LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober
21/2011
Bible Quotation for today/Jesus
Heals Two Blind Men
Matthew 09/27-31: "Jesus left that place,
and as he walked along, two blind men started following him. Have mercy on us,
Son of David! they shouted. When Jesus had gone indoors, the two blind men
came to him, and he asked them, Do you believe that I can heal you? Yes, sir!
they answered. Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, Let it happen, then, just
as you believe! and their sight was restored. Jesus spoke sternly to them, Don't
tell this to anyone! But they left and spread the news about Jesus all over that
part of the country.
Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from
miscellaneous sources
Post-Arab Spring
politicking/By: Tony Badran/October
29/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October
20/11
Gaddafi killed as Libya's
revolt claims hometown
Muammar Qaddafi is dead, struck
down by a NATO air strike near Sirte
Gadhafi Killed as Hometown Falls
UN urges Syria to end Lebanon
incursions
Robert Watkins, United Nations
Resident Coordinator for Lebanon, Border with Syria must be drawn
French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis
Pietton : Lebanon must move forward to demarcate borders with Syria
Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali
Abdel Karim Ali : Borders are ‘mutual interest’ between Syria, Lebanon
Lebanese Forces bloc MP Shant
Gengenian MP slams cabinet over Syrian incursions
President Amin Gemaye:
Dictatorships cannot protect people
Hezbollah, Israel war imminent,
both sides well prepared
Syria holds former VP
incommunicado, daughter says
Maronite Patriarch Beshara
Rai urges political parties to change their names
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea
calls on Mirza, Qortbawi to address abduction of Syrians
Geagea: Failure to pay STL dues would bring down
Mikati Cabinet
Lebanese army commander Jean
Kahwaji updates Berri about US visit
Hezbollah makes first official
visit to Moscow
Aoun's MP Farid al-Khazen: Mikati
is here to stay, cabinet will not collapse
Jamil Sayyed, Slams ‘Sectarian
Dictator’ Jumblat for Double Standards, ‘Crimes Against Humanity’
Suleiman, Miqati Vote for Jeita
Grotto
Lebanese imam charged for
collaborating with Israel
Lebanese Teachers
vow to escalate protest
Lebanese ministers trade
blows over telecoms revenues
Eight Syrian army defectors killed
Pro-Assad Syrians rally in Aleppo
as clampdown continues
Syrian Refugees in Lebanon Still
Face Peril
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid
al-Mouallem: Syria targeted because it supports Arab causes
British embassy in Kuwait suspends
services over threat
Arab League delegation to visit
Syria next week
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev:
Qaddafi's fate should be decided by Libyans
Turkish army sends troops into Iraq
against rebel Kurds
PKK “welcomes” Turkey's Iraq
incursion
Muammar Qaddafi
is dead, struck down by a NATO air strike near Sirte
DEBKAfile Special Report/October 20/11
Muammar Qaddafi Libyan rebels Muammar Qaddafi is
dead.Western sources confirm the NTC report that Muammar Qaddafi was captured
Thursday, Oct. 20 in or near Sirte. There were initially conflicting reports of
his condition. He was said wounded in two legs, according to an NTC official. He
now appears to have died of wounds sustained in a NATO air strike against his
convoy outside Sirte, one of his last strongholds. Rebel troops are celebrating
the end of the 42-year Libyan ruler. Earlier Thursday, the NTC claimed to have
achieved complete control of the city after long months of siege against fierce
resistance. For weeks, he was believed be hiding in Libya's southern desert. As
long as Qaddafi was at liberty, the interim government was prevented from
establishing its legitimacy and a stable administration. His death saves the
interim regime having to decide whether to try the deposed ruler before a local
court or hand him over to the international court.For the rebel forces,
Qaddafi's capture or death is a major psychological and political triumph.
However, Libya remains bitterly polarized between pro- and anti-Qaddafi factions
with scores of rival militias and hundreds of tribes at each other's throats.
Qaddafi's demise rather than promoting unity and ending the conflict could
trigger wider civil bloodshed
Gaddafi
killed as Libya's revolt claims hometown
By Rania El Gamal and Tim Gaynor | Reuters .
.SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi was killed on Thursday as Libya's new
leaders declared they had overrun the last bastion of his long rule, sparking
wild celebrations that eight months of war may finally be over.
Details of the death near Sirte of the fallen strongman were hazy but it was
announced by several officials of the National Transitional Council (NTC) and
backed up by a photograph of a bloodied face ringed by familiar, Gaddafi-style
curly hair.
"He was killed in an attack by the fighters. There is footage of that," the
NTC's information minister, Mahmoud Shammam, told Reuters.
Western powers, who have backed the rebellion which took the capital Tripoli two
months ago, said they were still checking. NATO said its aircraft fired on a
convoy near Sirte earlier, but would not confirm reports that Gaddafi had been a
passenger.
Several NTC fighters in Sirte said they had seen Gaddafi shot dead, though their
accounts varied.
With a final declaration of the country's "liberation" from 42 years of one-man
rule apparently imminent, and crowds firing in the air and dancing in the
streets of Tripoli and Benghazi, Libyan television said NTC chairman Mustafa
Abdel Jalil was about to address the nation.
The two months since the fall of Tripoli have tested the nerves of the motley
alliance of anti-Gaddafi forces and their Western and Arab backers, who had
begun to question the ability of the NTC forces to root out diehard Gaddafi
loyalists in Sirte and a couple of other towns.
Officials said some of Gaddafi's entourage had been killed in the same incident,
while his son Mo'tassim and other aides were taken prisoner. Another son, Saif
-- long the heir-apparent -- was believed by the NTC to be still at large,
possibly in the immense southern deserts of the Libyan Sahara.
ARAB SPRING
The death of Gaddafi himself became perhaps the most dramatic development since
the Arab Spring revolts that have unseated rulers in neighboring Tunisia and
Egypt and threaten the grip on power of the leaders of Syria and Yemen.
"He (Gaddafi) was also hit in his head," NTC official Abdel Majid Mlegta told
Reuters. "There was a lot of firing against his group and he died."
Mlegta told Reuters earlier that Gaddafi, who was in his late 60s, was captured
and wounded in both legs at dawn on Thursday as he tried to flee in a convoy
which NATO warplanes attacked. He said he had been taken away by an ambulance.
An NTC fighter in Sirte said he had seen Gaddafi shot after he was cornered and
captured in a tunnel near a roadway.
The capture of Sirte means Libya's ruling NTC should now begin the task of
forging a new democratic system which it had said it would get under way after
the city, Gaddafi's hometown rebuilt as a showpiece for his rule, had fallen.
As potentially vast revenues from oil and gas begin to roll in again, Libya's
six million people, scattered in towns spread across wide deserts, face a major
task in organizing a new system of government that can allocate resources across
long-competing tribal, ethnic and regional divisions.
Gaddafi, wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of ordering the
killing of civilians, was toppled by rebel forces on August 23, a week short of
the 42nd anniversary of the military coup which brought him to power in 1969.
NTC fighters hoisted the red, black and green national flag above a large
utilities building in the center of a newly-captured Sirte neighborhood and
celebratory gunfire broke out among their ecstatic and relieved comrades.
Hundreds of NTC troops had surrounded the Mediterranean coastal town for weeks
in a chaotic struggle that killed and wounded scores of the besieging forces and
an unknown number of defenders.
NTC fighters said there were a large number of corpses inside the last redoubts
of the Gaddafi troops. It was not immediately possible to verify that
information.
(Writing by Jon Hemming, William Maclean and Alastair Macdonald; Editing by
David Stamp)
Gadhafi
Killed as Hometown Falls
Naharnet /New regime troops killed Moammar Gadhafi on Thursday as they
overran the last pocket of resistance from loyalists in his hometown Sirte,
bringing their seven-month uprising to a triumphant conclusion, the National
Transitional Council said. "We announce to the world that Gadhafi has been
killed at the hands of the revolution," NTC spokesman Abdul Hafez Ghoga said.
"It is an historic moment. It is the end of tyranny and dictatorship. Gadhafi
has met his fate," he added.
A video circulating among NTC fighters in Sirte showed mobile phone footage of
what appeared to be Gadhafi’s bloodied corpse.
In the grainy images seen by an Agence France Presse correspondent, a large
number of NTC fighters are seen yelling in chaotic scenes around a khaki-clad
body which has blood oozing from the face and neck. The body is then dragged off
by the fighters and loaded in the back of a pick-up truck.
A stills photograph taken on a mobile phone and obtained by AFP showed Gadhafi
heavily bloodied but it was not clear from the picture whether he was alive or
dead at the time. In the grainy image, Gadhafi is seen with blood-soaked
clothing and blood daubed across his face.
Earlier on Thursday, celebrations erupted in towns across Libya as news spread
that the autocrat who ruled the country with an iron fist for 42 years was
finally in custody.
"He has been captured," commander Mohamed Leith told Agence France Presse. "He
is badly wounded, but he is still breathing," Leith said, adding that he had
seen Gadhafi himself and that he was wearing a khaki uniform and a turban.
