A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For January 29-30/2020 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 105th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
January 30/2020
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 29-30/2020
Exposure Of Iran’s Big Lie Of Liberation & Resistance/Elias Bejjani/January 29/2020
Lebanon Blasts Trump Mideast Plan
Aoun Discusses Trump Peace Plan with Hitti
Aoun contacts President Abbas, meets Foreign Minister to discuss implications of so-called “Deal of the Century”
Berri: Deal of the century a bribe to sell Palestinian land with Arab money
Hitti: No One Can Impose Naturalization on Us
Report: Salameh Follows Up on Exchange Market Control Measures
Diab Expresses Solidarity with ‘Palestinian Cause’
Fahmi meets Rampling, UN’s Kubis, Lazzarini
Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon Insulted by Trump’s ‘Shameful’ Deal
Geagea Says Popular Uprising wasn’t Targeted against Hariri
Jbeil Highway Briefly Blocked after Activist Rabih al-Zein Arrested
Anti-Government Protesters Stage Demos in Beirut, Tripoli
Tokyo Prosecutors Raid Ghosn Ex-Lawyer’s Office
‘I’m Never Coming Back’: Lebanon Crisis Fuels Brain Drain
Protesters rally outside Swiss Embassy demanding transparent investigations over funds’ transfer
Sami Gemayel stresses need to distance Lebanon from potential negative repercussions of Deal of the Century
Kataeb meets in session to discuss latest developments
Msharrafieh tackles cooperation prospects with Norwegian, Danish delegations
Lebanon needs a long-term plans for its economy
WHO Says No Coronavirus in Lebanon, Reassures on Country’s Measures
Minister of Health meets Chinese Ambassador, confirms no Coronavirus cases among Lebanese in China
The Tentative Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plan and its Postulations/Charles Elias Chartouni/January 30/2020
Details Of The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorial published on January 29-30/2020
Exposure Of Iran’s Big Lie Of Liberation & Resistance
Elias Bejjani/January 29/2020
In fact the Trump-Netanyahu official announcement of the “Deal of the Century”, is a golden opportunity for Iran and Hezbollah to destroy Israel, if indeed their goal is to liberate … but because the emblem of liberation is a lie, nothing will happen. Hezbollah and Iran were and still using and abusing the liberation cause to serve their own Iranization, terrorism and expansionism hostile-Evil agenda
Lebanon Blasts Trump Mideast Plan
Naharnet/January 29/2020
Lebanese political parties, religious figures and officials denounced on Wednesday the US so-called Mideast peace plan unveiled Tuesday by US President Donald Trump, while Palestinian refugees in southern and northern camps expressed their rejection. Hizbullah said the plan represented an attempt to “wipe out the Palestinian people’s rights.”This “shameful move… could not have been made without the complicity and betrayal of a certain number of Arab regimes”, the Iranian-backed movement added. Al-Mustaqbal Movement expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people, denouncing the deal as a “new Balfourd Declaration.”“The deal cannot pass at the expense of the Palestinian people and their historic struggle to defend their land and sanctities, or at the expense of their legitimate rights to establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital,” a statement released by the Movement said.
Sidon Mufti Sheikh Salim Susan called on mosques in the southern city to focus their Friday speech on the “Palestinian cause.”“This Deal of the Century is ugly and reprehensible, it is totally rejected. Palestine is not for negotiations or bargaining, and it is not for sale,” said Susan. Senior Lebanese officials including President Michel Aoun and PM Hassan Diab also expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people rejecting Trump’s deal. Palestinian refugees in the southern camps of Sidon and Tyre, and in the northern camps of Beddawi went on strike as schools were closed in protest. Trump revealed the plan grants Israel much of what it has sought in decades of international diplomacy, namely control over Jerusalem as its “undivided” capital, rather than a city to share with the Palestinians. The plan also lets Israel annex West Bank settlements. Unveiled on Tuesday by US President Donald Trump, Lebanese officials and parties strongly denounced the plan and Palestinians called it biased and deserving to go in the “dustbin of history.”
Aoun Discusses Trump Peace Plan with Hitti
Naharnet/January 29/2020
President Michel Aoun discussed with Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti at the Presidential Palace the US President Donald Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, the National News Agency reported on Wednesday.
