لا شَيءَ فَوقَ مَا هُوَ مَكْتُوب»، فلا يَنْتَفِخَ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الكِبْرِيَاءِ مُتَحَزِّبًا لِوَاحِدٍ ضِدَّ الآخَر. فَمَنِ الَّذي يُمَيِّزُكَ عَنْ غَيْرِكَ؟ وأَيُّ شَيءٍ لَكَ وَلَمْ تَأْخُذْهُ هِبَةً؟ وإِنْ كُنْتَ أَخَذْتَهُ، فَلِمَاذَا تَفْتَخِرُ كَأَنَّكَ لَمْ تَأْخُذْهُ؟
رسالة القدّيس بولس الأولى إلى أهل قورنتس04/من01حتى13/:”يا إِخوتي، فَلْيَحْسَبْنَا كُلُّ إِنْسَانٍ مِثْلَ خُدَّامٍ لِلمَسِيح، ووُكَلاءَ عَلى أَسْرَارِ ٱلله. وكُلُّ مَا يُطلَبُ مِنَ الوُكَلاءِ هوَ أَنْ يَكُونَ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُم أَمِينًا. أَمَّا أَنَا فأَقَلُّ شَيْءٍ عِنْدِي أَنْ تَدِينُونِي أَنْتُم أَوْ أَيُّ مَحْكَمَةٍ بَشَرِيَّة، بَلْ وَلا أَنَا أَدِينُ نَفْسِي؛ لأَنِّي لا أَشْعُرُ بِشَيْءٍ يُؤَنِّبُنِي، لكِنَّ هذَا لا يُبَرِّرُني، إَنَّمَا دَيَّانِي هُوَ الرَّبّ. إِذًا فلا تَدِينُوا قَبْلَ الأَوَان، إِلى أَنْ يَأْتِيَ الرَّبّ. فَهوَ الَّذي يُنِيرُ خَفَايَا الظَّلام، وَيُظْهِرُ نِيَّاتِ القُلُوب، وحينَئِذٍ يَنَالُ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ مَدِيْحَهُ مِنَ ٱلله. وأَنَا لأَجْلِكُم، أَيُّهَا الإِخْوَة، جَعَلْتُ مِنْ نَفْسِي وَمِنْ أَبُلُّوسَ مِثَالاً، لِتَتَعَلَّمُوا بِنَا مَعنَى هذَا القَوْل: «لا شَيءَ فَوقَ مَا هُوَ مَكْتُوب»، فلا يَنْتَفِخَ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الكِبْرِيَاءِ مُتَحَزِّبًا لِوَاحِدٍ ضِدَّ الآخَر. فَمَنِ الَّذي يُمَيِّزُكَ عَنْ غَيْرِكَ؟ وأَيُّ شَيءٍ لَكَ وَلَمْ تَأْخُذْهُ هِبَةً؟ وإِنْ كُنْتَ أَخَذْتَهُ، فَلِمَاذَا تَفْتَخِرُ كَأَنَّكَ لَمْ تَأْخُذْهُ؟ هَا قَدْ شَبِعْتُم! هَا قَدِ ٱغْتَنَيْتُم، وَمَلَكْتُم مِنْ دُونِنَا! ويَا لَيْتَكُم مَلَكْتُم حَتَّى نَمْلِكَ نَحْنُ أَيْضًا مَعَكُم! فإِنِّي أَرَى أَنَّ اللهَ قَدْ أَظْهَرَنَا نَحْنُ الرُّسُلَ أَدْنَى النَّاس، كأَنَّنَا مَحْكُومٌ عَلَيْنَا بِالمَوت، لأَنَّنَا صِرْنَا مَشْهَدًا لِلعَالَمِ والمَلائِكَةِ والبَشَر. نَحْنُ حَمْقَى مِنْ أَجْلِ المَسِيح، وأَنْتُم عُقَلاءُ في المَسِيح! نَحْنُ ضُعَفَاء، وأَنْتُم أَقْوِيَاء! أَنْتُم مُكَرَّمُون، وَنَحْنُ مُهَانُون! ولا نَزَالُ حَتَّى هذَهِ السَّاعَةِ نَجُوعُ ، ونَعْطَشُ، ونُعَرَّى، ونُلْطَمُ، ونُشَرَّدُ، ونَتْعَبُ عَامِلِينَ بِأَيْدِينَا! وحَتَّى الآنَ نُشْتَمُ فَنُبَارِك، نُضْطَهَدُ فَنَحْتَمِل، يُفْتَرَى عَلَيْنَا فَنُعَزِّي! لَقَدْ صِرْنَا مِثْلَ أَقْذَارِ العَالَم، وَنِفَايَةِ النَّاسِ أَجْمَعِين.”

