LCCC NEWS BULLETIN
FEBRUARY 17/2006

Below news from the Daily Star for 17/2/06
Aoun, Geagea move closer to a compromise over Baabda-Aley
Nasrallah: Slain PM told him no disarmament without 'settlement'
March 14 Forces launch plan to topple Lahoud
Siniora meets Pope, condemns arms traffic
Saudi ambassador: Assad 'basically agrees' with Lebanese demands
Ghassan Tueni says Lahoud is a detriment to rule
Mottaki reiterates Iran's support
Qassem: February 14 speeches not conducive to national unity
Health program makes headway in cutting treatment costs
Hoss calls for Lahoud's resignation and holding of elections
PSP: Jumblatt does not need lessons from Israel
Norwegian delegates apologize for cartoons
Hariri sees jaw-jaw not war-war with Nasrallah
Lebanon lacks a law to access information
Heavy snow and freezing fog cause traffic

Aoun, Geagea move closer to a compromise over Baabda-Aley
Contest or consensus to be announced on Sunday
By Nada Bakri -Daily Star staff
Friday, February 17, 2006
BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan said Thursday the decision to reach either a consensus or to contest the Baabda-Aley by-election will be announced Sunday. The by-election is set to be held on March 19. LF leader Samir Geagea said earlier Thursday, during a television interview, that Adwan will discuss with Aoun nominating three or four compromise candidates.
But Aoun and Adwan both refused during a joint news conference to identify the suggested candidates.
Aoun said: "We will not announce any names before Sunday. If we decide to contest, it will be a democratic process and if we reach a consensus the candidate will be someone we all agree upon."
Adwan said: "We are discussing the nomination of very well respected and competent people and it would be improper to disclose their names before reaching a final decision."
The LF and FPM have been trying for weeks to reach a consensus over filling the Maronite seat vacated by the death of MP Edmond Naim in January. Naim ran as an independent candidate supported by the LF.
Aoun suggested nominating former MP Pierre Dakkash as a "compromise candidate" earlier this month, and most politicians and religious leaders supported his candidacy.
Various politicians and religious leaders have voiced fears a heated election in the sensitive electoral district made up of Christians, Druze and Shiites will instigate unnecessary political and religious strife at this delicate stage.
Dakkash insists he is an independent candidate who has been working in the region as a physician for over 50 years without discrimination based on religion or political affiliation.
In his attempts to generate support for his candidacy, Dakkash visited major politicians and religious figures including Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, Geagea and Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir.
Sfeir and Jumblatt are strong advocates of reaching consensus.
Dakkash said that most politicians have vowed to support him, but added that he has yet to meet with Geagea to brief him on the results of his visits before the latter declares his party's final
decision. Geagea however, has repeatedly said that Dakkash meets the requirements of a compromise candidate.
If the parties fail to agree on one candidate, it is widely believed that Aoun will field either FPM member Hikmat Deeb or Shakib Qortbawi, the former head of the Beirut Bar Association in what would likely become a heated election battle.
National Liberal Party leader Dory Chamoun and prominent anti-Syrian journalist May Chidiac have also announced their candidacies for the seat. But Chamoun has said that he would withdraw in favor of a compromise candidate.

Nasrallah: Slain PM told him no disarmament without 'settlement'
By Leila Hatoum -Daily Star staff
Friday, February 17, 2006
BEIRUT: Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah revealed on Thursday that slain former Premier Rafik Hariri told him during one of their meetings that "as long as there is no settlement in the region, then the resistance should not be disarmed."
Nasrallah was speaking in front of hundreds of supporters at the UNESCO Palace on Thursday during the commemoration of two of Hizbullah's former leaders, Sayyed Abbas Mussawi and Sheikh Ragheb Harb, who were assassinated by Israel in the early 1990s."The martyr premier (Hariri) told me, and there are witnesses to this, that the resistance's weapons 'are not linked to freeing Shebaa farms, but to the settlement in the region,'" said Nasrallah.
He added that Hariri told him: "When we reach this settlement, I will come to you and discuss the issue of the resistance's weapons. If you agree to disarm, then fine, if not then I will resign and leave the country because I am not ready for another Algeria."During the commemoration of Hariri's assassination on Tuesday, many of the March 14 forces - notably Druze MP Walid Jumblatt - attacked the resistance, saying it is a militia and that it should disarm.
Thursday's commemoration was an opportunity for Nasrallah to reply to the attacks of March 14 forces members who gave fiery speeches on Tuesday. "The language of cursing and shouting doesn't build a country. The resistance's arms were always to fight for this sacred country which makes these arms sacred," he said.
"As for the weapons which fought in the alleys and in neighborhoods during the civil war, these are not sacred," he said, in clear reference to the fights of civil war leaders Jumblatt and Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Geagea.
"The speeches given on February 14 will lead the country to another civil war."
"Some of March 14 forces never supported the resistance since the Israeli invasion in 1982. We don't want to bring back the past, but they have put us in a situation where the resistance which fought for the freedom of this country had to resort to examples from the past to reveal the lies which are spread by some to mislead the public.
"The accusations against the resistance and the claims that Shebaa farms are not Lebanese which we witnessed on Tuesday are far from the Ministerial statement and the Taif Accord itself."
Nasrallah also defended Hizbullah's pact of two weeks ago with Free Patriotic Movement Leader MP Michel Aoun.
"Many criticized and mocked our agreement. I say it is a good thing to be able to bring together two parties that were apart, with both making concessions to reach common ground," said Nasrallah.
He added that if everyone walked this path instead of accusing and cursing each other, Lebanon would be "stronger and more secure.""Our agreement with Aoun didn't attack the Taif Accord as many said. It had everything
stated in the Taif except for the word Taif. The only crime we committed was to meet and agreed with the FPM.
"The March 14 forces attacked this agreement the very next day, saying that the resistance's weapons have lost national consensus support."Nasrallah mocked the notion, saying: "I wonder, was there ever a national consensus to lose?" He also said that Hizbullah is ready to go into dialogue with anyone and everyone, without any preset conditions.
Nasrallah joked about the Shebaa farms, saying neither the Syrians, nor Israelis, nor the Palestinians have laid claim to the farms."Now we have some Lebanese (namely Jumblatt) saying they aren't Lebanese," Nasrallah said. "What are they then? I think we should add them to the Arab League and call it the Arab Republic of Shebaa Farms."

March 14 Forces launch plan to topple Lahoud
President given deadline to step down
By Majdoline Hatoum and Mayssam Zaaroura
Daily Star staff-Friday, February 17, 2006
BEIRUT: The three leading members of Lebanon's March 14 Forces united Thursday night to demand that President Emile Lahoud resign, giving a huge boost for the Parliament majority's goals to impeach the president. In a new twist, the forces did not call on Lahoud to resign but said they would set into action a political and public battle to end his mandate forcibly and constitutionally. Setting the first anniversary of March 14 as a deadline before they would constitutionally impeach the president, the March 14 Forces met under tight security as Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, Parliament majority leader Saad Hariri and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea were present in Le Bristol Hotel.
After a meeting of several hours, the March 14 statement - formed of three main points - said: "President Emile Lahoud is the last remaining representative of the Lebanese-Syrian security apparatus that are directly accused of assassinating Premier Rafik Hariri.""Since Lahoud's mandate was imposed on the Lebanese by a Syrian decision in an unconstitutional manner and in opposition to international resolutions, and since he is still implementing Syria's orders in Lebanon and hindering the work of the government, the March 14 forces demand an end to this presidency."
In their second point, the forces "call on the people of Lebanon to continue the independence battle by toppling Lahoud and making March 14 a date for implementing this independent national decision."
The third and main point stated the period for Lahoud to resign ends with the first anniversary of the March 14 Independence Intifada. "If he has not resigned by then, the forces will have set into action a parliamentary petition to end his mandate forcibly and constitutionally," read the statement.
Asked by The Daily Star the significance of this statement, which outlines the same main points as previous ones, MP Wael Bou Faour said: "This time, we're not asking anymore. This time, if he doesn't resign, we - along with the Lebanese public - will impeach the president.""Procedures would be through at least a public strike and 71 MPs signing this petition. This would deprive Lahoud of any legitimacy," he added. Bou Faour said: "There are several ways to topple Lahoud. Resorting to Security Council Resolution 1559 could be an option especially that it considers the term mandate unconstitutional and opposes international legitimacy and decisions."
MP Mohammad Qabbani said: "This time the MPs are determined to get rid of Lahoud and they will go through with it, all the way.""There are ongoing talks with the Amal Movement and Hizbullah and we are open to all political factions to achieve our goal, which is putting a new and independent president to lead our state."
The Bristol Gathering, named after the hotel where it were formed, told the press it would be meeting in the Gefinor Rotana Hotel. But the media was later transported to Le Bristol with specially designated buses, for security reasons.
Talking to The Daily Star right before the meeting, Democratic Left MP Elias Atallah said a timeframe ending on March 14 was going to be given to Lahoud to step down. "We will allow all Lebanese, Arab and international efforts to take place to convince Lahoud to step down, and if he doesn't step down by March 14, we will resort to other options," Atallah said.
"We have a plan based on political, constitutional and public actions aimed at toppling Lahoud, and we will announce it when the time is right," he said. Atallah also added that there were a number of legal steps being suggested by a group of legal experts to find solution for impeaching Lahoud.
"We have the way, but we want to allow a dialogue to take place between all Lebanese political factions before resorting to them," Atallah added, in reference to Speaker Nabih Berri's call for dialogue.
With calls echoing for Lahoud to resign, Geagea had earlier in the day talked about a "plan" being developed whose primary goal is "liberating the presidency (from Lahoud).""There has to be a true and active president," Geagea said.
Speaking on Thursday in an interview with the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, just a day after Lebanon commemorated the passing of one year since former Premier Rafik Hariri's murder, Geagea said this plan is a "public, political, legal and constitutional plan." He further stressed that the presidency "is for all the Lebanese people, for the majority of the Lebanese who were in Martyrs' Square."The LF leader also said that the presidency should not continue to be "paralyzed."
"When the head of the state is paralyzed then the whole country is affected, and this isn't a good sign for the country," he said.

