LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 14/07

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10,16-23. Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Opinions
The idea of an interim presidency in Lebanon may be worth considering-The Daily Star. July 14/07

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for July 14/07
Katyushas Fired into North Lebanon as Army Steps Up Pressure on Militants-Naharnet
Rockets-For-Howitzers Duel at Nahr al-Bared-Naharnet
U.N. Probe Found Suspects in Hariri Murder-Naharnet
Aoun: My Candidacy is Only Hope for Lebanon Because I am a Free Man-Naharnet
Bush Accuses Iran, Syria, Hizbullah of Fomenting Violence in Iraq-Naharnet
Solana Warns of Qaida Spillover from Lebanon Camps to Gaza-Naharnet
UN urged to act on Lebanon 'war crimes'-Telegraph.co.uk
UN peacekeepers in Lebanon assess their 1st year-Euronews.net
Support for Hezbollah still high in south Lebanon-Washington Post
Syria open to altering ties with Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas-Jerusalem Post
PM: Assad wants talks, but only with Bush; Syria willing to ...Ha'aretz
UNIFIL has 'great confidence' in Lebanese Army-Daily Star
Kaplinsky: IDF does not foresee war with Syria this summer?Ha'aretz
Hezbollah envoys to attend French conference on Lebanon-Ha'aretz
France: Hizbullah not a terror group-Jerusalem Post
Six soldiers die as Army pounds Nahr al-Bared-Daily Star
Brammertz warns political crisis in Lebanon likely to hurt Hariri probe-Daily Star
Iranian MPs visit war-ravaged South-Daily Star
MP Kanaan hopeful ahead of Paris talks, urges dialogue-Daily Star
Gabon summit calls for protecting Lebanese sovereignty-Daily Star
UAE-funded mobile clinic to tour Southern villages-Daily Star
Army says Fatah al-Islam 'took up Israel's dirty work'-Daily Star
New LU master's program to focus on trauma of war-Daily Star
A year on, Hizbullah continues to meet needs of victims of conflict-Daily Star
Tyre mayor slams government's neglect of Southerners' needs-Daily Star
 

Serge Brammertz new report
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Friday, July 13, 2007
UNITED NATIONS: Lebanon's worsening political and security situation is likely to have a negative impact on the UN probe of the 2005 murder of Lebanese former Premier Rafik Hariri, according to a UN report released Thursday. The 20-page document, which reviews progress made by the enquiry commission led by Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz since its March report, expressed concern about the deteriorating environment in Lebanon over the past few months.
"Although the commission - in close cooperation with the Lebanese authorities - has put in place mitigating measures to protect its staff and premises, the deterioration in the political and security environment is likely to have a negative effect on the Commission's activities in the coming months," the report warned.
The report, which was made available to the 15 members of the UN Security Council, pointed to the ongoing fighting between the Lebanese Army and Islamic militants as well as to the assassination of March 14 MP Walid Eido and the attack on a convoy of UN peacekeepers that left six of them dead in South Lebanon last month.
The report also takes note of the coming into force of the international court to try suspects in the Hariri murder in line with a Security Council resolution adopted May 30."In light of the establishment of the special tribunal for Lebanon ... The Commission has taken several steps to facilitate the handover from the Commission to the special tribunal at a time when the latter shall begin functioning," the report said.The report also mentions the presence of new suspects.
It will be the first one presented to Security Council after the council approved the formation of the international court to try those behind Hariri's killing.
In his last report in March, Brammertz had requested his mandate be extended beyond its June expiration and he gave a thorough explanation of the possible political motives behind Hariri's assassination.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon extended the appointment of Brammertz as the head of the International Independent Investigation Commission through December 31 of this year. Hariri, who was a leading opponent of the Syrian domination of Lebanon, was killed along with 22 others in a massive bomb blast in Beirut on February 14, 2005.Syria was widely blamed for the Hariri killing but has denied all involvement. - AFP

