LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 05/2011
Bible Quotation for today/The Question about Paying Taxes
Matthew 22/15- 22: "The Pharisees went off and made a plan to trap Jesus
with questions. Then they sent to him some of their disciples and some members
of Herod's party. Teacher, they said, we know that you tell the truth. You teach
the truth about God's will for people, without worrying about what others think,
because you pay no attention to anyone's status. Tell us, then, what do you
think? Is it against our Law to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor, or not? Jesus,
however, was aware of their evil plan, and so he said, You hypocrites! Why are
you trying to trap me? Show me the coin for paying the tax! They brought
him the coin, and he asked them, Whose face and name are these? The Emperor's,
they answered. So Jesus said to them, Well, then, pay to the Emperor what
belongs to the Emperor, and pay to God what belongs to God. When they heard
this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.
Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from
miscellaneous sources
Iran will retaliate "outside its borders" for US drone, also blockade
Hormuz/DEBKAfile Special Report/December 4, 11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for
November 04/11
Two Shot and Wounded in Choueifat, Ain al-Rummaneh
Iran Says Downed U.S. Drone, Threatens Revenge
Islamists Triumph in Egypt's 1st Round of Elections
Al-Rahi Rejects Colors of Politicians, Says Committed to Unity
Syria Ignores Arab Deadline, Faces New Sanctions
EDL: Operations Resume at Zahrani Power Plant
Hawsh al-Abid Residents Block Road to Protest Power Cuts
Jumblat: STL Could Become Minor Issue in Case of Civil War
Opposition Slams ‘Militia Behavior’ of Zahrani Plant Shutdown
Nancy Ajram Lights Downtown Beirut Christmas Tree
Al-Hout: Pilots Suspended Strike without Preconditions
Arslan: Miqati Rescued Stability despite Our Reservations
Feltman: We're Looking for Peaceful Ways to Stop Syria Killing
Seven Israeli Women Held over Right-wing Violence
Jumblat: STL Could Become Minor Issue in Case of Civil War
Nancy Ajram Lights Downtown Beirut Christmas Tree
Qaida Suspects Kill Five Yemen Soldiers
Iran Says Downed U.S. Drone, Threatens Revenge
Bassil Says Zahrani Plant Shutdown a ‘Dangerous Precedent’
Nancy Ajram Lights Downtown Beirut Christmas Tree
Iran
will retaliate "outside its borders" for US drone, also blockade Hormuz
DEBKAfile Special Report/December 4, 2011/Tehran quickly latched onto US Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta's warning Friday, Dec. 2 that an Israeli strike at Iran's
nuclear facilities would cause unpredictable results. Sunday, Iran issued two
threats: to hit back beyond its borders for a US reconnaissance drone which its
military claimed to have shot down in the near the border with Afghanistan and
Pakistan and that an oil embargo on its exports would boost the price of oil to
$250 a barrel.
This was another way of threatening a tit for tat in the form of a blockade on
the Strait of Hormuz, the most important oil channel in the world, and the
transit of Saudi and Gulf oil. This was a reference to another of the US defense
secretary's warning Friday that: "…any disruption of the free flow of commerce
through the Persian Gulf is a very grave threat to all of us" and a red line for
the US."
The unmanned aerial vehicle the Iranian military claimed in a report on English
language Press TV to have shot down Sunday over the eastern part of the country
was described in Tehran's statement was an RQ-170. Iranian sources in Tehran
report it was flying over the underground Fordo facility near Qom, where
debkafile's military and intelligence sources uranium is being covertly enriched
from 20 to 60 percent. The Iranians did not say when the incident happened.
However, some confusion set in when NATO command in Afghanistan later said a US
unarmed reconnaissance aircraft flying over western Afghanistan had been missing
since late last week. The US RQ-170 drone is an unarmed, unmanned stealth
aircraft equipped with the most advanced reconnaissance instruments for
detecting nuclear weapons systems. Our sources report that these spy planes
operate over Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Turkey as well as Iran and
Afghanistan.
The Iranian news agencies quoted senior Iranian officers as claiming the seized
the drone which was downed with minimum damage. Their threat to retaliate
outside Iran's borders for its alleged intrusion was not specific. It may well
extend to embattled Syria to demonstrate that Iran keeps faith with its allies.
