cedarsrevolutionnews - World Council for the Cedar's Revolution Freedom and Democracy in Lebanon

Tuesday October 31, 2006

US voices concern about more assassinations in Lebanon, hints at Syria link
WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has warned the Lebanese government could be the target of new assassination attempts and strongly suggested Syria was behind the destabilisation campaign.

Rice, in an interview with the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, said Washington had received information of plots against the government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and other anti-Syrian forces in Lebanon.

"We too have heard that there are people who would like to destabilize the government of Prime Minister Siniora," Rice said, according to a transcript of the interview which was released by the State Department late on Monday.

"We've heard that there are people who would like to intimidate or assassinate again, they've done it before in Lebanon," Rice said, referring to the 2005 murder of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in a giant car bombing in Beirut.

"The evidence is there that foreign influences have -- ever since the assassination of the former prime minister Rafiq Hariri -- have tried to use assassination and intimidation against the Lebanese people," she said.

While insisting she didn't want to accuse anyone specifically of threatening new attacks on Lebanese authorities, Rice added: "It's not any great secret that there are concerns about what Syria, which once occupied the country, might try and do through continuing contacts in the country."

"I don't want to accuse any one place; I just want to make very clear that the international community believes there should be no foreign intimidation of the Lebanese people," she said in the interview, which was conducted late last week.

Rice meanwhile met Monday with Lebanon's Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a leading figure in the anti-Syrian movement, who was seeking US backing for the creation of an international court to try those found responsible for Hariri's assassination.

Hariri was assassinated on February 14, 2005 in a massive bomb blast on the Beirut seafront that killed 22 others. The popular five-time prime minister had opposed the three-year extension of the mandate of Lebanon's pro-Syrian president, Emil Lahoud.

Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz, who heads a UN inquiry into the murder, has pointed to possible links between Hariri's death and 14 other attacks against anti-Syrian personalities in Lebanon since October 1, 2004.

Syria has steadfastly denied any responsibility for the killings, but has come under heavy international pressure to cooperate with the investigations.

An international outcry over the murder of Hariri forced Syria, which had dominated Lebanese politics for three decades, to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in April 2005.

Since then, relations between the two neighboring countries have soured considerably, and leaders of the anti-Syrian majority that emerged in parliamentary elections two months later have repeatedly claimed they fear for their lives.

Copyright 2005 AFP

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Security Council urges disarming of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias
UNITED NATIONS - The Security Council on Monday again pressed for the disbanding and disarming of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias and strict respect of Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty as called for in a 2004 UN resolution. In a non-binding statement unanimously adopted by its 15 members, the council "notes with regret that some provisions of resolution 1559 have yet to be implemented, namely the disbanding and disarming of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias."

Other provisions still remaining to be implemented include "the strict respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and political independence of Lebanon, and free and fair presidential elections conducted according to the Lebanese constitutional rules, without any foreign interference and influence."

The council renewed its call for "the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1559 and urged all concerned states and parties ... to cooperate fully with the government of Lebanon, the Security Council and the Secretary General to achieve this goal."

UN special envoy Terje Roed Larsen meanwhile told reporters that he had been informed by Lebanese authorities that arms were still being smuggled into the country from neighboring Syria, but said they gave no details on quantities or types of weapons.

"In order to have an effective arms embargo, there has to be cooperation with all regional partners, (including) Syria and Iran," he noted. "We are encouraging all to be helpful regarding all the provisions of 1559."

US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton, for his part, welcomed the Beirut government's "significant progress ... in deploying the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in the south of the country for the first time in almost 40 years, as well as the LAF's historic deployment along the eastern part of the Blue Line, as well as along Lebanon's border with Syria."

"Despite this advance, we continue to be concerned that Syria and Iran are actively trying to destabilize the democratically-elected Government of Lebanon, in contravention of Resolution 1559's call for strict respect for Lebanon's sovereignty and political independence," Bolton said.

"Each UN member state also has an obligation to enforce the arms embargo established by Resolution 1701," he added. "Syrian President Assad made a commitment to (UN) Secretary-General (Kofi) Annan that Syria would support the implementation of Resolution 1701 and comply with its obligation to enforce the arms embargo; Syria must abide by the promises it made to the Secretary General."

In line with resolution 1559 which also called for the withdrawal of foreign troops, Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon in 2005 after 29 years of military and political domination of its smaller neighbor.

Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah was involved in a month-long war with Israel in south Lebanon which ended with a UN-brokered truce in August under UN Security Council resolution 1701.

That resolution also called for the disarming of Hezbollah guerrillas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.

The Security Council also welcomed Annan's report earlier this month which stated that turning Hezbollah into a "solely political party" is the key to permanent peace in Lebanon and to full restoration of the country's sovereignty.

It stressed that to achieve this goal, "on the path toward the greater objective of consolidating the Lebanese state" it was essential that "all parties who have influence in Lebanon support a constructive political process."

Under Resolution 1701, Lebanon is to secure its border and entry points to prevent the passage of illicit arms or related material. The resolution authorizes UNIFIL to assist Lebanon in this task if requested.

Copyright 2005 AFP

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UN: Arms still smuggled into Lebanon from Syria
Top envoy Terje Roed-Larsen says Lebanese authorities soft on issue due to their fragile political situation; ‘Political rhetoric shows that there are very high tensions, and I think we have to look at the situation in Lebanon with all caution,’ he says

Lebanon regularly reports arms being smuggling into the country from Syria but the authorities are treading softly due to their fragile political situation, a senior UN Envoy said on Monday.

Government officials have informed the United Nations of smuggling as recently as “The last few weeks,” although they are providing no information on the quantities or types of arms being secreted across the border, said Terje Roed-Larsen, the top UN Diplomat on Lebanese ties with Syria.

US Ambassador John Bolton, quoting Roed-Larsen, said the officials were not being precise about the smuggling for fear of retaliation from Syria.

“The absence of complete cooperation by the government of Syria remains very troubling in that respect and I think it’s very courageous for any of the democratic politicians in Lebanon to go about their business under that kind of threat,” Bolton told reporters.

Asked about Bolton’s comments, Roed-Larsen said he had no specific information about threats of retaliation.

But he noted there had been 14 assassinations or attempted assassinations in Lebanon since the February 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

“Generally speaking, the situation in Lebanon is worrisome,” Roed-Larsen said. “The political rhetoric shows that there are very high tensions, and I think we have to look at the situation in Lebanon with all caution.”

'Lebanon gov't is doing its very best'

Syria acknowledges there might be smuggling but insists the border is porous and very difficult to control, he said.

Security Council resolutions in 2005 and 2006 imposed an arms embargo on Lebanon and called on it to disarm all militias on its soil, including Hizbullah, an armed group as well as a part of the Lebanese government.

Israel regularly accuses Syria of continuing to smuggle arms to Hizbullah guerrillas in Lebanon, in violation of the Aug. 14 cease-fire ending the 34-day Israeli-Hizbullah war.

Israel has insisted on conducting surveillance flights over southern Lebanon, which also violate the cease-fire, saying it needs to do so to monitor the smuggling.

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz told a parliamentary committee two weeks ago, “If it turns into a steady occurrence, we will deal with the smuggling ourselves.”

Roed-Larsen praised Lebanon’s efforts to end the smuggling by deploying soldiers along the border with Syria and in southern Lebanon, where Hizbullah guerrillas are active.

“I think the government of Lebanon is doing its very best to stop the transport of weapons across the border,” he said. “If this is sufficient, only time can show.” (Reuters)

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Druze leader seeks US backing for Hariri slaying tribunal
WASHINGTON - Lebanon's Druze leader Walid Jumblatt sought US backing Monday for an international court to try suspects in the 2005 murder of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

Jumblatt said he discussed the proposed tribunal with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during an unannounced meeting here.

The Druze leader notably complained of opposition to the court from Lebanon's pro-Syrian president Emil Lahoud.

"If someone opposes this international court, that means that he is covering up the crime," Jumblatt, a leading anti-Syrian figure in Lebanon's parliament, told reporters after meeting Rice at the US State Department.

"If Lahoud and Syria's allies in Lebanon don't want the international court, this issue will become dangerous," he added.

Earlier Monday in Beirut, Lahoud complained that he had been excluded from the process of organizing the court.

A draft text on the project was sent to Lebanese authorities by the UN on October 21. The tribunal has yet to be approved by the UN Security Council or by Lebanon's cabinet and parliament.

The idea for the international tribunal, which would meet outside Lebanon for security reasons, was floated in March by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Syria has steadfastly denied any responsibility for the killings, but has come under heavy international pressure to cooperate with the investigations.

An international outcry over the murder of Hariri forced Syria, which had dominated Lebanese politics for three decades, to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in April 2005.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Rice reaffirmed Washington's strong support for the Brammertz investigation.

Jumblatt and Rice also discussed the aftermath of the recent month-long war between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, including US reconstruction aid, he said.

Jumblatt also met with US Vice President Dick Cheney.

Copyright 2005 AFP

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Lebanon aid conference delayed
BEIRUT, Lebanon - An international conference on financial aid for war-ravaged Lebanon set to be held in Paris on January 15 has been delayed by 10 days, a Lebanese government source said Tuesday.

"The choice of January 15 wasn't convenient for all international and Arab participants at the so-called 'Paris-3' conference (so the) date has been delayed by 10 days for logistical reasons," the source told AFP.

Prime Minister Fuad Siniora announced the aid conference earlier this month after his country was devastated by Israel's month-long war on Shiite Muslim Hezbollah guerrillas that ended on August 14 under a UN-brokered ceasefire.

The conference is meant to win long-term financial assistance to help the country recover from Israel's blistering 34-day war offensive that caused damage of more than 3.5 billion dollars.

The Paris 3 conference was initially expected to take place in December, but has been repeatedly delayed as internal political disputes in Lebanon continued to hamper much-needed economic reforms, including privatisation.

The meeting will mark the third time the French capital has hosted an aid conference to help Lebanon since 2001 when the Paris 1 conference raised 500 million euros.

More than 18 countries, in addition to international institutions, took part in the Paris 2 conference which raised 2.6 billion dollars in 2002.

Copyright 2005 AFP

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Welch Criticizes Syria for Interfering in Lebanese Internal Affairs
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch has slammed Syria for interfering in Lebanon and said that helping Premier Fouad Saniora's government is a priority for the Bush administration.
"There have been various actions by the (U.N.) Security Council to express concern in particular about Syrian interference in the political affairs of Lebanon. This is a very real and dangerous issue," Welch told a talk show on New TV Friday.