U.N. Hariri investigators say they identify suspects
Thu Jul 12, 2007
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. investigators probing the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri have identified a number of people who may have been involved or known about it, their chief reported on Thursday. New information about a van used to blow up Hariri and 22 others in Beirut in February 2005, about mobile phones used to track him and about Hariri's political activities had helped to pinpoint suspects, Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz said.
The role of Hariri, who became a prominent critic of Syria, in support of a 2004 U.N. resolution demanding that Syrian and other foreign troops withdraw from Lebanon had emerged as a likely motive, he said in a report to the Security Council.
In the eighth report so far by the U.N. team, Brammertz said that since the last one in March, investigators had clarified their findings by condensing some 120,000 document pages into reports totaling 2,400 pages.
That effort "has helped identify a number of persons of particular interest who may have been involved in some aspect of the preparation and execution of the attack" on Hariri or had prior knowledge of it, he said.
Brammertz did not name any suspects in his report, which also expressed concern that deteriorating security in Lebanon could hamper the continuing U.N. inquiry, which will eventually hand over to a court approved by the Security Council in May.
The report said the Mitsubishi Canter van in which a suicide bomber is believed to have set off some 1,800 kg (4,000 lbs) of explosives was stolen in the Japanese city of Kanagawa in October 2004, then shipped to the United Arab Emirates.
From there it was sent in December to a showroom near the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli and sold. The U.N. team "has recently acquired information regarding the sale of the van to individuals who could be involved in the final preparation of the van for the attack," Brammertz said.
The investigation had also established that individuals who had used six cellular phone SIM cards to spy on Hariri before his killing had also "played a critical role in the planning and execution of the attack itself," the report said.
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Power. Price. Service. No Compromises."The (inquiry) Commission has established the origin of the SIM cards and is finalizing its understanding of the circumstances around the sale of the cards and a number of handsets to the individuals who made use of them."
POLITICAL KILLING
The U.N. team, which has already said Hariri's killing was political, said it was now focusing on his role as an advocate of Security Council resolution 1559, which urged foreign troop withdrawals from Lebanon and the disbanding of militias there.
"While some events surrounding the adoption of resolution 1559 need to be further investigated, the Commission's working hypothesis is that these events played an important role in shaping the environment in which the motives to assassinate Rafik Hariri emerged," it said.
The report had little new on the bomber, whose identity is not known. But it confirmed that Lebanon-based Palestinian Ahmed Abu Adass, who appeared in a video claiming responsibility for the killing, had not carried it out.
Brammertz said that what he called the bleak security outlook in Lebanon had had "several negative effects" on his team and could restrict its investigating ability, muzzle witnesses and hinder the recruitment of staff.
Brammertz, who is also investigating with less intensity 17 other political murders or attempted murders in Lebanon, said Syria's cooperation remained "generally satisfactory."
The Belgian has not repeated allegations by his German predecessor, Detlev Mehlis, that Hariri could not have been killed without the complicity of senior Syrian officials, and his relations with Damascus have been better.
Brammertz, whose current mandate expires at the end of this year, is considered a leading candidate to succeed Carla del Ponte of Switzerland as chief prosecutor for the Hague-based tribunal to try war crimes in former Yugoslavia.

