LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِJUNE 22/2011

Bible Quotation for today
The Good News According to John 15/8-16: “In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples.  Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love.  I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.  “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.  You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you"

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources 
Assad needs to give much more than a speech to halt Syria protests/By Zvi Bar'el /June 21/11
The Syrian President’s pathetic speech/By: Hanin Ghaddar/June 21/11
New Opinion: No better time to disarm/Now Lebanon/June 21/11
Assad speech fails to placate critics/By Brooke Anderson/June//11
Civil society and the new cabinet/By: Aline Sara/June 21/11

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for June 21/11
Statement by Minister Baird on Situation in Syria/Canadian Government
Hezbollah keeps silent on reports of infiltrators/The Daily Star
Israel’s defense drills put Hezbollah on alert: source/The Daily Star
STL refuses comment about end-June indictment rumors/The Daily Star
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe: Assad at ‘point of no return/Now Lebanon
EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton says Assad’s speech was “depressing”/Now Lebanon
US wants “actions, not words” from Assad/Now Lebanon
Assad’s speech not enough, Turkish President Abdullah Gul says/Now Lebanon
Syrian opposition rejects Assad’s offer of dialogue/The Daily Star
Assad speech met with skepticism/Daily Star/Agencies
EU says preparing to expand Syria sanctions/Reuters
Syria, Libya and Middle East unrest - live updates/The Guardian
Estonian FM in Beirut for talks on kidnapped Estonians/Daily Star
Lebanon's Arabic press digest  For June 21, 2011/The Daily Star
Lebanon's Opposition Feeling Threatened/The Media Line
Mansour: Israel, Cyprus maritime agreement violates Lebanon's rights/The Daily Star
Mikati briefs envoys on Cabinet creation, policy/The Daily Star
Expatriates’ remittances revised upward/The Daily Star
Spy for Israel sentenced to death/The Daily Star
Jumblatt praises Assad speech, urges immediate Syrian reforms/The Daily  Star
Sleiman called Aoun on Monday, An-Nahar reports/Now Lebanon
Sleiman can no longer play a balancing role, Ogassapian says/Now Lebanon
March 14 Officials Discuss with Hariri New Platform after ‘2nd Stage of Coup/Naharnet
Suleiman Says Cabinet Lifespan Hinges on Performance, Vows to Hold Accountable Violator/Naharnet
Al-Rahi from Vatican: We Wish Cabinet Success to Meet People’s High Expectations
Miqati to Diplomats: Commitment to STL Should be Coupled with Preservation of Civil Peace
Efforts to Form Leadership Council for the North to Contain Security Incidents
Jumblat Fears U.S. will Avenge Syria by Imposing Sanctions on Lebanon
Ministerial statement will be similar to previous ones, says Khazen/Now Lebanon
Kataeb party is part of the opposition, Marouni says/Now Lebanon

Turkish choppers over Syria. NATO boosts Izmir base
DEBKAfile Special Report
June 20, 2011/Debkafile reports war fever in and around Syria after Syrian President Bashar Assad's speech Monday, June 20, sparked riots by disappointed protesters in Damascus and Latakia. Our military sources checked reports from Cypriot aviation sources that Syria had closed its airspace to civilian traffic and found its skies were still open. According to other sources, some Iranian, Turkish military helicopters are infiltrating northern Syria on reconnaissance missions. Arab sources report NATO is planning to fly extra troops from Spanish and Germany bases to the Izmir Air base in western Turkey to expand the current number of 400. Damascus accuses Turkey of seeking to seize Syrian territory on the pretext of providing a buffer zone for Syrian refugees.

Al-Rahi from Vatican: We Wish Cabinet Success to Meet People’s High Expectations
Naharnet /Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi wished the new government success on Tuesday in order for it to meet the people’s high expectations given the crises in the Middle East. He made his statements from the Vatican, where he arrived on Sunday to take part in the Middle East synod. Al-Rahi hoped that peace will be established in the region in order for the people to live in stability and dignity. “We pray on a daily basis that Lebanon will maintain its role as a positive factor in the region due to its unique system and message to the world,” the patriarch added. “Despite some of its crises, this small country will remain the beacon of hope in the region,” he stressed. He is expected to meet with Pope Benedict XVI during his visit.

Miqati to Diplomats: Commitment to STL Should be Coupled with Preservation of Civil Peace
Naharnet /Prime Minister Najib Miqati has stressed to foreign diplomats that Lebanon would remain committed to international resolutions including the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
During separate meetings he held with Arab and Asian ambassadors, and U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly on Monday, Miqati said that Lebanon is committed to the tribunal that will try ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s suspected assassins.An Nahar daily quoted diplomatic sources as saying on Tuesday that Miqati told the diplomats that the “commitment to the STL is coupled with preservation of Lebanon’s security privacy and civil peace.”The government’s policy statement would be based on these principles, the premier said. An Nahar quoted sources as saying that Miqati also stressed to the ambassadors that his government would not challenge anyone in Lebanon or abroad. While addressing the Arab ambassadors, Miqati said that Lebanon should maintain the best relations with all friendly states. Referring to the STL and Security Council resolutions, he said: “I have repeatedly said that Lebanon is one of the founders of the U.N. and it respects its resolutions, particularly resolution 1701.”Furthermore, he urged the diplomats to encourage their citizens to visit Lebanon during the summer season. “Don’t worry about the political bickering. It has become part of our political culture.”

March 14 Officials Discuss with Hariri New Platform after ‘2nd Stage of Coup’
Naharnet /Meetings held between top March 14 officials and former Premier Saad Hariri in Paris were aimed at finding ways to confront the new cabinet “after the constitutional coup entered its second stage,” said a high-ranking official in the coalition on Tuesday. The March 14 forces had said that the collapse of Hariri’s cabinet in January was the result of a coup staged by Hizbullah and its allies. In remarks to al-Liwaa newspaper, the official considered the formation of Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s government as the second stage of the coup. On Monday, Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel held talks with Hariri, who had met with MP Sami Gemayel the day before, An Nahar daily said.
Hariri also met twice with a March 14 delegation that includes MP Marwan Hamadeh and former lawmakers Fares Soaid, Samir Franjieh and Bassem al-Sabaa, the newspaper added.
The March 14 official told al-Liwaa that the meetings are aimed at discussing how to confront possible sanctions against Miqati’s cabinet that could spillover to other Lebanese officials.
The conferees also discussed the opposition’s platform in the next stage and ways to meet head-on with the government. One of the options would be the formation of a shadow cabinet, the official said. Al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Jean Oghassabian confirmed to al-Jadeed TV on Tuesday that efforts are underway to form a shadow cabinet.

Suleiman Says Cabinet Lifespan Hinges on Performance, Vows to Hold Accountable Violators
Naharnet /President Michel Suleiman has said the containment of the deadly clashes in the northern port city of Tripoli last week were “a sign that the cabinet is capable of preserving stability,” stressing that its lifespan depends on the level of its performance.In his first interview after the formation of Premier Najib Miqati’s government, Suleiman told An Nahar daily published Tuesday that the Tripoli “test succeeded in (enabling the cabinet) to hold a grip on the security situation." Both pro-government and opposition officials showed their intention to contain the Tripoli clashes that erupted between the districts of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen on Friday, he said.It would have been difficult to contain the incidents if the government was not formed, Suleiman told An Nahar, adding that one of the characteristics of the cabinet is that it consolidates civil peace.While saying that the cabinet is not a national unity government, he stressed it is “balanced” due to the centrist forces in it. “It is a new experience.” He lamented that the March 14 forces, which are now the opposition, have rejected to participate in the council of ministers and denied that his relations with the coalition had deteriorated. The president also made sure to send the message that some officials would be held accountable for irregularities. Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi made a violation and should be held accountable by the new cabinet, he said about Rifi’s rejection to abide by the orders of then Interior Minister Ziad Baroud to withdraw his forces from a building affiliated with the telecommunications ministry.
When asked about criticism that the government will not live for long, Suleiman said that its “lifespan hinges on its performance and whether it would be democratic and institutional or not.”
He reiterated that Syria did not take part in the formation of the cabinet and that he imposed the current balance in it. Suleiman also denied that he was planning to visit Damascus after the government receives parliament’s vote of confidence. Asked about Lebanon’s ties with the international community, the president said the world will judge the cabinet based on its performance and should not consider it a Hizbullah government. The policy statement will remain committed to the international tribunal, he said. Meanwhile, An Nahar said that Suleiman held a telephone conversation with Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun for the first time since the lawmaker launched a campaign against the president over the interior ministry portfolio. The campaign ended when both men agreed last month on allotting the portfolio to Marwan Charbel

