LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 16/2013

Bible Quotation for today/LOVE
1 Corinthians 13/01-07: "If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don’t have love, I am nothing. If I dole out all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known. But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love."

Security Council Voices 'Grave Concern' over Lebanon-Syria Border Violence
Naharnet/The U.N. Security Council expressed "grave concern" Thursday over cross-border attacks between Syria and Lebanon in a rare united declaration on the Syrian conflict. The 15-member body, bitterly divided over the Syrian conflict, expressed "deep concern" over the fallout from the Syrian conflict on stability in Lebanon, in a statement released after closed talks. Council members "underscored their grave concern over repeated incidents of cross-border fire which caused death and injury among the Lebanese population, incursions, abductions and arms trafficking across the Lebanese-Syrian border, as well as other border violations." The statement was read to reporters by Russia's U.N. envoy Vitaly Churkin. Moscow has joined Beijing in blocking three resolutions aiming to step up pressure on President Bashar Assad to halt the conflict. The Security Council "underlined the importance of full respect for Lebanon's sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity." It also expressed "deep concern at the impact of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon's stability." Council members "appealed to all Lebanese people to preserve national unity in the face of attempts to undermine the country's stability and stressed the need for all Lebanese parties to respect Lebanon's policy of disassociation and to refrain from any involvement in the Syrian crisis," the statement added.SourceAgence France Presse

Israel sees 50,000 Syrian fighters backed by Iranian
March 14, 2013/By Ari Rabinovitch/Daily Star
JERUSALEM: Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah have built up a 50,000-strong army of Syrian militiamen to help the army keep President Bashar al-Assad in power, Israel's military intelligence chief said on Thursday.
Major General Aviv Kochavi said the two Israeli foes, in addition to providing Assad's forces weapons and intelligence to defeat rebel fighters, are also hedging their bets by trying to establish a foothold in Syria for after his regime falls.Around 70,000 people have been killed in Syria's 23-month-old conflict, which grew into an armed revolt after street protests against four decades of autocratic rule by Assad and his late father were met by live ammunition. The war has worsened sectarian tensions, and Kochavi, speaking at the Herzliya conference on strategy and diplomacy, described a Syria crumbling into ruins.
Since last summer, a "people's army", financed by Iran and trained by Hezbollah has been established in Syria, he said. "This army consists of about 50,000 people, deployed in a hierarchy around Syria, operating beside the army units, which are collapsing or not collapsing in different places. And the plan is to increase this army to 100,000 people," Kochavi said. Kochavi said Assad is facing an opposition force of about 100,000 people. Also fighting the government is a separately financed group of about 10,000 radical jihadists, many armed with "relatively advanced weapons", he said. Iranian-backed Hezbollah, one of Lebanon's strongest factions, is a major ally of Assad, whose minority Alawite sect is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam. Iran and Hezbollah realise that Assad will soon fall, Kochi said, and are making preparations for the day after. "The people's army that they are building is, among other things, a foot in the door to Syria. In the first stage, to protect their Shi'ite interests, in the second stage their assets, and the third stage, from within this army will emerge a leadership to vie to lead Syria after Assad's fall," he said.

Report: Gulf Countries Will Not Hassle Lebanese Expats, Warn against Undermining their Stability
Naharnet/The Gulf countries have no intention to take extreme measures against the Lebanese expats on their territories, but they will not tolerate any person undermining the Gulf Cooperation Council states stability, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Friday. A GCC diplomat told the newspaper that the Gulf authorities will not tolerate any security threat that is a priority. The source expressed hope that Lebanese officials would realize the consequences of any military intervention in the crisis in Syria and the negative repercussion on Lebanon and the Lebanese. Earlier this month, the GCC expressed “great concern” over the government's failure to abide by the dissociation policy as declared in Baabda last year in a letter handed over to President Michel Suleiman. The Baabda Declaration was sponsored by Suleiman and calls for different parties to adhere to the disassociation policy to avoid the spread of the unrest in Syria to Lebanese territories. The diplomat pointed out that the letter aims at clarifying to the Lebanese authorities the risks undertaken for failing to abide by the Arab decision over the developments in the neighboring country. Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour called in his speech at the Arab Ministerial Council in Cairo last week for scrapping a decision to suspend the membership of Syria from the Arab League. The minister's statement drew ire of several officials locally including Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati. However, Mansour down played criticism on his speech after returning to Beirut, saying that he “carefully” chose his words as he is keen to preserve Lebanon's best interest. Lebanese parties are sharply divided over the crisis in Syria as the March 8 alliance continuously expresses its support to Syrian president Bashar Assad, while the March 14 camp backs the popular revolt. The international community and analysts have expressed fears that the conflict in Syria may spill over into Lebanon.

President Michel Suleiman from Ivory Coast: Lebanon will Continue to Implement Resolution 1701
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman has stressed that Lebanon will continue to implement a U.N. resolution that halted the Israel-Hizbullah war in 2006 in an attempt to restore sovereignty on all its territories.
“With the support of the international community, Lebanon will continue to work to implement Security Council resolution 1701 in an effort to restore sovereignty on all its territories,” Suleiman said on Thursday during a dinner banquet thrown by the President of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, in his honor. Resolution 1701, which ended the Hizbullah-Israel war in 2006, expanded the mandate of U.N. troops in the South, which was originally formed in 1978 after the outbreak of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. It imposed a strict embargo on weapons destined for Lebanese or foreign militias in Lebanon, and pressed Israel to end violations of Lebanon's airspace and to withdraw from northern Ghajar. In his speech, Suleiman stressed that “a just settlement for the problem of the Middle East and the cause of Palestine is a prerequisite to the consolidation of democracy and moderation in our region.”The Middle East is threatened by “extremism, unilateralism, autocracy and sectarianism,” he said. Despite the turmoil in the region and the world economic crisis, “Lebanon was capable of avoiding their negative repercussions through its solid banking sector,” Suleiman said. He also hailed the latest measures in oil and gas exploration, saying Lebanon will soon issue tenders.
The authorities have already passed an offshore petroleum law and carried out seismic surveys in its territorial waters. The country also launched last month an onshore survey of hydrocarbon reserves which Energy Minister Gebran Bassil said could turn the country into a regional oil hub. Lebanon has been slow to exploit maritime resources compared with other eastern Mediterranean countries. Israel, Cyprus and Turkey are all more advanced in drilling for oil and gas. Suleiman was in Senegal for a two-day visit before heading to the Ivory Coast on Thursday. He also participated in the Lebanese-Ivorian economic forum on Thursday.
The president launched his African tour on Tuesday by visiting Algeria.

