LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِJuly
18/2011
Bible Quotation for today
Luke 10/38-41:" It
happened as they went on their way, he entered into a certain village, and a
certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 10:39 She had a sister
called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. 10:40 But Martha
was distracted with much serving, and she came up to him, and said, “Lord, don’t
you care that my sister left me to serve alone? Ask her therefore to help me.”
10:41 Jesus answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about
many things, 10:42 but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which
will not be taken away from her.”
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
Banking in economic turmoil/By:
Amtissal Aboulissan/ July 17/11
The Price of “Stability”/By: Husam
Itani/ July
17/11
Latest News Reports From
Miscellaneous Sources for July 17/11
Syrian Soldiers Enter Zabadani,
Detain Hundreds Across Country/Naharnet
Syria forces storm town near
Lebanon border/Haaretz
Transition from Foreign to
Afghan Security Forces Begins/Naharnet
Syrians mourn dead as opposition
meets/Daily Star
Iran 'respects' South Sudan
independence /The Daily Star
Report: Two Syrian Officials to
Be Named in Hariri Murder Probe/Naharnet
New STL Arrest Warrants
to Include MPs, Ministers/Naharnet
Tribunal funding, arrests
test Lebanon Cabinet/The
Daily Star
Gemayel: Lebanon harmed by
Cabinet's double standards /The Daily Star
Lebanon PM praises south, says
Cabinet committed to 1701/The Daily Star
Suleiman Seeks Launching National
Dialogue to Fortify Lebanon/Naharnet
Jumblat Meets with Arslan Seeking a
Ministerial Breakthrough/Naharnet
Former STL Spokeswoman Receives
Financial Compensation after Lawsuit/Naharnet
Hizbullah:,Sheikh Nabil Qaouq: It
is a Sin to Lure International Pressure on Cabinet/Naharnet
MP Mohammad Raad says cabinet will
defend Lebanon against Israel/Now Lebanon
MP Ammar Houri says cabinet does
not want to carry out STL arrest warrants/Now Lebanon
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel :
Lebanon had a role in the Estonians’ release/Now Lebanon
Report: Miqati Sends Friendly
Message to March 14/Naharnet
Lebanon's Arabic press digest --
July 17, 2011/The Daily Star
Al-Rahi Celebrates Mass in Annaya
on St. Charbel Day/Naharnet
Huge Fire Engulfs Plastics Depot in
Beirut/Naharnet
Report: D.C.R.I Team Headed by Top
General Ended Estonians’ Kidnap Ordeal/Naharnet
Unclear Reasons Behind Geagea’s
Absence from Amsheet Dinner/Naharnet
Huge Fire Engulfs Plastics
Depot in Beirut
A huge fire broke out at a large plastics depot in the Beirut southern suburb of
Ouzai near the Rafik Hariri international airport on Sunday. The fire caused
heavy material damage and fumes reached all the way to the town of Antelias,
north of Beirut. The depot owned by Ali Hammoud sells plastic crates used for
vegetables throughout the country.The cause of the fire was not known but it
came one week after a similar fire engulfed Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud’s
plastic factory in Mazraat Yashouh.
Lebanon's
Arabic press digest - July 17, The Daily Star
Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese
newspapers Sunday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these
reports.
Ad-Diyar: Prime minister visits south and gives signal to abide by 1701 and
other international resolutions
The week ended with politicians setting things in motion. President Michel
Sleiman opened his home to receive the Maronite patriarch, where they discussed
the need for increased dialogue, national unity and security. Sources say this
was a follow-up to the Christian dialogue that took place in Bkirki, which has
come a long way since the patriarch assumed his position in June.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Najib Mikati took a helicopter to the south, just a few
meters from the Israeli border, where he met with UNIFIL units. This was the
first visit of its kind by a prime minister. He was accompanied by minister of
defense Fayez Ghosn.
Mikati’s visit sent a clear signal to the international community of his
commitment to international resolutions, particularly 1701. His tour coincided
with the anniversary of the July 2006 war, and it gave the prime minister the
opportunity to thank the forces for their assistance. He stressed his commitment
to end Israeli aggression and occupation.
He paid tribute to the martyrs, saying, “We see the sacrifices of our military
and the steadfastness of our people’s resistance, the main incentive for us to
claim these rights. And we will not be intimidated by threats and maneuvers…”
An-Nahar: Sleiman initiates consultations and respects the decisions of Mikati
Michel Sleiman hosted the patriarch at his home in Amchit for consultations,
while Prime Minister Mikati visited the south to reassure the international
community of his commitment to 1701 as well as to reassure the opposition that
he isn’t going into international isolation because of the composition and
approach of his government, especially concerning his approach to the STL.
Sleiman’s speech, delivered at his home where he hosted the Maronite patriarch,
in the presence of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and PM Mikati, highlighted the
difficulties faced in Lebanese political life.
