LCCC ENGLISH NEWS BULLETIN
December 3/06Bible Reading For the Day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 21,34-36. Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man."Elias Bejjani//lccc Chairman/ comments on the Hezbollah Friday Demonstration
12 minutes Audio Interview with Elias Bejjani/on AM 770 CHQR- Calgary, Canada/Rob Breakenridge show/Friday December 1/2006Free Opinions & Studies of the Day
Can Bush Succeed in Facing the Iranian Role In Iraq, Palestine, and Lebanon? Raghida Dergham Al-Hayat 3.12.06
Lebanon's dueling demonstrations are no substitute for dialogue -Daily Star 3.12.06
Which way will things go in Beirut? By Rami G. Khouri 2.12.06
Latest New from the Daily Star for December 3/06
Hizbullah Briefly Sieges Government Headquarters, Saniora Unshaken-Naharnet
Mubarak Criticizes 'Unwise' Protests, Fears Broadening of Lebanon Crisis-Naharnet
Hariri: Government Will Stay-Naharnet
Britain Urges Rival Politicians to Return to Dialogue Table-Naharnet
U.S. Blasts 'Intimidation' Against Saniora's Government-Naharnet
Annan: Truce Holding, but Israeli Overflights a Problem-Naharnet
Israel Fears Saniora Toppling Could Expel UNIFIL-Naharnet
Mubarak, Lavrov call for calmer Lebanon-Jerusalem Post
Hezbollah-led protesters camp out in Beirut-ABC Online
Saniora won't quit despite pressure-Jerusalem Post
Hezbollah sit-in to topple Lebanon government launched-Ya Libnan - Beirut,Lebanon
News Roundup-Monsters and Critics.com
200,000 call for Lebanon's 'US puppet' to go-Telegraph.co.uk
South Lebanon's farmers face a grim choice: lose their livelihoods ...Daily Star
UN human rights inquiry: Israel should compensate Lebanon-Ha'aretz - Tel Aviv,Israel
US "very concerned" that Hezbollah is trying to destabilize ...Kuwait News Agency - Kuwait
Analysts of poll in Lebanon struck by Shia rise in region, US-Iran ...Kuwait News Agency - Kuwait
Hizballah's Show of Strength Highlights the Government's Weakness-TIME - USA
Breaking: Hezbollah protesters besiege government building?Hot Air - MD,USA
Jordan summit stresses link between peace, reform-Daily Star
Government will stay 'calm' - Jumblatt-Daily Star
World leaders offer support for beleaguered Siniora-Daily Star
Hoss urges opposition to set time limit on protests-Daily Star
Hundreds of thousands jam Downtown Beirut-Daily Star
And then there were those who stayed away-Daily Star
Hard-core opposition members set up camp - literally-Daily Star
Qabbani leads prayers for rattled ministers-Daily Star
Franjieh 'clarifies' barb at Sfeir-Daily Star
Hizbullah pulls off impressive feat of logistics-Daily Star
UN report says Israel should compensate Lebanon for war-Daily Star
Royal says 'time is of the essence' in returning to political dialogue-Daily Star
South Lebanon's farmers face a grim choice: lose their livelihoods or lose their lives-Daily Star
On again, off again: Lebanese politics as light switch-Daily Star
Both sides take steps to guard against violence-Daily Star
Fairouz show goes on - finally-Daily StarHariri: Government Will Stay
Naharnet: Parliament's majority leader Saad Hariri said Friday that Premier Fouad Saniora's government would not relinquish power in the face of a sit-in by opposition protesters. "The government of Saniora will not fall due to pressure from the street," Hariri said in an interview with the Washington-funded Al-Hurra television. "However long they continue their protest, it will not fall," he said.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters, led by Hizbullah and supported by Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun, thronged the streets of central Beirut Friday calling for the government to resign. Organizers set up tents and several thousand protesters temporarily blocked roads leading to the government's offices vowing to stay until the government gave in, but they later eased their blockade and allowed access.
Hariri praised the conduct of the opposition protest, saying he was "happy that part of the Lebanese people managed to demonstrate democratically without disturbing the peace.""We were apprehensive but all went well," he said. Hariri is the son of former premier Rafik Hariri, who was killed by a car bomb in 2005. His death sparked an international outcry and massive street protests against Lebanon's then powerbroker Syria, which eventually forced Damascus to depart after a 29-year presence. An anti-Syrian coalition won a majority of the seats in parliament shortly afterwards.
In the interview, Hariri was asked how Friday's demonstrations differed from the widespread protests that followed his father's death.
"Those demonstrations were different from today," he said. "There used to be a Syrian security regime that was responsible for the murder of my father."Damascus has denied any involvement in Hariri's killing.(AFP) Beirut, 02 Dec 06, 07:20
Hizbullah Briefly Sieges Government Headquarters, Saniora Unshaken
Naharnet: Hizbullah protestors, vowing to topple the cabinet, have briefly besieged government headquarters in downtown Beirut, holding up Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and several other ministers inside. But Saniora, vowing not to "allow any coup against our democratic regime," stood rock-solid Friday to the blockade, which eventually eased following a flurry of diplomatic activity.
As news of the siege reached New York and Saudi Arabia, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz telephoned Saniora to express support for his government.
French President Jacque Chirac and Jordan's King Abdullah II were also among the leaders who phoned in their support to Saniora's government.
A government source said the blockade was lifted late Friday after diplomatic "contacts" had been made with pro-Syrian Speaker Nabih Berri as well as the Lebanese army command. Youth and Sports Minister Ahmed Fatfat, who was among the ministers holed up with Saniora, said the Saudi ambassador in Beirut called Berri, an ally of Hizbullah, the main opposition group, to help "stop the siege". "Berri played a very positive role ... especially since there were reports that there would be a break-in" into Saniora's offices, Fatfat told the pro-government Future television. He was speaking from inside the compound. The leading daily An Nahar said Saturday that "disciplinary members" from Hizbullah quickly set up tents around Saniora's offices as the protest dwindled late Friday afternoon, blocking access to the Grand Serail.
The tents were intended to accommodate protestors who were determined to adhere to a call by the opposition for an open-ended sit-in until Saniora steps down. The leftist newspaper As Safir quoted a senior protest organizer as saying the blockade was "spontaneous."
In an apparent effort to avoid friction, Hizbullah deployed thousands of stewards to patrol the demonstration and prevent clashes with the security forces. The Lebanese military has instructions to maintain order and not to take sides in the protest.
Army troops and armored personnel carriers were heavily deployed around Saniora's offices, where the premier and at least ten of his ministers have been residing since the Nov. 21 assassination of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel. Barbed wire fences as high as two meters were erected around the premises as heavily-armed troops kept demonstrators around 150 meters away. Hundreds of thousands of predominantly Hizbullah demonstrators thronged the streets of central Beirut Friday, waving Lebanese flags and calling for the ouster of the "corrupt" leadership.
"Saniora's government will not fall due to pressure from the street," anti-Syrian parliament majority leader Saad Hariri said in a televised interview.
"However long they continue their protest, it will not fall," he said. Saniora vowed ahead of the protest not to succumb to pressure from the opposition, which includes, in addition to the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hizbullah, Berri's Amal movement and several other pro-Syrian factions as well as Christians loyal to former army general Michel Aoun.
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, bolstered by what supporters see as his group's success in fighting against Israeli forces in the July-August war, had called for a massive turnout "to rid us of an incapable government that has failed in its mission."
Aoun told the crowd that Saniora had "made many mistakes" and his government has "made corruption a daily affair." After Aoun's speech, several thousand mainly Hizbullah organizers set up a chain of tents and makeshift toilets to accommodate the protestors.On Saturday, thousands of Hizbullah supporters camped out in the tents. Moments after waking, the determined protesters broke the morning silence with chants of "Saniora, Ali Baba, out, you and your government of thieves!" "We will stay here until the fall of the Saniora government," one organizer said.
The show of strength by the opposition came hot on the heels of last week's mass funeral for Gemayel, which brought hundreds of thousands of government supporters on the streets. Lebanon's feuding pro- and anti-Syrian factions have reached a dangerous deadlock that threatens to paralyze all state institutions.The key pro-Syrian officials in Lebanon's power-sharing regime -- the president and parliament speaker -- do not recognize the rump anti-Damascus cabinet left after the pullout of six pro-Syrian ministers last month.(Naharnet-AFP)(AP photo shows Hizbullah organizers setting up a tent outside Saniora's offices) Beirut, 02 Dec 06, 09:00
Mubarak Criticizes 'Unwise' Protests, Fears Broadening of Lebanon Crisis
Naharnet: Egypt warned Saturday that the standoff between Premier Fouad Saniora's cabinet and anti-government demonstrators risked provoking foreign interference that could erupt into violence.Following a meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, President Hosni Mubarak criticized the mass protest led by pro-Syrian Hizbullah to topple Saniora's government.
"I find this behavior very unwise, for I fear these protests are sectarian and that reinforcements will come from outside to broaden the demonstrations, which would lead to fighting and destruction," he told reporters."The call by Hizbullah and Amal is very dangerous, Lebanon cannot withstand all this," Mubarak said, in reference to the two Shiite parties backed by Iran and Syria. "If the protests continue for some time, people will come from outside to support Saniora -- from several Arab countries -- and others will then flock to support Hizbullah," he explained.
"The result will be that Lebanon will be turned into a battlefield," he said of the country that is still reeling from Israel's summer war against Hizbullah and also has yet to completely recover from its 1975-90 civil war.
Crowds of protesters thronged the streets of the capital on Friday in a massive show of force, calling for the ouster of the "corrupt" leadership and temporarily blocking access to the government's headquarters. The protesters say they will continue their sit-in in downtown Beirut until they reach their objectives. Saniora has vowed not to cave in to pressure from the street despite threats from demonstrators to escalate their action in coming days.
"Dialogue is the only way out," Mubarak insisted. When asked about the responsibility of Iran and Syria in Lebanon's woes, the Egyptian president said: "I do not want to accuse Syria or Iran." But he added: "Iran could send (people to support) Hizbullah, then other countries will be obliged to send people to support Saniora. This will be a problem.""I fear an internationalization of this situation which risks destroying Lebanon," Mubarak said.
The opposition, spearheaded by Hizbullah is demanding a greater share in the government that would give it power to veto legislation.
But the anti-Syrian camp says the opposition demands are a ploy to avoid the creation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the February 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri. Egypt and Saudi Arabia have given their full backing to Saniora's government, having criticized Hizbullah's "adventurism" for capturing two Israeli soldiers that sparked the Jewish state's assault on Lebanon July 12.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 02 Dec 06, 17:07
Britain Urges Rival Politicians to Return to Dialogue Table
Naharnet: Visiting British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett on Saturday expressed her support for Premier Fouad Saniora and called on Lebanon's feuding factions to return to dialogue. "I reiterated the United Kingdom's support for Lebanon and to Prime Minister Saniora," Beckett said in a statement. "We call on all parties to work together for the good of Lebanon, and to return to dialogue," she said.
Beckett told journalists after meeting Saniora at the Grand Serail that "obviously the (Lebanese) government is facing difficulties."
