LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 28/2007Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6,52-59. The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Free Opinion
Analysis- Regional powers fight over Lebanon.Ya Libnan. April 28/07
The Syrian Withdrawal and the. Old Book. By: Walid Choucair 'Dar Al-Hayat. April 28/07
Containing Iran the financial way.By Michael Jacobson. April 28.4.07
Column One: Bishara and the Old Guard.Jerusalem Post. April 28/07
Why Syria must wait.Ha'aretz. April 28.07
Israel''s Military Denies Incursion Into Lebanon.Mediafax. April 28/07
Trouble on the Horizon for Lebanon.Ya Libnan. April 28/08
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 28/07
Syrian Pullout Anniversary Marred by Deep Divisions.-Naharnet
Ziads Buried Amidst Tight Security, Anger.-Naharnet
Family, Friends Bury Slain Boy, Youth Amid Calls for Calm.-Naharnet
Twin Murder Makes Rival Leaders Speak One.Naharnet
U.N. Chief: Michel's Talks Didn't Produce 'Any Positive Development'.-Naharnet
Hizbullah Reminds Israel of Its Kidnapped Soldiers.-Naharnet
Lebanon’s Hezbollah puts pressure on Israel to release detainees.Ya Libnan
Lebanon’s security forces set up checkpoints across Beirut.Ya Libnan
Israel's military denies incursion into Lebanon.Asharq Alawsat
Lebanon: Jumblatt Comments.Stratfor
Regional powers fight over Lebanon.BBC News
U.N. Commission to Question Koleilat Monday.-Naharnet
Lebanon: Day of mourning after two Druzes murdered likely on ...Al-Bawaba
LEBANON: DOUBLE SLAYING PROMPTS CLOSURE OF SCHOOLS.AKI
Regional powers fight over Lebanon.BBC News
Syria is gone from Lebanon but its shadow remains.Ya Libnan
Olmert Warns Of Looming War With Syria.Cross Rhythms
Ban Ki-moon urges Lebanon to approve Hariri tribunal.Jerusalem Post
Olmert’s future in balance ahead of Lebanon war report.The News
Two years after being forced out, Syria continues to be key to ...The Northwest Florida Daily News
Saudi Arabia Arrests 172 Terror Suspects.-Naharnet
Latest News Reports From the Daily Star for April 28/07
Police find bodies of missing youths, step up security measures in Beirut
Hizbullah erects billboard of captured Israelis at border
Alia Solh, 'daughter of independence,' dies at 75
Aoun says antagonizing Syria hampers fence-mending
Italian contingent donates electrical gear
Israeli war probe to deliver 'personal' review of Olmert
Arab media 'to flourish further' in coming years
Leaders mourn late mother of ex-PM Mikati
Syndicate of psychiatric professionals conducts workshops to teach Lebanese mothers hands-off parenting skills
FPM scores close win over LF in latest LU campus election
Fisk takes Western officials - and reporters - to task
Treatment of youth after war passes muster
World Vision program comes to aid of children in Dbayyeh camp
Syrian regime tightens grip on parliamentFamily, Friends Bury Slain Boy, Youth Amid Calls for Calm
Family and friends buried on Friday slain youth and his 12-year-old neighbor who were kidnapped and killed in what was feared to be a vendetta.
MP Walid Jumblat, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party to which the families of the killed boys belong, attended the funeral at the Khashikji mosque in Beirut's Qasqas neighborhood. In a reconciliatory tone, Jumblat urged Lebanese to work for "national unity."
He told mourners at the funeral procession of Ziad Ghandour, 12, and Ziad Qabalan, 25, that there was no difference between the Hizbullah-controlled Shiite suburbs and the predominantly Sunni Tarik Jedideh neighborhood.
"Uniting behind the state as well as behind the Lebanese army and the security forces is the only way that brings us together," Jumblat said softly.
The bodies of Ghandour and Qabalan were found in the town of Jadra southeast of Beirut Thursday, security sources said.
They said the victims lay next to a garbage container about 200 meters off the main highway linking Beirut with south Lebanon.
Following news of the killings, army troops fanned out in armored personnel carriers and on foot in the Wata al-Mseitbeh neighborhood, where scores of angry youths gathered late Thursday around the family homes of Qabalan and Ghandour. Witnesses said some called for revenge. Army troops fired in the air to disperse a small group of men who used garbage containers to try to block entrances to the neighborhood, dominated by Druze and Sunnis.
Schools and universities closed Friday in honor for Ghandour and Qabalan. Education Minister Khaled Qabbani ordered all private and public schools and universities across Lebanon closed until Monday April 30. Police said they were looking for at least three suspects in connection with the murder of Ghandour and Qabalan, whose swollen bodies suggested they had been dead at least 48 hours. They gave no details on how they were killed. A security official said they had been shot dead and that the bodies had signs of beating. Police officers, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said their preliminary suspects were Shiites.
One security source said preliminary tests indicate Ghandour and Qabalan were killed "a few hours after they were kidnapped." "The authorities have launched an investigation into the matter to determine the cause of death and the details of the incident," he said. Witnesses said Qabalan and Ghandour were kidnapped from their car, which was later reportedly left in Beirut's southern suburb of Shiyah.
Their families are members of the Progressive Socialist Party of Druze leader Walid Jumblat, a prominent figure in the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority.
