A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For 28-29/2020 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 135th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
February 29/2020
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 28-29/2020
Lebanon bans entry to travelers from Iran, coronavirus-hit countries
Lebanon Closes Educational Institutions as Precaution against Coronavirus
Report: Hitti in Paris to Discuss Crisis
Lebanon Suspends Travel from Virus Infected Countries, Exempts Residents
Report: Foucher Requests an ‘Urgent’ Meeting with Diab
Lebanese in Nabatieh Demand Closing of Schools over Virus Threat
Beirut’s Parking Meters: Where Does the Money Go?
Bassil Calls for Protecting Oil from Domestic Corruption, Foreign Greed
Japan Sends Minister to Lebanon on Ghosn Case
Geagea after Strong Republic bloc meeting urges government to adopt comprehensive reform plan
Minister of Information: Decision to close schools to be made within 48 hours
Ministers of Telecom and Health discuss health situation, importance of awareness
Abdel Samad chairs National Audiovisual Council meeting over electronic press situation
Lebanon’s Ambassador to Italy tells NNA number of Coronavirus patients is high ‘due to comprehensive survey of population’
Lebanon to close all schools in effort to thwart spread of coronavirus/Paula Naoufal/Anahar/February 28/2020
Lebanese loyalty should be to state, not Hezbollah/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab news/February 28/2020
The Rampant Corruption that Sparked Lebanon’s Protests/Mohamed Azakir/Asharq Al-Awsat/February 28/2020
Lebanon About to Legalize Cannabis Cultivation/Caroline Akoum/Asharq Al-Awsat/February 28/2020 –
Lebanon needs early elections to regain legitimacy/Ryan Bohl/Al Arabiya/February 28/2020
Lebanon must manage expectations as offshore drilling begins/Diana Kaissy/Al Arabiya/February 28/2020
October’s Meeting’: Together to Get Back The Abducted State/Hanna Saleh/Asharq Al Awsat/February 28/2020
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 28-29/2020
Lebanon bans entry to travelers from Iran, coronavirus-hit countries
Tamara Abueish, Al Arabiya English/Friday, 28 February 2020
Lebanon has banned all entry to travelers from Iran and coronavirus-hit countries as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of the lethal virus, the National News Agency (NNA) reported on Friday. The country restricted entries via land, air, and sea to travelers from Iran, South Korea, Italy, and China. However, citzens and foreigners who live in Lebanon will be excluded from the ban, according to the NNA.The decision comes a day after the country confirmed its third case of the coronavirus in a man who arrived from Iran on February 24.
Lebanon Closes Educational Institutions as Precaution against Coronavirus
Naharnet/February 28/2020
Education Minister Tarek al-Majzoub on Friday ordered the closure of all educational institutions in the country for a week as a precaution against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The minister said the decision was taken “out of keenness on the health of students and their families, after consultations this evening with Health Minister Dr. Hamad Hasan and as a precautionary measure.” Majzoub said the decision applies to all private and public kindergartens, schools, secondary schools, vocational institutes and universities, adding that the closure begins Saturday, Feb. 29 and ends on the evening of Sunday, March 8. “The health developments would then be assessed to take the appropriate decision. Through awareness and cooperation we can overcome all crises,” Mjazoub added. Lebanon had earlier on Friday confirmed its fourth coronavirus case, identifying the person infected as a Syrian woman. The woman along with two Lebanese women and an elderly Iranian man are being quarantined at the Rafik Hariri state-run hospital. The first three patients had arrived on two planes from Iran earlier this month.
Report: Hitti in Paris to Discuss Crisis
Naharnet/February 28/2020
Foreign Minister Nasif Hitti shall hold talks with his French counterpart Jean-Yve Le Drian in Paris to discuss bilateral relations between Lebanon and France and the much-needed support for the country’s ailing economy, media reports said on Friday.
Hitti, on an official three-day visit to the French capital, will discuss the monetary crisis in Lebanon and the country’s ailing economy in addition to the daily sufferings of Lebanese with banks that imposed restrictions on cash withdrawals and overseas transfers. A diplomatic source told Asharq al-Awsat daily that “Hitti will expand his meetings to also include the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French Parliament and the Senate, and perhaps create a lobby for members of both chambers to provide more support for Lebanon at the level of public opinion.”
The source added that Hitti “will affirm the commitment of Diab’s government to implement “structural reforms, strengthen the agriculture and productive sectors and preserve the services sector.”
“Paris will not be the sole European capital that Hitti plans to visit,” said the source.
Lebanon Suspends Travel from Virus Infected Countries, Exempts Residents
Naharnet/February 28/2020
Minister of Public Works and Transport Michel Najjar issued a statement on Friday suspending travel to Lebanon from countries infected with the coronavirus disease, the Minister’s media office said in a statement.
The statement said that Najjar decided to “suspend air, land, and sea travel for individuals coming from China, South Korea, Iran, Italy and other,” and that “Lebanese nationals and foreigners residing in Lebanon will be exempted” from the decision. Lebanon could ban travel from other countries infected with the virus when seen necessary by the ministerial committee tasked with following up on precautionary measures against coronavirus, according to the statement.The statement came in accordance with the Cabinet decision on Tuesday to restrict travel to countries witnessing major coronavirus outbreaks and to order a halt to pilgrimage trips.
Report: Foucher Requests an ‘Urgent’ Meeting with Diab
Naharnet/February 28/2020
French Ambassador to Lebanon Bruno Foucher reportedly asked for an “urgent” meeting with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab to discuss “pressing” matters, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday. The two are set to meet today before noon, said the daily. According to diplomatic sources, the French diplomat’s request to meet Diab comes hours before Foreign Minister Nasif Hitti meets his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris, to discuss several issues including the ailing monetary situation in Lebanon and its repercussions at various levels.
Lebanese in Nabatieh Demand Closing of Schools over Virus Threat
Naharnet/February 28/2020
Lebanese in the southern town of Nabatieh rallied on Friday near the educational directorate in their town demanding that schools be closed for a time period of month over the deadly Coronavirus threat. Parents fearing for their children’s health asked the authorities to suspend classes at schools for one month. Lebanon has recorded three cases of the virus, two of which are Lebanese women who had traveled aboard an Iranian plane earlier this month from Qom in Iran. The third case is an Iranian man. Thousands of Lebanese, mainly from the South, travel to Iran every year to visit Shiite holy sites in Qom and other cities. The Rafik Hariri University Hospital, a state-run hospital in Beirut, meanwhile announced Thursday that it examined 40 people for the virus over the past 24 hours, keeping nine of them in the coronavirus ward and asking the others to isolate themselves at home.
Beirut’s Parking Meters: Where Does the Money Go?
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 28/2020
Every year the Lebanese capital’s parking meters generate the equivalent of six million dollars, but the municipality on whose soil most operate says it has yet to see a penny. The case is just one to have sparked public anger in a country rocked since October 17 by unprecedented anti-government protests. A source with the borough claims that, under a 2004 deal with the Traffic Authority, a share of the coins slipped into Beirut’s parking meters are supposed to land in the municipality’s coffers. But “until now, the municipality has not received anything,” the source told AFP. During the mass protests of recent months, the municipality filed a complaint with the Council of State and obtained permission to choose an auditor to investigate the case. “We want to know how much they earned each day, we want to know everything on each and every pound,” the source said. The municipality has also requested to be put back in charge of the parking metres on its turf. Lebanese-American consortium Duncan-Nead, operates some 900 meters in Greater Beirut under a contract with the Traffic Authority. An employee at the company, who requested to remain anonymous, said they generate an annual income of 10 billion Lebanese pounds, or a little more than six million dollars.They were set up under a wider transport plan for Greater Beirut, with funds from donors including the World Bank.