Nothing beyond what is written’, so that none of you will be puffed up in favour of one against another. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift
First Letter to the Corinthians 04/01-13/:”Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they should be found trustworthy. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgement before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God. I have applied all this to Apollos and myself for your benefit, brothers and sisters, so that you may learn through us the meaning of the saying, ‘Nothing beyond what is written’, so that none of you will be puffed up in favour of one against another. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift? Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Quite apart from us you have become kings! Indeed, I wish that you had become kings, so that we might be kings with you! For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, as though sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to mortals. We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honour, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed and beaten and homeless, and we grow weary from the work of our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we speak kindly. We have become like the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things, to this very day.

قالَ الربُّ يَسوع: «مَثَلُ مَلَكُوتِ اللهِ كَمَثَلِ رَجُلٍ يُلْقِي في الأَرْضِ زَرْعًا، ويَنَامُ ويَقُوم، لَيْلاً ونَهَارًا، والزَّرْعُ يَنْبُتُ ويَعْلُو
إنجيل القدّيس مرقس04/من26حتى29/:”قالَ الربُّ يَسوع: «مَثَلُ مَلَكُوتِ اللهِ كَمَثَلِ رَجُلٍ يُلْقِي في الأَرْضِ زَرْعًا، ويَنَامُ ويَقُوم، لَيْلاً ونَهَارًا، والزَّرْعُ يَنْبُتُ ويَعْلُو، وهُوَ لا يَدْري؛ لأَنَّ الأَرْضَ مِنْ ذَاتِها تُعْطِي ثَمَرًا، فَتُنْبِتُ العُشْبَ أَوَّلاً، ثُمَّ السُّنْبُل، ثُمَّ القَمْحَ مِلءَ السُّنْبُل. ومتَى نَضَجَ الثَّمَر، يُرسِلُ الزَّارِعُ في الحَالِ مِنْجَلَهُ لأَنَّ الحِصادَ قَدْ حَان».

The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 04/26-29/:”He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’

‘

The post لا شَيءَ فَوقَ مَا هُوَ مَكْتُوب فلا يَنْتَفِخَ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الكِبْرِيَاءِ مُتَحَزِّبًا لِوَاحِدٍ ضِدَّ الآخَر. فَمَنِ الَّذي يُمَيِّزُكَ عَنْ غَيْرِكَ؟ وأَيُّ شَيءٍ لَكَ وَلَمْ تَأْخُذْهُ هِبَةً؟ وإِنْ كُنْتَ أَخَذْتَهُ، فَلِمَاذَا تَفْتَخِرُ كَأَنَّكَ لَمْ تَأْخُذْهُ؟/Nothing beyond what is written’, so that none of you will be puffed up in favour of one against another. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

حزب “القوات” يحاول حشر نفسه في المشهد بعدما أخرجه سمير جعجع منه بنظرية “أوعى خيّك” السخيفة
إيلي الحاج/فايسبوك/2019

