LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِMarch 19/2011

Bible Of The Day
The Good News According to Matthew 18/21-35: "Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?” 18:22 Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven. 18:23 Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who wanted to reconcile accounts with his servants. 18:24 When he had begun to reconcile, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 18:25 But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 18:26 The servant therefore fell down and kneeled before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’ 18:27 The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. 18:28 “But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him one hundred denarii, and he grabbed him, and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 18:29 “So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’ 18:30 He would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay back that which was due. 18:31 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told to their lord all that was done. 18:32 Then his lord called him in, and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me. 18:33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’ 18:34 His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due to him. 18:35 So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.”

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Interview from the Daily Star with Representative Steve Chabot of Ohio, chairman of the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia/19.03.11
For Lebanon, an Irish lesson to ponder/By Patrick Granfield/March 18/11
A Patriarch for Lebanon/By: Elias Harfoush/March 18/11
Chicago Initiative Calls Attention to Mistreatment of Christians in Middle East/AINA
Report: 3/4 of Religious Persecution Is Anti-Christian/National Review Online/March 18/11
Amal sues over human rights report/By: Matt Nash/March 18/11
Safety last, for Lebanon/Michael Young/March 18/11

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for March 18/11
4 protesters killed by security forces in Syria/Now Lebanon
Violence, “acts of sabotage” at Syria demo/Now Lebanon
Europe, Arabs split on military action against Qaddafi. US stands aside/DEBKA file
Bellemare Explains to Fransen Why Disclosing Documents to Sayyed May Harm Probe/Naharnet
Hariri before Massive Tripoli Rally: Weapons Create Strife, Every Project Outside State Has Failed/Naharnet
Hizbullah Delegation Visits Bkirki and al-Rahi: We Haven't Tackled Issue of Arms/Naharnet
2,000 Lebanese Flee Abidjan While Many of Them Cannot Afford to Leave/Naharnet
90 Lebanese Escape Bahrain Violence/Naharnet
'Days of rage' erupt in Syria/New York Post
Rai pledges to unite Christians in Lebanon during tenure/Daily Star
Hariri: Anti-corruption slogans are cover-up for seizing power/Daily Star
Mikati and March 8 figures make no progress on Cabinet/Daily Star
Time right for peace, says Spain foreign minister/Daily Star
Jumblatt marks his father's death with call for calm dialogue/Daily Star
Israeli spying equipment discovered in south/Daily Star
Hizbullah Delegation Visits Bkirki and al-Rahi: We Haven't Tackled Issue of Arms/Naharnet
ISF Arrests Top Drug Trafficker/Naharnet
LF on WikiLeaks Report: It Proved that Geagea Supports Solution of Limiting Weapons Possession to Army/Naharnet
Suleiman Praises Army for Uncovering Spy System: Discovery Exposes Israeli Violations against Lebanon/Naharnet
U.S. Lawmaker Rejects Aiding Lebanese Army if Hizbullah is 'Calling the Shots'/Naharnet
Jumblat Takes Responsibility for WikiLeaks Report: I Made those Statements When I Was Still Part of March 14 Camp/Naharnet
2,000 Lebanese Flee Abidjan While Many of Them Cannot Afford to Leave/Naharnet
WikiLeaks: Hamadeh Says Elias Murr Playing on Both Sides of the Fence, Trying to Save Himself Politically/Naharnet
WikiLeaks: Sfeir Expressed Concern over Shiites Displaced in 2006 War/Naharnet
WikiLeaks: Geagea Says Turning Hizbullah into Internal Problem Key to Disarming it/Naharnet
UNIFIL Marks 33rd Anniversary of Presence in the South/Naharnet
Berri: No Foreign Obstacle to Cabinet Formation Process/Naharnet
Dispute over Shape and Representation Delays Cabinet Formation/Naharnet
Jumblat Advises Miqati to Ignore U.S. Pressure, Calls for Calm Dialogue on Hizbullah Arms/Naharnet
Asarta Confirms that UNIFIL Protested to Israel Over Stone Attack/Naharnet
Nasrallah to Deliver a Speech on Saturday During Rally in Support of Uprisings/Naharnet
90 Lebanese Escape Bahrain Violence/Naharnet
Hariri from North: Prevalence of Anti-Corruption Slogans Aimed at Covering up Attempts to Usurp State's Power/Naharnet
 

What is the difference between religion and spirituality?"/Naharnet
Answer: Before we explore the difference between religion and spirituality, we must first define the two terms. Religion can be defined as “belief in God or gods to be worshipped, usually expressed in conduct and ritual” or “any specific system of belief, worship, etc., often involving a code of ethics.” Spirituality can be defined as “the quality or fact of being spiritual, non-physical” or “predominantly spiritual character as shown in thought, life, etc.; spiritual tendency or tone.” To put it briefly, religion is a set of beliefs and rituals that claim to get a person in a right relationship with God, and spirituality is a focus on spiritual things and the spiritual world instead of physical/earthly things.
The most common misconception about religion is that Christianity is just another religion like Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, etc. Sadly, many who claim to be adherents of Christianity do practice Christianity as if it were a religion. To many, Christianity is nothing more than a set of rules and rituals that a person has to observe in order to go to heaven after death. That is not true Christianity. True Christianity is not a religion; rather, it is having a right relationship with God by receiving Jesus Christ as the Savior-Messiah, by grace through faith. Yes, Christianity does have “rituals” to observe (e.g., baptism and communion). Yes, Christianity does have “rules” to follow (e.g., do not murder, love one another, etc.). However, these rituals and rules are not the essence of Christianity. The rituals and rules of Christianity are the result of salvation. When we receive salvation through Jesus Christ, we are baptized as a proclamation of that faith. We observe communion in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice. We follow a list of do’s and don’ts out of love for God and gratitude for what He has done.
The most common misconception about spirituality is that there are many forms of spirituality, and all are equally valid. Meditating in unusual physical positions, communing with nature, seeking conversation with the spirit world, etc., may seem to be “spiritual,” but they are in fact false spirituality. True spirituality is possessing the Holy Spirit of God as a result of receiving salvation through Jesus Christ. True spirituality is the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in a person’s life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Spirituality is all about becoming more like God, who is spirit (John 4:24) and having our character conformed to His image (Romans 12:1-2).
What religion and spirituality have in common is that they both can be false methods of having a relationship with God. Religion tends to substitute the heartless observance of rituals for a genuine relationship with God. Spirituality tends to substitute connection with the spirit world for a genuine relationship with God. Both can be, and often are, false paths to God. At the same time, religion can be valuable in the sense that it points to the fact that there is a God and that we are somehow accountable to Him. The only true value of religion is its ability to point out that we have fallen short and are in need of a Savior. Spirituality can be valuable in that it points out that the physical world is not all there is. Human beings are not only material, but also possess a soul-spirit. There is a spiritual world around us of which we should be aware. The true value of spirituality is that it points to the fact that there is something and someone beyond this physical world to which we need to connect.
Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of both religion and spirituality. Jesus is the One to whom we are accountable and to whom true religion points. Jesus is the One to whom we need to connect and the One to whom true spirituality points. Are you interested in discovering true religion and true spirituality? If the answer is yes, please begin your journey on our webpage that describes receiving Jesus Christ as your Personal Savior - http://www.gotquestions.org/personal-Savior.html.

Report: 3/4 of Religious Persecution Is Anti-Christian
3-18-2011 /National Review Online
The British branch of the 64-year-old, Vatican-approved organization Aid to the Church in Need today released a report finding that a full 75 percent of religious persecution is currently being carried out against Christians. It further claims that, in two-thirds of the countries, this persecution has worsened. "For millions of Christians around the world," the report states, "persecution, violence discrimination and suffering are a way of life as they live out their faith." In addition to the usual persecutors -- such as North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, and Iran -- it includes countries such as Venezuela and Zimbabwe, among others often overlooked. It cites in particular the "severe threat to the Christian presence in parts of the Middle East, especially Iraq and the Holy Land." With respect to the Holy Land, it falls into the usual trap of prominently citing Israel's security barrier around the West Bank, without noting that it was erected as a response to horrific Palestinian terrorism against Israelis and that, in this, it has been effective. However, it also points out that Christians there have been subject to pressure from "Islamist groups whose appeal is growing among the population" and that Muslims have attacked Christian homes, shops and churches "almost on a daily basis."
Overall, the report is an important contribution to the field of human rights. A world map with brief country profiles and examples of anti-Christian persecution from the report can be found on the group's website.
By: Nina Shea
National Review Online/Nina Shea is director of the

