A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For January 15-16/2020 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 91th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
January 16/2020
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 15-16/2020
The Occupier Hezbollah Stands Behind All Acts Of Violence, chaos & Corruption/Elias Bejjani/January 15/2020
A Revolution That Does Not Call For The Liberation Of Lebanon Is A mere Tool for the Occupier that is Hezbollah/Elias Bejjani/January 15/2020
UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis: Lebanese Politicians Should Blame Themselves
Scuffles, Arrests as Protesters Block Jounieh Highway, Beirut Roads
59 arrested after protest clashes near central bank
59 Arrested, 47 Policemen Injured after Protest Clashes in Hamra
Protesters Clash with Police outside ISF Barracks in Mar Elias
Aoun’s Wednesday interlocutors at Baabda Palace
Hariri receives Salame: Governor has immunity, FPM obstructed work of government
Lebanon banks in tatters after angry night-time demos
Injuries, Tear Gas as Clashes Erupt outside Central Bank
Lebanon: Threats of Escalation If Govt not Formed Within 48 Hours
Lebanon’s Hariri condemns vandalism after night of violence
Hariri Rejects Reviving Lebanon’s Caretaker Cabinet
Lebanese banking association condemns delay in forming new government: Statement
Banks in Tatters after Angry Night-Time Demos
Berri Slams ‘Unbelievable’ Hamra Rioting, Reassures on Small Deposits
Jumblat Condemns Hamra Rioting, Urges Electricity Reform
Report: Diab, Khalil Hold ‘Three-Hour’ Talks amid Lineup Hurdles
Reports: New Govt. May be Imminent after Agreement on Foreign Portfolio
How Lebanon can break free from the past/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/January 15/2020
The Other Iran and the Regional-Civil Binary/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/January, 15/2020
Funding Lebanon is Funding Hezbollah/A.J. Caschetta/The Jerusalem Post/January 15/2020
Details Of The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorial published on January 15-16/2020
The Occupier Hezbollah Stands Behind All Acts Of Violence, chaos & Corruption
Elias Bejjani/January 15/2020
المحتل حزب الله هو وراء كل اعمال العنف والفساد والفوضى
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/82321/elias-bejjani-the-occupier-hezbollah-stands-behind-all-acts-of-violence-chaos-corruption-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d8%ad%d8%aa%d9%84-%d8%ad%d8%b2%d8%a8-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d9%87-%d9%87%d9%88-%d9%88%d8%b1/
There is no shed of doubt that all acts of violence from all sorts, no matter big or small, that are taking place in Lebanon and criminally inflicted on the oppressed and impoverished Lebanese people are planned and executed by Hezbollah’s armed mercenaries, proxies and thugs.
The terrorist Iranian armed proxy, The so called Hezbollah, is directly or covertly fully accountable for all the hardships and all the miseries that the Lebanese people are encountering, including the current economic and banking sector devastating ongoing crisis.
The saddening reality that every Lebanese MUST grasp and act accordingly is that Lebanon is an Iranian occupied country by all means and in accordance to all legal and UN criteria.
According there will be no solutions in any domain, or at any level, before the full and immediate implementation of the three UN resolutions that address Lebanon:
The Armistice agreement, the 1559 and 1701 Resolutions.
Meanwhile, sadly, the majority of the Lebanese politicians from all religious denominational backgrounds and affiliations are mere puppets and do not serve Lebanon’s or the Lebanese interests and welfare, but serve evilly and narcissistically those of Hezbollah’s Iranian schemes.
It remains very obvious that all Lebanon’s officials including the president, house Speaker, Prime Minister, as well as all narcissistic owners of the so called falsely political parties have sold themselves and their dignity to the Hezbollah occupier with much more less than thirty pieces of silver.
A Revolution That Does Not Call For The Liberation Of Lebanon Is A mere Tool for the Occupier that is Hezbollah
Elias Bejjani/January 15/2020
A revolution that flaunts, hails and turns a blind eye on the Mullahs’ Iranian Hezbollah occupation, terrorism, crimes, trafficking, regional wars, and at the same time advocates for its big lie of resistance is definitely a revolution of hypocrisy. Such a revolution carries it own failure and only serves the occupier’s Iranian devastating agenda.
UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis: Lebanese Politicians Should Blame Themselves
Naharnet/January 15/2020
UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis said Lebanon’s politicians should blame themselves for the country’s ailing economy and the government delay sening the country in tatters. “Another day of confusion around the formation of a government, amidst the increasingly angry protests and free-falling economy. Politicians, don’t blame the people, blame yourselves for this dangerous chaos,” said Kubis. “Lebanon is truly unique,” he said “the BDL Governor requesting extraordinary powers to at least somehow manage the economy while those responsible watch it collapsing. Incredible.”Kubis remarks come one day after Lebanese retook to the streets in angry rallies after a lull in the three-months-long protests to express their impatience at the ruling elite’s failure to address a fast crumbling economy and form a government.
Scuffles, Arrests as Protesters Block Jounieh Highway, Beirut Roads
Naharnet/January 15/2020
Anti-government protesters blocked several key highways and roads on Wednesday afternoon, on the second day of what they have dubbed a “week of wrath”. Groups of school students and a few activists blocked the vital Jounieh highway in both directions before being swiftly confronted by army troops. The soldiers managed to reopen the highway after arrests and scuffles with the demonstrators. In Beirut, protesters blocked the Ring and Corniche al-Mazraa highways with burning tires. Protesters meanwhile rallied outside the Helou barracks in Beirut’s Mar Elias area to demand the release of dozens of demonstrators held overnight during fierce clashes on Hamra Street. Elsewhere, protesters blocked the al-Beddawi highway in the North and the Zahle roundabout in the Bekaa.