Traffic light maintenance
Some have asked why the municipality is only now complaining, more than a decade into the project under which the Traffic Authority was supposed to pay a concession fee to the municipalities. But the source at the borough blamed previous municipality officials who did not look into the matter, as well as grinding bureaucracy. Until 2012, he said, the municipality didn’t even have a copy of the contract with the Traffic Authority and seemed to know little about the deal. The Traffic Authority in November said money it collected from parking meters was used to maintain the meters themselves as well as traffic lights, surveillance cameras and electric road signs. Lebanese firm Nead is also in charge of the upkeep of that equipment. But the Nead employee insists they won the contract fair and square with a better tender than the competition. “Why would our prices be 30 percent cheaper if there had been a political intervention?” the employee asked. Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed accused shareholders at Duncan-Mead of having ties to political heavyweights in Lebanon. The company employee inisted they were merely “a group of investors who want to place their money to make a profit”. He said the Traffic Authority is using the parking meter income to finance its projects, including new parking meters that have benefited Beirut municipality. To support his claim, he produced a request from the Beirut municipality in 2015 for more parking meters, which he said the Traffic Authority financed. “With what money? The parking meter money,” he said.
Bassil Calls for Protecting Oil from Domestic Corruption, Foreign Greed
Naharnet/February 28/2020
Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil on Thursday called for protecting Lebanon’s oil and gas resources from “domestic corruption and foreign greed.”Reminiscing the efforts of ten years that eventually led to the launch of offshore oil and gas drilling, Bassil said some parties “ridiculed” the endeavor and voiced skepticism “but the dream has become reality.” Noting that some had sought to “obstruct” the exploration efforts, Bassil stressed in a tweet that “entire Lebanon will benefit” from the development. Earlier in the day, President Michel Aoun inaugurated the country’s first offshore exploratory drilling for oil and gas, calling it a “historic day” for cash-strapped Lebanon. Experts say it would be years before the country could start extracting and reaping the benefits of any oil found in its waters, should any be found.
Japan Sends Minister to Lebanon on Ghosn Case
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 28 February, 2020
A Japanese vice minister for justice is heading to Lebanon for talks on the case of former Nissan Motor Co. executive Carlos Ghosn, who fled for his home country late last year while out on bail awaiting trial. Justice Minister Masako Mori said Friday that she was dispatching the official to Beirut to explain the Japanese criminal justice system and improve cooperation. Hiroyuki Yoshiie will leave Tokyo on Saturday and meet with Lebanese justice minister Albert Serhan on Monday, Japan’s justice ministry said. “Regarding Lebanon, where Ghosn escaped to, we believe that it is important that a proper understanding of the Japanese criminal justice system is understood and to prevent international crime by strengthening cooperation in the legal and judicial fields,” Mori said. Japan and Lebanon do not have an extradition treaty and it is thought unlikely that Lebanon would agree to send Ghosn back to Japan to face trial. Mori acknowledged that there were “various environments” and laws that underpin different positions on the issue in each country. Ghosn was arrested in late 2018 and is facing charges of underreporting income and breach of trust. He says he is innocent. He led Nissan for nearly 20 years.\ Having spent months in detention and struggled to gain his release on bail under stringent conditions, Ghosn said he fled in the belief he could not get a fair trial in Japan. Ghosn said he fled to his childhood home of Lebanon to clear his name. Lebanon does not have an extradition treaty with Japan. Ghosn returned to Twitter late on Thursday for the first time in more than a month, soliciting signatures for a petition for the release of fellow former-Nissan executive Greg Kelly, who was arrested at the same time.
Geagea after Strong Republic bloc meeting urges government to adopt comprehensive reform plan
NNA/Friday, 28 February, 2020
The Strong Republic parliamentary bloc held its periodic meeting under the chairmanship of Lebanese Forces party leader, Samir Geagea, at the party’s headquarters in Maarab. Speaking at a press conference following the meeting, Geagea called on the government to move towards a comprehensive reform plan “because the people and the international and Arab communities must restore the minimum level of confidence in the state.”On the other hand, Geagea stressed that Lebanon has the immunity to help itself out of its crisis if a good management exists.
Geagea also stressed that the electricity dossier hugely impacts our country’s finances, pointing out that international companies have expressed readiness to build power plants and provide alternatives at a price close to what the state offers today. “However, some sides still insist on the existing policy in the electricity dossier and temporary solutions, specifically the Turkish power-generating ships,” he noted.
The LF leader also indicated that the whole problem lies in managing the country’s public affairs.
Minister of Information: Decision to close schools to be made within 48 hours
NNA/Friday, 28 February, 2020
Minister of Information Manal Abdel Samad said after the Baabda Cabinet session: “President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, has informed the ministers of the start of oil exploration, reiterating that yesterday was a historic day for Lebanon.”
On the issue of Eurobonds, she said: “We are studying all available options, and we have not yet reached a decision in this regard. Anything contrary to that is incorrect.” “It is necessary to adopt a clear and transparent mechanism in the appointment file, independently of all parties. Efficiency should be the only criterion,” she went on to say. “In the next 48 hours, a decision will be issued by the Minister of Education on whether to close schools for a week, subject to renewal, due to the coronavirus [spread],” Abdel Samad affirmed.
Ministers of Telecom and Health discuss health situation, importance of awareness
NNA/Friday, 28 February, 2020
Minister of Telecommunications, Talal Hawat, met this Friday with Minister of Health, Hamad Hassan, and tackled with him the current health situation in Lebanon and the importance of spreading health awareness and enhancing individual awareness during this phase.
Abdel Samad chairs National Audiovisual Council meeting over electronic press situation
NNA/Friday, 28 February, 2020
Minister of Information Dr. Manal Abdel Samad Najed, on Friday chaired a meeting of the National Audiovisual Council attended by electronic websites’ representatives, to discuss the situation of electronic press in Lebanon. The meeting took place in the presence of the Council’s Chairman Abdel Hadi Mahfouz, Ministry Director General Dr. Hassan Falha, and Minister Abdel Samad’s Advisor Nourma Abu Zeid. Speaking during the meeting, Minister Abdel Samad highlighted the crucial role played by social media in transmitting information, shedding light on the importance of the quality of information and its impact on public opinion. Given the weighty influence played by social media, the Minister urged everyone to pass on accurate, truthful and objective information, stressing the need for the transmission of info in a responsible manner. Dwelling on the role of the Information Ministry, in particular, and media, in general, Abdel Samad said: “We are reviewing the Ministry’s structure and role, and based on this, we will develop a strategic plan for the future.”
“We also plan to work on a new modern media law to keep up with media development,” the Minister corroborated.
