US State Department on Lebanon's arrests

Daily Press Briefing      

US Department of State                                                             
  Sean McCormack, Spokesman                                                             
  Washington, DC                                                                        
  August 30, 2005       

 

QUESTION: Lebanon. Do you have any reaction to the arrests in the Hariri              
  assassination out of Lebanon, and especially whether or not it hardens up your        
  feeling about whether or not Syria was directly involved?                             
                                                                                        
  MR. MCCORMACK: Well, I think that this is still an ongoing investigation. There       
  have been some arrests and some further requests to speak with individuals in         
  Lebanon, and I believe that the UN is also going to have an update on the             
  activities of Mr. Mehlis' investigation. I think that'll be coming out of New         
  York, I think, and that's the appropriate place for it to come from, as it is a       
  UN investigation.                                                                     
                                                                                        
  But I think as a general statement, the Lebanese people deserve to know what          
  happened. This was a terrible moment for Lebanon and the Lebanese people. But         
  out of that terrible moment, the Lebanese people came together and, as a              
  result, they are on the pathway to reclaiming their future, a future free from        
  occupation. And what we have called upon the Syrian Government to do is to            
  comply fully with Resolution 1559. They've withdrawn their troops but we still        
  have continuing concerns about the presence of Syrian operatives in Lebanon.          
  And so we think that part of allowing Lebanon and the Lebanese people to move         
  forward is determining what happened and who was involved in the assassination        
  of former Prime Minister Hariri and that's -- Mr. Mehlis is trying to get to          
  the bottom of that. And in trying to get to the bottom of it, these arrests, as       
  well as these further questionings are part of that effort. We welcome that           
  effort.           

Mehlis Rounds up Sayyed, Hajj, Azar, Summons Hamdan

Police rounded up several former Lebanese security chiefs who served under Syria's defunct tutelage at daybreak on Tuesday for interrogation by the U.N. commission investigating ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination.
Prominent among those detained were Brig. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, former head of Lebanon's General Security Department known as Surete Generale, Brig. Gen. Ali Hajj, ex-commander of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) and Brig. Gen. Raymond Azar, former commander of the army's intelligence service.

Witnesses said all three officers were escorted under heavy security from their Beirut homes to the countryside headquarters of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry at the mountain resort of Monteverde southeast of the Lebanese capital.

Under Lebanese law, those held for questioning can be detained for up to four days, but the order may be extended. Afterward, the detainee is either released, freed on bail or formally arrested.

Brig. Gen. Mostafa Hamdan, commander of the army's Presidential Guard Brigade, was instructed to report 'at once' to Monteverde for interrogation and he was still there several hours later.

Hamdan is President Lahoud's closest aide de camp and is known as Lahoud's inseparable shadow. Hamdan, physically a giant of a man, has long been a fixture in official delegations Lahoud had taken with him on state visits abroad.

Hamdan shadowed the president in Pope John Paul's funeral in the Vatican last April and Lahoud is reportedly planning to take Hamdan as a member of his entourage to the U.N. General Assembly annual session in New York next month.

The CNN said former State Prosecutor and Justice Minister Adnan Addoum also was summoned 'at once' to the U.N. Monteverde command post. But Addoum personally called Beirut TV stations to assert that he was not summoned and is at his home.

Police also raided the Beirut house of former parliament member Nasser Kandil, who was Syria's noisiest propaganda drummer during its ruthless reign of Lebanon. But his wife told the raiders that her husband was in Syria. However, Kandil was reported to have returned from Damascus, crossing the Syria-Lebanon border in the afternoon heading for the Monteverde.

All seven Beirut TV networks interrupted their regular broadcasts to flash out the news of the arrests as German Prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, who heads the U.N. commission investigating Hariri's Feb. 14 murder, was huddled in a closed-doors conference with Premier Fouad Seniora for hours at the Grand Serail.

Seniora told reporters after the meeting that the three detained former security chiefs and Mustafa Hamdan were being interrogated as suspects into Hariri's murder.

Mehlis then met with Justice Minister Charles Rizk in the presence of state Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, who had earlier given Mehlis the green light to stage the house raids and supplied him with the necessary police units to carry out the operation.

Tueni's 'Death List' Dramatized by Exodus of Lebanese Politicians to France

An exodus of anti-Syria politicians is underway from Lebanon to France, dramatizing a revelation by Beirut legislator Gebran Tueni that the U.N. commission investigating ex-Premier Hariri's murder has passed through authorities in Beirut a 'hit list' of figures marked for assassination in Lebanon.
Hardly had Tueni finished his frightening disclosure of the 'death list' from Paris on Monday, reports came in that Druze leader Walid Jumblat and his two cabinet ministers in Premier Seniora's government -- Ghazi Aridi and Nihmeh Tohmeh – had landed in the French capital in a secrecy-shrouded flight from Beirut.

