A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For February 16-17/2020 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 123th Day

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A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For 16-17/2020 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 123th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
February 17/2020

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 16-17/20
Family of American held in Lebanon claims he’s a hostage, US senator threatens sanctions
Nasrallah says spirit of Trump’s plan will impact maritime border demarcation, oil wealth
Hezbollah’s Nasrallah calls for boycott of US products as ‘part of the battle’
Nasrallah Hails Govt. ‘Courage’, Urges Opposition, Majority to Form Panel
National crisis puts Lebanon’s survival at stake, Hezbollah leader says
Hezbollah Unveils Qasem Soleimani Wooden Statue on Israel’s Border, Ideal for Lag BaOmer
President Aoun demands ‘standardizing pricing of airline tickets’ in Lebanese pounds
Premiership Press Office denies circulated news about government measures, ministerial decisions
Diab asks Hout to cancel pricing of travel tickets in dollars
Rahi from Rome: Church must move consciences
Abdel Samad says a ‘free and responsible’ word is required
Lebanon’s State-Owned Carrier to Require Payment in Dollars
Khalid bin Salman: Iran’s Treacherous Militias Assassinated Rafik Hariri
Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani will start today a Visit to Lebanon
Lebanon: Hariri’s Speech Establishes a New Stage
FPM to Sue MEA over Obliging Customers to Pay in Dollar
MEA reverses decision to accept only dollars hours after announcing it
After parliament vote, Lebanon’s new government faces financial credibility testظSamar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/February 16/2020
The big picture in Syria/Khairallah Khairallah/The Arab Weekly/February 16/2020

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 16-17/2020
Family of American held in Lebanon claims he’s a hostage, US senator threatens sanctions
Fox News/February 16/2020
Lebanon could soon find itself punished by sanctions over the detention of an American citizen.
The plight of the New Hampshire resident, Amer Fakhoury, has caught the attention of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who is threatening to sanction individuals involved in his imprisonment.
Shaheen is pressing the Lebanese government to release him, especially since he has been diagnosed with cancer. The family is also urging President Trump to intervene.
“There has been no evidence to substantiate the charges against Amer Fakhoury and his health condition is dire,” Shaheen said in a statement to Fox News. “Time is of the essence, and the Lebanese government needs to understand there will be consequences for his continued detention.”
Amer Fakhoury is pleading the Trump administration to work to get him back from Lebanon.
LEBANESE-AMERICAN BEING HELD IN BEIRUT NOW RISKS DEATH SENTENCE AFTER MURDER CHARGE, JUDGE SAYS
Shaheen, who is reportedly working on a sanctions bill, stated, “Whenever an American is held unjustly by a foreign government, we as a nation need to do everything we can to bring them home. All options, including sanctions, are on the table to secure Mr. Fakhoury’s freedom, reunite him with his family and provide the care he urgently needs.”
According to the US Aid website, the United States gave around $201 million in assistance to Lebanon in 2019. The Trump administration released economic and military aid in December even though Fakhoury was then being held without any charges.
His family thanked Shaheen for her help and called for his immediate release., noting that he has stage four B cell lymphoma.
“He is gravely ill and the hospital lacks the basic medicine in order to treat him properly,” the family said in a statement.
In urging Trump’s support, Fakhoury’s family said he supported the president in 2016 and even posed with him for a picture.
“The family calls on President Trump to help bring this innocent American citizen back home,” the statement said. “He is in critical condition and every day his health is deteriorating. We fear that our father will die in Lebanon.”
Fakhoury was arrested in his native Lebanon during a family trip last September after he was accused in a pro-Hezbollah publication of torturing Hezbollah and Palestinian prisoners while he served with the South Lebanon Army (SLA) at Khiam prison.
DAUGHTER OF AMERICAN HOSTAGE IN LEBANON CALLS ON TRUMP TO ACT
The SLA was a predominantly Christian force allied and supported by Israel during its proxy war against Hezbollah and Palestinian militant groups in the 1980s and ’90s.
After being held without charges for nearly six months, The Associated Press reported that Fakhoury was charged earlier this month by a military judge with murder and attempted murder of prisoners at a jail run by the SLA. He was also charged with kidnapping and torture.
His lawyer, Celine Atallah, told Fox News the charges are fabricated, noting that after all the investigations were made into the infamous prison and the names of those accused of torture and murder were made public, Fakhoury was not among them.
Atallah maintains that there is no evidence to support his continued detention.
“Amer’s only crime is that he is a United States citizen, which is making the Lebanese government hold him hostage to gain leverage over the United States,” she said. “This is an egregious act of criminality by them …. to torture and refuse to release a critically ill innocent American citizen just for them to gain leverage over the United States.”
She added: “They should understand that our government does not negotiate with terrorists, and they should be on notice of the sanctions being drafted by Sen. Shaheen, as diplomacy does not work with these people.”
FAMILY OF US CITIZEN IMPRISONED IN LEBANON PLEADS FOR HIS RELEASE: ‘THIS IS A CRY FOR HELP’
Atallah said she hopes that incoming U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea will make Fakhoury’s release “one of her first priorities.”
The plight of the New Hampshire resident caught the attention of his U.S Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, who has threatened to sanction individuals involved in his imprisonment. (Fakhoury Family)
Tony Badran, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who focuses on the region, said “the Lebanese government should suffer the consequences of its agencies illegally imprisoning an American citizen.”
“Hezbollah runs the entire political order in Lebanon. Hence, any government which emerges from that order is a Hezbollah government,” Badran said.
“This latest government does not have the fig leaf of political figures the West is comfortable with, like former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Whether or not the government includes such figures is irrelevant. The real power behind it is the same regardless. And that’s Hezbollah.”
A State Department official told Fox News that the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon is closely monitoring the Fakhoury case.
“We are concerned about his welfare, as doctors report his health is failing and he requires urgent specialized medical treatment. We have raised these concerns at all appropriate levels with the Lebanese government. We will continue to follow his case closely, and to provide him and his family all appropriate consular assistance,” the statement said.
Questions emailed by Fox News to Lebanese authorities were not returned.
*Fox News Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich and the Associated Press contributed to this article.
*Ben Evansky reports for Fox News on the United Nations and international affairs. He can be followed @BenEvansky