Libyan TV channel "Libya lil Ahrar" carried the same news but a pro-Gadhafi
television website insisted the strongman remained at liberty. "The reports
peddled by the lackeys of NATO about the capture or death of the brother leader,
Moammar Gadhafi, are baseless," said Al-Libiya television. Gadhafi "is in good
health," it insisted. Ali Errishi, who served as Gadhafi's minister of
immigration before defecting to the rebellion, said he was "confident" the
strongman was in custody.
"That is the end of a long ordeal of the Libyan people," he told the Al-Jazeera
news channel. NTC fighters who had fought in the bloody seven-month conflict
that toppled the veteran despot at a cost of more than 25,000 lives, were
jubilant at the news of his capture. Pick-up trucks blaring out patriotic music
crisscrossed the streets of Sirte, as fighters flashed V for victory signs and
chanted Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest). A lot of pickup trucks are playing the
new national anthem and other revolutionary songs. "I am happy we have got
revenge for our people who suffered for all these years and for those who were
killed in the revolution. Gadhafi is finished," said fighter Talar al-Kashmi.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country took part in the NATO-led air
operation in Libya confirmed that Gadhafi was in custody. "My assistant has just
told me that Gadhafi really has been captured, " Rutte said. "I am glad that he
has been captured." Gadhafi is wanted by the International Criminal Court on
charges of crimes against humanity by Libyan leaders have said they want him to
be put on trial in his home country.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said: "The fate of Gadhafi should be decided
by the Libyan people."Hid capture came as new regime troops overran the last
redoubt of his loyalists in Sirte, bringing to an end a two-month siege.
Fighters moving in from east and west overcame the last resistance in the city's
Number Two residential neighborhood where his diehard supporters had been holed
up. The defense minister in Gadhafi's ousted regime, Abu Bakr Younis, was killed
in the last battle, medics.
His body was identified at the field hospital where it was brought in a pick-up
truck on Thursday, Dr. Abdu Rauf told AFP. "Sirte is free. The whole of Libya is
free," said Khaled Ballam, field commander of the February 17 Brigade, which
took part in the final assault. "We had some clashes but there was no fierce
resistance as many Gadhafi fighters were trying to escape rather than fight
because they had no other option. The game is over."
Abdul Matloub Saleh, a fighter from the February 17 Brigade, said: "Every inch
of the city is liberated. Our people are spread everywhere. There is no
fighting. The gunfire that you are hearing is all celebrations."An AFP
correspondent heard sporadic gunfire in the neighborhood during the morning as
NTC fighters went house to house to root out the snipers who have inflicted
heavy losses in their ranks in recent days.
Medics said that at least three NTC fighters were killed and 30 wounded on
Thursday. Seven NTC fighters were killed and 76 wounded on Wednesday, medics
said. At least 11 NTC fighters were killed and 95 wounded on Tuesday. The
capture of Gadhafi and the fall of Sirte a milestone. Libya's new rulers had
said that only once Sirte had fallen would they declare the country's liberation
and begin the transition to an elected government.
In the end loyalist forces were limited to a tiny enclave of less than a square
kilometer (0.4 square miles) which had been completely cut off by the besieging
NTC forces who controlled the entire seafront of the Mediterranean coastal city
as well as all of its landward sides. NTC chief Mustafa Abdul Jalil said Libya's
new rulers would compensate the wounded as well as the families of the more than
25,000 people killed during the eight-month uprising.
"Families of the martyrs, the wounded and the fighters themselves will be
compensated," he said, urging Libyans to be patient, however, because of lack of
funds.
Sirte once had 100,000 inhabitants, almost all of whom have fled. Fierce
artillery battles and heavy gunfire over the past month have not left a single
building intact, while looting has become commonplace as NTC fighters take their
revenge on the Gadhafi bastion.
Among the few natives of Sirte in NTC ranks, anger at the destruction wreaked on
their home city by their comrades runs deep.
"We are not happy about what has been happening in our city. It is the only city
that is getting so much destruction," said Ibrahim Alazhry.
Source Agence France Presse
UN urges Syria to end Lebanon incursions
October 20, 2011 /The United Nations has called on Damascus to end its
incursions into Lebanon, which have left three Syrians dead in recent weeks,
warning the raids could ignite tensions in the region. "I strongly deplore the
violent incursions and raids into Lebanese towns and villages by Syrian security
forces that resulted in death and injury," said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
in a report release late Wednesday. "I call upon the government of the Syrian
Arab Republic immediately to cease all such incursions and to respect Lebanon's
sovereignty and territorial integrity," Ban added. "These incursions and the
ongoing crisis in Syria carry the potential of igniting further tensions inside
Lebanon and beyond."
Syrian tanks in recent weeks have crossed into disputed border areas and
Lebanese territory, shooting dead three Syrian citizens. The incursions have
raised fears of the revolt against the regime in Damascus spilling over into
Lebanon. Ban also urged the two countries to finalize the delineation of a
Lebanese-Syrian border, parts of which remain disputed, saying the move was "an
essential step to allow for proper border control.”Lebanese officials estimate
some 5,000 Syrians, including deserting soldiers and opposition members, have
sought refuge in Lebanon since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad erupted in March. Ban's comments came in a twice-yearly report on the
implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559, adopted in 2004, which
calls for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon and the restoration
of Lebanon's "territorial integrity, full sovereignty and political
independence.”AFP/NOW Lebanon
French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton : Lebanon must move forward to
demarcate borders with Syria
October 20, 2011 /French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton said on Thursday
that it is important that “Lebanon moves forward with the matter of demarcating
borders with Syria,” the National News Agency reported. Earlier in October,
Syrian troops shot and killed a farmer near Aarsal, while on Wednesday there
were reports that Syrian forces killed a man inside Lebanese territory in
Bekaa’s town of Qaa. Following his meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs
Adnan Mansour, Pietton said that he addressed the issue of Syrians taking refuge
in Lebanon, and said that “What concerns us is that those [Syrians] fleeing to
Lebanon to escape bloody events in Syria do not return [to their country]
despite their will.”
The French envoy also said that he voiced the importance of Lebanon’s
international commitments toward the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) which is
probing the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. “Mansour
told me that the issue of paying Lebanon’s [share] of STL funding has not yet
been addressed by the cabinet,” Pietton also said, adding that Mansour said
Lebanon is committed to respecting its international commitments.Four Hezbollah
members have been indicted by the UN-backed court. However, the Shia group
strongly denied the charges and refused to cooperate with the court saying that
it is a US-Israeli plot targeting the Syrian- Iranian-backed Shia group. Lebanon
contributes 49 percent of the STL’s annual funding.-NOW Lebanon
Robert Watkins, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Lebanon, Border with
Syria must be drawn
October 20, 2011/By Olivia Alabaster The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The government must work toward definitively delineating the border with
Syria, Robert Watkins, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Lebanon, said
Wednesday.
In an interview with The Daily Star ahead of U.N. Day next Monday, Watkins said
that the recent events on the Syrian-Lebanon border had highlighted the need for
the full implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, part of which
was the demarcation of Lebanon’s international borders.
A Syrian-Lebanese man was shot dead by Syrian troops on the Lebanese side of the
border Tuesday, according to a security source, and a Syrian farmer was also
shot dead by Syrian troops on the Lebanese side in early October, also near the
Bekaa border town of Arsal.
Several other incursions by the Syrian Army have led residents to complain of
insufficient border protection by the Lebanese authorities.
Watkins, also Deputy Special Coordinator for the country, said that while
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel has assured him the government is looking
seriously into the delineation issue, a coherent strategy has yet to be adopted
by the government due to the “sensitivity of the issue.”
The U.N. in Lebanon, Watkins said, believes it is “extremely important, not only
to develop a strategy on managing the borders but in delineating and delimiting
the borders so that everyone knows where the border is.”“Part of the problem with these recent alleged incursions,” he added, was that
sometimes there was ambiguity “about whether they crossed the border or not. As
long as you don’t have a border to find it’s hard to actually say that someone’s
crossed the border.”
Aside from security concerns, Watkins said that the ongoing civil unrest in
Syria, which the U.N. says has now claimed at least 3,000 lives, was having
clear consequences in Lebanon, from economic ramifications to refugees entering
the country. There are currently over 3,100 registered Syrian refugees in north
Lebanon.
While the Syria issue remains a politically divisive issue in Lebanon, Watkins
is assured that Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government is taking steps to
limit any negative effects on the country.
He believes all parties are “very concerned about the events and especially
concerned about them spilling over to Lebanon,” and is adamant that “everyone
has an interest in maintaining some sort of stability” in Damascus, not just for
the sake of Syrians, but for the Lebanese also.
Watkins said that while Syrian President Bashar Assad has spoken of being
committed to reform, there has as yet been no evidence of it and warned that
“The longer he takes to undertake those reforms the longer the security
situation will continue to deteriorate.”
More broadly, Watkins believes this year’s “Arab Spring,” encompassing
revolutions and uprisings across the region, has already become a defining era
for the United Nations, in terms of the work it carries out.
While the 1960s and 1970s became characterized as a global “wave” of
decolonization, followed by a period of polarized politics during the Cold War
era, and the following break up of the Soviet Union, Watkins believes the
overwhelming challenge for the U.N. in today’s world to be the collapse of
entrenched regimes in the Middle East and North Africa.
