LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِJuly
06/2011
Bible Quotation for today
Psalm 8/1-9:
"Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in
all the earth, who has set your glory above the heavens! From the lips of babes
and infants you have established strength, because of your adversaries, that you
might silence the enemy and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work
of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained; what is man,
that you think of him? What is the son of man, that you care for him? For you
have made him a little lower than God, and crowned him with glory and honor. You
make him ruler over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his
feet: All sheep and cattle, yes, and the animals of the field, The birds of the
sky, the fish of the sea, and whatever passes through the paths of the seas. 8:9
Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! "
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
Two Christian Girls
Disappear From State Care Home in Egypt/AINA/July
05/11
Tall talk ahead/Daily Star
editorial/July 05/11
Isolationist America? Not
quite/Hussein Ibish/July 5/11
Utter humiliation/Now Lebanon/July
05/11
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for July 05/11
The STL is a thing of the past:
Hezbollah/The Daily Star
STL prosecutor defends his staff’s
integrity/The Daily Star
Bellemare: STL welcomes Hezbollah’s
input/The Daily Star
Nasrallah: STL Can’t Stand in the
Way of Those Who Made History with Their Resistance/Naharnet
Hizbullah Unveils New Documents on
Alleged Transfer of IT Equipment to Israel/Naharnet
Lebanon Parliament discusses
Cabinet policy statement/The Daily Star
Lawyer and family survive shooting
at Sidon home/The Daily Star
Jumblatt urges rivals to prioritize
stability/The Daily Star
Mass celebrates poet Said Akl on
the occasion of his 100th birthday/The Daily Star
Future’s Majdalani, Hobeish voice
their disapproval over ministerial statement/Now Lebanon
Houri says opposition will be “firm
and decisive”/Now Lebanon
Hamadeh calls on Mikati to change
STL article in ministerial statement/Now Lebanon
MP. Marwan Hamadeh: We Demand that
STL Clause in Policy Statement Be Immediately Amended/Naharnet
Ban Praises Miqati’s Commitment to
International Resolutions/Naharnet
Parliament Session Kicks off as
March 8, 14 are Expected to Rattle Sabers Over STL Clause/Naharnet
Mustaqbal MPs: Cabinet Pointed its
Sword at International Community/Naharnet
Army Out in Force to Preserve
Stability During Parliamentary Sessions/Naharnet
Assad delays Hama crackdown to
sustain US-Turkish plan for his survival/DEBKA file
Tanks surround Syrian city of Hama
after protests/The Daily Star
Hama determined to keep out Syria
army, activists say/Now Lebanon
STL prosecutor defends his staff’s
integrity
July 05, 2011 /By Patrick Galey/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The prosecutor of the U.N.-backed court investigating the assassination
of statesman Rafik Hariri has hit back at accusations made by Hezbollah that the
tribunal was an “American-Israeli” conspiracy. In a statement Monday, Special
Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, who handed down his first
indictment last week, defended the integrity of his staff. “The staff of the
[office of the prosecutor has] been recruited on the basis of their
professionalism, impartiality and expertise, and I have full confidence in their
strong commitment to finding the truth,” Bellemare said. In a televised address
Saturday evening, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah accused STL
investigators of bias and corruption, pointing out that several individuals who
worked for the court were former CIA operatives that had previously targeted
members of the resistance.
“The staff of the [office of the prosecutor] act independently and in good faith
in their search for the truth,” Bellemare said Monday.
In his first indictment, which authorities in Beirut received Thursday,
Bellemare named four Hezbollah members in arrest warrants, judicial sources
said.
Hezbollah has long called for a Lebanese boycott of the court, which Nasrallah
has referred to as “an Israeli project.” He vowed that authorities would be
unable to apprehend Hezbollah operatives named in the indictment. Nasrallah also
accused the court of ignoring “evidence” gathered by Hezbollah suggesting Israel
was involved in the crime, which killed Hariri and 22 others on Feb. 14, 2005. A
court release said that Bellemare would welcome any information from Hezbollah:
“The prosecutor welcomes Mr. Nasrallah’s offer to provide the file that he
stated he has on some elements of the investigation and requests the video
material that was shown on television during his televised statement, as well as
any other information and documents that would assist the tribunal in its
ongoing pursuit of justice.” Nasrallah accused the court, along with the U.N.’s
initial probe into the assassination, of demonstrating bias by holding four
pro-Syrian generals for four years, without charge, before Bellemare ordered
their release following the STL’s inception in 2009.
Bellemare dismissed the claim, saying that the men’s release “demonstrated that
when [the prosecutor] is not satisfied with the credibility or reliability of
the evidence he will not hesitate to reject it.” In a leaked internal court memo
sent by STL President Antonio Cassese and seen by The Daily Star, the Italian
judge told staff that he was sorry for the tribunal’s inability to defend itself
from criticism. Bellemare said that a fair trial was the best way to respond to
those who disparaged the operation. “The prosecutor will not engage in a public
debate in the media about the credibility of his investigation or of the
investigative process. This is a judicial process and should be treated as such.
In this context, the proper forum to challenge the investigation or the evidence
gathered as a result, is in open court during a trial that will fully comply
with international standards,” the statement from his office said.
Lebanon is obliged under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1757 to cooperate with
the STL. The Cabinet policy statement, finalized in the wake of the indictment,
fell short of explicitly guaranteeing Lebanon will continue to help the court.
Bellemare: STL welcomes Hezbollah’s input
July 04, 2011 /The Daily Star
Bellemare welcomed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s offer to provide
footage Nasrallah showed during his televised speech Saturday night.
BEIRUT: The Special Tribunal for Lebanon prosecutor Monday invited Hezbollah
leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah to provide any evidence the party has that would
assist the tribunal.
Daniel Bellemare was responding to claims made Saturday by Nasrallah that the
court is corrupt and has ignored evidence the party has over the 2005
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The tribunal’s staff “have
been recruited on the basis of their professionalism, impartiality and
expertise, and I have full confidence in their strong commitment to finding the
truth,” Bellemare said in the statement on the STL’s website. Bellemare welcomed
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s offer to provide footage Nasrallah
showed during his televised speech Saturday night purporting to prove that the
prosecutor has links to the CIA and to Israeli intelligence.
