LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 09/07
Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 12,35-37.
As Jesus was teaching in the temple area he said, "How do the scribes claim that
the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, inspired by the holy Spirit,
said: 'The Lord said to my lord, "Sit at my right hand until I place your
enemies under your feet."' David himself calls him 'lord'; so how is he his
son?" (The) great crowd heard this with delight.
Free Opinion
The Lebanese Army needs Canada's urgent help and support. By: Elias Bejjani/World
Forum - USA- June 9/07
'Purging' Lebanon and the Functions of
Presidential VacuumWalid Choucair-June
9/07
Report: PM willing to return Golan for peace with Syria-Jerusalem
Post- June 9/07
Palestinian infighting may be a bigger threat than US-Israeli meddling-Daily
Star. June 9/07
Latest News Reports
From Miscellaneous Sources for June 09/06/07
France: Meeting Planned With Lebanese-Stratfor
FRANCE - LEBANON-France24
Three family members wounded in clan clash in eastern Lebanon-International
Herald Tribune
Lebanon: bomb explodes near home of Christian TV staffer-Independent
Catholic News
Fatah al-Islam Linked to Bar Elias Terror Cell-Naharnet
One Killed in Blast at Zouk Mosbeh's Industrial District-Naharnet
Fatah al-Islam Threatens More Attacks as Army Pounds its Stronghold-Naharnet
Lebanese-American Drags Woman to Death-Naharnet
Lebanon to Stop Issuing Visas-On-Arrival to Arabs-Naharnet
Beirutis Turn to
Private Security Firms after Wave of Bombing-Naharnet
Geagea: No
Entente Cabinet Before New President-Naharnet
Israel sent secret peace offer to Syria: report-Khaleej Times
Netanyahu: Syria promised me Hermon-Jerusalem Post
We Can't Talk if Syria Won't-Washington
Post
America's Arabic TV Gamble-CBS News
Government refers terror crimes to Judicial Council-Daily
Star
France, Saudi Arabia, Iran mediate Lebanese logjam-Daily
Star - Lebanon
UAE demining team clears 28 Lebanese villages-Khaleej
Times
Muslim Militants Kill Soldier In Lebanon-Guardian
Unlimited
Security forces find three car bombs, three suspects in Bekaa-Daily
Sar
France, Saudi Arabia, Iran mediate Lebanese logjam-Daily
Sar
Clerics try to reason with Fatah al-Islam-Daily
Sar
Geagea: March 14 Forces will agree to set up unity government - with conditions-Daily
Sar
UNIFIL denies report of Israeli border incursion-Daily
Sar
Government refers terror crimes to Judicial Council-Daily
Sar
UNIFIL dogs are man's best friends unless he's an enemy-Daily
Star
Nahr al-Bared fighting strands Tripoli fishermen in port-Daily
Sar
Officials hope new IDs for cars will guard Chouf against bombs-Daily
Sar
Youth group organizes ceremony to mark World Environment Day-Daily
Sar
Hamra's unorthodox Student Lounge offers youth an inexpensive hangout-Daily
Sar
One
Killed in Blast at Zouk Mosbeh's Industrial District
A man was killed and three people wounded in an explosion that ripped through
the industrial district of Zouk Mosbeh, north of Beirut Thursday night.
The 9:20 pm explosion was the fifth to target Beirut and its environs since
gunbattles erupted between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam fighters at the
northern Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared on May 20. Ambulances and
fire engines raced to the scene about 20 kilometers north of Beirut. TV footage
showed mangled car wrecks in one of the worst bomb attacks in the capital in the
past two months. The explosion set off a large fire in an oxygen and gas
containers warehouse as black smoke billowed from the area. The owner of the
warehouse Boutros Toufik Al-Duhna was killed, and two workers and a civil
defense volunteer were injured in the explosion, An Nahar newspaper said Friday.
