breakingdefense.com — CHYRINE MEZHER — BEIRUT: The United States, Russia, China, Gulf countries, EU member states and UN representatives took part yesterday in a French-sponsored conference aimed at supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) hit hard by unprecedented financial and economic pressures. LAF commander Gen. Joseph Aoun described his situation simply: “It is extremely hard for a military commander to seek support from foreign countries when his own state is not capable of acting and is even cutting budget.” How bad is it? “The situation is critical. If unmitigated, the economic and financial crises will inevitably lead to the collapse of all state institutions including the LAF,” he added. “The LAF, yet overstretched, remains a crucial pillar of the Lebanese State,” the French Armed Forces Ministry said in a statement after the conference. “Their cohesiveness and professionalism remain key to preserving the country’s stability from more risks.” The goal of the conference was not to provide the LAF with additional military equipment and materiel, or to finance military pay and pensions. The wide participation, Lebanese military officials say, clearly highlights that the Lebanese army is “the main pillar of the country’s stability and security, and the only legitimate power in the presence of armed groups such as Lebanese Hezbollah.”

Lebanon faces one of the worst economic downturns in its history, exacerbated by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the huge explosion in the port of Beirut. On top of those factors, the country hosts the highest number of refugees per capita in the world, with approximately 2 million Palestinian and Syrian refugees calling Lebanon home. The LAF seeks two types of help. “The first relates to sustaining its operational capabilities, which ultimately ensures the provision of the needed spare parts, fuel, medical support and food supplies,” Aoun said. “The second relates to directly supporting the soldier as an individual to assist him in any way to overcome the economic hardship and to prevent his delinquency.” Well-informed Lebanese defense sources told Breaking Defense that the LAF presented a $100 million wish list, with $40 million for medical supplies and $60 million for food supplies and salaries. Pledges to provide the latter were offered by several participating countries, without adding further information.

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ليس من الضروريِّ أن يُعلَنَ حيادُ دولةٍ أثناءَ حربٍ أو بَعدَها. فجزيرةُ مالطا اعتمدَت الحِيادَ في ظروفٍ سلميّةٍ تامّة. وكان الاتّحادُ السوفياتيُّ طليعةَ الدولِ التي أيّدت خطّيًا حِيادَها في 08 تشرين الأول 1981.

اعتمادُ نظامِ الحيادِ اللبنانيّ لا يَرتَبِطُ بواقعٍ معيَّنٍ فقط، وإلّا لاتَّـــبَــعْنا سياسةَ النأيِ بالنفسِ مرحليًّا، إنّما يَرتبطُ بطبيعةِ الوجودِ اللبنانيِّ تاريخيًّا وجُغرافيًّا وديمغرافيًّا. لا يَضمَنُ استمرارَ هذا المزيجِ اللبنانيِّ سوى الحِياد. هذه حقيقةٌ تاريخيّة. وأصلًا، ما كانت الأزَماتُ اللبنانيّةُ نَشأت لو لم تَشرُدْ مكوِّناتٌ لبنانيّةٌ عن طبيعةِ لبنان. الحِيادُ هو أحدُ الركائزِ التأسيسيّةِ لكيانِ لبنان ودولتِه. بدونِه لا لبنانَ مستقلًّا. وبالتالي أيًّا تَكن صيغةُ لبنانَ الدستوريّةُ مركزيّةً أو لامركزيّةً، فدراليّةً أو تقسيميّةً، يُلازِمُها الِحيادُ فيُعطيها مناعةَ الاستقرار. الحيادُ هو اللَقاحُ العجائبيُّ لِدَرءِ الأزَماتِ والصراعات.

