LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 23/2011
Bible Quotation for today/The Parable of the Three Servants
Matthew 25/14--30: " At that time the Kingdom of heaven will be like this. Once
there was a man who was about to leave home on a trip; he called his servants
and put them in charge of his property. He gave to each one according to
his ability: to one he gave five thousand gold coins, to another he gave two
thousand, and to another he gave one thousand. Then he left on his trip. The
servant who had received five thousand coins went at once and invested his money
and earned another five thousand. In the same way the servant who had received
two thousand coins earned another two thousand. But the servant who had received
one thousand coins went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's
money. After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled
accounts with them. The servant who had received five thousand coins came in and
handed over the other five thousand. You gave me five thousand coins, sir, he
said. Look! Here are another five thousand that I have earned. Well done, you
good and faithful servant! said his master. You have been faithful in managing
small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and
share my happiness! Then the servant who had been given two thousand coins came
in and said, You gave me two thousand coins, sir. Look! Here are another two
thousand that I have earned. Well done, you good and faithful servant! said his
master. You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in
charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness! Then the servant who
had received one thousand coins came in and said, Sir, I know you are a hard
man; you reap harvests where you did not plant, and you gather crops where you
did not scatter seed. I was afraid, so I went off and hid your money in the
ground. Look! Here is what belongs to you. You bad and lazy servant! his master
said. You knew, did you, that I reap harvests where I did not plant, and gather
crops where I did not scatter seed?27 Well, then, you should have deposited my
money in the bank, and I would have received it all back with interest when I
returned.28 Now, take the money away from him and give it to the one who has ten
thousand coins.29 For to every person who has something, even more will be
given, and he will have more than enough; but the person who has nothing, even
the little that he has will be taken away from him. As for this useless
servant—throw him outside in the darkness; there he will cry and gnash his
teeth.
Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from
miscellaneous sources
Lebanon’s Christians are going too far/By Michael
Young/December 22/11
The gloves must come off /Now Lebanon/December 22/11
The Shiite Saddam/By Tariq
Alhomayed/December
22/11
No, the
liberals have won the battle/By
Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/December
22/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for
December 22/11
Iran starts
building a nuclear weapon: US and Israel tighten cooperation
Israel nixes $90 million defense contract with Turkey amid
continued tensions
Nuclear sanctions won't affect Iran economy, Russia
official says
Israel's Defense Minister praises Obama's resolve, denies tensions with
Netanyahu
Iran Navy to hold 10-day war game in Persian Gulf
U.K. government says Iran blocked its website
Israel sees Hezbollah responsible for security incidents
in Lebanon
Turkey suspends political and military ties with France
Turkey blasts French
genocide bill as racism, cuts ties
France Urges Turkey Not to 'Overreact' to Genocide Law
17 Dead after Five Days of Cairo Clashes
Attacks Kll 67 as Iraq Mired in Political Crisis
Canada Condemns Baghdad Bombings
EU 'Strongly Condemns' Deadly Attacks in Iraq
Arab Observers Arrive in Syria to Monitor Peace Plan
Arab observers head to Syria to monitor peace plan as
death toll mounts
Sleiman vows more
protection for UNIFIL during south visit
President Michel Suleiman Inspects Army, UNIFIL Units in
South
Mikati warns Cabinet
wage hike to hurt economy
Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi : Cabinet
decision to increase minimum wage ‘politically-motivated’
Economy minister, Nicolas Nahhas : Wage increase decision
did not respect consensus
Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud: My vote for Nahhas’ project
was political
Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas slams objections against
wage raise decision
The head of the General Union of Chambers of Commerce,
Industry and Agriculture,: Economic commissions to protest cabinet’s decision on
wages
Head of the General Workers Union Ghassan: New wage
increase serves workers’ interest
Economic Commissions call on cabinet to recant on wage
increase
PSP : To Separate Political Rifts from Economic Issues
PSP: Arab League initiative, ‘gateway’ to transitional
period in Syria
Ruknabadi visits Jumblatt, renews Iran visit offer
Jumblat, Wahhab Reject Security Incidents in the Mountains
Fletcher Meets Aoun, Voices Optimism in Lebanon’s Future
Charbel Azzi, Alfa employee jailed for spying for Israel
Salameh Meets Miqati, Says U.S. Lawsuit against Financial
Entities is Individual Case
Kataeb bloc MP Elie Marouni: Non-state weapons preventing
protests against Bassil
We must re-examine peace treaty with Israel - Egyptian
Judge
Fatah, Hamas leaders debate PLO reform in Cairo
Iran
starts building a nuclear weapon: US and Israel tighten cooperation
http://www.debka.com/article/21589/
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report/December 22, 2011/ Iran has embarked
on "activities related to possible weaponization," said American sources
Thursday, Dec. 22, thereby accounting for the dramatic reversal of the Obama
administration's wait-and-see attitude on attacking Iran. The change was
articulated this week by US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the
Joint US Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey.
debkafile's Washington sources report that the Islamic Republic crossed the red
line President Barack Obama had set for the United States, i.e., when Tehran
begins using the technologies and fissile materials (enriched uranium) it has
amassed for assembling a bomb or missile warheads. This marks the moment that
Iran goes nuclear and only a short time remains before it has an operational
nuclear weapon.
Washington has always claimed that when the order to build a weapon was given in
Tehran, the United States would know about it within a short time.
