LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِJuly
16/2011
Bible Quotation for today
Holy Gospel of Jesus
Christ according to Saint Matthew 6:1-6.16-18. (But) take care not to perform
righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no
recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet
before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the
praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when
you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that
your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay
you. When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in
the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to
you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in
secret will repay you. When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint
your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except
to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay
you.
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
Fate of Baath party hangs
in the balance/By:
Marwan Kabalan/July
15/11
In Syria: A strange political beast/By:
Amir Taheri/July 15/11
Estonians freed, but
mystery remains/Matt
Nash/July 15/11
Mikati-ism/By: Hazem
al-Amin/July
15/11
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for July 15/11
Syria security forces kill 16 on
'Friday of Freedom Prisoners'/Haaretz
Over one-million
protesters flood Syrian cities, activists say/Now
Lebanon
French Role in Release of
Estonians Seen as Diplomatic Success/Naharnet
At Least 19 Shot Dead as More
Than 1 Million Flood Syria Streets/Naharnet
Syria Activists to Hold
'National Salvation Conference' in Damascus, Istanbul/Naharnet
Contact Group Recognizes Libya
Rebels as 'Legitimate Governmental Authority'/Naharnet
First U.S. Troops Leave
Afghanistan as Drawdown Begins/Naharnet
Miqati from Tripoli: Problems in
Lebanon Cannot Be Solved through the Press of a Button/Naharnet
Reports: Estonia Paid Kidnappers
10-Million-Euro Ransom/Naharnet
Rifi Threatens to Resign if
Wissam al-Hassan Transferred from Intelligence Bureau/Naharnet
Report: Jumblat Buying
Land
Plots in Beirut/Naharnet
Israeli experts: Demise of Syria
regime is only a matter of time/Haaretz
Four killed in Syria as West pushes
for action/The Daily Star
Hezbollah MP Mousawi: Hezbollah
will keep its arms so long as Israel holds on to nuclear weapons/The Daily Star
Hezbollah Hooks Up With Mexican Drug Cartels/Business Insider
Freed
Estonians a 'Gift' to Hezbollah-Supporters/CRR News
Lebanese Cabinet renews Salameh's mandate, appoints new Army Chief of Staff/Ya
Libnan
Pope praises Sfeir's 50 years of
service/The Daily Star
Rai sets Holy Valley
rehabilitation as priority/The Daily Star
Salameh retains Central
Bank helm/The Daily Star
Business community hails
Salameh term renewal/The Daily Star
Estonians set free but
hunt for captors persists/The Daily Star
Lebanon mufti slams Israel over
controversial museum/The Daily Star
Former U.S. envoy to UN: PA bid for
UN recognition means 'next to nothing'/Haaretz
Israeli
experts: Demise of Syria regime is only a matter of time
15.07.11/Despite using considerable force, killing 1,500 civilians,
demonstrations intensify; Alawite minority’s days in power numbered, say
analysts.
By Amos Harel/Haaretz /Israeli defense officials said in a recent analysis it's
just a matter of time before Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime falls. This
line echoes comments by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who last month told Haaretz
he thought Assad's regime would fall within several months. Over the past
three months, more than 2,000 soldiers unwilling to put down the anti-regime
protests throughout the country have deserted the Syrian army, which has been
showing major signs of fatigue. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are
thought to have taken part in protests last week in Hama, where Assad's father
and predecessor Hafez Assad slaughtered tens of thousands of members of the
Muslim Brotherhood in 1982. Last week, the security forces in Hama were ordered
not to confront the protesters, which simply increased the demonstrators'
audacity.
Protests have also increased recently in the suburbs of Damascus, though the
regime has managed to head off demonstrations in the center of the capital.
Israeli defense analysts stress the increase in the demonstrations' size and the
protesters' greater willingness to risk their lives. Demonstrations last weekend
were among the largest since the protests broke out in late January.
The Syrian regime has killed more than 1,500 civilians, human rights groups say,
and about 12,000 people have been arrested. Nonetheless, it appears the regime's
opponents have not managed to create a unified leadership. Assad has tried to
soften the opposition via gestures such as legal and economic reforms and the
granting of Syrian ID cards to members of the Kurdish minority. He has also
increased subsidies on basic foodstuffs. One extraordinary step for his Alawite
regime, which is largely secular, has been to allow female students at
universities to wear veils. For the time being, the Alawite community is
supporting Assad, for whom they do not see a replacement within the community.
The protests could lead to a more direct confrontation between the Sunni Muslim
majority and the Alawite minority, and the disintegration of the army.
Over
one-million protesters flood Syrian cities, activists say
July 15, 2011/Now Lebanon
More than one million protesters flooded Syrian streets on Friday seeking an end
to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, activists said.
