DEBKAfile Special Report July 3, 2013
In his tensely-awaited televised statement, Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Khalil Al-Sisi announced Wednesday night, July 3, that the head of the constitution court will act as provisional president and form an interim government of technocrats to run the country until early presidential and parliamentary elections. He was flanked by Christian, secular opposition and Muslim leaders. Al-Sisi said that all the army’s efforts to effect a national dialogue and reconciliation were welcomed by all factions and blocked by President Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood. On hearing the announcement, Tahrir Square exploded in a frenzy of fireworks and shouts of jubilation which quickly spread across Egypt.
Egypt’s military coup d’etat has been bloodless for now. President Mohamed Morsi was taken from his palace to a military barracks. Muslim Brotherhood officials were detained and issued with travel bans. Army tanks, APCs and troops, including commandos, are deployed at key facilities in the capital and positioned so as to seal off and separate rival groups of demonstrators. Muslim Brotherhood followers continue to stream into the city to join the pro-Morsi rally around Cairo University. Violence clashes have so far been averted.
Sources in Cairo report that top Muslim Brotherhood officials will be tried for “crimes” committed during their year in office. Prime Minister Hisham Kandil and the remaining ministers have left their offices with their possessions.
Defense minister Gen. El-Sisi spent the afternoon conferring with leading politicians and clerics. Muslim Brotherhood leaders refused to attend.
Tuesday night, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi rejected the Defense Minister‘s demand that he quit to avert a bloodbath. He said he stood by his “constitutional dignity and demanded the army’s withdrawal of its ultimatum. Sixteen people were killed in three separate violent clashes after the speech between supporters and opponents of the Islamist president. Another huge anti-government took place in Alexandria as well as other Egyptian cities.
Military circles indicated that to defuse the crisis the army would force the regime to transfer ruling authority to an interim council made up of citizens and technocrats and entrusted with drafting a new constitution and preparing early elections for president.
Those sources did not disclose what would happen to Morsi and whether he would stay on in the meantime as a figurehead president without executive powers.
President Morsi and the Muslim Brothers are hardly likely to lie down for this roadmap out of the crisis, because it would mean relinquishing power after just one year, at the end of decades of being pushed to the fringes of Egypt’s political scene.
But there is not much they can do. Their call to turn out and demonstrate for the Islamic flag Tuesday brought out their own followers and no one else, whereas the opposition is not only backed by millions of assorted groups but has now gained the support of the army, the police, the security service and the intelligence agency.
Tuesday morning, US President Barack Obama and Chief of US General Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey intervened in the Egyptian crisis early Tuesday, July 2, in an attempt to save the besieged President Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood. Obama called the Egyptian president and Gen. Dempsey phoned Chief of staff Gen. Sedki Sobhi, hoping to defuse the three-way crisis between the regime, the army and the protest movement before it gets out of hand.
The crash of Morsi’s presidency would seriously undermine the objectives of the Arab Revolt pursued by the Obama administration as the arch-stone of his Middle East policy.
The administration had earlier sought unsuccessfully to persuade the heads of the Egyptian army not to issue its 48-hour ultimatum to Egypt’s rulers “heed the will of the people” by Wednesday afternoon - or else the army would intervene. The Americans proposed instead to leave Morsi in place after stripping him of presidential authority and installing a transitional government to prepare the country for new elections to the presidency and parliament.
debkafile’s Middle East sources report that the army chiefs led by Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi rejected the American proposal.
Obama promised to back steps taken by President Morsi to show he is “responsive to the opposition’s concerns,” while Gen. Dempsey asked Egyptian generals to moderate their stand against the Muslim Brotherhood. The underlying message was that if they failed to do so, Washington might reconsider its $1.3 billion annual military assistance package which is the main source of income for the armed forces.
Heartened by the US president’s vote of support, Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamic allies, rejected the army’s ultimatum for resolving the country’s deadly crisis, saying it would sow confusion and ran contrary to the Egyptian constitution.
Morsi insisted he would stick to his own plans for national reconciliation.
His regime is meanwhile crumbling: Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr resigned early Tuesday, the sixth minister to quit the government in the last 24 hours. He follows the president’s military adviser Gen. Sami Anan, former chief of staff under President Hosni Mubarak. Senior judges and high police officers were seen taking part in the anti-government protest rallies of the last week.
Morsi and the Brotherhood now face two ultimatums: If by Tuesday afternoon, he has not agreed to step down and call an early election, the organizers of the protest movement, which has brought millions to the streets of Egyptian cities, will launch a relentless and anarchic campaign of civil disobedience. The defense minister says the army will intervene if the government fails “to heed the will of the people” by Wednesday afternoon.

