A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For March 01-02/2020 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 137th Day

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A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For March 01-02/2020 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 137th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
March 02/2020

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 01-02/2020
Lebanon’s Hezbollah holds funeral for five of its fighters killed in Syria
Thousands Bury Hizbullah Fighters Killed in Syria’s Idlib
8 Hizbullah Fighters Killed in Syria’s Idlib
Woman forbidden from seeing daughter sparks debate over religious law in Lebanon/Abby Sewell/Al Arabiya/01 March/2020
Three new coronavirus cases confirmed in Lebanon, total now 10
Al-Rahi Urges ‘More Serious’ Anti-Coronavirus Approach
Fadlallah Defends Hizbullah Role in Idlib Battle
Berri Backs Capital Control but Not a ‘Haircut’
Lebanese Order of Physicians: To prevent entry of delegations from affected areas
Health Ministry: Three new Coronavirus cases
Diab: Honoring of Maalouf is an additional incentive to restore the bright image of Lebanon
Diab says aim of assassinating Maarouf Saad was to kill the dreams of the Lebanese
Japan to Send Vice Justice Minister to Lebanon over Ghosn Case
Council of Arab Interior Ministers: Adopting an Arab strategy to confront information technology crimes
Raad: The Eurobond deadline will have repercussions on our country
Fahmi at the Arab Interior Ministers Conference: Lebanon is an integral part of the Arab nation
Hussein al-Wajeh appointed as ‘Media Affairs Adviser’ at Hariri’s office
European Chambers of Experts Federation Representative: Not to compromise in containing the risks of Coronavirus
Coronavirus: Iran’s Kiss of Death to the Lebanese/Hanin Ghaddar/Al Arabiya/March 01/2020
Hezbollah adds coronavirus to list of things imported from Iran, imposed on Lebanese/Raghida Dergham/The National/March 01/2020
Hezbollah Cannot Survive Without Iran’s Support, Lebanese Analyst Says/Ahmad Rafat/Kayhan Life/February 29/2020

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 01-02/2020
Lebanon’s Hezbollah holds funeral for five of its fighters killed in Syria
The Associated Press, Beirut/Sunday, 1 March 2020
Thousands of mourners thronged the coffins of five fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah, whose funeral was held on Sunday in southern Beirut after they were killed in neighboring Syria’s northwestern Idlib region.
The fighters were among at least eight Hezbollah members who died on Friday in Turkish attacks amid fierce fighting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and Turkish troops and allied militiamen. The deaths marked the highest for the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah in Syria in years. Hezbollah sent thousands of its battle-hardened fighters into Syria in 2012, a year after the country’s conflict began. They’ve been helping al-Assad’s forces win major battles against opposition fighters, and along with Russian air power have turned the tide of the war. Over the past two years, as the security situation stabilized in many areas, Hezbollah withdrew much of its forces, leaving only a few hundred fighters in several areas across the war-torn country. The funeral was held in Beirut’s southern district of Ghobeiri. A crowd of a few thousand people – relatives and supporters – walked behind five coffins wrapped in yellow Hezbollah flags amid cries of “Allahu Akbar,” meaning “God is great.” Heavy gunfire rang out as supporters fired in the air, a traditional sign of mourning. At least five people were seen being taken on stretchers after they fainted, apparently overwhelmed by emotion. It was not clear exactly how many Hezbollah fighters were killed in Friday’s attacks in Idlib. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 14 Hezbollah fighters were killed on Friday afternoon in the village of Talhiyeh when Turkish drones attacked their post as well as others of the Syrian army. The Observatory’s chief, Rami Abdurrahman, said the 14 Hezbollah fighters included 10 Lebanese citizens and four of other nationalities, including at least one Iranian. Hezbollah later released a statement listing the names and photos of eight of its fighters, including an Iranian cleric identified as Sayyed Ali Zengani. It gave no details other than saying that they “were martyred while performing their jihadi duties.”More than a thousand Hezbollah fighters, including several founding members, have been killed in Syria.

Thousands Bury Hizbullah Fighters Killed in Syria’s Idlib
Associated Press/Naharnet/March 01/2020
Thousands of mourners thronged the coffins of five Hizbullah fighters whose funeral was held Sunday in Beirut’s southern suburbs after they were killed in neighboring Syria’s northwestern Idlib region. The fighters were among at least eight Hizbullah members who died Friday in Turkish attacks amid fierce fighting between Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces and Turkish troops and allied militiamen. The deaths marked the highest for Hizbullah in Syria in years. Hizbullah sent thousands of its battle-hardened fighters into Syria in 2012, a year after the country’s conflict began. They’ve been helping Assad’s forces win major battles against rebels, and along with Russian air power have turned the tide of the war. Over the past two years, as the security situation stabilized in many areas, Hizbullah withdrew much of its forces, leaving only a few hundred fighters in several areas across the war-torn country. The funeral was held in Beirut’s southern district of Ghobeiri. A crowd of a few thousand people — relatives and supporters — walked behind five coffins wrapped in yellow Hizbullah flags amid cries of “Allahu Akbar,” meaning “God is great.”Heavy gunfire rang out as supporters fired in the air, a traditional sign of mourning. At least five people were seen being taken on stretchers after they fainted, apparently overwhelmed by emotion. It was not clear exactly how many Hizbullah fighters were killed in Friday’s attacks in Idlib. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 14 Hizbullah fighters were killed Friday afternoon in the village of Talhiyeh when Turkish drones attacked their post as well as others of the Syrian army. The Observatory’s chief, Rami Abdul Rahman, said the 14 Hizbullah fighters included 10 Lebanese citizens and four of other nationalities, including at least one Iranian.
Hizbullah later released a statement listing the names and photos of eight of its fighters, including an Iranian cleric identified as Sayyed Ali Zengani. It gave no details other than saying that they “were martyred while performing their jihadi duties.”More than a thousand Hizbullah fighters, including several founding members, have been killed in Syria.

