Lebanon's FPM Says Won’t Join New Gov't on Hariri Terms

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Asharq Al-Awsat -- The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) will not join a new government under the terms insisted on by caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri, but it will not obstruct the formation of a new cabinet, its leader Gebran Bassil, who is Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, said on Thursday. Bassil called for the formation of a government made up entirely of technocrats including its prime minister, appearing to leave the door open for participation on different terms. "If Prime Minister Hariri insists on the equation 'either me or nobody else' (as prime minister) ... we in the FPM ... are not concerned in participating in such a government, because its fate will be certain failure," said Bassil, who is President Michel Aoun’s son-in-law. Six weeks since Hariri resigned in the face of unprecedented protests against the country's elite, political leaders have failed to agree on a new premier and government, steps seen as a prerequisite for restoring confidence and earning foreign assistance. Hariri has reemerged as a candidate to head the next government after Samir Khatib withdrew his candidacy. Foreign diplomats decided at a closed-door meeting in Paris on Wednesday that Lebanon cannot expect to receive international aid for its battered economy until a new government undertakes serious reforms. The international group, led by France and the United Nations, met to discuss conditions for helping ease turmoil in Lebanon.

MP Hobeiche, Judge Aoun exchange

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The Daily Star -- BEIRUT: Future Movement MP Hadi Hobeish filed a lawsuit against Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Ghada Aoun Thursday as the latter filed a complaint against the lawmaker for defamation and threatening her. Aoun submitted her complaint to the Cassation Public Prosecution, calling for the lawmaker’s arrest, trial and questioning. Her complaint was accompanied by video footage of Hobeish breaking into her office at the Baabda Justice Palace Wednesday and threatening her. Hobeish, in turn, filed charges against Aoun Thursday as well, for defamation, and contempt against lawyers and MPs. The Lebanese state also filed a criminal complaint against Hobeish Thursday, through lawyer Rabih al-Fakhry, for publicly attacking Aoun, and asked for him to be arrested and to pay at least $100 million in compensation for damaging the prestige of the state and the judiciary. According to the complaint, Hobeish’s actions are criminal as per the Lebanese Penal Code. The Future MP launched a personal protest at the Justice Palace in Baabda Wednesday against the arrest of Director-General of the Traffic and Vehicles Management Authority Hoda Salloum, who he is a related to.

Aoun Wednesday had ordered the arrest of Salloum based on a complaint filed by lawyer Wadih Akl related to allegations of bribery, forgery, waste of public funds, illegal enrichment and breach of duties. Hobeish described Aoun as a “militia” and a “symbol of corruption” when he was protesting inside the Justice Palace, accompanied by a number of unidentified men. He added: “We will not be silent about these acts after today,” and stated that he believed a judge has no right to make such a decision. Hobeish said that Aoun had arrested Salloum unlawfully. A judicial source told The Daily Star that as the director-general of a state institution, Salloum has immunity, so any judge must ask for permission from her superior, in this case the interior minister, in order to arrest her. Aoun had originally called Salloum in as a witness, making her arrest illegal, the source added. A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on December 13, 2019, on page 2.

OPINION Shooting his mouth off, Iranian official admits the truth about Lebanon

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by Tom Rogan -- washingtonexaminer.com -- With telling embarrassment, Iran is rowing back comments made by an adviser to the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The problem? The adviser inadvertently admitted that Iran values Lebanon only as its puppet. Speaking on Monday, retired Gen. Morteza Qorbani told an Iranian news outlet that Iran did not need to use ballistic missiles in Iran to effectively attack Israel. Instead, Qorbani said, if "the Zionist regime makes the smallest mistake toward Iran, we will reduce Tel Aviv to ashes from Lebanon." That sparked quick pushback in Lebanon, even from Iran's allies there. On Wednesday, a top Revolutionary Guard spokesperson blamed the media for misrepresenting the adviser's clear words. Qorbani, the spokesman added, "meant to speak of response to Israel by possible various means and capacities." In addition, in an amusing attempt to distance themselves from Qorbani, the Revolutionary Guard claimed that he "is not an adviser to the IRGC commander at present." If that's not rowing back, I don't know what is. So, what's going on here? Why are Iranian hardliners who revel in making threats to destroy Israel now distancing themselves from Qorbani? The problem is that he said something that is supposed to go unspoken.

Iran is desperate to counter knowledge of its quiet, malevolent presence in Lebanon and the control it exercises there. It's a very timely concern too. Like Iraq, Lebanon is currently aflame with mass protests against Iranian cronyism and interference. Furious that Iran has restrained their nations from improving so as to use Lebanon as a base for the Khomeinist revolution, these protesters are demanding a new technocratic government be formed. That's a big problem for Iran. After all, were technocrats to replace Iranian cronies in running Lebanon, Tehran would lose its Western base and its access to the Levant and Mediterranean Sea. That takes us back to Qorbani. By threatening to launch missiles from Lebanon against Israel, Qorbani has openly stated that Iran cares nothing for Lebanese sovereignty and prospective democracy and only for that nation's utility as a vehicle for its proxy wars. Iran's big problem: Qorbani's honesty proves from the regime's own mouth that those taking to the streets in Lebanon are in the right. Let us hope the people of Lebanon, Iraq, and the broader Middle East pay heed to Iran's rare offer of truth.

DIPLOMATS TO LEBANON: EXPECT NO AID BEFORE GOVERNMENT FORMED

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by By CLAIRE PARKER - AP --PARIS (AP) — Lebanon cannot expect to receive international aid for its battered economy until a new government undertakes serious reforms, diplomats decided at a closed-door meeting in Paris on Wednesday. The international group, led by France and the United Nations, met to discuss conditions for helping ease turmoil in Lebanon, which is facing its worst financial crisis in decades and political uncertainty amid an ongoing protest movement. Lebanese businesses and households are growing increasingly desperate as cash supplies there have dwindled. Representatives from several countries, including the United States, and international financial institutions agreed on a set of principles Lebanon must meet before it can expect to receive foreign cash.

