LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober
19/2011
Bible Quotation for today/The
Question about Fasting
Matthew 09/14-17: "Then the followers of John the Baptist came to Jesus, asking,
Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don't fast at
all? Jesus answered, Do you expect the guests at a wedding party to be sad
as long as the bridegroom is with them? Of course not! But the day will come
when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
No one patches up an old coat with a piece of new cloth, for the
new patch will shrink and make an even bigger hole in the coat. Nor does
anyone pour new wine into used wineskins, for the skins will burst, the wine
will pour out, and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into
fresh wineskins, and both will keep in good condition.
Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from
miscellaneous sources
Is this the end of the regional
Persian project?/By Tariq Alhomayed/October
18/11
Dismissing the assassination
story/By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid/ October
18/11
Cowards all/Now Lebanon/October
17/11
Universal awareness/By: Hazem
Saghiyeh/October 17/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October
18/11
Shalit Freed as Hundreds of
Palestinian Prisoners Return Home
Al-Aysami’s Daughter Pleads with
Syria’s Allies to Unveil her Father’s Fate
Rifi’s Report Offers Insight into
Kidnapping of Jassem Brothers by Salah Hajj
Three Syrian generals disappear.
Minority regions barricaded against civil war
Stop the killings, UN chief tells
Syria's Assad
Clashes across Syria leave
at least 41 dead
Iran secretly executing hundreds of
prisoners, UN says
STL to NOWLebanon: Report Bellemare
gave notification letter to Mikati is ‘inaccurate’
Special Tribunal to start in
absentia proceedings
Lebanon Hariri tribunal to try
Hezbollah suspects in absentia
Lebanese Cabinet faces
test on STL pledge
Fransen Requests Trial Chambers to
Decide on Proceedings in Absentia
UNIFIL denies forced landing of
helicopter carrying Cuevas
Connelly ‘Appreciates’ Transparent
Energy Sector Regulations
Ali: Lebanese Officials Must
Reconsider Accusations against us by Resorting to Constitution
Suleiman: Prisoner Swap Must Be
Lesson for Israel that War is Useless
Geagea: March 14 to democratically
address expansion of Syrian crisis
Jumblatt Slams FPM, Asks Why Offers
from Arab Funds to Finance Electricity Plan are Rejected
Taimur Jumblat Appointed to
Prominent PSP Position ahead of Succeeding his Father as Chief
Jordan King Names Intl. Judge as PM
1500 Gather in Jabal Mohsen,
Support Syrian Regime
Al-Rahi Urges Expatriates to Invest
in Patriarchate’s Land'
Gilad Shalit to return to Israel
within hours after High Court rejects bereaved families' petitions
Hamas: Israel pledged to lift Gaza
blockade as part of Shalit swap deal
Egypt official: Mubarak sons own
assets worth $340 million in Switzerland
Kenyan Forces Advance on Strategic
Somali Rebel Bases
Shalit
Freed as Hundreds of Palestinian Prisoners Return Home
Naharnet /Looking dazed, a thin and pale Gilad Shalit emerged from a pickup
truck Tuesday under the escort of his Hamas captors and the Egyptian mediators
who helped arrange the Israeli tank crewman's release after more than five years
in captivity. Freed in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, an
ashen-faced Shalit struggled to breathe in an interview with Egyptian TV minutes
after his release, saying that he had feared he would remain in captivity for
"many more years." He said he was "very excited" to be headed home and that he
missed his family and friends. A short while later, the 25-year-old soldier was
transferred to Israel, said Israeli army spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai,
who told a news conference: "Today, Gilad Shalit is with us."
In the first public sighting of Shalit since he was captured, he appeared thin
with dark circles around his eyes in the brief video clip and interview
broadcast on Egyptian TV. Wearing a black baseball cap and gray shirt, Shalit
was taken from a pickup truck and escorted by a contingent of Egyptian officials
and masked Hamas gunmen who had whisked him across the border.
The deal, the most lopsided prisoner swap in Israeli history, caps a
five-and-a-half-year saga that has seen multiple Israeli military offensives in
Gaza, an Israeli blockade on the territory and numerous rounds of failed
negotiations. The Palestinian prisoners, who included dozens of people who had
been serving life sentences for deadly attacks, were returning to heroes'
welcomes, while dozens of people prepared a joyous homecoming in Shalit's tiny
hometown in northern Israel.
"Until we see him, we are following with concern and anticipation," Shalit's
father, Noam, told Israel Radio from an air base inside Israel where his family
was waiting to reunite with him.
The swap got under way early Tuesday as Hamas moved Shalit across Gaza's border
with Egypt, while Israel simultaneously began freeing the Palestinian prisoners.
At midmorning, Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas leader in Gaza, said his group was no
longer holding the soldier. Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV reported that a high-level Hamas
delegation arrived on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza
to hand over Shalit and to greet the returning prisoners.
In an elaborate operation, Shalit was then taken across Egypt's border into
Israel and was being flown to the Tel Nof air base in central Israel to be
reunited with his family.
Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was at the air force base with
Shalit's family, telling them "Gilad will be returning to you shortly,"
according to a statement from his office.
Before dawn, convoys of white vans and trucks transported hundreds of
Palestinian prisoners to the locations in the West Bank and on the Israel-Egypt
border where they were to be freed.
More than 200,000 people gathered in Gaza City for a mass rally to celebrate the
return of prisoners freed.
"More than 200,000 people have gathered now at the Katiba (in Gaza City) to
participate in the main festival welcoming the prisoners," one of the Hamas
officials involved in organizing the welcome rally said. Ismail Haniya, Gaza's
Hamas prime minister was expected to address the rally as well as Yehia Sinwar,
a senior leader with Hamas's armed wing who was among those released on Tuesday.
In Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, thousands of excited family members
gathered to welcome the 296 newly-released prisoner’s home, many of whom could
be seen wearing green Hamas sashes and wiping tears from their eyes. Similar
scenes of jubilation were occurring across the West Bank, with many thousands of
people packing into the city of Ramallah to welcome 117 detainees home, cheering
and waving flags as they got off four buses outside the Muqataa presidential
compound.
Armed Hamas security guards were deployed on rooftops overlooking the field.
In the West Bank, located on the opposite side of Israel, about 200 relatives of
prisoners waited at a West Bank checkpoint as the exchange unfolded. The
exchange, negotiated through Egyptian mediators because Israel and Hamas will
not talk directly to each other, is going ahead despite criticism and court
appeals in Israel against the release of the prisoners. Nearly 300 of them were
serving lengthy sentences for involvement in deadly attacks. The exchange
involves a delicate series of staged releases, each one triggering the next. The
Red Cross and Egyptian officials are involved in facilitating the movement of
prisoners. In Gaza, Hamas militants deployed in force along the road leading
into Egypt where Shalit was taken. Shortly thereafter, hundreds of returning
Palestinians were slated to enter Gaza on the same road. When Tuesday's exchange
is complete, 477 Palestinians held in Israeli jails, including 27 women, will
have been released, several of them after decades behind bars. More than 200
prisoners, originally from the West Bank, will instead be sent to the fenced-off
Gaza Strip. And some 40 prisoners will be deported to Syria, Qatar, Turkey and
Jordan, Palestinian officials said. Another 550 prisoners are slated to be
released in two months.
