LCCC NEWS
BULLETIN
April 13/2006
Below news from
miscellaneous sources for 13/04/06
Will Iraq Follow Lebanon's Path to War?Guardian Unlimited, UK
Rice Urges UN to Take `Strong Steps' on Iranian
Nuclear Program-Bloomberg
Italy election fraudulent - Berlusconi-Reuters.uk
Prodi confirms withdrawal from Iraq
White House denies Iraq lab claim-BBC
News
Sunni-Shi'ite tension rising in Lebanon-Reuters
Most wanted terror suspect free in weeks-Australian
Syria and Iran Emphasize Significance of Bilateral Cooperation-SANA
Iran Turns Nuclear Corner-Hartford
Couran
Below news from
the Daily Star for 13/04/06
Aoun: 'Why not' invite Lahoud into dialogue?
Hariri in France for talks with Chirac
Siniora: Looking forward to visiting Syria soon
Arrest tally in Hasbaya gunfight rises to 24
Gemayel: Next president must come from 'spirit of March 14'
Cyprus leads race to host Hariri trial
Abu al-Aynayn takes Hizbullah up on offer to tour former death camp
PFLP-GC chief in Iran to laud enrichment success
Ain al-Hilweh asks ministerial delegation to put off visit
If the Arab League can't show courage now, it never will
Iran enrichment draws international ire
Abbas declares readiness to resume talks with Israel
Country's first-ever model UN draws 600 emerging diplomats
Salloukh outlines reform plan for
Europeans
Daily Star staff-Thursday, April 13, 2006: Foreign
Minister Fawzi Salloukh concluded his meetings with counterparts representing
their states in the Euro-Lebanese Partnership Conference in Luxembourg on
Wednesday. Salloukh attended a three-hour meeting of the Euro-Lebanese
Partnership in the presence of Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European commissioner
for foreign affairs. During the meeting, Salloukh explained the package of
economic reforms currently being discussed by the Cabinet. Waldner welcomed the
reform plan and stressed the "European Union's readiness to help Lebanon in that
matter."
Salloukh also urged the participants to "exert pressures on Israel to stop its
violations of Lebanese territory."
Beirut ranked 155th among world cities
Daily Star staff-Thursday, April 13, 2006: Beirut has
been ranked 155th in a yearly study of quality of life in international cities
which gave Zurich the first position. The analysis, which assists governments
and multinational companies in placing employees on international assignments,
covered more than 350 cities. Geneva and Vancouver followed Zurich in the
ranking, while Bangui in the Central African Republic and Brazzaville, the
capital of the Republic of Congo, preceded Baghdad in the three bottom slots.
The Worldwide Quality of Living Survey is conducted every year by Mercer Human
Resource Consulting, a British firm. The company bases its assessment on 39
criteria, including political, economic and environmental factors. It takes into
account the major concerns of city dwellers such as personal safety, health,
education, transport and public services.
"Cities are ranked against New York as the base city, which has an index score
of 100," the company said in a summary of its latest report posted on its
website. Beirut scored 60. - With Naharnet
Committee meets to help farmers along border
Daily Star staff-Thursday, April 13, 2006: The Joint
Lebanese-Syrian Committee for Treating Farmers Fairly and Preserving the Flora
held its second meeting on Wednesday at the Baalbek Serail. Baalbek's qaimaqam,
Omar Yassin, said the meeting was aimed at following up on issues important to
the Bekaa and the Rif Damascus area. He indicated that in the previous meeting
held in Damascus, both delegations agreed to collect citizens' complaints and
examine documents they provide.
The head of the Syrian delegation, Brigadier General Ali Harb, said the panel
was specialized in removing obstacles hampering farmers' movements across the
border to tend their properties. After the meeting, a press conference was held
during which Ahmad Hajj Hassan spoke on behalf of the Higher Lebanese-Syrian
Council. Hajj Hassan said the most important recommendation called the movements
of farmers to be facilitated by providing them with special authorizations. -
Morshed Ali
Fadlallah holds talks with Egyptian ambassador
Shiite Cleric Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah met Wednesday with Egyptian
Ambassador Hussein Derrar and discussed the situation in Lebanon and the region,
as well as the means to promote union among Shiite and Sunnite Muslims.
