LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِAugust
23/2011
Bible Quotation for today.
Isaiah 33/01-13: "1 Woe to you who
destroy, but you weren’t destroyed; and who betray, but nobody betrayed you!
When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed; and when you have made
an end of betrayal, you will be betrayed. Yahweh, be gracious to us. We
have waited for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation also in the
time of trouble. At the noise of the thunder, the peoples have fled. When
you lift yourself up, the nations are scattered. Your plunder will be
gathered as the caterpillar gathers. Men will leap on it as locusts leap.
Yahweh is exalted, for he dwells on high. He has filled Zion with justice and
righteousness. There will be stability in your times, abundance of
salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of Yahweh is your treasure.
Behold, their valiant ones cry outside; the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.
The highways are desolate. The traveling man ceases. The covenant is broken. He
has despised the cities. He doesn’t respect man. 9 The land mourns and
languishes. Lebanon is confounded and withers away. Sharon is like a desert, and
Bashan and Carmel are stripped bare. “Now I will arise,” says Yahweh; “Now I
will lift myself up. Now I will be exalted. You will conceive chaff. You will
bring forth stubble. Your breath is a fire that will devour you. 12 The peoples
will be like the burning of lime, like thorns that are cut down and burned in
the fire. Hear, you who are far off, what I have done; and, you who are
near, acknowledge my might.”
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
The world after Gaddafi/By
Tariq Alhomayed/August
22/11
The Libya lesson/The
Daily Star/August
22/11
Bashar Leave!/By
Hussein Shobokshi/August
22/11
Is the Arab Spring coming
back to Lebanon/By:
Hanin Ghaddar/August
22/11
Bashar al-Assad, Sunday's
Speech/Now Lebanon/August 22/11
Review/By:
Hazem Saghiyeh/August
22/11
Latest News
Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 22/11
Cameron says 'end is near for
Gadhafi,' as world leaders call for his surrender
Qaddafi fights back: Son Khamis
leads tanks to Tripoli center and port
Report: Libya rebels capture
Gadhafi's son; presidential guard surrenders
World Leaders Call on Gadhafi to
Relinquish Power
World to Gadhafi: Surrender
War Crimes Court Seeks Transfer of
Gadhafi Son
Libya Rebels Surge into the Center
of Tripoli, Seif al-Islam Detained
Libyan embassy in Syria sides with
revolution
Britain compares Assad to Qaddafi
Syrian gunmen kill two after Assad
speech: activists
Sound Problem Delays Human Rights
Council Meeting on Syria
Lebanon halts anti-Assad protest
near Syria border
TIME interview with STL suspect
sparks controversy
Interview: STL could request to
delve beyond mandate
Saniora Hints Nasrallah Protecting
4 Hariri Murder Suspects
Lebanon's FM, Mansour to Ban:
Israel’s Maritime Border Maps Violate Lebanon’s Sovereignty
Lebanon's General Prosecutor Saeed
Mirza Inquires TIME Correspondent about Interview with Hariri Murder Suspect
Lebanon: Electricity Project
Details to be Discussed Monday before Decisive Action
Elia al-Obeid Named Acting Beirut
Airport Security Chief
Lebanon: One Killed, Another
Wounded in Marriage Dispute
Lawyer shoots, wounds head of
Lebanon municipality
Iran begins moving uranium
enrichment machines to underground bunker
US aide in Cairo to defuse
Israel-Egypt tensions
UN delays Gaza flotilla report,
following request by Turkey
Review
By: Hazem Saghiyeh,
Honestly, and regardless of political controversy, Hezbollah has to change its
calculations so that the whole country does not burn one way or another. In
fact, every person with a project calculates benefits and losses, weak points
and strong ones, before initiating or continuing the project.
Such behavior saves this person and his country from heading to suicide.
In this sense, Hezbollah is locked in a conflict today with the “international
community” against a backdrop of the indictment and the matter of handing over
those accused. Hezbollah is also pitted in an ongoing conflict against Israel
and the forces supporting it, not to mention a conflict of an unprecedented
intensity with a major Lebanese community and large segments of other
communities. Meanwhile, its relations with the Sunni Arab world and many
countries in Africa and Latin America have turned sour.
In contrast, its main and direct support, the Syrian regime, has its own
concerns to manage and is unable to support it. Its second key ally, the Iranian
regime, cannot reach Lebanon without Syria as a bridge, not to mention the
political and economic trouble Iran is facing, which limit the regime’s support
capability. Furthermore, Qatar, which undertook an essential share of
sponsorship and financing of the post-2006 July War reconstruction, now has
other plans. This has deprived Hezbollah and its allies of the immensely
influential media voice provided by Qatar’s Al-Jazeera channel. This goes
without mentioning that the inhabitants of the South, who have been through a
lot so far, are unlikely to be ready to bear the potential consequences of major
radical or struggle options.
This situation does not suit those who are in it at all. Any political side that
does not perform such calculations and makes such a review is acting stupidly
against its own interest and that of others. Therefore, the most moderate voices
within the Shia community would better seek to initiate dialogue with Hezbollah
not for the sake of annoyance or competition, but rather to stress the need for
a review that cannot be ignored by those seeking to exploit sectarian
polarization. The same demand for dialogue holds true for non-Shia political
forces, including top state positions and forces that are known for their
opposition to Hezbollah. Indeed, this is a chance for them to rise above petty
politics and start restructuring civil peace.
These are essential roles everyone is urgently called upon to play. However,
this all remains useless if Hezbollah is still in the same mood as the one
expressed by the latest address of its secretary-general!
**This article is a translation of the original, which appeared on the NOW
Arabic site on Monday August 22, 2011
Qaddafi
fights back: Son Khamis leads tanks to Tripoli center and port
DEBKAfile Special Report August 22, 2011
Heavy fighting was raging Monday, Aug. 22, around Muammar Qaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya
compound in Tripoli less than a day after Libyan rebels captured most of the
capital unopposed and Muammar Qaddafi's regime in the capital was written off.
His son Khamis led a tank force fighting from positions taken up at the compound
and Tripoli port, signaling that the forces loyal to the Libyan ruler and his
family were ready to fight for their survival and Qaddafi was not ready to
relinquish power as demanded by US President Barack Obama Sunday night.
For the last two weeks, Khamis, the most talented general of Qaddafi's sons,
avoided using tanks outside Tripoli for fear of losing them in NATO air strikes,
debkafile's military sources report. The rebels heading into Tripoli from Zawiya
Sunday were unopposed by obstacles.