Source Agence France Presse Associated Press
Rifi’s Report Offers Insight into Kidnapping of Jassem
Brothers by Salah Hajj
Naharnet /Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi’s investigation
report on the kidnapping of Syrian opposition members reveals that the head of
the Syrian embassy guard unit, First Lt. Salah Hajj, was the ringleader of the
group that abducted the Jassem brothers. An Nahar daily published on Tuesday the
full report, which is based on witness testimony and telecommunications data.
Rifi said the son of former ISF chief Maj. Gen. Ali Hajj and four other men
kidnapped the Jassem brothers from outside the Baabda Serail on Feb. 24 at 11:00
pm. They were driving two vehicles carrying ISF license plates put at the
disposal of the Syrian embassy. On that day, Jassem al-Jassem was set free after
being held for distributing flyers. His brothers Ali and Shabib came to pick him
up from the Serail and were not seen again. The fourth brother, Ahmed al-Jassem,
has also disappeared, the report said.
It also unveiled detailed information about the movements of the vehicles and
mobile phone calls that Salah Hajj made with a member of the Popular Front for
the Liberation of Palestine-General Command ahead of handing him over the
brothers in Yanta on the Lebanese-Syrian border.
According to the report, Hajj’s vehicle was seen in the area of Baabda
immediately before and after the kidnapping. It was later seen heading towards
Dahr al-Baidar and then to Yanta at around 1:47 am on Feb. 25. The vehicle later
returned to the area of Bar Elias and then to Mar Mikhael near Beirut. The
telecom data also unveils that al-Hajj made several phone calls
with PFLP-GC militant Bater Rateb al-Nemr, who goes by the nom de guerre of Abou
Nemr. Another PFLP-GC militant had also contacted al-Hajj from a Syrian number
during the kidnapping process. Rifi concludes that Abu Rateb was coordinating
between al-Hajj and the owner of the Syrian number until he delivered them to a
PFLP-GC fighter on the Lebanese-Syrian border. The report was published after
Rifi told the parliamentary human rights committee last week that the ISF had
"dangerous information" linking the Syrian embassy to the disappearance of
Syrian opposition member Shebli al-Aisamy in Aley in May.
But Syrian Ambassador Ali Abdul Karim Ali denied any involvement and challenged
Rifi to provide evidence. Although the ISF chief wrote a detailed report on the
kidnapping of the Jassem brothers, he stressed that despite the similarity of
the two cases, the investigation into al-Aisamy’s abduction was not over yet.
Rifi has also separated the two kidnappings from the investigation into the case
of Joseph Sader, an official at Middle East Airline's IT department, who was
seized in Feb. 2009 near Rafik Hariri international airport by unidentified
assailants. The release of the investigation report is a blow to the military
judiciary and the interior ministry, which according to An Nahar, haven’t taken
any action to resolve the issue and unveil the fate of the abductees almost
eight months after Rifi referred the information to them. The newspaper also
said that a disciplinary action was taken against Hajj for a 30-day period after
he claimed during the questioning that he was in the area of Baabda in a mission
linked to the Syrian ambassador when the kidnapping took place.
Al-Aysami’s Daughter Pleads with Syria’s Allies to Unveil her Father’s Fate
Naharnet /The daughter of a Syrian opposition member who was allegedly kidnapped
in the eastern Lebanese region of Aley pleaded with Syria’s allies in Lebanon to
mediate for the release of her father. Shebli al-Aysami, 86, a co-founder of
Syria's ruling Baath party, who fled his native country in 1966 over political
differences, was last seen in May in Aley.
His daughter Rajaa Sharafeddine told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks
published Tuesday that all Lebanese politicians sympathized with her family.
“But sympathy isn’t enough. We urge above all Lebanon’s allies in Lebanon to
mediate and take serious stances from this case,” she said. Sharafeddine
stressed that her father should have been honored rather than being arrested.
Her comments came after An Nahar daily published an investigation report in
which Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi says the kidnapping
of four Syrian opposition members from the Jassem family and the disappearance
of al-Aysami were connected. While the report detailed the abduction of the
Jassem brothers, Rifi said the probe into the 86-year-old’s disappearance is not
yet complete. However, Rifi has stressed that the head of the Syrian embassy
guard unit, First Lt. Salah Hajj, was the ringleader of a four-member group that
abducted the Jassem brothers. Rifi’s announcement is a clear indication of the
Syrian regime’s involvement in her father’s disappearance, Sharafeddine told
Asharq al-Awsat, although she stressed that she know prior hand that al-Aisamy
is in Syria. “We were informed a month ago that his health is deteriorating but
he is still alive,” she said.
Cabinet Faces STL Funding Test
Naharnet /The cabinet launches on Tuesday what would most probably be protracted
discussions on the draft state budget which includes the controversial funding
of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. The first government session on the 2012
budget will be held at Baabda palace on Tuesday afternoon. Ministerial sources
told An Nahar daily that discussions will start with an overview of the budget
that is drafted by Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi. The ministers will later
review the draft budget and make their proposals next week. Social Affairs
Minister Wael Abou Faour ruled out discussion of the STL funding article on
Tuesday, saying that the issue is left for consultations among the country’s top
leaderships before putting it on the table of the cabinet. The sources expected
Lebanese officials to have enough time to announce their final stances from the
funding which should be made before December.
President Michel Suleiman, Premier Najib Miqati and Progressive Socialist Party
chief Walid Jumblat have backed the funding of the STL. But the Hizbullah-led
March 8 forces, which consider the tribunal an Israeli and American tool, have
rejected to pay Lebanon’s shares.Another cabinet session is to convene on
Wednesday.
Ali: Lebanese Officials Must Reconsider Accusations against
us by Resorting to Constitution
Naharnet/ Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali questioned on Tuesday
criticism by some Lebanese officials that have accused his embassy of being
behind the disappearance of Syrian opposition members in Lebanon. He said after
holding talks with former Prime Minister Salim Hoss: “I don’t want to dwell on
the details of this dispute, but I will renew my call for some sides to
reconsider their positions based on the Lebanese constitution and cooperation
agreements between Lebanon and Syria.”
“I wonder at the fact that this call would be interpreted as meddling in
Lebanese internal affairs,” added the ambassador. “This in itself is a
sufficient response to the criticism,” Ali stated.
“We are keen on establishing the best fraternal ties with Lebanon … and
cooperation between Lebanon and Syria will positively reflect on the interests
and security of the two countries, especially against Israel and the
confrontation that is being prepared for them,” he stressed. On Friday, Ali
denied reports that his embassy was behind the disappearance of Syrian
opposition members who had gone missing in Lebanon, calling such accusations
"unfounded." "I am puzzled by these unfounded claims that have been attributed
to the police chief," the ambassador said. He accused some Lebanese officials
and MPs of seeking to undermine his country, where the regime of President
Bashar Assad is in the throes of a brutal crackdown aimed at crushing an
eight-month-long revolt. Ali was referring to Internal Security Forces chief
Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi who last week said that the ISF collected "dangerous
information" linking the Syrian Embassy to the disappearance of Shebli al-
Aisamy. Aisamy, 86, is a co-founder of Syria's ruling Baath party who fled his
native country in 1966 over political differences. He was last seen in May in
the eastern Lebanese region of Aley.
