LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِApril
25/2011
Biblical Event Of The
Day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 15:12-17. This is my
commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I
command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his
master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I
have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and
appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask
the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
Canada Condemns Violence and
Offers Consular Advice to Canadians Regarding Syria/April
24/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April
24/11
First Syrian tanks and infantry
storm protest centers/DEBKAfile
Suleiman Says Cabinet Deadlock Over
'Demands' Not Obstacles/Naharnet
Awdeh: We're Incapable of Forming
the Cabinet because Each Team is after its Share/Naharnet
Al-Rahi: Lebanon Should Rise from
Obstruction of Constitutional Institutions/Naharnet
MESS Report / Assad regime threatened by Syria protestsHaaretz
EU condemns use of force against protesters in Syria/Xinhua
Exiles Shaping World's Image of Syria Revolt/New York Times
Syrian Security Forces Fire on
Funeral Processions Causing More Bloodshed/VOA
For Syrian Christians, protests are
cause for fear/Washington Post
Iran on edge as ally Syria fights
for survival/AP
Obama Condemns Syria for
'Outrageous' Violence/VOA
Hezbollah implicates Lebanon in conflicts, drags it into strife: Fatfat/Iloubnan
Illegal Bldg on al-Ouzai
Sunni Waqf Land Removed after AMAL Efforts/Naharnet
Sappers Defuse Explosives
Placed Under General Security Inspector's Vehicle/Naharnet
Saqr Says Syria Taking
Advantage of his Friendships to Spread Lies About his Arrest/Naharnet
Fears of Continued Cabinet
Deadlock over Interior Ministry Portfolio, Tribunal's Indictment/Naharnet
Jumblat Calls for Keeping
Construction Violations File Away from Political Disputes/Naharnet
Wahhab Reveals Photos of
Checks Addressed to Jarrah and Khaddam from Saudi Prince Turki bin Abdul
Aziz/Naharnet
Ghassan Bin Jeddo Confirms
Resignation from al-Jazeera Channel/Naharnet
First Syrian tanks and infantry
storm protest centers
DEBKAfile Special Report April 24, 2011
Bashar Assad's tanks and infantry made their first assaults Sunday, April 24 on
Jableh on the Mediterranean and Daraa in the south, after a 48-hour bloodbath by
his security forces claiming up to 350 lives failed break the five-week
countrywide uprising against his rule. Video-clips show tanks converging on the
two towns with soldiers running in their wake while heavy gunfire continued to
resound in Hama, al-Nuaimeh near Daraa and Saraqeb, southwest of Aleppo.
The Syrian ruler continues to ignore all the evidence that by massacring
civilian protesters he has only magnified their numbers and Sunday decided to
press ahead with his last resort for piling on the violence by deploying trained
infantry men and tanks in a final attempt to smash the five-week uprising,
debkafile's military sources report.
The southern epicenter of the uprising Daraa has resisted the most ruthless
attempts to suppress its protest rallies. Less has been heard about Jabal, a
town of 80,000 situated between Banias and Latakia. Anti-Assad demonstrators
have barricaded themselves inside the Abu Bakr Siddiq Mosque, one of Syria's
main Sufi centers.
debkafile reported earlier Sunday:
Saturday, April 23 saw the constantly mounting uprising against the Assad regime
finally reaching the Syrian capital Damascus where debkafile reports 300,000 –
15 percent of the city's dwellers – took the streets shouting: "Bashar Assad you
are a traitor!" That day too the Syrian ruler unleashed his security forces for
the harshest crackdown yet in order to break the back of the five-week civil
uprising. The result: 350 dead, tripling the number of Friday's bloodbath and
thousands of injured.
Early Sunday, secret service thugs hauled thousands of protesters out of their
homes. They broke down doors in the Harasta and Ghouta districts of Damascus,
dragged their victims out and dumped them on covered trucks which drove off to
unknown destinations. Ghouta is the ancient garden quarter of Damascus.
