LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِFebeuary
24/2011
Bible Of The
Day
Proverbs 27/1-9: "27:1 Don’t boast about tomorrow; for you don’t know what a day
may bring forth. 27:2 Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a
stranger, and not your own lips. 27:3 A stone is heavy, and sand is a burden;
but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both. 27:4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is
overwhelming; but who is able to stand before jealousy? 27:5 Better is open
rebuke than hidden love. 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
although the kisses of an enemy are profuse. 27:7 A full soul loathes a
honeycomb; but to a hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet. 27:8 As a bird
that wanders from her nest, so is a man who wanders from his home.
27:9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart; so does earnest counsel from a
man’s friend.
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
Egyptian Armed Forces Demolish
Fences Guarding Coptic Monasteries/AINA/February
23/11
Hezbollah Working with
Cartels/By: Adam Housley/February
23/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February
23/11
Saint Maroun Statue Unveiled at
the Vatican
/Naharnet
Report: Iranian Warships
Carrying Arms to Hizbullah
/Naharnet
Report: Lebanon Does Not Have
Authority to Withdraw Tribunal Judges
/Naharnet
Herve Morin: Israel Never Showed
Us Evidence of Syrian Transfer of Scuds to Hizbullah
/Naharnet
Peres Says Israel Aspires to
Lasting Peace with Syria, Lebanon
/Naharnet
Geagea Accuses Aoun of Seeking
to Push Suleiman to Resign
/Naharnet
Williams Reiterates Importance
of Lebanon's Respect of International Obligations
/Naharnet
Lieberman, McCain Meet Miqati, Jumblat: Ties with Cabinet Linked to its
Commitment to STL/Naharnet
Williams after Meeting Miqati: Dialogue between All Sides Only Way to Solve All
Disputes/Naharnet
US senators call on Lebanon PM
to
respect UN tribunal/AFP
Iranian Warships Complete Suez
Canal Transit/Fox News
Israel Silent as Iranian Ships
Transit Suez Canal/New York Times
Hezbollah calls for 'defeat of
tyrant Gaddafi'/Ynetnews
Israel's Peres says Iran behind
terror cells in Latin America/Monsters and Critics.com
Mikati
'does not intend to step down'; endeavors for 'competent'
government/iloubnan.info
Clinton: Libyan crackdown is
‘completely unacceptable/Now Lebanon
Former Libyan envoy confirms Sadr’s
killing/Now Lebanon
Miqati
Says he Won't Give up the Task of Forming the Cabinet/Naharnet
Paris Has No Problem with
Miqati: He Faces Difficult Dilemma with STL/Naharnet
Berri: This Week Will See
the Beginning of the Final Stage of Cabinet Birth/Naharnet
Peres: Ahmadinejad and
Nasrallah Will be Toppled by Own People/Naharnet
Denial of Syrian
Interference to Solve Lebanon Cabinet Dispute/Naharnet
Beirut Refuses Libyan Jet
Entry in Lebanon/Naharnet
Higher Shiite Islamic
Council Considers Tribunal as Null, Rejects Cabinet Cooperation with it/Naharnet
Hariri Meets U.S.
Senators, Says Tribunal is 'Just Cause'/Naharnet
UNIFIL: Demarcating
Maritime Border Requires Agreement from All Concerned Sides/Naharnet
Jumblat: It's Time for
Gadhafi to Step Down from Power and Pave the Way for Real Change/Naharnet
Aoun: Process of Government
Formation Has Not Reached an Advanced Stage/Naharnet
Aoun:
Suleiman stole my rights, has no right to ministries/Ya Libnan
Lebanese Youth to Bring Down
Confessional System
/Naharnet
Report: Wife of Hannibal Gadhafi
Aboard Jet that Was Denied Entry in Lebanon
/Naharnet
Saint Maroun Statue Unveiled at the Vatican
Naharnet/The statue of Saint Maroun was unveiled at Saint Peter's square at the
Vatican on Wednesday during a ceremony attended by President Michel Suleiman,
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir and Pope Benedict XVI. A large number of
Lebanese MPs, officials and former lawmakers also attended the event which was
followed by a mass held by Sfeir.
The statue, donated by the late Antoine Shoueiri's family at a cost of 500,000
euros, sits alongside several other figures of saints. The five-meter-tall
statue was sculpted by an Italian artist. Saint Maroun was a 5th century monk
who after his death was followed by a religious movement that became known as
the Maronites. His holiness and miracles attracted many followers. After his
death in the year 410, his spirit and teachings lived on through his disciples.
He is buried in Brad village, north of the Syrian city of Aleppo. Beirut, 23 Feb
11, 11:51
Report: Iranian Warships Carrying Arms to Hizbullah
Naharnet/Two Iranian warships that have sailed from the Suez Canal into the
Mediterranean are carrying advanced missiles to Hizbullah, Israeli sources told
Maariv daily. The sources said in remarks published in the Israeli daily that
the warships are carrying missiles, arms, ammunition and night-vision goggles to
Hizbullah in Lebanon. The Iranian ships are headed for a training mission in
Syria. Israeli security officials told the Associated Press that as long as the
ships remain in international waters, there is nothing Israel can legally do. In
Damascus, officials at the Iranian embassy said it would mark the first time in
years that Iranian naval vessels dock in a Syrian port. The ships were heading
for Latakia, about 600 kilometers from the canal, a voyage of about a day. They
paid about $300,000 in fees for the canal passage, according to a maritime
agent.(Naharnet-AP) Beirut, 23 Feb 11, 09:47
Herve Morin: Israel Never Showed Us Evidence of Syrian Transfer of Scuds to
Hizbullah
Naharnet/The Israeli army has refused numerous requests from France for evidence
to back up claims that Syria last year transferred long-range Scud missiles to
Hizbullah, former French defense minister Herve Morin told The Jerusalem Post.