"It has showed considerable courage and steadfastness in the face of very serious obstacles," she said at a joint news conference with Interim Foreign Minister Tarek Mitri. "This is a government elected by the people of Lebanon and which has the constitutional authority an election gives it," she said, adding that she wanted to see Lebanon "return to being (a) potent and independent democracy."Beckett's visit comes amid a deep political crisis which prompted the opposition, led by Hizbullah, to hold an open ended sit-in calling on the Saniora government to resign. Beckett also met with Speaker Nabih Berri and will travel to southern Lebanon to visit British deminers there. On arrival in Lebanon late Friday, Beckett visited former president Amine Gemayel to present her condolences over the November 21 murder of his son Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel. In September, British Prime Minister Tony Blair made his first visit to Lebanon and pledged to help in rebuilding the devastated country following the 34-day July-August war between Israel and Hizbullah. Beckett reiterated Britain's backing for the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 which put an end to the summer war. "We made it clear that we want to see an end to (Israeli) overflights (of Lebanon), we want to see 1701 implemented. We want to see the government of Lebanon the only armed authority on its sovereign territory."Resolution 1701 called for an end to Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace and for the disarming of all militias in Lebanon.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 02 Dec 06, 17:15
U.S. Blasts 'Intimidation' Against Saniora's Government
Naharnet: The United States denounced Friday "threats of intimidation or violence" in Lebanon, where hundreds of thousands of protesters called for the resignation of the government. The massive demonstration against the government of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora was called by the opposition led by the pro-Syrian Hizbullah. "The demonstrations, as you know, are aimed at toppling Lebanon's legitimate and democratically elected government," said Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman. "And certainly threats of intimidation or violence isn't something that I think anyone would consider democratic or a constitutional mechanism for changing government." The spokesman accused Syria and Iran of instigating the show of force. "We do remain very concerned that Hizbullah and its allies, with support from Syria and the Iranian government, are continuing to work to destabilize Lebanon," Casey said. "And certainly with things like the assassination of (industry minister) Pierre Gemayel and other kinds of events, it's clear that there is a pattern of intimidation, and efforts at intimidation, of those forces aligned with Lebanon's democratically elected government."
The show of strength by the Lebanese opposition came hot on the heels of last week's mass funeral for murdered anti-Syrian industry minister Pierre Gemayel which brought hundreds of thousands of government supporters on the streets.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 02 Dec 06, 07:19
Annan: Truce Holding, but Israeli Overflights a Problem
Naharnet: U.N. chief Kofi Annan said Friday that the ceasefire between Israel and Hizbullah fighters in south Lebanon was holding but said continued Israeli air incursions into Lebanese airspace were a problem. In a letter addressed to the U.N. Security Council, the outgoing secretary general hailed the commitment shown by both Israel and Lebanon to "all aspects of the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701."
Resolution 1701, adopted in August, ended 34 days of fighting between the Israeli army and Hizbullah. It led to a U.N.-brokered ceasefire that came into effect on August 14 and to the deployment of a beefed-up U.N. mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to monitor the truce. Annan said that since his last report on the situation on September 12, "the cessation of hostilities was maintained and there were no serious incidents or confrontations."
However he said that there had been almost daily Israeli air violations of Lebanese airspace, which he said contravened resolution 1701 and which have been criticized by the Lebanese government.
Annan said Israel did not see the air incursions as "violations but a necessary security measure."
But he made clear that "such violations of Lebanese sovereignty ...undermine the credibility of both UNIFIL and Lebanese armed forces and compromise overall efforts to stabilize the situation in the south and to build trust and confidence."
The U.N. chief also reiterated that securing the "unconditional release of the (two) Israeli soldiers (captured by Hizbullah in July) and the issue of Lebanese prisoners detained in Israel" remained a top priority." He also said that the U.N. "continues to receive reports of illegal arms smuggling across the Lebanese-Syrian border but (has) not been able to verify such reports." He also touched upon the sensitive issue of the demarcation of the border between Lebanon and Syria, particularly around the disputed Shebaa Farms which the U.N. regards as Syrian territory.
The Farms, which lie at the convergence of the Lebanese-Syrian-Israeli borders, were captured from Syria by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, and are now claimed by Lebanon with Damascus's consent. Israeli troops have retained control of the area since their withdrawal from south Lebanon in May 2000 after two decades of occupation. Annan took note of Beirut's plan to have the Shebaa Farms put under U.N. jurisdiction until a permanent border delineation and Lebanese sovereignty over them is settled. "The United Nations looks forward to reporting further on this matter in early 2007," said the U.N. chief who is to step down at the end of the month and will be succeeded by South Korea's former foreign minister Ban Ki Moon. Annan also noted that as of November 28, UNIFIL troop strength stood at 10,480 and was expected to increase to roughly 11,500 ground troops, 1,750 naval personnel and 51 military observers this month. Coupled with the deployment of four Lebanese army brigades to south Lebanon, "these numbers are deemed to be sufficient to execute the mandate," he added.(AFP) Beirut, 02 Dec 06, 07:27
Israel Fears Saniora Toppling Could Expel UNIFIL
Naharnet: Israeli defense officials have expressed concern that the toppling of Premier Fouad Saniora's government could expel U.N. peacekeepers from the south, The Jerusalem Post reported. Hizbullah-led protesters began an open ended sit-in on Friday aimed at toppling Saniora and forming a government of national unity. The Post quoted Israeli defense officials as warning that if Saniora's cabinet falls, the United Nations Interim force in Lebanon and the Lebanese army might be forced out of southern Lebanon, Hizbullah's stronghold. "UNIFIL is not the best, but it has been effective so far in preventing Hizbullah from returning to the border," a high-ranking defense official told The Post Thursday. "If UNIFIL is kicked out of Lebanon, we could easily find ourselves back in the same situation we were in before the war this past summer, or even back at war," the official said. The 34-day Israel-Hizbullah war came to an end on August 14 with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 that also called for the deployment of the Lebanese army along with a beefed-U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon. Beirut, 02 Dec 06, 10:31
French Presidential Candidate Royal Urges Lebanon Dialogue
Naharnet: French presidential candidate Segolene Royal has urged Lebanon's political factions to return to dialogue amid mass anti-government protests in Beirut to topple Prime Minister Fouad Saniora. "Time is of the essence -- at any moment things could fall over the edge," Royal said as predominantly Shiite Hizbullah protests were launched Friday, demanding the formation of a national unity government. Royal, who arrived in Beirut Thursday on the first leg of a Middle East tour, has also said an international donors conference on Lebanon should be organized quickly.
"We see here on the ground that if political initiatives are not taken to stabilize the situation, then economic aide won't be effective," the Socialist Party's presidential candidate said. She said there was a "critical" need for an international conference on Lebanon to be held speedily.
An international meeting is scheduled for January 25 to focus on reconstruction in the country devastated by this year's Israel's offensive on Lebanon, which was triggered by the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border Hizbullah attack July 12.
Royal said the release of the pair was "absolutely necessary", urging the international community and potential donors to exert pressure on the rival Lebanese factions and push them towards national unity. Despite suggestions she should cancel her trip, Royal went ahead on her Beirut visit "so that no one can say Lebanon is on the verge of civil war." Royal visited the U.N. Forces' headquarters in the Lebanese border town of Naqoura, traveling by helicopter in order to be able to return quickly to the capital for talks with political leaders.
While in Naqoura, the French politician echoed her country's demand that Israel halt its frequent overflights of Lebanese territory, and said she would raise this with the Jewish state's leaders. "I certainly have the intention of speaking about this with the Israeli leaders. My role there is helpful," she said.
Royal is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem on Sunday after talks with "all sectors" of the Lebanese community. She met Prime Minister Fouad Saniora on Thursday shortly after her arrival. Royal's trip is also due to take her to the Palestinian territories, where she is to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and to Jordan. Asked if she intended to meet Hamas officials in Gaza, she said her program was "being prepared -- I will evaluate according to the proposals which are made to me". Royal said the release of the pair was "absolutely necessary", urging the international community and potential donors to exert pressure on the rival Lebanese factions and push them towards national unity.(Naharnet-AFP-AP) Beirut, 02 Dec 06, 10:54Saniora won't quit despite pressure
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora insisted Friday night that he would refuse to succumb to protests held by Hizbullah supporters earlier Friday calling for the US-backed premier to resign, during a conversation with French presidential candidate Segolene Royal, who was visiting in Lebanon as part of her Middle East tour.
The demonstration caused brought on criticism from both the US and Jordan soon after its cessation.
For a Jerusalem Online video of events click here
A struggle for normalcy in Lebanon (Up Front feature by 'Post' correspondent in Beirut)
The US State Department expressed grave concern over the matter.
"The protest's aim was to bring down a legitimate, democratically elected government. I do not think that anyone believes threats and violence are the democratic way to change a government," said the State Department's deputy spokesman, Tom Casey.
The US pointed a blaming finger at Syria and Iran for assisting in the latest uproar and efforts to overthrow the government, Israel Radio later reported.
Jordan's King Abdullah talked over telephone with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora to urge the Lebanese people to "safeguard their unity" which appeared endangered by the massive demonstrations, according to a royal court statement.
The monarch, who is currently on an official visit to India, "underscored the importance of the Lebanese protecting their unity at a time when they are facing great challenges", the statement said.
"Jordan is keen not to see the differences of opinions among various political groups leading to spillovers that affect the cohesion of the Lebanese society," the king said.
Some 800,000 protesters from Hizbullah and its pro-Syrian allies descended on downtown Beirut on Friday in a peaceful but noisy protest to force the resignation of Saniora, who was holed up in his office ringed by hundreds of police and combat troops.
The protesters created a sea of Lebanese flags that blanketed downtown and spilled onto the surrounding streets. Many chanted slogans demanding Saniora quit amid the deafening sound of Hizbullah's revolutionary and nationalist songs, but no clashes were immediately reported.
The pro-Syria and Iranian-backed Hizbullah and its allies are struggling to obtain veto-wielding power in the country's Cabinet - a demand Saniora has rejected. The guerrilla group hopes the mass demonstration, which police estimated at 800,000 but Hizbullah claimed was larger, will generate enough popular pressure to further paralyze Saniora's government, forcing it to step down.
In New York, US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton labeled the demonstrations as part of "part of the Iran-Syria inspired coup d'etat."
"We obviously hope the demonstrations will be peaceful. People have a right to express their political opinions, but in terms of this being part of the Iran-Syria inspired coup d'etat against the government of Lebanon we're obviously quite concerned about it," Bolton said.
A demonstration last week for a slain anti-Syrian politician also drew hundreds of thousands of people to downtown, filling Martyr's Square. But Friday's appeared larger, as protesters swarmed not only that square but others as well as nearby streets and parking lots.
Hizbullah and its allies also called for an open-ended protest and supporters plan to set up camp around the clock in tents that were erected on a road outside Saniora's office and in a downtown square.
"I wish that the prime minister and his ministers were among us today, not hiding behind barbed wire and army armored carriers. He who has his people behind him does not need barbed wire," Michel Aoun, a Christian leader and Hizbullah ally, told the crowd.
Aoun called the Saniora government "corrupt" and demanded that the prime minister resign.
Hizbullah has tried to depict the protest as rallying all Lebanese, not just its supporters and the crowd included some leftists, Sunni supporters and Christians. The militant group urged demonstrators to wave only the red and white Lebanese flag with its green cedar tree - a stark contrast to past rallies by the group, which saw huge numbers of yellow Hizbullah flags that display a fist and Kalashnikov.
Hizbullah's leader Hassan Nasrallah, who has not made a public appearance since a September rally for the militant group, could not be seen Friday. But his speeches, blared through loudspeakers, drove the crowd wild with cheers.
Inside the prime minister's building, Saniora went about his schedule, in what appeared to be a tactic to ignore the throngs outside. A day earlier, a defiant Saniora vowed his government would not fall but warned that "Lebanon's independence is threatened and its democratic system is in danger."
