A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For November 21-22/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 36th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
November 21-22/2019
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on November 21-22/2019
Lebanese president calls corruption biggest danger to the country
Aoun Blames Govt. Delay on Lebanese ‘Contradictions’, Invites Protesters to Dialogue
Protesters Block Roads across Lebanon after President Speech
Trump Says U.S. Ready to Work with New Govt., Lebanon’s Dollar Bonds Surge
U.N. Coordinator for Lebanon Denies Meddling in Govt. Formation
French Embassy Urges Formation of ‘Active and Credible’ Govt.
Lebanon: Fears of Open-ended Political Crisis Amid Communications Interruption
Lebanon’s Speaker Invites MPs to Meet on Returning Stolen Funds
Berri Calls Parliamentary Session, Presidency Cancels Independence Reception
Berri Urges Lebanese to Show Unity, Protect Independence
Baabda Palace cancels Independence Day reception due to current situation
Tarraf after meeting with Rahi pins hope efforts will yield good results in Lebanon
Statement of the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon
UNIFIL Commander to NNA: Israeli violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty and 1701 escalate tension
Kanaan from Bkerki: Financial situation is dangerous yet rescuing it still possible
Lebanese Army Rejects Bloodshed in Dealing with Protesters
Protesters Storm Central Bank Headquarters to Recite Statement
Hezbollah, Amal Criticize Lebanese Army Behavior
Report: France Could Launch an Initiative for Lebanon
Argentina considering ‘softening’ the country’s position on Hezbollah
Lebanese Pupils Protest against ‘Outdated’ Curriculum
Students lead protests in Lebanon as President Aoun set to speak
Jarrah Hits Back at Financial Prosecutor, Accuses Him of Corruption
Army Seizes Explosives in Jabal Mohsen
Court Session of ex-Israeli Collaborator Amer Fakhoury Postponed
Soldier who Shot Abu Fakhr Dead Charged with Murder
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on November 21-22/2019
Lebanese president calls corruption biggest danger to the country
The National/November 21/2019
Politicians have yet to form new government as protests continue and Lebanon sinks deeper into financial crisis
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Thursday that corruption was the biggest threat to the country. “Inside Lebanon, there is a grave danger to our society, institutions and economy. It is corruption,” Mr Aoun said in a 13-minute televised speech on the eve of Lebanon’s 76th Independence Day. Mr Aoun has tried to appease the Lebanese people by vowing to fight corruption in his four media appearances since mass protests started on October 17, sparked by the government raising taxes to fix the faltering economy. Political parties have yet to form a new government since prime minister Saad Hariri resigned on October 29 and the country is sinking deeper into a financial crisis that protesters blame on its ruling elite. Mr Aoun said he recognised that fighting corruption had become a convenient “consumerist slogan” often repeated by politicians, but that its implementation consistently failed because of “sectarian red lines”.
“That is why I turn to you, oh Lebanese people, asking for your help,” he said. “No one else but you can press for implementing existing laws and the necessary legislation to recover looted funds and prosecute corrupt people.”Protests have pressured the Lebanese judiciary, which has often been accused of failing to act against corruption, to file charges against high-profile officials and politicians, including former ministers, in the past weeks.
Mr Aoun criticised judges for failing to act on more than 18 corruption files that had been brought to their attention since 2017. He praised protesters for “breaking taboos” and “pushing the judiciary to take action”, but also chastised them for “criminalising innocents” and “hate speech”.
Protesters frequently insulted politicians during the first weeks of demonstrations, particularly Mr Aoun’s son-in-law and caretaker foreign minister Gebran Bassil, who also leads the Free Patriotic Movement, the party founded by the president. As a solution to the economic crisis, Mr Aoun promised that by next year, oil and gas would be drilled off the coast of Lebanon. Experts have warned that despite politicians’ promises, income from potential offshore oil and gasfields could take years to materialise. Responding to one of the key demands of protesters, Mr Aoun promised to “liberate” Lebanon from “sectarianism and to start the necessary steps towards a civic state”. The Taif agreement that ended Lebanon’s 15-year civil war in 1990 outlined a transition to a non-sectarian state, but this was never implemented. Mr Aoun’s early media appearances were poorly received. Violence flared after an hour-long interview on November 12 in which he said that those unhappy with Lebanese politicians could emigrate.
Aoun Blames Govt. Delay on Lebanese ‘Contradictions’, Invites Protesters to Dialogue
Naharnet/November 21/2019
President Michel Aoun on Thursday blamed the delay in forming a new government on Lebanon’s “contradictions,” as he re-invited protesters to dialogue with him. “The time is not for speeches but rather for hard work… The challenges are dangerous and we’ve wasted a lot of time,” Aoun said in an address to the nation on the eve of Lebanon’s Independence Day. “The government should have been formed by now and started its work, but the contradictions that govern Lebanese politics have necessitated carefulness in order to avoid a more dangerous situation,” the president added. Renewing his invitation to protesters to send representatives to the presidential palace for talks, Aoun said he wants to “closely explore their actual demands and means to implement them,” stressing that “dialogue is the only correct way to resolve crises.”As for the latest anti-corruption drive in the country, the president said “the recent popular protests have broken some taboos and relatively some protections, prompting the judiciary to act and encouraging the legislative authority to give priority to a number of anti-corruption draft laws.”“I will be a firm bulwark that protects the judiciary and by that I mean that I will prevent any interference in it,” he pledged. Addressing the armed forces, he added: “You must protect the freedom of citizens who want to express their opinion through demonstrations and you also have to protect the freedom of movement of citizens who want to go to their work or home.”Protesters have repeatedly rejected calls for talks with the president, noting that their demands are well-known. Lebanon’s unprecedented protest movement, which broke out on October 17, has been calling for a complete overhaul of a political elite accused of inefficiency and corruption. After the government stepped down on October 29, protesters demanded a fresh cabinet composed of experts not affiliated with any of the traditional political parties. But Aoun in a recent interview argued that a government made up solely of independent technocrats would not represent the people or be able to set policies. “Where should I look for them? On the moon?” he said, arguing true independents were scarce in a country where most people follow a specific political party.
Protesters Block Roads across Lebanon after President Speech
Naharnet/November 21/2019
Protesters blocked several key roads across Lebanon on Thursday evening shortly after a televised address by President Michel Aoun. The protesters first blocked the vital Ring highway in central Beirut. Road-blocking action later spread to the highway that links Beirut to the South with protesters blocking it in the Naameh area. Roads were also blocked in Tripoli’s al-Qobbeh, central Bekaa and al-Beddawi. The army meanwhile prevented protesters from blocking the road near the presidential palace in Baabda. In his speech, Aoun blamed the delay in forming a new government on Lebanon’s “contradictions,” as he re-invited protesters to dialogue with him, noting that he wants to “closely explore their actual demands and means to implement them.” Addressing the armed forces, he added: “You must protect the freedom of citizens who want to express their opinion through demonstrations and you also have to protect the freedom of movement of citizens who want to go to their work or home.”Protesters have repeatedly rejected calls for talks with the president, noting that their demands are well-known. Lebanon’s unprecedented protest movement, which broke out on October 17, has been calling for a complete overhaul of a political elite accused of inefficiency and corruption. After the government stepped down on October 29, protesters demanded a fresh cabinet composed of experts not affiliated with any of the traditional political parties. But Aoun in a recent interview argued that a government made up solely of independent technocrats would not represent the people or be able to set policies. “Where should I look for them? On the moon?” he said, arguing true independents were scarce in a country where most people follow a specific political party.