Last April, Israeli officials said Damascus had transferred the Scuds to
Hizbullah in Lebanon. A month later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
told his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi that the Shiite party was storing
the missiles inside Syrian military bases. "I asked a number of times to receive
evidence to back up Israel's claims," said Morin. "They never presented proof,
which raises question marks about the claims to begin with." He stressed the
need to bolster the Lebanese army, which he said is a key player in ensuring
that Lebanon remains an independent country. In December, Israeli defense
officials expressed concern with a French decision to transfer HOT anti-tank
missiles to the Lebanese army. The former defense minister told The Jerusalem
Post that it was in Paris' interest to see a strong Lebanese army and stability
within Lebanon. "Lebanon is an independent country and we need to strengthen the
official government there to ensure it remains independent," he said. Beirut, 23
Feb 11, 08:59
Lieberman, McCain Meet Miqati, Jumblat: Ties with Cabinet Linked to its
Commitment to STL
Naharnet/U.S. Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman stressed on Tuesday that
Washington is watching to see whether Lebanon's future government will respect
the findings of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating the assassination
of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Lieberman said after meeting
with Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati that the U.S. State Department
considers Hizbullah a terrorist organization and any role the party has in the
new government will affect how the U.S. deals with it. For his part McCain said
that he is keen on the formation of a government that would represent the
Lebanese people. The two senators were in Lebanon Tuesday to meet with Lebanese
officials, where they held talks with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP
Walid Jumblat in the presence of U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly.
Later Tuesday, Lieberman told Future News television "there is an impression
that Miqati is being directed by Hizbullah."(naharnet-AP) Beirut, 22 Feb 11,
15:42
Peres Says Israel Aspires to Lasting Peace with Syria, Lebanon
Naharnet/Israeli President Shimon Peres has said the anti-government protests
sweeping the Arab world that have toppled the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt are
an "opportunity for peace" in the Middle East. "We believe that the
biggest guarantee of peace is having democracy in our neighbors. We are happy to
witness this democratic revolution which is taking place in the Arab world," he
said in an address to the Spanish parliament on Tuesday. "We aspire to a lasting
peace with all our neighbors, including Syria and Lebanon. I turn to Syria and
ask that they do not become hostages to Iran. Iran is not seeking peace. Iran
only brings terrorism and hate," Peres said. The Israeli president said Monday
that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah would be overthrown by their own people. He made the remark at the
headquarters of the Jewish community in Spain.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 23 Feb 11,
07:29
Williams Reiterates Importance of Lebanon's Respect of International Obligations
Naharnet/U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams reiterated on
Wednesday that Premier-designate Najib Miqati's government should continue to
respect Lebanon's international obligations. Following talks with Caretaker
Labor Minister Butros Harb, Williams said: "I reiterated to Minister Harb the
importance that any new government continue to respect Lebanon's international
obligations.""I commended the minister for his engagement in efforts to ensure
that dialogue between all sides continues and that a new government reflects the
aspirations of all Lebanese people," he said. "Dialogue is indispensable, in
Lebanon as elsewhere. The events in the wider Arab world underline that
communication between political and social forces is essential," Williams added.
He said he discussed with Harb the work he has undertaken in line with
international efforts to promote better human rights, especially in the field of
labor. "I welcomed his move to implement the new law that would facilitate the
entry of some Palestinian refugees into the labor market" and attempts to
improve conditions of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon, Williams said.
Beirut, 23 Feb 11, 12:35
Geagea Accuses Aoun of Seeking to Push Suleiman to Resign
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea ruled out the formation of a
government soon and accused Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun of
pushing President Michel Suleiman to resign. In remarks to As Safir daily on
Wednesday, Geagea said: "Issues linked to the international tribunal and
Hizbullah's arms no longer afford vague stances" from Premier-designate Najib
Miqati. Geagea "ruled out the ability of Miqati to form the cabinet soon
regardless of whether the March 14 forces would participate in it or not."
Turning to Aoun's latest campaign against the president and demands to get the
interior ministry portfolio which was previously from Suleiman's share in the
government, the LF leader said the MP "was seeking to shorten the term of
President Suleiman or push him towards resignation."Geagea met with visiting
U.S. Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman on Tuesday. Beirut, 23 Feb 11,
08:45
Report: Wife of Hannibal Gadhafi Aboard Jet that Was Denied Entry in Lebanon
Naharnet/A private Libyan jet that was prevented from landing at Beirut airport
was carrying on board the Lebanese wife of one of Libyan leader Moammer
Gadhafi's sons, Voice of Lebanon radio reported Wednesday. VDL said Hannibal
Gadhafi's wife, who is from the Skaff family, and several members of the ruling
family were aboard the jet that Lebanese aviation authorities refused to give
the permission to land at Rafik Hariri international airport on Tuesday. Several
Libyan regime figures could have been among the plane's passengers, the radio
station said. As Safir daily said Tuesday that the plane was due to take off
from Tripoli's airport before midnight but Lebanese authorities asked Libya to
unveil the identity of the 10 people on board before allowing the jet to land in
Lebanon. When the Libyans ignored the Lebanese request, authorities in Beirut
ordered airport officials to ask the pilot to divert the plane to a nearby
country, either Syria or Cyprus. Beirut, 23 Feb 11, 10:36
Hezbollah Working with Cartels
February 21, 2011
By: Adam Housley /Fox News
http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/02/21/hezbollah-working-with-cartels/
As if the threat of deadly drug cartels in Mexico wasn't enough, some of them
are joining forces with Middle East terror groups.
"Hezbollah are absolute masters at identifying existing smuggling
infrastructures," says former DEA Chief of Operations Mike Braun, adding that
the group "is developing relations with those responsible for operating those
smuggling operations and then forming close relations with them, so that they
can move anything they have an interest into virtually anywhere in the world."
