LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 18/2007
Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 24,46-53. And he said to
them, "Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead
on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be
preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are
witnesses of these things. And (behold) I am sending the promise of my Father
upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on
high."Then he led them (out) as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed
them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They
did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were
continually in the temple praising God.
Free Opinions
Interview With PM Fouad Siniora.Dar Al-Hayat May 18/07
Latest News Reports
From Miscellaneous Sources for May 18/05/07
Lebanese Coast Guard Arrests Syrian
Smugglers.Naharnet
Ban pushes for Hariri tribunal despite
Lebanese objections.
Washington Times
Welch: U.S. Won't Trade Over Lebanon-Naharnet
U.S. to Work Closely
with Sarkozy on Lebanon, Iraq-Naharnet
Welch urges Lebanese MPs to select independent
president-Daily
Star
Berri: No United
Government, No Tribunal-Naharnet
Swiss Diplomat hopeful
of Renewed Dialogue-Naharnet
Israel Releases
Kidnapped Lebanese-Naharnet
US confirms work under way on draft resolution
to establish Hariri tribunal-Daily
Star
Russian official says Hariri court needs time-Daily
Star
Government touts payment of war compensation-Daily
Star
Swiss envoy hopeful of positive dialogue-Daily
Star
Siniora insists Lebanon 'cannot bear' failure
to create international tribunal-Daily
Star
Court Rejects Moving
Trial of Failed Germany Bombing Suspects to North Lebanon-Naharnet
U.S. Senate Rejects
Iraq Withdrawal Agenda-Naharnet
US moves to reassure Lebanon over Syria.Guardian
Unlimited
Opposition warns against UN-imposed Hariri court.Gulf
Times
US stepping up sanctions on Syria to force a regime change.Ya
Libnan
Embrace democracy, Syria’s top dissident urges Assad.Peninsula
On-line
US Lawmakers Seek to Intensify Economic Pressure on Iran, Syria.Voice
of America
Hezbollah warns UN against discord.PRESS
TV
Hezbollah Speech Not Properly Screened.Washington
Post
Hezbollah Takes Root in South America.Lebanese
Lobby
Welch leaves Beirut confirming US support for Siniora and
...AsiaNews.it
IDF releases Lebanese man one day after he was detained in north.Ha'aretz
Death by a Thousand Cuts.National Review
Online Blogs
Ban pushes for Hariri tribunal
despite Lebanese objections
By Betsy Pisik
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
May 17, 2007
NEW YORK -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he wants an international
tribunal to try those suspected of assassinating former Lebanese Prime Minister
Rafik Hariri and others -- with or without approval from Lebanon's divided
government.
"I am of the conviction that the special tribunal must be established to put an
end to impunity for political assassinations," Mr. Ban said Tuesday night at a
black-tie dinner hosted by the Korea Society. "Continued uncertainty about the
tribunal could negatively affect Lebanon's stability." Hours earlier, Lebanese
President Emil Lahoud asked the United Nations not to impose the tribunal,
saying it could be used "to support some Lebanese against others."
Mr. Lahoud, who is close to the Syrian government, also said U.N. action would
undermine Lebanon's government. Syria, which U.N. investigators have accused of
instigating the assassination, also opposes a U.N.-backed tribunal. The United
States, France and Britain -- key members of the Security Council -- are
drafting a resolution that would create the tribunal. An initial draft could be
circulated within a day or two, diplomats said yesterday. "I only hope that the
people and government and countries in the region will behave responsibly," Mr.
Ban said earlier Tuesday after lengthy discussions with Security Council
members.
Underscoring divisions between pro- and anti-Syrian factions within Lebanon's
government, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora urged the council to proceed with
establishing the tribunal.
He said the political impasse would make it impossible for the Lebanese
government to take the necessary steps. Mr. Hariri and 22 others were killed by
a massive car bomb in February 2004 in downtown Beirut, an attack so shocking
that it galvanized the Lebanese people and the international community to demand
Syria's withdrawal of about 24,000 soldiers after three decades of occupation.
The Syrian government, implicated in the slayings of Mr. Hariri and dozens of
other Lebanese, has flatly refused to cooperate with an international court,
saying the nation would try its own citizens under its own laws Lebanese
political parties that are sympathetic to Syria also oppose a U.N. tribunal.
Regional governments and some U.N. analysts fear the imposition of the court by
the Security Council could touch off a new civil war in the tense and seething
Lebanon, whose communal divisions have sharpened since the war between Israel
and pro-Syria Hezbollah last summer. U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, who holds
the rotating Security Council presidency this month, told reporters that the
council must act on the wishes of the majority in Lebanon's parliament.
The bloc consists of Sunni Muslims and some Christians, who want to see a
conclusion to the killing of Mr. Hariri and a half-dozen other hits on
high-profile Lebanese citizens. "It is important from our point of view to
assist the Lebanese in the establishment of that tribunal," Mr. Khalilzad said.
"It's also very important in terms of the future longer-term stability of
Lebanon that such actions be deterred through the judicial process that the
tribunal involves," he said. The Security Council, at the request of Mr. Siniora,
conducted an investigation to determine who was responsible for the Hariri
assassination and the subsequent killings of anti-Syrian politicians and
writers. Initial findings pointed squarely at senior members of Syria's military
and intelligence services.
