LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 15/2012
Bible Quotation for today/Jesus Blesses Little Children
Luke 18/15 Some people brought their babies to Jesus for him to place his hands
on them. The disciples saw them and scolded them for doing so, but Jesus called
the children to him and said, Let the children come to me and do not stop them,
because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Remember this! Whoever does
not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.
Latest analysis,
editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Hezbollah failure in India/Ron
Ben-Yishai/Ynetnews/February
14/12
Is the Cedar Revolution unfinished/By Stephen
Dockery/February 14/12
Finally…“Friends of the Syrian
People”/By Tariq Alhomayed/February 14/12
Syria Street divides them/By: Matt Nash and Nadine
Elali/February 14/12
Damascus in between the two Doha agreements/By: Hazem
Saghiyeh/February 14/12
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for
February 14/12
A
fatal attack on Israelis abroad could spark war with Iran and Hizballah
Newsweek: Israel keeping U.S. in the dark on Iran attack
Sources: Israel not expected to respond harshly to India,
Georgia attacks
Israeli hero: Israeli's Envoy wife in India spotted the
terrorist who exploded her car
Israel blames Iran after attacks on embassy staff
Netanyahu: Iran responsible for attacks on Israeli
embassies
Amos Harel / New Delhi attack reflects Iran's limited
capabilities
India to boost security at Israeli embassy
Israel blames Iran,
Hezbollah for twin embassy explosions
Israel accuses Iran of embassy bombs in Delhi, Tbilisi
U.S. Navy: Iran prepares suicide bomb boats in Gulf
Canada Condemns Attacks Targeting Israeli Diplomats
Azerbaijan Rejects Iran's Charges of Collusion with Israel
8 Christian Families Evicted from Egyptian Village
Following Attacks on Christian Homes and Businesses
Egyptian Police Prevent Christian Protesters From Reaching
Parliament
Nigerian Islamists threaten attack on telecom firms
Syrian defector: Assad using chemical weapons
France Warns against Outside Military Action in Syria
World powers’ bickering
fans flames in Syria
Syrian Opposition Group Rejects Qaida Interference
Sources to Naharnet: Saudi Troops to Spearhead Proposed
Syria Peacekeeping Force
London Rules Out Western Troops for Syria, Berlin Hails
Arab League Role
Mikati confirms additional indictments in Hariri's killing
Hariri: Dialogue Must Only Tackle Arms, Syrian People are
the Real Resistance
Hariri: Assad’s
downfall inevitable
Jumblatt decries Lebanon’s stance in Arab League
Lebanese
Interior Ministry sets up Palestinian database
Phalange Party Warns of 'Frightening' Arms Proliferation
in Tripoli
Beirut: Fugitive Dead, Another Hurt as Car Tries to Escape
Nabaa Checkpoint
Lebanon: Berri Sets Legislative Session for Feb. 22
Canada Condemns Attacks
Targeting Israeli Diplomats
February 13, 2012 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the
following statement following recent attacks targeting Israeli diplomats in
India and Georgia:
“Canada condemns in the strongest terms today’s attack against Israeli diplomats
in India and the attempted attack on Israeli diplomats in Georgia.
“On behalf of all Canadians, I extend our thoughts to those who were injured in
this senseless attack. “I strongly urge the Indian and Georgian authorities to
ensure that the perpetrators of these cowardly acts are brought to justice.”
Israel accuses Iran of embassy bombs in Delhi, Tbilisi
By Adam Plowright | AFP..Bombs targeted Israeli interests in India and Georgia
on Monday, injuring a diplomat and her driver in New Delhi, officials said, in
attacks that Israel accused Iran of masterminding.
A hitman on a motorbike fixed a suspected magnetic bomb on an Israeli embassy
car in the Indian capital wounding the 42-year-old diplomat and her Indian
driver, police said.
The bomb at around 3:30 pm (1000 GMT) caused their car to explode in a ball of
flames in a diplomatic area of central New Delhi and bystanders had to drag the
pair from the vehicle, witnesses said.
In the Georgian capital Tbilisi, 2,300 miles (3,700 kilometres) to the west, an
embassy employee found a suspicious device in his car and contacted police who
were able to defuse the bomb before it dentonated.
"Iran is behind these attacks. It is the biggest exporter of terror in the
world," Israeli Prime Minister Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu told members of
his right-wing Likud party in Jerusalem.
The Israeli leader said there had been a number of attempts to harm Israelis and
Jews in recent months in places such as Thailand and Azerbaijan in a series of
plots coordinated by Tehran and Lebanon's Shiite militia Hezbollah.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted by Al-Alam
television as "categorically" rejecting the accusations. "Iran condemns all acts
of terrorism," he said.
In New Delhi, police commissioner B.K. Gupta said that a witness saw a man ride
up behind the targeted vehicle -- a silver Toyota with diplomatic plates -- as
it approached a junction shortly after leaving the Israeli embassy.
"He saw a man on a motorbike sticking some kind of a device on the rear side of
the car," the police commissioner told reporters. "Just a few seconds after, the
car exploded."
The diplomat -- who is also the wife of the defence attache in New Delhi who was
on her way to collect her children from school -- was taken to a private
hospital where she was said to be in critical but stable condition.
Two others were also injured, in addition to the driver.
"She is in the OT (operating theatre) for spine surgery," medical superintendent
of Primus Hospital, N.D. Khurana, told AFP. "There are so many injuries. ... She
is critical, but she is stable."
An Israeli defence ministry spokesman in Jerusalem named the woman as Tal
Yehoshua Koren and said she was undergoing surgery and would be flown back to
Israel "as soon as possible."
The charred remains of the car surrounded by debris stood in the street until
the early evening, with the roof still intact but the back door missing.
"I was opposite when the explosion occurred. All of a sudden there was a boom
and I saw that a car was engulfed in fire. I really got a shock," witness
Shashwati Goswami, a New Delhi communications lecturer, told AFP.
Wounded driver Manoj Sharma told the Press Trust of India that he had washed the
car that morning and had already run several errands before the blast struck.
"I just felt the fire and I came out ... and then brought out madam," a stunned
Sharma was quoted as saying from hospital.
The method used in the attacks closely mirrors the tactics of assassins who have
been targeting Iranian nuclear scientists with magnetic bombs placed on their
cars.
Three scientists and a physicist have been killed in the last two years in
murders blamed by Iran on Israeli and American secret services.
The bomb plots in New Delhi and Tbilisi also fell between anniversaries of the
deaths of two top militants from Hezbollah, the militant group which has close
ties to Iran. The anniversary sparks annual travel warnings from Israel.
The Indian government ordered the tightening of security at diplomatic missions,
while Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna voiced regret.
"India very strongly condemns such incidents and it is going to be fully
investigated and the culprits will be brought to justice at the earliest," he
said in a statement.
In Washington, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the "cowardly"
attacks in the "strongest possible terms."
Her denunciation was echoed by European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine
Ashton, who said attacks on diplomatic missions "cannot be justified under any
circumstances."
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the attacks proved that Israelis
both at home and abroad were "a target for terrorists" but that the country knew
"how to identify those who are responsible."
The last militant strike in New Delhi was in September when a bomb outside the
High Court killed 14 people -- the latest in a series of blasts that has shaken
public confidence in the Indian government's counter-terror capabilities.
U.S. Navy: Iran prepares suicide bomb boats in Gulf
MANAMA (Reuters) - Iran has built up its naval forces in the Gulf and prepared
boats that could be used in suicide attacks, but the U.S. Navy can prevent it
from blocking the Strait of Hormuz, the commander of U.S. naval forces in the
region said on Sunday.