Siniora meets Pope, condemns arms traffic
Friday, February 17, 2006
ROME: Lebanese Premier Fouad Siniora said Thursday arms had been shipped into Lebanon from Syria, and denounced the traffic as "unacceptable." The UN asked Lebanon Tuesday to explain reports that truckloads of arms and missiles, destined for the Lebanese resistance group Hizbullah, had been brought over the Syrian border.
The Lebanese Army had denied the reports, but Siniora said some arms had indeed been carried illegally into his country.
"Yes, there has been some infiltration of arms and personnel into Lebanon. This is something that is unacceptable," Siniora told reporters during an official visit to Italy. However, he did not implicate Hizbullah in the trade.
Anti-Syrian MP Walid Jumblatt said over the weekend the Lebanese Army had intercepted the arms shipment from Syria but allowed delivery to Hizbullah and possibly Palestinian groups.
But, according to Siniora, "as far as Hizbullah is concerned ... (it) is a Lebanese party, which has a representation in Parliament and a representation in government. We believe this party has to be looked at as very representative of a good portion of the Lebanese."Siniora was speaking after his meeting with Pope Benedictus XVI at the Vatican.
The Pope and Siniora discussed the Prophet Mohammad drawings in a 20-minute private audience.
Benedict greeted Siniora, a Sunni, and his 11-member delegation including his wife Huda, before holding a 20-minute private audience with the Lebanese leader. Siniora said the Pope supported peaceful demonstrations in the Muslim world against the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad. "He said freedom in no way should really trespass on the freedom of others," Siniora said during a brief news conference after the 20-minute private meeting.
"And the Pope was very supportive of the peaceful expression of opinion in the Arab world, the Muslim world, because he himself also condemns the efforts being made by others to trespass on the freedom and the convictions of other people," Siniora said. He said the Lebanese government found violent demonstrations unacceptable and authorities were "pursuing this matter to the fullest, and those who really committed these crimes are going to be brought to justice."
Muslims make up at least 60 percent of Lebanon's estimated 3.5 million people, with the remainder Christian. The Maronite Catholic Church, which numbers about 900,000, is the largest Christian group and is highly influential in the country's politics.
Reports have also emerged that Siniora will discuss the situation of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and the March 14 Forces' demand for his resignation. Siniora gave the Pope a nativity scene painted on wood dating from 1878. The Pope gave the prime minister a rosary. "It's a great souvenir," Siniora said.
Siniora also met Thursday with the Vatican's number two, Cardinal Angelo Sodano. In a brief statement after the meetings, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the situation in the Middle East and in Lebanon was raised and he said particular attention was given to the situation of Christians in Lebanon "and the contribution that they hope to give in the progress of the country."During the news conference, Siniora dismissed media reports of a possible deal among major countries to exonerate Syria, which a UN probe has implicated in the killing of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri.
"We do not believe that there is some sort of a plot in order to cover up the assassination of Rafik Hariri," he said.
"We want the truth," Siniora said, adding that the government does not want to politicize the probe.
Siniora had late Wednesday met with Italian President Silvio Berlusconi, who hailed strong relations between Italy and Lebanon and recalled his "personal friendship" with Hariri, assassinated a year ago.
Siniora's two-day official visit to Italy began a day after the first anniversary of Hariri's death. "I assured [Siniora] of Italy's sympathy toward his country and his people," Berlusconi said after the meeting.
"Relations between Italy and Lebanon are very strong," Berlusconi said, adding that Italy is Lebanon's number one trading partner. Berlusconi said he and Siniora had remembered their "mutual friend" Hariri and "talked about the situation in the Near East" in the meeting, also attended by Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini. He added that Italy would do everything possible to help Lebanon establish the truth about the unexplained disappearance of the Lebanese Shiite leader Moussa Sadr and two others on a trip to Libya in 1978. Libya denies responsibility for the disappearances, claiming the three had traveled from Libya to Italy before going missing. - With agencies

Saudi ambassador: Assad 'basically agrees' with Lebanese demands
Friday, February 17, 2006-Daily Star
BEIRUT: Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Prince Turki al-Faisal said that while the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was mediating between Lebanon and Syria, Hizbullah has been pressing for demarcating the Lebanese-Syrian border, promoting diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria and barring Syrian security interference in Lebanon.
Al-Faisal also announced that Syrian President Bashar Assad informed Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdel-Aziz and Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak that he "basically agrees" to these demands.
Replying to Al-Hayat reporters during a meeting with delegates from the international press in New York, al-Faisal said a request for Saudi intervention was made two months ago by Premier Fouad Siniora after the Lebanese government was paralyzed with the suspension of the Shiite ministers' participation in Cabinet and by the pressure on President Emile Lahoud to hand in his resignation. Al-Faisal added that Siniora asked the Saudi kingdom to convince Syria about the necessity of approving Lebanon's demands. Al-Faisal said Saudi Arabia was surprised at Siniora for not coordinating at the time with other Lebanese parties, and regretted Lebanon's anger at Saudi Arabia for "bowing to the Syrians' wishes" by mediating talks about security relations that would reintroduce Syria's control in the country. Al-Faisal stressed that Saudi Arabia relinquished efforts after the kingdom was accused by some of betraying Lebanon. He said: "We are keen on helping Lebanon not to return to the bad old days." Commenting on rumors that ongoing pressure on Assad will cause the collapse of his regime, the Ambassador said that, on the contrary, "the regime will survive despite the pressure."

Ghassan Tueni says Lahoud is a detriment to rule
Daily Star staff-Friday, February 17, 2006
BEIRUT: MP Ghassan Tueini said Wednesday that the agreement between Free Patriotic Movement leader MP General Michel Aoun and Hizbullah is a big step toward dialogue. In a television interview with the National Broadcasting Network (NBN) late Wednesday, Tueni said "President Emile Lahoud has become a big burden because he doesn't rule nor paves the way for others to rule.""Syria still rules Lebanon because it is still capable of preventing Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora from doing his work, and Siniora unable to prevent Syria from creating chaos like the February 5 rally," he said.
Tueni said that "the Lebanese (people) have the culture of democracy," adding that democracy doesn't contradict consensus and that "it is not necessary that the rule must be a majority rule because majority rule breeds totalitarianism."
Tueni said that "the speeches delivered during the February 14 demonstration were not previously synchronized, even though they were all directed toward one aim."He added that the speeches were a reflection of a present problem in the Constitution, as the Taif Accord redistributed the powers and authority in a way that you cannot dissolve Parliament nor call for the resignation of the president."Tueni said that he had called for the resignation of the president earlier.
He said that he had a constitutional mechanism for the resignation of the president but he refused to reveal it and said that he would bring it up in the Parliament. Tueni insisted "no one should target Hizbullah, and Hizbullah's weapons are not domestically oriented." - The Daily Star

Qassem: February 14 speeches not conducive to national unity
Friday, February 17, 2006-Daily Star
BEIRUT: Hizbullah's Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said he had expected the commemoration of former Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination on Tuesday to be an opportunity to launch dialogue, stressing that the event "lacked political stands that would lay the foundations for a new phase."
In an interview with the Monte Carlo radio station on Thursday, Qassem indicated that the rhetoric used two days earlier rather predicted isolation and therefore was "a mere continuity of the past with some escalation in the tone and an attempt to create a climate of tension that does not suit the desired climate of dialogue."
Qassem described the joint statement of understanding released by Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement recently as "the highest civilized stand taken so far.""It is the result of true agreement after long discussions," he added, stressing that it was corroborated in writing and announced to the public opinion to assure the people that both parties wish to work according to clear political basis. "It is a very successful dialogue experience that is open to others wishing to see how points of view can be brought together," Qassem said.Qassem emphasized that the statement does not have "secret annexes or under-the-table deals, but is open to all to be read ... transparently and in detail."
Commenting on the coming phase, Qassem said dialogue between the parties requires the recognition of the other and that no one in Lebanon can rule the country as he wishes.
"We held a constructive dialogue with MP Michel Aoun which means that the we are following the right path," the cleric added, saying "the others must fully think about what they want now."Qassem argued that if other national forces wish to hold a dialogue, the desire is belied by their provocative rhetoric. He explained that this would not lead to dialogue but to mere bickering or news conferences in the media. "This is a parade that will not record a progress for the sake of Lebanon," he added. "I always wonder what are they so tense about? What agitates them? This shows a point of weakness, because he who is confident can be strong and is capable of voicing his political opinions, communicating with others and showing the people what is right," Qassem said.