Aoun: My Candidacy is Only Hope for Lebanon Because I am a Free Man
Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun sees his candidacy for the presidency as the only way out for a Lebanon deep in crisis.
"Maybe I am the key because I am independent, love Lebanon, and am a free man, with no foreign capital behind me ... I can be the bridge between all sides," he said.
"I can't guarantee anybody else. I know my country, our politicians ... I don't want a mistake," Aoun told Agence France Presse in an interview at his villa in Rabieh, northeast of Beirut. The Maronite Christian opposition leader said he was opposed to a "weak" consensus candidate coming forward in a bid to break the deadlock gripping Lebanon since the November resignation of six pro-Syrian cabinet ministers, warning that such a scenario could spark further instability and "destroy the country." All-party talks taking place near Paris this weekend were "an opportunity for all parties to expose their points of view," Aoun said.
"If we are not optimistic, why go to Paris? We have to give a chance to all initiatives," he said.
During 15 years of exile in France, after his aborted 1989-1990 "war of liberation" against Syrian troops, "I heard people say: 'Poor Christians, they don't have a leader.' But when they have a strong leader, they refuse him," he said.
"Everybody has to understand that Lebanon cannot be ruled by eliminating a large faction, a third of the population," he said, referring to Shiites.
The 72-year-old general is not concerned that Hizbullah, also in the opposition, has so far not declared support for his candidacy.
"Maybe they will declare it at the right moment. Right now there is no other candidate" for the post which is reserved for a Maronite.
Aoun brushed aside his critics. "People may be against me, but they can't support anybody else."
"If there is somebody to challenge me, he has to present the Lebanese people with solutions ... and resolve our problems peacefully. He has to develop trust between Lebanese factions," he said, promising a raft of democratic and institutional reforms.
Aoun said the formation of two governments, if parliament fails to hold a presidential election because of Lebanon's months-long political paralysis, would amount to "the less worse scenario, much better than leaving a void" at the top of Lebanon's institutions.
"But I would not take part in such a government," he said, with bitter memories of the past and his years in exile.
In 1988, then President Amin Gemayel left office without agreement on a successor and named Aoun as prime minister, leaving the country with two rival administrations at each other's throats.
The FPM leader played down fears of a renewed civil war in Lebanon. "We are afraid of terrorist acts and foreign interference, but we do not fear (an outbreak of) fighting among Lebanese," he said.
Parliament's challenge is to elect a successor to pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, whose term expires on November 25. The president is elected by a two-thirds majority in parliament. While the anti-Damascus majority controls enough seats to elect a president, it still needs the opposition led by Hizbullah to take part for the two-thirds quorum which parliament traditionally needs to convene.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 13 Jul 07, 09:57

Bush Accuses Iran, Syria, Hizbullah of Fomenting Violence in Iraq
U.S. President George Bush accused Iran, Syria and Lebanon's Hizbullah of fomenting violence in Iraq and warned against an ideological conflict between peace advocates and "those who want to impose their dark vision on people throughout the world."
Speaking at a White House press conference on Iraq on Thursday, Bush said Iran was supplying improvised explosive devices to militants in Iraq; Hizbullah was training militants to attack coalition forces in Iraq; and Syria was providing a route for suicide bombers heading for the country.
"We're at the beginning stages of a great ideological conflict between those who yearn for peace and those who want their children to grow up in a normal, decent society -- and radicals and extremists who want to impose their dark vision on people throughout the world," Bush said.
He said the fundamental question facing America now is: Will we stand with this young democracy? Will we help them achieve stability? Will we help them become an ally in this war against extremists and radicals that is not only evident in Iraq, but it's evident in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and Afghanistan?
Bush warned that the fight in Iraq is part of a broader struggle that is unfolding across the region.
"The same region in Iran -- the same regime in Iran that is pursuing nuclear weapons and threatening to wipe Israel off the map is also providing sophisticated IEDs to extremists in Iraq who are using them to kill American soldiers," Bush said. "The same Hizbullah terrorists who are waging war against the forces of democracy in Lebanon are training extremists to do the same against coalition forces in Iraq," Bush said. "The same Syrian regime that provides support and sanctuary for Islamic Jihad and Hamas has refused to close its airport in Damascus to suicide bombers headed to Iraq," he went on.
"All these extremist groups would be emboldened by a precipitous American withdrawal, which would confuse and frighten friends and allies in the region."
Bush cautioned that Nations throughout the Middle East have a "stake" in a stable Iraq.
"To protect our interests and show our commitment to our friends in the region, we are enhancing our military presence, improving our bilateral security ties and supporting those fighting the extremists across the Middle East," he assured.
Bush said the U.S. mission in Iraq can still succeed, after a report found Iraq had made mixed progress towards key U.S. targets. "The U.S. can succeed in Iraq and I know we must."But he conceded Iraq had "much more work to do" to meet political and economic goals, adding that U.S. troops would only be withdrawn when conditions were right. Bush also denied U.S. intelligence reports al-Qaida is as strong as it was before September 11, 2001.
"That's just simply not the case," Bush said, adding that al-Qaida "is weaker today than they would have been" if the U.S. had not taken offensive action. Beirut, 13 Jul 07, 06:36