That comment comes from former DEA Chief of Operations Mike Braun. He goes on to
tell me that the Middle East terror group is "rubbing shoulders" with drug
cartels around the globe.
FOLLOW ADAM ON TWITTER
My military and Department of Homeland Security contacts are insistent...it's
not if Hezbollah operatives have been smuggled into the U.S....but how many?
They note that drug tunnels are becoming much more sophisticated and striking
similar as tunnels being used by terror organizations to smuggle weapons into
the Gaza Strip. My contacts also say they have real concern that bombing
techniques used in the Middle East to promote terror are now also being used
inside Mexico, as the cartels war with each other and anyone in their way.
This comes as Mexican authorities busted a senior Hezbollah operative who
employed Mexicans nationals with family ties to Lebanon to set up the network,
designed to target Israel and the West, according to multiple reports. The man's
name is Jameel Nasr and he was arrested after a Mexican surveillance operation
revealed that he traveled frequently to Lebanon to receive information and
instructions from Hezbollah commanders and he also spent several months in
Venezuela working with the terror group and Hugo Chavez's people. American
security contacts say the Mexican operation was impressive and they are seeing
some increased pressure on the cartels from Mexican authorities and thus...their
friends.
Meantime, over this past weekend President Calderon of Mexico sent a significant
number of troops to the border regions and while they are there to help battle
the cartels, they have also been sent to deal with the growing connection to
Hezbollah. As one contact told me, "Mexico knows the seriousness of a cartel
connection with Hezbollah and the threat to their national security."
We also know from DHS documents that over 180,000 illegal aliens from countries
Other than Mexico were apprehended from 2007 through mid-March 2010 and the
State Department Country Reports on Terrorism said that "smuggling rings have
been detected moving people from East Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest
Asia". I am told these people and drugs are then moved up through Central
America and into the Unites States through Mexico.
Congressman Connie Mack chairs the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee and says, "I
think the question that we all have to ask is, when the terrorist come into
Latin America, when they move into Mexico, how many have come into the United
States? Our government doesn't know the answer to that question. That should
make all of us very fearful."
The Congressman is critical of the Administrations response to this increased
threat, "What are we going to do to secure our border step one and step two what
are we going to do to confront the drug cartels in Hezbollah from continuing to
create a force inside Mexico that will destabilize the United States?"
In response to this story, I contacted DHS and various departments within the
administration. To be fair, they are obviously not going to give up information
on operations or threats that they are working to eliminate, however, we didn't
get much in feedback about our story, or in a way of a statement. I did have
testimony forwarded to me from Assistant Secretary of State Arturo Valenzuela
from February 15th where he acknowledges the threat to American security and
says the U.S. will continue to assist in the region's need to combat drug
trafficking and transnational crime.
Bishop
says Lebanon values religious diversity
By The Daily Star /Wednesday, February 23, 2011
BEIRUT: Head of the Episcopal Commission for the Media, Bishop Bechara Rahi said
Tuesday that Lebanon believed in the unity of its church and various religions
coexisting together. “We believe in one unified church and in a religiously
diverse community,” said Rahi during a press symposium at the Catholic media
center. “A religiously diverse community is a source of pride and should be
dearly preserved.” During the symposium Rahi said Lebanon is unique in the world
in its belief in religious and cultural diversity. “We are glad that we hail
from Lebanon and we belong to a nation that believes in diversity of all kinds,”
Rahi added. He voiced hope that Lebanon’s example as a haven of coexistence
would prevail. “I hope … no politician takes it unilaterally to one side, one
religion or one party,” said Rahi. – The Daily Star
Lieberman, McCain Meet Miqati, Jumblat: Ties with Cabinet Linked to its
Commitment to STL
Naharnet/U.S. Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman stressed on Tuesday that
Washington is watching to see whether Lebanon's future government will respect
the findings of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating the assassination
of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Lieberman said after meeting
with Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati that the U.S. State Department
considers Hizbullah a terrorist organization and any role the party has in the
new government will affect how the U.S. deals with it. For his part McCain said
that he is keen on the formation of a government that would represent the
Lebanese people. The two senators were in Lebanon Tuesday to meet with Lebanese
officials, where they held talks with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP
Walid Jumblat in the presence of U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly.
Later Tuesday, Lieberman told Future News television "there is an impression
that Miqati is being directed by Hizbullah."(naharnet-AP) Beirut, 22 Feb 11,
15:42
Aoun: Process of Government Formation Has Not Reached an Advanced Stage
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun renewed on Tuesday his
refusal to grant President Michel Suleiman a Cabinet portfolio, saying: "If he
were with us, then there's no need to grant him a portfolio." The MP asked after
the movement's weekly meeting: "Should we withdraw from rule so that he is
granted portfolios? Who came up with this rule and when?" "Some developments
revealed that Suleiman is not a consensual president," he noted. Addressing the
government formation, Aoun stated: "Representation in Cabinet will be based on
proportionality." "Once they determine the number of ministers, they should set
the size of representation of the parliamentary blocs, later they should
distribute the portfolios, and determine the ministers at the end. No one should
speak to the press before any of the names are set," he continued. "When we
spoke of a blocking minority, we were granted less than half and even less than
two thirds of the ministers. The rights will be restored to those who support
the government," the MP noted. Aoun stressed: "I reject any country or
individual telling me that I will not be granted a specific portfolio. Whoever
says that the interior ministry portfolio is not mine should explain the reasons
why. If we have a right to it, then we will take it." Regarding the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon, he remarked: "We can't discuss the elimination of the
cooperation protocol with the STL as a government has not yet been established.