Lebanon’s Ambassador to Italy tells NNA number of Coronavirus patients is high ‘due to comprehensive survey of population’
NNA/Friday, 28 February, 2020
Lebanese Ambassador to Rome, Mira Daher, confirmed to the “National News Agency” that she was holding continuous meetings with the Italian ministries of foreign affairs and health, as well as with Rome airport authorities, over the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the best means to protect the community from it.She explained that the number of Coronavirus cases in Italy was very high due to the fact that the authorities were conducting “a comprehensive laboratory survey of the population”, explaining that the virus kills the elderly. “Coronavirus precautionary measures have prevented the death of a large number of Italians with regular flu, which every year leads to the death of more than 150 people, according to official statistics,” the diplomat said, insisting that travel to Italy should not be banned.
Ambassador Daher finally expressed readiness “to provide any service to the Lebanese community in Italy.”
Lebanon to close all schools in effort to thwart spread of coronavirus
Paula Naoufal/Anahar/February 28/2020
Some officials also showed concern for a future rise in cases.
BEIRUT: The Ministry of Education has announced the closure of schools and universities starting 29th of February till the 8th of March. The decision to close educational establishments came after multiple coronavirus cases were recorded in Lebanon. Some officials also showed concern for a future rise in cases.
The media office of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has issued the following statement: “In the interest of the health of students and their families, and after consulting this evening with the Minister of Public Health Hamad Hassan, the Minister of Education Dr. Tarek Al Majzoub, requests all educational institutions from kindergartens, schools, high schools, vocational institutes, and universities to close starting from the morning of Saturday, February 29, 2020 until Sunday, March 8, 2020.” “Further measures are to be taken in response to how the situation develops,” the minister added. “With awareness and cooperation, we can overcome the crises.” Hassan Shamseddine, an interior design student at AUL believes that this is a smart move from the government to prevent a further possible outbreak of the coronavirus. Yet at the same time, he believes the Ministry of Education should increase awareness campaigns and further highlight the important of social responsibility. Rawad Taha, a journalism student at LAU, said that the most important aspect right now is for people to have social responsibility. “We also need stricter measures at all ports of entry and the Ministry of Health should prepare more than just one center for the treatment of the virus,” he said. Hiba Orabi, a biology graduate from LAU, a current pharmacy student at BAU and an intern at the military hospital in Beirut, said school closings might prove belated in stopping a virus noting that the “the damage has been done. ““This step should have been taken when the first case was recorded and they should’ve started with these restrictions from the airport … and although this step might decrease the number of suspected corona cases,” she told Annahar.
Lebanese loyalty should be to state, not Hezbollah
خالد أبو ظهر: الولاء يجب أن يكون للدولة اللبنانية وليس لحزب الله
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab news/February 28/2020
As the entire world looks for ways to cope with the coronavirus outbreak, in what seems destined to be a pandemic that threatens not only the health and well-being of millions but also the entire global economy, Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese pilgrims returning from Iran have reportedly refused state quarantine instructions, insisting they are part of a conspiracy against Tehran.
Meanwhile, as an International Monetary Fund (IMF) technical team visited Lebanon to give advice about debt restructuring and the necessary reforms, Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s deputy leader who has no official state position, stated in the name of Lebanon that “we will not accept submitting to (imperialist) tools.”These two seemingly unrelated events are in fact very revealing of how Hezbollah sees the world. They underline that the militia is not willing to make any concessions to try and get Lebanon out of difficult situations, whether economic or even threatening to the well-being of the citizens of the country. They will only do what is in Iran’s interest.
These events also clearly show that Hezbollah not only undermines the state, but it encourages the Shiite community to disrespect state institutions too. This constant parallel stance, with Hezbollah and its supporters rebelling against state positions, makes the nation-building process difficult — if not impossible — for Lebanon. To make things worse, Hezbollah also encourages, even forces, its community to have total blind loyalty to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
I cannot help but wonder what is needed to bring those that support Hezbollah out of their rebellious stance against everything the state represents. How can we work together to bring them within the state’s confines and ensure they respect the state and its institutions and abide by its laws? How can their loyalty be first and only to the Lebanese state, not an armed militia and its foreign leader?
Every sectarian community in Lebanon seems to have gone through this phase of supporting an external ideology, belief or leader above their own country. Yet the majority of citizens have ended up renouncing this and committing to the Lebanese flag. It is time for those who support Hezbollah to do the same. If this country is to survive, every citizen — regardless of their religious or social background — needs to respect the state and its institutions. More importantly, the Lebanese state should have a monopoly on its leaders and citizens’ loyalty. There should be an exclusive and unbreakable loyalty to the state.
This is difficult to achieve when Hezbollah is disseminating false information, creating what can best be described as an alternate reality. It is doing what Tehran requires, which is exporting the regime’s Islamist revolution. This requires an exclusive and unique loyalty to the supreme leader.
This alternate reality applies to everything and resembles the propaganda messages of the ruthless regimes of the last century. Iran is depicted as invincible — no army or virus can bring it down. The whole world might crumble, but Iran will prosper. Obviously, Iran is in complete denial and has alternate “imaginary” views about everything — the coronavirus, its economic situation, its military capacity, etc. The only reality is the violent repression it is willing to inflict to crush any dissent, including on the community it falsely claims to protect. Therefore, in Lebanon, the army also needs to break free and shield all communities from oppression.
If this country is to survive, every citizen — regardless of their religious or social background — needs to respect the state and its institutions.
Today, all Lebanese citizens need to participate in a true nation-building effort, regardless of their religion. There is, among all sectarian groups, a tendency to hide behind their “own” whenever there is a need for a favor or an exemption. This has been too easily exploited by sectarian leaders, who portray themselves as the only and last resort for their community. Hezbollah, through its social and health services and, above all, its military, has exacerbated this situation; making it easy for its supporters to reject the state and what it represents.
In the face of the pilgrims refusing state-imposed quarantine and Hezbollah’s stance toward the IMF, the Lebanese institutions cannot do anything or use their legitimate and constitutional role; they can only look the other way for fear of Hezbollah’s violent reaction. Once again, the state comes out weakened and humiliated, on the brink of disappearance and putting all its citizens in danger. This needs to stop.
*Khaled Abou Zahr is CEO of Eurabia, a media and tech company. He is also the editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.
The Rampant Corruption that Sparked Lebanon’s Protests
Mohamed Azakir/Asharq Al-Awsat/February 28/2020
The Lebanese government had frozen recruitment but then, around the time of a key election, thousands of people suddenly landed civil servant jobs. The alleged corruption case is just one of many stirring public anger in Lebanon, where protesters are calling out rampant graft they say has brought the economy to its knees, Agence France Presse reported Friday.
Cronyism in the public sector, bribes, conflicts of interest and dodgy procurement deals — Lebanese have been angrily detailing their complaints in waves of mass protests since October, crying out that enough is enough.
The authorities have said they are determined to root out corruption, and state prosecutors frequently say they have launched a probe or questioned an official. But experts and protesters are skeptical. How, they ask, are they expected to believe in change from leaders who benefit from the system and whose interest is to preserve it? In August 2017, Lebanon passed a law to halt all recruitment in the public sector.
But after that decision and through 2018, more than 5,000 people were taken on in murky circumstances, a source at the oversight body for public administrations said.
