LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِNovember
16/2011
Bible Quotation
for today/The Transfiguration
Matthew 17/01-13: "Six days later Jesus
took with him Peter and the brothers James and John and led them up a high
mountain where they were alone. As they looked on, a change came over Jesus: his
face was shining like the sun, and his clothes were dazzling white. Then the
three disciples saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. So Peter spoke up and
said to Jesus, Lord, how good it is that we are here! If you wish, I will make
three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While he
was talking, a shining cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said,
This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased—listen to him! When the
disciples heard the voice, they were so terrified that they threw themselves
face downward on the ground. Jesus came to them and touched them. Get up, he
said. Don't be afraid! So they looked up and saw no one there but Jesus.
As they came down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, Don't tell anyone about this
vision you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from death. Then
the disciples asked Jesus, Why do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah has to
come first? Elijah is indeed coming first, answered Jesus, and he will get
everything ready. But I tell you that Elijah has already come and people did not
recognize him, but treated him just as they pleased. In the same way they will
also mistreat the Son of Man. Then the disciples understood that he was talking
to them about John the Baptist".
Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from
miscellaneous sources
Semantics and the Syrian
refugees/Aline Sara/November
16/11
Serious neutrality/By: Hazem
Saghiyeh/November
16/11
Arab women, after the
revolutions/Hussein Ibish/November
16/11
Iran and the post-Assad phase/By
Tariq Alhomayed/November
16/11
What happened to Nasrallah’s
shrewdness?/By Dr. Hamad Al-Majid/November
16/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November 16/11
ICRC repatriates body of Lebanese
from Israel
Greek Orthodox Archbishopric
Ransacked
STL Appoints News Deputy Registrar
Blast at south Lebanon hotel popular
with UN staff
Blasts target nightclub, alcohol
shop in South Lebanon
March 14 slams “shameful” Lebanese
take on Syria
U.N. expresses concern over Tyre
explosions
Jumblatt discusses electoral law
with Future MPs
Neighbors tell Syria: Stop the
bloodshed
MP Boutros Harb: Aoun’s analyses
based on his political interests
President Michel Sleiman meets with
Mikati ahead of cabinet session
Future bloc MP Amin Wehbe slams
Aoun over Syria comments
Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s:
Lebanon voted on Syria after consultations
Future bloc MP Jamal al-Jarrah says
Mikati should take measures against FM
Lebanon,s House Speaker
Berri rejects request to address political climate in Q&A session
Watkins Meets Geagea: A Lot of
Progress Needed to Achieve Permanent Ceasefire in South
President Michel Suleiman Urges
Tolerance 2 Days after Politicians Fight on Live TV
Israeli official reportedly says
Assad’s fall “catastrophic”
Arab League meeting to
enforce Syria suspension
Qaouk: Arabs in league
with U.S. working to topple Assad
World Leaders Smooch in Shocking
Benetton Ad Campaign
Defectors Attack Intelligence HQ
near Damascus
Turkish-Arab Forum: For Urgent
Steps to Protect Syrians, No to Foreign Intervention
Free Syrian Army forms military
council to oust Assad
Arab League turns up heat on Syria
Syrian refugees offered aid in
North Lebanon
Turkey: Syrian regime risks
isolation over crackdown
Syrians pelt Morocco embassy with
eggs and stones, envoy says
France recalls ambassador to Syria
after attacks
Assad loyalists attack UAE embassy
in Damascus
Lebanese Cabinet convenes to
address electoral law
ICRC repatriates body of
Lebanese from Israel
November 16, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The body of a Lebanese civilian was repatriated from Israel Wednesday,
facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross in Ras Naqoura on
the Israeli-Lebanese border.Juerg Montani, the head of the ICRC delegation in
Lebanon, said that the organisation’s role was “strictly humanitarian and part
of our ongoing work to restore and maintain contact between people detained or
separated in connection with armed conflict and their families.” "Sometimes this
includes the repatriation of mortal remains to the families, an important step
in their process of mourning and closure. The ICRC is acting in its capacity as
a neutral intermediary at the request of the families and the Israeli and
Lebanese authorities and with the full consent of all parties concerned." So far
in 2011, the ICRC has repatriated four Lebanese civilians and the remains of
five others from Israel to Lebanon. Thousands of Lebanese civilians, including
many members or relatives of members of the South Lebanese Army, a militia
affiliated with Israel during the Civil War, fled south across the border in
2000, following the Israeli Army’s withdrawal from Lebanon.
Semantics and the Syrian refugees
Aline Sara, November 16, 2011
Syrians fleeing violence at home are benefitting from humanitarian aid in
Lebanon, but experts claim support would be better if Lebanon had officially
stated they were refugees. As the situation deteriorates in Syria, large numbers
of refugees continue to flow into Lebanon through the northern border. Since the
Syrian uprising and the regime’s bloody clampdown began in mid-March, some 3,500
Syrians are estimated to have been killed, while another 3,500 have crossed into
Lebanon. Because of the political dimensions of the crisis, with the pro-Syrian,
March 8-led government in power in Beirut, Lebanon has not officially deemed
those flocking into the country refugees, considering them instead “guests” or
“displaced persons.” Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s office has, however, ordered
the governmental Higher Relief Council (HRC) to work with UN organizations to
help provide humanitarian assistance.
As a result of the government’s inability to classify the Syrians entering
Lebanon as refugees, international organizations cannot come from outside the
country to help them, though if they have a local office, it can provide some
assistance, said Tamam Mroue, who heads Handicap International’s Lebanon
mission.
Unlike Ankara, which has spent approximately $15 million and set up camps for
the estimated 19,000 Syrians who have fled to Turkey, Lebanon has resorted to
converting schools in the border town of Wadi Khaled into shelters for the
refugees. Meanwhile, Dana Sleiman of the United Nations Higher Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) says that “we treat them and consider them refugees. We are not
going to stop on the terminology.”
Since the first influx of Syrians into Lebanon last spring, the governmental HRC
has partnered with UNHCR to provide newcomers with both food and non-food items,
healthcare and shelter, while the Ministry of Social Affairs has worked with
UNICEF and other organizations to provide families counseling and to enroll some
500 Syrian children in more than 24 schools throughout Akkar and Tripoli.
But according to Sleiman, camps like the ones in Turkey are not being set up for
several reasons, one of which is concern for the refugees’ safety. “Camps are
more easily targeted; we are vigilant when it comes to these things,” said
Sleiman in a reference to the abduction of several Syrian nationals from
Lebanese territory.
Over the past few months, a number of incidents have highlighted that even when
inside Lebanon, Syrians, especially those who sympathize with the opposition,
have reason to worry about their safety. “The situation in Lebanon has been very
difficult for Syrian refugees,” confirmed Marwan Maalouf, a human rights lawyer
who works between Beirut and Washington.
