LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِAugust
12/2011
Bible Quotation for today.
Romans 11/27-36: This is my covenant to
them, when I will take away their sins.(Isaiah 59:20-21; 27:9; Jeremiah 31:33-34
). Concerning the Good News, they are enemies for your sake. But concerning the
election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sake. For the gifts and the
calling of God are irrevocable. For as you in time past were disobedient
to God, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience, even so these also
have now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to you they may also obtain
mercy. For God has shut up all to disobedience, that he might have mercy
on all. Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of
God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! “For who
has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? ( Isaiah 40:13)
“Or who has first given to him, and it will be repaid to him again? (Job
41:11). For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things. To him be
the glory for ever! Amen.
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
Syria goads Turkey by
attacking towns along their border/DEBKAfile/August
11/11
New round of unrest in Ain
al-Hilweh/Mona
Alami/August 11/11
International Christian Concern:
Muslim Radicals Kill 10 Christians in Nigeria/August
11/11
We need talking heads, the
Lebanese way/By Michael Young/August 11/11
Latest News
Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 11/11
Cassese Issues Open Letter to Four
Suspects in Hariri Assassination Urging them to Appear in Court
U.S., Europe Say U.N. Action
against Assad Getting Closer
Murr Meets STL Delegation:
Indictment in My Assassination Attempt to Be Released Soon
2 Killed while Reportedly Placing
Bomb Under Vehicle of Lebanese Judge
Geagea: Assassinations Were Aimed
at Creating a Major Political Change in Lebanon
British PM: Riots were about Theft,
Not Politics
Bassil Warns Cabinet over Attempts
to Block Electricity Bill, Slams Opposition’s Stance
Electricity Bill Debate Likely to
Reach Cabinet in Baabda Session
Singh Says ‘Terrorist’ Attack on
UNIFIL against Lebanon’s Interest
IDF prepares for possible
engagement with Syria after UN vote
US ambassador to the United
Nations:US has evidence of Syrian crimes
.US. Edges towards Call for Assad's
Departure
Turkey PM: Syria is aiming guns at
its own people
Syrian Forces Kill 16 in Homs,
Storm Idlib Town
Obama says Syria would be better
without Assad, sanctions imposed
U.S. Slaps Sanctions on Syria
Largest Commercial Bank, Lebanon Subsidiary
Assad Admits 'Some Mistakes' to
U.N. Security Council Delegation
Hizbullah Says March 14 Trying to
Implicate U.N. in 'Rumors, Lies'
U.S. Kills Taliban Fighters Who
Shot Down Helicopter
Aoun to Lebanese: If You Want
Electricity then You Should Occupy Parliament
Jumblat Holds Talks in Syria on
Latest Political Developments
Williams Meets Geagea, Stresses
Importance of 'Maintaining Stability'
Lebanese: Parliament Fails to
Approve Electricity Draft Law
Future bloc leader MP Fouad
Siniora: Aoun’s draft bill was incomplete/Now Lebanon
Lebanese
MPs exchange volleys in power
plant debate
STL: Lebanon still must
cooperate with tribunal
Jumblatt’s Syria talks unreported
by state media
Future Movement still absent from
Tripoli anti-Assad protests
Cassese Issues Open Letter to Four Suspects in Hariri Assassination Urging them
to Appear in Court
Naharnet /Special Tribunal for Lebanon President Antonio Cassese issued on
Thursday an open letter to the four suspects accused of being involved in the
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, informing them of their
rights and urging them to appear in court, announced the STL press office.
He issued the letter in light of Lebanon’s informing of the STL that it has been
unable to apprehend the suspects, adding that he is currently studying Lebanon’s
report on the matter.
“I am confident that they will continue to cooperate with the STL and persist in
their search for the accused, pursuant to the obligations laid down in Article
15 of the document annexed to UN Security Council Resolution 1757 (2007),” said
the STL president in his letter.
“The STL has been established to dispense justice in a proper and fair manner.
All those working for the Tribunal are doing their job with full independence
and impartiality,” he stressed.
“Any claim that the Tribunal is under the influence of some countries is simply
preposterous,” he stated.
Cassese added: “Let me also remind all those allegedly involved in those
terrorist crimes in Lebanon that nothing, I repeat, nothing will deflect or
prevent the Tribunal from fulfilling its mission.”
“The lofty ideals on which the Tribunal is grounded (accountability,
dispensation of justice to contribute to long-term peace and reconciliation,
safeguarding the rights of the victims) are solidly ingrained in our Statute and
our Rules and jealously protected by the Judges,” he said.
“They cannot be set aside by a stroke of the pen, by mere rhetoric or even by
violence. The march to justice is inexorable, and one way or another we will end
up with a trial,” stressed the STL president.
He reiterated that the STL is “exclusively” aimed at finding out the truth
behind the February 14, 2005, assassination of former Premier Hariri and other
possibly connected cases, in a hope that it would put an end to political
assassinations in Lebanon.
“For the accused, this mission means that we will conduct trials based on a firm
presumption of innocence of the accused,” stated the STL president.
“The Tribunal shall never convict anybody unless guilt is established beyond any
reasonable doubt,” he stressed.
He explained that in the absence of the accused the Tribunal’s Head of Defense
Office will appoint the best professionals to represent them in court, a major
safeguard of a fair and just trial is the active participation of the accused.
Cassese said: “I therefore urge all the indictees to come before the Tribunal.”
Should they chose not to come in person, they have the option according to the
STL Rules of appearing by video-link, thus participating in the proceedings
without physically coming to The Hague, he continued.
“At the very least, it is extremely important for you to appoint legal counsel
and to instruct them: without instructions from the accused it may prove harder
for counsel appointed by the Head of the Tribunal’s Defense Office to make a
convincing case for those charged by the Prosecution,” he explained.
“Our Rules go even further, because they foresee the possibility of you choosing
and instructing your counsel without ever having to appear before the Tribunal,
not even by video-link,” Cassese said.
“If you believe this Tribunal is illegal or illegitimate, argue this point
through legal counsel chosen by you – you will thus have your voice heard on
this issue,” he stressed.
Furthermore, he added that “substantial funds have been earmarked in the
Tribunal’s budget for the defense of accused persons” to hire the best lawyers
and experts.
“Since the STL is a court of law, a defense lawyer is the only person who can
effectively challenge the charges brought against you,” he stressed.
The first phase of the indictment in the STL was released on June 28.
It was accompanied by arrest warrants against four Hizbullah member suspected of
being involved in the crime.
Lebanon had 30 days to apprehend the suspects, but it failed to do so.
Hizbullah has repeatedly announced that it will not cooperate with the tribunal,
accusing it of being an American and Israeli product.
The next step under our Rules of Procedure and Evidence may require the STL to
advertise the confirmed indictment more broadly.
