by NAJIA HOUSSARI — arabnews.com — Ghada Aoun has six criminal cases and 28 complaints against her Judge Ghada Aoun had been investigating the Mecattaf money exchange company and Societe Generale Bank for allegedly withdrawing US dollars from the market and shipping the funds abroad

BEIRUT: A Lebanese judge who defied a decision dismissing her from an investigation into possible currency export breaches was Tuesday referred to the Judicial Inspection Authority over her actions. Judge Ghada Aoun had been investigating the Mecattaf money exchange company and Societe Generale Bank for allegedly withdrawing US dollars from the market and shipping the funds abroad. She staged two raids on a currency exchange earlier this month, defying a decision from Public Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oweidat to dismiss her from the case. There have been six criminal cases and 28 complaints filed against Aoun.

Lebanon’s Supreme Judicial Council met the judge on Tuesday, deciding to refer her to the authority and asking it to take the necessary measures. “Any investigation or judicial case will be followed up to the end by the competent judiciary whoever the judge may be and regardless of any considerations outside of the judicial framework,” the council said, emphasizing that judicial authority was exercised by all judges. “It is their responsibility to preserve and protect it, abide by their oath and not mix between their duty and issues that do not come in line with the nature of proper judicial work.” Aoun’s actions gained political traction when she was accompanied on one of the raids by supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), the political party led by MP Gebran Bassil. A number of FPM supporters accompanied Aoun on Tuesday to the vicinity of the Justice Palace in Beirut. They waited for her on the street while she attended the council session, which lasted for 40 minutes and took place amid strict security measures taken by the army and Internal Security Forces.

By Joseph Haboush, Al Arabya — The number two official in Lebanon’s parliament Monday called on the Lebanese army to take over all state institutions and to dissolve the country’s constitution. “All Lebanese agree on the [transparency] of the Lebanese army … and I call on it to take the place of the president, parliament […]

By Kareem Chehayeb — middleeasteye.net — Ever since the Lebanese government appointed him as the army’s commander in March 2017, General Joseph Aoun has seldom commented on the country’s current affairs. But four years later, his voice has been getting louder. Speaking in a dimly lit auditorium last month, Aoun scolded the Lebanese government for cutting the army’s budget in a scathing speech. “Do they want the army or not? Do you want the army to stand on its own two feet or not?” said Aoun angrily, denouncing allegations from unnamed political officials that the military has wasted resources. “We reject anyone who places their hands on the rights of the soldiers.” There have been repeated waves of protests against the Lebanese political system over the past two years over its failure to control inflation and provide fundamental services to the population.

The local currency, the Lebanese lira, has been plummeting since late 2019. Once pegged at 1,500 to the dollar, it has since lost more than 80 percent of its value. Meanwhile, food prices are skyrocketing – by over 400 percent so far, faster than anywhere else on the planet. Lebanese soldiers, once working a rare job in the country that guarantees a semblance of economic security, now earn monthly salaries worth less than $120. That is roughly 25 percent of the cash-strapped country’s minimum wage. Uniform belts are tightening. In June, the army stopped serving meat to its staff. And in February, France delivered $60,000 of food aid to the military, which appears to contain only the basics: cooking oil, carbs and canned food. With the army feeling the effects of Lebanon’s economic crisis much like the rest of the country, the rancour in Aoun’s big statement was clear. The army is a victim of political slander campaigns, he claimed, aimed at destabilising the military and national security. “But to whose benefit?” he asked. “Breaking up the army means the end of the [Lebanese] entity.”

By France24 — Mayssa AWAD | James ANDRÉ — Despite being on the brink of collapse, the Lebanese economy is keeping a troublesome neighbour afloat: Bashar al-Assad’s Syria. In order to dodge international sanctions on the Assad regime – notably the US-imposed Caesar Act – products such as food and petrol are being smuggled across […]

by arabnews.com — NAJIA HOUUSSARI — BEIRUT: Controversial Lebanese judge and Mount Lebanon state prosecutor Ghada Aoun carried out a second raid on a money exchange in northern Lebanon on Saturday in defiance of a senior judiciary decision dismissing her from an investigation into possible currency export breaches. Aoun was accompanied by several activists from the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) during the raid on the money exchange in the Awkar district in northern Lebanon. Less than 24 hours earlier she raided the office with members of the security services. Aoun remained in the money exchange for several hours on Friday in protest at her dismissal by the the discriminatory Public Prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Oweidat, a decision that caused widespread anger among the Lebanese public. Caretaker Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm held an emergency meeting on Saturday with Oweidat as well as Supreme Judicial Council head Judge Suhail Abboud and Judicial Inspection Authority head Judge Borkan Saad. After the meeting Najm voiced her anger at the situation regarding the judiciary, saying that she refuses to be “a false witness to the decay of the judiciary and the fall of the fig leaf in this state.” Najm said the events involving Aoun are an indication of “the failure of state institutions.” Lebanon is facing a political and economic crisis amid disputes between state officials, a deadlock that has led to the collapse of the national currency. However, critics accuse Aoun of a lack of respect for due process.