Nasrallah says spirit of Trump’s plan will impact maritime border demarcation, oil wealth
NNA /February 16/2020
Hezbollah Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, deemed Sunday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called “deal of the century” will have its effect on Lebanon’s maritime border demarcation with occupied Palestine and its oil wealth.
“This plan transcends to Lebanon because it gives Shebaa farms and a portion of al-Ghajar to the Israeli entity, and there is a risk of resettlement due to the deal’s refusal of the refugees’ return, alongside the effect of the plan’s spirit in terms of the American quest to demarcate the maritime borders and the oil wealth,” he said. Addressing the Lebanese in a televised speech in commemoration of “martyrs of the resistance”, Nasrallah said “the masses of the resistance and its axis are facing a new challenge at the regional level.”
“If there is someone in Lebanon who fears the risk of resettlement, we must respect his will…for what is the guarantee in guarding this fear, especially in the event of changes and shifts in the Arab position and in light of the financial crisis?” he questioned.
“The Trump administration, during the past weeks, committed two huge crimes when it assassinated Soleimani and al-Mohandes in a public operation and the second crime is Trump’s announcement of the so-called century deal, and therefore the first is a prelude to the second crime,” Nasrallah corroborated.
He deemed that “what was referred to as the deal of the century, is a dictating deal in which the Palestinian side had no part.”
“Trump’s plan to eliminate the Palestinian cause, is an Israeli plan adopted by Trump to completely and humiliatingly abolish the Palestinian and Arab cause, and by this deal he offers the Palestinians a terrible state,” underlined Nasrallah.
“Arab foreign ministers and the Arab Parliamentary Union meeting in Amman and the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Jeddah and Malaysia and the positions of Russia, China, the European Union, the United Nations and even the Democratic Party in the US Senate, have all voiced rejection to this plan, and this is a good factor that can be built upon,” the Hezbollah Secretary-General went on.
He also welcomed the Lebanese position in this respect, commending the “official Lebanese consensus, especially the three presidents and the people, in rejecting this deal.” Referring to America’s practices in the region, Nasrallah stressed on the call “to establish a resistance front in the face of the American arrogance, including the legal prosecution of these crimes, even if no outcome is reached.” He pointed out that “all peoples of the region will carry a gun because this American tyrant has left no room for anyone,” suggesting the boycotting of American goods as one good means of confrontation.
The Secretary-General revealed that “the weak point of Israel is the human element, while the weak point of the American is money,” adding that “the Arab nation has potential and capabilities, but requires decision.” Nasrallah called on the people of the region to “confront the snake’s head represented by the Trump administration that practices a kind of superiority. If the peoples of the region want to preserve their dignity, identity and wealth, their choice would be popular resistance, and all forms of resistance, including armed resistance.”
“The Israeli army would still be in Lebanon until the very moment, had we accepted the ‘de facto policy’ and the status quo, but our choice was the resistance,” Nasrallah emphasized, citing Lebanon’s experience as an example of such confrontation.
Marking the 40-day memorial of the resistance axis martyrs, Nasrallah paid tribute to the fallen Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, considering that “the crowds at the funeral of the late Soleimani, and at the commemoration of the victory of the Iranian Islamic revolution, is a message to the enemy and the friend, that the more risks and challenges increase, the greater this fort.”
Nasrallah outlined the “common characteristics of the five resistance martyr leaders” celebrated on this day, which can be summarized by “faith, sincerity, love of people, extreme humility, great courage, responsibility, trust in God, constant jihad, creativity, reaping victories, passion for martyrdom and seeking to meet the Lord, and reaching martyrdom against the American and Zionist enemies of humanity.” He added that these common traits have marked their lives with greatness, and their martyrdom has impacted the nation after their fall. “The resistance is not words and slogans that are separate from reality” he went on. “The martyrdom of Sheikh Ragheb Harb and Sayyid Abbas al-Moussawi has signaled in a new stage, likewise the martyrdom of Hajj Imad and now Soleimani and al-Mohandes…They have summoned the resistance into the whole region, and the axis of the region and Iran have entered a new stage,” maintained Nasrallah. The Hezbollah Secretary-General also saluted the people of Bahrain “who demand their natural rights and reject the pace of normalization with the Israeli enemy.”
Moving on to the local Lebanese scene, Nasrallah touched on the prevailing economic and financial crisis in the country, highlighting the need to “address the concerns of the Lebanese, especially their daily living, economic and monetary situation, the fate of deposits in banks, the high prices without control, the loss of some commodities, the price of the dollar, the increase in the unemployment rate, the collapse of some companies, the stagnation of commercial movement and the disposal of industrial and agricultural produce; in addition to people’s concern about the impact of this crisis on the security side and the deterioration of state services.”
“We are all responsible,” he asserted. Nasrallah wished that “the previous government did not resign”, while commending Prime Minister Hassan Diab and the cabinet ministers “for their courage to assume responsibility, and not to escape from it.” “We wish this government success and support and we will not abandon it; we will stand by it with all our possible means because the issue is related to the country,” Nasrallah pledged. While referring to the existing consensus over the difficulty of the situation, Nasrallah emphasized that the approach to economic dossiers must be separated from the political files, due to the many differences between the Lebanese components when it comes to politics. Nasrallah also stressed the need to refrain from exchanging accusations over the responsibility for the deteriorating economic situation, and to accord the new government an opportunity within a reasonable timeframe to work to prevent the country’s collapse, bankruptcy and fall.

