LCCC ENGLISH DAILY
NEWS BULLETIN
January 23/2013
Bible Quotation for today/
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his
friends
John 15/09-16: "Even
as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love. If
you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my
Father’s commandments, and remain in his love. I have spoken these things
to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his
friends. You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you. No
longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does.
But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I
have made known to you. You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and
appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should
remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to
you
Latest analysis, editorials, studies,
reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
We want to give terrorism a “knockout” blow-French official/By Michel Abu
Najm/Asharq Al-Awsat/January 23/13
The New Obama: Hawk or Dove/By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Alawsat/January
23/13
A recipe to curb the Islamists' popularity/By Dr. Hamad Al-Majid/Asharq
Alawsat/January 23/13
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous
Sources for January 23/13
CSIS notes 'insider threat' in Islamist extremism
Algeria vows to fight Qaeda after 38 workers killed/.Two hostage-takers were
Canadian, reports say
Iran tries US pastor, Saeed Abedini on national security charges
Israelis head to polls to elect 19th Knesset
US: Three citizens dead in Algeria hostage drama
Assad fall won’t mean Hezbollah disarmament: Geagea
Salafi Sunni Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir: Hezbollah arming young men in Sidon
Lebanese MP,Sami Gemayel Meets Berri: Only 1960 Law Put to Rest, Joint
Committees to Convene Next Week
Lebanon: Electoral Subcommittee Members Admit Differences Have Remained Wide
Lebanon: Daring Prison Break Thwarted in Roumieh
Lebanon: Grenade thrown at Beqaa mayor’s residence
Lebanon: Death of hybrid vote law leaves parliamentary panel in chaos
Syria hands over DNA results on unknown Lebanese fighters
Lebanon: Fight not over for first ‘civil married’ couple
Sleiman puts civil marriage back on table
Beirutis at odds on calls for civil marriage
Lebanese Interior Ministry clarifies number of expat voters
Lebanon's pro axis of Evil, Miqati Meets Saudi FM, Hopes that Lebanon 'Will Be
Spared Future Instability'
March 8, March 14 Intensify Meetings on Electoral Law after Failure to Reach
Consensus
Kuwait Islamists protest Mali military intervention
Terrorists's Abdallah's Supporters Meet Charbel: We Will Continue our Actions
until He is Released
Big discounts, low turnout at Lebanon’s shopping festival
Lebanon: LU student elections postponed again
Moscow to Send Planes to Beirut to Evacuate Russians from Syria
Saudi says negotiated Syria settlement "inconceivable"
Syrian Regime Builds New Paramilitary Force Aided by Iran
Assad Says Turkey Responsible for Syria Bloodshed: It's a Battle of Regional,
International Wills
Evacuation move signals Russia losing faith in Assad
Russia lifts nationals out of Syria. Moscow, Iran arm Assad for major armored
push
U.N. Takes on Critical Humanitarian Mission in Syria
Arab League: 'No Flicker of Hope' for Syria Envoy
Syria Minister Says Nation Will Defeat Conspiracy
Iran tries US pastor, Saeed Abedini on national security charges
AFP: An Iranian-American Christian pastor charged with plotting against state
security appeared in a Tehran court on Monday, but will be released on bail, his
lawyer told ISNA news agency. Saeed Abedini, a naturalized US citizen and
Christian convert, denied "charges of establishing churches to disrupt national
security" in Iran and colluding to carry out crimes, his Iran-based lawyer
Nasser Sarbazi was quoted as saying. Abedini was not accused of espionage,
Sarbazi said. The 32-year-old was arrested in September on a return visit to
Iran and alleged in a recent letter that he was beaten in prison, his wife
Naghmeh and his US-based lawyer said last week. Sarbazi said Abedini was to be
temporarily released "in the next few days" after he posts a bail of four
billion rials (nearly $115,000). He will then be able to leave the country,
Sarbazi added. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said the United
States had "serious concerns" about the case and urged Iran to grant Abedini
access to an attorney. His wife said he has not seen a lawyer since his arrest.
Iran's constitution following the 1979 Islamic revolution recognizes the rights
of several religious minorities including Christians, but the regime has
targeted converted former Muslims. Another Iranian Christian convert condemned
to death, Youcef Nadarkhani, was released in September having spent two years in
prison after his detention prompted international outcry.
CSIS notes 'insider threat' in Islamist extremism
CBC –/http://ca.news.yahoo.com/csis-notes-insider-threat-islamist-extremism-004442582.html
Canada’s spy agency sees the “insider threat” as a rising security risk for
Canadians at home and abroad, according to a secret document obtained by CBC
News.
Algeria's Prime Minister Abdul Malek Sallal said Islamist militants who attacked
an Algerian gas plant last week included at least one Canadian — and a threat
assessment report from the Canadian Security Intelligence Agency points to an
upward trend of domestic Islamist extremism.
“Small groups (of) Canadians will continue to be inspired by the narrative and
seek to engage in extremist activities both at home and abroad,” reads The
Threat Environment to 2025 report obtained by Power & Politics under the Access
to Information Act.
The assessment outlines global and domestic threats — and what is driving those
trends, from energy and Arctic resources to geopolitical conflicts and the
pursuit of nuclear weapons.
The report notes that CSIS has a number of key regional conflicts and failing
states it's keeping an eye on, including North and Western Africa where places
like Mali and Algeria have been in the spotlight
The report says Islamist extremism is a complicated threat, and warns that
extremists will take advantage of “under-governed spaces and weak states.”
Some of the key factors that are driving domestic extremism in Canada include
grievances against capitalism, polarized debate on immigration, the migration of
ideas, tools and tactics and radical environmentalism, according to the CSIS
report. Ray Boisvert, former assistant director of intelligence with CSIS who is
currently president and CEO of I-Sec Integrated Strategies, said radicalization
is a “growing pattern” in Canada. CSIS has identified up to 50 people who have
left Canada to fight abroad. “That means there are a lot of people with Canadian
passports, who represent this country, who are out there committed to violence
against others, and as we’ve seen in the Algerian example, serious violence
leading to murder. And that would be extremely troubling for any and all of us,”
he told Power & Politics host Evan Solomon.