Lebanon committed to UNSCR 1701: Sleiman
March 15, 2013/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman said Thursday night his country remains committed to the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. “Lebanon will continue, with the support of the international community, to work on securing the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 in a bid regain all of [Lebanon's] sovereignty on its land,” Sleiman said during a dinner held in his honor in Ivory Coast. The president, who has embarked on a historical visit to Africa, said Lebanon and Ivory Coast would work together at the regional and international levels “to confront the dangers of extremism and lack of forgiveness and terrorism.”He added that a fair and comprehensive peace in the Middle East was a prerequisite to fortifying democracy and moderation in the region. During the ceremony in Ivoire Hotel, Sleiman also noted that Lebanon wanted to benefit from its oil and natural gas resources that would greatly improve the national economy. “We have recently launched operations that will allow us to move to the next stage of bidding and explorations for the natural oil and gas that was discovered in our maritime [territory] to serve our national economy and the coming generations,” he said. For his part, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara spoke about “historical and distinguished ties” between the two countries and noted the role played by the Lebanese expatriate community.”“[Lebanese expats have] strongly contributed to the development of the Ivorian economy and Lebanese represent a primary element in the country's resources, particularly in the investment sector,” he said.

Technical’ delay a mask for Parliament extension
March 15, 2013/By Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: A “technical” delay in the upcoming parliamentary elections is a smokescreen for an extension of Parliament’s mandate, political analysts warned Thursday, as rival political leaders remained poles apart over a new voting system. The feuding parties’ failure to agree on a new electoral law has enhanced the possibility of a postponement of the June 9 parliamentary elections, or an extension of Parliament’s four-year mandate which expires on June 20. “I see slim hope for an agreement on a new electoral law. Therefore, there is no harm in delaying the elections for six months. But it seems to me things are going in favor of extending Parliament’s mandate for two years,” Abdallah Bou Habib, Lebanon’s former ambassador to the U.S., told The Daily Star. “The Lebanese will have to choose between a constitutional issue [holding the elections on time] and stability,” he said. “Extending Parliament’s mandate will lead to stability. But holding the elections based on a contentious voting law might destabilize the country.”
Bou Habib said any extension of Parliament’s mandate would take place under an agreement between the government and the opposition [March 14 parties], and with the consent of President Michel Sleiman.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati implicitly urged rival leaders to extend Parliament’s mandate after having failed to agree on a new voting system. He defended his signing of a decree calling for the elections to be held on time based on the current 1960 law, saying that conducting the polls was the government’s responsibility.
“But any other matter, be it a postponement [of the elections], or an extension [of Parliament’s mandate] is Parliament’s responsibility,” Mikati told a delegation from the Journalists’ Union that visited him at the Grand Serail.
“Since Parliament hasn’t been able to agree on a new electoral law, let [political factions] agree on steps they deem appropriate to ensure the continuity of legislation and avoid falling into a vacuum,” he added.
Shafik Masri, a professor of international law, also predicted an extension of Parliament’s term, citing the impasse on an electoral law and the bloody conflict in Syria as the causes.
“I expect Parliament’s mandate to be extended for at least one year because of the parties’ inability to agree on a new electoral law and also because of the internal Lebanese situation, which is being influenced by regional developments, particularly the situation in Syria and Iran,” Masri told The Daily Star. “The extension of Parliament’s term will be justified for carrying out political and constitutional reforms, including the drafting of a new electoral law,” Masri predicted. The United States and France this week reiterated their calls for the elections to be held on time.
Cabinet ministers and politicians from the rival March 8 and March 14 camps have predicted a “technical” delay in holding the elections in the absence of a new law to replace the 1960 legislation, which has been rejected by both sides of the political divide, including the Maronite Church. Used in the 2009 elections, the 1960 law adopts the qada as an electoral district and is based on a winner-takes-all system.
Attempts to reach a compromise deal to replace both the 1960 law and the Orthodox Gathering’s proposal with a hybrid vote system have so far failed to break the deadlock. The Future Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party are currently working together to draft a hybrid law that combines proportional representation with a winner-takes-all system.
Tewfic Hindi, a Lebanese politician close to the opposition March 14 coalition, said he opposed a “technical” election postponement because it would eventually lead to extending Parliament’s mandate.
“I’m for holding the elections on time on the basis of any law, the 1960 law, a hybrid law or a single district law. Priority should be given to holding the elections on time,” Hindi told The Daily Star.
“I’m against a technical delay in the elections [designed to give time] to search for an electoral law because this will lead to an extension of Parliament’s term,” he said. He warned of grave consequences if the elections aren’t held on time. “The failure to hold the elections will lead to one of two things: Either an extension of Parliament’s mandate, which is a disaster, or a power vacuum, which is also a disaster that will lead to further weakening of the state,” Hindi said. “Holding the elections based on a bad law is better than not holding them at all,” he added.
Bou Habib, the former envoy to Washington, said the Lebanese faced two contentious electoral laws that threatened to destabilize the country. “The 1960 law will encounter a boycott and rejection by a majority of Christians and Shiites. Likewise, the Orthodox proposal will face a boycott and rejection by the Sunnis and Druze,” he said. “Holding the elections based on either of these laws will lead to a political flare-up, which will lead to a security flare-up,” Bou Habib added. International law professor Masri cited three possible options. One would see Speaker Nabih Berri convene Parliament to discuss the Orthodox proposal and the joint Future-PSP hybrid vote plan.
“The other option is for the parties to agree on an extension of Parliament’s mandate due to the current local and regional circumstances,” Masri said. The third scenario would involve holding the polls based on an amended version of the 1960 law. However, political analyst Carol Maalouf was upbeat that an eleventh-hour deal would be reached by regional and international powers to allow for the elections to be held on time.
“Everything is possible. So far, indications on the ground, particularly administrative and logistical preparations, show that there are no elections,” Maalouf told The Daily Star.
“Yet, international and regional pressure on both the government and the opposition clearly shows that they want the elections to be held on time to avert a political vacuum that would lead to destabilization,” she said.
Maalouf, a political science lecturer at Notre Dame University, said she expected the rival parties to reach agreement on a hybrid vote law that combines proportional representation and a winner-takes-all system.
“A last-minute deal between regional powers, the GCC states, Iran, America and the European Union might lead to holding the elections on time in Lebanon,” Maalouf said.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani insists on elections of Higher Islamic Council
March 15, 2013/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani sounded defiant Friday, rejecting the call by Prime Minister Najib Mikati and former PMs to convene the higher Islamic Council.
He also insisted on holding elections for the council, whose term he maintained expired last year and voiced disappointment over official’s call for him to convene the council.
“Inviting and convening a meeting for the Higher Islamic Council is incorrect since its original term has ended as well as its extended term therefore it is unlawful given regulations that govern [the internal affairs of the council],” the mufti said in a letter to Mikati. He also noted that the “real party behind the disruption in the operations of Dar al-Fatwa was the council members” who the sheikh accused of refusing to carry out their duties within a caretaker capacity. Divisions within Dar al-Fatwa began to surface last year when the 21-member council extended its own term until the end of 2013, a move Qabbani argues is illegal. The mufti refuses to hold or join any meetings at Dar al-Fatwa and called last month for elections of council members to be held on April 14. Qabbani had called for elections to the council’s 32 positions last year but the move was suspended by the Shura Council after 21 members of the council who are close to the Future Movement challenged the call. In his statement Qabbani said his insistence on holding the elections stemmed from his conviction in implementing the law regarding council elections. In a bid to resolve the dispute, Mikati and other MPs have held meetings in search for a solution. Earlier this week, the statesmen asked Qabbani to convene the Higher Islamic Council and warned him against failing to do so before Saturday. They also said that it was necessary in the meantime to begin preparations for elections of administrative bodies and local sheikhs, as well as the members of the new Higher Islamic Council. Qabbani hit back at the prime ministers, asking: "Is calling for the elections the problem? And is committing to the laws a problem or is the problem the manipulation of laws by the council members?”
The mufti said he has on several occasions asked the officials to hold a meeting with the members of the council in the presence of the heads of state "to unite, renounce disputes and agree to hold elections for the Higher Islamic Council,” instead of a council meeting. But the prime ministers rejected, he said. “If we accept that the council's term has been extended illegally then we will be accepting to build everything based on lies,” Qabbani said.
He voiced disappointment over the statement issued by prime ministers on March 13, for it carried “a warning tone and a hint of measures being taken” against him.
He called on the officials to work together to achieve the good of the sect, its institutions and for this country and to hold the elections of the council on April 14 as he has called for.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomes U.N. remarks on border incidents
March 15, 2013/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Prime Minister Najib Mikati described the U.N. Security Council’s remarks about incidents on the border and arms smuggling between Lebanon and Syria as constructive while Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea called for the deployment of peacekeepers there. “The statement that was released yesterday by the Security Council is welcomed, it is constructive and we agree with it and we take all that [was mentioned] into consideration,” Mikati told reporters following talks with Speaker Nabih Berri in the latter’s Ain el-Tineh residence. In a statement released Thursday, the U.N. Security Council expressed deep concern over the impact on Lebanon from the crisis in Syria. "[The 15-member-state council] underscored their grave concern over repeated incidents of cross-border fire which caused death and injury among the Lebanese population, incursions, abductions and arms trafficking across the Lebanese-Syrian border, as well as other border violations.”Council members “appealed to all Lebanese people to preserve national unity in the face of attempts to undermine the country’s stability and stressed the need for all Lebanese parties to respect Lebanon’s policy of disassociation and to refrain from any involvement in the Syrian crisis.
Meanwhile, Geagea reiterated a demand from the March 14 coalition to deploy peacekeepers with the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon along the border with Syria.
“The situation on the Lebanese-Syrian border is worrisome particularly after the recent threats issued by Bashar Assad's regime to target and attack the border towns,” Geagea said on his Twitter feed, urging the government to hold an emergency meeting to deploy the Army. “If the numbers and equipment of the Army is not enough then the government should ask the Security Council to implement Article 11 and 14 of 1701 to expand the mandate of the international forces,” he added. Articles 11 and 14 call on UNIFIL to assist the government of Lebanon upon its request to "secure its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry in Lebanon without its consent of arms or related materiel." UNIFIL, however, has said that expanding the mandate of the peacekeeping force on the border with Syria requires the approval of the Security Council, arguing that Resolution 1701 is limited to the area between the Litani River and the Blue Line with Israel. The border between Lebanon and Syria is poorly demarcated with some 36 contested points.
Syria has said that arms and gunmen have been smuggled into Syria from its neighboring country with Damascus, warning Thursday it could attack rebels in Lebanon.
“Armed terrorist groups have infiltrated in large numbers in the past 36 hours from Lebanese territory into Syrian territory,” the Syrian Foreign Ministry wrote in a letter to its Lebanese counterpart Thursday. The letter said Syrian forces were still exercising self-restraint by not striking “concentrations of armed gangs inside Lebanese territory in order to prevent them from crossing into Syrian territory.”
“But this will not last indefinitely,” the letter warned.