Hezbollah’s Nasrallah calls for boycott of US products as ‘part of the battle’
Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 16 February 2020
Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah has called for Lebanese citizens to boycott US goods and products as “part of the battle” against President Donald Trump’s Middle East plan, the militia leader said in a speech on Sunday. “Why are we not resorting to boycotting American products? This is part of the battle. If we do not want to boycott all goods, we choose some companies, and this is a form of confrontation,” Nasrallah said in his televised speech. “The Israeli is afraid of death while the American’s weakness is his security and economy,” he added. Iraqi-Lebanese columnist and writer Hussain Abdul-Hussain reacted to Nasrallah’s call for a boycott of US products by saying that his comments were out of touch with reality on the ground. “This shows how dangerously delusional Iran and its militias are. Here, Hezbollah’s Nasrallah calls on Lebanon to boycott US products. He doesn’t understand that an economy in free fall, like Lebanon, cannot exert boycott/economic pressure on anyone, let alone America,” Abdul-Hussain tweeted. Lebanon may not survive if its new government fails, Nasrallah warned during his speech, urging the country’s divided politicians not to obstruct the cabinet as it seeks to address an unprecedented economic and financial crisis. Nasrallah also said there was no point in politicians trading blame over the causes of the crisis, after former prime minister Saad al-Hariri on Friday accused his rivals of pushing the country to near-collapse. Banks are curtailing access to deposits, the Lebanese pound has slumped, inflation has spiked and firms are shedding jobs and slashing wages in a financial crisis. Hariri resigned last year amid mass demonstrations against the ruling class.Supporting the government was a “national duty,” Nasrallah said. “This is not a party matter. If this government fails, it is not known whether a country will remain for someone to ride in on a white horse and form a new government.” (With Reuters)

