Assassinations in Lebanon likely to resume: Machnouk
Assassination tactics against Lebanese politicians are expected to return in Lebanon, Interior Minister Nouhad...
Sunday, 8 March 2015
Hariri: No neutrality in fight against jihadis
BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri held talks Sunday with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi during a visit to Cairo aimed at reaffirming support for moderation in the face of Islamist extremism roiling the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters after the one-hour meeting at the Ittihadiah Palace in Cairo, Hariri also said Lebanon’s relations with Iran should be mutually beneficial.
The head of the Future Movement said he reiterated to Sisi the condolences of the Lebanese people over “the martyrs killed at the hand of terrorism.” He was referring to the beheading of 21 Coptic Christian Egyptians in Libya by ISIS militants last month.
“I confirmed our support to Egypt in the face of the forces of evil and extremism,” Hariri said, according to a statement released by his media office.
“We are in the same boat, facing an enemy of religion, values, and Arab and Islamic civilization. There is no room for neutrality in this confrontation,” he said. “We are on the side of Arab and Islamic moderation and that is in the side which Egypt, its leadership and people, have chosen, in solidarity with all our brethren in the [Arab] states of moderation.”
Hariri said extremism existed in Iran and is practiced by ISIS and the Nusra Front. However, he said he did not consider Iran, despite his criticism of its role in the region, to be an enemy.
Hariri said he discussed with Sisi the 9-month-old presidential deadlock and Lebanon’s ongoing battle against terrorism.
“Discussions focused on the situation in the region and Lebanon, and all the problems in the region. We also talked in detail about the interest of Lebanon and the Arabs,” he said.
“We see, just as Egypt does, that moderation means facing all kinds of extremism and not only one kind. Extremism exists, whether the Iranian extremism or the extremism of Daesh [ISIS] and Nusra. We also talked about Lebanon’s confrontation against extremism, and President Sisi hoped that Lebanon would elect a president and this is the hope of all countries.”
Hariri said the talks covered Iran’s growing influence in the region. “Of course, we discussed this issue and stressed that there are risks surrounding the Arab world today,” he said. “An Arab strategy should be hammered out to face all these risks. I can honestly say that we have remarks concerning Iran, but this does not mean that we are against Iran. We want our relations with Iran to benefit both Lebanon and Iran, and not solely Iran.”
The 4-year-old conflict in Syria was also discussed by Sisi and Hariri, who said that Egypt and other countries backed Geneva conference decisions that called for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down.
“Egypt and all countries support the ‘Geneva I’ and ‘Geneva II’ decisions and I do not see that Egypt has a different position,” Hariri said.
“The problem is that the Syrian regime says something and does something else. There is a global consensus that this regime cannot continue the way it is now. The Geneva I and II solutions require the regime of Bashar Assad to leave power. Thus, if the Syrian regime accepts ‘Geneva I,’ then it should step aside and there would be a power transfer as stipulated by the ‘Geneva I’ conference.”
Hariri, who was accompanied by former MPs Bassem Sabaa and Ghattas Khoury, later met with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Dr. Mohammad Ahmed al-Tayeb, with whom he discussed the situation in the region.
It was Hariri’s first meeting with Sisi since the former army chief took office last year after overthrowing Mohammad Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president.
Salam rules out security coordination with Syrian regime
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Tammam Salam called Sunday for national unity to ward off security threats arising from the war in Syria and ruled out coordination between the Lebanese and Syrian armies to face Syria-based jihadis, citing the government’s disassociation policy.
Meanwhile, March 14 parties are putting the final touches on a 100-plus member National Council set to be announced on the 10th anniversary of the alliance Saturday, political sources told The Daily Star. The council, comprising March 14 politicians and activists, will replace the coalition’s General Secretariat currently headed by former MP Fares Soueid, the sources said.
Speaking to visitors at his Moseitbeh residence, Salam warned that the threat of terrorist groups that had targeted Lebanon in the past still existed, saying these groups are active in several Lebanese areas. He said the Lebanese Army has full government support in its ongoing battle against terrorism.
“The security plan or plans require complete coordination among military apparatuses,” Salam said. “The Army has received full political support from the government to achieve security and stability inside the country.”
Referring to the fallout of the conflict in Syria in Lebanon, Salam said: “In order to stave off these [security] risks that might come from outside the border as a result of the situation there [in Syria], what is required is to remain united, especially since these risks exist and are permanent.”
Salam said the government’s declared policy to distance Lebanon from the conflict in Syria prevented military cooperation between the Lebanese and Syrian armies to face threats posed by Islamist militants entrenched near the border with Lebanon. “We cannot at present depart from the disassociation policy,” he said.
A number of March 8 politicians, including Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, have called on the government to coordinate its anti-terror efforts with the Syrian army to face ISIS and Nusra Front militants holed up in rugged areas near the border with Syria threatening to destabilize Lebanon.
Salam said priority is given to equipping the Lebanese Army and security forces with weapons to help them in the battle against terrorism. He said the first shipment of French weapons to the Lebanese Army funded by a $3 billion Saudi grant would arrive in April. He added that implementation of the other $1 billion Saudi grant, supervised by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to buy arms for the Army and security forces, went on at a quicker pace.
Salam vowed not to allow the Cabinet’s work to be stalled anymore.
