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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Mohammed Itani to run in Beirut by-elections to replace Eido

2007-07-22

Al Moustaqbal Movement announced Friday that it has picked businessman Mohammed al-Amin Itani as the candidate for Lebanon’s parliament by-elections to replace slain legislator Walid Eido. The movement, headed by MP Saad Hariri, urged voters to participate in the Aug. 5 by-elections and to vote for Itani, the former head of the federation of Beirut families. The statement described Itani as a "distinguished voice in defending Beirut and its families." It recalled that four MPs representing Beirut had been killed in more than two years starting with the Feb. 14 2005 blast which killed ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and parliamentarian Bassil Fleihan. Eido was killed in a powerful car explosion June 13. Gibran Tueni, a third member of the anti-Syrian majority representing Beirut in parliament, was assassinated in December 2005 and replaced by his father Ghassan Tueni. Al-Moustaqbal's statement came a few hours after former president Amin Gemayel announced he will run in the disputed parliamentary by-elections to replace his son, Pierre Gemayel, who was killed last year.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hezbollah opposition to Lebanon by-elections unrealistic

2007-06-19

The pro-Syrian Hezbollah yesterday accused the government of dragging Lebanon into further crisis by insisting on by-elections to replace two slain MPs despite opposition from the Damascus-backed president. There is a party which... threatens the country with a deep political division that will come about if this party continues to monopolize power, Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah warned. The Western-backed government decided on Saturday to hold by-elections on August 5 to replace two assassinated anti-Syrian parliamentarians, despite staunch opposition from President Emile Lahoud. Industry minister Pierre Gemayel was shot dead in November and MP Walid Eido was killed on Wednesday in a car bombing in Beirut. Members of the anti-Syrian majority blamed Syria for both murders, a charge Damascus denies. When the assassination of our colleague MP Walid Eido took place, we told them (the majority) let us not just condemn it... let us adopt serious steps to resolve the Lebanese crisis peacefully, Fadlallah said at a funeral in south Lebanon. But how did they respond? With unconstitutional acts, with threats to carry out unilateral steps. There is a president of the republic who has prerogatives, whether you agree with him or not, whether you are friends with him or not. But they are bypassing and violating his prerogatives, he added. Fadlallah was referring to the ruling majority's decision to go ahead with the by-elections even if the president refuses to sign the decree for the polls to take place. When were we against elections? When our colleague MP Gibran Tueni was assassinated (in December 2005) we had by-elections, and we had no problems with that because there was a legitimate and constitutional government, he said. The Syrian-backed opposition and Lahoud consider the government to be illegitimate since all six Shiite ministers quit the cabinet last November, charging that it was riding roughshod over power-sharing arrangements. Another opposition group, the Free Patriotic Movement of prominent Christian leader Michel Aoun, said on Sunday it did not oppose by-elections as long as Lahoud signs the decree. We are all for by-elections, but we want to protect the constitution and we do not accept that any harm be done to the prerogatives of the president of the republic, spokesman Antoine Nasrallah said. It would set a dangerous precedent, he added. The parliamentary majority accuses Syria of seeking to liquidate its absolute majority and thus prevent anti-Damascus forces from having the necessary number of votes to elect a successor to Lahoud later this year. Hezbollah according to local analysts is being unreasonable and unrealistic in its opposition to holding of the by-elections. What will Hezbollah do if its MPs were assassinated ? Asked one analyst. The problem in Lebanon is that the assassinations are only targeting the majority . It is obvious from Nabih Berri's NBN TV station scandal that the pro-Syrian camp is extremely pleased with these assassinations and counting on more to come to reduce the majority to 0. The question is does Hezbollah consider the majority to be that stupid to forgo the replacement of the murdered MPs?. It would have been more honorable from Hezbollah according to analysts , if its leaders really have good intentions to tell the majority : "No need for by-elections. Just pick the replacement and we will not oppose your decisions ", one analyst said. After all these MPs that are going to be replaced are 100% members of the majority and there is no grey area there . This is how Hezbollah can improve the ambience in Lebanon and earn the trust of the majority , if it wants a government of national unity. It is unrealistic of Hezbollah according to analysts to expect the president of Lebanon to approve the by-elections . Hezbollah knows too well that the president of Lebanon only serves the interests of the Syrians, who have been accused of murdering all the anti-Syrian politicians. If Assad calls president Lahoud " my personal Representative in Lebanon" and he does , what do the Lebanese people expect from such a president fro Lebanon?