By: Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Alawsat
It is unlikely that we are seeing in Egypt that which we have seen in Pakistan; generals seizing power at every national political crisis. No more generals will rule Egypt. Even former presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar al-Sadat and Hosni Mubarak engaged in civil governance once they left the military. Pakistan has been dominated by the military, which to this day continues to govern, both publicly and secretly.
When the January 25 revolution erupted, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi—then-defense minister and commander-in-chief of Egypt’s armed forces—could have prolonged Mubarak’s governance for a few weeks or months, or even aborted the revolution. However, it was Tantawi who acknowledged the aspirations of Egyptians on the streets, and he responded to them by toppling the president and forming a military council for governance.
It then became clear that the military was not prepared—it had neither an administrative plan for running a state, nor a political agenda for governance. The armed forces became the target of various political forces, and thus it chose to escape by holding presidential elections before a new constitution had even been drafted. The military handed governance to Mohammed Mursi, who beat their retired companion, Ahmed Shafiq.
The Muslim Brotherhood misread the military’s capability. This is because they thought the military had been neutralized when its two most powerful figures, Tantawi and Sami Anan, agreed not to touch the defense budget. What will the military—which appears to suffer from a justified sensitivity—do now that they fear being accused of staging a military coup? Instead of dealing with the presidency as a new experience to Egyptians, the Brotherhood has implemented the practices of the former presidencies; taking over prominent state positions in an operation dubbed “Brotherhoodization.” This has scared political parties, and caused concern within the military that blood will be spilled on the streets. The army has promised a roadmap to overcome the crisis. This means that it has to specify a date for new presidential elections. The most difficult, but necessary, task is to convince Islamist parties to participate in the political process, and reassure them that they are part of Egypt’s present and future.This is a necessity since the Brotherhood may refuse to accept constitutional amendments, early elections, or the potential new government. This would certainly make transition difficult. The Islamists—the Brotherhood and Salafists—have proven that they are a large political force that is hard to ignore.

 

DNA Tests Confirm Burned Bodies not that of Asir and Shaker
Naharnet/ Two charred bodies found in the southern city of Sidon in the aftermath of deadly gunbattles are not those of Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir and Fadel Shaker, a onetime prominent singer-turned Salafist, the state commissioner to the military court said Wednesday. Judge Saqr Saqr confirmed that DNA tests of al-Asir's and Shaker's families revealed that the bodies were neither of the Salafist cleric, nor of Shaker or his brother.
Saqr, who is overseeing the initial investigation carried out by the military intelligence into the fighting between Asir's armed supporters and the army in Abra near Sidon, ordered on Monday the release of nine people who had been arrested at the end of the battles. Thirty suspects remain in custody, the National News Agency reported Monday. The fighting, which was sparked late last month when Asir's supporters opened fire on an army checkpoint, left around 18 soldiers and more than 20 gunmen dead. The gunbattles concentrated in the area of Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque and nearby buildings. Al-Asir, a 45-year-old cleric who supports the overwhelmingly Sunni rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, is no where to be found along with Shaker. Asir teamed up with him when around two years ago he began agitating for Hizbullah to disarm.

Maronite Bishops: Armed Groups Must Lay down Their Weapons in Favor of Official Security Forces
Naharnet /The Maronite Bishops council condemned on Wednesday the spread of illegal arms in Lebanon, saying that it will only create chaos in the country. They said in a statement: “All armed groups must lay down their weapons in favor of official security forces.” The bishops made their remarks after their monthly meeting headed by Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi. “Political groups cannot rely on arms to achieve their goals, but they should do so through democratic means,” they declared.“Lebanon is passing through a critical phase and the people must adhere to coexistence in order to fortify their country,” they demanded. The bishops therefore called on all political powers to launch dialogue and respect the state and army. Commenting on the political deadlock, they lamented the parliament's failure to approve a new electoral law, saying that the extension of its mandate is an “unjustified” excuse to cover up this failure. They also demanded the formation of a new government capable of tackling the political disputes and easing the tensions. The parliament extended its mandate for 17 months after political powers failed to agree on a new electoral law, prompting the postponement of the elections to 2014. Addressing the Syrian crisis, the council condemned the intervention of any Lebanese power in the conflict regardless if it supports the regime or the rebels “because it violates Lebanon's sovereignty.” Eighteen soldiers were killed and 50 were wounded in clashes in Sidon between the army and armed supporters of Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir on June 22 and 23.

