LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِAugust
20/2011
Bible Quotation for today.
Sirach chapter 16/8-13:
"Neither spared he the place where Lot sojourned, but abhorred them for their
pride. He pitied not the people of perdition, who were taken away in their
sins: Nor the six hundred thousand footmen, who were gathered together in
the hardness of their hearts. And if there be one stiffnecked among the
people, it is marvel if he escape unpunished: for mercy and wrath are with him;
he is mighty to forgive, and to pour out displeasure. As his mercy is
great, so is his correction also: he judgeth a man according to his works
The sinner shall not escape with his spoils: and the patience of the godly shall
not be frustrate.
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
Syria: The beginning of the end/By
Tariq Alhomayed/August
19/11
Lebanon: Slim chance for key reform
in 2013 election law/By: Matt Nash/August 19/11
The victory of the public speaker
Nasrallah/By:
Hazem al-Amin/August
19/11
Canadian Statement on Situation in Israel/August 19/11
Canadian Statement on Situation In Syria/August 19/11
Latest News
Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 19/11
Canada fears Hezbollah reprisals
over STL indictments
Hezbollah salutes Eilat’s “heroic
operation”
Continuous Palestinian missile
blitz after Israel bombs 12 terrorist targets in Gaza
Intelligence Tips Failed to Prevent
Israel Attacks
Netanyahu: Killing of PRC heads
'only beginning' of Israel retaliation
20 rockets strike Israel day after
coordinated terror attacks kill 8
Egypt lodges formal complaint over
Israel killing three Egyptian security forces
Gaza Group Denies Role in Israel
Attacks
Egypt Protests to Israel over
Police Deaths, Wants Probe
Israeli air strike kills Gaza
militant, PRC says
Report: Syrian Bank Deposits Being
Moved to Lebanese Banks
Russia opposes Western calls for
Syria's Assad to step down
At Least 20 Dead as Tens of
Thousands Flood Syria Streets
Tokyo to recall its ambassador to
Damascus, asks Assad to step down
EU Prepares Sanctions against Syria
Oil Sector
40 Killed in Pakistan Mosque
Bombing
March 14 to take strong position
against Nasrallah, AFP reports
STL Establishes Jurisdiction over
Hamadeh, Murr, Hawi Attacks
Lebanon's Attorney General Judge
Said Mirza: Lebanese judiciary ‘fully committed’ to STL
Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj
Hassan: The indicted are “falsely accused”
Lassa Residents Prevent Security
Forces from Removing Construction Violation
France “may reconsider”
participation in UNIFIL, says Sarkozy
Singh Denies UNIFIL Received Letter
to Reduce Number of Troops
Lebanon: Electricity Draft Law
Tests Cabinet Unity
President Suleiman Says Stability
in Lebanon Guaranteed
SSNP: STL’s indictment aims to harm
resisting parties
|Lebanese Christian parties’
representatives discussed electoral law with Patriarch
The National Liberal Party in
Lebanon advises Hezbollah to deal with STL on “legal basis”
Iran and Syria orchestrated the
terrorist attacks on southern Israel
By: Elias Bejjani*August
19/2011
It is well known to all Middle East analysts and
specialists as well as to Western and Arab countries that the majority of the
terrorist and jihadist organizations all over the world, including al-Qaeda,
Hezbollah, and Hamas, are mere military tools and proxies that are found,
financed, used, sponsored and fully controlled by rogue and dictatorial regimes,
especially the two notorious regimes of Syria and Iran.
In this context, the bloody terrorist attacks that took place in southern Israel
on Thursday August 18/11 need to be dealt with as mere Syrian and Iranian
criminal and war acts. Accordingly, both countries' leadership must be held
fully accountable for all the human loses and damages.
Debkafile's website’s
military sources in a detailed report on the attacks (18.08.11) estimated that
Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah experts may have aided the terrorists in setting up
the complex
operation.
http://www.debka.com/article/21217/
The Syrian regime intended the attacks to detract the Arabic and global
political pressures that President al-Assad is facing because of his ongoing
criminal atrocities against the peaceful Syrian public uprising that has been
escalating for the last five months and is seriously threatening to topple his
regime.
In the same realm, Iran which also is encountering immense internal and
worldwide setbacks and problems did not dare to ask its militant proxy in
Lebanon, Hezbollah, to attack Israel as al-Assad has been requesting because of
the very serious Israeli warnings. Israel has made it very clear that her army
will respond with extreme military harshness to any stupid Hezbollah attacks and
stressed the fact that its response will include Syria itself.
Meanwhile, putting an end to such crimes necessitates a solid, united and
crystal clear worldwide approach towards both the Syrian and Iranian axis of
evil regimes. Sadly, the Western countries and all the Arab states are still
indecisive on this matter, especially the Obama administration that against all
odds is still appeasing and cajoling the criminal rulers of both countries. It
took President Obama five months to finally call on Syria's Dictator Bashar
al-Assad to step down, but at the same time stressing the fact that his
administration doesn’t have the means to force al-Assad to do so.
One cannot rationally dissociate Syria and Iran from terrorism all over the
world. Both countries provide a safe haven for a myriad of terrorist
organizations, (Hezbollah, Hamas and many others), direct their operations, and
use Hezbollah's and the Palestinians' ministates in Lebanon as their main field
of recruiting, training and operations.
Like the Mafia which uses money, crime, fear, intimidation, and violence as
instruments of pressure to buy silence from otherwise good and honorable people,
the Syrian and Iranian regimes use their proxy terrorist organizations (Hamas,
Hezbollah and new versions of al-Qaeda) as instruments of pressure on their
neighboring countries and as bargaining tools in their foreign policy strategies
that have earned them a "no questions asked" attitude from the Free World with
regard to their bloody interference in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza, the
West Bank, Egypt, Kuwait, Yemen, South America and many other countries. In
1983, Syrian and Iranian terrorist proxies were responsible for bloody attacks
against the American embassy, marine compound and French troops in Lebanon
costing hundreds of Lebanese, French and American lives.
The Lebanese Canadian Coordinating Council (LCCC) without any reservations fully
shares, adopts and supports the Canadian government's official stance and
statement that addressed the terrorist attacks on southern Israel. Our Foreign
Affairs Minister John Baird's statement of condemnation stated: “Canada condemns
in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks in southern Israel today. These
cowardly attacks, particularly on civilian targets, are abhorrent and criminal.
“On behalf of all Canadians, I send my heartfelt condolences to those affected
by today’s vicious attacks. “Israel has a right to defend itself against such
terrorist acts in conformity with international humanitarian law. Those
responsible for these horrific attacks must be held accountable.”
In conclusion, not even one country in the world could be safe from terrorism
and its debilitating cancer. This solid reality must motivate all countries to
take an active role in the global fight against terrorism and help the Lebanese
people to liberate their country that is occupied by the terrorist Iran- Syrian
Hezbollah militia.
Question:
"Since God does not forgive until a person confesses/repents, does that mean we
can withhold forgiveness from those who sin against us until they
confess/repent?"
GotQuestions.org
Answer: The Bible speaks of two kinds of forgiveness—human forgiveness, that of
people extending forgiveness towards others, and divine forgiveness, God’s
forgiving human beings. Is there a difference? God’s forgiveness is conditional
upon repentance, but as we’ll see, our forgiveness is neither conditional on
being asked for it, nor on seeing fruits of repentance.
The Bible teaches us that God withholds forgiveness towards people who are not
repentant (2 Kings 24:4 and Lamentations 3:42). God is able to do this because
of His very nature: He is sinless. He is perfect. He is holy. He simply will not
tolerate sin. Paul warns those who choose to transgress God’s law in Romans 2:5,
“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up
wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment
will be revealed.” But there are also times in the Old Testament when God
forgave those who did not seek His mercy and forgiveness. He did so for His own
purposes and in accordance with His perfect will.
