Lebanon launches Bekaa Valley security plan

Syria regime, Hezbollah make gains in south

Syrian troops backed by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters swept south of the capital Damascus Wednesday, seizing strategic...

Berri backs Salam on Cabinet voting mechanism

BEIRUT: Speaker Nabih Berri was reported Wednesday to have voiced support for Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s push to change the Cabinet’s decision-making mechanism adopted since the presidency became vacant in favor of a voting mechanism.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary Future bloc warned of dire consequences of the continued presidential vacuum, now in its ninth month, and called on the rival factions to cooperate over the election of a president.

Berri backs Salam’s proposal to change the current mechanism governing the Cabinet’s work, according to a number of lawmakers who saw the speaker during his weekly meeting with MPs at his Ain al-Tineh residence.

In the absence of a president, a proposal to open an extraordinary session for Parliament to approve several important draft laws requires a decree to be signed by all 24 ministers. Thus, this matter becomes highly unlikely with the mechanism in force that requires unanimous backing from the 24 ministers.

Berri is expected to meet Salam soon to discuss the Cabinet’s decision-making mechanism and the issue of opening an extraordinary Parliament session.

The speaker had expressed reservations in the past over the Cabinet’s current mechanism, which requires unanimous support from the 24 ministers on its decisions and its issuance of decrees on behalf of the president.

While most Cabinet ministers have voiced support for the change in the Cabinet’s decision-making mechanism, the three ministers loyal to former President Michel Sleiman oppose it and the three Kataeb Party ministers have expressed reservations.

Salam is making contacts in an attempt to secure consensus among the Cabinet parties to replace the current mechanism with a constitutional voting mechanism, political sources told The Daily Star.

In line with the Constitution, the president’s powers were transferred to the Cabinet when the presidential vacuum began last May.

Cabinet parties agreed that starting that date, all Cabinet decisions should win unanimous support from the 24 ministers. Cabinet decrees should also be signed by all of the ministers.

According to the Constitution, the Cabinet convenes with a two-thirds quorum and its decisions are made by consensus. In case consensus is hard to achieve, regular draft laws are passed with a simple majority vote and crucial decisions need to be approved by two-thirds of the government’s members.

The new mechanism, which allows every single minister to veto any decision, has significantly hindered the work of the government, which has been unable to make unanimous decisions on crucial issues over the past few months due to internal disagreements.

Meanwhile, the Future bloc warned of the negative repercussions of the presidential deadlock and urged the March 8 and March 14 parties to cooperate to agree on the election of a new president.

“The big and aggravating dangers entailed by the continued vacancy in the presidency post lead to worsening the direct and indirect losses endured by the country every day, draining the achievements and successes made by the Lebanese people with a lot of blood and sacrifices,” the bloc said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting chaired by former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

It lamented that Lebanon Monday celebrated Mar Maroun Day, the saint of the Maronite community, in the absence of a Maronite president.

In a clear reference to MP Michel Aoun’s bloc, Hezbollah’s bloc and its March 8 allies, who have thwarted a quorum to elect a president with their consistent boycott of Parliament sessions in the past eight months, the statement urged “all political parties, namely the parties that are still obstructing the election process, to cooperate to overcome this impasse quickly and agree on the election of a new president.”

In discussing the dialogue sessions with Hezbollah, the bloc voiced its support for the steps taken last week by removing political slogans and banners in some areas in Beirut, Sidon and Tripoli, saying the move should cover “all Lebanese areas in the hope that this would help in reducing tensions in the country.”

Separately, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said Jordan’s King Abdullah II was ready to assist Lebanon in finding a solution to the presidential vacuum. “His majesty the king has expressed his readiness to help in the Lebanese presidential election issue through his international contacts and his expected tour of European states,” Machnouk said after meeting Abdullah in Amman.

Storm Yohan pummels Lebanon, forces road closures

BEIRUT / TRIPOLI/SIDON: Storm Yohan wreaked havoc across Lebanon Wednesday, inflicting massive damage to the coast and forcing road closures across the country.

But the storm’s violent winds are expected to wane over the next few days, according to the Meteorological Department at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport, even as inclement weather continues.

“The wind will remain strong Thursday, but it will be lighter than Wednesday,” a source at the department told The Daily Star. “There’s a possibility for the storm to last until Saturday, as the intensity of the rain will subside starting Friday night.”

