LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِAugust
11/2011
Bible Quotation for today.
Jesus rebukes the Pharisees and teachers of
the law
Luke 11/37-47: "Now as he spoke, a certain
Pharisee asked him to dine with him. He went in, and sat at the table. 38 When
the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that he had not first washed himself before
dinner. 39 The Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the
cup and of the platter, but your inward part is full of extortion and
wickedness. 40 You foolish ones, didn’t he who made the outside make the inside
also? 41 But give for gifts to the needy those things which are within, and
behold, all things will be clean to you. 42 But woe to you Pharisees! For you
tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you bypass justice and the love of God.
You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. 43 Woe to
you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues, and the greetings
in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you
are like hidden graves, and the men who walk over them don’t know it.” 45 One of
the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying this you insult us also.” 46 He
said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load men with burdens that are difficult
to carry, and you yourselves won’t even lift one finger to help carry those
burdens. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your
fathers killed them"
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
Assad finishes off his
defense minister, sends Davotuglu away empty-handed/ DEBKAfile/August
10/11
Latest News
Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 10/11
STL: Lebanon’s Obligation
under 1757 to Arrest, Transfer 4 Hariri Murder Suspects
France not reducing UNIFIL troops:
official
Political rivals increasingly
divided on Syria
Erdogan to Assad: You Can't Speak
of Reform as People are Being Killed
British PM Authorizes Water Cannon
in Riots 'Fightback'
Syrian Army Quits Hama after 10-Day
Raid
Syrian Army Raids Idlib as Outrage
Mounts
Syria's crackdown hits ally
Hezbollah's image
Syrian government appears to have
full control of Hama
European Missions in
Beirut Take Precautionary Measures over Possible Syria Deterioration
March 14 Urges Suleiman to Summon
Lebanon’s Ambassador to Syria for ‘Consultations’
Mirza: Mission Not Over, Search for
4 Hariri Murder Suspects will Continue
Geagea Tells Hariri to Stay Abroad,
Says Jumblat is Like Master Sergeant Schultz
PFLP-GC Accidentally Kidnapped the
Seven Estonians
Hizbullah, al-Jamaa al-Islamiya
Confirm ‘Resistance’s Role in Fortifying Nation’
Lebanon Joins Scientific Research
on Early Tsunami Alert
Miqati: Lebanon Can Never Take
Sides in Internal Disputes of a Neighboring State
Aoun: Armed Groups
Committing Terrorism in Syria, Not the State
Lebanon safe from debt crisis
fallout
STL: Lebanon’s Obligation under
1757 to Arrest, Transfer 4 Hariri Murder Suspects
Naharnet/Special Tribunal for Lebanon spokesman Martin Youssef said Lebanon is
compelled by U.N. Security Council resolution 1757 to arrest the four suspects
in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s murder and transfer them to The Hague. Youssef told
An Nahar daily published Wednesday that Tribunal President Judge Antonio Cassese
will take his decision in the next few days on whether Lebanon has done enough
in its search for the four suspects against whom the STL had issued arrest
warrants. The spokesman made his comment as the court announced that Prosecutor
General Saeed Mirza submitted his report to the STL stating that none of the
four people who are accused have been detained. “Lebanon’s commitment to arrest,
detain and transfer the accused in accordance with U.N. Security Council
resolution 1757 continues,” Youssef said. Meanwhile, informed sources told al-Liwaa
newspaper that four new arrest warrants will be issued by the end of the month
and that international investigators will hear explanations from former
Ministers Elias Murr and Marwan Hamadeh on Wednesday over information that at
least two of the accused in Hariri’s murder are also involved in the
assassination attempts against them. The accused could have also been involved
in the murder attempt against LBCI anchorwoman May Chidiac and the killing of
former Communist party leader George Hawi, the sources said.
Erdogan to Assad: You Can't Speak of Reform as People are
Being Killed
Naharnet Turkey's ambassador to Damascus visited Syrian's flashpoint protest hub
of Hama, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday, as Syrian army
vehicles left the town.
