LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober
03/2011
Bible Quotation for today/Teaching
about Prayer
Matthew 06/5-18: "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to
stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that
everyone will see them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.
But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who
is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.
When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who
think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long. Do
not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him.
This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven: May your holy name be
honored; may your Kingdom come; may your will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need. Forgive us the
wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us. Do
not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One. If you forgive
others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive
you.15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the
wrongs you have done.
Latest analysis, editorials,
studies, reports, letters & Releases from
miscellaneous
sources
Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from
miscellaneous sources
Jeffrey
Feltman/By: Hazem al-Amin/October
02/11
Lebanon sold/By:
Ahmed Al-Jarallah/October
02/11
Hariri’s absence/By: Matt
Nash/October 2/11
It’s not your call, Hassan
Nasrallah/Now Lebanon/October 02/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October 02/11
Pakistan's President, Zardari Says
U.S. Should Tone Down Verbal Assaults
U.S. Warns of Revenge Attacks after
Hits on Al-Qaeda
Syrian Opposition Opens Meeting in
Istanbul
Al-Rahi’s Positions on Syria,
Hizbullah Removed from Bishops Proclamation after Extensive Debate
Maronite Patrirach Beshara RaiI sets off to U.S. on pastoral visit
Mikati: Unrest in Syria poses risks to Lebanon
LF denounces shooting outside MP Keyrouz's estate
Lebanon:
Army Defuses Bomb at Ain el-Hilweh
Entrance
Sources: Hariri Won’t Hold Meetings
with Lebanese Officials in Paris
Ministerial Source: Miqati’s
Commitment to Fund STL is ‘Harmful’
Karami Says Assad Told Him he is
‘No Longer Worried’
Makari: March 14 Should Have Taken
a Radical Stance from the Cabinet
Fadlallah Says Cabinet Will Not
Deceive Resistance
Berri Meets Ahmadinejad, Says
Developments in Region Affecting Lebanon
Delegation of Lebanese workers’
union visits Syria
Al-Rahi’s Positions on Syria,
Hizbullah Removed from Bishops Proclamation after Extensive Debate
Naharnet/A debate over Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s positions on Syria,
Hizbullah’s arms, and Christians in the region during the Maronite bishops
council meeting on Wednesday prompted the gatherers to remove these issues from
their final proclamation.
The Bishops’ meeting last Wednesday was not as rosy as depicted in the press,
especially the March 8 media. It was an opportunity for the bishops to give the
Patriarch their opinion on his Paris declarations.
The meeting began with al-Rahi presenting a draft statement for the
proclamation.
It included his position on Syria, warning that its popular movements may lead
to civil and sectarian war between Sunnis and Alawites that could extend to
Lebanon through an alliance between Syria’s and Lebanon’s Sunnis against the
Alawites of Syria and Lebanon’s Shiites.
Such a war could reflect negatively on the Christians in Lebanon and Syria and
push them to emigrate, the patriarch said.
The statement also included a warning that the international community’s goal to
establish democracy in Syria may lead to the rise of extremist forces to power
instead.
He also reiterated statements he made in France a few weeks ago that a solution
to Hizbullah’s weapons lies in an international community pressure on Israel to
withdraw from the Shebaa farms and a European-American initiative to arm the
Lebanese military – two moves that would eliminate the Shiite party’s excuses to
keep its arms.
Following the presentation, the bishops made their comments on al-Rahi’s
remarks.
One of the patriarch’s deputies said the church cannot abandon its strategic
principles for tactical and short-term considerations, and it therefore cannot
take a stance based on analyses and expectations of what the demands of the
Syrian people for freedom and democracy could lead to.
Such an approach may harm the essence of the teachings of the church and portray
it as opposing the rights of the people in determining their fate, he added.
Furthermore, he said that such stands may justify dictatorial regimes’
oppression against their people and violation of international law.
“The church cannot support the mentality of the honorable end justifies the
corrupt means,” he added.
Addressing the patriarch, he said: “You have repeatedly stated that political
affairs should remain restricted to the politicians. We should commit to this in
words and actions.”
A bishop then addressed al-Rahi by saying that the church had repeatedly
declared that it supports peoples’ right to live in freedom and dignity.
“You had also stressed the need to limit the possession of arms to the Lebanese
state, so how can we now issue stances that contradict these principles?” he
asked.
“Do we tell the people that Bkirki’s principles are wrong? Do we tell them that
it changes its views based on different circumstances?” he wondered.
Another bishop, who had assumed diplomatic responsibilities at Bkirki, warned of
the Maronite church’s adoption of al-Rahi’s views that were listed in the draft
statement.
“We cannot adopt a position that Arabs can interpret as being hostile towards
Sunnis in Lebanon and the region because that will negatively impact Christian
presence in the East, and Lebanon in particular,” he stressed.
“What could we have achieved if we took a position that opposes the rights of
the Sunni majority in Syria that is backed by the Sunni majority in the Arab
world, and Gulf region in particular?” he asked.
“How can we bear the consequences of Gulf states expelling Christian expatriates
over what it interpreted as our support of the Syrian regime?” he continued.
“We should be wary of the repercussions of our positions on our sons and their
economic interests,” he warned.
“Effective Christian political and national approaches should ensure that
Christians are granted appropriate economic and social support,” he concluded.
A former bishop from one of the Maronite parishes then addressed the gatherers,
warning them of the dangers of embroiling Lebanon in a confrontation with
international decision-makers.