“Cabinet sessions will not be obstructed from now on,” he said.
“The Cabinet is responsible for running the citizens’ affairs. Priorities will be approved during the new chance given to the Cabinet, a move that will help shield the internal front,” he said.
“Amid the presidential vacuum, the Cabinet approach should be positive and avoid obstruction under the extraordinary circumstances,” Salam said. “Reactivation of the Cabinet’s work will lead to an improvement of the situation and follow up stability, security and the ongoing dialogue between a number of political parties.”
He was referring to the ongoing dialogue between the Future Movement and Hezbollah and talks between the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement.
Following a three-week suspension of Cabinet sessions caused by a rift over a decision-making mechanism, Salam last Thursday chaired a Cabinet meeting, telling ministers that he would no longer allow them to obstruct the government’s work.
The Cabinet has approved a new mechanism aimed at speeding its work, replacing a method which had severely reduced its productivity over the past nine months. Under the new system, regular decisions – particularly those affecting citizen’s daily lives – will be made by “consensus,” but will not necessarily require the consent of all 24 ministers, as was the case previously.
Meanwhile, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai slammed lawmakers for failing to elect a new president over the past eight months while they had met last year to extend Parliament’s mandate.
“It’s high time for the Lebanese, particularly the nation’s lawmakers and political blocs, to stand before God and their conscience to realize the horrendous effect of the failure to elect a head of state and the paralysis this has caused to Parliament which has extended its mandate while at the same time it has failed to elect a president,” Rai said in Sunday’s sermon in Bkirki.
“It’s high time [for the MPs] to realize the horrendous effect of the presidential vacuum, which has thrown the government into a crisis with itself, has stalled appointments and emptied Lebanese embassies of its ambassadors.”
For his part, Hezbollah’s deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem urged the party’s political rivals not to bet on regional and international developments to influence the presidential election.
“We should make our choices on our own,” Qassem said, addressing students affiliated with Hezbollah. “Lebanon is not on the agenda of any international and regional deal at the moment. They [regional and international powers] have bigger concerns than Lebanon.”
Separately, Hezbollah officials hit back at U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale for criticizing the party.
“The U.S. ambassador took advantage of an official platform to breach international standards of conduct and diplomatic norms by waging a campaign against the Lebanese resistance,” Hezbollah MP Nawwaf Musawi said during a ceremony in south Lebanon.
He likened Hale’s remarks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before the Congress last week, saying the ambassador aimed to create divisions among the Lebanese. “It has become necessary for this ambassador, who behaves as though he operates in a non-sovereign state, to abide by diplomatic norms and protocol,” Musawi said.
In a statement after meeting Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk Friday, Hale accused Hezbollah of harming Lebanon’s stability by sending forces to fight in Syria and violating the government’s disassociation policy on the Syrian conflict.
“Hezbollah continues to make life and death decisions for all of Lebanon, yet consults no one, is accountable to no Lebanese, and answers to foreign powers,” Hale said, referring to Iran, Hezbollah’s benefactor.
Hezbollah MP Nawar Saheli told Hale to shut up. “We in the resistance are the maker of the culture of life because the heroic martyrs had made with their blood life for all of us,” Saheli said in a speech at an educational ceremony in the Bekaa city of Hermel. “We are proud of what we are doing on the border with Palestine and in Syria and everywhere in which we must be.” He called on “Ambassador Hale to shut up and to look into the Zionist enemy’s violations of U.N. resolutions.”
Nouhad Machnouk: the elegant go-getter
BEIRUT: “Haven’t they told you that I aspire to become the new caliph of Muslims?” Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk quipped, when asked about his rumored ambition to climb the echelons of Lebanese politics. “Of course I have political ambitions. I don’t own a telecoms company – politics is what I do,” he added.
As he often does, the journalist turned politician with a strong penchant for collecting art presses a hand to the desk in front of him when emphasizing a point. He reiterated that Future Movement leader Saad Hariri, and no one else, should be Lebanon’s next prime minister.
“Hariri is not my choice for the prime minister post only. It goes beyond that,” Machnouk told The Daily Star at his sumptuous office in the Interior Ministry, a French-era building on the edge of Ras Beirut. “Saad Hariri is a political necessity and a national necessity.”
About the son of his late employer and friend Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Machnouk maintains that only Saad Hariri is capable of foiling attempts to radicalize Lebanon’s Sunnis and engaging in dialogue with Hezbollah.
When asked about a change of heart toward dealing with Hezbollah, the minister replied with a snap: “We live in a region where Sunni-Shiite strife is proliferating by the day. What other choice do I have?”
“I wouldn’t talk about a change of heart because emotions have nothing to do here,” he added. “My goal is to [momentarily] freeze divisive files and engage in a dialogue over how to bring Lebanon back into its shell to insulate it from the fires surrounding us.”
The answer is in line with a political pragmatism that has come to define Machnouk’s style. One of the Future Movement’s hawks, known for his scathing diatribes against Hezbollah, he has turned into the peacemaker in Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s government and one of the main backers of dialogue with the Shiite party.
Machnouk is well aware that it is the ongoing dialogue between the Future and Hezbollah and the underlying tacit agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to preserve Lebanon’s stability that has given him enough leverage to act on thorny files such as Roumieh Prison’s Block B, implement security plans in hot spots such as Tripoli and Baalbek, and curb the influx of Syrian refugees into Lebanon. But Machnouk, an expert in the art of nuance, rejects the label “pragmatic.”
