English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For February 05/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today

Let your word be “Yes, Yes” or “No, No”; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 05/27-37/:”‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. ‘It was also said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.” But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. ‘Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.”But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be “Yes, Yes” or “No, No”; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 04- 05/2021

Prominent Activist Lokman Slim Found Shot Dead
Lebanese activist, Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim found shot to death in his car
Prominent Hezbollah critic, Lokman Slim killed in south Lebanon
Al-Arabiya coverage of Lebanese activist, Lokman Slim killing draws online smear campaign by Hezbollah supporters
Murdered activist Lokman Slim was facilitating a Hezbollah defection before death
Lebanese activist, Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim found shot to death in his car
Family of slain Lebanese activist Lokman Slim hint Hezbollah behind the killing
‘Sad day in Lebanon,’ says US secretary of state after Hezbollah critic gunned down
U.S. Ambassador Says Slim's Murder an 'Attack on Lebanon Itself'
U.N. Says Killing of Lokman Slim is a Loss for Lebanon
France calls murder of Lebanese anti-Hezbollah activist Lokman Slim 'heinous crime'
Aoun Urges Speedy Probe in Slim's Murder, Diab Vows No Leniency
Hariri Says Slim was Clear in Identifying Source of 'Threat' to Lebanon
Political Figures Erupt over Slim’s Assassination
Who is Lokman Slim: A profile on Lebanese activist, Hezbollah critic shot to death
Lokman Slim: Daring Lebanese Activist, Admired Intellectual
Hizbullah Condemns Slim's Murder, Warns against 'Political Exploitation'
Amal Condemns Slim's Murder, FPM Urges No 'Exploitation'
“Killing of Lebanese anti-Hezbollah activist Luqman Slim sparks fury/Najia Houssari/Arab News/February 04/2021
EU Ambassador Marks Port Blast, Says Lebanese Deserve the ‘Truth’
IMF Says Lebanon Faces Tough Economic Path
Report: Caesar Act Won't Target Lebanon, U.S. Spokesman Says
Where Has the Beirut Blast Aid Gone?
Lebanese Prosecutor Contributes Findings to Swiss Anti-Graft Probe
US, France call on Lebanon’s ruling elite to ‘finally act’ and form a government
Cairo extends support to Hariri in coordination with US, France
High time to build a new, federal Lebanon/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/February 04/2021
Shadow of politics, past violence hovers over Beirut blast probe
Text Of The Letter That Mohammad Chatah Sent To The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Few Days Before He Was Assasinated
‘I just wanna turn heads,’ says Beirut-based rapper Chyno With a Why?BOJAN PRERADOVIC/Arab News/February 04/2021
 

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 04- 05/2021

Israel attacks Syrian regime, Iran-backed militias in Quneitra: Reports
In first for Europe, Iranian diplomat sentenced to 20 years in jail over bomb plot
US ends military support in Yemen, will continue helping Saudi Arabia defend itself
Washington rejects Turkey's minister's statement that US was behind 2016 coup attempt
UN optimistic about Middle East Quartet role
Egypt to chair UN peace initiative
Al Azhar, Vatican celebrate ‘fraternity’ anniversary
Head of Libyan parliament arrives in Cairo following invitation from Egyptian president
Israeli PM Netanyahu postpones UAE, Bahrain trip due to COVID-19 lockdown
Turkey's interior minister says US behind 2016 failed coup attempt: Hurriyet
Iraq sends mixed signals over closing camp for displaced
 

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 04- 05/2021

Biden should address Iran’s supply of weapons to Houthis/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/February 04/2021
Saudi Arabia the natural leader of the Muslim world/Dr. Saud Al-Sarhan/Arab News/February 04/2021
Using moonshot’s lessons to spur today’s ‘earthshots’/Mariana Mazzucato/Arab News/February 04/2021
Iraq is waiting for an Arab helping hand/Mohamed Khalfan Sawafi/The Arab Weekly/February 04/2021
 

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on February 04- 05/2021

Prominent Activist Lokman Slim Found Shot Dead
Agence France Presse/Associated Press/Thursday 04 February 2021
A prominent Lebanese publisher and vocal critic of Hizbullah was found dead in his car Thursday morning from multiple gunshots at close range, security and forensic officials said.
Lokman Slim, a 58-year-old longtime Shiite political activist and researcher, had been missing for hours since late Wednesday and his family posted social media messages looking for him. He was visiting friends in a southern village and was expected back in Beirut the same day.
Security forces found Slim's car on a rural road near the southern village of Addoussieh.
Afif Khafajeh, a coroner who inspected Slim's body, said there were six bullets in Slim's body -- three in the head, one in the chest and one in the back. Blood was splattered over the passenger car seat.
A security official at the scene said Slim's ID, phone and gun were missing. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
A resident of Addoussieh said the car was found on the rural road before midnight. He declined to provide his name.
Slim's killing caused a shock in Lebanon and many feared it signaled a return to political violence. Lebanon has a history of political crimes and violence, but it has been years since such killings have occurred. With rising tension amid a deepening political dispute and economic crises, officials have warned of violence and assassinations.
Slim's wife Monika Borgmann and sister Rasha al-Ameer had earlier posted on social media that Slim had not answered his phone for hours and hadn't been seen since Wednesday evening.
Al-Ameer said she learned of Slim's death from news reports as she was filing a missing person's form. She hinted that Hizbullah was behind the killing, without naming the group. Asked whether she accuses anyone specific, al-Ameer said the killers "have implicated themselves."
She said the party that controls the area where her brother was killed "is known," adding, "killing for them is a habit." Hizbullah allies dominate the area south of Sidon city where his car was found."
The circumstances of Slim's death were not clear and a security official in Beirut said an investigation is underway to determine what happened.
Caretaker Interior Minister Mohammad Fahmi, speaking to local TV station MTV, called it a "horrific crime."
For many, Slim's killing stirred fears of a return of a culture of impunity where few, if any, are held accountable for violence or corruption. His killing comes six months after a massive explosion in the Beirut port that killed 211 people and disfigured the capital. So far, an investigation into what caused the explosion and who is responsible has led nowhere.
European Union Ambassador to Lebanon Ralph Tarraf tweeted that he was shocked and saddened by the killing of Slim, calling it an assassination.
"We deplore the prevailing culture of impunity in #Lebanon in which such heinous acts take place and demand a proper investigation by the competent authorities," Tarraf said.
French ambassador Anne Grillo also called his killing an assassination, sending her condolences to the family in a tweet.
Slim was born in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The vocal critic of Hizbullah continued to live with his family in the suburbs, which is a stronghold of the group.There, he founded and ran Umam, a research and film production house where he had a major library documenting Lebanon's and Shiite history. His family owns a publishing house and Slim hosted public debates and political forums and art shows, including exhibitions documenting the war's missing.
In 2009, he defied authorities and Hizbullah by holding a gathering at his center to show an Israeli cartoon movie about Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon and the rise of Bashir Gemayel who became President at the time and was as assassinated in September that year.
Slim was also politically active, setting up in 2005 Haya Bina, or "Let's go," a group that encouraged participation in parliamentary elections and called for changes to Lebanon's sectarian-based system.
"It is a big tragedy," said Makram Rabah, a close friend and history lecturer. "Anyone who knows Lokman they know who his enemies are."
Rabah said he and Slim were strong opponents of Hizbullah's grip on power and called for sovereignty and diversity in Lebanon. They were both attacked by a group of young men during a public debate at the height of anti-government protests in 2019. Slim at the time accused Hizbullah supporters of being behind the attack.
Slim also accused Hizbullah supporters of threatening him at his home, holding rallies and hanging posters on its walls accusing him of treason.
Shortly after the news was public, Jawad, the son of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said in a tweet that "the loss of some is in fact a profit and unaccounted kindness,” adding the hashtag #without_regret.
He later erased it saying it was "misinterpreted" and had no relation to Slim's death.

Lebanese activist, Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim found shot to death in his car
Joanne Serrieh, Al Arabiya English/Thursday 04 February 2021
Lebanon security forces have found the body of prominent Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim shot to death after he went missing Thursday night in the country's southern region, which is heavily controlled by the Iran-backed extremist group. “We found him, he was shot in the head apparently and his rental car was found in Nabatiyeh,” Slim’s friend and American University in Beirut (AUB) Professor Makram Rabah told to Al Arabiya English. The motive behind the assassination was not immediately clear. His body was transported to a hospital in Sidon where a forensic coroner said Slim was received four bullets to the head and one to his back, according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA). Slim, an activist and publisher who ran a research center, was reported missing by his family late Wednesday night into Thursday morning after he visited a friend’s house in a village in Lebanon’s southern region.
“My brother Lokman Slim left Niha al-Janoub six hours ago heading back to Beirut and he has not yet returned. He is not answering his phone. There is no trace of him in hospitals,” his sister Rasha al-Ameer wrote on Twitter at 3:44 a.m. Beirut time. Rabah confirmed to Al Arabiya English that Slim’s family was able to track his phone to a location where he was last seen in the south, no sign of him or his vehicle were found, however.
“Lokman is an outspoken voice against Hezbollah and he went missing deep in the region and their areas of control and this is the technique they’ve used before,” Rabah said. Earlier in the day, the AUB professor tweeted saying: “We hold the parties who control the area and the Lebanese state responsible for his safety and his swift return.” After Slim was found killed, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's son Jawad shared an Arabic tweet that translates to “Loss of some is in reality an unexpected gain and kindness for others” with the hashtag “no sorrow.” He then deleted the tweet that he said it was personal and was not intended in the way that some understood it as subtweet on the death of the activist. “The tweet has nothing to do with what is happening. A little awareness,” he said.
Lokman Slim and Hezbollah
A journalist, political analyst and activist known as one of the leading Shia voices criticizing Hezbollah, Slim was regularly attacked in media loyal to the terrorist group. Security sources did not immediately elaborate on the circumstances of his death but Slim’s own sister said before his death was even confirmed that his disappearance was inevitably linked to his opinions. “He had a political stance, why else would he have been kidnapped,” Rasha al-Ameer told AFP. Slim was often criticized by Hezbollah supporters for being instrumentalized by the US. The secular intellectual and pro-democracy activist had also made several documentary films with his wife Monika Borgmann, who had sounded the alarm on social media when her husband went missing.
*With AFP & Reuters
 

Prominent Hezbollah critic, Lokman Slim killed in south Lebanon
The Arab Weekly/February 04/2021
BEIRUT – A prominent Lebanese activist and intellectual known for his opposition to the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement was found dead in his car in the country’s south on Thursday, a security official said.
Lokman Slim, 58, had long been a leading secular voice in the Shia community and was routinely targeted for criticism, and often threatened, over his anti-Hezbollah stance. “He was found dead in his car, killed by a bullet to the head,” a senior security official said on condition of anonymity. Lebanese media also reported Slim’s death. Security sources did not immediately elaborate on the circumstances of his death but Slim’s own sister said before his death was even confirmed that his disappearance was inevitably linked to his opinions.
“He had a political stance, why else would he have been kidnapped,” Rasha al-Ameer said. Slim was often criticised by Hezbollah supporters for being instrumentalised by the United States. Lebanese social media erupted over the murder, on which many were already commenting as the latest in the long list of Lebanon’s political assassinations. Slim had founded an organisation called Umam Documentation and Research aimed at archiving Lebanon’s violent past with the aim of raising awareness and preventing further conflict.
Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi, quoted in local media, called Slim’s killing a “horrible crime.” The secular intellectual and pro-democracy activist had made several documentary films with his wife Monika Borgmann and also worked in publishing.
Serious threats before murder
When a cross-sectarian pro-democracy protest movement was still gathering daily and occupying parts of central Beirut in late 2019, thugs loyal to Hezbollah and the other main Shia party Amal were involved in several violent incidents.
They beat up protesters and in one instance in December that year plastered messages on the walls of Slim’s Beirut home calling him a traitor and warning that his “time will come.” Slim said at the time that he would lay the blame squarely on the leaders of Hezbollah and Amal, Hassan Nasrallah and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri respectively, should anything happen to him or his family.
The United Nations envoy to Lebanon Jan Kubis wrote that he was saddened by Slim’s murder, describing him as “an honest independent voice of courage.”
Slim, one of the most prominent Lebanese intellectuals to be gunned down since historian Samir Kassir in 2005, was born in Beirut in 1962 and studied in France towards the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. The activist’s murder comes as Lebanon marked six months since a devastating blast at Beirut port killed more than 200 people and ravaged entire neighbourhoods of the capital.
What was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history was caused by a years-old stock of highly explosive ammonium nitrate in a port warehouse.
Yet the reasons for its presence have yet to be elucidated and Lebanon’s own investigation into the tragedy appears to be completely stalled.
Hezbollah’s enemies have pointed a finger at the Shia militia’s influence over Lebanese customs and port security following the explosion.
According to a judicial official, the prosecutor tasked with investigating the blast started looking into possible connections to Syrian businessmen this week.
Kubis said that, unlike the port blast, Slim’s murder should be investigated in a “speedy and transparent way.”
 

Al-Arabiya coverage of Lebanese activist, Lokman Slim killing draws online smear campaign by Hezbollah supporters
Arab News/February 04/2021
In the early hours of Thursday morning, Luqman Slim’s body was found in his car in one of the orchards of the Al-Adousiya area
Many of the Hezbollah loyalists claimed that Slim's assassination was part of a “theatrics”
LONDON: Al-Arabiya News Channel was subjected to an online campaign by Hezbollah supporters and critics that questioned how the channel was able to report on the assassination of prominent and vocal Hezbollah critic Luqman Slim on Thursday. Many of the Hezbollah loyalists claimed that Slim's assassination was part of a “theatrics.” The online attacks sought to undermine the public narrative against the terrorist group and draw accusations away from the Lebanon-based Iranian proxy.
“The most dangerous thing is how some tweeters, bloggers knew about Luqman Slim’s death before even finding him. How did Al-Arabiya tweet about it and then some Lebanese channels? How did some people on Twitter know who committed the crime? The one who killed Luqman Slim knows how to move and when he moves,” journalist Hosein Mortada, known for his pro-Hezbollah and pro-Iran writings, tweeted.
“We are from Al-Zahrane residents but we did not hear about what happened, not even the Lebanese media until Al-Arabiya published it. Can you tell us how you learnt about these details that quickly,” one tweeter asked.
“We heard at Ziad Rahbane’s theatre play once where it says ‘in the media they need to put news before it even happens.’ This is what happened today at Al-Arabia in the event of Luqman Slim’s death who was found in a remote area in the south. They described the areas that are under Hizib’s control. They could know the news before it even occurs,” another wrote.
Anticipating his own killing last year, Slim announced that he received accusations and threats at his house. Slim said Hassan Nasrallah, Nabih Berri, and the Lebanese Army had full responsibility for his safety.
In the early hours of Thursday morning, Slim’s body was found in his car in one of the orchards of the Al-Adousiya area in Lebanon with four shots to the head and one in the back.
His killing is the culmination of a series of threats Slim has received for many years — which intensified in recent months — for his strong anti-Hezbollah stance.
He was accused by Hezbollah and its members of being an “Israeli agent” or “a Shiite of the American Embassy.”