He said, "There remains a policy under which independent justice is derailed,
and discussions have shown sharp political divisions that would endanger the
national fabric… This shows how much dialogue is needed to rebuild trust between
leaders and especially to build a system that respects pluralism…”
As for Mikati’s visit to the south, dinner was preceded by a tour of the UNIFIL
barracks, Marjayoun and army units deployed along the southern border. During
the tour, Mikati said, “stability in the south is key to stability in the Middle
East.”
He also stressed the government’s commitment to 1701, and said it would continue
to request to the U.N. that Israel put an end to violations of Lebanese
sovereignty, and that the resolution be fully implemented from a cessation of
hostilities to a permanent cease-fire.
Al-Mustaqbal: Siniora warns bad management through appointments
Fouad Siniora said that Hezbollah’s appointments might be aimed to purge
opponents. He warned that "if they succeed in this first phase, Hezbollah and
its allies will move to prepare an elections law to serve their interests and …
the next stage would be the full control of the country through the next
parliamentary elections."
Regarding Sleiman’s speech in Amchit, he said that the last three governments
showed “sharp political divisions” and he called for a “genuine reconciliation.”
He announced that he will begin "a series of consultations as soon as possible
with the country’s leaders and the people's representatives to create and
develop frameworks for dialogue to protect Lebanon…”
Regarding Mikati’s visit to the south, Mustafa Alloush from the Future movement
said he believed the visit was to thank Hezbollah for his appointment as head of
government.
Al-Rahi Celebrates Mass in Annaya on St. Charbel Day
Naharnet /Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi celebrated mass in the presence of
President Michel Suleiman at the St. Charbel monastery in Annaya on Sunday.
Al-Rahi thanked Suleiman for attending the mass, saying the president’s presence
was a confirmation that he was holding onto with the tradition that he started
in the first year of his term.
The patriarch prayed that the saint would help Suleiman in his “dangerous
mission” as president. First Lady Wafaa was present. Several officials and
believers also prayed at the monastery’s church on the occasion of St. Charbel
Day.
Report: Two Syrian Officials to Be Named in Hariri Murder Probe
Naharnet /Two Syrian officials are among the names included in new arrest
warrants to be issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the Kuwaiti daily al-Anbaa
reported Sunday.
It quoted sources close to the March 14-led opposition as saying that two Syrian
officials will be accused of involvement in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s Feb. 2005
assassination.
They warned that the naming of the two persons in public would shake the
situation in both Syria and Lebanon. Al-Anbaa reported on Saturday that the STL
will issue 14 arrest warrants against officials and military figures from
Lebanese and other nationalities. The STL submitted a confidential indictment
and arrest warrants for four suspects in June. The names were not released but
were leaked to the media. Mustafa Badreddin, Salim Ayyash, Assad Sabra and
Hussein Anaissi are all members of Hizbullah.
Unclear Reasons Behind Geagea’s Absence from Amsheet Dinner
Naharnet /A high-ranking Lebanese Forces source said LF leader Samir Geagea did
not attend the dinner hosted by President Michel Suleiman in his hometown of
Amsheet on Saturday for being abroad. The source told al-Mustaqbal daily
published Sunday that because the dinner had a social nature, Geagea did not
delegate anyone to represent him at the event that was held in honor of Maronite
Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi. The source did not say to which country the LF leader
had traveled to but only stressed that Geagea has no differences with Suleiman.
A source close to Baabda palace told al-Mustaqbal, however, that Geagea refused
to attend the dinner after Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun launched
verbal attacks on him and the LF leader snapped back. But Suleiman blamed the LF
which saw the president’s move as biased in favor of Aoun.
Among the top personalities that attended the dinner were Speaker Nabih Berri,
Premier Najib Miqati, Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel and Aoun
MP Ammar Houri says cabinet does not want to carry out STL arrest
warrants
July 17, 2011 /Future bloc MP Ammar Houri said on Sunday that “had former Prime
Minister Saad Hariri been the current premier, he would have had the will to
carry out the arrest warrants [issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon].” He
added, however, that it would have been a possibility that those indicted by the
UN-backed court would not have been found.
“But Najib Mikati’s government does not even have the will to [look for the
suspects], and that is the difference,” Houri said. He said that the STL –
investigating the 2005 murder of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and 21 others – was
agreed on by all Lebanese on March 2, 2006. “However, [Hezbollah] changed its
minds about it and is now saying ‘no one can come near those people [indicted],”
said the Future bloc MP. Last month, the STL indicted four Hezbollah members for
Rafik Hariri’s murder. However, the Shia group ruled out the arrest of the four
suspects. Regarding the issue of the General Security chief post, Houri said
that “the one who brought it up was Change and Reform MP Michel Aoun.”
“But afterward, we heard Michel Aoun say he had no problem whether the post is
assigned to a Christian or to a non-Christian, and one of his bloc MPs, Nabil
Nicolas, said that Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is a man who does
not make any mistakes,” he added. According to unconfirmed reports, Maronite
Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai, President Michel Sleiman and Aoun were working
to grant the director of the General Security position to the Maronites after it
was taken from them and granted to the Shia in 1998, for the first time since
1943. Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun – who is allied with the Shia
group Hezbollah – said on Tuesday that “whether the position is [for Maronites]
or for the Shia, it is not the end of the world.”Najib Mikati’s cabinet, which
was formed on June 13 and dominated by a Hezbollah-led alliance, was granted
parliament’s vote of confidence July 7.