Nasrallah Hails Govt. ‘Courage’, Urges Opposition, Majority to Form Panel
Naharnet/February 16/2020
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday lauded Prime Minister Hassan Diab and the ministers of his government for accepting their posts amid the dire economic and financial situations in the country. “We must laud the government’s PM and ministers for their courage to shoulder responsibility, because we will face difficult and sensitive circumstances,” Nasrallah said in a televised speech commemorating Hizbullah’s slain leaders as well as Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. “The situation is very difficult and I call for separating the financial and economic file from the political conflict in the country and leaving aside the settling of scores,” he urged. Warning that those who “call for despair are committing national treason,” Nasrallah urged “awareness, bravery, sacrifice and the shunning of wrong calculations.” He suggested forming “a panel bringing together the opposition and the majority because the economic and financial situation is in a dangerous state.”“The priority is for seeking salvation because the situation is threatening everyone,” he said. • “Help the government, because should it manage to stop the collapse, it would be offering a great service to all Lebanese and those who live in Lebanon,” Nasrallah urged, addressing rivals. “Stop the incitement against the government and this is part of giving it a chance,” he said. Reiterating that “this is not Hizbullah’s government, although Hizbullah backs it and wants it to succeed,” Nasrallah warned that calling the government “Hizbullah’s government” is harmful to “Lebanon’s Arab and international ties.”

National crisis puts Lebanon’s survival at stake, Hezbollah leader says
The National/February 16/2020
Hassan Nasrallah said supporting the Hezbollah-backed government was a national duty
Lebanon may not survive if its new government fails, the leader of Hezbollah warned on Sunday, urging the country’s divided politicians not to obstruct the Cabinet that was backed by the Iran-aligned militant group.
Hassan Nasrallah also said there was no point in politicians trading blame over the causes of the crisis, after former prime minister Saad Hariri on Friday accused his rivals of pushing the country to near-collapse.
Banks are curtailing access to deposits, the Lebanese pound has slumped, inflation has soared and companies are shedding jobs and slashing wages in a financial crisis. Mr Hariri resigned last year amid mass demonstrations against the ruling class. Lebanon’s public debt was $89.5 billion (Dh328bn) as of November, most of it held by the Lebanese banks. The country is due to pay $1.2bn in March when a Eurobond matures, followed by another $700 million in April and $600m in June. Hezbollah is one of the main backers of Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s Cabinet, which was formed last month after the failure to establish a new national unity Cabinet led by Mr Hariri. The new government received a vote of confidence last week while protests continued to rage on the streets of Beirut. Mr Nasrallah said supporting the government was a “national duty”. “This is not a party matter,” he said. “If this government fails, it is not known whether a country will remain for someone to ride in on a white horse and form a new government.” Analysts say Hezbollah’s role in forming the Cabinet could make it harder for Mr Diab to secure badly needed financial support from western and Arabian Gulf states that are alarmed by the Tehran-backed group’s influence. Mr Nasrallah said that while Hezbollah backed the Cabinet, it was not “Hezbollah’s government”, and that opponents who described it as such were making it more difficult to combat the crisis and damaging Lebanon’s international ties.
Lebanon last week asked the International Monetary Fund for technical assistance on dealing with the economic crisis. Speaking in Dubai, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said Lebanon needed urgent and deep structural reforms. “We are sending a small team to Lebanon,” Ms Georgieva said. “We’ll do our best to give a diagnostics recommendation on measures to take but the taking is in the hands of Lebanon.”


Hezbollah Unveils Qasem Soleimani Wooden Statue on Israel’s Border, Ideal for Lag BaOmer
David Israel/Jewish press/February 16/2020
On Sunday, a large, wooden statue of Qasem Soleimani pointing toward Israel was unveiled by Hezbollah members in Maroun El Ras, a Lebanese village in southern Lebanon, some 75 miles south east of Beirut, and roughly 0.62 mile from the border with Israel. Qasem Soleimani was an Iranian major-general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who, from 1998 until his death in 2020, served as commander of its Quds Force, a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations. Soleimani was assassinated in a targeted US drone strike on 3 January 2020 in Baghdad.

President Aoun demands ‘standardizing pricing of airline tickets’ in Lebanese pounds
NNA/Sunday, 16 February, 2020
In an issued statement by the Presidency Information Office on Sunday, it indicated that President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, has demanded the issuance of airline tickets in Lebanese pounds, according to the Lebanese laws.
The statement added that “President Aoun will follow-up with the relevant judicial authorities on the violations that might be committed in airline ticket pricing in currencies other than the Lebanese pounds, so as to take the necessary measures against the violators.” The Presidency statement came in wake of today’s announcement by the Middle East Airlines, and other airline companies operating in Lebanon that, starting Monday, they will accept payments in US dollars only.

