LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 14/2007Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 2,13-17.
Once again he went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him and he taught them. As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus heard this and said to them (that), "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."Free Opinions
Dear: Posted on the LCCC site an Arabic release from the LCCC calling on His Beatitude Patriarch Sfier to deal with those Maronite Leaders and politicians in accordance to their acts and stances. Accordingly not to offer any rescuing means to those who rebelled against Bkerki's role, historic convictions and the Christian Lebanese conscience, and in particular General Aoun who did not only go against Bkerki's calls and policies, but turned against himself and negated all his platforms and broke all his promises. This man and those subservients and puppets revolving around him blindly should ask Bkerki for forgiveness and crawl on their dirty knees with full repent and a great deal of penance to that Holy seat that was given the Glory of Lebanon and not vice versa./ Please consider the release for publication and distribution
The link for the release on lccc site
http://www.10452lccc.com/lccc06/lccc13.1.07.htm
Yours Truly/Elias Bejjani/LCCC Chairman
Latest News Reports from Miscellaneous Sources For 14/01/07
Saniora Heads to Saudi Arabia After Talks with Mubarak
Opposition Stages Demonstration Outside Justice Ministry
U.S. Sends Military Aid to Lebanon to Boost the Saniora Government
Saniora Praises Arab League Initiative to Settle Lebanon's Crisis
Gemayel Denies making Statement to Israeli Media
Saniora Gvernment Finances Legal Suit Against Israel
Israeli Newspaper Attributes Statement to Gemayel on Two Kidnapped Soldiers
March 14 Presents Petition for Extraordinary Parliamentary Session to Approve Tribunal
Bush challenges Iraq strategy skeptics -AP
Rice seeks to restart Mideast peace plan-AP
Lebanon's Saniora heads to Saudi after talks with Mubarak-Ya Libnan
'Divine Victory' cost each family $75k in Lebanon-Ya Libnan
Leaders meet to discuss Lebanon crisis-United Press International
Lebanese PM stresses importance of "Paris III"-Kuwait News Agency
US delivers first shipment of military aid to Lebanon-Ya Libnan
Syria: No preconditions to Israeli talks-United Press International
US denies plans for war with Iran, Syria-Kuwait Times
Bush may be preparing to attack Iran and Syria - political observers-TV3 News
US senators fear Iraq war may spill to Iran and Syria-Daily Times
Hezbollah arms cache found on northern border, near abduction site-Ha'aretz
Hezbollah Used Christians as Human Shields in War-Jawa Report
Hezbollah Not a Terrorist Organization in the EU-Stanford Review
Syria says oil production witnessing gradual decrease-People's Daily Online
Armenian church leader calls Lebanon back from the brink of collapse-Ekklesia - UK
Lebanon's parliament speaker rejects crisis escalation-People's Daily Online
Lebanon's ex-president denies making remarks that captured Israeli ...People's Daily Online
Strong groups with solid structures-Gulf News
Lebanon avoids says all must help Hariri probe-Jerusalem Post
Lebanon's ex-president denies making remarks that captured Israeli ...Xinhua
Israel being persuaded to return area to Lebanon-Gulf NewsNew reports from the Daily Star for 13/01/07
Gemayel denies comments reported by Israeli media
Hizbullah sets date for peak of protests
Beirut sidesteps Security Council tiff over Hariri probe
General Labor Confederation to stage next sit-in Monday
'Better listen and be awake'
Amal delegation meets with Communist Party official
PSP urged to pursue release of Palestinian Druze leader
AUB remembers Elaine Larwood with memorial service
Army receives first 20 Humvees donated by US
Bou Faour knocks plan to ramp up protests
Opposition wants 'true partnership in political life'
Fadlallah says Lebanese political tensions are 'extension' of US plan
Cabinet approves loan for lawsuit against Israel
Azour stops by to douse latest fire over reforms
Beirut gets failing grades for treatment of asylum seekers
Exodus of Iraqis imposes new burdens on UNHCR in Lebanon
Bodyguard of judge jailed for robbing himSyria: No preconditions to Israeli talks
MADRID, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- The head of the Syrian delegation to a conference on the Middle East said there must be no preconditions to any talks between Syria and Israel. Riad Daoudi, a legal adviser to President Bashir Assad and to the Syrian foreign minister, said Syria's ties to Hamas -- the Palestinian political group -- and to Iran could be discussed once talks begin, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. But he said Israel could not require Syria to change its policy first. Daoudi was responding to criticism from Ophir Paz-Pines, a Labor member of the Israeli Knesset. He suggested that Hamas and Iran play a significant role in the Middle East and cannot be ignored. The conference in Madrid marks the 15th anniversary of the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference. Syrian and Israeli representatives both attended the opening banquet Wednesday, the first time in seven years that the two countries have officially sat at the same table.