“The patriarch is right in expressing the concerns of Christians to influential
countries, but there is a fine line between demanding that our positions be
taken into consideration and getting involved in a confrontation with European
and American administrations,” he noted.
“Diplomatic information indicates that ties between the Maronite church and
between Paris and Washington will be witnessing tensions, which requires us to
immediately maintain Christian interests in the East before the frigid relations
develop into alienation,” he added.
He said: “The Vatican, France, and United States have enjoyed good ties for
years now and we cannot affect these relations.”
“Our demands that Christians not pay the price of a Sunni-Shiite-Alawite
conflict should not result in Christians paying the price of a lost battle
between the Christians in Lebanon and the East on one side and the international
community on the other ,” he cautioned.
His speech was followed by a bishop who had played a prominent role in the past
few years.
He said: “Since 2000, we have issued 11 proclamations, all of which included
positions on Syria and Hizbullah’s arms that completely contradict with the
positions we are addressing today.”
“How can we confront our sons if we issue a new proclamation based on the new
stances?” he asked.
“Do we tell them that your church was wrong for 11 years and it is now
correcting these positions?” he wondered.
“Can any one of us distance himself from the previous proclamations?” he
continued.
“It’s true that admitting a mistake is a virtue, but we should at first agree
that we had committed an error in our previous assessments,” he stressed.
A bishop, who had assumed media responsibilities, then addressed the gatherers,
revealing to them complaints that al-Rahi had surrounded himself with media
officials, who labeled themselves as “the patriarch’s consultants” and who are
affiliated with March 8 camp parties and movements.
These officials, he added, have claimed that they were summoned by the Maronite
patriarchate to serve as media counselors.
“We all know that Walid Ghayyad is the Bkirki media official, so should we
believe this group?” he asked.
“If so, I do not deny the patriarch is right to surround himself with whoever he
wants, but I warn that maintaining a group of a single political view may
portray the Patriarchate as a side in the political dispute,” he noted.
Al-Rahi interjected at this, explaining that this group does exist and that he
had added some March 14 camp-affiliated figures to it.
“I am not the one who requested its presence, but the group did so out of its
keenness to express its opinions to bishop Sayyah who accompanied it. I have
received complaints about the group and have stopped meeting with them last
week,” he stated.
A resigned bishop followed, criticizing the patriarch’s visit to Baalbeck, the
Hermel, and South, saying that since these regions are dominated by one
political camp, his visit was exploited by it in a manner that did not benefit
the Maronite church.
“We should at least regain our rights in the town of Lassa and receive a pledge
that Christian-owned land will not be bought out from them in the South and that
the expansion of Beirut’s southern suburbs and in Baabda come to an end,” he
stressed.
Addressing the patriarch, he said: “I was annoyed by your statements from the
Bekaa when you said that you will emulate Imam Moussa Sadr’s positions and
approach.”
The patriarch’s approach should be emulated, not the other way around, he said.
“These statements were exploited, I know you didn’t mean so, but it happened,”
he added.
Meanwhile, a bishop, whose parish is located in areas that have Sunni presence,
said the Sunnis were annoyed by the distinction that al-Rahi made between them
and Shiite leaderships during his tours.
“MP Fouad Saniora complained that you snubbed the Hariri family invitation to
Majdelyoun, while you accepted the dinner invitation of Sheikh Mohammed Yazbeck
and Speaker Nabih Berri’s lunch invitation at Msayleh,” he added.
Al-Rahi responded by saying that such misunderstandings are inevitable in such
circumstances.
“I was quick to rectify the situation by calling for a spiritual summit at Dar
al-Fatwa, that way, I treated Sunnis and Shiites equally,” he added.
A Mount Lebanon bishop then noted Bkirki’s contradictory positions on Lebanon’s
right to liberate its land.
He explained that a spiritual summit was held at Bkirki a few weeks ago during
which conferees stressed the state’s authority in liberating occupied territory.
The Vice-President of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council Abdul Amir Qabalan
objected to it, as well as the summit’s failure to mention the Resistance, he
noted.
“Why have we since altered our position and started to adopt Hizbullah’s stands
towards the resistance and illegitimate arms?” asked the bishop.
“This will confuse our supporters and portray us as being susceptible to
pressure,” he noted.
“This will pave the way to more pressure and force us to make more concessions
over our convictions, historic positions, and Christian interests,” he warned.
Another bishop reiterated these statements, saying that late Patriarch Khreish
and former Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir had, between 1975-1989 civil war, opposed
sending signals that Bkirki blesses the arms that Christians had directed
against Palestinians, who had then established a state within a state in
Lebanon.
“How can we therefore adopt Hizbullah’s views of the arms given that they exist
outside the state’s authority?” he asked.
In light of these discussions, one of the patriarch’s representatives suggested
introducing fundamental amendments to al-Rahi’s draft statement.
They called for refraining from delving into the details of political positions
on current developments and strictly suffice with issuing general principles.
Warnings of the eruption of civil war in Syria will be dropped, as well as those
on the rise of extremists to power.
The issue of Hizbullah’s arms will be avoided and focus will be shifted to the
fair implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The Maronite bishops also decided to stress the importance of equality and
cooperation between the people of the region, away from violence.
Furthermore, they agreed that the new phrasing of the Maronite bishops’
statement will not oppose al-Rahi’s positions, which would consequently portray
the church in a negative light.
This entailed altering the statement “supporting the position of the patriarch,”
to “supporting the patriarch and trusting in his leadership and wisdom.”