SCC Protests at Beirut Airport, Civil Aviation Threatens to Join Strike
Naharnet/Civil Aviation authority announced on Friday that it will join the Syndicate Coordination Committee's open-ended strike if the cabinet failed to refer the new wage scale for public employees to the parliament in its session on March 21. “Employees at (Beirut's Rafik Hariri International) airport will suspend work if the new scale wasn't referred by the cabinet on March 21,” Imad al-Meqdad, a spokesman representing the civil aviation employees, said. The cabinet will hold a session next week to end the dispute over the matter despite the objection of the Economic Committees that argue that the approval of the scale will harm Lebanon's economy.
An SCC official, Mahmoud Haidar called on public sector employees to participate in the strike, calling on the government to swiftly resolve the matter. The SCC will hold a protest on Saturday near the Finance Ministry revenues building in Beshara al-Khoury. The sit-in was held near the arrival area at the airport. The SCC has announced an open-ended strike four weeks ago over its demand that the government refers the public sector wage raise - approved last year - to parliament. The SCC has been holding sit-ins and demonstrations near state institutions almost on a daily basis. The government argues that it is delaying the decision on the funding in an attempt to thoroughly discuss plans to boost the treasury's revenue to cover the expenses of the salaries boost.

Saniora Says Syria 'Threat' Totally Rejected, Asks Govt. to Prevent Attacks from Lebanon
Naharnet/Head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc ex-PM Fouad Saniora on Friday strongly condemned Damascus' “threat” to bomb what it called “terrorist gangs” operating in Lebanese territory, urging the government to inform the Arab League and the U.N. of the warning. “We have already reiterated several times our firm rejection of turning Lebanon and the Lebanese border into a place and launchpad for interfering in the Syrian affairs, while expressing our solidarity with the goals of the Syrian revolution and offering political and media support,” Saniora said in a statement. The ex-PM called on the Lebanese government to provide “clear and frank answers to the Syrian accusations and to act quickly and at all levels to take the security and military measures to protect the border and Lebanon's northern and eastern regions from attacks, which seem to be already decided.”
Saniora also urged Lebanese authorities to “prevent gunmen, to whichever side they belong, from using Lebanese territory as a launchpad for military operations” against Syrian forces through “deploying the army on the border and preventing violations.”The former prime minister described the threat issued by Syria's foreign ministry as “unacceptable and totally rejected, as it signals that the attack on Lebanon has already been decided, given the several escalatory and intimidating stances issued over the past two days by Syrian figures and pro-Syria Lebanese figures.” Syria on Thursday warned that its forces would fire into Lebanon if "terrorist gangs" continued to infiltrate the country, in a letter of protest to Lebanon. Saniora cautioned against “any attack on Lebanese territory,” saying “it would have uncalculated consequences amid these circumstances.”
“It the Lebanese government's duty to immediately inform the Arab League's secretary-general and ask him to convey the message to the brotherly Arab nations, in addition to informing the U.N.'s secretary-general of the possible dangers that the Syrian threats might lead to,” Saniora added. “Is there someone seeking to blow up the situations in Lebanon on the eve of the Arab summit that will be held in Doha, in order to divert attention from the crimes of the Syrian regime ... and to focus the attention on Lebanon after executing the threats and the already decided Syrian attacks?” Saniora warned.
The U.N. Security Council expressed "grave concern" Thursday over cross-border attacks between Syria and Lebanon in a rare united declaration on the Syrian conflict. Council members "underscored their grave concern over repeated incidents of cross-border fire which caused death and injury among the Lebanese population, incursions, abductions and arms trafficking across the Lebanese-Syrian border, as well as other border violations."Earlier, the Syrian foreign ministry said "these past 36 hours, armed terrorist gangs have infiltrated Syrian territory in large numbers from Lebanon.""Syrian forces are showing restraint by not striking these gangs inside Lebanese territory to prevent them from crossing into Syria, but this will not go on indefinitely," it said, urging Lebanon to take action. Earlier on Thursday, Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali announced that Syria had submitted the letter of protest to Lebanese authorities, complaining against “violations of the neighboring country's territory on the border.”