"Our ambassador went to Hama and said that the tanks, security forces had
started to leave Hama. This is highly important to show that our initiatives had
positive results," Erdogan said in televised remarks, addressing his party
members in Ankara.
"We hope that all these will be completed within a 10 to 15 day period," he
added.
Slamming the Syrian regime’s violent crackdown on the protest movement, Erdogan
went on to say: “The Syrian authorities are pointing guns at their own people
and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian authorities can’t talk about
reforms while the Syrian people are being killed.”
“You can’t fool the Syrian people nor the world and don’t forget that the
legitimacy of any rule is derived from listening to people and representing
their will,” the Turkish leader added, addressing the Syrian authorities.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited Syria Tuesday and held talks
with the Assad about ways of ending the bloodshed and implementing democratic
reforms.
"We hope that some measures will be taken in the coming days to end the
bloodshed and open the way for a process of political reform," Davutoglu had
said at Ankara airport on his return.
Following the recent crackdown in the Syrian city of Hama that left dozens dead,
Erdogan announced Sunday that Davutoglu would convey to the Damascus regime that
Ankara was "at the end of its patience" in the face of such violent repression
by Syrian forces.
The Hama visit of Turkish envoy Omer Onhon was part of the agreement between
Syria and Turkey that had been reached Tuesday, Davutoglu said in his televised
remarks at a press conference Wednesday.
"It is confirmed that tanks and artillery were withdrawn from the city of Hama.
But it is understood that the city lacks liveliness," Davutoglu said, based on
the preliminary information he received from Onhon.
"There is some military presence on the road to Hama, although not around the
city. There are some checkpoints within the city," he said.
Davutoglu said it was important that envoy Onhon found the opportunity to have
direct contact with people in Hama.
"He visited almost all by streets of Hama with our diplomatic team and he was
together with people for the noon prayer," Davutoglu said.
"The critical thing is that Syria should be open to the world for the
developments to be followed. The most important tool to end the speculations and
debate is free media access," Davutoglu said. Last
month Syria furiously reacted to the visit of French and U.S. ambassadors to
Hama and warned to impose a ban on any diplomatic travel outside Damascus.
Forty personnel carriers decked with Syrian flags rolled out of Hama with
soldiers chanting slogans praising embattled Assad, said an Agence France Presse
reporter who visited the city on a tour organized by the authorities.The Syrian
authorities on Wednesday escorted some 60 journalists to Hama, where Assad's
regime said troops went in to fight "armed terrorist gangs" the president
accuses of fuelling the violence.
Troops backed by tanks stormed Hama on July 31, the eve of the Muslim holy month
of Ramadan, killing 100 people in the single bloodiest day since the crackdown
began, activists say.
The regime has sought to crush weeks of protests with brutal force, killing more
than 1,600 civilians and arresting at least 12,000 of dissenters, rights
activists say.
Source Agence France Presse
Mirza: Mission Not Over, Search for 4 Hariri Murder
Suspects will Continue
Naharnet /General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza has said the submission of a report to
the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that none of the four people accused in
ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s murder have been detained doesn’t mean that the
mission of Lebanese judicial authorities was over. In remarks to al-Mustaqbal
daily published Wednesday, Mirza said: “Our response to the tribunal doesn’t
mean that our mission ended. There are international arrest warrants and red
notices against these people.” The search for the four suspects, who are
Hizbullah members, will continue, he said. However, in accordance with the
agreement signed between the court and the Lebanese judiciary, “we are compelled
to inform the tribunal about the result that we have reached.”"The Lebanese
Prosecutor General submitted his report today. He stated that none of the four
people who are accused have been detained," the STL said in a statement on
Tuesday. Lebanese authorities had until August 11 to report on progress made in
arresting the four men wanted in connection with the February 14, 2005, massive
car bomb explosion in Beirut that killed Hariri and 22 others. All border,
maritime and aerial crossings have been informed about the wanted notices issued
by the Interpol, a judicial source told al-Mustaqbal.
