LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 21/2013

Bible Quotation for today/
Colossians 3:12–13: "Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Today's Inspiring Thought: Bear with One Another No one is perfect. On the contrary, life is full of difficult people. Yes, even our brothers and sisters in Christ can set our patience to the test. But this verse tells us just how to deal with troublesome individuals—become a "put on!" Paul tells us to put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and forgiveness. The Bible speaks a lot about forgiveness because the Lord knows how often we need to forgive and be forgiven. It may not feel natural or easy, and that's why it's a put on, but this is how we bear with one another—through compassion, humility and forgiveness

Hizballah on high alert, jockeys for a role in potential Syrian peace accord
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report February 21, 2013,
Hizballah forces went on alert Thursday, Feb. 21, upon the expiry of a 48-hour ultimatum slapped down by Syrian rebels to halt the Lebanese group’s military support for Bashar Assad - in particular, its artillery and mortar backing for Syrian troops from bases in Lebanon. debkafile’s military sources report that relevant to this chain of events is the Syrian claim that its anti-aircraft missiles downed an Israeli drone Wednesday over the Lebanese village of Deir al-Aachayer in the Rashaya region. Those events were touched off by the onset in Moscow of preparations for a political process between Syria’s warring parties for determining the country’s future. Representatives of Bashar Assad and the Syrian opposition will be facing each other under the Russian aegis, but Hizballah and Israel are also involved and the Lebanese group is bidding for a strong voice in the process on three issues:
1. Will the HIzballah-ruled Lebanese Beqaa Valley continue to serve Assad and his army as their strategic hinterland?
2. Will the Syria-based Hizballah units, especially those securing the Shiite villages around Homs, stay there under accords reached between Assad and the rebels?
3. Will the ceasefire deals on which talks are due to begin soon in Moscow apply to HIzballah?
The general wisdom in the West and Israeli media is that Assad’s fall is inevitable and imminent.
The facts on the ground tell a different story. debkafile’s military sources report that Assad goes into political talks with his army controlling enough of the country to keep his regime in power for another two years at least, until the next presidential election expected to take place in 2014. The Syrian ruler will seek to have Hizballah covered by a Syria ceasefire, hoping for Moscow’s backing on this point. Inclusion of this ally would strengthen his standing and boost his army.
It would also keep Tehran in the picture and gain its acquiescence to any deals struck in the Moscow talks. Assad understands that Iran will want to be sure Hizballah’s interests are protected and is fully capable of torpedoing any accords that throw its proxy to the wolves. The downing of the Israeli drone Wedneday over the Beqaa Valley was a move by the Syrian ruler to push Israel out of any discussion on the future role of Hizballah and the Beqaa Valley, as well as putting a stop to Israeli Air Force flights over the Beqaa and the Lebanese-Syrian border. Israel has not so far responded to this step, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will remain passive or stop its Lebanese overflights.
This chain of events could culminate over the weekend in the Syrian rebels making good on their ultimatum and attacking Hizballah targets. The Syrian civil war would then be thrust into the byway of a Sunni-Shiite showdown athwart the Syrian-Lebanese border.
Militarily, the rebels can’t stand up to Hizballah’s far more organized and professional capabilities. If they do decide to go on the offensive, they are liable to suffer heavy losses

