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Tuesday, 21 October 2014
Parliament extension a foregone conclusion
BEIRUT: Parliament is poised to extend its mandate before voting on the public sector’s wage hike bill, former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Tuesday after holding talks with Speaker Nabih Berri, sending the strongest signal yet that the extension has become a de facto matter.
The Berri-Siniora meeting came shortly after lawmakers from the March 8 and March 14 blocs re-elected heads and members of 16 committees as well as members of Parliament’s Secretariat during a 15-minute session.
“I think the issue of the extension session is more urgent than the salary scale [draft law],” Siniora, the head of the parliamentary Future bloc, told reporters after the nearly two-hour meeting with Berri. “But things are going in the right direction.”
Held in Berri’s office in Parliament after a regular session, the closed meeting was also attended by Nader Hariri, the chief of staff for former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, along with Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil and Deputy Speaker Farid Makari.
Asked if he had agreed with Berri on the extension session and the duration of extension, Siniora said: “No, we are still consulting on this matter.
He stressed that the election of a new president has top priority. “Inshallah, we hope to see progress in this direction. But so far, there is nothing definite in this respect,” Siniora said.
Lawmakers are expected to meet next week to discuss and approve a draft proposal presented by Zahle MP Nicolas Fattoush that calls for the extension of Parliament’s term for two years and seven months to make it a full four-year mandate after lawmakers, citing security concerns, extended the House’s term for 17 months in May 2013.
Despite reservations voiced by some major blocs about the extension proposal, the majority of lawmakers are expected to eventually endorse the move.
According to parliamentary sources, the Future officials argued that Parliament should approve the extension before discussing the wage hike bill. Both draft laws should be discussed and approved in a legislative session that Berri has yet to schedule.
The approval of the wage hike was stalled early this month by controversy over the treatment of military personnel in the policy. Khalil announced from Parliament that he had already received the military’s proposal for the modification of the hike’s draft law.
“We are ready for the wage hike,” Khalil told reporters. “Deputy Speaker Farid Makari announced that he would ask the speaker to schedule a meeting for Parliament’s Joint Committees to continue studying the [draft law.]”
Due to the time required for the further examination of the wage hike and agreement between all political factions on a final version, sources said they expected Parliament to renew its mandate first, and then possibly resolve the wage-hike dilemma.
The ranks and salary scale has been occupying headlines for three years, as the Union Coordination Committee lobbied with politicians, staged protests and held strikes to call for its quick approval. Although continuously pledging to approve the hike, lawmakers repeatedly failed to reach consensus over the wage-increase percentage and other items.
In Tuesday’s 15-minute session, MPs made minor adjustments to committee assignments, with MP Ziad Aswad elected to replace the late MP Michel Helou on one of the committees, while the Parliament’s Secretariat members were re-elected without any changes. The Parliament’s Secretariat also agreed Tuesday on the agenda of the anticipated legislative session.
Meanwhile, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai reiterated his opposition to extending Parliament’s mandate and accused lawmakers of violating the Constitution. “I will not give my blessings for an extension. I will not bless violations of the Constitution,” Rai told reporters at Beirut airport after returning from a two-week visit to Rome.
Referring to his meeting with Hariri in Rome last week, Rai said the head of the Future Movement was concerned with the fact that lawmakers have failed to elect a president. According to Rai, Hariri said he feared this would prompt an extension of Parliament’s mandate to avoid a political vacuum.
The patriarch, however, stressed that he would not involve himself in the issue of an extension, since a prolonged mandate would “violate the Constitution and the opinions of the Lebanese people who [initially] elected lawmakers for a specified term.”
Asked if he had agreed with Hariri on the need to elect a consensus president, Rai said: “My stance is known. Let the MPs elect a president. Out of respect for MPs and political blocs, I don’t have a preferred candidate and I haven’t imposed a veto on any candidate.”
MP Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc renewed its opposition to the extension of Parliament’s term and called for elections to be held on time.
“The bloc sees linking parliamentary elections with the presidential vote as a major constitutional mistake that is rejected. Parliamentary elections should be held on schedule,” MP Ibrahim Kanaan told reporters after the bloc’s weekly meeting chaired by Aoun in Rabieh, north of Beirut.
He said the bloc would use “all available legal and constitutional measures” to reject the extension of Parliament’s mandate.
The Future bloc underlined the importance of reaching “a national compromise to elect a consensus president” according to the March 14 coalition’s initiative. “This is the best way to overcome the current crisis in the country,” the bloc said in a statement after its weekly meeting chaired by Siniora.
The March 14 coalition has called for talks with the rival Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance to agree on a consensus candidate to the presidency.
Berri has called for a Parliament session Oct. 29 to choose a successor to former President Michel Sleiman, whose six-year tenure ended May 25. Parliament failed Oct. 9 for the 13th time in the past five months to elect a president over a lack of quorum.
