A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 07- 08/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 52th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
December 08/2019
Tites For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 07-08/2019
Israel Says Found New Hizbullah Tunnel on Border
Berri Says His Bloc to Vote for Khatib
‘Laugh at What’s Hurting You’: Lebanon Cartoonists Stir Debate
Lebanon protesters launch campaign against harassment
Hariri Asks More Nations to Help Fight Economic Crisis
Lebanon: Khatib to Be Named PM, Difficulties to Face Cabinet Birth
Batroun civic movement inaugurates the “Revolutionists’ House” on the highway’s western route
Man attempts suicide at Riad El Solh Square
Mouawad says he will name Nawwaf Salam for Premiership
Hasbani: We still rely on the right decision by the President of the Republic
Jumblatt marking his late father’s birth anniversary: We will not enter a government that has overthrown the constitutional foundations
Alain Aoun: There are differences in opinions within the Bloc in terms of naming alKhatib
Two nuns released following arrest for alleged children trafficking
Lebanon´s Journalists Suffer Abuse, Threats in Covering Unrest
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 07-08/2019
Israel Says Found New Hizbullah Tunnel on Border
Naharnet/December 07/2019
The Israeli army said it found a new cross-border tunnel dug by Hizbullah on the Lebanese-Israeli border, noting that the party had “strengthened its presence along the border area a year after discovering a network of its tunnels,” media reports said on Saturday. Israeli official Roy Levy, the Northern Border Brigade commander, was quoted as saying that “the tunnel goes as deep as 18 meters and approximately one kilometer long.”Levy said the tunnel inside has “electricity, rooms and water,” noting its depth is equivalent to the length of a building consisting of 20 floors.”
Berri Says His Bloc to Vote for Khatib
Naharnet/December 07/2019
Speaker Nabih Berri asserted the need for an “emergency” government to help Lebanon out of the crisis, noting that his Liberation and Development Parliamentary Bloc will vote for the leading candidate for the post of Prime Minister, Samir Khatib, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.
“I was initially set to name PM Saad Hariri or any figure he supports to lead the new government. But since he backs engineer Samir Khatib, my bloc and I will name Khatib,” at the binding parliamentary consultations with the President, Berri told the daily. “The real rescue for Lebanon takes place through the civil state,” added the Speaker. He also affirmed determination of the Parliament to approve the 2020 state budget before Christmas, “the Finance and Budget committee is set to finish the budget draft no later than next week,” he said.
‘Laugh at What’s Hurting You’: Lebanon Cartoonists Stir Debate
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 07/2019
On the edges of a protest in Lebanon’s capital, 24-year-old cartoonist Mohamad Nohad Alameddine bites through sticky tape and plasters one of his political sketches to a side wall. “I haven’t been able to work with newspapers, so instead I come down and stick them up in the street,” says the unemployed artist, who graduated this year with a master’s degree in press cartoons. Until this autumn, Alameddine had been poking fun at his country’s political and economic ills in sketches he posted online. But from October 17, anti-government protests swept across the country, giving him a broader audience as protesters denounced the very same issues he had been drawing all along. In public spaces, he and friends stuck up gags about failing electricity and trash management plans, as well as sketches mocking a political class perceived as corrupt. In one cartoon, a skinny man stripped down to his underpants stands in front of a leader carried in on a gilded throne. “We want your underwear to pay back the debt,” says the moustachioed politician, clutching a lit cigar. Now in the grips of a dollar liquidity crunch, Lebanon is staggering under a public debt of $86 billion. Wherever there was a protest, “I’d go down and stick up a related cartoon,” says Alameddine, who signs his drawings as Nougature. “A lot of people encouraged me.” In late October, the government stepped down, but a deeply divided political class has yet to form a new one.
Inspiration everywhere
Last month, Alameddine drew his same long-nosed politician clutching the leg of his throne. “Don’t worry my love, I’d never leave you,” says the character he has called President Nazeeh, dressed in a rabbit-themed pyjama onesie.
Alameddine says the fictional leader is his way of criticising the traditional ruling class without naming names. “President Nazeeh headed a militia in the civil war and then became a political figure” after the 1975-1990 conflict, he says.
“We see how he deals with people, what he does under the table, what he says in public, how he manages corruption rings — but in a funny way,” he says. “In the end you want to laugh at what’s hurting you.” On the other side of Beirut, 31-year-old Bernard Hage pens away at his digital drawing board, trying out his latest idea for a cartoon. He says he gladly swapped a career in advertising for the arts several years ago, including drawing a stream of jokes under the name The Art of Boo. In May, months before the anti-graft street movement, he drew a group of men in suits sitting in the lotus position in yoga class. “Very good. Now exhale, keep ignoring the crisis,” their leotard-clad instructor says. Hage says inspiration is everywhere in Lebanon, “whether you’re in a taxi, at the vegetable shop or at the barber.”But the recent outburst of popular anger has amplified debate. “I found my place in the revolution,” says the satirical artist, who regularly posts on social media and draws once a week for a local newspaper.”My role is to keep the conversation going, shed light on issues.”
Emigrate? –
To celebrate one month since the protests began, he drew a vision for the country 10 years from now, featuring “things we’d like to hear in the near future”. On a page spread in French-language newspaper L’Orient-Le Jour, he imagined a world with smooth public transport and no daily electricity cuts. “Daddy, what’s a dijoncteur?” one girl asks, using the French word for the circuit breaker that trips before power outages. A stick figure clings to a pole in a subway, as a voice overhead calls out the next stop in central Beirut. “Change here for line 1&4. Mind the gap,” it says. To avoid offending anyone, Hage says he rarely names political leaders, and depicts them all across the board as besuited figures with little bellies poking out. “I discovered there’s a big gap between my generation and my parents’ generation,” he says. “They lived through the war, saw death and were terrified by it — and it’s not easy for them to leave that behind,” or call out their traditional leaders, he says. But he says it is time to put the younger generation in charge to fix the country’s mounting woes — a polluted environment, a crashing economy, and high youth unemployment. Otherwise, the cartoonist — also a musician and occasional writer — says he will follow his peers and emigrate. “I’m learning German because, if this doesn’t work out, I will leave and not come back.”