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hezbollah involved in Lebanon assassinations: Jumblatt

2006-12-30

In other news, water is wet, but Walid gets points for speaking publicly. BEIRUT - Prominent Lebanese MP Walid Jumblatt has accused the Shia militant group Hezbollah of being involved in a string of political assassinations, according to an interview aired on Arab television. The accusations marked the first time that Jumblatt, a leading MP from the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority, pointed the finger at the Teheran- and Damascus-backed group which is spearheading an opposition protest to topple the government. “In one manner or another, they (Hezbollah) are implicated in certain attacks, if not all,” Jumblatt told Al-Arabiya television late Thursday. “The fog over my eyes dissolved once and for all after the assassination of journalist and MP Gibran Tueni on December 12, 2005,” said the Druze chief, who has previously accused Syria of being involved in the killings. Six prominent anti-Syrian figures have been slain in the past two years. A UN investigation into the 2005 bomb blast that killed ex-prime minister Rafiq Hariri has implicated senior Syrian officials and Lebanese accomplices. Jumblatt equally accused Hezbollah of fearing an extension of the UN probe into Hariri’s assassination that could cover other bomb and shooting attacks against outspoken Damascus critics. “Hezbollah pulled out of the government saying they were in favour of an international tribunal (in the Hariri slaying) but against any extension of the probe,” Jumblatt said, referring to the resignations of six pro-Syrian ministers, including two from Hezbollah, last month. “That is because in one way or another, they are implicated in the attacks that killed Tueni, Samir Kassir, Georges Hawi (all in 2005) and Pierre Gemayel (2006) and which targeted journalist May Chidiac and minister Elias Murr (2005),” Jumblatt said. Echoing an accusation voiced by anti-Syrian Communications Minister Marwan Hamadeh on Thursday, Jumblatt said the “the car bomb that targeted Marwan (on October 1, 2004) was prepared in the southern suburbs of Beirut,” a Hezbollah stronghold. Hariri’s assassination “was prepared high up,” Jumblatt said in an apparent reference to Syria, “but the other crimes, or some of them, took place here” in Lebanon. “There, I don’t want to say more, but I said it.”

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

The Real Syriana

2006-11-22

The assassination of anti-Syrian Lebanese leader Pierre Gemayel should put to rest fantasies about Syria and Iran being partners for peace. The problems in the Middle East aren't America's fault. Unlike Iraq, Lebanon is no stranger to democracy. From its birth under French colonial rule in 1943, it has flourished as a multicultural democracy, with power shared among its Muslim, Christian and Druse residents. Today, Lebanese democracy, like the fledgling democracy in Iraq, is under siege by those who would subvert and destroy it, a casualty in the clash of civilizations that too few in the West are willing to recognize. Gemayel is just the latest casualty in a war that's seen three prominent anti-Syrian politicians assassinated in two years. Former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed in a massive car bombing in February 2005. Legislator and anti-Syrian newspaper publisher Gibran Tueni was killed by another car bomb in December.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Deadly blast in southern Lebanon