نَرفضُ سياسةَ النأي بالنفسِ، لا لأنّها سيئةٌ، بل لأنّها غيرُ كافية. فالشرقُ الأوسطُ لا يُفرِزُ حربًا كلَّ مئةِ سنة، فحروبُه وصراعاتُه لا تَنقَطِعُ وتَرتَدُّ على اللبنانيّين. لذا يَحتاجُ لبنانُ نظامَ نأيٍ بالنفسِ ثابتًا، اسمُه نظامُ الحيادِ الدائم. فلا يُمكنُ للّبنانيّين أن يكونوا مَوادَّ حروبِ المنطقةِ كلّما حصل انقلابٌ في دولةٍ عربيّةٍ، أو بَرزَ في الشرقِ الأوسطِ زعيمٌ، أو رجلُ دينٍ، أو مشروعٌ توسعيٌّ، أو نزعةٌ قوميّةٌ، أو حالةٌ تكفيريّةٌ وجِهاديّة. دَفعنا غاليًّا ثمنَ هذه التجلّياتِ من الخَمسينات إلى الآن؛ فشكرًا.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Faced with the choice of leaving their savings stuck in the bank or investing them at a huge loss, some Lebanese people are opting to take a punt. For them, it’s the only sensible option in a financial system warped by crisis. Largely locked out of their dollar deposit accounts since late 2019 when the Lebanese pound crashed and the banking system buckled amid widespread political protests, some savers see investments in export-focused companies as a way to access hard currency and get something for their “lollars”, the nickname for U.S. dollar-denominated deposits ‘trapped’ in Lebanon’s banks. Alcohol exporters, including craft brewers and gin merchants, are a popular choice. “If you invest with me today trapped dollars I’ll give it back to you in fresh dollars,” said Kamal Fayad, chief executive of 961 Beer, a Lebanese beer exporter. Under informal capital controls, depositors can still write cheques on their U.S. dollar-denominated accounts but those cheques cannot be used abroad and if sold at local exchanges they lose at least 75% of their value.

The steep discount reflects the predicament of having dollars parked at Lebanese banks. Starved of dollar funding, the banks limit customers’ access to their funds and currently pay out at a rate of 3,900 Lebanese pounds to the greenback, around a quarter of the value of dollars on the black market. Fayad said he was in talks with investors to raise the equivalent of over $1 million which would include between $3 million-$4 million lollars. “Investors prefer to take the risk on me rather than keep money in the bank, at least I’m doing something good for the industry. I’m safer today to them than a bank,” he said.

By alhadeel.net —

في حوار عبر الهاتف اجرته الشراع مع الرئيس ميشال سليمان دعا فخامته الى ان تلتئم هيئة للحوار بصورة فورية للخروج من الانسداد الحاصل . .. وشرح الرئيس سليمان في هذه المسألة قائلاً: ” انا مع الدعوة الى الحوار لمتابعة البحث من النقطة التي انتهت اليها الحوارات السابقة مثلاً: 

١ – مناقشة الآلية التنفيذية لتطبيق اعلان بعبدا وبخاصة التحييد

٢- مناقشة الاستراتيجية الدفاعية التي يجب ان تختصر بعد انقضاء هذه السنوات بوضع جدول زمني لا يتعدى السنة والنصف للتخلي عن السلاح على ان يوضع قرار استعماله خلال هذه المدة عند رئيس الجمهوريةوبطلب من قيادة الجيش في كل حالة .”

by apnews.com — ZEINA KARAM and BASSEM MROUE — BEIRUT (AP) — Since the civil war, through wars with Israel, militant bombings and domestic turmoil, Lebanese have considered their military as an anchor for stability, one of the only institutions standing above the country’s divisions. But the military is now threatened by Lebanon’s devastating financial collapse, which the World Bank has said is likely to rank as one of the worst the world has seen in the past 150 years. The economic meltdown is putting unprecedented pressure on the U.S.-backed army’s operational abilities, wiping out soldiers’ salaries and wrecking morale. The deterioration puts at risk one of the few forces unifying Lebanon at a time when sectarian tensions and crime are on the rise amid the population’s deepening poverty. “Such a decline could be harbinger of the kinds of instability not seen since the last time Lebanon’s political elites gutted or set adrift the Lebanese armed forces, namely in the five years leading up to the 1975-1990 civil war,” said Aram Nerguizian, senior advisor of the Program on Civil-Military Affairs in Arab States at the Carnegie Middle East Center.