The US stealth drone RQ-170 was sent into Iranian airspace for the first time to
find evidence to support this suspicion. On Dec. 4 the Iranians downed the
unmanned reconnaissance craft by intelligence or cyber means not yet fully
clarified. The US - and most probably Israel too - then turned to other
intelligence resources to find out what Iran was up to. According to debkafile's
military and intelligence sources, they found evidence that Iran has in fact
begun putting together components of a nuclear bomb or warhead.
This discovery prompted the latest statements by Mr. Panetta and Gen. Dempsey.
The defense secretary put it into words when he said Tuesday, Dec.: “Despite the
efforts to disrupt the Iranian nuclear program, the Iranians have reached a
point where they can assemble a bomb in a year or potentially less.”
The next day, Gen. Dempsey said, “My biggest worry is they will miscalculate our
resolve. Any miscalculation could mean that we are drawn into conflict, and that
would be a tragedy for the region and the world.”
Dennis Ross, until last month President Obama’s senior Middle East adviser, and
key architect of White House policies on the Iranian nuclear program and
understandings with Israel on this issue, said Israel has four causes for
concern about uranium enrichment in the underground nuclear facility at Fordo
near Qom and other developments:
1. Iran’s accumulation of low-enriched uranium, its decision to enrich to nearly
20 percent “when there is no justification for it.”
2. The "hardening" of Iranian nuclear sites, largely by moving facilities
underground.
3. Other activities related to possible weaponization.
4. Israel suspects that Fordo is not Iran's only buried facility and that
nuclear "weaponization" is ongoing surreptitiously at additional underground
locations. “I would not isolate Qom and say this alone is the Israeli red line
to spur a military response.”
Our military sources report that all these developments were covered in the
short and epic conversation between President Barack Obama and Israeli Defense
Minister Ehud Barak at the Gaylord Hotel in Maryland on Dec. 16. It ended with
accord on the US and Israeli responses to the new situation arising in Iran.
The White House has since accepted the Israeli assessment of Iran's nuclear bomb
time table and endorses the conviction that unless Iran retreats from its
decision to build a nuclear bomb and steps back from the process it set in train
this month, the only option remaining will be a military strike to disable its
nuclear program.
Following the Maryland encounter, debkafile’s sources report a procession of
prominent US officials visiting Israel to tighten coordination between the US
and Israel on their next moves. Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander of the US’s
Third air Force, was one of those visitors. He came to organize the biggest
joint military exercise ever held by the US and Israel, as part of the shared
response to Iran's steps.
Tuesday, Dec. 20, saw the arrival of Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s right-hand, together with Robert Einhorn, a
State Department special adviser on nonproliferation. The two came to tie up the
diplomatic ends of the decisions reached by President Obama and Defense Minister
Barak at their Maryland meeting.
Israel sees Hezbollah responsible for security incidents in Lebanon
December 22, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Israeli defense officials say Hezbollah is responsible for recent
security incidents in south Lebanon, hinting at a possible change in the party’s
policy toward the Jewish state since 2006.
Haaretz newspaper released a report Thursday saying that Israeli experts believe
there is a "connection" between Hezbollah and recent security incidents in south
Lebanon, including the attack earlier this month against members belonging to
the French convoy of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon that left five
French peacekeepers wounded.
It was the third roadside bomb targeting a UNIFIL convoy this year, with six
Italian peacekeepers being wounded in May, while in July five French soldiers
were wounded in another blast. Both occurred in the southern city of Sidon and
no group has claimed responsibility for either attack. According to the paper,
“Israeli defense officials are worried about an increase in violent activity by
Hezbollah in southern Lebanon,” particularly ones involving rocket attacks aimed
at Israel. In late November, one rocket was fired from southern Lebanon and
landed into Israel overnight, prompting Israeli troops to retaliate by firing
six artillery shells. No group has claimed responsibility. In another incident,
one woman was wounded in the south when a Katyusha rocket, apparently aimed at
Israel, hit her home.
France’s Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has accused Syria of ordering the attack
against the French soldiers and that Hezbollah was involved in it. However, the
French official said he had no proof to back his claims.Hezbollah denies any
involvement in the attacks against U.N. peacekeepers in the south. Lebanon’s
Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn has hinted that Israel was behind the mysterious
rocket attacks from south Lebanon into the Jewish State in an attempt to
undermine security and stability in the area.
"Israeli defense officials believe that Juppe is right. They say Hezbollah is
trying to intimidate UNIFIL, particularly the French troops − considered
especially assertive − so that they won’t monitor Hezbollah’s activities in
southern Lebanon too closely,” the Haaretz report said. “The attacks are
apparently carried out by proxies, smaller organizations, so that they cannot be
linked directly to Hezbollah,” it added
The report said that such incidents indicate that Hezbollah has changed its
strategy against Israel, since the resistance group had adopted a
non-confrontational policy against its enemy on the border since the July-August
war of 2006. "The recent incidents could be important as a whole, indicating
that Hezbollah is shedding its policy since the 2006 war. If this is so, the
change stems from the worsening crisis in Syria, motivating Hezbollah’s leaders
to take action, however constrained,” the report said. Hezbollah’s chief Sayyed
Hasan Nasrallah has warned that any attack against Syria or Iran would engulf
the entire region, hinting that his group would interfere if one of its allies
was attacked. “Hezbollah is in a turbulent state,” an Israeli defense
official was quoted by Haaretz as saying. “On the one hand, Assad’s regime faces
collapse; on the other, Iran has been forced to cut back its financial aid to
the organization due to the international sanctions that Tehran faces.
