LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِSeptember
03/2011
Bible Quotation for today.
Paul's Letter to the Ephesians 5/1-4: "Be
therefore imitators of God, as beloved children. Walk in love, even as
Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance. But sexual immorality, and all
uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be mentioned among you, as becomes
saints; nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not
appropriate; but rather giving of thanks."
Latest
analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases
from
miscellaneous
sources
The Mullahs’ fear of tsunami/By
Amir Taher/
September 02/11
Renowned
Lebanese historian dies at 82/By:
Jessica Hollows/September
02/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources
for September 02/11
Spokesman Says Many Countries
Funding STL
Suleiman Meets al-Rahi: Lebanon is
Keen on UNIFIL’s Safety
Lebanon Chairs Security Council as
Suleiman Heads to New York on Sept. 18
Turkey Expels Israeli Ambassador
over Gaza Flotilla
Turkey may expel Israeli ambassador
in wake of Gaza flotilla report
Taliban Kidnap 30 Pakistani Boys in
Afghanistan
Mystery surrounds Hama attorney
general’s video resignation
EU to adopt Syrian oil embargo on
Friday, say diplomats
International Leaders Say NATO
Fights in Libya as Long as Necessary
Iran Slams Sarkozy Over Nuclear
Remark
Rebel Leader: Gadhafi Speech Shows
'Despair
Friends of Libya Conference: An
Opportunity for Miqati to Meet French Officials
Future bloc MP Ahmad Fatfat denies
meetings between Future Movement, Syrian opposition
Two Lebanese ministers see room for
compromise on electricity plan
Mikati in France for conference on
post-Gadhafi libya
Al-Mustaqbal Admonishes Qabbani as
he Visits South
UNIFIL mandate extended for another
year
Qabalan Urges Lebanese to Renew
Dialogue, Safeguard Army
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel
Demands Geagea to Halt Escalating Lassa Dispute
Miqati to Isolate Lebanon from
Syrian Developments, Says STL Funding Will Continue
No Compromise Yet as Aoun Rejects
Proposals on Electricity Project
Spokesman
Says Many Countries Funding STL
Naharnet/A spokesman of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the
assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri told An Nahar newspaper on
Friday that the opening of the trials is a decision taken by the trial chamber
only. The spokesman said that the trial date depends
on a number of factors, including the time needed by the defense office to
examine the evidence presented by Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare. Asked about
funding of the tribunal, the spokesman stressed “The STL is receiving
contributions from many countries.”
“We are certain that the STL will remain receiving funds in 2011,” the official
noted. STL Registrar Herman von Hebel stressed last week that the trials in the
Hariri murder will begin in mid-2012 whether they were in the presence of the
suspects or in absentia. The STL was created by a 2007 U.N. Security Council
resolution, at Lebanon's request, to try those responsible for Hariri's murder.
He was killed in a suicide car bombing along with 22 other people including a
bomber on February 14, 2005. Earlier this month, the
court published a full indictment, saying it had enough evidence to put four
members of Hizbullah on trial. Judge Antonio Cassese, the tribunal president,
has called on Beirut to "intensify" efforts to arrest the four
Suleiman Meets al-Rahi: Lebanon is Keen on UNIFIL’s Safety
Naharnet ظPresident Michel Suleiman stressed on Friday
the importance of Lebanon’s implementation of United Nations Security Council
resolution 1701.He said after holding talks with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi:
“Lebanon is keen on the safety of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon.”
This same position was relayed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy by
Prime Minister Najib Miqati who is in France where he took part in the "Friends
of Libya" conference. Al-Rahi visited Suleiman ahead
of traveling to France on an official trip.
The president also held talks with General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim on the
security situation in Lebanon.
Lebanon Chairs Security Council as Suleiman Heads to New
York on Sept.