He also welcomed the “offer to provide the file that he stated he has on some
elements of the investigation and … any other information and documents that
would assist the Tribunal in its ongoing pursuit of justice.” Nasrallah has
previously claimed to have possession of evidence linking Israel to the
assassination, and has accused the tribunal of being an American-Israeli
conspiracy. The tribunal last week handed over a sealed indictment with arrest
warrants for four Hezbollah members.
In his speech Saturday, the Hezbollah leader said one of Bellemare’s most
important advisers was a senior CIA officer who worked in Lebanon for 10 or 15
years trying to hunt down Hezbollah’s slain military chief Imad Mughniyeh, who
was killed in a bomb explosion in Syria in February 2008. “The investigation is
carried out according to the highest standards of international justice and its
results are based solely on facts and credible evidence,” Bellemare’s statement
said. In the statement, Bellemare said the decision to release the four former
pro-Syrian Lebanese generals arrested in 2005 and held without charge for four
years proved that when he is “not satisfied with the credibility or reliability
of the evidence he will not hesitate to reject it,” adding that Pre-trial Judge
Daniel Fransen had been satisfied that there was sufficient evidence in the 28
June indictment to send the four accused Hezbollah members to trial.
Bellemare’s statement went on to say that “the proper forum to challenge the
investigation or the evidence gathered as a result, is in open court during a
trial that will fully comply with international standards.”
The STL is a thing of the past: Hezbollah
July 04, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is now a thing of the past, Hezbollah
deputy leader Sheik Naim Qassem said Monday, adding that the March 14 coalition
should reevaluate its policies as they could only harm the country. “The
resistance, which has left a mark on history and the present, will not be
hindered by the Israeli-American project – the so-called tribunal – which is now
behind us, and there is no going back,” Qassem said during a ceremony
commemorating the passing of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, echoing previous
comments by Hezbollah and its allies in the March 8 alliance that the
U.N.-backed court is an American-Israeli project aimed at targeting the
resistance.
Addressing March 14, Qassem said: “Reconsider your policies which drove you out
of power with the will of the people … reevaluate your choices because this path
will harm Lebanon and it will especially harm you.” “Do you believe that the
Israeli-American path will benefit you?” he added.
Qassem also described the Shiite-Sunni divide as merely a political one, adding
that the incitement of sectarian conflict would only the serve the interests of
Israel and the U.S.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri also gave a speech during the ceremony, which
marked the first anniversary of the death of the influential Shiite sheikh.
Berri reiterated Qasem’s criticism of the STL, saying it was a tool to increase
political and sectarian tensions in the country.
“We support the position of the Cabinet regarding the indictment and the
tribunal according to the policy statement,” he added.
The Cabinet’s policy statement stipulates that the government will follow the
progress of the tribunal and that Lebanon respects international resolutions.
However, the clause has been criticized by the March 14 coalition as being
vaguely worded and failing to spell out Lebanon’s commitment to the tribunal
probing the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. “We
confirm principles that preserve Lebanon and its unity and our rejection of
sectarian violence … there is a difference between a sect and sectarianism,”
Berri said.
The speaker also said that Lebanon should work with the U.N., in the form of the
U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, to demarcate the country’s maritime borders and
thereby take advantage of its rich maritime resources, and described any Israeli
attempts to use the disputed resource as a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
Berri emphasized the need to pursue an intra-Muslim dialogue in order to resolve
political divisions, accusing Israel of attempting to create a split between
Sunnis and Shiites.
Hizbullah Unveils New Documents on Alleged Transfer of IT Equipment to Israel
Naharnet /Hizbullah has provided alleged proof and further details on documents
revealing that U.N. investigators have transferred IT equipment to Israel
through a loaded container.
On Saturday, al-Manar TV showed a document that the investigators probing
ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination allegedly transferred the equipment when
they moved their staff to the Netherlands in 2009. This Monday, the Shiite party
gave details on two more documents, with one asking for an exemption from
Israeli taxes. The document was filled by Miho Hirose, a manager at UNTSO in
Jerusalem, Hizbullah said. It added that Israeli authorities had signed on the
document to exempt the cargo loaded in container number 290530/6 from the taxes.
The other document unveiled to the media by Hizbullah is of a manifesto
detailing the goods inside the container. It includes 77 desktop computers, 20
laptops and other IT equipment.
The party said that it released the information after doubts that the document
showed on al-Manar on Saturday about the alleged transfer was fake or had no
legal basis.
According to Hizbullah’s statement on Monday, Israel could have benefited from
the transfer to copy the information inside the computers.
The info includes in addition to other things details about witnesses, the
structure of the commission investigating Hariri’s Feb. 2005 murder and all
telecommunications data in Lebanon since 2002. Hizbullah said that Israel could
have also retrieved information deleted from the equipment and planted programs
or viruses that could damage or destroy networks that these computers would be
linked with. Such moves would allow Israel to use the information in its
military and security projects and distort the investigation into Hariri’s
murder, the party added.
Nasrallah: STL Can’t Stand in the Way of Those Who Made History with Their
Resistance
Naharnet /Those who have made history through their resistance and jihad against
Israel “will not be impeded by the U.S.-Israeli conspiracy of the so-called
(Special) Tribunal (for Lebanon), which has become behind us,” Hizbullah chief
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Monday in a speech recited by his deputy, Sheikh
Naim Qassem.
Addressing the rival March 14 forces, Nasrallah said: “Evaluate your policies
which drove you out of power … and does power deserve that you incite sedition
in order to recapture it?”
“And do you believe that the Israeli and American path will benefit you?” Qassem
quoted Nasrallah as saying, at a ceremony commemorating late Shiite cleric
Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah. “Experience has proven that the (U.N.)
Security Council’s resolutions against Israel have been aimed at red herring and
that resistance … led to kicking Israel out of Lebanon in a humiliating manner,”
Qassem added, quoting Nasrallah
Tall talk ahead
July 05, 2011/By Daily Star Editorial
The Daily Star
Three days have been set aside for Lebanon’s legislature to debate the policy
statement of the government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
During these three days, there will be wall-to-wall media coverage of the
proceedings, broadcast live on television. In the run-up to the debate, the
government’s circles have let it be known that they intend to win the vote of
confidence and press ahead, no matter what the opposition says or does.