Contacts In Lebanon intensify to reach law consensus
February 21, 2013 /By Wassim Mroueh/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Lebanese leaders intensified contacts Wednesday in a bid to achieve consensus over a new electoral law, as a source close to Speaker Nabih Berri said he would not call Parliament to vote on the controversial Orthodox proposal. Separately, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said during talks with Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail that the U.K. would continue to support stability in Lebanon.
Hague, who arrived in Lebanon Wednesday, said he would visit the Army Command Thursday to highlight Britain’s support to the military.
The British official said his country would make efforts to encourage donor states to give Lebanon a significant share to ease the difficulties faced by Syrian refugees.
“The U.K. is backing stability and a peaceful future for your vibrant, resilient country,” he posted on Twitter. Hague will meet President Michel Sleiman and other officials Thursday.
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt discussed, over the phone, the approval of the Orthodox proposal Tuesday by Parliament’s joint committees.
“They emphasized their converging positions on the issue and the need to pursue consultations about it,” said a statement by Hariri’s press office.
Hariri also brought up developments related to elections in separate phone calls with Kataeb leader Amin Gemayel and Lebanese Forces head Samir Geagea.
Future Movement MP Ahmad Fatfat told The Daily Star the discussions between Hariri, Geagea and Gemayel had been frank.
For their part, Gemayel and Geagea discussed the electoral law in a lengthy phone conversation Wednesday
The subject was also discussed by Berri and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, who visited the speaker at his Ain al-Tineh residence.
A source close to Berri told The Daily Star that during the meeting Aoun had said if consensus was achieved on a draft law better than the Orthodox proposal, then he would have no problem supporting it.
The source added the talks had been in line with Berri’s efforts to help rival groups reach consensus on a voting system. “Speaker Berri will only call for a Parliament session to discuss a consensus draft electoral law, which according to him, is the law he proposed: half of the MPs would be elected based on a winner-takes-all system and the other half based on proportional representation,” the source said.
“When Speaker Berri feels that there is consensus, he will call Parliament to convene to discuss a consensus draft law, but not the Orthodox proposal,” he said. After the meeting, Aoun told reporters that if another draft law that offered fair representation for all sects was not passed, he would support the Orthodox plan.
“Speaker Berri is a decision-maker who gives everyone enough time ... but if he finds the way [to reaching a consensus] is blocked, he will make a decision,” Aoun added. “We took nothing, we restored our rights without taking the rights of anybody,” he said of the Orthodox proposal’s approval. Lawmakers in Parliament’s joint committees approved Tuesday the Orthodox proposal, which considers Lebanon as a single district where each sect elects its own MPs under a system of proportional representation.The move further divided political groups, with Future Movement and PSP lawmakers withdrawing from the session ahead of the vote. The Kataeb Party, Lebanese Forces, Free Patriotic Movement, Hezbollah, Amal Movement and Marada Movement lawmakers voted for the proposal.
President Michel Sleiman has said he would challenge the Orthodox plan before the Constitutional Council if it is approved by Parliament, a necessary step before it becomes law.
Issam Suleiman, the head of the Constitutional Council, told The Daily Star that any law could be challenged 15 days after it is endorsed by Parliament and published in the official gazette. The president, speaker or 10 MPs could hypothetically challenge the law. If the challenge is approved by at least seven out of the 10-member Council body, it would become effective, Suleiman added.
Mikati also reiterated his opposition to the Orthodox proposal. “From the first moment, we expressed our reservations over the Orthodox proposal because we support agreement on any electoral law that enhances integration among the Lebanese rather than divides them,” Mikati posted on his Twitter account.
“We stick to the draft law which the government referred to Parliament or any other law that unites rather than divides the Lebanese,” the prime minister added.
Jumblatt slammed the Orthodox proposal, saying it left the Lebanese society in tatters and created isolationism within sects.
“This draft law shreds the Lebanese society into pieces and brings us back to right-wing isolationism, which only some Christians are part of ... President Michel Sleiman and MP Butros Harb had a great and honorable stance [against it],” Jumblatt told an interview with a local TV station. He said the Orthodox proposal would “abolish partnership between Lebanese sects.”
“If there are minorities that want to be fairly represented, let them be fairly represented, but we cannot disregard demographic factors at every moment because minorities like Christians are decreasing in number and the number of Muslims is rising,” he said. The PSP leader wondered why political groups ignore the fact that a senate with considerable power could be formed in which all sects would be represented and a Parliament functioning in a nonconfessional basis could be elected. Jumblatt expressed concern that current circumstances were pushing toward passing the Orthodox proposal.
Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi urged in a statement that Sleiman and Berri announce a “state of political emergency” that brings Lebanese to a dialogue and allows them to discuss the concerns of various sects.
Future Movement lawmaker Ammar Houri told a local TV station that after joint committees approved the Orthodox proposal, elections have no chance of being held on time.
For his part, Batroun MP Butros Harb said if the Orthodox proposal was referred to Parliament, it would cause a confrontation to break out there and elections would not be held on time, adding that the law would make Christians leave Lebanon. United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly reiterated that holding elections on time was important for Lebanon’s stability. “We still believe that holding free and fair elections within the constitutional and legal timeframe is important for democracy and stability in Lebanon. We encourage all political parties in Lebanon to make every effort to achieve consensus on a new electoral law,” Plumbly told reporters after holding talks with Gemayel.

Israel fumes over EU delay in adding Hezbollah to terror list
February 21, 2013/Agencies /PARIS: Israel’s Home Front Defense Minister Avi Dichter has denounced Europe’s hesitation in putting Lebanon’s Hezbollah on its terror list, branding debate on the issue as “almost a joke.” “Asking if Hezbollah is a terror organization is like asking if Paris belongs to France,” he told reporters late Tuesday during a visit to France. Bulgaria has said Hezbollah was responsible for the bombing of an Israeli tourist bus in July last year which claimed six lives. “Who is sleeping?” he said. “Are we Israelis sleeping or are countries in Europe sleeping? There’s no debate.” The United States had asked the European Union to follow it and put Hezbollah on its terror list but the issue is contested and requires a unanimous decision from the 27 member states. “To speak about Hasan Nasrallah as someone who is only political is ridiculous,” the minister said, referring to the powerful leader of the party. Dichter, in Paris to discuss the Bulgaria bombing with French officials, told Reuters the EU should blacklist Hezbollah because it also drew a large portion of its funds from European capitals and later laundered the money. “Europe, that’s the real base of Hezbollah ... If they [are not] able to gather money ... in Europe, they are going to be in trouble,” he said, adding that the funding came from a network of charities and front companies.In France, officials also say privately they are concerned that listing Hezbollah as a terrorist organization could destabilize Lebanon, where some 1,000 French peacekeeping troops are deployed following a reduction last year. “I wish they [France] will be smart enough, brave enough to take a step without thinking how it’s going to affect the stability or the lack of stability in Lebanon,” said Dichter, a former director of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security service.

Hague Urges Respect for Constitutional Timetable, Welcomes Cooperation with Bulgaria on Bus Attack
Naharnet /British Foreign Secretary William Hague urged on Thursday for consensus among rival lawmakers on an electoral draft-law and welcomed Lebanon's commitment to cooperate with Bulgarian authorities on the probe into a deadly attack on Israeli tourists last year. “In these difficult times, it is important that political forces in Lebanon come together in a spirit of dialogue and consensus to agree a process that respects the constitutional timetable for this year's elections,” Hague said after talks with President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace. He said London was committed to supporting peace and stability in Lebanon. As part of that process, he announced an increase in the training assistance package of Lebanese Armed Forces, saying Britain will help train over 2,000 troops in the coming year.
“This is in addition to the joint activities we already have planned with the armed forces, including equipment and training support, part of the ever closer work the UK is doing with the Lebanese army and the Internal Security Forces,” he said. On his talks with Premier Najib Miqati on Wednesday night, Hague said: “We discussed the importance of both stability in Lebanon and inclusive dialogue in the run-up to elections.”He told reporters that he agreed with Suleiman and Miqati “on the urgent need to make progress in the Middle East peace process.”
“I welcomed Lebanon's commitment to cooperate with the Bulgarian investigation into the bombing of a bus in Burgas,” Hague said. The July 18 bombing at an airport in Bulgaria's Black Sea resort of Burgas killed five Israelis as well as a Bulgarian bus driver and the suspected bomber. Three men are suspected in the attack, including the bomber. Bulgaria has accused Hizbullah of involvement in the bombing. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov briefed EU foreign ministers in their Feb. 18 meeting on the results of Sofia's investigation.The EU, which regards Hizbullah as a legitimate political organization, has resisted calls to blacklist it or declare it a terrorist organization. On the war in Syria, Hague said: “The appalling humanitarian crisis, the loss of life, and the threat to regional security cannot be ignored or underestimated.”“The senseless killing must be brought to an end through a credible political process leading to transition.”Later Hague held talks with Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji and visited Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh.He said that despite the current situation, Lebanon has a tremendous opportunity at the economic level.

