By Sunniva Rose — thenationalnews.com — US and French diplomats have attempted to pressure a reluctant Saudi Arabia to increase its involvement in Lebanon in what analysts described as an unprecedented effort to save the crisis-hit country from itself. But the outcome of their negotiations remains unclear apart from potentially delivering more in-kind humanitarian aid. Ambassadors Anne Grillo of France and Dorothy Shea of the US visited Saudi Arabia on Thursday to discuss Lebanon’s economic crisis and political paralysis. They said in a joint statement afterwards that the country desperately needed a “fully empowered government”. The international community has refused to bail out the cash-strapped state after decades of mismanagement and corruption, arguing that politicians should first bring in laws to increase transparency and accountability.

The failure of Lebanese leaders to act has led to severe electricity, water and medical shortages amid rapidly increasing inflation and poverty. The local currency is trading at more than 19,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar – less than a tenth of its official value. Lebanon is without a fully functioning government and political bickering over the formation of a new one persists. The previous Cabinet resigned following the deadly blast that rocked Beirut’s port on August 4 last year. “We are providing a lot of emergency and humanitarian aid to Lebanon but we could do much more if the Lebanese shouldered their responsibilities,” a French diplomatic source told The National. The US embassy in Beirut was not immediately available for comment. Saudi Arabia has traditionally been financially supportive of Lebanon and aligned with its Sunni Muslim and pro-Western leaders. But it has distanced itself in recent years owing to increasing concerns about the power wielded by Hezbollah. The Shiite Muslim group is backed by Saudi Arabia’s regional archenemy, Iran.

يجتازُ لبنانُ أزمةً وجوديّةً بموازاةِ أزَماتِه المتعدِّدةِ تَستدعي أن نقاومَها ونَهزِمَها لئلّا يَتفكّكَ المجتمعُ اللبنانُّي ذاتيًّا من دون حاجةٍ إلى قرارٍ سياسيّ. صار لهذه الأزمةِ الوجوديّةِ ديناميّةٌ خاصّةٌ بها، ومسارٌ نفسانيٌّ مستقلٌ عن مسارِ الأزَمات الأخرى. اللبنانيّون ليسوا سعداءَ في حياتِهم. اِسْأَلُوا وجوهَهُم ووجومَهُم. اِسْأَلُوا عيونَهم ونظراتِهم. اِسْأَلُوا صَمتَهم وتهيبّوا غضبَهم. أفْقَدوهم مشيئةَ الحياةِ ليُحبِطوا إرادةَ الثورة، إذ لا ثورةَ من دونِ قابليّةِ الحياة. حتّى أنَّ الاستشهادَ هو دفاعٌ عن الحياة.

تلاشَت اللمْعةُ التي مَيّزت طلَّةَ اللبنانيّين وغمْزةَ لقاءاتِـهم. اختفَت علاماتُ الفرَحِ وبحيراتُ الابتسامة. إنْ فَرِحوا شَعَروا بحَياءٍ تجاه الآخَرين، وإن حَزِنوا أحَسّوا بالظلمِ لأنّهم أبناءَ الفرحِ يُدعَوْن. كالوَشْم، نُقِشَت صورةُ المرفأِ المتفَجِّرِ على جِباهِهم وتَسرَّبَت إلى الضمير؛ فانْطَووا على ذواتِهم واعتذَروا من البهجَة. ليس بالانكفاءِ يَتِمُّ تخطّي الصعوبات، بل بالمواجهةِ الشاملةِ طالما أنَّ الأزمةَ شاملة. لكن، أين قادةُ المواجهة؟ جميعُهم أصبحوا تسوويّين، حتى الّذين يَدّعون الثورةَ والتغييرَ يخافون قولَ الحقيقةِ. الـــ”نَعَمُ” لديهم باهتةٌ والـ”لا” باردة. تأقَلموا مع الطموحاتِ السياسيّةِ وتَغافلوا عن النضالِ من أجلِ الطموحاتِ الوطنيّة. ومنهم من فَضّلَ السفاراتِ على الساحات.

يَشعُر اللبنانيّون بامتِعاضٍ مُبهَمٍ. يَتحدّثون عنه ويَعجَزون عن تحديدِه. يأتي ويَروح. يَكبُر ويَصغُر. لا يَعرِفون مصدرَه: أطَلعَ منهم أم دَخلَ إليهم؟ أهي ضِيقةٌ مادّيةٌ أم ضيقةٌ نفسيّةٌ أم ضيقةٌ حضارية؟ أيَستَدْعون طبيبًا، أم يَجلِسون بقربِ حبيبٍ، أم يَلوذون بالعائلة، والعائلةُ مُشتتَّةٌ في مشارقِ الدنيا ومغاربِها؟ ظّنوا أنّهم بالحركةِ والرياضة، بالانشغالِ والعمل، بالترفيهِ والقراءة، بالسفرِ والهِجرةِ، يَطردون تلك الضيقةَ الغريبة، لكنّها سُرعانَ ما تُعود إليهم ولو بَلغوا الصين… خالُوها انتقلَت إليهم مع وباءِ كورونا، لكنّهم أخذوا اللَقاحَ مرّةً ومرّتين وثلاثًا، وبَقيَت الضيقةُ جاثمةً على العقلِ والقلبِ والصدرِ وعلى مفاصلِ العافية تتحدّى عزيمتَهم الأسطوريّةَ وصمودَهم التاريخيَّ وقدرَتَهم على التكيّفِ مع المصائب.

