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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Salafis freeze memorandum of understanding with Hezbollah

2008-08-21

The Salafi groups in Lebanon on Tuesday announced indefinite freezing of a memorandum of understanding with Hezbollah, 24 hours after it was announced at a press conference in Beirut. Sheikh Hassan Shahhal, who signed the understanding on Monday with Hezbollah's Ibrahim Amin al-Sayyed, declared freezing the agreement pending "appropriate circumstances that allow its implementation." Sheikh Hassan made the announcement after a meeting with leaders of Salafi factions presided over by their highest authority Dai al-Islam al-Shahhal who had rushed to denounce and criticize the deal with Hezbollah, minutes after it was announced on Monday. The Dai, or Preacher, on Monday termed the agreement "media crackling in favor of Hezbollah and the Shiite community" and called for abolishing it. The freeze was announced in the northern town of Tripoli, power base of the Salafi movement. "The Salafi movement totally rejects this document ... and who signed it has no right to claim belonging to the Salafi movement or representing it," the ageing Dai al-Islam Shahhal said on Monday. "This document is ... harmful to the Sunni community and would end up in vain, God willing," he added. "Those who signed it have no influence, and whoever wants to defuse tension should talk to forces that do exist," he stressed. Hezbollah and its allies welcomed the understanding that was sharply rejected by almost all Sunni factions and members of the March 14 majority alliance. Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri, who heads the largest Sunni bloc, had avoided direct comment on the understanding. But his aides and members of his parliamentary bloc said he opposed it.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Jumblat for a Unified March 14 Bloc in 2009 Elections

2008-08-02

Democratic Gathering leader Walid Jumblat said factions of the March 14 majority alliance would compete in the 2009 parliamentary elections as a unified bloc. Jumblat urged "allies and friends to make the right choices and avoid past mistakes to guarantee the best representation of the people." He described his latest meeting with Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri as "very good" and said it fell in line with ongoing preparations for a comprehensive meeting grouping leaders of the March 14 forces.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Geagea denies allegations about differences with PSP

2008-07-30

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stated today that the leaders of March 14 majority are "determined to bolster the alliance ... in order to attain all our aims." He denied allegations about differences with PSP leader Walid Jumblatt, saying "they aim at poisoning the atmosphere."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Alain Aoun makes faces, rattles sabers at March 14th

2008-06-30

Free Patriotic Movement official Alain Aoun said the key to solving the government formation issue is allowing his group to control either the justice or communications portfolios. Aoun, in an interview with Naharnet, said a breakthrough in efforts by Premier-designate Fouad Saniora to form the cabinet is "expected any time now." Discussions at present focus on a proposal that goes along the lines of giving the Hizbullah-led opposition "one sovereign portfolio and other basic portfolios. Opposition factions would agree among themselves on sharing these portfolios," he said. "There is no problem whether we or Speaker Nabih Berri control the sovereign portfolio," Aoun added. The problem with the majority, according to Aoun, is in differences over other basic portfolios, namely the justice and communications ministries. He said a compromise proposal under consideration gives the opposition a sovereign portfolio, while the FPM gets either the communications or justice ministries as well as the seat of deputy premier in addition to a number of "services ministries, including the public works portfolio." Aoun reported "major progress" in efforts to form the cabinet after Berri informed Saniora of the latest opposition proposal. He accused the majority of having "suspicious" motives to insist on maintaining the justice and communications portfolios. "No one more than us is keen on safeguarding justice," Aoun said The opposition, according to Aoun, has an interest in speeding up efforts to form the new cabinet that is why we are dealing positively with the issue." Recent acts of violence, according to Aoun, are a reflection of the "exposed security situation and the persisting tension that push towards more deterioration." He rejected charges by the March 14 majority that the opposition was blocking efforts to form the new cabinet. The opposition carried out its commitments by electing President Michel Suleiman, calling off the sit-in the side that is making steps forward is not the side that is blocking," Aoun said. Aoun predicted that if no cabinet is formed "we would certainly observe an attempt to block the election law." He warned that "blocking the election law would be tantamount to a declaration of war."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Beirut Airport Besieged by Hezbies