Some Middle East military sources suggest that Iran might try to shoot down US
drones over Turkey to warn Ankara to keep its hands off Syria. In the past week,
Turkish leaders were again saying they had lost patience with Bashar Assad's
brutality and intransigence and were close to sending troops across the border
to establish a buffer zone in northern Syria for refugees and rebels. Iran might
also use its Lebanese pawn, Hizballah, to shoot down Israeli spy planes over
that country's air space.
The foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast in Tehran said Sunday that as
soon as the United State and the West propose imposing an embargo on Iranian oil
exports, "the price of oil will soar above $250 a barrel. Therefore, any attempt
to strangle the Iranian economy by choking off its oil exports will be met by
retaliation in kind, the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz to Saudi and Gulf oil.
Feltman: We're Looking for Peaceful Ways to Stop Syria Killing
Naharnet /A senior U.S. official said on Sunday that the world is looking for
peaceful ways to end "killing and brutality" in Syria, accusing Iran of
supporting the murder of Syrian people.
"While the goal of all us is to find ways to stop the killing and brutality, we
are looking for peaceful ways to do so," Jeffrey Feltman, assistant secretary of
state for near eastern affairs, told reporters in Amman. "We think it is
appalling what is happening in Syria, that you have (president) Bashar al-Assad
basically driving the country to violence and sectarian strife by the actions he
is taking."
More than 4,000 have died in the Syrian regime's continuing crackdown on dissent
and protests which erupted in mid-March, according to the United Nations. "We
believe that in full light of monitors and media, the security services
reporting to Assad and his clique would not be able to operate the way they are
operating now," said Feltman. "By allowing the monitors in, by allowing the
media in, that's a peaceful way of trying to stop this sustained cycle of
violence that Assad seems committed to turning Syria into." Syria faced new
sanctions after flouting Sunday an Arab League deadline to accept observers to
monitor the unrest sweeping the country. An Arab League ministerial committee
late on Saturday gave Damascus until Sunday to allow an observer mission into
the country and thereby avoid further sanctions. A senior Qatari official said
Damascus had asked for "new clarifications and further amendments to be made to
the protocol which was proposed" to cover the deployment of the observer
mission. But the Arab ministers had "refused." Feltman, who held talks with King
Abdullah II to discuss regional issues, also accused Iran of backing the
crackdown. "Iran is supporting, facilitating the murder of Syrian people. They
are providing support for Assad. They are providing technical assistance to tap
into opposition communications," he said. "Iran is actively engaged in trying to
help Assad put down peaceful protests inside Syria. I cannot imagine that this
is good for the long-term Iranian-Syrian relationship, and that is just fine
with us." Tehran has expressed some criticism of Syria's violent crackdown on
protesters, but has also accused the United States and Israel of stirring up
trouble there and opposed the Arab League's suspension of Syria.
Source Agence France Presse
Al-Rahi Rejects Colors of Politicians, Says Committed to Unity
Naharnet /Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi rejected on Sunday the political
choices of officials stressing his commitment to national unity through the
diversity of the Lebanese society.
“When we announce that we are with everybody and we reject being tinted with the
color of anyone at the level of political choices, that’s because we are
committed to building unity through diversity,” al-Rahi said in his sermon.
“Only the absolute truth brings everybody together,” he stressed. Al-Rahi
rejected the language of politicians that tries to stir differences. “We can no
longer afford a political rhetoric empty of any vision,” he said. “We long to
hear the language of a plan that brings a solution to the political and economic
crises
Two Shot and Wounded in Choueifat, Ain al-Rummaneh
Naharnet /Two people were shot and wounded on Sunday in two separate incidents
in the Mount Lebanon regions of Choueifat and Ain al-Rummaneh, state-run
National News Agency reported.
“At 4:00 pm, an unidentified gunman opened fire at young man Ali Nabil Sheet,
19, wounding him in the head, in the Choueifat area of Kouh al-Blata,” NNA said.
The agency added that the wounded young man was rushed to Kamal Jumblat Hospital
in Choueifat. It later reported that the guard of one of the banks in the area
was behind the shooting at a motorcycle carrying Sheet and another passenger,
“who were trying to snatch (the purse) of a woman.” Meanwhile in the Ain al-Rummaneh
district of Sannine, gunman R. M. opened fire at a Kia Rio car driven by Douri
Imad, who was accompanied by Elie Khoury, NNA said. As a result, Khoury was
wounded in his thigh and rushed to hospital for treatment.The agency did not
elaborate on the reason behind the incident.