8 Hizbullah Fighters Killed in Syria’s Idlib

Associated Press/Naharnet/March 01/2020
Hizbullah lost at least eight fighters in northwest Syria in skirmishes with insurgents and airstrikes by Turkey’s air force, an opposition war monitor and the Iran-backed group said. The casualties followed the death of at least 33 Turkish soldiers earlier this week. The deaths marked the highest for the group in Syria in years as Hizbullah has pulled out many of its fighters from the neighboring country. Hizbullah sent thousands of its battle-hardened fighters into Syria a year after the country’s conflict began in 2011, helping President Bashar Assad’s forces win major battles against insurgents. But over the past two years, Hizbullah has withdrawn many of its forces, leaving only a few hundred of them in several areas around the war-torn country. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 14 Hizbullah fighters were killed Friday afternoon in the village of Talhiyeh when Turkish drones attacked their post as well as others of the Syrian army. The Observatory said 48 Syrian soldiers have also been killed since Thursday in Turkish bombardments and drone attacks in the region. The Observatory’s chief, Rami Abdul Rahman, said the 14 Hizbullah fighters included 10 Lebanese citizens and four of other nationalities, including at least one Iranian. Hizbullah later released a statement listing the names and photos of eight of its fighters, including an Iranian cleric identified as Sayyed Ali Zengani. It gave no details other than saying that they “were martyred while performing their jihadi duties.”
More than a thousand Hizbullah fighters, including several founding members, have been killed in Syria.

Woman forbidden from seeing daughter sparks debate over religious law in Lebanon
Abby Sewell, Special to Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 1 March
A video of a bereaved mother separated from her daughter’s grave by a fence has reignited the debate over Lebanon’s religion-based personal status law system.
In Lebanon, religious courts govern matters of marriage, divorce, and child custody. Each sect has its own set of rules, most of which give preference to men over women.
In the past week, a widely circulated video showed a woman named Lina Jaber from the Tyre area in southern Lebanon sobbing outside of the fenced private plot where her 14-year old daughter, Maya, is buried, wailing, “Sleep, my little one. You’re a martyr to injustice and wrath … My soul is with you, my darling. I want to die.”As Jaber previously told Al Arabiya she had been forbidden to see her daughter for more than two years after divorcing the girl’s father and had not been allowed to visit her grave after Maya died two months ago – allegedly from an accidental gunshot wound.
The Jaafari court, which enforces civil status issues for the Shia community, to which Jaber belongs, automatically gives custody to fathers at the age of two for boys and at the age of seven for girls when their parents get a divorce.
Activists protest against Lebanon’s personal status law. In the wake of the video’s publication, activists staged protests Friday in front of the Jaafari court in Tyre and Saturday in front of the Supreme Islamic Shia Council in south Beirut, calling for Shia religious authorities to change the custody rules.Meanwhile, advocates have renewed pressure for the introduction of legislation to create a unified, civil personal status law for all sects.
The protest in Tyre – where a tearful Jaber was present, holding her daughter’s picture – was sparsely attended. But Riham Roumieh, an activist with the group Cry of the Women of the South, said the fact that it was held at all was significant.
“This is the first time there has been a protest in Tyre over this issue, the issue of custody,” she told Al Arabiya. “It was a cry to ask for our right to custody — specifically in front of the Jaafari court because the Jaafari Court is the one making the most unjust decisions regarding the rights of the woman and the child – and to encourage every mother who has a problem with the custody system to speak out and raise her voice because once they see we are not afraid and are speaking out, maybe something will change.”
At the protest in Beirut, protesters chanted, “In the name of the Imam Hussein, where is your justice?” referencing the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson, one of the holiest figures in the Shia sect.
Lina Zahr Eddine, who said she had been separated from her children for six years – eventually winning custody after “a very big fight,” told Al Arabiya, “It’s shameful that this thing is happening in Lebanon. At the least we should raise the age of custody for girl and the boy, and that there should be shared custody for the mother and the father.”
At a time when the attention of political leaders has turned to Lebanon’s economic crisis, activists are hoping that the attention Jaber’s case has received can help to return the spotlight to women’s rights issues.
Layal Awada, an attorney for the women’s rights group KAFA, said the group had been set to launch a proposed draft personal status law on October 18, but the eruption of mass anti-government protests on October 17, 2019, had temporarily derailed the plans. Claudine Aoun Roukoz, president of the National Commission for Lebanese Women, said she supports the draft legislation and is now searching for members of Parliament willing to put it forward.
Under the current system, she said, “Not only there is discrimination between women and men, there is discrimination between women and women” because women of different sects are treated differently. “The solution would be one law for everyone.”In the meantime, Aoun Roukoz said she is advocating for the religious authorities to amend their own laws.
As to whether lawmakers will be willing to make women’s rights issues a priority at a time when most are focused on the country’s economic crisis, she said, “Women’s issues are never priorities in Lebanon, from 100 years to now. It’s never a priority because there’s always something on the political or economic level.”This is despite women’s rights being important for economic growth, according to Aoun Roukoz. “If you want to have economic growth in a country, you need to have equal rights,” she said. “We have to make it a priority — even if it’s not a priority in the minds of the politicians.”

