A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For January 30-31/2020 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 106th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
January 31/2020
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on January 30-31/2020
Report: Lebanon’s New Govt. ‘Denied’ US, Arab Support
Report: $2 Billion Transferred Abroad Since October Uprising
Hitti: No One Can Impose Naturalization on Us
No Coronavirus Cases among Lebanese in China, Ambassador Says
Lebanon Receives Shipment of New Banknotes
President Aoun meets Traboulsi, Boustany, Theological Dialogue Conference delegation
Aoun meets delegation of Association of Industrialist
Diab meets UNIFIL commander
Foreign Minister holds talks with Norwegian Ambassador, other diplomats
Geagea calls Abbas in solidarity: Deal of the Century dead on arrival
Rahi: Deal of Century a sign of war
Rahi meets new Jordan’s ambassador, Theological Dialogue Conference delegation
Reuters: Lebanon’s government bonds in biggest daily rise since early Dec
Fahmi welcomes Akkar MPs
Hobballah to industrialists: We are working on near solutions to remittances issue
Japan supports Hamza Medical Center run by Al Shifaa for Medical & Humanitarian Services
Moucharafieh, Rampling tackle general situation
Najjar meets WB delegation
Sami Gemayel, Richard tackle latest developments
Senator calls for sanctions about American jailed in Lebanon/Kathy Mccormack/AP/January 30/2020
Japan seeks arrest of Ghosn, Americans suspected of helping/Associated Press/January 30/2020
With jobs scarce, Lebanon’s labour minister pushes low-wage work/Timour Azhari/Al Jazeera/January 30/2020
Israeli Security head: Stifle Hezbollah financially to press Iran/US official: ‘Maximum pressure’ on Tehran has been ‘tremendously successful’/Yonah Jeremy Bob/Jerusalem Post/Januiary 30/2020
What Are the Top Three Priorities for Lebanon’s New Government in the Coming Weeks?/Michael Young/Carnegie MEC/January 30/2020
Lebanon’s protests: The limit of rage/Habib Battahi/Al Jazeera/January 30/2020
Trump’s Middle East plan leaves Palestinians in Lebanon hopeless/Timour Azhari/Al Jazeera/January 30/2020
Details Of The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorial published on January30-31/2020
Report: Lebanon’s New Govt. ‘Denied’ US, Arab Support
Naharnet/January 30/2020
The US administration “will not” provide any kind of assistance for Lebanon’s new government led by PM Hassan Diab because it considers it an “extension” of Hizbullah’s authority, Nidaa al-Watan daily reported on Thursday. Well-informed sources in Washington told the daily, that the administration of US President Donald Trump is determined to activate all channels of confrontation with Iran along its spheres of influence in the region including Lebanon’s “Hizbulah-led” government. He said the US will deal with Lebanon as part of this confrontation, “now that it has officially fallen into the grip of the ruling majority led by Hizbullah.” Moreover, an Arab source told Nidaa al-Watan that Arab countries are “reluctant” to provide Lebanon with financial assistance because its new government is linked to the March 8 camp “disguised” in a government of technocrats. The source pointed out saying “it is certain that all Arab countries do not want Lebanon’s collapse, but at the same time do not want to support a government closely linked to Hizbullah.”
Report: $2 Billion Transferred Abroad Since October Uprising
Naharnet/January 30/2020
Around two billion dollars were transferred abroad from crisis-hit Lebanon between October 17 and December 31, 2019, Nidaa al-Watan reported on Thursday. Financial sources told the daily that the Special Investigation Commission on fighting money laundering and terrorism financing at BDL has finished preparing a report of “suspicious” funds transferred abroad and is expected to submit it to the Prosecutor General Ghassan Oweidat at the end of the month. However, the report does not mention the names of political depositors who made transfers during that period, according to the sources, noting that the “request to investigate these transfers did not request identifying the names but only determining the amounts and data about them in case of any suspicious cash-flight.”In December, following eruption of nationwide anti-government protests, Central bank governor Riad Salameh ordered a probe into large transfers of money abroad, which if confirmed, would mark a violation of banking restrictions curtailing such transactions. His request came after reports that politicians, senior civil servants and bank owners were reportedly involved in capital flight as the country grapples with an unprecedented economic crisis and protests demanding an overhaul of the entire political class.
Hitti: No One Can Impose Naturalization on Us
Naharnet/January 30/2020
Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti stressed Wednesday that no one can impose the naturalization of Palestinian or Syrian refugees on Lebanon, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his long-awaited Mideast peace plan, which does not entail the return of Palestinian refugees. “The Arab Peace Initiative, which was unanimously endorsed at the Beirut Arab Summit in March 2002, represents a comprehensive and just approach to achieve permanent peace in the region,” Hitti said in a TV interview. “No one can impose on us the naturalization of anyone,” the minister added. Noting that he would stress commitment to the resolutions of the 2002 Arab Summit during the upcoming emergency Arab League meeting which will be held in Cairo, Hitti said no side has asked Lebanon to “agree to any issue in return for aid.”“The issue is not a real estate deal, we are talking about a people’s national identity,” the minister went on to say.
No Coronavirus Cases among Lebanese in China, Ambassador Says
Naharnet/January 30/2020
The Chinese ambassador to Lebanon assured during a meeting with PM Hassan Diab on Thursday that no cases of the deadly coronavirus were recorded among Lebanese nationals in China, the National News Agency reported on Thursday. “I have assured the PM that so far there are no cases of the virus among the Chinese community in Lebanon or among Lebanese nationals in China,” said Wang Kajian, the Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon.
The ambassador also said he discussed ways of cooperation between Lebanon and China, asserting “China’s continued support for Lebanon’s sovereignty, and unity. We also expressed willingness for cooperation at the political, economic, humanitarian, and cultural levels,” he said. China counted 170 deaths from the new virus Thursday and more countries reported infections, including some spread locally, as foreign evacuees from China’s worst-hit region returned home to medical observation and even isolation.
Lebanon Receives Shipment of New Banknotes
Naharnet/January 30/2020
Crisis-hit Lebanon received on Thursday a shipment of new banknotes received by the central bank, the National News Agency said. The shipment arrived in parcels by plane to the Rafik Hariri International Airport on board the Middle East Airlines and were received by BDL representatives, said NNA. Since October 17, Lebanon has been swept by nationwide protests and an unprecedented economic crisis unseen since its 1975-1990 civil war. The country grapples with a financial crisis that has seen shortage in dollar and liquidity. The Lebanese pound, long pegged to the dollar, has lost up to 60% of its value against the dollar and banks have imposed unprecedented capital controls to preserve liquidity
President Aoun meets Traboulsi, Boustany, Theological Dialogue Conference delegation
NNA/January 30/2020
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, stressed that the Lebanese, with their religious and cultural pluralism, are living in a permanent dialogue with each other, hoping that the “Eyes of the Church will remain watchful over Lebanon and assist it politically and culturally, since the Orient lives in constant danger, except that we have psychological resistance which helps us survive”.
President Aoun’s positions came during his reception the head of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch, in addition to the assistant Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for the Coptic Orthodox, Monsignor Kyrillos, and the delegate of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Western-Europe, Archbishop Khajak Khajag Barsamian, Patron of the Maronite Diocese, Bishop Paul Rouhana, and Father Hyacinthe Destivelle, on the occasion of the theological dialogue conference between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches in Lebanon, hosted by the Antochian Orthodox Church in Lebanon.