The military itself has raised the alarm, unusual for a force that is perhaps unique in the Middle East in that it largely remains outside politics. Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun warned in a speech to officers in March that soldiers were “suffering and hungry like the rest of the people.” He also openly criticized the political leadership, which has been paralyzed by infighting and has done almost nothing to address the crisis. “What are you waiting for? What do you plan to do? We have warned more than once of the dangers of the situation,” he said — a startling comment since army officers are not allowed to make political statements. A senior army official confirmed to The Associated Press that the economic situation has greatly affected morale. “There is no doubt that there is great resentment among the ranks of the military,” the official said. The official noted that “many duties are demanded of the military,” including maintaining internal stability. “The leadership is worried over developments in the security situation on the ground and the ability to deal with this issue,” the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Supporting the army is crucial to avoid Lebanon falling into chaos, he added.

by news.un.org — “The explosion at the Beirut port has accelerated a lot of things, that’s for sure”, said Deputy Special Coordinator Najat Rochdi, who is also UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, speaking to reporters at the UN in Geneva, referring to the deadly blast last August that killed around 200 and devastated the city. She said necessary political reforms had not been carried out “on time”, despite widespread warnings over the looming economic and financial crisis, that “a lot of analysts had already predicted…We’re not talking about something that takes us by surprise today. I think everyone knew about it”. Between April 2019 and April this year, the consumer Price Index has increased by more than 208 per cent and the price of food and beverages increased by 670 per cent. As a result, over half of the Lebanese population is now living in poverty.

Public services wrecked “The crisis in the economy, the currency devaluation, as well as the governance vacuum has meant a breakdown of public services at a time when they are most needed”, said Ms. Rochdi. She added that “the pandemic has worsened a situation which was already fragile”. The Deputy Special Coordinator said international confidence had been hit by the failure to form a functioning government, deterring investors, and exacerbating the failure of the banking system and other public institutions. Extreme poverty rose threefold during the past two years. More and more Lebanese households are unable to afford basic services like food, health, electricity, water, internet, and child education. “The country is in the middle of a phase of hyperinflation, eroding the value of the national currency, people’s purchasing power and what remains of their trust in their leaders and institutions”, said Ms. Rochdi.

by gulf-times.com — The Commander of the Lebanese Army, General Joseph Aoun, has expressed thanks and gratitude to Qatar, for the valuable assistance and generous support to his country and its citizens, in the wake of the explosion at the Beirut Port. This came during his meeting on Monday with HE Director-General of Qatar Fund […]

By Najia Houssari – arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Public prosecutors in Lebanon have been instructed to crack down on the monopoly on foodstuffs and oil derivatives as political, security and diplomatic concerns grow over explosive daily protests. The spontaneous protests are also demanding access to medicine, fuel, hospitalization and electricity. The Crisis Observatory at the American University of Beirut warned that “the risk of Lebanon falling into the rank of failed states has become a reality after it fell 36 places over five years.” Its rank in 2021 was among the 34 most failed states out of 179 states. The Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Judge Ghassan Oueidat, on Monday called on public prosecutors in Lebanon to “strictly pursue the monopoly of foodstuffs and oil derivatives, after there has been a lot of refraining from selling these subsidized materials, or selling them at prices that exceed the set price.”

Judge Oueidat said that what is happening “are crimes stipulated by law and must be prosecuted, and shops, warehouses and stations belonging to the suspects must be sealed with red wax.” The judicial procedure came as trade unions and civil bodies prepare for a general strike that begins on Thursday to push for the formation of a government. On Monday, unions of food industries, bakeries, transport workers and taxi drivers announced that they would respond to Thursday’s strike. Bechara Al-Asmar, head of the General Labor Union, told Arab News: “Our move will be escalatory. I don’t know if the strike will last more than a day; we will see what happens Thursday.”

by digitalstudiome.com — The Director’s Fortnight running from 7th-17th July 2021 will showcase the director’s debut film titled The Sea Ahead at the 74th Cannes Film Festival. Ely was previously awarded the Palm D’Or award for Best Short Film at the 68th Cannes Film Festival for his film Waves’98. When in production, The Sea Ahead […]

احد مبارك طالما لم نتوصل الى تشخيص واحد ومنطقي لاسباب الانهيار فلن يمكننا معالجة الوضع  الاقتصادي اطلاقاً ولو شكلت اعظم الحكومات ومن افضل الاختصاصيين او السياسيين المستقلين وغير المستقلين