Naharnet ظLebanon took over the rotating presidency of
the U.N. Security Council for this month, the second time since its council
membership in January 2010. Ambassador Nawwaf Salam
told An Nahar daily published Friday that he was seeking to introduce
“preventive diplomacy” to the agenda of the council. “This concept includes
means and diplomatic measures taken in advance to prevent the eruption of
conflicts or stop them from spreading.” Last year, the
council discussed the issue of dialogue between different cultures and the
resolution of conflicts upon the request of the Lebanese mission during its
first presidency of the Security Council. Asked about
the Palestinian bid to join the U.N. as a state, Salam said that Lebanon would
be at the forefront of those backing the attempt. “If
any state proposed (the discussion) of the Syrian issue, we hold onto the rules
and procedures mentioned in the Security Council’s by-laws and we would
implement them,” he told An Nahar. Lebanon’s role as
Security Council president this month comes as President Michel Suleiman
addresses the 66th General Assembly session on Sept. 2. Suleiman is also
scheduled to chair a council meeting on preventive diplomacy on Sept. 22, An
Nahar said. He is expected to travel to New York on
Sept. 19 or 20. As Safir daily said that in his
address to the assembly, Suleiman will stress the right of Palestinians to
establish and independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. He will also
reject their naturalization and call for the return of refugees to their home
state. Official sources also denied to al-Liwaa
newspaper that Suleiman will chair a Council meeting on Sept. 20 during which
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will ask for the agency to approve his bid
for a Palestinian state. That session will be chaired
by Salam, they said. The president is scheduled to
hold a series of talks with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and several heads of state
during his visit to New York.
Turkey Expels Israeli Ambassador over Gaza Flotilla
Naharnet ظTurkey expelled the Israeli ambassador to
Ankara on Friday and suspended all military ties with its one-time ally after a
U.N. report condemned excessive force used by Israel on a Gaza aid flotilla.
"At this point the measures we are taking are: The relations between
Turkey and Israel will be downgraded to second secretary level. All officials
over the level of second secretary, primarily the ambassador, will turn back to
their country at the latest on Wednesday," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said
at a press conference. Davutoglu counted five measures
against Israel as a protest for its failure to fulfill Turkey's demands to
overcome the crisis erupted after Israeli commandoes stormed the flagship of the
aid flotilla and killed nine Turks."Second, all the military agreements between
Israel and Turkey are suspended," he said. "Third, as
the country with the longest coastline on the Mediterranean, Turkey will take
every precaution it considers necessary for the safety of maritime navigation to
East Mediterranean," he said. Davutoglu said Turkey
did not recognize Israel's right to blockade Gaza and intended to take its
protest to The International Court of Justice in The Hague.
"For this aim, we are starting initiatives at U.N. Security Council," he added.
Charbel Demands Geagea to Halt Escalating Lassa Dispute
Naharnet ظInterior Minister Marwan Charbel said on
Friday his meeting with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea was to stress the
importance of calming down the situation in the town of Lassa in the Jbeil
district. Charbel told As Safir newspaper that he has
asked Geagea to stop interfering in the issue of construction on church property
in the predominately Shiite town after the state took charge of it.
He warned of transforming the Lassa dispute into a political issue.
The Minister noted that he had requested to meet Hizbullah Chief Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat.
Charbel remarked that he will exert efforts to convince Jumblat into
accepting the proportional representation electoral law.
Asked about the current situation at Roumieh prison, he expected that the
breakouts will not re-occur after enhancing security presence there.
Five Islamist militants from Fatah al-Islam had escaped in August. The
army said it later arrested one of them. Charbel urged
officials to take the necessary measures to improve the inmates’ situation, try
the detainees that haven’t been sentenced yet, and rehabilitate the prison.
Miqati to Isolate Lebanon from Syrian Developments, Says
STL Funding Will
Naharnet ظPrime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on
Friday the importance of separating the Lebanese situation from the developments
in Syria. “We shouldn’t interfere in anyone’s
(internal) affairs so that no one meddles in ours,” Miqati told the pan-Arab
daily al-Hayat. He said “Lebanon wants to neutralize
itself during these conditions, and priority is for the local issues.”
Asked about Lebanon’s stance at the U.N. Security Council if the members reached
a resolution on Syria, Miqati said: “We will not oppose the international
decision… We isolate ourselves from the Syrian crisis.”The PM stressed that
Lebanon “can’t enter in a confrontation with the international community… We
don’t have the power for that.”