Murdered activist Lokman Slim was facilitating a Hezbollah defection before death
Mona Alami/Al Arabiya/Thursday 04 February 2021
The death of Shia anti-Hezbollah activist Lokman Slim was not a random killing. It was a cold-blooded execution. The activist who denounced Hezbollah human rights violations for years and investigated closely the militant’s group’s increasing repression of its Shia popular base as well as the wider Lebanese street was found killed by four bullets to the head in the Zaharani, region, a Hezbollah bastion. His phone was found a few kilometers away, in Niha, in the South, another region under the militant group’s control.
What killed Slim was not his open criticism of Hezbollah, which had in the last few years turned Lebanon – with the tacit agreement of the corrupt Lebanese leadership – into an Iranian satellite, at the cost of its economy, its stability and its foreign relations.
Slim’s Umam Center was well known for publishing a wide array of research about the party. Nor was he killed over his overt relations with the American embassy, high American or European diplomats. What killed Slim was that he went too far into uncovering Hezbollah’s internal fabric and its intricate web-like network. In the last few months, Slim delved into Hezbollah money laundering activities, looking into possible contacts between traders facilitating those activities for the movement, and going as far as attempting to link those with figures working with the Lebanese central bank, according to a conversation I had with him. On Sunday 31 January, Slim asked me to pass by his office on Monday, as he wanted to discuss a sensitive topic with me that could be done only face to face. When I met him on Monday February 1, he confided that he was a contact with a business associate of Hezbollah, who was heavily involved in money laundering activities for the party and was sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). This person, whose name he didn’t share, was ready to defect in exchange for his extraction from Lebanon and protection from Hezbollah.
Slim was asking me what was the best way to do it, given that any contact with a local foreign embassy would include the involvement of too many parties, which could lead to an intelligence leak and threaten the life of the alleged defector. The best way to handle it, he thought, was to contact directly the US State department, or the Treasury. Three days later, ignorant that he was being followed, Slim went to the south for a dinner with friends. He disappeared a few hours later in the evening, leaving his family devastated, only to be found dead a day later. His fate had been sealed. It remains to be seen if another body – that of the mysterious defector – will surface in the next few weeks. It is certain that no serious investigation will be led into the execution of Lokman Slim, and that the Lebanese judiciary will not bring the perpetrators to justice. Lebanese security services and its judiciary have no interest in the truth. It is a costly commodity in a country where a human life does not amount to much.

Lebanese activist, Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim found shot to death in his car
Joanne Serrieh, Al Arabiya English/Thursday 04 February 2021
Lebanon security forces have found the body of prominent Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim shot to death after he went missing Thursday night in the country's southern region, which is heavily controlled by the Iran-backed extremist group.
“We found him, he was shot in the head apparently and his rental car was found in Nabatiyeh,” Slim’s friend and American University in Beirut (AUB) Professor Makram Rabah told to Al Arabiya English.
The motive behind the assassination was not immediately clear. His body was transported to a hospital in Sidon where a forensic coroner said Slim was received four bullets to the head and one to his back, according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA).
Slim, an activist and publisher who ran a research center, was reported missing by his family late Wednesday night into Thursday morning after he visited a friend’s house in a village in Lebanon’s southern region.
“My brother Lokman Slim left Niha al-Janoub six hours ago heading back to Beirut and he has not yet returned. He is not answering his phone. There is no trace of him in hospitals,” his sister Rasha al-Ameer wrote on Twitter at 3:44 a.m. Beirut time. Rabah confirmed to Al Arabiya English that Slim’s family was able to track his phone to a location where he was last seen in the south, no sign of him or his vehicle were found, however. “Lokman is an outspoken voice against Hezbollah and he went missing deep in the region and their areas of control and this is the technique they’ve used before,” Rabah said.
Earlier in the day, the AUB professor tweeted saying: “We hold the parties who control the area and the Lebanese state responsible for his safety and his swift return.” After Slim was found killed, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's son Jawad shared an Arabic tweet that translates to “Loss of some is in reality an unexpected gain and kindness for others” with the hashtag “no sorrow.” He then deleted the tweet that he said it was personal and was not intended in the way that some understood it as subtweet on the death of the activist.
“The tweet has nothing to do with what is happening. A little awareness,” he said.
Lokman Slim and Hezbollah
A journalist, political analyst and activist known as one of the leading Shia voices criticizing Hezbollah, Slim was regularly attacked in media loyal to the terrorist group. Security sources did not immediately elaborate on the circumstances of his death but Slim’s own sister said before his death was even confirmed that his disappearance was inevitably linked to his opinions. “He had a political stance, why else would he have been kidnapped,” Rasha al-Ameer told AFP. Slim was often criticized by Hezbollah supporters for being instrumentalized by the US. The secular intellectual and pro-democracy activist had also made several documentary films with his wife Monika Borgmann, who had sounded the alarm on social media when her husband went missing.
With AFP & Reuters

Family of slain Lebanese activist Lokman Slim hint Hezbollah behind the killing
The Associated Press/Friday 05 February 2021
The family of prominent Lebanese publisher and vocal critic of the Shia militant Hezbollah group Lokman Slim who was found shot dead in his car on Thursday morning, hinted that the group was behind the killing. The body of 58-year-old Slim, a longtime Shia political activist and researcher, was slumped over on the passenger seat with multiple wounds from gunshots fired at close range, security and forensic officials said. He had been missing for hours since late Wednesday and his family posted social media messages looking for him. To his friends, Slim was a fearless critic of Lebanon's powerful politicians, Hezbollah and its allies Iran and Syria, and a major resource on the history of Lebanon's civil war. His killing raised fears that Lebanon’s political tensions could turn into a new wave of assassinations. Critics, however, accused Slim of sowing sedition, undermining national unity and being a Zionist because of his criticisms of Hezbollah. “He was carrying the weight of this country on his shoulder,” his sister Rasha al-Ameer told reporters at their home after the news of the killing broke. She said she has no faith in local investigations and that the family would carry out its own private forensic probe.
“Up until today in the history of Lebanon, all investigations have led to a dead end,” she told reporters. His wife, Monika Borgmann, standing next to al-Ameer, called for an international probe. “This killer has to be punished,” Borgmann said.
Al-Ameer hinted that Hezbollah was behind the killing, without naming the group, adding that it is known who controls the area where her brother was found dead. “Killing for them is a habit," she said. Hezbollah and its allies dominate the area in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah condemned Slim's killing, calling for a swift investigation. It also urged security agencies to combat crimes it said have spread around Lebanon and which have been “exploited politically and by the media at the expense of security and domestic stability" — a jab at their critics.
Slim was born in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, where he lived all his life. He returned from abroad to the house, when most people were leaving, during the 2006 war with Israel, when the suburbs were being bombed.
He founded Umam, a research and film production house with a library documenting Lebanon's and Shia history. His family owns a publishing house and Slim hosted public debates and political forums and art shows, including exhibitions documenting the civil war's missing. He and his wife worked on a film documenting the atrocities of Syria's notorious Tadmor prison. In 2009, he and his wife organized a private viewing at their center for an Oscar-nominated anti-war Israeli cartoon about Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon and the rise of the then-President Bachir Gemayel, in defiance of Hezbollah and Lebanese authorities, which banned it. Slim also set up Haya Bina, or “Let's go," a group that encouraged participation in 2005 parliamentary elections, called for changes to Lebanon's sectarian-based system, and taught women English. “It is a big tragedy,” said Makram Rabah, a close friend and history lecturer. “Anyone who knows Lokman they know who his enemies are.” Rabah said he and Slim were strong opponents of Hezbollah's grip on power and called for sovereignty and diversity in Lebanon. They were both attacked by a group of young men during a public debate at the height of anti-government protests in 2019. Slim at the time accused Hezbollah supporters of being behind the attack. Slim also accused Hezbollah supporters days before that attack of threatening him at his home, holding rallies and hanging posters on its walls accusing him of treason.
 

‘Sad day in Lebanon,’ says US secretary of state after Hezbollah critic gunned down
Al Arabiya English/Thursday 04 February 2021
The US State Department Thursday blasted the “heinous assassination” of Lebanese anti-Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim. “We condemn in the strongest terms the heinous assassination of prominent Shia activist Lokman Slim and call for the perpetrators to be brought to justice,” State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. Slim was found dead, lying in a pool of blood along in his rental car in south Lebanon on Thursday. He was an activist and publisher who ran a research center in Beirut’s southern suburbs. “Mr. Slim devoted his life to bringing about positive change in Lebanon and bravely pushed for justice, accountability, and rule of law in his country,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. Blinken tweeted that it was a “sad day in Lebanon.” His family had reported him missing late Wednesday after visiting a friend’s house in south Lebanon. “It is cowardly and unacceptable to resort to violence, threats, and intimidation as a means of subverting the rule of law or suppressing freedom of expression and civic activism,” Blinken said.

U.S. Ambassador Says Slim's Murder an 'Attack on Lebanon Itself'
Naharnet/Thursday 04 February 2021
U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea said Thursday that Lokman Slim’s “barbaric assassination” is “an attack on Lebanon itself,” urging an “expeditious investigation of this and other recent killings.”
”Lokman Slim publicly and privately acknowledged that there were threats being made against his life, and yet he bravely continued to push for justice, accountability, and the rule of law in Lebanon,” Shea said in a video distributed by the U.S. embassy. “This assassination was not just a brutal assault on an individual, but a cowardly attack on the principles of democracy, freedom of expression, and civic participation,” she added. “It is also an attack on Lebanon itself.” Stressing that “the use of threats and intimidation as a means to subvert the rule of law and silence political discourse is unacceptable,” Shea said the U.S. joins “other friends of Lebanon and the country’s leaders who have already condemned this horrific murder,” calling on leaders across the political spectrum to “do the same. ”She added: “We also emphasize the need for an expeditious investigation of this and other recent unresolved killings so that the perpetrators of these acts are brought to justice. ”“In a country that so desperately needs to recover from the multiple crises it faces, political assassinations send exactly the wrong signal to the world about what Lebanon stands for,” Shea warned.
Video's link: https://app.box.com/s/358dnqpk6x6shptqhz7060h78q8u711u

U.N. Says Killing of Lokman Slim is a Loss for Lebanon
Naharnet/Thursday 04 February 2021
Najat Rochdi, the U.N. Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, on Thursday expressed her shock and sadness over the assassination of Lebanese anti-Hizbullah activist and publicist Lokman Slim. Rochdi extended her deep condolences to Slim’s family and friends and voiced solidarity with the Lebanese people and society as a whole. “The killing of a courageous and engaged intellectual is a loss to all the Lebanese people,” the U.N. official said. Rochdi urged for a thorough, quick and transparent investigation and judicial process to bring all those responsible for this "outrageous act" to justice. “The Lebanese people deserve an independent and effective judiciary that produces results in a timely manner, ensures accountability and ends impunity in Lebanon,” the U.N. official added.
Rochdi concluded: “Mr. Slim stood for the freedom to express opinions and engage in the civic space. This must be preserved and protected -- it is part of the pluralism that defines Lebanon.” Human Rights Watch meanwhile called Slim "a tireless and prolific advocate for a just and democratic Lebanon," and called for a transparent, independent investigation "to reverse the culture of impunity for grave crimes that has pervaded since the civil war."

France calls murder of Lebanese anti-Hezbollah activist Lokman Slim 'heinous crime'
ReutersThursday 04 February 2021
France's Foreign Ministry on Thursday called the killing of Lebanese anti-Hezbollah activist Lokman Slim a "heinous crime" and demanded a transparent investigation. "France asks that the facts be clearly established and that all those who can contribute to establishing the truth contribute fully," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll said in a statement. "It expects the Lebanese authorities and all Lebanese officials to allow the justice system to act efficiently, transparently and without interference."

Aoun Urges Speedy Probe in Slim's Murder, Diab Vows No Leniency
Naharnet/Thursday 04 February 2021
President Michel Aoun on Thursday asked State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat to carry out the necessary investigations to unveil the circumstances of the assassination of anti-Hizbullah Shiite activist Lokman Salim in the southern town of al-Addousiyeh. The president also stressed “the need to speed up the investigation” to identify the sides that carried out the murder.Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab for his part asked caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi to order security agencies to conduct prompt investigations in order to “unveil the circumstances, pursue the culprits, arrest them and refer them to the judiciary as soon as possible.”He also emphasized that “this awful crime should not pass without accountability,” pledging that “there will be no leniency in following up these investigations until the end” and that “the state will carry out its duties in this regard.”

Hariri Says Slim was Clear in Identifying Source of 'Threat' to Lebanon
Naharnet/Thursday 04 February 2021
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri on Thursday described slain anti-Hizbullah activist and researcher Lokman Slim as “a new martyr on the path of Lebanon’s freedom and democracy.”“His assassination is inseparable from the course of the previous assassinations. Lokman Slim was perhaps clearer than everyone in pinpointing where the threat to the country is coming from,” Hariri tweeted. “He did not compromise nor back down and he offered his blood and pure soul as a sacrifice for Lebanon’s salvation. May he rest in peace and we and all sovereignty advocates will continue the battle of freedom,” the PM-designate added. He also stressed that “condemnation is no longer enough” and “it is required to unveil the criminals in order to stop the spiteful killing machine.”

Political Figures Erupt over Slim’s Assassination
Naharnet/Thursday 04 February 2021
Lebanese social media and several officials erupted over the murder of prominent Lebanese activist and intellectual, Lokman Slim, on which many were already commenting as the latest in the long list of Lebanon's political assassinations. Slim, known for his opposition to Hizbullah, was found dead in his car in the country's south on Thursday. Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi, quoted in local media, called Slim's killing a "horrible crime".Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea said in a tweet: “Lokman Slim is a martyr of free opinion. If evil won one round, good and righteousness shall win a thousand.” The Kataeb Party described the crime as an "execution" in "a stronghold whose orientation and belonging are well-known." "This crime is a return to the series of political assassinations and a desperate attempt to strike diversity and the other opinion and silence free voices demanding the rise of a sovereign, free and independent state." The United Nations envoy to Lebanon Jan Kubis wrote that he was saddened by Slim's murder, describing him as "an honest independent voice of courage".He also said that, unlike the port blast, Slim's murder should be investigated in a "speedy and transparent way".Lokman Slim, 58, had long been a leading secular voice in the Shiite community and was routinely targeted for criticism, and often threatened, over his anti-Hizbullah stance. A gathering of Lebanese Christians, known as “Lady of the Mountain Gathering” denounced Slim’s “assassination.” “The assassination of Lokman Slim is a categorical indication of the bankruptcy of militias that find nothing but terror and violence. Slim was assassinated in Hizbullah stronghold and therefore it is the main suspect. The party better tell the Lebanese how the crime happened or shoulder total responsibility” for it, the Gathering said. MP Marwan Hamadeh said: “In the tenure of terrorism and corruption there is no place for someone like Lokman Slim.” Former MP Bassem al-Sabaa said: “Killing of activist Lokman Slim is a direct message to all Shiite activists, writers and politicians who express their opinions outside the political orbit of Hizbullah.”

