LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 08/2013

Bible Quotation for today
Paul's Letter to the Ephesians 5/1-4: "Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children. Walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance. But sexual immorality, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be mentioned among you, as becomes saints; nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not appropriate; but rather giving of thanks."

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources

Peres Urges EU to Brand Hizbullah Terror Group
Naharnet/Israeli President Shimon Peres on Thursday urged the EU to brand Hizbullah a terrorist group, as failing to do so would only encourage it to expand its operations.
Peres said Hizbullah, which the EU has so far declined to put on a list of international terrorist groups, was now intervening directly in Syria against rebels opposed to President Bashar Assad and so was spreading its reach.
"If you do not take measures against Hizbullah, then they may think that they are permitted" to do what they like, he said after a meeting with European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso.
"I know this is not the EU's intention," he said, in reply to a question about Europe's stand. Peres said he hoped that Hizbullah "is called to order ... It should be stopped, it is terror ... it does not have any other name." Barroso said that designating Lebanon's Hizbullah, as a terrorist group required careful assessment and was first and foremost a decision for member states. "We are extremely concerned," Barroso said, highlighting an attack last year on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria which Sofia has blamed on Hizbullah. The issue is sensitive given sharp differences between EU members -- Britain is in favor of blacklisting the Hizbullah military wing but France and Italy believed reluctant -- and U.S. pressure for change. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has urged the bloc to follow Washington's lead on Hizbullah so as to help crack down on its fund-raising activities.
Hizbullah has been on a U.S. terror blacklist since 1995 after a series of anti-American attacks, including the bombing of the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut in the 1980s.
Peres and Barroso were also asked about Iran, a key backer for Hizbullah, and whether sanctions were doing enough to rein in a nuclear program which Israel and the West fears is aimed at producing atomic bombs.
The Israeli president said "my own impression is that the sanctions did more than was expected" but were still not enough and all options had to be left on the table – U.S. President Barack Obama's position. "We have to continue" the sanctions, Peres said, adding that the problem in Iran was not just its nuclear ambitions but its violation of human rights and backing for international terrorism.
"All this should be stopped," preferably by economic and political means, he added. Barroso stressed the EU's key role as the lead partner for the '5+1' Group -- the United States, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany -- in talks with Iran. "We are indeed making a very great effort on this difficult issue," he said. Recent EU-led talks with Iran were said to have been more positive, with another round set for next month, but earlier this week the '5+1' powers said they were "deeply concerned" at Tehran's latest upgrades of its nuclear facilities.
Agence France Presse

Cyprus trial of Hezbollah member wraps up
March 07, 2013/By Menelaos Hadjicostis/Daily Star
LIMASSOL, Cyprus: The trial of a Hezbollah member accused of preparing attacks on Israelis in Cyprus concluded on Thursday with final summations submitted to the court in writing, though the court asked defense and prosecution lawyers to clarify specific parts of their argments. The court said it will render its verdict on March 21. Defense lawyer Antonis Georgiades, speaking after court adjourned, said he believed prosecutors have not proved a case against his client, Hossam Taleb Yaacoub.Yaacoub, a 24-year-old Swedish-Lebanese citizen, has pleaded not guilty to eight charges including conspiracy and participation in a criminal organization.
Although Yaacoub admits to being a loyal Hezbollah member who worked for the Shiite militant group in Europe, he denies being part of any plot to attack Israelis on the east Mediterranean island. Bulgarian authorities have accused Hezbollah of mounting the July 18 bus bombing in Bulgaria that killed five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian bus driver. Yacoub was arrested days before the bombing, though prosecutors have not sought to connect him with the Bulgarian attack. The United States has declared Hezbollah a terrorist organization, but the 27-nation European Union has not. Cyprus is an EU member and if Yaacoub is convicted, it could raise pressure on the EU to change its stance toward Hezbollah. Cyprus is popular with Israeli tourists, especially those seeking civil marriages. Yaacoub said that he traveled to Cyprus using his Swedish passport several times on business to buy local juice but also to collect information sought by his Hezbollah handler in Lebanon, including the arrival times of an Israeli flight to the island's main airport at Larnaca. He said he used a code to note the license plate numbers of two buses transporting passengers from the Israeli flight, as well as casing a Limassol hotel where Israeli tourists are known to stay. Yaacoub insisted he didn't know what the information was for and that he was not part of a group planning an attack. Prosecutors say Yaacoub knowingly conspired with others to "abduct a person for the purpose of subjecting him to harm or attacking him to cause grievous bodily harm," and that he was prepared to carry out missions around the world against Israelis on Hezbollah's orders.

Judge Demands Death Penalty for Hizbullah Member over Harb Murder Attempt
Naharnet/Military Examining Magistrate Fadi Sawan asked for the death penalty against a Hizbullah member in the attempted assassination of Batroun MP Butros Harb.Sawan's request against Mahmoud al-Hayek, who hasn't surrendered to police, came in an indictment he issued Thursday. He also issued an arrest warrant against him and referred the file to the permanent military court for trial. State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr asked on Wednesday for a sentence of life in prison with hard labor for al-Hayek who has been charged with the assassination attempt on Harb last year and with carrying out acts of terror. Harb, a March 14 opposition lawmaker, escaped the assassination bid after residents of a building in which his office is located in the Beirut district of Badaro discovered individuals trying to booby-trap the elevator. A string of high-level assassinations struck Lebanon between 2004 and 2008, targeting political, media and security figures who vocally opposed the Syrian government, including former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri who was killed in a powerful car bomb blast in February 2005.

Mansour Plays Down Criticism over Syria Remarks at Arab League
Naharnet/Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour pointed out on Thursday that his speech at a meeting of Arab foreign ministers held in Cairo was chosen carefully by him, stressing that he is keen to preserve Lebanon's best interest.
“I will not hesitate in saying my opinion frankly... If some officials have some matters they want to settle with me, then I'm ready,” Mansour told reporters after arriving at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International airport returning from Egypt. Mansour called in his speech as he was preparing to hand over the chairmanship of the Arab Ministerial Council to Egypt on Wednesday for scrapping a decision to suspend the membership of Syria from the Arab League. The minister's statement drew the rejection of several officials locally including Prime Minister Najib Miqati, who stressed that Lebanon is committed to the dissociation policy.
“I choose my speech and every word in it carefully,” the minister said. “My statements didn't require all this fuss... Syria was one of the founding states of the Arab League,” Mansour said.
He pointed out that scrapping the decision would lead to reviving discussions between the Arab states and Syria over ways to end the turmoil in it. The Arab League suspended Syria in November 2011 as a sharp rebuke for Assad's leadership over its brutal crackdown on demonstrators seeking to topple his regime. It said at the time the suspension would apply until Assad implemented an Arab deal to end violence against protesters.
A year later, the League recognized the Syrian National Coalition headed by Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib as the "legitimate representative and main interlocutor with the Arab League.
“The Lebanese state is holding onto the disassociation policy... But I cannot disassociate myself from the risks that are threatening my country,” Mansour stated. The FM said that giving the right to countries to export arms to Syria will only affect the neighboring countries, in particular, Lebanon. “This matter will affect all the Lebanese and not a specific faction,” Mansour said. A final statement issued at the end of the Arab ministerial meeting said they had "stressed the right of each state according to its wishes to offer all types of self defense, including military, to support the resilience of the Syrian people and the Free (Syrian) Army."

