From Beirut to the Beltway

The most important thing is not dialogue

When will the Lebanese government erect posters, preferably the size of Hizbullah's divine victory posters, warning citizens and foreign visitors not to take pictures in territories run by the Hizbullah separatist group?

A French Socialist official attending a conference in Lebanon said Sunday he was detained for four hours by members of the Hezbollah group south of Beirut.

Karim Pakzad said he had been touring the area considered to be a Hezbollah stronghold in a convertible car and taking pictures when he was detained Saturday along with a companion and interrogated for four hours before they were both released.

Hezbollah said the two men were spotted near a Hezbollah official's residence in the suburb of Haret Hreik, "one of them taking a lot of pictures in a way that aroused suspicion."

The group said in a statement that the two were treated with "respect" and released after ascertaining their identities. Hezbollah said it had information of Israeli plans to target its members in the area and carry out other sabotage acts. (AP/IHT)

Pakzad had wanted to see "different parts" of Lebanon.

"We passed by a magnificent mosque ... and I took pictures of it," he said at a press conference. He described his detention as "a unique and painful experience" but said the "political consequences of the incident are much more important than something that concerns me personally."

Following the incident he told police that he was on the road leading up to Beirut International Airport when a motorcyclist followed by an SUV stopped him and led him to an unknown location for questioning, a senior police official told The Associated Press on Sunday.

According to Naharnet, Hizbullah wanted to "make sure they were not Israelis". Because you know, Israeli intelligence relies on photographs taken by spies disguised as French officials.

At the end of the day, it's never Hizbullah's fault.

Hezbollah in its statement accused Jumblatt and his allies of "exploiting the incident" for political gains and planning it by sending off an international delegate to the area without a security escort or any kind of coordination with the group, knowing the sensitivity of the situation.

One way to prevent this from ever happening again, apart from some kind of border demarcation between Lebanon and Hizbullah Land and clear travel warnings from the government of some of Lebanon, is of course dialogue outside the state's institutions!

Perhaps this will be "discussed":

South Lebanon villages are empty as Hizbullah sends recruits to tough training camps in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, Syria and Iran, the Observer newspaper has reported.

"It's not a matter of 'if,' says one fighter. It's a matter of when Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah commands us."

Hizbullah's policy of refusing to discuss military matters extends to the highest levels. But meetings with fighters, activists, Lebanese security officials, the U.N. peacekeepers along the border and residents of south Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, offered a glimpse inside the workings of a group rarely open to outsiders, according to The Observer.

"The most important thing is to never talk," said one fighter, who agreed to speak about the group without revealing his name or specific duties inside "the Islamic Resistance of Lebanon", as the military wing of Hizbullah is known.

"From the moment we begin our training, we are told two things: never disobey an order and never talk about the resistance. Hizbullah is not a job, it is not a family. It is a mix of religion, honor, dignity and discipline. It is my life," the fighter told The Observer. (Naharnet)

Jumblatt's test

Walid Jumblatt has come out in support of Berri’s dialogue, in part to “test the opposition’s intentions”, and because “dialogue is the only solution”, he said.

By declaring his support for Berri, Jumblatt broke with his March 14 colleagues, many of whom are demanding the election of a president precede any “dialogue”, especially one that takes place outside the state's institutions.

With Geagea still in opposition, and Hariri on the bubble, Berri went ahead and set a date for the electoral session, encouraged by the “positive reaction” to his call. He said the dialogue would end with a declaration of intentions regarding two issues: the make up of the government, and the electoral law. He promised to convene parliament on May 13th to elect a president after the declaration is made.

It seems that everybody, including Jumblatt, know that this "dialogue" is a bad idea. It's been done before, and it led nowhere. I don’t think Jumblatt needs it to discover the intentions of his opponents. The days of the J&B love-hate parade are long gone. So what’s going on?

Congress "misguided", Assad regime to the rescue!

Below is the Syrian embassy's response to allegations by the White House that the Assad regime was within weeks of completing works on a nuclear reactor, before the facility was taken out by the Israelis last year.

In a statement, the Syrian Embassy in Washington denounced the U.S. claims as "false allegations" designed to "misguide" Congress and international public opinion and produce support for Israel's surprise airstrike in September, "which the U.S. administration may have helped execute."