Lebanon protesters launch campaign against harassment
Zeina Khodr/Arab News/December 07/2019
As anti-establishment protesters call for an end to corruption, women too are fighting a system that they blame for sexual assaults.
Lebanese anti-political establishment protesters have been calling for an end to the sectarian power-sharing system, which they blame for corruption and mismanagement. Women too are fighting to change that system they say has been unjust to them. Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reports from Beirut, where the protest movement has given them a new platform to raise their voices against sectarian politics, harassment and sexual assaults.
Hariri Asks More Nations to Help Fight Economic Crisis
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 07/2019
Outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Saturday asked another group of foreign allies to secure credit lines for imports to aid Lebanon’s stricken economy, after sending a similar message a day earlier asking Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France, China, Russia, Italy and the United States. Hariri, in a statement issued by his media office, openly asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to help Lebanon secure credit lines for imports as part of his efforts to ease the liquidity crisis and secure food stuff and raw materials. Lebanon’s dollar-starved economy faces an import crisis after weeks of political and economic turmoil. The appeal was part of an effort “to address a liquidity crisis and secure basic imports” and was critical to preserving food security, the statement said. Since October 17, Lebanon has been rocked by anti-government protests that triggered a protracted lockdown and prompted the cabinet to resign. Political paralysis amid the ongoing demonstrations has aggravated a dollar liquidity crisis that since September has seen banks limit dollar withdrawals and transfers. With banks failing to provide sufficient dollars, the greenback is selling for more than 2,000 Lebanese pounds on the parallel market for the first time since it was officially pegged at 1,507 in 1997. Importers of fuel, medicines and wheat warn of shortages if the situation persists. Petrol station owners have already staged strikes, and hospitals have threatened to stop admitting patients, fuelling public panic. To ease the crisis, the central bank said in October it would facilitate access to dollars at the official rate for importers of fuel, wheat and medicine. Other sectors have struggled to obtain hard currency for imports however, with banks capping dollar withdrawals at $500 (450 euros) a week. President Michel Aoun said on Friday the economy and finance would be among the main priorities of the next government, which is yet to be appointed. The formation of a new cabinet, the embattled president said, would encourage donors to unlock an $11 billion (10 billion euro) aid package pledged at a conference dubbed CEDRE held in Paris in April 2018. Parliamentary consultations to select the cabinet are scheduled to start on Monday. Even before protests began, economic growth had stalled following repeated political deadlocks in recent years. The economic malaise was also compounded by the war in neighbouring Syria. Public debt has reached more than $86 billion, over 150 percent of GDP, according to the finance ministry. The World Bank has warned of an impending recession that may see the proportion of people living in poverty climb from a third to half the population. Unemployment, already above 30 per cent for young people, would also increase, it has said. In the span of a week over 60 companies notified the labour ministry of plans to lay off employees, caretaker minister Camille Abousleiman told LBC television on Friday. The union of restaurant and bar owners has said that 265 establishments have closed since the protests began in early October, and warned that this figure could rise to 465 by the end of the year.
Lebanon: Khatib to Be Named PM, Difficulties to Face Cabinet Birth
Beirut- Mohammed Shokair/Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 7 December, 2019
The postponement of the binding parliamentary consultations to name a new prime minister until Monday has raised doubts over difficulties to form the upcoming cabinet, amid reports that the initial aim was to market for a new candidate, namely Beirut MP Fouad Makhzoumi.
The latter has held extensive talks in Beirut and headed on Saturday to Rome, where caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil is participating in an international conference. On the other hand, ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that businessman Samir Khatib remained the only consensual figure to form the new government, unless escalatory measures by protesters lead to the re-postponement of Monday’s consultations. The sources underlined that caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri would support the nomination of Khatib. They stressed that Hariri wanted “to get the country out of the vicious circle,” adding: “The major crises that Lebanon is going through are in need of a government that is able to provide solutions, even in stages, and that the extension of the caretaker government means taking the country into a deadly vacuum.”But Khatib’s appointment will not be as easy as it looks. Former Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s bloc insists on naming Hariri, while the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb parties reject any politically-impregnated government, out of their conviction that only a technocrat cabinet would meet the demands of the street and save the country from a further deterioration of the economic situation. Other parliamentary blocs and independents are yet to announce their position, while Taymour Jumblatt’s Democratic Gathering is likely to support Khatib, despite its implicit sympathy with the street movement. As for the Shiite duo, represented by Hezbollah and Amal movement, it would support the candidacy of Khatib, unless emerging developments before the completion of the consultations reshuffled the papers. The two parties would have preferred Hariri to assume the premiership, due to several considerations, including the good harmony between them under the caretaker government. However, the appointment of the new prime minister is only the first step in a much-complicated phase to agree on the new government lineup, in light of the protesters’ rejection of any “despised” figures and the premier’s ability to discard those persons.