U.S. Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker said attendees agreed to give technical advice to Lebanese institutions but they won't provide the bailout that caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri requested. Hariri had called on Saudi Arabia, France, Turkey, the United States, China, and Egypt to send funds to help Lebanon finance imports. “There’s no aid package; there is no bailout,” Schenker told The Associated Press. “Lebanon is not being saved from its financial mess." Schenker said the group is considering sending some humanitarian aid to Lebanon to alleviate residents’ suffering, though it was unclear when or how much. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in closing remarks that the group supports protesters who have taken to the streets since Oct. 17 to call for an end to corruption and the overhaul of the Lebanese political system. “The Lebanese have mobilized for many weeks to demand reforms. They must be heard,” he said. Le Drian called the “institutional void” that has existed since Hariri resigned as prime minister on Oct. 29 “worrying.”

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Final statement - international support group for Lebanon (ISG)

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by aawsat.com --Asharq Al-Awsat received the draft statement that will be issued by the meeting of the International Group in Support of Lebanon, which will be held in Paris later on Wednesday. According to the statement, representatives from China, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, the Arab League and the World Bank participated in the meeting, in addition to a Lebanese delegation. Members of the international community recognize that Lebanon is facing a crisis that puts it on the brink of an economic collapse and greater destabilization, the statement read.

by naharnet.com --Speaking after the meeting, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said any international financial support for Lebanon hinges on the formation of what he called a “reformist government.” “The only standard should be this government’s effectiveness in terms of the reforms awaited by the people. Only this approach will allow all the participants in this meeting and others to mobilize in order to offer Lebanon all the support it needs,” Le Drian said. The secretary general of the Lebanese Foreign Ministry Hani Chemaitelly, who represented Lebanon at the meeting along with other mid-level officials, meanwhile told LBCI television that the atmosphere at the meeting was positive and that the ISG “sent a clear message on being committed to helping and embracing Lebanon.” The TV network for its part reported that Chemaitelly held bilateral talks in Paris with Le Drian, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker, director of the Middle East and North Africa department at the French foreign ministry, Christophe Farnaud, and his counterpart at the French foreign ministry. The ISG was created in 2013 by then U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to help Lebanon deal with the fallout of the war in neighboring Syria. It gathers agencies of the U.N., the European Union, Arab League, United States, China, France, Germany, Russia, Italy and Britain.

by diplomatie.gouv.fr --1. A meeting of the International Support Group for Lebanon (ISG), jointly chaired by France and the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, was held in Paris on December 11th. China, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, the League of Arab States, the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation took part in the meeting. Representatives of the Lebanese authorities also attended the discussions.

2. Lebanon has been left without a government for more than six weeks since Saad Hariri resigned on October 29th. The Group considers that preserving Lebanon’s stability, unity, security, sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity requires the urgent formation of an effective and credible government capable to meet the aspirations expressed by all the Lebanese that will have the capacity and credibility to deliver the necessary substantive policy package of economic reforms, and that will be committed to dissociate the country from regional tensions and crisis. It is urgent for the new government to be in place as quickly as possible.

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All eyes on Paris meet aimed to tackle Lebanon crisis

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by aawsat.com -- French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday urged the Lebanese to form a new government swiftly or risk a financial crisis worsening and threatening the country’s stability. “(They should) form a government quickly because any delay will continue to worsen the situation,” Le Drian told a news conference. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said stability in Lebanon was "very, very important" to the kingdom. Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said he would not "pre-judge" a conference planned this week in Paris to support Lebanon, which is facing its worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. "I'll wait for the results of the conference." The Lebanese people and the political system need to find a way forward that guarantees its stability and sovereignty, he told a news conference following a Gulf Arab summit in Riyadh in response to a question regarding aid to Lebanon.

Ghinwa Obeid| The Daily Star BEIRUT: All eyes are on Wednesday’s meeting in Paris that will gather an international support group to tackle the situation in Lebanon at a time when the country is facing worsening economic and a political stalemate. The one-day conference, which mainly aims to push Lebanon to form a new government, is co-chaired by France and the United Nations. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian Tuesday urged the Lebanese to form a new government swiftly or risk a worsening financial crisis and threatening the country’s stability. “[They should] form a government quickly because any delay will continue to worsen the situation,” Le Drian was quoted as saying by Reuters. According to the draft of a concluding statement from the conference published by local radio station Voice of Lebanon (93.3), the participating countries will stress that maintaining Lebanon’s stability will require a quick government formation. In light of the difficult economic situation and the liquidity issue facing the country, the attendees are also expected to push Lebanon to adopt a series of reforms that would restore financial stability, fix long-standing issues in the Lebanese economic system and combat corruption.

Last year, France hosted the CEDRE meet for Lebanon, where donors pledged over $11 billion in grants and soft loans to boost the country’s flagging economy and finance key infrastructure projects. The ISGL brings together the United Nations, the governments of China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, along with the European Union and the Arab League. Lebanon’s delegation to the conference headed to France Tuesday and, according to a source close to the delegation, it includes Foreign Ministry Director General Hani Chemaitelly, Finance Ministry Director-General Alain Bifani, Hazar Caracalla, an economic adviser to caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and Central Bank representative Raja Abou Asli. The source said he expects the conference to be “a declaration of good intentions with recommendations.” Local media also reported that the first session of the conference would be closed and would not include the Lebanese delegation, which will join the attendees in the second session to present their take on the situation.

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