They joined there each of parliament majority leader Saad Hariri, Vice Speaker Farid Makari, Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh and Gebran Tueni, the board chairman and general-manager of An Nahar. Hamadeh is to undergo a nose surgery, the latest in a string of operations since he miraculously survived a car-bomb assassination near his Beirut house on Oct. 1.

Tueni's revelation was the lead story in several Beirut newspaper and radio and television stations in Beirut on Tuesday. Al Balad daily ran it under an 8-column page-one banner-line that screamed "Assassination List Banishes More Politicians to Paris."

Tueni revealed the lists in interviews aired by the LBCI, Al Hurra and Al Sharq radio on Monday. He was commenting on a report of death threats in Beirut published by the London-based Al Hayat newspaper earlier in the day.

"I am in Paris for medical checkups but al-Hayat report is correct. I have officially received information from Lebanese authorities based on data from the U.N. investigation commission that there is an 'assassination list' and my name tops it," he said.

"This data has been drummed up by the commission from testimonies made by the many persons who have been interrogated," Tueni added.

"We haven't been talking about this issue until al-Hayat ran the story. I can assure you that I have personally received through Lebanese authorities a death list passed by the investigation commission containing my name."

Tueni said he believed the same list was passed to other Lebanese figures, which made it imperative to take precautions.

Tueni also said that the forthcoming final report of German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis about Hariri's assassination could disturb many people as it is apparent that the report has arrived at clear conclusions.

Tueni said this was the cause for a systematic campaign that is underway to cast doubt on the commission's credibility noting that certain quarters were behind it within the framework of intimidation and they might create a climate of security unrest either through bombings or assassinations.

He sounded confident that this campaign would not stop the process of the new era in Lebanon.

"Hariri's assassination was not a small matter but has been classified internationally as a terrorist operation. This has been manifested by the U.N. Security Council Resolution that set up an international commission of inquiry to probe the murder."

Tueni suggested that the security council keep on handling the case even after the issuance of the Mehlis report. "The case could be referred to the international court of justice in The Hague or any international tribunal because the report is likely to transcend Lebanon to other countries."

Responding to a question about President Assad's green light to Mehlis to interrogate anyone in Syria in connection with the assassination, Tueni said the Syrian authorities have come to a stage where they can not escape their responsibilities within the international community.

"You are aware that President Assad is going to the U.N. General Assembly, which means Syria will cooperate with the international community in the affair," Tueni said. "I believe Syria will have to cooperate with the security council, taking into consideration whether we liked it or not that the Syrian regime is within the area of accusation in the eyes of the international community as well as many people in Lebanon," he added.

"This does not necessarily mean that Syria is accused of having engineered Hariri's assassination. But it is natural that the investigating committee which has been interrogating many Lebanese to interrogate also Syrian security officials who served in Lebanon when Hariri was assassinated," Tueni argued.

"We should not forget that Syria was the reigning occupation authority which made it responsible of events in the country especially in an assassination case of that magnitude," Tueni said. He suggested that Syria's cooperation would help reach the truth and clarify the basis upon which relations between the two countries would be founded.

Tueni declared full confidence in Detlev Mehlis' credibility. "It is impossible to doubt his credibility because he acts with the authority of the security council and no one can cast doubt about the council's credibility. The security council has defended Lebanon's sovereignty when it was prejudiced," Tueni asserted.

