Army disperses surprise protest near Parliament

BEIRUT: A group of 10 activists held a surprise sit-in Tuesday near Parliament to protest the extension its term, prompting dozens of Army soldiers to confiscate their banners and ask them to leave the area.

“This place belongs to the people,” one of the activists, Marwan Maalouf, told the Daily Star by phone from inside the protest. “We have the right to protest here and express our free opinion.”

Protesters held brooms on which they had pasted papers reading “No extension” and “128 thieves,” in reference to the number of MPs.

Press was not allowed into the area by the soldiers, who called reinforcements and surrounded the protesters sitting just a few meters away from Parliament’s door.

Although Maalouf explained that the Army soldiers responsible for guarding Parliament did not physically attack any of the protesters, similar protests had been broken up by force.

On September 24, activists from the civil society organization CHAML (Nonviolent Non-sectarian Youth Citizens) were physically attacked and detained for many hours. A journalist from As-Safir newspaper was also detained and beaten.

Maalouf, along with other civil society activists, are members of “For the Sake of the Republic,” a youth movement created in 2013 that protested the first Parliamentary extension in May of that year.

Although a part of the wider civil society umbrella movement “The Civil Movement for Accountability,” the group held Tuesday’s protest without the knowledge of its partner organizations, which likely contributed to the small turnout.

Lebanese Forces MP Fadi Karam has filed a lawsuit in response to the allegations of "theft" referred to in protester banners, saying he opposed the “generalization” because “not all MPs are thieves.”

New National Museum annex for cultural activities

No room for extremism in Lebanon: mufti

Lebanon’s Grant Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Latif Derian Tuesday strongly condemned extremism and distant Muslims from Islamist...

Hariri: Hezbollah must admit Syria mistake

Hariri: Hezbollah must admit Syria mistake

Hezbollah must admit that it has made a mistake by getting involved in Syria, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri says,...

Private businesses wary of wage hike

BEIRUT: The endorsement of a new salary scale would bring about economic and social havoc on Lebanon, including 100,000 job losses, the head of Lebanon’s Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, Mohamed Choucair warned Tuesday.

“If passed, the bill will result in a social catastrophe, because it would lead to the existence of two different minimum wage scales, one for the public sector and another, which is lower, for the private sector,” Choucair said in comments published by Arab Economic News magazine.

He argued that under the proposed bill, the minimum wage for public sector employees would rise to LL872,000, whereas the corresponding wage in the private sector is fixed at LL675,000.

“Lebanon would then set a most dangerous precedent of adopting two different scales for minimum pay,” Choucair said, warning that least 100,000 workers in the private sector would be dismissed, as the private enterprises would be obligated to match the wage hike.

“The economic situation in the country is hard on both employees and employers,” Choucair said, calling for a compromise solution to enable the economy to overcome existing economic and political instability.

Choucair complained about the economic strain caused by the influx of scores of Syrian refugees and the consequent establishment of unlicensed factories posing serious competition for Lebanese industries and jeopardizing their existence.

The entrepreneur called on the government to restrict the employment of Syrian laborers by enacting laws limiting employment of non-Lebanese to 10 percent of the workforce.

Choucair urged Lebanese officials to “salvage what is left of the national industry,” noting that Lebanon’s exports dropped by 17.8 percent in the first half of the year, the worst in 15 years.

Health minister: Lebanon at risk for polio

BEIRUT: Lebanon has become extremely susceptible to a polio outbreak as a result of the Syrian civil war, Health Minister Wael Abu Faour said Tuesday, during the launch of the fifth national vaccination campaign against polio.

The Health Ministry, in collaboration with UNICEF and the World Health Organization, launched the fifth national immunization campaign against polio Tuesday, in a press conference held at the Lebanese Order of Physician’s headquarters in Beirut.

“We are in the circle of extreme danger,” Abu Faour said. “Parents of all nationalities are invited to respond to this campaign."

According to health minister, “the polio vaccine reached 96 percent national coverage” before the onset of the Syrian civil war. However, Lebanon has become extremely susceptible to a polio outbreak after the disease started spreading in Syria in October 2013 to Iraq in February 2014, the health minister said.

