LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
October 13/07

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11,15-26. Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons." Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that (I) drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, 'I shall return to my home from which I came.' But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first."

Free Opinions & Special Reports
Militia rebuilds Beirut district in own image.By W. Thomas Smith Jr.October 12/07
No compromise with terrorists.by Toni Nissi. World Defense Review. October 12/07
Weak expectations.Al-Ahram Weekly. October 12/07
Lebanon's Maronites may be wasting a chance to inspire the whole region.The Daily Star. October 12/07
Damascus understands that it needs peace with Israel.By Shlomo Ben-Ami. October 12/07

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October 12/07
Second Bkirki Meeting to Reconcile Feuding Christians Kicks Off-Naharnet
Qabbani: Presidential Election Only Way Out of 'Dark Tunnels"-Naharnet
Fadlallah Accuses U.S. of Planning to Spread Unrest in Lebanon-Naharnet
Report: Man on trial in Lebanon says he planted bombs in Germany ...International Herald Tribune
UN chief chooses selection panel for judges and prosecutor  for Lebanon tribunal ...International Herald Tribune
Ban Uncovers Judicial Selection Panel for Hariri Tribunal-Naharnet
Assad: Lebanon Will Not Know Stability-Naharnet
Lebanon PM asks UN, Arab League to stop arms from Syria.AFP
Syria Unlikely to Join Peace Conference.The Associated Press
Getting Syria inside the tent.Boston Globe
Syria tries to clear rumors of nuclear activity.Ynetnews
How to Cope with Global Jihad.RealClearPolitics
QDF batch returns from Lebanon.Gulf Times
Palestinians try to rebuild lives in devastated Lebanon camp.AFP
Israeli arrested in Lebanon released.Jerusalem Post
Report: Israel believes troops abducted by Hezbollah are dead.Ha'aretz
Sources: Turkish official won't ask Israel about strike in Syria.Ha'aretz
Aoun After the Bkirki Meeting: No Faction Controls Majority to Elect President-Naharnet
Rana Qoleilat Cleared-Naharnet
British sapper dies in cluster bomb explosion in south Lebanon.International Herald Tribune
Report: Israel believes captive soldiers dead.Ynetnews
Political infighting hinders Lebanon stability.Asia Times Online
Berri Urges Syrian-Saudi to Achieve Reconciliation Concerning Lebanon.Naharnet
Ban names panel to pick Hariri judges, prosecutor-Daily Star
Majority leader holds talks with sarkozy-Daily Star
Lebanese breathe sigh of temporary relief as Aoun, Franjieh meet with Sfeir
Has Al-Qaeda set its sights on Lebanon's prime minister?-Daily Star
Cluster bomb kills British deminer-Daily Star
Assad: 'Break with Arab ranks destabilized Lebanon.AFP
A patriarch, a dictator and the road to solipsism-Daily Star
Opposition figures attack government decision to privatize cellular networks-Daily Star
Lebanese products 'need work to meet European standards-Daily Star
Lebanese celebrating Eid see stark contrast with previous years-Daily Star
NGOs tar each other over effort to clean up Jiyyeh oil spill-Daily Star
UNICEF camp in South helps youths explore differences
Bekaa Valley builds reputation as fertile ground for wine.AFP
Bakery workers of Beirut unite-Daily Star
Cypriots to pick new president on February 17.AFP

Assad: Lebanon Will Not Know Stability
Syrian President Bashar Assad blasted pro-government Lebanese leaders for choosing to side with Israel and succumb themselves to foreign powers instead of taking the Arab path and that of the resistance.
Citing this as a reason, Assad ruled out the prospect of stability for Lebanon in the "near future."
In an interview published on Thursday, Assad said of the neighboring nation where it was powerbroker for nearly three decades: "It is impossible to build a relationship with some parties who in Lebanon ... are close to Israel, submit themselves to foreign countries and do not believe in Lebanon."
He told the Tunisian daily al-Shuruk, in an interview reprinted in official Syrian media: "Most of the forces who hold power in Lebanon have adopted this position which rebounds on Syrian-Lebanese relations."
Assad stressed: "Lebanon was stable when it followed the Arab line, supported the resistance and opposed itself to Israel."