Mottaki reiterates Iran's support
'Unity and dialogue are the country's salvation'
Daily Star staff-Friday, February 17, 2006
BEIRUT: Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said "Lebanon and Iran enjoyed the best relations when the late former Premier Rafik Hariri was in his post as premier." Mottaki met with the Future parliamentary bloc MP Saad Hariri on Thursday in Qoreitem to offer his condolences to the Hariri family on the occasion of the one-year commemoration of Rafik Hariri's killing on February 14, 2005. He also issued an official invitation to Hariri to visit Tehran and meet with President Mahmood Ahmadinejad. The Iranian foreign minister arrived in Beirut Wednesday for a two-day official visit to meet with Lebanese top officials. Mottaki said discussions with the MP focused on bilateral relations.
He reiterated Iran's policy will always support Lebanon's national unity and a brotherly and constructive dialogue between the Lebanese "because we believe unity and dialogue are the country's salvation."
Mottaki highlighted the importance of the probe to unveil the truth about Hariri's killing.
Mottaki also met with Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah but The Daily Star had already gone to press by the time the meeting was over. In a meeting with President Emile Lahoud, with whom he discussed "political and economic relations with Iran and the situation in Lebanon," Mottaki said: "The best means for the Lebanese to save their country is to preserve their national unity and work together to resolve the current crisis." Iranian Ambassador Mahmoud Idrisi was also present at the meeting. me said the Lebanese people's unity "is the major guarantee to resolve all pending issues."
He added that he and Lahoud have agreed on the need to "continue the implementation of all the agreements that have been signed between the two countries."
Mottaki also said talks focused on the investigations into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. "We stressed the necessity that the investigations continue to determine the perpetrators of this heinous crime and bring them to justice."
He added that both parties condemned Israel's "brutal political policy, which aimed to create a state a chaos and panic in the region." Lahoud said Lebanon was "the target of plans aiming at forcing it to change its policies."
"The unity of the Lebanese and the support of brotherly nations like Syria and Iran could enable Lebanon to defy internal and international pressure," he added. Lahoud said "it is the duty of Lebanon to regain the Shebaa Farms," adding that Lebanon "does not need additional documents to verify that the farms were Lebanese."Mottaki also visited Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir in Bkirki.The Iranian minister reiterated his country's support for the establishment of national unity in Lebanon, adding that "the Lebanese people are free and independent and do not need any foreign tutelage."
He added that he and Sfeir have agreed on the necessity "to promote mutual respect between all religions."
Mottaki also paid a visit Thursday to senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.
Discussions also tackled the attack launched by "the United States, Israel and some European countries against the Islamic Republic and its peaceful nuclear activity."Following his visit to Vice President of the Higher Shiite Council Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, Mottaki underlined the necessity to promote economic relations between the two countries.
Qabalan praised "Iran's leading positions in supporting Lebanon during the period of crisis."
The Iranian foreign minister also met with Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani. - The Daily Star

Jumblatt does not need lessons from Israel
By Therese Sfeir -Daily Star staff
Friday, February 17, 2006
BEIRUT: The Progressive Socialist Party said Thursday that instead of "distributing counsels and directions, the Israeli Kadima Party should announce its approval of the Palestinians' right to return to their homeland, acknowledge the 'road map' and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state."Commenting on statements made earlier by a member of the Kadima Party, which is headed by Israeli acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, that the party supports Jumblatt and is ready to offer him protection, the PSP said its "leader Walid Jumblatt does not need lessons in nationalism, because he had the leading role in launching the Lebanese national resistance, which faced the Israeli invasion."
"The political stands taken by the PSP president emanate from his national and democratic position and seek the establishment of an independent Lebanese state free of any foreign influence," a statement issued by the PSP said.
Reports said that Mejli Wehbi, a member of Kadima, declared in an interview with the Israeli Al-Shams radio station that his party "supported MP Walid Jumblatt and was ready to offer him protection."The reports added that an Israeli television channel said Jumblatt "has broken all barriers with the speech he delivered Tuesday," adding that "U.S. and French intelligence services are supporting the process of change in Lebanon.Jumblatt's speech delivered during Tuesday's demonstration to commemorate the passing of one year since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri instigated a wave of reactions among political and religious figures.The press office of Sheikh Bahjat Ghaith, the acting Druze spiritual leader, denounced Jumblatt's statements.In a statement issued on Thursday, Al-Orfan Druze Association asked Sheikh Bahjat Ghaith and all Druze leaders to "avoid getting involved in disputes in order to maintain the unity of the Druze sect."
Meanwhile, the PSP replied in a statement issued Thursday to the "campaigns of insults launched by the Lebanese presidency against Jumblatt."On Wednesday, President Emile Lahoud's press office accused Jumblatt of launching a "direct threat to kill the president by making a series of allegations aimed at misleading the public."

Hoss calls for Lahoud's resignation and holding of elections
Daily Star staff-Friday, February 17, 2006
BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Salim al-Hoss called on President Emile Lahoud to resign, "within the framework of a national salvation initiative." During a news conference held in Beirut Thursday, the president of the Third Force launched what he called a "national salvation statement," which included a series of economic, security and political recommendations to help the country overcome the current crisis.The statement called on the government to provide security and follow-up on the investigations into the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, in line with the resolutions of the UN Security Council.
Hoss, who had previously supported Lahoud remaining in power until the end of his term, also said "the president should announce his determination to resign from his post after the holding of early parliamentary elections."
He also called for "creation of a fair electoral law, with proportional representation and which includes five electoral districts."
He added that good relations should be established with Syria and stressed that the latter should announce its readiness to cooperate with the international probe into Hariri's assassination.
As for the implementation of international resolutions, Hoss said "the new Parliament should adopt a consensual decision which consists of respecting all resolutions, starting from resolutions 194, 242 and 425 and leading to Resolution 1559." - The Daily Star

Prime Minister Siniora illustrates Lebanon’s difficult situation to the Pope
In an audience at the Vatican this morning, Lebanese p.m. spoke to the Pope of his meeting with the various religious leaders in Lebanon, the Mohammad caricatures, attacks in the Christian quarter of Beirut and violence among various religious groups. The Vatican reaffirms its closeness to “that noble Nation.”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The current situation “in Lebanon and in the Middle East in general, underlining the shared commitment to working to educate populations towards reconciliation and peace, in the respect of human rights and in particular of religious freedom”: these were, according to a Vatican statement, the main topics of conversation between Benedict XVI and Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, received today in the Vatican. The meeting was described as “very cordial.”According to the Holy See Press Office statement, the Lebanese Prime Minister’s visit “was meant to confirm the great devotion of the people of Lebanon for the Roman Pontiff, and the Holy See in general, which has always been close to that noble Nation.” In meetings that Siniora had with the Pope and with the Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, “special consideration was given to the situation of Christians and to the contribution that they intend to give to the country’s progress along the lines set out, on the eve of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, by Pope John II, of venerable memory, in the Apostolic Exhortation, “A new hope for Lebanon.”
According to Lebanese journalists who are travelling with the Prime Minister in Italy, Siniora was planning to report on the results of his recent meeting with the leaders of the various religions (Muslims and Christians of various denominations) present in Lebanon, from which emerged a unanimous condemnation against violence, the Mohammad caricatures, attacks in the Christian quarter of Beirut, and violence among various religious groups. “I want to be the Prime Minister of all Lebanese,” Siniora had said, “and to weave a bond between all the country’s religions.”
Siniora, who is a Sunni Muslim, visited the Vatican with an entourage of 11 persons, which included his wife Huda, Foreign Affairs Minister Fawzi Salloukh, Social Affairs Minister Nayla Moawad, the Minister for Relations with Parliament, Michel Pharaon, Information Minister Ghazi Al Aridi and Culture Minister Tarek Mitri. The latter, an Orthodox Christian, gave as a gift to the Pope the German edition of his book, “In the Name of God?”, along with a card saying that, with this gift, the Minister wished “to witness his filial love” and to thank Benedict XVI for his “affection” toward “the sister Church” of the Orthodox. Mitri recalled having already met with the then Cardinal Ratzinger, a meeting which also Benedict XVI remembered

Lebanese PM condemns flow of arms from Syria
16 Feb 2006 14:04:05 GMT
Source: Reuters
ROME, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said on Thursday that arms had been shipped into his country from Syria, and denounced the traffic as "unacceptable".The United Nations on Tuesday asked Lebanon to explain reports that truckloads of arms and missiles, destined for the Lebanese guerrilla group Hizbollah, had been brought over the Syrian border.The Lebanese army had denied the reports, but Siniora said some arms had indeed been carried illegally into his country.