The amendments were taken into consideration, with the final proclamation being
devoid of any of the political positions al-Rahi had issued in Paris, Baalbeck,
and the South.
To the Maronite Patriarch
Bchara Al Raei: Read, Repent And offer The Penances
By: Elias Bejjani
Below is an open and actual message for your Beatitude, a message from Iran.
Please note that an Iranian court has imposed the death sentence on Yousef
Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old protestant preacher, for apostasy after he repeatedly
refused to recant his Christian faith. Against all Christian values, teachings
and the faith of the majority of your people the Maronites all over the world,
you have boldly and with no shame sided with the Iranian and Syrian regimes of
Axis of Evil. Not only you hailed their criminal atrocities but also you have
been advocating for their Hezbollah's proxy arsenal of destruction and terrorism
in Lebanon. We wonder how a man of cloth with you noble status and position
would abandon Jesus Christ, as well as the historical convictions of the
Maronite Church and replicate Judas Iscariot's betrayal of Jesus who handed Him
to the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver. Below is a report, an actual one,
a human Dilemma that shows in reality how the Iranian regime that you blindly
support is protecting and safeguarding the Christians. Is this the kind of
protection that you are endeavoring to bring to the Lebanese Christians? Shame
on you!!We call on you to repent, ask Almighty God for forgiveness and to
immediately revoke all your pro Axis of Evil stances and offer the required
penances. At the same time we reiterate our call for all the Maronites in the
USA to boycott all the events where you will be present during your pastoral
visit. Again you do not represent us, we the Maronites and accordingly we have
no what so ever obligation to abide with your instructions and political
stances. Read the below report and take action!!
Death Sentence on Christian Leader Yousef Nadarkhani
http://iranprimer.usip.org/blog/2011/sep/29/death-sentence-christian-leader-yousef-nadarkhani
30 SEP 2011 Comments'I am resolute in my faith and Christianity and have no
wish to recant.'
[ quote, unquote ] An Iranian court has imposed the death sentence on Yousef
Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old protestant preacher, for apostasy after he repeatedly
refused to recant his Christian faith. The verdict has generated international
condemnation this week. The following are excerpts from the verdict and U.S. and
British reaction.
Reported excerpts from the court verdict"He has frequently denied the
prophethood of the great prophet of Islam and the rule of the sacred religion of
Islam. And he has proven his apostasy by organizing evangelistic meetings and
inviting others to Christianity, establishing a house church, baptizing people,
expressing his faith to others and denying Islamic values."
-- National Post
"Yousef Nadarkhani confessed that he converted to Christianity and helped other
people to convert and named himself a shepherd and insisted in Christianity. He
doesn't believe in Mohammad, Imams and the Quran.
"The contents of the file also support these facts but investigation is needed
to prove that he was a Muslim after the age of maturity and practicing Islam.
There is not any witness from friends, relatives, family and Muslim people who
were in contact with him so the file is incomplete.
"According to the sentence of Imams such as [Ayatollah] Khomeini, the witness is
needed to prove whether or not he was a Muslim and if he was a Muslim but
remained unwilling to repent, the execution ruling is to be issued."
-- New Statesman
Pastor Nadarkhani statement refusing to recant: "I am resolute in my faith and
Christianity and have no wish to recant."
White House statement on the verdict Sept. 29: "The United States condemns the
conviction of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. Pastor Nadarkhani has done nothing more
than maintain his devout faith, which is a universal right for all people. That
the Iranian authorities would try to force him to renounce that faith violates
the religious values they claim to defend, crosses all bounds of decency, and
breaches Iran's own international obligations.
"A decision to impose the death penalty would further demonstrate the Iranian
authorities' utter disregard for religious freedom, and highlight Iran's
continuing violation of the universal rights of its citizens. We call upon the
Iranian authorities to release Pastor Nadarkhani, and demonstrate a commitment
to basic, universal human rights, including freedom of religion.
Cong. John Boehner on religious persecution in Iran, Sept. 28: "Religious
freedom is a universal human right. The reports that Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani
will be sentenced to death by the Iranian government unless he disavows his
Christian faith are distressing for people of every country and creed. While
Iran's government claims to promote tolerance, it continues to imprison many of
its people because of their faith. This goes beyond the law to an issue of
fundamental respect for human dignity. I urge Iran's leaders to abandon this
dark path, spare Yousef Nadarkhani's life, and grant him a full and
unconditional release.
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Sept 28: "Despite the finding
that Mr. Nadarkhani did not convert to Christianity as an adult, the court
continues to demand that he recant his faith or otherwise be executed. The most
recent court proceedings are not only a sham, but are contrary to Iranian law
and international human rights standards, including the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party."
British Foreign Secretary William Hague's statement Sept. 28: "I deplore reports
that Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian Church leader, could be executed
imminently after refusing an order by the Supreme Court of Iran to recant his
faith. This demonstrates the Iranian regime's continued unwillingness to abide
by its constitutional and international obligations to respect religious
freedom. I pay tribute to the courage shown by Pastor Nadarkhani who has no case
to answer and call on the Iranian authorities to overturn his sentence."
**This article is presented by Tehran Bureau, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and
the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars as part of the Iran project
at iranprimer.usip.org.
Maronite Patrirach Beshara RaiI sets off to U.S. on
pastoral visit
October 01, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Maronite Patrirach Beshara RaiI said before departing to the United
States Saturday that his visit to America was pastoral in nature.
