinion." "Lebanon will not fall out of its democratic, Arab and free identity. Lebanon will always remain a sanctuary for coexistence and total parity between Muslims and Christians," Hariri said in a speech he delivered at a ceremony organized by the Suleiman Olayan School of Business, at the American University of Beirut, on the occasion of its tenth anniversary. "We are responsible for protecting this model and its stability, and you will never hear from us one word or see one move against this direction," Hariri added. The premier vowed to remain attached to Lebanon "as a country of dialogue and democracy, regardless the pressure." "I know that the Lebanese are afraid today. They fear for their freedoms, democracy, security, stability and economy. But I am here to reassure you and all the Lebanese: Lebanon will never fall." Beirut, 29 Oct 10, 23:04

Ban on Dahiyeh Incident: Acts of Interference, Intimidation are Unacceptable
Naharnet/U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has voiced his deep concerns over the "recent statements and events related to the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon."
Ban condemned Wednesday's attack on U.N. investigators at a gynecology clinic in Beirut Southern Suburbs, a Hizbullah stronghold, stressing that "such acts of interference and intimidation are unacceptable." "The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is an independent court of law established at the request of the Government of Lebanon, with a clear mandate from the United Nations Security Council," said the U.N. chief in a statement. "It is an important tool to uncover the truth and end impunity." Ban called on all parties to "refrain from interfering in its work, which proceeds in accordance with the legal principles and standards applied by all international tribunals, and from prejudging its outcome." The secretary-general stressed that it is imperative that the Special Tribunal carry out its work "safely and securely." On the other hand, he commended the Lebanese authorities for their "swift action in opening an inquiry into the incident."
On Wednesday, two investigators from the STL were attacked by a group of angry women at a clinic in Dahiyeh. 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. Beirut, 29 Oct 10, 16:28

US Vows Support for STL, Accuses Hizbullah of 'Intimidation'
Naharnet/The United States on Friday vowed support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, accusing Hizbullah of "intimidation" in urging a boycott.
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday warned all Lebanese not to help investigators probing the 2005 killing of ex-PM Rafik Hariri, saying that such cooperation "contributes to the assault on the Resistance." "Nasrallah's remarks are an indication of how Hizbullah does not have the interest of all the Lebanese people in mind," U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters. "It has a narrow agenda and we will do everything that we can to help the Lebanese government and Lebanese people resist this obvious intimidation," he said. Crowley called the Special Tribunal for Lebanon "vitally important" for the country's future, but rejected accusations that the United States wanted to affect its findings.
"We are committed to support the work of the tribunal and will do everything that we can, not to influence it, just to give it the opportunity to continue its work," Crowley said.
His remarks come a day after the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, accused Hizbullah's main supporters Syria and Iran of fuelling tensions in Lebanon through illicit arms supplies. Crowley said the United States was "concerned by the increase of tension" in Lebanon and accused unnamed other forces of "trying to undermine the Lebanese government and Lebanese sovereignty."(AFP) Beirut, 29 Oct 10, 22:27

Feltman Cautions Assad: Deeds, Not Words, Matter Most
Naharnet/U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman rejected a theory which says that commitment to justice would lead to instability, thus giving an excuse to the use of violence and weapons in dealing with the Court indictment. In an interview with An-Nahar newspaper published Friday, Feltman cautioned Syrian President Bashar Assad that the actions and practices of his allies should comply with the Syrian leadership's commitment to Lebanon's security and stability. "Deeds, not words, matter most," he stressed. Feltman held Syria responsible for any disturbances or acts of violence carried out by its allies over the Court indictment. He said that while Syrian officials have reassured them that they are keen on Lebanon's stability and that they are working to defuse tensions in Lebanon "because this is in their interest," follow up on this issue suggests that Damascus' allies in Lebanon are doing the opposite. Feltman stressed Washington's confidence in the leadership role played by President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. He also said the U.S. was confident in the roles being played by the Lebanese army and police in maintaining civil peace, protecting citizens against armed attacks and preventing a widespread security collapse in the country against the backdrop of the indictment. Feltman said the U.S. , France as well as the Arab world and the international community are concerned about the tense situation in Lebanon. He noted that efforts are being made at several levels to prevent the outbreak of violence in Lebanon. Beirut, 29 Oct 10, 11:04

Zahra: Hizbullah has Turned into a Group that Oppresses the Lebanese to Halt the STL
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra criticized on Friday Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's recent speech, noting that the party has become an "oppressor of the Lebanese". "Such a development should be met with peaceful resistance that would defend human rights," he told al-Arabiya television. He explained Hizbullah's labeling of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon as an Israeli product as an attempt to halt its activity, pointing out that Iran and Syria had warned that the court would affect the situation in Lebanon. Zahra stressed: "There is no power on Earth that could obstruct the tribunal expect a decision from the United Nations." The MP highlighted the discrepancy in the opposition's statements where they say they want to thwart the tribunal, while simultaneously demanding justice and stability. Beirut, 29 Oct 10, 14:58

Lebanon politicians attack Hezbollah over boycott call
Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah urges boycott of tribunal investigating killing of former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri
Share3 Ian Black, Middle East editor guardian.co.uk, Friday 29 October 2010
Hassan Nasrallah has called on Lebanon not to cooperate with the tribunal into the killing of the Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri. Photograph: Al Manar TV/EPA
Lebanese politicians reacted angrily to a demand by Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, to boycott the tribunal investigating the assassination of the former prime minister, Rafiq al-Hariri.