2008-05-08

Tension went high between Hizbullah and Premier Fouad Saniora's government on Wednesday as the party besieged Beirut airport and headed to declaring civil disobedience after eight people were wounded in mushrooming rioting. Scores of Hizbullah trucks and bulldozers erected barricades along the airport road, besieging at least 300 passengers who had arrived aboard four jetliners. Hizbullah officials informed mediators that the airport would remain closed and the ongoing riots would be escalated into civil disobedience until the Saniora Government withdraws decisions it had adopted against the Party's communications network and head of the airport security department Wafiq Shoqeir. Meanwhile, the Voice of Lebanon radio said Hizbullah members were dressed up in police uniforms and penetrating districts of Beirut controlled by their rivals of the Mustaqbal movement. A government source also said Hizbullah was massing gunmen in downtown Beirut, sparking fears of a possible attack against Saniora's office. The development followed day long riots across Beirut as the labor union suspended a demonstration it had called for. Three members of the Mustaqbal movement were wounded when assailants from the Hizbullah-led opposition demolished their office with 30 Rocket-Propelled Grenades in Beirut's densely populated Nweiri district. Two Lebanese Army soldiers were injured by rocks while trying to disperse a clash between opposition supporters and residents of the Tariq Jedideh district. Two news photographers and a passer by were beaten up by rioters in Korniche Mazraa thoroughfare and suffered minor fractures, hospital sources said. Meanwhile tension escalated as staccato bursts of automatic rifle fire echoed across several Beirut districts amidst efforts by army and police patrols to contain the violence. Trucks run by Hizbullah's Jihad al-Binaa institute loaded dirt along the Beirut Airport road, blocking traffic to the facility, which has been closed to civil aviation. Ghassan Ghosn, chairman of the General federation of Labor Unions (GFLU) said a demonstration that had been scheduled to start at 10 a.m. was "suspended" due to the blocking of roads that prevented potential participants from reaching Beirut's Barbir Square where it was supposed to start. Ghosn, however, said the general strike was persisting and blamed the government for not providing protection for the demonstrators. The strike was observed only in Hizbullah-controlled regions of Lebanon, where supporters of the party set fire to rubber tires, blocking traffic. However, the strike call was totally ignored in areas loyal to the March 14 majority. Life was normal in north and Mount Lebanon as well as in areas of east Lebanon and Beirut not loyal to Hizbullah. About 150 Hizbullah operatives infiltrated from their makeshift Tent City and blocked the Beirut port road with rubber tires and obstacles for nearly 30 minutes, but were challenged by motorists who drove across the barricades before an army patrol intervened and reopened the road to traffic. The strike observed by Beirut Airport workers was scheduled to end at 3 p.m., but Hizbullah refused to reopen the road to the facility. Nevertheless, three jetliners landed at the facility shortly after the deadline. Meanwhile Mustaqbal Movement MP Mohammed Qabbani said the majority was considering activating the Rene Mouawad airport in north Lebanon if the dispute with Hizbullah persisted.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Aoun calls majority cowards for not waging war on Syria

2008-04-26

Hezbollah ally and opposition leader Michel Aoun called the Lebanese government weak for not waging war with Syria, prior to the occupiers withdrawal in 2005, highlighting his previous "brave" attempt which resulted in surrender and exile. Yeah. If they had, the whole country coulda been exiled to Gay Paree. In a statement to his political news channel on Friday, Aoun said the March 14 majority alliance "declared war on Syria when it left Lebanon. Had they been brave they would have confronted Syria on Lebanese terrain." Had there been no March 14 alliance Syria wouldn't have left. Aoun, in a statement to his Orange Television, said: "When I called for a war of liberation it was aimed at liberating Lebanon's land and I said that by achieving this goal the war would end. The goal has been achieved. So what is the reason for proceeding with the battle?" "We have no interest but in building future relations, and we shouldn't be in collision with them. The relationship between the two nations should be neighborly and brotherly," he stressed. Aoun said Premier Fouad Saniora's Government "rejects calls to look for those missing in their land (buried in mass graves), that is why we cannot hold Syria responsible first" for the Lebanese missing in its jails. "The government should find those buried in its land and the government is capable of doing this because there is no village that does not know the location of its mass grave and who is responsible for it, be they Palestinians or Lebanese militias. The government knows, The intelligence agencies know and many journalists know where the mass graves are," Aoun added. He said a "minority" of those held in Syria had been held directly by the Syrian forces. The majority were either arrested by Lebanese police or held by pro-Syrian factions and turned on to the Syrians.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Berri reiterates refusal to convene Leb parliament

