LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
November 23/2011

Bible Quotation for today/When Someone Sins
Matthew 18/15- If your brother sins against you, go to him and show him his fault. But do it privately, just between yourselves. If he listens to you, you have won your brother back. But if he will not listen to you, take one or two other persons with you, so that every accusation may be upheld by the testimony of two or more witnesses, as the scripture says. And if he will not listen to them, then tell the whole thing to the church. Finally, if he will not listen to the church, treat him as though he were a pagan or a tax collector. And so I tell all of you: what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.  And I tell you more: whenever two of you on earth agree about anything you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, I am there with them.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
The Beirut autumn/Independence, between disappointment and despair/Anthony Elghossain,/Lebanon Now/November 22/11
Muslim Persecution of Christians: October, 2011/by Raymond Ibrahim/Hudson New York/October, 2011
Arab Spring will just bring upon Islamist dictatorships/By Moshe Arens /Haaretz/November 22/11
Egypt: the delayed conflict/By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 22/11
Sons of Arab tyrants/By Dr. Hamad Al-Majid//Asharq Al-Awsat
Averting civil war?/By: Hazem Saghiyeh/Now Lebanon/November 21/11

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November 22/11
President Michel Sleiman's Independence Speech
Lebanon celebrates Independence Day with mixed feelings
Lebanon Celebrates its 68th Independence Day
Juppe: Arab States Should Not Fear Peoples' Aspirations
U.S. announces new Iran nuclear sanctions, avoids targeting central bank
Canada Expands Sanctions on Iran
Russia warns West against 'unacceptable' sanctions on Iran
Iran Blasts New Sanctions as 'Reprehensible, Ineffective'
U.N. Passes Resolution Condemning Iran 'Human Rights Abuses'
Major CIA network unraveled by Hezbollah, Iran
Mikati to resign if Cabinet votes down funding for Special Tribunal
Lebanese Cabinet to hold 2 sessions this week, STL funding off agenda
Lebanese Cabinet to Address Funding of STL on Nov. 30
Baragwanath in Lebanon on Wednesday, to Reiterate Importance of STL Funding
Geagea: Lebanon Facing Struggle between Rule of State and that of Statelet
Brazilian frigate joins UNIFIL Maritime Task Force fleet
Hajj-Hasan to regulate potato exports, quality
Report: Berri Annoyed at Deteriorating Relations with Hariri
Saniora to File Lawsuit against Kanaan
Forum seeks to strengthen tourist ties with China
Accusations against Siniora during committee meeting prompt March 14 walkout
Sleiman reiterates commitment to tribunal
Hezbollah, Amal stand by Iran, Syria against U.S., Israeli threats
Drug use rampant in Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps
CIA in Lebanon damaged by capture of spies by Hezbollah
Syrian Opposition Meets With British Officials
Syrian government, Russia criticize Britain's calls against Assad
Turkey's Erdogan urges Assad to 'finally step down' for sake of Mideast peace
Turkish nationals come under attack in Syria
US Ambassador Delays Return To Syria
Study: Palestinians invest twice as much in Israel as they do in West Bank
Egypt Cabinet quits as clashes rage
Egypt Military Rejects Cabinet Resignation
Egyptian protesters battle police for fourth day, as death toll rises to 36
Egypt set for mass rally against military rule

Lebanon celebrates Independence Day with mixed feelings
November 22, 2011/By Rima S. Aboulmona/The Daily Star
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Nov-22/154861-lebanon-celebrates-independence-day-with-mixed-feelings.ashx
BEIRUT: Lebanese officials offered mixed feelings as the celebrations for the 68th anniversary of Lebanon’s independence got under way Tuesday. President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn and Lebanese Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi all attended the 50-minute Independence Day military parade at Shafiq Wazzan Avenue in Downtown Beirut Tuesday morning. Also present was Brazilian Vice President Michel Temer, who is in Lebanon on an official visit. Temer is of Lebanese origin. A 21-gun salute was fired at the start of the parade after which Sleiman laid a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A helicopter show greeted Sleiman's motorcade upon arrival. Infantry and navy commandos took part in the parade which ran without a hitch under a bright sun, a contrast to the heavy rain storms that hit the country last week. At the end of the parade, Sleiman, Berri and Mikati headed to the presidential palace in suburban Baabda to receive well-wishers. Israeli warplanes hovered at low altitude over Marjayoun, Bint Jbeil and the Tyre region in south Lebanon throughout the parade, a security source told The Daily Star.
Sleiman paid tribute to Independence Day on its eve, Monday night: “Yes for independence. Yes for coexistence. Yes for freedom and social justice,” he said in a televised speech.
Meanwhile, politicians from the opposition used the occasion to question Lebanon’s current sovereignty. MP Ahmad Fatfat of former Prime Minister Saad Haririi's Future bloc said Lebanon did not enjoy true independence. “Our independence is incomplete because some people try to violate Lebanon’s sovereignty” Fatfat said in an interview Tuesday with the Voice of Lebanon radio station.
Lawmakers from across the March 14 coalition of which Fatfat is part have vocally condemned recent cross-border incursions by the Syrian army into Lebanese territory.
Addressing Lebanese, Fatfat said: “We tell them that we must join ranks in order to achieve real independence by restoring Lebanon's sovereignty.”
Meanwhile, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea urged Lebanese to unite. “Lebanon’s independence is entrusted in your own hands,” Geagea said in a statement issued Tuesday.
“Your [Lebanese] unity is the guarantee for the survival of Lebanon and so is your cooperation and harmony,” he said. Geagea called on the rival Lebanese people to preserve their nation’s independence “by protecting one another ... and bridging the gap so that Lebanon will be sovereign and independent and remain a pioneer in democracy.”

President Michel Sleiman Independence Speech
November 21, 2011
On November 21, President Michel Sleiman delivered an address to mark Lebanon’s 68th independence anniversary. The speech was broadcast live from the Bekaa’s Rashaya Castle:
“We recall the unified will [of the Lebanese people], which prompted [the country's] independence [in 1943]. The national strike that followed the arrest of [then-President Beshara al-Khoury] and the rest of Lebanese officials was not only a way to show support for the detainees, but expressed how fond the people were of these leaders and of the concept of coexistence.
One of the primary conditions for independence is liberation from any mandate or occupation, as well as having the government exercise authority on its territory. Another condition for independence is to achieve social justice and economic growth, as well as to fight poverty and sickness.
It is the first time, since 1975, that, for a period longer than three years, Lebanon has not witness any [significant conflicts]. We have sought to implement [UN Security Council] Resolution 1701, [which ended a devastating war between Hezbollah and Israel], in cooperation with the Lebanese army.
Throughout this period, we have established diplomatic relations with Syria and have respected [the electoral process] by holding elections. The government has begun discussing the drafting of a new electoral law that guarantees [fair] representation.
I know you are worried that the government and [its] institutions are not being able to fully assume responsibility of all Lebanese territory and [protect the citizens from] Israeli [violations of Lebanese territory], but this should not be a source of frustration.
There should be a comprehensive nation-wide dialogue. Regardless of the current debate over the possibility of resuming national dialogue, we should [work] to build a united state. We should not take time to implement what we have agreed on during [past] dialogue sessions, especially concerning the use of arms by Palestinian [refugees in Lebanon]. Additionally, we should be committed to implementing international resolutions, especially those related to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), [probing the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri].
At a time when Israel still occupies part of our territory and keeps violating [our land], everyone is aware of the fact that we need to unite and uphold our rights in order to liberate our land.
The Lebanese people are committed to democratic reform and to any just Arab cause, primarily the cause of Palestine that Lebanon fought for at the United Nations. There is work that needs to be done in order to achieve a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, without permitting the naturalization [of Palestinian refugees] in Lebanon.
My message to all Lebanese is to be neutral regarding anything that can affect their peace and dreams, and to commit to the path of dialogue, moderation and coexistence. Long live Lebanon and its [people]