Mansour adhered to disassociation at Arab meet: Hezbollah
March 07, 2013/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Hezbollah defended Thursday Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour over allegations he had deviated from Lebanon’s policy on the crisis in Syria during a recent Arab League meeting in Egypt. “[Mansour’s speech] at the recent meeting of Arab foreign ministers reflects ... the official Lebanese stance that it agreed on in terms of dissociating itself from the Syria crisis,” Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad said, according to a statement from the resistance group. Raad, who heads the Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc, added that Mansour’s speech had “urged all sides to rely on a political solution that preserves Syria’s unity, safeguards its stability and meets the demands of its people without interference into its affairs from the outside.”Mansour came under fire at home Wednesday after he urged the Arab League during a meeting in Cairo to rescind its 2011 decision to suspend Syria as a member of the regional organization. Most of the criticism came from Lebanon’s opposition, which accused Mansour of working on behalf of Damascus. Lebanon has a self-avowed policy of dissociating itself from regional developments. Rival Lebanese political leaders also agreed at a National Dialogue session in 2011 to abide by the “Baabda Declaration,” which calls for Lebanon to distance itself from regional and international conflicts. The Hezbollah lawmaker said Mansour’s comments in Egypt were positive ones that reflected “keenness toward all countries in the Arab region and toward their peoples who are surely affected by the continuing, destructive hemorrhaging that weakens Syria and Arab countries equally.” He said the attack on Mansour was part of an opposition campaign against the Lebanese government.
“What is shameful is the incitement that is being practiced by some Lebanese partisans who agreed to be used as pistols in the project of sabotaging any chance of reform and stability, whether in Lebanon or the region,” he said.
“We praise the bold stance of ... Mansour and reiterate our adherence to the righteous, patriotic stance that the Lebanese government is committed to toward the Syrian crisis which expresses keenness toward the higher interests of Lebanon, Syria and neighboring countries in the region,” he added.

Opposition-PSP Hybrid Vote Law Proposal Gains Momentum
Naharnet/A hybrid draft-law that the March 14 opposition alliance and the Progressive Socialist Party have agreed on allows the elections to take place in 26 districts based on the winner-takes-all system and 9 governorates based on proportionality, sources said Thursday. Informed political and al-Mustaqbal bloc sources told several newspapers that the hybrid formula will be announced within the coming days.
Under the deal, 70 lawmakers would be chosen through the winner-takes-all system and 58 through proportionality based on a division of 26 districts for the first system and 9 governorates for the second.
Negotiations between opposition allies al-Mustaqbal, the Lebanese Forces and the Phalange party have made a great leap forward, they said. The LF and the Phalange had initially approved the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal that considers Lebanon a single electoral district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system. But the plan has been severely criticized by al-Mustaqbal, the PSP and the opposition's independent Christian lawmakers. Al-Mustaqbal MP Ahmed Fatfat said “the technical work to find an electoral draft-law that reflects the agreement between al-Mustaqbal and the PSP in addition to an agreement that includes all the March 14 opposition factions has been completed.”It is now time for the political work, he said in reference to negotiations between PSP chief Walid Jumblat and Speaker Nabih Berri.
Jumblat said Wednesday following a visit to Ain el-Tineh that Berri reiterated polls would only be held based on a consensus draft-law. “This means that all groups should work together to agree on a law that combines a winner-takes-all system with proportional representation,” he told reporters. The hybrid plan was first proposed by Speaker Nabih Berri. But he announced last week that he was withdrawing it from discussion after the March 8 majority alliance led by Hizbullah and the March 14 coalition failed to reach agreement on it. The new PSP-opposition proposal is close to Berri's plan under which 64 MPs would be elected in a winner-takes-all system and another 64 through proportional representation.

Al-Mustaqbal Demands Action to Halt Statements Affecting Ties with Arab Countries
Naharnet/The revival of Lebanese ties with Gulf states should come by imposing the appropriate measures to halt interference in the local affairs of the neighboring country Syria, al-Mustaqbal MP Jamal al-Jarrah said on Thursday. The lawmaker called on officials to abide by the dissociation policy, which is stated in the Baabda declaration. AL-Jarrah told al-Liwaa newspaper published on Thursday that Saudi Ambassador Ali Awadh Asiri and Kuwaiti Ambassador Abdul Aal al-Qinai expressed understanding that the statements of some officials don't represent the Lebanese state. “We should take the appropriate measures against actions harming Lebanon's image and its historic ties with the Arab countries,” al-Jarrah told the daily. A March 14 delegation, including MPs Marwan Hamadeh, al-Jarrah, Elie Marouni and Joseph Maalouf, held separate talks on Wednesday with Asiri and al-Qinai. A statement issued by the delegation called on the Gulf states not to hold all the Lebanese accountable for the statements and “irresponsible” stances of Hizbullah and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.
Hizbullah and Aoun had recently criticized the international community and the Arab League for their lack of support for Bahraini protesters. Hizbullah has been also accused of sending fighters to Syria to support the regime of President Bashar Assad in its battle against rebels. Al-Jarrah lashed out at a request by Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour during a meeting of Arab foreign ministers to “return the Syrian government its seat at the Arab League after Arab states failed to resolve the Syrian crisis.” He wondered if the FM is failing to abide by decisions taken by the government. Several officials including Prime Minister Najib Miqati refuted Mansour's statements, stressing that the cabinet is committed to the Baabda Declaration. On Tuesday, the Gulf Cooperation Council expressed “great concern” over the government's failure to abide by the dissociation policy.
The Baabda Declaration was sponsored by President Michel Suleiman and calls for different parties to adhere to the disassociation policy to avoid the spread of the unrest in Syria to Lebanese territories.

Geagea Calls for Dialogue to Resolve Lingering Disputes
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea considered on Thursday that the Lebanese foes should reconsider dialogue to confront the current situation in the country and to achieve swift solutions over the electoral law and other main issues. Geagea expressed readiness to resume dialogue with the rival parties to resolve the ongoing disputes. Lebanon plunged in a political crisis in October after the opposition blamed the government for the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch chief Wissam al-Hasan. The March 14 opposition alliance boycotted dialogue despite President Michel Suleiman's extensive efforts to resume talks between the rival factions.The last dialogue session was held on September 20. Geagea pointed out in comments published in As Safir newspaper that there is a chance for parties to reach consensus on an electoral law.
The main political parties in the country have failed to reach common ground on an electoral law, prompting Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati to sign an electoral decree setting elections on June 9 based on the 1960 law of the winner-takes-all system.The decision angered several parties that stressed the importance of reaching an agreement over the matter. Asked about the fear of the rise of Islamic extremism, Geagea stressed that the March 14 alliance, in particular, al-Mustaqbal, favor moderation, calling for fortifying the role of the state, security forces and the army. “The main political factions support this option,” the LF chief said. He stated that the Lebanese have to “safeguard the state and the Islamic-Christian moderation and to renew communication to resolve the sharp disputes.” Concerning Hizbullah's alleged interference in the Syrian turmoil, Geagea said that the party's stance and direct meddling in battles to support the Syrian regime against rebels “will definitely lead to negative repercussions on Shiites in Lebanon and the region.” “Hizbullah should have abided by the dissociation policy and supported the regime without getting involved in its battles,” he added. Hizbullah has been accused of sending fighters to Syria to support the regime of President Bashar Assad against the rebel fighters.