“I am not pragmatic when it comes to the principles,” he says. “There is a big difference between being in the opposition, where I was not pragmatic and went to the extreme, and being in office.”
“I am now the interior minister of all of Lebanon and I act accordingly,” he continued. “Otherwise, I shouldn’t have accepted the post in the first place.”
Born in Beirut in 1955, Machnouk began a career in journalism in the 1970s and wrote for several of the Arab world’s most prominent publications including Al-Ousbou al-Arabi, As-Sayyad and An-Nahar, to name a few.
Thanks to the excellent ties he had with the Palestinian leadership based in Beirut, he quickly became an expert on the Arab-Israeli conflict. He was also known to be a vocal critic of Syrian hegemony over Lebanon.
In his highly revealing series of autobiographical articles dubbed “Quadruple Exile,” published in the Beirut-based As-Safir newspaper in 2006, Machnouk wrote an emotive account of his arrest by Syrian forces in 1976 while on a date with “the woman with the green eyes,” as the author refers to her.
Following the Israeli invasion of 1982 and the withdrawal of Palestinian factions from Lebanon, Machnouk formed, along with his mentor late former Prime Minister Takieddine Solh, Grand Mufti Sheikh Hasan Khaled and lawmaker Nazem al-Qaderi, what came to be known as the “Islamic Gathering” in 1983.
The group called for putting an end to the Lebanese Civil War and was vocal in demanding an end to Syria’s presence in Lebanon. The direct result of their call came swiftly, with the assassination of two of the Islamic Gathering’s members, Khaled and Qaderi, while Solh was forced to leave the country. As threats against him grew, Machnouk headed to Cyprus and from there to Paris in the late 1980s.
It was in Paris that Machnouk met Rafik Hariri, a Lebanese businessman who would a few years later become Lebanon’s prime minister and the country’s most prominent politician in the post-Civil War era until his assassination in 2005.
After he became prime minister in 1992, Hariri appointed Machnouk as his political and media adviser.
As a matter of fact, Machnouk talks about “three tens” that marked his career and shaped his political understanding: The 10 years he covered the Palestinian resistance in Lebanon, the next 10 with the Islamic Gathering and last but not least the 10 years he spent working with Rafik Hariri.
But have the “three tens” become “four tens” now that he heads the Interior Ministry?
Machnouk is conclusive, saying that “despite the documented threats against me ... what I am living now, I consider as the fourth 10 and I want them to be successful.”
Does he fear for his life? “I don’t think about threats, otherwise I won’t be able to achieve anything,” he says, with a dismissive gesture.
Those who know him all characterize Machnouk as a confident and farsighted go-getter. Aside from the accounts of his friends, Machnouk’s accomplishments as interior minister in the past year stand witness.
Early morning on Jan. 13 an elite force from the Internal Security Forces raided Roumieh Prison, clearing the jail’s notorious Block B of its Islamist inmates after intercepting calls between the militants and members of the cell behind the Jan. 10 suicide bombings that killed at least nine people and wounded more than 30 in Tripoli’s majority-Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen.
“As soon as communication data established that contact has been actually made between Roumieh and the suicide bombers, I said it’s now or never,” Machnouk disclosed, adding that the plan to storm Block B had been finalized three months prior to the day of the execution.
Machnouk recalled that he made the decision to storm Block B upon his return from Jabal Mohsen. “It was 10 p.m. on a Saturday and I was sitting here in the office when I called Brig. Osman, who oversees the plan, and told him we must act,” he said, in reference to Brig. Imad Osman, head of the ISF’s intelligence arm, the Information Branch.
Machnouk said he informed Salam, Saad Hariri and Lebanese Army commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi of the plan. “It was then 6:30 a.m. and we were done at 3:30 p.m,” he adds, with a tinge of pride. “We moved 865 prisoners with great precision and professionalism without a drop of blood spilled.”
He announced that the renovated Block B would become operational again on May 1, exactly 100 days after the operation.
Machnouk considers that contrary to his expectations, the Block B operation was “elegantly executed.”
Indeed, elegance is a quality the avid cigar smoker holds in high regard. The once-barren walls of the Interior Ministry are now decorated with artworks from Machnouk’s own private collection and forgotten paintings he recovered from the Culture Ministry’s collection.
“I am a firm believer that one should not stay in a place that does not resemble them,” he states. “You should personalize the space and take care of it.”
The Interior Ministry building indeed housed Machnouk’s office back when he was Rafik Hariri’s adviser. His closeness to the premier did not erase past grudges with the Syrians, who accused him in 1998 of upholding ties with Israel, eventually forcing him into exile to Paris and Cairo until 2003.
The father of four who married twice acknowledged that these were the most difficult seven years of his life. “The unfair accusations have had a strong impact on me, on my life and on my family.”
“I left this place on Nov. 5, 1998, accused of [higher treason] but I came back to it [17 years later] a minister,” he continued. “It’s over now. It’s from a past era.”
Machnouk, who his entourage calls an authority in handling the intricacies of Lebanese politics, says he cannot conceive himself outside the project of the Hariri family.