Civil society and the new cabinet
Aline Sara, /Now Lebanon/June 21, 2011
Last week, after five months of deliberations, Cabinet Secretary General Suheil Bouji announced the appointment of the country’s new government with business mogul Najib Mikati at its head. Days before, soon-to-be Minister of Youth and Sports Faisal Karami had spoken out against a draft law to criminalize domestic violence following a meeting with Islamic judges, claiming it posed a threat to local family values by encouraging family disintegration. The bill, which was approved by the cabinet in April 2010, is waiting for ratification in parliament.
While a number of activists took Karami’s statement as a blow to women’s rights, some maintain that speculating on how the new cabinet will respond to civil society’s other major concerns — such as reforming the electoral law, creating a civil status law, and guaranteeing women’s right to pass their nationality to their husbands and children — is premature.
For starters, “It’s a good step to have a cabinet,” said Ziad Abdel Samad from the Arab NGO Network for Development, though he said he didn’t think the current government, like the one before, would tackle the country’s most pressing social issues. Nor was he optimistic about the new ministers taking anti-corruption measures, which he said was another major problem.
“The opposition should hold the government accountable,” he said. “Ultimately however, it is not about the cabinet line-up, but rather the system as a whole. The problem is systemic, and the same debate will be repeated around the same issues [regardless of the cabinet].” Samer Abdallah, general coordinator of the NGO Nahwa al-Muwatiniya echoed Abdel Samad’s statement. “Whether a national-unity or majority cabinet, it doesn’t make a difference,” he told NOW Lebanon. He too blamed the “system” for civil society’s struggles.
“I don’t know why we should have any more expectations with this cabinet than with the others,” he said. “Work needs to be done on the culture as a whole. It’s about the community, and it’s a long process… A new cabinet will not make the [needed] changes.”
Both activists agreed that the shift from a national-unity cabinet to a March 8-led one would have major ramifications on Lebanon’s foreign policy and international relations rather than on Lebanese society. However, both insisted on waiting for the Ministerial Statement to be released before making assumptions. But Oussama Safa, secretary general of the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections, argued otherwise, voicing concern about a cabinet of one color. “The cabinet is from one political affiliation, among allies… so it does not come with the same consensus as the previous cabinet,” he said. “We hope it will be able to forge consensus, but it doesn’t seem like it.” Whereas in the last cabinet, civil society was represented by Minister of Interior Ziad Baroud, known as the “activist minister,” there is no one in the current government who is especially concerned with civil society initiatives. “This cannot be but a disappointment from our perspective.” Yet the biggest blow to Lebanese civil society is that half of the country’s population—women— are not represented by a female minister in the cabinet. “My first concern is that for the first time since 2005, it is an all-male cabinet,” said Lina Abou Habib, head of the CRTDA, an NGO that organizes the Women’s Right to Nationality Campaign. “I don’t know if they realize, but this is very serious. We thought we were done with the days of a fully-male cabinet.”
Though female cabinet ministers of the past were not necessarily feminists or had a feminist agenda, “Representation is a right,” she said, “and this is a serious area of concern.”
Last week, the CRTDA sent PM Mikati a communiqué voicing alarm at the lack of female ministers and laying out the NGO’s three main concerns: ensuring women’s right to pass on their nationality to their husbands and children, the pending draft law to criminalize violence against women, and adopting a personal civil status law.
“We’re not going to pass judgment now, but we will pass judgment based on what they decide to do or not to do on these issues,” she said, noting that the past government had also failed to come through on their concerns. “The only thing we can do is give them to benefit of the doubt,” she said. Zoha Rohanna, director of the local women’s rights NGO KAFA, agreed, though she noted that the domestic violence law was not a concern, given that it had already been approved by the former cabinet and was solely at risk in parliament. “I think [Karami] didn’t even read the law, so how can he make this statement?” she said.

Sleiman can no longer play a balancing role, Ogassapian says
June 21, 2011 /Lebanon First bloc MP Jean Ogassapian said on Tuesday that President Michel Sleiman can no longer play a balancing role in the cabinet. “The president should play a balancing role; this was possible in the previous cabinet, but not likely in this cabinet,” he told New TV station. “I don’t know the motives that led [Sleiman] to signing the cabinet formation decree,” Ogassapian added. He also said that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon should be mentioned in the ministerial statement in terms of financing and adhering to its decisions.
The Lebanon First MP added that he is willing to take part in the national dialogue if Sleiman calls for it, but on the condition that the Resistance’s arms are among the talking points.
Ogassapian also commented on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s speech saying that it is a positive one, but came too late. The new Lebanese cabinet—headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati—was formed on Monday after almost five months of deliberations between the March 8 parties. On Monday, Assad said that dialogue could lead to a new constitution and even the end of his Baath Party's monopoly on power but refused to reform Syria under "chaos

Ministerial statement will be similar to previous ones, says Khazen
June 21, 2011 /Change and Reform bloc MP Farid Khazen said on Tuesday that the ministerial statement will be complementary to previous ones.
He told Voice of Lebanon (93.3) radio that the west and US already took their stance concerning the cabinet and accused it of being influenced by Syria and Iran before even looking at its ministerial statement. “The first implications of this stance are the reports about sanctions to be implemented on Lebanon by the US congress,” Khazen added. The change and Reform MP also said that Lebanon’s interest comes before that of the international community. “[The international] agenda circumvents Lebanon in order to cater to other interests. This is unacceptable and does not [serve] Lebanon’s interest,” he added. The new Lebanese cabinet—headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati—was formed on Monday after almost five months of deliberations between the March 8 parties.-NOW Lebanon

Kataeb party is part of the opposition, Marouni says
June 21, 2011 /Kataeb bloc MP Elie Marouni said on Tuesday that the Kataeb party is part of the popular opposition. “We will always be ready, we will applaud any good work and we will oppose and confront any bad act,” he told Voice of Lebanon (100.5) radio. Marouni added that his party always calls for dialogue, but Hezbollah and Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun has disabled the national dialogue. “Despite all that, we should keep contact between [all parties],” he said. The new Lebanese cabinet—headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati—was formed on Monday after almost five months of deliberations between the March 8 parties.-NOW Lebanon

Statement by Minister Baird on Situation in Syria/Canadian Government
June 20, 2011 -) John Baird, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, today made the following statement regarding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s speech earlier today: “Canada was unconvinced by President Assad’s speech today. “Syrians have endured terrible crimes at the hands of his regime. They are asking for real change now—not vague promises to be fulfilled perhaps at some undefined later date. “Canada joins several allies in saying the president has a choice: he can reform or go. The status quo is no longer acceptable.
“Canada supports the people of Syria in their peaceful efforts to realize democracy and human rights.”

Hezbollah keeps silent on reports of infiltrators
June 21, 2011 /The Daily Star BEIRUT: Hezbollah refused to comment Monday on media reports that the party had discovered that a network of spies collaborating with Israel had infiltrated its ranks. In a telephone conversation with The Daily Star, MP Nawwaf Moussawi, a Hezbollah official, refused to comment on the matter.
The party’s spokesperson could not be reached. Kuwait’s Al-Rai newspaper reported Saturday that more than 10 Hezbollah members of different ranks, some prominent, were discovered to have links with Israel. The newspaper said that the idea of those Hezbollah figures being rounded up for collaboration was “unimaginable,” adding that the crackdown by the party had taken place over the past three months.
Al-Rai said Hezbollah’s deliberate leaking of false information to Israel, in order to measure Israeli reaction, was the first step in identifying the moles. After the leaks, described by the newspaper as information important to the fate of Israel, Hezbollah carefully watched suspected members and simultaneously awaited Israeli reaction. According to Al-Rai, Israel failed to conceal or avoid reaction, which contributed to uncovering the spies. The paper called the discovery a “dangerous development” in the intelligence war between Israel and Hezbollah, “with the party discovering unprecedented Israeli infiltration within its ranks, maybe the senior ones.”
Wi’am Wahhab, the head of the Arab Tawhid Party and a close ally of Hezbollah, implicitly confirmed the news in an interview with Al-Jadeed television station over the weekend.
In its Monday issue, Al-Rai quoted an American official as saying that Israel still does not know who from the network had been arrested and who was still free.
But the official said his country was aware that “Israel has been working for five years to fill the ranks of Hezbollah and Lebanese security forces with collaborators loyal to it,” adding that these included senior politicians close to or allied with Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, the Janoubia news website reported that a prominent Hezbollah member, identified as M. Atwi, had been arrested by the party on suspicion of being a member of the network. Atwi, a telecommunications engineer, is the nephew of Hatem Atwi, a spy for Israel who was reportedly assassinated by the resistance in Germany, where he had sought refuge following the withdrawal of the Israeli army in 2000. The website also said that Atwi’s grandfather, who was the mukhtar of the southern village of Harouf, was killed by the resistance in the mid-1980s under the same charges. Sources from the village told Janoubia that a resident was arrested by Hezbollah for belonging to an espionage network, adding that the party had refrained from disclosing the name of a Hezbollah religious figure, who was rounded up as well, because it could have a negative impact on the party. More than 100 individuals were arrested by Lebanese authorities last year on charges of collaborating with the Jewish state, some of whom were army officers and employees in telecom companies. Hezbollah had always emphasized the immunity of the party to any Israeli infiltration.