The plan grants Israel much of what it has sought in decades of international diplomacy, namely control over Jerusalem as its “undivided” capital, rather than a city to share with the Palestinians. The plan also lets Israel annex West Bank settlements. Unveiled on Tuesday, Lebanese parties strongly denounced the plan and Palestinians called it biased and deserving to go in the “dustbin of history.” Hizbullah said the plan “attempts to eradicate the historical and legal rights of the Palestinians,” and described it as “a shame deal,” stressing that it “would not have taken place without the complicity and betrayal of a number of Arab regimes that have been secretly and publicly involved in this plot.”
Aoun contacts President Abbas, meets Foreign Minister to discuss implications of so-called “Deal of the Century”
NNA /January 29/2020
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, on Wednesday stressed Lebanese solidarity, President and people, with the people of Palestine in confronting developments which arose from the so-called “Deal of the Century”, through a phone call with the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas. The President also assured the importance of Arab unity towards these developments, and stressed on Lebanese adherence to the Arab peace initiative which was approved by the Arab Summit (held in Beirut year 2002), especially regarding the Palestinian right of return to their lands, and the establishment of a Palestinian independent State, with Jerusalem as its capital.Moreover, President Michel Aoun received the Foreign Minister, Nassif Hetti, at the Presidential Palace, and discussed with him the general situation and recent regional developments. During the meeting, both sides discussed the reactions to US President, Donald Trump’s, announcement to the so-called “Deal of the Century”, and the Arab and international positions towards it. The discussion also tackled diplomatic issues, and Hitti’s perception of his ministerial role in the coming stage.—Presidency Press Office
Berri: Deal of the century a bribe to sell Palestinian land with Arab money
NNA/January 29/2020
Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri, on Wednesday said in a press release issued by his press office that “the deal of the century” has dashed the Palestinians’ little hope of building a country of their own, with Jerusalem its capital. “This agreement is just a bribe to sell the rights, sovereignty, dignity, and Palestinian Arab lands with Arab money,” Berri said. “We reconfirm that Lebanon and the Lebanese will not be false witnesses in the new death penalty against the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights, including their right to return home. We will not accept, regardless of the conditions, to be an accomplice in the sale or exchange of these rights,” the statement read. Finally Berri called on Arab and Muslim countries, especially the Palestinian people, to strengthen national unity and resistance in order to free up the occupied land and preserve the little remaining Arab dignity.
Hitti: No One Can Impose Naturalization on Us
Naharnet/January 29/2020
Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti stressed Wednesday that no one can impose the naturalization of Palestinian or Syrian refugees on Lebanon, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his long-awaited Mideast peace plan, which does not entail the return of Palestinian refugees. “The Arab Peace Initiative, which was unanimously endorsed at the Beirut Arab Summit in March 2002, represents a comprehensive and just approach to achieve permanent peace in the region,” Hitti said in a TV interview. “No one can impose on us the naturalization of anyone,” the minister added. Noting that he would stress commitment to the resolutions of the 2002 Arab Summit during the upcoming emergency Arab League meeting which will be held in Cairo, Hitti said no side has asked Lebanon to “agree to any issue in return for aid.”“The issue is not a real estate deal, we are talking about a people’s national identity,” the minister went on to say.
Report: Salameh Follows Up on Exchange Market Control Measures
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 29/2020
Central bank governor Riad Salameh held a meeting to tackle the procedures accompanying the arrest of some exchange house owners over violation reports, and the ways to control the money market as the country grapples with an unprecedented economic and monetary crisis, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday. Salameh held his meeting on Monday with President of the Banking Control Commission Samir Hammoud, Financial Prosecutor Ali Ibrahim, and head of exchange houses in Lebanon Mohammed Mrad, said the daily. Discussions focused on the procedures that will accompany Ibrahim’s decisions, who on Tuesday had six owners of exchange houses arrested for investigation over violations. The meeting also discussed ways to control the monetary market, according to the daily. Since October, the Lebanese pound, long pegged to the dollar, has lost up to 60% of its value in the parallel exchange market against the dollar and banks have imposed unprecedented capital controls to preserve liquidity. Money changers in protests-hit Lebanon agreed last week to cap the dollar exchange rate at 2,000 pounds as part of efforts to curb the local currency’s devaluation on the parallel market, which some failed to abide.
The Lebanese pound is officially pegged to the greenback at a rate of 1,500 to the dollar but the country’s sharp economic downturn has sent the currency into a tailspin in foreign exchange offices. Money changers have in recent weeks been trading dollars at more than 2,600 pounds. The Lebanese Money Changers Association said it had agreed with the central bank on “an exchange rate for the US dollar capped at 2,000 Lebanese pounds,” which was not respected by all.