Opposition Slams ‘Militia Behavior’ of Zahrani Plant Shutdown
Naharnet /March 14 general-secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid described the
shutdown of the Zahrani power plant as a “militia act” that should be
confronted. “We are facing a behavior of a militia that targets all sectors and
lately the Zahrani power plant,” Soaid told An Nahar daily published Sunday. “If
the Malaysian company that operates the plant has a manager who represents it,
its workers are from Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal movement,” the opposition
official said. His comment came amid reports that the shutdown was aimed at
avenging the payment of Lebanon’s share to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that
is set to try ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s suspected assassins. The STL has
indicted four members of Hizbullah which is allied with Amal. An Nahar said the
protest wouldn’t have come “without a major political cover.” But Electricite du
Liban said the shutdown came on Friday in protest at the transportation of a
major MVA power transformer in the plant from Tyre to Sidon. “Would Sidon and
consequently all of Lebanon be punished for the transportation of a transformer
from Zahrani to the city?” Soaid wondered. He dubbed this behavior as
“sectarian,” saying it puts the South in confrontation with Sidon which was and
still is the capital of southern Lebanon.
The Zahrani is the second-largest power plant in the country after Zouk Mikhael.
Jumblat: STL Could Become Minor Issue in Case of Civil War
Naharnet /Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat brushed off the
bickering between the March 8 and 14 forces on the international tribunal,
saying they should instead avert a possible Lebanese civil war over the crisis
in Syria. “What’s happening in Lebanon, around us and in Syria could turn the
tribunal into a minor issue if there was strife in Lebanon,” Jumblat said as he
laid a wreath on the grave of his slain father Kamal Jumblat on the occasion of
his birthday. The bickering on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the
so-called false witnesses is useless, he said. “Former PM Saad Hariri’s answer
to Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is neither beneficial nor
positive.”The Druze leader was referring to Hariri’s response to Nasrallah’s
attack on him.
The false witnesses have allegedly misled U.N. investigators probing the
assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri. The Hizbullah secretary-general urged
Premier Najib Miqati to put the issue on the cabinet agenda and later refer it
to the Higher Judicial Council to prosecute those standing behind the witnesses.
“I don’t think that Hizbullah would interfere in internal struggles in Syria,”
Jumblat said, stressing that its arms are only aimed at defending Lebanon from
Israel.
The Syrian crisis would only be solved through the Arab League initiative, the
PSP chief said.
The League on Sunday awaited Syria's response to a deadline to allow in
observers to monitor the country's unrest, a day after the pan-Arab body slapped
sanctions on senior Syrian officials.
EDL: Operations Resume at Zahrani Power Plant
Naharnet/Operations have resumed at the Zahrani electricity plant, which will
return to its full capacity starting Monday morning, Electricite du Liban
announced Sunday, after media reports said contacts between Premier Najib Miqati
and Speaker Nabih Berri had managed to resolve the crisis. “Today, Starting 1:00
pm … work began to gradually reconnect the Zahrani plant to the grid, which will
become fully functional Monday morning … should no technical problems arise due
to the forced and sudden suspension of production units for around 48 hours,”
EDL said in a statement.
“On December 2, 2011, the institution sent a warning to the Malaysian firm YTL,
which runs the plant, holding it responsible for the situation -- given that the
employees who forced the shutdown of the plant are under its authority – and
asking it to take the measures necessary to resume operations in the plant,” EDL
added. The company also sent memos on the same date to the ministries of
interior and defense, asking them to provide protection for the plant and its
operations in order to secure power feed to the citizens, it said in the
statement.
EDL stressed that it would follow up the issue with the relevant authorities “to
prevent the recurrence of this dangerous precedent and the jeopardizing of any
of the facilities of the company, which is a public institution providing a
vital service to all Lebanese citizens.” EDL’s announcement came after workers
suspended their protest that led to the shutdown of the Zahrani power plant,
according to media reports.
Electricite du Liban had said the shutdown occurred on Friday in protest at the
transportation of a major MVA power transformer in the plant from Tyre to Sidon.
Many areas across the country experienced blackouts over the weekend because the
plant provides 35 percent of the country’s electricity supply.