59 arrested after protest clashes near central bank
Associated Press/January 15/2020
The local currency has lost over 60% of its value — dropping for the first time in nearly three decades from a fixed rate of 1,507 pounds to the dollar to 2,400 in just the past few weeks.
BEIRUT: Lebanese security forces arrested 59 people, the police said Wednesday, following clashes overnight outside the central bank as angry protesters vented their fury against the country’s ruling elite and the worsening financial crisis. The hours-long clashes that erupted on Tuesday evening also left 47 policemen injured, the security forces said, as some protesters smashed windows on private banks in Beirut’s key commercial district. Earlier on Tuesday, protesters rallied outside the central bank in the bustling Hamra neighborhood, denouncing the bank governor and policies they say have only deepened the country’s financial woes. The rally turned violent as protesters tried to push their way through the security forces deployed outside the bank. In over five hours of pitched street battles, security forces lobbed volleys of tear gas at the protesters, who responded with rocks and firecrackers.
Some protesters, using metal bars and sticks, smashed windows on commercial banks and foreign exchange bureaus nearby. The clashes marked an end to a lull in the three-months-long protests. Lebanon is facing its worst economic troubles in decades. One of the most highly indebted countries in the world, it imports almost all basic goods but foreign currency sources have dried up. The local currency has lost over 60% of its value — dropping for the first time in nearly three decades from a fixed rate of 1,507 pounds to the dollar to 2,400 in just the past few weeks.
Meanwhile, banks have imposed informal capital controls, limiting withdrawal of dollars and foreign transfers in the country. In three months of protests, this was the first time the commercial center of Beirut had become the scene of clashes. The area, which is also home to theaters and restaurants, was left deserted except for protesters, police and smoke from the tear gas. Traffic resumed Wednesday and shops and banks reopened as pavements were cleared of smashes glass. Outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who resigned shortly after the protests first began in mid-October, said the violence in Hamra was “unacceptable” and an aggression on the heart of the capital. He urged for an investigation. A new prime minister designate was named in December but has still been unable to form a new government.
59 Arrested, 47 Policemen Injured after Protest Clashes in Hamra
Associated Press/Naharnet/January 15/2020
Security forces arrested 59 people, the police said Wednesday, following clashes overnight outside the central bank as angry protesters vented their fury against the country’s ruling elite and the worsening financial crisis. The hours-long clashes that erupted on Tuesday evening also left 47 policemen injured, the security forces said, as some protesters smashed windows on private banks in Beirut’s key commercial district. Earlier on Tuesday, protesters rallied outside the central bank in the bustling Hamra neighborhood, denouncing the bank governor and policies they say have only deepened the country’s financial woes.
The rally turned violent as protesters tried to push their way through the security forces deployed outside the bank. In over five hours of pitched street battles, security forces lobbed volleys of tear gas at the protesters, who responded with rocks and firecrackers.
Some protesters, using metal bars and sticks, smashed windows on commercial banks and foreign exchange bureaus nearby. The clashes marked an end to a lull in the three-months-long protests. Lebanon is facing its worst economic troubles in decades. One of the most highly indebted countries in the world, it imports almost all basic goods but foreign currency sources have dried up. The local currency has lost over 60% of its value — dropping for the first time in nearly three decades from a fixed rate of 1,507 pounds to the dollar to 2,400 in just the past few weeks. Meanwhile, banks have imposed informal capital controls, limiting withdrawal of dollars and foreign transfers in the country. In three months of protests, this was the first time the commercial center of Beirut had become the scene of clashes. The area, which is also home to theaters and restaurants, was left deserted except for protesters, police and smoke from the tear gas.Traffic resumed Wednesday and shops and banks reopened as pavements were cleared of smashes glass.Outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who resigned shortly after the protests first began in mid-October, said the violence in Hamra was “unacceptable” and an aggression on the heart of the capital. He urged for an investigation. A new prime minister designate was named in December but has still been unable to form a new government.
Protesters Clash with Police outside ISF Barracks in Mar Elias
Naharnet/January 15/2020
between security forces and protesters demanding the release of dozens of people who were arrested Tuesday during a demo that turned violent in Beirut’s Hamra area. Wednesday evening’s confrontation erupted outside the Helou barracks of the Internal Security Forces in Beirut’s Mar Elias area.
Security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters after some of them hurled firecrackers and empty bottles. The demonstrators later responded with stones after tear gas was fired at them and after several protesters were arrested or beaten up by riot police. TV networks reported that several protesters were injured in the violence. The National News Agency meanwhile said that some tear gas canisters landed inside the premises of the nearby Russian embassy. Large numbers of protesters had gathered outside the barracks since morning to demand the release of those arrested overnight.
Al-Jadeed TV meanwhile said that some protesters smashed the facades and ATMs of some banks while on their way to the demo outside the barracks.