The growing number of injured are condemned to being treated privately or not at
all. The authorities have commandeered ambulances to prevent them reaching
hospital and hospital wards are raided by security agents who eitheir kill the
wounded or arrest them.
debkafile's military and intelligence sources reported that Assad will decide
finally at noon Sunday, April 24, whether to muster all 11 divisions of his army
and let them loose on the uprising. We reported Friday that the embattled Syrian
president had ordered the troops to start moving into the cities the next day.
Our sources later reported that he reversed his order at the last minute,
reluctant to throw his last card into his desperate bid for survival for fear of
a fatal backlash. Some units had already left their bases and remain parked
outside the targeted cities awaiting orders to go in.
As the unrest against his rule gains ground, the Syrian president's options are
shrinking. Small numbers of security forces can no longer venture into some of
the more troubled areas of the country where armed protesters reign unless
accompanied by large-scale strength with massive fire power.
debkafile reported Friday night:
Syrian army units were already sighted heading towards the cities, joined for
the first time by troops normally on duty on at the Syrian-Israel border.
debkafile's military sources disclose their assignments:
Corps No. 1 was given responsibility for the capital Damascus and its outlying
towns and districts;
Corps No. 2 was to take charge of central Syria and the towns of Aleppo, Homs
and Hama;
Corps No. 3 was to spread out in the south and Jebel Druze.
It was the last straw for Assad when Friday, the strategic town of Katana west
of Damascus was drawn into the protest movement and rallied against his regime.
Katana houses the main bases of the Syrian armored corps, which is part of the
7th Division, and serves as divisional logistical administration center. Its
population is made up mostly of the officers, men and civilian personnel serving
at those bases.
Having Katana turn against the regime finally persuaded its leaders to throw
every resource it had into crushing the uprising.
For the Syrian ruler, deploying the entire army is a wild gamble because more
than 75 percent of Syria's 220,000-strong rank and file are Sunni Muslims, Kurds
and Druzes and therefore drawn from ethnic and religious groups long repressed
by the Alawite-dominated regime. Uniformed troops might well flout orders to
shoot live rounds into crowds of protesters who are members of their community
or even family. It would start the break-up of the Syrian army amid large-scale
defections of officers and men.
Canada Condemns Violence and
Offers Consular Advice to Canadians Regarding Syria
(No. 126 - April 24, 2011 - 12:15 a.m. ET) The Government of Canada is deeply
concerned by reports of the use of violence by security forces against peaceful
demonstrators in Syria, resulting in many deaths. Canada calls on the Government
of Syria to exercise restraint and to respect the rights of the Syrian people to
freedom of expression and assembly.
Canada urges the Government of Syria to engage in a genuine dialogue on
democratic reforms with all groups in Syria and to accelerate the implementation
of measures already announced.
Officials at the Embassy of Canada in Damascus are closely monitoring the
security situation and stand ready to provide consular assistance to Canadian
citizens as required.
The Government of Canada advises against all travel to Syria due to the
unpredictable security situation. Canadians currently in Syria should consider
leaving by commercial means while these are still available.
If they have not already done so, Canadians in Syria are strongly urged to
register with the Registration of Canadians Abroad service at www.travel.gc.ca
in order to receive the Government of Canada’s latest updates and advice.
The Government of Canada strongly urges Canadians in Syria to regularly consult
the Travel Report for Syria at www.travel.gc.ca for up-to-date information on
the situation.
Canadian citizens in Syria requiring emergency consular assistance should
contact the Embassy of Canada in Damascus at (11) 611-6692, 611-6851 or
611-6870, or call Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada’s Emergency
Operations Centre in Ottawa at 613-996-8885. They may also send an email to sos@international.gc.ca.
Friends and relatives in Canada seeking information on Canadian citizens
believed to be in Syria should contact the Emergency Operations Centre by
calling 1-800-387-3124 or by sending an email to sos@international.gc.ca.