Nasrallah's demand added to nervousness that if indictments are soon issued in the 2005 murder case it will plunge Lebanon into turmoil. Hizbullah Hezbollah, a Shia movement backed by Iran and Syria, has accused the UN-supported tribunal in the Netherlands of acting in the interests of Israel. It is widely expected that indictments, probably against Hizbullah officials, will be issued before the end of this year. Nasrallah, sounding grave, issued his call on Thursday night in a broadcast on al-Manar, Hezbollah's TV station, after an incident involving tribunal investigators and women at a clinic in the Shia southern suburbs of Beirut. "I ask every official and every citizen in Lebanon to boycott those investigators and refrain from co-operating with them … because all that is presented is passed on to the Israelis," he said. "Continued co-operation … helps to desecrate the country and assaults the resistance."
Judge Antonio Cassese, the tribunal's president, said it would "not bow to any act of interference and intimidation in carrying out our mandate in an independent and fair manner".
Lebanese and foreign observers and analysts, already anxious about the tensions of recent weeks, fear Nasrallah's remarks signal a tough new stance on the potentially explosive affair. Hezbollah is part of a fragile coalition government which could fall if the crisis deepens.
Samir Geagea, leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces, called for an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the matter. "This is a threat to the Lebanese government, as the government is the first to co-operate with the (tribunal) investigators," he told al-Arabiya TV.Lebanon's current prime minister, Saad Hariri, the son of the murdered man, is visiting London on Monday for talks with David Cameron and Wiliam Hague, the foreign secretary. Britain has said it is doing what it can to help the work of the tribunal and maintain Lebanon's sovereignty and stability.
Saad Hariri originally blamed Syria for his father's death but publicly withdrew the accusation last month as he sought to mend fences with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.
The tribunal was set up under UN auspices to investigate the bomb that decimated the former prime minister's motorcade in Beirut in February 2005, killing him and 22 others. Syria was blamed by many for the murders. Damascus denied the accusation but the protests that followed led eventually to the withdrawal of its troops from Lebanon after 29 years.
In recent weeks Syria has denounced the tribunal while a judge issued arrest warrants for Lebanese officials close to Hariri who were accused of having helped provide false testimony to investigators. The US has repeatedly criticised Syria for ignoring Lebanese sovereignty.

Cemetery vandalism draws ire of Jiyyeh residents
By The Daily Star /Saturday, October 30, 2010
BEIRUT: The desecration of a Christian cemetery in the coastal Chouf town of Jiyyeh continued to spark waves of angry reactions Friday. Unknown individuals broke into the Saint George Church’s cemetery in the town Wednesday night, pulled out the corpse of George Philip Qazzi who died in July 2002, and struck his head. The incident, which is the third of its type to occur in the town, was discovered by a woman visiting the graveyard. Chouf MP Nehme Tohme criticized the incident, stressing his commitment to coexistence in Lebanon.
The head of the Maronite General Council Wadie al-Khazen lashed out at the perpetrators in the incident as he received a delegation from the Jiyyeh residents.
“It was committed by sides aiming to instigate sectarian strife between the residents of Jiyyeh,” he said. Members of the Internal Security Forces, the head of Jiyyeh’s monastery, Father Salim Nammour, Jiyyeh’s Mayor George Nader Qazzi, officials from Hizbullah, Amal and the Progressive Socialist Party and locals rushed to the scene.
Nammour labeled the incident “an act of sabotage condemned by all Muslim and Christian residents of the town.” He stressed the event would not “affect coexistence and national unity that has characterized the village throughout history,” urging security forces and officials to follow up on the matter to prevent its reoccurrence. – The Daily Star

Hizbullah unlikely to use force to unseat Cabinet - analysts
Call for STL boycott aimed at adding pressure on feeble government
By Michael Bluhm /Daily Star staff
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Analysis
BEIRUT: While Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ratcheted up the pressure on the country’s feeble Cabinet with his Thursday call for a boycott of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), he still appears intent on not using Hizbullah’s weapons to bring down the government, a number of analysts told The Daily Star Friday.
Hizbullah and its Syrian backers evidently fear the damage they could suffer if indicted by the court, which could well see its ongoing probe and any potential trials suffer as a result of a boycott, the analysts added. Nasrallah’s restrained tone, however, underlined that the key political actors in Lebanon – and Hizbullah in particular – still want the STL controversy to stop short of any armed internal conflict, the analysts said.
While Nasrallah has in previous speeches denounced the tribunal as a US and Israeli tool to weaken Hizbullah, Thursday’s call for a Lebanese boycott aimed at the domestic scene and will squeeze the rickety government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, which has signed a cooperation agreement with the STL and provides 49 percent of its funding, said Hilal Khashan, who teaches political studies at the American University of Beirut.
Nasrallah “delivered an ultimatum to the government … that if you continue to collaborate, you will be serving the Israelis,” said Khashan.