Hague says U.K. increasing assistance to Lebanon Army
February 21, 2013/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Thursday his country was increasing training assistance to the Lebanese Army and pointed to the importance of Lebanon holding its parliamentary elections on time. He also welcomed Lebanon’s commitment to cooperating with Bulgarian authorities over the 2012 Burgas bus bombing and said a “credible political process leading to transition” was needed in Syria. “The U.K. recognizes in particular the critical role played by the Lebanese Armed Forces in maintaining stability. That is why we are increasing our training assistance package,” Hague told reporters after talks with President Michel Sleiman. He added that Britain would help the military train over 2,000 troops in the coming year, adding that there were joint activities planned with the Army including equipment and training support.
Hague, who met Prime Minister Najib Mikati upon his arrival in Beirut Wednesday, is expected to meet with Army officials later Thursday. The British official said he discussed with Sleiman bilateral ties and the situation in the region. He said his government was committed to doing all it could to support peace and stability in Lebanon. “On behalf of the Prime Minister, I handed the president a letter setting out an enhanced offer of support for Lebanon’s stability,” Hague said without elaborating further on the content of the letter. Turning to the country’s elections, Hague he and Sleiman discussed the need for political parties to agree on a process that respects the constitutional deadline of the 2013 elections. “In these difficult times, it is important that political forces in Lebanon come together in a spirit of dialogue and consensus to agree a process that respects the constitutional timetable for this year's elections,” Hague said. Disagreement over an electoral law to govern the upcoming Lebanese elections has raised concerns they may not be held on time.
Referring to his meeting with Mikati Wednesday, Hague said he had discussed the importance of both stability in Lebanon and inclusive dialogue in the run-up to the elections
“We agreed, as I have with the president today, on the urgent need to make progress in the Middle East Peace Process, and I welcomed Lebanon's commitment to cooperate with the Bulgarian investigation into the bombing of a bus in Burgas,” the foreign secretary said. Earlier this month, Bulgaria said Hezbollah had financed the two men it says are behind the July bus bombing in the Black Sea resort city of Burgas that killed five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian driver. Hague also spoke about the situation of thousands of refugees in Lebanon, saying the government along with the displaced “should not have to stand alone.”
“Later on today I will be announcing U.K. aid allocated to helping Syrian refugees in Lebanon,” he said.Describing the events in Syria as “of enormous concern,” Hague said killings in the troubled country must be brought to an end through a “credible political process leading to transition.”

Syndicate Coordination Committee Challenges Government, Vows to Win Wage Scale Battle
Naharnet/Syndicate Coordination Committee protesters challenged on Thursday the government by going ahead with their open-ended strike for the third day in a row, vowing to remain united and reach all the public institutions across Lebanon as long as the cabinet procrastinates referring the new salary scale to the parliament. “The protest committees will be formed by the weekend and we will win this battle. We are getting stronger each day,” head of Public Secondary School Education Teachers Association Hanna Gharib told protesters rallying near the Education Ministry in the UNESCO area in Beirut. He revealed that the SCC is holding meetings on daily basis at its headquarters to decide the upcoming steps. The SCC member urged all teachers in the private and public sector to participate in the strike, saying that official exams will not be held on time as long as the cabinet is stalling.
He accused the Economic Committees, a grouping of the country's businessmen and owners of major firms, of being accomplices in the corruption in the state.
Gharib vowed to confront any threats by ministers to sack public sector employees, pointing out that Finance Minister Mohammed al-Safadi has warned the members of the committee formed at Value Added Tax section. “The committee will not back down,” he stressed.
For his part, head of the private school teachers association Nehme Mahfoud reiterated that the strike is “a right stated by the law, calling on Prime Minister Najib Miqati to implement the law.
“We will not end our strike until the new wage scale is referred to the parliament,” Mahfoud stated. Protesters will hold a sit-in on Friday's near the Agriculture Ministry in Bir Hassan area in Beirut at 9:30 a.m., where a protest committee will be formed.Mahfoud lashed out at statements by Miqati to local newspaper on Thursday.
The premier urged in comments to As Safir newspaper the SCC to suspend its open-ended strike and act “responsibly” as the new wage scale for the public sector will be referred to the parliament within a short period. “Staging strikes isn't the best endeavor to achieve the demands, although it is a democratic right,” Miqati said. The premier pointed out that he didn't back down on his promises to the public sector but he needs time to resolve the matter. “I can't take hasty decisions under pressure and create a budget deficit. I am concerned as a premier with studying the matter thoroughly,” Miqati stressed.
He called on the SCC, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, to “let him do his job and convince the Economic Committees of the new salary scale.”
“This delicate matter shouldn't be resolved by challenging the economic committees, I should find common ground with them,” Miqati stated. He noted that “the strikes staged by the SCC could harm some citizens but it is better than hitting the economy, which will harm all the Lebanese.” For his part, Labor Minister Nicolas Nahhas downplayed in comments published in al-Joumhouria newspaper the dispute over the new salary scale, considering that the solution is at the final stages but the government is delaying the matter until it finds the adequate funding resources. Education Minister Hassan Diab told the newspaper that he failed to avert the SCC decision to suspend the strike.He said that the SCC will go on with its strike until Miqati succeeds in finding consensus between the Economic Committees, a grouping of the country's businessmen and owners of major firms, and the SCC. The cabinet has been stalling in finding sources to fund the scale that was approved last year, leading to growing differences with the SCC, which has been accusing it of negligence.
However, the government argues that it is delaying the decision on the funding in an attempt to thoroughly discuss plans to boost the treasury's revenue to cover the expenses of the salaries boost.
The state treasury will have more than $1.2 billion to cover over the presence of 180,000 public sector employees including military personnel.