Welch: U.S. Won't Trade Over
Lebanon
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch pledged
Wednesday that the Bush administration will not use Lebanon as a bargaining chip
-- an effort to dispel fears that Washington's recent talks with Syria and Iran
could weaken American resolve in the country.
Welch also said he expects the U.N. Security Council will establish an
international tribunal in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik
Hariri.
He dismissed fears that creating the court, which is at the core of Lebanon's
political crisis, without parliamentary approval could lead to violence despite
Hizbullah's rejection of such a course. Welch stressed the United States will
not abandon Lebanon.
"The future of Lebanon is not something that is negotiable against other
interests the United States may have in the area. This won't happen," he told
The Associated Press in an interview at the heavily fortified U.S. Embassy
compound in Awkar, north of Beirut. "President Bush has pledged to support the
country of Lebanon. We will do so," he added. There have been concerns that
recent American contacts with Syria and Iran over Iraq could result in a
softening of U.S. support for the Lebanese government, which is facing an
incessant campaign by the Hizbullah-led opposition to topple it.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid
Muallem met in Sharm el-Sheikh during a conference on Iraq last month, breaking
a high-level boycott for over two years. U.S. and Iran have said they will hold
upcoming talks in Baghdad about Iraq's security.
The recent diplomatic shifts have led to fears in Beirut that the Bush
administration could trade with the Syrians and the Iranians over Lebanon in
return for support to its policies in Iraq, where American forces are coming
under attack from insurgents. Washington accuses both Damascus and Tehran of
supporting those militants. Syria and Iran deny the accusations. Welch played
down the recent talks with Syria and Iran, saying they were "very limited." But
his strong message of support for the government of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora
during his two-day visit drew even more suspicion from critics.
"Welch has given the ruling team an overdose of reassurance, as if he wants to
dispel 'suspicion' of or 'accusation' against his administration," wrote Talal
Salman, publisher of the As Safir daily which tilts toward the opposition.
"Exaggeration here could lead to more concern among those he had come to
assure."
Welch's visit to Lebanon comes amid a political impasse over the tribunal. The
U.N. Security Council has authorized creation of the court but its approval has
been stuck in parliament, where Speaker Nabih Berri refused to convene a
session. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday said it has become
necessary for the Security Council to act after receiving a letter from Saniora
asking the council to impose the tribunal.
"That's a very powerful recommendation," Welch said of Ban's statement. "I
expect the council will act ... in due course, this will pass," he said of the
tribunal.
Welch also was critical of Hizbullah for keeping its arms. "We do not understand
what is the purpose of the Hizbullah party having weapons," he said.
"What is the intent to use these weapons for? The conclusion that many have is
that they want to be able to intimidate their way into politics. That's the
wrong basis for a political dialogue in result." Welch said disarming Hizbullah
was a matter for the Lebanese to solve. "They're (government forces) the ones
who can protect the sovereignty and security of Lebanon, not any individual
militia," he said.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 16 May 07, 14:01
Swiss Diplomat Hopeful of Renewed Dialogue
Swiss Envoy Didier Pfirter has expressed hope that the rival Lebanese leaders
would renew dialogue in a bid to end the ongoing political stalemate.
"I hope that an appropriate atmosphere to improve dialogue between rival
Lebanese leaders could be guaranteed in the future," Pfirter said after meeting
former President Amin Gemayel on Wednesday. Representing Swiss Confederation
President Micheline Calmy-Rey, Pfirter also met with Maronite Patriarch
Nasrallah Sfeir, Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun as well as with
MP Saad Hariri. Gemayel praised Switzerland's "historic" role in helping Lebanon
and hosting Lebanese politicians while promoting interaction between them.
Beirut, 17 May 07, 11:02
Israel Releases Kidnapped Lebanese
Israel released on Thursday a Lebanese man it kidnapped the day earlier on the
outskirts of the village of Shabaa, the National News Agency reported.
It said Hisham Mustafa Dalleh, 35, was handed over to U.N. peacekeepers in the
southern coastal town of Naqoura. The Lebanese army later took custody of the
man, it said. NNA said an Israeli commando unit seized Dalleh at noon Wednesday
as he worked in a field around Shabaa near the Israeli radar base. Beirut, 17
May 07, 10:29
Hizbullah Speech on Official U.S. TV Not Well Screened
Overseers argue that a speech by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah aired
on the U.S. government's Arabic-language satellite TV network was not properly
screened for anti-Israel content before broadcast because no supervisor spoke
Arabic.
"Mistakes were made," Joaquin Blaya, of the Broadcasting Board of Governors,
told the House Middle East subcommittee Wednesday, referring to the broadcast
last December and others by the network, Al-Hurra, that he said "lacked
journalistic or academic merit." The subcommittee chairman, Rep. Gary L.
Ackerman, a Democrat, said in several instances Nasrallah used the U.S.
government's satellite television network as a platform for inciting a crowd to
violence against Israel.
Hizbullah, which is considered a terror group by the State Department but a
legitimate political movement by many Arab governments, fought a war with Israel
in Lebanon last summer. In another Al-Hurra broadcast, Ackerman said, Hamas
leader Ismail Haniya lent support to the Iranian assertion that the World War II
Holocaust against European Jews was a myth.