Cardinal Koch thanked President Aoun for his reception, and gave an overview of the work of the committee and its tasks. Koch said “We work to strengthen unity building the churches after their division in the fifth century, and in the first stage we prepared a document related to the church mission, while the second document dealt with communication during the first five centuries, and then we devoted our work to the mysteries of theology”.
Cardinal Koch pointed out that the committee holds two meetings each year, one in Rome and the other in an oriental country. Lebanon has been chosen to be the center of its second meeting for this year.
“Lebanon faces many challenges and difficulties, and we pray and hope that it will overcome them. This country embodies an example of dialogue and enjoys cultural and religious pluralism whichis the focus of attention, and there is no alternative to dialogue. We, in this regard, welcome the presidential initiative to establish the Human Academy for Meeting and Dialogue in Lebanon, and we wish it success and a brilliant future” Koch stated.
President Aoun’s Reply:
The President welcomed the delegation, and wished them success in their tasks, pointing out that “Lebanon brings together various churches that branch out of the Christian religion, the religion which believes in the Gospel and the Lord Jesus”. President Aoun also said that “We, in the Eastern Churches, live a permanent dialogue and this model that we live also interacts with Lebanese Muslims who are formed from all branches of the Islamic religion”.
President Aoun also explained the importance of a permanent dialogue between various Lebanese religions, and hoped that “The eyes of the Church would remain watchful over Lebanon and assist the country politically and culturally, since the Orient lives in perpetual danger. However, in return, we have psychological resistance in order to remain”.
“Because we believe in dialogue and convergence, we submitted an initiative, to the UN, to make Lebanon a center for the Human Academy for Convergence and Dialogue, aiming to acquaint people with different cultures, religions and values, and developing knowledge which would help in consolidating peace” the President added.
“We now are in the process of defining the features of this academy and starting implementation, through those who wish to participate in it. It achieved 165 votes out of 167 in favor, with the US and Israel abstaining in the vote. We hope that you will work to encourage everyone to contribute to the establishment of this academy” President Aoun concluded.
President Michel Aoun received MP, Edgar Traboulsi and discussed with him current political developments.
The President also reviewed, with Traboulsi, the work of the Parliamentary committees, in addition to educational and social affairs, the demands of the people of Miyye w Miyye town, and the difficulties they face in determining their properties.
President Aoun received MP, Farid Boustany, and deliberated with him a number of issues, including the need of the “Chouf” District.
The Head of the National Authority for Lebanese Women Affairs, Claudine Aoun Roukoz, informed the President about the start of implementation of the “National Action Plan for the Implementation of Resolution 1325” (Issued by the UN Security Council), and mechanisms established for this implementation.
Mrs. Aoun Roukoz indicated that the Resolution 1325 highlighted the role which women play in achieving peace and security conditions in human societies. This recognizes their full capacity to participate in the same way as men in building societies and leadership. Aoun Roukoz noted that the authority is working on implementing this plan.
*Presidency Press Office
Aoun meets delegation of Association of Industrialists
NNA/January 30/2020
President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, stressed on the importance of supporting the establishment of small and medium Lebanese enterprises, to manufacture materials for local consumption and achieve self-sufficiency in a manner which positively reflects our payments’ balance. The President noted that “Lebanon is working to direct national production to be industrial and agricultural, after achieving it impressively on the tourism level, before the events of last October 17 began”. President Aoun also expressed interest in addressing the difficulties experienced by industrialists, in this period of Lebanese history.
President Aoun’s stances came after receiving a delegation of members of the Board of Directors of the Lebanese Industrialists Association, headed by Dr. Fadi Gemayel, today at Baabda Palace.
Dr. Gemayel delivered a speech in which he presented the reality of the industrial sector and the difficulties it encounters, especially in the current circumstances. Gemayel said:
“We are today facing a crucial challenge, we are suffering from the inability to transfer the value of our needs from raw materials to industries that do not export. We do not at all understand these measures which even affect deposit holders, whom are even denied their payments.
We present this simple equation to you, as we need 3 billion dollars annually in order to produce up to 13 billion USD, including 10 billion USD for domestic markets and 3 billion USD for export. If we bring scarce cash to Lebanon through our exports and its capacity is greater, reaching 4.5 billion in 2011, and if we are deprived of raw materials for the local market, then these 10 billion USD will be threatened. In other words, we will put more pressure on imports. We are responsible for food security, consumer security, and social security. We demand securing our needs of raw materials which amount annually to 3 billion USD, but there is an urgent need to pump about 300 million USD as soon as possible. We must take advantage of the state of affairs, as we are all confident that if the industry’s requests and suggestions were met in the past, then we would have avoided the fierce unemployment that we are experiencing, and the economic hardship. As you have repeatedly stressed that a productive economy is alone capable of developing economic and social solutions, this issue has been also confirmed by the Mackenzie study. Therefore, we also demand that the current Government addresses the industrial demands as soon as possible, limiting it as follows:
– Preventing smuggling.
– Stopping dumping and completing the related measures.
– Addressing additional costs, especially costs of energy, of the intensive energy sectors, according to the project submitted by the Ministry of Industry, with an annual investment of 35 million USD, benefitting 7000 families, and enhancing the value of our energies in the production cycle of glass and paper recycling factories, plastics, and a number of other basic products.
We are with a free economic system, but this system never prevents the activation of self-energies. We consider Lebanon a country of great opportunities. Enough of exporting our youth, let us export our products”.
President Aoun’s Reply:
President Aoun welcomed the delegation, and affirmed his follow-up to the difficulties experienced by industrialists in this difficult period which Lebanon is passing through, in light of the financial and banking measures taken whichreflect on their ability to import materials.
The President said that he views industrialists’ demands on the financial level, as one of the needs which must be secured, stressing that he will follow-up with the Governor of the Central Bank,and would do everything he could to reduce the burden of industrialists, who in turn provide employment opportunities for the Lebanese.
In addition, President Aoun stressed that he supports the establishment of small and medium enterprises in Lebanon, to manufacture materials for local consumption and achieve self-sufficiency. “This will positively reflect on the balance of payments”, the President stated indicating that he will also pursue the issue of taxes on some imported goods to secure all facilities to encourage the Lebanese industry.
The President revealed that Lebanon is working to direct national production to industrial and agricultural, after achieving brilliant results on the tourism level, whose revenues reached around seven and a half billion USD, until last October. President Aoun assured that the amount would have reached 9 billion USD if the situation remained as it was during the holiday period, and encouraged the members of the delegation to move forward in working for the advancement and prosperity of Lebanon’s industry.
*Presidency Press Office
Diab meets UNIFIL commander
NNA/January 30/2020
Prime Minister, Dr Hassan Diab, welcomed this afternoon at the Grand Serail Head of the UNIFIL mission, General Commander Stefano del Col, with whom he discussed the current situation in South Lebanon and the tasks of the Interim Peacekeeping force.