Diab Expresses Solidarity with ‘Palestinian Cause’
Naharnet/January 29/2020
Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Wednesday rejected a peace plan unveiled by US Trump on Tuesday expressing solidarity with the “Palestinian cause.”“Jerusalem will remain the compass and Palestine will remain the cause,” he said in a tweet. Trump unveiled the so-called “Israeli-Palestinian peace plan” that grants Israel much of what it has sought in decades of international diplomacy, namely control over Jerusalem as its “undivided” capital, rather than a city to share with the Palestinians. The plan also lets Israel annex West Bank settlements. Lebanese parties strongly denounced the plan and Palestinians called it biased and deserving to go in the “dustbin of history.”
Fahmi meets Rampling, UN’s Kubis, Lazzarini
NNA/January 29/2020
Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Mohamed Fahmi, on Wednesday received British Ambassador to Lebanon, Chris Rampling, with whom he discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries and the projects undertaken by the UK in Lebanon, especially in the social domain.
During the meeting, Minister Fahmi hoped that the British governments continues its support to Lebanon and its people, stressing the need to give Lebanon’ current government a chance to prove itself, especially as it includes specialists who seek to secure the country’s unity and its recovery.
Fahmi stressed that the Interior Ministry is for all the Lebanese, saying the security services are carrying out their duties away from politics in order to preserve the peacefulness of demonstrations and the safety of demonstrators, and public and private properties.
Ambassador Rampling, in turn, hailed the performance of the security forces, hoping that they will not be part of the conflict, preserving their neutrality. Rampling said that the security forces and the Lebanese army are drawing with their performance, the map of the new Lebanon.
The UK Ambassador also expressed optimism regarding the new government in Lebanon despite the surrounding circumstances and pressures, pointing out that Britain is highly keen on Lebanon’s stability and unity, and it distinguishes between its position on Hezbollah and on the new government and the Lebanese people. On the other hand, Minister Fahmi met with the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jan Kubis, accompanied by the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in Lebanon, Philippe Lazzarini.
Kubis stressed donor countries’ support to Lebanon’s unity, people and stability. Kubis also expressed his readiness to work with the Lebanese government and follow up on the implementation of the Rome 2 decisions in terms of the equipment and development of the security forces.
Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon Insulted by Trump’s ‘Shameful’ Deal
Associated Press/Naharnet/January 29/2020
“Insulting.” “Shameful.” “A disgrace.” Those were some of the words used by Palestinian refugees in Lebanon on Wednesday to describe a White House plan for ending the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
At refugee camps across the country, Palestinians staged strikes, protests and sit-ins a day after U.S. President Donald trump revealed the long-awaited details of the plan, denouncing it as ridiculously lop-sided and saying it gives them no rights. “Trump’s words mean nothing to us. This isn’t his land for him to bargain or sell or give to someone else,” said Sawsan Warde, a middle-aged Palestinian woman at the crowded Bourj al-Barajneh camp in the Lebanese capital’s suburbs. “He can give the Jewish people or Netanyahu a part of his land, but Palestine is for us. It was, it is and will always be ours.”
The words reflected the deep bitterness felt by Palestinians at the plan unveiled by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday. The plan supports the Israeli position on nearly all of the most contentious issues in the decades-old conflict and falls far short of Palestinian demands, leaving them with disjointed areas and allowing Israel to annex its settlements in the occupied territory.
“A thousand no’s,” said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in response.
Among Palestinian refugees, many likened the plan to the Balfour Declaration, the British government’s promise in 1917 to Zionists to create a Jewish home in Palestine. “This is an extension of the Balfour declaration,” said Mariam Jibril, who took part in a protest at the Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp — an overpopulated, sprawling territory in the southern city of Sidon that houses up to 70,000 refugees and their descendants. “Trump thinks he controls the world and other countries. He imposes sanctions, opens and closes embassies as he wishes. … The world doesn’t work this way,” she said, saying Palestinians need to fight back with weapons because diplomacy and negotiations do not work. Protesters burned tires and pictures of Trump and Netanyahu. They also set fire to American and Israeli flags. Many expressed outrage at Gulf Arab countries they see as complicit in the plan unveiled Tuesday. Representatives from the Arab countries of Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates were present at the White House on Tuesday, but there were no Palestinian representatives.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war around its creation. Those refugees and their descendants now number around 5 million and are scattered across the region. The Palestinians believe they have the “right of return” to former properties, something Israel has always rejected, saying it would destroy Israel’s Jewish character. The White House plan says “there shall be no right of return by, or absorption of, any Palestinian refugee into the state of Israel.” It says refugees can live in the state of Palestine, become citizens of the countries where they live or be absorbed by other countries, adding that the U.S. will try to provide “some compensation” to refugees. “It is shameful and it makes you want to cry,” said Warde. “The collusion by Arab countries is what makes us want to cry even more. Whether from Bahrain or the UAE, we would never have thought an Arab country would take this stance.” Many said a return to armed conflict was now inevitable. “Neither Trump nor Netanyahu can decide for the 13 million Palestinian people that this land belongs to Israel,” said Mahmoud al-Haj, whose family hails from what is now the Israeli city of Safed.