Three new coronavirus cases confirmed in Lebanon, total now 10
Reuters, Beirut/Sunday, 1 March 2020
Lebanon’s health ministry said on Sunday three more people had tested positive for coronavirus after arriving from Iran, bringing the total in the country to 10. The three patients, who had been in isolation at home, were quarantined at a Beirut hospital after showing symptoms, the ministry said in a statement. Lebanon closed schools this week and halted flights for non-residents from countries with outbreaks, namely China, Iran, Italy and South Korea.

Al-Rahi Urges ‘More Serious’ Anti-Coronavirus Approach
Naharnet/March 01/2020
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday called on Lebanese authorities to adopt a “more serious approach” in its measures against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. “The biggest concern is the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which is threatening the safety of citizens be them young or old,” al-Rahi said in his Sunday Mass sermon. “It requires accurate solutions and a more serious approach,” he urged. Al-Rahi added: “We pray to God to help the officials and inspire them about the best means to overcome the stifling economic and financial crisis. We also plead to God to protect our people from hunger, need and sickness, especially the coronavirus disease.”Lebanon has confirmed seven coronavirus cases and the patients are being quarantined at Beirut’s state-run hospital. The majority of those infected had visited Iran in recent weeks. Lebanese authorities have ordered the closure of all educational institutions and nurseries until March 9 and have banned citizens of China, Iran, Italy and South Korea from visiting Lebanon unless they have residency permits. Religious visits to Iran and Iraq have meanwhile been halted but Lebanese authorities have said that Lebanese citizens in the most affected countries will be allowed to return home.

Rahi calls for courageous political decision to implement reforms
NNA/Sunday, 01 March 2020
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rahi, presided over Sunday Mass service in Bkirki. During the ceremony, Rahi indicated that “a courageous political decision is required for the implementation of the needed reforms.” He added: “People are waiting for the government to get the country out of its crisis, especially that many projects in this regard are ready, pending the political decision.”

Fadlallah Defends Hizbullah Role in Idlib Battle

Naharnet/March 01/2020
Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Hasan Fadlallah on Sunday defended Hizbullah’s participation in the ongoing battle in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib near Turkey’s border, hours after Hizbullah announced the death of eight of its fighters there. “The Islamic Resistance martyrs who ascended yesterday were through their blood trying to thwart an attempt by the takfiri groups and the states that back them to spread their presence once again in Syria,” Fadlallah said at a memorial service for one of the slain fighters in the southern town of Kfardounin. “This battle that the resistance is fighting is in the face of a takfiri scheme led by the U.S. and its allies in the region,” the MP added. “We will remain at the heart of the confrontation against it after it faced a major defeat due to the resilience of Syria and its army along with our resistance and Syria’s allies. We will continue this confrontation to prevent these people from seizing control anew of Syria,” Fadlallah went on to say. He added: “We will remain in this battle as much as it needs our presence, at any location or spot, so that booby-trapped cars do not return to Lebanon and so that these groups do not return to our border.”
The deaths in Idlib marked the highest for Hizbullah in Syria in years as the group has pulled out many of its fighters from the neighboring country. Hizbullah sent thousands of its battle-hardened fighters into Syria a year after the country’s conflict began in 2011, helping President Bashar Assad’s forces win major battles against insurgents. But over the past two years, Hizbullah has withdrawn many of its forces, leaving only a few hundred of them in several areas around the war-torn country. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 14 Hizbullah fighters were killed Friday afternoon in the village of Talhiyeh when Turkish drones attacked their post as well as others of the Syrian army. The Observatory’s chief, Rami Abdul Rahman, said the 14 Hizbullah fighters included 10 Lebanese citizens and four of other nationalities, including at least one Iranian. More than a thousand Hizbullah fighters, including several founding members, have been killed in Syria.

Berri Backs Capital Control but Not a ‘Haircut’
Naharnet/March 01/2020
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri is in favor of banks imposing capital control on depositors but he does not support a haircut, a media report said. “Speaker Nabih Berri supports capital controls that would preserve the money of depositors through allowing withdrawals in the form of installments,” sources told Kuwait’s al-Anbaa newspaper in remarks published Sunday. But he is against “a haircut which would deduct from deposits or turn them into long-term bonds,” the sources added. Major banks in Lebanon began tightening banking controls in early February, halving the amount of dollars depositors are allowed to withdraw every month, despite growing public anger. Faced with a dollar liquidity crunch, banks have imposed informal controls on dollar withdrawals and transfers abroad since September amid widespread anti-government protests and Lebanon’s worst economic crisis in decades. Withdrawal limits differ from bank to bank, but have so far generally been capped at around $600 a month, while most transfers abroad have been halted. The informal controls have sparked public outrage in protest-hit Lebanon, where an anti-government street movement launched on October 17 has grown increasingly angry at banking policies.”These new illegal measures by banks come with the political blessing of the new government,” said activist Lucien Bourjeily. Experts and demonstrators say banking controls amount to a de facto “haircut” on savings because they are forcing dollar depositors to deal in the nosediving Lebanese pound. The currency has plunged against the greenback on the parallel exchange market, though the official peg of 1,507 pounds to the dollar in place since 1997 remains unchanged. Central bank chief Riad Salameh said in January that he agreed with money exchange houses to cap the parallel rate at 2,000 — but exchanges continued to charge rates edging towards 2,500. Salameh also asked for special powers to authorize the banks to set withdrawal limits, which had not formally been backed by the government. The finance ministry, however, has yet to publicly respond to his request.