-NOW Lebanon
Report: D.C.R.I Team Headed by Top General Ended Estonians’ Kidnap Ordeal
Naharnet /A French general specialized in anti-terror operations headed the team
that won the release of the seven Estonian tourists in the Bekaa valley on
Wednesday, Ad-Diyar daily reported. The newspaper said that the general is a
member of the French intelligence and expert in Lebanese affairs. The team from
the Direction Centrale du Renseignement Interieur (D.C.R.I) won the release of
the Estonian cyclists in the Bekaa town of al-Taybeh, Ad-Diyar reported. It
added that the general had worked as an investigator into the assassination of
the military attache at the French Embassy Col. Christian Gouttierre near the
French mission's building in the Beirut suburb of Mar Taqla in 1986. The
Estonians, in their 30s and early 40s, were kidnapped at gunpoint on March 23
while on a cycling holiday near the eastern town of Zahle, after arriving from
Syria. The identity of the kidnappers remains unknown and the extent of the
Lebanese authorities’ involvement in the release is also unclear. The media has
said that top Lebanese officials weren’t aware of the operation and only knew
about it the last minute.
MP Mohammad Raad says cabinet will defend Lebanon against Israel
July 17, 2011 /Loyalty to the Resistance bloc leader MP Mohammad
Raad said on Sunday that “the government is very serious in its work to defend
Lebanon against Zionist aggression by all means and in all diplomatic
forums.”“The Zionist enemy will never be able to exploit one disputed meter of
sea in search for oil and gas,” he added.
Raad was quoted by the National News Agency as saying that “politics are all
about exchange of interests, and no state can turn its back to Lebanon because
the country is situated next to [Israel] that causes instability in the whole
region.”Raad also said that the government has started its work and will achieve
many things the two previous governments could not achieve, adding that the
opposition will find itseld obliged to cooperate “on the basis of mutual
respect, sovereignty and national dignity.”On Monday, President Michel Sleiman
warned Israel against taking any decision that violates international maritime
boundary delimitation laws.Najib Mikati’s cabinet, which was formed on June 13
and dominated by a Hezbollah-led alliance, was granted parliament’s vote of
confidence July 7
Hizbullah:,Sheikh Nabil Qaouq: It is a Sin to Lure International Pressure on
Cabinet
Naharnet /Hizbullah’s deputy Executive Council leader, Sheikh Nabil Qaouq, said
Sunday that “luring international pressure on the Lebanese cabinet is more than
a national sin.”
“It is unfortunate to see that at a time when the cabinet is seeking to confront
the Israeli danger, the March 14 forces are luring international pressure to
weaken, blackmail and topple the government,” Qaouq said. He accused the March
14-led opposition of seeking to create tension over its rejection to admit that
it became out of power.
“We have blocked the road to American hegemony and we won’t allow it to return,”
Qaouq said. He urged all parties to take a comprehensive national stance from
what he called the Israeli piracy and the Jewish state’s attempts to lay its
hands on oil and gas fields in Lebanese waters. “The March 14 forces that didn’t
deal with such a national cause when they were in power are asked today to
(make) a clear national stance in supporting the new government which wants to
defend Lebanon’s right on its oil resources,” Qaouq said. He slammed the
international community for not being concerned with Lebanon’s sovereignty,
wondering why it isn’t defending Lebanon’s right to reclaim the Shebaa farms,
Kfarshouba hills and the village of Ghajar from Israel. Also Sunday, Hizbullah
MP Mohammed Raad urged all parties participating in the cabinet to cooperate in
implementing the policy statement. He said the government would defend the
country’s sovereignty, invest its natural resources, limit the public debt and
resume the restructuring of the state.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel : Lebanon had a role in the Estonians’ release
July 17, 2011 /“The fact that no information about the case of the seven
Estonians was published does not mean that the [Lebanese] security forces did
not know what happened or that the state did not have anything to do with the
matter,” said Interior Minister Marwan Charbel in response to reports that the
Lebanese government was unaware of the Estonians’ release beforehand. Seven
Estonian men, in their 30s and early 40s, were freed on Thursday morning after a
kidnap ordeal of almost four months. They were abducted at gunpoint on March 23
while on a cycling holiday in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, after arriving
from neighboring Syria. “We followed up on the issue from the beginning, and we
were providing western security forces with information about the location the
Estonians were taken. However, we committed to the Estonian [intelligence]
requests in order not to obstruct the release [operation],” he added.
Charbel told Al-Balad newspaper that “nine people were arrested and seven are
being pursued,” adding that “most of these people bear the Lebanese nationality
and one of them is Syrian.”
Asked about ISF Director General Achraf Rifi, Charbel said that “he is one of
the best officers in the security forces.”
“Rifi wanted to defend this institution and he sometimes had to adopt a certain
attitude, but today we are defending all security institutions and if someone
ever makes a mistake he will be punished but away from the media,” he added.