Lebanon has been in crisis for months since pro-Syrian ministers pulled out of Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government, creating political paralysis.
Assad said "there have always been in Lebanon forces attached to the Arab (identity). But there are also forces which, since Lebanon's creation and even before, have tied their fate to the West, thus putting (their country) in danger."
"These forces link Lebanon's fate to that of regional conflicts, which signifies that Lebanon will not know stability in the near future."
Referring to the agreement which ended Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, the Syrian leader said: "Lebanon knew stability after the Taif accord when it chose the Arab path and resistance against Israel."
"The day it went back on this choice it again experienced instability."
Under the Taif agreement, all factions disarmed their militias with the exception of Hizbullah which fought last year's war with Israel.
Hizbullah, seen as Lebanon's legitimate resistance, was also credited with forcing Israel to withdraw from south Lebanon in 2000 after years of occupation.
Lebanon's political establishment is split between pro- and anti-Syrian camps. The two sides have been deadlocked over the choice of a new president to replace pro-Syrian incumbent Emile Lahoud and a first parliamentary session convened last month to elect a successor failed to achieve a quorum.(AFP-Naharnet)
Beirut, 12 Oct 07, 07:26

Second Bkirki Meeting to Reconcile Feuding Christians Kicks Off
A second meeting by Bkirki to reconcile warring Christians ahead of a presidential vote kicked off Friday between Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir and pro-government leaders who came out expressing cautious optimism. Following talks with Sfeir, leaders of the majority March 14 coalition held a private meeting at Bkirki.
The leaders expressed cautious optimism about the possibility of achieving consensus on a president for Lebanon ahead of a scheduled Oct. 23 session to elect a new head of state. Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said there was "little chance of optimism" for reaching consensus on a president, but vowed to pursue efforts.
"March 14 has not yet declared its (presidential) candidate," Geagea said from Bkirki. Addressing the Hizbullah-led opposition, Geagea said that if they do not accept one of two presidential candidates -- Butros Harb or Nassib Lahoud – "they are going to have mercy on them."
Geagea, however, said both sides had "good intentions" to settle the controversial presidential election issue, which he said Sfeir was seeking to resolve.
While Harb stressed that the rival camps should "sacrifice for Lebanon," former President Amin Gemayel said that the majority's main concern was reaching "consensus" to avoid a constitutional vacuum. Cabinet Minister Nayla Muawwad, in turn, said: "I support a candidate from March 14 ranks" and stressed that she was "part of the majority's decision." National Liberal Party leader, who was the first to leave the meeting, said not only the Christian opposition want consensus, but also March 14 leaders on the grounds of building a "strong state."The meeting got underway around 10 am as scheduled.
A first attempt by Bkirki to reconcile the rival Christian politicians faced a rough start when a meeting with Christian opposition leaders took place at 7 pm Thursday after a 10-hour delay. Beirut, 12 Oct 07, 14:17

Lebanon's Maronites may be wasting a chance to inspire the whole region
By The Daily Star
Friday, October 12, 2007
Editorial
The nine-hour saga over whether or not MP Michel Aoun would visit Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir at the latter's seat in Bkirki on Thursday was part of an unsightly process whose repercussions threaten to go far beyond Lebanon's borders. Inextricably intertwined with other facets of the struggle between supporters of the government and those of the opposition, the battle over the presidency is even fiercer this year than in previous ones. And regardless of how the impasse plays out, the scars on the egos of unsuccessful candidates for the job, which is traditionally reserved for a Maronite, will pale beside those on the Arab body politic.
Lebanon's unique identity is largely a function of its religious diversity, and none of the country's communities is more important to that quality than the Maronites. No other land in this part of the world has such a large Christian component, and none has been nearly so ambitious in accommodating the interests of Christians - or any other regional minority. This helps make Lebanon, despite its tiny size and chronic instability, an example for other countries, but the Middle East's oldest experiment with pluralism has lost a lot of its luster over the past three decades. Thus far the damage has actually been limited and partially contained by the fact that so much blame could be heaped on Syria for the indelicate and unproductive nature of its 1976-2005 "tutelage" over Lebanon, especially in the final few years, but that excuse wears increasingly thin.
