Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 13/12
Syrian Kidnappers move 11 Shiite Lebanese pilgrims for ‘security reasons’
Lebanese Military launches Micheal Samaha probe
Lebanese Army, leaders seek to contain fallout from Akkar violence
Lebanese MPs call for expulsion of Syrian envoy to Lebanon over Samaha case
Jumblatt says alliance with Hezbollah at risk
Michel Samaha's Case: A point for justice
Samaha supporters protest outside Military Tribunal in Beirut
Future Movement MP Mouin Merhebi urges Akkar to establish local militia
Dispute degenerates into gunfire in North Lebanon’s Tripoli
Aoun: Lebanon a field for ‘international intelligence’
LF says Akkar leaders prevented hanging of Rai welcome banners
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea comments on upcoming extraordinary Muslim summit
Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi comments on ties to man linked to Samaha case
President Michel Sleiman says reports of possible bombings 'frightening'
Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi calls for implementing law regarding leaks on Samaha case
Jumblatt: No place for ‘state of law’ if March 8 wins parliamentary elections
Senior Syrian policeman defects: opposition
Egypt forces fight Sinai militants, five dead
Bahrain returns envoy to Tehran
Syrian opposition leader calls for no-fly zone in border areas

Syrian Kidnappers move 11 Shiite Lebanese pilgrims for ‘security reasons’
August 13, 2012 /The Daily Star/BEIRUT: The Lebanese hostages held by Syrian rebels were moved for security reasons but are still in the Aleppo district of Izaaz, according to the ambassador of the International Organization for Human Rights. Speaking to The Daily Star Sunday, Ali Akil Khalil said the head of the captors informed him that they moved the hostages from the house where they had been kept.“He said that they are still in Izaaz but that they were moved to another place for security reasons,” said Khalil. Khalil said he telephoned Abu Ibrahim, the head of the captors, Saturday after receiving phone calls from the relatives of the kidnapped asking about media reports of the move. The 11 men were kidnapped in May in Izaaz shortly after crossing from Turkey. They were heading back to Lebanon after a pilgrimage in Iran. The rebels have refused to negotiate their release with the Lebanese government, instead asking to hold talks with Future Movement MP Oqab Sakr or Col. Wissam Hasan, the head of the Internal Security Forces Information Branch. Reporters and some of the pilgrims’ relatives visited the men last week with the rebels’ permission.
The hostages were living in a house and appeared in good health in the footage broadcast.
Khalil, who arrived in Lebanon Saturday after spending two days with the kidnapped, said he believed Turkey could play an effective role in securing the release of the captives.
“The Turks provided them [the rebels] with flour and gas when I was with them,” he said. “If they can do that, why can’t they make them release the 11?”
Last week, relatives of the kidnapped staged a protest near Turkey’s Embassy in Lebanon, warning that Turkish nationals in Lebanon could be kidnapped if Ankara refuses to work for the pilgrims’ release.
Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour, who flew Sunday to Saudi Arabia to attend the Muslim Summit in Jeddah, said he would discuss the case on the sidelines of the event.
“Of course we will discuss this issue on the sidelines of the conference with relevant ministers and officials of relevant states,” Mansour told reporters prior to his departure.

Michel Samaha's Case: A point for justice
August 13, 2012/The Daily Star
There has been a tendency to jump to conclusions in the aftermath of the arrest of Michel Samaha, whether by those who support the former government minister or those who condemn him.
The golden rule in such cases should of course be to reserve judgment until the judicial process has run its course. In a country like Lebanon, however, doing so is blighted by the constant leaks and counter-leaks, which are then attacked in the media by either side whenever they do not suit their agenda.
But regardless of what the final outcome of the case is, a few key facts and indicators for the future can be seen in the proceedings so far.
Firstly, in a positive sign, the operation has been conducted in a highly transparent way.
Those in the highest positions have been kept informed of each step of the process, including those parties that naturally tend toward support for Samaha and his policies, a fact that has succeeded in stopping protests erupting on the street. This has given the judiciary the chance to deal with this case without any major meddling, yet. Secondly, it is important to note that the Lebanese judiciary has achieved a first with this case, asserting its independence after decades of Syrian occupation and continued influence at every political level.
The judiciary has with unprecedented directness implicated the highest possible level of Syrian officials in a large-scale and seriously threatening operation.
To many observers this sequence of events could suggest it is only the tip of the iceberg. The decision to tackle this case could open a Pandora’s Box, paving the way for several mysteries surrounding a multitude of security incidents in Lebanon to be addressed. Only time will tell if this will be the case.
This case should prompt the government and its security apparatus to be extra vigilant, now knowing there are regional powers, notably Syria, who are interested in sowing dissent and creating havoc in the country at the best of times, let alone as the Syrian regime comes under immense pressure. Should that pressure force the regime’s collapse, neighboring countries will unavoidably feel some aftershocks. The strongest of these is likely to hit Lebanon, which must therefore do its best to protect itself against the worst effects.
All cards are on the table in the aftermath of the case against Samaha and the two Syrian officials accused alongside him. Although the whole situation has been a political disaster, it should now be clearly confined to the judicial process, which can then be fairly scrutinized by political factions on either side.
In order to maintain the success security forces had in uncovering the original plot, the judiciary must see this case to the end. They must first clearly establish the facts, and then rule according to them, with transparency regardless of the political affiliations of all involved.