That period coincided with the country’s first parliamentary election in nine years. “It’s buying votes,” says Assaad Thebian, who heads the anti-graft non-governmental organization Gherbal Initiative. “When you give someone a job, you’re buying their loyalty and that of their relatives,” he said.
Lebanese media have also accused key political parties of arranging hundreds of illegal employments at state-owned telecommunications firm Ogero in 2017 and 2018. Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International said in December that almost one in two Lebanese had been offered a bribe for a vote.
Parliament’s finance committee investigated 5,000 hirings, and the file has been transmitted to the Court of Audit. Committee chairman MP Ibrahim Kenaan said it was not his place to analyze what had happened.
“But logically, it’s a political issue,” he said. “It was a period of elections. Maybe it was easy to just provide someone with a job. “Maybe it’s to do with… people being used to no one being held accountable.”But the lawmaker, who represents the Free Patriotic Movement of President Michel Aoun, now under fire for its record in power, said things would change. “Now there’s accountability — at least we’re trying,” he said. Laws are being drafted to prevent illicit enrichment and retrieve stolen public funds, Kenaan said.
But anti-graft activist Thebian warns political will is lacking. “It’s strange that a state that wants to battle corruption has not yet fired a single civil servant, tried a single minister or official,” he said. Protesters say they are fed up with a political class dominated for decades by the same powerful families who also pull strings in business.
As they are hit by an acute liquidity crisis and price hikes, they ask how they can trust a political elite with ties to the banking sector.
Lebanon is weighed down by a huge public debt, most owed to local banks benefiting from high interest rates. “The major problem is conflict of interest — perceived or actual,” said Jad Chaaban, an economics professor at the American University of Beirut.
“There is no way that you, as a minister or prime minister or member of parliament, can act against the interest of the institution that you have shareholding in.”
Critics say corruption extends to public procurement.
Another source at the oversight commission claims the government “meddles” by drawing up invitations to tender with “conditions only met by a single company”. Similar complaints have been made about the Council for Development and Reconstruction and the Southern Council.
Engineers’ syndicate head Jad Tabet said the political class was “sharing the cake” through opaque construction deals. It is done “through attributing big construction projects to entrepreneurs linked to these political forces”, he said. In its Corruption Perceptions Index for 2019, Transparency International ranks Lebanon 137 out of 180 countries.
Even in the private sector, activists say businessmen use their political connections to skirt legislation for their benefit. On a beach in Beirut, for example, the Eden Bay resort has drawn crowds in recent months to protest against illegal encroachment on the public waterfront.
Tabet says he filed a report denouncing eight infractions by the developers, Achour Holding, at the request of the president in 2017. They included building on the public shoreline, and falsifying a topographic study to maximize buildable area when requesting a building permit, he said. But Achour Holding’s lawyer, Bahij Abou Mjahed, insists construction was legal. “There isn’t a single executive, judicial, oversight or security body that hasn’t examined the Eden Bay case,” he said. “If we have committed a violation, take us to court.”Environmental activists complained to the State Council, who briefly suspended construction in 2017. But then it backed down, and the resort opened the following year. “Despite the pressure, this man was able to get away with it,” Tabet says, referring to the businessman behind Ashour Holding.
“He seems to have connections almost everywhere.”
Lebanon About to Legalize Cannabis Cultivation
Caroline Akoum/Asharq Al-Awsat/February 28/2020 –
Cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial use is about to be legalized based on a draft law approved by the parliamentary committees on Wednesday and referred to Parliament for adoption.
While the proposal specified that the cultivation of cannabis would be solely targeted for medical and industrial purposes and would be governed by relevant regulations and laws, some parties warned against the negative repercussions that such a decision might entail, due to the lack of law enforcement and the political reality in Lebanon.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Agriculture Minister Abbas Mortada stressed that there was a detailed study on the returns of cannabis legislation, which was recommended by the US McKinsey plan on developing the Lebanese economy. The study estimates that this industry could generate one billion USD annually to the state treasury.
“The Bekaa Valley is considered one of the best lands for cultivating cannabis, which is classified among the finest species in the world, and it does not contain more than 1 percent of narcotic substance,” he said.
Every thousand meters produces 250 kilograms of cannabis flower, according to estimates provided by the minister. “If we sell a kilo for fifty dollars, we would support the Lebanese farmers and secure a great return for the state; but if we go towards establishing factories and pharmaceutical plants, then the profits will double, in addition to the possibility that this law would push foreign companies to invest in Lebanon with the aim of manufacturing drugs,” Mortada explained.
Researcher Mohammed Shamseddine, for his part, said that the area of cultivated land in the Bekaa was estimated at about three or four thousand hectares, which is likely to increase significantly with the cannabis legalization. “Every thousand square meters of cannabis is estimated at about USD 20,000, i.e. times the return of any other agriculture,” he remarked.
Shamseddine, however, stressed that the legalization “does not mean controlling this trade, which may be exacerbated if it is not accompanied by close monitoring and enforcement of laws.”
He went on to say that based on the areas currently cultivated with “hashish” (cannabis), the income of farmers is estimated at about USD 600 million, while for merchants it may reach two billion or more. He also noted that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime had ranked Lebanon as the third major source of hashish in the world for 2018 after Afghanistan and Morocco. On the other hand, the president of the National Health Authority, former deputy Ismail Sukariyeh, questions the financial returns of cannabis legislation, warning at the same time against exploiting it in the absence of the state and the prevailing political and sectarian quotas. “Based on my experience in the medical field, in a worn-out country that does not apply laws, the cannabis cultivation legislation will lead to transgressions from some hospitals and medical agencies, in addition to a monopoly on their export,” he warned.
Lebanese cannabis has long been a thriving industry during the civil war, and its returns were estimated at millions of dollars before the state decided to prohibit it and prevent its cultivation. Since then, around 30,000 people were arrested for their involvement in its production, smuggling, and trade, amid broken promises to secure alternative crops that would secure returns for the residents of the Bekaa.
Lebanon needs early elections to regain legitimacy
Ryan Bohl/Al Arabiya/February 28/2020
Recent US sanctions on Hezbollah in Lebanon – and the prospect of more to come – are only piling on problems for Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s Hezbollah-backed government. It has becoming increasingly clear early elections are needed for Lebanon to start down a legitimate path to reform.
The March 8 electoral alliance that backs Diab, which includes Hezbollah and its fellow Shia party Amal, has so far done little to tick the boxes that would lead Lebanon to stability. They have insufficient support from the protest movement. Being Iran-affiliated, they have no foreign allies willing or able to provide new economic lifelines – and they are now incurring the increasing sanctions wrath of the United States in its anti-Iran regional campaign, with the most recent sanctions coming on February 26. And Hezbollah has proved an obstacle to much-needed International Monetary Fund management of the economic crisis. The Shia group said it does not oppose Lebanon seeking the IMF’s advice, but it is against the fund managing Lebanon’s financial crisis.