“Legally, the arrest warrants (issued by the tribunal) haven’t expired and their
effect doesn’t stop at the end of the 30-day period” set by the tribunal, the
source said.
Geagea Tells Hariri to Stay Abroad, Says Jumblat is Like
Master Sergeant Schultz
Naharnet /Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea advised former Premier Saad Hariri
to remain abroad over security fears and described Progressive Socialist Party
leader Walid Jumblat as Master Sergeant Hans Georg Schultz of an American TV
sitcom. Schultz was known in the Hogan's Heroes sitcom of simply looking the
other way, repeating "I hear nothing, I see nothing, I know nothing!" The
sitcom was broadcast in the 1960s and early 70s. “I cannot make it clearer,”
Geagea told al-Akhbar newspaper about Jumblat.
When asked about Hariri, the LF leader advised him to “stay where you are.” “Had
Saad Hariri been here today, the other team (March 8) would have used his
presence as a pressure tool on us,” he said, adding that the focus of the March
14 coalition today is to continue with its opposition project. About his ties
with the seat of the Maronite church in Bkirki, Geagea said: “Patriarch (Beshara)
al-Rahi is a dynamic person and his tours in the region give confidence to
everyone.” While confirming that he would attend a meeting of top Maronite
officials on August 25, he expressed reservations about it saying Free Patriotic
Movement leader Michel Aoun hasn’t committed himself to an agreement reached in
the last meeting to adopt a calm rhetoric and not make personal accusations
against each other. Turning to the developments in Syria, Geagea said: “What is
happening is unacceptable by all standards.”
“There is no turning back,” he told his interviewer adding that the Assad regime
is heading towards collapse. Geagea also accused the March 8 forces of
seeking to shove March 14 in the Syrian crisis. But he stressed that the
Lebanese opposition only expresses its condemnation of the injustice in Syria.
“This is an ethical stance towards the people that are heading towards freedom,
democracy and modernization,” he said.
Assad finishes off his defense minister, sends Davotuglu
away empty-handed الأسد يقتل وزير دفاعه ويرفض نصائح تركيا
http://www.debka.com/article/21193/
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report August 9, 2011/Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet
Davutogluleft Damascus empty handed after six hours of talks with Syrian
President Bashar Assad Tuesday, Aug. 9. Half the meeting was a tête a tête
without advisers. In response to the pressing Turkish demand to end the
bloodshed, Assad indicated the military operation against the protesters would
soon be over, but refused to commit to a deadline, explaining that this was up
to the rebels – not him or the Syrian army.
The Syrian ruler likewise refused to promise to enter into dialogue with the
opposition. "They don't want to talk to me," said Assad. "They want my head. So
long as they don't lay down their arms, there is nothing to discuss." After
Davutoglu flew out, the Syrian government published a statement pledging "not to
relent in its pursuit of terrorists."
Upon returning to Ankara, the Turkish foreign minister told the media to Ankara
that his government would continue to keep a close watch on events in Syria – a
far cry, debkafile notes, from the harsh words of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan
before the Davutoglu's mission to Damascus, when he said Turkish patience with
Syrian brutality was running out and if he carried on, Assad would suffer the
same fate of the Libyan ruler (i.e. NATO military intervention in his country).
It remains to be seen if Erdogan makes good on his ultimatum of use force unless
Assad ends his bloody military campaign against dissidents.
According to our military sources, the Turkish minister arrived in Damascus to
find the top levels of the regime and military in a high state of nervous
jitters following the murder early that morning of the sacked Syrian Defense
Minister Gen. Ali Habib. Later Tuesday, the Syrians tried explaining that the
general was alive but required two months of rest and seclusion after undergoing
serious surgery.
debkafile's sources report that Damascus is covering up the truth: Far from
undergoing surgery, Gen. Habib was seen by witnesses all day Monday in his
office and performing his duties.