Regarding the U.S. sanctions on the Syrian ambassador to Lebanon after some
Syrian opposition figures disappeared in Lebanon, Miqati said: “At this stage,
many issues are going on that don’t need to be revealed to the
public.”Concerning the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the
assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri, he confirmed that his cabinet will keep
paying Lebanon’s share. “Let them stop saying that I’m
neutral and I don’t take any decision, the most important issue is Lebanon’s
best interest,” he said.Miqati noted that the Lebanese authorities did
everything possible to detain the four suspects in Hariri’s murder, saying: “We
did everything according to principles.”They are Mustafa Badreddin, Salim Ayyash,
Assad Sabra and Hussein Oneissi. On the other hand, he
said that the electricity dispute “is a technical issue… the plan is being
discussed thoroughly.” Miqati stressed that “Lebanon
never had a unified opinion, we all want to provide (citizens with) electricity
according to principles and transparency.”He refuted any threats of resignation
from the cabinet if it didn’t approve the electricity draft law. “If these
conditions were placed then the cabinet will not be able to convene anymore,”
the PM said. Miqati expected Lebanon to start
receiving bids for oil and gas exploration in the Lebanese waters by the
beginning of the upcoming year.
The PM made his first international appearance since his nomination at the
"Friends of Libya" conference in Paris on Thursday. Foreign Minister Adnan
Mansour and Lebanese ambassador to France Butros Assaker also attended the
meeting. Miqati held meetings with Assistant Secretary
of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe.
Diplomatic sources told An Nahar newspaper that Miqati’s participation in
Libya’s meeting signals a breakthrough in the international isolation that had
increased after the STL unsealed the indictment in Hariri’s case.
The sources said that the side talks might have dealt with a possible
visit by Miqati to Paris in fall this year.
Later on Friday, the premier telephoned President Michel Suleiman informing him
of the talks he held with officials at the conference on Libya.
Taliban Kidnap 30 Pakistani Boys in Afghanistan
Naharnet ظTaliban militants have kidnapped more than
30 Pakistani boys who had mistakenly crossed the unmarked border in the
country's lawless northwest into Afghanistan
They said the incident took place on Thursday after the group of boys, aged
between 12 and 18-years-old, visited the area of Gharkhi in Pakistan's Bajaur
tribal region for celebrations marking the Muslim Eid holiday.
"These boys inadvertently crossed into Afghanistan while picnicking on
the second day of Eid and were kidnapped by militants," senior local
administration official Syed Nasim told Agence France Presse.
Afghanistan shares a disputed 2,400-kilometer border with Pakistan where
senior Islamist militants are believed to reside.
Another administration official speaking anonymously said security forces were
stretched thin along parts of the frontier."It is a porous border and security
cover is not available everywhere," he said. *Source Agence France Presse
Al-Mustaqbal Admonishes Qabbani as he Visits South
Naharnet ظSaad Hariri’s al-Mustaqbal movement is
admonishing Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani for meeting with a
delegation from Hizbullah and the Syrian ambassador on the day the international
tribunal issued the indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case,
a source said. The Mustaqbal source told al-Liwaa
daily on Friday that the movement’s lawmakers decided to boycott prayers led by
Qabbani at al-Amin mosque on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr “to admonish the Mufti
for some of his stances.”“Hadn’t he been the Mufti we would have treated him
differently,” the source said. However, other reports
have suggested a growing rift between Qabbani and al-Mustaqbal.
According to al-Akhbar newspaper, the MPs boycotted Tuesday’s prayers as
part of the campaign that that the movement launched against the Mufti when he
stressed that Premier Najib Miqati deserves to be given a chance as PM.
The daily said Hariri supporters accuse Qabbani of supporting the Syrian
regime crackdown on Hama by meeting with Syria’s Ambassador Ali Abdul Karim Ali
and of targeting the Special Tribunal for Lebanon by holding talks with the
Hizbullah delegation on the day the STL accused four members of the party of
involvement in Hariri’s 2005 murder case. Furthermore,
al-Mustaqbal officials have decided to boycott a rare visit that the Mufti did
to the Arqoub area in southern Lebanon on Friday. They have fears that Qabbani’s
direct contact with people in the deprived area would limit the movement’s
popularity particularly that al-Mustaqbal has no representative there.