"More than a million people demonstrated today in Hama and Deir ez-Zour," Rami
Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human rights said. "It's a major
development and a message to the authorities that protests are getting bigger."
Activists said that more than 7,000 people headed towards the Al-Hassan Mosque
in the Midan area of Damascus, a focal point of protest in the city.
Syrians had been urged to demonstrate on Friday to demand the release of those
people imprisoned in a bloody crackdown on democracy protests, four months after
they erupted.
Activists issued an appeal for protests to mark a day of "freedom for the
hostages" on The Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook page, a driving force behind
the demonstrations.
The Facebook appeal called for nationwide demonstrations "for the freedom of
prisoners, for the dignity of free men."
Like their cousins across the Arab world, Syrians have adopted Fridays, when
they are allowed to gather for the main weekly Muslim prayers, as their main
outlet for dissent.
In tandem with Friday's protests, organizers called for a simultaneous
"Conference of National Salvation" to be held on Saturday in Damascus and
Istanbul to look at ways to oust Assad.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Pope praises Sfeir’s 50 years
of service July 15, 2011
The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Pope Benedict XVI has sent a letter to former Maronite
Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, marking 50 years since his ordination as a
priest and praising his service.The letter was delivered by the Papal Nuncio to
Lebanon, Gabriele Caccia, during a ceremony Thursday at the Papal Embassy
attended by Patriarch Beshara Rai and Maronite bishops.Recalling the posts Sfeir
held during his 50 years of service, the pope said in his letter: “You have
performed the apostolic service, caring for the Christians and preserving their
rights in those areas that are in agreement with the apostolic seat, through a
dialogue that you conducted with all Christians and Muslims. You have demanded
the rights of the Christians. Our predecessors have witnessed your activities
and efforts that you exerted in caring for the flock … In this letter, I am a
witness to the credit you had in this.”
Hezbollah MP Hussein Mousawi:
Hezbollah will keep its arms so long as Israel holds on to nuclear weapons and
weapons of mass destruction,
The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Hezbollah will keep its arms so long as Israel holds on
to nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction, Hezbollah MP Hussein Mousawi
was quoted as saying Thursday. “Hezbollah will keep its weapons and will not be
affected by any views or any U.S.-Israeli innovation or the [Special Tribunal
for Lebanon] so long as Israel maintains an arsenal of nuclear weapons and
weapons of mass destruction,” Mousawi said in an interview published Thursday by
the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anbaa. He was responding to a question regarding the
rejection by several March 14 coalition officials to the resumption of national
dialogue sessions on a defense strategy for Lebanon. Speaking sarcastically,
Mousawi said Hezbollah would disarm only when the U.N. Security Council manages
to adopt a decision to demilitarize Israel. Future Movement MP Ahmad Fatfat said
Wednesday the remaining contentious issue between Lebanon’s rival political
camps was Hezbollah’s weapons.
Rai sets Holy Valley rehabilitation
as priority
July 15, 2011 /By Antoine Amrieh/The Daily Star
DIMAN, Lebanon: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai said Thursday the revival of
spiritual life in the Holy Valley of north Lebanon is a priority aimed at
embodying the lively and contemporary testimony of the Maronite Church.
After touring the valley, Rai called for drawing up a plan to restore to the
valley the life of the first Christians while reviving heritage efforts focus on
people and physical aspects.
Rai, who moved to the Maronite patriarch’s summer residence in the northern
village of Diman last week, expressed regret over the state of deprivation in
the valley, as if it was located out of the Lebanese state. During his tour, Rai,
accompanied by his two deputies, bishops Samir Mazloum and Boulos Sayyah, toured
the valley’s religious sites and was briefed on the history of Saint Qannoubine
Monastery. The patriarch’s first stop was in the old Saint Lesha Monastery where
he was informed about the conditions of the Mariamite monks, before moving on to
the renowned tourist site of Qannoubine Valley, which connects Bsharri’s village
of Diman and the valley of Qadisha.
Antonine nuns from the Qannoubine Monastery, the valley’s mukhtar, Tony Khatar,
and a crowd of residents were on hand to welcome Rai amid religious hymns and
the tolling of bells.
Rai inspected the monastery’s wings and was briefed on the Antonine nuns’
spiritual activity. From there, the patriarch visited the Saint Marina Church,
where he and his companions prayed near the cemetery of the patriarchs. Later,
Rai and his companions returned to the Saint Qannoubine Monastery where the
monastery’s nuns hosted a lunch that was followed by a meeting between the
patriarch and the head of the monastery, Sister Lina Khawand, and assistant nuns
who briefed him on the impediments facing the nuns’ work.