"Why are American taxpayer dollars used to spread the hate, lies, and propaganda
of these nuts, when our goal was to counter them?" Ackerman asked.
Focusing especially on the Nasrallah speech, Ackerman said the Hizbullah leader
spoke for more than 30 minutes live on the U.S. network inciting violence
against Israel. "Doesn't anybody watch the broadcasts?" he asked. "I can only
conclude, based on the trend of the last few months, that Al-Hurra's news
executives have decided that pandering is the way to greater audience share,"
Ackerman said.
Blaya, fellow board members D. Jeffrey Hirschberg and Brian Conniff, head of Al-Hurra's
Mideast broadcasting department, called the incidents intolerable and due
largely to an absence of Arabic speakers in supervisory positions. "With these
program errors standing as painful indicators of the need for additional
controls, we are moving forward to shore up our management structure," Blaya
said. A new vice president for news, Larry Register, has been appointed, and
editors are now accountable for monitoring news items before and wile they are
delivered.
Hirschberg said he knew of no recurrences of a few anti-Semitic incidents. "The
Broadcasting Board of Governors promotes freedom and democracy," he
said.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 17 May 07, 09:31
Court Rejects Moving Trial of Failed Germany Bombing
Suspects to North Lebanon
An appeals court has rejected a request to move the trial of four men charged
with the unsuccessful Germany train bombing closer to the suspects' homes in
northern Lebanon. The appeals court rejected the request presented last month by
suspect Jihad Hamad's lawyer, and instead the court upheld a Beirut criminal
court's decision to keep the trial, set to reconvene Tuesday, in Beirut, court
officials said.
At a hearing last month, the defense demanded that the trial be moved to the
northern port city of Tripoli, arguing that the suspects' families couldn't
afford travel expenses to Beirut, a two-hour drive away. The request was
rejected by the presiding Judge Michel Abou Arraj and the defense decided to
appeal the ruling. Abou Arraj gave no reason for his decision to reject the
defense's request.
However, court officials have said security concerns, including the possibility
of an attack to free the suspects, prompted authorities to hold the four in the
country's main maximum security prison and to have the court sit in the Lebanese
capital. Along with Hamad, the three other suspects on trial and held in police
custody are Ayman Hawa, Khalil al-Boubou and Khaled Khair-Eddin el-Hajdib.
Two other Lebanese suspects in the case are not in the country. Youssef el-Hajdib
is under arrest in Germany, and his brother, Saddam, remains at large. Both are
cousins of Khaled el-Hajdib. Lebanese authorities arrested the suspects on
charges for allegedly planting crude bombs on two trains at the Cologne station
on July 31. The bombs, found later in the day on trains at the Koblenz and
Dortmund stations, failed to explode because of faulty detonators. German
surveillance cameras are said to have filmed suspects as they wheeled suitcases
into the station. Germany wants to extradite the men, but there is no
extradition treaty between Germany and Lebanon. Lebanon has decided to try the
suspects in its courts and defer consideration of extradition until
later.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 17 May 07, 09:05
U.S. to Work Closely with Sarkozy on Lebanon, Iraq
The United States was reportedly planning closer ties and deeper cooperation
with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Lebanon, Iraq and other countries.
"Now is the time for us to join forces ever more closely," U.S. Deputy Secretary
of State John Negroponte said on Wednesday, listing Lebanon, Afghanistan, and
Haiti as areas of already fruitful cooperation. "We intend to work closely with
France's new leadership in a spirit of candor, respect and cooperation,"
Negroponte said, adding that the two countries also intended to work together to
bring stability to Iraq.
The U.S.'s No. 2 official was in Paris for a ministerial meeting of the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
He noted that his visit came at a "pivotal time" for France, just as Sarkozy was
taking power from Jacques Chirac, leaving office after 12 years as president.
Relations between Washington and Paris reached deep lows under the leadership of
Chirac, who spearheaded global opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Sarkozy has made no effort to hide his admiration for the United States and has
looked to the U.S. model in his stated bid to rejuvenate the lagging French
economy. On winning election May 6, he promised "our American friends" that
France "will always be by their side when they need." However, he added that
"friendship means accepting that friends can have different opinions." The first
test of a renewed friendship could be over Afghanistan.
Sarkozy hinted at a withdrawal of French troops during his electoral campaign,
saying he did not consider their presence in Afghanistan "decisive."
Taliban militia who held two French aid workers captive until earlier this month
demanded that Sarkozy pull French troops out.
France pulled 200 elite forces out in December. About 1,000 regular troops
remain as part of the NATO mission. Negroponte underscored the importance of the
French role in the volatile country, but denied his remarks were a message to
Sarkozy, "because my understanding is that we have solidarity between us on the
question of Afghanistan." Asked whether Chirac was right about the Iraqi
invasion being a mistake, Negroponte laughed and replied in diplomatic terms.
"Whatever differences might have existed in the past on the question of Iraq, we
must work together going forward," he said.