Jumblat: I Will not Run for Elections Under Orthodox Gathering Law; Assad is Schizophrenic
Naharnet /National Struggle Front leader MP Walid Jumblat assured that he will not wage the parliamentary elections under the controversial Orthodox Gathering draft-law, assuring that it's better for political parties to agree on a law that pleases all parties, the pan Arab Asharq al-Awsat daily reported Thursday.
In an interview with the daily, Jumblat disagreed with sayings that the Christian politicians in Lebanon made an unprecedented stance uniting on the Orthodox draft-law.
He said: “The independent Christian politicians and President Michel Suleiman rejected the law. There is no consensus on it.”
Warning against a delay in the elections and against the repercussions of the Syrian crisis that is reflected on political life in Lebanon, the Progressive Socialist Party leader said: “It's better to agree on an electoral law and to hold the elections on time. We could have a new impartial cabinet or a technocrat government instead of driving the country into a dark tunnel.”
Warning against political reasons to postpone the elections, Jumblat said that technical reasons could push for a delay and could be necessary to introduce the Lebanese to the new electoral law if it was adopted by parliament.
The rival parties are yet to agree on a draft-law after the adoption of the Orthodox Gathering proposal by the joint parliamentary committees, which drew a sharp debate among the opposition's factions and with foes.
Failure to reach common ground on an electoral law, prompted Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati to sign an electoral decree setting elections on June 9 based on the 1960 law of the winner-takes-all system.
Jumblat pointed to the attempts of the Free Patriotic Movement to postpone the elections for political reasons, he said: “when I hear the FPM's statements and their insistence on the Orthodox Gathering draft-law ... I sense intentions of postponing the elections politically. “On the other hand I do not know the real intentions of the Lebanese Forces party,” which has also approved the Orthodox proposal at the joint parliamentary committees meeting. Discouraging a political postponement of the polls, Jumbalt said: “This would drive the country into the unknown, and give the international community an idea that we cannot run the elections on schedule. It would be a severe blow to the Lebanese economy.” On the Syrian crisis and the Western community's stance, mainly the U.S., Jumblat criticized the latter's failure to provide the Syrian rebels with weapons instead of humanitarian aid.
He said: “They want to provide humanitarian aid, under the pretext of not giving arms to so-called extremists in the Syrian Revolution.”
“Prolonging the epoch of the regime leads to sectarian divisions. I am convinced that there is a conspiracy against the unity of Syria,” he added.
He added “the United States seems to care less about the fate of the Orient. Its primary concern is to protect Israel. Syria used to be a fundamental force in the face of Israel and the center of gravity in the Arab-Israeli equation, and now is being destroyed. The Americans and Israelis are watching.” Describing Syrian President Bashar Assad as “schizophrenic,” Jumblat said: “He lives in another world. He ignores the fact that there are tens of thousands of people dead and missing and only describes them as terrorists. No solution but to overthrow the regime.” On fears that the Syrian crisis could be reflected on Lebanon, in light of some clashes that erupt every now and then in the northern city of Tripoli and the jittery situation in the southern city of Sidon, the Druze leader said: “Yes I have fears. Beginning with Tripoli, some politicians are making a big mistake by funding some extremist groups. Similarly some Arab countries are also making a mistake by backing (Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed) al-Assir in his tense rhetoric insulting Shiite leaders.
“Political dispute in Lebanon can only be addressed through dialogue. Hizbullah must inform the Iranian leadership to re-target the rifle against Israel not to defend the Syrian regime,” Jumblat added.

Saniora, Geagea Agree that Hybrid Electoral Law Best 'at the Moment'
Naharnet/Head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea stressed on Wednesday the need to hold the parliamentary elections on time, announced the LF in a statement Thursday.
It said that the two officials agreed that the “best electoral law at the moment is a hybrid law” that combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems.
Saniora informed Geagea of the details of the ongoing discussions between the Mustaqbal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party over the electoral law, as well as recent contacts held with Speaker Nabih Berri.
Fir his part, Geagea informed the gatherers of the contacts the LF is carrying out over a new electoral law. “The gatherers stressed the need to continued hour-by-hour contacts in order to reach, within the next few days, a solution to all obstacles that are still hindering an agreement over a new law,” said the LF statement. Media reports said Thursday that the March 14 opposition alliance and the PSP had agreed on allows the elections to take place in 26 districts based on the winner-takes-all system and 9 governorates based on proportionality. Informed political and Mustaqbal bloc sources told several newspapers that the hybrid formula will be announced within the coming days.Under the deal, 70 lawmakers would be chosen through the winner-takes-all system and 58 through proportionality based on a division of 26 districts for the first system and 9 governorates for the second.
On Wednesday, PSP leader MP Walid Jumblat had announced after talks with Berri that “no elections will be held until consensus over an electoral law is reached”.
He added: “We must jointly agree on a hybrid formula that ends the contradiction between the 1960 law and the Orthodox Gathering's proposal”.
The polls are likely to be postponed if the parliament gives the green light to the Orthodox Gathering proposal, which calls for dividing Lebanon into a single district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system.The draft-law has been rejected by President Michel Suleiman, Premier Najib Miqati, the Mustaqbal bloc, Jumblat, and the March 14 opposition’s Christian independent MPs.

Airport Security Thwarts Attempts to Smuggle Drugs, Counterfeit Money
Naharnet/Airport security succeeded on Thursday in thwarting smuggling attempts from Lebanon to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It first thwarted an attempt to smuggle 3,430,000 counterfeit Saudi Riyals to the kingdom.
The counterfeit bills were found hidden in a double-bottomed luggage of a Syrian national. In the second attempt, security at the airport thwarted an attempt, by another Syrian national, to smuggle seven kilograms of narcotic pills to Qatar.Investigations in the two operations have since been launched.

Syria rebels hold UN peacekeepers stoking Golan fears
March 07, 2013/Daily Star
DAMASCUS: Syrian rebels held hostage 21 UN peacekeepers patrolling the sensitive armistice line with Israel for a second day on Thursday, defying a chorus of international condemnation and calls for their release.
Diplomats scrambled to secure the release of the 21 Filipinos, as concern mounted that their seizure might prompt more governments to withdraw their contingents from the already depleted UN mission.
Israeli officials warned that any further reduction in the strength of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) risked creating a security vacuum in the no-man's land between the two sides on the strategic Golan Heights.
The Philippine soldiers were detained at a rebel post on Wednesday just one and a half kilometres (a mile) to the Syrian side of the armistice line at its southern end towards the Yarmuk River on the border with Jordan.
The rebels, calling themselves the Yarmuk Martyrs Brigade, demanded in video statements that Damascus withdraw its troops from Jamla and neighbouring villages in the area.
Manila strongly condemned the seizure of its troops and demanded they be released immediately, a call echoed by UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
Britain-based watchdog the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had spoken to the rebels who had given undertakings that the hostages would not be harmed.
"They say they will treat them well, as guests, and set them free as soon as the army withdraws from Jamla and surrounding villages," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino said he had received similar assurances. "I understand they are being treated well... so far, nobody has been saying that they are in danger," Aquino told reporters.
The captive troops are part of a 300-strong Philippine contingent to the UN force that has been monitoring the separation of Israeli and Syrian troops since the 1974 armistice that followed the previous year's Middle East war.
At the end of February, UNDOF comprised some 1,000 peacekeepers but a growing number of incidents over the past year has made it increasingly difficult for the United Nations to keep the mission up to strength.
Canada and Japan had already withdrawn their small contingents and Croatia announced last week it was pulling out its 100 troops.
The Philippine president said no decision had yet been made on the future of Manila's contingent but its withdrawal would leave just Austrian and Indian troops.
UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told reporters after briefing the Security Council that negotiations were underway to secure the peacekeepers' release "and the matter is mobilising all our teams".
In video statements distributed by the Observatory, a rebel spokesman said the peacekeepers would not be freed until Syrian regime forces pull out of the area.
"If they do not withdraw, these men will be treated as prisoners," spokesman Abu Kaid al-Faleh said, accusing the UN force of working with the Syrian army against the rebels.
Israel, which captured much of the Golan in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move never recognised by the international community, said it feared any depletion of the UN force would pose a serious threat.
"This kidnapping is likely to convince countries who participate in this force to bring their troops home, which would undoubtedly create a dangerous vacuum in no-man's land on the Golan," an Israeli official said.
The rebels' seizure of the peacekeepers came as they celebrated their capture on Wednesday of military intelligence headquarters in the northeastern city of Raqa, which gave it full control of the strategic provincial capital.
Syrian fighter jets pounded the city in retaliation on Thursday, the Observatory said.
Nationwide violence claimed 179 lives on Wednesday -- 73 rebels, 57 civilians and 49 soldiers, it added.
The United Nations says that more than 70,000 people have been killed and more than one million fled the country since the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's rule erupted in March 2011.
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders warned on Thursday that those who remained in the country face a "humanitarian catastrophe".
"Syria's previously well-functioning health system has collapsed. Food shortages are commonplace, and water and electricity supply are severely disrupted," it said.