The organization, created in 1945 at the end of World War II to replace the
League of Nations, is now focused on how best to help ensure that transitions of
power across the region remain peaceful transitions, Watkins said.
In country-specific terms, Watkins said he was confident of the government
paying its 49 percent share of funding to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon,
investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
While the Cabinet is split on the issue, public statements by Mikati and
President Michel Sleiman that they want Lebanon to pay its share have assured
Watkins the issue will be settled positively.
“It’s up to the government to decide what mechanism it uses,” to pay its share,
Watkins said. “The only issue is that it’s part of the country’s commitments …
And we expect Lebanon to respect that commitment.”In regards to the proceedings of the trial itself, Watkins has good faith that
the Lebanese government has made all efforts to locate the four Hezbollah
members accused by the court.
The STL announced Monday that it had asked its Trials Chamber to begin in
absentia proceedings against the four accused, after efforts to locate the men,
and an invitation to turn themselves in, proved fruitless.
“I have met personally with Gen. Ashraf Rifi [head of the Internal Security
Forces] and Gen. Jean Kahwagi [Lebanese Armed Forces commander] and they have
made commitments that they will do whatever they can to identify and locate
these people,” Watkins said. But, he conceded, “I understand that they face
challenges in identifying people who may no longer be in the country,” people
who, he added, may no longer even be alive.
On reports in local media Thursday that security sources had revealed Hezbollah
was prepared for an imminent attack from Israel, Watkins said that in the eight
months he has been in the country, “they say that just about every week.
“The threats of a war are always there; it’s not to diminish them, it’s just to
ask whether one week we are closer to a war than another week … I don’t see
anything that has changed in the last week that would make those threats more
credible,” he added.
In relation to the recent announcement that the U.N.’s regional office, ESCWA,
will move location from Downtown Beirut, Watkins said that this was not in
response to any specific threat.
After an attack on U.N. offices in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, left 27 dead in
August, a worldwide security review was carried out and due to its location, the
roads surrounding it, and its construction material, the ESCWA buildings were
found to be the most vulnerable U.N. building in Lebanon, Watkins said.
So while “vulnerabilities were the same, the threat was considered to have
increased in light of this attack in Abuja,” he said. The roads around the ESCWA
building were originally closed earlier this month, following the review, but
have now been re-opened during non-office hours to minimize disruption to Beirut
residents.
Recent bomb threats against the building in which another U.N. agency is located
in Beirut could have been meant for any of the companies housed within the
building, and not necessarily the organization, Watkins said.
Syrian
Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali : Borders are ‘mutual interest’
between Syria, Lebanon
October 20, 2011 /Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali commented on
Syrian incursions into Lebanese territory on Thursday, saying that “borders are
a mutual interest between the two countries.”Ali voiced hope that people “do not
contribute to media incitation [against Syria],” adding that there are attempts
to harm Syria’s “national structure.”
Earlier in October, Syrian troops shot and killed a farmer near Aarsal, while on
Wednesday there were reports that Syrian forces killed a man inside Lebanese
territory in Bekaa’s town of Qaa. Following his meeting with Free Patriotic
Movement leader MP Michel Aoun in Rabieh, Ali also said that those “tampering”
with Syrian security have been arrested.
He added that there are continuous consultations between Syrian and Lebanese
leaders. Asked about the situation in Syria, the envoy said that Syria “is
serious about the path of reform that President Bashar al-Assad is leading.”
According to the United Nations, the Syrian regime's crackdown on anti-regime
protests that erupted in mid-March has killed more than 3,000 people. The Syrian
regime has repeatedly blamed “armed gangs” for the unrest in the country.-NOW
Lebanon
Lebanese Forces bloc MP Shant Gengenian MP slams cabinet over Syrian incursions
October 20, 2011 /Lebanese Forces bloc MP Shant Gengenian slammed on Thursday
the cabinet’s response to the Syrian army’s recent incursions into Lebanon. “As
usual, the cabinet is responding lightly to the Syrian [forays] onto Lebanese
soil,” he told Free Lebanon radio. Gengenian added that the cabinet has two
weeks to respond to the LF’s question concerning the Syrian incursion into
Lebanon, adding that after the deadline lapses the question will become an
official inquiry under the law. The Syrian has army has repeatedly crossed
over the Lebanese border in recent weeks to conduct operations. The most recent
incident came on Tuesday in the Bekaa town of Qaa, where Syrian troops
reportedly killed a person. -NOW Lebanon
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea calls on Mirza, Qortbawi to address
abduction of Syrians
October 19, 2011 /Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Wednesday called on
Attorney General Judge Said Mirza and Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi to follow
up with the “kidnapping of Syrian nationals in Lebanon case, in order to reveal
the truth,” according to a statement issued by the LF.Last week, Al-Jumhuriya
newspaper reported that Internal Security Forces Director General Achraf Rifi
told the parliamentary committee for human rights that “members of the Lebanese
security forces assigned to protect the Syrian embassy in Lebanon abducted four
Syrians, [whose family name is Jassem], using embassy vehicles.”However, Syrian
ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali denied the report, and said that he
was “puzzled by these unfounded claims that have been attributed to the police
chief.” Commenting on Syrian incursions in Lebanese territory, the LF leader
held Foreign Minister Adanan Mansour and the relevant officials responsible for
not dealing seriously with an issue linked to Lebanon’s sovereignty.He also
voiced the importance of coordination between the Lebanese and Syrian armies.On
October 4, Syrian army tanks crossed the Lebanese border near the town of Aarsal
and fired several gunshots within Lebanese territory. On October 6, Syrian
troops shot and killed a farmer near Aarsal. Asked about the cabinet’s decision
on wages, Geagea suggested to institute a committee “whose task would be drawing
up a plan and embracing a vision, as soon as possible, to [address] the economic
status quo and find the suitable solutions for it.” Last week, the cabinet
decided to raise the minimum wage from 500,000 LL of 700,000 LL, add an amount
of 200,000 LL to wages up to 1 million LL and 300,000 LL to wages ranging from 1
million to 1.8 million LL.NOW Lebanon
Geagea: Failure to pay STL dues
would bring down Mikati Cabinet
October 20, 2011 01:48 AM The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Thursday the failure of Prime
Minister Najib Mikati’s government to pay Lebanon’s share of funding to the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon would result in its collapse. Geagea said the
Cabinet’s failure to fund the U.N.-backed court would deepen divisions among
Lebanese factions and lead to international sanctions on Lebanon as a result of
its refusal to implement U.N. Security Council resolutions. “Geagea warned the
[parliamentary] majority not to play around with the issue of financing the
international tribunal, because this will awaken dormant strife by overlooking
and neglecting the majority of people who have demanded justice and truth,”
Geagea’s press office said in a statement. “This increases national division and
will also be followed by international isolation and sanctions against Lebanon,”
he added. The LF leader said the failure to fund the court could lead to the
downfall of the Cabinet without the intervention of March 14 Forces, hinting at
the ongoing conflict between Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Hezbollah over the
issue. “There might be no need to do anything to bring the Cabinet down if it
rejects funding the court, because it could crumble by itself,” Geagea said.
Meanwhile, the March 14 Secretariat General said it would consider the Cabinet
“as resigned” at the moment it decides not to fund the STL. While President
Michel Sleiman and Mikati have stressed their commitment to funding the court,
Hezbollah and its allies have opposed paying dues to what they dubbed a
“U.S.-Israeli” tribunal. Some recent reports said Mikati has threatened to
resign if Hezbollah maintains its position, which would put the government in
caretaker mode. But sources close to the prime minister have denied the reports,
saying Mikati was still banking on dialogue to find a solution to the issue.The
matter did not come up in the Cabinet’s weekly session Wednesday.
President Amin Gemaye: Dictatorships cannot protect people
October 20, 2011 /Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel spoke Thursday on his visit
to Egypt, addressing the Arab Spring and the role of Christians in the Middle
East. “We can’t rely on dictatorships to protect people. The constitution and
laws protect people,” he told the press at the Kataeb Party’s headquarters.
Gemayel added that “Christians in the [Middle] East do not accept isolation, but
instead [seek] coexistence with [Muslims].”“I went to Egypt to tell the Coptic
Christians that we are with them and impressed by them,” the Kataeb leader said,
adding that his party rejects Christians “paying the price of the struggle
between the East and the West.”Gemayel also called on the Arab League to draft a
pact to “organize the future of revolutions” in the Arab world. “Such an
initiative will reinforce the [Arab] League’s role and provide revolutions with
credibility with their societies and the international community.”
Gemayel arrived in Egypt on Saturday for a three days visit, during which he met
with Arab League Secretary General Nabil Arabi, Coptic Pope Shenuda III, Al-Azhar
Mosque Sheikh Ahmad Tayyeb and other Egyptian and Arab officials.Last week, 25
people were killed and more than 300 injured in clashes after a demonstration by
Coptic Christians was attacked by the army and thugs, sparking furious
condemnation of the leadership's handling of the transition from Hosni Mubarak's
rule.The Arab Spring, also known as the “Jasmine Revolution,” is a revolutionary
wave of protests that has stormed the Arab world since December 18, 2010. So
far, the Egyptian, Tunisian and Libyan regimes have fallen, while Bahrain, Libya
and Syria have experienced massive civil unrest. -NOW Lebanon
Lebanese army commander Jean Kahwaji updates Berri about US visit
October 20, 2011 /Lebanese army commander Jean Kahwaji informed Speaker Nabih
Berri about the results of his visit to the US, the National News Agency
reported on Thursday.