Israel being persuaded to return area to Lebanon
By Duraid Al Baik, Foreign Editor
Madrid: Discussions are under way between Lebanon and international mediators here to pursuade Israel to hand over Shebaa farms to the Lebanese government, officials from the Lebanese delegation to the Madrid +15 Peace Conference said on Friday. Terje Roed-Larsen, Special United Nations envoy for the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559 told Gulf News that the UN is satisfied with Syria's public announcements in which it reiterated the right of Lebanese to Shebaa Farms and will work accordingly. "According to maps available with the UN, Shebaa Farms is considered Syrian territory under Israeli occupation, but the conflict in Lebanon last summer has convinced different parties to finalise the issue of Shebaa even before Syria starts its peace negotiation with Israel," he said. A Lebanese official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Siniora government is keen to finalise the issue of Shebaa before another conflict breaks out between Hez-bollah and Israel over the disputed territories.
He said the UN and a number of western countries are helping out in solving the problem and the demarcation of a border line between Israel and Lebanon that covers Shebaa will be announced soon. "The issue will require a Security Council resolution and an agreement among members of the council to achieve the goal. The new resolution will be linked with the execution of the 1559 and 1701 resolutions concerning Lebanon and Israel," he said. "This is not a final peace agreement with Israel and will not impose any commitment on Lebanon towards the Hebrew state. It is a mere security arrangement to defuse tensions and help in the implementation of the recent UN resolution in Lebanon," he said.According to some reports, Israel moved Ethiopian Jews, known as Fala-shas, to the Shebaa Farms in the 1980s. The area includes a ski station and a military observation post.
Bush challenges skeptics of Iraq plan
By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON President Bush on Saturday challenged lawmakers skeptical of his new Iraq plan to propose their own strategy for stopping the violence in Baghdad. "To oppose everything while proposing nothing is irresponsible," Bush said. In a pitch to lawmakers and the American people, Bush said the United States will keep the onus on the Iraqi government to take charge of security and reach a political reconciliation. He countered Democrats and his fellow Republicans who argue that Bush is sending 21,500 more U.S. troops into Iraq on the same mission."We have a new strategy with a new mission: Helping secure the population, especially in Baghdad," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "Our plan puts Iraqis in the lead."The president, who hosted an informal, mostly social gathering of Republican leaders at Camp David on Friday night and Saturday, asked for patience from lawmakers from both parties. They had grilled Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, last week when the officials testified before Congress in defense of the president's plan. "Obviously, the need to secure Baghdad and strengthen an ally in the war on terror was among the items we discussed," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (news, bio, voting record), R-Ky., said Saturday about the discussions the lawmakers had with Bush at Camp David. "But we also discussed the need to find bold solutions for other big issues."Democratic leaders in the House and Senate intend to hold votes within a few weeks on Bush's revised Iraq policy. The nonbinding resolutions would be one way to show their opposition to any troop buildup and force Republicans to make a choice about whether they support the president's plan.
Rep. Tim Walz (news, bio, voting record), D-Minn., said that he, along with most Democrats and an increasing number of Republicans, believe sending more troops compounds a bad situation. Walz, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, said diplomatic and political solutions are needed, not more troops.
"Before moving forward with this escalation, we owe it to these troops, to their families, and to all Americans to ask the tough questions and demand honest answers about this policy," Walz said in the Democrats' Saturday radio address.
"Is there a clear strategy that the commanders on the ground believe will succeed?" Walz said. "What are the benchmarks for success, and how long does the president believe it will take to achieve them? Is this a policy that will contribute to the America's security in the larger war on terror, or distract from it?"Bush said lawmakers "have a right to express their views, and express them forcefully. But those who refuse to give this plan a chance to work have an obligation to offer an alternative that has a better chance for success."He said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has pledged that political sectarian interference with security operations will not be tolerated. The president also said the United States will hold the Iraqi government to its pledge to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq's provinces by November, pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis and spend $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction that will create new jobs. "The Iraqi government knows that it must meet them, or lose the support of the Iraqi and the American people," Bush said.Bush has criticized the way the al-Maliki government handled the Dec. 30 hanging of Saddam Hussein. Bush saw part of the Internet-aired cell phone video of the execution, which showed some Iraqis taunting Saddam as he stood with a noose around his neck on the gallows.
"I thought it was discouraging," Bush said in an interview with "60 Minutes" to be broadcast on Sunday. "They could have handled it a lot better."
Saniora Heads to Saudi Arabia After Talks with Mubarak
Premier Fouad Saniora discussed with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo Saturday pan-Arab efforts to settle the ongoing Lebanese crisis.
The official Middle East News Agency said the talks focused on "efforts exerted by the Arab states, topped by Egypt and the Arab League, to bridge the gap separating the various Lebanese factions in order to reach a settlement to the Lebanese crisis that can safeguard Lebanon's security and stability."
The talks, MENA added, also covered the Paris III conference of donors which is scheduled for Jan. 25 to provide Lebanon with badly needed financial assistance. Following his talks with Mubarak, Saniora left for Saudi Arabia, the second leg of a tour of Arab states that also includes Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar Bahrain and Jordan. Saniora would discuss with Arab leaders the crisis gripping Lebanon and their support for the Paris III conference.