Foreign Minister holds talks with Norwegian Ambassador, other diplomats
NNA/January 30/2020
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Dr. Nassif Hitti, on Thursday kicked off his Bustros Palace activities with a meeting with Norwegian Ambassador to Lebanon, Lenny Stansett, who said in the wake of the meeting that she conveyed to the Minister her country’s strong support for Lebanon, especially amidst the difficult times it endured.
“We broached a number of bilateral cooperation dossiers, which cover many topics and have our support; we also dwelt on the need to continue cooperation in various issues, especially where we share similar values and interests. Being the two small countries that we are, we rely on the international law as a basis for us,” the Norwegian diplomat said, stressing the necessity to implement resolution #1701 and support the work of UNIFIL. Moreover, she affirmed her country’s keenness on the need to continue efforts to achieve peace between Israel and Palestine, based on UN decisions and the outcome of negotiations.
Separately, Hitti had an audience with the ambassadors of Egypt, Cuba, China, and the Charge d’Affair of Kazakhstan. He also met the Ambassador of Bangladesh, Abdul Mutalib Sarker, who paid him a farewell visit marking the end of his diplomatic mission in Lebanon.
Geagea calls Abbas in solidarity: Deal of the Century dead on arrival
NNA/January 30/2020
Lebanese Forces party leader, Samir Geagea, telephoned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to utter support for the Palestinian leadership and express the party’s solidarity with the Palestinian brothers in their stance on the Deal of the Century. Geagea told Abbas: “There is no place in history for plans, proposals or illogical matters. From the start, we deemed the Deal of the Century dead on arrival, and that is confirmed now.”
He stressed “the need for the Palestinian people to obtain their legitimate rights by establishing an independent state with Al-Quds as its capital.”
Abbas thanked Geagea for his sympathy, assuring that “the Palestinian people cling to their rightful position, and will not be discouraged by any difficulties, hardships or pressures.”He also praised the Lebanese sympathy towards the Palestinian people.
Rahi: Deal of Century a sign of war
NNA/January 30/2020
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Rahi on Thursday deplored the so-called “Deal of the Century,” which he deemed as “a sign of war, hatred and destruction.””We shall neither accept nor tolerate this [deal],” Rahi said before the commencement of a spiritual meditation session in Bkerki.
“We cannot surrender to the will of a man who has decided to put aside the entire history,” he added. “This land cannot bear the political decision made by the US administration or president,” he stressed.
Rahi meets new Jordan’s ambassador, Theological Dialogue Conference delegation
Rahi meets new Jordan’s ambassador, Theological Dialogue Conference delegation
NNA/January 30/2020
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rahi on Thursday welcomed in Bkerke the newly accredited Jordanian Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Al Hadid, who came on a courtesy visit. Discussions reportedly touched on the general situation in Lebanon and the broader region.
Both also discussed the significant relations between Jordan and the Maronite patriarchate. This afternoon, Patriarch Rahi met with an ecclesiastical delegation partaking in the Theological Dialogue Conference between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches in Lebanon. The delegation listened to the Patriarch’s viewpoint over of the general situation in Lebanon and the region, in addition to his vision about ecumenical work for unity among the churches.
Reuters: Lebanon’s government bonds in biggest daily rise since early Dec
NNA/January 30/2020
Lebanon’s sovereign dollar bonds climbed on Thursday, with several notching up their biggest daily rise since early December amid increased hopes among investors for a plan to fight the country’s worst economic crisis in decades. Market sentiment was boosted by meetings on Wednesday between ministers and banking officials to discuss how to ease the crisis, said Nafez Zouk, lead economist and emerging markets strategist at Oxford Economics. “The general mood was ‘reassuring’ as everyone was trying to send positive vibes, suggesting that we aren’t yet at the edge of crisis, and that we still have time,” Zouk said in an emailed comment. “I think markets are taking that to mean that March will be paid.”Investors are waiting on a government decision about how it will deal with its debt pile, including a $1.2 billion Eurobond maturing in March. —-Reuters
Fahmi welcomes Akkar MPs
NNA /January 30/2020
Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Mohammad Fahmi, on Thursday welcomed a delegation of Akkar MPs which included deputies Hadi Hbeich, Walid al-Baarini, and Osman Alameddine. Discussions focused on matters related to the development of the Akkar region. Later during the day, Fahmi met with MP Mario Aoun, with whom he discussed the general situation in the country.
Hobballah to industrialists: We are working on near solutions to remittances issue
NNA /January 30/2020
“We are here to help the productive sectors,” Minister of Industry, Imad Hobbalah, confirmed on Thursday during his meeting with a delegation from the Association of Industrialists.
“The Prime Minister and all the other ministers are very cooperative,” he added. “We are working on near solutions with the Central Bank to the issue of transfers in a bid to be able to secure and purchase raw materials,” he added.
Japan supports Hamza Medical Center run by Al Shifaa for Medical & Humanitarian Services
NNA /January 30/2020
Japan supports the delivery of accessible medical care in El Buss Refugee Camp, and to achieve this objective, on January 29, 2020, Ambassador OKUBO Takeshi signed a grant contract, which amounts to 87,270 U.S. dollars, with Dr. Majdi Krayem, Executive Manager of Al Shifaa for Medical & Humanitarian Services. The NGO has long provided medical services for both Lebanese and the host communities of refugees through its medical centers across Lebanon. Hamza Medical Center in El Buss Refugee Camp, without an adequate equipment for an X-ray examination, has had no choice but to refer their patients to other medical centers, where such examination is not available at an affordable cost. Through its Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Program (GGP), Japan will donate a new digital X-ray machine for the center, so that it will be able to provide accessible medical services annually to more than 160 individuals. At the signing ceremony, Dr. Majdi Krayem expressed the center’s appreciation, detailing the depth and magnitude of Japan’s support for individuals in El Buss Refugee Camp spanning Palestinian refugees to the financially marginalized Lebanese and Syrians. Ambassador Okubo-former Ambassador for the Palestinian Affairs and Representative of Japan to Palestine-expressed his hope that the project would be a milestone for the continuous Japanese support for the Palestinian and their host communities. —-Embassy of Japan in Lebanon
Moucharafieh, Rampling tackle general situation
NNA/January 30/2020
Tourism and Social Affairs Minister, Professor Ramzi Moucharafieh, welcomed on Thursday in his office at the Social Affairs Ministry the British Ambassador to Lebanon, Chris Rampling. Discussions reportedly touched on the general situation and means of cooperation between the two countries.
Najjar meets WB delegation
NNA/January 30/2020
Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Michel Najjar, met Thursday at his office with a delegation of the World Bank, chaired by Ibrahim Dajani. Talks reported touched on an array of projects funded by the World Bank in the field of public transportation and road rehabilitation.
“The meeting was positive,” Dajani said, highlighting the WB readiness to help Lebanon.
Sami Gemayel, Richard tackle latest developments
NNA/January 30/2020
Lebanese Kataeb Party Chief, MP Sami Gemayel, welcomed on Thursday at the Kataeb’s Central House in Saifi the US Ambassador to Lebanon, Elizabeth Richard, in the presence of former Minister Alain Hakim and the Party’s Foreign Relations’ Coordinator Marwan Abdullah. Discussions reportedly touched on most recent developments.