Trump Says U.S. Ready to Work with New Govt., Lebanon’s Dollar Bonds Surge
Naharnet/November 21/2019
U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed Washington’s readiness to cooperate with a new Lebanese government that meets the needs of the Lebanese people, Lebanon’s National News Agency said. Trump remarks came in a cable he sent to President Michel Aoun to greet him on the occasion of Lebanon’s Independence Day. “The American people share my best wishes for Lebanon’s Independence Day. The friendly relations between the Lebanese and American peoples are strong. The United States is ready to work with a new Lebanese government that meets the needs of the Lebanese by building a stable, prosperous, independent, and secure country,” Trump’s letter said, according to an English-language report carried by NNA. Lebanon’s dollar bonds meanwhile surged on Thursday in the wake of Trump’s reported remarks and Speaker Nabih Berri’s call for a parliamentary session next week.
U.N. Coordinator for Lebanon Denies Meddling in Govt. Formation
Naharnet/November 21/2019
U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis on Thursday denied interfering in the country’s cabinet formation process. “Following some misleading media reports, the Office of the U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) would like to reconfirm its position concerning the government formation,” the office said in a statement. It reminded that Kubis has called on Lebanon’s leaders to “urgently nominate the Prime Minister-designate, start the mandatory process of parliamentary consultations and to maximally accelerate the process of the formation of the new government of personalities known for their competence and integrity, trusted by the people.”“Such a Cabinet, formed in line with the aspirations of the people and supported by the broadest range of political forces through the Parliamentary vote of confidence, will also be in a better position to appeal for support from Lebanon’s international partners,” the office quoted Kubis as saying.“The Special Coordinator has not otherwise intervened in the details of government formation, its character or its composition as that remains a sovereign matter for Lebanon and its people to decide,” it stressed.
French Embassy Urges Formation of ‘Active and Credible’ Govt.
Naharnet/November 21/2019
The French embassy in Beirut on Thursday greeted the Lebanese on the eve of their Independence Day, stressing that “France will always stand by Lebanon, with which it has a very solid relation.”“Today, as the country writes a new chapter of its history, amid a dire economic course, France strongly hopes for the formation of an active and credible new government as soon as possible,” the embassy said in a statement. It added that the new government should “take fundamental and necessary measures to revive the country and meet the aspirations of the Lebnese.”The U.S. embassy in Beirut meanwhile marked Lebanon’s Independence Day in a tweet saying: “With the Lebanese people. Today and Tomorrow.”
Lebanon: Fears of Open-ended Political Crisis Amid Communications Interruption
Beirut – Mohammed Shukeir/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 21 November, 2019
A well-informed minister, who has been following-up on intermittent contacts to form a new government, said he was fearing a political deadlock at the peak of the economic and financial crisis.
The minister, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the concerned parties were urgently required to agree on a rescue government that could stop the deteriorating situation, adding that communication over the appointment of a new prime minister were currently interrupted. He also questioned President Michel Aoun’s stalling in setting a date for parliamentary consultations and stressed that the delay in the designation of the premier-designate was “no longer acceptable.”All parties have to recognize that the birth of the government should lead to a “positive shock” that would meet the demands of the popular movement, the minister underlined. The senior minister, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that most of the channels of communication were closed, and that the road to the presidential palace was “politically” blocked, in light of Aoun’s insistence on forming a mixed government of specialists and politicians. He noted that the positions of the country’s main political parties were clear and divided between “a team that insists on forming a government of politicians and technocrats, and another that believes that the government of experts is inevitable.” Quoting caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the minister said that the Lebanese people “no longer accept us, and don’t want to hear from us.”“The people have the right to raise their voice; and this obliges us to meet their demands, and work immediately to provide solutions to their problems,” he quoted Hariri as saying, adding that the caretaker prime minister did not understand some parties’ rejection of forming a government of technocrats.”
Lebanon’s Speaker Invites MPs to Meet on Returning Stolen Funds
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 21 November, 2019
Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri called on Thursday for two parliamentary committees to meet to discuss draft legislation on banking secrecy and returning stolen state funds. Berri’s call comes after more than a month of nationwide protests against the country’s ruling elite and which have included demands for tackling rampant corruption and the looting of state resources. He said the joint meeting of the parliamentary finance and justice committees would be held on Nov. 27, state news agency NNA reported. Lebanon’s parliament, besieged by angry protesters Tuesday, for a second time postponed a session to discuss draft laws which critics charge would let corrupt politicians off the hook by granting amnesty to thousands convicted of a range of offenses. The demonstrators see the draft law as a way to clear powerful figures charged with or convicted of crimes ranging from tax evasion to breaches of environmental regulations. Lebanon has since October 17 been rocked by an unprecedented wave of popular street revolt that have cut across sectarian lines. What started with protests against a plan to tax online phone calls made through WhatsApp and other applications has turned into a broader popular revolt against the perceived ineptitude and corruption of the entire ruling class. Amid the crisis, Prime Minister Saad Hariri bowed to street pressure and resigned on October 29.
Berri Calls Parliamentary Session, Presidency Cancels Independence Reception
Associated Press/Naharnet/November 21/2019
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has called for a session next Wednesday to study draft laws related to banking secrecy and retaking stolen state money. Berri’s call came two days after protesters prevented legislators from reaching the parliament building to draft and study new laws. The protesters say parliament has no right to draft laws in the presence of a government acting in caretaker capacity. President Michel Aoun’s office meanwhile announced that a ceremony to celebrate Independence Day at the presidential palace on Friday has been canceled because of “the current situation.”A military parade is still scheduled to mark the anniversary at a barracks southeast of Beirut.
Berri Urges Lebanese to Show Unity, Protect Independence
Naharnet/November 21/2019
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday called on Lebanese to show unity and “protect independence.”“The same as the Lebanese made their independence 76 years ago through unity, all Lebanese are today asked to protect independence or rather to recreate it through bolstering their unity and avoiding the traps of sedition,” Berri said in a statement marking Independence Day.
Baabda Palace cancels Independence Day reception due to current situation
NNA/November 21/2019
Due to the current situation in the Lebanon, the traditional annual Independence Day reception at Baabda Presidential Palace will be cancelled, a statement by the Palace’s Directorate General of Protocol and Public Relations said on Thursday.
Tarraf after meeting with Rahi pins hope efforts will yield good results in Lebanon
NNA/November 21/2019
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, on Thursday welcomed European Union Ambassador to Lebanon, Ralph Tarraf, who paid him a protocol visit after assuming his diplomatic duties in Lebanon. The meeting had been an occasion to broach the most recent developments on the local and international scenes. “It was of extreme importance for me to listen to his Beatitude’s point of view on the situation in Lebanon with its various religious, political, and economic aspects, as well as to listen to his analysis and reading of the situation,” Tarraf said in the wake of his meeting with the Maronite Patriarch.
“We touched on the current situation in the country and the demonstrations that have been lately witnessed up and down Lebanon. We also tackled the challenges facing the political system, and the possibility of finding swift solutions to standing issues,” the EU diplomat added.
Tarraf relayed Rahi’s optimistic view; he then hoped that things would improve in Lebanon and that the efforts that were being exerted to remedy the situation in Lebanon would bear fruit.
Statement of the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon
NNA/November 21/2019
Following some misleading media reports, the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) would like to reconfirm its position concerning the government formation. UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis has called upon the leadership of Lebanon to urgently nominate the Prime Minister-designate, start the mandatory process of parliamentary consultations and to maximally accelerate the process of the formation of the new government of personalities known for their competence and integrity, trusted by the people. Such a Cabinet, formed in line with the aspirations of the people and supported by the broadest range of political forces through the Parliamentary vote of confidence, will also be in a better position to appeal for support from Lebanon’s international partners.