Opposition Officials, al-Rahi Coordinate on Vote Law in Race Against Time
Naharnet /Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea held on Thursday a series of discussions with his allies in the March 14 opposition alliance in addition to the Maronite patriarch on the controversial electoral draft-law.
Geagea's press office said the LF leader telephoned al-Mustaqbal bloc leader Fouad Saniora to discuss with him the vote law and stress the need to exert efforts to reach consensus. They agreed “to keep contacts to achieve the expected result as soon as possible,” it said. Geagea also held phone conversations with Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and Phalange leader Amin Gemayel “to continue discussions on the electoral draft-law.”
Geagea said in remarks published Thursday that he hasn't lost hope on the ability of rival lawmakers to reach consensus on a draft-law ahead of this year's parliamentary polls. “I am not pessimistic and I haven't lost hope,” he added. The polls are likely to be postponed if the parliament gives the green light to the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal that was approved by the joint parliamentary committees on Tuesday.
It divides Lebanon into a single district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system. But the proposal has been rejected by al-Mustaqbal bloc, the centrist National Struggle Front of MP Walid Jumblat, and March 14 opposition’s Christian independent MPs. It has been also criticized by President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati. The LF and the Phalange voted in favor of the proposal at the joint parliamentary committees meeting. The March 14 officials had also held lengthy phone conversations on Wednesday in their attempt to agree on a draft-law before Speaker Nabih Berri calls for a parliamentary session.
Berri has said he would give MPs a one-week deadline to reach consensus or else he would put the Orthodox proposal on the parliament's agenda.

Geagea Hasn't Lost Hope on Vote Law Consensus
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea said Thursday that he hasn't lost hope on the ability of rival lawmakers to reach consensus on an electoral draft-law ahead of this year's parliamentary polls.
In remarks to An Nahar newspaper, Geagea said: “The efforts to find consensus (among the different factions) should continue no matter what.” “I am not pessimistic and I haven't lost hope,” he added. In similar remarks, LF MP George Adwan told An Nahar that his parliamentary bloc was “exerting strong efforts to reach consensus on an electoral draft-law that serves stability and comforts all Lebanese factions.” “We are holding intense consultations in that regard,” he said, while stressing that the elections should be held on time. However, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel has repeatedly warned that the polls would be postponed if the parliament gives the green light to the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal that divides Lebanon into a single district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system. The proposal was approved by the joint parliamentary committees on Tuesday despite the objection of the opposition al-Mustaqbal bloc, the centrist National Struggle Front, and March 14 opposition’s Christian independent MPs. The LF voted in favor of the proposal, drawing the ire of its allies in al-Mustaqbal. But Adwan stressed that the March 14 alliance will not collapse over the differences between its members on the vote law. Speaker Nabih Berri has announced that he was giving the rival MPs more time to reach consensus on another draft-law ahead of calling for a parliamentary session. Contacts between the opposition's officials intensified on Wednesday when al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri held lengthy phone conversations with Geagea and Amin Gemayel, whose Phalange party also voted for the adoption of the Orthodox proposal in the parliamentary committees meeting. Sources close to Hariri told An Nahar that the former prime minister “expressed in the phone calls his viewpoint on the LF and Phalange bloc's approval of the proposal.”A phone conversation was also held between Gemayel and Geagea on Wednesday.

Lebanon's PM, Miqati to GCC Diplomats: Lebanon Keen on Best of Ties with Arab Countries
Naharnet /Prime Minister Najib Miqati reiterated on Thursday that Lebanon is keen on the best of relations with Arab countries and rejects meddling in their internal affairs. During a meeting with a delegation of diplomats from Gulf Cooperation Council countries at the Grand Serail, Miqati stressed “the best of ties with the friendly Arab countries and mainly GCC states.”He said that he and President Michel Suleiman reiterated during a cabinet session held on Wednesday the non-interference in their local affairs.“The Lebanese government confirms that statements made by politicians don't reflect the viewpoint of the cabinet,” he told the ambassadors of Qatar, Sultanate of Oman and Kuwait, and the UAE charge d'affaires.The government urges Lebanese leaders to abide by the Baabda Declaration in which the country's rival politicians have vowed to distance Lebanon from the policy of regional and international conflicts.Miqati's remarks came against the backdrop of a crisis that erupted last week after Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun criticized the international community and the Arab League for their lack of support for Bahraini protesters.Bahrain's majority Shiites are seeking a greater political voice in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.Aoun's criticism prompted Bahrain to summon Lebanese charge d'affaires Ibrahim Assaf after accusing the FPM chief of meddling in its internal affairs.“Lebanon will continue to have friendly ties with Gulf countries,” Miqati said, adding “the absolute majority of the Lebanese laud their continued support for Lebanon.”