Iran has made a series of threats in recent weeks to disrupt shipping in the
Gulf or strike U.S. forces in retaliation if its oil trade is shut down by
sanctions, or if its disputed nuclear program comes under attack.
"They have increased the number of submarines ... they increased the number of
fast attack craft," Vice Admiral Mark Fox told reporters. "Some of the small
boats have been outfitted with a large warhead that could be used as a suicide
explosive device. The Iranians have a large mine inventory."
"We have watched with interest their development of long range rockets and
short, medium and long range ballistic missiles and of course ... the
development of their nuclear program," Fox, who heads the U.S. Fifth Fleet, said
at a briefing on the fleet's base in the Gulf state of Bahrain.
Iran now has 10 small submarines, he said.
Military experts say the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet patrolling the Gulf - which
always has at least one giant super carrier accompanied by scores of jets and a
fleet of frigates and destroyers - is overwhelmingly more powerful than Iran's
navy.
But ever since al Qaeda suicide bombers in a small boat killed 17 sailors on
board the destroyer U.S.S. Cole in a port in Yemen in 2000, Washington has been
wary of the vulnerability of its huge battleships to bomb attacks by small enemy
craft.
Asked whether the U.S. Navy was prepared for an attack or other trouble in the
Gulf, Fox said: "We are very vigilant, we have built a wide range of options to
give the president and we are ready... What if it happened tonight? We are ready
today."Iranian officials have threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, the outlet to
the Gulf through which nearly all of the Middle East's oil sails.
Asked if he took Iran's threats seriously, Fox said: "Could they make life
extremely difficult for us? Yes they could. If we did nothing and they were able
to operate without being inhibited, yeah they could close it, but I can't see
that we would ever be in that position."
He added that diplomacy should be given priority in resolving the tension.
"So when you hear discussion about all this overheated rhetoric from Iran we
really believe that the best way to handle this is with diplomacy... I am
absolutely convinced that is the way to go. It is our job to be prepared. We are
vigilant."
Contacts between the U.S. Navy and Iranian craft in the Gulf region were
routine, Fox said, referring to cases where his sailors helped Iranian ships
that were in distress or threatened by pirates.
In addition to commanding the Fifth Fleet, Fox is also the commander of a
multinational naval task force charged with ensuring Gulf shipping routes stay
open. Although most of its firepower is American, the task force also includes
other Western countries and the Gulf Arab states.
The European Union slapped an embargo on Iranian oil last month, which is due to
kick in completely by July 1. The United States and EU have both imposed new
sanctions on Iran's central bank which make it difficult for countries to pay
Tehran for oil and for Iran to pay for the goods it imports.
(Corrects date of Cole attack in para 7, fixes typo in paragraph 10)(Editing by Firouz Sedarat and Peter Graff)
A
fatal attack on Israelis abroad could spark war with Iran and Hizballah
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis February 13, 2012/This time, no one was killed
although an Talya Yehoshua- KIoren, wife of the Defense Ministry representative
in India, and three others were injured by a sticky bomb planted on her Innova
SUV in New Delhi Monday, Feb. 13, at almost exactly the same time as a similar
device was safely defused in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. In recent weeks,
terrorist attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets were foiled in Thailand,
Azerbaijan and Argentina. However much they deny this, Iran and Hizballah are
clearly determined to keep on trying until they achieve their objective of
killing targeted Israelis.
debkafile’s military sources say that the odds are on their eventual success,
after failing in four out of five tries.
On this assumption, Israel’s chief of staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz summoned three
senior staff officers to a conference as soon as the first reports came in from
New Delhi and Tbilisi at around noon Monday. It was attended by Military
Intelligence Director Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavy, Air Force commander Ido Nehushtan
and Operations Division chief Maj. Gen. Yaakov Ayash. The meeting’s level
indicated that it was not limited to discussing the immediate import of the two
bombing attacks but focused rather on the broader ramifications of a potential
attack with Israeli fatalities and its impact on the prospects of war.
This assumption does not look far-fetched when it is recalled that deadly
terrorist attacks in the past plunged Israel into two major wars.
On June 3, 1982, four terrorists gunned down Israeli ambassador Shlomo Argov
outside the Dorchester in London. He was in a coma until his death 21 years
later. Three days after the attack, Israeli troops invaded Lebanon to fight the
Palestinians and Syria.
Twenty-four years later, on July 12, 2006, Hizballah raiders crossed into Israel
and attacked an IDF patrol. They killed three of its members and dragged two
back into Lebanon to be held as hostages. Before the day ended, Israel was at
war, this time with Hizballah.
So the agenda on Gen. Gantz’s urgent discussion with the IDF’s intelligence, air
force and operations chiefs
was obviously not about plans to fly Israeli troops to New Delhi or Tbilisi, but
for a calculus of the proximity of a full-scale war at some point in the ongoing
wave of terror.
For some weeks now, the Middle East has been teetering at the edge of a
precipice. A sudden shove could push it over the edge into full-blown armed
hostilities without President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu or
even Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei being in control. The atmosphere is already
dangerously charged over the crisis in Syria, reciprocal US and Iranian threats
over the Strait of Hormuz, and US and Israeli preparations to strike Iran’s
nuclear sites.
But wars may be ignited without notice by a small spark or a terrorist attack
far from Middle East shores that would cause enough Israeli fatalities to
satisfy its instigators in Tehran and Beirut and provoke an Israeli military
response. This was dangerously close to happening in New Delhi Monday.
Netanyahu: Iran responsible for attacks on Israeli
embassies
Moran Azulay/Ynetnews
PM vows that Israel will continue to cooperate with local authorities overseas;
fight Iran-sponsored terror worldwide
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran and Hezbollah of being behind
Monday's double terror attack on the Israeli embassies in India and Georgia.
Earlier, an explosion hit an Israeli diplomatic car near the embassy in New
Delhi, injuring the wife of a diplomat stationed with the Defense Ministry's
mission in India. In Georgia, an explosive device was found in a Tbilisi embassy
employee's car and was neutralized safely. The coordinated attack is believed to
be linked to the fourth anniversary marking the assassination of Hezbollah
arch-terrorist Imad Mugniyah. Netanyahu, discussing the recently foiled attempts
to target Israelis in Thailand and to harm the Israeli ambassador in Azerbaijan,
told the Likud faction that, "We have been able to thwart such attacks with the
cooperation of local authorities. In all cases, Iran and its protégé Hezbollah
were behind the attempts. "Today we witnessed two more terror attacks – in India
and Georgia," he continued. "Iran, which is behind these two attacks, is the
world's largest terror exporter. The government of Israel and its security
services will continue to cooperate with local authorities against
Iran-sponsored global terror." Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was briefed on
the events in Georgia and India immediately. "Israeli diplomats are on the front
lines," he said, adding that Israel "knows how to identify those who are
responsible for the blast." The Foreign Ministry has ordered Israeli missions
worldwide on high alert. Given the nature of the attacks Israeli diplomats have
been advised against travelling in cars in the immediate future. Meanwhile, IDF
Chief of Staff Benny Gantz summoned a speicla General Staff situation
assessment. Military Intelligence Chief Major-General Aviv Kochavi, Air Force
Commander Maj.-Gen. Ido Nechushtan and Operational Branch Head Maj.-Gen. Ya'akov
Ayash will be taking part in the meeting.
Hezbollah failure in India
Ron Ben-Yishai/Ynetnews
Op-ed: Terror attacks in Delhi, Tbilisi attest to Hezbollah's lack of
professionalism
The bombing in New Delhi and the terror attack foiled in Tabilisi are almost
certainly part of a series of Hezbollah attempts – facilitated by Iran – to
avenge the assassination of Hezbollah military chief Imad Mugniyah.