However, Monday, when defeat looked the regime and family in the face, Khamis
switched tactics. He reckoned that the tanks would be safe from NATO attack
among the civilians crowding the city streets.
Another Qaddafi son, Saif al-Islam, was apparently detained by the rebels who
are negotiating his handover for trial to the International Criminal Court on
charges of crimes against humanity. However, another son, Al-Mu'tasim Billah
al-Qaddafi, may be expected to join Khamis on the battlefield quite soon.
Al-Mu'tasim, who is also highly regarded as an operational commander, heads
Libya's Special Forces Brigades and the regime's intelligence arm. His
whereabouts like those of his father are unknown. The Libyan has not been seen
lately although Sunday, he sent audio messages to state television calling on
all Libyans to rally and save Tripoli from the same fate as Baghdad.
Saif al Islam, a non-military figure, was never his father's choice for
successor. His fluent English language skills and the knowledge of Western ways
and media he acquired during years spent in Britain made him a useful spokesman
for the regime in the six months of the war.
Saif took advantage of the limelight to pose as Qaddafi's Number Two.
However, Khamis and Al-Mu'tasim ran the all-important military side of Qaddafi's
campaign against the NATO-backed rebellion. More than once, they saved the
family from near- disaster - notably against concerted US- British-French
Odyssey Dawn air operation against the ruler's power centers in Tripoli on March
19.
According to some of debkafile's sources, the embattled ruler may have decided
to throw Saif al-Islam to the wolves to distract NATO commanders' notice from
the two sons leading his fight for survival on the battlefield.
Monday, British Prime Minister David Cameron was concerned to move on towards
establishing a new government in Tripoli when he said, "The regime is falling
apart" and "Our task now is to do all we can to protect the will of the Libyan
people."
Qaddafi and his sons are now fighting to demonstrate that although the rebels
have seized most of Tripoli, there is still no power vacuum waiting for them to
step into.
Through Monday, more rebel columns headed towards Tripoli in pick-up trucks with
heavy machine-guns mounted at the back. Plenty more fighting and bloodshed is
still ahead of Libya before the crisis is over
After midnight Sunday, Aug. 21, debkafile reported: The Qaddafi regime falls in
Tripoli
Muammar Qaddafi's regime fell in Tripoli just before midnight Sunday, Aug. 22.
The rebels advanced in three columns into the heart of the capital after being
dropped by NATO ships and helicopters on the Tripoli coast. Except for pockets,
government forces did not resist the rebel advance, which stopped short of the
Qaddafi compound of Bab al-Aziziyah.
After one of his sons Saif al Islam was reported to be in rebel hands and
another, Mohammad, said to have surrendered, Qaddafi's voice was heard over
state television calling on Libyans to rise up and save Tripoli from "the
traitors." Tripoli is now like Baghdad, he said. For now, his whereabouts are
unknown.
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said 1,200 people had been killed in the 12
hours of the rebel push towards the capital. As he spoke, Libyan rebels, backed
by NATO, seized control of the capital. After holding out for six months, the
Qaddafi regime was to all intents and purposes at an end.
Still to be answered are seven questions raised here by debkafile's analysts:
1. Where are the six government special divisions whose loyalty to the Libyan
ruler and his sons was never in question? None of the 15,000 trained government
troops were to be seen in the way of the rebel advance into the capital. The
mystery might be accounted for by several scenarios: Either these units broke up
and scattered or Qaddafi pulled them back into southern Libya to secure the main
oil fields. Or, perhaps, government units are staying out of sight and biding
their time in order to turn the tables on the triumphant rebels and trap them in
a siege. The Libyan army has used this stratagem before.
2. How did the ragtag, squabbling Libyan rebels who were unable to build a
coherent army in six months suddenly turn up in Tripoli Sunday looking like an
organized military force and using weapons for which they were not known to have
received proper training? Did they secretly harbor a non-Libyan hard core of
professional soldiers?
3. What happened to the tribes loyal to Qaddafi? Up until last week, they
numbered the three largest tribal grouping in the country. Did they suddenly
melt away without warning?
4. Does Qaddafi's fall in Tripoli mean he has lost control of all other parts of
Libya, including his strongholds in the center and south?
5. Can the rebels and NATO claim an undisputed victory? Or might not the Libyan
ruler, forewarned of NATO's plan to topple him by Sept. 1, have decided to dodge
a crushing blow, cede Tripoli and retire to the Libyan Desert from which to wage
war on the new rulers?
6. Can the heavily divided rebels, consisting of at least three militias, put
their differences aside and establish a reasonable administration for governing
a city of many millions? Their performance in running the rebel stronghold of
Benghazi is not reassuring.
7. Debkafile's military and counter-terror sources suggest a hidden meaning in
Qaddafi's comment that Tripoli is now like Baghdad. Is he preparing to collect
his family, escape Tripoli and launch a long and bloody guerrilla war like the
one Saddam Hussein's followers waged after the US invasion of 2003 which opened
the door of Iraq to al Qaeda?
If that is Qaddafi's plan, the rebels and their NATO backers, especially Britain
and France, will soon find their victory wiped out by violence similar to – or
worse than – the troubles the US-led forces have suffered in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
Libya Rebels Surge into the Center of Tripoli, Seif al-Islam Detained
Naharnet /Libyan rebels surged into Tripoli Sunday in a final drive to oust
Moammar Gadhafi, seizing swathes of the capital including the symbolic Green
Square and arresting the strongman's son, Seif al-Islam. U.S. President Barack
Obama said the Gadhafi regime was at a "tipping point" and that the "tyrant"
must go, adding a call for the rebels to respect human rights and move to
democracy. Meanwhile, heavy fighting raged Monday near the Tripoli compound of
Moamer Kadhafi, an AFP reporter said, a day after jubilant rebel forces surged
into the symbolic heart of the capital. Fighting was also heard from around
04:00 GMT in the south of the capital, where there were exchanges of heavy
weaponry and automatic rifle fire. Senior rebel figure Mahmud Jibril said there
were still pockets of resistance in and around Tripoli and warned his forces to
be cautious. He also called on them to act responsibly as the battle to end four
decades of dictatorship neared its end.
"The fight is not over yet," he said on rebel television al-Ahrar. "God willing,
in few hours our victory will be complete." Thousands of residents poured onto
the streets to welcome the rebels; congregating at the site which they renamed
Martyrs Square near the water front in the center of Tripoli. Sky News showed
jubilant crowds, with many people waving the red, black and green flag of
anti-regime forces, dancing in joy and shouting Allahu Akbar (God is greatest).