He categorically dismissed reports that thanks to a strong network of connections in Riyadh – that are not necessarily linked to Saad Hariri – he plans to present himself as the alternative for the Hariris in Lebanon.
“Frankly speaking, my connections in Saudi Arabia have been greatly exaggerated,” he explained, saying that following the death of King Abdullah, the Saudi administration underwent radical changes. “I barely know anyone there now.”
He added that while he might have “a good reputation” among the Saudis, “this is not a decisive factor.”
While he lamented the “deplorable” state of Lebanon’s political class, which he says currently lacks “wise men” of the likes of Takieddine Solh and Rafik Hariri, Machnouk added that Lebanon has proven to be the region’s “most resilient regime.”
Will regional vicissitudes force Lebanon to change its political system? The interior minister reiterated categorically that Lebanon’s current system was “the most resilient in the region.”
Revealing yet another facet of his complex personality, Machnouk ended the conversation on an optimistic note.
“We still live in a civil state with a functioning Parliament and Cabinet, and we’re working to elect a new president,” he declared. “States in our surrounding are literally collapsing, while we can still protest in the streets, implement projects, veto projects and we have an Army and a police force and a public administration and employees.”
Machnouk maintained that while there was no solution on the horizon for regional conflicts if Lebanon succeeds in escaping regional fires, the country’s future would be a bright one.
“Never forget we have [offshore] oil and gas [reserves],” he says, once again pressing his hand on the desk. “Money is a factor of stability in the end. It will give the county the needed immunity.”
Lebanese journalist chosen for World Bank diversity board
BEIRUT: Lebanese journalist, media personality and consultant Paula Yacoubian has been selected to sit on an advisory panel for diversity and inclusion at the World Bank. The panel is the first of its kind and was formed to improve workplace diversity within the institution.
“The External Advisory Panel will review and advise President Jim Yong Kim and his senior management team on the organization’s strategies and measures to achieve a diverse and inclusive workplace,” a press release issued by the World Bank said last week.
Yacoubian is a prominent figure in Lebanese media and has interviewed a wide array of world leaders. She currently hosts a weekly prime-time television show on Future TV entitled “Inter-Views.”
Yacoubian has worked at a number of TV stations in her career, including LBC and the pan-Arab network ART. She began working in television at just 17, when she was hired by local station ICN.
Yacoubian is also the CEO of Integrated Communications, which she founded with her husband, media mogul Mouafac Harb. Integrated Communications provides media services and training for politicians across the political spectrum.
She is also known to be outspoken on women’s issues and has used her position to call for more gender equality in Lebanon.
According to the World Bank, the external advisory panel was formed following a study on the diversity and inclusiveness of the institution’s workforce. The study found that the organization should “explore new ways to become more diverse and could benefit from an outside perspective.”
Yacoubian and her fellow panel members were selected for their demonstrated success improving diversity and inclusion in the workplace, according to the press release.
The other members of the panel are: Elizabeth Adu, Former World Bank group director and deputy general counsel; Richard Bernal, counselor for Jamaica, Inter-American Development Bank; Julius Coles, director of Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership, Morehouse College; Indra K. Nooyi, chairman and chief executive officer, PEPSICO; and Kenji Yoshino, chief justice Earl Warren professor of constitutional law, New York University.
Most members of the advisory panel have had experience working in law, politics or development at some point in their careers. For instance Bernal is Jamaica’s former ambassador to the United States, and Coles spent most of his career working for the United States Agency for International Development.
“These individuals are known for their commitment and contributions to diversity and inclusion, and the transformational impact they have had in their organizations and/or the broader community,” the press release said.
“I look forward to the panel’s engagement with us as we build an even more diverse and inclusive workplace,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said. “I’m sure we’ll benefit from the rich perspectives and ideas of these leaders.”
Yacoubian is the only representative with a media background and the only member of the panel from the Middle East and North Africa region.
Fittingly, the announcement came just a few days before International Women’s Day, which is celebrated on March 8.
International Women’s Day – also known as International Working Women’s Day – is celebrated each year in countries around the world. The day is used to recognize global efforts toward gender equality.
The first International Women’s Day was held in the United States in 1909 and was organized by the Socialist Party of America.
Machnouk to seek Arab, U.S. support for security bodies
BEIRUT: Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk will start a series of visits Monday to regional and international capitals to garner support for the country’s security institutions, which face a wide spectrum of challenges.
Machnouk, who will take part in a meeting of Arab interior ministers in Algiers starting Monday, told The Daily Star over the weekend that he would pay a visit to Washington later the month in search of training programs to boost the capabilities of the Internal Security Forces and General Security.
Machnouk will also attend the Arab Summit in Cairo at end of March and will wrap up his visits abroad in Kuwait City, where he will take part in the third Syria Donors Conference.
The minister said that when it comes to the security of the Lebanese inside Syria, he will again coordinate with Hezbollah, but denied that Hezbollah’s security apparatus was contributing in maintaining law and order in the country and uncovering terrorist cells.
“We never asked for their help,” Machnouk said. “In reality it’s the other way around; they seek the help of state security apparatuses.”
He added that Hezbollah had its own agenda that differs from that of Lebanese security agencies.
“They have their own agenda, which is tied to Iranian policies in the region,” he said. “Our agenda is 100 percent Lebanese.”