Firefighters battled for two hours to prevent the blaze from reaching nearby
factories and mechanic workshops, the daily said. The targeted area consisted of
about 300 shops that sell paint and other flammable materials to industrial
customers.
LBCI TV station said the blast was caused by a car bomb. Beirut, 07 Jun 07,
21:44
One Killed in Blast at Zouk
Mosbeh's Industrial District
A man was killed and three people wounded in an explosion that ripped through
the industrial district of Zouk Mosbeh, north of Beirut Thursday night.
The 9:20 pm explosion was the fifth to target Beirut and its environs since
gunbattles erupted between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam fighters at the
northern Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared on May 20. Ambulances and
fire engines raced to the scene about 20 kilometers north of Beirut. TV footage
showed mangled car wrecks in one of the worst bomb attacks in the capital in the
past two months. The explosion set off a large fire in an oxygen and gas
containers warehouse as black smoke billowed from the area. The owner of the
warehouse Boutros Toufik Al-Duhna was killed, and two workers and a civil
defense volunteer were injured in the explosion, An Nahar newspaper said Friday.
Firefighters battled for two hours to prevent the blaze from reaching nearby
factories and mechanic workshops, the daily said. The targeted area consisted of
about 300 shops that sell paint and other flammable materials to industrial
customers.
LBCI TV station said the blast was caused by a car bomb. Beirut, 07 Jun 07,
21:44
Lebanon to Stop Issuing
Visas-On-Arrival to Arabs
Lebanon on Friday was reportedly considering stopping issuing entry visas to
Arab citizens at the airport in a bid to prevent any terrorist infiltrations
into the country.
The daily An Nahar said contacts in this regard were already underway between
the Foreign Ministry and the General Directorate of the General Security
Department.
It said Arabs interested in visiting Lebanon would be asked to apply for visas
at the Lebanese mission accredited in their countries. The move comes after
several citizens from various Arab nations suspected of having links with the
terrorist groups Fatah al-Islam and al-Qaida have been detained in recent weeks.
Beirut, 08 Jun 07, 12:01
Fatah al-Islam Linked to Bar Elias Terror Cell
Official reports indicated a connection between Fatah al-Islam and members of a
terror cell arrested during raids on hideouts in east Lebanon's Bekaa valley,
the daily An Nahar said Friday. On Friday, Lebanese border police at Masnaa
border crossing in eastern Lebanon detained 12 men as they tried to enter the
country with forged foreign passports, state-run National News Agency said. A
statement by the General Directorate for State Security said three detainees,
arrested near the Bekaa town of Bar Elias about 10 kilometers from the main
border crossing to Syria on Wednesday, testified that they belonged to the
terrorist group al-Qaida.
Police late Thursday arrested a Syrian-Lebanese man after raiding his apartment
in the village of Ghazzeh in Western Bekaa, An Nahar said.
Security officials said troops confiscated detonators and timers from the
apartment of Syrian-born Abdullah Barakat, a naturalized Lebanese citizen.
Citing ministerial sources, An Nahar said Ahmed Merhi, a Lebanese recently
detained in Ashrafiyeh, had confessed that he was a "servant" and that he had
been receiving instructions from Syrian officers. The sources said Merhi had
also admitted to "organizing Fatah al-Islam activities" in Lebanon and that he
had recruited young men from Syria and Iraq to join the terrorist group. Merhi
said the recruits were smuggled overland from Iraq to Lebanon via Syria.
Fatah al-Islam has been fighting the Lebanese army since May 20 at the
Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared near the northern city of Tripoli.
On Thursday Lebanese troops discovered two cars and a van rigged with explosives
during a raid on a hideout in Bar Elias. The statement by the General
Directorate for State Security said the detainees also testified to rigging the
vehicles -- two Mercedes Benz and a Volswagen -- with explosives.
Security sources said the suspects and weapons have been smuggled in from Syria
to support Fatah al-Islam militants in their attacks aimed at destabilizing
Lebanon.