Poor US Congress, what would it do without the Syrian embassy's crusade for restoring truth to this world? It would be without a guide, the house speaker would have to lock the doors and stop all congressmen from attending, until relations with Syria are normalized, and Bashar gains a satellite country or two. And yeah, until Bashar gets a nuclear toy.

Berri: no president for you

Berri this time didn’t even bother setting a new date for the presidential election after canceling a session he had scheduled for today. In a press conference from the parliament building, he linked scheduling an election session to receiving a response to his “dialogue” proposal.

Berri, who still maintains that parliament is not closed (closed only to the "illegitimate government", he says), also said he prefers to set a date for the election through the ”dialog roundtable”.

The speaker, representing the Assad regime interests in the country, wants an agreement on an electoral law and the shape of the new government before allowing parliamentarians to meet for any purpose, including electing a president.

Constitutional expert and former MP Hassan Rifai weighed in on Berri's tactics.

Constitutional expert and former MP Hassan Rifai said that Speaker Nabih Berri has no right to postpone the presidential-election session.

“He has to be present in the parliament’s chamber of deputies, and if the required quorum is not available, then he can postpone the session,” Rifai told the Saudi daily Okaz.

“The way Berri has been postponing sessions from his office is a crime punishable by the Lebanese penal code. He has no right to close the parliament,” he added.

According to Rifai, the majority could call on Deputy Speaker MP Farid Makari to hold sessions outside the parliament, as long as they are held in Beirut, in order to elect a president and undertake legislative work.

“The parliament is not to be closed, and MPs have the duty to participate in legislative sessions, especially the presidential session,” Rifai said. (Now Lebanon)

Hot summer - updated

David Welch thought it was appropriate for a US official to join the chorus of foreign officials fearing a “hot summer” in Lebanon.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch said that Lebanon has lost the Arab initiative, which failed to provide for the election of a president.

“I fear that the Lebanese might face a hot summer, similar to the summer of 2006,” which saw the devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah, Welch said at a press conference in Abu Dhabi. (Now Lebanon)

On April Fool's Day, Arab League Secretary-general Amr Moussa reported the same prophecy.

"Many people are telling (us) to expect a hot summer in the region. This scares me a lot because the weakest point…is Lebanon. But when Lebanon gets a president, a unity cabinet and an efficient parliament, (then it) becomes stronger," Moussa said. (Naharnet)

These statements are adding to a Lebanese sense of confusion and resentment towards local and foreign players. We’re not talking civil war here, we’re talking a regional war that, for now, Lebanon is being projected to host, seeing how engaging the principal players directly might be too costly or damaging to the status quo. It would be disgusting if a war similar to the 2006 war spared Syria, Israel and Iran the destruction that was reserved for Lebanon.

As Moussa and Welch said, Lebanon is a strong candidate for hosting such a regional power play because of its inability to have a functioning government and parliament. Instead of sparing Lebanon more destruction, we see Nabih Berri continuing with his efforts to ease pressure on the Assad regime by burying the presidential election underneath a thick layer of illegal conditions, the latest of which is prior agreement on the electoral law.

Update. The US embassy in Beirut has denied that Welch made the above statement. Here is the press release.

U.S. Embassy clarifies Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs C. David Welch’s Statement

April 22, 2008

Several media outlets have incorrectly reported on recent remarks by Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs C. David Welch

Answering a question from a reporter in the United Arab Emirates about his trip to Lebanon, Assistant Secretary Welch said Lebanese had expressed to him concern that tourism could suffer again this summer because of the tension in the country. 

The Assistant Secretary said:

"They're worried that they'll have another difficult summer of tourism being low because of the tension in the country, and more broadly, I think they are concerned, ever since Hizballah launched the war in 2006, that maybe Lebanon will miss out from this oil boom, that it will be left behind in the region as there is economic progress elsewhere.  So I found them troubled about the future.

Hizbullah, the four generals and Siddiq

Hizbullah has (again) issued a statement calling for the release of four former pro-Syrian generals held in detention over their role in the 2005 Hariri assassination. The militia's call to release Assad's former agents coincides with similar calls by pro-Syrian parties and Michel Aoun.