Mugniyah, who was the head of Hezbollah's military wing and a murderous
terrorist, was killed by an explosive device planted in the headrest of the
driver's seat of his jeep. Hezbollah blamed Israel for the assassination and its
leaders, echoed by the Iranians, have publicly vowed to avenge his death.
It is also likely that the bombs placed in Israeli diplomats' cars were meant to
signal to Israel that its diplomats were not immune to the modus operandi used
to eliminate Mugniyah. Intent aside, the execution was far less successful than
the Mugniyah assaination four years and three days ago in Damascus. The bomb
placed, discovered and defused in a Georgia Embassy employee's car was a clear
operational failure; both because that bomb was placed in the wrong person's
car, and because it failed to go off or was found beforehand. In both cases, the
devices were supposed to be triggered either by a timer or via remote control.
But even the New Delhi device, which did go off, attests to the terrorists'
failure: The target was most likely the Israeli diplomat and not his wife. She
luckily escaped with only minor injuries, indicating that the device was
ill-placed.
Work of amateurs
As for the identity of the perpetrators, they were probably not members of
Hezbollah's special unit, or of Iran's Quds Force, but rather, locals belonging
to the group's collaborator network. To understand the situation in full, one
must remember that only several weeks ago two major attempts to carry out terror
attacks against Israeli targets were foiled – the first against Israeli tourists
in Thailand and the second in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Those two attacks
were orchestrated by experts and were prevented thanks to accurate intelligence.
In both cases, the specialists were sent by Hezbollah and Iran: In Thailand the
suspects were two Lebanese Hezbollah operatives – one of whom was caught and the
other fled; and in Baku it was members of Iran's Quds Force who tried to recruit
Azeris to assassinate the Israeli ambassador.
Those two attempts were preceded by at least five others over the past few
years. Iran and Hezbollah eventually gave up on a flashy terror attack in favor
of two simple ones, reminiscent of the kind used as payback in the underworld;
simply because they could not get around the security and intelligence Israel –
with the assistance foreign governments – has in place.
Security lapses?
That's the good news. The bad news is that Monday's attacks signal that neither
Hezbollah nor the Iranians have any intention of shelving their plans for major
revenge, that is, a high-casualty attack, as would befit vengeance for the
elimination of an arch-terrorist like Mugniyah and the assassination of Iranian
nuclear and missile scientists on the streets of Tehran. At the same time, the
attempted attacks attest to breaches and possibly even negligence in security
arrangements at Israeli missions abroad. The fact that terrorists, and possibly
non-professionals, managed to attach explosive devices to the vehicle of an
Israeli diplomat attests to a grave security failure.
Such vehicle, even if it does not carry an Israeli flag, is marked with a
diplomatic license plate bearing a number showing which embassy it belongs to.
Hence, the perpetrators had no difficulty identifying the car, and that is a
failure in and of itself.
In Tbilisi the situation is vaguer, and the failure may have taken place in
securing the vicinity of the embassy. This could happen, as no human being can
spot every detail during a patrol. However, this requires Israel as well as
local authorities in countries hosting Israeli diplomatic missions to boost the
level of security.
India to boost security at Israeli embassy
Moran Azulay/Ynetnews
Krishna tells Lieberman India will do all it can to protect Israeli embassy,
says perpetrators of Monday's attack will be found, prosecuted .India's Foreign
Minister SM Krishna expressed his country's shock over Monday's terror attack in
New Delhi in a conversation with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Lieberman,
who was briefed on the events earlier, thanked Krishna and said India is a true
friend of Israel. He added that he was sure India will take any measures needed
in order to apprehend the terrorists responsible for the bombing.Israeli
diplomats are on the front lines," Lieberman said earlier, adding that Israel
"knows how to identify those responsible for the blast and will not be deterred
by terrorists." Krishna told Lieberman that India will make every effort to nab
the perpetrators of the attack. He added that his country will provide all
required security to Israel's embassy. An initial probe into the attack revealed
that Tal Yehoshua Koren, the wife of a diplomat stationed with the Defense
Ministry's mission in India, was injured in the blast on her way to pick up her
children from school. In light of the New Delhi bombing and thwarted attack in
Tbilisi, Lieberman is due to convene high ranking officials in order to evaluate
the current situation and issue out an updated procedure protocol for foreign
delegates abroad.
Israeli hero: Israeli's Envoy wife in India spotted the
terrorit whp exploded her car
Aviel Magnezi/Ynetnews
Israeli diplomat's wife wounded in India blast apparently managed to get out of
car after motorcyclist attached bomb to vehicle; 'she's amazingly level-headed,'
her brother says Heroism in face of terror: An Israeli diplomat's wife wounded
in Monday's blast in New Delhi apparently spotted the terrorist moments before
the attack, managed to get out of her car, and evacuated herself to hospital
despite her injury.
Tal Yehoshua Koren, the wife of an Israeli Defense Ministry representative to
India, was taken to hospital by rickshaw where she is in mild to moderate
condition following surgery. She suffered shrapnel wounds after a terrorist
attached an explosive device to the car she was traveling in, wounding four
people. According to information we received…a terrorist arrived on a motorcycle
and attached something to the vehicle. She grasped the situation, showed
resourcefulness, managed to get out of the car and evacuated herself to the
hospital despite her injury," said her brother, Ido Koren. "Everything happened
within seconds."She possesses amazing level-headedness; not everyone would have
conducted themselves this way," he said. "The motorcyclist managed to get away,
but the most important thing is for Tal to feel better, and we're praying for
it."The wounded Israeli's brother said Yehoshua-Koren suffered shrapnel wounds
to her back, but added that the fragments were removed from her body
successfully. Currently she is still anesthetized and is supposed to wake up
within 48 hours, at which point doctors will determine the next steps, relatives
said, adding that she may be flown to Israel at that point."After seeing the
vehicle, all of us realize it was a miracle," her brother said. Meanwhile, more
details of the India attack have come to light. A magnetic device was attached
to the Israeli Embassy car, which exploded a few seconds later with Yehoshua
Koren in it, said Delhi Police Commissioner BK Gupata in an interview with The
Times of India on Monday. Gupta quoted an eyewitness who told the police he saw
a person riding a motorcycle attach a magnetic device to the rear end of the
diplomatic car Yehoshua Koren was riding in on her way to pick up her children
from school. The vehicle continued to travel for a short distance, and then a
blast occurred and the car caught fire. "It was some kind of a magnetic device
which was used to target the car," said Gupta. It appears that a remote control
may have been used to set off the device and not a timer, said police sources.
The attack did not appear to be the work of a local gang, the police said.
Syrian defector: Assad using chemical weapons
Elior Levy/Ynetnews/Assad's forces used nerve gas in Homs under Iranian, Russian
supervision, Syrian army defector says . Non-conventional war in Syria? Security
forces loyal to President Bashar Assad have been using chemical weapons against
Syrian rebels, under the supervision of Iranian and Russian experts, a defecting
Syrian officer charged Monday. The officer, Captain Abd al-Salam Ahmed Abdul
Razek, who served in Syrian's chemical warfare administration, told al-Arabiya
that the Syrian military used nerve gas – banned by various international
conventions – in order to assist forces in their raid on the restive city of
Homs. The defecting officer added that the Syrian army's Fourth Division and
Republican Guard are expected to use chemical weapons elsewhere. Assad's forces
have access to toxins produced by Russia and a small quantity of them may cause
numerous casualties, he said. The nerve gas was used under the supervision of
Russian and Iranian experts, who told the army when and how to utilize the
chemical weapons, the officer added.Meanwhile, Syrian opposition sources said
that 25 people were killed during the day by army forces loyal to President
Assad. The sources added that the massive bombardment of the city of Homs
continues unabated. On Sunday, 36 civilians were killed by security forces
across Syria.