وأيضاً بقراره غير المفهوم ولا المعقول بتأييد ترشيح الجنرال ميشال عون للرئاسة، وهو أكثر واحد في لبنان وخارجه يعرف من هو ميشال عون. وكم يُضحك تذكر الخبرية المعرابية آنذاك أن ميشال عون سوف يبتعد عما يُسمّى”حزب الله” بعد وصوله إلى رئاسة الجمهورية!
أذكر ذلك بأسف كبير على وضع مجموعة وزراء و١٥ نائباً وقاعدة طويلة عريضة أصفارأ على الشمال في المعادلة بقرار مرده إلى إعطاء الأولوية للمصلحة (ورقة المحاصصة المعيبة مع جبران باسيل) على حساب كل ما هو مبدأ.
بالنسبة إلي، قبل ذهابه إلى خيار التحالف مع ميشال عون وجبران باسيل كان سمير جعجع “رجل مبدأ”. صورة انهارت فجأة أمام قالب كاتو كبير وكؤوس شمبانيا مرفوعة في لحظات شؤم على لبنان.
وفوق ذلك لم يعترف يوماً بأنه أخطأ خطأ فادحاً وأهدى رئاسة الجمهورية إلى “حزب الله”، وبحماسة كبيرة وتخوين لمن لا يوافق على هذا المنحى الانتحاري لا يُنسَيان.

قصة سليمان فرنجية إنو كان رح يصير رئيس أسطورة
إيلي الحاج/فايسبوك/16 كانون الأول/2019
قصة سليمان فرنجية إنو كان رح يصير رئيس أسطورة،
متل خبرية إنو دين براون قال للزعماء المسيحيين بحرب السنتين إنو البواخر الأميركية جاهزة لترحيل المسيحيين عن بلادهم.
وتبين إنو الرئيس سليمان فرنجية اللي ضل متشبث بهالخبرية فهم الكلام غلط. وما كان يعرف انكليزي.
وكان دين براون عم يقول للرئيس كميل شمعون إنو البواخر الحربية الأميركية ما رح تجي على لبنان متلما صار بال ١٩٥٨.
سليمان فرنجية متلما تبين بعدين ولا يمكن كان يصير رئيس وقتها.
ونصرالله كان واضح وعند كلامه لما قال : بدكن رئيس روحوا انتخبوا ميشال عون.
أما سامي الجميّل فهو بنفسه أكد لي إنو مستحيل ومش واردة عنده أبدا ينتخبو نواب الكتائب سليمان فرنجية، بصرف النظر عن الصداقة معه ، لأنو من ٨ آذار، وما بينتخبو لا فرنجية ولا أي مرشح غيره من ٨ آذار. وأنا بصدقه.
الباقي فيكن تتمسكو بالأسطورة اللي خبروكن ياها قد ما بدكن.
ودين براون كان بدو ياخد المسيحيين بالبواخر اذا بدكن. حتى لو كذّب هالأسطورة فؤاد بطرس بمذكراته.
في حدا بيقرا

The post إيلي الحاج: حزب “القوات” يحاول حشر نفسه في المشهد بعدما أخرجه سمير جعجع منه بنظرية “أوعى خيّك” السخيفة/قصة سليمان فرنجية إنو كان رح يصير رئيس أسطورة appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة للمؤسسات اللبنانية الكندية باللغة العربية ليوم 17 كانون الأول/2019

اضغط هنا لقراءة نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة المفصلة، اللبنانية والعربية ليوم 17 كانون الأول/2019

ارشيف نشرات أخبار موقعنا اليومية/عربية وانكليزية منذ العام 2006/اضغط هنا لدخول صفحة الأرشيف

عناوين أقسام نشرة المنسقية باللغة العربية
الزوادة الإيمانية لليوم
تعليقات الياس بجاني وخلفياتها
الأخبار اللبنانية
المتفرقات اللبنانية
الأخبار الإقليمية والدولية
المقالات والتعليقات والتحاليل السياسية الشاملة
المؤتمرات والندوات والبيانات والمقابلات والمناسبات الخاصة والردود وغيره

The post نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة للمؤسسات اللبنانية الكندية باللغة العربية ليوم 17 كانون الأول/2019 appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Detailed LCCC English News Bulletin For December 17/2019

Click Here to read the whole and detailed LCCC English News Bulletin for December 17/2019

The post Detailed LCCC English News Bulletin For December 17/2019 appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 16-17/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 61th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
December 17/2019