Arab Spring will just bring upon Islamist dictatorships
The toppling of the Arab dictators was inevitable; unfortunately, however, just as inevitable is what is going to follow their overthrow.
By Moshe Arens /Haaretz
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/arab-spring-will-just-bring-upon-islamist-dictatorships-1.396976
The United Nations Development Programme's 2002 Arab Human Development Report stated that "deeply rooted shortcomings" existed in Arab countries. In other other words, Arab societies were sick. According to the report, this sickness was reflected in the lack of "respect for human rights and freedoms," the status of Arab women, and the poor state of "knowledge acquisition and its effective utilization."
The follow-up report in 2003 stated: "True democracy is absent and desperately needed. The educational system is severely retarded; schools produce ignorant young men and women. Most of the [Arab] intellectuals] realize, even if they deny it, that most of what was said in the most recent Arab Human Development Report is true."
So if you were thinking that the so-called Arab Spring was going to fix all that, well, you'd better think again. It looks like the Arab Spring will be followed by an Arab Winter. On second thought, this is a development that was entirely predictable: The Islamists are going to inherit the mantle of the dictators.
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Muammar Gadhafi in Libya were corrupt dictators who outlived their days. They all suppressed the Islamic movements in their respective countries, and were all thus on the side of the seculars in their own perverse way. The same holds true for Syria's Bashar Assad, whose father, Hafez, killed some 20,000 people in the city of Hama in 1982, quelling a rebellion by the Moslem Brothers. Now, his son, Bashar, no less ruthless, seems to be about to go the way of Ben Ali, Mubarak and Gadhafi.
The demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt were initially led by secular groups - educated youngsters adept at using the Internet, Facebook and Twitter. In Egypt, they stood shoulder to shoulder with members of the Coptic Christian community, which constitutes 10% of the Egyptian population. Quite naturally, they called for the downfall of Mubarak to be followed by democratic elections. The motley crew in Libya that overthrew Gadhafi was supported by the democracies that make up NATO, and it is unimaginable that the bloodbath that rid the country of the "mad dog of the Middle East," as former U.S. President Ronald Reagan called him, would not be followed by democratic elections - even under the chaotic conditions that followed Gadhafi's downfall.
But who is going to win the elections when they take place - in Egypt, in Libya and eventually in Syria?
We already have a preview: In Tunisia, the country that had been the most secular and westernized of the Arab states, the election was won by Ennahda, the Islamic party, with the advocates of a secular Tunisia left far behind.
The western media, in an attempt to put a good face on what has clearly been a disappointing outcome, insists on calling Ennahda a "mildly Islamic party." But the facts are there for all to see: Tunisia is coming under Islamic rule. And there is no reason to expect a different outcome in Egypt, Libya or Syria, when elections are held there.
A wave of Islamic rule, with all it entails, is sweeping across the Arab world. It will replace secular dictatorships with Islamic ones. We should have expected nothing else.
Demography has been hard at work all through the past years. For those who haven't noticed, during the long years of totalitarian rule in the Arab states, the population that was fervently Muslim increased in numbers much faster than the secular population. Now, the veiled women far outnumber those willing to show their faces in public - to such an extent that there is no need to await the counting of the ballots after election day; the outcome of elections in the Arab countries is certain before the votes have been cast.
Observers may fool themselves into believing that the Islamic parties contesting the elections in the Arab countries are "mildly" Islamic, or "moderate" Islamists, but their leaders are neither mild nor moderate.
Clearly, expecting the basic faults that characterize Arab societies - as described in the UNDP Arab Human Development reports - to be rectified under the rule of Islamic parties is no more than a vain hope. If anything, the opposite is most likely to be true: Sharia law will prevail, with all it entails.
The toppling of the Arab dictators was inevitable; unfortunately, however, just as inevitable is what is going to follow their overthrow. It looks like it is going to be long Arab Winter.

Egypt: the delayed conflict
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
What we see today in Tahrir Square is a delayed conflict brewing since the overthrow, or stepping down, of the Mubarak regime. Whereas this battle was expected, it was long overdue. It is a conflict between three parties; the military establishment, the Muslim Brotherhood and with them the Salafis of course, and the third party being the youth of the revolution.
The youth are convinced that the military has sold them to the Brotherhood, and the military council itself has been dealing with the Muslim Brotherhood as a genuine, organized power, assuming that they will play the politics game, but along the lines of “you know and I know”, in other words: each of us is aware of the power and limitations of the other. The revolutionary youth were always the fuel for the Muslim Brotherhood fire. In relation to the military, the youth were mere “juveniles”. The youth’s demands were ambitious, but they lacked knowledge or genuine political influence on the Egyptian scene after Mubarak.
Hence it is clear that the three active parties on the political scene; the military council, the Muslim Brotherhood and the revolutionary youth all do not trust each other, and everyone is playing for time. Meanwhile, there is a fourth party in Egypt believed by some to be important, which has been termed “the couch party”, i.e. the silent majority that are watching and waiting, and may have a decisive say in the elections. Some hope that this group will be able to prevent the Muslim Brotherhood achieving the parliamentary majority. I was told by a prominent candidate for the Egyptian presidential elections that: “No one will achieve an overwhelming majority in the next parliament, rather it will be formed of fragile coalitions, and thus no one will have a mandate to draft the constitution alone”.
This is what frightens young people today, and we already warned them of it, i.e. the liberal forces, and told them they should not be like the Sunnis of Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Some of them mocked these words, others underestimated them, but today the young people are in a race against time, claiming that their revolution has been hijacked!
The problem with the military is another matter altogether of course. The military council was delusional, mistaken to believe that it was possible to play politics with the Muslim Brotherhood. Before the upcoming elections on the 28th November, the military council’s demands were specific points, namely that it serves as the guarantor of homeland security, and protects the national budget and likewise the idea of a civil state. Yet there are also international obligations, alongside the genuine concerns of the Copts, which is what initially ignited the anger of the Muslim Brotherhood.
When I say that the military establishment was mistaken when dealing with the Muslim Brotherhood, this is because the military council – as an intelligent Egyptian observer told me – “forgot the political history of the Brotherhood. They say that they will ride the train with you, but they leave before you have agreed upon a station”, i.e. they do not adhere to their promises. Of course the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is not the Turkish Muslim Brotherhood, which contested the game of politics in its country in accordance with the conditions in place, i.e. an already drafted constitution. By contrast, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is preparing to play according to the conditions it might impose when it writes the constitution, if it gains the majority, and the “couch party” does not mobilize as some in Egypt hope.Thus, what is happening in Egypt is a battle that was long overdue, but nevertheless very late!

Sons of Arab tyrants
By Dr. Hamad Al-Majid//Asharq Al-Awsat
Saif Gaddafi and the sons of Arab tyrants
In my assessment, the arrest of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is more than just the arrest of a Libyan figure whom the Libyan people were enraged with, because of the crimes he committed against them. What is more important here is the idea of the "special favours" granted to the sons of Arab presidents, a phenomenon that must be considered a nail in the coffin of a number of leaderships, including those of Muammar Gaddafi, Hafez al-Assad, Saddam Hussein, Hosni Mubarak and Ali Abdullah Saleh, even if it was not the direct cause. This is the highest degree of disrespect and disdain committed by leaders who handle their countries as personal fiefdoms. Those leaders, by degrading their own people, are stimulating hostility and strengthening the ranks of the opposition. Unfortunately, these leaders never imagined that the lure of power bequeathal, as adorned by the beneficiaries around them, would eventually force them out of power even before their sons could succeed them. Those leaders thought that by tightening an iron fist around their people's necks, they could implement this despotic practice, although the very idea of the succession of power in a republican system, even if the son is exceptionally qualified, is a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. This is clearly what happened during the era of Hosni Mubarak, who only realized after he had fallen that the bequeathal of power was a deadly mistake that cost him his reign. The same mistake was realized too late by Ali Abdullah Saleh, after a torrent of fury equivalent to the collapse of the Marib Dam was unleashed upon him and his son Ahmed, who was preparing to be crowned the next president of Yemen.
Thus, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Gamal and Alaa Mubarak, Bashar al-Assad, Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, and Qusay and Uday Hussein all share the same attribute, namely that their fathers were preoccupied day and night trying to convince their people to accept the principle of succession. They exploited their prolonged periods of rule and were deluded into thinking that their people, who had endured them for decades, would also accept the rule of their sons after they were gone. The first leader to actively turn the principle of power bequeathal from a mere theory into practice was Hafez al-Assad, having groomed his military-orientated son Bassel for power, who later died in a car crash. He then sought to pass power on to his other son Bashar, an eye doctor, in an act that displayed his underestimation of the educated and conscious Syrian people. Hafez al-Assad's underestimation of his own people reached a climax when he amended the constitution so that his son could be installed as president. Hafez al-Assad’s plot was ultimately successful, which watered the mouths of other Arab presidents, giving rise to a new corrupt Arab system that was distinct from both republics and monarchies; the "republarchy". However, this system was soon to be buried forever.
Here a question arises: Is the bequeathal of power a necessary trait of authoritarianism? The answer is no, as President Gamal Abdul Nasser, despite ruling Egypt with an iron fist and his immense popularity in Egypt and across the Arab world, he was markedly different to the present day collapsing Arab leaderships, in the sense that he never considered passing power down, although his eldest son had the minimum required qualifications, and he had even completed his post-graduate studies. This also applied to Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat, the Algerian President Houari Boumediene, the Sudanese Prime Minister Muhammad Ahmad Mahgoub, and the Yemeni President Ibrahim al-Hamdi. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that power bequeathal is an Arab attribute par excellence. Even the blood-thirsty leaders of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, or the dictators of Latin America never thought of granting favoured positions to their sons, let alone the ridiculous idea of bequeathing power to them.
Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi’s favourite son, has fallen into the hands of the Libyan revolutionaries. With him, the ideas of “special privileges” and the bequeathal of power have fallen down forever.

