LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِNovember
12/2011
Bible Quotation
for today/Jesus Walks on the Water
Matthew 14/22-33: "Then Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on
ahead to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people away. After
sending the people away, he went up a hill by himself to pray. When evening
came, Jesus was there alone; and by this time the boat was far out in the lake,
tossed about by the waves, because the wind was blowing against it. Between
three and six o'clock in the morning Jesus came to the disciples, walking on the
water. When they saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. It's a
ghost! they said, and screamed with fear. Jesus spoke to them at once. Courage!
he said. It is I. Don't be afraid! Then Peter spoke up. Lord, if it is really
you, order me to come out on the water to you. Come! answered Jesus. So Peter
got out of the boat and started walking on the water to Jesus. But when he
noticed the strong wind, he was afraid and started to sink down in the water.
Save me, Lord! he cried. At once Jesus reached out and grabbed hold of him and
said,
What little faith you have! Why did you doubt? They both got into the boat, and
the wind died down. Then the disciples in the boat worshiped Jesus. Truly you
are the Son of God! they exclaimed.
Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from
miscellaneous sources
Not an apology
from Al Assad/November
11/11
They were forced to commit suicide
for our sake/By: Hazem al-AminNovember
11/11
The Middle East Studies
Establishment vs. Walid Phares/By Cinnamon Stillwell/November
11/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November 11/11
UN Security Council panel fails to
agree on Palestinian statehood bid
Libyan mercenaries arrive in Gaza
with Grad multiple rocket launchers
Israel to equip airliners with
anti-missile system as Libyan arms reach Gaza
Explosion hits Egypt's gas pipeline to Israel
Iran sees nuclear program as last line of defense
against West, expert says
U.S.: Strike of Iran's nuclear facilities may have
unintended consequences
Russia mulls building more Iran nuclear reactors in
wake of damning UN report
Pope meets with Israeli Christian, Muslim and
Jewish leaders
Tie in NDU’s Lebanese northern
campus elections
Bellemare Would Appeal Any Decision
to Begin in Absentia Trials
STL Prosecution Seeks to Summon
Lebanese Officials to The Hague
STL Prosecutors: Trial in Absentia
should be Last Resort, Not 1st Choice
STL Victims’ Participation Unit:
Trial Cannot Start Without Us
Defense Remarks in STL Hearing:
Warrants Discourage Accused from Appearing in Court
Jeita Grotto among 14 Finalists
Vying to Be 7 Natural Wonders of the World
Lebanese Rights Groups Demand
Investigation into Torture Claims against Suspected Spy
Nasrallah: Let March 14 Accept STL
Funds Halt as It Accepted UNESCO's
Hariri Says Will Vote for Geagea in Presidential
Elections
Future bloc MP Khaled Zahraman
warns of attempts to delegitimize STL
President Michel Sleiman says no
abductions of Syrians in Lebanon
Jumblat Advises Hizbullah to Allow STL Funding,
Defend Suspects in Court
HRW Accuses Syria of Crimes against Humanity, Urges
Arab League to Suspend Membership
U.S. Middle East Advisor Dennis Ross to Resign
Syrian Mines along Lebanese Border
Injure One
20 Killed as Syria Accused of
'Crimes against Humanity'
First Lebanese casualty of Syrian
landmines
U.N.: Air Strikes on S. Sudan Camp
May Be International Crime
Moscow backs Syria
position, urges Arabs help initiative succeed
Libyan
mercenaries arrive in Gaza with Grad multiple rocket launchers
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report /November 11, 2011
Fifty Libyan Muslim Brotherhood mercenaries arrived in the Gaza Strip from
Tripoli last month - in time to take part in the Jihad Islami's last missile
offensive against Israel starting Oct. 29, debkafile's military sources report.
They arrived at the wheels of minivans on which were mounted the new Grad
multiple rocket-launchers which Palestinian terrorists fired for the first time
last month. These mobile rocket-launchers were last seen on the Libyan
battlefield in use against Muammar Qaddafi's army. The 50 mercenaries did not
bother to paint over the Libyan national colors or replace the trucks' Libyan
license plates. Jihad Islami fighters kept them sequestered away from awkward
questions about who sent them.
Gazan sources report the Libyan mercenaries left Tripoli on October 10 aboard
two buses which drove them via Benghazi to Tobruk. They then entered Egypt as
tourists.
On Oct. 21, the day Muammar Qaddafi was killed, they crossed the Suez Canal into
the Sinai Peninsula. The minivans mounted with the Grad multiple rocket
launchers had been moved out of Libya by a separate route and were waiting in
the care of Bedouin smugglers beside a Sinai wadi near the old copper mines of
Ras Sudar. They looked quite new with no sign of having been in combat.
Our military sources report that, Qatar and the United Arab Republic had
supplied these advanced rocket-launchers to assorted Libyan National
Transitional Council militias, their accurate fire against designated targets
intended to counter the precision of the Libyan army's artillery.But their
effectiveness was demonstrated most strikingly after Qaddafi's fall in the Gaza
Strip, where they instantly improved the Palestinian extremists' aim against
Israeli locations. Most of these rapid-firing missiles were also able to evade
Israel's Iron Dome missile interceptors. When the Palestinians reverted to their
old weapons, they continued to miss their aim. The Libyan convoy had to travel
some 2,000 kilometers through Egypt to reach the Gaza Strip, raising questions
about how it had failed to arouse the notice of local security units. Western
sources discovered that the Egyptian Islamic Brotherhood had made all the
necessary arrangements for the Libyan Brotherhood mercenaries' long trek to Gaza
under its protection, and more are on the way. Furthermore, large sums of money
would have been available to smooth their passage and that of the new Grads. Our
intelligence sources report that Hamas and Hizballah arms purchasing missions
worked out of Benghazi and Tripoli for seven months, buying hardware from rebel
militias for hard cash. After Tripoli fell in late August, they split up between
the two cities and are still snapping up black market arms sold by NTC militias.
Tie in NDU’s northern campus elections
November 11, 2011 /Student elections were held on Friday at the Notre Dame
University (NDU) campus in North Lebanon, and have resulted in a tie between the
March 14 and March 8 partisans. According to the National News Agency, the
results broke down as follows: - March 14 elected candidates: Johnny Kharrat (Kataeb
Party), Antoine Saad and Gabriel Saad (Lebanese Forces). - March 8 elected
candidates: Aline Hayek (Syrian Social Nationalist Party), Michel Hamod (Marada
Movement) and Nader Basha (Free Patriotic Movement).