Heavily armed soldiers and police closed all roads leading to Saniora's sprawling headquarters that overlooked the massive rally. Barbed wire and other barricades were placed around the stone-walled building to prevent any protests from spilling over during what some newspapers have billed as the "great showdown" between the government and the opposition.
Hizbullah's security men also formed two lines between the protesters and the security forces to prevent clashes.
Saniora supporters accuse Syria of being behind Hizbullah's campaign, trying to regain its lost influence in its smaller neighbor.
Hizbullah and its allies, in turn, say the country has fallen under US domination and that they have lost their rightful portion of power. The group's deputy leader, Sheik Naim Kassim, made it clear on Friday that the fight was against "American tutelage" and said the protest action will continue until the government falls.
At the rally, some protesters occasionally cried "Death to Israel" and "We want Feltman's government to go," in reference to Lebanon's US Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman.
"We don't want the (US) Embassy inside the Prime Ministry," said demonstrator Mahmoud Zeineddin.
The United States has made Lebanon and keeping Saniora in power a key front in its attempts to rein in Syria and its ally, regional powerhouse Iran. US President George W. Bush warned earlier this week that the two countries were trying to destabilize Lebanon.
Lebanon has witnessed a string of assassinations of anti-Syrian figures over the past two years, including a prominent Christian government minister gunned down last week and former prime minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed in a February 2005 bomb blast.
The battle is a fallout from the summer war between Hizbullah and Israel that ravaged parts of Lebanon. The guerrilla force's strong resistance against Israel sent its support among Shi'ites skyrocketing, emboldening it to grab more political power and make alliances with some Christians. Hizbullah also feels Saniora did not do enough to support it during the fight.
Pro-government groups, in turn, resent Hizbullah for sparking the fight by snatching two Israeli soldiers, dragging Lebanon into war with Israel.Hezbollah-led protesters camp out in Beirut
Public defiance of Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is continuing in the capital with demonstrations throughout the night.
Hundreds of thousands of people have massed in Beirut, calling for the resignation of Mr Siniora and his Government.
The majority of those taking part are Hezbollah supporters. The opposition has promised to keep up the pressure until the Cabinet resigns.
Mr Siniora is staying put in his offices with several of his ministers. He says he will not give in and insists he is defending the country's democracy and constitution. The opposition now appears like it is getting ready for the long haul. Tents have been put up by the demonstrators in the centre of Beirut, and several are blocking one of the access roads to the Prime Minister's office. A flurry of late night diplomacy helped clear the other roads leading to the building
Hezbollah sit-in to topple Lebanon government launched
Friday, 1 December, 2006 @ 5:00 PM
Beirut - Hundreds of thousands of predominantly Shiite demonstrators launched a sit-in across the street from Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's offices in Beirut Friday, demanding his government's resignation.
Retired General Michel Aoun, leader of the predominantly Christian Free Patriotic Movement, addressed the crowd from behind a bullet-proof glass shield saying: "I call on the premier and his ministers to resign. We want another Sunni to replace Siniora".
Aoun told the cheering crowd: "Resignation is the only way out".
He criticized some media reports that said participation in the protest by Christians, Sunnis and Druze Muslims was marginal.
Aoun, addressing media organizations, said: "Shame on you to differentiate one sect from another… we've gathered under the Lebanese flag".
However, security sources said most participants in the sit-in drove from the mainly Shiite south Lebanon and the eastern sector, which are traditional strongholds for Hezbollah.
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Thursday criticized street protests, noting that they haven't succeeded in settling any conflict in Lebanon.
Similarly Lebanon’s Mufti Mohammad Rachid Kabbani criticized the street protest to topple the government describing it “ unprecedented and dangerous action”.Siniora, in a televised address to the nation screened on Thursday evening, vowed that his cabinet would only resign if it lost a vote of confidence at parliament.
The March 14 coalition, which supports Siniora's government, enjoys majority at Lebanon's 128-seat house.
Army troops and armored personnel carriers were heavily deployed around Siniora's offices, where the premier and other cabinet ministers have been residing for over a week after the assassination of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel.
Barbed wire fences as high as two meters were erected around the premises as heavily-armed troops kept demonstrators around 150 meters away.
Meanwhile, organizers set up a chain of tents and makeshift toilets to accommodate the protestors.
In an apparent effort to avoid friction, Hezbollah "disciplinary members" formed a chain separating the protestors from security forces.
Brandishing Lebanese flags and white banners that read: "Down with Feltman's government," in reference to the Siniora cabinet which has been termed by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah the government of U.S. ambassador Jeffrey Feltman.
"We want a national unity government," and "We want a clean government," other banners read.
The protest was launched at 3 p.m., the zero hour set by Nasrallah in a televised statement aired Thursday.
Opposition factions, most of which are backed by Syria and Iran, demand a bigger share in power that would enable them to block decisions by the cabinet that they do not approve.
When protesters glimpsed Siniora appearing briefly on the balcony, they shouted, "Out, out Siniora!"
Parliament member Ali Hassan Khalil, who represents Speaker Nabih Berri's Amal movement, said the sit-in would be called off "only when this government resigns and a national unity government is formed."
Armored vehicles, police and army troops were deployed in several neighborhoods of Beirut while near Siniora's office civil defense trucks equipped with water cannons were also on standby as soldiers kept watch from rooftops.
Organizers distributed flyers calling for the protest to be peaceful, while demonstrators shouted "America get out of Lebanon." and "We want a free, free government." Top picture: a Hezbollah supporter waives a Lebanese flag in which Hezbollah picture covers the Cedar of Lebanon.
Hundreds of thousands protested today in downtown Beirut to force the government to resign
A Lebanese boy holds a Lebanese flag on his balcony in a region with anti-Syrian majority in Beirut, Lebanon Friday, Dec. 1, 2006. PM Siniora urged the Lebanese to raise the flag on their balconies in support of the governmentSource: Naharnet, Ya Libnan
South Lebanon's farmers face a grim choice: lose their livelihoods or lose their lives to cluster bombs
Saturday, December 02, 2006
FIRST PERSON Brennon Jones
BEIRUT: Cluster bombs deny farmers their land and they will risk life and limb. It's the same in Southern Lebanon today as it was in South Vietnam in the early 1970s. In Vietnam, where I was a journalist and social worker in the early 1970s, I saw farmers forced off their land by American and South Vietnamese bombing and corralled into refugee camps to keep them from returning. Cluster bombs were a weapon of choice in cleansing the countryside of its rural communities, in an effort to better target the Communist soldiers who moved among them.
But many of these rural Vietnamese, denied income or work in the refugee camps, were desperate to return to their land and to farming, the only livelihood they had ever known. They broke out of the barbed-wire encampments and rushed for home, only to be maimed and killed by the cluster bomblets that littered their land.
History is now repeating itself in the cruelest of ways in Southern Lebanon.
It's the farmers, once again, who are bearing the greatest physical and economic toll from unexploded cluster-bomb submunitions.
An estimated 1 million such bomblets now remain in Lebanon and contaminate the farmland and residential areas of the South - a deadly calling card left by Israeli forces as they departed Lebanon at the end of this year's 34-day war.
The unexploded ordnance now kills or wounds an average of three people a day. Most are farmers. In a region where tobacco, citrus, banana and olive production are mainstays of the economy, many of Southern Lebanon's farmers are risking death to harvest the current crop and plant the new one.Ordnance-disposal teams from the United Nations and other agencies have already made a good start at clearing the cluster-bombs and other deadly explosives from key roads, residential areas and schools. But they acknowledge that significant progress won't be made in ridding Southern Lebanon's farmland of unexploded cluster submunitions until well into next year.
This leaves Southern Lebanon's farmers increasingly frustrated and angry.
Tobacco producers lost their crop back in July and August. It dried up when irrigation systems were destroyed by the bombing and farmers feared to enter their fields to water.
With agricultural lands still contaminated, denying most farmers access to their land, other harvests are spoiling as well, including much of the lucrative olive crop, and next year's crops go unplanted. The main thing growing in South Lebanon now, apart from the death toll, appears to be an economic crisis.The ordnance-disposal teams can't be blamed for the farmers' plight. They are stretched to capacity and need all the international support they can get, particularly as their workload continues to grow. Soon after the conflict ended, UN authorities estimated 300 cluster-bomb strike locations existed, contaminating South Lebanon with as many as 100,000 unexploded bomblets. But those numbers keep on rising. Now, close to 800 locations littered with about a million unexploded cluster bombs have been identified.
Given these numbers, and the limited capacities of ordnance-disposal teams, it's clear most of South Lebanon's farmers won't be getting back into their fields safely anytime soon. They are a community at increasing risk - physically, if they attempt to defuse and remove deadly ordnance on their own, and economically, as they lose harvest income, are denied credit and are unable to plant new crops.
More effort is needed at educating farmers on the dangers of unexploded ordnance. But this is really a stopgap measure.
When farmers face economic peril, they will risk life and limb to return to the land - a lesson proved by those South Vietnamese farmers back in the 1970s.
What the farmers need most of all is financial compensation for their crop losses this year and until the unexploded ordnance is cleared and they can safely farm their land and resume production. It should be buffered by targeted livelihood schemes that enable farmers to contribute fruitfully to the reconstruction process in their own communities until their land is cleared and is safe. Governments and the international community are stepping up impressively to help the Lebanese people rebuild their homes and communities. But largely missing from that agenda is a package of direct support for Southern Lebanon's farmers. It's a worthy expenditure, not just to keep them from deadly peril, but also to keep farm communities economically viable.With the political situation so volatile, the last thing Southern Lebanon needs is thousands of farmers increasingly incensed as their livelihoods wither away.
**Brennon Jones was a media officer in Lebanon for the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs from August to October 2006. He is also one of the people behind the award-winning documentary "Hearts and Minds."
U.S. "very concerned" that Hezbollah is trying to destabilize Lebanon
POL-U.S.-LEBANON
U.S. "very concerned" that Hezbollah is trying to destabilize Lebanon
WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (KUNA) -- With hundreds of thousands of protesters thronging the streets of Beirut on Friday, the United States remains "very concerned" that Hezbollah and its allies, with support from Syria and Iran, are continuing to work to destabilize Lebanon, said acting State Department spokesman Tom Casey.The demonstrations are aimed at toppling the "legitimate and democratically elected government" of Lebanon, Casey said during a department briefing. "And certainly threats of intimidation or violence are not something that I think anyone would consider democratic or a constitutional mechanism for changing government." The United States is committed to supporting the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora "as it rebuilds and establishes Lebanon's sovereignty," Casey said, including through the implementation of UN resolutions on Lebanon. With events such as the assassination of Lebanese Christian cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel last month, Casey said, "it is clear that there is a pattern of intimidation and efforts at intimidation of those forces aligned with Lebanon's democratically elected government." U.S. support for the Lebanese people "and their efforts to overcome the legacy of 30 years of Syrian domination and occupation are firm and well known, and we think that is not just a U.S. position, but that is a position broadly of the international community," Casey said. (end) rm.bz.
Analysts of poll in Lebanon struck by Shia rise in region, U.S.-Iran dispute
POL-U.S.-LEBANON POLL
Analysts of poll in Lebanon struck by Shia rise in region, U.S.-Iran dispute
By Ronald Baygents WASHINGTON, Dec 1 (KUNA) -- Analysts of a recent annual public opinion poll taken in Lebanon said they were struck by how emboldened the Shia appear in Lebanon and the region, and how the confrontation between the United States and its allies in the region, versus Iran and its allies in the region, is coloring the attitudes of people of all sects and religions.
