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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Geagea slams 'reckless' Hezbollah as MP threatens to take up arms
2023-05-23
[An Nahar] Lebanese Forces
A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb...
 leader Samir Geagea
...Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005...
 on Monday said the military drill that Hezbollah carried out Sunday in the South is "totally rejected at a time that the Lebanese are struggling night and day and every moment to rebuild their state and regain Arab and international confidence in this state."

"Hezbollah addressed a clear message to all Lebanese and the Arab and international communities by saying that ’no matter how much you try and seek, we will not allow the rise of a real state in Leb
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
,’" Geagea said.

"Hezbollah is totally mistaken if it believes that this drill can boost the chances of its presidential candidate," he added.

"The drill is a reckless action that will only harm Lebanon ... and benefit Israel," the LF leader went on to say.

Kataeb Party chief Sami Gemayel for his part described the drill as "a provocation message against the Lebanese and the Arab Summit."

MP Nadim Gemayel meanwhile said the military exercise was "a message to the domestic arena more than being a message to Israel," threatening to "publicly carry arms and rebel against the state if officials do not take a stance over what happened."

"I might call on our supporters to carry visible weapons and not stop at checkpoints, because we’re supposed to be equal," he warned, in remarks to Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.

MP Ashraf Rifi for his part said "it was not a resistance movement that organized military parades, but rather a tool practicing hegemony."

"You won’t terrorize anyone with these bravadoes and we will be in your face," Rifi added.

"What you did contradicts with the spirit and text of the Taif Accord and remember that the ink of the resolutions of the Jeddah Arab Summit has not dried yet," Rifi went on to say.

Hezbollah put on a show of force on Sunday, extending a rare media invitation to one of its training sites in southern Lebanon, where its forces staged a simulated military exercise.

Masked fighters jumped through flaming hoops, fired from the backs of cycle of violences, and blew up Israeli flags posted in the hills above and a wall simulating the one at the border between Lebanon and Israel.

Senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine said in a speech Sunday that the exercise was meant to "confirm our complete readiness to confront any aggression" by Israel.

Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Rifi prays in Khalde, vows to end 'Iranian presence in Lebanon'
2022-10-24
MP Ashraf Rifi prayed on Friday at the Khalde Mosque before moving to the house of the father of Hassan Ghoson, who had been slain in festivities with Hezbollah-linked button men.

"The incidents that happened in Khalde were in defense of the residents, Leb
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
 and all Sunnis in Lebanon," Rifi said.

"We tell Hezbollah that we will live with it as a Lebanese component, but we will not bow to the Iranian scheme. We call on you to draw lessons from Iraq, where the Arab Shiite Iraqis rejected the Iranian scheme," Rifi added.

"Shiites are our brothers, but we are against the Iranian scheme that killed all our icons, and I’m speaking from a security background. Together with the martyr Wissam al-Hassan and the martyr Wissam Eid we proved that the killers were a squad from Hezbollah," the politician went on to say.

Turning back to the case of the Khalde festivities, Rifi lamented that "there has been no justice neither equality in this case."

"Those who caused the crime did not hand over anyone. Our Christian brothers in Ain al-Remmaneh defended themselves and they managed through their capabilities to secure the release of all detainees, whereas we have not been able to do so because we are fragmented," Rifi added.

"The Arab tribes are our own army alongside the Lebanese Army and they have a presence across the area. We won’t accept that 17 young men stay at the Military Court after they were aggressed against, while the other group has no detainees," the MP said.

He added: "In Iraq they have ended the Iranian presence and in Lebanon we will end the Iranian presence and we will live with our Shiite, Druze and Christian brothers in accord, harmony and respect."