Hariri: Govt. Allowing Hizbullah to Jeopardize National Security through Meddling in Syria Conflict
Naharnet/Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri criticized on Thursday the government's silence over Hizbullah members' alleged fighting in Syria alongside regime forces. He slammed in a statement “the unconscious government's allowing of Hizbullah to jeopardize national security through its intervention in the conflict.” Resistance is no longer Hizbullah's main purpose and it is employing armed groups to back the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, he added. The former premier wondered at how the party is launching attacks against the Free Syrian Army from Lebanese and Syrian soil. “We completely reject any form of military meddling in Syrian internal affairs, whether they fall in favor of the regime or the opposition,” declared Hariri. “What happened to the government's policy of disassociation or does this policy exempt Hizbullah from involving Lebanon in the Syrian crisis?” he asked.
“Does this policy allow the party the exclusive right to employ arms on the Lebanese-Syrian front?” he wondered. “What is Hizbullah doing on the Syrian front and who gave it the authority to defend the Lebanese border if we are assuming that it is seeking to halt the attack of Syrian armed groups?” continued Hariri. “Assuming that Hizbullah is protecting Shiite citizens, then does that mean that the party has been transformed into an army aimed at defending a certain component of Lebanese society?” he asked.
“Has the government chosen to disassociate itself from Lebanese citizens that the party is saying are in danger?” he said. “What is the role of the army in this situation and why hasn't the government spoken out over this issue?” he wondered. “Hizbullah is presenting new evidence of the danger of the use of the illegitimate weapons, … which it is using for interests that do not serve national ones,” noted the former prime minister. Furthermore, he accused Hizbullah's main backer Iran of employing the party to save the Assad regime through allowing it to take control of the Homs front. “Lebanon will not deign to be transformed into an open ground to achieve this dirty mission and the government is completely responsible for the silence over this terrible squandering of national security,” stated Hariri. Earlier this week, the rebel FSA accused Hizbullah of firing across the border into territory it controls, threatening to shell party positions in Lebanon in retaliation. “In the past week... Hizbullah has been shelling into villages around Qusayr from Lebanese territory, and that we cannot accept," said the FSA's chief of staff General Selim Idriss, adding that the rebels have given Hizbullah a 48-hour deadline to stop the attacks. “We cannot accept Hizbullah abusing Lebanese sovereignty to shell Syrian territory and FSA positions," declared the rebel commander. Specifically, he accused Hizbullah of shelling villages and rebel positions around the insurgent-held town of Qusayr, which is located in the central Syrian province of Homs. Three Lebanese Shiites have been killed in fighting in Syria, a Hizbullah official said Sunday. He said they were acting in "self-defense,” without specifying if they were Hizbullah members. Hizbullah has systematically denied sending fighters into Syria, though its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged in October 2012 that party members had fought Syrian rebels but said they were acting as individuals and not under the group's direction. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the three slain Lebanese were members of pro-regime militias who had been trained by Hizbullah.

FSA Denies Shelling Hizbullah Positions in Lebanon, Syria
Naharnet /Conflicting reports emerged on Thursday that the Free Syrian Army had shelled Hizbullah positions in Lebanon and Syria, various media outlets said. The FSA said that the attacks targeted a Hizbullah artillery position in Lebanon's Hermel region in the Bekaa, reported al-Arabiya. Head of the FSA's Farouq brigades Taleb al-Dayekh announced that it launched “mortar attacks against a number of Hizbullah locations in Lebanon's Hosh al-Sayyed Ali region,” reported Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5). The rebel FSA later said that it shelled a Hizbullah position in the western Reef Qusayr area near the Lebanese-Syrian border. FSA sources later denied to Sky News that it had targeted Hizbullah positions in and outside of Syria. Earlier this week, the FSA accused Hizbullah of firing across the border into territory it controls, threatening to shell party positions in Lebanon in retaliation. “In the past week... Hizbullah has been shelling into villages around Qusayr from Lebanese territory, and that we cannot accept," said the FSA's chief of staff General Selim Idriss.Three Lebanese Shiites have been killed in fighting in Syria, a Hizbullah official said Sunday. He said they were acting in "self-defense,” without specifying if they were Hizbullah members. Hizbullah has systematically denied sending fighters into Syria, though its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged in October 2012 that party members had fought Syrian rebels but said they were acting as individuals and not under the group's direction.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the three slain Lebanese were members of pro-regime militias who had been trained by Hizbullah.

State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr Refers Death Penalty Request against Samaha, Mamlouk to Military Court
Naharnet /State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr referred a death penalty request against ex-Minister Michel Samaha and Syrian security official Ali Mamlouk to the military court to kick off trials. The case will be referred to the criminal court of cassation and will be referred later on to the permanent military court to start the trials. On Wednesday, First Military Examining Judge Riyad Abu Ghida indicted Samaha and Mamlouk on terrorism charges. A search warrant to identify a Syrian colonel known only by his first name Adnan who plotted for the bombings with the other suspects was also issued. Abu Ghida said Samaha and Mamlouk should be given the death sentence "for transporting explosives from Syria to Lebanon in an attempt to assassinate Lebanese political and religious leaders.” The indictment also said that Samaha told the Syrian colonel and general that he would recruit people to carry out attacks in the northern Akkar region targeting Syrian rebels and weapons smugglers to Syria. Samaha was detained in August, but Mamlouk remains free.

New York Times: Man on Trial in Cyprus Admits He's Hizbullah Member
Naharnet/A man on trial in Cyprus admitted Wednesday to being a member of Hizbullah, “acting as a courier for the group inside the European Union and staking out locations Israelis would frequent -- in particular a parking lot behind a Limassol hospital and a hotel called the Golden Arches,” the New York Times reported. “In written testimony read out loud in Greek by his interpreter, the man said that he had not taken part in a plot to target Israeli tourists visiting Cyprus, as prosecutors charge,” the U.S. newspaper said. “Even if they asked me to participate in a terrorist action I would refuse. I could never do that,” the New York Times quoted Hossam Taleb Yaacoub as saying. “I’m only trained to defend Lebanon.” According to the newspaper, he was arrested in July with the license plates of buses ferrying Israelis written in a small red notebook.
“He said that he wrote them down because one of the license numbers, LAA-505, reminded him of a Lamborghini sports car, while the other, KWK-663, reminded him of a Kawasaki motorcycle,” the New York Times added. The prosecution and the defense have both declined to comment before a verdict is reached, sometime in March, it said.
“Mr. Yaacoub, who has both Swedish and Lebanese passports, said that he had been a member of Hizbullah since 2007, and worked for the group for four years. He also owned a trading company in Lebanon. He had visited Cyprus in 2008 but first came for business in December 2011. Though he traded in shoes, clothing and wedding goods, he was interested in branching out into importing juice,” the New York Times added.
“It was unclear from his testimony exactly how he got involved with the man he called Ayman. He said that he had been on 'previous missions with Hizbullah,' in Antalya, on Turkey’s southwest coast; Lyon, France; and Amsterdam,” said the U.S. newspaper. The suspect was arrested in a Limassol hotel room on July 7 after flying in from London's Heathrow, according to Agence France Presse. Police suspect he was in Cyprus to track movements of Israeli tourists and find out when group tours arrived on the holiday island. Reports say his arrest followed a tip-off from foreign intelligence agencies, including Israel's Mossad.