Rai pledges to unite Christians in Lebanon during tenure
By Elias Sakr
Daily Star staff
Friday, March 18, 2011
BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai said Thursday the patriarchate has drawn up a plan to unite Christian factions based on his policy of “love and partnership,” which he said would be the slogan of his tenure as the head of the church.
The election of Rai, who is known for his academic credentials and experience, comes at critical time in Lebanese politics and particularly for the divided Christian community.
Rai, who was elected patriarch earlier this week, is widely believed to enjoy the backing of the Vatican in a bid to modernize and institutionalize the Maronite Church.
“There is a plan to unite Christians, a plan whose foundations were laid during the electoral rounds of the synod of Maronite bishops. The plan addresses the church and people’s needs as well as internal unity and the needs of Christians in Lebanon, the Middle East and the diaspora,” Rai said in a radio interview.
The new patriarch added that state officials should assume the responsibility of managing everyday politics, while stressing they would be held accountable for “principles rather than details.”
Well-wishers continued to flock to Bkirki with Future parliamentary bloc leader and former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, and Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh among Thursday’s high-profile visitors. Rai said his talks with politicians this week were positive and in Lebanon’s best interests.
“Contacts with politicians will take place away from the media, and follow-up on issues will happen through certain figures,” Rai said.
Franjieh, who like his ally Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, had tense relations with Rai’s predecessor, Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, said he hoped the election of Rai would lay the foundations for a new page of cooperation with Bkirki.
Franjieh, Aoun and their Christian allies in the March 8 coalition had criticized Sfeir for being too involved in politics and biased toward March 14 Christian parties.
Franjieh said Bkirki was faced with several challenges related to the Christian presence in the Middle East.
“We hope not to always enter into disagreement with Bkirki. We could agree on some issues and disagree on others. We have our positions and Bkirki has its principles and we respect them under all circumstances,” Franjieh said. “In religion, we follow Bkirki but in politics we might disagree,” he added. Franjieh said Bkirki could unite Christian political leaders on the personal level but “in politics, opinions could differ or converge.” “A friendship exists with Patriarch Rai and will continue as the basis of this relation. There is a difference in age with Patriarch Sfeir, who when we worked in politics was patriarch whereas Rai was still a bishop and I believe the relation [with Rai] would be better,” Franjieh said.
Sfeir was a staunch critic of Syrian intervention in Lebanese affairs and Hezbollah’s weapons. The Council of Maronite Bishops issued a call for the withdrawal of Syrian troops in 2000.
Touching on the patriarchate’s relation with Damascus, Franjieh said “if Bkirki’s relations with Syria benefit Christians then it should exist, otherwise, we are against it.” Unlike Sfeir, who during his 25-year-tenure never visited Syria, Rai is expected to take part in a pastoral visit to Aleppo, the burial site of the Maronite Church founder St. Maroun.
But Rai said Wednesday that a pastoral visit should be differentiated from a political one, reiterating Bkirki’s commitment to Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence.
Siniora said he was confident that Rai would follow the footsteps of his predecessor Sfeir in defense of Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence.
Among Bkirki’s other visitors were Sidon MP Bahia Hariri and First Lady Wafaa Sleiman, who offered their congratulations to the new patriarch. A delegation of Hezbollah figures is scheduled to visit the patriarchate Friday. As of Saturday Rai will stop receiving well-wishers so he can dedicate his time to prayers before officially assuming his post March 25, after which Bkirki will reopen its doors to the public.

4 protesters killed by security forces in Syria
Now Lebanon/March 18, 2011
Four Syria protesters were killed by security forces on Friday in the city of Daraa, south of the capital Damascus and hundreds wounded, a human rights activist contacted by AFP said.
"The security forces fired live bullets at the protesters. Four people were killed," said the activist, identifying them as Akram al-Jawabra, Hussam Abdelwali Ayash, Ayham al-Harri and a member of the Abu Aoun family. "Hundreds of protesters were wounded and many were snatched by the security force from the hospital where they had been taken and removed to an unknown location," he added. Earlier Syria's state news agency SANA said violence and "acts of sabotage" broke out during the demonstration in Daraa, prompting "security forces to intervene to protect citizens and property." "Infiltrators took advantage of a gathering of citizens near the Omari Mosque in the city of Daraa on Friday afternoon to provoke chaos through acts of violence which resulted in damage to private and public property," SANA reported.-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Violence, “acts of sabotage” at Syria demo
Now Lebanon/March 18, 2011 /Syria's state news agency SANA said violence and "acts of sabotage" broke out at a demonstration on Friday in the city of Daraa, south of the capital, prompting security forces to intervene. "Infiltrators took advantage of a gathering of citizens near the Omari Mosque in the city of Daraa on Friday afternoon to provoke chaos through acts of violence which resulted in damage to private and public property," SANA reported. "The infiltrators also set cars and shops on fire, which obliged security forces to intervene in order to protect citizens and property," it added. "They were also attacked by the infiltrators before the latter dispersed." SANA said another "gathering" had taken place in the coastal city of Banias, with no clashes.-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Amal sues over human rights report
Matt Nash, March 18, 2011 /The Amal Movement, whose flag is pictured above, is suing authors of a human rights report over allegations in the report that the party tortures suspected Israeli spies. The Amal Movement is suing a human rights organization for reporting that the group arrests and tortures alleged Israeli spies, a charge Amal denies.
In January, the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) published a report on torture and arbitrary detention in Lebanon. CLDH reported that “During this study, nearly all detainees arrested on suspicion of collaboration with Israel complained of torture, regardless of the interrogation services. In some cases, Amal and Hezbollah militias are involved in the arrest and practice torture on their ‘detainees,’ with no legal grounds for their detention, prior to handing them over to the authorized Lebanese services.”
Later the report notes, “It was also impossible to effectively assess the prevalence of allegations of torture perpetrated by Amal and Hezbollah militias.”
Ali Hamdan, an Amal spokesperson, told NOW Lebanon that the allegations of Amal torturing suspected spies is not true and that the group brought the lawsuit in line with its legal rights.
“We don’t deny that if we know there is a spy that we take them and deliver them [to authorities],” Hamdan said. “But they said that Amal takes them and tortures them… This, they said, is based on allegations; they don’t have evidence or documents… How can you accuse someone based on interviews?”
Wadih al-Asmar, executive director of the CLDH, told NOW Lebanon that the information in the report came from interviews.
“We [heard] allegations, and we state in the document that they are allegations…We are a human rights group, not a prosecutor going and collecting evidence,” he said.
On March 14, Asmar said, members of the CLDH were told via telephone to report to the criminal investigation department at the Ministry of Justice for questioning on March 17. When the activists arrived at the ministry, they were told the person conducting the investigation was not available for personal reasons and that the questioning would be rescheduled.
However, Asmar said, all communication from authorities has been oral. The CLDH has not received written summons nor have they seen the lawsuit. They were only told that Amal is suing the authors of the report.
“We find this case from a party that is in power as a threat against our right to freedom of expression,” he said. Asmar added that he and others also went to public prosecutor Said Mirza’s office to try obtaining documents related to the case to no avail. Attempts to get a comment from the public prosecutor’s office were unsuccessful.
Darine al-Hajj, executive director of Alef, another human rights group that is also investigating torture and arbitrary detention, said she was upset by the lawsuit, which she thinks is intended to send a message to the human rights community in Lebanon.
“We think this is a threat to the role of all human rights defenders in Lebanon,” she said. “This was a bit of a surprise because there was a momentum where there wasn’t any kind of harassment, any kind of threat [for the most part]”from the government against human rights groups.
This positive momentum, she said, was in stark contrast to the “dangerous” environment human rights groups in Lebanon faced while Syrian troops were in the country. However, it will not have a chilling effect on the community, she said. “What happened is not going to stop us from writing reports or issuing press releases,” Hajj said. She added that several local and international human rights groups have condemned the lawsuit. Hamdan dismissed the notion that the suit intended to send a message or threaten human rights groups. He insisted that Amal does not torture detainees and said the party was merely pursuing its right, in a legal manner, to keep its name from being defamed.
Aside from the accusations against Amal and Hezbollah, the report condemned Lebanon’s security services for routinely practicing torture and arbitrarily detaining suspects. Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud, in February, vowed to “investigate and fight any abuses,” Executive magazine reported.