But MTV said that the power plant will resume operations starting Sunday night.
The federation of Zahrani municipalities and officials in the area had earlier
held a meeting at Berri’s office in Msaileh.
They urged the plant workers syndicate to “immediately suspend the strike and
resume operations.”
The conferees said they have received promises from officials and EDL to
reinstall a transformer that meets the electricity needs of the region.
Miqati’s sources confirmed to Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3) that power
would gradually return to the South and the areas that were affected by the
outages.
They said the workers suspended their strike after the premier came up with a
plan that would be implemented to resolve technical and administrative problems.
Bassil Says Zahrani Plant Shutdown a ‘Dangerous Precedent’
Naharnet /Energy Minister Jebran Bassil said the shutdown of the Zahrani power
plant was a “dangerous precedent,” adding it was a violation similar to the
funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
In remarks to al-Jadeed television, Bassil said: “What’s happening at this plant
is a violation in addition to other violations carried out (in the country),
including the funding of the tribunal.”
The minister was referring to Premier Najib Miqati’s announcement that he had
transferred the funds to the STL that has indicted four Hizbullah members in the
Feb. 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and 21 others. “What is
happening today didn’t even take place during the Lebanese (civil) war,” Bassil
said. “The citizen shouldn’t be held responsible for the political bickering.”
But former Energy Minister Mohammed Abdul Hamid Baidoun told An Nahar newspaper
that Bassil should clarify the reasons that led to the shutdown of the plant on
Friday. He should also announce the measures taken by his ministry to resolve
the crisis, Baidoun said. Electricite du Liban has said the shutdown came
in protest at the transportation of a 40 MVA power transformer in the plant from
Tyre to Sidon. But media reports have said that the workers of the plant were
avenging the payment of Lebanon’s funds to the STL. The parliamentary energy
committee should hold an emergency meeting “to investigate the case that
destroys the economy and public life,” Baidoun said. He wondered why the general
prosecutor’s office hasn’t taken any action yet. “Why hasn’t it issued an arrest
warrant yet?”
Arslan: Miqati Rescued Stability despite Our Reservations
Naharnet /Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan stressed Sunday that
“preserving the Resistance’s weapons is the key to general stability in the
country,” noting that Premier Najib Miqati “has favored the financing of the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon over obstruction, for the sake of
stability.”“Preserving the Resistance’s weapons is the key to general stability
in the country, especially that it is twinned with the army and the people in a
tripartite epic,” Arslan said in a speech at an inauguration ceremony in the
southern district of Hasbaya. “Between disarmament and keeping the weapons is a
massive space separating right from wrong, victory from defeat, strength from
weakness, heroism from cowardice, and the free, sovereign, independent Lebanon
from the enslaved, chained, occupied Lebanon,” he added. Separately, Arslan said
Miqati “overcame his crisis with the minimum of losses, favoring (STL) financing
over obstruction and rescuing stability, despite our reservations.”
But he called on Miqati to activate government’s work and “open the file of
false witnesses.”Source Agence France Presse
Al-Hout: Pilots Suspended Strike without Preconditions
Naharnet /Middle East Airlines chairman Mohammed al-Hout on Sunday said that the
pilots had suspended their 5-day strike “without preconditions or promises and
commitments from the company’s administrative board.”“We welcome the decision of
the pilots’ union to suspend their strike, which was unjustified and illegal,”
Hout said in an interview with state-run National News Agency.
Addressing the company’s employees, the chairman said “this firm will go on and
it will always move forward and prosper through the efforts of its employees,
according to the plans drawn by the company’s administrative board.” Hout also
extended his apologies to the passengers, stressing that MEA had “exerted all
efforts possible to secure their trips, operating more than 40 percent of the
company’s flights (on its own planes), while securing the rest of flights aboard
the planes of other companies.” “We hope they will continue to place their trust
in this national company,” he added.
MEA pilots at midnight on Saturday ended a five-day strike in protest at the
dismissal of a cancer-stricken colleague which grounded dozens of flights at
Beirut airport.
Normal scheduling resumed on Sunday. "Out of concern for our company and
Lebanon's tourism sector, and out of respect for our passengers, we announce the
suspension of our strike," Captain Fadi Khalil, head of the pilots' union, said
at a news conference Saturday, adding that the strike was "in principle over."
