Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November 14/12 
Geagea: Nasrallah Has Assumed Role of Judge to Determine Who Takes Part in National Dialogue
Berri Calls for Parliamentary Session, Says MPs Have to Do their Job
March 14 Calls on Declaring 'Exceptional' State of Emergency in Sidon
Hariri, Pope Discuss Recent Developments in Vatican Meeting
4 Hand Grenades Found in Tripoli's Abi Samra
Hariri: Nasrallah defying Constitution
Hariri rules out compromise on Taif, seeks coexistence
Sidon MP Bahia Hariri blames Cabinet for violence
The Future bloc of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri: Nasrallah closed door to Dialogue
Fneish Demands Withdrawing Illegal Medications Case from Media Spotlight, Political Discussions
Rival camps draw in American University Of Beirute AUB polls
Lebanese Sunni Tripoli Islamist groups on verge of conflict
Families of Shiite Lebanese kidnapped pilgrims visit Hariri grave
Envoy emphasizes Egypt’s respect for resistance
Lebanese appointments saga dogs embattled Cabinet in Beirut
On withdrawing 31 Bahrainis nationality
Canada Condemns Iran’s Torture, Killing of Blogger
Tehran, Khartoum discuss deepening ties
Protests erupt in Jordan after fuel prices rise
Egypt mediates tacit truce on Gaza border
Syria Slams France, Says Opposition 'Declared War'
Syria opposition coalition faces world demands

Geagea: Nasrallah Has Assumed Role of Judge to Determine Who Takes Part in National Dialogue
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused on Wednesday Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah of “leading the country to a catastrophe due to his recent actions,” saying that the party leader is only working on achieving his interests in Lebanon.
He said during a press conference: “Nasrallah has taken it upon himself to act as judge to determine who takes part in the national dialogue.”
“Despite everything, Lebanon is a democratic country and all who attend the national dialogue do so because they represent the people,” he added.
Commenting on the government crisis, he said: “We are free to chose the formation of whichever government we want if we win the parliamentary elections.”
“The other camp can go ahead and form a cabinet of its liking if it wins the elections,” he continued.
“We want the rise of the state, which is the last of your concerns,” Geagea accused Nasrallah.
“Partnership with you will lead to chaos in Lebanon,” he declared.
“You may want a national unity government, but we don't. I do not want any partnership with you in a cabinet. I agree to partnership with you at parliament,” he stated.
“I would like to remind Nasrallah that during 2007 and 2008 he used to call for early parliamentary elections in order to form a one-sided government. I am now making a similar demand, but Nasrallah is refusing it because it does not suit his interests,” remarked the Lebanese Forces leader.
Addressing Nasrallah's accusations against the Lebanese Forces that it had cooperated with Israel during the 1975-90 civil war, Geagea said that the LF was forced to purchase arms from Israel because it was in a “very difficult position.”
“What do you say, Nasrallah, about the documented trade of arms between Israel and Iran?” he wondered.
Moreover, he noted that the majority of the suspects arrested in Lebanon over the past few years over collaborating with Israel are members of Hizbullah.
“No LF members were among those arrested,” he said.“The real enemy collaborators are those who receive funds from foreign states during a time of peace, not those who purchased arms from an enemy at a time of war,” Geagea explained.
On Hizbullah's recent acknowledgment of a drone it sent to fly over Israel, he commented: “The Lebanese people alone will pay the price for this action.”
Addressing Nasrallah, he asked: “Seeing as you admitted that Iran has obtained the images taken by the drone, why haven't they been provided to the Lebanese army?”
“Don't you trust the Lebanese army?” wondered Geagea.
“You are leading the country towards a catastrophe due to your actions. You do not care about the Lebanese people, but only regional interests,” he added.
“It is true that your presence leads us to worry about Lebanon's security, but you cannot accuse the March 14 camp of wanting Israel to wage a war against Lebanon to attack Hizbullah,” he said.
“We do believe that you to pose a danger to Lebanon, but that does not mean that we are overlooking Israel's threat against the country,” he remarked.
Furthermore, Geagea slammed Nasrallah's accusations that the Christians of the March 14 camp are attempting to create Sunni-Shiite strife.
“Should the March 14 Christians be blamed for the Sunni-Shiite strife in Iraq?” he asked.
“Those fueling the strife are the sides that stood by the Syrian regime after the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri in 2005,” he added.
“Those fueling the strife are the sides that tried to topple former Premier Fouad Saniora's government and overthrew that of former PM Saad Hariri,” he said.
On Nasrallah's accusations that the March 14 camp is attempting to eliminate the March 8 camp from rule, Geagea stated: “How can a coalition that has been the target of 25 assassinations and failed attempts be seeking to eliminate the other?”
“How is it that Hizbullah, which has the strongest security apparatus in Lebanon, has succeeded in uncovering a number of enemy collaborators, but failed to uncover those behind the assassinations?” asked the LF leader.
Commenting on Nasrallah's claims that the March 14 camp is exploiting politically the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan, he said: “Did you expect us to remain silent over it?”
“Didn't clashes break out in Lebanon over a television parody of Nasrallah in the past? Wasn't this issue employed politically? How can assassinations not be employed politically?” he asked.
Addressing the parliamentary elections and the dispute over the electoral law, Geagea remarked: “I believe that I enjoy popular support, but I will not accept the law that was approved by the government.”
“If you believe yourself to be as strong as you say, then you must agree to a law that best represents the people. I call upon you to go ahead with the electoral law that is based on 50 districts because it offers the best representation as you had stated in the past,” he added.

Berri Calls for Parliamentary Session, Says MPs Have to Do their Job
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri called on Wednesday for a Nov. 27 parliamentary session where Armenia's president Serzh Sarkisian is scheduled to give a speech. Berri stressed that parliament will remain active despite the boycott by the opposition March 14 alliance. “The authority given from the people to the lawmaker does not give him the right not to attend the work of parliamentary committees,” MPs quoted Berri as saying during his weekly meeting with lawmakers. “He has to do his job,” Berri said after the March 14 coalition criticized him for calling on rapporteurs to lead the meetings of the committees in case their heads boycotted the sessions. The opposition called for the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government and announced its boycott of parliamentary activity after it blamed the cabinet for the Oct. 19 assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Wissam al-Hasan. Media reports have said Sarkisian will travel to Beirut on Nov. 27 for a three-day visit following the invitation of President Michel Suleiman who visited Yerevan in December last year.The reports said the Armenian president will in addition to Suleiman meet Berri, Prime Minister Najib Miqati and the representatives of Armenian parties and sects.