“Instead of escaping danger, they are entering new danger,” he added. What is
needed, Maalouf said, is political will from the Lebanese government to help and
protect Syrians in Lebanon to the fullest of its ability. “There is an
obligation under international law to protect the refugees, yet we have cases of
activists being illegally investigated without any reaction from the
government.” Granted, harboring large numbers of refugees is problematic for any
country, and “in Turkey, I have heard of cases of individuals who have not been
given refugee status,” said Maalouf. But regardless, “I don’t think the name
they are given is a factor,” Sleiman said. “Assistance can always be better, but
we are fully on board [in assisting the refugees].”
In order to receive assistance, the Syrians entering Lebanon need to be
officially registered with the UNHRC and Lebanese HRC, which also said it was
providing refugees with primary healthcare needs, as a number of Syrians
crossing the border under gunfire arrive in Lebanon with significant injury. In
addition, the HRC denied recent rumors that Mikati had requested the council
stop treating Syrians. A representative of Mikati’s media office told NOW
Lebanon that based on the PM’s instructions, the government was dealing with the
refugees as a humanitarian issue thorough the HRC, but he did not elaborate
further. “We are actively trying to keep the matter away from any
politicization,” he stressed.
“We don’t expect much from the Lebanese government,” re-iterated Maalouf. “It’s
mostly Lebanese citizens who are trying to help.”
“Liberal” Saudi prince quits succession council
November 16, 2011 /Liberal-leaning Saudi Prince Talal bin Abdul Aziz, a half
brother of King Abdullah, announced on Wednesday his resignation from the
council charged with deciding the royal succession. "Prince Talal announces his
resignation from the Council of Allegiance after having informed King Abdullah,"
his website said, without giving any details.
The council was created in 2006 to ensure a peaceful transfer of power in the
ultra-conservative oil power-house. Talal's resignation comes just weeks after
the interior minister, 78-year-old Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, was named heir
after the death of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. Born in 1935, Prince
Talal is the father of billionaire business tycoon Prince Al-Walid bin Talal. He
is known for his activities supporting human development, particularly in the
areas of education and health.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
World Leaders Smooch in Shocking Benetton Ad Campaign
Naharnet/Italian store Benetton on Wednesday launched a provocative publicity
campaign with photo montages showing the pope kissing an imam on the lips and
the U.S. president smooching his Chinese counterpart. The shock pictures show
Pope Benedict XVI in a passionate kiss with Egyptian Imam Ahmed el Tayyeb,
Barack Obama kissing Hu Jintao and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
smooching Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The posters, part of an advertising
campaign entitled "UNHATE", have appeared in Benetton clothing stores across the
globe as well as in newspapers, magazines and on Internet websites. The
passionate embrace between the pope and the imam was briefly shown on a banner
held up near Sant'Angelo castle near the Vatican. Benetton deputy chief
Alessandro Benetton said in a statement that the ads were "constructive
provocation" intended "to give widespread visibility to an ideal notion of
tolerance."Benetton "chooses social issues and actively promotes humanitarian
causes that could not otherwise have been communicated on a global scale," he
said.
There was swift condemnation from Luca Borgomeo, head of the Association of
Italian Catholic Television Viewers, who called for the ad to be removed.
"Is it possible Benetton could not come up with anything better?" he said. The
company, which became famous in the 1990s with a series of shocking ads, said it
was also setting up a foundation to promote international tolerance. "The
central theme is the kiss, the most universal symbol of love, between world
political and religious leaders," the company said.
One of the iconic Benetton ads -- photographed by Oliviero Toscani -- was of a
young nun in white kissing a priest dressed in a black cassock, and others
addressed important social issues such as AIDS and homosexuality. Relations
between the pope and the Al-Azhar imam, one of the leading voices in Sunni
Islam, have been very tense particularly after Benedict expressed his solidarity
with the victims of an attack on a church in Alexandria. The statement was
interpreted by El Tayyeb as interference and he did not send a delegation to an
inter-religious meeting hosted by Benedict last month. The Vatican could not be
reached for comment on Thursday. Source Naharnet
Greek Orthodox Archbishopric Ransacked
Naharnet/The Greek Orthodox Archbishopric in the Beirut neighborhood of
Ashrafiyeh was ransacked by unknown assailants overnight Wednesday, the National
News Agency reported.
It said bishops and employees were surprised on Wednesday morning to see that
thieves had broken in and stolen chalices, icons, money, documents and the
Archbishop’s crosier.
The thieves had also scattered papers and documents on the floor, NNA
said.Premier Najib Miqati telephoned Archbishop Elias Awdeh to condemn the
incident and called on Interior Minister Marwan Charbel to visit Awdeh. Miqati
also urged Charbel to task the specialized security agencies with intensifying
their investigation to arrest the culprits and refer them to the specialized
judicial authorities.
Blasts target nightclub, alcohol shop in South Lebanon
November 16, 2011 /Two bombs targeting a nightclub and a liquor store exploded
early Wednesday in the Lebanese city of Tyre, one of the few areas of the
conservative South where alcohol is available. There were no casualties in the
5:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) blasts, but they caused severe damage to property, a
security official told AFP.The army cordoned off the area and launched an
investigation. One of the bombs targeted the Elissa Queen Hotel on the seafront
of the scenic Mediterranean coastal town. The hotel and nearby buildings were
immediately evacuated. The hotel nightclub is a favorite with UN peacekeepers
deployed in South Lebanon, an AFP correspondent in the town said. The second
bomb struck a shop selling alcohol in the Christian quarters of Tyre, a
multi-confessional city especially popular with tourists during the summer
season. A string of liquor stores in South Lebanon were forced to close this
year in the face of a campaign to rid the South of alcohol. Alcohol is widely
available in multi-confessional Lebanon, which is considered the most liberal
country in the Arab world. It is banned, however, in areas under the control of
Shia militant group Hezbollah and radical Sunni movements.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
March 14 slams “shameful” Lebanese take on Syria
November 16, 2011
The March 14 General Secretariat on Wednesday slammed the Lebanese government’s
“shameful” move to object to an Arab League decision to suspend Syria’
membership.
“[We] condemn the position of the government and [we] believe that it is a
shameful take that harms Lebanon’s dignity,” the western-backed coalition said
in a statement.
March 14 commended the Arab League’s position vis-à-vis the Syrian crisis, and
voiced hope that the meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Morocco later in the
day “will be a fundamental for supporting the Syrian people.”The General
Secretariat also called on Prime Minister Najib Mikati – whose government is
dominated by the Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition – to “resign in order to
protect the interests of the Lebanese people.”Lebanon's political scene is split
between supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, led by
Hezbollah, and the March 14 pro-Western camp.The Arab League on Saturday
suspended Syria’s membership in the organization until Assad implements an Arab
deal to end violence against protesters, and called for sanctions and transition
talks with the opposition. Syria, Yemen and Lebanon voted against the measure,
and Iraq abstained.-NOW Lebanon
Lebanese Cabinet convenes to address electoral law
November 16, 2011 /President Michel Sleiman chaired on Wednesday a cabinet
session at the Baabda Presidential Palace to address the drafting of a new
electoral law ahead of the 2013 parliamentary elections, reported the National
News Agency. The NNA added that ministers will discuss the possibility of
amending the privileges of the Constitutional Council. Also, the report quoted
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel as saying the bombs that exploded in the
southern city of Tyre earlier on Wednesday “were not politically or religiously
motivated.” Two bombs targeting a nightclub and a liquor store exploded early
Wednesday in Tyre, one of the few areas of the conservative South where alcohol
is available. There were no casualties in the 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) blasts, but they
caused severe damage to property, a security official told AFP. Meanwhile,
Lebanese parties are presently debating the electoral law for the upcoming 2013
parliamentary elections. After the parliament agreed on drafting a law based on
proportional representation, some parties rejected the proposed law and called
for adopting the 2009 electoral law, which is based on simple majority
representation.-NOW Lebanon
President Michel Suleiman Urges Tolerance 2 Days after Politicians Fight on Live
TV
Naharnet /President Michel Suleiman hoped on Wednesday that the “spirit of
forgiveness” would prevail, hinting that Lebanese politicians should not allow
their rhetoric to go out of hands.