Fadlallah stressed the importance of the Egyptian role on both the Islamic and
Arab levels and in the Lebanese and Palestinian arenas. Derrar said: "Our
biggest concern is to avoid the sectarian strife being planned by the exterior,
notably between Shiite and Sunnis." Meanwhile, the vice president of the Higher
Shiite Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, met with Iranian Ambassador Massoud
al-Idrissi and discussed the Lebanese and regional situations. Qabalan called on
the Islamic Republic to "form an Asian Islamic union that promotes relations
among Islamic countries in Asia and constitutes an international force that
protects Islamic countries." As for Idrissi, he said that his country "supports
the ongoing national dialogue and hopes it will reach the required results." He
added that he invited Qabalan to visit his country and the latter promised to do
so as soon as possible.
Abu al-Aynayn takes Hizbullah up on offer to tour
former death camp
Daily Star staff-Thursday, April 13, 2006
SOUTH LEBANON: Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization Sultan
Abu al-Aynayn paid a visit Wednesday to the Khiam former concentration camp upon
an invitation from Hizbullah. Speaking during his visit to the former South
Israeli Army stronghold, Abu al-Aynayn said: "The Palestinian struggle will not
stop until the Palestinian state is established." When asked about Hizbullah's
weapons, he replied: "The Palestine Liberation Organization and Hizbullah
believe that the UN Security Council Resolution 1559 is a weapon to transform
Lebanon into a field for Israeli revelry; that is why I think that Lebanon needs
the resistance; it constitutes a balance of terror with Israel." As for the
Palestinian weapons inside the refugee camps in Lebanon, Abu al-Aynayn said:
"They are not security weapons but political ones."Commenting on the plot to
kill Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, he said: "I hope that Israel is
involved in the plan," adding that "all the Palestinian factions will not
provide cover for any Palestinian accused of being involved in the
plot."Concerning the arms outside the refugee camps, he said that he would
prefer to leave this issue to the dialogue "inside closed rooms," noting that it
will not be resolved "through the mass media." - The Daily Star
Shiites need clarity, but no loyalty oath
By Michael Young -Daily Star staff
Thursday, April 13, 2006
What did Walid Jumblatt mean when he told Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan
Nasrallah, at one of the more recent national dialogue sessions, that Syrian
President Bashar Assad was behaving like Hassan Sabbah, the leader of the
medieval Ismaili sect of the Assassins? As revealing as the comparison itself
was the fact that Jumblatt directed his remark at Nasrallah. The Druze leader
thus reminded him that Hizbullah, by declaring its fidelity to the Syrian
regime, was complicit in a campaign for the physical elimination of Syria's
enemies in Lebanon. But a bookish interpretation would better explain why
Nasrallah was so stung by Jumblatt's barb. Whether it is Sabbah the Ismaili or
Assad the Alawite, both men hail from sects that are offshoots of mainstream
Twelver Shiism. That Nasrallah, who as curator of God's party is presumably a
defender of orthodox Shiism, should be assisting a heterodox upstart in his
dirty work, is not a message the Hizbullah leader likes to hear, whatever the
murky allegations this week that assassins may be on the prowl for him.
These are complicated times for Lebanon's Shiites, who find themselves caught
between a rising Iran and a largely Sunni Arab world increasingly vocal in its
fear of a so-called "Shiite arc." When Jordan's King Abdullah II used the term
in The Washington Post in December 2004, he created a stir that was quickly
swept under the rug in a region that fears any talk of sectarianism. However,
when Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak last weekend accused Iraqi Shiites of
being more loyal to Iran than to Iraq, Sunni angst about rising Iranian power
suddenly became more acceptable, even though the president's remark was
factually erroneous.
Lebanese Shiites face difficult choices in the coming months and years. The most
important is whether they will continue to insist on being represented, in their
majority, by a political-military-religious organization that is deeply
uncomfortable with Shiite dissent. Hizbullah is an anomaly in Lebanese politics,
an institutionalized organism in a country where personalities dominate
politics. There is a reason for this: Hizbullah was a creation of the security
and intelligence apparatus of Iran, a country historically gifted for building
institutions. And it is to a large extent Iranian money that allows Hizbullah to
finance a vast web of patronage among Shiites, a reminder that no matter how
ideological a party tries to be, support most often ends up being a pocketbook
issue.