“I am on a pastoral visit on the occasion of the gathering of Maronite bishops
who are in the diaspora countries spread across North America, South and Central
America,” Rai said at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut. “The visit
also follows the decision of the Maronite patriarchal gathering concerning the
diaspora and their concerns, ways of remedying issues to do with the church and
ways of linking the diaspora to Lebanon - the spiritual homeland,” he added.
Asked whether the U.S. had changed its position and invited him to meet
President Barack Obama and whether he would accept the offer and if the issue
would be brought up in a clear and frank manner, Rai said:
“I am not a statesman or a politician. As a patriarch I am headed on a pastoral
visit for our people and I have not asked for a meeting with anyone. … Church
law imposes on the patriarch that he visit the parishes once every five years,
whether in Lebanon or the Arab world, Europe, America or Canada. This bares no
relation to politics or rulers.”
Rai said that his trip to Paris, where the patriarch’s statements on Hezbollah’s
weapons and the Syria crisis had sparked controversy, had been of a different
nature “because I received an official invitation from the French president.”
“However, with regards to America I am going to visit our people and I will go
to other countries where we have parishes,” Rai said.
However, Rai said he would not oppose meeting with officials while on his trip
if they requested it or if communities had arranged meetings with them.
“It is important to note that I am traveling as a patriarch and not as a
political leader and I am not asking to meet rulers – the communities in these
countries make these requests if they want to and if the time of these rulers
permits or a leader wishes a visit then I would be honored. If his time does not
permit, then this has nothing to do with pastoral work,” Rai said.
Asked whether he would travel to Syria, Raid said: “It is my duty to visit all
of our parishes and people in Jordan, the Holy Land, Syria and the Arab World.”
Rai also confirmed that he would be making a visit to Iraq next month.
Questioned on the controversial statements he made in Paris and whether these
reflected Vatican policy, Rai said: “It is enough to read what the Vatican says
to know whether what I said reflected [Vatican policy] or not.”
In statements during a five-day visit to France early in September, Rai tied the
issue of Hezbollah’s disarmament to an overall Middle East peace settlement and
called for giving embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad a chance to implement
political reforms. He also warned that the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to
power in Syria would threaten the presence of Christians there. Rai, who was
accompanied by Bishop Bulos Sayyah and lawyer Walid Ghayad, left Beirut on a
private jet belonging to businessman Gilbert Shaghouri.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati: Unrest in Syria poses risks to
Lebanon
October 01, 2011/The Daily Star
"I wish for the Syrian people what Syrians wish for themselves." BEIRUT: Prime
Minister Najib Mikati expressed concern over Lebanon’s stability given the
unrest in Syria, while reiterating that he sees no benefit to taking a position
on the Syria crisis given divisions in his country. “Any explosion in Syria will
be regional,” Mikati told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published
Friday. “Lebanon is in a very delicate situation,” the Lebanese prime minister
added. "I wish for the Syrian people what Syrians wish for themselves."
International pressure has intensified on Syria over its crackdown on protests
calling for the departure of President Bashar Assad. The U.N. says some 2,700
people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the revolt that began in
mid-March, posing the most serious threat to Assad’s 11-year rule. Damascus
denies it is targeting civilians and blames the deaths on “armed terrorist
gangs.”The Syrian unrest has split Lebanon’s political landscape into two rival
camps: the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance which supports the Assad regime, and
the opposition March 14 coalition which has shown solidarity with the
anti-regime protesters. The division on the Syria crisis appeared clearest when
in August Lebanon disassociated itself after the fact from a U.N. Security
Council statement condemning the violence in its neighbor.
In his interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mikati reiterated that he saw no
benefit in taking a stance on Syria as this could upset Lebanon’s precarious
stability.
“I choose my words very delicately because I have a divided society,” Mikati
said. During the interview, Mikati said although he knew Assad very well, he had
not had the opportunity to talk with the Syrian president for a few months. In a
recent interview with pan-Arab Al-Hayat, Mikati denied having any business ties
with Syrian officials, and said there was no trade partnership between his
family and Assad’s cousin, Rami Makhlouf. In the interview with the Wall Street
Journal, Mikati said Lebanon, technically in a state of war with Israel, could
not neglect the possibility of a another possible confrontation with the Jewish
state although his country wished to avoid that scenario.
On the controversial topic of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon which in June
indicted four members of Hezbollah, which has ministers in Mikati’s Cabinet,
Mikati said Lebanon would honor its commitments to U.N. Security Council
Resolution, including funding and cooperating with the U.N.-backed probe.
Hezbollah denies any involvement in the assassination of Hariri.
LF denounces shooting outside MP Keyrouz's estate
October 01, 2011/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: The Lebanese Forces denounced over the
weekend a shooting outside the estate of one of its lawmakers MP Elie Keyrouz in
Kesrouan, north of Beirut.A security source, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said unidentified individuals in a black CLK Mercedes had driven past
the old headquarters of the Lebanese Forces and stopped outside the estate of
the Bsharri lawmaker on the Maameltein highway. Using a pistol, one of the
individuals in the car then fired three rounds into the air before the car fled
the scene Saturday.In the statement Saturday, the LF said such acts pose a grave
danger to the lives of individuals, “harm the peace and pose an attack on
freedom and democracy and aims to incite chaos and pressure on deputies who
voice truth and take bold stands.”The LF said it would leave the incident in the
hands of relevant security and legal authorities “in order to apprehend the
assailants and pursue the relevant legal actions against them to discover the
circumstances of the incident.”