Report: Three Hizbullah Members Killed in Nusra Front Attack on Border Town
Naharnet /Three Hizbullah members have been killed on Wednesday in an attack by the Islamist al-Nusra Front in a border town between Lebanon and Syria, the Turkish state-run Anadolu agency reported.
"The attack targeted a Hizbullah patrol in (the Bekaa border town of) Zeeta, killing three of the party's members,” informed sources told Anadolu.
The sources revealed: “The party had an agreement with the Free Syria Army to neutralize these towns from the ongoing Syrian conflict”. “But Hizbullah has since the attack readied to deploy members in eight frontier villages”. Three Lebanese Shiites have been killed in fighting in Syria, a Hizbullah official said Sunday, as the Syrian opposition accused the Lebanese group of intervening on the side of the regime.
He said they were acting in "self-defense,” without specifying if they were Hizbullah members.
The Syrian opposition has long accused the group of helping the Syrian leadership crack down on the uprising — a claim the group has repeatedly denied.
Hizbullah has stood by Syrian President Bashar Assad since the uprising began in March 2011, even after the group supported revolts in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Bahrain. The group says it is backing the Syrian regime because of its support for the anti-Israel resistance movements in Lebanon and Palestine and because it is willing to implement political reforms.

FSA Chief of Staff Reiterates Warning of Shelling Hizbullah Positions in Lebanon
Naharnet/The rebel Free Syrian Army on Wednesday threatened to shell positions of Hizbullah in Lebanon after accusing it of firing across the border into territory it controls.
"In the past week... Hizbullah has been shelling into villages around Qusayr from Lebanese territory, and that we cannot accept," General Selim Idriss, the FSA's chief of staff, told Agence France Presse on the phone, adding that the rebels have given Hizbullah a 48-hour deadline to stop the attacks.
"Hizbullah has long been sending combatants into Syria to fight alongside Bashar Assad's forces, and we just fight them on our territory," said Idriss.
"But what we cannot accept is that Hizbullah is abusing Lebanese sovereignty to shell Syrian territory and Free Syrian Army positions," said the rebel commander.
Specifically, he accused Hizbullah of shelling villages and rebel positions around the insurgent-held town of Qusayr, which is located in the central Syrian province of Homs.
Idriss said that Hizbullah had fired into villages around Qusayr from the border village of Zeita, a Hizbullah stronghold in the Bekaa valley of Lebanon.
"As soon as the ultimatum ends, we will start responding to the sources of fire," he said.
While fighters in the Qusayr area would fire back, Idriss also said the FSA would "mobilize fighters equipped with long-range weapons from other areas."
Three Lebanese Shiites have been killed in fighting in Syria, a Hizbullah official said Sunday, as the Syrian opposition accused the Lebanese group of intervening on the side of the regime.
He said they were acting in "self-defense,” without specifying if they were Hizbullah members.
Just hours earlier, the main bloc of the Syrian opposition accused the Damascus ally of having intervened "militarily" on the side of the regime, and warned this posed a threat to ties between neighbors Syria and Lebanon.
Hizbullah has systematically denied sending fighters into Syria, though its leader Hasan Nasrallah acknowledged in October 2012 that party members had fought Syrian rebels but said they were acting as individuals and not under the group's direction.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the three slain Lebanese were members of pro-regime militias who had been trained by Hizbullah.
Louay al-Meqdad, spokesman for the Supreme Council of the Free Syrian Army, has accused Hizbullah of shelling Syrian territory with artillery and rocket launchers from bases inside Lebanon.
Hizbullah and its allies in the ruling March 8 coalition back Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, but the March 14 opposition alliance supports the rebellion.
The Shiite party occasionally announces the death of one of its fighters killed "carrying out his jihadist duty," but without clarification.
In October 2012, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah acknowledged that party members had fought Syrian rebels, but said they were acting as individuals and not under the party's direction.
Nasrallah clarified that the Hizbullah fighters were killed while defending Lebanese-inhabited border towns inside Syria. He explained that there are 23 Syrian border towns and 12 farms that are inhabited by Lebanese residents of various religious beliefs, adding that around 30,000 Lebanese residents live in these towns.“The residents of these towns took the decision to stay and defend themselves against the armed groups and did not engage in the battle between the regime and the opposition,” Hizbullah's leader added. On Saturday, the Local Coordination Committees -- a grassroots network of activists on the ground in Syria -- reported fighting between rebels and members of Hizbullah around Qusayr. It said they were trying to break into the rebel-held city, which has been under daily army bombardment for the past year.SourceAgence France Presse

Missile Tail from Syria Falls in Lebanon amid Heavy Israeli Overflights
Naharnet /The tail of a surface-to-air missile (SAM) fired from Syria fell in the outskirts of the Lebanese town of Deir al-Ashayer on Wednesday, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. The missile fell in the Deir al-Ashayer-Yanta-Halwa area inside Lebanese territory, causing no casualties or material damage, NNA said. Syrian news websites said “the air defenses of the Syrian army shot down an unmanned drone over the area of Deir al-Ashayer.” OTV later reported on Wednesday that security sources confirmed that the remains of a surface-to-air missile were found in the outskirts of the town of Yanta. “Citizens said that they heard the sound of a blast”.
Meanwhile, the television channel noted: “Heavy Israeli Air Force activity took place over the South and the Western Bekaa regions”.Last month, the Syrian army said an Israeli air strike targeted a military research center in Jamraya, near Damascus, after several media reports said Israeli warplanes bombed a weapons convoy near the border with Lebanon.