"First of all, our priority is to help the people of Lebanon. Through the government, we hope to be able to help economic and political reform take deep root in the country of Lebanon," Welch told George Salibi, the show's host.

He described the decision by France and the Saniora government to hold the Paris 3 conference on Lebanon's reconstruction as "an example of the kind of willingness on the part of people across the globe to help Lebanon pick itself up in front of all the challenges it faces and the destructions caused by the actions of one party and the interference of its neighbors."

Direct material damage to housing and infrastructure in Lebanon during the 34-day Israeli offensive has been put at $3.6 billion. The war was sparked by a deadly Hizbullah cross-border raid on July 12 and ended under a U.N. brokered ceasefire on August 14.

The U.S. labels pro-Syrian and pro-Iranian Hizbullah as a terrorist organization and blames it for the start of the war.

On the Israeli occupied Shabaa farms area, Welch said that Lebanon should get a commitment from Damascus on the Lebanese identity of the zone.

"The way to resolve that is for Lebanon and Syria to agree on the delineation and then the demarcation of the border in that area, so that everybody will understand whether it's Lebanese or Syrian. And then that matter can be addressed, depending on what the outcome is," he said.

When asked why the U.S. doesn't help Saniora's government by exerting pressure on Israel to respect international resolutions like Resolution 1701, Welch said that the Jewish State was fully implementing the resolution that brought an end to the war.

"I believe that Resolution 1701 is being implemented fully and faithfully by Israel. And I also think it's being implemented fully and faithfully by Lebanon. We want to see it observed in all its parts, and I think that will be very important for security and not just for Israel but also for the people of Lebanon," he said.

Welch also criticized Hizbullah without naming it.

"The direction of democracy between the political leadership in Lebanon should be towards the people. That is, heads of political parties should look toward what the voters in Lebanon want, not what the people in Damascus or Tehran would see as appropriate for Lebanon," he said.

Beirut, 30 Oct 06, 21:25

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Security Council Urges Disarming of All Militias, Bolton Slams Syria
The Security Council has again pressed for the disbanding and disarming of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias and strict respect of Lebanon's territorial integrity and sovereignty as called for in a 2004 resolution.
In a non-binding statement unanimously adopted by its 15 members Monday, the council "notes with regret that some provisions of resolution 1559 have yet to be implemented, namely the disbanding and disarming of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias."

U.N. special envoy Terje Roed Larsen meanwhile told reporters in New York that he had been informed by Lebanese authorities that arms were still being smuggled into the country from Syria, but said they gave no details on quantities or types of weapons.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton, for his part, welcomed the Beirut government's "significant progress ... in deploying the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in the south of the country for the first time in almost 40 years, as well as the LAF's historic deployment along the eastern part of the Blue Line, as well as along Lebanon's border with Syria."

He called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to abide by the commitment he made to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to support the resolution that ended the month-long war between Israel and Hizbullah which is backed by Iran and Syria.

"Each U.N. member state also has an obligation to enforce the arms embargo established by Resolution 1701," he added. "Syrian President Assad made a commitment to Secretary-General Annan that Syria would support the implementation of Resolution 1701 and comply with its obligation to enforce the arms embargo; Syria must abide by the promises it made to the Secretary General."

In line with resolution 1559 which also called for the withdrawal of foreign troops, Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon in 2005 after 29 years of military and political domination.

Resolution 1701 called for the disarming of Hizbullah fighters and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.

Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari told reporters his country was fully complying with the arms embargo and all U.N. resolutions.

The Security Council also welcomed Annan's report earlier this month which stated that turning Hizbullah into a "solely political party" is the key to permanent peace in Lebanon and to full restoration of the country's sovereignty.

Under Resolution 1701, Lebanon is to secure its border and entry points to prevent the passage of illicit arms or related material. The resolution authorizes the United National Interim Force in Lebanon to assist the country in this task if requested.(AFP-AP-Naharnet)

Beirut, 31 Oct 06, 07:45

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Lahoud Slams International Court, Jumblat Accuses Him of Involvement in Hariri's Murder
President Emile Lahoud has slammed an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and Druze leader Walid Jumblat quickly accused him of "covering up the crime."
In a statement Monday, Lahoud took issue with a draft document that left out the word "international" from the title of the yet-to-be-formed court.

"Taking account of Article 52 of the constitution, which says that the head of state negotiates international treaties and ratifies them with the prime minister and support of the cabinet, (the president) expresses his reservations about the plan," said the statement released by the presidential palace.

Lahoud "particularly warns about adopting the name 'Lebanon Special Tribunal', which could have an impact on the image of Lebanese around the world and damage the tribunal's 'international character'," it said.

"This could lead one to believe that Lebanon is being judged for crimes such as collective massacre or ethnic cleansing ... as in crimes against humanity in countries where special tribunals have been created such as the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone," the statement added.

The pro-Syrian Lahoud also protested his exclusion from the process of organizing an international tribunal to try the suspects in Hariri's 2005 murder, saying that according to the constitution, the duty of negotiating the court's mandate with the United Nations falls to him.
A U.N. investigation into Hariri's killing has implicated top Syrian and Lebanese security officials, a charge Syria denies.

Lahoud's remarks drew quick criticism from his opponents, accusing him of seeking to stall the formation of the court to escape prosecution.

"If someone opposes this international court, it means that he is covering up the crime," Jumblat told reporters after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the U.S. State Department on Monday.

"If Lahoud and Syria's allies in Lebanon don't want the international court, this issue will become dangerous," added Jumblat, a strong opponent to Syria.

He regarded Lahoud's intervention as an "additional evidence of his involvement and (the involvement) of those who stand behind him" in Hariri's assassination.

Jumblat said that he discussed the proposed tribunal with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington.

Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh also accused Lahoud of involvement in Haririr's murder, and asked: "Since when does the suspect become a judge in choosing the court before which he will stand?"

Hamadeh said in a statement released by his office on Monday that Lahoud's objections were "political scandal and legal heresy."

He claimed that it was an attempt by Syrian authorities, through Lahoud, to undermine or delay the formation of the court.

A draft text on the project was sent to Lebanese authorities by the U.N. on October 21. The tribunal has yet to be approved by the U.N. Security Council or by Lebanon's cabinet and parliament.

An Nahar newspaper said Tuesday that the justice ministry received the official text Monday night, only hours after Lahoud issued his statement.

The idea for the international tribunal, which would meet outside Lebanon for security reasons, was floated in March by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Chief U.N. investigator Serge Brammertz has pointed to possible links between Hariri's death and 14 other attacks against anti-Syrian personalities in Lebanon since October 1, 2004.

Syria has steadfastly denied any responsibility for the killings, but has come under heavy international pressure to cooperate with the investigations.

Hariri was killed along with 22 others in a massive truck bombing in Beirut in February 2005, sparking large anti-Syrian protests in Beirut and leading, along with international pressure, to the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon that ended nearly 30 years of military presence.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Rice reaffirmed Washington's strong support for the Brammertz investigation.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said late Monday discussions have been taking place between U.N. officials, the Lebanese government and other interested parties.

"There's obviously no agreement on the exact composition of the tribunal yet so those discussions will continue," he said. "What we're trying to do is find a formula that will work to have an effective tribunal."

Bolton noted that the resolution referred to "a Lebanese tribunal of an international character so there's obviously room for play there."

He said he hadn't read Lahoud's comments, but said, "everybody realizes that he acts on behalf of Syria and I think you have to take that into account."(Naharnet-AFP-AP)

Beirut, 31 Oct 06, 12:00

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Tueni Attacks Lahoud's Mutiny on the International Community
Commenting on President Emile Lahoud's sudden attack on the international tribunal, Lebanon's parliamentarian-columnist Ghassan Tueni dubbed the head of state "ruling from outside the framework of international legitimacy and mutineering" on the international community.
In an editorial front-paged by Lebanon's leading daily An-Nahar Tueni expressed "our concern that the president's stand is the first step towards ending international sympathy for Lebanon … and perhaps an attempt to put this country again in the shadows of the security system," in reference to Syria's dominance over Lebanon's political theater for nearly three decades.

Under the headline "Why don't we put martyrs on trial," Tueni said Lahoud's criticism of the international tribunal was tantamount to "opening fire on everything related to the United Nations."

He concluded by raising the question: "Does he (Lahoud) want to push Lebanon back into an international isolation and (change it into) an arena for wars staged by others and a base for terrorism."

Beirut, 31 Oct 06, 13:00

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Israeli Fighter Jets Stage Mock Raids over Beirut's Southern Suburbs
Israeli warplanes staged mock raids Tuesday over Hizbullah strongholds in south Beirut in the heaviest show of air power over Lebanon since the Aug. 14 cease-fire.
At least six times the Israeli fighter jets dived down to zoom low over the southern suburbs before roaring up to the sky.

No bombs were reported, but the roar of the jets caused concern among residents, some of whom took to the rooftops and balconies to watch.

Flights at Rafik Hariri international airport, which lies south of the city, were not affected.

It was not clear what prompted Israel to stage the mock raids, which lasted more than 30 minutes.

The overflights came only hours after U.N. envoy Terje Roed-Larsen told the Security Council that the Lebanese government had reported that arms were being smuggled into Lebanon from Syria.

Lebanon, with United Nations support, has frequently protested Israeli flights over its territory. Tuesday's show was the heaviest aerial incursion of Lebanon since the end of Israel's 34-day offensive against the Hizbullah.

In Jerusalem, the Israeli military refused to confirm that its planes had flown over Beirut, saying it does not give operational details.

The overflights also came a few hours before Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was scheduled to appear on Al-Manar TV station.

Nasrallah has been in hiding since the Israeli offensive began in July, appearing in public only once, on Sept. 22, to give a speech at a Hizbullah "victory rally." Israeli officials have threatened to assassinate him.

Lebanese security officials said eight Israeli jets had crossed the border and dispersed, flying over southern and central Lebanon, with some reaching south Beirut.

In south Lebanon, officials and witnesses reported Israeli planes flying low over the towns of Nabatiyeh and Tyre.(AP)

Beirut, 31 Oct 06, 10:18

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Millions of Tons of Rubble Create Ecological Nightmare in Lebanon
One month of Israeli bombardment during the July-August war created millions of tons of rubble in Lebanon, adding to the ecological nightmare of a country that has suffered a succession of conflicts.
Even in normal times the main north-south coastal road was a handy dumping ground for rubbish, but now a dump of spectacular proportions is rising at Uzai on the southern exit from Beirut.