Gebran Tueni Reveals He Tops an Assassination List in Lebanon

Beirut, Updated 29 Aug 05, 19:08 Beirut lawmaker Gebran Tueni said from Paris Monday that his name was listed among Lebanese politicians and journalists marked for assassination. Tueni made the revelation in a live telephone interview with LBCI, as well as Al-Hurra satellite and the Paris-based Al-Sharq radio saying the death list containing his name was passed to him by the U.N. commission investigating ex-Premier Hariri's assassination through Lebanese authorities. Tueni was commenting on a report published on Sunday by the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper. 'I am in Paris for medical checkups but al-Hayat report is correct. I have officially received information from Lebanese authorities based on data from the U.N. investigation commission that there is an 'assassination' list and my name tops it,' said An Nahar's board chairman and general manager. 'This data has been based by the commission on information contained in testimonies made by persons who have been interrogated,' Tueni added. 'We haven't been talking about this issue until al-Hayat ran the story. I can assure you that I have personally received through Lebanese authorities a death list passed by the investigation commission containing my name.' Tueni said he believed the same list was passed to other Lebanese figures, which made it imperative to take precautions. Tueni also said that the forthcoming final report of German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis about Hariri's assassination could disturb many people as it is apparent that the report has arrived at clear conclusions. Tueni said this was the cause for a systematic campaign that is underway to cast doubt on the commission's credibility noting that certain quarters were behind it within the framework of intimidation and they might create a climate of security unrest either through bombings or assassinations. He sounded confident that this campaign would not stop the process of the new era in Lebanon. 'Hariri's assassination was not a small matter but has been classified internationally as a terrorist operation. This has been manifested by the U.N. Security Council Resolution that set up an international commission of inquiry to probe the murder.' Tueni suggested that the security council keep on handling the case even after the issuance of the Mehlis report. 'The case could be referred to the international court of justice in The Hague or any international tribunal because the report is likely to transcend Lebanon to other countries.' Responding to a question about President Assad's green light to Mehlis to interrogate anyone in Syria in connection with the assassination, Tueni said the Syrian authorities have come to a stage where they can not escape their responsibilities within the international community. 'You are aware that President Assad is going to the U.N. General Assembly, which means Syria will cooperate with the international community in the affair,' Tueni said. 'I believe Syria will have to cooperate with the security council, taking into consideration whether we liked it or not that the Syrian regime is within the area of accusation in the eyes of the international community as well as many people in Lebanon,' he added. 'This does not necessarily mean that Syria is accused of having engineered Hariri's assassination. But it is natural that the investigating committee which has been interrogating many Lebanese to interrogate also Syrian security officials who served in Lebanon when Hariri was assassinated,' Tueni argued. 'We should not forget that Syria was the reigning occupation authority which made it responsible of events in the country especially in an assassination case of that magnitude,' Tueni said. He suggested that Syria's cooperation would help reach the truth and clarify the basis upon which relations between the two countries would be founded. Tueni declared full confidence in Detlev Mehlis' credibility. 'It is impossible to doubt his credibility because he acts with the authority of the Security Council and no one can cast doubt about the council's credibility. The security council has defended Lebanon's sovereignty when it was prejudiced,' Tueni asserted.

Syria Charged With Slowing Hariri Assassination Probe

By Peter Heinlein
United Nations -   A top U.N. official has told the Security Council Syria is not cooperating with the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The Security Council Thursday issued a statement urging all states to cooperate fully with the U.N. team investigating Mr. Hariri's assassination. The statement came after a closed-door meeting where the Council heard a briefing on the progress of the probe.
The short statement made no mention of Syria, but diplomats attending the session say the message was clearly aimed at Damascus.
Those diplomats said the head of the international investigation, German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis complained that Syria has refused to turn over documents and ignored interview requests. He informed the Council that Syria's lack of cooperation had slowed down the pace of his investigation.
Mr. Mehlis was not present at the meeting, but his views were communicated by U.N. undersecretary-general for political affairs Ibrahim Gambari.
In comments to reporters afterward, Mr. Gambari was careful to avoid singling out Syria for criticism. "I was very factual to say that I had written to neighboring countries for cooperation," he said. "Jordan responded, Israel had responded, and Mehlis was awaiting a response from Syria."
Several members of the Security Council however, made clear that they were losing patience with Syria's lack of cooperation with the probe. Washington's U.N. ambassador John Bolton expressed disappointment that the Council's statement did not mention Syria by name, and said he wanted to give what he called the American translation.
"We are disappointed that we couldn't be clearer today in the Council," said Mr. Bolton. "But let there be no ambiguity about the American view that Syria's lack of cooperation with the independent international investigatory commission is not acceptable."
The deputy French Ambassador Michel Duclos said despite the diplomatic language of the statement, there should be no doubt it was aimed at Syria. "In my mind, the message is clear, and the message is that the Security Council requests Syria to cooperate now, and adequately," he said.
Speaking to reporters after the Council meeting, Syria's U.N. Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad rejected the Council' criticism. He said his government is ready to cooperate with the Mehlis probe.
"Syria is very much interested in the result of all the investigation," he said. "We shall cooperate with Mr. Mehlis, and we think it is in our interest that all realities and facts behind this horrible terrorist crime are revealed."
The Security Council ordered the Mehlis Commission probe after an initial U.N. report described Lebanon's investigation of the Hariri assassination as flawed. Mr. Mehlis was given until September 15th to complete the job, but U.N. officials say he is likely to ask for an extension of the deadline.
Mr. Hariri was killed when his motorcade was blown up last February in downtown Beirut. His assassination led to protests and international pressure on Syria to withdraw its army from Lebanon. Syria has repeatedly denied any involvement in the assasination.

source: Voice of America

 

Mehlis May Interrogate Syria's Spy Masters in Switzerland?