Lebanese Military launches Micheal Samaha probe
August 13, 2012/By Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: A military judge begins investigations Monday into former Minister Michel Samaha, who along with a high-ranking Syrian military official, was formally charged in a terror plot aimed at destabilizing Lebanon. Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Sunday that the results of the investigation would determine the stance to be taken in order to defend the country’s sovereignty.
The charges against Samaha, a longtime ally and friend of Syrian President Bashar Assad, and the chief of Syrian National Security Bureau Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk, threaten to further strain the already tense relations between Lebanon and Syria following a series of deadly incidents on the shared border between the two countries.
Samaha’s reported confessions to his involvement in the terror plot sparked calls by some March 14 politicians for Lebanon to sever ties with the Assad regime.
Military Judge Riad Abu Ghida begins investigation with Samaha Monday, Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi said. Speaking in an interview with Al-Jadeed TV Sunday night, Qortbawi said he did not know what was the outcome of preliminary interrogation with Samaha despite a deluge of media leaks that began shortly after the former minister and lawmaker was taken by members of the Internal Security Forces’ Information Branch last week from his summer residence in Metn’s Khanshara-Jwar to ISF headquarters in Beirut for questioning.
Samaha, a former MP and two-time information minister, was charged Saturday by Lebanon’s Military Tribunal with plotting to assassinate political and religious figures in the country and planning terrorist attacks. In an unprecedented move, Mamlouk and a Syrian brigadier general, who was identified as Brig. Gen. Adnan, were also included in the indictment.
Judge Sami Sader, the government’s deputy commissioner at the Military Tribunal, also charged the three men with “creating an armed group aimed at committing crimes against the people and undermining the state’s authority.”He also accused the three men of planning to “incite sectarian fighting through preparations to carry out terrorist attacks with explosives” Samaha transported to Lebanon and stored after taking possession of them from Mamlouk and Adnan. Sader also charged the three men with “planning to kill religious and political figures and working with the intelligence of a foreign state [Syria] to carry out aggression against Lebanon.” Samaha was also accused of possessing unlicensed weapons.
Meanwhile, Mikati defended his government’s policy of dissociating Lebanon from the repercussions of the 17-month unrest in Syria. He said investigations into Samaha’s case would continue to the end in order to reveal the truth, pinpoint responsibilities and issue appropriate sentences in the case of “an attempt to destabilize Lebanon, stir up strife and put explosives in more than one area.”
“We have adopted the disassociation policy out of our conviction not to interfere in the affairs of others. Therefore, we will not allow anyone to interfere in our affairs or to turn Lebanon again into an arena for settling scores or to import external crises to it,” Mikati said in a statement.
“In light of the information and results, we will take a political stance and decision that is in tune with safeguarding Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence and not to allow anyone to jeopardize the security and safety of the Lebanese,” he added. Mikati said he had instructed security authorities to conduct investigations to determine how these explosives entered Lebanon and tighten control of all border crossings with Syria. Meanwhile, President Michel Sleiman described reports of plots to carry out bombings in Lebanon as “frightening.” He spoke during a meeting with ISF chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi and the head of the ISF’s Information Branch Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan at the Beiteddine Palace Saturday. Sleiman praised the Information Branch’s discovery of the explosives which, he said, had averted strife. For his part, Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi denied reports that Milad Kfouri, who sources identified as having provided incriminating footage in the Samaha case, was still in the minister’s employment. Security sources told The Daily Star a member of the Kfouri family had provided what they described as incriminating evidence of Samaha saying Assad had desired bomb attacks in the country.

Lebanese Army, leaders seek to contain fallout from Akkar violence
August 13, 2012/The Daily Star/AKROUM, Lebanon: Efforts continued over the weekend to contain the repercussions of last week’s clashes between the Jaafar clan and residents of the Akkar village of Akroum with a meeting that gathered both camps. The Lebanese Army deployed in mountainous areas of Akkar separating Akroum from the Syrian village of Hourani last week, responding to incidents of shooting from both sides. They also raided areas where perpetrators were taking shelter.
The Army issued warnings that it would not be lenient with those who put people’s security at risk, and called on residents of the towns and villages in the area to cooperate with security forces until the criminals were arrested. To this end, a meeting was held over the weekend between a number of Akkar’s public figures and representatives of the Jaafar clan in the home of Yassin Jaafar, son of former MP Ali Jaafar. The meeting was attended by Sheikhs Malik Jadid and Ahmad Abdel-Wahad and the head of the Qaytaa municipal union in the village of Akkar Abdullah Zakaria, as well as the head of the Army Intelligence Branch in north Lebanon, Brig. Amer Hasan and a number of Army officers.
Several statements were made during the meeting, underlining the shared responsibility in ending the fallout from the clashes witnessed in the area between the Jaafar clan and residents of Akroum last week.
A resident of Akroum was killed by gunfire from men in the Jaafar family while he and other residents were trying to help a Syrian refugee family from Qusayr enter Lebanon via the Syrian village of Hourani, in which a number of people from the Jaafar family reside. Several others were wounded in the violence.
This incident was followed by an exchange of gunfire which led to the killing of one from the Jaafar family and the injury of another.
This prompted other members of the family to open fire on Akroum, leaving two wounded.
These clashes come against the backdrop of increased tension and violence in Syrian border towns and villages, in which a large number of Shiite Lebanese reside. This can often lead to conflict with surrounding Syrian towns and villages outside the cities of Homs and Qusayr which contain a large number of Syrian opposition and Free Syrian Army members.
The violence comes amid a rise in sectarian tension between members of the Shiite and the Sunni sects – a spillover from the worsening Syrian crisis, which has transformed from a peaceful uprising into an armed confrontation, and is steadily developing into a sectarian civil war between a Sunni majority and an Alawite minority.
Lebanese opinion, meanwhile, is often sharply divided between those who support the Syrian regime and those who oppose it, particularly in the Lebanese towns and villages of Hermel and Akkar, which face a string of Syrian villages where over 5,000 Lebanese Shiites reside.
With the spread of tension, this area of Lebanon could become a direct channel for political and military consequences of the Syrian crisis, thanks in large part to the geographic and sectarian intermingling between the two sides of the border.This will have much to do with the sectarian composition of the area of Hermel, which is also one of the most important areas for the political and military presence of Hezbollah, and the political composition of Akkar, which has a number of Sunni fundamentalist groups.
These factors make the area likely to be a place for the spillover of Syrian violence should it continue and develop into outright sectarian civil war.