Algeria vows to fight Qaeda after 38 workers killed/.Two hostage-takers were
Canadian, reports say
By Lamine Chikhi | Reuters /22/01/13
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/algeria-hostage-toll-rises-report-japanese-deaths-063209891--finance.html
ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria's prime minister accused a Canadian of coordinating
last week's raid on a desert gas plant and, praising the storming of the complex
where 38 mostly foreign hostages were killed, he pledged to resist the rise of
Islamists in the Sahara. Algeria will never succumb to terrorism or allow al
Qaeda to establish "Sahelistan", an Afghan-style power base in arid northwest
Africa, Abdelmalek Sellal told a news conference in Algiers where he also said
at least 37 foreign hostages died. "There is clear political will," the prime
minister said. Claimed by an Algerian al Qaeda leader as a riposte to France's
attack on his allies in neighboring Mali the previous week, the four-day siege
drew global attention to Islamists in the Sahara and Sahel regions and brought
promises of support to African governments from Western powers whose toppling of
Libya's Muammar Gaddafi helped flood the region with weapons. The attack on a
valuable part of its vital energy industry raised questions about the security
capacity of an establishment that took power from French colonists 50 years ago,
held off a bloody Islamist insurgency in the 1990s and has avoided the
democratic upheavals the Arab Spring brought to North Africa. Sellal said a
Canadian citizen whom he named only as Chedad, a surname found among Arabs in
the region, was among 29 gunmen killed and added that he had "coordinated" the
attack. Another three militants were taken alive and were in custody. Among
hostages confirmed dead by their own governments were three Americans, seven
Japanese, six Filipinos and three Britons; others from Britain, Norway and
elsewhere were listed as unaccounted for. Sellal said seven of the 37 foreign
dead were unidentified, while a further five foreigners were missing. Nearly 700
Algerians and 100 other foreigners survived. An Algerian security source said
investigators pursuing the possibility that the attackers had inside help to map
the complex and gain entry were questioning at least two employees. Prime
Minister David Cameron told parliament in London that Britain would increase its
help to Algeria's intelligence and security forces and might do more for France
in Mali, though he ruled out sending many of its stretched armed forces to
Africa. Noting a shift in the source of threats to British interests from
Afghanistan to Africa, he also noted Sellal's rundown of a multinational group
of gunmen from across north and west Africa and said the region was becoming "a
magnet for jihadists".
Alongside a "strong security response", however, he called for efforts to
address long-standing grievances, such as poverty and political exclusion, which
foster support for violence. Some militants in Algeria want autonomy for the
south and complain of domination by an unchanging establishment in Algiers.
DEATH AND SURVIVAL
As Algerian forces combed the Tigantourine plant near the town of In Amenas for
explosives and the missing, survivors and the bereaved told tales of terror,
narrow escapes and of death.
"The terrorists lined up four hostages and assassinated them ... shot them in
the head," a brother of Kenneth Whiteside told Sky News, in an account of the
Briton's death given to the family by an Algerian colleague who witnessed it.
"Kenny just smiled the whole way through. He'd accepted his fate."
Filipino survivor Joseph Balmaceda said gunmen used him for cover: "Whenever
government troops tried to use a helicopter to shoot at the enemy, we were used
as human shields."
Another Briton, Garry Barlow, called his wife from within the site before he was
killed and said: "I'm sat here at my desk with Semtex strapped to my chest."
Several hostages died on Thursday when Algerian helicopters blasted jeeps in
which the militants were trying to move them.
An Algerian security source had earlier told Reuters that documents found on the
bodies of two militants had identified them as Canadians: "A Canadian was among
the militants. He was coordinating the attack," Sellal said.
In Ottawa, Canada's foreign affairs department said it was seeking information.
Security experts noted that some Canadian citizens had been involved with
international militants before.
Officials have also named other militants in recent days as having leadership
roles among the attackers. Veteran Islamist Mokhtar Belmokhtar claimed
responsibility on behalf of al Qaeda.
In a video distributed on the Internet, the one-eyed veteran of Afghan wars of
the 1980s, of Algeria's civil war and of the lucrative trans-Sahara cigarette
smuggling trade, said: "We in al Qaeda announce this blessed operation."
Dressed in combat fatigues, Belmokhtar demanded an end to French attacks on
Islamist fighters in Mali.
The jihadists had planned the attack two months ago in neighboring Mali, Sellal
added. They had traveled from there through Niger and Libya, hence evading
Algeria's strong security services, until close to In Amenas. Their aim, he
said, had been to take foreign hostages to Mali, and they made a first attempt
to take captives from a bus near the site early on Wednesday.
Normally producing 10 percent of Algeria's natural gas, the facility was shut
down during the incident. The government said it aimed to reopen it this week,
although officials at Britain's BP and Norway's Statoil, which operate the plant
with Algeria's state energy firm, said the plans were not clear.
MALI CONFLICT
An Algerian newspaper said the jihadists had arrived in cars painted in the
colors of Algerian state energy firm Sonatrach but registered in Libya, a
country awash with weaponry since Western powers backed a revolt to oust Gaddafi
in 2011. Using his oil wealth, the Libyan dictator exercised a degree of
influence in the region and the consequences of his death are still unfolding.
In a sign of the complexities wrought by the Arab Spring revolts, Egypt, a
former military dictatorship now led by one of the generals' Islamist foes,
criticized France's intervention in Mali on Monday. President Mohamed Mursi
called instead for more spending to address rebels' grievances and warned that
the military moves would "inflame the conflict in this region". The bloodshed
also increased the strains in Algeria's long fraught relations with Western
powers, where some complained about being left in the dark while the decision to
storm the compound was being taken. But this week, Britain and France both
defended the military action by Algeria, the strongest military power in the
Sahara and an ally the West needs in combating the militants. Chafik Mesbah, a
former Algerian presidential security adviser, said: "The West did not criticize
Algeria because it knows an assault was inevitable in the circumstances ... The
victims were a minimum price to pay to solve the crisis."
(Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
US: Three citizens dead in Algeria hostage drama
AFP /The United States confirmed Monday that three of its citizens were among
the foreign workers who died last week in an attack by Islamist hostage-takers
on an Algerian gas plant. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said
seven more Americans survived the drama at the In Amenas site, and identified
those killed as Victor Lynn Lovelady, Gordon Lee Rowan and Frederick Buttaccio.
Earlier, Algerian authorities had said 37 foreigners of eight different
nationalities had been killed in the attack and subsequent four-day siege of the
facility, which ended in a bloodbath on Saturday.
Nuland said she would not be giving more details about the US dead or the
survivors, out of respect for the families' privacy, but cited President Barack
Obama in blaming the Islamist militants for the bloodshed.
"As the President said, the blame for this tragedy rests with the terrorists who
carried it out, and the United States condemns their actions in the strongest
possible terms," she said. "We will continue to work closely with the Government
of Algeria to gain a fuller understanding of the terrorist attack of last week
and how we can work together moving forward to combat such threats in the
future."
The sprawling In Amenas gas plant was attacked on Wednesday by at least 32
heavily-armed fighters, who Algerian officials claim crossed into the country
from neighboring Mali, where Islamist militants have launched a rebellion. The
gang took foreign workers hostage and Algerian forces responded with an
uncompromising assault which only ended at the weekend.
Some foreign governments complained Algeria had kept them in the dark about an
operation that many observers found hasty, but in public Washington and its
allies have been cautiously supportive of Algeria's move.
Lebanon: Grenade thrown at Beqaa mayor’s residence
Now Lebanon/Unknown assailants threw a grenade at the house of
the mayor of West Beqaa’s Libbaya village, without causing any damage, the
National News Agency reported. The explosion at Hussein Akl’s home took place
Monday afternoon, but only caused material damage. Security forces deployed to
the scene immediately and launched an investigation into the incident.
Salafi Sunni Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir: Hezbollah arming young
men in Sidon
NowLebanon/Salafi Sunni Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir accused Hezbollah
of distributing weapons and drugs to Sidon youngsters as well as training them
to fight on their side. “A new strategy [the Resistance] is adopting in Sidon
consists of handing out arms as well as salaries and drugs,” Assir said during
an interview with NOW. “Weapons are offered to all youngsters, especially the
Palestinians… They are later taken to the Beqaa and the South in order to be
trained and are given arms and money.” The Salafi official also said that
Hezbollah is working on luring Popular Nasserite Movement members into joining
the Hezbollah-affiliated Resistance Brigades, which resulted in occasional
clashes between partisans of these two parties. Assir rose to prominence for his
outspoken opposition to the Assad regime and his calls for disarming Hezbollah,
the strongest military force in the country.
The Sunni Sheikh denied having any ties with Interior Minister Marwan Charbel
and refuted receiving financial support from Qatar through Lebanese singer Fadel
Shaker, who joined the Salafist movement last year.
“No [country] supports us. All our support comes from our partisans,” Assir
said. In November, a MP affiliated with the pro-Hezbollah Change and Reform bloc
accused Saudi Arabia and Qatar of financing the Salafi sheikh.
When asked about the electoral law issue, Assir denounced politicians’
statements on the issue and said they were “solely sectarian.”“They accuse us of
sectarianism while it is all they talk about.”Also, Assir said he would not run
in the 2013 parliamentary elections nor support the Future bloc in the vote. “I
do not think I will [be involved] in the elections [in favor of] the Future
Movement or any other [party].”
This article is a translation of the original written by Karen Boulos, which was
posted on the NOW Arabic site on January 21, 2013
How can one beat God?
Hanin Ghaddar
https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/how_can_one_beat_god
In the absence of a civil state, we in Lebanon are stuck in a vicious triangle.
No matter what we do, we are constantly being bullied by God, politics and sex
taboos. But the problem is not only our system, powered by those in power. The
sad reality is that we Lebanese enjoy our sectarianism and sugar-coat it with
God and religion. It makes us comfortable; probably too comfortable. Even if we
manage to beat politics, and sometimes traditions, how does one beat God? This
weekend, President Michel Suleiman proposed over Facebook and Twitter legalizing
civil marriage in Lebanon. He wrote: “We should work on drafting a civil
marriage law. It is a very important step in eradicating sectarianism and
solidifying national unity - what do you think?”This came after NOW reported on
the first marriage contract to be signed between a Lebanese woman and man
according to civil laws and with the support of a civil society activist. For
many of us, this was a breath of fresh air in the midst of the madness
surrounding us. The statement, coming from the president himself, brought hope
after last week’s wave of despair when a committee of ministers tasked with
studying a draft law that would make men and women equal under the Nationality
Law asked the cabinet to reject it.
In its report to the cabinet, which was leaked to women’s rights NGOs, the
committee justified its decision by referring to the growing number of Lebanese
women marrying Palestinians and said that granting them nationality rights would
"disturb the sectarian demographic balance.” We were offensively reminded of the
ugly truth that we Lebanese are not citizens. The purpose of our lives seems to
be serving our sectarian system and the religious and sectarian leaders behind
it. And women are the ones who suffer the most. This map shows us the sad
reality that within the Arab world, only in Lebanon, Qatar, Yemen and Kuwait do
women completely lack the right to pass their nationality on to their children
and spouses. Although not surprising, it is unsettling to know that Lebanese
women have to suffer the consequences of our system’s obsession with sectarian
demographics and sacrifice their basic rights so that the leaders in this
country can sleep without having nightmares of a disrupted denominational
balance.