Who is Lokman Slim: A profile on Lebanese activist, Hezbollah critic shot to death
Tala Michel Issa, Al Arabiya English with agencies/Thursday 04 February 2021
Lokman Mohsen Slim was a Lebanese publisher and independent social and political activist, who was well-known for being a critic of Iran-backed Hezbollah. Slim had gone missing during a trip back to Beirut on Thursday. He was then found dead a few hours later in the country’s southern region which is heavily controlled by Hezbollah, with four bullets in his head and one in his back. The anti-Hezbollah intellectual believed that he was subject to attacks, threats and intimidation by Hezbollah in December 2019. Slim issued a statement in which he declared that not only was he himself subject to these threats, but so was his wife.“In the event that any verbal or physical attack is carried out on me, my wife, my home or family, I, through this statement, make the de facto forces – represented by Hassan Nasrallah and Nabih Berri – responsible for what happened or what will happen,” the statement read, which he posted on Facebook. Slim published the statement after a group had entered the perimeter of his home to spray death threats onto its walls, to which he then said that he was placing his family and home under the protection and surveillance of the army, reported UK-based media The New Arab. He had been accused of supporting the normalization of relations between Israel and Lebanon.
Dar al-Jadeed
In Haret Hreik, a village near Beirut where he was born in 1962, Slim founded independent Lebanese publishing house Dar al-Jadeed in 1990 which published Arabic literature and articles that stirred controversy throughout the country, according to independent Lebanese news platform L’Orient-Le Jour.
He then co-founded Umam Documentation and Research center in 2004 through which he dedicated a large portion of resources to recording, compiling, preserving, and promoting Lebanese history. He published several historical documents and works for art.
Prior to this, he moved to France in 1982, where he lived for six years, to pursue a degree in philosophy at the Sorbonne University. Some books from his publishing house were censored and banned by the Lebanese General Security, one of which included the first Arabic translations of former Iranian reformist president Muhammad Khatami’s writings. This specific piece generated a great deal of controversy within Lebanon’s Shia community.
Social activism
Slim’s most recent project, Hayya Bina (Let’s Go), was an initiative which was launched back in 2005 during the parliamentary elections in Lebanon. This was published in a bid to promote citizen involvement throughout the political process and to criticize the sectarian system of the country. Lebanon’s government has long been a religious-based one, further emphasizing the polarization and division of the people for decades. The activist’s Hayya Bina project gave rise to several public advocacy projects within the country’s Shia areas. For instance, state media the Daily Star reported that in Shmustar, a Shia-majority area of Lebanon, project staff publicly advocated to clean up the area during the garbage crisis to protect the village from diseases and in Baalbek, the project’s field staff launched an initiative to boost the economic prosperity of local farmers. The years that followed saw projects such as ‘Teach Women English’ which saw the recruitment of teachers in rural areas to help boost the economically stagnant and depressed areas of the south through education.
Art
Slim established Umam Productions in 2001, a film company which eventually produced a variety of films such as Massaker, which he co-directed himself, winning an international film award in Berlin in 2005. The film had elements of psychology and politics, as it studied the crimes of six perpetrators and their roles in Lebanon’s 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacres, murdering between 1,000 and 3,000 Palestinian civilians in the Lebanese-Palestinian camps, according to film and TV database IMDb. Umam Documentation and Research has long been organizing and creating an open archive of materials pertaining to the country’s history, on both social and political levels. According to peacebuilding resource for conflict zones Peace Insight, the non-profit organization has also facilitated and organized art exhibitions, film screenings and discussions to address peoples’ painful memories and thoughts on the Lebanese Civil War which took place between 1975 and 1990. One of the company’s ongoing exhibits since 2008, entitled ‘Missing’, constitutes of a collage of photos which depicts some of the people who had gone missing during the civil war.
- With agencies

Lokman Slim: Daring Lebanese Activist, Admired Intellectual
Agence France Presse/Thursday 04 February 2021
Lebanese intellectual Lokman Slim, found shot dead Thursday at age 58, was an outspoken critic of Iran-backed Hizbullah and an advocate for preserving the memory of his country's civil war. The son of a prominent lawyer and an Egyptian mother, Slim was an activist, writer, publisher and filmmaker, and a leading secular voice in the Shiite Muslim community.
He advocated curbing the influence of Hizbullah, the pro-Iran and anti-Israel political party and armed group that has millions of followers in Lebanon but is labelled a "terrorist" group by the U.S., EU and other governments.
Slim also spent years working relentlessly to preserve Lebanon's collective memory of its 1975-1990 civil war and carried out acclaimed research on topics such as mass graves and transitional justice.
He created an organization called Umam Documentation and Research with the aim of building an unparalleled archive of the civil war, arguing that Lebanon could not move forward until it has dealt with its past.
He was known for his love of books and mastery of the Arabic language.
His home in the southern Beirut suburbs, known as Villa Slim, was a hub of cultural activity where several languages could always be heard and where film screenings and exhibitions were often organized.
Despite having been singled out by Hizbullah supporters as an enemy and frequently accused of being on the U.S. embassy's payroll, he used to tell his friends he was not worried about his safety.
He would argue that should he be killed, everybody would know who was behind it. "He used to tell me he was not afraid of death," his sister Rasha al-Ameer told AFP. "They have killed an exceptional human being."
House always open -
While Slim's murder put the spotlight on his political activism, his greatest legacy will likely be his relentless commitment to fostering a collective Lebanese memory and spirit of accountability. "Lokman Slim was at the forefront of the struggle against impunity in post-war Lebanon," said Amnesty International's regional director Lynn Maalouf. In 2008, he founded the Haya Bina association with the goal to "defend principles of citizenship, tolerance, pluralism, democracy and human rights."
During cross-sectarian pro-democracy protests in late 2019, thugs loyal to Hizbullah and the other main Shiite party Amal were involved in several violent incidents. They beat up protesters and in one instance in December that year plastered messages on the walls of Slim's home calling him a traitor and warning that his "time will come."
But he lived with no personal security and the gates to his house were famously always open. After studying philosophy in Paris, Slim founded the Dar al-Jadeed publishing house, which promoted new and controversial writers and for the first time translated works by former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami into Arabic. Slim was an essayist himself and also made several documentary films with his German-Lebanese wife Monika Borgmann.
Their film "Massaker" -- which studied six perpetrators of the 1982 Christian militia massacres of 1,000 people at the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian camps in Beirut -- was awarded the Fipresci Prize at the 2005 Berlinale.
It was during the production of "Massaker" that he and Borgmann discovered that Lebanon had neither a central archive nor a national library, leading them to found Umam in 2005. In their 2016 film "Tadmur", Lebanese men recounted their ordeal as detainees in Syria's infamously brutal Palmyra prison.
He had recently been working on a project to document Syria's almost 10-year-old civil war.
 

Hizbullah Condemns Slim's Murder, Warns against 'Political Exploitation'
Associated Press/February 04/2021
Hizbullah on Thursday condemned the assassination of rival activist and researcher Lokman Slim. In a statement, the party deplored “the killing of political activist Lokman Slim,” urging the competent judicial and security agencies to “work quickly on unveiling and penalizing the perpetrators.”
Hizbullah also called on authorities to “combat the crimes that are moving from one area to another in Lebanon and the accompanying political and media exploitation that comes at the expense of domestic security and stability.” Slim, a prominent and long-time publisher and vocal critic of Hizbullah was found shot dead in his car on Thursday morning, a brazen killing that sparked fears of a return to political violence in this country gripped by social and economic upheaval. To his friends, Slim was a fearless critic of Lebanon's powerful politicians, Hizbullah and its allies Iran and Syria. Critics, however, accused Slim of sowing sedition, undermining national unity and being a “Zionist” because of his criticisms of Hizbullah. "He was carrying the weight of this country on his shoulder," his sister Rasha al-Ameer told reporters at their home after the news of the killing broke. She said she has no faith in local investigations and that the family would carry out its own private forensic probe. "Up until today in the history of Lebanon, all investigations have led to a dead end," she told reporters. She had earlier in the day hinted that Hizbullah was behind the killing, without naming the group, adding that it is known who controls the area where her brother was found dead. "Killing for them is a habit," she said. Hizbullah and its allies dominate the area in southern Lebanon.

Amal Condemns Slim's Murder, FPM Urges No 'Exploitation'
Naharnet/February 04/2021
Hizbullah on Thursday condemned the The Amal Movement on Thursday condemned “the crime of the assassination of political activist and researched Lokman Slim.” In a statement, Amal’s Central Press Office also demanded “a security and judicial investigation as soon as possible to unveil the culprits and punish them.”The Free Patriotic Movement meanwhile deplored Slim’s assassination and called on judicial and security agencies to “finish the investigations with the needed speed in order to fulfill justice and honor the truth.”
The FPM also called for refraining from “exploiting this crime to stir strife,” warning that “the usual blood hunters have started a political exploitation process.”It added that “the strictest penalties should be handed to its perpetrators whoever they may be to underline that assassinations and political violence are two things that cannot be tolerated in Lebanon, because they contradict with the meaning of the pluralism of the Lebanese.” “Having a different opinion is a sacred right and is at the heart of the FPM’s rhetoric and approach,” the Movement added.

“Killing of Lebanese anti-Hezbollah activist Luqman Slim sparks fury
Najia Houssari/Arab News/February 04/2021
Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab promises 'thorough investigation'
BEIRUT/LONDON: Lebanese author and activist Luqman Slim, 59, was found dead on Thursday morning in the southern region of Zahrani. His killing was the first of a Lebanese Shiite anti-Hezbollah figure since 2004.
News of Slim’s disappearance broke on Thursday morning after nothing was heard from him on Wednesday evening after he started travelling home from visiting family in the southern village of Niha.
Rasha Al-Ameer, Slim’s sister, announced his disappearance on social media, asking for information to help recover him.
But in the early hours of Thursday morning, the news changed from a missing person to an assassination after Slim’s body was found in his car in one of the orchards of the Al-Adousiya area.
“We are demanding a thorough investigation which should determine the motive behind the killing and hold the perpetrators accountable,” Sherif Mansour, the MENA Program Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, told Arab News.
“The bottom line is that censorship including against critical journalists by fractions within Lebanon should not go unpunished and what we hope to see is that Hezbollah, especially because of their prior threats, will be questioned and pressured to provide answers.”
“In terms of censorship, we hope that the various Lebanese authorities would respect any media institution that has worked to cover not just this issue but others that are currently facing censorship by Hezbollah affiliates in Lebanon so that they can continue to operate without harassment or retaliation.”
A protester holds a picture of Luqman Slim, who has been found dead in his car, during a protest in front of the Justice Palace in Beirut on Feb. 4, 2021. (AP)
Forensic doctor Afif Khafaja said that “the body was hit with five bullets, four in the head and one in the back,” which is an uncommon method of assassination. No identification cards were found on the body.
Slim’s family used a mobile application to locate his cell phone, which was found tossed in one of the orchards near the house he was at in Niha.
His killing is the culmination of a series of threats Slim has received for many years — which intensified in recent months — for his strong anti-Hezbollah stance.
He was accused by Hezbollah and its members of being an “Israeli agent” or “a Shiite of the American Embassy.”
The activist chose not to hide in his home in the region of Ghobeiry despite the threats he had received, refusing to let intimidation prevent him from publishing his ideas. Threats were sent through flyers that were thrown into his garden and read “muffler” and “Hezbollah is the nation’s honor.”
Luqman Slim was a prominent Lebanese activist who often criticized Hezbollah.
In a statement he issued in 2019, he blamed “all that has happened and may happen in the future on the de facto forces represented by Hassan Nasrallah and Nabih Berri,” adding: “I place myself and my home under the protection of the Lebanese security forces, particularly the Lebanese Army.”
“This is a reminder of the risk journalists face in Lebanon, including those who have paid the ultimate price,” Mansour of the CPJ added, saying that, “I was reminded of the first documented murder an anti-Iran Shia journalist in 1992, Mustapha Jeha, and that also includes 3 other known cases in 2000 including prominent writers and intellectuals.”
Jeha was killed by unidentified gunmen while driving his car in an east Beirut suburb on Jan. 15, 1992.
Slim had turned his family home and the surrounding garden into a sanctuary for hosting intellectual and cultural activities.
He hailed from a family known for its knowledge, culture, openness and involvement in public affairs. His father, Mohsen Slim, was an MP and a prominent lawyer, while his uncle, Karim Slim, was an important judge.
Security sources told Arab News that “the area in which Slim’s body was found is a mandatory crossing route from Tyre district’s Niha village towards Beirut, through the Zahrani highway. However, Al-Adousiya’s population, where his body was found, has a majority of Christians and its overt loyalty is to the Free Patriotic Movement, while the neighboring town of Tuftaha has a Shiite majority and the majority of the town’s political affiliation is mixed between the Amal movement and Hezbollah. Whoever committed his crime has carefully chosen this area to dispose of the body.”
The judiciary instructed the Information Division of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces to conduct a complete scan of security cameras in the area to find out the route that Slim’s car took before his killing, and to download and analyze the data on his cell phone.
In her first comment on the assassination of her brother, Al-Ameer said: “We know who the killer is. He has control over the area in which Luqman was killed. Whoever threatened Luqman is involved in his murder, it has their signature all over it. They want everyone to leave and for only the killers to stay.”
The murder of Slim, who represents the opposing opinion within the Shiite community in Lebanon, provoked angry reactions across Lebanon.
President Michel Aoun requested a “swift investigation to clear up the circumstances of the crime and the parties behind it.”
The caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi described the incident as a “horrific crime.”
Police gather at the side where the body of anti-Hezbollah journalist and activist Luqman Slim was found in his car. (Reuters)
Slim, one of the most prominent Lebanese intellectuals to be gunned down since historian Samir Kassir in 2005, was born in Beirut in 1962 and studied in France late in the 1975-1990 civil war.
His murder comes as Lebanon marked six months since a devastating blast at the capital’s port killed more than 200 people and ravaged entire neighborhoods.
What was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history was caused by a years-old stock of highly explosive ammonium nitrate in a port warehouse.
Yet Lebanon’s own investigation into the presence of the material and its ignition appears to be completely stalled.
Hezbollah’s enemies pointed a finger at the Shiite militia’s influence over Lebanese customs and port security following the explosion.
According to a judicial official, the prosecutor tasked with investigating the blast started looking into possible connections to Syrian businessmen this week.
The United Nations envoy to Lebanon Jan Kubis wrote he was saddened by Slim’s murder, describing him as “an honest independent voice of courage.”
He also said that, unlike the port blast, Slim’s murder should be investigated in a “speedy and transparent way.”
Former premier Saad Al-Hariri, whose father’s assassination sparked regional turmoil in 2005, said Slim had been clearer than most in identifying the source of danger to the nation.
“Luqman Slim is a new victim on the path to freedom and democracy in Lebanon and his assassination is inseparable from the context of the assassinations of his predecessor, he said in a tweet.
France’s Foreign Ministry called the killing a “heinous crime” and demanded a transparent investigation. “France asks that the facts be clearly established and that all those who can contribute to establishing the truth contribute fully,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll said in a statement.
“It expects the Lebanese authorities and all Lebanese officials to allow the justice system to act efficiently, transparently and without interference.”
France’s ambassador, Anne Grillo, spoke on social media of her “immense sadness and preoccupation” over Slim’s killing.
(With AFP and Reuters)

EU Ambassador Marks Port Blast, Says Lebanese Deserve the ‘Truth’
Naharnet/04 February 2021
European Union Ambassador to Lebanon Ralph Tarraf on Thursday said the EU stands in solidarity with the people of Lebanon, emphasizing that the truth must be revealed behind the August 4 explosion.
“Six months have passed since the terrible Beirut blast. In solidarity with the people of Lebanon, the EU immediately offered its full support, by deploying search and rescue, chemical assessment and medical teams and providing humanitarian assistance to those in need,” said Tarraf on Twitter.
“With the UN Lebanon and World Bank MENA, we assessed the damages and paved the way for a people-centered Lebanon Recovery Framework. But our assistance for the reconstruction of a democratic, transparent, inclusive and prosperous Lebanon requires tangible progress on reforms,” added Tarraf.
He stated that the “people of Lebanon deserve to know what happened on August 4 at 6:07 pm. They deserve swift justice and accountability. We continue to call on the relevant authorities to pursue an impartial, credible and independent investigation.”