Mahmoud Abbas from Baabda: We Abide by Lebanon's Decision on Arms in Refugee Camps
Naharnet/..Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas assured on Wednesday abiding by the Lebanese cabinet's decision regarding the possession of arms in the country's refugee camps. "We abide by the Lebanese cabinet's decisions regarding Lebanon's safety and the possession of weapons in refugee camps,” Abbas said in a mutual press conference with his Lebanese counterpart in Baabda Palace. By long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter the country's 12 refugee camps, leaving security inside to the Palestinians themselves.
Abbas stated: “We do not interfere in others' countries issues and we stress on disassociating Palestinians from Lebanon's internal conflicts.”
Meanwhile, President Michel Suleiman revealed that there are Palestinians that are “individually taking part in the country's conflicts.”“It is for their and for Lebanon's best interests if they do not get involved,” Suleiman warned.
Suleiman praised efforts exerted to prevent the involvement of any Palestinian faction in the clashes of the southern city of Sidon. “We both agreed on the importance of not letting Palestinians slip into the internal Lebanese crises.”Abbas' visit to Lebanon comes days after fierce clashes took place between the army and gunmen supporting Salafist cleric Ahmed al-Asir in Sidon.
Located in the southern city, Ain el-Hilweh is the largest Palestinian camp in the country and home to about 50,000 refugees and is known to harbor extremists and fugitives.
Abbas declared in the press conference that the presence of refugees in Lebanon is "temporary," awaiting their return to Palestine. “No one among us believes in naturalization,' he expressed. Suleiman confirmed: “The naturalization of refugees will not take place.”
"I assured President Abbas that all Lebanese people support the refugees' right of returning back to Palestine.”
Regarding the Palestinian cause, Abbas stressed holding on to the two-state solution and considering Jerusalem as Palestine's capital.
“There are no other initiatives discussed other than the Arabic proposal,” he noted.Suleiman remarked: “We agree on not adopting a solution at Lebanon's expense.”.
The president told reporters that he reconstruction of the northern Nahr al-Bared is facing “obstacles.”
“We did not receive the money we had been promised for the reconstruction of the camp. We are facing obstacles but the construction plans and maps are ready,” he revealed. The clashes at Nahr al-Bared erupted in May 2007 and ended in September of that year with the army defeating al-Qaida-linked Fatah al-Islam militants who had taken up base at the camp.
Over 400 people, including 168 soldiers, were killed in the battles. At a dinner banquet thrown in Abbas' honor at the Baabda palace later on Wednesday, Suleiman said: "Today, we hail all the sacrifices of the military institution and this requires commitment to the Baabda Declaration and sparing Lebanon the policies of regional axes."
"We are worried over what's happening in Syria and let no one blame us for seeking to protect our domestic stability and condemning cross-border violations, whichever side they may come from," the president added.
He noted that among the "essential requirements" for stability in Lebanon is "protecting and organizing the ties with the Palestinians."
"Your cooperation in reining in groups that intervened in Sidon highlights your efforts to improve Lebanese-Palestinian ties," Suleiman said, addressing Abbas.
"We must remain committed to implementing the resolutions of the (Lebanese) national dialogue conference and addressing the issues of security and weapons inside the camps in a manner that protects the security of the state, the citizens and the refugees," added Suleiman.
The president lauded Abbas' "continuous efforts to implement these objectives," adding that the Lebanese government will "continue seeking to improve the refugees' living conditions while reminding of the responsibility that falls on UNRWA and the international community."For his part, Abbas said: "The Palestinians who reside in Lebanon are all guests who want to return to their country and are all under the law in the country that backed them in their plight." He reiterated the Palestinians' rejection of naturalization, "the thing that was mentioned in the Arab Peace Initiative which will not be changed or modified."
"Our homeland is Palestine and we do not accept any alternative and our presence in Lebanon is temporary. We stress our respect for Lebanon's territorial integrity and we count on the Lebanese government's protection of the security of Palestinians in Lebanon," said Abbas. "We are still committed to the choice of just and comprehensive peace and the two-state solution and we will only accept Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine," the Palestinian leader added. He stressed that the Palestinians are still committed to "the choice of just and comprehensive peace and the two-state solution." "We will only accept Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine," he added. "We are not party to any dispute or conflict that erupts here or there," he stressed.
 

Army Arrests Man Wanted on 37 Charges in Baalbeck
Naharnet /The army on Wednesday detained a man with 37 arrest warrants after raiding his residence in Baalbeck's al-Sharawina neighborhood. "Ali Youssef Jaafar was arrested on 37 charges that include shooting activities, robbery, kidnapping operations and drug dealing,” the Army Command's Orientation Directorate said in a communique. "The patrol found a great number of weapons, ammunition and military equipments in the arrested man's house and car.”The army also pointed out that it found fake car number plates, communication devices and tools used in kidnapping operations in Jaafar's possession. The military institution's communique added: “Investigation has started with the arrested man by the competent court.”

EU Ambassadors Visit Sidon to Extend Support Following Clashes
Naharnet /Ambassadors and representatives of the European Union visited on Wednesday Sidon to express support to the southern city and its officials in light of the recent clashes. Ambassadorsof Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, Bulgaria, Hungary and the United Kingdom accredited to Lebanon took part in the visit. Discussions focused on the latest events in Sidon as well as the difficult challenges faced by the citizens, including the impact of the Syrian crisis on the local economy and the growing number of Syrian refugees. Following the visit, Angelina Eichhorst said on behalf of the EU ambassadors and member states representatives: "Sidon and the area around have undergone a difficult period during the past months, marked by the latest security incidents.” “We extend our deepest sympathy to the families of the victims, to the Lebanese Armed Forces and to all those who have suffered from violence during the clashes,” she added. “We believe that all those who resort to violence should be held to account. We are here today to show that we are behind the people of Sidon and extend our support to all those working to de-escalate tensions through dialogue and peaceful means,” she stressed. The European Union strongly supports all institutions in their efforts to preserve peace and security. “We reiterate our commitment to Lebanon's unity, sovereignty and independence. We urge once again all parties to abide by the commitments made in the Baabda Declaration,” remarked Eichhorst. The EU delegation met with the Governor of South Lebanon Nicolas Abou Daher, the President of the Municipality of Sidon Mohamad Al Seoudi, Mufti Salim Sousan, Mufti Mohamad Osseiran, Bishop Elie Haddad and Bishop Elias Kfoury, as well as with the representative of the President of the Municipality of Abra Elie Mushantaf and General Ali Shahrour from the Lebanese Armed Forces.  Eighteen soldiers were killed and 50 were wounded in clashes in Sidon between the army and armed supporters of Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir on June 22 and 23.