Jumblatt leaves for Paris, possible meeting with Hariri
October 01, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader Walid Jumblatt left Beirut for
Paris Saturday morning to attend the wedding of former Minister Ghassan
Salameh’s daughter.
Several Lebanese newspapers reported Friday of talks of a possible meeting
between former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Progressive Socialist Party leader
Walid Jumblatt in Paris this weekend.PSP sources told The Daily Star that a
meeting between the two politicians has not been scheduled, but that the two are
invited to the same wedding.
Sources in the March 14 coalition told Al-Joumhouria newspaper that the bloc was
looking into the possibility of a meeting between the two, while Kataeb leader
Amine Gemayel told Al-Mustaqbal that there was no harm in holding such meetings.
The relationship between the two officials was severed following Jumblatt’s
realignment with the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance earlier this year which gave
the coalition a parliamentary majority. Jumblatt’s realignment came after six
years of a solid alliance with Hariri; during which the PSP leader was in
opposition to Hezbollah’s possession of arms and Syria’s meddling in Lebanon’s
affairs, and in full support of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. However
Jumblatt, who has said he wants to be considered a centrist politician in the
government along with President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati,
has recently made statements in contradiction to March 8 positions, drawing
speculation that the PSP leader could be switching alliances. Jumblatt has
voiced his support for the funding of the STL, which has accused four Hezbollah
members of involvement in the assassination of former statesman Rafik Hariri. He
also took the same line as Future Movement MPs when the electricity bill,
proposed by a Free Patriotic Movement minister, was presented to Parliament for
a vote.
Jeffrey Feltman
Hazem al-Amin/Now Lebanon/ September 30, 2011
There is something that has been left unsaid so far regarding WikiLeaks. This
conscience-related epic story awakened in us an unaccustomed sense of
transparency, which justifies the fact that we are always behind when it comes
to analyzing it.
Indeed, General Michel Aoun said yesterday that he does not deny a single word
imputed to him through WikiLeaks.
LF leader Samir Geagea said that what was imputed to him through WikiLeaks is
true.
PM Najib Mikati, whom WikiLeaks had quoted as referring to Hezbollah as “a
tumor,” merely objected to the fact that his words were published by saying that
he meant Hezbollah was “a benign tumor” rather than a malignant one.
Speaker Nabih Berri was extremely angered by the publication of the documents,
but he did not issue any denial. He attacked former PM Saad Hariri because the
latter’s newspaper published the documents, but he did not issue any clear or
detailed denial.
An Arab politician leaked to WikiLeaks about 60 documents pertaining to him,
many of which are harmful to his political career. He told the author of these
lines that he commissioned a major law office with examining and translating
these documents and reached the conclusion that there is not one inaccurate word
in them.
With regard to Lebanon, most documents covered facts that occurred during what
March 8 forces referred to as the “Feltman era”—between 2006 and 2008.
By dubbing this era as the Feltman era, the opposition back then meant to say
that the ruling power was not former PM Fouad Siniora’s government, but US
Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman.
So far, no Lebanese should disagree over the aforementioned statements, as they
represent undeniable facts that do not allow for any interpretations.
Facts did not refute the assertions of the former opposition, which rules the
country today. Yes, it was the Feltman era indeed! Yet whoever made this era
made up its name in order to use it as a condemnation of others. The March 14
coalition used to tell Feltman what it said in the media, or perhaps a little
bit more. However, the March 8 coalition – except for Hezbollah – always told
him something and said the exact opposite in the media. Moreover, the momentum
of documents leaked regarding March 8 forces is far greater than those leaked
about their foes.
The previous lines have yet to say what has been left unsaid so far, namely that
WikiLeaks signals the emergence of ideas that are anything but positive. The
designation of the “Feltman era” was meant to achieve several objectives, which
include proving that the cabinet is not patriotic, hence illegitimate, by
linking it to a foreign state.
What WikiLeaks revealed is that Feltman – in his capacity as Lebanon’s ruler –
had unprecedented legitimacy in Lebanon’s history. In truth, never before had
Lebanon witnessed such total unanimity on a political figure. Feltman enjoyed
support from Christians and Muslims, left- and right-wing figures, workers and
employers, opposition and ruling authorities, rejectionists and obedient figures
alike. It is noteworthy that rejectionists were the first to knock on the doors
of the US Embassy. All of them went to the US ambassador and told him of their
concerns.
This means one of two things. The “Feltman era” as an expression moved from the
field of negative expressions in the dictionary of rejectionist literature to
that of positive expressions alongside “the people, army and Resistance,” “the
conspiracy targeting the Resistance,” etc. Another positive expression had made
it earlier to the rejectionist dictionary, namely “collaboration” after facts
revealed that collaboration is rampant within the March 8 coalition and at the
highest levels in it.
The rejectionist elites, press and “literature” and all those working in this
field will have to come clean to the Lebanese people about the repercussions of
the shock WikiLeaks had on the system of their convictions. If they do not do
so, which is the case so far as it seems that they lack the courage for it, we
are entitled to believe that there is nothing true or accurate about the calls
of this rejectionist policy, including its wish to liberate Palestine.
Still, this does not deny the fact that Jeffrey Feltman was the most legitimate
ruler in Lebanon’s history.
This article is a translation of the original, which appeared on the NOW Arabic
site on Friday September 30, 2011
Lebanon sold
By: Ahmed Al-Jarallah/Arab Times
LEBANESE Prime Minister Najib Mikati has failed in his experiment and it has
become clear that he is taking orders from Hezbollah. In fact, all the positions
and decisions taken so far by his government have served the interests of
Hezbollah and the governments of Iran and Syria.