Senator calls for sanctions about American jailed in Lebanon
Kathy Mccormack/AP/January 30/2020
العضو في مجلس الشيوخ الأميركي جين شاهين تطالب بفرض عقوبات على لبنان بسبب خطفه واحتجازه اللاقانوني لعامر الفاخوري الذي يعاني من مرض مميت
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/82763/82763/
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire is drafting sanctions legislation to hold Lebanese officials accountable for jailing an American citizen without any charges as his health takes a turn for the worse.
“Time is of the essence and the Lebanese government needs to understand there will be consequences for his continued detention,” Shaheen, a Democrat and member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said in a statement this week.
Amer Fakhoury, 57, a restaurant owner in Dover, New Hampshire, who became a U.S. citizen last year, has been jailed since Sept. 12 in his native country. He went on vacation to visit family he hadn’t seen in nearly two decades.
Fakhoury was once a member of the former Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army and worked at a former prison described by human rights groups as a center for torture. His lawyer and family say he fled Lebanon in 2001 through Israel and eventually to the United States, because of death threats he and other SLA members received after Israel ended its occupation of Lebanon in 2000.
Before Fakhoury went back, he received assurances from government officials in Lebanon that there were no legal matters that might interfere with his return. But days after he arrived, an article in a newspaper linked to the Shiite militant group Hezbollah accused him of torture and murder at the former Khiam Prison. He has been detained since then.
Fakhoury’s lawyer and family say he was never involved in the interrogation or torture of prisoners and was never accused when the prison was investigated years ago. They said Fakhoury, who has been hospitalized, has now been diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma and has developed a new infection. They recently learned that medical records show he is suffering from a broken rib cage.
Lebanon itself has been in the middle of an unprecedented economic and political crisis amid nationwide protests since October, leading to the prime minister’s resignation. A new government was formed Tuesday. It was unclear who could address Fakhoury’s case.
Even before that announcement, protesters took to the streets, closing major roads in the capital of Beirut and other parts of the country in protest.
Guila Fakhoury, the oldest of Fakhoury’s four daughters, said doctors cannot always reach her father because of the road closures. She said he has missed chemotherapy treatments.
“It’s a life and death situation right now,” she said. “I’m just frustrated we’re not able to get him home. We’re talking about a sick, innocent U.S. citizen.”
Shaheen was part of the effort to bring sanctions against Turkey in the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who was eventually freed in 2018. She raised the idea of sanctions against Lebanon in December, saying that U.S. officials have been unable to persuade the Lebanese government to release Fakhoury on humanitarian grounds. She said then that sanctions should include ones that would make any involved officials and their family members ineligible for entry into the United States.
In her statement, Shaheen said she is drafting the legislation “to hold those accountable who are complicit in Mr. Fakhoury’s arrest, beating and prolonged detention.”
She added, “Whenever an American is held unjustly by a foreign government, we as a nation need to do everything we can do bring them home. All options are on the table to secure Mr. Fakhoury’s freedom, reunite him with his family and provide the care he urgently needs.”
Shaheen’s office said she has been in frequent contact with the State Department and White House.
A State Department spokesperson said Wednesday that consular officers from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut most recently visited Fakhoury on Jan. 16.
“We are concerned about his welfare, as doctors report his health is failing and he requires urgent specialized medical treatment,” the spokesperson said a statement. “We have raised these concerns at all appropriate levels with the Lebanese government. We will continue to follow his case closely, and to provide him and his family all appropriate consular assistance.”
Picture Enclosed/In this June 2016, photo provided by Guila Fakhoury, her father Amer Fakhoury holds his granddaughter, Kira, in King of Prussia, Penn. At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire said Fakhoury, an American citizen jailed in his native Lebanon since September 2019 on no charges is very ill and if he dies there, then Lebanon should be subject to sanctions. The 57-year-old restaurant owner was once part of the South Lebanon Army and worked at a former prison described by human rights groups as a center for torture. His family says he’s innocent. (Guila Fakhoury via AP)
https://apnews.com/027a3222e330c7aa4b34153a351ca5f8
Japan seeks arrest of Ghosn, Americans suspected of helping
Associated Press/January 30/2020
Japan has no extradition treaty with Lebanon, so he’s unlikely to be arrested. Lebanon has indicated it will not hand over Ghosn.
TOKYO: Tokyo prosecutors issued an arrest warrant Thursday for Nissan’s former chairman Carlos Ghosn, who skipped bail while awaiting trial in Japan and is now in Lebanon. Japan has no extradition treaty with Lebanon, so he’s unlikely to be arrested. Lebanon has indicated it will not hand over Ghosn. Tokyo prosecutors also issued arrest warrants for three Americans they said helped and planned his escape, Michael Taylor, George-Antoine Zayek and Peter Taylor.
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Takahiro Saito declined to say where the three men were thought to be staying. He said Michael Taylor and George Zayek are suspected of helping Ghosn flee by hiding him in cargo at a Japanese airport and getting him into a private jet to leave the country.
Saito would not say if Japan has asked U.S. authorities for help, though he said all options were being explored. Japan and the U.S. have an extradition treaty. Michael Taylor is a former Green Beret and private security specialist. Peter Taylor appears to be his son. Security footage released earlier showed Zayek and Taylor transiting Istanbul Airport at the same time Ghosn allegedly passed through Turkey on his way to Beirut.
Prosecutors suspect Peter Taylor met several times with Ghosn in Tokyo, starting in July last year, to plot his escape. Saito said Ghosn was given a key to a hotel room in Osaka near the Kansai Airport that Ghosn left from. Prosecutors say Ghosn broke the law by violating bail conditions that required him to stay in Japan, mostly at his Tokyo home. “We want to stress that the act of fleeing was clearly wrong,” Saito told reporters. “We need to erase the misunderstanding.”Separately, Saito said prosecutors on Wednesday forced open a lock to search the Tokyo office of Ghosn’s former defense lawyer Junichiro Hironaka for records of people Ghosn met with while out on bail, and other materials. Prosecutors are asking a judge for help in accessing the contents of a computer Ghosn used at Hironaka’s office that the lawyer has refused to hand over, citing attorney-client privilege.
Ghosn has said he is innocent of allegations he under-reported his future income and committed a breach of trust by diverting Nissan money for his personal gain. He says the compensation was never decided on or received, and the Nissan payments were for legitimate business purposes. Ghosn has lashed out at the Japanese judicial system, saying he fled because he could not expect a fair trial, was subjected to unfair conditions in detention and was barred from meeting his wife under his bail conditions. He contends others at Nissan Motor Co., which he led for two decades, drove him out to prevent a fuller merger with its French alliance partner Renault. Ghosn’s dramatic escape, while under the watch of surveillance cameras inside and outside his home is an embarrassment for Japanese authorities. He is believed to have traveled by train to Osaka and then left via Kansai Airport, reportedly by hiding in a box for audio or musical equipment. Ghosn has not shared specifics of his escape. The maximum penalty under Japanese law for illegally leaving the country is one year in prison or 300,000 yen ($2,750) in fines, or both. The maximum penalty for hiding a criminal or helping a criminal escape is three years in prison or 300,000 yen ($2,750) in fines.
With jobs scarce, Lebanon’s labour minister pushes low-wage work
Timour Azhari/Al Jazeera/January 30/2020
Lamia Yammine says the unemployed should take restaurant and other low-paying jobs they ‘usually wouldn’t work in’.