In addition to mismanagement, Diab’s government no longer represents the opinions of the Lebanese people, who last cast their vote under very different circumstances on May 6, 2018. Then, the Lebanese sectarian system seemed unassailable, even tilting toward Hezbollah and the Shia parties. Now, thanks to a long-coming economic crisis, a months-long protest movement nationwide has demonstrated that the Lebanese are interested in new approaches, new faces, and new politics. Established parties, from former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s Sunni Future Movement to the once-untouchable Hezbollah and Amal parties, have come under sustained criticism from within their own sects. The Future Movement’s implosion was already cemented by the May 6 election results, where they did poorly. But Hezbollah and Amal had to wait until the current economic crisis began in earnest and the protest movement evolved before they too became the target of anti-establishment sentiment. This intra-sectarian criticism is new and reflects an evolution of Lebanese public opinion that no government of the March 8 or March 14 blocs, or the combination thereof, can truly represent.
These alliances and their leaders have largely served their purpose – they came about in the aftermath of Rafic Hariri’s assassination, an event that nearly drove Lebanon back to civil war. March 14 and March 8 managed to work out a political compromise that prevented that slide, but they have achieved little else. Instead, they have engendered corruption and enabled foreign interference.
Moreover, deep austerity is coming to Lebanon, regardless of the government. It can be managed austerity, supported by international organizations and allies to ensure that, while painful, it at least is driven by a plan. Or it can be uncontrolled austerity, imposed by economic conditions upon Lebanon, with nothing but the most difficult path forward. In the latter case, Lebanon’s security situation will become increasingly precarious, as protestors target banks and the parties they blame for their misery. Meanwhile, militias and politicians scheme to prevent a chaotic austerity from undercutting their own influence and wealth.
Austerity will be painful, but new elections will at least force politicians to campaign on how they will manage its inevitability. That will both beholden them to their voters, and allow voters a stake of responsibility in the final outcome as the difficult times begin to unfold. New elections could also produce new leaders able to offset the increasing US sanctions campaign against Hezbollah, preventing the US from causing further harm to an already difficult situation, especially if new elections could produce a government that isn’t so clearly beholden to Hezbollah.
Lebanon is rapidly running out of time before the economic and security situations begin to deteriorate beyond Beirut’s ability to manage them. To help start the path upward, Lebanese need a chance to break out of the pre-crisis sectarian system and put the country toward a more sustainable path.
Lebanon must manage expectations as offshore drilling begins
Diana Kaissy/Al Arabiya/February 28/2020
February 27, 2020, marked the first day for drilling for oil and gas in Lebanon’s offshore block number 4. And all hopes are hanging on the results from Byblos – the name given to the well. This is the first well to be drilled, ever, in Lebanon’s offshore exclusive economic zone.
While I have to confess that excitement and anticipation are running through my veins, I also have to be candid and say that feelings of apprehension and caution are also present.
Yes, Lebanon will be drilling its first offshore exploratory well, but this is the first step taken on a long and unpredictable road. Exploitation of natural resources, as experienced by so many other countries is a lengthy process often etched with a high number of uncertainties, bad luck, volatilities, and fickle geopolitical games. But it is also ordained by some rare, yet great beautiful journeys.
Since 2010, the Lebanese state has been pushing forward on the development of this nascent oil and gas sector. With substantial support from the Norwegian government, Lebanon has been able to benefit from a number of good practices and international experiences.
Civil society has also been quite active, especially in ensuring that certain necessary transparency and accountability measures are adopted. Organizations have successfully advocated for contract disclosures, ratification of transparency laws, and adjustments of certain regulations, assessments, and policies. Additionally, civil society organizations in Lebanon have played a major role in leveraging the citizens’ awareness around key issues related to the sector.
But the key to ensuring that we continue developing this sector in a sound manner is that we do not “cherry-pick” from the bowl of best practices. Indeed, we should also be wary of not eclectically choosing which bad practices to avoid.
The headlines for this phase of offshore drilling should be “managing expectations.”
Lebanon is not yet an oil-rich country. It is definitely not an oil-producing country. Lebanon is drilling the first offshore well where there is no more than 25 percent chance for making a discovery. The process of turning any discovery into revenue is a long one that should be regarded with patience and wisdom by the state and citizens.
In many countries with weak political institutions, such as Lebanon, economic growth begins to decline before oil or gas is produced – a phenomenon called pre-source curse.
Ghana is a famous example of the pre-source curse. Between 2007 and 2013 Ghana had steady economic growth that averaged 7 percent. Though the African nation first found oil in the 1970s, it wasn’t until this period that Ghana made a major offshore oil discovery. Ghana’s president John Kufuor proclaimed, “Even without oil we are doing well… With oil as a shot in the arm, we are going to fly.”
A fast forward to today shows that Ghana is not flying. Besides experiencing a drop in growth drop to 4 percent, the discovery and the mismanagement of expectations has ushered economically imprudent behaviors exhibited through heavy borrowing and excessive spending.
Another challenge was Ghana’s exposure to the oil price crash in 2014. A new government took over in 2017 but the crisis continues. Lebanon should learn from Ghana’s experience and manage its expectations.
Post-revolution Lebanon is witnessing an economic and financial meltdown. With no robust fiscal rules, a lack of economic and fiscal reforms and an unprecedented level of corruption, the economy is crashing. The jubilation at the start of drilling or even a discovery that may happen in a year or more should not prompt a borrowing spree, in a re-run of the reform-driven loans promised by donors at the 2018 CEDRE conference, that are yet to materialize.
Mozambique is another bad model. After discovering quantities of gas offshore, the government started an huge program of borrowing. Today, it is experiencing a devastating economic regression.
Lebanon now must focus on the much needed economic, fiscal and political reforms that will help it have a soft landing. Anti-corruption laws need to be passed. Current transparency laws need to be implemented. Transparency and accountability measures should be followed.
The government should hold open parliamentary committee sessions where citizens could observe and engage constructively to support the reforms. People need a seat at the table and not fed with false hopes that only serve to fuel political victories.
Drilling is happening and exploration will take time. Let us stop day-dreaming about the magic wand we think we discovered and come back to Earth. The state needs to focus on the reforms that need to be implemented so that Lebanon’s future generations may experience a resource blessing, instead of a curse.
October’s Meeting’: Together to Get Back The Abducted State
Hanna Saleh/Asharq Al Awsat/February 28/2020
A hundred years since Greater Lebanon was announced. 76 years since the Lebanese Republic gained its independence. 45 years of civil wars, occupations, and lack of social stability.
135 days have passed since the start of the revolution to restore dignity and end decades of violations. Citizens are now facing a challenge: Either the corrupt confessional system remains or the abducted state is retrieved and the constitution is respected, achieving the October 17 Revolution’s most pertinent aim to establish a state of human rights, rule of law, transparency, accountability, and protection of freedom.
The political class that is clinging onto the traditions of power and is dependent on the axis of resistance has put the Lebanese infront of a dangerous sample of mafia-like behavior, putting the citizen at risk of death, either by starvation after the country was looted and impoverished, or by the Coronavirus! Maintaining flights between Beirut and Tehran has political reasons according to the Hezbollah-affiliated Minister of Health, making dependency more important than the state’s priority of the general health of citizens.
On the other hand, the revolution is ongoing and every day it recruits new damaged groups of people who have an interest in change. Even if they have not said their final word yet, they have at least confirmed that after October 17 it is impossible for the sectarian system to continue. The revolution has provided a foundational moment for the establishment of a modern state that would bring back the republic and its values and allow citizens to build a democratic regime that’s immune from fear, racism, and sectarianism, on the dead remains of a confessional system condemned to them under illegitimate arms.