Rich cacophony, not devout unanimity, is the natural order in Lebanese Shiite
political participation. Though for decades the community's interlocutors with
the state were traditional leaders like Ahmad or Kamel al-Asaad in the south and
Sabri Hamadi in the Bekaa, it was because of this that Shiites displeased with
being offered such narrow horizons entered, for example, ideological parties,
particularly the Communist Party and the Baath. Maneuvering between
conservatives and those rebelling against the status quo was a clergy that could
lean either way, the essential embodiment of this being Moussa Sadr, who
combined traditional religious learning with a radical social program. Today,
one can add to that mix a rising Shiite business and professional class, whose
members, again, can gravitate either toward Hizbullah or toward its rivals.
That this community awash with paradox should find itself effectively under the
sway of a single party is not only regrettable, it is almost as suffocating a
state of affairs as when the traditional patrons ruled. One wonders how, without
Iranian funding and arms, Hizbullah would be able to so easily dominate its
co-religionists.
A question being asked today is whether Hizbullah has psychologically moved
beyond the era of Syrian hegemony in Lebanon; and if it has done so, has the
influence of one state sponsor, Iran, gained ascendancy over that of another,
Syria? The optimists argue the party has indeed left the Syrians behind, even if
there is no intention of cutting off ties with Damascus. This is supposed to
mean that Hizbullah, like a majority of Lebanese, would contest any Syrian
effort to regain a security foothold in the country. But even assuming this is
true, what the optimists can't elucidate is how Hizbullah will address the high
stakes in its Iranian connection.
The party's inability, or refusal, to clarify the parameters of the alliance
with Tehran has a bearing on the Shiite community as a whole. For example, would
Hizbullah bomb Israel if the United States were to destroy Iran's nuclear
infrastructure? And if so, how would the fierce Israeli backlash affect
inter-communal relations, with most Lebanese almost certain to protest that
Iran's wars are not theirs? Nasrallah and his acolytes dislike being labeled
Iranian stooges, and it would indeed be very hard for Hizbullah to involve
Lebanon in any Iranian-American conflict. But if that's the case, why not say so
openly? Hizbullah's determined vagueness only shows how necessary an
inter-Shiite debate over the community's relationship with Iran (but also Syria)
has become, in the context of the Shiites' interaction with the other Lebanese
communities.
And what of the Arab world? Hizbullah has spent years burnishing a winning Arab
model for fighting Israel. The party is popular throughout the Middle East
because it succeeded where Arab armies failed. Yet despite this, a sneering
phrase like Mubarak's can cast doubt on the whole enterprise: if Iraq's Shiites
are suspect, so too are Lebanon's. For the doubters, the Shiites' ties to Iran
must mean their loyalty to the "Arab cause" is questionable, regardless of what
they did to the Israelis. It's not up to Lebanese Shiites to prove their bona
fides in Cairo or Riyadh, but they will only be able to fight back when, from
within their ranks, they shed light on the ambiguities in Hizbullah's regional
allegiances.
Hizbullah's virtual monopoly over Shiite power makes it unlikely the party will
soon re-assess its strategy and affiliations. Nasrallah is smart, but he's
little experienced in the scrappy give and take of Lebanese communal bargaining.
As he plays regional politics with Iran and Syria, as he defies the United
States and the United Nations, as he intercedes on behalf of Palestinian
officials, his Achilles heel is at home, in the form of a growing feeling of
sectarian mistrust directed against Hizbullah that all Shiites are now having to
bear. The span of this mistrust is unfair and unwarranted, but the Shiites'
deliverance requires first putting their house in order.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR.
Aoun: 'Why not' invite Lahoud into dialogue?
MP says majority should apologize to president
Daily Star staff-Thursday, April 13, 2006
BEIRUT: The head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun said
the parliamentary majority should apologize to President Emile Lahoud for
insulting him and invite the head of state to participate in the national
dialogue, which includes discussions on the fate of the incumbent leader. In
separate interviews with the press published on Wednesday, Aoun renewed his bid
for the top executive post and said he would not back any other contender if
there is no consensus on his candidacy. The former army commander, who once led
a "war of liberation" against Syria aimed at driving its forces out of Lebanon,
said he was ready to visit Damascus if the participants at the round table
discussions asked him to do so.