Egypt set for mass rally against military rule
22/11/2011/Cairo, (AFP)- Egyptians are being urged to rally en masse on Tuesday to demand an end to military rule after days of bloody clashes that are threatening to derail next week's first elections since Hosni Mubarak's ouster.
A day after the cabinet offered to resign, in a move reportedly rejected by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, another two people were killed, bringing the death toll from clashes since Saturday to 26.
The United States said it was "deeply concerned" by the violence and called for democratic elections, as watchdog Amnesty International charged the SCAF's record on human rights was worse than the Mubarak regime.
On the eve of the new protest, Egypt's military-appointed cabinet of civilian officials announced its resignation, but state television quoted a SCAF source as saying this was rejected by the military.
"The government of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has handed its resignation to the (ruling) Supreme Council of the Armed Forces," cabinet spokesman Mohammed Hegazy said in a statement Monday.
The SCAF "invited all the political and national forces for an emergency dialogue to look into the reasons behind the aggravation of the current crisis and ways to resolve it as quickly as possible," it said, quoted by state media.
It said it had asked the justice ministry to set up a committee to probe the violence, and called on "all forces and citizens to commit to (restoring) calm, and creating an atmosphere of stability with the goal of pursuing the political process."
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's best-organised political force, said Tuesday it would take part in the talks with the army.
The Brotherhood-affiliated Freedom and Justice Party said earlier it would not participate in Tuesday's protest, a decision it said stemmed from its "desire not to pull people towards fresh bloody confrontations with the parties that are seeking more tension."
Tuesday's mass rally to demand the army cede power was called by the political forces that spearheaded the popular uprising that forced Mubarak out of office in February.
Activists from the Coalition of Revolution Youth and the April 6 movement, among others, have called for the protest at 4:00 pm (1400 GMT) in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the anti-Mubarak rallies.
In a Facebook page for the rally, the groups called for the immediate resignation of Sharaf's cabinet and the formation of a "national salvation" government.
They also demanded a presidential election by April 2012 and a complete overhaul of the interior ministry.
The military is also coming under increasing pressure to halt the violence from abroad, with White House spokesman Jay Carney saying it was important that US ally Egypt move toward democratic elections.
US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland echoed the White House call for "free, fair elections," and expressed the hope the electoral process would remain on schedule.
UN leader Ban Ki-moon called on the military council to "guarantee" civil liberties as he deplored the deaths in the clashes.
"The secretary general is deeply concerned about the violence in Egypt during the last few days, particularly in Cairo. He deplores the loss of life and the many injuries," said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.
"The secretary general calls on the transitional authorities to guarantee the protection of human rights and civil liberties for all Egyptians, including the right to peaceful protest."
Tens of thousands of people had packed Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday night, after clashes continued for a third straight day between protesters and police in and around the square.
They greeted news of the cabinet's resignation with indifference, calling for the removal of the military rulers as clashes continued around the nearby interior ministry headquarters.
Riot police fired volleys of birdshot, rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators who used stones and petrol bombs. Other protesters formed a corridor through which the injured were ferried into waiting ambulances.
Two people were killed early on Tuesday in the Red Sea town of Ismailiya, medics said, as state media reported that clashes also erupted in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.
Hundreds have been injured during the protests that have raged in Cairo, Alexandria, Ismailiya and the canal city of Suez.
Culture minister Emad Abu Ghazi earlier quit in protest at the government response to the demonstrations, he told state news agency MENA.
The clashes first erupted on Saturday, a day after large crowds staged a peaceful anti-military mass rally at the square, resuming on Sunday and carrying on through the night into Monday.
There were heavy clashes on side streets leading to the interior ministry as protesters chanted "The people want to topple the field marshal" -- Hussein Tantawi, Mubarak's long-time defence minister who heads the SCAF.
The SCAF, in a statement read out on state television, said it "regretted" what was happening and said it was committed to the elections timetable.

Canada Expands Sanctions on Iran
(No. 350 - Modification - November 21, 2011 - 4:05 p.m. ET) Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement announcing additional sanctions against Iran:
“Canada is deeply disturbed by the information contained in the most recent International Atomic Energy Agency report on the state of Iran’s nuclear program. It is yet more proof that the current regime in Tehran poses the most significant threats to global peace and security today. “We are compelled to take further action as a result.
“Canada is implementing, as of right now, a series of even tougher measures under the Special Economic Measures Act. These expanded sanctions prohibit almost all financial transactions with the Iranian government, add individuals and entities to the list of designated persons and expand the list of prohibited goods.
“We are taking aggressive action to cover the known leadership of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and block virtually all transactions with Iran, including those with the Central Bank, while providing an exemption allowing Iranian-Canadians to send some money to loved ones back in their home country.“Iran’s current leaders blatantly ignore their international obligations. They obfuscate Iran’s nuclear activities and they block any international attempt to verify the country’s claims. They do so while continuing to violate the human rights of their own citizens, all while undermining regional security.
“Canada will continue to work with the growing list of like-minded countries in a bid to limit the ability of Iran’s rulers to further undermine peace, prosperity and stability.”
To view this document on the department website, please click on the following link:
http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2011/350.aspx
Backgrounder
Effective immediately, in response to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s November 9 assessment of Iran’s nuclear program, Canada is imposing new sanctions under the Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA). The new regulations will do the following:
•prohibit financial transactions with Iran, subject to certain exceptions;
•expand the list of prohibited goods to include all goods used in the petrochemical, oil and gas industry in Iran;
•amend the list of prohibited goods to include additional items that could be used in Iran’s nuclear program;
•add new individuals and entities to the list of designated persons found in Schedule 1 of the Iran Regulations; and
•remove certain entities that have been recommended for removal by the Minister of Foreign Affairs that no longer present a proliferation concern for Canada.
It should be noted that the new prohibitions on financial transactions and goods used in the petrochemical, oil and gas industry in Iran do not apply to contracts entered into prior to November 22, 2011.
On October 18, Canada imposed sanctions on five Iranian individuals. Four of them are members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. These individuals brought the total of those targeted by Canada’s sanctions to 279 entities and 47 individuals.
Canadians with relatives living in Iran will still be able to send funds to family members, provided those relatives are not listed individuals.
Existing Canadian sanctions
In July 2010, Canada implemented sanctions against Iran under SEMA. These sanctions prohibit all of the following:
•dealing with designated individuals and entities, such as dealings in any property, or making any goods or financial or related services available to a designated individual or entity;
•exporting or otherwise providing to Iran arms and related materials not already banned, items that could contribute to Iran’s proliferation activities, and items used in refining oil and gas;
•providing technical data related to these goods;
•making any new investment in the Iranian oil and gas sector, or providing or acquiring financial services for this purpose;
•providing or acquiring financial services to allow an Iranian financial institution (or a branch, subsidiary or office) to be established in Canada, or vice versa;
•establishing correspondent banking relationships with Iranian financial institutions, or purchasing any debt from the Government of Iran; and
•providing services for the operation or maintenance of a vessel owned or controlled by, or operating on behalf of, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines.
In addition, the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Permit Authorization Order (SOR/2010-166), made pursuant to subsection 4(4) of the Special Economic Measures Act, authorizes the Minister of Foreign Affairs to issue a permit to any person in Canada or any Canadian outside Canada to carry out a specified activity or transaction, or any class of activity or transaction, that is restricted or prohibited pursuant to the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations.
Existing UN sanctions
Since 2006, the United Nations Security Council has imposed four rounds of sanctions against Iran in response to its nuclear program. Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, the Security Council adopted resolutions 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008) and 1929 (2010) imposing sanctions against Iran in response to the proliferation risks presented by Iran’s nuclear program and in light of Iran’s continuing failure to meet the requirements of the IAEA and to comply with the provisions of earlier Security Council resolutions. These resolutions require Iran to fully cooperate with the IAEA and to suspend all uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities.
The Regulations Implementing the United Nations Resolutions on Iran, as amended, implement the decisions of the Security Council in Canadian domestic law. Implementation of the travel bans imposed by resolutions 1803 (2008) and 1929 (2010) is ensured in Canada under existing provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Other measures
For the past eight years, Canada has been the lead co-sponsor of the annual resolution at the UN General Assembly on the situation of human rights in Iran. The 2010 resolution highlighted long-standing violations of human rights by the Iranian authorities, such as the persistent discrimination against and violation of the fundamental human rights of women and girls, stoning and amputation, widespread discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities, and media censorship and harassment of human rights defenders, including women’s rights activists. Canada has pledged to continue to stand with the people of Iran against the oppression from the Iranian authorities.
The 2010 resolution was co-sponsored by 41 other UN member states and was supported by 80, with only 44 member states voting against. This represented the largest margin ever in favour of the annual resolution, signalling the international community’s deepening concern with the human rights situation in Iran.
For more information, please see Canada-Iran Relations.