President Suleiman asked the Lebanese what they think. Well, he got answers; all
kinds of answers that illustrate the striking truth we have consciously denied:
The people do not really want to eradicate sectarianism. Most of the comments on
Suleiman’s post were negative and insular.
The president went secular. He decided to say the only sane thing we’ve heard in
a very long time. Good for us, but now what? Is he going to carry on and take
the issue all the way?
How is he going to deal with the many Lebanese who are too comfortable with
their sectarianism to support an optional civil marriage that could actually
solve many of our problems, including women’s problems?
Back in the nineties, President Elias Hrawi proposed a civil status law to
legalize civil marriage, but he did not succeed due to a large and aggressive
campaign against him by religious leaders. Things haven’t really changed since
then, and sectarianism might have actually gotten worse. However, religious
institutions today do not seem as powerful and controlling as they used to be.
Grand Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Rashid Qabbani is under attack by Future Movement
politicians. Patriarch Beshara al-Rai is not as popular as his predecessor,
Patriarch Boutros Sfeir.
So dear Mr. President, this is exactly why now is the time to go all the
way—that is, if you’re really serious about civil marriage. You should not pose
it as a question; you're the president! Just go for it with no turning back.
If you really believe this is a necessity at this point, embark on a
full-fledged campaign that will mark your presidency and establish you in
history as the president who went against all odds and fought sectarianism.
The discussion your post triggered is a good sign that people are thirsty for
something fresh; something real. It does not matter how many yeses and no’s you
received. What matters is that you, as the president, believe civil marriage
should be legalized. In this case, you should not go bottom-up. Change happens
when the law is enforced. People will fight it, and religious institutions will
go insane, but eventually, they will all face the reality—if you believe that we
need to move forward in a country that is mostly divided along sectarian lines.
The Nationality Law is still being discussed in the cabinet. You can start by
supporting it. The viscous triangle should be broken, and what is a better time
to break it than now? Real change is comprehensive, and this is your
opportunity. The whole region is falling apart and we’re in the middle of
increasing sectarian divides fracturing the country. The legalization of civil
marriage will not only help eradicate sectarianism and preserve national unity;
it could also protect us from further strife.
*Hanin Ghaddar is the managing editor of NOW. She tweets @haningdr
Kuwait Islamists protest Mali military intervention
AFP: Dozens of Kuwaiti Islamists gathered outside the French embassy on Monday
to protest against a military intervention in Mali, calling on Gulf leaders not
to support the operation.
Protesters chanted slogans and carried banners calling on France to halt its
operation against Islamists in the African country, condemning "the bloodshed of
Muslims in Mali."
A large number of security forces were stationed outside the embassy building on
the outskirts of Kuwait City, but the protest ended without incident.
The Arab Gulf state has not made any official comment on the French operation
but on Monday the cabinet condemned "terrorist action" in Algeria.
Islamists took a number of foreign and Algerian hostages at a gas plant in the
Sahara desert last week demanding an end to France's Mali operation, in a siege
which ended with the deaths of almost 40 captives.
French and Malian troops on Monday recaptured the key towns of Diabaly and
Douentza in a major boost to their drive to rout Al-Qaeda-linked rebels holding
the country's vast, arid north.
Lebanese MP,Sami Gemayel Meets Berri: Only 1960 Law Put to
Rest, Joint Committees to Convene Next Week
Naharnet / Phalange bloc MP Samir Gemayel revealed on Monday that Speaker Nabih
Berri will call the joint parliamentary committees to meet next week if an
agreement is not reached over a new electoral law.
He said after holding talks with Berri at Ain el-Tineh: “No electoral draft law
has been put to rest and the speaker is committed to the agreements reached at
the parliamentary subcommittee.”
“The 1960 law is the only one that has been buried,” he added. “No political
faction is prepared to hold elections based on the 1960 law, which is why all
other options are still open,” remarked Gemayel.
“The democratic path in agreeing on a new law must take its course,” he
stressed. Berri will call the joint parliamentary committees to session as soon
as the subcommittee ends its meetings on Wednesday, continued the MP.
The parliamentary elections will be held based on a new amended law that would
be agreed upon at parliament, stated Gemayel. Asked if the law that combines the
winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems can be adopted by the
subcommittee, the MP responded: “We are studying this law at the subcommittee
and hope that we can reach a result by Wednesday.”After Monday's first session
of the subcommittee, Free Patriotic Movement MP Alain Aoun from the March 8
alliance confirmed that the gap between the subcommittee members was huge.
“It became clear through the discussions that the hybrid system will not be the
solution so we should go to another stage or we should hold onto the Orthodox
Gathering proposal,” he said. Al-Akhbar newspaper had reported on Monday that
the speaker had informed Musatqbal bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora during a meeting
last week that the “1960 and Orthodox Gathering law have been buried.”
Lebanon: Electoral Subcommittee Members Admit Differences Have Remained Wide
Naharnet /Rival lawmakers revealed on Monday that the gap on an electoral
draft-law has remained wide despite four days of consultations with their
leaderships aimed at facilitating their task of reaching common ground.
The chairman of a parliamentary subcommittee tasked with agreeing on a
draft-law, MP Robert Ghanem, said following a morning session that the MPs came
back with answers on a proposal to combine a winner-takes-all system with
proportionality. The lawmakers from the March 8 majority alliance, the March 14
opposition and the centrist Progressive Socialist Party had taken a four-day
break to discuss the proposal with their leaderships and come back with answers.
“The stances of each party on an electoral law are already known but the
objective of the subcommittee is to reach consensus in that regard,” Ghanem told
reporters in parliament after the morning session ended. “I hope that we would
agree on a law that guarantees a fair representation to all,” he said, adding
another session would be held in the afternoon to continue the deliberations.