Caretaker Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm held an emergency meeting on Saturday with Oweidat as well as Supreme Judicial Council head Judge Suhail Abboud and Judicial Inspection Authority head Judge Borkan Saad. There are six criminal cases and 28 complaints against her before the Judicial Inspection Authority — the largest number of cases filed against any judge in the history of the Lebanese judiciary. Aoun was investigating the Mecattaf money exchange company and Societe Generale Bank for allegedly withdrawing dollars from the market and shipping the funds abroad. The Supreme Judicial Council dismissed Aoun along with two other judges who had previously been suspended by the Disciplinary Council for Judges. Judge Oweidat on Friday asked the Director-General of State Security, Maj. Gen. Antoine Saliba, to suspend the officers who accompanied Aoun on the exchange office raid. People in Lebanon on Friday watched on TV as Aoun requested that the money exchange office be sealed because the owner, Michel Mecattaf, refused to provide her with details of currency transfers on behalf of banks. Earlier, Mecattaf’s agents informed Aoun that she had been dismissed from the case.

by BASSAM ZAAZAA — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Samir, a 10-year-old boy, excitedly accompanied his father into a sweet shop to buy Ramadan treats for iftar in Beirut. Yet his excitement soon turned to disappointment after his father checked the prices and told him “we cannot afford kellaj today.” A famous, traditional Ramadan sweet, kellaj are phyllo pastry sheets stuffed with cheese or cream, fried, dipped in sugar syrup and served after breaking fast at sunset. Despite being an Iftar favorite, Lebanese have been left unable to afford the traditional sweets this year due to skyrocketing prices amid Lebanon’s economic disintegration.

Kellaj, along with other famous sweets like kunafa, shu’aybeyyat baklawa and qatayef usually decorate every home’s Ramadan table. This year, however, they are absent. When asked why he looked sad outside the shop in Aiche Bakkar district on Tuesday, Samir said he was looking forward to having kellaj but his father would not buy any. “I couldn’t earn much today,” Samir’s father, Ramez, a taxi driver, told Arab News. “I only bought four pieces of qatayef for my family.” The father had promised his children kellaj, but the new price was 48,000 Lebanese pounds for 12. Qatayef were cheaper, so he bought four pieces for 10,000 Lebanese pounds. The Lebanese currency has lost more than 85 percent of its value on the informal market since 2019.

سجعان قزي
@AzziSejean

أخْبرَتْنا دوائرُ القصرِ الجُمهوريِّ أنَّ الرئيسَ ميشال عون يُخطِّطُ لإقامةِ اتّحادٍ مشرِقيٍّ اقتصاديّ. أنّى له ذلك والمشرِقُ مُشتّتٌ ولبنانُ مُبعثَر؟ كلُّ ما بدأَ بالاتّحادِ الاقتصاديِّ انتهى بالوِحدةِ السياسيّة. ضمُّ ألمانيا النازيّة النمسا سنةَ 1939 بدأ بإلغاء الرسمِ السياحيِّ الذي كان هِتلر فَرضَه على النمساويّين، ونشوءُ الاتّحاد الأوروبيّ الحالي بدأ باتّفاقٍ حولَ الفولاذِ والحديدِ سنةَ 1954. نحن ضِدَّ أيِّ وِحدة. فلْنوحِّدْ لبنانَ أوّلًا، أو لنُنشِئْ، على الأقلّ، اتّحادًا بين دويلاتِه. لو أرَدنا تحقيقَ مشاريعَ اتحاديّةٍ أو وِحدويّة، لفَعلْناه من البابِ العريضِ مع الشريفِ الحسين ونجلِه الملك فيصل قبلَ إنشاءِ “لبنانَ الكبير”، ومع أنطون سعادة وميشال عفلق قبلَ الاستقلالِ، ومع عبد الناصر قبل ثورةِ 1958، ومع حافظ الأسد بعدَ حربِ السنتين. لو أردنا تحقيقَ تلك المشاريعِ لفَعلناه قبلَ سقوطِ ألوفِ الشهداءِ من أحزابِنا ومقاومتِنا ومجتمعِنا دفاعًا عن لبنان ضدَّ جميعِ أنواعِ الاتّحادات، وقبلَ استشهادِ مئاتِ الضبّاطِ والجنودِ من الجيشِ اللبنانيّ في 13 تشرين الأول 1990.
صحيحٌ أنَّ هذا المشرِقَ مشرِقُنا بتاريخِه الآراميِّ والكنعانيِّ والفينيقيِّ والسِريانيِّ والعربيِّ، لكنْ أين تاريخُ المشرِق العظيمِ من حاضرِه الشقيّ. وفي المطلَق، يَجدُر بنا الانفتاحُ على أفكارِ الاتّحاداتِ الاقتصاديّة، والعالم صار في زمنِ العولمة. لكنَّ الشرقَ الأوسطَ لا يزال في زمنِ القبائلِ والمذاهبِ والإتنيّاتِ والاستبدادِ والحروبِ والفتنِ والمجازرِ والاجتياحاتِ والظلاميِّة، ويَحتاج عقودًا ليَستعيدَ وعيَه ويَرِجعَ قادرًا على إنشاءِ اتّحاداتٍ حضاريّة وسلميّة. لذا، لا حديثَ عن أيِّ اتّحادٍ قبلَ أن يُصبحَ المشرقُ ديمقراطيًّا ومدنيًّا وعَلمانيًّا، وقبلَ أنْ تَستقِرَّ أنظمتُه وتَلتزمَ عدمَ تدخّلِ البعض في شؤونِ البعضِ الآخَر. وأساسًا إنَّ ميثاقَ جامعةِ الدولِ العربيّةِ يَتضمّنُ ما يَكفي من نصوصٍ لتطويرِ التعاونِ في إطارٍ عربيٍّ جامِعٍ بعيدًا عن التجزئةِ الجغرافيّة، خصوصًا أنْ ليس كلُّ قريبٍ بقريب ولا كلُّ بعيدٍ ببعيد.

