Khazen

Syria, Lebanon to implement electricity network sharing

Syria and Lebanon discussed Sunday the joint cooperation and implementation of in the electricity network cooperation.


During a meeting with Lebanese Minister of Energy Mohammed Fneish, Electricity Minister Moneib Sa’em al-Dahr described the cooperation between the two states in field of electricity energy as “productive and it brings benefit to both Syrian and Lebanese people.” “Syria has been committed to every item in every agreement particularly of this agreement with Lebanon,” the minister said.

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Lebanese economy recovering after political crisis

AFP, August 16, 2005 BEIRUT — The Lebanese economy is showing signs of recovery six months after the assassination of ex-premier and construction tycoon Rafiq Al Hariri and the ensuing political crisis that shook the country, analysts say. Hariri had spearheaded Lebanon’s post-war economic revitalization and his death in a February bomb blast on the Beirut seafront delivered a fresh blow to an economy already battered by a long-running civil war that ended in 1990. “The disappearance of a man whose name had been linked since 1992 to the reconstruction of Lebanon, which was emerging from 15 years of destruction and war, had a negative psychological impact on investment, production and consumption, although that impact only lasted a limited time,” said analyst Marwan Barakat of Audi Bank. The five-time prime minister’s sudden death led to political upheaval, international pressure for change in Lebanon and the eventual April withdrawal of Syrian troops after a presence of nearly three decades. However analysts say damaging economic consequences of the turmoil have been lessened by a smooth political transition and promises of reform by a newly elected parliament. “Despite negative indicators in the first half of 2005 compared to those of the preceding year, the Lebanese economy has emerged with relatively limited damage in light of the tragedy,” Barakat said.

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Lebanese MP warns of more assassinations

 BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug. 14 (UPI) — A Lebanese opposition Parliament member warned Sunday that four more leaders, including himself, will face assassination attempts  The Lebanese al-Balad daily quoted former exiled Gen. Michel Aoun, head of the Free Patriotic Movement, as saying the “assassination of these figures will create a security problem and internal sedition in […]

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UN to question Syrians over Hariri death

BEIRUT (Reuters) – A United Nations investigator intends to question Syrian officials directly as part of a probe into the killing six months ago of Lebanese former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, a U.N. official said on Saturday. Detlev Mehlis will also probably ask for more time than the designated three months to complete his findings, the official said. “Detlev Mehlis needs to directly interview Syrian officials concerned. He needs to visit Syria for this purpose,” U.N. spokesman Najib Friji told Reuters. “The Syrians have agreed in principle to cooperate with Mehlis but he has yet to receive an official Syrian response to visit the country.” Mehlis, a veteran German prosecutor, is leading a 50-member team investigating the February 14 bombing that killed Hariri and 20 others in Beirut, throwing Lebanon into its worst crisis since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. Many Lebanese hold Syria, which controlled Lebanese politics and security in the 15 years following the end of the civil war, at least indirectly responsible for Hariri’s killing. Damascus denies any role but withdrew its troops from Lebanon in April, ending a 29-year military presence amid mass anti-Syrian street protests and intense international pressure. The U.N. Security Council ordered the investigation, which began in mid-June, after a U.N. fact-finding mission found Lebanon’s own inquiry to be “seriously flawed.”

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Lebanese Arrest Muslim Cleric