4 protesters killed by security forces in Syria
Now Lebanon/March 18, 2011 /Four Syria protesters were killed by security forces on Friday in the city of Daraa, south of the capital Damascus and hundreds wounded, a human rights activist contacted by AFP said. "The security forces fired live bullets at the protesters. Four people were killed," said the activist, identifying them as Akram al-Jawabra, Hussam Abdelwali Ayash, Ayham al-Harri and a member of the Abu Aoun family. "Hundreds of protesters were wounded and many were snatched by the security force from the hospital where they had been taken and removed to an unknown location," he added. Earlier Syria's state news agency SANA said violence and "acts of sabotage" broke out during the demonstration in Daraa, prompting "security forces to intervene to protect citizens and property.""Infiltrators took advantage of a gathering of citizens near the Omari Mosque in the city of Daraa on Friday afternoon to provoke chaos through acts of violence which resulted in damage to private and public property," SANA reported.-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Violence, “acts of sabotage” at Syria demo
Now Lebanon/March 18, 2011
Syria's state news agency SANA said violence and "acts of sabotage" broke out at a demonstration on Friday in the city of Daraa, south of the capital, prompting security forces to intervene."Infiltrators took advantage of a gathering of citizens near the Omari Mosque in the city of Daraa on Friday afternoon to provoke chaos through acts of violence which resulted in damage to private and public property," SANA reported. "The infiltrators also set cars and shops on fire, which obliged security forces to intervene in order to protect citizens and property," it added. "They were also attacked by the infiltrators before the latter dispersed."SANA said another "gathering" had taken place in the coastal city of Banias, with no clashes.-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Safety last, for Lebanon
Michael Young,
Now Lebanon/March 18, 2011
In a sign that Egypt is making a comeback on the Arab scene, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry released a statement on Wednesday expressing its worries about Lebanon. Through a spokeswoman, the foreign minister, Nabil al-Araby, declared that Cairo “is closely following Lebanese developments, and is concerned with the increasing polarization and declining room for dialogue.” Araby is right to be concerned. In the past six years, three long-standing safety nets that Lebanon benefited from to contain its domestic conflicts have frayed severely. While the country is peaceful, and may well remain so, several potentially divisive political tests lie ahead. Without a serious interchange between the Lebanese, the risk that political disputation will turn violent should be taken seriously.
The first of these safety nets is Arab diplomacy. The familiar mechanisms of Arab political intervention in Lebanon lie in ruins today. Until Syria imposed itself in Beirut in 1990, when Lebanon’s war ended, developments in the country fell under the sway mainly of Syria and Saudi Arabia, with Arab sanction, under the watchful eye of the United States, in the shadow of “red lines” set by Israel.
After the Syrian military withdrawal in 2005, Arab diplomacy returned, with the Saudis and Egyptians primarily concerned that Iran was filling the openings left by Syria. Their efforts were mostly unsuccessful. Lebanon became the object of a struggle between Damascus on the one side and Riyadh and Cairo on the other. The result was Saudi Arabia’s greater isolation. For example, its boycott, with Egypt’s, of the Arab League summit in Damascus in March 2008 backfired when most Arab leaders attended. And two months later, it was the Saudis’ rival, Qatar, that brokered an accord to end an 18-month Lebanese deadlock that had nearly led to a new civil war.
With the Middle East now facing rolling upheavals, the Arab state system is in disarray. If Lebanon were to enter into a prolonged crisis, let’s say over the indictment by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, who would be on hand to reconcile the parties? The Saudis are too preoccupied with their own neighborhood; Egypt is going through a major political transformation; and Syria and Iran, like the Saudis and Egyptians, are too close to one side to be acceptable mediators.
As for Qatar and Turkey, despite all the hype about their newborn regional weight, it was obvious how little leverage they had when they sent their foreign ministers on a futile mission to Beirut in the wake of the government’s collapse. Without a broad Arab imprimatur – one that is currently unlikely given regional troubles and cleavages – outside political interventions in Lebanon are bound to fail.
A second safety net that has fallen in recent years is respect for confessional red lines, rhetorical and political, both between and within communities. After the Syrian withdrawal in 2005 and the consequent effort by Hezbollah to fill the vacuum so as to forestall disarmament and the weakening of its semi-independent status, Sunni-Shia hostility rose. On both sides an ugly sectarianism took root, devoid of any will to compromise. This frequently spilled out into the streets, as in January 2007 and May 2008 in Beirut, and on many more occasions in Tripoli between Sunnis and Alawis.
At the same time, Michel Aoun, to bolster his popularity, pursued a populist strategy that involved undermining the accepted norms of communal behavior and rhetoric. Aoun made blunt condemnation of the Sunni community a rallying cry for his supporters. And the general overturned communal conventions by attacking the Maronite patriarch, Nasrallah Sfeir, and the president, Michel Sleiman, so as to discredit Maronite centers of power not under his control.
A third safety net that has all but disappeared in recent years is that provided by constitutional institutions. The process of decay, to be fair, has been a long one. The war greatly eroded the power of such institutions, and Syria’s 15-year protectorate over Lebanon only accelerated this. During those years, the Lebanese would arrive at an election never sure if would actually be held. Two presidents saw their mandate extended under Syrian duress. The rule of law was applied inconsistently, and the day-to-day functioning of the state after 1998 was largely in the hands of a Syrian intelligence officer.
The Lebanese did not fare much better after 2005. Parliament was closed for over a year because Hezbollah and the speaker, Nabih Berri, sought to block the election of a president after Emile Lahoud’s term ended. When one was finally chosen, the voting itself suffered from a lack of constitutional legitimacy, since Michel Sleiman, as army commander, should have presented his resignation two years earlier. Hezbollah and its allies also reinterpreted the constitution to justify the demand for a blocking third in the cabinet. While this was not strictly unconstitutional, it went against the spirit of the organic law. And even the establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was approved in a questionable constitutional way.
In effect, short-term calculation has replaced constitutional predictability and legitimacy as the benchmark for political action. This can be disastrous, for creating a state functioning on the basis of improvisation and bargaining, in other words a state by default. Managing Lebanon’s challenges effectively will require something sturdier. But don’t expect Lebanon’s political class to provide it.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of the Daily Star newspaper in Beirut and author of The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life Struggle (Simon & Schuster).

Amal sues over human rights report
Matt Nash, March 18, 2011
The Amal Movement, whose flag is pictured above, is suing authors of a human rights report over allegations in the report that the party tortures suspected Israeli spies.
The Amal Movement is suing a human rights organization for reporting that the group arrests and tortures alleged Israeli spies, a charge Amal denies.
In January, the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) published a report on torture and arbitrary detention in Lebanon. CLDH reported that “During this study, nearly all detainees arrested on suspicion of collaboration with Israel complained of torture, regardless of the interrogation services. In some cases, Amal and Hezbollah militias are involved in the arrest and practice torture on their ‘detainees,’ with no legal grounds for their detention, prior to handing them over to the authorized Lebanese services.”
Later the report notes, “It was also impossible to effectively assess the prevalence of allegations of torture perpetrated by Amal and Hezbollah militias.”
Ali Hamdan, an Amal spokesperson, told NOW Lebanon that the allegations of Amal torturing suspected spies is not true and that the group brought the lawsuit in line with its legal rights.
“We don’t deny that if we know there is a spy that we take them and deliver them [to authorities],” Hamdan said. “But they said that Amal takes them and tortures them… This, they said, is based on allegations; they don’t have evidence or documents… How can you accuse someone based on interviews?”
Wadih al-Asmar, executive director of the CLDH, told NOW Lebanon that the information in the report came from interviews.
“We [heard] allegations, and we state in the document that they are allegations…We are a human rights group, not a prosecutor going and collecting evidence,” he said.
On March 14, Asmar said, members of the CLDH were told via telephone to report to the criminal investigation department at the Ministry of Justice for questioning on March 17. When the activists arrived at the ministry, they were told the person conducting the investigation was not available for personal reasons and that the questioning would be rescheduled.
However, Asmar said, all communication from authorities has been oral. The CLDH has not received written summons nor have they seen the lawsuit. They were only told that Amal is suing the authors of the report.
“We find this case from a party that is in power as a threat against our right to freedom of expression,” he said. Asmar added that he and others also went to public prosecutor Said Mirza’s office to try obtaining documents related to the case to no avail. Attempts to get a comment from the public prosecutor’s office were unsuccessful.
Darine al-Hajj, executive director of Alef, another human rights group that is also investigating torture and arbitrary detention, said she was upset by the lawsuit, which she thinks is intended to send a message to the human rights community in Lebanon.
“We think this is a threat to the role of all human rights defenders in Lebanon,” she said. “This was a bit of a surprise because there was a momentum where there wasn’t any kind of harassment, any kind of threat [for the most part]”from the government against human rights groups.
This positive momentum, she said, was in stark contrast to the “dangerous” environment human rights groups in Lebanon faced while Syrian troops were in the country. However, it will not have a chilling effect on the community, she said.
“What happened is not going to stop us from writing reports or issuing press releases,” Hajj said. She added that several local and international human rights groups have condemned the lawsuit. Hamdan dismissed the notion that the suit intended to send a message or threaten human rights groups. He insisted that Amal does not torture detainees and said the party was merely pursuing its right, in a legal manner, to keep its name from being defamed.
Aside from the accusations against Amal and Hezbollah, the report condemned Lebanon’s security services for routinely practicing torture and arbitrarily detaining suspects. Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud, in February, vowed to “investigate and fight any abuses,” Executive magazine reported.

Europe, Arabs split on military action against Qaddafi. US stands aside
DEBKAfile Special Report
March 18, 2011, Hours after UN Security Council approval Thursday night, March 17, of no-fly zone over Libya and "all necessary measures to protect civilians," military action against Muammar Qaddafi is up in the air. Although the air forces of at least five nations were standing by for its passage, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
said Friday that "it is not at all clear" what military action is to be taken against the Qaddafi regime. The final result of resolution must be Qaddafi's departure, she said although this is not mentioned in the UN motion. debkafile's Washington sources explain the delay by the Obama administration's decision to let the Europeans, primarily Britain and France, take the lead, on the assumption that they will turn to the United States for support.. Only then will any real military operation begin – if the administration so decides. For now, not a single American, European or Arab warplane has taken to the skies. More than a month after Qaddafi began suppressing the uprising against him, it is becoming clear that, notwithstanding the war rhetoric leading up to the UN resolution, no real force was ready to implement it. President Barack Obama is meanwhile preparing to set out on a Latin American tour. A multinational conference in Libya has been called for Saturday by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to decide what to do next and Pentagon spokesmen have said that preparations for action against Libya continue, but will not take concrete form before early next week. In fact, the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier, supposed to have spearheaded an aerial-naval operation against Libya, was reported Friday distancing itself from Mediterranean waters and heading for the Gulf of Aden. This abrupt change in Washington's posture on Libya is explained by debkafile's US and European sources on two grounds: 1. The rebels fighting Qaddafi do not exactly fit the description of freedom-fighters and democracy seekers described in Western circles. The information in Washington is that they are made up of a mishmash of politically irresponsible, squabbling bands which spend more time cashing in on the conflict than fighting it. The Obama administration is reluctant to underpin its Libya policy in this type of opposition. 2. The US failed to mobilize Egypt for a joint campaign against the Qaddafi regime. With the Saudi king sharply opposed to US policy in the Middle East, the administration is reluctant to go forward against Libya without the participation of the two most important Arab nations, with only the UAE and Qatar on board. Therefore no military action is expected in the immediate term. The arena is left to Qaddafi and it cost him nothing to announce smoothly in Tripoli Friday, March 18, that he fully accepts UN Security Council Resolution 1973 and its initial clause calling for an immediate ceasefire and halt in hostilities in order to protect civilian lives.