By CHRISTOPHER HAMILL-STEWART — arabnews.com — LONDON: Hezbollah has used its financial backers in Iran and its significant military arsenal to “permeate the Lebanese state,” according to a paper launched this week. The paper — authored by Lina Khatib, director of London-based think tank Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa program, and launched at an online event on Thursday attended by Arab News — details how Hezbollah morphed from a resistance group against Israeli occupation to a hybrid power holding the Lebanese state in an ideological stranglehold. “Hezbollah has spread its influence throughout the Lebanese state, from the presidency of the republic to representative political institutions and the civil service, as well as Lebanon’s military and security institutions,” the paper said. “This influence is due to a number of factors: Hezbollah’s benefiting from a reliable external patron — Iran — unlike other parties in Lebanon; Hezbollah’s capacity in terms of organization, funding, physical resources and numbers of followers, which dwarfs that of other Lebanese parties.” Other means used by Hezbollah, the paper said, include the “weakness of the Lebanese state” and the existence of “a political system based on elite pacts.”

Khatib told event attendees that she urges analysts, particularly in the West, to take a “nuanced” approach to understanding the relationship between Lebanon and Hezbollah. “While Hezbollah is a contributing factor to the weakness of the Lebanese state, it’s also a product of the political system in Lebanon,” she said. “As long as the current political system in Lebanon continues to exist, it won’t be possible to reverse Hezbollah’s sway over the Lebanese state.” Khatib said the characterization of Hezbollah as a “state within a state” — popular in academic and policymaking circles — is inaccurate. This characterization “implies that Hezbollah is operating in a way that’s completely detached from the Lebanese state at large. Instead, what I argue is that Hezbollah permeates the state in Lebanon,” she added. “And when we say ‘the state,’ I’m not just talking about the state institutions, I’m also talking about the state as the space for the contestation of power in Lebanon. “This, I think, is vividly illustrated by how Hezbollah, unlike other groups in Lebanon … has surveillance capacities. That means it’s monitoring not just what happens inside state institutions, but it’s monitoring its allies and its opponents in all kinds of arenas: Cultural, social, education, economic. This is something that gives it a huge tactical advantage.”

By Bassam Zacca — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: As Lebanon is increasingly plagued by power outages as a result of the fuel crisis in the country, the blackouts are affecting all sections of society. Status and official standing offer little protection, with politicians and foreign diplomats just as vulnerable as residents and business owners. On Friday morning, two of the nation’s main power plants stopped working completely because of a lack of fuel. This had a knock-on effect on water supplies, as pumping stations cannot operate without electricity or fuel for back-up generators. Since Thursday, power supplies have failed across Bekaa, Tripoli, Saida, Sour, Nabateyye, Baabda, Mount Lebanon and Beirut, with blackouts now affecting more than 90 percent of the country. One of the people feeling the effects was Takeshi Okubo, the Japanese ambassador to Lebanon, who wrote on social media about his fears for the effects of the electricity crisis on healthcare. “Electric power supply is down at my residence since early morning,” he said in a message posted on Twitter. “I was told no prospect of resumption of power supply. My thought is with all the hospitals and clinics.” Within a short space of time his tweet had received more than 747 likes, been retweeted 133 times and attracted more than 55 replies.

Firas Abiad, the CEO and manager of Rafik Hariri University Hospital (RHUH), recently said on Twitter that the main concern at most hospitals in Lebanon now is not the threat posed by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, nor shortages of medical supplies. “The major worry now is electricity, without which medical equipment cannot work,” he wrote. “Old generators cannot continue running nonstop. When they break down, lives will be at risk.” Abiad also sent a letter to government ministers about of the dire consequences of the fuel crisis and blackouts, warning that “backup generators won’t hold up for long amid this recurring and serious crisis.” He noted, for example, that the RHUH has already been forced to switch off air coolers in non-medical wards and some other departments.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Lebanese Interior minister Fahmi has denied a request by the judge probing the Beirut port explosion to question a top security official, a document seen by Reuters on Friday showed, as attempts to deliver justice over the catastrophe continue to flounder. Nearly a year after the Aug. 4 explosion, which killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and devastated swathes of the capital, many Lebanese are furious that no senior officials have been held to account. The blast was caused by a massive quantity of explosive chemicals that had been stored unsafely at the port for years. The request from Judge Tarek Bitar to question Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of the powerful General Security agency, was rejected by caretaker interior minister Mohamed Fahmy in a letter to the justice minister.