Samaha supporters protest outside Military Tribunal in Beirut
August 12, 2012/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Supporters of former MP and Minister Michel Samaha, who was indicted over the weekend, held a protest in solidarity with the pro-Assad figure outside the Military Tribunal in Beirut Sunday.Some 40 of Samaha’s supporters took part in the protest outside the Military Tribunal where Samaha, as well as two Syrian military figures, were indicted Saturday for plotting to assassinate political and religious figures in Lebanon and carry out terrorist attacks.
“Freedom for Samaha,” read a sign carried by one supporter. “Enough with the lies ... Enough with insulting our intelligence,” read another.
The three men – Samaha, Syrian National Security Bureau head Ali Mamlouk and Brig. Gen. Adnan, whose last name was not disclosed – were also charged with creating an armed group aimed at undermining the authority and prestige of the state. A judicial source told The Daily Star Saturday that the charges, if proven, could lead to the defendants being sentenced to hard labor or death. Judge Sami Sader, the government’s deputy commissioner at the Military Tribunal who issued the indictment, referred the case to Military Judge Riad Abu Ghida, who will pursue the investigation and question Samaha.

Future Movement MP Mouin Merhebi urges Akkar to establish local militia
August 13, 2012/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Future Movement MP Mouin Merhebi suggested over the weekend that residents of the northern region of Akkar establish an armed force to defend themselves against repeated Syrian shelling of their villages, saying that the government is shirking its responsibility to protect them. “Why don’t we, as residents of Akkar, form a self-defense force, given that the government as well as officials and leaders abandoned their duty to us?” Merhebi asked. “We have only God and ourselves to rely on.” Syrian shelling of Akkar villages has intensified in the past months as a result of the uprising against President Bashar Assad. The shelling has at times resulted in material damage and loss of Lebanese civilian lives. “Isn’t it imperative to keep the army in places that have become points of tension, or does Akkar not deserve protection?” Merhebi asked. Last month, the MP claimed that “the Army does not have orders to respond to the sources” of “daily Syrian shelling,” adding that “the government is simply watching its people being slaughtered every day.” The Army has denied his allegations.

President Michel Sleiman says reports of possible bombings 'frightening'
August 11, 2012/ The Daily Star
BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman said reports of possible terrorist plots in the country were frightening, but noted security agencies’ work in foiling such plans.
"[Sleiman] considers what happened in the last two days frightening; to think that preparations were under way to blow up the situation and incite strife as well as make the Lebanese once again pay the price with their souls,” the president’s press office said in a statement. The president noted the work of head of the Internal Security Forces Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi and head of the Information Branch Wisam Hasan in foiling bombing attempts. During his meeting with both Hasan and Rifi, Sleiman followed up on the investigation in the case of former Information Minister Michel Samaha, who was detained Thursday on suspicion of involvement in plots to bomb targets in north Lebanon.
Sleiman also stressed the need to abide by legal measures of a high standard in trials.