Between the highway and the shoreline an ever-growing mountain of acrid-smelling debris is piling steadily higher -- and also marching inexorably towards the breaking waves.

These are the ruins of the capital's southern suburbs, a Hizbullah bastion that was repeatedly pounded by Israel in July and August.

From this one area alone, in which 400 buildings were pulverized, engineers estimate the volume of debris at 1.2 million cubic meters. Every day some 400 trucks laden with rubble make the trip between the suburbs and the rubbish tip.

"For two days at the end of August everything was tipped directly into the sea," says Omar al-Naeem of Greenpeace Lebanon. "But organizations protested, and now it is all collected and deposited along the shore."

Clearing the suburb is expected to take at least until the end of the year.

At least this rubble mountain can be seen, and the authorities know where it is.

In the south of the country, where the fighting was fierce and the authorities say 10,649 homes were completely destroyed, you have to search for much of the debris which has often been dumped in the folds between hills.

Only by following garbage trucks does one come across these "secret" dumps -- along secondary roads, well-hidden at the bottom of valleys and along water courses, or down banks by the roadside.

Ten or 11 trucks hauling 13 tons each day are continuing to clear the village of Gandouriyeh, which was home to 6,000 people, according to the driver of one truck found emptying debris.

"The rubble of destroyed houses isn't just cement," says Ricardo Khoury, whose Elard environmental consulting agency is contributing to a United Nations Environment Programme assessment of the ecological damage caused by the war.

"You also find everything that makes a home, things like batteries, storage heaters, fridges, electronic equipment... millions and millions of dollars are needed to dispose of all this properly."

"It's not easy," he adds. "Neither is it a priority."

Elard has pinpointed 16 sites that Khoury says are high priority and need to be cleaned up quickly.

These include the generating station at Jiyeh south of Beirut, where aerial bombardment created a massive oil slick that coated the Lebanese shoreline with sludge; fuel-storage tanks at Beirut Airport; warehouses that storied food, detergents and chemical products at Shweifat, also south of the capital; plastics factories in Tyre; and a glass-producing plant in the Bekaa Valley.

All were hit by Israeli bombs or missiles and all burned for days. But the treatment of refuse -- wastewater included -- is practically unheard of in Lebanon.

Apart from Beirut and Zahle in the east of the country, the main coastal towns -- Tyre and Sidon in the south and Tripoli in the north -- discharge their waste directly into the sea, says Karim Jisr, environmental consultant to the World Bank and United Nations Development Programme.

"Neither the government nor local authorities can be expected to provide a long-term solution. They come under a lot of social pressure, hence these improvised dumping sites," Jisr says.

"The idea would be to find a secure location (for the debris), and then there would be enough time to sort the problem out."

He says the government's development and reconstruction council is looking into the possibility of using some the country's quarries, most of which are no longer in use.

"They could be filled in and then covered with inert material," Jisr says.

"However the real problem is the coastline which is mostly not government land, but is owned by churches or private individuals. It will become no longer possible to cover kilometers of coast with debris" from the war.(AFP) (AP photo shows a worker collecting twisted metal and other debris leftover from buildings demolished during the war in Beirut's southern suburbs)

Beirut, 31 Oct 06, 09:48

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Hizbullah warns of resignations, protests if demands for unity government not met

By Nada Bakri
Daily Star staff
Tuesday, October 31, 2006

BEIRUT: Hizbullah will seek the formation of a new government through all democratic means, including the resignation of its two ministers and street protests, the group's senior MP said on Monday. Hizbullah and its allies have been demanding a new "national unity" government since the month-long war with Israel ended on August 14.

The group has been a fierce critic of Western-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, whom it sees, along with the parliamentary majority, as keen to disarm its military wing.

"We are careful to practice all democratic and legitimate means to express our stand and our rejection of the continuation of this situation and to work toward forming a government of national unity," said Mohammad Raad, the head of Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc.

"We will take all available democratic steps to achieve this goal, including resigning from the government," he added.

Raad was speaking after holding separate talks with key opposition figures, former Prime Minister Omar Karami and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.

Speaker Nabih Berri on Sunday delayed talks with Leb-anon's political elite aimed at defusing tensions after several anti-Syrian leaders said they could not attend because they would be out of the country this week.

In his attempts to reduce tensions, Berri is expected to meet later this week with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, who said in his Sunday sermon that "certain parties" are trying to return the country to the age of Syrian tutelage.

Sfeir is also scheduled to meet Aoun this week in their first meeting since relations between the two leaders deteriorated a few months ago over their stance regarding calls for a national unity government.

Berri told As-Safir newspaper on Monday that all leaders confirmed they will attend the talks next Monday, except for Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who the speaker said "is a target for the Americans and the Israelis, and even if he decides to attend I will forbid him for his own safety and for that of Lebanon."

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt is in Washington for meetings with US officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Jumblatt said in a statement in the PSP weekly magazine to be published today that discussing a national unity government is only possible after electing a new president.

"Political logic requires first solving the presidency issue ... afterwards we can discuss forming a national unity government ... then a new electoral law," the Druze leader said.

Former President and Phalanges Party leader Amin Gemayel is in Kurdistan, while Hariri is in Saudi Arabia.

Gemayel said Monday from Kurdistan that the current conflict in Lebanon is between "a party working for Lebanon ... and another one which insists on linking [Lebanon] to regional strategic interests that are closer to adventures, taking place on its land and destroying its infrastructure and killing and displacing its people."

The Lebanese Forces urged the government in its weekly session Monday "to take all necessary measures to prevent any party from violating the laws, hindering democracy and attacking the authority under certain political demands."

The March 14 Forces have demanded Berri widen the scope of talks to include items discussed during the National Dialogue sessions held earlier this year but abandoned with the outbreak of war on July 12.

Berri told As-Safir the agenda will only include the two original items, adding that, "The aim behind this initiative is not to ease tension but to reach a compromise since the opposition was planning to start street protests last week and this initiative came to postpone that."

"There is no party, regardless of how disciplined they are, that can control street protests, and all past experiences proved that," he added. "Second, I adopted the national unity government demand but I am keen on reaching it through dialogue to avoid [a political] vacuum."

Berri's parliamentary bloc warned during in its weekly meeting Monday against continued "inflammatory" statements between the parliamentary majority and their opponents, saying that such remarks could "hinder the consultation initiative and threaten stability."

MP Akram Chehayeb said Sunday that "every demonstration will be faced with another demonstration and a bullet will not be met with a flower."

Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV responded by calling the March 14 Forces "devils" and warning that the party would give roundtable talks a one-week deadline to drag Lebanon out of the current "political impasse. "

In its Sunday evening newscast, Al-Manar quoted leading sources in Hizbullah and the FPM as saying that they "will not accept" the consultations being extended past the original 15-day deadline, which started on Monday.

Aoun's FPM also held its weekly meeting Monday, after which the party reiterated its demands for a national unity government to "restore political balance and form a fair electoral law." - With agencies

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Shebaa Farms to be demarcated, as UN meets to discuss Resolution 1559

By Rym Ghazal
Daily Star staff
Tuesday, October 31, 2006

BEIRUT: The UN has officially appointed a cartographer to demarcate the precise location and area of the Shebaa Farms, as members of the Security Council met with UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen late Monday to issue a presidential statement on the implementation of Resolution 1559.

"A cartographer and a small technical team have been named to settle the legal, political and cartographical issue of Shebaa Farms," a UN spokesperson in New York told The Daily Star. He declined to provide the name of the cartographer for security reasons, but said "he is from the Balkans."

Reports of the move were first made public over the weekend by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who said the cartographer would settle the dispute over land occupied by Israel since its withdrawal from most of South Lebanon in 2000.

The cartographer was to start work in mid-November from UN headquarters in New York and later would visit Shebaa, Israeli daily Haaretz reported Livni as telling the Israeli Cabinet on Sunday.

The course of action was determined following an October 19 report from Roed-Larsen on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559.

The Security Council meeting with Roed-Larsen was expected to focus on Hizbullah's disarmament and the demarcation of the Shebaa borders.

Roed-Larsen's report contained renewed calls for the disarmament of Hizbullah and

non-Lebanese militias, along with calls for the "strict respect of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and political independence of Lebanon under the sole and exclusive authority of the government."

The report also outlined "considerable progress towards [1559's] full implementation," in the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese Army in the South.

Lebanese Premier Fouad Siniora's office told The Daily Star it hadn't "received anything official from the UN regarding this move."

Israel took over the Shebaa Farms area in 1967 and sees it as part of the Golan Heights.

Hizbullah and Lebanon claim that the zone is Lebanese territory that is being occupied by Israel.

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UNICEF spearheads polio vaccination drive

Daily Star staff
Tuesday, October 31, 2006

BEIRUT: This week, more than 320,000 young children in Lebanon will receive the first round of polio vaccinations in a two-phase national immunization campaign. Starting on Monday and finishing on November 4, approximately 2,000 volunteers, trained by UNICEF and the Public Health Ministry, intend to go door-to-door to all homes and public health centers to ensure that all children under five years of age are immunized against polio. The second round of vaccinations will take place in December.

Although Lebanon was declared polio-free in 2002, and Lebanese children are normally vaccinated through primary-care services, the summer war severely disrupted routine health services, including vaccination, due to the mass population displacement.

During the conflict, UNICEF was able to vaccinate 8,000 children between 0-5 years of age against polio and 21,000 children between 0-15 years of age against measles.

However, dangerous and unstable conditions made it impossible to reach many children in the southern regions most affected by bombing, and the constant movement of children between locations made tracking extremely difficult.

"To keep Lebanon polio-free and protect children's health, it is critical to immunize every single child," says Roberto Laurenti, UNICEF Representative in Lebanon.

"The recent conflict severely disrupted routine vaccinations and public health systems. Since people from polio-affected countries in the region regularly move in and out of Lebanon, children are now vulnerable to infection. We need to act quickly and on a massive scale to eliminate that risk," Laurenti adds.

UNICEF has provided one million doses of the orally-administered polio vaccine, as well as cold-chain equipment (including 1,000 temperature-controlled vaccine carriers) to preserve the vaccine as it is stored and transported throughout Lebanon. This quantity is more than enough to supply both the first and second rounds of the vaccination campaign.

A "training of trainers" program was set up by the Ministry of Public Health in conjunction with UNICEF and the World Health Organization. The aim of the program was to brief health professionals on how to execute the vaccination campaign.

These health professionals in turn trained a total of 2,000 local volunteers, who will use the next six days to administer oral vaccines and track which children have been covered.