Batroun civic movement inaugurates the “Revolutionists’ House” on the highway’s western route
NNA/December 07/2019
Participants in the protest movement in Batroun celebrated this evening the opening of the “House of the Revolutionists” in the Batroun area on the western route of the highway in Kafar-abida, with the aim of bringing Batroun back to the revolution map, as the “revolution fist” was raised in the presence of members of the Akkar civil movement. “It is the home of all and it is the house of education and knowledge,” said Fadi Muzaya in his inaugural word, stating that daily meetings will take place in the evening between seven and ten o’clock, according to a schedule to be announced later. Journalist Asaad Bishara, in turn, called for a minute of silence for the lives of the martyrs of the October 17 Revolution, followed by brief words by Dr. Raymond Mitri and Economist Rock Mhanna that focused on the popular movement and its goals, in addition to the economic situation in Lebanon. The opening ceremony concluded with a series of national songs presented by artist Peter Boutros.
Man attempts suicide at Riad El Solh Square
NNA/December 07/2019
A man in his mid-fifties attempted to commit suicide at Riad al-Solh Square in Downtown Beirut this evening, by pouring gasoline on his body and then setting himself on fire, NNA correspondent reported. Protesters in the Square hurried to throw blankets on the man to save him, after which he was rushed by the Lebanese Red Cross to Geitaoui Hospital for medical treatment, where it was reported that he suffered moderate burns to his legs. The man was threatening since the morning hours to burn himself, until he decided to carry out his threat this evening, NNA correspondent indicated.
Mouawad says he will name Nawwaf Salam for Premiership
NNA/December 07/2019
“Independence Movement” Head, MP Michel Mouawad, announced in a statement Saturday that he will be naming Ambassador Nawwaf Salam to head the next government during the binding parliamentary consultations called for by His Excellency President Michel Aoun on Monday.
“Based on my conviction, the prelude to Lebanon’s rescue begins with forming a government that is able to restore confidence, reconciliation and reform,” he said. “With full respect for Engineer Samir al-Khatib, who does not bear any personal responsibility for what is going on, it is clearly evident that his name does not meet the required popular support, and will not secure the necessary positive shock neither to the Lebanese street nor to the financial and economic markets,” Mouawad explained. “Hence, he will not be able to reconcile the Lebanese with their institutions, a necessary prerequisite for restoring confidence and social stability,” he added. Mouawad considered that the “soon-to-be-formed” cabinet currently under political deliberation constitutes a faded version of the previous government, and therefore will not be capable of carrying out any reform and rescue operations, nor will it be able to reconcile Lebanon with the Arab and international community in order to ask them to contribute to the required rescue process. He, thus, concluded by reiterating the need for forming a mini-government of specialists who will restore the confidence of the Lebanese in their constitutional institutions and have the support of political forces on the basis of solid national understanding, in addition to reconciling Lebanon with the Arab and international societies.
Hasbani: We still rely on the right decision by the President of the Republic
NNA/December 07/2019
Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani said Saturday in an interview with “Orient Radio Station” that hopes are still pinned on the right decision to be adopted by the President of the Republic, while remaining alert towards those who try to exploit this post for personal gains.
Hasbani hoped that the President’s decisions would stem from his personal faith and conviction, and not from the fragmented or false data reaching him. “The revolution until now is taking its right course” he said, adding that “populism is harmful to the values that the people demand in the squares, so awareness is necessary.”Hasbani urged protesters to give attention to the root cause of the problem that has accumulated the state’s debts. He regretted that the Lebanese citizens, who have suffered and paid a lot, are the ones still required to shoulder the burden of the defect caused by the governing authority that has led to the accumulated debts. Over Monday’s binding consultations, Hasbani disclosed that “the Lebanese Forces Party is inclined not to nominate a prime minister to form the government,” while hoping that “the work of the people on the street will bear fruit to recreate Lebanon’s spirit and independence.”
“We are very late in addressing the financial and economic conditions, and the plan of action to get out of the existing reality has become more complicated today,” deemed Hasbani. “We must start by creating stability in the financial and monetary situation, and by restoring confidence and forming a government of independent specialists, one whose decisions are firm and strict, and by adopting giant temporary measures,” he corroborated. “We need an exceptional government,” he stressed, pointing to an international decision not to interfere with Lebanon’s decision. “However, there is a decision not to allow for Lebanon’s collapse,” Hasbani underlined.
Jumblatt marking his late father’s birth anniversary: We will not enter a government that has overthrown the constitutional foundations
NNA/December 07/2019
Progressive Socialist Party Chief, Walid Jumblatt, stressed Saturday that “there is no solution except through forming a government that is in line with the principles of the Taif and the Constitution.” “We do not want to enter a government that has undermined the constitutional foundations, as practiced by some till this moment,” he said. “We are going through an extraordinary period of difficulties and challenges, and more dire times still await us…We have no solution except through social solidarity, mutual support and a duly formed government according to the Taif and the Constitution,” he reiterated.
Jumblatt’s words came on the birth anniversary of his martyr father, Kamal Jumblatt, during a commemorative stand near his shrine in Al-Mukhtara today, where thousands of citizens and supporters from the mountain and other regions gathered to pay tribute to the memory of the late Druze leader as accustomed every year. “We remind those who call for regime change that Kamal Jumblatt was the first to call for such change, and fought corruption when he brought down the symbol of corruption in 1952 in the White Revolution,” recalled Jumblatt. He added: “Kamal Jumblatt was the first to confront the Syrian regime’s aggression against Lebanon and was assassinated by them, and he was the first to call for secularism with the Lebanese national movement.””The march continues, and we will pursue it no matter the odds and arrows from here and there…We do not care, for the march continues,” Jumblatt underlined. “As I mentioned before, we are going through very trying times, and I am ready in the Party to provide all possible support in order to ensure our steadfastness and survival,” vowed the PSP Chief.