As Christians we are certainly obligated to forgive others who sin against us
when they are repentant if we are to expect God to forgive us when we sin
against Him (Matthew 6:14-15, 18:23-35; Mark 11:25, Luke 17:3-4, Ephesians
4:31-32, Colossians 3:13). This holds true even if someone sins against us
repeatedly (Matthew 18:21-22). However, this does not give us license to
withhold forgiveness in the same way. The key to remember is this: God can judge
a person’s intentions because He knows what’s in a person’s heart (1 Samuel
16:7; Hebrews 4:12-13), whereas we don’t. We are not God. We are not the Judge.
For us to play God by refusing to offer forgiveness is an act of judgment on our
part, and Jesus tells us that God will judge us according to the way we’ve
judged others (Matthew 7:2).
When Peter asked Jesus how many times we should forgive someone, Jesus answered
that we must forgive as many times as necessary. Then He illustrated forgiveness
with a parable about a man who, although forgiven by his master of an
overwhelming debt, refused to forgive another for a meager debt. When this man’s
master heard about his ingratitude and injustice, he was outraged and had him
thrown to the tormentors. “This is how My heavenly Father will treat each one of
you, unless you forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:35).
Surely, by receiving such a massive pardon, we should not be so mean-spirited as
to withhold forgiveness from others. Rather, we should emulate the example of
our Savior. In truth, offering forgiveness is an act of will, and failure to
acknowledge this will only encourage us to justify our own disobedience.
Forgiveness is not a fruit that needs time to grow in our lives. It is not a
result of some special encounter with God. Jesus makes that clear in Luke 17:4
when He commands that if someone sins against another seven times in one day and
repents as many times, that person should be forgiven. Forgiving someone for the
same offense several times in one year would be a major test of sanctification,
so seven times in one day drives Jesus’ point home. The disciples were so
staggered by this that they immediately requested an increase in their faith
(Luke 17:5). Jesus then told them what such a tiny amount of faith can achieve
by explaining that a servant does not receive praise for carrying out orders—for
simply doing his duty. He’s telling us that we do not need great faith to
forgive, but only to choose to carry out the Master’s instruction.
Remember, it was Jesus who cried out from the cross, “Father forgive them for
they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Stephen asked that those who
were stoning him be forgiven (Acts 7:60). In both cases, forgiveness was
unconditional. Those around the cross were not asking for forgiveness, and
neither were those stoning Stephen. And, obviously, someone who sins against us
seven times in one day is not demonstrating fruits of repentance. By emulating
Jesus and Stephen, the action of extending forgiveness releases us and allows us
to receive forgiveness. To wait until we are asked may mean we never get an
opportunity to forgive and would also prevent us from being forgiven. In all
this we must realize that God never asks us to do the impossible. Were it beyond
our ability to forgive from the heart, Jesus would never have directed us to do
it.
But what if there is no indication of repentance? The law given to ancient
Israel is akin to the New Testament teaching: “Do not hate your brother in your
heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt. Do not
seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor
as yourself. I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:17-18). An unforgiving spirit leads to
bitterness, anger, and seething resentment against another. Such a heart
attitude cannot have true fellowship with God. Not holding grudges allows a
state of mind that is ready and willing to forgive. Reconciliation is the goal,
and if there cannot be reconciliation, an attitude of willingness to forgive
must be maintained. There can be no excuse for withholding a forgiving spirit
towards others (Matthew 5:22–24).
As stated at the beginning, human forgiveness and God’s forgiveness have
differences. The Lord’s Prayer teaches that we are to ask for God’s forgiveness
regularly, just as we are regularly to forgive others who have sinned against
us. But human nature wars against this. As Paul said, “So I find this law at
work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me” (Romans 7:21). Like
Paul, we must know that of our own strength, we are powerless to do the right
thing. But as Christians who possess the Holy Spirit, when we rely on His power,
we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).
Canada
fears Hezbollah reprisals over STL indictments
August 19, 2011 /Daily Star
MONTREAL: Canada's security service identified possible Hezbollah reprisals over
Hariri murder indictments as a national security threat, said a report Thursday.
A classified document cited by the Montreal French-language daily La Presse,
entitled "Special Tribunal for Lebanon: does Hezbollah have recourse for
violence in 2011?" outlines the concerns of Canada's Integrated Threat
Assessment Centre. The UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)
investigating the 2005 murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri
indicted Salim Ayyash, 47, Mustafa Badreddine, 50, Hussein Anaissi, 37 and Assad
Sabra, 34, for the 14 February 2005 suicide car bomb attack in Beirut that
killed Hariri and 22 others. All four are members of Hezbollah, which is now a
key player in Lebanon's coalition government and has refused to allow the arrest
of the four suspects.
The STL prosecutor in the case, Daniel Bellemare, is Canadian. Two dozen of his
compatriots also work for the tribunal. "Many Lebanese see the STL's
investigation as being run by Canadians since it is headed by a Canadian," the
said Integrated Threat Assessment Centre document penned in March. It notes that
"Canada has considerable interests in Lebanon" and the Lebanese diaspora in
Canada includes Hezbollah sympathizers. As such, it goes on to say, Ottawa must
remain vigilant against possible reprisals.The Iran-backed Shiite militia is
blacklisted by the Canadian government.
Canadian PM
Harper joins global call for resignation of Syrian leader Assad
By The Canadian Press |/OTTAWA - Stephen Harper has joined other world leaders
in calling on Syria's president to resign amid a violent crackdown.
The prime minister says Bashar Assad's campaign of terror against the Syrian
people must stop.
"The Assad regime has lost all legitimacy by killing its own people to stay in
power," Harper said in a statement.
"I join with President Obama and other members of the international community in
calling on President Assad to vacate his position, relinquish power and step
down immediately."
Thousands have been killed or detained over the last five months as Syrians
protest against the government.
Assad has told the United Nations chief that military operations in his country
have ended, even as activists report more bloodshed and a high-level UN human
rights team said Thursday the crackdown "may amount to crimes against humanity."
Harper's call for Assad to leave came after U.S. President Obama issued a
stinging written statement urging the leader to quit. Obama said Assad's calls
for reform ring hollow while he is "imprisoning, torturing and slaughtering his
own people."
Obama's move was co-ordinated with the United Nations and with U.S. allies in
Europe and the Middle East and followed an intense diplomatic campaign to
increase pressure on Assad.
The European Union issued an identical call shortly after Obama's statement,
followed quickly by similar words from the leaders of France, Britain and
Germany.
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France — Syria's one-time colonial ruler — joined
British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in
expressing "utter condemnation of this bloody repression of peaceful and
courageous demonstrators and the massive violations of human rights which
President Assad and his authorities have been committing for months."
"They continue to cruelly and violently repress their people and flatly refuse
to fulfil their legitimate aspirations," the three leaders wrote.
"They have ignored the voices of the Syrian people and continuously misled them
and the international community with empty promises."
U.S. officials acknowledged the move is not likely to have any immediate impact
on the Syrian regime's behaviour. But they said it would send a powerful signal
that Assad is no longer welcome in the international community. And they noted
that the additional sanctions would further boost pressure on Assad and his
inner circle.
Every diplomatic lever is being pulled to increase the pressure, said Canada's
Foreign Minister John Baird.
“I think we’re seeing an unprecedented diplomatic effort, obviously the Syrian
people been very clear they don’t want other action that we’re taking in Libya
so we’re seeing a decisive call for him to leave by a significant number of
countries,” he told a news conference in Ottawa Thursday.
Last week, Canada expanded sanctions against Syria, though they are largely
symbolic because exports to Syria are worth just $60 million dollars a year.
— With files from The Associated Press
Minister Baird to Reiterate Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Statement on Syria
(No. A/60 - August 18, 2011) John Baird, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, will
be available to reiterate Prime Minister Harper’s call for Bashar al-Assad,
president of the current Syrian regime, to immediately step down so true reform
can begin.
Minister Baird will, for the benefit of broadcast media, repeat the Prime
Minister’s statement in both English and French. A brief question and answer
period will follow.Event: Media availability
Canadian
Statement on Situation in Israel
(No. 239 - August 18, 2011 - 5:40 p.m. ET) Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird
today issued the following statement condemning the terrorist attacks in
southern Israel:
“Canada condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks in southern Israel
today. These cowardly attacks, particularly on civilian targets, are abhorrent
and criminal.