The Hizbullah statement is predictably ridiculous:

اعتبر حزب الله اللبناني اليوم اعتقال الضباط الاربعة الموقوفين في قضية اغتيال رئيس الوزراء الاسبق رفيق الحريري "سياسي وثأري وليس له علاقة بالاصول القانونية". ورأى حزب الله في بيان وزع ان "الخلفية التي تتحدث بها الاكثرية النيابية قبل اعتقال الضباط الاربعة وبعده هي اتهام سياسي ولغة ثأرية وتصفية حسابات سياسية" داعيا اياها الى "تقديم الادلة الاتهامية الى الرأي العام اللبناني والتي على اساسها يستمر اعتقال الضباط ويوجه القضاء عندها اتهاما واضحا يبرر اعتقالهم".

Translation: Hizbullah considers the arrest "political and vengeful and illegal" and a "settling of scores" by March 14.

Is Hizbullah's occupation of downtown Beirut cultural, charitable and legal? Is their possession of tens of thousands of rockets an act sanctioned by law? Does the Lebanese constitution call for the building of a state within a state? Is their act of dragging the country into a war their version of turning the other cheek?

I wonder if Hizbullah would approve of March 14 kidnapping Syrian soldiers, blowing them up to pieces and parading their remains on TV, with Saad Hariri in the background vowing open war and waving his finger at the world.

Anyway, on Wednesday, Hizbullah 's parliamentary bloc issued a statement that went like this:

The bloc, in a statement, said it tackled the "French declaration about the disappearance of Mohammed Zuheir Siddiq … and whether it is linked to extending the arbitrary detention of the four officers."  The bloc also "raised several questions about seriousness of the international commitment to reveal the truth in the Hariri assassination," the statement added. (Naharnet)

The Assad regime, and it seems Hizbullah, have always been obsessed with Siddiq, ever since his name was revealed as a witness. This obsession resurfaced after news of his disappearance from his France home and re-appearance in Europe awaiting the formation of the tribunal (this according to al-Seyassah). During the 2006 war, Lahoud found time to write a letter requesting the extradition of Siddiq to Lebanon, which the French judiciary rejected it on grounds Lebanon allowed death penalties.

Why care about Siddiq? The former Syrian intelligence fixer in Lebanon claimed he has the proof that the four general and the Assad regime assassinated Hariri, and has said so publicly. After the controversy over his credibility erupted (and much of that controversy was fanned by the Assad regime) the Lebanese authorities issued a warrant for his arrest.

The UN investigation has moved on since the Siddiq controversy, gathering tens of statements from different witnesses and suspects, and confirming the indisputable link between the Hariri assassination, the Assad regime and the four generals. In other words, and as a reading of any of the UN reports would reveal, Siddiq's testimony is not essential. It is only the Assad regime that wants you to believe that the entire case hinges on this one testimony. And even though they have discredited it, they continue to panic every time this scarecrow witness issues a statement or pulls a stunt in what seems to be his battle against the regime.

It is useful to place the regime's hysterical reaction to Siddiq's disappearance in the context of the regime's behaviour at home. Siddiq, as do others, also names many top Syrian officials, including Assef Shawkat, who became the head of military intelligence 30 minutes after the Hariri assassination, and is one of the prime suspects in the murder, according to Detlev Mehlis. He is also Bashar's brother in law. The "criminal network" that new UN commissioner Daniel Bellmare mentioned in his first report most likely include Shawkat, so tracking any visible links to that person would be a regime priority.

Shawkat, we recently learned from Syrian VP Abdel Halim Khaddam, has been placed under house arrest in Damascus. Khaddam predicted that Shawkat would meet a fate similar to Ghazi Kenaan, who "committed suicide" in 2005, right around the time Siddiq testified to the commission, then headed by Mehlis. Siddiq's former boss, Bahjat Suleiman, was also removed from his post in the same year.

So what inspires Hizbullah to be part of the Assad regime obsession with all this? They probably miss their former facilitators. Or they could be afraid that if those generals ever make it to The Hague, beans will be spilled and the myth of purity they like to propagate will be forever shattered.