2006-09-05

A bomb blast near the southern Lebanese city of Sidon has seriously wounded a senior intelligence officer and killed four of his aides and bodyguards. Officials said Samir Shehadeh's car was hit by a remote-controlled bomb as he drove past the village of Rmeileh. Col Shehadeh was an investigator into the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in early 2005. The incident comes amid a fragile truce after 34 days' bitter fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas. Both vehicles of Col Shehadeh's two-car convoy were riddled with shrapnel. Police sealed off the area and began collecting evidence. Government officials said Col Shehadeh was taken to hospital in Sidon and his condition was stable. Lebanon's acting information minister told Lebanese TV that one of the dead bodyguards had been acting as a decoy for Col Shehadeh in the lead car. "It is obvious from the decoy operation that saved him that that there were expectations (of an attack)," Ahmed Fatfat told Future TV. He knew they were out to get him. "They", of course meaning Syria. This is almost a trademark of their's, the bomb beside the road. The bombing comes two weeks before the UN chief investigator is to submit a report on his latest findings in the Hariri investigation to the UN. The Lebanese government is expected in the next few weeks to authorise an international tribunal to bring those responsible to justice. Col Shehadeh is reported to have been involved in the arrest four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals last August in connection with the investigation. Earlier UN investigator's reports have also implicated top Syrian officials in the Hariri killing, although Damascus has denied any role in it or the string of bombings targeting anti-Syrian figures which followed the 14 February 2005 assassination. Mr Hariri's death galvanised Lebanese opposition to Syria, which subsequently bowed to pressure to pull its troops out of Lebanon after nearly 30 years of military presence. Additional: Police Chief Antoine Shakhur told reporters Tuesday that Shehade had been only lightly wounded in the blast that targeted his convoy. Four bodyguards died, however, while three others were wounded along with an engineer who was working on the road, hospital sources said. Perhaps the "engineer" should be questioned as to what kind of roadwork he was doing. The bomb that got Hariri was buried in the road. Investigators believed that an explosive charge was positioned along the road and detonated as Shahade’s four-wheel-drive vehicle passed. A second car was also damaged by the blast. It was the first such attack since May 26, when a leader of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad in Lebanon and his brother were killed in Sidon, the main city in southern Lebanon, after a bomb was placed under their vehicle. On December 12, 2005, lawmaker and journalist Gibran Tueni was killed by a roadside bomb in Beirut along with three other people. Lebanon was rocked by a string of attacks against prominent anti-Syrian figures following Hariri’s assassination. Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz, who heads an inquiry into that murder, has pointed to possible links between Hariri’s death and 14 other attacks against anti-Syrian personalities in Lebanon since October 1, 2004. They just can't help themselves.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Lebanon: Hit List Reportedly Included Maronite Patriach

2006-01-17

The name of Lebanon's Christian Maronite Patriarch, Butros Nasrallah Sfeir appears on a hit-list uncovered by a UN commission probing the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri, according to a well-placed political source in Beirut. Speaking on condition of anonymity the source told Adnkronos International (AKI) that publisher Gibran Tueni killed in a 12 December bomb blast in Beirut also appeared on the the list which was submitted by the former head of the UN panel, Detlev Mehlis to the Lebanese authorities. "I saw with my own eyes the letter signed by Mehlis [containing the hit list]. Gibran Tueni himself showed it during the first days of August [2005] following his return from Saudi Arabia where he had conveyed his condolences for the death of [Saudi] King Fahd. Besides Tueni another name which appeared on the list was that of Nasrallah Sfeir the Maronite Patriach, " the source said. Three different hit lists have surfaced in the Lebanese media in recent months. The last one which appeared on 13 January contained the names of several celebrity talk-show hosts and well-known anti-Syrian politicians including Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, his close aide and Lebanon's current Telecommunications minister, Marwan Hamade, Democreatic Left parliamentarian Elias Atallah, Social Affairs minister Nayla Muawad and Hariri's son, Saad ad-Din Hariri. All of those on the list were prominent in the wave of anti-Syrian demonstrations that took place in Lebanon after the killing of Hariri and 20 others in a bomb attack in Beirut on 14 February 2005.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