Meanwhile, the opposition, led by the March 14 coalition, has laid down its red
line, namely that the government must explicitly commit itself to honoring the
country’s international commitments. The opposition says that if this doesn’t
take place, it will rely on the world’s help to bring down a government that
looks set to take Lebanon in the direction of being a rogue state, which flouts
the will of the international community. Neither position, however, will end up
taking the country in a reassuring direction. As MPs debate the policy statement
of the government, the public will be subjected to speech after speech, in which
these principles and lofty goals are put forward. The government is mistaken if
it thinks that it has carte blanche to ignore the wishes of around half of the
population; if it truly thinks it can evade its commitment to, for example, the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon. If it has authored a coherent strategy for doing
so, it will need to spell out, to an anxious public, exactly how this policy
will be carried out, and what the possible costs and benefits will be for
Lebanon.
The opposition, meanwhile, can expect that the international community will
sympathize with its stance. But this sympathy might not be translated into a set
of actions that will make the situation any better. If foreign countries
intervene and try to shape events in Lebanon, they will not do so due to moral
considerations; they have certain interests at stake, and will act based on
these interests, and not necessarily in the interests of people here. The
government, according to every calculation, is going to win the vote of
confidence. The opposition is demanding the downfall of this government, but
this looks unlikely. Both sides should realize that no dramatic developments are
likely to come out of the debate over the policy statement; when the debate
ends, Lebanon will have the same government, and the same opposition, that it
did at the beginning of talkfest.
People will see a torrent of reactions, and counter-reactions during the policy
debate, as MPs seek to use the event to score points with the public. But a
series of reactions and counter-reactions don’t add up to what the country needs
most today, which is a policy agenda, which is feasible, smart and communicated
effectively to the public.
Actually, two agendas: one by the government, and one by the opposition.
Lebanon Parliament discusses Cabinet policy statement
July 05, 2011 /The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Parliament began Tuesday discussing the policy statement of
Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s recently formed government, which the opposition
has dubbed as “Hezbollah’s Cabinet.” “The people are fed up with slogans and
want actions. This is what today we pledge to this honorable assembly that we
look forward to cooperating with,” Mikati said after reading the 26-page
ministerial statement of his recently formed Cabinet. The session is widely
expected to be a heated one between lawmakers from the rival March 8 and March
14 camps over the controversial article dealing with the U.N.-backed court in
the assassination of statesman Rafik Hariri.
Mikati’s Cabinet approved the ministerial statement Thursday, the same day that
a delegation from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon handed Lebanon's state
prosecutor indictments and arrest warrants against four members of Hezbollah.
The article dealing with the STL in Mikati’s policy statement has sparked a war
of words between the rival March 8 and March 14 coalitions. Mikati Monday
slammed an ultimatum by the March 14 alliance Sunday to either commit to the
U.N.-backed court or quit, accusing the March 14 camp of “sabotaging the
nation.” The Future Movement, the pillar of the March 14 coalition, accused
Mikati soon after of following the "the words of his guardians,” in a clear
reference to Hezbollah.
Launching the March 14 position on the new government’s policy statement, MP
Marwan Hamadeh said: “We urge Mikati to amend his position on the policy
statement article dealing with STL and instead use the text from the Doha
Agreement.” “Is there no room for justice for those who shed their blood for
their country?” Hamade asked.
“Your friend [Rafik Hariri] was not simply killed, but he was assassinated by 2
tons of explosives,” Hamadeh said, addressing Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
“Those behind the ugliest crime are about to be uncovered, so why is the STL
being so fiercely attacked?” MP Tamam Salam, the country’s former culture
minister under Mikati’s predecessor, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, said
that division in the country would increase enmity between rival political
groups. “Time will prove that ambiguous wording in the policy statement will not
stand up when there’s division between the Cabinet members.” Some 106 lawmakers
attended the 128-member Parliament.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the session, which could last all day
Tuesday, Mikati said that the general mood in Parliament was positive and that
“opinions for or against our position will give us momentum to face all local
pending challenges.” Describing Mikati’s government as “illegitimate,” MP Hadi
Hobeish, a member of the Future Movement, accused the Hezbollah-dominated March
8 of seeking to dominate and reshape Lebanon away from democratic principles.
“The problem is that they [March 8 coalition] are against the logic of democracy
and seek to recreate a country dominated by one party with the aim of changing
the country’s system of governance,” Hobeish said. “We are here today not to
give confidence to the possession of arms that has already lost people’s trust
and we will not give legitimacy to a Cabinet that was formed illegitimately,”
Hobeish said. He also said that the policy statement, which did not mention
Hezbollah’s weapons, had given legitimacy to regular citizens to carry arms.
“The role of the state and its army is to preserve civil peace,” he said,
adding: “If the legitimate forces are incapable of protecting the people and the
country, how is it expected to preserve civil peace?” “We stand today to say to
this Cabinet … no vote of confidence, no vote confidence, no vote of
confidence,” Hobeish said.
More to follow ...
Lawyer and family survive shooting at Sidon home
July 05, 2011 /By Mohammed Zaatari/ The Daily Star /SIDON: A Lebanese lawyer,
his wife, and their two young daughters survived a shooting at their home near
the southern port city of Sidon Tuesday, a security source said. The source
identified the attorney as 40-year-old Salem Sleem, his wife, Nissrine, and
their two daughters – Sandra, 6, and Serena, 2.
The source told The Daily Star the family “miraculously survived” the shooting
which took place at dawn Tuesday. Bullet casings littered the floor of the
children’s bedroom in the family home on the outskirts of the village of
Sarafand, south of Sidon Tuesday morning. Police said the attackers had used
automatic rifles. The motive behind the attack was unclear Tuesday. Sleem told
The Daily Star he could not rule out a link between it and a 1999 incident in
which he was the only witness to the assassination of four Lebanese judges in a
Sidon court. According to The Daily Star’s security source, a hearing is shortly
to be held over that incident. The four judges – magistrates Hassan Othman,
Walid Harmoush, Assem Bou Daher and Imad Shehab – were shot dead by two gunmen
during a session of the trial of two Iraqis and a Palestinian at the South
Lebanon Criminal Court at the old Justice Palace in Sidon. On June 8, on the
12th anniversary of the assassination, Sleem criticized the court for not
calling him as a witness in the case.