The Special Coordinator has not otherwise intervened in the details of government formation, its character or its composition as that remains a sovereign matter for Lebanon and its people to decide.–Kubis’ Press Office
UNIFIL Commander to NNA: Israeli violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty and 1701 escalate tension
NNA/November 21/2019
In response to a question by the National News Agency on the recent Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace, UNIFIL Commander, Major General Stefano Del Col, noted that “UNIFIL recorded an increase in Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace this week, including low-altitude sorties over Tyre carried out by Israeli fighter aircraft in the early morning of November 20, causing panic among the residents.” Maj. Gen. Del Col said “Israeli violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty and the 1701 escalate tensions, especially as these sorties are carried out at a low altitude, undermining our efforts to build public confidence towards a stable security environment in southern Lebanon.” The UNIFIL Commander said he strongly objected in a letter addressed to the Israeli army, requesting an immediate halt to these sorties in full respect of Resolution 1701 and Lebanese sovereignty.
Kanaan from Bkerki: Financial situation is dangerous yet rescuing it still possible
NNA/November 21/2019
“Strong Lebanon” MP Ibrahim Kanaan on Thursday visited Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rahi, in Bkerki, with talks reportedly touching on most recent developments in the country, especially the financial and economic situation. On emerging, MP Kanaan stressed the importance of the approval of the state budget draft 2020, saying such a matter assures the Lebanese people and provides the necessary funds for the functioning of state institutions. In reply to a question about the delay in the call for parliamentary consultations, MP Kanaan said the importance of the existing consultations lies with their outcome, stressing that the solution should be political through a government and the adoption of a budget without taxes.”Lebanon is capable of getting out of the crisis through a government and the endorsement of a budget without taxes and through reforms,” Kanaan maintained. The Lawmaker stressed the need for reason, integration and dialogue between the popular movement and political sides as a means to get out of the current crisis. Kanaan also deemed the current financial situation as dangerous yet rescuing it still possible.
Lebanese Army Rejects Bloodshed in Dealing with Protesters
Beirut – Thaer Abbas/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 21 November, 2019
The Lebanese army leadership rejects bloody clashes with anti-government demonstrators who took to the streets on October 17 to protest rising poverty and ask for better state services, a Lebanese official with knowledge of military affairs said. The army considers bloodshed a red line, the official told Asharq Al-Awsat. Constitutionally, the military institution falls under the authority of the Lebanese government. But since neither the cabinet nor the Higher Defense Council have met since the eruption of protests, the army hasn’t received any political instructions on ways to deal with demonstrators. It was up to its leadership to decide what action to take to open roads blocked by the protesters while taking into consideration that they are Lebanese citizens and not terrorists or foreign enemies, said the official. The army sought to open roads through dialogue with the protesters and certain decisive measures while avoiding clashes. The military leadership is confident about its decision and will not hesitate to apply similar measures if needed, the official added. There were limited clashes with protesters because the army is not trained to deal with protests, he told Asharq Al-Awsat. He said pressure keeps piling after the leadership decided to put 90 percent of its reservists in service. “But we will continue to carry out our duty.” The official said political parties had no role in the first three days of protests when angry Lebanese took to the streets over proposed new taxes. The masses included the poor as well as the wealthy who wanted to express frustration at the deteriorating economic and financial crisis. He added that the majority of protesters were youth from colleges and universities, who are seen as the biggest constituents in the 2022 parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned his government on Oct. 29 in response to the protests, which snowballed into calls for the entire political elite to step aside.
Protesters Storm Central Bank Headquarters to Recite Statement
Naharnet/November 21/2019
Five young men and women belonging to the Youth Movement for Change on Thursday stormed the headquarters of the central bank on Hamra Street in protest at the bank’s so-called financial engineering operations and other banking measures. “They entered through the main gate and gathered in the lobby as one of them started reciting a statement, but guards forced them to leave the lobby and the statement was recited outside the bank,” the National News Agency said. A video circulated on social media shows the guards charging against the protesters at the bank’s gate to push them out. TV networks said riot police also took part in the confrontation. The statement criticized “banks’ exploitation and the policies of the central bank governor,” noting that the governor’s “financial engineering operations granted banks illicit gains that benefited top depositors.”
Protesters from the same group had stormed the headquarters of the Association of Banks in Lebanon in recent weeks.
Hezbollah, Amal Criticize Lebanese Army Behavior
Beirut – Caroline Akoum/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 21 November, 2019
Hezbollah and the Amal Movement have lashed out at the Lebanese army and the Internal Security Forces (ISF) accusing them of not exerting enough efforts to open roads to lawmakers who failed to attend a parliamentary session that had been scheduled for Tuesday. Anti-government protesters, who have taken to the street since October 17, forced on Tuesday Amal leader Speaker Nabih Berri to adjourn the session to a date that will be set later after they blocked all roads leading to the parliament building in downtown Beirut. Berri and a member of his parliamentary bloc, caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, blamed the security apparatuses for failing to open the roads. Amal’s condemnations were backed by Hezbollah. The Shiite party’s deputy Ali Ammar brought up the issue again on Wednesday when he said: “We saw officers and soldiers indifferently watching deputies who were insulted on checkpoints.”
For his part, Ali Khreis, an MP from Berri’s bloc, told Asharq Al-Awsat: “If we wanted to open the roads (leading to parliament) we could have opened 100 roads. However, we are fighting sedition.”The deputy said Amal Movement is avoiding bloodshed in the streets. “The parliament session was supposed to be held last Tuesday under guarantees by the Lebanese army and the ISF to keep the roads open. However both apparatuses did not deal seriously with this matter,” Khreis said. He added that the roads to the legislature were blocked despite the presence of only 1,500 protesters around the parliament building.
The Interior Ministry and the Internal Security Forces did not issue any official responses to the accusations. However, military sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the Lebanese army abided by it tasks. Army officers were not tasked to oversee the roads near the parliament building. This was the mission of the ISF.”The source added that the army was positioned in areas where all roads were open.
Report: France Could Launch an Initiative for Lebanon
Naharnet/November 21/2019
France could dispatch a new envoy to discuss an “initiative” to salvage Lebanon’s crumbling economy, al-Akhbar daily reported on Thursday. Ministerial sources said that information from the French capital indicate that the Elysee Palace is sending a new envoy to Lebanon in order to discuss the possibility of a “rescue” initiative on the economic level, according to the pro-Hizbullah daily. Last week, France dispatched to Lebanon Christophe Farnaud, head of North Africa and Middle East Department at the French Foreign Ministry. He held talks with senior Lebanese officials. “The French do not prefer Lebanon’s collapse. They fear it could trigger a wave of refugees to Europe, or affect their political influence in this region of the world, or affect their troops operating in the south as part of the international emergency forces, as well as their investments in oil and gas and their CEDRE projects,” said the sources. They said such an endeavor could not take place without US and British approval. About a conference that may be held in Paris, if the French effort turns successful, the sources pointed out that “it is too early to talk about the results before the launch of the initiative.”