NOW Lebanon’s correspondent reported that tensions escalated between the
students after the results were announced. “The Lebanese army was deployed to
contain the situation,” the correspondent added. Last week, March 14 partisans
won 37 out of 38 seats in the student elections at the NDU main campus in Mount
Lebanon’s Zouk Mosbeh.
-NOW Lebanon
Rights Groups Demand Investigation into Torture Claims against Suspected Spy
Naharnet /Seven rights groups have demanded that an investigation be launched in
allegations that suspected Israeli spy, Tareq al-Rabaa, had been subject to
torture while in custody.
They said in a statement that Rabaa was tortured while he was at the Defense
Ministry on July 12, 2010, where he was being held for investigation.
It explained that while he was at the ministry, he received a telephone call
from a French number that the Lebanese military intelligence suspected to be
from the Mossad Israeli intelligence.
Rabaa was consequently tortured, forced to take off his clothes, and arrested
against his will. He was tortured through electric shock and beaten on his ears,
continued the statement.
The suspect was allowed to meet with his lawyer after 32 days of detention, it
added. The lawyer however found out that the number actually belonged to a
company that cooperates with Lebanon’s Alfa mobile phone services provider.
Rabaa was tortured for 108 days before being jailed in Roumieh prison, stressed
the rights groups. In addition, they revealed that the suspect refused to sign a
confession presented to him by Lebanese intelligence. This confession was the
basis of the arrest warrant issued by the military judiciary in which Rabaa was
accused of collaborating with Israel, the statement noted.
The suspect’s trial commenced in February 7, 2011 during which the Defense
presented all evidence proving his innocence and torture, but the military
tribunal refused to take the reports into consideration, it explained. The
statement said: “Rabaa is a victim of torture and his ordeal is a dangerous
violation of Lebanon’s criminal trial law.”It demanded his immediate release and
holding those responsible for his torture accountable for their actions.
“Military tribunals are violating internationally recognized laws on conducting
fair trials,” it stressed. The statement was signed by the Lebanese Center for
Human Rights, al-Karama organization, the World Organization against Torture,
the Lebanese Association for Education and Training, the International
Federation for Human Rights, Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l’Homme, and the
Christian Movement to against Torture.
Observers attributed this unjust arrest to Hizbullah’s efforts to prove that
telecommunications evidence used by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has been
tampered with by Israel through its spies in Alfa. They added that Rabaa
probably paid the price of these efforts. Last year, Lebanese authorities
arrested a number of individuals working for Alfa on suspicion of collaborating
with Israel. The STL has accused four Hizbullah members of being involved in the
assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri. Hizbullah has slammed the
accusations, deeming the tribunal an Israeli-American product aimed at
destroying the party.
STL Victims’ Participation Unit: Trial Cannot Start Without Us
Naharnet /The Special Tribunal for Lebanon Victims’ Participation Unit stressed
on Friday that the trial of the suspects in the assassination of former Premier
Rafik Hariri should not start without the participation of the victims who were
affected in the crime. A representative of the unit said during an STL court
hearing in The Hague that the trials cannot begin without the victims, saying
that there are several victims who are waiting for the tribunal to extend its
hands and help them. “Many have given up hope on international or national
justice being achieved,” he added. “We also know that many are very patient,” he
stressed. He hoped that the tribunal would not neglect the victims unit and that
it would not delay in taking measures that would help facilitate the launch of
the trial, therefore urging the Defense Office to appoint counsel for the
accused. The Victims’ Participation Unit is responsible for assisting the
victims participating in the proceedings related to Hariri’s February 14, 2005
assassination and any other attack over which the STL will have jurisdiction.
Source Naharnet
STL Prosecution Seeks to Summon
Lebanese Officials to The Hague
Naharnet /Prosecutors at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon asked the court on
Friday to summon Lebanese officials to The Hague to hear from them about their
powers in the implementation of arrest warrants against four Hizbullah suspects
in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination. During a hearing held at the STL
headquarters, Prosecution trial lawyer Iain Morley told three judges and two
alternate judges, that “there is an opportunity to assist Lebanese authorities
to hearing from them as to what their powers are.”“Your honors are invited to
hear from them,” the lawyer said when he was inquired about a report by Lebanese
General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza on the failure of Lebanese authorities to arrest
the four Hizbullah members in accordance with an indictment and arrest warrants
issued by the STL. Mirza has said in his report that security forces had
delivered arrest warrants to the last known addresses of Salim Ayyash, Mustafa
Badreddine, Hussein Oneissi and Assad Sabra. But those efforts were deemed “not
sufficient” by the STL president.
“It is not for the prosecution to speak on behalf of the Lebanese authorities on
this issue,” Morley told the court. Informed sources told Naharnet on Wednesday
that STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare has hinted in a document he delivered to
the tribunal about his intention to summon Lebanese officials and maybe party
members to the court to question them on whether they are incapable of arresting
the four suspects or they are refusing to do so. Morley’s comments at the court
seemed to be a confirmation of such intention. Source Naharnet
Bellemare Would Appeal Any Decision to Begin in Absentia Trials
Naharnet Exclusive Report – Leidschendam:
A high-ranking official from the office of the Prosecutor of the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon said Judge Daniel Bellemare and his team have made up their
mind to totally reject any plans to immediately begin in absentia trials of the
four Hizbullah suspects in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s Feb. 2005 assassination.
The official told Naharnet hours before a hearing session scheduled to be held
at the STL on Friday morning that Bellemare is holding onto his stance and could
even appeal a possible decision by the pre-trial chamber within 15 days to go
ahead with the in absentia trials. Friday’s hearing comes after the pre-trial
chamber was asked to determine whether proceedings in absentia against the four
Hizbullah members were appropriate.
But the official said that Bellemare would resort to all possible means to
prevent the accused from luring the STL into initiating the trials in accordance
with the timing that suits the suspects.
The prosecutor has expressed fears that influential political parties that
reject the court want in absentia proceedings to begin soon in order to examine
the details of the probe into Hariri’s murder and check documents that could
help them hinder the investigation by threatening the witnesses and casting
doubts on the evidence.
Bellemare is also aware that these parties would launch media campaigns to
create a public opinion that targets the work of the STL and its objectives in
finding the culprits and taking them to court.The official also told Naharnet
that the parties that reject the tribunal sought several months ago through
former general Jamil Sayyed and his attorney Akram Azouri to acquire documents
and testimonies for the purpose of tarnishing the image of the court and putting
obstacles to the investigation.