Meanwhile, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Kataeb Party MP Sami Gemayel are currently in Saudi Arabia for talks with Saudi officials on the presidential election and the extension of Parliament’s term, in addition to discussing security developments in the region and their impact on Lebanon, March 14 ministerial sources said.
Gemayel met separately in the Saudi city of Jeddah Tuesday with Hariri, acting Saudi Crown Prince Muqrin bin Abdel Aziz and Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal to discuss “the local and regional situation and ways to restore stability to Lebanon and fortify official institutions, at the forefront of which is the Lebanese Army,” according to a statement released by Gemayel’s office.
Lebanese trucks caught in crossfire in Syria
BEIRUT: One Lebanese driver was wounded and two Syrians killed after trucks from the Bekaa Valley were caught up in crossfire at the Syria-Jordan border late Monday.
The refrigerated trucks were transporting goods from Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley to the Gulf when they were caught up in a battle between the Syrian Army and rebels as they were about to cross into Jordan through the Nasib border crossing.
One Lebanese driver was wounded and two Syrians were killed, the head of the Farmers’ Association in the Bekaa Valley, Ibrahim Tarshishi, told The Daily Star Tuesday.
“We were informed late Monday night that the trucks had reached the area of Nasib, just 1 kilometer from the Jordanian border when they came under heavy rocket fire and shelling, during fighting between the [Syrian] army and the rebels,” Tarshishi said.
There were at least 130 trucks waiting to cross when battles erupted in Nasib, a government-controlled border crossing surrounded by territory held by Syrian rebels. At least four trucks were destroyed, he said.
“The trucks were all carrying Lebanese products, fruits and vegetables destined for the Gulf countries,” Tarshishi said. He said communication with the truckers had been completely cut off since Monday night.
“We have no new information about their conditions, but the Jordanian authorities said they would check on them,” Tarshishi said, calling on Jordan to facilitate the crossing of the trucks.
Tarshishi called for halting the movement of trucks from Lebanon until the situation on the Syrian-Jordanian border was resolved. “We asked the agriculture minister to stop trucks from crossing into Syria through Lebanon’s Masnaa [border crossing] for the time being,” he said, noting that some 70 vehicles carrying Bekaa products cross to Syria on their way to the Gulf almost daily.
Lebanon’s General Security could not be reached for comment over whether authorities were still allowing trucks to take the same routes toward Jordan.
Electing new head of state key to ending crisis: Aridi
BEIRUT: All Cabinet parties agree on the need to preserve the national unity government despite a recent war of words between Hezbollah and the Future Movement, a lawmaker from Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt’s bloc said. “I don’t believe the Cabinet will be affected for the simple reason that all groups have an interest in preserving the government,” MP Ghazi Aridi told The Daily Star Tuesday in an interview at his office in Beirut.
“Despite its faltered performance ... all parties agree that it is necessary for the government to stay.”
Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, from the Future Movement, criticized Hezbollah over the weekend, blaming the party for the growing instability in Lebanon and accusing certain security institutions of favoring the group.
Hezbollah swiftly responded, refuting what Machnouk called a “security balance.”
Aridi said harsher remarks had been made by Cabinet parties previously but had been contained.
The Beirut lawmaker explained that extending Parliament’s term was a “necessary evil,” given the current political and security circumstances in the country.
“If we don’t hold parliamentary elections, the country cannot stay without Parliament. How is Parliament preserved? Through its extension,” Aridi said.
In an indirect reference to Hezbollah, the MP said there was a group which did want parliamentary or presidential elections to be held because it was busy with more important and strategic issues.
He also pointed to the Future Movement’s rejection of taking part in parliamentary polls prior to the election of a president.
Speaker Nabih Berri said he would not accept elections being held amid a boycott by the major representative of Sunnis in the country, as the move would be depicted as a violation of the National Pact.
“There are political reasons for major parties in the country that prevent holding the parliamentary elections,” Aridi said.
“There are also reasons presented by the interior minister based on reports from security agencies saying it is difficult to hold the polls in several Lebanese districts due to tension, kidnappings and the blocking of roads,” he added. “So how can you have parliamentary elections?
“With all these factors in addition to the fact that Parliament’s term is about to expire, we are only left with extension,” he said.
Parliament’s term is set to expire on Nov. 20.
Aridi also highlighted the importance of electing a president as soon as possible.
“Electing a president is the key to reviving the constitutional and political life of the country,” Aridi said. “Once a president is elected, a government is automatically formed and it will hold elections.”
He said that Lebanese groups should engage in a compromise to elect a head of state rather than wait for regional developments to push for such a settlement.
Aridi explained that Lebanon was not currently a priority for regional and international powers, given the turmoil in the region.
