LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober
11/2011
Bible Quotation for today/Never
Knew You
’Matthew 07/21-23: "Not everyone who calls me Lord,
Lord will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only those who do what my Father in
heaven wants them to do.22 When the Judgment Day comes, many will say to me,
Lord, Lord! In your name we spoke God's message, by your name we drove out many
demons and performed many miracles!23 Then I will say to them, I never knew you.
Get away from me, you wicked people!
Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from
miscellaneous sources
Banning Beirut/Hanin
Ghaddar/October 10, 2011
Brotherly disagreement/Now
Lebanon/October 10/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October
10/11
Egyptian
Army, Police Kill 35 Coptic Christian Protestors
Sectarian
strife threatens Egypt with 24 Christian Coptics murdered by the authorities
Report:
Egypt imposes Cairo curfew after 24 killed in clashes
Muslims,
Copts clash near Cairo hospital, 19 Dead from Riots Over Church Attack,
Rai rejects
claims of supporting particular political camp
Hezbollah
staunch on opposition to STL funding
Lebanon:
Kahwagi heads to Washington to seek military support
Sami Gemayel
admits March 14 blunders
Syria warns
states not to recognize ‘illegitimate’ opposition
Ibrahim
Visits Syria: Reports on Border Control Agreement
Opposition
Warns March 8 against Hampering STL Funding
President
Slieman, First Lady Attend ‘Where Do We Go Now?’
Aoun Rejects
Miqati’s ‘Illegal Commitments’ Abroad, Says ‘No’ to STL Funding
Berri
Rejects Issuing Final Judgments on Draft Budget
Charbel
Meets Suleiman: Electoral Law Based on Proportional Representation Best for
Lebanon
GLC Gears Up
for Wednesday’s Strike as it Awaits Last Minute Settlement
EU to Hail
Syria Opposition as 'Positive Step Forward'
EU Slaps New
Sanctions on Belarus, Iran
Egyptian
Army, Police Kill 35 Coptic Christian Protestors
http://www.aina.org/news/20111010003621.htm
10-10-2011 5:36:27
Assyrian International News Agency
(AINA) -- For the second time in five days military and police forces forcibly
dispersed Coptic protesters. 35 Copts were killed today and over 300 injured.
The numbers could rise dramatically as many bodies are still unidentified and
disfigured beyond recognition. The dead and injured have been transported to the
Coptic Hospital in Cairo. Bodies of 4 Copts were found in buildings and taken to
the public morgue, reported al-Ahram Daily.
There were discrepancies between reports from the official State-owned TV and
independent TV stations. Al-Hayat confirmed that army armored vehicles went into
Maspero "in a strange way" and ran over the protesters. A video clip of the
armored vehicles running amok through the 150,000 protesters was shown on
Al-Arabia TV. Egyptian State-run TV said that Coptic protesters killed 3
soldiers and injured 20. They gave no numbers for the fallen or injured Copts.
They also said that the Copts had weapons. This was refuted by Coptic priests
and activists. Nader Shoukry, Coptic activist and journalist, said "We only had
wooden crosses."
"Today occurred a massacre of the Copts," said Coptic priest, Father Filopateer
Gamil in a telephone conversation with CTV Coptic Channel. "I was an eyewitness
to all what happened."
According to witnesses, the army forces were waiting for the Copic rally to
arrive at Maspero, near the state television building. "They arranged a trap for
us," said Father Filopateer. "As soon as we arrived they surrounded us and
started shooting live ammunition randomly at us. Then the armored vehicles
arrived and ran over protesters."
Father Filopateer said he saw army police and affiliated thugs torching police
cars, to later blame it on the Copts. He believes that the assault on the Copt
was preplanned.
Copts announced a few days ago that they would stage a rally to protest the
torching of the church in the village of Elmarinab in Edfu, Aswan (AINA
10-1-2011), as well as the brutal attack on the Coptic rally in Maspiro on
October 4 (AINA 10-9-2011). Rallies were to be staged in Cairo, Aswan, Minya,
Beni-Suef, Assiut, Suez and Alexandria.
"When we announced this peaceful rally we made it understood that it will be
from 5-8pm and no sit-in and no blocking of traffic," said Ihab Aziz,
Coptic-American activist, who was one of the organizers.
Aziz said that the procession started today at the Christian populated district
of Shubra and went to Maspero, in front of the TV building, on the river Nile.
On their way, some Muslims fired live ammunition over their heads to terrorize
them and some bricks were hurled at them. By the time they arrived to Maspero
there were nearly 150,000 protesters. "The army and police were waiting for us
about 200 meters away from the Maspero TV building," said Aziz. "They started
firing at us before two army armored vehicles came at great speed and drove into
the crowds, going backwards and forwards, mowing people under their wheels." He
said he saw at least 20 dead Copts around him.
"The most horrible scene was when one of the vehicles ran over a Copt's head,
causing his brain to explode and blood was all over the place," recalled Aziz.
he held out his hand, showing two bullets in his palm. "We got a clear message
today that we are no first class citizens."
The same description of events was confirmed by Nader Shoukry. He said that when
the Copts were trapped by the army forces, some threw themselves in the Nile and
some just fainted seeing other people being run-over in front of their eyes.
Copts ran to hide in the neighboring buildings, but the police dragged them out
and assaulted them.
Dr. Naguib Gabriel, who was at the procession, was shot in the leg.
Michael Munier, head of El Hayat (Life) Party, said that what happened to the
Copts today was a massacre. He asked why do the authorities kill the Copts who
were protesting peacefully for their rights, while at the same time when
Salafists blocked the trains in Qena for 10 days protesting against a Copt being
nominated for governor of Qena, no one touched them?
"People are being prosecuted, including former President Mubarak, in courts
presently because they killed demonstrators on January 28. Now the military
police is doing the same to the Copts," said Shoukry.
A curfew has been announced tonight in several Cairo streets.
By Mary Abdelmassih
Sectarian
strife threatens Egypt
October 10, 2011/By: Maggie Michael/Daily Star
A standoff degenerated into riots with demonstrators hurling stones and setting
cars alight.
CAIRO: Fierce clashes erupted Sunday between Christians protesting a recent
attack on a church and the Egyptian military, leaving at least 19 people dead
and more than 150 wounded, Health Ministry officials said.
In rioting outside the state television building along the Nile in Cairo,
witnesses said some of the protesters may have snatched weapons from the
soldiers and turned them on the military. The protesters also pelted the
soldiers with rocks and bottles.