Saniora Praises Arab League Initiative to Settle Lebanon's Crisis
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora said Saturday that an Arab League initiative aimed at resolving the ongoing political crisis in Lebanon was "the only serious" one. It is "the only serious initiative that currently exists," Saniora told reporters after a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo. "We must continue to encourage this initiative," he said, adding that the League's Secretary General Amr Moussa was ready to travel again to Lebanon to help move the plan forward. With a political crisis in Lebanon escalating, Moussa tried last month to mediate between the parliamentary majority, which rejects Syrian involvement in Lebanon, and the Syrian- and Iranian-backed opposition. But the mediation efforts did not stem the crisis.
The opposition, led by Hizbullah, has staged a sit-in outside the government's main offices in central Beirut since December 1 in its campaign to replace the Saniora government with one in which it would have a veto power. Saniora is due to meet Moussa in Cairo on Tuesday, Moussa's chief of staff Hisham Yuussef told AFP. The two were due to hold talks in the Egyptian capital on Saturday but the meeting was postponed due to scheduling problems.
Saniora's visit to Egypt is part of a regional tour ahead of a conference in Paris on January 25 to raise economic aid for Lebanon.
The donor conference is expected to be attended by Western countries and oil-rich Arab states which back Saniora's government and its elected anti-Syrian parliamentary majority.(AFP) Beirut, 13 Jan 07, 15:59
Opposition Stages Demonstration Outside Justice Ministry
Hizbullah-led protestors rallied outside the Justice Ministry in Beirut on Saturday, as part of ongoing sit-ins and demonstrations against the Fouad Saniora government. The gathering near the Justice Palace drew several hundred people and came as Hizbullah vowed to intensify the street campaign to topple the government. "We are not going to leave the street and we are not going to stop the sit-ins. We are going to intensify them," Hizbullah legislator Hussein Haj Hassan said in a televised interview Saturday. Saturday's rally was called on by the opposition in a "symbolic" effort to demand the truth about a series of bombings and political assassinations in the country in the past two years, including the February 2005 bombing that killed ex-premier Rafik Hariri.
The last such assassination was the Nov. 21 killing of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, who was shot dead in his car in Jdeideh, north of Beirut.
In a statement earlier this week, the opposition accused the government of failing to provide security for the country's citizens and officials, and of "blatant shortcomings" in the investigations into attacks on several Lebanese politicians and journalists. Protesters on Saturday carried pictures of Gemayel and other victims, inscribed with the words: "Where is the investigation?" Lebanon's General Federation of Labor Union has also staged protests this week against tax increases proposed by the government. Small protests have been held outside the Value Added Tax building and energy ministry, calling on the government to resign.(AP-Naharnet)
U.S. Sends Military Aid to Lebanon to Boost the Saniora Government
The United States has delivered 20 armored military jeeps to Lebanon in what it described as a "down payment" in a major effort to boost Premier Fouad Saniora's government. A U.S. Air Force C-17 transport aircraft landed at Rafik Hariri International airport carrying the first 20 of 285 "Humvee" vehicles for the Lebanese army, the State Department said Friday. "Today we made a down payment on some of the support we've promised for the Lebanese armed forces," department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters. "These are going to be used as part of our effort to help strengthen that force, give both the mobility and the technical and logistical support it needs to be able to carry out its mandate throughout Lebanon," he said.
The remaining 265 Humvees will be delivered in the months to come, helping "to ensure that the Lebanese people enjoy the security and sovereignty that a strong, well-equipped (military) serves to guarantee," he said. Lebanon's army deployed throughout Lebanon for the first time in decades late last year under the terms of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended a month-long war between Israel and Hizbullah. Under the resolution, the army now patrols alongside U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, which has long been a Hizbullah stronghold. Lebanese forces have also deployed along the Syrian border, tasked with preventing shipments of Iranian weapons to Hizbullah. The Humvee shipment came as Saniora is locked in a power struggle with Hizbullah and its allies trying to topple his government. Friday's aid delivery was part of a 39 million dollar military assistance package approved for Lebanon in last year's budget, and Casey said Washington would continue its aid in 2007. "We don't have a budget yet for this fiscal year, but we do intend to increase that as the year goes on," he said.(AFP-Naharnet)
Bush challenges skeptics of Iraq plan
By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Saturday challenged lawmakers skeptical of his new Iraq plan to propose their own strategy for stopping the violence in Baghdad. "To oppose everything while proposing nothing is irresponsible," Bush said.
In a pitch to lawmakers and the American people, Bush said the United States will keep the onus on the Iraqi government to take charge of security and reach a political reconciliation. He countered Democrats and his fellow Republicans who argue that Bush is sending 21,500 more U.S. troops into Iraq on the same mission. "We have a new strategy with a new mission: Helping secure the population, especially in Baghdad," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "Our plan puts Iraqis in the lead." The president, who hosted an informal, mostly social gathering of Republican leaders at Camp David on Friday night and Saturday, asked for patience from lawmakers from both parties. They had grilled Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, last week when the officials testified before Congress in defense of the president's plan. "Obviously, the need to secure Baghdad and strengthen an ally in the war on terror was among the items we discussed," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (news, bio, voting record), R-Ky., said Saturday about the discussions the lawmakers had with Bush at Camp David. "But we also discussed the need to find bold solutions for other big issues."