Hamadeh calls on Mikati to change STL article in ministerial statement
July 5, 2011 /Now Lebanon/The March 14 alliance’s MP Marwan Hamadeh on Tuesday
called on Prime Minister Najib Mikati to abandon the article pertaining to the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in the ministerial statement and “use the
[article] form of the Doha Agreement.” “Former PM Rafik Hariri was not
assassinated ‘in principle’ but with two tons of explosives,” Hamadeh said
during parliament’s first session to discuss the political program of the
newly-formed cabinet. Mikati on Thursday unveiled his government's program,
which includes a vague clause saying Lebanon would respect international
resolutions as long as they did not threaten civil peace or stability in
Lebanon.
“The STL is not anyone’s enemy, it is the way to save Lebanon from violence and
crime,” said Hamadeh. He also said that while the “Arab world – the Syrian
people in particular – are revolting against dictatorships, [Mikati’s] cabinet
will lean toward transforming the parliament to a political system of a
[dictator].”
He addressed figures of the March 8 coalition telling them to accept the
UN-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 murder of Rafik Hariri in order to
achieve justice in the country.
MPs will meet on July 5, 6 and 7 to discuss the ministerial statement, which has
yet to be granted the parliament’s vote of confidence.
March 14 leaders, MPs and figures met on Sunday night at Le Bristol Hotel and
issued a statement launching the national opposition that aims to bring down
Mikati’s cabinet unless the latter voices his adherence to UN Security Council
Resolution 1757, upon which the international tribunal was founded.
The STL on Thursday handed Lebanon's Attorney General Said Mirza arrest warrants
for four members of the Iranian-and Syrian-backed Hezbollah in connection to the
2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri. However, Hezbollah General Secretary Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday said he would never hand over the four, adding the
Netherlands-based court was heading for a trial in absentia.-NOW Lebanon
Hamadeh: We Demand that STL Clause in Policy Statement Be Immediately Amended
Naharnet/March 14 MP Marwan Hamadeh demanded on Tuesday Prime Minister Najib
Miqati to amend the clause on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the government
policy statement and return to the national charter and the Doha Accord. He said
during the parliament session aimed at discussing the government’s policy
statement: “The term of ‘in principle’ should be dropped from the statement
because it means that the truth will be abandoned.” “No, PM Miqati, your friend
[former Premier Rafik Hariri] was not killed ‘in principle’ but he was
assassinated by explosives. Those behind the ugliest crime are about to be
uncovered, so why is the STL being so fiercely attacked?” the MP wondered.
“We don’t wish anyone harm, but we want security and justice away from the
rhetoric of treason,” he added. “We’re not here to question anyone but the
cabinet and its visible leaders and actual ones,” he remarked. “Isn’t justice
owed to the martyrs as the policy statement has only voiced initial support to
the STL?” asked the opposition MP.
“We’re worried about Lebanon because it is being taken to where the Arabs are
escaping from and being led to the rule of the party of weapons,” Hamadeh
stated.
Addressing Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the MP said: “All we are
looking forward to is jointly forming a special tribunal for Palestine and all
the occupied Lebanese and Syrian territories so we can restore them.” Turning to
PSP leader and former ally MP Walid Jumblat: “The STL did not protect your
father Kamal, but it did protect you when you became a target for
assassination.” “The STL isn’t anyone’s enemy, it is your ally to extract
Lebanon from the claws of crime,” Hamadeh stressed.
Future’s Majdalani, Hobeish voice their disapproval over ministerial statement
July 5, 2011 /Now Lebanon/Future bloc MP Atef Majdalani questioned the
credibility of the March 8 coalition, of which the cabinet is comprised.
“How can the MPs discuss the ministerial statement while the group dominating
the government has lost its credibility, does not respect its commitments and
has intimidated [people] with its weapons?” he asked during the parliament’s
first session to discuss the political program of the newly-formed cabinet
headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati. “The ministerial statement threatens,
intimidates and warns against dealing with international justice,” Majdalani
added. The MP also said “our majority is generated from the people, whereas your
majority [March 8] is generated from [using] your weapons against people.”
Future bloc MP Hadi Hobeish also delivered an address during Tuesday’s
parliamentary session, saying, “This government is against the international
community and is going to exclude [Lebanon] from the Arab [community].” Hobeish
asked Mikati about his intentions in replacing the expression “cooperating with
the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)” with the expression “following its work”
in the ministerial statement. He also questioned the security forces’ ability to
preserve stability in the presence of non-state arms, referring to the weapons
of the Shia group Hezbollah. MPs will meet on July 5, 6 and 7 to discuss
the ministerial statement, which has yet to be granted the parliament’s vote of
confidence.
March 14 leaders, MPs and figures met on Sunday night at Le Bristol Hotel and
issued a statement launching the national opposition that aims to bring down
Mikati’s cabinet unless the latter voices his adherence to UN Security Council
Resolution 1757, upon which the international tribunal was founded. The STL on
Thursday handed Lebanon's Attorney General Said Mirza arrest warrants for four
members of the Iranian-and Syrian-backed Hezbollah in connection to the 2005
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. However, Hezbollah General
Secretary Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday said he would never hand over the
four, adding the Netherlands-based court was heading for a trial in
absentia.-NOW Lebanon
Houri says opposition will be “firm and decisive”
July 5, 2011 /Noe Lebanon/Future bloc MP Ammar Houri said on Tuesday that the
March 14 alliance’s position during this week’s parliamentary sessions to
discuss the political program of the newly-formed cabinet will be “firm and
decisive.”He told LBC television that he wished the ministerial statement of the
new government – headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati – had committed to UN
Security Council Resolution 1757, upon which the UN-backed international
tribunal was founded. MPs will meet on July 5, 6 and 7 to discuss the
ministerial statement, which has yet to be granted the parliament’s vote of
confidence. March 14 leaders, MPs and figures met on Sunday night at Le Bristol
Hotel and issued a statement launching the national opposition that aims to
bring down Mikati’s cabinet unless the latter voices his adherence to the
UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).