In an interview with New TV television station, Aoun said he believes Lahoud
should join the country's top 14 rival leaders in their deliberations about
contentious national issues. "Why not? President Lahoud should participate in
the dialogue talks in case he remains (in his post) and he should play his
role," Aoun told the television station in an interview conducted in Qatar on
the sidelines of the Sixth Doha Forum on Democracy, Development, and Free Trade.
Qatar's Prince Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani met on Wednesday with Aoun, who
is expected to visit a Lebanese school in Doha.A day before, Aoun and former
president Amin Gemayel, along with the accompanying delegation, attended a
banquet held by Lebanese Ambassador Hassan Saad and attended by various Qatari
top officials.
Aoun and Gemayel also visited the Qatari Educational City, where they met with
the university deans and were briefed about educational methods and
programs.Aoun said Lahoud is still in power for lack of agreement on his
potential successor. He blamed the parliamentary majority for failing to resolve
the presidential crisis and criticized its members who would rather see Lahoud
stay than allow him, Aoun, to take over the post.
"All this to prevent Michel Aoun or others in the opposition from reaching (the
presidency)," Aoun told As-Safir newspaper in an interview. He said he would not
back any compromise candidate as he is best suited for the position. "When I
vote for a particular candidate that means I am backing him in the name of all
those who have empowered me. I cannot transfer this trust to anyone," the Free
Patriotic Movement leader said. Al-Mustaqbal newspaper said Aoun made his
proposal in an interview with Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television station to be
broadcast on Wednesday. The Hariri-owned newspaper said an FPM press relations
official clarified that Aoun would visit the Syrian capital if the participants
at the talks asked him to do so. - The Daily Star, with Naharnet
Sunni-Shi'ite tension rising in Lebanon
12 Apr 2006
BEIRUT, April 12 (Reuters) - As Lebanon marks the 31st anniversary of the
outbreak of civil war, many fear a new split is emerging between Sunni and
Shi'ite Muslims. "I have nothing against the Shi'ites but I am 100 percent sure
that they are against the Sunnis as a sect and want to control the country,"
said Hesham Kebbeh, 31, puffing on a water pipe in Beirut's working class Sunni
area of Tareeq al-Jedideh. Violence between Lebanon's Sunnis and Shi'ites did
not feature prominently in the 1975-1990 war, which was mainly between Christian
and Muslim rivals. But tension is soaring as Lebanon prepares to mark the
anniversary on Thursday.Lebanese authorities are questioning nine Sunni men,
including one Palestinian, suspected of planning to assassinate Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah, leader of the Shi'ite group Hizbollah. The incident has heightened
sectarian feeling on both sides."Such fears had never surfaced to this extent
until the news about the arrests broke out," said Osama Safa, head of the
Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies.
"Even if they were unable to carry out the attack, the fact that a radical group
is thinking of this is alarming. The good thing is that this is not mainstream
thinking."
DIVISIONS
Leaders of the two sects are at odds over issues dividing the country, mainly
the fate of pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and the weapons of the
anti-Israeli Hizbollah group, which the United Nations wants disarmed.
The Sunnis, led by parliament majority leader Saad al-Hariri, want to remove
Lahoud from power and question the need for Hizbollah to keep its weapons six
years after the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon. Hizbollah, supported by
Syria and Iran, backs Lahoud and says it will not relinquish its weapons even if
the Jewish state pulls out of a disputed border strip it now occupies. Ties
between the sects have deteriorated since last year's killing of former Prime
Minister Rafik al-Hariri, which many blame on Syria. Damascus denies any role.
"Before Hariri's death no one could dare say this is a Sunni and this is a
Shi'ite. Now we are all talking about it and it is rising," said 22-year-old Ali
Fatouh, a Sunni. Samir, a Shi'ite who refused to give his full name, said:
"There is tension between Shi'ites and Sunnis and there is radicalism in
Lebanon. This threatens our security."
Analysts and diplomats play down the possibility of open conflict, despite fears
that the Sunni-Shi'ite sectarian bloodshed in Iraq could spill over to Lebanon.
"There is always a risk of this but the fact that leaders from both sides are
very aware of it and are trying to contain it is one reason that makes the
tension unlikely to turn violent," a Western diplomat said.