“This is the land of our grandfathers and we will not give up Palestine which will only come back through resistance and arms.”
Geagea Says Popular Uprising wasn’t Targeted against Hariri
Naharnet/January 29/2020
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea announced Wednesday that the October 17 popular uprising has “managed to achieve several objectives” and was not exclusively targeted at toppling Saad Hariri’s government. “It is not as some has tried to depict it as being targeted against the premier in person; it is rather targeted against the entire system,” Geagea tweeted. “The LF was part of the system but it quickly interpreted the situations, facts and popular temper, deciding to be in harmony with the people’s choices,” the LF leader added.
Jbeil Highway Briefly Blocked after Activist Rabih al-Zein Arrested
Naharnet/January 29/2020
Mount Lebanon Examining Magistrate Bassam al-Hajj on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for the controversial activist Rabih al-Zein on charges of “incitement.”The arrest warrant was issued after al-Zein was interrogated for two hours at the Baabda justice palace. Al-Zein was accused of incitement over the recent torching of an ATM belonging to the Credit Libanais bank in Zouk and a Molotov attack on the Free Patriotic Movement’s office in Jounieh. Anti-government protesters Georges Azzi and Mohammed Srour had been detained in the same case. Later on Wednesday, protesters blocked the Jbeil highway with their cars for 15 minutes in protest at the detention of al-Zein, Srour and Azzi. They ended their protest upon the arrival of an army patrol. Al-Zein has been known for leading a group of road-blocking protesters in the northern city of Tripoli. He has also appeared at other protest sites across the country, raising suspicions about his role. He had been arrested for the first time in December over his controversial presence at the Justice Palace during an altercation between Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Ghada Aoun and MP Hadi Hbeish of al-Mustaqbal Movement.
Anti-Government Protesters Stage Demos in Beirut, Tripoli
Naharnet/January 29/2020
Anti-government protesters on Wednesday organized several rallies in the capital Beirut and the northern city of Tripoli. In Beirut, protesters rallied outside the Swiss embassy near the Ring bridge to demand that Switzerland carry out “transparent investigations to unveil the stolen funds and freeze the assets of Lebanese politicians accused of smuggling their money to Switzerland, especially after October 17, 2019.”“Those stolen funds belong to the Lebanese people, must be recovered and we will not remain silent about them,” the protesters said. Separately, a group of protesters gathered outside the Interior Ministry in Sanayeh to protest security forces’ Tuesday attempt to reopen roads around the Martyrs Square protest camp, accusing the ministry of seeking to dismantle their tents and end the sin-in, and consequently the popular uprising. The protesters stressed that they will remain camped at Martyrs Square, criticizing the removal of security forces guarding the site as a step that would leave them exposed to attacks by counter-demonstrators. They also decried that any of their demands has not been achieved until the moment. In Tripoli, protesters meanwhile rallied outside al-Mustaqbal Movement’s offices in protest at its bloc’s participation in a controversial parliament session that approved the 2020 state budget.
Tokyo Prosecutors Raid Ghosn Ex-Lawyer’s Office
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 29/2020
Tokyo prosecutors on Wednesday raided the office of a key Japanese lawyer who defended former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn before he skipped bail and fled Japan, local media said. Junichiro Hironaka had previously refused to comply with prosecutors who obtained a warrant to seize a computer used by Ghosn. The former auto tycoon’s bail conditions restricted his internet use to a terminal at his lawyer’s office. Hironaka was still serving as Ghosn’s lawyer when prosecutors raided his office the first time, but he has since resigned. Hironaka and the Tokyo district public prosecutor’s office declined to comment on the reported search, and it was not clear if the raid involved the seizure of the computer Ghosn used. Ghosn smuggled himself out of Japan late December to Lebanon in an elaborate escape, humiliating Japanese officials and his defence lawyers. Ghosn, who was originally arrested in Tokyo in November 2018, faced multiple financial misconduct charges, which he denies.