Nasrallah skillfully took advantage of the Wednesday visit by tribunal investigators to a gynecology clinic in the Dahiyeh, one of Hizbullah’s main bases of support, said Habib Malik, who teaches history at the Lebanese American University and is the son of Charles Malik, one of the founders of modern Lebanon and co-author of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The visit resulted in a crowd of some 150 Hizbullah backers confronting and attacking the investigators, who are seeking the culprits in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
With tribunal investigators committing a double trespass of intruding on the Dahiyeh and allegedly pursuing access to gynecological records, Nasrallah was able to paint the court as insulting Hizbullah’s honor, land and women, Malik added. “It does strike a raw nerve,” he said.
But by taking such a calm tone, Nasrallah was able to use the perceived transgression to move against the court, Hariri and the Cabinet, while leaving himself the opportunity to later tamp down any furor over a potential indictment by keeping the same serene manner – and then reaping the benefits of acting as a peacekeeper, Malik said.
“His tone was far more reserved – I would even say pragmatic, realistic,” Malik said. “He could very easily have fomented passions.
“He’s a very skillful Machiavellian pragmatist. Far from being the dogged ideologue that he has given the impression that he is, he’s much more nuanced. The man never ceases to amaze me.”
While mining the clinic incident, Nasrallah’s endorsement of a boycott also reveals that the group – and the Syrian state which supports it – remains worried about the impact of its members being indicted, said Raghid al-Solh, political analyst and adviser to the Issam Fares Center, a non-partisan think-tank. Being indicted in the assasination of Hariri would make Hizbullah or Syria a pariah in much of the international community and carry severe repercussions for anyone convicted in the killing, Solh added.
The indictment’s “implication is quite threatening to Hizbullah and to the Syrians – it’s a matter of survival,” Solh said, adding that Damascus and Hizbullah view the tribunal as revenge for Hizbullah’s performance against Israel in the summer 2006 war.
Indeed, Syrian President Bashar Assad, which Saad Hariri and many others in the Hariri-led March 14 political camp blamed in Rafik Hariri’s murder, might well be nudging along Nasrallah in his campaign against the court, Khashan said. Saad Hariri last month said he had made a mistake in so quickly accusing Damascus in his father’s killing.
“Even though Hariri has exonerated the Syrians … the Syrians are pushing Hizbullah to take a tough stand,” Khashan said. “Assad is as nervous as Hassan Nasrallah.”
What muddies the potential motives for Nasrallah’s boycott call is that Hariri had effectively in July cleared Hizbullah as a party to his father’s killing, Khashan said. Hariri said the tribunal’s indictment would name Hizbullah members, but they were operating as rogue elements outside Hizbullah directives. “What puzzles me is that Hariri gave [Nasrallah] a dignified exit,” Khashan added.
Regardless of the forces behind Thursday’s speech, a boycott of the court by Hizbullah, its allies and supporters – and any other Lebanese who heed his call – could significantly hamper the probe and any later trials, Solh said. “It might really affect its future,” he added.
As the tribunal becomes more of a political cudgel wielded by Lebanese and international parties to score points or sow instability, the entire cause of unmasking Hariri’s killers, curtailing impunity for political violence in Lebanon and empowering the institutions of international justice suffers, Malik said.
“The greatest victim in all of this is the international tribunal itself,” he said. “In this particular case there is a kind of expedient, utilitarian dimension. All of that does international law a disservice,” he added.
While Hariri has yet to personally respond to Nasrallah’s speech, he has little reason to give further ground on the court, because the premier has this year made a number of concessions to Hizbullah and Syria on the tribunal, while the US has recently shown a renewed commitment to Hariri, the March 14 faction and STL, Khashan said.
“I don’t think the government will heed [Nasrallah’s] ultimatum,” Khashan added. “I don’t think Hariri will make any further concessions. Hariri already made a 180-degree turn. He cannot really move an inch beyond that. I don’t think the government will budge. There are no more concessions.”
At the same time, support for the boycott among Cabinet ministers aligned with the Hizbullah-led March 8 political alliance will weaken the government, Malik said. “This piece of mendacity called national-unity government will come under severe strain,” he said.
An indictment which splits the ministers could well bring to an end the national-unity Cabinet, which arose after the May 2008 Doha Accord ended days of civil strife and temporarily papered over the fundamental differences between the March 14 and March 8 camps, Malik added.
Hariri, who only entered politics after his father’s assassination, finds himself with little maneuvering room after making firm and public commitments to support the tribunal staunchly, but also to Hizbullah and to Syria and to avoid civil strife, Solh added.
“Perhaps he didn’t realize the implications of these commitments,” Solh said. “It tells you something about his limitations. If he had more experience, he would have been more careful in dealing with this issue to avoid any contradictions.”
As for the popular reaction to Nasrallah’s boycott call, some of the country’s Sunnis – already disillusioned by Hariri’s performance – are expressing doubts about the tribunal, in that it might only provoke more unrest by making Rafik Hariri a martyr who drives a permanent wedge between the country’s Shiites and Sunnis, Malik said. If the choice eventually comes down to the tribunal or stability, many Lebanese might decide to give up the STL, he added.