Tites For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 16-17/2019
No Trust In Lebanon’s Caretaker PM, Mr. Saad Al Hariri
UN calls for investigation into use of force against protesters in Lebanon
Aoun postpones consultations to name PM as divisions deepen
Violent protests erupt on streets of Beirut
Lebanon: Two Months of Protest
Israel Says Hizbullah, Lebanon ‘Will Pay Dearly’ for Any Attack
Moody’s Sees Lebanon ‘Debt Restructuring’ if No Help from IMF, World Bank
Kubis Regrets Postponement of Talks to Name PM
Hariri’s Office: FPM Decision to Cede Votes to President a Grave Constitutional Violation
FPM Calls on Hariri to Pick ‘Consensual’ PM Candidate
Mustaqbal Lashes Out at FPM, LF for Withholding Votes from Hariri
Presidency Hits Back at Mustaqbal, Says Aoun Doesn’t Need Constitutional ‘Lessons’
Dozens of Protesters Rally near Hariri’s Residence
Army: Troops Supported ISF in Central Beirut to Control Situation
IDF officer: Hezbollah still has tunnels on Lebanese side of the border
Thousands protest against crackdown in Lebanon
Berri meets UN’s Kubis, Kanaan
Del Col chairs regular tripartite meeting, emphasizes importance of maintaining calm along Blue Line
AUB Issam Fares Institute welcomes nine Senior Policy Fellows

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 16-17/2019
No Trust In Lebanon’s Caretaker PM, Mr. Saad Al Hariri
Elias Bejjani/December 16/2019
لا ثقة برئيس الوزراء اللبناني المستقيل السيد سعد الحريري لتشكيل حكومة جديدة
Lebanon’s PM, Caretaker Mr. Saad Al Hariri protects covertly and covertly the most corrupt officials and businessmen in what is known the Lebanese deep government that is leading the country into bankruptcy.
At the same time he has no sovereign or patriotic back bone, to the extent that he has even compromised on his father’s assassination case (Raffic Al Hariri), and put the ongoing trial by the Special Tribunal For Lebanon (STL) on a marginal scale of his priorities.
In this realm he forged a political alliance with his father’s assassins, The Hezbollah Terrorist Militia, while the STL has accused a number of its security topnotch members to have committed the criminal assassination in year 2005.
Mr. Hariri, in his PM, capacity has been totally serving Hezbollah’s occupation of Lebanon status quo, as well as the Iranian-Mullahs’ expansionism schemes in exchange for staying as an MP.
Practically, Mr. Hariri is the first politician who should not be trusted any more in any official position and especially as a PM.
He is not only one of all of the corrupt Lebanese politicians and officials, but in fact the first of them all.
In summary, No trust is ought to be granted by the Lebanese revolution to Mr. Hariri in a bid to head the new Lebanese Government.
Hariri is not a talented or a professional politician, and based on his record since 20015 he will never be one.
Meanwhile, he surrounds himself by advisers who in general serve their our businesses and lead him into un-patriotic and non-sovereign deals with the Lebanese warlords, political parties, contractors and oligarchies.
His record as PM shows that he moves disastrously from one failure to another.
He is not the right PM, for dealing with serious and devastating current Lebanese crisis.

UN calls for investigation into use of force against protesters in Lebanon
Al Arabiya English/Monday, 16 December 2019
The force used against protesters in Beirut should be investigated, said United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis on Monday. “The violence and clashes over the weekend once again showed that postponements of a political solution of the current crisis create a fertile ground for provocations and political manipulation,” said Kubis in a statement. Kubis also criticized the decision to postpone the parliamentary consultations on electing a new prime minister for the country. “Yet another postponement of the parliamentary consultations. Either a sign that following the events and statements of the last days politicians start to understand that they cannot neglect the voice of the people, or another attempt to buy time for business as usual But with the collapsing economy it is a risky hazard both for the politicians but even more so for Lebanon and its people,” added Kubis.
– Developing.