ختفاء 3 من كبار جنرالات الجيش
السوري
السلطات السورية تتكتم على هذا الأمر علماً أن أحد هؤلاء الثلاثة وجد مقتولاً بوابل
من الرصاص وذكر تقرير لموقع دبكة أن الأسد يحاول التخلص من القادة العسكريين
المشكوك بؤلائهم له وجاء في التقرير أن الثوار ومنذ مدة
يستهدفون القادة في سدة الحكم. التقرير في اسفل
Three Syrian generals disappear. Minority regions
barricaded against civil war
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report October 17, 2011,
http://www.debka.com/article/21393/
Three generals, members of the Syrian General Command, disappeared in Damascus
this week, one a senior intelligence officer, debkafile's military and
intelligence sources report. The Assad regime has drawn a heavy curtain of
secrecy over the affair. However, our sources learn that the body of one of the
generals turned up riddled with bullets at the military hospital in Damascus.
Our sources explain the disappearances either by the high officers' defection in
disgust at President Bashar Assad's savage methods for crushing revolt. This
would signal the break-up of the high army command; or a purge of his high
command by Assad who, certain of victory, is getting rid of generals of doubtful
loyalty; or thirdly, one of them at least was killed by rebels. Since early
September, the opposition has re-focused their campaign of liquidations against
top regime figures from the northern Homs area to the capital.
The Syrian conflict is now dominated by four features:
1. The dwindling of the mass demonstrations plaguing the Assad regime for seven
months since March 15 in the face of the army's ruthless onslaught by tanks and
guns. This does not mean that the contest is over or that the Syrian ruler has
come out of it with the upper hand.
2. Anti-Assad forces are instead marshalling in the northwestern triangle
between Hama, Homs and Idlib in bands of well-armed guerilla fighters, often led
by defecting soldiers or officers, for attacking individual army officers and
small units.
3. Two of Syria's most important minorities, the Alawites and the Druzes, fear
that this form of warfare will lead inexorably to widespread civil war. They are
preparing themselves for the worst by barricading their villages and towns
against interlopers and organizing armed militias to keep them out.
debkafile's intelligence sources report that although the ruling Assad political
and military elite are drawn from the Alawite sect, its 3. 5 million members are
ready for trouble and guarding their Al-Alawiyeen Mountains domain which runs 32
kilometers down the northwestern shore up to and including the port town of
Latakia.
The Alawites are not getting their arms from their coreligionists in government.
Each individual chooses and pays for weapons from the contraband smuggled into
Syria from Lebanon and Jordan. They are rigorously keeping trespassers out of
their mountain region and Latakia, which they consider their capital. In this
town of 850,000 dwellers, the Sunni districts are separated by roadblocks,
barricades and gun emplacements.
The 2.1 million Druzes have divided Djebel Druze in southern Syria into sectors.
Militiamen stands guard at their barricaded entry-points to keep strangers out.
4. The Assad regime is going broke, ruined by the seven-month uprising. It can
barely find the money to buy food and other essential commodities for keeping
the economy and the military going or even pay salaries to government personnel.
According to a recent report, the economic damage suffered by six "Arab spring"
nations totals $56 billion. Syria is described as incurring the worst losses of
them all to its GDP and public finances, totaling $27.3 billion. Our Iranian
sources disclose that since Syrian banks were frozen out of European banks by
European Union sanctions, the Assad regime has been forced to start borrowing
from Iranian banks. But it is hard to tell for how long the banks in Tehran will
be willing to risk extending credit to bail out Bashar Assad.
Stop the killings, UN chief tells Syria's Assad
DAMASCUS , (AFP) — UN chief Ban Ki-moon Monday urged President Bashar al-Assad
to immediately stop the killings of civilians, a day after the Arab League
called for "national dialogue" to end violence sweeping Syria. "There are
continuous killings of civilian people. These killings must stop immediately,"
the UN chief said in Bern. "I told Assad: 'Stop before it is too late'," said
Ban, noting that thousands have perished in the regime's brutal crackdown on
dissent. "It is unacceptable that 3,000 people have been killed. The UN is
urging him again to take urgent action," he said. The UN secretary general also
called on Assad to accept an international commission of inquiry into rights
violations.
In April, the UN Human Rights Council ordered a probe into the situation in
Syria but Damascus blocked investigators from entering the country.
UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said on Friday that more than 3,000 people,
including 187 children, have been killed in the fierce crackdown on anti-regime
protests that have roiled Syria since mid-March.Ban's call came as a rights
group said five Syrian soldiers were killed during clashes with gunmen suspected
to be army defectors in the flashpoint central province of Homs on Monday. The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said two civilians were also killed on
Monday, both in the city of Homs itself. "Five soldiers were killed and others
wounded as a result of clashes pitting the army and security forces against
gunmen believed to be defectors at a checkpoint near the town of Qurayn in Homs
province," the Observatory said in a statement. It added that some "20 soldiers
fled to the surrounding orchards." In another confrontation with gunmen thought
to be defectors, in the northwestern province of Idlib, "17 in the army's ranks
were wounded," the Britain-based watchdog said. It also reported that Syrian
security forces opened fire in the Bab al-Sabaa residential area of Homs, a
hotbed of dissent, killing one person and wounding six.
"Another civilian was also shot dead by security forces during a raid in the Al-Khalidiyeh
neighbourhood," it added. In Cairo on Sunday, the Arab League said after an
emergency meeting of its foreign ministers that it would make contact with the
Damascus government and a raft of opposition groups with the aim of launching
"national dialogue within the seat of the Arab League and under its guidance
within 15 days." Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, the
chair of the meeting who issued the statement, had insisted the gathering was
not convened "under any agenda but to show concern for Syria and the Syrian
people. Your brothers want to help."
Gulf states requested the meeting to discuss "the situation in Syria, which has
deteriorated sharply, particularly in its humanitarian dimensions, and steps
that could help end the bloodshed and halt the machine of violence." Assad's
regime blames "armed gangs" for the violence that has wracked Syria for the past
seven months, but activists say most of the deaths are caused by security forces
putting down non-violent protests.The Local Coordination Committees, an activist
network spurring protests, meanwhile accused Syrian security forces of
intensifying their crackdown on doctors who treat wounded
demonstrators."Security forces recently intensified their campaign against
doctors, hospitals and private clinics suspected of treating people wounded in
pro-freedom rallies" without notifying security services, the LCC said in a
statement on Monday. The group said attending physicians are required to
immediately notify security services of the arrival of a wounded person,
regardless of the severity of his injuries, which invariably leads to the
patient's arrest.The Violations Documenting Centre, a partner of the activist
network, said 250 doctors and pharmacists have been arrested since the
anti-regime protests erupted in mid-March, 25 of them in the past few weeks.