The clashes spread to nearby Tahrir Square and the area around it, drawing in
thousands of people. They battled each other with rocks and firebombs, some
tearing up pavement for ammunition and others collecting stones in boxes. At one
point, a group of youths with at least one riot policeman among them dragged a
protester by his legs for a long distance.
The Christian protesters said their demonstration began as a peaceful attempt to
sit in at the television building. But then, they said they came under attack by
thugs in plainclothes who rained stones down on them and fired pellets.
“The protest was peaceful. We wanted to hold a sit-in, as usual,” said Essam
Khalili, a protester wearing a white shirt with a cross drawn on it. “Thugs
attacked us and a military vehicle jumped over a sidewalk and ran over at least
10 people. I saw them.”
Wael Roufail, another protester, corroborated the account.
“I saw the vehicle running over the protesters. Then they opened fired at us,”
he said.
Khalili said protesters set fire to army vehicles when they saw them hitting the
protesters.
Television footage of the riots showed some of the Coptic protesters attacking a
soldier, while a priest tried to protect him. One soldier collapsed in tears as
ambulances rushed to the scene to take away the injured.
Christians blame Egypt’s ruling military council for being too lenient on those
behind a spate of anti-Christian attacks since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in
February. Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority makes up about 10 percent of the
country of more than 80 million people. As Egypt undergoes a chaotic power
transition and security vacuum in the wake of this year’s uprising, Christians
are particularly worried about the increasing show of force by the
ultraconservative Islamists.
Sunday’s rally began in the Shubra district of northern Cairo, then headed to
the state television building along the Nile where men in plainclothes attacked
about a thousand Christian protesters as they chanted denunciations of Egypt’s
military rulers.
“The people want to topple the field marshall,” the protesters yelled, referring
to the head of the ruling military council, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi. Some
Muslim protesters later joined in the same chant.
Armed with sticks, they chased the Christian protesters from the TV building,
banging metal street signs to scare them off. It was not immediately clear who
the attackers were.
Gunshots rang out at the scene, where lines of riot police with shields tried to
hold back hundreds of Christian protesters chanting “This is our country.”
Security forces eventually fired tear gas to disperse the protesters. The
clashes then moved to nearby Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the 18-day uprising
that ousted Mubarak. The army closed off streets around the area.
The clashes left streets littered with shattered glass, stones, ashes and soot
from burned vehicles. Hundreds of curious onlookers gathered at one of the
bridges over the Nile nearby to watch the unrest.
After hours of intense clashes, chants of “Muslims, Christians one hand, one
hand” rang out, a call for a truce. The stone-throwing died down after that.
In the past weeks, riots have broken out at two churches in southern Egypt,
prompted by Muslim crowds angry over church construction. One riot broke out
near the city of Aswan, even after church officials agreed to a demand by local
ultraconservative Muslims, called Salafis, that a cross and bells be removed
from the building.
Aswan’s governor, Gen. Mustafa Kamel al-Sayyed, further raised tensions by
telling the media that the church was being built on the site of a guesthouse,
suggesting it was illegal.
Protesters said the Copts are demanding the ouster of the governor,
reconstruction of the church, compensation for people whose houses were set on
fire and prosecution of those behind the riots and attacks on the church.
Muslims,
Copts clash near Cairo hospital, 19 Dead from Riots Over Church Attack,
Naharnet/Sixteen Coptic Christian demonstrators and three soldiers were
killed in clashes with security forces in the Egyptian capital on Sunday, an
Agence France Presse correspondent said, having counted the bodies in a Cairo
hospital. Later, hundreds of Egyptian Muslims and Coptic Christians exchanged
blows and threw stones near a Cairo hospital treating wounded from earlier
deadly clashes, an Agence France Presse journalist witnessed. The clashes took
place near a hospital in the city center which had admitted people wounded in
clashes earlier between Copts and security forces outside the state television
building that killed 19 people. The hospital morgue housed the bodies of those
killed.
Some 200 to 300 protesters had marched on the hospital to meet up with several
hundred Christians already gathered there, including family members of the dead
and an estimated 156 wounded. Several cars were on fire in a large street next
to the hospital, and Coptic protesters were tapping the cars to make petrol
bombs. "God is with us, Christ is with us. They want that it (the state) be
Islamic, but we will not leave," said one of the demonstrators. The Muslim
protesters, for their part, chanted: "Islamic, Islamic", of their view for the
Egyptian state.
Amid scenes of mayhem at a Coptic hospital filled with grieving relatives, a
priest named Daud told AFP at least five of those killed were mowed down by an
army vehicle.
"Here is the brain" of one of them, he said, pointing to white matter in a
plastic bag next to the body and disfigured face of a dead man. "Wael, wake up
my dear Wael. Speak to me," sobbed his sister in despair.Other bodies bore
gunshot wounds.An earlier count gave 14 dead.
State television had reported that three soldiers were shot dead and dozens of
their comrades were wounded as angry Copts protested at the burning of a church
in southern Egypt.
"They fired at my colleague. He was standing next to me... Christians, sons of
dogs," a wounded soldier said on state television. The protesters clashed with
anti-riot police and soldiers guarding the building on the Nile in central
Cairo, after thousands took part in a march from the Shobra district. A standoff
degenerated as the demonstrators started hurling stones and set fire to two
cars, an AFP correspondent said. The television channel said an army vehicle was
burnt. Security forces fired into the air to disperse the crowd, sending dozens
of people into flight. "Down with the marshal," the demonstrators chanted on the
march to Maspero, referring to Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi who took power in
February after president Hosni Mubarak's ouster in the face of mass street
protests. Hundreds of Copts also took part in a protest last Tuesday outside the
state television building in protest at the September 30 burning of the church
in the southern province of Aswan and demanding that its governor be sacked. The
church in Merinab village was attacked after Aswan governor Mustafa al-Seyyed
was reported as saying Copts had built it without the required planning
permission, according to state television. Sectarian clashes are frequent in
Egypt where the largest Coptic minority has often been the target of attack and
repeatedly accuses the authorities of systematic discrimination. Fifteen people
died in clashes on May 7 after Muslim protesters attacked two churches because
they believed the Christians were detaining a Muslim convert. The attacks
threatened to push Egypt's precarious religious tensions to the brink, prompting
the caretaker cabinet to pledge it would reopen closed churches and ease
building restrictions. Copts make up roughly 10 percent of the country's 80
million people and they complain of state-sanctioned discrimination, including a
law that requires presidential permission for church construction. They have
also been the targets of frequent attacks, the deadliest in January when a
suicide bomber killed at least 20 people outside an Alexandria church. Source
Agence France PresseAssociated Press
Report: Egypt
imposes Cairo curfew after 24 killed in clashes
Egypt State TV announces five hour curfew on Tahrir Square and downtown Cairo
following deadly clashes between Christians and military police; Egypt cabinet
calls emergency meeting for Monday.