Earlier Tuesday, Aug. 9, debkafile reported: The Assad regime's internal crisis
took another brutal turn Tuesday, Aug. 9 when the former Syrian Defense Minister
Ali Habib's body was found hours after President Bashar Assad sacked him.
debkafile's military sources report exclusively that he died of gunshots from
automatic weapons in the hands of Assad's henchmen. First Syrian reports claimed
General Habib died by his own hand after being replaced by the chief of staff,
Gen. Daoud Rajha. Our sources report that his death was the result of the
internal power struggle raging in the top military command between commanders
calling for a coup to remove Bashar Assad, a faction demanding to first end to
the savage crackdown on protest, and factions with unclear motives. Unexplained
indications of disputes between the high command in Damascus and division
commanders in the field surfaced in the last two days along with the tank
onslaught on the eastern town of Deir al-Zour in the last two days. It now looks
as though the generals were busier infighting than subduing the popular
uprising. Assad suspected Gen. Ali Habib of conniving with the officers
preparing to mutiny against him and therefore had him removed and put to death.
Syrian Army Raids Idlib as Outrage Mounts
Naharnet /Syrian troops launched a vast operation on Wednesday in Idlib province
bordering Turkey and killed at least one person, activists said, amid growing
outrage over the regime's crackdown on dissent. A defiant President Bashar
al-Assad pledged to pursue a relentless battle against "terrorist groups,"
seemingly oblivious to the mounting international pressure to stop the use of
deadly force against pro-democracy protesters. His troops stormed the city of
Sermin in Idlib, with an initial toll of one dead, Rami Abdel Rahman of the
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "A woman was killed and
three other people were wounded in the city of Sermin where Syrian forces
launched a broad military campaign on Wednesday morning," he told Agence France
Presse. Abdel Rahman said earlier that security forces were using heavy machine
guns in Sermin, leaving 10 wounded four of them in critical condition."
Explosions and heavy gunfire also echoed in the eastern oil hub of Deir al-Zour,
Abdel Rahman said, adding that residents there fear a new military operation in
the city where the army killed 42 people on Sunday. "Tanks and troops carriers
are cruising the streets of the Sheikh Yassin, Jbeileh and Muazzafeen
neighborhoods," he added.
The authorities have blamed "outlaws," "saboteurs" and "armed terrorist groups"
for the violence that has swept Syria since mid-March, while world powers have
accused Syria of repressing violently pro-democracy protesters.
On Tuesday Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu delivered a message saying
Ankara has "run out of patience," while his Egyptian counterpart Mohammed Amr
warned that Syria was "heading to the point of no return." Brazil, India and
South Africa have all stepped into the diplomatic fray, dispatching envoys to
Damascus to seek a solution to the crisis and end the bloody crackdown that has
claimed more than 2,000 lives since mid-March.
Amr was also due in Turkey on Wednesday after Davutoglu's visit on Tuesday when
he asked Assad to end the bloodshed and implement democratic reforms.
"We hope that some measures will be taken in the coming days to end the
bloodshed and open the way to a process for political reform," Davutoglu said.
As troops were reportedly deploying in Sermin, dozens of military vehicles
packed with soldiers streamed out of the flashpoint protest hub Hama in central
Syria after completing a 10-day operation. An AFP correspondent saw the soldiers
leave as she toured Hama with other journalists on a government-sponsored visit.
"The army units have gone back to their barracks after having accomplished their
mission, and residents, happy to be rid of the armed gangs who tried to sow
discord among the population, have returned home," a high-ranking army officer
said. Troops backed by tanks stormed Hama on July 31, on the eve of the start of
the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, to fight "armed groups," killing 100 people in
the single bloodiest day since the crackdown began, activists say.
The bloodshed triggered a deluge of international condemnation and prompted the
U.N. Security Council, under pressure from European and U.S. leaders, to issue a
statement demanding an end to the violence.