An Nahar said the detainees from Wednesday's raids were a Saudi, not an Iraqi as
earlier reported, and two Syrians. It said the Saudi, identified as Fahd Bin
Abdul Aziz al-Meghamis, belonged to Abu Hamza al Muhajer, the militant named as
al-Qaida's new leader. An Nahar identified the Syrians as Ahmed Mohammed Osseili
and Mohammed Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahim.(AP photo shows a Lebanese soldier and
civilian-clothed security men inspecting a car rigged with explosives during the
raid on hideouts in Bar Elias.) Beirut, 08 Jun 07, 07:24
Lebanese-American Drags Woman
to Death
A Lebanese-American accused of killing a Florida woman by dragging her for miles
under a minivan was arraigned on murder charges Thursday after being arrested in
New York while on board a flight to Greece. Abdelaziz Hamze, 24, a naturalized
U.S. citizen from Lebanon, was being held without bond on a first-degree murder
charge for Sandra Hall's death, Broward County sheriff's spokeswoman Veda
Coleman-Wright said. Hamze declared his innocence at an extradition hearing this
week in New York. But Florida officials say he drove a minivan that struck Hall,
44, of Fort Lauderdale, and dragged her to her death Sunday. Hamze "was in fear
he was going to get killed" and said someone had threatened him, said his
lawyer, Jeffrey Voluck, explaining why the man fled the scene of the accident.
"There is no question in my mind he was in fear for his life. These people were
acting like animals and he fled for his life," Voluck said. "He's a Muslim in
America facing the most serious charge there is. Now he's hoping he can get a
fair trial." Hall had been in a Cadillac that was struck by the minivan,
officials said. She later stood in front of the minivan when both vehicles
stopped in traffic in order to stop the man from fleeing after the collision,
officials said. But Hamze hit her and drove off, trapping her underneath the
moving vehicle, the officials added. She was dragged for several miles and then
fell from the undercarriage, authorities said. She was pronounced dead at the
scene. Hamze then fled Florida and boarded a plane at New York's Kennedy
International Airport bound for Athens, Greece, on Monday, officials said. U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Hamze acting on a
tip.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 08 Jun 07, 11:03
Three Family Members Wounded
in Baalbek Clan Clash
Three members of a family were wounded Thursday during a clash between two rival
Shiite clans in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, security officials said.
Gunmen of the Jaafar clan exchanged rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun
fire with gunmen of the rival Wehbeh clan in a residential neighborhood of
Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley, the officials said. A grenade crashed into the
house of Ahmed Youssef Wehbeh, wounding him, his wife and his daughter-in-law,
An Nahar newspaper said Friday. The three were taken to hospital for treatment.
Wehbeh was in critical condition, the daily said. The clash lasted 15 minutes
before Lebanese troops intervened to restore order to the city. Police were
investigating the incident and searching for the gunmen. Baalbek, a stronghold
of Hizbullah, is notorious for clashes between rival clans over political
influence, land and financial disputes.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 08 Jun 07, 09:12
Beirutis Turn to Private
Security Firms after Wave of Bombings
Beirutis are turning to private security contractors using sniffer dogs,
surveillance cameras and explosives detectors amid ongoing bombings in the
Lebanese capital and its environs.One woman has been killed and dozens of people
wounded in five major blasts targeting residential and commercial areas.
Amid a heavy deployment of government forces across the capital, an army of
private security elements has also appeared on the streets, preventing drivers
from parking outside the homes, businesses or embassies of their clients.
"Demand is so great that the number of security firms has multiplied ten fold.
When I founded my company in 1999, there were seven. Today there are about 50,"
retired army general Pierre Hadjigeorgiou, owner of Professional Security-PROSEC,
told Agence France Presse. He said about 15,000 people, many of them former
soldiers, now work in the private security sector.
