by thearabweekly.com — PARIS – Pressure is building up on Lebanon’s political class to end their ongoing dispute over the formation of a new government that is critical to transforming the country and launching long-stalled reforms. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Friday his country and the United States have agreed to act together to put pressure on Lebanese officials responsible for the political and economic calamity gripping the country. “We have decided to act together to put pressure on those responsible. We know who they are,” Le Drian told a news conference with US counterpart Antony Blinken in Paris. “We need to see real leadership in Beirut,” Blinken added. A fight among Lebanese leaders to secure power is at the heart of the government turmoil, with the feud threatening to drag the country into a total financial crash.

Lebanon’s economic meltdown, triggered by decades of corruption and mismanagement, began in late 2019 and has intensified in recent months. The World Bank said earlier this month the crisis is likely to rank as one of the worst the world has seen in more than 150 years, adding that the economy contracted 20.3% in 2020 and is expected to shrink a further 9.5% this year. Lebanon defaulted on paying back its debt for the first time in March, while talks with the International Monetary Fund on a bailout package stopped last year. The crisis has been the biggest threat to Lebanon’s stability since the 1975-90 civil war ended. A power struggle has emerged between premier-designate Saad Hariri on one side and the president Michel Aoun and his son-in-law Gebran Bassil, who heads the largest bloc in parliament, on the other. It has worsened the crisis despite warnings from world leaders and economic experts of the dire economic conditions tiny Lebanon is facing. Hariri was named to form a new government in October and has not succeeded so far.

في مثل هذا اليوم ٢٥ حزيران عام ٢٠٢٠  في لقاء الحوار الذي دعا اليه رئيس الجمهورية لمعالجة الاوضاع في لبنان توجهتالى الحضور قائلاً انه منذ ٨ سنوات وفي القاعة المجاور توافقنا على انقاذ لبنان.
وقتذاك، كنت اتطلع الى تحييد لبنان عن صراعات المحاور ما عدا ما يتعلق …بالقضيةالفلسطينيةوالاجماع العربي… كمدخلأساسي لاكمال تطبيق اتفاق الطائف وتشكيل الهيئة الوطنية لالغاء الطائفية السياسية، وبالتالي نقل البلاد الى مفهوم الدولةالمدنية حيث لا تخشى فيه أي طائفة من هيمنة طائفة أخرى على الاكثرية النيابية، لجرّ لبنان الى أي من المحاور وطمس هويتهالتعددية”

By The New Arab — Frozen deposits in Lebanese banks could have drastic ramifications across the region, as calls mount from foreign governments, businesses, and individuals for the return of withheld funds as Lebanon experiences an unprecedented economic collapse. An official Yemeni banking delegation is currently visiting Lebanon to discuss the suspended funds, which are having a devastating effect on Yemen’s banks, on top of the war which has ravaged the country for nearly six years. The Yemeni delegation met with the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, to discuss the return of around $200m, according to Yemeni sources in the banking sector. Throughout the war, Yemen’s banking sector has relied on Lebanon’s banks which have provided access to regional and international finance and enabled Yemen to conduct private banking transactions over imports and other business deals.

Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arab’s sister publication, spoke to one of the Yemeni delegates who said that the discussions had given some grounds for optimism. “We were promised that withheld balances will be released and special obligations to Yemeni banks will be paid, protecting the deep and longstanding relationship between the Yemeni and Lebanese banking sectors,” they said. Another official from the Central Bank of Yemen stressed that the withheld funds are damaging financial markets For almost two years, Lebanon has been facing the worst economic crisis in its modern history. The value of its national currency has collapsed and tight restrictions have been placed on financial transactions which prohibit bank transfers to foreign accounts. Since 18 October 2019, Lebanese banks have frozen accounts with dollar deposits, and have limited withdrawals from accounts containing Lebanese pounds. Local economists say that banks owe more than $90bn. It is not only Yemen’s banks that are affected. Although exact numbers are unavailable, many Yemeni citizens have Lebanese bank accounts.