“Under such circumstances, Hezbollah is liable to make a mistake and pursue
courses of action that would further complicate its situation," the official
added.
Turkey suspends political and military ties with France
December 22, 2011 /Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a raft
of political and military sanctions on Thursday after French lawmakers approved
a bill making it a crime to deny Armenian genocide. Turkey will recall its
ambassador from Paris and suspend mutual political visits as well as joint
military projects, including joint exercises, Erdogan said. "From now on we are
revising our relations with France." Most of the sanctions imposed on France, a
NATO ally, will be in the military sphere. Turkey will now decide on a
case-by-case on every military demand made by EU member France to use Turkish
airspace and military bases, Erdogan said, and will from now on reject any
French demand for its military vessels to dock at Turkish ports. Erdogan said
Turkey would boycott a joint economic committee meeting in Paris in January and
would not take part in twinning projects with France.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Arab Observers Arrive in Syria to Monitor Peace Plan
Naharnet /An Arab League advance team arrived in Syria Thursday to launch a
hard-won observer mission to oversee a plan to end nine months of bloodshed
after the opposition accused regime forces of "massacring" hundreds in two
days.The observer mission is part of an Arab plan endorsed by Syria on November
2, which also calls for a halt to the violence, the release of detainees and the
withdrawal of the military from towns and residential districts. But Damascus
managed to obtain key concessions to the initial plan for observers which,
Syrian authorities said, was too vague and "did not take sufficient account of
the national security" of the country.
Opposition leaders have charged that Syria's agreement to the observer mission
on Monday was a mere "ploy" to head off a threat by the Arab League to go the UN
Security Council.
Opposition umbrella group the Syrian National Council charged on Wednesday that
regime forces had killed 250 people in 48 hours in the run-up to the advance
team's arrival.
There was no let-up on Thursday with human rights activists reporting 11 more
people killed. Nine people died in the flashpoint central city of Homs, the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "The number is expected to rise
because of the high number of wounded in critical condition," the Britain-based
watchdog said in a statement received by AFP in Nicosia.
In Idlib province in the northwest, security force gunfire killed two civilians,
the Observatory added. Pro-democracy activists called for nationwide protests on
Friday against the observer mission.
"Protocol of death, a license to kill," organizers set as the slogan for the
protests on their Facebook page. The advance team consists of a dozen security,
legal and administrative staff from the League's secretariat who will make the
logistical preparations for the arrival on Sunday of an initial 30 observers.
"Their mission is to consult with Syrian officials to prepare for the
delegation's visit," Arab League secretary general Nabil al-Arabi told a Cairo
news conference. The mission's leader, veteran Sudanese military intelligence
officer General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi, said its numbers would swell to
a total of between 150 and 200 in the following days.
According to the protocol governing the mission, they will number an "amount
reasonable to accomplish the mission" and will include "Arab civilian and
military experts chosen by Arab countries or organizations." Their task will
consist of "monitoring the cessation of violence on all sides, and to ensure the
release of detainees arrested in connection with the current crisis," according
to the text of the protocol. Observers "should be free to communicate with
anyone, in coordination with the Syrian government."Foreign ministry spokesman
Jihad Makdisi said it was "honest and important" that the text of the protocol
referred to violence on all sides as well as armed groups, "because it takes
into account armed gangs."
Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has said he expects the observers to vindicate
Damascus's claims that the unrest has been caused by "armed terrorist groups,"
not peaceful protesters as maintained by Western governments and human rights
watchdogs.
The United Nations estimates that more than 5,000 people have been killed in the
regime's crackdown since mid-March.
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said the Arab
League needs to show that its observers are "independent and able to work
effectively" to dispel "well-founded fears of yet another Syrian stalling
tactic." Muallem has said the observers will be able to access so-called "hot
zones" but not sensitive military sites. Human Rights Watch called on Damascus
to grant full access.
Syrian opposition groups have criticized the observer mission."We call on the
Arab League to refer the matter of the crisis in Syria to the U.N. Security
Council," said Omar Edelbi, spokesman for the Local Coordination Committees,
which have been driving the protests on the ground. He called the observer
mission "another attempt by the regime to bypass the Arab initiative and empty
it of its contents."
SourceAgence France Presse.
Syria Says 2,000 Security Forces Killed since March
Naharnet/Syria's state-run news agency SANA said on Thursday that more than
2,000 soldiers and members of the security forces have died in attacks in the
past nine months.The figures come in a letter sent Thursday by the Syrian
government to the U.N. Security Council and Human Rights Council. Syria blames
the violence on armed gangs playing out a foreign conspiracy seeking to topple
the regime of President Bashar Assad. In the letter, the Syrian government said
recent U.N. reports alleging a brutal government crackdown were false. It
accused the U.N. of bias and said it continues to ignore the presence of
terrorists operating in Syria. The U.N. says more than 5,000 Syrians have died
in since the uprising began in March. Activists say most were unarmed
demonstrators.
*NaharnetAssociated Press.
President Michel Suleiman Inspects Army, UNIFIL Units in South
Naharnet/ President Michel Suleiman toured southern Lebanon on Thursday to
inspect army troops and UNIFIL units stationed south of the Litani River.
Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn and Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji accompanied
Suleiman. They were welcomed at the UNIFIL French base by the Commanding Officer
of the Force Commander Reserve Colonel Cedric du Gardin in the presence of
UNIFIL Chief of Staff Brigadier-General Olivier Pougin de la Maisonneuve and the
French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton, said a statement issued by UNIFIL.
Suleiman was then presented with a UNIFIL Honor Guard from the French
contingent, it stated. He extended his greetings and holiday wishes to UNIFIL
peacekeepers and met the five French peacekeepers who were injured in an
explosive attack on their vehicle in the Tyr area on December 9. Bonfanti and
top UNIFIL officials expressed gratitude to the president and his delegation for
the symbolic gesture. “The visit brings a message of support and solidarity for
UNIFIL and the mission we are carrying out,” Bonfanti said.
“This recognition, and the widespread support we received from across the
Lebanese political spectrum after the attack on our peacekeepers, will only
strengthen our resolve to carry out our mandated tasks,” he stressed.The Acting
Force Commander stressed that those who attacked UNIFIL three times in recent
months, in December in Tyr area and in May and July near the city of Sidon, as
well as those who have fired rockets from southern Lebanon in recent weeks, aim
to undermine not only UNIFIL’s mission but also the hard-won stability that the
area has witnessed by the combined efforts of UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed
Forces under U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, he added. Suleiman visits
the South at the end of each year, the National News Agency said.
Earlier this month, five French peacekeepers were injured in a roadside bombing
that targeted their vehicle near Tyre.France is one of the leading troop
contributing countries to the peacekeeping mission since UNIFIL was first
established in 1978. There are currently more than 1,300 French troops serving
with UNIFIL, mainly in the Force Commander Reserve.
Charbel Azzi, Alfa employee jailed for spying for Israel
December 22, 2011
A Lebanese military court has sentenced a telecommunications employee to seven
years in prison for leaking information to Israel, a judicial source said
Thursday. Charbel Azzi, whose high-profile arrest in June 2010 sparked an uproar
over the security of Lebanon's telecommunications sector, was found guilty of
"collaborating with the enemy [Israel] and providing it with detailed
information on communications both from the [private] Alfa network and national
landline networks," the source said, requesting anonymity.Azzi had been employed
in the telecommunications ministry in 1994 before taking up a position with
Alfa, one of the country's two mobile phone service providers.Lebanese
authorities in 2009 launched a national crackdown on alleged Israeli spy rings.
Lebanon and Israel remain technically in a state of war and convicted spies
could face the death penalty. More than 100 people have been arrested on
suspicion of collaborating with the Israeli spy agency Mossad, including an army
general, members of the security forces and telecom employees. Several have been
sentenced to death, including one found guilty of aiding Israel during its
devastating 2006 war with Hezbollah. Hezbollah, which dominates the Lebanese
government, has accused the Jewish state of infiltrating Lebanon's
telecommunications sector. On December 2, the Israeli army detonated an
espionage device in South Lebanon that had been monitoring Hezbollah’s private
communications network, the Shia group reported. -AFP/NOW Lebanon
Kataeb bloc MP Elie Marouni: Non-state weapons preventing protests against
Bassil
December 22, 2011 /Kataeb bloc MP Elie Marouni on Thursday said that “non-state
weapons are preventing the people in Beirut and in Zahle from protesting against
the electricity outages, and from demanding the resignation of ‘the minister of
darkness’ [Energy Minister] Gebran Bassil.” Through an interview with As-Sarq
radio station, Marouni also commented on media reports quoting Defense Minister
Fayez Ghosn as saying that “Al-Qaeda members are entering the Bekaa town of
Aarsal claiming to be Syrian dissidents.”The MP reiterated his call for
“providing proof” of Ghosn’s claims, adding that such accusations should not be
made. Thousands of Syrians have fled the unrest in their country since the
beginning of protests against Syrian Presidents Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
-NOW Lebanon
Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi : Cabinet decision to increase
minimum wage ‘politically-motivated’
December 22, 2011 /Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi said on
Thursday that the voting that took place Wednesday during a cabinet session to
discuss the issue of wages “was politically-motivated,” the National News Agency
reported. The report quoted Aridi as saying: “On Wednesday, an agreement was
reached between the Syndicate Coordination Committee and the General Workers
Union. However, the pact was cast aside and everyone acknowledged that the
cabinet’s voting [on the wages matter] was politically-motivated.”
On Wednesday, the cabinet agreed on a new increase of the monthly minimum wage,
this time from 500,000 LL to 868,000 LL. The Economic Commissions held a meeting
on Thursday in Beirut to review the cabinet’s decision to increase minimum
wage.Following the meeting, the chief of the commissions, Former Minister Adnan
Qassar, called on the cabinet, on behalf of the attendees, “to recant on the
wrongful decision.”-NOWLebanon
Head of the General Workers Union Ghassan: New wage increase serves workers’
interest
December 22, 2011
Head of the General Workers Union Ghassan Ghosn told MTV television on Thursday
that the cabinet’s recent decision to increase minimum wage “is a positive
[step] and [serves] the workers’ interest.” “This modification [that was
approved] by the cabinet on Wednesday is a positive one,” Ghosn added. On
Wednesday, the cabinet agreed on a new increase of the monthly minimum wage,
this time from 500,000 LL to 868,000 LL. Following the cabinet’s decision, the
General Workers Union canceled its strike set for December 27 to protest the
initial wage increase.
