Archive for January, 2010
Netanyahu: Israel is not seeking any conflict with Lebanon
The Israeli prime minister has sought to calm fears that a conflict with Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement could be imminent.
Binyamin Netanyahu’s office on Saturday issued a statement saying that Israel was not seeking war in its northern neighbor, after a cabinet minster had earlier warned that an attack was a “matter of time”.
“Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu clarifies that Israel is not seeking any conflict with Lebanon … Israel seeks peace with Lebanon and all its neighbors,” the statement read.
Yossi Peled, an Israeli cabinet minister and former army general, said on Saturday that another confrontation with Hezbollah was almost inevitable.
“In my estimation, understanding and knowledge it is almost clear to me that it is a matter of time before there is a military clash in the north,” Peled said on Israeli military radio. Al Jazeera
Hariri arrived in Riyadh
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has arrived in Riyadh . Hariri who has just returned from a 3 day official visit to France , is on a private visit to Saudi Arabia
Sectarianism, Municipal Elections And The Voting Age
By Ghassan Karam
It is paradoxical when the response to an effort to eliminate sectarianism is voiced in sectarian terms.
Amal, FPM reps to meet Sunday
Al-Manar television reported on Saturday that Amal and FPM representatives would meet Sunday to coordinate their positions following the recent tension between FPM leader MP Michel Aoun and Amal leader Speaker Nabih Berri.
Aoun on Friday indirectly criticized Berri by asking why there is a rush to lower the voting age from 21 to 18. Berri slammed Aoun in response later in the evening.
Aoun questioned the timing of the parliamentary session to reduce the voting age noting that “there is a proposal to restore the citizenship which was approved by the concerned committees last April and yet the parliament did nothing about it . He wondered: “Why the rush to approve one and to defer the other “? Berri slammed Aoun for his remarks later in the evening and said Aoun obviously does not want municipal elections now
According to local reports Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah may intervene and hold a meeting with Aoun and Berri later today
Geagea says Suleiman has shifted from his centrist position
In an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said that the president has shift from his consensus ( centrist) position and added ” if we observe his stances at all Arab and international forums, or even in Lebanon, we find them closer to the other camp.”
Geagea expressed hope that President Michel Suleiman “will return to his centrist ”
Geagea Called on the Lebanese to Rally in Martyrs Square on February 14, to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanon’s former PM Rafik Hariri.
Geagea stressed that the February 14 rally is very important because it should prove wrong those who claim that there is “no more Cedar Revolution nor cedars.”
regarding relations with Syria Geagea said:
“We were always demanding that Syria should engage with Lebanon on a state-to-state basis, but the recent developments are very negative , namely sending Abu Moussa ( head of Fatah al Intifada) from Syria to the Lebanese scene after a 25 years of absence, and the drill today by PFLP-GC in Qousaya .”
MP Zahra calls for postponing vote on legal voting age for 6 months
Lebanese Forces bloc MP Antoine Zahra reiterated what the LF leader Samir Geagea and MP George Adwan said earlier Saturday and that is the lowering of the voting age should be linked with the issues of granting Lebanese expatriates the right to vote wherever they are residing
During an interview with LBCI television he said that his bloc will request postponing the issue of lowering of the voting for a period of 6 months.
Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri has called for a parliament session on Monday to discuss amending Article 21 of the constitution to lower the legal voting age from 21 to 18.
Jumblatt disagrees with French FM’s stance over Hezbollah
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt disagreed with the stance of French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner with regards to Hezbollah.
Jumblatt told As Safir that “the arms of the resistance and Hezbollah represent the essential guarantee to face any possible Israeli aggression against Lebanon, especially after the latest statements of U.S. President Barack Obama in which he admitted underestimating the difficulties in achieving peace in the Middle East. ”
Jumblatt said the Lebanese have agreed in principle that the national defense strategy is the most important for Lebanon.
“More than ever, we believe the defense strategy is in place to fight any aggression,” he added.
Kouchner told Lebanese PM Saad Hariri during his visit to France that Hezbollah is Lebanon’s problem and not Israel, due to its allegiance to Iran.
Israel, Hezbollah heading towards confrontation
Israel is heading toward a confrontation with Hezbollah, Israeli Minister without portfolio Yossi Peled said on Thursday.
When asked whether he believed another round of violence was expected along Israel’s northern border, the Likud minister said “yes, I just don’t know when, just like no one knew that the Second Lebanon War would break.” ( In reference to the 2006 war )
Speaking at a cultural function in the southern city of Be’er Sheva, Peled said that “If a conflict does erupt in the North we will hold both Lebanon and Syria responsible.”
“Lebanon is the only country in the world which has a military organization, Hezbollah, that operates independently of the government and is supported by two foreign countries, while being part of the cabinet,” the Likud minister added. ( the foreign countries he is referring to are Iran and Syria). DPA
Building boom transforms heart of Beirut
Blocks of historic Ottoman-era buildings, once pocked by bullet holes, have been majestically restored, and new high-rise apartment towers
Suleiman: The rights of all Lebanon youth should be respected
President Michel Suleiman told his visitor on Saturday that “Lebanon is facing electoral, political, administrative , and reform challenges.
Suleiman said the challenges include the electoral law, lowering voting age from 21 to 18 years, the right of expatriates to vote, and administrative appointments.
“The country will not advance if it did not respect the resident and emigrant youth of Lebanon, their competencies and achievements, and their right to practice democracy.”
Suleiman also called for a speedy adoption of the law on reclaiming nationality for emigrants of Lebanese origin in order to grant them the right to vote.
The president also stressed that achieving appointments on a non-sectarian basis opens the door for abolishing political sectarianism.
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