Aoun Says March 14 Has Gunmen Able to Obstruct Elections
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun stated on Wednesday that the March 14 opposition has “armed men that can postpone the parliamentary elections”, noting that “extremism in Lebanon is encouraged by the presence of terrorist movements in Syria”."Supporters of the opposition can provoke security incidents or insist on adopting a certain electoral law,” Aoun expressed in an interview with the Washington-based al-Hurra television station, explaining that this would put the elections off. "March 14 has weakened and become divided and as such, they might resort to their gunmen to halt the electoral process,” he elaborated.
“Elections must be held on time”. The FPM leader considered that the growing extremism in Lebanon has been encouraged by “terrorist movements in Syria after all radical organizations in Arab countries have entered the neighboring country”."I do not encourage any armed interference in Syria's conflict,” Aoun stated, pointing out however, that Lebanese residents of border villages “have the right to defend themselves and fight back at terrorist attacks”.Lebanese parties are sharply divided over the crisis in Syria as the March 8 alliance continuously expresses its support to Assad, while the March 14 camp voices its support for the popular revolt.
The international community and analysts have expressed fears that the conflict in Syria may spill over into the Lebanon. The cabinet has adopted a policy of disassociation towards the neighboring country's events but the security incidents on the border have sparked rumors about an alleged involvement of Hizbullah fighters in the conflict. The rebel Free Syrian Army had threatened in February to shell Hizbullah military bases in Lebanon after accusing it of firing across the border into territory it controls. General Selim Idriss, the FSA's chief of staff, told Agence France Presse that Hizbullah had shelled villages around Qusayr, which is located in the central Syrian province of Homs, from the border village of Zeita, a Hizbullah stronghold in the Bekaa valley of Lebanon. Hizbullah has repeatedly denied any involvement in Syria's clashes.

Kassar warns against harming ties with Gulf states
March 07, 2013/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: The head of the Economic Committees stressed during talks with President Michel Sleiman Thursday that Lebanon needed to uphold the best of ties with Arab states, particularly in the Gulf, given the recent Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) warning that Beirut is failing at its disassociation policy.“We discussed the issue of the warning from the Gulf Cooperation Council to Lebanon after the meeting between President Sleiman and [GCC] Secretary-General Dr. Abdel Latif Bin Rashid al-Zayani,” Adnan Kassar said following the talks with Sleiman at Baabda Palace.
“I underlined to President Michel Sleiman ... the need to preserve the best of ties with our Arab sisters, particularly Gulf states, in light of the repercussions that we will face as a result of any decision taken by the Gulf countries toward Lebanon, whether on Lebanon’s economy ... or in terms of the Lebanese working in Gulf countries,” he added.In a letter presented to Sleiman by Zayani on behalf of the GCC, the Gulf Arab states voiced “extreme concerns” that Lebanon was failing to abide by its disassociation policy toward regional conflicts. The letter, according to Sleiman’s office, said that the “Gulf Corporation Council voiced its extreme concern [over Lebanon] not committing to the Baabda Declaration and the policy of disassociation.” “The council,” the letter states, “looks to [Lebanon] to abide by the policy in words and actions in order to prevent placing Lebanon's security and stability at risk or affect the interests of its people and their security.”Lebanon has a self-avowed policy of dissociating itself from regional unrest. Rival Lebanese political leaders also agreed during a National Dialogue session in 2011 to abide by what is known as the “Baabda Declaration,” which calls for Lebanon to distance itself from regional and international conflicts. Sleiman has urged all politicians to commit to the principles of the Baabda Declaration and avoid meddling in the affairs of other Arab countries.

Assad hails Turkey anti-Erdogan opposition
March 07, 2013/Daily Star/DAMASCUS: President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday hailed Turkish opposition to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's backing for the revolt that began in Syria nearly two years ago, in a statement seen by AFP. The statement comes after Assad met a Turkish opposition delegation. Assad told the Republican People's Party delegation there was "a need to distinguish between the stance of the Turkish people, who support stability in Syria, and the positions of Erdogan's government, which supports terrorism, extremism and destabilisation in the region," it said.
"The Syrian people appreciates the position adopted by forces and parties in Turkey that reject the Erdogan government's negative impact on our societies, which are multi-religious and multi-ethnic," Assad said.
The Turkish delegation, headed by Hassan Akgul, stressed "the Turkish people's refusal to interfere in Syrian affairs, and a commitment to good neighbourly relations," the statement said.
The visitors also "warned of the risks of the Syrian crisis's impact on Turkey and other countries in the region," it added. Damascus, meanwhile, called on the international community on Thursday in letters to the United Nations to condemn Ankara's role in the Syrian conflict, which has left some 70,000 people dead.
"Syria hopes that the international community... will fulfil its responsibilities clearly and sincerely, and denounce the role of the Turkish government and other states that fund the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups, while bearing them responsible for what is happening in Syria," the letters said. Assad's government has systematically blamed the violence in Syria on a foreign-backed plot, and has frequently accused Turkey of channelling funds and weapons to the armed opposition. Ankara broke off relations with Damascus soon after the outbreak of Syria's uprising, which morphed into an armed insurgency after the regime unleashed a brutal crackdown against dissent that began in mid-March 2011. Turkey hosts some 200,000 Syrians who fled the violence, and earlier this month it hosted a Syrian opposition election for Aleppo's provincial council.

Khamenei condemns West for not making nuclear concessions
Daily Star/March 07, 2013 /In this Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013/ Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gives a speech in a mosque inside the leader's housing compound, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Office of the Supreme Leader)DUBAI: Iran's supreme leader criticised Western powers on Thursday for not offering concessions in talks last week, saying the West was using the nuclear issue as a pretext to impose sanctions and harm the Islamic Republic.It was Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's first reaction to what Iranian officials described as "positive" nuclear talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, during which the P5 1 group of nations offered modest sanctions relief in return for Iran curbing higher grade uranium enrichment. "Western nations did not accomplish anything that can be construed as a concession, and instead they admitted Iran's rights only to a degree," Khamenei said in an address reported on his official website. "To assess their integrity, we must wait until the next round of talks," he added.
Khamenei said the West was using Iran's nuclear programme as a "pretext" to impose sanctions and pressure Iranians to "confront the system".
After the talks ended last Wednesday, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said the P5 1 - United States, China, France, Russia, Britain and Germany - had tried to "get closer to our viewpoint" and said he believed the meeting could be "a turning point".Western officials said the offer presented by the six powers included easing a ban on trade in gold and other precious metals, and a relaxation of an embargo on Iranian petrochemical products. They gave no further details.
In exchange, a senior U.S official said that Iran would, among other things, have to suspend uranium enrichment to a fissile concentration of 20 percent at its Fordow underground facility and "constrain the ability to quickly resume operations there".Iran maintains it has the right to enrich uranium, both for nuclear power plants and for making medical isotopes which requires fuel enriched to a fissile purity of 20 percent.
But the U.S. and its allies are concerned that 20-percent purity is a major step towards producing weapons-grade uranium and that Tehran is covertly developing weapons capability, accusations Iran denies.