The last of such indications was Mikati’s decision to allow Iranians to enter
Lebanon without visa. This decision owes justification because it would have
been logical if Iran were acting naturally like other governments that respect
sovereignty of other countries or if Iranians were in good economic condition
and were enjoying a good standard of living. In such a situation, we would have
assumed that the Lebanese agenda was aimed at encouraging tourism.
However, due to the current position of the Iranian government and its
aggressive attempt to export violence and tension under the pretext of
‘exporting revolution,’ any Iranian going to Lebanon will be considered a member
of the Revolutionary Guard or Basij or an assassin or an arm dealer entering
Lebanon to execute dastardly acts as they have been doing in Syria.
The decision of Najib Mikati is nothing but clear declaration of selling Lebanon
to Iran. With this decision, Mikati is allowing Iran to colonize the country and
rule it as it pleases and locate strategic bases along the beaches of the
Mediterranean. Leaders usually ensure that Arabs and non-Arabs cannot enter
Lebanon without visa, but this government allows Iranians whose hands are
covered with Lebanese blood to freely enter the country to perpetrate heinous
activities.
We want to ask Najib Mikati why he takes orders from Hezbollah and its
associates and executes their belittling decisions. Has the country become a
province of Iran? The Lebanese people want you to face the reality with courage
rather than use the language of denial as you have been doing for the past
months. In fact, your actions contradict your denials at every point.
There is no point in trying to cover Iranian tools in games that are not hidden
from anybody, such as the announcing of payment of entitlements to the Special
Tribunal on Lebanon in installments. This failure to seriously deal with the
rulings of the court, especially the failure to arrest suspects and hand them
over to international justice increases the number of grievances against your
government.
If Mikati really wishes to rescue Lebanon, he should tender resignation and
confess his inability to resist the diktats of Hezbollah. This is the only way
he can avoid being a witness of falsehood and prevent the further tightening of
Iran’s control over Lebanon. By doing so, he can also save himself from being
used as a pawn in a game being played by other countries and show that he really
loves his country which has suffered since the past three decades.
Army Defuses Bomb at Ain el-Hilweh Entrance
Naharnet /A Lebanese army explosives expert defused a bomb found at the entrance
of Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern city of Sidon on
Sunday, the National News Agency reported. NNA said that the bomb was found
along with tapes and a battery at al-Tahtani entrance of Taamir Ain el-Hilweh.
The device was not set to explode. However, the bomb-disposal expert immediately
defused it and removed it from its location, the agency added.
Sources: Hariri Won’t Hold
Meetings with Lebanese Officials in Paris
Naharnet /Sources close to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri denied that he
would hold meetings with Lebanese officials in France. In remarks to An Nahar
daily Sunday, the sources said that Hariri is currently in Riyadh.“He is not
scheduled to hold any meetings in Paris unlike what the media said,” the sources
said. Media reports had said that Hariri will hold talks with March 14 officials
who were converging on the French capital to attend the wedding of former
Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh’s daughter. The reports had also said that
Hariri could meet with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat.
Ministerial Source: Miqati’s
Commitment to Fund STL is ‘Harmful’
Naharnet /A March 8 ministerial source that rejects the funding of the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon has criticized Premier Najib Miqati for promising the
international community that Lebanon would pay its share of funds for the STL.
The source unveiled to pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published Sunday that Miqati
hasn’t yet proposed any suggestion to fund the court and hasn’t discussed any
approach with Hizbullah, which rejects the funding. The Shiite party slams the
STL as an Israeli and American tool and says the indictment issued against four
Hizbullah members has no foundations given that it is based on the
circumstantial evidence of telecommunications data in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri
Feb. 2005 assassination.
“The prime minister’s continued remarks about a commitment to fund the tribunal
are harming him and putting him in a critical situation with the international
parties and local sides, mainly Hizbullah and its allies,” the source said. He
stressed that any solution to the funding lies in the cabinet, hinting that the
funding would be obstructed by Hizbullah and the remaining March 8 forces. A
report said Saturday that Hizbullah has recently formed a committee of legal
experts to carefully examine the cooperation protocol signed between Lebanon and
the STL.
Opposition political sources told al-Liwaa newspaper that the committee will
then seek to introduce a number of amendments to this agreement. But legal
experts told the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa daily on Sunday that the protocol is not
linked to the court’s funding.
Karami Says Assad Told Him he is ‘No Longer Worried’
Naharnet/ Former Premier Omar Karami stressed on Sunday that Syrian President
Bashar Assad comforted him earlier in the week that he had “turned the page of
the events” in his country. Karami, who visited Assad along with his son
Minister Faisal Karami on Wednesday, told An Nahar daily that the “the story is
over.” Assad comforted him that he had “turned the page of the events” that
shook the neighboring country, saying things were “under control.” “We are no
longer worried,” Karami quoted the Syrian president was telling him. The former
premier told An Nahar that the information about the crackdown in Syria and the
uprising against the regime is totally different than what is taking place
there. The Syrian security forces have controlled the situation, he said. Karami
also quoted Assad as saying that Syria still has good relations with several
influential countries in the world. The United Nations says 2,700 people have
been killed in the protests against Assad. The U.N. Security Council, meanwhile,
remains divided over whether to threaten the regime with sanctions over its
deadly crackdown on dissent.
