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Syria starts removing sand berms inside Lebanon

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May 15, 2006

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BEIRUT (AFP) - Tractors started to dismantle sand berms erected by Syrian border guards several kilometers inside Lebanese territory, the head of a municipality in the region said.

"Works started this morning in the presence of officials from the two sides, and should take about a week," said Bassel Hujairi, head of the municipality of Aarsal.

Five tractors of the Syrian and Lebanese armies as well as from Aarsal municipality started to remove the berms, under the supervision of administrative and military officials from the two countries, he said.

The operation came after an agreement between Lebanese and Syrian officials in a meeting held on May 9 in the Syrian resort town of Bludan, near Damascus.

"The committee which supervises the works is not entitled to define or draw the borders. The operation is only a solution for the farmers, to allow them to access their lands," said Hujairi.

U.S. Envoy Urges Syria to Accept Lebanon

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May 14, 2006

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Uncategorised

By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer

UNITED NATIONS - The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Friday a new Security Council resolution is needed to force Syria "to come out of denial" and recognize Lebanon's independence by establishing diplomatic relations and setting their border.
The United States, France and Britain formally introduced the draft resolution Friday in the Security Council. But it faces opposition from Russia, China and other members who say it is not needed and would constitute U.N. interference in bilateral Lebanese-Syrian relations.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton agreed the Security Council should not be involved in their bilateral relations. "But that's not the issue here," he said. "The question between Syria and Lebanon involves the decades-long occupation of one country by the other, continued meddling in the internal affairs of Lebanon by Syria, and therefore questions of the extension of diplomatic relations here are critical to breaking through the denial that apparently still grips Lebanon."

Syrian FM Says UN May Hinder Lebanon Ties

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May 14, 2006

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Uncategorised

By SAAD AL-ENEZI, Associated Press Writer

KUWAIT CITY - Syria's foreign minister said Friday the U.N. Security Council's involvement in Syria and Lebanon may impede attempts to improve relations between the two countries.
Foreign Minister Walid Moallem spoke in Kuwait hours after the United States, France and Britain introduced a draft resolution in the Security Council that urged Syria to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon and delineate the border between the two countries. The draft also calls on Syria, as well as Iran, to work for the disarmament of militia in Lebanon

Shia of Lebanon

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May 5, 2006

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Uncategorised

Financial times, By Roula Khalaf, The newly built stone mansions in the village of Kfar Jos symbolise the changing fortunes of Lebanon's Shia community, the country's largest minority sect. Nestling at the edge of the town of Nabatiye, known as the Shia capital of southern Lebanon, Kfar Jos's landscape has been transformed by a wave of immigrants who brought home part of the wealth earned in Africa and America.

At Nabatiye town hall, officials say almost every family in this part of the Lebanon has a member working abroad, their remittances helping to lift the living standards of one of the country's most deprived regions. They proudly list the social and economic achievements, including the establishment of 16 bank branches, five hospitals and more than 15 schools.Signs of the Shia community's political empowerment are visible too, with posters of revered political chiefs plastered all over town and in surrounding villages.

Among them is the late Musa Sadr, the charismatic leader who was the first, in the 1970s, to assert the Shia's political rights and fight discrimination by the then dominant Sunni Muslims and Christian Maronites.