Beirut, Lebanon – Lebanon’s new Labour Minister Lamia Yammine on Thursday said Lebanese citizens will have to take on low-skilled jobs traditionally filled by migrant workers to cope with the effects of the country’s worst economic crisis in a generation.
“It’s difficult to create job opportunities in this economy, that will be up to a comprehensive government plan,” Yammine told Al Jazeera in a phone interview. “But what we can do is encourage Lebanese, via a campaign, to take jobs they wouldn’t usually work in – for example in restaurants, at fuel stations and at the airport.”This means many employees accustomed to salaried jobs with benefits could find themselves taking low-skilled jobs with hourly or low pay – a sign of the large social shift that the country’s crisis may force upon the population.
Lebanon’s mismanaged economy has been stagnant for nearly a decade. The crisis has deepened in recent months with an acute dollar shortage leading banks to restrict foreign currency withdrawals in the heavily dollarised economy, crushing imports.
The Lebanese pound has been pegged to the United States dollar since 1997 at 1500 to one greenback. That generous valuation gave locals a relatively high standard of living even as the country produced little and lived off imports. But on parallel markets, the Lebanese pound is now worth at least 25 percent less than the official exchange rate, and the currency’s value could fall even further, along with living standards.
Scores of business have closed down and thousands of employees have been laid off or had their working hours and wages slashed. Meanwhile, prices of everyday goods have gone up.
The World Bank last year estimated that up to half of Lebanon’s population could fall into poverty, up from 30 percent in 2018. Unemployment, “especially among youth, is already high and could further rise sharply”, the development bank cautioned.
Lebanon is also suffering from a political crisis. Thousands have been taking to the streets for more than 100 days to demand a productive economy, an end to corruption and the ouster of sectarian leaders who have ruled the country since its civil war ended in 1990.
Those protesters brought down the government of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on October 29. Yammine is part of a new government of 20 ministers – most of them technocrats – formed last week by former education minister and new Prime Minister Hassan Diab. “We are working on an emergency plan to deal with people being laid off, to mediate between employer and employee,” Yammine said. “We can’t prevent companies from taking this step, but we can exert pressure to get the best results possible.”
Stopgap initiative
Some people in Lebanon, like 24-year-old Marc Darido and 22-year-old Rudy Hanna, are coping with layoffs in a creative manner, albeit only with the short-term fix in mind. Darido said he was laid off from a salaried job as a sales manager due to his participation in the Lebanese uprising. Hanna was let go soon afterwards, due to financial troubles at his previous employer, where he worked in business development. Like most highly-educated Lebanese, Darido and Hanna both hold degrees – in hospitality management and computer science, respectively.
But with jobs scarce, Darido soon found himself unable to pay rent. He was ready to head back to his hometown of Zahle in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley when he and Hanna came up with a plan. The duo headed down to Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square – the epicentre of the protest movement – with a juicer and a traditional Lebanese saj, a large, gas-fired stove used to make flatbread with cheese or zaatar. Dressed in suits and ties, they plastered their degrees on the front of the stove, along with a sign reading “we got fired but won’t give up” and their business – Thawra Saj (Revolution Saj) – was born.
“There is no shame in work,” Darido told Al Jazeera, though he is the first to admit he doesn’t see a future for himself making flatbread. “We also want to point out that Lebanese people have so much potential, but the country’s leaders have trashed the economy and now we’re here,” he said. “I still see a lot of hope as long as we can get jobs that provide insurance and Lebanese realise we don’t need foreign workers to do everything for us,” Darido said.
Crackdown on foreign labour
As part of her plan for the labour ministry, Yammine said she would continue a process that began under her predecessor to have foreigners apply for work permits, rather than work without proper documentation. “The priority has to be for Lebanese – foreign workers are here and have rights – but we need to organise them better,” she said. In Lebanon, “foreign workers” mostly refers to Palestinian and Syrian refugees, of which there are roughly 175,000 and one million, respectively. The vast majority of Palestinians in Lebanon were born in Lebanon but do not have work permits due to restrictive conditions and a lack of personal documentation. Meanwhile, only a couple thousand Syrians have work permits even though around half a million of them work in Lebanon, former Labour Minister Camille Abousleiman said last year. Inspectors have issued thousands of fines and warnings and closed businesses since the crackdown was launched in July of last year. Palestinians in particular have vehemently rejected it and launched a series of protests and strikes over the summer. Abousleiman insisted he was simply implementing Lebanese laws, which ban Palestinian refugees from working in roughly 70 professions and from owning property. Palestinians, meanwhile, have argued they are unjustly targeted by the campaign because, as refugees, many don’t possess the basic documents necessary to obtain labour permits.
Reforming the kafala system
Lebanese and foreign activists have long demanded that Lebanon reform its kafala system for migrant workers, which has repeatedly been shown to facilitate employer abuse. Under the system, workers can only terminate their contracts with employer approval, which can foster forced labour conditions.
Abousleiman had likened the system to “modern-day slavery” and brought in top rights groups and the International Labour Organization to reform it. Just as the Lebanese uprising began last fall, he had been set to launch the first phase – a new contract that would extend the labour protections that are granted to Lebanese citizens and give them to migrant workers. Yammine said she was taking the torch from Abousleiman on the issue, including on the new labour contract that she said is part of the ministry’s emergency plan. “I’m obviously totally against slavery of these people, we need to treat them well,” she said.
Israeli Security head: Stifle Hezbollah financially to press Iran/US official: ‘Maximum pressure’ on Tehran has been ‘tremendously successful’
Yonah Jeremy Bob/Jerusalem Post/Januiary 30/2020
US President Donald Trump is missing an opportunity to change Iran’s behavior by pressuring Hezbollah financially as a weak link, former National Security Council chief Brig.-Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland said on Thursday.
Speaking from the INSS Annual International Conference in Tel Aviv, Eiland said the new Lebanese government is racing around the world to foreign governments and banks to obtain enough aid to avoid a broad financial default.
“This is exactly the time that the answer from all American and EU institutions should be to tell the Lebanese government: we will give you loans based on certain economic conditions, and… you must be committed to at least two modest moves,” said Eiland.
The former national security council chief said that his two conditions would be: “1) sign and commit that there will be no production of precision missiles on Lebanese land, and; 2) whatever arms Hezbollah already has, is yours, but a commitment not to import more weapons from Syria and Iran.
“If the Lebanese people understand that this is the only way their economy will recover… that Hezbollah agree to these conditions, then Iran will need to comply,” he stated.
“Hezbollah is a political movement and it depends on internal legitimacy among the people of Lebanon. This is the right way to push Iran – not directly against Iran, but to do it in another area.”
Earlier at the conference, INSS Iran expert Raz Zimmt pressed US State Department sanctions official David Peyman about whether the Trump “maximum pressure” campaign has succeeded or failed.
Zimmt pointed out that some are saying that as of January, Iran is now closer to a nuclear bomb and more aggressive in the Middle East than it was before the pressure campaign started.
Peyman responded: “We only reimposed sanctions fully 14 months ago and additional waivers only expired about eight months ago. That is a short amount of time. In that short amount of time, it has been tremendously successful.”