Asir Accuses Hizbullah of Renting Apartments to Monitor His Movements
Naharnet /Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir on Wednesday accused Hizbullah of “renting apartments” in the vicinity of his mosque in Abra, east of Sidon, with the aim of “monitoring” his movements.
“Recently, the mosque's neighbors, and we're among them, noticed some rented apartments that are inhabited by young men who are not residents of the area, and the neighbors thought that they are students,” Asir said, adding that “a dispute happened recently and heavily armed young men came out of these rented apartments and threatened the neighbors.” “It turned out that these men are present in the apartments in large numbers around the clock and that they are bringing weapons when night falls,” Asir added. The Islamist cleric noted that “the neighbors have submitted a petition to the governor, demanding the departure of these strangers from the apartments because they are threatening the security of the area.” “So far, we know of two apartments that are located around and near the mosque, of which the gunmen came out and threatened the neighbors with their weapons. The security agencies were informed of this incident, but some of them tried to cover up the issue,” Asir added. “We have irrefutable evidence that the mission of these men is to monitor me, my movements and the movements of the mosque goers,” Asir went on to say, noting that “when we started to raise the issue, a lot of security agencies, including the army, deployed around these apartments to protect them.”The anti-Hizbullah Salafist cleric urged officials and authorities to force the evacuation of the apartments to avert a possible “strife or any dangerous incident.”“We have informed the governor of the issue and we're following up on it, and the premier (Najib Miqati) and the interior minister (Marwan Charbel) are aware of the issue and trying to follow up on it,” Asir added.

Confusion over Fate of French Family Kidnapped in Cameroon
Naharnet /The fate of a French family kidnapped in Cameroon remained uncertain Thursday after a Cameroonian minister denied they were free and a French minister backtracked on his claim they had been found alive.Hopes for the seven members of the family -- a couple, their children aged five, eight, 10 and 12 and an uncle -- were raised when a Cameroonian military source said they had been found safe and well in Nigeria.
"They were found abandoned in a house in Dikwa" in northern Nigeria, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the border with Cameroon, the source said. France's Veteran Affairs Minister Kader Arif confirmed that information but later said he had merely been passing on media reports and said that "there is no official confirmation at this stage". Cameroon's Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary bluntly stated: "It is a wild rumor. If this was true, the Cameroonian government would have already given the information to France." France's foreign ministry said it could not confirm the release and warned against "spreading premature information". A security source close to the case in Nigeria said there were "serious doubts" about whether the family had been freed. The family was snatched Tuesday by six armed suspected Islamists on three motorbikes. Officials said they were taken across the border into Nigeria. President Francois Hollande condemned the seizure as an "odious" act, saying: "This is the first time that children have been taken hostage in this manner." The French foreign ministry urged citizens in the far north of Cameroon "to leave the area as quickly as possible" and advised against travel to areas bordering Nigeria until further notice. The ministry could not say how many French citizens are believed to be in the north but 6,200 in total are registered as living in Cameroon. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said France would not give in to "terrorists," an apparent warning that a ransom would not be considered.
The defence ministry said a team of French gendarmes arrived in Cameroon on Tuesday to help with the probe, adding that they were being "protected by French soldiers".
French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian pointed the finger at Nigeria's Boko Haram extremist group but said it was not clear whether the kidnapping was linked to France's offensive against Islamist rebels in Mali.
"These are groups that claim the same fundamentalism, who use the same methods, whether it's in Mali, Somalia or Nigeria," he said. Nigerian officials declined to comment on Boko Haram's alleged involvement. While French officials have named Boko Haram as the likely culprits, a splinter faction of the group known as Ansaru, which has risen in prominence in recent weeks, appears to have prioritized Western hostages. Ansaru claimed the December kidnapping of a French national in Nigeria's northern Katsina state and the abduction of seven foreigners from a construction site in the north's Bauchi state at the weekend. In statements, Ansaru has protested France's efforts against Islamist rebels in Mali and warned of further attacks. SourceAgence France Presse

Orthodox law a scheme to delay polls: Chamoun
February 21, 2013/By Wassim Mroueh/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: National Liberal Party leader Dory Chamoun slammed the controversial Orthodox electoral proposal in an interview with The Daily Star Wednesday, saying it amounted to a crime against Lebanon and was a ploy carried out by Hezbollah and its allies to delay the parliamentary elections.
“To me it is a crime against Lebanon; we’ve got one main problem in Lebanon that has existed within our body for a long time: a cancer called confessionalism,” he said from his party’s headquarters in Beirut. “What this law is doing is introducing this cancer further into the Lebanese body, this is a call for the [partition] of the country,” Chamoun added.
The Chouf lawmaker said the Orthodox proposal paves the way for the establishment of a number of mini-sectarian states in Lebanon similar to Israel.
The draft electoral law was approved by the joint parliamentary committees Tuesday. It enables every sect to elect its own MPs under a proportional representation system with all of Lebanon as a single district. The endorsement of Parliament’s general assembly will allow the proposal to become a law prior to the upcoming elections. Rival Christian parties like the Free Patriotic Movement, Kataeb, the Lebanese Forces and the Marada Movement have voiced their support for the proposal and argue it gives fairer representation for Christians by allowing them to elect their share of MPs.
Chamoun explained that if the Orthodox draft law was implemented, it would make it harder for an MP to represent and serve his constituents since voters would be spread across Lebanon.
“I am elected nearly one-third by the Sunnis and Shiites, one-third by the Druze and one-third by the Christians of the Chouf, those two-thirds [of non-Christians] that elected me come very often and ask me for certain services,” he said.
“Who do I serve when I am elected by the Maronites of Zahle, Akkar and Marjayoun?” he asked.
The NLP leader said he supported a one-man, one-vote system which would make Lebanon a single district under a winner-takes-all system.
“This way, the people know who they are voting for and the elected candidate knows who he’s representing,” he said, adding that he favors MPs being elected on a non-confessional basis.
Contrary to most Christian politicians, Chamoun said he doesn’t oppose the adoption of the 1960 law which was used in the 2009 elections.
“It’s much better going back to the 1960 [law] than to have a law which is like the stupid [Orthodox] law which is a preparation for a confessional war or for the division of Lebanon.”
Chamoun accused Hezbollah and other allies of Syria in Lebanon of planning to delay elections by proposing the controversial electoral law because they feel vulnerable given the current “weak” condition of the Syrian regime.
“They are trying to create a situation whereby [Parliament] won’t have the time to make a new law ... they will vote on extending the life of the actual Parliament,” Chamoun added.
Chamoun, 82, ran alongside Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt in the 2009 polls. He said he would join June’s race “in principle.”
Asked whether he would run alongside Jumblatt again, Chamoun said he thought both of them should be cooperating for the sake of the Chouf’s voters.
“We have to remember that this part of Lebanon has had a number of crises for over a century ... since the 1860s,” he said, in reference to a series of clashes between Maronites and Druze in the Chouf region. “We have to work on a way of living whereby we cannot allow such wars to take place again.”Separately, Chamoun denied claims that his party is having a severe financial crisis.