Alain Aoun: There are differences in opinions within the Bloc in terms of naming alKhatib
NNA/December 07/2019
MP Alain Aoun pointed Saturday to the differences in perspectives within his Parliamentary Bloc regarding the naming of Samir al-Khatib as the new prime minister, noting that the prevailing approach is to allow the Bloc members their liberty in this respect. “What is required is the formation of the government in order for the country to emerge from its crisis,” emphasized Aoun in an interview with “Voice of Lebanon” Station. “We need to set a horizon to overcome the current economic and financial crisis,” he reiterated. Aoun highlighted the need to invest time for additional consultations at this stage.
Two nuns released following arrest for alleged children trafficking
NNA /December 07/2019
Two nuns were released Saturday after being arrested Friday night for refusing to execute a judicial order to hand over minors from an organization to the security forces, NNA resporter said.
Lebanon´s Journalists Suffer Abuse, Threats in Covering Unrest
Beirut- Asharq Al-Awsat/Saturday, 7 December, 2019
Lebanese journalists are facing threats and wide-ranging harassment in their work – including verbal insults and physical attacks, even death threats – while reporting on nearly 50 days of anti-government protests, despite Lebanon´s reputation as a haven for free speech in a troubled region.
Nationwide demonstrations erupted on Oct. 17 over a plunging economy. They quickly grew into calls for sweeping aside Lebanon´s entire ruling elite. Local media outlets – some of which represent the sectarian interests protesters are looking to overthrow – are now largely seen as pro- or anti-protests, with some journalists feeling pressured to leave their workplaces over disagreements about media coverage. The deteriorating situation for journalists in Lebanon comes despite its decades-old reputation for being an island of free press. Amid Lebanon´s divided politics, media staff have usually had wide range to freely express their opinions.
The acts of harassment began early in the protests. MTV television reporter Nawal Berry was attacked in central Beirut in the first days of the demonstrations by supporters of the militant group Hezbollah and its allies. They smashed the camera, robbed the microphone she was holding, spat on her and kicked her in the leg. “How is it possible that a journalist today goes to report and gets subjected to beating and humiliation? Where are we? Lebanon is the country of freedoms and democracy,” Berry told The Associated Press.
Outlets like MTV are widely seen as backing protesters´ demands that Lebanon´s sectarian political system be completely overturned to end decades of corruption and mismanagement.
Rival TV stations and newspapers portray the unrest – which led to the Cabinet´s resignation over a month ago – as playing into the hands of alleged plots to undermine Hezbollah and its allies. Many of those outlets are run by Hezbollah, President Michel Aoun´s Free Patriotic Movement, and the Amal Movement of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. These media regularly blast protesters for closing roads and using other civil disobedience tactics, describing them as “bandits.”
For Berry, the media environment worsened as the unrest continued. On the night of Nov. 24, while she was covering clashes between protesters and Hezbollah and Amal supporters on a central road in Beirut, supporters of the Shiite groups chased her into a building. She hid there until police came and escorted her out. “I was doing my job and will continue to do so. I have passed through worse periods and was able to overcome them,” said Berry, who added she is taking a short break from working because of what she passed through recently.
Hezbollah supporters also targeted Dima Sadek, who resigned last month as an anchorwoman at LBC TV. She blamed Hezbollah supporters for robbing her smartphone while she was filming protests, and said the harassment was followed by insulting and threatening phone calls to her mother, who suffered a stroke as a result of the stress. “I have taken a decision (to be part of the protests) and I am following it. I have been waiting for this moment all my life and I have always been against the political, sectarian, and corrupt system in Lebanon,” said Sadek, a harsh critic of Hezbollah, adding that she has been subjected to cyberbullying for the past four years.
“I know very well that this will have repercussions on my personal and professional life. I will go to the end no matter what the price is,” Sadek said shortly after taking part in a demonstration in central Beirut.
Protesters have also targeted journalists reporting with what are seen as pro-government outlets. OTV station workers briefly removed their logos from equipment while covering on the demonstrations to avoid verbal and physical abuse. The station is run by supporters of Aoun´s FPM.
“The protest movement has turned our lives upside down,” said OTV journalist Rima Hamdan, who during one of her reports slapped a man on his hand after he pointed his middle finger at her. She said the station´s logo “is our identity even though sometimes we had to remove it for our own safety.”
Television reporters with Hezbollah´s Al-Manar and Amal´s NBN channels were also attacked in a town near Beirut, when they were covering the closure of the highway linking the capital city with southern Lebanon by protesters. In a video, an NBN correspondent is seen being attacked, while troops and policemen stand nearby without intervening.
“This happens a lot in Lebanon because some media organizations are politicized. No one sees media organizations as they are but sees them as representing the political group that owns them,” said Ayman Mhanna, director of the Beirut-based media watchdog group SKeyes.
“The biggest problem regarding these violations is that there is no punishment,” Mhanna said. Authorities usually fail to act even when they identify those behind attacks on journalists, he added. Coverage of the protests also led to several journalists resigning from one of Lebanon´s most prominent newspapers, Al-Akhbar, which is seen as close to Hezbollah, and the pan-Arab TV station Al-Mayadeen, which aligns closely with the policies of Iran, Syria, and Venezuela.
Joy Slim, who quit as culture writer at Al-Akhbar after more than five years, said she did so after being “disappointed” with the daily´s coverage of the demonstrations. She released a video widely circulated on social media that ridiculed those who accuse the protesters of being American agents.
Sami Kleib, a prominent Lebanese journalist with a wide following around the Middle East, resigned from Al-Mayadeen last month. He said the reason behind his move was that he was “closer to the people than the authorities.”
“The Lebanese media is similar to politics in Lebanon where there is division between two axes: One that supports the idea of conspiracy theory, and another that fully backs the protest movement with its advantages and disadvantages,” Kleib said.