“On behalf of all Canadians, I send my heartfelt condolences to those affected
by today’s vicious attacks.
“Israel has a right to defend itself against such terrorist acts in conformity
with international humanitarian law. Those responsible for these horrific
attacks must be held accountable.”
Report: Syrian
Bank Deposits Being Moved to Lebanese Banks
Naharnet /Syrian banking deposits are being withdrawn from the Arab country,
with some of them being placed in Lebanese banks, reported Robert Fisk in The
Independent on Friday.
He said: “The real fear for Syrian President Bashar Assad is not oil sanctions,
but banks.”He explained that Assad is concerned with the £12 billion in foreign
reserves that used to be in the Syrian Central Bank in February. This sum is now
being reduced by as much as £50 million a week, said Fisk. This prompted Syria
to turn to cheap Iraqi oil to tackle the demand, he added. “Nearly 10 percent of
Syria's banking deposits disappeared in the first four months of 2011; £1.8bn
was withdrawn, some of it ending up in Lebanese banks,” he stated
Tokyo to recall its ambassador to Damascus, asks Assad to step down
Now Lebanon/August 19, 2011 /Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Takeaki Matsumoto
said on Friday that his country will recall its ambassador to Damascus for
consultations over the situation in Syria. “Unfortunately, despite the demands
voiced by Japan and other countries, the use of force by the Syrian security
forces is continuing to cause many [casualties] among citizens,” Kuwaiti News
Agency (KUNA) quoted him as saying. “Japan thinks that Syrian President Bashar
Al-Assad has lost the trust of the international community and is no longer able
to govern the country legitimately, he has to step down,” the Japanese FM added.
Assad’s troops have cracked down on protests against almost five decades of
Baath Party rule which broke out in mid-March, killing over 2,000 people and
triggering a torrent of international condemnation. -NOW Lebanon
Hezbollah salutes Eilat’s “heroic operation”
August 19, 2011 /Hezbollah on Friday issued a statement saluting the “heroic
operation which was executed by resistant militants and resulted in killing and
injuring tens of Israeli soldiers and settlers.” “We are proud of the heroes
that executed this operation, despite the [group] they belong to, … only these
actions can let the enemy know that they cannot occupy this land forever,” the
statement added. The statement also condemned the “violent assaults which
were executed by the ‘Zionist killing machine’ against Palestinian civilians in
Gaza and against Egyptian soldiers.” An attack on an Israeli bus on Thursday
killed six civilians and a soldier on two desert roads near the Red Sea resort
town of Eilat. Israel accused a Gaza-based militant group, the Popular
Resistance Committee of being behind the attacks.-NOW Lebanon
Israeli air strike kills Gaza militant, PRC says
August 19, 2011 /An Israeli air strike on the northern Gaza Strip on Friday
killed a member of a militant group Israel blames for a deadly attack on its
citizens, the group said.
The Popular Resistance Committees said Saber Abed, 25, was killed in the strike,
the third on Friday. Another person was killed and three wounded in earlier
attacks, on the eastern edge of Gaza City. The earlier fatality was named as
22-year-old Mohammed Enaya, who died in a raid on the Zeitun neighborhood near
the border with Israel in which another person was hurt.
Later, a second strike in nearby Tofah seriously wounded two, medics said. The
strikes raised to nine the total number of Gazans killed in the past 24 hours
since Israel began raids in retaliation for shooting attacks in the Negev Desert
that left eight Israelis dead. Israeli officials blame the Popular Resistance
Committees, although the faction has denied any involvement.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Intelligence Tips Failed to Prevent Israel Attacks
Naharnet /Accounts of the attacks that killed eight Israelis near the border
with Egypt on Thursday paint a picture of an operation carefully planned and
executed. The triple attacks, attributed by Israel to radical Palestinian
activists from the Gaza Strip, took the army and police by surprise, judging by
the ensuing confusion and inaccuracy of initial reports. However, Israeli
security forces reportedly had intelligence warnings that such an operation was
brewing and had deployed reinforcements along the 200 kilometer border with
Egypt, according to military sources. Nevertheless, there were no security
forces on the scene when the first attack occurred.
The mass-circulation Maariv daily called it "A warning which did not help," and
asked why the main scene of violence, a desert road near the Red Sea resort town
of Eilat, was not preemptively closed "despite the specific and high-level
warning of an attack there." "Precise intelligence (but) a searing failure," was
the view of the top-selling Yediot Aharonot. Media reports said that the Israeli
military believed the operation would have required lengthy preparation and
logistic support from the Egyptian side of the border, which lies in the vast
and sparsely-populated Sinai desert. Newspapers said that between 15 and 20
gunmen, some wearing Egyptian army fatigues, were believed to have taken part in
the combined operation.
The first attack saw three gunmen open fire on a packed bus heading to Eilat,
injuring seven people. Many of the passengers were off-duty soldiers heading for
weekend leave.
Shortly after, gunmen opened fire on a private car in the same area, killing
four people in an incident which security sources initially said was caused by
an anti-tank missile but later said was regular gunfire. Next came an attack on
an empty bus, with one of the attackers detonating his explosives belt as the
vehicle passed, blowing himself up and killing the driver. Further gunfire was
directed at another civilian car, killing one man. It was only then that the
first troops arrived at the scene. They killed one of the attackers, sparking an
exchange of fire with the militants in which an Israeli soldier was killed.
Israeli media cited military sources as saying that soldiers and police SWAT
teams, backed by helicopters, opened fire on two other members of the attack
force who had taken up positions on the Egyptian side of the border. They said
the two men were eventually killed by Israeli police who crossed the Egyptian
border. After the attacks, Israeli army engineers found and defused roadside
bombs planted on their side of the frontier. As senior Israeli officers
inspected the scene, shooting resumed, killing French-born Pascal Avrahami, a
sniper and instructor with the elite police “anti-terror” unit.
Israeli media said that five attackers were killed by Israeli security forces
and two by Egyptian forces. In the late afternoon, an Israeli air strike on the
city of Rafah in southern Gaza killed six people, including four leaders of the
Popular Resistance Committees (PRC). The Shin Bet, Israel's internal security
service, said in a statement received by Agence France Presse that the men were
"directly involved in directing" the attacks on the Israel-Egypt border. But a
PRC spokesman told AFP on Friday that, although the group welcomed the attacks,
it was not responsible.
**Source Agence France Presse
Gaza Group Denies Role in Israel
Attacks
Naharnet /Gaza militants blamed for shooting attacks near the Egyptian border
that killed eight Israelis, denied Friday that they were involved, as the hunt
for the killers moved to Egypt. "We salute (the operation) and we are proud of
it, but we do not claim it," Popular Resistance Committees spokesman Abu Mujahid
told Agence France Presse in the Gaza city of Rafah as the faction buried five
members killed in a retaliatory Israeli air strike a day earlier. "The
occupation wants to pin this operation on us in order to escape its own internal
problems," he said.
Thursday's attack saw at least seven gunmen armed with explosives, grenades and
other weaponry, sneak into southern Israel and open fire on cars and buses,
killing six Israeli civilians, a soldier and a policeman. Several hours later,
the air force bombed targets in Rafah, killing the PRC leader and several more
of the faction's top cadres, as well as a toddler.
Israel said six of the gunmen were shot dead on Thursday, while a seventh blew
himself up.
But it was widely reported that between 15 and 20 militants had been involved in
the attack, and Israeli and Egyptian forces were sweeping the border area on
Friday to find any who may have escaped.
Egypt's military chief of staff, Sami Enan, headed to the Sinai on Friday to
probe the deaths of five policemen killed the previous day, a military source
said.
There have been conflicting reports from the military and police about how the
Egyptian policemen died.
A military official told the official MENA news agency on Thursday night they
were accidentally killed by Israeli helicopter fire aimed at fleeing militants.
But on Friday, the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper quoted a military official as
saying the policemen were killed by gunmen trying to slip in from Israel.
Enan's visit was announced shortly after another policeman was declared dead
after a border gunfight on Friday, which left one of his comrades gravely
wounded with a bullet in the head.