Lebanese Order of Physicians: To prevent entry of delegations from affected areas
NNA/Sunday, 01 March 2020
The Lebanese Order of Physicians organized a workshop on the “Coronavirus Crisis and Ways of Prevention”, in the presence of the Ministers of Health, Hamad Hassan, and Social Affairs & Tourism, Ramzi Musharrafieh. At the end of the workshop, the delegates issued recommendations, the most important of which was the prohibition of entry of delegations from the affected areas to Lebanon, except for Lebanese citizens.

Health Ministry: Three new Coronavirus cases
NNA/Sunday, 01 March 2020
The Ministry of Public Health announced, in a statement on Sunday, that “three new laboratory-confirmed cases infected with the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been registered, who were previously aboard planes coming from Iran and were present in domestic isolation, and when they showed symptoms of the disease were transferred to Rafic Hariri University Hospital, and upon confirmation of the positive result of the PCR examination, they were transferred to the Hospital’s quarantine section; thus, raising the total number of infected cases to ten.”
In the context of combating the epidemic, the Health Ministry called on all expatriates coming from countries experiencing a local spread of the virus, “to strictly adhere to domestic isolation measures, and when any symptoms appear, to immediately contact the number 76/592699.”

Diab: Honoring of Maalouf is an additional incentive to restore the bright image of Lebanon
NNA/Sunday, 01 March 2020
Prime Minister Hassan Diab congratulated in a statement on Sunday, Lebanese renowned writer Amin Maalouf, after he was awarded the French National Order of Merit. “Despite the difficult circumstances that Lebanon is going through at the financial, economic, daily living and social levels, the French President Emmanuel Macron’s honoring of the Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf with the National Order of Merit in the name of the French Republic, comes to reflect Lebanon’s correct and civilized image; the Lebanon of culture, creativity and excellence,” said Diab. “We express our pride in writer Maalouf and extend our congratulations to him. This honor adds to our determination to work hard to face challenges and restore the brighter image of Lebanon that all the Lebanese are proud of,” Diab corroborated.

Diab says aim of assassinating Maarouf Saad was to kill the dreams of the Lebanese
NNA/Sunday, 01 March 2020
Prime Minister Hassan Diab tweeted Sunday on the commemoration of Martyr Maarouf Saad, saying: “Although 45 years have passed since the assassination of Martyr Maarouf Saad, the crime did not fade over time, for the goal was to kill the aspirations of the Lebanese in a state for all its people.”

Japan to Send Vice Justice Minister to Lebanon over Ghosn Case
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 01/2020
Japan has said it would send a deputy justice minister to Lebanon after failed attempts to get former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn to return for trial on financial misconduct charges. Hiroyuki Yoshiie, a deputy to Justice Minister Masako Mori, is to leave Tokyo on Saturday to meet the Lebanese justice minister and other officials, the ministry confirmed. He will return to Tokyo on Tuesday. “The accused (Ghosn) fled to Lebanon. We need to have people there understand Japan’s justice system correctly,” a justice ministry official told AFP while refraining from saying whether the visit was directly aimed at negotiating Ghosn’s handover. “There has been criticism in the international community of Japan’s justice system. We need to promote a correct understanding of our system and deepen cooperation with Lebanon,” said the official who declined to be named. Ghosn was arrested in November 2018 on financial misconduct charges and spent 130 days in detention. He dramatically jumped bail and fled Japan at the year end, leaving officials red-faced. They have demanded Ghosn return to face trial but Lebanon does not have an extradition treaty with Japan. Ghosn has denied all the charges and claimed he was a victim of a plot by Nissan and Japanese officials. He and his legal team also referred to the extended periods of detention as “hostage justice”, arguing the prosecutors were trying to force him to admit charges that he continues to deny.

Council of Arab Interior Ministers: Adopting an Arab strategy to confront information technology crimes
NNA/Sunday, 01 March 2020
The General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers announced, in a statement on Sunday, that the Council has decided at the conclusion of its 37th session held today in the Tunisian capital, to award the Prince Nayef Medal for Arab Security of Excellence degree, in its third session, to the Jordanian King Abdullah II Bin Al Hussein “in appreciation of his support to the joint Arab security work, his pioneering efforts to strengthen brotherhood and cooperation relations between Arab countries, and to the consolidation of peace and security in the region and the world.”In its final recommendations, the Council approved the Arab strategy to confront information technology crimes, and decided to establish a unit within the scope of the General Secretariat to combat these crimes. It also approved the executive plan for the project to develop the Arab strategy to combat terrorism and the guidelines for the work of its sub-committees. In their delivered speeches during the conference, a number of Arab interior ministers touched on the security threats facing the Arab region today, in the forefront of which are terrorism, drugs, illegal immigration and other forms of transnational organized crime.
Conferees also stressed on their keenness to continue to work to strengthen and develop the march of Arab joint security work, and reach more achievements in order to provide security and stability for all Arab peoples.

Raad: The Eurobond deadline will have repercussions on our country
NNA/Sunday, 01 March 2020
Head of the “Loyalty to the Resistance” Parliamentary Bloc, MP Mohammad Raad, hoped that “we will take steps, even if they are simple and modest, to confront the upcoming deadline on March 15, where a stance must be taken on the issue of repaying the Eurobond,” saying that the deadline “will leave repercussions on our country.”Speaking at a memorial service in the town of Bnehran in Koura today, Raad deemed that it is not enough for a person to stand on an uphill and blame those who have dealt with the government’s affairs. He, thus, highlighted the need to reassess one’s role in contributing to the country’s prevailing situation, and assist in a national economic revival. “We still hope that such re-evaluation will take place, because we remain keen on strengthening our internal national unity, which is part of the constituents of the nation’s resilience in the face of its enemies,” Raad underscored.