By Reuters and DPA
Egypt's army rulers imposed a curfew on Cairo's Tahrir Square and downtown area,
state media announced on Sunday, after 24 people were reported killed in clashes
between Christians and military police in the centre of the capital.
The curfew would last from 2am to 7am local time on Monday, state TV reported.
Egyptian Christians clash with soldiers and riot police during a protest against
an attack on a church in southern Egypt, in Cairo October 9, 2011.
The Egyptian cabinet called an emergency meeting for Monday, vowing
the violence would not derail the country's first election since Hosni Mubarak
was toppled.
The cabinet said in a statement that it would "not let any group manipulate the
issue of national unity in Egypt or delay the process of democratic
transformation" which it said would begin with opening the doors to candidate
nominations.
Cabinet spokesman Mohamed Hegazy told Reuters the cabinet would hold a special
session on Monday to discuss the events.
"The most important thing is to contain the situation, see the way forward and
the necessary measures to avoid any ramifications," Hegazy said, adding a
committee of prominent figures from the church and Al-Azhar mosque would also
meet.
Presidential candidate Amr Moussa and political groups said they would hold an
emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the violence.
Fighting started when Christians protesting against an attack on a church
clashed with military police, witnesses and security sources said. The fighting
spread across the downtown area on Sunday.
Protesters threw rocks and petrol bombs at police, and set fire to vehicles as
thick smoke wafted through the street, witnesses said, in some of the most
violent scenes since an uprising overthrew former President Hosni Mubarak in
February.
The clashes took place in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the February
uprising that overthrew Mubarak.
The clashes began when some protesters threw stones at army troops guarding the
television building. Several cars and buses were set on fire.
Hundreds, mostly Christian, were demonstrating in protest at the destruction of
a church in the southern Egyptian province of Aswan.
Christians account for around 10 per cent of Egypt's 80-million-strong
population. Tensions are not uncommon between them and the country's Muslim
majority.
In March, 13 people were killed in sectarian clashes around the Cairo
neighborhood of Manshiyet Nasser, shortly after a church was torched in the
village of Sol, south of the capital.
Rai rejects claims of supporting particular political camp
October 10, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai rejected the notion that he has
associated himself with any political camp, expressing his openness to all
parties over the weekend.
“The patriarch has no political color except the color of Lebanon. Whoever wants
truth, freedom, a great Lebanon and national coexistence will walk alongside the
patriarch. Do not believe what is being written because there are many lies,”
Rai told expatriates Saturday in the state of Illinois during his pastoral visit
to the U.S.
Rai said the church’s members rallied to support him, just as they supported his
predecessor Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, who defended Lebanon during his tenure
despite claims at the time that the former patriarch was siding with one of
Lebanon’s rival political camps.
Sfeir, who was a staunch critic of Syrian intervention in Lebanese affairs and
Hezbollah’s possession of weapons, voiced his support over the weekend for
controversial statements recently made by Rai.
Rai triggered a weeks-long debate over statements he made while on an official
visit to Paris in September.
In his remarks in France, Rai warned that a deterioration of the situation in
Syria would threaten the presence of Christians there, and urged the
international community to pressure Israel to withdraw from Lebanese occupied
territories to challenge Hezbollah’s pretext for maintaining its arsenal.
“We do not object to what the patriarch has said and he says what needs to be
said. For this reason we are with what he says and we are not against it,” Sfeir
told a local radio station Saturday.
“I have my own opinion and I voice this inside the Council of Patriarchs … I
resigned as patriarch and there is a new patriarch now,” added Sfeir, who served
as patriarch from 1986 to 2011.
Rai, who has said that his statements were taken out of context, earlier in the
week dismissed any concerns over the future of Lebanon’s Maronite community,
denying that he feared for the fate of Maronites.
In his interview with Voice of Lebanon Saturday, Sfeir said Christians in the
region were protected by the state and the law and cautioned against special
protection for individual sects.
“God protects all and God protects Lebanon and he protects the Christians in
Lebanon, but if Christians requested protection, others also will ask for
protection … Therefore the Christians are protected by the law and the state and
they protect themselves.”
Asked whether he believed Rai’s stances had been prompted by instructions from
the Vatican, Sfeir said, “I do not know if there were or were not any
instructions, for he is the one who went to the Vatican and met [the] Pope [Pope
Benedict XVI]. He is the person who receives letters from the Vatican.”
Sfeir added that changes in the region called for cooperation among sects to
help protect Lebanon.
“Lebanon has maintained up until now its system and shall continue to do so if
things stay as they are, but of course there are changes. There are many sects
in Lebanon and sects dominate others, but there needs to be cooperation between
all sects so that Lebanon remains as it is,” Rai said.
In his concluding comments, Sfeir asked, “Now has Bkirki changed? I don’t know
but I do not think that Bkirki will change.”
During a book signing to honor Sfeir’s service during his 25-year tenure, the
former patriarch said that despite the “miserable days that the Lebanese are
witnessing,” Lebanon’s situation remains better than the situation in
neighboring countries.
“We ask God to give us better days than these miserable days but despite their
misery they remain better than the days that our neighbors are witnessing,” he
said.
Geagea
Says Silence over Syrian Incursion is ‘National Treason’
Naharnet /Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said on Monday that most officials
discussing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon are missing out on its purpose which
is related to justice, stressing that the silence over the Syrian infiltration
in the eastern Bekaa valley can be considered a “national treason.”
“They are tackling it (the STL) from a technical point of view, but it is a
moral compensation to the millions who lost their beloved ones… To stop the
political crimes and to establish the civil peace,” Geagea told al-Joumhouria
newspaper. He stressed that the STL probing the assassination of former PM Rafik
Hariri is transparent, saying that “all the talk that it’s politicized is a
baseless conspiracy.” The STL was created by a 2007 U.N. Security Council
resolution, at Lebanon's request, to try those responsible for Hariri's murder.
He was killed in a suicide car bombing along with 22 other people including a
bomber on February 14, 2005.“They don’t want the international tribunal or any
other local court,” Geagea said.
He warned that any “manipulation” with the STL will force the international
community and the Arab countries to “impose economic sanctions on Lebanon.”