Russia, a traditional ally of Syria and armorer to Damascus, backed the
statement after refusing to endorse a tougher formal resolution, and has since
urged Syria to comply and engage in reform. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
reaffirmed Moscow's position during a phone call with his counterpart Walid
Muallem, stressing the "priority of ending violence and continuing efforts to
conduct comprehensive political, social and economic reforms in Syria without
delay," a statement said. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland
highlighted the toughening U.S. and international stance. "It is deeply
regrettable that President Assad does not seem to be hearing the increasingly
loud voice of the international community, a voice of concern that is now
growing in strength, in volume and in number of countries making their views
known," Nuland told reporters in Washington. Gulf Cooperation Council nations
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait have all recalled their ambassadors to Damascus
for consultations. Al-Azhar -- Sunni Islam's top authority -- and the 22-member
Arab League have also urged Syria to rein in the security forces, with al-Azhar
saying the situation "has gone too far." Overnight, some 2,000 people protested
outside the Syrian embassy in Kuwait City to demand its envoy's expulsion and
the "freezing" of relations with Damascus. But Assad dug his heels in on Tuesday
after meeting Davutoglu saying: "We will not waver in our pursuit of terrorist
groups," state news agency SANA reported.
As he stood his ground, activists reported another 34 deaths on Tuesday,
including 17 people killed by security forces in the eastern city of Deir al-Zour.
*Source Agence France PresseAssociated Press
British PM Authorizes Water Cannon in Riots 'Fightback'
Naharnet /Prime Minister David Cameron said a "fightback" was underway Wednesday
after four nights of violent riots as he authorized police to use water cannon
for the first time in mainland Britain. With Britain's worst riots in a
generation spreading to the northwest city of Manchester and three people being
killed while defending their community in Birmingham, central England, Cameron
said there was a "sickness" in society. He said London was quieter overnight
after 16,000 police flooded the streets and vigilante groups protected stricken
neighborhoods from gangs who have burned down and raided dozens of shops and
homes. "We needed a fightback and a fightback is underway," Cameron told a news
conference outside 10 Downing Street after the second meeting of Britain's COBRA
security committee in as many days.
"We now have in place contingency plans for water cannon to be available at 24
hours' notice," Cameron said, adding that police had already been authorized to
use plastic baton rounds against rioters. Water cannon have only previously been
used in the troubled British province of Northern Ireland to tackle sectarian
tensions between the Protestant and Roman Catholic communities. The violence has
raised questions about security ahead of the 2012 London Olympic Games, and it
prompted the cancellation of Wednesday's friendly between England and the
Netherlands at Wembley Stadium. Cameron's tough new line comes after he flew
back from holiday in Tuscany on Tuesday to take charge of the biggest challenge
to the Conservative-led coalition government since it came to power in May last
year. Police have arrested more than 1,100 people across the country for
violence, disorder and looting since the riots erupted on Saturday in the north
London district of Tottenham after police shot dead a man.
The prime minister dismissed "phony concerns about human rights" over the
issuing by police of photos of some of the suspected rioters. He also called for
all those convicted over the disorder to be jailed. The government has blamed
"opportunistic" criminals for the unrest, but the opposition says cuts to social
services and the failure to deal with underlying social problems has contributed
to the riots. Some of Britain's most deprived areas erupted late Tuesday, with
200 rioters pelting police with missiles in Toxteth area of the northwest city
of Liverpool, which was rocked by huge riots in 1981.
Elsewhere, hooded rioters set fire to buildings in West Bromwich and
Wolverhampton in central England and a police station in nearby Nottingham was
firebombed. There was also trouble in the western English town of Gloucester.
The focus of Tuesday's violence was Manchester where police were driven back by
gangs of hundreds of youths who covered their faces with scarves and ski masks.
Gangs set fire to a girls' fashion store and smashed the glass entrance of the
Arndale Centre, Manchester's main shopping mall, allowing hundreds of youths to
run off with armfuls of clothes and shoes.Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan
of Greater Manchester Police, who joined the force after moving to the city in
1981, called the scenes "senseless violence and senseless criminality on a scale
I have never witnessed before."
In Birmingham, Britain's second biggest city, police said they had arrested a
man and launched a murder inquiry after an incident in which three Asian men
died when they were hit by a speeding car. Witnesses said the men who died had
just come out of a mosque and were protecting their neighborhood shops after a
car was set alight nearby.