Dismissing the assassination story
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid
Asharq Al-Awsat
It is hard to convince some people if the event never occurred, for example
claiming that Iran planned to kill the Saudi ambassador in Washington. The
ambassador was never attacked and was not killed. The accusation requires
complete trust in the U.S. political and security accounts, which is sometimes
difficult to demand.
If the late Rafik Hariri was not killed in the explosion in Beirut that day in
2005, many people wouldn't have believed there was a plot to assassinate him.
Even if perpetrators had confessed, some people would still have claimed that
these confessions were part of a ploy to intimidate Hariri and isolate Iran and
Lebanon.
Such skeptics need to see blood in order to believe it. They need to see the
Saudi ambassador being killed and his assassination recorded by grainy mobile
phone footage. Even in this case, some may still have doubts unless Iran claims
responsibility. And even then I am not sure that this would stop the sceptics.
In Pakistan, some people still don’t believe that Osama bin Laden has actually
been killed, although the Americans have claimed responsibility, the Pakistanis
have confirmed the news, and al-Qaeda has officially mourned his death.
The September 11th attacks were among the most doubted events worldwide, despite
the fact that whole world watched the collapse of the Twin Towers live on
television. Investigators at the time provided huge amounts of information and
photos of the planes and the hijackers; however skeptics continued to insist
that it was a fabricated story. Although al-Qaeda has proudly claimed
responsibility for the attacks and released a lengthy video of admission by the
perpetrators; some people still have doubts.
The battle of public opinion is very important in terms of both politics and
security, but you cannot force skeptics to believe an account no matter what you
try, what evidence you provide, or what oath you swear by. The issue is simple;
ever since the 1979 Revolution, Iran has been pursuing an aggressive policy
against its enemies, and places Saudi Arabia high on its list of hostile
countries. If we are convinced by these two facts; namely that Iran is an
aggressive state and is hostile towards Saudi Arabia, then the rest is mere
details, whether the targeting of a president or an ambassador, a building or a
plane.
Revolutionary Iran has only produced one moderate leader; namely Mohammed
Khatami, who adopted a moderate policy based on opening up to the world. He was
welcomed everywhere in the hope that Iran would become a normal country engaging
in positive relations, not indulging in battles with Middle Eastern states.
However, Khatami himself was criticized internally, along with his political
party, and was hounded by the regime’s radicals. His newspapers were confiscated
and he was insulted by the state media.
This is the reality of the Iranian regime. Whether it tried to assassinate the
Saudi ambassador, conspired to murder Hariri, funded military operations for the
Houthis south of Saudi Arabia, or hosted Saif al-Adel and his partners who
carried out terrorist operations in Riyadh in the past; these are all activities
that merely reflect its raging animosity.
No one in the Gulf wants a battle with Iran, and I do not imagine that the
majority of the Iranians want to get involved in military ventures with any Arab
or foreign country. People are tired of 30 years of cold - and indeed hot - wars
with Iran and its associates. But the mood of the people has nothing to do with
the mindset of the Iranian regime, which is dominated by rhetoric of exporting
the revolution. The Iranian regime wants to change the world around it: it wants
to liberate Bahrain, burn Israel, topple the Saudi regime, allow Hezbollah to
rule Lebanon, preserve al-Assad's regime, challenge the west and develop nuclear
weapons. Through such an aggressive outlook, there will be neither peace nor
stability. It is not surprising that Iran decided to assassinate the ambassador
of its Saudi rivals in Washington, especially as it recently declared its
intention to send its warships to the other end of the world; the Gulf of
Mexico!
Is this the end of the regional Persian project?
By Tariq Alhomayed
Asharq Al-Awsat
Since the outbreak of al-Qaeda’s terrorist activities in early 2000, and the
turning point with the attack on America the following year, it was clear that
the main beneficiary of al-Qaeda’s terrorist operation against the US was the
Iranian regime, at the expense of Saudi Arabia’s reputation. This has been
demonstrated by events ever since the fall of the Twin Towers in New York City.
Iran benefitted from Iraq, where it facilitated the overthrow of the Saddam
Hussein regime, riding the back of the American raging bull. Its Alawite Syrian
ally also benefited, despite all the false rhetoric of Arabism, resistance, and
rejecting the occupation of Iraq at the time. Iran also benefitted from the
overthrow of the Taliban, which it also facilitated, and then returned later to
take advantage of it, as it did in Iraq to attack the Americans. Tehran has also
benefitted from its unprecedented incursion into Lebanon, the turning point
being the assassination of Rafik Hariri. Iran also facilitated and sponsored
through its Syrian ally, the Hamas coup in Gaza, while using al-Qaeda everywhere
to serve its causes, and to damage the interests and reputation of Saudi Arabia.
It sought to consolidate the stereotype that terrorism is a Sunni creation, and
that the terrorists and their financiers are Saudis.
Of course, Iran has also played the democracy game, even deceiving a writer of
the stature of the American Thomas Friedman, who once wrote about Iran’s
democracy, comparing it to Saudi Arabia, and from the standpoint of women. Then
the Green Revolution came in Iran, only to be stopped in its tracks by the
mullah’s regime with weapons and suppression, and the facts came to light. Hence
the American writer returned to correct himself, but only after the fact. Iran
did not stop there, but sought to take advantage of the democratic game in the
region, in the days of intense pressure exerted by former US President George W.
Bush on the Middle Eastern states. America was convinced that the cause of the
region’s problems was Sunni extremism, and the absence of democracy. Iran
followed every step of democratic reform in areas of its potential influence in
the region, and inundated these countries with funding, buying debts in exchange
for control of the elected parliaments, such as in Bahrain, Lebanon and Iraq,
and certainly in Egypt, especially in the media. It also sought to train and
equip some of its allies in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
For 10 years Iran has focused on damaging the interests of Saudi Arabia and
tarnishing its reputation, sometimes through books and articles published at
international level, unfortunately with the support of Arab allies. Iran has
clearly turned a blind eye towards Saudis affiliated to al-Qaeda entering and
leaving Iranian territory, through Syria, and of course al-Qaeda’s symbols and
their families have also been hosted in Iran. This is not all; Iran has
strengthened the concept of resistance and opposition in the region through its
ally in Damascus, its agent Hezbollah, and through alliances with others such as
the Muslim Brotherhood, and of course Hamas. Iran has sought to harness the
Brotherhood’s media and literature, and some Gulf media outlets have been
partners in this scheme.
Today, after the discovery of Iran’s plan to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to
Washington, Adel al-Jubeir, by employing Mexican drug cartels, amidst the
mounting international condemnation of Iran, the moves to impose further
sanctions upon it, and not to mention the threat of bringing it before the
Security Council, the important question is: Has the Persian project in our
region come to an end?I think that it is the beginning of the end, especially as
many false slogans have collapsed as a result of the Syrian revolution, and
today the biggest lie is in danger of collapsing; namely that Iran is
trustworthy.
Iran secretly executing hundreds of prisoners, UN says
October 17, 2011 /Iran's authoritarian regime has been secretly executing
hundreds of prisoners, according to a new UN report detailing growing rights
abuses in the Islamic republic.