However, Khashan said that, akin to the March 14, 2005, mass demonstration which gave the political coalition its name, at least 1 million Lebanese – mostly Christians and Sunnis – would remain “absolutely” willing to demonstrate their support for the tribunal. Taking the longer view, while the population appears almost evenly – and adamantly – split over the STL, divisions among Lebanese are a historical reality, and once the tribunal crisis passes, another issue will arise to divide the country’s constituencies yet again, Solh said.
For the near future, Nasrallah’s call will likely lead to Hizbullah supporters causing disturbances similar to the Dahiyeh clinic contretemps, and perhaps organizing demonstrations in Downtown Beirut, Khashan said. The Dahiyeh incident “was a sample of what’s to come if the government does not denounce the tribunal and cease all forms of cooperation with it,” he said. “This was just the beginning.”
Nonetheless, Hizbullah seems averse to exercising its military supremacy to end the state’s cooperation with the tribunal, Khashan said. Regardless of any indictment, Hizbullah would attract broad international condemnation for using its arsenal against the state or to cut it off from the tribunal, he added.
“I really doubt very much that Hizbullah will stage a coup,” he said. “They will put themselves in another trap if they do that. They will turn Lebanon into another Gaza. It wouldn’t serve their strategic objectives in Lebanon. This would be a fundamental blunder.”
In addition, the Syrian-Saudi July 30 pledge to foster stability should also help prevent the controversy over the court from spilling into civil strife, Malik said. “I don’t think it’s in Syria’s interest that things blow up here – I don’t think it’s in Hizbullah’s interest, either,” he said. “I don’t see the all-out explosion actually occurring. I see people stepping in at the last minute to rein in the hotheads and reap the political benefits.”
In the end, Nasrallah’s raising of tensions with the boycott call – as well as the looming indictment and the country’s polarization over the international tribunal – means that Lebanon appears to be heading for a period of increased turmoil, Khashan said. “Momentum will be building for more escalation,” he added. “We have just entered a long tunnel. The worst is yet to come.”

Hizbullah's boycott call bid to obstruct justice - Ban
US vows to stand by government to resist ‘intimidation’
By Elias Sakr and Hassan Lakiss
Daily Star staff
Saturday, October 30, 2010
BEIRUT: UN chief Ban Ki-moon described Friday Hizbullah’s call on the Lebanese to boycott the UN-backed court as a deliberate attempt to obstruct justice, as the Prosecutor for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) denied accusations that his investigators had breached doctor-patient confidentiality.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s Future Movement reiterated its support for the court while the United States vowed to stand by his government “to resist obvious intimidation.”
A spokesman for Ban said “acts of interference and intimidation are unacceptable.” “Any call to boycott the tribunal was a deliberate attempt to obstruct justice,” added the spokesman.
In a brief televised speech Thursday, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said two UN investigators, who were obstructed from carrying out their investigations by a crowd of women at a medical clinic in Beirut’s southern suburb, violated ethical, religious and humanitarian norms by asking for a gynecologist’s patient records.
“Statements in relation to the recent attack against staff of the STL alleging that the investigators examined gynecologist’s patient records in breach of ethical, religious and humanitarian norms are false,” STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare’s office said in a statement.
“As the medical doctor interviewed by representatives of the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) confirmed in her media interviews, the investigators were not seeking any medical information from her,” the statement added.
The OTP statement said the visit had been in line with legal norms and had been approved by the Lebanese authorities as well as the doctor, who received approval from the Beirut Order of Physicians to meet with investigators.
“In contrast to the legality and legitimacy of the meeting, STL staff members were assaulted by the attackers and had STL property stolen,” it said.
Commenting on Nasrallah’s remarks, Bellemare’s office said calls to boycott the tribunal were deliberate attempts to obstruct justice.
In the meantime, STL President Judge Antonio Cassese conveyed to Ban and Hariri the tribunal’s “great concern” with regard to the incident.
“This most regrettable incident will not be allowed to jeopardize the work of the tribunal in discharging its truth-seeking mission for the Lebanese people and the international community,” the statement quoted Cassese as telling Ban and Hariri in separate letters.
“It is our firm intention not to bow to any act of interference and intimidation in carrying out our mandate in an independent and fair manner,” he added.
On the Lebanese front, the Future Movement denied Hizbullah’s claims that investigators were seeking to examine medical records but said they were rather looking for phone numbers in relation to the probe, “as confirmed by the doctor in charge of the clinic.”
Following its meeting headed by Hariri, the Future Movement bloc reiterated in a statement its commitment to the STL.
“Justice is the basis of stability and there is no conflict between them since both factors constitute the essence of the democratic and political system which we adopted in Taif.”
The statement added that “we cannot talk of a parliamentary system without justice that safeguards freedom of expression, in light of a series of political assassinations.”
US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Hizbullah took into consideration the party’s narrow agenda rather than the interests of all Lebanese.
In more severe terms, Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel said Nasrallah’s statements indicated that the party regarded itself above state institutions. “Nasrallah’s stances were aimed against President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Saad Hariri and the executive authority,” Gemayel said.
In one of his latest remarks over the STL’s work, Sleiman, who in his inaugural address expressed support for the STL in line with Lebanon’s commitment to international legitimacy, said in September that the court should regain its credibility among the Lebanese by distancing itself from politicization.