Religious and political figures from both sects strongly condemn sectarian
attacks in Iraq and denounce any talk of a Sunni-Shi'ite rift in Lebanon. The
absence of an armed Sunni faction also diminishes the possibility of a revival
of violence, analysts say. The main Sunni clans have long been known as a
merchant class.
"Lebanon's Sunnis are not militarily active," said Jihad al-Khazen, a prominent
columnist for the pan-Arab al-Hayat daily. "All the tension will not go beyond
words."
Most wanted terror suspect free in weeks
Natalie O'Brien =April 13, 2006
AUSTRALIA'S most wanted terror suspect has had terrorism charges against him
dropped, clearing the way for his release from a Beirut jail within weeks.Saleh
Jamal, 31, who threatened to crash a plane into the Sydney Harbour Bridge if he
were forcibly returned to Australia, has been exonerated of accusations he was
planning to become a suicide bomber in Lebanon.
The Lebanese Court of Appeal ruled this week that charges of terrorism could not
be upheld because of lack of evidence. A spokeswoman for the Department of
Foreign Affairs confirmed the development. She said the Government had taken a
"close and active interest in the case" and had been visiting Jamal regularly.
Jamal was sentenced in February last year by the Lebanese Military Court to five
years' jail with hard labour for "forming an organisation with intent to commit
crimes". Prosecutors were trying to upgrade the charges to terrorism, saying
those issues had not been properly dealt with at his trial. But the Court of
Appeal slashed his sentence to two years and he is due to be released next
month.
The DFAT spokeswoman said Jamal would be transferred into the custody of
Lebanese General Security on his release, pending a ruling on his status. Then
it will be up to NSW police to extradite him on charges he faces in Australia:
shooting up the police station in Sydney's Lakemba area in 1998.
Jamal has claimed the terror accusations were the result of a misunderstanding
and last night his family in Sydney said he had been vindicated. The terrorism
charge hinged on a phone call Jamal made from Lebanon to his wife in Sydney. The
conversation was intercepted by ASIO officers. According to an Australian
Federal Police document, Jamal said during the phone conversation: "You will
never see me again. I am going to a place that is higher than the mountains."
An AFP email to Lebanese authorities said police sources suspected Jamal was
preparing for a suicide attack in Lebanon.
Jamal told The Australian late last year that Australian police had offered him
a reduced prison sentence if he returned and pleaded guilty to planning an
attack on Sydney Harbour and turned informant on six men he allegedly recruited
to jihad.
Syria and Iran Emphasize Significance of Bilateral
Cooperation
Wednesday, April 12, 2006 - 04:20 PM DAMASCUS, (SANA) – Syria and Iran
underlined on Wednesday "the importance of bilateral cooperation between the two
countries as to realize security and stability in the region."
The point was emphasized when Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa held talks with
Head of the Iranian Expediency Council Sheikh Hashemi Rafsanjani of
Iran.Discussions have dealt with "the situations in the world and regional
arenas and standing challenges mainly in Iraq and the occupied Palestinian
territories." Deputy Vice President Mohamed Nasif attended the meeting as well
as Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Faisal Miqdad and the accompanying delegation to
the visiting Iranian statesman.
Iran Turns Nuclear Corner
Uranium Enrichment Clears Key Hurdle In Bomb-Building Potential
April 12, 2006
Combined Wire Services LONDON -- Iran's announcement Tuesday that it has for the
first time enriched uranium marks a small but significant advancement of its
potential to build a nuclear bomb in five to 10 years, experts in
nonproliferation say.
Iran's claims, which the experts regarded as credible, could dramatically
complicate efforts by Europe and Russia to reach a diplomatic solution while
lending a new sense of urgency to hawks in the United States and Israel pressing
to keep military options open. Having cleared a major initial hurdle in the
nuclear-enrichment cycle, Iran next must devise ways of lengthening production,
duplicating machinery and dispersing facilities across the country to make it
far more difficult for a military strike to wipe out the program, experts said.
They insisted that Iran has many major challenges ahead and that much
negotiating time remains. Iran's announcement defied a U.N. Security Council
directive that the Islamic republic halt work on enriching uranium.