“Till when will the Lebanese wait? And even if we wait, we are not a priority for anyone,” he said. “Things will drag on for a long time and get more complicated, there will be more damage, but at the end will reach a settlement.”
“[So] let’s engage in this settlement now and spare the country,” Aridi said.
The minister lamented that Lebanese political parties were not taking advantage of what he called an international decision to prevent the situation in Lebanon from exploding.
Jumblatt has held a series of meetings recently with rival Maronite leaders in a bid to break the presidential deadlock, but his efforts have so far hit a dead end.
Aridi said there were no positive signs in the offing, adding that the March 8 and March 14 coalitions did not have a logical explanation for the presidential vacuum.
“During talks [with rival leaders], they tell us that this issue cannot be solved locally, as the decision comes from outside. But during the same conversation, they say: ‘Why don’t we engage in a compromise and reach consensus on a president?’”
Separately, Aridi said a visit that Jumblatt paid to the southern districts of Hasbaya and Arqoub last month were aimed at preserving calm in the area amid dramatic developments nearby on the Syrian side of the border.
He said that the Nusra Front had taken over large swaths of land on the border, adding that Arqoub and Hasbaya were geographically interlinked with Syria.
“This resulted in an influx of refugees [to the Lebanese side] and we had people from rival camps in Lebanon sympathizing with the opposite groups in Syria, which led to repercussions for the situation in Lebanon,” Aridi said.
Hasbaya and Arqoub are religiously mixed areas. Its residents are Shiite, Sunni, Christian and the Druze and the districts have a large number of Syrian refugees.
The rising phenomenon of informal security – gunmen taking law and order into their own hands – in the western Bekaa region and the neighboring areas of Hasbaya, Rashaya and Arqoub in southeast Lebanon has heightened fears that the region might be bracing itself for a confrontation with Islamist militants similar to what happened in the Bekaa Valley town of Arsal in August.
Aridi said that Jumblatt met political leaders and residents there in a bid to achieve two goals.
“He warned everybody that instinctive reactions against incidents that happen here or there ... as a result of Syria’s crisis, will lead to Sunni-Shiite strife and to chaos,” he said.
Aridi added that Jumblatt’s move was also part of his efforts to break the political deadlock.
Jumblatt urged locals to resort to the state to solve any issue, expressing his opposition to private security measures, Aridi said.
“Residents there responded positively and in an ‘excellent manner’ ... we are assured to a large extent [of the situation].”
After Iran, Moqbel starts political tour
BEIRUT: Defense Minister Samir Moqbel has been meeting with high-ranking political officials in Lebanon since Tuesday morning, shortly after his return from Iran, where he discussed the Iranian military aid package to the Lebanese Army.
Without making any statements on the purpose of the tour, Moqbel met with Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi and former President Michel Sleiman Tuesday morning.
He then headed to visit Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and Kataeb Party chief Amine Gemayel. Moqbel only told reporters that he and Aoun were “on the same page,” but did not clarify whether the talks with the leaders were centered on the military aid that he had been discussing in Tehran for the last few days.
Moqbel had just arrived to Lebanon from a three-day official visit to Tehran, where he met top officials to discuss the military aid.
After meeting with Moqbel Monday, Iran’s defense minister said his country was ready to ship defensive materials to Lebanon to aid its army in the fight against jihadists, but stressed that the deal was awaiting Lebanon’s approval.
Although the Lebanese government had announced that it welcomed any unconditional support to the Army, the Iranian aid has sparked some controversy, with local and international figures saying that it would be a violation of U.N. sanctions on Iran.
According to sanctions applied in March 2007, Iran is forbidden to sell, export or move any weapons from its territory to other countries.
Lebanese figures also called for refusing the aid because of Iran’s involvement in supporting Hezbollah and unofficial reports that the U.S. opposes the acceptance of such a donation. On the other hand, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil announced he would submit a proposal for a Cabinet approval of the aid.
The French Foreign Ministry, represented by its spokesman Romain Nadal, warned Tuesday any Iranian military package to Lebanon should not violate the international sanctions on the Iran.
ISIS not allowed to gain foothold in Lebanon
While regional fears abound that ISIS might successfully reshape the map of the Middle East as we know it, Western political sources are not concerned about militant groups gaining a foothold in Lebanon. A prominent Western diplomat in Beirut expressed optimism and hope for the future of Lebanon, despite the turmoil in the region and the persistent threat of terrorism, which has increased in many Lebanese areas recently.
“Warnings of dramatic developments in Lebanon are still there,” said the source, who said he expects Syrian militants to take refuge along Lebanon’s borders should their circumstances grow dire. This might lead to insurgencies along the border areas and the awakening of sleeper cells, he said. But despite the possibility of security threats, he downplayed the idea of any harm coming Lebanon’s way.