By JOE PANOSSIAN, Associated Press Writer, BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanese police have arrested Omar Bakri, the Islamic cleric who is being investigated in Britain for his remarks on the London bombings, security officials said Thursday. The officials refused to say when and where Bakri was arrested. But the local Future TV channel reported that he was arrested Thursday as he left after giving an interview at its building in western Beirut. The station said Bakri was told that the General Security department wants to question him about “information regarding his entry into Lebanon.” In London, the Foreign Office said there was no British connection to the detention and no warrant for Bakri’s arrest. Britain’s Home Office declined to say whether it had lodged an extradition request. However, such a move was considered unlikely as the government had been considering how to deport or bar Bakri from Britain. Bakri is regarded as an Islamic extremist in Britain, where he has lived for 20 years. He left on Saturday and flew to Lebanon to see his mother. “Enjoy your holiday — make it a long one,” British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said Tuesday when asked about Bakri at a news conference.  Bakri had told the British Broadcasting Corp. that he plans to return after six weeks, but he would not return if the government told him he would not be welcome. “Good,” Prescott said when told that. The cleric founded the now-disbanded radical Islamic group al-Muhajiroun, which came under scrutiny in Britain, particularly after some of its members praised the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.


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Lebanon sees tourism slump

Lebanon’s tourism minister has said that the security situation this year had scared off tourists just rediscovering the former war zone. Joseph Sarkis said the number of visitors was down by up to 20% so far this year, after the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in February sent Lebanon into its worst crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. A series of bombings have since shaken seaside and mountain resort towns as well as a Beirut nightspot, causing few deaths but scaring ordinary Lebanese as well as tourists. A journalist and a politician were also killed in recent months, adding to the climate of fear.”What is happening today is the cumulative result of a series of security incidents that began six months ago or even before the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri,” he said.The result is that numbers are down … In comparison to last year, when we had around 1.5 million … visitors, I expect this year, 2005, to be some 20% below. We will definitely make 1 million but probably not 1.5 million.”
Dubbed the Paris of the Orient before the civil war turned its upmarket seaside strip into a battleground for militias and its hotel towers into snipers’ nests, Beirut had begun to regain its old allure in recent years.

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Lebanon assigns body to draw up new election law

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s new government has set up a national commission to draw up a new election law in a move widely seen as a crucial step toward political reform after the withdrawal of Syrian forces from the country. The cabinet approved on Monday night the formation of the 12-member half-Muslim half-Christian committee headed by Fouad Butros, a widely respected former foreign minister. The United States, European Union and the United Nations have urged Lebanon to press ahead with political and economic reforms after Syria ended its 29-year military presence in April under pressure after the February killing of ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri.Elections in May and June were conducted on the basis of a law adopted in 2000 which had been drawn up to help local allies of Damascus retain their positions in the political status quo.In a statement issued after Monday’s meeting, the government said the commission was charged with “preparing an election law in line with the constitution and the national consensus accord that ensures the best possible and fairest representation.” Before submitting its draft proposal, it will hold talks with the country’s party leaders, political, intellectual and spiritual figures as well as international bodies.Many Lebanese leaders had criticized the 2000 law but said there was no time to change it before the elections. The vote, which ended on June 19, brought forward an anti-Syria majority to the 128-member parliament for the first time.

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Lebanon’s ‘old guard’ is still alive

By Farid Elias El Khazen,  The recent parliamentary elections held in Lebanon in May and June came at a time of drastic change in postwar Lebanese politics. It was the first parliamentary election held after the withdrawal of Syrian troops, and it followed the international community’s renewed interest in Lebanese politics embodied in the passing of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 on September 2, 2004. The elections were also the culmination of events that marked Lebanese politics following the prolongation of President Emile Lahoud’s term for three years in violation of Resolution 1559. The status quo that had prevailed in Lebanese politics since the end of the war in 1990 was shattered by the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, followed by approval of Resolution 1595, which established an international independent investigation commission to look into Hariri’s assassination; and by the “Independence Intifada” that brought together over a million Lebanese on March 14, from all communities, to demand a withdrawal of Syria’s military and intelligence apparatus. Notwithstanding these momentous developments, the electoral law that governed the recent elections was the same one used in the 2000 elections, and differed little from the electoral laws of the two previous elections in 1992 and 1996, both dictated by Syria. These laws, which created large constituencies and involved extensive gerrymandering, were designed to influence the outcome of elections so that they targeted specific political groups and communities, notably the Christian communities.

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