Safety last, for Lebanon
Michael Young, /Now Lebanon/March 18, 2011
In a sign that Egypt is making a comeback on the Arab scene, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry released a statement on Wednesday expressing its worries about Lebanon. Through a spokeswoman, the foreign minister, Nabil al-Araby, declared that Cairo “is closely following Lebanese developments, and is concerned with the increasing polarization and declining room for dialogue.” Araby is right to be concerned. In the past six years, three long-standing safety nets that Lebanon benefited from to contain its domestic conflicts have frayed severely. While the country is peaceful, and may well remain so, several potentially divisive political tests lie ahead. Without a serious interchange between the Lebanese, the risk that political disputation will turn violent should be taken seriously. The first of these safety nets is Arab diplomacy. The familiar mechanisms of Arab political intervention in Lebanon lie in ruins today. Until Syria imposed itself in Beirut in 1990, when Lebanon’s war ended, developments in the country fell under the sway mainly of Syria and Saudi Arabia, with Arab sanction, under the watchful eye of the United States, in the shadow of “red lines” set by Israel.
After the Syrian military withdrawal in 2005, Arab diplomacy returned, with the Saudis and Egyptians primarily concerned that Iran was filling the openings left by Syria. Their efforts were mostly unsuccessful. Lebanon became the object of a struggle between Damascus on the one side and Riyadh and Cairo on the other. The result was Saudi Arabia’s greater isolation. For example, its boycott, with Egypt’s, of the Arab League summit in Damascus in March 2008 backfired when most Arab leaders attended. And two months later, it was the Saudis’ rival, Qatar, that brokered an accord to end an 18-month Lebanese deadlock that had nearly led to a new civil war.
With the Middle East now facing rolling upheavals, the Arab state system is in disarray. If Lebanon were to enter into a prolonged crisis, let’s say over the indictment by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, who would be on hand to reconcile the parties? The Saudis are too preoccupied with their own neighborhood; Egypt is going through a major political transformation; and Syria and Iran, like the Saudis and Egyptians, are too close to one side to be acceptable mediators.
As for Qatar and Turkey, despite all the hype about their newborn regional weight, it was obvious how little leverage they had when they sent their foreign ministers on a futile mission to Beirut in the wake of the government’s collapse. Without a broad Arab imprimatur – one that is currently unlikely given regional troubles and cleavages – outside political interventions in Lebanon are bound to fail.
A second safety net that has fallen in recent years is respect for confessional red lines, rhetorical and political, both between and within communities. After the Syrian withdrawal in 2005 and the consequent effort by Hezbollah to fill the vacuum so as to forestall disarmament and the weakening of its semi-independent status, Sunni-Shia hostility rose. On both sides an ugly sectarianism took root, devoid of any will to compromise. This frequently spilled out into the streets, as in January 2007 and May 2008 in Beirut, and on many more occasions in Tripoli between Sunnis and Alawis. At the same time, Michel Aoun, to bolster his popularity, pursued a populist strategy that involved undermining the accepted norms of communal behavior and rhetoric. Aoun made blunt condemnation of the Sunni community a rallying cry for his supporters. And the general overturned communal conventions by attacking the Maronite patriarch, Nasrallah Sfeir, and the president, Michel Sleiman, so as to discredit Maronite centers of power not under his control.
A third safety net that has all but disappeared in recent years is that provided by constitutional institutions. The process of decay, to be fair, has been a long one. The war greatly eroded the power of such institutions, and Syria’s 15-year protectorate over Lebanon only accelerated this. During those years, the Lebanese would arrive at an election never sure if would actually be held. Two presidents saw their mandate extended under Syrian duress. The rule of law was applied inconsistently, and the day-to-day functioning of the state after 1998 was largely in the hands of a Syrian intelligence officer.
The Lebanese did not fare much better after 2005. Parliament was closed for over a year because Hezbollah and the speaker, Nabih Berri, sought to block the election of a president after Emile Lahoud’s term ended. When one was finally chosen, the voting itself suffered from a lack of constitutional legitimacy, since Michel Sleiman, as army commander, should have presented his resignation two years earlier. Hezbollah and its allies also reinterpreted the constitution to justify the demand for a blocking third in the cabinet. While this was not strictly unconstitutional, it went against the spirit of the organic law. And even the establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was approved in a questionable constitutional way.
In effect, short-term calculation has replaced constitutional predictability and legitimacy as the benchmark for political action. This can be disastrous, for creating a state functioning on the basis of improvisation and bargaining, in other words a state by default. Managing Lebanon’s challenges effectively will require something sturdier. But don’t expect Lebanon’s political class to provide it.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of the Daily Star newspaper in Beirut and author of The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life Struggle (Simon & Schuster).

Bellemare Explains to Fransen Why Disclosing Documents to Sayyed May Harm Probe
Naharnet/Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare has submitted to STL Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen a confidential report explaining why disclosing documents to Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed "could amongst other things prejudice ongoing or future investigations or could put people's lives at risk," STL's press office said Friday. "The Special Tribunal for Lebanon can confirm that the Prosecutor submitted a confidential and ex parte application to the Pre-Trial Judge on March 10, 2011," the press office said in a communiqué. "The filing, which relates to documents that Mr. Sayyed alleges are connected to his detention in Lebanon, was ordered by the Pre-Trial Judge on February 7, 2011," it clarified.Bellemare was asked to provide reasons why he had said in a previous filing that the release of investigation documents "could amongst other things prejudice ongoing or future investigations or could put people's lives at risk." Fransen is currently studying Bellemare's application and will rule on it in due course, according to STL's communiqué. Beirut, 18 Mar 11, 19:06

Hizbullah Delegation Visits Bkirki and al-Rahi: We Haven't Tackled Issue of Arms
Naharnet/The head of Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc MP Mohammed Raad expressed hope on Friday that the party would resume dialogue with Bkirki and consolidate ties.
Raad visited Bkirki at the head of a Hizbullah delegation to congratulate Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on his election. "We hope that the patriarch would deal with the national interests of the Lebanese by taking a unifying stance," Raad said. "We informed him about our willingness to resume dialogue and strengthen it in the next stage," the MP told reporters.
Asked about Hizbullah's relations with Bkirki, Raad said: "We are encouraged by the patriarch's policy which is based on harmony and agreement among all Lebanese."
The lawmaker said he relayed a message from Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah congratulating al-Rahi. For his part, the patriarch told reporters later on Friday that the issue of the party's arms was not addressed during the meeting, saying that the matter "can be solved through dialogue.""Bkirki possesses national and spiritual principles and the dispute between the Lebanese is not over these principles, but on the details and strategies," he noted. "The political and party leaders should implement these values and Bkirki is keen on achieving a free, sovereign, and independent Lebanon," al-Rahi stressed. Commenting on Lebanon's ties with Syria, he said that it experiences a lot of ups and downs, adding that he intends to visit parishes in Syria. Beirut, 18 Mar 11, 12:52

Qassem: We Didn't Hear Anything at March 13 Rally Worth Responding to
Naharnet/Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem noted on Friday that there was nothing worth responding to at the March 14 rally last Sunday, saying that the party "has not and will not do so." He said: "We are not concerned with what they said and what happened at the event.""The developments on the Lebanese scene clearly demonstrate that the March 14 camp does not abide by the law or the Taif Accord or constitutional mechanisms," he added. "This was evident during the 2009 parliamentary elections when we accepted the results and lost the parliamentary majority and nothing happened in the country. But when the parliamentary majority recently shifted, the country went into an uproar," he continued.
"Why? They are only concerned with remaining in power, which causes them to reject any solution. The chaos began with the day of rage" against the appointment of Najib Miqati as prime minister-designate, Qassem said. "Where are their statements about committing to the constitution and Taif Accord? We implemented it, but they haven't implemented anything they called for," the Hizbullah official stated. Addressing the WikiLeaks reports on Lebanese officials during the July 2006 war, he said: "The March 14 officials are trying to provide favors to Israel … These scandals reveal a wrong mindset.""We will respond to them by saying that the Resistance has become deep-rooted in Lebanon and this choice has left its mark on the entire Arab world" as demonstrated by the various revolts throughout the region, he noted. "God willing the Resistance has overcome all the obstacles that pose a threat to Lebanon and it has become an integral part of Lebanon and its future," Qassem concluded. Beirut, 18 Mar 11, 18:58

Jumblat Takes Responsibility for WikiLeaks Report: I Made those Statements When I Was Still Part of March 14 Camp
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat did not deny on Friday the recent WikiLeaks report that quoted him as saying he hoped Israel would continue its assault on Lebanon during the July 2006 war in order to weaken Hizbullah militarily. The MP said: "I take full responsibility for these statements that are a dark mark in my political career and I hope my position today would eliminate any harm I may have caused the Resistance, Syria, and the noble resistance fighters." "I will not enter into a pointless debate on whether the statements attributed to me are true as they were made when the political divide in the country was at its greatest and I was part of the March 14 camp at the time," he added. "Just to refresh the memory, I was the first to announce Hizbullah's victory during the war regardless of the timing and circumstances surrounding the war," Jumblat stressed. Beirut, 18 Mar 11, 13:33

LF on WikiLeaks Report: It Proved that Geagea Supports Solution of Limiting Weapons Possession to Army
Naharnet/The Lebanese Forces issued a clarification on Friday over the recent WikiLeaks cable published in Al-Akhbar on Friday in which LF leader Samir Geagea was quoted as saying that he supports turning Hizbullah into a problem on the internal Lebanese scene in order to weaken it. The LF statement said that the cable revealed that Geagea does not employ double standards in his political rhetoric as the claims in the report are the same statements he still issues this very day. In addition, the cable confirmed Geagea's position towards the solution calling for limiting the possession of arms in Lebanon to the Lebanese army, respecting the Blue Line, and implementing United Nations Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1680. "The Lebanese Forces is awaiting the release of the English version of the cable and for a non-biased translation" seeing as the Al-Akhbar article is based on an unpublished document, as stated by the newspaper, "which is a sign of complicity between Al-Akhbar and WikiLeaks," the statement said. Beirut, 18 Mar 11, 18:27