Kahwaji met with military and political officials and addressed the Lebanese
army’s needs regarding “training, weapons and logistics” during his visit to the
US that lasted from October 9 until October 17.-NOW Lebanon
Jamil Sayyed, Slams ‘Sectarian Dictator’ Jumblat for Double Standards,
‘Crimes Against Humanity’
Naharnet /The former chief of the General Security Department, Maj. Gen. Jamil
Sayyed, described on Thursday Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat
as a “sectarian dictator” who would have let the Lebanese suffer under his rule
if he had controlled the country. Jumblat “is a small sectarian dictator in
Lebanon” who has terrorized his Druze and non-Druze foes, has been involved in
corruption and has ordered massacres and assassinations, Sayyed said in a
statement. His accusations came after the Druze leader criticized the use of
military force against Syrian demonstrators. In an interview with Hizbullah’s
al-Manar TV, the PSP chief also slammed the phenomenon of “Shabbiha,”
pro-government armed thugs blamed for the killing of protestors. The former
general said God has had mercy on the Lebanese for preventing Jumblat from
controlling the fate of the country. “Or else they would have suffered under him
because of his mood, his sadism and the psychological disturbances that the
Libyans haven’t witnessed under Moammar Gadhafi and the Russians under Joseph
Stalin.”
Jumblat is the mixture of Gadhafi and Stalin but wears “a fake civilized mask,”
Sayyed said in his statement. He slammed the PSP chief for supporting
revolutions in Arab countries that have no oil but for rejecting the uprisings
where the regimes control huge amounts of oil resources. Turning to the issue of
the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Sayyed said Jumblat backs the
STL and its funding but at the same time supports witness protection and false
witnesses.Jumblat “is fooling no one but himself,” the former general said,
stressing that it is about time for him to realize that we are living in the era
of “seriousness” and “important” personalities rather than “small” officials.
“Had he been living outside Lebanon, he would have been sitting in an
international court jail for his crimes against humanity during the Lebanese
civil war,” he said.
Prime
Minister Najib Mikati meets with Karami, Russian envoy
October 20, 2011 /Prime Minister Najib Mikati discussed latest domestic and
regional developments with former PM Omar Karami and Youth and Sports Minister
Faisal Karami, the National News Agency reported on Thursday.The report also
said that Mikati discussed the security situation with Lebanese army commander
Jean Kahwaji, adding that the premier also discussed bilateral relations with
Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin.-NOW Lebanon
British embassy in Kuwait suspends services over threat
October 20, 2011 /The British embassy in the Gulf state of Kuwait has
temporarily suspended services because of an increased threat toward the
mission, a statement on the embassy website said Thursday."As of 19 October
2011, because of an increased threat toward the British embassy, we have
temporarily suspended British embassy services," the statement said.
In an update to the "terrorism section" of its travel advice, the embassy also
advised British organizations and businesses to review their security measures,
although it said that the threat was targeted at the mission itself. "Whilst the
threat is targeted against the embassy itself, we cannot rule out threats
against other British interests in Kuwait. We therefore advise that British
organizations and businesses in Kuwait review the security procedures they have
in place," it said. The embassy was closed Thursday, a working day in Kuwait,
according to a recorded phone message. A spokesperson of the British Foreign
Office confirmed the suspension of the embassy, but did not provide more
details.
"We are aware of an increased threat toward the British embassy in Kuwait. We
have therefore taken the precaution of temporarily suspending embassy services,"
she said. The statement issued by the embassy said: "There is a general threat
from terrorism in Kuwait. Terrorists continue to issue statements threatening to
carry out attacks in the Gulf region." "These include references to attacks on
Western including European interests... residential compounds, military, oil,
transport and aviation interests," it added. It also advised British nationals
to exercise caution before sailing in Kuwaiti waters following what it called
maritime restrictions issued by Kuwait last month. There were no further
details. About 20,000 British nationals live and work in Kuwait. The oil-rich
Gulf state has not seen violence since January 2005, when security forces fought
gunbattles with a group of Islamists believed to be linked to Al-Qaeda.-AFP/NOW
Lebanon
Arab League delegation to visit Syria next week
October 20, 2011 /Syria has agreed to allow an Arab League delegation to visit
Damascus in a bid to defuse the deadly violence there, the 22-member body said
in a statement on Thursday. "We have received approval from the Syrian
government to receive a ministerial delegation, headed by Qatar on Wednesday,
October 26," Assistant Secretary General Wagi
Hanafi said. The delegation will also include Arab League Secretary General
Nabil al-Arabi and the foreign ministers of Algeria Egypt, Oman and Sudan.At an
urgent session in Cairo on October 16, the Arab League called for "national
dialogue" in the Egyptian capital between Syria's government and the opposition
by the end of the month to help end the violence and avoid "foreign
intervention" in Syria. But the proposal was swiftly slammed by Syria's official
media. The United Nations estimates more than 3,000 people, including 187
children, have been killed in a fierce crackdown on dissent in Syria.-AFP/NOW
Lebanon
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev: Qaddafi's fate should be
decided by Libyans
October 20, 2011 /Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday in response to
reports of Moammar Qaddafi's capture that only the Libyan people could decide
the deposed strongman's fate."The fate of Qaddafi should be decided by the
Libyan people," Medvedev was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies following
reports of Qaddafi's capture in his native city of Sirte. Reports of the former
dictator's capture emerged just as Medvedev and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte
emerged for a press appearance that followed a scheduled meeting otherwise
devoted to trade. Libyan National Transitional Council commander Mohamed Leith
had moments earlier told AFP that Qaddafi was "badly wounded" while the Libya
lil Ahrar television channel had said he was in custody. The Dutch prime
minister appeared prepared to address the media. "My assistant has just told me
that Qaddafi really has been captured. This happened during our negotiations"
with Medvedev, Russian news agencies quoted Rutte as saying through a
translator. "If it's true, it's great," Rutte added according to the Dutch news
agency ANP. "But we had nothing to do with it," Medvedev joked in response. His
comments alluded to Russia's strong resistance to the foreign campaign that
helped the former rebel forces oust Qaddafi's armies from Tripoli and the other
major cities of the oil-rich country. Qaddafi was a strong ally of Russia who
was allowed to pitch his tent on the Kremlin grounds during a visit to Russia in
2008 and purchased weapons from Moscow. But Russia's refusal to veto a UN
Security Council resolution in March allowed for the NATO-led campaign to
proceed.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Turkish army sends troops into Iraq against rebel Kurds
October 20, 2011 /The Turkish army said Thursday it had sent thousands of troops
into northern Iraq to attack Kurdish rebels in response to Wednesday's ambushes
that killed 24 soldiers.
"A large-scale land operation, backed by air strikes, has begun in five separate
spots inside Turkey and across the border [in northern Iraq] with 22
battalions," the general staff said in a written statement posted on its
website. The 22 battalions are made up of commando units as well as gendarmerie
and special forces, it added. Analysts said they were the equivalent of
10-15,000 troops. The deadly attacks on military posts in the mainly Kurdish
southeast near the Iraqi border left 24 soldiers dead and 18 wounded. They
triggered round-the-clock bombing raids on rebel camps in northern Iraq by air
force jets before the ground incursions. Clashes between the PKK and the army
have escalated since the summer. The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by
Turkey and much of the international community, took up arms in Kurdish-majority
southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000
lives. -AFP/NOW Lebanon
PKK “welcomes” Turkey's Iraq incursion
October 20, 2011 /The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said on Thursday it would
"welcome" Turkish forces who launched a ground incursion into north Iraq, where
the rebels maintain bases. "If they want to come, let them come," Dozdar Hammo,
a PKK spokesperson, told AFP. "We will welcome them here." Hammo said no Turkish
troops had yet crossed the border into north Iraq, but said Ankara's jets were
hovering overhead. Earlier, Hammo said Turkish jets had bombed the Haftani area,
north of Dohuk city in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.
Another PKK spokesperson, Ahmed Denis, said the rebel group had engaged in
clashes with Turkish forces within Turkey on Thursday. The Turkish army said
Thursday it had sent hundreds of troops into northern Iraq to attack Kurdish
rebels in response to Wednesday's ambushes that killed 24 soldiers. "A
large-scale land operation has begun in five separate spots in northern Iraq
with 22 battalions with air support," the general staff said in a written
statement on its website.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Aoun's MP Farid al-Khazen: Mikati is here to stay, cabinet
will not collapse
October 20, 2011 /“Prime Minister Najib Mikati is here to stay and the cabinet
will not collapse,” Change and Reform bloc MP Farid al-Khazen said on
Thursday.He told Voice of Lebanon (93.3) radio that the March 14 alliance has
“from day one” wanted the government of Mikati to collapse. “There are different
points of view in the cabinet. Therefore, discussion and research of issues is
normal because the government is addressing issues seriously.”Khazen commented
on the issue of Lebanon providing its share of funding to the Special Tribunal
for Lebanon, which is investigating the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik
Hariri. “The issue of funding the international court has not yet been seriously
discussed in cabinet,” he said, adding, “Ministers of the Change and Reform bloc
will fully commit to any decision taken on the issue of the [STL].”Also, in
response to reports of Syrian incursions into Lebanon, Khazen said that he
rejects violations of Lebanese sovereignty but added that “the issue has been
exaggerated.”The Syrian has army has repeatedly crossed over the Lebanese border
in recent weeks to conduct operations. The most recent action came on Tuesday in
the Bekaa town of Qaa, where Syrian troops reportedly killed a person.