Earlier, Israeli security sources told AFP they had information that a man had
blown himself up on the Egyptian side of the border, saying they believed he was
one of the men on the run.
And state television said that on Thursday, two "unidentified Egyptians" had
been killed by Israeli gunfire in an area near the site of the attacks.
Overnight, the Israeli air force attacked seven targets in Gaza, killing one
person and injuring 17. Another three strikes on Friday morning caused little
damage and lightly injured one man.
As the air force pounded targets across Gaza, militants there lobbed 12 rockets
at south Israel early on Friday. Three people were wounded -- one seriously and
one moderately -- in the city of Ashdod, police said. In the aftermath of
Thursday's attack, Israel was quick to point the finger at Gaza, naming the PRC
as the group behind the attacks, although the military said it held Hamas as
ultimately responsible for violence coming from the territory it controls.
"If Hamas wants an escalation, it will pay a high price," Brigadier General Yoav
Mordechai told public radio on Friday, saying some form of ground operation in
Gaza was not out of the question. "All options are open, including a pin-point
(ground) operation," he said.
Hamas has denied any connection to the attacks. As police went on high alert
across Israel, the country's main newspapers painted a much clearer picture of
how events unfolded on Thursday involving an estimated 15 to 20 gunmen, some
wearing Egyptian army fatigues. According to these reports, the first attack saw
three gunmen open fire on a packed bus heading to Eilat, injuring seven people.
Shortly afterwards, they opened fire on a civilian car in the same area, killing
four people. Then one of the militants detonated an explosives-packed belt he
was wearing as an empty bus drove past, blowing himself up and killing the
driver. Further gunfire was directed at another car, killing one man. The
soldier and the police officer were killed in two separate gun battles with the
attackers which lasted into the evening, the papers said. Six of the attackers
were killed by Israeli troops and special police forces, while the seventh blew
himself up; others are believed to have fled across the Egyptian border.
**Source Agence France Presse
Egypt Protests to Israel over Police Deaths, Wants Probe
Naharnet/Egypt protested to Israel on Friday and demanded a probe into the
deaths of its policemen a day earlier on the Israeli border as Israeli troops
pursued militants behind deadly attacks, the official MENA news agency reported.
"Egypt filed an official complaint with Israel following yesterday's deaths at
the border between Israel and Egypt," the agency reported.
"Egypt has demanded an urgent probe into the circumstances of the deaths and
injuries of Egyptian forces' members inside our borders," the agency quoted a
military official as saying.
Earlier, military sources said Sami Enan, the military chief of staff, visited
Sinai on Friday to look into the deaths and raise troop morale.
A military official told MENA that "Egyptian forces were conducting a
comprehensive assessment on its side of the border to determine the reasons for
the deaths and injuries of Egyptian forces." He said the military would take
measures "to ensure that will not happen in the future."
The military has been conducting a week-long operation in the peninsula to
uproot Islamist militants behind attacks on police and a gas pipeline to Israel.
Security forces told Agence France Presse that five policemen, including an
officer, were killed at the border on Thursday hours after gunmen believed to
have crossed into Israel from Egypt opened fire on buses and cars, killing
eight. The military told the official MENA news agency on Thursday that two
policemen were killed when an Israeli aircraft opened fire on the fleeing
militants, catching the policemen in the line of fire. But military and security
officials later said the policemen were killed in a clash with gunmen as they
tried to enter Egypt. The military has promised to issue a statement clarifying
its contradictions. Another policeman was killed on Friday in an exchange of
gunfire with armed men near the border with Israel, security officials said. One
of his comrades was gravely wounded with a shot in the head. Eight Israelis were
killed in a string of attacks in the south of the country Thursday, prompting a
series of Israeli air strikes targeting a Palestinian Gaza Strip group it said
was responsible.
Israel said the Egyptian military, in charge since a revolt ousted president
Hosni Mubarak in February, was looking control of Sinai, and Washington urged it
to do more to secure the peninsula. Witnesses said the gunmen who attacked buses
and cars north of the town of Eilat were dressed in Egyptian military fatigues
and Israeli officials said they had slipped into the country through its porous
borders with Israel. MENA reported on Friday that the Ouja commercial border
crossing with Israel would be closed indefinitely.
**Source Agence France Presse
Singh Denies UNIFIL Received Letter to Reduce Number of Troops
Naharnet /United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon spokesman Neeraj Singh denied
on Friday that the international forces had received any information on a letter
French President Nicolas Sarkozy had sent to President Michel Suleiman hinting
that France is reconsidering its participation in the international force. He
told Akhbar al-Yawm news agency that the international force was not informed of
any possible French withdrawal. In addition, he said that none of the countries
participating in UNIFIL received such a message either.
Asked about the investigations into the separate attacks against French and
Italian troops, Singh responded that the investigations are ongoing, but no new
lead has been made.
This issue is a priority and enjoys UNIFIL’s complete attention, he said.
Sarkozy had warned Lebanon that Paris would consider pulling its troops from
UNIFIL if it comes under attack again. In a letter sent to Suleiman and Prime
Minister Najib Miqati, Sarkozy said: “If the July 26, 2011 attack takes place
again then France would wonder whether there is any reason to keep its troops to
confront the dangers that the host country is not dealing with
appropriately.”The letter dated August 3 was posted on the French embassy
website in Beirut on Thursday.
“It is important to take quick measures to guarantee the safety (of
peacekeepers) particularly on the road that links the north to the south,”
Sarkozy said.Despite his stern warning, the French president expressed readiness
to consolidate cooperation with the Lebanese army that is deployed in the South.
On July 26, three French U.N. peacekeepers were wounded in a roadside bombing in
the southern city of Sidon, and another three suffered hearing problems. Nobody
claimed responsibility for that attack, which targeted a UNIFIL jeep on the main
highway linking the capital to south Lebanon, where the 12,000-strong force is
deployed.
Lassa Residents Prevent Security Forces from Removing Construction Violation
Naharnet /Residents in the town of Lassa prevented on Friday security forces
from removing a construction violation belonging to Mohammed Daher al-Moqdad
reported the National News Agency. Residents blocked road, preventing the
security forces from reaching the property, and they then fired gun shots in the
air to thwart them from entering the town.
The security forces were forced to leave the town without removing the
violation. Property disputes erupted in Lassa a few weeks ago when Hizbullah
members prevented a Maronite League team from surveying land owned by the
Maronite Patriarchate in the predominantly Shiite town of Lassa in the Jbeil
District. They also came after members of the same party prevented an MTV crew
from filming a report on the issue in the town.
March 14 to take strong position against Nasrallah, AFP reports
August 19, 2011 /An unnamed March 14 source told AFP on Friday that March 14
parties’ leadership held a meeting in the “past few hours and took a decision,
in principle, to hold” Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and
his party responsible for not cooperating with the UN-backed Special Tribunal
for Lebanon (STL) and for covering up and protecting the four indicted party
members. Nasrallah on Wednesday dismissed the STL’s publicized indictment and
reiterated that the international court is a US-Israeli plan to incite sectarian
strife in the country. The STL indicted four members of the Iranian-
Syrian-backed Hezbollah group in connection to the 2005 assassination of former
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri murder and 21 others, but in July, Nasrallah ruled
out their arrest. - AFP/NOWLebanon
Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan: The indicted are “falsely accused”
August 19, 2011 /Now Lebanon
Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan, who is a Hezbollah official, said on
Friday that the four indicted in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister
Rafik Hariri are “loyal members of Hezbollah and they were falsely accused.”