The campaign also aims to provide vaccines in refugee communities, including inside the Occupied Territories.

In December, the next series of National Immunization Days will deliver a second round of polio vaccinations to ensure full protection to all children less than five years of age and will also provide measles immunization to children in high-risk regions. - The Daily Star

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Israeli Supreme Court considerscommission to review war conduct

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

JERUSALEM: Israel's Supreme Court began deliberating on Sunday whether to order a state commission, the nation's highest board of inquiry, to look into the conduct of this summer's war on Lebanon. Seven high court justices, instead of the three that usually examine cases, were deliberating on an appeal by a non-governmental organization that argued that the probe set up by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government was not enough, officials at the court said.

Olmert's government voted on September 17 to establish the five-member commission to investigate the 34-day offensive against Lebanon that failed to achieve its main objectives.

The decision was taken against the backdrop of heavy protest against what was seen as an attempt by Olmert's Cabinet to avoid taking responsibility for the shortcomings by not appointing a state commission.

Members of a state commission are appointed by the head of the Supreme Court, while the members of the government inquiry established in September were appointed by the Cabinet.

The Supreme Court agreed in early October to hear an appeal by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, which said the probe established by Olmert's government was not enough.

Set up more than a month after a UN-brokered cease-fire ended the offensive on August 14, the government inquiry will probe how the government and defense establishments dealt with the threat from Hizbullah before and during the war.

Olmert has come under intense criticism over the war, which fell short of its goals. Israel has also weathered heavy criticism abroad for the devastating use of its firepower in Lebanon, where more than 1,200 people - mostly civilians - were killed, and thousands of homes and infrastructure targets were bombed. - AFP

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Israel sorry for 'misunderstandings' in shooting incidents with Germans

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday apologized for "misunderstandings" following a pair of shooting incidents with German forces backing up a UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. "The prime minister explained to a German parliamentary delegation the nature of what happened and apologized for the misunderstandings which arose last week," said a statement from Olmert's office.

Olmert "highlighted the importance of the German forces' participation in the international force deployed in Lebanon" and vowed to keep up "direct contact between Israeli and German forces to avoid a repeat of such incidents."

In a later statement the prime minister's office said Olmert "expressed his regrets about the incidents between the Israeli Army and the German UNIFIL force" in a telephone conversation Sunday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"For Israel the deployment of a German force which is to play a key role in the implementation of UN resolutions on Lebanon is of utmost importance," the text added.

Olmert also stressed that Israel would do everything possible to cooperate with the German force so that such incidents do not happen again, it said.

The German Defense Ministry said last week that in two separate incidents, Israeli warplanes fired shots over a helicopter and an unarmed German vessel backing up the UN mission off the Lebanese coast.

The confrontations came just days after Germany assumed command of the marine component of the UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on October 18.

German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung is to meet his Israeli counterpart Amir Peretz on Friday in a further attempt to clear up confusion surrounding the incidents. - AFP

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Basil Fuleihan institute celebrates 10th anniversary

Daily Star staff
Tuesday, October 31, 2006

BEIRUT: Finance Minister Jihad Azour said on Monday that the Lebanese are being "called upon not only to reconstruct Lebanon, but also to reactivate the country's economic cycle."

"We have to support the Lebanese citizens and the private sector so that the economy recovers its productive power and the citizen's confidence in Lebanon's future can be restored," said Azour, speaking at a ceremony held at UNESCO Palace in commemoration of the 10-year anniversary of the Basil Fuleihan Economic and Financial Institute.

The ceremony, entitled "Ten Years of Oxygen, Ten Years of Perseverance," was attended by a delegation from the French Industry, Finance and Economy Ministry as well as representatives of Lebanon's private and public sectors.

"Economic and financial reforms will not stop," said Azour, who went on to praise the Finance Ministry's efforts to "modernize" the Lebanese economy. "The ministry succeeded in relaunching the economic activity after this summer's war with Israel while helping those affected by that war."

France's Budget and Administrative Reform Minister Jean Franois Cope hailed Lebanese-French cooperation.

"France is keen on helping Lebanon's reconstruction and supporting it in the [international donor conference] Paris III to be held in January," Cope said.

A cooperation agreement was signed between the institute and the International Cooperation Agency (ADETEF) and the Institute of Public Management and Economic Development (IGPDE) affiliated with the French Finance Ministry. - The Daily Star

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Lahoud suggests changes to Hariri tribunal
Russia expresses desire to maintain right to veto court

By Rym Ghazal
Daily Star staff
Tuesday, October 31, 2006

BEIRUT: President Emile Lahoud released a 32-page report on Monday on the formation of an international court to try those accused of assassinating former Premier Rafik Hariri. In the report, Lahoud made several suggestions, such as changing the name of the court from "special," like that of Rwanda and Yugoslavia, to "a tribunal with an international status," as it will focus on "an assassination and not war crimes."

Lahoud also highlighted his role and responsibilities in the court's formation, quoting Article 52 of the Constitution, which states the president "negotiates international treaties in coordination with the prime minister."

The report also included demands for a clarification of the criteria for selecting Lebanese judges for the tribunal, and the role of the Lebanese justice minister in the recruitment, specifying the steps taken to protect witnesses, pinning down the court's scope when prosecuting the case and the various degrees of punishments and penalties.

Responding to Lahoud, Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh said: "When was a suspect allowed to choose the court before which he will stand and the identity of the judges who will prosecute him?"

"When has the suspect, more precisely the killer, had a word to say on legal procedures that he believes adequate in a prosecution?" He asked.

He added: "Statements that are issued as presidential notes are nothing but a constitutional violation, a judicial heresy and a political scandal."

Hamadeh also said that Syrian President Bashar Assad was "using the president, whose term was extended by force, to hamper or delay the creation of an international tribunal that will prosecute Hariri's assassins."

He added: "The 30-page notes issued by [President] Emile Lahoud should be used as information against him and against his masters."

Local daily An-Nahar reported on Monday that Lahoud received a copy of the final proposal on the international court from Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh on Saturday and spent two days studying the document before releasing his suggestions.

Judicial sources told The Daily Star that in addition to concerns voiced by Lebanese, international figures are also interested in how the court is set up, with reports circulating that if Lebanese parties can't agree, the UN will take over the process.

Local newspaper reports have said that Russia has its own suggestions regarding the court's particulars, focused on six main points, including Russian's desire to maintain its veto during the duration of the court and the removal of a "crimes against humanity" clause from the procedures.

Three of Russia's main points, as published in As-Safir Monday, were that the court should not prosecute presidents, that it should not charge an accused in absentia, and that it should not abide by any international criminal agreements signed, or which will be signed, between Lebanon and another country.

Siniora's spokesperson had no immediate comment on Lahoud's or Russia's suggestions, saying only that "the Cabinet will meet soon to discuss any suggestions and changes, and it will decide the final steps."

The As-Safir article quoted prominent March 14 Forces members MPs Walid Jumblatt and George Adwan as criticizing Russia for meddling in Lebanon's internal affairs.

"Every time there is some progress on forming the international court, there are attempts to delay it by the Assad government and his international connections," a statement released by Jumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party said.

Lahoud's suggestions were also sent to Justice Minister Charles Rizk. Asked by LBC about statements saying that the creation of the international tribunal falls within the competence of the president and not the justice ministry, Rizk said that according to Article 52 of the Constitution, "the president negotiates international treaties with the Prime Minister. But the treaties cannot be ratified except after agreement of the Cabinet."

Rizk said that he was assigned by the government to follow-up on the creation of the international tribunal.

He added that legislative decree 151, which regulates the Justice Ministry's affairs, gives the ministry the authority to supervise judicial issues.

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Rights groups detail Israeli, Hizbullah legal violations

By Paige Austin
Special to The Daily Star
Tuesday, October 31, 2006

BEIRUT: Two Lebanese human rights organizations released a joint report Monday describing Hizbullah's and Israel's violations of international law during this summer's war. The report, provocatively titled "The 33-Day War," echoes other international organizations' findings that neither fighting force took adequate measures to protect civilian lives.

What distinguishes the publication, its authors say, is its emphasis on the legal statutes that ought to have restrained both sides - even in such an unconventional conflict.

"Part of our work is in educating the Lebanese population," explained Wa'il Kheir, managing director of The Foundation for Human and Humanitarian Rights (Lebanon), one of the organizations behind the report. "We feel it is not enough to report on violations. We need to train people that they have rights [under international humanitarian law] - even in cases of atrocities and civil wars."

Kheir and his colleague, Nabil Halabi of the Lebanese Association for the Promotion of Democracy and Human Rights, conceded disagreement on one aspect of the investigation at a news conference held to announce the report's release.

The sticking point was whether Hizbullah committed a "crime against peace" when it killed eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapped two others in a July 12 raid.

Questioned about the report's failure to reconcile the two organizations' stances, Kheir told reporters, "It's important to have a diversity of opinions. And if you know this region, you know how rare this is."

Another reason the report details relevant international legal statues, Kheir and Halabi explained, is the summer conflict had little historical precedent: Few conflicts have pitted a non-state actor against a state acting outside its own territory.

For legal scholars, they said, it was unclear whether the Geneva Conventions' additional protocol on armed conflict could be applied.

The two organizations concluded that it could - but their findings were hardly considered a boon for Hizbullah.

The authors of the report faulted the resistance group for creating "dual-use targets," or military targets couched in civilian areas, which are legal to hit under international law.

"Some people will say that this is a war of liberation, and a war of liberation always takes place among civilians, in their land," Kheir said. "We say that explains what happened, but it doesn't justify what happened."

The 26-page report, which features a mixture of material borrowed from international rights monitors Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as original testimony from people in southern Lebanon, will supplement a growing body of literature on abuses during the war.

Kheir and Halabi said their organizations plan to publicize their findings using their own mailing lists as well as local and foreign media outlets. Only Israeli media, they conceded, is beyond their reach.

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Monday October 30, 2006

Al-Manar Slams March 14 Forces as 'Devils', Hizbullah Gives 1 Week Deadline for Talks
Hizbullah's television channel has ultimately stepped up its attacks on the March 14 Forces calling them "devils" and warning that the Shiite party will give roundtable talks a one-week deadline to drag Lebanon out of its political impasse.
In its Sunday evening newscast, Al-Manar channel quoted leading sources in Hizbullah and the FPM as saying that they "will not accept other than the remaining week for consultations after it (dialogue) has been postponed for a week."

Speaker Nabih Berri, who has put off roundtable talks on a national unity government for a week ostensibly because three key members of the political elite are abroad, has set a maximum 15-day consultation period.