2,000 Lebanese Flee Abidjan While Many of Them Cannot Afford to Leave
Naharnet/The Lebanese Ambassador to the Ivory Coast Ali Ajami assured that the Lebanese expatriates in the African country are safe and they are not being targeted in the violence.
He told As Safir in remarks published on Friday: "The situation is difficult and worrying, but it is not as dramatic as the media is making it seem." About 2,000 Lebanese have returned to Lebanon from the Ivory Coast out of some 80,000 to 100,000 expatriates in the country, he said. In addition, more than 60 percent of Lebanese in the Ivory Coast do not want to leave the country even if the situation deteriorates, the ambassador revealed. Ajami explained that some of them cannot even afford the cost of the ticket back to Beirut or even afford to live in their home country, and the Lebanese government has not taken any measures to cover the expenses of those unable to return. Middle East Airlines has however reduced the price of its tickets from the Ivory Coast to Lebanon and increased its flights from the country, he said. Beirut, 18 Mar 11, 12:39

WikiLeaks: Hamadeh Says Elias Murr Playing on Both Sides of the Fence, Trying to Save Himself Politically
Naharnet/MP Marwan Hamadeh accused Defense Minister Elias Murr of "playing on both sides of the fence" in the political divide on Lebanon, said a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar on Friday. He said in the August 1, 2006, WikiLeaks cable that Murr believed that Hizbullah would be victorious in a Lebanese civil war and "he is trying to save himself politically on the internal scene that would be established after a war."Hamadeh also revealed that then Prime Minister Fouad Saniora was upset with Murr over his criticism of his seven-point plan aimed at ending the July 2006 war. Addressing the war, Hamadeh, who was then the telecommunications minister, said that resolving the issue of the Israeli-occupied Shabaa Farms would "remove the most important element in Hizbullah's propaganda campaign" that justifies its ongoing possession of arms.As long as the issue of the Shabaa Farms is not settled, "then Lebanon will remain Syria and Hizbullah's hostage, he stressed. Beirut, 18 Mar 11, 11:59

WikiLeaks: Sfeir Expressed Concern over Shiites Displaced in 2006 War
Naharnet/Former Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir has reportedly informed ex-U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman during the 2006 war about his concern over displaced Shiites, saying they should return to their homes. According to a WikiLeaks cable published by al-Akhbar daily on Friday, Sfeir expressed his concern over Shiites fleeing the bombing in the south and residing in Beirut and Mount Lebanon during a meeting with Feltman in Bkirki on August 3, 2006. The former patriarch told Feltman that the Shiites shouldn't remain in these areas and should go back to their homes, al-Akhbar said, according to the WikiLeaks cable. Sfeir also reportedly told the former ambassador that Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun had lost his popularity among the country's Christians. Former President Emile Lahoud's stances from the resistance "are not helpful," Sfeir told Feltman during the meeting, the newspaper said. Beirut, 18 Mar 11, 11:50

UNIFIL Marks 33rd Anniversary of Presence in the South
Naharnet/The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon held a ceremony at the mission headquarters in Naqoura on Friday to mark the 33rd anniversary of its presence in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL said in a statement. Peacekeepers representing the 34 contingents that make up UNIFIL participated in the ceremony. Attending were representatives from the Lebanese armed and security forces, local mayors, community officials, as well as senior diplomats, the statement said. UNIFIL chief Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta Cuevas and Lebanese Armed Forces South Area Commander Brig. Gen. Jalal Maki representing the LAF commander laid wreaths at the UNIFIL cenotaph in memory of fallen peacekeepers. "Since its establishment, UNIFIL has suffered the loss of 306 military and civilian peacekeepers, who lost their lives while serving the cause of peace in southern Lebanon," Asarta said. "We shall never forget the ultimate sacrifice that they made in the effort to implement our mandate." "UNIFIL remains committed to increase the Lebanese Armed Forces' capabilities to perform the tasks included in Security Council resolution 1701and to gradually assume their corresponding security responsibilities in the south," he added. During the ceremony, Asarta awarded the United Nations Peace Medal to a number of military staff officers deployed in Naqoura as a token of appreciation for their contribution towards the implementation of UNIFIL's mandate, the statement said. UNIFIL was created by U.N. Security Council resolutions 425 and 426 on 19 March 1978. It currently comprises around 12,000 troops, supported by about 1,000 civilian international and local staff. Beirut, 18 Mar 11, 11:16

Hariri: Anti-corruption slogans are cover-up for seizing power
By Antoine Amrieh /Daily Star staff
Friday, March 18, 2011
TRIPOLI: Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri accused his opponents in the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance Thursday of raising the slogan of “fighting corruption” in the state bureaucracy with the aim of covering up their attempts to control the Lebanese state’s decision-making power.
“Raising slogans of fighting corruption is aimed at covering up attempts to seize the Lebanese state’s decision-making power, continue violations of sovereignty, bypass constitutional institutions, and cover up the role of weapons in intimidating the Lebanese and influencing public freedoms. This in itself is the peak of corruption because it will make the state an agent for foreign interests,” Hariri told delegations that visited him at the Quality Inn in Tripoli.
“Those who pretend to fight corruption … are corrupted themselves. All the Lebanese know their history and their corrupt practices in seizing public funds and covering up corrupt employees in the state’s departments and institutions,” he said.
Hariri was apparently referring to Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Michel Aoun, who has spearheaded a verbal campaign to fight corruption in the public administration through his Change and Reform parliamentary bloc. Hezbollah, which is allied with Aoun’s FPM, has also said that the new government to be formed by Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati must strive to stamp out deep-rooted corruption in the country.
“Fighting corruption cannot be achieved by raising slogans only in the media, but through the rise of the project [to establish a] state, energizing the work of constitutional institutions, strengthening government oversight bodies, giving freedom of movement to prosecute corrupt individuals; not through weakening the state-building project, protecting [areas outside state authority], and targeting official institutions,” Hariri said.
Hariri is on a three-day visit to the north to express his gratitude to political parties and civil organizations that participated in Sunday’s mass rally held by the March 14 coalition in Downtown Beirut to mark the sixth anniversary of the movement’s founding. He is set to deliver a speech Friday, the last day of his visit to the north.
Hariri said that while he was in power, he tried to address the citizens’ demands but his efforts were hampered by the supremacy of Hezbollah’s weapons.
“We have tried through the [policy of] extending our hand and the formation of a national unity government to boost consensus among the Lebanese in order to revive the country and pay enough attention to the citizens’ basic social and cost-of-living concerns … But we were always met with deliberate obstruction, because they do not want the state to take one step forward,” Hariri said. Apparently referring to Hezbollah, Hariri added, “They want the state to remain a prisoner of the supremacy of weapons … They want the state to remain a prisoner of personal hatred. This in itself is a sign of psychological, moral and political corruption.” Since the collapse of his government in January, Hariri has launched scathing attacks on Hezbollah’s weapons, accusing the party of using its arms to further political ends.

Mikati and March 8 figures make no progress on Cabinet
By Hussein Dakroub and Hassan Lakkis
Daily Star staff
Friday, March 18, 2011
BEIRUT: A crucial meeting between Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati and representatives of the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance failed to break the Cabinet deadlock Thursday, casting gloom over an early formation of a new government. The two-month Cabinet impasse, sparked by the toppling of caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s government, came as Riyadh and Damascus resumed direct contacts for the first time since the collapse of Saudi-Syrian efforts to find a solution for the Lebanese crisis in January.
Saudi Prince Abdel-Aziz bin Abdullah, son of Saudi King Abdullah, met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus Wednesday to deliver a letter from his father dealing with the situation in Bahrain.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran Thursday night to deliver a letter from Assad dealing with the current developments in the region, including the situation in Bahrain, the Islamic Republic News Agency IRNA reported.
Saudi Arabia and Syria, the main powerbrokers in Lebanon who back rival factions, have intervened in the past to defuse political and sectarian tensions in the country.
In Beirut, Mikati held a two-hour meeting with caretaker Energy Minister Jibran Bassil, a son-in-law of Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, MP Ali Hassan Khalil from Speaker Nabih Berri’s parliamentary Development and Liberation bloc, and Hussein Khalil, a political aide to Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, to discuss the formation of the government.
A source who was at the meeting told The Daily Star Mikati’s talks with the three did not yield any positive results that could get the stalled government formation process off the ground.
The meeting turned into “a dialogue of the deaf,” with Mikati and his guests engaging in a trade-off over the number of portfolios and the names of candidates to join the new Cabinet, FPM sources said.
According to the sources, when Bassil and Berri’s and Nasrallah’s aides asked Mikati to give them the number and kind of portfolios allotted for their blocs so that they could provide him with the names of their candidates, the prime minister-designate’s answer was: “Give me the names and I’ll match them to the portfolios.”
Asked about a date for a new meeting, an FPM source said, “Unless there is a new approach by the prime minister-designate in dealing with the FPM’s demands, there is no need for meetings just for the sake of meeting.”
Another March 8 source said the meeting discussed all matters related to the government’s formation without making any progress. “Contacts will continue to overcome obstacles,” the source said.
According to the source, the parties’ positions remained conflicting as Aoun insisted on a large Christian participation in the government for his bloc, including the key Interior Ministry portfolio. President Michel Sleiman was reported to be adamant to retain caretaker Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud.
Baabda MP Alan Aoun, a nephew of the FPM leader, told the Voice of Lebanon radio station the problem over the Interior Ministry portfolio was yet to be solved. “Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati has not so far presented any practical proposal to MP Michel Aoun,” he said.
Mikati was appointed on Jan. 25 to form a new government to replace Hariri’s Cabinet which was toppled following the resignations of the ministers of Hezbollah and its March 8 allies in a long-simmering dispute over the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is probing the 2005 assassination of Hariri’s father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Mikati, who is backed by the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance, has been struggling to form an all-embracing government. Despite the March 14 coalition’s decision to stay out, Mikati’s efforts to form a government have hit snags mainly over Aoun’s tough demands for obtaining the lion’s share of Christian participation.
Mikati said Wednesday no party or group had the right to monopolize decision-making inside the Cabinet, in what appeared to be veiled criticism of Aoun’s tough demands.
Meanwhile, Hariri said the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance did not want reconciliation after the 1975-90 Civil War, accusing it of seeking to eliminate the March 14 coalition politically. “The other side does not want reconciliation or forgiveness,” Hariri told journalists at a lunch at the Quality Inn hotel in Tripoli.
“They did the impossible to resign. They sat in Rabieh [Aoun’s residence] and announced their resignation. But where is the government today, two months and five days after their resignation? Why was the rush? This is why I think that the other side saw it had a chance to politically eliminate the March 14 groups and used all its tools to take advantage of this opportunity. But now, they don’t know what they should do,” Hariri said.
Hariri reiterated that Hezbollah’s arsenal posed a national problem.
“The state is what brings the Lebanese together, and not a political party that turns its weapons toward the Lebanese for internal political purposes,” he said.
“This party wants to impose its will on all the Lebanese through the supremacy of weapons. This is my problem with this party, while I don’t have any problem with the others,” he added. Since the collapse of his government in January, Hariri has launched blistering attacks on Hezbollah’s weapons, accusing the party of using its arms to further political ends.
Hariri is on a three-day visit to the north to thank participants in last Sunday’s mass rally held by the March 14 coalition in Downtown Beirut to mark the sixth anniversary of the movement’s founding. He is set to deliver a speech Friday.