Regarding the General Security chief post, Charbel said “as a previous officer
and a current interior minister, I say that sectarianism must be prohibited in
military positions for one simple reason, the military hierarchy.”“For example,
it is not acceptable for someone who is in charge of an officer to find himself
suddenly in a lower rank than this officer just for sectarian reasons,” he
added. Charbel confirmed that “only competence must be adopted as criterion for
administrative appointments.”
According to unconfirmed reports, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai,
President Michel Sleiman and Change and Reform bloc MP Michel Aoun were working
to grant the director of the General Security position to the Maronites after it
was taken from them and granted to the Shia in 1998, for the first time since
1943. However, Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun – who is allied with
the Shia group Hezbollah – said on Tuesday that “whether the position is [for
Maronites] or for the Shia, it is not the end of the world.” -NOW Lebanon
Saudi detains two Omani women drivers
July 17, 2011 /Two Omani women were detained for driving in Saudi Arabia, where
women are not allowed to take to the wheel, Saudi media reported on Sunday.
Police detained the two women drivers traveling with their families on the road
connecting the capital Riyadh to the western city of Taef. "A citizen tipped off
police patrols that two women were driving cars with Omani licenses,” Al-Hayat
newspaper reported. "The two women were detained and informed that women did not
have the right to drive. They had to sign a commitment not to reoffend," it
added. Saudi Arabia in late June arrested five Saudi women for getting behind
the wheel in defiance of a ban on female drivers in the ultra-conservative
Muslim kingdom. Their actions came in response to a call on the Internet for
women in Riyadh to drive, after a show of defiance on June 17 in which 42 women
took to the road. Since then, "women defy the ban each day in different cities
of the kingdom," an activist told AFP on condition of anonymity, noting her own
mother had done so in Riyadh. No law officially forbids women from driving in
Saudi Arabia but a religious edict stipulates that women must be driven by a
male chauffeur or family member.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
New STL Arrest Warrants to
Include MPs, Ministers
Naharnet/The Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing into the assassination of
ex-Premier Rafik Hariri will issue 14 arrest warrants that will include Lebanese
officials, the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anbaa reported on Saturday. Diplomatic
sources told the daily that the warrants are expected to include Lebanese
officials and military personnel and other people from different nationalities.
“The new circulated names include a current MP (in the parliament) and former
Ministers and MPs,” they said. Sources involved in the Lebanese situation
stressed that “the satisfaction that followed the appointments and the release
of the seven Estonians might not last long with the near release of the new
arrest warrants.”The diplomatic circles said that the arrest warrants are
expected to be issued before the end of July. The STL submitted a confidential
indictment and arrest warrants for four suspects in June. The names were not
released but were leaked to the media and later confirmed by the Lebanese
government. Mustafa Badreddin, Salim Ayyash, Assad Sabra and Hussein Anaissi are
all members of Hizbullah.
However, their whereabouts are unknown. Lebanon now has 30 business days to find
and arrest the four named in the warrants. If no arrests are made, the court can
publicize their names and call on the accused to surrender within a month, after
which the defense chief can himself appoint lawyers from his office's list to
represent defendants in absentia.
New STL
Arrest Warrants to Include MPs, Ministers
Naharnet /The Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing into the assassination of
ex-Premier Rafik Hariri will issue 14 arrest warrants that will include Lebanese
officials, the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anbaa reported on Saturday. Diplomatic
sources told the daily that the warrants are expected to include Lebanese
officials and military personnel and other people from different nationalities.
“The new circulated names include a current MP (in the parliament) and former
Ministers and MPs,” they said. Sources involved in the Lebanese situation
stressed that “the satisfaction that followed the appointments and the release
of the seven Estonians might not last long with the near release of the new
arrest warrants.”The diplomatic circles said that the arrest warrants are
expected to be issued before the end of July. The STL submitted a confidential
indictment and arrest warrants for four suspects in June. The names were not
released but were leaked to the media and later confirmed by the Lebanese
government. Mustafa Badreddin, Salim Ayyash, Assad Sabra and Hussein Anaissi are
all members of Hizbullah.
However, their whereabouts are unknown.Lebanon now has 30 business days to find
and arrest the four named in the warrants. If no arrests are made, the court can
publicize their names and call on the accused to surrender within a month, after
which the defense chief can himself appoint lawyers from his office's list to
represent defendants in absentia.
Suleiman
Seeks Launching National Dialogue to Fortify Lebanon
Naharnet /President Michel Suleiman stressed on Saturday that he will seek to
launch a national dialogue with the Lebanese leaders to fortify Lebanon.
“We will seek to launch the national dialogue to agree on the defense strategy,
especially when the Israeli threats should make us more determined,” Suleiman
said during a banquet in honor of Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi. He said that “the
past years showed that the constitutional gaps are serious which halted the
president from settling issues.”