"We look forward ... to working with the government of France to find ways of
being supportive of Iraq in the future," said Negroponte, who served as
ambassador to Iraq.(AP-Naharnet) (AFP photo shows John Negroponte) Beirut, 17
May 07, 07:08
Berri: No United Government, No Tribunal
Lebanon's Syrian-backed opposition on Wednesday warned against plans for a U.N.
resolution to set up an international court over the 2005 killing of former
Premier Rafik Hariri.Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a member of the Hizbullah-led
opposition, accused the anti-Syrian majority in parliament of sabotaging efforts
to reach an accord in Beirut to establish the court without foreign
interference.
He said in a meeting with U.S. Middle East envoy David Welch he had been working
for months to clinch a national consensus on the tribunal.
"The problem is not the tribunal but the creation of a government of national
unity," a key demand of the opposition whose six ministers quit the
Western-backed cabinet last November, said Berri. With the political crisis now
six months old, the United States said on Tuesday it expects to circulate a
draft resolution in the UN Security Council this week to create the court. "We
expect to introduce a resolution before the end of this week," U.S. ambassador
to the U.N. Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters in New York, adding it was in
response to a request from Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government.
The opposition in Beirut, however, and President Emile Lahoud, who is also
backed by Damascus, contends the cabinet lost its legitimacy with the departure
of the pro-Syrian ministers. On Monday, Saniora sent a letter to U.N. chief Ban
Ki-moon asking him "as a matter of urgency to put before the Security Council
our request that the special tribunal be put into effect" to try suspects in the
Hariri murder.
Ban has endorsed plans by the United States, Britain and France to introduce the
draft under Chapter Seven of the U.N. Charter that would effectively impose the
creation of the tribunal. "I think it is necessary for the Security Council to
take the necessary action," the U.N. chief told reporters. "I am of the view
that there should be no impunity for the perpetrators of political
assassinations." Hariri and 22 other people were killed in a massive bomb blast
in February 2005, widely blamed on Syria, which was then forced to end nearly 30
years of military and political domination of Lebanon.
Saniora pressed for a binding Security Council resolution because the opposition
has been blocking parliamentary ratification of the tribunal plan.
Khalilzad, who chairs the 15-member Security Council this month, told reporters
that it was "important to assist the Lebanese" in setting up the tribunal. "We
cannot let the Lebanese down," he said. The key question remains whether China
or Russia, both allies of Syria, would support such a draft.
Asked whether imposing the tribunal on a divided Lebanon might not spark civil
war, Khalilzad replied: "We understand that there are some risks but the risks
of not taking action are greater." In a letter addressed to Ban, Lahoud warned
on Tuesday that "ratifying the international court by the U.N. Security Council
would imply a full bypass of the constitutional mechanism in Lebanon." He
charged that the international community was meddling in Lebanon's domestic
affairs and taking sides in the political crisis. "The United Nations will be
held responsible for any Security Council resolution that pushes Lebanon into
discord, and we warn against such a decision," warned Hizbullah. Damascus denies
any links with the February 14, 2005 assassination. It has made clear it will
not allow any Syrian to be tried by a court it regards as an affront to its
sovereignty.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 16 May 07, 17:37
Welch Urges Presidential Elections On Time
U. S. envoy David Welch on Wednesday urged Lebanon to hold presidential
elections on time without foreign interference.
"The next step for the future of Lebanon should be to elect a good, decent
president who is not beholden to anyone except for the Lebanese people," Welch
told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Fouad Saniora. "The Lebanese people
have a unique opportunity now to take their future in their hands by electing a
new president on time, in accordance with the constitution, and free of outside
interference," Welch said.
"For the members of Lebanon's democratically-elected parliament, casting a vote
for president, freely and without coercion, would be a significant milestone
towards the Lebanese people's goal of sovereignty and independence." Lebanon has
been in turmoil since the mandate of Damascus-backed President Emile Lahoud was
extended for three years in September 2004 under a Syrian-orchestrated
constitutional amendment.
The country has remained split between pro- and anti-Syrian camps, with the gap
widening after a series of murders of anti-Syrian figures widely blamed on
former powerbroker Damascus -- accusations that Syria has denied. Parliament is
due to choose a new president on September 25 before Lahoud's term expires on
November 22, although there are fears the vote may not take place due to lack of
quorum.
"The United States does not expect someone to be a leader in this country to
agree with us all the time, that's not the issue," said Welch, the first U.S.
official to visit Lebanon since Israel's war with Hizbullah last summer. "The
issue is: Are they going to be overly responsive to any other outside party,"
the US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs said. Welch said
that during his meeting with Saniora, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
telephoned the prime minister on her way back to the United States from Russia.
"She was able to convey to the prime minister her personal support for the
government and for Lebanon," he said.
Welch, who also met pro-Syrian parliament speaker Nabih Berri and his main
Christian ally in the opposition, General Michel Aoun, said his visit was meant
to assure that "American support for Lebanon remains strong and unshakeable." He
said President George W. Bush had asked Congress for substantial new funding to
support economic and security reform in Lebanon. "The objective is to help
rebuild after last summer's conflict, to promote prosperity, economic reform,
economic development, job creation and to advance Lebanon's goals for
transparency, accountability and change," he said.(AFP-Naharnet)
Beirut, 16 May 07, 17:19
Interview With PM Fouad Siniora
Ghassan Charbel Al-Hayat - 17/05/07//
Al-Hayat went to the sleek, firm man with the reader's questions and the
accusations of his opponents…
London- Rafik Hariri told his companion and friend Fouad Siniora several times:
"Put in mind the possibility you may head the government". Siniora would hastily
reply: "God forbid". Al-Hariri was not obsessed with the possibility he would be
the victim of assassins. He was thinking of possible alternatives in the event
of complications imposed on his relations with Damascus and the president, and
of distancing himself from the post of prime minister to reduce tensions, while
his party retained power and his project remained dominant.