The official warned that the anti-STL parties will seek again through another
Sayyed attorney - Antoine Korkmaz who is also the lead counsel for Hizbullah
suspect Mustafa Badreddine – to acquire what Azouri had been unable to lay his
hands on.However, the official told Naharnet that Bellemare would prevent
Korkmaz from getting what Azouri had failed to receive. At this point, neither
Sayyed nor the political parties that support him would be able to receive the
files and documents which would be released to the media and to the Lebanese and
international public opinion. About the STL defense office, the official said
that the prosecutor and his team respect its work and the selection of defense
counsels but Bellemare and his staff will have to take into consideration the
political intentions of some lawyers and will seek to prevent the suspects and
their political backers from having the upper hand.Source Naharnet
President Michel Sleiman says no abductions of Syrians in Lebanon
November 11, 2011 /President Michel Sleiman on Friday denied reports that Syrian
opposition figures have been abducted in Lebanon. According to NBN television,
Sleiman said during the cabinet session that he was briefed by relevant security
officials that “the information about the abductions is unfounded.” However, the
president said that “the reports are incorrect, except in the case of Syrian
opposition figure Shebli al-Aysami and the Jassem brothers,” who were allegedly
kidnapped in the Baabda area. Earlier this year, Syrian National Jassem Merii
al-Jassem and his three brothers Chedid, Ahmad and Ali were reportedly abducted
in Lebanon. Aysami also went missing in Lebanon. The Syrian National Council
said on Sunday that there are 13 cases of “abductions” of Syrian opposition
figures in Lebanon. According to UN estimates, more than 3,500 people have been
killed in the crackdown on Syrian protesters who have been demonstrating against
the Baath regime since mid-March. Thousands have fled to Lebanon.-NOW Lebanon
Hariri Says Will Vote for Geagea in Presidential Elections
Naharnet /Former premier Saad Hariri said Thursday he would definitely vote for
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea if he runs for president in 2014. Asked on
Twitter whether he would vote for Geagea if the opposition March 14 camp won
back the parliamentary majority in the 2013 elections, Hariri said: “I WILL VOTE
FOR HIM IN HEART BEAT IN CAPITAL LETTERS.”When asked about the Lebanese
politicians who are closest to him after ex-PM Fouad Saniora, Hariri said Geagea,
Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel and “many others.”Separately, Hariri stressed
that Hizbullah’s weapons would eventually be handed over to the Lebanese army.
Source Naharnet
Nasrallah: Let March 14 Accept STL Funds Halt as It Accepted UNESCO's
Naharnet /Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday asked the rival
March 14 camp to accept Lebanon’s possible suspension of funds to the
U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon the same as “most of the March 14
forces did not comment on the issue of (the U.S.) suspending UNESCO funds.”
In a televised speech commemorating Hizbullah’s Martyr Day, Nasrallah said “it
is useful to notice that the UNESCO, which is an international organization, has
acknowledged the state of Palestine, drawing the United States’ anger because it
has granted Palestine some of its rights.”
“The U.S. has suspended funds to UNESCO, although UNESCO was not established in
an illegal and unconstitutional manner like the STL,” Nasrallah noted.
“Most of the March 14 forces did not comment on the issue of suspending UNESCO
funds. But if Lebanon decides not to fund the unconstitutional and bogus
tribunal, (Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey)
Feltman starts to threaten Lebanon with sanctions, which exposes the U.S. and
its allies in Lebanon.”
“Why don’t you accept for the STL what you accept for the UNESCO organization,
although the UNESCO has done justice to a people while the STL has aggrieved a
people,” Nasrallah added.He slammed the STL as “nonexistent,” advising the rival
Lebanese parties to “address the domestic issues and give up their bets on the
outside forces.”
Addressing the conflict with Israel, Nasrallah wondered “how can someone be
reassured concerning his people and homeland amid the presence of a neighboring
racist, hostile entity?”
“This is the first time that Lebanon and its south feel safe and confident
because of the presence of the Resistance,” Nasrallah boasted.
“All the (recent) speculations and analyses about a possible Israeli war on
Lebanon are aimed at intimidation. We rule out this possibility, not because
Israel, the U.S. and the international community are generous, but because of a
very simple reason: Lebanon is not weak anymore,” he reassured.
On the issue of Hizbullah’s controversial arsenal of weapons, Nasrallah said:
“When you ask our resistance to surrender its weapons, you are asking us to be
aggrieved and to surrender our dignity to the ugliest enemy which is Israel.”
Turning to the domestic issues, Nasrallah noted that Premier Najib Miqati’s
government “has proven to be a government of dialogue and a national government
that represents a parliamentary and popular majority and that it’s not a
one-sided government.”
But he called on the government to “work more and to give the ultimate attention
to people’s concerns instead of listening to useless things.”
He stressed that “this government does not receive orders or insinuations.”
“The government must address the administrative and humanitarian issues and the
issue of those who fled to Israel (in 2000). We were among those who backed the
draft law (on the return of those who fled) in parliament and that was mentioned
in our (2006) MOU with the Free Patriotic Movement and we are committed to
that.”
“The collaborators who were arrested were handed over to the Lebanese judiciary.
I understand those who fled to Israel and some of them fled because they knew
how grave their deeds were, but if they observe how the people of the south had
dealt with the collaborators’ families they would regret fleeing to Israel,”
Nasrallah added.
On the Syrian crisis, Nasrallah called on “those who are betting on the fall of
the Assad regime to give up their bets.”
“The U.S. wants to subjugate Iran and drag it into direct negotiations and this
is being rejected by Iran. They are also seeking to subjugate Syria so that it
accepts what it has been rejecting so far,” Hizbullah’s leader said of the
latest escalation of rhetoric between Iran and its two principal foes, Israel
and the U.S.
The war of words has aggravated since the release on Tuesday of a U.N. report
saying there was "credible" evidence suggesting Iran's atomic program was being
used to research putting nuclear warheads in ballistic missiles.Nasrallah warned
that “a war against Iran and Syria will not remain limited to Iran and Syria,”
and that it would rather spread to the entire region.