Nasrallah: Rise of Security Incidents Aim at Curbing Movement of the Resistance
إNaharnet/Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah considered that the recent security incidents across Lebanon aim at curbing the movement of the resistance and plunging it in the local political disputes.
Nasrallah stressed, according to al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Wednesday, that the extremist phenomenon that Lebanon has been witnessing lately are backed and funded by known Arab countries.
The party leader pointed out during a meeting with senior Hizbullah officials that such acts aim at creating sedition between Sunnis and Shiites, reiterating that Hizbullah is trying to avoid it.
Since the eruption of Syria's clashes in 2011, Lebanon has been witnessing several security incidents in Tripoli, along the Lebanese-Syrian border and in several other regions. Concerning the situation in the neighboring country Syria, Nasrallah addressed the rise of the Takfiri groups. He said that the conflict in Syria will be prolonged but the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad will emerge victorious. Hizbullah is a key ally of Assad and has dispatched fighters to battle alongside the Syrian army against rebels seeking to overthrow him.  The party's intervention has raised tensions in Lebanon, where many Sunnis back the Sunni-led uprising against Assad, whose Alawite faith is an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

Aoun Meets Suleiman in Baabda for First Time in Several Months
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman on Wednesday held talks with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun at the Baabda palace, in the first meeting between the two men since several months.
The former army commanders discussed “the current political and security developments,” state-run National News Agency reported. Aoun and Suleiman had been at loggerheads over the appointment of civil servants in posts reserved for Christians. The two locked horns over the presidency of the Higher Judicial Council despite all attempts to reconcile their viewpoints.  A dispute between Suleiman and ministers loyal to Aoun prompted the president to wrap up a cabinet session held at the Baabda Palace on March 15. The argument erupted over the renewal of the mandate of the head of the Center for Educational Research and Development Leila Fayyad. The major dispute broke out when Suleiman rejected the controversial draft electoral law proposed by the Orthodox Gathering and endorsed by Aoun. Recently, Aoun's relations with his allies in the March 8 camp have grown cold over a number of domestic issues. On Tuesday, the FPM leader held talks with Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri.

Report: FPM, Hizbullah Ties 'Normal' Despite Differences
Naharnet /The Free Patriotic Movement and Hizbullah have been keen to rule out any rift amid media reports highlighting sharp differences between the close allies over several issues including the extension of Army Chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji's tenure. Sources close to Hizbullah told As Safir newspaper published on Wednesday that the ties with FPM chief MP Michel Aoun are “normal.”The sources pointed out that a phone conversation between Hizbullah Liaison and Coordination Officer Wafiq Safa and Aoun on Tuesday night came in the context of the continuous coordination between the two officials. “Hizbullah is convinced that the alliance with Aoun is deeper than minor disputes,” the sources added. Aoun considered for his part the visit of Saudi Ambassador Ali Awadh Asiri to Rabieh on Tuesday “doesn't aim at irritating anyone,” denying that it came in light of the dispute with Hizbullah over the extension of Qahwaji's term.Disputes between the FPM and Hizbullah emerged after Aoun openly opposed the extension of Qahwaji's term while Hizbullah never made such a position. Qahwaji's term ends this September when he turns 60, the maximum age for the post of the army commander. FPM caretaker Energy Minister Jebran Bassil described in comments published in An Nahar newspaper the visit of Asiri as “positive.”“Our allies must not by irritated of the matter... These meetings bridge the gap with the local foes and the regional sponsors,” Bassil said. He pointed out that when the FPM allies hold talks with any rival party, the FPM considers the matter a “positive initiative.”

Salam's Cabinet Formation Efforts Frozen over Parliament Session Dispute
Naharnet/Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam froze his attempts to form the new government, which he launched after the extension of parliament's mandate end of May, his sources said Wednesday.
The freeze came against the backdrop of a dispute between Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Premier Najib Miqati, who has refused to attend a parliamentary session amid a resigned cabinet.
Salam is still hinging on the awareness of politicians on the dangerous stage and the need for a new cabinet that ends the current row, the sources told several newspapers.
“Had there been a government with full authorities, these new crises wouldn't have erupted,” they added.
The sources stressed however that Salam would not wait till September to form his cabinet, a hint that he would announce a “fait accompli” government.
Baabda palace sources also said that the only way to end the crisis on the constitutionality of the parliamentary session is the immediate formation of a new government.
The row on the constitutionality of the session that Berri had call for on Monday erupted after the March 14 alliance bloc MPs and the Change and Reform bloc of MP Michel Aoun refused to attend it.
Berri postponed the three-day session to July 16 after March 14 and Miqati claimed that the speaker cannot ask parliament to convene to discuss not important issues amid a resigned cabinet.
They said only the extension of the term of Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji was worthy to hold a session.
 