A source at the Meteorological Department said a low-pressure system was turning counterclockwise over Lebanon, bringing with it dust and sand from North Africa, leading to muddy rain and poor visibility. The state-run National News Agency reported that snow in some areas was colored red due to the sediment carried by the heavy winds.

Thursday is expected to be cloudy with heavy rains, accompanied by thunderstorms and winds up to 70 kilometers per hour, according to the department’s night weather forecast.

Snow is expected to fall at altitudes of 800 meters as wind speeds decrease gradually during the night.

Temperatures will range between 5 and 15 degrees Celsius along the coast, 0 and 5 in the mountains, minus 6 and 1 in the Cedars, and 1 and 11 degrees in the Bekaa Valley.

These temperatures are expected to hold Friday, as winds remain active with heavy rains at times, especially during the morning. Showers will decrease gradually beginning Friday night.

Blowing over from Europe, Yohan intensified Tuesday night and into Wednesday. Wind speeds reached 100 kilometers per hour, forming 8-meter-high waves that battered corniches in coastal cities. Accompanied by heavy rain and hail, the storm destroyed restaurants, damaged crops, brought down trees and caused widespread blackouts.

Coastal areas suffered catastrophic damage from the huge waves whipped up by the high winds. Beirut’s Ain al-Mreisseh Corniche was severely damaged, its metal barriers ripped out of the pavement by the ferocity of the storm. The Beirut Fire Department cautioned citizens to stay away from the coast due to the dangerous waves.

Restaurant Chez Zakhia, in the northern coastal town of Amchit, was completely devastated, according to the National News Agency, as powerful waves damaged the venue’s external foundations and flooded it with water.

A Civil Defense rescue center stationed in Jounieh’s port was also heavily damaged, and four boats sank in the city’s port as a result of the crashing waves.

To the south, strong winds uprooted trees, tore down advertisements, and caused power outages in Tyre and across the region. With waves reaching 3 meters, fishermen tied up their boats out of fear they would swallowed by the sea.

Sidon’s port was forced to close, as its facilities were ravaged by strong winds and 7-meter waves. Huge breakers swamped bulldozers at the city’s commercial seaport, dragging one into the sea.

In the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, the minaret of the camp’s Rabah Mosque was toppled by high winds, according to a report by the NNA.

Yohan also forced road closures across the country, and difficult driving conditions led to a number of accidents, exacerbating the country’s notorious traffic jams.

The Internal Security Force’s Traffic Management Center reported bumper-to-bumper traffic stemming from the storm.

The ISF announced Wednesday night on its Twitter feed that the Dahr al-Baidar road and the Kefraya-Barouk road were both blocked.Yohan brought heavy snow to the country’s mountains, covering villages in the southern towns of Kfar Shouba, Kfar Hammam, and Shebaa, where a Red Cross team reportedly had to evacuate a school bus that had become stuck in the snow.

Mona Chahine, director of the Nicolas Chahine Observatory, told The Daily Star that their instruments in Ras Beirut had recorded 526 milliliters of rain since September. Some “147 milliliters was the total level [of precipitation] recorded for the same period last year.”

Education Minister Elias Bou Saab announced Wednesday night that schools and institutes will be open Thursday. “Head of schools in areas covered by snow can decide whether to open their schools or not, depending on whether [students] can make it safely to school,” he said in a statement. – Additional reporting by Mohammed Zaatari and Antoine Amrieh

Future accepts Daher request for suspension

BEIRUT: The Future parliamentary bloc approved Wednesday Salafist-inspired MP Khaled Daher’s request to suspend his membership from the bloc after spurring national outrage over remarks that were deemed offensive to Christians.

“The bloc accepts colleague Daher’s request to suspend his membership and would like to seize the opportunity to renew its firm commitment in coexistence,” the Future bloc following their weekly meeting.

Almost simultaneously, black flags with Islamic scripture were replaced Wednesday with white ones in Tripoli’s main Al-Nour Square, after Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk ordered their removal.

Daher told The Daily Star that he “had suspended his membership from the Future Bloc,” denying media reports that claimed he had been booted.

Following his remarks to The Daily Star, Daher issued a statement saying his decision served to curb any “embarrassment” his comments may have caused the Future Bloc.

Daher said the decision to suspend his membership stemmed from his opposition to taking down religious banners from Tripoli’s main square after North Lebanon Governor Ramzi Nohra’s ordered the removal of all political and religious insignia from the northern city.