"My deputy is a retired army officer. In this business, it is better to have
people with a military background because they are more disciplined than people
from the private sector," he said. "We provide backing to the government forces,
even if we do not carry weapons in a visible manner. We exchange information and
the alert system of our surveillance units is linked to the nearest police
station," he said. Politicians do not resort to private companies, however.
They feel safer under the protection of die-hard bodyguards hand-picked from
their own communities, in addition to state-appointed military servicemen, said
one of the "guardian angels" to Druze leader Walid Jumblat.The fear of potential
attacks is so great that many clients of security companies are reluctant to
talk to journalists.
Sitting in his operations room as he used a GPS system to monitor a convoy
transporting cash, Hadjigeorgiou said "protection is mostly based on prevention.
"Visible security measures can scare off terrorists who may abandon their
objectives in case of difficulties," he said.Most security firms would also not
reveal what they charge. "It all depends on the client," many of them told AFP
when asked about prices. A proper security system is costly because the
equipment itself, most of it imported, is expensive. An armored four-wheel-drive
vehicle costing 250,000 dollars to buy can be rented for 1,500 dollars a day.
The owners of bars and restaurants in the capital's nightlife hub of Gemmayzeh
have clubbed together to buy the security services of a private firm.
"It costs us 23,000 dollars per month. With that sum, we now have surveillance
cameras, night patrols and explosives detectors for parking areas," said one,
Makram Zeeni. "Night patrols backed by sniffer dogs may not be the best thing to
have in a place of leisure, but clients do not object to measures which they
feel protect them," he said. But many Beirut residents still feel uneasy even
with such high profile security measures, and prefer to stay at home in the
capital which resembles a ghost town at night after restaurants and malls
close.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 08 Jun 07, 07:48
Geagea: No Entente Cabinet
Before New President
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Thursday a call by the opposition for
the formation of a national entente government should be preceded by
presidential elections and an agreement on controversial political issues
Addressing a news conference, Geagea said the March 14 majority alliance, of
which his Lebanese Forces is part, is ready for dialogue with the opposition
aimed at reaching a "basic agreement" on vital issues concerning the Lebanese
people, especially security threats and the question of border security with
Syria. He warned, however, that short of a political agreement on controversial
issues and the election of a new president, a national entente cabinet would
lead to "total paralysis" of constitutional institutions. He recalled that
Parliament, which was democratically elected in the summer of 2005 and
represents most Lebanese factions, is a "national entente Lebanese institution
that has been paralyzed" by Speaker Nabih Berri. Berri, who also heads the Amal
movement, is a ranking figure in the Hizbullah-led opposition. The speaker has
been refusing to convene parliament for more than six months, mainly because the
March 14 alliance controls majority of its 128 seats. According to Geagea, had a
national entente government been ruling with opposition participation it would
have blocked any decision to uproot the Fatah al-Islam terrorist group that has
been fighting the Lebanese army in the northern refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared
since May 20.
"We are ready for dialogue, but we are not prepared to give up our demands of
respecting Lebanon's sovereignty and independence, as well as the security of
its people," Geagea said. He noted that security forces in the Bekaa valley have
arrested a number of non Lebanese citizens suspected of terrorist activities and
confiscated booby-trapped cars, weapons, explosives and a truck loaded with
rockets and ammunition. Security sources said the suspects and weapons have been
smuggled in from Syria to support Fatah al-Islam terrorists in their attacks
aimed at destabilizing Lebanon. Geagea stressed that the Lebanese Forces
parliamentary bloc would be against any attempt to parole Fatah al-Islam
militants. Premier Fouad Saniora's government has decided to uproot the
terrorists, but set no deadline for completion of the mission. The Hizbullah-led
opposition has been trying in vain since Dec. 1 to topple the Saniora government
in favor of forming a new cabinet in which it controls veto powers. Beirut, 07
Jun 07, 18:20
'Purging' Lebanon and the Functions of Presidential Vacuum
Walid Choucair Al-Hayat - 08/06/07//
US President George Bush's decision to partly lift the ban on US aviation to
Lebanon for trade cargo purposes signals a serious radical change in the US
administration's policy toward Lebanon. Also, Russia's decision to send arms and
ammunition to the Lebanese army, some as grants and some at incentive prices,
indicates an international decision, of which Russia is part, that the
developments in Lebanon require that the Lebanese security services, which had
been tame for a long time, have teeth and nails.