Syrian opposition to pick provisional PM next week
March 07, 2013/Daily Star/AMMAN: The main Syrian National Coalition opposition organisation will meet in Istanbul next week to elect a provisional prime minister, coalition members said on Thursday.
The decision was made after former Prime Minister Riad Hijab, the highest ranking civilian defector since the revolt and the top candidate for the job, withdrew his candidacy, several coalition members told Reuters in Amman. Hijab had run into opposition from Islamists and liberal members of the coalition for his previous ties with Syria's ruling hierarchy. "We'll meet on the 12th and 13th in Istanbul this month. The field of candidates has been expanding since Hijab withdrew," said one of the coalition members. He added that withdrawal of Hijab's name contributed to the postponement of a coalition meeting that was due to convene on Saturday. A statement issued by Hijab's office said he had informed coalition president Moaz al-Khatib after talks in Cairo last month that he "regrets not being able take part in the provisional government the coalition is working on forming".The sources said the Syrian National Council, a large bloc within the 71-member coalition largely influenced by the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, has chosen three candidates for the position of prime minister.
They are Salem al-Muslet, a tribal figure from northeastern Syria who worked at think-tanks in the Gulf, Osama al-Qadi, a U.S. educated economist who heads an opposition taskforce drawing plans for economic recovery in a post-Assad era, and veteran opposition campaigner Burhan Ghalioun, a respected professor from the city of Homs and a previous president of the Syrian National Council.

Arab League Readies to Hand Syria Seat to Opposition as Lebanon Calls it 'Dangerous Step'
Naharnet/The Arab League said on Wednesday it is prepared to hand Syria's seat in the organisation to the opposition battling to oust President Bashar Assad if it sets up an executive body, as Lebanon expressed that it is a "dangerous step". The League, in a resolution adopted at a meeting of foreign ministers in Cairo, called for the opposition National Coalition "to form an executive body to take up Syria's seat" and attend its next summit, in Doha on March 26-27. The umbrella group would retain Syria's seat in the 22-member organisation "until elections leading to the formation of a government to assume the responsibilities of power in Syria," it said.
The call was based on "the sacrifices of the Syrian people and the exceptional circumstances" in the country. Iraq and Algeria expressed reservations while Lebanon declined to be associated with the resolution, League chief Nabil al-Arabi told a news conference. Lebanon's Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour told the Lebanese MTV later on Wednesday that "granting Syria's National Coalition a seat at the Doha summit is a dangerous first of a kind step". Meanwhile, the Syrian Foreign Ministry later on Wednesday accused the Arab League of fueling the crisis in the country by taking sides in the conflict and “financing terrorist organization and some factions in the opposition”. "The League is seeking foreign military intervention and obstructing any political solution based on national dialogue,” a statement released by the ministry said.
Last year, with the death toll escalating in the anti-Assad revolt, the League recognized the National Coalition led by Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib as the "legitimate representative and main interlocutor with the Arab League."
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict since March 2011, according to the United Nations, which on Wednesday put the number of Syrian refugees at one million.
Agence France Presse

Syrian rebels seize U.N. peacekeepers near Golan Heights
By Oliver Holmes | Reuters /..BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels have seized a convoy of U.N. peacekeepers near the Golan Heights and say they will hold them captive until President Bashar al-Assad's forces pull back from a rebel-held village which has seen heavy recent fighting.
The capture was announced in rebel videos posted on the Internet and confirmed on Wednesday by the United Nations, which said about 20 peacekeepers had been detained.
The seizure is the most direct threat to U.N. personnel in the nearly two-year-old uprising against Assad, and Human Rights Watch said it was investigating the same brigade for past executions.
It came on the day Britain said it would increase aid to the opposition forces and the Arab League gave a green light to member states to arm the rebels.
The Arab League also invited the opposition Syrian coalition to take Syria's seat at a meeting of the regional body in Doha later this month. Syria was suspended in November 2011 in response to its crackdown on protests which has since spiraled into civil war.
In the latest attack by the Syrian military, warplanes bombarded the northeastern provincial capital of Raqqa for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, killing at least 39 people, opposition activists said. Video footage showed fighters putting dismembered bodies in an ambulance.
The peacekeepers of the UNDOF mission have been monitoring a ceasefire line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, captured by the Jewish state in a 1967 war, for nearly four decades.
Israel has warned that it will not "stand idle" as Syria's civil war spills over into the Golan region.
The United Nations in New York said its peacekeepers had been detained by around 30 fighters in the Golan Heights. The Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the seizure of U.N. observers and demanded their immediate release.
"The U.N. observers were on a regular supply mission and were stopped near Observation Post 58, which had sustained damage and was evacuated this past weekend following heavy combat in close proximity at Al Jamla," the United Nations said, referring to a village which saw fierce clashes on Sunday.
It did not mention the nationality of the observers, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, which is in contact with the rebel brigade, said they were Filipino.
In one rebel video, a young man saying he was from the "Martyrs of Yarmouk" brigade stood surrounded by several rebel fighters with assault rifles in front of two white armored vehicles and a truck with "UN" markings.
"The command of the Martyrs of Yarmouk ... is holding forces of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force until the withdrawal of forces of the regime of Bashar al-Assad from the outskirts of the village of Jamla," said the man, who was wearing civilian clothes.
At least five people could be seen sitting in the vehicles wearing light blue U.N. helmets and bulletproof vests.
"If no withdrawal is made within 24 hours we will treat them as prisoners," the man said, accusing them of collaborating with Assad's forces to push the rebels out of Jamla.
Nearly two years after the uprising started, rebels are distrustful of the United Nations, which they say has failed to support their cause.
MILITARY AID
Earlier on Wednesday, the United Nations said the number of refugees who have fled Syria had reached 1 million, part of an accelerating exodus from a conflict which is approaching its second anniversary with no prospect of an end to the bloodshed.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, pledging support for Assad's opponents, said the civil war had reached catastrophic proportions and that international efforts to stem the violence had been an abject failure.
Senior U.S. and Russian diplomats will discuss the conflict at a meeting in London on Thursday, Russia said, the latest in a series of meetings aimed at seeking an end to the fighting.
But Hague said the chances of getting an immediate political solution to the crisis were slim and that diplomacy was taking too long.
"If a political solution to the crisis in Syria is not found and the conflict continues, we and the rest of the European Union will have to be ready to move further, and we should not rule out any option for saving lives," he said.
However, Hague played down the prospect of direct Western military intervention.
While Moscow has been one of Assad's main protectors, members of an Islamist insurgency involved in daily clashes in Russia's predominantly Muslim North Caucasus and their compatriots have trickled into Syria to fight on the rebels' side.
A Syrian rebel leader sought to persuade European governments to lift an arms embargo for the rebels, saying any weapons provided would be accounted for and possibly returned.
"The weapons are registered on lists with numbers on each weapon. We distribute those weapons. And we know precisely who has received them," Brigadier Selim Idris told a news conference in Brussels.
ONE MILLION REFUGEES
At a registration center for Syrians in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, a 19-year-old mother of two registered on Wednesday as the millionth refugee to flee her country.
"The situation is very bad for us. We can't find work," said the teenage mother, wearing a green headscarf and holding her daughter as she spoke to reporters.
"I live with 20 people in one room. We can't find any other house as it is too expensive. We want to return to Syria. We wish for the crisis to be resolved."
Syrians started trickling out of the country 23 months ago when Assad's forces shot at pro-democracy protests inspired by Arab revolts elsewhere.
The uprising has since turned into an increasingly sectarian struggle between armed rebels and government soldiers and militias. An estimated 70,000 people have been killed.
Around half the refugees are children, most of them aged under 11, and the numbers leaving are mounting every week, the United Nations refugee agency said in statement.
"With a million people in flight, millions more displaced internally, and thousands of people continuing to cross the border every day, Syria is spiraling towards full-scale disaster," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said in a statement.
(Additional reporting by Dominic Evans and Laila Bassam in Beirut and Jonathon Burch in Anakara; Editing by Michael Roddy and Mohammad Zargham)