On the occasion of the International Day of Tolerance, Suleiman said in a
statement that “honest and logical dialogue should be the only way to find a
solution to problems.”
Such dialogue keeps the nation away from the repercussions of turmoil abroad and
helps consolidate stability and civil peace, the president said. He hoped that
“the spirit of forgiveness would prevail among everyone,” urging the Lebanese to
prevent the language of dialogue from becoming indecent. Suleiman’s statement
came two days after two prominent Lebanese politicians debating the unrest in
Syria exchanged blows on live television. The fight broke out in a debate
between al-Mustaqbal movement official former MP Mustafa Alloush and the head of
the Lebanese branch of Syria's ruling Baath party Fayez Shukur on a talkshow on
MTV station late Monday. Alloush called Syrian President Bashar Assad a liar, at
which point the two politicians traded insults and hurled glasses of water at
each other. Shukur then picked up a chair and tried to hit Alloush with it.
Jumblatt discusses electoral law with Future MPs
November 16, 2011 /Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt met on
Wednesday with a delegation from the March 14 alliance’s Future bloc to address
the drafting of a new electoral law. According to the National News Agency (NNA),
the Future delegation included MPs Ahmad Fatfat, Hadi Hobeich, Ziad al-Qadiri as
well as party advisors.
“PSP MP Akram Chehayeb and Secretary General Zafer Nasser also took part in the
meeting,” the NNA said, adding that the men also discusses latest developments.
Lebanese parties are debating the electoral law for the upcoming 2013
parliamentary elections. After the parliament agreed on drafting a law based on
proportional representation, some parties rejected the proposed law and called
for adopting the 2009 electoral law, which is based on simple majority
representation. Jumblatt split from the western-backed March 14 coalition on
2009, after which he reconciled with Hezbollah and nominated Najib Mikati for
premiership instead of Future Movement leader Saad Hariri.-NOW Lebanon
President Michel Sleiman meets with Mikati ahead of cabinet session
November 16, 2011 /President Michel Sleiman met with Prime Minister Najib Mikati
at the Presidential Palace in Baabda to review the general situation in Lebanon
and latest developments ahead of a cabinet meeting, the National News Agency
reported. A cabinet session headed by Sleiman was scheduled to take place on
Wednesday night. According to NNA, ministers will continue discussions on a new
electoral law and on security issues. Lebanese parties are presently debating
the electoral law for the upcoming 2013 parliamentary elections. After the
parliament agreed on drafting a law based on proportional representation, some
parties rejected the proposed law and called for adopting the 2009 electoral
law, which is based on simple majority representation.-NOW Lebanon
Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s: Lebanon voted on Syria after consultations
November 16, 2011 /Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s press office issued a statement
on Wednesday saying that Lebanon assumed a position regarding the Syrian
developments after consultations with relevant figures. The statement added that
Lebanon’s standpoint at the Arab League on Saturday gave precedence to the
Lebanese interest. Mikati’s press office also slammed media reports attributing
false statements to the premier concerning Lebanon’s vote in the Arab League.
The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership in the organization until Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad implements an Arab deal to end violence against
protesters, and called for sanctions and transition talks with the opposition.
Lebanon, Syria and Yemen voted against the decision, while Iraq abstained.-NOW
Lebanon
Future bloc MP Jamal al-Jarrah says Mikati should take measures against FM
November 16, 2011 /Future bloc MP Jamal al-Jarrah said on Wednesday that
measures should be taken against Lebanon’s Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan
Mansour, who attended Saturday’s Arab League session in which Lebanon voted
against a decision on Syria. “The foreign affairs minister is acting on his own
free will, and Prime Minister [Najib Mikati] should take measures against him,”
he told Voice of Lebanon (100.5) radio. “Lebanon should have at least taken a
position similar to that of Iraq,” added Jarrah. The Arab League suspended Syria
until President Bashar al-Assad implements an Arab deal to end violence against
protesters, and called for sanctions and transition talks with the opposition.
Lebanon, Yemen and Syria voted against the measure, while Iraq abstained.
According to An-Nahar newspaper on Wednesday, Mansour did not follow the prime
minister’s orders pertaining to Lebanon’s position at the Arab League.-NOW
Lebanon
Future bloc MP Amin Wehbe slams Aoun over Syria comments
November 16, 2011 /Future bloc MP Amin Wehbe on Wednesday blasted Free Patriotic
Movement leader MP Michel Aoun’s recent statements that the Syrian crisis has
ended.
“Aoun’s comments are shameful and saddening,” Wehbe told As-Sharq radio station
in a possible reference to Aoun’s denial that over twenty people are being
killed daily by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops. "If Aoun continues to
talk like that, our position [toward Syrian] will prove to be [correct],” the
Future bloc MP said. Wehbe also asked “how can Aoun accept such a thing,
[especially] that his supporters were being beaten and oppressed by Assad’s
regime while he was in exile?” The FPM leader said on Tuesday that the unstable
situation in Syria “has ended last week,” and denied reports that over twenty
people are being killed daily by Assad’s forces. UN figures said the Syrian
regime’s crackdown on protests has left at least 3,500 people dead since
mid-March. Aoun spent 15 years in exile in France and returned to Beirut in 2005
after the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. He then formed an alliance
with Assad. -NOW Lebanon
The National Liberal Party (NLP) renounces attack on Greek orthodox Church
November 16, 2011 /The National Liberal Party (NLP) on Wednesday condemned the
attack that targeted the Greek Orthodox Church for the Archdiocese of Beirut on
Tuesday night and called on security authorities to “make the required efforts
to reveal the [identities] of the culprits as soon as possible,” the National
News Agency (NNA) reported. Unidentified attackers broke into the Greek Orthodox
Church for the Archdiocese of Beirut on Tuesday. According to NNA , the
perpetrators stole items that belonged to the church after destroying its doors.
-NOW Lebanon
Israeli official reportedly
says Assad’s fall “catastrophic”
November 16, 2011 /Senior Israeli defense official Amos Gilad reportedly said on
Wednesday that the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime “will lead
to a catastrophe that will put an end to Israel” due to the rise of an “Islamic
empire” led by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Jordan and Syria. According to a
report published by the New TV local website, Gilad said that if Assad’s regime
is overthrown, Israel will be faced with a catastrophe and will live in constant
fear of being exposed to a war with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Syria and
Jordan.Gilad, the head of the political-security branch of the Defense Ministry,
reportedly told Israel Radio that the presence of Assad’s regime in Syria
“serves the interest of Israel.”