State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr Charges 10 with Belonging to al-Nusra Front
Naharnet/State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged on Friday ten people with belonging to an armed group and al-Nusra Front. The state-run National News Agency reported that the 10 men include Shadi al-Mawlawi, who was released on bail upon his arrest in the northern city of Tripoli in May last year, and another detained man. Mawlawi was charged then with belonging to a terrorist group.Later, LBCI reported that the detainee was identified as Amine Khaled who admitted during interrogations that the group coordinates with Fatah al-Islam leader Osama al-Shahabi. Al-Shahabi is currently present at the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern city of Sidon, the channel said. Saqr accused the men of belonging to an armed group and al-Nusra Front to carry out terrorist acts and transfer arms between Lebanon and Syria. Mawlawi told LBCI that the judicial system is corrupt and he doesn't “trust it,” considering that the charges are “invalid” and “useless.” He called on the judiciary to issue arrest warrants against Hizbullah first, warning against any attempts to arrest him. “All security agencies know my movements,” Mawlawi told the channel. The al-Nusra Front, completely unknown before the rebellion in Syria that began two years ago, has been a rebel standard-bearer since mid-2012 when it became the spearhead of the insurgency ahead of the Free Syrian Army. The organization has been blacklisted in December by the United States as a "terrorist" organization and makes no secret of its aim for Syria to become an Islamist state. Saqr referred the suspects to the First Military Magistrate.

Nine dead after bus overturns east of Beirut
March 15, 2013/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Nine people were killed and 29 others wounded after a bus carrying Syrian workers and their families overturned Friday morning on the Kahaleh road east of Beirut, the Lebanese Red Cross said.
George Kettaneh, the general secretary of the Lebanese organization, told The Daily Star that women and children were among the casualties.
Security sources said the coach, which carried a Syrian license plate, tipped over at the steep slope at Kahaleh in the district of Aley, Mount Lebanon, about 13 kilometers from the capital.
The officer at Bashar al-Sukhni travel agency in Syria, Mohammad Hammoud, told The Daily Star by telephone that the passengers – all from Manbij in the Aleppo province – were Syrian workers and their families. He did not know their exact number. Hammoud identified the bus driver by his first name – Jassem – but could not confirm whether he was among the dead. Lebanese Red Cross teams rushed the injured to nearby hospitals. A Lebanese Red Cross statement said that the rescue operation was called off three hours after the accident, which took place at 4:51 a.m. The security sources said the bus, registered in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakeh, was headed to Beirut when the accident occurred. Frequent road accidents take place at the same spot of the Kahaleh highway. The highway was blocked in both directions soon after the fatal crash. At around 9:30 a.m., police reopened the section of the road leading down to Beirut.Efforts are still under way to remove the bus and clear the other part of the road.

Syria protesters defiant as revolt enters third year
March 15, 2013/Daily Star /BEIRUT: Syria's protesters took to the streets across flashpoint areas on Friday, chanting slogans against President Bashar al-Assad and vowing not to be oppressed again as the anti-regime revolt entered its third year. Gathering under the rallying cry "Two years of sacrifice towards victory", protesters held anti-regime demonstrations in several areas of the strife-torn country including Damascus, Aleppo in the north and Daraa in the south. "Long Live Syria! Down with Bashar al-Assad!," chanted scores of protesters as they demonstrated in the village of Harra in Daraa, the cradle of the anti-Assad revolt, activists said, adding that the regime army shelled the village. "We know Assad has fallen, we need people to help us rebuild" the country, said a placard carried by a protester in Assali, southern Damascus, according to an amateur video released by activists.
"Our revolution is victorious. We'll be waiting for anyone who tries to abuse power," said another.
On March 15, 2011, Syria's revolt began as a peaceful uprising with men, women and children demonstrating against the regime, taking inspiration from the Arab world uprisings. But it quickly morphed into an armed conflict after the regime army unleashed a brutal crackdown on protesters. The United Nations says more than 70,000 people have been killed so far in the conflict. On Friday activists vowed that Syrians will not allow anyone to oppress them now. "There is a lot of violence, but two years into the revolution, we realise how far we have come. It's just a question of time before Assad goes. But now we know we will never again accept a leader who oppresses us or who treats the people like slaves," said activist Abu Ghazi from Hama. In Douma near Damascus, protesters took to the streets in small numbers despite intermittent shelling on the rebel-held town, said activist Abu Nadim. "The violence is constant, and so is the death. But even then we believe Assad will fall, and that oppression will end in Syria. We are patient."
Protesters also demonstrated in several rebel-held areas of Syria's second city of Aleppo which has witnessed widespread destruction amid daily fierce fighting between regime troops and rebels, activists said.

New Israeli government formed: Netanyahu
March 15, 2013/Daily Star /JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday he had signed agreements with key coalition partners, forming a new government just over 24 hours ahead of a deadline and days before a milestone visit from US President Barack Obama. The alliance of Netanyahu's Likud party and former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu had been locked in intense negotiations for weeks with the centrist Yesh Atid and far-right Jewish Home parties who together held the key to building a government with a majority in the 120-seat parliament. "The prime minister welcomes the coalition agreements that have been signed between the Likud and Yisrael Beitenu and the Yesh Atid party and the Jewish Home," a statement from Netanyahu's office said on Friday afternoon, about an hour before the start of the Jewish Sabbath, which ends on Saturday evening. "On Saturday evening, the prime minister will inform President Shimon Peres that he has completed the task" of forming a government, the statement said. Netanyahu had a legal deadline of Saturday evening to come up with a coalition or admit defeat. The new cabinet is expected to be sworn in before the parliament on Monday, 48 hours before the arrival of US President Barack Obama on his first visit since being elected in 2008.