March 14: Whole of Lebanon Was Targeted in Sidon Clashes
Naharnet /The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday the recent clashes in the southern city of Sidon, refuting accusations that the alliance was supporting Salafist movements in Lebanon.
It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “We stand against such groups … Sidon has been an example of Muslim-Christian coexistence.” On claims that the Sunni sect was being targeted in the unrest, it said: “The whole of Lebanon and its population were the victims.”“We deserve a productive state and army,” added the March 14 General Secretariat. Eighteen soldiers were killed and 50 were wounded in clashes in Sidon between the army and armed supporters of Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir on June 22 and 23. Commenting on the political deadlock in Lebanon, the general secretariat voiced its confidence that Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam would be able to succeed in forming a new government. President Michel Suleiman and Salam enjoy the complete support of the Lebanese people in their mission, it stressed. It blamed Hizbullah's involvement in the Syrian crisis for obstructing the government formation efforts, as well as its “placing of preconditions that are rejected by the Lebanese people.” The Hizbullah-led March 8 camp has been demanding that it be granted veto power in a new cabinet. Salam has repeatedly rejected this suggestion, saying that such a power renders a government ineffective.
 

Mustaqbal Rejects Army's 'Threats and Preaching': Hizbullah Only Responsible for Current Situation
Naharnet /Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc stated on Tuesday that Hizbullah is the “only party to be held responsible for what Lebanon is going through” because of its involvement in the Syrian conflict.
"Hizbullah, its weapons and its militia's involvement in the Syrian war are responsible for what Lebanon is going through,” the lawmakers said in a released statement after their weekly meeting at the Center House.
They questioned Hizbullah's role in last month's clashes of the southern city of Sidon, accusing the party of encouraging strife in the country. "Has Hizbullah's role transformed into moving its Shabiha between (the Syrian border town of) al-Qusayr, Beirut and Sidon?,” the MPs asked. “We demand answers regarding the party's involvement in Sidon through a transparent probe.”Restating its support for the army in its mission of preserving security, the bloc, however, criticized the military institution's statements of “threats and preaching.”“What were the measures and punishments adopted against those who assaulted (Salafist cleric Ahmed al-Asir's supporter) Nader al-Bayoumy? What is the truth behind the behavior of the head of the army intelligence's office and the military police officials in the South before and after the clashes?”On Thursday, the army handed over to the military police soldiers suspected of humiliating and beating a man suspected of ties to Asir.The body was identified as Nader al-Bayoumy, whom the Association of Muslim Scholars said had "handed himself in" after the Abra clash.
The statement stressed: "The bloc and the Lebanese people demand honest and quick answers to these questions as well as holding parties accountable.”"We reject the army's unacceptable statements of threats and preaching.” Al-Mustaqbal also criticized the military institution for “preventing journalists from doing their job” in Sidon. The lawmakers assured that they abide by the articles of the memo submitted by Sidon MPs Bahia Hariri and Fouad Saniora to President Michel Suleiman."We are still waiting for a security plan to transform Sidon into a city free of arms and party slogans,” they noted.The memo demands the referral of the case of the Sidon clashes to the Judicial Council and the prevention of all armed activities in the city. It also urged the removal of all political flags from the city and the closure of all offices belonging to “armed groups.” The bloc reiterated its support for a “fair, civil and democratic state that is based on religious coexistence.”“We consider that Lebanon's legitimacy can only be manifested if it is based on military and security bodies protecting citizens and strengthening stability,” it added. “The army in this respect is on the frontlines.”The statement pointed out: “Political efforts must focus on confronting the possession of arms in the country.”The MPs also discussed the security situation in the northern city of Tripoli.“We condemn the armed presence in the city and we call for prosecuting the outlaws,” they said.

Resistance, Syria Reforms Led by Assad
Naharnet/Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Rokn-Abadi announced on Wednesday that he had agreed with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun to support the resistance against the 'Zionist agendas in the region.”He said after holding talks with the MP at Rabieh: “We also agreed to support Syria's people, government, and leadership.” “We stand by the people's will to implement reform led by President Bashar Assad,” he added. Addressing local developments, the ambassador stressed Iran's keenness on Lebanon's security and the people's support of the resistance. “All sides are the victims of the Israeli agenda aimed at spreading strife throughout the world, especially in the Middle East,” Abadi remarked. Informed by reporters after the meeting that his visit comes a day after Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri held talks with Aoun, he responded that his visit to the MP was scheduled a week ago. Abadi and Aoun also discussed the recent presidential election in Iran. Aoun was recently asked in a newspaper interview if he was seeking to reconsider his ties with Hizbullah, to which he replied: “Relations are reconsidered when they become very strained.”