‘I’m Never Coming Back’: Lebanon Crisis Fuels Brain Drain
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 29/2020
When Lebanon’s protests erupted in October, thousands found a renewed commitment to their homeland and vowed to fix a country that has long fed its best and brightest to the diaspora.
Then the economy unravelled. Students and young professionals who had mobilised en masse to demand better opportunities in their home country started filling in immigration forms and applying to universities abroad. Mothers on bustling protest squares who had been complaining about their children living far away have since seen even more leave. With no clear path out of Lebanon’s worst economic crisis in decades, the will to remain has petered out and many are now scrambling for the exit. “I’m leaving and I’m never coming back,” said Youssef Nassar, a 29-year-old cinematographer who has booked a one-way ticket to Canada for next month. “Nothing is going right in this country for me to stay here.”Lebanon is suffering its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war and everyone is feeling the heat. Scores of companies have closed, salaries have been slashed, and unemployment rates are skyrocketing.
Inflation doubled between October and November, according to Lebanon’s Blominvest Bank, while the Lebanese pound has plunged by a third against the dollar in the parallel exchange market. Nassar criticised the political class for failing to chart a way out of the crisis.
“I have developed a hate for this country,” he said.
‘Won’t wait forever’
Nassar used to make a decent earning every month from shooting photo and video campaigns for fashion brands, advertising agencies and even English rock artist Steven Wilson. But since Lebanon’s economic crisis accelerated with the start of anti-government protests in October, with banks temporarily closing and later severely limiting withdrawals, he has only been booked once. Seven of his clients, including a high-profile member of the Lebanese parliament, have so far failed to pay the $25,000 they collectively owe him for previous projects. “I want to work on my career and my future,” said Nassar, who holds a Canadian passport. “I’m not willing to wait forever for the country to get better.” He is not the only one seeking better chances abroad. Information International, an independent Lebanon-based research body, estimates that the number of Lebanese who left the country and did not return in 2019 jumped by 42 percent on the previous year. Google searches from within Lebanon for the term “immigration” hit a five-year peak between November and December, according to Google Trends.
The last time the search term was that popular was right after Lebanon’s 2006 war with Israel. Immigration lawyers, for their part, say business is booming. “Demand is up by at least 75 percent,” said one immigration lawyer who asked not to be named to protect his business. He said he is currently processing 25 applications. Most are to Canada, which along with Australia is among the most popular destinations for Lebanese emigrants due to their demand for highly skilled people, the lawyer said. The bulk of his clients are educated youths and young professionals working in pharmaceuticals, information technology and finance.”They are leaving because of the economic and political situation,” he told AFP.
‘Tired of fighting’
Decades of conflict, sluggish growth and corruption have prompted many Lebanese to emigrate — a fact touted by Lebanese officials who boast the success of the country’s expatriates. Although there are no official figures, Lebanon’s diaspora is estimated to be more than double the size of its domestic population of four million. This chronic exodus has drawn the ire of demonstrators, who accuse politicians they view as corrupt of hijacking the country and forcing its people out. “I had been thinking about leaving ever since I was 16 years old,” said Fatima, an architect by training who is now 28. “When the revolution started, that was the very first time I ever felt like I belonged, the very first time I ever felt that Lebanon’s flag meant something to me.”But last month, Fatima lost a high-paying job at an international NGO after donors cut funding due to the crisis. “This is when everything changed for me,” she told AFP. She found an immigration lawyer and is in the process of applying to emigrate to Canada — something she is determined to complete. “I’m tired of fighting all the time,” she said. “I don’t think I will be failing my country if I leave,” she added. “I will be failing it if I stay and get more depressed and do nothing.”
Protesters rally outside Swiss Embassy demanding transparent investigations over funds’ transfer
NNA/January 29/2020
A group of protesters rallied outside the Swiss Embassy in Beirut near the Ring Bridge, demanding the Swiss State to “conduct transparent investigations over looted public money, and to freeze accounts of Lebanese politicians who are accused of transferring funds to Switzerland, especially after October 17th”, NNA Correspondent reported on Wednesday. Protesters stressed that “the looted public money belongs to the Lebanese people which must be recovered.”