U.N. Passes Resolution Condemning Iran 'Human Rights Abuses'
Naharnet/The U.N. General Assembly on Monday passed an annual resolution condemning alleged human rights abuses in Iran with a record number of votes in support.
The assembly also passed resolutions condemning human rights in North Korea and Myanmar. All received record high backing. The Iran vote came only three days after the General Assembly condemned an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington -- a plot which the United States accuses Iran of masterminding. The 193-member assembly passed the resolution condemning "torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" by Iranian authorities with 86 votes in favor, six more than last year, 32 against, down eight from 2010, and 59 abstentions. The resolution, proposed by Canada, condemned "flogging and amputations" carried out in Iran and deplored a "dramatic increase" in the use of the death penalty, particularly against minors. Many human rights groups say events have deteriorated in Iran over the past year.
Iranian government representative, Mohammad Javad Larijani, an advisor to the country's supreme leader, called the resolution "substantially unfounded and intentionally malicious" in a speech to the General Assembly's human rights committee.
Syria, which faces a special human rights vote on Tuesday over its deadly crackdown on opposition protests, spoke out strongly for its Iranian ally.
The North Korea vote was passed with 112 votes in favor, 16 against and 55 abstentions. On Myanmar the vote was 98 in favor, 25 against with 63 abstentions.
The assembly raised "very serious concern" over the "torture" and "inhuman conditions of detention, public executions, extra judicial and arbitrary detention" in North Korea.
It also condemned the "existence of a large number of prison camps and the extensive use of forced labor."
The Myanmar resolution welcomed recent talks between democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the military-dominated government, the release of some political prisoners and other changes over the past year. But the General Assembly said there were still "systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms."
It highlighted "arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, rape and other forms of sexual violence, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." It also raised concerns about the treatment of ethnic minorities such as the Karen people.
Western nations, which have sanctions against Myanmar, have sought to encourage the tentative reforms started by the government. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to hold talks in Myanmar next month. Myanmar's U.N. ambassador U Than Swe highlighted the government's efforts towards "building a flourishing, democratic society."
"We do deserve warm, welcome, kind understanding and sincere encouragements of the international community rather than unconstructive approach by adopting such resolutions," he told the assembly.
In a statement, Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague acknowledged the changes in Myanmar, but said "human rights abuses continue, especially in ethnic areas, and the level of support for this resolution shows once again that the international community has not forgotten the people" of Myanmar.
"The U.N. General Assembly passed these three resolutions by a record majority today, and I welcome the strong signal that sends," Hague said.
Source Agence France Presse

Syrian Opposition Meets With British Officials
By SEBNEM ARSU
Published: November 21, 2011
William Hague, Britain’s foreign secretary, met with the opposition representatives, the Foreign Office said on its Web site. Mr. Hague did not specify what type of assistance, if any, was discussed, but he said in a statement that “we want to continue to step up the international pressure on the Assad regime, a regime that has long since lost its legitimacy in the eyes of the wider world.”
The Arab League has suspended Syria, and a growing number of countries, led by the United States and members of the European Union, have penalized Mr. Assad with economic sanctions. Turkey, which Mr. Assad had once counted as a friend, has also castigated him, given sanctuary to an insurgent group and threatened further action. Turkey’s president, Abdullah Gul, who was about to begin a three-day visit to Britain, said in an interview with the BBC on Monday that Mr. Assad was not serious about meeting the legitimate demands of his political opponents, “so therefore we don’t have any more trust.”
The developments came as anti-Assad activist groups reported 12 new deaths on Monday in the Syria uprising, which has claimed more than 3,500 lives by the United Nations’ count since it began in March.
Reuters said the latest civilian deaths included two youths killed by Syrian security forces in the central city of Homs, a center of the movement, as the forces were looking for a Syrian soccer celebrity, Abdelbasset Saroud, who has been leading protest rallies against Mr. Assad.
The Syrian government heavily restricts foreign press access, and there was no way to corroborate the reports.
The violence in Syria also claimed its first Turkish civilian casualties, as a bus convoy transporting Turkish Muslims home from Saudi Arabia was shot at by unidentified assailants as it traversed Syrian territory. Turkish news reports said at least two Turks were wounded.
The Foreign Ministry of Turkey, which had issued an advisory to its citizens on Sunday urging them to avoid travel to Syria, confirmed there was an attack and said it was making inquiries but did not report any details.
“We were driving in a convoy of eight to nine buses, before a red car with four people came on our way, and started firing on us,” Cemil Karli, an injured pilgrim, was quoted as telling Turkey’s Anatolian News Agency. “As they realized that we were going to continue our way, four more people appeared in distance and fired on us.”
Mr. Karli, who was shot in his abdomen and left leg, and Naci Ozata, the driver, were treated at the public hospital in Hatay, a Turkish border town.
The driver of one of the buses had missed the turn for the border gate while crossing through Homs in central Syria and had asked for directions before armed men in uniforms opened fire, said NTV, a private Turkish television news channel.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey would not comment on the bus shooting, but he reiterated his call on Mr. Assad to end violence against peaceful protesters.
“If you believe and trust yourself as a leader, you would open up the ballot boxes and your people walk to them, and if they name you as the government, you would then govern that country,” Mr. Erdogan said in Istanbul. “However, governments can last only until one point with tanks and shells. One day you would also leave, because those seats are not eternal but temporary.”
In Washington, the State Department announced that Robert S. Ford, the ambassador to Syria who was abruptly withdrawn from the country last month, would not go back there by Thanksgiving, as had been previously planned. A State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, told reporters at a news briefing that the United States would “be consulting with our allies and partners on the appropriate timing for his return.”
Mr. Ford, an outspoken critic of Mr. Assad’s crackdown on dissent, left Syria because of what American officials called threats to his safety.
Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York.

Syrian government, Russia criticize Britain's calls against Assad
DAMASCUS, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Monday called on Syrian opposition to "unite" against President Bashar al-Assad, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov chided such calls from Western countries as provocation. "It is important for opposition groups to be able to put aside their own differences and come to a united view of the way forward, " Hague made the remarks after meeting with Syrian opposition representatives in London on Monday.
However, he said Britain was not ready to recognize the Syrian opposition as the country's legitimate government.
"We are not at the point of a formal recognition, partly because there is not a single council as there was in Libya. They are not in control of territory in Syria as the council was in Libya and the international community has not reached that point," Hague said.
Meanwhile, Lavrov said that "so far, when the Arab League (AL) urges to stop the violence and start dialogues, Western countries and some countries in the region call for the opposition to avoid such dialogues with Bashar al-Assad's regime."
Abuses over international law and the UN authority cannot be allowed, Lavrov added.
The remarks of Hague and Lavrov came after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's confirmation that he would press on with a crackdown against what he called armed groups targeting civilians, policemen, army personnel in his country despite increased pressure from the AL.
"The conflict will continue and the pressure to subjugate Syria will continue," Assad told the Britain's Sunday Times newspaper. " However, I assure you that Syria will not bow down and that it will continue to resist the pressure being imposed on it," he said.
Commenting on Assad's remarks, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Monday that the Syrian regime was destined to fall sooner or later.
"No matter how hard you try to hold on to power with your tanks and your weapons, a day will come and you will go," said Erdogan at a meeting with chief Muslim clerics from African countries and communities held in Istanbul.
The AL peace plan reached with Syria earlier this month has virtually perished, with each side blaming the other of showing no sincerity. The Syrian authorities said that the plan contains " impossible" phrases that encroach upon Syria's sovereignty while the AL said that Syria has demanded amendments that contradict the plan's essence.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said that some Arab states are using the AL as a tool to take the Syrian file to the UN Security Council, but stressed that "there would be no civil war no matter how they tried to ignite it ... thanks to the awareness of the Syria people."
In yet another move to place pressure on Damascus, the AL has said that it will sponsor a meeting combining different opposition figures to help them form a united front.
Now, there are mounting calls among Syrians, even anti-regime activists, to halt all kinds of violent acts whether they are against government's targets or not as armed resistance has practically become true.
The so-called Syrian Free Army (SFA), an opposition armed force composed of army defectors, has recently attacked the headquarters of air intelligence forces in Damascus' suburb of Harasta, which was denied by the government.
The SFA claimed responsibility for the Harasta attack, and its founder, Riyad al-Assaad, a Turkey-based defected army colonel, said during an interview with al-Jazeera TV that the SFA is an armed opposition force that has its own weapons and funds.
Opposition groups claimed that the ruling al-Baath party's building in the very heart of Damascus was hit at dawn on Sunday by two rocket-propelled grenades. But Moallem said that such news is absolutely baseless and Syria's state-run TV aired footage of the building which looks intact.
However, residents at the area confirmed that they awoke at a loud explosion, a matter the minister had stopped short of explaining.