Aoun postpones consultations to name PM as divisions deepen
Georgi Azar/Annahar/December 16/2019
This comes after caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri requested further deliberations between the different stakeholders.
BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun has postponed the binding parliamentary consultations until December 19, according to a statement from his office.This comes after caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri requested further deliberations between the different stakeholders. Hariri was the frontrunner to secure the majority of votes until the Lebanese Forces rescinded their pledge to nominate him, bringing his threshold below the 65 votes mark. In the late hours of Sunday night, the LF issued a statement announcing their intentions of “not nominating any candidate in line with the people’s demands of an independent government.”On Sunday night, thousands of Lebanese protesters made their way back to downtown Beirut and gathered outside the parliament. What started off as a peaceful demonstration quickly morphed into chaos for the second night running after infiltrators, captured on video, instigated clashes with law enforcement. A video circulating on social media showed a man named Abbas Shami boasting with his companion about his indecorous intentions. “At 10 pm we start killing them, yeah?” he asked. Other videos showed members of Parliament’s security apparatus, dressed as civilians, partaking in the vicious assault on demonstrators. One video showed a demonstrator, lying on the ground, as undercover officers, ISF and army members beat him to a pulp. Security forces quickly resorted to heavy use of tear gas, dispersing the crowd who retreated to near the Kataeb’s party’s headquarters in Saifi. Meanwhile, a group of hooded thugs, believed to have made their way from the Amal stronghold of Khanda’ al Ghami’, burnt tents and art installations in Martyr’s Square with videos showing members of the security forces standing by. Demonstrators have accused security forces of colluding with Speaker Nabih Berri’s supporters while showing leniency towards their scare tactics. The popular uprising has engulfed the small Mediterranean country for the better part of two months as financial unease galvanized the movement calling for a complete revamp of the country’s ruling class. Lebanon has been without a fully functioning government since Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Oct. 29. In a statement issued Monday, Hariri laid the blame at the feet of the Free Patriotic Movement, who he accused of “constitutional violations for lending its votes to the President to do with as he pleases.”A nomination without the backing of any of the major Christians parties, Hariri said, is contrary to his views of “national reconciliation.”Last week, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement and the president’s son-in-law Gebran Bassil argued that his party would not take part in any government headed by Hariri, labeling it as bound to fail. The FPM has seemingly fallen out with Hariri, with the relationship strained after the latter’s refusal to include any official who previously held office in his Cabinet, including Bassil. This then led to a disagreement between the Shiite duo and the FPM, who have thrown their weight behind Hariri given his clout in international circles.

Violent protests erupt on streets of Beirut
Sarah El Sirgany, Ben Wedeman and Tamara Qiblawi, CNN
Beirut, Lebanon (CNN)Dozens were injured in clashes between protesters and security forces in central Beirut on Saturday, one of the most violent nights since anti-government demonstrations started in October.
Security forces used teargas, water cannon and rubber bullets to push protesters, who pelted them with rocks and firecrackers, away from the main sit-in site and government buildings in the capital city.
The Lebanese Civil Defense and the Red Cross said they transferred 46 people to hospitals and treated the wounds of dozens others on site during hours of clashes.
Many of the protest chants were directed at caretaker Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri who is widely expected to be named head of the next government during parliamentary consultations on Monday. Other chants targeted caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, a major ally of the militant and political group Hezbollah. Bassil announced on Thursday that his party would not participate in the next government. On Friday, Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah said the group would continue to push for a coalition government, putting them on a collision course with Hariri who insists on forming a Cabinet of technocrats.
Social media video showed dozens of protesters, who said they had come from the northern city of Tripoli, joining forces with demonstrators in central Beirut. As security forces cracked down on protesters, some could be seen dragging apparently unconscious protesters on the tarmac.
Some protesters broke a police cordon and attempted to enter the city’s Parliament Square, shut off to the public since protests began on October 17, according to social media video. Local television showed security forces beating protesters with sticks.
Lebanon’s ISF said 23 members of the security forces were sent to the hospital during Saturday’s clashes, and several more were treated by paramedics on site. Calm returned to Beirut’s central district on Sunday amid beefed up security presence. Protesters erected a new banner accusing Hariri of corruption and mismanagement, and holding him responsible for the country’s ballooning debt. Protests in Lebanon have been demonstrating against corruption and government mismanagement perceived to be widespread in the country. Less than two weeks after protests began, Hariri stepped down, deepening the country’s political crisis. The country is also buckling under an economic crisis that has sent prices soaring, and led to mass layoffs and salary cuts. Business across the country have closed their doors. Banks imposed informal capital controls last month, leading to a severe liquidity crunch.