"They lost their lives for other people, doing the job of the police," Mohammed
Shakiel said outside the hospital where the men were taken, prompting around 200
people to gather in support. Despite the unrest, police and cricket officials
announced that the Test match between England and India, due to take place at
the nearby Edgbaston ground, would go ahead as planned on Wednesday. The only
other fatality of the riots so far was a man found with a gunshot wound to the
head in a car in the south London suburb of Croydon.
**Source Agence France Presse
March 14 Urges Suleiman to Summon Lebanon’s Ambassador to
Syria for ‘Consultations’
Naharnet /The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday Foreign
Minister Adnan Mansour’s visit to Damascus aimed at showing solidarity with the
Syrian regime, saying that it was a shameful moment that portrayed Lebanon as
the only Arab supporter of the regime that “is committing massacres against its
people.” It said in statement after its weekly meeting: “We urge President
Michel Suleiman to summon Lebanon’s Ambassador to Syria in order to hold
consultations on the developments there.”It also called on him to conduct the
necessary consultations with all political powers in order to preserve Lebanon.
It noted that the government’s decision to disassociate itself from a United
Nations Security Council statement condemning the crackdown against the
anti-regime protests in Syria came at a time when Arab countries voiced their
support of the Syrian people. “This stand has placed the Lebanese in a position
they did not chose, but they in fact reject it, as they are portrayed as
complicit with the bloodshed the that world has unanimously condemned,” the
March 14 General Secretariat. “The government’s position is its own, expressing
its commitment to a regime that is killing its own people,” the statement said.
“Given the regional developments, Lebanon’s safety is a priority that should be
above all other matters,” it stressed. The General Secretariat also praised the
demonstrations that took place in Beirut, Tripoli, and the Bekaa in support of
the Syria people. On U.N. media reports that Hizbullah is taking part in
suppressing protests in Syria, the statement said: “This proves that the party
has abandoned the principles that it claims to respect.”“It is jeopardizing the
entire sect it represents because it is linking it to the ongoing massacres
against the Syrian people,” it noted.
Aoun: Armed Groups Committing Terrorism in Syria, Not the State
Naharnet /09 August 2011, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun demanded
on Tuesday the Syrian people to return to their senses, calling on them “resort
to the ballot boxes instead of resorting to murder and massacres” in dealing
with its internal affairs. He said after the Change and Reform bloc’s weekly
meeting: “The terrorism is being committed by the (armed) organizations and not
the state as they are saying.” He added that Syria is being pressured to sever
its ties with Iran, Hizbullah, and Hamas and launch negotiations with Syria and
not introduce reform. “I don’t think Syria has harmed anyone on the Turkish
border or any of the Arab forces,” Aoun continued. “Whoever goes to Syria sees
that it is calm, but there are a few problems,” he said. In addition, the FPM
leader stated that all of the wars the United States is waging will not result
in the establishment of a pro-American government in the Middle East. On Lebanon
informing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that it has failed in detaining
suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, he said:
“The names of the suspects have been known for a year and of course the suspects
have fled.
European Missions in Beirut Take Precautionary Measures over Possible Syria
Deterioration
Naharnet /Lebanon has been witnessing a notable diplomatic activity concerning
the situation of European nationals in Syria, with a number of embassies in
Lebanon taking precautionary measures to confront any dramatic development in
the Syrian arena which might require the evacuation of foreigners from Syria
into Lebanon, the Central News Agency reported Tuesday.
European diplomats have asked Lebanon to facilitate the entry of Europeans
through the Lebanese-Syrian land border crossings and their departure from the
Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport to their countries, well-informed
sources told the news agency. “Some European embassies in Beirut have received
warnings about possible threats to their interests and the need that they take
the necessary security measures in order to fend off such threats,” the sources
said. The Syrian authorities’ repression of protests has left at least 2,059
people dead, including almost 400 members of the security forces, according to
the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad’s regime has pledged reform and blamed "armed terrorist gangs" for the
almost five-month-long unrest.