IMF Says Lebanon Faces Tough Economic Path
Associated Press/04 February 2021
The International Monetary Fund said Thursday that crisis-hit Lebanon faces a tough path and further economic contraction in 2021, assuring that the fund is ready to assist Lebanon as soon as a government is formed.
“The only country at immediate risk of further economic contraction across the Mideast this year is Lebanon,” Jihad Azour, director of the Middle East and Central Asia department at the IMF said.
“Lebanon has been in one of the most challenging crises of its history, at least for the last hundred years,” Azour, a former Lebanese minister added.
”The fund is ready to re-engage with Lebanon as soon as the new government is formed around the main priorities that Lebanon needs to tackle,” he asserted.
Last year, Lebanon saw its economy contract by 25% as it grappled with the worst financial crisis in its history and defaulted on its foreign debt. That came as an explosion at Beirut port devastated the Mediterranean city and the pandemic that forced the country into lockdowns. Further political deadlock as a caretaker government holds power could see its economy contract in 2021 by another 9%, Azour said. He also stressed any IMF aid remained contingent on a new government and their embrace of “a comprehensive reform program.”

Report: Caesar Act Won't Target Lebanon, U.S. Spokesman Says
Naharnet/04 February 2021
A U.S. State Department spokesman reportedly said that the Caesar Act imposed in 2019 is “not going to target Lebanon's economy or it people,” the Saudi Asharq el-Awsat reported on Thursday. The new U.S. administration “took upon itself an important matter in implementing the (Caesar Act) law, not targeting trade lines, aid, or humanitarian activities of the Syrian people, and that the law will not target the Lebanese economy nor the Lebanese people," he said in remarks to the daily. He assured that President Joe Biden’s administration “will not be complacent with the implementation of the Act that was imposed in 2019, during the previous US administration after it was voted on in Congress." Assuring that Biden's administration seeks "preserving the diplomatic track in facilitating humanitarian and relief work to reach a peaceful solution in the war-torn country for 10 years." However he assured that individuals or entities supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad will not be spared. "Certainly (Caesar Act) targets persons or entities that support the Assad regime and impede a peaceful political solution to the conflict, as called for by Security Council Resolution 2254,” he added.
The Caesar Act, which took effect in June 2020, restricts any US reconstruction assistance and keeps up pressure on Assad, demanding accountability, even though he has won back control of most of Syria following more than nine years of bloodshed. The sanctions could likewise have a serious knock-on effect in Lebanon, which was in many respects Damascus's lifeline and rear base during the war. The government in Beirut set up a committee to study the possible impacts on its many trade links with Syria.

Where Has the Beirut Blast Aid Gone?
Agence France Presse/04 February 2021
Six months after a massive explosion ripped through Beirut, donors say that most of the emergency aid they pledged for Lebanon's needy has been disbursed. But some non-governmental organisations say they have hardly received anything, or seen funds they have received lose their value as they transit through the Lebanese banking system.
What was pledged?On August 4, a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate fertiliser exploded on the Beirut dockside, killing 200 people and ravaging a large part of the city. The disaster piled additional woes onto Lebanese already battling a dire economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.
On August 9, the international community led by France pledged around $300 million in emergency aid. In early December, the European Union, United Nations and World Bank laid out a response plan over 18 months to help the city recover, estimating $426 million will be needed for the first year.
How much has been paid out?The United Nations has been able to track the disbursement of $285 million dollars of the $300 pledged in August, UN humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon Najat Rochdi said.
That includes $161 million dollars sent to the United Nations, and a further $124 million in kind or directly to NGOs, she said.
On top of that, other countries channelled aid directly to the Lebanese government, but Rochdi said it has been harder to keep track of those amounts.
Some funds still have to be unlocked, including $6 million from $18 promised by the French development agency AFD, its Lebanon director Arthur Germond said. What of the recovery plan?But the December plan for long-term recovery is not yet up and running. Germond said only $60 millions had been raised so far for a $300-million fund to help non-governmental organisations and small businesses. And political deadlock in the country is blocking progress on other elements of the plan conditional on reforms.
For example, the port cannot be rebuilt without reform to ensure transparency in the tendering process, said Rochdi.
Are NGOS happy?Despite all the funds already disbursed, some non-governmental organisations say they are receiving just a trickle from international donors. Nabih Jabr, of the Lebanese Red Cross, says donations far outweighed any international aid they had received.
"More than 80 percent of the Lebanese Red Cross response to the Beirut blast was not funded by international aid but rather by individuals and companies who donated directly to LRC," he said.
It received $27 million in private donations, the large majority from outside Lebanon, compared to just $5 million from donors, he said.
Beit al-Baraka, a charity that has helped rebuilt flats and small businesses, had to raise $3.2 million from Lebanon's large diaspora as international aid was not forthcoming, its director Maya Ibrahimchah said.
On top of that, what aid does reach Lebanese civil society can plummet in value as it transits through Lebanon's ailing banking system.
For more than a year, banks have routinely capped dollar withdrawals, forcing depositors to withdraw trapped dollars in the local currency at a huge loss.
After spiralling devaluation, dollars are being sold for 8,800 Lebanese pounds on the black market. Banks offer 3,850 pounds to the dollar, while the official exchange rate remains pegged at 1,507.
Virginie Lefevre of the Amel charity said this meant they had lost out on a chunk of allocated aid. "Some of the funds had to be converted into pounds at the bank exchange rate", at a 55 percent loss, she told AFP.
Efforts to obtain a "humanitarian" exchange rate failed, she said.
Will Beirut's heritage be saved?
The World Bank estimated that the blast had caused up to $8.1 billion in damage and economic loss. The explosion damaged dozens of heritage buildings, some of which have since collapsed.
The head of the UN culture and education body UNESCO visited Beirut after the blast and promised to raise funds to help rebuild the city, but no fundraising conference has yet been held. The Beirut Heritage Initiative, an alliance of NGOs, says it has received just $250,000 from institutional donors so far -- a fraction of the estimated $300 million needed to restore what was lost.
Without those funds, "Lebanon's heritage can't be rebuilt", said Fadlo Dagher, one of founders of the initiative.

Lebanese Prosecutor Contributes Findings to Swiss Anti-Graft Probe
Agence France Presse/04 February 2021
Lebanese State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat on Thursday passed on to Switzerland information requested in an anti-graft probe involving Lebanon's central bank chief and alleged capital flight, a judicial source said.
"Prosecutor general Ghassan Oueidat today via diplomatic channels transferred the preliminary findings following the request for help from the Swiss judiciary," the source said. The findings included the statements of Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, his brother and his secretary, as well as documents requested from the central bank, following their questioning over alleged bank transfers to Switzerland. "Oueidat, in exchange, asked for them to share the documents they have" from their investigation, the source added.
The Swiss attorney general's office on January 19 said it had requested assistance from Lebanon in an investigation into "aggravated money laundering... in connection with possible embezzlement to the detriment of" the Lebanese central bank. Salameh on January 21 said he went to see the Lebanese prosecutor and "assured him that no money transfer had been made from the Bank of Lebanon accounts or budgets."
A judicial source, however, said Salameh mentioned "transfers not exceeding 240 million dollars made since 2002 from personal accounts to fund a company founded with his brother," charges Salameh's office later denied.
The probe comes as Lebanon grapples with its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. Salameh and the country's elite have been widely accused of stashing their dollars in foreign accounts to evade capital controls.
This has sparked calls abroad and at home for efforts to return deposits to Lebanon, which is in desperate need of foreign currency.
 

US, France call on Lebanon’s ruling elite to ‘finally act’ and form a government
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/04 February 2021
Washington and Paris issued a statement Thursday calling on Lebanese officials to “finally act upon their commitments” to form a credible government. The statement, released by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, was released six months after the deadly August 4 explosion at the Port of Beirut. No official investigation results have been released regarding the cause of the blast, which left more than 200 people dead and thousands more injured. “France and the United States also expect rapid results on the inquiry into the causes of the explosion. The Lebanese justice system must work transparently, removed from any political interference,” the statement read. In an obvious sign of frustration, Blinken and Le Drian said their respective countries would continue providing aid to the Lebanese people, making no mention of the Lebanese government.
The ruling political elite is seen by most Lebanese and many international leaders as inept and corrupt. Since the explosion, Lebanon has been without a fully functioning government. Saad Hariri was designated to form a new government last October, but reported demands by President Michel Aoun and his allies, including Hezbollah, have blocked any progress. Aoun and the Free Patriotic Movement he founded, led by his son-in-law Gebran Bassil today, have been requesting a blocking third in the government or what is known as “veto power.” “The six-month anniversary of this tragic event underscores the urgent and vital need for Lebanese stakeholders to finally act upon the commitments they have made to form a credible and effective government, and to pave the way for the implementation of necessary reforms, in accordance with the aspirations of the Lebanese people,” Blinken and Le Drian said. “Such concrete actions remain absolutely crucial for the engagement of France, the United States and their regional and international partners to provide additional, longer-term structural support to Lebanon.”

Cairo extends support to Hariri in coordination with US, France
The Arab Weekly/February 04/2021
CAIRO/ BEIRUT - Arab diplomatic sources linked the visit of Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri to Cairo and his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday to Egypt's ongoing coordination with France and the US to push for the formation of a government in Lebanon.
Hariri’s visit to Cairo coincided with efforts made by US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea to expedite the formation of the cabinet. On Wednesday, Shea visited Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai in Bkerke near Beirut to impress upon him the need to form a Lebanese government as soon as possible. Prior to Hariri’s arrival in Cairo, Lebanese political sources said there had been contact between the prime minister-designate and French officials who told Hariri that Paris and Washington had reached a common stance on Lebanon.
The Lebanese political sources told The Arab Weekly that French intelligence chief Bernard Emie (a former ambassador to Lebanon) recently visited Washington to further explore prospects of US-French coordination regarding Lebanon based on the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Macron initiative calls for the formation of a Lebanese cabinet composed of "specialists" and for the implementation of reforms that would pave the way for Lebanon to receive international aid. The French president had previously contacted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz. Macron is also coordinating his moves with the United Arab Emirates, where Hariri recently spent a long vacation.
According to the same sources, the Saudi crown prince told Macron once again that the kingdom is not ready to support Lebanon as long as it is under Hezbollah's control, and that it is necessary to first form a Lebanese cabinet without the presence of the militant party.
During his meeting with Hariri, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on "Lebanese leaders to uphold the national interest, settle differences, and speed up efforts to form an independent government capable of dealing with current challenges." He stressed his country's readiness to provide "all kinds of support and assistance to Lebanon to help it overcome the crises facing it, especially the fallout of both the Beirut Port explosion and the coronavirus pandemic." Hariri emphasised “Lebanon's pride in its close historical relations with Egypt, which are based on solidarity and brotherhood." He also expressed his country's appreciation for Egypt's support to Lebanon in all fields, especially its assistance following the Beirut Port blast. According to analysts, Egypt feels the need to nudge closer to Lebanon, as events there could influence other developments in the region.
The Future Movement headed by Hariri seems to be the closest Lebanese party to Egypt, and Cairo's support for this formation could be an important factor in Arab politics. The problem, however, is that Egypt does not seem to possess the necessary tools to preserve its long-term interests in Lebanon.
To influence the complex Lebanese situation, Cairo must wield political and economic instruments that allow it to play an active role regarding the existing balances. As has been the case in Lebanon for decades, Lebanese protagonists cannot operate without an external safety net.
Egyptian political sources said: "If the regional situation reflects Lebanon's charm and magnetism, it also epitomises its political misfortunes. This situation has been the source of conflicts between different forces, which means that the chances that Cairo, which has abandoned Beirut for decades, would be able to influence the current Lebanese equation are rather limited."
During the era of the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt considered Lebanon the gateway to both Syria and Iraq. As this view withered away, Egypt retreated to itself, and Beirut became subject to Iranian influence through strong ties to Hezbollah.
Former Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister Gamal Bayoumi said that Hariri’s visit proves there are ongoing Egyptian contacts at different levels to resolve the Lebanese cabinet crisis and ongoing attempts to bridge the viewpoints between Hariri and President Michel Aoun, especially given that many Lebanese political actors do not object to Egypt playing a role. But the distance Cairo has taken from the Lebanese arena makes it difficult for the country to now gain an effective presence. Bayoumi added in a statement to The Arab Weekly that Egypt has a real desire to strike a balance between the various protagonists and prevent the situation from spinning out of control. It wants to consolidate its relations with Lebanon, especially since Hariri is working to rally support among regional allies for his political vision about forming the government.
Diplomatic sources in Cairo indicated that Ankara's recent rapprochement with Beirut, and the possible escalation in extremist organisations' activities in northern Lebanon represent an Egyptian and Arab national security concern, and increase the chances of chaos in Lebanon, which is already suffering from severe crises that may bring it to the brink of chaos.
The sources emphasised that Cairo fears being affected by the presence of terrorist groups in Lebanon with political goals that intersect in certain aspects with those of Turkey and Iran. The situation compounds the challenges that Egypt faces on several fronts. Cairo is wary that the situation may provide Ankara with an extra card it can play in the region and in fact turn Lebanon into an arena under the control of Iran and Turkey without any significant Arab presence. During his visit to Egypt, Hariri stopped at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo and met with Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit. According to analysts, Hariri, through his call on Aboul Gheit, wanted to reaffirm Lebanon's commitment to its Arab identity and its determination not to leave his country at the mercy of Iran and Turkey. Hariri also met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in the presence of Major General Abbas Kamel, head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service.