The mysterious executions at Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad in eastern Iran were
highlighted in a report compiled by Ahmed Shaheed, the new UN special rapporteur
on the human rights situation in Iran. Shaheed, who assumed responsibility for
the mandate on August 1, billed this as an interim report cataloging the most
recent trends in the human rights situation in Iran.
The report details a raft of abuses from freedom of expression to the denial of
women's rights to the torture of detainees, but perhaps the most shocking data
was on the skyrocketing rate of executions. The report, obtained by AFP after
first appearing on the Foreign Policy website, said 200 officially announced
executions had taken place in 2011 with at least 83, including those of three
political prisoners, in January alone. "Furthermore, authorities reportedly
conducted more than 300 secret executions at Vakilabad prison in 2010," the
report said.
"Vakilabad officials, in violation of Iranian law, allegedly carried out the
executions without the knowledge or presence of the inmates' lawyers or families
and without prior notification to those executed," it said. "It has also been
reported that at least 146 secret executions have taken place to date in 2011."
Shaheed also noted that four percent of executions stipulated no charges, 100
juveniles on death row, and more than 100 executions this year alone for
drug-related offenses.
Human Rights Watch counted 388 executions in Iran in 2010, while Amnesty
International put the figure at 252, ranking the Islamic republic second only to
China in the number of people put to death last year. Tehran says the death
penalty is essential to maintain law and order, and that it is applied only
after exhaustive judicial proceedings.
Murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking and adultery are among the crimes
punishable by death in Iran. -AFP/NOW Lebanon
Special Tribunal to start in absentia proceedings
October 18, 2011/By Patrick Galey/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The U.N.-backed court investigating the 2005 assassination of Statesman
Rafik Hariri asked its Trials Chamber Monday to begin in absentia proceedings
against four Hezbollah members accused of the crime. The Special Tribunal for
Lebanon announced that Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen ruled that a 30-day public
advertisement, issued by the court and asking the at-large individuals to turn
themselves in, had expired. “The Pre-Trial Judge has asked the Trial Chamber to
determine whether proceedings in absentia should be initiated in the case of
[suspect Salim Jamil] Ayyash et al,” an STL statement said. Prosecutor Daniel
Bellemare issued a confidential indictment against Ayyash, Mustafa Amine
Baddredine, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Hassan Assad Sabra in June. All four
suspects are members of Hezbollah. The court then moved to lift the
confidentiality by disclosing a redacted version of Bellemare’s indictment,
which detailed phone records the prosecutor had used to compile prima facie
evidence against the men.
As per U.N. Security Council Resolution 1757, which founded the court, Lebanon
is obliged to apprehend the accused individuals, something security forces in
Beirut have so far been unable to do. Former STL President Antonio Cassese was
moved to issue the 30-day advertisement following unsuccessful and “not
satisfactory” Lebanese authorities attempts to arrest the men. According to the
STL’s statute, if suspects have not been arrested within 30 calendar days of the
advertisement, Fransen can ask the Trials Chamber – the part of the court tasked
with holding trials – to commence in absentia proceedings. The pre-trial judge
determined that such an advertisement started “at the latest” on Sept. 15.
“The Trial Chamber will now have to determine whether the required conditions
have been met in order to start the proceedings in absentia whilst preserving
the rights of the accused,” the court said. Although Lebanon is obliged to
cooperate with the court, it is set to miss a deadline to provide its share of
tribunal funding for 2011 – an act that an STL spokesmen told The Daily Star
could saddle Beirut with U.N. sanctions.State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, under
orders from Cassese and new STL President Sir David Baragwanath, has to submit a
monthly report to The Hague with updates on the hunt for the four men. Court
sources said that both STL chiefs were keen to expedite the trials process, but
would wait until “completely satisfied” that all avenues to arrest suspects had
been exhausted before in absentia trials were arranged. The STL has divided
Lebanon’s political scene since its inception and detractors accuse the tribunal
of being an American-Israeli plot to implicate Hezbollah in the Hariri murder.
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has vowed that security
forces will not apprehend the four accused, who are also the subject of
international arrest warrants from Interpol, “even in 300 years.” Although no
deadline has officially been set for trials, it is thought that proceedings
could commence in mid-2012, after defense counsels have had sufficient time to
study Bellemare’s indictment and prepare a case.
STL to NOWLebanon: Report Bellemare gave notification
letter to Mikati is ‘inaccurate’
October 17, 2011 /A Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) spokesperson told
NOWLebanon on Monday that Al-Hayat’s Saturday report quoting STL Acting
Registrar Herman von Hebel as saying that STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare gave
the Lebanese premier a letter that reminds him of Lebanon’s obligation to pay
its share of the STL funding, is "inaccurate and misleading." "The Registrar of
the STL said that the letter of reminder [to pay Lebanon’s share of STL funding]
was handed by UN Secretary General [Ban Ki-moon] to [Mikati] when he was in New
York in September,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that “the
letter of request for the annual contribution is always made by the UN Secretary
General and is handled by UN headquarters, not the STL." Foreign Affairs Adnan
Mansour said on October 8 that “Lebanon received a message from the UN
concerning Lebanon’s share of STL funding [at the end of September].” The
Hezbollah-led March 8 parties – which currently dominate Lebanon’s cabinet –
have opposed a clause in the Lebanese annual state budget pertaining to the
funding of the tribunal, while Mikati has repeatedly voiced Lebanon’s commitment
to the STL. Four Hezbollah members have been indicted by the UN-backed court,
which is investigating the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri.
However, the Shia group strongly denied the charges and refuses to cooperate
with the court.
Lebanon contributes 49 percent of the STL’s annual funding.-NOW Lebanon
Cabinet faces test on STL pledge
October 18, 2011/By Wassim Mroueh, Hassan Lakkis
The Daily Star /BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman will chair a Cabinet session
Tuesday at Baabda Presidential Palace to discuss the 2012 draft budget, the
details of which are expected to be unveiled by Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi.
After the session is adjourned, ministers will go over the draft budget and
present their proposals next week.
The item of funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is included in the draft
budget, but the issue could be discussed independent of the budget, if Cabinet
parties agree to it. However, senior March 8 sources told The Daily Star that
the funding item is unlikely to be passed by the Cabinet, as Hezbollah and its
allies, who are a majority in the Cabinet, are opposed to it.
Another Cabinet session is to convene Wednesday and will likely see the
appointment of Tele-Liban’s chairman.
Separately, the Cabinet is moving forward with plans to exploit the country’s
potential maritime resources, promising to issue all decrees related to a law
authorizing oil and gas exploration off the coast before the end of the year.
The move, along with similar decisions, was made unanimously Monday during a
meeting of Parliament’s joint committees chaired by Speaker Nabih Berri and
attended by Prime Minister Najib Mikati. During the meeting, MPs were briefed by
the Cabinet on steps to extract offshore oil and gas. Energy and Water Resources
Minister Jibran Bassil was also among the attendees. “Decrees [to implement the
law] will be issued and the committee to manage the oil sector will be formed as
stipu lated by the law before the end of this year,” Beirut MP Mohammad Qabbani,
who chairs Parliament’s Public Works, Transport, Energy and Water committee,
told reporters following the session. Participants in the meeting were adamant
that the 860 square km. area claimed by Israel is fully within Lebanese maritime
borders.