Sami Gemayel stresses need to distance Lebanon from potential negative repercussions of Deal of the Century
NNA/January 29/2020
Head of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, MP Sami Gemayel, welcomed this Wednesday the Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon, Yasser Alawi, with talks touching on the latest developments in Lebanon and the region, especially with regard to what is known as the “Deal of the Century”, whereby Gemayel stressed “the need to distance Lebanon from any possible negative repercussions to generate from this Deal.”
Kataeb meets in session to discuss latest developments
NNA/January 29/2020
Kataeb Party politburo held on Wednesday its periodic meeting, presided over by Party ChieF, MP Sami Gemayel, to discuss most recent developments in the country. In a statement issued in the wake of the meeting, Kataeb Party considered that the 2020 state budget legislative session was “unconstitutional” marked by several violations, most importantly that the government has not yet obtained the confidence of Parliament, not to mention the absence of the closure of accounts. The Phalange Party also said that the Parliament in its current form no longer reflects the aspirations of the Lebanese people, who took to the streets for more than a hundred days. As per the Party’s statement, solution lies in early parliamentary elections to reproduce political life. Kataeb also called on the political authorities to step down and give way for a new group to come to power to change the prevailing approach and show seriousness in engaging in a profound reform process, without excluding the sovereignty of Lebanon, but rather seeking to consecrate its neutrality, as a main gateway for the recovery of the country.
Msharrafieh tackles cooperation prospects with Norwegian, Danish delegations
NNA/January 29/2020
Minister of Social Affairs, Ramzi Msharrafieh, welcomed this Wednesday the Director of the Norwegian Refugee Council in Lebanon, Carlo Gherardi, with whom he discussed the main activities and achievements made by the NRC, and the means to bolster cooperation with the Ministry. The Minister also met with a Danish delegation headed by the Danish Ambassador to Lebanon, Merete Juhl, in the presence of Senior Adviser of the International Economic Analysis Unit at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Torkild Byg. Discussion featured high on strengthening cooperation between the two countries, especially at the social level.
Lebanon needs a long-term plans for its economy
The National/January 29/2020
The country passed a budget for this year that fails to take into account its financial crisis
One week ago, the Lebanese saw the arrival of prime minister Hassan Diab in the Grand Serail. Yesterday, they witnessed his first day in action. Mr Diab oversaw the passing of a new Lebanese budget in a half-empty Parliament building surrounded by angry protesters.
The budget vote was boycotted by most western-leaning parties, such as Lebanese Forces and Kataib, as well as former and current members of government, except for Mr Diab. It was difficult to avoid attaching any symbolism to the image of Mr Diab, alone amid rows of empty seats. In his solitude, he was defending a budget that his own Cabinet did not draft, and that was championed most eagerly by Hezbollah and its allies – the very political extremists from whom Mr Diab’s appointment was meant to represent a departure. Lebanon’s new budget was designed by its previous government – that of prime minister Saad Hariri, who resigned in October, just before the country was hit with the full force of a financial crisis that risks throwing the Lebanese pound into freefall. The currency has already lost half of its value on the black market. Meanwhile, banks have imposed draconian capital controls on foreign currency withdrawals in the absence of any official guidelines from the Central Bank. The budget passed yesterday fails to address any of those problems. The original draft was dated and drawn up in haste just before Mr Hariri left office. It simply listed the total sums of money allocated to 30 ministries, 10 of which, in Mr Diab’s new cabinet, no longer exist. Mr Diab’s iteration is an adaptation containing unrealistic projections of revenue and expenditure, and no plan for the country’s economic crisis. Mr Hariri’s own Future Movement was among the parties to vote against the budget their leader helped to draft. The MPs who did cast a vote had to summon a certain amount of determination to do so; the entrance to parliament was blocked for a time by protesters, who shouted that their representatives in parliament no longer serve the very people they are supposed to represent. MPs are seen by Lebanon’s cross-religious protest movement as the perpetrators of a sectarian political elite, breaking faith with the population and eroding the population’s faith in the pound. Mr Diab and his Cabinet do not belong to any party. They were ushered into government by Hezbollah and its allies in an attempt to appease the protest movement. But this tokenistic move is only drawing further rage. Furthermore, a government that is truly hamstrung from breaking with Hezbollah’s paradigm has little chance of attracting the foreign financial assistance that Lebanon so desperately needs.