Premiership Press Office denies circulated news about government measures, ministerial decisions
NNA/Sunday, 16 February, 2020
In an issued statement by the press office of the Council of Ministers’ Presidency on Sunday, it categorically denied recent circulated news regarding ministerial decisions and government measures.
“Some sides have been continuing for two months to promote false news through the media and social networking sites, pumping either personal or political fabrications. Moreover, these sides have recently resorted to the promotion of false news aimed at undermining the economic, financial and social stability of the country, and tampering with the future of the Lebanese and harming their interests,” the statement said. “Accordingly, the Premiership press office is keen on asserting that everything that was published about governmental measures or news related to ministerial decisions is incorrect,” the statement asserted. It, thus, urged the sides behind such false news to “stop pouring their toxins into the diaries of the Lebanese, whose daily difficulties are the result of the accumulation of wrong policies that brought the country to collapse.”

Diab asks Hout to cancel pricing of travel tickets in dollars
NNA/Sunday, 16 February, 2020
Prime Minister Hassan Diab followed-up Sunday on the issue of the Middle East Airlines’ decision to price its tickets in US dollars, by contacting MEA Board of Directors Chairman, Mohamed al-Hout, to inquire about the reasons for the decision at this time. Diab also contacted the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, in this regard. The Prime Minister asked the MEA Chairman to cancel the company’s decision to issue travel tickets in US currency.

Rahi from Rome: Church must move consciences
NNA/Sunday, 16 February, 2020
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, considered that the Church cannot afford to give heed to various thoughts and opinions, but must however, touch people’s consciences. His words came as he presided over Sunday Mass at Foligno Cathedral in Italy, where the relics of Saint Maroun are preserved. “It is the Church that always addresses the consciences and minds of people…It cannot compromise on anything, otherwise it would be abandoning its role and mission. We thank the Lord who created the Church so that it may remain the permanent voice of the conscience, the voice of God,” the Patriarch said. “Saint Maroun, whose remains we honor here today, teaches us many things we desperately need to live by, namely his profound union with God, with prayer, meditation, austerity, and death…As much as he was united with God, he became united with all people, and this is the main secret. Any healthy relationship that we can live on the horizontal level, we can only live if our vertical living is intact with God. Peace with God, peace with all of humanity,” al-Rahi corroborated. “With you, we pray for the intention of all officials in Lebanon to return to God, to prayer and repentance…so that they can reunite with each other,” the Patriarch concluded.

Abdel Samad says a ‘free and responsible’ word is required

NNA/Sunday, 16 February, 2020
Minister of Information, Dr. Manal Abdel Samad Najd, tweeted Sunday, saying: “The statement by the Council of Ministers’ Presidency on false and fabricated news today, reminded me of the rumor that targeted me on the day I assumed my responsibilities at the Information Ministry, about appointing my sister as my advisor and transferring her to my office. The rumor died when I ignored it, and its falsehood was clear to all…The media must inform, not fabricate news. A free and responsible word is required.”


Lebanon’s State-Owned Carrier to Require Payment in Dollars
Beirut- Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 16 February, 2020
Lebanon’s state-owned carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) will only accept payment in U.S. dollars from Monday, the National News Agency reported, as the country grapples with a foreign currency liquidity crisis. The decision reported late on Saturday and confirmed to Reuters by an MEA source on Sunday drew criticism including from the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) whose leader, former foreign minister Gebran Bassil, called the move illegal. Writing on Twitter, MP Fouad Makhzoumi said the move put the Lebanese under effective “house arrest” and must be canceled. Lebanon is grappling with an unprecedented financial crisis that came to a head last year as capital flows into the country slowed down and protests erupted against ruling politicians over decades of corruption and bad governance. Officials at Middle East Airlines, which is owned by the central bank, could not immediately be reached for comment on the accusations that its decision was illegal. NNA said MEA would accept bank cards and cheques as long as they were issued in foreign currency. The MEA source said the report was correct, adding: “We are following reactions about this matter and we may have a position on this in the coming week”.

Khalid bin Salman: Iran’s Treacherous Militias Assassinated Rafik Hariri

Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 16 February, 2020
Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman said on Sunday that the Iranian treacherous militias assassinated late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri because it got fed up with his development project. This came in tweets, which the Prince posted on his official Twitter account, marking the 15th anniversary of Hariri’s assassination. The Prince said Hariri was a national leader “who led the march of reconstruction and stability in his homeland.”Hariri’s “national project, which aims for stability, prosperity and coexistence, will remain in the face of the sectarian militias that do not believe in the homeland or the dignity of its citizens,” he said in another tweet. Hariri was assassinated in an explosion in Lebanon’s capital Beirut in 2005.

Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani will start today a Visit to Lebanon
Agencies/February 16/2020
Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani will arrive in Beirut today evening, the Iranian embassy said. A statement issued by the embassy said Larijani will lead a delegation comprising parliamentary and political figures on a two-day visit.
It added that he is scheduled to meet with senior Lebanese officials.

Lebanon: Hariri’s Speech Establishes a New Stage
Beirut – Ashraq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 16 February, 2020
Speaking on the 15th anniversary of the assassination of his father, Lebanese former prime minister Saad Hariri gave a speech that sparked a multitude of responses. Some said it signaled a new phase for Lebanon. “There is no doubt that there is a new political stage,” Lebanese lawmaker Mohammed Al Hajjar said. In an oblique hint at Gebran Bassil, Hariri said that as a Prime Minister, he in fact had to deal with two presidents of the Republic at the same time, noting: “I was always required to secure the relationship with the shadow president in order to protect stability with the original president”.
In a speech on the 15th commemoration of the assassination of martyr Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, during a ceremony in the Center House in the presence of a large number of officials and Future movement supporters, Hariri said, addressing the shadow president: “You wasted half of the president’s mandate in disruption and cancellation wars. You sabotaged the mandate and registered the collapse of the country under your name and the name of the mandate”. Addressing his supporters, Hariri added: “I am not going anywhere. I am staying in my country and among my people and I will remain in the political work. The Future movement will remain! The free, patriotic, sovereign Lebanese who want a country that benefits them and their children will also remain and no one can scare them”. He also reiterated his support for early elections. “After Hariri’s words, there is no doubt that there is a new political stage, especially with parties that were under the so-called March 14 Alliance in government,” Future movement lawmaker Hajjar said. Hajjar also decried rival politicians for leveling accusations against Hariri’s legacy.

FPM to Sue MEA over Obliging Customers to Pay in Dollar
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 16/2020
The Free Patriotic Movement announced Sunday that it will file a lawsuit against Lebanon’s national carrier, the Middle East Airlines, after the company said customers can no longer pay for their tickets in Lebanese lira. The FPM said the lawsuit will be filed by its “corruption files officer”, the lawyer Wadih Akl, at the request of Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil. Accusing MEA of “violating the laws and depriving the Lebanese of their simplest rights, including traveling with their available currency,” the FPM called on MEA chairman Mohammed al-Hout to “reverse this decision,” noting that “not accepting the national currency represents a criminal offense and violates the text stipulated in the 2020 state budget, which makes national currency transactions binding.” In a statement, MEA had announced that cash, payment cards and checks would be accepted as long as they are in “foreign currency.”
Lebanon is in the throes of an economic meltdown and a biting liquidity crunch that has seen the local currency depreciate on the parallel market and banks impose stringent controls on withdrawals and transfers abroad. In the wake of the announcement, dozens of customers crowded the MEA offices at Beirut airport — the only one open on Sunday — in the hopes of paying for their tickets in Lebanese pounds, images broadcast on local TV showed. Middle East Airlines (MEA) is majority-owned by the Lebanese state and administrated by the country’s central bank.
The Lebanese pound has been officially pegged at 1,507 pounds to the U.S. dollar since 1997, and the two currencies are used interchangeably in the tiny Middle Eastern country. But in recent months, the pound has plunged against the greenback on the parallel exchange market.
Informal currency controls imposed since late last year have sparked public outrage in the protest-hit country, where an anti-government popular movement launched on October 17 has grown increasingly angry at banking policies.
Major banks in Lebanon began tightening banking controls this month, halving the amount of dollars depositors are allowed to withdraw every month. It will still be possible to complete certain transactions — such as modifying reservations and paying for excess baggage — in local currency at Beirut airport, MEA said. MEA offices had so far continued to accept payments in pounds at the official rate and Sunday’s announcement was met with an angry response on social media. “MEA: A national airline that does not accept payment in its own national currency. Logic redefined,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another posted in response to the news: “Middle East (MEA) belongs to the Lebanese state, it’s a flagrant violation of the law. We’re not heading for collapse, we’re in the middle of it.” The central bank chief said in January that he agreed with money exchange houses capping the parallel rate at 2,000, but the price of dollars at some exchanges continues to rise.