Hezbollah member discreetly tried in Cyprus
Ana Maria Luca/Now Lebanon
LIMASSOL – When 24 year old Lebanese-Swedish Hossam Yakoub came into the small courtroom in Limassol, Cyprus, where he was being tried for conspiracy and association with a criminal organization, he humbly touched his lawyer’s back and went straight to the docket. The final statements in his trial were about to begin.
He sat down and looked at the ground, listening to the translator and nodding from time to time at the points made by his lawyer. The young man had been arrested at the beginning of July 2012 after the police noticed that he was acting suspiciously. Officially in Cyprus to set up his own juice import-export business, he was keeping a close eye on Israeli tourist flights, their airport shuttles, their hang-outs, kosher restaurants, parking lots, and hotels and reported it all to his Hezbollah handler.
According to his written confession, Yaakoub has been a Hezbollah member for four years. After being trained in a camp in Lebanon, he was paid a $600 per month salary to run errands around Europe. His handler, a masked man who used the code name Ayman, sent him on reconnaissance missions to seaside resorts in Turkey and Cyprus, and also gave him mysterious packages to deliver to European addresses. Yaakoub said he was unaware of what was in the packages.
The young man denied in court last month that he was ever a terrorist and said he was only collecting information about “the Jews”: “This is what my organization is doing, everywhere in the world,” is the exact phrase that he used.
The information presented by the prosecution in court and at the cross-examination made headlines around the world. In Cyprus, however, the newspapers wrote only brief news stories about it and the government officials also handled it discretely. A trial involving a Hezbollah operative is not a priority at a time when Cyprus has had two recent presidential elections and the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) met in Nicosia to discuss the country’s bailout, local journalists explained.
The registrar in the District Court in Limassol, Antony Antoniou, said this is the most interesting case he has ever had in his court room, despite the lack of interest from the local press. “If he didn’t confess and explain all those things he did, I think he would have been in much bigger trouble than he already is,” the mustachioed man in his early 50s said before the hearing. “The case is really complicated. It will take a long time,” Antoniou pointed out.
The prosecution indicted the Lebanese-Swedish man with being part of a criminal plot, conspiracy, and participation in a criminal organization. According to Yaakoub’s counselor, Antonis Georgiadis, the initial charges of terrorism were dropped with no explanation by the prosecutor. He also said that some of the information on the statement read in court was obtained by the police under pressure. “But the court did not accept our plight. They will probably not take that into consideration,” he said. Yaakoub is pleading not guilty on all 8 charges.
The prosecution, however, tried to prove that he had been recruited and was involved in criminal cell. Swedish scholar and Washington Institute for Near East Policy adjunct fellow Magnus Norell, was called as an expert witness. According to Norell’s statement obtained by NOW, “the case discussed here clearly points to a planned operation involving more than one individual and possible multiple intended targets. Looking at the evidence I have seen, it also fits with the ‘modus operandi’ of a Hezbollah instigated or run operation.”
“Again, the facts and evidence shown in this case [with the handler getting delivery of memory cards, maps and drawings] is another clear indication that this was a pre-attack intelligence operation. It also ties in with standard operational procedures for such terrorist operations,” Norell said in his expertise. However he also pointed out that usually, the intelligence in such operations is done by different people than the ones involved in the attack. “This is done in order to compartmentalize the operation and thus keep it from being discovered,” he added. The fact that Yaakoub did not know his handler’s identity is part of this strategy, according to Norell.
But Georgiadis argued in front of the judge that Norell, as a witness, was not objective. “The charges were not proved. The conspiracy to commit a criminal act was not proved. The cause that Hezbollah is a criminal organization was not proved,” said the lawyer, a former National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (E.O.K.A.) member, who says he understands what being part of a Resistance movement means. Then, grabbing his big brown briefcase, his old torn sack with a black robe, he slowly left the court room to buy his client two sandwiches and a soda. The decision in Yaakoub’s case will be given on March 21.
**Ana Maria Luca is on twitter @aml1609.