A dispute rose recently over the funding of the STL, which Lebanon is bound to
pay $32 million to the court, nearly half of the court’s annual $65 million
budget.
Asked about the Syrian infiltration into the Lebanese territories in the eastern
Bekaa valley, Geagea rebuffed the cabinets’ position, stressing that the Syrian
incursion is an “obvious violation of national sovereignty.”“The cabinet’s
stance is despicable,” he told the newspaper.
He noted that while some foreign governments issued a statement expressing fear
of this infiltration, the Lebanese cabinet didn’t make any statement on the
issue which “reaches the extent of a national treason.”In a second incident
since last week, Syrian troops entered the outskirts of Arsal village on
Thursday and shot dead a Syrian national living there.
Earlier, Syrian tanks entered the same region in a brief incursion that raised
fears of the revolt against the regime in Damascus spilling over into Lebanon.
Concerning Lebanon’s decision to abstain from voting on the U.N. Security
Council resolution against the Syrian regime, Geagea said: “It’s time for
Lebanon to become an independent country.”“We don’t want to meddle in Syria’s
affairs but there are international rules for dealing with refugees, and the
Lebanese government should respect them and halt any attempt to arrest and
detain them,” he added.On the issue of “Lady of the Mountain” gathering, Geagea
told the daily that the meeting is independent, and every once in a while
whenever there are important developments, they hold a meeting. He noted that
some of the participants in the meeting belong to parties while others are
independent; however, the invitation isn’t made on the basis of the parties. “It
is a political, intellectual, cultural, social and independent forum,” Geagea
stressed.
Opposition Warns March 8 against Hampering STL Funding
Naharnet /The March 14-led opposition warned against any attempt by the March 8
forces to obstruct the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the
assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, An Nahar newspaper reported on
Monday.High-ranking opposition sources said that March 8 is “trapping” PM Najib
Miqati to subject the funding issue to vote in the cabinet or turn the file into
the parliament. The sources added that this will put Lebanon in “confrontation”
with the international community. They stressed that the PM and President Michal
Suleiman should confront these attempts. “The president and the cabinet are
responsible for the STL after they pledged to commit to it” during their visit
to New York last month, the sources said. However, they warned that the
government will have to face harsh consequences if the funding was
obstructed.Lebanon has to pay $32 million share to the court, nearly half of the
court’s annual $65 million budget. Hizbullah has rejected to fund the STL saying
the court is an American and Israeli product aimed at targeting the party. The
tribunal has issued indictments against four of the party’s members.
EU to Hail Syria Opposition as 'Positive Step Forward'
Naharnet /The European Union is set to hail the formation of a Syrian opposition
bloc as "a positive step forward", according to a draft EU foreign ministers'
statement seen by Agence France Presse on Monday. In the draft statement, the
ministers, referring to the Syrian National Council (SNC), say the EU "welcomes
the efforts of the population to establish a united platform" and "notes the
creation of the SNC as a positive step forward". The EU "calls on the
international community to also welcome" the formation of the SNC and "welcomes
its commitment to non-violence and democratic values". Syria threatened
retaliation Sunday if other states recognize the newly formed opposition bloc as
President Bashar Assad renewed a pledge of reforms and security forces shot dead
at least 11 people.Foreign Minister Walid Muallem warned that Damascus will
retaliate against any state that recognizes the SNC formed in Istanbul in late
August and uniting the key groups opposed to Assad's rule. "We will take
significant measures against any country that recognizes this illegitimate
council," Muallem told reporters, as the SNC lobbied for support in Cairo where
the Arab League is based. The SNC groups the Local Coordination Committees (LCC),
an activist network spurring protests in Syria, the long-banned Muslim
Brotherhood as well as Kurdish and Assyrian groups.
*Source Agence France Presse
EU Slaps New Sanctions on Belarus, Iran
Naharnet/The European Union on Monday slapped fresh sanctions on Belarus and
Iran in protest at human rights violations, diplomats said.
The sanctions, agreed at talks between the EU's 27 foreign ministers, target 16
people allegedly involved in rights abuse in Belarus and 29 in Iran with an
assets freeze and travel ban.
Regarding Iran, the EU is increasingly concerned over what British Foreign
Secretary William Hague described on joining the talks as Tehran's "appalling
human rights record.”
The sanctions follow restrictive measures in March against 32 Iranians.In
Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko has thrown hundreds of opponents
behind bars, four of the 16 people blacklisted are believed to be involved in a
court case against the head of a top human rights group, Ales Beliatsky, that
has sparked global outrage and calls for his release.
The Vyasna (Spring) leader faces up to seven years if convicted in a case for
large-scale tax evasion.Beliatsky was detained on August 4 after Belarus
authorities received information from countries such as Lithuania and Poland
about bank accounts held by the rights leader abroad.The latest EU sanctions
were in June when foreign ministers blacklisted three companies and four people
close to Lukashenko, bringing the number of those targeted by an assets freeze
and travel ban to almost 200.Source Agence France Presse
GLC Gears Up for Wednesday’s Strike as it Awaits Last
Minute Settlement
Naharnet /The General Labor Confederation was on Monday gearing up for a strike
that it plans to hold later in the week as its demand for more than doubling the
minimum wage is not likely to be approved by the government and business
leaders. GLC President Ghassan Ghosn told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) that
labor unions would hold the nationwide strike on Wednesday if its calls for
increasing wages to LL1,250,000 did not receive any support. A ministerial
meeting tasked with studying living conditions met under Premier Najib Miqati at
noon Monday. Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas told As Safir daily that the
committee will seek to find “logical” solutions to the GLC’s demand.He said he
has ordered price monitoring teams to study the “unnatural” rises in price of
commodities. The teams will submit their report on Monday to take the necessary
measures to control prices, the minister said although he admitted that it would
be difficult to bring things under control.
Miqati met with Speaker Nabih Berri on Saturday saying he did not reject minimum
wage increases, as long as economic consequences are kept at bay. He also met
GLC and private sector representatives over the weekend. On Sunday, the premier
visited President Michel Suleiman to inform him about the results of his
meetings.
But an informed source told al-Liwaa newspaper that negotiations to end the wage
dispute have gone back to the starting point.
Suleiman and Miqati agreed that the president meet on Monday with business
leaders who are approving a wage boost of only LL80,000 or 16 percent, the
source said.
President, First Lady Attend ‘Where Do We Go Now?’
President Michel Suleiman and First Lady Wafaa attended Nadine Labaki’s "Where
Do We Go Now?" movie at the Sofil Center cinemas in Ashrafiyeh on Sunday night.