“Israel has felt the threats [around it]. That is why [it] has decided to
improve relations with Turkey and avoid the severance of diplomatic relations,”
Gilad added according to New TV's official website. Syrian anti-regime protests
erupted in mid-March. According to UN estimates, more than 3,500 people have
been killed in the crackdown on Syrian protesters.
-NOW Lebanon
What happened to Nasrallah’s shrewdness?
By Dr. Hamad Al-Majid
Asharq Alawsat
By all standards, Gaddafi final statements were more dignified than the threats
issued by Hassan Nasrallah last Saturday. Gaddafi threatened that he would take
the war deep into NATO states, which is a logical reaction given that this
alliance dealt him his final blow and demolished his rule with its military
technology. Thus it was reasonable for Gaddafi to threaten the states that had
attacked him, yet in his recent statement, Hassan Nasrallah menacingly
threatened that any war against Syria would escalate, not with regards to the
NATO states alone - where Nasrallah can call upon active and sleeper cells - but
with regards to the entire Middle East region as well. The statement seemed to
lack Nasrallah’s customary, sly political nature, usually threatening to shower
Israel with missiles if either Syria or Iran encountered any NATO attack. Of
course, if he had done so, people would have gathered behind him as they did
with Saddam Hussein when he threatened Israel with his firework-like missiles,
or when they applauded Hassan Nasrallah when he waged a war against Israel based
purely on political rhetoric.
Nasrallah's craft and guile seems to have disappeared from his recent statement,
after the Syrian revolution intensified to the extent that it is threatening the
Bashar al-Assad regime and its political and military presence. The most recent
statement seems more dangerous, and also exposes the sectarian nature of the
Hezbollah leader. Of the 22 Arab states, Nasrallah is only interested in the two
that share the same sect and ideology with him; the Iranian and the Syrian
regimes. He has the right to be this selective, yet he has no right to threaten
the entire region of escalating a war upon them, as no Arab state has threatened
to wage a war against him. Rather, they have strived to ensure a way out for his
ally Bashar al-Assad, in a manner that can allow him to save face after being
stained with the innocent blood of thousands of Syrians.
In the past, we used to feel inhibited when discussing any topic relating to
sectarianism, for we were conscious of its sensitivity. Yet President Bashar
al-Assad and his ally Hassan Nasrallah, alongside Iran, have prompted us to
engage in this thorny issue head on. When we talk of the sectarian nature of
these two regimes, this is not merely an allegation, or else why would Nasrallah
threaten to escalate matters in the region if Syria encountered any attack,
whilst Nasrallah himself has not been threatened by any Arab country in the
region? It was the NATO states that threatened to launch an attack, and we can
interpret Nasrallah’s brazen sectarian statement as a threat to mobilize the
Shiite cells in our region. Here I would like to stress that I am referring to
specific cells, and not the Shiites in general. I'm conscious that the majority
of Shiites our region are citizens who love their countries, and who do not want
to be used as a tool in a dirty sectarian war. I began my piece by drawing a
comparison between Gaddafi and Hassan Nasrallah, and now I will conclude it with
the same comparison. It is certain that the Arab masses now consider Hassan
Nasrallah, in view of the his shameful position towards the massacres which the
Syrian regime is committing against its own people, and following his recent
coercive statement, as a "turbaned Gaddafi". It is also certain that Bashar
al-Assad, his ally Nasrallah and Gaddafi share one attribute in common –
alongside their despotism, tyranny and appetite for bloodshed. This is an
attribute which became clear in Hassan Nasrallah's recent speech; namely his
political blindness and the loss of a logical compass. We can understand why
Nasrallah is confused after the Syrian people rose up against their regime. Any
harm done to the pregnant mother will also harm the unborn child. In short, we
can say that Nasrallah is no longer a sly, cunning politician. Because of his
explicit, shameful stances towards the Syrian regime's massacres, the Arab
masses will now rejoice at his misfortune and reject his statements.
Iran and the post-Assad phase
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
It is remarkable– at the time of writing – that no official Iranian position has
been issued towards the Arab League resolutions on Syria, despite the fact that
nearly five days have passed since the resolutions were passed, which have
prompted the al-Assad regime to lose its mind, and despite the fact that
Hezbollah has since described the Arab League as the “Hebrew League”.
What is more remarkable –according to Britain’s Daily Telegraph – is that a
meeting was held between Syrian opposition leaders and the Iranian regime. Thus
it appears that Tehran – as expected – is growing concerned about its interests
should the regime of Bashar al-Assad fall, and hence it is keen to identify the
nature of the Syrian opposition and its orientations. This is normal and routine
for the Iranians, especially as Tehran has genuine interests that will be harmed
significantly when al-Assad departs, for this will be considered an official
announcement of its failure to export the Iranian revolution, not to mention the
failure of Tehran’s foreign policy as a whole.
What is also worthy of consideration here is that there was widespread political
debate in the region at the beginning of the Syrian revolution, suggesting that
in the event of the Arabs standing with Bashar al-Assad in this crisis, he would
have to reconsider his positions with regards to his relations with Iran, and
then perhaps al-Assad would return to the Arab fold. However, it is clear today
that Tehran has decided to open bridges of communication with the Syrian
opposition, because it seems that Iran is no longer confident of the al-Assad
regime remaining in power.
There is also another significant piece of information, although not yet
confirmed, which is logical and worthy of contemplation, especially after the
Telegraph’s revelations about Iranian meetings with some Syrian opposition
parties. This information states that there are movements, headed by leading
figures from Hamas, to broker meetings between Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood
in Syria through Sudanese mediators. These negotiations are being conducted in
the background away from public eyes, so that both parties are reassured about
the other’s intentions in the coming phase, i.e. the post-Assad phase.
What this means is that as much as Iran feels the danger of the coming stage;
the post-Assad phase, it has come to realize that the al-Assad regime’s era is
nearly over. Thus, Tehran’s silence regarding the Arab League resolutions, and
reports of its negotiations with parties from the Syrian opposition, suggest
that Iran is concerned about its interests in the region. Tehran now feels it
has reached the stage of “cutting its loses” or eliminating them all together.
In practical terms this means the fall of the al-Assad regime, which in turn
would mean that the bulk of outlets would be blocked for Iran’s ally in Lebanon,
Hezbollah. The magnitude of the coming change in Syria will also have a
significant impact upon Iraq, which should be regarded as a positive thing. Iran
would not be able to extend its Persian bridge from Tehran through Iraq, and
from Syria to Lebanon, which has effectively become Tehran’s port on the
Mediterranean.
Hence we must consider an important matter. If Iran and its agents in the region
are in such a state of confusion while the al-Assad regime is still reeling, how
will Tehran react when President al-Assad finally departs?
Defectors Attack Intelligence HQ near Damascus
Naharnet /Soldiers of the Free Syrian Army, defectors from the regular armed
forces, attacked an air force intelligence base near the capital Damascus on
Wednesday, activists said.