As a result of the challenge imposed by the Syrian crisis, the Health Ministry has implemented four national vaccination campaigns, Abu Faour said.

“And today we launch the fifth national campaign, which coincides with similar vaccination campaigns in all the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region” he added.

The campaign, which was launched today, will consist of two vaccination phases: The first will continue until Oct. 21 and the second will be from Nov. 15 to 21, he said.

People of all nationalities should vaccinate children up to the age of 5 years old, regardless of previous immunization, the health minister stressed.

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Machnouk briefs Gemayel, Aoun on Hariri-Rai talks

BEIRUT: Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk visited Kataeb Party chief Amine Gemayel and the Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun Tuesday, briefing them on Monday’s Hariri-Rai meeting in Rome.

Although he made no mention of the presidential matter in his comment after the meetings, political sources said that Machnouk’s visits were to inform the two party leaders about the outcome of Future Movement leader Saad Hariri’s meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai the day before.

“Today is a day off,” Machnouk said as he walked out from Aoun’s Rabieh residence early Tuesday, implying that he did not wish to talk to reporters about the meeting’s content.

In what appeared as a move to rule out the possibility of a March 14 candidate to the presidency and clear the way for a compromise candidate with the rival March 8 coalition, Hariri said after his Monday meeting with Rai that consensus was the only way to end the 5-month-old deadlock.

After meeting Gemayel, Machnouk said that he had discussed with the former president “many political matters, including the Syrian refugee camps.”

Machnouk explained that the Parliament term’s extension was also discussed and said that the “current circumstances do not allow the conduction of elections on time.”

He also expressed doubt that presidential elections could be held before the end of the Parliament’s term next month, “due to the regional contradictions’ negative impact on the possibility of holding the presidential elections in Lebanon.”

He also explained that he delivered an invitation for Gemayel to attend the second memorial ceremony for late Maj. Gen. Wisam al-Hasan at the UNESCO Palace by the end of this week. Then the chief of the Internal Security Forces’ Information Branch, Hasan was assassinated in a bomb blast in Ashrafieh on Oct. 19, 2012.

Also Tuesday, Machnouk met with former President Michel Sleiman, who stressed on the necessity to stick to Tripoli's security plan and to not show any leniency that terrorist groups could exploit.

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No room for extremism in Lebanon: mufti

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Latif Derian Tuesday strongly condemned extremism and distanced Muslims from Islamist militants engaged in terrorist acts.

“We, the Muslims in this country, we are part of it, and we are part of this diverse fabric. At this stage, we say, the teachings of Islam are based on a religion of moderation and centrism,” Derian said following a meeting with former Prime Minister Salim Hoss.

“Our Islam is not extremism, our Islam is not a hyperbole, our Islam is not terrorist,” he stressed.

“We aspire to the building of a national and just state that brings together all citizens. A state that is protected by a strong national army supported by all citizens especially in these difficult security conditions Lebanon is going through," Derian added.

"There won't be supportive environments for terrorism in Lebanon."

Derian urged politicians to make up their minds and elect a president to spare Lebanon.

“It’s time for all political parties to be aware of the seriousness of this stage and the seriousness of the crises that can affect Lebanon as a result of the presidential vacuum.”

He praised the Cabinet for its “wisdom” in dealing with the Lebanese hostage crisis while urging the government to address the livelihoods of the Lebanese due to the difficult circumstances they are passing through.

The newly appointed mufti also met with U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly.

After the meeting, Plumbly said he expressed his “admiration for the voice of moderation and tolerance” that the mufti had raised, “which reflect the true face of religion and are vital in the face of the violence and extremism that is threatening Lebanon and the region.”

“I agreed with the mufti that coexistence and communication are the only way forward for Lebanon,” Plumbly added.

He said it was also an opportunity to thank the mufti for the cooperation that has grown between Dar al-Fatwa and the United Nations, particularly in addressing the humanitarian crisis of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

“I promised him that the United Nations would continue to do all it can to help in this regard and to encourage the international community to contribute further to sharing the burden. We looked forward to additional cooperation in this regard.”