But several members of the subcommittee expressed pessimism after the
differences between them remained. The opposition's al-Mustaqbal MP Ahmed Fatfat
said “discussions continued through a serious and open dialogue on how we could
find common ground.”But he reiterated the rejection of proportionality and said
his party was prone to the winner-takes-all system. MP Serge Torsarkissian, who
also represents al-Mustaqbal in the subcommittee, blamed earlier in the day the
government for the failure to agree on a draft-law. “The cabinet should have
proposed a draft-law that has consensus to avoid the controversy that erupted
over the electoral law,” Torsarkissian told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3).
Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan, also from the March 14 opposition, hoped the
subcommittee would make some achievements in the coming two days.
But he told reporters that some members of the subcommittee are trying to
propose an increase in the percentage of MPs elected through a winner-takes-all
system while others want the number of candidates elected through the
proportional system to be higher. Hizbullah MP Ali Fayyad indirectly slammed al-Mustaqbal,
saying those fearing proportionality are aware that their political power would
be exposed. “We are keen on proportionality and the improvement of the
conditions that lead to the election of Christian MPs,” he told reporters.
Fayyad also confirmed that he vetoed a proposal of having 128 districts, saying
there wasn't enough time to discuss such a proposal a few months before the
elections. His ally Free Patriotic Movement MP Alain Aoun from the March 8
alliance confirmed that the gap between the subcommittee members was huge.
“It became clear through the discussions that the hybrid system will not be the
solution so we should go to another stage or we should hold onto the Orthodox
Gathering proposal,” he said.
MP Akram Shehayyeb, from the centrist Progressive Socialist Party, said “not a
single party is ready to hand over power to the other.” “The electoral law is
part of the bigger problem,” he said adding that the cause of the differences
among them was not technical but political. “Until now the gap between the
different parties is huge,” he said reiterating that agreement on administrative
decentralization and the formation of a senate would set the stage for
eliminating differences among the rival factions. MP Ali Bazzi from Speaker
Nabih Berri's Amal movement was the most optimistic however, saying “unlike what
we've heard, there was enough responsibility and seriousness” in the meeting of
the subcommittee. “There will be more consultations .. .We are here to reach a
solution and not to waste time,” he said.
Al-Mustaqbal, the PSP and March 14 independent Christian politicians have
rejected the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal that envisages a single
district and calls for each sect to vote for its own MPs in a proportional
system. The proposal had garnered the support of the four major Christian
parties – the Free Patriotic Movement and the Marada movement from the March 8
majority, and the opposition's Phalange party and the Lebanese Forces. Two other
proposals include a government bill that divides Lebanon into 13 districts based
on a proportional representation system and a draft-law suggested by the March
14 Christian parties that seeks to divide Lebanon into 50 small-sized districts
based on a winner-takes-all system.
Lebanon: Daring Prison Break Thwarted in Roumieh
Naharnet / A massive escape attempt from Roumieh prison has been
thwarted after guards found ropes linking the observation tower to the
facility's outer wall, the National News Agency reported on Monday.
NNA said that the inmates had lowered four 17-meter ropes from the tower to the
outer wall of the building where convicts are incarcerated. The prisoners had
also cut the iron barriers that separate the building and the tower, which meant
that the escape route was open and the operation was in its last stages, NNA
added.Judge Fadi Zaenni headed to Roumieh to investigate the incident and guards
launched a headcount to check if anyone had managed to escape. Last month,
guards thwarted an attempt by around 20 Fatah al-Islam inmates to escape from
Roumieh, the oldest and largest of Lebanon's overcrowded prisons. They had cut
iron bars at the prison's library and were seeking to dig a hole in the wall of
the workshop that had been burned in previous riots when the plot was uncovered.
The military tribunal charged in November a Lebanese man and two Syrians with
helping three Fatah al-Islam inmates escape from the same prison. The three men
were also charged with facilitating a prison break attempt by another inmate,
who was planning to wear a black Islamic veil and climb down using a rope from
bloc B where the Islamist inmates are incarcerated. In October, a scandal
erupted after it was reported that three Fatah al-Islam prisoners fled the jail
the month before. In another major prison break from Roumieh, five inmates from
the terror network managed to escape in August 2011.
March 8, March 14 Intensify Meetings on Electoral Law after Failure to Reach
Consensus
Naharnet / The rival March 8 and March 14 camps on Monday embarked on studying
their next steps concerning the thorny issue of the electoral law, after failing
to reach consensus during the meetings of the electoral parliamentary
subcommittee. “A meeting for the ministers of the parliamentary majority is
underway at the residence of (Health) Minister Ali Hasan Khalil, where the
conferees are discussing the electoral law and activating government's work,”
al-Manar television reported Monday evening. The meeting was attended by State
Minister for Administrative Development Mohammed Fneish, Energy and Water
Minister Jebran Bassil, Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn, State Minister Ali Qansou
and State Minister Marwan Kheireddine, al-Manar said. State Minister for
Parliamentary Affairs Nicolas Fattoush joined the meeting later, according to
al-Manar.
Meanwhile, MTV said failure to reach an agreement on an electoral law during the
subcommittee's meetings has “revived” the March 14 forces. It revealed that a
meeting was held Monday evening between Lebanese Forces bloc MP George Adwan and
ex-PM Fouad Saniora, head of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc. Earlier on
Monday, LF leader Samir Geagea held talks in Maarab with March 14
General-Secretariat Coordinator Fares Soaid on “the latest developments in
Lebanon and the region,” according to a statement issued by Geagea's office. MTV
also reported that MP Butros Harb and independent Christian figures from the
March 14 camp will visit Geagea and launch an “initiative” from Maarab on
Tuesday.
Assad Says Turkey Responsible for Syria Bloodshed: It's a Battle of Regional,
International Wills
Naharnet/Syrian President Bashar Assad stressed on Monday that his country does
not need the permission of any nation in the world to deal with its internal
political issues, rejecting calling Syria's current events a revolution or a
spring. "These are battles of wills first and foremost,” Assad told Nasim Online
news agency, adding that “the terrorist acts' aim is to destroy the country”.