The STL on Thursday handed Lebanon's Attorney General Said Mirza arrest warrants
for four members of the Iranian-and Syrian-backed Hezbollah in connection to the
2005 assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri. However, Hezbollah General
Secretary Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday said he would never hand over the
four, adding the Netherlands-based court was heading for a trial in
absentia.-NOW Lebanon
Mass celebrates poet Said Akl on the occasion of his 100th birthday
July 05, 2011/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Lebanese poet and writer Said Akl was
honored on his 100th birthday during an official mass in Bkirki Monday. During
the service, President of Notre Dame University-Louaize, Father Walid Moussa,
said that students and faculty at NDU were proud to have been influenced by Akl.
“Our students are the students of Said Akl, our professors have been blessed by
being Akl’s colleagues and our priests have been praying to keep Akl the beacon
of their faith,” said Moussa. Moussa described the mass as a unique opportunity
to honor a prominent writer’s 100th birthday. “It’s a unique phenomenon to have
Akl celebrate his 100th birthday … I do not know and I have not read about a
writer who lived 100 years and kept his grace,” he said. According to Moussa,
Akl’s creative work does not belong to a city, family or a group of people, but
to Lebanon and humanity.
Born in 1911 in the Bekaa town of Zahle, Akl, a staunch advocate of Lebanese
nationalism and the Lebanese language, is the most prominent modern Lebanese
poet.
After publishing his first theatrical work in Arabic in 1935, Akl wrote plays,
epics, song lyrics and poetry. Following Moussa’s speech, Maronite Patriarch
Bechara Rai led the mass and praised Akl. “Akl is a man of wisdom who reached
his pinnacle through his poetry and prose,” he said. According to Rai, Akl’s
religious beliefs strengthened his writings: “He went deeper into discovering
God and he loved the beauty of it.”Akl also took part in politics. He joined the
Syrian Social Nationalist Party but was later expelled due to ideological
conflict between him and the party’s leadership.
Tanks surround Syrian city of Hama
after protests
July 05, 2011
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis Reuters/The Daily Star/AMMAN: Syrian tanks surrounded
Hama Tuesday, residents and activists said, threatening a large-scale assault on
the city after the biggest protests against President Bashar Assad’s rule.
Hundreds of youths blocked roads leading to the city’s main residential
neighborhoods with garbage containers, wood and metal to try to prevent a
possible advance. Inhabitants joined in their shouts of “God is greatest,” from
balconies and rooftops, residents said.
Tanks and armored vehicles moved overnight to the edges of the city, including
30 seen near a flyover on a road leading west, they said, a day after hundreds
of troops and security police entered Hama at dawn in buses, killing at least
three people in raids on main neighborhoods. Hama, scene of a bloody crackdown
by Assad’s father nearly 30 years ago, has witnessed some of the biggest
demonstrations and highest death tolls in Syria’s 14-week uprising, inspired by
revolts across the Arab world.
“Assad may wait to see whether large-scale protests in Hama continue. He knows
that using military aggression against peaceful demonstrations in a symbolic
place like Hama would lose him support even from Russia and China,” Syrian
activist Mohammad Abdallah told Reuters from exile in Washington.
The two countries have opposed a United Nations Security Council resolution
proposed by the West against Syria, helping Assad withstand mounting
international isolation.
Abdallah said using tanks to attack Hama would “totally discredit” a promise by
Assad to seek dialogue with his opponents. Troops and armor were already
assaulting villages and towns in the Jabal-al-Zawya region, north of Hama, which
had also seen large protests against Assad’s 11-year rule, he said. The Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said tanks stormed the town of Kfar Nubbul early
Tuesday “without meeting a single shot in the town that has seen peaceful
protests since the beginning of the uprising.”
One month ago, security forces shot dead at least 60 protesters in Hama,
activists said. The security presence later eased and last Friday a crowd of at
least 150,000 people rallied in a central Hama square demanding Assad go,
according to activists.
The following day, Assad sacked the provincial governor and Monday residents
said troops and police poured into Hama to carry out arrests.
The three people killed by the security forces included a 13-year-old boy and a
man whose body had been dumped in the Orontes river, a doctor in Hama said.
Residents said some of the soldiers and police opened fire in residential
neighborhoods and carried out arrests across the city.
Young men, some carrying stones, blocked roads leading to central neighborhoods
with burning tyres and garbage containers, they added.
Rami Abdelrahman, president of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told
Reuters that at least 250 people were arrested across Hama Monday.
“The regime could not stand the large, peaceful protests and the fact that the
governor did little to stop them. It has decided to subdue Hama one way or the
other,” he said.
The authorities have banned most international media from operating in Syria
since the protests began in March, making it difficult to verify reports from
activists and authorities.
Rights groups say Syrian security forces have shot dead at least 1,300 civilians
across the country since the protests started and arrested over 12,000, with
several troops and police officers killed for refusing to fire at civilians.
Authorities say 500 police and soldiers have been killed by gunmen, who they
blame for most civilian deaths.
Assad has promised a national dialogue with the opposition to discuss political
reform in Syria, which has been under the iron rule of the Baath Party for
nearly 50 years.
Many opposition figures reject dialogue while the killings and arrests continue.
The United States said last week Assad was running out of time to allow a
serious political process, and would otherwise face increasingly organized
resistance. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, an ally of Assad who has
grown more critical, said in May: “We do not want to see another Hama massacre”
and warned the Syrian leader that it would be hard to contain the consequences
if it were repeated.
Assad’s father Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria for 30 years until his death in
2000, sent troops into Hama in 1982 to crush an Islamist-led uprising in the
city, where the Fighting Vanguard, the armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood,
made its last stand. That attack killed many thousands, possibly up to 30,000,
and one slogan constantly shouted by Hama protesters in the last several weeks
was “damn your soul Hafez”, a reminder of the scar still etched in the memory of
the city of 650,000 people.