Israel’s defense drills put Hezbollah on alert: source
June 21, 2011 /By Mohammed Zaatari
The Daily Star / SIDON, Lebanon: Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon were on high alert Monday as Israel continued its week-long defense drills, a security source told The Daily Star.
“All Hezbollah fighters, even those that were on holiday, have been summoned in southern Lebanon,” the source said, while Hezbollah refused to comment on the report.
Israel commenced a large-scale defense exercise Sunday, testing the readiness of various national institutions in response to a major rocket attack on Israel, possibly emanating simultaneously from multiple sources inside Lebanon, Gaza, Iran and Syria. The operation, named “Turning Point 5” is an annual drill, conducted yearly after the 34-day 2006 war with Lebanon in which some 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers, died. Despite the rise in tension, however, U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon command insist the security situation has remained calm and that there have been no new developments Monday. “Nothing has changed and the situation is the same,” UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Daily Star. UNIFIL are not said to have raised alertness levels in light of the military drills and have described the Israeli measures, scheduled to last until June 26, as “routine.”
According to Israeli media, the first day of the maneuver saw unnamed regional council members receiving text message alerts to test the state of the telecommunication system and also witnessed military drills in a Haifa naval training base. The Israeli army estimates up to 800 rockets could be fired into northern and central Israel daily in the case of a war on multiple fronts, with “Turning Point 5” supposed to simulate the potential evacuation of 300,000 civilians. “The threat scenario presented by the [Israeli Army] is grave,” Israeli Brig. Gen. Meir Elran, who heads the program for civilian front studies at the Institute for National Security Studies, said in an opinion article published in Israeli media Monday. In the presented scenario Israel calculates “casualties and extensive damage to essential installations, for example the Israel Electric Corporation, thanks partly to new [enemy] technologies which allow for pinpoint-precise warheads and computer network attacks,” he said.

Assad’s speech not enough, Turkish President Abdullah Gul says
June 20, 2011 /Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that the speech of his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, was not enough, Reuters reported Monday. Reuters also quoted the Turkish leader as calling on Assad to “transform Syria into a multi-party system.” Earlier on Monday, Assad said that dialogue could lead to a new constitution and even the end of his Baath Party's monopoly on power but refused to reform Syria under "chaos." According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the violence in Syria has so far claimed the lives of 1,310 civilians and 341 security force members. Over 10,000 Syrians have fled to Turkey, with Turkish leaders slamming the Syrian regime’s crackdown on protests. -NOW Lebanon

US wants “actions, not words” from Assad
June 20, 2011 /The United States on Monday demanded "actions, not words" from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "What's important now is action, not words," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said after Assad’s speech earlier in the day.  "A speech is just words,” she added.Earlier on Monday, Assad said that dialogue could lead to a new constitution and even the end of his Baath Party's monopoly on power but refused to reform Syria under "chaos." According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the violence in Syria has so far claimed the lives of 1,310 civilians and 341 security force members.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon

EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton says Assad’s speech was “depressing”
June 20, 2011/EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton said in a press conference on Monday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s speech was “depressing,” Italian news agency AKI reported. She also said following a meeting of EU foreign minister that Europe calls on Damascus to launch a “real dialogue” with the Syrian people. Europe is ready to impose more sanctions on Syria, Ashton added. “We are cooperating with all regional parties that may have [contact] with Damascus.”Earlier on Monday, Assad said that dialogue could lead to a new constitution and even the end of his Baath Party's monopoly on power but refused to reform Syria under "chaos."-NOW Lebanon

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe: Assad at ‘point of no return’
June 20, 2011 /Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has reached "a point of no return," French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Monday following the Syrian leader's speech to his troubled nation. "Some believe there's still time for him to change his ways and commit to a [reform] process," Juppe said after Assad suggested in a televised speech that dialogue could lead to a new constitution. "For my part, I doubt it. I think that the point of no return has been reached," he told reporters at the close of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Luxembourg. Assad's speech, his third bid in three months to placate protesters, offered no reason to take him "more seriously today than yesterday.”
The Syrian leader said dialogue could lead to a new constitution and even the end of his Baath party's monopoly on power, but stated that he refused to reform Syria under "chaos."
His remarks immediately drew condemnation from pro-democracy activists who vowed that the "revolution" -- now in its fourth month -- must go on.-AFP/NOW Lebanon

Opposition rejects Assad’s offer of dialogue
June 21, 2011 /By Daily Star Staff Agencies BEIRUT: Opposition groups inside Syria and abroad labeled Syrian President Bashar Assad’s promises of reform Monday as “empty” and rejected calls for a National Dialogue. Protests erupted in at least 15 locations including in the restive northern province of Idlib, in the cities of Homs, Hama and Latakia in central Syria, and in the southern town of Deraa, where major protests first flared in mid-March, immediately after the 70-minute speech in which Assad said a national dialogue would start soon. Assad also said he was forming a committee to study constitutional amendments, including one that would open the way to forming political parties other than the ruling Baath Party.
He acknowledged demands for reform were legitimate, but he repeated allegations that “saboteurs” were exploiting the movement. Protesters took to the streets shouting “Liar!” and demanding his ouster. “We want only one thing: Toppling the regime!” read one banner among marchers in several cities Monday. “The timeline is not in [Assad’s] favor,” Mideast scholar Shadi Hamid, at The Brookings Doha Center in Qatar, told the Associated Press after what he called a “disappointing” speech. “The question is how long can Assad sustain the current situation?”
Mulhem Drubi, Syrian Muslim Brotherhood leader described the speech as “theoretical.” “He repeated old promises that do not offer a solution and are not implemented on the ground. He kept on saying Syria was subject to conspiracies that he likened to germs. He has been giving promises since day one. The street will continue its march toward freedom.
“He promised to hold the killers accountable. But the killers are his relatives and clique. First among them is his brother Maher, then the rest of the security apparatus.”
Elsewhere the concessions were met with skepticism, being dismissed as either symbolic or coming far too late. “The regime has no realization that this is a mass street movement demanding freedom and dignity,” opposition figure Walid al-Bunni said. “Assad has not said anything to satisfy the families of the 1,400 martyrs or the national aspiration of the Syrian people for the country to become a democracy.”
Activists say the ruthless military crackdown on demonstrators has only helped fuel the protests, and Assad’s praise for the army suggested there would be no stepping back from confrontation.“Until the army returns to its barracks, we have to support the army and help the army and ask it to help us,” he said.
Washington-based lawyer and head of the Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies, Radwan Ziadeh said the speech was “exactly as I anticipated.”
“What shocked me was the extent of his denial,” he said.
“He used exactly the same language about conspiracies as he has in the past … I don’t think anyone will accept anything less than for Bashar to step down after this.”
Similarly, the vague timetable and few specifics of Monday’s nationally televised address left Syrian dissidents deeply dissatisfied.
“It did not give a vision about beginning a new period to start a transfer from a dictatorship into a national democratic regime with political pluralism,” said prominent dissident Hasan Abdul-Azim. In Beirut, exiled cyber dissident Rami Nakhle said that the president had “lost all credibility.”
“He has made all these promises before and so far none of them have happened,” Nakhle said. “After 100 days of protests he is not even trying to address the real issues in context. There is absolutely no chance for a genuine national dialogue after this. There is no trust.”Assad appealed to the thousands of refugees camped in southern Turkey to come home, saying there would be no retribution. But Hussein, a Syrian refugee at a camp in Turkey, said he was too frightened to return. “I am not going back. I am not stupid,” he said, asking to be identified only by his first name for fear of reprisals.