“In spite of this impression, based on information we have,” he said, citing facts from the field and precise satellite monitoring data of militant groups in Syria, “despite the huge number of [militants] headed to the areas on the border, this doesn’t mean that Lebanon has a dark future.”
The international community, according to the diplomat, is keen on sparing Lebanon from the repercussions of the regional turmoil for one very important strategic reason: to deny extremist groups access to the coast.
“It’s not permitted for what they call the Islamic State, ISIS, to have a foothold in Lebanon,” the source said.
Denying the extremist group access the Mediterranean Sea appears to be the main reason why the international community is championing the protection of Lebanon and other countries that share a coastline.
“In Europe in particular, and the international community in general, a decision was taken to prevent the rise of any extremist rule that has access to the Mediterranean Sea,” the source explained.
“This is what accelerated the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, limited Hamas’ influence on Gaza, prevented Syria’s coastline from being jeopardized and pushed the regime in Tunis to commit to pluralism and partnership deal,” the source said.
Having a channel to the Mediterranean is a dream that will not come true for extremist groups despite all their efforts, the diplomat stressed. He even referred to possible military intervention, if such a thing were ever required, to prevent such a scenario from taking place.
The source said he also urged the Lebanese factions to unite in their efforts to fight terrorism, stressing that any division over this subject would be detrimental.
“Any attempts to make this challenge [fighting terrorism] as a device of political rhetoric among parties will reflect negatively on everyone,” said the diplomatic source, stressing the importance of strengthening the civil, military and security institutions.
“Therefore, the map of Lebanon is not allowed to change under any circumstance,” the source said.
The source said that conflicts in the region appear to be sectarian, but from a Western perspective, conflicts in the Middle East are rarely ideologically based. Rather, these conflicts are waged as part of a struggle to control sources of oil and gas, he said.
“In fact, [the conflict] revolves around the sources of energy and the supply lines of oil and gas, particularly the pipelines that transfer the old or recently discovered Arab oil to Europe and Asia.”
Fears grow of fighting in W. Bekaa, Shebaa
SHEBAA, Lebanon: As security concerns mount, gunmen are increasingly taking law and order into their own hands in the Western Bekaa region and the neighboring areas of Hasbaya, Rashaya and Arqoub in southeast Lebanon.
The growing phenomenon has heightened fears that the region might be bracing itself for a confrontation with Islamist militants similar to what happened in the Bekaa Valley town of Arsal in August.Such fears have been enhanced by the Lebanese Army’s decision to sever supply lines to ISIS and Nusra Front militants holed up in the rugged outskirts of Arsal following five days of fierce fighting with troops that resulted in the death of 19 soldiers and the capture of more than 30 servicemen by the militants. The militants are still holding 27 soldiers and policemen hostage.
Faced with the Army’s tough siege, the militants might resort to opening up a new front in the south, particularly at Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh) on the Lebanese-Syrian border along the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, in a desperate bid to secure a new supply route.
Though areas located near Mount Hermon have generally been calm, residents are increasingly concerned that violence could spill over into Lebanese territory from the other side of the Syrian border.
Although rumors about the presence of gunmen from the Nusra Front and the rebel Free Syrian Army in Hasbaya and Rashaya al-Wadi have not been confirmed, gunmen belonging to a pro-Syrian regime Lebanese party are seen roaming the streets enforcing security.
As the war in Syria, now in its third year, rages on with no end in sight, the number of Syrian refugees in Shebaa and Arqoub villages keep swelling, putting a strain on the local population. For instance, in the village of Kfar Shuba, there are 170 Syrian families, nearly equaling the number of the estimated 1,500 local residents.
Residents and political movements in these villages have voiced fears that Hezbollah and the Syrian regime might push the situation in the Arqoub-Shebaa region, known for its Sunni-Druze mix, into “another Arsal episode.” Fears of strife prompted Druze leader MP Walid Jumblatt to tour these areas earlier this month and meet with mayors and local leaders in an attempt to avoid sectarian violence in the region.
A recent incident heightened tension in the region. Some youths wrote a slogan supporting ISIS on the walls in Hasbaya: “The Islamic State is coming.”
Investigations by security forces found out that the youths belonged to the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. Contacts by party leaders, notables and security chiefs contained the reverberations of the incident.
In the villages of Ain Ata, Aiha and Rashaya al-Wadi on the edge of Mount Hermon there are no patrols by the Lebanese Army at open border checkpoints because Lebanese and Syrian territories overlap in a no-man’s land at Mount Hermon’s exits.
On hills overlooking Mount Hermon’s exits, a number of youths carrying guns roam the area with the aim of protecting it from Syrian opposition gunmen and defectors from the Syrian Army stationed over the border, as well as preventing the smuggling of arms across to the rebels.
A number of gunmen contended that their presence in Mount Hermon was designed to protect the residents after Druze villages in Syria witnessed fierce battles between the Free Syrian Army and local groups that left many people dead and wounded.