He said the decision came after the MEA administration agreed to pay striking
pilots full salaries for the month and revoked its threat to dismiss them. The
pilots had been due to end their initially 48-hour strike on Wednesday evening
but prolonged the action after the company withdrew five days worth of wages and
sent a warning letter to each striking pilot threatening dismissal. The strike
was announced on Monday after an MEA captain who had served the airline for 38
years was laid off as soon as he went on sick leave to undergo treatment for
cancer. The company has since come to a fair agreement with the captain, Khalil
said. The losses incurred by MEA have yet to be determined.
Seven Israeli Women Held over Right-wing Violence
Naharnet/Seven young Israeli women, six of them minors, have been arrested on
suspicion of participating in the destruction of hundreds of Palestinian olive
trees, Israeli police said on Sunday.
The women are also accused of taking part in demonstrations against the
dismantling of illegal settlement outposts in the West Bank, during which
Israeli army equipment was damaged, a police spokeswoman told Agence France
Presse.The women have not yet been charged, but will appear before a court later
on Sunday where police will request their detention be extended, she added.
The Palestinians accuse Israel of rarely acting against Israelis accused of
destroying Palestinian property, including hundreds of olive trees throughout
the West Bank. Right-wing Israeli activists have been accused of a variety of
acts against Palestinians and their property, including attacking mosques in the
West Bank. The Israeli government has condemned such attacks, but Palestinian
officials say Israeli police are slow to act in response. Source Agence France
Presse
Nancy Ajram Lights Downtown Beirut Christmas Tree
Naharnet /Lebanese pop singer Nancy Ajram pressed the button to illuminate a
giant Christmas tree during the launch of the 2011 Christmas Festivities in
downtown Beirut on Saturday night.
On a stage decorated with lights and Christmas items, Nancy flipped the switch
to light up the tree. Lebanese of all ages, mainly children, watched the
fireworks illuminating the Beirut skies as the festivities were launched. Last
year, former Premier Saad Hariri illuminated the giant tree.
Iran Says Downed U.S. Drone, Threatens Revenge
Naharnet /Iran's military said it shot down a U.S. Army drone inside its
territory near the Afghan and Pakistani borders on Sunday, and threatened to
retaliate for the violation, Iranian media reported.
State-run Al-Alam Arabic language satellite channel, quoting a military source
in Iran's joint chiefs of staff, said late Sunday the RQ-170 unmanned aerial
vehicle was shot down "a few hours ago."
However, the NATO-led military force in Afghanistan said later on Sunday that
the drone in question "may" belong to the United States. "The UAV (unmanned
aerial vehicle) to which the Iranians are referring may be a U.S. unarmed
reconnaissance aircraft that had been flying a mission over western Afghanistan
late last week," the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.
"The operators of the UAV lost control of the aircraft and had been working to
determine its status." The semiofficial Fars news agency, which has close ties
to the Revolutionary Guards responsible for Iran's air defense and ballistic
missile systems, said the drone had made an incursion into Iran's eastern
airspace. "Our air defense and electronic warfare units managed to identify and
shoot down an advanced unmanned spy aircraft -- an RQ-170 -- after it briefly
violated the eastern border territory," Fars said, quoting an unnamed military
source.
The drone "was downed with slight damage. It is now under the control of our
forces," the source added. The source warned that Iran's armed response would
"not be limited to our country's borders" for the "blatant territorial
violation." No images of the drone said to have been shot down were immediately
published by any of the media carrying the reports.
The RQ-170 Sentinel is a high-altitude reconnaissance drone whose existence was
revealed in 2009 by specialized reviews and later confirmed by the U.S. Air
Force in 2010.
In January, Iran announced that its forces had downed two U.S. drones after they
violated Iranian-controlled airspace. It said it would put the aircraft on
display to the public, but there has been no indication it ever did so. In June,
Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Guards' aerospace
unit, said Iran had shown Russian experts the U.S. drones in its possession.
"Russian experts requested to see these drones and they looked at both the
downed drones and the models made by the Guards through reverse engineering," he
said.
Hajizadeh did not specify how many U.S. drones were shown nor give any details
of the copies Iran was said to have made of the aircraft.