“The accusation is fake and it is a fabrication hostile to the party… especially
when it was mentioned that Hezbollah is a political-military organization that
was previously involved in terrorist attacks,” he told AFP, in a reference to
the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s (STL) indictment which was unsealed
on Wednesday. “The STL’s [internal] code states that individuals, not parties
will be judged,” Hajj Hassan added. However, he also said that the court’s code
does not ban charges against a party, and there is also “the matter of the
president and the presided who are targeting [Hezbollah] and the Resistance in
the region.” Hezbollah’s official also told AFP that the media leaks that
preceded the publishing of the indictment show that “the investigation was not
transparent.” He added that the indicted individuals are hiding because “we
don’t trust the international judiciary [controlled] by the US and Western
countries, and a court whose president is a friend of Israel.” Hezbollah
Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday dismissed the STL’s
publicized indictment and reiterated that the international court is a
US-Israeli plan to incite sectarian strife in the country. The STL
indicted four members of the Iranian- Syrian-backed Hezbollah group in
connection to the Hariri murder, but Nasrallah in July ruled out their
arrest.-NOW Lebano/AFP
STL Establishes Jurisdiction over Hamadeh, Murr, Hawi Attacks
Naharnet /The Special Tribunal for Lebanon has established jurisdiction over
three attacks relating to former ministers Marwan Hamadeh and Elias al-Murr and
former head of the Lebanese Communist Party George Hawi, said the STL in a press
release. Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen has also ordered that the Lebanese
authorities provide the relevant files to the Prosecutor, it added. On June 30,
2011, Fransen received a request from the Office of the Prosecutor to determine
whether or not these cases are connected to the February 14, 2005 assassination
of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, it continued. Fransen ruled
confidentially on August 5 that the Prosecutor had presented prima facie
evidence that each of the three cases are connected, and are thus within the
Tribunal's jurisdiction, explained the statement. “Fransen has today issued
three deferral orders requesting the Lebanese judiciary to comply within the
next 14 working days,” it said. “The Pre-Trial Judge authorizes the Prosecution
to share his confidential decision on the connected cases with the Lebanese
authorities,” it continued.
The decision on connectedness otherwise remains confidential so as not to
compromise the investigation, and to protect the victims and potential
witnesses.
“According to the Tribunal’s Statute, a case is connected to the February 14,
2005 attack if it is of a ‘similar nature and gravity’ and has a number of
elements in common with it, such as ‘the criminal intent (motive), purpose
behind the attacks, the nature of the victims targeted, the pattern of the
attacks (modus operandi) and the perpetrators’,” explained the STL statement.
“According to Article 1 of the Statute, the Tribunal has jurisdiction over
attacks that occurred in Lebanon between October 1, 2004 and December 12, 2005
but only if their connectedness to the Hariri attack is determined by the
Pre-Trial Judge,” it added. “While the Pre-Trial Judge's rulings do not mean
that an indictment will necessarily be issued by the Prosecution, it allows them
to continue investigating these cases,” it said. “It is for the Prosecutor to
determine whether there is sufficient evidence to support an indictment in any
of these three connected cases,” concluded the statement.
U Prepares Sanctions against Syria
Oil Sector
Naharnet /The European Union is preparing sanctions against Syria's key oil
sector, a European diplomatic source told Agence France Presse Friday. "The EU
is preparing sanctions against the petroleum sector and envisions eventually an
embargo on all Syrian oil imports," the diplomat who requested anonymity said.
In addition, the EU is expected to add 15 names to the list of people and Syrian
businesses whose assets have been frozen and who are subject to a travel ban,
the diplomat added. The EU plans to sanction people and enterprises which are
linked not only to the repression of protesters, but also those which
economically support the Syrian regime. On Thursday, EU foreign policy chief
Catherine Ashton called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to quit power. The
EU has already adopted a series of sanctions against Syria since it began its
bloody crackdown on anti-regime protesters. They include asset freezes and
travel bans against 35 people and four businesses, as well as an arms
embargo.*Source Agence France Presse
At Least 20 Dead as Tens of Thousands Flood Syria Streets
Naharnet /Syria's security forces killed at least 19 protesters as tens of
thousands swarmed the streets after Friday prayers, activists said, piling
pressure on President Bashar al-Assad after Western leaders demanded he step
down. Fifteen people, including two children, were killed in separate shootings
on protesters in the southern province of Daraa, while three were killed in the
central city of Homs and two in the Damascus suburb of Harasta, the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said. The shootings come a day after Assad told the
U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon that his security forces ended operations against
civilians. Russia and Turkey meanwhile dismissed growing calls for Assad to
quit, which were led on Thursday by U.S. President Barack Obama, offering the
embattled Syrian leader rare support even as he faced tougher international
sanctions. On the political front, a group of "revolutionary blocs" formed a
coalition vowing to bring down the regime and paid tribute to more than 2,000
civilians killed in crackdown on protesters since the uprising began mid-March.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 15 people were killed and 16 others
wounded in the southern province of Daraa, epicenter of the anti-regime protests
that erupted March 15. But the official SANA news agency gave a different
version of events, saying a policeman and a civilian were killed in Ghabagheb,
in Daraa, by "armed men" and six security force members wounded. Around 20,000
people also flooded the streets of al-Khalidiyeh, a neighborhood of the central
city of Homs, where protesters demanded the fall of the regime, the Observatory
said, adding there were huge demonstrations elsewhere in the city.
It also reported that pro-regime militias known as “shabbiha” pounced on
worshippers as they emerged from a mosque in the coastal city of Latakia to
disperse them.
Gunfire rattled Qadam neighborhood in Damascus, while soldiers and security
forces conducted arrests in another city hotspot, Qaboun, to prevent protests
from spilling into the streets after the weekly Muslim prayers. In Hajar al-Aswad
neighborhood of Damascus demonstrators defied Assad, openly chanting "the people
want the fall of the president" and other slogans in support of the cities of
Hama and Deir al-Zour which saw bloody crackdowns.
Outside the capital security forces fired teargas grenades and live rounds to
break up a demonstration in Daraya without causing any casualties, the
Observatory said adding that gunfire was also heard in Kisweh. In Deir al-Zour,
a strategic eastern oil hub, security forces opened fire to prevent rallies from
being held and ringed several mosques, the Observatory added.
Facebook group The Syrian Revolution 2011, one of the drivers of the protests,
said Friday's rallies were being held under the slogan "Friday of the beginnings
of victory."
The civilian death toll from the security force crackdown on the protests has
now passed 2,000, U.N. under secretary general B. Lynn Pascoe told the U.N.
Security Council on Thursday.
Frustrated that international calls for a halt to the bloodletting were being
snubbed by Damascus, U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday called for Assad to
quit for the first time since the protests broke out. "We have consistently said
that President Assad must lead a democratic transition or get out of the way. He
has not led. For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President
Assad to step aside," Obama said.
His call was quickly echoed by the leaders of Britain, France and Germany while
Spain followed suit on Friday. But Russia and Turkey disagreed. "We do not
support such calls," Russia's Interfax news agency reported, citing a foreign
ministry source who added that Assad's regime must be "given time to implement
all the reform processes which have been announced."
A government official in Ankara agreed and told Agence France Presse a call for
Assad's ouster must come from the Syrian people themselves.
"First and foremost the people of Syria must tell Assad to go. This has not been
heard in the streets of Syria," the official said. "The Syrian opposition is not
united and we haven't seen yet a collective call from Syrians to tell Assad to
go, like in Egypt and Libya." The opposition, admitting the lack of unity,
announced Friday the creation of the so-called Syrian Revolution General
Commission comprising 44 "revolution blocs" due to "the dire need to unite the
field, media and political efforts" of the pro-democracy movement.
The long-term aim of the coalition is also to build "a democratic and civil
state of institutions that grants freedom, equality, dignity and respect of
human rights to all citizens," the coalition said in a statement. Meanwhile the
United Nations said that a much-delayed humanitarian mission would go to Syria
this weekend after the Security Council was briefed on a shoot-to-kill policy
against protesters, stadium executions and children feared killed in Syrian
government custody. A Russian delegation was also due to visit Syria for talks
with Assad and members of the opposition, senator Aslambek Aslakhanov told
Interfax news agency.
Suleiman Says Stability in Lebanon
Guaranteed
Naharnet /President Michel Suleiman said on Friday stability in Lebanon is
guaranteed, noting that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon indictment might create
some tension on the ground. “The stability in the country is guaranteed, we have
foreign assurances regarding this matter,” Suleiman’s visitors told al-Joumhouria.