Abadi Meets Aoun: We Agreed to Support the Corpse Dating to 1982 Found at Beaufort Castle
Naharnet/The employees of the Directorate General of Antiquities on Wednesday found remnants of a corpse dating to more than 30 years ago while conducting maintenance works at Beaufort Castle (al-Shaqif Fortress) near the southern town of Arnoun, state-run National News Agency reported. “At once, army intelligence agents from the Nabatiyeh department and members of the Internal Security Forces headed to the location accompanied by Nabatiyeh's forensic doctor Jamal Ello, who examined the remnants that turned out to be consisted of a leg bone and foot bones,” NNA said. A military shirt, shoes and socks were found alongside the body of the man who, according to the forensic, died at 30. “The remnants likely belong to a gunman who died in clashes between Palestinian and Lebanese fighters at the fortress during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon,” the forensic doctor said.
The remnants were transferred to the public prosecution in Nabatiyeh, which in turn sent them to the central forensic laboratory in Beirut for DNA tests, “especially that there are names for Palestinian and Lebanese fighters who went missing at the fortress during the Israeli invasion,” the agency added. Beaufort, or Qalaat al-Shaqif in Arabic, is a Crusader fortress in the Nabatiyeh governorate, about one kilometer from the town of Arnoun.
The castle's strategic location, which affords a view of much of southern Lebanon and northern Israel, has caused it to be a focus for recent conflicts. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) held the castle from 1976 onwards, during the Lebanese Civil War and consequentially it was attacked dozens of times by Israeli forces in the space of five years. On June 6, 1982, at the start of the Israeli invasion, the PLO position on Beaufort Castle was heavily shelled by Israel before it was captured by Israeli forces two days later. The fighting caused damage to the castle, and in the aftermath the Israeli army adapted the site for their own use by building bunkers.
In 2000 the Israeli army left Beaufort as it withdrew from southern Lebanon. The Israeli occupation of Beaufort provides the basis of the Israeli film Beaufort, although the film itself was shot on the Golan Heights.

Egypt Army Chief Ousts Morsi
Naharnet/The Egyptian army toppled Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday after a week of bloodshed that killed nearly 50 people as millions took to the streets to demand an end to his turbulent single year of rule.
The announcement, made on state television by Morsi's own defense minister, armed forces chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, drew a rapturous welcome from the protesters who have camped out on the streets of Cairo for days. Sisi also announced a freezing of the Islamist-drafted constitution and early presidential elections.
Thousands of people immediately took to the streets of the capital to celebrate, cheering, whistling, letting off firecrackers, and honking car horns in joyous scenes.
But Morsi's office rejected the move as "illegal" and called on Egyptians to peacefully resist the "coup."
Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, came under massive pressure in the run-up to Sunday's anniversary of his maiden year in office, with his opponents accusing him of failing the 2011 revolution by concentrating power in Islamist hands. The embattled 62-year-old proposed a "consensus government" as a way out of the country's worst crisis since the 2011 uprising ended three decades of authoritarian rule by Hosni Mubarak.
But the United States urged Morsi to "do more" as a military deadline passed for him to meet the demands of the people following a week of bloody unrest during mass protests calling for him to quit.
The advice came too late, however, as the army said the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Adly al-Mansour, a previously little known judge, would become the new leader of the Arab world's most populous country. Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief, and the heads of the Coptic Church and al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning, sat alongside the armed forces chief as he announced Morsi's overthrow on state television.
The choreography was designed to show broad civilian support for the military's move to topple Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected leader, dashing the hopes of supporters who had seen his elevation to the presidency after years underground as one of the key achievements of the 2011 revolution. Morsi's camp had earlier denounced the army's intervention as a coup. "For the sake of Egypt and for historical accuracy, let's call what is happening by its real name: military coup," Essam al-Haddad, Morsi's national security adviser, said in a statement on Facebook.
As tension mounted and crowds poured onto the streets to demand Morsi's resignation, Haddad said: "As I write these lines I am fully aware that these may be the last lines I get to post on this page."
AFP correspondents reported seeing dozens of armoured personnel carriers heading towards Islamist gatherings at Cairo University, Heliopolis and Nasr City.
But in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the security forces looked on as tens of thousands of anti-Morsi protesters rallied in a demonstration that dwarfed that of the embattled president's supporters in Nasr City, on the opposite side of town. "Come here O Sisi, Morsi isn't my president," the flag-waving protesters chanted in the square, referring to the army chief. The crowd swelled at nightfall, after a scorching day that saw police officers hand out water to the demonstrators in the middle of Tahrir, epicenter of the 2011 uprising that ended three decades of authoritarian rule by Hosni Mubarak. The powerful military had issued a 48-hour deadline on Monday for Morsi to meet the "people's demands", a day after millions of protesters took to the streets across the troubled country calling for him to resign. Thousands of people also gathered in Nasr City in a show of support for Morsi, despite an attack that killed 16 of them and injured 200 overnight.
That spate of bloodletting took to almost 50 the number of people killed in Egypt since the latest crisis flared a week ago ahead of Sunday's anniversary of Morsi's swearing-in.
Opponents accuse Morsi of having betrayed the revolution by concentrating power in Islamist hands and of sending the economy into freefall. His supporters said he inherited many problems, and that he should be allowed to see out his mandate, which had been supposed to run until 2016. In a late night speech on Tuesday, a defiant Morsi said he had been freely elected more than a year ago and intended to carry on his duties. The only alternative was more bloodshed.
Upping the stakes, senior armed forces commanders meeting on Wednesday swore to defend Egypt with their lives, a source close to the military told AFP.
"We swear to God that we will sacrifice our blood for Egypt and its people against all terrorists, extremists and the ignorant," they declared in an oath led by General Sisi, the source said.
Egypt's press had predicted Wednesday would be the day of Morsi's departure. "Today: Ouster or Resignation," splashed the state-owned mass circulation al-Ahram newspaper. "The End," declared the independent al-Watan. Aside from Tahrir, Nasr City and a few other areas, Cairo's streets were unusually quiet, with many choosing to stay home over fears of more violence.
"The Islamists declared war on the rest of the population yesterday. I'm very scared," said resident Soha Abdelrahman.
All eyes were on the military, after al-Ahram reported details of the its roadmap for the future.
The plan provides for an interim administration, of up to one year, which would include the head of the supreme constitutional court and a senior army figure.
The constitution, controversially approved by Morsi's Islamist allies in December, would be suspended for up to 12 months while a new one was drawn up and put to a referendum, before presidential and parliamentary elections.Source/Naharnet.