Jeita Grotto among 14 Finalists Vying to Be 7 Natural Wonders of the World
Naharnet /Lebanon's Jeita Grotto, the Dead Sea, Vietnam's Halong Bay and
Australia's Great Barrier Reef emerged on Friday among 14 finalists for a place
as the world's new seven wonders of nature.About three hours ahead of the 1907
GMT announcement of the final seven wonders, organizers of a world wide poll
that closed earlier Friday said that the list of finalists has been halved from
28 earlier to 14.Besides the four abovementioned sites, others in the top 14 are
the river Amazon, the islands of Bu Tinah in the United Arab Emirates, Jeju in
South Korea and Komodo in Indonesia, Iguazu Falls in Argentina, Tanzania's Mount
Kilimanjaro, Poland's Masurian Lake District, the Philippines' Puerto Princesa
Underground River, the Sundurban mangrove forests of Bangladesh and India, and
South Africa's Table Mountain.
It also means sites including the Galapagos Islands, the U.S.' Grand Canyon and
Italy's Mount Vesusius have failed to make the cut.
The poll organized by Swiss foundation New7Wonders has attracted great interest
in Lebanon and around the world, mobilizing celebrities including Argentinian
football star Lionel Messi calling on fans to pick his home country's Iguazu
Falls.The results come after a long consultation process lasting from December
2007 to July 2009, when world citizens were asked to put forward sites which
they deemed were natural wonders. More than a million votes were cast to trim
the list of more than 440 contenders in over 220 countries down to a shortlist
of 77.
The group was then further cut to the 28 finalists by a panel of experts. Anyone
in the world was then able to vote for the final seven via telephone, text
messages or Internet social networks.
Founded in 2001 by documentary maker Bernard Weber in Zurich, the foundation
New7Wonders is based on the same principle on which the seven ancient wonders of
the world were established by Philon de Byzance in ancient Greece. It aims to
create a global memory by garnering participation worldwide.
But even as the natural wonders poll came to a close, the New7Wonders foundation
has set its eyes on a new survey -- the top seven cities of the world.
Participating cities will be announced on January 1, 2012.Source Agence France
PresseNaharnet
HRW Accuses Syria of Crimes against
Humanity, Urges Arab League to Suspend Membership
Naharnet /Human Rights Watch on Friday accused Syrian government forces of
"crimes against humanity" based on the systematic nature of abuses against
civilians in their eight-month crackdown on dissent. In a report issued a day
before the Arab League holds an extraordinary meeting on the crisis, HRW urged
the Cairo-based pan-Arab group to suspend Syria's membership. The watchdog also
called on the 22-member League to ask the United Nations Security Council to
impose an arms embargo and sanctions against responsible individuals, and to
refer Syria to the International Criminal Court.
"The systematic nature of abuses against civilians in Homs by Syrian government
forces, including torture and unlawful killings, indicate that crimes against
humanity have been committed," it said. Based on the accounts of 110 victims and
witnesses, the report said "violations by the Syrian security forces killed at
least 587 civilians" in the central city of Homs and its province between
mid-April and the end of August. In their latest assault on the restive city,
the forces had killed at least another 104 people since November 2 when the
regime of embattled President Bashar Assad agreed to an Arab League initiative
to end the violence. "Homs is a microcosm of the Syrian government’s brutality,"
said Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW's Middle East director, quoted in a statement. "The
Arab League needs to tell President Assad that violating their agreement has
consequences, and that it now supports Security Council action to end the
carnage," she said.
Human Rights Watch said it had documented dozens of violent attacks by security
forces and "government-supported militias" on "overwhelmingly peaceful
protests," including in the towns of Tal Kalakh and Talbiseh. "Typically,
security forces used heavy machineguns, including anti-aircraft guns mounted on
armored vehicles, to fire into neighborhoods to frighten people before entering
with armored personnel carriers and other military vehicles," said its report.
"They cut off communications and established checkpoints restricting movement in
and out of neighborhoods and the delivery of food and medicine." Assad's forces,
it said, had arbitrarily arrested thousands of people -- including children,
women and the elderly -- and subjected many of them to systematic torture.
Several hundred were still missing, said HRW, adding it had independently
documented 17 deaths in custody in Homs, all but five of them a clear result of
torture. Former detainees said the security forces used heated metal rods to
burn their bodies and electric shocks. One of them said he was tortured after
being brought blindfolded into Homs' military intelligence base.
"They beat with cables and then hanged me by my hands from a pipe under the
ceiling so that my feet weren’t touching the floor," he said in the report.
"I was hanging there for about six hours, although it was hard to tell the time.
They were beating me, and pouring water on me, and then using electric stun
guns."
The Syrian regime has repeatedly said it is fighting "armed terrorists" backed
from abroad. Human Rights Watch said protesters were unarmed in most clashes,
but that defectors from the security forces intervened when the demonstrators
came under fire from regime troops and militiamen. "Violence by protesters or
defectors deserves further investigation," said the report, adding however that
"these incidents by no means justify the disproportionate and systematic use of
lethal force against demonstrators." The watchdog said the Syrian regime's
strategy had provoked some protesters and defectors to arm themselves and fight
back. It said this "highlights the need for the international community to
ensure an immediate cessation of lethal force lest the country slip into
bloodier conflict."Source Agence France Presse
20 Killed as Syria Accused of 'Crimes against Humanity'
Naharnet/At least 14 people were killed in violence in Syria on Friday, most of
them in the restive city of Homs, as Human Rights Watch accused the regime of
crimes against humanity.
Local coordination committees have said however that 20 people have been killed
at the hands of security forces during Friday’s demonstrations, reported al-Arabiya
television.
The Arab League, meanwhile, prepared for a ministerial meeting on the Syria
crisis which, according to the United Nations, has claimed more than 3,500 lives
since protests against President Bashar Assad erupted in mid-March. Ten people
were killed in Homs, including a defecting soldier and a 63-year-old man, the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement received in Nicosia. The
deaths in Homs came amid mass anti-regime rallies demanding the Arab League
suspend Syria's membership in the pan-Arab body to sanction its brutal,
eight-month crackdown on dissent. Security forces broke up demonstrations in al-Malaab,
a main thoroughfare in Homs, but rallies relocated and mushroomed, engulfing
eight neighborhoods, including al-Bayada, al-Ghuta and Baba Amr, the Observatory
said.
Three people died in Daraa province, cradle of the revolt. They were a man shot
by security forces in the town of Busret al-Sham, another man killed in al-Sanmeen,
and a 13-year-old boy who died in a bomb blast in Mseifra. In the northwestern
province of Idlib, near Turkey, "security forces shot dead a man in the town of
Ariha," where demonstrations erupted after the weekly Muslim midday prayers. The
Observatory also reported "mass protests" in Idlib's Sheikhun in the wake of a
"retreat by security forces from government buildings following violent
clashes." In Damascus, security forces deployed on the streets of Barzeh and
posted snipers on rooftops, after a wave of arrests and deadly violence shook
the capital's neighborhood.