He noted that the publishing of the indictment “might create some tension on the
ground.”However, Suleiman told his visitors that there are some “restraints to
preserve the situation on the ground.”The president stressed on the importance
of renewing the national dialogue because it preserves security and safeguards
stability in the country. Suleiman held talks with former MP Michel Murr at
Baabda palace on Wednesday. They discussed the current developments and
consultations aimed at renewing the dialogue between the parties.Suleiman and
first lady Wafaa travelled to Monaco on Wednesday on a private visit aboard a
private jet.
SSNP: STL’s indictment aims to harm
resisting parties
August 19, 2011 /The Syrian Social Nationalist Party said in a Friday statement
that the issuing and publicizing of the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s
(STL) indictment, at a time when there “is a fierce international attack on the
region, drives one to think” that the STL aims to harm resisting regional
parties. The STL’s indictment is a “political statement” which does not contain
compelling evidence but was based on circumstantial evidence, the SSNP said. The
SSNP called for not betting on foreign parties that “drained Lebanon’s energies
and showed that they do not care about the truth.” Hezbollah Secretary General
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday dismissed the STL’s publicized indictment
and reiterated that the international court is a US-Israeli plan to incite
sectarian strife in the country. The STL indicted four members of the Iranian-
Syrian-backed Hezbollah group in connection to the 2005 assassination of former
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri murder and 21 others, but in July, Nasrallah ruled
out their arrest.-NOW Lebanon
|Lebanese Christian parties’
representatives discussed electoral law with Patriarch
August 19, 2011 /New TV reported on Friday that Christian parties
representatives met with Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai at the
Patriarchate summer headquarters in Dimane.The report added that the
participants agreed to hold another meeting in mid-September in order to
continue talks concerning the electoral law and the issue of proportional
representation.Following the meeting, former Interior Minister Ziad Baroud told
the station that the meeting “was positive and we addressed reform proposals to
the electoral law,” adding that “the proportional law is a reformist clause but
should not be imposed on any side.”The meeting was attended by Rai, Baroud,
Kataeb bloc MP Sami Gemayel, Lebanese Forces bloc MP Georges Adwan, Change and
Reform bloc MP Alain Aoun and Marada Movement official Youssef Saadeh, along
with other figures and Maronite Bishops.
-NOW Lebanon
The National Liberal Party in Lebanon advises Hezbollah to deal with STL on
“legal basis”
August 19, 2011 /The National Liberal Party issued a statement on Friday that
Hezbollah should have dealt with the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)
from a legal perspective. “It would have been better for Hezbollah to have dealt
with the tribunal on legal grounds [instead of dismissing it],” the NLP said. It
added that Hezbollah’s attempts to accuse the court of being “politicized” will
not yield results. “Involving the entire [Shia] sect [to confront the STL] will
also be useless.”The NLP added that “it is not too late” for Hezbollah to
“resort to state institutions, instead of paralyzing them.”Hezbollah Secretary
General Sayyed Nasrallah on Wednesday dismissed the STL’s publicized indictment
and reiterated that the international court is a US-Israeli plan to incite
sectarian strife in the country. The STL indicted four members of the Iranian-
Syrian-backed Hezbollah group in connection to former Prime Minister Rafik
Hariri’s 2005 assassination, but Nasrallah in July ruled out their arrest. -NOW
Lebanon
Lebanon's Attorney General Judge
Said Mirza: Lebanese judiciary ‘fully committed’ to STL
August 19, 2011 /Attorney General Judge Said Mirza said that Lebanon’s judiciary
is “fully committed” to cooperating with the UN-backed Special Tribunal for
Lebanon (STL), which indicted Hezbollah members for the 2005 assassination of
ex-Premier Rafik Hariri. “The Lebanese judiciary is committed to the fullest to
the STL, and will offer help in any way to achieve justice,” Mirza said in an
interview with As-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper published on Friday. He added that
relevant Lebanese security forces have not stopped their efforts to apprehend
the accused suspects. The STL indicted four members of the Iranian-
Syrian-backed Hezbollah group in connection to Rafik Hariri’s murder. Hezbollah
Secretary General Sayyed Nasrallah on Wednesday dismissed the STL’s publicized
indictment and reiterated that the international court is a US-Israeli plan to
incite sectarian strife in the country.
-NOW Lebanon
France “may reconsider” participation in UNIFIL, says Sarkozy
August 18, 2011 /French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that France “may
reconsider its participation in UNIFIL” if it is attacked again, AFP reported on
Thursday.
Three French UNIFIL soldiers were wounded in a roadside bombing in the southern
city of Saida in July. Sarkozy said in a letter sent to President Michel Sleiman
and Prime Minister Najib Mikati on August 3 and published on the French Embassy
in Beirut’s website that “if the July 26 attack reoccurs,” he will look into
whether France has a justification to keep its troops to confront threats which
“the host country is not dealing with as it should.” “It is important that
measures are taken quickly to guarantee security,” Sarkozy also said, adding
that France is ready to improve its cooperation with the Lebanese army.-NOW
Lebanon/AFP
Netanyahu: Killing of PRC heads
'only beginning' of Israel retaliation
Continuous Palestinian missile blitz after Israel bombs 12 terrorist targets in
Gaza
DEBKAfile Special Report August 19, 2011, After the Israeli Air Force struck 12
Hamas and other terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip overnight Thursday, Aug. 18,
a hail of missiles hit the towns of Ashdod, Beersheba, Ashkelon and the smaller
Sdot Negev, Shar Hanegev and Eshkol villages in a continuous blitz Friday, Aug.
19. Ten worshippers were injured - two seriously - when one of the six Grads
aimed at Ashdod hit a synagogue. Police detonated a second in a controlled
explosion. The town's population is advised to stay in sheltered spaces.
Iron Dome is in action in Ashkelon. Red alerts have sounded in Gedera, Kiryat
Gath and Gan Yavne.
Since 20 heavily armed gunmen killed eight Israelis and injured 33 in a multiple
terrorist attack outside Eilat in southern Israel Thursday, Israel's armed
forces, police and emergency services have been on high alert and reinforced.
All weekend public events were cancelled in the South.
In the attack, gunmen from Gaza crossed the unfenced border from Egyptian into
southern Israel and attacked two buses, two civilian cars and a military vehicle
in an unfolding, complex terrorist operation which bore the signature of the
Lebanese Hizballah and possibly al Qaeda fugitives from Iraq.
Seven were located and killed by police and army special forces. Shortly after
the Palestinian attack, the Israeli Air Force struck a building in the southern
Gaza town of Rafah, killing the six top leaders of the Popular Resistance
Committees which directed the attack along with other Palestinian groups linked
to al Qaeda. Israel's overnight air strikes hit more PRC as well as Hamas
installations, weapons stores and smuggling tunnels.
Israeli forces backed by helicopters dropping flares combed the 70 kilometers of
borderland running south from the Gaza Strip along the Egyptian Sinai border to
flush out escaped terrorists and explosives traps. The searches continue Friday.
The death Thursday night of Border Police Counter-Terror Unit's Senior NCO
Paskal Avrahami, 49, from Jerusalem, raised the day's toll from terrorist
attacks to eight. He was killed by one of the terrorists at large who had
crossed back into Sinai.
1st Sgt. Moshe Naftali, 22, from Ofra, member of the Golani unit, was killed in
the multiple attacks earlier that day. The other six victims were civilians.
Egyptian forces carrying out an anti-terror operation in Sinai were beefed after
the multiple attack in Israel to block further passage of terrorists from Gaza
into Israel. One unit traded shots with a suicide team early Friday after
Egyptian chief of staff Gen. Sami Annan paid an overnight visit to the Sinai
forces.