The University of Maryland-Zogby International poll, entitled "Lebanese Public Opinion Amidst a New Cycle of Violence," was conducted Nov. 11-16, with results presented on Friday at the Brookings Institution.
Hisham Milhem, Washington correspondent for An-Nahar, the leading Lebanese daily newspaper, said that while he usually has a jaundiced view of polls, what is clear from this one is the extent of the Shia-Sunni divide, which is deeper and more worrisome than ever.
On the day when an estimated hundreds of thousands of Hezbollah supporters took to the streets in Beirut to call for the resignation of the Lebanese government of U.S.-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, Milhem said the major Shia mobilization under way in Lebanon could lead to a breakdown in civil order. The protests, he said, raise the question of whether the Shia can co-exist with the other camps -- Sunni, Christian and Druze -- who believe the "old Lebanon," with its Western orientation, can be resuscitated.
"There is an Iranian ascendancy that we have never seen before in the Levant," Milhem said, with a Muslim identity becoming more pronounced at the expense of an Arab identity.
This could be because many Muslims perceive that Islam is under siege, he said.
David Ignatius, a Washington Post columnist and Mideast writer, said his conclusions, based on the poll results, are that the Shia-dominant Hezbollah in Lebanon, who are backed by Iran and Syria, believe they are winning in the region, that Israel is weaker, and they feel no need to compromise on a two-state solution in the Palestinian Israeli conflict -- an idea which he described as "consistently the most dangerous" one in the Middle East.
The Israelis felt this way 15 or 20 years ago, but this thinking has "flipped" since the Israeli-Lebanese war last summer, Ignatius said.
He said he also felt the poll results revealed growing Sunni fears in the region, and a willingness to compromise because of concern that civil war in Iraq could spill over and threaten Sunnis elsewhere.
The poll also showed that Sunnis, Christians and Druze in Lebanon today are much more in agreement, whereas 20 years ago the Christians would have stood out with more distinctive views.
Panel moderator Martin Indyk, senior fellow and director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings, noted the context of the poll: the escalating Hezbollah demands on the Lebanese government as well as the upcoming release this month of the UN report into the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri -- a report expected to implicate Syria in that fatal car bombing.
The University of Maryland Anwar Sadat professor, Shibley Telhami, principal investigator of the Lebanon poll who presented the poll results, noted that much of the poll results -- including the finding that Argentine President Hugo Chavez came in second to French President Jacques Chirac on the question of which world leader they admired most outside their own country -- reflected the "prism of anti-Americanism" in the region.
On many questions, but not all, opinions were polarized between the Lebanese Shia and the other groups -- Sunni, Christian and Druze, Telhami noted. Following are some of the specific questions in the poll and their results: On the question of who emerged as the biggest winner in the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon last summer, 35 percent of all Lebanese said Hezbollah, 25 percent said the Lebanese people, and 15 percent said Israel. However, among Christians in Lebanon, a plurality said Israel emerged as the biggest winner.
On the question of attitudes toward Hezbollah in Lebanon since the war, 40 percent said they held a more positive view, 28 percent said more negative, and 25 percent said their view had not changed. Among Lebanese Shia, 68 percent cited a more positive view of Hezbollah since the war, compared to a plurality of more negative views of Hezbollah among Sunnis, Christians and Druze.
While slightly more total Lebanese polled said no one can now tell if Israel will get stronger or weaker, among Shia 58 percent said Israel is now weaker than it looks, and it is only a matter of time before Israel is defeated. Telhami noted that this finding emerged even though the Shia paid the heaviest price in the war last summer.
On the question of the two-state solution in Israel and Palestine, a majority of Lebanese said they were prepared to accept a "just and comprehensive" peace if Israel returned all territories occupied since the 1967 war, including East Jerusalem, but said they did not believe the Israelis would give up those territories peacefully.
Turning to the topic of Iraq, 53 percent of all Lebanese polled reached a tie on the question of their biggest concern about the consequences of the war in Iraq -- with equal numbers saying they feared Iraq may be divided, and that Iraq will remain unstable and spread instability throughout the region.
Asked what would happen if U.S. forces left Iraq, a huge sectarian divide appeared in the poll, with most Shia saying Iraqis would find a way to bridge their differences, while large majorities of Sunni, Christian and Druze said civil war in Iraq would rapidly expand.
Asked about the impact of the sentencing to death of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, most Lebanese among all groups agreed that it would only serve to increase sectarian and civil violence in Iraq.
Turning to the topic of Iran, vast majorities of all Lebanese agreed that Iran was trying to develop a nuclear weapon, except among Shia, where slightly more said Iran was conducting nuclear research for peaceful purposes.
Most Lebanese from all groups, but 92 percent among Shia, said Iran has the right to its nuclear program, while more Sunnis, and large majorities of Christian and Druze, said Iran should be pressured to stop its nuclear program. On attitudes toward the United States, a majority of all Lebanese cited "very unfavorable" -- with 85 percent of Shia agreeing with that, 52 percent of Sunnis agreeing with that, while more Christians and Druze cited "somewhat favorable." One of the most lopsided findings among all the poll questions, showing up among all Lebanese, was the agreement that the step the United States could take that would most improve their views of the U.S. would be if America would broker a comprehensive Mideast peace with Israeli withdrawal to 1967 borders and establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Vast majorities of all Lebanese also agreed that the recent political changes in the United States -- with Democrats taking control of the U.S. Congress and President George W. Bush firing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld -- would not make a difference in U.S. policy in the region.
Big majorities of all Lebanese also said that the primary motivation of Bush in his Mideast policies is his pursuit of the U.S. national interest, with "his strong belief in democracy" coming in a distant last.
Hizballah's Rally Highlights the Government's Weakness
On Scene: U.S.-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's grip on power is further eroded as hundreds of thousands in Beirut demand his ouster
By ANDREW LEE BUTTERS/BEIRUT
Posted Friday, Dec. 01, 2006
The Hizballah security teams — identifiable by their combat boots, black fatigues and beards — that gathered Friday morning in the suburbs of Beirut didn't need much of a pep talk to pump themselves up for their massive demonstration in Lebanon's capital. "If the leadership says march, we march; if they say die, we die," said one, who called himself Bakkir. Still, if they needed any reminder of why they were hitting the streets to bring down Lebanon's government, Bakkir and his buddies could look around at the bomb craters and crushed concrete from this summer's war with Israel. "[The government] betrayed us during the war with Israel," said Bakkir.
The battle for control of Lebanon that began in earnest with Friday's rally by hundreds of thousands of protesters in downtown Beirut is an aftershock of that war. Again and again, the packed crowd, the speakers on the podium in Riadh Al Solh Square, and the martial anthems played on a gigantic stereo system sounded the same theme, accusing the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora of collaborating with Israel and the United States in their plans to redraw the map of the Middle East and bomb Hizballah into submission. Put simply by a Shi'ite schoolgirl from Baalbek: "This is an Israeli government and we want to make it fall."
The opposition may be exaggerating Siniora's ties to the United States, not to mention Israel. After all, Siniora did all he could to press his friends in Washington to demand an immediate cease-fire, but his pleas went unheeded. In what was perceived as a green light for Israel to continue its campaign in pursuit of a military victory over Hizballah, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice memorably told the Lebanese they were suffering "the birth pangs of a New Middle East."
Where 2006 began with similar demonstrations against the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri that ultimately forced Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in the "Cedar Revolution," the year appears to be ending with the streets — and the political momentum — very much back in the hands of Syria's allies. But nobody was talking about Syria on Friday; their concerns were the Lebanese government, and its backers, real and perceived.
Police officials estimated the crowd at about 800,000 people, while Hizballah claimed a cool million — about one quarter of the country's population. Either way, the event bore Hizballah's signature organizational flair: its security personnel, as many as 10,000 of them, lined up at every major intersection to prevent supporters from becoming too enthusiastic, or infiltrators from stirring up trouble. Marchers came from all over the country, many of them determined to stay in Beirut until the government collapses. Hizballah politicians promised an open-ended and escalating series of civil actions, from strikes at key national institutions to a moratorium on paying sales taxes and electricity bills. "We withstood 34 days war with Israeli," said former Hizballah MP Mohmmed Berjawi. "We can stay here as long as it takes."
The suffering inflicted by the Israeli bombing campaign, and the fact that Hizballah's fighting forces emerged intact to claim a "Divine Victory" left Siniora's government — and all Lebanese moderates associated with the U.S. — politically vulnerable. In negotiating a cease-fire, Siniora signed off on a U.S.-sponsored Security Council Resolution requiring the disarmament of Hizballah. That agreement may turn out to be the downfall of the Siniora government.
Hizballah is demanding the formation of a new government in which its opposition bloc would have effective veto power. And it's certainly hard to see how Siniora can carry on with much authority after Friday's show of strength by his opposition.
Equally ominous for Siniora would have been the sight of so many Lebanese Christians joining forces with Hizballah's Shi'ite base. Followers of Maronite Christian leader General Michel Aoun formed a colorful stream that flowed into the out of Christian East Beirut and into the crowd at the rally, dressed in their trademark orange. Aoun, who has presidential ambitions, formed an alliance with Hizballah that has split Lebanon's large Christian population, which has historically had strong ties to the U.S. and the West.
Looming unseen in the background, as always, is the 800-pound gorilla of Lebanon's political system: Hizballah's armed military wing, which has a weapons and capacity far beyond what any other political party or even the Lebanese army could muster. Hizballah has promised that all its actions will be peaceful. "We save our weapons for fighting Israel," according to Bakkir. But any Lebanese politician that tries to get between Hizballah and its guns will likely go the way of the Phoenicans and the Romans.
Breaking: Hezbollah protesters besiege government building?
posted at 1:47 pm on December 1, 2006 by Allahpundit
Send to a Friend | printer-friendly I saw this on the wires earlier but didn’t pay it much attention. Now Abu Kais, blogging at Michael Totten’s site from Lebanon, is hearing it too:
Update. The Hizbullah militia has laid siege to the government building, trapping the prime minister and cabinet ministers inside. Roadblocks were set up by Hizbullah members in what can only be described as coup d’etat.
The Lebanese army had to call Nabih Berri, and the Saudi King had to intervene through his ambassador, to “partially” remove the siege. Hizbullah “tents” are still on the roads, isolating the government building.
The Saudi king phoned the cabinet and spoke to all ministers one by one, affirming his support. The only countries NOT supporting this government are Syria and Iran.
Other than this, all the stories are the same thus far. Skip ‘em and read Walid Phares’s excellent primer at the Counterterrorism Blog instead.
The political objectives of the “offensive” is to paralyze the Fuad Seniora Government from performing the following tasks: One, is to block the passing of the international tribunal (in the Hariri assassination) law in the Lebanese Parliament in the next two weeks. The Syrian-Iaranian strategy is to block the meetings of the Lebanese cabinet and the Lebanese legislative assembly for as long as needed to crumble this bill. Two, is to force the Seniora cabinet to resign or to accept the inclusion of pro-Syrian ministers so that any decision to disarm HizbAllah would be killed inside the Government. Three, is to crumble the UNSCR 1559 and the relations between Lebanon and the United Nations in general and the US and France in particular. In short a return of the Syrian-Iranian domination in Lebanon.
He forgot four: “The plan is to paralyze life in the country until the government resigns. Finance minister Jihad Azour has warned that the country stands to lose $70 million per day.”