MEA reverses decision to accept only dollars hours after announcing it
Tala Ramadan/Annahar/February 16 2020
Hundreds of customers had flocked to MEA offices to purchase tickets before the decision was due to go into effect Monday.
BEIRUT: State-owned Middle East Airlines reversed on Sunday a decision to only accept dollars just hours after announcing it. The decision, which was reversed at the request of Prime Minister Hassan Diab, sparked discontent among Lebanese citizens. Hundreds of customers had flocked to MEA offices to purchase tickets before the now-reversed decision was due to go into effect Monday. Earlier in the day, MEA issued a statement announcing that all airlines operating in Lebanon will only accept payments in U.S dollars. Credit and debit cards, along with checks, will continue to be accepted “provided that the operation is in foreign currency,” the statement added. Lebanese have borne the brunt of a massive dollar shortage across Lebanon as the value of the Lebanese lira continues to drop. It has lost more than 30 percent on the foreign exchange market since nationwide protests broke out in October 2019.
Following the MEA’s first announcement, concerned Lebanese took to social media to voice their discontent while Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil has called the move “illegal.”The Association of Travel and Tourist Agents in Lebanon had issued a statement arguing that the move to only accept dollars came amid continued efforts to solve the problem of unfair competition between airlines, members of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and travel agencies, which almost toppled the sector and its employees. ”MEA had been accepting payments in Lebanese lira, delivering a hit to travel agents. The Association also thanked “all those who contributed to solving this issue,” including political officials, led by President General Michel Aoun, among others. Later in the day, the president’s office issued a statement condemning the move, saying that he had urged the Association to follow in the footsteps of MEA and accept payments in Lira.

After parliament vote, Lebanon’s new government faces financial credibility test
Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/February 16/2020
Lebanon has one of the highest debt ratios in the world, standing at more than 150% of GDP.
BEIRUT – The government of Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab, which narrowly won a vote of confidence during a controversial parliament session, will soon face its first painful test with public debt maturities including a $1.2 billion Eurobond due in March, part of $2.5 billion owed this year.
The new cabinet secured 63 votes out of the 84 lawmakers in the 128-member chamber who attended the session February 11. The meeting convened under tight security while anti-government protesters threw stones and clashed with security forces outside fortified barriers surrounding the parliament building.
More than 40 lawmakers skipped the vote. Those who attended skirted the clashes, some reaching parliament on the back of motorcycles or in armoured police vehicles. Eggs and paint were hurled at the cars of MPs and ministers. One MP was hit by stones and needed stitches to close the wound.
“They are criminals hiding behind the army and police. The people reject them. They constitute the worst and most corrupt political class in the world sneaking into parliament like rodents,” said protester Ghada Hassaniyeh.
Lebanon has one of the highest debt ratios in the world, standing at more than 150% of GDP. Lack of economic growth and high unemployment rates sparked nationwide protests since October against the long-standing ruling class accused of corruption and graft.
Diab urged the international community and local opponents to give his Hezbollah-backed government a chance to rescue Lebanon’s economy from collapse. He vowed to fight corruption, while ushering in judicial, financial and administrative reforms, but offered few specifics in his 16-page policy statement.
Economic expert Kamal Hamdan advised defaulting on payments and called for rescheduling the debts, which he said would have less grave repercussions locally than paying them.
“Such a scenario has been applied in many countries that had similar crises in the past decade,” Hamdan said. “Priority should be given to securing depositors’ savings and the people’s means of living, medication and education of their children.”
“The government should alleviate the effect of such a decision on Lebanon’s reputation by designing an action plan and a clear road map within a fixed time schedule that would help regain gradual confidence in the economy, the banking sector and national currency,” Hamdan said.
“Holders of Eurobonds who have amassed fortunes from extremely high-interest rates over years should acknowledge that the other party is in an extremely difficult situation and that it cannot dispose of whatever scarce foreign currency reserves it has to repay debts, while the people are struggling to secure basic means of livelihood,” he added. While Lebanon could ask the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for technical help to draw up an emergency plan, Hamdan advised against direct involvement of the international monetary groups.
“We have excellent Lebanese economic experts who can devise a programme and ask the World Bank and IMF to give their opinion. We should not have them involved directly because the nation could not bear their conditions,” Hamdan said.
“We need a timed implementable action plan. It should include revisions of the taxation system, streamlining public spending, recovering embezzled public funds and purging the judiciary from corruption and ensuring its full independence.”
International donors pledged some $11 billion in grants and loans for Lebanon in 2018, calling for major reforms to unleash the money. In recent weeks, friendly countries said they will not bail Lebanon out without major policy and regulatory changes.
“Unless the government shows that it has a clear vision and a strong will to implement needed reforms regardless of the sacrifices no one will assist us,” Hamdan said. “If we don’t help ourselves in the first place, no one will help us.”