While Lebanon is arguably more susceptible to buffeting from competing foreign influences than ever before, however, a large part of the current struggle is strictly local. It stems from personal rivalries among Maronite politicians bred from childhood to view Baabda Palace as a personal preserve being held for them until the right moment. It therefore speaks ill of Lebanon's capacity to govern its own affairs without mediation from Damascus, Paris, Washington, Riyadh and/or Tehran. Even more importantly, it undermines confidence in the ability of all Arabs to create and maintain viable political insitutions that can simultaneously respect diversity, ensure order and protect freedoms.
Those who claim to see value in the Arab world's current models of governance (usually because they derive personal benefit from them) are fond of defending authoritarianism as a necessary means of preventing the breakdown that would allegedly follow full-fledged democratization. Lebanon has a rare chance to prove the apologists wrong by demonstrating that in spite of the usual outside meddling, its political class can act as a unit in the service of national goals. It will not meet that challenge, though, unless and until Maronite political leaders first follow the lead of Sfeir, who has thus far contorted himself to save them from themselves - and to the guard the region against what would be the far-reaching consequences of their failure.

U.N. chief chooses selection panel for judges and prosecutor for Lebanon tribunal
The Associated Press Published: October 11, 2007
UNITED NATIONS: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Thursday that he intends to appoint two judges and the U.N. legal chief to the panel that will select the judges and prosecutor for the international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister.
Under the U.N. Security Council resolution establishing the tribunal, Ban was required to choose two judges with current or previous experience on an international tribunal and his own representative, and inform the council.
U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said the secretary-general informed the Security Council that he has selected Judge Mohamed Amin El Mahdi of Egypt, who formerly served on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and Judge Erik Mose of Norway, who currently serves on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The secretary-general will be represented by Nicolas Michel, the U.N. undersecretary-general for legal affairs, she said.
"The secretary-general remains committed to establishing the tribunal in a timely manner," Okabe said. "He continues to believe that the tribunal will contribute to ending impunity in Lebanon for the crimes under its jurisdiction." Ban said in a report last month that he hopes to appoint judges to the tribunal by the end of the year.
The Security Council approved a resolution in May to unilaterally establish an international tribunal after Lebanon's divided political parties were unable to approve it. The Netherlands agreed in August to host the court if those convicted serve their sentences elsewhere.
Hariri was killed in February 2005 by a massive suicide car bombing in downtown Beirut that also killed 22 other people. Many in Lebanon accuse Syria of being behind the assassination, a charge that Damascus denies. Ban has said the tribunal will not be established until the U.N. has an estimated $35 million to fund its operation through the first year, as well as an additional $85 million in pledges to pay for the following two years.

Report: Man on trial in Lebanon says he planted bombs in Germany over Muhammad cartoons
The Associated PressPublished: October 11, 2007
BEIRUT, Lebanon: A Lebanese man on trial for a failed train bombing in Germany last year testified Thursday that he and another suspect planted crude bombs to protest cartoons that ridiculed Islam's prophet Muhammad, but he denied any links to al-Qaida. Reports of the trial, carried by the state-run National News Agency, said Jihad Hamad told the court he and fellow suspect Youssef el-Hajdib, who is under arrest in Germany, bought the gas canisters, fitted them with detonators, tested them and planted them on the trains. He also said he was not a militant Muslim and had no links to Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terror organization. He also denied he planned to detonate the bombs during the World Cup.
The prophet's drawings, which first appeared in a Danish newspaper in September 2005 and were republished in other European papers, sparked outrage, protests and violence across the Muslim world, where many consider images of the prophet to be a blasphemy. Lebanese authorities had arrested the suspects on charges of allegedly planting crude bombs on two trains at the Cologne station on July 31, 2006. 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 the suspects as they wheeled suitcases into the station.
The three denied involvement in the failed attack. El-Hajdib and Hawa said they knew Hamad from university. They both denied to the court any links to Al-Qaida or bin Laden or had any militant feelings. El-Hajdib said he was against the Berlin plot and against spilling blood, according to the agency.
Al-Boubou told the court he supported militant ideology but was against killing civilians and was opposed to the Berlin failed attack.