“Iran is now telling Iraqi Shi’ite militias ‘we won’t fund you anymore. Iran has cut its defense budget by 29%. The IRGC has been cut by 17%. Hezbollah is looking for donations. 17 out of 18 Iranian pension funds are failing,” stated Peyman.
Further, Peyman asserted that the EU was now threatening Iran with potential snapback sanctions and that the Islamic Republic’s killing of 1,500 of its own people showed that the ruling regime is more isolated and shaken than ever before.
“Iran has a choice: it can continue its malign activities or continue on life support,” said Peyman, implying that Tehran may be able to continue in its current condition, but that it is taking a heavy toll on the regime.
In contrast, French Ambassador to Israel Eric Danon said, “Iran knows how to suffer. They will outlast the Trump sanctions… They are incredibly resilient,” adding also that it would be hard to force Iran to change its policies as long as China and Russia still backed it.
When Zimmt raised the possibility of France’s compromise of a partial Iranian return to nuclear compliance in return for a partial sanctions’ waiver by the US, followed by talks, Peyman rejected it out of hand.
In terms of deterrence, former senior Mossad analyst and current INSS expert Sima Shine said she believed that Trump had restored a favorable balance not only by killing IRGC Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani, but also by his threat to strike 52 Iranian targets.
After the US killed Soleimani in early January, Iran and the US each issued threats, and Trump threatened a major escalation of striking 52 Iranian targets if Tehran’s retaliation led to additional dead US troops.
Ultimately, Iranian affiliated forces fired missiles on US bases in Iraq, injuring dozens of troops, but killing none. Trump declared the crisis over, and while many estimate that the Islamic Republic may clandestinely carry out additional proxy revenge attacks, there has been no additional public retaliation.
Going forward, Eiland said he expects Iran will try to wait out Trump, hoping that a more friendly Democrat will beat him in the November presidential election.
In the event Trump wins, Eiland said Iran might seek a compromise if it could at least declare in public that it only made minor concessions as a gesture of goodwill.
Summing up the Trump administration’s Iran strategy, Iran expert Holly Dagres said it was “like a Jackson Pollock painting” in being chaotic and inconsistent. She predicted he would eventually need to agree to a deal not much different from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal he pulled out of.
Former Bush administration official Michael Doran credited Trump with realizing that, “the US is a hell of a lot more powerful than Iran,” and that if Tehran uses proxies to hit US forces in Iraq, he can draw blood in a way that is more painful to the Islamic Republic in order to bring it to heel.
What Are the Top Three Priorities for Lebanon’s New Government in the Coming Weeks?
Michael Young/Carnegie MEC/January 30/2020
A regular survey of experts on matters relating to Middle Eastern and North African politics and security.
Nasser al-Saidi | President of Nasser Saidi & Associates, former Lebanese economy minister
The Lebanese government must focus, first, on a macro-fiscal-financial-banking program. Lebanon’s key macroeconomic indicators point to a severe economic, financial, banking, currency, and current account crisis: a fiscal deficit of 15 percent of GDP and climbing; a sovereign debt equivalent to 160 percent or more of GDP; inflation nearing 30 percent; a depreciation of the Lebanese pound in the parallel market of around 40 percent; and officially declared international reserves of $31.5 billion, while Morgan Stanley estimated net reserves at $11.5 billion at the end of 2019.
The immediate step required is for a ministerial crisis task force (not another “committee”) tasked to prepare a macro-fiscal-financial-banking reform plan, in coordination with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to include sovereign and central bank debt restructuring. The aim is to rapidly, within the next four weeks, establish an Economic Stabilization and Liquidity Fund for Lebanon, multilaterally funded by the IMF and World Bank, along with the Paris IV participants amounting to some $25 billion in order to stabilize the economy, support growth promoting infrastructure investment (in partnership with the private sector), fiscal reform, balance of payments support, banking sector (including the central bank) restructuring and debt restructuring, by providing guarantees of principal of restructured, longer maturity debt.
Second, the government must provide a social safety net. The sharp drop in economic activity (given the lack of government, business, and consumer confidence amid growing protests) has led to growing layoffs and unemployment, business closures and bankruptcies, falling incomes, a severe decline in household consumption, thereby pushing more people into poverty. The World Bank estimates the extreme poverty rate, that is people below the food poverty level, at 20 percent of the population (760,000)*, while 41 percent of the population (1,500,000) is below the poverty line. The government needs to set-up a targeted social safety net (via cash transfers mainly) to provide support for the elderly and most vulnerable segments during the painful reform process, with the aim of lowering inequality and reducing poverty in the medium term.
Third, the government must introduce an anti-corruption and stolen asset recovery program. Endemic corruption, bribery, nepotism are a cancer eating and destroying Lebanon’s economy and its social and political fabric. Lebanon is the 37th most corrupt nation out of total 180 countries. Protestors have, justifiably, focused on high-level corruption. The new government must prioritize combating corruption at all levels by appointing and empowering a special anti-corruption prosecutor and unit and implementing an anti-corruption program with respect to taxation and revenue collection as well as reforming government procurement law and procedures. In addition, the state must recover assets that have illicitly and criminally appropriated by politicians and their associates.
Recovering stolen assets can be a wealth-generating strategy if implemented properly with complete transparency. Lebanon will require international cooperation and building appropriate capacity to support asset recovery. It must abolish the Banking Secrecy Law of 1956, lifting the veil on the misappropriated monies and assets of politicians, their cronies, and civil servants.
Mona Alami | Senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council and Trends Research covering Middle East politics and economic issues
The new Lebanese government faces major challenges in the months ahead. Its three main priorities are undoubtedly addressing the economic crisis, adopting a foreign policy more reassuring to the international community and Gulf Arab states, as well as reconciling competing political agendas within the cabinet to avoid paralysis.
Addressing the economic collapse requires that the new government secure much needed liquidity to finance Lebanon’s basic needs in the coming year, estimated by economists at a minimum of $5 billion. The cabinet will also have to take measures to limit the devaluation of the Lebanese pound, reduce the country’s debt liability, with a possible restructuring, as well as create a clear legal framework for capital controls—so far applied haphazardly and illegally by the banking sector. Unlocking international donor funds will also require the implementation of reforms envisioned by the CEDRE conference held in Paris in April 2018 to assist Lebanon, including ones linked to fighting corruption.
Adopting a more appeasing foreign policy is thus of the utmost importance in the next phase, as the new government needs all the help it can get, more specifically from Arab countries. Finally, the government will have to harmonize dissonant voices within its ranks to avoid paralysis. Government deadlock would only accelerate the collapse of the economy and increase political instability.
Daniel Azzi | Retired chairman and CEO of a Lebanese bank
The government should immediately pass a clear and transparent capital controls law to replace the capricious practices currently being imposed by banks, which are decentralized to the branch level and riddled with favoritism. The cherry on top would be to apply this retroactively to politically exposed persons, or those connected with them, going back to October 17, 2019, when the uprising began.
Do not default on Eurobonds. In the future, when we rebuild from the carnage of this period, we will need those foreigners who loaned us money in the past. Come clean with the Lebanese people about the reality of their deposits, among other things. Announce a specific plan of action to remove uncertainty, which is causing a great deal of instability in the market and the street. Once people are clear on the extent of the bad news, they can deal with it much more easily than today, when rumors and guesswork are driving reactions.