Hariri: Nasrallah defying Constitution
November 14, 2012/By Hussein Abdallah/The Daily Star
Hariri meets Terzi.
BEIRUT: Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri responded Tuesday to Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s attack on the March 14 coalition, accusing the party of overstepping the Constitution to stay in power.
Hariri ridiculed Nasrallah’s call for dialogue – instead of the three ways described in the Constitution – as the means to change the government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
“There are certain constitutional grounds to topple the government, unless Sayyed Hasan wants to write a new Constitution and show us that the new way for this is through dialogue,” Hariri said following talks in Rome with Italian Foreign Affairs Giulio Terzi. He added that Hezbollah seems to be ready to do anything to stay in power.
Hariri also defended Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea against several accusations made by the Hezbollah chief.
“Sayyed Hasan was addressing someone whom he did not wish to name. I will name this person. He was addressing Dr. Samir Geagea. Well, Dr. Geagea always believed and still believes that Lebanon should be run by the Lebanese people and not foreign parties,” Hariri said.
In his speech Monday, Nasrallah accused Geagea, without naming him, of seeking strife between Sunnis and Shiites, also hinting at the LF leader’s past ties with Israel.
“When we rose in 2005, we didn’t do that so the Syrian regime would return to the country. We did that in order to be free and we will always be free. We want the Lebanese to live with dignity and not to need anyone; not Saad Hariri or Hassan Nasrallah or Samir Geagea or anyone else. We want the Lebanese to have electricity, water, medical care and education,” said Hariri.
Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly reiterated Tuesday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s support for President Michel Sleiman’s consultations with political leaders to form a new government.
According to an embassy statement, Connelly delivered a message from Clinton expressing condolences for the victims of the Oct. 19 bombing.
In the message, “the secretary reaffirmed U.S. support for President Sleiman’s leadership as he consults with other responsible leaders on transitioning to a new government that reflects the aspirations of the Lebanese people and strengthens Lebanon’s stability, sovereignty and independence.”
Connelly and Sleiman also discussed at Baabda Palace bilateral relations as well as the political and security situation in Lebanon and regional events.
The U.S. has supported the formation of a new government to replace Mikati’s Cabinet in the aftermath of the car bomb that killed Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, the head of the Internal Security Forces Information Branch.
The Obama administration has also warned against any leadership changes that would throw the country into a power vacuum.
Sleiman has launched consultations with the country’s rival political leaders in a bid to discuss the possibility of forming a new Cabinet at the National Dialogue table.
But his efforts reached a dead end when the Future Movement rejected any talks before Mikati steps down.
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun stressed Tuesday the need for dialogue to find a way out of Lebanon’s political crisis.“There is a need for dialogue ... Or else how would we solve problems? Do we solve them with arms?” Aoun said following talks Sleiman in Baabda.
However, he added that “half the country doesn’t want to hold consultations,” in reference to the March 14-led opposition.
The meeting between the two leaders was part of the consultations the president is holding with different Lebanese rivals in an effort to resume national dialogue.
Sleiman’s press office issued a statement saying discussions tackled recent developments and addressed ways to maintain stability in Lebanon.
Both leaders also stressed the importance of dialogue among rival parties, the statement said.
Aoun said the country’s situation is not as bad as the media is portraying it, and offered assurances that the Cabinet will not resign under pressure. “We are doing fine, we feel comfortable and the government is being productive.”
Meanwhile, Marada Movement leader MP Sleiman Franjieh said after visiting Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai that he supported Aoun’s proposal to form a small Cabinet that includes the leaders of the main parliamentary blocs.
“Such a Cabinet or any other Cabinet can only be agreed on through dialogue. The problem lies in the party who is rejecting dialogue,” he said.
Tension in Lebanon heightened after Hasan’s assassination. The March 14 coalition has accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of being behind the killing. It has also said the government is responsible for the crime and called on Mikati to resign.
Rejecting the opposition’s campaigns against his government, Mikati vowed to stay in office and said dialogue was the only way to resolve the political crisis. Mikati held talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri Tuesday in Ain al-Tineh.
Berri later met with a delegation from the Progressive Socialist Party that included Ministers Ghazi al-Aridi, Wael Abu Faour and Alaeddine Terro.
Aridi told reporters after the meeting that discussions with Berri focused on ways to get out of the current government crisis. Aridi said the current government is not “sacred” and that the PSP is open to any change that preserves stability.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Ali Hasan Khalil, Berri’s close aide, said that the alliance between the Amal Movement and PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt remains committed to safeguarding Lebanon’s stability.
“Our hands remain joined with [Druze] leader Walid Jumblatt in order to maintain Lebanon’s stability and protect civil peace,” Khalil said while stressing the need to preserve national unity. His remarks came a day after Jumblatt said it was time to consider forming a new Cabinet.
“It is time to think of a new Cabinet that would protect the country from political tension and strife,” Jumblatt said in his weekly column in Al-Anbaa newspaper.
Jumblatt argued that Hasan’s assassination as well as repeated security incidents in the northern city of Tripoli and clashes in Sidon have proved the need for a new government that would be able to reassure the various political rivals in Lebanon.

Hariri rules out compromise on Taif, seeks coexistence
November 14, 2012 /The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Tuesday he would not compromise on the Taif Accord, adding that the Future Movement and other groups in the March 14 coalition want all Lebanese to live together.
“We only worry about Lebanon and we will not compromise on the Taif Accord or on Lebanon,” Hariri said, referring to the agreement that ended Lebanon’s Civil War.
“I reiterate that the Future Movement, the March 14 Forces and me, personally, want all the Lebanese people to live together, and this is not impossible. But everyone must think as Lebanese because this country is for everyone. They should stop challenging us because this will lead nowhere because we are not afraid,” he said after holding talks with Italy’s Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi at the headquarters of the Foreign Ministry in Rome.
Hariri described his talks with Terzi as good and frank. “The meetings were good and we discussed all issues with frankness. What is happening in the region, and especially in Syria and in Lebanon after the assassination of Wissam al-Hasan, is unacceptable.”
The Future Movement leader, who began a visit to Rome, is to meet Pope Benedict XVI Wednesday.
“The aim of this visit is to thank the pope for his visit to Lebanon [in September] which was really a very important historic visit. He came to tell the Lebanese that we are all one,” he said.
Hariri said he would return to Lebanon “sooner or later.”
Earlier Tuesday, the former premier met with the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States Monsignor Dominique Mamberti.
A statement from Hariri’s media office said he discussed “the situation in Lebanon and the region in light of ongoing developments and events, particularly in Syria.”
Cardinal Robert Sarah, Benedict’s envoy to Syria, said the church fears that all Christians living in the Middle East will leave.
Sarah also said upon his return to Rome that the Syrian opposition’s agreement to form the Syrian National Coalition was a positive step.
The pope sent Sarah to Lebanon to check on the situation of Syrian refugees, as the security situation in Syria prevented him from sending cardinals to Syria.
Separately, Hariri praised in a statement the formation Sunday of the Syrian opposition’s Syrian National Coalition, calling it a step that would help in toppling Syrian President Bashar Assad.
He said the move “represents the basic and correct step to complete the course of the Syrian people’s revolution, in order to achieve its ultimate goal of toppling the regime of Bashar Assad, which is killing its people and devastating its country.”
A broad opposition grouping, the SNC was formed to secure increased foreign backing for the 20-monthslong uprising against Assad.
Hariri said that the birth of the coalition should motivate Syria’s friends to increase their support for the uprising in the country in order to paralyze Assad’s “killing machine” and help bring about its downfall.
Hariri congratulated the coalition’s president, Ahmad Moaz Khatib, and its two vice presidents, Riad Seif and Suhair Atassi.