Lebanese MPs call for expulsion of Syrian envoy to Lebanon over Samaha case
 August 12, 2012/ The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Several MPs called over the weekend for the expulsion of Syria’s ambassador to Lebanon over the recent indictment of former Lebanese MP Michel Samaha as well as two Syrian military figures.
“It is time that Syria’s ambassador to Lebanon be summoned and that he and the explosives be returned to Syria and our envoy in Damascus be recalled until there is a democratic order there which acts without enmity toward Lebanon,” March 14 MP Marwan Hamade, a fierce opponent of the Syrian regime, said in comments published by An-Nahar newspaper Sunday.
On Saturday, Samaha, a former MP and two-time information minister, was indicted by Lebanon’s military tribunal for plotting to assassinate political and religious figures in the country and planning terrorist attacks. In an unprecedented move, Syrian National Security Bureau head Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk and a Syrian brigadier general, who was identified as Brig. Gen. Adnan, were also included in the indictment.
 Judge Sami Sader, the government’s deputy commissioner at the Military Tribunal, also charged the three men with creating an armed group aimed at undermining the authority and prestige of the state.
Samaha was arrested by the Internal Security Forces’ Information Branch Thursday on suspicion of being involved in a plot to carry out bomb attacks in Lebanon on behalf of the Syrian regime.
Hamade also urged Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour to inform his counterparts at a ministerial Arab League meeting, which had been set to take place later in the day in Saudi Arabia but was later canceled, due to “the aggression against Lebanon that almost breached civil peace.”
Mansour said Saturday that there would be no alteration of diplomatic ties between Lebanon and Syria until the courts issue their verdict.
“There have been no diplomatic steps taken and there will not be until the judiciary has its final say,” the National News Agency quoted him as saying Saturday.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Sunday that Lebanon adopted its policy of dissociation toward developments in the region “out of conviction” in order not to interfere in the affairs of other states and “for this reason we will not allow anyone to interfere in our affairs or that Lebanon be turned into an arena for settling scores or to import foreign crises.”
He added, “In light of the information and results, we will take a political stance and decision that is in tune with safeguarding Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence and to disallow anyone from threatening the Lebanese and their safety.”
In the statement, made through his information office, Mikati said he had instructed authorities to get to the bottom of the revelations that explosive devices had entered the country.
“I asked relevant security authorities to conduct investigations to determine who and how explosives entered Lebanon and to bolster [security] at all border points,” Mikati said.
MP Akram Chehayeb, a member of the National Struggle Front that has been highly critical of Assad, also said it was time for Syria’s Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel-Karim Ali to leave.
“Is it not time for Lebanon to kick out the ambassador of the rogue regime that is hostile to its people and all the people in the region?” he asked in a statement Sunday.
Chehayeb said Ali needed to explain his position given the Samaha case.
“The ambassador of the Syrian regime to Lebanon does not miss an opportunity to assure the regime’s keenness over the security, stability and peace in Lebanon ... but what does he say after the military tribunal’s indictment of former MP and Minister Michel Samaha that the regime requested him to do things and provided him with the necessary explosives and money to strike at Lebanon’s security, stability and peace?” he asked. Chehayeb also called on Lebanese officials to explain their position given the alleged revelations in Samaha’s case.
“Given what was leaked in terms of reliable testimonies that incriminate the Syrian regime, its intelligence and ruling symbols and demonstrate what this regime holds for Lebanon, what is the position of officials toward a regime that has lost its credibility and violated international and Arab treaties and agreements of cooperation and coordination between Lebanon and Syria and after there is tangible evidence that this regime wants to undermine Lebanon?” he asked.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi issued a statement Sunday denying reports that Milad Kfouri, who sources identified as providing incriminating footage in the Samaha case, was still under the minister’s employment.
“Some media referred to Mr. Milad Kfouri, whose name has become linked to the case of the arrest of former Minister Michel Samaha, as being under the employment of Minister Safadi within a security capacity,” the statement said.
Safadi’s office said the minister had turned to Kfouri in 2005, in the aftermath of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, when politicians had turned to security firms to provide protection. “It was within this context that there was cooperation with Mr. Kfouri, who presented himself as an owner of a firm offering security services and on this basis he was contracted,” the statement said.
Safadi’s office said Kfouri ended his contract in the third week of July 2012 “for reasons he did not wish to clarify and his work ended there.”
Security sources told The Daily Star that a man from the Kfouri family had provided what they described as incriminating evidence of Samaha saying Assad had desired bomb attacks in the country.
“This is what Bashar wants,” security sources quoted Samaha as saying of the Syrian leader, in a video shot by Kfouri, who was working as a Lebanese undercover agent for the Internal Security Forces’ Information Branch. The sources also said that, in the video, Samaha can be seen and heard saying that Syrian Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk had handed him the bombs in addition to cash to be distributed to would-be perpetrators of the attacks in Lebanon. When interrogators screened the video in his presence, Samaha promptly admitted to being the man on film, the sources said.