2 Killed while Reportedly Placing Bomb Under Vehicle of
Lebanese Judge
Naharnet /Two people were killed when a bomb they were reportedly trying to
plant under the parked vehicle of a Lebanese judge in a parking lot in Antelias
mistakenly went off, the Lebanese Red Cross said Thursday. The men were
identified as Hassan Nayef Nassar and Ihsan Ali Diya, who died after he was
taken to hospital. Several people were also injured, the reports said. A witness
told Agence France Presse he saw rescuers carrying a man whose arm and leg had
been torn off in the explosion. The vehicle that the two assailants were
reportedly trying to booby trap is a Nissan Murano registered to State Shura
Council Judge Albert Serhan - license plate number 29592- and is driven by his
son and engineer Alain.
"My son is an engineer and he parks his car in that lot, along with his
colleagues, near their office," the judge told AFP by telephone. "I have never
been threatened nor does anyone in my family dabble in politics," he added.
Alain Sarhan told OTV that he saw two corpses on the ground near his car after
he heard the blast. A credit card that belongs to Nassar was found at the scene
of the explosion. The National News Agency said the two assailants arrived at
the area in a BMW X5 holding plate number 278458 and is registered in Diya’s
name.
Army and security forces immediately rushed to the site, cordoned off the area
and brought in sniffer dogs.
Geagea: Assassinations Were Aimed at Creating a Major
Political Change in Lebanon
Naharnet /Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea stated on Thursday that the meetings at
the Justice Palace demonstrate that former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s
assassination is linked to the assassination attempts against former ministers
Marwan Hamadeh and Elias Murr and ex-LBCI anchorwoman May Chidiac. Meetings were
held on Thursday between General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza and a Special Tribunal
for Lebanon delegation with Murr, Hamadeh, and Chidiac. Geagea said of the
assassinations: “They were aimed at creating a major political change in
Lebanon.” “Arrogance can no longer help anyone,” he stressed. On the electricity
file in Lebanon and the electricity draft law that was not approved at
parliament on Wednesday, he said: “The problem is that Energy Minister Jebran
Bassil stated that he should be given USD 1.2 billion in order to increase
production in Lebanon by 700 megawatts.”
“We all want to increase energy production, but there are certain principles
that should be adopted in conducting work in the state,” remarked Geagea.
“If we want to increase the production to 700 megawatts, why should we do so
outside state principles and without the supervision of the auditing
authorities?” he wondered.
“We want to increase electricity production, but according to the norms,” he
stressed. “The other camp has been stating for years that funds are being spent
outside the state budget, and now that they assumed power, they are attempting
to do so themselves,” noted the LF leader. Parliament failed to approve on
Wednesday a draft law on electricity that was suggested by FPM leader MP Michel
Aoun. The draft law allows Bassil to receive $1,200,000,000 to implement a
project on producing 700 Megawatts of electricity. March 14-led opposition
sources said on Wednesday that the draft law gives Bassil the freedom to use the
amount of money without referring to the cabinet or without any monitoring by
the Audit Bureau. On the Antelias bombing that took place earlier on Thursday,
Geagea said: “Investigations can be launched at a very advanced rate because the
identities of those who planted the bomb are known and it exploded as they were
placing it.”
Singh Says ‘Terrorist’ Attack on UNIFIL against Lebanon’s
Interest
Naharnet/United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon spokesman Neeraj Singh said on
Thursday the security situation in Southern Lebanon differs strategically from
the situation in 2006 thanks to the UNIFIL. “The UNIFIL formed a strong
deterrent against any renewal of hostile attacks along with the Lebanese army
efforts,” Singh told the Kuwaiti An Nahar newspaper.
He noted “the terrorist attack that targeted the French contingent in Sidon
doesn’t fall in Lebanon’s best interest nor help the peace and security in the
region.”
The spokesman unveiled that Italy plans to drawdown the number of its contingent
in UNIFIL during the upcoming months.
However, Singh said: “More than 1,000 Italian peacekeepers will remain with the
international forces; therefore, Italy will remain one of the countries that
have the largest contingents in southern Lebanon.” He stressed that the Lebanese
authorities are responsible for implementing the law and order in the UNIFIL
operation areas.
The daily quoted him as saying: “Challenges remain including the violation of
the international resolution 1701, but the UNIFIL has an efficient mechanism to
deal with them.”
U.S., Europe Say U.N. Action against Assad Getting Closer
Naharnet/Western nations stepped up demands for U.N. measures against President
Bashar Assad after the Syrian leader ignored repeated calls for an end to the
bloodshed in his country.
But U.N. Security Council battlelines were drawn when Russia's U.N. envoy said
calls for sanctions did not help end the crackdown by Syrian security forces in
which rights groups say more than 2,000 civilians have died. U.N. Assistant
Secretary-General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco briefed the 15-member Security Council
behind closed doors about events in Syria in the week since the council called
for an "immediate" halt to the violence.
Taranco was quoted as saying there had been no letup in the deaths of protesters
-- with at least 87 people killed across the country on Tuesday alone -- while
U.N. officials had met Syrian diplomats to try to get accurate information.
Syrian security forces cut power and communications to protest towns targeted by
operations, he added. Taranco spoke of reports of summary executions and
soldiers defecting because of a shoot-to-kill policy, diplomats said. In a bid
to keep Syria high on the Security Council agenda, Western nations pressed for a
new report next week with briefings from the top U.N. human rights and
humanitarian officials. Envoys from Britain, France, Germany and Portugal said
after the meeting that the Security Council would have to consider "further
action" if events did not improve by the next report.
Taranco's briefing was "depressing and chilling," Britain's deputy U.N.
ambassador Philip Parham told reporters.
He said the council had been told that "gross human rights violations" had
become a central feature of the crackdown, while there was no prospect of
progress so long as the security operation continues and mass arrests are
carried out. "If the Syrian regime persists in ignoring the demands of the
international community, which are not just the demands of the Security Council,
which are growing and becoming more urgent from the region, then we will have to
consider ways to increase pressure on the Syrian regime," added France's deputy
envoy, Martin Briens. U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice took the increasingly tough
line of President Barack Obama's administration into the debate.
Assad has met "calls for change with cruelty and contempt," she told the
meeting. Thousands of innocent people had been "killed in cold blood" and "Assad
has breached the most basic rules of diplomacy by sending thugs to attack
diplomatic missions."
Rice said the United States and Europe were bringing "greater pressure to bear
on the Syrian regime through further coordinated diplomatic and financial
measures."
The United States was also trying to halt the supply of weapons and ammunition
to Syrian security forces.
Russia's U.N. ambassador Vitaly Churkin said US calls for sanctions were not
helpful.
"We are urging restraint, reform and dialogue," Churkin told reporters.
"What we are telling them (Syria) is that they need to have serious reforms," he
said while criticizing the Syrian opposition for not entering into dialogue with
the Assad government. He also insisted there were "some encouraging signs."
Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Jaafari accused European envoys of misleading the
media and public with their figures on the death toll and thousands of arrests.
He sparked the fury of British diplomats by comparing the unrest in his country
to riots roiling Britain.