Fahmi at the Arab Interior Ministers Conference: Lebanon is an integral part of the Arab nation

NNA/Sunday, 01 March 2020
Interior and Municipalities Minister, Mohamed Fahmi, affirmed that Lebanon is an integral part of the Arab nation, saying, “We will remain united together, God willing, in order to build a better future for our peoples.” Delivering Lebanon’s address at the 37th Arab Interior Ministers Conference held at the headquarters of the Council’s General Secretariat in Tunisia on Sunday, Fahmi stressed that “Lebanon will not abandon its natural bosom, the embrace of its nation and its brothers,” adding that “relations will return to their previous status.” “There is an integrated challenge system facing our countries and our peoples to destroy what the ancestors built, which can only be confronted with our cooperation, cohesion, and unity,” Fahmi underlined. He added that “security interaction and continuous coordination have a positive impact in reaching what has been achieved in terms of security work and proactive security.”
Fahmi continued to stress that “the Lebanese government faces a heavy burden of daily living, economic and financial challenges, and also at the political and security levels,” describing it as “a government facing the challenges that resulted from the womb of pain and starvation, and is really a government for all the Lebanese.”Over the Syrian displacement issue, the Interior Minister indicated that “the insignificant international offerings to the displaced, whose number exceeded a million and a half, has exacerbated the crisis that is still being felt in the country.” On the other hand, and pursuing the second day of his official visit to Tunisia, Minister Fahmi held a series of meetings on the sidelines of the conference, where he held talks with the Saudi Interior Minister, Prince Abdul Aziz bin Saud bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, on the brotherly relations between the Saudi Kingdom and Lebanon and other matters of mutual interest. Fahmi stressed, herein, “the depth of the strong relations between the Saudi and Lebanese people, and the appreciation of the Lebanese leadership and people to Saudi Arabia, which embraces a major Lebanese community working in the Kingdom.”
Fahmi later met with Sultanate of Oman’s Interior Minister, Hammoud bin Faisal Al-Bouseidi, with the Lebanese-Omani relations topping their discussion. Fahmi seized the opportunity to wish all success to the new Omani leadership, praising the relation bonds between the two countries.
Later in the afternoon, the Interior Minister met with his Emirati counterpart, Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with talks centering on the strong relations between the Lebanese and the Emirati State, as well as common matters between the two countries. Fahmi praised “the pivotal Emirati role in the region at all levels, and the contributions it makes through Arab programs and organizations for Lebanon,” confirming “the depth of ties that unite the Lebanese and Emirati people, and ways to develop them towards a more advanced future to the benefit of both countries.”
In his meeting with his Jordanian counterpart, Salama Hammad Al Suhaim, Fahmi also tackled the Lebanese-Jordanian relations and joint coordination at all levels. Additionally, Minister Fahmi held talks with the Minister of Justice in the State of Qatar, Dr. Issa bin Saad Al Juffali Al Nuaimi, on the latest developments in the region, and mutual coordination on matters of common concern in light of the existing challenges. Fahmi expressed his permanent gratitude to the State of Qatar, “which has supported Lebanon in all the difficult stages it has witnessed, especially during the stages of the Israeli aggression.” He also praised the role of the Qatari leadership “in embracing the Lebanese community, which plays a prominent role in the interaction between the Lebanese and Qatari people.”

Hussein al-Wajeh appointed as ‘Media Affairs Adviser’ at Hariri’s office
NNANNA/Sunday, 01 March 2020
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s press office announced in a statement on Sunday, the appointment of Hussein al-Wajeh as “Adviser for Media Affairs” at Hariri’s private office, effective March 1, 2020.

European Chambers of Experts Federation Representative: Not to compromise in containing the risks of Coronavirus
NNA/Sunday, 01 March 2020
The representative of the Federation of European Chambers of Experts in Beirut, Counselor at the International Court for Dispute Resolution, Dr. Nabil Bou Ghantous, cautioned against any compromising attempt in containing the risks of the emerging Coronavirus.
In an issued statement on Sunday, Bou Ghantous commended the Education Minister’s decision to close schools and universities next week “to protect our children and young adults from the dangers of the Coronavirus”, calling for strict control over said decision “after we learned that two of the largest universities in Beirut did not adhere to the closure, in addition to some other educational institutions.” Bou Ghantous also deemed the decision to close popular markets as being a “precautionary step” on the right path, and called on officials and all concerned bodies in the public and private sectors to avoid any “leniency, slothfulness or delay in taking urgent measures to contain the risks that may arise from the spread of this epidemic, because the capabilities of confrontation available in Lebanon at present might be traditional, primitive and limited.”