The Mufti flew to Marjayoun by army helicopter at 9:15 am to kick start his tour
to Hasbaya and Arqoub.
Qabalan Urges Lebanese to Renew Dialogue, Safeguard Army
Naharnet ظVice President of the Higher Islamic Shiite
Council Abdul Amir Qabalan urged the Lebanese to fortify their national strength
through communication and to renew the national dialogue to end their disputes.
“The Lebanese are destined to agree upon and discuss their disputes and
crises in order to resolve them,” Qabalan said during his Friday Muslim prayer
sermon. He stressed that the people must support the
state of law. Qabalan said: “We urge the cabinet to
unite and solve all disputes away from the media spotlight; especially because
the Lebanese have high hopes for this government.” In
addition, he called on officials to exclude the army from their political
rhetoric. “The army is our guarantee to preserve
Lebanon… The Lebanese must safeguard their army and resistance to maintain the
equation of the army, people and resistance,” he stressed.
EU to adopt Syrian oil embargo
on Friday, say diplomats
The European Union will formally adopt a ban on Syrian oil imports Friday, but
the embargo will take effect on November 15 for existing contracts after Italy
insisted on a delay, according to diplomats. The EU will also expand its list of
people targeted by an assets freeze and travel ban, adding four businessmen
accused of bankrolling the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, the diplomats
told AFP Thursday. And three companies, including a bank, will see their assets
in the EU frozen as punishment for the regime's deadly repression of protesters,
the sources said on condition of anonymity. The announcement of the oil embargo
will coincide with a key meeting of EU foreign ministers in Poland. The measure
will deprive Assad's regime of a vital source of cash, as the EU buys 95 percent
of Syria's crude oil. "These measures must be validated by European governments
on Friday," one diplomat said, after the EU reached a preliminary agreement on
Monday. Rome obtained a delay in the application of the sanctions for existing
supply contracts between European companies and Syria's two national energy
firms, Syria Petroleum and Sytrol, the diplomats said. "The Italians insisted
for a delay so as not to disrupt [European importers] too much," one diplomat
said. Italy originally wanted the sanctions delayed until November 30, but
November 15 was agreed as a compromise. The EU also put off a decision on
whether to ban investments in the oil sector, but such a measure could be
enacted in a future set of sanctions, the diplomats said. Some 50 people are
already named in the EU's sanctions list, including Assad and three Iranian
officials accused of supporting his government. Eight Syrian and Iranian firms
or organizations are also blacklisted.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
NATO fights in Libya as long as necessary, says leader
NATO's operation in Libya will continue for as long as the civilian population
there is in danger, the alliance's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and
national leaders said Thursday.
"We have announced that operations will continue as long as necessary, as long
as there is a threat to civilians," he said, after talks in Paris between Libyan
rebel leaders and the international community. France's President Nicolas
Sarkozy and Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, whose militaries spearheaded
Western support for the rebellion against Moammar Qaddafi, confirmed that their
warplanes would stay in the air. "NATO and our allies will continue our
operations to implement UN resolutions ... as long as we are needed to protect
civilian life," Cameron said, at a joint press conference with Sarkozy and
Libya's interim leaders.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
International Leaders Say NATO Fights in Libya as Long as Necessary
Naharnet /NATO's operation in Libya will continue for as long as the civilian
population there is in danger, the alliance's Secretary General Anders Fogh
Rasmussen and national leaders said Thursday. "We have announced that operations
will continue as long as necessary, as long as there is a threat to civilians,"
he said, after talks in Paris between Libyan rebel leaders and the international
community. France's President Nicolas Sarkozy and Britain's Prime Minister David
Cameron, whose militaries spearheaded Western support for the rebellion against
Moammar Gadhafi, confirmed that their warplanes would stay in the air. "NATO and
our allies will continue our operations to implement U.N. resolutions ... as
long as we are needed to protect civilian life," Cameron said, at a joint press
conference with Sarkozy and Libya's interim leaders. 0The countries meeting in
Paris in support of Libya's rebel interim government also agreed to unblock $15
billion in frozen Libyan funds immediately, France's President Nicolas Sarkozy
said. "Today, France unfroze 1.5 billion euro of Libyan assets," Sarkozy said,
before estimating the total sum released by world powers in the wake of Moammar
Gadhafi's fall: "Around 15 billion dollars have been immediately unfrozen."
