كلمة النائب نعمة الله أبي نصر التي ألقاها

في المؤتمر الذي نظّمته اللجنة اللبنانية الأميركية لإحياء الشراكة LARP

بالتعاون مع الغرفة اللبنانية للتجارة في فندق فينيسيا

بحضور ممثل فخامة رئيس الجمهورية الوزير محمد الصفدي

    حَضرَة مُمثِّل فَخامَة رئيس الجمهورية معالي الوزير محمد الصفدي المُحتَرَم،

            أيُّهـا الحَضُـورُ الكِـرام ،

بادِئ ذِي بِدْء ، أوَدُّ أن أشْكُرَ مُؤسَّسَةَ LARP رئيساً وأعضاءَ ، والغُرفَةَ اللبنانية الأميركية للتِجارَةِ ، لِتنظيمِهما هذا المُؤتَمَر الذي أفْسَحَ لَنا المَجالَ لنُناقِشَ سَويَّةً السُبُلَ الآيِلَةَ الى اِلتضامُنِ والتواصُلِ بينَ لُبنانَ المُقيمِ والمُغتَرِب .

لا حاجََة للتَّذْكِيْرِ كَمْ أنَّ لُبْنانَ اليَوْم هُوَ بحاجَةٍ إلَى أبْنائِهِ المُغْتَرِبِيْنَ ولاسِيَّما في هَذِهِ المَرْحَلَةِ بالذَّاتِ، حَيْثُ أنَّ الأنْظارَ جَمِيْعَها تَتَّجِهُ نَحْوَكم مِنْ أجْلِ اجْتِذابِ أولادِنا في الإغترابِ نَحْوَ وَطَنِهم الأمِّ ، وتَشْوِيْقِهِم للعَوْدَةِ إلَيْهِ ، وتَرْغِيْبِهِم في اسْتِثْمارِ طاقاتِهِم السياسيَّة والمادِيَّة والفِكْرِيَّة والروحِيَّة والعِلْمِيَّة والمِهَنِيَّة في مُخْتَلَفِ قِطاعاتِ المُجْتَمَعِ اللُّبْنانِيِّ ، بُغْيَةَ المُساهَمَةِ في إعادَةِ إحْيائِها وإنْعاشِها ، لأنَّ إعادَةَ البِناءِ لا تَتِمُّ ، ولُبْنان لا يُبْنَى إلاَّ عَلى سَواعِدِ أبْنائِهِ أنْفُسِهِم مُقِيْمِيْنَ ومُغْتَرِبِيْنَ ، مسيحييِّنَ ومُسلِمينَ .

لَنْ أتوَسَّعَ في تبيانِ أهميَّةِ الإغتِرابِ اللُبنانيِّ وعَظَمَتِه وتفَوُّقِهِ في العالَم في كُلِّ المَجالاتِ السياسيَّةِ والإقتِصاديَّةِ والإجتِماعيَّةِ والفكريَّة والمِهنيَّةِ وغيرِها .

ولَنْ أتوقَّفَ حولَ إهمالِ الإغتِرابِ اللُبنانيِّ من قِبَلِ الحكوماتِ التي تعاقَبَتْ على الحُكمِ في لُبنان منذُ الإستِقلالِ حتى اليوم، هذا الإهمالُ الذي يكادُ يكونُ متعمداً لولا لَفتَةٍ كريمَةٍ جاءَت بالأمسِ من قِبَلِ فخامَةِ رئيسِ الجُمهوريَّة حيثُ تَعَهَّدَ في خِطابِ القَسَم تعزيزَ التواصُلِ بينَ لُبنانَ المُقيمِ والمُغتَرِبِ بُغيَةَ الإستِفادَةِ من طاقاتِ أبنائِنا في الإغتِراب، حيثُ هُم أحقُّ بالجنسيَّةِ اللُبنانيَّةِ مِنَ الذينَ أخذوها على غيرِ وجهِ حَقٍّ .

وإنّي أرى في اجتِماعِكُم هذا ، بُزوغَ أملٍ جديدٍ للتواصُلِ الفعليّ بينَ لبنان بجناحّيهِ المُقيمِ والمُغتَرب . ولَكِن كَيْفَ السبيلُ لِتحقيقِ هذا الأمَل ؟!