Solana Warns of Qaida Spillover from Lebanon Camps to Gaza
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said al-Qaida could extend its presence from Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps into the Gaza Strip, in remarks published in a French daily on Friday. "The presence of al-Qaida in Lebanon could mean there is a risk of its presence also in Gaza," Solana told La Croix daily, adding that the terror network had already advanced southwards from Lebanese camps.
"Rockets have landed in Israel which were not fired by Hizbullah. This means that there are foreign forces in Lebanon which are not Palestinian and not Lebanese and which probably have links with the al-Qaida network," he said.
Last month, unknown assailants launched the rockets from south Lebanon into the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, causing no injuries and inflicting minor damage.Also last month, a car bombing attack killed six U.N. peacekeepers serving with the Spanish contingent in south Lebanon.
The rocket launch and the blast came as the Lebanese army is battling with al-Qaida inspired Fatah al-Islam group in north Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared since May 20.Solana also urged non-interference by the Syrian regime and Iran in Lebanon's internal affairs.
"Lebanon is an independent country which needs to solve its problems free from foreign influence," he said. "Lebanese politicians should make decisions… and not Syria or Iran."(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 13 Jul 07, 07:46

U.N. Probe Found Suspects in Hariri Murder
Chief U.N. investigator Serge Brammertz has identified a "number of persons" who may have been involved in the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and said investigators had "significantly narrowed down" possible motives for the killing.
According to a report released Thursday, Brammertz said the probe is also investigating new information about the buyers of the Mitsubishi van used in the 2005 Hariri bombing. The 20-page document, which reviews progress made by the enquiry commission led by Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz since its March report, said the commission was also able to confirm previous conclusions that Ahmed Abu Adass, a Palestinian who lived in Lebanon, "is not the suicide bomber" despite his appearance on a video tape claiming responsibility for the attack that killed Hariri and 22 others. The report, which was made available to the 15 members of the U.N. Security Council, warned that Lebanon's worsening political and security situation is likely to have a negative impact on the Hariri probe.
"Although the commission -- in close cooperation with the Lebanese authorities -- has put in place mitigating measures to protect its staff and premises, the deterioration in the political and security environment is likely to have a negative effect on the Commission's activities in the coming months," it warned.
The report pointed to the ongoing fighting between the Lebanese army and Islamist militants as well as to the assassination of Lebanese anti-Syrian lawmaker Walid Eido and the attack on a convoy of U.N. peacekeepers that left six of them dead in south Lebanon last month.
Brammertz said a consolidation of information on Hariri's assassination and 17 other murders or attempted murders has helped identify "important aspects and individuals of common interest across several areas of the investigation."
Investigators have also "significantly narrowed down" their probe into possible motives for the assassination to Hariri's political and personal relationships with political leaders and officials in Lebanon, Syria and other countries, he said. Brammertz said the investigators' working hypothesis is that events surrounding the U.N. Security Council's adoption of a resolution in September 2004 aimed at preventing Lebanon's pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud from having a second term "played an important role in shaping the environment in which the motives to assassinate Rafik Hariri emerged."
Lebanon's Parliament ignored the council and voted hours after the resolution was adopted to amend the constitution so Lahoud could keep his job.
The first U.N. chief investigator, Germany's Detlev Mehlis, said the killing's complexity suggested the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services played a role in Hariri's assassination. Four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals have been under arrest for 20 months, accused of involvement in Hariri's murder.
Brammertz has not echoed Mehlis' suggestion, and did not provide any clues to those who may have been involved. He said Syria and other states have continued to provide "mostly positive responses" to requests for assistance.
In his eighth report to the U.N. Security Council, Brammertz signaled for the first time that the U.N. International Independent Investigation Commission would be wrapping up its work and transferring its files and findings to the international tribunal, which the council unilaterally established on May 30 to prosecute suspects in the killings. He said the consolidated reports totaling more than 2,400 pages -- including a 2,000-page report covering all areas of the Hariri investigation -- were prepared to help ensure "a smooth handover at the appropriate time in the near future" to the new tribunal's prosecutor.
The Security Council is scheduled to discuss the report on July 19, U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.
"The consolidation effort ... has helped identify a number of persons of particular interest who may have been involved in some aspect of the preparation and execution of the attack on Rafik Hariri or the other cases under investigation or could have had prior knowledge that plans to carry out these attacks were underway," Brammertz said. "The commission will pursue this line of inquiry as a priority in the coming months," he said.
The U.N. investigation has confirmed that a single blast from a Mitsubishi Canter van packed with 1,800 kilograms of high explosives -- a mix of RDX, PETN and TNT -- was detonated at 12:55:05 p.m. on Feb. 14, 2005 "most likely" by a male suicide bomber, Brammertz said.
"Ongoing efforts to determine the precise origin of the explosives and to ascertain possible forensic links with other cases will be pursued as priorities in the next reporting period," he said. As for the van, it left a Mitsubishi factory in Japan in February 2002 and was reported stolen in the city of Kanagawa, Japan, in October 2004, Brammertz said. It was then shipped to the United Arab Emirates and transported to a showroom close to Tripoli in northern Lebanon in December 2004 where it was sold. "The commission has recently acquired information regarding the sale of the van to individuals who could be involved in the final preparation of the van for the attack on Rafik Hariri," he said. "This line of inquiry is being pursued as a priority."
In previous reports, Brammertz said the suspected suicide bomber did not spend his youth in Lebanon but spent his last two or three months in the country. To determine the man's origins, the commission collected 112 soil and water samples from 28 locations in Syria and Lebanon, and 26 samples from locations in other countries which were not identified.
Based on preliminary results, Brammertz said, the commission's experts believe the man was probably between 20 and 25 years old, with short dark hair, and lived in an urban environment for the first 10 years of his life and in a rural environment during the last 10 years of his life.
The commission has also been able "to establish a limited number of countries where the suicide bomber could come from," he said.
The commission is continuing to investigate two possible hypotheses -- that Ahmed Abu Adass "was forced or duped" into recording the video claim and then killed, or that he "willingly recorded the video together with individuals belonging to a wider extremist group" he said.
The group may have come together to film the claim of responsibility, acquire the Mitsubishi van and have it prepared with explosives, identify a suicide bomber, and assist in delivering him and the bomb to the scene of the crime, Brammertz said.
"In this regard, the commission has established that some of Ahmed Abu Adass' associates had links to networks involved in extremist activities in Lebanon and elsewhere in recent years," he said.
The report also took note of the coming into force of the international tribunal to try suspects in the Hariri murder in line with a Security Council resolution adopted May 30. "In light of the establishment of the special tribunal for Lebanon...The Commission has taken several steps to facilitate the handover from the Commission to the Special Tribunal at a time when the latter shall begin functioning," the report said.(AP-AFP-Naharnet)
Beirut, 12 Jul 07, 18:51