Sidon MP Bahia Hariri blames Cabinet for violence
November 14, 2012 /By Mohammed Zaatari/The Daily Star
SIDON, Lebanon: Sidon MP Bahia Hariri blamed the Cabinet for violence across the country Tuesday, chiding Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his government for causing a series of crises she mockingly called “stability.”
“Thank you, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, you need no one ... to defend you, as the stability you have provided the Lebanese with is enough to defend you against any accusation,” Hariri said sarcastically in a statement she read from her Majdalyoun residence.
Calling Mikati’s government the “Cabinet of stability,” Hariri said, tongue-in-cheek, that it should be trusted. “I stress to you that the Cabinet is convinced that the violence and crises in Lebanon are stability,” she said, mentioning incidents in Tripoli, Akkar, Beirut and the assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan.
Hariri called the current situation the “normal result ... of oppression, isolation and domination.”
The March 14 coalition, of which Hariri is a member, maintains that Hezbollah used intimidation to ensure Mikati’s nomination in Jan. 2011, after the party’s personnel fanned out in the capital’s streets a few days before he was selected by a parliamentary majority.
“Back then, I wished you would not be a part of this dark experience,” she said of Mikati’s ties to alleged Hezbollah pressure on Parliament, and said his ongoing premiership has become difficult for other Sunnis. “Prime minister, your situation is now more painful to your people than the assassination of [former premier] Rafik Hariri.”
Three men were shot dead in Sidon Sunday after an argument between supporters of Sheikh Ahmad Assir and Hezbollah members escalated into gunfire. Two of the dead were Assir’s bodyguards: Ali Samhoun and Lubnan al-Azi. The third, Ali Sharbini, was a passerby. “When armed confrontation becomes the only means of achieving political goals, then Rafik Hariri’s project has been killed, [years] after its founder was assassinated,” she said.
Hariri extended her condolences to the families of the dead, calling for Sidon residents to wear black and postpone all scheduled celebrations for a week. She also called on the Army and the ISF not to be biased or unjust in carrying out their work.
Amid fears that the conflict would spiral beyond Sunday’s violence, Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi visited the Mohammad Zogheib Army barracks in Sidon, where he met with soldiers and members of the south’s military command.
Kahwagi called on soldiers to stay aware of plots to force the Army into clashes with civilians, calling on them to prepare for attempts to stir up strife.
“The Army is completely aware of the sensitive situation in the capital of the south [Sidon] and its environs.”
“Each district in Lebanon has its own particularities which the Army is dealing with prudently and without leniency. It will quell with force without hesitation any attempt by anyone, either inside or outside Lebanon, to turn Sidon into a battlefield,” Kahwagi added.
For his part, Assir received condolences for his slain bodyguards at the Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque. He made no comments on media reports that he is planning to form an armed wing.
Samih Hajj, the south’s public prosecutor, visited the site of the shootings in Taamir on the instructions of Public Prosecutor Hatem Madi. He examined the scene and called on the ISF to probe, arrest and bring to trial those involved. An ISF source disclosed the first names and last initials of those suspected of the shooting: Brothers Mohammad and Haidar D., Fadi A., Fadl M., Mohammad F., Mohammad N.No arrests have been made, and according to the sources some suspects are still in Taamir.
Sunday’s violence was also the subject of various political meetings. Leadership from the Future Movement and Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya met at Hariri’s residence, condemning the killings and calling them alien to the city. They rejected illegitimate arms and called on security and judicial bodies to carry out a serious and transparent probe.
After the talks, Bassam Hammoud, Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya’s official in the south, said the groups’ main concern was finding a way “to prevent strife, save the city and contain the repercussions of the clash. Using weapons in this way ... is unacceptable,” he said. Hammoud opposed declaring Sidon a military zone, as Interior Minister Marwan Charbel suggested Sunday.
“Sidon is not an isolated island, and is not so different from other areas in Lebanon that such a decision needs to be made,” Hammoud said, adding that “we are dedicated to preserving the resistance’s arms, but not those that are used to kill on the streets.” He labeled such arms as “suspicious.” The Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya official said his party was willing to communicate with “everybody,” including Assir, and said it had agreed with Islamist parties in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp as well as other Sidon Islamist groups to form a delegation to visit Assir.

Fneish Demands Withdrawing Illegal Medications Case from Media Spotlight, Political Discussions
Naharnet /Minister of State for Administrative Reform Mohammad Fneish said on Wednesday that the illegal medications case should be withdrawn from media spotlight and political discussions.
“This case is harming the reputation of pharmaceutical companies,” Fneish told reporters before attending a cabinet session at the Grand Serail.
On Tuesday, General Prosecutor Judge Hatem Madi issued a search and investigative warrant against two people, including the brother of Fneish.
The warrant was issued against Abdul Latif Fneish and Fouad Ahmed Wehbeh over links to the forging certificates of laboratory tests and illegal medications case.
“The forging of laboratory certificates and counterfeit medications are two separate cases. Only laboratories can determine any foul play through carrying out tests,” Fneish added.
Reports say the forgery has been lingering on for about ten months and when it was exposed the health minister claimed it was referred to the judiciary a month ago.

Envoy emphasizes Egypt’s respect for resistance
November 14, 2012 /The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Hezbollah’s Arab Relations official Hasan Ezzeddine received Tuesday Egypt’s Ambassador to Lebanon Ashraf Hamdi, who said that Cairo deals with resistance movements in the region with “utmost respect.” “Pre-revolution and post-revolution Egypt deals with resistance movements in the region with the utmost respect as long as resistance is legitimate,” Hamdi told reporters after the meeting. Hezbollah had strained ties with the former regime of deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. “Today’s meeting is in line with my attempts since I came to Lebanon to communicate with all Lebanese political groups and today’s visit was successful,” Hamdi added. The ambassador said he discussed with Ezzeddine the importance of Lebanon’s policy of dissociation from events in neighboring Syria and highlighted that dialogue between rival groups in Lebanon should resume. For his part, Ezzeddine said that the meeting was good. “Egypt’s status and role is important in the region, and it can play a positive role in Lebanon,” he said.

Syria Slams France, Says Opposition 'Declared War'
Naharnet /A meeting of the Syrian opposition hosted by the Qatari capital amounted to a "declaration of war," the country's deputy foreign minister, Faisal Muqdad, said on Wednesday, describing France's decision to recognize the opposition alliance as "immoral.”
"The Doha meeting was a declaration of war. These people (the opposition) don't want to solve the issue peacefully through the mechanisms of the U.N.," Muqdad told Agence France Presse.
"We read the Doha document and they reject any dialogue with the government."
Opposition factions met in Doha, Qatar for four days until Sunday, when they agreed to set up the National Coalition and bring together rebel forces under a supreme military council, as well as establish a judicial commission for rebel areas.
They plan to form a provisional government once the coalition has been widely recognized internationally.
France's decision to recognize a Syrian opposition alliance as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people is "immoral," Muqdad said.
"Allow me to use the word, this is an immoral position because it allows the killing of Syrians," Muqdad said. "They are supporting killers, terrorists and they are encouraging the destruction of Syria."
France on Tuesday became the first Western country to recognize the coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.
The United States has recognized the coalition, but stopped short of treating it as the only legitimate representative of the Syrians.
The National Coalition's declaration also included an outright rejection of any negotiation with the regime.
The regime of President Bashar Assad has long accused rebels of being funded and mobilized by foreign powers.
"We are ready to discuss with the Syrian opposition which is led in Syria and not led or fabricated elsewhere," said Muqdad. "We want to participate to a national dialogue with everybody who wants to solve the issue peacefully."
Muqdad's statements were the first Syrian official reaction to the Doha meeting.
Agence France Presse