Titles For The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 07-08/2019
Lebanon PM widens plea to secure food imports/Najia Houssari/Arab News/December 07/2019
Milking Iraq and Lebanon for Iran’s Benefit/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 07/2019
Lebanon and the Monster of Bankruptcy/Rajeh Khoury/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 07/2019
NAYA| Speak up, survivors, it’s time/Fatima Dia/Annahar/December 07/2019
Rafik Hariri’s biggest legacy: giving Lebanese protesters courage/Michael Karam/The National/December 07/2019
Beirut Chants Festival: A revolutionary Christmas concert/Sandra Abdelbaki/Annahar/December 07/2019
The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 07-08/2019
Lebanon PM widens plea to secure food imports
Najia Houssari/Arab News/December 07/2019
Hariri calls on UK, Spain, Germany for help over acute ‘liquidity shortage’
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Saturday added Germany, Britain and Spain to the list of countries he has asked for help securing imports of food and raw materials amid an acute dollar shortage. The Lebanese leader’s appeal to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez follows an earlier plea to Saudi Arabia, France, Russia, Turkey, the US, China and Egypt. Lebanon’s call for help highlights the dire state of its economy, which is plunging deeper into recession with warnings by the World Bank of “increasing economic and financial pressures.” Hariri has called on “friendly countries” to help “address the liquidity shortage, and provide credits for imports to preserve food security and provide raw materials for production.”
The year-long financial crisis in the country has been made worse by strict bank limits on dollar withdrawals and transfers abroad.
Widespread civil unrest and anti-corruption protests directed at the authorities led to the resignation of the government 40 days ago. With no agreement on a replacement PM, the country has been in a state of political deadlock for more than a month.It is not clear whether parliamentary consultations on Monday will lead to the appointment of a new PM following disagreement between President Michel Aoun and Hezbollah, which want a techno-political government, and Hariri, who wants a government of experts. Activists on Saturday highlighted the country’s growing economic woes by organizing donations in front of the central bank to help the needy.
The economic stagnation can be felt in Beirut markets, with dozens of shops closed and supermarket shelves lying empty as people prepare for the holiday season. More than 260 food establishments have been forced to close in the past two months, according to a management syndicate, with the number expected to rise to 465 by the end of the month. “The crisis is not recent,” said Tony Eid, head of the Beirut Traders Association. “Lebanon is witnessing a lack of liquidity among banks and consumers, and recent developments have aggravated the crisis. “Hundreds of establishments, including clothing stores and restaurants, are closing, while major importers are struggling to import from abroad,” he said.
“Lebanon is sick and is being treated with painkillers with no signs of early recovery.” Pierre Achkar, head of the Hotel Owners Association, said that the hotels occupancy rate outside Beirut is “zero,” while it ranges between 7 and 12 percent in the capital. “This is the sector’s worst crisis in its modern history,” he added. “Beirut was trying to restore its importance before the crisis, but with reduced banking facilities, we cannot expect tourists to come to Lebanon,” he said. “We are working on a campaign to encourage tourism, but we still have no hotel reservations, which means they have booked somewhere else.”
Achkar said that hotels had shut down 80 percent of their operations, closing some floors and restaurants, in a bid to stay afloat. Meanwhile, Kamil Abu Suleiman, the caretaker government’s labor minister, formed an emergency committee to oversee legal disputes following collective dismissals.
The ministry considered that “any dismissal carried out without its permission is considered an arbitrary dismissal,” he said. “All those who fall victim to such measures and do not receive their legal compensation should consult the ministry.”
Milking Iraq and Lebanon for Iran’s Benefit
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 07/2019
Protests in Basra, Beirut, and elsewhere thwart Iran’s most important political plan, which is building a regional market under its control.
The uprisings are a development that the leaders in Tehran did not anticipate, as they had regarded Iraq and Lebanon as subordinate states, whose task was to host a land corridor linking Tehran to Beirut. The Iranian plan, however, is falling apart in Iraq and shrinking in Lebanon as a result of the hostile protests against it. This was reinforced by protests against the regime that erupted simultaneously in all Iranian cities.
The market plan was mentioned in a speech delivered by Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. In his speech, he revealed the plan to exploit the Iraqi market by linking it to Syria and Lebanon through the so-called Iranian land corridor.
In his televised speech last month, Nasrallah said: “What is the opportunity? It is Iraq. Iraq is a big and rich country. We have one problem. How would Lebanon’s agricultural products reach Iraq? How would the Lebanese industrial production reach Iraq? What would all this lead to? It will reactivate the agriculture sector, revive the factories, open a horizon for new factories. What does all this depend on? Well, since we cannot export by sea and do not export potatoes to Iraq by air, our products must be exported by land, depending on one step: That the Lebanese government agrees with the Syrian government (to have a land link) between the crossings from Lebanon to the Al-Bukamal border crossing (between Syria and Iraq). The Americans have worked day and night to prevent the opening of the latter. One of the reasons for the (US) outrage against the Iraqi Prime Minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, is his insistence on opening the Al-Bukamal border crossing with Syria. Take it from me, and I know the details, the Americans have not spared any means of pressure or threat to prevent the opening of the Al-Bukamal crossing. The ‘excuse/lie’ is that, through the Al-Bukamal crossing, missiles will pass to Lebanon.”
This is what Nasrallah said, and we realize that the escalation of the Syrian war has been taking place in unison with a project of Iranian domination by armed force in three countries — Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon — with an action plan to control all their markets.
In his speech, Nasrallah focused on the Iraqi border crossing with Syria because it is, indeed, the gateway for the militias and missiles of the Iranian project, in addition to potatoes and other goods. The Iranian regime is unable to transport these militias and missiles by air or sea, and has discovered that using distant sea lanes via the Atlantic Ocean was an expensive and dangerous operation.