New group threatens to kill next Hariri investigator

2005-12-28

A pro-Syrian group that claimed it killed a Lebanese editor has threatened to kill the next head of the U.N. commission investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the editor's newspaper reported Wednesday. An-Nahar newspaper said it had received a statement signed by "The Strugglers for the Unity and Freedom in al-Sham," the group that claimed responsibility for the death of Gibran Tueni with a car bomb on Dec. 12. Al-Sham is the Arabic term for the historical region that encompassed Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories. The statement said Detlev Mehlis, who stepped down this month as chairman of the U.N. commission, was lucky to escape death. Mehlis had concluded that Syria was involved in the killing of Hariri, who was slain by a truck bomb in Beirut in February. Syria denies the charge. "Mehlis was able to slip out of our hands a moment before it was too late when he chose to resign because he understood the message and realized that if he did not do that, his end would be wretched like the end of all traitors who betray Arabs and Islam," the statement said. Ummmmm.....hokay. If you say so. An-Nahar published the full text of the statement, but did not say why it believed it to be authentic or how it had been received. When The Associated Press called the paper's offices, staff said that the person who could answer such questions was not immediately available. "He's out having a face transplant and his fingerprints changed, see..." The statement described Mehlis, a German prosecutor, as a "filthy infidel" who had politicized the investigation to implicate Syria. It warned Mehlis's successor, who has not been appointed, not to come to the same conclusions. The statement ended with an ominous Arabic saying: "He who has given advance warning is excused."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Pro-Syrian group of Assad and Friends threatens to kill UN official

2005-12-28

Caught via LGF A pro-Syrian group that purportedly killed a top Lebanese editor has threatened to kill the next head of the UN commission investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a newspaper reported Wednesday. So don't bother replacing him, k? An-Nahar newspaper said it had received a statement signed by "The Strugglers for the Unity and Freedom in al-Sham," the group that claimed to have killed the paper's general manager Gibran Tueni with a car bomb on Dec. 12. Al-Sham is the Arabic term for the historical region that encompassed Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Sham is right on..... The statement said Detlev Mehlis, who stepped down this month as chairman of the UN commission, was lucky to escape death. Mehlis had concluded that Syria was involved in the killing of Hariri, who was slain by a massive truck bomb in Beirut in February. Syria denies the charge. "It was...someone else" "Mehlis was able to slip out of our hands a moment before it was too late when he chose to resign because he understood the message and realized that if he did not do that, his end would be wretched like the end of all traitors who betray Arabs and Islam," the statement said. An-Nahar published the full text of the statement, but did not say why it believed it to be authentic or how it had been received. When The Associated Press called the paper's offices, staff said that the person who could answer such questions was not immediately available. "He's in a meeting with President Assad...er... he's busy" The statement described Mehlis, a German prosecutor, as a "filthy infidel" who had politicized the investigation to implicate Syria. It warned Mehlis's successor, who has not been appointed, not to come to the same conclusions. "We warn him of the dangers of politicizing (the investigation) and call on him to announce, according to what the commission has found, that Syria is innocent of the blood of Hariri," the statement said. "we'll prepare the statement for you" The statement ended with an ominous Arabic saying: "He who has given advance warning is excused." The alleged authors of the statement had not been heard of until they claimed responsibility for Tueni's killing. Tueni, who was also a member of parliament, was a leader of the campaign to remove Syria's influence from Lebanon. Mehlis has said he received threats during his work in Lebanon. When he moved around the country, he was always heavily guarded.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Syrian Arrested in Lebanese Editor's Death

2005-12-27

A Syrian was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of involvement in the assassination of Gibran Tueni, the anti-Syrian general manager and columnist of Lebanon's leading newspaper. Abdel-Qadar Abdel Qader was among three Syrian nationals detained earlier for questioning in the Dec. 12 killing of Tueni, who was also An-Nahar's top editor. The formal arrest followed issuance of a warrant by Lebanese military prosecutor Rashid Mizher based on telephone calls Qader made before and after the car bombing that killed Tueni and two of his bodyguards, a judicial official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Arab League chief denies deal to clear Syria