Lebanese appointments saga dogs embattled Cabinet in Beirut
November 14, 2012 /By Hasan Lakkis/The Daily Star
The Cabinet faces several other major hurdles, among them the pay increase and the issue of Lebanon’s Syrian refugees.
BEIRUT: Reaching agreement on administrative agreements continues to be among the major challenges Cabinet faces in its struggle to lift Lebanon out of the political crisis borne of the assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan.
Since last month’s assassination, the March 14 coalition has been calling for Cabinet to resign. It is boycotting the National Dialogue and all parliamentary sessions attended by members of the Cabinet.
Selecting names to fill vacant administrative posts has long dogged the Cabinet, and there is still no accord on who will become the director-general and head of the board of Tele Liban. Appointments at the station have been held up because of complaints by prominent Greek Melkite Catholics that positions traditionally held by their sect are being given to other groups.
According to ministerial sources, Information Minister Walid Daouk recently discussed the Tele Liban appointments with President Michel Sleiman and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun in separate recent meetings, and is in talks with all relevant parties.
The sources said that Daouk informed Aoun that he would have difficulty appointing a Maronite to Tele Liban’s top spot, and instead asked the Free Patriotic Movement leader to nominate a Maronite for the board.
Aoun responded by proposing his own Greek Melkite Catholic candidate for director-general and board head, Pierre Azar. Daouk currently has four candidates for the post. The other three are: Talal Maqdissi, who is close to Sleiman; George Kallas, who is backed by Greek Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregorius III Lanham; and Camille Mnessa, who Daouk supports.
The sources said that Tele Liban appointments might be postponed yet again if Aoun insists on Azar and Daouk, Mikati and Sleiman oppose this choice.
A list of names for the Customs Department has been finalized, sources said, adding that they will be appointed soon.
Mussa Hazim will be named the head of the Customs Department board of directors; Jean Fares will be named director-general. Fares, who hails from Jezzine, is close to Aoun.
Shafiq Merie, who is now the acting director-general, will be chosen for the Higher Customs Council.
A deal has been made about the names of some governors; contacts are ongoing about the rest.
The Cabinet faces several other major hurdles, among them the pay increase it approved for public employees and teachers, and the issue of Lebanon’s Syrian refugees.
So far, the Cabinet’s policy toward the salary scale is postponement: Mikati has announced that he will not refer it to Parliament before securing financing. This position has hardened, sources said, in light of comments by Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh at the last Cabinet session that implementing the wage increase would damage the economy and the country’s monetary system.
The sources said there are prominent parties represented in the Cabinet who can convince the Union Coordination Committee to refrain from escalating protests about the raise until the Cabinet can find a source of funding that will not jeopardizethe country’s economy.
As for the Syrian refugees, of whom there are more than 118,000 registered in Lebanon, the sources said the government is discussing the matter with donor states and the Higher Relief Committee, and is working on a plan to accommodate and aid more than 200,000 refugees.
The sources said preliminary figures suggest Lebanon needs more than $400 million to pay for these relief efforts.
The Cabinet is also facing security problems given the weekend’s fighting in Sidon. The sources said that when Sheikh Ahmad Assir called Mikati Saturday, the prime minister informed the controversial preacher that a decision to preserve stability and security nationwide has been made and will be implemented.
The sources said that Mikati’s scheduled visit to Paris Monday will shock the opposition, because they expect the French to express clear support for his Cabinet. Mikati is set to meet with French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, among other officials.

Lebanese Sunni Tripoli Islamist groups on verge of conflict
November 14, 2012/By Misbah al-Ali/The Daily Star
TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Tensions have risen between Islamist groups in Tripoli, mirroring the deepening political divisions around the country and raising fears of a new eruption of violence.
Clashes between the various Islamist groups in Tripoli, divided between the March 8 and March 14 political movements, are on the rise.
Only Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya is still attempting to remain independent from the two political blocs by adopting a purely Islamist platform with its own stances regarding internal Lebanese politics and the crisis in Syria.Since the assassination of March 14 figure and intelligence chief Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan in October, disputes between Islamist groups in Tripoli have been heading toward a major conflagration, particularly following the killing of Sheikh Abdel-Razzaq Asmar, an official from the Islamic Tawhid Movement, just hours after Hasan’s death.
The sheikh was shot dead in the Abi Samra neighborhood of Tripoli during an armed clash that erupted when supporters of Kanaan Naji, an independent Islamist figure associated with the National Islamist Gathering, attempted to take over the headquarters of the Islamic Tawhid Movement in the Saadoun Square.
The family of Asmar has filed a lawsuit accusing six individuals from the pro-March 14 National Islamic Gathering of the killing.
The National Islamic Gathering is comprised of a diverse group of followers, including March 14 supporters and Future Movement MPs Mohammad Kabbara and Khaled Daher, as well as independent Islamist figures such as Naji and Sheikh Raed Kabbara.
The group also draws supporters from the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood. Among them is Amid Hammoud, who is rumored to be the head of the armed wings of pro-March 14 Islamist groups. Hammoud is one of those listed in the lawsuit accused of the direct killing of Asmar.
Shortly before the killing of Asmar, Sheikh Hashem Minqara, of the pro-March 8 Islamic Tawhid Movement, fled his mosque in the town of Mina, near Tripoli, following an armed clash.
Minqara’s departure amounted to a warning sign for all pro-March 8 figures that Sunni supporters of Hezbollah have become targets in Tripoli.
The Syrian Social Nationalist Party, a member of the March 8 alliance, has also evacuated its headquarters in Tripoli’s Gemmayzat neighborhood due to similar fears.
Despite the concerns, Sheikh Bilal Shaaban, secretary-general of the Islamic Tawhid Movement, has decided to remain in his offices in Abi Samra and support the Samra family’s decision to file a lawsuit.
Sheikh Bilal Diqmaq, an independent Islamist figure, lashed out at the Islamic Tawhid Movement for remaining in Tripoli and provoking its citizens.
“They [the Islamic Tawhid Movement] want to damage themselves by shedding light on issues that they have no business discussing,” he told The Daily Star Tuesday.
The movement “have recently filed a lawsuit against some people over the killing of Sheikh Abdel-Razzaq Samra. My message to them is you have no interest in filing this lawsuit,” Diqmaq added.
“I have nothing to do with this lawsuit but I call on them [the movement] to solve their problem with the residents of Abi Samra, Bab al-Tabbaneh and Qobbeh, because there is already tension in the streets [of Tripoli],” said the sheikh, who is not allied with the National Islamic Gathering but has espoused a position similar to that of the March 14-aligned group.
“I’m very sorry that in Tripoli there are some people considered to be Sunnis who at the same time stand by the side of the Syrian regime. [Sheikh] Hashem Minqara understood the conflict when he left Tripoli,” Diqmaq continued, indirectly calling on others to follow the example of Minqara and leave the city.
“They have the right to political action but they have no right to stand against the people of Tripoli,” he said. Amid Hammoud could not be reached for comment and Jihad Moghrabi, one of the other figures known to be named in the lawsuit, refused to speak about the issue, saying that he belongs to Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya and adheres to the party’s independent stance.
A senior official from the Islamic Tawhid Movement, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the group will stand behind the Samra family’s lawsuit.
“The family has the right to know how their son was killed. He went to the street to end a quarrel when an armed group took him [while he was] unarmed and shot him dead,” the official said.
The Islamic National Gathering held a meeting last week at the residence of MP Daher and called on the the Islamic Tawhid Movement to close its offices in Tripoli, a sign that tensions will continue to increase while the movement remains in the city.