The rapid Arab response to the demands of the Lebanese political authority to
provide the army with arms and ammunition in the confrontation against Fatah
al-Islam in the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp signals a decision by the Arabs to
shoulder their responsibility toward the tiny country after decades of
abandoning it in a way that provided for the emergence of militant groups and
the spread of arms there.
When European Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema told Syrian officials that Europe
would consider Lebanon under its mandate if the efforts continued to undermine
its stability, he was indicating a serious international decision abiding by UN
Security Council resolution No. 1701 regarding the South plus the readiness to
set up a political and security European umbrella on Lebanon. France's quick
response to the Lebanese army's request of arms also reflects this orientation
and not only France's special relation with Lebanon.
We have to admit that Lebanon has witnessed some dramatic developments since May
20 - the day when the confrontation between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam
organization broke out. Every one expected that this geographical area between
Israel, Syria and the Mediterranean would only draw this lot of UN Security
Council resolutions - more than 7 resolutions till now - which would not have
any effect except placing some moral pressure on Syria or some political and
economic pressure which neither deter Syria nor its allies in Lebanon as long as
they enjoyed Iran's sponsorship.
The international position on Lebanon has progressed gradually since resolution
No. 1559 in September, 2004, until the present time. Today, we see the scene
moving slowly showing that what the opponents of the current Lebanese authority,
i.e. Damascus' supporters, warned of two years ago has started to be achieved
but not through the efforts of Syria or its allies nor the efforts of the
Lebanese authority and the ruling majority. Under the pretext of resisting - and
opposing - setting up a tribunal of international makeup to try those involved
in the assassination of late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, because it would be
used to step up the pressure on Syria, the security and political pressures put
on Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government have led to deepening the support
given to this court by active Arab states and the international community. These
pressures have also led to developing and stretching an international umbrella
over Lebanon. The only exception that took place was that Hezbollah managed to
beat Israel for the first time last summer, which attracted Syria and
international forces to south Lebanon.
The international position's developing the way we see currently signals an
insistence on purging Lebanon again of militant groups that emerge at the
expense of the state with an aim to keep violating the country and make it a
trumpet card for regional powers in swaps and bargains here and there with the
regional and major states. As to the weapons of Hezbollah, they are left until
resolved by an internal settlement that the international community is not so
haste to seal. Yet, the same international community is urging the Lebanese to
discuss it and take decisions on it gradually.
The decision to clear Lebanon of other militant groups has become more serious
than it used to be. It seems that the recent growth of those groups over the
past couple of years aims, besides destabilizing the country in reaction to the
adoption of the international court, to delay the discussion of Hezbollah's
weapons as much as possible. Getting rid of these groups may push local and
foreign powers to put this issue for discussion on the table. Although this
process may take time and may not be completed before the presidential elections
scheduled for the spring - or rather it may take years, what is important for
Syria and its allies in Lebanon is that the next president commits to keeping
Hezbollah's weapons in place for good. In other words, it is important for the
opposition that the next president agrees to put off such discussions for six
years. If this is impossible, there will be no harm creating a presidential
vacuum and blocking the presidential elections until the parliamentary elections
due in 2009 and thus delaying the discussion for at least two years.
This is one function of the presidential vacuum, besides the function of
responding to the decision to purge Lebanon and adopt the court. But the
persistent question is: did those who seek such vacuum study the potential
international responses to it? Or will they be content to continue accusing
Siniora of seeking to internationalize the issue when the international
intervention makes new advancement