El-Hajdib's cousin, Saddam el-Hajdib, another fugitive suspect in the German train bombing attempt, was among militants killed in May in fighting with Lebanese troops in northern Lebanon. His brother, Youssef el-Hajdib, also a suspect in the case, is under arrest in Germany. The court on Thursday asked the police for confirmation and details of the circumstances of the death of Saddam el-Hajdib. Lawyers for el-Hajdib, Hawa and al-Boubou asked the court during Thursday's session to release the three. The presiding set the next trial session for Nov. 26, the news agency said. Germany wants the men extradited, but there is no extradition treaty between Germany and Lebanon. Lebanon has decided to try the suspects here and defer consideration of the extradition for later.

Palestinians try to rebuild lives in devastated Lebanon camp
NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (AFP) — Pointing to a dusty and fraying backpack, the middle-aged man bitterly shows what is left of what was once his life in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared, in northern Lebanon. "This is all we have: my daughter's school bag," he fumed on Thursday, striding out of the camp entrance heavily guarded by the Lebanese army. "Our house is still burning," he added, as he tried to recover books from the backpack.
He was among the first group of refugees that began returning Wednesday to the camp, which was the scene of 15 weeks of fierce battles between the army and Islamic militants. At least 400 people died, including 168 troops.
A total 800 families are expected to return to the seaside camp through next week, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency.
Several of the refugees interviewed along with a local reporter who managed to enter the camp said the once bustling community of 31,000 people was now but a ghost town filled with rubble. "It looks like Hiroshima, the infrastructure is all ruined with no running water, no electricity or even toilets," said Wafic Nawari, a Lebanese journalist who had the rare chance of getting into the camp as reporters and outsiders were banned from entering.
UN posters warn residents about remaining munitions in the sprawling camp dotted with shelled-out and blackened apartment buildings overlooking the Mediterranean.
"Many houses are looted, stripped of everything, the refugees who returned couldn't sleep last night because of the rats, the insects, and the dust," he said, "The camp is not liveable." Lebanese army officers present at the site would not comment on allegations of looting, vandalism and arson after the conflict between troops and Fatah al-Islam militants ended on September 2.
Driving back with his wife, son and Lebanese daughter-in-law, Mohammad Saleh was anxious to get past security and check on his home and repair shop, which he left at the onset of the conflict for the neighbouring town of Akkar. "I'll have to see what remains of my television and radio store, we may go back to Akkar," he said, getting out of the car along with his son to join the men lined up for a body search and clearance to enter the camp.
But for Ali Anwar Sayyed there is no going back. The 35-year-old optometrist has prepared himself for the worst: no trace of his clinic and no sign of furniture in the apartment he had shared with his new bride before they were forced to flee. "Sometimes I think about emigrating to Canada or Australia, but I cannot leave my old parents alone," he said. "I would like to tell the world: let us live in peace in this piece of land."His wife Raghida nods along and dismisses the Al-Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam militants as "mindless people who don't care about Palestinians."Meanwhile trucks loaded with water tanks, wheelbarrows and construction material enter the camp."If you go inside you see five-year-old children helping their parents to clean up houses. This place is important to them because they have nowhere else to go," said Kamal Naji, an assistant to the Palestinian representative in Lebanon. At the nearby refugee camp of Beddawi, where refugee families have been crammed over the past months, a group of Palestinian women are waiting for buses to transport them back to Nahr al-Bared. They are looking forward to spending the Eid al-Fitr -- the festival marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan -- at home."We will set up tents. A stove and a fridge don't matter," said 21-year-old architecture student Bara Ali. "Nahr al-Bared is home now until we get back to Palestine."

Israeli arrested in Lebanon released
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Daniel Sharon, the Israeli man arrested in Lebanon on suspicion of involvement in murder and spying, has been released, the German Web site Der Spiegel reported Thursday. Reportedly, the German authorities mediated in Sharon's release and he has returned to Germany. Der Spiegel quoted spokesman for the Lebanese prosecution team, Sayyid Mirze, as saying that Sharon was freed on bail on Tuesday. Sharon, a 32-year-old who holds Israeli and German citizenship, was arrested September 20 after authorities in Beirut questioned a Lebanese security agent about the shooting death of the agent's roommate. The agent claimed to have been with a German friend, later identified as Sharon, at a Beirut hotel at the time of the killing. When authorities questioned Sharon, they discovered he was an Israeli who spoke Arabic and had repeatedly visited Lebanon. Sharon told police his visits to Lebanon were for tourism and that he was a homosexual who had relationships with Lebanese men, according to the report. Israelis are not allowed to visit Lebanon because the two countries are officially at war, and authorities turned Sharon over to military police for interrogation amid suspicions that he was also involved in spying for Israel. However, a few days after Sharon's arrest Lebanese security official said that the Israeli did not appear to be involved in espionage. The official said interrogations had not shown he was involved in security work or spying. An Israeli government official had also said that Sharon was not working with Israeli authorities, and relatives and acquaintances said he converted to Islam years ago and was fascinated with the Arab world, particularly Lebanon.