And "security forces unleashed heavy gunfire to disperse demonstrations," in the
eastern oil hub of Deir al-Zour.
Friday prayers have become a lightning rod for demonstrations in Syria, which
each week adopt a new theme and this week called for the Arab League to suspend
Syria's membership.
The League, under international pressure to act after Syria failed to honor a
peace plan and instead stepped up its brutal protest crackdown, held talks ahead
of a meeting on Saturday to discuss the crisis. Syria's envoy to the Arab
League, Youssef Ahmed, presented early Friday a memorandum in which Damascus
expressed its willingness to receive a pan-Arab delegation.
"This will help assess Damascus's commitment to the (Arab) plan and to unveil
motives behind certain external and internal parties working for the failure of
the Arab blueprint," the official SANA news agency said. Meanwhile, Human Rights
Watch (HRW) in a report accused Syrian government forces of "crimes against
humanity" based on the systematic nature of abuses against civilians. It said
protesters were unarmed in most clashes, but that defectors from the security
forces had intervened when the demonstrators came under fire from regime troops
and militiamen. Based on the accounts of 110 victims and witnesses, HRW said
"violations by the Syrian security forces killed at least 587 civilians" in the
central city of Homs and its province between mid-April and the end of August.
Source Agence France Presse
Syrian Mines along Lebanese Border Injure One
Naharnet /A Lebanese man had a leg blown off Friday after stepping on a mine
planted hours earlier by Syrian troops along Lebanon's northern border, local
and hospital officials said.
"Imad Khaled Oweyshi was crossing the border from Syria back into Lebanon when
he stepped on the mine," a local official who requested anonymity told AFP.
It was unclear what Oweyshi was doing in the area, which is widely used by
smugglers and where the border is not clearly delineated. Earlier Friday the
official said that soldiers were seen planting mines on the Syrian side of the
border village of Wadi Wawiyat, where the mine went off. The village, which
straddles the border, is about 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of another region
were Syrian troops planted mines last month. Lebanon's eastern border with Syria
has also been mined to prevent weapons smuggling and dissidents from fleeing a
fierce crackdown by the regime in Damascus against an eight-month revolt. Source
Agence France Presse
U.S. Middle East Advisor Dennis Ross to Resign
Naharnet /President Barack Obama's key Middle East advisor Dennis Ross said
Thursday he would resign after a period of turmoil in the Arab world and a
difficult period in U.S. relations with Israel. Ross, a veteran U.S. peace
negotiator, said in a statement he had made a promise to his wife to return to
private life after two years in the administration -- and had outstayed that
promise by a year. Ross said in a statement that he was returning to private
life with "mixed feelings.""It has been an honor to work in the Obama
Administration and to serve this president, particularly during a period of
unprecedented change in the broader Middle East. "Obviously, there is still work
to do but I promised my wife I would return to government for only two years and
we both agreed it is time to act on my promise."I am grateful to President Obama
for having given me the opportunity once again to work on a wide array of Middle
Eastern issues and challenges and to support his efforts to promote peace in the
region."
White House spokesman Jay Carney said that Ross, a special assistant to the
President, had played a key role at a "historic time in the Middle East and
North Africa."
Ross played "a critical role in our efforts to apply unprecedented pressure" on
the Iranian government and had also supported democratic transitions in the
region, Carney said.
Carney said that Obama would continue to periodically draw on Ross's counsel
going forward.
Ross is known as a longstanding and patient negotiator in the Middle East with
deep ties with successive generations of Israeli leaders. His critics though
have sometimes whispered that he is too close to Israel. Ross, however, who also
served president Bill Clinton, also spent long periods of time with Palestinian
leaders, through years of frustrated U.S.-brokered efforts to forge peace
between Israel and the Palestinians. He leaves at another uncertain moment in
the history of testy ties between the Obama White House and the government of
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and at a point where
Israel-Palestinian peace talks have shuddered to a halt. At a G20 summit last
week, Obama was party to a conversation in which French President Nicolas
Sarkozy called Netanyahu a "liar" and Obama appeared to also be frustrated with
the Israeli leader. "You may be sick of him, but me, I have to deal with him
every day," Obama replied in comments that were translated into French and
picked up an open microphone.Source Agence France Presse
Not an apology
November 11, 2011
Now Lebanon/
On Wednesday, Lebanese President Michel Sleiman revealed that his Syrian
counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, had “apologized” for his country’s recent illegal
incursions into Lebanese territory, one that resulted in the death of a farmer
near Aarsal. Assad is understood to have said that the violations were
“unintended” and that he had “pledged to not repeat them out of respect for
Lebanon’s independence.” One doesn’t know which is the bigger story—the apology
or the fact that Syria respects, or indeed even genuinely recognizes, Lebanon’s
independence. We do not know if Assad made these comments personally or whether
a ministerial flunky hastily trotted them out. For while Sleiman appears to be
satisfied with the statement, most Lebanese must be asking if Assad was
genuinely contrite about his country’s treatment of Lebanon during the past six
months. Surely the least he could have done is made his apology on state
television.
But that was never going to happen, was it? The words are clearly nothing more
than a conciliatory gesture from a regime with more important issues on its
mind. Any genuine apology, which most Lebanese would love to hear but know they
never will, would stick in Assad’s craw.
It might include an apology for the persecution and abduction of dissidents in
Lebanon and for using pro-Syrian Lebanese goons to break up peaceful anti-Assad
demonstrations while ensuring that pro-regime rallies go off without a hitch. In
particular, the regime should apologize for the abduction of the four Jassem
brothers and the elderly dissident Shibli al-Ayssami. Worth an apology? We think
so.
In this particular shambles, Damascus is in cahoots with a Lebanese government
that doesn’t know whose side certain elements of its own security services are
on. We have an interior minister who can say with cheerful indifference that “No
Syrian [nationals] have been kidnapped in Lebanon,” even after the head of the
Internal Security Forces has admitted that men under his command may have been
moonlighting for the Syrian Embassy to spirit agitators back across the border.
Meanwhile, the president, who is clearly not convinced, has demanded that
security officials brief him on alleged abductions of Syrian nationals in
Lebanon. Go figure.
Moving swiftly on, we have the issue of the roughly 600 or so Lebanese from all
confessions, as well as Palestinians, who are thought to be in Syrian custody
after being arrested at various points during Syria’s 29-year “presence” in
Lebanon, either by the Syrian army, its militia allies, or the mukhabarat secret
police. At least half are thought to still be alive. Only the Syrian regime can
shed any light on their fate but has so far said nothing of consequence. Surely
that too is worth an apology, especially to the families that have been ripped
apart and who live in the constant pain inflicted by not knowing the fate of
their loved ones.