Syria: The beginning of the end
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
With everybody from the US and Britain to France and the EU calling on Bashar
al-Assad to step down from power and for the Syrian file to be decided by the UN
Security Council, the Syrian revolution may have come to the most important
turning point in its journey of bloodshed, destruction, and struggle, as we are
now facing the beginning of the end of the al-Assad regime.What we are seeing is
a completely realistic [turn of events], and some people – politicians, media
figures, and intellectuals – may see this as a cause for reassurance and as an
ideal scenario. However what many seem to have forgotten is that it is wrong to
analyze or review the Syrian situation based upon logic, for rather we must
analyse this according to the mentality of the al-Assad regime. This is a regime
that did not – as some claim – reach this stage as a result of a plot thought up
by a foreign mastermind, for al-Assad has been granted a number of opportunities
that were not granted to other Arab regimes, but rather this is a result of a
number of shocking mistakes made by the regime, since al-Assad first came to
power, until the bloody and terrifying escalation against the unarmed Syrians
[protesting against the regime]. The al-Assad regime continues to believe that
it was clever, breaking promises, throwing itself into the arms of Iran, and
inciting sectarianism, not just in Syria but across the region. The mistakes
made by the al-Assad regime exceed even those of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, for
Syria’s Baathists were always in the service of the ruling elite, and were never
a true partner or guarantor [of power].
Therefore the al-Assad regime’s mistakes have not ended by any means, for this
is a regime that is governed by vanity and misreading of the situation, and
believes that the only solution will come through bloodshed and destruction.
Therefore we must closely monitor the details of the game being played in our
region, and which I view as an attempt to alleviate the pressure being imposed
on the Syrian regime. Yesterday, we witnessed the Eliat attack targeting an
Israeli bus, prior to this the leader of Bahrain’s [Shiite] Wefaq party has been
threatening escalation for years, characterized by the seeking of backing both
at home and abroad. Even worse than this was [Iraqi Prime Minister] Nouri al-Maliki
issuing a statement saying that Israel will benefit the most from the Arab
Spring, for this is the height of irony! Can you imagine a man who previously
claimed that some Arab regimes do not want to see democracy in Iraq, and that
Baghdad will be a torchbearer for democratic change in the region issuing a
statement such as this? This is the same man who defended the Shiite groups in
Bahrain, and launched an attack – along with his government and party affiliates
– against the Gulf States, in defence of Bahrain’s Shiites!
From here we return – now that we have shown that we are not dreamers or
overly-emotional – to reiterate that it is up to the Arabs today to take action
– via the Arab League – to withdraw their ambassadors from Syria, and freeze the
[Arab League] membership of the al-Assad regime. The time is right to do this
now, not because the West has taken action, but because the ground is ready [for
this], particularly after other Arab states previously recalled their
ambassadors from Damascus, not to mention the intensification of the Arab
condemnation of the Bashar al-Assad regime. This could be seen following the
historic address made by Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz towards Syria, which
represented a turning point for the Syrian revolution, as it precipitated the
Western action [against Syria], not vice versa, as some are falsely claiming.
The Arab escalation against the al-Assad regime – should this happen – would
mean that the Arabs have learned their lesson well, and will not repeat
yesterday’s mistake when they avoided confronting the mistakes made by Saddam
Hussein in the early stages. This also means that the Arabs have become aware of
the importance of protecting the unarmed people of Syria, in addition to
representing an opportunity to rid the region of one of the most suppressive and
destructive regime, and weaken Iran’s grip on the region. Therefore we say:
move, because the train is leaving the station.
The victory of the public speaker
Hazem al-Amin, August 19, 2011
Now Lebanon
Every public appearance by Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
on television hones the writing and debate efforts of many people. Yet a debate
with a public speaker via a press article is a battle lost in advance, since the
conditions for speaking in public are completely different from that of writing.
When speaking in public, one does not address minds: this is the everlasting
condition of public speaking. It does not aim at persuasion, because persuasion
is already there. No public speaker was ever able to overcome a rival by
changing the latter’s convictions and feelings. A public speaker addresses
emotions that are already there and changes absolutely nothing in them, nor does
he say anything that does not fit into the framework of these emotions. For
instance, have you ever heard Nasrallah in any of his numerous speeches question
a single axiom of his public or make allusions that are not in conformity with
what his audience wants to hear?
In truth, however, this does absolutely not demean those who wish to put their
debate in writing. When speaking in public, the speaker always has recourse to
writing skills that are automatically defined as being part of irrational
speech. We are hereby lured into what we criticize in others, i.e. to initiating
a debate with a public speaker via a written article.
Throughout his address, Nasrallah mentioned “minor” incidents, which – he said –
are being exploited by the March 14 coalition for instigation against him, such
as the Antelias explosive device, the problems in the Jbeil village of Lasa and
the issue of the 888 Hill in Aley.
Nasrallah’s rhetorical bitterness was manifested in the fact that March 14
forces had recourse to sectarian instigation and exploitation of “minor”
incidents in their attempts to attack Hezbollah. He thus brought up minute
details pertaining to these to highlight the fact that “gloomy figures” are
rushing to attack the Resistance, “its people and its resistance.” This deserves
that we presumably agree with Hezbollah’s secretary general since rivalry might
prompt those who wish harm to the Resistance to take action. In contrast, Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah has to accept a big “but,” one that is written rather than
spoken in public, i.e. one that is less effective, strong and equivocal.
What made it easy for any former, current or future MP to point to Hezbollah
with every minor explosion? Is the marginal rival MP, who turned the explosion
of a gas canister in a Dahiyeh house into a mysterious explosion that killed a
party official, responsible for preventing security forces from reaching that
house, initiating investigations and uncovering the truth?
Some of the issues brought up yesterday by Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah would have
been credible had the party been unrelated to them. The problem in the town of
Lasa between the Church and Shia inhabitants is actually an old one, and some
within the March 14 forces really made a bad job out of their exploitation of
that problem. However, two related incidents weaken Sayyed Nasrallah’s claims.
The first is the fact that a TV crew was beaten, whereas the second was about
kicking out land surveyors sent by the Church. These two events would not have
occurred had village youths not felt overpowered by Hezbollah’s presence in
their village.
With regard to the Antelias explosion, suspicions over the official account are
backed by the weakness of this very account and its lack of a logical structure.
Indeed, there is a difference between an explosive device and a bomb and between
the statements delivered respectively by the judge and the investigator, not to
mention the fact that a bomb is not the traditional way of killing a debtor.
Adding to these confusing elements the identity of the victims and the fact that
they are natives of a region where an armed party enjoys extensive influence
makes it more than possible to “exploit” accusations against the party.
This is as far as “minor” incidents go. Yet there are major incidents that paved
the way for questioning the party and its intentions on every possible occasion,
including the May 7 events, the Aisha Bakkar incident, the Burj Abi Haidar
incident, Jamil as-Sayyed’s airport reception, the Black Shirts, etc. Does
Sayyed Nasrallah not think that he is facilitating the task of those who wish to
demonize “the Resistance’s people and community”? Nevertheless, those debating
Sayyed Nasrallah should beware of the danger of falling prey to shallow ideas
that lead, in turn, to shallow conclusions. It is necessary to put an immediate
end to debates with public speakers via written articles. Prepare for speaking
in public or step aside and let others do so.
**This article is a translation of the original, which appeared on the NOW
Arabic site on August 19, 2011
Slim chance for
key reform in 2013 election law
Matt Nash, August 19, 2011
Rony al-Assaad and his colleagues are determined to keep trying, though Assaad
recognizes they are almost certain to fail. A coordinator at the Civil Campaign
for Electoral Reform (CCER), Assaad has spent years working on a new electoral
law based on proportional representation.
Lebanon’s political class, which just two weeks ago seemed to support
proportional representation, is turning its back on the concept as debate about
the 2013 parliamentary law is set to begin soon.
Since independence in 1943, Lebanon’s parliamentary elections have been based on
a winner-take-all system. While electoral laws, and the size of districts, have
varied, elections have proceeded thusly: One or more parties would form a list
of candidates for the seats in a district.
Most often, there are only two lists in any given district. In general, the list
that receives the most votes wins the entire district, even if the vote is split
as closely as 51 percent to 49 percent. There is, however, some room for
maneuver in that lists are “open,” meaning voters can mix and match.
Though very rare, a list of candidates can theoretically be “breached” by a
candidate from a rival list if enough mixing and matching occurs. In practice,
however, entire lists are almost always elected in a winner-take-all fashion.