Western nations have hailed the growing condemnation of Assad from the region,
including the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League leader and influential
nations such as Saudi Arabia that have withdrawn their envoys.**Source Agence
France Presse
Murr Meets STL Delegation: Indictment in My Assassination
Attempt to Be Released Soon
Naharnet /Former Defense Minister Elias Murr announced on Thursday that a
detailed indictment in the investigation into his attempted assassination will
be released soon, reported LBC television.
He made his statements after holding talks with a delegation from the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon delegation and General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, which he
described as “a secret meeting.”He added that what he heard from them “was
unfortunate for Lebanon.”Murr later told LBC that the STL delegation revealed to
him the identity of the sides behind his assassination.Mirza and the joint U.N.
and international investigators commission then held talks with former minister
Marwan Hamadeh, who was also a victim of an assassination attempt in 2004. He
said after the meeting that he was satisfied with the progress achieved by the
investigation, adding that the tribunal will “inevitably” be established.
Mirza and STL delegation later met with ex-LBCI anchorwoman May Chidiac, who was
a victim of an assassination attempt.
The Justice Palace meetings are aimed at informing them that the suspects in
ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s murder are also involved in their assassination
attempts, media reports said
If the information is relayed to them, the Lebanese judiciary will take its
hands off the files of the three victims and join them to the investigation
carried out by the STL in Hariri’s murder, An Nahar daily said on Thursday.
The court’s spokesman has said that it can’t be said that Lebanese authorities
have done enough to cooperate with it or finance it. Lebanese authorities had
until August 11 to report on progress made in arresting four men wanted in
connection with the massive car bomb explosion in Beirut that killed Hariri and
22 others. The tribunal said it had been told by Mirza on Tuesday that none of
the Hizbullah members it had identified as suspects has been arrested. According
to al-Liwaa daily, the STL would give Lebanese authorities another month to find
the suspects or Pre-trial Judge Daniel Fransen could publish the indictment on
the court’s website.
British PM: Riots were about Theft, Not Politics
Naharnet /The riots which tore through London and other major English cities for
four days had nothing to do with politics or protest but were motivated by
theft, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday. The rioting was "not
about politics or protest, it is about theft", Cameron told parliament after
lawmakers were recalled from their summer recess to debate the worst looting and
violence for decades.Cameron said he would "not allow a climate of fear to exist
on our streets".
He admitted there were "far too few" police officers deployed as the riots
reached a peak on Monday night and the tactics they had used had failed to work.
The prime minister, who returned early from holiday in Italy to deal with the
riots, announced a package of measures to help homeowners and businesses
affected by the riots.
Massively increased police numbers and heavy rain in many parts of the country
led to a quiet night overnight Wednesday, leaving Britain to start to count the
cost of the violence.
Four people have died in the riots, including three Asian men mowed down by a
car in Birmingham in central England.
**Source Agence France Presse
Bassil Warns Cabinet over Attempts to Block Electricity
Bill, Slams Opposition’s Stance
Naharnet /Energy and Water Minister Jebran Bassil warned on Thursday if an
electricity bill wasn’t approved by parliament then the cabinet will fall
popularly and morally.
“We’re either an actual majority that seeks providing people with their vital
needs (or we’re not), but we will not accept becoming false witnesses, therefore
we won’t agree on hitting the Lebanese peoples’ interests,” Bassil told As Safir
newspaper. The Parliament witnessed a heated debate on Wednesday over the draft
law that would allow the Energy Ministry to raise a $1.2 billion fund to build
power plants. He stressed that any negligence on behalf of the cabinet “will not
be acceptable.”
The minister added that the issue isn’t only about the Energy Ministry, but is
linked to the survival of the government or its failure.
Bassil described the opposition’s behavior in the parliamentary session as a
vengeful act that targets the Lebanese people including the supporters of the
March 14 forces.
The newspaper quoted him as saying: “What they did reflects what they stored of
childish, hatred and vengeful acts.”
Bassil slammed the opposition stance over the electricity bill. He wondered
“what opposition is it that disrupts an electricity project that they have
already agreed on its details in the ministerial statement of ex-PM Saad
Hariri’s cabinet?” Meanwhile, sources told al-Liwaa newspaper that the Minister
was absent from a meeting headed by PM Najib Miqati Wednesday night. The daily
remarked that the meeting was held away from the media spotlight in an attempt
to discuss the electricity crisis with a number of experts.
Bassil had proposed a project for the electricity crisis to construct 700 MW
power plants. However, lawmakers who are opposing the proposal argue that it
would burden the treasury.
IDF
prepares for possible engagement with Syria after UN vote
Officers preparing for possible Syrian attempts to storm border with Golan, also
being trained on riot control for expected West Bank disturbances.
By Anshel Pfeffer /Haaretz
The Israel Defense Forces is readying for possible engagement with the Syrian
military in September, should the latter involve itself in new attempts by
Palestinians in Syria to storm the border with the Golan Heights in connection
with a UN vote on recognizing a Palestinian state.
The IDF acknowledges it may be necessary to deal with Syrian military
intervention in such a scenario, which could occur if Syria tried to deflect
world attention from the ongoing demonstrations in that country - and their
bloody suppression - by creating an incident on the border.
If such a mass infiltration results in the IDF having to shoot at the
protesters, the Syrian army may send units to "defend Syrian citizens."
Thus, for the first time since the Yom Kippur War, there could be a military
confrontation, with the IDF being compelled to send forces to confront Syrian
battalions.
Until now, the IDF assessment had been that Syrian President Bashar Assad was
interested in maintaining quiet along the border.
But Assad's domestic troubles, coupled with evidence that he had previously - in
May and in June - encouraged hundreds of Palestinians to storm the border, has
changed that assessment.
The IDF will not use tanks in the West Bank even if there is an escalation of
violence and a resumption of terror attacks, a senior Armored Corps officer
said.
The army's assessment, he said, is that unlike during the second intifada, when
tanks were used extensively in the territories, particularly during Operation
Defensive Shield, "Now there are no large terror cells in the field or weapons
that require tanks to deal with them."
Bringing tanks into the West Bank is likely to cause a higher number of
casualties than necessary, at a time when the IDF will be trying to contain the
violence, he said.
To prepare for what may occur in September, the army has also added to its
officers' course at Training Base 1 a module on dealing with mass civilian
disturbances. A full three days of the intensive six-month course is being
devoted to the subject.
The module consists of one day learning how to use the various IDF riot
dispersal measures, and a two-day workshop of psychological preparation for
dilemmas that may arise in the field.
A senior commander at Training Base 1 said the mental preparation was needed,
"because the cadets learn primarily how to fight an armed enemy, and dealing
with civilians requires different measures."
During September, the IDF plans to post senior officers and battalion and
brigade commanders at possible confrontation zones in the West Bank, and along
the borders with Gaza, Syria and Lebanon. Still, military officials believe
young officers may find themselves and their soldiers facing complex situations
alone, which is why this module was added to their training.