Families of Shitte Lebanese kidnapped pilgrims visit Hariri grave
November 14, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Families of the Lebanese pilgrims being held in Syria visited the grave of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut’s Martyrs Square Tuesday evening, in a move that will likely be followed by a protest in front of the Syrian and Iranian embassies, according to sources from the families. Relatives of some of the men also visited the March 14 sit-in at Riad al-Solh Square and held a joint gathering to denounce Syrian attempts to export its crisis into Lebanon. After reading aloud prayers at the graves of Hariri and senior security chief Brig. Gen. Wissam Hasan, a delegation from the families walked to Riad al-Solh Square where March 14 youth organizations have been protesting against the government for weeks. “Our participation in a gathering with the March 14 youth organizations in Riad al-Solh is an attempt to create an atmosphere of solidarity and agreement,” said Adham Zogheib, whose father, Ali Zogheib, is still being held by a Syrian opposition group in northern Syria.
Two of the 11 kidnapped pilgrims have been freed, and talks continue between Ankara, Beirut and the Syrian rebels to free the remaining nine.
Zogheib added that Future Movement MP Okab Sakr is currently in Turkey and is heading the negotiations to ensure the safe return of the remaining pilgrims.
The pilgrims were kidnapped in the Aleppo district in May on their way home from a pilgrimage in Iran. Their captors have said they would hold them as “guests” until Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah apologizes for his support of the Syrian regime. Hayat Awali, a spokesperson for the families of the kidnapped, told The Daily Star that only three families participated in the gathering. “Other families objected to this move because March 14 wants to politically manipulate this event instead of helping out the pilgrims’ families,” Awali said.
Awali said pressure by the March 14 youth movements on premier Najib Mikati won’t help free the pilgrims. “We were supposed to have a gathering only at Hariri’s grave, but March 14 saw an opportunity in this to launch new attacks on Mikati,” Awali added. Activists from Support of Lebanese in Detention and Exile also took part in Tuesday’s gathering to reiterate calls to free at least 600 Lebanese political prisoners in Syria prisons. “We went to Downtown to announce that all the kidnapped pilgrims are Lebanese and not only Shiites,” said Randa Arzouni, wife of the kidnapped Hasan Arzouni. “Visiting Hariri’s grave was important, I wish he was alive. Had Hariri been alive, the pilgrims would have returned home in less than a day.”

The Future bloc of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri: Nasrallah closed door to Dialogue
November 14, 2012 /The Daily Star/BEIRUT: March 14 parties responded Tuesday to Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s attack against the coalition, describing his speech as “escalatory” and accusing him of closing the door to National Dialogue. The Future bloc of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Nasrallah’s speech a day earlier proved Hezbollah was against resuming Dialogue.
“Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has returned to accusing others of treason and to classifying people as patriot or traitor, thus putting himself in charge of all the Lebanese and giving himself the right to decide who attends Dialogue sessions and who doesn’t,” the bloc said in a statement. Addressing March 14 leaders in his speech Monday, Nasrallah said: “If you want to return to the Dialogue table, you are welcome. But if you don’t wish to, may God be with you, there is no problem.”Nasrallah’s remarks came as President Michel Sleiman continues to face difficulties in his attempts to convene a new National Dialogue session because of March 14’s refusal to take part in any dialogue before the government resigns.Meanwhile, the Lebanese Forces hit back at accusations made by Nasrallah that some Christians were seeking inter-Muslim strife, saying the violence in Sidon over the weekend was the work of the resistance leader.
“Nasrallah’s accusations aimed at justifying the massacre he carried out in the city of Sidon,” said Wehbi Qatisha, Geagea’s adviser.
He was referring to Sunday’s clashes between supporters of Hezbollah and those of Sunni Sheikh Ahmad Assir that left three people dead, including two of the preacher’s bodyguards.
In a televised speech Monday, Nasrallah accused some Christian members of the March 14 coalition of trying to drag Lebanon into a Sunni-Shiite conflict and called on Lebanese to be vigilant at this “very sensitive” time in the region.Qatisha said Christian parties in the March 14 alliance were unarmed.
“March 14 Christians do not have a private militia, nor a state within the state,” Qatisha stressed.
Regarding Nasrallah’s accusations of treachery, the LF official said: “If they want to show who the real [Israeli] spy is let him [Nasrallah] sit face to face with the Lebanese Forces.”
Nasrallah proposed inviting parties who have fought Israel in the past to the Dialogue table, saying such parties had more privileges to discuss a defense strategy for Lebanon than others whom he claimed had been Israel’s allies in the past, hinting at the Lebanese Forces.
Nasrallah said Hezbollah was making a concession by accepting to sit with such parties at the same table.
Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra fired back at Nasrallah Tuesday, saying: “It is the LF that is making a concession by accepting to sit with assassins on the same table.”
The LF, as well as other March 14 parties, accuse Hezbollah of being behind several killings and assassination attempts that have targeted March 14 politicians.
The last such accusation was made by LF chief Samir Geagea following the assassination of Internal Security Forces intelligence chief Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan.
Zahra told MTV television station Hezbollah’s accusation that some Christian parties of the March 14 coalition were trying to instigate Sunni-Shiite strife was completely baseless.
“In fact, Hezbollah is responsible for instigating such strife by taking part in killing the Syrian people under the pretext that there were Lebanese Shiites in Syria who are fighting to defend themselves against others,” Zahra said. For his part, Future Movement MP Jamal Jarrah slammed Nasrallah over “his efforts to legitimize its weapons.”
“Hezbollah wants to give legitimacy to its weapons through dialogue,” Jarrah said. “Sayyed Nasrallah proved yesterday ... that his weapons are a red line.”
Jarrah said that March 14 was only willing to sit at the Dialogue table with Hezbollah when the resistance group was ready to discuss its arsenal.