Link


Europe
Dozens of Lebanese and Syrian migrants trapped at sea
2022-09-06
[AnNahar] Dozens of Lebanese and Syrian migrants colonists stranded for days on a sinking fishing boat in the Mediterranean Sea are urging European coastiess to save them, saying that two children have died.
Of course
The roughly 60 migrants colonists told relatives and volunteer groups with a satellite phone that two young children have died, and that the group has been without food, water, and baby formula for the past three days. On board are Syrian refugees and Lebanese from its severely impoverished northern provinces trying to reach Italia for job opportunities. They left Lebanon Hezbollahstan
...The land area formerly occupied by the state of Lebanon, before that Phoenicia...
 off the coast of the northern city of Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
 about 10 days ago.

"They're trying to remove water leaking into the boat with buckets, that's all they have," the brother of one of the Syrian passengers told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named. He asked to not disclose their names for security reasons and because some of the migrants colonists did not want to disclose the news to their families back home. "This fishing boat is meant for five people, not 60."

Lebanon has a population of 6 million, including 1 million Syrian refugees, and has been in the grip of a severe economic meltdown since late 2019 that has pulled over three-quarters of the population into poverty.

The migrants colonists are reportedly stranded near the coasts of Malta and Italia. The authorities have not dispatched rescuers, according to families and activist muppets in touch with the migrants colonists. Lebanese MP Ashraf Rifi urged the Italian government, as well as the Lebanese Foreign Ministry and the Lebanese Embassy in Rome to take action.

According to families and Alarm Phone, an activist muppet network that helps bring in rescuers to distressed migrants colonists at sea, Malta has not yet authorized a rescue operation and has not given permission to a commercial fat merchantman to rescue the stranded migrants colonists.

Meanwhile,
...back at the wrecked scow, Agent 49 felt gingerly for his head. It was still there. He had been hoping differently...
 families fear the leaking boat could sink at any time.

"Whenever I call, you can hear the children screaming and crying in the background," the relative said. "I don't know why no governments have taken action to rescue them, is it because they're poor people trying to make ends meet for their families?"

Once a country that received refugees, Lebanon has become a launching pad for dangerous migration by sea to Europe. As the crisis deepened, more Lebanese, as well as Syrian and Paleostinian refugees, set off to sea, with security agencies reporting foiled migration attempts almost weekly.

In April, a boat carrying dozens of Lebanese, Syrians and Paleostinians trying to migrate by sea to Italia went down more than five kilometers (three miles) from the port of Tripoli, following a confrontation with the Lebanese navy. Dozens were killed in the incident.

The circumstances of the vessel's sinking are disputed. Survivors say their boat was rammed by the Lebanese navy, while the military claims the migrants colonists' boat collided with a navy vessel while trying to get away.

The April sinking was the greatest migrant tragedy for Lebanon in recent years and put the government further on the defensive at a time when the country is in economic free fall and public trust in the state and its institutions is rapidly crumbling.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Submarine finds 10 bodies on Lebanon's sunken migrant ship
2022-08-30
[AnNahar] A submarine has found the remains of at least 10 migrants colonists who drowned when their boat sank earlier this year off the coast of Lebanon Hezbollahstan
...The land area formerly occupied by the state of Lebanon, before that Phoenicia...
 with about 30 people on board, the navy announced.

The boat, carrying dozens of Lebanese, Syrians and Paleostinians trying to migrate by sea to Italia, went down more than 5 kilometers from the port of Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, following a confrontation with the Lebanese navy.

Ten bodies were recovered that night, including one of a child, while 48 survivors were pulled from the Mediterranean Sea. According to navy estimates, 30 people were believed to have gone down with the boat.

Since Monday, the small, 3-person underwater craft -- a Pisces VI submarine -- has been searching for the remains. The wreck was located on Wednesday, at a depth of some 450 meters (about 1,470 feet).

The circumstances of the vessel's sinking are disputed to this day. Survivors say their vessel was rammed by the Lebanese navy, while the military claims the migrants colonists' boat collided with a navy vessel while trying to get away.