حنين غدار: الكورونا هو قبلة الموت الإيرانية للبنانيين
Coronavirus: Iran’s Kiss of Death to the Lebanese
Hanin Ghaddar/Al Arabiya/March 01/2020
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/83704/%d8%ad%d9%86%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%ba%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%b1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%83%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%88%d9%86%d8%a7-%d9%87%d9%88-%d9%82%d8%a8%d9%84%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d9%88%d8%aa-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d9%8a%d8%b1/
As the Lebanese begin to fear the spread of coronavirus coming from Iran, Lebanon’s Health Minister finally announced a halt to “transportation by air, land, and sea for all persons arriving from countries that witness an outbreak of the coronavirus, with the exception of flights that exclusively carry Lebanese citizens and residents of Lebanon.” He listed China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran as the countries currently affected by the ban.
Not only did this decision come late – as Iranian planes have already been landing in Lebanon, bringing confirmed cases of coronavirus with them – but it did not really convey the truth. On the same day that the minister announced the ban, local media reported that a group coming from Iran crossed into Lebanon via the Lebanese-Syrian border. Meanwhile, the Lebanese embassy in Tehran asked Lebanese nationals residing in Iran to return to Lebanon, recommending they book specific flights on March 2 and March 4.
It is not surprising that the Lebanese government is making inaccurate announcements. This is a government that was entirely designed and vetted by Lebanese Hezbollah and will not make decisions that harm the interests of the organization or its Iranian backers. However, the government still had to make assurances – although deceptive – to calm fears in Lebanon, where people are now seriously worried after the health ministry said on Sunday three more people had tested positive for coronavirus after arriving from Iran, bringing the total in the country to 10.
Many of those concerned are Hezbollah’s own community within the Shia population in Lebanon, who are more exposed to the virus coming straight to them from Iran. In addition to Hezbollah’s failure to fight corruption, implement reforms, or form a government that can save Lebanon, now the “Party of God” is utterly embarrassed as the deadly virus comes from Iran, the only place that was supposed to be the savior of Lebanon – not its deathtrap.
Hezbollah is still trying to handle the potential risk coming from Iran, but the repercussions might be more critical than expected. In addition to the reported cases, Syrian sources told local media that many fighters in Iran’s militias fighting in Syria – including Hezbollah fighters – have already been infected with the virus, and they go back to Lebanon regularly. Therefore, the Shia community will eventually realize that it not only will be more exposed to the coronavirus than the rest of the Lebanese, it will also be further isolated from other communities.
Moreover, the Lebanese in general are going to be banned from travel once the virus spreads as it is in Iran. Bahrain has already suspended flights to and from Iraq and Lebanon, and many other countries in the region and the world will follow. In the midst of the ongoing financial crisis in Lebanon, this is the last thing the Lebanese need. Again, fingers will be pointed at Hezbollah and Iran.
Lebanon is apparently unprepared for a large-scale coronavirus outbreak. Asked whether Lebanon could deal with a widespread local transmission of the virus, World Health Organization representative for Lebanon Dr. Iman Shankiti told The Daily Star, “If we have a huge number, no … with current supplies and capacities it will be difficult.” She added that Hariri University Hospital is able to accommodate 128 mild cases and around 11 severe cases.
Hezbollah seems to be stuck between the Shia community’s fears and potential rage on the one hand, and its relations with the Iranian regime on the other. If Hezbollah halts all travel to and from Iran, and eventually the countries where the Iranian regime’s armies are spread – Syria, Iraq and Yemen – the organization will be isolated from its life source and the core of its strength. But if it doesn’t, Hezbollah will have to face unprecedented outrage from the Lebanese people in general and the Shia community in particular, with discontent already simmering because of the ongoing financial crisis.
With no means to control this situation, Iran and Hezbollah are – probably for the first time – incapable of creating a strategy to giving assurances to the people. This is a virus that has spread universally. It is not a conspiracy by the West. It is not a weapon created by the US or Israel to kill the Iranian and Lebanese people. In fact, it started in China, Iran and Hezbollah’s ally.
Iran is starting to look bad. Not only has it stopped sending money to Lebanon, but it is now sending a deadly virus instead. Hezbollah has barely recovered from the nationwide protests that shook it to its core. It is going to be much more difficult to come back from this crisis once the virus takes hold locally.