U.N. chief investigator into Rafik Hariri's assassination Detlev Mehlis plans to ask for a few weeks extension of his mission in Beirut in a report he would submit to U.N. chief Kofi Annan Aug. 25, United Nations Beirut spokesman Nejib Friji says. Friji denied reports that Mehlis will go from Geneva to New York to submit his preliminary report about his findings. "He will return straight to Beirut from Geneva and will submit his procedural report, explaining that he needs a few additional weeks to complete the investigation," he was quoted as saying by al-Mustaqbal newspaper Thursday. Mehlis left for Geneva on a 'private mission' on Tuesday. Media reports said he might be arranging for interrogating Syria's former spy masters in Lebanon on neutral Swiss grounds should the Assad regime remain adamant against letting the Berlin prosecutor to go to Damascus for the questioning. The Syrian intelligence officers Mehlis wants to interrogate reportedly are Rustom Ghazaleh, Mohammed Makhlouf and Jameh Jameh. All are brigadier generals and all were serving in Lebanon when Hariri was murdered Feb. 14 in Beirut.

From exile and confinement arise Lebanon's lost Christian leaders

BEIRUT: The 15-year Lebanese civil war ended in 1990, but for the large anti-Syrian segment within Lebanon’s minority Christian community, the unease continued even after the bullets stopped flying as key leaders were exiled or imprisoned, muffling the sector’s voice.
Much has changed, however, in this tiny Mediterranean country since the end of Syria’s decades-long domination and the withdrawal of its troops in April.
The re-emergence of Michel Aoun and Samir Geagea - two staunchly anti-Syrian, formerly sidelined Christian civil war leaders and one-time foes - has energized their supporters, strengthened their political presence and shifted the balance of power within the anti-Syrian Christian community.
Aoun, a former army general, returned in May from France, where he spent nearly 15 years in exile after being booted out of Lebanon by the Syrians following his failed military revolt against them.
Geagea, the only warlord held accountable for his actions during the 1975-90 civil conflict, was released from jail last week under an amnesty law passed by the newly elected, anti-Syrian dominated parliament.
A general amnesty was declared in 1990 after the end of hostilities but Geagea, who headed the Lebanese Forces, the most powerful Christian wartime militia, was arrested in 1994 charged with a bomb attack against a church and his war file was reopened.
He was later acquitted of the bombing, but had been serving several life sentences for assassinations during the civil war, including the 1987 killing of Prime Minister Rashid Karami. He spent 11 years in solitary confinement, mainly in an underground cell in the Defense Ministry with no access to news.
This year’s political uprising against Syria paved the way for his release and Aoun’s return.
“You have come out of the big prison which you had been put in and you have taken me out with the same act from the small prison which I have been put in,” Geagea said, referring to the end of Syria’s hold over Lebanon, in a nationally televised speech on July 26, the day of his release.
“If a people one day want to live (in freedom) then fate will definitely respond, and it did respond,” he said at the airport before traveling to Europe for medical tests.
The February 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was the catalyst for change, sparking an unprecedented, multi-confessional outpouring of anger against Damascus for its widely perceived role in Hariri’s death.
Although Syria denied the accusations, it pulled its troops out of Lebanon, where they had been a fixture for nearly three decades.
The subsequent return of the general and the release of the warlord have helped dispel the marginalization felt by many Christians, especially the Maronite Christian community of which both men are members, since the end of the war.
Geagea’s Lebanese Forces party, which was banned after his imprisonment, returned from the political wilderness and contested recent parliamentary elections, winning six seats in the 128-member assembly.
The party forged electoral alliances with old wartime enemies and leading Muslim anti-Syrian figures like Druze chieftain Walid Jumblatt as well as Sunni leader Saad Hariri, the son of the slain former prime minister.
Unlike Geagea, Aoun broke ranks with other anti-Syrian leaders shortly after returning on May 7 and forged alliances with remnants of the pro-Syrian regime toppled after Hariri’s murder.
Hence, the two men are now in opposing political camps. They also have a history of enmity between them, having fought bloody inter-Christian battles in the late 1980s that left thousands dead.
Aoun managed to secure a sizeable chunk of the new parliament, displacing the established anti-Syrian Christian MPs by winning almost every seat in the community’s heartland north of Beirut and cementing his position as the main Christian political force in the country.
But that was before Geagea’s release.
“During the elections Aoun came out as representing the majority of Christians,” said Adib Farha, a political analyst. “That was partly a function of the fact that Aoun was free and newly returned from exile and people sympathized with him.”
“If Geagea were free at the time, things would have been different,” Farha added. “His release will change the balance of power among the Christians.”