Syria crisis escalating at unprecedented pace, U.N. warns
March 15, 2013/By Stephen Dockery/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: The crisis in Syria is accelerating at an unprecedented pace unseen in recent years, the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees warned Friday in Beirut, and described the two-year-old conflict across the border as representing an “existential threat” to Lebanon. “Two years after the beginning of the Syria crisis, we are witnessing the staggering escalation of the conflict that is accelerating the crisis in a way that is unprecedented in recent decades,” Antonio Guterres said at a news conference in the Lebanese capital.
Guterres, who kicked off a visit to Lebanon Thursday, also voiced alarm on the disparity between the needs of those suffering as a result of the Syria conflict and the available resources to assist them.
“There is a widening gap between the needs of the people suffering the impact of the Syrian crisis and the resources available to support [them],” he told a news conference at the Movenpick Hotel in Beirut.
“There is no way a gap of this magnitude can be filled with current humanitarian budgets,” he warned, adding: “We are not only witnessing a humanitarian tragedy but a threat to international peace and security.”
Guterres expressed hope that the funds pledged at a January conference in Kuwait would surface and be put toward the U.N. humanitarian response.
He said the gap between the money pledged and received stood at $700 million and stressed, saying that humanitarian organizations had received just a third of the funds needed to cover the basic needs of refugees.
“This is why I appeal to all governments and parliaments to approve extraordinary funds,” he said.
Gueterres also said crisis represented an “existential threat to Lebanon,” adding that this could only be countered through national solidarity.
Visiting Syrian families in the Chouf town of Ketermaya Thursday, Guterres pledged to ease the difficult refugee situation in Lebanon.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is aiding nearly 350,000 refugees in Lebanon, and the government, the U.N. and other aid organizations say the relief efforts are grossly underfunded.
Hundreds of millions of dollars of aid pledges by the international community have not been delivered, and Prime Minister Najib Mikati has recently called for Arab nations to do more to assist the refugees.

Syria threatens strike on ‘gangs’ in Lebanon
March 15, 2013/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: As the Syrian conflict entered its third year Friday, international fears of a spillover of the conflict intensified after Damascus threatened to bomb “armed gangs” in Lebanon if incursions into its territory continue.
“Armed terrorist groups have infiltrated in large numbers in the past 36 hours from Lebanese territory into Syrian territory,” the Syrian Foreign Ministry wrote in a letter to its Lebanese counterpart Thursday.
It said Syrian forces had clashed with these groups on Syrian territory. “The clashes are ongoing,” it added.
The letter said Syrian forces were still exercising self-restraint by not striking “concentrations of armed gangs inside Lebanese territory in order to prevent them from crossing into Syrian territory.”
“But this will not last indefinitely,” the letter warned.
“Syria expects the Lebanese side not to allow those [groups] to use the border as a conduit because they are targeting the security of the Syrian people, violating Syrian sovereignty and exploiting the good brotherly relations between the two countries,” it added.
In a rare united declaration on the Syrian conflict, the Security Council expressed deep concern over the impact on Lebanon from the Syrian conflict, in a statement agreed at closed talks.
Council members “underscored their grave concern over repeated incidents of cross-border fire which caused death and injury among the Lebanese population, incursions, abductions and arms trafficking across the Lebanese-Syrian border, as well as other border violations.”
The statement was read to reporters by Russia’s U.N. envoy Vitaly Churkin.
The Security Council “underlined the importance of full respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.”
It also expressed “deep concern at the impact of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon’s stability.”
Council members “appealed to all Lebanese people to preserve national unity in the face of attempts to undermine the country’s stability and stressed the need for all Lebanese parties to respect Lebanon’s policy of disassociation and to refrain from any involvement in the Syrian crisis.”
U.N. envoy to Lebanon Derek Plumbly said there was “ongoing concern about weapons smuggling and other breaches” of the border. He added that the Security Council statement was “important for Lebanon.” In Brussels, the French president stepped up calls to arm the rebels and regime warplanes bombarded opposition-held areas across the country.
President Francois Hollande urged Europe’s leaders to lift an arms embargo on Syria to help rebels battling Assad’s regime.
He spoke as London and Paris sought jointly to lift the embargo to enable them to arm the rebels, angering Damascus but drawing a cautious welcome from the opposition.
Arriving in Brussels for a two-day summit with EU leaders, Hollande told journalists: “We want Europeans to lift the arms embargo.”
“We are ready to support the rebellion, so we are ready to go this far. We must take our responsibilities.”
Syria’s official SANA news agency said it would be a “flagrant violation of the principles of international law ... to provide weapons to terrorist groups in Syria.”
Earlier, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told France Info radio that Britain and France would ask “the Europeans now to lift the embargo so that the resistance fighters have the possibility of defending themselves.”
Assad’s government is receiving weapons from Iran and Russia which gave it an edge over the opposition, Fabius said.
He said Paris and London would press for quick new EU talks on the arms embargo, which was extended on Feb. 28 for three months by EU foreign ministers, although such sanctions are constantly reviewed.
Fabius said the two governments were ready to go ahead with arms deliveries even without the support of their partners.
Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron met separately at the start of the summit and agreed they would discuss with other leaders what more the EU could do on the Syria embargo, Cameron’s spokeswoman said.
The arms embargo is “backfiring,” she said. “It doesn’t stop those aiding Assad, it does stop EU countries and others helping those against whom Assad is waging a brutal and terrorizing war,” she added.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu backed Fabius’ comments. “If the international community displayed in a very clear and decisive manner the will to stop the Syrian regime [from] waging war, there would be no need for any kind of arming,” he said. Syria’s main opposition bloc, the National Coalition, welcomed Fabius’ comments, saying that Western arms deliveries would be essential to the success of the uprising. “As long as the Europeans and the Americans do not arm the rebels, they are telling Assad to keep fighting,” coalition spokesman Walid al-Bunni told AFP.
Regime warplanes bombarded rebel positions across Syria Thursday, a day on which violence claimed at least 133 lives, almost equally divided between civilians, rebels and soldiers, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, while fierce clashes raged near the ancient citadel in the central city of Homs.
U.N. peacekeepers monitoring the cease-fire line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights Thursday halted patrols after rebels detained 21 observers for three days last week, diplomats said.
Also Thursday, Israel’s military intelligence chief said the Assad regime had contingency plans to use chemical weapons as it battles insurgents.
“Assad is making advance preparations to use chemical weapons. He did not give the order yet, but is preparing for it,” Maj. Gen. Avi Kohavi said.