Aoun’s Wednesday interlocutors at Baabda Palace
NNA/January 15/2020
President Michel Aoun received the Minister of Tourism, in the care-taker Government, Avedis Kedanian, and discussed with him the current situation. The President discussed, with the Minister of Tourism, the status of the tourism sector, and recent developments encountered. From his side, Kedanian briefed President Aoun on the positive results achieved by the tourist season, before October 17th. President Aoun met MP, Antoine Pano, and deliberated with him on the general situation and recent political developments. Afterwards, the President received his personal representative to the International Organization of “La Francophonie”, Dr. Jarjoura Hardan, at Baabda Palace. Hardan briefed President Aoun on the activities of the organization, and the upcoming meetings which will be discussed in its work program in the coming months.–Presidency Press Office
Hariri receives Salame: Governor has immunity, FPM obstructed work of government
NNA /January 15/2020
Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri condemned the incidents that took place last night in Hamra area. He said: “The logic of destroying the streets of Hamra, Saifi and others is unacceptable. The citizens of Beirut, and I am one of them, are fed up with this matter.”
He asked: “Where were the security forces and the Lebanese army when these events took place?” and called on them to do their duty to protect the people, institutions and every citizen or institution subjected to violence.
Hariri responded to the campaigns against the Central Bank Governor Riad Salame, and asked: “Who borrowed the money and spent it? The Central Bank Governor or the Lebanese State? Who failed to solve the electricity problem? The Central Bank Governor or the Lebanese State?” accusing the Free Patriotic Movement of obstructing the work of the government.
Hariri’s remarks came during a chat with journalists after his meeting with Central Bank Governor Riad Salame this evening at the Center House. He said: “The right to demonstrate in Lebanon is natural and everyone knows how the caretaker government dealt with all the demonstrators. But what happened last night pictured an ownerless permissible Beirut. No, Beirut is not like that. The logic of destroying the streets of Hamra, Saifi and others is unacceptable. The peaceful demonstrations are welcome, but others are rejected. The people of Beirut, and I am one of them, are fed up with this matter. We, as a movement, are silently sitting in our homes, but where are the security forces and the Lebanese Army? The security forces must carry out their duties to protect the people, institutions and every citizen or institution subjected to violence.”
Hariri responded to the campaigns against Central Bank Governor Riad Salame. He said: “Everyone wants to blame the Central Bank for all the financial woes in the country. But we have to know one thing. There are 47 to 50 billion dollars that the Lebanese state borrowed for electricity. If we had accomplished the reforms required for electricity since day one, there would be 47 billion in the pockets of the Lebanese today. But these billions are today in the pockets of the owners of illegal generators and you know who are the owners of illegal generators.”
He added: “Before blaming someone, we have to see where this money went and how it was spent and what is the responsibility of the political parties in losing these sums.”
He continued: “Some say that I am a prime minister and I am responsible. This is certain, but there were those who had nothing to do except to disrupt the work of the government, and everyone knows who they are.” Asked who they are, he answered: “The Free Patriotic Movement was the one obstructing the work of the government.”
In response to a question about those who accuse the Future movement of obstructing the solution to the electricity crisis, Hariri said: “Let them say where we obstructed the solution. Were we in charge of the Ministry of Energy once since 2008 and after that? Even during the days of Martyr Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and until today? I want to ask: Who borrowed and spent the money? The Central Bank Governor or the Lebanese State? Who failed to solve the electricity crisis? The Central Bank Governor or the Lebanese State?”
On what he called “a campaign to uproot the Central Bank Governor”, Hariri said: “There are people who do not understand the economy or numbers, and give economic information that has no basis or pillars. The topic is very easy, if there was 24 hour electricity in Lebanon, it would have been able to earn money from electricity.”
As for the talk about the intention of the new government to dismiss the Central Bank Governor and the Director General of the Internal Security Forces, Major General Imad Othman, he said: “Let them form the government first. The Governor has immunity and nobody can dismiss him, and let every government assume its responsibilities. I will not get ahead of things, and like any political team, we will give the new government a chance to work and see what it will produce, and then we will decide our position on it. Didn’t the martyr prime minister do the same?”In response to a question, Hariri denied having faced a political coup, specifically from Speaker Nabih Berri. Asked: It was said that you returned to Lebanon after you were asked to implement the role of a caretaker premier, he replied: “I returned to Lebanon because it is my duty to come back and be among the people. I am no one’s employee.”
Lebanon banks in tatters after angry night-time demos
Arab News/January 15/2020
BEIRUT: Public anger against cash-strapped banks boiled over in crisis-hit Lebanon where demonstrators armed with metal rods, fire extinguishers and rocks attacked branches in protest at controls that have trapped the savings of ordinary depositors. The Red Cross said Wednesday that at least 37 people were injured in an overnight showdown during which protesters smashed windows of banks and scuffled with security forces in the capital’s Hamra district. Lebanese politicians are watching on as the economy collapses, the senior UN official in Lebanon said on Wednesday, rebuking a political elite that has failed to form a government as the country sinks deeper into economic and financial crisis. Jan Kubis, UN special coordinator for Lebanon, also noted that central bank (BDL) governor Riad Salameh had requested extraordinary powers to manage the economy — an apparent reference to his request for extra authorities to regulate controls being implemented by commercial banks. “Lebanon is truly unique — the BDL Governor requesting extraordinary powers to at least somehow manage the economy while those responsible watch it collapsing. Incredible,” Kubis wrote in a Twitter post. Police said 59 people were detained, making it one of the largest waves of arrests since Lebanon’s anti-government protest movement began on October 17 demanding a complete government overhaul.