Sleiman reiterates commitment to tribunal
November 22, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman reiterated Monday Lebanon’s commitment to honor its obligations to the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon, including its funding.
Addressing the nation on the eve of the 68th anniversary of Lebanon’s independence from France, Sleiman called on the Lebanese to maintain national unity and civil peace.
“We are not to delay the implementation of what we have already agreed upon in the national dialogue conference, especially in terms of the disarmament of the Palestinians outside the camps and addressing the Palestinian arms and security inside the camps in order to consolidate the country’s sovereignty, independence and stability,” Sleiman said. “This is in addition to our obligation to abide by the resolutions of the international legitimacy, including that pertaining to the Special International Tribunal for Lebanon, and that to attain justice and the ultimate truth, and preserve our credibility.”
His speech came as Prime Minister Najib Mikati was pressing the Cabinet to take a decision on the divisive issue of paying Lebanon’s share to the STL’s budget ahead of a Dec. 15 deadline.
Sleiman urged the Lebanese to uphold the Lebanese national constants that guarantee Lebanon’s stability, glory and prosperity.
“I call upon you to dissociate yourselves from whatever would adversely affect our national unity, civil peace and your legitimate dreams of a peaceful, secure and promising future, and commit at all times to the approach of dialogue, reason and moderation,” he said.
“Yes for independence. Yes for coexistence. Yes for freedom and social justice.
“Yes for an enlightened Arabism, open to modernity and democracy and human rights. Yes for a uniting, just and capable state and yes for Lebanon,” Sleiman said
He told the Lebanese the most important prerequisites of independence are liberation from any occupation or mandate and exercising state authority over all the country’s territories.
“Among the most important prerequisites of independence include: liberation from any occupation or mandate or trusteeship; exercising the full and exclusive sovereignty of the state and its institutions over all its territories; committing to the independence of the national political decision, away from any interference or external pressure; the state’s success in the administration of the public affairs with its own capabilities,” said Sleiman whose speech was relayed live by all local TV stations.
“Independence necessitates as well achieving social justice, economic growth and sustainable human development, fighting poverty, destitution and diseases, and providing the citizens’ basic needs,” he said.
Unlike his predecessors, Sleiman addressed the Lebanese from the town of Rashaya, in southeast Lebanon, where Lebanon’s early national leaders were imprisoned by French Mandate authorities during their struggle for independence.
The unprecedented symbolic move was aimed at reviving the memory of the Lebanese to the significance of the event. “This year, I address you from Rashaya, the Independence Castle, to revive the memories of the uniting national will that made independence come true and the consensual pact principles without which it could not have blossomed neither thrived,” Sleiman told an audience of Lebanese officials, including the town’s lawmakers assembled at the Rashaya Castle’s hall of honor.
The town’s roads were decorated with Lebanese flags and banners welcoming the president. Children waving Lebanese flags were on hand to greet Sleiman upon his arrival in the town.
Sleiman highlighted the role of the army and resistant people in confronting Israeli threats, saying: “While Israel still occupies a part of our territories in the Shebaa Farms, the hills of Kfar Shuba and the northern part of Al- Ghajar village and persists in its violations and threats, all parties are aware of the importance of unifying our overall resistance and deterrence national capabilities.”

Major CIA network unraveled by Hezbollah, Iran
.November 21, 2011
(CBS/AP) WASHINGTON - Hezbollah has partially unraveled the CIA's spy network in Lebanon, severely damaging the intelligence agency's ability to gather vital information on the terrorist organization at a tense time in the region, former and current U.S. officials said. Officials said several foreign spies working for the CIA had been captured by Hezbollah in recent months. The blow to the CIA's operations in Lebanon came after top agency managers were alerted last year to be especially careful handling informants in the Middle East country.
Meanwhile, Iran has also apparently succeeded in uncovering the identities of at least a handful of alleged CIA informants, Reuters reports.
Those who have been unveiled in both countries are believed to be local recruits, rather than U.S. citizens stationed abroad, Reuters reports. Some officials are blaming the CIA's sloppy procedures more than anything else for the agency's setback in the Middle East.
The capture of the CIA assets has led to concerns about their safety, reports ABC News. Often, when suspected foreign spy assets are captured by groups like Hezbollah, they are executed.
In this photo made available by the Hezbollah Media Office, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah is seen in Beirut, June 21, 2007.
(Credit: AP/Hezbollah Media Office) Hezbollah's longtime leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, boasted in June on television he had unmasked at least two CIA spies who had infiltrated the ranks of the organization, which the U.S. considers a terrorist group closely allied with Iran.
Hezbollah beats CIA at spy game in Lebanon
CIA chief: "Systemic failures" led to Khost deaths
Though the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon officially denied the accusation, American officials concede that Nasrallah was not lying and the damage spread like a virus as Hezbollah methodically picked off the CIA's informants.
To be sure, some deaths are to be expected in these shadowy spy wars. It's an extremely risky business and people get killed. But the damage to the agency's network in Lebanon has been greater than usual, several former and current U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about security matters.
The Lebanon crisis is the latest mishap involving CIA counterintelligence, defined as the undermining or manipulating of the enemy's ability to gather information. Former CIA officials have said the once-essential skill has been eroded as the agency shifted from outmaneuvering rival spy agencies to fighting terrorists. In the rush for immediate results, former officers say, tradecraft has suffered.
The most recent high-profile example was the suicide bomber who posed as an informant and killed seven CIA employees and wounded six others in Khost, Afghanistan, in December 2009.
Last year, then-CIA director Leon Panetta said the agency had to maintain "a greater awareness of counterintelligence." But eight months later, Nasrallah let the world know he had bested the CIA, demonstrating that the agency still struggles with this critical aspect of spying and sending a message to those who would betray Hezbollah.
It remains unclear whether anyone has been or will be held responsible in the wake of this counterintelligence disaster or whether the incident will affect the CIA's ability to recruit assets in Lebanon.
CIA officials were warned their spies in Lebanon were vulnerable. Those told include the chief of the unit that supervises Hezbollah operations from CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., and the head of counterintelligence.
Former and current intelligence officials are waiting to see how CIA Director David Petreaus, who took the helm in September, will handle this fiasco. While in the military, the retired four-star developed a reputation for exacting standards and holding people accountable.
"Gen. Petraeus will definitely take care of the failings of his organization. He will deal with it head on and not try to bury it under the carpet," said retired Army Col. Peter Mansoor, the general's former executive officer in Iraq.
In response to AP's questions about what happened in Lebanon, a U.S. official said Hezbollah is a complicated enemy, responsible for killing more Americans than any other terrorist group before September 2001. The agency did not underestimate the organization, the official said.
The CIA's toughest adversaries, like Hezbollah and Iran, have for years been improving their ability to hunt spies, relying on patience and guile to exploit counterintelligence holes.
In 2007, for instance, when Ali-Reza Asgari, a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran, disappeared in Turkey, it was assumed that he was either killed or defected. In response, the Iranian government began a painstaking review of foreign travel by its citizens, particularly to places like Turkey where Iranians don't need a visa and could meet with foreign intelligence services.
It didn't take long, a Western intelligence official told the AP, before the U.S., Britain and Israel began losing contact with some of their Iranian spies. In this instance, the Iranians used travel and expense records to figure out who was selling the foreign intelligence services information about its nuclear program.
The State Department last year described Hezbollah as "the most technically capable terrorist group in the world," and the Defense Department estimates it receives between $100 million and $200 million per year in funding from Iran.
Backed by Iran, Hezbollah has built a professional counterintelligence apparatus that Nasrallah -- whom the U.S. government designated an international terrorist a decade ago -- proudly describes as the "spy combat unit." U.S. intelligence officials believe the unit, which is considered formidable and ruthless, went operational around 2004.
Using the latest commercial software, Nasrallah's spy-hunters unit began methodically searching for traitors in Hezbollah's midst. To find them, U.S. officials said, Hezbollah examined cellphone data looking for anomalies. The analysis identified cellphones that, for instance, were used rarely or always from specific locations and only for a short period of time. Then it came down to old-fashioned, shoe-leather detective work: Who in that area had information that might be worth selling to the enemy?
The effort took years but eventually Hezbollah, and later the Lebanese government, began making arrests. By one estimate, 100 Israeli assets were apprehended as the news made headlines across the region in 2009. Some of those suspected Israeli spies worked for telecommunications companies and served in the military.
Back at CIA headquarters, the arrests alarmed senior officials. The agency prepared a study on its own vulnerabilities, U.S. officials said, and the results proved to be prescient.
The analysis concluded that the CIA was susceptible to the same analysis that had compromised the Israelis, the officials said.
CIA managers were instructed to be extra careful about handling sources in Lebanon. A U.S. official said recommendations were issued to counter the potential problem.
But it is unclear what preventive measures were taken by the Hezbollah unit chief or the officer in charge of the Beirut station. Former officials say the Hezbollah unit chief is no stranger to the necessity of counterintelligence and knew the risks. The unit chief has worked overseas in hostile environments like Afghanistan and played an important role in the capture of a top terrorist while stationed in the Gulf region after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 against the U.S.
"We've lost a lot of people in Beirut over the years, so everyone should know the drill," said a former Middle East case officer familiar with the situation.
But whatever actions the CIA took, they were not enough. Like the Israelis, bad tradecraft doomed these CIA assets and the agency ultimately failed to protect them, an official said. In some instances, CIA officers fell into predictable patterns when meeting their sources, the official said.
This allowed Hezbollah to identify assets and case officers and unravel at least part of the CIA's spy network in Lebanon. There was also a reluctance to share cases and some files were put in "restricted handling." The designation severely limits the number of people who know the identity of the source but also reduces the number of experts who could spot problems that might lead to their discovery, officials said.
Nasrallah's televised announcement in June -- he called the U.S. Embassy in Beirut a "den of spies" -- was followed by finger-pointing among departments inside the CIA as the spy agency tried figure out what went wrong and contain the damage.
The fate of these CIA assets is unknown. Hezbollah treats spies differently, said Matthew Levitt, a counterterrorism and intelligence expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Studies who is writing a book about the terrorist organization
"It all depends on who these guys were and what they have to say," Levitt said. "Hezbollah has disappeared people before. Others they have kept around."
Who's responsible for the mess in Lebanon? It's not clear. The chief of Hezbollah operations at CIA headquarters continues to run the unit that also focuses on Iranians and Palestinians. The CIA's top counterintelligence officer, who was one of the most senior women in the clandestine service, recently retired after approximately five years on the job.
She is credited with some important cases, including the recent arrests of Russian spies who had been living in the U.S. for years.
Officials said the woman was succeeded by a more experienced operations officer. That officer has held important posts in Moscow, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Balkans -- key frontlines in the agency's spy wars with foreign intelligence services and terrorist organizations.