President warns of external schemes camouflaged with democracy, urges for
unity BEIRUT, Feb 16 (KUNA) -- Lebanese President Emile Lahoud on Thursday praised Iran's support for Lebanon at various levels and affirmed that the Lebanese people must maintain unity to abort external conspiracies against the people's basic beliefs under the camouflage of promoting democracy.Lahoud, in a statement released by his office on the occasion of a current visit to the country by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Motaki after the president held a meeting with the senior guest, said Lebanon was being targetted with pressures by external powers with the intention of altering its national and pan-Arab strategies and basic principles, according to which south Lebanon was liberated from Israeli occupation in 2000.
"Unity of the Lebanese and their unwavering adherence to their (national) beliefs and the support given by brotherly and friendly states namely Syria and Iran are sufficient factors to repel these pressures whether they originate internally or externally," Lahoud said.
The president's statement coincided with a heated debate across the country's political spectrum over necessity and wisdom of allowing Hezbollah, the force that had spearheaded the liberation, to retain its arms. The country's leaders have been involved in a war and words over the issue, with Hezbollah affirming that the retention of the arms is necessary to maintain security of southern Lebanon.
Lahoud, himself a target of a fiery rhetoric campaign by some leading figures, re-affirmed Lebanon's right to free the remaining occupied territories, namely the frontier Shebaa farms, noting that a Lebanese military team had authenticized the Lebanese identity of this region in 2000.
"Democracy is being used by some superpowers for service of illicit schemes intended to impose hegemony on states of the region," Lahoud said, clearly lashing out at the US poliy in the Middle East.
Lahoud re-affirmed the necessity of identifying and punishing culprits of the assassination of the former prime minister Rafic Al-Hariri, but warned that this issue was being exploited by "some internal and external powers to take from Lebanon what they had fa"Yes, there has been some infiltration of arms and personnel into Lebanon. This is something that is unacceptable," Siniora told reporters during an official visit to Italy.However, he did not implicate Hizbollah in the trade.
"As far as Hizbollah is concerned ... (it) is a Lebanese party which has a representation in parliament and a representation in government. We believe this party has to be looked at as very representative of a good portion of the Lebanese," he said.
Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, who is a foe of Syria, said over the weekend that the Lebanese army had intercepted the arms shipment from Syria but allowed delivery to Hizbollah and possibly Palestinian groups.
The Lebanese army said on Monday that Jumblatt was wrong and that the weapons had been stocked inside Lebanon and shipped south to the "Lebanese resistance."A U.N. Security Council resolution has called for Syria to withdraw troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon and for militias to be disarmed. This would include Palestinian groups and the Hizbollah guerrillas, who dominate southern Lebanon.

Mottaki confers with Lebanese president
Beirut, Feb 16, IRNA -Iran-Lebanon-FM
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki conferred here Thursday with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud on issues of mutual interests. The two officials discussed expansion of economic and political ties, Iran's peaceful nuclear program, current developments in the Middle East region and underlined the need to continue exchange of views between the two countries' officials. Speaking to reporters, after the meeting, Mottaki underlined the need to further activate Iran-Lebanon Joint Economic Commission Meeting and said "We call for implementation of the economic and development agreements already signed between the two countries." Highlighting recent political developments in Lebanon, he said the Islamic Republic of Iran believes that continued dialogue and restoring the country's national unity is the only solution to put an end to the current political problems in Lebanon. Condemning the atrocities and inhuman acts of Zionists in Lebanon, he said Zionists' political plans which win supports of some countries out of Middle East region are the root cause of instability of Lebanon and the entire region.
Condemning the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister 'Rafik Hariri', Mottaki underlined the need for continued work of the UN investigation committee to shed light on the incident and bring to justice the real culprits.
The Iranian foreign minister arrived in Lebanon on Wednesday night to confer with the country's political and religious leaders on mutual and regional developments. 1430/1416

'Our model is Muhammad'
Ynetnews 16.2.06: Hamas candidate for PA parliament speaks to Ynet about his views of the future
Ali Waked
Dr. Abdel Aziz Duaik, 57, Hamas' candidate for the position of PA parliament speaker was arrested many times in the past, and was incarcerated in an Israeli prison. Later, he was thrown out of the territories and sent to south Lebanon along with 400 other Hamas members by the Yizhak Rabin government in 1992. Today, he is planning on taking up the role as the PA parliament's first chairman from the ranks of Hamas. Dr. Duaik, you came from prison and being kicked out to Lebanon, and became parliament speaker. How do you explain this? "It's all from Allah says in the Koran that he never abandons his believers and especially the weak ones, and in time he makes them strong and gives them strength. That's my explanation. And just as pharaoh was strong, and God humiliated him and made him surrender, so too does God do the same to the Israeli government, to Bush, and Solana – who are the pharaoh of our days. Like his honor President (Vladimir) Putin said, the elections in the PA and our victory, are really a slap in the face to the West, to Bush, to Israel, and to Solana. It's all in the hands and authority of Allah – the one who supports his believers."
This morning there were reports of a general plan, economic and other, initiated by Israel with an aim to cause its collapse. What is your response? "I say that the occupier has, according to treaties, obligations to the occupied. I also say that the money the Israelis say they don't want to transfer is not Israeli money, it is Palestinian money that Israel collects from the Palestinians, and which it is obligated to give to the Authority. If Israel preserves this stance, then the law will have to decide between us over this issue. This plan is another Israeli attempt to harm the democratic process and its outcomes, a process that was free, transparent, and which took place before the whole world's eyes. This is an attempt to harm us, but we are lions, not ants. It's not easy to harm us."
In Israel there are concerns that within a distance of a few minutes from Israeli communities, an extremist Taliban-like regime will rise. What is your message to the Israelis on this issue?
"There's no place for such declarations. I tell those who make them that they must understand that pressure and oppression won't bring a change in our stance and principles, and in the stances of the Palestinian people, but will cause a firmer grasp of these principles, and will increase public support in its leadership." If you receive an offer to meet your counterpart, the Israeli Knesset chairman, would you take it up? "If such an offer is made, I'll speak with the council members and organizations and institutions of the Palestinian people, and if there's a need, we'll ask the people for their stance. After the deliberations, I'll do what is appropriate and which suits our nation and its interests."
Many analysts claim that your appointment is a result of Hamas' desire to emphasize the moderate part of its leadership.
"I don't agree with that analysis at all. It's true that there is a difference in styles, there could also be a difference in the ways of thinking, and there are other considerations, but we are in the end one movement guided by the interest of the Palestinian people."
What kind of parliament will you lead? Will it be a parliament that will pass religious coercion laws? A coercion of Islamic character on the population?
"The people who pass laws are parliament members, each of which has their views and beliefs, and who is free to act according to them. It's true that the majority of parliament members are religious, but we won't coerce a thing on the population. We will go, inshallah (with Allah's help), in the way of Islam, and I'm sure that Islam and its principles will be a sources for respect and esteem, as our activities will express. We won't seek to convince people of our way through coercion, but rather through our ways of work and management. And as our model is the prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him, it is from him that we seek our religion to take its example. This is how we aspire to be a good example and to influence people." Do you think that at the end of the day, despite the international opposition to you, Hamas will manage to function in the parliament and the government? "I have no doubt that we will succeed because we rely on Allah, and from Allah we draw our strength. Allah is the ruler and all deciding, and will lead us, inshallah, to succeed."