The crowds were surprised when they saw Suleiman entering the movie theater a
few minutes before the start of the film.Last month, the movie won the Toronto
film festival's People's Choice Award for best picture.The film stars are Labaki,
Claude Baz Moussawbaa, Layla Hakim, Yvonne Maalouf and Antoinette Noufaily.
Set in a remote village where the church and the mosque stand side by side,
"Where Do We Go Now?" follows the antics of the town's women folk to keep their
blowhard men from starting a religious war. Women heartsick over sons, husbands
and fathers lost to previous flare-ups unite to distract their men with clever
ruses, from faking a miracle to hiring a troop of Ukrainian strippers.With its
proudly feminist message, the film pays homage to the powerful women of the
Middle East — a group often overlooked by the West.
Aoun Rejects Miqati’s ‘Illegal Commitments’ Abroad, Says
‘No’ to STL Funding
Naharnet /Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun stressed on Monday that his
parliamentary bloc fully rejects the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
in a stance that he described as independent from the position of other
parties.“No to the funding of the court no matter what the stance of our
political allies are,” Aoun told An Nahar daily in an interview published
Monday. “This stance is our own and is independent from that of other parties,”
he said, adding that “Hizbullah could agree (to fund the STL) but we don’t.”
“It is a matter of principle. We can’t pay money to the international tribunal
without an understanding or an agreement between us and the Security Council,”
the head of the Change and Reform bloc told his interviewer. While stressing
that his rejection to fund the court didn’t mean he was against justice or the
trial of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s suspected assassins, Aoun said that the
tribunal funds were being spent illegally.He slammed the STL as illegitimate for
being established by the Security Council under chapter 7 of the U.N. charter.
“This happens only if there was a danger to international peace but this danger
never existed.”Asked how he would confront the funding that is supported by
Premier Najib Miqati and Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi, Aoun said: “They are
violating the laws and the Lebanese constitution.”“No one can make illegal
commitments and impose them on me,” he told An Nahar about promises made by
Miqati in New York to pay Lebanon’s share to the tribunal.When told that Miqati,
Safadi and National Struggle Front bloc leader Walid Jumblat are backing the
funding of the court, Aoun said: “Let them pay from their own wealth.”The FPM
chief refuted rumors that the government would collapse over the dispute on the
funding, stressing that the cabinet’s existence was not in danger.“Those who
want to leave (the cabinet) over the funding have already planned to get out of
it,” Aoun said, adding “no one can extort us internationally and scare
us.”Turning to the situation in Syria, he said the Syrian regime has crossed the
line of danger.The Syrian people should “choose between calm democratic change
and blood,” he said, adding: “I believe the majority wants calm progress that’s
why President Bashar Assad’s (reform) program is getting enough support.”
Charbel Meets Suleiman: Electoral Law Based on Proportional Representation Best
for Lebanon
Naharnet/Interior Minister Marwan Charbel stated on Monday that the
parliamentary electoral law that was agreed upon with the committee charged with
devising a new law “does not resemble the old one any way shape or form.”He said
during a press conference: “An electoral law based on proportional
representation is the best solution for Lebanon.”
“We kept a few points from the old law, but added new aspects to it as well,” he
revealed.The minister explained that the new electoral law limits the number of
“wasted votes.”
Charbel stressed the importance of minorities being represented at parliament,
adding that a 30 percent quota should be dedicated for women in the elections.
He later held talks with President Michel Suleiman, informing him of the new
electoral law.Lebanon’s next parliamentary elections are expected to be held in
2013.
Berri Rejects Issuing Final Judgments on Draft Budge
Naharnet /Speaker Nabih Berri urged officials not to issue a final judgment on
the 2012 draft state budget because he said it could be amended during
discussions at the cabinet or parliament.Berri told As Safir daily published
Monday that the draft has some positive and negative aspects. Among the negative
articles is a proposed 2 percent hike in Value Added Tax. VAT currently stands
at 10 percent.The increase to 12 percent is “unjust,” he said, adding that the
government should find other means to compensate for the expected rise in wages
such as speeding up efforts to drill for oil and gas in Lebanon’s Exclusive
Economic Zone that would improve the treasury’s income.
Berri made his remarks to As Safir after he held talks with Premier Najib Miqati
in Ain el-Tineh on Saturday. Discussions also focused on the demands of the
General Labor Confederation to more than double minimum wages to LL1,250,000.
The GLC is planning to hold a nationwide strike on Wednesday if its demands were
not met. Top leaders were on Monday making last ditch efforts to resolve the
wage crisis.
Ibrahim Visits Syria: Reports on Border Control Agreement
Naharnet /General Security Chief Abbas Ibrahim visited Syria on Sunday to offer
condolences for the Syrian Mufti on his son's assassination last week.
The Mufti appreciated the condolences, and said that the Syrians are paying a
high price on "our positions which support the resistance."
Ibrahim stressed that "the common enemy is the one who is targeting the
innocents in Lebanon and Syria."
Ibrahim also met with the Syrian security leaders and discussed the incidents
that have lately occurred on the Lebanese-Syrian borders.
According to Al-Manar TV, the discussion focused on controlling the borders and
preventing smuggling.
General security chief Abbas Ibrahim pointed out that there is always
coordination between Lebanon and Syria.
Last Friday, Syrian troops infiltrated the outskirts of Arsal village in Bekaa
and shot dead a Syrian national living there, a security official told Agence
France Presse.
This incident comes after two Syrian BTR-type armored personnel carriers along
with a pickup carrying Syrian soldiers crossed the border in the area of Kherbet
Daoud near Arsal on Tuesday.The soldiers raided the homes of brothers Zahri and
Abdel Aziz al-Jabawi randomly firing from their machineguns. They later returned
to the location where they came from.
Kahwagi heads to Washington to seek military support
October 10, 2011/By Wassim Mroueh/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Lebanese Army Commander General Jean Kahwagi begins an official visit to
Washington, D.C. Monday where he will work to ensure the continuation of U.S.
military aid to the Lebanese Army.
Analysts expect that current levels of aid will be maintained, ruling out the
possibility of a significant increase.
During the visit, which comes at the invitation of the U.S. army, Kahwagi is to
meet with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey and other
senior U.S. military figures.
Retired Army Gen. Elias Hanna, who teaches political science at a number of
Lebanese universities, told The Daily Star that he believed the visit was
“routine.”
“The U.S. is worried about anything that might happen in the region [at this
time] … they will not give you [the arms] you want, and what they will give you
will not satisfy you,” he said.