“There is consensus that we will not consider the 860 square km. zone an area
disputed by Lebanon and the enemy [Israel],” Qabbani said. “We consider it to be
fully within Lebanese maritime zone and we insist on awarding contracts to
companies to explore [oil] there as well.”
In Aug. 2010, Parliament passed a law allowing oil and gas exploration off the
Lebanese coast following the discovery of two gas fields near the northern
Israeli city of Haifa.
Qabbani said that license preparations to companies interested in carrying out
offshore gas and oil exploration would begin early 2012.
Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour will travel to Cyprus within 10 days to
resume discussions on adjusting the borders of Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone
and prepare an agreement based on which the two states will share oil resources.
At the same time, negotiations will begin with Syria to demarcate maritime
borders between the two countries, Qabbani added.
In Jan. 2007, Lebanon and Cyprus signed a bilateral agreement delineating the
EEZ between the two countries. The edges of the zones were marked by six
coordinates judged to be equidistant between the two countries.
But in December of last year, Israel and Cyprus signed their own EEZ agreement.
Lebanon argues that under its agreement, Israel infringes on 860 square km of
its EEZ.
“[It was agreed] that the [the government] will start [exploring] for oil on
land as well and we hope that the results will be promising,” Qabanni said.
“There is information about the presence of seven wells. Two were drilled in the
1960’s: one in the [Bekaa town of] Qaa and the other in Tal Znub. These will be
given priority.” A meeting similar to Monday’s will be held before year’s end,
said Qabbani. Speaking at the beginning of the session, Berri highlighted the
importance of the meeting for Lebanon’s economic future, touching on the leading
role that Lebanon’s natural resources would play in boosting the economy.
Following the session, Berri held a meeting with Mikati for around 15 minutes,
which the premier described to reporters as “very good, as usual.”
Berri also held separate talks with Metn MP Ibrahim Kanaan, the chair of
Parliament’s Finance and Budget Committee, and a number of March 14 MPs, to
coordinate positions one day before Parliament is set to elect members of
Parliamentary committees and Parliament’s bureau. It was agreed that the all
committee members will be re-elected. MPs who have since become ministers, they
will be replaced in the committees by members from their parties and blocs. A
ministerial source told The Daily Star Monday that the government is likely to
refer its decision to introduce a wage hike to the Shura Council for advice on
the measure’s legality. The Shura Council is likely to rule the decision
unlawful due to the ceiling the deal placed on wage increases, and would urge
the government to correct it, said the source, who requested to remain
anonymous.
The Shura Council, the source added, would likely call on the government to
remove the ceiling and advise that those earning over LL1.8 million be entitled
to the same LL300,000 increase as those earning above LL1 million. Under the
deal, the minimum wage would be raised to LL700,000 from LL500,000, while the
wages of those earning less than LL1 million would be raised by LL200,000 and
those who earn between LL1 million and LL1.8 million would see an increase of
LL300,000. The wage hike has outraged the private sector and most labor unions.
The Association of Teachers said Monday that it will go ahead with a strike
scheduled for Wednesday to protest the deal and ask the that ceiling to be
removed. Teachers will gather near the Grand Serail during the strike. The
Secretariat General of Catholic Schools and other private schools, however,
announced that Wednesday will be a regular work day, and warned that should the
government fulfills teacher’s demands, the schools will be forced to raise
tuition fees by L.L. 1 million for each student.
Geagea: March 14 to democratically address expansion of Syrian crisis
October 17, 2011 /Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea told An-Nahar newspaper in
remarks published on Monday that March 14 will “go all the way to address the
expansion of the Syrian crisis to Lebanon in all democratic means
possible.”Commenting on Internal Security Forces (ISF) Director General Achraf
Rifi’s reported statement in front of the parliamentary committee for human
rights, in which he accused the Syrian Embassy of kidnapping Syrians in Lebanon,
Geagea said such “an issue harms [Lebanese] sovereignty.” “The international
community requests Lebanon to protect Syrian opposition [figures] located within
its borders…The [Lebanese] military judiciary should continue its investigation
into the matter and issue verdicts.” The LF leader also condemned Syrian
Ambassador Ali Abdel Karim Ali’s statements responding to Rifi, and said “It is
unacceptable for any envoy to make statements related to a Lebanese official.”
On Friday, the Syrian ambassador denied reports that his embassy was behind the
disappearance of Syrian opposition members, and added that he “is puzzled by
these unfounded claims that have been attributed to the police chief.” Asked
about Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour’s Sunday statement that he “will support
the Syrian position in the Arab foreign ministers’ meeting,” Geagea said Mansour,
an Amal minister, “is not the [Lebanese foreign] minister. “Did [Mansour] get
the approval of President [Michel Sleiman] and Prime Minister [Najib Mikati]
regarding the position that should be adopted? [Mansour] has no right to act
based on his partisan [affiliations].” Arab League foreign ministers met in an
urgent session on Sunday, and urged "national dialogue" between Syria's
government and the opposition in the Egyptian capital within 15 days. According
to the United Nations, the Syrian regime's crackdown on protests that erupted in
mid-March has killed more than 3,000 people. -NOW Lebanon
Al-Rahi Urges Expatriates to Invest in Patriarchate’s Land
Naharnet /Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi urged Lebanese expatriates to make
investments in lands owned by the patriarchate, saying the dispute on
territories in the town of Lassa was exaggerated. Addressing Christian
parties and Lebanese associations in the city of Los Angeles in the U.S. state
of California, al-Rahi said he would preserve the historic line of Bkirki.
He said the dispute over the Christian lands in the predominantly Shiite town of
Lassa in the Jbeil district “were exaggerated politically and on the sectarian
level.”“This shouldn’t have taken place,” al-Rahi said. A dispute over church
property has flared up in recent months, leading to clashes between residents
and members of the church and TV crews. An agreement was reached in July between
al-Rahi and Lassa residents, including a Hizbullah delegation, to suspend
construction on controversial properties. The patriarch reiterated that Lebanese
officials should become real statesmen and sit at the dialogue table to resolve
their differences. Ahead of his statement, al-Rahi celebrated a mass at the Lady
of Lebanon church in Los Angeles.
Taimur Jumblat Appointed to Prominent PSP Position ahead of
Succeeding his Father as Chief
Naharnet /Taimur Jumblat, the son of Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid
Jumblat, has been appointed as a “guiding member” of the party, in a step that
would allow him to later run for its leadership council and consequently head
the party, reported Voice of Lebanon radio on Monday. Meanwhile, on Friday
Jumblat spoke of a “shock” he will present during the party’s general assembly
scheduled for the end of the month, reported al-Akhbar newspaper on Saturday.