Its policy will be determined once it's formed and once its ministerial
statement is devised." "We have not yet reached advanced stages of the
government formation. The number of ministers has not even been set," he
revealed. Beirut, 22 Feb 11, 18:08
Former Libyan envoy confirms Sadr’s killing
February 22, 2011 /A former Libyan envoy has said that Lebanese Shia leader Imam
Moussa al-Sadr “was shot and killed during his visit to Libya in 1978.” In an
interview with Al-Hayat newspaper to be published on Wednesday, Major Abdel
Meneem al-Houni, who has resigned from his post as Libya’s Arab League envoy,
confirmed Sadr’s death. Houni, who was also Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi’s ally
during the country’s 1969 revolution, said that Sadr was buried in the Libyan
region of Sebha. The Lebanese Amal Movement – headed by Speaker Nabih Berri –
has repeatedly said that Libya is responsible for Sadr’s disappearance in 1978.
Hundreds of Libyan protestors have died in a wave of unprecedented
demonstrations that have rocked Libya for the past seven days, with protestors
taking over several cities in the east of the country and calling for Qaddafi’s
resignation. Qaddafi ordered his followers Tuesday evening to crush uprisings
against his 41-year rule and vowed to fight to the death as he swatted away
growing outrage over the bloody crackdown. -NOW Lebanon
Clinton: Libyan crackdown is ‘completely unacceptable’
February 22, 2011 /US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday condemned as
"completely unacceptable" Libya's crackdown on anti-regime protesters and called
on Tripoli to respect the rights of its people. "This bloodshed is completely
unacceptable," Clinton told reporters at the State Department, following reports
that hundreds of people have been killed in days of unrest in Libya. "It is the
responsibility of the government of Libya to respect the universal rights of
their own people, including their right to free expression and assembly," she
said.
Unprecedented demonstrations have rocked Libya for the past seven days, with
protestors taking over several cities in the east of the country and calling for
Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi’s resignation. Qaddafi ordered his followers
Tuesday evening to crush uprisings against his 41-year rule and vowed to fight
to the death as he swatted away growing outrage over the bloody crackdown.-AFP/NOW
Lebanon
Arab League Bars Libya from Meetings as Security Council Holds Crisis Talks
Naharnet/The Arab League on Tuesday barred Libya from its meetings until Tripoli
responds to the demands of protesters, threatening to suspend its membership
after clashes that have killed hundreds. The League decided to "stop the
government of Libya from participating in meetings of the Arab League and all
bodies affiliated to it, until the Libyan authorities respond to demands,
guaranteeing the security and stability of its people," it said in a statement.
A meeting in March would also decide whether Libya was "fulfilling its
commitment to the Arab League charter regarding membership," it said, after a
crisis meeting of permanent representatives in Cairo. The 22-member body said
"Arab people's ambitions for freedom, democratic reforms, development and
justice are legitimate and must be respected."
The meeting was called as protests spread in the regions of the Middle East and
north Africa demanding democratic change, after two uprisings toppled the
presidents of Egypt and Tunisia.
Protests are still raging in Libya, where hundreds have been killed and scores
wounded since February 15. Earlier Tuesday the U.N. Security Council held
emergency consultations on the Libyan crisis with Western nations pressing for
"swift and clear" action. Libyan diplomats who have broken with strongman leader
Moammar Gadhafi and demanded the meeting have called for a U.N. no-fly zone over
the country and humanitarian action.
But the talks led only to a decision by the 15-nation council to hold a formal
meeting on the crisis later in the day. Diplomats said a statement could be
released then.
"The scale of violence by the Libyan security forces against peaceful
demonstrators is really shocking," Germany's U.N. Ambassador Peter Wittig said.
"It has regional and international implications. That is why we think it is a
case for the Security Council and the council should act with a swift and clear
message," Wittig told reporters going into the meeting.
Ibrahim Dabbashi, the Libyan deputy ambassador who has called for Gadhafi to
stand down and demanded Tuesday's meeting, said the council must take action "to
protect the Libyan people." He sent a letter demanding that the Security Council
order a no-fly zone over Libya and for a humanitarian corridor to get supplies
to civilians. But diplomats said no action has yet been discussed. Libya's main
ambassador, Mohammed Shalgham, turned up at the Security Council late in the
meeting creating some doubts about who was really representing the country.
Shalgham, who described himself as a childhood friend of Gadhafi, said he did
not support all the actions of his deputy but he said he had told government
leaders that "violence must stop."
It was not immediately clear whether Dabbashi or Shalgham would represent Libya
at the formal meeting.
It is the first time the council has discussed the turmoil sweeping the Middle
East and North Africa.
"This is clearly a different case from what we have seen in Egypt and Tunisia
because of the scale of the violence and the use of mercenaries," said one
diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. Even though China and Russia
traditionally oppose interference in the internal affairs of a country, "there
was a general recognition that it is now a very serious situation and the
violence has reached a shocking level," said another diplomat who attended the
meeting. Diplomats from several Western nations said they would press at least
for a U.N. statement that condemns the use of violence against Libyan civilians
and calls for the protection of foreign nationals there. Some human rights
groups have said up to 400 people have been killed in the Libyan violence in
which warplanes have carried out air strikes on demonstrators.
Rights groups have joined calls for the U.N. Security Council to take a tougher
line on the unrest in North Africa. "After peaceful demonstrators have been
killed in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, and now, particularly viciously, in
Libya, Security Council members cannot pretend anymore that developments in the
Middle East and North Africa are not a threat to international peace and
security," said Philippe Bolopion, a U.N. specialist for Human Rights Watch. The
International Crisis Group called for sanctions against Gadhafi and his family
and for a no-fly zone over Libya. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has
expressed outrage at reports of air attacks. He spoke with Gadhafi on Monday and
demanded an immediate halt to the violence. Ban discussed the protests in the
Middle East on Tuesday with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani,
said his spokesman Martin Nesirky. "The secretary general again emphasized his
call for leaders in the region to exercise restraint and to respond to the
legitimate grievances of the people," said the spokesman.(AFP)
Beirut, 22 Feb 11, 21:49
Egyptian Armed Forces Demolish Fences Guarding Coptic Monasteries
http://www.aina.org/news/20110222203937.htm
23-2011 2:39:51/Assyrian International News Agency
(AINA) -- Egyptian armed forces this week demolished fences surrounding ancient
Coptic monasteries, leaving them vulnerable to attacks by armed Arabs, robbers
and escaped prisoners, who have seized the opportunity of the state of
diminished protection by the authorities in Egypt to carry out assaults and
thefts.