Democratic leaders in the House and Senate intend to hold votes within a few weeks on Bush's revised Iraq policy. The nonbinding resolutions would be one way to show their opposition to any troop buildup and force Republicans to make a choice about whether they support the president's plan.
Rep. Tim Walz (news, bio, voting record), D-Minn., said that he, along with most Democrats and an increasing number of Republicans, believe sending more troops compounds a bad situation. Walz, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, said diplomatic and political solutions are needed, not more troops.
"Before moving forward with this escalation, we owe it to these troops, to their families, and to all Americans to ask the tough questions and demand honest answers about this policy," Walz said in the Democrats' Saturday radio address.
"Is there a clear strategy that the commanders on the ground believe will succeed?" Walz said. "What are the benchmarks for success, and how long does the president believe it will take to achieve them? Is this a policy that will contribute to the America's security in the larger war on terror, or distract from it?"Bush said lawmakers "have a right to express their views, and express them forcefully. But those who refuse to give this plan a chance to work have an obligation to offer an alternative that has a better chance for success." He said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has pledged that political sectarian interference with security operations will not be tolerated. The president also said the United States will hold the Iraqi government to its pledge to take responsibility for security in all of Iraq's provinces by November, pass legislation to share oil revenues among all Iraqis and spend $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction that will create new jobs. "The Iraqi government knows that it must meet them, or lose the support of the Iraqi and the American people," Bush said. Bush has criticized the way the al-Maliki government handled the Dec. 30 hanging of Saddam Hussein. Bush saw part of the Internet-aired cell phone video of the execution, which showed some Iraqis taunting Saddam as he stood with a noose around his neck on the gallows.
"I thought it was discouraging," Bush said in an interview with "60 Minutes" to be broadcast on Sunday. "They could have handled it a lot better."Beirut, 13 Jan 07, 08:07
'Divine Victory' cost each family $75k in Lebanon
Saturday, 13 January, 2007 @ 6:13 PM
By Alan Hafeza, Ya Libnan Volunteer
There is no such thing as a free lunch... and wars in Lebanon come at a hefty price to all Lebanese citizens.
The Lebanese national debt is now an astounding $60 Billion, making Lebanon one of the highest debt-GDP ratios in the world. Distributing this amount over all Lebanese households, each family is now indebted to the tune of $75,000 as a result of the horrific succession of wars over the past 30 years, with the Israel-Hezbollah July '06 war being the most recent.
It is more illustrative to portray the Lebanese predicament in everyday terms. Imagine a Lebanese family, earning $1000 a month, with expenses exceeding $1200 monthly just to survive. Now, imagine this family with a of $75,000 debt slapped on it courtesy of the "divine" wars. Mind you, this debt is not used for kids' college education, buying a home, or creating a small business. Instead, this debt is used for repairing war damage, for paying interest on loans the country acquired to repair the destruction and help resuscitate a lifeless economy. Ironically, this havoc was wreaked by a select few, and not by our family, who was a mere spectator and a victim of the turmoil. Yet, it is now stuck with a significant part of the consequences. Clearly, this family has no realistic means to eke out a reasonable living, let alone paying off a large debt.
Do you get the picture? That's what it is like to be the government and the people of Lebanon. We are paying and will continue to pay for quite sometime for allowing Lebanon to be the military frontline of others, and the playground of prancing militias.
This is a problem for each and every one of us. Although PM Saniora and his team are doing an admirable job, especially with loud naysayers attempting to sabotage them at each step, they are not magicians that can wave a wand and the debt somehow disappears. We all must take personal responsibility in bringing order to our economic house. World financial experts helped produce the reform package, using a wealth of proven resources, and we shouldn't get caught up in analysis paralysis.
The good news is that Lebanon friends in the region and around the world want to assist. This assistance may start in the form of Paris III to help refinance the debt and obtain low-interest loans and grants. Success is predicated upon executing the promised reforms, which requires the support and personal endorsement of each and everyone.
Our choices couldn't be any clearer. Do we want to create a modern country, with strong institutions that can survive and thrive in the twenty-first century? Or, do we want to continue to stagnate, kicking the can down the road, preoccupied with politically motivated bickering, superficial debates, and foolish adventures to liberate no land? This is not business as usual. This is a time for sober contemplation and sacrifice.
The minimum each of us can do is to recognize the urgency and understand that real reforms will ultimately lead to prosperity for our children and future generations in Lebanon. It would be indecent and a selfish betrayal to pass on to them this huge debt.
Incidentally, the family debt used to be $40,000 just a couple of years ago. But, the resistance to proposed reforms following Paris II, coupled with Hezbollah's war, skyrocketed the debt to $75,000 ... and, I'm afraid, the end is not yet in sight. Unless, of course, drastic steps are taken.
Lebanon is not unique in this regard. During and after World War II, countries in Europe and America suffered similar, and worse economic collapse. They were able to pull through using well thought out recovery plans. Each citizen of these countries was asked to contribute. War tax, ration cards for food, and other austere measures were enacted to affect an economical recovery.