The citizenship-oriented public opinion that has risen to prominence was expressed by the courage of the squares to strip naked the sectarian alliance and shed light on confusions and atrocities, affirming the need for political change. This is the alternative that the revolutionary public opinion has expressed, on one hand, as a passageway to retrieve rights, and on the other, to remove Lebanon from the regional conflict that has disturbed it in defense of the Iranian Mullah-regime, burdening it with policies that serve none of Lebanon’s interests.
The revolution is here. Let us all remember that what motivated it is actually a rightful demand, triggered by the notorious decision to impose a monthly 6 US dollars tax on Whatsapp. This was the tipping point that revealed the impact of the chronic accumulation of violations of human rights and dignities for thirty long years. From the start, Hezbollah’s response was to accuse people of treason and claim that the revolution is targeting its weapons. The movement expanded alongside an ignorance of the real reasons behind people taking to the street, with the accelerated collapse of the Lebanese Pound against the US dollar, with the former losing around 75% of its value, drastically reducing purchasing power, leading to the collapse of institutions, spread of unemployment and the exposure of the banking cartels that smuggled money and humiliated depositors.
The regime did not show any sign of concern for people’s interests. Until today, it has not held a single meeting with those who were damaged by the disaster that has struck Lebanon. All meetings held under the headline of confronting the crisis were held with those who caused the crisis, to begin with, showing the foolishness of those in power and their undermining of people’s suffering.
The means to confront the situation revealed that it was impossible to achieve the bare minimum of the demands. It was therefore natural for the revolution to escalate in demanding the inevitable reformation of the regime. It became apparent that the revolutionary movement insisted on real change and that gateway to this change is a government independent of the sectarian parties that caused the crisis, with a conviction that the persistence of this sectarian confessional system will allow the mafias in power to continue looting and making profitable deals.
In parallel, activists, and groups involved in the revolution from diverse backgrounds and with diverse experiences held discussions on directions that would solidify the revolutionary course and the developments in the choices of confrontation. This necessitates that they enter a new organizational stage that conforms with what October 17 stands for as an end to the confessional system and a step toward an alternative model that births a new republic. This culminated in establishing the “October Meeting” as a political group that has put before it the task to “contribute to the process of radical and comprehensive change that would allow for a better life demanded by the Lebanese, especially the new generation”.
The “October Meeting” that was announced on Sunday, February 23, with wide-based trans-sectarian and trans-regional national participation, affirmed that it saw its role at the heart of the groups who want to invest the capacities of the Lebanese society in order to achieve political change and a “new social contract between the Lebanese that unites them in moving toward a modern civil and democratic state that is based on human rights”. In this context, a unified law for personal status is of particular importance, as well as the implementation of Article 95 of the Constitution that stipulates the elimination of sectarianism paving the way for a new class of independent politicians that represent the spirit of revolution and its principles. The “October Meeting” that was born in the squares of confrontation and from the womb of the revolution, will be put under a microscope, followed, critiqued and held accountable. If it really did represent a surplus of diversity, expertise, and national inclusiveness, then it will face a challenge to unite efforts and to contribute to coordinating and innovating the forms of confrontation. It needs to urge the rebels to highlight what they have in common, and indeed they have much, during the foundational stage- set at 6 months, toward the establishment of a political front that has no place for the orphans of the axis of resistance, to retrieve the abducted state.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 28-29/2020
Canada strongly condemns targeting of civilians in northwestern Syria
February 28, 2020 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of International Development, today issued the following statement:
“Canada condemns in the strongest terms the deliberate attacks targeting civilians, schools, medical personnel and health-care facilities now occurring in Idlib, Syria. These ongoing attacks on innocent civilians by the Syrian regime, its supporters and foreign facilitators must end. The violence has had a disastrous impact on civilians, killing more than 298 since January 1, 2020, and displacing almost 950,000 since December 1, 2019. “Canada calls for an immediate ceasefire in the area and for all parties to respect basic human decency and ensure full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to civilians in need.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting experienced humanitarian partners on the ground that are addressing humanitarian needs in Syria and the region. “Canada also supports the UN Secretary-General’s recent call for a political solution to end the humanitarian crisis currently unfolding. Only a negotiated political solution can generate a sustainable, peaceful end to the Syrian conflict.”
Four Iranian MPs test positive for coronavirus
Yaghoub Fazeli, Al Arabiya English/Friday, 28 February 2020
The number of Iranian parliamentarians infected with coronavirus has risen to four, MP Mohammad Ali Vakili told the official IRNA news agency on Friday. Thirty-four people have died so far in Iran due to coronavirus, according to the health ministry’s spokesman Kianush Jahanpour. The total number of people diagnosed with the disease is 388, he said in an announcement on state TV. At the same time, MP Mohammad Ali Vakili said that four out of 30 MPs whose results have come back have tested positive for coronavirus. MPs Mahmoud Sadeghi and Mojtaba Zolnour had previously announced that they have been infected with coronavirus. Vakili did not name the other two MPs who have also been infected. “It is possible that the number of infected MPs will increase because so far we only know about the test results for 30,” Vakili told the official IRNA news agency. Iranian Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar as well as Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi had also previously tested positive for coronavirus.
Iran’s former envoy to Vatican Hadi Khosroshahi dies of coronavirus
Al Arabiya English/Friday, 28 February 2020
Iran’s former Ambassador to Vatican Sayyed Hadi Khosroshahi has died on Thursday of the novel coronavirus infection, Iranian news media, including the official IRNA news agency reported. Khosroshahi had been hospitalized in Tehran’s Masih Daneshvari hospital on Wednesday. Khosrowshahi was a prominent figure in the Qom seminary and was a representative of Ayatollah Khomeini in the Ministry of Islamic Guidance after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. After two years became the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic to the Vatican.
US watching ‘closely’ to see if Iran tries to undermine peace in Afghanistan
AFP, Washington/Friday, 28 February 2020
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday warned Iran not to scuttle an upcoming agreement with the Taliban, accusing the US adversary of seeking to be a “spoiler.”Pompeo confirmed that a one-week partial truce was holding with the Taliban, who are scheduled to sign the landmark accord with the United States in Qatar on Saturday. “There is a history of Iran engaging in activity inside of Afghanistan to act as a spoiler,” Pompeo told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “We’ve seen just these last six days a significant reduction in violence in Afghanistan and we are watching closely to see if the Islamic Republic of Iran begins to take even more active measure that undermine our efforts at peace and reconciliation,” he said. He warned that Iran could increase risks for US troops, whose numbers are expected to be sharply scaled down under the Doha agreement.
Iran death toll from coronavirus reaches 210: BBC Persian
Yaghoub Fazeli, Al Arabiya English/Friday, 28 February 2020 A The number of deaths across Iran from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus is at least 210, BBC Persian reported citing its sources from hospitals in Iran.The capital Tehran has had the most deaths so far from the outbreak followed by the city of Qom, BBC Persian said in its report. The death toll from coronavirus in Iran is “much higher” than the official death toll, Iranian MP Gholamali Jafarzadeh Imenabadi said on Friday, adding that he has documented “horrific numbers” from cemeteries in his city Rasht in northern Iran.