While Machnouk said he was willing to reach out again to Hezbollah’s senior security official Wafiq Safa “in the event the lives of Lebanese in Syria were at stake,” he said rejected all kinds coordination with Hezbollah over internal security affairs.
Last year, Safa paid a rare and controversial visit to the Interior Ministry for talks with Machnouk and other security officials to secure safe passage for residents of the besieged border village of Tfail in northeast Lebanon.
“I think Wafiq Safa’s visit served a purpose,” he said. “I can claim that I succeeded in saving the lives of 1,500 Lebanese residents by driving them away from the raging conflicts in Syria.”
Machnouk said that his ministry has so far garnered $40 million to start building new prison facilities.
He explained that when he was first appointed, the interior ministry lacked all the necessary funds to build new prisons. He said overcrowding was a major problem, since Lebanese prisons across Lebanon, which have an initial capacity of 2,200 prisoners, currently house 7,800 prisoners.
“You know donor countries are not enthusiastic about building prisons. They can give equipment but won’t take up the task of building new facilities,” he said.
So far, Machnouk added, the Lebanese government has given the Interior Ministry $30 million for prisons, and the private sector through the Association of Private Banks has donated $10 million.
He explained that as part of the $1 billion Saudi grant to fortify Lebanon’s security institutions, the ISF and General Security were awarded approximately $450 million.
“We have spent $300 million so far,” he said. “Several contracts have been signed, and the agencies started receiving equipment.”
According to Machnouk, the ISF received $200 million of the $300 million spent, while the General Security received $100 million.
As for the controversy that ensued from his comments that he will not sign contracts from civil marriages performed in Lebanon, Machnouk said his remarks were taken out of context as he was referring to the necessity of having a complete framework that would render those marriages valid and operational.
He argued that laws should be devised to solve problematic matters such as inheritance and personal status.
“This issue requires a whole legislative debate,” he said.
“They cannot accuse me of standing against civil marriage as it it’s a common occurrence in family,” said Machnouk, whose daughter sister and brother had civil marriages.
The minister revealed that he was in contact with the Justice Ministry’s Higher Committee for Consultations regarding the civil marriages performed in Lebanon in past months.
Disabled authors show talents with new book
BEIRUT: Children and adults with physical and intellectual disabilities saw their learning and creative efforts bear fruit Friday at the launch of their new children’s book “Al-Zarafa Moussaba bil Zoukam” (The Giraffe with a Cold).
Family members and support staff at Al Majal Leisure Center for Disabled Children said that the book was a joint effort that helped unleash the authors’ creativity, fostered self-confidence and taught the value of teamwork.
“The idea is for the children to understand that, even though they have some disabilities, they can still do something, they can give something. This book is full of imagination,” said Dr. Antoine al-Chartouni, coordinator and psychopathologist at Al Majal. An author of several children’s books past, Chartouni created the project and edited the contributions.
The book opens to a winter scene. The main character, an affable giraffe, is stuck in bed with a cold. With each turn of the page, a new friend offers advice that helps her heal. Each page has colorful illustrations by Hisham Sleiman.
Several of the contributing authors took a break from book signings to speak to The Daily Star about their input in helping the giraffe fight her cold.
“I added the part about the chef and how to make the soup,” Elie Richa said. “Soup is very important when we have a cold.”
Jihan Naser gave the idea about the giraffe’s umbrella to protect against the weather. “I’m happy to be here today and I like signing the books,” she said.
Al Majal Leisure Center for Disabled Children, part of the Beirut Association for Social Development, is a nonprofit organization that helps people with mental and physical disabilities, including those with Down syndrome and autism.
The center offers recreational and learning activities, including language classes in French and Arabic, as well as social-skills sessions. Attendees range from children aged 5 to adults near 40.
“There are many activities for them, especially during summer,” said Maha Masri, head of the Beirut Association for Social Development.
Parents typically pay between $200 to $300 per month for activity fees, but Masri said Al Majal offers funding assistance for those of limited means.
For families of people with intellectual disabilities and physical handicaps, Lebanon can be a frustrating place to find resources that provide adequate attention to meet their children’s needs, while also building a sense of self-worth through encouragement and individualized attention.
As well as helping disabled youths and adults learn and develop social skills, Al Majal provides a space to make friends from diverse backgrounds. This is particularly important for disabled adults who, upon leaving the formal school system, may have no place to interact with others and fill their time. For older attendees, Al Majal has a bakery, where they learn to work with one another and sell their confections.
Involvement in Al Majal activities, such as the creation of this newly released book, help brighten attendees’ world and give an outlet for creative expression.
The publisher Asala was excited to include the project in their collection of children’s books. Manager Shereen Kreidieh praised the authors’ hard work on the story. “It’s important for someone to feel like they can accomplish something, and to be recognized for what they have done,” she said.
Yara Ramadan took a short break from book signing to talk about her contribution. She made sure that the ailing giraffe received a hat as protection from frigid temperatures. “If you don’t want to be sick, you should wear a hat in the winter to say warm.”
Her sister, Leen Ramadan, said that Yara’s involvement with Al Majal has helped her grow over the past two years.
Yara previously attended a specialized school and joined Al Majal for summer activities, only to tell her family that she wanted to attend for the entire year.
Leen noticed a profound transformation in her sister after the switch. “She was more accomplished, more happy. She felt her schedule was always busy. We could see her smile more often,” Leen said.