I am optimistic that the Lebanese can also pull through also. The first step, of course, is recognition of the gravity and urgency of the situation, and embracing Paris III reforms.Beirut, 13 Jan 07, 07:50
Leaders meet to discuss Lebanon crisis
CAIRO, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora was in Cairo Saturday to discuss solutions to his country's political unrest with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The leaders were to discuss Arab efforts to stabilize Lebanon ahead of a conference in Paris that is expected to result in economic aid to Lebanon, the Kuwait News Agency, KUNA, reported Saturday. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa has spearheaded peace plan for Lebanon, which he devised during a recent tour of the country. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Israel, where she is expected to address the Lebanese crisis as well as other political developments in the area.
Hamas official: Olmert's Egypt visit compromised Shalit talks
By Amos Harel and Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and Reuters
A senior Hamas official said Saturday that the recent visit of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Egypt has foiled mediations to release captured Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit. "There was a progress in the Egyptian mediation (to release prisoners) ... but during his visit to Cairo, Olmert had taken some steps backward," Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, said. "When we move one step forward, he [Olmert] moves two steps backward," he said.
"It's the right of Palestinian detainees to be with their families as soon as possible," he said, reasserting that Shalit, captured by Palestinian militants last June, is still alive. Also Friday, former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel denied telling an Israeli newspaper that Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev - two soldiers captured by Hezbollah militants in July - are still alive. He said he had no information about their condition.
Gemayel's office issued a statement saying Gemayel "denies completely" speaking to any Israeli media about any issue.
Earlier, Maariv newspaper quoted Gemayel and a second Lebanese politician as saying the two soldiers were alive, but they offered no other details. They said they hoped the soldiers would return home in good health.
"With regards to the matter of the fate of the two captive Israeli soldiers, President Gemayel does not possess any information about this matter and he is in no capacity to speak about it," a statement from his office said.
Maariv's report appeared to run counter to an internal Israeli probe which concluded that the two soldiers were seriously wounded during their capture and at least one of them could now be dead.
Also on Friday, members serving in the same IDF reserve brigade as the captive soldiers held a rally in northern Israel at the conclusion of a journey from Jerusalem to the Lebanese border Friday to mark six months since the abduction.
"We came because half a year has passed," said a reservist, identified only as Duli. "People forget."
The procession passed the Defense Ministry building in Tel Aviv and stopped at the homes of Regev and Goldwasser.
Hundreds attended the rally at the northern kibbutz of Zarit and were later to convene at the spot where Regev and Goldwasser were kidnapped. The reservists also recited a prayer for the captives' wellbeing.
Zvi Regev, Eldad's father, told Israel Radio on Friday that the families of the captive soldiers are encouraged by the support they have received, but still expect the government to do all it can to bring the soldiers back to Israel.
The reservist convoy was also planning to stop at the home of Gilad Shalit.
A spokesman for the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees, one of the Palestinian militant groups behind Shalit's capture, said Tuesday that the captive soldier is in "good health."
The comments mark the first time that the group has provided details about Shalit's health. The spokesman, Abu Mujahid, said Shalit would not be released until Israel gives in to demands to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
A Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip said the Fatah-affiliated Preventive Security Service has interrogated members of the Hamas military wing regarding Shalit's whereabouts, Israel Radio reported Friday.
On Thursday, an arms cache was discovered approximately one kilometer from where Hezbollah ambushed and kidnapped Regev and Goldwasser. It is believed that the weapons belonged to the militants who abducted them.
Zvi Regev said Friday the families of the captive soldiers were disappointed that it took half a year to find the weapons.
A Golani Brigade patrol discovered the cache on the northern side of the fence bordering Lebanon, but within Israeli territory.
Three rocket-propelled grenades, a MAG 7.62 machine gun, ammunition belts and shoes were found in the bag of weapons.
This area is considered to be Israeli territory because the Blue Line - the recognized border - lies north of the fence in that area.
GOC Northern Command described the patrol's movement north of the fence as part of an effort to vary routines in order to make it more difficult for Hezbollah guerrillas to track patrols.
Beirut gets failing grades for treatment of asylum seekers
'2006 was a dark and tragic year' - senior UN official
By Rym Ghazal -Daily Star staff
Saturday, January 13, 2007
BEIRUT: Lebanon remains one of the least hospitable countries to Iraqi refugees and refugees of other nationalities, with some human rights activists going so far as to call the country "hostile" toward asylum seekers. In an interactive workshop held Friday by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), journalists from various local media outlets got a chance to discuss the UNHCR's efforts in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Lebanon and the growing crisis of Iraqi refugees.
"During the Lebanese Civil War, the world opened its doors toward the Lebanese fleeing the war and welcomed them as refugees," said Samira Trad, a representative from Frontiers, a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on responding to a crisis of detentions and deportations facing non-Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. "But we keep our doors shut."
Trad told tales of the dozens of Iraqi, Somali, Tunisian and Algerian refugees whom her NGO has come across detained in Lebanese prisons, "people," she said "who fled persecution to end up persecuted in the supposed country of asylum."
Criticism of Lebanon was recently leveled in the 2007 Human Rights Watch (HRW) World Report, which said that while 20,000 Iraqi refugees are now living here, "Lebanon provides no services for them and no process for regularizing their status."