On December 7, the cabinet rejected the proposal on wage increases submitted by
Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas, and instead approved another bill introduced by
Prime Minister Najib Mikati to increase the minimum wage to 600,000 LL.-NOW
Lebanon
The head of the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and
Agriculture,: Economic commissions to protest cabinet’s decision on wages
December 22, 2011 /The head of the General Union of Chambers of Commerce,
Industry and Agriculture, Mohammad Shukair, told MTV television on Thursday that
the economic commissions “will take action to protest” the cabinet’s latest
decision to increase minimum wage. Shukair added: “Everything is possible. [We
might] hold strikes and [even] head to the State Shura Council [to express our
objection over the cabinet’s decision].”“We cannot watch Lebanon’s economy
collapsing due to a reckless political decision,” Shukair said.On Wednesday, the
cabinet agreed on a new increase of the monthly minimum wage, this time from
500,000 LL to 868,000 LL. -NOW Lebanon
Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud: My vote for Nahhas’ project was political
December 22, 2011 /Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud, who also represents the Change
and Reform bloc in the cabinet, said on Thursday that he voted for Labor
Minister Charbel Nahhas’ wage increase project “for political reasons, although
I was not convinced by it.”“I hope there is no trap for the Change and Reform
bloc, and I hope we did not fall into it,” Abboud told LBC station.On Wednesday,
the cabinet agreed on a new increase of the monthly minimum wage, this time from
500,000 LL to 868,000 LL. -NOW Lebanon
Economy minister, Nicolas Nahhas : Wage increase decision did not respect
consensus
December 22, 2011 /Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas said on Thursday that the
vote to further increase the minimum wage during Wednesday’s cabinet session did
not respect the principle of consensus between workers and employers.He also
told Free Lebanon radio that the people received less than what they deserved.On
Wednesday, the cabinet agreed on a new increase of the monthly minimum wage,
this time from 500,000 LL to 868,000 LL. -NOW Lebanon
Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas slams objections against wage raise decision
December 22, 2011 /Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas said on Thursday that “the
objections against my wage increase draft plan are a very harmful media
distortion.”“No doubt that the project is a victory for the Free Patriotic
Movement and for the Change and Reform bloc, but it is also a victory for the
state Shura Council, which refused the two previous wage raise projects,” Nahhas
told OTV.The labor minister also called for “immunizing what was
accomplished.”On Wednesday, the cabinet agreed on a new increase of the monthly
minimum wage, this time from 500,000 LL to 868,000 LL. On December 7, the
cabinet rejected the proposal on wage increases submitted by Labor Minister
Charbel Nahhas, and instead approved another bill introduced by Mikati to
increase the minimum wage to 600,000 LL. -NOW Lebanon
Economic Commissions call on cabinet to recant on wage increase
December 22, 2011 /The Economic Commissions held a meeting on Thursday in Beirut
to review the cabinet’s recent decision to increase minimum wage. Following the
convention, the chief of the commissions, Former Minister Adnan Qassar, called
on the cabinet, on behalf of the attendees, “to recant on the wrongful
decision.” He said that the attendees “hope that the State Shura Council would
annul [the cabinet’s decision] and take into consideration the concerns of the
Economic Commissions.” On Wednesday, the cabinet agreed on a new increase of the
monthly minimum wage, this time from 500,000 LL to 868,000 LL. Qassar told
reporters that the cabinet’s decision on Wednesday was “politically-motivated”
and is “ a [serious] setback for the economy.” He added that the Economic
Commissions cannot implement the [cabinet’s decision] and are forced to not
respect the decision, and they can also [suspend their work].” Qasar told
reporters that the cabinet on Wednesday adopted a decision that did not go in
line with a previous agreement inked at the Presidential Palace between
employees and employers. “The coup [at the cabinet on Wednesday], was a
dangerous and an unprecedented [move] against social reality [in Lebanon].” -NOW
Lebanon
PSP: Arab League initiative, ‘gateway’ to transitional period in Syria
December 22, 2011 /The Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) said on Thursday that
the Arab League initiative serves “as a gateway to a transitional period in
Syria [ruled by democracy and pluralism],” the National News Agency reported.
The PSP held a meeting on Thursday headed by its leader, MP Walid Jumblatt.
According to the statement, the PSP rejected “the ongoing bloodshed targeting
Syrian people who are demanding their legal rights.” The party also rejected any
possible “sectarian strife” in Syria. Regarding Lebanese affairs, the PSP called
for keeping economic and social issues away from political disagreements,
“particularly the issue of wages, which [affects] a large part of Lebanese
citizens.” The party also called for distancing Lebanon from “any developments
related to the Syrian crisis.” While the PSP also said that Syrian refugees and
activists in Lebanon “have the right to express themselves freely,” it also
expressed its rejection of any attempts that seek to target “Syria’s stability
and security.” Syria finally gave its agreement Monday to an Arab observer
mission to monitor a deal to end nine months of bloodshed, ending weeks of
prevarication that had prompted the Arab League to adopt sanctions. Under the
terms of the deal that the observers are intended to oversee, Syrian security
forces are required to pull back from the towns and villages that have been at
the center of nine straight months of protests and open negotiations with the
opposition under League auspices.The United Nations estimates more than 5,000
people have been killed since mid-March in the regime crackdown's on
dissent.-NOW Lebanon
No, the liberals have won the battle!