Argentina considering ‘softening’ the country’s position on Hezbollah
Jerusalem Post/November 21/2019
Elected president Alberto Fernandez may plan to make a distinction between the political and Military wings of the Lebanese organization
Elected Argentinian president Alberto Fernandez is considering making changes to his country’s statement regarding Hezbollah as terrorist organization. The change includes distinguishing between its military and political wings, according to the statement received by the Israeli embassy in Argentina. Ynet reports. This announcement was made at the President’s office in a meeting between him and the Israeli ambassador. There, he spoke of his desire to make correction to the Hezbollah announcement made in July. This mean softening the decision regarding the Lebanese organization. State sources in Jerusalem have stated in response that “it’s unclear if it’s an experiment or his true intention”. Those same sources added that it would be very difficult for Argentina to reverse its decision, mostly seeing as the American administration will not see eye-to-eye with them and that such a decision would make it difficult for the country to exchange intel with other western countries. In Israel the estimation is that the one trying to make the change is former president and current vice president of Fernandez, Christina Kirchner. Elected president Fernandez, who used to be Kirchner’s vice president, has already confronted her in the past over an agreement she was signed onto with Iran regarding the investigation of a terrorist attack in Buenos Aires. This is why in Jerusalem they are finding it hard to believe Fernandez is supportive of the decision, and suspect the announcement has to with pressure from Kirchner and her party. Last July Argentina instructed to freeze assets of Hezbollah members and effectively defined Hezbollah a terrorist organization. The announcement was made in conjunction with American State Secretary Mike Pompeo’s visit to the country, and during the 25-year commemoration events to the attack in the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires where 85 people were killed. Argentina accused Hezbollah and Iran of committing the attack, both of which denied their involvement in the event. Moreover, Argentina blamed the Shi’ite organization of another terrorist attack in Buenos Aires in 1992 where 29 people were killed. Argentina may have put the blame on Hezbollah for another 1994 attack, though no one has been convicted of committing the crime as of yet.
Lebanese Pupils Protest against ‘Outdated’ Curriculum
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 21/2019
Several hundred school pupils protested Thursday in Lebanon against what they described as an outdated curriculum that makes no mention of the multi-confessional country’s 15-year civil war. The protest outside the education ministry in Beirut was the latest in a nationwide anti-government street movement to have gripped Lebanon since October 17. “Our history books need to be thrown out,” 16-year-old Jana Jezzine said as around her protesters waved the national flag and one woman made a show of burning a schoolbook. History lessons in school textbooks stop with the withdrawal of French troops in 1946 — three years after the end of France’s 23-year mandate over Lebanon. But a lack of consensus over a common version of the 1975-1990 civil war in the country has led to it being completely omitted from the curriculum. Likewise, textbooks make no mention of key events afterwards, such as the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon in 2000 or the mass protests that ended Syria’s military presence in 2005. Eighteen-year-old Aya Haider said she had endlessly studied the First and Second World Wars, but had been taught almost nothing of her country’s recent history. “I know nothing about the civil war,” she told AFP, in a country where each religious community has its own version of historical events. “My parents and friends told me that people would get stopped because of their identity cards,” she said, referring to militiamen singling out members of certain religious sects at checkpoints during the conflict. The rest, she says, she learned in dribs and drabs through acquaintances during the recent anti-graft protests. Since last month, Lebanese from all religious backgrounds have taken to the streets en masse to cry out against what they view as an incompetent and corrupt ruling class. School pupils and university students have emerged as a leading force during the demonstrations in recent weeks, saying they will gladly lose a year’s schooling to help rebuild their country. Lebanon’s economy is under severe strain after a series of political crises compounded by the eight-year war in neighboring Syria, and youth unemployment stands at more than 30 percent.
Students lead protests in Lebanon as President Aoun set to speak
Tommy Hilton, Al Arabiya English/Thursday, 21 November 2019
Students led protests in Lebanon on Thursday as President Michel Aoun is due to give a speech the evening before the country’s Independence Day. Students staged sit-ins outside schools and businesses in Tripoli, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA). Local media also reported students outside schools elsewhere in the country including Sidon, Beirut, and Halba. Aoun will give a speech at 8:00 p.m. Lebanon time (10:00 p.m. Dubai time), said the NNA, on the eve of Lebanon’s 76th anniversary of independence. However, the Palace’s Directorate General of Protocol and Public Relations announced on Thursday afternoon that the traditional annual Independence Day reception at Baabda Presidential Palace has been cancelled. Aoun has refused to resign amid protests, and claimed in a tweet on Thursday that US President Donald Trump told him the US is ready to work with a new Lebanese government that responds to the needs of its people. Also on Thursday afternoon, Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri called for a parliamentary session next week to discuss draft legislation on banking secrecy and returning stolen state funds. Berri had previously said that the Lebanon is like a sinking ship that will go under unless action is taken, but has voiced his opposition to protests. The country remains in political and economic deadlock following former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s resignation and a looming economic collapse. On Tuesday, it was reported that Lebanon’s caretaker information minister Jamal al-Jarrah, who is a member of Hariri’s Future bloc, and two former telecommunication ministers could face corruption charges. Their cases have been referred to a special judicial panel on accusations of wasting public funds. Corruption among the political elite is one of the causes of the nationwide demonstrations which erupted in October. Protesters blocked the Lebanese parliament from meeting to discuss a controversial amnesty law on Tuesday.
Jarrah Hits Back at Financial Prosecutor, Accuses Him of Corruption
Naharnet/November 21/2019
Caretaker Information Minister and ex-Telecom Minister Jamal Jarrah on Thursday lashed out at Financial Prosecutor Ali Ibrahim, accusing him of corruption and of exceeding his jurisdiction. Jarrah’s remarks come a day after Ibrahim filed lawsuits against him and against two other former telecom ministers – Nicolas Sehnaoui and Butros Harb – over charges related to wasting public funds. Jarrah is being additional sued over “embezzlement.”Accusing Ibrahim himself of corruption, Jarrah said the financial prosecutor had been accused of offenses pertaining to the Judges Solidarity Fund, real estate transactions and favoritism. Protesters “have carried your pictures at Martyrs Square. Of course you have the right to defend yourself through the judiciary and media outlets and this is a natural right, but you don’t have the right to hurl accusations at others,” the ex-minister added. “Judge Ibrahim knows that he has to maintain the confidentiality of investigations, so why is he leaking false information to the press? He is usurping the roles of the state prosecutor, the justice minister and parliament,” Jarrah decried. “We are under the law and we are willing to discuss all the tasks we carried out at the telecom and information ministries,” the ex-minister added, urging an end to “distortion and falsification.”He also said that he is willing to meet with any journalist to discuss any file.
Army Seizes Explosives in Jabal Mohsen
Naharnet/November 21/2019
The army on Thursday confiscated a quantity of explosives in the Tripoli neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen. “An Intelligence Directorate patrol raided the house of Lebanese citizen Z.Kh. in the Jabal Mohsen area, Tripoli, arresting him along with R.Kh. and A.S.,” an army statement said.
“A quantity of explosives was seized in their possession,” it added. “The detainees and the seized material were referred to the relevant authorities as an investigation got underway,” the army said. The veteran politician argued that it was time for an “investigation of the investigators”. He vowed to continue as prime minister despite potential court dates and intense political pressure. “I will continue to lead this country, according to the letter of the law,” he said.”I will not allow lies to win.”
Court Session of ex-Israeli Collaborator Amer Fakhoury Postponed
Associated Press/Naharnet/November 21/2019
A court session in the case of Lebanese-American ex-Israeli collaborator Amer Fakhoury was postponed Thursday because of his illness, state-run National News Agency said. NNA said the session in the southern city of Nabatiyeh was postponed until Dec. 5.Lebanon and Israel have been officially at war since Israel’s creation in 1948. Fakhoury had worked as a senior warden at the Khiam Prison in southern Lebanon that was run by the Israeli-backed militia known as South Lebanon Army. e was detained after returning to his native Lebanon from the U.S. in September. Outside the courthouse in Nabatiyeh, scores of people, including former Khiam prison detainees, gathered outside the building known as Palace of Justice. Former detainees have accused Fakhoury of major abuses at the prison.