EU leaders fail to agree on arming Syrian rebels
March 15, 2013/By Don Melvin/Daily Star
BRUSSELS: On the second anniversary of the uprising that evolved into Syria's brutal civil war, leaders at a European Union summit Friday found themselves facing a difficult dilemma: trying to predict whether funneling more arms to rebels trying to overthrow Syrian leader Bashar Assad would save lives or result in more deaths. In the end, the 27 national leaders were unable to reach a consensus and asked their foreign ministers, who will meet late next week in Dublin, to try to hash out a common position. The argument in favor of sending arms, supported primarily by France and Britain, is that more arms will enable the rebels to protect themselves and the civilian population against the heavy weaponry of the Assad regime - and focus the minds of members of the regime on why they should negotiate a political solution.
The coalition "needs to have the means to defend the areas that have been liberated. What he is doing is committing a crime against his own people," French President Francois Hollande said, referring to Assad. "It has been two years of a terrible situation and the number of victims is rising daily." That was a view shared by British Prime Minister David Cameron. "Of course I want a political solution," Cameron said. "But this is not an either/or situation. I think we are more likely to see political progress if people can see that the Syrian opposition - which we have now recognized, that we are working with - is a credible and strengthening and growing force."
The argument against supplying arms to the rebels, supported by Germany and a number of other countries is that Syria is awash in guns and needs no more. About 70,000 people are thought to have died so far.
There are fears, as well, that more heavy weaponry would spark an arms race in the country, with Russia and Iran increasing the flow of munitions to the regime, and also that weapons meant for more moderate rebels would end up in arsenals of radicals."I made it clear that we have a whole series of reservations regarding weapons exports to the opposition because we have to ask ourselves whether we are not further fueling the conflict by doing that," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. In Vienna, Austrian Defense Minister Gerhard Klug said he was opposed to having the EU allow its members to send weapons to the rebels, saying they could find their way into the wrong hands. Austrian troops form part of the 1,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force on the Golan, and the country's concern about the safety of its soldiers has risen since Syrian rebels temporarily detained 21 Filipinos last week. Klug told Austrian state broadcaster ORF that EU arms deliveries "would mean more weapons in this crisis region," adding there was no guarantee about who would end up owning them.
The EU has in place an embargo prohibiting any arms from being sent to Syria, whether to the rebels or to the Assad regime. That embargo is scheduled to remain in effect until May, when it will either be renewed or allowed to expire. Syria was not on the summit agenda - the main topic Friday was EU-Russian relations - but French officials had indicated that Hollande would raise it. And, while the divisions were deep, there was a desire to have the Europeans speak with one voice. "We are all deeply concerned about the desperate situation in Syria," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said after the summit broke up. "Europe can only play a strong and effective role if it acts as one." The effort to overthrow Assad's regime began as a popular uprising on March 15, 2011. Since then, fighting has spread across the country, claiming more than 70,000 lives and displacing nearly 4 million of Syria's 22 million people.

Syria-bound fuel tanker explodes, 4 wounded
March 15, 2013/The Daily Star /TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Four people were wounded Friday after a fuel tanker, torched by gunmen overnight in an attempt to halt it from reaching Syria, exploded in Tripoli, north Lebanon.
Security sources told The Daily Star the wounded were all Lebanese nationals. Their names were not revealed. The sources said the tanker was one of three tank trucks set on fire at Tripoli’s Abu Ali roundabout late Thursday.
Unidentified gunmen had attacked the drivers of the Syrian tanker trucks after breaking the trailors' windshields. The assailants then emptied the tankers of fuel oil before torching them, the sources added.
The Lebanese Army cordoned off the area, preventing people from approaching the scene. Last month, protesters blocked the international highway in Arida, north Lebanon, and prevented fuel tanker trucks from crossing into Syria.The protests argue that fuel entering Lebanon’s neighbor is destined to the regime in Damascus to kill the Syrian people.

UK's Cameron disagrees with pope over Falklands
March 15, 2013/By Cassandra Vinograd/Daily Star
LONDON: The pope may be infallible to his followers, but not to British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Pope Francis - the Argentine cardinal elected as the new pontiff - has been quoted as describing the Falkland Islands as Argentine soil that was "usurped" by Britain.The islands in the South Atlantic have been British territory since 1833, but are also claimed by Argentina, which calls them the Malvinas. Islanders last week voted overwhelmingly "yes" in a referendum on remaining a British Overseas Territory. Of 1,517 votes cast, only three islanders said no. Cameron on Friday urged the pope and other world leaders to respect that vote, saying: "The white smoke over the Falklands was pretty clear." When asked about the pope's views on the Falklands at a Brussels news conference, Cameron said he doesn't agree with the pontiff, "respectfully, obviously." "There was a pretty extraordinarily clear referendum in the Falkland Islands, and I think that is a message to everyone in the world that the people of these islands have chosen very clearly the future they want and that choice should be respected by everyone," Cameron said. Argentina's ambassador to London has said the referendum was organized by and for the British, just to claim the islands for Britain. The new pope's views on the Falklands made headlines in Britain as soon as Francis - formerly Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio - was elected.
The British press has fixated on comments he made last year during a Mass to commemorate 30 years since the 1982 war over the islands between Britain and Argentina. "We're going to pray for those who have fallen, children of the fatherland who went out to defend their mother, the fatherland, to reclaim what is theirs for the fatherland and that was usurped from them," the then-cardinal said.

Syria Conflict Enters 3rd Year, EU Mulls Arming Rebels
Naharnet/Syria's devastating conflict entered its third year on Friday with EU leaders frustrated over the failure of diplomacy to end the bloodshed pressing to arm rebels despite Russia's objections.
The Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook page, a key driving force behind the uprising, has called on people to take to the streets after the main weekly Muslim prayers under the rallying cry "Two years of sacrifice towards victory". The conflict erupted on March 15, 2011 when protesters inspired by Arab world uprisings took to the streets of cities and towns across Syria for unprecedented demonstrations to call for democratic change.
Despite the demonstrators being unarmed, peaceful and made up of many women and children, forces of President Bashar Assad unleashed a brutal crackdown, opening fire on them, prompting an ever-growing number to take up arms. Two years on, Syria is mired in a devastating civil war that has killed at least 70,000 people, forced a million to flee with millions more missing or displaced and created an economic and humanitarian disaster.
Rebels have seized large swathes of territory, but growing tensions between liberals and moderate Muslims on the one hand, and powerful Islamists on the other, have raised fears of a collapse into a new sectarian bloodbath.
In power for 40 years, the Assad clan believed it could quell the revolt, just as Bashar's father and predecessor Hafez did in 1982, when he crushed a Muslim Brotherhood uprising in Hama, killing between 10,000 and 40,000 people. The military has formidable firepower, and clashes with outgunned armed rebels have reduced many cities to rubble.
Britain and France have announced moves to begin addressing that imbalance by lifting an arms embargo on Syria, and the issue is expected to come up again Friday at the second and final day of an EU summit in Brussels.
"Our goal is to convince our partners at the end of May, and if possible before.... If by chance there is a blockage by one or two countries, then France will take its responsibilities," French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday. "Political solutions have now failed (in Syria), despite every pressure.
"We must go further because for two years there has been a clear willingness by (Syrian President) Bashar Assad to use every means to hit at his own people," Hollande added. Syria's main opposition bloc, the National Coalition, welcomed France's initiative as "a step in the right direction". Assad's government, like its key foreign ally Russia, said any such arms shipments would be a "flagrant violation" of international law.
The United States may look favorably on the French and British moves to give more aid to rebels, the State Department said, without explicitly backing armed support.
"We're obviously not going to get in the middle of their internal discussions, but we certainly want to see as many governments as possible provide appropriate support to the Syrian opposition coalition," said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. However, Berlin is known to be cool to the idea and on Thursday German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU needed to "proceed very cautiously" on lifting the embargo.
Violence across Syria killed 141 people on Thursday, among them 49 rebel fighters, 47 regime soldiers and 45 civilians, according to an updated toll from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
SourceAgence France Presse