As the movement nears the start of its fourth month, banks have become a prime target of demonstrators who charge them with driving the country toward its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. On Wednesday morning in the commercial district of Hamra, a banking hub, almost every branch was left with smashed display windows, destroyed ATMs and graffiti-covered walls. Banks opened their doors despite the wreckage, as cleaners wiped spray paint off walls and workers replaced window fronts. With some ATMs destroyed beyond repair, passers-by looked on in astonishment at the aftermath of the night-time assault on banks.
“There is a lot of anger,” Alia said in front a damaged branch. “You have to go to the bank twice to withdraw just $200.” Banks have since September arbitrarily capped the amount of dollars customers can withdraw or transfer abroad, in a country where the greenback and the Lebanese pound are used interchangeably.Although no formal policy is in place, most lenders have limited withdrawals to around $1,000 a month, while others have imposed tighter curbs. Sparked by a grinding liquidity crunch, the controls are increasingly forcing depositors to deal in the plummeting pound, amounting to what experts are calling a de facto banking “haircut.”The local currency has lost over a third of its value against the dollar on the parallel market, plunging to almost 2,500 against the US dollar over the past week. The official rate was pegged at 1,507 Lebanese pounds to the greenback in 1997. Demonstrators accuse banks of holding their deposits hostage while allowing politicians, senior civil servants and bank owners to transfer funds abroad. Banks have as a result transformed into arenas of conflict, where shouting and tears abound, as depositors haggle tellers to release their money. Compounding the situation, debt-burdened Lebanon has been without a government since Saad Hariri resigned as prime minister on October 29 under pressure from the anti-government protests.
Lebanon’s under-fire politicians have yet to agree on a new cabinet line-up despite the designation last month of Hassan Diab, a professor and former education minister, to replace Hariri. The designated premier has pledged to form a government of independent experts — a key demand of protesters — but acknowledged last week that some parties were hindering his attempts. The UN envoy to Lebanon, Jan Kubis, on Wednesday condemned the wrangling between politicians who he said have turned a deaf ear to the country’s woes. “Politicians, don’t blame the people, blame yourselves for this dangerous chaos,” he said in a strongly-worded statement, accusing them of standing by and watching the economy “collapse.” Piling extra pressure on the premier-designate, demonstrators have returned to the streets since Saturday after a brief lull over the end-of-year holidays. They staged a demonstration Tuesday outside Diab’s house at the launch of “a week of wrath.”But Hamra was the main target of Tuesday night’s demonstrations, with protesters hurling stones and fire crackers at security forces who responded with tear gas. They splattered walls with graffiti, vandalized street signs and sparked a blaze outside the Association of Banks head office. Showing no sign of backing down, demonstrators called for another demonstration outside Lebanon’s central bank building later Wednesday. Main arteries were closed in north and east Lebanon and several schools stayed closed after the latest unrest.
Injuries, Tear Gas as Clashes Erupt outside Central Bank
Associated Press/Naharnet/January 15/2020
Clashes erupted Tuesday evening between protesters and security forces outside the central bank on Beirut’s Hamra Street.
The National News Agency said the confrontation started after some protesters tried to bring down a security barrier protecting the bank’s premises. The agency said security forces fired tear gas after protesters hurled stones and firecrackers. LBCI TV said several protesters and policemen were injured in the standoff as many demonstrators were arrested by riot police. Protesters meanwhile blocked the road with burning trash bins and other obstacles. MTV’s correspondent meanwhile said the channel’s crew were attacked by protesters claiming to be supporters of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Speaker Nabih Berri. The TV network broadcast a video of angry young men, some masked, who were chanting pro-Nasrallah slogans and attacking the crew. Earlier, a protesting young man told MTV that he came from Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hizbullah stronghold, to exclusively protest against the policies of Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh. He added that he supports the anti-government protesters as long as they do not insult Nasrallah or Berri. Later in the evening, security forces called on “peaceful protesters” to leave the area, signalling that they would use more force to contain the situation.
Media reports meanwhile said that some CCTV cameras and the facades of several banks were vandalized by rioters. Anti-government protesters had brought the country to a standstill since the early morning hours, decrying authorities’ handling of the economic and political crises.
Protests have taken place inside commercial banks over the last few weeks as depositors tried to access their accounts. But Tuesday night’s violence was the first outside the central bank. “We are worried about losing our savings … Lebanon is not an easy country to save in,” said Riva Daniel, 40 years old, who was among those protesting outside the central bank since earlier in the day. “We don’t trust the banks here anymore.”