Berri Meets Ahmadinejad, Says Developments in Region
Affecting Lebanon
Naharnet /Speaker Nabih Berri said on Sunday that Israel is violating Lebanon’s
sovereignty, during a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in
Tehran.“The region is passing through a critical stage and Lebanon is affected
by these developments, it’s not an island, especially since Israel still
occupies part of its land, which means its sovereignty is incomplete,” Berri
stressed. He discussed with Ahmadinejad the latest developments in the region in
the presence of head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad and
a delegation from AMAL. Berri thanked Iran for its continues support to
Palestine through organizing the international conference in support of the
Palestinian intifada.
For his part, Ahmadinejad reiterated “Iran’s support for Lebanon.” Saying “you
have formed a resistances that gave us hope because of its victories and
accomplishments.”
The gatherers discussed the fate of Moussa al-Sadr, a popular Shiite cleric who
vanished 33 years ago during a trip to Libya. Berri urged the Iranian president
to “follow up the issue.”
Makari: March 14 Should Have Taken a Radical Stance from
the Cabinet
Naharnet/Deputy Speaker Farid Makari blamed the March 14 forces for not taking
fundamental stances from the government after the indictment of four Hizbullah
members in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination. In an interview with the
Kuwaiti al-Seyassah newspaper on Sunday, Makari called for a strong
confrontation of the Hizbullah-led government. “Our stance with regards to the
four accused Hizbullah members was faced by a very tough position by Hizbullah
which considered them as saints,” he said. “This government includes ministers
that represent a party accused of killing Lebanese personalities and I think
that we (March 14) are not dealing with this cabinet at the same level of
accusation,” he told the newspaper. He said March 14 MPs should have boycotted
the parliamentary sessions aimed at granting the vote of confidence to the
government. “This cabinet should have been boycotted and we should have had a
radical stance from it.”The March 14-led opposition should have taken the
decision to boycott PM Najib Miqati’s government from the moment that former
Premier Saad Hariri was toppled in January, Makari added.
Delegation of Lebanese workers’ union visits Syria
October 2, 2011
A delegation of the General Workers Union, headed by its president Ghassan Ghosn,
visited Syria on Sunday and met with Arab Baath Party leader Oussama Odai, the
National News Agency reported. The report added that the delegation voiced its
support for Syria against the political campaigns and economic pressures that
the country is facing.
The delegation also condemned the “distracting media campaign that aims to harm
Syria and its stance supporting the Resistance,” the report read. The report
added that the delegation voiced its confidence that “the Syrian people are able
to override the crisis and build a modern Syria.” Lebanon's political scene is
split between supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, led by
Hezbollah, and a pro-Western camp headed by Saad Hariri. The UN says that the
Syrian regime's crackdown on protests that erupted in mid-March has killed more
than 2,700 people. -NOW Lebanon
Hariri’s absence
Matt Nash, October 2, 2011
Saad Hariri’s financial troubles and his absence from Lebanon for around five
months are dampening Sunni enthusiasm for him, but his status as a symbol of his
much-loved, assassinated father is an obstacle for any Sunni leader hoping to
replace him.
Hariri has been out of the country since April, moving between Paris and Riyadh,
security concerns being cited as the reason for his absence.
No one NOW Lebanon interviewed on the record disputed that, but analysts and
officials speaking off the record have suggested money problems and the need to
mend his relationship with Saudi officials are the more pressing reasons keeping
Hariri out of the country.
Future Movement MP Nohad Mashnouq, who insisted security was Hariri’s biggest
concern, also noted that the party leader “has administrative and financial
problems, which he is resolving.”
While NOW Lebanon first reported in November 2010 that Hariri was no longer
offering financial assistance to supporters in the northern city of Tripoli, his
patronage problems allegedly began over a year before then.
In a leaked US Embassy cable dated December 9, 2009, March 14 General
Coordinator Fares Soueid is described as claiming “that the Saudi financial
support to the March 14 Secretariat and Hariri’s Future TV and affiliated
newspapers had stopped” three months prior.
Then on February 5, 2010, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea apparently told
the Americans that Hariri’s “money woes… had hit [his] own Sunni supporters in
the Future Movement particularly hard.”
Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, formerly a very close Hariri ally, allegedly
criticized the way Hariri doled out his cash in a meeting with US officials in
May 2009, nearly a year after telling the Americans that the Saudis were upset
with Hariri for not using “large amounts” of their money to produce “tangible
results,” according to diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks. Jumblatt is
described as saying that the Saudis were pushing Hariri to “pursue a different
strategy” in return for continued support.
Hani Nsouli, a journalist who writes for An-Nahar, told NOW Lebanon that
financial problems may also be behind a recent spat between the Future Movement
and Sunni Mufti of the Lebanese Republic Mohammad Rashid Qabbani, long a diehard
Hariri ally. Last month Qabbani met with Hezbollah officials and Syria’s
ambassador to Lebanon, prompting Future MPs to boycott prayers the Mufti led to
celebrate the end of Ramadan.
Qabbani then toured the South, repeatedly taking digs at Future MP Khaled Daher,
who earlier had criticized Military Intelligence for being too close to
Hezbollah. The tussle between the Mufti and the party was the first such public
disagreement in memory.
However, while both Nsouli and former MP Misbah al-Ahdab—who lost his seat in
Tripoli in 2009 when Hariri bumped him to ally with current Prime Minister Najib
Mikati, Mohammad Safadi and Ahmed Karami—said that closing his coffers is
upsetting many of Hariri’s supporters, they noted that there does not seem to be
a push to abandon the leader.