The borders aren’t sealed, notes Phares, so Assad’s taking advantage by busing in Syrians to join the protests. In fact, according to anti-Syrian leader Walid Jumblatt, some Lebanese army units had to be redeployed to Beirut from southern Lebanon to keep the peace. Which means for the time being, no one’s minding the fort in some areas of Hezbollah’s stomping grounds.
Not that they ever really were.
Phares also describes Hezbollah’s media tactics, which call for painting the democratically-elected government as a western puppet and the pro-Syrian Shiite minority as the true Lebanese patriots. According to CNN, “Hezbollah and other pro-Syrian groups — including the Shiite group Amal — had called on participants to wave Lebanese flags instead of Hezbollah flags, in a sign that they represent Lebanon itself. In previous Hezbollah rallies, many waved Hezbollah flags instead.” In fact, they’ve taken to describing Siniora’s cabinet as “the Feltman government,” a reference to U.S. ambassador Jeffrey Feltman that’s perfectly seasoned with a whiff of anti-semitic paranoia.
It’s not just Hezbollah that’s casting aspersions on the legitimacy of the government, either. Hitchens:
The Lebanese Cabinet may have bravely voted last week, in spite of a campaign of blackmail by Syria’s death squads and religious proxies, to establish a tribunal to investigate the murder of Rafik Hariri, but in Washington, the talk is of getting on better terms with the people who, on all the available evidence, blew up his car. You may have noticed the new habit in the media of referring to the government of Lebanon as “American-backed” or “Western-backed.” This is as if to imply that it is not an expression of Lebanon’s remaining autonomy. But it is also cruelly ironic: Where exactly is this “backing”? Hezbollah’s deputy says they won’t clear out until the government falls, which, as Moran explains, means Nasrallah’s prestige depends now on them staying put. And that means the only way out, probably, is escalation.
World leaders offer support for beleaguered Siniora
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Saudi King Abdullah called Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to denounce "security breaches" Friday after protesters surrounded his office to demand that he quit, a Lebanese official told AFP. "Following the reports about the siege and high-level contacts to warn about the dangers of its persistence ... Siniora received a short while ago a phone call from the Saudi king," the official said.
King Abdullah "extended Saudi Arabia's full backing to his political positions," the official added, saying Abdullah had said "Saudi Arabia objects completely to any security breaches."The king then spoke to all the ministers present with Siniora, one by one, to relay his full backing, the official added. King Abdullah II of Jordan urged Lebanese to remain united. The king, who is on a state visit to India, telephoned Siniora in his besieged offices to "call on the Lebanese people to work to preserve their unity in the face of multiple challenges," the official Petra news agency said.
He said he hoped "the disagreements between the various political factions will not affect the unity of Lebanese society," the news agency said.
The US reiterated its support to Siniora late Thursday, saying America continues to support the premier "to advance the interests of the Lebanese people."US State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said that to help Siniora in the face of opposition demonstrations, the
US would "continue to work with our partners and with the Siniora government to do what we can to ensure any kinds of activities in that country are done in accordance with the laws of the country and are in support of the legitimate government."
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett arrived in Beirut Friday to meet with Siniora.
Beckett, who said upon arrival that she was here to offer Siniora her country's support, was due to meet both the prime minister and Speaker Berri during her 24-hour visit to the troubled country, an embassy official told AFP.
On arrival she went to visit former President Amin Gemayel to offer condolences on the assassination of his son, Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel.
French Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal said Friday Lebanon's divided factions should return to dialogue.
Royal, who is in Lebanon on a two-day visit, said that "time is of the essence - at any moment things could fall over the edge." - Agencies
Hundreds of thousands jam Downtown Beirut
Massive crowd keeps peace on first day of demonstration to force cabinet out
By Rym Ghazal -Daily Star staff
Saturday, December 02, 2006
BEIRUT: Hundreds of thousands of opposition protesters crammed into the heart of Beirut Friday and besieged the headquarters of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government in a peaceful show of force to bring down the ruling Cabinet. "We are here to criticize Siniora, and not the entire Sunni community!" MP Michel Aoun, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and Hizbullah ally, said from behind bulletproof glass to a vibrant crowd of demonstrators at Riad al-Solh Square in Downtown Beirut.
Siniora has "made many mistakes" and his government has "made corruption a daily affair," Aoun said, calling for the resignation of the premier and his ministers."Siniora out," the massive crowd chanted in response to Aoun's verbal assault as they overflowed nearby parking lots and streets after arriving from across the country waving Lebanon's national flag.
Simultaneously, a newly composed song blared over erected loudspeakers, titled "Tears protect no one." The song, set to a hard-hitting upbeat track, compiles extracts from a recent speech by Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Hizbullah leader, critical of Siniora's emotional addresses to the nation during the July-August war with Israel.
"I wish that the prime minister and his ministers were among us today, not hiding behind barbed wire and the army's armored personnel carriers," Aoun said. "He who has his people behind him does not need barbed wire."
Demonstrators blocked all access roads around the government headquarters, setting up tents and staging sit-ins to keep Siniora and his ministers holed up inside their offices.
As The Daily Star went to print the siege was being partially dismantled after a telephone call by Siniora to Speaker Nabih Berri, leader of the Amal Movement and a key Hizbullah ally, to "take responsibility" and ensure that access in and out of the Grand Serail was not inhibited.
According to local television LBCI, Siniora made the call to Berri after receiving "information" that demonstrators might try to storm the Serail during the night. As the sun set, the demonstration continued, albeit in slightly reduced numbers, after MP Ali Hassan Khalil, Berri's representative at the rally, called on protesters to "continue the sit-in, during the night, the day and even dawn."
"We will not budge until we hear that the government had resigned," Khalil said.
Opposition leaders had earlier promised an open-ended sit-in, in reduced numbers than during the daylight hours of the demonstration, until their demands were met.
Seemingly proving fears of violence and mayhem unfounded, the demonstration remained peaceful on Friday, partly due to the presence of force of silver-capped Hizbullah personnel tasked with keeping the peace.
Adhering to instructions from leaders of the opposition to turn the demonstration into "a national unity protest," Hizbullah personnel diligently confiscated party flags and provided their holders with Lebanese ones as replacements, turning the Downtown core into a sea of red, white and green, with few appearances of the yellow and green Hizbullah flag or its orange FPM counterpart.
In addition to Lebanese flags, anti-Siniora chants, some protesters were seen carrying sponges and loofas, which were used as props to accompany the opposition's main slogan for a "clean government."
Other popular slogans included: "100 percent! 100 percent! 100 percent! We are the majority!" and "We withstood and fought for our country, and won't let anyone shut us up!"
"We gave the government many chances, and they always failed us. So it is time for all of them to resign and give this country a fresh start," said Safyeh Abdil Bader, who arrived at the demonstration by bus with the rest of her family from the Southern town of Nabatiyeh.
Two-year-old Ali Issa flashed the victory sign and waved a yellow balloon, as his mother criticized "Mr. America," and demanded Siniora "respect all sects of this country."Siniora was also referred to as "Mr. VAT," "traitor" and "the crying man" by protesters interviewed by The Daily Star.
Most demonstrators were optimistic about the future, with few convinced of the possibility of civil war.
"Hizbullah just finished a war, and is not about to enter another," said FPM supporter Saad Al-Shammi, who dismissed such concerns as "naive," while others interviewed said that a war was "unlikely."As the crowds dispersed, several party flags and banners sprouted up amid the demonstrators, while supporters of each party of the opposition alliance made their separate ways home and the streets of Beirut slowly reopened.
Hoss urges opposition to set time limit on protests
By Therese Sfeir -Daily Star staff
Saturday, December 02, 2006
BEIRUT: Former Premier Salim Hoss called on the opposition Friday to set a limit on the duration of demonstrations in Downtown Beirut aiming to force the government's resignation. In a statement issued Friday, Hoss - who has been voicing support for the opposition's demands as of late - urged the opposition to use "safer, democratic means to achieve their demands, for the sake of the Lebanese people."
However, Hoss also lashed out at the government of Premier Fouad Siniora, saying: "The government is not going to take any decision to resolve the ministerial crisis; not because it is satisfied with its unbalanced situation, but because such a decision is in the hands of the United States.
"I urge those who are monopolizing power and refusing to give up their ministerial seats, and those who are demonstrating in the streets: Spare the people, because the Lebanese can no longer bear the economic and social crises."
Five Shiite ministers and one representing pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud resigned in early November, protesting what they said was a parliamentary majority monopoly on governmental decisions. Lahoud told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper in an interview published Friday that the Lebanese government was "no longer legal" as it no longer reflects the religious make-up of the country after the Shiite ministers' resignation.
Lahoud said he was confident the open-ended demonstration begun Friday would not trigger violent confrontations.
"All we hope is that whatever happens on the streets will be peaceful because Lebanon has had enough war," he said. "The resistance is not going to shoot Lebanese people, and there will not be a civil war."
Lahoud also claimed that he had received threats against his life and said that he had been "betrayed by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's Cabinet." He did not elaborate on either claim.
Criticizing the "shameless interference of some foreign ambassadors in Lebanon's internal affairs," the president called on "France and the United States need to let the Lebanese people make their own decisions."
Lahoud said the solution was to hold early parliamentary elections to determine "the true representatives of the Lebanese people, who will elect a new president for the country."Emphasizing the need for all Lebanese parties to return to national talks in order to form a national unity government, the president said it was his "duty" to remain in office until the end of his mandate, which was extended under Syrian pressure.
Meanwhile, resigned Agriculture Minister Talal Sahili said in an interview with the Voice of Lebanon radio that "dialogue should not be impeded, even when tensions reach their climax.""Friday's protest is a civilized and peaceful expression of democracy. The majority should be aware by now that our alliance does not want to dispose the current Cabinet in order to monopolize the country. What we are seeking is merely a true partnership," he added.
Lebanon "is not the propriety of the March 14 Forces or the March 8 Forces. This country belongs to all its citizens," Sahili said. - Additional reporting by Nafez Qawas
Government will stay 'calm' - Jumblatt
By Maher Zeineddine -Daily Star Arts & Culture editor
Saturday, December 02, 2006
BEIRUT: Lebanon's pro-government forces dismissed a massive demonstration by the opposition on Friday as an attempt by allies of Iran and Syria to block the formation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The open-ended demonstration followed weeks of calls by opposition parties for the government's resignation.MP Walid Jumblatt, a senior member of the anti-Syrian coalition, seemed unfazed by Friday's protests and called on his supporters to remain calm."Syria and some of its allies are trying to hamper the creation of an international tribunal to try former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassins and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701," Jumblatt said during a news conference held at his Clemenceau residence."The March 14 Forces, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir will face such attempts by remaining calm," he said.
Jumblatt said the government would keep the door open to dialogue with the opposition, which he described as "the only means to get out of this crisis."The March 14 Forces are a "Lebanese movement that calls for independence and sovereignty against another movement that wants to see the Syrian tutelage restored in the country and links the Lebanese to the Syrian-Iranian alliance," he said.
"This is an attempted coup but we will remain strong," Jumblatt told reporters, accusing Hizbullah and its allies of "defending Hariri's murderers by trying to hamper the creation of an international tribunal."Countering the opposition's claims that Siniora's Cabinet was monopolizing the decision-making process, Jumblatt said: "All the decisions made by the Cabinet were consensual, except for Hizbullah's decision to engage in a war with Israel" in July and August after the resistance captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.
Jumblatt said difficult days were ahead.
"We are before a weird situation: There is a legitimate government and an illegitimate government that wants to topple it," he said.