Jumblatt, a former pillar of March 14 who realigned alongside Hizbullah and its allies, questioned whether the investigators’ actions served justice and stability or aimed to hinder the Syrian-Saudi rapprochement to preserve stability in the Arab world.
Commenting on the clinic’s incident, political sources told The Daily Star the incident had been planned by Hizbullah to justify its leader’s position after the party received information indicating that the indictment would be released soon.
Parliamentary sources said Nasrallah’s position would lead to an escalation of the political conflict if his stances are to be followed up by ministerial and parliamentary discussions.

Saudi envoy meets with officials in Tripoli
By Wassim Mroueh and Antoine Amrieh
Daily Star staff
Saturday, October 30, 2010
BEIRUT/TRIPOLI: Saudi Ambassador Ali Awad Osseiri visited Friday a number of prominent figures in the northern city of Tripoli, stressing his country aimed at uniting the Lebanese and looked forward to a stable and united Lebanon. The Saudi envoy kicked off his tour by visiting former Tripoli MP Omar Karami, accompanied by a delegation from the embassy.
Osseiri conveyed the greetings of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz to Karami. Karami praised “great efforts” made by the Saudi Monarch in cooperation with Syria to resolve the current crisis in Lebanon. Fears of civil strife have mounted in the country amid expectations that a UN-backed tribunal probing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri would soon indict members from Hizbullah. Hizbullah and March 8 forces hinted the tribunal should be dissolved, a demand rejected by rival March 14 coalition headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the son of the slain premier. On July 30, the Saudi king and Syrian President Bashar Assad held a summit with President Michel Sleiman at the Baabda Palace in a bid to ease tensions over the matter. Karami and Osseiri joined Tripoli MPs Najib Mikati and Samir Jisr along with an array of officials from the northern coastal city touring of Al-Manar university campus in Abi Samra neighborhood.
The delegation inspected works in the $2.5 million Saudi-funded King Abdullah building.
Karami, who is the head of the university’s board of trustees, said the King Abdullah building represented a charity with ongoing benefits.
He added that Lebanon was still stuck in the “hellish labyrinth” caused by Security Council Resolution 1559.
“This doomed resolution has caused a sharp division among the Lebanese over everything, and all the suffering that we have faced in recent years and are still facing result from this division,” said Karami. Resolution 1559 – issued in September 2004 – called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon and the disarmament of all groups other than the Lebanese Army, in an indirect reference to Hizbullah and Palestinian militant factions. Hizbullah’s arms are a disputed issue in the country. Osseiri later visited Economy and Trade Minister Mohammad Safadi, MP Jisr and the Mufti of Tripoli and the North Malek Shaar. Shaar accompanied Osseiri to Abu Bakr As-Siddiq Mosque where they performed Friday prayers. Delivering Friday’s sermon, Shaar said Tripoli would remain the city of security and stability, and would remain immune against civil strife, adding the city would not fight anyone inside Lebanon.
In summer 2008, Tripoli saw armed clashes between Alawite and Sunni communities living in neighboring areas. Media reports said various groups in the city were rearming, with fears that clashes might reoccur in the current tense atmosphere. Osseiri attended a luncheon held by Mikati in his honor at the “Shat al-Fuddi restaurant” in Mina. Mikati said the only solution for Lebanon’s crisis was through “honest and responsible dialogue aimed at emphasizing common denominators that unite the people of this country in a spirit of consensus laid down by the Taif Accord, and which enhances national partnership away from monopoly, domination and authoritarianism.” He said this spirit of consensus was capable of preserving Lebanon’s unity and preventing civil strife. “The will of goodness and concurrence opens the way for Lebanese leaders to come up with a solution based on constitutional institutions,” he added.

Question: "What does the Bible say about ghosts / hauntings?"
Answer: Is there such a thing as ghosts? The answer to this question depends on what precisely is meant by the term “ghosts.” If the term means “spirit beings,” the answer is a qualified “yes.” If the term means “spirits of people who have died,” the answer is “no.” The Bible makes it abundantly clear that there are spirit beings, both good and evil. But the Bible negates the idea that the spirits of deceased human beings can remain on earth and “haunt” the living.
Hebrews 9:27 declares, “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” That is what happens to a person’s soul-spirit after death—judgment. The result of this judgment is heaven for the believer (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:23) and hell for the unbeliever (Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:22-24). There is no in-between. There is no possibility of remaining on earth in spirit form as a “ghost.” If there are such things as ghosts, according to the Bible, they absolutely cannot be the disembodied spirits of deceased human beings.
The Bible teaches very clearly that there are indeed spirit beings who can connect with and appear in our physical world. The Bible identifies these beings as angels and demons. Angels are spirit beings who are faithful in serving God. Angels are righteous, good, and holy. Demons are fallen angels, angels who rebelled against God. Demons are evil, deceptive, and destructive. According to 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, demons masquerade as “angels of light” and as “servants of righteousness.” Appearing as a “ghost” and impersonating a deceased human being definitely seem to be within the power and abilities that demons possess.