Daher, who insisted that he meant no offense to Christians, said he has been depicted as “someone who commits aggression against others.”

“When in fact it is our [Islamist] religious symbols that were assaulted, and the apology was supposed to be [directed] at us.”

Daher’s unanticipated move comes days after allies and foes alike called for his ejection from the March 14 bloc following his remarks.

“[The Future bloc] is firmly committed to coexistence and moderation,” the bloc’s statement read. “The bloc opposes extremism and fanaticism and denounces terrorism and terrorist organizations and is determined to defend freedom of expression and practices transparency and accountability vis a vis its national partners.”

At a rally protesting the removal of Islamist banners from Tripoli’s Al-Nour Square Sunday, Daher told his followers Christians should be the first to remove their religious symbols from public spaces. “If they want to remove [religious banners] let them start with the Christ the King statue and posters of [Christian] saints,” Daher said in Tripoli’s main square.

Police last week began removing religious and political signage across other the country in line with an agreement reached during dialogue sessions between the Future Movement and Hezbollah to defuse sectarian tensions in the country.

In Tripoli, two members of the Islamic Tawhid Party installed white flags in Al-Nour Square to replace black ones bearing Islamic scriptures, which are commonly used by the extremist groups ISIS and Al-Qaeda, the latter with which Nusra is linked.

The move came a day after Machnouk vowed to not to allow a single black flag with Islamic scriptures to be raised in Lebanon.

The white flags preserved the scripture, which read, “There is no God but Allah, Mohammad is the Prophet of Allah.”

Iran optimistic it can improve ties with Saudi Arabia: envoy

BEIRUT: Iran is optimistic it can improve relations with regional foe Saudi Arabia, Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad Fathali said Wednesday, adding that the two countries have common enemies in Israel and ISIS.

“We seek to establish the best brotherly relations with Saudi Arabia, based on the principle of mutual respect,” Fathali told a radio station.

“We see positive indications on the horizon for Iranian-Saudi relations,” he added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s participation in last month’s funeral services for Saudi King Abdullah was just one gesture of goodwill, the diplomat explained.

The move was reciprocated Tuesday by Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Asiri, who participated in a ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the Iranian Revolution. The Iranian ambassador described relations with his Saudi counterpart as “very good.”

“Saudi Arabia and Iran have common enemies like ISIS and Israel,” Fathali said. “The Saudi elites have reached this conviction.”

Fathali said Iran’s relations with Turkey have also improved.

“Turkish-Iranian relations are very good and [the value of] economic trade has reached $20 billion,” he added.

“There will be an official visit for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan [soon].”

A fierce opponent of the West – especially the United States – Iran has long been a regional rival of Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Both countries are U.S. allies.

Discord between the nations was exacerbated by the eruption of the Syrian civil war, as Iran supported Syrian President Bashar Assad and his regime, while Turkey and Saudi Arabia backed rebel groups.

Asiri took part in a ceremony organized by the Iranian Embassy at the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Center to celebrate the 36th anniversary of the victory of the Iranian Revolution.

During the event, the Saudi diplomat was seen shaking hands with Sheikh Naim Qassem, the deputy-head of Hezbollah, Iran’s major ally in Lebanon.

Delivering a speech during the ceremony, Fathali said that Iran stood by the side of Lebanon’s “people, government, Army, and resistance.”

“Lebanon’s national unity is the mightiest weapon to confront the Zionist enemy and all the other dangers surrounding [the country],” the envoy added.

Fathali said Iran supported any dialogue which brought Lebanese political factions together, referring to ongoing talks between Hezbollah and the Future Movement.

He also said he hoped that all Lebanese factions, particularly Christian groups, would agree on a new president as soon as possible.

Lebanon has been without a president since last May.

Security prerequisite to tourism, Salam warns

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s tourism industry will forever be stymied if the security situation remains unresolved, Prime Minister Tammam Salam said Wednesday.

“There is no tourism without security, which is a main interest and concern in this country,” Salam said at the launch of the Tourism Ministry’s “Rural Tourism Strategy in Lebanon."

“We are looking forward to more [security] achievements to boost tourism,” he added, noting, however, that Lebanon is still struggling with a political deadlock that is preventing the election of a president nine months after Michel Sleiman left office.

Salam hailed security forces for buttressing internal security at a time of regional turmoil, stressing that Lebanon is “an oasis of stability and security allowing [for] the implementation of tourism projects.”