Indeed why not go whole hog and apologize for three decades of occupation and
interference in Lebanese affairs. Apart from the repression, torture and
detention, there was the flagrant rape of the country’s economy, much of which
has contributed to a national debt that is nearly double Lebanon’s GDP. Back in
the day, securing a posting to Lebanon was seen as a way to make money, but it
is the Lebanese who would pay the price for decades of Syrian corruption. A
“sorry” for that would be nice.
Then, last but not least, we have Syria’s support for Hezbollah, the party whose
militia operates as an armed wing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and whose
martial stances on the border with Israel have led to sporadic conflicts leading
to wide-scale loss of Lebanese life and the destruction of infrastructure. In
addition, Hezbollah’s presence on the Lebanese political scene, aided and
abetted by Damascus, has hampered the growth of a fully functioning society
under one state. Syria has been instrumental in allowing Hezbollah to function
as a military force by using Lebanon’s porous border with Syria as an arms
conduit. This has arguably been their most destructive role in meddling in
Lebanese affairs and surely one for which they should unreservedly apologize. We
are waiting but not holding our breath.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
November 11, 2011il
On November 11, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered a
televised speech during his party’s “Martyr Day” event in Beirut:
“In the name of the Lord, the holy, the merciful… Peace and mercy be upon you
all. First of all, we are going to salute our martyrs and recite the Al-Fatiha
prayer to honor their souls. This date was chosen by Hezbollah, all movements
and parts of the Resistance as ‘Martyr Day,’ hence it is normal that we organize
a celebration to commemorate the martyrs. We hope that a time comes when we will
celebrate a ‘Martyr of the Nation’ day. I appreciate the sacrifices of the
resisting forces while defending Lebanon and protecting its interests.
As usual, I will first talk about the martyrs and the Resistance, secondly I
will discuss the domestic developments and thirdly, I will address the regional
developments. With regard to the great martyrs… who resisted… we commemorate
those who were concerned about their country and offered [their lives]. We chose
November 11 as [Hezbollah’s ‘Martyr Day’] mainly because it marks the martyrdom
of Ahmad Qassir.
[In a reference to the Tyre truck bombing, which was a suicide bombing against
the Israel Defense Forces’ headquarters building in Tyre, Lebanon, on November
11, 1982]. The enemy has acknowledged that more than 100 [Israeli] officers and
soldiers were killed in that operation. This was an early reminder of the
[Israelis’] defeat. This [suicide bombing] is foundational for the history of
the Resistance, which is why we name the martyr Ahmad, “the launcher of the year
of martyrdom.” After 1982, when the Zionists occupied Lebanon and were [basking]
on our beaches, the Lebanese [endured] that their land be occupied… [but] is
this called life? Never. This is death and the martyrs are the makers of life.
This year, the name that we chose for this day is, ‘The Day of Life.’
[Concerning the 2006 July War with Israel,] the Resistance would not have
triumphed if it were not for the martyrs. Today, for the first time since the
creation of the Zionist entity in 1948, we are experiencing peace in Lebanon. It
is not easy to live next to a deceptive beast, an aggressive and racist
[Zionist] entity. I will now address the political situation: any likelihood of
a new Israeli war on Lebanon is considered a means of [intimidation]. Unless
there is no plan for waging war on the entire region, we rule out the
possibility of a war on Lebanon [in the near future].
Lebanon is no longer weak, it is now strong [by means of] its army, people and
Resistance. Lebanon is now in a position where it can [change the status-quo to
its advantage]. As long as the ‘army, people and Resistance’ formula exists,
Lebanon will [be fine]. This Resistance is not dormant. It remains awake,
anticipating the enemy’s attack. Concerning the Lebanese developments, the
current cabinet represents a majority. It is the cabinet of dialogue… of debate,
in which the [ministers] are not instructed by anyone from [the United States]
or France. No one commands the cabinet.
[However,] we call on the government to be more serious and follow up on all
[projects] in the country. The cabinet must make the people’s needs a priority.
The minimum wage issue should be also finalized, as well as matters pertaining
to gas and oil [exploration]. There are very important issues, that do not
require spending, such as finalizing administrative appointments. This is a real
flaw. There was a bill tackled by the parliament recently, which calls for
allowing Lebanese who fled to Israel before 2000 to return to Lebanon. The
government should tackle this issue from a humanitarian perspective and in the
framework that was dealt with in parliament.
As for those who said that [the Lebanese who fled to Israel are concerned about
returning to their country] because they fear a genocide, I want to remind them
that on May 25, 2000, [when the Israeli forces withdrew from the South], no one
was killed. I want to remind [those who hint that Hezbollah will attack anyone
returning from Israel] that [no harm was brought to these Lebanese] in the past.
We call for having the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) stand aside [and not get
involved in any political dispute]. If anyone wants to debate politics, they
should put the army aside and not criticize it.
Let us talk now about UNESCO. This organization admitted the state of Palestine
as a member. This made the US ‘upset’ with UNESCO and cut its funding, which
caused the organization to halt it programs’ implementation. UNESCO’s work
relies on funding. [Is it not true that] UNESCO’s funding was one of the United
States’ international commitments? Why can the US halt its funding and Lebanon
is not allowed to stop providing the annual share of funding to the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)?
I want to comment on [Future bloc leader MP] Fouad Siniora’s proposal that the
Arab League and other countries cover the funding of UNESCO after the US cut its
share. Here is the solution to STL’s funding matter. Why do not Siniora [and the
western-backed March 14 parties] call for the same solution and ask the Arab
League and other wealthy organizations to fund the UN-backed court on behalf of
the Lebanese government?
Concerning the regional developments, let us handle the affairs of our country
and leave the regional developments aside. I tell those who are delaying the
discussion of important [domestic matters] or are gambling on the collapse of
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime: stop wasting your time. The most
important recent developments are the talks about Iran’s nuclear program. We
have witnessed tension and threats that the Israeli enemy might strike Iran.
Surely, the Iranian [officials and leaders] responded. What Iranian Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said [on Thursday] is correct. Iran cannot be
afraid of navy fleets. Neither threats or fleets can affect the determination of
the Iranian people.
We must not forget that US forces are going to pullout from Iraq by the end of
December, which will mark the defeat of the American project in the Middle East.