Pass and announce a haircut law that primarily limits the damage to 0.3 percent of depositors—circa 6,000 people with an average wealth of over $10 million, proportional to the excess interest received above a reasonable amount (say 7 percent). Ultimately this interest was not created from a legitimate cash-producing enterprise, but, like a Ponzi scheme, from the principal of newer investors.
Maha Yahya | Director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut
Three actions must be taken in parallel. First, the government must form an empowered economic emergency crisis team that would include key ministries and top Lebanese experts willing to serve. The role of this commission would be to put in place a rescue plan focused on a policy mix most suitable for Lebanon, but based on equitable burden sharing and the preservation of the wealth especially of the middle and lower middle class. The aim would be to stem a deepening recession that could reach double digits if nothing is done and slow the debilitating repercussions on the Lebanese, including expanding poverty. This would include controlling currency devaluation, addressing ad hoc capital controls, and calling for a debt moratorium. It would also include preserving remaining financial reserves to support the purchase of basic goods and other primary spending and putting in place a social protection plan and an efficient, environmentally sound plan to address the electricity sector.
Second, Lebanon must seek external support based on an economic rescue and reform plan. It needs an immediate dispersal of cash so that the downward spiral of the economy doesn’t spin completely out of control. Such funding is most likely to come from the International Monetary Fund and Western donors.
Third, the government must close the trust gap with the Lebanese. To do so, it can support the independence of the judiciary and commence work on a new electoral law. The pain the Lebanese will need to bear for decades of mismanagement of their country’s resources can only be softened if there is a credible political process that tells them never again.
* The figure has been corrected, as the original figure of 250,000 was wrong.
Lebanon’s protests: The limit of rage
Habib Battahi/Al Jazeera/January 30/2020
A zero-sum approach to Lebanese politics will undermine the protest movement.
As a group of protesters tore down the iron gates outside the prime minister’s office in downtown Beirut last weekend, battling riot police, water cannon and tear gas for the third time in a week, I wondered what would happen if the police simply stood back and let them inside.
Would they bash through the ornately carved wooden doors of the 200-year-old Ottoman palace, spray painting its luxurious interiors with anarchist signs and graffiti cursing politicians’ mothers as they had done throughout the upscale downtown district? Would they shatter the stained glass windows and gilded chandeliers or stain its shiny Italian marble floors and fountains?Gutted by the civil war, the seat of government known as the Grand Serail was burned and looted, only to be restored in the late 1990s at a cost of millions of dollars. This came at a time when many Lebanese were still reeling from the war, waiting in long lines for water or sitting in the dark because basic infrastructure had not been repaired.
Tarnishing this symbol of state power and elitism would surely help blow off steam having endured so much pain and suffering and police brutality. But then what?
The last three months of street protests have been relatively peaceful, drawing women, men and children of all ages from towns and villages that had never before witnessed protests. But this has changed over the past two weeks as much smaller numbers of mostly young men have turned to rioting in central Beirut amid an uptick in police assaults and arrests. The masked protesters have destroyed ATMs, broken shop windows, and peeled granite tiles off the facades of buildings to crush and hurl them at police.
But how will destroying public and private property set the country on a path towards a brighter future? Will it solve the problem of continuing electricity and water shortages, rampant poverty, pollution and high unemployment? Will it stem the rapidly devaluing Lebanese currency, alleviate a crippling national debt or lift capital controls issued by local banks that have prevented the average citizen from withdrawing more than a few hundred dollars per month?
While the protests have already resulted in some important changes, it is increasingly difficult to imagine how all of their demands can be met. Beyond a reasonable call for a change in government leadership and a vague fight against corruption, these demands also include a far less realistic call for abolishing the country’s entire political system and preventing any previously elected political party from participating in government.
Meanwhile, the increasingly violent tactics on the part of a group of a few hundred rioters – whose small numbers pale in comparison to the tens of thousands that once filled the streets – are clearly unpopular with many, if not most of the Lebanese people, as they remain at home, watching the destructive scenes unfold on television.
In the first two weeks of the uprising, the fall of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri was a major victory. This came after hundreds of thousands of people filled public squares and blocked highways. It was an unprecedented euphoric moment in the history of Lebanon, where only political elites have had a say in who runs the country.
The resignation proved that there was power in the streets, a power outside the political system that could compete in elections.
This incredible new phenomenon was reinforced when crowds filled the streets once again after two well-connected businessmen were successively suggested as Hariri’s replacement and eventually forced aside.
Now after weeks of delays, a new government has finally been formed consisting mostly of college professors, almost none of whom has ever served in government. Some have pointed out that at least half of the new ministers served as advisers or supporters of past politicians, mostly tied to the party of the president and his allies.
But it would be a mistake to assume this latest government is no different than the previous ones. In line with protesters’ demands, it is one third smaller, contains far more women, no familiar faces and even a few ministers who have a proven track record of experience in their fields, a rarity in Lebanese politics.
Nevertheless, some have responded to the formation of the government with the most popular slogan of the revolution, “All means all!”, ie any new government should be completely free from the influence of the dozen or so political parties that have ruled Lebanon for the past several decades, the only political parties the country has ever known. In their street rallies, protesters have lambasted the entire political class as thieves and thugs.
Most Lebanese may partially agree with this sentiment out of frustration. But such sweeping generalisations also obscure the peculiar arrangement that is post-war power-sharing in Lebanon: a delicate “no victor, no vanquished” system where no party or administration is completely in control of the state.
Owing to this arrangement, government projects and services are regularly halted, not just because of incompetence or negligence, but also due to ruthless competition and sabotage between rival parties over lucrative infrastructure contracts. They are left to battle each other in a vacuum of any central arbitration or regulatory organisation that would have a final say. This means Lebanon is not really a failed state, as many foreign observers like to claim, but barely a state at all.
The argument that banning any person or party that has ever served in a country’s politics will alleviate its myriad of dysfunctions fails to address deeper structural problems. These include an unproductive economy that generates few products or jobs beyond services and tourism frequently beset by wars and instability; a lack of long-term planning due to the short-lived nature of Lebanese governments, often dissolved within a year over competing foreign interests; and broken, underfunded and understaffed state institutions never rebuilt after the war.
The “all means all” mentality also discounts the views of a significant portion of the population that has repeatedly elected the current parties to power, dependent upon their well-established patronage networks that provide social services where the state is absent.
The language many activists use in rallying against “the corrupt” and for “the clean” is not entirely new or revolutionary behaviour. It is similar to the zero-sum rhetoric of Lebanese politicians castigating their opponents on talk shows. What this superficial discourse and deliberate ambiguity always lacked were the details of a political alternative that could ensure meaningful accountability.
Most of the young protesters battling riot police in the streets of Beirut today were born after the civil war. While some claim they are fighting to feed their families and pay their rent, others come from more privileged backgrounds, donning sophisticated gear and gas masks.
They are just waking up to the difficult reality Lebanon has faced for its entire existence as a weak, post-colonial proxy state with few resources and very powerful, manipulative neighbours. They should know that the ruling parties they loathe also came to power through a belief in violent confrontation.
