PM Hariri says Iran should not interfere in Lebanon’s affairs

by arabnews.com - BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has criticized a top Iranian general for comments he reportedly made recently in which he praised Iran-backed groups for making gains in last month’s parliamentary elections. The Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies gained more than half the seats of the 128-member parliament in the May 6 parliamentary elections. Lebanese media aired a video posted on social media showing Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, saying that Hezbollah’s victory came at a time when some Arab countries labeled it and its leaders as terrorists. Hariri told reporters later Monday that the comments are “regrettable,” adding that interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs is “not in their (Iran’s) interest, nor those of Lebanon or the region.”

One More Step: With Support of Aoun Hariri Inches Closer to Forming Lebanese Cabinet

by the dailystar.com.lb -- Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has brought a first draft of the structure of Lebanon’s new government to President Michel Aoun, a presidential source said Sunday, signaling progress in the thorny issue of government formation. The source said that the draft was discussed with Aoun over dinner Saturday. “They spoke about the structure of the new government, but they haven’t gone into the names and the distribution of the ministerial portfolio. That still needs to be studied,” the source close to Baabda Palace said. “They discussed the formula concerning the extent of representation for each side,” the source added, noting that an agreement has been reached to form a 30-member-Cabinet. Political developments were on both Aoun’s and Hariri’s plates when they dined at one of the restaurants at Zaitunay Bay. “Hariri still has to discuss [it] with the different sides to see if they agree on it, especially the Lebanese Forces and [Progressive Socialist Party head Walid] Joumblatt.” A source close to Hariri said that while discussions over the formation process are ongoing, there is yet to be a major breakthrough.

Since being tasked with forming a new government last month, Hariri has faced some major obstacles. These include the ongoing struggle over Christian representation between the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces, as well as the problem of Druze representation amid insistence by former MP Joumblatt that the PSP’s Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc obtain the three ministerial posts that are reserved for the Druze in the new Cabinet. The first signs of a solution to the LF issue began to show Sunday evening after a meeting between LF’s caretaker Information Minister Melhem Riachi and Hariri’s adviser, caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury. Having boosted its parliamentary representation from eight to 15 MPs in the May 6 parliamentary elections, the LF is demanding a commensurately greater share of key ministerial posts.

“The atmosphere is really good,” Riachi told local Al-Jadeed TV channel after the meeting, adding that positive steps may happen after this week’s Eid al-Fitr holiday. Speaking to Al Modon online newspaper in an interview published Saturday, LF leader Samir Geagea reiterated that the LF was “committed to its right of true representation.” “We also stick by our demand of the need for rotation in the ministerial portfolios,” he said. Geagea also expressed his willingness to continue working for the success of Aoun’s presidential term as well as with the FPM.

Joumblatt’s demand has been perceived as an attempt to prevent his Druze rival, head of Lebanese Democratic Party MP Talal Arslan, from being named as a minister in the new government. Arslan has insisted on being represented with one Druze minister. The PSP head, along with his son MP Taymour Joumblatt and MP Wael Abu Faour, traveled Saturday to Saudi Arabia. The delegation’s visit, which comes after a series of hiccups in the relationship between Joumblatt and the kingdom, is expected to include a meeting with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. A PSP source denied that the delegation’s trip had anything to the do with government formation or the Druze issue, despite its timing raising eyebrows. “It has nothing to do with the government. The visit is [part of our] constant contact with the kingdom and it just so happened that it came at this time,” the source said. The source also maintained that PSP’s stance over its share of seats remained the same. “All that we are saying is that the results of the elections should govern ... the ministerial positions and ultimately we need to respect people’s desire,” the source said. “Our demands are clear.”

Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad added his voice to the various officials who have warned that government formation be completed quickly. “No hurdle can delay the formation of the government, which should be formed [as soon as possible] and begin its work, because the country can’t bear any delays to [various] issues, beginning with the border and maritime demarcation, the confrontation of Israeli threats and development matters,” Raad said in a statement carried by the state-run National News Agency Sunday. He acknowledged that different political sides have their own demands, but that parties should not be too stringent in their requests so that the members of the new government can apply themselves to the tasks at hand. This article has been adapted from its original source. The Daily Star

Lebanon installs e-gates at Palestinian refugee camp

by middleeastmonitor.com -- The Lebanese army has installed electronic gates at the entrances to the Palestinian Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in southern Lebanon, residents say according to a report by The New Arab. The gates, which are placed at four main entrances and smaller exit points, are the latest measure to ramp up security at the Palestinian refugee camp. In 2016, the Lebanese army began construction of a wall with watchtowers to segregate the camp from surrounding areas due to security concerns. Reports indicated earlier this year that construction of the security wall were nearly complete. The installation of e-gates in the Sidon refugee camp provoked outrage among Palestinian factions and residents. “We condemn the existence of these gates because they undermine the dignity of our people, who line up in front of the gates, and [they] also obstruct traffic in and out,” Ayman Shana, the political leader of Hamas in Sidon, told The Daily Star, adding It is common knowledge that these [electronic] gates are located at airports and on borders, and this camp is part of Lebanese territory.

The new gates will cause further friction between Palestinian residents and the army, he added. Fouad Othman, Ain al-Hilweh’s Democratic Front leader, called the new security measures an “insult” to Palestinians. He called on Lebanese President Michel Aoun to ensure Palestinian nationals are granted civil and humanitarian rights, as well as the right to own land, urging dialogue to “strengthen the steadfastness of our people to uphold the right of return [to Palestine].” Hundreds of Palestinian refugees took to the streets to decry what they labelled the “racist separation wall”. The army said the wall and new e-gates would not negatively affect the camp. Ain al-Hilweh has been plagued by intermittent clashes between the multiple armed factions as well as against smaller extremist groups. Lebanon’s Palestinian camps, which date back to the 1948 war between Israel and its Arab neighbours, mainly fall outside the jurisdiction of Lebanese security services. Ain al-Hilweh is home to some 61,000 Palestinians, including 6,000 who have fled the war in Syria.

Planting spies, paying people to post on social media, and pretending the news doesn't exist: This is how China tries to distract people from human rights abuses

article does not necessarily represents khazen.org 

Alexandra Ma -- by businessinsider.com -- The ways that China has been monitoring and ranking its citizens, secretly imprisoning ethnic minorities, and ignoring its LGBT community have been widely documented in the West. But citizens in China itself may have no idea that any of these things are going on. Beijing has a rich playbook of tactics to keep its 1.4 billion citizens from learning about the country's repression and abuse of human rights. They include paying people to flood the internet with pro-government social media posts, setting up police surveillance points to watch over ethnic communities, and banning content criticising the Chinese government. Here are the four most commonly used tricks in Beijing's playbook.

1. Planting social media posts to distract from controversial news

China pays two million people to fabricate pro-government social media posts and insert them in real time, many of which immediately after controversial events, a Harvard University report found in 2016. The commentators — known as the "50 cent party," because they are allegedly paid 50 Chinese cents ($0.08/£0.06) per post — publish around 448 million posts a year, the researchers found. About half of them are stealthily inserted into social media sites in real time, while the others are posted on government sites. Some examples include: "Respect to all the people who have greatly contributed to the prosperity and success of the Chinese civilization! The heroes of the people are immortal." "Carry the red flag stained with the blood of our forefathers, and unswervingly follow the path of the CCP!" "I love China." Jennifer Pan, one of the authors of the Harvard paper, told Business Insider: "On social media, instead of engaging on controversial issues, China puts out massive amounts of happy, positive cheerleading posts. These posts seem aimed at distracting the public from controversial and central issues of the day."

When deadly riots broke out between Uighur ethnic minorities and Chinese police in Xinjiang, northwestern China in 2013, officials in the southeastern city of Ganzhou — located about 2,000 miles away — ordered 50 cent workers to immediately create hundreds of online posts lauding China's economic development in an attempt to divert people from the topic. The instructions were revealed after an anonymous source leaked emails describing the strategy. An online commentator paid to publish pro-government posts also revealed anonymously in 2012: "When transferring the attention of netizens [Chinese people on the internet] and blurring the public focus, going off the topic is very effective." This tactic also "dilutes the quality of conversations," Sophie Richardson, the China director of Human Rights Watch, told Business Insider.

Read more ...