Interview from the Daily Star with Representative Steve Chabot of Ohio, chairman of the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia/19.03.11
U.S. lawmaker calls for cutting Lebanese Army aid if Hezbollah joins government
Chabot says America should slash spending, not send money to ‘terrorist organizations’
By Michael Bluhm /Daily Star staff
Friday, March 18, 2011
Interview
BEIRUT: The U.S. Congress should cut off funding for the Lebanese Army if Hezbollah plays “even in a minor role” in the next government, a high-ranking Republican legislator told The Daily Star in an exclusive interview.
Representative Steve Chabot of Ohio, chairman of the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, said Congress should not donate U.S. taxpayer money to Lebanon if the assistance winds up under the control of Hezbollah, which he said was “clearly a terrorist organization.”
U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to give about $100 million to the army this year; since the departure of Syrian troops from Lebanon in 2005, the U.S. has contributed more than $700 million to the Lebanese military.
“I want to make sure that the United States is not giving our citizens’ tax dollars to either terrorist entities or to militaries controlled by terrorist entities,” Chabot said. “If Hezbollah is calling the shots or playing a major role or even a minor role in calling the shots, then, as far as I’m concerned, not a penny of U.S. [funding] should go to assist in terrorist-connected activities.
“The United States’ support ought to be based to a considerable degree on the extent of [Hezbollah’s] involvement in any future government. I just don’t think the United States ought to be taking our citizens’ hard-earned tax dollars and giving them to governments, organizations or militaries that are heavily involved [with] terrorist groups.”
Even though the flow of U.S. support for the army since 2005 has taken place mostly while Hezbollah members sat in various governments, Chabot said Congress needed to re-examine the funding because Hezbollah’s mushrooming clout in domestic politics had changed the political dynamic in Lebanon.
Chabot declined to comment on Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati, nominated on the strength of support from the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance, or the ongoing efforts to form a new Cabinet. “The funding of the Lebanese Armed Forces was initiated under very different circumstances than we find ourselves in now,” he said. “We’ve clearly had a shift in the government and the power, the control [and] the involvement of Hezbollah now compared to where it was when this program was initiated.
“The spirit of the Cedar Revolution was very strong then – and I think in many quarters still is strong – but Hezbollah is flexing its muscles and is clearly very involved now in running things in Lebanon. Syria and Iran continue to meddle in Lebanese affairs, and I think those are things that have to be taken into consideration when the United States is determining where around the world that we’re going to spend our scarce resources.” While others have expressed fears that the U.S. weapons and materiel earmarked for the army could end up in Hezbollah’s arsenal, Chabot said the question also revolved around the need to hold government spending in check as the federal deficit balloons. House Republicans, who gained a majority in the November 2010 midterm elections, have promised to cut $100 billion from Obama’s proposed 2011 budget.
“We have so many responsibilities here in our own country and around the world,” he said. “We’re trying to get our economy back on track here, [so] we have to be even more careful and scrutinize every outlay of American taxpayer dollars and be even more careful than we have been in the past. “If I’m having to make a decision about where funding should go, I don’t think it ought to be going to terrorist organizations whose very goals are contrary to the United States’ best interests and point of view.” When congressional debate about the foreign-aid budget begins, Chabot added that he was “going to be pushing the administration to make sure that, especially in these times when we’re trying to be fiscally prudent here in the United States … we’re not sending our money to places where terrorist organizations will benefit.”
Although Congress does not have the ability to veto individual items in the White House’s proposed budget, the legislative branch does have final control over the outlay of funds; in other words, Chabot and the Republican majority could simply withhold their ratification for sending the $100 million intended for the army, he said. “Congress has the power of the purse … meaning nothing can get spent unless Congress approves,” he added.
At the same time, Chabot said he supported the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which has driven apart Lebanon’s political camps so forcefully that differences over the court largely sparked the mass resignation of ministers in January that brought down caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s Cabinet. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has said that the U.S. and Israel are in control of the tribunal and are wielding it as tool to harm the Shiite group, and Nasrallah also said that he expects the court to indict Hezbollah members in the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. “I’ve been at the site in Beirut of the assassination of Rafik Hariri myself and was very moved by that experience,” Chabot said. “I certainly support the Special Tribunal and believe that justice should prevail in this issue, despite the fact that it looks like Hezbollah-connected individuals may well be on that [indictment], and that’s one of the reasons that they were apparently involved behind the scenes in the overthrow of the previous government.” Regardless of its place on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations, Hezbollah remains the most popular political group among Lebanon’s Shiites, and Chabot said he would not meddle in telling adherents of the sect which party to back.
“The Shiites have the right to support organizations that they determine that they want to support; they don’t have the right to demand U.S. tax dollars, and that’s what we’re talking about here,” he said. “They’re going to ultimately have to make that decision themselves [about] how valuable the U.S. tax dollars are in the scheme of things. People are going to have to use their common sense and their own good judgment in what organizations they support and don’t support.” In spite of the new fiscal vigilance of Republicans, Chabot said he was not considering any reduction in U.S. foreign assistance for Israel. Washington’s largesse for Israel is budgeted for 2011 at $3 billion – or about 30 times the amount pledged to the Lebanese Army. “We’re not talking about cuts across the board willy-nilly on everything,” Chabot said. “We’re looking at what we think the United States’ priorities are, both here and around the world, and I think Israel and its security is a priority to the United States, so I’m not advocating cuts at this time relative to Israel.”
In the end, Chabot said the long-term interest guiding his desire to eliminate U.S. aid to Lebanon for the time being was the welfare of the people of Lebanon, stating the populace would be better served if Hezbollah, Syria and Iran saw their influence here wane. “We want the best for Lebanon,” he said. “We want the best for the people of Lebanon. We just don’t think it’s in their best interest ultimately to have terrorist organizations and to have Syria and Iran play such a large role in the present and, unfortunately, maybe in their future.
“We want what the spirit of the Cedar Revolution is all about to prevail. We want people to be free, to lead good lives and be able to support their families and have freedom and free speech and not have to live in fear, not have elected officials and journalists looking over their shoulders and being afraid if they speak up that something bad might happen.
“I want the people to determine what’s in their best interest and ultimately be free, and I just don’t think Hezbollah is the answer.”

Time right for peace, says Spain foreign minister
By Mohammed Zaatari /Daily Star staff
Friday, March 18, 2011
MARJAYOUN: Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez said Thursday that the current regional status quo is now more conducive to achieving peace in the Middle East.
“The time is right to push the peace talks forward toward the right path, amid transitions to democracy in the region,” said Jimenez during her visit to the Spanish UNIFIL contingent in the southern Lebanese village of Blat.
Jimenez also said that there would be a decisive decision during the upcoming Middle East diplomatic Quartet meeting on April 15 which will gather United Nations, U.S., European Union and Russian officials in Paris in mediating the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Speaking during her visit to the Spanish battalion of UNIFIL, Jimenez voiced her hope that Lebanese political groups would reach agreement and strengthen coexistence between various sects and religions in the country. According to Jimenez, there are currently painstaking attempts by Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati, President Michel Sleiman and Lebanon’s political parties to form a national unity Cabinet. “I am pretty sure that Lebanese would succeed to surpass the difficulties facing them and they would continue to spread this lively example [pluralistic society] in this beautiful country,” Jimenez added. Accompanied by a 15-member delegation, Jimenez flew by helicopter to Blat, where she was welcomed by UNIFIL Commander Major General Alberto Asarta Cuevas. “UNIFIL has implemented most of the articles of Resolution 1701,” said Jimenez in reference to the U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which brought an end to the war between Israel and Lebanon in July and August 2006. “We are proud of Asarta’s commandership of UNIFIL; he was granted a second year [in command] by the United Nations because of his leadership skills in safeguarding security and stability in south Lebanon,” she added.
Asarta told reporters that 95 percent of the disputes over the Israeli withdrawal from northern part of the border village of Ghajar have been resolved. “It is a thorny and a complicated issue, which requires time to resolve.”Jimenez left Beirut for Madrid Thursday afternoon. – The Daily Star