Sarkozi also stressed that Libyans should decide where Gadhafi is tried, urging
Libya's rebels to pursue reconciliation. The new Libyan authorities, the
National Transitional Council (NTC) must begin a "process of reconciliation and
forgiveness", he said.. "The participants are going to ask the NTC to undertake
a process of reconciliation and of forgiveness so that the mistakes made in
other countries in the past are recognized," the French president added.
**Source Agence France Presse
Iran Slams Sarkozy Over Nuclear Remark
Naharnet /Iran urged French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday not to make
comments based on "unrealistic information," after Paris called for tougher
sanctions over Tehran's controversial nuclear program. "As stated repeatedly,
Iran's nuclear activity is completely peaceful and International Atomic Energy
Agency reports have confirmed it," state television quoted the foreign
ministry's head of western Europe affairs as saying. Sarkozy told an annual
meeting of French diplomats on Wednesday that France would work with its allies
to build support for tougher international sanctions against Tehran, in a bid to
force it to back down over uranium enrichment. "Iran's defense activities are
all deterrent. Remarks based on unrealistic information could act as a basis for
regional instability, and it is recommended that by heeding to reality one
should refrain from making such remarks," Iranian television quoted Hasan Tajik
as saying. Sarkozy had added that if sanctions against the Islamic republic
failed to bring about the desired outcome, a country which he did not name could
resort to a pre-emptive attack against Iran's nuclear sites. "Its military
nuclear and ballistic ambitions constitute a growing threat that may lead to a
preventive attack against Iranian sites that would provoke a major crisis that
France wants to avoid at all costs," he said. Tehran's nemeses Washington and
Israel have repeatedly refused to rule out a military option against Iran's
nuclear program, which the West suspects masks a covert atomic weapons project.
Tehran maintains that it is merely enriching nuclear fuel for medical research
and a domestic atomic energy program. The U.N. Security Council has repeatedly
ordered Tehran to halt all uranium enrichment until its nuclear watchdog the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is satisfied of the peaceful nature of
its nuclear activities. Iran has been slapped with four sets of U.N. Security
Council sanctions over its refusal to suspend enrichment. **Source Agence France
Presse
Rebel Leader: Gadhafi Speech Shows 'Despair'
Naharnet /Moammar Gadhafi's speech on Thursday revealed the Libyan leader's
"despair" in the face of a successful revolution, a senior rebel leader
said."Gadhafi's speech is a sign of misery and despair," Ahmed Darrat, who is
overseeing the interior ministry for the rebels until a new government is
elected, told Agence France Presse in Tripoli.
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi vowed earlier Thursday not to surrender, saying he
would carry on fighting the rebels who have conquered most of the country, the
Syrian Arrai television channel said. He urged his supporters to keep up their
resistance to the rebellion that has forced him into hiding, the pro-Gadhafi
station said, carrying written extracts from a message it said would be
broadcast later. "Even if you cannot hear my voice, continue the resistance,"
Gadhafi said on the 42nd anniversary of the coup that brought him to power, as
an international conference opened in Paris on aiding the rebel National
Transitional Council to set up a new administration. "We will not surrender. We
are not women and we are going to keep on fighting," the message said. He added
that he was ready for a "long battle" against NATO-backed rebels even if his
country is destroyed. "If they want a long battle, let it be long. If Libya
burns, who will be able to govern it? Let it burn," said Gadhafi who has been on
the run since rebels entered Tripoli on August 20.*Source Agence France Presse
Remembering Kamal Salibi
Renowned Lebanese historian dies at 82
Jessica Hollows, September 1, 2011
Now Lebanon
To obtain peace and a collective national identity, wrote Kamal Salibi, Lebanese
citizens would have “to agree on a common vision of their past.”