Assad said: “What we are going through is a regional and an international
battle, and saying the clashes will end within weeks is illogical”. "We will
come out victorious despite the complication of these tactic and strategic
battles,” he expressed.
Assad commented on some regional countries' stances towards Syria's war: “Turkey
is directly responsible for the bloodshed here”. According to Assad, the Turkish
people, however, were able to resist to “financial and media campaigns that
tried to divert their viewpoints”. "We are trying to build and preserve
relations with the people not the governments, as these will not stay in power
forever,” he explained.
The Syrian president added: “Some nations support Syria but are not able control
the flow of weapons and logistic aid to terrorists”. "There is a particularity
to the battles in Homs as fighters there are constantly supplied with weapons,”
Assad said, adding that another factor that makes the clashes in this city
standout is its proximity to Lebanon. "The presence of the Syrian forces in the
cities aim at protecting citizens and the nation,” he expressed.
Assad remarked: “The army is saving the country from external and internal
plans, and its role conforms with the ideology and the policy of resistance that
we have long adopted”. More than 60,000 people, mostly civilians, have been
killed in Syria's conflict since its eruption in March 2011, according to the
United Nations, while the Observatory says it has documented more than 48,000
dead. The conflict has sent some 600,000 people fleeing the country, most of
them to neighboring countries, according to the U.N.
Syrian Regime Builds New Paramilitary Force Aided by Iran
Naharnet/President Bashar Assad's regime has put together a new paramilitary
force of men and women, some trained by key ally Iran, to fight what is now
becoming a guerrilla war, a watchdog said Monday.
The force, dubbed the National Defense Army, gathers together existing popular
committees of pro-regime civilian fighters under a new, better-trained and armed
hierarchy, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The popular committees were originally formed to protect pro-regime
neighborhoods from rebels. "The (regular) army is not trained to fight a
guerrilla war, so the regime has resorted to creating the National Defense
Army," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman. Most of the new fighters are
members or supporters of the ruling Baath party, said Abdel Rahman. "They
include men and women, and members of all the sects."
The new force is not connected to the pro-regime shabiha militia, which the army
and security forces have deployed ever since the outbreak of an anti-regime
revolt to help it suppress dissent across the country.
Members of the paramilitary force, like the popular committees before, will
focus on fighting in their own neighborhoods. On Friday, Moscow's Russia Today
reported on its website that the new National Defense Army was being set up to
"defend districts against gunmen". "The Syrian authorities are set to create ...
a National Defense Army, parallel to regime forces, so that the (regular) army
is freed up for combat," the website reported citing an unnamed official. Abdel
Rahman, whose Observatory relies on a network of activists and medics on the
ground, said Iran was involved in building the paramilitary force. "The
paramilitary force includes an elite fighting force trained by Iran," Abdel
Rahman told Agence France Presse. "Iran has provided training to the
paramilitary force's commando fighters." Iran, Damascus' key regional ally,
staunchly backs Assad and in September 2012 said its elite Quds Force, which is
tasked with carrying out operations outside the Islamic republic, was giving
Damascus "counsel and advice". On the ground, an activist said the new force was
already active in the central province of Homs. "The number of regime fighters
in the province has swelled in recent days, as the National Defense Army has
started to come into action," anti-regime activist Hadi al-Abdullah told AFP via
the Internet from the rebel-held town of Qusayr.Agence France Presse
Interior Ministry clarifies number of expat voters
January 22, 2013/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The Interior Ministry announced Monday that it had received an accurate
list of Lebanese expatriate voters who wanted to take part in upcoming
parliamentary polls from all of its diplomatic missions.
The Central News Agency reported that the ministry had received data related to
10,201 expatriate voters from 49 missions, denying media reports that only 6,733
voters had been registered abroad. The ministry noted that the number had been
lowered to 10,012 after a thorough examination of the lists of names. The
figures showed a surprisingly low number of voters had signed up to vote,
especially in countries with large Lebanese expatriate communities. The lists
showed that the highest number of voters were registered in Australia, where the
number reached 3,813, while in the United Arab Emirates the number of voters
registered was only 536. In Brazil, home to one of the largest expatriate
communities, the number of registered voters was 148. In Venezuela, 12 people
registered to vote, two in Colombia, and 19 in Argentina. In the United States
only 630 voters registered, compared with 91 voters in the United Kingdom and
1,057 in France. In Africa, a small number of expatriates registered their
names. Gabon registered nine voters, 92 registered in Congo, 18 in Ivory Coast,
92 in Guinea and 81 in Liberia. The low number of registered voters suggests
that many Lebanese citizens are intending either to abstain from voting
altogether, or to return to Lebanon to fulfill their national duty.
A once contentious issue, expatriate voting is one of the few success stories of
electoral reform in Lebanon. The majority of draft laws that are currently being
discussed include the right of Lebanese living abroad to vote in the upcoming
parliamentary elections. The low turnout for voter registration has sparked
debate about the need to use limited resources for something that appears to
enjoy minimal support abroad.
Russia lifts nationals out of Syria. Moscow, Iran arm Assad
for major armored push
DEBKAfile Special Report January 21, 2013/The Russian emergency ministry said
Monday, Jan. 21 that it is sending two planes to Beirut to evacuate 100 Russians
from Syria - the first such effort since the uprising against Bashar Assad began
in March 2011. Moscow also announced contingency plans to lift 30,000 Russian
nationals from the embattled country. This evacuation of Russian nationals
starting Tuesday was decided after the Syrian high command received orders from
President Assad to organize mobile armored strike groups with massive fire power
for a big push to run the rebel forces out of the towns, villages and areas they
have captured, mostly in the north and southeast. debkafile’s military sources
report that, because they are in a hurry, the Syrian army chiefs decided to use
only seasoned officers and men with experience in active service against the
rebels, rather than new recruits who would need weeks of combat training. The
divisions or brigades holding the line in such trouble spots as Aleppo, Homs and
Deraa, are being depleted, some of their units detached for service in the new
armored strike groups. Our sources report that Iranian Revolutionary
Guards Corps officers are supervising the effort for what Assad sees as his
biggest assault yet to finally crush the revolt against his regime.