Capt. Scott Waters, who operated the craft, told news hounds at a presser in Tripoli Friday that the first body they found was outside the wreck but much of it had decayed since the sinking, with mostly bits of clothing and some bones remaining intact. He said the second body was found coming up from the wreckage.

Waters said the crew identified four more bodies inside the wreckage and a substantial amount of debris around the vessel. At least four other bodies were found away from the wreck.

Some of the people who tried to escape the boat, he assumed, got "tangled in that debris."

"One of the very last footage and images we took," he added, was of the remains of a person, an arm around another. "They died holding each other."

Tom Zreika, a Lebanese-Australian and the chairman of Australian charity AusRelief that helped bring the submarine to Lebanon, said the boat was a "fair degree under silt," making it difficult to retrieve it.

Zreika said what's next is for Lebanon to bring the sunken boat out but that remains a difficult task.

Lebanon's navy chief, Col. Haitham Dinnawi, said all the video footage from Waters' crew will be handed over to the judiciary as it investigates the sinking.

Tripoli politician Ashraf Rifi helped lease the submarine for cash-strapped Lebanon through Zreika and his own brother, Jamal Rifi, who lives in Sydney. Rifi and Zreika told The Sydney Morning Herald last month that an anonymous donor had given just over $295,000 to lease the submarine.

The April sinking was the greatest migrant tragedy for Lebanon in recent years and put the government further on the defensive at a time when the country is in economic free fall and public trust in the state and its institutions is rapidly crumbling.

With a population of about 6 million people, including 1 million Syrian refugees, Lebanon has been mired since 2019 in an economic meltdown that has plunged three quarters of the population into poverty.

Once a country that received refugees, Lebanon has become a launching pad for dangerous migration by sea to Europe. As the crisis deepened, more Lebanese, as well as Syrian and Paleostinian refugees have set off to sea, with security agencies reporting foiled migration attempts almost weekly.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Sunday's vote early results: LF, independents make significant gains
2022-05-17
[AnNahar] Lebanese Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan, Arab Tawhid Party
... a Leb political party established by former minister, MP, and Syrian stooge Weaam Wahhab in 2006. Supporters of the party are mainly Druze and it is a part of the March 8 (Hezbollah) Alliance. A bomb exploded outside a party office in the Chouf in 2012.
 leader Wiam Wahhab, and Assaad Hardan of the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party have lost in Sunday's parliamentary vote, according to early results.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch started the buffalo stampeding......
 the LF said it won at least 20 seats, adding five members from the 2018 vote. This would make it the largest Christian bloc in parliament, replacing the Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
The October 17 forces said they won at least seven seats, three in Beirut II, three in Chouf-Aley and one in South III, with a reported probability of a second breakthrough in the South III.

Hardan, a strong Hizbullah
...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
 ally in the third district in the South reportedly lost his seat to the independent candidate Elias Jradeh, while another independent, Mark Daou, running in the Mount Lebanon Hezbollahstan
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. ...
 region of Aley against longtime Druze politician Talal Arslan, said he's "heading to a big victory."

In Beirut II, the list backed by ex-PM Fouad al-Saniora won one seat and the Hizbullah, Amal, FPM list won three seats, while the October 17 forces won at least two seats. The PSP candidate on Saniora's backed list, MP Faisal al-Sayegh, lost his seat to the Druze candidate who ran on MP Fouad Makhzoumi's list. The latter's list won two seats.

In Beirut I, the LF have won so far 3 seats, while independent candidate Paula Yaacoubian's list Li Watani won two seats, the FPM won two and the Kataeb two.

In Sidon-Jezzine, the LF won 2 seats and the Free Patriotic Movement and Amal lost in an unprecedented defeat in this district.

Ghada Ayyoub (LF), Abdel Rahman al-Bizri, Oussama Saad, Said al Asmar (LF) and independent candidate Charbel Massaad won the highest votes in the district.

In Batroun, FPM chief Jebran Bassil maintained his seat while the LF won the second seat by a higher number of votes.