The esteemed Lebanese historian died in Beirut today following a heart attack,
leaving behind a widespread following profoundly influenced by his eloquent
writing and teaching.
Salibi initially specialized in medieval Lebanese history, completing a PhD
under Bernard Lewis at the School of Oriental and African Studied in London. He
went on to teach at the American University of Beirut and founded the Royal
Institute for Inter-Faith Studies in Amman. Salibi’s output spans over half a
century and includes seminal works such as The Modern History of Lebanon (1965)
and A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered (1988).
Salibi described his 1988 masterpiece as “not a history of Lebanon, but a
critical study of different views of Lebanese history.” Salibi deftly examined
how tragic schisms among the Lebanese population spawned divergent
representations of the past, resulting in a maze of ideological narratives
inhibiting a dispassionate understanding of historical events.
PhD candidate Makram Rabah explains: “Salibi tried to make people see that we
fought each other over myths.” By deconstructing historical narratives and
questioning sacred assumptions, Salibi hoped to establish a national myth that
would unify rather than divide the Lebanese people.
To this end, Salibi outlined what Rabah describes as: “a blueprint of how
Lebanon could emerge from the civil war and become a nation state with a common
identity and a common perspective.”
“Salibi thought the Lebanese, after they spilt the same blood and went through
the same war, would come out stronger and unified in a common perspective on
their country. The problem is that this was not capitalized on by the political
powers, who did not move forward by trying to create a common identity,” Rabah
adds.
Salibi was Rabah’s unofficial mentor, and the two enjoyed vivacious conversation
over scotch as recently as last Friday [Salabi would have 2 glasses of scotch a
day, starting at six o’clock, right up until the end of his 82 years].
A soft spoken man, Salibi honed an accessible and lucid writing style that
enabled him to deftly elucidate complex interplays of fact and fiction in his
attempt to find a common ground from which to reconstruct a collective identity.
Throughout his work, Salibi probes the crux of history: its construction,
manipulation and exploitation for manifold political ends. He did not rely on
preconceived notions or resort to a predictable intellectual pattern. Rather,
his writing bears witness to his tireless questioning of received ideas and
traces his intellectual development through conscientious self-criticism. On the
basis of insightful analysis, he extrapolated theories relevant not only to
Lebanon, but to countries throughout the world.
Though Salibi was not affiliated with any political party, he played a
significant role in the tumultuous history he lived through and documented.
Diplomats, analysts, journalists, and politicians themselves would seek his
advice. Rabah says that Salibi, whose work elucidates the ruthless maneuverings
of Christian and Druze warlord families, considered Camille Chamoun, Pierre
Gemayel and Kamal Jumblat among his friends. Walid Jumblat counts among his
former students.
Salibi sparked significant debate when he published The Bible Came from
Arabia(1985). The book explicates his theory that the First Testament refers to
places in southern Arabia, refuting conventional assumptions that the Bible was
based in Palestine. Other significant works include Crossroads to Civil War,
Lebanon 1958-1976 (1976), Syria Under Islam: Empire on Trial 634-1097 (1977), A
History of Arabia (1980), and The Modern History of Jordan (1993).
Rabah described Salibi’s death as a loss for the academic community at large:
“[Salibi] was unmatched in this field, in the way he writes, what he writes, his
theories, the way he puts his ideas. Not only has Lebanon lost, but the whole
academic world.”
Future bloc MP Ahmad Fatfat denies meetings between Future Movement, Syrian
opposition
Future bloc MP Ahmad Fatfat on Thursday denied a report broadcast on Hezbollah’s
Al-Manar television, which said that Future Movement officials met with Syrian
opposition figures.
“The report broadcast by Al-Manar, which said that a meeting was held with the
Syrian opposition this afternoon, was unfounded,” the MP said in a statement.
“Such a report is merely a fabrication that intends to incite strife,” he added.