Theater of the absurd

Nabih Berri came out with this gem during talks with David Welch:

ويبدو ان النقطة المتعلقة بتركيز ولش على أولوية الانتخاب وفتح المجلس ومن ثم الشروع في الحوار كانت محور المحادثات التي أجراها مع بري طوال 75 دقيقة. وعلمت "النهار" ان رئيس المجلس رد على استفسارات المسؤول الاميركي معتبراً ان "مجلس النواب مفتوح طوال ايام الاسبوع ما عدا يوم الاحد". ووصف القول بان المجلس مقفل بانه "كلام في كلام لا يعبّر عن الحقيقة والازمة التي وصل اليها اللبنانيون". وقال له: "أنا في لبنان لا أملك حق جلب النواب الى الجلسة بالقوة" (An-Nahar)

The talks centered around the priority of [presidential] elections, opening parliament and then conducting dialogue. An-Nanahr learned that the parliament speaker responded to questions by the American official by saying that "parliament is open all days of the week except Sunday".

Berri also told Welch that saying the parliament is closed "does not express the truth and the crisis the Lebanese are in," adding that "I, in Lebanon, do not have the right to summon deputies to parliament by force."

Sometimes Berri thinks he's so clever, he can lecture officials representing democracies about how democracy works, in addition to twisting facts and telling lies about how Lebanon supposedly works.

It had to be this quote. The Aoun-Murr drama and other, albeit more static events, failed to inspire this busy blogger. 

Downtown justice

I have been busy and tired. I wanted to blog about the Hariri investigation, and the Syrian obsession with Siddiq and the four generals. Rule of law, you know. The kind Lebanon needs right now, not when the UN is done reinventing the wheel (although, for the record, if the wheel needs to be reinvented to try those criminals, then by all means reinvent it already). Here's a story that makes you think twice before you visit Hizbullah-occupied downtown Beirut

MP Atef Majdalani of the Future bloc questioned whether 'the security zones established in downtown Beirut under the guise of picketing' had ' a new target.' Majdalani also asked whether the opposition sit-in, which began over a year ago as a protest against the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, was using a 'militia base' from which armed opposition supporters were intimidating the residents of Beirut.

Majdalani said that Lebanese citizens on a night out in the area around downtown Beirut on April 12 were attacked with knives by 'militia members' traveling by motorcycles from their tents.

The armed opposition supporters, he said organized an attack on customers in a restaurant near downtown, which led to a number of injuries. The injured were transferred to hospitals in Ashrafieh.

Majdalani noted that the most dangerous aspect of the attack was that it was 'unjustified,' and that it coincided with the 33rd commemoration of the Lebanese civil war.

'The citizens dining that night tried to seek protection from the security forces present, and the answer was the forces do not have the power to intervene,' the MP added, 'and that the security forces did not want to suffer what their colleagues went through after the events of Black Sunday in Shiyah.'

Majdalani asked whether the plan drawn by the events of Shiyah succeeded in the psychological and moral subjugation of national security forces, who have 'thus become unable to intervene and protect citizens from attacks by de facto militias.'

Lebanese citizens had faith in and depended on security forces for protection against any attacks, MP Majdalani said. 'And when these forces are unable to perform this task, it means we are facing a national disaster.'

The MP underlined the role of security forces as the sole legitimate protector of citizens' rights, urging the Lebanese to restrain themselves 'before it is too late.' (Now Lebanon)

Let's see. "Security forces" in downtown Beirut consist of the Lebanese army and Berri's police.  The army's main job is to search people before entering the area, which is half occupied by the militia types mentioned above, who can do whatever they want. Berri's police protects Berri, and keeps parliament closed. I could go on, but what's the point. 

Sorry for not posting much lately. I'll be back soon, life and work permitting...

Berri's tricks expire

Now that Assad has come out in support of Berri's dialogue, everyone in Lebanon should fake amnesia, play stupid and let the man who shut down parliament and his butcher-friend tell them that their problems have nothing to do with the Assad regime! Not only is the speaker overstepping his boundaries as legislative authority (which he doesn't even practice) by visiting heads of states, he is acting as an ambassador for the Assad regime, trying to mend that country's relations with other Arab countries at the expense of Lebanon.

Good thing Berri's "tricks" are no longer working. PM Siniora, who is also on an Arab tour, albeit to ratchet up pressure against Syria (as opposed to covering up for its crimes), said the place for dialogue was in parliament, shut down by Berri for over 17 months.  He noted that it was Berri and his friends who shut down the last round of dialogue, which ended, if you recall, when Hizbullah refused to discuss its weapons, and started the July 2006 war.