Source: The Australian, August 1, 2005

Hizbullah Braces to Confront Major Israeli Offensive Against Lebanon

Hizbullah has taken 'vast military and security measures' along Lebanon's border with Israel, reinforcing Party of God's frontlines and rear positions in anticipation of a large-scale Israeli offensive to cover up the withdrawal from the Gaza strip, An Nahar reported on Tuesday. The Hizbullah border movements were noticed over the past two days, An Nahar said. That followed the return of Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah from a 5-day visit to Tehran armed with a 'carte blanche' support from Iran's new regime of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Nasrallah had warned before making the Tehran trip that Israel was likely to mount a large-scale military attack against Lebanon to shift attention off the Gaza disengagement operation. Israel, in turn, has put its air force on maximum alert, claiming Hizbullah might stage hit-and-run attacks against northern Jewish settlements once the Gaza pullout begins at mid-August. Hizbullah made it plain on Monday that it won't allow the Lebanese army to advance onto frontline positions on the border with Israel, defying a thinly veiled U.N. threat to withdraw the international peacekeeping force from South Lebanon unless the Lebanese army takes over the borderline from Hizbullah by Jan. 31, 2006.

Government 'Liberates' Political Parties, Giving Geagea's LF Legal Status

The Lebanese government has set up a half-Christian, half-Muslim national commission of 12 members to write a new Lebanese electoral law under the chairmanship of prestigious elder statesman Fouad Butros, the Beirut media reported on Tuesday.
The Butros commission is made up of seasoned jurists and non-partisan legal experts. The government has drawn the mechanism of the commission's work and defined its mission as "proposing the best methods to reform the electoral system…to ensure true and fair representation."

The commission members are: Ghaleb Mahmasani, Michel Tabet, Abdul Salam Sheib, Ziad Baroud, Zohair Shokor, Nawaf Salam, Paul Salem, Fayez Hajj Shahine, Khaldoun Naja, Ghassan Abu Alwan and Mrs. Arwa Akmaji.

The cabinet also decided in a regular session under Premier Seniora at the Grand Serail to 'liberate' the formation of political parties, canceling requirement of advance approval by the Council of Ministers and returning to the 1908 Ottoman Code that had negated the prior approval provision, according to An Nahar.

Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh said Samir Geagea's Lebanese Forces would automatically benefit from the new law, legally canceling a 1994 government resolution that outlawed the LF.

Saad Hariri's Tayyar Al Mustaqbal and Gen. Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement will also become political parties once they post a notice with the interior ministry. Ex-Premier Salim Hoss, however, was the first to post such a notice for his National Action Forum.

The cabinet session lasted 5 1/2 hours. It was the first to be held at the Grand Serail within the framework of an understanding between President Lahoud and Premier Seniora to rotate the sessions between the Baabda Palace and the Grand Serail, scrapping the mid-city headquarters for cabinet meetings.

Hizbullah Says Flat 'No' to Army Deployment on Lebanon's Border with Israel

Evidently emboldened by Iran's 'cart blanche' support, Hizbullah has publicly rejected the deployment of the Lebanese army along Lebanon's borders with Israel, saying its resistance "will continue until occupation is lifted off the last piece of soil from our land," the Beirut media reported on Monday.
The defiant announcement was made Sunday by legislator Mohammed Raad, leader of Hizbullah's bloc in Parliament, just a day after Hizbullah's Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah returned from a 5-day visit to Tehran with pledges of unlimited support from Iran's newly elected president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.


"The army is present in south Lebanon within the context of a national strategy that guarantees Lebanon's interests against Israeli aggressiveness," Raad said in a public rally held in the southern township of Arabsalim on Sunday. His statement was trumpeted by the local media on Monday.

Referring to U.N. Security Council resolution 1614, which called for the deployment of the Lebanese army along the border with Israel to end Hizbullah's effective control of the borderline, Raad said this resolution was tailored by the United States to keep the heat on Lebanon for disarming Hizbullah in line with resolution 1559.

"This is a sovereignty issue and no external side is allowed to tamper with. The Lebanese alone are entitled to lay down their national strategies, not the Americans nor anyone else," Raad said.

"Resistance will persist until occupation is lifted off the last piece of soil of our land."

Raad contended that the population of Lebanon supported the resistance, which is operating in coordination with the Lebanese army in the south.

The army is said to have 5,000 troops deployed in the south, but away from the immediate borderline with Israel, which has been controlled by Hizbullah's irregulars since the May 24, 2000 termination of Israel's occupation of south Lebanon.