Its timing marks two fundamental developments in Syria’s bloody civil war:
1. The self-confidence of Assad and his top military staff is gaining in direct
contrast to the weakening of the insurgency. It was therefore decided in
Damascus that the time was ripe for a major offensive to push the rebels out of
the strategic areas from which they could threaten central government.
2. Western-Arab arms supplies to the rebels have slowed down steeply because the
funding from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAR has dried up. The high-grade
weapons still in rebel hands were mostly looted from Syrian army bases and
stores.
3. According to debkafile’s military sources, Russian officials up to the level
of President Vladimir Putin examined the Iranian-Syrian armored strike group
tactics and approved.
These developments, according to Western intelligence sources familiar with the
Syrian situation, explain the recently intensified coordination between Moscow,
Tehran and Damascus and the resulting accelerated flow of Russian and Iranian
weapons to the Syrian army.
Russian arms ships are lining up at the Syrian port of Tartus to unload their
freights, while Iranian air transports are touching down and taking off at speed
from Damascus and Aleppo military airports.
Arms deliveries are coming in aboard large Russian naval vessels, including the
Azov and Aklexander Shabalin landing craft, the amphibious Kaliningrad and
others.
To camouflage heir rapid movements in and out of Tartus, the Russian navy
Sunday, Jan. 20, announced a large-scale sea maneuver would take place in the
Mediterranean up until Jan. 29. None of the ships taking part in the drill were
identified except to say that they came from Russia’s Baltic, North and Black
Sea fleets.
Our military sources report that the Russian deliveries consist mainly of
armored vehicles, self-propelling recoilless guns, all-purpose vehicles for
rough terrain and a variety of missiles and rockets for combat in built-up areas
– all items clearly designed to outfit Assad’s new armored strike units.
Tehran, for its part, is sending ammo, spare parts for Syrian tanks and
artillery and missiles.
According to those sources, the Syrian army plans to kick off its new offensive
at Daraya, a small town near Damascus which is held by the Free Syrian Army.
Syria hands over DNA results on unknown Lebanese fighters
January 22, 2013 / PM The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Syria handed Lebanon DNA test results from the bodies of four men killed
by regime forces in Tal Kalakh late last year in a bid to identify them, General
Security said Tuesday. “As part of the mechanism adopted to repatriate the
bodies of Lebanese who were killed in Tal Kalakh, General Security received from
the Syrian authorities the results of DNA tests belonging to four people who
have not yet been identified,” the security agency said in a statement. It added
that the results will be “compared with test results that concerned agencies in
Lebanon have undertaken at the general directorate of the Internal Security
Forces.”
In late November, a group of fighters, all from north Lebanon, were killed in a
Syrian army ambush in Tal Kalakh, which is located near the Lebanese border.
Syria has so far repatriated 10 bodies.Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour has said
there were three survivors from the Tal Kalakh incident who are in detention and
under investigation by Syrian authorities.
We want to give terrorism a “knockout” blow-French official
By Michel Abu Najm/Asharq Al-Awsat
Paris/London, Asharq Al-Awsat—A high-level French official, speaking to Asharq
Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, revealed that France’s major objective
in Mali is to “strike a knockout blow against the terrorists” present on Malian
territory, adding this will allow the Malian government to restore its prestige
and regain control of the country. As for the next stage, the source called for
the “launch of the political track” in order to stabilize the situation in the
country.
Commenting on the developments and objectives on the ground in Mali, the French
official asserted that the current mission is to drive out the groups that Paris
has designated as terrorist organizations. These groups are in control of a
number of towns in northern Mali. The source said that this mission is on-going
at the present time, adding that the mission’s first objective had already been
fulfilled, namely to check the terrorist groups’ advance southwards and prevent
them from capturing the capital Bamako.
Paris considers itself “not alone” in this conflict, pointing to Germany sending
military planes to transport international and African troops, as well as Russia
offering to provide help in this regard. This is particularly significant as
France opposed the idea of sending troops to Libya during the Libyan revolution,
whilst Russia continues to oppose any military intervention in Syria.
The senior French official also denounced the position taken by France’s
opposition which has focused upon criticizing French President Francois
Hollande’s decision to unilaterally send troops to Mali rather than seek to
establish a European-international coalition. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that in
the end, after a short period of hesitation and only verbal and political
support for France’s mission, a number of European countries have committed—
during the meeting of EU foreign ministers—to provide material and logistical
support for the French forces, as well as the international African troops.
Paris is of the view that all of those who advised against military intervention
in Mali were afraid of this conflict being portrayed as racial, namely as “the
white man fighting against the black man”. However these expectations did not
come true, and many of those who previously opposed French military intervention
are now amongst its most vocal supporters, praising President Hollande’s
courageous decision in this regard.
The high-level French official also informed Asharq Al-Awsat that Algeria is set
to play a crucial role in this crisis, saying that he expects the Algerian’s
involvement in this conflict to increase, particularly as it is the main
regional power involved in this. The source also opined that the recent Algerian
hostage crisis “will push Algeria to increase its efforts to combat terrorism.”
In this regard, British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to send spy planes,
unmanned drones and Special Forces to Mali to contribute to the war effort.
Speaking before parliament, the British PM said that the UK must “act with an
iron resolve” to tackle the ‘generational struggle” against the “scourge of
terrorism” following the Algerian attack. He said “we will contribute British
intelligence and counter-terrorism assets to an international effort to find and
dismantle the network that planned and ordered the brutal assault.” He also
acknowledged that northern Africa’s Sahel region has become a “magnet for
jihadists who pose a threat to Britain.”