Jumblat, in a statement broadcast live by TV stations, called for maximum restraint, stressing that only state authority should handle the issue.
The media has speculated that there was a link between their kidnapping and the killing of pro-Hizbullah Adnan Shamas, 29, who was slaughtered during sectarian street clashes in January. The daily An Nahar said that interrogation with a number of witnesses has determined that the license plate number of one of the two cars used by the kidnappers corresponds to the Shamas family. It said the license number likely belonged to the brother of Adnan Shamas.
The Shamas clan, however, said in a statement distributed on Wednesday that it was not associated with the abduction of the two youths.
The killing of Ghandour and Qabalan, both Sunnis, drew widespread concern since it came at a time of heightened political and sectarian tensions, where deep scars remain from the 1975-1990 civil war that was marked by kidnappings and violent disappearances. The crime, however, drew nationwide condemnation, with rival political and religious leaders calling for calm.
Defense Minister Elias Murr said suspects in the crime "are known. We are chasing them and we hope to arrest them." Murr said that the two may have been killed in revenge for the death of Shamas. Murr said Shamas' relatives had fled their homes, reinforcing suspicions they may be behind the killings.
Premier Fouad Saniora described it as a "national disaster" and stressed that "we shall not rest until the criminals are brought to justice."
MP Saad Hariri said the victims are "innocent martyrs. I am confident that the state security agencies would reveal the truth and the criminals will be punished." Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea urged security agencies "to tell us as soon as possible who is responsible for this crime and what are the motives." Lebanon's most senior Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Sheik Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, said the kidnapping was a "major crime whose perpetrators should be prosecuted." President Emile Lahoud requested in a statement that all security measures be taken to prevent "any repercussions of this deplorable incident." Lahoud said the situation in Lebanon "cannot bear such acts that harm stability and further ... increase tension and rekindle strife."(Naharnet-AP)(An Nahar photo shows the body of Ziad Qabalan) Beirut, 27 Apr 07, 06:44
Twin Murder Makes Rival Leaders Speak One Language
Lebanese leaders from both sides of the political divide reached out to each other for the first time in months as Lebanon reacted with deep sorrow Friday at the killing of a youth and his 12-year-old neighbor. Schools and universities closed down for the day, and troops were put on high alert with military leave cancelled, as the two families prepared a funeral at the Khashikji mosque in Beirut's Qasqas neighborhood.
"The crimes of the two Ziads shocks Lebanon," the As-Safir newspaper shouted in its front-page headline. "Lebanon unites around the blood of the two martyrs," Al Balad wrote in bold. An Nahar reported that Druze MP and leader Walid Jumblat called Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah after the bodies of Ziad Ghandour, 12, and Ziad Qabalan, 25, were found Thursday near the town of Jadra southeast of Beirut.
There was no independent confirmation of this call, but Jumblat did call Nasrallah's ally, House Speaker Nabih Berri. The anti-Syrian Jumblat and the pro-Syrian Hizbullah have been at loggerheads for months over a campaign by Nasrallah to bring down the government of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora. "How excellent it would be for us to return to the table" of dialogue, said former President Amin Gemayel, a pro-government politician whose son, Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, was assassinated in November.
Hizbullah denounced the killings as "horrific," and Jumblat gave a phone interview to the pro-government Future TV channel on Thursday night in which he said: "Let us allow the judicial and investigative process to run its course so that we don't fall into the trap of political rumors. Let us remove politics from this incident." Qabalan and Ghandour disappeared Monday after leaving their homes in the West Beirut district of Wata Mseitbeh and going for a drive. They were both Sunni Muslims and members of Jumblat's Progressive Socialist Party.
Police officers, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said their preliminary suspects were Shiites.
Defense Minister Elias Murr said late Thursday the pair might have been killed in revenge for the death of a 29-year-old Shiite Hizbullah supporter, Adnan Shamas, in sectarian clashes in January. Media reports at the time suggested Shamas was killed by PSP members. But the Shamas family said the kidnapping had nothing to do with them and issued a public call for the abductors to release Qabalan and Ghandour.
The deaths came at a time of heightened political tensions in Lebanon, where deep scars remain from the 1975-90 civil war that was marked by tit-for-tat kidnappings and killings. A political deadlock between the government and the Hizbullah-led opposition has crippled Lebanon for months, with anti-government supporters camping outside the prime minister's offices demanding his resignation. Hizbullah has demanded a veto-wielding share of the cabinet, but Saniora, supported by the anti-Syrian majority in parliament, has refused.
A Shiite politician who resigned from the Cabinet in November and joined the opposition, Mohammed Jawad Khalife, suggested the killing could only have taken place because "of the general atmosphere in the country." His sentiment was matched by that of Ibrahim Kanaan, a lawmaker and senior figure in Gen. Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement, who said: "The response should be clear .... more awareness. We need a united and national vision."(AP-Naharnet)(An Nahar photo shows Ghandour's classmates during a sit-in at school ) eirut, 27 Apr 07, 11:47
U.N. Chief: Michel's Talks Didn't Produce 'Any Positive Development'
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern that efforts by the world body have so far failed to get Lebanon to approve an international tribunal that would try ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's suspected assassins.
Ban, in an interview Thursday with the Associated Press, said U.N. legal chief Nicolas Michel's recent visit to Lebanon and his talks with all the key parties, including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, had not produced "any positive development."