Meanwhile, 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
his support for funding the tribunal.Four Hezbollah members have been indicted
by the STL. However, the Shia group strongly denies the charges and refuses to
cooperate with the court. -NOW Lebanon
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mouallem: Syria targeted
because it supports Arab causes
October 19, 2011 /Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mouallem said on Wednesday
that “Syria is currently [targeted] because of its support for Arab causes,
[particularly] the Palestinian cause,” the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
Mouallem said he is confident that the “Syrian people have the ability to
overcome the [current] crisis.” Asked about Syria’s relations with Middle
Eastern countries, the FM said that “Syria looks forward for the best relations
with Arab countries… Middle Eastern countries will sooner or later realize that
attempts to destabilize Syria do not serve the region’s interest.”He also
accused “armed groups of carrying out terrorist actions against civilians” in
Syria, and added that “no country in the world accepts the security of its
people to be threatened.”According to the United Nations, the Syrian regime's
crackdown on anti-regime protests that erupted in mid-March has killed more than
3,000 people. The Syrian regime has repeatedly blamed “armed gangs” for the
unrest in the country.-NOW Lebanon
Rai urges political parties to
change their names
October 20, 2011 01:48 AM The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai
urged Wednesday Lebanese political parties to “change their names” and start
acting with a new mentality. Rai, who made his remarks during a pastoral visit
to the U.S. state of Massachusetts, said political parties should consider
changing their names, which might impose a certain mentality that was now
obsolete. “Parties change their names in countries that have witnessed long
wars, similar to what happened in Lebanon, because sometimes names impose a
certain way of thinking,” he said. Rai added that Lebanon as a country and cause
has shaped the identity of the Maronite community throughout its history.
Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
Still Face Peril
By JOSH WOOD/AP
Published: October 19, 2011
WADI KHALED, LEBANON — In Lebanon’s northernmost corner, in a valley that juts
into Syria on the map, surrounded by the country on three sides like a
landlocked peninsula, thousands of Syrian refugees have arrived from Homs
Province since uprisings against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime began in
March.
A family of Syrian refugees sits in a room in Wadi Khaled, Lebanon's
impoverished mountain area near its northern border with Syria.
While the refugees in Wadi Khaled have escaped the immediate threats in Syria,
their ordeal is far from over: They are constantly nervous over an ambiguous
legal status, inadequate relief efforts, Syrian troop incursions, small-arms
fire from across the border, and even rumors of kidnappings of Syrians in
Lebanon by Syrian forces. “There is no safety in Lebanon,” said Mohammed
Ibrahim, 35, who owned a restaurant in the Syrian border town of Talkalakh that
has since been destroyed in the fighting there. “The government in Lebanon is
loyal to the Syrian regime, and that is not a secret.” In statements made in
early this month, the Lebanese prime minister, Najib Mikati, pledged his
country’s commitment to protect refugees within its borders. Many of the
refugees here arrived in May, when Syrian troops backed by armor and a
plainclothes paramilitary force, the Shabiha, attacked Talkalakh. In the attack,
refugees reported indiscriminate shelling of their town, mass arrests and sniper
fire.
There are 3,135 Syrian refugees in Lebanon registered with the Office of the
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, but the refugees estimate that their
population is higher, because not everyone registers with the agency. Refugees
said that the Lebanese government restricted their movements and that the
military regularly set up checkpoints to intercept them.
“At most, we go to the village to buy some stuff and come back,” said Mustafa
Jassem Halloum, 41, a lawyer from Talkalakh. “The other day we were going to
Tripoli to find some work.”
Referring to the Lebanese security forces, he added, “They captured us at the
checkpoint and they made us return because we didn’t have papers showing that we
entered the country legally.” Mr. Ibrahim and Mr. Halloum reside in the Abra
school, which was abandoned several years ago but was recently refurbished by
the Bashaer Charity Organization at a cost of $15,000 to house 80 refugees. On
two levels, the rooms are simple and furnished with mattresses and mats on the
floor. The charity bought each family a small refrigerator and provides them
with vegetables and bread everyday. Many of the refugees in Wadi Khaled live
with families in the valley’s villages and not under aid organizations. Refugees
said that aid coming from the Lebanese government is minimal and aid
organizations like Bashaer are struggling to gather items for the refugees.
On a sign outside the Abra school marking the center, the word “refugees” has
been changed to “displaced persons” by the Lebanese government, said Hisham
Sabsabi, the aid organization worker responsible for the center. Those at the
school said they believed that the Lebanese government was trying to limit its
responsibility for the refugees by changing their classification.
Nadim Houry, the director of the Beirut office of Human Rights Watch described
the Lebanese authorities’ reaction to the Syrian refugee issue as “mixed.”
“They’re happy to help on a humanitarian level, but when it comes to issues of
protection they are a lot less sure footed and they are hesitating,” he said.
“And now it seems they might want to try to control the area.”
Over the past few weeks, the Lebanese military has restricted journalists’
access to Wadi Khaled for reasons that have not been made clear. In a telephone
conversation on Saturday, the Defense Ministry’s press office expressly said
this journalist did not have permission to enter the area.
Refugees’s fears have been heightened by actions along the border by the Syrian
military. In recent weeks, Syrian troops have crossed into Lebanon and fired
into the country from across the border. On Oct. 6, a Syrian farmer was killed
in the Bekaa Valley town of Arsal by Syrian troops and an abandoned factory was
shelled, according to local news reports. On Tuesday, the local news media
reported that another Syrian had been killed by Syrian troops in the Bekaa
border town of Al Qaa. Many houses on the border bear scars of recent gunshots.
In statements to the local news media, the Lebanese authorities have played down
reports of cross-border incursions and Syrian troops’ firing into Lebanon.
Fawzi Hamadi, a Lebanese citizen, lives in a house less than 100 meters from the
Syrian border facing Talkalakh. The backside of his house has been raked with
small caliber bullet holes from shots fired by Syrian troops in the past months.
One bullet passed through a second floor window into a room where his family was
having tea at the time, he said.
The Lebanese Army is deployed next to Mr. Hamadi’s home, but he said they did
little but take cover when Syrian forces fired across the border.
Just over the border and from Mr. Hamadi’s house, Syrian troops could be seen on
patrol and occupying rooftop positions on Tuesday. Residents in the area
reported spotting Syrian troops cross over the border before dawn on some
mornings and walking around the buildings on the Lebanese side.
Refugees and residents said that gunfire — and occasionally shelling — can be
heard on most nights. Rumors of kidnappings are rife in Wadi Khaled and many
refugees voiced this as a major concern. Mr. Halloum said two Syrian citizens
who are also his relatives — Adnan Halloum and Nidal Haidar — were recently
lured close to the border and kidnapped by the Shabiha. But this account, and
others, could not be independently verified. Despite their fears, refugees
remain defiant. Mr. Ibrahim, the former restaurant owner, said that “the moment
they open the door for recruitment, we are ready: We are all going to volunteer”
for the Free Syrian Army.
The Free Syrian Army is the group of Syrian military defectors who claim to have
fought multiple engagements with the government’s forces. Although Wadi Khaled
lies less than 50 kilometers away, about 30 miles, by road from the city of
Homs, a major center of the Syrian uprising, refugees said it was not an ideal
place to organize anti-regime operations because of the pressure coming from the
Lebanese government.
Mr. Ibrahim said he was not involved in the protest movement but was still
arrested when the Syrian military stormed Talkalakh. He showed a mark on his leg
that he claimed had been caused by an electric prod and bruised fingernails from
his hands being beaten in a form of torture by the Syrian security forces.
“I have hatred toward the regime right now — not only me, but many like me as
well — and now I’m ready to get involved because of the things I have seen,” he
said.
“We are not here to eat and sleep, we are here resisting as well.”
Syria holds former VP incommunicado, daughter says
By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press –19 October/11
ALEY, Lebanon (AP) — A former Syrian vice president who became one of the
country's most prominent dissidents was kidnapped in Lebanon five months ago
while visiting his daughter and is believed to be secretly imprisoned by the
Syrian regime as it tries to crush a 7-month-old uprising, his daughter and
Lebanese police said.
The abduction of Shibli al-Aisamy, an 88-year-old who holds permanent U.S.
residency, has raised alarm among some in Lebanon that members of the country's
security forces are helping Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime in its
crackdown on anti-government protesters, effectively extending it into Lebanon
to prevent it from becoming a safe haven for the Syrian opposition.