Some fired rifles into the air.Men flashed V-for-victory signs and shouted "tell
Moammar (Gadhafi) and his sons that Libya has men." A Sky correspondent said
people were lighting fires with posters of the Libyan strongman and the solid
green flag of the regime that they had torn down.
Similar scenes of jubilation were witnessed in Benghazi, the rebels' bastion in
the east, where delirious residents danced and proclaimed the end of the regime
of the "tyrant" Gadhafi.
While Gadhafi spoke to the nation three times on Sunday in audio recordings, his
whereabouts were unknown. But the 69-year-old strongman vowed not to surrender.
As the rebels boasted they would take full control of Tripoli during the night,
Gadhafi issued his third message of the day, urging the people of Tripoli to
"purge the capital."
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told a press conference 1,300 people had
been killed in the rebel assault on the capital, describing the fighting as a
"real tragedy."
But there was no independent confirmation of casualties, nor any immediate
indication of how much resistance may have been put up against the rebels.
Ibrahim insisted that Libya's regime "is still strong and thousands of
volunteers and soldiers are ready to fight" although the reality on the ground
seemed to belie his boasts.
In The Hague, the International Criminal Court confirmed that Gadhafi's son,
Seif al-Islam, for whom the ICC had issued arrest warrants for crimes against
humanity, is in detention.
"I have received confidential information stating he has been arrested," Luis
Moreno-Ocampo told Agence France Presse.
"We hope he can soon be in The Hague" to face justice, he said, adding that he
planned to contact the "Libyan transitional government" later in the day.
Moreno-Ocampo said the ICC "is ready to help Libyans to deal with their
difficult past" and ensure that "no crime remains unpunished". Earlier, the
chairman of Libya's rebel National Transitional Council (NTC), Mustafa Abdel
Jalil told al-Jazeera television from Benghazi Seif was "being kept in a secure
place under close guard until he is handed over to the judiciary." Abdel Jalil
did not say when or where he had been captured. Describing their assault, rebel
leaders said an advance party of fighters had arrived by sea in the capital
early Sunday and joined sleeper cells of rebels to launch the final drive,
codenamed "Mermaid."
Another rebel force advanced from the west, moving in a convoy of around 100
vehicles as onlookers fired celebratory gunfire into the air, an AFP
correspondent said.
By afternoon they had overrun the eastern suburb of Tajura and boasted that they
would seize control of the capital during the night.
It was still not clear how much of the capital the rebels had seized, but it
appeared they had taken over the headquarters of the Libyana mobile telephone
company, located in Tajura.
Libyana clients received a message on their mobiles from the NTC "congratulating
the Libyan people for the fall of Moammar Gadhafi." Meanwhile, a rebel party
seized an army barracks at a western entrance to Tripoli, raiding the stores of
missiles and other ammunition, AFP correspondents there said. They also released
dozens of prisoners held in Maya, 25 kilometers west of Tripoli, they said. A
rebel spokesman said the insurgents were also tightening the noose around
loyalist forces in the far west of Libya, near the Tunisian border.
Throughout the day Sunday, Gadhafi was adamant he would not relinquish power. He
vowed not to surrender and boasted he would "emerge victorious" in the battle
for Tripoli.
"We will not, we will not abandon Tripoli to the occupants and their agents. I
am with you in this battle," he said in an audio message broadcast in the
afternoon.
"We do not surrender and, by God's grace, we will emerge victorious."
He called on his supporters to "march on Tajura in tens of thousands to purge
the officials of the colonizers," in a reference to the NATO-backed rebels.
Earlier, he had aired a message urging supporters to "march by the millions" to
liberate cities held by "traitors and rats."NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh
Rasmussen said early Monday Gadhafi's rule in Libya is "clearly crumbling." "The
sooner Gadhafi realizes that he cannot win the battle against his own people,
the better -- so that the Libyan people can be spared further bloodshed and
suffering," he said in a statement.For his part, Jibril urged rebels to act with
magnanimity. "The world is watching us," he added. "Do not avenge yourselves."
He took particular pains to refer to those close to Gadhafi who might be
captured. "Prove that we are up the responsibility to protect them and their
lives," he said. He called on people to pull together "to achieve democracy and
to build the new Libya, remembering all the people who give their lives in this
war."
**Source Agence France Presse
Britain compares Assad to Qaddafi
August 22, 2011 /Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must step down because he is
as "irrelevant" to the future of his country as Moammar Qaddafi is in Libya,
Britain's deputy prime minister said Monday. With Qaddafi's regime apparently in
its final throes as rebel fighters move into Tripoli, Nick Clegg said the
situation in Syria was "less encouraging.”Clegg dismissed a television interview
Assad gave on Sunday and, in the strongest language used by a senior British
minister on Syria yet, accused him of lying "endlessly" and said the president's
family was fighting its own people. "In Syria... a single family continues to
wage war on an entire nation," Clegg said in a speech taking stock of the Arab
Spring. "Yesterday we heard him wheel out the same, well-worn promises of
reform. We take no reassurance from that.”"This is a man who has lied endlessly,
broken his promises repeatedly, hurt his own people and now his time is up."
Clegg said: "We are clear: we want the violence to stop. Prisoners of conscience
to be released. The UN to have complete freedom to assess the humanitarian
situation. And, for the sake of the Syrian people, it's time for Assad to go.”
"He is as irrelevant to Syria's future as Qaddafi is to Libya's." Assad on
Sunday scoffed at Western calls to quit over his deadly crackdown on dissent,
saying such calls were "worthless.” The president's TV appearance was his first
since US President Barack Obama called on him to stand down, a demand quickly
echoed by the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Spain.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
ebanon's
General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza Inquires TIME Correspondent about Interview with
Hariri Murder Suspect
Naharnet/General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza met on Monday with TIME magazine
correspondent Nicholas Blanford over an article to which an interview with one
of the four suspects in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination was added.
Blanford, one of the co-writers of the TIME article, has denied that he
conducted the interview with the unidentified suspect, saying that he only wrote
the article on the indictment published by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and
Hizbullah’s stance from it. Media reports said Blanford arrived at the Justice
Palace accompanied by his lawyer. Mirza told al-Joumhouria daily that he would
question Blanford on the issue and then take the necessary legal measures.
The suspect, a Hizbullah member, has said in the interview: “The Lebanese
authorities know where I live, and if they wanted to arrest me they would have
done it a long time ago. Simply, they cannot.”Mirza has categorically denied
that the prosecution or the police are aware of the place of residence of any of
the four suspects and have not proceeded with the arrests as called for by the
STL.