"Three monasteries have been attacked by outlaws and have asked for protection
from the armed forces, but were told to defend themselves." said activist Mark
Ebeid. "When the terrified monks built fences to protect themselves, armed
forces appeared only then with bulldozers to demolish the fences. It is worth
noting that these monasteries are among the most ancient in Egypt, with valuable
Coptic icons and manuscripts among others, which are of tremendous value to
collectors."
On Sunday February 20, armed forced stormed the 4th century old monastery of St.
Boula in the Red Sea area, assaulted three monks and then demolished a small
fence supporting a gate leading to the fenceless monastery. "The idea of the
erection of the gate was prompted after being attacked at midnight on February
13 by five prisoners who broke out from their prisons," said Father Botros Anba
Boula, "and were armed with a pistol and batons. The monks ran after them but
they fled to the surrounding mountains except for one who stumbled and was
apprehended and held by the monks until the police picked him up three days
later."
Father Botros said after this incident they thought the best solution to secure
the monastery was to erect a gate with a small fence of 40 meters long at the
entrance of a long wiry road leading to the monastery, which would be guarded
day and night by the monks, and advised the army of their plan. According to
Father Boulos, the army came with armored vehicles to demolish the gate, but it
was agreed the monastery itself would undertake the demolition of the gate in
stages as army protection is reinstated. "We told the Colonel it would look ugly
to the outside world if Egyptian army is demolishing a gate erected for the
protection of the unarmed monks under the present absence of security forces. We
gave them full hospitality but we had a feeling that they wanted to demolish the
gate in a 'devious' way."
On Saturday morning, seeing that only three old monks were guarding the gate,
the army returned. "When the army found that very few monks were present the
soldiers, who were hiding in military vans, came out," said Father Botros,
"bound the three monks, threw them to the ground and confiscated their mobile
phones so as not to photograph the incident."
The monks were set free after the gate and the 40 meter fence were demolished."
Only four soldiers were left to guard the huge monastery.
"The army was here not to protect the monastery as they claimed, but to carry
out their agenda of demolishing the gate" said Father Botros to activist Ramy
Kamel of 'Theban Legion' Coptic advocacy. "By removing the gate and the
supporting small fence, the army is giving a message of encouragement to any
thief or thug to break into the monastery."
On February 21, armed forces demolished the fence surrounding the 5th century
old Monastery of St. Bishoy in Wadi al-Natroun in the western desert.
Father Bemwa Anba Bishoy said that after the January 25th Uprising, all the
government security forces that were guarding the monastery fled and left the
monastery unguarded. He said they were attacked by prisoners who were at large
after escaping from prisons during that period.
"We contacted state security and they said there was no police available for
protection," Said Father Bemwa,"So we called the Egyptian TV dozens of times to
appeal for help and then we were put in touch with the military personnel who
told us to protect ourselves until they reach us." He added that the monks have
built a low fence on the borders of one side of the monastery which is
vulnerable to attacks, on land which belongs to the monastery, with the monks
and monastery laborers keeping watch over it 24 hours a day.
Although security officials welcomed this step., a fanatical Muslim officer at
the district police headquarters named Abdo Ibrahim incited the Muslims in the
neighborhood, but when the circumstances were explained to them and that the
fence also secures the nearby mosque, they agreed. "Ibrahim then incited the
army against us, so they came with heavy equipment and armored vehicles,
insulted the monks, demolished the fence and left," said Father Bemwa. "Now the
monks are left in the open, vulnerable to attacks from prisoners who are still
at large or Muslim fanatics" (video demolished fence).
In a related incident, Father Boulos, a monk at the Monastery of Abu Magar, also
called St. Makarios of Alexandria in Wady el-Rayan, Fayoum, said that on
February 21 armed forces stormed the monastery and wanted to demolish its fence
and gate. He explained that after the security vacuum during the January
uprising, the Monastery was attacked by thugs and Arabs armed with automatic
weapons, leading to the injury of six monks, including one monk in critical
condition who is still hospitalized.
"The perpetrators took advantage of the fact that the monastery is a nature
reserve and has no fence for protection. After the incident we have built a
fence around the monastery to protect it, but the environmental agency rejected
it and sent for the security forces and the army to remove the fence." He added
that they were given 48 hours by the authorities to demolish the one-meter high
fence, otherwise the army would be back to destroy it.
"If no authority is in a position to protect us," said Father Boulos, "then let
us do it ourselves, the way we see fit."
*By Mary Abdelmassih
Iraq's
Christian Leaders Unhappy With Lack of Action on Nineveh Plain
GMT 2-23-2011 2:3:44
Assyrian International News Agency
Christians in northern Iraq are suffering day-to-day harassment from the Kurdish
occupation forces in the Nineveh plain, where corruption, a lack of development
funds and the continued political stalemate have led many Christians to flee the
country for exile abroad.
The main Christian political parties in Iraq formed a "Minorities Council" after
the Oct. 31, 2010 attack on Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad that killed
58 Christian worshippers and wounded 98 more, joining with representatives of
the Yazidi and Shabak communities in the Nineveh Plain.
Last month, they officially requested that the Nineveh Plain be allowed to form
a separate province, or governerate, under the terms of the Iraqi Constitution.