Rival camps draw in American University Of Beirute AUB polls
November 14, 2012/By Van Meguerditchian/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: A tight race for the American University of Beirut’s student-faculty council left March 8 and March 14-backed students with the same number of seats, making elections scheduled for next week – including a runoff – decisive.Preliminary results for the 17 representatives of the 24-member University Student-Faculty Council showed March 8-backed and March 14-backed students each winning seven seats.Two seats were claimed by the self-proclaimed independent coalitions, the Secular Club and No Frontiers. The final seat was caught in a tie between an independent student and a March 8-backed candidate.The provisional results were obtained by The Daily Star from rival coalitions Tuesday evening.
Independent candidates could be game changers in the upcoming election of USFC vice president, secretary and treasurer on Dec. 4, potentially tipping the scales.
Student elections this year challenged AUB’s traditional electoral system. Instead of electing only 109-member Student Representative Council, the student body voted for both the SRC and the 17-member USFC.Student affairs dean Talal Nizameddin introduced the changes to the electoral process. Traditionally, newly elected SRC representatives would vote in the week after election day for the 17 student representatives on the 24-member USFC.But this year, in an attempt to include more students in the selection of USFC members, students were invited to elect their SRC and USFC representatives in the same election, said a statement released by AUB’s Public Relations Office. The elections this year also featured at least a four-way contest, with students backed by the PSP running on a separate ballot against the March 14-backed Students at Work, the March 8-backed United Ballot and the independent candidates.
The self-proclaimed independent candidates who emerged as victors in last years’ elections were divided into three groups: “No Frontiers,” “Just Think” and “Campus Choice.”
Nizameddin described the polls as “smooth, marked by an exemplary spirit of friendly competition.”
“It is so important for AUB students to know that there is an annual tradition of electing representatives and that they have a voice in the character of their student body and their own beloved AUB. The result in many ways is insignificant when compared to the experience of taking part.”
Adonis Wazir, head of the student organization of the Progressive Socialist Party said the PSP wanted to have its own independent coalition to keep political polarization out of campus.
“We are not part of any bloc, as last year we ran our campaign as independents. But we would work with anyone whether the majority is from the March 14 or March 8 coalitions,” said Wazir, a senior biology student.
Mark Francis, a member of the independent group, No Frontiers, said that their campaign is funded by students and members of the club. “We don’t get funds from any political party; we gather money through our members who pitch in money when necessary,” said Francis, a graduate student in Middle Eastern studies. “Talk to as many people as you can,” Francis told another campaigner near AUB’s West Hall.
Francis said that the independent candidates who were elected to AUB’s student-faculty council last year campaigned against price hikes in the campus’ main cafeteria.
The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections oversaw the student elections on campus with about 15 observers weaving in and out of faculties and ballot counting areas.
LADE coordinator at AUB Tamim Boukarroum praised AUB’s organization process, describing it as “stellar, as usual.” He added that the general mood on campus this year was “very calm.”
In a chat with The Daily Star, Boukarroum said, however, that a number of negative factors continue to mar the university’s student elections.
“We had hoped to see transparent ballot boxes, but there were only wooden boxes in which students all around the campus cast their votes ... It is better and more transparent to have [plastic and transparent] boxes because it makes fraud less likely.”
Boukarroum also said that like in previous years, rival campaigns used a considerable amount of money to distribute T-shirts and stationary to students.
“We saw again how different coalitions pressured students to come to university today and they accompanied them to the faculties to cast votes in favor of either party,” he added.
Financial support from the rival March 14 and March 8 coalitions did not stop some students from running independently and asking for votes from their classmates, who in most cases are politically affiliated with either camp. “The campus is made up of various constituencies, but if I win I won’t join any party and I have made that clear to both blocs,” said candidate Carl Rihan, a graduate student in political studies. Rihan argued that graduate level studies lack funding and PhD programs.
“There are very few PhD programs, if I am elected into the USFC, I would work with the administration to introduce new programs that would help Lebanese students stay in the country instead of travelling for graduate studies abroad,” Rihan said. A number of voters caste blank ballots in protest or because they did not agree with either side of the race.
“I am not really interested in these candidates; this is the second time I vote with a blank paper to voice my disapproval,” said Kareem Salhab, a junior student.
Putting her weight behind the campaigners of the March 14-backed Students at Work, Anna Eid said students should vote based on the record of each coalition. “I am a junior and running for a seat because I am proud of my political opinion and I am proud to represent the March 14 and its beliefs of Lebanon,” Eid said.

Syria opposition coalition faces world demands
November 14, 2012/By Daily Star Staff/Agencies
BEIRUT: Arab and Western officials told Syria’s newly formed opposition coalition Tuesday that it must organize itself, unite armed rebel groups, and generate further support inside the country before it can receive weapons and money. The United States said the Syrian National Coalition, formed Sunday in Qatar, was “a legitimate representative” of the Syrian people, but stopped short of recognizing it as a government-in-exile. “We now have a structure in place that can prepare for a political transition, but. ... we’re looking for it to still establish the types of technical committees that will allow us to make sure our assistance gets to the right places,” State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said.
“We do think this is a legitimate representative of the Syrian people, that it does reflect the Syrian people ... that diverse group of Syrian people,” he told journalists.
But Toner said the U.S. policy of providing only non-lethal support and humanitarian aid to the Syrian rebels remained unchanged.
French President Francois Hollande said Paris would look at the question of arming the coalition once it had created a transitional government, although he broke ranks with European allies by recognizing the group as the sole representative of the Syrian people.
“On the question of weapons deliveries, France did not support it as long as it wasn’t clear where these weapons went,” Hollande told a news conference after making the announcement.
“With the coalition, as soon as it is a legitimate government of Syria, this question will be looked at by France, but also by all countries that recognize this government,” he said.
France’s defense minister said the coalition needed to unite armed rebel factions within Syria under its umbrella.
“What happened in Doha is a step forward,” Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters in Paris. “It is still not sufficient to constitute a provisional government that can be recognized internationally. But it’s on the right track.”The French minister called for “a unification of military action to avoid haphazard military operations” and also urged rebels to rein in radical Islamist “Salafist elements.” European caution, and an Arab League endorsement that stops well short of full recognition, indicate that the coalition forged with such difficulty two days ago may face a tough quest for wholehearted backing, even from its allies.
The six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council have also recognized the National Coalition as “the Syrian people’s legitimate representative,” but the Arab League stopped short of this, saying it saw the alliance as “the legitimate representative of the Syrian opposition.”
Lebanon has maintained a policy of “dissociating” itself from the Syria conflict while Iraq and Algeria expressed reservations about recognizing the opposition group, due to their good relations with Damascus.EU foreign ministers meeting at the League’s headquarters in Cairo took a similar stance, welcoming the coalition’s formation but declining to extend formal recognition, while calling on it to bring in more regime opponents. “It is a very important milestone and a very big step toward [recognition],” British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on the sidelines of the EU-Arab gathering.
The Europeans wanted to ensure the deal forming the National Coalition was implemented, and to see that the coalition is “as as possible of opposition groups and all communities in Syria,” he said.
“We want to see the Syrian opposition be inclusive ... and have support inside Syria, and if they have this, yes, we will then recognize them as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.”
The hard-won coalition deal reached Sunday in Doha, Qatar calls for the opposition to create a supreme military council to take overall command of rebels fighting to oust Assad’s regime.
The bloc’s leader, moderate Muslim preacher Ahmad Moaz Khatib, said the coalition already had promises of weapons, without specifying from whom. Damascus ally Moscow has urged the opposition to drop its refusal to negotiate with the Assad regime, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is to meet Wednesday in Riyadh with foreign ministers from Gulf countries for talks expected to highlight their differences on the Syrian conflict. Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby threw his weight behind the new body, saying he hoped the remaining opposition factions would join the National Coalition.
Inside Syria, regime warplanes carried out a new wave of bombing raids on the strategic town of Ras al-Ain on the border with Turkey a day after deadly airstrikes and shelling, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan stressed that Ankara would not hesitate to respond if threatened. “Nobody should play with fire or try to test Turkey’s patience,” he told deputies of his AK Party.
Elsewhere, fierce clashes rocked the Ghouta orchards east of the capital and the suburb of Daraya to the south after rebels attacked public buildings and a military checkpoint in the two areas, the Observatory said. In other violence, the governor of the province of Raqqa in the northeast was wounded in an attack on his convoy, the Observatory said. In the same province, a bomb near a church killed a woman, state-run SANA said, blaming rebels. Near Damascus, the rebel unit the Armored Ghouta Brigade said in an online video posting showing smoke and damage at a military installation that its fighters had stormed an air defense base and “killed many officers.”The Local Coordination Committees, a network of activists inside Syria, said 142 people were killed in the day’s violence, including 82 in Damascus and surrounding areas.