"This is what we call a coup; but we will be patient and calm. The Syrian regime will use all possible means to hamper the formation of the tribunal and Resolution 1701," he said. "Consequently, Lebanon's economic life will deteriorate, emigration will increase and industries, schools and banks will be closed."Jumblatt called on Hizbullah and Amal ministers who resigned in November to return to the Cabinet in order to "confirm their support for the international tribunal, for Resolution 1701 and for the Paris III donor conference."
Five Shiite ministers walked out of Cabinet on November 11 to protest what they said was a monopoly of power by the majority. Environment Minister Yaacoub Sarraf, a Christian considered close to pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, quit the Cabinet two days later.
Meanwhile, as demonstrators shouted demands for his resignation outside his offices, Siniora worked the phones to rally international support.
A statement issued by the premier's office said Siniora and his Cabinet had been assured of "complete support" from Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah II, as well as Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa and European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Siniora met Friday with the UN secretary general's representative in Lebanon, Geir Pedersen, and Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani.
Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Fatfat said Friday that "a major part of the March 8 Forces is only seeking to hamper the role of Parliament."
But Fatfat said he was confident Speaker Nabih Berri would "assume his responsibilities and call for a parliamentary session to vote on the draft of the international tribunal."Separately, Democratic Gathering MP Akram Chehayeb said the Lebanese "have no choice but to return to dialogue through the constitutional institutions."In an interview with the Voice of Lebanon radio, Chehayeb said Syria and Iran were trying to "derail the formation of the international tribunal and put the country in a political and constitutional vacuum." - Additional reporting by Nafez QawasAnd then there were those who stayed away
By Iman Azzi and Nour Samaha -Daily Star staff
Saturday, December 02, 2006
BEIRUT: As hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters descended upon central Beirut Friday demanding the government's resignation, many who had other responsibilities expressed regret at not being able to attend the protest, while others said they wanted to remain as far away as possible.
Despite the divergence in political opinions plaguing the country, most of those spoken to outside the demonstration Friday dismissed any talk of another civil war in Lebanon. Rima Arab and her friend May were two of the few shoppers in Verdun.
"Most people I know are afraid to leave their homes - and I know lots of Shiites, too - but we had to buy our friend a birthday present," May explained, holding two Adidas bags.
"I am against all demonstrations. They are what will ruin this country," said Arab, an employee at a household-goods store.
"They left their homes, their jobs, for this. Already people are suffering, isn't this enough?" May asked. "The leaders are pushing these people too much."""No, no, no, no, no," exclaimed Ali when asked if he thought another civil war was in the cards.
Ali, a Shiite supporter of Hizbullah who could not attend the rally because he had to work at one of the stores in Verdun, said he was confident the demonstrations would bring about change for the better."If not today, tomorrow," he said, adding: "We'll continue for as long as it takes to change the government."Zeinab, a 20-year-old cashier at Al-Rida Restaurant in Haret Hreik, also wished she could have taken part in the protest.
"We're open because people will be tired and will want to eat when they return," she said.
"My whole family is there. Everyone I know went," Zeinab said enviously of her six sisters and three brothers who left her behind. "I support Hizbullah and wish I could be there. I'll go down tomorrow."On the outskirts of Haret Hreik, Mohammad, 32, sold Lebanese flags and Hizbullah paraphernalia, but expressed little desire to join in the gathering."I just don't care. I think demonstrations are pointless," he said. "If war happens, I'll stay and I'll fight. I have family here."
"[Samir] Geagea and [Walid] Jumblatt are the two biggest problems in Lebanon," he added as an afterthought, referring to two of the most prominent leaders of the March 14 Forces. "[MP] Saad Hariri is foolish and doesn't know what he is doing."
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Across town, Elie Saab was hanging out with his friends at Sassine Square, in Achrafieh, as they would on any other day.
"I don't approve of what they are doing," he said of the opposition. "They can do whatever they want, but we'll continue living our normal lives."
"They are staging a revolution against the government and want to bring Syria and Iran into Lebanon. They are the Shiites. There are no Christians at the demonstration," he continued, quickly adding "[MP Michel] Aoun is not Christian," in reference to the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader.
Asked if he thought current political tensions could lead to civil war, Saab was skeptical.
"They're [Hizbullah] the only ones with guns," he said, identifying himself as a supporter of the Lebanese Forces, despite a friend insisting he use the term "March 14 Forces."
"Sassine belongs to the LF," Saab said.
The square was one of the busiest areas in Beirut Friday - outside of the downtown core - as many supporters of the FPM, a Hizbullah ally in Friday's rally, made their way back to Sassine after a day of demonstrating.
The majority of shops on Hamra Street closed early Friday afternoon for lack of demand.
"There was no business at all today. No one has been shopping since [Industry Minister Pierre] Gemayel's assassination actually," said Imad Daaboul, a salesman at Pearl Casuals. "Some people want to live. If we go to the protest it's like going to war."
Iman Simmo, a coworker at the clothing store, agreed, expressing hope the demonstrations would end peacefully.
"[Prime Minister Fouad] Siniora's government won't fall as long as it continues to receive international support from the United States, Europe and Saudi Arabia," she said.
Seen closing his shoe store early in the afternoon, Ayman Bassam said he had no intention to join the demonstration.
"I am not with them or anyone but Lebanon. This whole situation is bad for the economy," he sighed. "I'm going home. Maybe I will watch a little of the protest on television but then I'm going to turn on a movie."
Hard-core opposition members set up camp - literally
By Nada Bakri -Daily Star staff
Saturday, December 02, 2006
BEIRUT: Several thousand opposition supporters set up tents in Downtown Beirut, some near the government's offices, as part of the open-ended sit-in aimed at forcing Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's Cabinet to resign. Large numbers of security forces, backed by armored personnel carriers, were deployed to the area and scores of soldiers, using barbed wire and metal barriers, cordoned off the Grand Serail.
White tents were set up on at least three main roads leading to the prime minister's offices, as thousands of the protesters were expected to dig in for the long haul. "We will stay here for as long as it takes to overthrow the government," Samir Arab, 16 said, puffing away at a nargileh.
"When we get bored, we will start singing, chanting, we wil entertain ourselves," he added.
Chairs, mattresses, food, blankets and water were distributed by Hizbullah, the Amal Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement and their allies. Mobile toilets were also set up around the tents. Some of the mattresses, protesters said, were leftovers from the 34-day war with Israel in July and August, which saw more than a million people displaced before a UN-brokered cease-fire halted the conflict on August 14.
In one tent, donated by pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, several university students who said they were independent were getting ready to spend their night in Riad al-Solh Square. They will take turns, with five of them sleeping every night until they realize their goal "of overthrowing the government." They had no mattresses, no sleeping bags or chairs. "Those who slept on the ground and under the Israeli bombardment during the war, will again sleep on the ground to attain their rights," said Ali Awada, 25. A Hizbullah spokesperson said the opposition forces will form a committee Saturday that will include representatives of all opposition parties to provide for the needs of the protesters.
Qabbani leads prayers for rattled ministers
By Nafez Qawas -Daily Star correspondent
Saturday, December 02, 2006
BEIRUT: Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani led prayers at the Grand Serail Friday, while hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters gathered outside the prime minister's office to demand that the government resign. The prayers were attended by Premier Fouad Siniora and ministers Hassan Sabaa, Ahmad Fatfat, Khaled Qabbani and Mohammad Safadi, among others.
The ministers have been sleeping at the Grand Serail for the past week out of concern for their security.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the ministers, the grand mufti called on the leaders of the opposition "to resort to constitutional institutions rather than the street if they want to depose the government.""The wise people in the opposition ought to realize that their move to topple the government will be countered by hostile moves, and such a situation will surely lead to unsolicited discord," Qabbani said.
The cleric said deposing the government through demonstrations would be "a dangerous precedent ... that will pave the way for any group to get rid of any government it opposes."
The current parliamentary majority and Cabinet were formed through elections held after peaceful protests led to the resignation of the prior government, led by Omar Karami. "While demonstrations are the democratic right of any group," Qabbani said, "we all agree with the Maronite patriarch when he says that taking to the streets will only contribute to make matters worse."
Noting it was the duty of all politicians to preserve Lebanon's independence and stability, the grand mufti said it was "more important that they try to provide the Lebanese with a decent living."Qabbani expressed his "full support" to Siniora and his Cabinet, "which has gained the confidence of both the Parliament and the Lebanese."Siniora also met Friday with Abbas Zaki, representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Lebanon, for talks on how "to help Lebanon overcome the current crisis and avoid a return to the dark years of the civil war." It is crucial that both the Lebanese and Palestinians are not "drug into unwanted domestic conflicts," Zaki said.
Franjieh 'clarifies' barb at Sfeir
By Mirella Hodeib and Maroun Khoury
Daily Star staff-Saturday, December 02, 2006
BKIRKI: Harsh criticism rained down on former Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh on Friday for comments he made about a speech delivered by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir the previous day. In an interview with Al-Manar television station on Friday, Franjieh lashed out at the prelate for allegedly having said that "Christians who take part in Friday's demonstration to topple the government are not true Christians."
Sfeir had given a speech on Thursday during a meeting with female relatives and widows of assassinated Lebanese leaders, who came to visit him in Bkirki.Franjieh said that Sfeir was not in a normal state when he made the speech. "I am sure that the patriarch got excited by the sight of all those women around him," Franjieh said. Franjieh issued a "clarification" in the face of sharp criticism on Friday, saying: "I deeply respect the Maronite seat at Bkirki and I truly respect the patriarch, even if we diverge on a number of political issues."
Franjieh added that he used a colloquial term to describe Sfeir "that was misinterpreted by the media. I meant that he became enthusiastic rather than aroused." Sfeir said Thursday that some politicians are trading with Lebanese lives and "have become a rattle in the hands of external forces."
MPs from Franjieh's Zghorta region issued a statement denouncing his comment, urging the pro-Syrian former minister to present his apologies to the Maronite patriarch. "Franjieh's contentions dishonor Lebanese and Christian morals," the statement said.
Hizbullah pulls off impressive feat of logistics
By Lysandra Ohrstrom -Daily Star staff
Saturday, December 02, 2006
BEIRUT: Routes into the capital were clogged on Friday with hundreds of thousands of protesters demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government. Most Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) supporters flooded into Beirut from Northern Christian communities after traffic forced them to abandon their cars, while most f Hizbullah's constituents got to Martyrs Square on the airport road.
Nour Farhad, 16, traveled to Beirut with her family early Friday morning on one of 26 buses assembled in the village of Al-Kawthariyya in Nabatiyeh. The trip, which can usually be made in a little over one hour, took three since Hizbullah hired buses in all Shiite villages to make the round trip to Beirut free of charge. "The buses will take the women and children back tonight around 8 p.m. because it's not appropriate for us to spend the night, but the men will stay," she told The Daily Star.
The municipality established a phone chain to alert participants when buses would be leaving at night. Nour's school, along with most others in Southern Lebanon, was closed on Friday and her teachers encouraged her to take part in the demonstration, she said.
"Our teachers told us to come and share our opinion and in the South there are so many people who say that we should be against this government because it's doing illegal things," she said. "We will come back every day as long as they are here and when they quit we will stop."
She acknowledged, however, that she would take a day off from demonstrating in the event of an exam. Most young FPM supporters, on the other hand, seem to have played hooky since most schools in Christian areas remained open. In another marked contrast to its coalition partner, the transportation provided by FPM was unreliable and many demonstrators traveled to the capital independently. George Khachoya drove with his older brother from Souloumi to Dora, where congestion forced them to walk the rest of the way with the 300 other Aoun supporters dressed in orange from their caravan. The FPM "hired other buses but they are late," George said. "Maybe they paid the buses and they took the money and didn't show up. It happens like that at all the protests."