Coronavirus death toll in Iran ‘much higher’ than what govt says: MP
Yaghoub Fazeli, Al Arabiya English/Friday, 28 February 2020
The death toll from coronavirus in Iran is “much higher” than the official death toll, Iranian MP Gholamali Jafarzadeh Imenabadi said on Friday, adding that he has documented “horrific numbers” from cemeteries in his city Rasht in northern Iran. The official death toll in Iran has risen to 34 and the total number of confirmed cases to 388 as of Friday. Imenabadi urged authorities to provide the real statistics, saying that officials “repeatedly hide statistics from the public.”
“I say this explicitly, the statistics presented so far are not true,” he said. Imenabadi said he has received reports from cemeteries about the death toll from coronavirus that reveal “horrific numbers” that cannot be concealed. “It is not as if we can hide the cemeteries,” he said. “I have statistics about the number of deaths due to coronavirus from three different cemeteries in Rasht and I have to say that the numbers are much higher than what is being said,” Imenabadi added. Another MP from Qom had previously said that 50 people had died from coronavirus in his city alone. It is “mandatory” to quarantine cities where coronavirus has spread, Imenabadi said, adding that the Supreme National Security Council has opposed the idea. Government officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, have rejected calls and requests to quarantine Qom, the holy Shia city believed to be the main source of the coronavirus outbreak across Iran and neighboring countries. At the same time, a member of the city council of Tehran has estimated the number of people infected with coronavirus in Iran to be as high as 15,000. “The number of people infected with coronavirus across the country could be between 10,000 to 15,000,” the semi-official ILNA news agency quoted the head of the city council’s health committee Nahid Khodakarami as saying on Friday.
16 Syrian troops, militiamen killed in Turkish retaliation: Monitor
AFP, Beirut/Friday, 28 February 2020
The retaliatory drone and artillery strikes hit Syria army positions in southern and eastern parts of the province which were recaptured by the government in a nearly three-month-old offensive against the rebel enclave, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
There was no immediate confirmation from Damascus of the reported deaths or any comment on the flare-up with Ankara that prompted NATO to call an urgent meeting of its ruling council for later Friday.
NATO Holds Urgent Talks as World Condemns Idlib Violence
Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 28 February, 2020
NATO’s ruling council will meet Friday for urgent talks on the Syria crisis after at least 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in an airstrike blamed on Damascus. “The North Atlantic Council, which includes the ambassadors of all 29 NATO allies, will meet on Friday 28 February following a request by Turkey to hold consultations under article 4 of NATO’s founding Washington Treaty on the situation in Syria,” the alliance said in a statement. The United Nations on Thursday called for urgent action in northwest Syria, warning that “the risk of greater escalation grows by the hour.” “The Secretary-General reiterates his call for an immediate ceasefire and expresses particular concern about the risk to civilians from escalating military actions,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. “Without urgent action, the risk of even greater escalation grows by the hour.” The statement came after the 33 Turkish soldiers were killed in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, as violence escalates in the already chaotic region. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was following the situation with “grave concern,” Dujarric said. “The Secretary-General reiterates that there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict,” he said, calling for a UN-facilitated peace process. The United States demanded that the Syrian regime and its ally Russia end their “despicable” operation in Idlib and vowed to support Ankara. “We stand by our NATO ally Turkey and continue to call for an immediate end to this despicable offensive by the Assad regime, Russia and Iranian-backed forces,” a State Department spokesperson said. “We are looking at options on how we can best support Turkey in this crisis.” Reacting earlier to preliminary reports on the killing of the Turkish soldiers, Kay Bailey Hutchison, the US ambassador to NATO, said the incident amounted to a “huge change.” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg condemned “indiscriminate” airstrikes by the Assad regime and Russia, his spokesman said Friday. Stoltenberg “called on them to stop their offensive, to respect international law and to back UN efforts for a peaceful solution.”The NATO chief made his stance in a call with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. “He urged all parties to deescalate this dangerous situation and avoid further worsening of the horrendous humanitarian situation in the region,” Stoltenberg’s spokesman said.
Death toll of Turkish soldiers killed in Syria in February alone reaches 53
AFP/Friday, 28 February 2020
The latest casualties bring to 53 the number of Turkish troops killed in Syria this month alone after 33 soldiers were killed on Thursday in the battleground northwestern province of Idlib. Turkey reprised and killed 20 Syrian soldiers later on Friday with drone and artillery strikes hitting Syrian army positions in southern and eastern parts of the province which were recaptured by the government in a nearly three-month-old offensive against the enclave, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. At least 16 regime fighters died in those strikes, while another four were killed by artillery fire on positions in neighboring Aleppo province, the Observatory added. Also on Friday in Idlib, four members of a single family, two of them children, were killed in airstrikes, according to the Britain-based monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria. There was no immediate confirmation from Damascus of the reported troop deaths or any comment on the flare-up with Ankara that prompted NATO to call an urgent meeting of its ruling council. The alliance later Friday offered solidarity and support to Turkey but no pledges of concrete new measures to defend Ankara’s forces. Turkey had said it retaliated “from the air and ground” for the deaths of the 33 soldiers, Ankara’s biggest single loss of personnel by far since it launched its intervention in Syria in 2016. The deadly strike comes after weeks of growing tension between Turkey and Russia – the main foreign brokers in the Syrian conflict.
Top Russian, US generals discuss Syria amid tensions: Report
Reuters, Moscow/Friday, 28 February 2020
The heads of the Russian and US general staffs discussed the situation in Syria in a phone call on Friday amid mounting tensions over the province of Idlib, the Interfax news agency cited Russia’s Defense Ministry as saying. The phone call came after the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in a strike by Syrian government forces in Syria’s northwestern Idlib region on Thursday.Russia is a close ally of the Syrian government. Turkey and the US are members of NATO.
US offered to help Iran with responding to coronavirus: Pompeo
Reuters, Washington/Friday, 28 February 2020
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday the United States has offered to help with the coronavirus response in Iran, where the outbreak has killed 34 people, and raised doubts about Tehran’s willingness to share information. In a hearing at House Foreign Affairs Committee, Pompeo said the Islamic Republic did not have a solid healthcare infrastructure.
Moscow urges Ankara to protect Russian citizens in Turkey: Report
Reuters, Moscow/Friday, 28 February 2020
The Kremlin said on Friday that Moscow hoped Turkey would do everything to protect Russian nationals and Russia’s diplomatic facilities in Turkey amid mounting tensions over Syria, the RIA news agency reported.
The comments followed the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in a strike by Syrian government forces in Syria’s northwestern Idlib region on Thursday. Russia is a close ally of the Syrian government. President Vladimir Putin met Russia’s Security Council on Friday to discuss Syria and said that Turkish troops should not be positioned outside their observation posts in Syria’s Idlib, the Kremlin was quoted as saying.
EU fears all-out war over Syria conflict
AFP, Brussels/Friday, 28 February 2020
The EU is worried that the situation in Syria, where dozens of Turkish troops were killed by regime air strikes, could descend into all-out war, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted on Friday.
“There is a risk of sliding into a major open international military confrontation. It is also causing unbearable humanitarian suffering and putting civilians in danger,” he said. The EU urged a rapid de-escalation and “will consider all necessary measures to protect its security interests,” he said, adding that the bloc was in contact with “all relevant actors.”