Soldier who Shot Abu Fakhr Dead Charged with Murder
Associated Press/Naharnet/November 21/2019
State-run National News Agency reported Thursday that the soldier who shot and killed the protester Alaa Abu Fakhr in Khalde last week has been charged by a military prosecutor with murder. The agency said that a colonel who was on the scene with the soldier at the time of the shooting was also charged Thursday. On Nov. 12, Abu Fakhr was shot dead by the soldier, who was trying to open a road closed by protesters in Khalde, marking the second death since widespread protests against Lebanon’s ruling elite began Oct. 17. The soldier, who has been under detention since the day of the shooting, and the colonel were referred to a military investigative judge who will start questioning them on Monday, according to NNA.
Titles For The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 21-22/2019
President Aoun’s address on eve of Lebanon’s 76th Independence Day/NNA/November 21/2019
Argentina considering ‘softening’ the country’s position on Hezbollah/Jerusalem Post/November 21/2019
A most peaceful revolution/Georgi Azar/Annahar/November 21/2019
Shortages of food and medical supplies loom over Lebanon protests/Matthew Amlôt and Lauren Holtmeier/Al Arabiya English/November 21/2019
Gebran Bassil: Lebanon’s controversial power broker and potential next president/Tommy Hilton/Al Arabiya English/November 21/2019
With Uprisings Pervasive Today, Where is the Arab World Heading in the Coming Decade/Michael Young/Carnegie MEC/November 21/2019
Tripoli protesters mull the return of PM Saad Hariri/Jacob Boswall/Al Arabiya English/November 21/2019
The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 21-22/2019
President Aoun’s address on eve of Lebanon’s 76th Independence Day
NNA/November 21/2019
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, said in his address on the eve of Lebanon’s 76th Independence Day:
“My fellow Lebanese ladies and gentlemen,
As I address you on the eve of Lebanon’s 76th Independence Day, I am well aware that this is no time for speeches, literature and celebrations.
It’s time for action, serious and relentless action, because we are in a race against time, for challenges are tremendous and dangerous, and we have already lost a lot of time.
The new government that Lebanon awaits and around which hopes are placed was supposed to see the light and embark on its work, but the contradictions that govern the Lebanese politics imposed carefulness in view of avoiding dangers and coming up with a government that would live up to your ambitions and aspirations as much as possible, and would be highly efficient, productive and orderly, because the challenges ahead are huge and the deadlines imminent.
My fellow Lebanese,
Seventy-six years have gone by since Lebanon became an independent nation. Throughout these years, the country went through rough periods during which its independence was jeopardized; and with every passing crisis, we become all the more aware that it is harder to preserve independence that to earn it.
Indeed, independence means a free and independent national decision, away from any form of custody, whether explicit or masked, and this is what we hold on to, today and every day, with all our resolve and strength, and at all costs.
The deals and settlements that are being devised for our region, and the attempts to impose them, not only threaten the independence of the concerned States, but also their being and very existence.
Therefore, affirming Lebanon’s independence neither implies hostility towards any State nor enmity towards anyone. On the contrary, we seek sincere friendship and positive approach to those who befriend us, but on the basis of our free decision, a peer-to-peer relationship, the acceptance of suggestions that suit our nation and the rejection of those that harm it; and if “politics is the art of the possible”, it is also the rejection of the unacceptable.
International settlements do not pose the sole threat on the stability of the State; on the Lebanese internal arena, there is a looming danger that threatens our society, institutions and economy: corruption.
Fighting corruption has become a tagline, used every time there is a need for it, even by those who are steeped in corruption. Yet, upon the adoption of the slightest execution procedures, confessional and sectarian red lights begin to surface.
The battle here is tough, rather one of the toughest. I therefore turned to you, fellow Lebanese, asking for help, because no one else can make all lines available, and no one else can exert pressure for the implementation of existing laws and adoption of the needed legislation to recover the looted funds and pursue the corrupt.
Here I reiterate my call to the demonstrators to learn first-hand their effective demands and the means to enforce them, because dialogue is the sole correct path to the resolution of crises.
The popular movements that have taken place lately have broken some established taboos, toppled the untouchables to a certain extent, prompted the judiciary to act, and stimulated the legislative branch to give priority to a set of anti-corruption bills.
It is healthy and useful to shed the light on corruption hotbeds through the media and on the streets, and so is the submission of available incriminating information and documents to the judiciary.
Nevertheless, what undermines the most the anti-corruption track is when the media, the streets and the political debate become the plaintiff, the general prosecutor, the judge and the jailer at the same time; because sending out random accusations, issuing final judgments and generalizing may criminalize an innocent, but it certainly allows the real perpetrators to remain anonymous, go unpunished and pursue their corrupted activity.
You have given momentum to the judiciary, so let it do its job…
And this is where lies your role, Judges;
What is required of you today is to commit to your oath, to carry out your duty “faithfully” and to be “honorable honest judges”; because no matter where it begins, the fight against corruption will end well in your hands, and its victory depends on your courage and integrity.
Since 2017, I have successively deferred to justice eighteen files related to cases of corruption and bribery in State administrations. To date, no verdict has been issued in any of them. If late justice is no justice, then the late settlement of corruption cases is an inadvertent encouragement on corruption. Today, we rely on the recent judicial appointments to activate the role of the judiciary and reinforce its autonomy, to reach an independent, brave and fair judicial branch which would be the spearhead of the battle against corruption. I repeat that I will be a robust barrier and a ceiling of steel to protect the judiciary. In other terms, I will ban any interference therein based on my oath to preserve the Constitution and the laws.
My fellow Lebanese,
We are on the threshold of the second Centenary of Greater Lebanon, and we find ourselves hostages of an acute economic crisis resulting from wrong economic policies and from corruption and waste in the administration throughout decades.
Let the coming year be a year of effective economic independence, through the conversion of the rentier economic pattern into a productive economy, by supporting agriculture and industry, adopting stimulating policies to make our production competitive on foreign markets, and dedicating all the attention to technology and knowledge economy, a sector in which Lebanon can be a serious competitor.
Yes, let us make it a year of effective economic independence by starting to drill the first off-shore oil well, and by adopting the law on the sovereign fund which will manage oil revenues, provided that it follows the highest global transparency standards.
Let us make it a year of geographical independence by holding on to every meter of water in our economic zone which is rich with natural resources, exactly as we hold on to every inch of our land, and as we seek to liberate the territories that are still under Israeli occupation.
Let us make it a year of environmental independence through the reforestation of mountains, especially those that were lately affected by fires…
Let us make it a year of effective social independence as well, starting with the adoption of the comprehensive protection law, also known as old-age security.
As for the full-fledged independence, we can only achieve it if we liberate ourselves from confessional and sectarian disputes, and begin with the necessary steps to establish the Civil State.
It’s time for action and the government-to-be will find me ready to accompany its work and willing to push forward for the fulfillment of the achievements.
Fellow soldiers,
Independence Day cannot pass by without addressing you because you were and you remain the shield of the country, the protectors of its independence and the bulwark of its unity.
The toughest missions that a soldier may face are domestic issues, as in your case, whereas you have to protect the freedom of the citizens who wish to express their opinion through demonstrations and sit-ins, and to protect as well the freedom of movement of the citizens who wish to go to work or home. Your success in this critical mission is the gauge of the citizens’ confidence in you, and confidence is precious and irreparable.