"That is why I'm concerned," he said. "The international community expects that there should be no impunity. Any perpetrators of this crime should be brought to justice." The United Nations has approved the court to prosecute suspects, but Berri is refusing to convene parliament to ratify it. In light of Berri's refusal, Premier Fouad Saniora and 70 of parliament's 128 members have urged the U.N. Security Council to establish the tribunal.
But Ban said he was not prepared to recommend council action now, and he refused to say how long he would wait.
"The most desirable path at this time is for the Lebanese government to take constitutional procedures on the basis of national consensus," he said. "I will continue to urge this process should be taken." Ban discussed the tribunal at a meeting this week in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Last month, he visited Lebanon. An initial U.N. investigation into Hariri's Feb. 2005 assassination implicated the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services. Syria denied involvement, but four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals were charged and are in custody.
The secretary-general told reporters earlier Thursday that he strongly urged Assad to use his influence to promote national reconciliation in Lebanon "which will facilitate the establishment of a special tribunal." Assad replied that it is "purely" for the Lebanese people to decide on national reconciliation, Ban said. "But he will (make) his own efforts to influence the Lebanese people, to facilitate this process."
Asked in the AP interview whether he had urged Assad to use his influence with Berri, Ban said he discussed parliament's ratification with the Syrian leader "in a general manner." He said Michel, the undersecretary-general for legal affairs, sought Berri's "flexibility and cooperation in this matter."
Ban said he also urged Syria to work with Lebanon to prevent cross-border arms smuggling. Weapons transfers to Hizbullah are banned under U.N. Resolution 1701 that ended last summer's war between Israel and the group. Ban warned during his Lebanon visit that arms smuggling across the Syria-Lebanese border threatened the Aug. 14 cease-fire. The Security Council has authorized an independent mission to be deployed quickly to assess how the frontier is being monitored. Ban said the Syrian government "seems to be not yet ready to receive any assessment team to their border."
"I advised them it would be helpful for them and for the United Nations ... to strengthen their monitoring capacity," he said. "I will continue to discus this matter with the Syrians." Ban said "one encouraging thing" is that the Lebanese and Syrian governments have agreed to reactivate a committee that meets on border issues at a higher level.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 27 Apr 07, 09:16Ziads Buried Amidst Tight Security, Anger
Two young Lebanese who were kidnapped and murdered in what was thought to be a political vendetta were buried in Beirut on Friday amidst tight security and mounting anger. The bodies of Ziad Kabalan, 25, and Ziad Ghandour, 12, were found by security forces near the town of Jadra, southeast of Beirut on Thursday, three days after apparently being kidnapped from their car.
Their families are members of the Progressive Socialist Party of Druze leader Walid Jumblat, a prominent figure in the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority.
The media has speculated that there was a link between their kidnapping and the killing of Adnan Shamass, a member of the Shiite movement Amal, during street fights in January. The Syrian-backed opposition had accused PSP followers of killing Shamass, but police later arrested a Syrian over the crime. Jumblat and several other members of the anti-Syrian camp walked at the head of the funeral procession of several thousand people. Army patrols were stepped up in the capital and schools and universities closed in mourning.
Mourners chanted anti-Syria slogans and called for Revenge. Women, Their eyes brimming with tears, ululated in grief around the coffin of "Heaven's child," Gandour. "May God's Wrath fall on the criminals," one Woman shouted in Grief as men chanted "Allah Akbar," Arabic for God is great.
However, the PSP leader urged people not to politicize the murders and to "ignore the rumors that are intended to create dissension" among the Lebanese.
He stressed on what he said was the importance of national unity at a time when pro- and anti-Syrian forces are locked in a standoff that has paralyzed the political life of the country. Lebanon has been in turmoil since Syria was forced to end about 30 years of domination following the February 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 27 Apr 07, 18:54
U.N. Commission to Question Koleilat Monday
The U.N. commission investigating ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination will question fugitive banker Rana Koleilat on Monday, the Brazilian foreign ministry has said. Koleilat, who is under investigation for a multimillion-dollar fraud at Al Madina bank where she once worked, was arrested in Sao Paulo on March 12, 2006 for allegedly trying to bribe police officers who located her for Interpol.
"A U.N. commission wanting to know what she knows about Hariri's assassination is scheduled to question her on Monday," said a foreign ministry spokesman. He said Koleilat will most likely be questioned at the Sao Paulo headquarters of the federal police where she is being held.
U.N. investigators want to ask Koleilat about whether money that disappeared from the bank was used to finance the February 2005 bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others. Koleilat has told police and her lawyer she knows nothing about the missing money or the assassination of Hariri.
The foreign ministry spokesman also said the Brazilian government turned down Koleilat's request for political asylum and that Lebanon's request for her extradition is still being processed. Al Mustaqbal daily reported Tuesday that Brazil's highest federal court has asked the U.N. commission to interrogate Koleilat. It said Magistrate Eros Grao has set April 30, 2007 for her questioning by the panel, pending Brazil's approval for Koleilat's extradition.