The US, which was defeated in Iraq, wants to withdraw [while diverting
attention] to something else… and it wants to punish the states that opposed its
occupation of the region. The US wants to punish Iran and Syria and intends to
keep them under pressure. There are transformations in the Middle East, such as
the collapse of regimes in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, that are not in the benefit
of the US and Israel. In order to compensate for their losses in these
countries, they are [punishing] Syria and Iran.
The [US] must understand that war on Iran and Syria will not [be contained to]
these two countries but will spread to other countries in the region. We are not
issuing any threats but this is the reality. The Islamic nations and masses
should have a position [concerning these issues]. The era of weakness and
[submission] to the US or Israel is over. We have entered the era of victories.
I tell you, despite all the threats in the region, Lebanon’s status-quo is
better than in the past. We have triumphed, and as long as we are determined… we
will continue to succeed. God bless you and may the peace and mercy of the Lord
be upon you.”
Future bloc MP Khaled Zahraman warns
of attempts to delegitimize STL
November 11, 2011 /Future bloc MP Khaled Zahraman said on Friday that there are
attempts to delegitimize the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, adding that Prime
Minister Najib Mikati has to implement Lebanon’s commitment toward paying the
country’s share of STL funding. Four Hezbollah members have been indicted by the
UN-backed court in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
However, the Shia group strongly denied the charges and refuses to cooperate
with the court. Lebanon contributes 49 percent of the STL’s annual funding.
Zahraman also told Future News television that there is evidence that Lebanese
officials and parties are complicit with the Syrian Embassy in Beirut in the
kidnapping of Syrian nationals in Lebanon. Earlier this year, Syrian National
Jassem Merii al-Jassem and his three brothers Chedid, Ahmad and Ali were
reportedly abducted in Lebanon. Syrian opposition figure Shebli al-Aysami also
went missing in Lebanon. Zahraman also said that March 8 is calling for national
dialogue because it is in a “crisis.”
Lebanon’s rival parties, namely the western-backed March 14 alliance and the
Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition, have disagreed on two primary issues: the
UN-backed STL and Hezbollah’s use of weapons. March 8 figures have spoken out
against Lebanon’s ties and funding of the tribunal, while March 14 parties have
repeatedly called for disarming Hezbollah and refused to engage in dialogue if
it does not solely address the arms’ issue.-NOW Lebanon
They were forced to commit suicide for our sake
Hazem al-Amin, November 11, 2011
Ahmad predicts that the Lebanese Spring will start from Dahiyeh. He lives there
and feels that many indicators back this feeling. He says that the Lebanese
state and its services have no presence whatsoever in the area.
This is nothing new and does not make a Lebanese spring. However, the novelty in
Ahmad’s comments lies in the fact that Hezbollah is abstaining from managing
people’s daily lives and getting involved in everyday details. According to
Ahmad, the party is content these days with merely preventing the state from
gaining access to the area. It is a negative power whose mission is to maintain
the status quo. Hezbollah is actually not a complete power and is not
intervening in settling conflicts between people, or in resolving disputes,
knowing that conflicts and disputes in such a densely-populated area are plenty.
Hezbollah is afraid of the consequences of its replacing official authorities,
as this role would entail repercussions the party cannot afford to bear. A
complete power is one that shoulders the burdens of this situation materially
and morally. Yet, at the same time, the party is bent on preventing the state
and its services from being there, and people get this feeling every day.
Daily violence has multiplied in Beirut’s southern suburb. The phenomenon of
paralysis caused by motorcycles is rampant in all neighborhoods. Rumor has it
that kickbacks are being imposed, and areas of family and clannish influence are
coming into being, not to mention soaring addiction rates, all of which indicate
the blatant absence of the state and its services.
Still, all of this is not enough to make a Lebanese spring. A central element is
shielding Hezbollah as a negative power from an uprising within its social and
sectarian environment: This environment is aware that its rising up against
Hezbollah provides its sectarian foes with an opportunity to sweep down on it.
If we want to humor Ahmad’s idea of a Lebanese spring in Dahiyeh, the essential
condition to this spring lies in asking how the inhabitants of Beirut’s southern
suburb will shake off the feeling that Hezbollah is protecting them against
other communities’ wish to target or marginalize them. In that case, the March
14 coalition has to be defeated in order to bring about the defeat of March 8
forces. Hezbollah is a power in Lebanon. Rather, Hezbollah is the sole power in
Lebanon. Arab uprisings have revealed the fragility of all powers and the
weapons they control. MP Walid Jumblatt’s saying that he would not have heeded
the threat of the “Black Shirts” had the Tunisian Revolution occurred a month
before seems surprisingly accurate. Following the events in Tunisia and Egypt,
it seems so futile for weapons on the streets in Beirut to play such an
efficient part in the making of political life. Nevertheless, the sectarian
factor in Lebanon represents an additional component compared to the equation of
Arab uprisings. Weapons are no longer efficient power-making components thanks
to the Arab Spring. Hezbollah’s weapons are no longer able to do the job, thus
giving the party an alternative weapon, the sectarian cohesion around it. If the
March 14 coalition were to commit suicide, this would be an act of pure genius
indeed. This article is a translation of the original, which appeared on the NOW
Arabic site on Friday November 11, 2011
The Middle East Studies
Establishment vs. Walid Phares
By Cinnamon Stillwell
American Thinker/November 11, 2011
When Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney announced last month that
Walid Phares -- a Lebanese-American Christian, adjunct professor of jihadist
global strategies at the National Defense University, and former Middle East
studies professor at Florida Atlantic University -- would be a special adviser
on the Middle East and North Africa, it elicited howls of fury from the usual
suspects. Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) -- an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation
Hamas funding case and the chief Islamist organ in the U.S. -- sent a letter to
the Romney campaign stating CAIR's predictable objections, while publications
such as the Daily Beast, Salon.com, and Mother Jones followed suit with
error-filled hit pieces.
Phares's moral clarity on Islamism and jihadism do not sit well with those who
would rather engage in apologetics and obstructionism. This explains why his
fiercest opponents have included some of the worst from the field of Middle East
studies.
California State University, Stanislaus political science professor and "Angry
Arab" blogger As'ad AbuKhalil, writing for Salon.com, blamed Phares's
appointment on "the Israel lobby and its affiliates," claimed that his "writings
are only relevant to Zionist discourse and polemics," and concluded that "when
the appointment of Israeli experts on terrorism is not possible, a man like
Phares is the second best choice."