Jumblatt marks his father's death with call for calm dialogue
By Maher Zeineddine
Daily Star staff
Thursday, March 17, 2011
MUKHTARA: Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt said Wednesday that dialogue was the only means to resolve the controversial issue of non-state arms and other disputes in Lebanon. “Despite tension in the country, returning to dialogue is a must, along with protecting gains, sacrifices and principles for the sake of an Arab nationalist Lebanon that confronts Israel,” the Chouf MP said, addressing crowds that flocked to his residence in Mukhtara to mark the 34th anniversary of the assassination of his father Kamal Jumblatt, the founder of the PSP.
“With regard to the issue of weapons, it can only be resolved through calm dialogue just as we did in the [National] Dialogue Committee, while [sticking to the] sole principle of [forming] a defense strategy that can guarantee confronting Israel,” Jumblatt added.
Paying their respects in Mukhtara were streams of PSP supporters, members, MPs and ministers from Jumblatt’s National Struggle Front bloc and other blocs, along with Druze religious figures, comrades of the late Jumblatt, and a host of politicians, security officials and residents from Chouf and Iqlim al-Kharoub.
Jumblatt was accompanied by his son Aslan and his daughter Dalia in the visit to the nearby resting places of Kamal Jumblatt and his two companions, where they laid wreaths.
Sidon MP Bahia Hariri and Russia’s Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin also visited Mukhtara and held talks with Jumblatt.
“This visit is to take part in marking martyr Kamal Jumblatt’s [assassination],” said Hariri. Former Tripoli MP Mosbah Ahdab visited Jumblatt as well.
Meanwhile, Speaker Nabih Berri telephoned Jumblatt, expressing solidarity with him on the occasion.
On March 16, 1977, Kamal Jumblatt and his companions Fawzi Shedid and Hafez Ghseini were shot by individuals who intercepted their car in Chouf.
The late Druze leader founded the PSP in 1949 and was the head of the National Movement, a coalition of Lebanese leftist factions that fought alongside Palestine Liberation Organization militants against Christian parties during Lebanon’s 1975-1990 Civil War.
Jumblatt called March 16, 1977, “a black day for the Mountain and for Lebanon, when Kamal Jumblatt and his two companions were killed along with hundreds of innocent people,” in reference to atrocities committed by PSP supporters against Christian residents of southern Mount Lebanon in the wake of Jumblatt’s assassination.
Jumblatt expressed his condolences for the victims of that day, vowing to work always to prevent strife.
Later in the day, Jumblatt met in Beirut with hundreds of members of the PSP’s Progressive Youth Organization.
The meeting was attended by Caretaker Transport and Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi and a number of PSP officials. During the meeting, Jumblatt said he rejected using arms domestically “because this destroys national achievements and civil peace.”
“But this does not mean laying Lebanon bare [before] the Israeli enemy before reaching a consensus over a defense strategy,” he said.
Jumblatt praised the “great change movement in the Arab world that was headed by young people,” voicing hopes that the Lebanese youth would be capable of making effective change.”
Separately, Chouf MP Marwan Hamade issued a statement on the occasion, saying: “I draw with my heart and pen a flower on his [Kamal Jumblatt’s] pure mausoleum and the mausoleums of martyrs Hafez Ghseini and Fawzi Shedid, and I review with pride and glory the march which he launched.” Hamade, along with three other MPs split with Jumblatt’s Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc over naming a prime minister in January.
Hamade and the three MPs nominated caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri, while Jumblatt’s faction supported Najib Mikati.
Aley MP Fouad Saad, another member of Hamade’s bloc, said that “we should remember this great leader who fell as a martyr of a conspiracy that continues up till today, and which we should confront today as we did before.”

Israeli spying equipment discovered in south
By Patrick Galey
Daily Star staff
Friday, March 18, 2011
BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army dismantled an Israeli electronic spy device Thursday after receiving a tip-off from members of Hezbollah, according to reports from south Lebanon.
The device, described by Army Intelligence as “high-tech,” was found close to the village of Shamaa, where the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon operates a large military base.
“A specialized unit affiliated to the Lebanese Army dismantled today a camouflaged photography and spying system planted by Israel in Shamaa near Tyre,” a communique by the army’s guidance directorate said.
The statement added that members of the resistance had informed the army of the device’s whereabouts.
“This five-part system was found based on information provided by the Resistance and given to the Lebanese Army’s Intelligence Department,” the statement said. “Technical units rushed to the scene to check, dismantle, and transfer this high-tech spying system covering the southern coast from Bayyada to Tyre.”
A security source told The Daily Star that the operation to remove the device, which was camouflaged as a rock and capable of taking and transmitting photographic data to Israeli reconnaissance drones, took most of Thursday.
The army said the device was made up of five parts, including a remote control imaging system, a long-term energy source and cooling apparatus.
The army warned members of the public to remain vigilant and on the lookout for suspicious objects. It added that any suspect device should not be approached because of the risk of booby-trapping.
An Israeli reconnaissance aircraft was seen in the skies above Alma Shaab village Thursday, a separate army statement said. “The spying jet effectuated a u-shaped flight off the south and Bekaa and left at 1:20 p.m. from above Kfar Kila,” it added.
Israel detonated two espionage devices in December 2010 after their discovery by Hezbollah, who alleged that the equipment was designed to infiltrate Lebanon’s telecommunications network. The detonation, believed to have been conducted remotely after the device’s unearthing, slightly injured two passers-by.
Also in December last year, the Lebanese Army dismantled what it claimed were two Israeli spy devices located in Sannin and Barouk mountains. Lebanon routinely complains to the U.N. about Israel’s espionage activities, although Israel has continued its near-daily reconnaissance overflights in Lebanese airspace, violating international law.
UNIFIL, which operates a large base close to Shamaa inhabited by members of the force’s Italian contingent, said it was gathering information about Thursday’s incident. Members of the force’s Spanish contingent were pelted with stones Wednesday in an attack the Lebanese Army claims was carried out by Israeli soldiers.

For Lebanon, an Irish lesson to ponder
By Patrick Granfield
Daily Star/
Friday, March 18, 2011
Whether they celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin or Dubai, few Irish are likely to let bad times prevent them from indulging in a few songs. One that has become an anthem for Ireland’s diaspora is “Danny Boy,” in which a father calls out to his son – and to the thousands of others like him who have left Ireland – to return home. The renditions this past March 17 were more melancholic than usual, and they had reason to be.
Danny Boy won’t be coming back to Ireland any time soon. Ireland’s economy has collapsed under billions of euros of debt and the property bubble has gone horribly bust. To remain solvent, the Irish government was forced to go hat in hand to the European Union, and to its former colonial master, the United Kingdom, for the equivalent of nearly $140 billion in loans. In the next two years, more Irish are expected to leave their country in search of work than at any time in Irish history.
But the Irish aren’t the only ones who know the pain of a diaspora or who have written songs about the subject. There also happens to be Lebanon. Just listen to the national diva Fairuz sing “Take Me Back to My Land,” as she yearns for the country’s “far away breezes.” The voice is distinctly Lebanese but the longing to be back on “the banks of childhood gone by” is one that millions of Lebanese and Irish have shared.
That is not all that the Lebanese and Irish have in common. Though the wounds of Lebanon’s Civil War are more recent and its sectarian divides may be deeper, Ireland has endured some of the same. And just as Ireland has served as a gateway on the North Atlantic between Europe and America, Lebanon has served a similar role in the Mediterranean, linking Europe and the Middle East for centuries. The painful histories and particular geographies of both places have helped to make the populations of Lebanese and Irish some of the world’s most diffuse.
Globalization has made geography less important and technology has shortened distances. However, this has not diminished the value of having strong links with a large diaspora. Ireland is realizing the advantages of these links once again during its current crisis.
For its part, Lebanon’s economy remained remarkably buoyant during the global downturn. However, even the most optimistic must understand that this won’t last forever. Just as it did in Ireland, gravity will eventually catch up with property prices in Lebanon. The economic pain isn’t likely to be as severe, but the Lebanese will be better prepared for it if they take to heart a lesson from Ireland’s recent past.
That lesson is that Ireland never allowed its ties to the diaspora to weaken, even as the country became far less dependent upon its expatriates for its own economic well-being. That has proven prescient. In 1999, as the so-called Celtic Tiger began to roar, Ireland amended its constitution to mention a “special affinity with people of Irish ancestry living abroad who share its cultural identity and heritage.” It was Mary Robinson, while serving as Irish president in 1995, who explained it best: “[T]his great narrative of dispossession and belonging, which so often had its origins in sorrow and leave-taking, has become – with a certain amount of historic irony – one of the treasures of our society.”
Those treasures are not just metaphorical now that Ireland is confronting its worst economic collapse in decades. A difficult decade lies ahead, but Ireland’s links with its diaspora will make it easier for the country to export its way to growth, and for its young people to find jobs and gain experience before a new Irish recovery takes root.
While Lebanon’s own history provides it with some of the oldest and most extensive of global ties, that does not mean that the country cannot benefit from further nurturing links with its own diaspora, or thinking about the Lebanese overseas in new ways. Ireland’s larger focus on that effort is instructive, though many of its particular policies won’t be suitable for Lebanon. There are a host of reasons, for instance, why adopting Ireland’s liberal citizenship policies, where a person born and living abroad requires only one Irish grandparent to earn an Irish passport, is neither feasible nor politically viable in Lebanon.
Providing Lebanese citizens who live abroad with the right to vote, as long as they return to Lebanon to do so, is one way that Lebanon has kept expatriates connected to their roots. But those who return to vote are likely to have close connections with the country already. It is in tapping members of the diaspora whose ties with Lebanon have grown thin that Lebanon has the most to gain. That is why the government would do well to follow through on a promise to allow expatriates to vote in their country of residence in the next parliamentary elections.
Here, the 7-8 million people of Lebanese heritage who live in Brazil present a particular opportunity. They descend from one of Lebanon’s older emigrant communities, and many may be less eager to retain their ties with the old country than those in other communities abroad. However, efforts to bring them back into the fold should be augmented.
As emerging markets comprise an ever larger share of global growth, the economic benefits of some of Lebanon’s more historic partnerships will begin to wane. The large diaspora in Brazil provides Lebanon an entry point into the developing world and a chance to be an interlocutor between one of the world’s rising economic powers and the Middle East.
Lebanon has seen how globalization has done little to weaken attachments to older forms of identity, whether they are rooted in religion or nationality. While this has often represented a burden for the country, it can also be a blessing by harnessing the staying power of Lebanese identity in the communities abroad.
Neither Lebanon nor Ireland can insulate itself from the increasing pace of change in the international economy. And though the diasporas of the two nations provide evidence of the challenging histories that both have confronted, they can also serve an essential role as the Lebanese and Irish attempt to profit from the global challenges to come.
**Patrick Granfield is opinion editor of The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi. He wrote this commentary for THE DAILY STAR.