The newspaper also said that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has issued a presidential decree authorizing Brazilian authorities to cooperate with the U.N. commission.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 27 Apr 07, 09:28
Syrian Pullout Anniversary Marred by Deep Divisions
The statues of Syria's leaders are long gone and the pictures that adorned street walls have disappeared or faded away. Abandoned military positions have been built over or lay in ruin.On the face of it, Syria is no longer in charge of Lebanon, two years after its army was forced to withdraw. But Syria continues to cast a large shadow over its neighbor, which is sinking in political and sectarian tensions.
The anniversary Thursday passed without fanfare or ceremony as Lebanon deals with its enormous political, economic and security problems. The country is gripped by fears that kidnappings and violence are returning after a young man and a teenage boy, who disappeared earlier in the week, were found slain Thursday. In part, Lebanon's turmoil is a result of the end of Syria's dominance, which kept a lid on the country's sectarian divisions. But Damascus' opponents in Lebanon also accuse Syria of fueling the divisions through its backing of Hizbullah and other political groups opposed to the government — a charge Damascus denies.
Syria dominated Lebanon for 29 years, backed by a large troop force that was originally invited in to help end the country's 1975-1990 civil war but, after peace, became the enforcer of Damascus' power over Lebanon's political leadership. Damascus was forced to pull out its troops in a humiliating retreat, prompted by international pressure and Lebanese outcry over the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The withdrawal brought hope of a new start for Lebanon. Free elections produced a parliament and a cabinet controlled by anti-Syrians.
But high hopes diminished in the last year as Lebanese divisions deepened. Rioting and street clashes between Sunni and Shiite Muslims killed nine people in recent months in scenes that raised fears of new civil war. "No one imagined that the internal situation — which should have entirely been directed toward building a robust state — ... would retreat in an opposite direction, choking the nation-building effort," wrote political analyst Nabil Boumounsef in An Nahar newspaper.Many Lebanese in the anti-Syrian coalition and the United States accuse Damascus of being behind not only Hariri's assassination but also a string of bombings since then targeting anti-Syrian politicians and journalists. Syria denies any role in the killings.
Syria denies meddling in Lebanon, and its ally Hizbullah denies it is following Damascus' orders, saying it and others in the opposition want to end what they see as U.S. dominance over the government. Now Lebanon is locked in a power struggle between Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's anti-Syrian government and the Hizbullah-led opposition. Parliament is unable to meet because opposition Speaker Nabih Berri refuses to call it into session. President Emile Lahoud — also an ally of Damascus — refuses to recognize Saniora's cabinet.
Despite the tough times facing the country, no one on either side of the political divide wants the Syrian army back. "From a historical aspect, the situation is better than before the withdrawal. But in the political sense the situation is worse because the troubles and divisions have deepened," said Sateh Noureddine, managing editor of the As Safir daily. "We are for the first time facing ourselves on our own," he said.(AP-Naharnet) (AP photo shows a cow eating grass near an abandoned Syrian base, in Araya, east of Beirut) Beirut, 26 Apr 07, 23:23
Hizbullah Reminds Israel of Its Kidnapped Soldiers
Hizbullah operatives erected Thursday a large placard on Lebanon's southern border showing pictures of the two Israeli soldiers that the group kidnapped in a cross-border attack last July. A crowd of the group's supporters chanted slogans as the three-by-five-meter photograph was put up in this border district of Aita esh Shaab near where the soldiers were seized on July 12, which sparked a 34-day war between Hizbullah and Israel.
The photograph was a reproduction of old pictures already circulated in Israel of the two men in civilian clothes before their capture.
Mounted on a huge black placard draped in a Hizbullah flag, the photograph showed Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev in profile facing each other.
Between them was the legend in English and Arabic -- "For the sake of our detainees," a reference to Hizbullah's demands to swap them for prisoners held by Israel. The dozen or so Hizbullah fighters who erected the placard in a region policed by the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers photograph were not armed. Chants in support of Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah rang out from the crowd of local villagers who gathered to watch it put up. "We will sacrifice ourselves for you, Nasrallah," they shouted. A patrol from the U.N. peacekeeping force UNIFIL monitored the event, as did an Israeli patrol on the other side of the border.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 26 Apr 07, 16:16
U.N. Chief: Michel's Talks Didn't Produce 'Any Positive Development'
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern that efforts by the world body have so far failed to get Lebanon to approve an international tribunal that would try ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's suspected assassins.
Ban, in an interview Thursday with the Associated Press, said U.N. legal chief Nicolas Michel's recent visit to Lebanon and his talks with all the key parties, including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, had not produced "any positive development."
"That is why I'm concerned," he said. "The international community expects that there should be no impunity. Any perpetrators of this crime should be brought to justice." The United Nations has approved the court to prosecute suspects, but Berri is refusing to convene parliament to ratify it. In light of Berri's refusal, Premier Fouad Saniora and 70 of parliament's 128 members have urged the U.N. Security Council to establish the tribunal.
But Ban said he was not prepared to recommend council action now, and he refused to say how long he would wait.
"The most desirable path at this time is for the Lebanese government to take constitutional procedures on the basis of national consensus," he said. "I will continue to urge this process should be taken." Ban discussed the tribunal at a meeting this week in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Last month, he visited Lebanon. An initial U.N. investigation into Hariri's Feb. 2005 assassination implicated the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services. Syria denied involvement, but four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals were charged and are in custody.
The secretary-general told reporters earlier Thursday that he strongly urged Assad to use his influence to promote national reconciliation in Lebanon "which will facilitate the establishment of a special tribunal."