كما يقول ميشال شيحا «إذا كانت كل طائفة تعيش والميزان في يدها، تضع وزيراً قبالة وزير، وحاجباً قبالة حاجب، فتسوق لبنان إلى حدود الحلول المستحيلة». والعدالة إذا أكثرنا من موازنتها تنقلب ظلماً لأنها تُبعدنا عن مكسب الطائفية الوحيد، الذي تعلمناه عبر الأجيال: «التسامح والتعايش». http://aliwaa.com.lb/أخبار-لبنان/الإفتتاحية/حقوق-المسيحيين-من-حقوق-اللبنانيين/

سجعان قزي

وزير سابق

@AzziSejean

نتّفقُ والمجتمعُ الدوليُّ على اعتبارِ النازحين السوريّين عِبئًا على لبنان (المشكلة)، ونَختلفُ وإيّاه على عودتِهم إلى بلادِهم (الحلّ). في يومٍ واحدٍ، 20 حزيران الجاري، زَعمَ جوزف بوريل ممثِّلُ الاتحادِ الأوروبيِّ، أنَّ “النازحين السوريّين لا يُشكّلون مشكلةً اقتصاديّةً في لبنان وأنَّ عودتَهم إلى بلادِهم مرتبطةٌ بإبرامِ الحلِّ السياسيِّ في سوريا”. وأعلن الرئيسُ الأميركيُّ جوزف بايدن أنَّ “عددَ اللاجئين والنازحين فاقَ 82 مليونًا في جميعِ أنحاءِ العالم، واقترح إعادةَ توطينِهم في بلادِ الاستضافَة”. وقَبلَهُما صَدرَ تقريران: واحدٌ سنةَ 2016 عن الأمينِ العامِّ السابق للأممِ المتّحدةِ بان كي مون؛ وآخرُ هذه السنةِ عن الأمينِ العامِّ الحاليّ أنطونيو غوتيرس، يَـحثّان فيهما الدولَ المضيفةَ على “دمجِ النازحين واللاجئين في مجتمعاتِها وصوًلا إلى تجنيسهم”.

واجبُ دولةِ لبنان ـــ أين هي ــــ أن تَكِسرَ هذا المنطقَ التآمريَّ الذي، إنْ تَحقّقَ، يُدمِّرُ لبنانَ نهائيًّا. طبعًا، لا يستطيعُ لبنانُ كسرَ هذا المنطِق في كلِّ العالم، لكنَّ رئيسَ الدولةِ العماد ميشال عون مدعوٌّ إلى أنْ يَقرُنَ الأقوالَ بالأفعال، ويُنظِّمَ، من خلالِ المؤسّساتِ الإنسانيّةِ والأمنيّةِ، عودةَ النازحين السوريّين إلى الحدودِ السوريّةِ بمنأى عن موقفِ المجتمعَين العربيِّ والدُوليّ، وإلّا تكونُ المطالبةُ بعودتِهم “رفعَ عتَب”.

By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Violence has seeped into daily Lebanese life due to the country’s severe economic crisis and a breakdown in official security, with fights and even shootings at gas stations. Lebanon is experiencing an economic crisis that is likely to rank as one of the world’s three worst in more than 150 years, according to the World Bank. There are shortages of essential items such as fuel and medicine, while bread has become more expensive after the Syndicate of Bakery Owners raised prices now that government subsidies on sugar and yeast have ended. People are queuing for hours at gas stations, and fistfights turn into shootings as people clash over who gets to fill their tank first. People are taking their own lives or destroying their sources of income in desperation.

A 25-year-old man named Mathew “found dead”  (currently under investigation) in his apartment in the Keserwan area, while a man in Baalbek tried to commit suicide in his shop because of the debts he had accumulated. Another person set fire to his bean cart in a Beirut street after receiving an order to remove it. The cart was his sole livelihood. Living conditions have deteriorated considerably amid a political deadlock over the formation of a new government. There is a dispute between Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and President Michel Aoun about who should be in the new administration and what roles they should have, among other issues. Hariri was named to form a new government last October but has yet to succeed. The government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned days after a massive blast in Beirut on Aug. 4 that killed more than 200 people and injured thousands. One activist turned his aim at the country’s authorities, tweeting: “You have turned Lebanon into a jungle and put people at the mercy of thugs at gas stations. You have humiliated people in every detail of their lives. We place the scenes of shootings at gas stations in God’s hands because we have no one in Lebanon to complain to. They are all responsible without exception.”

*وكان إنتخاب العماد ميشال سليمان تاريخاً مفصلياً بين حقبة الإحتلال والتحرّر، وتميّز عهده بالبحبوحة وتدفقت الأموال الخليجية إلى لبنان قبل أن ينقلب “حزب الله” على حكومة الرئيس سعد الحريري، ونجح في إبرام “إعلان بعبدا” الذي كان يهدف إلى تحييد لبنان عن الحرب السورية، لكن “حزب الله” لم يحترمه ما دفعه إلى الإنتفاضة على سلوكه في […]

by Doreen Abi Raad | Catholic News Service — Pope Francis’ meeting with Lebanon’s Christian religious leaders will “at least give a sign of hope” to the beleaguered country, said the Vatican nuncio to Lebanon. “The situation is becoming more dramatic,” Archbishop Joseph Spiteri, the nuncio, or papal ambassador to Lebanon, told Catholic News Service in mid-June. The July 1 summit at the Vatican will gather Lebanon’s Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant church leaders for “a day of reflection on the troubling situation in the country and to pray together for the gift of peace and stability,” Pope Francis said in announcing the summit. Pope Francis repeatedly has expressed his concern about Lebanon, particularly since the August 2020 Beirut port blasts. The nuncio said Pope Francis is “extremely sensitive” to the “mosaic makeup of Lebanon,” which has “always been a meeting place of different communities, different cultures, religiously affiliated groups.” About 35% of Lebanese citizens are Christian.