AbuKhalil's hostility towards Israel -- and hence, towards anyone who isn't an
anti-Zionist fanatic -- is well-established. He accused President Obama, of all
people, of giving "free reign to the Zionist lobby" in a 2010 Al Jazeera
television interview. Speaking in April 2011, he ranted:
[N]ever will we recognize the Zionist State of Israel! ... The Arab World will
never prosper until the Zionist regime is removed! ... We celebrate the demise
of Israel; yes, Israel, your days are truly numbered!
AbuKhalil paints Phares's early years in Lebanon as those of a right-wing,
Christian militant -- charges that have been repeated by many of Phares's
opponents, despite being debunked on numerous occasions. Yet it turns out that
AbuKhalil may have questionable allegiances of his own. According to John Hajjar
at Family Security Matters, AbuKhalil "is known in the Lebanese and Middle
Eastern American communities as the mouthpiece of [Hezbollah secretary general]
Hassan Nasrallah in the world of petrodollar-funded Middle East studies."
Ebrahim Moosa, associate professor of Islamic studies at Duke University, told
the Daily Beast's McKay Coppins that Phares "is hostile to Muslims and Romney
has adopted an expert who is going to alienate him from a good section of the
voting public." This coming from a man who downplayed the dangers of Saudi
funding for higher education by telling the Charlotte Observer in February 2010
that "Wahhabism is like the Baptists; it's kind of a denomination of sorts that
started out in Saudi Arabia." Similarly, Moosa, speaking at a University of
California, Berkeley workshop in May 2011, and as described by journalist
Stephen Schwartz, "defended Deobandism, the madrassa-based radical ideology that
inspires the Taliban."
Omid Safi, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill who was quoted in the same Daily Beast article, declared the Phares
appointment a "pathetic reflection on Governor Romney to have surrounded himself
with such a person for advice on the Middle East and Islam" and likened it "to
turning to [former KKK leader] David Duke to get advice on race relations."
Safi is accustomed to making these sorts of inflammatory accusations. In a 2005
Belief.net article, Safi labeled the isolated prisoner abuse at Abu Graib prison
in Iraq "a continuation of twenty years of American foreign policy centered on
dehumanizing Muslims." In April 2010, he falsely claimed that Islam scholar
Robert Spencer "threatened me and my family with death" in a Facebook message.
The recipient's Facebook account was later disabled with no explanation, and
although Spencer called Safi out for defamation, Safi never retracted the claim,
nor did the university take action.
In fact, Phares's views are not hostile to Muslims, nor biased toward Israel.
Rather, Phares is a scholar who advocates pluralism as the most effective means
of triumphing over extremism, tribalism, and Islamic supremacism in the Middle
East. He also calls out those in the West, and particularly in academia, who
would point the finger at America, Israel, Christians, and Jews. This may be
why, as claimed by AbuKhalil at Salon.com, "Phares has not been seen in Middle
East Studies conferences for many years." The Middle East studies establishment
-- and especially its leading body, the Middle East Studies Association (MESA)
-- is not particularly welcoming to academics who stray from the post-colonial,
Edward Said-originated Orientalist narrative.
As Phares put it in his 2007 book, The War of Ideas: Jihadism Against Democracy:
In the West, the central battlefields over the perception of the world remain
academic and educational... Even as the war with Jihadism is raging in the real
world, and America is facing off with the most dangerous enemy infiltration it
has ever known, the bulk of its students are being educated today by an elite
that refuses to teach the real history and politics of the jihadists.
Fortunately, we have academics such as Phares himself and alternatives to MESA
such as the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA), for
which he often lectures, to help turn the tide. The usual suspects should indeed
be afraid.
Cinnamon Stillwell is the West Coast representative for Campus Watch, a project
of the Middle East Forum. She can be reached at stillwell@meforum.org.
Canada’s Position on Middle East Resolutions at the United Nations
(No. 342 - November 10, 2011 - 12:20 p.m ET) Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird
today issued the following statement:
“Canada today made a strong statement with nine votes at the United Nations.
“Our explanation of vote (EOV) speaks for itself.
“This series of resolutions against Israel is generally one-sided, unbalanced
and does not address the complexities of the issues, nor seeks to address the
true actions and responsibilities of all parties.
“While this does not signal a change in Canada’s long-standing policy regarding
the Middle East Peace Process, it does clearly relay our frustration with the
current UN process.
“Final status issues are to be resolved between the two parties, not the United
Nations. We will continue to urge for the two parties to return to negotiations
without preconditions.”
- 30 -
A backgrounder follows.
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
Follow us on Twitter: @DFAIT_MAECI
Backgrounder - Canada’s Explanation of Vote, Delivered in
the United Nations Fourth Committee
“Canada’s position is long-standing and clear: we support a two-state solution
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—one reached through a negotiated settlement
between the parties that will guarantee Israel’s right to live in peace and
security with its neighbours, and that will lead to the creation of a viable and
independent Palestinian state.
“A negotiated agreement—agreed to by both parties—is the only means to a
comprehensive, just and lasting peace. We believe that the September 23, 2011,
statement by the Quartet on the Middle East provides a good basis on which to
move forward.
“On the issue of both parties having a positive role to play in a lasting peace,
Canada has long been concerned by the sheer number of United Nations resolutions
critical solely of Israel.
“No other conflict area in the world draws even a fraction of the time and
energy of member states—even though there are a number of long-standing and
destabilizing conflicts that seem intractable.
“In addition, this series of resolutions against Israel is generally one-sided
and does not address the complexities of the issues, nor does it seek to address
the true actions and responsibilities of all parties.
“As a package, the resolutions are unbalanced, lack references to terrorist
activities carried out by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and others against
Israel and are, thus, ultimately unhelpful to the cause of a lasting, negotiated
peace.
“Rockets rain down on Israeli schools without condemnation in these resolutions.
“Israeli soldiers have been kidnapped and held without regard to international
norms and standards. This, too, has not been reflected in resolutions over the
years.
“There are important elements in these resolutions that need to be discussed,
but they are drowned out by the unbalanced nature of the broad package of
resolutions.
“As a result, Canada has made a decision, based upon its principled foreign
policy, to vote no or to abstain on this package of General Assembly resolutions
on the Middle East.
“Our problem is with the process.
“Canada’s long-standing position has not changed: we believe that Israel is
bound by the Fourth Geneva Convention and must comply with its provisions.
“Canada will continue to support efforts for a negotiated solution and do what
it can to help the parties achieve this.
“However, until there is a more balanced approach, Canada will continue to
express its discontent with the process through votes like today’s.”