Lebanon: Two Months of Protest
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 16/2019
Lebanon has been paralyzed by two months of protests demanding an overhaul of the entire political system.
Here is a recap:
WhatsApp tax’ anger
On October 17, the government announces a tax on messaging apps such as WhatsApp. Coming amid a looming economic crisis, the announcement is seen by many as a step too far. Thousands take to the streets in Beirut and other cities, some chanting “the people demand the fall of the regime”.
The government scraps the messaging app tax the same day, but the protests continue.
Demos grow
On October 18, thousands of demonstrators from across sects and political affiliations bring the capital to a standstill. They demand an overhaul of the entire political system, citing grievances from austerity measures and state corruption to poor infrastructure and rampant electricity cuts. The army reopens some highways blocked by protesters and disperses a huge crowd in Beirut with water cannon and tear gas. Dozens are arrested. The demonstrations swell over the following days, with major gatherings also in second city Tripoli and other centers.
Reforms announced
On October 21, Prime Minister Saad Hariri announces his government has approved a raft of economic reforms, including halving lawmakers’ and ministers’ salaries. But demonstrators dismiss the new measures as insufficient. On October 25, Hizbullah — which with its allies holds a majority in parliament — tells supporters not to take part in the protests. The next day, it mobilizes counter-rallies, sparking scuffles with anti-government demonstrators.
Government resigns
On the evening of October 29, Hariri submits his resignation and that of his government, prompting cheers and dancing in the streets. President Michel Aoun asks the government to stay on until a new cabinet is formed.
Protesters regroup over the next days, demanding a government of technocrats, independent of traditional political parties divided along sectarian lines. In a television address on November 3, Aoun announces plans to tackle corruption, reform the economy and form a civil government. But thousands of protesters stream back into Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square, chanting “Revolution!”
Counter-attacks
On November 24, supporters of Hizbullah and its AMAL allies attack anti-government protesters in Beirut in their most serious assault on protesters so far. Army reinforcements intervene. At least 10 people are injured. It prompts the U.N. Security Council to call for “intensive national dialogue.”
Over three consecutive nights of violence, 16 people are detained and 51 troops are wounded, the army says on November 27.
Violence intensifies
Parliamentary consultations to nominate a new prime minister due for December 9 are postponed just hours after Sunni Muslim leaders back Hariri. On December 12 Hariri appeals for international funding for an emergency rescue package to resolve the crisis. Clashes that erupt late December 14 are most violent since the protests began. Security forces use tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators, who demand an independent technocrat government and that Hariri is not returned to his post. Hizbullah and AMAL supporters also clash with riot police who fire tear gas to prevent them from breaching barricades near parliament. Dozens are hurt. The violence continues on December 15, thousands flooding central Beirut on the eve of planned consultations to select a new prime minister. Shortly before the talks are due to start, the presidency announces Aoun has postponed them until December 19 at Hariri’s request.

Israel Says Hizbullah, Lebanon ‘Will Pay Dearly’ for Any Attack
Naharnet/December 16/2019
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning that Hizbullah and the State of Lebanon will pay dearly for any assault against Israel, Israeli media reports said on Monday. At his weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that “Iran had launched new threats of destroying Tel Aviv from inside Lebanon, which means Hizbullah is the proxy wing of Iran.”He added saying that both “Lebanon and Hizbullah will pay dearly if the party launches attack on Israel, because Lebanon allows attacks from its territory against Israel.”

Moody’s Sees Lebanon ‘Debt Restructuring’ if No Help from IMF, World Bank
Associated Press/Naharnet/December 16/2019
Moody’s Investors Service said Monday that without technical support from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and international donors, it is increasingly likely that Lebanon could see “a scenario of extreme macroeconomic instability in which a debt restructuring occurs with an abrupt destabilization of the currency peg resulting in very large losses for private investors.”Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri has recently asked the IMF and the World Bank for help developing a reform plan to address the economic crisis. Lebanon’s currency has been pegged at 1,507 Lebanese pounds to the dollar since 1997, but in recent weeks it has reached more than 2,000 in the black market. Lebanon’s debt stands at $87 billion or 150 percent of GDP.