Assad speech fails to placate critics
June 20, 2011/By Brooke Anderson
The Daily Star/ BEIRUT: In an effort to calm the unrest that has gripped the country for the past three months, Syrian President Bashar Assad gave his third speech Monday since the uprising began, blaming the protests on a foreign conspiracy, and promising reform and national dialogue. But analysts and activists were quick to criticize the speech for its repetition of previously unfulfilled promises. “We should be assessing his actions, and not another speech. Will the talk be followed by action on the ground? My initial reaction is no,” said Nadim Houry, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch in Beirut, noting that protests had already erupted within an hour of the speech’s delivery.
“Will they let free media and observers into Syria and monitor the situation? If they did, it would be different, but that’s not what’s happening today.”He added, “Are the security services going to stop the violence? I didn’t see any grand gestures.” Monday’s speech, delivered at Damascus University, comes as Assad faces increasing international pressure over a three-month-long uprising that has left more than 1,400, mainly civilians dead, according to activists. In the coming days, the United Nations is expected to put forth a resolution condemning the ongoing violence in Syria.
Born on Sept. 11, 1965, Assad is fluent in English and French and studied ophthalmology in Tehran between 1988 and 1992, before moving to London. But his life changed in 1994 when his elder brother Bassel, who was being groomed for the presidency, died in a car crash and Bashar returned to Damascus to embrace politics. In a country where military and politics are intertwined, Assad became a tank battalion commander in 1994 and rose to the rank of colonel in 1999. He was elected to the top body of the Baath party at its first congress in 15 years in June 2000 and Parliament passed an amendment to the Constitution, scrapping the minimum age limit of 40 to allow Bashar to run for president.
He was the only candidate for presidency after his father’s death and took office as Syria’s 16th president on July 11, 2000, at the age of 36.
In 2007, Assad won a referendum by 97 percent of votes, extending his term by another seven years. Syria’s already tense ties with Washington soured in the wake of the 2005 assassination of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a bombing which was widely blamed on Damascus. In Monday’s speech, it was Assad that was blaming foreigners for the attacks in Syria, as he had done in the previous two speeches, and characterized many of the protesters as fundamentalists. "We make a distinction between those [with legitimate grievances] and the saboteurs who represent a small group which has tried to exploit the goodwill of the Syrian people for its own ends."
But in contrast to his previous two speeches since the beginning of the uprising, this time Assad did stress the need for national dialogue and elections.
"The parliamentary elections, if they are not postponed, will be held in August. We will have a new parliament by August and I think we can say that we are able to accomplish this package [of reforms]..in September,” he said.
Assad added, "This dialogue is a very important issue which we have to give a chance because all of Syria's future, if we want it to be successful, has to be dependent on this dialogue in which all different parties on the Syrian arena will participate."
The president’s statement about political reform did come as a welcome surprise to Swiss-based Syrian activist Ziad Malki, who left Syria in 2005 after he was arrested for protesting against the country’s emergency law (which was lifted two months ago, but which is still being implemented to quell ongoing protests).
But after three months of unrest, Malki thought Assad should have made more concrete political promises, such as the removal of Article 8 of the Constitution which allows for no other parties other than the ruling Baath Party to operate – and at this point, he doesn’t see any hope for a national dialogue.
“Absolutely not, there will be no dialogue,” he said. “The opposition and the coordination committees on the ground were clear in saying they would not agree to dialogue before the withdrawal of the security forces and the army.”
Meanwhile, in his speech, the president said that “there would be no reform as long as there is chaos and sabotage.
Malki predicted that the speech will only fuel further protests.
“I expect to see a massive Friday protest this week,” he said. “This regime is unreformable. The forces have already gone too far in their violent crackdown. And with already over 1,300 victims, we're heading to a breaking point
“We're afraid that if this revolution takes much longer, the chances of civil war will only increase.
“But I think that after this speech, the world will move faster – especially Turkey.”
Syria’s neighbor to the north, its strong ally until the unrest, has now given Syria an ultimatum to reform. A senior Turkish official warned before Assad’s speech that Turkey would be watching what the president said closely.
Ersat Hurmuzlu, an adviser to Turkish President Abdullah Gul, told Al-Arabiya television Sunday night that Assad’s government had a week to reform.
Indeed, since the beginning of the uprising, particularly following the president’s speeches, there has been an increase in angry protests, international pressure and, as a result, growing political isolation. “There is real anger in the street, and people are convinced that the security services are unable to offer any real solution,” said Sanharib Farhat, an Aleppo-based activist.
He added, “The speech was classic, and expected. It reflected a failure to engage with the people and the events, and it exposes the political system as one that does not accept the idea of giving people the right to strive for freedom.”

Assad speech met with skepticism
June 21, 2011
By Daily Star Staff Agencies
BEIRUT: The United States, Turkey and the European Union increased the pressure on Bashar Assad Monday to speed up promised reforms following the Syrian president’s highly anticipated third national address since the start of political unrest in the country in mid-March. Facing a deepening political crisis and with protests spreading despite a military crackdown that has killed more than 1,300 people, Assad made a televised address in which he said a national dialogue would start soon to review new legislation including laws on parliamentary elections as early as August, draft a new media law, and allow political parties other than the Baath Party, as well as look at possible changes to the constitution. He made clear he would not be leaving in response to protests’ demands, claiming “saboteurs” among the protesters were serving a foreign conspiracy to sow chaos. Assad also called on refugees who have already crossed the frontier to come home.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said of the speech that what was needed in Syria was “action, not words.”
She noted that Assad blamed foreign instigators for Syria’s upheaval, “rather than appreciating that his own people are simply disgusted by a regime that supports itself through repression, corruption and fear.” She also reported that Ambassador Robert Ford, U.S. envoy to Damascus, headed Monday to northern Syria to investigate events in what has been the bloodiest recent zone of resistance and crackdown in the country. With up to 10,000 refugees fleeing across the northern border into Turkey in recent weeks, the two countries’ relations have severely strained Turkey’s policy of “zero problems with neighbors” under which it has befriended the Middle East’s entrenched autocratic rulers while presenting itself as a champion of democracy. A senior Turkish official said Sunday that Assad had less than a week to start implementing long-promised political reforms before “foreign intervention” begins, although he did not specify what this might mean.
On Monday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said in a speech that Assad’s proposals were “not enough,” and that he should transform Syria into a multiparty democracy.
“Assad should clearly and precisely say: ‘Everything has changed. We’re transforming the system into a multiparty one. Everything will be organized according to the Syrian’s people will, and I will be carrying out this process,’” Gul said, in the latest sign Turkey is losing patience with its former ally.
The Arab League, which had been largely silent on Syria, came out in strong support of Assad, its deputy secretary-general, Ahmad bin Heli, an Algerian, saying Syria was a “main factor of balance and stability in the region.” He said the league rejects any foreign intervention in its affairs – a reference to Western efforts to push through a condemnatory resolution at the U.N. Security Council and to expand economic sanctions already imposed on some in the Syrian leadership. Following a Luxembourg meeting Monday, EU foreign ministers said they were preparing such new penalties, but announced none, as they condemned the worsening violence in Syria in the strongest language.
Meanwhile Russian President Dmitry Medvedev practically ruled out Moscow backing any U.N. resolution condemning Assad’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. In an interview published Monday in the Financial Times, Medvedev criticized the way Western countries had interpreted U.N. Resolution 1973 on Libya, which he said turned it into “a scrap of paper to cover up a pointless military operation,” adding that he “would not like a Syrian resolution to be pulled off in a similar manner.”
The Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, speaking ahead of the EU meeting, said Assad had a last chance to “concretely start reforms,” but added that many people were losing hope.
“So far we have been looking at horrible crimes … Police shooting civilians in the streets … This is absolutely unacceptable,” Frattini told reporters. British Foreign Secretary William Hague dubbed the speech “unconvincing,” EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was “disappointed,” and Germany’s Guido Westerwelle labelled him “incorrigible.” While in Luxemborg, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said: “Some believe that there’s still time for him to change his ways and commit to a [reform] process. For my part, I doubt it. I think that the point of no return has been reached.”