So far, no action has been taken on their request, and Christians throughout the
north fear that until they are allowed to control their own lives they will
continue to be the victims of jihadi Muslim gangs and other terrorist groups.
The Nineveh Plain has been in an administrative limbo since 2004. It officially
falls under the authority of Mosul, capital of the Nineveh Governorate, but is
occupied by the security forces of the Kurdish Regional Government in Erbil.
A plan backed by the Religious Freedom Coalition and by the U.S. military to
train 770 Christian, Yazidi and Shabak police officers to replace the KRG
security forces was thwarted by the deputy governor of Mosul, Khosrow Goran, who
is a top member of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP). Under KDP leadership, the
Kurds have been trying to finalize their de facto annexation of the ancestral
Christian homeland.
The administrative limbo has had the concrete effect of stalling any form of
development aid for the region. After the heavy winter rains, major streets in
Bartella, a key crossroads in the Nineveh Plain, are mired in nearly a foot of
mud, with a broken sewer system unable to handle the flow.
The single most urgent demand of all secular Christian leaders I met with in
northern Iraq last week was the removal of the Kurdish security forces and
peshmerga from the Nineveh Plain and their replacement by Iraqi government
forces, to create a less tense atmosphere as negotiations over the future status
of the region continue.
"Christians are the meat in the sandwich between the Arabs and the Kurds," said
the mayor of Tel Keif, Basim Bello. Instead, he said that Christians wanted the
Nineveh Plain to become a kind of "green line" between the two warring ethnic
groups, which are disputing the oil-rich cities of Kirkuk and Mosul (and the
potential oil reserves of the Nineveh Plain itself).
"We have problems with some church leaders," Bello told me. "They say if the
Nineveh Plain becomes a province, our churches in Baghdad, Mosul and Basra will
become museums. But they are museums now! Most churches in Baghdad now have just
tens of people, whereas they used to be full. There used to be 600,000
Christians in Baghdad. Today, at most 100,000 remain."
Community leaders in Karakosh, the administrative capital of the region, have
petitioned Baghdad to build their own hospital and university, so they don't
have to drive hours into Erbil or make the potentially dangerous trip into
nearby Mosul, where jihadi Muslim gangs lie in wait and continue to murder
Christians on a regular basis.
They received strong support from the Archbishop of Mosul, Msg. Emil Shimoun
Nona, who told me at the end of the three-day Rogation of the Ninevites ceremony
that he felt it was vital for the survival of the Christian community in the
north to have their own institutions.
"We need our own schools, our own hospital," Nona said. He urged groups with
influence in Congress to talk to members of Congress to get them to apply
pressure on Baghdad to allow these projects to go forward. "The U.S. Congress
can do a lot," he said.
Louis Ayoub, who represents the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization in the
Nineveh Plain, is spearheading the effort to build the hospital and university
in Karakosh. "We already have the land for the hospital and have the design
plans for the university," he told me. "Now we are waiting for government
approvals so we can seek the funding."
Some money for these projects could be available through the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID).
Massive unemployment, a lack of adequate housing, and a corrupt administration
that local mayors told me siphons of half of their public works budgets, has
created a climate of despair among Christians in the Nineveh Plain.
The U.S. needs urgently to pressure the Maliki government to take action on the
demands of the Minorities Council before more Christians flee Iraq.
By Ken Timmerman
www.religiousfreedomcoalition.org
Copyright (C) 2011, Assyrian International News Agency. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use.
Moammar Qaddafi
February 22, 2011
On February 22, Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi delivered a speech to the nation
amid unrest in his country:
“The Arab regimes are betraying [the Libyan people] and distorting [their]
image. Yesterday, Libya did not have an identity. Today, they say ‘Ah Libya,
Qaddafi.’ They are distorting your image on Arab [satellite television]
channels. They are serving the devils. Moammar Qaddafi is not a president, he is
a revolutionary leader. This is my country and yours.
We are more competent to [be Libyan] than those rats [who are protesting]. We
defied America and the nuclear countries and triumphed. The [protestors] want to
distort [Libya’s] glory… I am a fighter and a rebel. Libya will remain on top
and will [be] a leader of Latin America, Asia and the countries of the world.
I have paid for blood. I cannot leave the heritage of my grandfather. I will die
as a martyr. Libya is a tree that we have watered with our blood. I am
addressing you from this house that was bombarded and has stood firm. When the
bombs were killing my children, where were you [protestors]?...You were [siding]
with America. Qaddafi is the history of resistance and glory. Qaddafi is not a
president or a normal person [who could be killed in an ordinary way].
Where were you [protestors] when we were being bombarded? Now, a small group of
people are wandering like mice against police stations. Libya had peace. They
exploited this peace and attacked [police] stations. These boys [who are
protesting in the streets], it is not their fault. They are [young]. However,
there is a small sick group that infiltrated [society] and is provoking these
boys [to protest]
I call on the Libyan people to form new municipalities and new popular lists. I
am sure that after this call, the people will move forward to form new lists and
municipalities. Starting tomorrow, you who love Moammar Qaddafi, get out of your
houses [and express it]. Go down to the streets, we will not use violence.
I am sure that [after this call], the crowds will be launched to form popular
lists that might reach 30 commissions and 150 municipalities. This is something
that serves our interests and replaces chaos. Let the families start gathering
their sons. Those who want glory [for Libya], let them take to the streets.
Catch the rats. I have not used force yet but I will use it if I have to on the
basis of international law. If I were president, I would have thrown [my]
resignation in your faces. Starting tomorrow, the army will [take to the
streets] and the checkpoints will be removed. Get out of your houses to impose
security.
Is it [fair] to transform Libya into Al-Qaeda’s [Osama] bin Laden or [Ayman]
az-Zawahiri? [Army] officers have been deployed in the regions in order to
liberate the cities from the ‘rats.’ We will punish those who [provoked] the
youth. They will be punished of course. They are a small terrorist minority that
will be a reason for the US to enter our country under the cause of ‘fighting
terror.’