إنَّ الرابِطَ الأقوى الذي من شأنِهِ أنْ يَشُدَّ المُغتَرِبَ الى لُبنان هوَ رابطُ الهويَّةِ وما يَنتُجُ عنها من مَجالاتٍ على كافَةِ الصُعُد ، كحقِّ التمَلُكِ والإرثِ ومُمارَسَةِ المِهَنِ ، والتمتُعِ بالحُقوقِ السياسيَّةِ والإقتِصاديَّة  والدُخولِ في الوَظيفَةِ العامَّةِ … ألخ . وباختِصار: فالهُوِيَّةُ اللُبنانيَّة تُمكِّنُ المُغتَرِبَ من وَضعِ كافَةِ طاقاتِهِ الفكريَّة والتقنيَّة والعلميَّة والماديَّة في خِدمَةِ لُبنان والإسهامِ في تَطَوُرِهِ وتقَدُّمِهِ ورُقيِّهِ ، وصولاً الى مصافِ الدُولِ المُتطوِّرَة الحديثَة

By Agence France Presse (AFP), BEIRUT: Lebanese and international leaders urged calm on Thursday as they condemned a political assassination that threatened to undermine efforts to reconcile rival factions in Lebanon. Saleh Aridi, a senior member of the Lebanese Democratic Party, was assassinated in a car bombing late on Wednesday in his hometown of Baysour, southeast of Beirut.  A security official said the bomb, made of 700 grams of explosives, was placed under his car. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.  United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday condemned the car bombing and urged rival parties to show "restraint."  "This violence only underscores how important it is for dialogue and reconciliation to move forward," the UN chief told a news conference.  Six people were also slightly wounded in the attack, which was also condemned by both Washington and Damascus.  "The United States is deeply concerned about the latest violence in Lebanon," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement.  "Our support for the Lebanese government and its democratic institutions is unwavering," he added.  The Syrian Foreign Ministry said that Damascus "firmly denounces the criminal and terrorist act," adding that Syria was "convinced that such crimes that target security and stability in Lebanon will not achieve their objectives."  The European Union also condemned the crime and called for an investigation into the killing.  Speaking on behalf of the EU, a French Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the EU supported Lebanon’s efforts "to stop terrorism."

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman warned against any attempt to derail efforts under way to achieve national reconciliation, with the attack taking place just a day after he announced the start of a multi-party dialogue next Tuesday.  "We must beware of conspiracies aimed … at scuttling efforts toward reconciliation and preparations for national dialogue," the president said in a statement.  Aridi, in his 50s, was a top adviser to pro-Syrian Druze leader and Youth and Sports Minister Talal Arslan, a rival to Druze anti-Syrian leader Walid Jumblatt. Aridi’s father is also a leading Druze religious figure.  Jumblatt denounced the attack as a bid to sow violence between his party and Arslan’s, after the two had reconciled in May following fierce clashes between rival clans. The slain adviser had played a key role in the reconciliation effort.  Aridi, who was married and had five children, is scheduled to be buried in his hometown at 1 p.m. on Friday.  "Message received," said Arslan, who rushed back to Lebanon from abroad on hearing of the killing.   He refused to speculate as to who was behind the attack.  Arslan, who offered his condolences to Sheikh Farhan Aridi, Saleh’s father, told reporters in Baysour that the mountains would stay united despite attempts to sow discord. "What you and I have started together on May 7 shall continue for the sake of the mountains and the nation," Arslan said in reference to Aridi’s efforts to reconcile Druze factions. The Democratic Party leader also stressed that "while political differences are legitimate, unrest and divide are forbidden." He added that the crime would be referred to the Judicial Council, the country’s highest judicial authority.

By Hussein Abdallah,  BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman was quoted by his visitors on Sunday as denying that his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad, asked him during their recent bilateral summit in Damascus to send the Lebanese Armed Forces’ 10th Brigade to "fight extremism" in Tripoli. The visitors said that Sleiman also denied that he made any […]

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — It’s the Mideast version of a sordid soap opera. A Lebanese pop star is brutally slain in her luxury Dubai apartment, her throat slashed. Arrested in her death: One of Egypt’s most politically connected businessmen, accused of paying $2 million to have her killed.The killing of Suzanne Tamim has gone beyond a lurid crime story to something more serious — a glimpse into the close links between Egypt’s government and powerful business tycoons long viewed as above the law. It is also exposing strains between societies like Egypt’s, where wealth and political power increasingly go hand in hand, and Dubai, which recently launched a high-profile push against corruption. People in the Arab world have long followed with fascination and moral clucking the tales of businessmen and politicians cavorting with actresses, belly-dancers and singers — a sort of Hollywood Babylon in the conservative Muslim Middle East. But even by those standards, the Tamim drama is a stunner. The 30-year-old singer, famed for her striking green eyes, was found dead in her Dubai apartment in July, with multiple stab wounds and a 20-centimeter (8 inch) slash across her throat.  This week, Egyptian authorities arrested real estate mogul Hisham Talaat Moustafa, said to be Tamim’s former lover. For many, the surprise wasn’t Moustafa’s alleged involvement — but his arrest. Egyptians are widely convinced their government won’t touch influential businessmen. When Moustafa’s name first appeared in media reports weeks ago, he denied a role and complained on Egyptian television that the rumors hurt the economy. The government promptly banned press reports on the slaying, suggesting that Moustafa was off-limits.  The tycoon is a top ruling party official close to President Hosni Mubarak’s powerful son, Gamal. In the past 10 years, he has become one of Egypt’s top billionaires, the owner of luxury hotels and beach resorts and a leading force in building Western-style suburbs ringing Cairo for the upper-class.But on Tuesday, Egypt’s public prosecutor accused the tycoon of contracting for the singer’s killing by paying $2 million to Mohsen el-Sukkary, a former Egyptian state security officer.