Dear Lebanese youth in particular,
The uncontrollability of the rhetoric on the street is one of the biggest dangers that threaten the nation and the society, so do not forget that in the aftermath of this crisis, you will go back to your home, neighborhood, school, university, work…You will go back to living together, so do not elaborate on the rhetoric of hatred and incitement because destruction is easy but construction is hard. Do not destroy the foundations of our society which rests upon the respect of the other and on the freedoms of belief, opinion and expression.
Your ancestors suffered greatly to preserve their free existence and independent being, and your parents went through all sorts of suffering in a devastating internal war that destroyed most of their dreams and hijacked the best years of their life.
Today, the legacy is in your hands and it is up to you to learn the relevant lesson.
Long live Lebanon!”
A most peaceful revolution
Georgi Azar/Annahar/November 21/2019
When disgruntled Lebanese protesting societal dysfunction flooded the street on October 17, few had envisioned that an impassioned momentum would be garnered and sustained.
BEIRUT: Exactly one year ago, marking Lebanon’s 75th Independence Day, I wrote an op-ed lamenting the country’s abysmal reality, calling it a failed state; and for good reason. Its economy was in shambles, its infrastructure was crumbling before our very eyes and the government formation crisis had entered its seventh month. That very government would be assembled two months later only to resign before the year’s end in the wake of the popular uprising that has gripped Lebanon for the better part of a month. 12 months after that opinion piece, not much has changed on those fronts. Yet in the midst of our many ailments, a renewed sense of hope has emerged fueled by a collective awakening. A collective awakening that has broken religious and social constructs that had clutched Lebanon since the conclusion of its bloody civil war almost 30 years ago. A collective awakening that has shattered the unwritten and suppressive guidelines that had shielded our ruling political class. A collective awakening that has paved the way for Lebanese to rewrite the rulebook of a peaceful revolution and what it entails.
When disgruntled Lebanese protesting societal dysfunction flooded the streets on October 17, few had envisioned that an impassioned momentum would be garnered and sustained.
Many, young and old, including our decades-old political class, discounted the movement; and many still do. They accused demonstrators of inciting violence, before castigating their many displays of non-violence. They accused the older generation of spurring sectarian wounds, before scolding students in search of a better tomorrow. They even attempted to change the narrative, labeling the country’s financial crisis as a product of the revolution, instead of its root cause. Yet the sense of community, fraternity, and camaraderie that has developed is palpable to the staunchest of cynics. Beirut and its public spaces have become a beaming hub of honest discussions and debates. Finally, the public sphere, defined as a space in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems to be tackled through political action, has been returned to its rightful owners.
Cleaning efforts, initiated by hundreds of volunteers, have put the cumulative performances of all our previous environment ministers to shame. From recycling tents in Martyr’s Square to the poor being fed and clothed, finally, the stereotype of Lebanese passiveness is being ruptured.
Over 30 days since that first rally in downtown Beirut and officials across the political spectrum continue to collude, connive and conspire as evidenced by the establishment’s concerted opposition to the independent candidate Melhem Khalaf in the race to head the Beirut Bar Association. Khalaf, a law professor at Saint Joseph University, emerged victorious this week in what many hope to be the first of many triumphs.
Over 30 days since that first rally in downtown Beirut and officials continue in their shady dealings, attempting to pass dubious legislation that possibly pardons previous financial crimes; only to be stopped by thousands of courageous men and women who blocked roads in central Beirut preventing lawmakers from reaching the parliament. In what could only be described as a show of unity nourished by a collective awakening, men and women from all walks of life gathered in the early hours of Tuesday morning to block the seven different roads leading to parliament. They faced riot police, with women protesters forming a live barrier between the two sides, as well as live ammunition after an MP’s convoy fired shots in the air to keep protesters at bay.
A woman desperately hangs on to a young man who is being dragged away by riot police as they attempt to clear protestors blocking a road leading to parliament on Tuesday, November 19, 2019 (Myriam Boulos) Men, women, and children have all been catalysts for change, putting aside differences that had long divided them. Women, as Dr. Jack Tohme noted, have moved passed their supportive roles, taking a leading constructive role of development and dignity for a better future for the children.As Lebanon nears its 76th Independence Day, a united demand for the end of the status-quo has reignited a sense of unfettered patriotism, long lost to sectarian politics that had placed leaders before country. One year later, one can’t help but revel at the progress, all the while gazing ahead at the future we’ve all been longing for.
Shortages of food and medical supplies loom over Lebanon protests
Matthew Amlôt and Lauren Holtmeier/Al Arabiya English/November 21/2019
New regulations to protect bank solvency during Lebanon’s street protests are already impacting medical supplies and could soon create shortages of food and other essentials, according to business owners.
The highly indebted country was already in a precarious financial position before the protests shut down banks for several weeks, prompting many Lebanese businesses and individuals to try to withdraw their deposits and draw down credit lines on fears of future shortages.
In response, banks have imposed withdrawal limits, reduced credit lines and there is a growing shortage of hard currency needed for imports.
“I have a hospital now. Their CT scanner broke down and they needed a part. I couldn’t supply the part,” said Wassim Boustany, the owner of General Medical Equipment (GME), a distributor of medical equipment in Lebanon, at the time of the interview.
Businesses are now struggling to get hold of dollars for imports as the central bank restricts supply, so businesses have to resort to the black market where dollars cost 20-25 percent more than the official currency peg bracket of 1,507.5-1515 pounds to the dollar.
“I can’t afford to pay the loss of 25 percent, so the CT scanner is down now. [The hospital] is trying to get dollars from the bank, but I don’t know if they will succeed,” he explained.
Salma Assi, the business unit director at medical supplies importer Benta Trading, said spare parts for medical equipment were in short supply. “No one has spare parts in stock … there is equipment in the hospitals that are stopping because we don’t have parts to replace the old parts,” he said.
Businesses also report that their credit facilities have been drastically reduced and restrictions on transfers.
“Effectively we’re not able to operate, we’re not able to pay money abroad practically,” said Jeanine Ghosn, managing director of Gabriel Bocti, an independent food and beverage distributor.
Lebanon’s central bank governor Riad Salameh told reporters last week that authorities have “no desire” to impose capital controls – a phrase used to refer to a set of measures to limit the flow of foreign capital in and out of an economy.
Although authorities have yet to institute a formal system of capital controls, banks have been imposing de facto controls on customers as a way to preserve solvency. Last week the rating agency Standard & Poor’s noted that, “Notwithstanding unofficial capital controls imposed by banks, we expect deposit outflows to accelerate during the rest of the year … The recent imposition of restrictions on foreign-currency deposit withdrawals by banks raises questions about the monetary and banking regime.”
The Association of Banks in Lebanon on Sunday said that the transfer of hard currency abroad should be only to cover “urgent personal expenses,” while banks were also told to limit weekly withdrawals from US dollar accounts to $1,000.
Businesses have been unable to pay their overseas suppliers and have had orders stuck at the border, as it now appears cash is now required to pay for customs. One importer reported being able to use a cashier check.
Credit facilities – a crucial cog in the trade finance machine – have been cut or halted completely by banks, often without warning.
“The cancelation of overdraft facilities and credit lines has resulted in a halt of transfer of funds. We cannot transfer funds,” Boustany explained.
The situation has been further exacerbated by banks restricting access to cash – regardless of client deposits. “We have euros, dollars, and lira in the account, and they’re not sending our transfers,” said Joe Abdallah, the chairman of food distributor Moussallem & Partners.
“There’s no capital controls officially, but this will make us lose credibility with our suppliers eventually because the official line is something, but the reality is completely different,” Ghosn said.