Desolation gains a foothold in Bkirki
February 21, 2013/By Michael Young/The Daily Star
Put aside for a moment that Christian approval of the Orthodox plan Tuesday seemed a natural misstep for a community bathed in self-doubt about its own future, as Christian numbers have declined. The reality is that the largest Christian community, the Maronites, have as their spiritual leader a man, Patriarch Beshara al-Rai, who has only reinforced this desolate mood by heightening Christian fears. No wonder Michel Aoun called Rai to congratulate him on passage of the Orthodox scheme. The scheme still has to pass Parliament and Cabinet, which is no easy feat. But how will Christians react to a possible rejection, other than to view it as another example of how the community’s aspirations are usually thwarted. And in this context Rai would have a central role to play, reassuring them that so abysmal a plan would only isolate them further and ensure that opportunities for cross-sectarian collaboration and concord are substantially terminated. But that is precisely what the patriarch will not tell them, because he is incapable of marshaling such openness. This provincial priest sees isolation as a form of security, and was precisely the wrong man to lead the Maronite Church when he put on the gold, purple and red of a patriarch. Rai has done nothing of what was expected of him when he took office. His church is still in need of reform, yet he has not advanced on that front, presiding over the same gaggle of dubious bishops in place when he was promoted. In fact, as his recent trip to Syria shows, he is a man who does not improve with age. Rai is an ecclesiastical wrecking ball, to be surveyed with constant trepidation.
Only a man devoid of modesty, devoured by self-love and self-importance could take his own verbal idiocies as seriously as he does. Rai recently explained events in Syria in this way to a Protestant delegation. According to one of those present, the patriarch noted that the war there was a U.S. and Jewish plot to get rid of the Middle East’s Christians. Rai always had a soft spot for the Syrian regime, but if anything can be said of the Americans it is that their neglect of Syria has been deplorable. As for “the Jews,” Israel too once appreciated the Assads, but does not seem to hold much hope for Bashar anymore. And the thought that the two would join together to marginalize the Christians, who seem thoroughly marginal to regional affairs anyway, is so laughable as to constitute a punch line.
Rai has missed the entire point of his mission, not surprising for someone besotted by the fantasy-laden view of himself as a grand political strategist. His duty was to heighten confidence in the Maronite community and remind Christians in general that, even though their political power has diminished, they still had a major role to play in Lebanon’s destiny, and much to gain from a rapprochement with Muslims. He could have also been more specific, reminding them that their domination of the economy is still largely intact and that though the Maronite president is not what he once was, he yet retains considerable influence thanks to his position between the often-contending Sunni and Shiite communities.
He could also have looked at Syria and jogged his memory just a bit to recall that the Assad regime, far from being a protector of Christians as he once claimed, broke the back of Lebanon’s Maronites. When Rai stated in Damascus that “Everything that is said and demanded in the name of what is called reform and human rights and democracy is not worth the spilt blood of an innocent person,” what did he actually mean? That faced with violent intimidation it was best to keep quiet and accept the worst forms of dictatorship and corruption?
Is this a message that Lebanon’s Maronites would embrace, they who fought against the Syrian army so often? In saying that human rights and democracy are not worth a fight, Rai is speaking a language entirely out of touch with the direction of the world today, that of a despot’s sidekick. One would never have heard such inanity from Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, who, despite his advanced age, understood better that religion must be intimately tied in with a defense of human rights. And Sfeir always refused to visit Damascus because he knew that no one, especially a clergyman, could simultaneously condemn barbarity on moral grounds and also legitimize it. Yet no amount of savagery by the Syrian regime seems to shake Rai. The bombardment of civilian areas by the regime’s armed forces, the routine slaughter of women and children by government militias, and the destruction of villages and neighborhoods has provoked hardly a dissenting word from the patriarch, hardly an angry sermon on the comeuppance of tyranny. Ultimately this tells us what Rai really is: a man who is ethically loose, insubstantial, whose only true motivation appears to be self-promotion, whose religious integrity is nonexistent, the mellifluous voice there to camouflage the emptiness of the whole.
While Pope Benedict XVI is not inspirational given the abuses he covered in the German Church at one time, he is intellectually far ahead of Rai. The pope’s decision to resign appears to be a result of a frustration with his inability to reform the church’s behavior. No such worries exist in Bkirki. And yet deep down we wish Rai would show the same discernment as Benedict and accept his limitations when it comes to tackling the tasks at hand. Then we would expect him to step down and make room for someone better.
*Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR. He tweets @BeirutCalling.