The new date was set for Monday Nov. 6 after Druze leader Walid Jumblat, former President Amin Gemayel and Parliament's majority leader Saad Hariri have apologized from attending the session that was first scheduled for Monday Oct. 30 for travel obligations.

Berri told An Nahar on Sunday that he preferred the presence of "first rank" leaders rather than representatives because talks among "second rank" politicians would slow the consultation process on the national unity government and the reformation of the electoral law.
Those two issues are key demands of pro-Syrian Hizbullah, which fought a summer war with Israel, and the FPM, the party's close political ally.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Aoun have been recently calling for the resignation of Premier Fouad Saniora's government. They were among the top 14 leaders who took part in reconciliation talks, launched early March.

Al-Manar accused the anti-Syrian March 14 Forces of "betting on regional developments, for example, a possible American offensive against the Islamic Republic (of Iran)."

Without directly naming Hizbullah and its allies, the television station said that the March 14 coalition was "terrified of popular anger."

Al-Manar also quoted Hizbullah's executive chairman Sayyed Hisham Safieddine as saying that the national unity government was "on its way to being accomplished," adding that "there is no way that anyone could try to eradicate or run away from this reality."

Al-Manar's attack coincided with challenging statements by members of the March 14 camp.

Telecommunication Minister Marwan Hamadeh said Sunday "wrong who thinks that we are going to turn in the country or the government to a party which takes instructions from the Damascus regime."

MP Akram Shehayeb also warned against attempts of toppling the cabinet, saying: "This time we will not stay hands tight … popular anger will be confronted with popular anger and a bullet will be faced with a rose."

In the meantime, Lebanon's influential Maronite patriarch Nasrallah Butors Sfeir has said that certain parties in the country are trying to bring Lebanon back to the era of Syrian tutelage.

Without identifying them, Sfeir attacked pro-Syrian parties in his Sunday sermon, saying: "What we are hearing nowadays is very worrisome. The Lebanese society is divided and there are those who are working toward returning the country to the age of tutelage."

Syria, that controlled Lebanon for almost 30 years, withdrew from the country in April 2005 following local and international pressure in the aftermath of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination.(Naharnet file photo shows Al-Manar newsroom)

Beirut, 30 Oct 06, 10:36

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UN to map disputed Shebaa farms area on Israel-Lebanon border
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz
The United Nations will appoint a cartographer to map the precise location and area of the Shaba Farms, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni reported to the cabinet on Sunday.

The status of the territory on the slopes of Mount Hermon is disputed by Lebanon, Syria and Israel and its boundaries have never been precisely defined.

Livni said the cartographer would start working in mid-November from UN headquarters in New York, and not conduct surveying at the site itself at this stage.

The move was decided on following the periodical report of UN envoy Terje Larsen about the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559.

Israel took over the area in 1967 and sees it as part of the Golan Heights. The UN accepted this position following the IDF's pullout from Lebanon in May 2000 but Hezbollah and Lebanon claim that this is Lebanese territory still under Israeli occupation.

During the recent war in Lebanon, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Israel should leave the Shaba Farms and place the area in UN custody until the sovereignty issue is settled.

United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tried to persuade Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to agree to discuss Shaba Farms, but he refused.

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Israel and Lebanon trade accusations
Ryan R. Jones, All Headline News

JERUSALEM, Israel - Both Israel and Lebanon at the weekend accused the other of preventing full implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the summer's 34-day war between Lebanon's Hezbollah militia and the Jewish state.
In a meeting Saturday with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Beirut, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora urged his guest to put maximum pressure on Israel to end its military overflights of his country.

At a press conference following their meeting, Siniora also indicated that his government viewed Israel's control of the disputed Shebaa Farms region as a violation of the truce, despite the fact that the U.N. has certified that the area is not Lebanese territory.

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz on Sunday reiterated his position that the overflights of Lebanon would continue until Israel is certain that arms shipments are not reaching Hezbollah.

Resolution 1701 calls for a complete arms embargo on Hezbollah, as well as the dismantling of the group as an armed force.

A spokesman for U.N. forces in southern Lebanon told reporters that while the Israeli overflights were "very discomforting for the Lebanese," he could not guarantee that weapons were not reaching Hezbollah.

Until Lebanon and the international community can confirm that Hezbollah is not being rearmed, Israel says it must maintain its own surveillance.

Appearing to bolster the Israeli position, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared on Lebanese television on Friday urging Hezbollah to lay down its arms and play a constructive role in its nation's politics.

In an interview with the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. taped in her office in Washington D.C., Rice noted that groups like Hezbollah "cannot have one foot in terror and the use of violence and the other foot in politics. It just doesn't work that way."

Rice went on to say that ending Hezbollah's unchallenged rule over southern Lebanon, from where it repeatedly attacked the Jewish state, is the sole responsibility of the Lebanese government.

"I'm counting on Lebanon to live up to its obligations, and I'm counting on Lebanon to want to evolve to a normal state," said Rice. "And a normal state has an army and police that answer to the state, not to a state within a state."

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Israeli FM: U.N. to Map Shabaa
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has said that the United Nations will appoint a cartographer to map the precise location and the area of the Shabaa Farms.
The status of the territory on the slopes of Mount Hermon is disputed by Lebanon, Syria and Israel and its boundaries have never been precisely defined.

The Israeli Haarezt daily said on its online edition Monday that Livni reported to the Israeli cabinet on Sunday that the cartographer would start working in mid-November from U.N. headquarters in New York, and not conduct surveying at the site itself at this stage.

The move was decided on following the periodical report of U.N. envoy Terje Roed-Larsen about the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559.

Resolution 1559 calls for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon, the disarming of all militias, the extension of government authority throughout the country and free and fair presidential elections.

Israel took over the Shabaa Farms area in 1967 and sees it as part of the Golan Heights. The U.N. accepted this position following the Israeli troops pullout from Lebanon in May 2000, but Hizbullah and Lebanon claim that the zone is Lebanese territory still under Israeli occupation.

Prime Minister Fouad Saniora has recently said Israel should leave the Shabaa Farms and place the area under U.N. custody until the sovereignty issue is settled.

Haaretz said that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has tried to persuade Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to agree to discuss the issue of the Shabaa Farms, but he has refused.
Lebanese political leaders meeting at national dialogue talks in Beirut last March have agreed that Shabaa is inside Lebanese territory. They said Beirut should get a clear commitment from Damascus that backs their decision. Then Lebanon can take up the issue with the U.N. to change the area's official status.

Beirut, 30 Oct 06, 11:36

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Tourism Industry Struggles to Cope with War's Aftermath
Before last summer's war, foreign tourists would pop into Sanda Spanioli's gift shop every few minutes to buy a magazine, a map or a postcard. Now, she's lucky to see 20 customers a day.
Lebanon's tourism industry was on track to break records this year before the war between Israel and Hizbullah broke out July 12 and brought business at hotels, restaurants and shops to a crashing halt.

Two months after the Aug. 14 cease-fire, few tourists are trickling into Lebanon, but industry experts say they're optimistic that the travel business can rebound by 2008 if the country remains stable and safe.

"Business is not good right now," said Spanioli as she stood behind the counter at The Visitor Books & Gifts. "Perhaps it could get better, but that's only if the political situation calms down a bit."

Lebanon relies heavily on tourism, which accounts for about 12 percent of national revenue.

The industry suffered some turbulence after the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, but the country enjoyed a period of relative calm after Syria withdrew its troops two months later and tourists crowded Beirut's beaches and Baalbeck's ancient ruins.

Before the war, Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis was predicting a record 1.6 million visitors in 2006 with revenues topping $2 billion.

But the rosy outlook ended with the war, replaced by more sullen forecasts. The Rafik Hariri International airport was closed for more than a month after it was attacked by Israeli warplanes and gunboats. An oil spill caused by Israeli airstrikes tainted Beirut's beaches, frescos in a Roman-era tomb in the southern port city of Tyre were shaken to the ground and a stone at the Roman ruins of Baalbeck toppled.

Nada Sardouk Ghandour, the Ministry of Tourism's general director, said the amount of money lost has not yet been calculated, but small and medium sized businesses were most affected.

"It was paradise to hell, that's what happened," Ghandour said. "Loss and catastrophe happened to Lebanon's economy, including the tourism industry."

According to Ministry of Tourism statistics, 26,684 people arrived in Lebanon in August -- an 85.4 percent decrease from the same month last year. In September, the number jumped to more than 67,000 -- a majority from other Arab countries -- but it was still nearly 43 percent less than September 2005. October figures were not available.

Lebanon had hoped for a slight bump in visitors during last week's Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, when throngs of mostly Arab tourists usually flock to the country.

Ghandour said hotels averaged between 40 and 60 percent occupancy during the holiday. A scattering of tourists from other Arab countries could be seen dining at Beirut's swanky restaurants during the holiday, and a few tour buses could be seen traveling down the city's streets.

Jihane Shkar, general manager at the Albergo Hotel in Beirut, said her 33-suite hotel was luckier than most with 70 percent of the rooms occupied during Eid. But instead of staying for a week like they had in the past, many of her guests were in Lebanon for only three or four days, and some canceled at the last minute, she said.

Ghandour said the ministry is trying to work with banks and small businesses in the tourism industry to help them stay afloat. A program begun in the summer allowing visitors from some countries including the United States to enter the country without a visa will continue, and plans to promote Lebanon at international travel conferences are in the works.

Ghandour predicts that tourism will return to prewar levels by 2008 -- if the country rebuilds and remains stable.

"Tourism is coming back slowly," she said. "If there is some silence, it would help us a lot."

But stability is not a guarantee in Lebanon where fears of political unrest pervade. Beirut has witnessed a series of minor attacks over the past few weeks, including a grenade fired at a downtown building that houses a dance club. The explosion, which was near U.N. offices, injured six people, broke windows and damaged cars.

The unease has some international tour operators discontinuing trips to Lebanon, including Britain-based Explore, until the situation is safer.

Amr Abdel-Ghaffar, of the U.N. World Tourism Organization in Madrid, said based on the past, Lebanon can recover. After Hariri's death, the industry bounced back, not only attracting visitors from nearby Arab countries but from Europe, North and South America, he said.

"There is a resilience to bounce back. This is our experience with tourism not just in Lebanon but the whole Middle East," he said.

But there were just a scattering of diners at the Riviera Yacht Club along Beirut's coast on a recent sunny afternoon, and general manager Walid Noshie wasn't too optimistic the industry's near future.

