BEIRUT, 30 March (IRIN) – A UN Security Council (UNSC) decision authorising UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to hold negotiations with Beirut on the establishment of a tribunal to try suspects in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri received positive reactions among some circles. "This is a positive step towards revealing the truth behind Hariri’s death," said Michael Young, a Beirut-based political analyst.
May Chidiac, a Lebanese journalist, who also is a popular television presenter, whose news bulletins and Sunday programmes – Naharkoum Sa
Chairman of the Arab Summit, Sudanese President Omar al-Basheer, appealed on Tuesday for the stabilization of the relationship between Syria and Lebanon and rejected US pressure on Syria. "Out of solidarity, we have to look to Syria and Lebanon and suppor them in the face of pressure that Syria is facing through unjust laws … and we support a free will and independent decision for Lebanon," al-Basheer said.
The chairman of last year’s summit, Algerian President Abdel Aziz Bouteflika, said that Syria and Lebanon enjoy "extraordinary ties." "As much as we are keen on revealing the truth about the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al Hariri, we also call on our brothers in Syria and Lebanon to maintain their brotherly close ties that bind the two brother nations since old times," Bouteflika said. The 18th Arab League Summit kicked off with key Arab leaders absent from the meetings that are expected to tackle a number of thorny regional issues. The Arab foreign ministers who met two days earlier to set the agenda of the summit had rejected any US or Israeli pressure on Syria and stressed Lebanon’s right to sovereignty.
By Henri Mamarbachi – BEIRUT Lebanon’s leaders held fresh talks on Monday focusing on one of the most contentious issues dividing supporters and opponents of Syria – the fate of President Emile Lahoud whom the parliamentary majority wants to oust.
The talks, which resumed after a five-day break, are aimed at ending Beirut’s political paralysis which set in after Syria pulled out its troops after dominating life in its tiny neighbour for some three decades. "Talks focused on one essential subject, that of the presidency of the republic … and this point remains on the agenda for the next session, next Monday," parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri told journalists after the meeting which lasted fewer than three hours. Earlier at the start of the talks, Samir Geagea, head of the former Christian militia, the Lebanese Forces,, told journalists: "We do not expect that the remaining problems will be resolved during Monday’s session." The Lebanese newspapers al-Balad and as-Safir both suggested that the question of the presidency would have to wait for decisions taken at the Arab summit in Khartoum this week.
The United Nations has said it did not expect
Roed-Larsen will present a report in April on progress in the implementation of the Security Council resolution 1559, which demands that foreign troops should leave Lebanon and militias there disarm.His comments came at the end of a 20-day tour that took the Norwegian diplomat around Arab capitals as well as to Paris, Washington, London, Moscow and Beijing to discuss Hizbollah’s weapons and the armed Palestinian factions based in Lebanon.Hizbollah, whose attacks helped to end Israel’s 22-year occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000, was the only Lebanese militia to retain its arms after the 1975-1990 civil war.
Touch
(Dr. Muhamad Mugraby: Press Conference,
The purpose of this gathering is to brief you on the case you read about in the news, i. e. my prosecution before the military court, Beirut, by reason of the testimony I gave on the conditions of human rights in Lebanon, at the European Parliament, Brussels, on November 4, 2003, i. e. two and a half years ago. Such briefing is particularly required because what I am involved in is not a private but a public matter related to the very essence of the state of knowledge, justice and freedom of expression. You may access the full text of the said testimony, without the questions and answers, from the internet on the following URL: www.combar.info/news/11042003.pdf.
Because this is a public matter, the European Union, which is bound to Lebanon by two international treaties that obligate all their parties to fully uphold and respect human rights, made several official objections to the Lebanese Government, including a letter on behalf of the European Parliament, copy of which is available here, and six international human rights organizations issued strong statements, copies of which are also available here. In addition, the Lebanese Society of Human rights issued a statement and member of the European Parliament, Paolo Casaca, issued two interrogatories to the European Commission and the European Council. Finally, the British MP, Mr. Julian Brazier, who is a friend of
BEIRUT, 21 March (IRIN) – Beirut’s impressive downtown district reflects much of the wealth and development that Lebanon has enjoyed since the end of the civil war in 1990. But a few minutes’ drive to the capital’s southern and northern fringes reveals a vastly different reality, featuring extreme poverty and underdevelopment. Residents and NGOs working to alleviate poverty put much of the blame for the shabby condition of the suburbs on government inaction. "We’re second class citizens," said Youssef Hassan, a 48 year-old resident of the southern suburb of Hay al-Selom. "Officials forget we exist below the poverty line."
BEIRUT, 20 Mar 2006 (IRIN) – The in-absentia trial of Lebanese lawyer and human rights activist Muhamad Mugraby began on Monday, in a military court. He is accused of slander for having criticised the authorities use of military courts to prosecute government critics.
By Marwan Kanafani and Elizabeth Schiffrin, WALKING through the unpaved streets of Ain el-Helweh