Aoun: Opposition’s Plan to Incite Countries against Lebanon is Criminal
Naharnet /Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun described on Monday the
opposition’s plan to incite countries against Lebanon as “criminal,” saying that
it will fail.
He said after an extraordinary meeting for the Reform and Change bloc: “They
have changed their motto to ‘all against the nation.’” “This is a crime and it
appears that the side that monopolized power and ruined the country for 20 years
is appalled to find itself no longer in power,” he noted. “The country cannot be
threatened,” he declared. Addressing the opposition, the MP said: “Shut up and
nothing you can do will shake the country.” “We warn them against targeting us
through their words or actions,” Aoun added. “They know who assassinated former
Premier Rafik Hariri. The security personnel who were in office then have not
been changed and they have not uncovered any leads, so will they arrest
themselves?” he asked. “The Special Tribunal for Lebanon will determine its
position from the government based on whether it is implementing its orders or
not,” he continued. “It’s unacceptable that they judge us before we even dealt
with the tribunal,” he stated. Aoun pointed out that the STL has not yet made
its position towards the cabinet. “The STL is a temporary issue,” said the FPM
leader. The March 14 forces demanded on Sunday that an Arab and international
political campaign be launched to “save the republic from the arms.” They also
called on Arab governments and the international community to boycott the
Lebanese cabinet it failed to implement United Nations Security Council
resolution 1757 on the STL.
Isolationist America? Not quite
Hussein Ibish, July 5, 2011
Now Lebanon/In some quarters of the Arab world there is a misplaced belief in
growing American “isolationism” with regard to the Middle East, a false sense
that the United States is pulling away from its role in the region. This
erroneous conclusion is based on a powerful collection of data points, which are
nonetheless being misconstrued.
The most important ideas cited by proponents of this interpretation require
careful consideration.
First, the United States, while still the paramount actor in the Middle East, is
finding it increasingly difficult to project the kind of military and even
financial clout in the region that it used to. The fundamental reality is that
it is still a uniquely potent power, but one that is nearly broke. It cannot
write the kind of checks to others that used to come easily, and it’s even
finding it painful to directly finance its own efforts.
One of the factors in the drawdown from Iraq was the cost of the war, which has
been seen as prohibitive. This view is also informing the Obama administration’s
preparation for a similar drawdown in Afghanistan. Voices from all parts of the
political spectrum in the United States are calling for “nation-building at
home, not abroad.”
The unquestioned loss of American financial sway means less power and influence
globally, including in the Middle East. But this weakening should not be
overstated since the United States remains the most influential power in the
region by every measure, and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future.
The attempted congressional defunding of the limited military engagement in
Libya, however, was less budgetary than election-year politicking by cynical
Republicans. Not only is it impossible to imagine Republican legislators
defunding a military mission led by a Republican president, they would always
have questioned the loyalty and motivations of any Democrat who tried to do so.
Neither Obama’s “leading from the rear” strategy in Libya nor Republican efforts
to interfere with the policy for nakedly partisan reasons demonstrates any “new
isolationism.” The limited engagement in Libya was a prudent if ugly approach,
and Republican harassment of the president is inevitable during an election
season. Perhaps the strongest evidence that there is a neo-isolationist American
policy towards the Arab world is the limited American response to the uprisings
in Yemen, Bahrain and Syria.
American influence in Yemen is quite limited, the conflict extremely complex,
and the variables almost innumerable. That Washington has to work closely with,
and to some extent even rely on, Saudi Arabian diplomatic initiatives in Yemen
might be a measure of its limited options, but not necessarily growing American
isolation. When did the United States ever have more direct influence in Yemen?
Even if it did in the past, it does not have a stake today in which faction or
coalition emerges victorious, as long as there is a government in Sana’a that
controls the country and tries to combat terrorism.
American options may be even more limited in Bahrain. Regarding the uprising as
a Shia and Iranian-inspired conspiracy, and therefore an existential threat, the
royal family and its Saudi allies are simply not listening to any outside
voices, including American ones. Walking away from Bahrain is not really an
option for the US, and there is no constituency in Washington for relocating, or
threatening to relocate, the Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain. Larger
interests and great power can sometimes have the counterintuitive effect of
limiting options with indispensable small clients who simply will not listen to
reason on their own domestic matters.
Without question the most troublesome policy of all has been the Obama
administration’s risk-averse approach to the Syrian uprising. The administration
has been misguided in giving the impression that it believes that Bashar
al-Assad’s regime either will, or possibly even should, survive the rebellion.
In the long run, this is both unlikely and, for American interests, undesirable.
It’s true that there isn’t much the United States can do on its own beyond
rhetoric to influence events in Syria, and that there is much to fear from chaos
or civil war in that country. But a policy that continues to toss out lifelines
and implicit reaffirmation to a regime that should and probably will eventually
collapse under the weight of its own dysfunctionality and brutality—and which is
historically and currently unfriendly to American policy goals—makes little
sense.
But even the so-far misguided approach to Syria that seems to irrationally favor
some form of regime continuity to the potential for internal chaos does not
bespeak a “new isolationism” in American foreign policy. It is overly cautious
to be sure, and excessively risk-averse. But it is not a return to fortress
America by any means.
Ending what was always a misguided war in Iraq and what has turned into a fool’s
errand in Afghanistan hardly represents isolationism. It is sensible, popular,
and a case of moving beyond past mistakes. Bundling these correctives in with
both justified and unjustified levels of caution regarding Arab uprisings, and
thereby imagining an American retreat in the Middle East, draws the wrong
conclusions.
The Obama administration, on the whole, is continuing to pursue American
interests in the region aggressively, though not imprudently. This approach
isn’t perfect, but it’s a big improvement over reckless past attitudes that
smacked of hubris, and it’s anything but isolationist.
**Hussein Ibish is a senior research fellow at the American Task Force on
Palestine and blogs at www.ibishblog.com
Utter humiliation
July 4, 2011 /Now Lebanon
Hezbollah has certainly come out fighting in the wake of the naming of four of
its alleged members in connection with the 2005 murder of former Prime Minister
Rafik Hariri. The party’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, gave a speech on
Saturday that left the world in no doubt that his party has nothing but utter
contempt not only for a court created to bring to justice those responsible for
dozens of political killings, but for international law in general.