The closest biblical example of a “haunting” is found in Mark 5:1-20. A legion of demons possessed a man and used the man to haunt a graveyard. There were no ghosts involved. It was a case of a normal person being controlled by demons to terrorize the people of that area. Demons only seek to “kill, steal, and destroy” (John 10:10). They will do anything within their power to deceive people, to lead people away from God. This is very likely the explanation of “ghostly” activity today. Whether it is called a ghost, a ghoul, or a poltergeist, if there is genuine evil spiritual activity occurring, it is the work of demons.
What about instances in which “ghosts” act in “positive” ways? What about psychics who claim to summon the deceased and gain true and useful information from them? Again, it is crucial to remember that the goal of demons is to deceive. If the result is that people trust in a psychic instead of God, a demon will be more than willing to reveal true information. Even good and true information, if from a source with evil motives, can be used to mislead, corrupt, and destroy.
Interest in the paranormal is becoming increasingly common. There are individuals and businesses that claim to be “ghost-hunters,” who for a price will rid your home of ghosts. Psychics, séances, tarot cards, and mediums are increasingly considered normal. Human beings are innately aware of the spiritual world. Sadly, instead of seeking the truth about the spirit world by communing with God and studying His Word, many people allow themselves to be led astray by the spirit world. The demons surely laugh at the spiritual mass-deception that exists in the world today.

Battle over the budget
Matt Nash, October 30, 2010
Now Lebanon/The opposition is calling for Finance Minister Rayya al-Hassan (right) to resign as a budget crisis that began in 2006 drags on. (AFP/STR)
As Lebanese politicians trade insults on television and in the press over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, an equally acrimonious debate is raging in parliament over ratifying a budget for the first time in years. For the longest time in its troubled history, Lebanon has been without an approved state budget, but the government continues spending as the country faces crisis after crisis. The March 8 opposition is accusing the March 14 majority alliance of impropriety, while civil society activists plead for action and transparency.
Since May, opposition politicians have demanded that approval of the 2010 draft budget be tied to an explanation of state spending since 2006. The last budget approved by MPs covered 2005, and while parliament approved a mechanism whereby spending can continue, but not increase, total state expenditures have risen to nearly $11 billion in 2009 from 6.7 billion in 2005.
In the event a new budget is not approved, the constitution allows the government to temporarily continue spending each month by dividing the total allocation for each ministry in the last budget by 12, explains Sylvana Lakkis, general manager of the Lebanon Budget Project, which calls for greater budget transparency.
Parliament extended this temporary mechanism by passing a law 717 of 2006 which said the so-called “twelfth provision rule” could remain in effect until the 2006 budget is approved – which has still not happened.
With spending frozen, Lebanon has seen trying times since its last approved budged – a war with Israel in 2006; an insurgency in 2007; rising wheat prices that prompted subsidies on bread and a hike in the cost of the fuel on which electricity production depends. The list could go on.
Cabinet, meanwhile, voted to authorize various ministries to spend beyond 2005 levels to put out each new fire, Yahya Hakim, managing director of the Lebanese Transparency Association, told NOW Lebanon.
“It was really a circus,” Hakim said. “Ministers of finance had to go through hell to manage the budget expenditures and revenues despite all this.”
Adding to the chaos, in late 2006, six March 8 ministers resigned from the cabinet, sparking an opposition-led 18-month sit-in in the Beirut Central District. Meanwhile, Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri refused to convene parliament and, as of November 2007, the presidency was vacant for seven months. Indeed, until 2008, when President Michel Sleiman was elected in May and a national unity government formed nearly two months later, the opposition claims the cabinet and all its decisions, were illegal.
While Lebanon had the short-lived unity government between July 2008 and parliamentary elections in June 2009, spending beyond 2005 levels continued but with election campaigns in full swing, neither the cabinet nor parliament focused much on debating a budget. Following more paralysis as then-Prime Minister designate Saad Hariri wrangled to form a new national unity government after the elections, cabinet did not begin talking revenues and expenditures until earlier this year.
Lately the debate has widened and become more raucous with members of the opposition Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) demanding reviews of all Ministry of Finance accounting practices since 1993 and calling for the resignation of the current Finance Minister Rayya al-Hassan, an ally of Hariri. Hassan has shot back, calling the attacks politically motivated and chastising the FPM for questioning the policies of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who steered Lebanon’s economy through most of the post-civil war period.
With 2011 drawing near, parliament seems far from ready to pass the 2010 draft, and cabinet has only briefly debated the 2011 draft sent there in September.
While an article earlier this month in the Financial Times correctly pointed out that the economy of budget-less Lebanon has been growing at an impressive rate in recent years while many countries were plagued with financial woes, most of the growth is concentrated in the banking, tourism and real estate sectors.
Lakkis, from the Lebanon Budget Project, argued that state spending on development projects has suffered a great deal without an approved budget as politicians essentially make spending decisions behind closed doors, deaf to the voices of their constituents.
“The budget should be a plan,” she said, “a socio-economic overview of government policies. Their policies aren’t clear.”
Lakkis and her colleague Dima Wehbi, a project coordinator, told NOW Lebanon that, combined with Lebanon’s lack of access to information laws, spending and the allocation of funds in the country is opaque. They, like Hakim from the Lebanese Transparency Association, call for a clearer, functioning budgetary process with more participation from civil society groups.
As the arguments in parliament continue – on Tuesday the Budget and Finance Committee met for five hours without agreeing to approve the 2010 budget – they might have to wait until next year, if not longer.