Jumblatt says alliance with Hezbollah at risk
August 12, 2012 /The Daily Star
BEIRUT: MP Walid Jumblatt said over the weekend his alliance with Hezbollah could not continue under the slogan of the “Army, people and resistance,” in a possible sign of deteriorating relations between the two Cabinet allies. “This vague partnership under the slogan of ‘Army, people and resistance,’ cannot continue at the expense of the state, [Lebanese] Army, security and economy,” Jumblatt said Saturday during a televised iftar in the Chouf, Mount Lebanon. The Progressive Socialist Party leader, who is in a loose alliance with Hezbollah in government, has been at odds with the resistance group over the thorny issue of its weapons and last week praised President Michel Sleiman who said the Army should have no partner in defending security and sovereignty.
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has proposed his own defense strategy, based on coordination between his party and the Army. Nasrallah has also called for a liberation strategy to free Israeli-occupied Lebanese territory. He said last week that Hezbollah could not fall under the command of the Army, as the state lacked the ability to resolve basic challenges.
Sleiman, who launched a National Dialogue in July to address a national defense strategy, has said he would formulate a defense strategy aimed at incorporating Hezbollah’s arsenal and that his proposal would meet the demands of both the March 14 and the March 8 parties.
Jumblatt’s criticism of Hezbollah and the March 8 coalition extended to the issue of the recent draft electoral law based on proportional representation endorsed by the government.
“If the other team wins then there will be no room for a state, or the Army and police’s exclusivity concerning security, or a place for an independent judiciary, president or Army,” he said. Jumblatt, who is represented in Cabinet by three ministers from the National Struggle Front parliamentary bloc, also took aim at the government, saying its one accomplishment was funding for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. “If there was a central achievement by this government then it would be its commitment to funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the assassination of [former] Prime Minister Rafik Hariri,” he said. The staunch critic of President Bashar Assad said violence in Syria surpassed “all imagination” and expressed puzzlement over what he described as an international conspiracy against the Syria as an “entity and people.”
“Are there negotiations to protect Israel’s security and redraw the map of the region,” he asked.
In separate comments to Saudi Alriyadh newspaper published Sunday, Jumblatt expressed hope that the exceptional Muslim summit to held under of Saudi King Abdullah in Mecca next week would “produce practical steps and enshrine within it dialogue and rapprochement.”
“The big changes that the world and the region of Muslim states demands dialogue and political talks take place at the highest level and that there be a genuine search for turning challenges into opportunities, which King Abdullah has sought to implement inside the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab and Muslim region,” he said.

Dispute degenerates into gunfire in North Lebanon’s Tripoli
August 12, 2012 /The National News Agency reported that heavy gunfire erupted in Al-Tal Square in North Lebanon’s Tripoli on Sunday evening, leaving an unspecified number injured.
The report said that the incident was related to a dispute which later degenerated into gunfire.A Lebanese army unit arrived at the scene to control the situation, as the injured were transferred to the Islamic Hospital in the area, the report added.-NOW Lebanon

Jumblatt: No place for ‘state of law’ if March 8 wins parliamentary elections
August 12, 2012 /Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said on Saturday that if March 8 wins the upcoming parliamentary elections, there will be no place for a state of law.
“If March 8 wins the [2013] parliamentary elections, I do not think there will be any room for a state of law. [Preserving security] will not be exclusive to the army and security forces. [I also do not think there will be an] independent judiciary, president and army,” Jumblatt said during an Iftar held at Shouf. The MP also commented on Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s cabinet, in which Jumblatt’s PSP is represented by three ministers. “If there is any major achievement that the cabinet has fulfilled, then it is its commitment to funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafiq Hariri,” Jumblatt said.Miqati announced in July that the cabinet approved funding the STL.-NOW Lebanon

LF says Akkar leaders prevented hanging of Rai welcome banners
August 12, 2012 /Lebanese Forces in Akkar accused a number of municipalities’ chiefs in the area of preventing the group from hanging banners welcoming Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai in North Lebanon’s Akkar on Monday, as they also “ripped apart” other posters, the National News Agency reported. Rai is scheduled to visit Akkar on Monday.The Lebanese Forces said in a statement that the municipalities’ leaders were affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement.-NOW Lebanon

Aoun: Lebanon a field for ‘international intelligence’
August 12, 2012 /Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun said Sunday that the situation in Lebanese was “very difficult,” adding that the country had become a theater “for international intelligence.” Aoun was speaking during an Iftar meeting organized by the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) in Beirut. The FPM is also led by Aoun.
Regarding the proportionality-based electoral draft law recently approved by cabinet, Aoun said: “The proportionality-based law gives fair representation for all groups in the Lebanese community and not only sects.” He also said that he favored a proportionality-based electoral law rather than one in which citizens vote only for candidates of their own sect. Aoun also said that the Christian Lebanese Forces and Kataeb parties supported the orthodox meeting proposal unlike the FPM. “In case proportionality was rejected then the return to the orthodox meeting proposal would become normal.”
In December 2011, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai chaired a meeting between leading Maronite politicians in the country to discuss several issues, including the drafting of an electoral law ahead of the 2013 parliamentary elections. The Orthodox proposal on the electoral law states that citizens should vote for candidates affiliated with their own religious sects.
Lebanese parties have been debating a new electoral law for the upcoming 2013 parliamentary elections. The cabinet on Tuesday approved of an electoral law based on proportionality and 13 electoral districts for the 2013 polls.However a number of political parties objected to it, including the Progressive Socialist Party led by MP Walid Jumblatt.According to the Lebanese constitution, the cabinet transfers draft laws to parliament for final approval.-NOW Lebanon

Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi calls for implementing law regarding leaks on Samaha case
August 12, 2012 /Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi called on Sunday for holding to account the groups responsible for leaking information pertaining to the interrogation of detained former Information Minister Michel Samaha. The minister, speaking to New TV, called for implementing the law for the sake of the interrogation’s integrity. On Thursday, Lebanese security forces arrested Samaha, who has close ties with Syria's embattled regime, in a case linked to explosives.Following his arrest, several media reports said that Samaha confessed under interrogation that he had transferred “explosives from Syria to Lebanon in order to carry out bombings in North Lebanon, particularly in the area of Akkar, with Syria’s knowledge.”-NOW Lebanon