Ayoon Wa Azan (Syria and Iran are Responsible)
Jihad el Khazen Al-Hayat - 16/02/06//
Very briefly, news and comments:
- The US administration accused Syria and Iran of backing the demonstrations of the Muslims in protest of the caricatures satirizing the Prophet Mohammad, Peace be Upon Him, and the Islamic religion.
Syria and Iran are responsible, but not those who drew the cartoons or the magazine that published these caricatures, and everyone who defended it and them?
Let's assume that Syria is responsible for what happened in Lebanon and Syria - I stress that it is an assumption and not a determined fact. Let's also assume that Iran is responsible for what happened in Iran. Hence, how can we explain the following demonstrations in 55 other Islamic countries, the considerable majority of which is Muslim are Sunni?
The US administration is trying to politicize the demonstrations against Syria, just as it tried and is trying to politicize the probe into the assassination of PM Rafik Hariri.
- I recently read in top-notch "New York Times" an article entitled "At Mecca Meeting, Cartoon Outrage Crystallized."
"The New York Times" is my favorite newspaper in the whole world, following my newspaper "Al-Hayat," and I don't accuse it of anything. However, linking between Mecca and the demonstrations is wrong, since the summit is two months old and the violent demonstrations started few days ago. Thus, it is not possible to link the two as though the Muslims were subject to "a delayed reaction." The situation was set ablaze because the offense was not retracted but was repeated though publishing the pictures in other magazines. It was also due to the silliness of other European politicians who used the freedom of expression as a pretext; as though it was an issue that can only be established by offending the Prophet, his religion, and the believers.
- The widespread and influential "Sunday Times" of London published news entitled "Iran as bad as Nazis: Merkel," stated by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who compared President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad to Adolph Hitler.
No, madam, Hitler is an Austrian Sergeant, who ruled Germany, and the Nazis were Germans and Austrians with Quislings in each European country. As for Ahmedinejad, he did not kill anyone, Jewish or others, and all of the Arabs and Muslims did not kill the Jews as the Nazi Germans did, while the allies know and keep mute.
The crime was purely European, particularly German. The West expelled the rest of the Jews to our territories to make us pay the price of his crime. This means, Ms. Angela, you're at the helm of the country, which designed the Nazism. Thus, just confine your warning on urging your citizens to refrain from going back thereto, especially so many neo Nazis among them. As for us, we have enough troubles without having to bear the burden of your country's calamity, even by comparison.
- In addition to the aforementioned, the reader Baki el Ramih asks "why do I say that David Irving is an altering historian? Who had a meter to calculate the victims of the Nazi holocaust?"
I thank the reader for the rest of his letter, and I settle for this important point.
The West and East agree on the fact that six million Jews perished in the holocaust. We are not more well-informed in this respect. The most important fact is that we were neither the killer nor the victim. As such we don't need to deny it and be accused of anti-Semitism and distortion. The fact is that as long as the number of the holocaust victims is on the rise, this would stand for an indictment of Germany and the West and a dismissal of our terrorism accusations. All the "exchanged terrorism between the Jews and Palestinians, then between Israel and the Arab countries, remains less intense than one day in the Nazi gas chambers."
- I also received a letter from brother Fadel Yaacoub, who saw the devious Likudnik Daniel Pipes talking on a TV show about the "Fascist Islam," which is an expression that warned, days ago, that the rivals of the Arabs and Muslims engraved and promoted it in their media oultlets to link between Islam and fascism or Nazism.
I find this more dangerous than passing cartoons and protest demonstrations to respond thereto. The campaign against the Arabs and Muslims is this one, and their advocates want to inflame the clash of civilization to serve Israel. A few days ago, I had made a comparison between Pipes and Flemming Rose, the editor who published the cartoons in the Danish Jyllands-Posten. I found them to be connected and are probably united by the mutual sources and not just the mutual ideas.
The most important is that the Muslims should thwart the campaign against them, and not respond in a manner that would give more impetus to their rivals.
- The US budget for next year is 2.7 trillion dollars, out of which 439.3 billion dollars are allocated to defense, with a 7% increase over the defense budget of this year. The Ministry of Defense estimated that the war costs in Afghanistan and Iraq should reach 10 billion dollars per month, with an increase of nearly 50% compared to 2005 when the official estimates were in the range of 6.8 billion dollars.
The budgets of George Bush during his mandate witnessed a decline in most items related to social expenditure compared to a sizeable increase in the defense expenditure. The pretext is terrorism and global war thereon.
I believe that the administration of George Bush needs terrorism to justify the increase in its defense expenditure, just as the US administrations needed, during the cold war eras, the Soviet Union to justify its "defense" expenses.
Hence, I fear that the US would refrain from striking a fatal blow on terrorism if possible, because this will deprive it of an excuse to increase its defense expenditure.
Despite this and that, I fear that the terrorists would submit enough causes to the US, knowing that it can make up the causes if it fails to find any, as it did in Iraq.

Hamas 'Diplomat' Has Ties to Iran and Syria
By Julie Stahl
CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief
February 16, 2006
Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Russia expects a Hamas delegation to visit Moscow, at the end of February or in early March, the Russian news agency Tass reported on Thursday.
Hamas officials were quoted as saying that Khaled Mashaal, the group's political leader in Damascus, will lead the delegation to Moscow. Mashaal has strong ties to both Syria and Iran.
The invitation to visit Moscow will be "a moment of truth" for Mashaal -- a chance for him to exercise "real leadership," said Jonathan Fighel, a senior researcher at Israel's International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism.
Mashaal was meeting with Turkish leaders on Thursday when a Hamas official in Gaza was quoted as saying that Russia had issued a formal invitation for Mashaal to visit Moscow. (Tass quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying that "no formal handover of an invitation has been necessary, because the Palestinian side knows about it.")
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was discussing the timing of such a visit with Hamas representatives.
President Vladimir Putin invited Hamas to visit Moscow last week, surprising the United States, Israel and other nations that believed Russia -- as a member of the Middle East Quartet -- should join the other Quartet members in a united stand against Hamas' radical, anti-Israel agenda.
Russia has not declared Hamas a terrorist group, and government officials have said they will urge Hamas to recognize Israel and renounce violence.
Mashaal rises
Following Israel's targeted killing of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin two years ago and the subsequent killing of his successor, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a month later, an internal struggle erupted within Hamas as to whether the next Hamas leader should come from the Gaza Strip or from abroad.
Mashaal emerged as the group's "political leader," but he was based in Damascus. Much of Hamas' Gaza leadership went "underground" to avoid being targeted by the Israeli army.
Mashaal has [made] efforts to establish himself as a leader in the Arab world and also within Hamas, Fighel said.
The exposure that will come with his trip to Moscow will "prove" who the real Hamas leader is, Fighel said. Even though Mashaal lives in Syria, he wants to enjoy the rewards that will flow from Hamas' parliamentary election victory, Fighel added.
Mashaal has shown no signs of moderating since the Hamas victory in January. Mashaal told the German magazine Spiegel earlier this month that Hamas has no intention of disarming its members.
"Hamas plans to assume governing duties and work with the parliament. We will introduce reforms for our people, fight corruption and develop political structures on a democratic foundation. At the same time, the resistance against the occupation will continue until it disappears from our soil," Mashaal was quoted as saying. ("Resistance" is a euphemism for terrorism.)
Speaking from Damascus following the Hamas election victory, Mashaal said the group wanted to "unify the weapons of Palestinian factions, with Palestinian consensus, and form an army like any independent state...an army that protects our people against aggression."
Mashaal is well known in Middle Eastern circles, given his position as the head of Hamas in Syria. Syrian President Bashar Assad hosts the headquarters of at least 10 Palestinian terrorist organizations, including Hamas, in Damascus, the capital.
Mashaal also has close ties to the Iranian government.
In a December visit to Tehran, Mashaal declared that Iran and Hamas were "part of a united front against the enemies of Islam." He pledged his support for Iran and said that if Iran were attacked by Israel, Hamas would "expand the battlefield to Palestine."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Hamas leaders, including Mashaal, in Damascus in January and pledged his support for Palestinian terrorist groups.
The years that Mashaal has spent under the influence of Syria and Iran will no doubt make him loyal to their interests, Fighel said.
Mashaal is a politician, Fighel added. He will try to "rehabilitate the image" of Hamas in the international arena to boost the group's credibility and flexibility.
He will urge other countries to pressure and to oppose the position of Israel and the United States. "That's why he's going to countries he thinks will benefit him," Fighel said.
Born near Ramallah in the West Bank in 1956, Mashaal's family fled to Kuwait in 1967.
(Several hundred thousand Palestinians fled around the time of the Six-Day war, promised by attacking Arab nations that Israel would be wiped out and the exiles could then return. When that did not happen, many of the Palestinians who fled ended up in refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.)
Mashaal was forced to flee again as a result of the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Kuwaitis blamed Palestinians for opening the door to the Iraqis and expelled Palestinians from the country.
Mashaal ended up in Jordan, where he lived until 1999, when he was thrown out for engaging in illegal activities.
Two years earlier, in 1997, Israel's secret service attempted to poison Mashaal in Jordan but the two Israeli agents were captured and Israel was forced to hand over the antidote to the poison.
As a result of that bungled operation, the late Jordanian King Hussein forced a humiliated Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to release Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Yassin from prison in exchange for the Israeli agents.
Marouf Bakheet, the prime minister of Jordan, which expelled Mashaal and other Hamas leaders in 1999, now says Jordan would welcome a visit by "a delegation of our brothers the leaders of Hamas."

Syria Hands Over List of Lost In Lebanon
Thursday, February 16, 2006 - 05:05 PM
Damascus, (SANA) –
Syria handed over Thursday the Higher Commission for Human Rights in the Arab Region a list of Syrians lost in Lebanon.
Chairman of the Civil Committee for Syrians Lost in Lebanon Dr. Faysal Kouthoum turned over the list to Coordinator of the Arab Region in the Higher Commission for Human Rights Faraj Fneish and called the commission to aid in revealing destiny of Syrians lost in Lebanon as well enable the committee to follow up the issue before the Lebanese judiciary.
“ Some of those lost are liquidated or arrested in a coercive way by heads of some armed Lebanese militia and those who have become chairmen for many Lebanese parties or officials in the Lebanese state,” Dr. Koulthoum said when met Fenish today.
Koulthoum also gave Fenish copies of notes the committee directed to the Lebanese Premier and the Arab Lawyers Federation on the subject and the two sides agreed to follow up the issue.