Syria
goads Turkey by attacking towns along their border
DEBKAfile Special Report August 10, 2011,
http://www.debka.com/article/21195/
Less than 24 hours after Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu handed Bashar
Assad in Damascus "a final warning," to stop the bloodshed or else, Assad
demonstrated coolly that he is not scared by the prospect of military
intervention or deterred by Ankara's caution that he risks the same fate as
Muammar Qaddafi – i.e. NATO attack. The day after his Turkish guest departed,
Wednesday, Aug. 10, he launched military assaults on three towns in the Turkish
border region.
Tanks, armored vehicles and motorized infantry units pushed into Taftanaz and
Sermin in Idlib province, less than 30 kilometers from the border, while troops
entered Binnish, a town squarely on the border.
This exercise was also Assad's reply to the Obama administration's leaked report
of Tuesday night that within the coming hours Washington would for the first
time explicitly call on Bashar Assad to step down, like the marching orders the
US gave the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi.
This strategy is so far in the red, with only one down (Mubarak) and two
(Qaddafi and Yemeni President Abdullah Ali Saleh) still to go. Assad expects to
join the latter group after outdoing them all in brutal repression.
He not only brushed aside the Davutoglu's demand on behalf of Turkey as a NATO
member to cut down on his military operations against civilians, he expanded
them Wednesday in the most provocative manner.
The five-month conflict between the Syrian army and rebels is now in its
bloodiest week, raging on three fronts: In the north from Wednesday on the
Turkish border, in the east, where Syrian tanks and artillery forces are
knocking over the towns of Deir al-Zour and Abu Kamal near the Iraqi border and
in two protests centers in the Damascus suburbs of Duma and Kharasta.
Assad was cheered on, debkafile's military and intelligence sources report, by
the apparent weakness he noticed in the Turkish foreign minister when they
conversed Tuesday. The Syrian ruler gained the impression that Turkish Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan is still wavering over whether to order his army to
cross the border into Syria and he therefore decided to strike while the iron
was hot.
By concentrating units so close to the Turkish border, Assad also gained an
advantage in the event of Erdogan deciding to invade.
Assad found another sign of weakness in Erdogan's report that his foreign
minister had obtained in Damascus a promise of political reforms and seen for
himself that Syrian tanks had pulled out of Hama. There was no mention of the
number of civilians killed before that or the public executions in the city's
main square. The Turkish prime minister seemed to have forgotten that all
Assad's past promises of reforms had proved hollow.
According to our sources, the Syrian president received new Iranian guarantees
Tuesday night of a missile shield in the event of an attack by Turkey or NATO
forces. This is tantamount to a promise that Iranian missiles would target
Middle East air bases from which the assault planes took off and send troops to
the aid of the Syrian army.
Assad therefore feels safe in discounting the new sanctions the US slapped down
Wednesday night, Aug. 10 on Syria's biggest commercial bank, the Commercial Bank
of Syria, and its Lebanon-based subsidiary, under a presidential executive order
that targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters.
A separate order designated Syriatel, the country's largest mobile phone
operator, for supporting human rights abuses in Syria.
He was not bothered by his increasing isolation in the Arab world after Saudi
Arabia led the Gulf States in recalling their ambassadors from Damascus in
protest against the unbridled blood-letting - any more than he moved by a
possible NATO strike.
He views NATO as having failed in its six-month air Libyan campaign either to
dislodge Qaddafi or destroy his army. It had the reverse effect of strengthening
his regime. As for Western aid to Syrian rebels, government forces have managed
to seize most of the weapons and logistical aid shipments they shipped into
Syria
US ambassador to the United Nations:US has evidence of
Syrian crimes
August 10, 2011 /The United States has evidence of crimes in Syria and is ready
to use it to step up pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the US
ambassador to the United Nations said Wednesday. Speaking ahead of a UN Security
Council meeting on Assad's deadly crackdown on opposition protests, Ambassador
Susan Rice said there would be more international action against Assad who has
"lost his legitimacy to rule." A UN official is to brief the 15-member Security
Council on the intensifying crackdown in Syria, one week after the council
condemned the government's violence. Western nations will use the meeting to
test reaction to possible stronger UN steps against Assad, diplomats from
various countries said.
"From the United States' point of view we are going to continue and intensify
our pressure both through our national actions, in additional sanctions, as well
as coordinated efforts with other partners here in New York and around the
world," Rice told reporters. "We have evidence of crimes, we would share that
quite readily with any in a position to investigate," she told reporters,
without giving details of the allegations.
"The United States acts both in the context of the Security Council and in our
bilateral and other regional relationships, so we are working across the board
to underscore that the behavior of Assad is absolutely unacceptable," Rice
added. "In the view of the United States he has lost his legitimacy to rule and
Syria would be a better place without him," Rice said. "We are looking to the
future and looking to lend support to the people of Syria who have the same
aspirations for freedom and democracy that we have seen in so many other parts
of the world."
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week said the Syrian regime was
responsible for the deaths of over 2,000 people, and while she too stressed that
Assad has lost legitimacy to govern, Washington has so far resisted issuing a
direct call for Assad to step down. The Security Council passed a statement last
week condemning the violence and calling for Wednesday's report on events in the
country. Russia and China have led opposition to a formal UN resolution,
however, with the support of Brazil, India and South Africa.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon
U.S. Edges towards Call for Assad's Departure
Naharnet/The United States Wednesday again stopped short of explicitly calling
for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to leave power, but said it would help his
people achieve "dignity and freedom." Washington further stiffened its stance,
after a crackdown on protesters which has killed 2,000 people, by unveiling new
sanctions on the state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria, the country's largest
commercial bank. Steadily escalating U.S. rhetoric against Assad, including a
warning that he is now a source of regional instability, has fueled expectations
that the Obama administration will soon formally call for him to go. But the
White House Wednesday stuck with a rhetorical formulation towards Syria adopted
last week, saying the country would be a "better place" without Assad and that
he had lost legitimacy.
"The most important thing that we can do right now is ensure that our actions
back up our words," said White House spokesman Jay Carney. "A democratic
transition would be better for Syria, the region and the world, and we intend to
help the Syrian people achieve the dignity and freedom they have demanded and
for which too many have died. "We will keep up that pressure. We will work and
coordinate with our international partners."
Carney also said that the rising international isolation of Syria, which has
seen key Arab states distance themselves from Assad, was not an "accident" but
the product of U.S. diplomacy.
"We are working with our international partners to ensure that pressure
continues to be placed and is ramped up on President Assad. And we'll continue
to do that," he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Syrian security forces shot dead 16 people in the protest
hub of Homs while withdrawing from the flashpoint city of Hama after a 10-day
operation.
Explaining the new sanctions, the U.S. Treasury said it was "taking aim at the
financial infrastructure that is helping provide support to Assad and his
regime's illicit activities."
Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen
charged that the Commercial Bank of Syria was "an agent for designated Syrian
and North Korean proliferators." Also on Wednesday, the U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations, Susan Rice, expressed doubt that the Security Council would
agree on a resolution threatening sanctions against Assad for his deadly
crackdown on opposition protests.
A top U.N. official is to brief the council on the intensifying crackdown in
Syria, one week after the 15-member body condemned the government violence.
Western nations will use the meeting to test reaction to possible stronger U.N.
steps against Assad, diplomats from various countries said.
"From the United States' point of view we are going to continue and intensify
our pressure both through our national actions, in additional sanctions, as well
as coordinated efforts with other partners here in New York and around the
world," Rice told reporters.
"In the view of the United States, he has lost his legitimacy to rule and Syria
would be a better place without him," the ambassador added.
"We are looking to the future and looking to lend support to the people of Syria
who have the same aspirations for freedom and democracy that we have seen in so
many other parts of the world." The Security Council passed a statement last
week condemning the violence and calling for Wednesday's report on events in the
country. Russia and China have led opposition to a formal U.N. resolution,
however, with the support of Brazil, India and South Africa. With the same
countries still angry over NATO air strikes in Libya, western nations say it
will be difficult to win the required majority for a sanctions resolution
against Syria. "I am loath to predict how exactly the council will respond in
the future," Rice said. Asked whether the council could refer Assad to the
International Criminal Court, as it has referred Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, Rice
said she doubted it would get the required support.
But she added: "From the United States point of view, and that of others, to the
extent that we have evidence of crimes we would share that quite readily with
any in a position to investigate." "I think members have been moved by what they
have seen of late and by the intensifying and horrific violence that we have
seen against civilians. But we have also been frustrated quite candidly that it
has taken as long as it has for the council to speak with one voice," she said.
"It is past time for all council members to put the interests of the Syrian
people rather than particular bilateral issues or interests at the forefront of
their actions," she added.
U.S. Kills Taliban Fighters Who Shot Down Helicopter
Naharnet /The Taliban insurgents who shot down a U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan,
leaving 30 American troops dead, have been hunted down and killed in an air
strike, a U.S. commander said Wednesday. General John Allen, the new chief of
U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, said that "at approximately midnight on 8
August, coalition forces killed the Taliban insurgents responsible for this
attack" in a bombing raid by an F-16 fighter jet. Insurgents had shot down a
Chinook helicopter on Friday in the remote Tangi Valley in Wardak province,
killing 30 American troops on board -- including 25 elite special forces -- in
the deadliest incident of the war for NATO. Allen called the downing of the
chopper southwest of Kabul a "tragic incident" but portrayed the retaliatory
strike against the insurgents as proof that the United States would press ahead
with the war. "This does not ease our loss, but we must and we will continue to
relentlessly pursue the enemy," said Allen, speaking to reporters via video link
from Kabul.
"We will face the obstacles ahead with a steadfast determination to prevail."
The helicopter attack came amid waning public support for the war and growing
anxiety in Congress about the cost of a conflict that has dragged on since 2001.
Allen announced the air strike against the insurgents as the Pentagon faced
criticism over how it has handled the crash.
The ceremony for the return of the remains of the fallen troops, which was
attended by President Barack Obama and other top officials, was closed to the
media and the names of those killed have not been released -- in a break with
Defense Department practice.
Describing the helicopter crash in detail for the first time, Allen said that
the Chinook had been sent in as part of an operation targeting a Taliban leader.
"The intelligence that had been generated to this point led us to believe there
was an enemy network in the Tangi Valley in the Wardak province, and the purpose
of this mission was to go after the leadership of that network," the general
said. When elements of the insurgent force were seen "escaping," the Chinook
chopper carrying Navy SEAL commandos and Afghan soldiers was ordered in to head
them off, he said. The CH-47 was then shot out of the sky with a
rocket-propelled grenade, killing all on board. U.S. forces then tracked the
insurgents responsible, calling in an air strike on Monday night with an F-16
fighter, he said.
The insurgents were traced over the weekend to a wooded area in the Chak
district "after an exhaustive manhunt" by special operations forces, the
NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement. The
F-16 strike killed the "shooter" as well as a Taliban militant, Mullah
Mohibullah, it said. "The two men were attempting to flee the country in order
to avoid capture," he said. However, the Taliban leader originally targeted in
Friday's mission was not killed, Allen said. Asked if he had concerns about the
use of the larger, slower Chinook in Friday's operation or the deployment of a
large number of elite SEAL special forces as a quick reaction force, Allen said
he was "comfortable" with the decisions made.
"I'm comfortable that that was the right decision to be made at that time," he
said. But Allen added that an investigation into the circumstances of the crash
had just begun.
**Source Agence France Presse
U.S.
Slaps Sanctions on Syria Largest Commercial Bank, Lebanon Subsidiary
Naharnet Newsdesk 9 hours agoThe United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on
Syria's largest commercial bank and largest mobile phone operator, stepping up
the pressure on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The moves targeting the
state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria, its Lebanon-based subsidiary and telecoms
company Syriatel are the latest taken by Washington against Syria over its
crackdown on anti-regime protests. The U.S. Treasury said it was "taking aim at
the financial infrastructure that is helping provide support to Assad and his
regime's illicit activities." The move freezes the U.S. assets of the businesses
targeted and prohibits U.S. entities from engaging in any business dealings with
them, the Treasury said in a statement. Treasury Under-Secretary for Terrorism
and Financial Intelligence David Cohen charged that the state-owned Commercial
Bank of Syria was "an agent for designated Syrian and North Korean
proliferators." Its subsidiary, the Syrian Lebanese Commercial Bank, was also
targeted by the new sanctions. He added that Syriatel had been singled out "for
being controlled by one of the regime's most corrupt insiders." The Treasury
said the Damascus-based Commercial Bank of Syria, which has about 50 branches,
was "providing financial services to Syria's Scientific Studies and Research
Center, as well as North Korea's Tanchon Commercial Bank."
Those two institutions have allegedly supported Syria and North Korea's efforts
to spread weapons of mass destruction, the Treasury statement said.
U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order in May, imposing targeted
sanctions on Assad and several high-ranking Syrian government officials for
their bloody crackdown on the country's pro-democracy demonstrators. On Tuesday,
the U.S. State Department pressed for more international sanctions against
Syria, conceding it has abandoned a bid to engage Damascus. "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," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. Russia has taken a
tougher line against Syria since it sent tanks into the revolt hub of Hama.