Muslim, Christian leaders back Egypt transition
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's leading Muslim and Christian clerics backed an army-sponsored roadmap on Wednesday which suspended the constitution and called for early presidential and parliamentary elections.
Ahmed al-Tayeb, Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Cairo's ancient seat of Muslim learning, and Pope Tawadros, the head of the Coptic Church, both made brief statements following an announcement by the head of the armed forces that deposed the elected president, Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood. Tawadros said the plan offered a political vision and would ensure security for all Egyptians, about 10 percent of whom are Christian.
(Reporting by Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

Egypt army topples president, announces transition
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/egypts-mursi-defies-army-plots-future-without-him-010721364.html
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's armed forces overthrew elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday and announced a political transition with the support of a wide range of political, religious and youth leaders.
After a day of drama in which tanks and troops deployed near the presidential palace as a military deadline for Mursi to yield to mass protests passed, the top army commander announced on television that the president had "failed to meet the demands of the Egyptian people".
Flanked by political and religious leaders and top generals, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced the suspension of the Islamist-tinged constitution and a roadmap for a return to democratic rule under a revised rulebook.
[ Complete coverage: Political Unrest in Egypt ]
The president of the supreme constitutional court will act as interim head of state, assisted by an interim council and a technocratic government until new presidential and parliamentary elections are held.
"Those in the meeting have agreed on a roadmap for the future that includes initial steps to achieve the building of a strong Egyptian society that is cohesive and does not exclude anyone and ends the state of tension and division," Sisi said in a solemn address broadcast live on state television.
After he spoke, hundreds of thousands of anti-Mursi protesters in central Cairo's Tahrir Square erupted into wild cheering, setting off fireworks and waving flags. Cars drove around the capital honking their horns in celebration.
But a statement published in Mursi's name on his official Facebook page after Sisi's speech said the measures announced amounted to "a full military coup" and were "totally rejected".
The Arab world's most populous nation has been in turmoil since the fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak as Arab Spring uprisings took hold in early 2011, arousing concern among allies in the West and in Israel, with which Egypt has a 1979 peace treaty.
The Muslim Brotherhood president, in office for just a year, was at a Republican Guard barracks surrounded by barbed wire, barriers and troops, but it was not clear whether he was under arrest. The state newspaper Al-Ahram said the military had told Mursi at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT) that he was no longer head of state.
"TERRORISTS AND FOOLS"
Military chiefs, vowing to restore order in a country racked by protests over Mursi's Islamist policies, earlier issued a call to battle in a statement headlined "The Final Hours". They said they were willing to shed blood against "terrorists and fools".
Armored vehicles took up position outside the state broadcasting headquarters on the Nile River bank, where soldiers patrolled the corridors and non-essential staff were sent home.
In another show of force, several hundred soldiers with armored vehicles staged a parade near the presidential palace, and security sources said Mursi and the entire senior leadership of his Muslim Brotherhood were banned from leaving the country.
Security sources told Reuters the authorities had sent a list of at least 40 leading members of the Brotherhood to airport police.
In a last-ditch statement a few minutes before the deadline, Mursi's office said a coalition government could be part of a solution to overcome the political crisis. But opposition parties refused to negotiate with him and met instead with the commander of the armed forces.
The Brotherhood's Egypt25 television station had broadcast live coverage of a rally of tens of thousands of Mursi supporters, even as the army moved tanks into position to prevent them from marching on the presidential palace or the Republican Guard barracks.
U.S. oil prices rose to a 14-month high above $100 a barrel partly on fears that unrest in Egypt could destabilize the Middle East and lead to supply disruption.
The massive anti-Mursi protests showed that the Brotherhood had not only alienated liberals and secularists by seeking to entrench Islamic rule, notably in a new constitution, but had also angered millions of Egyptians with economic mismanagement.
Tourism and investment have dried up, inflation is rampant and fuel supplies are running short, with power cuts lengthening in the summer heat and motorists spending hours fuelling cars.
Earlier, Mursi's spokesman said it was better that he die in defense of democracy than be blamed by history.
"It is better for a president, who would otherwise be returning Egypt to the days of dictatorship, from which God and the will of the people has saved us, to die standing like a tree," spokesman Ayman Ali said, "Rather than be condemned by history and future generations for throwing away the hopes of Egyptians for establishing a democratic life."
Liberal opponents said a rambling late-night television address by Mursi showed he had "lost his mind".
The official spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood said supporters were willing to become martyrs to defend Mursi.
"There is only one thing we can do: we will stand in between the tanks and the president," Gehad El-Haddad told Reuters at the movement's protest encampment in a Cairo suburb that houses many military installations and is near the presidential palace.
The country's two main religious leaders, the head of the Al-Azhar Islamic institute and the Coptic Pope, both expressed their support for the army's roadmap in speeches after Sisi, as did the main liberal opposition leader, Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei.
(Reporting by Asma Alsharif, Alexander Dziadosz, Shaimaa Fayed, Maggie Fick, Alastair Macdonald, Shadia Nasralla, Tom Perry, Yasmine Saleh, Paul Taylor, Ahmed Tolba and Patrick Werr in Cairo, Abdelrahman Youssef in Alexandria, Yursi Mohamed in Ismailia and Phil Stewart in Washington; Writing by Paul Taylor; Editing by Peter Millership and Giles Elgood)
 