Pope, Lebanese prime minister Siniora discuss prophet cartoons during Vatican meeting
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI expressed support Thursday for peaceful demonstrations in the Muslim world against the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, the Lebanese prime minister said after meeting with the pontiff. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who is Muslim, said he and the pope discussed the cartoons as well as Lebanon's intention to bring to justice those who instigated violent attacks against them.
"He expressed that freedom in no way should really trespass on the freedom of others," Siniora told reporters in a brief press conference after the 20-minute private meeting in the pope's library.
Siniora said he told the pope that Muslims should have the right to express their anger about the caricatures peacefully.
"And the pope was very supportive of the peaceful expression of opinion in the Arab world, the Muslim world, because he condemns himself, as well, the efforts that are being made by others to trespass on the freedom and the convictions of other people," Siniora said.
He said the Lebanese government found violent demonstrations unacceptable and that authorities were "pursuing this matter to the fullest, and those who really committed these crimes are going to be brought to justice."
The Vatican has previously said the cartoons represented an "unacceptable provocation," and that the right to freedom of expression "cannot entail the right to offend the religious sentiment of believers."
At least 60 percent of Lebanon's estimated 3.5 million people are Muslim, and most of the remainder are Christian. The Maronite Catholic Church, which numbers about 900,000, is the largest Christian group and is highly influential in the country's politics.
Lebanon's president must be a member of the Maronite church, while the prime minister, Siniora, is a Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker is a Shiite -- a division that reflects the country's sectarian makeup.
In a brief statement after the meeting, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the pope and Siniora discussed the general situation in the Middle East and in Lebanon and that both men underlined "the need to work to educate people in reconciliation and peace, in the respect of human rights and in particular religious rights."
He said particular attention was given to the situation of Christians in Lebanon "and the contribution that they hope to give in the progress of the country."In Lebanon, some of the violence over the Prophet Muhammad cartoons has targeted Christian neighborhoods. (AP)

Malaysia holds biggest anti-cartoon protest, declares owning of drawings illegal
Dozens of Palestinians stone EU building to protest Danish cartoons Blair criticizes behavior of some Muhammad cartoon protestersNZ media apologize for causing offense with Muhammad cartoons Outrage over Prophet Muhammad cartoons escalates in Asia Amid genuine anger, some see hand of governments in riots over Muhammad cartoons German official says Iran paper's plans for Holocaust cartoon more than just tasteless Police battle protesters in Pakistan's third consecutive day of violent protests Pakistan police fire tear gas at 7,000 students protesting cartoons Iran rejects accusations it inflamed violence over prophet caricatures, demands apology February 16, 2006

Pope meets Lebanese prime minister
Pope Benedict XVI met with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora amid continued violence in the Muslim world over the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.The two met for about 20 minutes in private in Benedict's library before being joined by Siniora's 12-member delegation, which included his wife and several Lebanese ministers.
Muslims make up at least 60 per cent of Lebanon's estimated 3.5 million population, with the remainder Christian.
The Maronite Catholic Church, which numbers about 900,000, is the largest Christian denomination and is highly influential in the country's politics. Lebanon's president must be a member of the Maronite church, while the prime minister, Siniora, and the parliament speaker are Muslims - a division that reflects the country's sectarian makeup.
The Pope has singled out Lebanon in some recent speeches, including his Christmas Day message in which he said that signs of hope in the country, as well as in Iraq and the Holy Land, needed to be "confirmed by actions inspired by fairness and wisdom".
© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2006, All Rights Reserved.

Iran regime meddling in Lebanon - Jumblatt
Thursday, 16 February 2006
NCRI - According to the Lebanese Daily Star, Walid Jumblatt, member of the Lebanese parliament revealed a joint plot by the Iranian regime and Syria to alter the Lebanese map in order to take advantage of the situation. Jumbalat spoke to visitors to his mountain refuge of Mukhtara on Sunday. Jumbalat stressed that the Shebaa Farms is not Lebanese but in fact Syrian and that Syria had altered the maps pushing the borderline to show that Shebaa Farms is Lebanese and this way the resistance against the Israeli occupation of a supposedly Lebanese territory would be justified. Jumblatt explained that in this way, "Syria and Iran could extend their influence in Lebanon through the continuation of militants' role." Jumblatt added that Hariri "was not convinced of the 2001 forged map and that is one of the reasons why he was assassinated."
Jumblatt reiterated that Lebanon "continues to be a hostage of Syrian and Iranian greed."

Reporters Without Borders / Reporters sans frontières
English / français
16.02.06
ALGERIE
Le caricaturiste Ali Dilem condamné à un an de prison ferme
La cour d'appel d'Alger a condamné, le 11 février 2006, le caricaturiste Ali Dilem à une année de prison ferme et 50 000 dinars (550 euros) d'amende pour une dizaine de caricatures du président Abdelaziz Bouteflika, parues dans le quotidien Liberté, aux mois d'octobre et de novembre 2003. Reporters sans frontières est indignée par cette condamnation qui vise un caricaturiste talentueux.
"Nous condamnons fermement le harcèlement judiciaire dont sont victimes les journalistes algériens et le caricaturiste Ali Dilem en particulier. Ce dernier cumule, à ce jour -toutes peines confondues- plus de neuf ans de prison. La susceptibilité du président Abdelaziz Bouteflika n'a décidément pas de limites. Aujourd'hui, les tribunaux sont engorgés par les affaires de presse, " a déclaré l'organisation.
"Nous restons attentifs à tous les autres procès de journalistes en cours, car tant que les amendements du code pénal relatifs à la diffamation ne seront pas abrogés, l'Algérie continuera de pouvoir mettre ses journalistes derrière les barreaux. Deux d'entre eux font les frais de cette politique liberticide, Mohammed Benchicou et Bahir El Arabi", a conclu Reporters sans frontières.
Le tribunal de première instance d'Alger avait condamné le caricaturiste à 50 000 dinars d'amende. La cour d'appel a durci la condamnation au titre de l'article 144 bis du code pénal qui prévoit des peines de deux à douze mois de prison et des amendes pour toute mise en cause du président de la république dans des termes injurieux ou diffamatoires.
Contacté par Reporters sans frontières, l'avocat d'Ali Dilem, Khaled Bourayou, a déclaré qu'il déplorait aujourd'hui que le métier de journaliste soit un métier à haut risque pénal et que le simple fait d'être journaliste suffit pour être condamné".
"Il importe de juger les caricatures avec beaucoup de tolérance et de modération. Il ne faut pas que les caricatures de Dilem subissent le poids d'un syndrôme de violence lancée par les caricatures danoises", a ajouté l'avocat.
La cour d'appel a également à traité, le 15 février 2006, une autre affaire relative à une caricature de Dilem, sur le massacre de 21 soldats algériens par des terroristes. Le tribunal de première instance l'avait condamné, le 23 décembre 2003, à 4 mois de prison avec sursis. Le verdict est prévu pour la semaine prochaine.
A ce jour, Ali Dilem est poursuivi dans 24 affaires de presse.
En février 2006, Kamel Bousaâd et de Berkane Bouderbala, respectivement directeurs des hebdomadaires arabophones Errisala et Essafir ont été arrêtés pour avoir reproduit des caricatures de Mahomet publiées dans le quotidien danois Jyllands Posten. Leurs deux publications ont été suspendues et leurs directeurs risquent la prison ferme.---
ALGERIA
Cartoonist Ali Dilem given one-year jail sentence
Reporters Without Borders today strongly condemned a one-year prison sentence and 50,000 dinar (¤550) fine given to cartoonist Ali Dilem for drawing a dozen cartoons of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika that appeared in the daily paper Liberté in October and November 2003. The Algiers appeals court handed down the sentence on 11 February.
"We deplore the judicial harassment of Dilem and other Algerian journalists," the worldwide press freedom organisation said. "Dilem has now been sentenced to a total of more than nine years in prison. President Bouteflika is very thin-skinned and the country's courts are clogged with media cases."
"We will watch all these prosecutions very carefully. As long as amendments to the criminal code concerning defamation are allowed to stand, Algeria will continue to be able to imprison its journalists. Two of them - Mohammed Benchicou and Bahir El Arabi - are currently paying the price of this repressive policy."
A lower Algiers court had already fined Dilem 50,000 dinars and the appeals court added the prison sentence under article 144b of the criminal code, which allows between two months and a year's jail as well as a fine for "insulting" or defaming the president.
Dilem's lawyer, Khaled Bourayou, told Reporters Without Borders he regretted that working as a journalist involved such a strong risk of imprisonment and that simply being one was enough to be convicted.
"Cartoons have to be seen very tolerantly and calmly, and Dilem's should not be seen in the violent way the Danish ones were," he said.
The appeals court also heard yesterday another case concerning a cartoon Dilem drew about a terrorist massacre of 21 Algerian soldiers. A lower court had given him a four-month suspended prison sentence on 23 December 2003. The result of the appeal is expected next week. Dilem has 24 cases of press offences pending against him.
Kamel Bousaâd and Berkane Bouderbala, editors respectively of the Arab-language weeklies Errisala and Essafir, were arrested earlier this month for reprinting the Mohammed cartoons that first appeared in the Danish daily Jyllands Posten. Both papers were suspended and the editors face a prison sentence.
Maghreb & Middle-East Desk
Lynn TEHINI
Reporters Without Borders
5 rue Geoffroy-Marie
F - 75009 Paris
33 1 44 83 84 84    33 1 45 23 11 51 (fax) middle-east@rsf.org  www.rsf.org