The Bush administration warned that unless Tehran stepped back, it would open
discussions on further steps to pressure and isolate Iran. "If the regime
continues to move in the direction that it is currently, then we will be talking
about the way forward with the other members of the Security Council and
Germany," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
In a speech Tuesday, Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declared that his
country has "joined the club of nuclear countries" after enriching uranium "on a
laboratory scale" of sufficient purity to supply a nuclear power station, the
official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. Ahmadinejad repeated his
contention that Iran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. The U.N.
Security Council has given Iran until April 28 to halt its nuclear-development
activities or face undefined international sanctions. Iran has rejected the
threats, insisting that it has a right under existing treaties to resume
peaceful nuclear research, including uranium enrichment.
Before Ahmadinejad's speech, Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh, who heads the
Iranian Nuclear Energy Organization, said experts successfully enriched uranium
to 3.5 percent using a network - or cascade - of 164 centrifuges at Natanz,
state-run media reported. That level of enrichment is far below the level
required for a nuclear weapon.
Major hurdles remain in Iran's nuclear program, said Gary Samore, a specialist
in Iranian nuclear development and vice president of global security at the
Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation. "Centrifuges have to operate continuously to
produce any significant quantities. You've got to be able to demonstrate that
you can run it continuously for months." Setbacks, failures and breakdowns are
likely. "They have a long way to go" before they can attain sustainable,
large-scale production, Samore added."Don't panic," said Joseph Cirincione,
director for nonproliferation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
"The Iranian program is still at the very early stages." Iran has proved only
that it can operate 164 uranium-gas centrifuges "for a few days," he explained,
adding that to reach a bomb-making capability, it would have to keep more than
1,500 centrifuges operating non-stop for an entire year.
**Compiled from Knight Ridder and Dallas Morning News reports.
Hariri in France for talks with Chirac
Compiled by Daily Star staff -Thursday, April 13, 2006
Lebanon's Parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri, son of slain former Premier
Rafik Hariri, headed for France Wednesday to meet with French President Jacques
Chirac. In the second meeting since January, the pair were expected to discuss
the latest regional and national developments, as well as the ongoing UN probe
into Hariri's murder. The meeting was ongoing by the time The Daily Star went to
press. Meanwhile, Lebanese sources said Wednesday Syrian President Bashar Assad
cancelled his meeting with the UN probe team chief, Serge Brammertz, mere hours
before its scheduled time.
The sources, which are close to the UN probe team, told The Daily Star a
judicial Syrian source informed Brammertz Assad would only welcome him as a UN
delegate but would not accept to be asked any question related to Hariri's
assassination.
The Syrian judicial figure said interrogating Assad contradicts international
protocols followed in dealing with a president of a sovereign and independent
country. He added that questioning Assad in a case of such importance would have
negative political consequences. The Lebanese sources added Brammertz was
surprised with the Syrian decision - which challenges Syria's former pledge to
fully cooperate with the international probe team.UN sources in New York told
The Daily Star that Damascus knew of Brammertz' intention to ask Assad and
Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa more than 10 questions related to the
Hariri's murder - some of them based on records of phone conversations between
Syrian and Lebanese top officials.The sources further added that the Belgian
investigator had been planning to ask the Syrian government for copies of the
records of all the meetings that took place between Hariri and Assad in 2004,
especially the alleged meeting where Assad had reportedly threatened to "break
Lebanon over the heads of Hariri and [Druze leader MP Walid] Jumblatt."These
records are all stored in the presidential archives department, according to
former Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam, who has now aligned himself as
the Syrian opposition. On Tuesday, news reports said that Brammertz has
postponed his visit to Damascus until the end of this month.
The reports added that the visit was rescheduled at Brammertz' request and upon
international advice.
Siniora: Looking forward to visiting Syria soon
By Nafez Qawas and Therese Sfeir -Daily Star staff
Thursday, April 13, 2006
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said he was "looking forward to visiting
Syria soon to resolve the pending issues between the two countries." Speaking
Wednesday after a parliamentary committee meeting, Siniora stressed the
importance of mutual respect between the two countries, saying: "As Lebanon
respects Syria's sovereignty and independence, we hope Syria would respect our
sovereignty and independence.""Until now, I have not received any official
invitation to visit Syria but I hear Syrian officials are still studying the
issue." As for his meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush Tuesday, Siniora
said he will raise the issue of Israel's continued violation of Lebanon's air
space, as well as the country's ties with both Syria and Palestine. Commenting
on the suspected plot to assassinate Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,
Siniora said: "The relevant authorities are conducting investigations into the
terrorist cell suspected of plotting the possible assassination of Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah," adding: "We are against any terrorist plans, whether it targets a
citizen or a prominent figure."