Syria's Assad orders new amnesty as huge crowd rallies
June 21, 2011 Agence France Presse/Daily Star
DAMASCUS: President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday ordered a new general amnesty, a day after an offer of "national dialogue" to end Syria's deadly unrest and as a huge crowd rallied in Damascus in his support.
"President Assad has issued a decree granting a general amnesty for crimes committed before the date of June 20, 2011," state news agency SANA announced without giving details.
The president had already ordered a general amnesty on May 31 for all political prisoners, including Muslim Brotherhood members. Hundreds of detainees were released, according to rights groups. "I sensed that that amnesty was not satisfactory so we are going to extend it to include others, without endangering the security of the state," Assad said in his televised speech on Monday. Tens of thousands of people rallied on Tuesday in central Damascus. Omeyyades Square was turned into a sea of pro-Assad demonstrators, waving Syrian flags and the president's portrait, chanting, "We will sacrifice ourselves for you, Bashar!" State television said a huge pro-Assad demonstration was also held in Homs, a flashpoint city north of Damascus. "Millions of Syrians" flocked to squares around the country to hail his speech, it said.
In the address, three months into anti-regime protests and a crackdown by security forces that has cost hundreds of lives, Assad said a national dialogue could lead to a new constitution but refused to reform Syria under "chaos." Pro-democracy activists, however, condemned the speech and vowed the "revolution" – now in its fourth month – would carry on, while the U.S. State Department called for "action, not words." European foreign ministers, meanwhile, agreed to beef up sanctions on the embattled president over his regime's deadly crackdown on protests, with some calling on him to reform or "step down."Assad acknowledged in his speech that Syria had reached a "turning point," but said dialogue could lead to a new constitution and end nearly five decades of his Baath party's monopoly on power – a key opposition demand.
"We can say that national dialogue is the slogan of the next stage," the president said. "The national dialogue could lead to amendments of the constitution or to a new constitution."
Reform was "a total commitment in the interest of the nation," he said in his third speech to the nation since anti-regime protests broke out in mid-March.
Assad offered condolences to the families of "martyrs" killed in the unrest rocking the country but stressed there could be "no development without stability, no reform in the face of sabotage and chaos."Witnesses and opposition activists said Assad's speech was followed by protests in many parts of Syria, including the northern city of Aleppo, the central regions of Homs and Hama, and in Damascus suburbs.
"The protesters condemned the speech which branded them as saboteurs, extremists," the head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, told AFP by telephone. Sixty demonstrators were arrested in Aleppo in 24 hours, said Abdel Rahman, whose group says the violence has so far killed 1,310 civilians and 341 security force members.
Opposition activists said Assad's speech failed to specify concrete steps – namely the pullout of troops from besieged cities – and only deepened the crisis.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said in Luxembourg: "Some believe that there's still time for him to change his ways and commit to a [reform] process. For my part, I doubt it. I think that the point of no return has been reached."

Jumblatt praises Assad speech, urges immediate Syrian reforms
June 21, 2011/The Daily Star BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt urged the Syrian leadership Monday to immediately execute political reforms and not waste time discussing the mechanisms of implementation. “We hope Syrian President Bashar Assad’s speech is a cornerstone for strengthening Syria’s stability and national unity, since it included a commitment to uphold the path of reform and promote laws increasing freedom and democracy before the end of the year,” he said.
In an effort to calm the unrest that has gripped the country for the past three months, Assad gave his third speech since the uprising began, in which he blamed the protests on a foreign conspiracy and promised reform and national dialogue. Jumblatt said that reforms in Syria required all factions to unite to confront attempts to undermine Damascus’ role in the Arab-Israeli conflict. “That is why we look forward to the quick initiation of dialogue in Syria, while avoiding falling into discussions over mechanisms and frameworks to determine how to implement reforms that have been already approved,” Jumblatt added in his weekly editorial to the PSP-affiliated Al-Anbaa newspaper. The Druze leader stressed equally the importance of avoiding chaos in Syria and promoting political freedom. Despite mounting international pressure, the Syrian regime has confronted the street protests with a crackdown that has killed more than 1,400 people, according to human rights groups. Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, vice president of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council praised Assad’s speech, saying it promised a bright future for the Syrian people. Qabalan called on the Syrian opposition to cooperate with Assad to implement reforms and deny “saboteurs” the opportunity to exploit legitimate popular demands in a bid to fuel unrest and chaos.“We reject murder and hatred and we hope to see you endorse reforms,” said Qabalan, addressing the Syrian people.
Emphasizing the need to keep Lebanon from the negative repercussions of unrest in Syria, Jumblatt urged local Tripoli officials to remain neutral and refrain from supporting or opposing the Syrian regime amid mounting security tensions in the northern city. At least seven people were killed and more than 20 wounded in clashes between gunmen of rival groups Friday.
Gunmen from the mainly Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh district exchanged gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades with gunmen from the predominantly Alawite Jabal Mohsen neighborhood, shortly after supporters of the anti-regime protests in Syria staged a demonstration in Bab al-Tabbaneh.

Mansour: Israel, Cyprus maritime agreement violates Lebanon's rights
June 20, 2011 /The Daily Star /Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour has described last year’s agreement between Israel and Cyprus to demarcate the controversial Israeli maritime borders as a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty. BEIRUT: Newly appointed Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour described in a letter to the U.N. Monday that last year’s agreement between Israel and Cyprus to demarcate the controversial Israeli maritime borders as a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and economic rights. “This agreement is a violation of Lebanon's sovereignty and economic rights and threatens peace and security in the area,” Mansour said, following reports that Israel was conducting offshore drilling for oil and gas in the Mediterranean, some of which might fall in Lebanese territorial waters. In his first action as foreign minister, Mansour addressed U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in his letter, asking him to take the necessary measures to prevent any conflict that might occur as a result of Israel’s offshore activities. Cyprus signed a memorandum of cooperation with Israel for surveying and mapping in joint research energy projects in December 2010.In August of that year, Lebanese MPs passed a law authorizing exploration and drilling of offshore oil and gas fields.
Lebanon has repeatedly voiced its fears that Israel could extract gas and oil reserves that are located within its own territorial waters, with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s Cabinet also asking the U.N. to preserve Lebanon’s maritime sovereignty, along with maritime and natural resources in south Lebanon, in line with Security Council Resolutions 1701, 425 and 426.
Lebanon argues that based on these resolutions, which demarcate the southern land border between Israel and Lebanon, the U.N. should help define the countries’ maritime border.

STL refuses comment about end-June indictment rumors
June 21, 2011 /By Patrick Galey The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The court probing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri declined to be drawn Monday on rumors that a finalized indictment naming suspects was imminent, as Prime Minister Najib Mikati stressed that all forces and Lebanese political groups sought to achieve justice and avoid and security risks.
Sources have suggested that Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will finalize an amended indictment by Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare in the coming days. An STL spokesperson said the timeframe the court issued in May, when Bellemare issued a second amendment to the indictment, was still valid.
“We said on May 6 that we anticipate the Pre-Trial Judge will complete the review process in the coming months. That timeline still stands,” court spokesperson Marten Youssef told The Daily Star. “The timing is entirely dependent on legal considerations and the review will conclude when the pre-trial judge completes his work.”
Bellemare issued an initial indictment in January, only to amend it in March and a second time in May.
The United Nations-backed court is one of the new Cabinet’s thorniest foreign policy issues. Lebanon agreed in 2007 to cooperate with the court although such a pledge could be challenged by the March 8-dominated government if, as anticipated, Hezbollah members are named in the indictment. Minister of State Salim Karam indicated to The Daily Star Monday that Lebanon’s cooperation with the STL will not feature in the new Cabinet’s policy statement. “We have been given a very bad impression of the STL and there are many things that give us the impression that they are not trustworthy,” Karam said. The minister added that the new Cabinet would not vow to continue cooperation with the court and would instead judge the situation after an indictment emerged. “I think that we took a decision about the tribunal to deal with [the indictment] when it comes. [Bellemare] is not certain of what he is doing, therefore we should wait until the time to take a decision to deal with him,” Karam said.
“There is no problem as long as everything is legal and nothing is handled in political ways. Things should be judged fairly. “Finishing this story would be the best. At the moment, the tribunal is the only voice on this issue and the world believes their word, no one else’s. Anyone who can see that when there is something wrong, we need to be careful,” he added.
Mikati demurred over Lebanon’s commitment to the court. “There are two parts of the STL, an internal one and an external one. In the internal matter, I am certain that all forces and Lebanese political groups want to achieve justice and avoid security risks,” Mikati said in a statement. When Fransen accepts Bellemare’s amended indictment, the pre-trial judge will submit it to nations in which suspects are believed to reside. Fransen himself decides on whether or not the contents or suspects of the indictment are publicly announced. The court has no specific timeframe for this and both Bellemare and the STL’s defense office have the option to appeal. The country or countries that receive the indictment are expected by the court to seek out named individuals. The tribunal’s statute says that STL President Antonio Cassese needs to be satisfied that states are making sufficient efforts to apprehend the accused.
If no suspects are located, Cassese will issue a public advertisement, providing the accused a 30-day grace period to hand themselves in to local authorities. If this fails to materialize, the court has the right to commence in absentia proceedings. “As for Lebanon’s cooperation, according to the agreements between Lebanon and the STL as well as U.N. Security Council resolutions, Lebanon is obliged to cooperate with the work of the STL,” Youssef said.