Drug use rampant in Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps
November 22, 2011/By Sulome Anderson/ The Daily Star
SIDON, Lebanon: Ahmad, a tall young man in a fur-lined jacket, sits smoking a cigarette in his friend’s computer shop in Ain al-Hilweh camp. His eyes are bloodshot, with dark circles underneath.
He smiles lazily as he talks.“The first time I tried hashish, I was smoking a cigarette, and I saw my friend rolling a joint,” he says. “I tried it. It was good.”
Ahmad, whose name has been changed to protect anonymity, says that after he started smoking hash, he began taking prescription pills.
“There was a lot of hash here, but Fatah stopped the hash from coming in, so people started going to the pharmacy to get drugs,” he says.
Ahmad says he started dealing so that he could have money to buy drugs.
“I go to the dealer and get a large amount of drugs to sell, because I need to get my own drugs,” he says. “Key persons in political parties in the camp tried to solve the problem by arresting dealers, but the problem wasn’t solved. Every day, you can find another dealer. The addicted people are teaching the children, and when they grow up, they become addicted or dealers themselves.”
Drug use in Palestinian refugee camps is on the rise, according to NGOs and doctors who work there. There are 12 such camps in Lebanon, all of which struggle with poor socioeconomic conditions as well as a lack of job opportunities and education outside of United Nations Relief and Works Agency schools.
The most commonly used drugs are prescription medications such as Tramal, an opiate derivative. Heroin and cocaine are also used, although less so because they are too expensive for most of the camp’s residents, according to experts that work in this field.
Qassem al-Saad, director of Nabaa, a child rights NGO that works with addicts in the Palestinian camps, says that drug use is partially due to unemployment and partially because political parties within the camps use drugs ranging from hash to heroin as a recruitment method.
“We think this phenomenon began to increase over the years due to many factors,” says Saad. “First of all, the level of unemployment among the Palestinians is over 56 percent here in Lebanon. Second, political parties are using drugs as a tool to motivate youth to join them. This is one of the problems we face here.”
The drug market in the camps is particularly complex because of the different political parties vying with each other for dominance. According to Saad, many of these parties support the drug trade while also giving lip service to work done by organizations like Nabaa.
“Some of them are protecting the drugs dealers and at the same time they want to support you,” says Saad. “You are walking on land mines in this area, and because of that we keep the political parties and the Lebanese government involved.”
Part of the problem is the easy availability of prescription medications, says Saad. “Outside the camp you cannot obtain these things freely without a prescription, but inside the camp you can.”
Dr. Charles Yaacoub, a psychiatrist at Bellevue Medical Center who conducted a study in which he looked at drug use in the Palestinian camps, says that the best way to control drug use in the camps is to crack down on pharmacies selling prescription medications over the counter.
“It’s not just a Palestinian problem. It’s a Lebanese problem,” says Yaacoub. He says the ready availability of drugs, particularly pharmaceuticals, in the camps, means the drugs spread into the rest of the country, as people travel to the camps to buy them. “We should regulate some of the medication that is present and can be obtained over the counter. This is the first step ... until now, we have had no green light from the government to achieve this ... maybe because the cartels for those medications and drugs are powerful.”
Yaacoub’s study focused on juvenile delinquency among the Palestinian population, a problem that he found was fueled by drug abuse.
According to the psychiatrist, the lack of opportunities and activities within the camps contributes to the overall problem of drug use.
“Lebanese people are bored,” he says. “We don’t have parks, we don’t have regular activities, and this sense of emptiness pushes people to do drugs. This is exacerbated in the Palestinian camps. They have nothing to do, especially adolescents.”
However, Yaacoub also acknowledges the political motivations and concedes that they have an impact on the rise in drug use.
“What we clearly know is that drugs are a way of recruitment, and a way of keeping people in the group,” he says. “Drugs are a cheap way to recruit people. Now it’s not always that political. It becomes a business, and like all businesses, some of the people in charge have to be involved in some way.”
Rwaida Ismail, a psychologist who works with Nabaa, says that the reasons Palestinian youth turn to drugs differ, but they are all affected by the poor socioeconomic conditions in the camps.
“Everyone has their own reasons depending on their problem,” she says. “I treat three boys who had been addicted for various reasons. Their economic conditions are very difficult too and these things preoccupy parents from their children.”
Ismail says that drugs have a serious effect on the lives of young people who become addicted. “Their social relations deteriorate and they can’t work,” she says.
According to Ismail, the best way for parents to prevent their children from taking drugs is to monitor their children’s comings and goings.
“Parents should monitor their kids, know who their friends are,” she says. “They should monitor what time they leave, etc. Parents here don’t do that very much.”
Ahmad puts out his cigarette, pointing to a pharmacy across the street.
“That guy, he’s a dealer,” he says. “He sells drugs. See how easy it is to get them?”
He says that the poor environment in the camp makes him want to get high. “There are no jobs, and the current environment is very bad,” he adds. “The situation makes people do drugs. We want to forget our problems. You forget everything when you’re high. It makes your life better.”

Phalange: Lebanon Still Searching for Independence in Light of Weak State
Naharnet/The Phalange Party hoped on Monday that Lebanon’s Independence Day on Tuesday would be an occasion for all sides to become aware of the meaning of independence for which thousands of Lebanese martyrs have died for. It hoped in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting that the “Lebanese government would assume its responsibilities for Lebanon and the region during these critical moments.” “We hope it would realize the importance of this country and the need to safeguard the gains its people have achieved over the years,” it continued.
“Lebanon is now more than ever searching for the meaning of real independence and justice, which have not been achieved in light of an exposed state and the people’s missing rights,” it stressed.
Addressing the developments in Syria, the party praised the Syrian National Council’s political program that it announced on Sunday, especially “seeing as it voiced its aim to build a democratic state based on a parliamentary system and the rotation of power, which would ensure the protection of minorities.”“Announcing the identity of revolts is the only way that can bolster trust in these movements,” it noted.
“A state of law and a democratic system guarantee the freedoms of individuals who alone are capable of achieving the goals of the Arab Spring,” said the statement.