Malian forces regained control of the strategically important town of Douentza
on Monday. Douentza had been on the outer edge of Islamist rebel territory until
the militants expanded southwards earlier this month. The announcement that
Douentza was under government control came on the same day that French and
Malian forces were patrolling the streets of Diabaly after nearly a week of
Islamist rule.
France announced that approximately 1,000 African troops have been deployed to
Mali to take part in the military intervention. French military spokesman
Colonel Thierry Burkhard said that the soldiers come from Nigeria, Togo, Benin,
Niger, and Chad. For its part, France has deployed 2,150 soldiers in Mali and
this could exceed 2,500 at full deployment.
The New Obama: Hawk or Dove?
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/Asharq
Alawsat
It is true that Barack Obama remains the president, and he remains in the White
House; however the challenges that he will face will not remain the same. In
fact, these challenges will grow faster than his own children. I believe that
Obama will face greater foreign challenges than those he faced during his first
term in office, and these will even outstrip the challenges faced by his
predecessors since the era of George H. W. Bush.
During such difficult times it is good that we do not have to break in a new
president who would requires a “course” in Middle Eastern politics; this is
something that Obama has done every day over the past four years along with his
morning coffee. It is almost certain that regional politics will remain a big
part of his breakfast routine over the next four years, although perhaps the
only difference is that Obama’s morning coffee will taste bitterer in light of
expected developments. This includes the threat represented by Iran’s nuclear
ambitions, for example. This is an issue that each president left for their
successor to deal with until we have reached this point where President Obama
cannot afford to postpone dealing with this, particularly as Iran’s nuclear
program is on the cusp of inception. Therefore Obama has no choice but to
confront Iran, whether militarily or across the negotiations table. Within the
next four years, Iran will either have obtained nuclear arms, or have withdrawn
from seeking to possess such weapons. As such, we are confronted with two
possible scenarios a massive American war or a more ferocious Iran. Assad's
Syria often served as an irritating stumbling block; however this ultimately
represented a small obstacle in international and regional accounts. Over the
next four years, Syria could be the most dangerous country in the region—even
greater than the dangers posed by Iraq and Afghanistan combined—if control is
not imposed on the ground early and there is no smooth transition of power to
the civilian forces within the borders of a unified and stable country.
Al-Qaeda is present in the on-going conflict with Iran and Syria.
President Obama is aware that most Al-Qaeda leaders have been killed but
thousands of its followers are working tirelessly for the next phase of the war
on terror. This will be a bloodier period for the world as the terrorist
organization has becomes multinational, more skillful, and present in more
locations around the world despite the blows it received in battlefronts from
Iraq to Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda’s extremist ideology is spreading
and establishing itself in new areas, whilst our governments—following the Arab
Spring revolutions—are less capable, or perhaps less willing and prepared, to
confront this. The current conflict in Mali represents a small military exercise
compared to what we may see in other regions that are more attractive to
terrorists.
The repercussions of the political earthquakes that shook Tunisia, Libya, Egypt,
and Yemen are still being felt two year later. Who knows how long this will
continue and what problems within and beyond the Arab Spring countries remain.
Obama's second term will possibly be reconciliatory, particularly after John
Kerry and Chuck Hagel join his administration. This is positive, but who can
tell if the region will be in a reconciliatory mood?
A recipe to curb the Islamists' popularity
By Dr. Hamad Al-Majid/Asharq Alawsat
The popularity of the Islamists in all Arab states is unmistakable, and it has
been used by various Islamist currents as a tool to reach power through the
presidential and legislative elections in the countries of the Arab Spring. In
light of this, there is now a deep concern in other Arab states that the
Islamists there may achieve similar victories if elections were to be held.
The Gulf governments are capable of curtailing the Islamists' popularity because
this popularity does not stem from the achievements of the Islamists’ political
programs. They have yet to be properly tested in this regard, with the exception
of Turkey's successful experience and Sudan's failed one. Rather, the popularity
stems primarily from the failures of autocratic ruling regimes. We saw this in
the final rounds of the Egyptian presidential elections, between Mohamed Morsi
and Ahmed Shafiq. A considerable portion of the Egyptian people voted for
President Morsi not out of love for the Muslim Brotherhood but out of hatred for
the remnants of a corrupt, autocratic and failed regime. Even some of those who
voted for President Morsi because of his Islamist orientation have expressed
deep concern about the Muslim Brotherhood's political experience, which in the
past was limited to opposition, imprisonment, pursuits and detentions.
Gulf governments can get closer to their people by combating corruption,
expanding public participation in the management of state affairs, and by
reforming their media institutions to adopt a more conservative orientation. The
final point is what I will focus on today:
The Gulf states are in dire need of reforming their media policies in a manner
that ensures their official or semi-official media outlets become more
conservative. I do not mean this in the sense that they should become more
Islamic or religiously orientated, but rather I mean they must display the
minimum degree of moral and intellectual decency. Is there a relationship
between lax media policies and the popularity of the Islamists? The relationship
is clear; people detest any indecent media content, whether this is a moral or
intellectual breach, and many believe the solution lies in the hands of the
Islamist opposition. An initiative launched by Gulf governments to rectify their
media policies would be a pre-emptive strike that could lessen the impact of the
Islamists' criticism. This criticism against the Gulf media is often met with a
degree of acceptance by the Gulf people, and is also a reason why the Islamists'
programs gain votes.
The Mubarak regime insisted on clashing with the innate religious nature of its
people and refused to allow veiled news broadcasters to appear on television,
regardless of the fact that the overwhelming majority of women in Cairo are
veiled, let alone women in more conservative Egyptian cities. This policy was
not only unsuccessful, it produced adverse results. In Turkey, the extremist
Turkish army used militant tactics to ban the hijab from government circles and
universities for decades. However, the end result is that both the current
president and prime minister of Turkey are Islamists, and their wives wear the
hijab.