وطنية – الفاتيكان – أكد سفير لبنان لدى الكرسي الرسولي فريد الخازن أن “الفاتيكان لا يوفر جهدا أو فرصة إلا ويقدم الدعم والمساعدة الى لبنان، قبل انفجار المرفأ وبعده“.
وقال في مقابلة أجرتها معه “الوكالة الوطنية للإعلام“: “البداية كانت تبرعا شخصيا قام به البابا فرنسيس الى لبنان، فضلا عن مساعدات مادية وعينية متواصلة الى مؤسسات وجمعيات تعمل في المجال الإنساني، وخصوصا كاريتاس. وفي الآونة الأخيرة، تم إرسال كمية من الأدوية الطبية الى لبنان، بمسعى قمت به مع الهيئات المعنية في الكرسي الرسولي، بعد فقدان بعض الأدوية أو إرتفاع أسعارها. وكان سبق ذلك تشكيل لجان لمتابعة الأوضاع التربوية والإنسانية في البلاد بالتعاون مع القاصد الرسولي المونسنيور جوزف سبيتاري“.

أضاف: “في الشأن الديبلوماسي، يتحرك الفاتيكان على خطين: واحد مباشر عبر السفارة البابوية في لبنان التي تتابع أوضاع البلاد عن كثب، والآخر عبر دعم أي مبادرة دولية للإنقاذ، ومنها المبادرة الفرنسية. ديبلوماسية الفاتيكان الصامتة فاعلة ومؤثرة، لاسيما وان لا مصالح ذاتية للكرسي الرسولي سوى أنه معني بخدمة الإنسان في لبنان في ظل معاناة الناس اليومية جراء الأزمات الخانقة. والفاتيكان يلتقي مع الجهات الدولية في المطالبة بتشكيل حكومة يمكن من خلالها التعاون لخدمة اللبنانيين بالفاعلية المطلوبة. المجتمع الدولي لا يمكن ان يحل مكان لبنان في مسائل تخصه وحده“.

  وطنية – اعتبر “لقاء الجمهورية” في بيانه الدوري، ان “الأفق المسدود حيال كل الاصلاحات التي تنادي بها القوى على الصعد كافة (التدقيق الجنائي – الحدود البحرية مع إسرائيل وسوريا)، لن يجد طريقه إلى الحلحلة من دون العودة إلى الدستور وتأليف حكومة خالية من الألغام، قادرة على الانتاج ومسؤولة تجاه شعبها أولا وتجاه المجتمعين العربي […]

Beirut (AsiaNews) Fadi Noun – The Maronite patriarch, Card. Beshara Raï yesterday held a Zoom press conference with a dozen transalpine journalists belonging to the French Diplomatic Press Association (APDF). In the course of the conference he returned to his request for a statute of neutrality for Lebanon and an international conference under the aegis of the UN, focused on the Lebanese problem. Although added nothing new to the issues under discussion, the patriarch provided some clarifications in the answers to the questions posed that allowed for a better understanding of the scope of his campaign. In particular, he said he wanted the United States to align their positions with those of France on a possible solution to the Lebanon question.

On the domestic front, questioned about the responsibility that rests with the head of state in blocking the process for the formation of the government, the patriarch said that it is exclusively attributable to the president but the latter, due to his responsibilities, must “take charge of all the power afforded him by his office”. On the external level he said an international conference is desirable to the extent that a concertation between regional and international sponsors of local political forces can be imposed. Some of these want a settling of scores, while others, like Iran, want to maintain a status quo. However, the head of the Maronite Church spoke out for the request to “internationalize” the crisis. “We never spoke about internationalization – he specified – but about an international conference”.