U.N. representative in south Lebanon, Gere Pederson, has engaged the government of Lebanon in talks about the army's deployment in accordance with resolution 1614, which extended the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL for an additional six months ending on Jan. 31, 2006.

Pederson has reportedly asked President Lahoud and Premier Seniora exactly when the much talked about inter-Lebanese dialogue on Hizbullah's disarmament would begin and how long would it last.

The pointed questions were seen by the local media as a clear indication that the Security Council would withdraw UNIFIL from south Lebanon if the Lebanese army fails to take direct control of the border with Israel from Hizbullah by Jan.31 of next year.

Raad renewed in his Arabsalim speech Hizbullah's rejection of an amnesty for pro-Israeli Lebanese militiamen now living in Israel. "They are traitors," he said

Lebanon's 'old guard' is still alive

The Daily Star
Monday, August 08, 2005

By Farid El Khazen

The recent parliamentary elections held in Lebanon in May and June came at a
time of drastic change in postwar Lebanese politics. It was the first
parliamentary election held after the withdrawal of Syrian troops, and it
followed the international community's renewed interest in Lebanese politics
embodied in the passing of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559
on September 2, 2004.
The elections were also the culmination of events that marked Lebanese
politics following the prolongation of President Emile Lahoud's term for
three years in violation of Resolution 1559. The status quo that had
prevailed in Lebanese politics since the end of the war in 1990 was
shattered by the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on
February 14, followed by approval of Resolution 1595, which established an
international independent investigation commission to look into Hariri's
assassination; and by the "Independence Intifada" that brought together over
a million Lebanese on March 14, from all communities, to demand a withdrawal
of Syria's military and intelligence apparatus.
Notwithstanding these momentous developments, the electoral law that
governed the recent elections was the same one used in the 2000 elections,
and differed little from the electoral laws of the two previous elections in
1992 and 1996, both dictated by Syria. These laws, which created large
constituencies and involved extensive gerrymandering, were designed to
influence the outcome of elections so that they targeted specific political
groups and communities, notably the Christian communities.
Despite repeated calls by several politicians to adopt an electoral law
that would allow better representation and greater competition, no change in
the 2000 electoral law was possible. The international community's
insistence on holding elections according to schedule allowed no time for
any serious revision of the law, and provided an excuse for supporters of
the 2000 law to block a proposal presented by several deputies for an
electoral law based on medium-size districts.
There was relatively little intervention by government authorities in the
elections. Damascus, too, had no hand in the making and unmaking of
electoral lists and alliances, as was the practice before. The elections
were marked by two contradictory patterns: First, competition, took place in
Mount Lebanon and North Lebanon. There, electoral lists engaged in fierce
competition between two broad alliances: lists backed by General Michel
Aoun, who returned to Lebanon in early May after 15 years of exile imposed
by the Syrian-controlled Lebanese government, faced lists backed by Saad
Hariri, the son of the late prime minister, who succeeded his father as
leader of the Sunni community, in alliance with Druze leader Walid Jumblatt
and Christian politicians and parties formerly associated with the Qornet
Shehwan gathering.
A second pattern of elections took place in South Lebanon and Beirut, where
the outcome was largely predetermined. In Beirut, where the participation
rate was the lowest in the country, at about 25 percent, eight candidates
out of 19 won their seats uncontested, and deputies on Hariri's list won by
wide margins.
Similarly, in South Lebanon six candidates out of 23 won uncontested. The
alliance between the two major Shiite parties, Amal and Hizbullah,
monopolized Shiite representation and made it almost impossible for a third
Shiite force to emerge as a serious competitor. In North Lebanon, the resort
to sectarian slogans by Sunni religious figures in support of the Hariri
list was an unprecedented development in Lebanese electoral politics. The
elections were also marred by the widespread and uncontrolled use of money.
More than any other parliament in pre- and post-war Lebanon, the 2005
parliament is made up of large parliamentary coalitions headed by leaders
who have near total monopolies over the representation of their respective
communities: Hariri's coalition includes 21 out of 27 Sunni deputies; Amal
and Hizbullah's coalition includes 24 out of 27 Shiite deputies; and seven
out of eight Druze deputies are in Jumblatt's coalition. The most
diversified group of deputies in terms of political allegiances and
alliances is Christian, though Aoun's coalition includes the largest single
agglomeration of Christian deputies (18 out 64).
While the elections brought a large number of newcomers to Parliament,
particularly among groups that were targeted or banned by the
Syrian-controlled Lebanese government, the political process is still
heavily constrained by politicians and parties that have close ties with
Syria and harbor agendas that go beyond Lebanon, notably Hizbullah. In
addition to Syria, Hizbullah is backed by Iran and has the support of Amal
as well as a number of Lebanese politicians.
Lebanon is currently in a transition period after nearly 30 years of Syrian
hegemony, and it will take time for the Lebanese government to exercise
sovereignty fully now that it has regained it. The duration of the
transition period will depend on several developments, some of which are
beyond Lebanon's control. In the short run, the outcome of the international
investigation of Hariri's assassination will have a bearing on Lebanese
politics, perhaps on Syria and, by extension, on Syrian-Lebanese relations.
Moreover, the full implementation of Resolution 1559 concerning the
disarming of Hizbullah and of armed Palestinian groups is the greatest
challenge facing Lebanon in its dealings with the international community.
In the long run, Syrian-Lebanese relations will constitute the major source
of tension facing Lebanon both internally and in its external relations.
The recent elections would have had a greater impact on the political
process had the electoral law been different, for the Syrian-backed Lebanese
"old guard," with its multiple regional agendas, affecting everything from
relations with Iran to the Arab-Israel conflict, retains significant
influence. The elections restructured political alliances but did not usher
in a new era of change. It will take time for Lebanon to find a new
equilibrium, one that disengages Lebanon from regional turmoil.
Farid al-Khazen is a member of the Lebanese Parliament from the Aounist
list, and a professor of political science at the American University of
Beirut. This commentary first appeared at bitterlemons-international.org, an
online newsletter.