Hezbollah had a massive choice to make. Cooperating with the Special Tribunal
for Lebanon would have enhanced its “state” credentials (it is, after all, the
major player in the recently-formed government), but much of its
cleverly-cultivated aura of nobility and martial purity would undoubtedly have
fallen away as the process kicked in. Rejecting the tribunal, on the other hand,
would merely reinforce the already-widespread idea that the party has no
intention of ever walking hand-in-hand with the Lebanese state on any issues
that conflict with its fiendish agenda.
Given the content of Saturday night’s speech, it would appear that Nasrallah has
chosen the latter. It was another skillful demonstration of how anything that
dares target his party can be tarred, not only with the brush of conspiracy, but
also blistered onto the 60-plus-year-old narrative that is the Arab-Israeli
conflict. This was not about justice but “part of a war we are fighting since
the establishment of the Zionist entity,” he said.
Nasrallah’s words will have acted as a welcome sedative to those Lebanese who
wish to see all the world’s ills through the prism of Israeli aggression. But
those who have witnessed the unilateral behavior that has seen Hezbollah drag
Lebanon from war to stagnation to civil bloodshed—all in the name of the
Resistance—will not have been fooled by his spin doctoring.
But where does this leave Prime Minister Najib Mikati? On Thursday, he addressed
the nation in as much of a statesman-like manner as he could muster, trying, as
he no doubt was, both to satisfy his allies in the government and convince us
that Lebanon had not totally shut the door on an international community in
which it claims to have a place. That was before his major ally in the
government stepped up to the microphone and demolished his authority and the
office from whence it comes, and used it as a rag to mop up what is left of
Lebanese dignity.
The opposition March 14 bloc has quite rightly demanded that Mikati commit to
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1757 or step down. The alliance,
which for many years came to represent a Lebanon standing before a new
democratic dawn, appeared to have lost its way in recent months after the
January toppling of Saad Hariri’s government. In March of this year, Hariri
declared, “There is no liberty for the youth because the politics and economy of
the country have been subjugated to the tutelage of weapons.” His words were
meant to ignite a new era of opposition from March 14, but since then the bloc
has failed to walk the talk. Now must be the time to restore its credentials by
putting as much pressure on those members of the new government who still
believe in the idea of justice and the legitimacy of the state.
In the meantime, freethinking Lebanese are left to draw no other conclusion than
that Mikati is prime minister in name only and that his authority clearly does
not extend to the boundaries of a remit that is sanctified by the constitution.
He was so utterly undermined on Saturday night, so totally humiliated, that he
has no other alternative, for the sake of Lebanon’s international standing, but
to step down. But will he?
Hama determined to keep out Syria army, activists say
July 5, 2011 /Now Lebanon/The residents of Hama have mobilized to keep out the
army from the flashpoint city which has become a center of the anti-regime
revolt in Syria, activists said on Tuesday. The activists, contacted by
telephone, said a child was among three people shot dead by security forces on
Monday in districts on the outskirts of the city north of Damascus that is home
to 800,000 people. "Tanks are now posted at access routes to the city except for
the northern entrance," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the London-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights."Residents have mobilized. They're prepared to die
to defend the city if need be rather than allow the army to enter," he told AFP.
"Residents have been sleeping on the streets and put up sand barriers and tires
to block any assault." Another activist insisted that Hama, where as many as
500,000 people took to the streets for a demonstration on Friday against
President Bashar al-Assad's regime, was putting up a "100 percent peaceful"
resistance. "The regime will have to think twice before launching a military
operation in the city," he said, on condition of anonymity. On Tuesday, more
than 20 people were arrested on the fringes of the city, the Syrian Observatory
said, adding that angry residents countered by burning tires and hurling stones.
Apart from the three killed, who included 12-year-old Omar Khalluf, between 20
and 25 other people were shot and wounded during the sweep which rounded up as
many as 300 people, according to a resident contacted by telephone from Nicosia.
Agents in their cars "shot in the air to terrorize residents," one resident
said, while warplanes flew over the city emitting sonic booms. Assad, faced with
a revolt since mid-March, sacked the governor of Hama province on Saturday, a
day after the massive rally during which security forces kept out of
sight.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Assad delays Hama crackdown to sustain US-Turkish plan for his survival
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report/July 5, 2011,
The United States, Britain, France and Turkey are spearheading a plan to
preserve Bashar Assad as Syrian president while cutting away his support system
of relatives and political and military chiefs and replacing them with "moderate
opposition" figures, debkafile reports exclusively from Washington and Middle
East sources.Assad is lending the move qualified cooperation. Last week, he let
the first foreign correspondents into the country to report from Damascus and
even interview opposition members – although never far from his minders. He has
also allowed Western go-betweens to establish mechanisms for "national dialogue"
with opponents and rebel representatives as a mark of his willingness to
gradually pacify protest and begin the process of democratic reform.
This move accounts from Assad's privileged position in US public statements. US
President Barack Obama and other US officials have never said he must go – like
the Egyptian, Libyan and Tunisian leaders - notwithstanding his uniquely brutal
crackdown on dissent at the cost of thousands of lives.
This policy found public expression for the first time on July 1 when US
National Security Adviser Tom Donilon told CNN: "Al Assad has made terrible
mistakes and obviously abused his people," but increasing pressure from the
United States and Syria's neighbors may be pushing al-Assad toward more
representative, responsive government."
debkafile's military sources are less optimistic. Profound mistrust on both
sides raises huge obstacles in the path of this objective. Washington, London,
Paris and Ankara suspect that the as-yet non-existent national dialogue will not
stop Assad continuing to send tanks and live bullets against demonstrators. The
Syrian leader suspects the West is using diplomacy to throw him off guard
against Turkish military intervention backed by the United States.
He will not have missed the report Sunday, July 3 in Turkey's largest daily
Huriyet. The article captioned "A Turkish Buffer Zone inside Syria," asks:
"Could Turkish troops enter Syria without seeking Damascus' permission first,
and set up shop there? You bet."