Spy for Israel sentenced to death
June 20, 2011 /The Daily Star BEIRUT: Lebanon's military tribunal sentenced a Lebanese merchant to death Monday on espionage charges, including assisting the Israeli Army.
Bassam Abu Jawdeh was convicted of spying for the Israeli intelligence and assisting the Israeli Army to defeat the Lebanese Army by providing them with information.
Military Investigative Judge Fadi Swan requested the death penalty for Abu Jawdeh, pursuant to article 274 of the penal code, which stipulates that the death penalty can be imposed if a spy’s activity has led to loss of Lebanese life, and articles 278 and 275. Under Lebanese law, the death penalty requires the approval of the president, prime minister and justice minister.
In January, the military court also requested the death penalty against six Lebanese on charges of collaborating with Israel, indirectly leading to the deaths of several resistance fighters.
Since launching a crackdown against suspected intelligence agents in 2007, the Lebanese Army has rounded up over 150 individuals, including high-ranking military officials and telecommunications staff suspected of spying for Israel. Former Gen. Fayez Karam, a senior member of the Free Patriotic Movement, is the most recent high profile case of a senior official convicted of collaborating with Israel. Karam faces the prospect of being jailed for three to 15 years with hard labor, under Article 278 of the penal code.
Col. Antoine Abu Jaoude is also currently standing trial for collaborating with Israel, and providing Mossad with names and addresses of Lebanese Army and Hezbollah officials, in an attempt to aid the Israelis in any potential future invasion of Lebanon. If Abu Jaoude is found guilty, he could faces the death penalty on charges of treason.

Expatriates’ remittances revised upward
June 21, 2011 /The Daily Star BEIRUT: The World Bank revised upward its estimate for expatriates’ remittances inflows to Lebanon to $8.4 billion in 2010 from a forecast of $8.2 billion last November. As a result, the growth of remittance flows to Lebanon year-on-year increased to 11.3 percent from a November estimate of 8.2 percent, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group. Lebanon posted the second fastest growth rate in remittances among the 10 largest recipients in developing economies last year, behind only Vietnam where remittance flows grew by 17 percent year-on-year. But the World Bank said remittance inflows to Lebanon grew by 6.5 percent in 2010 when adjusted for inflation in local currency. As such, Lebanon posted the second fastest growth of remittance flows in real local currency terms among the 10 largest recipients of remittances in developing economies last year. Vietnam ranked first among developing countries with a growth of 16.4 percent in real terms.
Lebanon was the 12th largest recipient of remittances globally, the 8th largest recipient among developing economies, and the largest in the MENA region in 2010. It ranked ahead of Egypt and Vietnam, and behind Pakistan and Nigeria among developing economies.
Also, Lebanon was the largest recipient of remittances among 17 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region as well as among 14 Arab countries included in the survey.
Further, Lebanon was the second largest recipient of remittances among 42 Upper Middle Income Countries (UMICs) covered by the survey. It ranked ahead of Russia, Serbia and Romania, and came only behind Mexico among UMICs.
Remittances inflows to Lebanon accounted for 1.9 percent of the global inflow of remittances in 2010, relative to 1.8 percent in 2009 and 1.6 percent in 2008, while they represent 2.6 percent of aggregate remittances to developing economies last year, up from 2.5 percent in 2009 and 2.2 percent in 2008. They also account for 21.7 percent of remittance inflows to Arab countries and for 22 percent of total remittance flows to the MENA region in 2010.
Further, they represented 10.6 percent of remittance inflows to UMICs in 2010 relative to 9.7 percent in 2009 and 7.8 percent in 2008. Also, the 11.6 percent nominal rise in remittances to Lebanon in 2010 is significantly higher than the 6.2 percent growth in inflows to the MENA region, the 5.6 percent increase for developing countries, the 2.5 percent rise for UMICs, and the global growth of 5.4 percent last year.
In parallel, expatriates’ remittances to Lebanon were equivalent to 21.4 percent of GDP in 2010, the highest among the top 10 recipients in developing economies.
The World Bank projected the flow of remittances to the MENA region to increase by 3.4 percent in 2011, constituting the slowest growth rate among all developing regions.

Mikati briefs envoys on Cabinet creation, policy
June 21, 2011
By Hussein Dakroub, Hassan Lakkis
The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Najib Mikati met Monday with Arab and foreign ambassadors at the Grand Serail to brief them on the circumstances that led to the formation of his Cabinet and on his government’s policy on U.N. resolutions while affirming Lebanon’s respect of these resolutions, including the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Mikati met separately with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly in her first meeting with the prime minister since he unveiled a 30-member Cabinet on June 13. Reporters based at the Grand Serail said the meeting was tense, with Mikati looking very serious.
Contrary to custom, Connelly only said there would be no statement this time from the U.S. Embassy about her talks with Mikati. The embassy had issued statements about Connelly’s previous meetings with Mikati in the past four months when he was working on the Cabinet’s formation. The statements were similar in content with one clear message: “The United States reiterated that the international community would assess its relationship with the new government based on its makeup, policy statement and the actions it takes concerning Lebanon’s international obligations, including the STL,” which is probing the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The U.S. has not yet commented on Mikati’s Cabinet, which is dominated by Hezbollah and its March 8 allies. Connelly’s tense meeting with Mikati most probably reflected Washington’s resentment of the Cabinet lineup which totally excluded the March 14 parties who have decided to boycott Mikati.
Diplomatic sources said Connelly might have linked U.S. cooperation with Lebanon to the contents of the government’s policy statement, while stressing her country’s keenness that Lebanon respect all U.N. resolutions and tackle the issue of illegitimate arms – a reference to Hezbollah’s weapons.
During his meeting with the Arab ambassadors, Mikati stressed Lebanon’s respect of U.N. resolutions, including the one relating to the STL, while taking into account the “the Lebanese security characteristics,” as an Arab ambassador put it.
A ministerial source said that if the STL’s decisions would threaten national peace in Lebanon, the Lebanese government could not agree to them.
The STL’s indictment is widely expected to implicate some Hezbollah members in Hariri’s assassination, raising fears of sectarian strife. Hezbollah has repeatedly denied involvement.
Addressing the Arab ambassadors, Mikati said: “Lebanon must always maintain the best relations with all sisterly and friendly states. I will try to apply this matter while I am in office.”
Referring to the STL and U.N. resolutions, he said, “I have repeatedly said that Lebanon is one of the founders of the U.N. Organization and it respects its resolutions, particularly Resolution 1701.” Resolution 1701 ended the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon. Regarding the STL, Mikati said he was confident that all Lebanese political groups and parties wanted to achieve right and justice in Hariri’s assassination and “spare Lebanon any security risks that threaten its stability.”
Earlier Monday, Mikati chaired a security meeting at the Grand Serail to discuss measures taken by the Lebanese Army and security forces to restore calm to Tripoli after last week’s clashes between rival factions which left seven people dead and over 20 wounded. The meeting was attended by the interior and defense ministers, Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi and senior military and police officers. Mikati said security forces are responsible for maintaining security fairly across Lebanon. “I would like to stress that the role of security forces is the same across all [Lebanese] regions – to maintain security without discrimination,” he added.
“There is no difference between pro- and anti-government supporters when it comes to the public safety,” Mikati added.
Mikati’s meetings with the ambassadors came on the eve of a second meeting of a ministerial committee formed to draft the government’s policy statement on the basis of which the Cabinet will seek Parliament’s vote of confidence During last week’s meeting, the committee, headed by Mikati, drew up the outlines of the policy statement, which is expected to outline the government’s position on thorny issues such as Hezbollah’s arms and the STL. Meanwhile, some March 14 lawmakers and politicians have met with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri in Paris over the past 48 hours to discuss the opposition’s plans against the Mikati government, a political source said.
Future bloc MPs renewed their call Monday for an arms-free Tripoli following last Friday’s clashes between gunmen from the mainly Sunni Bab al-Tabbaneh district and those from the predominantly Alawite Jabal Mohsen neighborhood.
Fifteen MPs, mainly from northern Lebanon, met at ex-Prime Minister Fouad Siniora’s office to discuss ways to prevent renewed fighting. The meeting was also attended by Tripoli Mufti Malek al-Shaar who called in a statement for a demilitarized Tripoli as a first step toward collecting arms from all of Lebanon.
Hariri’s Future bloc called Sunday for Tripoli to be declared an arms-free city as a war of words erupted between Mikati and the March 14-led opposition.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea joined the Future bloc in calling for Tripoli to be declared a demilitarized city. “Tripoli should be arms-free, especially since all the main and other parties are demanding this radical solution. Tripoli is not a border city but an internal city. Why is this quantity of arms in it?” he said.
Apparently responding to Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai who voiced support for the government and said it should be given a chance, Geagea said, “Those who call on us to give the government a chance to work we say the Cabinet’s setup indicates its course and the extent of its productivity … This government poses a real danger to Lebanon.”