Muslim Persecution of Christians: October, 2011/by Raymond Ibrahim/Hudson New York/October, 2011
Muslim Persecution of Christians: October, 2011
by Raymond Ibrahim
Hudson New York
November 17, 2011
http://www.meforum.org/3112/muslim-persecution-of-christians-october-2011
Egypt's Maspero massacre—where the military killed dozens of Christians protesting the destruction of their churches—dominates October's persecution headlines. Facts and details concerning the military's "crimes against humanity" are documented in this report, and include videos of armored-vehicles running over civilians, a catalog of lies and deceitful tactics employed by Egypt's rulers and state media, and other matters overlooked by the West.
More damning evidence continues to emerge: not only did Egypt's military plan to massacre Christians to teach them a "lesson" never to protest again, but "death squads" were deployed up buildings the night before to snipe at protesters. Instead of trying the soldiers who intentionally ran-over demonstrators, the military has been randomly arresting Copts simply "for being Christian." Finally, the fact-finding commission of Egypt's National Council for Human Rights just submitted its report which, as expected, "white washes" the military's role, "asserting that no live ammunition was fired on the protesters by the military, as the army only fired blanks in the air to disperse the protesters," a claim eyewitnesses reject out of hand.
Meanwhile, not only are Western governments apathetic, but it was revealed that "Obama's top Muslim advisor blocks Middle Eastern Christians' access to White House." Newt Gingrich asserted that Obama's "strategy in the Middle East is such a total grotesque failure" and likened the "Arab spring" to an "anti-Christian spring." Ann Widdecombe accused the British government of "double standards in its threats to cut aid to countries which persecute gay people while turning a blind eye to persecution against Christians." Even Christian pastors in the West, apparently more concerned about promoting interfaith dialogue with Muslims, are reluctant to mention persecution to their flock
Categorized by theme, the rest of October's batch of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is hardly limited to) the following accounts, listed according to theme and in alphabetical order by country, not necessarily severity.
Churches
Afghanistan: Ten years after the U.S. invaded and overthrew the Taliban—at a cost of more than 1,700 U.S. military lives and $440 billion in taxpayer dollars—the State Department just revealed that Afghanistan's last Christian church was destroyed. The report further makes clear that the Afghan government—installed by the U.S.—is partially responsible for such anti-Christian sentiments, for instance, by upholding apostasy laws, which make it a criminal offense, ,punishable by death, for Muslims to convert to other religions.
Indonesia: Muslims and authorities expelled Christians from their church and shut it down "for allegedly engaging in 'proselytizing' in a predominantly Muslim area." As in previous instances when churches were seized, "the fundamentalists were aided and abetted by the local administration." Also, the Muslim behind a September church attack that left three dead confessed that he was operating under his jihad leader's orders, "based on the Koran and Sunna."
Kazakhstan: The Muslim majority nation enacted new laws further restricting freedom of religion: "All registered churches must now re-register with the government, and only churches meeting new criteria will be registered." Accordingly, "police and secret police agents reportedly raided a worship meeting of the officially registered Protestant church New Life, saying that under the new Religion Law the congregation 'cannot meet outside its legal address.' During the raid, a 17-year old woman was hit by a policeman, leaving her unconscious."
Sudan: Soon after President Bashir "confirmed plans to adopt an entirely Islamic constitution and strengthen sharia law," "emboldened" Muslims, "claiming that Christianity was no longer an accepted religion in the country," attacked Christians trying to construct a church. Likewise, authorities threatened to demolish three church buildings "as part of a long-standing bid to rid Sudan of Christianity."
Christian Symbols
Egypt: A Christian student was strangled and beaten to death by his Muslim teacher and fellow students for refusing to cover his cross. When the headmaster was informed of the attack in progress, he ignored it and "continued to sip his tea." In the words of one prominent Egyptian commentator: "a teacher forced a student to take off the crucifix he wore, and when the Christian student stood firm for his rights, the teacher quarreled with him, joined by some of the students; he was beastly assaulted until his last breath left him."
Saudi Arabia: A Colombian soccer-player "was arrested by the Saudi moral police after customers in a Riyadh shopping mall expressed outrage over the sports player's religious tattoos, which included the face of Jesus of Nazareth on his arm…. A similar event occurred in Saudi Arabia last year when a Romanian player kissed the tattoo of a cross he had on his arm after scoring a goal, which also caused public outrage."
Maldives: Police arrested a 30 year-old teacher from India for having a Bible and rosary, and finally deported him after a two-week interrogation. According to the principal, he "was a very good teacher, we've not had any complaints of him in the past." Such cases are not aberrant: "Last year, Maldivian authorities rescued another Christian teacher from India when Muslim parents of her students threatened to throw her into the sea for 'preaching Christianity' after she drew a compass in class, which they alleged was a cross."
Apostasy, Blasphemy, Proselytism
India: A mufti summoned a Christian priest to appear before his court: according to the mufti, the priest "is involved in converting young Muslim boys and girls to Christianity. This warrants action as per Islamic law…. I will take all necessary measures in exercise of the powers vested in me by Islamic Sharia."
Iran: Militants with suspected ties to Iranian security threatened to kill nearly a dozen evangelical Christians who fled Iran; unless they "repent and ask forgiveness" and return to Islam, they must die. Likewise, a "group of four officers engaged in a commando-style raid on the house" of a Muslim convert to Christianity, arresting him, confiscating his Bible, and "transferring him to an unknown location…. His family was also threatened to remain silent and not to talk about this incident to anyone." Also, a Christian named "Muhammad" was arrested, interrogated "for the charge of Christianity." And Iran's Supreme Court has ordered the retrial of the pastor sentenced to death for refusing to renounce his Christian beliefs, partially because "Iran is feeling the pressure" of the growing international community supporting the pastor.
Pakistan: A female prison-officer assigned to provide security for Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five sentenced to death on "blasphemy" charges, beat her, "allegedly because of the Muslim officer's anti-Christian bias, while other staff members deployed for her security looked on in silence." A new report reveals how the nation's legalization of blasphemy laws has given great rise to Christian persecution.
"Dhimmitude" (General Abuse, Debasement, and Suppression of "Second Class" Citizens)
Egypt: The military threatened a Coptic monastery with a "new massacre" in an attempt to demolish the monastery's fence "which guards it from unauthorized visits and criminals." The military has "stormed several monasteries since the January 25 Revolution, demolished fences, and fired on monks and visitors." Also, a Christian man sentenced to three years' imprisonment for "insulting the military" has been ordered to a mental health hospital, from which, according to some analysts, patients often emerge as "devastated human beings."
Iraq: A new report entitled, "The double lives of Iraq's Christian children" tells of their suffering—"If the children say they believe in Jesus, they face beatings and scorn from their teachers"—as well as the struggle of their parents. "The first years of my faith," says a father, "I brought so many people to church, because I was motivated, so excited. Now I don't encourage anyone to be a Christian, because in my experience it is very hard."
France: Stone-throwing Muslims attacked Christians during a Catholic celebration, although the media largely ignored it: "it would seem that the media silence on these facts, which are occurring more and more frequently, serves to exonerate, even protect, the Muslims in their racist and anti-religious acts."
Pakistan: Along with one dead man, "two dozen Christians including children, men and women were seriously injured" when "Muslim gangs" hired by an influential Muslim attacked them "to grab a piece of land" which the church had purchased to build an orphanage. Also, Muslim landowners raided a Christian home, beat a sick father and abducted two brothers, whom they claim are in debt; the kidnapper added an extra 70,000 rupees in ransom. "The men's mother tried to file a report with police , who refused because one of the suspects is a fellow police officer," not to mention also a Muslim.
Turkey: The Education Ministry in Ankara published a 10th grade textbook which distorts the role of Christian Assyrians, "denouncing them as traitors who rebelled against Turkey." Still denying the historic slaughter of Christians, "today's Turkish Government is not hesitant to distort historical events by inverting victim and perpetrator... About half of the Assyrian population, were killed or died from starvation or disease in a series of killings orchestrated by the Ottoman Turkish government during World War I."
USA: A Muslim convert to Christianity was violently attacked by Muslims because of a poem "which expresses pain over the loss of six million Jews at the hands of the Nazis." The attackers carved the Star of David on his back with a knife "while laughing as they recited his poem." In a separate incident, a Muslim physiotherapist "tore into" a Christian patient, saying her faith was "wrong" and had "killed more people than any other religion." She later wrote: "I found Mr. Ali to be extremely racist against my Christian faith. I have had doctors, nurses and staff of all different religions look after me but this is the first time I've been treated by such a bigoted man as Mr. Ali."
Pakistani Rape
As usual, Pakistan—which, along with Egypt, oddly missed being categorized as a "country of particular concern" in the State Department's recent religious freedom report—dominates the headlines regarding the sexual abuse of Christian women:
Kidnapped last Christmas Eve, "a 12 year-old Christian [was] gang raped for eight months, forcibly converted and then 'married' to her Muslim attacker." Now that she has escaped, instead of seeing justice done, "the Christian family is in hiding from the rapists and the police."
"A Christian mother of four was slaughtered by a Muslim colleague in Pakistan after she resisted his attempt to rape her at the factory where they worked."
A new report asserts: "The forced conversion to Islam of women from religious minority groups through rape and abduction has reached an alarming stage… It appears today that no one, from the judiciary to the police and even the government has the courage to stand up to the threats from Muslim fundamentalist groups. The situation is worse with the police who always side with the Islamic groups and treat minority groups as lowly life forms."
Killings
Iraq: "Two Christians were murdered in northern Iraq this week; their deaths come as three kidnapped Christians were released following the payment of a hefty ransom." A source in Iraq laments: "The attacks on Christians continue and the world remains totally silent. It's as if we've been swallowed up by the night."
Nigeria: Months after Muslims from Boko Haram murdered a pastor, another pastor was targeted and murdered. The jihadists have "claimed responsibility for several church bombings and other attacks;" many Christians have fled the region, and some churches have shut down as many of their flock have been killed. Likewise, three Muslim soldiers, in the context of subduing civil unrest, "shot and killed a Christian mother of five" and a Christian boy, without "any justifiable reason."
Somalia: Weeks after a convert to Christianity was beheaded, al-Shabaab, "who have vowed to rid Somalia of Christianity," decapitated another 17-year-old Christian in his home: "It is usual for the al-Shabaab to decapitate those they suspect to have embraced the Christian faith, or sympathizers of western ideals."
About this Series
Because the persecution of Christians in the Islamic world is on its way to reaching epidemic proportions, "Muslim Persecution of Christians" was developed to collate some—by no means all—of the instances of Muslim persecution of Christians that surface each month. It serves two purposes:
To document that which the mainstream media does not: habitual, if not chronic, Muslim persecution of Christians.
To show that such persecution is not "random," but systematic and interrelated—that it is ultimately rooted in a worldview inspired by Sharia.
Accordingly, whatever the anecdote of persecution, it typically fits under a specific theme, including hatred for churches and other Christian symbols; sexual abuse of Christian women; forced conversions to Islam; apostasy and blasphemy laws that criminalize and punish with death those who "offend" Islam; theft and plunder in lieu of jizya, tribute expected from second-class citizens, or dhimmis; overall expectations for Christians to behave like cowed dhimmis (second-class citizens); and simple violence and murder. Sometimes it is a combination.
Because these accounts of persecution span different ethnicities, languages, and locales—from Morocco in the west, to India in the east, and throughout the West wherever there are Muslims—it should be clear that one thing alone binds them: Islam—whether the strict application of Sharia, or the supremacist culture born of it.
Where are the calls for arrest? Where are the charges of war crimes? Where are the requests for these criminals to be brought to trial before the International Criminal Court or International Court at the Hague?
Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
http://www.meforum.org/3112/muslim-persecution-of-christians-october-2011