Many importers believe that serious food and medical supply shortages could emerge within a few weeks as imports begin to dry up. The country relies heavily on imports – the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates Lebanon needs to import 80 percent of its cereal grain crop consumption.
This system of ad hoc banking policies, similar to formal capital controls, disproportionately affect regular banking clientele, according to Jamil Chaya, assistant professor in finance at Rafik Hariri University. Bigger and better-connected clients have more access to circumnavigate these controls and access financial instruments, with small and medium-sized businesses and lower and middle-income households hit worst.
Several businesses report their relationships with banks have come under strain. “The banks in Lebanon used to help us, and now everything has suddenly stopped,” Boustany said.
Despite the harmful effects of the restrictions, Lebanese banks are in a difficult position. In his televised address last week, Salameh noted that people have withdrawn $3 billion from banks due to economic fears. Financial institutions do not maintain a supply of cash for all of the deposits on their books, meaning that a bank faces serious risk should an escalating situation of withdrawals ensue, as customers demand more cash than the bank has on hand – which could force it to collapse.
“Banks do need some form of capital controls, because it is true that there are a lot of withdrawals … Unusual times call for unusual measures, and countries have used capital controls to get out of hard times,” noted Chaya.
This will come, however, as little comfort to those businesses and individuals that are suffering serious financial burden.
“I’m from the generation of the war, and we faced a lot of war and crisis, and I’ve never seen anything like this. Even under the bombs, the banks would open one to two hours a day,” added Salma Assi.
Gebran Bassil: Lebanon’s controversial power broker and potential next president
Tommy Hilton/Al Arabiya English/November 21/2019
Before nationwide protests erupted across Lebanon last month, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil had been widely touted as Lebanon’s next president in waiting, handpicked by his father-in-law, the current President Michel Aoun. A month later, he has become a hate figure for many protesters, who have called into question his future – and that of the whole political establishment.
But who is Bassil, and is he still a viable candidate for presidency?
Early years and the Free Patriotic Movement
Gebran Bassil was born June 21, 1970 in Lebanon.
Raised as a Maronite Christian, he graduated from the American University of Beirut (AUB) with a degree in civil engineering in 1992 and a Master’s in Communications in 1993. In 1999, he married Chantal Michel Aoun, the daughter of former army general and disputed Prime Minister Michel Aoun, who was then in exile having fought a “war of liberation” against Syrian forces at the end of the Lebanese Civil War. Bassil’s political career began in the late 1990s, when he worked as a political activist for Aoun’s movement to oppose Syrian forces occupying Lebanon. Aoun established the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), which Bassil now leads, in 2005 after protests led to the withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon. That year the FPM won 21 seats in parliament, becoming the second biggest parliamentary bloc. Bassil contested a seat for the FPM in his hometown of Batroun, but failed to win. Nevertheless, he played a prominent role in the FPM under Aoun, which signed a memorandum of understanding with Hezbollah in 2006. This move created the “March 8” political alliance, in opposition to the “March 14” alliance led by Saad Hariri’s Future Movement, and Bassil remains allied to Hezbollah today, despite the FPM being a largely Christian and previously anti-Syrian party.
Minister and FPM leader
Bassil was appointed Minister of Communications after the FPM entered government in 2008, despite not being an MP. The following year he became Minister of Energy and Water. As Energy Minister, Bassil was accused of corruption relating to $33 million revenues reportedly linked to the sale of data for Lebanon’s offshore reserves. Bassil became leader of the FPM in September, 2015, following Aoun’s ascendancy to the Presidency. The FPM membership reportedly favored Alain Aoun, the president’s nephew, but President Michel Aoun himself favored Bassil – allegedly the reason Alain stood aside and Bassil was elected. In the 2018 parliamentary elections, the FPM won 29 MPs – making it the largest bloc in parliament. Bassil won a seat in a district including his hometown Batroun.
Foreign Minister
Two years before, Bassil had been appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs and Emigrants in 2016.
Under his tenure, key issues have included President Saad Hariri’s resignation in 2017 and the ongoing developments in the war in Syria – where Bassil’s Iran-backed Hezbollah allies are fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. As Minister for Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Bassil has gained notoriety for his anti-migrant rhetoric, for example when he said that Syrian refugees should return home despite the ongoing war and that Lebanon should put Lebanese workers first. Bassil has repeatedly appealed to the large Lebanese diaspora to support the country, including by keeping up remittances which are a crucial part of the Lebanese economy.Bassil and the FPM’s alliance with Hezbollah, which is designated as a terrorist organization by countries including the US, UK, and Saudi Arabia, has strained relations with members of the international community. Hezbollah-affiliated politicians and banks have been the target of US sanctions, with the US recently threatening to extend sanctions to the organization’s allies.
‘Public enemy number one’
While demonstrators have called for the fall of the entire government, Bassil has emerged as the target of a popular profane chant and is seen by many as the embodiment of the political establishment. “For the revolution, public enemy number one is Bassil, as he is the face of corruption and his antagonistic and condescending attitude has alienated and ostracized the majority of the Lebanese,” explained Makram Rabah, a lecturer at AUB. For many, Bassil’s unpopularity has ruined his chances of succeeding Aoun as president. “Bassil chances of becoming the next president seem nonexistent,” said Sami Zoughaib, Public Policy Researcher at the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies. “The streets have been quite vocal in their opinion in him: He’s seen as a manifestation of all that is wrong with our current political system.”But others warn not to rule out Bassil. “Just because he is no longer the favorite for the presidency, it does not mean that his allies Hezbollah – and Bassil himself – won’t push for it,” said Rabah.
With Uprisings Pervasive Today, Where is the Arab World Heading in the Coming Decade?
Michael Young/Carnegie MEC/November 21/2019
A regular survey of experts on matters relating to Middle Eastern and North African politics and security.
Eugene Rogan | Director of the Middle East Center at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, author of The Arabs: A History (Penguin 2009) and The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East, 1914-1920 (Penguin 2015)
In 2011, Arab states split into three categories. There were the republics whose people rose up demanding regime change and gave us the Arab Spring. There were the monarchies who, with the brief exception of Bahrain, resisted the call of popular revolt. And there were those states with a recent history of civil war that hesitated. In 2019, they hesitate no more. Sudan, Algeria, Lebanon, and Iraq know the price that comes with civil disorder. But even they reached breaking point with corrupt regimes and inequality dividing an ever growing body of have-nots from an ever smaller elite that has it all.
Suddenly it no longer looks like the Arab Spring ended or failed. It looks as though what started in 2011 is continuing, with setbacks and interruptions but continuing nonetheless. Without ever mentioning democracy, the Arab peoples are demanding government accountable to the people, they are demanding social justice, and they are rejecting autocracy and kleptocracy. They have been remarkably consistent over the past decade, and remarkably courageous in the pursuit of their legitimate demands. One hopes they have learned the lessons of 2011 and won’t repeat the mistakes that delivered the hard-earned gains of popular revolution to the forces of counterrevolution. And one wonders how much longer the monarchies can resist the popular will for good governance. By all evidence, the Arab world is undergoing a tectonic change, and the coming decade promises further challenges to the established order.
Amr Hamzawy | Senior research scholar at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University
The meager results of the 2011 democratic uprisings in the Arab world gradually silenced popular calls for democratic change and accountable government. By 2013 Arab majorities, either collectively demobilized from protesting or disenchanted in the face of civil wars and repression, seemed once again willing to accept their governments’ autocratic bargain: food and security in return for submission to unaccountable rulers.