"The Free Army struck with rockets and RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) the
headquarters of air force intelligence which is located at the entrance of
Damascus," the Local Coordination Committees, an activist network, said in a
statement, adding smoke was rising from the area. Activists, who illustrated the
three-pronged attack in a plan attached to their statement, said prisoners being
detained at the intelligence branch "were well" but the operation failed to
secure their release.
The Khaled ibn Walid Brigade, which is part of the Syrian Free Army and active
in the central city of Homs, welcomed the attack near the capital.
"We pay tribute to our brothers, the rebel heroes, and may God bless your hands
for your dawn operation targeting the intelligence building in Harasta."
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the news in an email statement
received by Agence France Presse in Nicosia.
Meanwhile, security forces ambushed and shot dead four people -- three defectors
and one civilian -- in the rural town of Keferzita in Hama province the same
source said.
"Explosions shook Zamalkeh, Hamuriya, Douma, Harasta and we have confirmed
reports that the headquarters of the security services in Harasta was hit," the
Britain-based watchdog said.
There was no immediate word on any casualties or the motives of the attack.
In the capital, the Observatory said "three explosions shook the neighborhood of
Barzeh" and that these were "followed by heavy gunfire that continues until
now."
And in the southern province of Daraa, cradle of the eight-month revolt against
President Bashar Assad, "heavy shooting could be heard in all districts of
Jassim" during Tuesday night.
The attacks came as Arab foreign ministers gathered in Rabat to keep up the
pressure on the Damascus authorities to honor the terms of an Arab League peace
blueprint they signed up to on November 2.Syria will not be represented at the
meeting.Source Agence France Presse
Free Syrian Army forms military council to oust Assad
November 16, 2011 /The rebel Free Syrian Army announced on Wednesday the
creation of a temporary military council with the aim of ousting the regime of
President Bashar al-Assad and protecting civilians from his forces. "Based on
the requirements of this phase and the demands of the Syrian revolution, the
Free Syrian Army is establishing a temporary military council," a statement
said. The council aims to "bring down the current regime, protect Syrian
civilians from its oppression, protect private and public property, and prevent
chaos and acts of revenge when it falls."Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad, who defected
from the regular army to form the Syrian Free Army in July, will chair the
council. The council's leadership also includes four colonels and three majors.
The announcement came after Free Syrian Army fighters attacked a military
intelligence base outside Damascus early on Wednesday in one of the most daring
raids in eight months of anti-government unrest.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Arab League turns up heat on Syria
November 16, 2011/The head of the Arab League urged the organization to act
decisively Wednesday to stem the bloodshed in Syria as the region tightened the
screws on President Bashar al-Assad's beleaguered regime. As Arab foreign
ministers gathered in Morocco, Turkey also joined in the diplomatic assault on
its neighbor, saying it must pay dearly for its attempts to crush an uprising
which the UN says has killed more than 3,500 since March. The talks in the
Moroccan capital came amid growing signs that the Assad regime is losing its
grip on power with disaffected Syrian soldiers attacking a military base near
Damascus. The meeting in Rabat is intended to discuss further measures against
Syria which was suspended by the 22-member bloc last weekend after it failed to
implement an Arab peace plan. These would include sanctions such as the
withdrawal of ambassadors.
"Everything must be done to stop the ongoing bloodshed in Syria," Arab League
secretary-general Nabil al-Arabi told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting.
Arabi said he hoped that Arab moves to send observers to Syria would bear fruit
within days. But he reiterated that no observers would be sent before a clear
agreement is signed between the Arab League and Damascus. The pan-Arab body had
agreed to send 500 members of human rights groups, media representatives and
military observers to Syria, which said it would welcome them to see the
situation on the ground and help implement the peace plan. Despite its
suspension from the bloc, Syria had been invited to Wednesday's meeting but
decided to boycott it. The Foreign Minister of Turkey, which shares a border
with northern Syria, is in Rabat however where he is expected to be one of the
leading hawks. Turkey has already announced a halt to joint oil exploration with
Syria and has threatened to cut electricity exports there. World leaders have
been looking to the Arab League to take a tough line with Syria. After his
statement, Assad loyalists attacked the Jordanian embassy in Damascus, tearing
down its flag, the latest in a series of such attacks on diplomatic missions.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Turkey: Syrian regime risks isolation over crackdown
November 16, 2011 /Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime will be isolated by
the Arab world if it does not halt the deadly crackdown on its own people,
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday. "The cost for the
Syrian administration of not fulfilling the promises it made to the Arab League
is its isolation in the Arab world as well," Davutoglu said at a meeting with
Arab League foreign ministers."The Syrian administration should read the
messages given by the Arab League, immediately put an end to the violence
against its own people and open the way for an inevitable transformation
process," he added."It is not possible for any administration to win the fight
against its own people.”"Time is ticking against the Syrian regime. All the
credit and hands extended to Syria thus far have been wasted."Turkey, once a
close ally of Syria, has become increasingly outspoken in its criticism of
Assad's regime since the Syrian uprising began. "A future cannot be built on the
blood of the innocent, otherwise history will remember those leaders as the ones
who feed on blood," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday.
Turkey has already announced a halt to joint oil exploration with Syria and has
threatened to cut electricity exports there. The Arab League ministers' meeting
in Rabat takes place on the sidelines of an Arab-Turkish cooperation forum,
which Davutoglu was attending.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Syrian refugees offered aid in North Lebanon
November 16, 2011 /The Higher Relief Commission (HRC) is offering humanitarian
aid to Syrian refugees who have settled in North Lebanon after having fled the
unrest in their country, LBC television reported on Wednesday. “The HRC will be
offering food and medical supplies to the Syrian refugees on a monthly basis,”
LBC said. It added that the commission has distributed “purchasing cards” to the
Syrians in order to allow them to buy clothing and fuel for household purposes.
Additionally, LBC said that “several wounded Syrians were transported across the
border into the Lebanese northern town of Wadi Khaled.” However, the report did
not elaborate any further. Last week, Syrian troops were seen planting more
mines along Lebanon’s northern border, a region known for smuggling activities
and used by Syrians fleeing unrest in their country. According to The United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are currently 3,505
registered evacuees in North Lebanon, residing in difficult circumstances,
mostly with host families.The UN said 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. -NOW Lebanon
France recalls ambassador to Syria after attacks
November 16, 2011
France has recalled its ambassador to Syria, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said
on Wednesday, after its diplomatic missions there were attacked amid ongoing
protests against Bashar al-Assad's regime. "There has been renewed violence in
Syria, which has led me to close our consular offices in Aleppo and in Latakia,
as well as our cultural institutes and to recall our ambassador to Paris," Juppe
told parliament. Pro-Assad mobs attacked France's honorary consulate in the
northern city of Latakia and the detached chancery in Aleppo on Saturday,
sparking French condemnation and the summoning of Syria's ambassador to
Paris.The Syrian government on Tuesday pledged there would be no repeat of
attacks on embassies after a spate of recent assaults against countries deemed
to be against Assad's beleaguered regime.