The protestors want to turn Libya into Afghanistan. Violation of the
constitution is punishable with the death penalty. I am not talking about the
[youth who are protesting] but about the [provokers] standing behind them. I
have not yet issued an order to use arms, because when that happens, everything
will be burned .
We are armed tribes and we can rebel, but this will take us to civil war. You
remember when [former Russian President] Boris Yeltsin bombarded the parliament
and the West did not object to it. America wiped out [Iraq’s] Fallujah looking
for [Al-Qaeda’s Abu Musaeb] Zarqawi. [The US] killed millions in Baghdad and
Israel is killing in the streets of Gaza. Today they want to attach Libya [to]
Somalia, using the same gangs.
The youth should form security commissions to restore law [in the country]. They
should take to the streets with women and control [the protestors]. You have to
catch those who are vandalizing, starting tonight. There will be new popular
commissions. I do not mind a [new] constitution or system that will regulate
life. I do not own anything for myself, but for Libya.
Take Libyan petrol and let everyone manage his share as he wishes. You [the
people of Libya] are millions and [the protestors] are hundreds. You must catch
these [people]. There are dirty [television] channels that are distorting the
image of Libya in the world.
Protests [should be held] for Gaza or Iraq. [In Libya], peaceful protests are
one thing and armed rebellions are something else. We will not accept the
secession of Benghazi territory [from the rest of the country]. No one will let
an idiot divide the state into parts. Let every region be independent just like
in Germany. [We] call for immediately handing over the weapons that have
terrorized the people. Tomorrow, the commission will start to be formed.
We [in Libya] are [living] in security. Those who want trouble, let them go to
the states ruled by Bin Laden. No sane person can accept having us [controlled]
by some crazy [groups]. The Libyan youth cannot be a tool in the hands of
intelligence. The unity of Libya is being jeopardized. There is a power that is
distorting Islam just like Al-Qaeda does.
I have millions [of supporters] from the desert. I vow to march from the inside
and the outside to crush the protestors. I belong to all nations. I do not
betray anyone. The Arab satellite channels are the greatest enemy – they want to
laugh [at the Libyan people]. The hour has come for the sacred march –a Libyan
marching from the desert [is coming]. I ask Qatar, is this how brotherhood is
[for you]?”
Defiant Gadhafi Vows 'Holy March' to Crush Revolt, Slams Protesters as 'Rats'
Naharnet/Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi vowed to fight on to his "last drop of
blood" and roared at his supporters to take to the streets against protesters
demanding his ouster, shouting and pounding his fist in a furious speech Tuesday
after two nights of a bloody crackdown in the capital trying to crush the
uprising that has fragmented his regime.
It was the second time Gadhafi has appeared during the week of upheaval across
his country. Swathed in brown robes and a turban, he spoke on state TV from
behind a podium in the entrance of his bombed-out Tripoli residence hit by U.S.
airstrikes in the 1980s and left unrepaired as a monument of defiance.
At times the camera panned back to show a towering monument of a gold-colored
fist crushing an American fighter jet, outside the building. But at the same
time, the view gave a surreal image of the Libyan leader, shouting and waving
his arms wildly all alone in a broken-down lobby with no audience, surrounded by
broken tiles dangling from the ceiling, shattered concrete pillars and bare
plumbing pipes.
"Libya wants glory, Libya wants to be at the pinnacle, at the pinnacle of the
world," he proclaimed, pounding his fist on the podium. "I am a fighter, a
revolutionary from tents ... I will die as a martyr at the end," he said, vowing
to fight "to my last drop of blood."
Gadhafi depicted the protesters as misguided youths, who had been given drugs
and money by a "small, sick group" to attack police and government buildings. He
also described the protesters as "rats," calling on his supporters to take to
the streets immediately to reimpose control and to attack the protest leaders.
"You men and women who love Gadhafi ... get out of your homes and fill the
streets," he said. "Leave your homes and attack them in their lairs. They are
taking your children and getting them drunk and sending them to death. For what?
To destroy Libya, burn Libya."
"The police cordons will be lifted, go out and fight them," he said, urging
youth to form local committees across the country "for the defense of the
revolution and the defense of Gadhafi," even asking them to wear green armbands.
"Let us show them what the popular revolution is like," he said. "Go out from
your homes starting now."
"Forward, forward, forward!" he barked at the speech's conclusion, pumping both
fists in the air as he stormed away from the podium. He was kissed by about a
dozen supporters, some in security force uniforms. Then he climbed into a golf
cart-like vehicle and puttered away.
His call could signal a sharp escalation of bloodshed in the Libyan capital of
two million people after two nights of clashes. Streets in several neighborhoods
were littered with the bodies of slain protesters Tuesday morning after a fierce
crackdown through the night, as pro-Gadhafi militiamen shot on sight anyone
found outdoors to crush protests.
Streets in Tripoli were largely empty during the day Tuesday, except for
residents venturing out to stock up on bread and other basics, wary of attacks
by militiamen, said one resident. A helicopter was heard buzzing over downtown.
But he said protesters were gearing up to rally again after nightfall, likely to
be confronted again by the militias. "Everyone intends for tonight to be the
decisive night."
The U.N. Security Council was holding an emergency meeting, and Western
diplomats pressed for it to demand an immediate halt to Gahdafi's retaliation
against protesters. With international condemnation mounting, nations around the
world were scrambling for ways to get their citizens out of Libya, and oil
prices surged.
The eruption of turmoil in the capital escalates a week of protests and bloody
clashes in Libya's eastern cities that have shattered Gadhafi's nearly 42-year
grip on the nation.
Many cities in the east appeared to be under the control of protesters,
including some oil-producing regions, as units of Gadhafi's army defected.