A nifty conceit: the EU, Hezbollah, and Lebanon
Tony Badran/Now Lebanon
The Hezbollah bus bombing in Bulgaria as well as their foiled operation in Cyprus have put Europe in an uncomfortable position, as pressure increases on the EU to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. The plot in Cyprus is especially embarrassing, as the Hezbollah operative there was arrested and is being publicly tried, making it harder for EU officials to deny evidence laid out in the open. Still, it is painfully obvious that Europe would much prefer this whole Hezbollah inconvenience go away. In resisting calls to designate the Shiite group, the Europeans have hid behind a nifty conceit: designating Hezbollah could destabilize Lebanon.
Espousing such a seemingly altruistic position is rather convenient. It affords the Europeans the semblance of judicious sagacity, enabling them to skirt the issue altogether, regardless of the evidence. Take for instance what Gilles de Kerchove, the EU’s Counterterrorism Coordinator, had to say about the matter. While strong evidence is a prerequisite for designating the group, Kechrove opined, there’s also a “political assessment.” The EU counterterrorism official then added, “for Hezbollah, you might ask, given the situation in Lebanon, which is a highly fragile, highly fragmented country, is listing it going to help you achieve what you want?”
The proposition that targeting Hezbollah would negatively impact Lebanon presupposes that the group currently contributes to stability. Such a view requires quite the suspension of disbelief. In reality, Hezbollah has thoroughly subverted the country and its citizens in virtually every aspect. Left unmolested, Hezbollah not only undermines Lebanon's security, institutions, and political system, but is also set track to compromise its foreign relations, ruin its financial system, and destroy whatever remains of its social cohesion.
The most obvious threat has been and continues to be Hezbollah’s illegal arsenal. As I have written in recent weeks, Hezbollah’s effort to transport into Lebanon the strategic weapons it had stored in Syria is placing the country in tremendous danger. What makes the peril inescapable is the fact that Hezbollah has turned entire population centers into military sites. It has embedded its military infrastructure inside towns and villages all throughout the country. The Israelis have already struck one such convoy in Syria. However, eventually Hezbollah may succeed in bringing another convoy across the border. This will surely prompt another Israeli strike, which in turn is sure to result in significant collateral damage.
In his February 16 address, Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah declared that any such Israeli strike inside Lebanon would be met with retaliation against Israel’s infrastructure. Nasrallah’s threats, whether or not they’re to be taken seriously, are unlikely to alter Israel’s calculations regarding the smuggling of strategic weapons. Given that Hezbollah will surely attempt to bring in more of these weapons systems stored in Syria, an Israeli strike in Lebanon is, in all likelihood, a matter of time. Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria has had other deleterious effects on Lebanon and its fragile social fabric. By joining the war on the side of the Assad regime, Hezbollah is also acting as the regime’s flank in Lebanon. As such, it has taken action against Lebanese Sunnis who are assisting the Syrian opposition. Whenever the Shiite group could not do so itself, it has relied on its allies in the military and security apparatuses to perform a task on its behalf, as we witnessed in the Arsal incident several weeks ago.
The damage has been, therefore, double. On the one hand, Hezbollah further exacerbated Sunni-Shiite tensions. Already it had brought those communal relations to the brink in May 2008, when it assaulted Sunni neighborhoods of Beirut (and the Druze Shouf Mountains), killing dozens. On the other hand, it pitted the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) against the Sunni community, which has come to view the Party of God’s relationship with the LAF with great suspicion.
In addition, not only does Hezbollah provide cover to a host of criminal activities in its areas of influence – keeping them beyond the reach of the law – but also, the Party of God stands accused in the murder of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. Four of its commanders and operatives have been named as suspects, but, naturally, the LAF would never consider moving in to apprehend them. Perhaps the EU would also prefer to abort justice and gloss over political assassination in order to avoid action that would ‘destabilize’ the country.
It’s bad enough that suspicions over Hezbollah’s role in other political murders and assassination attempts have eaten at the core of communal coexistence and the political system altogether. But the Party of God’s penetration of state institutions has also implicated the Lebanese state in Hezbollah’s activities, both in Lebanon and abroad.
Take for instance Hezbollah’s control over General Security. That apparatus is responsible for ports of entry as well as for the issue of travel documents. In recent years, as Hezbollah cells have been uncovered abroad, it came to light that many of its operatives held false identification papers that were nevertheless issued by the government. The case of Sami Shehab, who was arrested in Egypt in 2009, is but one example. Shehab was in Egypt on an officially issued false passport. Such activities abroad have not only damaged Lebanon’s diplomatic relations, but have also hurt Lebanese expatriates, especially those working in the Gulf Arab states. Most recently, the uncovering of Hezbollah cells in the United Arab Emirates have led to the deportation of Lebanese resident workers in that country.
This is hardly the worst economic calamity Hezbollah has brought on Lebanon. The Party of God’s vast, global, criminal, enterprise has infected the backbone of the Lebanese economy: the banking sector. The case of the Lebanese Canadian Bank is one ominous example. And while it may have been papered over, the potential damage to Lebanese banks, as a result of Hezbollah (and Iranian) money-laundering operations is simply devastating. The group’s terrorist activities in Bulgaria and Cyprus (with whom Lebanon has critical energy interests) are bad enough. But its involvement in the drug trade and laundering of the proceeds through the banking sector and exchange houses is earning Lebanon the unenviable title of a “veritable money laundering machine,” as illicit finance expert David Asher put it. Asher also notes that Hezbollah’s money laundering has infiltrated the real estate sector just as much as it has the banking sector. Designating Hezbollah, and purging it from the Lebanese financial system, may be the only way to salvage the critical banking sector down the road.
The above is but a quick sample of how Hezbollah has corroded Lebanon’s security, economy, society, politics and state institutions. There is much more, including the mutilation of the political system by force of arms. The bottom line is that the EU rationale for not designating Hezbollah is not only absurd; it is detrimental to Lebanon’s long-term prospects. Lebanon may not in the end survive the metastasis of Hezbollah. But Europe’s refusal to take action against the Party of God will only help ensure Lebanon’s demise.
**Tony Badran is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He tweets @AcrossTheBay.

Bassil Lists Series of 'Violations' against Christians: Elections Won't Be Held According to 1960 Law
Naharnet/Energy Minister Jebran Bassil listed on Thursday a number of violations or “acts of theft” committed against Christians in Lebanon, while stressing that the parliamentary elections will not be held based on the 1960 law.
He said during a press conference: “There is an attempt to naturalize Palestinians in Lebanon and later Syrian refugees in Lebanon.”“Isn't it a form of theft when large portions of Lebanese land are dedicated to foreigners?” he asked in reference to the flow of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.“Isn't the talk of refugee camps a violation of Christian rights?” he wondered. The minister made his remarks in response to Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour when the former described, during a cabinet session Wednesday, the 1960 law as a violation against Christians to which the latter said that the Orthodox Gathering electoral law politically eliminates Druze and Sunnis in Lebanon. Bassil continued: “Isn't the elimination of Good Friday as a holiday and turning February 14 into a national one a form of theft against Christians and their rights?” On the parliamentary elections, he said: “The authority to supervise the elections based on the 1960 law will not be formed because Christians reject this law.” “We have been the most keen on fair representation among sects in Lebanon,” he added. “Christians of the East played a pioneering role during the Arab revival,” he continued.“They played a major role in ending Turkish and later Syrian occupation,” stressed Bassil. Addressing “those who believe that the Orthodox Gathering proposal has been buried,” he said: “This law was approved at the joint parliamentary committees and it will be referred to parliament where it will be subject to a vote.”

Aoun: Hybrid Law Shames Its Advocates, Govt. Stealing Funds, Distancing Itself from All Concerns
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Thursday slammed any hybrid electoral law that mixes proportional representation and the winner-takes-all system, criticizing the government for “distancing itself from everything.”“The entire Lebanese entity is suffering and today you are demanding your rights (new wage scale), but our eye is on the country as a whole,” said Aoun during a ceremony held by FPM's teachers to commemorate Teacher's Day. “It is the government of no-decision and self-distancing. We are in the government and we have 10 ministers, but the minister has the lowest number of powers. The minister suggests, but the prime minister is the one who signs and he's capable of blocking the minister's decision and the same applies to the president,” Aoun added.Putting the blame on the government, Aoun said: “Many people ask us why don't you fulfill what is mentioned in your political platform, and we hereby declare that the state is distancing itself from the administrative appointments, the decisions and all the concerns.”
“The officials in power are not worthy of being in power and they are the chronic disease that has generated problems and accumulated them since the '90s until today,” the FPM leader charged.
Commenting on the growing influence of Sunni Islamist groups in some regions, Aoun added: “They have isolated some areas in Lebanon and allowed Takfiris to accuse us of apostasy in a blatant disrespect of our beliefs. Do we have another political system now that is based on the blocking of roads? The self-distancing government has failed to protect our dignity.”“It has become a government for stealing public money and we have had no growth since the '90s until today and borrowed money was used for construction,” Aoun added.Turning to the issue of the electoral law, Aoun said: “They drafted the Taef Accord, distributed powers among each other and stripped the president of his powers, but they created a balance in parliament. However, the result was robbing Christians of their rights.” “When we said that Article 24 must be implemented and equal (Christian-Muslim) power-sharing must be preserved, we found two solutions – the Orthodox law and the law based on a single electoral district – but they came up with a hybrid law … This solution shames its advocates,” Aoun added.
Lashing out at centrist politicians, Aoun asked rhetorically: “What does a neutral or centrist politicians stand for? We Christians should throw out centrists. Expel anyone who tells you he's neutral or centrist and say enough with pretentiousness to anyone who says he's independent."