Al-Rahi: Lebanon Should Rise
from Obstruction of Constitutional Institutions
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said in his Easter sermon on Sunday
that Lebanon is in need for the end of the paralysis in its public life and
institutions, including the cabinet. "Lebanon is in need to rise from the
obstruction to its constitutional institutions, mainly the formation of the
cabinet, and be up to par with the current internal, regional and international
challenges," al-Rahi said in Bkirki. He also said that the "paralysis" of the
country's public life and institutions, and the bickering among politicians
should end because the people are paying a high price amid "deteriorating living
conditions." Lebanon is in need for democracy, equality among its citizens and
public freedoms, he told worshippers, including President Michel Suleiman and
first lady Wafaa. Lebanese expatriates are expecting their country to preserve
its history and heritage, al-Rahi added. Beirut, 24 Apr 11, 12:44
Awdeh: We're Incapable of Forming the Cabinet because Each Team is after its
Share
Naharnet/Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut Elias Awdeh slammed politicians on
Sunday for seeking shares in the new cabinet rather than thinking about the
people's interests.
In his Easter sermon at the St. George Cathedral in downtown Beirut, Awdeh said:
"Rather than forming a strong government that saves Lebanon, we are incapable of
forming the cabinet because each team is … asking for shares and not for
salvation for citizens." He slammed political parties for putting conditions
rather than working to remove obstacles that are "shredding the country at a
time when the nation is in need for a reunification." Without naming countries,
Awdeh said Lebanon was "still paying the price of the war of others on its
land." "Most of our compatriots and leaders are racing over their gains and
forgetting about their duties," he said, adding "we are in desperate need for
radical reform." Beirut, 24 Apr 11, 12:02
Suleiman Says Cabinet Deadlock Over 'Demands' Not 'Obstacles'
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman denied on Sunday that there were foreign
obstacles to the cabinet formation process, saying the deadlock was over local
"demands." "There are no foreign pitfalls," Suleiman
told reporters in Bkirki after meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.
The impasse lies on the "demands of parliamentary blocs" and "not obstacles," he
said.He stressed on the importance of relying on dialogue and the constitution
in solving cabinet formation problems. "The
constitution doesn't give anyone shares," Suleiman said in reference to his
bickering with Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun on the interior
ministry portfolio and the lawmaker's demand for the lion's share of the
Christian representation in the new government.
Suleiman made his remark before attending Easter mass in Bkirki.
When asked about anti-regime protests in Syria, the president said that
he was in continued contact with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad, and
stressed that Lebanon backs the neighboring country's stability and supports
reforms announced by the Syrian leadership. About
the meeting held between the top Maronite leaders in Bkirki last Tuesday,
Suleiman said the talks were the result of the "partnership and love" slogan
announced by al-Rahi after his election. He stressed
on the importance of following up the talks and said: "Political rhetoric should
enjoy a high level of responsibility." On Saturday,
Suleiman extended his greetings to the Lebanese hoping for the "real
resurrection of Lebanon." He said in a statement
released by his press office that he hoped for the "real resurrection of Lebanon
the state that protects all its citizens and unifies them under the slogan of
love, justice and law." Speaker Nabih Berri also
extended his greetings to the Lebanese in general and Christians in
particularly. He made a series of phone calls to Christian spiritual and
political leaders. Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri
hoped, in his turn, that Easter "would constitute an occasion for the Lebanese
to agree on the various national issues that are important in these sensitive
circumstances for Lebanon and the Arab region." Beirut, 24 Apr 11, 08:03
Illegal Bldg on al-Ouzai Sunni Waqf Land Removed after AMAL Efforts
Naharnet/Following demands by Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon's highest Sunni authority,
for the removal of an illegal building built on Sunni Waqf (endowment) property
in the Beirut southern suburb of al-Ouzai, AMAL Movement said it managed to
convince the residents of removing the violation.
"Following reports about a construction violation in the al-Ouzai area, AMAL
Movement made contacts and efforts with the residents, which led to removing the
violation," the movement said in a statement. Earlier
Sunday, Dar al-Fatwa described the violation as "an aggression against Islamic
Waqf property," calling for the demolition of the building.
In this regard, Lebanon's Grand Sunni Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid
Qabbani contacted President Michel Suleiman, caretaker premier Saad Hariri, Army
Commander Gen. Jean Qahwaji and Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf
Rifi, briefing them on the details of the violation of Sunni Waqf property in
al-Ouzai, state-run National News Agency reported.