"We're working at the [UN] General Assembly with the Arab League to get a draft
resolution adopted," Juppe said.
On Tuesday, the UN Security Council condemned the recent spate of attacks on
diplomatic missions in Syria.
Protesters stormed the Jordanian embassy compound on Monday after King Abdullah
II became the first Arab leader to say openly that he thought Assad should step
down.
It was the latest such protest by angry Assad loyalists against embassies since
the Arab League voted on Saturday to suspend Syria from the pan-Arab bloc and
impose sanctions.
Other missions targeted have included those of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey,
all outspoken critics of the Assad regime's eight-month crackdown on dissent
that the United Nations says has cost more then 3,500 lives. US Ambassador to
Syria Robert Ford, abruptly withdrawn last month because of security threats, is
supposed to return to Syria in "days to weeks," Washington has said.The Arab
League was meeting in Rabat on Wednesday, along with Turkey, to try to agree
action to stem the bloodshed in Syria.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Assad loyalists attack UAE embassy in Damascus
November 16, 2011 /Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s loyalists on Wednesday
threw stones and debris at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates and smeared
its walls with graffiti, Reuters reported, hours after an Arab League decision
to suspend Syria took effect. “You bastards. You agents of Israel,” read some of
the graffiti, according to two residents who live near the building in the
neighborhood of Abu Rummana, known to be one of the most secure districts of
Damascus. The report, however, did not elaborate further.Syrian Foreign Minister
Walid Mouallem apologized on Monday for protester attacks on foreign embassies
in Damascus after the Arab League voted to suspend his country from the bloc.
The suspension took effect on Wednesday after a meeting by Arab foreign
ministers in Morocco, which Syria boycotted. -NOW Lebanon
Syrians pelt Morocco embassy with eggs and stones, envoy says
November 16, 2011 /Protesters pelted the Moroccan embassy in Damascus with eggs
and stones on Wednesday, Morocco's ambassador said as his country hosted an Arab
League meeting aimed at ending bloody unrest in Syria. The ambassador, Mohammed
Khassasi, told AFP that more than 100 demonstrators had attacked the building
and stripped it of its flag.
Khassasi said "between 100 and 150 people protested in front of the embassy and
attacked the chancellery with stones and eggs and acted irresponsibly by also
attacking the Moroccan flag."Morocco immediately condemned the attack. On Monday
Syria's foreign minister, Walid Muallem, apologized for protester attacks on
foreign embassies after the Arab League voted to suspend his country from the
bloc. "I, as foreign minister, apologize for this matter," Muallem told a news
conference in the Syrian capital, adding that protecting the embassies was part
of Syria's responsibilities.On Saturday, hundreds of angry demonstrators
attacked the embassies of France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Morocco condemns attack on its embassy in Damascus
November 16, 2011 /Moroccan Foreign Minister Taib Fassi Fihri condemned an
attack by protesters on its Damascus embassy on Wednesday, the latest diplomatic
mission to be targeted in Syria. "I condemn the violence against the Moroccan
embassy in Syria... and what is happening inside and outside the Arab
embassies," he said after reports that protesters had pelted the building with
stones and eggs. Morocco's ambassador in Damascus, Mohammed Khassasi, told AFP
that between 100 and 150 demonstrators had attacked the building and stripped it
of its flag. Foreign ministers of the 22-member bloc were gathered in Rabat
Wednesday to discuss measures against Syria, after having voted last weekend to
suspend its membership for failing to implement an Arab peace plan.-AFP/NOW
Lebanon
Arab women, after the revolutions
Hussein Ibish/Now Lebanon /November 16, 2011
While there is no reason to panic, concern about the rise of Islamists in
post-dictatorship Arab societies is warranted, especially as the rights of women
are particularly and immediately open to attack. No sooner had the Islamist Al-Nahda
party secured its status as the largest group in Tunisia’s new Constituent
Assembly, than we saw a misogynist agenda rearing its ugly, familiar head. The
party’s iconic spokeswoman, Souad Abderrahim, called single mothers a “disgrace”
and declared that they “do not have the right to exist.”It is irrelevant that
many Arab Christians, or other religious fanatics of whatever faith, might have
agreed with her. And it’s not reassuring that Al-Nahda leaders, in what was
clearly a tactical measure, rushed to contradict Abderrahim in order to quell
the uproar. What’s important is that Abderrahim’s comments demonstrate where Al-Nahda,
one of the least extreme among Arab Islamist parties, is coming from on the
issue of women’s rights. Abderrahim, of course, had no comment about the role of
men in creating single motherhood. The head of Libya’s transitional authority,
Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, added to the alarm by proclaiming that Islamic law, or
Sharia, would be the principal source of legislation in post-Qaddafi Libya. He
implied that polygamy, a practice almost entirely suppressed under the deposed
dictator, Moammar Qaddafi, might be reintroduced. Abdul-Jalil was no doubt
seeking to distance himself from the former regime, demonstrate that he is
independent from the West, and placate Islamist elements in the Transitional
National Council. It is heartening that in recent council meetings, large
majorities have apparently coalesced around secular candidates, as opposed to
Islamists, for key transitional leadership positions.
Several Libyan officials have also denounced Qatari support for Islamist groups.
Rather than dictating the post-revolution agenda, Libyan Islamists may be
feeling sidelined enough to require a nod to their conservative social agenda
from the rest of the Transitional National Council, in order to keep them on
board.
Abdul-Jalil’s comments were so vague as to be practically meaningless. However,
they do reinforce the fact that Islamism generally promotes misogynist
attitudes, since his efforts to placate Islamists implied restrictions on
women’s rights. Indeed, wherever Islamists have seized power, whether in Iran,
northern Nigeria, Afghanistan, parts of Pakistan, and Gaza, their exercise of
power has immediately and intently focused on restricting such rights. This
behavior ranges from the unspeakable, and thankfully rare, practice of stoning
women, largely in rural Iran, to the sexually paranoid restrictions by Hamas on
women smoking water pipes (cigarettes are fine) or riding on the back of
motorcycles. It takes a hyperactive pornographic imagination to read impropriety
into those latter acts. Another serious concern is that some of the Arab world’s
deposed secular dictatorships held up their purported advocacy of women’s issues
as a false sign of progress, thereby tainting such concerns.
In Egypt, for example, the Mubarak regime was associated with efforts to
strongly discourage female genital mutilation. While this practice has
absolutely nothing to do with Islam, and is enforced as enthusiastically by
Egyptian Coptic Christians and some African animists as by Muslims, the Muslim
Brotherhood was always in practice opposed to official efforts to suppress it.
The Brotherhood’s official position is that female genital mutilation is neither
“halal” (required) nor “haram” (forbidden). Therefore, it should be religiously
permissible, and, indeed unobjectionable.
During the Mubarak era, the Muslim Brotherhood objected to the distribution of
leaflets calling female genital mutilation “un-Islamic.” This suggests that the
Brotherhood is more sympathetic to genital mutilation than it cares to admit, or
is more socially conservative than its theological analyses requires. Efforts to
suppress this unspeakable atrocity will be difficult to resurrect in the near
future, as opposition to female genital mutilation is now closely associated
with the hated former regime, especially the former first lady.