Speaking at the end of the tour, Rai said his visit was part of returning to
spiritual roots.
“Our Church is called upon to engage in this return, in order to inspire its
values and heritage as it faces present and future challenges. These are the
challenges of modern changes which hit our society, both its young people and
families, and threaten the loss of identity and belonging,” the patriarch said.
“This requires a real commitment to confront them on the basis of achieving
reconciliation between our dark present and bright past,” he added.
Rai stressed that reconciliation could only be achieved by reviving spiritual
life in the valley to make it embody “our Church’s lively testimony that is
faithful to its history and heritage in a changing contemporary world.” “Revival
of the spiritual life is a priority in our work because it brings us back to the
magnificent life of fathers and grandfathers who lived in this valley,
presenting a unique life to the world,” he said. Noting that ancient people were
content with a shortage of resources which they got from planting rugged soil,
Rai said: “In the face of this great and inherited heritage, we will work to
crystallize a comprehensive and integrated plan to restore to the valley its
spiritual splendor and revive in it man’s heritage.” Rai regretted the state of
deprivation from which the valley was suffering, including a sewage problem, the
poor electricity situation in the Qannoubine Valley, in addition to the fact
that the road leading to the valley requires rehabilitation.
Freed Estonians a 'Gift' to Hezbollah-Supporters?
CRR News/Lebanese media have speculated that the freeing of the kidnapped Estonians was a
"gift" to Lebanon's new cabinet, which stepped into power on the day of the
release, July 14.
The editor-in-chief of the news website Lebanon Files, Rabih Haber, told Delfi
in an interview that the parallel events could not have been a coincidence. The
handover to authorities could only boost the new government's reputation, Haber
added.
Editors of the news website Lebanese Forces, the mouthpiece of the local
Christian political party, speculated that the release was a gift from Syria to
Lebanon's new Hezbollah-supporting government.
In May, the Estonian government decided to support intensified EU sanctions
against Syria that would bar the country's leadership, condemned for massive
human rights violations, from entering the EU.
The move came after accusations that Estonia was blocking pending sanctions,
fearing retaliation in the ongoing hostage crisis. Earlier the Foreign Ministry
had confirmed that a video recording of the Estonian hostages released on
YouTube was traced to an IP address in Damascus, where Estonia was trying to get
local authorities, who already had their hands full with mass riots, to be more
proactive in the search for the abductees.
In a thank-you statement on July 14, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip
singled out French and German authorities, praising them for their support in
the operation to save the abductees.
"All of Estonia's people are extraordinarily happy that the kidnapped Estonians
have now been freed," Ansip said at a government press conference. "[The Foreign
Minister] may know those countries better by name, but my special thanks goes
out to France and Germany. But the list is undoubetdly much longer."French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton told the website Now Lebanon that his
country provided logistical and diplomatic support to Estonia, which does not
have a permanent political representation in the country.
Hezbollah Hooks Up With Mexican Drug Cartels
Grace Wyler | Jul. 14, 2011/Business
Insider
http://www.businessinsider.com/lulzsec-leak-reveals-terrifying-ties-between-hezbollah-and-mexicos-drug-cartels-2011-7
Islamic terrorist groups are setting up shop in Mexico and forming alarming ties
with the country's brutal drug cartels, according to a 2010 internal memo from
the Tucson Police Department
The memo, leaked by the hacker group LulzSec as part of its Arizona Department
of Public Safety hack, warns that Hezbollah has established operations — and a
large arms stockpile — in Mexico.
As evidence, it points to the 2010 Tijuana arrest of Hezbollah militant Jameel
Nasr, who was allegedly tasked with establishing a Hezbollah network in Mexico
and South America. The memo also recalls the April 2009 arrest of Jamal Yousef
in New York, which exposed a huge cache of assault rifles, hand grenades,
explosives and anti-tank munitions. According to Yousef, the weapons were stored
in Mexico after being smuggled from Iraq by members of Hezbollah. The memo warns
that consequences of partnerships between Hezbollah and Mexico's drug
partnerships could be disastrous for Mexico's drug war, given Hezbollah's
advanced weapons capabilities — specifically their expertise with improvised
explosive devices (IEDs). It notes that some Mexican criminal organizations have
started using small IEDs and car bombs, a marked change in tactics that
indicates a relationship with Islamic militants.
Partnerships between Mexican organized crime and Islamic militants are mutually
beneficial — and therefore terrifying. The cartels are able to gain smuggling
and weapons expertise, as well as access to cheap heroin from Afghanistan and
Iran. The terrorists benefit from Mexico's drug war lawlessness and its porous
border with their primary target: The United States.