The president urged the Lebanese leaders to launch a national dialogue “to
implement the national charter.”“The people got tired of the local strife and
aspire to build the state institutions,” Suleiman said. He addressed patriarch
al-Rahi saying: “Since day one you have worked on gathering the Maronite leaders
and called for an Islamic-Christian summit to implement dialogue and
co-existence.”Suleiman remarked that during the past few years “We were able to
achieve stability… And committed ourselves to the democratic principle of
rotating power.”
“However, we didn’t forget to seek the social justice,” he stressed. The
president congratulated al-Rahi on his “high apostolic determination,” thanking
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri for his participation in the banquet. Meanwhile,
Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi urged the president, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime
Minister Najib Miqati to go forward in their partnership.
Rahi said “you cover up faults with love and highlight the positive issues. You
forgive who abuses you and take the initiative with generosity.”
Tribunal funding, arrests test Lebanon Cabinet
July 16, 2011 By Natacha Yazbeck /Daily Star
BEIRUT: After winning a confidence vote at home, Lebanon’s Hezbollah-dominated
government is headed for another test over the country’s financial duties toward
the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).But experts say there is little the
government will – or can – do in assisting the U.N.-backed STL, which has
ordered the arrest of four Hezbollah operatives indicted in the 2005
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. “Everybody knows that there
is little the Lebanese government can do to truly assist the tribunal,” said
Beirut-based commentator Hilal Khashan. “Prime Minister Najib Mikati can get
away with not raising the issue of funding as the [pro-Western] opposition is
not represented in Cabinet.”
Mikati – a Forbes-listed billionaire with business interests across the globe –
has vowed to cooperate with the court, but Hezbollah has outright refused to
comply with the STL which it says is a U.S.-Israeli conspiracy against the
Iran-backed movement. Analysts say Mikati is now left with no choice but to
continue his balancing act between the opposition’s demand for “justice” and
Hezbollah’s warnings that “stability” must be protected in the volatile country.
“Prime Minister Najib Mikati has the capacity to stall decisions on funding by
not raising the matter for discussion at a Cabinet meeting,” said Beirut-based
political commentator Jean Aziz.
“On the other hand, if funding is in fact brought up as part of the government’s
overall budget talks, then Hezbollah and its allies can stall the talks either
in government or Parliament.”
Lebanon is responsible for meeting 49 percent of the costs for the
Netherlands-based STL, the first international court with jurisdiction to try an
act of terrorism.
The court has long been at the center of an intractable crisis in Lebanon,
culminating in the collapse of Lebanon’s previous government led by Hariri’s
son, US- and Saudi-backed Saad Hariri. Saad Hariri’s government had failed to
pass a state budget as he locked horns with Hezbollah over the STL.
In 2010, Hariri’s camp made a contribution to the court without going through
the government and, according to a source in the former government, the country
did not meet its required contribution to the STL for the year 2011.Today, the
Hezbollah-led majority alliance effectively controls Lebanon’s new government,
which last week issued a program including a clause that stipulates Lebanon
would “respect” international resolutions on condition they do not threaten
peace and stability. “The current government has purposely taken a stance on the
tribunal that is ambiguous and vague as it needs flexibility in dealing with an
issue as explosive as this,” said Imad Salamey, political science professor at
the Lebanese-American University.
“Mikati stands up and supports the tribunal. Part of his cabinet can oppose, and
part of his cabinet can support him,” Salamey told AFP. “This way, he is not
directly holding himself accountable to the opposition.”In an interview with
local television Tuesday, Hariri said he had been left wondering “who to
believe” as Mikati and Hezbollah adopted seemingly opposite stances against the
court. “It comes down to funding – that is when we will know what the
government’s position is,” he said. Lebanon’s government should finalize its
public budget by the autumn, which should in theory include funds for the STL.
The tribunal’s defense office will begin to build its case at around the same
time, although arrests are unlikely as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has
said he doubts the four will ever be found. “Everyone is aware of the existing
balance of power in Lebanon,” said Khashan. “It’s not that Mikati will not
cooperate with the STL – he will. “Judicial authorities and the police are
investigating the whereabouts of the indictees, and when the 30 days they have
to find them are over, the government will inform the tribunal that they were
nowhere to be found,” he added. “Technically, that is all that is required of
the government.”
Lebanon PM praises south, says Cabinet committed to 1701
July 16, 2011 /The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Najib Mikati paid tribute Saturday to the Lebanese Army,
people and resistance during his first trip to the south since his Cabinet was
voted in earlier this month.
Mikati also praised the efforts of U.N. peacekeepers in the south and said the
government was committed to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.
“[My message] is one of support to the citizens and people that have stood to
confront the Israeli enemy. It is also one of support for our brave Lebanese
Army … and the resistance that defends with bravery on its land,” Mikati said in
Adeyyseh, the southern border village which saw deadly clashes between the
Lebanese and Israeli armies in 2010.
“I wanted my first visit to be to the south …. especially after the government
won a vote of confidence and the Cabinet held its first meeting, [the south] -
this precious part of Lebanon that is dear to us all,” Mikati said, adding that
his visit coincided with two key events: the commemoration of the 2006 war
between Lebanon and Israel and the renewal of the U.N. peacekeeping mandate in
the south.