To ensure that the 2011 spring is not revived, Arab governments, with the exception of Tunisia, have passed draconian laws limiting citizens’ freedoms. They have extended the reach of the security services to keep opposition groups and pro-democracy activists in check. Furthermore, Arab governments have allocated more and more of the scarce resources in their states to regime loyalists in the upper echelons of corrupt state bureaucracies and to crony business communities. They have used vast media arsenals to create personality cults around the rulers—presidents, kings, or crown princes—who have been portrayed as their nations’ sole saviors.
Yet, toward the end of 2018 and throughout the last months of 2019, Arab governments unexpectedly started to face popular challenges to their hopes for a Pax Autocratia. In countries not part of the 2011 uprisings, citizens took to the streets demanding political change. In Sudan, Algeria, Iraq, and Lebanon, popular protests were fueled by economic hardship and negative perceptions of their governments’ commitment to improving standards of living and ending corruption. Whereas demands for political change in Sudan and Algeria focused on ending the reign of military controlled autocratic governments that presided over deteriorating economies, staggering corruption, and poor public services, as well as human rights abuses, demands for change in Iraq and Lebanon aimed at transcending sectarian politics. In all four countries, autocratic and sectarian governments will not give up easily. The interplay between them and protesting citizens will continue to shape Arab realities in the next decade.
Intissar Fakir | Fellow in the Carnegie Middle East Program, editor of Sada
Since 2011, the range of transformations that have taken place in the Middle East and North Africa has left very little settled. Notions of governance, popular participation, pluralism—in essence the relationships that tie citizens to their governing structures—are still being negotiated and hashed out.
In Lebanon and Iraq, citizens are challenging sectarian-based political structures that the governments in both countries have relied upon to maintain power and (relative) stability. Elsewhere in the region, the challenging of these very notions is being manifested differently: the election of unconventional and potentially disruptive leaders, proliferating protest movements, increased migration, and even conflict and violence. The desire to undo the status quo and to reimagine political systems and the very foundations of nations is part of a global trend. These are moments of promise and hope for the region, even if there is much to fear.
Amel Boubekeur | Researcher at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, in Paris
What is currently called the Arab Spring 2.0 is actually a continuation of a longer historical accumulation of techniques for opposing authoritarian resilience that has survived through sham elections and the clientelistic redistribution of resources. Rather than just reading what is going on as efforts to get rid of dictators and aim for immediate democratization, as in the so-called Arab Spring 1.0, the ongoing uprisings should invite us to be more attentive to efforts by Arab peoples to regain control of the mechanisms of governance. In a nutshell, people seek to separate the ruling elite from the state. Therefore, sorting out the blurred arrangements between the formal and informal use of the state and power politics will be what the coming decade is about.
This means, among other things, putting pressure on the military—or in some cases on sectarian groups—to stop ruling by hiding behind puppet presidents and mock civilian justice. It means asking monarchies to act as fair arbiters, not as participants in political and economic games. It means inventing new negotiating schemes and replacing opposition parties whose disconnection from the people reinforces the ruling elite’s centrality. Finally, it means addressing how informal economic practices are more useful to leaders’ monopolies than productive economies.
The difficulty in overcoming the informal capture of the state by regimes through the corrupted formal means they enjoy—such as parliament, electoral processes, and political parties—is likely to push Arab societies to continue to push against those in power through unauthorized mass protests, resistance to iniquitous bureaucracies, and the proliferation of local political debates. The rupture seems inevitable although the outcomes are still unclear.
Tripoli protesters mull the return of PM Saad Hariri
Jacob Boswall/Al Arabiya English/November 21/2019
A month into Lebanon’s uprising, Tripolitans are still chanting for the fall of the regime. But for some, the return of ousted Prime Minister Saad Hariri is fast becoming the best option on the table.
Tripoli has been named the “bride” of Lebanon’s anti-establishment revolution which broke out on October 17. Exactly one month later, hundreds are still gathering in the city’s al-Nour square to listen to revolutionary speeches and music well into the night.
It is impossible to forget why this city, where around half of the population live below the poverty line, has been upheld as an example for other protesters across Lebanon. Painted on an enormous abandoned building overlooking the square is a Lebanese flag some fifty meters across. One recent addition to the vast mural is Alaa Abou Fakher, the first fatality of the protests, known to many as the “martyr of the revolution.”
Protesters in Tripoli show no outward signs of relenting in their demands, even after momentum died down in other parts of the country. Sitting with a group of female family members, Hadia, a mother from Tripoli, is confident that the revolutionary spirit is here to stay.
“The number of people are the same – in fact it is growing… we are hoping that [politicians] will see we are staying, and they will agree on fixing the situation we are in,” she told Al Arabiya English.
As for protesters’ demands, “nothing has changed. We have said we want the fall of the regime – from the top of the pyramid to the smallest employee they have. They are all corrupt,” Hadia continued.
The optimism is echoed by many protesters, including Abd al-Rahman, a 25 year-old resident of Tripoli. “The demands are the same. Actually, we are adding more demands. The financial situation has become harder. Now if you go into a house you wouldn’t find even LBP 1,000. Tripoli is an area of poverty,” he said. Unemployment and economic deprivation have been driving factors for protesters in Tripoli – many, including Abd al-Rahman feel there is little reason to return to their jobs.
“Tripoli is an area of poverty. When people talk about Tripoli they think we are all extremists and members of ISIS. But when they come here and see us, they realize we are just normal people,” he continued.
A mural with the Lebanese flag in Tripoli, November 17, 2019. (Emily Lewis)
However, as Lebanon ends its third week without a government, some protesters view the return of caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri as the best option for a country in political gridlock. Hariri resigned on October 29 under pressure from nationwide street protests, automatically causing the resignation of his 30-member Cabinet. Until now, attempts to form a government have foundered due to disagreements between Hariri’s Future Movement and the Free Patriotic Movement, led by Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil.
The stalemate intensified on Saturday when former minister Mohammad Safadi, a candidate backed by all the main parties, withdrew his candidacy after wide scale outrage from protesters.
“If Prime Minister Saad Hariri returned, it wouldn’t matter. We are not going to find someone better than him, to be honest,” Hadia told Al Arabiya English. “But of course we wouldn’t allow them to appoint ministers or MPs from the political class or political parties, as [Hariri] is saying,” she continued.
For Abd al-Rahman, the best candidate for premiership would be someone with no links to the ruling class – “someone from the people.”
“But the best politician would be Saad Hariri,” he added. “Mohammad Safadi, or anyone else – they are all the same. But Hariri is better than the rest. He knows how the game works,” Abd al-Rahman told Al Arabiya English.
Shop-keeper Munzir al-Maamari trusts Hariri because of the former prime minister’s philanthropic investments in Tripoli. “It’s not that I like Hariri. But I find Saad Hariri the most respectable politician … I don’t know how much money he has poured into Tripoli. He used to help, open universities and helped the people of Tripoli a lot. I feel I can trust him because he’s not like the others.”
“We want the country to be fixed. Whether it is Hariri or not Hariri, it doesn’t matter. Today people are asking for the most basic rights, such as roads, free education, hospitals. In short, people are simply asking to live with dignity in their country,” Maamari continued.
One mother, who requested to remain unnamed, told Al Arabiya that she would be happy to see Hariri reinstated as Prime Minister – providing that he carried out meaningful reforms to see the end of corruption.
“Not all of them are corrupt and we should give a chance to reform, this is my opinion. Even Hariri, if he carries out reforms, why not. Him or anyone else. They need to repair what was broken. We will give them a chance,” she told Al Arabiya English, before adding: “This will be the last chance.”
Protesters wave flags at Tripoli’s central roundabout on the evening of November 17, 2019. (Emily Lewis)