What about Nasrallah’s trade integration?
The idea is not new. Before the Iranian intervention, Lebanon used to export agricultural and industrial products to the Iraqi and Gulf markets; but Hezbollah has destroyed Lebanon’s economy and stability by insisting on keeping its weapons.
Iran now intends to create its own regional economies that will bolster its political influence and war effort in the region; not to create independent economies that help the people of the countries concerned and strengthen their governments. In Lebanon itself, Hezbollah has filled its south and northeast with hashish farms and drug factories, imposed exorbitant tariffs and excluded those who disagreed with it from the market; leading to mounting hostility against it in areas such as Baalbek-Hermel.
In fact, Lebanon has lived for a decade-and-a-half under the almost total domination of Hezbollah. The result is the current deterioration of people’s living conditions, a shrinking economy, and widespread corruption.
Like the Lebanese, the Iraqi people, led by Shiites, have revolted too: Demanding decent living standards and refusing to be a “cash cow” for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its militias.
Lebanon and the Monster of Bankruptcy
Rajeh Khoury/Asharq Al-Awsat/December 07/2019
Last Wednesday, President Michel Aoun announced that parliamentary consultations would take place on Monday, thereby deferring them for five more days, 34 days after the government resigned, and 47 days after the revolution began. This happened after the end of the third meeting between Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, the latter representing the Shiite duo that has been insisting for two weeks on rejecting the proposed name of Samir Khatib for Prime Minister. All of this took place before Dany Abu Haidar, a Lebanese citizen, who took his own life because of poverty and inability to support his family, was buried.
What will have changed between last Wednesday and this Monday?
Nothing at the level of the regime and the government formation facing an economic crisis that has ushered a stage of bankruptcy and collapse. There is no clear path for either the appointment of Samir Khatib nor for the return of Saad Hariri after the political settlement that led to Michel Aoun’s presidential election collapsed. The uprising, which rejects a non-technocratic government and the inclusion of the same politicians who bankrupted the country, adds to this.
So, where can we go from here?
It is not enough to talk about an economic path that leads to panic, if not to hell, after the capital control measures taken that limited cash withdrawals from banks to USD300 per week and prevented transfers overseas, and after the valid fears of ‘haircuts’ on deposits.
It is not enough to talk about a political path that leads to more complications, especially after the bickering between Aoun and the former PMs who have repeatedly accused him of disregarding the constitution and trying to return to a time before the Taef Agreement. These accusations were launched after the President had been appointing ministers before choosing their PM. In response to popular demands to abide by the constitution, it was stated that “The President is using his constitutional rights by binding the consultations to a designation of a PM and the formation of a new government to prevent the country from descending into a prolonged vacuum.”
The dispute around this continued after the alliance between Aoun and the Shite duo, upon Hariri’s insistence on the formation of a technocratic government to meet the demands of the uprising, attempted to convince Hariri to commit political suicide. They pushed him to support Mohammad Safadi’s candidacy, then Samir Khatib, announce his support in a written statement, get the approval of the Mufti, the former PMs, and to take part in this government.
After Hariri rejected the temptations and pressures to head a techno-political government which would maintain Hezbollah’s dominance in political decision-making in the executive authority, it became clear that the alliance between Aoun and the Shiite duo, i.e., Hezbollah and Amal Movement, insist on having him for several reasons. First, he is economically useful, as he can work on reactivating the CEDRE Conference aid. Second, he is a local and regional Sunni power, which is important, especially during these difficult times when Hezbollah is subjected to severe foreign pressure, sanctions, and is classified as a terrorist organization by the US. Third, his approval of a techno-political government would help Hezbollah overcome the uprising and quell the protests it has produced from Tyre and Nabatieh to Baalbeck. This is especially important as it is happening in parallel with violent disturbances in Iran and Iraq; in the latter, the protesters set fire to the Iranian Consulate three times in Najaf while chanting, “Iran out out” despite the violent repression that they faced.
Before Aoun announced Monday as the date for the parliamentary consultations, the exchanges between him and the former PMs were heated. In a statement released by former PMs Fouad Siniora, Tammam Salam, and Najib Miqati, they said, “We are alarmed by the serious violation of the Taef Agreement in its letter and spirit, and we are alarmed by the assault on the parliamentary authority to designate a PM through binding parliamentary consultations conducted by the President and the assault on the authority of the designated PM by naming what is being called a possible PM.”
Aoun responded with a statement that repeated what he has been saying for the last month. He claims the consultations that he is doing are not a violation of the constitution and the Taef accord. He accused the former PMs of not realizing the negative consequences of accelerating consultations on the country’s general situation and national unity.
All of this comes after Hariri’s statement last week, where he explicitly accused Aoun of chronically denying the gravity of the situation the country is in. That is in terms of the popular uprising and its legitimate demands to form a technocratic government, the crippling economic crisis that has put the country on the brink of collapse, and the attempts to accuse him of discarding candidates for premiership other than him. In light of these irresponsible practices, he responded to Aoun’s famous slogan that he clung to and kept the country in presidential vacuum for two and a half years “either me or no one” with the slogan “Not me, but someone else”!
The uprising has been heightened after the number of suicides due to poverty has increased. It has rejected Samir Khatib’s candidacy raising the slogan “All of them means all of them”, which is being chanted now in Iraq.
This implies the necessity of overthrowing the entire corrupt political elite. The regime and the Shiite duo have presented a new slogan in opposition, “All of us means all of us in government.” This is related to what Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad had announced about there being no alternative to a national unity government, i.e., duplicating the current cabinet, other than remaining under a caretaker government for a very long time. This means rejecting all of the uprising’s demands and maintaining the regime which rebels accuse of being corrupt and plundering public funds, at a time where Lebanon has entered real bankruptcy and the threat of complete collapse.