Lebanon: Detainees reportedly beaten and denied access to legal counsel
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Public Statement -AI Index: MDE 18/002/2006 (Public)
News Service No: 041
16 February 2006
Amnesty International is concerned by reports that some individuals detained in the wake of violent protests outside the Danish Embassy in Beirut on 5 February were assaulted in detention by Lebanese security forces and that others were denied access to legal counsel and may be tried before military courts. The organization is calling on the Lebanese authorities to institute an urgent, independent inquiry and to bring to justice any members of the security forces responsible for torturing or ill-treating detainees. It is calling too for all those arrested to be either charged with recognizable criminal offences and given fair trials in accordance with international standards or released without delay. Amnesty International notes that the 5 February protest was a violent one and recognises the Lebanese authorities responsibility and obligation both to uphold law and order and to prosecute those responsible for violent acts, but in doing so it must respect human rights.
The 5 February protests were called in response to the publication by a Danish newspaper of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad which many Muslims consider grossly offensive. The Danish Embassy, located in Ashrafiyeh in east Beirut, was set alight and badly damaged. One protester reportedly died in the fire. Some 47 other people, including 19 members of Lebanon's security forces, were so badly injured in the violence that they required hospital treatment. Some 200 cars and 50 houses were also damaged. On 7 February, Lebanese media reports quoted the acting Interior Minister as stating that more than 400 people - 223 Lebanese, 138 Syrians, 47 Palestinians, seven Bedouins and one Sudanese - had been arrested in connection with the violence. Those detained included some 42 Syrian nationals who, according to information received by Amnesty International, were arrested by Lebanese police at an apartment building in Tariq Jdeide, four kilometres away from the Danish Embassy, some of them while the protests were still in progress. They were arrested, apparently, after another Syrian who resides at the same building, was arrested at the demonstration.
Upon arrest, the 42 Syrians are reported to have been taken first to the local police station and then to the Barbar Khazen prison in west Beirut, which the Internal Security Forces (ISF) control. They were held there for five days, during which they were denied access to legal counsel. Some were beaten by ISF interrogators in an apparent attempt to force confessions about their involvement in the protests. On 10 February, they were taken before a military court in Beirut, which ordered their release. More than 200 other people arrested in connection with the 5 February protests are also reported to have been brought before the Military Court in Beirut “ whose procedures fall short of international standards for fair trials - on 11 and 12 February, but the outcome is not known to Amnesty International.
The organization calls on the authorities to release all those held in the recent wave of arrests unless they are promptly charged with a recognizably criminal offence and brought promptly to trial in accordance with international standards for fair trial.
BACKGROUND
Over the years Amnesty International has repeatedly documented the use of torture and ill-treatment in Lebanese detention centres, particularly during pre-trial detention and as a means of obtaining “confessions. To date, the organisation believes that the Lebanese authorities have failed to put in place the necessary safeguards to protect detainees against torture and ill-treatment. Although Article 401 of the Lebanese Penal Code forbids torture and provides for punitive measures against officials found responsible for torture or ill-treatment, Amnesty International is concerned at the persistence of allegations of torture and ill treatment and at the lack of investigations being carried out into them.Recent Amnesty International reports on torture and unfair trials include: Antoinette Chahin: Torture and unfair trial (AI Index: MDE 18/16/97); Torture and ill-treatment of women in pre-trial detention (MDE 18/014/2001); Torture and unfair trial of the Dhinniyyah detainees (MDE 18/005/2003); and Samir Geagea and Jirjis al-Khouri Torture and unfair trial (MDE 18/003/2004).
Amnesty International has repeatedly expressed concern about the Lebanese military court system whose trials fall far short of international standards for fair trials. In particular, contrary to Lebanese legislation, military courts have been granted wide jurisdiction to try civilians; fail fully to explain their verdicts; use summary proceedings which undermine defence rights; and have judges who are predominantly military officers with inadequate legal training. The military courts proceedings are not subject to independent judicial review, an essential requirement for fair trial. (See A Human Rights Agenda for the Parliamentary Elections, May 2005 [MDE 18/005/2005]).
East Mediterranean Team
Amnesty International, International Secretariat
Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street
London WC1X 0DW
United Kingdom
E-mail: Eastmed@amnesty.org
Tel: +44 (0)20 7413 5500
Fax: +44 (0)20 7413 5719

SOLIDA Press Release / Communiqué SOLIDA
Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2006
(la version française suit)
SOLIDA requests the Lebanese government to file with the UN Security Council
To date, Lebanon has refused to help its citizens who are in danger One must call it for what it is. We feel that we will never be heard.
What are the Lebanese State, its Parliament and its opposition parties waiting for to take up seriously the issue of the Lebanese detainees in Syria? Do the Lebanese people's representatives believe it is a futile effort? Would they rather see martyrs to mourn instead of defending the rights of their own people?
If you believe that this cause is a lost cause, you should be aware, Honorable Ministers, Members of Parliament and other Representatives, that about 170 Lebanese citizens who had been classified as deceased by the State have reappeared alive out of the Syrian prisons in 1998 and in 2000. Who would have thought that they would be still alive?
If the Honorable Ministers, Members of Parliament and other Representatives prefer to mourn martyrs instead of doing your utmost to recover alive your compatriots who are held hostage by the Syrian regime, before it is too late, this is your choice. However, no one will forget the position you are taking today, as we won't forget the fake surprises and the phony expressions of shock on your faces when the mass grave of Anjar was uncovered, when for close to 20 years national and international
human rights organizations denounced the existence of Syria's torture dungeons on Lebanese soil.
Martyrs do not return. Their death has no meaning if their memory is not honored. And to ignore the cause of the Lebanese detainees in Syria is to insult the memory of the martyrs who, like Gebran Tueni, fought for so long and in spite of the dangers for the liberation of the Lebanese detainees in Syria.
There is still time to act. You have no right to abandon this cause. You have no right to "assume" that the detainees are dead. You have no right to convert this issue into a political card that you brandish only when convenient. You have the obligation to act, immediately, and not waste one more day.
And there is only one avenue for action: The Lebanese government must file a request to the UN Security Council, the only body with the competence to handle this file.
Paris
February 16, 2006
________________________________
SOLIDA demande au gouvernement d'accepter de saisir le conseil de sécurité de l'ONU Jusqu'à présent, le Liban refuse d'assister ses citoyens en danger Il faut dire ce qui est… nous avons l'impression que nous ne serons
jamais entendus…
Qu'attendent l'Etat libanais, son Parlement et ses partis d'opposition, pour se saisir réellement de la question des Libanais détenus en Syrie ? Les représentants du peuple libanais considèrent-ils que c'est peine perdue ? Préfèrent-ils avoir des martyrs à pleurer que de défendre les droits de leurs concitoyens ?
Si vous considérez que cette cause est une cause perdue, sachez, Messieurs les ministres, députés, et autres représentants, que les quelques 170 Libanais réapparus des prisons syriennes en 1998 et 2000, étaient considérés comme morts par l'Etat… Pourtant ils étaient bien vivants, et qui l'aurait cru?
Si vous préférez, Messieurs les ministres, députés, et autres représentants, pleurer des martyrs plutôt que de mettre tout en œuvre pour récupérer vos concitoyens otages du régime syrien, avant qu'il ne soit trop tard, libre à vous… Mais soyez sûrs que nul n'oubliera votre position…
Tout comme nous n'avons pas oublié les mines faussement surprises et faussement scandalisées lors de l'ouverture du charnier de Anjar, alors que depuis près de 20 ans, les organisations nationales et internationales de défense des droits de l'Homme dénoncent l'existence des centres de tortures syriens sur le sol libanais.
Les martyrs ne reviennent pas. Leur mort n'a de sens que si leur mémoire est honorée. Et oublier la cause des détenus libanais en Syrie, c'est une insulte à la mémoire des martyrs, qui, comme Gibran Tuéni, ont lutté activement, depuis si longtemps, et malgré les risques, pour la libération des Libanais détenus en Syrie.
Il est encore temps de réagir, vous n'avez pas le droit de renoncer, vous n'avez pas le droit de " supposer " que les détenus sont morts, vous n'avez pas le droit de faire de cette cause une arme politique, que l'on ne sort de sa poche que pour se faire valoir. Vous avez le devoir d'agir, tout de suite, sans perdre un seul jour.
Et il n'y a qu'un seul moyen d'action : le gouvernement doit saisir le Conseil de Sécurité de l'ONU, seule institution en mesure de traiter ce dossier.
Paris, le 16 février 2006.