Sources predicted that he will call on the party leadership to resign in order
to allow a new wave of young members to assume administrative positions in the
PSP. He will also call on his followers to launch a “workshop of renewal in the
party’s general organization and political approach to encourage youth
participation,” said the sources. Asked in an interview with al-Manar television
on Friday if Taimur would succeed him as the leader of the Progressive Socialist
Party, Jumblat responded that he will monitor his political work, adding that
his acquiring of prominent responsibilities in the party depends on other
factors and not on the MP alone. The sources denied that Jumblat is seeking to
withdraw from political life in Lebanon.
Jumblatt Slams FPM, Asks Why Offers from Arab Funds to
Finance Electricity Plan are Rejected
Naharnet /Progressive Socialist Party Leader MP Walid Jumblat asked if it was
true that Arab states made proposals to the Energy Ministry for financing the
electricity plan but were rejected. In his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated
al-Anbaa magazine, Jumblat hoped that "political differences will be forgotten
when development projects which are needed for the economic cycle are being
presented." He asked "where are the elite people who lecture us daily on
reform and the fight against corruption? Is it true that the Arab funds
submitted offers to the Department of Energy to finance the electricity plan,
and these offers were rejected? in a clear reference to the Free Patriotic
Movement. On the wage increase decision, the PSP leader said that it should have
occurred "after administrative reform and an accurate research in securing the
financial resources needed to take this kind of decision so that we do not fall
into the spiral of inflation like Greece." He concluded by saying: "The whole
world is changing, and we look forward to see social justice, freedom and
dignity as headlines to these changes."
Miqati Denies Resignation Over STL Funding as Cabinet Gears up to Discuss State
Budget
Naharnet /Premier Najib Miqati’s sources have shrugged off rumors that he would
quit, telling Beirut dailies on Monday that the government will continue to work
after it succeeded in guaranteeing stability. “All the information (about the
resignation) is just wishes and attempts to create a tumult,” the sources said.
The government will confront all challenges despite the differences in the
viewpoints of its members, they stressed, adding it “will continue to work away
from the pressure of stances.” The denial came after reports said that Miqati’s
government would resign over controversial issues such as the funding of the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the draft state budget. The sources said the
government will discuss the STL funding as part of the 2012 budget but would
postpone deliberations on the issue until the remaining articles are discussed.
The tribunal funding “will be discussed calmly and logically similar to the
other articles” of the budget, they told the newspapers. The March 8 forces led
by Hizbullah have rejected to fund the court and the party’s deputy leader,
Sheikh Naim Qassem, said Sunday that the government should resort to voting if
it failed to reach agreement on the funding. However, President Michel Suleiman,
Speaker Nabih Berri and Miqati agree that the issue needs consensus and should
not be put up to vote, al-Liwaa daily said. Also Miqati’s sources insist that
discussions at Tuesday’s cabinet session that is set to discuss the draft budget
will determine the course that the deliberations on the tribunal funding will
take.
1500 Gather in Jabal Mohsen, Support Syrian Regime
Naharnet/Hundreds of residents from Jabal Mohsen, home to Tripoli's Alawites,
gathered in support for the Syrian regime on Monday. " Around 1500 people
gathered Friday night in Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen to welcome the "Syrian Youth in
support for the Syrian army" delegation of which is visiting Lebanon as a part
of a campaign to mobilize solidarity with the Syrian army and regime." Agence
france Presse reported. The demonstrators raised the Syrian flags and hailed for
Syrian President Bashar Assad, roaming the streets of Jabal Mohsen amidst
security forces and army deployment. This demonstration supporting the Syrian
regime is the first of its kind in the region, while in surrounding
neighborhoods constant protests against Assad regime are erupting. The protest
is the first move being in the area of Jabal Mohsen in support of the Syrian
regime, while experiencing the surrounding areas with a majority Sunni
constantly protests against President Bashar al-Assad. Last June, Six people
were killed and 22 others wounded in clashes between gunmen positioned in the
rival neighborhoods of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh during a demonstration
against Bashar Assad. Source Agence France Presse
Cowards all
October 17, 2011
Now Lebanon
Over the weekend, the Arab League refused to sanction Syria for the government’s
murderous crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. (AFP photo/Mahmud Hams)
Two acts of cowardice were noted this weekend. The first was Lebanon’s refusal
to sanction Damascus at Sunday’s hastily convened meeting of the Arab League to
discuss the brutality in Syria that has so far claimed the lives of 3,000
people, the vast majority pro-democracy activists who have been gunned down by
Syrian security forces and pro-regime irregulars as they demand reform. The
second was the last-minute refusal of the Arab League to suspend Syria’s
membership until the situation in that country is resolved one way or another.
Instead it choked, calling for dialogue between the two parties.
Even when suspension looked like a realistic option, Lebanese Foreign Minister
Adnan Mansour was adamant that his country would not take a position that would
“harm Syria’s security and stability,” adding that it would “take a stand that
supports Syria and its efforts to implement reform.”
What “efforts”? What “reform”? Mansour’s comments have merely confirmed what we
already knew: The Lebanese government is an emasculated lackey to Damascus, and
a nation that was once a beacon of democracy, freedom and sovereignty has once
again found itself tied to the Baathist yoke.
When the world simmers with anger at injustice, be it capitalist extremism or
the decades-old authoritarianism so perfectly reflected in the declining regimes
of the Arab world, it is shameful that Lebanon is pandering to the wishes of a
dying regime. This not about security, nor is it about stability or reform.
It is patently clear that genuine reform will spell the end of the Assad regime.
It is clear that a regime that is predicated on total control of all areas of
the country and that has brooked no dissent (indeed a regime that has ruthlessly
suppressed any opposition throughout its four-decade rule) cannot survive
reform.
And it is not as if Lebanon and Syria are bound by the same ideological strands.
In 2005, at least half of Lebanon demanded that Syria remove its soldiers and
intelligence apparatus from Lebanese soil. Syria had been “in” Lebanon for one
year shy of three decades, a period punctuated by war, repression (including
torture, detention and disappearance) and economic rape.
To this day, hundreds of Lebanese are demanding information from the Syrian
government on the whereabouts of missing friends and family members. The
consensus among most Lebanese must surely be that the region would be a better
place if Syria embraced the principles of fully-fledged democracy with bilateral
relations based on mutual respect of sovereign integrity. And yet the government
still gutlessly panders to its patrons in Damascus, hiding behind the feeble
notion of brotherly love and cooperation.
Meanwhile, the Arab League continues to pussy foot around the issue. The body
was founded in 1945 to enhance relations “between member states and co-ordinate
collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and
to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries.”
Clearly it has never really covered itself in glory, nor truly demonstrated that
it can live up to such a lofty mission statement. This has once again been borne
out in its reluctance to aggressively sanction Syria for murdering 3,000 of its
own citizens.The meeting lasted two hours, after which the league called for the
immediate cessation of violence in Syria and invited the Syrian government to
enter into talks with the newly formed opposition Syrian National Council at the
league’s headquarters in Cairo. Even that time-honored symbol of Arab
stagnation, a committee, was formed to oversee the process. This is, as the
Americans say, simply “kicking the can further down the road.”
Shame on you all.
Universal awareness
Hazem Saghiyeh, October 17, 2011
Now Lebanon
It is difficult for any country or cultural environment to move forward without
having a universal awareness, an awareness of what is going on in the world, of
the general direction in which the world is going and of the potential relation
between these events and national or local ones.