Samir Geagea
October 29, 2010
On October 28, the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) carried the following report:
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea’s media office released a statement that Geagea commented on Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s latest statement, describing it as being “extremely dangerous since it points to the fact that any collaboration with the tribunal will constitute an attack on the Resistance. This position threatens the Lebanese state because the first side dealing with the investigators is the state, based on an international agreement through a memorandum of understanding with the Security Council. The current government, in its ministerial statement, pledged to deal with the tribunal. Therefore, I do not really understand what Nasrallah said. Was he threatening the Lebanese citizens? His ministers should raise this issue inside the cabinet, so that they either change the ministerial statement or leave. The position is condemned, odd and incomprehensible and I ask President [Michel] Sleiman and Prime Minister [Saad] Hariri to call for an urgent governmental meeting to discuss this matter, because no one can say whether or not we should deal with the investigators.”
Geagea stressed in an interview on Al-Arabiya channel on the “Studio Beirut” show with journalist Gisele Khoury that “no team is allowed to make a decision on behalf of all the Lebanese. Only the Lebanese state settles the issue of cooperation with the investigators. Nasrallah cannot say whether or not we should cooperate because Lebanon is a member of international legitimacy and there are institutions responsible for this. Hezbollah has the right to pull out from the government but no one is entitled to threaten the citizens and tell them what they can or cannot do. All the Lebanese are equal before the law. Nasrallah’s speech was an attack against the Lebanese government and I have no information about the indictment or about any American pressures exerted on the general prosecutor to secure the issuance of this indictment before its due date in December. The action of the international investigators confirms the continuation of the investigation. The situation in the region is alarming and Lebanon could have been outside the circle of threat had it not been for Hezbollah’s armed threat and its direct connection with the Iranian policies. We consequently became inside the circle of the international targeting of Iran.
The reception of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was extraordinary because Lebanon is a pluralistic country and we all remember how De Gaulle or Abdel Nasser were received. The problem resides in the political statements he issued in Al-Raya Stadium and then in the South. If the fact that the indictment will accuse Ahmadinejad’s friends turns out to be true, they can be protected through the logic of the indictment. We must firstly wait for its issuance, and if it turns out to feature any gaps, the best lawyers should be hired and serious clues presented in order to refute what was featured in the indictment with another one. That is how the indictment is faced and not with what Nasrallah presented today. [Saad Hariri] must remain the prime minister and must continue announcing his positions as they are. I do not understand the logic calling for his resignation. And if the government is toppled, Hariri will be reassigned to head it again. Hariri’s resignation might take Lebanon back to the pre-2005 stage, which is why I am in favor of his continuation in his position to maintain control over the situation until the end.
Is [Syrian President Bashar] Assad is serious in his positions, he should say to his allies that their positions are undermining Lebanon’s stability. [Hariri’s talk about the false witnesses] was the last attempt to save Lebanon from turmoil. However, the response was seen in the issuance of 33 arrest warrants against prominent officials. Based on my information, Hariri will not respond to their demands and has no more concessions to make. We are holding on to stability, and this is why we are holding on to the tribunal until the end. What stability are we talking about if political assassinations in Lebanon do not stop and if those responsible for them are not tried in court? Will the indictment be faced with strife? Hezbollah should be concerned about stability in Lebanon more than anyone else, considering that its viewpoint regarding the fact that the indictment is unfair to it might be undermined in the event of any incident. They are talking about the politicization of the tribunal, let them give us proof. Why does it look as though some want to see anything but the issuance of the indictment?
[There is] no such thing as ‘the false witnesses’ issue and the transfer of this file goes against the laws and the constitution. If someone has a false witness, let him present this witness. Moreover, assuming that the file is transferred to the Judicial Council, who are the false witnesses and who can define them [as such]? We cannot talk about this subject before the issuance of the indictment.
[The LF is] not arming. The worst time in someone’s life is when he engages in war and it is not a good thing as some may think. Since 2005, we have strengthened ourselves with our political stand and not with arms and in my opinion, Hezbollah’s arms are now acting against it. The duties of the army and the security forces is to intervene on the ground if in an illegitimate force were to surface. As for the army-people-resistance equation, it is one thing for President Sleiman on the border and another thing on the domestic arena. For our part, we disapprove of this equation.?
“Regarding Pierre al-Daher’s talk about having purchased the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation from Geagea for $5 million, Geagea said, “There is a type of lying called pure lying that is as pure as gold. Daher’s talk about the payment of money to purchase LBC is completely false. Did I take $5 million with me to jail? I am sorry that an issue which we wanted to remain legal was transformed by Pierre in a militia-like way. If he has documents, why does he not present them to the court? This institution belongs to us and to all the Lebanese from the North to the South. It is for the Lebanese Forces, so should we leave it? [I am willing to be] part of a comprehensive deal affecting all the parties in Lebanon and saying that none of them should own media outlets. However, it is illogical for this issue to be limited to the Lebanese Forces and to see the LF persecuted because of its political opinion
I have no relations with the Syrians and those who do have committed a mistake. So could I establish relations with them? Hariri told me he was going to see the Syrians and I told him there is nothing wrong with that since he is the prime minister of Lebanon and must discuss all the files with them. We have good relations with all the Arab countries except for the Syrian regime. [This will continue to be the case] as long as it is dealing with Lebanon that way. The relations should be between two equal states and if this is secured, we would have no problem with anyone. However, the brothers in Syria are not convinced about the issue of equal relations and think that Lebanon is a province. They are also saying that if we do not accept that, there is a stick hanging over our heads called Hezbollah.”