High time to build a new, federal Lebanon
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/February 04/2021
Weak Sunni political leadership is the cause of Lebanon’s problems today. This phrase is, in essence, pure poison and encourages sectarianism, yet it is unfortunately the best way to describe what is currently happening in the country, and specifically in Tripoli.
The recent incidents in Tripoli symbolize, in many senses, the lack of Sunni leadership. They are also a stark reminder that Lebanon is built on a balance between religious minorities and that any weakness from one is an invitation for instability. Sunni leaders are weak not because they are not supported by regional powers like Hezbollah is, but because they are selfish and lack political vision. Today, every political loss comes with more frustration, fear, resentment and daily humiliation, which pushes toward more sectarian confrontation and danger.
I am not calling for a Sunni political revival or renewed leadership to stand up to Hezbollah, because instead I believe it is high time we exited this racist political structure that pits one confession against the other. It is a political system that brings out people’s ugliest side and pushes them toward religious extremism. Hezbollah, Lebanon’s true ruler, identifies as a religious organization and so the same line of thought will guide the Sunni Lebanese sooner or later. They will morph into a similar organization. Poverty and daily humiliations will call for this, as the “Sunni leaders in suits” have done nothing. This dynamic would also call for unity with Syria and so the backlash on the Sunni community and all of Lebanon would be catastrophic.
Therefore, Lebanon does not need a strong new Sunni leader or any new savior for that matter. The country does not need new elections either — this would only recycle and comfort the current political formations and dynamic. Lebanon does not need to implement a secular system. In fact, Lebanon needs a great reset, a new political system. In short, Lebanon needs decentralization or even federalism.
Most call for secular laws as the greatest overhaul needed, but in reality decentralization is much more important. Civil marriages and the end of confessional quotas are not realistic solutions and would lead to even greater problems. Why? Because sectarianism does not disappear because we remove a person’s religion from their ID. Applying secular law within the current system would create even more imbalance and frustration. It is a utopian vision of Lebanese society and the political system.
Lebanon needs to shift toward a decentralized political system that empowers the regions and lets each minority manage its own affairs under a federal union. I believe, to this day, the best political system that exists for Lebanon is the federal model, such as in Switzerland or even the US.
Each region would oversee its own affairs and security, diffusing the frustration and pressure between the various minorities that exist today. The key is to give more power to the regions in what matters to the people and grant full individual liberties. Hezbollah would be free to manage its areas as it pleases and keep its weapons within its own zones until a regional solution is found. Other minorities would be able to manage their own affairs in their own regions. A small and limited federal government would be put in place, as well as a bicameral legislature. There is obviously more in-depth study needed.
Some would argue that, while this system can work in Switzerland or the US, it is not feasible in the Middle East, citing Iraq as an example. But Iraq is a different story and a true federal system was not put in place there. Instead it is a disguised sectarian federal structure. It was born from the simplistic view that the Shiites make up the majority and hence they should lead the state. This allowed for Iranian interference and its militias now threaten and harass Iraqis throughout the country. The results have been clear: More frustration among the minority groups and continued instability, contributing to extremist terrorism from Daesh and the like spreading toward Syria.
Some might also argue that decentralization is an even more sectarian system. My answer to that is simple: By allowing people to build their own fences and feel secure, we defuse the fear of the other. Once fear of the other disappears, then conversations and exchanges can take place. Lebanon has for too long lived under the illusion of a balanced political system, which can be best described by the formula, “No loser and no winner.” This system was never real; it was only used as a consolation for the loser to make his loss less bitter. The country’s system has been a winner-takes-all system par excellence. There was always a winner, from centuries ago until the recent Syrian occupation and beyond. Resentment and frustration built in silence among the losers, pushing them toward extremism.
The current political system brings out people’s ugliest side and pushes them toward religious extremism.
Once a decentralized system is put in place, we would be able to have federal laws that allow for civil marriage and a broader secular system. This decentralized system would also create healthy competition that would push Lebanon toward economic excellence. This is the best solution for Lebanon and is the only way to escape the zero-sum game we have been engaged in, where we translate regional and international interference into political power locally.
However, in the current global environment, there is a simpler solution for the international community: To institutionalize the winner-takes-all system. I would not be surprised if Western analysts and experts soon drafted studies stating that Hezbollah in fact represents most of the country and that it should lead Lebanon. This would be the same mistake as in Iraq.
The key point here is that an unfair regional agreement would have destabilizing effects on the ground. Therefore, it is high time the citizen was the true winner, rather than a single minority. It is high time that the citizens of Lebanon lived with their heads high and in safety, regardless of their religion, ethnicity or beliefs. It is high time to build a new Lebanon. This can only happen if we remove the fear of the other — and the only way to do this is by giving greater control at the regional level.
*Khaled Abou Zahr is CEO of Eurabia, a media and tech company. He is also the editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.

Shadow of politics, past violence hovers over Beirut blast probe
The Arab Weekly/February 04/2021
Judge Fadi Sawan hasn’t resumed work, raising concerns among victims’ families that he may have caved to pressure. Dozens of family members gathered outside his house Monday, urging him to restart the probe.
BEIRUT--Days after a massive explosion ripped through Beirut’s port and disfigured the Lebanese capital, family members of some of the 211 people killed in the blast demanded an international probe. It was a swift vote of no confidence in the authorities’ ability to investigate one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history and one of the nation’s most traumatic experiences. The scepticism was justified. Lebanon, a country wrought by political violence and assassinations, has a history of unfinished prosecutions and buried secrets. Six months after the August 4 blast, the domestic investigation has been brought to a virtual halt by the same political and confessional rivalries that thwarted past attempts to uncover the truth in major crimes. What started as an investigation into how nearly 3,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive fertilizer component, were stored in Beirut port for years with politicians’ and security agencies’ knowledge has taken a turn, wading into a web of murky international business interests in the explosives trade and global shipping. Government officials rebuffed an international probe and appointed former military court judge Fadi Sawan to investigate. He has largely focused on government incompetence amid public anger at a corrupt political class blamed for Lebanon’s slide into poverty and upheaval. In a rare move, Sawan charged two former ministers and the current prime minister with negligence, triggering pushback.
The prime minister refused to appear for questioning, calling it “diabolic” to single him out for charges. The ministers challenged the judge and asked Lebanon’s highest court to replace him in a move that brought the probe to a halt since December 17. The interior minister said he won’t ask security forces to implement arrest warrants targeting political figures. In early January, the Court of Cassation ruled that Sawan can resume his investigation while it reviews calls to replace him, keeping the possibility hanging over the probe. Yet Sawan hasn’t resumed work, raising concerns among victims’ families that he may have caved to pressure. Dozens of family members gathered outside his house Monday, urging him to restart the probe. “We want to know if they are not letting him,” Kayan Tleis, whose 40-year-old-brother was killed in the blast, said in reference to politicians. “This should not be like every time.”Lebanon’s sectarian-based political factions have had a lock on power in the country for decades and have divvied up posts across the state among themselves. Though rivals, they have a common interest in preventing accountability.
Structural problems undermine the judiciary.
The government and the president name judges, allowing political factions to install loyalists as rewards. Prosecutors stall, preventing cases from reaching courts. The government also holds enormous sway over the five-member Judicial Council, a special court where it refers security and political crimes. Decisions by the government-appointed judges can’t be appealed. Human Rights Watch said Sawan’s appointment process was opaque and the investigation itself, so far secret, has been tainted with political interference. Two judges named by the justice minister before Sawan were rejected without an explanation by the government-appointed body in charge of approving the selection. At least 25 people have been held since August under the investigating judge’s powers of unlimited pre-trial detention. He only questioned them once, according to HRW. Most are port staff, including the head of the port authority, a security official and a maintenance engineer, and all face the same litany of charges no matter what their position, said Aya Majzoub, HRW’s Lebanon researcher. Senior political faction leaders have publicly questioned the course of Sawan’s investigation or hinted he may be covering up for their rivals. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah questioned Sawan’s focus on domestic negligence. He urged him to share reports by military, security and foreign agencies. “Was there something military in the port that led to this explosion? Why not tell the people the truth?” said Nasrallah. Despite widespread suspicions about the militant party’s role in the blast, Hezbollah has denied claims it stored explosives at the port. A Hezbollah rival, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, pointed at the Syrian government, suggesting it imported the explosives through Lebanon because its ports were in the line of fire at the height of Syria’s civil war in 2013.
“There can’t be a probe so long as the judiciary is not independent of Syrian guardianship or from (the president’s) people or Syrian allies,” Jumblatt told Sky News Arabia. Some described the 60-year-old Sawan as “brave,” even “suicidal” for taking the post that could endanger his career or his life.
Throughout Lebanon’s history, judges have been threatened, intimidated and even killed. Gunmen sprayed four judges with bullets in court in 1999, killing them on the spot during a murder and drug trafficking trial. In 1977, a judge investigating the killing of a Druze leader was kidnapped in his own car and his house hit with a rocket-propelled grenade. The 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri brought a rare international investigation. Syria, whose forces occupied Lebanon at the time, was considered the prime suspect. The local investigation was scuttled by accusations of political interference.
World powers, whose pressure forced Syrian troops to withdraw, backed a parallel UN fact-finding mission and special tribunal. After a drawn-out, 15-year process, the Special Tribunal in The Hague convicted only one of the four defendants, all Hezbollah operatives, with no explanation of who was ultimately behind the killing, disappointing many.
That tribunal also cost millions of dollars, money that Lebanon — broke and struggling with a historic economic crisis — doesn’t have.

Youssef Diab, a Lebanese journalist who covers the courts, said Lebanon doesn’t have the resources or technical capacity to handle an investigation of the explosion’s scope. “This is a lot graver than the assassination of Rafik Hariri. A city was destroyed, (211) died, 6,000 wounded and many people have not yet returned home. This is a major crime,” he said. FBI and French investigators conducted a forensic probe after the blast, but their findings remain sealed.
Majzoub, of Human Rights Watch, said a UN fact-finding mission is needed.
“We can’t rest our hope and faith on a broken system that has proven incredibly resilient. We can’t expect the very people who are implicated in these crimes and other big crimes in Lebanon to lead reform.”
In an investigative report, Lebanese documentary maker Feras Hatoum revealed that the company that bought the ammonium nitrate may have links through shell companies with two Syrian businessmen under US sanctions for their ties to Syrian President Bashar Assad. One of them was sanctioned in 2015 for his suspected role in securing explosives for Assad’s forces. “You need authorities to investigate,” Hatoum told The Associated Press. Sawan has not reached out to him yet, but Youssef Lahoud, a lawyer representing victims’ families, said they will include Hatoum’s findings in their case. Lahoud said Sawwan has only two clerks and two trainee judges helping him. Former state prosecutor Hatem Madi, who investigated political violence before he retired in 2013, said many reasons could have caused Sawan to halt the probe: crossing a red line, receiving threats or pressure or because he feared the consequences of his findings. “Most of the big cases are stopped because of reasons of State,” Madi said.
 

Text Of The Letter That Mohammad Chatah Sent To The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Few Days Before He Was Assasinated
Your Excellency,
We are taking this exceptional step to address you and other regional and global leaders because these are exceptionally dangerous times for our country. Not only is Lebanon’s internal and external security being seriously threatened, but the very unity of our state is in real jeopardy. It is our obligation to do all we can to protect our nation from these l threats. And today, more than ever before, the choices made by the Islamic Republic of Iran will play an important role in determining our success or failure. That’s why we are writing to you, as the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
But these are exceptional times for Iran as well. After many years of confrontation between Iran and a major part of the international community, your election as president last summer has signaled to many in the region and the world that the Iranian people want to set their country on a new path; a path of reform and openness and peaceful relations with the rest of the world. The recent interim agreement between Iran and the P5+1, and the statements you have made since your election, have raised expectations that Iran may indeed be taking the first concrete steps along that positive path. We sincerely hope that this is the case.
But for us, as representatives of the Lebanese people, the real test is not so much whether Iran reaches a final agreement with Western powers on its nuclear program, nor whether domestic economic and social reforms are successfully put in place—important as these objectives are to the world and to the Iranian people. For us in Lebanon, the real test is whether Iran is genuinely prepared to chart a new course in its policies toward the rest of region, and most specifically toward Lebanon.
Your Excellency,
It is an undisputed fact that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard continues to maintain a strategic military relationship with Hezbollah, a military organization that Iran’s Revolutionary guard was instrumental in establishing 30 years ago. At that time Lebanon was still in the midst of a terrible civil war and southern Lebanon was under Israeli occupation. Today, 23 years after the end of the civil war and the disbanding of all other Lebanese militias, and 13 years after the liberation of the south from Israeli occupation (in which the Lebanese resistance played a crucial role), Hezbollah continues to maintain an independent and heavily armed military force outside the authority of the state. This is happening with the direct support and sponsorship of your country.
As we are sure you would agree, the presence of any armed militia in parallel to the legitimate armed forces of the state and operating outside the state’s control and political authority is not only in conflict with the Lebanese constitution, but also with the very definition of a sovereign state—any state. This is the case irrespective of the religious affiliations of such non-state militias or the causes they claim to champion.
Hezbollah’s insistence on maintaining an independent military organization, under the banner of “Islamic Resistance,” has been a major obstacle in the face of much-needed national efforts to strengthen state institutions and to put an end to the legacy of the civil war and the spread weapons throughout the country. This has, inevitably, also weakened Lebanon’s national unity and exposed the country to the widening sectarian fault lines in the region, and has contributed to the rise of religious extremism and militancy.
Moreover, the use of—or implied threat of using—Hezbollah’s weapons advantage to tilt the domestic political playing field has made the delicate task of managing the Lebanese political system almost impossible, and has led to a gradual systemic paralysis. Hezbollah’s blatant protection of five of its members who had been indicted by the Special international Tribunal for Lebanon in the case of the late Rafiq Hariri assassination has compounded the suspicions and mistrust.
Your Excellency,
Over the past year, Hezbollah’s direct participation in the conflict in Syria has greatly aggravated Lebanon’s already precarious situation. It is well recognized that the Lebanese public is divided regarding the war in Syria. We, as members of the broad March 14 political alliance, stand fully, both politically and morally, in support of the Syrian people. We believe the Assad regime has lost both its moral legitimacy and its ability to restore peace and unity in Syria. However as representatives of the Lebanese people, our focus and main responsibility is to protect Lebanon from the grave danger of the fire raging next door spreading into our country. In fact, the conflict in Syria has already touched many of our border towns and villages and sparked sporadic violence and despicable acts of terrorism. As you know, the Iranian embassy in Beirut has been the target of a deplorable terrorist bombing, so were mosques and civilian neighborhoods.
Combating this scourge and protecting Lebanon from worse spillovers cannot succeed while a major Lebanese party is participating directly in the Syrian conflict. It is, in effect, an invitation to those on the receiving end of Hezbollah’s bombs and bullets in Syria to bring the war back to Hezbollah’s homeland—our common homeland. Regrettably, this is happening with the support of, and in coordination with, the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Your Excellency,
Lebanon today is in crisis on all levels. Clearly, palliatives are not enough anymore. We need to protect Lebanon from falling further down a very slippery slope. We believe that this can be done only if regional and international powers, including Iran, are ready to take the necessary steps. The guideposts are already there. They were spelt out in the national declaration issued jointly by all political parties last year and dubbed the Baabda Declaration. The declaration had affirmed the objective of safeguarding Lebanon’s security by: 1.) protecting it against spillovers from Syria and more generally neutralizing it away from regional and international conflicts and alliances; and 2.) completing the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701.
In our view, this would require the following concrete steps, to be agreed and launched through a special Security Council meeting or a special, wider support-group conference:
1. A declared commitment by all other countries, including Iran, to the neutralization of Lebanon as agreed in the Baabda Declaration. Clearly, it is not enough for Lebanon to declare a desire to be neutralized. More importantly, other countries need to commit themselves to respect Lebanon’s national desire;
2. Ending all armed participation by Lebanese groups and parties, including Hezbollah, in the Syrian conflict;
3. Establishing effective control by the Lebanese army and security forces over the border with Syria, supported by the United Nations if needed as permitted under UNSCR 1701;
4. Requesting the Security Council to begin the steps needed to complete the implementation of UNSCR 1701. This aims at moving Lebanon from the current interim cessation-of-hostilities status with Israel to a permanent cease-fire with U.N. security arrangements, which will end border infringements by Israel and establish complete and exclusive security authority by the Lebanese armed forces throughout the country.
This vision and roadmap may seem radical, considering that Lebanon has not seen full and exclusive control by the state over its territory and over all weapons in four decades. But these are also the basic natural rights of any country that seeks to be free and independent. It is our obligation as representatives of the people of Lebanon to do all we can to regain those rights. For years, we have supported—and will continue to support—the right of Palestine to be free and independent. Similarly, we support Iran’s national right as a free and sovereign nation in control of its destiny and its security within its borders. As a small but proud nation we cannot aspire for less.
Your Excellency,
This is Lebanon’s cause. We will do all we can to mobilize all the support it needs and deserves. Ultimately, whether we succeed or not will depend on decisions taken, not only by the Lebanese people but also by others, including your good self. Admittedly—but also understandably—there are many Iran-skeptics in Lebanon and in the region. We hope that Iran’s choices in Lebanon can prove them wrong.
Sincerely,
Mohamad Chatah