Weak expectations
By: Lucy Fielder
Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly.
The clock is ticking in the search for a Lebanese president, Lucy Fielder reports from Beirut
Leaders from Lebanon's two sparring factions again laid out their opposing positions this week, and in apposite circumstances: 14 March parliamentary majority leader Saad Al-Hariri in Washington and Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah at a rally to celebrate Jerusalem Day.
Lebanon's parliament is due to meet 23 October to elect a president for six years. An attempted session on 25 September failed to meet the necessary two- thirds quorum after the two sides failed to agree on a consensus candidate, leading to an opposition boycott.
Parliamentarians have until 23 November to elect a successor to Emile Lahoud whose term was extended by constitutional amendment under Syrian pressure three years ago. The "golden date" is 10 November, after which the parliamentary speaker cannot refuse to convene parliament. The opposition fears that the US and Saudi-backed ruling majority led by Al-Hariri may carry out threats to elect a president by simple majority, for the first time in Lebanon's history, if no president is agreed upon by then.
Lebanon's fragile political system traditionally balances on sectarian consensus as much as majority voting. Government loyalists say the opposition is using that argument as a smokescreen for restoring vanquished Syria's role in Lebanon through its ally Hizbullah. Their opponents in a more than two- year-old rift say the 14 March current would replace Syrian hegemony with that of the West.
Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Middle East centre in Beirut, said despite a recent flurry of exchanges, chances of a compromise had sunk to "below 50 per cent". "The mood has turned very tense. Al-Hariri's visit to Washington doesn't seem to have come up with anything and Nasrallah's speech was somewhat escalatory." Al-Hariri's channel of dialogue with opposition speaker of parliament Nabih Berri -- the two leaders have met twice in the past couple of weeks -- remains open, Salem said, "but the question is whether they have anything to sit and agree on."
Al-Hariri's visit to Washington this week has given little indication of whether the US has plumped for a compromise candidate or will take the more dangerous route of insisting on having an ally in the Baabda presidential palace. Although Washington has been vociferous in its support for Al-Hariri and Prime Minister Fouad Al-Siniora's government, one Western diplomat said US allies were trying to persuade it of the need for compromise.
"Everyone is pressuring the United States quite heavily to go for a consensus president," the diplomat said. Particularly since Israel's failure to crush Hizbullah last summer, the US has had the movement's weapons in its sights and increased calls for implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1559 on disarming Lebanon's militias. But a 14 March president would place Lebanon squarely in the Western orbit and likely prompt the opposition to set up a rival government.
Another possible option is that Syrian ally Lahoud will refuse to hand power to the government if no consensus is found by the end of his term and instead devolve power to a transitional government, perhaps military-based.
Another diplomat said the international community was persuaded of the need for consensus, but its main priority was preventing a void or two governments. "The UN is trying to coalesce support around the idea that the election should be on time, by consensus and with the broadest level of support. But under no circumstances should there be two governments, because then there's no going back," the source said.
Should 14 March unilaterally elect a president by simple majority, "basically the P3 [permanent three; France, Britain and the United States] have decided that they're not going to stop them or say 'you're not going to elect your president'. They're aware of the sacrifices they've made," the diplomat said, in an apparent reference to the assassination of Rafik Al-Hariri in February 2005 and four other government-loyal MPs since. The 14 March group blames Syria for the assassinations.