"The kidnapping is very surprising," al-Aisamy's daughter, Rajaa Sharafeddine,
told The Associated Press this week while choking back tears. Sharafeddine, who
is in her 50s and married to a Lebanese, decided to speak to the media out of
concern that her elderly father's health is deteriorating. She said details of
the case are only coming to light now because police briefed her and
parliament's Human Rights Committee on the investigation last week.
Syria had direct control over Lebanon for nearly 30 years before pulling out its
troops in 2005 under local and international pressure. But Syria still has great
influence, and pro-Syrian factions led by the militant group Hezbollah dominate
the government in Beirut. At the same time, Syria's regime is becoming
increasingly more isolated internationally.
The case illuminates the long arm of Syria's pervasive security services, which
are the backbone of the regime and the driving force behind the culture of fear
and paranoia in Syria.
It also highlights the lingering ties that bind Syria and Lebanon.
Lebanese security forces and the Syrian embassy in Beirut are suspected of being
involved in the abduction, working at the behest of Syrian authorities,
according to Lebanese officials, including anti-Syrian lawmaker Sami Gemayel and
police investigators.
Syria's ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdul-Karim Ali, denied the embassy was
involved.
The kidnapping is one of at least two recent cases in which Lebanese security
forces are suspected of handing over Syrian dissidents to authorities in
Damascus.
There also have been reports of Syrian troops crossing into Lebanon to pursue
dissidents. Last month, the Lebanese army said in a statement that Syrian troops
briefly crossed the border and opened fire at people trying to flee the violence
in Syria.
More than 5,000 Syrians have fled to Lebanon since the crisis began.
Gemayel, a member of parliament's Human Rights Committee, said police confirmed
to the panel last week that Lebanese forces have abducted dissidents on behalf
of the Syrian regime.
"Lebanese security officers working at the Syrian embassy kidnapped Syrian
citizens while using police cars," Gemayel said. "There should be no diplomatic
immunity when a crime is committed on Lebanese territories."
Earlier this month, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut urged Defense Minister Fayez
Ghosn to protect Syrian dissidents in Lebanon.
"Ambassador (Maura) Connelly emphasized the importance the United States places
on the Lebanese Armed Forces' role in protecting members of the Syrian
opposition residing in Lebanon," the statement said.
Lebanon's police chief Gen. Ashraf Rifi told the Human Rights Committee last
week that the investigation indicates that al-Aisamy's case is identical to that
of four Syrian brothers abducted on Lebanese soil in February. The Jassem
brothers, accused of distributing anti-Assad leaflets in Beirut, were kidnapped
by Lebanese police working at the Syrian Embassy in Beirut, Rifi said in remarks
carried by local media. The men are still missing.
Sharafeddine attended the committee's meeting and confirmed that Rifi said the
case was identical to the Jassems' case.
Sharafeddine said her father's history made him a target.
She said he quit politics in 1992 and eventually got a green card, making him a
legal United States resident. He has lived in Fairfax, Virginia, since 2009, she
said.
A prominent dissident over the years, al-Aisamy was a founder of the ruling
Baath party and served as a vice president to Amin al-Hafez for three years
until radical Baathists overthrew them in 1966. He has lived in exile ever
since, in Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and now the United States.
His decades in Iraq solidified his position as a strong opponent of the Syrian
regime. Al-Aisamy held senior posts in the Baath party in Iraq, which was a key
rival to the branch of the party that still rules Syria.He left Iraq after the
2003 U.S.-led invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein and moved to Egypt, where
he stayed with his son. In 2009 they moved to the United States.In the hour or
so after al-Aisamy went missing, Sharafeddine assumed he was hurt or lost. She
called the police, who combed the area. But three witnesses soon came forward
with chilling details, she said. One of the witnesses told authorities he saw
al-Aisamy being bundled into a black SUV, Sharafeddine said. The others told the
family and authorities that they spotted three black SUVs with dark windshields
driving through the area around the time of the kidnapping — an unusual
occurrence on a narrow mountain road that sees little traffic.
Sharafeddine said the abduction was all the more heartbreaking because her
father was careful to avoid running into Syrian agents over the years. He never
visited his daughter in Lebanon when the Syrians were in control, but he started
coming every year since 2009.That year, the Syrian ambassador to Washington
suggested that al-Aisamy return to Syria, but asked him to write "a letter of
compassion" to authorities in Damascus as a peace offering, Sharafeddine
said.Her father refused to write the letter.
Bassem Mroue can be reached at http://twitter.com/bmroue
Hezbollah, Israel war imminent, both sides well prepared
October 19, 2011/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Hezbollah is well prepared to engage in
war with Israel, as the Jewish state plans for a possible third war against
Lebanon amid regional unrest, Al-Joumhouria newspaper reported Wednesday.
“Hezbollah is in a state of alert and it anticipates an Israeli attack on
Lebanon at any moment,” security sources told the paper, adding that the party
was fully prepared for a “second round” with Israel. According to the Lebanese
daily, political sources close to Hezbollah said the party has received a wide
range of missiles, including “thousands of rockets, advanced anti aircraft
[weapons], long-range missiles as well as land to air and sea missiles.”
Hezbollah now has the capabilities necessary to deter Israel’s air force, even
at high altitudes, and also has advanced anti-aircraft missiles. The party has
sought to keep this information under wraps in an effort to retain the element
of surprise should there be a confrontation with Israel, the paper quoted
sources as saying. The Daily Star reported earlier this year that Israel has
been building up its military capabilities since the end of the July-August 2006
war by introducing new weapons such as a multi-tiered anti-rocket shield and a
tank protection system. It has also developed a deterrence strategy that would
directly identify and destroy Hezbollah's fields of operations. In April,
Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, citing U.S. Embassy cables from 2009 and released by
WikiLeaks, said Israel expected the next war to last two months during which
Hezbollah would likely fire between 24,000 to 36,000 missiles into Israel, about
6,000 aimed at Tel Aviv. According to Al-Joumhouria’s political sources, Israel
finds in the deteriorating situation in Syria and other Arab countries an
opportunity to wage its third war against Lebanon as countries in the region are
occupied with resolving domestic affairs.
“Israel’s military is preparing for a sudden war to protect Israel from
Hezbollah’s missiles, which threaten the heart of Israel and its vital
institutions,” the paper quoted a source as saying.
Referring to media reports of the presence of spies in Hezbollah, the sources
also said that the existing crisis within the party does not necessarily affect
Hezbollah’s readiness for war.
In September, media reports surfaced that five Hezbollah members were found to
be cooperating with Israel after Hezbollah declared in June that it had caught
three of its members spying for foreign intelligence agencies, two of whom for
the Central Intelligence Agency. Sources told Al-Joumhouria that despite the
infiltration, which many believe has undermined the resistance group’s ability
to maintain its clandestine work, Hezbollah’s ability to arm itself has not been
hampered. Sources said that Hezbollah has at its disposal a multitude of new
techniques as it prepares for what they describe as an imminent war with Israel.
The party, the sources said, has managed to recruit thousands of fresh fighters
to conduct suicide attacks. They also said the party has armed regular citizens
in the south in the event Israeli soldiers enter that area.Hezbollah has been
reportedly conducting patrols in the eastern and western parts of the country to
thwart any possible Israeli operation, the paper said.“Its members devote their
time in training and service periodically in a bid to be ready at all times to
confront the enemy as if the war will happen tomorrow,” the newspaper quoted a
source as saying.
Hezbollah makes first official visit to Moscow
October 19, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: A Hezbollah delegation arrived in Moscow Wednesday on the party’s first
official visit to the country. The visit comes as reports have emerged that
Hezbollah is preparing for a possible Israeli attack on Lebanon. Russia has been
accused in the past, including during the 2006 war with Israel, of indirectly
arming Hezbollah via weapons sales to Syria.
Al-Joumhouria newspaper reported Wednesday that Hezbollah has been conducting
night patrols in the highlands of the eastern and western sectors of south
Lebanon for fear of swift Israeli landings. The visit also comes as Hezbollah
feels repercussions from its defense of Syria in its bloody crackdown on
protesters. Both Russia and Hezbollah have opposed Western intervention in Syria
as the uprising continues there. The party’s reputation among the Syrian people
has been eroded because of its support for the Assad government, according to
analysts.
Al-Joumhouria also reported that Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has
conveyed to Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt that his image had
been damaged and shaken in some parts of Syria. The three-man delegation, headed
by Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad, is scheduled to meet Russian officials for talks
on developments in Lebanon and the region, a Hezbollah source told The Daily
Star. The source said discussions will also touch on bilateral ties and issues
of common interest. Hezbollah said the visit, was in response to an invitation
by Russia’s Parliament. Raad is accompanied by Hezbollah MPs Hassan Fadlallah
and Nawwar Sahli. As-Safir newspaper said the Hezbollah delegation will
reiterate the resistance’s role in protecting Lebanon. Hezbollah will also raise
the issue of ongoing pressure exerted from the West which it says strikes at the
resistance with the aim of exerting power in the region and thereby controlling
natural resources.
Lebanese imam charged for collaborating with Israel
October 19, 2011/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Two Lebanese men, including one imam, were charged Wednesday in a Beirut
military court for collaborating with the Jewsih state. Sheikh Hasan Mshaimesh
and Samer Ali al-Hajj were charged for working with Israel and providing the
Jewish state with information on Hezbollah in return for money. Mshaimesh is an
imam for Kfar Sir, in the southern Nabatieh district. Military Judge Saqr Saqr
referred the two men to the military magistrate.They face the death penalty if
convicted.