The U.S. military and the CIA routinely use drones to monitor military activity
in the region. They have also reportedly used them to launch missile strikes in
Yemen as well as in Afghanistan and in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt. The
latest report comes at a time of heightened political tension over Iran's
nuclear program, with speculation rife that Israel is mulling air strikes
against Iranian atomic facilities, with or without U.S. backing. Iranian
officials and Guards commanders, who regularly boast about Tehran's military
capabilities, have warned against any such military action targeting the Islamic
republic.
Source Agence France Presse
Islamists Triumph in Egypt's 1st Round of Elections
Naharnet/Islamists trounced their liberal rivals in the opening phase of Egypt's
first election since the fall of Hosni Mubarak, figures showed on Sunday, with
one in four voters choosing hardline Salafists.
Islamist parties won 65 percent of all votes cast for parties in the first round
of parliamentary polls, while the secular liberals who played a key part in the
January-February uprising managed just 13.4 percent.
Among the Islamist vote, the moderate Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) of the
Muslim Brotherhood won 36.6 percent, followed by the hardline Salafist al-Nour
party with 24.4 percent and the moderate al-Wasat with 4.3 percent. "We welcome
the Egyptian people's choice," FJP spokesman Ahmed Sobea told Agence France
Presse. "Egypt now needs all parties to cooperate together to get it out of its
crisis."
The Brotherhood had been widely forecast to triumph as the country's most
organized political group, well known after decades of charitable work and
opposition to Mubarak's 30-year autocratic regime.
But the showing from Salafist groups, which advocate a fundamentalist
interpretation of Islam dominant in Saudi Arabia, was a surprise, raising fears
of a more conservative and overtly religious 498-member new lower parliament.
The Salafis, newcomers who founded parties only after the toppling of Mubarak in
February, trailed the FJP only slightly in the city of Alexandria and won a
majority in northern Kafr el-Sheikh and Damietta provinces. Followers of the
Salafi strain of Islam advocate a stricter segregation of the sexes, the full
veiling of women, a ban on alcohol and the idea that all sovereignty flows from
God. There were few bright spots for the liberal secular movement which played a
key role in the 18-day uprising that led Mubarak to stand down and hand power to
a council of army leaders charged with ushering in democracy. Mohammed Hamed, a
candidate with the liberal Free Egyptians party, warned that the Islamists would
face widespread resistance if they enforced a strict interpretation of Islam,
followed by about 90 percent of Egyptians. "All the people will turn into the
opposition. Most Muslims are not extremist. If they do not feel the danger (of
hardline Islamism) yet, they will if it is applied," he said. Mohammed Abdul
Ghani, a liberal candidate, told the independent Al-Shorouq newspaper that his
movement needed to counter propaganda that "non-Islamist candidates were
infidels."
The results in Egypt fit a pattern established in Tunisia and Morocco where
Islamists have also gained in elections as they benefit from the new freedoms
brought by the pro-democracy movements of the Arab Spring. Israel, which shares
a border and peace agreement with Egypt, expressed deep concern over the trend.
"We are worried," Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz told Israel public radio on
Sunday, adding that he hoped Egypt "won't become an extremist Islamist state
because that would put the whole region in danger." The Brotherhood has been at
pains to stress its commitment to multi-party democracy, inclusiveness and civil
liberties, while also advocating the application of sharia law.
Nevertheless, the prospect of an Islamist-dominated parliament raises fears
among liberals about religious freedom in a country with the Middle East's
largest Christian minority and women's rights.
"Islamic culture is compatible with democratic principles," FJP vice president
Essam al-Erian told AFP last week in an effort to counter alleged "Islamophobia"
in the local media.
Voting on Monday and Tuesday was only the opening phase of an election for a new
lower house of parliament that is taking place in three stages, but the returns
reveal the main political trends now shaping Egypt. Only one third of districts
have voted. The rest of the country will go the polls in a further two stages
later this month and in January.
Voters were required to pass three votes: two for individual candidates and one
for a party or coalition. The figures above are for the party results.
Both the FJP and al-Nour stand to gain further seats in run-off elections on
Monday for the individual candidates. Only four out of 56 individual seats were
won outright in the first round of voting.