Both the UNHCR and HRW slammed the Lebanese government for "failing" to institute a "temporary protection" regime for Iraqi asylum seekers, and said Beirut "regularly deports Iraqis who may well have valid persecution claims."
The Lebanese themselves experienced their own crisis during the summer 2006 war with Israel, which saw 800,000 Lebanese flee the conflict and over 1 million internally displaced. Some 200,000 Lebanese sought refuge in other countries, mainly Syria.
"2006 was a dark and tragic year," Stephane Jaquemet, regional representative for the UNHCR, told the panel of journalists, in reference to the wars in Iraq and Lebanon.
The UNHCR's number of people "of concern" rose to 20.8 million in 2006, up 6 percent from 19.5 million in 2005.
With an average of 100 Iraqi civilians killed each day in an ongoing civil war, Jaquemet said that Iraqi refugees in Lebanon are from all sects - Shiite, Christian and Sunni - "all fleeing sectarian violence."
"Since the violence in central and southern Iraq reached the threshold of 'generalized violence,' the UNHCR released an advisory in December that switched the status of Iraqi refugees from needing 'temporary protection' to ones deserving full protection under the 'extended definition,'" Jaquemet said.
On the ground this means that "Iraqi refugees are not being returned to Iraq due to the high level of danger."
Jaquemet called on the media to hold the UNHCR "accountable" and "to alert" the public about where "silent" refugee crises might be unfolding.
"I noticed a change, with the Lebanese press becoming more sympathetic toward the Iraqi refugees - perhaps a reflection of internal change?" he said.
Jaquemet told The Daily Star that the current political deadlock in Lebanon has had a direct impact on the UNHCR: "It has been difficult to convince government officials to make the Iraqi refugee a top priority."
The UNHCR made a "debut" on the political stage recently after several visitors to the protest site in Downtown Beirut noticed the organization's acronym stenciled in large blue letters on several opposition tents.
"We gave those tents to the displaced during the summer war," Jaquemet said. "What they did with them afterward is their business, as we surely don't ask people to give them back."
The panel also discussed xenophobia toward the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and the global spread of such fears since the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US.
"Xenophobia makes it difficult to do our job," said Ayaki Ito, the senior protection officer at the UNHCR. "We can't force any country to grant a refugee asylum," he added, "making our job quite frustrating, but we do what we can through dialogue."
"Refugees need to understand that resettlement is not a right," Ito said, noting that host countries each have their own quotas and "preferences" as to which refugees they will agree to resettle.
Azour stops by to douse latest fire over reforms
'2006 was not an easy year for lebanon'
By Lysandra Ohrstrom -Daily Star staff
Saturday, January 13, 2007
BEIRUT: Finance Minister Jihad Azour briefly returned to Beirut from Paris on Friday in an effort to cool the controversy surrounding the government's economic reform plan. Two hours after Azour explained the strategy to an audience of at least 100 in a presentation at the Grand Serail, the leader of the opposition-backed General Labor Confederation held a press conference denouncing the plan as harmful to workers' rights.
Azour promised that the proposed reforms - including a rise in the Value Added Tax (VAT); the privatization of Electricite du Liban (EDL) and the two mobile networks; and a reform of the public pension system - would be accompanied by various social safety nets and a modernization of tax codes.
"We have a new vision of the taxpayer as a client of the Ministry of Finance whom we have to serve well," he told his audience. "In 2007 we will implement a system that differentiates between the type of taxpayer, rather than the type of tax, which will reduce bribery and distribute costs according to income."The Cabinet has approved new tax legislation - such as a unified income tax, clear payment deadlines, and a penalty system for non-payment or delays - that is expected to be in place by the end of this year. In two weeks the Finance Ministry will begin a pilot program for its e-billing and filing system with selected businesses. On the whole, the strategy aims to correct past missteps by taking into account the fact that many previous expenditures have been allocated outside the formal budget, Azour said.
From June 2005 to December 2006, for example, the Lebanese government paid nearly $1.3 billion to EDL, which became the second-biggest recipient of public funds when oil prices spiked on world markets.
In addition to streamlining management practices and eventually privatizing EDL, a committee at the Finance Ministry is working on reforming the end-of-service indemnity. The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) constitutes the third-largest state expenditure.
Azour also defended the Cabinet's performance since Prime Minister Fouad Siniora took office in July 2005.
"From October 2005 to the assassination of our friend [Industyry Minister] Pierre Gemayel in November, negative political developments have continually derailed the government's reform plans," Azour said.
"I would like to remind you that 2006 was not an easy year for Lebanon," he added.
The economic reform program was originally designed before the devastating summer 2006 war with Israel in coordination with international donor institutions, the European Union, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, and was unveiled a in June 2006.
The revised strategy reflects several changes in government priorities in the wake of the conflict, as well as the findings of the World Bank's Economic and Social Input Assessment, and the recommendations of donor nations.''Better listen and be awake'
In an interview shortly before his death, poet Jawdat Haydar recalled the undergraduate roots of a distinguished literary career
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Rafael McDonnell
Jawdat Haydar, a poet who worked as an educator, an executive with the Iraq Petroleum Company and a farmer, passed away in Beirut earlier this year at age 101 after a final series of interviews, including one with this reporter. The native of Lebanon had recently published a new collection of his poetry, "101 Selected Poems."