Hanna said, however, that the invitation is in itself an “indicator” that the
U.S. is still committed to maintaining its military aid to Lebanon.
“It is a message to the army and the state,” he said, adding, however, that this
commitment would be put to the test if Lebanon does not honor its obligations
toward the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Hanna said he thought it was possible that the U.S. might sell Lebanon some of
its vehicles that were used in Iraq at a low price, since transporting them back
[to the United States] would be costly. The U.S. has announced that it would
pull out its troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.
“But this is useless, what would a Humvee do for you?” he said.
The retired general wondered how Lebanon could demand arms from the U.S., at a
time when the country’s political factions have yet to agree on a national
defense strategy.
“We are silly … what if they gave us tanks – which they won’t do – and then we
decide on a defense strategy which does not rely on tanks?” he asked. “You have
to have a strategy because an idea can connect goals to means. We haven’t yet
decided on the goals and the strategy, so how are we asking for the means?”
National Dialogue Committee sessions attended by various Lebanese leaders have
failed to establish a national defense strategy in years past.
The U.S. has provided about $100 million annually in military aid to Lebanon
since 2005. Although the funds were temporarily put on hold last year, U.S.
Secretary of State Hilary Clinton told Prime Minister Najib Mikati, during the
premier’s visit to New York in late September, that the U.S. would continue
giving assistance to the army, despite the domestic challenges.
Hanna said that an increase in U.S. military aid to Lebanon hinged on many
issues, primarily the disarmament of Hezbollah. “Hezbollah is the problem for
the U.S. in Lebanon.”
Washington designates Hezbollah as terrorist organization.
Amin Hoteit, also a retired army general, was adamant that the visit would yield
nothing for the Lebanese Army in terms of weapons.
“For any state to receive U.S. military aid, its army should be fulfilling the
goals of the U.S. strategy and should commit to not using these arms against a
strategic ally of the U.S.,” Hoteit told The Daily Star.But since the Lebanese
Army’s doctrine is based on the army’s defense of Lebanon against Israeli
aggression, Hoteit continued, the army would receive no arms and ammunition from
the U.S. “As long as the army is committed to this doctrine, it will receive no
[significant] military aid.”
Hoteit said he believed the U.S. needs to communicate with armies in the region
given the problems it was encountering in the Middle East.
“The U.S. would benefit from the visit by maintaining contact with the army
command. As for the Lebanese Army, it might get some logistic support,
manifested in some vehicles which Lebanon could get from any other state,”
Hoteit noted.
Hezbollah staunch on opposition to STL funding
October 10, 2011/By Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Hezbollah is adamant on its staunch opposition to the financing of a
U.N.-backed court, a source close to the party said Sunday, ruling out the
possibility of a compromise over the divisive and sensitive issue in return for
government action on the so-called “false witnesses” or a share in key
administrative appointments.
“Hezbollah will not bargain over its opposition to the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon or its funding in exchange for the issue of false witnesses or
appointments in the public administration,” the source told The Daily Star.
Hezbollah’s State Minister for Administrative Reform Mohammad Fneish refused to
comment on the STL’s funding, telling The Daily Star that the party’s position
on the tribunal and its funding is well known.
Although Hezbollah’s March 8 allies, namely the Free Patriotic Movement led by
MP Michel Aoun, have intensified their public opposition to the STL’s funding in
recent days, the party’s ministers and lawmakers have maintained silence on the
escalating rift over the payment of Lebanon’s $32 million share to the court,
nearly half of the court’s annual $65 million budget. The STL is probing the
2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
As outlined by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah last year, the party’s
position called on the government to sever Lebanon’s links with the STL by
halting the payment of Lebanon’s share to the tribunal’s funding, withdrawing
Lebanese judges and abolishing the cooperation protocol signed by Lebanon and
the STL.
The government is expected to begin this week addressing the issue of
appointments to fill more than 400 vacant posts in the public administration.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s national unity Cabinet was toppled by the
Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance on Jan. 12 in a dispute over the issue of “false
witnesses” linked to Hariri’s assassination. Hezbollah and its allies have long
demanded that these witnesses be brought to justice because they had allegedly
misled the U.N. investigation into Hariri’s killing.
Despite Hezbollah’s opposition, Prime Minister Najib Mikati has clearly
indicated his support for the STL’s funding, warning that Lebanon’s failure to
comply with U.N. resolutions will serve Israel.
Mikati was apparently referring to the possibility of U.N. sanctions on Lebanon
if it failed to comply with U.N. resolutions, particularly Resolution 1757 which
established the STL. The resolution calls on Lebanon to pay nearly half of the
STL’s annual $65 million.
Responding to the critics of the STL’s funding, Mikati said that paying
Lebanon’s share to the court will serve the country and the resistance. He also
said that the STL will continue its work regardless of whether Lebanon paid its
share.
The 2012 draft state budget, which was unveiled by Finance Minister Mohammad
Safadi last week, included allocations to pay Lebanon’s share to the STL’s
funding. Hezbollah and its March 8 allies, who have a majority in Mikati’s
30-member Cabinet, are likely to reject the allocations for the STL when the
draft budget is discussed by the ministers.
MP Simon Abi Ramia from Aoun’s parliamentary Change and Reform bloc dismissed
the STL as “unconstitutional” since it was established in 2007. “The tribunal is
a tool to strike Hezbollah,” he said in an interview with Al-Jadeed TV. Abi
Ramia said the money Lebanon has paid to the STL is sufficient “to solve the
problems facing the Lebanese judiciary.”
The Netherlands-based STL is becoming a major bone of contention between the
Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance and the opposition March 14 coalition led by
Hariri’s Future Movement. While the March 14 camp supports the STL as the best
means to reveal the truth in Hariri’s assassination, Hezbollah and its allies
reject the tribunal altogether. They dismiss the court as “an American-Israeli
court” designed to target the resistance group.
Syria
warns states not to recognize ‘illegitimate’ opposition
October 10, 2011 01:38 AM Agencies
DAMASCUS/SULAIMANIYAH/BEIRUT: President Bashar Assad renewed a pledge of reforms
Sunday, as Syria threatened retaliation if countries recognize an opposition
bloc increasingly active on the international scene.
“Syria is taking steps focused on two main fronts – political reform and the
dismantling of armed groups” seeking to destabilize the country, Assad told the
visiting Cuban and Venezuelan foreign ministers.
The embattled president said “the Syrian people had welcomed the reforms but
that foreign attacks intensified just as the situation in the country began to
make progress.”