"I was making 40 percent more business this year, and then they started this stupid war and the businesse is bad," he said. "We count on tourism. We count on stability. Tourism and instability don't work together."(AP) (AP photo shows Kuwaiti tourists in downtown Beirut)

Beirut, 30 Oct 06, 09:22

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Israel Sorry for 'Misunderstandings' in Shooting Incidents off Lebanese Coast
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has apologized for "misunderstandings" following a pair of shooting incidents with German forces backing up the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
"The prime minister explained to a German parliamentary delegation the nature of what happened and apologized for the misunderstandings which arose last week," according to a statement released by the premier's office on Sunday.

In a later statement the prime minister's office said that Olmert "expressed his regrets about the incidents between the Israeli army and the German UNIFIL force" in a telephone conversation Sunday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"For Israel the deployment of a German force which is to play a key role in the implementation of U.N. resolutions on Lebanon is of utmost importance," the text added.

Olmert also stressed that Israel would do everything possible to cooperate with the German force so that such incidents do not happen again, the statement said.

The German defense ministry said last week that in two separate incidents, Israeli warplanes fired shots over a helicopter and an unarmed German vessel backing up the U.N. mission off the Lebanese coast.

The confrontations came just days after Germany assumed command of the marine component of the U.N. peacekeeping forces in Lebanon on October 18, in its first military foray into the Middle East since World War II.

German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung is to meet his Israeli counterpart Amir Peretz on Friday in a further attempt to clear up confusion surrounding the incidents.

Jung will travel to the region Thursday for talks with Israeli and Lebanese officials.

Jung will also pay a visit to the German troops who are leading the naval component of UNIFIL.

The German defense ministry said Jung would meet with Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and Defense Minister Elias Murr in Beirut on Friday before traveling to Tel Aviv for talks with Peretz.(AFP-Naharnet) (AFP photo shows the U.N. flag fluttering as Israeli warplanes fly over southern Lebanon)

Beirut, 30 Oct 06, 08:55

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Two Lebanese Killed by Storm
Two Lebanese boys and six Syrian people have died after torrential downpours hit both countries over the weekend, security sources said Monday.
Police in Lebanon said Saturday's fatalities included a four-year-old boy who drowned after being swept away by floodwaters in an irrigation channel.

The other, a shepherd, 16, was killed along with a flock of 100 sheep, by a lightning bolt in the village of Kanafez in Hermel in east Lebanon.

Lebanese weather forecasters said they expected further heavy rainfall until Wednesday, with snowfall above 1,800 meters.

Heavy rains also led to traffic accidents throughout the country.

In Aley, a woman was killed and her son hospitalized when their car slipped and hit a concrete partition that separates the road.

The incident came a day after a young mother and her one-year-old son were killed when their car plunged off the Taanayel bridge in the Bekaa Valley. The bridge was badly damaged by Israeli bombardment during the summer war, police said Sunday.

The official Syrian news agency SANA said six people, two of them firemen, had drowned in northeastern Syria over the weekend.

Three victims' bodies were recovered and searches were continuing for the three others, SANA said.(AFP-Naharnet)

Beirut, 30 Oct 06, 12:19

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Mother, Baby Die in Destroyed Bekaa Bridge Plunge
A young Lebanese mother and her one-year-old son were killed when their car plunged off a Bekaa Valley bridge that was badly damaged by Israeli bombardment during the summer war, police said Sunday.
The father, who was at the wheel, and their five-year-old daughter were badly injured and taken to hospital at Taanayel, police added.

An Israeli missile hit the bridge during the 34-day onslaught, creating a six-meter-deep crater in the middle of the span.

The bridge is at Taanayel, a small village on the main Beirut-Damascus highway 10 kilometers from the Syrian border.

Since the war ended on August 14 at least five people have been killed in similar accidents.

During the month-long conflict, 70 bridges in Lebanon were either destroyed or damaged in Israeli attacks.

A massive program to rebuild the country's bridges is currently under way, funded mostly by private donations.

Direct material damage to housing and infrastructure during the Israeli offensive has been put at 3.6 billion dollars.(AFP)

Beirut, 29 Oct 06, 11:57

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Solana Voices Support for Saniora's Government
European Union Foreign Policy chief Javier Solana met on Saturday with Lebanese political leaders in an attempt to shore up support for Premier Fouad Saniora's beleaguered government.
Solana, at a joint press conference with Saniora, voiced support for the Lebanese government and urged the implementation of the U.N. resolution that ended the Israel-Hizbullah war by all sides.

He said, prior to his Lebanon visit, he informed the Israeli prime minister and defense minister that overflights of Israeli airspace must be stopped.
The EU foreign policy chief is on a six-day swing through the Middle East to examine prospects for restarting stalled Israel-Palestinian peace talks and for stabilizing Lebanon in the wake of the recent Israel-Hizbullah war.

The one-day visit to Beirut was to send a strong message to Syria and its Lebanese allies that Europe, which is providing the bulk of a 7,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force, wants to keep Saniora's moderate government in office.

"We have real and important responsibilities in Lebanon" Solana said in Israel before heading to Lebanon.

Behind closed doors EU officials were expected to voice concern over growing tensions between rival Lebanese factions, which threaten Saniora's fragile coalition.

In the press conference, Saniora defended his government's performance during this summer's war with Israel, saying it had maintained national unity in the face of widespread devastation.

"This government is by itself a government that represents most of the political groups in the country" and it "has already demonstrated a high level of leadership in tackling most abuses," Saniora said.

"This is the government that managed to preserve the unity of the Lebanese in the face of major attacks," he added.

On Saturday, Solana also met with Maj. Gen. Alain Pellegrini, leader of the U.N. peacekeeping force, to get an assessment on the U.N. mission in southern Lebanon and the U.N. force's relationship with the Israelis.

A U.N. official said Pellegrini urged Solana to pressure Israel to end its controversial overflights of Lebanon.

"(Pellegrini) complained about the overflights," UNIFIL spokesman Daljeet Bagga told reporters. "He asked Solana to pressure the Israelis."

Germany has alleged that Israeli jets this week fired in the air over a German naval vessel meant to protect other peacekeeping ships off the Lebanese coast.

The Israelis have denied shots were fired.

Solana also met with Nabih Berri and welcomed an initiative launched by the Lebanese speaker, calling for consultations between rival political factions in Lebanon - both pro- and anti-Syrian, Christian and Muslim.

"We hope that the product of that dialogue will be a constructive one for the future of Lebanon," Solana said.

Late Friday, the EU foreign policy chief held talks for the first time with the influential Maronite patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir.

Notably absent from Solana's agenda was pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud.

Solana's visit came as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stepped up the pressure on Hizbullah to disarm. Rice said in an interview aired Friday on the LBCI that Hizbullah should drop its armed struggle if it wants to continue playing a role in Lebanese politics.

Tensions between rival political groups have risen in recent weeks, with Beirut witnessing a series of minor attacks, including a grenade fired from a rifle at a downtown building that houses a dance club.

The disarming of Hizbullah, a key international demand, has caused a tense internal struggle between the Saniora government and the Shiite party as Lebanese troops try to take control of Hizbullah's longtime stronghold in the south.

Leaders failed to agree on the disarmament issue during talks in June.

The U.N.-brokered cease-fire that ended the Israel-Hizbullah confrontation called for Hizbullah to disarm.

But Hizbullah has refused to lay down its weapons. Neither the 15,000 Lebanese troops nor U.N. peacekeepers who are to patrol a buffer zone in the south have the mandate to take the weapons by force.

Solana left Beirut Saturday evening and arrived in Amman, Jordan.(Naharnet-AP-AFP)

Beirut, 28 Oct 06, 08:47

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Lebanon's Political Tensions Drag on as Dialogue Postponed
Speaker Nabih Berri has postponed roundtable consultations on a national unity government for a week, ostensibly because three key members of the political elite are abroad.
Berri told An Nahar that he preferred the presence of "first rank" leaders rather than representatives because talks among "second rank" politicians would slow the consultation process.

Jumblat traveled to the United States on Saturday and will meet with top U.S. officials in Washington on Monday, the day the talks were first scheduled to begin.

An Nahar said Friday that Jumblat will meet during his visit to the U.S. with Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and David Welch, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.

"Given previous engagements by some of the leaders and after consultations, it has been decided to postpone the talks to Monday Nov. 6 at 11 am in parliament to discuss the previously announced items on the agenda," said a statement released from Berri's office late Saturday.
The speaker on Wednesday called for fresh talks across Lebanon's sectarian divide for consultations over a national unity government and reforming the country's electoral law.

Those two issues are key demands of pro-Syrian Hizbullah, which fought a summer war with Israel, and Gen. Michel Aoun, the party's close political ally.

The thorny issue aimed at resolving Hizbullah's right to keep its weapons was last tackled by the pro and anti Syrian leaders before the discussions were adjourned late June. The outbreak of the Israel-Hizbullah war July 12 has prevented the resumption of the talks.

The speaker's postponement decision on Saturday came after the March 14 Forces announced they will join the roundtable consultations.

"We are going to take part in roundtable talks because we believe that the (current) tension overwhelming the country must be eliminated," said MP George Adwan, one of four members of the March 14 coalition entrusted by the anti-Syrian camp to meet Berri before coming out with a final decision on its participation.

On Thursday, Hizbullah welcomed Berri's initiative and said it hoped that the meeting would lead to a solution to move Lebanon from its current political impasse.

While Aoun did not give a final say in the resumption of the talks, he dubbed Berri's proposal as "positive" and said Saturday that he backed any form of dialogue that would solve the country's problems.

Beirut, 29 Oct 06, 08:20

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British Daily: High Radiation Level Samples Found After Israeli Bombing
Scientists studying samples of soil from Israeli bombardment craters in south Lebanon have shown high radiation levels, suggesting uranium-based munitions were used, a British newspaper reported Saturday.
The samples were taken from two bomb craters in Khiam and At-Tiri and have been sent for further analysis to the Harwell laboratory in Oxfordshire, southern England, for mass spectrometry used by the Ministry of Defense, The Independent said.

The samples thrown up by Israeli heavy or guided bombs showed "elevated radiation signatures," Chris Busby, the British scientific secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, was quoted as saying.

Britain's Ministry of Defense has confirmed the concentration of uranium isotopes in the samples, the newspaper said.

In his initial report, Busby said there were two possible reasons for the contamination.

"The first is that the weapon was some novel small experimental nuclear fission device or experimental weapon (ex. a thermobaric weapon) based on the high temperature of a uranium oxidation flash," it said.