Obama: Iran 'year or so' away from nuclear bomb

By HERB KEINON 03/14/2013/J.Post
US president says has a "terrific, business-like relationship" with PM; says no plans for releasing Pollard immediately.
The US believes that right now it would take Iran “over a year or so” to develop a nuclear bomb if it decided to do so, US President Barack Obama said in an interview aired Thursday, six days before his much-anticipated trip to Israel. In the White House interview with Channel 2’s Yonit Levy – Obama’s first shot at talking directly to the Israeli public, something widely acknowledged as one of the main purposes of his visit – the president said the US did not want to go down to the deadline with the Iranians.“Obviously we don’t want to cut it too close,” he said. Obama deflected the notion that part of his message to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will be to try and rein in any possible Israeli military action, saying “my message will be the same as before: If we can resolve this diplomatically, that is a more lasting solution; and if not, I continue to keep all options on the table.”
“When I say all options are on the table, all options are on the table, and the US obviously has significant capabilities,” he said.
“Our goal is that Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel or trigger an arms race in the region that would be extremely dangerous.”Regarding the diplomatic process with the Palestinians, Obama said nothing of coming to the region with any concrete plans on how to move the process forward, but rather that his goal was to listen to both sides and hear their strategies and visions.
Obama said the only path forward was for the Israelis and Palestinians to get back into negotiations, and that during his visit he would explore “whether that can happen soon or whether there needs to be further work on the ground.” Obama said he would tell Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that running around Israel to the UN will not be successful, and that he would tell Netanyahu that he should have an interest in strengthening the moderate leadership in the PA and “make sure issues like settlements are viewed through the lens of ‘is this making it easier or harder for Palestinian moderates to sit down at the table?’” While recognizing Israel was legitimately concerned about the chaos in the region, Obama said the country “can’t count on just a few autocrats holding things together in the neighborhood,” and that it was in Israel’s interest to be able to talk to the Arab street.
Regarding Jonathan Pollard, Obama quashed hope that he would free him during his visit. “I have no plans for releasing Jonathan Pollard immediately, but what I am going to be doing is make sure that he – like every other American who has been sentenced – is accorded the same kinds of review and same examination of the equities that any other individual would be provided.” With that, Obama articulated more sympathy on the matter than any other US president. “I recognize the emotions involved in this,” he said. “One of the strengths of the Israeli people is you think about your people wherever they are. I recognize that and am sympathetic.”
On the other hand, he said, people needed to understand that his first obligation as president was to uphold the country’s laws and make sure they are “applied consistently. There are a lot of individuals in prison in the United States who have committed crimes who would love to be released early as well, and I have to make sure that every individual is treated fairly and equally.”
Obama, who was criticized sharply for not mentioning the Jewish people’s historical tie to Israel in his Cairo speech in 2009, made reference to that connection in the interview, saying he has always admired the Jewish people’s “connection to the land.” He also addressed his relationship with Netanyahu, calling what has widely been perceived as a strained relationship a “terrific, business- like relationship.”
“I’ve met with Bibi more than any other world leader one-on-one,” he said. “He is very blunt with me about his views on issues, and I am very blunt with him about my views on issues. And we get stuff done. We could not coordinate militarily or on the intelligence side had it not been for our capacity to work together.”