“I applaud the close collaboration between security apparatuses aimed at deterring whoever attempts to target Lebanon,” Salam said.

Salam also applauded the new tourism strategy aimed at expanding tourism activities to the countryside and rural areas, which will promote development and the preservation of heritage.

Lebanon’s rural areas, which are a geographical manifestation of “innocence, simplicity and purity,” represent bona fide Lebanese heritage, the premier said, noting that city residents could learn a lot from the countryside.

Salam proceeded to laud Lebanon’s “unique” natural landscapes, in what resembled an ode to Lebanon’s “scenic” mountains, hills, valleys and rivers. “We do not give this natural landscape the rightful credit,” he said.

Salam concluded by dedicating the initiative to the “[father] of projects and development, the man of Lebanese dreams, [former Prime Minister] Rafik Hariri.” Salam’s dedication comes three days ahead of the 10th anniversary of Hariri’s 2005 assassination.

The launch of the Tourism Ministry’s rural tourism strategy was held at the Grand Serail. Besides Salam, Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon, Information Minister Ramzi Joreige, Environment Minister Mohammad Machnouk and other political figures also attended the event.

Hariri was compelled to pay off Ghazaleh

BEIRUT: Each month for more than 10 years, aides to Rafik Hariri delivered envelopes stuffed with tens of thousands of dollars in cash to Syria’s chief intelligence officer in Lebanon, according to the former prime minister’s childhood friend and confidant Ghaleb al-Shamaa.

Shamaa, who continued his second day of testimony at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Wednesday, said that Syrian intelligence chief Rustom Ghazaleh received more than $10 million in cash from Hariri between 1993 and 2005.

In the decade before Hariri’s assassination, a safe at the former premier’s residence Qoreitem palace was opened at the beginning of each month and a sum of $67,000 destined for Ghazaleh was taken out, Shamaa told the U.N.-backed tribunal charged with investigating the Hariri’s murder in 2005.

Ghazaleh would often demand additional ad hoc sums during the month, sometimes more than $100,000, which Hariri always obliged. “Once he said he had to refurbish or renovate his house, on another occasion he wanted to buy a car,” Shamaa said.

The payments, Shamaa said, were intended to placate Ghazaleh, who oversaw the vast Syrian security network in Lebanon.

“The money was paid to please him, to keep him happy. ... We were not expecting anything in return.”

For years Ghazaleh served as a kingmaker in Lebanon on behalf of the Syrian regime.

“No politician was able to carry out his functions or any other projects ... easily and smoothly without pleasing [Ghazaleh] first,” Shamaa told the court.

Shamaa insisted that the money Hariri paid to Ghazaleh was not a payoff or a bribe.

“He was compelled to pay so that he would be able to continue to serve Lebanon. He was not paying this voluntarily, and it was not a donation,” Shamaa said.

If Hariri had refused to pay, “for sure Ghazaleh would have placed many obstacles in the face of his career and of course he would have exerted greater pressure on him,” Shamaa told the court.

It was unclear to Shamaa whether the cash stocked at Qoreitem palace was from Hariri’s personal accounts or from his business interests.

“The money would come in briefcases and be delivered to us at Qoreitem palace. ... He had various sources, several accounts from which the money came from,” Shamaa testified.

Records of the cash payments were sometimes written down and later destroyed, Shamaa said.

Hariri “did not consider that it was necessary to maintain those records,” he added.

On the eve of Hariri’s assassination in mid-February Ghazaleh claimed he had not received his monthly sum.

“It was the first time he claimed he did not receive the monthly payment,” Shamaa said.

Despite being “sure and confident” that Ghazaleh had in fact received envelopes filled with $67,000 in early February, Hariri dispatched his trusted security aid Abu Tareq to Ghazaleh’s house in the Bekaa Valley to deliver a second sum.

When Abu Tareq returned, he appeared shaken by his encounter with Ghazaleh who had made exceptionally uncivil comments about Hariri.

“I remember the last words Abu Tareq said to me were ‘God help us,’” Shamaa recalled.

Abu Tareq perished alongside Hariri the following day in a massive blast which tore through the Beirut marina on Feb. 14, 2005.

Ghazaleh is a major general in the Syrian Army currently overseeing operations against opposition forces in Deraa where he hails from.

Shammaa will be cross-examined Thursday by members of the defense representing the interests of five Hezbollah members charged with the murder of Hariri and 21 others.