Assad replied that it is "purely" for the Lebanese people to decide on national reconciliation, Ban said. "But he will (make) his own efforts to influence the Lebanese people, to facilitate this process." Asked in the AP interview whether he had urged Assad to use his influence with Berri, Ban said he discussed parliament's ratification with the Syrian leader "in a general manner." He said Michel, the undersecretary-general for legal affairs, sought Berri's "flexibility and cooperation in this matter." Ban said he also urged Syria to work with Lebanon to prevent cross-border arms smuggling.
Weapons transfers to Hizbullah are banned under U.N. Resolution 1701 that ended last summer's war between Israel and the group. Ban warned during his Lebanon visit that arms smuggling across the Syria-Lebanese border threatened the Aug. 14 cease-fire.
The Security Council has authorized an independent mission to be deployed quickly to assess how the frontier is being monitored.
Ban said the Syrian government "seems to be not yet ready to receive any assessment team to their border."
"I advised them it would be helpful for them and for the United Nations ... to strengthen their monitoring capacity," he said. "I will continue to discus this matter with the Syrians." Ban said "one encouraging thing" is that the Lebanese and Syrian governments have agreed to reactivate a committee that meets on border issues at a higher level.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 27 Apr 07, 09:16
Twin Murder Makes Rival Leaders Speak One Language
Lebanese leaders from both sides of the political divide reached out to each other for the first time in months as Lebanon reacted with deep sorrow Friday at the killing of a youth and his 12-year-old neighbor. Schools and universities closed down for the day, and troops were put on high alert with military leave cancelled, as the two families prepared a funeral at the Khashikji mosque in Beirut's Qasqas neighborhood.
"The crimes of the two Ziads shocks Lebanon," the As-Safir newspaper shouted in its front-page headline. "Lebanon unites around the blood of the two martyrs," Al Balad wrote in bold. An Nahar reported that Druze MP and leader Walid Jumblat called Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah after the bodies of Ziad Ghandour, 12, and Ziad Qabalan, 25, were found Thursday near the town of Jadra southeast of Beirut.
There was no independent confirmation of this call, but Jumblat did call Nasrallah's ally, House Speaker Nabih Berri.
The anti-Syrian Jumblat and the pro-Syrian Hizbullah have been at loggerheads for months over a campaign by Nasrallah to bring down the government of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora.
"How excellent it would be for us to return to the table" of dialogue, said former President Amin Gemayel, a pro-government politician whose son, Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, was assassinated in November. Hizbullah denounced the killings as "horrific," and Jumblat gave a phone interview to the pro-government Future TV channel on Thursday night in which he said: "Let us allow the judicial and investigative process to run its course so that we don't fall into the trap of political rumors. Let us remove politics from this incident."
Qabalan and Ghandour disappeared Monday after leaving their homes in the West Beirut district of Wata Mseitbeh and going for a drive. They were both Sunni Muslims and members of Jumblat's Progressive Socialist Party.
Police officers, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said their preliminary suspects were Shiites.
Defense Minister Elias Murr said late Thursday the pair might have been killed in revenge for the death of a 29-year-old Shiite Hizbullah supporter, Adnan Shamas, in sectarian clashes in January. Media reports at the time suggested Shamas was killed by PSP members.
But the Shamas family said the kidnapping had nothing to do with them and issued a public call for the abductors to release Qabalan and Ghandour.
The deaths came at a time of heightened political tensions in Lebanon, where deep scars remain from the 1975-90 civil war that was marked by tit-for-tat kidnappings and killings. A political deadlock between the government and the Hizbullah-led opposition has crippled Lebanon for months, with anti-government supporters camping outside the prime minister's offices demanding his resignation.
Hizbullah has demanded a veto-wielding share of the cabinet, but Saniora, supported by the anti-Syrian majority in parliament, has refused.
A Shiite politician who resigned from the Cabinet in November and joined the opposition, Mohammed Jawad Khalife, suggested the killing could only have taken place because "of the general atmosphere in the country." His sentiment was matched by that of Ibrahim Kanaan, a lawmaker and senior figure in Gen. Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement, who said: "The response should be clear .... more awareness. We need a united and national vision."(AP-Naharnet)(An Nahar photo shows Ghandour's classmates during a sit-in at school ) Beirut, 27 Apr 07, 11:47
Analysis- Regional powers fight over Lebanon
Friday, 27 April, 2007 @ 3:06 PM
By Kim Ghattas
Beirut- In the southern suburbs of Beirut, pictures of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of Iran's Islamic revolution, are not an uncommon sight.
This is a stronghold of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shia guerrilla movement and political party which looks to Iran and its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for spiritual guidance and more.
In the aftermath of the summer 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, the group distributed around $300m dollars in aid, in crisp dollars bills. The money was thought to originate from Tehran.
In one apartment in the area, the television is playing a song in Farsi and in a corner there's a big Iranian flag.
These are the offices of Iranian engineer Hussam Khoshnevis, sent to Beirut by the Iranian President Mahmound Ahmadinejad, to help rebuild south Lebanon after the war. With this team, he is repairing some 50 bridges, 60 schools and 150 kilometres of highway and 30 places of worship, including churches - all destroyed by Israeli shelling. Political stand-off
In total Mr Khoshnevis expects at least $250m to be spent on the reconstruction.