Assad has pledged to pursue a relentless battle against "terrorist groups" he
claims are behind the protests.**Source Agence France Press
Assad Admits 'Some Mistakes' to U.N. Security Council
Delegation
Naharnet /Syria's President Bashar al-Assad admitted Wednesday that his security
forces had made "some mistakes" in battling protests, as he met with several
U.N. Security Council members. The deputy foreign ministers from the three
emerging powers of Brazil, India and South Africa met Assad and Foreign Minister
Walid Muallem in Damascus to call for an "immediate end to all violence" in
Syria, a statement said. Assad "acknowledged that some mistakes had been made by
the security forces in the initial stages of the unrest and that efforts were
underway to prevent their recurrence," said the statement released by India's
U.N. mission. Rights groups say more than 2,000 people have died in protests
since an uprising started in mid-March. More deaths were reported on Wednesday
as the talks went ahead. The Syrian president "reassured the delegation of his
commitment to the reform process, aimed at ushering in multi-party democracy,"
according to the statement. "He said that political reforms were being finalized
in consultation with the people of Syria and the national dialogue would
continue to give shape to the new laws and to arrive at a suitable model for the
economy." Assad was quoted as saying that constitutional revisions would be
completed by February-March. International critics of Assad say he has done
nothing to embark on the reforms.
Brazil, India and South Africa had initially been among several members of the
15-nation U.N. Security Council resisting efforts by European powers and the
United States to agree on a council condemnation of the violence. A statement
was unanimously passed last week as the violence worsened. South African Deputy
Foreign Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim, Brazil's under secretary for Middle East
affairs Paulo Cordeiro and Dilip Sinha, an additional secretary at the Indian
foreign ministry, went on the mission to Damascus.
They "expressed grave concern at the current situation in Syria and condemned
violence from all sides. They regretted all loss of life and were concerned over
the humanitarian impact of the violence," the statement said. "They called for
an immediate end to all violence and urged all sides to act with utmost
restraint and respect for human rights." The delegation noted the creation of an
independent judicial committee but "stressed the importance of ensuring the
credibility and impartiality" of the body. The statement quoted Muallem as
saying that "Syria will be a free pluralistic and multi-party democracy before
the end of the year."**Source Agence France Presse
Syrian Forces Kill 16 in Homs, Storm Idlib Town
Naharnet /Syrian security forces shot dead 16 people in the protest hub of Homs
on Wednesday, activists said. Security forces "fired indiscriminately on
residents of the Baba Amro neighborhood, killing 11 people," an activist told
Agence France Presse by telephone from the central city. The toll was later
raised to 16, and at least another 20 wounded.
"Some bodies are lying in the sun and people cannot remove them because of the
shooting," one activist said. Meanwhile, an AFP correspondent on a
government-sponsored tour said dozens of military vehicles crammed with soldiers
streamed out of Hama to which residents were trickling back.
"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 officer said.
That was confirmed by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who sent to
Hama his ambassador to witness the pullout.
"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 Ankara. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
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."
Meanwhile, a military source said troops were also pulling out of one town in
the province of Idlib bordering Turkey. The operation aimed "to hunt down
saboteurs and armed groups at the request of Idlib's residents" and troops are
now "returning to their barracks, after achieving their mission," the source
said. The AFP journalist said she saw dozens of soldiers stream out of Ariha in
the south of Idlib province. But rights activist Rami Abdul Rahman of the
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops were conducting a
vast operation in the Idlib town of Sermin, where a woman was killed. "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
AFP. Explosions and heavy gunfire also echoed in the eastern oil hub of Deir
Ezzor and residents were fearing a new military operations in the city where the
army killed 42 people on Sunday and 17 on Tuesday, said Abdul Rahman. 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 violently repressing pro-democracy protests.**Source Agence
France Presse
Williams Meets Geagea, Stresses Importance of 'Maintaining
Stability'
Naharnet/U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams on Wednesday
underlined “the importance of maintaining stability and also of protecting
(U.N.) Security Council Resolution 1701.” “We believe that this (UNSCR 1701) has
brought stability to Lebanon in the years since 2006 and must be maintained in
the face of the many challenges,” Williams added, following talks with Lebanese
Forces leader Samir Geagea in Maarab. “We also discussed, for example, in that
regard the bomb attacks against UNIFIL on May 27 and July 26 and I cautioned
that this sort of attack could not be tolerated any further,” Williams told
reporters after the meeting. The two men also discussed the situations in
revolt-hit Syria. “The situation in Syria … is of concern to all Lebanese. We
have seen I think a sort of developing international consensus now about how
serious the situation is in Syria,” said Williams.
He hoped that “something positive will emerge from the visit of (Turkish)
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu” Tuesday to Syria. “I believe that other envoys
will be in Syria today from important Security Council member Brazil, from India
and from South Africa and this I think shows the wide circle of international
concern about developments in Syria,” Williams added
Hizbullah Says March 14 Trying to Implicate U.N. in
'Rumors, Lies'
Naharnet /Hizbullah said Wednesday that the March 14 general-secretariat “has
ignored the statement issued by the U.N., which denied accusing” the party of
being involved in Syria’s violence, noting that “this group did not settle for
the fabrication of rumors and lies, but also tried to implicate the U.N. and its
organizations in them.”
“Hizbullah does not usually comment on the statements issued by the March 14
general-secretariat because the content is repetitive, well-known and boring,”
the party said in a communiqué. “But what caught our attention in the latest
statement issued on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011 was the clause ‘the
general-secretariat noted what the media has quoted the U.N. as saying, which
points out to Hizbullah’s role in the crackdown operations in Syria’,” Hizbullah
added. “It seems that the general-secretariat of the March 14 forces is
insisting on repeating this claim and deliberately attributing it to the U.N.,
which implies that this group did not settle for the fabrication of rumors and
lies, but also tried to implicate the U.N. and its organizations in them,” the
party went on to say. “Does this insistence mean that certain forces in the
March 14 camp had provided Radio France with this report?” Hizbullah wondered.
In a statement issued earlier on Wednesday, the March 14 general-secretariat
said the media reports proved “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,” the general-secretariat noted.
Hizbullah’s Al-Manar television on Tuesday said a statement allegedly issued by
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had refuted Radio
France’s report.
However, in remarks published Wednesday, Kuwaiti daily Al-Anbaa quoted
diplomatic sources in the U.N. as saying that “the U.N. Security Council is
preparing a report on Hizbullah’s participation in the repression and torture of
Syrian civilians and protesters and the killing of Syrian soldiers who had
defected over such acts.”
“The report will be rich in details and evidences and it will include
photographs and the testimonies of dissident Syrian officers and soldiers,” the
sources added.
On Sunday Hizbullah denied Radio France’s report, which accused the party of
being involved in the killing of Syrian soldiers who had refused to shoot at
anti-regime protesters.
Radio France had reported that a UNHCR committee was planning to release a
report on the alleged involvement of Hizbullah and Iran in the killing of Syrian
soldiers who had refused to obey orders to shoot at protesters.
Jumblat Holds Talks in Syria on Latest Political
Developments
Naharnet /Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat held talks on
Wednesday with Mohammed Nassif, the assistant to the Syrian Vice President, in
Damascus, reported the PSP media department. It said that the meeting was
“marked by frankness and understanding and it was an occasion to exchange ideas
over the latest political developments.”