Is
the Cedar Revolution unfinished?
February 14, 2012/By Stephen Dockery/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Seven years after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik
Hariri, supporters of March 14 parties see an unfinished Cedar Revolution and
say that many problems in the nation have worsened. “It’s still not done because
we are still searching for democracy in our country,” says Claude Merheb, who
works in the Beirut Souks.
Merheb adds that he is pleased with the progress that has been made but remains
concerned with a host of issues ranging from cross-confessional relations to the
safety of political leaders. Many March 14 supporters share the sentiment: They
are dissatisfied with the degree to which Lebanon’s internal politics is still
unsettled.
Just weeks after the massive 2005 explosion in Beirut that killed the former
premier, protesters and politicians took to the streets, demanding justice,
independence and reform of Lebanon’s fractious political scene. The immediate
gains were overwhelming. The 29-year Syrian military presence in Lebanon ended
and a measure of independence was restored to the country, which had been under
the sway of its larger neighbor since its inception. But lasting change remains
elusive. March 14 supporters are disappointed with the level of change that
their coalition has been able to bring.
Leaders of the coalition who reside in Lebanon have had their lives threatened,
while others choose to live abroad for their own safety. They currently do not
hold the reins of power and were unable to unite the country when in the
government just a year ago. Thousands of chairs were being lined up Monday night
at Beirut’s International Exhibition and Leisure Center for Tuesday’s rally to
remember Hariri and revive March 14’s support base. Over 3,000 politicians,
diplomats and activists are expected to gather for the rally that will feature a
televised speech by the late premier’s son, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
Speeches are expected to focus particularly on the Syrian situation.
March 14 General Secretary Fares Soueid has said that the gathering would be an
opportunity to announce the coalition’s “unanimous support” for the popular
pro-democracy demonstrations in Syria. Syrian opposition leader Burhan Ghalioun
is also expected to address the rally via recorded video.
As the Syrian crisis descends into chaos, many Lebanese are frustrated that they
must still look to Syria to divine their nation’s political fortunes. For Rola,
a marketing worker in Beirut, the promises of moderate politics where leaders
can offer their opinion without fear has been undermined by political infighting
and sectarianism. “I don’t think that they achieved any of the things we are
fighting for,” she says. “At the end of the day so many things didn’t change, so
many became worse.”For Rola, the moment to capitalize on an unprecedented level
of political unity was squandered. “It’s become even more edgy and tense,” she
says. But in the views of many people the inability of the Cedar Revolution to
continue beyond its initial gains has as much to do with the collation’s own
failures as the opposition’s successes. “It’s not as simple or as one-sided as
we think it is,” said Rola. Changes have come in fits and starts. Saad Hariri’s
government was able to make minor political changes but overall the larger
themes of the 2005 uprisings have been lost to broader narratives of regional
and religious fractures that remain as riven as ever. “During the last seven
years bits and pieces have changed,” said Noah Hasan, a 28-year-old
engineer.“But it all depends on what happens in Syria.”
Mikati confirms additional indictments in Hariri's killing
February 13, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the general prosecutor for the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon will issue a new indictment in the 2005 assassination of
former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.“General Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare informed
me during his recent visit to Lebanon that he will update the indictment for the
assassination of the martyr and [former] Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and his
companions,” Mikati told LBCI in an interview Saturday.
Last year, the STL indicted four Hezbollah members for involvement in the
killing of Hariri and 22 others. The party has denied the allegations and
refused to hand over the four men. The U.N.-backed court has decided to begin
trials in absentia for the accused, setting a historical precedent for
international courts.
During his interview with Marcel Ghanem, Mikati played down the possibility of
further assassinations in Lebanon, explaining that recent intelligence regarding
assassination plots against security chiefs has been looked into and that those
targeted have been informed of the situation. Last month, Interior Minister
Marwan Charbel said that Ashraf Rifi, the head of the Internal Security Forces,
and Wissam al-Hasan, the chief of the ISF’s Information Branch, were the
possible targets of an alleged plot. The announcement prompted emergency
security measures to be taken around ISF headquarters in the neighborhood of
Ashrafieh.
Other reports mentioned Kataeb MP Sami Gemayel as a possible target of
assassination.
Asked about his relationship with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Mikati
denied rumors that the two are at loggerheads.
“I am not engaged in rivalry with anyone and appointing me to the position of
prime minister does not mean I am engaged in rivalry with anyone,” Mikati said
two days before Lebanon commemorates the Feb.14 assassination of Hariri’s
father. “I had known the martyred prime minister since 1978 and we had a special
relationship. When I was a minister in two of his governments, in 2000 and 2004,
we were in agreement on all matters,” he added.
Regarding events in Syria and their possible repercussions on Lebanon, Mikati
said his main concern was protecting his country’s stability. According to
Mikati, it was this concern that prompted his government to adopt a policy of
disassociation regarding events in Lebanon's neighbor.Asked whether Syria was
displeased with Lebanon's policy of disassociation, Mikati said his actions
serve the interests of Lebanon, adding that he refused to send Lebanese monitors
to join the Arab League mission in Syria because he wants to spare Lebanon
unecessary complications. “What concerns me is Lebanon's stability and unity. As
for what is happening in Syria, we are against the bloodshed,” Mikati said.
The prime minister, who just returned from a two-day visit to France, also
touched on recent unrest in his hometown of Tripoli, north Lebanon, where
clashes between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad left
three dead and over 20 wounded.
The flareup in violence also left six soldiers injured. “I ask citizens to
strengthen the army's presence and support it and not attack it,” Mikati said,
adding that a host of local officials and party leaders had voiced their
disapproval of the recent bloody incidents. During the interview, Mikati also
reassured the public that Lebanese banks will not be targeted, in a reference to
fears that international sanctions on Syria might end up penalizing Lebanese
banks that have dealings with Damascus.
“There is no cause for concern over Lebanese banks. Lebanese banks apply all the
relevant laws and I guarantee that the financial and economic situation in
Lebanon is strong,” he said.
Jumblatt decries Lebanon’s stance in Arab League
February 14, 2012/ The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt said Monday he was
surprised by Lebanon’s reservations over the Arab League decision to open
communication channels with the Syrian opposition and to request that the U.N.
send a joint peacekeeping force to Syria.
However, Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour held his ground, saying the Arab body’s
decisions have put Lebanon in danger.
“Once again, we express our surprise at and condemnation of the Lebanese
official position to express reservations over the Arab League statement, which
aims at combating injustice and stopping the genocide that is being carried out
against the Syrian people,” Jumblatt said in his weekly editorial in PSP’s Al-Anbaa
newspaper.
“What’s the reason behind avoiding the political, humanitarian and moral
responsibility to support the Syrian people?” he asked.
Arab foreign ministers agreed Sunday to open channels of communication with the
Syrian opposition and provide it with political and financial support. They also
asked the U.N. to send a joint peacekeeping force to Syria. Lebanon and Algeria
expressed reservations over the resolution.
Upon his return from Cairo where he took part in the Arab League session,
Mansour told reporters at Beirut airport Monday that “we expressed our
reservations over these decisions given their dangerous repercussions.”
“The [components of the decision] include ending all diplomatic relations with
Syria, tightening economic and commercial sanctions on Syria and ... to support
the Syrian opposition politically and financially,” Mansour said. “This
financial support ... could be military or non-military support,” he said. “We
know there are several [Syrian] opposition members in Lebanon. How could
communication with them take place? How could they be provided with support?