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed
Asharq Al-Awsat
The dictatorships of liberal rulers, who were ousted, alongside their band of
liberal intelligentsia, were one of the reasons behind the meteoric rise of the
Islamists”. This is the opinion that is being enthusiastically proclaimed by
many, most recently my colleague Dr. Hamad Al-Majid [“How have the liberals
contributed to the rise of the Islamists?” published 19/12/2011].
Whoever says that [Muammar] Gaddafi, [Bashar] al-Assad, and [Ali Abdullah] Saleh
are liberals certainly does not know what they are talking about. Not being an
Islamist does not automatically means that one is a liberal! A liberal is
someone who believes in freedoms for everyone, and the equality of the law. So
is it reasonable to classify Bashar al-Assad as a liberal, simply because he
wears a suit and tie and is clean-shaven? If we were to follow such logic, then
the bearded [Fidel] Castro must be classified as an Islamist! These are nothing
more than suppressive, totalitarian military rulers, and it does not matter
whether a leader cloaks himself in religious clothing like an Iranian Ayatollah,
or a decorated military uniform like Omar al-Bashir in Sudan, or an Italian suit
like Bashar al-Assad.
What is even worse is the mistaken belief that the liberals in Egypt and Tunisia
have lost [the battle], based on the sweeping electoral victories achieved by
the Islamists in both countries. In reality, the liberals have won something
they could never have dreamed of in the past, they have won the [political]
system…as Egypt and Tunisia have both adopted liberal democracy. Governance
being decided by the ballot box, the acceptance of freedoms and the recognition
of human rights, including women’s rights and the rights of minorities, are all
liberal principles. It is the liberals who have won, regardless of who comes to
power, whether this is the Islamists or the Arab-nationalists, or anybody else
for that matter, for they will be presiding over a liberal political system.
Dr. Hamad al-Majid believes that the liberals have lost…but it is the liberals
who have won! This is what happened in Eastern Europe following the collapse of
the Soviet Union and the communist regimes. Some communists won elections there,
and nobody complained or asked that they be prevented from political
participation. Liberalism is not a front or a party, but a general concept that
embraces everyone, including its opponents, so long as they accept its
principles, unlike communism, religious extremism, or Baathism, which are based
on the principles of exclusion.
Liberalism’s victory can be clearly seen in the rhetoric and speeches issued by
the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafist al-Nour Party in Egypt, not to mention
the Tunisian Islamist Ennahda Party’s keenness to reiterate its adoption of the
concept of rights and liberties. However the most surprising thing was the
ability of the Salafists – who are ultra-conservatives – to cope with the new
[liberal] system, and one Salafist youth refused – live on television – to
endorse the slogan “together we will reform life by religion.” He instead
stressed that the Salafist party’s slogan is “a modern identity and state built
with Egyptian hands and minds.”
The power of liberal ideology is now clear to see in the three major powers [in
Egypt]: the military, the political parties and the street. We are currently
experiencing a phase of transition from proclamations of liberalism – as was the
cause during the Mubarak era in Egypt or the Ben Ali era in Tunisia – to the
genuine application of liberalism on the ground. Liberalism is a philosophy that
exists across the world, from industrial Japan to spiritual India, from Russia –
the fortress of Communism – to the materialistic west. However, we must
recognize that different societies have applied liberalism in different ways,
according to their own social and cultural norms and traditions. Accordingly, we
saw Egypt failing to enforce elections laws prohibiting the use of religion, and
particularly mosques and pulpits, from electoral campaigning. In other words,
secularism could not be enforced in the Egyptian liberal experience, and this
failure is accepted, understood, and justified.
Through their own personal experiences, the Egyptians will decide for themselves
what suits them; they do not have to copy the Westminster system, or adopt the
strict French concept of secularism.
As for the victory of the Islamists [at the elections], this has in turn granted
legitimacy to the concept of liberalism. Their victory is a victory for
liberalism and the liberals, not the opposite as some people have claimed.
The Shiite Saddam!
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
Compare the political mindset of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki with that
of his neighbour [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad, and you will find that
there is no difference between the two. Furthermore, when you compare al-Maliki’s
mentality to that of Saddam Hussein, you will also find that there is no
difference between the two, with the exception that Saddam Hussein did not use
sectarian language, however their mentality is precisely the same; and this is a
mentality of “after me, the deluge!”
Rather than al-Maliki rushing to call upon all parties in the Iraqi political
process to engage in a reconciliation conference, and national dialogue on the
future of Iraq following the US withdrawal, al-Maliki instead immediately
proceeded – after the withdrawal of the last American soldier – to pounce on his
political rivals, especially the Sunnis, and has begun to pursue them one after
another, with the pre-packaged charge of terrorism and affiliation to the
[outlawed] Baathist Party, the same party which al-Maliki is defending in Syria!
The accusations of terrorism and Baathist Party affiliation have long been
repeated by al-Maliki, in an attempt to entrench the idea that his political
opponents in Iraq are nothing but Sunni extremists or remnants of Saddam
Hussein’s regime; however this is not true whatsoever!
[Iraqiya bloc leader] Iyad Allawi, for example, is neither a Sunni nor an
extremist, and in fact his electoral bloc won more seats than al-Maliki’s
coalition at the most recent Iraqi elections. Despite this, al-Maliki insists
that the majority is actually governing, in the sense that Iraq is being ruled
by the Shiites, rather than those who have put forward an electoral program to
serve Iraq and its people! Allawi, of course, is not the only example of an al-Maliki
opponent who is not known for extremism or sectarianism. Al-Maliki’s other
political opponents, even those who are Sunnis, are also not known for extremism
or being agents of foreign powers, or disciples of the Saddam Hussein regime,
indeed some of these Sunni’s suffered under Saddam just as much as the Shiites;
the difference between al-Maliki and Saddam Hussein is that Saddam was equal in
his injustice!