The MP was accompanied on his trip by Minister of Transportation and Public
Works Ghazi al-Aridi. The Central News Agency had reported on Wednesday that
Jumblat was heading to Syria to deliver a letter from a European country to
Syrian President Bashar Assad
Parliament Fails to Approve Electricity Draft Law
Naharnet /Parliament failed to approve on Wednesday a draft law on electricity
that was suggested by Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun. The draft
law allows Energy Minister Jebran Bassil to receive $1,200,000,000 to implement
a project on producing 700 Megawatts of electricity. “Parliament is facing a
test of either lighting Lebanon or leaving it in the dark,” he told As Safir
newspaper, adding “there is no reason for any team to oppose it.” But March
14-led opposition sources stressed to An Nahar that the draft law gives Bassil
the freedom to use the amount of money without referring to the cabinet or
without any monitoring by the Audit Bureau. Future News reported that an
agreement was reached at parliament to provide a detailed account of how the law
would be implemented. The matter will be discussed again at parliament after two
weeks, it added.
Opposition MPs and others from the National Struggle Front criticized the law,
with MP Butros Harb criticizing MP Aoun for proposing the law on behalf of his
son-in-law, Bassil.
He asked whether the suggestion had any family motivations. National Struggle
Front MP Akram Shehayeb stated that the law needed further study. A dispute also
erupted over a draft law that would secure money in the 2011 budget to build
prisons in northern and southern Lebanon. Addressing the issue, Interior
Minister Marwan Charbel said: “The issue of prisons in Lebanon is one of the
country’s greatest problems.” “I am ashamed to enter the Qobbeh prison in the
North as the conditions in it are terrible,” he stated. An agreement was reached
to secure money in the 2011 budget to build prisons in the North and South.
Muslim
Radicals Kill 10 Christians in Nigeria
Islamists fighting to eliminate Christianity from northern Nigeria
Washington, D.C. (August 10, 2011) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has
learned that members of a radical Islamic group, Boko Haram, killed at least ten
Christians in Maiduguri, Nigeria over the past two months in what a Christian
leader is calling a “silent killing” of Christians.
In an interview with ICC, an anonymous local church leader explained, “Boko
Haram is seeking to eliminate Christianity because they want Islamic (Sharia)
law. They don’t want to see anything Christian in the northern states [of
Nigeria]. That is why churches are being persecuted and Muslims who don’t follow
the [hardline teachings of] Boko Haram are also persecuted.”
Boko Haram is close to achieving its goal of eliminating Christianity from
Maiduguri. Most of the Christians have fled the city in fear of further attacks
by the Islamists. Of the churches that remain, some have felt compelled to
suspend their services to protect their congregations.
The Nigerian government, who has also been attacked by Boko Haram, deployed
security forces to quell the violence, but came under sharp criticism from human
rights groups for excessive use of force and the indiscriminate killing of
civilians. The government of Nigeria has now established a committee to
investigate the members of Boko Haram and look into the reasons for the
violence.
The church leader told ICC that the few Christians who remain in the city are
praying and fasting for God’s intervention. When asked what Christians could do
to help, the church leader said, “They can pray for their fellow Christian
brothers and sisters in Maiduguri. [We also] ask for assistance in the
rebuilding of churches that have been burned down since 2006. The government has
not compensated for the loss of Christians, but it has compensated for losses
that Muslims suffered [at the hands of radical Islamists].”
ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho, said, “We welcome the
deployment of the Nigerian security forces to protect innocent civilians from
the attacks by Boko Haram. We also welcome the establishment of the committee to
investigate Boko Haram. We call upon the committee to look into the plight of
the victims and ensure that the perpetrators of the violence are brought to
justice.”
Future bloc leader MP Fouad Siniora: Aoun’s draft bill was
incomplete
August 10, 2011 ظFuture bloc leader MP Fouad Siniora
said on Wednesday that the draft bill suggested by Change and Reform bloc leader
MP Michel Aoun “should have been complemented with a clear project that shows
how it will use available funding, instead of resorting to borrowing through the
Lebanese treasury.”
“The MPs did not have time to study the project thoroughly,” the National News
agency quoted him as saying.
Siniora also said that “the discussions that took place earlier in the
parliament are vital and beneficial,” adding that “it is necessary for the
parliament to contribute along with the government.”
The former PM described March 8 statements blaming previous governments for the
energy crisis as “demagogic,” adding, “We must take a look at the names of
previous energy ministers and the parties they belong to.”Aoun slammed the MPs
who refused to adopt his draft bill to transfer $800,000 to the Energy Ministry.
The draft bill has been approved by the government, but the parliament adjourned
the discussion on the law earlier in the day.
-NOW Lebanon
New round of unrest in Ain al-Hilweh
Mona Alami, August 10, 2011
Now Lebanon/Lebanese soldiers guard one of the entrances into Ain al-Hilweh on
August 6, after clashes broke out between rival factions. (AFP/Mahmoud Zayyat)
Gunfights followed a foiled bombing targeting Mahmoud Issa, also known as Al-Lino,
the head of Fatah’s security apparatus, Kifah al-Moussalah, in the South Lebanon
camp of Ain al-Hilweh on Saturday. The gun battles, which pitted members of the
radical Islamist group Jund al-Sham against Fatah, resulted in the death of one
and the injury of eight others.
According Hajj Maher Oueid, head of Ansar Allah, an Islamic faction close to
Hezbollah, the clashes were linked to the arrest of two members of Jund al-Sham
who were accused of participating in an assassination attempt against Al-Lino on
Friday, August 5.
“Members of Al-Lino’s security [detail] usually sweep the road ahead of the
Fatah commander, who walks to the Salahedine Mosque on Fridays. They spotted a
man called Mahmoud Abdul Qader carrying a remote control linked to an explosive
device,” Oueid told NOW Lebanon. “Abdul Qader was in radio contact with another
member of Jund al-Sham who was helping him coordinate the operation. Both men
were arrested.”
One of the men was wounded by Issa’s bodyguards during the arrest. Both men were
later handed over to the army, according to Palestinian security forces. After
the arrest, the families of the arrested Jund al-Sham members staged a protest
in the camp and burned tires.
The attempt against Al-Lino, said a security source from Ain al-Hilweh, is
linked to the attempted killing a few months ago of Oussama al-Shehabi, rumored
to have replaced Abdul Rahman Awad as the head of terrorist group Fatah
al-Islam, which engaged in a three-month war against the Lebanese army in the
Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in 2007. Some of the group’s members fled
to Ain al-Hilweh.
Last April, an explosion took place in front of Shehabi’s house in the camp.
While some locals said the blast was caused by Shehabi accidentally setting off
a bomb he was building, others claim someone threw a grenade at his house.
Al-Lino claims that the attempt on his life last week was the work of Jund
al-Sham members who were executing Shehabi’s orders.