Many see this is as the Shia revolutionary state's attempt to increase its hold over Lebanon and boost the power of the Shia guerrilla movement and political party Hezbollah in its stand-off against the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
The five-month long political crisis, in part over differing visions of Lebanon's future, is one of the worst that the country has faced in decades. The engineer says Iran has no ulterior motives. "We help all people in need, we don't expect anything in return," he said.
"We helped Pakistan, Indonesia and our help fits in with the ideology of the Lebanese."
But is help from other countries welcome, such as the US, which unequivocally backs Mr Siniora.
"We should respect all countries that offer help to Lebanon, it's to the benefit of the people, except those countries that have a political agenda, and try to take away people's dignity." Mr Khoshnevis did not have to spell out what country he was referring to. It seemed obvious he meant the US.
Transparent intentions
"The United States has pledged one billion US dollars in aid," Juliette Wurr told me at the US embassy half an hour north of Beirut.
Around $30m dollars is going to rebuild a massive bridge in the eastern Bekaa valley, one of the tallest bridges in the Middle East.
Part of the aid has also been in the form of training and equipment, including Humvees, for the Lebanese army and the police force.
Critics say the US has an agenda when it gives aid and it is trying to influence the government and keep it firmly in the pro-Western camp.
"We've been very transparent with what we do, when we give money we talk about, when we give military equipment we hold a ceremony, none of this is under-the-hand cash transfer," said Ms Wurr.
"Some other governments are not quite so transparent and some of them don't even give their aid to legal entities but instead choose to use their assistance in ways to coerce or push people for political ends. "Neither Syria nor Iran have played a very positive role recently in Lebanon."
Strategic battle
The US and Iran are both vying for influence here, trying to win the hearts and minds of the Lebanese and backing different parties - while the US supports the government, Iran and its ally Syria, support Hezbollah. "Iran is in a defensive state at current time, it is positioned in a strategic axis, with Syria and Hamas, to confront US plans in the region," said Amal Saad Ghorayeb of the Carnegie Middle East think tank.
"I think it's a battle between two strategic visions, and you have two domestic camps within Lebanon which adhere to one or the other and that's the real problem." In a country that often sums up all the complexities of the Middle East, it can get even more complicated.
Regional power-house Saudi Arabia has also been pumping aid and money into Lebanon. The Sunni Muslim kingdom deposited $1bn in the central bank during the summer war to boost the Lebanese pound and paid fees for all pupils in state schools to a total of $30m, among other initiatives.
The Saudis are keen to keep Lebanon stable and prevent it from falling completely into the Syrian-Iranian orbit, at a time of Shia-Sunni tensions in the region.
No strings attached?
In a way, the Saudis are on the same side as the US in the stand off, but they also try to play a moderating role.
Many Lebanese are critical of the Saudi petro-dollars pouring into the country. But others, including the government say they welcome Saudi involvement and American aid because they believe it does not come with any strings attached.
"Iran has a certain affiliation with a community in Lebanon. We have a problem when that affinity between Iran and Hezbollah translates into a flow of weapons or an attempt to dictate a certain policy over Lebanon which is not agreed upon by other communities," said Mohammed Shatah, an advisor to the prime minister. "We are concerned that Lebanon would become a theatre for the actual conflict between Iran and the US.
"In the past, Lebanon served as a theatre for other conflicts and this has cost the country dearly."
So once more, Lebanon finds itself at the centre of a regional power struggle and while the different outside players are helping to rebuild the small nation, their competing agendas may still bring it all down.
The Syrian Withdrawal and the 'Old Book'
Walid Choucair Al-Hayat - 27/04/07//
Yesterday marked the second anniversary of the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, in the shadow of events warning about dramatic developments in the Lebanese arena. These events are bringing some people to the conclusion that there must be a relation between some of these symbolic incidents and the anniversary.As far as many of Syria's allies in Lebanon are concerned, the disorder in their country on the anniversary is a sufficient reason to say that two years after the Syrian withdrawal, security is threatened, and that Syria's previous administration of Lebanon used to provide the minimum level of stability. As for Damascus' rivals, they see in what is happening a reason to condemn and repeatedly accuse Syria of trying to undermine security in Lebanon in spite of its withdrawal.In reality, Lebanon is currently undergoing the same political division that prevailed some months before the Syrian withdrawal. Additionally, the General Michel Aoun-led movement, which constitutes the main Christian force, has joined the ranks of Damascus' allies.
The unrest parallel to the anniversary is evident. It is taking a terrible direction, as there was still uncertainty over the destiny of 12-year-old Ziad Ghandour and 25-year-old Ziad Qabalan. However, the fertile land for disorder in Lebanon is nothing but the continuation of the schism among the Lebanese people and, indeed, this turmoil has been escalating since last autumn. The core of the schism is linked to the stance toward Syria, its Lebanese and regional policy and its alliances, exactly as was the case before the withdrawal.
Before April 26, 2005, Syria was puzzled due to the pressure compelling it to withdraw. It has remained confused after the withdrawal, but it has come back and decided its counter plan since autumn 2005. It is being helped in this by Iran's new offensive regional policy, adopted as soon as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the presidency, and the failure of the US' rash policy in Iran and Palestine, a policy which included its blind support for Israel's conduct in Southern Lebanon. These factors allowed Damascus to practically carry out what President Bashar al-Assad said to a Western envoy on February 13, 2005: 'You will see our tanks and machinery withdraw from Lebanon [UN Resolution 1559 calling for the withdrawal had been adopted by extending President Emile Lahoud's mandate more than five months before], but be reassured that we will remain there'. By saying so, he pointed out that Damascus would be able to continue to control the situation in Lebanon through its large influence.