Thus, the problem with what Nouri al-Maliki is doing today in Iraq is that he is
threatening the entire political process with failure and collapse. Is it
conceivable that what al-Maliki wants is to exclude half of Iraqi society, or to
rule Iraq with a sectarian regime? This is unbelievable, and the consequences
would be catastrophic for the whole of Iraq. It is interesting here – despite
everything that al-Maliki has done and is doing – that US President Barack Obama
asserted, following the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, that America has left
behind a democratic system in Baghdad. This statement is simply not true, and is
reminiscent of the statement issued by former US President George W. Bush, when
he declared on board an aircraft carrier that the US mission in Iraq had been
completed!
There are facts, and much glaring evidence on the ground, including the
statements made by al-Maliki in a recent press conference, suggests that Iraq
today is on the verge of witnessing the collapse of its political process and
being ruled by a purely sectarian regime. This poses a great danger, not only
for Iraq internally, but also for the wider region. There is no difference today
between al-Maliki in his dealings with Kuwait, against the backdrop of the
Mubarak Al Kabeer Port issue, and Saddam Hussein, who often provoked such
issues, with matters ultimately culminating in the occupation of Kuwait. Indeed
there is little difference between al-Maliki and Saddam Hussein whatsoever,
because these days the Iraqi Prime Minister has become the Shiite Saddam!
Lebanon’s Christians are going too far
December 22, 2011/ By Michael Young The Daily Star
What on earth has gotten into Lebanon’s Christian leaders? Last week a gathering
of Maronite politicians, under the auspices of the wannabe politician, Patriarch
Beshara Rai, endorsed the proposal of the Greek Orthodox gathering, whereby each
sect would vote for its own parliamentarians. The plan, intended to deny Muslim
voters the latitude to choose Christian candidates, is bound to isolate Lebanese
Christians further, while hardening sectarianism nationally.
The proposal has yet to be clarified and is unlikely to be adopted as law. The
idea is this: Lebanon votes as a single district, with each sect electing only
its own candidates. Votes are tallied for the different lists, and the
proportion of votes each list receives determines its number of
parliamentarians. There is a problem, however, for those communities with few or
no representatives. Several smaller Christian sects, for instance, compete over
a single Beirut seat reserved for minorities. Most of their voters will not
participate in an election that allows them but one candidate – effectively
meaning disenfranchisement.
Acceptance of the proposal by individuals as different, and as antagonistic, as
Samir Geagea, Michel Aoun and Sleiman Franjieh suggests ulterior motives. There
is little doubt that each of these men is calculating not that an election law
will be approved on the grounds suggested by the Greek Orthodox gathering, but
that it is tactically necessary for them to portray themselves as defenders of
Christian rights by going along with a law based on sect.
However, this kind of short-term calculation is risky, as it is represents an
open expression of hostility toward the Muslim communities. Worse, why is Rai
playing along, when his role should be to offer a longer-term vision of Maronite
welfare? The patriarch has been an ecclesiastical calamity in his first months
in office, a man who has invariably preferred playing the populist card to
speaking truth to a community reaching new depths in its self-segregation.
Some have also suggested that Maronite leaders see the Greek Orthodox
proposition as leverage to renegotiate Christian privileges in Lebanon. It’s
true that Sunni and Shiite representatives need to elucidate the kind of Lebanon
they desire, and the importance of Christians in it. Many Sunnis feel a new
impetus because of the breakdown of Alawite rule in Syria, and the Islamists
among them cannot help but welcome the successes of Islamist parties in Egypt
and Tunisia. Saad Hariri may embody a political alternative more tolerable to
Christians, but the former prime minister is not in the country. The vacuum he
has left is being filled by others, like Sheikh Ahmad Assir in Sidon, who have
exacerbated sectarian polarization.
As for Shiites, there is little to reassure Christians there as well. The
community is led by a secretive military-religious organization that has always
made plain its impatience with Lebanon’s social contract. Hezbollah may be
working through the institutions of the state, but primarily because this has
become an optimal way of controlling the state’s commanding heights. Many
Christians, and that includes not a few followers of Michel Aoun, are uneasy
with this situation, which has only heightened their doubts about communal
coexistence
Christians themselves also need to engage in a more enlightened consideration of
their future. The Greek Orthodox plan is a formula for communal irrelevance. If
sects vote solely for their representatives – or even if, ultimately, Christians
vote only for Christians, a potential fallback position in the plan – this would
remove Christians from the fabric of Lebanese society. The country is already
being shaped by the agendas of its two largest communities, the Sunnis and
Shiites; for Christians to move toward a form of political autarchy would mean
voluntarily ceding a say in what lies ahead for Lebanon.
Worse, this would signal a return to the illusions of the war years, when
Christians imagined that the geographical area in which they form a numerical
majority could survive on its own, autonomously from the Lebanese beyond its
confines.
An election law based on the Greek Orthodox proposal would also be profoundly
undemocratic. It would reinforce the leaderships already in place within the
Christian and Muslim communities, despite the proportionality condition. It
would also weigh votes unevenly, and unfairly, with voters in some communities
electing a very different number of parliamentarians than those in others.