Cabinet renews Salameh’s mandate, appoints new Army
Chief of Staff
July 14, 2011//Ya
Libnan/The cabinet convened at Baabda Presidential Palace for the first time after
securing the parliament’s vote of confidence, National News Agency reported on
Thursday.The session was chaired by President Michel Suleiman, the report also said,
adding that there are 73 items on the cabinet’s agenda.
Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati met before the session convened, the
report added.
The cabinet renewed the mandate of Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh and
appointed Maj. Gen. Walid Salman as the new Army Chief of Staff replacing Maj.
Gen. Shawqi al-Masri who has retired
Dr. Antoine Shoqair was also appointed as the director general of the Presidency
of the Republic.
The cabinet reportedly postponed the appointment of a new chief for the General
Directorate of General Security.
“The appointment of army intelligence chief Abbas Ibrahim as the new head of
General Security has not been included in the cabinet’s agenda Thursday,”
reported Al-Hayat earlier on Thursday.
The necessary conditions to discuss the appointment have not been provided amid
reports that Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai is keen on restoring this
position to the Maronite sect.
According to Nahar up until 1998, the position of General Security chief had
long been assumed by a Christian figure, but former President Emile Lahoud,
appointed a Shiite to the position .Ministerial sources told the al Hayat that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP
Michel Aoun has also echoed the position of the Patriarch but avoided bringing
up this issue in order to avert a dispute with Hezboullah and AMAL Movement,
which both support the appointment of Ibrahim, a Shiite, to the post.Al-Hayat reported that Aoun settled the matter by proposing the appointment of a
Christian as deputy General Security chief.
Lebanese Forces bloc MP George Adwan said on Thursday that the General Security
chief must be “agreed upon by all parties” and close to President Michel
Suleiman.Adwan also told MTV that the General Security chief is responsible for the
borders and for controlling who enters and who leaves the country, adding that
the latter is also responsible for the foreigners present in Lebanon.
Salameh retains Central Bank helm
July 15, 2011 01/By Nafez Qawas/ The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s Cabinet renewed Riad Salameh’s term as the
country’s Central Bank governor during its first session Thursday at Baabda
Palace.
The Cabinet also appointed Brigadier Walid Salman as Lebanese Army chief of
staff and Antoine Chouqair as the director general of the Lebanese presidency.
The ministers postponed the decision to appoint a new head of the General
Security apparatus until Monday, when another session will be held to discuss
the remaining items on the Cabinet’s agenda. Also endorsed was a one-year
extension of the mandate of UNIFIL peacekeepers in south Lebanon, as ministers
called for completing the implementation of United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1701, which ended hostilities during the July 2006 war. The
government also issued a strong call for protecting Lebanon’s maritime oil and
gas rights, amid a growing controversy over the demarcation of maritime
Exclusive Economic Zones among Israel, Cyprus and Lebanon.
President Michel Sleiman addressed ministers at the outset of the session,
touching on the release earlier in the day of seven Estonian nationals kidnapped
in March in the Bekaa Valley, as well as the current state of the Arab world, in
the grip of popular uprisings. “In light of popular movements in neighboring
Arab countries, calling for reforms, freedoms and democracy, Lebanon has once
again proven its commitment to democracy and the rotation of power,” Sleiman
said. “This distinction is no longer limited to Lebanon,” the president
continued, referring to the toppling of long-time leaders in Tunisia and Egypt.
Sleiman said the country should prove it could enhance the standards of its own
parliamentary democracy and “re-draw Lebanon’s renewed role in its region and
the world, as represented by spreading [the culture of) dialogue among religions
and cultures.”
Commenting on the often-fiery debate in Parliament of the government’s policy
statement last week, Sleiman acknowledged that the discussions were “harsh,” but
that the positive points, such as “a desire to engage in reconciliation and
tolerance,” should be highlighted. Sleiman also noted that the first Cabinet
session was taking place during the fifth anniversary of the July 2006 war, and
stressed the need for Lebanon to assert its rights to any maritime oil and gas
resources it enjoys.
The president urged ministers to refrain from making irresponsible statements on
the issue. He also acknowledged the many pressing cost-of-living and other
issues facing the government, commenting on “unjustified” rises in the prices of
various goods and a lack of respect for the law and public property.
Mikati acknowledged that “people want actions, and not words,” and said
ministers had been instructed to produce “short-term plans of action” for the
first 100 days of the government’s work. “People will judge us based on our
actions,” he said, and said that “despite the personal attacks” that were made
during the debate on the government’s policy statement, “we were able to
answer.” “There are those who want this government to fail in its tasks, and
have set down time-table for the end of this government,” Mikati said. “Another
group of people is wagering on a knock-out punch to bring down this government.”
