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.

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.

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.

BEIRUT (AFP) - The UN Human Rights Committee has asked Damascus to investigate the disappearances of Lebanese nationals in Syria and the practice of arbitrary detention, a Paris-based rights group said. Syria "should... take immediate steps to establish an independent and credible commission of inquiry into all disappearances," said a UNHRC statement published by a group called Support for Arbitrarily Detained Lebanese (SOLIDA).Syria "should give a particularized account of Lebanese nationals and Syrian nationals, as well as other persons, who were taken into custody or transferred into custody in Syria," said the committee during its annual meeting in Geneva, which ended July 29.Lebanese groups estimate that 440 Lebanese have disappeared in Syria, including some women and people who were minors at the time they disappeared.In 2000, 54 Lebanese were freed from Syrian prisons.The Lebanese government established a government commission in 2001 to investigate the cases of Lebanese prisoners, but the commission was dissolved before it could publish its findings.