LCCC NEWS BULLETIN
MAY 22/2006

Below news bulletins from the Daily Star for 22/05/06
Siniora repeats call for Damascus to agree on border
Lebanese-born NASA official to enter Order of the Cedars
Tragic accident leaves premature baby an orphan
Rumors abound ahead of Brammertz's probe report
New electoral law likely to pick and mix systems
World Bank to Lebanon: 'Let's go' with reform
World Bank urges speedy approach to reform
Operation Big Blue tackles beach junk
Below news bulletins from miscellaneous sources for 22/05/06
My Trip to Evil Syria, Some Impressions-New York Observer
Lebanon: Turning the corner?-AME Info
Palestinian woman arrested for smuggling data from Hezbollah-Ha'aretz
Iran Says Diplomats Kidnapped in 1982 in Lebanon are Alive,-Naharnet
SYRIA TO EU: KEEP OUT OF OUR AFFAIRSThe Media Line
The EU Incentives Proposal for Iran Is Rife with Hidden Dangers-IsraPundit
Al-Qaida documents betray weaknesses-News-Leader.com
Syria condemns EU for interfering in domestic affairs-People's Daily Online
Arab World Needs Culture of Democracy, Leaders Say-Washington File
Kuwaiti military delegation visits Syria-Kuwait News Agency
UNSC Resolutions No 1680 is flagrant interference in Syria SANA
US-made ad targets Iraqi suicide bombers-The Register-Guard
The Guardian: Veiled Threats to Democracy-Zaman Online

Sfeir sponsors reopening of Gebran Museum
Daily Star 22/05/06: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir sponsored the reopening of the Gebran Khalil Gebran Museum on Sunday by the Gebran National Committee in Bsharri on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Lebanese writer's death. Representing Sfeir, Archbishop Roland Abu Jaoude held a service at the Mary Haskell Square with the participation of various government officials. The Committee president, Gebran Joe Rahme, stressed the importance of developing and modernizing the museum and creating a cultural and tourism space that largely depicts the world of Gebran. Rahme thanked the administrative board members and the local community for their support. Visitors were then invited to a guided tour in the museum and its premises. Meanwhile, Sfeir, who was in France has headed to Rome on an unofficial visit. It has not been confirmed whether he will be meeting with Pope Benedict.

LF marks assassination of Ramzi Irani
Daily Star 22/05/06:The Lebanese Forces held a service on Sunday in Saint George Cathedral in Achrafieh on the occasion of the passing of four years since Ramzi Irani, one of its officials, was assassinated. Speaking on behalf of the LF, MP George Adwan stressed the need to "open Irani's file" saying that the delay of his case "is unjustifiable in the post-tutelage era." Adwan urged the judiciary to reveal the truth behind Irani's assassination. Bishop Roland Abu Jaoude headed the service representing Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir. Among the attendees were acting Interior Minister Ahmad Fatfat, representing Premier Fouad Siniora; Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis, representing LF leader Samir Geagea; Information Minister Ghazi Aridi; MPs Neamatallah Abi Nasr, representing MP Michel Aoun; and Wael Bou Faour, representing MP Walid Jumblatt.

Hoss mocks Geagea's criticism of establishment
Daily Star 22/05/06: Former Prime Minister Salim Hoss said on Sunday that it was "an irony" that Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused the establishment and its allies of letting the country fall apart before their eyes, because, Hoss said, Geagea was part of the establishment. In a statement, Hoss said he would "not accuse Geagea of any crime, considering that there are already many judicial verdicts against him." He added that if it was true that Geagea was not involved in the assassination of former Premier Rashid Karami, he must, as member of the national dialogue, ask Parliament to endorse a law stipulating his retrial so that he be acquitted by the same party that convicted him.