Mansour to Ban: Israel’s Maritime Border Maps Violate Lebanon’s Sovereignty
Naharnet /Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour voiced on Monday Lebanon’s rejection of
the maritime border maps that Israel presented to the United Nations. He said in
a letter to U.N. chief Ban Ki-Moon: “The maritime maps that Israel presented to
the U.N. are a blatant violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and its economic
zone.” He explained that the coordinates it presented “cut a total of 860 square
kilometers of Lebanon’s economic zone and regional waters.”“This therefore
jeopardizes international peace and security,” Mansour added in the letter.The
minister urged Ban to take “all necessary measures to avert any conflict in
order to maintain the peace in accordance to U.N. Security Council resolution
1701.”Israel submitted its maps to the United Nations in July, shortly after
Lebanon presented its own.
TIME interview with STL suspect sparks controversy
August 22, 2011 /The Daily Star
BEIRUT: A TIME interview with one of the four Hezbollah members indicted by the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik
Hariri prompted an exchange of accusations between Hezbollah and former Prime
Minister Saad Hariri over the weekend. In one of the first reactions to the
article, Hariri accused the government of failing to apprehend the wanted
individuals and slammed Prime Minister Mikati’s government as “two-faced and
two-tongued,” and as having succumbed to the will of Hezbollah, which has said
that it will not hand over the four men. “Does Prime Minister Najib Mikati, with
his team of ministers, in principle responsible for Lebanon’s adherence to the
Special Tribunal, want to listen to this interview and the announcement that
came from the mouth of the accused about [authorities] not apprehending him
despite knowledge of his whereabouts?” asked Hariri in a statement.
“It seems none of them wants to hear, read, see or even speak, and that the
policy of closing ears and burying heads in the sand toward everything that
relates to Hezbollah and its domination of the government’s decision … is the
one that prevails,” Hariri added.
Hezbollah denied that officials from the group had spoken with TIME magazine and
accused Hariri of rushing to make allegations on the basis of a “fabricated”
interview.
“The interview is another one of the Special Tribunal’s fabrications,” Hezbollah
said in a statement released Saturday. “The court has made us familiar with the
various made-up crime novels it prepares … and promotes.”In the interview
published Thursday on TIME’s website, the Hezbollah suspect, who spoke on
condition that his name and location not be revealed, said he was wrongfully
accused in the assassination and that Lebanese authorities had knowledge of his
whereabouts but would not apprehend him because “they can’t.”
“No senior Hezbollah sources met with the TIME reporter, individually or in the
presence of someone else. Consequently, the said report is not valid at all and
the alleged interview did not take place,” the Hezbollah statement said. TIME
magazine’s editor-in-chief Howard Chua-Eoan defended the interview Saturday
against Hezbollah’s allegations in an email sent to Future News TV and said TIME
stands by the story. The STL refused to comment on the interview when contacted
by The Daily Star.
Nicolas Blanford, who is one of the co-writers of the TIME article, denied that
he had conducted the interview with the suspect, stressing that his contribution
was the first paragraph of the story, which was taken from an article he was
writing for the magazine. “During the course of [writing a piece on the
indictment] the editors of TIME magazine got in touch with me and said they had
an interview with one of the suspects. I was more than a little surprised to
hear that so they sent me the transcript … and [I] tacked on the quotes from
[the indictment piece],” Blanford told The Daily Star Sunday. Media reports
surfaced Sunday that Blanford had conducted the interview. An-Nahar newspaper
reported that the Beirut-based journalist interviewed the suspect Tuesday or
Wednesday. “I know everyone jumped to the conclusion that I conducted the
interview strictly because I have been here for a long time and I have good
relations with Hezbollah but it wasn’t me,” he said
State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza will summon Blanford for investigations over the
article Monday morning.
Blanford, TIME’s correspondent in Lebanon, said: “The decision to publish the
interview was taken by the editors in New York at TIME magazine so it has
nothing to do with me. I guess they concluded that the interview was genuine and
decided to run it. Beyond that I can’t really comment; I don’t know the
circumstances surrounding the interview.”The news of the interview prompted
government action earlier Saturday, with Prime Minister Najib Mikati asking
Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi to look into the matter. Speaking to The Daily
Star Saturday, Qortbawi said authorities had denied any knowledge of the
whereabouts of any of the four suspects wanted by the STL and that a probe to
clarify the identity of the individual who spoke to TIME magazine had been
launched.
Hariri’s statement drew a swift response from Hezbollah later in the day, with
the group accusing him of having rushed into allegations based on a fake
interview.
“What Hariri has built on is lies and allegations, and his conclusions and
political analysis is false because what it is based on is false,” Hezbollah
said, adding that such comments were only a sample of what the STL offers and
the Future Movement adopts to hide the truth. The STL is one of the main
divisive issues between Lebanon’s major political factions, with the
Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance asking the government to end its cooperation and
funding of the STL, and the March 14 coalition describing the court as the only
means to achieve justice.
Last month, the STL indicted four Hezbollah members of being involved in the
assassination and gave the Lebanese government 30 working days to apprehend the
suspects, which Lebanon failed to do. Hezbollah denies involvement in Hariri’s
killing and has vowed not to cooperate with The Hague-based court which it
describes as part of a conspiracy by the U.S. and Israel to target the
resistance group.
Interview: STL could request to delve beyond mandate
August 22, 2011 /By Patrick Galey/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The U.N.-backed court probing the assassination of former Prime Minister
Rafik Hariri could eventually investigate cases outside of its current
jurisdiction, according to a tribunal spokesperson. Following a week in which
the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) requested from authorities in Beirut case
files on attacks on three other politicians, court spokesperson Marten Youssef
said that Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare could conceivably request permission to
delve into cases beyond the tribunal’s initial mandate. “If the Tribunal finds
that a case after Dec. 12, 2005 is connected with the Feb. 14, 2005 attack [on
Hariri], it would need the consent of the [United Nations Security Council] to
acquire jurisdiction,” he told The Daily Star.
“The tribunal has a mandate to investigate connected crimes. The prosecution
needs the permission of the pre-trial judge, to establish these are connected.”
The STL Friday disclosed an order from Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen to see the
case files from bomb attacks on slain Communist Party Leader George Hawi, former
Deputy Prime Minister Elias Murr and former Telecommunications Minister Marwan
Hamadeh after it was deemed that Bellemare had acquired prime face evidence that
the crimes could be linked to the bomb blast that killed Hariri and 22 others.
While this does not mean that a link between the three crimes and Hariri’s has
been proven, Bellemare may well decide to issue separate indictments against
accused individuals.