2005-12-26

Despite the denial Mussa is up to his lips in deceit. CAIRO - Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa on Sunday rejected accusations he was concocting a deal to clear Damascus of the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hari. He described as “completely unfounded” accusations in Lebanon that the Arab League was working on an initiative whereby the probe into the February murder would be closed in exchange for an end to assassinations that have been blamed by many on Syria. "No, no! Certainly not!" On Thursday, Anti-Syrian MP Wael Abu Faour had warned Mussa who is attempting to ease tensions between Lebanon and Syria that he was not welcome if his mission was aimed at clearing Damascus. “A deal that would conceal the truth in this affair was never even considered,” Mussa said in a statement. "Nope, nope, never considered it, 'specially not in public." An investigation led by the United Nations has correctly implicated a number of Syrian and Lebanese security officials in Hariri’s assassination. Earlier this month Mussa went on a fence-mending mission to Beirut and Damascus, in the aftermath of the assassination of press magnate and anti-Syrian MP Gibran Tueni. Many Lebanese blame the murder on Damascus, which has denied any involvement in it or three others that began with the February assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri. "Wudn't us. It was, um .. someone else." Mussa added that he would continue his efforts to “defuse the dangerous tension in Syrian-Lebanese relations” and said talks were under way on the issue of the two countries’ borders. Border? Since when have the Syrians recognized that?

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Lebanon Politicians in Battle for Their Lives

2005-12-21

(Sapa-AFP) -- A sleek official-looking convoy rolls up in front of Beirut's Maronite patriarchate. No-one emerges. Seconds later a lone, humdrum jeep pops up. And out steps Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Siniora. Such fake convoys are just one of the methods used by Lebanese politicians attempting to outwit potential attackers who have reportedly already compiled hit lists of their next targets. Even the most sophisticated equipment and armoured convoys have been incapable of preventing targeted assassinations against critics of Syria - the last being parliamentarian and press magnate Gibran Tueni a week ago. "The rhythm of the attacks is scary. We hardly have the time to bury a martyr, before another one falls," said Maronite Catholic Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir. The 85-year-old cardinal, a vocal critic of Syria's presence in Lebanon whose own name appeared on the alleged hit-lists, has also used similar dummy convoys and army helicopters for his movements. For some, the only option in a climate of fear that has seen 15 attacks and political killings since October 2004 last year has been to barricade themselves at remote mountain retreats or leave the country altogether. Figures critical of Syria's role in Lebanon have adopted tight measures or stayed abroad like Saad Hariri, son and political heir to slain former prime minister Rafiq Hariri. But even pro-Syrian figures, such as Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Shi'a Muslim group Hezbollah, and Nabih Berri, the powerful parliament speaker and chief of the rival Shi'a Amal movement, have restricted their movements. International pressure after the murder of former premier Rafiq Hariri in October led to the arrest of top security officials as well as the withdrawal of Syrian forces after nearly three decades in their tiny neighbour. But as international and Lebanese investigators pursued the probe into Hariri's killing, the bombing campaign continued. Tueni was killed the morning after he arrived from Paris, where he had been staying for security reasons. Powerful Druze leader MP Walid Jumblatt, long retrenched in his mountainous home southeast of Beirut, has warned of more attacks as "the objective is to kill enough MPs to make the country impossible to rule." Samir Geagea, the head of the Christian Lebanese Forces party, has mostly remained in his private home in the Cedar mountains in northern Lebanon. At Tueni's funeral, Geagea arrived at the Greek Orthodox cathedral in downtown Beirut in a small, regular car closely followed by an army of bodyguards. Christian leader Michel Aoun has been also retreated to his villa in Rabiyeh, an exclusive residential hilltop overlooking the capital. Even companies and malls have been hiring private security agencies. "In general, cement blocks are placed around buildings and cars are prohibited from parking close by," the head of a security company who did not wish to be identified said. "There is sophisticated equipment to catch explosive materials, but the assassinations are taking place outside secured premises," he added. He noted that Hariri's convoy had been secured with an extremely sophisticated jamming system and that Tueni's car was an armoured vehicle. "It did not prevent Hariri's car from being blown up by remote-control, according to the report of the UN commission of inquiry. "And it did not prevent Tueni's car from being thrown into a ravine and being burned," he said. Fear has also spread among journalists after the assassination of Tueni and An Nahar editorial writer Samir Kassir, as well as the bombing attack that maimed May Chidiac, a star newscaster for the leading LBCI television. "I only use taxis, and I am still afraid. We are forced to be constantly on the move and we do not have any sophisticated protection system," one An Nahar journalist said on condition of anonymity. Marcel Ghanem, a prominent LBCI talk-show star, said the channel had adopted security measures for homes as well as means of transportation and communication. "Everyone is a target," he said.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Coalition calls for ouster of Lebanon's pro-Syrian president