In West Bekaa, according to early results, Hassan Murad, Wael Abou Faour, Qabalan Qabalan, Charbel Maroun, independent candidate Yassin Yassin, and Ghassan Skaf will likely win, while Deputy Speaker Elie Ferzli will likely lose.

In Akkar, the FPM won three seats while ex-Mustaqbal
... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...
 affiliated, MP Hadi Hbeish, has lost.

In Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
-Minieh-Dinniyeh, Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi's list has won at least 3 seats, for the first time, with one seat to an allied LF candidate, while Faisal Karami's seat is not guaranteed yet.

In the Metn district, the Kataeb, the LF, and the FPM have won 2 seats each. Michel Murr and Hagop Pakradounian have also won.

In Baadba, the FPM lost one of its past seats to an LF-allied candidate Camille Chamoun of the National Libaral Party (al-Ahrar).

Al Ahram explains:
Early results: Lebanon's Hezbollah suffers election losses

[AlAhram] Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group and its allies appear to have suffered some losses in this weekend's parliamentary elections, with their opponents gaining more seats and some of their traditional partners not making it into the legislature, early results showed Monday.

Despite the apparent setback, Hezbollah and its main Shiite ally, the Amal group of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, are likely to retain the 27 seats allocated to the sect. The unofficial results show that independents, including those from the 2019 protest movement, made some gains by removing longtime politicians from parliament.

The closely watched elections on Sunday were the first since a devastating economic crisis erupted in Lebanon in October 2019, triggering nationwide protests against the ruling class blamed for decades of corruption and mismanagement.

It was also the first election since the August 2020 Beirut port explosion that killed more than 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed parts of the Lebanese capital. The blast, widely blamed on negligence, was set off by hundreds of tons of poorly stored ammonium nitrate that ignited in a port warehouse.

The Saudi-backed Christian Lebanese Forces party, which has been among the most vocal critics of the Iran-armed Hezbollah, says it won at least 20 seats, adding five members from the 2018 vote. This would make it the largest Christian bloc in parliament, replacing the Free Patriotic Movement that was founded by President Michel Aoun and has been a Hezbollah ally since 2006.

Independents also appear to be making some significant gains, but they remain far from making changes as the main winners of the vote are likely to be mainstream political group.

A strong Hezbollah ally in south Lebanon reportedly lost his seat to an independent, while another independent, Mark Daou, says ``we are heading to a big victory.'' Daou is running in the Mount Lebanon region of Aley against longtime Druze politician Talal Arslan.

Official results were expected to be announced later Monday.

Lebanon holds elections every four years and the new parliament will elect a new president after Aoun's term ends in October.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hezbollah’s popularity seen waning as Lebanese protests continue
2020-02-15
[Ynet] As new Beirut government’s biggest supporter, Iran-backed group is facing possibility of losing its legitimacy as resistance movement; according to one expert, with so much poverty, few in Leb mention ’resistance’ to Israel
Hezbies: "We'll beat and kill as many of these Lebs as we have to - until we're popular again!"
Anti-government protesters continued to take to the streets of Beirut last week, declaring their lack of confidence in new prime minister Hassan Diab and his cabinet.

Meanwhile,
...back at the game, the Babe was wondering why the baseball kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally it hit him...
 the new government’s biggest backer, the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement is seeing its popularity wane as it faces the possibility of losing its legitimacy as a resistance movement.

"The government failed before it even started," said Ali Amin, a Lebanese analyst and journalist who writes for the London-based al-Arab newspaper said.

He said that people were revolting against an entire political system but were given a new government with the same platform and same political powers.

"Hezbollah is a key party in forming this new government and is perhaps its primary backer, as [the government] could never have been formed without Hezbollah’s support for its leader and members," he said.

"The ongoing battle here is between the new government and the street, which rejects it and is expressing this through protests."