In its 2010-2011 annual report, the STL stated it would try and complete
judicial proceedings against the alleged perpetrators of some connected cases.
“In the third year of its activities (March 1, 2011 – Feb. 29, 2012), the OTP
intends to: (iii) endeavor to bring to justice those responsible for other
attacks found to be connected,” it said.
With dozens of attacks that to the amateur observer bore resemblances to the
attack on Hariri having occurred in Lebanon right up until 2008, the court could
well seek to widen its remit to investigate cases that the Lebanese judiciary
has been unable to get to grips with.
Youssef said that the decision upon which cases were related to Hariri’s killing
would be made by Bellemare and it was up to Fransen to give fresh investigations
the go-ahead.
“The tribunal as an institution, its reach will depend on what case the
prosecution brings forward. If they do have other material, they are entitled to
bring a connected case submission. The prosecutor needs to bring a case first,
and then the court can prosecute,” he said.
Earlier this month, STL investigators met with Murr and Hamadeh, as well as the
relatives of Hawi, and informed them that they believed the cases were linked to
the Hariri bombing.
Journalist May Chidiac, who survived a car bomb attack in September 2005 with
severe injuries, claimed STL investigators also visited her, although she
stopped short of divulging what exactly had been said. The court offered no
mention of investigators meeting with Chidiac.
A spokesperson from Bellemare’s office, after The Daily Star inquired about the
meetings in Beirut, offered the following response:
“The [office of the prosecutor] has no comment on reports in the press that do
not emanate directly from our Office. Any judicial activities of the Tribunal
may be made public by the Pre-Trial Judge once he determines to announce a
judicial step in the process.”
According to the court’s statue, a case’s connectedness to Hariri’s
assassination “includes, but is not limited to a combination of the following
elements: criminal intent (motive), purpose behind the attacks, nature of the
victims targeted, pattern of the attacks (modus operandi) and perpetrators.”
Given the high amount of attacks of a similar nature to the Hariri bombing which
occurred in Lebanon during the past decade, Youssef said that it was impossible
for the court to investigate every incident. “We don’t have an unlimited supply
of resources and money, so of course the prosecutor and everyone in the
institution has to do a balancing act on how they can maximize the resources
they have been given,” he said. “We are limited; we are not an institution that
is looking at all the acts of terrorism in the history of Lebanon. We have a
clear mandate and we have to work within that.” Youssef added that the court’s
probing of all terrorist activity between 2004 and 2008 “would undermine the
judicial system of [Lebanon].”
“[Who committed these crimes] are good questions, but they are not questions for
the STL, they are for the U.N. Security Council. We cannot step outside of our
mandate, which is on a particular attack and connect[ed] attacks within a
limited jurisdiction. We are not given a blank check to look into all crimes in
Lebanon; that would be egregious,” he said.
The spokesperson acknowledged that The Hague based court would disappoint some
relatives of victims in crimes it is unable to investigate.“The narrative isn’t
always exactly what we want to hear but we have to do the best we can … this
might not necessarily address what the whole population of Lebanon wants,”
Youssef said.
Saniora Hints Nasrallah Protecting 4 Hariri Murder Suspects
Naharnet /Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader Fouad Saniora has hinted that
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was protecting the four suspects in
ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination.Saniora said Sunday that he was linking
the TIME magazine interview with one of the suspects to the statement of
Nasrallah that “these individuals are not expected to turn themselves even in
300 years.”During a speech last month, Nasrallah said: “No Lebanese government
will be able to carry out any arrests whether in 30 days ... 30 years or even
300 years."“This means that there is someone saying in one way or another that
he defends and protects them,” Saniora said.The former prime minister urged the
cabinet to exert efforts so that the four suspects hand themselves over. The
four men are Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hussein Hassan
Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra.
Elia al-Obeid Named Acting Beirut Airport Security Chief
Naharnet /Brig. Gen. Elia al-Obeid was appointed acting head of Beirut airport
security on Monday to replace Brig. Gen. Yasser Mahmoud who retired the same
day. Obeid will serve until the cabinet appoints the person who would take over
the post of the head of Rafik Hariri international airport security. Mahmoud was
appointed to the post following the resignation of Brig. Gen Wafiq Shoqeir.
Media reports have said that consensus hasn’t been reached yet among the
pro-government parties over the appointment of Brig. Gen. Ghassan Salem, a Greek
Orthodox, to replace Mahmoud, a Druze.
One Killed, Another Wounded in Marriage Dispute
Naharnet /One person was killed and another wounded after several members of the
Nasreddine family opened fire on the house of their relatives at the town of al-Mansoura
in Hermel, the National News Agency reported on Monday. “Several Nasreddine
family youth opened fire at 9:30 pm on Sunday at the house of Hussein Nasreddine,”
the NNA said. The man had kidnapped a girl from the same family in order to
marry her; however, a dispute between the family members erupted over the issue.
Hussein died, while his father was shot at the back and was transferred to al-Batoul
hospital for treatment, NNA reported. The news agency said investigations are
ongoing to arrest the suspects.
Singh Says No Indications on Weapons Smuggling to Southern
Litani
Naharnet /United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesman Neeraj
Singh doesn’t expect any change in the force’s mission, denying that there will
be any downsizing in their numbers. “There are no indications that the French
contingent numbers will be reduced,” Singh told As Safir newspaper on Monday. On
Sunday he told the National News Agency: “There is also no change in the overall
number of UNIFIL.”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 stressed that the security of the UNIFIL is one of the Lebanese authorities’
responsibility, noting that the probe into the attack on the French peacekeepers
in the southern city of Sidon is carried out by the competent authorities in
Lebanon.
On July 26, three French U.N. peacekeepers were wounded in a roadside bombing in
\ 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.
Concerning the issue of weapons smuggling by Hizbullah to the southern Litani
area, he said that there’s no “evidence” on such thing.
Asked about the border incident between Israel and the Lebanese army in which
they exchanged fire in the Wazzani area, Singh said that both sides can’t
overpass the UNIFIL, saying that the international forces will not allow any
terrorist attack from diminishing its accomplishments over the past five years
through cooperating with the Lebanese army.
He described the five years stage that followed the adoption of U.N. Security
Council resolution 1701 as the quietest over the past thirty years.
“All the credit goes back to the parties that maintained peace,” the U.N.
official said. He added: “In return, the UNIFIL is facing a lot of challenges,
one of them is the Israeli occupation of the northern part of Ghajar village.”