Many, particularly civil society activists, see this as unfair, and proportional
representation, where seats are divvied up based on the percentage of the vote a
list receives, has been debated since the end of the civil war.
In 2006, after a nine-month study, an independent commission led by former
minister and MP Fouad Boutros drafted an electoral law that included numerous
reforms, including partial proportional representation. The so-called Boutros
Law called for 51 of parliament’s 128 deputies to be elected based on
proportional representation, while the rest would be elected based on the
current regimen.
This draft, however, was never implemented, and most of the reforms it called
for (including reducing the voting age from 21 to 18 and allowing expatriates to
vote from abroad) were shunned in the 2009 electoral law. Debate, it seems, will
soon begin on the law governing the 2013 parliamentary elections.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, who is responsible for overseeing elections,
said earlier this month that he will draft an electoral law by the end of
September based on proportional representation. On paper, such a system is
something the cabinet is open to.
Article 15 of the current government’s ministerial statement said, “One of the
cabinet’s priorities will be to launch a national workshop to draft a new
legislative election law in conformity with the Lebanese people’s ambition to
achieve accurate and fair political representation. Hence, previous reform
projects that included various options and reforms, especially with regard to
proportional representation, shall be thoroughly examined.”
Both before and after Charbel’s announcement, President Michel Sleiman, Speaker
Nabih Berri, Free Patriotic Movement MP Alain Aoun and PM Najib Mikati all said
they support proportional representation.
Then Lebanon’s “kingmaker” chimed in.
“Since the ‘leftists’ are [politically] weak… it is better to postpone the
discussion about an electoral law [based on proportional representation], and
maintain the status quo in order to preserve diversity,” Progressive Socialist
Party leader Walid Jumblatt said in the Chouf town of Ikleem al-Kharoub on
August 13.
“I would rather win or lose [the elections] among my [peers] in Ikleem al-Kharoub,
than ‘melt’ in bigger [districts],” the Druze leader added.
Jumblatt’s last comment reflects a common critique politicians have offered of
proportional representation: It would negatively affect the country’s minority
populations. Not necessarily true, Assaad argued.
He told NOW Lebanon that CCER’s draft law maintains parliament’s sectarian
divisions (with a set number of seats allocated for each sect), so minorities
would get the same number of seats as they did in 2009.
However, he said that he is quite certain that CCER’s law will not pass. First,
he said, Jumblatt’s opposition is quite significant.
“We had a meeting with [Hezbollah MP] Mohammad Raad recently,” Assaad said. “He
said that Jumblatt’s statement has an effect on Hezbollah, which doesn’t want to
lose him as an ally so they can be the parliamentary majority in the next
election.”
In an interview before a meeting of Christian parties from across the political
spectrum was held on Friday to discuss electoral law reform, Assaad said
attendees would likely also skirt a solid commitment to proportional
representation.
Indeed, following the meeting, former Interior Minister Ziad Baroud said those
gathered discussed the electoral law and decided to meet again in mid-September,
having reached no solid conclusions. He said proportional representation is
“reformist” but “should not be imposed on any side.”
As for CCER’s law in particular, Assaad said, Interior Minister Charbel formed
his own committee to draft an electoral law that included no members of civil
society.
In the end, he said he expects politicians to reject proportional representation
once again because it would threaten their grip on power. A proportional system,
he said, would make it easier for independents, people who reject the March
14-March 8 dichotomy that has dominated political life in Lebanon for the past
six years, to get elected.
“A proportional system is a good way to represent all of our social and
confessional differences,” he said. “The real fear of the [main political]
parties is that they will lose their grip on power.”Now Lebanon
40 Killed in Pakistan Mosque Bombing
Naharnet /A bomb exploded in a mosque in a Pakistani tribal region as hundreds
were gathered for prayers Friday, killing at least 40 people and wounding 85
others in the first major attack in the country during the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan.
The attack came despite a period of relative calm in Pakistan, which has
suffered numerous Taliban-led insurgent attacks in recent years. No group
immediately claimed responsibility, but the Taliban and other Islamist militants
have previously attacked mosques.
The bomb went off in Ghundi, a village in the Khyber tribal region, a part of
Pakistan's tribal belt. Khyber has long been a base for Islamist militants, and
the Pakistani army has waged multiple operations aimed at pacifying the region
but with limited success.
Khyber also is a key region for the U.S. and NATO, because a large portion of
non-lethal supplies heading to U.S. forces in Afghanistan passes through it.
Some 300 people had gathered for prayers Friday afternoon in the Sunni mosque,
and many were on their way out when the bomb exploded, local administrator Iqbal
Khan said. Officials said there was some evidence a suicide attacker was
involved.
Saleem Khan, 21, said people panicked after the blast, and that amid the smoke,
cries and blood, several ran over him when he fell.
"Whoever did it in the holy month of Ramadan cannot be a Muslim," he said from a
hospital bed in the main northwest city of Peshawar. "It is the cruelest thing
any Muslim would do."
TV footage from the scene showed a heavily damaged building. Prayer caps, shoes
and green prayer mats were scattered across a blood-splattered floor, while
ceiling fans were twisted and walls blackened. Men comforted a young boy who
wept as he held his hand to his heart.
At least 40 people were killed, and 85 wounded, local administrator Fazal Khan
said.
Islamist militants such as the Pakistani Taliban have targeted mosques before,
especially if they believe alleged enemies — such as army soldiers — are using
the facility.
**Source Associated PressAgence France Presse
Electricity
Draft Law Tests Cabinet Unity
Naharnet/A controversial electricity draft law will be on the cabinet’s agenda
next week after the government once again failed to agree on how the allocation
of $1.2 billion to raise electricity production by 700 megawatts would be made.
The dispute over the draft law has led to divisions in the ranks of the
government, after ministers representing Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel
Aoun threatened to resign if the cabinet failed to approve the proposal.
However, ministerial sources told As Safir daily that the cabinet session on
Thursday was an important step forward in approving the draft law.
The atmosphere during the meeting was calm compared to the last session that
witnessed intense discussions between Aoun’s son-in-law Energy Minister Jebran
Bassil and ministers loyal to PM Najib Miqati and Progressive Socialist Party
leader Walid Jumblat. During Thursday’s “calm” session, it was agreed to hold a
ministerial meeting at the Grand Serail on Monday to hear a briefing by Bassil
on the details of the electricity project. The meeting will be followed by a
cabinet session that would be held at President Michel Suleiman’s summer
residence in Beiteddine on Tuesday. Despite the optimism expressed by the
ministerial sources, al-Liwaa newspaper quoted informed sources as saying that
the cabinet session has witnessed a heated exchange of words among several
ministers. But the sources said that the government is expected to approve the
draft law next Tuesday and refer it to parliament for ratification on Wednesday.
On Friday, Bassil held a press conference to stress the importance of the
project and warn that any attempt to block it would have dire consequences on
financial, economic and living conditions.
Bassil Urges Cabinet to Adopt his Electricity Plan
Naharnet /Energy Minister Jebran Bassil said on Friday that the electricity
draft law that he proposed before cabinet will save the citizens $730 to $1300
million.
“The result is due to the cheapness of the factories (that are intended to be
built),”Bassil stated during a press conference. He slammed the March 14-led
opposition stance on the issue. “They are blocking 700 Megawatts and depriving
people 7 hours from electricity,” the Minister added. Bassil noted that the
opposition is obstructing his plans and stopping him from carrying out five key
transmission lines and implementing around 30 electricity distribution projects.
“Those who are halting the electricity are halting it from people, and not the
cabinet or a political movement,” he stressed. The minister told the reporters
that the government is facing “economic, developmental, and political
challenges.” He urged it “to take a decision on Tuesday to adopt the draft law
and head to the parliament on Wednesday to thwart any attempt to block the
project.” “The parliamentary majority has to be ready to announce the lack of
quorum,” Bassil stressed. He had recently proposed a project to end the
electricity crisis calling for the construction of 700 MW power plants and
demanding $1.2 billion to fund the project.However, lawmakers opposing the
proposal argue that it would burden the treasury.