‘I just wanna turn heads,’ says Beirut-based rapper Chyno With a Why?
BOJAN PRERADOVIC/Arab News/February 04/2021
BEIRUT: “I believe that in high-pressure situations, great art comes out,” declares Nasser Shorbaji — aka Chyno With a Why? — a man who knows a few things about bearing burdens.
Over the past year, the Beirut-based rapper of Syrian-Filipino origin (the frivolous but racial-undertone-laden nickname was given to him by a Texan friend) has not only been grounded by the pandemic, but also had to deal with the death of close friend and fellow Lebanese-hip-hop mainstay, Double A The Preacherman. “Losing him was a big shock for all of us,” he says. A month earlier, Shorbaji was minutes away from potentially losing his own life during the devastating Beirut Port explosion.“At 5:50, (MC, producer, collaborator and friend) Zoog called me and (another local rapper, friend and collaborator) El Rass to go hang out at his place. Zoog was on his way home, and I was brushing my teeth to head over. The blast was at, like, 6:07. His flat was completely destroyed.” He offers a deeply unsettling but, sadly, commonly heard admission in Beirut these days: “If we had already made it there when it happened… I wouldn’t be talking to you now.”
But there have been some silver linings. Shorbaji has just released “Mamluk,” his major-label debut album, following a deal with Warner Music Middle East. The 36-year-old’s path to that record contract hasn’t been straightforward.
“I’ve been in the scene so long, doing music independently — first as part of a group (the acclaimed Beirut hip-hop collective FareeQ el Atrash), and then solo — so I’m really focused on the art itself, and I’m not really disillusioned by being in a corporate environment,” he says. “But the whole label thing was kind of unexpected for me.
“Warner were a partner when I was doing (street festival) S.C.U.M. Week, so last year they asked me what I was doing, and I said I was putting ‘Mamluk’ together and started hitting them up with breadcrumbs,” he continues.
The label liked what they heard, and soon enough, floated the idea of signing him. “Then things got serious. We had to make more ‘bangers,’ which is something I was going to do anyway, but it became more of a conscious decision.”
Lyrically, “Mamluk” deals with themes of disenfranchisement and racial prejudice. The seeds were sown on his return to Beirut from Barcelona, where he wrote his 2015 LP “Making Music to Feel at Home.”
“A lot of (that record) had to do with being Arab there. I didn’t really focus much on my mixed-race background, but on how I was feeling about being away from my family in the Middle East.”
On his return to Lebanon, though, “It became more important to address how I felt in my environment. In (2019 single) ‘ALPHA CHYNO’ I used the word ‘Mamluken’ to refer to racist raps against me by other rappers who I don’t even really know. And this concept started coming together…”
Shorbaji decided to turn the warped mantra of racism on its head. “I didn’t want to be the person shouting criticism at a whole society, because that just victimizes my people in this region. I wanted to create this lore surrounding Asian culture, where a mamluk, being a servant, or working for people, just having a job in a hostile environment is a cool thing.”
“Mamluk” consists of 16 tracks packed with boisterous beats, earworm melodies and incisive rhymes.
“I love using double, or triple, entendres with my rhymes,” he says, highlighting “Pickle Rick,” a collab with rapper Illiam, as an example. “Cheng, cheng, cheng… that’s the sound of money, but it also has racist undertones: ‘Ching, chang, chong’ — I used to hear that in Syria all the time. But it also alludes to change; change your environment so you can succeed… With success comes money. It’s layered.”
The new album also includes a tribute to his fallen comrade, Double A The Preacherman, “’81 till Infinity.” “Zoog had this vocal of Double A’s that not many people had heard. The more I heard it, the more I thought I had to have it on the album.”
Despite the “high-pressure situations” of the past year, it’s clear the outspoken MC and organizer won’t be kept down for long.
“There’s been some talk about opening a school of hip-hop, that’s something I’m really excited about,” he says. “In the context of S.C.U.M. Week, I’d love to take Arab rappers to different cities around the world. And my dream is to write scripts for a series. Bottom line is, I just wanna turn heads.”
It’s safe to say that, with ‘Mamluk’, he and his collaborators — including Zoog, El Rass and producer/rapper MBee, but also Jordanian-Palestinian rapper The Synaptik and Jordan’s El Far3i — have managed to do just that.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 04- 05/2021

Israel attacks Syrian regime, Iran-backed militias in Quneitra: Reports
Rawad Taha, Al Arabiya English/Thursday 04 February 2021
Syrian air defense forces responded late Thursday to an “Israeli aggression” in the south of the country, state news agency SANA reported. “Our anti-air defenses responded, targeting most of the missiles,” the source added. SANA only reported strikes in the southern region without offering details on the target. It was followed by Syrian air defenses that responded to the attack, the agency said. The sound of the air defenses could be heard in the capital Damascus. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that several explosions occurred in the countryside of Quneitra, as a result of Israeli bombing targeting a military site of the regime forces and Iranian militias, coinciding with the regime's ground-based counterattacks attempting to counter the missiles, without information about casualties until this moment. On January 22, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored an Israeli air strike on Syrian territory, from over Lebanese territory, targeting at least five locations where members of militias loyal to Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah were present within the regime's military units in Hama, which led to its complete destruction.
- With AP
 

In first for Europe, Iranian diplomat sentenced to 20 years in jail over bomb plot
The Arab Weekly/February 04/2021
Prosecution lawyer Georges-Henri said: “The ruling shows two things: A diplomat doesn’t have immunity for criminal acts … and the responsibility of the Iranian state in what could have been carnage.”
ANTWERP, Belgium - An Iranian diplomat accused of planning to bomb a meeting of an exiled opposition group was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday in the first trial of an Iranian official for suspected terrorism in Europe since Iran’s 1979 revolution. Assadolah Assadi was found guilty of attempted terrorism after a foiled plot to bomb a rally of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) near Paris in June 2018, Belgian prosecution lawyers and civil parties to the prosecution said. The third counsellor at Iran’s embassy in Vienna, he was arrested in Germany before being tranfered to Belgium for trial. French officials have said he was running an Iranian state intelligence network and was acting on orders from Tehran. He did not attend his hearings, which were held behind closed doors amid high security, and neither he nor his lawyer have commented. In March, he warned authorities of possible retaliation by unidentified groups if he were to be found guilty, according to a police document obtained by Reuters. The courtroom was heavily guarded, with armoured vehicles outside and police helicopters overhead. A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry told the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency on January 24 that Assadi’s diplomatic immunity from prosecution had been violated and that he was a victim of a Western trap. Prosecution lawyer Georges-Henri said outside the court in Antwerp: “The ruling shows two things: A diplomat doesn’t have immunity for criminal acts … and the responsibility of the Iranian state in what could have been carnage.”
— Bad time —
Investigators assessed that Assadi brought the explosives for the plot with him on a commercial flight to Austria from Iran, according to Belgium’s federal prosecutor. Former US President Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani gave the keynote address at the rally, which was attended by diplomats from many countries. The ruling comes at a bad time for Iran. New US President Joe Biden is considering whether to lift economic sanctions on Iran re-imposed by Trump and rejoin fellow world powers in the historic 2015 nuclear accord with the Islamic Republic. It is not clear, however, to what extent the case could push Europeans to take firmer stands against Iran. The EU, which has been working to facilitate the US’s return to the nuclear deal, has not taken any measures against Tehran in recent weeks despite its various breaches of the accord and its ballistic programme’s escalation. Brussels has in the past sought closer diplomatic and business ties with Tehran, but said it could not turn a blind eye to terrorism, including this case, two killings in the Netherlands and a failed assassination attempt in Denmark all blamed on Iran. “It’s an historic day, it’s a day of justice,” said Rik Vanreusel, a lawyer for one of the civil parties. “We can be proud of brave little Belgium, who decided not to just expel diplomats but to prosecute, imprison and condemn heinous international acts of terrorism,” he told reporters. Three other Iranians were sentenced in the trial for their role as accomplices, with 15-, 17- and 18-year sentences handed down respectively by three judges who did not comment on Thursday. One of their lawyers said he would recommend an appeal, although it was not clear if Assadi would do so. “It was established that the Iranian regime uses terrorism as statecraft and the highest levels of the Iranian regime are involved,” Shahin Gobadi, a Paris-based spokesman for the opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, which is part of the NCRI, said outside the court. The Islamic Republic has repeatedly dismissed the charges, calling the attack allegations a “false flag” stunt by the NCRI, which it considers a terrorist group.
Analysts did not find Iran’s denial credible since its fingerprints were all over the plot. Considering Tehran’s involvement in many previous terrorism cases in Europe and the US, it was not difficult for the Antwerp prosecutors to reach their conclusions and they were not contradicted by the judges.

US ends military support in Yemen, will continue helping Saudi Arabia defend itself
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/Thursday 04 February 2021
The United States will end its support for military operations in Yemen, but it will continue to help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty and land, President Joe Biden said Thursday. Biden said the war in Yemen “must end,” during his first foreign policy speech since taking office. “At the same time, we’re going to continue to support and help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity and its people,” Biden said, adding that the Kingdom continues to be targeted with missile attacks. Biden also announced the appointment of a special envoy for Yemen. Sources familiar with the move had told Al Arabiya English that Timothy Lenderking was tapped by Biden for the role. Lenderking was previously a senior official at the US Embassy in Riyadh. Earlier Thursday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said moves related to Yemen were discussed with officials in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. “We are pursuing a policy of no surprises,” he told reporters at a White House briefing. Sullivan said the US was in contact with its partners in allies in the region and that they understood the decision. Biden spoke of the need for the US to play a more active and engaged role in diplomacy to bring an end to the conflict in Yemen.

Washington rejects Turkey's minister's statement that US was behind 2016 coup attempt
Tuqa Khalid, Al Arabiya English/Friday 05 February 2021
The US State Department said on Thursday assertions by Turkish officials that the United States was involved in a failed 2016 coup attempt in Turkey were "wholly false." "The United States had no involvement in the 2016 attempted coup in Turkey and promptly condemned it. Recent assertions to the contrary made by senior Turkish officials are wholly false," the State Department said. "These remarks and other unfounded and irresponsible claims of US responsibility for events in Turkey are inconsistent with Turkey’s status as a NATO Ally and strategic partner of the United States," it added.
Turkey's interior minister Suleyman Soylu told the Hurriyet daily the United States had managed the coup attempt while US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen's network carried it out. "It is blatantly clear the United States is behind July 15. It was FETO who carried it out upon their orders," he said.
More than 250 people were killed in the attempt to overthrow President Tayyip Erdogan and his government on July 15, 2016 when rogue soldiers commandeered warplanes, helicopters and tanks to seize state institutions. Ankara has long blamed preacher Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan who lives in Pennsylvania, and launched a widespread crackdown on his network, which Ankara refers to by the acronym 'FETO'. Gulen denies any involvement. The US has repeatedly rejected Turkish demands for Gulen's extradition, citing a lack of credible evidence from Ankara. Ankara is seeking to repair strained ties with Washington, which last year sanctioned Turkey over its purchase of Russian air defence systems, and with the European Union. The EU has threatened measures against Ankara over a dispute with Greece in the east Mediterranean. Turkey has said in recent weeks that it achieved a "positive agenda" with the EU, and that it wants to improve relations with the United States under President Joe Biden. He is expected to be tougher on Ankara over its record on human rights, which has worried Turkey's Western allies. Since the failed coup, Turkey has detained some 292,000 people over suspected links to Gulen and has suspended or sacked more than 150,000 civil servants. Hundreds of media outlets have been shut and dozens of opposition lawmakers have been jailed.
- With Reuters
 

UN optimistic about Middle East Quartet role
The Arab Weekly/February 04/2021
Guterres said on Wednesday he hopes to see the Middle East Quartet of mediators meet again in the next "few weeks". The Quartet - the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - does not appear to have had a meeting since September 2018.
NEW YORK--UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday he hopes to see the Middle East Quartet of mediators meet again in the next "few weeks" now that there is a new US president in the White House. The Quartet - the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - does not appear to have had a meeting since September 2018. "The truth is that we were completely blocked in relation to any form of peace negotiation. We had the Israelis and the Palestinians that wouldn't talk to each other," Guterres said during an interview broadcast by The Washington Post.
The new administration of President Joe Biden supports a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians and will overturn several decisions made under his predecessor, Donald Trump, the acting US envoy to the United Nations told the Security Council last week. "There is a strong will of the new US administration to play a positive role in creating these conditions for a true peace process to restart," Guterres said. "I believe that now it will be possible to have a meeting of the Quartet," he said. "I would like to see it in the next few weeks." The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with east Jerusalem as its capital, all territory captured by Israel in 1967. Under a failed peace proposal by Trump, Washington would have recognized Jewish settlements in occupied territory as part of Israel.