Mr Hariri’s own Future Movement was among the parties to vote against the budget their leader helped to draft
Mr Diab has vowed to tackle Lebanon’s woes head-on with a “national rescue” cabinet, and announced that his first diplomatic visit will be to some of Lebanon’s traditional donors and allies in the Gulf. The country’s finance minister is also set to meet with a senior official at the International Monetary Fund. But, as donors have long pointed out to successive Lebanese governments, securing funds requires serious initiatives to get the economy back on track. It also means that Mr Diab must gain the trust of international institutions and friendly countries that Lebanon has failed before. At the 2018 Cedre conference for economic development, international donors including France and Saudi Arabia pledged $11 billion to Lebanon, conditional on sweeping reforms. These reforms have yet to materialise. Mr Diab and his Cabinet now have a chance to make things right for Lebanon. But passing a budget without a long-term vision for the country’s embattled economy, and little support in the street as well as in Parliament, is an underwhelming achievement and will not be sufficient enough to secure the economy. Lebanon’s new cabinet would do well to remember that currencies are not the only things that operate on the basis of popular faith. Governments do, too.
WHO Says No Coronavirus in Lebanon, Reassures on Country’s Measures
Naharnet/January 29/2020
The Lebanon Office of the World Health Organization announced Wednesday in a statement that there are “no Coronavirus cases in Lebanon,” noting that the Ministry of Public Health is “closely monitoring the situation for the early detection of any Coronavirus infection, in line with the international health regulations of 2005.” “With the support of the WHO office in Lebanon, the Ministry of Public Health is exerting intensive efforts and working closely to increase preparedness and precautionary measures and to monitor the situation so as to reduce the risk of Coronavirus finding its way into the country, knowing that this global issue is rapidly developing,” the statement said. “The World Health Organization in Lebanon supports the national laboratory at the Rafic Hariri University Hospital to import laboratory test materials (primers) for the new Coronavirus from the World Health Organization to be able to confirm cases of infection. Also, all hospitals in Lebanon have received detailed instructions for diagnosis, prevention and care related to the new Coronavirus,” it added. The epidemic has killed more than 130 people and spread around the world since it first emerged in a live food market in China’s Wuhan in December. It has infected nearly 6,000 people across China. The maximum incubation period of the virus — the gap between infection and the appearance of symptoms — is thought to be two weeks, though in some cases symptoms have emerged within a matter of days. It is also not fully clear whether transmission can occur if a patient is not yet showing symptoms.
Minister of Health meets Chinese Ambassador, confirms no Coronavirus cases among Lebanese in China
NNA/January 29/2020
The Lebanon Office of the World He
Minister of Public Health, Dr. Hamad Hassan, on Wednesday discussed with Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon, Wang Kejian, the measures taken to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus in Lebanon. In the wake of the meeting, Minister Hassan delivered a statement in which he noted the preventive measures taken by the Chinese authorities, especially within the Wuhan region where the epidemic is spreading, stressing that these measures reflect a high level of responsibility. “The steps that are being implemented in various Arab and international airports are more than good, in addition to the measures being implemented by the World Health Organization and the ministries of health,” the Minister added. He went on to stress that there weren’t any Coronavirus cases among the Lebanese citizens present in China, noting that expatriates from China are obliged to cross through a third country, which increases protection measures to counter the transmission of the Coronavirus. Asked whether the preventive measures in Lebanon were sufficient enough to treat those infected with the virus in case of an outbreak in Lebanon, the Minister explained that there was a unit at the Rafic Hariri Governmental University Hospital that included four rooms in which those infected could be isolated and taken care of in terms of prevention. “The treatment of the Coronavirus is based on prevention, which is the most effective to protect the patient pending studies en route to a drug discovery,” he added. For his part, the Chinese ambassador explained that he had briefed Minister Hassan on the measures taken in China to terminate the spread of the Coronavirus and the great interest shown by the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party, headed by the Chinese President, to mobilize all the national capacities to address this virus.
“We have taken all the possible measures to limit the spread of the virus in China and prevent it from spreading to other countries, and we are cooperating in full responsibility and transparency with the World Health Organization to uncover studies that determine the means of treatment and prevention,” the Chinese diplomat explained.
“We have the full confidence and ability to halt the spread of the virus in China, in cooperation with the World Health Organization and other countries,” Kejian added. “The Chinese embassy is in close contact with the Ministry of Public Health in Lebanon, the quarantine center, and the relevant medical authorities, especially at Rafic Hariri International Airport,” the Chinese Ambassador explained. He announced that clear instructions had been circulated to the Chinese community in Lebanon and all travelers from China in terms of cooperating with the Lebanese health authorities, adhering to its directives and promptly reporting any symptoms indicating a suspected illness. “So far, no Coronavirus cases have been recorded among the Chinese community and travelers from China to Lebanon,” Kejian concluded.