Lebanon: Threats of Escalation If Govt not Formed Within 48 Hours
Beirut- Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 15 January, 2020
The process of forming a new government has entered a critical stage with a request for the birth of the cabinet within 48 hours; otherwise, the country could face a major political and popular escalation. The unspecified time limit, which was given to Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab by the political forces that entrusted him with the formation of the government, coincided with a 48-hour-deadline that the popular movement announced in front of Diab’s house on Tuesday. Sources close to the designated premier, however, told Asharq Al-Awsat that his government lineup was ready, “based on the criteria he had set upon his designation”. But Diab said that obstacles were hindering the announcement of the new government. Reports emerged on Tuesday saying that Diab requested a 48-hour-deadline to announce his cabinet – information strongly rejected by his sources. Meanwhile, Speaker Nabih Berri spoke about a positive atmosphere following a meeting with the head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), Foreign Minister in the resigned government Gebran Bassil on Tuesday. Berri’s visitors quoted him as saying: “A window of hope was opened; we hope that it would turn into a door.” Following a meeting of the FPM’s Strong Lebanon parliamentary bloc on Tuesday, Bassil said: “We never had a special [portfolio] request, except that of forming a government of salvation. And in light of the developments that took place today, we are further motivated to assume our responsibility, now more than ever.”“By virtue of our parliamentary responsibilities, we either grant confidence or withhold it, and the criterion is the [government’s] ability to rescue [the country]. Neither did we previously choose [a candidate], nor will we name one today,” he emphasized. “Words about quotas and blocking third are groundless,” the minister stressed, adding that reforms could not be achieved with the same economic and financial policy adopted over the past 30 years.
Lebanon’s Hariri condemns vandalism after night of violence
Al Arabiya English/Wednesday, 15 January 2020
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri condemned the vandalism that took place overnight Tuesday in Lebanon’s capital Beirut, and referred to it as “suspicious.”“The attack on Hamra Street is not acceptable under any slogans,” Hariri said on Twitter. He also said he refuses to be a “false witness” to activities “that could lead the whole country to ruin.”Hariri refuses to head any government to cover up “acts that are rejected and condemned by all standards of ethics and politics.”The former Lebanese prime minister calls for judicial action to prosecute those tampering with the safety of the capital.
Lebanese security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters outside the country’s central bank on Tuesday evening, clashing with dozens of people who pelted them with stones and fireworks. A group of protesters attempting to enter the Lebanese Central Bank on Hamra Street tried to force their way into the building but were stopped but anti-riot police. Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri also condemned the vandalism at the protests.
Hariri Rejects Reviving Lebanon’s Caretaker Cabinet
Beirut – Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 15 January, 2020
Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri has said that the solution to Lebanon’s political crisis lies in forming a new government rather than reviving the resigned cabinet. In a chat with reporters, Hariri said he was assuming his duties as head of the caretaker government in line with the constitution.
Hariri spoke after heading the meeting of his Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc at the Center House in Beirut. “Since submitting my resignation, I have been assuming my responsibilities as caretaker Prime Minister. I am surprised by remarks about the caretaker government because I do not see anything stalled at this level,” he said. He added that it was not clear for him where he had “failed” in his job as a caretaker premier. “PM-designate Hassan Diab has the task of forming a government with those who designated him, so let him form the cabinet with the president,” stressed Hariri. Asked whether he was in favor of reviving the caretaker government, Hariri said: “I am with the formation of a new government, not with reviving a cabinet that resigned at the request of protesters.”Hariri resigned on October 29, declaring he had hit a dead end in trying to resolve a crisis unleashed by huge protests against the ruling elite. “Is there a light at the end of the black tunnel?” a reporter asked Hariri on Tuesday. He responded by saying: “We can get out of this tunnel on the condition that we put our differences aside and give ministerial portfolios to whoever actually knows how to manage them.”The Mustaqbal bloc meeting, which was chaired by Hariri, criticized earlier the delay in government formation, saying the political bickering over political spoils reflected “the denial toward the economic and financial dangers.”
Lebanese banking association condemns delay in forming new government: Statement
Reuters, Beirut/Wednesday, 15 January 2020
Lebanon’s banking association condemned on Wednesday what it called a “great and irresponsible tardiness” in forming a new government, following a night of vandalism on Tuesday against banks.In a statement, the group said that banks were doing as much as they can “to preserve what is left of our national economy,” and that the delay in forming a new government had made them a target of violence.
Banks in Tatters after Angry Night-Time Demos
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 15/2020
Cleaners in crisis-hit Beirut swept away shattered glass outside banks Wednesday after angry night-time protests over informal capital controls that left dozens of people injured. The commercial district of Hamra, a banking hub, was the scene of overnight scuffles between security forces and protesters furious over the curbs that have trapped their savings. They torched waste bins, destroyed ATMs and smashed the display windows of banks using fire extinguishers, rocks and metal rods. They splattered walls with graffiti, vandalised street signs and sparked a blaze outside the Association of Banks, as part of what protesters have billed a “week of wrath”. At least 37 people on both sides were injured as security forces fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, a Red Cross spokesperson told AFP. Banks in Hamra reopened despite the damage, with cleaners wiping spray paint off walls and workers replacing window fronts.
Municipality workers replaced traffic lights.
With some ATMs destroyed beyond repair, passers-by looked on in astonishment at the aftermath of the assault on banks. Now in its third month, Lebanon’s anti-government protest movement is increasingly targeting banks blamed for driving the country towards its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. Demonstrators accuse banks of holding their deposits hostage while allowing politicians, senior civil servants and bank owners to transfer money abroad, despite restrictions that prevent most Lebanese from carrying out such transfers. Although no formal policy is in place, most lenders have arbitrarily capped withdrawals at around $1,000 a month, while others have imposed tighter restrictions. Sparked by a grinding liquidity crunch, the informal controls are increasingly forcing depositors to deal in the plummeting Lebanese pound. The local currency has lost over a third of its value against the dollar on the black market, plunging to almost 2,500 against the US dollar. The official rate has been pegged at 1,507 Lebanese pounds to the greenback since 1997. Protests had dwindled to symbolic gatherings since last month when Hassan Diab, a professor and former education minister, was designate premier. But Lebanese have returned to the streets since Saturday, when hundreds gathered across the country to vent their frustration. The protesters are demanding a new government made up solely of independent technocrats. Analysts warn this may be a tall order in a country ruled by a sectarian power-sharing system since the end of its devastating 15-year civil war.