Conservatism instinctively holds that tradition contains wisdom. Even some
American neoconservatives who originated on the left like Irving Kristol
eventually came to champion tradition for its own sake. Among contemporary
Islamists, this impulse is compounded by the tendency to privilege anything that
has a chronological proximity to the era of Revelation. This suggests that
anything that happened in or around the time of the Prophet Mohammed is, by
definition, closer to authentic religious practice than anything that emerged
later. This, of course, derogates the overwhelming bulk of Islamic civilization,
not to mention much of contemporary Arab culture.
Religious conservatism invariably focuses on social and sexual control. Women
are the most immediate targets and primary focus of the authoritarianism of the
religious right, wherever they may be. As Islamists seem to be finally getting
their chance at gaining a share of power in the Arab world, the greatest and
most immediate danger they pose is to women’s rights. That is why it is up to
everyone else, including both secularists and religious moderates, to insist on
the introduction of inviolable constitutional principles protecting the rights
of individuals, women and minorities. Socially conservative Arab parties have a
right to participate in government, but not to reduce women to second-class
citizenship.
Hussein Ibish is a senior research fellow at the American Task Force on
Palestine and blogs at www.ibishblog.com.
Serious neutrality
Hazem Saghiyeh, November 15, 2011
It is no secret that the Lebanese are divided over extremely essential issues
both within and outside their country. Their division is only natural and is a
right they have as free individuals and citizens. Therefore, some of them
support the Syrian regime and others support the rebellion against it. Some
enthusiastically support Iran in the event of a foreign strike and others
eagerly support a strike on Iran, saying that it is a quintessential condition
for Lebanon’s salvation. This is all legitimate, healthy even. The wretched
thing is for the Lebanese people’s division over these issues to turn into
inter-Lebanese fighting. It is for a Lebanese party to involve the country – in
terms of war and violence – in this or that conflict regardless of the other
party’s will and without referring back to the state, which is supposedly the
institution that synthesizes national unanimities and the sole decision-maker on
war and peace.
The behavior that immerses the country in surrounding wars and conflicts without
referring back to other parties in the same country has but one denomination:
Despotism. This despotism is extremely costly because it covers life and death,
existence and lack thereof. The Europeans have already dealt with a similar
matter since before the 1648 Peace of Westphalia: Back then, open continental
conflicts – be they over religions or dynasties – were confronted with the case
of Switzerland, which was formed by opposing German, French and Italian
communities.
It was natural that each of these communities would stand for the people it
originated from, thus transforming European wars into a Swiss civil war
destroying this small country.
The solution was found in Switzerland’s neutrality, which was later reaffirmed
with the Vienna Conference following the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815.
This neutrality allowed Switzerland to avert this small pluralistic nation the
disastrous results that took the rest of the continent by storm with World War I
and World War II. This would not have been made possible were it not for the
sharp distinction between natural and legitimate emotions and wishes on the one
hand and, on the other, military participation in conflicts and the conclusion
of war and security alliances. Lebanon’s situation today urges one to give the
Swiss model some thinking now that the region is laden with lethal conflicts,
some of which have a potential of becoming nuclear ones. This wish, however, is
countered head-on and rendered impossible by the wish to meet tensions halfway.
This same wish to allow the conflict to include everyone has already found its
most sublime expression in Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s
speech a couple of days ago.
And we, of course, are not in Switzerland!
*This article is a translation of the original, which appeared on the NOW Arabic
site on Monday November 14, 2011
Semantics and the Syrian refugees
Aline Sara, November 16, 2011
Syrians fleeing violence at home are benefitting from humanitarian aid in
Lebanon, but experts claim support would be better if Lebanon had officially
stated they were refugees.
As the situation deteriorates in Syria, large numbers of refugees continue to
flow into Lebanon through the northern border. Since the Syrian uprising and the
regime’s bloody clampdown began in mid-March, some 3,500 Syrians are estimated
to have been killed, while another 3,500 have crossed into Lebanon.
Because of the political dimensions of the crisis, with the pro-Syrian, March
8-led government in power in Beirut, Lebanon has not officially deemed those
flocking into the country refugees, considering them instead “guests” or
“displaced persons.” Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s office has, however, ordered
the governmental Higher Relief Council (HRC) to work with UN organizations to
help provide humanitarian assistance.
As a result of the government’s inability to classify the Syrians entering
Lebanon as refugees, international organizations cannot come from outside the
country to help them, though if they have a local office, it can provide some
assistance, said Tamam Mroue, who heads Handicap International’s Lebanon
mission. Unlike Ankara, which has spent approximately $15 million and set up
camps for the estimated 19,000 Syrians who have fled to Turkey, Lebanon has
resorted to converting schools in the border town of Wadi Khaled into shelters
for the refugees.
Meanwhile, Dana Sleiman of the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
says that “we treat them and consider them refugees. We are not going to stop on
the terminology.”Since the first influx of Syrians into Lebanon last spring, the
governmental HRC has partnered with UNHCR to provide newcomers with both food
and non-food items, healthcare and shelter, while the Ministry of Social Affairs
has worked with UNICEF and other organizations to provide families counseling
and to enroll some 500 Syrian children in more than 24 schools throughout Akkar
and Tripoli. But according to Sleiman, camps like the ones in Turkey are not
being set up for several reasons, one of which is concern for the refugees’
safety. “Camps are more easily targeted; we are vigilant when it comes to these
things,” said Sleiman in a reference to the abduction of several Syrian
nationals from Lebanese territory.
Over the past few months, a number of incidents have highlighted that even when
inside Lebanon, Syrians, especially those who sympathize with the opposition,
have reason to worry about their safety.
“The situation in Lebanon has been very difficult for Syrian refugees,”
confirmed Marwan Maalouf, a human rights lawyer who works between Beirut and
Washington.
“Instead of escaping danger, they are entering new danger,” he added. What is
needed, Maalouf said, is political will from the Lebanese government to help and
protect Syrians in Lebanon to the fullest of its ability. “There is an
obligation under international law to protect the refugees, yet we have cases of
activists being illegally investigated without any reaction from the
government.”Granted, harboring large numbers of refugees is problematic for any
country, and “in Turkey, I have heard of cases of individuals who have not been
given refugee status,” said Maalouf. But regardless, “I don’t think the name
they are given is a factor,” Sleiman said. “Assistance can always be better, but
we are fully on board [in assisting the refugees].”
In order to receive assistance, the Syrians entering Lebanon need to be
officially registered with the UNHRC and Lebanese HRC, which also said it was
providing refugees with primary healthcare needs, as a number of Syrians
crossing the border under gunfire arrive in Lebanon with significant injury. In
addition, the HRC denied recent rumors that Mikati had requested the council
stop treating Syrians.
A representative of Mikati’s media office told NOW Lebanon that based on the
PM’s instructions, the government was dealing with the refugees as a
humanitarian issue thorough the HRC, but he did not elaborate further. “We are
actively trying to keep the matter away from any politicization,” he stressed.