Our military sources point out that Turkish units have been deployed on the
Syrian border ready to cross at a moment's notice for more than two weeks.
The Syrian president's Iranian military and intelligence advisers explain to him
that a Turkish buffer zone would not just be there to care for Syrian refugees;
it would become a stronghold for Syrian politicians claiming to speak for the
opposition. They would establish a transitional administration there on the same
lines as the anti-Qaddafi Libyan rebel authority in Benghazi which has already
gained the recognition of 17 governments.
Assad's Iranian advisers warn him that the US and Turkey are preparing to apply
to North Syria the lessons drawn from the Libyan conflict.
debkafile's sources add that neither Washington nor Ankara were prepared for
another obstacle to their plans for Syria. The 300,000 residents of Hama,
unaware of the diplomatic balls in play, are standing firm, determined to
forcibly resist any attempt by the Syrian army to occupy their city.
The Syria ruler has therefore deployed large units around Hama, which are
gnawing at its outskirts, but avoided ordering them to go into the city center.
He knows that this order will result in a bloodbath savage enough to halt the
Western bid for dialogue in its tracks and end the respite it has given him.
More Syrians would then head for the Turkish border in their tens of thousands,
giving Ankara the pretext for sending Turkish troops streaming into northern
Syria.
Once again, all parties are eyeing the coming Friday to watch the number of
protesters turning out in Aleppo, Syria's second largest town and its commercial
hub. A sizeable outbreak of protest there would give Assad's grip on power
another hefty jolt
Two Christian Girls Disappear From State Care Home
in Egypt
7-4-2011/Assyrian International News Agency
(AINA) -- Parents and lawyers of Christian teens Nancy Fathy and her cousin
Christine Fathy, who allegedly converted to Islam, were shocked to learn the two
girls have been taken by security officers from the care home where they were
entrusted by the attorney general and held in a undisclosed place without
knowledge or consent of the attorney general.
Lawyer Amgad Mourad said he went to the orphanage in Hadayel el_Koba on July 3
with the girls' parents, but were surprised to learn that Nancy and Christine
were taken by security from the orphanage on June 29. "We contacted south Cairo
prosecution general, who was surprised and defensive, as we had a meeting
yesterday with the General Council for Childhood and Motherhood and we were
assured of the presence of Nancy and Christine in the orphanage."
Today, lawyers with the parents went to south Cairo general prosecutor and were
told by him the teens are in a safe place with public security, as they were
afraid the parents may go to the orphanage and create problems there, according
to Mourad. "Still we were not told where they are staying."
According to attorney Dr Naguib Gabriel, President of the Egyptian Union
Organization of Human Rights, who is also one of the lawyers representing the
parents of the Christian girls, the girls were moved to another place because of
the threats of violence issued by the unlawful Muslim group calling itself
"Alliance for the Support of New Female Muslims."
"It may be the Muslims knew the whereabouts of the two girls, and they were
moved to the safer place," said Gabriel. He said he contacted Mrs. Lamia Mohsen,
head of the Childhood and Motherhood Council and she also had no knowledge that
Christine and Nancy were moved from their care home.
Both 14-year-old Nancy Magdy Fathy, and her 16-year old cousin Christine Ezzat
Fathy, disappeared while on their way to church on Sunday June 12. Their parents
accused two Muslim brothers from a neighboring village of abducting them. Two
weeks later, the girls appeared in Cairo and surrendered themselves at a Cairo
police station. The Christian minors said they converted to Islam of their own
free will, and refused to return to their families, and even applied for
protection from them. The prosecution decided to put them in a state care home
and provide protection for them, until the completion of the investigation. Al
Azhar denied that the two Coptic teenagers had converted to Islam, because they
are still minors and have not yet reached 18 years of age, as is required by law
(AINA 6-26-2011).
Investigation of their case was transferred to child prosecution at the south
Cairo court as they are still minors. The prosecutor ordered reconciliation
sessions between Nancy and Christine and their parents in the presence of a
social worker from the Childhood and Motherhood Council. Three sessions were
held, only one of which was attended by the parents.
Gabriel stressed that "none of the girls said she converted to Islam. During the
meeting with their parents the younger threw herself in the arms of her father,
sobbing while the older girl said she was afraid to return home, the matter is
not conversion to Islam at all, they are just afraid of family retribution"
He said the lawyers went with the parents yesterday to south Cairo prosecution
for child care and met with the committee of the Childhood Council, which is
comprised of two social workers and two psychiatrists. "The committee wrote
conflicting reports. It reported the girls are psychologically disturbed and
cannot control their behavior and then it said one of the girls talked of her
preparedness to convert to Islam." He said they objected to the formation of the
committee and demanded Christian representation in it. "Even the two social
workers wore the Hijab," he explained. They also demanded that the care home
would be a neutral one or at least its administration would include a Christian.
Gabriel believes the psychological rehabilitation will never succeed as long as
there is the presence of Sharia associations and Hijab-clad social workers. "We
are not assured at all. It is not possible to leave them in the hands of a
committee without any Christian presence, and it is not possible to leave them
in care for 6 months or a year, until they reach 18 years old, when we will be
told they have become Muslims."
He said he would be meeting Dr. Lamia, of the Childhood Council, to discuss the
timeline foreseen for the intended return of the children to their parents and
the schedule of the psychiatric rehabilitation. "The main danger for the girls
is being kept away from their parents and not by lodging them in a care home."
He said they demanded that there should be guarantees not to deliver the
children to Muslims, or Muslim Brotherhood members, or leave the control over
the girls to them, stressing that such requests were approved. "However, we were
greatly surprised that after the approval of our demands, the two girls suddenly
disappeared from the care home."
Yesterday in Minya the Court of Appeals released until further evidence appears
Gomaa Sayed Gomaa and his brother Arafat, the Muslim men accused of being behind
the abduction of Christine and Nancy and taking them to Alexandria and Cairo.
"This is a very serious matter, as investigations are still going on and the
virginity exam has not yet been carried out on the minors, which is a part of
the criminal investigations. Depending on the results, charges in this case
would be raping of a minor or minors," Gabriel said.
By Mary Abdelmassih