The protests have been taking place since mid-October when people rose up against a new tax on the use of internet-based communications programs like WhatsApp. The protests widened to express deep dissatisfaction with economic mismanagement, corruption, and sectarianism.

Under relentless pressure, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri resigned on October 29. But since the beginning, demonstrators have vowed not to leave the streets until there is a government of experts rather than politicians who merely represent the country’s many ethnic and religious groups.

Raneem al-Ahmar, a Lebanese political activist who is a regular participant in the anti-government demonstrations, said that Hezbollah has lost popular support.

"We don’t trust Hezbollah, as it’s a partner of the current political game," Ahmar said. "They manipulated us."

Asad Bishara, who served as an adviser to former justice minister Ashraf Rifi, said that Diab’s government represents the same system that brought the country to collapse, adding that this is hurting Hezbollah.

"Hezbollah sponsors the majority of the new government. Its image as a resistance movement [against Israel and Western powers] has suffered," he said, adding, however, that the Shi’ite group also sponsored the previous cabinet.

"The formation of the new government is a sign of failure and further collapse," Bishara said.

"The ministerial platform is broad and doesn’t include a clear economic plan, a plan to stop corruption or work on Leb’s regional and international relations. It is the same old approach, just with a new government."

He said that the interests of the country’s diverse political forces conflict with the interests of Leb itself.

"Obviously, Hezbollah is working to thwart the revolution to protect a corrupt system," he said.

Charles Jabour, a journalist and head of media and communications for the Lebanese Forces
A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb...
, a Christian party and Hezbollah foe, said that such talk would change only if the new government managed to rescue the country from its deep foreign debt.

"It can hardly achieve this," he said. "It’s not supported by the Lebanese street.

"It faces political opposition in the country and has no support from Arab countries, which means no aid money. In addition, the international community won’t offer any help without a cohesive plan [for economic recovery]."

Regarding Hezbollah, a group that has long found support due to its resistance against Israel, Leb’s neighbor to the south, Jabour said that nobody talks much about resistance nowadays.

"People," he said, "are busy facing poverty."
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Aoun will not request caretaker cabinet after Leb PM Hariri resigns
2019-10-30
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Lebanese President Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
 is studying Prime Minister Saad Hariri
...Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too....
's resignation letter and will not issue a request for the cabinet to take on a caretaker role on Tuesday, a source in the presidency said.
Business will continue as usual...
Hariri submitted his resignation on Tuesday, declaring he had hit a "dead end" in trying to resolve the country's crisis amid an unprecedented wave of protests against Leb's ruling elite.
"dead end" = Unfortunate phrase in Leb politics
Former Lebanese minister Rifi says Hezbollah lost ‘government of guardianship’

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Former Lebanese Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi commended Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri after resigning from his position as head of government, while adding that Hezbollah has lost a government that "was dedicated to guardianship and corruption."

"Hariri has won himself and his people and Hezbollah has lost a government dedicated to guardianship and corruption which it tried to maintain through violence and black shirts," Rifi said in a tweet on Tuesday after Hariri resigned on live television.

Rifi was referencing an incident earlier in the day when men in black shirts reported to be supporters of Hezbollah and Amal attacked and burned tents of protesters gathered in downtown Beirut.

He added in a series of tweets that he stands behind the uprising of the Lebanese people in their "difficult struggle."

"This settlement has fallen and this term has plunged Leb into disaster," Rifi said in a tweet pointing to the current government of President Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...

Lebanese PM Hariri resigns as crisis turns violent
More on this report from yesterday.
[DAWN] Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said he would submit his resignation on Tuesday, declaring he had hit a "dead end" in trying to resolve a crisis unleashed by huge protests against Leb's ruling elite.

The Lebanese premier addressed the nation in a televised address after a mob loyal to Hezbollah and Amal groups attacked and destroyed a protest camp set up by anti-government demonstrators in Beirut.