“We don’t expect much from the Lebanese government,” re-iterated Maalouf. “It’s
mostly Lebanese citizens who are trying to help.”
Marada slams decision for revoking citizenship from 24
Syriac Lebanese
November 16, 2011 /The Marada Movement Zahle-Bekaa branch slammed on Wednesday a
decree for revoking Lebanese citizenship from 24 Syriac families in Zahle, the
National News Agency reported. Dozens of people who belong to the Syriac
Orthodox community in Zahle staged a protest on Sunday to protest such a
decision in the presence of Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Boulos Safar, according
to NNA. Safar later said during a press conference: “Once again Lebanese
citizens [face] unfair decisions and decrees issued by the Lebanese government
in a non-transparent and unclear way and without taking into consideration [the
citizens’] interests.” On Saturday, the Syriac Union Party held a meeting
and reviewed the decree which has stripped “25 Syriac families” off their
Lebanese nationality “up until now.” The party renounced in a statement “this
decision which was not studied [well enough] by the Lebanese authorities.”The
party also called for revoking the Lebanese citizenship from those who obtained
it illegally. In a first step toward reversing a 1994 decree deemed largely
illegal, President Michel Sleiman signed last month a decree revoking the
Lebanese nationality of people who had claimed to be Lebanese but were not
officially registered in government databases. This decision faced criticism due
its timing, especially when Lebanese political rivals are divided over a number
of thorny issues.-NOW Lebanon
MP Boutros Harb: Aoun’s analyses based on his political
interests
November 16, 2011 /MP Boutros Harb on Wednesday commented on recent statements
issued by Free Patriotic Movement ( FPM) leader Michel Aoun regarding the Syrian
situation. He said that Aoun’s “analyses are always linked to his political
interests,” the National News Agency ( NNA) reported. On Tuesday, Aoun said that
the Arab League member-states that voted in support of suspending Syria’s
membership have chosen to take a “failing path.” “There is a big propaganda
[campaign] taking place against Syria,” Aoun told reporters. Aoun’s FPM is a
main Christian pillar in the pro-Syrian March 8 alliance spearheaded by the Shia
group Hezbollah. The Arab League on Saturday suspended Syria’s membership in the
organization until Assad implements an Arab deal to end violence against
protesters, and called for sanctions and transition talks with the opposition.
-NOW Lebanon
Neighbors tell Syria: Stop the bloodshed
November 16, 2011 /Syria's neighbors called on Wednesday for urgent action to
protect civilians from the regime's brutal crackdown on protesters as the
diplomatic vice tightened on President Bashar al-Assad. After a raid by army
defectors on an intelligence base highlighted the scale of the challenge at home
to Assad's 11-year rule, Arab foreign ministers said Damascus would be frozen
out of the region unless it halted the bloodshed. And France announced it was
recalling its ambassador to Syria after its diplomatic missions there were
attacked by Assad's supporters. While the foreign ministers in Rabat did not
immediately spell out the consequences for Syria if the killing continued, their
meeting was intended to signal that patience had now run out. Syria was
suspended by the 22-nation bloc at the weekend and it refused to turn up at the
meeting in Morocco, which was also attended by Turkey, its northern neighbor.
In a statement issued after the Turkish-Arab cooperation forum, the ministers
declared they were "against all foreign intervention" but said it was time for
urgent measures.
"The forum declares that it is necessary to stop the bloodshed and to spare
Syrian citizens from new acts of violence and killing, and demands that urgent
measures are taken to ensure the protection of civilians," a statement said.
"Ministers also stressed the importance of Syria's stability and unity and the
need to find a resolution to the crisis without any foreign intervention," it
added. The Arab ministers were to hold another meeting later to discuss further
measures against Syria after its suspension for failing to implement an Arab
peace deal.
"Everything must be done to stop the ongoing bloodshed in Syria," Arab League
Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi told reporters ahead of the meeting.
Arabi said he hoped Arab moves to send observers to Syria would bear fruit
within days. But he reiterated that no observers would be sent before a clear
agreement is signed between the Arab League and Damascus. The pan-Arab body had
agreed to send 500 members of human rights groups, media representatives and
military observers to Syria, which said it would welcome them to see the
situation on the ground and help implement the peace deal. Turkey, once a close
ally of Syria, has become increasingly outspoken in its criticism of Assad's
regime since the Syrian uprising began. "The cost for the Syrian administration
of not fulfilling the promises it made to the Arab League is its isolation in
the Arab world as well," Ahmet Davutoglu told his Arab counterparts.The
unprecedented movement against Assad's rule has been spearheaded by peaceful
demonstrators but, in recent months, deserters have organized themselves into a
Free Syrian Army that has inflicted growing losses on the regular armed
forces.The attack on the intelligence base near Damascus was one of its most
spectacular attacks to date.
The Free Syrian Army also announced it was forming a temporary military council
to spearhead the fight to oust Assad's regime.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon
“Liberal” Saudi prince quits succession council
November 16, 2011
Liberal-leaning Saudi Prince Talal bin Abdul Aziz, a half brother of King
Abdullah, announced on Wednesday his resignation from the council charged with
deciding the royal succession.
"Prince Talal announces his resignation from the Council of Allegiance after
having informed King Abdullah," his website said, without giving any details.The
council was created in 2006 to ensure a peaceful transfer of power in the
ultra-conservative oil power-house. Talal's resignation comes just weeks after
the interior minister, 78-year-old Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, was named heir
after the death of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. Born in 1935, Prince
Talal is the father of billionaire business tycoon Prince Al-Walid bin Talal. He
is known for his activities supporting human development, particularly in the
areas of education and health.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
last at south Lebanon hotel popular with UN staff
By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press
BEIRUT (AP) — A bomb exploded Wednesday at a hotel frequented by U.N. staffers
in southern Lebanon, causing damage but no casualties, a Lebanese security
official said.
The official said the blast struck the pub at the Queen Elissa Hotel in the port
city of Tyre early in the morning. Rubble littered the pavement outside the
hotel, and part of the ground floor was badly damaged by the blast.
Another explosion minutes later damaged a liquor store in the city, also causing
no casualties. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with
regulations.
It wasn't immediately clear whether U.N. staffers were the target of the attack
at the hotel. The blast shattered the windshield of one U.N. SUV parked outside
the inn. Lebanese troops and peacekeepers cordoned off the area after the
explosion.
The official estimated the hotel bomb to weigh about 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds),
adding that a sample was sent to Beirut to determine the type of explosives
used.
Tyre is a predominantly Muslim city and serving alcohol is common at hotels and
restaurants.
There have been several attacks against U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon in the
past, most recently in July, when a roadside bomb blew up next to a U.N. convoy
carrying French peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, wounding at least five people.
U.N. peacekeepers have been deployed in southern Lebanon since 1978 to monitor
the border with Israel. The force was boosted to almost 12,000 troops after
Israel and Hezbollah fought a war in 2006.
Under the U.N. resolution that ended the fighting, the mission is monitoring a
zone south of the Litani River where Hezbollah is banned from keeping weapons.Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.