This pushes Lebanon into complicated and dangerous things,” the minister said.
Defending his position, Mansour said: “This is not an individual stance, but a
position which first and foremost reflects the interests of Lebanon.”
“I have said repeatedly that we are not far from what is happening in Syria ...
our security and stability are connected and we are concerned with the security
and stability of Syria,” he said. Mansour recalled that he had expressed
concerns for the first time last August that some groups were seeking U.N.
action in Syria and aiming to topple the Syrian regime. He warned that any
destabilization in Syria would affect the entire region. Separately, Jumblatt
warned against viewing the Syrian uprising a as a sectarian conflict. “The
Syrian regime has oppressed the Alawites just like others and sent hundreds of
them to prison same as [it] did with members of other sects,” he said. “The
issue has nothing to do with sectarian affiliation, but with legitimate demands
for freedom and democracy and this is the core of the struggle,” he added.
Hariri denies receiving $2 billion Saudi loan
February 13, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri denied Monday that he has received a
$2 billion loan from Saudi Arabia.A front-page article in Monday's edition of
Al-Akhbar newspaper claimed that Riyadh has rescued Hariri from bankruptcy. “A
few days ago, Saad Hariri was bankrupt. Today, he [is] a billionaire. King
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia altered the situation profoundly with a few words: 'Saad
Hariri is granted an interest-free loan of 7 billion riyals for Saudi Oger',”
Al-Akhbar wrote, referring to a company owned by the Hariri family. 7 billion
Saudi Arabian riyals is approximately $1.87 billion. Hariri's press office
immediately issued a denial. "The pro-Hezbollah Al-Akhbar report, both in its
title and details, is unfounded and baseless,” said the statement from Hariri’s
office. In a swipe at Hezbollah's financial ties to Iran, the statement added:
“We understand the political and media confusion that has prevailed over
Hezbollah due to assertions made in public by its secretary general [Nasrallah]
that he has been receiving funds from Iran since the early eighties.”
Hariri: Dialogue Must Only Tackle Arms, Syrian People are the Real Resistance
by Naharnet /Former premier Saad Hariri on Monday stressed that he would only
accept to return to the national dialogue table if the sole topic was
Hizbullah’s arms and announced that he would “definitely” return to Lebanon.
“Those trying to oust me from Lebanon have been paying the price so far and
those who tried to erase Rafik Hariri’s project are ousting themselves from
Syria,” Hariri said in an interview with Future News television in Paris on the
eve of the seventh assassination anniversary of his father, ex-PM Rafik Hariri.
“Had it not been for my (skiing) accident, I would've been among my brothers in
Beirut, but God willing I will be there soon,” Hariri, who broke his leg while
skiing in the French Alps, said. “Those who killed Rafik Hariri are capable of
killing Saad Hariri … All the March 14 forces are exposed to security threats,
but I have not decided to leave politics and I will definitely return to
Lebanon,” Hariri promised. He noted that those who killed his father “benefited
regionally because Rafik was a major symbol of moderation and development.”
“I don’t want to discuss the issue of the accused, but we can’t point the finger
at an entire sect,” Hariri said, referring to the Shiite sect to which the four
Hizbullah members accused of involvement in 2005 murder belong.
The U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon has charged Hizbullah operatives
Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Anaissi and Assad Sabra in the case
and decided to try them in absentia.
“We did not choose the path of revenge, but rather the path of justice. We want
people to know that the assassination of Rafik Hariri and all the martyrs will
be met with punishment,” Hariri noted. Separately, Hariri lamented that “none of
the national dialogue resolutions have been implemented.”
“I know that the issue of (Hizbullah’s) arms is complicated but you can’t tell
me let’s discuss a defense strategy without discussing weapons. We all want to
defend our country,” he noted. The former premier reassured that “it is not true
that the Sunnis will call for a union with Syria” should a Sunni-led regime rise
to power “because we are Lebanese in the first place and we won’t allow anyone
to harm Lebanon.”
“Saad Hariri will continue the path of Rafik Hariri and Lebanon will always come
first,” he stressed.
Addressing the Syrian crisis, Hariri said “the Syrian people took to the streets
demanding freedom and dignity and the regime confronted them with cannons.”
“Nowadays, the regime’s forces are killing the people and the defections
happened in order to protect the civilians,” he said of the current state of
affairs in neighboring Syria.
“The same thing that happened in Libya is happening now in Syria: there is a
regime that is killing its own people and the killing must be stopped. This was
my stance concerning Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and today concerning Syria, but
what happened in those nations is that their leaders either left the country or
ceded power,” Hariri added.
He accused the Syrian regime of stimulating sectarian feelings in order to
confront the uprising it has been trying to crush since around 11 months.
“We are all minorities in our country, whether Sunnis, Shiites or Christians.
The same thing applies in Syria, they want to liberate themselves from this
regime and when freedom comes people will head to polling stations. Those
promoting sectarian remarks will lose.
“It is true that there has been bloodshed, but a reconciliation will be achieved
and the regime is trying to make people hate each other,” he noted.
And he urged the Syrian opposition to “unite and to speak with one voice.”
Criticizing Moscow, Hariri said Russia “must pay special attention to the major
Arab consensus.”
“Today it has sided with the regime and it will regret its current stance in the
future because the regime in Syria will change and democracy will come,” Hariri
went on to say.
“During the first Gulf war Russia changed its stance and it may change today and
of course we thank it for its stance on the STL and its support for the
Palestinian cause,” he added. He also slammed the Lebanese government over its
so-called self-disassociation policy.
“Today, Lebanon is placing itself in the eye of the storm. With our
self-disassociation policy, how would they (a new regime in Syria) deal with us
when the regime falls? Today there is an Arab consensus and Lebanon has rejected
it,” Hariri warned. “The Lebanese officials must realize that the Syrian people
are more important than the regime and that they were the ones to stand by
Lebanon and host the Lebanese (refugees during the 2006 war with Israel) and not
the regime.” And addressing Hizbullah, Hariri said “it was not the regime that
protected the Resistance, but rather the (1996) April Understanding sponsored by
Rafik Hariri and the support of all the Lebanese for the Resistance.” “We either
fight together or we lose together, as we share the same blood. The main topic
in any dialogue must be weapons and we were not the ones who suspended
dialogue,” he said. And he denied that his position would “become stronger with
the fall of the Syrian regime.” “I’m only saying that there’s a chance for
Lebanon to make a reconciliation with Syria, a chance to end intimidation,” he
said.“The real resistance is what the Syrian people are doing today, why are you
defending the regime?” Hariri added, addressing Hizbullah and its allies.
Hariri: Assad’s downfall inevitable
February 14, 2012/By Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star
Hariri urges indicted Hezbollahmembers to surrender.
BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri predicted Monday the collapse of
Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, saying this would give the Lebanese an
opportunity to build their own state free of the pressure which Syria used to
exert when it dominated Lebanon for nearly three decades. In an interview with
Future TV on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the assassination of former
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, his father, Hariri said the U.N.-backed Special
Tribunal for Lebanon would continue its work and no one would be able to stop
it. He called on the four Hezbollah members indicted in the case to turn
themselves over to the STL. “The international tribunal will continue [down] its
path and no one will be able to stop it,” Hariri said. Referring to the four men
who were accused by the STL last year of involvement in the massive suicide
truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others on Feb. 14, 2005, he said: “They
are accused and they have the right to defend themselves. We have repeatedly
asked them to surrender themselves so they can get a fair trial.”“People should
know that whoever commits crimes such as the assassination of Rafik Hariri or
the martyrs of the ‘Cedar Revolution’ should know that they will be punished,”
he said. “I advise the accused to surrender themselves because justice will be
served,” Hariri added.