North Koreans understand their government lies, but there's one thing they don't know, according to a defector

by businessinsider.com -- Harrison Jacobs -- North Koreans understand that their government regularly lies to them and feeds them propaganda that contradicts their current situation, but few understand the true discrepancy between their country and the outside world, according to North Korean defector Kim Young-il. Kim, the 39-year-old founder of People for Successful Corean Reunification (PSCORE), escaped North Korea when he was 19 years old. PSCORE is a nonprofit that promotes reunification, raises awareness about human rights issues in North Korea, and helps defectors adjust to life in South Korea. In 1997, Kim and his father left the country in the midst of a four-year-long famine and economic crisis that some estimates suggest claimed the lives of between 240,000 and 3.5 million North Koreans, out of a population of 22 million. The dire situation made it obvious to North Koreans at the time that the government was not telling the truth about country, Kim told Business Insider in a recent interview. Kim, whose organization helps defectors escape North Korea and China and assists them once they reach South Korea, said that, even now, the situation is much the same; North Koreans know their government is lying. "The people know these are all lies because it's obvious. When the government says, there is prosperity in terms of food and rice, we see it ourselves and see that there is a drought and there is no food for us," Kim said. "When they see that what they say doesn't match with what is actually happening, they understand the government is lying."

The one thing that North Koreans can't know, according to Kim, is the actual disparity between the country and other nations like the US, South Korea, or China. "They know [those countries are more prosperous and developed], but they don't know at what level and how different the countries are. They have no frame of reference. All the government says are lies, Kim said. "They have no way to obtain information about what South Korea or the United States look like." As Kim told the International Business Times last year, he and his family thought it was normal to "have our freedoms restricted." It was only upon arriving in South Korea that Kim said he realized "how unhappy we were."

Dispute Erupts between Lebanese PM, FM over Freezing of UNHCR Residency Applications

aawsat.com -- Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri condemned on Friday Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil for his “unilateral” decision to freeze the residency applications of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees employees in Lebanon. Hariri’s aide, Nadim al-Mounla revealed that the PM had highlighted to the minister the severity of his decision, urging him to reverse it immediately. Bassil had ordered a freeze on residency applications submitted by UNHCR staff, accusing the agency of hindering the return of Syrian refugees by “spreading fear”, his office said on Friday. The minister considered his step a form of “diplomatic escalation,” while observers condemned it as a “negative” and reckless move. Mounla told Asharq Al-Awsat: “This unilateral action does not reflect the policy of the government and its prime minister, who is the central figure in charge of foreign policy.” Bassil acted as if he alone is responsible for the refugee file in Lebanon, while completely disregarding the fact that there is an actual ministry – the Ministry of State for Refugee Affairs – that is dedicated to tackling refugee affairs.

There are no disputes in Lebanon over the refugees’ right to return to their homeland, “but one cannot treat international agencies in such a manner. This is an affair linked to government policy, not the decision of a singular minister,” added Mounla. Education Minister Marwan Hamadeh condemned Bassil’s measure, comparing it to a “declaration of war of attrition against international institutions, while completely disregarding its impact on Lebanon’s reputation.” Bassil said the UNHCR had discouraged refugees in the northeastern region of Arsal from returning by asking them questions about conditions they might face in Syria, including the possibility of military conscription, security problems and poor accommodation. “UNHCR does not try to discourage the refugees from returning back to Syria at all. We respect people’s decisions, the individual decisions for people to return,” said Rola Amin, spokeswoman for the agency in the Middle East. International law expert Dr. Paul Morqos ruled out any negative impact Bassil’s move may have on Lebanon, saying he had resorted to diplomatic pressure to reach a certain goal. “The pressure may force the UN to comply with the government request and work on facilitating the refugees’ return given the burden they are imposing on Lebanon,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat. The foreign minister “did not bar the UNHCR from operating in Lebanon, but he only froze its staff’s new residency applications, which is not a rejection of the agency’s work,” he added. Lebanon hosts more than a million Syrian refugees who constitute more than a quarter of its population and says their presence has strained public services and suppressed economic growth. Lebanon’s president and other top politicians have increasingly called for refugees to return to “secure areas”. In an emailed statement, seen by Reuters, Bassil said he would consider taking further measures against the agency.