For his part, in his speech Friday night Hassan Nasrallah had another theory, telling a Jerusalem Day rally: "the hand that kills is an Israeli hand". "Israel considers every day of calm in Lebanon an opportunity for the resistance [Hizbullah] to grow stronger, and every day of sedition and fighting there an opportunity to drag the resistance into internal issues to make [Israel] feel at ease," Nasrallah said. His speech drew fierce domestic fire.
Nasrallah further pointed out that several assassinations coincided with the passage of measures to establish the international tribunal to try suspects in Al-Hariri's assassination. He focused on the killing of Phalangist MP Antoine Ghanem last month, which coincided with widespread reports that the 14 March group were about to accept an initiative tabled by Berri aimed at breaking the presidential deadlock and achieving consensus.
"The one who has no interest in a consensual president in Lebanon is Israel. because a consensual president means a national unity government," Nasrallah said. "The Israelis can see but only the arms of the resistance in Lebanon."
Nicholas Noe, Beirut-based editor of a new book of Nasrallah's translated speeches and the Mideastwire.com translation service, said the Hizbullah leader was careful to avoid the "conspiracy theory route". "But he seems very convinced. His reasoning is that the only way Hizbullah is going to be defeated, short of a regional shake-up, is by making the Lebanese fight each other, and he thinks the Israelis and the US are prepared to do that," Noe said.
Nasrallah reiterated calls for a consensus president and suggested direct election by the people if that failed. The 14 March group condemned his speech on many counts. Prime Minister Al-Siniora criticised "those who would exonerate Al-Hariri's assassins". Many lashed out at the direct election proposal. "This is not the time for suggestions that take the country into the unknown," Al-Hariri told the pro-government daily An- Nahar from Washington.
Noe believes Nasrallah aimed to show that the opposition was going out of its way to reach conciliation, partly for future defence if Lebanon descends into civil strife. "He's showing that Hizbullah is reasonable and saying, 'if it all goes wrong, don't say we didn't come up with ideas. You guys gave nothing'," Noe said.
Front Page
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved

Lebanon PM asks UN, Arab League to stop arms from Syria
BEIRUT (AFP) — Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has asked for UN and Arab League help in halting what he said was the flow of illegal arms into the country from Syria, according to a letter seen by AFP.
In a plea to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa, Siniora also accused the Shiite Muslim party Hezbollah, which is supported by both Syria and Iran, of arming opposition groups.
"Lebanon requests the help of the Arab League and the United Nations to preserve its independence and stability and to protect it from domestic and foreign dangers," Siniora said in the letter."Large quantities of armes coming from Syria entered Lebanon during the summer 2006 war (between Hezbollah guerrillas and Israel), and possibly afterwards, and have been distributed to groups close to Syria. "Our objective is to demonstrate the importance of monitoring the borders and of preventing arms contraband. "The Lebanese government urges the secretary general of the United Nations to work for the application of international resolutions relative to these questions, which are sources of concern and relevance."Siniora did not specifically say so but he was apparently referring to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in August 2006, which brought about an end to the 34-day war that devastated Lebanon.
The resolution calls on the Lebanese government to "secure its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry in Lebanon without its consent of arms or related materiel."It also requests peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon to assist the government of Lebanon "at its request."
The Western-backed premier also spoke of what he called the "tense climate" surrounding the failure of squabbling parties last month to elect a successor to Syrian-backed President Emile Lahoud, whose term expires in November.
"The climate is tense and there is fear for the life of deputies from the (anti-Syrian) majority, of which a number have been assassinated," Siniora said.
The most recent murder was of Antoine Ghanem on September 19 and the premier said "there is a risk of chaos spreading if the election of a new president is blocked."Parliament has been adjourned until October 23 so that the two sides might have a further opportunity to agree on a consensus candidate to replace Lahoud.
Siniora said "opposition parties are training in the handling of weapons and certain groups are apparently receiving arms from Hezbollah."
The premier also repeated claims that the Al-Qaeda-inspired group Fatah al-Islam, whose fighters held off Lebanese troops for 105 days earlier this year from inside a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon, were controlled by Syria. "Fatah al-Islam wanted to take over a vast region of northern Lebanon, attack the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon deployed in the south of the country ... The majority of its members came from Syria and received the help of pro-Syrian Palestinian groups based in Damascus."Hosted by Copyright © 2007 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

Militia rebuilds Beirut district in own image
By W. Thomas Smith Jr
October 10, 2007
Lebanese soldiers (below) assisted a Lebanese woman and her children at a ceremony Saturday honoring troops killed in battle at the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp. The woman's husband died fighting the Fatah Islam militants.