“[Accusing someone] from a particular sect does not mean that the whole sect is
accused,” Hariri said, adding: “Whoever killed Rafik Hariri has benefited
politically.”
Speaking from Paris where he is recovering from surgery after suffering multiple
fractures in his leg during a skiing accident in the French Alps, Hariri said
the Syrian regime would be changed as a result of widening protests that have
engulfed most Syrian cities over the past 11 months.
“The regime will be changed ... and the Syrian people have struggled for that
and have been killed for that cause,” Hariri said. He added that a regime change
in Syria would give the Lebanese an opportunity to build their own state,
reconcile with Syria, establish genuine relations with Damascus and implement
the Taif Accord.
“We will have a real chance to reconcile with the Syrian people ... we were in
conflict in the past because of that regime,” he added.
Hariri criticized the government’s policy to dissociate Lebanon from Arab League
and U.N. decisions condemning the violent crackdown on Syrian protesters
demanding Assad’s ouster. “There is Arab consensus today regarding events in
Syria but we are disassociating ourselves to the point that now we are rejecting
that consensus,” Hariri said. “Syria’s allies in Lebanon need to know that the
people are more important than the regime ... They also need to know that when
Lebanese families escaped from Lebanon, the Syrian people took them in and
housed them,” he added. “Distancing Lebanon is not what I would do. That is
[Prime Minister] Najib Mikati’s position,” he said. “No one can stand aside
given what is happening in Syria.”“There have been several defectors and these
people are defending the Syrian people [against the government],” he added. “The
Syrian case is about principles and I upheld that principle against Tunisia,
Egypt and Libya, and today in Syria.”
Hariri said the bloodshed in Lebanon’s neighbor had exceeded that of other Arab
countries.
Hariri warned that Russia’s support for Assad would not serve Moscow’s interests
in the long run. Regarding Russia’s recent veto at the United Nations Security
Council of an Arab and Western-backed resolution that called on Assad to hand
over power, Hariri said: “There is an Arab consensus regarding Syria and Russia
should recognize this. Russia has taken the side of the Syrian regime.”
“Russia will be in an unpleasant position and the results of its support to the
Syrian regime will not serve its [Russia’s] interests,” he added.
He also said that for national dialogue sessions to resume, the issue of
non-state weapons, namely Hezbollah’s, should be the sole item on the agenda of
discussions as it was at the root of Lebanon’s problems and needed “a
fundamental solution.”
“Dialogue should only discuss one principal issue: that is of [Hezbollah’s]
weapons given that there is division on this matter and the case of [Hezbollah’s
arms] has nothing to do with the Shiite sect,” Hariri said. “We agreed in the
last round of national dialogue on many issues, including disarmament of
Palestinian camps, but nothing has been done,” he added. “We want a serious
dialogue for the interests of the Lebanese, in the south, north and Beirut. We
are not against dialogue and we were not the ones who rejected dialogue.”Hariri
also said that his party, the Future Movement, was looking after thousands of
Syrian refugees in north Lebanon who had fled from unrest in their home country,
and denied that the Syrian opposition had bases in Lebanon, describing such
allegations as “lies.”“The problem in Syria is about freedom from this regime,”
Hariri said. “It is in the interest of those who are losing in Syria to promote
sectarian rhetoric.”
Asked about recent violence in the northern city of Tripoli, Hariri said the
unrest had been instigated. “I tell our people in Tripoli. If there is a support
for the Syrian revolution, do not give anyone the opportunity to force Lebanon
into developments in Syria and divert attention away from what is happening in
Syria,” he said.
He advised Tripoli residents not to lose sight of the purpose of supporting
Syrians who are calling for reforms. Hariri said he would return to Lebanon
soon, adding that a recent skiing accident had delayed his return and refused to
tie his return to Beirut to developments in Syria. “My return is not tied to the
fall of the Syrian regime,” he said. “If I hadn’t had this accident, I would
have been back in Beirut. I vow and promise everyone that I will be back soon,”
Hariri said, adding that there have always been threats against his life.
“Whoever killed Rafik Hariri can also kill Saad Hariri,” he said. “I have not
chosen political exile: I will come back very soon, God willing.” – With
additional reporting by Thomas El-Basha and Dana Khraiche
Finally…“Friends of the Syrian People”
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
After months of violence and systematic repression carried out by al-Assad’s
forces in Syria against the unarmed Syrians, it was announced in Cairo that the
“Friends of the Syrian People” project would finally see light in Tunisia, in
the presence of Arab and Western countries, and this matter implies severing all
ties with the al-Assad regime.
As I write this article the Arab ministerial meeting in Cairo is yet to issue a
closing statement, but whatever its content, the most important point was what
was issued by the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saul al-Faisal. He delivered a
speech summarizing the reality of the situation, particularly when he said that
initiatives with the Bashar al-Assad regime are useless, and demanded to open
communication channels with the Syrian opposition, providing them with all types
of support. This will undoubtedly be a turning point in dealing with the Syrian
crisis, regardless of any other Arab decisions issued by the Arab League.
Today, as long as there is a conference that will be held in Tunisia under the
name “Friends of the Syrian People”, this means that the Arabs have practically
decided to un-recognize the al-Assad regime, and have decided to stand genuinely
with the blood of the innocent Syrians. There is no doubt that a mere
announcement is not the end of the matter, rather it is the beginning of hard
work in order to save the innocent Syrians. Accepting the Tunisian request to
host the “Friends of the Syrian People” conference came as a compromise between
the desire of Turkey and France to host the same event, just as the date of the
meeting - the 24th of this month – comes immediately after the London Conference
on Somalia that will be held on the 23rd, thus enabling all parties concerned to
attend [both events].
The implications of Prince Saud al-Faisal’s speech yesterday, and Tunisia’s
invitation for the “Friends of the Syrian People” conference, mean that the
Arabs now have ways of taking action in order to protect the unarmed Syrians.
Whilst the Russians tried to protect the tyrant of Damascus, what has happened
recently means that the Arabs have assumed the higher ground, and decided to
take responsibility. Today the Russians, and even the Chinese, can challenge the
Arab and Islamic world and the international community if they want, but it will
be a challenge in an open theatre, and not in the narrow corridors of the
Security Council. The crimes taking place in Syria cannot be tolerated or
prolonged, whatever the motivation or justification. The al-Assad regime has
lost its credibility and has no charters or covenants in place; the regime is
only fluent in the language of distorting the facts. It distorts this with that
and broadcasts deliberately misleading news, all in the attempt of trying to be
clever. The simplest example of this came from a source within the corridors of
the Arab League. [During the ministerial meeting], Iraq openly said yesterday
that everything you hear from the al-Assad regime about Iraq providing it with
support, financing or concessions is simply not true; they are merely leaks from
the al-Assad regime’s media to distort the Arab scene!
Hence, the Saudi position, together with the call for a conference of the
“Friends of the Syrian People” in Tunisia, both mean that the wheels have been
put in motion to put an end to the crimes being committed against the unarmed
Syrians. This will not be easy of course, but it means that the hard work has
begun.
Syria Street divides them
Matt Nash and Nadine Elali,
February 13, 2012
Now Lebanon/Everyone agreed the violence in Tripoli over the weekend was related
to the more intense fighting in the Syrian city of Homs. The nature of that
relationship, however, depends on whom you ask. Sunni gunmen in Bab al-Tabbaneh
insisted their Alawite neighbors in Jabal Mohsen were dead-set on creating in
Lebanon another Baba Amr, a neighborhood in Homs hit hard by a Syrian army
offensive against its opponents that has been ongoing for over a week now.