Haydar, one of the best-known poets of the Middle East, published his first poem eight decades ago as a student at the University of North Texas. Printed in a newspaper then known as the Dallas News, it was about life in Texas: "The skies of Switzerland are clear and blue / The old German castles are pretty, too / France is charming and England not less / But there's no place like dear old Texas."
Many of Haydar's later poems focus on large issues such as injustice, war, peace, life, death and man's interaction with the natural world.
"What first inspired me to write poetry was the beauty of nature and the diversity and mysteries of the world," Haydar said. "Once I started writing, I realized that through my work I could express my deep inner feelings of beauty, love, ambition, passion, pain, despair, loss and worry. In my 100 years I have seen a lot of changes around me in the world, but the elements that inspired me to write remain constant all through my life on this earth."
Haydar said that his poems often carry a message.
"Nature is a gift from God. I hope that through my work I can convey a simple message, saying: 'People of Earth, better listen and be awake, be wise, read the past to make the future. Do not pollute nature, do not destroy it, avoid wars; otherwise, you shall lose the paradise you are living on," he said.
Haydar grew up in the Bekaa Valley. He remembered that when he was a young boy he bought candy from British soldiers stationed in the area during the last days of the Ottoman Empire. He describes his homeland as "a dot on the world map" but says it is mentioned in the Bible, a place "where beauty and dreams meet in poetry."
In a 2003 interview with The Daily Star, Haydar said he got the opportunity to come to the United States and study thanks to a chance encounter at a movie theater in Lyon, France. He assisted a woman who had dropped her handkerchief. She was the wife of the US consul to France. Two weeks later, Haydar was on a boat to the United States and then took a three-day train ride from New York City to Texas. He said to save money, he only ate breakfast cereal on the train.
Haydar said the North Texas campus still holds a warm place in his heart.
"My years at North Texas are among my cherished days and moments. After all these years I consider it home. "I'll never forget the man in the registrar's office who was generous enough to lend me some money to start my life in the new world and, more importantly, to help me achieve my dream. The last time I was on my campus was when I graduated in 1927-28."
After graduation, Haydar became the principal of a school in Aley, and later in Nablus, on the West Bank. For 25 years, Haydar then worked for the Iraq Petroleum Company as a recruitment executive based in Lebanon. He retired from the company in 1960, worked in the plastics industry and then went into farming. He also ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for the Lebanese Parliament.
Haydar is survived by six daughters, 17 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren, some of whom live in Europe and the United States. Until the end he would get up early in the morning to write his poems out by hand, and his daughters would type them into a computer. Haydar and his poetry have been honored with the Lebanese Order of the Cedars, the Gold Medal of Lebanese Merit and the Medal La Croix de Grand Officier of France. Haydar has also been honored with other medals, including one from Pope John XXIII for humanitarian work.
He said his philosophy of life was simple and easy: "My secret for long life is always being thankful to God and enjoying every second of it. Life is a gift. Be happy when you can
."**Rafael McDonnell wrote this article for the The North Texan, where it originally appeared. It is reprinted with permission.
General Labor Confederation to stage next sit-in Monday
Union leader denies reports of splits within opposition
Daily Star staff-Saturday, January 13, 2007
BEIRUT: The General Labor Confederation (GLC) said Friday it would stage its next sit-in in front of Ogero Telecom headquarters in Beirut on Monday. GLC president Ghassan Ghosn said the latest protest "falls within the series of movements organized by the GLC against the government's reform plan," which will be presented to the Paris III international donor conference set to be held later this month in the French capital.
The labor union chief called for a "massive" demonstration on Monday at 2 p.m. after a week that saw disappointing turnouts at two GLC protests outside government ministries. The GLC opposes several aspects of the reform plan, including the privatization of state utilities and an increase in the Value Added Tax. Lashing out at Premier Fouad Siniora, Ghosn said: "It is [Siniora's] national duty to discuss the reform plan and its long-term repercussions on the different Lebanese factions.""Instead of doing so, the prime minister and his team prepared and adopted the plan without discussing it, knowing that such an issue needs weeks and months of meetings and studies," he added.
Ghosn also questioned the logic of the government's proposed tax hike. "Why is the government avoiding imposing progressive taxes that are used in most countries and insisting on imposing more indirect taxes and [reducing tariffs on] the prices of energy and electricity, hence inflicting financial burdens on low-income families?" he asked. The union leader denied reports of cracks within the opposition, adding that the GLC would participate in a planned opposition protest on Saturday in front of the Palace of Justice in Beirut to call for "the truth" regarding the November 2006 assassination of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel. He also said the GLC might escalate its movements and call for a general strike.
Meanwhile, the Progressive Socialist Party sent a letter to Hassan Sabaa on Friday, urging the acting labor minister to investigate the GLC's files.
"We urge you to break into the caverns of the Labor Ministry and open the files of the labor confederation and you will be surprised by the scandals of forgery, conspiracies and squandering of public money, as well as violations of laws and norms," the party said.