A Patriarch for Lebanon
Elias Harfoush /Al Hayat
http://www.daralhayat.com/portalarticlendah/245579
Many, both in Lebanon and outside of it, find strange the exceptional concern with the election of a new Patriarch of the Maronite community. It is difficult to comprehend the reasons for such concern without knowing the role this high-ranking religious position currently plays in Lebanon’s political life, and the important role it played in the establishment of Lebanon as an entity within its current borders more than ninety years ago.
That is why the four Patriarchs who have successively occupied the seat of Bkerke since that time, ever since the days of Patriarch Elias Hoayek, have felt that they were entrusted with protecting the legacy of their predecessors, and with defending the bases upon which Lebanon’s independence was established, which are rooted in the rejection of foreign loyalties, to East or to West, and the protection of the pluralistic nature of the Lebanese structure, which sets it apart from other countries in the region, and even the world.
In light of such bases, one can understand the stances taken by all those who have ascended the throne of the Maronite Patriarchate, stances which seem to contradict each other sometimes, from one person to the next. Indeed, what connection is there, for example, between the stance of Patriarch Boulos Meouchi, who stood and “fought” against the Baghdad Pact and in defense of Abdel Nasser’s policies of unity, and that of Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, who led the Christian, and later Lebanese, campaign against Syrian tutelage? How could such apparent “contradiction” be explained, having earned the former the nickname “Mohammad Meouchi”, while leading the latter to being characterized in the harshest terms, reaching the extent of accusations of being an Israeli “agent”, sometimes from within his community itself? The explanation for this is that, in both cases, and in other examples as well, it was his concern for protecting Lebanese sovereignty and the model of coexistence which was defining the steps and the stances taken by the Lord of Bkerke. Meouchi knew how deeply Muslims in Lebanon sympathized with the movement of unity, and how deep was the enmity that arose among them against President Camille Chamoun’s tendencies at the end of his term. This is why he found the sound patriotic stance to be that of respecting the feelings of the other half of the country. Meanwhile, Sfeir spoke of the threats which he considered Syrian influence to have come to pose for the existence of the state, its sovereignty and its freedom to make decisions. He also realized that the voices of Muslims in Lebanon would rise in warning against these threats as well, as soon as they would be given the chance to express themselves, which is indeed what took place.
Based on those same standards, “Mohammad Meouchi” stood against the Cairo Agreement, which “regulated” armed Palestinian presence in “Fatahland” in South Lebanon, when he found it to pose a threat to Lebanon’s sovereignty, despite the fact that the agreement met at the time with the sympathy of Muslims. Similarly, Patriarch Sfeir defended the Taif Agreement, which was supported by the majority of Muslims in Lebanon, in the face of General Michel Aoun, the leader of those who opposed the agreement at the time, claiming that it undermined Lebanon’s sovereignty. Yet when Sfeir waged the battle of defending the country’s sovereignty when it became truly threatened, he found Michel Aoun at the head of those opposing him.
All of those stances indicate that the Patriarch’s opponents are the ones who are changing, according to their interests and their whims, while Bkerke’s stances are the ones that have remained constant. Thus those who had wagered on Patriarch Sfeir’s successor being one less harsh in expressing patriotic stances will most likely be disappointed by the election of Bechara Rai as the new Patriarch of the Maronites. Indeed, Rai is not a man of religion of the meek kind, who views his role as being merely restricted to praying inside churches. He is not the kind of man who would even blink if he wanted to express a stance on a dispute or on any issue. Indeed, he has been the most visible from among the Bishops in the media, and the most open to people, in addition to being the one who has remained the most in contact with all parties to the internal Christian dispute, without any of this changing the clarity of his stances against those whose disagreement with Patriarch Sfeir reached the extent of physically assaulting him.
And if there is a description that would fit the new Patriarch, it is that he is a Patriarch for Lebanon, in the sense that he is profoundly convinced of the importance of pluralism in Lebanese society and of the importance of respecting the different cultures of the Lebanese and the freedom to practice their religious rites. Yet at the same time, he is a strong defender of the Lebanese identity, with what it represents in terms of rejecting all kinds of affiliation to foreign powers, whichever they may be.
Yet Bechara Rai, above all of this and before it, is a man who believes in dialogue as the way to resolve all disagreements, whether they take place among the Maronites themselves or between them and the other Lebanese. But of course the path of dialogue cannot be walked if it is open from only one side, and here lies the responsibility of the others, within the community and outside of it, to make use of the fact that this modern Bishop has been selected to head the Maronite Church under such circumstances.
*Published in the London-based AL-HAYAT on March 17, 2011.

Chicago Initiative Calls Attention to Mistreatment of Christians in Middle East
 3-18-2011 3:6:37
Assyrian International News Agency
Christians living in the U.S. must be more outspoken about the suffering endured by their sisters and brothers living under shariah law in Muslim-majority countries, particularly in the Middle East.That's the message that came out of a one-day conference that took place near Chicago on March 12, 2011. The conference, titled The Persecuted church: Christian Believers in Peril in the Middle East, was organized by more than a dozen organizations including local churches, proponents of religious freedom and Middle Eastern Christian groups in the U.S. that promote the rights of Christians in the region.
"This is a historic event," said Walid Phares, author of "The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East and the keynote speaker. "The gathering of representatives of Copts, Assyrian-Chaldeans, Lebanese Christians and other Middle East Christians in Chicago, along with Christian and secular American groups, all advocating for the rights of indigenous populations in the Middle East from all ethnic and religious background, is a game changer in how we view human rights in the region. I call this event, the 'Chicago Initiative,' and wish to see it happening across the nation."
Attendees of the conference learned that hostility toward Christians is an undeniable fact of life in Muslim countries and that governments in the Middle East have failed to protect the lives of indigenous Christians in the region. This problem has largely been ignored in the West because of a failure on the part of the media to cover the story, said Phares said.
"I would like to see two hours on C-Span dedicated the plight of Coptic Christians in Egypt," he said.
Speakers at the conference described how Christians in Iraq, Iran and Egypt have been attacked by their neighbors and their governments. They also spoke about how shariah law is enshrined in the constitutions of Iraq and Egypt.
Juliana Taimoorazy, director of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council, headquartered in Chicago, detailed the horrific attacks against Christians in Iraq and stated people should no longer refer to Christians in the region as minorities because it obscures that they are living in their homelands.
"We are the indigenous people of Iraq," she said.
Father Keith Roderick, an Episcopal priest and General Secretary of the Coalition for the Defense of Human Rights said Christians cannot rely on traditional media outlets to cover the mistreatment of indigenous groups with the attention it deserve. As a result, they will have to take matters into their own hands and publicize the events themselves. In particular, they should take advantage of social media to get their story out.
"The people themselves have to be their own media," he said.
Carl Moeller, President and CEO of Open Doors USA, a group that supports persecuted Christians in more than 60 countries, compared indifference to the plight of Christians to the disease of leprosy, which causes nerve endings in peoples' extremities to die. As a result, people can't respond to threats to their well-being. Christians cannot let the same process take place in the Church, which is the Body of Christ.
"We can't allow ourselves to become spiritual lepers," he said.
Todd Nettleton, director of Media Development for the Voice of the Martyrs, which advocates for persecuted Christians throughout the world stated that Christians in the Middle East have served as a powerful example for Christians living elsewhere in the world where persecution is not a problem.
"We do want more freedom for our Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East. We want more rights; we want their governments to protect those rights," he said. "But at the same time we understand that from the very beginning God has allowed persecution to strengthen the church and to spread the gospel message around the world."
The point of the conference was not to demonize Islam or antagonize Muslims, said Dexter Van Zile, Christian Media Analyst for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA), one of the co-sponsors of the conference. The goal was to inform the American public about an underreported problem and put leaders on notice that Christians in the Middle East need protection.
"Christians in the Middle East do not have the money to hire PR experts and lobbyists," he said. "They must pay with their lives and blood to get their hearing. We must not break faith with by ignoring their story."
By Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
www.camera.org