Rifaat Eid, head of the Arab Democratic Party that holds sway in Jabal Mohsen,
was equally adamant in a phone conversation with NOW Lebanon that Salafists in
Tripoli were trying to create problems with the army here just as “they are in
Homs.” For decades the two neighborhoods, separated by a road named Syria
Street, have been at each other’s throats. Indeed, in the early 1970s, late
Syrian President Hafez al-Assad’s brother founded the Arab Democratic Party in
Jabal Mohsen. The party’s now-disbanded militia fought hard against Isalmists in
neighboring Bab al-Tabbaneh (and other parts of Tripoli) in the early 1980s.
Eid’s party still has strong ties to the Assad regime, and whenever fighting
between the two neighborhoods flares up (as it frequently does) Syria’s critics
in Lebanon are quick to claim the Alawites instigated it on orders from
Damascus.
Tensions have been high between Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh since protests
against Bashar al-Assad began last March. There have been several demonstrations
for (Jabal Mohsen) and against (Bab al-Tabbaneh) Assad in the neighborhoods
since then. In June, street fighting also broke out between them and left seven
dead.
The two sides had wildly differing accounts of the most recent violence. Some 15
Bab al-Tabbaneh residents—all of whom refused to provide their real names—took
NOW Lebanon reporters into a garage in the neighborhood to explain their side of
the story.
It started on Friday, they said. People gathered in Tripoli’s Nour Square to
demonstrate in solidarity with the Syrian uprising. They then marched to Bab al-Tabbaneh.
When they arrived, Energa grenades rained down from Jabal Mohsen, an adjacent
neighborhood at a slightly higher altitude. Residents responded by grabbing
their guns, and the shooting continued more or less without halt until late
Saturday afternoon. Eid completely disagreed. In fact, he said, people from
Jabal Mohsen barely even fought. “We’re not shooting at all,” he said. “The
Salafists are shooting at the army, and the army is shooting at the Salafists.”“All
that’s happening now is because of what’s happening in Homs. The Syrian army is
killing Salafists in Homs,” he said, offering a variant of the Syrian
president’s claim that problems in Syria are the workings of “armed terrorist
gangs.” Eid argued that Salafists in Lebanon are responding and that they are
actually keen to fight the Lebanese army.
He did admit that Jabal Mohsen residents “in some situations” fired back at Bab
al-Tabbaneh, “but directly we stopped them. When we hear [people in Jabal Mohsen
shooting], immediately we go and put our hands on them.” NOW Lebanon was not
able to get close enough to the dividing line of Syria Street to confirm.
However, while sitting with the fighters in Bab al-Tabbaneh, one man who was on
his mobile interrupted the interview to put the call on speaker phone. “The
army’s shooting at us,” the voice on the other end said. People in the room said
the man who called was fighting on the front line. The men were suspicious as to
why the army had not yet intervened to stop the fighting. They denied firing at
the army. They also rejected Eid’s claim they were all Salafists. Of the 40 or
so men NOW Lebanon saw holding guns in Bab al-Tabbaneh, fewer than half had the
full beards and shaved moustaches typically worn by Salafists. One man joked,
pointing to another, “He looks like a Salafist, but he goes out to Gemmazye,” a
Beirut neighborhood packed with bars. A clean-shaven fighter NOW Lebanon
ran into when approaching Bab al-Tabbaneh who gave his name as Abu Youssef said
Eid’s party is accusing Sunnis of smuggling weapons into Syria. “Are you?” NOW
asked. “If I could smuggle weapons and go blow myself up there I would,” he
said. “But we’re not.”
Damascus in between the two Doha agreements
Hazem Saghiyeh, /February 13, 2012 /Now Lebanon
Now Lebanon/Despite the infamous invasion of Beirut in 2008, the conflict
between the March 8 and March 14 forces in Lebanon did not reach the same extent
as the conflict between Fatah and Hamas in Palestine. The two Palestinian
movements waged a destructive war against each other, leading to an actual split
in the project of the Palestinian state and nation, not to mention the emergence
of an authority in the Gaza Strip, which has nothing but animosity toward the
authority seated Ramallah.
Still, the recent reconciliation concluded in Qatar between Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas official Khaled Mechaal is likely to
endure, grow and lead to a new political and national equation that benefits all
Palestinians. Contrary to what some may say, this is not due to any excessive
diplomatic wit displayed by the Qatari regime; rather, it is the result of
broader regional transformations, which Doha sought to exploit, promote and
partially provoke.
It is worth reminding, however, that a previous Qatari attempt to bridge the
Lebanese gap following the invasion of Beirut had failed to achieve genuine
reconciliation between the parties to the conflict. Apart from patching things
up, this attempt did not lead to any constructive positive result. This goes
without mentioning that very few observers and commentators had ventured at the
time to qualify Qatar’s diplomacy as being extremely witty. The difference
between the Doha Agreement regarding Lebanon and the one on Palestine, the
success of which is backed by serious reasons (regardless of the ones still
threatening to cause it to fail), lies essentially in the situation of the
Syrian regime. Being a regional regime encompassing all the Levant and one that
builds its achievement and clout on its “bartering chips,” the Syrian regime
managed to prevent the success of the Doha Agreement on Lebanon. This success
was also enabled, of course, by the lack of unanimity among the Lebanese
themselves. Likewise, one can assume that the crumbling state of the Syrian
regime may allow the success of the Doha agreement regarding Palestine even if
the lack of unanimity among the Palestinians may still prevent the achievement
of this objective. This paradox may be an important indicator bearing witness to
Syria’s role in smaller and stronger entities in the Levant. This means that
these entities can hardly take off in light of the military, interventionist and
imperialist regime in Syria, and that they cannot possibly transform from stages
of conflicts and bartering chips into stable and sovereign countries. **This
article is a translation of the original, which appeared on the NOW Arabic site
on Monday February 13, 2012
France Warns against Outside Military Action in Syria
by Naharnet /French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe warned Monday that any foreign
military action in Syria would only aggravate the situation after the Arab
League proposed sending in U.N.-Arab peacekeepers. "We think that today any
external intervention of a military nature would only worsen the situation, all
the more given that there will not be a decision by the Security Council, which
is the only body able to authorize military intervention," Juppe said in the
southwestern city of Bordeaux.
He was answering a journalist's question about the possibility of French
peacekeepers being deployed in Syria. The 22-nation Arab League agreed Sunday to
open contacts with Syria's opposition and ask the United Nations to form a joint
peacekeeping force to the nation. The proposal came a week after Russia and
China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution, backed by Arab and European
states, aimed at ending 11 months of bloodshed in Syria. Juppe said that France
would support an Arab League initiative "to ask the General Assembly to get
condemnation finally from the United Nations." "We support this initiative,
we're working on it in New York," he said. Juppe said France's ambassador to
Syria, Eric Chevallier, would remain in place despite the United States having
closed its embassy and Gulf Arab states having recalled their own envoys. "We
have secured the embassy, because the risk is very high. We have reduced staff:
there is now the ambassador and a few colleagues," Juppe said. "We are very
careful not to expose our diplomats, but at the same time the opposition, the
Syrians who are fighting barehanded, want us to be there, because it's a
contact, a presence," he said.
SourceAgence France Presse.