Rafik Hariri tasted the fruit of his extension of power, and then kept away. The
winds of Resolution 1559 blew, so did the winds of the parliamentary elections,
and it seemed he was preparing to avenge himself through the ballot box. On
February 14, 2005, he was excluded from the equation. Siniora says that Hariri
paid the price for his stature and for the clashes in the game of politics,
which is so great in such a small country.
In July of this volatile year, Siniora was hoisted to the post of prime minister
after record results. From the first moment, the government toyed in its hands a
grenade ready to explode, namely, the international court to investigate
Hariri's assassination. The series of assassinations that Lebanon witnessed made
it difficult for the government to exist with the grenade in its hands. On July
12, 2006, Lebanon was hit by another 'earthquake.' A few hours after Hezbollah
carried out an operation outside the Shebaa Farms area, in which Israeli
soldiers were killed or taken prisoner, Ehud Olmert's government unleashed its
killing machine on Lebanon. The war was a milestone in the history of the
Arab-Israeli conflict. The Resistance rained thousands of missiles on the towns
in northern Israel. The image of the invincible army was damaged; so, too, was
the image of Israel's decisive deterrent capability and its ability to win a
lightning war. The war did not stop until after the adoption of Security Council
Resolution 1701, which bore the features of the Seven Points that Siniora says
Hezbollah supported 100% through the visual and audio media.
Controversy over the war and Hezbollah's armaments quickly became another
explosive ready to blast the government of Siniora. It seems that the profound
disagreement over the court lit the spark. The Shiite ministers resigned and the
differences over the court became confused with the issue of the legitimacy of
the government, and the opposition did not wait to pitch its tents to besiege
the cabinet building from December 1st last. The sleek and firm man did not
quickly fall. Those who had gambled on his surrender were mistaken. But the
skirmishes around the cabinet building created the opportunity for the winds of
sectarianism to blow over Lebanon in a way never seen since its independence.
Lebanon smells the scent of civil war although the various factions have
reiterated their refusal to slide into armed conflict, while the country is
turning into an arena for a duel between two camps; one Lebanese, and the other
regional and international.
Who is Fouad Siniora? What does he want? Where did he come from? Is he lucky or
unlucky, or both? How can he dare make decisions on major and serious issues?
What is the story of the war and his relation with Hariri?
Many questions crossed my mind, because I am only recently acquained with him. I
think that the same questions occurred to the readers of al-Hayat, which
mentions Siniora's name every day because he is a man at the heart of events and
also stands in the eye of the storm.
A few days ago, President Siniora was in London on a private visit. He seemed he
was resting after the fatigue caused by the storm, and was preparing for
another. I was dismayed he was spending a few days away from the opposition and
its art which embitters his residence in the prime minister's palace. So I
decided to spoil his holiday by going over with some questions and accusations,
to which he responded with an open mind.
Here is the full transcript of the first installment.
Al-Hayat: When you heard of the operation carried out by Hezbollah outside the
Shebaa Farms area on July 12 last, were you afraid Israel would wage war on
Lebanon?
PM Siniora: I was having a meeting with His Excellency President Emile Lahoud
when we were informed of the operation. After the meeting, I sent for Haj
Hussein Khalil (the political aide to the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Mr.
Hassan Nasrallah), and discussed the issue with him. I asked him, "Why the
operation, and why outside the Shebaa Farms?' He replied: "We got the chance." I
asked him:"Did you consult anyone?' He said, "Like whom?" I answered: "The
government. Are you confronting it with a fait accompli?" I reminded him of what
Mr. Nasrallah had said in the national dialogue, that the Resistance would not
interfere in operations, and, if it did, it would only be as a reminder to the
enemy in the Shebaa Farms area. I asked him, "What will the Israelis do?" He
answered: "Nothing". I said to him: «Don't you see what is happening in Gaza?".
He answered: "Lebanon is not like Gaza". I said: "They can do like what they are
doing in Gaza, and more, and Lebanon is not ready to face a situation like
that." He ruled out a response of that kind. In the end, I told him, "What
happened has happened, how do we cooperate to contain any reaction?" Hours
later, the war started.
Al-Hayat: Is it true that the Israeli objectives included vital targets besides
the ones that were bombed?
PM Siniora: Yes, and they said they were going to take Lebanon twenty years back
in time. There were a number of targets: bridges, the airport and power
stations, and others. This is why we acted to maintain our links with all the
decion-making parties in the world: the permanent members of the Security
Council, and all the influential countries, and the Secretary General of the
United Nations, as well as the Arab countries. The purpose of the communication
was to stop Israeli aggression, or mitigate it, if it was impossible to stop it.
We fought a tremendous diplomatic and media battle.
Al-Hayat: Did you succeed in saving some of the objectives from being bombed?