Qabbani urged the officials to "immediately intervene and take the measures
necessary to halt construction work … on Waqf land and put an end to the
violation of the State's sanctity and people's properties," NNA added.
A Waqf is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law, typically
denoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious or charitable purposes.
Beirut, 24 Apr 11, 17:55
Saqr Says Syria Taking Advantage of his Friendships to Spread Lies About his
Arrest
Naharnet/Lebanon First MP Oqab Saqr denied reports about his arrest in Syria but
confirmed to pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that there was "information" about a
Syrian arrest warrant against him for his alleged involvement in anti-regime
protests. Saqr denied his interference in Syria's
internal affairs and urged Syrian authorities to "end the bloodbath rather than
being distracted by fabrications that harm the Syrian state, authorities and
institutions."The MP unveiled that the Assad regime was taking advantage of his
"friendships" in the country to accuse him of meddling in its affairs.Saqr
denied to the daily news about his arrest after Syrian TV said the authorities
had seized him for "participating in pitting (protestors) against the regime."
He advised Syrian President Bashar Assad to "get rid of agents in your media and
apparatuses" and said "the massacres of lies and slander are similar to the
massacres" committed against anti-regime demonstrators.
About the alleged arrest warrant issued against him, Saqr said: "Some
clowns are harming the Syrian state and regime … They are taking advantage of my
relations and old friendships to say that I am forming cells in Syria." Beirut,
24 Apr 11, 09:45
The cabinet is not likely to be formed anytime soon, sources told pan-Arab daily
Naharnet/al-Hayat after Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun insisted on
naming the neutral personality who would lead the interior ministry.
The sources told al-Hayat in remarks published Sunday that both Aoun and
President Michel Suleiman, who are at loggerheads over the portfolio, had agreed
on giving the ministry to a neutral personality. But
the FPM chief insisted on naming the minister, drawing a swift retort from
Suleiman, who refused the suggestion and proposed not naming caretaker Interior
Minister Ziad Baroud for any ministry in return for not giving any cabinet seat
to caretaker Energy Minister Jebran Bassil. Baroud is
backed by the president while Bassil is Aoun's son-in-law and an FPM official.
The sources also told al-Hayat that the upcoming indictment of the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon would exempt Miqati's new cabinet from dealing with it.
Under this scenario, Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri's government won't be able to
face the indictment over the political vacuum caused by the cabinet deadlock.
This possibility would help Miqati, who is backed by Hizbullah, to avoid
a confrontation with the international tribunal, the sources said.
STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare filed an amended indictment last month
based on further evidence in the probe into the 2005 killing of ex-premier Rafik
Hariri. Bellemare has asked for the secrecy
surrounding the January 17 indictment to be extended to the amended version. The
indictment is widely believed to name Hizbullah members. Beirut, 24 Apr 11,
09:09
Wahhab Reveals Photos of Checks Addressed to Jarrah and Khaddam from Saudi
Prince Turki bin Abdul Aziz
Naharnet/Tawheed movement leader Wiam Wahhab revealed on Saturday photos of
checks addressed to Mustaqbal MP Jamal al-Jarrah signed by Saudi Prince Turki
bin Abdul Aziz, a member of the Saudi royal family. The check, worth $300,000,
was issued in Cairo, he told NBN television. He also
uncovered a similar check addressed to former minister Mohammed Abdul Hamid
Beydoun and another check of $400,000 addressed to Jamal Khaddam, the son of
former Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam.
Wahhab demanded that an investigation be launched into the affair.
"These checks will gradually be published to the public," he added.
Furthermore, he said that some Saudis are acting without the knowledge of
Saudi King Abdullah, who does not negatively interfere in Arab causes.
Addressing the Syrian anti-regime protests, he said: "The demonstrations
taking place every Friday are driven by forces being paid to create unrest in
Syria." Meanwhile, Beydoun condemned Wahhab's
announcement, describing it as a "cheap game by the Syrian intelligence."
He told MTV that he will file a lawsuit against him on Tuesday at the end
of the Easter holidays. Beirut, 23 Apr 11, 14:41