Copyright (c) 2005 The Daily Star

Seniora Speaks Out as U.N. Coerces Beirut to Begin Hizbullah's Disarmament Dialogue

Premier Seniora says his recent talks with President Assad have rebased relations between Lebanon and Syria on a foundation of 'equality and mutual respect,' emphatically denying that they tackled the idea of a face-to-face meeting between the Syrian President and Saad Hariri, the majority leader of Lebanon's first Syria-free parliament.
"Relations are on state-to-state basis. No intermediaries and no Moukhabarat liaisons," Seniora said in an interview aired Saturday by the Arabiya TV network. "These relations go through genuine constitutional channels between the institutions of the two states."

Seniora denied that Syrian officials had complained to him about anti-Syria reporting in the Lebanese press and the Hariri media. "This issue has not been brought up during the talks, not the Lebanese media in general nor what is reported by Future-TV or Al Mustaqbal newspaper in particular," Seniora asserted.

It was his first comprehensive interview about his trip to Damascus Sunday, which Seniora undertook to ease the strain that prevailed between the two countries since Syria was forced to terminate its 3-decade tutelage over Lebanon last April in the quake-like aftermath of ex-Premier Hariri's assassination.

Seniora confirmed that the government was engaged in discussions with the United Nations about a mechanism to deploy the Lebanese army on the border with Israel, which had been proposed by Security Council resolution 1614 that extended UNIFIL's mandate in south Lebanon for 6 extra months as of August 1.

"But the ongoing discussion is addressing the issue from the angle of safeguarding the unity of the Lebanese amongst themselves," Seniora said. "This is an essential concept that we uphold while trying to seriously maintain our relationship with the international legitimacy."

The international legitimacy, however, rejects Lebanon's official contention that seems to have survived the collapse of Syria's hegemony and which argues that the Lebanese army would not be deployed en masse along the border with Israel before a comprehensive Middle East peace is in place.

An Nahar said Saturday U.N. representative Gere Pederson had asked President Lahoud and Premier Seniora in meetings held on Thursday for a specific date for an inter-Lebanese debate about Hizbullah's disarmament, how would the Lebanese authorities go about doing it and how long would the operation last.

Senators Call on President Bush to Act Against Hezbollah's

Smith-Nelson Letter Urging Terrorist Designation Draws 51 Signatures

 

Washington, D.C. (August 2, 2005) – The Coalition Against Terrorist Media (CATM) today praised the 51 U.S. Senators (26 Democrats and 25 Republicans) who signed a letter calling on President Bush to identify Hezbollah's Al-Manar television as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization. This designation will allow the government to take action against al-Manar's sources of funding and organizations that do business with the station.

 

The bipartisan letter reads in part:  “We write to urge you to place al-Manar, the official television station of Hezbollah on the Treasury Department's Specially Designated Global Terrorist Entity list (SDGT) and to aggressively target the organizations that aid in its broadcast.  Hezbollah, a known terrorist organization funds al-Manar, calling it a ‘station of resistance.'  Viewed via satellite throughout the Muslim world, al-Manar promotes suicide attacks against American and Israeli targets and encourages Iraqi insurgents to attack U.S. troops.”