PM Siniora: I think the most important goal for the Israelis was to hit the
power stations, the airport and other vital installations.
Al-Hayat: Who helped you?
PM Sinora: The Permanent members of the Security Council. Israel was determined
to bring Lebanon to its knees and destroy its economy and we were acting to
prevent this.
Al-Hayat: Who stood beside Lebanon?
PM Siniora: France was at the forefront of those who moved to help us. Russia
also contributed. There was also understanding with President George Bush and
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chinese officials. But the person one
should most cordially mention is President Jacques Chirac. Honestly, he has done
Lebanon a lot of favors. His attitude was firm. He has always been on the side
of Lebanon. Mention may be made of the April Understanding in 1996 which gave
international recognition of Lebanon's right to resist occupation. Of course,
the role of prime minister al-Hariri played an important in reach that
understanding. And President Chirac's role was evident in Paris 1, Paris 2,
Paris 3.
The Seven Points
Al-Hayat: The war started, so where did the idea of the Seven Points come from?
PM Siniora: The Seven Points are 100% Lebanese.
Al-Hayat: Aren't they the result of a 'diktat,' as the opposition claims?
PM Siniora: No one forced the Points on us, neither the Americans, nor anybody
else. They are completely a Lebanese conception- they were entirely my idea.
Al-Hayat: Where did they stem from?
PM Siniora: From the outcome of what we saw during that period and from what we
believe. The Seven Points include a ceasefire, an Israeli withdrawal, the
release of Arab prisoners and Israeli soldiers and the restoration of the Shebaa
Farms to Lebanon. My position was, and remains, that Lebanon is not in the
process of abandoning an inch of its land. From the very beginning, I adopted
the idea that we should liberate the Shabaa Farms, return to the armistice
agreement, and extend Lebanese sovereignty to the whole territory- in other
words, the Lebanese army would enter the South, which was forbidden to it. I
also wanted the necessary support for Lebanon to overcome the crisis caused by
Israel, which has long persisted Resolution 1701 was based on the Seven Points
Al-Hayat: Was the original wording of the draft resolution harsher?
PM Sinora: Of course, that is well-known. The government rejected the first
draft of the Resolution because it imposed more conditions on Lebanon. I
rejected the draft. When the attack happened in Qana, I contacted Speaker Nabih
Berri and told him I would ask the American Secretary of State, Condoleezza
Rice, not to come to Lebanon. And he in turn said: 'I am going to the prime
minister's palace to see you. We issued a joint statement. I said: 'This is my
stance, and if they want to bomb the palace I can't stop them.' I took a very
tough attitude, and we managed to achieve a change in the interest of Lebanon.
If it had not been for our collective stance, we would not be where we are now.
I do not deny that we had two options: either to bow to those who stood and
repulsed the Israeli occupation with their bodies- these I salute and bow to
their sacrifices, as I bow to the sacrifices of the Lebanese people, those who
stood their ground, or were forced to flee but remained firm. These are facts
that must be recorded. We should record also that this government, which has
been made to drink a bitter cup at one time, is a government of political
resistance that was able to mobilize all the world by Lebanon's side, impose the
Seven Points and change the draft of Resolution 1701, make the decision to send
the army to the South and took the attitudes that led to the withdrawal of
Israel from all the territories it occupied recently. All that would not have
happened if there was no government that could take this stance on behalf of the
Lebanese people.
Al-Hayat: Did Hezbollah frankly approve the Seven Points?
PM Siniora: Yes, Hezbollah totally approved the Seven Points. It openly
expressed its sytance: at the Council of Ministers meeting on July 27 [he is
reading out from some papers]; after the Council of Ministers heard what took
place in Rome; after the interventions of a number of ministers who participated
in the conference and other colleagues; when the council discussed the
President's speech and confirmed its support and sponsorship of all its content
and praised his role in managing affairs and following them up at all levels.
Then came the spiritual summit. After that, there was another meeting of the
Council of Ministers on August 5 government, which declared, "The Council
reiterates its adherence to the consensus of all the Lebanese around the Seven
Points and hopes that everyone will distance themselves from everything that
could affect the unity of the national stance" Minister Mohammed Fneish, (of
Hezbollah) said : "The Council of Ministers agreed on the mechanism of
decision-making based on the Seven Points, according to the discussions held by
the Council of Ministers". He added: "These are the points agreed upon. We have
compared them with the proposals made in the Security Council and we will accept
any part of these proposals that are compatible with the Points"
Al-Hayat: Were the Seven Points issued in coordination with Speaker Berri?
PM Siniora: Yes, absolutely.
Al-Hayat: Did Hezbollah adopt a different position?
PM Siniora: Absolutely not.
Al-Hayat: How do you explain the return of the party to a kind of ambiguity on
these points?
PM Siniora: Perhaps some felt that the topic had become serious. Perhaps they
thought it would not be, and so went along with it. Speaker Berri knows that all
the envoys who have come to us, especially the Americans, French and British,
did not object to any of the points drawn up by the Lebanese government, which
were approved unanimously by the Council of Ministers and were mentioned in my
speech in Rome and adopted by the Council of Ministers to the letter. Let me go
back to what the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said
before the cameras: "I urge the Lebanese government to further political
steadfastness and adherence to the Seven-Point plan agreed upon by all the
Lebanese. Any divergence from the plan, which is considered in our view the
preservation of our minimum national rights and demands, is a defection from the
unanimity that we were anxious to achieve in the all previous stages."