Ministers trade blows over telecoms revenues
October 20, 2011/By Hassan Lakkis, Nafez Qawas The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The weekly session of the Cabinet Wednesday saw a heated debate over the
disputed transfer of funds from the Telecommunications to the Finance Ministry,
as representatives of the Free Patriotic Movement and the Progressive Socialist
Party clashed verbally over the issue. Telecommunications Minister Charbel
Nahhas, a representative of the FPM, has so far refused to transfer telecoms
revenues to the Finance Ministry. Nahhas’ refusal came under fire from Public
Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi. Aridi’s criticism of Nahhas
prompted the latter’s colleague in the FPM, Energy Minister Gibran Bassil, to
take up his defense. The lengthy debate, which took place during a session that
lasted for more than six hours, saw Bassil snap back at Aridi and accuse him of
spending funds on infrastructure works, particularly “asphalting roads,” without
the prior approval of the government. Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who presided
over the meeting held at the Grand Serail, didn’t intervene to put an end to the
debate and the session ended without reaching an agreement over the issue.
However, ministers denied the argument had taken place when speaking to
reporters as they left the meeting. Wednesday’s debate wasn’t the first between
members of the FPM and the PSP, who have disputed several ministerial
resolutions recently, with the fiercest debate taking place over a proposal to
develop Lebanon’s electricity sector, based on a plan authored by Bassil. Last
month, PSP ministers refused to endorse Bassil’s proposal without introducing
amendments to the plan, a position that Mikati backed, fueling tension between
the prime minister and the PSP on the one hand and the FPM on the other.
Commenting on another recent controversial government decision, Sports Minister
Faisal Karami told reporters after leaving the session that the Cabinet would
stick to its agreement, reached with the General Labor Confederation last week,
to mandate an increase in wages without any changes. Under the deal, the monthly
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 a rise of LL300,000. The
decision drew ire in separate directions from workers’ unions and
representatives of the private sector, with the unions arguing the wage
increases don’t go far enough, and the private sector urging companies not to
implement the increase at all. Mikati said during the session that his
government needed more time to consider the different demands by labor unions,
urging all parties to cooperate to find a solution to disputed issues. On
another note, the government approved plans to start drilling for oil and gas in
Lebanon’s territorial waters after mapping the area.
Eight Syrian army defectors killed
October 19, 2011/ The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Eight Syrian army defectors were killed near the Syria-Lebanon border
overnight, with reports conflicting over which side of the border the deaths
occurred. One security source, speaking to The Daily Star on condition of
anonymity, said the Syrian army chased the eight men – two officers and six
soldiers – across the Lebanese border Tuesday night. According to the source,
the two sides fought using automatic machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades
in the Lebanese border town of Masharee al-Qaa. He said the Syrian army killed
all eight dissidents before pulling back. He also added that at least 10 people
were kidnapped as the army crossed back into Syria. Other sources said the eight
were killed Tuesday night as part of a security operation by the Syrian army on
Syrian soil. Elsewhere, residents of the northern village of al-Doura
confirmed The Daily Star Wednesday that the Syrian army crossed 500 meters into
their village and walked through their houses Tuesday, which resulted in the
arrest of Mouyassar Hayel Abou Jabal and Ammar Adel Abou Jabal and the death of
Ahmad Adel Abou Jabal. Residents also said that one child was wounded as a
result of gunshots and that Syrian army personnel entered their houses and some
of their belongings were missing.
Pro-Assad Syrians rally in Aleppo as clampdown continues
October 20, 2011/By Daily Star Staff Agencies
Supporters of Assad gather during a rally in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo.
DAMASCUS/AMMAN/BEIRUT: Tens of thousands of Syrians rallied in support of
President Bashar Assad in the northern city of Aleppo Wednesday while to the
south his troops carried out a sustained offensive to crush the seven-month
uprising against his rule.
The gathering in Syria’s commercial hub came a week after a similar
demonstration in Damascus, showing authorities can still rally mass support in
the country’s two main cities despite waves of unrest across the nation.
“We love you” sang demonstrators, holding pictures of Assad and waving Syrian,
Russian and Chinese flags – a reference to Moscow and Beijing’s veto of a United
Nations draft resolution which could have led to U.N. sanctions against
Damascus.
Huge flags were draped from seven-storey buildings around the square where
demonstrators gathered to hear nationalist songs and speeches supporting Assad,
who has defied U.S. and European calls to step down. Residents said Aleppo
schools were closed Wednesday to boost attendance at the rally.
In the central city of Homs, where residents say gunmen and army deserters have
battled government forces sweeping through several neighborhoods, activists said
six people were shot dead by pro-Assad “shabbiha” gunmen in the Naziheen
district.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 20 people were killed
across Homs province, including seven soldiers killed in clashes with suspected
army deserters.
A Facebook posting on the page of an opposition group Tuesday suggested that
armed resistance to the four-day assault was fading in Homs as armed men were
being outnumbered by Assad’s forces.
“We are finished as we are besieged from all directions. We have 10 wounded men
and the neighborhood is encircled by 30 tanks. Please send our regards to our
fellow rebels in Homs. We tried our best and there is nothing more we can do,”
read the post, entitled “A message from a rebel from Bab al-Sebaa.”
Seven people were also killed in army raids in the villages around the town of
Qusayr near the Lebanese border, activists said.
Foreign journalists are largely banned from Syria, making it difficult to
confirm reports.
Syrian authorities blame “armed terrorist groups” for the unrest and say 1,100
police and soldiers have been killed. The United Nations says Assad’s crackdown
has killed 3,000 people, including 187 children. Arab League efforts to help
defuse the deadly violence – specifically a call for a dialogue between the
government and the opposition – were met with harsh criticism in the official
Al-Thawra newspaper Wednesday.
“It is no longer surprising to see the Arab League, which is supposed to be
concerned with joint Arab action, turn into an instrument of injustice aimed at
destabilizing Syria,” Al-Thawra said.
The daily said the 22-member Arab League was “hostage to powers following the
agenda of aggressors like the United States, Israel and their European allies.
“Following years of inaction, the Arab League has now become a tool of
destabilization, and is acting against Arab interests,” the paper said.
Meanwhile, Syria’s opposition National Council, which has pledged to seek
international protection to stop civilian deaths and has called for the uprising
to remain peaceful, was formally recognized by Libya’s National Transitional
Council Wednesday as the country’s legitimate authority.
“We ask other countries … to take the same path as Libya,” Syrian opposition
activist Wael Razak told a news conference in Tripoli. Noting that some Gulf
Arab states had withdrawn ambassadors from Syria, he called on other countries
“to end relations with the dictatorship in Syria.”
Also speaking in Tripoli, SNC member Najib Ghadbian said they were determined to
“bring down” the Assad rule, accusing it of seeking to “militarize” the protest
movement.
“If the regime continues to be so irresponsible … our main objective is to call
for the protection of civilians,” along the lines of a U.N. no-fly zone set up
in Libya that cleared the way to NATO airstrikes, he said.
Assad has sent troops and tanks into cities and towns to put down the unrest.
But protests have persisted, although in reduced numbers, with several thousand
soldiers from the mainly Sunni Muslim rank-and-file army now challenging his
rule.
Diplomats and military analysts say army desertions have been fuelled by
the intensity of Assad’s campaign to crush the protest movement that was
inspired by the “Arab Spring” that overthrew veteran leaders in Tunisia, Egypt
and Libya.
Several officers have recently announced their defection, although most
deserters have been Sunni conscripts who usually man roadblocks and form the
outer layer of military and secret police rings around restless cities and
towns.
The officer corps of Syria’s army is composed mainly of members of Assad’s
minority Alawite community.
The latest desertions included 20 soldiers who left their posts near the town of
Hirak, 80 km south of Damascus, and clashed with troops after the killing of
three protesters demonstrating against the arrest of a popular cleric, activists
said.
One Hirak resident said the clashes, which broke out late Tuesday, continued
Wednesday and troops sealed off the city cemetery to prevent mourners burying
the dead protesters.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said four of Assad’s troops were killed
in the province of Idlib near the border with Turkey in northwest Syria.
“Attrition is increasing within army ranks and beginning to form a problem for
Assad. The geographical area of the protests is large and the regime is being
forced to use Sunni soldiers to back up core forces,” a senior European diplomat
in Damascus said.
“It is taking longer and longer for loyalist forces to control rebel areas.
Large areas of Idlib are virtually out of control and it took them 10 days to
regain a small town like Rastan,” he said.
The Syrian butchers
The regime in Syria is doing its best to show that it is respecting the Hunan
right of the Syrian citizens, I believe that most people are not in favor for a
military intervention of the west, but definitely, are against the barbaric
conduct of the regime. The news here below is dated Oct 19-2011.
Syrian death squads are killing protesters in their hospital beds, whilst Russia
arms the regime and blocks international action to end the carnage. But pressure
is building in the region, and if enough of us speak out now, we could persuade
Turkey and the Arab League to use their leverage to get Russia to stop propping
up this murderous regime.