Berri Slams ‘Unbelievable’ Hamra Rioting, Reassures on Small Deposits
Naharnet/January 15/2020
Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday condemned the overnight clashes and rioting on Beirut’s Hamra Street, describing them as “unbelievable.” “In my name and in the name of parliament, we announce our strong condemnation of what happened on Hamra Street, which is unacceptable,” Berri said during his weekly meeting with lawmakers in Ain el-Tineh. “I’m not accusing certain individuals and I’m not accusing the civil protest movement. There was something deliberate and systematic by unknown individuals. Do they want to destroy the country?” Berri added. “Beirut is the capital of all of us… and what happened is unbelievable. Actually if the protest movement is like this, it is neither a protest movement nor a revolution,” the Speaker went on to say. Noting that security forces have arrested a number of “suspects,” Berri called for “holding the perpetrators accountable, whichever side or sect they may belong to.”Separately, Berri put MPs in the picture of the meeting between the Finance Parliamentary Committee and the central bank governor, reassuring the Lebanese over “their savings and anxiousness over their bank deposits, especially those belonging to small depositors and expats.”“Measures are being prepared in order to protect the people’s money and public funds,” the Speaker added. “Parliament is ready to secure the protection of people’s rights,” he said.
Jumblat Condemns Hamra Rioting, Urges Electricity Reform
Naharnet/January 15/2020
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Wednesday condemned the overnight rioting on Beirut’s Hamra Street. “Hamra Street is the jewel of coexistence, the hub of cultural clubs and launchpad of the national resistance, and Beirut’s main heritage remained there,” Jumblat tweeted. “As I condemn what happened yesterday under the excuse of banks, I remind that one of the main reasons behind the current financial crisis is the opposition of some of the current government’s parties to the reform of the electricity sector,” Jumblat added.
Report: Diab, Khalil Hold ‘Three-Hour’ Talks amid Lineup Hurdles
Naharnet/January 15/2020
PM-designate Hassan Diab held a three-hour meeting over the government formation with caretaker finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil dispatched by Speaker Nabih Berri, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday. According to the daily, Khalil assured Diab that the Speaker “does not want to terminate his unfinished mission” as he struggles to line-up the government. Berri wants the PM-designate to “waive conditions hindering the formation” and form an 18-seat cabinet instead of 24, to allow the participation of more politicians, said the newspaper. But according to leaked information, Diab considers Berri’s demand “an end to his mission before it started,” confirming that he insists on keeping the pledges he made to the Lebanese to form a small government of “independent specialists,” not affiliated with political parties. On Monday, Berri announced that his parliamentary bloc would not participate in a government of “independent specialists,” upon which Diab is insisting. The daily added that “Diab wants to keep his obligations being a major element in gaining the confidence of the Lebanese, international community and donor countries.”Diab was tasked in December with forming a government, but the rival political parties have failed to agree on names put forward for the various ministries.
Reports: New Govt. May be Imminent after Agreement on Foreign Portfolio
Naharnet/January 15/2020
The formation of the new government might be imminent after a row over the foreign affairs portfolio was resolved, a media report said. MTV said Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab “accepted to give the foreign affairs portfolio to Nassif Hitti and the economy portfolio to Demianos Qattar.”LBCI television meanwhile reported that the parties that named Diab have decided to “facilitate” his mission. The TV network added that the cabinet line-up is almost final and only needs an agreement on the energy portfolio and the deputy PM post.
How Lebanon can break free from the past
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/January 15/2020
Lebanon is stuck in the past — a no man’s land where there is no rule of law and no understanding of the innovation and changes coming to the world. It is a country where Carlos Ghosn, a fleeing fugitive, is received by the president and Hassan Nasrallah promises to avenge Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian national, with terror. Where else would this be accepted? Worst of all, some people — mainly public officials — consider both events to be justified.
In these two unrelated events, we can understand why the people of Lebanon, particularly the youth, have taken to the streets. They want nothing to do with these images of the past. The Lebanese are talented, tech savvy entrepreneurs with creative minds who are successful all over the world. Yet it seems that, in Lebanon, we go back to sectarianism and “blood and soil.” It is this archaic state of the country that needs to be torn down in order to put forward a vision for a rebuilt nation.
As the dust settles on the most impactful recent event — Soleimani’s demise — the protests in Lebanon will continue and will face the same ruthless answers from Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy, and the old state structure. It is, therefore, time to change everything. It is time to step into the age of innovation and disrupt the political, security and economic legacy that rules Lebanon. It is time for a new constitution and a new republic: One that empowers and gives the Lebanese people the capacity to fulfill their potential and seek a better future.
For this vision to come to fruition, there is an urgent need for the protesters to organize. A national transition committee needs to be prepared; one that will run the affairs of the country while preparing for a new constitution. All former political formations should be excluded from participating and its objectives should not be to anchor the country within a specific political orientation. In other words, this committee should not be a politburo or ersatz of the Ba’ath Party. It should be used to build state institutions. As it runs the country’s affairs, the committee will also have the responsibility of preparing for a new constitution, which will lead to a referendum. Only then can elections be held to choose the country’s new representatives.