The PSP further alleged that the GLC was not interested in the concerns of workers, but had been "assigned to instigate chaos in the streets in order to hamper efforts to rebuild the state.""The General Labor Confederation's decision to take to the streets and hold protests is illegitimate because it was not made by the confederation's constitutional committees," it added. - The Daily Star
US denies plans for war with Iran, Syria
WASHINGTON: The White House yesterday flatly dismissed what it called a "rumour and urban legend" that the United States was gearing up for military action against Iran or Syria. "I want to address kind of a rumour, an urban legend that's going around," spokesman Tony Snow told reporters in a prepared statement at his daily briefing. "It comes from language in the president's Wednesday night address to the nation that, in talking about Iran and Syria, that he was trying to prepare the way for war with either country and there were war preparations underway. "There are not," said Snow.
The United States could start withdrawing forces from Iraq this year if the additional troops being sent to Baghdad reduce violence significantly, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday. "If these operations actually work you could begin to see a lightening of the US footprint both in Baghdad and Iraq itself," Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Defending the President George W Bush's plan for the war, Gates cautioned that adding more US forces would not end sectarian violence in Iraq. But if it lowers the violence "significantly" and the Iraqi government fulfils its promises, "then you could have a situation later this year where you could actually begin withdrawing." Still, lawmakers challenged the plan to send an additional 21,000 US soldiers and Marines into the most violent areas of Iraq.
They said it depended far too heavily on the Iraqi government keeping promises it had failed to keep before. "Look at the track record of the Iraqi government in meeting some of its past benchmarks and promises," said Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
He listed commitments that were not kept, such as a pledge from Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that the government would disband the sectarian militias plaguing Baghdad and that Iraq would take over security for all its provinces by the end of 2006.
Gates admitted Iraq's poor performance in meeting its goals. But he said he thought they were serious now. "The record of fulfilling their commitments is not an encouraging one," he said. "But I will say this. They really do seem to be eager to take control of this security."
Senators also questioned whether military commanders believed in Bush's plan given their previous, publicly stated rejection of calls for more troops. Marine Corps Gen Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, insisted that he supported the Bush plan and that it provided enough troops to establish security. But he too premised his confidence on an expectation that the Iraqi government would deliver on its commitments, especially a promise to prohibit Iraqi politicians from interfering in military action against sectarian militias. "I am confident that, given the Iraqis delivering on their promises and the economic legs of the stool, that the military part of this plan is sufficiently resourced," he said.
Both Gates and Pace said the United States did not need to attack targets in Iran to counter Iranian networks that Washington says support Iraq's insurgency. Gates stressed that attacking Iran would be a "last resort." "There is no need to attack targets in Iran itself," he said. "I continue to believe that any kind of military action inside Iran itself would be a very last resort." -- Agencies
Armenian church leader calls Lebanon back from the brink of collapse
13/01/07 -The former moderator of the World Council of Churches, Catholicos Aram I of the Armenian Apostolic Church, says Lebanese leaders need to sustain the democracy they have and not continue fomenting insecurity that could easily trigger more unrest in Lebanon, reports Ecumenical News International. "Lebanon is again in conflict," said Aram. "Despite the self-constraining efforts of parties to restrain the current conflict to political and democratic boundaries, a small spark can ignite the tense atmosphere and lead the country towards unpredictable and uncontrollable situations."
Aram, who is Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia, conducted a Mass for the Armenian church's celebration of Christmas on 6 January 2007 and delivered a sermon in the St Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in Antelias, where government officials and a large number of faithful were gathered.
Lebanon's opposition-backed labour unions on 11 January suspended protests against government economic reform plans, but the Hezbollah movement said it would soon step up a campaign to topple the government. Protesters have since 1 December camped outside Prime Minister Fuad Saniora in Beirut seeking to pressure him to give more power to the opposition in a new government of national unity or to call early elections.
"We are destroying Lebanon. We are driving the people towards hopelessness," Aram warned in his sermon. "Where are we as spiritual leaders? Where are the government officials, where are the civil society, the political and party leaders? There is a lack of political maturity and common responsibility. Political culture is at the doorsteps of bankruptcy."
Aram said nobody had the right to drag Lebanon into "uncertainty and polarisation". He said, "This people only witnessed war, poverty and blood for 30 years. A whole generation was formed in these circumstances. Let this people live in peace and dignity."
The Catholicos said Lebanon could no longer be a stage for regional and international conflicts. "Let's not allow others to meddle into our internal affairs. No matter how respectable others are, Lebanon's prime interests are not up to bargaining," said Aram.
[With grateful acknowledgements to ENI. Ecumenical News International is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches]
PSP urged to pursue release of Palestinian Druze leader
Saturday, January 13, 2007- The Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) received on Friday a letter from the Arab Druze Partnership Committee saying that a Palestinian Druze leader was still confined since 2004 by Israeli authorities after a visit made to Syria during that same year. The committee added that Sheikh Ali Maadi's confinement was illegal and contrary to human rights. The committee also called upon PSP to take the appropriate measures to press for his release.