Royal says 'time is of the essence' in returning to political dialogue
French presidential candidate makes quick trip to visit unifil troops
By Agence France Presse (AFP) Saturday, December 02, 2006
NAQOURA: French Socialist Party presidential candidate Segolene Royal on Friday urged Lebanon's political factions to return to dialogue amid mass anti-government protests in Beirut. "Time is of the essence - at any moment things could fall over the edge," Royal said after arriving on Thursday night on the eve of mass demonstrations against the Western-backed government led by the Shiite movement Hizbullah and opposition groups.
Despite suggestions she should cancel her trip, she went ahead on her Beirut visit as part of a Mideast tour "so that no one can say Lebanon is on the verge of civil war."Royal met French troops serving in UNIFIL in Naqoura, in Southern Lebanon, traveling in a helicopter in order to be able to return quickly to the capital for talks with political leaders.
She said there was a "critical" need for an international conference on Lebanon to be held quickly.
An international meeting is scheduled for January 25 to focus on reconstruction in a country devastated by this year's Israeli offensive launched after Hizbullah fighters captured two Israeli soldiers.Royal urged the international community and potential donors to exert pressure on Lebanon's factions and push them towward national unity.
While in Naqoura, the French politician echoed her country's demand that Israel halt its frequent overflights of Lebanese territory, and said she would raise this with the Jewish state's leaders."I certainly have the intention of speaking about this with the Israeli leaders. My role there is helpful," she said.
Royal is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem on Sunday after talks with "all sectors" of the Lebanese community. She met Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on Thursday shortly after her arrival.
She said she was pleased that a meeting planned with Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee was back on her agenda after being cancelled by the Lebanese. The original venue for the meeting was changed because of the mass demonstrations near Parliament.
In a statement before her arrival in Beirut, Royal said: "I want to find out for myself about the reality in Lebanon and see what role France can play in helping Lebanon out of the current crisis."
Royal's tour of the Middle East is later to take her to the Palestinian territories and Jordan. - AFP
On again, off again: Lebanese politics as light switch
By Kamal Dib -Daily Star
Saturday, December 02, 2006
FIRST PERSON kamal dib
Factions on both sides of the political-sectarian divide in Lebanon are using the murder of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel on November 21 and the Israeli war on Lebanon last summer as ammunition to increase their popularity and share of Lebanese public opinion.
Lebanon is divided today between a March 14 coalition and a March 8 coalition (in reference to the two dates when both sides fielded massive rallies in Downtown Beirut last year). The first coalition currently enjoys a parliamentary majority that brings together most prominent Sunni and Druze leaders (including MPs Saad Hariri and Walid Jumblatt) and a portion of the Christian leadership (including Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and former President Amin Gemayel). The March 8 coalition has a sizeable minority of parliamentary seats and brings together the Shiite leadership (Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri and Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah) and a portion of the Christian leadership (MP Michel Aoun and former Minister Suleiman Franjieh) and minor Sunni and Druze leaders (former Prime Minister Omar Karami and former Minister Talal Arslan). The two coalitions have enough variety to avoid a religious slant to their slogans and political action.
Violence and opinion polls go hand-in-hand in Lebanon. Imagine the reaction of British Prime Minister Tony Blair or French President Jacques Chirac when they receive news showing a dip in their popularity in public opinion polls. Obviously, they will want their advisers to do something about it and present recommendations (such as increased government spending on popular programs, reducing taxes, changing the course of foreign policy or calling for elections).
In Lebanon, factions are thriving on chaos and violence to maintain an edge in the struggle for the minds and souls of the Lebanese public. The current climate suggests that Nasrallah would react to news about a drop in public opinion support by saying, "OK, we need another war with Israel." Or that Hariri, Jumblatt and Geagea, upon receiving news that support for their coalition is decreasing, would react by saying: "OK, we need another assassination of someone in our ranks or an explosion in a Christian neighborhood." While things might not happen exactly in this fashion, it is no secret that both sides are exploiting their misfortunes to win maximum political gain.
Since February 14, 2005, when a massive bomb killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others, Lebanon is swinging in an alternate direction, similar to a light switch where events are turned "On" and "Off" in sequences of wars with Israel or bombs and assassinations that are immediately blamed on Syria.On: Murder of Rafik Hariri and his entourage and bystanders; a massive rally in Downtown Beirut attracts a million participants, a surge in the popularity of the anti-Syrian coalition, which then scores an electoral victory in May 2005; and a steep drop in the popularity of Hizbullah and its allies.Off: A war with Israel in July and August 2006 causes over 1,200 Lebanese deaths, 4,000 wounded and extensive damage to Lebanon's infrastructure and economy; a steep drop in the popularity of the March 14 coalition; a massive Hizbullah rally on September 22, 2006; and a rise in the popularity of Hizbullah and its allies. Since early October 2006, Hizbullah and its allies want to "cash in" on their change in fortune (i.e., rising popularity) by either getting more Cabinet seats or, failing that, by calling for early parliamentary elections.
On: Murder of Pierre Gemayel and his bodyguard; a massive demonstration of the March 14 coalition; a rise in popularity of this coalition amid public sympathy; and a drop in popularity of Hizbullah and its allies.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese people are sharply divided like never before with sectarian verbal abuses on the rise and actual physical violence (civil war?) seemingly almost around the corner. In the absence of reason and care for national interests among the leaders on both sides, the trend is settling in for 2007 and 2008: Off: Another war with Israel. On: Another political murder or an explosion targeting civilians.
One is tempted to bring in external factors, such as the role of Israel, Syria, the United States, Iran and Saudi Arabia, in the troubles that have plagued Lebanon since August 2004, or to admit the fact that you cannot blame a particular Lebanese faction for accepting foreign support as all sides are doing that.
But were it not for the readiness of the Lebanese leaders themselves to work with foreign powers and to accept support, external intervention would have had minimal impact on the domestic scene. The warlords in Lebanon needed not use excessive language and sectarian-laden statements against their foes if they truly wished for national rapprochement around what is good for the country. To the neutral observer, almost all Lebanese leaders sound increasingly irresponsible in their conscious drive to a showdown.
Of course this does not exonerate the foreign powers of their wrongful deeds in Lebanon, such as the severe punishment exacted by Israel on Lebanon last summer with the naked duplicity of Washington; the continued Syrian intervention to undermine the government of Lebanon and its legitimacy; the Saudi support for the rising Sunni power in Lebanon; and the huge intervention of Iran to invigorate a militant Hizbullah in Lebanon.
It is either that Lebanon is ungovernable and is in dire need of another foreign tutelage similar to the one imposed by Syria since 1976, or that it is becoming impossible for the various Lebanese religious communities to coexist when mistrust and suspicion fill the air, and thus partition seems a peaceful way out. Either way, foreign powers, especially the United States, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran, can act responsibly and contribute to internal Lebanese dialogue and stop encouraging the various factions from taking extreme positions.
Kamal Dib is a Canadian economist and the author of Warlords and Merchants: The Lebanese Business and Political Establishment. He wrote this commentary for The Daily Star.
Both sides take steps to guard against violence
Calm prevails on demonstration's first day despite security forces' report of 'some conflicts'
By Leila Hatoum -Daily Star staff
Saturday, December 02, 2006
BEIRUT: Government security forces and demonstration organizers expanded their efforts to guard against violence in the capital on Friday as hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets in an attempt to bring down Premier Fouad Siniora's government.
Over 20,000 troops from the Internal Security Forces (ISF), the Lebanese Army and State Security - in addition to several thousand crowd-control personnel from Hizbullah and their allies in the opposition - were deployed to ensure a peaceful demonstration.
Armored military and ISF vehicles with hundreds of personnel deployed early on Friday to surround the Grand Serail, where Siniora and allied ministers have taken refuge for the past week due to personal security concerns.
Barbed wire and metal barriers cordoned off all roads to the government offices, while protesters amassed meters away and prepared tents for their open-ended siege.
In a previously announced measure, Martyrs Square - the site of numerous demonstrations in the past two years, including one on Thursday following the funeral of slain Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel - was barricaded against protesters.
Army commandos stood behind coils of concertina wire surrounding the square, and at least two armored personnel carriers were parked at the site.
A source close to the government told The Daily Star on Friday that the square had been blocked off as part of "a security measure, which has been agreed upon with the security chiefs and the demonstrators."
However, a Hizbullah official speaking on condition of anonymity said no such agreement had been reached.
"We were just told that Martyrs Square was off limits. We don't want any clashes to happen with the security forces so we respected this wish and diverted the rally to other squares," the source said.
While fears that the massive demonstration would immediately produce violent clashes appeared to be unfounded Friday, Brigadier General Ashraf Rifi, the director general of the ISF, said clashes had occurred.
"There were some conflicts today," Rifi said. "Currently there are no details on the matter and we will not issue a statement about that. I don't want to comment any further."
Hussein Rahhal, a Hizbullah spokesman, said the party had not heard of any clashes during the first day of demonstrations.
Rahhal said that hundreds of Hizbullah crowd-control personnel had been deployed to control the perimeters of the demonstration, and that thousands more were interspersed among the demonstrators to "monitor, stop and isolate any possible clashes or infiltrators."
The Daily Star received unconfirmed reports of minor clashes and eyewitness accounts of near-incidents throughout the day, but also witnessed several occasions in which Hizbullah personnel admonished supporters for using coarse language or other "inappropriate behavior."
Meanwhile, a security source said the strict measures will remain in place for as long as demonstrations continue at the heart of the capital.
"As long as they remain next to the Grand Serail, there is a possibility of a threat to the Serail's safety and our orders are to maintain the ministers' safety," the source said. Organizers said that some 5,000 protesters were preparing to sleep in the central square used by demonstrators until a new national unity government is formed.
200,000 call for Lebanon's 'US puppet' to go
By Michael Hirst in Beirut
Last Updated: 7:58pm GMT 01/12/2006
Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to Beirut’s streets today in a Hizbollah-led demonstration aimed at toppling the government of the beleaguered (under Pressure) prime minister, Fouad Siniora. A week after vast numbers attended the funeral of the murdered industry minister, Pierre Gemayel, Beirut was a flood of colour again as a sea of Lebanese flags blanketed the downtown area. Hizbollah had planned demonstrations last week, but postponed them after the assassination of Mr Gemayel, the sixth anti-Syrian figure to be killed in two years.
The 200,000-strong crowds included supporters of Hizbollah, its fellow-Shia Amal party, the Christian faction led by Michel Aoun and supporters of Emile Lahoud, the Syrian-backed president. But although the colours of various political factions were on display, the predominant symbol was Lebanon’s green cedar tree emblazoned on a red and white flag, a sign that Hizbollah wanted the rally to project the sentiments of a nation.
The Iranian- and Syrian-backed Shia militant group has branded Mr Siniora a puppet of the United States, and is calling for his cabinet to be replaced by a new government that will give Hizbollah’s allies sufficient representation to effectively yield veto-power.
“I call on the prime minister and his ministers to quit,” shouted Mr Aoun to the crowds, speaking on behalf of the opposition. “Siniora out, we want a free government,” chanted the crowd in response. Mr Aoun called on the people to “continue the sit-in until we reach our goals” of installing a new unity government. Demonstrators had been transported to the capital from all over Lebanon by bus and, although many returned home last night, several thousand remained for an indefinite sit-in around the prime minister’s Grand Serail office.