In Ain Ata, gunmen roam the streets under the name of local groups under the eyes of the Army and security forces. One of the gunmen, who refused to be named, said that they counted on partisansin Shebaa to inform them beforehand about suspicious cars or people driving vans so that they can be pursued. “We are helping the state and we don’t want to replace it,” he said.
Following the Arsal fighting and the proliferation of unofficial checkpoints in villages in the northern Bekaa region, the phenomenon of informal security has surfaced in other Lebanese areas, replacing or supplementing the Lebanese state’s security and military institutions.
Despite the threat of militants haunting the region, a security source told The Daily Star that so far there have been no cases of people belonging to ISIS in the western and central Bekaa regions or the Arqoub-Hasbaya region.
However, the source warned that the situation in the region was not reassuring “because ISIS, taking advantage of the prevailing sectarian tension and the crackdown on Syrian refugees, can recruit scores of people to establish a foothold in these areas.”
“The conditions of the refugees are horrible. Unless the state draws up a plan to accommodate the refugees in camps under its supervision and administration, this situation might prompt some of the refugees to become militants as a reaction to the persecution to which they are subjected,” the source said.
Mohammad Jirar, a social activist who heads a medical center in Shebaa, denied that any Syrian rebels had entered the town to carry out subversive acts. He said probably some members of the Free Syrian Army might enter Shebaa as civilians to visit their refugee families.
But a senior official in a Lebanese party that is fighting in Syria alongside the regime accused the Arqoub villages of “providing takfiri groups with a hospitable environment.”
“The terrorist Nusra Front and the Free [Syrian] Army are today like the South Lebanon Army [SLA] of [Israeli] agent Saad Haddad [in south Lebanon]. This is how Israel wanted these groups to play a separation role between it [Israel] and the Syrian regime. In exchange for securing Israel’s border in the south, Israel will provide them with arms and ammunition to establish a buffer zone,” he said.
However, a source in the Syrian opposition said the aim of creating tension in the Shebaa area and nearby villages is to rein in the rebels’ advance in pro-regime Druze villages.
“The Damascus battle has become very imminent. That is why they are trying to disperse the opposition forces on more than one front following reports that 5,000 soldiers from the Free [Syrian] Army have completed their training in Jordan,” the source said.
He added that the primary aim of these soldiers is to direct the “decisive battle” for Damascus and capture it.
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Future bloc calls for even-handed security plan
BEIRUT: The Future Movement warned against discrepancies in the implementation of a country-wide security plan Tuesday, saying inconsistencies would weaken the state.
Joining their March 14 partners in voicing complaints against the security plan, the bloc also said that security measures "must abide by a single standard across all regions" to avoid “double standards” that in turn would “weaken state’s prestige, presence and credibility.”
The bloc said inconsistent implementation would cause “feeling of injustice, oppression and persecution, and would prevent the state from projecting its authority and prestige," it said in a statement issued after the movement's weekly meeting Tuesday.
“Political parties, partisan [entities] and media [outlets] are portraying the areas of Akkar and the north as regions that oppose the Lebanese state and its military and security institutions,” said the bloc, which said that, contrary to reports, these areas are prime recruitment hubs for state institutions.
Touching on disputes between factions in the government, the bloc said that Cabinet’s formation did not mean political differences were resolved, but rather it ensured that dialogue would continue between parties "in the hope of developing understanding."
The Future movement also called on the Higher Relief Committee to expedite technical inspection of villages affected by heavy floods in north Lebanon this weekend, and called for compensations to be paid quickly, especially in the villages of Dinnieh, Minnieh and Akkar that were severely damaged.
The meeting also addressed two hostage files, with the bloc calling for the release of abducted individuals from the Hujeiri family as well as the servicemen held hostage by militants from The Nusra Front and ISIS.
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Abdallah Azzam Brigades calls on Sunnis to fight Army
BEIRUT: The "emir" of the Abdallah Azzam Brigades Sirajeddine Zureiqat called Tuesday for Sunnis of Lebanon to fight the Army if soldiers entered their areas and homes.
“Sunni people of Lebanon; forbid the Army from entering your areas, raiding the homes of Muslims or the refugee camps,” Zureiqat posted on his official Twitter account, “regardless of the motives [of the raids].”
Zureiqat's recent call contradicted the one he made last week, in which he asked the group's supporters to target Hezbollah and not soldiers. In Tuesday's statement, the emir appeared to have changed his mind.
“This Army only understands the language of force, and so does its master, the party of Iran,” Zureiqat added. “So answer any Army attack with arms and fire.”
Zureiqat backed his call for violence by claiming that the Army discriminates against Sunni Muslims.