However, he said that the peacekeepers discussed the issue with all parties to
ensure Israel’s withdrawal from the Lebanese part of the village. Regarding the
delineation of the maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel, Singh reiterated
that the UNIFIL isn’t qualified to do the task. He considered that its first
interest is not to allow any hostile activity in the sea. The spokesman
confirmed that UNIFIL navy forces suspected that around 40 ships contained
smuggled weapons, but after they were examined by the Lebanese navy and the
customs no weapons were seized. “Both sides, the Lebanese and Israeli, have
agreed on discussing the issue through bilateral meetings with each of them,”
the newspaper quoted him as saying.
Lawyer shoots, wounds head of Lebanon municipality
August 22, 2011 /The Daily Star /BEIRUT: A Lebanese lawyer shot and wounded the
head of the municipality of Ghabat Broummana in the Metn district, a security
source told The Daily Star Monday. Paul Kanaan, a Lebanese lawyer and brother of
MP Ibrahim Kanaan, shot and wounded Amin Abu Jawde, the head of the Ghabat
Broummana municipality, the source said.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the shooting took place on
the outskirts of Ghabat Broummana after midnight Sunday. Abu Jawde was rushed to
Hotel Dieu hospital, Beirut, for treatment after having suffered a wound to his
right shoulder. He was released from hospital Monday morning, his driver
confirmed to The Daily Star, adding that Abu Jawde was not available to comment
due to a meeting. “Abu Jawde is doing well,” the driver said. During the
incident, Abu Jawde’s Toyota was also hit by several bullets, according to the
source, who said the shooting was the result of a longstanding dispute. MP
Ibrahim Kanaan, a member in Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc, heads the
parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee.
The Libya lesson
August 22, 2011 /The Daily Star
The zero hour approaches. The tyrannous decades of rule under Colonel Moammar
Gadhafi appear to be nearing their closing minutes as rebel fighters advance on
the dictator’s Tripoli stronghold. The only remaining variable has shifted from
Gadhafi’s ability to cling to power to what type of country it is that the
National Transition Council stands to inherit.
It is right that eyes shift to the future instead of staying fixed on the
horrifying past. But consideration of Gadhafi’s rule is crucial to surviving the
surely imminent transition of power in Libya.
The arrogance displayed by Gadhafi, his family and his henchmen as the first
inklings of discontent spawned full-scale armed insurrection was built on years
of extortion and corruption that turned one of the richest nations in the region
into the Middle East’s basket case. The regime’s state-sanctioned murder,
detention and terrorism could not have happened without the acquiescence and
even full frontal support of Western, supposedly democratic nations.
Gadhafi, after all and through undoubtedly questionable means, won a lot of
supporters during his 42 years in power. Through all this, there are lessons
that need to be learned by whoever inherits control of Libya, although perhaps
the more pertinent previous example emanates hundreds of kilometers to the east
of Tripoli. The parallels between the fall of Saddam Hussein and the impending
downing of Gadhafi are numerous and predominantly serve as advice in how not to
manage a country once the dictator is ousted. Although the wave of sectarian and
terrorist killings that swept Iraq since the fall of Saddam shocked the world,
it really shouldn’t have. Plans made by coalition leaders did not stretch too
specifically far past toppling the leader. Libya needs to learn from the
mistakes of Iraq if it is to become the country most Libyans and most of the
world hopes it can be.
It is encouraging that the NTC has already spoken of its post-Gadhafi plan,
which would include the establishment of a constitutional authority and
internationally overseen elections. The so-called Libyan Stabilization Team also
sounds promising. But the rebels are not a homogenous bunch. They comprise
myriad political types, and the country they will soon take over will contain
many influential people sympathetic to the old regime. There are those who don’t
want foreigners to get involved in post-Gadhafi Libya. Given the state of
post-Saddam Iraq, they may be on to something. Whatever the composition of a new
administration, it needs to concentrate on administrative issues, such as the
stumbling economy, damaged public services and several gutted cities in need of
rebuilding. It also needs to eschew notions of sectarianism or religious or
political differences. The similarities shared by the people of new Libya –
those of freedom, democracy and fairness – far outweigh the divergences.
Bashar Leave!
By Hussein Shobokshi/Asharq Al-Awsat,
Last Thursday was as a noteworthy day in the course of the Syrian revolution,
against the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The more international stances towards
the Syrian regime intensified, in both quantity and quality, in support of the
revolutionaries' demands, the more the al-Assad regime became more stubborn and
obstinate in its repression and brutality against its own people. The US,
Britain and France have explicitly demanded that Bashar al-Assad immediately
step down, whereas Spain and Portugal demanded that the grip is tightened on the
Syrian regime, so as to force it to stop killing and repressing its people.
Switzerland has recalled its ambassador in protest against the Syrian regime's
practices, and Tunisia has acted likewise. An extremely significant set of
economic sanctions was declared by the European Union and the US, with the aim
of stifling the regime economically. Even Japan, the politically reserved and
conservative state, issued statements demanding al-Assad's instant departure. In
fact, the necessity and inevitability of the departure of the bloody al-Assad
regime has achieved a faster and more significant international consensus than
the mobility the world garnered in its confrontation with the vengeful Muammar
Gaddafi of Libya.
Amidst such mobility, an odd incident occurred in Israel at the hands of an
anonymous group from Gaza, who carried out an attack in the Israeli town of
Eilat, from Egyptian soil. Armed Palestinian troops, as every one knows, are
affiliates of Syria, and mobilizing them at this particular time is reminiscent
of when former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein fired 'Scud' missiles on Israel,
in a last-minute act of "resistance". Today, we see the drowning Syrian regime
teetering on the brink, in the same manner as the Titanic ship when it crashed
against an iceberg and was flooded with enormous amounts of water. At the time,
the passengers in the upper decks were completely oblivious to what was going on
underneath, and continued to emphatically deny the situation until the ship sank
and lay at the bottom of the ocean.
The Syrian regime's last-minute resistance is intended to reshuffle the cards
and involve a major Arab state like Egypt, to make it adopt a neutral position
and preoccupy the public with the Israeli issue. Israel is a criminal state with
a black record full of assassinations and violations of regulations, laws and
treaties, yet the Syrian regime has surpassed Israel in terms of the crimes it
has committed against its own people, something which history cannot even
document the full extent. There is no room today to support Bashar al-Assad, or
remain silent about the crimes of his regime. Today, after ambassadors were
recalled from Syria, free countries are obligated to expel their Syrian
delegates and representatives from whatever institutions present on their soil.