The above is illustrated by two extremely topical and pressing examples:
The Middle East is possibly living on the eve of a regional war. Against a
backdrop of Arab revolutions, especially the Syrian uprising, relations between
Iran on the one hand and the United States and Saudi Arabia on the other, are
turning sour. The accusations leveled at Iran over the attempted assassination
of the Saudi ambassador to Washington add a lot of fuel to the fire of the
nuclear issue and its problematic ramifications.
It is a well-known fact that revolutions and wars are closely related throughout
history. The French Revolution soon led to the Napoleonic Wars. The Russian
Revolution was born in the WWI environment and resulted in what Bolshevik Russia
dubbed as the “imperialist war.” The Chinese Revolution evolved against a
backdrop of WWII and the war against Japan, and the Iranian Revolution soon
blended into the war waged by Saddam Hussein on the nascent Islamic Republic.
If such a major event were to happen, it would affect our whole lives and the
lives of generations yet unborn throughout the region. Yet it is not having any
noticeable impact. Indeed, we read about it here and there in the newspapers
before resuming our normal lives as if nothing had happened. Is it having an
impact on our politicians, educated elite, businessmen or others? The answer,
unfortunately, is still a categorical no. The second example lies in the
world-wide wave of protests that started in New York against banks and their
greediness, and against politicians who are enslaved by banks and their
greediness. The worsening economic crisis, the burden of which is shouldered
particularly by the poor and youth, is spurring cities across the world to rebel
and urging them to interfere directly in order to set public affairs right. This
interference may progressively take the shape of occupying institutions, which
are a blatant symbol of plundering, squandering and corruption policies. Can the
Arabs remain estranged from this inclination as if the economic crisis was none
of their business and not affecting them in any way?Nothing so far indicates
that they are concerned with what is going on, even as uprisings represent an
additional reason to speed up the process of examining the economic aspects that
grant these uprisings broader dimensions or help to highlight their just bases.
Our presence in the world today remains missing without universal awareness,
which would bring to us many gains, including the demise of policies, slogans
and stances that have grown expired elsewhere in the world.
UNIFIL denies forced landing of helicopter carrying Cuevas
October 18, 2011/By Mohammed Zaatari/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon denied media reports Monday
that a helicopter carrying its commander has been forced into an emergency
landing over the weekend, as southern residents reported hearing a “mysterious”
explosion coming from northern Israel. UNIFIL Spokesperson Neeraj Singh denied
an LBC report that a helicopter carrying Force Commander Major General Alberto
Asarta Cuevas had suffered a malfunction over the weekend. The news channel
reported that Asarta’s aircraft got into trouble shortly after takeoff from
Naqoura. Asarta was on his way to a reception in Beirut with Irish President
Mary McAleese when a hydraulic malfunction forced the aircraft down, LBC said.
“That’s not correct. There was no problem with the helicopter,” Singh said. “I
saw the [LBC] report, but I have no idea where it came from.”
UNIFIL regularly conducts helicopter flights over the Blue Line and has several
aircraft as part of its mission in south Lebanon.
Villagers of Al-Bustan and security sources told The Daily Star they had heard a
blast at around 6:45 p.m. local time, which appeared to emanate from an Israeli
military outpost close to the Blue Line. No artillery fire was heard after the
explosion, but some witnesses described a cloud of black smoke coming from the
Israeli position close to the town of Borkatrisha. Security sources said the
explosion might have resulted from an animal stepping on a landmine.
Al-Bustan is situated in UNIFIL sector west, roughly 10 km from the
organization’s Naqoura headquarters.
Kenyan
Forces Advance on Strategic Somali Rebel Bases
Naharnet /Kenyan troops using aerial cover advanced Tuesday on a strategic
rebel-held Somali town, even as Nairobi police stepped up security for fear of
reprisal attacks by Islamists.
"Our forces will be concentrating on operations in Afmadow region today, they
started moving there late on Monday," said Kenyan army spokesman Major Emmanuel
Chirchir.
Kenyan troops have pushed at least 120 kilometers into Somalia to reach Afmadow
region since Nairobi declared war on the Shebab militia and confirmed it had
sent its army across the border on Sunday.
Guided by pro-government Somali forces, backed by heavy aerial bombardments but
bogged down on mud tracks in heavy rain, Kenya has been hitting back against
recent kidnappings inside Kenya blamed on the Islamists.
"So far everything is going on well," Chirchir added.
The assault has prompted dire warnings of revenge from the Shebab, who deny
being behind recent kidnappings of foreigners from beach resorts and an
overcrowded refugee camp.
"Kenya has peace, its cities have tall buildings and business is booming there,
while Somalia is in chaos," Shebab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Rage said on
Monday.
"If your government ignores our calls to stop its aggression on Somali soil, we
will strike at the heart of your interests," he said, addressing the Kenyan
population.
Kenyan police said they have stepped up security and beefed up their
intelligence mechanisms, particularly in the capital Nairobi following the
Shebab's threats of reprisals.
"I appeal to Nairobians and Kenyans in general to be extra alert, and in case
anybody sights any suspicious and strange person or any suspicious object to
report to any police officer," Nairobi Provincial Police commander Antony
Kibuchi said and circulated hotline numbers to the public.
"We have stepped up security across the city following these threats issued by
the Shebab yesterday," he added.
Agence France Presse reporters did not see signs of increased security in
Nairobi Tuesday, but did notice a higher-than-usual number of police checkpoints
on the road to the eastern Kenyan Dadaab refugee camp, home to some 450,000
Somali refugees.
Kenyan police said that two British nationals were arrested Sunday near the
border with Somalia "on suspicion of terrorism activities."
The pair are believed to be from Cardiff, which is home to one of the largest
Somali communities in the United Kingdom.
The last time Somalia was invaded by one of its neighbors was in late 2006 when
Ethiopia started an occupation that lasted two years and spurred the formation
of the al-Qaida-inspired Shebab insurgency.
But Kenya said it was not frightened by the Shebab's grim warning.
"We will not give up at all, we will not be cowed or intimidated by the Shebab,"
Chirchir said.
Meanwhile in Mogadishu, Somali naval forces seized a boat outside the port late
Monday with an armed crew, including some Kenyans and Tanzanians.
"There were seven crew members from African countries, some of them armed with
small weapons," Admiral Farah Qare told reporters. "They said they were simple
fishermen which we doubt... security forces are still investigating."
It was unclear how long Kenyan troops planned to stay in Somalia but Nairobi had
been under growing pressure to take action and attempt to restore confidence
that it could safely host tourists and one of the world's largest aid
communities.
Critics say Kenya promised increased security measures after the first
kidnapping, that of British tourist Judith Tebbutt, but failed to prevent a
second abduction of French woman Marie Dedieu in the Lamu archipelago three
weeks later.
A third incident, the kidnapping of two Spanish aid workers in Dadaab, long a
security worry for Kenya because of chronic overcrowding, happened last
Thursday, apparently prompting the incursion over the border.
Source Agence France Presse