Al-Manar reported that Future Movement Secretary General Ahmad Hariri and Future
bloc MP Khaled Daher met with Syrian opposition figures in the northern Lebanese
town of Akroum earlier on Thursday. Lebanon’s political scene is split between
supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, led by Hezbollah, and a
pro-Western camp headed by Saad Hariri. Assad’s troops have cracked down on
protests against almost five decades of Baath rule which broke out mid-March,
killing over 2,200 people and triggering a torrent of international
condemnation. -NOW Lebanon
The Mullahs’ fear of tsunami
By Amir Taheri/Asharqalawsat
Eight months after the start of the “Arab Spring”, the ruling mullahs in Tehran
are still wondering how to respond to a tsunami that is changing the political
landscape of the region.
Initially, the mullahs, who believe that history consists of a succession of
conspiracies, saw the Arab revolt as a plot hatched by Western intelligence
services.
Official media echoed a view expressed by American conspiracy theorist Noam
Chomsky. According to that view “the Imperialist powers” wanted to change their
“Arab lackeys” who had grown old and out of touch. In the case of Libya, Chomsky
claimed, the US wanted to topple Gaddafi because he had become “unruly”.
The mullahs’ media reminded their audience that, in 2009, the American “Great
Satan” had also tried to topple the Khomeinist regime with a master-plan written
by US and European philosophers, among them Michael Ledeen and Jurgen Habermas,
with financial support from businessman George Soros.
When it became clear that the Habermas-Ledeen-Soros trio could not have produced
a firestorm in a dozen Arab countries, the Khomeinist media started looking for
another explanation.
The most plausible analysis came from Ali Motahari, a member of the Islamic
Majlis, the ersatz parliament in Tehran, who is often sane enough to make one
wonder what he is doing in that bedlam.
He suggested that, perhaps, Arabs had revolted because they were fed up with
“oppression and poverty.”
However, that analysis, deemed too dangerous by the regime’s powers-that-be, was
quickly abandoned. The reason was simple. If Arabs had the right to revolt
against “oppression and poverty” how could anyone deny the same right to
Iranians who also suffer from that double whammy?
Things became more complicated when the revolt spread to Syria, a client state
of the Islamic Republic.
By June, the official line was that revolt in all Arab countries was legitimate
except Syria. Thus, the conspiracy theory was valid only for Syria that,
according to daily Kayhan, was “punished because it had embraced the teachings
of Imam Khomeini.”
However, that claim was hard to sustain. Even the most gullible Iranians would
not be persuaded that the only Arab country to have a “perfect government” was
Syria simply because its leaders were on Tehran’s payroll.
Last month, the mullahs’ media launched a new analysis. This is based on the
claim that the Arab revolt had is inspired by the late Ayatollah Khomeini.
According to this analysis, the American “Great Satan” fomented a revolt in
Syria to counter the tide of Khomeinist victories in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and
Yemen among other places.
That theory, too, is hard to sell. Most Arab youths who spearheaded the revolts
were not even born when the ayatollah seized power 32 years ago. Some may not
have even heard of Khomeini.
And, yet, in an editorial on 24 August, Kayhan, which reflects the view of the
“Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei, claimed that what Arab revolutionaries want is a
government based on the Khomeinist model.
Kayhan certainly knows that even its readers might see that claim as a joke. Why
should Arabs, even if they wanted a religious government, imitate the witches’
brew produced by a semi-literate Iranian mullah rather than developing their own
model?
Anticipating that question, Kayhan quotes two “eminent authorities” in support
of the claim that Arab revolutionaries want “Walayat al-Faqih” or despotism in
the name of religion.
The first “authority” is Fahmi Howeydi, presented as “ the leading Egyptian
thinker” who is a frequent visitor to the Islamic Republic.
This is what Howeydi told Kayhan:” The leadership of Imam Khomeini, and after
him, Imam Khamenehei (sic.) in the past 30 years and Iran’s powerful overcoming
of plots and conspiracies has taught Muslim nations that power, pride,
independence, freedom, scientific advancement, mounting to the summits of
technology, and powerful presence in international domains are all possible...