The international community's consensus on al-Assad's departure, and the
widespread demonstrations inside Syria, in terms of both quality and quantity,
emphasize that the demand to topple a regime that lost its legitimacy and
humanity, two characteristics it never had in the first place, was indeed a fair
and a moral one. What is astonishing is that the Syrian issue and the need to
support the Syrian revolution have become public demands in the Arab world. In
mosques, people pray to God in support of the revolutionaries, donations, either
financial or in kind, continue to be made, aid is on the rise, and pressures are
being mounted on governments to besiege the Syrian government and expose its
crimes without leniency. The Syrian revolution's poet, Ibrahim Qashoosh, who was
slaughtered by the bloodthirsty Syrian regime when his throat was slit and his
body was thrown into al-Assi River, once sang "Now leave Bashar." Now the entire
world is repeating the same song after the issue transformed into a global
political cause. We must put an end to a regime that has brought shame and
embarrassment to the world, and now is the time for it to go.
The world after Gaddafi
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat,
It would be wrong to simplify the political earthquake that is taking place in
our region to the events of 2011 alone, or to what is being described as the
Arab Spring. What is happening in the region is much bigger and has been going
on for much longer, in the eyes of those who are looking at the bigger picture
in our region. In fact, it has been ongoing for many years, and the events are
numerous.
Our region has witnessed several events over recent years that indicated that
many Arab regimes were coming to an end, and could not survive any longer. Those
regimes did not uphold the concept of the state, construction or development
even at the lowest degree; rather these regimes remained in power outside of the
law and without any respect for their citizens. They are regimes that survived
using false slogans and childish tricks both internally and externally. That is
why we say that those who examine the bigger picture closely will not be
surprised by what is happening around them, or by what is coming.
In less than ten years this part of the world has witnessed an explosion of
terrorism in our states, the fall of an Arab regime in Iraq as a result of a
foreign occupier, and the partition of Sudan, not to mention its internal
conflicts. It has also witnessed inter-Palestinian division, two wars with
Israel within two or three years in Lebanon and Gaza. This is not to mention the
assassinations, Hezbollah's occupation of Beirut, and brazen Iranian
interference in most of our Arab countries. All of those events did not lead to
internal political adjustments in most of our Arab countries, nor did they lead
to a review of the Arab regime as a whole. Therefore, without going into
details, in 2011 everything came to a head.
This year Zine al Abidine Ben Ali fell from power followed by Hosni Mubarak.
Today it is the turn of Gaddafi, who will be the third leader to fall this year,
and the fourth over recent years if we include Saddam Hussein. Of course there
is still Abdullah Saleh in Yemen, and Bashar al Assad in Syria, both of whom are
strong candidates to fall from power for several reasons, the most important of
which is that very few people in our region are actually learning their lesson.
Furthermore Gaddafi's fall will free the international community from many
commitments, or let us say a great headache, especially as there is a certain
bias when it comes to analysing the situation in Libya. For example it was
always said that liberating Libya would be a long operation and that military
action would not be feasible; the proof being that the Libyan operation lasted
six months. Yet what everyone forgot is that Gaddafi ruled Libya for 42 years,
so how could he fall within days? The same thing applies to Syria, where the
ruling system is based on sectarianism and nepotism, and there is Yemen which is
ruled by one individual and his sons, not to mention the duration in which the
Syrian and Yemeni regimes have been in power.
Therefore with the fall of Gaddafi about to take place at any moment, this will
mean that the world will be a much better place without the Colonel, his regime
and his sons. It also means that our region has begun to get rid of its leaders
and regimes that brought nothing but destruction and devastation to the region
and hampered development. Furthermore it means that the international community
will be in a better position to deal with Yemen and Syria, even if the situation
in Sanaa is still better than the situation in Damascus, as long as Saleh is
still in Saudi Arabia, which indicates that some kind of deal can be reached at
any time.
What is important is that our region learns from what has happened and is still
happening, and that those who are influential play a vital and leading role,
especially as there are those in our region who will have a role to fulfil in
the event of Gaddafi falling.
Is the Arab Spring coming back to Lebanon?
Hanin Ghaddar, August 22, 2011
More Lebanese need to come together in support of the Syrian opposition, as
hundreds did in Martyrs Square on August 8. (AFP photo/Anwar Amro)
The Syrian people are resisting a well-armed dictator who is backed by Iran and
Hezbollah. Many in Lebanon are also resisting a well-armed dictator, one who is
backed by Syria and Iran. The difference is that the Lebanese are followers who
believe their leaders can still function as the opposition, while the Syrians
have broken the chains of fear and have, once and for all, decided to act.
While the Arab street is confronting tyranny and paying a huge price for
freedom, Lebanon seems to be on another planet. No one is willing to pay any
price anymore to maintain the last shred of dignity Lebanese had. We took
everything for granted and forgot that freedom is not a given, but needs to be
earned.
Between 2005 and 2008, scores of Lebanese sacrificed their lives to achieve
freedom and democracy. But today, it feels like the Cedar Revolution happened
decades ago. Samir Kassir died in a car bomb explosion in 2006, hoping for the
2005 Independence Intifada to spread to the region. The author of “The Dream of
Change” believed that "The Arab Spring, when it blossoms in Beirut, declares the
time of roses in Damascus.”
Kassir’s words did not leave me. They haunt me with a bitterness mixed with
hope. I feel bitterness because we failed ourselves and those who sacrificed for
us. I feel bitterness because despite the fact that the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon unsealed the indictment, we are still waiting for a miracle to happen
instead of acting. But hope remains, because Lebanon, no matter how
insignificant or helpless it feels today, cannot remain like this. We just have
to reverse Kassir's dream; maybe when spring blooms in Damascus it will spread
to Beirut.
Last week, Time magazine published an interview with one of the four suspects in
the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri. The man said that he is in
Lebanon and that the Lebanese government knows his whereabouts, but will not
arrest him. Hezbollah refuted the interview, and March 14 politicians said it
shows that Najib Mikati's government is covering for Hezbollah to help the party
escape international justice.
That’s it. Nothing but statements that will lead nowhere, while Hezbollah has
taken the country and its citizens hostage since it collapsed the government in
January. Why is it a surprise that a suspect in Hariri's assassination feels
free to say that no one, not even the Lebanese government, can arrest him and
bring him to justice? Were we seriously expecting this government to look for
the suspects? The real surprise is that no one seems to care anymore, and that
statements are the only tool the opposition is capable of using.