Many of them were militia leaders who also saw themselves as revolutionaries. Many did not come from wealthy, well-connected families – they seized what they felt was owed to them by the feudal landowning class or other militias.
These parties now seem to be looking for a way to capitalise on the chaos in the streets. Some militant protesters have admitted that they have seen party loyalists join the confrontations. This is not to say that others have come of their own will and out of sheer frustration.
But if protesters want to see meaningful political and social change, they should resist the urge to fall into simplistic explanations and demagoguery, which will only undermine the protest movement and its impressive gains. It is distressing to hear that some are willing to destroy all state structures to meet their objectives, which has led to the violent and tragic downfall of so many opposition movements across the region.
It will take research and steady dedication to pinpoint problems and put forward concrete proposals to gain the support of the majority of the population. Some are already working on this and have been for years. Their efforts should be encouraged, not discarded as weak or even treasonous.
One of the greatest assets of the revolution has been a renewed sense of defiance towards ruling elites and demands for their accountability. But who can be held accountable if there is no one in office?
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
*Habib Battah is an investigative journalist and founder of the news site beirutreport.com.
Trump’s Middle East plan leaves Palestinians in Lebanon hopeless
Timour Azhari/Al Jazeera/January 30/2020
Palestinian refugees in Lebanese camps pessimistic as Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ includes no right of return.
Beirut, Lebanon – Abu Khaled has never been to his hometown of Jaffa. His parents were expelled from the port city along with about 120,000 other residents when it came under Israeli control following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. They eventually settled in Beirut, in what is today the Shatila Palestinian Refugee Camp, where Abu Khaled was born in 1959.
The father of two said he would die a happy man if he could one day see the town of his ancestors. But under the “Peace to Prosperity” plan released by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, that prospect appears remoter than ever.
Under the plan, also referred to as the “deal of the century”, the majority of the territory that is now Israel and the occupied West Bank would formally become part of the Israeli, with illegal settlements and the Jordan Valley annexed. The occupied Golan Heights would also be annexed to Israel.
A second entity, referred to as the “future state of Palestine”, appears on a conceptual map as an archipelago of disjointed territories connected by a number of roads and tunnels. It is wholly surrounded by Israel, except for a small sliver of territory in Gaza that borders Egypt.
The proposed Palestinian state does not include Jaffa, one of the oldest port cities in the world, to which roughly 15 percent of Palestinian refugees trace their heritage. Palestinians would have no right of return there under the plan.Instead, Abu Khaled could remain in Lebanon, go to the new Palestinian state, or apply to resettle in a number of undisclosed countries that are part of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation.
He said the humiliation the proposal entails is too great for it to be taken seriously. “I’m very pessimistic, I don’t think we’ll ever go back in my lifetime,” he told Al Jazeera.
“Neither is Palestine going to be liberated by force – that’s all nonsense – nor will we go there as free people via airplane,” he said.
“This plan is rejected by everyone, all we can do is wait for something better.”In response to the announcement of the plan, Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon announced a general strike on Wednesday. Schools and shops were closed in at least two, including the biggest Palestinian camp, Ain al-Hilweh in southern Sidon.
There, protesters burned American and Israeli flags while local Palestinian security forces brandished weapons.
“The US-Israeli conspiracy led by Trump and [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu will not pass, and will fail due to Palestinian opposition and the clear stance from Jerusalem and refugees,” Maher Shabaita, the local secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a televised statement from Ain al-Hilweh.
Demonstrators set fire to a makeshift Israeli and U.S. flag during a protest against U.S. President Donald TrumpÕs Middle East peace plan, in Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, near Sidon
Restrictions in Lebanon
While there were at one point roughly half a million Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, a 2018 survey found there were just some 175,000 living there now. Conditions have long been difficult for Palestinians in a country that has imposed restrictions on everything from place of residence to the types of jobs they can perform, under an official policy that sees them as short-term guests even though most were born and raised in Lebanon.
“I feel more Lebanese than Palestinian – this doesn’t mean I would let Palestine go, but of course my life would change if I could get Lebanese citizenship,” 29-year old Abu Hasan told Al Jazeera.
Abu Hasan is ancestrally from the Palestinian town of Saffuriyeh, which was all but destroyed after it came under Israeli control in 1948.
Because he does not have Lebanese citizenship, Abu Hasan said he was fired from his job at a glass factory after his bosses feared being fined during a labour ministry crackdown on foreign workers.
Trump’s Middle East plan denies Palestinians right of return (2:42)
Palestinians are prevented from working in dozens of professions, ranging from engineering and medicine to driving a taxi and fishing.
These restrictions forced Abu Khaled’s son, an engineer, to travel to Germany for work, while his daughter, who studied to be a pharmacist, has been unable to find a job. “As soon as they see ‘Palestinian’ on the CV, they decline,” he said.
Making matters worse, Lebanon is in the midst of its worst economic crisis in a generation, with scores of businesses closing down, hundreds of workers losing their jobs and thousands of salaries slashed.
“There is no mercy for Lebanese in Lebanon, so how do you think it is for us?” Abu Hasan said. “We’re stuck here as the country collapses, and I have no hope we’ll be able to leave. I will die here just like my father and grandfather.”
The restrictions on Palestinian participation in political and economic life in Lebanon have long been justified by successive governments on sectarian grounds. Palestinians are mostly Sunni Muslim, while Lebanon is roughly a third Sunni, a third Shia Muslim and a third Christian, and has a political system based on the representation of sects.
Christian groups have long opposed permanent Palestinian settlement in the country over fears it would curb their political influence.
This means the majority of Palestinians in Lebanon are forced to live in cramped camps with poor sanitation and public services, much like Beirut’s Shatila camp. Inside, a thicket of electricity wires hangs between crumbling, pock-marked concrete buildings, many several-storeys high despite having no foundations. Tarpaulins are draped over the electricity wires to shield the streets below from rain. The camp’s shallow sewage system overflows, putrid water spilling into alleyways crowded with stalls, motorcycle traffic and pedestrians.
Billion-dollar ‘bribe’ Aside from its political dimension, the Trump proposal also includes an economic plan that offers tens of billions of dollars in funds to Palestinians and nations in the region that host Palestinian refugees, including Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon.
Half of the funds would come in the form of grants, the rest in subsidised loans and private investment. A total of $6.3bn is earmarked for Lebanon, approximately $4.6bn in loans, $1.2bn in private investment and $450m in grants. The proposal does not specify the conditions under which this money would be unlocked. The bulk of the money would go on improving Lebanon’s crumbling highways and building a rail network – with the potential for a “regional railway network” – collectively priced at $5bn, mostly in loans.
A further $1bn would go to expanding Beirut’s airport and seaports in Beirut and Tripoli. Lebanon is badly in need of foreign help. It is the third-most indebted nation in the world as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) and a dollar shortage have made it increasingly likely Beirut will soon default on debt repayments.Experts have said the country may need a $20-25bn bailout to emerge from the crisis.
Still, Lebanese leaders unanimously rejected the Trump plan, with House Speaker Nabih Berri likening it to a “bribe”.
President Michel Aoun called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to personally convey his opposition to it, while new Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti told Sky News Arabia: “No one gives up their national identity in exchange for material temptations. The Palestinian people cannot be dispossessed in exchange for financial aid.”