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea comments on upcoming extraordinary Muslim summit
August 12, 2012 /Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said in remarks published on Sunday that he expected the extraordinary summit of Muslim leaders, which will be held mid-August in Saudi Arabia, to issue a clear stance regarding the Syrian crisis. “Everyone is looking forward [to the adoption of a] clear position on the Syrian crisis and the drawing of a road map [so as to reach this stance],” Geagea told Saudi daily Al-Riyadh.He also said that the summit was a “necessary initiative, especially… [amid] the challenges Muslim countries are being confronted with, particularly in the Middle East.”
The LF leader also addressed the Palestinian cause and voiced hope that during the summit officials would a commit to “a serious and real solution to the cause.”
Geagea added that it was important to include “the issue of Christian-Muslim dialogue” in the summit.
-NOW Lebanon

Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi comments on ties to man linked to Samaha case
August 12, 2012 /Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi’s press office commented in a statement issued Sunday on media reports that Milad Kfoury, a man involved in the case of ex-Information Minister Michel Samaha, had worked “as a security official” for Safadi.“Some media outlets mentioned that Mr. Milad Kfoury, whose name [became associated with] the [case] of former Minister Michel Samaha, works as a security official for Minister Safadi. We would like to clarify that in 2005, following the assassination of former Premier Rafiq Hariri and his companions and at the time when most politicians were endangered, [political figures] hired security companies that provide protection services,” the statement said. It added: “[In light of the situation at the time, Safadi’s office] cooperated with Mr. Kfoury, who presented himself as [a person] who owns a protection services company. Based on this, [we] hired his services until the third week of last July.” Furthermore, the statement said that in the third week of July 2012 Kfoury went to Safadi’s office and informed it “about his decision to stop working in the sector of protection services due to reasons which he [refused] to clarify. His work ended here.” On Thursday, Lebanese security forces arrested Samaha, who has close ties with Syria's embattled regime, in a case linked to explosives. Following his arrest, several media reports said that Samaha confessed under interrogation that he had transferred “explosives from Syria to Lebanon in order to carry out bombings in North Lebanon, particularly in the area of Akkar, with Syria’s knowledge.” On Saturday, Judge Sami Sader charged Samaha and two Syrian army officers with setting up an armed group to incite sectarian strife through “terror attacks.”
-NOW Lebanon

Bahrain returns envoy to Tehran
August 12, 2012 /Bahrain said Sunday it has reinstated its ambassador in Iran, more than a year after recalling the envoy over Tehran's strong condemnation of Manama's brutal crackdown on Shiite-led protests. "The ambassador of the kingdom to the Islamic Republic of Iran has returned to his work in Tehran," announced Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa on his page on the micro-blogging online platform Twitter. Manama recalled its ambassador from Iran on March 15 last year in protest at the time at Tehran's "blatant interference" in the Gulf kingdom's internal affairs.
Tehran retaliated by recalling its envoy from Manama.Iranian officials had severely criticized the violent crackdown in Sunni-ruled Bahrain, and the dispatch of Saudi-led Gulf troops there to help confront Shiite-led pro-democracy protests. Rights group Amnesty International says 60 people have been killed since the protests first erupted in Bahrain in February last year.-AFP

The Middle East Forum/Appointments: Efraim Karsh and Amy Shargel
August 12, 2012
http://www.meforum.org/3298/appointments-efraim-karsh-amy-shargel
PHILADELPHIA – The Middle East Forum is pleased to announce that Efraim Karsh has been appointed principal research fellow and chief editor and Amy Shargel has become director.
Mr. Karsh will focus in his new role on research, writing and editing. Among other responsibilities, he will continue as editor of the Middle East Quarterly and direct a new project, Apartheid Monitor, to document and combat discrimination against minorities in the Middle East, the foremost obstacle to the emergence of civil society and stable government.
A research professor at King's College London, Mr. Karsh is among the most original and accomplished historians of the Middle East active today. His latest book, Palestine Betrayed (Yale, 2010), reframes today's Arab-Israeli debate by demonstrating how Palestinians aborted a Palestinian state in the 1920s to 1940s.
Ms Shargel will direct the Forum's operations, functioning as chief operating officer. She will supervise, consolidate and expand existing programs and venture into new fields of activity.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she also received a Master's Degree in International Relations, Ms Shargel helped Daniel Pipes to establish the Middle East Forum in 1994. Having served in a number of positions in the organization, she has played a central role in nearly all the Forum's operations.
MEF president Daniel Pipes stated "I welcome these staff changes which give Efraim Karsh more time to do his own research and take advantage of Amy Shargel's proven strengths as the Middle East Forum's key administrator. This shift should help MEF expand its reach on issues relating to the Middle East and Islam."