No better time to disarm
June 20, 2011
Now Lebanon/Friday’s fighting in Tripoli was a warning to Najib Mikati’s new government that it must firmly grip a serious security situation. Seven people, including a child and a soldier, were killed in fighting between residents of the Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen and the Sunni quarter of Bab al-Tebbaneh in a bloody gun battle that sent terrified residents scurrying for cover. The honeymoon period is over.This is not the first time that sectarian hostility in Tripoli has spilled over into deadly violence. Tensions have been simmering for decades, and in recent years the area has been rightly identified as Lebanon’s soft security underbelly. In light of the uprising in Syria, the Tripoli dynamic is potentially explosive. Lebanon’s Sunnis are not predisposed to the Assad regime, and those in the north, many of whom have close family in nearby Syria, are now on an almost war footing in light of the repression being meted out by Damascus. The pro-Syrian Alawites, an offshoot of Shia Islam, are not only seen as a natural enemy but also as willing to do the bidding of a Syrian regime that might wish to ignite sectarian conflict in Lebanon, a situation it can use to its advantage.
Not surprisingly, conspiracy theories abound. Mikati’s earlier call for a “peaceful opposition” was a veiled hint at March 14’s involvement in the violence, perhaps to highlight Mikati’s perceived lack of legitimacy within the wider Sunni community. Others pointed the finger at Damascus for obvious reasons. With no clear evidence to support either, the responsible lens through which to view Friday’s events is to work on the basis that at such a highly charged time, an eruption was inevitable and was spontaneous. It is now incumbent upon the government to control the situation using the instruments of state with as little whiff of sectarian bias as possible.
It is easier said than done, but if Mikati’s new cabinet is to demonstrate its much-trumpeted credentials as a government for all Lebanese, then it must show that security is its priority. Mikati has so far played it with a straight bat. In an interview with the Lebanese daily As-Safir, he echoed March 14’s call for Tripoli to be free of arms, and it is, on the face of it, a positive move.
It is easy to say that by doing so he is walking into a sectarian minefield, that there are those who will point to Beirut, where similar calls for an arms-free zone have fallen on deaf ears. And then we have the bigger elephant in the room. The inference that designating Tripoli an arms-free zone is that Lebanon’s default setting is that of an “armed” zone, a debate that eventually leads to the very heart of the Resistance and its own vast arsenal of long-range missiles.
But we should support Mikati’s call for an arms-free Tripoli, for if we don’t, we will simply, as the Americans say, kick the can further down the road on the issue of non-state arms. At some point the matter must be addressed, and now is as good a time as any. The country has an apparently united government, so there is less room for excuses, especially given the robust promises from the March 8 camp that security and respect for the army are paramount. Let them, again as the Americans say, walk the talk.  A successful initiative might lead to the same being applied in Beirut and to Lebanon’s other urban hubs and perhaps even into the Palestinian camps. This would then leave only the issue of the Resistance, which would at least be confined to its original mandate. We are not saying that this would be a perfect situation, but given the potential gains, it is one we could live with… for the time being at least.

The Syrian President’s pathetic speech
Hanin Ghaddar, June 20, 2011 /Now Lebanon
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad delivered a speech that does not rise to the Syrian people’s expectations and courage. He spoke of upcoming reforms and dialogue, pretending that he is still in control and is still loved by many Syrian citizens. The first wave of reactions inside Syria were of more anger and an unambiguous call for him to step down.
The Syrian people just want to topple the regime. As for reforms, they believe they can implement them after he’s gone. The only card left in Assad’s hands is Lebanon.
The Syrian regime has recently become more cornered than ever, not only because of sanctions and international isolation, but because it has lost two of its close allies: Qatar and Turkey. Because of this, Lebanon could not be left with a government vacuum any longer; Syria needed a stronger backyard. Now the Syrian regime and Hezbollah control everything in Lebanon, formally and legitimately. Last week, a Syrian-Hezbollah government was born in Lebanon. Suddenly, all the bickering over shares and ministries that stalled the cabinet formation for six months vanished when the go-ahead came from Damascus. With March 14 already out of the way, it was easy to manage the pro-Syrian politicians’ greedy grabs for more power, and a government was thrown together in a matter of two days. The formation of the Lebanese government and its mission shed light on the Syrian regime’s desire to maintain its presence in Lebanon the same way it is dealing with the uprising at home: via confrontation and brutality. With Lebanon in his pocket, Assad thinks he still has at least one regional card with which he could bargain with the international community, as Hezbollah is still armed and strong in Lebanon, and constitutes a major threat to Israel.
In his speech, Assad outlined the next phase of his regime’s plan to contain the Syrian revolution. He spoke of reforms and pretended to have listened to the people’s demands.
He probably thinks that speaking of reforms with more details might make him a bit more credible in front of the international community, which certainly fears continuous violence and chaos in Syria. However, the Syrian people long ago stopped believing their president. Many Syrian activists and demonstrators feel that such a proposition is too late now. The main demand now has gone beyond the original call for reform; the Syrian people want to topple the regime. Even if certain reforms were implemented, what happened since Assad first promised them makes any talk or action in that direction futile. Assad and his officers have killed and tortured thousands, including children, and the anger in the streets has escalated to a whole new level now. For those who have been witnessing pure horror every day for the past three months, the president is not qualified to be president anymore.
Assad’s speech should not be met with any serious consideration. But before reacting, and out of respect for those who died since the last time Assad spoke, we must wait to see the Syrian people’s reactions first. In any case, the signs are not promising. The mere fact that the Lebanese government was formed to include only pro-Syrian politicians who have already started their confrontational strategy before the ministerial statement is even drafted means that Assad does not mean well.
Any good intentions or genuine desire for reforms would have led to a different cabinet in Lebanon, one that would respect Lebanon’s fragile democratic system and the results of the last parliamentary elections. Such a cabinet would have apologized for the “black-shirts coup” against Saad Hariri’s fallen government instead of putting MP Michel Aoun at the front to plainly tell Hariri never to come back to Lebanon.On the contrary, this government was tailored to protect the Syrian regime and defend its brutality, in addition to taking a confrontational stance against international resolutions, including the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and its impending indictment. It is a case of extreme schizophrenia that the Assad regime promised reforms in Syria while forming a confrontational government in Lebanon. In any case, no matter what the Lebanese government was tailored to achieve, it has come at a very bad time. Lebanon feels today as if the Syrian regime is back, with one detail that makes a big difference: The Syrian regime is not as strong in Syria as it is in Lebanon. This time, the Lebanese might not be able to remove Assad’s grip over this country or topple his government; the Syrian people will.
Hanin Ghaddar is managing editor of NOW Lebanon