Key Events from Mubarak's Fall to Morsi's Ouster
Naharnet/

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/89276-key-events-from-mubarak-s-fall-to-morsi-s-ouster

Key events in Egypt, from the revolt which toppled president Hosni Mubarak in 2011 to the ouster of his successor Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday after four days of massive popular protests.
--2011--
JANUARY
- 25: Egypt protests erupt, involving thousands of demonstrators, after a revolt topples Tunisia's ruler. The protests are centered in Cairo's Tahrir Square, but involve more than a million people nationwide on February 1.
FEBRUARY
- 11: Mubarak resigns and hands power to the army led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi. About 850 people die in the unrest.
- 12: Promising a peaceful transition to democracy, the army suspends the constitution and dissolves parliament.
MARCH
- 3: The army sacks prime minister Ahmed Shafiq and replaces him with Essam Sharaf.
- 15: The army disbands Mubarak's hated security police.
- 19: Egyptians widely approve a new constitution.
JUNE
- 28-29: More than 1,000 hurt as protesters and police clash in Tahrir Square.
NOVEMBER
- 19: Start of week-long clashes between police and anti-military demonstrators that leave 42 dead.
- 28: Egypt holds the first stage of its first post-revolt parliamentary election. Islamist parties win about two-thirds of the seats, of which half go to the Muslim Brotherhood.
--2012--
FEBRUARY
- 1: Riots kill 74 people after a Port Said football match.
JUNE
- 2: Mubarak and former interior minister Habib al-Adly sentenced to life in prison for the deaths of protesters during the revolt.
- 30: Mohammad Morsi, who won the presidential election with 51.7 percent of the vote, is sworn in, becoming Egypt's first civilian and Islamist ruler.
AUGUST
- 12: Morsi scraps a constitutional document which handed sweeping powers to the military and ousts Tantawi.
NOVEMBER
- 22: Morsi decrees sweeping new powers for himself. He annuls the decree on December 8.
DECEMBER
- 15 and 22: 64 percent of voters in the two-round referendum back the new constitution, after a vote which the opposition says is tainted.
Egypt plunges into a deep political crisis, with demonstrations by supporters and opponents of Morsi turning into sometimes deadly clashes.
--2013--
JANUARY
- 24: Violence between demonstrators and police on the eve of the second anniversary of the 2011 uprising. Nearly 60 people die in a week.
JUNE
- 2: Egypt's highest court invalidates the Islamist-dominated Senate, which assumed a legislative role when parliament was dissolved, and a panel that drafted the constitution.
- 30: Massive demonstrations as Egyptians respond to a call by the Tamarod ("rebellion") campaign and take to the streets nationwide to oust the leader on the anniversary of his turbulent first year in power.
JULY
- 1: The opposition gives Morsi a day to quit or face civil disobedience. Tamarod calls on "the army, the police and the judiciary to clearly side with the popular will as represented by the crowds."
The armed forces warn that it will intervene if the people's demands are not met within 48 hours.
- 2: Gunmen kill 16 people and wound 200 others at a Cairo rally supporting Morsi.
- 3: Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousts Morsi and declares the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court caretaker leader.
Sisi also announces a freezing of the Islamist-drafted constitution and early presidential elections. Morsi speaks of a "coup."
Source/Agence France Presse