Egypt to chair UN peace initiative
Arab News/February 04/2021
CAIRO: Egypt has been elected to chair the 15th session of the UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) for the first time, succeeding Canada, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. The election took place during an official commission meeting at the UN’S headquarters in New York.
Egypt’s election to chair the session came after the UN African group chose the country to represent Africa, and follows its reelection as a member of the PBC with the highest number of votes in December 2020. Mohammed Idris, Egypt’s permanent representative to the UN, said that Egypt’s election is the culmination of diplomatic efforts since the commission was founded in 2005. The election demonstrates the international and African confidence in Egypt’s ability to continue its effective contribution to strengthening the role of the peacebuilding system at the UN, he added. Idris said that the meeting had witnessed a review of the priorities of the Egyptian chairing of the PBC, adding that the interventions of the committee members showed appreciation for Egypt’s pioneering role in peace efforts. Egypt’s chairing committee will continue to work on mobilizing international support and attention to support peace initiatives in countries emerging from or affected by conflicts. Efforts will be based on the principle of national ownership and leadership, especially in Africa, which occupies the largest share of the committee’s work program. Egypt is keen to maximize the benefit from this advisory role to the Security Council, General Assembly and Economic and Social Council, as well as the committee’s role in building bridges and enhancing the consistency of roles within the UN system. Idris said that the committee’s role in researching options for providing adequate, sustainable and predictable financing for peace initiatives and programs is the most urgent challenge, especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Al Azhar, Vatican celebrate ‘fraternity’ anniversary
The Arab Weekly/February 04/2021
CAIRO/ROME - Pope Francis and a top Sunni Muslim came together virtually Thursday to reinforce a message of fraternity, pressing forward with a broad-based Christian-Muslim peace initiative ahead of Francis’s planned trip to Iraq next month. Thursday marked the first-ever International Day of Human Fraternity, a UN-designated celebration of interfaith and multicultural understanding inspired by a landmark document signed on February 4, 2019 in Abu Dhabi by Francis and Sheikh Ahmad al-Tayyeb, the imam of the Al-Azhar centre for Sunni learning in Cairo. The document called for greater mutual understanding and solidarity to confront the problems facing the world. With the backing of the United Arab Emirates, the initiative has gone on to create a high-level commission to spread the message and plans are under way to build in Abu Dhabi a centre with a synagogue, mosque and church in a tangible display of interfaith coexistence and sharing. Francis addressed the virtual anniversary celebration by warning that forging greater human solidarity was the “challenge of our century, the challenge of our times.”Francis praised Tayyeb’s courage in signing the document and pursuing the initiative. Tayyeb praised his “brother” Francis and urged Muslims and all people of good will to support the project and its aims. They were both on hand virtually to award a fraternity award to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Latifah Ibn Ziaten, a Moroccan-born mother who began campaigning for an end to religious extremism and greater social harmony after her son was murdered in France. The anniversary of the initiative comes a month before Francis is due to visit Iraq in the first-ever papal visit. The Chaldean patriarch has said that Francis is due to meet there with the country’s top Shia cleric, Ali al-Sistani.

Head of Libyan parliament arrives in Cairo following invitation from Egyptian president
Arab News/February 04/2021
CAIRO: Speaker of the Libyan Parliament Aguila Saleh arrived in Cairo on a visit following an invitation from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.During the visit, discussions are expected to take place between Saleh, El-Sisi and Egyptian officials about the latest developments in Libya.
Fathi Al-Marimi, adviser to the speaker, denied reports regarding the resignation of Saleh, saying they were unfounded. He explained that Saleh did not submit his resignation from the presidency of the council to any party, despite the fact that he is the closest candidate to winning the position of head of the Presidential Council in Libya. Al-Marimi praised the political leadership in Egypt for embracing Libyan dialogue sessions and working toward returning stability to Libya, saying that El-Sisi played a pivotal and effective role in bringing together the Libyan factions that were fighting before Egypt joined the dialogue sessions. Egypt is one of the first countries to support the stability of Libya and create new channels for reconciliation. Saleh added that Libyan national security and stability are linked to those of Egypt, as the two countries are neighbors. He stressed the role of the Egyptian people and media in supporting Libya, its people and their demands for stability. Al-Marimi indicated that Egypt and its political leadership helped Libya in fighting terrorism, foreign interference and the attacks of mercenaries inside the country. This comes as the Libyan Dialogue Forum continues to vote on candidates for the interim executive authority, including Saleh, to lead the country toward elections by the end of the year. On Tuesday, members of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum finished voting for the position of head of the Presidential Council. Saleh received nine votes — the highest number — but the UN mission in Libya announced that the results of the elections inside the electoral complexes would not be decided in favor of any candidate. Libya’s Al-Ahrar channel quoted a source saying that the members of the forum had agreed to pledge to the candidates running for office to resign if one of them wins. The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Geneva announced the transition to vote on candidates for the Presidential Council in the prospective interim executive authority with a list system after the candidates failed to achieve the required percentage for their individual election. A source from the Libyan Political Dialogue Committee confirmed that the vote would take place on Friday.

Israeli PM Netanyahu postpones UAE, Bahrain trip due to COVID-19 lockdown
Reuters, Jerusalem/Thursday 04 February 2021
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he was postponing a trip planned next week to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain due to Israel’s COVID-19 lockdown. “Prime Minister Netanyahu greatly appreciates the invitations of the Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayd and the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the historic peace that has been established between our countries,” said a statement from Netanyahu’s office. Israel extended a national lockdown on Sunday as coronavirus variants offset its vaccination drive and officials predicted a delay in a turnaround from the health and economic crisis. Highlighting Israel’s challenges in enforcing restrictions, thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews attended the Jerusalem funerals of two prominent rabbis on Sunday, drawing criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition partners.

Turkey's interior minister says US behind 2016 failed coup attempt: Hurriyet
Reuters/Thursday 04 February 2021
Turkey's interior minister accused the United States on Thursday of being behind a 2016 failed coup that Ankara has blamed on a U.S.-based Muslim preacher, the Hurriyet daily reported, at a time when Turkey is seeking improved ties with its NATO ally. More than 250 people were killed in the attempt to overthrow President Tayyip Erdogan and his government on July 15, 2016 when rogue soldiers commandeered warplanes, helicopters and tanks to seize state institutions. Ankara has long blamed preacher Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan who lives in Pennsylvania, and launched a widespread crackdown on his network, which Ankara refers to by the acronym 'FETO'. Gulen denies any involvement. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told Hurriyet the United States had managed the coup attempt while Gulen's network carried it out, adding "Europe was enthusiastic about it", reaffirming a view he said he had been expressing since the putsch. "It is blatantly clear the United States is behind July 15. It was FETO who carried it out upon their orders," he said. U.S. officials were not immediately available for comment, but Washington has previously denied any involvement. It has repeatedly rejected Turkish demands for Gulen's extradition, citing a lack of credible evidence from Ankara. Ankara is seeking to repair strained ties with Washington, which last year sanctioned Turkey over its purchase of Russian air defence systems, and with the European Union. The EU has threatened measures against Ankara over a dispute with Greece in the east Mediterranean. Turkey has said in recent weeks that it achieved a "positive agenda" with the EU, and that it wants to improve relations with the United States under President Joe Biden. He is expected to be tougher on Ankara over its record on human rights, which has worried Turkey's Western allies.
Since the failed coup, Turkey has detained some 292,000 people over suspected links to Gulen and has suspended or sacked more than 150,000 civil servants. Hundreds of media outlets have been shut and dozens of opposition lawmakers have been jailed. The government's response to month-long protests at one of the country's top universities has also alarmed Washington and the United Nations, with both condemning "homophobic" rhetoric by officials. Soylu has referred to some protesters as "LGBT deviants" and Erdogan said on Wednesday there was "no such thing" as LGBT.

Iraq sends mixed signals over closing camp for displaced
The Associated Press/Thursday 04 February 2021
Iraq appears to have back-tracked on plans to close a camp for internally displaced Iraqis, many with links to the ISIS group, following a week of confusion and outcry from families unable to return home. Evan Faeq Jabro, Iraq's minister of migration and displacement, told The Associated Press that the news the camp known as Jadah 5 in northern Iraq would close was false, and that it would remain open for the foreseeable future. However, a letter issued by the ministry’s directorate in Ninevah province, addressed to its sub-districts and seen by the AP, had said closures would begin on Jan. 25, suggesting the federal government subsequently reversed the decision, or that there was miscommunication within ministry ranks. The mixed signals reflect Iraq's real dilemma as it races to close all camps for IDPs in line with its plans to revive lagging reconstruction efforts in many cases without providing alternative housing or properly managing reconciliation with local tribes. News of the order had prompted criticism from many IDP families who said they felt forced to pack up and return to their destroyed, inhabitable homes. Some were subsequently sent back by vengeful tribes for their perceived links to IS.
“We were crying, we couldn’t sleep the night,” said a 37-year-old woman who identified herself as Umm Abdulrahman and whose husband was an IS member. She said her tribe in the town of Hawija rejects her family's return and that the camp is safer than her hometown. “If they force us to go back, we will stay in the street.”Jabro, the minister, clarified that Jadah 5 would remain open for now, and dismissed news of the closure. She said families had the choice to stay, or failing government-led reconciliation efforts, would be provided housing elsewhere.
“It is still unknown until now when it will close, and maybe it will not close, because those who are living there still have problems with tribes, or their homes are completely destroyed,” she said in a phone interview. “The ministry… didn’t announce we will close the camp and we were surprised too when we read the announcement” she said. Iraq began accelerating camp closures late last year across the country, prompting condemnation from international aid groups who criticized the scheme as rushed. Many IDPs pitched tents next to their destroyed homes.
Families with proven or perceived links to ISIS are among the most vulnerable and heavily stigmatized in Iraqi society. They remain in camps, fearing reprisal from militias and tribes in their original villages. Jadah 5, the last remaining camp in Ninevah, was expected to stay open to consolidate all these specific cases of IDPs and its closure would have disproportionately impacted them. It is not clear how many remain in the camp, which up until mid-January housed some 8,800 people. At least four families interviewed this week in Jadah 5 said they had been told by Iraqi security forces to vacate the camp, first by Jan. 31, and then later, by the end of February. They rushed to pack their tents and piled up their belongings onto lorries, uncertain where to go next. Khalil Mohammed, from the al-Zab area in Kirkuk, went back home despite receiving threats warning him against returning, but was kicked out by his neighbors who later destroyed his home. His son was an IS member. “I tried to prevent my son from joining IS, but I couldn’t. Was it my fault,” he said. The chaos ensued after a Jan. 21 letter, signed by the head of the migration ministry’s Ninevah department, ordered the closure of Jadah 5 to start on Monday, Jan. 25. The AP obtained a copy of the letter; two officials confirmed its authenticity. Since the government's clarification, pressure to vacate the camps has abated but the confusion highlighted serious reconciliation challenges ahead. Ahmed Khedir’s entire 120-member tribe cannot return to their home in Tal Afar, he said, because three among the family had belonged to ISIS. “We can’t rent a home, we don’t have money. Sometimes we asked that God take our souls. We want to commit suicide because we can’t live in this country," he said.
 