And while Siniora is gaining support for holding a mini summit to discuss the Lebanese crisis, concluding a visit to Saudi Arabia today, Berri's still waiting for Saudi Arabia to accept his request to visit the Kingdom.  Berri hopes to visit Egypt and Saudi Arabia at least, Assad's main antagonists in his plot to take over Lebanon. One hopes Berri never gets an invitation, and that the Saudis and Egyptians do what the French just did, when they announced that Berri is "not invited to France" over his refusal to open parliament.

Berri in charge

How revolting is it to see the speaker of parliament visiting Bashar Assad to get his blessings for another round of time-buying? Berri has forgotten about the election of a president, scandalously putting it behind him, focusing on pushing forward Assad's agenda, which consists of paralyzing all state institutions until the MPs change, whether through violence or election.

Speaker Nabih Berri said that he will suggest to Lebanese factions that a dialogue be established in parliament on April 18, 19, 20 and 21 during which leaders will discuss the adoption of a new electoral law and the establishment of a national-unity government.

“The candidacy of Army Commander General Michel Sleiman has already been agreed upon,” Berri told the Lebanese daily As-Safir.

“If we reach an agreement, we will hold the presidential elections on April 22. If not, the elections will be postponed,” he added.

He noted that he is waiting for the results of the decisions made at the Arab Summit before establishing the dialogue. “If things are clear, I will undertake two important visits, one to Damascus and another to Riyadh,” Berri said.

“I will decide on my coming moves in light of the results of these two visits and of internal contacts, especially with MP Saad Hariri,” he added.

He also noted that the decisions made during the national dialogue roundtable are final. “It is the implementation procedures that are being debated.”

Berri said that if the situation remains as it is until the summer, “we must seriously consider an interim government that will prepare for the legislative elections in 2009.” He also stressed on the importance of agreeing on an electoral law, whether the 1960 or the 2000 models, the law suggested by the national committee under the presidency of Fouad Boutros, “or any other formula for a fair and just law.”

Berri said he fears that Lebanon will reach the 2009 legislative elections without an electoral law in place and with the legislative and presidential vacuum continuing. “This is why my priority is the electoral law,” he said.

So Berri wants to resume setting the agenda, after a brief interruption during which Michel Aoun was given the reign. If indeed the electoral law is a priority, then Berri should convene parliament right away to discuss it. But no, he couldn't do that. What if the deputies actually got together in one room and dared to "implement" their right to, say, elect a president?

It is sad, and depressing, that these simple truths evade so many. Berri should not be allowed to keep hijacking the process, and blaming lack of progress on "implementation procedures being debated". He should not get away with warning that if things don't go his way, " we will lose Lebanon". If you ask me, the priority right now should be losing Berri and his illegal "dialogue". The man has clearly sold his conscience to his Damascus master. He also clearly does not speak for parliament, so why continue to pretend that he does?

ANB is reporting that Berri is currently meeting with Assad in Damascus. This comes as Siniora, the prime minister Berri does not even recognize, is being reported as saying that Syria is holding Lebanon hostage.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora accused Syria of holding Lebanon hostage by blocking the election of a new president following talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.  Siniora told reporters he saw the Lebanese-Syrian relationship as one of siblings and “one sibling cannot kidnap his brother and keep him hostage in the hope of getting a ransom,” he said.

He urged Arab foreign ministers to hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss the political deadlock in Lebanon and the country's strained relations with Syria. Siniora also called for the implementation of the Arab initiative, which calls for the election of Army Commander General Michel Sleiman as president, the formation of a national-unity government and the adoption of a new electoral law.

Siniora's retarded analogy apart, it pains me to see that Berri's latest call for dialogue is not being met with across the board rejection from March 14. We have heard a few voices, but it looks like at least Jumblatt and Gemayel are willing to humor Berri, for reasons only known to them. That's despite their acknowledgment that the war against Lebanon is taking the form of "deactivation" of its institutions.

President of the Kataeb party Amin Gemayel said he believed the difficulty of the Lebanese situation today had led some Lebanese to despair. “It is their right to be afraid, particularly when they see institutions under attack, the presidency in total vacuum, the parliament closed, and the Lebanese army subject to attempts at its destruction,” he added.

Gemayel said the war on Lebanon had taken a new form. “The war on Lebanon is not by guns or arms, but through the deactivation of institutions and political, social and economic life.”

“We resist this war, and we will win. We will not despair or fear,” he said.

How the hell are you going to "win this war" while keeping Berri in charge of you?