“The number of Sunni Army soldiers who were sacked reached about 200 in the last month!” Zureiqat claimed, adding they were discharged because of suspicions they had links to jihadists.
"[To be discharged] this way, the soldier loses his end of service pension, and thus loses his life after losing his religion, by volunteering in this Army that works for Hezbollah,” Zureiqat tweeted.
Zureiqat went further, claiming that soldiers who offered their condolences to the relatives of men who died fighting for jihadi groups in Syria were immediately fired from service, while those related to deceased Hezbollah fighters in Syria are given days off to mourn.
Calling the Army a “slave of Iran and the West,” Zureiqat threatened all religious groups in Lebanon, saying they too would be threated by brigades if they stood behind the Army.
“We warn you, the sects of Lebanon, against remaining silent about the practices of the Army toward our people,” he said. “Or else, brace yourself for a Lebanese jihadi revolution on the oppressors and their allies.”
Zureiqat’s group has direct relations with al-Qaeda and the Nusra Front and claimed responsibility for several bombings in areas where Hezbollah enjoys wide support.
Former ISIS commander Imad Jomaa, captured in August, confessed to the Army intelligence that his group had a plan to create an Islamic emirate in north and east Lebanon, with Zureiqat as emir.
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Fresh from Iran visit, Lebanese defense minister kicks off political tour
BEIRUT: Defense Minister Samir Moqbel has been meeting with high-ranking political officials in Lebanon since Tuesday morning, shortly after his return from Iran where he discussed the Iranian military aid package to the Lebanese Army.
Without making any statements on the purpose of the tour, Moqbel met with Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi and former President Michel Suleiman Tuesday morning.
He then headed to visit Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and Kataeb Party chief Amine Gemayel.
Moqbel only told reporters that he and Aoun were “on the same page,” but did not clarify whether the talks with the leaders were centered on the military aid that he had been discussing in Tehran for the last few days.
Moqbel had just arrived to Lebanon from a three-day official visit to Tehran, where he met top officials to discuss the military aid.
After meeting with Moqbel Monday, Iran's defense minister said his country was ready to ship defensive materials to Lebanon to aid its army in the fight against extremist, but stressed that the deal was waiting for Lebanon’s approval.
Although the Lebanese government had announced that it welcomed any unconditional support to the Army, the Iranian aid has sparked some controversy, with local and international figures pointing out that it would be a violation of U.N. sanctions on Iran.
According to sanctions applied in March 2007, Iran is forbidden to sell, export or move any weapons from its territory to other countries.
Lebanese voices also called for refusing the aid because of Iran’s involvement in supporting Hezbollah and the unofficial reports saying the U.S. strongly opposes the acceptance of such donation.
On the other hand, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil had announced that he will submit a proposal for a Cabinet approval of the aid.
The French Foreign Ministry, represented by its spokesperson Romain Nadal, warned Tuesday that any Iranian military package to Lebanon should not violate the international sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
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UN envoy meets with Bekaa Valley officials over Syrian refugee crisis
BAALBEK, Lebanon: The U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon and the UNHCR country representative discussed Syrian refugee issues with the Baalbek-Hermel governor Tuesday at Baalbek's Serail.
“The plans of the U.N. will focus all attention on helping Syrian refugees and Lebanese poor hosting refugees,” U.N. Special Coordinator in Lebanon Derek Plubmly said after meeting Governor Bashir Khodor, “and on supporting and helping the relevant Lebanese governmental institutions.”
Plumbly was accompanied by the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Lebanon, Ninette Kelly.
Speaking after the meeting, Plumbly said the meeting was concerned with the difficult conditions in which Syrian refugees were living, especially the groups he personally witnessed in the areas of Majdel Anjar and Al-Marj.
He said he would meet with the mayors of those towns to discuss coordination between the U.N. and the municipalities in distributing humanitarian aid.
Plumbly also expressed solidarity with Lebanon, in light of the “border attacks by terrorist members of the Nusra Front group.”
The fundamentalist organization, along with ISIS, clashed with the Lebanese Army in the northeastern town of Arsal last August. The Nusra Front then carried out an attack on a Hezbollah checkpoint near the Lebanese border in the eastern village of Brital’s outskirts earlier this month.
Due to its proximity to Lebanese borders, the battle caught wide attention and raised fears of a possible reoccurrence of clashes inside Lebanese territory.
“The Baalbek-Hermel area is carrying the biggest burden by hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees,” Khodor told reporters after the meeting. “This is why we hope that the biggest support will be provided to this area.”
Plumbly, Kelly and their companions then headed to the office of the Baalbek Municipalities League, where they met with the league’s head, Hussein Awada, over the same topic. The delegation had also visited a social center funded by the UNHCR in Majdal Anjar, where they met with Syrian refugee families attending cultural activities and trainings.