Hezbollah: It’s Complicated ..Written
by : Michel Abu Najm/ Asharq Al-Awsat
Paris, Asharq Al-Awsat—Élie Barnavi, Israel’s former ambassador to France, recalls that he once met with former French President Jacques Chirac to convince him to label Hezbollah “a terrorist organization responsible since its founding in 1982 for abductions, murders, terrorist attacks, hijackings, and bombings on Lebanese territory and abroad, which have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people.”
According to the former Israeli ambassador, Chirac refused to listen and replied, “Hezbollah is a Lebanese political party. It is a part of the social and cultural fabric of the country, and part of its sectarian balance.” Ambassador Barnavi responded, “Why do you label Hamas a terrorist organization and not its Lebanese counterpart?”
According to Barnavi, the French outlook has not changed despite a long series of terrorist attacks attributed to Hezbollah in Argentina, India, Thailand, Georgia, Kenya, and Cyprus. There was also the recent attack on Israeli tourists at the airport in Burgas, Bulgaria which killed six people: five Israelis and a Bulgarian driver, in addition to leaving dozens of others wounded. On 5 February last year, Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov officially announced that Hezbollah was responsible for the suicide operation and that the two culprits were members of group carrying Canadian and Australian passports.
Hezbollah denounces the allegations, and claimed that it was part of a “smear campaign” by Israel and the United States, and unequivocally denied any involvement in the Burgas bombing.
Seven months after the attack in Burgas, and despite official Bulgarian accusations and Israeli and American pressure on the EU to add Hezbollah to the EU’s terror list, the 27 European countries, led primarily by Italy and France, refused to submit to these pressures. US pressure on the European Union take many forms. Vice President Joe Biden said in a recent speech to AIPAC, the predominant American-Israeli lobbying organization in the US, that Hezbollah, “Presents itself as a political and social movement while it conspires against innocent people from Eastern Europe to East Africa, from South-East Asia to South America…We know what Israel has known: Hezbollah is a terrorist organization, period. We urge each country that deals with Hezbollah to approach it from this standpoint and label it a terrorist organization.”
Prior to Biden’s speech, National Security Advisor Thomas E. Donilon wrote an article in the New York Times in which he urged Europeans to change its approach to Hezbollah, saying that it is Europe’s duty, “…to act collectively and respond resolutely to this attack within its borders by adding Hezbollah to the European Union’s terrorist list… Europe can no longer ignore the threat that this group poses to the Continent and to the world…it is an illusion to speak of Hezbollah as a responsible political actor.”
Despite this pressure, Paris has refused to alter its position, evidenced by France’s refusal to place Hezbollah on the European terror list during official EU meetings.
A question then arises: What are the factors underlying France’s intransigence? Are they the same reasons former president Chirac spoke of? Or are there other regional and international dimensions related to French interests in Lebanon which determine the French approach to Hezbollah?
In recent years, only two French officials have ever deviated from the traditional line and used the term ‘terrorist’ to describe Hezbollah and its activities.
During a visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority territories in February 2000, Socialist Party leader Lionel Jospin, who served as Prime Minister from 1997 to 2002, said during a speech at Birzeit University that “France condemns attacks by Hezbollah and all terrorist attacks, especially those that target Israeli soldiers and civilians.” Upon leaving the university, dozens of Palestinians hurled rocks at Jospin’s entourage and the then prime minister was struck in the head.
His comments sparked a mini-crisis of sorts between him and President Jacques Chirac. The president’s office issued a statement in which it said that Jospin’s statements “run counter to French diplomatic neutrality and undermine the credibility of our foreign policy.” With this, Paris returned to its typical stance, given that in the French political system the office of the president holds precedence over the prime minister in matters of foreign and defense policy. Some hold that Jospin’s comments contributed to his loss of the presidential elections to Jacques Chirac in 2002.
The second figure willing to link Hezbollah to terrorism was former President Nicolas Sarkozy, known for his strong ties to Israel and specifically to Benjamin Netanyahu. During Israel’s war on Lebanon in 2006, Sarkozy, then serving as interior minister, did not hesitate while talking about Hezbollah to say that “it risks operating like a terrorist organization operates.” After being elected president in 2007, Mr. Sarkozy made an official visit to Israel and called on Hezbollah to “abandon terrorist activities.”
Despite these statements, French policy has not altered. France continues to communicate with Hezbollah and in 2008, the French foreign ministry invited it to participate in the Lebanese dialogue conference in Saint-Cloud in addition to a number of other Lebanese political parties. Hezbollah MPs and ministers frequently make trips to Paris, and the French Embassy in Beirut continues to host Hezbollah representatives for discussions, especially on the UN’s peacekeeping force in Lebanon, in which France plays a leading role.
France’s policy towards Lebanon has been very consistent and is rooted in the country’s values. Regardless of the government’s leftist or rightist composition, its leaders voice their unwavering support for upholding sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity, constitutional and democratic institutions, and the state’s exclusive right to coercive force. Ever since the League of Nations granted France a mandate over Lebanon after World War I, it has played an important role in shaping Lebanon’s politics, and throughout this process Paris has been unerring in its support for the Lebanese people to come to a consensus so that its diverse components may coexist peacefully in one state. Paris maintains that coexistence is necessary for Lebanon’s security and political stability.
In regards to the Syrian issue, France supports the policy of “self-distancing” as spelled out in the Baabda Declaration which Lebanon has officially adopted. Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, French officials have repeatedly stated that Paris’s greatest concern is that the chaos spills over into Lebanon, saying that they consider it to be the most vulnerable of all of Syria’s neighboring countries.
On the Lebanese–Israeli front, Paris encourages both sides to implement UN Resolution 1701, which ended the Israeli war on Lebanon in the summer of 2006. French sources point to the continued calmness on the Israeli-Lebanese border as the best evidence of the efficacy of the aforementioned resolution, despite repeated Israeli flybys over Lebanese territory, the impasse of the village of Ghajar, and the protracted dispute over the identity of the Shebaa Farms. Since the end of the conflict, relations between UNIFIL, specifically the French forces within it which currently stand at 850 men, and the ‘republic’ of Hezbollah in the south have not been free of tension.
Last week the French foreign ministry said that Paris “continues to play its role within the framework of international forces in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) in view of the pivotal part they play in maintaining the stability of southern Lebanon . . . with this role becoming all the more crucial given the growing tension in the region.”
All of these official stances work towards maintaining Lebanon’s stability and its cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity. Thus France’s approach to Hezbollah is geared so that in time it can realize the overarching goal of having Hezbollah return to being a civilian party void of a military wing.
If these are the bases for the France’s position, then how do its politicians go about maintaining it?
Asharq Al-Awsat posed this question to Denis Bauchard, a former diplomat and adviser to the French Institute for International Relations, and French MP Gérard Bapt, who headed the former French-Lebanese friendship group in Parliament. Denis Bauchard said that Paris views Hezbollah as a “political party with representatives in parliament and ministers in the government, and thus it enjoys the legitimacy that can only be derived from the electoral process. Through our embassy in Beirut, we have established good bilateral relations with its ministers and its other party members at all levels. We seek to maintain good and balanced relations with all Lebanese communities, including the Shiites.”
He said that the Shiite community is an important one and impossible to overlook. Thus France views the Shiite community as a “partner” with whom it interacts mainly through the Lebanese Parliament Speaker, Nabih Berri, and Hezbollah, Bauchard said.
However, Bauchard mentioned other factors that influence the Paris-Hezbollah dynamic. First among them is the presence of UNIFIL forces in southern Lebanon which include French personnel in its ranks. Bauchard described this relationship in the south as “highly sensitive” and attributes its delicacy to the Syrian situation and the potential it has to spill over into Lebanon. Nonetheless, Bauchard says that “The situation has become more sensitive than it was previously . . . however there is a tacit agreement between UNIFIL and Hezbollah to avoid a dangerous escalation that neither side wants.”
Bauchard pointed to French political sources which had said that if France were to place Hezbollah on the terror list “it would likely have ramifications that would increase the tension in the UNIFIL–Hezbollah relationship.” Tensions between Paris and Hezbollah factor arise from that fact that Paris has taken a strong position in opposition to the Syrian regime, which enjoys the unconditional support of Hezbollah. The French sources added that, “What is true of the Syrian file is also true of the Iranian nuclear file,” in that Paris is not hesitant to take a firm stance that contradicts the ideology and commitments of Hezbollah.
The Associated Press quoted French researcher Joseph Bahout, a professor at the Institute of Political Science in Paris, when he said that bowing to the demands of Israel and Washington “would put UNIFIL in an untenable situation,” in southern Lebanon. He said that the acceptance of the presence of international forces in this region “is in large part due to the good relations that still exist between the West, specifically France, and Hezbollah.”
For his part, MP Gérard Bapt said that, “It is in Hezbollah’s interest to maintain relative peace in southern Lebanon and to not cause problems.” The French MP told Asharq Al-Awsat that threats to UNIFIL “could likely come from the Salafists more than from Hezbollah.” Bapt called upon his country to take these risks into account not only in regards to UNIFIL, but on a larger scale in terms of French support for the Syrian opposition and its Salafist currents, which could have other impacts on Lebanon and the region. Bapt argued that the time has come for the French government to reassess its position, especially as the Americans and Russians “are looking for a way out that prevents Syria from plunging into total chaos like in Libya or Afghanistan.”
Bapt looks at France’s relationship with Hezbollah within the context of wider Lebanese-French relations, which he feels is “a departure from the previous policy that focused mostly on the Maronite-French relationship.” In his view, the relationship between France and Hezbollah is, “vital given the facts on the ground . . . It can be a stabilizing force on Lebanon’s domestic scene.”
In terms of triangular French-Iranian-Hezbollah relations, Bapt believes that the resumption of talks on the Iranian nuclear issue between Tehran and the permanent members of the UN Security Council (plus Germany) will reflect positively on this relationship if it leads to an understanding between the two sides.
The subject of Hezbollah remains high on the European agenda. French sources say that “There are centrist solutions available” in regards to reconciling opposing views in the 27 nation bloc. For example, they could single out Hezbollah’s military wing or blacklist the names of those involved in the Burgas attack, as recently happened with Imad Mughniyah, the military commander Hezbollah. His name remained on the list until he was killed in a car bombing in Damascus in 2008.