Asked if he was positive about the national dialogue despite political
bickering, the premier said: "I still believe that the Lebanese don't have any
choice but dialogue to resolve their pending issues."
He added that he would discuss with Bush the investigations into the
assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri.
Siniora held separate talks with the vice president of the Lebanese Forces
executive committee, MP George Adwan.
Adwan said Siniora "will not raise the presidential crisis in Washington,
because it is an internal issue and should be resolved by the Lebanese people."
He added that talks between the premier and Bush would "focus on financial and
economic issues, without tackling the country's internal affairs."Adwan
condemned the plot against Nasrallah and voiced his support for Hizbullah's
leader.
Siniora sent telegrams to Syrian President Bashar Assad and to his Syrian
counterpart Mohammad Naji Otari, to congratulate them on their Independence Day
on April 17.He also stressed Lebanon's keenness on promoting relations between
the two countries. Meanwhile, President Emile Lahoud warned against "attempts to
strike Lebanon's unity and destabilize the situation by stirring strife," urging
the Lebanese to face such attempts through national unity." Lahoud asked the
security bodies to "double efforts to uncover the terrorist network which was
planning to assassinate Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.""Targeting a prominent figure
like Sayyed Nasrallah, one of the country's national symbols, who led the
liberation battle against Israeli troops, would mean striking the country's
unity and peace," Lahoud said. Lahoud added that "restoring stability and
maintaining law and order was the responsibility of all Lebanese." Loyalty to
the Resistance MP Hassan Fadlallah criticized acting Interior Minister Ahmad
Fatfat's statements, in which he said the issue of the terrorist cell "was
exaggerated."
Fadlallah said: "Some people in the government are dealing with issues in a
biased and irresponsible way." He added: "Instead of holding an immediate
meeting for the Central Security Council to discuss what happened, Fatfat
belittled the problem, as if it is a simple issue."
PFLP-GC chief in Iran to laud enrichment success
By Hadi Tawil -Daily Star staff
Thursday, April 13, 2006
BEIRUT: The head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General
Command Ahmad Jibril failed to keep his expected meeting with former MP Wajih
Baarini due to a sudden trip to Iran "to congratulate the Iranian government for
their success in the enrichment of uranium." The meeting was supposed to take
place on Wednesday at Baarini's house in Beirut, but PFLP-GC spokesman Anwar
Raja, who was supposed to accompany Jibril to the meeting, announced that the
group's chief had to travel to Iran. "In addition to that Jibril will
participate in events that reflect Tehran's support of the Palestinian cause,"
he added. Raja said the postponement of the meeting doesn't mean the
cancellation of the meeting. "Meeting someone like Baarini is very important
because such people who are loyal to Arab and national causes make the
Palestinian people feel safe and secure." Raja said: "This meeting was a
continuation of a series of meetings that started with Future bloc leader MP
Saad Hariri that was very objective. Hariri promised to look thoroughly into the
Palestinian issue."
Raja commented on Jibril's statement that Lebanese Premier Fouad Siniora was
trying to sabotage the talks and cause trouble between Jibril and Hariri: "Jibril
didn't accuse Siniora of trying to sabotage the talks."
"Jibril will have several meetings with Siniora in order to follow up on the
issue of the Palestinians in refugee camps," he added.
Baarini welcomed Raja's visit, saying: "I totally support Jibril's meeting with
Hariri and Siniora because it is our duty to support the Palestinian cause."
"The government should continue its visits to the refugee camps and try to find
an appropriate and decent solution to the Palestinians' humanistic problem and
the need to give them the right to own their home," he added.
Baarini said: "We should all pressure the government to provide the Palestinians
with proper health care and nutrition before asking them to give up their
weapons." Baarini also commented on the nationalization of the Palestinians,
saying: "The Palestinians should be treated with decency until the time comes to
return to their homeland and this issue finds consensus among all
Lebanese.""However the issue of the Palestinian weapons in and outside the
refugee camps is dealt properly by the participants in the national dialogue,"
Baarini added.