BEIRUT (AFP) – Anti-Syria parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri has accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of trying to use unrest in north Lebanon to engineer a return to military control of the country, a statement received by AFP on Saturday said. "Those who export terrorism to north Lebanon do not have the right to fear the rise of extremism in Lebanon," Hariri said during Friday’s Ramadan meal."(The Syrians) want to use the situation in Tripoli as a pretext to involve themselves in Lebanese affairs and use it as a means for their military and security return to Lebanon," the Future Movement chief said.Assad said on Thursday he had asked Lebanese President Michel Sleiman to urgently send more troops to northern Lebanon to combat what he called "extremism." "The Lebanese clearly remember who sent Fatah al-Islam to Nahr al-Bared and to the north and who has — and continues to — finance terrorist activities in other regions," Hariri’s statement added. The Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp north of Tripoli was the scene of a deadly 15-week battle last year between the army and Fatah al-Islam, which adopted an ideology inspired by Al-Qaeda.

A statement issued by the ruling majority on Thursday night said Assad has no right to ask the Lebanese president to send Lebanese army units to northern Lebanon, and such a request is an "interference in Lebanese internal affairs, and result from non-recognition of Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence."
The statement also said such an request is "an insult to Lebanese president."  Assad Thursday said at a press conference that he had told the Lebanese president during the latter’s visit to Damascus to send more troops to northern Lebanon to stop clashes between Sunnis and Alawites in Tripoli and some villages of Akkar province.  During the past three months, clashes between the two sects in northern Lebanon have left more than 23 people killed and hundred others wounded.  Meanwhile, Assad’s invitation for talks with Israel was also rejected by the Lebanese ruling coalition, saying "Lebanon will be the last country to sign settlement agreement with Israel after reclaiming Arab rights."

Daily Star – BEIRUT: Lebanese President Michel Sleiman and newly appointed commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces General Jean Kahwaji offered condolences on Saturday to the family of First Lieutenant Samer Hanna, who was killed when his helicopter was hit by Hizbullah gunfire on Thursday. Hanna’s helicopter was shot at during a training session in the Sejod Hills in Southern Lebanon, a region known to be a Hizbullah stronghold.  Sleiman and Kahwaji paid separate visits to Hanna’s family at their residence in the northern town of Tannourine.  The army officer was laid to rest on Friday.  Meanwhile, judicial authorities on Saturday continued to investigate the Thursday’s incident after Hizbullah handed over the assailant and said that the incident had been the result of "confusion."

News reports Sunday quoted Defense Minister Elias Murr as telling a Cabinet session on Friday that Hizbullah fighters could have mistaken the Lebanese helicopter for an Israeli one.  The reports quoted Murr as saying the helicopter’s ID plate had a different color than the plates of the army’s traditional helicopters, adding that Hizbullah fighters had rushed to help Hanna and his wounded comrade when they realized that the targeted helicopter belonged to the Lebanese Army. The helicopter had recently been donated by the United Arab Emirates to the Lebanese Armed Forces, the reports added.  Hizbullah’s second in command, Sheikh Naim Qassem, told Al-Manar television on Friday that the incident was surrounded by confusion.  Qassem said that Hizbullah would abide by whatever the army and judicial investigators said in the matter.  Meanwhile, Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud told Voice of Lebanon radio on Saturday that he wanted to hear an explanation rather than a justification for Thursday’s attack. "We are seeking an explanation not a justification for what happened … such explanation will be provided through judicial investigations and not political interpretations," the minister said.

The new chief of the Lebanese army, Jean Kahwaji, has been promoted to general in a ceremony attended by his predecessor, President Michel Suleiman.  Gen Kahwaji was appointed to the post at a meeting of the national unity government on Friday evening.  The 54-year-old Maronite Christian had been a brigade commander since 2002.  Many Lebanese regard the army as one of the country’s few neutral institutions, and say it plays an important role in preventing sectarian conflict.