“The objective of the assassination attempt was to damage the Fatah movement as
a whole as well as [damage] the security of the Ain al-Hilweh camp,” Al-Lino
told NOW Lebanon. “The perpetrators were seeking to create unrest at a very
sensitive time, before the upcoming visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
to Lebanon,” expected in mid-August.
“Our investigation has shown that last week’s attempt was ordered by an external
Palestinian faction, pretending to be a resistance movement and which is now
manipulating the radical Islamic street,” he added.
Over the past four years, dozens of Jund al-Sham members have been killed in
gunfights or in unsolved bombings. Security sources inside the camp have
repeatedly accused Fatah members of masterminding the attacks. The arrival in
Ain al-Hilweh of fugitive Fatah al-Islam members in the wake of the Nahr
al-Bared war further complicated the political equation. Members of Jund
al-Sham, which was officially disbanded, and Fatah al-Islam joined forces,
taking residence in the Tawarik and Hotein quarters. Security sources in the
camp estimate that there are 100 members between the two groups currently
residing in the camp.
Ain al-Hilweh has been enjoying a period of relative calm over the past year
since the restructuring of Fatah’s security apparatus as well as the
establishment of a committee comprised of representatives of the various
factions that is in charge of handling security incidents. Sources inside the
camp noted that Osbat al-Ansar, which signed an unofficial truce last year with
Fatah, helped keep the peace. When Al-Lino was appointed as the head of Kifah
al-Moussalah, he kept the security situation in check with an iron fist.
“Fatah al-Islam and Jund al-Sham seem to be trying to fortify their presence
inside the camp,” Al-Lino said.
We need talking heads, the Lebanese way
August 11, 2011 /By Michael Young/ The Daily Star
In an interview with Al-Akhbar Wednesday, Samir Geagea, the head of the Lebanese
Forces, described Druze leader Walid Jumblatt as the “Sergeant Shultz” of
Lebanese politics. In the old television series Hogan’s Heroes, set in a
prisoner of war camp in Germany, Shultz was the guard who perennially caught the
prisoners engaging in illicit activity, but who, after a bribe or threat, would
assure them of his silence: “I see nothing, nothing,” was his catchphrase.
It’s true, Jumblatt has an uncanny gift for willfully forgetting his acrobatic
turnarounds. However, one thing the Druze leader has consistently sought to do
in recent months is advance internal dialogue to avert discord over the myriad
issues dividing the Lebanese. And that comes from his ability to see clearly
what lies ahead for Lebanon, particularly what is least reassuring.
What is least reassuring today in the country is the potential for blowback from
the ongoing repression in Syria. The regime of President Bashar Assad is
doubtless in its death throes. However, these can be drawn out and wreak havoc
if the Assads decide to bring their foul temple down on the heads of their
countrymen and others. Unfortunately, Lebanon is getting increasingly sucked
into this Syrian maelstrom, to its detriment.
This is not an easy situation for the Lebanese to manage. Lebanon is still a
place, in theory at least, that guarantees free expression. And what is more
meritorious of expression than solidarity with the Syrian people in their
struggle against a consortium of criminals that has been butchering them for
five months? If Assad rule has a saving grace, it has eluded almost everyone for
four decades. On Monday I, too, participated in the gathering at Martyrs Square
in support of the Syrian intifada. While such events rarely achieve much, it is
essential, particularly for the Lebanese, to take an ethical stance on Syria
while reminding several pro-Assad Lebanese parties, who have regularly assaulted
anti-Assad demonstrators, that their intimidation will fail.
At the same time, however, Lebanon’s politicians should be careful when using
Syrian events to feed their domestic disputes. One’s stomach churns when hearing
the parliamentarian Michel Aoun declare that Syrians must resort to the ballot
box to articulate their demands, and must regain their senses by embracing their
autocrat. Aoun would be pitiable if he believed such drivel, and mendacious if
he did not. But what the general says has repercussions, both in Lebanon and
Syria, and can only damage communal ties.
The same holds for Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s secretary general. The
self-described champion of the downtrodden was the first to side with the Assads
against the downtrodden in Syria. His excuse was that if the Syrian regime went,
the resistance axis would suffer a mortal blow. Here was a nice way of saying
that Hezbollah’s political survival depends on the suffering of the Syrian
people. For many Lebanese Sunnis, whose Syrian coreligionists make up the
majority now suffering, this statement was taken as a declaration of war.
By the same token, when Saad Hariri comes to the defense of the inhabitants of
Hama, a move both laudable and overdue, he must yet be conscious of how this
will be perceived by his Lebanese rivals. For many, the former prime minister
was making a bid for the loyalty of his Sunni brethren in Syria after the Assads’
downfall, as well as looking to undermine Prime Minister Najib Mikati among his
own communal followers. It’s too much to ask of Aoun, Nasrallah and Hariri to
avoid politics, but when their statements have a deep impact on sectarian
perceptions, in the shadow of what may become a full-fledged sectarian
confrontation in Syria, then they must beware.
Here is a proposal that will sound absurd today, as Hariri and Nasrallah remain
irreconcilably divided over just about everything. But it is necessary, given
the deterioration in Syria and the possibility that the Assads will provoke an
armed conflict with devastating consequences for Lebanon, that the two leading
Lebanese Sunni and Shiite representatives open channels to one another, and very
soon.
As I have argued before, these channels can remain secret and be maintained
through trusted aides of both leaders. They need not cover at first more than
limited measures required to stabilize conditions on the ground. However, they
must also be flexible enough to later be expanded if necessary. A Hariri-Nasrallah
exchange would not be a substitute for a broader national dialogue, nor should
it become one; but it must be conceived in a medium-term timeframe, because
Hezbollah will need such a conduit before long if the Assad regime falls and the
party finds itself facing circumstances that compel it to reassess its status
with its Lebanese partners.
From Hariri’s perspective, such a channel could create political openings while
imposing few concessions. If Hezbollah suffers a major setback in Syria, the
former prime minister could find himself with substantial leverage. A direct
line to Hezbollah would allow Hariri to address several vital issues with
Nasrallah, which could then serve as the basis of a national debate. No one has
an advantage in allowing the party to panic and devastate Lebanon in order to
protect its own autonomy in the aftermath of a change of regime in Damascus.
Hezbollah won’t disappear when the Assad edifice collapses. Nor is it wise to
wait for that outcome before speaking with the party. That’s because Nasrallah
may, rashly, feel that he first has to pave the way for such a conversation by
improving his own leverage, through military means. It’s best to preempt such an
alternative by initiating discussions now, and that applies as much to Hezbollah
as to Hariri.
Sooner or later, Hariri and Nasrallah will have to sit and converse, as
distasteful as this may be for either man. Lebanon’s fate is already being
defined by Sunni-Shiite relations, which are far from satisfactory. Political
reconciliation is not in the cards, but the disintegration of Syria is bringing
that deadline closer. And when it comes we will need a mechanism to persuade
Hezbollah, and more importantly the Shiite community, that its preservation of a
massively armed, parallel mini-state is simply no longer tenable.
**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.