Perhaps his most credible, and wealthy, rival for leadership of the Sunni
community is Mikati, who hails from the northern Sunni bastion of Tripoli. He is
apparently handing out services and attempting to widen his base of support, but
as of now it is unclear how far that can take him.
Most Sunnis in the North remember well the Syrian takeover of Tripoli in the
mid-1980s, and Sunnis across the country view the government in Damascus
particularly wearily these days as President Bashar al-Assad continues a violent
crackdown on largely peaceful, and mostly Sunni, protestors.
Nsouli argued that Mikati is still seen as quite close to the Syrian regime and
noted that Hariri himself ruffled feathers in the Sunni community when he
visited Damascus in December 2009. For his part Ahdab, an independent politician
from the Democratic Renewal Movement, thinks there is room for a “third force”
political movement—neither March 14 nor March 8—to gather steam both within the
Sunni community and among the population at large.
That said, Hariri is the physical symbol of his assassinated father, still
adored and revered in the Sunni “street.” In the patronage-laden cult of
personality that is Lebanese politics, such status often trumps anything else,
and independent politicians have traditionally not fared well.
Also, the Saudis are locked in a battle for regional supremacy with Iran, and
with Hezbollah reportedly pouring money into Tripoli in an effort to divide the
Sunnis—an argument Ahdab has made for years—Riyadh will likely have to back
Hariri financially again in the 2013 elections so as not to lose ground.
So, while Hariri is likely no longer riding at the crest of a wave of popular
support the way he was in 2005, he is not necessarily drifting out to sea. As
Nsouli put it, “The Future Movement today is like that old saying about women:
‘You can’t live with them, you can’t live without them.’”
It’s not your call, Hassan Nasrallah
September 30, 2011
Now Lebanon
Hassan Nasrallah has said it would bomb Tel Aviv if it attacked Iran. Who is he
to take all of Lebanon into a war it cannot win? (AFP photo/Joseph Eid)
Earlier this week the Lebanese media reported that a few months ago, Hezbollah
Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah had assured an Iranian envoy, Ayatollah Jafar
Shojouni, that his party would “destroy” Tel Aviv if Israel ever attacked Iran.
Shojouni went on to heap praise upon Nasrallah. His is “a cause of honor, not
just for Lebanon, but also for all Islamic and Arab countries,” he said, adding,
“Because Israelis are afraid of him and his people, we must thank him, and
Iranians are protecting him for this reason.” Thank him for what? Keeping
Lebanon teetering on the edge of the abyss?
That Hezbollah would eagerly rush to Tehran’s assistance is hardly news; what is
worrying is the increasingly open way in which its ties, not to mention its
obligations, to Iran are being discussed. Indeed, such barefaced arrogance
perfectly captures the selfish and self-absorbed mentality of those who see the
Resistance as the most elevated, pure and noble organization in Lebanon today,
but who forget that it is an organization that, with cheerful indifference,
operates outside the state and thus outside the consensus of Lebanon’s
democratic institutions. These, clearly, are trivial failings in the eyes of
those for whom Nasrallah is infallible.
There can be no denial that, taken in isolation, the Resistance is a deterrent
of sorts, but to argue this is to miss the point. It is a deterrent at the
expense of Lebanese sovereignty. It also remains to be seen just how much of a
deterrent it actually is. For if and when the first rocket lands on Tel Aviv,
the Israeli government will have no problem blowing Lebanon back to the stone
age. But to argue the military angle is to miss the point. And a very big point
it is. It is not Hezbollah’s call to take us to war, and our argument must rest
on this point and this point alone.
Nasrallah is not a public official, and yet here is the man most likely to take
Lebanon into a war it cannot win. What more needs to be done or said to convince
those Lebanese who still back Hezbollah that this is not the way countries are
run.
Take Hezbollah’s allies in the Free Patriotic Movement. Here we have a political
party, the support base of which is made up of mostly middle-class Christians
who have, for whatever reason, eschewed the “traditional” popular Christian
parties of the Kataeb and the Lebanese Forces and thrown their lot in with
Michel Aoun because they believe in a Lebanon free of corruption and the
authority of the state. So far so good.
And yet, five years after Aoun’s controversial Memorandum of Understanding with
Hezbollah, they still tolerate his apparent infatuation with a party that is,
through its ideology, wholly sectarian; through its unlawful behavior, wholly
criminal; and which thumbs its nose at the authority of the state at every
opportunity.
How can the FPM defend its MoU with Hezbollah? How can they defend a party that
is willing to go to war for another country without first referring to the state
(not that even that would be acceptable, as the state should ask itself if it
should go to war). Hezbollah has shown that it is willing to risk the lives of
many thousands of people, and, in all probability, see wholesale destruction to
the nation and its infrastructure. Indeed, what does Hezbollah have to do to
convince its most unlikely allies that the party flies in the face of everything
they claim to stand for?
There was a time in the two decades before the turn of the 20th century when
Hezbollah was a justifiable Resistance movement. Little did we know it at the
time, but the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon gave Hezbollah legitimate
cover (not to mention useful combat experience) to consolidate its role as an
armed adjunct of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
It was only in 2000—when Israel withdrew, and the party, instead of laying down
its arms and entering mainstream politics, cited the ongoing occupation of the
Shebaa Farms as an excuse to hold onto its weapons—that we realized what the
party’s true agenda is.
Let us pray there is no endgame. By then it may be too late to disown Hezbollah.