He accused Western powers of having “little interest in reform,” seeking instead
to “push Syria to pay the price for its stances against foreign schemes hatched
outside the region.”
“Despite everything, a process of reform is under way,” he assured them.
Activists said security forces Sunday killed at least three mourners at a
Damascus funeral, a day after two people were killed at the funeral of Kurdish
activist Meshaal Tammo, a murdered member of the new Syrian National Council.
The foreign ministers of Venezuela and Cuba headed a delegation of leftist Latin
American countries – including Ecuador, Nicaragua and Bolivia – that travelled
to Syria to “show support.”
The delegates denounced the “political and media campaign being waged against
Syria,” state news agency SANA said.
The eight-member Latin American bloc’s talks aim to denounce “political
destabilization attempts by the United States and its allies,” Venezuelan
Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said before the visit.
“We reject all forms of interventionism that the empire is trying to apply as it
did in Libya for a violent process of regime change.”
Washington has renewed its calls for Assad to step down immediately amid
escalating violence against anti-regime protesters that the United Nations says
has left nearly 3,000 people dead.
Turkey, meanwhile, has kept constant pressure on Damascus by hosting gatherings
of Syrian dissidents and repeatedly calling on Assad’s regime to introduce
reforms.
Foreign Minister Walid Moallem warned that Damascus will retaliate against any
state which recognizes the SNC, formed in Istanbul in late August and uniting
the key groups opposed to Assad’s rule.
“We will take significant measures against any country that recognizes this
illegitimate council,” Moallem told a news conference, as the SNC lobbied for
support in Cairo where the Arab League is based.
The SNC groups the Local Coordination Committees, an activist network spurring
protests in Syria, the long-banned Muslim Brotherhood as well as Kurdish and
Assyrian groups.
Tammo’s assassination Friday sparked the condemnation of the United States,
France, the European Union and Turkey.
“We are deeply saddened by the heinous assassination of Mishaal Tammo, leader of
the Syrian Kurdish Future Party,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a
statement posted on its website late Saturday evening.
Damascus blamed the assassination on a “terrorist” group.
“There are groups carrying out acts of violence in Syria and who have killed a
great number of martyrs. The West speaks of a peaceful revolution and does not
admit these groups exist but arms them anyhow,” Moallem said.
He also issued a thinly veiled warning to Turkey which condemned the
assassination as a “loathsome” act. “Syria will not stay with its arms crossed.
If Turkey throws us a flower, we will send them one back,” he said.
Security forces killed at least two people Saturday when they fired on a crowd
of more than 50,000 mourners at Tammo’s funeral procession in Qamishli in the
north, after it turned into an anti-regime rally, activists said.
Speaking to Associated Press Sunday, Tammo’s son Faris said that his father’s
death would encourage more Kurds to protest against the Syrian State and called
on Syrian Kurdish groups to take a more active role in the country’s nearly
7-month-old uprising.
“The killing of my father will encourage the Syrian Kurds to demand their
freedom and rights,” said Tammo in a telephone interview Sunday from the
northern Iraqi city of Irbil.
The United States charged that Assad’s regime was escalating its tactics against
the opposition with bold attacks on its leaders, while the LCC inside Syria has
accused Damascus of trying to “physically eliminate” top dissidents.
The SNC is courting foreign recognition and plans to hold a meeting to elect its
leadership, a member of the exile group told Egypt’s official MENA news agency.
Moscow said Saturday it will receive Syrian opposition politicians Tuesday for
unofficial talks and that it also expects to host a visit from SNC delegates
later in the month.
Meanwhile, Syria’s embassies in Europe have become a focal point of angry
protests. A group of protesters broke into the Syrian Embassy in Berlin and two
other Syrian diplomatic missions in Germany and Switzerland late Saturday and
early Sunday in what appeared to protests against the killing of the Kurdish
leader. Moallem criticized European countries where Syrian missions have
recently been stormed by protesters, implying that Damascus might allow foreign
delegations to be attacked in turn.
“If they don’t provide security to our missions, we will treat them the same
way,” he said.
He also criticized the U.S. and the French ambassador to Syria, who have
condemned the crackdown and visited tense areas in Syria angering authorities.
“We don’t interfere in their business the way some of them do in Damascus,” he
said.
Last month, U.S. ambassador Robert Ford and several colleagues from the embassy
were pelted with tomatoes and eggs as they visited an opposition figure. U.S.
officials said the assault was part of a campaign to intimidate diplomats
investigating Assad’s repression of pro-reform demonstrators.
Some 200 people rallied against Assad near Sweden’s parliament Sunday, calling
on Stockholm and the EU “to support the revolution in Syria.”
Sami Gemayel admits March 14 blunders
October 10, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Metn MP Sami Gemayel said that March 14 coalition’s “blunders” allowed
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun to secure enough votes in the 2009
parliamentary elections. “We are committed to the principles of the March 14 but
we reject what we consider as blunders,” said Gemayel over the weekend.
Gemayel, a member of the Kataeb (Phalange) Party refused to comment on the
recent statements made by the Patriarch Beshara Rai oncering Hezbollah and the
uprising in Syria.
Gemayel also criticized gatherings targeted against the Maronite Patriarch,
adding that he would not attend a major Christian gathering organized by the
March 14 General Secretariat.
“We didn’t receive any invitation … and even if we did, we won’t participate in
such conferences,” Gemayel added.
Bkirki, the seat of the Maronite Church, is a 1,400-year-old institution and we
must respect it, said Gemayel. “It is not acceptable to respond to Bkirki if its
stances are not in accordance with ours in some circumstances.” The Daily Star
Brotherly
disagreement
October 7, 2011/Now Lebanon
Syrian soldiers on their side of the border in the village of Arida. Syrian
soldiers’ incursion onto Lebanese soil this week is, remarkably, completely
legal. (AFP photo/Joseph Eid)
On Wednesday, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea called on the Lebanese
government to take action after yet another armed incursion by the Syrian army
into Lebanese territory, this time near the Bekaa town of Ersal. The unit was
allegedly chasing anti-government gunmen who it is thought had sought sanctuary
in an abandoned factory. Geagea called the incursion a “military operation” and
demanded that the cabinet register its protest with the Syrian government and
seek assurances that such actions are not repeated.
The government is likely to ignore his demands for two reasons: Firstly, Najib
Mikati’s cabinet is Syria-backed and is unlikely to risk the ire of one of its
key allies. Secondly, and more worrying, the incursions are technically legal,
according to one of the raft of so-called “Brotherly Agreements” signed by
Beirut and Damascus after the creation of the Syrian-Lebanese Higher Council (SLHC)
in 1991.