Middle East Christians are told to embrace secularist drive
Catholic bishops in the Middle East have called for Christians in the region to be advocates of separating faith and politics
Austen Ivereigh guardian.co.uk,
Thursday 28 October 2010
Seldom has such dazzling headgear gathered in one place. A meeting of Catholic bishops from the Middle East has just ended in Rome. For two weeks, some 180 patriarchs, metropolitans, archbishops and bishops of six different churches – Chaldean, Coptic, Syrian, Greek-Melkite, Maronite and Armenian – discussed the challenges facing Christianity with their Latin-rite brothers, with Pope Benedict listening in.
An expanding Israel and the rise of political Islam figured heavily. So too did the emigration of Christians in the region, which has accelerated in the last 15 years to the point where there is a real prospect of Christians disappearing from some parts of the cradle of Christianity. The area known as Dora in Baghdad used to be nicknamed "the Vatican of Iraq". But the seven churches, seminary and bible college have all closed since 2003. In Iraq, almost every Catholic family knows someone who has been kidnapped or killed. Churches have been car-bombed. No wonder close to half of the 800,000 Iraqi Christians before the US occupation have fled abroad.
But Iraq is exceptional. So, too, is the West Bank, where land belonging to Christian Arabs – like other Palestinians – is seized by Israel in the name of security, then handed over to settlers; or Jerusalem, where Palestinians are being forced from their homes. Mostly, in places such as Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, or Jordan, Christians live peacefully with Muslims. Yet they keep their heads down, aware that, even though their forebears were citizens of the region long before the Muslims, the latter increasingly – at least in some parts – equate rights with religious allegiance.
That's why the Synod's call for Catholics and other Christians to be advocates in the region of a "positive secularism" – the term the bishops used was "positive laïcité", after a 2007 speech by Nicholas Sarkozy – is, at least, bold. It may also surprise Catholics in Europe and the US who criticise the secularist drive to separate faith and politics to find the church in the Middle East at the forefront of arguing that faith and politics should be, ahem, separate.
Sceptics will be quick to point out one of the basic rules of religious co-existence throughout history: secularism always looks better to religious minorities who have the most to lose from theocracies. And there's truth in that in the Middle East. Caught between Israeli expansionism and Islamic radicalism, the future of the tiny Christian minority depends, in large part, on basic rights of freedom of religion and freedom of conscience – on building, as the Synod put it, "an all-inclusive, shared civic order", in the words of its working document, that protects "human rights, human dignity and religious freedom".
But this isn't only about survival. Christianity is the religion that gave rise to secularism. Laïcité is a Christian by-product; secularism a Christian heresy. The church has always promoted a distinction between the two spheres – temporal and spiritual, civic and religious – without ever, of course, agreeing where the border between them lies. When Pope Benedict bowed to his audience of politicians at the conclusion of his Westminster Hall speech, he was deferring to the legitimate sovereignty and proper autonomy of the political sphere – while at the same time asserting the church's right to hold that sphere to a transcendent ethical horizon.
Separation, in other words, but not divorce. The principle has been clear ever since St Thomas Aquinas said that sins and crimes are different things; and at least since the second Vatican council, the Catholic church has argued that religions should not be privileged by the state, that the state cannot coerce in matters of faith, and that citizenship is not contingent on beliefs or membership of institutions. All residents of a country, whatever their faith or lack of it, are social actors with a stake in society and the legitimate right to seek to shape it.
Yet separation does not imply exclusion; it does not mean making of the state and the public square a faith-free zone, as secularists and humanists seek to. The so-called "neutral" state is, in reality, the attempt to impose an ideology – an individualist, humanist form of thinking. A secular theocracy is just as much a theocracy as an Islamic one. "Positive" secularism – as opposed to the "aggressive secularism" deplored by Pope Benedict in the UK in September – means a separation of religion from the state, but at the same time allowing faith the freedom to run schools, offer services, and build the common good, according to the principles and values that nourish it. Such a "positive secularity" allows for faiths (alongside non-religious beliefs) to seek to shape society on equal terms, benefitting from the freedom accorded to them by the state, but not depending on state sponsorship or legal privilege.
Arguing for a "positive secularity" is not easy in the Middle East, where regimes are pressurised by millenarian and fundamentalist movements – whether Zionism or radical Islam – which seek to link rights to religious allegiance. Yet the three religions of the Middle East have a long history of peaceful, respectful coexistence – the many exceptions to this story do not negate the truth of it – and a theology to underpin it. Universal human rights are not concessions of the state but intrinsic to every human being, whose dignity lies in his creation by God. That is the root of our citizenship – not our nation, tribe or religion. They be few – and shrinking. But Christians in the Middle East, the region's "indigenous citizens", are well-placed to invite Judaism and Islam to embrace a healthy secularism.