The faces of the new Syrian opposition
Shane Farrell/Now Lebanon/ November 13, 2012
For foreign pundits especially, the appointment of Mouaz al-Khatib to head the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces—or simply the National Coalition—was a surprise. His is not a voice immediately recognized in the mainstream opposition, whose members range from secular intellectuals and human rights defenders to Muslim Brotherhood ideologues. But experts and activists agree the former imam at the famous Umayyad mosque in Damascus has strong credentials to preside over the umbrella anti-regime organization.
“Overall he’s considered to be a consensus candidate who has not been sullied by infighting [among oppositionists], and he’s not affiliated with any group,” says Syrian opposition member and Associate Professor at Shawnee State University Amr al-Azm. “It is also important that he is from Damascus,” he added, stressing that in order to succeed, the Syrian uprising “needs Damascus.” (Although fighting has spread to the capital—and unlike Aleppo, for example, where rebels control a number of neighborhoods—forces loyal to the regime of Bashar al-Assad still control the city.)
A biography of Mouaz al-Khatib, circulated on Twitter by opposition member Mulham el-Jundi, depicts him as “advocating Social Justice, a multi-party system, and rejection of sectarianism.” Videos of Khatib’s speeches appear to confirm this. Following his appointment, moreover, Khatib called on all sects in Syria to unite. “We demand freedom for every Sunni, Alawi, Ismaili, Christian, Druze, Assyrian... and rights for all parts of the harmonious Syrian people,” he is quoted as saying.
For Andrew Tabler, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the appointment of a former cleric “shows how the revolution has tipped over time.” But while a religious figure taking the helm of a prominent Syrian opposition body marks a watershed, Khatib is popular among secularists too, and the body he presides over has secured the backing of international actors, including the US and Qatar. Together with vice-presidents Suhair Atassi and Riad al-Seif, the National Coalition’s leadership holds legitimacy within Syria, demonstrating most likely active efforts by Syrian opposition members to appeal to their countrymen and to bridge the disconnect between the political opposition abroad and the internal military opposition.
Khatib famously gave a speech to a crowd in Damascus a month after the uprising began in which he condemned government security forces killing Sunni demonstrators and said ordinary Alawites are not to be held responsible, despite widespread Sunni anger at the Alawite sect, to which the president and most high-ranking government officials belong. For his continued opposition to the Syrian government, Khatib was arrested on numerous occasions before fleeing the country after friends warned he would likely be killed.
Atassi and Seif, for their parts, are well-known opposition figures and longtime critics of the regime who remained active in Syria many months after the conflict began. The trio also represents diversity within the Syrian opposition—religious and secular, male and female—and they all have strong connections both within the country and to foreign governments.
But not everyone is pleased with the new appointments. Samir Nashar, who heads the Damascus Declaration component of the Syrian National Council [SNC], formerly the main Syrian opposition body and holder of roughly one third of the seats in the National Coalition, objects to there being no SNC members leading the new coalition. He told NOW Lebanon that because of this, “We have reservations about this coalition.”  He estimates that the SNC makes up 60 to 70 percent of the Syrian opposition, a figure many activists—especially ones who have called the SNC illegitimate and unrepresentative in the past—are likely to disagree with. Thus, while the Syrian opposition has been given a fresh new face and an opportunity to rebrand itself, for it to work, the National Council’s diverging parts will have to put away their differences, set aside personal ambitions and focus on the goals that have been driving the uprising through to its twentieth month.

What exactly are non-state weapons?
Now Lebanon/November13/12
With the possibility of instability and violence spreading after a gunfight in Sidon, the state really has to step up and put an end to citizens carrying weapons. (AFP Photo)
Sunday’s gun battle in Sidon between supporters of the hard-line Sunni cleric Ahmed Al Assir and Hezbollah gunmen that left three people dead was another marker in Lebanon’s deteriorating security situation and a further indication that Najib Mikati’s government has long passed its sell-by date. It is timely and reassuring that the opposition Future Movement is addressing the crisis – for that is what it is – and is drafting a national masterplan to stabilize a situation that is spiraling out of control. The government must act swiftly to ensure that Lebanon does not dissolve into pockets of sectarian violence. Tripoli is already a tinderbox, but has so far remained an isolated area of instability. Unless the security forces seize the nettle and are allowed to act in the best interests of the state, the simmering tensions will at best be an uncomfortable reminder of just how close Lebanon is to meltdown. At worst, they could erupt into full-scale civil conflict. But this is what happens when we are burdened with a government that has always had trouble putting the interests of Lebanon first. We are not simply talking about regular failure – an inability to make good on promises to work as a government of one color and address the needs of the state. Not in the slightest. We are talking about a government that has many sections moonlighting for either Syria or Iran, countries that have given us no evidence that they want to work with Lebanon to realize its potential, ensure its sovereignty and advance its democratic aspirations. And it doesn’t stop there. Members of Hezbollah, a crucial (arguably the most crucial) part of the government, have been charged by an international court with being involved in the murder of a former prime minister, at least one MP and dozens of other innocent Lebanese. What is there to like?
And so with all this in mind it is hard to take seriously Interior Minister Marwan Charbel’s promise on Sunday that the Lebanese army had been ordered to open fire on anyone carrying “non-state” weapons. Are we to assume that, by “non-state” weapons, Charbel is including Hezbollah’s formidable arsenal? Sadly precedence has shown us that Hezbollah probably has a waiver on this one, and that he was at best referring to the small arms carried by Assir’s angry gunmen as well as those aligned with the Party of God, expendable young men cut from the same shabby cloth as the hooligans who led the attack on West Beirut in early May 2008. Hezbollah’s army – for that is what it is – sits outside the brutal thuggery that is rapidly spreading onto our streets and waits patiently for its orders from Iran to play its part in ensuring the region is painted in Tehran’s image and that the murderous regime of President Bashar al-Assad remains in place. It is these “non-state” weapons that pose the biggest threat to Lebanon’s internal security because they allow Hezbollah freedom to implement its monstrous agenda with impunity. Thus Mikati’s call to resume the national dialogue is futile. ezbollah is the still the elephant in the room.
On Sunday, the rabble rousing Assir openly taunted the Party of God and the result was death on the streets of Sidon and ratcheting up of sectarian tensions. Charbel is only fooling himself if he thinks we believe he is taking a tough position on what is a very dangerous situation.