راغدة درغام: حزب الله يضيف الكورونا لقائمة ما يستورده من إيران ويفرضه على اللبنانيين
Hezbollah adds coronavirus to list of things imported from Iran, imposed on Lebanese
Raghida Dergham/The National/March 01/2020
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/83689/%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%ba%d8%af%d8%a9-%d8%af%d8%b1%d8%ba%d8%a7%d9%85-%d8%ad%d8%b2%d8%a8-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d9%87-%d9%8a%d8%b6%d9%8a%d9%81-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%83%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%88%d9%86%d8%a7-%d9%84%d9%82%d8%a7/
Lebanon’s dysfunction and ongoing disintegration are largely the fault of the country’s political class, which has looted its resources and stolen its future. Lebanon is in grave danger, with Iran and Hezbollah directly implicated, as it faces political siege, economic collapse and now a viral epidemic.
A troika system, in which Lebanon’s three high offices are shared between religious sects, governs in Beirut. This means that responsibility for political-economic and health crises alike falls on the shoulders of President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Hassan Diab and parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri to confront Hezbollah – the militant party controlling parliament.
But instead of acting on Lebanon’s issues, the leadership is engaged in stalling and horse-trading. If this continues, it must be held accountable at home and internationally. The ongoing shirking of moral and constitutional responsibilities puts the Lebanese people at mortal risk.
At present, Hezbollah’s continued rejection of assistance from the International Monetary Fund to bail Lebanon out of its ongoing financial crisis risks causing economic catastrophe. Moreover, the United States has already started preparing new sanctions on Hezbollah allies and associates under the Magnitsky Act. The American law has both security and human-rights dimensions, and empowers US courts with universal jurisdiction to prosecute those involved in serious violations or corruption by freezing assets, imposing travel bans and compelling governments to cooperate on penalty of sanctions.
Europe, for its part, is coddling the Lebanese government by implying
through diplomatic channels that EU policies diverge from American ones. This is misleading, given that European leaders will find it difficult to provide any assistance to the Hezbollah – backed government in Beirut, without American consent.
Instead, Lebanon needs the international community to support a bold position against Hezbollah, as well as clarity from the party on its organisational relationship with Iran – including overlaps within its ranks between its own militants and personnel from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, particularly the latter’s elite Quds Force.
These murky political and militant links are not only threatening Lebanon’s economy, but also its people’s health. Of course, one first hopes that Iran will be able to contain the epidemic there for the sake of Iranians. But in Lebanon, the performance of the health minister Mohammad Hassan, who is affiliated to Hezbollah, has been dismal and dangerous.
All over the Middle East, countries are endeavouring to contain coronavirus by halting flights from Iran – by far the worst-hit country in the region. Mr Hassan and the Hezbollah government are declining to do so, leaving all Lebanese people heavily exposed.
It falls on all three of Lebanon’s top leaders to fully disclose the coronavirus-related risks being imposed on the people, and to be transparent about the virus’s spread within Lebanese borders. It is widely suspected that Iran is putting itself on a path to self-destruction by covering up the real number of cases. Lebanon cannot afford to do the same.
Hezbollah has already imported a failing revolution from Iran to Lebanon because of its misplaced loyalty to Tehran. It must not allow the import of a viral epidemic on that account as well.
Furthermore, a deepening of Lebanon’s economic crisis will only weaken the ability of its medical sector to fight coronavirus.
Mr Diab and his cabinet would do well to ignore Hezbollah’s opposition to an IMF rescue plan, which has been entrenched further by a “fatwa” from the party’s deputy secretary general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, barring anything more than “technical assistance”. This would earn Mr Diab the confidence of the Lebanese and the global community. It would also render him an ally of the revolution against corruption. But crucially, it would also attract to Lebanon the resources it needs to brace for the other challenges that lie ahead.
It is no secret that US President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and the rest of the US government have resolved that political solutions in Lebanon are the condition for economic ones, and that Hezbollah is the main obstacle standing in the way.
Denial of the necessity to meet these demands has brought Lebanon to the brink. Yet, many in Lebanon – first and foremost those who support the current government – demand that the US and other Western powers “accommodate and adapt” to their country’s “special circumstances” of being open to the West yet beholden to Iran. In reality, what the Lebanese must do, in order to save themselves, is demand that Hezbollah accommodate and adapt.
The interests of Hezbollah’s popular base and constituency are better served by fighting corruption and taking practical steps to receive much-needed global support. The party’s leaders fear IMF assistance because they think it would undermine their power, and because real reforms would lead to Hezbollah’s financial ruin. For this reason, the issue is almost an existential one for Hezbollah.
Hezbollah would be better off re-conceiving itself as a purely Lebanese entity that does not play along with Iran’s regional expansionist policies. Only by engaging with an IMF bailout program, taking a path to real reform and adopting measures that support the healthcare system rather than weaken it will the government in Beirut win the real support of the people it claims to represent.
*Raghida Dergham is the founder and executive chairwoman of the Beirut Institute
https://www.thenational.ae/opinion/hezbollah-adds-coronavirus-to-list-of-things-imported-from-iran-imposed-on-lebanese-1.986178