Ashen Cedars
February 15, 2006 New York Sun - By NIBRAS KAZIMI
Who among Washington's diplomats and spooks, will take responsibility for smashing Lebanon, should that be the consequence of their half-measures?
Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the terrorist attack that targeted and killed former Prime Minister Hariri. It has been an eventful year for Lebanon: the murder heralded a public outcry that galvanized a nation into action, giving the world beautifully choreographed images of young Lebanese men and women defying 30 years of Syrian occupation. It was called the Cedar Revolution by the west, and gave much heart to the Bush administration, coming only two months after the president had, in his second inaugural address, articulated a fundamental shift in American policy in the Middle East towards democracy. Then there were elections, and the parliamentary majority was carried by those who had pushed for Syria's ouster. At the time, it seemed as if Washington had notched up yet another victory and had bet on a winning horse. Hundreds of thousands gathered to mark the occasion yesterday, and again it all looked wonderful on TV, giving everyone false comfort that all is well.
Yet, for all the enthusiasm generated by these sincere young Lebanese democrats in the making, there was no policy beyond the photo-op, no legislation beyond the rhetoric. The momentum generated last year was squandered as the country's politics were relegated to long-standing models of power-sharing among its sects, and the opportunity to build a unifying identity was missed by America's policymakers, who decided to place their trust in local leaders tactically disinterested in moving beyond factionalism. What Washington missed was the fact that the bad guys in the Middle East, such as the rulers of Iran and Syria, are far more adept at manipulating the sectarian game, acting through proxies that have been cultivated for decades.
Mysterious bombings, all against iconic figures of the anti-Syrian camp, began to go off as part of a wider campaign of destabilization. Most reflexively blamed Syria, but there is a dark harbinger that the labyrinthine machinations of Lebanese power politics are going to be get further twisted, and are to become even more relevant to America's regional policy. The policymakers are unprepared.
The new development revolves around speculation that an Al Qaeda cell that had been rounded up a little over a month ago may have had a hand in killing Hariri. One member of this cell, who managed to escape the dragnet, was Khalid Taha, who apparently was the handler of Ahmad Abu Ades, the suspected suicide bomber or at least the fall guy in the Hariri plot. Most of the detainees are Syrian nationals, but they also include a Saudi, a Jordanian and several Palestinians. According to one source I have spoken to, two of the detainees allegedly confessed to witnessing the car bomb being rigged with explosives in the 'Ain Al-Hilwa Palestinian refugee camp. Other published accounts say that one of them admitted to taping and editing the video made by Abu Ades in which he attributed the attack to a previously unknown jihadist group.
There is more to this story that will probably shift the United Nations investigation from the path previously followed by the outgoing investigator, Detlev Mehlis. His successor, the Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz, has taken a keen interest in following up the Al-Qaeda lead.
However, as the Al-Qaeda connection comes further into focus, a key question will be whether Syria manipulated this Al-Qaeda cell to do its bidding? If so, then isn't this a matter as serious as the Taliban harboring Osama Bin Laden? It could make the liberation of Syria a natural extension of the war against terror. But would the internal American dynamic bear the weight of starting another war, and in an election year? And what would happen to how the Middle East perceives America's sincerity in propagating democracy and foiling terror if the administration decides to pass on punishing Syria?
Such a Syria-Al-Qaeda connection is exactly what is being peddled by America's allies in Lebanon, who are poised to release these talking points once this new track in the investigation is publicly disclosed. This camp is nominally led by the Saudi-born and raised, half-Iraqi, 30-something political neophyte and heir to his late father's legacy, Saad Hariri.
Hariri Junior was feted last month in Washington on the grandest of scales, even though at the time he was received in the White House, he had been AWOL from the Lebanese political scene for four months, hiding out in Paris and Riyadh while orchestrating his tasks as head of the parliamentary majority and by extension the governmental executive from the safety of distant capitals. He seems to be a nice guy, but there is a growing realization that he is not up to task. His Saudi and French patrons - suddenly trusted by Washington as the midwives for a new post-Syrian Lebanon - marketed him as a national leader, something his father never was in life as leader of Lebanon's Sunnis. But for the younger Hariri to amount to an all-inclusive leader the sectarian superstructure would have to be dismantled, something that early on in his parliamentary victory could have been done to unite a deeply divided country, but wasn't.
The Maronites saw through the charade, and their voting pattern showed that they overwhelmingly picked one of their own, the maverick Michel Aoun, rather than their coreligionists running on the Hariri slate. The Shias, who form the plurality of Lebanon's population, sensed that the coalition of Sunni, Druze, and non-Maronite Christian factions led by Hariri and blessed by America, Saudi Arabia, and France had played them out of the game and into Syria's arms, thus fortifying Hezbollah's grip on the community. Thinking that Hariri had matters under control, Washington did not bother to cultivate either Aoun or the Shia bourgeoisie who may have challenged Hezbollah and sold their increasingly prosperous kinsmen on an alliance in support of democracy, mimicking the line set down by the faith's leaders in Iraq's holy city of Najaf.
But Hariri is unable to hold down the fort, as demonstrated when his prime minister semantically got Hezbollah off the hook by classifying them as "resistance" rather than a "militia" and thus immune to U.N. resolutions calling for disarmament. Spurned by Hariri and America, Aoun last week cemented an alliance with Hezbollah, turning Lebanese politics on its head through a Maronite-Shia alliance in the face of everyone else. And to make matters worse, the recent burning of the Danish Embassy in Beirut by angry Sunnis disclosed that Hariri has lost ground on the fringes of his community to Islamist radicals.
So what happens next? Hariri has failed to deliver, while Syria's chief proxies, huddled around Hezbollah, have emerged supreme. The U.N. investigation is probably veering into identifying an Al Qaeda cell as the culprit behind Hariri's murder, which would either get the Syrians off the suspects list and back in force, or lead to a war should it turn out that Damascus furthered its agenda by acting through the jihadist murderers. Lebanon is a mess in the making that touches on every single aspect of the Middle Eastern conundrum: sectarian warfare, Iranian-Syrian networks, Al-Qaeda havens, dark Saudi designs and threats to Israel's security.
Lebanon is the case study that America's strategy cannot be subcontracted out to "allies" who are out of step with its vision for democracy. The Bush administration must quickly re-assess this volatile situation and reassert control.

U.S. judge dismisses lawsuit by Canadian deported to Syria
By TOM HAYS-Associated Press Writer
February 16, 2006, 5:41 PM EST
NEW YORK -- A federal judge, citing national security concerns, on Thursday tossed out a civil rights lawsuit brought by a Canadian man who claimed U.S. counterterrorism officials deported him so he could be tortured in Syria.
Maher Arar had sued the officials in 2004 in what was believed to be the first case challenging extraordinary rendition _ the policy of transferring foreign terror suspects to third countries without court approval.
In an 88-page ruling, U.S. District Judge David G. Trager in Brooklyn rejected arguments that Arar was protected by the Torture Victim Prevention Act, which allows U.S. courts to assess damages for human rights abuses committed abroad.
The plaintiff "as a non-citizen is unable to demonstrate that he has a viable cause of action under that statute or that the defendants were acting under color of law, or any foreign nation," the judge wrote.
The judge _ citing "the national security and foreign policy considerations at stake" _ also said Arar had no grounds in a U.S. court to claim his constitutional right to due process was violated.
Arar, 35, holds dual Syrian-Canadian citizenship and was traveling on a Canadian passport when he was picked up in New York during a stopover while returning to Canada from Tunisia in 2002. He was held for 12 days before being sent to Syria on suspicion of being a member of al-Qaida, which he denies.
Arar maintains that once imprisoned in Damascus he was tortured into making false confessions of terrorist activity. He said he was held for more than a year in a dark, damp cell, then was released without ever being charged.
The U.S. Department of Justice has insisted that it had information linking Arar to al-Qaida, that Syria promised he would be treated humanely and that shipping him there was "in the best interest of the security of the United States." Syria has denied he was tortured.
Justice department officials were "pleased with the judge's ruling in this case," spokesman Charles Miller said.
Attorneys for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which filed the lawsuit on Arar's behalf, said the ruling set a disturbing precedent.
"To allow the Bush administration to evade accountability and continue to hide behind a smoke screen of 'national security' is to do grave and irreparable damage to the Constitution and the guarantee of human rights that people in this country could once be proud of," attorney Maria LaHood said in a statement.
Arar now lives in Canada with his wife and two children.