The Tentative Israeli-Palestinian Peace Plan and its Postulations
Charles Elias Chartouni/January 30/2020
شارل الياس شرتوني: خطة السلام الإسرائيلية الفلسطينية المقترحة ومفترضاتها
Far from being a surprise, the adumbrations which preceded the release of the long awaited peace plan-drafted by the team commissioned by President Trump- were quite instructive about the unveiled final version. Otherwise, the endorsement of the proclamation of Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel, the transfer of the American embassy, and the blatant support of the Likud policies were, by and large, indicative of the clauses outlined in this peace proposal. What’s new is the endorsement of the Two States solution, the freezing of Israel’s colonization plans in the West Bank for four years, and the chances of contestation it offers the Palestinians, if they would ever engage this process, and the important financial offer ( 50 billion US dolllars ) to leverage Palestinian Nation-State building and developmental policies. The question which pops up at this juncture is whether Palestinians are eager to renounce their initial reservation, let alone boycott of the current administration, and seize the opportunity offered by this plan, to set a platform of negotiation and reengage the US administration and the Israelis, or they are going to stick to their initial obstructionism, and move forward towards relinquishing the Oslo agreement. Otherwise, are they able to overcome their internal rifts, build a working consensus among the different ailes of the Palestinian national movement and engage a different course of negotiations, at a time when their options are quite limited in an imploding Middle East, under the pressure of clashing international and regional power rivalries, and the conventional manipulation of the Palestinian political landscape by the contending Muslim and Arab power brokers. The endemic handicap of Palestinian politics lies in its inability to overcome enduring political stonewalling ( لا صلح، لا تفاوض، لا اعتراف، no peace, no negotiation, no recognition ), in spite of a legacy of indirect and direct negotiations which led to mutual recognition, working peace negotiations, and the formation of the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank. The stalled decade between 2010-2020, should not serve as a template for future political posturing and portend the demise of diplomatic overtures, however intricate they might be.
As for the Israelis they are challenged, on their turn, to overcome a legacy of deliberate circumvention towards an operative Israeli-Palestinian partnership towards peace making, unilateral policy crafting, and the fostering of an autistic approach to their relationships with the Palestinians. The political wisdom which guided the founding fathers of the State of Israel who engaged in informal and formal diplomacy all their Arab neighbors, before and after its emergence, with a firm intention on finding a sustainable solution to the long hauled conflict, should serve as model which replaces the gridlocked policies of national irredentism promoted by nationalist parties and messianic political movements. The question to be raised at this stage, is whether Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to swear off his expansionist drive if he ever gets elected, and whether Benny Gantz would be able to uphold his commitment to a negotiated and consensual approach to peace making, as he stated after the release of the US peace proposal.
Departing from the customary diplomacy of equanimous arbitration and institutional mediation, President Trump is offering a new platform of negotiation that could be readily rejected by the different Palestinian factions, and embraced by wide constituencies in Israel, but this would disservice the cause of peace if the two entities are unwilling to jump start a new stage of arduous conflict resolution which puts an end to a thwarted dynamic. Palestinians cannot linger in their everlasting victimization pathos and delirious dream of annihilating the State of Israel over time, and Israelis have to adjust to the idea of normalization of their status in a, so far, hostile vicinity. The burden of the past, the impact of radical worldviews on both sides, the legitimate existential fears of the Israelis, the historical grievances of the Palestinians, the imploded regional environment with its cohort of Islamic radicalism, fermenting animosities and brutal power politics are weighing heavily on the eventual new course. The Palestinian authority ill advised boycott of the Trump administration is unaffordable, especially, if the incumbent President gets re-elected, it’s about time for the Palestinians to overcome their political stunted growth and usher a new era of constructive engagement. Israelis have to face up to their immediate neighborhood, address it directly as a better means to deal with their legitimate security concerns. Otherwise, the US administration has to find its way back to fair arbitraging and setting in motion a comprehensive and inclusive peace plan, which helps this whole region extract itself from the subjugation of convoluted conflicts, Islamic extremism, endemic developmental stagnation and cynical dictatorships.
The Israeli-Palestinian peace plan unveiled by President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sounds more like a road map for their own futures than for the Middle East.