Hezbollah Cannot Survive Without Iran’s Support, Lebanese Analyst Says
Ahmad Rafat/Kayhan Life/February 29/2020
Tens of thousands of Lebanese marched in the streets of their capital city Beirut earlier this month to protest against the prevailing economic crisis, high unemployment, and widespread corruption in the country. The demonstrators tried to block the entrance to the Lebanese Parliament to prevent members from casting their vote of confidence for the new Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his government.
Footage on social media and several network news outlets showed plainclothes security officers, Hezbollah agents and members of the Shia Amal Movement brutalizing the protesters. According to a report by the Lebanese Red Cross, clashes between the demonstrators and security forces left some 400 people injured.
The Lebanese Parliament ultimately passed the motion with 69 votes cast by members of Hezbollah, the Shia Amal Movement, and President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement comprised mostly Christian deputies.
According to Lebanese law, the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim. Many Sunni groups, Christians and Druze (Arabic-speaking religious sect), however, either rejected the motion or did not vote at all.
Meanwhile, the nationwide protest, which began on October 17 in Lebanon, continues.
The unrest forced former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to resign on January 21. Subsequently, no candidate received the number of votes from various political parties needed to form a government. Hezbollah, the Shia Amal Movement, and the Free Patriotic Movement hold the majority seats in the current Lebanese Parliament.
Mr. Hariri’s government also included members of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), Druze, and the Lebanese Forces (a Christian political party and former militia during the Lebanese Civil War.)
The anti-government protesters have been calling for a complete overhaul of the political and economic systems in the country that would end high unemployment, rampant corruption, and sectarianism.
One of the more significant aspects of the recent protest is the large presence of young people from Lebanon’s Shia community.
Since the creation of Hezbollah in 1985, this is the first time that thousands of protesters have poured into the streets in the southern districts of Beirut and other Shia towns that have been under the control of the Iranian-backed groups for many years, including Tyre, Nabatieh and Bint Jbeil.
Besides the slogans against corruption and sectarianism, the young Shia protesters were also shouting “All Means Everyone Including Nasrallah,” referring to the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.
Widespread protests and bold slogans show Hezbollah’s declining power and prestige in Lebanon. Even the Beirut-based pro-Hezbollah Al-Manar TV was forced to interview some protesters, some of whom argued that Hezbollah’s involvement in Yemen and Iraq had caused the crisis in Lebanon.
Walid Phares, a Washington-based Lebanese-American conservative political analyst and commentator who worked for the Republican presidential campaign of Donald Trump in 2016, has described the recent protests in Beirut as “a genuine and robust revolution,” which can set a new course for the country if “it follows a correct strategy.” Mr. Phares has published 12 books in Arabic, English, and French.
Phares also published “Background of the Khomeinist Islamic revolution in Iran” in arabic in Beirut 1986. Jaffar Shafizadeh was a commander of a revolutionary tactical unit and a personal bodyguard of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini during his stay in Neauphle-le-Chateau, France in 1978 and afterward in Tehran.
Phares discusses Iranian opposition groups and the Islamic Republic’s efforts to undermine the Arab Spring in his last book, “The Lost Spring: U.S. Policy in the Middle East and Catastrophes to Avoid,” published in English in 2014.
The following is Kayhan Life’s interview with Walid Phares:
Hezbollah was created in the offices of the Iranian Ambassador to Syria Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur in 1985. What role has the organization played in Lebanese politics since then?
Hezbollah was the brainchild of the Islamic Republic. There was no Hezbollah in Lebanon until Khomeini came to power in Iran in 1979. There were only the Shia Amal Movement and the “Movement of the Dispossessed.” Hezbollah is the offspring of the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The bankrupt political system in Lebanon provided a fertile ground for the development of Hezbollah.
With the help of the former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad (1930-2000), Hezbollah gained control over Lebanon in the 1990s. The Lebanese people challenged Hezbollah’s authority for the first time in 2005. The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in the same year sparked widespread unrest dubbed “Cedar Revolution,” which ultimately forced Syria to withdraw from Lebanon officially. Subsequently, the United Nations adopted Resolution 1559, which called for the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, however, never disarmed. It is an illegal armed group. It occupied Beirut in 2008 and has been controlling the city ever since. Hezbollah controls the Lebanese government, Parliament, state institutions, and even some segments of the military. It is a mistake to think of the organization as just another Shia militia group because it has been part of Khomeini’s Islamic Revolution for a long time.
Hezbollah enjoyed massive support among Shia and Christian communities in Lebanon until recently. How did it lose its popularity?
Hezbollah did not expect civil unrest — namely the revolution — which started in October 2019 and continues to this day. Back in 2008, Lebanese people had concluded that it was impossible to revolt against Hezbollah because the group had reached a verbal agreement with other parties according to which it left the economy of the country to others to manage while it controlled the military and security affairs. In other words, Hezbollah gained the right to arm itself by receiving a political concession from other political parties.
The organization urged Lebanese people to stay out of politics and enjoy relative economic prosperity instead. What ultimately tipped the balance against Hezbollah was rampant corruption in the country, spearheaded by President Michel Aoun, who has close ties to the group. Lebanon had a massive foreign currency reserve, which is now all but gone. Lebanese people have suddenly realized that they have lost both their freedom and economic prosperity.
Hezbollah and its supporters had hoped that changing the prime minister and the cabinet would put an end to the protests. They were, however, wrong because the unrest is a genuine and robust revolution. Although it is not an armed struggle, the movement has disarmed the government and all political parties.
Lebanese people crave a fundamental change that Hezbollah cannot accept because it would cause the election of an independent government, which will fight corruption and will call for decommissioning the organization. An independent and democratic Lebanon cannot tolerate militias on its soil. If disarmed, Hezbollah will lose its control of Lebanon.
The most significant aspect of the recent protests is the participation of young Shias in the marches. Young people have poured into the streets of Shia towns that have been under the control of the Iranian-backed groups for years, including Tyre, Nabatieh, and Bint Jbeil. Lebanese youth want to live normal lives in a stable country.
Can the death of the former commander of the IRGC’s Qods Force (IRGC-QF) Lieutenant General Ghasem Soleimani signal the end of Iran’s so-called “Resistant Front” with Hezbollah as its principal component?
It will depend on the future foreign policies of Iran and the U.S. As far as Washington is concerned, the Islamic Republic regime and the IRGC have systematically terrorized Iranian people. The Qods Force, under the command of General Soleimani, expanded Iran’s presence and influence in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and other parts of the region using Shia militias.
When President Barack Obama withdrew the U.S. military forces from Iraq, he handed the country to Shia militias. Subsequently, some groups in the country supported the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), which prompted the U.S. military to return to that region.
Instead of thanking the Americans for defeating ISIS, General Soleimani, and the troops under his command quickly occupied the territories that had been liberated by the U.S. military.
Soleimani and Shia militias also launched a new wave of attacks against the American military forces in Iraq. Washington had tolerated Tehran’s activities in Iraq and the region up to this point.
The widespread street protests by ordinary Iranians, Iraqis, and Lebanese in the past year have frightened the IRGC and the Qods Force, particularly after young Shia Iraqis joined the Sunni Muslims and Kurdish minorities in the street marches against the presence and influence of Iran in their country.
The Iranian regime can either restart its attacks against the U.S. interests and forces in the region or wait until the November 2020 elections, hoping for a new president in Washington who might adopt a more conciliatory approach toward Tehran.
Does this mean Hezbollah will continue to control Lebanon?
The fate of Lebanon is intrinsically linked to that of the Iranian regime. We will not see any real changes in Lebanon as long as the Islamic Republic continues to fund and arm the organization. Hezbollah will collapse quickly without its military wing. It might survive as a political party by securing a small percentage of the seats in the Parliament, but it will not exert any real influence.