White tents were set up on roads leading to the Ottoman-style building, and mattresses, blankets, food and water were laid on for those who planned to stay the night. “I’ll stay here for as long as it takes,” said Rahida Eliast, the 21-year-old student’s orange bandanna identifying her as a supporter of Mr Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement. “I don’t care where I sleep, and I don’t care what I eat. I just want to see this government brought down.”
Armoured personnel carriers could be heard through the streets of the capital early yesterday as hundreds of combat troops were deployed to strategic positions around the prime minister’s office. Inside the building, Mr Siniora, who has pledged he will not resign, was holed up with several cabinet ministers, attempting to go about his daily schedule and ignore the huge protests outside.
Hundreds of Hizbollah “discipline men” dressed in civilian clothes, and armed only with distinctive grey and white caps and walkie-talkies, were positioned alongside Lebanese soldiers at newly-laid razor-wire fences surrounding the building to ensure that the protests stayed peaceful.
Sheikh Naim Kassem, Hizbollah’s deputy chief, said: “This government will not take Lebanon to the abyss. We have steps if this government does not respond.”
Mr Siniora’s supporters claim that Hizbollah and its allies are attempting to stage a coup to bring down the government in order to torpedo an international tribunal to try the suspected killers of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, last year.
Although Damascus denied any involvement, protests that followed the killing prompted Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon.
Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, arrived in Beirut last night for a 24-hour visit.
Can Bush Succeed in Facing the Iranian Role In Iraq, Palestine, and Lebanon?
Raghida Dergham Al-Hayat - 01/12/06//
New York - There are some indications suggesting that US President George W. Bush has grasped the nature of the intertwined issues of Iraq, Palestine, and Lebanon and the need for his administration to swiftly find solutions for these issues concurrently, but without necessarily linking them together.
Challenges faced by Bush in the Arab region today are not limited to the doubts of the anti-American camp, but also the doubts of the other camp that fears the boomerang effect of the US promises in the name of realism; turning sweet-talk into poison that kills those who believed these promises.
Hence, after his talks in the Jordanian Capital this week, the US President needs to lay down the mechanisms to implement the commitments he has pledged toward Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq, especially since he voiced his refusal to allow Iran to steer these three files, and his refusal to bow to its diktat and the diktat of radicalism in these three spots.
Jordanian King Abdullah II was keen to achieve scrupulous coordination with key Arab countries in the region and with parties concerned with these files before receiving the US President in Amman and before Bush's meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
King Abdullah highlighted the threat of civil war in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq, and significantly contributed in broadening and deepening the understanding scope of the US regarding the prerequisites for dealing with what is currently taking place in the region.
The timing of King Abdullah's contributions is in itself of immensely important significance, as it comes amidst a flow of media reports pointing to the resolve of the Baker-Hamilton commission to recommend that the US administration seek Iran and Syria's assistance in Iraq in return for something or the other.
The Arab message which the US President received via the Jordanian King was the following: Making mistakes now in Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine will reduce the region and US regional interests to rubble. The ranks of moderation, both public and popular, will completely collapse and will not find a space anywhere if the US administration yields to the diktat of extremism emanating from Tehran and addressed to, and at the expense of, the Arab arena. Losing control of the ongoing situation in Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq will dangerously and irreversibly destabilize the region.
The Palestinian Cause is the key to dealing with the region's broader issues and to saving Palestine from the blunders of terrorism, which comes at the Palestinians' own expense.
Lebanon is at this point a highly important arena for testing the international resolve and sound policies. Lebanon is also the front through which Iran and Syria are sending explosive messages. At the same time, they are both sending messages of pretended affection for Iraq.
On the Iraqi level, it has now become clear that the US President will not rush into withdrawing from Iraq, and that he has not taken the decision to abandon supporting Maliki. Bush is also not prepared to ask for Iranian or Syrian assistance, even if recommended by former Secretary of State James Baker in the upcoming conclusions and consensus of the team that took part in studying the US' strategic options in Iraq and the region.
The Bush-Maliki joint press conference, at the conclusion of their meeting in Amman, marked the US President's commitment to back the Iraqi Prime Minister and assist in his success. Bush spoke of Maliki as a "strong leader" whose "courage" is to be appreciated. He also said that he "appreciated (Maliki's) saying: " stop holding me back, I want to solve the problem." Bush added: "we will strengthen his government and support his efforts."
Bush underlined that "the success of the Maliki government is a fundamental and critical issue to the United States and to putting an end to extremism in Iraq." Referring to Maliki's critical remarks of the U.S position, President Bush said "One of his frustrations with me is that he (Maliki) believes that we've been slow about giving him the tools necessary to protect the Iraqi people. I told the Prime Minister that we are ready to make changes to assist better the unity government in Iraq and there are basic principles behind our strategy,"
Bush's statements entail a mea culpa and an adjustment of the impression that prevailed on the eve of his departure to Amman, due to a memo leaked from the White House, referring to distrust over Maliki's abilities to rule Iraq and control the situation.
Therefore, Bush was determined in stating that "We will support this government". He was also forceful in reiterating that the objective was the "unity" of Iraq and that its partition was not an option. His statement that "this business about the graceful exit just simply has no realism to it at all", was remarkable.
The Jordanian King's keenness to consult with all the Iraqi parties concerned before Bush's meetings in Amman significantly served to disperse the notions of the so called "regional Sunni alliance", ascribed to ongoing Arab efforts in Iraq.
Concerned Arab parties, however, must double their efforts to assure Iraq's Shiites and the Shiites in their own countries that they are really adamant on producing a qualitative shift in their relations with the Shiites in order to be able to stop the sectarian unrest and to put an end to the ugly sectarian bloodshed. Perhaps it is high time for Arab and Muslim States, concerned about Iraq and its future fate to start formulating a comprehensive strategy for assisting Iraq in two phases: The current phase, which is now almost drained, and even despite the presence of US troops, and then the next stage to assist in maintaining security and order in Iraq after the withdrawal of US troops.
The last thing Iraq needs now is more incitement against its government and the US troops there, especially since the majority of Arabs believe withdrawing these troops will lead to greater devastation and deeper division, as well as result in dreadful regional repercussions.
Thus, it is in the interest of the Arabs to invest in Iraq, not only to fend off the Iranian hegemony and to reclaim it back to the Arab home, but also to restore the confidence of its people in Arabs, both peoples and governments.
What Iraqis need is the rehabilitation of Iraq in a way that would rid it from the toxins of frustration, hatred, extremism, and coercion so that Iraqis can lead a normal life.
Arabs are required to provide Iraqis with financial aid to rebuild and restore their social fabric, offer them jobs and education and help building an autonomous security apparatus, so that eventually Iraq can be a State, not a cluster of militias.
On of the most important Arab investment in fending off Iran's hegemony and ambitions over the Arab region is backing the State structures in Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine in the face of the Iranian adoption of the militia structures.
This calls for huge investments, both Arab and international, that will eventually succeed in tipping the balance toward the side of the State not the militia.
The bulk of the ongoing US debate on the available options in Iraq is rather superficial and reflects the US' narcissism and its engrossment in its stalemate in Iraq, with a great deal of ignorance and neglect toward the reality of what would happen if the US admission acceded to the recommendations to take Iran and Syria for its partners in Iraq and to sanction and bestow legitimacy on a complete Iranian leadership of the Arab region.
So far, there are no indications that George W. Bush is prepared to yield to Iran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's address to the American people, in which he exhorted the Americans to turn on their government, describing the Bush administration as lacking legitimacy and morality, may have helped Bush face the media drive toward the option of yielding to Iran.
This address may also have influenced the Baker-Hamilton commission's recommendations, as the US governing institution absolutely rejects any contempt of the US presidency, incitement of the US people or interference in US internal affairs.
If this institution was ever to recommend a role for Iran, then it will be under clear conditions and within clearly defined guidelines and without any nuclear or regional incentives, unless such incentives come within a comprehensive and balanced strategic framework. Only then a different kind of dialogue could be conducted, and not a naďve dialogue about incentives.
The US President addressed the Iranian role in the Iraqi, Palestinian, and Lebanese files. He said Iranians along with other extremists are seeking to nip the Iraqi democratic experience in the bud, and to abort the creation of a Palestinian State.
The Iranian President, for his part, made it clear in his address that he is against the establishment of a Palestinian State alongside Israel. He was unequivocal in rejecting the choice made by the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian People, namely: the Two-State option.
There are those among the Arab popular ranks who agree with Ahmadinejad and see in him a leader and a commander for the liberation of Palestine and the elimination of Zionism and Zionists. What they should do is read the history of Iranian-Israeli relations which characterized by deals struck behind closed doors.
They should also pay attention to Ahmadinejad's exploitation of the Palestinians' strife under the Israeli occupation as a commodity peddled for Iran's ambitions for regional hegemony.
As long as the Palestinian choice, embodied in the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people is the two-State option, then what the leaders of Iran are trying to achieve is no more than mere overstating and exploitation of the Palestinians and their just Cause. For if the leaders of Iran really want to liberate Palestine, let them declare war and open the fronts of their Syrian ally before the deluge of Arab and Iranian masses.
At the same time, the US President continues with his naďve conviction that he is the first US President to speak of a vision of a Palestinian State, and that that is sufficient to distract attention over his blind bias toward Israel and his administration's pathetic contributions to what the Palestinian situation has now become.
Now, and before its too late, George W. Bush must pair his comprehension of the prevalent circumstances in the region with active and effective measures. For the region is no longer able to withstand new US mistakes, and is not sensitive to promises that are broken by "realism" or the continuation of the current status in the Palestinian-Israeli issue.
George W. Bush is now urgently required to correct his mistakes in Palestine, not only in Iraq. He is also strongly required to avoid committing any additional mistakes in Lebanon, for the atmosphere is anything but conducive to tolerating, dealing with, or turning a blind eye on mistakes.
Just as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is in need for real support and an actual empowerment that can take the from of lifting the siege imposed on his people and resume serious negotiations with him, Israeli Prime Minster Ehud Olmert also needs to be rescued from the predicament Israel is in because of its failed policies.
This means that it is high time for George W. Bush's administration to immediately come forward with mechanisms to implement the Roadmap, to establishing a Palestinian State with radical revision precluding provisions on Abbas to dismantle and disarm the Palestinian factions, and on the Hamas government to recognize Israel as a prerequisite and starting point, as neither Israel, nor Hamas have honored previous agreements.
Should there be a chance for Israel for a peaceful solution, then it should realize that it is better off having Hamas as a partner for the Palestinian Authority in any peace agreement.
Let the US administration abandon appeasing Israel and bowing before it, for it is high time now for Washington to seize the reigns of the initiative, as it is not only in its national interest but also enables reaching a just solution and achieving peace.
On the Lebanese level, the US President has made it clear that bartering with Lebanon is not an option and that he is not prepared to rehabilitate the Syrian hegemony over Lebanon in exchange for Syria's assistance in Iraq, nor appease its desperation to be America's ally in anything as long as it insists to keep hold of Lebanon.
Following Bush's Amman talks, sources described notions of dialogue with Syria as pure illusions and that the international disapproval of the Syrian role in Lebanon is growing and that Lebanon is not a commodity in the bartering basket.
It is a good thing that the US President grasps the intertwined files of Lebanon, Palestine, and Iraq. What is important, however, is that he understands the need for accelerating the resolution of each file in parallel and to immediately take the necessary measures in Palestine and Lebanon, since the Iraq is a longer story that needs to be dealt with now. http://www.raghidadergham.com/