Lebanon hosts at least 1.1 million Syrian refugees, with the largest number residing in the Bekaa Valley. Numerous international organizations and local NGOs have been funding and implementing projects in the area, but the refugees’ living conditions remain poor.
In Tight Races, Both Parties Bank On Early Votes
President Obama votes early in the midterm election at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Service Center in Chicago on Monday. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption
itoggle caption Evan Vucci/AP
President Obama votes early in the midterm election at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Service Center in Chicago on Monday.
Evan Vucci/AP
On the first day for in-person early voting in Illinois, President Obama went to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center to cast his ballot.
"I'm so glad I can early vote here," he told the elections worker checking him in.
Early voting is something Democrats have used to their advantage in recent elections. And it's likely not a coincidence Obama chose to vote in person, with cameras rolling and clicking, rather than quietly dropping an absentee ballot in the mail.
And Obama isn't the only one who voted Monday. Republican Rep. Tom Cotton tweeted a snapshot of his "Grandma Bryant" standing at an electronic voting machine. Cotton is running for Senate in Arkansas.
Election Day is two weeks away, and already more than 2 million people have voted, either by mail or at in-person early voting locations. With control of the U.S. Senate resting on a handful of incredibly close races, locking in these votes early has become a key election strategy for both parties.
If you had to name a state where the battle for early votes was most intense, it would be Iowa.
In a video posted by the Iowa Democratic Party, retiring Sen. Tom Harkin casts his vote on a mail-in ballot for Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Braley. Braley is in a tight race against Republican Joni Ernst, who mentions early voting at nearly every campaign stop.
Iowa Democratic Party/YouTube
"Vote early, don't vote often," Ernst joked at a GOP event on the first day of early voting in the state. "But vote early. Every voice counts."
She told reporters at an event Monday that Democrats have always been good at turning out their voters. But this year, she said, Iowa Republicans are close to matching them — a major shift from past elections.
"Once they've voted, we don't have to call them anymore, we don't have to knock on their doors," Ernst said of people who vote early. "And so it does save our time and energy to really focus on those voters that maybe don't get out in these midterms."
Voters who don't usually get out in midterms is what the push for early voting is all about, for both parties. They are trying to grow the electorate and reach people who would traditionally stay home in nonpresidential election years.
"We've targeted those voters and tried to drive those voters to participate during the early vote period," says Matt Canter, deputy executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Canter argues that Democrats are capturing new votes, while Republicans are cannibalizing votes that would have come in on Election Day anyway.
"The critical number is how many people that did not vote in 2010 and might not have voted anyway are now participating because we've connected with these people," says Canter.
Nationwide, the parties, candidates and their allies are spending tens of millions of dollars to get their voters to cast ballots early. Republican National Committee spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski says they're even trying a little peer pressure with a Facebook-based Pledge to Vote Challenge.
"We've had a lot of success in that social pressure," says Kukowski. "You don't want to be the only one to not vote is what we're going for and people really respond well to it."
She couldn't say how many people had signed up for the challenge so far.
University of Florida political scientist Michael McDonald tracks early voting obsessively. He says from the publicly available numbers of ballots returned, it is clear more people are voting early. But it's hard to tell just who those people are, and whether they really are previously untapped votes.
"We're seeing changing strategies for the parties and that's part of what makes it very difficult to determine which party really is winning when we look at the early vote," explains McDonald.
All he can say for sure is that the key Senate races are close.
10 Architectural Icons That Could Have Been Vastly Different
Today its shape is an American icon. But, had the votes gone another way, St. Louis’s Gateway Arch could easily have been a rectangular stone gate or a series of pylons representing historical events. Architect Eero Saarinen’s award-winning design, a combined landscape and monument that is a lasting testament to Thomas Jefferson’s westward expansion from the banks of the Mississippi River, was only one of 172 designs considered.
Saarinen’s 630-foot-tall freestanding steel arch is shaped in a catenary curve—the same curve a free-hanging chain takes when supported on both sides. However, his original design had the curve at a much less pronounced 590-foot height, with its bases being square rather than their current triangular form. In the years between winning the contest in 1948 and the beginning of construction in 1963, Saarinen reimagined his monument to become the sleeker, more modern structure we know today.
Dscwhen at de.wikipedia
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TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Two men were arrested Tuesday as part of Lebanese Army measures to crackdown on gunmen following repeated attacks on the military in the northern part of the country.
Security sources told The Daily Star that Abdo Fares and Mohammad Murjan were arrested Tuesday morning near Tripoli’s Abu Ali roundabout.
The two men, both of whom are residents of Bab al-Tabbaneh, were wanted by authorities on outstanding arrest warrants.
The Lebanese Army has recently come under frequent attacks in Tripoli and elsewhere in the northern province following deadly gunbattles with Islamist militants in the northeastern border town of Arsal in August.