The nuncio stressed that, in Lebanon, “there is real religious freedom and freedom of expression, and at the same time sharing of responsibility.” The Lebanese system reserves the presidential office to a Maronite Christian, the prime minister to a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of the house to a Shiite Muslim. Archbishop Spiteri pointed out that St. John Paul II had said: “Lebanon is more than a country. It is a message of freedom and an example of pluralism for East and West.” Currently, however, Lebanon is crumbling under a multitude of socioeconomic, financial and political crises. Its currency has lost 90% of its value in the past 20 months. The economic crisis — labeled by the World Bank as one of the world’s worst since the 1850s — has pushed more than half the population into poverty. The country has been without a fully functioning government for 10 months, since officials stepped down after the Beirut port explosion. Political leaders have failed to agree on a new Cabinet needed to implement reforms required to unlock desperately needed foreign aid. Reserves of the central bank have reached a critical threshold, causing fuel, electricity and medicine shortages.

By NAJIA HOUSSARI – arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Demonstrators blocked a highway connecting Lebanon and Syria on Monday with burned tires and metal bars, protesting a decision aimed at curbing smuggling into Syria. Gasoline smugglers blocked the Masnaa crossing after security forces moved to prevent them from driving through the legitimate crossing. Amid worsening living conditions in Lebanon, some are filling up their cars with goods and fuel and traveling into Syria through the Masnaa crossing to sell them on the other side at double the price. “The process involves paying bribes to pass into Syrian territory, so when the Lebanese side decided to prevent smuggling, the smugglers protested,” said a security source. Customs authorities in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region announced they will strictly enforce permit requirements for vehicles going into Syria to limit fuel smuggling. Protesters on the international highway demanded the process be applied to everyone crossing into Syria or be scrapped.

The Lebanese are still queuing for hours at gas stations to get subsidized gasoline, with a 20-liter canister of gasoline being sold for 44,000 Lebanese pounds ($29). On the black market, the price is between 70,000 to 100,000 Lebanese pounds. The shocking costs have led to citizens waiting at gas stations getting into fights. One person was wounded from a fistfight that turned into a shooting in front of a station in Tripoli on Monday. The minister of energy in the caretaker government, Raymond Ghajar, said a few days ago: “The real price of a canister is about 200,000 Lebanese pounds, while the Lebanese now pay about 40,000 Lebanese pounds.” His remarks came amid indications that the substance will no longer be subsidized “at a certain point.”

By Aya Iskandarani – .thenationalnews.com — Lebanon’s military interrogated a prominent student activist on Monday after he took part in a university protest, a move rights defenders say is a worrying attempt to stifle dissent. Karim Safieddine, a student leader from the Mada Network, a political youth group that has gained momentum in the aftermath of the October protests, said he was summoned by military police for allegedly throwing rocks at security forces during a protest against tuition fee hikes at the American University of Beirut last December. He denies allegations of violence and said on Twitter that he “did not touch one stone”. “This is an attempt to intimidate us,” Mr Safieddine told The National after his interrogation. “Authorities are sending us a political message because our student grassroots movement is becoming more widespread.” Activists and human rights defenders said Mr Safieddine’s interrogation was part of a wider clampdown on individuals who were active in the mass anti-government protest movement of late 2019. An army representative declined to comment on the issue.

More than a million Lebanese took to the streets in October 2019 to demand the downfall of the ruling elite, widely accused of corruption and fomenting one of the worst financial crises in the country’s history. Inspired by this movement, the protests at AUB drew students from all sects, a rarity in a country where people’s politics fall along sectarian lines. They also inspired other universities to mobilise. About 50 supporters of Mr Safieddine gathered outside the military police station where he was interrogated. They held banners that read “state oppression does not scare us, the student movement lives on” and chanted “the military is stifling protesters”. Protester Farah El Baba, 25, said Mr Safieddine’s interrogation was meant to dissuade other young people from speaking out and mobilising. “They picked one of the most vocal activists in order to scare others,” she said.