Hezbollah's Karma in Syria
David Schenker /Washington Institute
Weekly Standard/By supporting the massacres in Syria over the past sixteen months, Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah engendered the hatred of millions of Sunnis next door, who will almost assuredly hold a grudge after Assad's ouster.Earlier this month, 48 Iranian Shiite "pilgrims" were abducted in Damascus. The Free Syrian Army claims they were members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, who have been dispatched to Syria to protect one of Tehran's vital interests, Bashar al-Assad's regime. It's not the first time that anti-regime rebels have captured who they claim are Iranian-trained Assad allies. Since May, another armed opposition group called the "Syrian Revolutionaries-Aleppo Province" has been holding eleven Lebanese Shiites who say they are simply making their way back home after a trip to Iran for religious purposes. Initially, at least, these rebels alleged that five of these self-described pilgrims were in reality Hezbollah officials.
In recent weeks, the revolutionaries have tempered their assertions about the Hezbollah association of all the Lebanese captives, but the Syrian opposition is still holding the organization responsible for Assad regime atrocities. In a statement provided to Al Jazeera, the kidnappers indicated that negotiations for the hostages would be predicated on Hezbollah general secretary Hassan Nasrallah apologizing for "assist[ing] in the suppression of the uprising." Nasrallah refused to express contrition for supporting Assad, but Hezbollah's own hostage crisis has just added to his recent woes.
Prior to the so-called "Arab Spring," Nasrallah was among the most beloved and feared men in the Arab world. But a year and a half into the popular Syrian uprising, with Hezbollah's allies in Damascus in trouble and the militia's clerical patrons in Tehran facing a possible American or Israeli attack, Nasrallah seems to have lost his mojo. Lately, the once confident and charismatic Nasrallah has been more whiney than menacing. Nasrallah has not only taken up the cause of the detained "pilgrims" in most of his speeches, but he has also defined the prisoner's release as a policy priority of the Lebanese government, which, says Nasrallah, bears full responsibility for their return.
During his May 25 speech celebrating Liberation Day -- when Israeli troops withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000 -- Nasrallah bemoaned the kidnappings at length. "Religiously, this is forbidden. Morally, this is a very disgraceful crime," he said. Moreover, he advised, "kidnapping the innocent does harm to you and all what you claim or say you are seeking."
Just a week later at his lecture commemorating the death of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Nasrallah made a personal appeal to the hijackers. "If you have any problem with me [or] Hezbollah," he said, "let's separate the cause of the kidnapped and put it aside and let's solve your problem with us. Using the innocent visitors as hostages to resolve the problem -- regardless of its nature and essence -- is a great injustice you should abandon."
Coming from the longtime leader of Hezbollah, the anti-kidnapping messaging is not particularly credible. After all, in the 1980s kidnapping Westerners in Lebanon was an essential element of the organization's modus operandi. Even today, Hezbollah still favors the tactic, now prizing Israeli civilian and military targets. Needless to say, Hezbollah has not suddenly reformed and decided to reject kidnapping. The organization merely opposes the abduction of its members.
Meanwhile, the affiliation of all the Lebanese detainees remains unclear. When the news of the kidnapping broke, Voice of Beirut International Radio reported that six of the abducted men held posts with Hezbollah, including officials responsible for explosives and ammunition in the south, intelligence in Bint Jbeil, and training camps in the Bekaa Valley. It also identified one of the detainees, Ali Safa, as Nasrallah's nephew. While the story may have been fabricated by Hezbollah detractors to embarrass the militia, it is plausible that at least some of the men have a connection to the organization. Most compelling, perhaps, is the fact that three of the same men identified as members of Hezbollah in the Voice of Beirut report subsequently confirmed their names (if not their identities) in a video of the kidnapped men released to Al Jazeera.
Regardless of exactly who these alleged "pilgrims" are -- and we may never know -- there is some poetic justice in Nasrallah suffering the frustration of vulnerability in the face of kidnapping. At the same time, by supporting the massacres over the past 16 months, Nasrallah and Hezbollah engendered the hatred of millions of Sunnis next door who almost assuredly will hold a grudge after Assad. Ultimately, this dynamic is likely to exacerbate sectarian tensions along the Lebanese/Syrian border, exposing Lebanon's Shiites to violence on a scale not seen in decades.
*David Schenker is the Aufzien fellow and director of the Program on Arab Politics at The Washington Institute.

Egypt: There Goes the Army; There Goes the Free Media; There Goes Egypt
by Barry Rubin/ PJ Media
So can you write “Arab Spring,” “free elections,” “democracy in Egypt,” and such things 100 times? This just might be somewhat in contradiction to the fact that:
Muslim Brotherhood President al-Mursi has just removed the two commanding generals of the Egyptian military. Does he have a right to do this? Who knows?There’s no constitution. That means all we were told about not having to worry because the generals would restrain the Brotherhood was false. Moreover, the idea that the army, and hence the government, may fear to act lest they lose U.S. aid will also be false. There is no parliament at present He is now the democratically elected dictator of Egypt. True, he picked another career officer but he has now put forward the principle: he decides who runs the army. The generals can still advise Mursi. He can choose to listen to them or not. But there is no more dual power in Egypt but only one leader. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces which has run Egypt since February 2011 is gone. Only Mursi remains and Egypt is now at his mercy.
Behind the scenes note: Would Mursi dared have done this if he thought Obama would come down on him like a ton of bricks? Would the army give up if they thought America was behind it? No on both counts. This is a coup. Mursi is bound by no constitution. He can do as he pleases unless someone is going to stop him. And the only candidate–the military–is fading fast, far faster than even we pessimists would have predicted. Muslim Brotherhood President al-Mursi has also just named the editors of the top Egyptian newspaper and other media outlets. They are state-owned, you know, and there are a half-dozen good little independent newspapers. But one of them, al-Destour (ironically meaning “The Constitution”), has just had a full issue seized on charges of “fueling sedition” and “harming the president through phrases and wording punishable by law.” We know this through a report in the Middle East News Agency, the state-owned monopoly.
And what was the inflammatory report? That the Brotherhood was going to seize power and that liberals and the army should join together to stop the country from being turned into an Islamist regime.
Seems to me that if it weren’t true there wasn’t any need to confiscate the issue, right? After all, everybody would have seen that it wouldn’t happen and all would have shared a good laugh!
Other columnists are charging that the Brotherhood is trying to turn their newspapers into reliable house organs rather than let them be free.
Reminds me of a personal experience I had in Cairo over thirty years ago. An al-Ahram newspaper editor was well-known for being the highest-ranking Christian in journalism. I went to see him and mentioned that I knew he was a Christian. He launched into a long lecture about how wonderfully Christians were treated in Egypt, how there was no discrimination against them, etc.
After a while I mentioned that I heard he had been on the television the previous evening but I had missed it. For no particular reason, I just asked, “How long were you on, fifteen minutes?”