Meanwhile, police launched a crackdown on illegal street vendors in the Tripoli neighborhoods of Tall and the commercial district.
Police also set up checkpoints, frisking motorists and checking their identity cards.
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Geagea, Gemayel in Saudi Arabia for presidential talks
BEIRUT: A visit to Saudi Arabia by Lebanese Forces leader and March 14 presidential candidate Samir Geagea and Kataeb MP Sami Gemayel will focus on the presidential election stalemate and other Lebanon issues.
“Domestic issues will dominate talks in Saudi Arabia between senior Saudi officials and LF leader Samir Geagea and MP Sami Gemayel,” Minister of State Nabil de Freij, a member of the Future bloc in Parliament, told a local radio station Tuesday.
Geagea and Gemayel flew to Saudi Arabia Monday.
A statement from Geagea’s office said the LF chief would meet high-ranking Saudi officials, but failed to spell out the issues he would discuss.
Media reports suggested a meeting that would bring together Geagea, Gemayel and the head of the Future Movement, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
The reports, however, could not be independently verified.
The visits come amid a presidential vacuum in Lebanon as rival lawmakers have been unable to elect a head of state since former President Michel Sleiman’s term ended in May.
Although Geagea was nominated for the presidential race by the Future Movement-led March 14 coalition, recent comments made by Hariri suggested that the bloc was reconsidering its candidate.
After talks last week with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai in Rome, Hariri called for consensus on a new president as the only way to break the 5-month-old deadlock.
But Geagea has so far refused to drop his bid, saying that withdrawing his candidacy at this point would cause more problems than it would solve.
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BEIRUT: One Lebanese driver was wounded and two Syrians killed after trucks from the Bekaa Valley were caught up in crossfire at the Syria-Jordan border late Monday.
The refrigerated trucks were transporting goods from Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley to the Gulf when they were caught up in a battle between the Syrian Army and rebels as they were about to cross into Jordan through the Nasib border crossing.
One Lebanese driver was injured and two Syrians were killed, the head of the Farmers’ Association in the Bekaa, Ibrahim Tarshishi, told the Daily Star Tuesday.
“We were informed late Monday night that the trucks had reached the area of Nasib, just one kilometer from the Jordanian border when they came under heavy rocket fire and shelling, during fighting between the [Syrian] army and the rebels,” Tarshishi said.
There were at least 130 trucks waiting to cross when battles erupted in Nasib, a government-controlled border crossing surrounded by territory held by Syrian rebels. At least four trucks were completed burned, Tarshishi said.
“The trucks were all carrying Lebanese products, fruits and vegetables, destined for the Gulf countries,” Tarshishi said.
He said that communication with the truckers was completely cut off since Monday night due to the raging battle.
“We have no new information about their conditions, but the Jordanian authorities said they would check on them,” Tarshishi said, calling on Jordan to facilitate the crossing of the trucks.
Tarshishi called for halting the movement of trucks from Lebanon until the situation on the Syrian-Jordanian border was resolved.
“We asked the agriculture minister to stop trucks from crossing into Syria through Lebanon's Masnaa [border crossing] for the time being,” Tarshishi said, noting that some 70 lorries carrying Bekaa products cross to Syria on their way to the Gulf almost daily.
Lebanon's Arabic press digest – Oct. 21, 2014
The following are a selection of stories from Lebanese newspapers that may be of interest to Daily Star readers. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.
Al-Liwaa
Geagea’s Saudi visit aims to end presidential vacuum
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea's visit to Saudi Arabia was part of consultations to be conducted by the kingdom with a wide-range of Lebanese leaders, especially Christians, a well-informed Lebanese source told Al-Liwaa.
The visit also was a landmark development in the shuttle diplomacy and ongoing talks at the Lebanese, Arab and international levels to draw a road map to end the presidential vacuum in Lebanon in light of in-depth talks that recently took place in Rome between former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai.
Al-Akhbar
Salam sounds more upbeat on hostage crisis
Ministerial sources told Al-Akhbar that the atmosphere around Prime Minister Tammam Salam sounded more upbeat on the issue of the Lebanese soldiers and policemen held captive by Islamist militants on the border with Syria.
The sources, however, said that this did not mean that there were positive developments, nor negative indicators.
An-Nahar
Geagea, Gemayel in Saudi, likely to meet Hariri
Sources told An-Nahar that Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea’s visit to Saudi Arabia was planned some time ago.
The sources ruled out that discussions would focus on names of consensus presidential favored by the March 14 coalition on grounds that if March 8 failed to agree on a consensus candidate, then March 14 will continue to support Geagea.
An-Nahar has also learned that MP Sami Gemayel flew to Jeddah overnight for talks with a number of Saudi officials as well as former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
The sources said a possible tripartite meeting between Hariri, Geagea and Gemayel was also likely to take place.
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