In spite of the new developments in the region's conditions (changes in US policy, extension of President Lahoud's mandate and, finally, the Lebanese uprising because of the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri), which influenced very much the decision to withdraw, Damascus has kept reading from the 'old book' with regard to its Lebanese and regional policy, which is the same book that the late president, Hafez al-Assad, read from. According to it, Syria has to build its role by intervening in regional crises and contributing to complicating them. In this way, super-powers will acknowledge its role in finding solutions to these crises, and the importance of its regime and force in confirming the region's fundamental equation.
One of the things that the old book relies on is the adoption of 'razor-edge' tactics in Syria's confrontations with Western countries, and of bargaining with these countries and with regional neighbors in settlements and local mutual understandings.
In Lebanon's current situation, Syria's objective is probably not a military return to Lebanon. Its influence, exercised through its allies, and in particular Hezbollah, is sparing Damascus this return, given what they owe this country for just supporting the party's confrontation with Israel in the 'razor-edge' game.As for bargaining, which is set forth by the 'old book', Damascus is trying to adopt it in exchange for its political 'return' that has achieved important results over the past few months. It has to do with the international tribunal that has to try those charged with the murder of Hariri and which seems to have become an international status quo.
The 'old book' did not include a clear description of how to deal with a case like this. While waiting for it to be adjourned, Lebanon will undoubtedly continue to suffer.
Containing Iran the financial way
By Michael Jacobson
Commentary by
Friday, April 27, 2007
For the past year, senior United States Treasury officials have traveled the world, highlighting for foreign governments and the private sector the danger that Iran's illicit activities pose to the international financial system. Treasury has lobbied foreign audiences on the need to employ targeted financial measures against entities supporting Iran's terrorist activities and its weapons of mass destruction programs. While the department's outreach has been quite successful overall, its efforts have been hindered by two serious obstacles unrelated to the substance of the case it has been making about Iranian activities.First, no foreign finance ministry has an in-house intelligence office. As a result, the ministries generally do not receive all of the relevant intelligence on Iran that is in their governments' possession. Without this information, the finance ministries are not in a position to assess the scope of Iran's illicit financial activities, and the dangers this presents to the integrity of the global financial system. While this information may reside elsewhere in their governments, frequently only the finance ministries have the necessary expertise to analyze the financial intelligence and to fully comprehend its ramifications for the financial sector. Foreign policymakers then must decide what action to take against Iran without a complete understanding of the risks involved.
Second, most foreign governments do not have the financial enforcement tools necessary to take action - particularly with regard to Iran's WMD programs - in spite of their United Nations obligations. UN Security Council Resolution 1540, passed in 2004, requires countries to develop national-level authorities specifically to combat WMD proliferation. (While the focus of the resolution was on proliferation by non-state actors, the powers developed in response could presumably be used more broadly to target state actors such as Iran, as they have been in the US). More recently, the UN Security Council passed resolutions 1737 and 1747 obligating member states to freeze the assets of a number of entities involved in Iran's WMD programs. Many countries, however, have not yet taken the steps required by the resolutions for domestic reasons.
While these two obstacles might sound like long-term problems that will take many years to address, this does not have to be the case. In fact, Treasury was able to build its capabilities in this area in a short period of time. Treasury's intelligence arm - the Office of Intelligence and Analysis - was created by Congress in 2004. Due to OIA's efforts, Treasury is already more fully integrated into the US intelligence community, greatly improving the department's access to intelligence information. OIA is also well on its way to becoming a center of expertise on the financial networks supporting terrorists, proliferators, and other national security threats. The main beneficiaries of OIA's development have been the senior Treasury officials responsible for formulating national security strategy, as OIA's primary mission is to ensure that these policymakers receive, and understand the significance of, current intelligence information.
Treasury was only granted broad authority to combat WMD proliferation in June 2005, with the issuance of Executive Order 13382. This order gave the department the ability to designate entities involved in WMD proliferation, thereby freezing their assets in the US, and cutting off their ties to the US financial and commercial systems. It has been used, in large part, to target Iranian WMD efforts - with 19 Iranian entities and individuals designated thus far. Perhaps most significantly, in January 2007 Treasury designated Iran's Bank Sepah - a large state-owned bank - under this order. According to Treasury, Bank Sepah has provided "extensive" financial services to Iranian entities involved in WMD proliferation. Illustrating the risks to the international financial system, Treasury noted that Sepah had also engaged in "a range of deceptive financial practices in an effort to avoid detection," which included asking other financial institutions to remove Sepah's name from international transactions.
While Treasury's success in building international support for its efforts against Iran depends in part on its ability to overcome these two obstacles, the systemic issues involved have implications beyond Iran. There are financial underpinnings to all serious national security threats, from the existence of terrorist organizations to rogue regimes. Finding a way to ensure that all countries address these issues as soon as possible is essential for the sake of international security.