The Beirut autumn
Independence, between disappointment and despair
Anthony Elghossain, November 22, 2011/Now Lebanon
http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=334828
It’s quiet in Beirut. The cafes are empty, the rooftop bars have closed and the tourists have gone home. Autumn in Beirut is generally calmer than the swinging summers and bustling winter holidays. But this year, the city’s subdued mood may reflect something deeper—a collective sense of disappointment.
On Lebanon’s Independence Day, there isn’t much to celebrate.
In 2005, the Lebanese had hope. In a series of popular demonstrations rivaling anything we’ve seen during the so-called Arab Spring, millions of Lebanese people came together to end decades of Syrian occupation. Now, as the Syrian people try to overthrow the same regime that brought so much hardship and pain to Lebanon, the Lebanese—regular citizens and politicians alike—remain paralyzed.
An ineffectual president sits in Baabda, where the pomp and circumstance far exceed any tangible achievements he may claim. To be fair, President Michel Sleiman is in a tough position. He lacks significant popular support, is wary of the omnipresent Syrians and must contend with a hopelessly divided political class.
The cabinet doesn’t inspire much more hope. Prime Minister Najib Mikati may not be Hezbollah’s man, and has already clashed with the party more than most expected, but the government he heads is stacked with stooges and utterly dependent on the political whims of regional rejectionists allied with the Party of God. Meanwhile, in parliament, the purported fountainhead of political order in Lebanon, factionalism and dreary leadership continue to slow progress on legislation, reforms, appointments, approvals and other affairs of state.
Nearly seven years after the Cedar Revolution, the Republic of Lebanon remains a hostage. And, perversely, its captors are the Lebanese themselves.
A class of political and economic elites runs the entire country like a glorified mafia racket, which may be closer to the truth than most would care to admit. Various militias, not least of all Hezbollah, believe their assorted causes—legitimate as they may be—are reason enough to blatantly disregard the democratic process, work outside the established constitutional system and otherwise piss all over the rules of the game. One political coalition dangerously does what it says; the other helplessly speaks instead of acting. Foreign powers routinely intervene, almost as a matter of right, as locals invite and encourage that participation.
The Lebanese, in turn, accept this. They are relatively modern, apparently progressive and even libertine. But they are not independent, because they are incapable of living as such.
As troubling as all of this is, however, Lebanon has been perplexingly stable of late. Maybe that’s why nobody seems to care.
It’s tough to blame anyone. So much here is beautiful, in the “land of milk and honey,” that political participation and civics can seem like useless distractions. Today, for instance, the weather is perfect, gorgeous women stroll lazily in the sun, and the aroma of tobacco and coffee mixes with fresh air. It’s a quintessentially Levantine scene.
But wait. Things are changing, literally as I write this. Quite suddenly, around 40 soldiers scurry through Place de l’Etoile, the heart of reconstructed Beirut. The men around me grow visibly tense, and one even reaches for what I—perhaps a bit paranoid—imagine is gun. This might be the moment that everyone fears: the return of Beirut’s demons. With politicians brawling on television, with unrest in Syria imposing pressures on Lebanon’s state and society, and with communities across the country seething over their compatriots’ past wrongs, the alarmism is not entirely misplaced.
A few shopkeepers dart down the street to see what the fuss is about. “Nothing to worry about,” says Mustafa, returning to the café nearby. “They’re just protecting a politician… I think it might be the president or speaker of parliament.”
Some of us laugh, as the Lebanese tend to do after their brief scares, protracted stalemates or violent outbursts. “Well, I’m glad he’s safe,” says one man, with a wry smile. “Who the hell’s going to protect us?”
People return to their coffees, arguilehs and “three martini lunches.” The twin veneers of stability and Levantine cosmopolitanism have been restored.
For now, all’s well in Beirut. Perhaps there’s reason to celebrate after all.
**Anthony Elghossain is an attorney based in Washington, DC. He blogs at Page Lebanon.

Averting civil war?
Hazem Saghiyeh/Now Lebanon/November 21, 2011
Ever since the expression imputed to Speaker Nabih Berri, everyone has been talking about civil war.
This sheds a light on Hezbollah for two reasons: First, it is the only side with weapons capable of imposing its vision for political—and perhaps social—life in Lebanon; and second, its organic relationship with the Syrian and Iranian regimes, which allows the party to implicate the country directly in the regional conflict, especially with regard to supporting the Baath regime next door.
In so doing, Hezbollah would be involving itself and the country in an extremely costly and destructive battle, a totally useless one at that. The Syrian regime will not win in Lebanon, including on the southern front, what would make up for its losses in Homs, Daraa and Edleb.
It is in Syria—and not in Lebanon—that the fate of the Syrian regime is to be decided. The events influential regional and world capitals are waiting for as a foundation for their decision-making will originate from Syria rather than from Lebanon.
Therefore, it would be reasonable to say that Hezbollah will not involve itself, its community and its country in a conflict that would not be useful for its allies. In contrast, the lack of reason urges one not to make other assumptions that can hardly be ruled out, especially if Iran is bent on linking its own battle to the Syrian one and going all the way with both on all possible stages regardless of the costs and scales of these battles.
These possibilities encompass Hezbollah’s various natures, which can be brought down to two:
Like most Lebanese parties, Hezbollah is a sectarian party and has an undeniable interest and wish to score gains for its community’s sake, which would be assimilated and institutionalized by the prevailing sectarian system.
It is also a religious party at a time when the uprising-riddled Arab situation has broadened the political presence of political religious parties, thus putting them in the forefront in addition to legitimizing them.
Moreover, can Hezbollah with its sectarian and religious nature be appealed to and enticed in such a way as to use its two natures for the sake of reaching a stable political life? Can such an enticement make a civil war impossible, knowing that no efforts should be spared for that purpose? Last but not least, is there any Lebanese party capable of developing such an urgent settlement and, accordingly, of proposing it to Hezbollah?
*This article is a translation of the original, which appeared on the NOW Arabic site on Monday November 21, 2011