Leen attributes this change to Al Majal’s small class sizes and specialized approach, attuned to each attendee’s needs. She said that throughout Yara’s life, it has been a challenge to find a school that would meet her needs, as students with highly disparate conditions would be lumped together in the same classroom. Consequently, Yara’s hyperactivity and learning difficulties were overlooked.
Getting involved in Al Majal’s bakery and participating in the book project have helped Yara, now 23, meet a diverse set of new friends and productively direct her talents.
“When you focus and try to direct energy into something useful and beneficial, they express themselves better,” Leen said. “Writing [and] storytelling is an amazing way of self-expression for them.”
Government maintains stability while turmoil roils region
BEIRUT: The year-old government of Prime Minister Tammam Salam has succeeded in maintaining a semblance of stability in Lebanon amid mounting security threats posed by Syria-based jihadis as well as turmoil and popular upheavals roiling the Middle East region, political analysts said Tuesday.
But the government, riven by deep differences among its 24 ministers, has failed miserably on the political and economic fronts, having been unable in the past months to hold parliamentary polls, facilitate the election of a new president or come up with a plan to revitalize the struggling economy, burdened by a public debt estimated at more than $65 billion, they said.
“The government has succeeded only in one area: standing in the face of the Islamic extremist movement,” Sami Nader, a professor of economics and international relations at Universite St. Joseph, told The Daily Star.
“The government has drawn up a security plan that has been partially implemented in the north and the northern Bekaa region. But the political platform, on whose basis the government was formed, is insufficient to achieve sustainable political stability,” said Nader, also the director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, a Beirut-based think tank.
“The government’s political platform is insufficient to regain the state’s role and consolidate the foundations of the political system. The country’s modus operandi is in jeopardy,” he said. “We cannot say that this government has succeeded in holding parliamentary elections or facilitating the election of a president. This government has no defense policy or an economic policy, nor does it have a foreign policy agreed upon over Iran and the war in Syria.”
“The government has adopted a quick fix approach because it ignores the fundamentals of political stability,” Nader said.
“It has failed to adopt inclusive politics and inclusive economics.”
The Interior Ministry, citing security concerns, mainly from Islamist militants entrenched near the border with Syria, last year recommended against holding parliamentary elections. This prompted lawmakers to extend Parliament’s mandate in November for two years and seven months. It was the second extension after Parliament voted to extend its term in May 2013 by 17 months, arguing at the time that elections would constitute a major security risk given the fragile situation.
Parliament last month failed for the 19th time since April to elect a president over a lack of quorum, plunging the country into a prolonged vacuum in the country’s top Christian post.
Samir Frangieh, a political writer and a former March 14 lawmaker, said the government has had its pros and cons during the one year it has been in office.
“Thanks to the government, it has maintained a sort of stability amid the volcanoes raging around Lebanon,” Frangieh, a member of the March 14 coalition, told The Daily Star. “It has secured the continuity of the state at a time when democratic means to revive state institutions have been disrupted.”
“But these achievements are insufficient to protect Lebanon permanently,” he said.
Frangieh said Lebanon faced three threats: A threat from the 4-year-old war in Syria, a threat of the sectarian strife currently raging in the region spreading to Lebanon, and the threat of Israel igniting the south Lebanon front in an attempt to derail any possible deal between Iran and Western powers over its nuclear program.
In order to stave off the threat of sectarian strife, Frangieh said Hezbollah should withdraw from the war in Syria and Lebanon should be neutralized from the bloody conflict next door.
“The repercussions of the Syrian conflict will hit Lebanon in two ways. One is through frequent clashes between the Lebanese Army and militants in areas near the border with Syria, and the other is by shifting the sectarian conflict in the region to Lebanon,” he said.
The government last month celebrated the first anniversary of its formation amid a mixed feeling of popular satisfaction and frustration, even by Salam, who has frequently complained that his Cabinet has been unable to make decisions on crucial issues because of disagreement among its 24 ministers.
Following the formation of his 24-member Cabinet on Feb. 15 last year, Salam declared that the main goals of the government were to maintain stability and set the stage for parliamentary elections. After the country fell into a presidential vacuum on May 25 at the end of President Michel Sleiman’s six-year tenure, the government was obliged under the Constitution to temporarily fill the vacuum until a new president is elected.
But in exercising the president’s prerogatives, the Cabinet found itself bogged down over a mechanism to govern its decisions, an issue that has paralyzed the government’s work and led to the suspension of its meetings for two weeks.
Salam, backed by most ministers, is demanding a change in the current mechanism, which requires unanimous support from all 24 ministers on the Cabinet decisions. But the three Kataeb ministers and three ministers loyal to Sleiman and Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb oppose the change, saying the Cabinet should serve in a caretaker capacity until a new president is elected.
Salam, who Tuesday called for a Cabinet session for Thursday, stressed that addressing the crisis should be based on Article 65 in the Constitution which calls for consensus on Cabinet decisions.
Shafik Masri, a professor of international law at the Lebanese University and the American University of Beirut, said while the government has ensured a sort of stability in the country, it has violated the Constitution with its decision-making formula, which eventually led to Cabinet paralysis.
“The government has maintained a temporary state of stability,” Masri told The Daily Star.