2008-03-22

(Xinhua) -- Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated on Friday that he would not call the house to legislate as long as Prime Minister Fouad Seniora's government remained in office, local Naharnet news website reported. "The absence of any legitimate authority prevents the convening of parliament in a law making capacity," Berri, a main leader of the opposition bloc, was quoted as saying in a statement released by his press office. It was responding to charges by the March 14 majority alliance>March 14 majority alliance that Berri was rejecting efforts to convene parliament in a legislative capacity, thus blocking the house duties, said the report. The statement called the March 14 majority alliance to "implement the Arab initiative, crystallize partnership and agree on an election law."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Mufti Jozu: Beirut rioting is an 'act of treason'

2008-02-19

Mount Lebanon Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Ali Jozu on Sunday accused Hezbollah of launching war "against Beirut." Jozu, in a statement distributed by the state-run National news Agency, said: "It seems that the open war declared by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is not against Israel, "Is it a coincidence that the streets of Beirut were set ablaze" after Nasrallah's open war declaration? Jozu asked. "Was the agenda for liberating Jerusalem replaced by an agenda for liberating Beirut?" but against the citizens of Beirut, streets of Beirut and the youth of Beirut." "Is it a coincidence that the streets of Beirut were set ablaze" after Nasrallah's open war declaration? Jozu asked. "Was the agenda for liberating Jerusalem replaced by an agenda for liberating Beirut?" he added. He also accused Hezbollah of trying to "plunge Lebanon into civil war under the resistance banner." Outspoken Jozu urged the March 14 majority to sponsor multi-sect "national resistance controlled by the Lebanese Army." Such a national resistance, according to Jozu, should be entrusted with the task "of confronting, with the army, any aggression by the Israeli enemy or by any side that wants to bring back the era of (Syrian) hegemony." He added that whoever wants Syrian hegemony back is "the enemy of Lebanon, Lebanon's independence and freedom." This was in reference to the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah-led opposition Jozu termed rioting in Beirut "acts of treason.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Aoun launches another attack against Lebanon majority

2008-02-13

The leader of the Free patriotic movement General Michel Aoun attacked the March 14 ruling majority alliance during a press conference at his residence in suburb of Beirut. Aoun accused the ruling March 14 majority of opposing a partnership with the opposition. Aoun also accused the majority of "manipulating" the martyrs, public squares and the state” in reference to the February 14 rally in martyrs square commemorating the third anniversary of the assassination of Lebanon’s former PM Rafik Hariri. Aoun also accused the majority of fabricating news to divert the attention of the people from the roots of the problems in Lebanon. Aoun blasted Jumblatt’s Sunday speech and said he is not capable of seizing one rocket . He was refereeing to Jumblatt’s speech in which he warned Hezbollah-led opposition that the majority is capable of seizing the 33000 rockets that Hezbollah claims it possesses . Aoun blasted Geagea , Jumblatt , Hariri and Gemayel and blamed them for yesterday’s troubles in Beirut and Aley . Aoun defended the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah led opposition and said “no state, be it foreign or Arab, can claim to have influence on the opposition to settle the presidential crisis.” In reference to the accusation by the majority that the opposition is a tool in the hands of Iran and Syria. He said they have lost confidence and feel defeated. Aoun also attacked the opposition for ridiculing his joint interview with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah . Jumblatt called it ‘the encounter of Romeo and Juliet “ and accused them of killing Lebanon.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Saniora Is 'Allah's Enemy' To Mourners