The SLHC’s most controversial creation was the 1991 Fraternity, Cooperation and
Coordination Treaty (FCCT), Article 2 of which allows Damascus to carry out any
military operation in Lebanon to preserve its security without having to ask for
the Lebanese government’s permission.
In the aftermath of the Cedar Revolution, there were moves to annul all these
agreements and even dismantle the SLHC, but the turmoil—bombings,
assassinations, war and civil unrest—that characterized the period following the
Syrian withdrawal put such initiatives on the back burner.
In hindsight, this is a pity. If Lebanon is to preserve its sovereignty during
such a dangerous period of upheaval in neighboring Syria, then the government
must make the strongest possible protest and ignore the legacy of Syria’s
three-decade hegemony.
It is one thing to abstain from UN resolutions pertaining to Syria. One can
almost understand the reasoning given the close political and cultural ties and
the sensitivity of relations, but it is another to ignore violations of
internationally recognized borders.
In this way, Geagea has not deviated from his position of reminding us that the
role and the power of the state are paramount if we want to create a democratic,
free and sovereign country. What is the point of a government that has sworn to
defend the interests of the Lebanese people when, if push comes to shove, this
government will bow to the whims of Syria?
March 8-led government was quick to put up a smokescreen on the incident. On
Thursday, Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi said that any border violations were
the responsibility of the security forces, which he said were “doing their job,”
whatever that was supposed to mean. He then muddied the waters even further by
calling all protests to the incident, no doubt including those made by Geagea,
as politically motivated.
If Qortbawi can’t see that this was a political event par excellence, then
someone needs to have a quiet word with him, for it is outrageous that neither
the Lebanese army nor cabinet responded to the Syrian incursion. Surely it is
time, given the fact that Lebanese citizens are now at risk from elements of the
Syrian armed forces, that the UN consider expanding the mandate of its Interim
Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to include all Lebanon’s borders.
Damascus is going through a period of bloody transition, and it is not beyond
the realm of fantasy that we will see a change of government by the end of the
year. Nonetheless, it is imperative that, in light of these recent incursions, a
renewed effort is made to abolish all the treaties and agreements created during
one of the darkest periods in modern Lebanese history.
Banning Beirut
Hanin Ghaddar, Now Lebanon/October 10, 2011
An anti-Syrian regime protester holds a sign reading, "No to violence, no to
oppression and no to fanaticism" outside the Syrian Embassy in Beirut. Freedom
of expression is coming under attack in Lebanon. (AFP photo/Anwar Amro)
When you attack freedom in Beirut, you attack Beirut itself. That’s how it feels
nowadays being in Lebanon’s capital. We’re prevented from having access to
certain films, books and music, and from carrying out demonstrations and
expressing ourselves freely. Beirut is great if you want to eat, drink and dance
on rooftops, but try not to think. It could hurt you.
This weekend, two simultaneous incidents added to this infuriating realization.
Three film directors were banned from travelling to Lebanon by the Iranian
authorities. Iranian Nader Davoodi, Iranian Kurd Babak Amin and Iraqi Kurd
Ibrahim Saeedi were not allowed to come to Lebanon to attend the screening of
their films, “Red, White and Green,” “I Wish Someone Was There Waiting for Me,”
and “Mandoo” at the Beirut Film Festival.
These directors are probably heading for a tough trial by the Iranian
authorities, and that’s probably why the festival’s administration decided to
pull the most controversial one, Davoodi’s “Red, White and Green,” after
Lebanese censorship authorities requested to see the film before its screening.
The film focuses on the violent events of the three weeks leading up to the
disputed June 2009 re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The Lebanese authorities did not even have to ban the film, but only made a
simple call, which instilled enough fear among the festival’s administration to
pull it. This fear is based on previous incidents when the same authorities
banned Lebanese, Arab and Iranian films from the BFF and other festivals.
Because festivals rely heavily on the Lebanese authorities for licenses and
passes, some believe it is safer not to challenge authorities; otherwise, the
whole festival could be shut down. A smaller space for freedom and art is better
than nothing.
Others think otherwise. And this brings us to the second incident that took
place this weekend. A group of Syrian Kurds decided to organize a small
demonstration in front of the Syrian Embassy in Beirut on Sunday to protest the
assassination of an opposition leader and key member of the Syrian National
Council, Meshal Temmo, who was a Syrian Kurd himself.
Temmo’s assassination came at a very critical time for the Syrians, immediately
after the formation of the SNC, and the group of Syrian Kurds in Beirut wanted
to express their resentment. According to activists at the scene, Lebanese
security services erected extensive checkpoints that delayed and prohibited the
arrival of seven buses carrying demonstrators to the embassy. The protest still
took place, but not many could attend.
Surprisingly, this time Lebanese security protected the protesters who made it
to the demonstration from a group of thugs who, as usual, went to break up the
event. Unlike the previous demonstration at the Syrian Embassy, this one did not
end in violence.
But the incident did not end there. That night in the neighborhood of Dora,
members of the Lebanese intelligence service brutally attacked and humiliated
Syrian Kurd workers who participated in the demonstration.
They delivered the message that no one is allowed to demonstrate in support of
freedom in Syria.
One is not allowed to call for freedom in Iran and Syria in Beirut. Syrians
taking refuge here are not safe, as the Syrian army enters Lebanon as it wishes,
and no one can do anything about it. Why? Because for one, Lebanon is now an
Iranian-Syrian colony, with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah calling the shots.
Also, the Lebanese have become too tired and afraid to oppose this fact.
Banning freedom of expression in Beirut is a serious threat to the true identity
of this city, which has survived numerous attacks and occupations. However, the
real danger Beirut is facing now is that the majority of its citizens do not
seem to care anymore.
When authorities curtail freedom and violate human dignity, it calls for
resistance. But a heavy air of desperation mixed with fear hangs over Beirut
today. If this persists, not only is freedom threatened, so is the very nature
of Beirut itself.
That’s why a new kind of resistance is needed, beyond the usual need to resist
Hezbollah’s arms—which is one of the reasons behind the abovementioned
incidents. We need to resist against censorship in all its forms, and make a
genuine call for freedom in all its forms.
That is vital for Lebanon, because when Hezbollah and the Syrian regime are no
longer in power, other parties or groups, whether political or religious, should
not be allowed to put different limitations on freedom. Beirut cannot be banned.
**Hanin Ghaddar is the managing editor of NOW Lebanon.