Greece blocks migrants at border after Turkey says it will let refugees into Europe
Agencies/Friday, 28 February 2020
Greece will not tolerate any illegal entries of migrants through its borders and will increase its border security, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday. Migrants and refugees started gathering at the Greek-Turkish land border after Turkey warned that it would let out thousands of refugees stuck in the country since a 2016 accord between Ankara and the European Union. In a tweet Mitsotakis said Greece “does not bear any responsibility for the tragic events in Syria and will not suffer the consequences of decisions taken by others.” Greek border guards on Friday blocked hundreds of migrants from entering the country, police said, hours after Turkey announced it would no longer hold them back from Europe. The head of Greece’s general staff and the minister for police were dispatched to the area as the government said it had “tightened” border vigilance “to the maximum level possible.”
Fears over Constitutional Vacuum after Iraq Parliament Postpones Confidence Vote
Baghdad – Hamza Mustafa/Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 28 February, 2020 –
The Iraqi parliament’s failure to approve the government of Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Allawi has threatened to prolong the country’s months-long crisis and create a constitutional vacuum. Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi adjourned on Thursday a session to approve the cabinet proposed by Allawi because of a lack of quorum, after lawmakers who opposed his nominees boycotted the session. Halbousi set another session for Saturday. Allawi failed on Thursday to convince the 329-member parliament to have quorum for a vote of confidence on his proposed cabinet that is made up of 18 ministers. Following talks with Halbousi and the Speaker’s deputy, Hassan al-Kaabi, the PM-designate made changes to his proposed government and kept the ministries of defense, interior, finance and justice vacant pending consensus among rival political parties. Former Minister of Displaced Jassem al-Jaf, who is a member of the Kurdish delegation that is holding consultations with Allawi, told Asharq Al-Awsat that there are ongoing discussions with the premier-designate. “There’s still an opportunity to achieve a formula that is acceptable by all sides,” he said. However, Irada movement member MP Hussein Arab told the newspaper that it is difficult to have consensus on a government accepted by the parliament. “Ongoing differences among political parties and blocs make it difficult to approve Allawi’s proposed cabinet,” said Arab. Political analyst Bahaa Alaeddine, a former adviser to the Iraqi president, was more optimistic, saying the PM-designate could receive the backing of the majority of lawmakers if he knew how to negotiate with the political blocs. Allawi issued a long list of promises when he was nominated this month: to hold early elections, punish people who killed protesters, end foreign interference and check the power of non-state armed groups – an ambitious program for a prime minister who has no particular party behind him. But there are fears of a constitutional vacuum if Allawi failed to win parliament’s vote of confidence on Saturday. The constitutional deadline for his cabinet’s approval is Monday. If the deadline expires with no new government, either the president would take over pending political consensus on a new PM-designate, or the head of state would appoint a new figure to form the cabinet. The country faces a mass protest movement that broke out in October and brought down former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi two months later. His cabinet has stayed on in a caretaker capacity, however.
Arab Health Ministers to Hold Urgent Meeting On Covid-19
Cairo – Sawsan Abu Hussein/Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 28 February, 2020
The Arab Council of Health Ministers called for an urgent meeting on the level of experts to review plans for monitoring and exchanging experiences on ways to combat the new coronavirus (COVID-19). In a statement issued following the 53rd regular session of the Arab Council of Health Ministers, held in the Arab League headquarters in Cairo on Thursday, the ministers expressed solidarity with China and its efforts to curb down the effects of the virus. The urgent expert meeting will take place during the second month of March in Cairo, according to the statement. The ministers also underlined the importance of implementing World Health Organization (WHO) directives, saying that protection and the wellbeing of citizens in the region was of utmost importance. “It is necessary to enhance communication between the Arab member states, exchange information and continuous coordination between health organizations and related sectors in the Arab countries, as well as precautionary plans developed by Arab countries to confront this disease,” the statement emphasized. It added that participants urged Arab nations and organizations to follow up on the latest developments concerning the COVID-19 virus, adding that the Arab League was eager to share information in this regard with complete transparency and credibility.
UNRWA Warns of Reduction in Services over Lack of Funds
Ramallah – Asharq Al-Awsat/Friday, 28 February, 2020
Spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Adnan Abu Hasna has stated that the agency is suffering from an unprecedented financial crisis that might affect its programs and operations in various regions. “UNRWA has faced an unprecedented financial crisis for several decades. The crisis is getting worse and may effect our programs and assistance provided to Palestinian refugees,” said Abu Hasna. He clarified that so far, there were pledges to pay USD299 million as part of a total budget of more than USD1.4 billion that UNRWA needs during 2020. “We have received so far USD125 million donations out of USD299 million,” Abu Hasna said, adding that “there is not enough funding for our emergency programs in Gaza and the West Bank.” UNRWA decided to reduce its running cost and will not employ more staff or promote employees. The spokesman said in a press statement that if the agency does not receive any funding, the services might be reduced in May. Christian Saunders, Acting UNRWA Commissioner-General, called for a minimum of USD1.4 billion to fund the agency’s essential services and assistance, including life-saving humanitarian aid and priority projects, for 5.6 million registered Palestine refugees across the Middle East for the year 2020. Of the required USD1.4 billion, the agency will use USD806 million for essential core services, which encompass education, health, infrastructure and camp improvement, relief and social services, protection and microfinance and contribute to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda. The presentation of the agency’s 2020 priorities and financial requirements comes in the wake of the recent extension by the United Nations General Assembly of the UNRWA mandate for another three years until June 2023. The agency will be able to provide education to over half a million girls and boys in some 700 schools across the region, and enable 8.5 million patient visits in its health facilities, like it did in 2019. UNRWA revealed that an additional amount of USD155 million is required to provide emergency humanitarian aid to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza, and USD270 million is needed in support of the Syria Regional Crisis Emergency Appeal (Palestinian refugees from Syria in Lebanon and Jordan). An estimated USD170 million is required for priority projects, in particular, rehousing and reconstruction initiatives in response to conflicts in Syria and Gaza, as well as, initiatives designed to complete and strengthen program reforms and delivery.
Three Syrian Soldiers Wounded by Israeli Fire near Golan
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 28/2020
At least three Syrian soldiers were wounded by Israeli helicopter fire near the annexed Golan Heights late Thursday, the official SANA agency reported. “Israeli helicopters launched missiles above the occupied Golan Heights, hitting (Syrian) army positions at Kahtaniyeh, Al-Horiyyat and the liberated town of Quneitra, leaving three wounded among the troops,” SANA said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said one Syrian soldier was killed in the attack and seven were wounded, some of them seriously. It comes after a Syrian linked to the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah was killed in a cross-border Israeli drone strike earlier Thursday, SOHR said. The strike targeted his car in Haidar village in Quneitra province near the annexed Golan Heights, SOHR head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. A source named the man as Imad Tawil, while Syria’s official news agency SANA said he was a civilian resident of Haidar. The Jewish state has carried out hundreds of strikes on regime targets as well as forces of the government’s Iranian and Hezbollah allies since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011. On Sunday night, Israeli air strikes near Damascus killed six pro-regime fighters, according to the Britain-based SOHR, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.