2008-01-29

To the crackle of automatic rifle fire and chants of "Saniora is the enemy of Allah," the AMAL movement on Monday buried two of its members who were killed in riots the day before. Mourners attacking Premier Fouad Saniora and shooting automatic rifles in the air, to express anger, buried the two, Ahmed Hamza and Ahmed Ajouz, in the Shahidein grave yard in south Beirut amidst chants. AMAL politburo member Jamil Hayek accused the March 14 majority alliance, without mentioning it by name, of seeking to use the army against the opposition. "You want to use the army as a stick .. to continue with your dominance," Hayek said in his speech eulogizing the two victims. "You know that security in Lebanon is a political issue that you keep blocking by usurping powers," Hayek added. He called for a "swift, but not hasty, investigation by security administrations" into the Sunday riots that resulted in the killing of seven people and wounding more than 20. "We want the whole truth about who attacked them Only the truth can provide the rights for all," he added. Other than the gun sex shooting-in-the air practice and anti-Saniora chants, the mood was somber but peaceful as hundreds of people took part in the funerals. Women threw rice, and Koranic verses blared from loudspeakers as three other funeral processions got under way. Traffic was thinner than usual throughout Beirut. In the troubled neighborhoods, troops were on the streets, shops were closed and some residents were clearing broken glass and inspecting their property. "Why did I have to bear the brunt of their anger?" Samir Adada said Monday as he stood next to his gutted Cherokee Jeep that was damaged in Sunday's riots. Saniora had declared a day of national mourning, and calm returned to the Mar Mikhael district, where riots initially broke out. Sunday's death toll was the highest for a street disturbance since the country plunged into a crisis three years ago with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a turning point in Lebanese politics that sparked local and international outrage and forced the Syrian army to withdraw after 30 years of control. What started as an angry protest by anti-government protestors against electricity rationing quickly degenerated into street violence and clashes with troops. The fighting ignited memories of the 1975-90 civil war and came as Lebanon is in the middle of a political fight over who will become its next president. The clashes erupted along the war's former demarcation line between Christian and Muslim areas and near a district where the bloody conflict, which killed 150,000, began. A hand grenade tossed by rioters into that district, Ein el-Rummaneh, injured seven people.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Mouawad: Hezbollah only interested in an Islamic state in Lebanon

2008-01-21

Michel Mouawad , a key member of the March 14 majority ruling alliance strongly criticized yesterday’s speech of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah . Unfortunately “Hezbollah is acting as if it is not part of Lebanon “ he said . Mouawad added : “His speech yesterday indicated that Lebanon can no longer accommodate Nasrallah nor Hezbollah . Nasrallah ‘s only interest is in establishing an Islamic state in Lebanon similar to that of Iran”. Mouad also said : “ If Nasrallah is truly interested in Lebanon as a state , he should respect the laws of the Lebanese state which has the exclusive right to the decision of peace and war.” Nasrallah , who appeared in public for the first time in 18 months yesterday delivered a televised speech during the last day of Ashura in which he tried to incite Israel to a have another fight with his organization, just like 2006 when Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers . The kidnapping led to a devastating war that lasted for 34 days and claimed more than 1200 Lebanese lives , mostly civilians and children.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Jumblatt: Cabinet 'veto' strips the president of his powers

2008-01-13

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt dealt a blow to demands by the Hezbollah-led opposition for veto powers in any cabinet to be formed after the election of a new president. Jumblatt told the pro-Syrian as-Safir newspaper that such a veto power would "strip Lebanon’s future president of his powers and escalate Sunni-Shiite sensitivities. It has been rejected and it is rejected" by the March 14 majority alliance. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had said the presidential election would not be held if the opposition does not get veto powers in the forthcoming cabinet. Jumblatt knocked down an interpretation by the opposition of a clause included in the Arab initiative that calls for the formation of a government representing the various political factions on the base of three equal quarters, often referred to as 10+10+10. ( 10 ministers each for the majority , minority an the president ) "The majority would not accept this (concept)," Jumblatt said.

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