Protesters in the east claimed to hold several oil fields and facilities and
said they were protecting them to prevent damage or vandalism. The regime has
been hit by a string of defections by ambassadors abroad, including its U.N.
delegation, and a few officials at home.
In response, Gadhafi's security forces have unleashed the bloodiest crackdown of
any Arab country against the wave of protests sweeping the region, which toppled
leaders of Egypt and Tunisia.
Anywhere from 233 to 250 people are known to have been killed so far, according
to estimates by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and
the New York-based Human Rights Watch. Those numbers don't appear to include
casualties from two days of deadly attacks on protesters in the capital, Tripoli
— a sign of the difficulty of getting information out of the highly closed North
African Nation.
A doctor in the eastern city of Benghazi told The Associated Press a colleague
at Tripoli's main hospital told him 41 people were killed in Tripoli during
clashes Sunday night alone, but the number could not be confirmed, and it was
not known how many died Monday and Tuesday. A Tunisian doctor on his side of the
border crossing with Libya said he saw many Libyans wounded on the other side,
waiting but blocked from crossing to get treatment.
The head of the U.N. agency, Navi Pillay, called for an investigation, saying
widespread and systematic attacks against civilians "may amount to crimes
against humanity."
The first major protests to hit an OPEC country — and major supplier to Europe —
sent oil prices soaring to more than $93 a barrel Tuesday. A string of
international oil companies have begun evacuating their expatriate workers or
their families, and the Spanish oil company Repsol-YPF said it suspended
production in Libya on Tuesday. It accounted for about 3.8 percent of Libya's
total production of 1.6 million barrels a day.
World leaders also have expressed outrage. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton called on Gadhafi to "stop this unacceptable bloodshed" and said
the world was watching the events "with alarm."
From nightfall Monday to dawn Tuesday, the pro-regime militias that have taken
the forefront in the crackdown — a mixture of Libyans and foreign mercenaries —
besieging protesters in at least five neighborhoods across the capital of two
million people.
One of the heaviest battlegrounds was the impoverished, densely populated
district of Fashloum, one resident there told the AP. Militiamen shot any
"moving human being" with live ammunition, including ambulances, so wounded were
left in the streets to die, the resident said.
He said that as he fled the neighborhood Monday night, he ran across a group of
militiamen, including foreign fighters. "The Libyans (among them) warned me to
leave and showed me bodies of the dead and told me: 'We were given orders to
shoot anybody who moves in the place,'" said the resident.
Like others reached in Libya he spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear
of retaliation. Western media are largely barred from Libya and the report
couldn't be independently confirmed.
Another resident said commandos were in control of the streets and were
stationed on rooftops, opening fire. "Life is paralyzed, even those who were
shot can't go to hospital," he said. "No one is able to walk in the street."
The week of upheaval in Libya has weakened — if not broken for now — the control
of Gadhafi's regime in parts of the east. Protesters claim to control a string
of cities across just under half of Libya's 1,600-kilometer-long Mediterranean
coast, from the Egyptian border in the east to the city of Ajdabiya, an
important site in the oil fields of central Libya, said Tawfiq al-Shahbi, a
protest organizer in the eastern city of Tobruk. He said had visited the
crossing station into Egypt and that border guards had fled.
In Tobruk and Benghazi, the country's second largest city, protesters were
raising the pre-Gadhafi flag of Libya's monarchy on public buildings, he and
other protesters said.
Protesters and local tribesmen were protecting several oil fields and facilities
around Ajdabiya, said Ahmed al-Zawi, a resident there. They had also organized
watch groups to guard streets and entrances to the city, he said.
The day before, crowds of residents were looting a nearby military base for
weapons, when a warplane flew overhead and dropped a bomb in a nearby open area,
blasting a crater but causing no casualties, said al-Zawi, who was among those
seizing ammunition, automatic weapons and grenades from the camp.
"I think the pilot is a good man. He was given orders to bomb the camp but he
didn't," al-Zawi said. "We needed the weapons to protect ourselves and the city
from the mercenaries."
In Benghazi, protesters over the weekend overran police stations and security
headquarters, taking control of the streets with the help of army units that
broke away and sided with them.
Benghazi residents, however, remained in fear of a regime backlash. One doctor
in the city said Tuesday many spent the night outside their homes, hearing
rumors that airstrikes and artillery assaults were imminent. "We know that
although we are in control of the city, Gadhafi loyalists are still here hiding
and they can do anything anytime," he said.
Gadhafi, the longest serving Arab leader, appeared briefly on TV early Tuesday
to dispel rumors that he had fled. Sitting in a car in front of what appeared to
be his residence and holding an umbrella out of the passenger side door, he told
an interviewer that he had wanted to go to the capital's Green Square to talk to
his supporters gathered there, but the rain stopped him.
"I am here to show that I am in Tripoli and not in Venezuela. Don't believe
those misleading dog stations," Gadhafi said, referring to the media reports
that he had left the country. The video clip and comments lasted less than a
minute. But Tuesday evening's speech lasted well over a half hour. During it,
Gadhafi recounting his days as a young revolutionary leader who "liberated"
Libya — a reference to the 1969 military coup that brought him to power — and
his defiance against U.S. airstrikes. He insisted that since he has no official
title, he cannot resign — Gadhafi is referred to as the "brother leader," but is
not president. He said he had not ordered police to use any force used against
protesters — that his supporters had come out voluntarily to defend him. "I
haven't ordered a single bullet fired," he said, warning that if he does,
"everything will burn." He said that if protests didn't end, he would stage a
"holy march" with millions of supporters to cleanse Libya. He demanded
protesters in Benghazi hand over weapons taken from captured police stations and
military bases, warning of separatism and civil war. "No one allows his country
to be a joke or let a mad man separate a part of it," he declared.(AP) Beirut,
22 Feb 11, 19:55