The prime minister dismissed “accusations that the government belongs to this or
that party,” which he said “ignored the reality of the government, in that it
represents wide segments of the population.”Addressing the March 14 coalition,
Mikati said “those who didn’t enter the government did so voluntarily, and were
not excluded or secluded” from power. “Our government was formed on a democratic
basis, based on parliamentary procedures; it was not and will not be a
‘government of coup d’etat,’ as some like to say,” the prime minister said.
In Syria: A strange political beast
15/07/2011/By Amir Taheri/Asharqalawsat
For the past three weeks, Syrian ambassadors in Western capitals have been
peddling the message that the appointment of a "reform commission" is the first
step towards ending the country's revolutionary crisis. The ambassadors claim
that President Bashar al- Assad, having "heard the voice of the people", is
looking for "a peaceful way" out of the impasse created by his regime.
Whether that is true or not, we cannot tell. No does it really matter. The point
is that the present system in Syria cannot be reformed because it lacks any
mechanism for reform. Even with the best will in the world, a system cannot
deliver what it does not have.
Since the crisis started, several labels have been used to describe the Syrian
regime. These include "one-party state", "military regime", and "tribal rule."
However, none of those labels reflect the true nature of this most unusual of
regimes.
As far as the constitution is concerned, Syria is a one-party state with the
Baath holding a monopoly on power.
However, in reality, the Baath is an empty shell.
In the 1970s, President Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father, destroyed the leftist
core of the party that clung to its Socialist claim. In the 1980s, it was the
turn of the party's rightist factions, keeping alive the party's Nationalist
pretensions, to be wiped out. By the time Bashar was put on the saddle, there
was no such thing as an Arab Socialist Baath Party.
A one-party state has mechanisms for reform.
Its Central Committee, Politburo, or Plenum could stage a palace coup against a
leadership that, for whatever reason, is no longer capable of responding to new
challenges.
This is what happened in post-Stalin Soviet Union when Khruschev toppled the
old-guard led by Malenkov. China experienced a similar "change from within" in
1970 when the Deng Xiao-ping faction eased the Gang of Four out of power.
In a classical one-party state, the legitimacy of the state, indeed its power,
emanates from the party. In Syria, it is the other way round. The little
legitimacy and what little power the Baath has come from the state.
Paradoxically, the Syrian Baath Party may be included among the victims of the
Syrian regime.
The label "military regime" does not suit the Syrian state under the Assads. In
a military regime, the armed forces, or at least part of them acting in the name
of the whole, control the state.
From the 1950s to the 1980s, Latin America was full of such regimes. South Korea
had a similar experience under Park Chung-hi. A similar mechanism was at work in
Indonesia under Suharto. With minor differences, this was the kind of regime
that ruled Egypt under Hosni Mubarak and Tunisia under Zin el-Abedin Ben Ali. In
every case, when the army or at least its leadership deemed change inevitable it
moved in to provide it either with a coup or by refusing to suppress a popular
uprising. With a string of coups, Syria had similar military regimes.
However, the present Syrian regime cannot be labeled "military" because it is
clear that the armed forces are all but excluded from decision-making. A hint
that the Syrian military might not be happy about the almost daily killing of
demonstrators in the streets came last month when the regime transferred the
task of suppressing the revolt to "special forces."
Some observers wonder whether Syria still has an army. An army is set up to
protect a nation's territory and guard its borders against actual and/or
potential aggressors. Since the early 1970s, what is labeled the Syrian army has
not been asked to do so. Nor has it been organized and armed for that purpose.
It is interesting that almost 80 per cent of Syria's arms purchases consist of
weapons and materiel that could be used for internal oppression, not defence
against foreign aggression.
A military force that is used for internal control and/or oppression is no loner
an army. It is a praetorian guard or, in today's parlance, a political militia.
It might sound odd, but one could include the Syrian armed forces among the
victims of the Assads. The Assads have presided over the destruction of the
Syrian army.
But, what about the label of "tribal rule"? In the case of Bashar
al-Assad's set-up, that, too, is hard to justify.
Arab history is full of instances when a tribe dominated the state with a
mixture of force, myth and bribery.
However, no Syrian tribe is represented in the Assad regime let alone dominating
it. True, Alawites fill a disproportionately large segment of the Syrian
military and civilian plum jobs. But Alwaites are a religious community, not a
tribe. What the Assads have been doing for the past four decades has little to
do with Alwaites as a religious sect.
Like the Baath Party and the Syrian army, the Alawite sect, too, could be
regarded as one of the many victims of the Assad set up.