I can't get this image out of my mind. A young Syrian protester entering the
hospital with a leg injury and leaving with a bullet in his head. His family,
weeping, described how the regime returned his body to them and added, "There's
no safe place left in Syria – not even hospitals."
For six months, I've spoken to survivors of torture and rape, and I've mourned
some of my own close friends, who were peaceful human rights activists. But
right now pressure is mounting in the region, and there is something we can all
do to end the carnage and stop these horror hospitals: urgently persuade Syria's
key backer and arms supplier, Russia, to stop blocking global action.
So far, no one has held Russia to account for supplying weapons for these
atrocities, but if you join me now, we can change that -- Turkish and Arab
League leaders wield great influence in Russia and are increasingly concerned
about the violence in Syria. Together let's call on them to help end Russia's
backing of the brutal Assad regime. Sign the urgent petition to the Arab League
and Turkey -- and I'll deliver it to key Foreign Ministers this week:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_horror_in_syria_a/?vl
At least 5,500 people have been killed in Syria, four times as many as in the
massacres in Gaza. According to hospital staff and witnesses that Avaaz has
spoken to, Syrian security forces have been using hospitals and Red Crescent
vehicles to arrest, kill and torture dozens of pro-democracy protesters and
detain doctors, blatantly defying international law.
Shamefully, two weeks ago, Russia led the United Nations Security Council in
blocking global action to stop the Syrian regime's slaughter of innocents. And,
at the same time, delivered high-powered weapons to the butchers.
But, right now, the pressure on Assad is mounting -- economic sanctions have
left his army under-resourced and exhausted, and Arab public solidarity with the
Syrian people has forced the Arab League to give Assad a two-week deadline to
meet with the recognized opposition leaders. Along with the Arab League, key
countries like Turkey, Syria's neighbour and emerging regional power, and
Germany, which is Russia's second-largest trading partner and traditional
intermediary to Russia, could tip the balance away from the bloodshed.
Let's raise our voices to turn the Arab League and Turkey into champions for the
Syrian pro-democracy movement. Outrage for the brutality against peaceful Syrian
demonstrators is growing across our region. A strong push from all of us could
get key governments to pressure Russia to stop propping up the regime. Sign the
petition now -- I will deliver it to Foreign Ministers this week:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_the_horror_in_syria_a/?vl
While some governments are despairing about what to do, Avaaz members are making
a real difference in Syria. We've helped push through tough oil sanctions that
fund Assad's crackdown. We've broken the media blackout and worked tirelessly to
document disappearances and other crimes, dismantling the regime's lies. Let's
keep the flame of hope burning brightly and light the way to a peaceful,
democratic Syria.
With hope,
Wissam Tarif and the whole Avaaz team
MORE INFORMATION
Russia UN veto and financial relationships with Syria (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/world/middleeast/with-united-nations-veto-russia-and-china-help-syria.html
Europeans spar with Russia, China on Syria at UN (Reuters):
http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/10/14/idINIndia-59902020111014
Turkey Steadfast on Syria Sanctions (Al Jazeera):
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/10/2011105134748573461.html
Syria Keeps Pressure On Protesters, Ignores Critics (National Public Radio):
http://www.npr.org/2011/10/16/141240546/syria-keeps-pressure-on-protesters-ignores-critics
Arab League sets timetable for national dialogue (VOA)
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Syrian-Security-Forces-Fire-on-Mourners--131943678.html
Turkey, Russia eye increased cooperation in business, trade (Today´s Zaman)
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-238105-turkey-russia-eye-increased-cooperation-in-business-trade.html
Germany Russia's second largest trading partner (German Foreign Ministry
website, in German):
http://www.avaaz.org/german_foreign_ministry
Canada Condemns Terrorist Attacks in Turkey
(No. 309 - October 19, 2011 - 5:30 p.m. ET) Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird
today condemned recent attacks that resulted in the death of over 20 Turkish
soldiers and civilians, including two children, in southeast Turkey:
“Canada strongly condemns these cowardly attacks in Turkey and stands with the
Turkish people at this time of national mourning.
“Canada is committed to work with the Turkish government in combating terrorism
in all its forms. The PKK [Kurdistan Workers Party] is a listed terrorist entity
in Canada.
“On behalf of all Canadians, I offer my sincere condolences to the families and
friends of those killed in the attacks and wish a swift recovery to the
injured.”
Post-Arab Spring politicking
Tony Badran, October 20, 2011
The prisoner swap involving Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit serves various purposes
for Cairo, Doha and Ankara as they compete in the post-Arab Spring political
arena. (AFP photo)
Analysis of the deal between Israel and Hamas for the release of the kidnapped
Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has tended to focus on its implication for Israel’s
security and on Western approaches to terrorism. However, there is another
strategic angle to the deal. Regional players—namely Egypt, Qatar and Turkey—are
jostling for position in a rapidly fluctuating environment that is redefining
their roles. The Shalit deal, and the process surrounding it, serves various
purposes for Cairo, Doha and Ankara as they compete in the post-Arab Spring
political arena.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alluded to this uncertain,
transitional regional context when he announced the deal last week, referencing
a “window of opportunity” that opened as “storms are sweeping” the Middle East.
These storms have already deeply affected two Arab states – Egypt and Syria –
that had been directly involved in the years-long negotiation process, and which
have had opposing positions when it came to their relationships with Hamas.
However, the impact of the Arab Spring on both states, especially in regard to
the Shalit affair, could not be more different.
It was always an Egyptian interest to be the primary state interlocutor on
Palestinian affairs. One of the main questions after the toppling of Hosni
Mubarak has been what new role or posture the new Egyptian regime would assume.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) needed to showcase to the
Americans as well as the Israelis that it was capable of successfully
maintaining Egypt’s mediatory role with the Palestinian factions. An effective
performance in the Shalit negotiations provided a perfect opportunity.
Concerned about a dominant future role for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt,
Israel does not mind propping up the SCAF. To that effect, the Israeli
government has shown keenness not to rock the fragile Egyptian boat, as
evidenced by its decision to swallow the assault on the Israeli Embassy in
Cairo, and by its apology for the accidental killing of Egyptian policemen
during the August cross-border shootout with militants carrying out attacks
against Israel.
Meanwhile, the turmoil in Syria and the stress on the Assad regime’s relations
with Hamas, as well as the ensuing internal debate within Hamas over the Syrian
situation, have all worked to the Egyptians’ advantage. During the Mubarak
years, Bashar al-Assad, in league with Iran, had sought to undercut Egypt’s role
and overtake it. In this, he made use of his hosting of Hamas’s politburo chief,
Khaled Mashaal, to sabotage Cairo’s efforts. Seven months into an unrelenting
uprising against his regime, Assad’s influence has all but vanished. While a
second-tier actor in the best of times, today, even Syria’s spoiler role is
disappearing.
The Syrian crisis has directly affected Hamas’s calculations. Reports emerged in
the spring that Hamas was looking to relocate from Syria, possibly to Cairo or
Doha. While nothing has materialized yet, several Hamas officials have confirmed
this decision, and it is possible that a split exists in the movement over this
move.
Unnamed Israeli sources quoted by an Egyptian news outlet have claimed that
Egypt will allow Mashaal’s deputy, Moussa Abou Marzouk, to move from Damascus to
Cairo, part of an overall transfer of Hamas’s external headquarters to Egypt.
This, according to the same Egyptian report, was part of the Shalit deal. While
no one has confirmed this, it could be argued that the US and Israel would be
interested in having Hamas come more firmly under the SCAF’s thumb.
Recognizing the constraints such a scenario could impose on its activity,
especially as it continues to rely on Iran for arms and training, Hamas has an
interest in keeping its options open. The regional turmoil, and the likely rise
of the Muslim Brotherhood in the post-Arab Spring era, provide the Palestinian
group with some options.
Two regional players who have sought to capitalize on these political
developments are Turkey and Qatar. Both had supported the toppling of Mubarak
and have sought to build ties with the new Egyptian political elite, especially
the Muslim Brotherhood. The two have sought the same in Syria, where they are
currently competing over patronage of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and other
opposition groups.
Needless to say, Ankara and Doha have long coveted a privileged position of
patronage over Hamas, and indeed the Palestinian cause altogether. This had
placed them at odds with Cairo, and, in Turkey’s case, has exacerbated tensions
with Israel. The announcement that Qatar and Turkey would be hosting a number of
freed Palestinian prisoners indicates their eagerness to continue to play a role
in that regard. Although Israeli President Shimon Peres has noted some Turkish
involvement in the Shalit deal, the details of that role, assuming there was
one, remain unclear. It could be that some in Israel, with US encouragement, are
seeking to use Shalit’s release to repair strained ties with Ankara.
The prisoner deal ended up an episode in the post-Arab Spring politicking—an
arena where Damascus has essentially become a footnote. While a small number of
the released Palestinian prisoners will also be sent to Damascus, that decision
seems more like a nod by Hamas to Iran, whose support remains crucial even as
the Palestinian group diversifies its regional relations. In any case, it will
not alter Assad’s fortunes, all the theatrics notwithstanding, as the collapse
of Assad’s regional role presages the collapse of his very regime.
*Tony Badran is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
He tweets @AcrossTheBay.