Perhaps most disturbing, the Christian consensus has gelled around utterly
ignoring the Taif Accord. It’s almost as if the founding document of the Second
Republic did not exist. While Taif has been disregarded time and again,
especially with respect to election laws, what we have in the Christian stance
is an effort to empty it of its spirit. Taif unambiguously calls for an end to
political sectarianism, which means terminating the 50-50 quote of Christians to
Muslims in Parliament. The Christian leaders not only failed to acknowledge this
reality, they are now actively sharpening sectarian reflexes.
What happens to an election law based on sectarian voting if Sunnis and Shiites
agree that they want to implement Taif? What happens if the Muslims point out
that demographics no longer justify a 50-50 parliamentary ratio of Christians to
Muslims? Will Christians decide that they want to form a breakaway Parliament,
or a canton? Instead of having prepared for these eventualities, they would have
spent years psychologically cutting themselves off from their Muslim brethren,
ensuring that Taif becomes a source of conflict rather than unity.
The odds are that in the next election Lebanon will vote on the basis of a law
similar to that of 2009. The most powerful factions – the Aounists, Hezbollah,
the Future Movement, and the Jumblattis – all have a vested interest in voting
at the level of the qada, or small constituency, without proportionality. The
Christian demands may be a maneuver, but maneuvers can have existential
implications. The Christians may be close to maneuvering themselves out of
political existence, like so many other minorities in the Middle East.
*Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR and author of “The Ghosts of
Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon’s Life Struggle” (Simon &
Schuster). He tweets @BeirutCalling.
Canada Condemns Baghdad Bombings
(No. 387 - December 22, 2011 - noon ET) Foreign Affairs Minister
John Baird today issued the following statement:
“Canada strongly condemns these cowardly attacks in Baghdad.
“On behalf of all Canadians, I offer my deepest sympathies to the families and
friends of those killed in these senseless acts of violence.
“We stand with the Government of Iraq as it confronts the real threat of
terrorism and extremist violence inside Iraq’s borders.
“We urge the leaders of Iraq to facilitate meaningful and constructive dialogue
that will help bring about a stable and secure Iraq for all its citizens.”
The
gloves must come off
December 22, 2011/Now Lebanon
On Wednesday, France voiced the rising impatience felt by many across the world
when it condemned what it called the “unprecedented massacre” in one day of 120
Syrians by their own forces, and urged Russia, the country that has so far
resolutely backed the Damascus regime, to call for an immediate UN Security
Council resolution on the crisis. It begs the question quite what has to happen
for the world to finally take action, especially when overall this week more
than 200 deaths have been reported – a major spike in a grisly body count that
has averaged 30 fatalities (that we know about) a day.
On Thursday, the Arab League, for so long the poster boy for collective
uselessness, might, and it’s a big might, help advance the cause of bringing
down the murderous Assad regime. A preliminary group of Arab League monitors,
part of what is understood to be 150-strong team is due to arrive by the end of
December, will finally land in Syria. Its mission is to oversee the removal of
troops from civilian areas and the release of political prisoners as well as to
initiate talks with opposition leaders.
For those fervent supporters of the Arab Spring, Syria remains arguably the
biggest prize of all. No other Arab state has represented such a potent symbol
of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the doctrine it spawned solely to consolidate
power for the Baath, the party that has ruled Syria since 1963, and the Assads,
the family that has made the country its own. They have maintained power through
a potent blend of repression and the constant peddling of the lie that only the
Syrian Arab Republic and its fearless leader stands between the region and
eternal Zionist bondage.
But all this has changed and President Bashar al-Assad has been exposed. His
solution has been to gun down largely unarmed protestors who are simply
demanding greater economic freedoms and an end to the autocratic rule of one
family and the four decades of cronyism it has cultivated. The video evidence
has shown us the regime unleashing its security forces and the shabiha – its
murderous loyalist thugs who have maimed and murdered unarmed men, women and
children – with shocking vigor.
Until now, the political consensus that sent NATO jets to drop their deadly
payload over Libya on behalf the Libyan opposition has not been achieved for the
opposition Syrian National Council. Former Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi was
beyond the pale but isolated. Assad’s Syria is a critical nexus involving Iran,
Hezbollah, Iraq and even Israel, where the government is not unhappy with the
way Assad has maintained peace along the Golan for nearly four decades.
And so, the Arab League’s mission is an enterprise upon which so much depends
and yet one in which expectations are depressingly low. Those who have been
following the Syrian installment of the Arab Spring will know that Assad has
littered the past months with broken promises. It is not surprising therefore
that the Syrian National Council, meanwhile, has accused Damascus of accepting
the Arab League plan as a ploy to buy time and head off a threat by the League
to take its grievances to the UN Security Council.
No one is fooled. Those of us who wished to see a zero-tolerance policy are not
holding our breath with anticipation over the mission. Then again, the least we
can expect is for the monitors to do their jobs and push the objectives of the
mission to the fullest. If the Arab League is thwarted in its task, the UN must
be the next stop.
The Arab League was formed in 1945 to strengthen relations “between member
States and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their
independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and
interests of the Arab countries.” It has hardly covered itself in glory during
the 66 years it has sought to represent Arab interests. Today, it can begin to
show us that it too has been touched by the spirit of the Arab Spring, and as
well as looking inside itself, it can also play a part in putting an end to one
of the most shameful chapters in modern Arab history.
Now the gloves must really come off.