Al-Hayat: Then, has the equation changed?
PM Siniora: Perhaps… the Shebaa Farms
Al-Hayat: Is there anything new about the United Nations' efforts concerning the
occupied Shebaa farms?
PM Siniora: A United Nations team is drawing up a map to delineate Lebanon's
rights, basing themselves on all the information we have given them and the
archives of the French, which contain data on the twenties of the last century.
Work is continuing, and I have hopes.
Al-Hayat: Is it true that the Iranian Foreign Minister has welcomed the United
Nations mandate of the Shabaa Farms during the transitional phase?
PM Siniora: The Iranian foreign minister visited us at the time and said that he
would prefer if the farms were handed over directly to Lebanon. We told him that
we also believe that would be better but that we were looking at what was
currently possible. He was not pleased, but we consider that the resolution of
the issue must be Lebanese in the end. I discussed the same subject with the
Syrian Foreign Minister, and he was satisfied. Then, in contradiction to his
attitude, we heard later the words of the Syrian ambassador to the United
Nations, in which he stated that the liberation of the Shebaa Farms should be
linked with the return of the Golan Heights, and that they are subject to
resolutions 242 and 338. We take the position that the farms are subject to
resolution 425, and that is Lebanon's position basically. In the last meeting,
the Syrian foreign minister affirmed that Syria had no objection to the Shebaa
Farms being under United Nations mandate or, in other words, to UNIFIL forces
being deployed there. I welcomed this attitude. The Secretary-General of the
United Nations is supposed to present a report in June which will include the
latest on the Shabaa Farms issue.
Al-Hayat: What are the recordings that Hezbollah says will disclose the
positions of some parties if they are released?
PM Siniora: There are no secrets in such matters. Issues are raised in the
Council of Ministers and every minister has the right to express his opinion and
concerns. The decision is always important. Supposing that the debate was about
the decision to send the army to the South and there emerged different points of
view, and then the decision was taken. What is important in the end is the
resolution. There are no secrets in these matters and the minutes exist.
Hezbollah's armaments
Al-Hayat: It has been said that some of the principal parties in the government
wanted a prolongation of the war so that Hezbollah would be forced to disarm.
PM Siniora: In all honesty, I never heard anyone speaking at the Council of
Ministers with that kind of logic. The government's position was clear. And the
position I expressed was clear. Our dominating thought was to stop the war
immediately. That is what we said in Rome and elsewhere. Now there are those who
make allegations and invent stories. This saddens me. Israel fastened an unjust
war on Lebanon. Israel's claim that Hezbollah crossed the Blue Line in no way
justifies the war it launched. Even those in the world who support the Israeli
position said that the response was not commensurate with the incident. The
Lebanese government moved from the first moment to stop the war.
It saddens me when I say compare between where we were and where we are now. We
as Lebanese were united to stop the aggression and have Israel withdraw and send
the Lebanese army to the South. Where is this common stance today? I do not
think that Israel ever dreamt of breaking up the Lebanese position and causing
disunity as we Lebanese have succeeded in doing. Unfortunately, there is the
decomposition today of the Lebanese Front not seen in the history of Lebanon.
The Tribunal
Al Hayat: The tribunal is of an international character. Is that the problem?
PM Siniora: We have felt for quite time some that the issue of the Court is the
focal point of what we are witnessing. The first time we disagreed on the issue
was when Gebran Tueini was assassinated; we had to push it forward, but some
ministers abstained. Then we went back to talking of the Resistance, but this
was not really the issue. In the national dialogue we were agreed on the issue
of the Court. The dialogue unanimously approved of the Court and Commission of
Inquiry into the assassination of former Prime Minister Hariri, and related
issues.
Al-Hayat: Then the tribunal is the problem
PM Siniora: It is one of the obstacles. For the record, I say: I kept on
repeating, 'What are your observations and concerns, let us discuss them.' As
God is my witness, on the day we approved the establishment of the Court after
the assassination of Pierre Gemayel (12-11-2006), I contacted the
Secretary-General of the United Nations. I told him, 'Today, we approved of the
text which is supposed to be the basis of a Bill that will be sent to the House
of Representatives. Some ministers had submitted their resignations because a
meeting was fixed to consider the issue of the court.
Al-Hayat: Why did you rush into it and not heed the calls for patience?
PM Siniora: Speaker Nabih Berri has blamed me for not contacting him to fix a
meeting of the cabinet. But he admits that I contacted President Emile Lahoud,
and I told him I had to go to Japan and Korea, and that, by the the
constitutional authority invested in me, I would hold a cabinet meeting on
Monday if that was convenient for him; if not, then on Tuesday or Wednesday or
Thursday. I told my executive partner, His Excellency, the President the days he
could choose. As far as Speaker Berri is concerned, there is the distribution of
authority. My main concern was not to return to the Troika, which the Lebanese
have from. We fixed the date for the meeting and then I contacted Kofi Anan. I
told him I might go back to him and ask for some amendments. I make it appoint
of considering my colleagues' concerns. Frankly, things happened that were
unjustified: linking the Court with the government's legitimacy; the attempt to
thrust the situation into the labyrinthine corridors of the government and
divert attention from the Court. We should not politicize the issue of the
Court. The first steps of politicization are to link the Court with the
government. The two issues are different and should remain separate.