Last Thursday, Siniora commented on Samir Khatib’s candidacy, saying “This man’s character and his ethics are one thing, but his suitability for this exceptional stage is something else.” When asked whether he would possibly name him in the consultations, he answered, “It is only possible to predict what a reasonable person would do, as for others, that is something else.” This implies that whoever is reasonable will not name Khatib.
This leads to a very confusing question:
What crisis will birth a government? Will it emerge out of a resolution of the dispute between the Sunni politicians and the alliance between Aoun and the Shiite duo? Or will come after the revolution is quashed so that a techno-political government is formed despite the widespread outrage stemming from the series of suicides that have taken place recently, such as George Zreik burning himself alive for not being able to pay his daughter’s school fees, Naji Fliti hanging himself for not being able to buy a LBP1,000 thyme manoushe for his daughter, Dany Abou Haidar taking his own life last Wednesday for not being able to support his family, and a fourth citizen committing suicide on Thursday after another citizen tried to burn himself alive in Akkar because of financial pressure?
The upcoming dates assigned for consultations are the last hope for Hariri’s approval. Still, it appears that the parliamentary alliance between Aoun and the Shiite duo, which includes 42 MPs, will be maintained until the end of the consultations in order to guarantee that Aoun remains in charge and push for a government that serves the interests of that alliance.
But what do we do with the revolution and the rebels? How do we confront the monster of bankruptcy in a country where citizens take their own lives because they are unable to buy a manoushe? How do we confront it in a country where people rush to withdraw USD300 while TV channels compete to uncover scandals of theft and plunder, a country whose debt has reached USD100 billion while the amount that has been looted by politicians, stored in offshore European banks, exceeds USD320 billion?
NAYA| Speak up, survivors, it’s time
Fatima Dia/Annahar/December 07/2019
Today’s march demanded a safer environment and adopted a grander and more humane social perspective regarding survivors, specifically by shifting the social tendency in Lebanese culture to blame the survivor to blaming the perpetrator.
BEIRUT: People took to Hamra streets in solidarity with survivors of sexual assault, protesting against gender-based-violence on December 7. Holding banners, and chanting empowering slogans, the people marched from Bliss street to Riad el Solh.
The ongoing revolution in Lebanon has opened doorways for several discussions to take place openly. At the frontlines, the protest against sexual assault and harassment aims to remove the stigma behind these topics, and encourage survivors to speak up and pinpoint violators in order to create safer environments.
“This case of Marwan Habib is just the beginning, a guy will think a thousand times before touching a girl now,” said Noura, one of the protesters. “The most important thing is that people don’t remain silent anymore. This revolution was an opportunity for people to talk more. If you want me to count the times [a woman has been harassed]…I swear you can’t count.”
Based on a report by the Internal Security Forces from 2017, one out four women in Lebanon is subjected to sexual harassment. Six percent of Lebanese people know at least one person who has been sexually assaulted, and yet only 24 percent of the victims report the assault. In addition, 49 percent of sexual assault cases are from within the family. According to ISF, from December 2016 till the end of 2017, there was an average of 13 women reporting sexual assault cases per month.
“This protest is very important because it will give a public awareness about the struggles of women. I hope it’ll make a change if we do protests continuously,” Nay Hnein, another protester, told Annahar.
A study carried by HarassTracker in 2018 found that most men, as well as generally older women, typically blame the women who were harassed. This is one of the issues today’s protest tackled.
A video ABAAD uploaded to its Facebook page in 2017, where an actress, dressed in a skirt and a tight shirt, acted the part of a woman who had been raped, disclosed the regularity with which survivors are blamed rather than the perpetrators.
“I’m here because I want to feel safe at night,” Petra Rafeh told Annahar. “I have the right to even go to clubs and pubs and feel safe there too.”
HarassTracker’s study also found that there is a general lack of understanding of what sexual harassment or assault encompass. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines sexual harassment as “the uninvited and unwelcome verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature,” whereas sexual assault is defined as “sexual contact that usually involves force upon a person without their consent, or is inflected upon a person who is incapable of giving consent, or who places the assailant in a position of trust or authority.”
Within the Lebanese legislation, women and girls are protected under the law from domestic violence. Article 522, which allowed foe exoneration by marriage to the rapist, was removed in 2017; but according to a UN report of the legislation in Lebanon, there are some cases where exoneration by marriage is still allowed. In addition, there are no concrete laws that protect women from sexual harassment; the Labour Code, for example, doesn’t prohibit workplace sexual harassment. Protesters on the street today are not only showing support to survivors, but fighting measures that are structurally harmful to women.
“Women’s fight against the system is the same fight against the government,” said Julia, another protester on the street. “It’s one patriarchal misogynist system that puts us all in danger.”
Today’s march demanded a safer environment and adopted a grander and more humane social perspective regarding survivors, specifically by shifting the social tendency in Lebanese culture to blame the survivor to blaming the perpetrator.
“Collectively, we encourage each other. One voice doesn’t do much, but the more voices join, the stronger you become, and the more people will grow braver to talk,” said Noura.
Manal Makkieh contributed to this article.