Mikati, who was accompanied by Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn and Lebanese Army
commander Gen. Jean Kahwaji, was flown in by the Lebanese Army by helicopter
amid heightened security.After visiting an army barracks in Marjayoun, Mikati
headed then to Adeysseh, where he saluted the efforts of the Lebanese Army and
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and vowed to help the area with
education, social programs and job opportunities.
He also said stability in the south was linked to that of the region and
stressed to need to implement resolutions that would secure the rights of
Palestinians.
“Stability in south Lebanon is key to stability in the Middle East, which will
not see a return of security except through a just and comprehensive peace that
[in turn depends] on the implementation of international resolutions that
protect the rights of the Palestinians to decide their destiny and return to
their land and the establishment of their independent state,” Mikati said,
according to the National News Agency (NNA).
Loyalty to the Resistance MP Ali Fayyad, speaking on the sidelines of the visit,
said he believed Mikati’s visit aimed to highlight “the strong will in
confronting the Israeli enemy on the basis of the successes of the resistance
during the July[-August] 2006 war and according to the equation that we adhere
to day by day of the … army, people and resistance.”
“Victory has many elements and perhaps the main one would be the return o the
Lebanese Army to the south all the way to the border after years of absence ...
the land is back in the hands of the army. The other side of victory would be
the expansion of the international forces' presence,” he said.
Mikati also visited the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura, where he reviewed a
Guard of Honor presented by the U.N. peacekeepers.
The prime minister commended the role that the U.N. troops played in maintaining
the peace in the south and said his government was committed to UNSCR 1701.
“My government is committed to the implementation of U.N. Security Council
resolution 1701,” Mikati said, referring to the resolution that ended the 2006
war and called for a halt to border violations. Resolution 1701 also extended
UNIFIL’s mandate and called on Lebanon to extend control over its territories.
He also called on the United Nations to stop Israeli violations of Lebanon’s
sovereignty.
“The government, which affirmed its commitment to [United Nations Security]
resolution 1701, will continue to ask the U.N. to stop Israeli violations of
Lebanon’s sovereignty and completely implement the resolution in order to move
from a stage of non-aggression to a stage of permanent cease-fire,” Mikati said,
according to the NNA.
Mikati, who was received by UNIFIL commander Maj. Gen. Alberto Cuevas Asarta,
was given an operations briefing on UNIFIL and discussed with Asarta the
activities undertaken by the peacekeepers in collaboration with the Lebanese
Army.
“Your presence here today, so soon after taking office, in and of itself
constitutes a strong statement of support for our mission. I have no doubt that
this will greatly encourage UNIFIL peacekeepers as well as our strategic
partners in the Lebanese Army to further build on the steady gains in the
security situation over the past almost five years since the cessation of
hostilities came into effect,” Asarta said, according to a statement released by
UNIFIL. -- Additional reporting by Mohammed Zaatari.
Syrians mourn dead as opposition meets
July 16, 2011/Daily Star/By Zeina Karam
BEIRUT: Tens of thousands of Syrians shouting “We want freedom!” carried slain
protesters through the streets Saturday, one day after security forces killed at
least 28 people during the largest anti-government demonstrations since the
uprising began, activists said.
The funerals came as prominent opposition figures held a conference in
neighboring Turkey seeking ways to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad, with a
prominent dissident saying he leads “the most tyrannical regime in the world.”
“The regime had kidnapped the entire state, and we want it back,” said Haitham
al-Maleh, who headed the conference in neighboring Turkey. The 80-year-old
lawyer, who spent years in Syrian prisons for his political activism, recently
left Syria out of fear for his life.
Activists say the government’s crackdown on dissent has killed some 1,600 people
since March, most of them unarmed protesters. But the regime disputes the toll
and blames a foreign conspiracy for the unrest, saying religious extremists –
not true reform-seekers – are behind it.
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians took to the streets across the country Friday
in the largest show of the uprising’s strength.
Syrians poured into areas where the government crackdown has been most intense –
a sign that security forces cannot break the revolt. Thousands turned out in the
capital, Damascus, which until now had seen only scattered protests.
A witness in Damascus told the Associated Press Saturday that tens of thousands
from Damascus and the suburbs held funerals for slain protesters, carrying the
bodies overhead on stretchers and shouting “God is Great!” and “We want
freedom!”
Like most witnesses in Syria, he spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of
retribution. The government has banned most foreign media and restricted local
coverage, making it difficult to independently confirm accounts on the ground.
The Local Coordinating Committees, which help organize and track the protests,
said they have the names of 28 people confirmed dead. Other estimates of the
death toll were as high as 41.Also Saturday, security forces continued a
weeks-long operation in the restive Idlib province, near the Turkish border. The
London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said authorities raided homes
in the village Kfar Nabl and made scores of arrests.
The government crackdown has led to international condemnation and sanctions.
“What’s happening in Syria is very uncertain and troubling because many of us
had hoped that President Assad would make the reforms that were necessary,” U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters in Istanbul Saturday. “The
brutality has to stop, there must be a legitimate sincere effort with the
opposition to try to make changes.”