He said the government has succeeded in three areas. “It has stood fast under the current difficult circumstances and this is in itself is a success. It has implemented a security plan in the north and the Bekaa region,” Masri said.
He added that the government has also succeeded in approving some appointments in the military and security corps and in issuing last month’s Eurobond of $2.2 billion to meet the state’s short-term needs.
Aside from this, Masri said Salam and his team had committed “a big sin” in the adoption of a decision-making mechanism that runs contrary to the Constitution.
“This mechanism, which requires unanimous backing from all the ministers, has paralyzed the government’s activity,” he said.
“Salam should not have allowed the use of an unconstitutional mechanism which granted each minister the right to veto. This violation of the Constitution has led the government to a dead end and it is now trying to disown it,” Masri said.
He added that the current stability is threatened by internal and external menaces. “The wanted people who fled before the implementation of the security plan in the northern Bekaa region pose an internal security threat,” Masri said.
“Similarly, the gunmen [ISIS and the Nusra Front] holed up on the border with Syria pose an external threat to Lebanon,” he said. “In addition, there are gangs in Lebanon that are ready to carry out subversive acts if financed and incited from abroad.”
Nader, the USJ professor, concurred, saying the government has partially confronted the ISIS threat. “There has been no comprehensive security plan to face the threat of Islamic extremism, such as ISIS and other militant groups,” he said.
Despite deep differences among its ministers, Nader said the government is here to stay.
“The government is on the bench waiting for a final settlement in Syria which appears to be far off,” he said. “It is forbidden for this government to resign because it will be impossible to form a new one amid the presidential void.”
“This government has prevented a total constitutional void,” the USJ professor said.
Frangieh agreed. “This government has prevented a power vacuum, but it has not solved the vacuum problem,” he said.
“This government has two contradictory functions. Its presence is essential to prevent a vacuum, but its stay in power is delaying filling the vacuum,” Frangieh said. He added that MP Michel Aoun and Hezbollah are using this government to prolong the vacuum in the presidency and Parliament paralysis.
“Still, the absence of this government would be catastrophic because the country would then be left without a recognized authority,” he said.
Tripoli school croissants contained dangerous level of fecal matter: Health Ministry
Hezbollah MP likens US ambassador to Netanyahu
Hezbollah officials hit back Sunday over the "stupid" remarks made last week by the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, with...
Clintons Face Scrutiny Ahead Of Hilary's Campaign Announcement
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, and daughter Chelsea Clinton wave at the Clinton Global Initiative at the University of Miami on March 7. Gaston De Cardenas/AP hide caption
itoggle caption Gaston De Cardenas/AP
Addressing a crowd at the Clinton Global Initiative University at Miami University in Coral Gables, Fla. on Saturday, former president Bill Clinton discussed the Clinton Foundation's decision to accept donations from foreign governments. The foundation's choice is questioned by critics as a possible conflict of interest, especially since some of the funds came in during his wife Hilary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state, a post she left in 2013.
In reference to money received from Middle Eastern nations such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, the former president pointed out that, while he didn't agree with all of the countries' policies, their governments and their donations were helpful in combating the self-declared Islamic State or ISIS.
"I believe they do more harm than good," Clinton said.
The Miami Herald reported that not all of funds passed recent fundraising pacts with the White House, despite President Clinton's defense of the countries as friendly donors.
"He characterized the donations as coming from 'friends' that had previously contributed to the foundation and were allowed to keep doing so under a 2008 ethics agreement with the Obama administration. But that was not the case with a $500,000 contribution from the Algerian government."
The former president made no mention of his wife's recent controversy surrounding her choice to only use a personal email account while working for the State Department. Critics say it shows a lack of commitment to transparency, even though the former secretary has requested a release of her emails. The Herald outlined the difference between using a private account as opposed to a public server, saying that it was "impossible to know which emails, if any, were deleted or not turned over."
So far, there are over 55,000 pages of correspondence, currently in review. The AP quoted Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Short accusing Hilary Clinton of "hiding from the press and voters." He said he believes she lives by her own set of ethical rules.
The Clintons appear to be leaning into their recent PR issues by selecting Donna Shalala, Bill Clinton's former secretary of Health and Human Services, as the next CEO of their large and widely-respected foundation. While a close friend and ally of the Clintons, CNBC reports Shalala has not shied away from criticizing some of the administration's policies.
"Known for her candor in the Clinton administration, Shalala disagreed with the president's decision to run the ill-fated health care task force, led by Hillary Clinton, from the White House."
Shalala has been president of Miami University for 14 years. She is an accomplished fundraiser, having secured over $3 billion during her time with the university.
Shalala is expected to serve a key role in Hilary Clinton's presidential campaign, if officially announced.
During the event on Saturday, Hilary Clinton steered clear of the recent controversies, focusing instead on issues like the Affordable Care Act, Saturday's 50-year anniversary of the march in Selma, Ala., and her work promoting equal rights for women. She is soon expected to release a report titled "No Ceiling," part of the larger "Not There" program addressing gender inequality.
GOP Hopefuls Do A Balancing Act At Ag Summit
A parade of Republican presidential hopefuls took turns blasting the Obama administration but showed their differences on energy subsidies at the Iowa Agriculture Summit in Des Moines Saturday.