Australia launches drive to improve education links
Daily Star 22/05/06: Australian Minister for Education, Science and Training Julie Bishop recently launched a major new initiative to increase regional education links. The Australian Scholarships and Endeavour Program will provide $1.4 billion (AUD) over five years, for 19,000 awards that will be allocated on merit to students from through the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, South Asia and Europe. The program enables students, researchers and professionals from around the world to travel to Australia, and provides opportunities for Australians to undertake study, research or professional development abroad. Application forms, admission procedures and selection criteria available at http://www.endeavour.dest.gov.au/for_middle_east_applicants/ . Applications close on July 31, 2006. For more information on the program, go to www.australianscholarships.gov.au or www.endeavour.dest.gov.au .

Tripoli celebrates National Heritage Day
Daily Star -Monday, May 22, 2006Citizens from several Lebanese regions visited Tripoli on Saturday on the occasion of National Heritage Day last week organized by the Culture Ministry. The visitors toured the region's tourist sites and old quarters. The last stop on their trip was Tripoli's traditional fortress, and visitors were informed of its historical importance. Three buses offered by the Tourism Ministry and including around 100 Lebanese and French citizens arrived from Beirut to participate in the special day, reports said.

Siniora repeats call for Damascus to agree on border
By Raed El Rafei -Daily Star staff
Monday, May 22, 2006
BEIRUT: Lebanese Premier Fouad Siniora called Sunday for the creation of "20 committees at the same time if necessary" to demarcate Lebanon's borders with Syria, especially around Shebaa Farms. Siniora spoke at a press conference following his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East.
The premier said that there was "nothing new on the level of relations between Lebanon and Syria" and criticized Syria for violating Lebanon's sovereignty by erecting sand berms inside Lebanon.
Syria has yet to agree on the border demarcation and has been stalling on arranging a visit by Siniora to address the issue.
Commenting on Arab efforts to mediate between the two countries, the premier was less than full of praise, although he did call the efforts "helpful."
As for President Emile Lahoud, also present at the conference, Siniora said their relationship was "dictated by the Constitution." Lahoud and Siniora headed two separate delegations to the forum, mirroring ongoing divisions between the president and the Cabinet majority. Although both were present at the forum Sunday, the two officials only talked over the telephone. Siniora told Lahoud that "Lebanon was wasting a lot of time and lagging behind other countries in the region and the world for failing to host the conference of the WEF," according to the premier's office.
This is the third time Lebanon has been represented by two delegations at international conferences after Khartoum's Arab Summit in March and the UN Summit in September last year.
While Lahoud arrived to the conference Saturday to participate in the opening session, heading an official Lebanese delegation including Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, Siniora reached Sharm El-Sheikhon Sunday. Earlier Sunday, Lahoud met with Mubarak at the Egyptian president's residence in Sharm El-Sheikh.
During his meeting with the Lebanese president, Mubarak emphasized the importance of Lebanon maintaining brotherly relations with other Arab nations, especially Syria, according to sources close to Lahoud. Mubarak said that Lebanon could not regain its stability if disputes among its political groups continued, the sources said.
The sources added that the Egyptian President criticized "certain political groups for creating negative atmospheres and carrying out campaigns that hinder the progress of the national dialogue."
Siniora participated in seminars on democracy in the Arab world and dialogue and cooperation among the world's nations. He also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the head of the Arab League Amr Moussa.
Earlier Saturday Lahoud met with Abbas, who said that the Palestine Liberation Organization offices that opened in Beirut recently were going to "incorporate and represent all Palestinian factions."
Asked about the latest clashes between the pro-Syrian Palestinian faction Fatah al-Intifada and the Lebanese army in the Western Bekaa region, Abbas said: "There is not a single problem between Lebanese and Palestinians that cannot be solved."
Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti daily Al-Ray al-Aam reported Sunday that Lahoud complained to Abbas during their meeting about Lebanese political leaders "shunning" him.
According to the newspaper, Lahoud told Abbas: "Why do they (Lebanese leaders) refuse to talk to me? People discuss with their enemies ... I am their president and I intend to remain in power until the end of my mandate."