"The second is that the weapon was a bunker-busting conventional uranium penetrator weapon employing enriched uranium rather than depleted uranium," Busby was quoted as saying.

A photograph of the explosion of the first bomb shows large clouds of black smoke that might result from burning uranium, the newspaper said.

The U.N., which has been studying the ecological damage in Lebanon caused by the war, said Saturday it would soon be able to say whether uranium-based munitions were used.

"If there is uranium we will find it," said Boutros al-Harb, director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for Asia and the Middle East, based in Bahrain.

Harb said he could not immediately confirm the claims of high radiation levels.

"The analysis of samples taken by our munitions experts is being done in a laboratory at Spitz in Switzerland. I am not able today to confirm nor rule out the presence of uranium," Harb told Agence France Presse by telephone from Bahrain.

The 34-day Israeli offensive on Lebanon left at least 1,287 people, nearly all civilians, dead and 4,054 wounded.(AFP-Naharnet)

Beirut, 28 Oct 06, 08:06

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Berlin confirms second incident with Israeli planes off coast of Lebanon
German defense minister plans visits to tell aviv, beirut on Friday

Compiled by Daily Star staff
Monday, October 30, 2006

Germany confirmed on Sunday that its naval forces serving with the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon were involved in a second incident with Israeli warplanes last week, and said its defense minister would visit the region this week. Conflicting reports emerged last week about an incident that apparently took place on Tuesday. German officials said Israeli F-16 fighter-bombers buzzed the Alster, an intelligence-gathering vessel operating in international waters about 50 kilometers off the coast of Lebanon, and even fired several shots over the ship.

Israel denied that shots were fired and said the planes approached a helicopter after it took off from a German ship without notifying Israeli forces.

The German Defense Ministry said Sunday that its navy had been involved in a second incident involving Israeli jets.

The Defense Ministry said this one occurred later on Tuesday and that it involved a German Navy helicopter and Israeli F-16s.

The helicopter had taken off from an unidentified ship and was heading in the general direction of Israel but was turned back by the F-16s.

"We are aware of the episode, but it was not menacing," the spokesman said after the Bild am Sonntag newspaper reported that the Israeli planes had "dangerously badgered" the helicopter.

The spokesman said the area was used by the Israeli Air Force for training, adding: "Perhaps other standards apply for them than for us."

"There were certain incidents, which we have discussed with Israel in the appropriate form," German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung was quoted as saying by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily in a preview of an interview to be published Monday. "Conclusions have been drawn from this for the future. I view the case as closed," he added.

Jung will be traveling to Israel and Lebanon on Friday to discuss the incident with his counterparts. The trip to the Middle East was finalized after Jung held a telephone conversation with Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz over the weekend in which Peretz "expressed his regret" to his German counterpart for the incident and said he wanted to "achieve improvements in the cooperation with the state of Israel."

"I don't expect any repeat of such an incident," Jung said late Friday on Germany's state-run ZDF television.

After meeting with Peretz in Tel Aviv, Jung will fly to Beirut and meet with Lebanese Premier Fouad Siniora and Defense Minister Elias Murr.

Jung added that things were smooth with his Lebanese counterpart, saying: "This mission is proceeding properly. We have excellent cooperation from the Lebanese authorities."

The incidents have highlighted a problem of clarity over the naval force's jurisdictions, with the German press reporting that the naval force's mandate does not allow ships to come within 10 kilometers of the Lebanese coast without permission from Beirut.

But according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, German ships can patrol all coastal waters without restrictions on to their deployments.

In mid-October, Germany took charge of the multinational naval force patrolling Lebanon's coastline to prevent alleged arms shipments from reaching Hizbullah following the recent war with Israel.

Merkel was quoted in Beirut's Al-Mustaqbal daily, which is owned by the late Premier Rafik Hariri's family, on Sunday as defending the presence of the Germany Navy off Lebanon.

"They are there to preserve the truce and Lebanon's sovereignty," she told the paper

Merkel added that in the event "the German [Navy] can't do its job, then there will be renewed discussions over their tasks," adding that so far, she is "comfortable" with how things are going for the German peacekeeping contingent.

The incidents with the Israeli forces have led to a heated debate within Germany, with several media outlets reflecting on the troops' mandate in Lebanon and the risk that they could clash with Israeli soldiers - a possibility that is viewed with considerable unease in Germany because of the country's Nazi past. - With agencies

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EU envoy pledges support for Siniora

Compiled by Daily Star staff
Monday, October 30, 2006

The European Union's top diplomat has urged Lebanon's rival parties and politicians to rally behind the current government, as he pledged the EU's commitment to rebuilding the country under Premier Fouad Siniora's rule. In a joint news conference Saturday with Siniora at the Grand Serail, the EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana told the prime minister: "The EU will be with you. You can be sure about that. You are going to have support of the EU in the time ahead of us."

Solana, who arrived in Lebanon on Friday in the course of a six-day tour of the region to revive peace talks and stabilize Lebanon after the July-August Israeli bombardment, left Saturday evening for Jordan and then Egypt.

In Beirut, Solana told Lebanese officials that Europe, which is providing the bulk of the current 7,000-strong UN peacekeeping force in South Lebanon known as UNIFIL, wants to keep Siniora's moderate government in office.

Solana, who met with Israeli officials last week, said during the conference that he had "seriously" asked the Israeli officials "to stop violating Leb-anon's sovereignty."

He added: "I come from Israel where I spoke to the Israeli defense minister and I asked him to implement [UN Security Council] Resolution 1701 and made seriously clear to them that Israeli overflights must stop."

Siniora, meanwhile, said: "We have assured Solana that Lebanon is implementing Resolution 1701 and is fully respecting the cease-fire, unlike Israel, which continues to stall

and violate Lebanon's airspace and territories.

"Israel continuous to occupy Ghajar in the South and the Shebaa Farms; it refuses to supply Lebanon and the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) with maps of land-mines and cluster bomb strike locations, and continues to detain Lebanese citizens with no right."

EU officials with Solana said UN officials told them that some 10,000 peacekeepers would be deployed in South Lebanon by the start of December.

Yet Solana said during his Beirut conference: "I don't think there is any need for the deployment of more UNIFIL troops."

UNIFIL was reinforced by 5,000 troops on the insistence of Israel when the cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon went into effect on August 14, 2006.

Siniora said that he discussed with Solana several "vital and important issues," including the possibility of "Lebanon returning to the Armistice agreement signed with Israel in 1949, once the issue of the occupied Shebaa Farms is solved."

As for relations between the UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army, Solana and Siniora agreed that both sides are maintaining excellent relations.

"The relation between the Lebanese army and the UNIFIL troops is in the best shape and the coordination between them is going well," said Solana.

When asked whether there is any confrontation between the UNIFIL troops and the Lebanese Army, Solana said: "There is nothing to worry about. Minor issues happened but the situation is going on in a constructive way and we hope the situation continues on this positive way."

On the disarmament of Hizbullah, Solana said: "Resolution 1701 doesn't give the UNIFIL the right to disarm any side. If the UN troops find anything suspicious they will report it to the Lebanese Army."

During Saturday's conference, Siniora said his government was strong enough to withstand factional infighting that some politicians have warned could spill into the streets.

"This is a government that managed to have a cease-fire ... [and] managed ultimately to achieve the withdrawal of Israeli forces," Siniora said.

"This government managed to preserve the unity of the Lebanese," he added.

Lebanon has witnessed rising political tensions during the past few weeks, with the capital witnessing a series of minor explosives attacks.

Parliament speaker Nabih Berri has called for consultations among the heads of the Lebanese political parties to discuss the formation of a national unity government.

"We hope that the product of that dialogue will be a constructive one for the future of Lebanon," Solana said after meeting with Berri Saturday.

Siniora later said he agreed to join the talks, but that his participation did not amount of a concession of his ruling government.

Siniora added: "We are going to participate it the consultation process ... We are people that do dialogue everyday, so I don't see this as a concession."

The premier said that he hoped the upcoming Paris donor's conference would be "a success."- Agencies

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Berri delays talks over key absences

By Nada Bakri and Maher Zeineddine
Daily Star staff
Monday, October 30, 2006

BEIRUT: Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has delayed key cross-party consultation meetings scheduled for Monday due to the absence of some participants, his press office announced on Sunday. Last week, Berri invited rival politicians to hold talks on two issues - the formation of a national unity government to replace Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's Cabinet and coming up with a new electoral law - in an attempt to prevent escalating political tensions from erupting into street clashes between various camps.

The statement said Berri also postponed the talks until November 6 to allow more time for discussions about the agenda.

The two items on the agenda are key demands of Hizbullah's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and his ally, Christian opposition leader MP Michel Aoun.

Hizbullah, with two ministers in the Cabinet of the ruling parliamentary majority, wants the inclusion of other groups in government, particularly that of Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement.

Berri's announcement came as Lebanon's influential Maronite patriarch said Sunday that certain factions in the country are trying to return Lebanon to the age of Syrian tutelage.

During his Sunday sermon, Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir attacked the country's pro-Syrian parties without identifying them, saying: "What we are hearing nowadays is very worrisome. Lebanese society is divided and there are those who are working toward returning the country to the age of tutelage."

Meanwhile Beirut's An-Nahar daily quoted Berri as voicing "concern that important officials be present" for the talks, alluding to former President Amin Gemayel, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri.

Gemayel is on three-day visit to Kurdistan, Hariri is in Saudi Arabia, and Jumblatt left Saturday evening for Washington, where he is scheduled to meet with top US officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

According to sources close to Jumblatt, the Progressive Socialist Party leader "will take advantage of his trip to the US to update the American leadership on Lebanon's current situation."

"He will also call on the international community to support the decisions reached during the national dialogue," which include disarming militia and establishing diplomatic relations with Syria.

While welcoming Berri's proposed consultations, the March 14 Forces have complained that the agenda is too limited and should include discussions on Hizbullah's weapons and the fate of Lebanon's pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, who the anti-Syrian majority wants removed from office.

The March 14 Forces held a meeting with Berri over the weekend in which they urged him to amend the agenda of the talks. The speaker said that cannot be done but that leaders can suggest to discuss anything they want during the talks.

Hizbullah MP Qassem Hashem said in a statement Sunday that Berri's postponement of the talks was "positive," adding that the consultations will be more successful if all leaders attend. "The consultation initiative is the last chance to end political bickering ... and allow [full] participation in the political, economic and social rescue journey," he said. - With agencies

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French make presence felt on border

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Monday, October 30, 2006

Anne Chaon

Agence France Presse

YAROUN, Lebanon: Hard against Lebanon's "Blue Line," at the point known as position 6-50, a group of French UN peacekeepers survey the Israeli orchards below. Barbed wire and fence just 30 meters away give reality to a frontier traced by the United Nations to keep peace between Israel and Lebanon.