Because it has systematically destroyed all institutions and historic, social
and cultural interfaces between power and people, the Assad regime has left the
country without a mechanism for change. There are no tribal leaders, religious
and/or intellectual elites, political party or even military personalities with
enough moral authority to mediate between a wounded populace and a frightened
power.The Syrian regime is a strange political beast. There are few instances in
recent history when a country has been led into such a tragic impasse.
Iraq under Saddam Hussein was one example. Libya under Muammar Gaddafi is
another. One might add North Korea under Kim Il-sung and Kim Jung-il.
In all such cases, reform is impossible even if some within the regime secretly
desire it. A Syrian ex-diplomat tells me that some within the regime are
"longing for reform." This may well be true. However, the problem is that the
Assad set up can no longer be reformed even if President Bashar himself wanted
it. With every day that passes, it becomes clearer that the sanest way out for
Syria is regime change.
Lebanon mufti slams Israel over controversial museum
July 14, 2011/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Lebanon’s mufti slammed Thursday a
decision by Israel to allow the construction of a controversial museum on the
site of an old Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem. “[The Israeli decision] is a
horrible Zionist crime that is part of a series of aggressive acts by the
Israeli enemy in order to carry out its project of changing the character of
Jerusalem and Judiazing it until the [‘Museum of Tolerance’] reaches the blessed
Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani said.
Israel approved the start of work of the controversial “Museum of Tolerance”
Wednesday.
The move by Israel has spurred outrage by Muslims given the location of the
planned site: ruins of the Muslim Mamun Allah cemetery in Jerusalem.
“This decision by Israel to build on the ruins of the historic and Muslim Mamun
Allah cemetery in Jerusalem constitutes a flagrant aggression against Muslims
and their holy sites and proves the Zionist determination to control Palestine
with force and enmity,” Qabbani said. A number of activists have vowed to carry
on with a campaign to prevent the construction of the “Museum of Tolerance”
project, which was organized by the Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center. “We
are trying as much as possible to do this with efforts not only on the United
Nations level but also on the Israeli court level and on the international court
level," Huda al-Imam, director of the Center for Jerusalem Studies, told AFP.
The grand mufti of Lebanon, one of the country’s leading religious figures, said
the Palestinian people would continue their struggle, “and with them all the
Arabs and Muslims in the world until the Palestinians reclaim their occupied
land.”
Report:
Jumblat Buying Land Plots in Beirut
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has reportedly bought
a 20,000-square-meter land parcel near the Safa stadium in Beirut for 10 million
dollars.
Al-Akhbar daily said Friday that Jumblat is negotiating with the owners of
shacks on the land to vacate their homes in return for financial compensation.
The Druze leader has also bought several land plots in an area that falls
between his home in Clemenceau and the Ain al-Mreisseh seafront.
When asked by Voice of Lebanon radio station about the alleged deals, Minister
Alaeddine Terro, who represents Jumblat’s bloc in the cabinet, said he had no
idea about the issue.
Estonians freed, but mystery remains
Matt Nash, July 15, 2011
Now Lebanon/Lebanese dailies are abuzz with rumor and speculation concerning the
Thursday release of seven Estonian cyclists who were kidnapped in the Bekaa
Valley in late March. The local press is portraying the successful freeing of
the seven men as a victory for France and questioning what role Syria played in
the abduction and release of the Estonians.
It has been widely reported that Lebanese security forces neither participated
in nor knew about the men’s release. French authorities—it is unclear if they
were diplomats or members of intelligence services—apparently picked the seven
men up in the Bekaa town of Sahel al-Taybeh, close to both Baalbek and the
notorious town of Britel, where most of the cars stolen in Lebanon end up.
As-Safir noted that the release of the cyclists coincided with Bastille Day in
an article titled: “Estonian scandal: A celebration for France … [Lebanese]
state ‘blind witness.’ ” In previous interviews with NOW Lebanon, Estonia’s
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet stressed that international partners played a
prominent role in trying to locate the kidnap victims.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel seemed to be of two minds concerning the
release. He told reporters on Thursday both that the Internal Security Forces’
Information Branch played the “biggest role” in freeing the men but that they
participated in their actual release “from afar so as not to mess up” the
operation.
Despite the fact that Lebanon’s role seems to have been small in the actual
release of the men, An-Nahar, citing unnamed sources, noted the “‘happy’ timing”
of the men’s release, calling it “a ‘gift’ that was hastily sent to PM Najib
Mikati’s cabinet.” Indeed, Mikati’s new government could come into confrontation
with the international community over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, so the
release could help boost his cabinet’s image abroad.
Future Movement bloc MP Jamal Jarrah told Future News on Friday that the release
is “a moral push” for Mikati’s cabinet. “It gives the prime minister oxygen to
stay alive.”