**Michael Jacobson, a senior fellow in the Stein program in terrorism, intelligence and policy at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, is a former senior adviser in the US Treasury Department's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. He wrote this commentary for
Containing Iran the financial way
By Michael Jacobson -Commentary by
Friday, April 27, 2007
For the past year, senior United States Treasury officials have traveled the world, highlighting for foreign governments and the private sector the danger that Iran's illicit activities pose to the international financial system. Treasury has lobbied foreign audiences on the need to employ targeted financial measures against entities supporting Iran's terrorist activities and its weapons of mass destruction programs. While the department's outreach has been quite successful overall, its efforts have been hindered by two serious obstacles unrelated to the substance of the case it has been making about Iranian activities.
First, no foreign finance ministry has an in-house intelligence office. As a result, the ministries generally do not receive all of the relevant intelligence on Iran that is in their governments' possession. Without this information, the finance ministries are not in a position to assess the scope of Iran's illicit financial activities, and the dangers this presents to the integrity of the global financial system. While this information may reside elsewhere in their governments, frequently only the finance ministries have the necessary expertise to analyze the financial intelligence and to fully comprehend its ramifications for the financial sector. Foreign policymakers then must decide what action to take against Iran without a complete understanding of the risks involved.
Second, most foreign governments do not have the financial enforcement tools necessary to take action - particularly with regard to Iran's WMD programs - in spite of their United Nations obligations. UN Security Council Resolution 1540, passed in 2004, requires countries to develop national-level authorities specifically to combat WMD proliferation. (While the focus of the resolution was on proliferation by non-state actors, the powers developed in response could presumably be used more broadly to target state actors such as Iran, as they have been in the US). More recently, the UN Security Council passed resolutions 1737 and 1747 obligating member states to freeze the assets of a number of entities involved in Iran's WMD programs. Many countries, however, have not yet taken the steps required by the resolutions for domestic reasons.
While these two obstacles might sound like long-term problems that will take many years to address, this does not have to be the case. In fact, Treasury was able to build its capabilities in this area in a short period of time. Treasury's intelligence arm - the Office of Intelligence and Analysis - was created by Congress in 2004. Due to OIA's efforts, Treasury is already more fully integrated into the US intelligence community, greatly improving the department's access to intelligence information. OIA is also well on its way to becoming a center of expertise on the financial networks supporting terrorists, proliferators, and other national security threats. The main beneficiaries of OIA's development have been the senior Treasury officials responsible for formulating national security strategy, as OIA's primary mission is to ensure that these policymakers receive, and understand the significance of, current intelligence information.
Treasury was only granted broad authority to combat WMD proliferation in June 2005, with the issuance of Executive Order 13382. This order gave the department the ability to designate entities involved in WMD proliferation, thereby freezing their assets in the US, and cutting off their ties to the US financial and commercial systems. It has been used, in large part, to target Iranian WMD efforts - with 19 Iranian entities and individuals designated thus far. Perhaps most significantly, in January 2007 Treasury designated Iran's Bank Sepah - a large state-owned bank - under this order. According to Treasury, Bank Sepah has provided "extensive" financial services to Iranian entities involved in WMD proliferation. Illustrating the risks to the international financial system, Treasury noted that Sepah had also engaged in "a range of deceptive financial practices in an effort to avoid detection," which included asking other financial institutions to remove Sepah's name from international transactions.
While Treasury's success in building international support for its efforts against Iran depends in part on its ability to overcome these two obstacles, the systemic issues involved have implications beyond Iran. There are financial underpinnings to all serious national security threats, from the existence of terrorist organizations to rogue regimes. Finding a way to ensure that all countries address these issues as soon as possible is essential for the sake of international security.
**Michael Jacobson, a senior fellow in the Stein program in terrorism, intelligence and policy at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, is a former senior adviser in the US Treasury Department's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. He wrote this commentary for
Trouble on the Horizon for Lebanon
Friday, 27 April, 2007 @ 5:07 PM
By Andrew Lee Butters,
Beirut - This morning when I left Damascus, there were rumors of riots sparked by Syrian government interference in this week's parliamentary election.
The unrest was limited to just a couple provincial cities and quickly put down by security forces.
On my way home to Beirut, the road was filled with tourist buses carrying Iraqi refugees day-tripping to Lebanon in order to renew their Syrian visas. With over a million Iraqi refugees in Syria, most of whom are given three-month visas when they arrive, this has become a big business for tour operators.
On the drive up the backside of the Mount Lebanon range, I saw two Lebanese army tank crews along the highway-- an unusual sight in of itself -- loading artillery shells. Their turrets pointed down into the Bekka valley in the direction of Syria, but also the direction from which an invading Israeli army would approach. When I arrived in Beirut and went for a haircut, the whole barbershop was talking about the abduction of two kids -- a 25 year-old man and a 12 year-old boy -- possibly in revenge for the killing of a Shia Muslim man in a sectarian street riot in January or by some party hoping to re-ignite the rioting. Mike the barber kept asking me if there was going to be another war with Israel this summer.
Just a few moments ago, the government confirmed that the two kidnapped boys have been found dead.
Samira al-Saghir, left and Mounir Ghandour the parents of Ziad Ghandour, 12, whose body was found on the side of a road near the southern port of Sidon on Thursday, cry during his funeral at the mosque in the West Beirut district of Wata al-Mseitbeh, Lebanon Friday, April 27, 2007.
Source: Time Middle East Blog