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Hezbollah MP likens US ambassador to Netanyahu
BEIRUT: Hezbollah officials hit back Sunday over the "stupid" remarks made last week by the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, with an MP likening them to the Israeli leader's controversial address to Congress.
David Hale’s attack on Hezbollah in a statement Friday also violated international standards and diplomatic protocol, party MP Nawwaf Musawi said during a ceremony in south Lebanon Sunday.
"The U.S. ambassador took advantage of an official platform to breach international standards of conduct and diplomatic norms by waging a campaign against the Lebanese resistance.”
Musawi likened Hale’s remarks to a speech delivered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before Congress last week, saying the envoy aimed to create divisions among the Lebanese.
Netanyahu last week told American lawmakers that the Obama administration was wrong to be negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program, describing the Islamic republic as a terror state that threatened world peace through its "proxies" around the world, including its "lackeys in Lebanon."
“It has become necessary for this ambassador, who behaves as though he operates in a non-sovereign state, to abide by diplomatic norms and protocol,” Musawi said.
In a statement Friday, Hale accused Hezbollah of harming Lebanon’s stability by sending forces to fight in Syria and violating a policy of dissociation.
“The harm to Lebanese stability caused by Hezbollah’s violation of the policy of dissociation continues,” Hale said. “Hezbollah’s readiness to violate international norms and U.N. Security Council resolutions was made self-evident in January.”
He was referring to a Hezbollah attack on an Israeli military convoy in the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms on Jan. 28 that killed two soldiers. The attack was in retaliation to an Israeli airstrike on a Hezbollah convoy in the Syrian town of Qunaitra in the Golan Heights on Jan. 18 that killed six party members and an Iranian commander.
“Hezbollah continues to make life and death decisions for all of Lebanon, yet consults no one, is accountable to no Lebanese, and answers to foreign powers,” Hale said, referring to Iran, Hezbollah’s benefactor.
Hezbollah's executive council head Sayyed Hashem Safieddine responded to Hale by saying, “the American ambassador is the last person with the right to [criticize] since America created terrorism and takfiris, supplied them with weapons and facilitated their work.”
Lebanon’s security is protected by the Army and the people, and not by the “ambassador's stupid remarks.”
Musawi responded by saying that Hezbollah had the right to make “life decisions” since the United States and Israel are imposing the “decision of death” on Lebanon and the region.
The MP also dismissed accusations pertaining to Hezbollah’s alleged violation of international norms by citing Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty, such as the daily violations of Lebanon’s airspace and numerous breaches following the 2006 war.
In response to criticism of Hezbollah’s Shebaa Farms attack, the MP said that it was the right of the resistance to defy occupation.
“We will not accept under any circumstances any attempt by the ambassador’s state to impose the Israeli occupation of the Shebaa Farms and the Kfar Shuba hills on us,” Musawi said.
“The resistance will continue to bear its responsibility and national duty by working to liberate occupied land.”
Hariri meets Sisi in Cairo
BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo Sunday.
It was Hariri's first meeting with the former army chief since Sisi took office last year after overthrowing Mohammad Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president.
"Discussions focused on the current Arab and regional developments and bilateral relations," a statement released by Hariri’s media office said without elaborating.
The meeting, which took place at the Presidential Palace, was also attended by former minister Bassem Sabeh and Hariri’s adviser, Ghattas Khoury.
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Fate of Lebanon hostage negotiations unclear
BEIRUT: Families of the Lebanese soldiers and policemen being held hostage by militants said Sunday they may launch new protests over a lack of cooperation on the part of the Lebanese government, as confusion surrounded the fate of negotiations for their release.
Hussein Youssef, spokesperson for the families of 25 Lebanese servicemen being held hostage by ISIS and the Nusra Front, told The Daily Star that a committee representing the families is set to meet this week to discuss their next move.
The spokesman said the government was keeping the families out of the loop and said that the families have grown weary over the absence of evidence suggesting that negotiations are still on the right track.
Youssef said that the families were considering launching new protests, which usually come in the form of road blocks, after conflicting reports emerged over the state of negotiations.
Media reports have claimed that negotiations have reached a standstill, while politicians assert that efforts are ongoing, he said.
“Some of the families feel very threatened and they are very worried,” he said, noting that escalatory measures will be decided on during the meeting.
The uncertainty arises about two weeks after reports emerged that the negotiations for the release of the captives being held by Nusra, which is holding most of the servicemen, were in their final stages.
At the time Youssef expressed optimism, confirming that a deal was imminent.
“We are something the media and politicians are playing with. One day negotiations are good and we are promised our sons will be released soon. The next day negotiations are non-existent,” he said.
Mustafa Hujeiri, an Arsal sheikh involved in the negotiations for the release of the captives, could not be reached for comment.
The case of the captive soldiers and policemen held by the jihadis since August has been shrouded in secrecy after the prime minister criticized media leaks by officials, saying they harmed talks.
More than 30 servicemen were originally abducted by the militants during a five-day battle with the Lebanese Army. Eight hostages have since been released and four were killed.
The families have set up a number of tents in Riad al-Solh Square where they have been protesting for more than five months what they perceived was inaction on the part of the government to free their sons.
Kerry says Lebanon president crisis to end after Iran nuclear deal: report
US, France 'on same page' over Iran: Kerry
The United States and France sought on Saturday to play down any disagreements over nuclear talks with Iran, saying...
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