Al-Hayat: There are those who say that a court of an international character is
more than Lebanon can bear.
PM Siniora: Lebanon cannot sustain the failure to establish a tribunal. It
touches the heart and essence of fundamental justice in the country and will
lead to the continued obsession with assassinations; it will be a sword hanging
over the necks of the Lebanese.
Al-Hayat: Are you delegated the authority to write a letter to the Security
Council approving of the Court under Chapter VII?
PM Siniora: The cabinet wants a price for that. I will do what is appropriate.
Al-Hayat: What happens after the Court is approved?
PM Siniora: I believe that all eyes are now on the presidential elections, and
we should proceed in that direction. What do the Lebanese people want? They do
not want to surrender an inch of their land, and they do not want their country
to be a battleground, or that there would be one alliance against another.
Lebanon is an Arab country. The Taif Agreement has settled this. We do not want
to replace the Syrian presence with American or Iranian or any other presence.
Lebanon must be open to the world and our common enemy is Israel. The Lebanese
want a return of State sovereignty. Ignore all the talk that is spreading
around. They want a homeland and schools and job opportunities. They do not want
to forsake the Resistance, and whoever does is a traitor. But we want the
sovereignty of the State.
Al-Hayat: Are contacts between you and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah severed?
PM Siniora: There is virtually no communication between us because of the
security situation. Sometimes people come to visit me and others go to visit
him.
AL-Hayat: What about your estrangement from Speaker Berri?
PM Siniora: I tried more than once to remain in contact with him.
Al-Hayat: How do you explain his breaking off relations with you?
PM Siniora: Perhaps he is embarrassed. But I have nothing for him except
goodwill. President Berry cites Elzimkhshari from time to time, as if
Elzimkhshari was a talisman. Elzimkhshari is one of the most important
interpreters of the Koran and the hadith. I once commented on this, when I went
to the Arab Book Exhibition (a few weeks ago), and went to a publishing house
and picked out two of Elzimekhshari's volumes and sent them as a gift to Speaker
Berri.
The strike and storming the Searil
Al-Hayat: When the opposition went on strike in Riad Solh Square and pitched its
tents, were you afraid the protesters would storm the Serail?
PM Siniora: My cabinet colleagues tell me they never saw me so calm. I was not
afraid at all. As God is my witness, I was never so calm.
Al-Hayat: Perhaps because you knew the opposition wouldn't do it?
PM Siniora: I have a lot of faith in God and the Lebanese. I am confident they
are too wise to do such a thing.
Al-Hayat: You are accused of having played the Sunni card cleverly, and brought
the masses into the streets by appealing to the Sunnis
PM Siniora: Lebanese of all factions came to me. They were exercising their
right of freedom of expression, like the other Lebanese. I cannot be an obstacle
to their desire to express themselves. I believe that this government is a
majority in the House of Representatives. This is the democratic system, whether
we like it or not. We must acknowledge it. And they know that the government is
supported by the majority of the Lebanese. I do not disparage the importance of
the factions the opposition mobilized; I respect and bow my head to them. At
least 60% of the Lebanese people support the government, and this is the result
of the opinion polls; and the percentage is increasing. I do not forget those
who oppose the government, so why should they ignore the majority of the people,
who support the government? We extend our hands and open our hearts to those who
oppose us. They are the sons of Lebanon. For this reason I constantly made up
pretexts to reach out to them. They are my people. For your information, I am
the inventor of the theories, 19 + 10 + 1 and 17 + 13. The Former means to take
from the parties what would force them to try to meet on common ground: take
from the majority the power to dictate terms; and take from the minority the
ability to hold things up.
Al-Hayat: Why is amity lacking between and General Michel Aoun?
PM Siniora: No, that's not true. There is no estrangement between me and any
Lebanese leader. I talked with him after I returned from Paris. When I talk with
him personally, things are like milk and honey. I contact him and I send him
greetings on occasions. Of course, we hear later that things are different.
Al-Hayat: Did you seriously try to let Aoun's bloc join the government?
PM Siniora: Yes, I did, but he would insist on provisions that didn't fit into
the structure.
AL-Hayat: did he insist that one of the members of his bloc be made minister of
justice?
PM Siniora: Yes.
Al-Hayat: Why?
PM Siniora: I do not know. He wanted three of his people to be ministers, one of
them as ministry of justice. I wish he could have been with us. The fact is, the
cabinet is not a place for controversy. It's a place to agree on policies. The
government appears before the House, which determines its destiny. Questioning
the government is not conducted through speech sessions, invectives, and then
passing a vote of confidence. See how the parliaments in Europe function.
Al-Hayat: Has the result of the incidents at Beirut Arab University abated for
the moment, in terms of the sectarian clash between Shiites and Sunnis?
PM Siniora: I was at the Paris when I received news of the clashes. I received a
proposal to institute a curfew and call out the army in strength. I agreed
immediately, and contacted the commander-in-chief of the army and Speaker Berri