“Yesterday we witnessed the largest demonstrations to date in Syria, an effort
to try to convey directly to the government the pent-up desire of the Syrian
people for the kind of reforms that they have been promised,” she added.
Saturday’s opposition conference in Turkey – called the National Salvation
Conference – was attended by some 400 dissidents looking to form a unified
opposition to Assad, whose family has ruled Syria for more than 40 years.
The conference is part of a series of meetings the opposition has held recently
in Turkey and Europe in an attempt to organize their ranks. Activists in
Damascus also took part in Saturday’s meeting by telephone.Organizers had
planned to hold a conference in Damascus in tandem with the Turkey meeting, but
it was canceled after Friday’s bloodshed. The Local Coordination Committees said
at least 14 people were killed near a hall where the conference was to be held.
In Turkey, al-Maleh accused Assad of leading a “fascist regime” and praised the
“heroic people of Syria” for rising up against him.
Opposition figure Mashaal Tammo, addressing the conference by phone from
Damascus, said Assad had lost his legitimacy to rule and called on him to step
down.
In an emotional speech, he said the “the existence of the regime was no longer
justified,” and called for a peaceful transition to a civil, pluralistic and
democratic state.
Abdul-Karim Rihawi, the Damascus-based head of the Syrian Human Rights League,
said 28 intellectuals and artists were released from detention Saturday, three
days after they were arrested for taking part in an anti-government protest in
Damascus.
But regime supporters taunted them and threw stones at them as they left court,
Rihawi said.
Syria
forces storm town near Lebanon border
Haaretz/
Security forces round up more than 500 people, including leading opposition
figure, across the country over the past two days.
Tags: Bashar Assad Syria Syrian troops backed by tanks stormed a town Sunday
near the border with Lebanon as security forces rounded up more than 500 people,
including a leading opposition figure, across the country over the past two
days, activists said.
Syria-based rights activist Mustafa Osso said government forces entered the town
of Zabadani, some 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Damascus, early Sunday
after surrounding it a day earlier. Zabadani has witnessed a string of protests
calling for the downfall of President Bashar Assad's regime since the uprising
began against the Assad family's more than 40-year rule in mid-March.
The Local Coordinating Committees, which help organize and track the protests,
said some 2,000 members of the military and security agencies stormed Zabadani
after cutting the town's telephone services, internet connections and
electricity.
Activists say the government crackdown has killed some 1,600 peoplesince March,
most of them unarmed protesters. But the regime disputes the toll and blames a
foreign conspiracy for the unrest, saying religious extremists, not true
reform-seekers, are behind it.
Major operations in border areas have been common in the past four months as the
government has tried to snuff out the uprising with a mix of concessions and
brute force.
The military has conducted operations in the southern city of Daraa on the
border with Jordan, the northwestern province of Idlib bordering Turkey and the
town of Talkalakh near Lebanon.
Witnesses said Saturday that security forces opened fire on anti-government
protesters in the eastern border town of al-Boukamal near Iraq's border, killing
at least one protester and wounding others.
Osso said some 100 soldiers defected and joined the protesters in al-Boukamal
late Saturday. He said protesters and the soldiers marched in the streets
chanting "people and the army are the same."
The government has banned most foreign media and restricted local coverage,
making it difficult to independently confirm accounts on the ground.
Osso said authorities have detained more than 500 people since Friday, when
Syrians across the country turned out for the largest protests since the revolt
began.
Banking in economic turmoil
By: Amtissal Aboulissan, July 17, 2011
As the turmoil in Syria continues, neighboring countries like Lebanon remain
concerned about the destabilizing effect the uprising will have across the
border, especially on the economy.
The Lebanese economy has already taken a hit because of dwindling tourist
numbers as a result of the unrest taking place next door, and because of a dip
in cross-border trade in Lebanese villages that rely on Syrian goods and
services. In addition, more than 30 percent of Lebanon’s exports are transported
over land, meaning that they must enter Syria in order to be able to arrive in
foreign markets.
The banking sector, however, is more complicated. According to Nassib Ghobril,
chief economist and head of the economic research & analysis department at
Byblos Bank, the banking sector is always affected by threats to the economy.
But the most damaging is the psychological aspect. “The impact is on sentiment
and confidence,” he told NOW Lebanon.
There have been some startling figures on the banking sector in light of the
unrest in Syria. According to a report published in the Economist magazine last
week, an estimated $20 billion left Syria since the uprising started. Following
that report, many assumed the money came to Lebanon.
However, Makrem Sader, secretary general of the Association of Banks in Lebanon,
refutes the amount, saying the numbers were exaggerated. “I have not seen the
banks operating in Lebanon with these cash flows from Syria. Deposits in
commercial banks operating in Lebanon have increased during the first five
months of this year, but only at a rate of three percent.”
Ghobril agrees, saying the numbers are not credible. He says the latest figures
for the first quarter show there was a withdrawal of deposits from the banking
sector in Syria but not as much $20 billion.