Welcome to “NAYA,” the newest addition to Annahar’s coverage. This section aims at fortifying Lebanese women’s voices by highlighting their talents, challenges, innovations, and women’s empowerment. We will also be reporting on the world of work, family, style, health, and culture. NAYA is devoted to women of all generations-NAYA Editor, Sally Farhat:
Rafik Hariri’s biggest legacy: giving Lebanese protesters courage
Michael Karam/The National/December 07/2019
A man with good intentions and a bold vision, the late prime minister’s assassination sparked the Cedar Revolution that has set the template for today’s uprising
In February 1992, I arrived in Lebanon to begin a new life. The civil war had ended a year earlier, and I figured we could grow together – Lebanon and I – even if the economy was in freefall. The Lebanese pound was 900 to the dollar (16 years earlier, it had been 2.25) and by May it hit 1,621. There were riots on the streets of Beirut and then prime minister Omar Karami’s woeful government resigned. His successor Rachid Solh lasted five months, during which time the currency value slipped to an all-time low of 2,500 pounds to the dollar and the path was clear for Rafik Hariri to take center-stage and rescue the country with his vision of a tolerant and prosperous Lebanon. Over the next 13 years, until he and 21 others were killed by a roadside bomb outside the Hotel St Georges, Mr Hariri bestrode Lebanese politics. But for those of us who witnessed him riding into town, it is hard to underestimate the optimism we all felt. He offered the hope of peace and prosperity after a decade and a half of bloodshed and misery.
Mr Hariri was a man who had made his Croesus-like fortune delivering construction projects to deadline in Saudi Arabia. He had a significant role negotiating the 1989 Taif Agreement that ended the war and quietly educated hundreds of underprivileged Lebanese by providing university scholarships. Now, he was set to take centre-stage and use his network contacts – prime ministers, presidents, billionaires and kings – to help him rebuild Lebanon and restore its reputation as a glamorous entrepot.
While the Lebanese pound levelled out and even clawed back some of its value against the dollar, Mr Hariri told us he had a plan. Imagine that. Lebanon with a plan. Horizon 2000 was based on rebuilding Beirut, quite literally out of the rubble, as a gleaming new capital, a shopfront for foreign investment and tourism. His was a policy of “build it and they will come” but Mr Hariri borrowed heavily, betting on a regional peace deal and foreign inflows.
After the September 11 attacks, Arab tourists, who found themselves personae non-grata in much of the West, sought sanctuary in the new Beirut. Alamy
It nearly worked. After the September 11 attacks, Arab tourists, who found themselves personae non-grata in much of the West, sought sanctuary in the new Beirut, a city where they were welcomed; that spoke their language and where, for a price, their every need was catered to. And for a while the cash registers rang. Mr Hariri’s plan was to co-opt the former war lords and the Syrians, who ran Lebanon, while he got on with the job of fixing things, hoping that wealth and prosperity would keep everything on an even keel.
His long-time ally and friend, former prime minister Fouad Siniora, is currently in the spotlight as investigations begin into the plague of embezzlement that has brought the country to its knees. But the rest of the political class was no less skilled at siphoning off state funds, usually through the ministries, to sustain their patronage network and fill their coffers. Mr Hariri? He just wanted to get the job done.
Mr Hariri was a man with good intentions, boundless energy and a bold vision. He also inadvertently helped create a climate of corruption which sowed the seeds for Lebanon’s current crisis. But to judge him through the lens of today’s frustrations is to forget that he also guaranteed Lebanon’s existence, saving its unique identity from an even more catastrophic abyss. An intriguing parlour game is to ask what would have happened had Rafik Hariri never been born. What would downtown Beirut look like today? Who else had the clout to drag us out of the post-war quagmire? Had he not existed, progress would have been even slower and more painful. His death, alongside his economic wingman – the talented, trusted (and clean) Bassil Fleihan – sparked the Cedar Revolution. It fell short of its aims but it gave this current crop of protesters the courage to know they can effect change. And that might be his biggest legacy.
*Michael Karam is a UK-based freelance writer. He was the founding editor of Now Lebanon
Beirut Chants Festival: A revolutionary Christmas concert
Sandra Abdelbaki/Annahar/December 07/2019
This year’s Christmas spirit was intertwined with a revolutionary one.
BEIRUT: For two hours on a Friday night, people took a short break from the hustle of the current situation to indulge in a peaceful, yet revolutionary music performance. As a patriotic move around the holidays, an ensemble from the Balamand University Choir and Reem Deeb, Soprano, holder of two doctorates of Music, and a university Music Lecturer, presented a unique musical performance as part of Beirut Chants Festival’s 12th edition at the Assembly Hall of the American University of Beirut. The founder of Beirut Chants this year wanted to unite the Lebanese people through music and chants of coexistence and peace. This year’s Christmas spirit was intertwined with a revolutionary one. In order to fulfill the two spirits, the choice of songs during the performance ranged between those two ends. Songs such as “Salam” by Dr. Riad Sarkis, MD, “Rejoice Greatly” by G. F. Handel, and “O Holy Night” by A.Adam were performed. “This year, I wanted to do this performance elegantly in my way. It’s my way of delivering peace and hope in this Christmas,” said Deeb. To her, a revolution spirit was reflected through her peaceful music performance. Goodwill and peace were the two messages she portrayed throughout the night.
What people didn’t expect, however, was a surprise song that sparked the performance and granted Beirut respect and honor in times of the revolution. For the first time this year, Deeb and Dr. Riad Sarkis prepared a surprise anthem that sounded as a perfect contribution for today’s situation.
“It was definitely a surprise, not a single person knew about it, not even the event planners,” said Deeb. From the youngest child to the oldest senior, the audience was thrilled by the impact of this anthem as the performance came to an end.
“The surprise anthem was definitely something I did not expect, yet it was a beautiful addition to this festival, especially in times of hopelessness,” said an AUB student who attended the performance. Performers also included Gina Matta Razzouk as the Ensemble director, Ignace Bteich as the pianist, Matta Matta as the Ensemble Accompanist, and Charbel Mansour as Ensemble pianist. Ensemble members included Dana Jazzar, Tatiana Metry, Karim Moutraji, WassimWehbe, Aline Saba, and Jacky Jabbour.