2005-12-19

A coalition of Lebanese groups, angered by the recent assassination of a prominent anti-Syrian journalist, called Monday for the ouster of Lebanon's pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud. The call came as anti-Syrian youth activists protested in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, late Monday to press for Lahoud's resignation and removal of pro-Syrian agents in Lebanon's security services. Monday's meeting of the coalition of anti-Syrian legislators and politicians came after An-Nahar newspaper general manager and legislator Gibran Tueni was killed in a Dec. 12 car bombing. Tueni was the third anti-Syrian critic slain in similar circumstances since the Feb. 14 blast that killed ex-Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri in Beirut. Hariri's killing sparked massive protests by Lebanese who accused Syria of involvement. The massive anti-Syrian sentiment forced Syria to withdraw its thousands of soldiers from Lebanon in April. "We call on all those who participated in the independence uprising to continue the battle and to oust the remnants of the security regime from the positions they are still holding, namely the presidency position," legislator Samir Franjieh said in a statement after the meeting. Samir's reputed to be on the hit list, too... Franjieh was referring to the estimated 1 million people who participated in a mass anti-Syrian demonstration in central Beirut on March 14. Syria has rejected accusations of involvement in the killings. But a U.N. probe has implicated top Syrian and Lebanese security officials in Hariri's death. The coalition's statement also urged Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's government to be on "full alert to confront the war launched by the Syrian regime against Lebanon," the late Hariri's Future Television reported. Future Television, recall, was also boomed a couple years ago... Lahoud has repeatedly rejected previous calls to resign, vowing to remain in office until his renewed mandate expires in 2007. The call for his ouster came as students and youth activists from various Christian and Muslim groups opposed to Syrian influence in Lebanon began last week to re-erect what had been known as "Camp Freedom" on Martyrs' Square in downtown Beirut. On Monday, some 300 students staged a sit-in in the square by lighting a "torch of freedom" and shouting slogans denouncing Lahoud and Syrian President Bashar Assad. A placard read: "What I Say Lahuod Carries Out, (signed: Bashar Assad)." A number of anti-Syrian politicians, including Minister of Youth and Sports Ahmad Fatfat, briefly joined the protest, which the students have vowed to continue until their demands - including Lahoud's resignation - are met. The students camped there for more than two months last spring after Hariri's assassination until Syria withdrew its troops, which first deployed here in 1976 after the onset of Lebanon's 15-year civil war to act as a stabilizing force. Youth activists representing anti-Syrian groups urged Lebanese to come to the square and revive the camp "to defend Lebanon's unity in the face of the Syrian regime's attacks and the grudges of the ruling family in Syria." A statement issued by protest organizers in the northern city of Tripoli demanded Lahoud's resignation and blamed Syrian and allied-Lebanese security services for Tueni's assassination. Hundreds of Tueni's supporters, mainly journalists from An-Nahar and other media outlets, joined the victim's widow, Siham, and his two daughters, Nayla and Michelle, in a sit-in Monday outside the An-Nahar building in central Beirut, observing an hour of silence.

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