Canadian Coalition for Democracies
Subject: Harper's resumption of Canadian aid to Fatah repeats past mistakes
For Immediate Release
12 July 2007
Ottawa, Canada - According to published reports, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to announce a resumption of aid to Palestinians President Mahmoud Abbas when he meets with Jordon's King Abdullah this week.
"If the Prime Minister resumes funding to Abbas and his Fatah Party, it will be a repetition of past mistakes," said Alastair Gordon, President, Canadian Coalition for Democracies. "We hope that Prime Minister Harper recognizes the connection between Mahmoud Abbas and the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a designated terrorist group in Canada, the connection between Abbas' Fatah party and specific acts of terrorism, Fatah's rampant corruption that has diverted aid destined for the Palestinian people to Fatah leaders, Fatah's targeted killing of Arabs who cooperate with Israel, and Fatah's failure to end PA-sanctioned hate and incitement against Israel and Jews."
The Canadian Coalition for Democracies has called for a resumption of aid to the Palestinians when the following conditions have been met: (1) the Palestinians have removed all hate and incitement against Jews and Israel from their education system and controlled media, (2) the Fatah/PLO and Hamas charters have been changed to eliminate the call for the destruction of Israel and the de-legitimization of Israel and Jews, (3) militants have been disarmed, and (4) all acts of terrorism against Israel have ended for a period of at least two years, with the understanding that any resumption of terror will immediate end the flow of aid. Prime Minister Harper must not accept any declarations of convenience from Fatah or Hamas - only meaningful action will be believed.
"If a Canadian citizen were to send money, directly or indirectly, to the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, he or she could be charged and imprisoned under our anti-terror legislation," added Gordon. "Yet in 2003, Fatah asked the leaders of the al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigades to join the Fatah Council, recognizing it officially as part of the organization. Our government should not be forcing its citizens to fund an illegal terrorist entity or its sponsors."
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