As for now, it is too late for the country to be run by a government chosen by the regime, for legislative elections, or even for a so-called technocratic government.Protests have made the will of the people clear but, if nothing is done to build new sovereign institutions, all will be lost and, worse, the forces of chaos can take over, especially as a steep financial crisis looms. A serious plan by a respected committee would also attract more support domestically and internationally. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. People need to see a clear path into the future, not just the rejection of the current regime. If this plan is put forward, then Nasrallah’s threats can be compared to the buggy whip industry, which thrived when carriages were the main transportation method, but disappeared with the appearance of the automotive industry. If we do not prepare and work for this better future, then Lebanon will descend into chaos. Once again, despite the gloomy current outlook, there is great hope for change. With more voices rising, Lebanon will not be a refuge for the ills of the past for long.
• Khaled Abou Zahr is CEO of Eurabia, a media and tech company. He is also the editor of Al Watan Al Arabi.
The Other Iran and the Regional-Civil Binary
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/January, 15/2020
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity…” said Charles Dickens as he proceeded to list the binary opposites at the time of the French Revolution.
This excerpt from his novel A Tale of Two Cities can be used despite what the British author intended; to characterize the majority of revolutions throughout history. At least before 1989, most of those extraordinary epics involved civil and regional wars, some stymied by revolutions while others stymied revolutions, either at the time or after a while. In our region, the specter of the American-Iranian conflict hangs over the two ongoing Iraqi and Lebanese revolutions. This specter feeds on civil and sectarian fragmentation in both societies. When the regional and the civil are complementary, the counter-revolution appears to have local sources, precisely like the revolution — a legitimacy confronting another legitimacy.
This is precisely what happened to the first wave of Arab revolutions, especially in Syria, Libya, and Yemen. The regional and the civil consolidated, not as extensions of the revolution or its subsidiary, but as its opposite and assassin.
This wringing of Iraq today between Tehran and Washington is the best example of this tendency.
Alternatively: In confronting the peacefulness of both of these revolutions, the violence of this regional conflict is trying to invoke the violence that sectarian conflict necessarily entails, it is nurturing and embracing it. The first, the peaceful- following in the footsteps of the 2011 revolutionary wave- wants to free the region from the “Arab exceptionalism”. The second, the violent- following in the footsteps of the repression that confronted those revolutions- wants the contrary.
Let us take note, that neither of the two regional poles is Napoleonic, concerned with spreading emancipatory values in the regions and countries that it extends to, or even desires to do so. On the one hand, Khomeinist Iran is an explicit enemy of revolutions, dubbing them conspiracies, while the same revolutions run up against the political map that was drawn by Iranian expansion. The United States, on the other hand, is not against revolutions in the same sense that Iran is, but under Trump and Obama before him, it is content with not intervening except in defending US interests and American lives. The unstable relationship between Washington and the Kurds is a good example of this.
This standpoint, unfortunately, is popular in the US and the West in general. Take a look at, for example, the media coverage of Carlos Ghosn’s escape from Japan to Lebanon that has far exceeded that of the Iraqi and Lebanese revolutions.
Therefore, we are not exaggerating when we say that neutralizing both countries in the regional conflict is one of the conditions for limiting the sectarian dimension and its effectivity, and consequently, is one of the most important conditions for this promised change.
In these two countries, particularly, modern history has recorded more than one attempt to overcome the sectarian in the state. These attempts were frustrated by the regional that thwarted changed: With King Faisal I in the thirties in Iraq, then Abd al-Karim Qasim in the fifties and sixties, and Fuad Chehab after the miniature civil war of 1958 in Lebanon.
Awareness of this makes one afraid of the complementarity between the civil and the regional. This explains the mighty millions in Iraq a few days ago who rejected both Iranian and American guardianships. It was accompanied by the words of Ayatollah al-Sistani that the country should be ruled by its people and not the West on its behalf. This Baghdadi standpoint found its translation in Karbala, where two protesters were killed, and ten were injured before they set fire to the Badr Organization office, one of the militias under the Popular Mobilization Forces, and later broke into the governorate building.
What was and still is astonishing, is that this happened after Qassem Soleimani’s death was predicted to be the end of the Iraqi revolution.
Simultaneously, without being blackmailed by Soleimani’s death and in a “No voice is louder than the voice of battle against the US” ambiance, the Lebanese revolution retrieved the heat it had in its first days, and the revolutionary style returned to the streets of Beirut.
This is no doubt a difficult task, and if the regional – civil binary succeeded, the rebels would fail. The new factor is once again Tehran. As a result of this factor, one can legitimately doubt the luck of this binary. Those brave young Iranians decided not to participate in Soleimani’s funeral, and instead participate in the ceremonies honoring the victims in the civilian aircraft who were killed in the name of avenging Soleimani. They ripped apart photos of the military leader and demanded that the spiritual and political leader leaves. They demanded death to the “dictator” and the idea of “al-Wali al-Faqih”. They also called the Revolutionary Guard Corps ISIS. If this wave escalates at the heart of the Empire, the role of the “regional” will weaken along with its capacity to summon the civil in the Empire’s periphery. If that happens, then in Charles Dickens’s words, we can say that “the best of times” could beat its “worst”.