From their lookout, the French "blue helmets" - binoculars around necks and assault rifles slung from shoulders - watch the Israeli patrols on the other side of the strip of no-man's land.

"We see them passing regularly from east to west," said Lieutenant Champy, who commands the position of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

The French force took over for a Ghanaian contingent at the site at the end of September.

At this forward position, around 30 men and three small AMX-10 armored troop transporters from the Chad Regiment's Third Combat Company have the job of watching over an area 4 kilometers long by 3 kilometer wide.

It was from a point a few hundred meters away, in the small valley, that the Israeli Army launched its pursuit of Hizbullah fighters after the capture of two soldiers on July 12.

Two gaping holes in the frontier and tank tracks over the nearby hills, through brush and olive trees, bear witness to the invading force's passage.

That particular track has also been cleared of mines, in contrast to the narrow lane leading to post 6-50 some 3 kilometers from the village of Yaroun. The length of that route is festooned with red markers showing the danger of land mines, planted by the Israelis during their earlier 22-year occupation of South Lebanon.

After the Israelis pulled out, the region became the territory of Hizbullah. Today, a small notice proclaims that access to the zone is still theoretically banned: "Danger - entry forbidden - Hizbullah military territory."

It is a warning that does not bother the French.

"Anyway, one never sees anyone here," said the French officer, a veteran of NATO peacekeeping work in Kosovo. "The area is too close to the border and too far from the village." French troops now occupy six positions in South Lebanon.

The presence of Leclerc tanks - noisy monsters of 56 metric tons each, which are repainted UN white on arrival in Beirut - should be sufficient dissuasion against aggression, said patrol leader Laurent Naturel.

Perched on one of the tanks near Kunin, Naturel said: "These tanks are a symbol of the transition from UNIFIL 1 to UNIFIL 2." He was referring to the original 2,000-strong UNIFIL force in place before the war last summer, and the promise now of a force totaling 15,000.

"The people are impressed by [the tanks'] size, but reassured by their color," said Naturel. "Up to now the only tanks they have seen were the [Israeli] Merkavas."

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Spanish UNIFIL troops begin rotation

Compiled by Daily Star staff
Monday, October 30, 2006

A first unit of the Spanish peacekeeping troops operating with the recently expanded United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) left the country on Sunday under a previously established rotation schedule. As the soldiers began their journey home for the Southern port city of Tyre, the Spanish contingent's media officer, Colonel Puig Terrero, said his troops had built strong and positive ties with all residents in the area where they were located, and that no problems occurred during their stay.

Terrero added that the number of Spanish troops is expected to increase to 1,100 for a one-year mission from September 2006 to July 2007.

"The Spanish government will later on decide whether it will renew the troops' mandate," he added.

Terrero said that since the "withdrawal of the Israeli Army in October from all the sections we deployed in, they have not violated the Blue Line."

Terrero later briefed the media about the social and medical services provided by the contingent. He added that members of his country's contingent had cleared around 4,000 cluster munitions and other forms of unexploded ordnance in less than two months.

The eastern sector of the South is under the command of the Spanish contingent. The Nepalese, Indonesian, and Chinese troops work under the supervision of the Spanish. The Spanish, meanwhile, work under French leadership. The French will pass on the leadership of the UNIFIL to the Italians in February.

Portugal will begin deploying the 140 troops which it has committed to UNIFIL next week, Defense Minister Nuno Severiano Teixeira has said.

Twelve Portuguese troops will head to the country Tuesday, with the remaining 128 due to arrive by the end of November, the minister told reporters late Friday.

"The troops are ready," the Lusa news agency quoted him as saying in Lisbon.

The Portuguese contingent will be stationed near Tyre.

Meanwhile, some 130 Italian troops arrived at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport on Saturday to bolster their comrades already serving with UNIFIL in the South. - Agencies

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Sunni leader denies plan to meet Khaddam during trip to France

By Nafez Qawas
Daily Star correspondent
Monday, October 30, 2006

BEIRUT: Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani has denied claims that he will meet with former Syrian vice president Abdel-Halim Khaddam in Paris. Press reports emerged over the weekend that while on a trip to the French capital to attend a conference on intercultural dialogue, the cleric would meet with the former Syrian official, who has accused the Syrian regime of assassinating former premier Rafik Hariri.

Qabbani's press office issued a statement Sunday, saying: "The press office strongly rejects such claims and stresses that his Eminence is visiting Paris to participate in a conference about intercultural dialogue."

Qabbani himself warned Sunday against hasty reactions over controversial issues that he said would lead the country to internal disputes.

In a statement, Qabbani said: "The Lebanese, Muslims and Christians should join forces to spare Lebanon further conflicts and disputes."

Separately, the Higher Islamic Religious Council said it was "very concerned over political tension prevailing over the country," and emphasized "Qabbani's national role in unifying ranks between the Lebanese people."

After a Saturday meeting in Beirut, the council said that Dar al-Fatwa, the Sunni's religious authority headed by Qabbani, "always works to achieve the unity of the Lebanese and fulfill national interests."

The council urged all relevant authorities to cooperate and "put Dar al-Fatwa aside from their political disagreements."

But a statement issued by the council's vice-president Omar Mesqawi on Sunday said that the meeting was held upon an initiative by its members.

"Consequently," he added, "the statement issued by the council was not official."

A visit of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea last week to Qabbani instigated criticism mainly from Sunni former Prime Minister Omar Karami.

Geagea was convicted in 1999 of assassinating Karami's brother, former premier Rashid Karami, in 1987.

A news conference will be held Tuesday by the Future Movement department in Ras al-Nabeh and other committees to condemn the campaign against Qabbani and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

The Beirut Ullemmas' Gathering criticized Saturday what they called a "programmed campaign launched by some Islamic and political movements against Dar al-Fatwa."

The gathering said that the campaign "is accompanied by another attack on Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in an attempt to weaken his post and create divisions among the Muslims."

The gathering emphasized its "absolute support" to Qabbani, saying that "those who criticized his meetings with some officials "have met and allied with figures, who bombarded the Lebanese, and the Muslims in particular, during the Civil War."

The vice president of the Higher Shiite Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, called Qabbani on Saturday and stressed the need to deploy efforts to ease political tensions, according to a report from the National News Agency.

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UN vows answers on whether Israel used uranium munitions during summer war
Samples from 2 bomb craters in south show high radioactivity

Monday, October 30, 2006

BEIRUT: The United Nations, which has been studying ecological damage in Lebanon caused by Israel's summer offensive, said Saturday that it would soon be able to say whether uranium-based munitions were used, as reported by a British newspaper. The Independent newspaper said scientists studying samples of soil after Israeli bombing in Lebanon have shown high radiation levels, suggesting that uranium-based munitions were used.

It said samples taken from two bomb craters in Khiam and Al-Tiri have been sent for further analysis to the Harwell laboratory in Oxfordshire, southern England, for mass spectrometry.

"If there is uranium we will find it," said Boutros Harb, director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) for Asia and the Middle East, based in Bahrain.

The samples thrown up by Israeli bombs showed "elevated radiation signatures," Chris Busby, the British scientific secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, was quoted as saying.

Britain's Defense Ministry has confirmed the concentration of uranium isotopes in the samples, the report added.

In his initial report, Busby said there were two possible reasons for the contamination.

"The first is that the weapon was some novel small experimental nuclear fission device or experimental weapon based on the high temperature of a uranium oxidation flash," it said.

"The second is that the weapon was a bunker-busting conventional uranium penetrator weapon employing enriched uranium rather than depleted uranium," Busby was quoted as saying.

A photograph of the explosion of the first bomb shows large clouds of black smoke that might result from burning uranium, the newspaper said.

An Israeli Army spokesman denied Saturday the use of illegal munitions.

"All the arms and ammunition that we use are legal and conform to international laws," he told AFP.

"The analysis of samples taken by our munitions experts is being done in a laboratory at Spitz in Switzerland. I am not able today to neither confirm nor rule out the presence of uranium," Harb told AFP by telephone from Bahrain.

"The results should be sent to us by mid-November."

Around 20 UNEP experts spent two weeks, with Lebanese environmentalists, from the beginning of October evaluating the impact on the environment of the July 12 to August 14 war, Harb said.

The experts tested air, water and soil samples at some 75 heavily bombarded sites in southern Lebanon and the mainly suburbs of southern Beirut, Harb added. Their report will be made public mid-December in Beirut.

At least 1,140 civilians - 30 percent of them children under 12 - have been killed along with 43 Lebanese Army and police troops in the offensive, the state Higher Relief Commission said. Many have unexplained wounds and burns that are still being studied. - Agencies

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Sunday October 29, 2006

October 29, 2006

Breaking News

Five navies led by US begin naval exercise Sunday, Oct. 29, off Persian Gulf Iranian coast. Iran’s armed forces on high alert, its air force chief replaced

The Western navies are to practice tactics for blocking the smuggling of nuclear weapons and components. Iran’s armed forces responded at once by declaring a high state of preparedness and branding the war games “adventurous.” Their alert encompassed the joint naval units of the military and Revolutionary Guards in the Persian Gulf, while the Revolutionary Guards, the Iranian army, navy and air force were placed on “yellow” alert, one level short of full war.

Also Sunday, supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei replaced Iran’s air force chief, Karim Qavami with Brig Gen Capt Ahmad Miqani, on the recommendation of the Revolutionary Guards commander.

In September, the outgoing air force chief, a US-trained pilot, commanded Iran’s military maneuvers which tested a new air defense system, fighter planes and laser-guided bombs. DEBKAfile’s Iran sources report that Khamenei did not approve of Qavami’s admiration of America’s military capabilities – especially the US air force’s advanced aircraft and equipment. He was the one who spoke out at general staff meetings in favor of procuring a new air fleet to better stand up to a possible US attack. His successor follows the supreme ruler without question and has complete faith in the ability of Iran and its air force to match the US and its air might.

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Monday October 30, 2006

The Security Council is scheduled to hold consultations in the afternoon on the 1559 report

UN Security Council hears a briefing on UN 1559

3.00 p.m. Consultations of the whole (closed) - Consultations Room

World Council for the Cedar's Revolution Freedom and Democracy in Lebanon - latestnews7

World Council for the Cedar's Revolution

Freedom and Democracy in Lebanon - latestnews7