“There is no question that there is deposit outflow. But the entire banking
sector in Syria has about $28 billion in deposits. If there was an outflow of
$20 billion, there would have been tremendous effects on the system.”
Therefore, the amount flowing into the Lebanese banking system is likely small
and difficult to precisely estimate. Syrians moving money into Lebanese banks is
nothing new. Syrians, who tend to have less faith in the resilience of their own
banking system, already had bank accounts in Lebanon and would use these
accounts for their trade and finance needs, Ghobril noted. So many Syrians
continue to have active accounts in Lebanon. Due to Lebanon’s famous banking
secrecy, there’s no way of tracking who deposited money or where the money went.
Despite the Syrian unrest, Ghobril maintains an optimistic outlook on the
Lebanese economy. The main reason, he says, is because Lebanese understand the
political nature of Lebanon.
“Lebanese have grown accustomed to political instability, uncertainty and
turmoil.” With the 15-year civil war, the assassination of Rafik Hariri in 2005,
the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, and, most recently, the collapse of
the government in January 2011, the Lebanese have maintained their trust in the
Lebanese economy and banking system, he said.
For their part, Lebanese banks operating in Syria will not collapse because
Lebanese banks know how to operate in times of turmoil.
The impact on Lebanese banks operating in Syria, however, could be that they are
not able to move forward with certain business plans. For example, banks there
have not been able to open new branches or launch new products, and expectations
of profit growth have been modified. Certain things, however, like people not
being able to pay their loans, have not happened yet.
Banks can begin precautionary provisioning (hoarding cash in case loans fail en
masse) as events unfold, which can protect them from collapsing should loan
quality fall, Ghobril said. The Syrian uprising can only affect Lebanese banks
so much and they are there for the long haul.
Regardless, you can’t measure their success during a period of turmoil, Ghobril
said. “It takes years to assess these types of situations.”
Ultimately we have to wait for May’s figures, which have yet to be released, but
Ghobril said that according to the finance minister in Syria and the Lebanese
Central Bank, deposit withdrawals have stabilized.
The Price
of “Stability”
Husam Itani/Al Hayat
Syria will go through a difficult transitory period. All that which the
optimists about the imminent fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime have
been trying to ignore will surface, and some of the worst prophecies of those
holding on to the current rule might come true.
The upcoming stage will witness turmoil and the absence of the “stability” which
was always flaunted by the regime, and we might see the eruption of sectarian
and regional violence. We might also witness bloody retaliations whose reasons
have accumulated during the years of “stability”, which were exploited to
capitalize on the divisions and hostilities instead of their handling. And it is
not unlikely that the contradictions between the rural community, the city and
the bourgeoisie – with its parasitical and traditional wings – reflect on the
producer classes.
The experiences in Egypt and Tunisia, along with dozens of other experiences in
many countries around the world, have taught us that revolutions did not end
with the departure of the ruler. Quite the contrary, the easiest stage of any
revolution is the toppling of the regime and its symbols, while the more
difficult stages lie in the conflicts among the revolutionaries themselves, and
between them and those claiming to protect the revolution and the remnants of
the former regime who seek to return through the window, after they were ousted
from the door.
This ought to be enough to deter those calling on Al-Assad to step down and to
keep his entourage away from the state institutions, as long as the consequences
are that dangerous. Indeed, no sane person would want to see his country
proceeding toward chaos and turmoil or would consciously push it in this
direction.
However, there is a big “but” at this level. There is a difficulty regarding the
current situation and an imminence of stalemate in light of the regime’s
insistence on the security solution and its replacement of the political
handling with “dialogue” shows that are without value or meaning. They reveal
the inability of the regime to exit the crisis. It is thus struggling between
its attempts to find domestic bases through the “absent” dialogue, and the
United States’ looming decision to remove its cover off it once and for all.
Despite its magnitude, this predicament is not what is giving the Syrian
uprising its momentum, while the threats surrounding this uprising are not
enough to lead to its discontinuation. At this level, it would not be an
exaggeration to say that the problems facing the regime are the price it is
paying for the decades of “stability,” during which it swept the internal and
external problems underneath the carpet, inside the prisons and in exile. Those
in power forgot that the problems that are not resolved today come back in the
form of catastrophes at the first turn. The biggest proof of this is Hama’s
heading of the action demanding the end of President Al-Assad’s rule, 29 years
after it was bombed and after the tanks leveled a large portion of it to the
ground.
Throughout more than forty years, the Syrian regime ignored the mechanisms and
laws of domestic evolution to cater to a young society, but also external
evolution in light of a more entwined world. It thus raised the slogan of
“stability” on the internal scene without discontinuing its interference in the
neighbors’ affairs, and implemented the policy of exporting its crises while
believing that this constituted the epitome of resistance and rejectionism.
In other words, Syria is now facing the end of the era of “stability” which was
in fact a superior authoritarian stand, hostile to history and primarily to the
Syrian society. One must note that the hefty price being paid by the Syrians is
prone to increase each day the authority refuses to meet the demands of a Street
which will not stop its action, regardless of the eloquence of the statements
issued by the consultative meetings.