Hezbollah has turned Lebanon into a joke, a silly one at that. It should be
outrageous to us that Lebanon was the only country on the Security Council that
dissociated itself from the statement condemning the Syrian regime's brutal
crackdown against the protesters there. It should be outrageous to us that when
Lebanese demonstrated in front of the Syrian Embassy in Beirut, they got
attacked by thugs, and that nobody protected them. It should be outrageous to us
that these thugs are still walking freely in Hamra today, intimidating anyone
who dares voice any kind of support for the Syrian people's freedom. It should
be outrageous to us that Hamra has stopped being a free space where people can
voice their opinions and is now a headquarters for Hezbollah's ally, the Syrian
Social Nationalist Party.
All because too many compromises were made, from the infamous former national
unity government, to the national dialogue and the Saudi-Syrian deal over
Lebanon's ties to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Too many compromises turned
Lebanon into a country that has no respect for itself or its citizens.
Is it too late for us to join the Arab Spring? There might be a chance if we
could break the chains imposed on us by Hezbollah and by March 14's cowardice
and incapacity to take bold initiatives.
Two months before he was murdered, Kassir wrote, “Comrades in opposition [March
14] new or old, go to the streets. You will hear the people’s concerns, and you
will hear an urgent call for another kind of revolution, a revolution against
the self, that will open the end of the Baath regime’s hegemony in Lebanon to
the horizons of a modern state, a state for citizens, not a state for
followers.”
Maybe it is not too late. If March 14 is too afraid to take the initiative, or
has got their hands tied, the people, who are free from political calculations,
should be able to do it for themselves.
If there were more protesters in front of the Syrian Embassy, the thugs would
have hesitated before attacking them. And while the Lebanese government is
responsible for protecting protesters, their fellow citizens should have joined
in to boost their numbers.
The demands of the Lebanese, as divided as we are, might be too diverse for us
to gather. But we must look for a connection, for it cannot be more urgent. For
the first time in years, Lebanese from opposing camps gathered in the same
space, Martyrs Square, earlier this month to voice support for the Syrian
people. They weren't many, but they were there. The Syrian uprising should be
motivation for the Lebanese, at least those who truly aspire for freedom beyond
political divisions and calculations, to come together.
That is the only true cause now. The STL will take its course with or without
us, but if we lose our will for freedom, we will lose ourselves. We need to hang
on to the breeze of freedom coming from Syria, or else we will never forgive
ourselves. We are not allowed to lose hope. If we do, then we deserve to remain
in chains.
*Hanin Ghaddar is managing editor of NOW Lebanon.
Bashar al-Assad, Sunday's Speech
August 21, 2011
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday scoffed at Western calls to quit over
his deadly crackdown on dissent, as a UN humanitarian team visited Syria and the
Red Cross hoped to send a mission. Assad's television appearance was his first
since June 20, and only his fourth since the start of pro-democracy
demonstrations in mid-March, and came after several world leaders urged him to
quit.
“The increase or decrease of security actions does not show that the situation
improved or worsened. The political aspect is what is essential.
What is also important is that we know where we stand and what are the motives
that have preceded these events. [The important issue is that] we know how to
deal with them later.
Overthrowing Syria is what was desired in the first weeks. The Syrian people
protected Syria.
The current security situation has recently turned into armed action,
represented by attacks on police, army and security forces, as well as by
ambushing military or public transportation buses.
Lately we have been successful on the security level; we will not announce our
accomplishments now.
All I can say is that the security situation is better.
Security is not left to choice, yet politics is. There is a need to maintain
security. Let us be accurate and clear. The solution in Syria is political, if
not, we would not have [agreed to] carry out reforms.
The political solution cannot prevail without maintaining security. This is the
state’s duty.
The Baath Party’s leadership held meetings. We discussed points of view and how
to improve the party’s work.
Part of the laws were issued. We find ourselves in a transitional phase.
There will be elections and the constitution will be revised. This stage is
critical and the most important thing is resuming dialogue.
By Thursday this week we will [announce] the commission in charge of the
parties, which includes the interior minister, a judge and three independent
figures. This committee will be [in charge of] accepting parties’ applications.
The electoral law will be ready too. It is linked to the parties’ law and the
local administration law which will be issued in the coming days.
I have noticed that the youth feels marginalized and this causes depression. If
the young people are unhappy, it means that energy in the country [is
decreasing].
We have agreed to issue three laws. The law cancelling the emergency state, the
electoral law and the parties’ law. Whoever wants to form a party can submit an
application to the [relevant] committee.
Elections for the local administration positions are to be held in December.
The media law is supposed to be issued before the end of the holy month of
Ramadan.
Elections for the People’s Council will be held in February 2012.
This package will be the end of reforms.
I visited Hasaka in 2002. During my meeting with figures there, including Kurds,
we addressed the nationality issue. I told them then that this issue must be
resolved since it is a humanitarian matter.
This subject was suggested in 2002. The Kurds are part of the Syrian fabric.
All those who made mistakes will be punished. Some have already been punished.
Anyone involved in a crime against a Syrian citizen will be held accountable.
The western colonial powers do not want reforms. They only want you to give them
what they want, to give up resistance. This is something that they should not
even dream of, under no circumstances.
[Commenting on US President Barack Obama’s demand that he steps down:] Such a
statement cannot be said to a president who does not care about his position; it
cannot be said to a president who was elected by those Syrian people who support
the resistance.
Syria’s relation with the West can be described as a struggle for sovereignty.
We hold on to our sovereignty.
Throughout time they have been trying to interfere in Syrian domestic affairs,
and we always confirmed that Syria’s sovereignty cannot be [harmed].
The repercussions of military action against Syria are lot larger than they can
handle. We have to differentiate between psychological war and facts.
We have to put fear aside and move forward. We should not forget that those
countries are weak. We were not compliant when those countries were strong, why
should we be submissive today?
During the past two months the economic situation has started to recover. We
have self-sufficiency. It is out of the question that Syria will starve, like
[some] say.
Any blockade on Syria will harm other countries.
[Asked about Turkey:] We always meet with officials from different countries. We
are not embarrassed to talk to them about domestic issues, but when it comes to
decisions, we do not allow any country, whether close or not, to interfere.
If the statements of the Turkish officials come out of concern, we thank them.
If [Turkey] wants to play the role of guide, then we reject.
We will not allow any country to interfere in our affairs. Based on their
intentions, we deal with each country differently.
Media must play a major role in the next phase. It must be objective. There will
be many obstacles in the transitional phase and media’s role will be very
important.
The official media in Syria has [improved] over the last two months.
When we say that Syria has emerged stronger…it means that the Syrian people are
the ones who emerged stronger.