My Trip to Evil Syria, Some Impressions
FILE UNDER: U.S. Policy in the Mideast
A few months ago I went to Syria as a tourist, to visit my wife's cousin, who is teaching in Damascus. I had a very good time (in stark contrast to an unpleasant trip to Morocco) and since then I've been trying to sort out my experience. What have I to say about that most controversial of matters—the Arab world, and an Arab dictatorship—based on my personal experience as a tourist? What does my truly enjoyable trip mean, compared, say to the neoconservative view that Syria is evil (put forth by Paul Berman in Terror and Liberalism, and by David Frum and Richard Perle in An End to Evil)?
Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to post an entry now on my impressions of Syria. Then I'm going to post an entry in which I talk to Josh Landis, a professor at Oklahoma U. who is on my side (the left, though more centrist than me) and one of the leading experts on Syria, having lived there and married a Syrian.
So. My impressions:
—I went all over Syria and the people were gracious everywhere I went, hospitable in the way that Arabs are famous for. When I got lost in Damascus, people invariably went out of their way to escort me to the right place, often speaking English. They also wanted to have political conversations at every turn, and to put down Bush and America. Of course, these people have witnessed (I witnessed some of it myself) a lot of suffering from Iraq, the spillover of hundreds of thousands of refugees often with horrifying tales of murder and kidnapping. "The Arab street," which I engaged with whenever I could, was genuinely enraged about American policy. And, yes: they feel completely misunderstood by us.
—The English-language newspaper, The Syria Times, was full of anti-Israel talk. It was the major theme of the paper, to show America and Israel in a corrupt alliance, and sometimes had an anti-Semitic flavor. This tended to support the claim I'd heard from Jewish critics in America, that these dictatorships rely upon stoking anti-Israel feeling to distract their people from their own political problems. I'd add that in a number of conversations with ordinary people I said I was Jewish, and got a neutral response.
—I was surprised by how little evidence I saw of militarism. There were few police in the streets, no soldiers that I can remember, except for a couple of guys with semiautomatic rifles lolling outside an official building. In touring the country, we passed many military bases with watch towers. They were all unmanned. Syria is a poor country, and you see it in the absence of soldiers. I have no doubt that Israel could defeat Syria in no time.
—Partly because of the absence of guys in uniform, I sensed a great deal of personal freedom. The streets are active, lots of people are in business, and only one conversation I had was stopped (when an Arab friend, a woman, held up her hand in a fancy Damascus restaurant as we were talking about the lack of freedom for women in Arab societies, to say that one shouldn't talk about these things in public). People seemed to be leading pleasurable lives, by and large. Commerce was lively. The internet cafes were hard to find, but they were teeming with young men. I am trying to convey my feeling that this is not a totalitarian place. In his book, which describes Syria as fascist, Berman imagines women in Arab societies throwing off their burkas with joy when they are finally liberated. This seems to me obviously wrong: women appeared to me to be covering themselves or not to varying degrees as a cultural norm, in line with their traditionalism and religiosity.
—That said, Arab society is very male. Women are excluded from public life. A New Year's party I went to in a small city was all men, but for a couple belly dancers and tourists. Awful. And it seemed to me that this masculinity is very hierarchical and authoritarian. Very traditional too—like America in the early 20th century. Again and again, I said to myself, I want Islam to experience a reformation, and soon. The upside is I saw no evidence of crime. Indeed, I felt completely safe walking the streets, and never worried about leaving a bag outside my hotel for a few minutes. My companions and I said Syria felt like a Mafia town that way.
—Political complexity. When we were in Tartus, on the coast, we learned that a man from the American Embassy was staying in our hotel, had been there for months, dealing with grain shipments in the port that were destined to go on to Iraq to make bread for the U.S. troops. Does the Syrian government know about this? I asked my informant. Of course. So Syria has aided the occupation of Iraq, in subtle ways. And the State Department is funding education programs in Damascus.
—Finally, per Islam's reformation. Syria has a high literacy rate, but: I never saw anyone reading. They didn't read on the buses I rode. They don't read on public benches. They aren't reading in cafes. Few people seem to wear glasses. Once at a crusader ruin, I saw a schoolboy with a notebook crammed with his writing. A glorious exception, and one that proves the sad point, the intellectual life of the place is not very advanced.
In a couple days, I will tell you what Josh Landis had to say about all this.