The FJP said it had 45 candidates in the 52 run-offs to be decided on Monday,
according to its website. Al-Nour has 26, a party official told AFP. The
Brotherhood and other political parties are now expected to face a fierce power
struggle for control with the interim army regime to ensure Egypt's revolution
is completed and power is handed over. The first test will be over the formation
of a new caretaker government, with the Brotherhood insisting on the right to
form a cabinet to replace the army-appointed administration. The second struggle
will be over a new constitution next year and the relative powers given to
parliament, a new president to be elected by next June, and the army. For Monday
and Tuesday's vote, elections committee secretary general Yusri Abdul Karim said
final percentages would not be given until the end of balloting for the lower
house of parliament on January 10. The percentages were calculated by AFP on the
basis of total number of valid votes cast.
The FJP won 3.56 million out of a total 9.73 million votes cast, or 36.6
percent. Al-Nour party won 2.37 million, or 24.4 percent, and the Wasat party
415,590 votes, or 4.3 percent.
The main liberal coalition, the Egyptian Bloc, won 1.29 million votes or 13.4
percent. After the lower house is elected in January, Egyptians will go to the
polls for a further three rounds of voting to elect an upper chamber.Source
Agence France Presse
Syria Ignores Arab Deadline, Faces New Sanctions
Naharnet /Syria faced new sanctions after flouting Sunday an Arab League
deadline to accept observers to monitor the unrest sweeping the country, which
the U.N. says has killed more than 4,000 people.
A senior Qatari official said Damascus had asked for "new clarifications and
further amendments to be made to the protocol which was proposed" to cover the
deployment of the observer mission.
But the Arab ministers had "refused." The Qatari official said, however, that if
Syrian officials "still want to sign, they can come tomorrow to Cairo." The Arab
League ministerial committee late on Saturday gave Damascus until Sunday to
allow an observer mission into the country and thereby avoid further sanctions.
The meeting in Doha listed 19 Syrian officials it said would be banned from
travel to Arab countries and whose assets would be frozen by those states.
The panel also called for an embargo on the sale of Arab arms to Syria and cut
by half the number of Arab flights into and out of Syria with effect from
December 15.
The national carrier Syrian Air will be affected by the flight reductions, while
among the 19 officials banned from travel to Arab countries are the defense and
interior ministers and other top intelligence officials. President Bashar al-Assad's
brother, General Maher al-Assad, who heads the feared Fourth Armored Division,
and his cousin Rami Makhlouf, a telecommunications tycoon, are also among those
banned from travel. The Arab panel also tasked a committee with drawing up a
list of Syrian businessmen involved in financing the repression, ahead of
slapping them with sanctions.
"This is a message to businessmen who have kept silent, so that they will choose
what side to be on," said Najib Ghadban, a member of the opposition Syrian
National Council which represents most of Assad's opponents.
An analyst in Damascus said there were "very few chances" that the government
would allow in observers under the conditions set by the Arab League. Syria says
the conditions undermine its sovereignty.
The Arab League had on November 27 approved a first wave of sweeping sanctions
against Assad's government over the crackdown -- the first time that the bloc
has enforced such punitive measures against a member state. Those measures
included an immediate freeze on transactions with Damascus and its central bank
and on Syrian regime assets in Arab countries.
The latest standoff between the Syria and the Arab League comes as the death
toll from violence across the country on Saturday and Sunday rose to at least
31, and after the U.N. Human Rights Council accused Damascus of "gross
violations" of human rights. On the ground, three children aged 11, 14 and 16,
were among eight people killed across Syria on Sunday by security forces and
pro-regime "shabiha" militiamen, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Britain-based watchdog earlier reported 11 civilians among 23 people killed
on Saturday, most occurring in the northwestern province of Idlib, a focal point
of anti-regime protests raging since March. Sunday's deadline was announced in
Doha by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, who also warned
against the internationalization of the Syrian crisis if Damascus did not heed
the Arab call. "As Arabs we fear that if the situation continues things will get
out of Arab control," Sheikh Hamad said.
In Geneva on Friday, an emergency meeting of the Human Rights Council passed a
resolution "strongly condemning the continued widespread, systematic and gross
violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the Syrian authorities."
Damascus rejected the resolution as "unjust" and said it was "prepared in
advance by parties hostile to Syria."
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in Geneva on
Friday that at least 4,000 people have been killed in the crackdown on dissent
in Syria since mid-March.
"We are placing the figure at 4,000. But the information coming to us is that
it's much more," she said.
Source Agence France Presse