Today, the Islamic ummah will not swap this model for any other.”
The second “authority” is someone named as “the leading American thinker
Immanuel Wallerstein”. Kayhan quotes him as saying: “We must lament the fact
that our efforts to change the world faces an insurmountable hurdle in the form
of Walayat al-Faqih in Iran, preferred by most nations to our model of
democracy.”
Well, now you have it. Arabs who have been demonstrating and dying for the past
eight months do not want democracy. What they want is Walayat al-Faqih!
The Kayhan editorial may be a sign of what psychiatrists call an inversion. This
happens when a victim of ill treatment persuades himself that what he most fears
is, in fact, what he most desires. A woman who is beaten black and blue starts
feeling that the man who beats her loves her dearly.
The mullahs know that the system they have created is a banal form of despotism
with a thin veneer of superstition sugar-coated as religion. Now dominated by
the military-security machine with the “Supreme Guide” as its public face, The
Islamic Republic, is as much of a police state as Ben Ali’s Tunisia or Gaddafi’s
Libya, not to mention Bashar al-Assad’s Syria.
Howeydi and Wallerstein know that, relative to its population, the Islamic
Republic has the largest number of political prisoners in the world and that it
is second in the number of people executed each year, after China. No Arab
despot created a cult of personality as scandalous as that built around Khamenei.
Under the Khomeinist regime even the most senior personalities of the regime are
not safe. Two former presidents, Hashemi Rafsanjani and Muhammad Khatami have
had their passports withdrawn and denied the right to travel. Mir-Hussein
Mousavi, the man who, as Prime Minister, led Iran through the eight-year war
with Iraq, is under house arrest. Each time I visit Paris, London or Washington
I am surprised by a wave of new arrivals from Tehran: former Khomeinist
officials fleeing from Walayat al-Faqih.
Mr. Huweydi’s shining city on the hill is a figment of his imagination.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Iran today is poorer than it
was before the mullahs seized power. This is why Iran, which had never been a
country of mass immigration, has become the source of “the biggest brain drain
in history”, according to IMF.
The Khomeinist leadership is in a state of panic. It fears that it, too, may
find itself on the path of the tsunami of change.
Nanny Tells of Brutal Abuse by Hannibal Gadhafi's Lebanese
Wife
NaharnetظA disfigured Ethiopian nanny on Thursday
recounted being beaten and severely burnt while working for Libyan leader
Moammar Gadhafi's son Hannibal and his wife.
Lying prone in her bed at Tripoli's only burns unit, Shweyga Mullah, 30, said
wife Aline Skaff, a Lebanese lingerie model previously accused of abuse, twice
poured scalding water on her, causing third degree burns which doctors said
would take years to treat.
"There was some problem how to arrange the clothes of the children and for that
reason she is suffering all of this," said Dr. Salah Errmih by her bedside in a
blacked-out basement room.
Still suffering from badly infected burns covering 40 percent of her body, most
visibly to her scalp, face and torso, Mullah told of her long suffering and
regular beatings at the hands of Skaff.
"I could not escape, there were a lot of guards," she said, nodding as a doctor
recounted her journey from being offered the job by the Libyan embassy in Addis
Ababa to suffering at a stylish beach resort near Tripoli.
That journey is not yet finished, doctors said.
Around three months ago she was secretly brought to a hospital by one of those
guards, who told doctors to "treat her, and say nothing." But the treatment was
stop-gap.
"She has all the complications you can imagine," said another specialist
treating her. "She has deep burns, over a large area, that were neglected."
Now Errmih said she just wants to get treatment, go home to Addis Ababa to see
her mother, and for justice to be done. "I would like that she is judged under
the law," she said.
In 2008, Hannibal and Skaff, then pregnant, were briefly arrested at a Geneva
hotel on suspicion of mistreating two of their domestic staff, causing a
diplomatic rumpus between Libya and Switzerland. The
Algerian government said Hannibal crossed into Algeria last Saturday along with
a brother, sister and their mother, taking refuge from advancing rebel forces.
It is thought Skaff and their two children are with Hannibal.