Syrian opposition leader calls for no-fly zone in border areas
August 13, 2012 /Daily Star/A Free Syrian Army fighter helps a woman run across a street during clashes in Aleppo.
BEIRUT: The head of Syria’s main opposition group in exile called Sunday for international powers to impose a no-fly zone in border areas to protect civilians who are coming under increasingly intense attacks by regime warplanes and helicopters. The president of the Syrian National Council, Abdelbasset Sayda, told the Associated Press that such a move by the international community would show President Bashar Assad’s regime that his opponents around the world were serious. The Syrian opposition has been calling for a no-fly zone over Syria for months. But Sayda renewed the plea a day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington and Turkey were discussing a range of steps including a no-fly zone over some parts of Syria as the regime increasingly uses its air force to attack rebels.“There must be special protection,” Sayda said by telephone. Asked who would impose the no-fly zone, Sayda said: “We leave it to the international community.”
Russia and China have vetoed attempts to pass tough U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed at Assad’s regime. Last week, the U.N. and Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan, announced his resignation following a frustrating six-month effort that failed to achieve even a temporary cease-fire.
Sayda said the no-fly zone should be along borders with Jordan and Turkey, adding that the opposition had called for such a move during last month’s Friends of Syria meeting in Paris attended by world powers. Clinton told reporters after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul Saturday that their countries needed to get into detailed operational planning on how to assist the rebels and said options could include imposing a no-fly zone over territory that Syrian rebels claim to control.
Washington sees Turkey as the key player both in supporting Syria’s opposition and in planning for what U.S. officials say is the inevitable collapse of the Assad government.
Clinton and other U.S. officials have in recent weeks cited rebel gains on the battlefield and the defection of senior Syrian military and political figures as signs that Assad’s rule is crumbling.
They have also highlighted rebel claims to control a “corridor” from Aleppo to the Turkish border as a potential future opposition safe haven.
But Clinton said Washington worried about other groups such as the Kurdish separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) or Al-Qaeda exploiting the chaos in Syria to gain a foothold.
Turkey this week accused Assad of supplying arms to the PKK, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has raised the possibility of military intervention in Syria if the Kurdish threat increases.
The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), a group connected to the separatist militant PKK, claimed responsibility Sunday for an attack last Thursday on a Turkish military bus that killed two soldiers.
Syria’s civil war has spread to almost every province in the country and the death toll has increased over the past weeks. Activists say more than 20,000 people have been killed since the revolt against Assad’s authoritarian rule began in March 2011. Activists reported more clashes Sunday in some Damascus suburbs, the battleground city of Aleppo in the north, central Homs province, and the restive southern town of Deraa. The U.K.-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had no immediate reports of casualties.
The deaths of two Syrian journalists in Damascus Saturday were also reported Sunday.
The Observatory said that government forces were able to retake the northern town of Ariha, in the restive Idlib province, that had been under rebels’ control for months. The group said troops backed by tanks entered the town late Saturday and quoted witnesses as saying that many people had been detained and some had been the victims of “summary executions.”
Also Sunday, Syrian state news agency SANA said troops killed Wael Mohammad al-Majdalawi who is a leader of the Sunni group Al-Nusra Front, which claimed responsibility for deadly attacks over the past months including last week’s killing of a prominent Syrian television broadcaster.
In a video released Sunday, Capt. Abdul-Nasser Shumeir, who commands the rebel “Baraa Brigades” said government troops launched two attacks in an attempt to free 48 Iranians they have been holding for 10 days. He said Assad’s regime is responsible for the safety of the Iranians, adding that any negotiations for their release should come after government forces lift the siege imposed on rebel-held areas.
He also called on the Iranian people to pressure their government to stop its support for Assad’s regime.
SANA also reported that security forces had ambushed an armed group in Aleppo and killed and wounded some of them.
It said that Al-Safira residents in Aleppo prevented gunmen riding in five cars mounted with machine guns from entering their area.
The Observatory said three children, whose ages were between 6 and 11, were killed Sunday when a bus they were fleeing in with their parents from the Shammas neighborhood of the central city of Homs came under fire. It said government troops were conducting operations in the area.