In a statement, Ibrahim said he was subject to the law like all Lebanese, but the probe should take place “far away from narrow political considerations”. Bitar became the lead investigator into the blast after his predecessor, Judge Fadi Sawan, was removed in February following requests from two former ministers he had charged with negligence over the blast. Sawan had charged three ex-ministers and the outgoing prime minister Hassan Diab with negligence. But they refused to be questioned as suspects, accusing him of overstepping his powers. A parliamentary committee convened on Friday to study a request by Bitar for immunity to be lifted from former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, former Public Works Minister Ghazi Zeaiter and former Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk. After being charged, Diab said his conscience was clear, Khalil said he had no role in the blast, and Zeaiter called the charges “a blatant violation”. Machnouk has also denied any responsibility.

بعد انتهاء حرب البارد ٢٠٠٧ اوفد رئيس احدى الدول الكبرى الصديقة ضابطاً كبيراً مستشاراً لديه ليطلب اليّ الموافقة له على القيام بجولة على الدول الخليجية من اجل الحصول على مساعدات عسكرية او دعم مادي بغية تسليح وتجهيز الجيش الذي كنت اقوده في ذلك الحين. اعتذرت منه واقترحت ان تقوم لجنة من الحيش اللبناني بهذه المهمة […]

by english.aawsat.com — Sorbonne-educated Chryssoula Fayad spent nearly two decades teaching history and geography at Lebanon’s elite French schools, ultimately heading departments. Now she is a substitute teacher in Paris, part of an exodus from an education system on its knees. Fayad left behind her home and life savings in August 2020, at 50 years old. Days earlier, the hospital where her husband worked and his clinic were damaged along with swathes of Beirut when chemicals exploded at the port – the final straw. Corruption and political wrangling have cost the local currency more than 90% of its value in less than two years, propelling half the population into poverty and locking depositors like Fayad out of their bank accounts. Despite her straitened circumstances, she has no regrets. “I always say thank God that we had this chance to come here,” she said. “Unfortunately I know I made the right decision when I see how things are in Lebanon now.”

Lebanon’s educational sector, prized throughout the Middle East as a regional leader, was once ranked tenth globally by the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report. Now it is unclear how schools will manage when the new academic year starts in October. “When the crisis erupted in 2019 it took the educational sector by surprise,” Rene Karam, the head of the Association of Teachers of English (ATEL) in Lebanon, said. At the start, some private schools laid off higher-paid teachers, around 30% of staff, to save money, but as time went on many others left of their own accord, with half of the 100 teachers in his association now in Iraq, Dubai and Oman. Salaries starting at 1.5 million Lebanese pounds a month are now worth less than $90 at the street rate in a country where they used to be $1,000. “We are in a real crisis,” he told Reuters.

لدى خروجي من احتفال اطلاق الكتاب عن علاقة بكركي بالمملكة العربية السعودية سألتني مراسلة قناة اماراتية، عن السبيل لعودة السعودية الى لبنان ؟ اجبتها باختصار هو في عودة الدولة اللبنانية الى السعودية والى كل البلدان التي ينتشر فيها اللبنانيون، تماماً كما فعلت بكركي حين تواجدت على مدى مائة عام  حيث  تواجد اللبنانيون وليس في بلدان […]

Beirut (AFP) The French and US envoys to Lebanon are to visit Saudi Arabia, France’s embassy said Wednesday, an unusual move amid international pressure to lift Lebanon out of a roiling political and economic crisis. The visit Thursday comes as Lebanese battle shortages and price hikes on basic goods in what the World Bank has called one of the world’s worst economic crises since the 1850s. World powers have demanded a new government before any financial aid to the cash-strapped nation, but for around 11 months Lebanese politicians have failed to agree on a line-up. “The (French) ambassador will explain how urgent it is that Lebanese officials form a credible and effective government to work on implementing necessary reforms,” the embassy said.

The French envoy would, “with her American counterpart, express France and United States’ desire to exert pressure on those responsable for the deadlock”, it said. Last month the top diplomats of the United States, France and Saudi Arabia jointly urged Lebanon’s squabbling leaders to come together. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held an impromptu meeting with his Saudi and French counterparts in Italy on the sidelines of talks of the Group of 20 major economies. They discussed “the need for Lebanon’s political leaders to show real leadership by implementing overdue reforms to stabilise the economy and provide the Lebanese people with much-needed relief,” Blinken wrote on Twitter. Saudi Arabia has remained largely out of the current Lebanese political crisis, in contrast with past approaches.

DUBAI,  (Reuters) – Qatar will provide the Lebanese armed forces with 70 tonnes of food a month, the Qatari state news agency QNA reported, as Lebanon seeks assistance amid its worst economic and political crisis since a 1975-1990 civil war. Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun had appealed to world powers at meeting in France last month for assistance for soldiers, whose wages have plunged in value as the Lebanese pound has crashed and inflation has soared. read more Qatar’s donation was announced on Tuesday during a visit to Beirut by Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani. QNA did not give details about the food aid offered. Sheikh Mohammed urged Lebanese parties to form a new government “to achieve stability”, QNA said. Lebanese politicians have spent months wrangling without agreeing on a new government that is needed to unlock international aid.