Leb has been paralysed by the unprecedented wave of protests against the rampant corruption of the political class that has collectively led Leb into the worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.

"For 13 days the Lebanese people have waited for a decision for a political solution that stops the deterioration (of the economy). And I have tried, during this period, to find a way out, through which to listen to the voice of the people," Hariri said in his speech.
Related:
Ashraf Rifi: 2017-11-12 Report: Leb Security Agencies Uncover Plots to Trigger Instability, Assassinations
Ashraf Rifi: 2017-04-02 Rifi Criticizes 'Hizbullah's Armed Appearance' in Dahiyeh
Ashraf Rifi: 2017-03-13 Lebanese Cardinal slams Hezbollah
Related:
Saad Hariri: 2019-10-26 Hamas arrests dozens of activists in bid to deter Leb-style protests in Gaza
Saad Hariri: 2019-10-25 Lebanon’s President Aoun refuses to step down, blames corruption for crisis
Saad Hariri: 2019-10-23 Lebanon enters sixth day of protests as army opens roads, bagman arrested
Related:
Hezbollah: 2019-10-27 Gaza terrorist groups raise alert level amid fears of Israeli operations
Hezbollah: 2019-10-26 People stormed Lebanese Ministery of Telecommunication shouting ‘Revolution Revolution..’
Hezbollah: 2019-10-26 Erdogan: Northeast Syria is suitable area for Arabs, not Kurds, to live
Related:
Black shirts: 2018-10-11 Tunisia’s Ennahda and the secret apparatus
Black shirts: 2018-06-05 Check out the Taliban's new punk rock uniforms
Black shirts: 2013-06-11 Suleiman Urges Iranian Embassy, Hizbullah to Cooperate in Probe into Assault on Protesters
Related:
Amal : 2019-10-23 Lebanon enters sixth day of protests as army opens roads, bagman arrested
Amal : 2019-10-22 Tensions rise as Hezbollah supporters clash with Lebanese Army
Amal : 2019-10-20 Tensions increase in Lebanese city as protesters clash with Harakat Amal supporters
Related:
Michel Aoun: 2019-10-25 Lebanon’s President Aoun refuses to step down, blames corruption for crisis
Michel Aoun: 2019-10-25 Protest-hit Lebanon’s banks to stay shut until calm returns
Michel Aoun: 2019-10-19 Aoun will chair a cabinet session on Friday to discuss nationwide protests against the government and proposed tax hikes
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Report: Leb Security Agencies Uncover Plots to Trigger Instability, Assassinations
2017-11-12
[AnNahar] Some contacts with the aim of triggering confusion and inciting the Sunni community and the Paleostinian factions in Leb were monitored, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

A security source revealed to the daily that they monitored "in the last few days some contacts with the aim of inciting the 'Sunni street' and Paleostinian factions, but they have failed in their endeavor."

According to information, the source warned of liquidation plots with the aim of triggering sectarian strife and creating chaos.

The source who spoke on condition of anonymity did not elaborate further but said that "former Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi is at risk in that regard."

Meanwhile,
...back at the Hubba Hubba Club, Big Shirley was still trying to snatch Nunzio bald-headed. She was already halfway there...
 Army commander General Jospeh Aoun has assured that the "security situation is under control and that protecting Leb's stability is a priority."

Since Prime Minister Saad Hariri
Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too.
's shock resignation last week, Leb has been embroiled in confusion.

Hariri resigned in a shock announcement broadcast from Riyadh on Saturday as a power struggle intensified between Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
 and Iran, which backs Leb's Hizbullah
...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
On Friday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that a new conflict in Leb would have "devastating consequences" and said he was engaged in intense contacts with all players to urge de-escalation.

Guterres said he had been holding "very intense contacts" with Saudi Arabia, Leb, other countries in the region as well as governments with influence in the Middle East.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has also warned other countries Friday against using Leb for "proxy conflicts" following the crisis triggered by Hariri's resignation.