The kidnapping itself was quite mysterious with many assuming Syria had some
role to play. The men were grabbed off of a road near Zahle on March 23, shortly
after entering Lebanon on bicycles from Syria. Given the abduction’s timing,
some 10 days after protests in Syria began gaining momentum, many in Beirut
thought Damascus was likely culpable.
“Well, you know, their kidnapping, when the Syrian crisis was just initiating,
is curious,” Hilal Khashan, a Political Science professor at the American
University of Beirut, told NOW Lebanon. “Their release, when the crisis between
Syria and the US is escalating, is curious. It seems the Syrians are saying that
[President Bashar al] Assad is indispensible.”
A previously unknown group—Haraket al-Nahda Wal-Islah (Movement for Renewal and
Reform)—claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, and in both May and June
videos of the men pleading for help—though never stating the kidnappers’ exact
demands—went public. The first was posted to YouTube, and Lebanese authorities
later said it was uploaded from Damascus.
Speaking to reporters in Tallinn upon returning home, one of the kidnap victims,
Madis Palouja, said they were held, at points, in Syria.
"We were held in three different secret locations by the eight terrorists, in
both Lebanon and Syria. The big advantage was we were together, and that unity
gave us the strength to believe we would see a happy end,” Palouja said.
"At one point we all lived in the same room with the eight kidnappers and their
eight Kalashnikovs," he added.
Al-Mustuqbal newspaper reported that after authorities determined that the men
were in Syria, “Estonian authorities, with French help, took charge of
negotiations that lasted about three months, not with the kidnappers, but with
those who stand behind them, until they finally reached a happy ending and were
safely returned.”
There were also press reports that Estonia paid some 10 million Euros ($14
million) in ransom. Paet, Estonia’s FM, refused to confirm or deny that a ransom
was paid in a Thursday interview with NOW Lebanon. “Any international operation
has costs,” he said. “Estonia contributed to the costs of this operation.”
Paet also refused to give any details about how the men were freed. Charbel,
Lebanon’s Interior Minister, said Friday he has information on the case, but
will not yet disclose it. The men gave testimony before a military judge while
still in Beirut.
“We have all the information, but we are waiting until the investigation is
over. We [will] not disclose anything now to preserve the investigation’s
confidentiality,” he told Voice of Lebanon radio. There are currently nine
people in custody in connection with the case, and Charbel told the Daily Star
on Thursday that seven more people are wanted on suspicion of involvement,
noting that all but one of the 16 suspects are Lebanese.
The truth of what happened to the men, and who was behind their abduction,
therefore may not come out for weeks or months, if it ever does.
Fate of Baath party hangs in the balance
Cancelling Article eight of the Syrian constitution will effectively mean the
end of five decades of socialist party rule
By Marwan Kabalan, Special to Gulf News
Published: 00:00 July 15, 2011
As the Syrian protest movement enters its fifth month, showing no sign of
withering away, most Syrians are adamantly seeking to cancel Article eight of
the constitution that designates the Baath party as ‘leader of state and
society'. This demand has been a high priority for Syrian protesters since the
beginning of the current uprising in March. Cancelling Article eight will
effectively mean the end of five decades of Baath party rule.
No wonder that until recently Baathists have refused to discuss the fate of the
article, claiming that given the Baath party's secular outlook, staying in power
was the only guarantee to prevent radical Islamists, such as the Muslim
Brotherhood, from taking over. After the outbreak of demonstrations, pragmatic
Baathists have, however, become more open to discuss the issue, believing that
to survive the current crisis the Baath party has to reform from within.
Otherwise, simply put; it will collapse.
In fact, since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, doubts have sharply risen about
whether the other wing of Baathism can survive after the demise of its twin
sister in Iraq. The current crisis has made this question all the most pressing
as calls for political change gain more momentum.
The present dilemma of the Baath party emanates from the fact that it has for
long refused to recognise the changes which have taken place in the region and
the world over the past two decades. Many Syrian Baathists claim that their
party still enjoys wide public support and that it has survived greater
upheavals, including the 1967 defeat with Israel, the collapse of the Soviet
Union and more recently the American occupation of Iraq. This optimism might be
overstated this time not least because the Baath party itself is in the eye of
the storm.
Indeed, the Baath party was very popular when it was first established. It
emerged as a revolutionary movement - its main objective was to combat
colonialism, social inequality and Arab disunity; hence its slogan: Arab unity,
freedom and socialism. For decades this slogan constituted a legitimacy formula
for the Baath and through it the party won the support of the poor, the
dispossessed and the angered masses at the loss of Palestine in 1948. Yet after
coming to power in 1963 the party exhausted itself by internal rivalry and
factionalism. The conflict was mainly between the historic civilian leadership
of the party and its military wing.