The big picture in Syria
Khairallah Khairallah/The Arab Weekly/February 16/2020
Syrian refugees head northwest through the town of Hazano in Idlib province as they flee renewed fighting Monday, Jan. 27, 2020. (AP)
There is a distribution of roles in northern Syrian at the expense of the Syrian people. Figures released by the United Nations indicate that there are 700,000 additional refugees from north-western Syria. It is a staggering figure that reflects the scale of the tragedy that the world has been watching for years.
It seems Turkey is adamant on establishing a safety zone 35km deep inside Syrian territory. Ankara is doing this through an agreement with Moscow, which wants to have the Syrian regime’s forces, with the help of Iranian militias, control the major routes such as the Aleppo-Hama road and the Jisr al-Shughour-Aleppo road. These are the outlines of the battle in northern Syria that includes Idlib. There are Russian-Turkish understandings and there is an American eagerness for a Turkish role in the area within the framework of a general agreement between Washington and Ankara.
Until the picture in northern Syria becomes clearer, the tragedy of the Syrian people gets renewed daily and their exodus increases. It doesn’t look like the Syrian war is over. In fact, it looks like it is in its infancy despite all these years. The only constants of the affair are that the regime that has been in existence for 50 years has no future and that Syria, as we know it, no longer exists. Syria is not only fragmented but requires $250 billion-$300 billion to be rebuilt. Where is that money going to come from? All we know is that the existing regime is not going to step down and leave Damascus even if that means the end of Syria.
The title chosen by Sam Dagher for his book on Syria best summarises the situation: “Assad or We Burn the Country.” Syria and the Syrians will be sacrificed for the survival of Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus but his survival is not crucial because he has already fulfilled the role required of him: destroy Syria. Before the rise to power of the Ba’ath Party and its empty slogans on March 8, 1963, Syria was bustling with commercial activity and was set to become a country capable of providing a model for the region.
Recent developments in Syria revealed that Turkey knows what it wants and that its goals are specific. This is what the Americans and the Russians also know. Occasional confrontations take place between Moscow and Ankara but these interactions soon find their way to settlements, often at the expense of the Syrians. From the beginning, Turkey has played all the roles that contributed to bringing Syria to its current state.
Turkey has accepted hundreds of thousands of Syrians but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also sold many illusions to the Syrians before it became clear that he suffers from many personality disorders, including delusions of grandeur, thinking that the region has never seen a more charismatic leader than himself. To prove to the Syrians that their fate is the last thing on his mind, Erdogan finds nothing better to do than send Syrian fighters to Libya to fight a battle that has nothing to do with Syria and the Syrians. It is necessary to look at the big picture and not just at what is going on in northern Syria. The big picture shows what is going on in Syria is an integral part of the changes in the region, including the decline of the Iranian role. This does not mean that the Iranian role is no longer present in Syria. Rather, it means that Russia is closer to grabbing many threads in Damascus. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Damascus in early January was not a chance one. It was immediately after Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani’s assassination by the Americans and we know that the slain commander of al-Quds Force played a pivotal role in enabling Assad to remain in Damascus.
While in Damascus, Putin not only summoned Assad to a Russian base but was keen to visit the Umayyad Mosque and the Orthodox Patriarchate in the city, sending a strong signal that Russia gives importance to the role of the Sunnis in Syria and cares about the Christian minority there.
This does not mean that Russia is ready to get rid of Iran in Syria. Moscow needs the ground contribution of the Iranian and Iran-backed militias, given that its military intervention relies more on the air force than anything else.
A country such as Lebanon, facing the risk of collapse, must avoid using the issue of Syrian refugees as a scapegoat for its internal problems. Lebanon’s collapse was caused by the politics of the “Hezbollah era” that began with the election of Michel Aoun as president of Lebanon on October 31, 2016.
Before that era, which removed all walls separating Lebanese state institutions and Hezbollah, the party’s weapons had a role in drawing Lebanon into the Syrian quagmire. The party caused the displacement of tens of thousands of Syrians to Lebanon through its direct participation in cleansing areas in the vicinity of Damascus and along the Lebanese borders of their Sunni inhabitants, just as the Syrian regime wished. That was also Iran’s wish, which is working to change in the demographic composition of Syria.
Every time the Syrian issue is raised, it is inevitable to return to the big picture, which means, among other things, that betting on the Syrian regime is misplaced. There are understandings along broad lines taking shape within the context of five foreign occupations: Israeli, American, Russian, Turkish and Iranian. What is regrettable is that Lebanon’s political leadership cannot absorb the complexities of the Syrian situation on a scale larger than small local policies. What is even more unfortunate is that more and more Syrians will be displaced as the war becomes more and more complex.