NEWS
RELEASE
Dead bullied boy's statements to be heard in court
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ONTARIO-The Executive Directors of a national anti-bullying charity are
commending Justice Mary Theresa Devlin who ruled Monday that statements Wilson
made to police will be admitted - including one that identified his alleged
attacker. "It's important to show the statements to show how severe the bullying
was and what role it played in the suicide of Wilson. It is with great hope that
it will open the eyes of countless Canadians of all ages how severe bullying is
in Canada but also what kind of effects actions can have on youth" said Katie
Neu, Co-Executive Director and Co-Founder of Bullying Canada. "I believe that by
allowing these statements to be made in court will speak volumes to how
important support, is for anyone who has faced a bullying situation" said Rob
Frenette, Co-Executive Director and Co-Founder of Bullying Canada. It's alleged
that Wilson, 15, who suffered from muscular dystrophy and used a walker, was
bullied and attacked in November 2010. Wilson was found dead the following
September with a plastic bag tied around his head. He had taken his own life
after learning he would be required to testify against his alleged attacker
8
Christian Families Evicted from Egyptian Village Following Attacks on Christian
Homes and Businesses
Washington, D.C. (February 13, 2012) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has
learned that eight Coptic Christian families were evicted from their homes in
northern Egypt following two attacks by radical Islamists on Christian homes and
businesses in late-January. The attacks were in response to an alleged affair
between a Christian man and a Muslim woman.
On January 27th, hundreds of Muslims, led by Salafists who adhere to the strict
Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, looted and torched Christian homes and shops in
Kobry el-Sharbat near Alexandria following rumors that a Christian man, Mourad
Samy Guirguis, had an affair with a Muslim woman. On January 30th, a group of
Muslims attacked the village for the second time, setting fire to three
Christian homes. Guirguis denied the accusations, but reportedly turned himself
into the police for his own security.
Village elders, including representatives from the Salafists, the Muslim
Brotherhood, and local police, agreed to evict eight Coptic families and put
their property up for sale. Ironically, they came to this decision after holding
three ‘reconciliation’ meetings, Asia News reported. At the first meeting,
Muslims argued that “Muslim honor has been damaged,” and refused to offer
compensation to Coptic Christians who were innocent victims of the violence.
Father Boktor Nashed from St. George's Church in el-Nahdah, who was present at
the meeting, called the decision a “complete injustice.” Sherif el-Hawary, a
Salafist sheik, was given the authority to execute the meeting’s demands.
“Who gave them the right to form a committee headed by a Salafi to sell
Christian property? This is thuggery and the blatant targeting of Copts,” said
Magdi Khalil, head of the Middle East Freedom Forum. “If we accept this, we will
open the door to an avalanche of forced evictions.”
Reconciliation meetings are a traditional form of ‘conflict resolution’ that
bypasses Egypt’s judicial system and often fails to bring perpetrators of
attacks against Christians to justice. In its 2011 Religious Freedom Report, the
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) stated,
“Reconciliation efforts should not be used to undermine enforcing the law and
punishing perpetrators for wrongdoing. The State Department also has concluded
that reconciliation sessions not only ‘prevented the prosecution of perpetrators
of crimes against Coptic Christians and precluded their recourse to the judicial
system for restitution’ but also ‘contributed to a climate of impunity that
encouraged further assaults’.”
Aidan Clay, ICC Regional Manager for the Middle East, said, “Reconciliation
meetings are nothing more than a method to excuse those responsible for
violence, shift blame on the victims, and to completely ignore justice. The
recent attack in Kobry el-Sharbat again proves that nothing has changed in the
‘new’ Egypt after President Mubarak’s ouster, as perpetrators of attacks against
minorities continue to be pardoned and allowed to pursue their bloody campaign
to rid the country of Christians. Most disturbing is that the reconciliation
meetings were not led by the military council, but by representatives of the
very groups that won a majority in Egypt’s new parliament and claim to support
democracy and a civilian judicial system. We urge Egyptian officials to retract
the illegal decision that was made to evict the eight Christian families and to
arrest and convict those responsible for burning down Christian homes and
businesses.”
Please call the Egyptian Embassy in your country to express your concerns:
United States: +1 202.895.5400
Canada: +1 613.234.4931
United Kingdom: +44 207 499 3304
Germany: +49 30 47 75 470
France: +33 1 53 67 88 30
Australia: +61 2 6273 4437
Egyptian Police Prevent Christian Protesters From Reaching
Parliament
GMT 2-13-2012 22:7:40
Assyrian International News Agency
(AINA) -- Egyptian Security forces yesterday prevented a rally of hundreds of
Copts and activists from various political groups from reaching the Egyptian
Parliament. The rally was staged to condemn the eviction of 8 Coptic families
from their homes in El-Ameriya in Alexandria, on January 27 (AINA 2-9-2012).
The protestors were angry at the Parliament Speaker, who ignored last week an
urgent request submitted by elected Coptic member of Parliament Dr. Emad Gad, to
discuss this issue. The protesters said they wanted to meet with members of
parliament, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafi parties to inform them of
their condemnation of the events in El-Ameriya. Two Copts, Hani Ramsis and John
Talaat, were chosen as delegates to the Parliament Speaker to deliver the
message "No to reconciliation sittings or to the displacement of the Copts in
El-Ameriya."
John Talaat, former elections candidate for Parliament, said that what is going
on is a "farce caused by lack of security and we are here to deliver the
message, and we demand a formal questioning of the Minister of Interior
regarding this deportation [of the Coptic families from the village]."
Dr. Emad Gad, Coptic member of Parliament, presented on February 7 an urgent
request, supported by 22 signatures of liberal members of parliament, to the
Parliament Speaker, Dr. Saad el Katatny, who is from the Muslim Brotherhood's
Liberty and Justice Party, to discuss the Eviction of 8 Coptic families and the
seizure of their property. The request was ignored. "Katatny just folded the
paper I presented and put it on his desk", said Dr. Gad. "Within a tribe, in the
desert, or in a tent, you apply these unofficial reconciliation sittings, but in
Egypt we have civil law." Dr. Gad, who is deputy director of the Al-Ahram
Institute of Strategic Studies, said he would escalate the matter further if the
Parliament does not respond to this issue. He was due to submit another request
to the Speaker today.
Today's a meeting was held in a room in the Parliament, attended by several
members of parliament, mainly liberals and Copts. It also included the three MPs
from the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi parties who were involved in the
reconciliation sitting. Egyptians Against Religious Discrimination presented a
petition, signed by 13 NGOs, to the Speaker, criticizing the military and
security authorities for not protecting the Copts and for giving their blessings
to "the shameful reconciliation sittings."
Sheikh Sherif al-Hawary, who was present at the meeting, pointed out that he
intervened after the people of the village contacted him due to the lack of
police presence and their inability to enforce the law, and that his primary aim
was to prevent the shedding of blood.
Liberals and Copts insisted there has to be an end to collective punishment,
forced eviction of Copts and reconciliation sittings, and that the rule of law
has to prevail. Some of the attendees joined in the debate and unanimously
agreed that the family of Abeskhayroun Soliman should not be evicted. They also
discussed a solution to apply the law and provide means for protecting this
family in view of the prevailing lack of security
The meeting established a fact-finding commission affiliated to the
parliamentary human rights committee, to be made up of all Alexandria members of
parliament and two Coptic members. Dr. Emad Gad, in an interview tonight on CTV
Coptic Channel, was optimistic that the parliamentary commission would develop
recommendations to stop eviction and put an end to reconciliation sittings and
the application of the law. "These recommendation will be presented to
parliament and if it passes through parliament I believe this will be a
significant achievement, because parliament can oblige the government to apply
them." Other Coptic observers did not seem to share Dr. Gad's optimism, but
rather anticipated that there will be a chain of parliamentary committees and no
results in the end.
By Mary Abdelmassih
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