 

“Hezbollah uses al-Manar as an operational weapon to incite hatred and violence, recruit suicide bombers, and foster a culture of terrorism,” said CATM Executive Director Avi Jorisch, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.  “Senators Smith and Nelson should be congratulated for their leadership on this issue, and all the Senators who signed should be applauded for taking a clear stand against al-Manar and requesting a strong response.”

 

The Coalition Against Terrorist Media, a project of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, brings together Muslims, Christians, Jews and secular organizations concerned about terrorist controlled and operated media.  Since its founding in the fall of 2004, it has briefed hundreds of government officials in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East about the danger that al-Manar poses and has appeared numerous times in national and international media.

 

As a result of CATM and Jorisch's efforts, Al-Manar has been removed from five satellite providers:  New Skies Satellite (based in Netherlands, broadcast to Europe); Eutelsat (based in France, broadcast to Europe); Intelsat (based in Barbados, broadcast to U.S. and Canada) Hispasat (based in Spain, broadcast to Latin America) ;TARBS (based in Australia, broadcast to Australia and the far East).  Al-Manar can no longer be seen in the U.S., Canada, and Central and South America, and parts of Asia.

 

Al-Manar is still broadcast to the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe by ARABSAT, whose largest stockholder is the government of Saudi Arabia, and Nilesat, owned by the government of Egypt . Hong Kong-based AsiaSat broadcasts al-Manar to parts of Asia.  GlobeCast, a subsidiary of France Telecom, feeds al-Manar to AsiaSat.

 

At the urging of CATM, United States and European governments have begun to take action against al-Manar.  The U.S. State Department added al-Manar to its Terrorist Exclusion List in December, 2004, labeling the media outlet as a terrorist organization for immigration purposes. In March, 2005, the European Union passed a directive, Television without Frontiers, prohibiting incitement to hatred, and European audiovisual ministers agreed that Al-Manar falls under the directive.  In May, French Minister for Culture and Telecommunications Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres called on all European Union members to cease broadcasting al-Manar. 

 

In addition, American companies no longer advertise on al-Manar, though some European companies do.

 

 “We're pleased that in the United States and Europe, many officials and private companies have taken significant and concrete actions to limit al-Manar,” said Jorisch.  “But we recognize that much more needs to be done to eliminate its threat.  We hope the Bush Administration will act quickly to designate al-Manar as an SDGT and that it will work with Egypt and Saudi Arabia to end their broadcast of it as well.”

 

To learn more about the Coalition Against Terrorist Media and al-Manar, please visit www.stopterroristmedia.org.

U.S. Proclaims Itself Guarantor of Lebanon's Sovereignty

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has effectively proclaimed the United States a guarantor of Lebanon's sovereignty, charging that Syria was still 'trying to influence events in unseemly ways.'
"The first thing that we've done is to, together with France, mobilize international opinion so that the Syrians had to get out of Lebanon," Rice said in an interview carried by The Washington Post On Sunday, The interview was reproduced by An Nahar on Tuesday.

"There is no doubt that the Syrians continue to try to influence events in Lebanon in ways that are unseemly, including, I think, the pressure that they're putting on the Lebanese on the border," Rice said well before Syria had ended its trade blockade in the wake of Premier Seniora's talks with Syrian leaders in Damascus.

"We are going to continue to work with the international community to convince the Syrians that this is not an acceptable course," she said, asserting that the Syrian behavior "is hurting the Palestinians, hurting the Iraqis and hurting the Lebanese, and that they're out of step with what's going on in the international system."

'But is there a moment in which you say, "Enough" if the Syrians fail to comply?' Interviewer Robin Wright, a veteran Middle East specialist, asked.

"Well, I think it's not a small accomplishment that Syrian forces are out of Lebanon," Rice responded. "Let's remember that, again, a lot has happened in the period of time since the Hariri assassination. And Syrian forces are out of Lebanon and there is a new government in Lebanon.

"And now, the next step is to make certain that the Syrians respect Lebanese sovereignty, and so we'll work on that step. But when you say, 'Are you going to do something,' well, I think Syrian forces out of Lebanon is a good thing," Rice said.

An Nahar splashed that quote under a page-one headline that hollered: "Rice, We shall guarantee Lebanon's sovereignty."

"You now believe that all intelligence and military forces are out?" Wright asked. "No, I don't. But I do believe that Syrian military forces are out of Lebanon. There's a verification team that will tell us what other elements that might be there. We still await the investigation into the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri. So there are a number of steps."

"Which will probably be out soon, isn't it?" Rice was asked. "Fairly soon, but I don't have a date in mind. We don't have a date that we've been given yet," she responded

 

source: Naharnet