BEIRUT - Here in Al Dahiyeh, an impoverished Shi'ite district in southwestern Beirut, Hezbollah militia-men are reconstructing buildings destroyed by the Israeli air force during the summer war last year in Lebanon. This time, however, they are rebuilding homes and shops in much the same way they had constructed their prewar villages in areas in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.
"Hezbollah is rebuilding underground positions [inside the city of Beirut] from which they can store weapons and defend and attack whomever they choose," said Toni Nissi, head of the International Lebanese Committee for U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559, a pro-democracy United Nations-affiliated nongovernmental organization (NGO) that frequently monitors activities in Al Dahiyeh. "UNSCR 1559 specifically calls for the disarming of the militias."
But Hezbollah, deemed a "resistance force" — not a "militia" — in many circles here in Lebanon, has received a pass from the government.
One of four Hezbollah-controlled "security zones" not patrolled by the Lebanese police or the army, Al Dahiyeh is a mixed commercial-residential district with a high population density, and lots of buildings covering multiple blocks crisscrossed by many narrow streets and alleyways. The specific Al-Dahiyeh zone in Beirut is known as a "security square," and its inhabitants are heavily armed.
"In the squares, they have weapons," said Gen. Michel Sleiman, commander in chief of the Lebanese armed forces. "But they have no authority to conduct military activities."Nationwide, the four Hezbollah zones do not include the many Palestinian refugee camps such as Nahr al-Bared on Lebanon's northern coast near Tripoli. There, Lebanese troops recently fought a fierce three-month battle against al Qaeda-inspired Fatah Islam. The Lebanese army crushed the Fatah Islam terrorists, but not before losing 168 soldiers.
Though not cut from the same cloth, Fatah Islam and Hezbollah have had similar goals: primarily to spread fear throughout the country and to prevent Lebanon from freely electing a president. Downtown between the parliament and government building, Hezbollah has set up a sprawling "tent city" in defiance of the electoral process, and many Lebanese parliamentarians are holed up in the nearby Phoenicia Hotel under heavy security.
Friday evening, Hezbollah militiamen were firing AK-47 assault rifles from their positions in Al Dahiyeh. Automatic weapons fire crackled and red and white tracers arced into the sky for miles in every direction.
The militiamen were firing in celebration of Jerusalem Day, an anti-Israel day recognized on the last Friday of Ramadan.
Inside Al Dahiyeh, Hezbollah militiamen dressed in khaki uniforms and carrying Kalashnikovs freely roam the streets. Their lookouts, dressed in civilian clothes and carrying walkie-talkies, are positioned at intersections and riding throughout the district on motor scooters.
Construction continues, contracted through the Lebanese government with Hezbollah-owned Wa'ad, a company based in Lebanon. The UNSCR 1559 committee officials contend that Wa'ad was established as a branch of Iranian-based Jihad Al-Bina, a company on the U.S. terrorist watch list.
Wa'ad — translated "the promise" — is rebuilding homes and commercial buildings in Al Dahiyeh with hidden "battle corridors" linked point by point above and below the ground with other buildings and adjacent neighborhoods. The construction includes subterranean command posts, and hollow walls capable of concealing large stockpiles of weapons and ammunition, similar to tunnels and hiding places Israeli soldiers discovered in the south during their offensive last year against Hezbollah.
Henry Dauod, a security consultant with the 1559 committee and a former combat infantryman in the Lebanese army, said there are rockets and light and heavy machine guns in Al Dahiyeh.
"We know for a fact Hezbollah has Katyusha rockets in Dahiyeh right now," said Mr. Daoud. "Also, mortars, AK-47s, RPK light machine guns, Doshka machine guns, [rocket-propelled grenades] and American M-16s."
U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 — a postwar resolution aimed at implementing UNSCR 1559 — directs that "all armed groups in Lebanon" be disarmed "so that, pursuant to the Lebanese Cabinet decision of 27 July 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese state."
The resolution clearly is not being implemented at Al Dahiyeh.