Tillerson also described Hariri as a "strong partner" of the United States.

Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...
 said Friday that Hariri was "detained" by Saudi Arabia and prevented from returning to Leb.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have urged their citizens to leave Leb while the UAE has renewed a travel warning.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Rifi Criticizes 'Hizbullah's Armed Appearance' in Dahiyeh
2017-04-02
[An Nahar] Former Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi slammed "Hizbullah
...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
's armed manifestation" in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday, saying it confirms the "state's resignation in favor of statelets," his media office said in a statement on Saturday

"Although Leb's security forces are capable of uprooting drug pushers and contraband promoters, we instead saw yesterday a manifestation that confirms the State's resignation in favor of statelets," said Rifi in his statement.

"Hizbullah has staged an armed appearance in Dahiyeh, showing the contradiction that this party expresses with the State and its institutions," it added.

Addressing President Michel Aoun
...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
, Rifi asked referring to the President’s statement that defended Hizbullah's arms and asked: "What you stated earlier about the army's incapability to defend Leb, does it apply now to the security forces as well? Are they incapable too of protecting the social security of the Lebanese?"

"I pose the same question on the entire government specifically the Ministers of Defense and Interior. The Lebanese are waiting for clear answers from their officials on what happened. We will follow up on the issue until the end," stated Rifi.

Pictures of masked Hizbullah members in black-clad went viral on social media on Friday, as reports said they spread out in Bourj al-Barajneh refugee camp in the evening in a campaign against drug pushers and gangs.

Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lebanese Cardinal slams Hezbollah
2017-03-13
[Gulf News] In a bold interview with SkyNewsArabia, Maronite Patriarch Mar Bisharah Al Rai has slammed the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah group for its involvement in the Syria war.

He said the decision to participate in the war, which helped bolster Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, contributed to division in Lebanese society.

"Hezbollah disregarded Leb’s dissociation policy," the Cardinal said, the first time he has spoken with such openness on the issue.

From the onset of the war, Lebanese politicians collectively agreed on a policy to not involve themselves in the Syria war -- in an effort to spare the war-ridden country from further conflict.

Al Rai’s comments come at a time where GCC relations with Leb are at an all-time low, due to Iran’s growing influence over its politicians and institutions.

In January, Lebanese President Aoun travelled to Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
 and met with King Salman
...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Cutodian of the Two Holy Mosquesand Lord of Most of the Arabians....
 Bin Abdul Aziz, on his first presidential foreign visit.

Lebanese hoped the visit would restore vital economic ties and that Saudi Arabia would give Leb $3 billion (Dh11 billion) to purchase French weapons for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) which it had previously withheld after Jibran Bassil, the Minister of Foreign Affairs who heads the Hezbollah-allied Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
, voted against the unanimous Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
 and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation resolutions that condemned the January 5, 2016 Iranian attacks on Saudi missions in Iran.

However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried...
 a planned follow-up visit by King Salman to Leb was cancelled after Aoun praised Hezbollah and backed the militia’s right to bear arms alongside the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) during an interview with Egyptian TV.

Al Rai’s comments reveal widespread fear in the country over Hezbollah’s arms -- the Cardinal called the situation "abnormal".

Aside from maverick former Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi, other Lebanese politicians notably did not comment on Al Rai’s interview, reflecting a deep fear in the country to speak out against Hezbollah.

Rifi, a Sunni politician from Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
 who does not miss an opportunity to lash out at Iran and Syria, backed the Cardinal and emphasised the importance of upholding the illusory sovereignty of the nation.

"Hezbollah’s weapons are being used by Iran as a tool for chaos to achieve expansionist ambitions," he said, adding that they directly negate the interests of Leb, its stability and its relations with Arab states.

Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hariri’s movement ‘bows to Hezbollah’ -- Rifi
2017-01-25
[Gulf News] Continuing his vocal opposition to any accommodation with Hezbollah, Ashraf Rifi -- Leb’s former head of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) and former Minister of Justice -- told Kuwait’s Al Qabas daily that his former allies in the Future Movement and the moribund March 14 coalition "bowed to Hezbollah."

In what was a dramatic accusation, Rifi declared "the party has 17 [out of 30] ministers in this government [led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri
Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too.
] and this is a major national crime against the cause," which implied that except for Future (7), Lebanese Forces
A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb...
 (3), Progressive Socialist Party (2) and a sole independent minister, all of the others -- those that belonged to the Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
 (8), Amal (3), Hezbollah (2), and one each for the Tashnag Party
Socialist party representing the Armenian diaspora in Leb. They're Christians, but they try to remain neutral, which means they get shot at without shooting back...
, the Marada Movement
the personal militia of Suleiman Franjieh, president of Lebanon at the outbreak of the civil war, currently Syrian toadies, but you never know when that could change...
, the Lebanese Democratic Party and the Syrian National Socialist Party -- were beholden to Hezbollah.

Rifi accused his erstwhile Future allies, declaring: "Corrupts cannot build a state and those who surrender cannot build a state. We are against corruption and surrender," adding that it was better to remain principled than to kowtow to pragmatism.

In what was a direct attack against Hariri, a potential rival in the upcoming parliamentary elections, Rifi stated that pragmatists "might cooperate with the occupier in a certain period while principled individuals shun any post or personal gains," concluding with an open declaration of war: "the approach of pragmatism sometimes leads to high treason."

The increasingly popular Rifi announced that he would be a candidate in the next elections as he anticipated to field candidates in Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, Minieh, Dinniyeh, Akkar, central and western Bekaa, Iqlim Al Kharroub and Beirut’s second and third electoral regions. These are all Future strongholds where Sunni constituents lead.

"We will not engage in Sidon’s electoral battle out of respect for Bahia Hariri and Fouad Saniora," two leading Sunni parliamentarians, Rifi added, but vowed to fight for all other seats.

Unabashed, he affirmed that his contenders "will not allow a win for any of Hezbollah’s candidates in [these] electoral strongholds," underscoring that the party’s military might did not scare him. "Hezbollah cannot overlook or eliminate me, even if it possesses 200,000 rockets," he hammered, because he insisted that he was "not engaged in a military confrontation."

Far more important, and perhaps for the first time uttered by a leading Sunni figure, Rifi clarified that Sunnis and Shiites "are equal demographically and ... present on the same land."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Rifi: Arrogance Deprived Christian and Alawite Representation in Tripoli
2016-06-12
[An Nahar] Resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi said on Saturday that the outcome of the municipal elections in Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
 carry a political message, and assured that there are good-will mediators trying to maintain contact between al-Mustaqbal
... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...
 Movement chief Saad Hariri
Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too.
 and himself.

"The political message derived from the results of the municipal elections in Tripoli cannot be overlooked," Rifi told Voice of Leb Radio (100.5) in a telephone call.

"There are good-will mediators between me and Hariri. We must meet on the principles of martyr ex-PM Rafik Hariri," he added without elaborating.

Rifi won the elections in Tripoli recording a sweeping victory in the face of a list backed by Hariri, ex-PM Najib Miqati, former ministers Faisal Karami and Mohammed al-Safadi.

"We can not be sold, and have to live up to the expectations (of the public)," he said of the victory.

Rifi attributed the loss of the other party (Hariri's) in the Tripoli elections to the "arrogance of the other team which deprived the Christians and Alawite from being represented in the new municipal council in the city."

Rifi had emphasized earlier that he approached his rivals and suggested listing the Christian and Alawite candidates on both their lists to improve their chances of winning seats, but that they refused.

He accused his rivals of attempting to bribe members of his list, he said: "They made contacts with several members and offered them sums of money which was rebuffed because people of the city of Tripoli have firm positions."

Link



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