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 04- 05/2021

Biden should address Iran’s supply of weapons to Houthis
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/February 04/2021
Rather than rewarding the Iranian leaders by returning to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal and lifting sanctions on the regime, the US Biden administration should make addressing Iran’s devastating role in Yemen’s conflict a priority.
The Iranian regime is violating a UN arms embargo by supplying weapons to the Houthis in Yemen. UN experts last week accused Iranian entities and individuals of delivering weapons. The annual report by sanctions monitors stated: “There is a growing body of evidence that shows that individuals or entities within Iran are engaged in sending weapons and weapons components to the Houthis.” According to the report, the experts “documented several supply routes for the Houthis in the Arabian Sea using traditional vessels (dhows).” Weapons seized included anti-tank guided missiles, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers similar to those made in Iran. The Biden administration has remained silent in the light of this important report.
This is not the first time UN experts have linked the Iranian regime to the Houthis and their weaponry. A panel of experts reported in 2017 that it was extremely unlikely the Houthis could manufacture such missiles on their own. “The design, characteristics and dimensions of the components inspected by the panel are consistent with those reported for the Iranian-manufactured Qiam-1 missile,” it said.
The Iranian regime is also clearly violating UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which “calls upon Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.”
Saudi Arabia has so far been the main target of the Iranian weaponry supplied to the Houthis. But the Houthis can grant Iran critical geopolitical leverage because they are able to fire ballistic missiles into any Gulf country. Iran’s major state-owned newspaper Kayhan, whose editor is a close adviser of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and is appointed by him, had a 2017 front-page headline that read: “The Houthis fired a missile into Riyadh. Dubai is next.”
The Iranian regime and its proxy have continued to demonstrate their fierce and ruthless strategy through acts of terror. In 2017, the Houthis targeted an Abu Dhabi nuclear facility — an act most likely meant to cause mass civilian casualties. Thankfully, the missile fell short.
Even the Iranian leaders have admitted they are helping the Houthis. Influential cleric Mehdi Tayeb has said: “Iran’s catering of missiles to the Houthis was carried out in stages by the Revolutionary Guards and (with) the support and assistance of the Iranian navy.” And, as far back as 2015, then-deputy commander of the Quds Force Esmail Ghaani said: “Those defending Yemen have been trained under the flag of the Islamic Republic.”
The Iranian regime has been intensifying its efforts to advance the Houthis’ missile technology due to the fact the Yemen conflict means more to Iran than merely taunting its Gulf rivals, which it has vowed to destroy. It is, rather, an ideological crusade aimed at uniting the Muslim world under its own Islamist rule — one that will always see any attempts at peace as merely a delay in the process. After all, the revolutionary mission of the regime is part of the regime’s constitution, the preamble of which states that it “provides the necessary basis for ensuring the continuation of the revolution at home and abroad.” It goes on to state that Iran’s army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “will be responsible not only for guarding and preserving the frontiers of the country, but also for fulfilling the ideological mission of… extending the sovereignty of God’s (Shiite) law throughout the world… in the hope that this century will witness the establishment of a universal holy government and the downfall of all others.”
The Iranian regime and its proxy in Yemen have continued to demonstrate their fierce and ruthless strategy through acts of terror.
Iran’s relentless delivery of weapons to the Houthis also offers an important insight into the tactics and long-term strategies of Iranian-trained and armed proxies across the Middle East, which are built on four pillars: Destabilization, conflict, assassination, and the rejection of any solution that has Sunni or Western origins. One example of Iran’s pursuit of these four pillars was the assassination of Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. In 2017, two days after he urged a resolution to the conflict — and when the international community was sighing with relief that the three-year-old civil war and seemingly intractable conflict in Yemen was going to be resolved much sooner than expected — he was killed by the Iran-backed Houthi militia.
It is incumbent on the Biden administration to hold the Iranian leaders accountable for defiantly supplying weapons to the Houthis.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Saudi Arabia the natural leader of the Muslim world
Dr. Saud Al-Sarhan/Arab News/February 04/2021
Saudi Arabia’s leadership role in the Muslim world is shaped by several foreign policy principles: A commitment to all Muslims globally, non-interventionism, support for Muslim deradicalization efforts, and confronting extremism. These principles are based on its obligations toward Islam as a religion, an identity, its history and civilization, and on its commitment to a rules-based international system and to international organizations and institutions.
In fact, Saudi Arabia is where Prophet Muhammad was born, as the Qur’an revealed, and the Islamic civilization started. Over the centuries, and under various leaders, the Saudi commitment to Islam and Muslims solidified, most recently in the country’s Basic Law of Governance (i.e., constitution), which asserts that: “The State shall nourish the aspirations of Arab and Muslim nations in solidarity and harmony and strengthen relations with friendly states.” After Riyadh announced the Vision 2030 blueprint, the country’s grand plan to rebalance its economy, few took note that this document also addressed its cardinal principle, as it stated: “Saudi Arabia… (is) the heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds, the investment powerhouse, and the hub connecting three continents.”
More than a billion Muslims turn five times daily toward Makkah to pray, and millions visit the country to perform their religious duties for Hajj and Umrah in the holy city, as well as to complete various pilgrimage rituals at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. These rituals pacify souls and give unimaginable symbolic standing to the Kingdom, which takes its responsibilities toward all Muslims very seriously.
As amply documented by numerous scholarly tomes, the continuous flow of Muslims to the country over the centuries has facilitated the development of personal, familial, formal and informal relations and networks between the Saudi leadership, elites and people and Muslims across the world. Saudi Arabia is universally recognized as the key player in international Islamic organizations such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Islamic Development Bank, and the Muslim World League, all of which perform concrete services at the religious, political, social, economic, and financial levels.
These commitments have strengthened Saudi Arabia’s relationship to Islam and its reach, influence and impact on the Muslim world at large, which has, in turn, bestowed on the country immeasurable prestige and soft power that, by some measures, is unparalleled. Consequently, Saudi Arabia has become interconnected and interlocked with the Muslim world.
The Kingdom believes that protecting Muslims — a religious obligation it is critical to underscore — is best fulfilled through international organizations.
Inasmuch as Saudi Arabia is the most important country in the OIC — which defines itself as being “the collective voice of the Muslim world to ensure and safeguard their interest on economic, socio and political areas” — the organization’s commitments to the Muslim world, like the Kingdom’s, have been reaffirmed in various statements and declarations, most significantly in the 2019 “Charter of Makkah.” This declaration, which was developed and endorsed under Saudi guidance and leadership and signed by Muslim scholars around the world, “calls on the world to fight terrorism, injustice and oppression, stating that the duty of all is to refuse the exploitation of people and violation of human rights.” That is quite a concrete pledge that few noticed but that defined and guided the Saudi authorities.
Simultaneously, Riyadh remains a staunch believer in the international system based on non-intervention in the internal affairs of sovereign countries. It also rejects “pragmatist” preferences or, more bluntly, double-standard approaches to international rules and conventions that, regrettably, are all too common nowadays. Riyadh rejects such double-standard approaches in part because of its pledges to the nation-state system but, far more importantly, due to its religious obligations. For what could possibly be the purpose of false hopes raised in the plight to back selected minorities in some countries, while ignoring the repression and persecution of other minorities elsewhere, save for pragmatic goals? How frequently do we hear outcries on the plight of Muslims in India, for example? Why focus on some countries, like China (although the situation in Xinjiang is very concerning), and ignore other instances of discrimination?
For its part, Saudi Arabia believes that protecting Muslims — a religious obligation it is critical to underscore — is best fulfilled through international organizations such as the OIC, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and multilateral cooperation, rather than through infringements on countries’ sovereignty or through interference in the internal affairs of nation states. A recent example is the Kingdom’s efforts to protect the Rohingya from genocide. As the world silently watched the genocide of the Rohingya in Myanmar, the OIC, under the chairmanship of Saudi Arabia, supported Gambia in bringing a case to the ICJ. Gambia referred Myanmar to the ICJ on charges of genocide and the court subsequently unanimously voted to order Myanmar to prevent the genocide of the Rohingya.
Uncertainty and instability characterize today’s world. The economic challenges brought about by the coronavirus pandemic have created a ripe environment for radicalism, extremism, and exclusionary politics, all of which affect the Kingdom as much as most countries. Riyadh is aware of these contests and is planning accordingly. At such times, and to address serious challenges, the world needs to turn to a ready, able and willing country to engage Muslims for the causes of stability, peace, the promotion of religious moderation and, to tackle the elephant in the room, confronting extremism. The world needs a country that can play that role effectively in the Muslim world, and the fact of the matter is that no country other than Saudi Arabia is in a position to do that without resorting to convoluted redefinitions.
• Dr. Saud Al-Sarhan is Secretary-General of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.

Using moonshot’s lessons to spur today’s ‘earthshots’
Mariana Mazzucato/Arab News/February 04/2021
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has exposed the myriad weaknesses of modern capitalism. In many countries, past cuts to social services and public health have amplified the damage wreaked by the pandemic, while other self-inflicted wounds to the state have led to inadequate policy coordination and implementation. Mass testing and tracking, the production of medical equipment and education during lockdowns have all suffered as a result.
By contrast, countries and states that have invested in their public sector capabilities have performed much better overall. This has been most striking in the developing world, where Vietnam and the Indian state of Kerala stand out.
Instead of acting as investors of first resort, far too many governments have become passive lenders of last resort, addressing problems only after they arise. But, as we should have learned during the post-2008 Great Recession, it costs far more to bail out national economies during a crisis than it does to maintain a proactive approach to public investment.
Too many governments failed to heed that lesson. Faced with another society-wide challenge, it is now clear that they have relinquished their proper role in shaping markets, allowing public institutions to be hollowed out through outsourcing and other false efficiencies. The retreat of the public sector has given way to the idea that entrepreneurship and wealth creation are the exclusive preserve of business — a perspective endorsed even by those who advocate “stakeholder value.”
In fact, the more we subscribe to the myth of private sector superiority, the worse off we will be in the face of future crises. To “build back better” from the current one, as US President Joe Biden’s administration and many other governments have committed to do, will require renewing the public sector, not just by redesigning policy and expanding the state’s organizational capabilities, but by reviving the narrative of government as a source of value creation.
As I explain in my new book “Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism,” landing a man on the moon required both an extremely capable public sector and a purpose-driven partnership with the private sector. Because we have dismantled these capabilities, we cannot hope to repeat earlier successes, let alone achieve ambitious targets such as those outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris climate agreement.
The Apollo program demonstrated how a clearly defined outcome can drive organizational change at all levels, through multisector public-private collaboration, mission-oriented procurement contracts, and state-driven innovation and risk taking. Moreover, such ventures tend to create spillovers — software, camera phones and baby formula, for example — that have far-reaching benefits.
The original moonshot model offers insights and inspiration for pursuing “earthshots” today. For example, to achieve the 17 SDGs, we should transform each into several clearly defined missions that would lay the groundwork for more multisectoral, bottom-up innovation. A plastic-free ocean, for example, will require investment and innovation in areas as different as marine transport, biotech, chemicals, waste management, and design. That is what the Apollo program did by sparking innovation in aeronautics, nutrition, materials science, electronics, software, and other areas.
A mission-oriented approach is not about government “picking winners,” but about choosing directions for change — like a green transition — that require investment and innovation in many sectors. The full power of policy instruments should be used to create projects that elicit solutions from many different willing actors. NASA designed its procurement contracts to focus on goals, while encouraging bottom-up solutions and including “no excess profits” clauses and fixed costs, so that going to the moon involved sharing both risks and rewards. This is an important lesson for many governments that have suffered higher costs and lower quality from outsourcing.
Earthshots have much in common with moonshots, but the two are not synonymous. Among their similarities, both require bold, visionary leadership from governments that have been properly equipped to “think big and go big.” Consider the COVID-19 vaccines. The collective spirit and outcome-driven approach to vaccine research and development last year recalled the Apollo program.
While technological breakthroughs can provide new tools, they are not necessarily solutions in themselves. Earthshots require attention to political, regulatory and behavioral changes. Safe and effective vaccines were created and tested in record time through public-private collaborations, with public investment proving absolutely crucial. But a disparity in vaccine acquisition between high-income and lower-income countries appeared immediately and has only deepened.
When it comes to an earthshot like global vaccination, technological innovation is only as useful as its real-world application. “Vaccine apartheid” — rather than a “People’s Vaccine” — would constitute a moral and economic catastrophe. If pharmaceutical companies are serious about their stated support for the principle of stakeholder value, they should be sharing COVID-19 vaccine patents, data and know-how through the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool, which remains unused.
Governments, too, must truly embrace the principle of stakeholder value, which does not apply only to corporate governance. Public-private collaborations also must be governed in the public interest, and not repeat the failures associated with today’s digital economy, which emerged in its current form after the state provided the technological foundation and then neglected to regulate what was built on it. As a result, a few dominant Big Tech firms have ushered in a new age of algorithmic value extraction, benefiting the few at the expense of the many.
The more we subscribe to the myth of private sector superiority, the worse off we will be in the face of future crises.
Technology alone will never solve social and economic problems. In applying the moonshot principle to complex challenges here on Earth, policymakers must pay attention to myriad other social, political, technological and behavioral factors, and capture a common vision across civil society, business and public institutions.
Thus, earthshots must also involve extensive citizen engagement. Carbon neutrality, for example, must be designed with citizens where they live, such as social housing. By truly adopting an inclusive stakeholder approach, a mission can develop into a powerful civic platform and an engine of sustainable growth, as envisioned in calls for a Green New Deal, Health for All, and plans to bridge the digital divide.
These lessons could not be more relevant to the Biden administration, which will be able to tap the power of an existing entrepreneurial state comprising organizations like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Institutes of Health. The latter invests up to $40 billion per year in drug innovation.
There is now a huge opportunity to pursue industrial policies beyond traditional sectoral and technological silos, and to restore mission-driven governance in the public interest. A modern industrial strategy aimed at a “Green Renaissance,” for example, would require all sectors — from artificial intelligence and transportation to agriculture and nutrition — to innovate and pivot in a new direction. President John F. Kennedy had his moonshot. Biden’s mission is to bring it home.
*Mariana Mazzucato, professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London and Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, is Chair of the World Health Organization’s Council on the Economics of Health for All and the author, most recently, of “Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism” (Allen Lane, 2021). Copyright: Project Syndicate

Iraq is waiting for an Arab helping hand
Mohamed Khalfan Sawafi/The Arab Weekly/February 04/2021
The responsibility to preserve Iraq is everyone’s, especially that of the Arabs.
As soon as Mustafa al-Kadhimi assumed the Iraqi premiership last May, he began making decisions to restore the state’s sovereignty and make Iraq a safe and stable place, after the positions of his predecessors contributed to letting the country be hijacked by the Iranian regime.
These days, the Tehran regime is celebrating the 43rd anniversary of its failure to become a state that provides welfare to its people or support regional stability.
The Iranian regime has transferred its country’s abysmal experience to Iraq, which duplicated the mullahs’ failure.
The approach taken by Kadhimi’s government has focused on two main aspects. The first is internal — to restore the prestige of the state through many measures and decisions, perhaps most importantly controlling the weapons of uncontrolled militias. No country in the world can allow groups and political parties to possess weapons — sometimes more than the state itself — and threaten the stability of the state. The other aspect is external. Kadhimi aims to achieve balance in Iraq’s relations with other countries and for those relations to be based on the interests of Iraq and its people. That is the criterion against which the validity of these relations is measured. Another yardstick is to avoid bias in its positions towards any other country, whatever its stature in regional and international arenas, let alone a country that refuses to be normal.
Kadhimi is aware of the gravity of his endeavours vis a vis influential interests in Iraq. He is well equipped to understand that having served for a long time as head of the country’s intelligence service. Nevertheless, he has not not allowed for his transitional phase to reflect the wishes of those used to robbing Iraq and destroying its civilisation. Concern over Kadhimi’s well-being has led some observers of the Iraqi scene to express fears over threats to his life, which is not improbable in light of the defiance he demonstrates.
The problem of Kadhimi, for which many blame him, although I agree with his stance, is that he seeks to implement his approach in conformity with constitutional and legal requirements and in the manner of a state of institutions against parties that only know the methods of mafias and terrorist gangs and the mores of abhorrent totalitarian regimes.
He uses these measures not for fear or accommodation of the other party, which is Iran and its militias, but to preserve what remains of the unified state of Iraq with its three regions and to preserve the interests of the Iraqi people that have been exhausted by war and chaos for nearly four decades.
The strange thing is that officials in Iran, which is the cause of all that is happening in Iraq and all the harm that has afflicted the Iraqis, occasionally issues statements of civilised appearance. The last case in point was Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s statements last week.
Iranians deal with the countries of Europe and the United States with the logic of reciprocity. But when it comes to Iraq or other Arab countries, especially those where they have a presence, they lose their nerve and forget diplomacy. Iran’s military proxies in the region begin launching missiles to destroy and kill those calling for the preservation of their state, such as strategic analyst Hisham al-Hashemi and other Iraqis.
What is worrisome about the Iraqi situation and its stability is that all diplomatic means and options and political norms now appear to be futile, unable to stop the civilisational and humanitarian hemorrhaging and ensure salvation from the Iran-imposed ordeal.
This means that there is no longer any intention to engage in dialogue with Iran or reach an understanding with those who accept to serve its political agenda. We should expect bad scenarios to unfold, as the Iraqi people will not accept the loss of their homeland, especially since their patience has worn thin.
The international community, and particularly the Arabs, have all made mistakes in dealing with Iraq, not only right after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003 when Iran and its militias were given the opportunity to violate Iraq’s sovereignty. On top of these hostile forces is Iran’s man, Nuri al-Maliki, who worked against the interests of his own country and its citizens and recently declared his intent to run in upcoming legislative elections under the State of Law coalition list.
The international community’s mistake was not just its reluctance to support Kadhimi’s approach from the beginning, even though it was the last nationalist political project against Iran. Despite being aware of the importance of standing with Kadhimi and extending an Arab hand to him, withdrawal continued while the militias’ chaos escalated.
With the exception of the Iranian regime, it is in the interest of the whole world to stabilise Iraq, as it is an important regional country in a part of the world that most needs stability.
The Iraqi people have interacted with many human civilisations and have been able to enrich them with their multiple ethnic and religious cultures.
The responsibility to preserve Iraq is everyone’s, especially that of the Arabs. Safeguarding Iraq and its people is not the responsibility of Kadhimi alone, even if he is the top executive leader.