No compromise with terrorists
by Toni Nissi
Special to World Defense Review
Published 10 Oct 07
BEIRUT — A campaign – targeting the international support for Lebanon, especially Security Council Resolution 1559 (UNSCR 1559), and the Cedar Revolution's achievements and its sacrifices – has begun in earnest here in Lebanon.
It has been a while since the mercenaries and supporters of the Iranian revolution, have been declaring that the Lebanese presidential election will not occur until after the cancellation of UNSCR 1559. They are talking in their circles about a settlement, which was reached and agreed upon by all parties in Lebanon. According to them, this settlement included: an executive release from the new government "to be formed" rejecting UNSCR 1559, and a formal adoption of Hizbollah's weapons aresenal. They are even preaching that soon there will be condolences presented for the passing away of UNSCR 1559.
Therefore:
We assure Mr Hussein al Hajj Hassan, Mr Mohammad Raad, Mr Naim Kassem and many others that their opinion regarding UNSCR 1559 was never requested; After all, criminals are not asked their opinions of court judgment, instead their time is better spent in repentance or remorse and in paying the price of their deeds in peace so that they don't stack further judgments.
We remind House Speaker Mr Berri that UNSCR 1559 is an INTERNATIONAL RESOLUTION issued by the SECURITY COUNCIL for the sake of Lebanon and its people. Hence, no matter how highly placed one is, one cannot cancel such a resolution or halt its execution. Moreover, condolences sessions cannot be held against such resolutions.
We reinforce the fact that UNSCR 1559 was given light thanks to the efforts of expatriate Lebanese and for the sake of the Lebanese people. It is an obligation of the United Nations to intervene anytime to implement this resolution if the Lebanese fail to do so.
Everybody in Lebanon knows there is an agreement between the Cedars Revolution and the international resolutions, and that these resolutions were produced to help the Lebanese people realize their Cedar Revolution goals. These goals include: the fight against terrorism, the fight against foreign occupation, a sovereign, democratic, pluralistic and free Lebanon. Any settlement done at the expense of the above goals or at the expense of these special resolutions especially its primary star, 1559, will be the actual commiseration session for the Cedar Revolution.
All politicians in Lebanon must understand that the Cedars Revolution in collaboration with the international community has managed to kick the Syrian army out as outlined in the first article, but that the remnants of the Syrian tutelage is still trying to govern Lebanon through its commissioner in Lebanon and its second army: Hizbollah and its followers. The politicians must also understand that freeing Lebanon from foreign occupation will require asking help from the international community to help implement the resolutions, and thus cancel this Syrian sponsorship as well as the other foreign occupations. What the Lebanese politicians must finally understand is that there should not be any gray areas like these which used to overshadow Lebanon and its decisions for so long during the Syrian occupation. Now the politicians have to choose between being part of the Cedar Revolution or being part of terrorism, between being with those who have sacrificed their lives facing their killers or with the killers, between being with the Lebanese people or with those who are hijacking Lebanese free will.
The leaders of 14th of March and the leaders of the Cedar Revolution understand very well that any settlement with Hizbollah ,Syria, Iran (or any other country or organization dealing with the axis of terror) done at the expense of the Cedars Revolution and the UNSCR implementation will be like letting go of the Cedars Revolution goals and international community support. Moreover this settlement will move Lebanon from being a partner to the international community, in its war on terror, to becoming an ally of terrorism.
We are confident that those leaders know their duties toward the Lebanese people, the Cedar Revolution and the international resolutions. Therefore we believe that none of these leaders will accept any settlement as the one advertised for by the anti-Cedar Revolution front especially if this stand will shift Lebanon's government and its system from a partner of the international anti-terrorism campaign to a terrorist country. Finally we assure the Lebanese people that in coordination with the United Nations and the friends of Lebanon, we will not allow any settlement at the expense of the Cedars Revolution and at the expense of the Lebanese people's interests. We will not allow the Lebanese people to become hostages of terrorism. Moreover, we will not accept Lebanon's getting a president which shifts it [the country] to the axis of terror.
— Toni Nissi, the general coordinator for Lebanon of the International Lebanese Committee for U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559, a pro-democracy United Nations-affiliated nongovernmental organization (NGO).
© 2007 Toni Nissi