Al-Assad When Lebanon Won by Distancing Itself
Zuheir Kseibati/Al Hayat
Thursday 07 March 2013
“We will provide the revolutionaries in Syria with food so that they do not fight on an empty stomach, until Putin finds the magical solution”. If this is the new American vision in approaching a war and a revolution that have almost completed their second year in Syria, and if President Barack Obama’s administration has indeed asked Kremlin to try its luck in finding this solution, then the positions issued by American Secretary of State John Kerry during his Gulf tour mean that his country has gone from its state of retreat to adopt the “old turtle” diplomacy.
The Americans are filling the empty stomachs, while the Syrian army is receiving enough Russian-Iranian military support to prevent the regime’s collapse and the victory of those classified by Kremlin as being extremists or armed groups. The question at this level is the following: Did Kerry’s promise result in an air corridor to deliver cheese and readymade meals to the Free Army, while the Scud missiles are still falling onto the cities and destroying buildings and lives?
The fall of the city of Rakka in the northern part of Syria might signal change in the balance of powers on the ground, one on which the states which participated in the Rome meeting have been wagering. And while the discrepancy persists between Moscow’s perception of dialogue between the regime and the opposition with the participation of President Bashar al-Assad, and the West and Arab states – including the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council – which exclude any role by Al-Assad in the transitional phase, it was clear that the Syrian president undermined the Russian pressures on his Foreign Minister Walid Muallem who announced the acceptance of dialogue with the armed oppositionists, as Al-Assad set disarmament as a condition for such dialogue.
We thus saw a return to square one, causing Moscow to adopt another course to shift the attention away from its stillborn initiative and render the victim the criminal, and the criminal a necessary passageway for the solution. But what is noticeable at the level of Russia’s exaggeration of the danger of the armed groups in the Golan, is that it coincided with Israel’s talk about steps to deter any anarchy on the outskirts of the occupied Heights.
And while Al-Assad addressed the first blow to the Russian initiative by calling for the opposition’s disarmament, the second blow was delivered by Iran which publicly announced its support of the Syrian president’s stay in power until 2014 and the date of the upcoming elections. It is as though Tehran was addressing a message to the West, and especially to America, saying that it monopolizes the key to the solution.
Clearly, the Russian-Iranian divergence over the conflict in Syria will push Al-Assad to further insist on the fact that he does not hear anyone calling on him to step down or leave. He might not have heard about the fall of 70,000 dead during the war he is describing as being cosmic. And as he is announcing his victory and risking the weakening of the Russian political support offered to him, he appears to be the hostage of Iranian calculations that have been successful since March 2011, but are turning into a noose around the regime’s neck whenever the Free Army manages to deplete its forces’ strength.
On the opposite end of the Russian-Iranian divergence, there is a Gulf-American divergence towards the arming of the opposition. There is even a Gulf disgruntlement towards the turtle approach adopted by Obama’s second administration and provoked by concerns surrounding the absence of guarantees preventing the fall of weapons into the wrong hands (i.e. those of Al-Nusra Front among other extremist factions).
These are the same hands which Moscow and Tel Aviv perceive as being the cause of nightmares in the Golan, and whose threats are causing the departure of United Nations troops from the Golan. Once again, the American and Russian pretexts converge, thus granting the Syrian regime more time and causing the Syrians to lose thousands of lives. In the meantime, the opposition is earning support for the empty stomachs through American food aid, and Israel is earning more opportunities to exercise blackmail on Obama’s administration.
It is not enough for the Syrians to hear Washington talking over and over again about the loss of legitimacy by the regime and its head. Moreover, Obama’s grief will not stop the killing and comprehensive destruction of Syria. And while two years of tragedy convinced the United States to offer food to the revolutionaries, the Russian-American dialogue is prone to extend the war and these tragedies.
It might appear to some that the Iranian ally of the Syrian regime is using the revolution and the Western concerns over the possible control of its course by Al-Nusra Front and the extremists, as a new stalling card in the context of the nuclear negotiations, assuming that the superpowers’ priority is to prevent the expansion of the fires from Syria to the neighboring states. But what if Washington is truthful and announces the end of the race with the Iranian maneuvers?
The fate of the revolution in Syria will probably continue to oscillate between those who do not hear, who do not see those who do not believe in Damascus, and those in Tehran who are delusional by thinking that the American turtle will remain the only player.
What is certain is that the American-Russian warnings against the expansion of the fire in Syria to the neighboring states are sincere, at a time when the foreign minister in Lebanon – which is divided on itself and over its neutrality policy – volunteered to call for the activation of Syria’s membership in the Arab League, and consequently for the revival of the regime’s Arab legitimacy. A few hours before that, Qatari Prime Minister Hamad Bin Jassem had described the head of the regime of being a terrorist.
The wisdom in Lebanon is that it is distancing itself, yet rushing towards the flames.

Iran’s story is more than a mere movie
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/Al Arabia
The movie tells a short chapter of a long tense relationship between the two countries. The relation is currently tenser than ever. Who thought the strained relationship will last for 33 years? It is a long time of dispute, severance and indirect wars. In the past three decades, the reality of the revolutionary phase, the map and leaderships have changed, countries have fallen and alliances have shifted.
The old Iran as envisioned by Khomeini remains the same. It used to hate the “Great Satan” as a result of a mixture of history, ideology and politics
Despite all that, Tehran has not changed much. It rather became fiercer in its tendency to resort to violence, and its desire to expand its influence increased. The Soviet Union collapsed and China changed. Even Vietnam and Cuba became open to Washington.
Regimes like Saddam’s and Qaddafi’s were toppled. Many concepts in international relations changed like the concepts of globalization and communication. Even the concepts of influence and sovereignty changed in meaning and content.
Regional domination
The old Iran as envisioned by Khomeini remains the same. It used to hate the “Great Satan” as a result of a mixture of history, ideology and politics. It currently hates the U.S. because it thinks that this Great Satan rejects allowing it to fulfill its dreams of possessing nuclear weapons and dominating the region. It is quite expected that a superpower country will not allow an “enemy” state to be armed with nuclear weapons that can destroy oil fields and ignite the world or that can be used to arm its rivals of terrorist organizations. It is also normal that a superpower country will fight an “enemy” country’s infinite attempt to gain regional domination that will establish an aggressive bloc and pose a threat to the security of its interests.
When the incident in which U.S. Embassy staffers were held captive happened, we thought it took place to express a pent-up anger. It was expected that the U.S. Embassy will be one of the first targets. But after three decades, Iran is still Iran despite many attempts by its men to reform the intellect of its leaders and transfer the country to a respectful level. However, all these men failed. The first of them was Iran’s first prime minister Abolhassan Banisadr. His story is a real drama that exceeds Argo’s drama. He struggled with Khomeini for twenty years and he was loyal to him. He won the presidential elections against seven opponents but he only remained in office for one year because Khomeini accused him of dereliction in confronting Iraqi forces. He thus became wanted and he had to flee the country. It is said he fled to the Turkish borders disguised in military outfit. Among the few good men was Mohammad Khatami, the fifth president of the republic who won with 70 percent of votes. There were hundreds of politicians, religious men and intellectuals who were persecuted although they were from within the basis of the regime and among the sons of the revolution. They all failed in altering the mentality of Qom’s political regime.
A worse era
We are currently witnessing a worse era in Iran’s governance as the Revolutionary Guards’ influence rises and as its domination of the state’s political, intelligence and economic keys increase. Today, the Revolutionary Guards is behind the fires ignited in Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza.
The movie “Argo” is about the revolution’s first year. Back then we were optimistic as the Shah suffered from paranoia and he dreamt of the Fares Empire which he wanted to build a fierce military force for. He spent the last decade of his ruling clashing with Gulf countries which witnessed a state of worry during the phase of the British withdrawal.
Disappointment was terrible as when Khomeini took over, we found out he suffered from the same disease. He frankly announced his scheme to expand his influence to the Arab region. This time, however, it was under the name of Islam. He announced his plan that would lead to a Shiite-Sunni dispute - one that Muslims have not known in their history since the collapse of the Umayyad State 13 centuries ago. That historical incident is why Iran suffers from this policy.
Iran is a fierce military power but a poor country that is civically a failure.
**This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on March 7, 2013