"The Council of Ministers decided to appoint General Jean Kahwaji to the post of chief of the Lebanese army," Mitri told reporters at the end of a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace. Kahwaji, 54, joined the army in 1973. He has undergone specialised military training abroad, including in the United States and Italy, while in 2006 he went to Germany for intensive anti-terrorism training. Decorated on several occasions, he has occupied the post of commander of the second infantry division since 2002. He is married with three children. General Shawki al-Masri, the army’s chief of staff, had been acting as head of the army since Sleiman was elected president of Lebanon on May 25, ending a drawn-out political crisis in the country. Observers say the 60,000-strong majority Shiite Lebanese army is these days more of a peacekeeping unit than an offensive force. At the end of 2006, Sleiman claimed that the army was "unified" — unlike it had been during the 1975-1990 civil war when it was bitterly divided along confessional lines.

BEIRUT (AFP) – Several thousand people joined a rally in Lebanon on Sunday to mark 30 years since Shiite leader Mussa Sadr vanished without trace in Libya, with the circumstances of his disappearance as mysterious as ever. Sadr, who founded the opposition Amal movement now led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berre would have been 80 this year and is still regarded by the Lebanese Shiite community as their key spiritual guide. Lebanon last week issued an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi over the disappearance of the imam on August 31, 1978 while he was in Tripoli with two companions, who vanished with him. "We tell the leader of the Libyan regime Moamer Kadhafi: you are personally responsible for the disappearance of Imam Mussa Sadr," Berri said in a speech to the crowds in the southern town of Nabatiyeh."Let no-one think that we will forget or make any compromise," said Berri, a leading figure in the Syrian-backed opposition in Lebanon spearheaded by the powerful Hezbollah movement. Libya has denied involvement in Sadr’s disappearance, saying he left Libya for Italy. But the Italian government has always denied he ever arrived there. However, in 2004 Italian authorities returned a passport found in Italy belonging to the imam.

Sunday marked 30 years since the disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr, a Lebanese icon who put his country’s Shiite community on the road to sociopolitical revival long before the 1979 Islamic Revolution In Iran brought a more radical flavor to the phenomenon on the regional level. The details of Sadr’s fate remain a mystery, but all signs point to the government of Libya, which is the last place where he was seen alive. Tripoli has staunchly – but not very convincingly – denied any involvement, preventing the two countries from improving their bilateral relationship and foiling any form of "closure" to many Lebanese Shiites who still believe that their hero continues to languish in captivity. As it happens, the anniversary followed just a day after visiting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi performed a remarkable act of contrition in Benghazi, apologizing to all Libyans for his own country’s colonial-era atrocities and pledging billions of dollars in investment as a mechanism of indirect compensation. But Moammar Gadhafi’s regime need not look to Rome for an example of how to properly turn the page: In the past few years, his own government has closed several embarrassing files, including its efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction and the involvement of its intelligence officers in the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing.  Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hizbullah, has invited the Libyans to come clean on Sadr’s disappearance as well, and Tripoli could do itself a favor by accepting it. As demonstrated by last week’s filing of charges against Gadhafi by a Lebanese prosecutor, this issue will not go away – particularly when Hizbullah and Amal, two Shiite parties that form a large part of Sadr’s legacy, remain in ascendance.

TYRE, Lebanon (Reuters) – Many of the 44 teams clearing cluster munitions scattered by Israel in south Lebanon during its 2006 war with Hezbolah will have to stop work this month for lack of funds, a U.N. spokeswoman said on Friday Donors have failed to come up with a promised $4.7 million needed to fund the program in 2008, according to Dalya Farran of the U.N. Mine Action Coordination Centre (UNMACC). "A very large number of the clearance teams will be stopping by the end of this month if we don’t get funds before that," she said, adding that some donor countries had not kept their promises and others had lost interest two years after the war.

UNMACC has led efforts to clear thousands of unexploded cluster bomblets left over after Israel’s war with Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas. Israel fired or dropped most of the munitions in the last 72 hours before an August 14 ceasefire. Since then 27 civilians have been killed and 234 wounded by unexploded ordnance, mostly cluster munitions, while 13 bombs disposal experts  have been killed and 39 wounded, Farran said. Any reduction in clearance work would lead to a higher accident rate because past experience shows that villagers will attempt to deal with the bomblets themselves if they believe that no disposal teams will do the job, Farran said.

DAMASCUS (AFP) – Syria and Lebanon agreed on Thursday to take formal steps to demarcate their borders as part of a string of decisions to normalise their relations for the first time after decades of tension. The announcement came as President Michel Sleiman wrapped up a landmark two-day visit to Damascus — the first by […]