Bashar al-Assad , Monday Speech
June 20, 2011
Now Lebanon
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Monday that dialogue could lead to a new constitution and even the end of his Baath Party's monopoly on power but refused to reform Syria under "chaos”:
“The season of conspiracy is flourishing. I wish I had met every Syrian citizen. I salute all citizens, every brother and sister who renounced their values to make Syria strong.
My delay in delivering a speech gave room to plenty of rumors in the country. I was late in delivering my speech because I wanted to talk about what I have achieved [so far] and what I want to achieve. My popular meetings establish the greatness of those Syrian people that are responsive and patriotic.
We meet at a [critical] moment in the history of our country. I offer my condolences to the [families] of the martyrs. Despite the great loss and pain, we discovered our true national metal, with its strength and its weaknesses.
Our choice is to look forward to the future…we control events and we lead them instead of allowing them to lead us. The question today is: what is happening [in Syria]? I do not [doubt] that in the past Syria has been the target of conspiracies. Conspiracies are like germs, they cannot be abolished, but immunity against them can be strengthened. Some say that there is no conspiracy. This is not an objective remark.
What is there to say about the foreign stances that are exerting pressure on Syria? What is there to say about the media and the state-of-the-art cell phones that the Syrian people are using? What is happening in Syrian streets has three constituents: The first is the need that is motivating some people and we should all listen to them and not neglect their demands. But the people’s needs cannot be an incentive to vandalize. Some people took to the streets to demonstrate but most of them did not have motives to do so. Those who want to vandalize are exploiting the Syrian people. The state’s efforts to implement the law do not justify its neglect of the people’s needs, and some people’s needs do not justify spreading chaos and violating the law. There is still a fear factor that is preventing the people from approaching state institutions.
About the amnesty law, it was the most comprehensive one. I will ask the Justice Ministry to study the possibility to expand the amnesty in future decrees. The most dangerous thing is extremism. It surfaces when it is offered the chance. However, [extremism] kills in the name of religion and vandalizes under the pretext of reform. Arms were used to vandalize and they were used during demonstrations. They distorted the image of the country [on the international level] and called for foreign interference and tried to weaken [Syria’s] political and national stance.
Some people meant to use sectarian rhetoric [to escalate the situation]. I am only talking about a minority - few Syrian people who used arms and committed genocide, which was the case in the town of Jisr al-Shughur. They tried to commit other massacres such as in the city of Maarat an-Naaman but the town’s people thwarted the armed people’s attempts. Many succeeded [in spreading chaos] but many failed. The response came from the Syrian people, who showed a high level of awareness.
Ethical and psychological chaos is hard to be reformed. This is what they want to achieve…We might not feel it today but the price [that we will have to pay in the future] is going to be high. Did the revolution improve the situation? There is no evolution without stability. Thus, we have to reform what was vandalized, and those who spread chaos. We must [go as far as] isolate them and then we will be able to progress.
I met many groups of people…despite general frustration I felt love and care from these people who represent the majority of the Syrian people. Meeting with the people was the most important thing I did. I feel the same way toward them too. My meetings were honest and wide-ranging. Some were local and targeted the district-level and others were more general. The people expressed anger melded with care. I sensed suffering with respect to the wages, and the lack of justice…. but I also felt the love of this people and their support for our political path. The most dangerous things are the results of corruption. Corruption is a decrease in ethics...institutions must be improved through reforms.
We will not deal easily with anyone who cannot bear responsibility. We cannot talk about national dialogue if the largest percentage of the people is neglected. Dialogue between the opposition and the state is not restricted to politics; it is the dialogue of all groups [of people]. The dialogue we launched helped convey the future of Syria and develop a vision for the future.
The dialogue committee does not engage in dialogue, but sets the timeframe. The committee decided to hold a meeting in a few days. More than 100 people are invited to attend and discuss about the talking points. Dialogue is very important, we must give it a chance, because the future of Syria depends on it. The requests of the people have been fulfilled even before dialogue was launched so that the dignity of the citizen is protected.
The media will play a key role and will be the eye of the citizen and its voice in the fight against corruption. The new law of local administration establishes the powers and relations between the [different] levels of local management and reflects positively on the general performance. A new bill for parties will enrich their diversity and give room for larger participation to political life. All these bills will be revealed in the national dialogue and they will lead to profound change. Everyone in the state is enthusiastic about implementing reforms but the question is which are the useful reforms.
We are convinced that reforming benefits the country as well as the citizen. We cannot make reforms without knowing what they will lead to. Leadership is a process of interaction; the leader walks [as the frontrunner] and the people [stand] by him. We must shoulder responsibility together. We have people who are aware.
About the constitution: it might be better to change the entire constitution. But some suggest to amend articles [in the constitution], and maybe change it later. If we are done with the bill of parties and elections, we will be able to begin the national dialogue. I cannot set a timeframe.
The elections for the People’s Council are still on time. They will be held in August and we will have a new council then. Amending the constitution requires a new People’s Council. All ratifications will be over before the end of the year. The cabinet issued several reforms that improve the citizens’ standard of living. The cabinet is also working on further lessening the people’s income concerns. The most dangerous thing is the collapse of the Syrian economy. We will overcome this challenge by resuming the normal [stable] life in the country.
I thank all those who contributed to supporting the Syrian currency. The development of administrations remains the biggest challenge. Those measures that we are taking now do not solve long-term problems, unless we identify the [most suitable] economic model for the country, which achieves social justice as well.
The media will contribute to administrative development. The next phase is that of transforming Syria into a workshop in order to compensate the [loss] of time and the damages that were done. Stopping the bleeding of the Syrians is a responsibility we all have. We will work on penalizing everyone responsible for the bloodshed. The state is like a mother and father, it has room for everyone. I call on every person who was displaced to return to their homes as soon as possible. And I call on the people of Jisr al-Shughur who fled to Turkey to return to their town. Some said that the state will take revenge, but I tell you, nobody will take revenge on anyone.
The Syrian army is deployed for the sake of the citizens and their cities. The state is doing its part by [implementing] reforms, [providing] services and [holding those responsible] accountable. The most important thing is to have the police and the judiciary deal with the people, and not the army. The unfortunate thing in Syria is that the police wire is small and needs development. We hope the army will withdraw to its posts soon.
The problem will be solved politically, but there will not be a political solution to those who carry arms. We will work on pursuing and penalizing all those responsible for bloodshed. Until the army withdraws to its posts, we must help the army. The army is honor and dignity.
The [Syrian] youth should prepare themselves for the [future] of the political life in Syria. The young people are aware and mature. I will seek a meeting [with the youth] in the future. Reform and development are necessary to confront all conspiracies. Preserving security is the route for succeeding [in making reforms]. The strength of the state comes from the strength of the people. The army, police and people should work hand in hand to avert strife.
As long as you have this spirit, Syria is fine.”

Assad needs to give much more than a speech to halt Syria protests
By Zvi Bar'el /Haaretz
Is Syria turning to democracy? Will its regime structure change? Will Assad step down? President Bashar Assad has answered each of these three questions, which stand at the heart of the Syrian civil rebellion, with a definitive no.
Assad's more than hour-long speech to the Syrian and international public on Monday showed that Assad believes that Syria is being subjected to an attack of schemes which can be prevented by the government's planned reforms, scheduled according to the regime's timetable.
Demonstrators calling for a free Syria protest outside Buckingham Place in London on May, 24, 2011.
The main principle of the reform he suggested deals with a series of laws that have yet to be written or approved and are meant to better Syrian bureaucracy, not the actual structure of the regime. He suggested changing the law regarding political parties, without mentioning whether the opposition will be allowed to have a vote, and to (maybe) change the constitution, without announcing a change of regime structure.
The initial reactions to the speech by the Syrian opposition show that Assad's address failed to convince the people, and they do not intend on ceasing their protests until Assad and his staff step down from power.
Assad's main outlook, that the state is the "merciful mother" whose citizens need to be loyal to at any price, has not changed. According to this view, Syrian citizens are divided into three types: citizens with legitimate demands which the state must answer; felons prepared to break the law (he even mentioned the number 64,000 felons) but who the state can rehabilitate, and a minority of terrorists acting according to a foreign agenda whose purpose is to destroy Syria and bring it back to the days when it was a "village country."
Assad abstained from specifically mentioning the foreign conspirators, and did not mention the U.S., Israel, or Turkey even once, but "every loyal Syrian citizen" knows well who the enemies of his state are.
Assad offered the "good" public a national dialogue through which the demands will be outlined and then be transferred to the operational stage by drawing up laws or handing out administrative instructions. The dialogue is also commanded by the same "fatherly" outlook: several hundred public officials chosen by the regime will be the participants and a committee set up by the regime will be choosing the topics and which subjects will be passed on.
Assad also said the crisis could last months and even years and that Syrians will just have to learn to live with it. His call on the public to support the military and to cooperate with it shows that even Assad is not deluding himself that his speech will end the rebellion.
Assad's descriptions of Syria's bureaucratic and economic failures and his recognition in the need to change laws and battle corruption illustrate a rare self-criticism by the Syrian president not only in face of his staff but also in the face of Syrian history, including the period of his father's rule, Hafez Assad.
This is the most serious and perhaps most critical crisis in four decades that the Assad family's reign has been entrenched in – and much more than a fatherly speech will be needed to put a stop to it.