The conflict ended in 1970 when president Hafez Al Assad, the father of the
current Syrian leader, took over power and eliminated most of his rivals. In
addition, the socialist policies of the Baath party and the struggle against the
old bourgeoisie required mobilising wider sectors of the society, digging into
ever-deeper social strata.
Loyalty to the regime
This policy led to the emergence of new leaders of lower class quality who
represented not the dominant upper and middle-class values but radical
ideologies. Furthermore, since the mid-1970 the rule in Syria became
increasingly authoritarian and Baathism became a mere mobilisation tool to
control the state and rule over the masses. The harsh state reaction to the
rebellion of the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1980s turned Syria into a
police state. Loyalty to the regime became the parameter for granting government
jobs and privileges. By the time President Bashar Al Assad succeeded his father
in 2000, socialism had become an outdated economic system lacking ideological
vigour and a vehicle to enrich and protect the interests of senior Baath
figures.
For the past 10 years, Al Assad has struggled to redefine the role of the Baath
party and its relation with the state and society. His success was limited,
however. This time he hopes that the reforms he promised to introduce, including
the cancellation of Article eight of the Syrian constitution, might essentially
require sacrificing the Baath party's supremacy on Syria's political life. Will
that be enough to wither the storm and survive yet another crisis? We have to
wait and see.
**Dr Marwan Kabalan is a lecturer in media and international relations at the
Faculty of Political Science and Media, Damascus University, Syria.
Mikati-ism
Hazem al-Amin, July 15, 2011/Now Lebanon
In a single news bulletin on LBC, the station’s general manager Pierre Daher
appeared in three different news reports. This was last Monday. Daher was one of
the “guests of honor” in the dialogue conference launched by the Syrian regime
with its own self. The second report was about the fire in a plant owned by
Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud, in which Daher was seen standing next to Abboud in
front of the burning plant in a state of emotional agitation. The third report
was about the Miss Lebanon pageant, which was organized by LBC. Daher was
naturally portrayed in the report as the host of the ceremony.
Yet Daher’s appearances on all three occasions call for some thought. The
regime’s conference in Syria, the fire in the minister’s plant and the Miss
Lebanon pageant can hardly be linked to one another, but Daher’s appearance in
all three reports alludes to a potential relation between them. It may seem
naďve and superficial to say that in all three cases, the man seemed attached to
a certain power. However, this is not enough and is nothing new anyway!
What news do these three scenes bring?
It is probably the fact that they are shrouded in ambiguity. What is Pierre
Daher doing in a dialogue conference organized by the regime in Syria? He went
there because he has received an invitation, but why is that so? The answer is
obvious: it is because the regime in Syria is trying to enlist the help of its
remaining media arsenal, knowing that it has lost most of it. Daher’s presence
may offer some compensation, albeit an insufficient one. By insufficient, we do
not mean morally or professionally; rather, there is a feeling that it lacks a
certain something!
Daher was present alongside the Tourism minister at a time the man deserves some
expression of solidarity when he was inspecting the fire in his plant. The
answer, once again, is obvious and extends to the third televised appearance on
LBC. On the evening before the fire, the two men were present at the Miss
Lebanon pageant and news of the fire reached them in the early morning. The
minister rushed to inspect the catastrophe that befell him, and Daher rushed to
express his solidarity.
There can be no other interpretation because this is literally what happened.
Unfortunately, one sometimes gets carried away by fantasies and seeks other
interpretations, such as saying that Daher’s three appearances hide a single
motive, one made of confusion, hesitation and experimentation. But one quickly
has to quell such ill-intentioned thoughts and doubts.
Yet the devil soon rises up again and calls these good intentions into question
upon hearing the news about the seven Estonians’ release, which gives rise to
renewed wild thoughts. One can thus imagine Daher in a mysterious location close
to the French Embassy, which would allude that that he played some role in their
release from their captors. Another factor that would help one divagate is the
mystery shrouding their release.
In a moment such as the one Lebanon is witnessing, imagination runs wild and
leads to many improbable scenarios. Do you remember, for instance, the story of
Syrian citizens who went out in Damascus a few weeks ago to celebrate the
rainfall in downtown Damascus … This is the level of humor our intelligence is
required to reach. This is equivalent to “Najib Mikati’s attachment to the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon” in defiance of Hezbollah’s will. This is also
equivalent to the Interior minister’s saying that he sent people to look for
those named in the indictment, but that he did not find them.
This is the era of “Mikati-ism.” It allows one to say “Eureka… I found it”
regarding the illusory mystery in Pierre Daher’s consecutive appearances in
three reports on his own station’s news bulletin!
This article is a translation of the original, which appeared on the NOW Arabic
site on Friday July 15, 2011