On withdrawing 31 Bahrainis nationality
Hazem Saghiyeh/Now Lebanon/ November 12, 2012
31 Bahrainis had their citizenship withdrawn last week. Among them are two former members of parliament, i.e. two individuals with a certain degree of popular representation.
In reality, this is newsworthy merely in order to shed a light on the following: Whether or not the aforementioned two individuals enjoy a certain degree of representation, and whether or not the 31 Bahrainis are opposition activists or have committed acts of subversion, the truth is that withdrawing one’s nationality is not a punishment simply because granting [this] nationality is not a favor.
Any power who acts like the Bahraini authorities by depriving 31 citizens of their nationality is virtually saying that the country is owned by one man or – at the very best – by one family, i.e. a man who grants [the country’s] nationality as a favor and punishes [people] by withdrawing it. This has nothing to do with the simplest meaning of citizenship, let alone progress and modernism.
Putting this decision within the current political context reveals that for all the serious reforms and genuine concessions offered by Arab authorities to their respective peoples (with Morocco being a partial exception), the concept of constitutional monarchy in [Arab] monarchies is still utopic. When one considers Gulf countries, which epitomize the sensitive regional struggle, the tensions in Kuwait and the repression of the Bahraini uprising add up, highlighting the vital need for reforms, which should not come as a favor granted by anyone. While it is true that parties to the Bahraini opposition are dealing with Iran, this provides additional reason to initiate reforms in order to block and stifle any such involvement with Iran.
Furthermore, it is scary for any of us to remember that we live in a region where nationality is still treated as a favor or punishment. Speaking in practical and functional terms, it is normal for regimes to label anyone whose nationality has been withdrawn as a “traitor” knowing that any person who has been deprived of his/her nationality has to look for a place to stay and for an identity for him/her to get by in day-to-day life. Iran’s influence in Bahrain is specifically seeking to take advantage of the domestic contradictions and the injustice to which the Shiite majority is subjected. However, such behavior [on behalf of the Bahraini authorities] will merely throw those who have been deprived of their nationality into Iran’s embrace.
This is taking place despite the “advice” and “pressure” exerted by friends with mixed interests in the matter. The West is certainly unable to relinquish its many interests in the Gulf for the sake of values but at the same time, it cannot turn its back on the values that are its own.Such actions and other similar practices are an embarrassment for the whole world and coincide with easily-provided justifications for those with simple minds who either see interests without values or values without interests.By and large, this is indeed a cause for great concern.
This article is a translation of the original, which appeared on the NOW Arabic site on Monday November 12, 2012











Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's of November 12, 2012
Now Lebanon
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered a televised live speech on Monday during a ceremony on the occasion of the party’s Martyrs Day. He said:
“A greeting on the occasion of Martyrs Day goes out to the relatives of these martyrs who sacrificed what they most cherish in life. We are attached to the history of the Resistance, from June 1982 until this day, and we are proud of our past.
Some want us to relinquish our past, and they want the Arab people to also forget our past. They want us to be part of a present overruled by treason and forgery. It hard for us to accept that those who collaborated with the Israeli enemy had come to give us lessons in patriotism; and it is hard to accept that some would come and teach us about how to conduct a national defense strategy, especially those who share this history [of collaboration with the Israelis].
We will continue our work within the framework of the Resistance. We will not cease this work and no one should believe, whether enemy or friend, that what is happening in the region will affect us.
We have reached a point where the Israeli enemy is acknowledging the deterrence capacity we have created in Lebanon. This new deterrence formula created in Lebanon by the resistance is consolidated by the formula of Army-Resistance-People. Lebanon’s deterrence capacity was put into practice through the launching of the unmanned drone by Hezbollah [in October].
The Israelis know that the data collected by the drone is capable of boosting the effectiveness of the rocket arsenal of Hezbollah. The Israelis were not able to react to the drone incident, due to the effect of the deterrence capabilities we have created.
Meanwhile, the March 14 coalition showed deep sadness over the drone incident, while some of their leaders were secretly hoping that Israel would attack Hezbollah. This group never believed in the Resistance; some were collaborators and others were acting hypocritically by backing the Syrian regime without showing any sympathy toward the Resistance.
Gaza is being shelled every day and no one is reacting now. We are still witnessing the same lack of reaction on behalf of the Arab league since 1982 [when the Resistance was first established]. What is happening now in Gaza is a difficult test for the countries of the Arab Spring. How will they react to this situation? No one, for example, has showed any support for Sudan – a sovereign state - that was attacked by Israel recently. Where is the Arab League and the United Nations Security Council?
The West, the United States and the March 14 coalition want to cut off the [element] that protects Lebanon. If the Lebanese themselves do not protect themselves, no one will protect them.
Hezbollah accepted to sit at the dialogue table out of sense of dignity and respect. It is our ethics that allowed us to sit at the dialogue table with those who collaborated with Israel.
Is it acceptable that some of the factions who offered sacrifices in their fight against Israel are not part of the dialogue group? The communist party and Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya for instance have the right to take part in dialogue since they have offered martyrs in their struggle against the Israeli enemy. We are discussing a national defense strategy and these factions are not invited to attend dialogue? What sort of justice is that? Why can’t we then impose our own dialogue conditions to let them take part in dialogue.
The Ashrafieh bombing that martyred Internal Security Force Intelligence chief Wissam al-Hassan was the beginning of a new crisis in the country. When there is tension in the country, as well as in the region, any incident such as this one requires exceptional acts of responsibilities. Irresponsibility in circumstances like these ones could lead toward an implosion in the country.
Some political factions started quickly to launch accusations against Hezbollah. If they have evidence about the bombing incident let them bringing it forward. But the surprising thing is that they refused to consider Israel as a possible perpetrator while pointing fingers at Hezbollah. March 14 started launching political accusations and decided to boycott the government, which they considered a Hezbollah-led government.
Gunmen deployed in several areas in Beirut and Tripoli and some blocked roads and intercepted cars. I want to commend the wisdom of the Lebanese citizens who prevented strife from breaking out in the country following the recklessness of some politicians who backed these security incidents. Some political factions affiliated with the opposing group as well as their western backers want strife in the country. They want a Shiite-Sunni strife in the country, an explosion that would serve their interests. It is specifically the Christians within the March 14 coalition who want this sectarian strife to take place.
I will say a few words about what happened recently in Sidon. Sidon will remain the capital of the South and the capital of the resistance. Some want to take Sidon toward sectarian strife amid a near complete negligence on behalf of the Lebanese state. We should not be misled by rumors and lies. Always make sure to test all facts that are presented to you.
I call on Sunnis and Shiites to practice patience and self-restraint, and it is ultimately the state that should bear responsibility for what happens in the country. Concerning the issue of the current government, I would like to say that there are two approaches; one that backs consensus and another that prefers the isolation of political opponents. The Doha Accord forced [the March 14 group] to take part in a national unity government, despite their tendencies to isolate their opponents.
Prime Minister Najib Miqati exerted all efforts to form a national unity government. You do not want national unity, whether during times of dialogue or during lack of dialogue.
If [Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea] is sure about the success of the March 14 coalition in the parliamentary elections under any law, let them then accept proportionality as a new electoral law.
When it comes to the situation in Syria, we consider that the end of hostility is in the interest of Syria and the Syrian people. However, the danger is that the Syrian opposition is refusing dialogue and that could only be in the interest of the Americans and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
While in Bahrain, they are accusing Hezbollah of the latest explosion to hit the country. How could Hezbollah’s fingerprints reach Bahrain? Finally we would like to renew our pact with the Martyrs and all those who gave their lives for the Resistance.”

Canada Condemns Iran’s Torture, Killing of Blogger
November 13,2012 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement:
“Canada condemns the torture and death in detention of Iranian blogger Sattar Beheshti, who was arrested earlier this month for criticizing the Islamic Republic of Iran on Facebook.
“Canada once again urges Iran to comply with its international and domestic human rights obligations and to cooperate with the international community in addressing its abysmal human rights record.
“Canada is also deeply concerned by reports that Iranian prison authorities have targeted female political prisoners.
“I am particularly anxious about the fate of Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer who is on a hunger strike and in solitary confinement. Iran’s ongoing disregard for due process and the right of individuals to freedom of speech and conscience is unacceptable.
“The people of Iran deserve to live in freedom and dignity, values which Canada intends to continue to advance.”