Funding Lebanon is Funding Hezbollah
A.J. Caschetta/The Jerusalem Post/January 15/2020
Like it or not, Hezbollah has a lock on Lebanon.
December 2019 was a bizarre month in America’s nearly four-decade-long struggle with Hezbollah. It ended with the US embassy in Baghdad under attack by one form of Hezbollah angry at the deaths of their comrades killed in Iraq and Syria on December 29. The Trump administration killed their comrades in another form of Hezbollah because they killed an American contractor and wounded others in Kirkuk on December 27. What makes this so weird is that the month began quite differently when on December 6 the US sent $105 million to Lebanon, a country controlled by Hezbollah.
After the Trump administration withheld $105 million in aid to Lebanon’s military in late September, the Washington press corps thought it smelled another Ukraine-style Trump scandal. The New York Times complained that Trump “officials halted the funding to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), which Congress, the Pentagon and the State Department had approved, at a critical time.”
U.S. media outlets have missed the reality that Iran runs Lebanon like a Shia colony.
The Los Angeles Times fretted that Trump was withholding money precisely as Lebanon “convulses under an unprecedented wave of anti-government protests” and announced that Lebanon’s army is “viewed as a guarantor of stability.”
The Washington Post assured its readers that “there is little to no evidence to suggest that the LAF actively cooperates with Hezbollah.” The qualifiers “little to no” and the adverb “actively” betray an editorial caution that imply some evidence of at least passive LAF-Hezbollah cooperation.
Somehow each of these media outlets has missed the reality that Iran runs Lebanon like the Shia colony it has become. Up until he was killed on January 2, Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s al-Quds Force, traveled freely to and throughout Lebanon like a Persian general keeping a watchful eye on the indigenous regiments in the northernmost satrapy of his master’s empire. One of that empire’s most reliable tools is Hezbollah, which controls the Lebanese government.
Michel Aoun wouldn’t be president without Hezbollah’s support.
Under Lebanon’s “confessional” government, the speaker of the parliament is always a Shia Muslim, the president is a Maronite Christian, and the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim. Nabih Berri, the Amal movement party leader, is the speaker of a parliament controlled by Hezbollah. Lebanon’s president, Michel Aoun, wouldn’t be president without Hezbollah’s approval, which he first earned in 2006 by allying his Free Patriotic Movement to the Shia terrorist organization. He supported Hezbollah in its 2007 war against Israel and in turn has enjoyed its support ever since. Lebanon had no prime minister for since Saad Hariri resigned in October. Then Aoun announced on December 19 that he had chosen Hassan Diab, a Hezbollah favorite, to be the new prime minister. Of course, the Hezbollah-controlled parliament approved with a majority vote.
The Lebanese government is the Hezbollah government.
“There has been no state of Lebanon for some time now,” as Mordechai Kedar of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies says, for Hezbollah controls everything; Lebanon’s “parliament, government, president, and all of the other state institutions are nothing more than a façade for players directed by [Hassan] Nasrallah.”
Nations give arms and cash to other nations for self-interested reasons.
Since 2006, the US has sent over $1.7 billion to the Lebanese Armed Forces. What has been achieved by this money, and what evidence is there that the LAF is anything other than the “legal wing” of Hezbollah?
The current impeachment rhetoric notwithstanding, all foreign policy is a quid pro quo. Unlike relief efforts, rescue missions and vaccination programs, which are philanthropic endeavors undertaken out of altruism, nations give arms and cash to foreign powers and train foreign troops for selfish reasons. If the recipient isn’t an ally and isn’t willing to promote the donor nation’s interest, either directly or indirectly, it doesn’t deserve the investment.
Egypt’s American-funded military fights American foes.
Compare US aid to Lebanon with US aid to Egypt. The Egyptian military actually does work to maintain stability in Egypt, exercising strong arm tactics against Islamists and terrorists. Though far from fully representing American ideals or always promoting America’s interests, among the Egyptian military’s mixed record is a history of fighting American foes. For instance, since General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took over in 2013, the Egyptian military has on numerous occasions flooded Hamas tunnels with sea water or raw sewage, killing an unknown number of Hamas killers and hindering their missile-smuggling operations. The Egyptian military has worked with the Israeli military in operations against ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula. Maybe this is why Trump called Sisi his “favorite dictator.”
US investments in Egypt have paid much better returns than those in other parts of the Muslim world. For well over a decade, Pakistan not only squandered US cash and did very little to promote our interests, but also lied to us about many things – the Taliban, the Haqqanis, the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden.
Perhaps the most absurd comment about aid to Lebanon came from former US ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman who told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in November that aid to the LAF should be restored “because of the program’s merit in terms of improving the LAF’s counterterrorism performance.” This is laughable. If the LAF is not fighting Hezbollah it is not engaging in any meaningful counterterrorism.
Lebanon’s military should receive more U.S. aid only after it establishes a record of killing Hezbollah terrorists.
When the LAF establishes a record of killing Hezbollah terrorists, it will have earned a second chance at American aid. Until then, Lebanon should be recognized as a Hezbollah stronghold, the northern frontier of the Iran’s Shia Empire.
Congress, the Pentagon and the State Department may think that sending money to Lebanon is a good idea, but it isn’t. Sending money to Lebanon means sending money to Hezbollah. It’s that simple.
*A.J. Caschetta is a Ginsberg-Ingerman fellow at the Middle East Forum and a principal lecturer at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