Kubis Regrets Postponement of Talks to Name PM
Naharnet/December 16/2019
UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis regretted the postponement of Lebanon’s talks to pick a new prime minister in light of an aggravating political and economic crisis. On Twitter, Kubis said: “Yet another postponement of the parliamentary consultations. Either a sign that following the events and statements of the last days politicians start to understand that they cannot neglect the voice of the people, or another attempt to buy time for business as usual.”President Michel Aoun postponed the binding parliamentary consultations until December 19. It is not the first time the talks have been delayed. Parliamentary consultations had been scheduled for December 9 before being pushed back a week. Noting the consequences it has on a frail economy, Kubis added on the postponment: “But with the collapsing economy it is a risky hazard both for the politicians but even more so for Lebanon and its people.” Kubis emphasized that “the violence and clashes over the weekend once again showed that postponements of a political solution of the current crisis create a fertile ground for provocations and political manipulation.“Identification of instigators of violence investigation of the incidents as well as of use of excessive force by the security forces is necessary, also to prevent sliding down towards more aggressive and confrontational behavior of all,” he concluded.

Hariri’s Office: FPM Decision to Cede Votes to President a Grave Constitutional Violation
Naharnet/December 16/2019
The Free Patriotic Movement’s decision to cede its votes to President Michel Aoun so that he uses them as he wishes in the binding parliamentary consultations to pick a PM-designate is a “grave constitutional violation,” caretaker PM Saad Hariri’s office said on Monday. “In the framework of the political contacts prior to the parliamentary consultations that were set for today, it turned out that the Free Patriotic Movement was planning to deposit its votes with the President of the Republic so that he uses them as he wishes,” Hariri’s office said in an English-language statement. “It is an occasion to warn against repeating the constitutional breach that martyr Prime Minister Rafik Hariri faced during President Emile Lahoud’s term, and to confirm that Prime Minister Hariri cannot cover such a grave constitutional violation, regardless of its use, in designating any prime minister,” the office added. Hariri was also informed “today at dawn of the Lebanese Forces’ decision to refrain from naming anyone or participating in the nomination of anyone in the parliamentary consultations that were scheduled for today,” the office explained. It added: “This would have led to a designation without the participation of any substantial Christian bloc, contrary to Prime Minister Hariri’s constant attachment to the requirements of national reconciliation.”“Accordingly, Prime Minister Hariri discussed the matter with Speaker Nabih Berri, who agreed with him. They decided that both of them would call the President and ask him to postpone the consultations for a few days in order to avoid adding new constitutional and national problems to the major social, economic and financial crisis that our country is facing,” the office went on to say. It added that Hariri believes that the focus should be on “addressing the crisis to preserve the interests of the Lebanese, their living conditions and security.” Earlier in the day, President Aoun postponed the consultations to Thursday at Hariri’s request. Hariri had tendered his government’s resignation on October 29, bowing to pressure from unprecedented massive protests against corruption and the entire political class.

FPM Calls on Hariri to Pick ‘Consensual’ PM Candidate
Naharnet/December 16/2019
The Free Patriotic Movement on Monday called on caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri to pick a “consensual” candidate for the PM post. “The FPM positively calls for an end to the waste of time and for the endorsement of the Strong Lebanon bloc’s proposal on the formation of an active salvation government comprised of competent and upright figures in terms of both its premier and ministers, so that it immediately starts to confront the severe crisis,” the FPM said in a statement. “Accordingly, the FPM reiterates its suggestion that PM Hariri… quickly seek to pick a candidate enjoying consensus on their competence and credibility,” the movement added, stressing that the ministers should also not be suspected of any corruption. “Otherwise, the FPM will not be concerned with engaging in discussions on any government that is doomed to fail, because it will not be clear and guaranteed that it will seek to change the financial and economic policies, fight corruption or implement the structural reforms and sectoral plans,” the FPM went on to say. FPM chief Jebran Bassil had recently announced that the movement will not take part in any techno-political government led by Hariri.

Mustaqbal Lashes Out at FPM, LF for Withholding Votes from Hariri
Naharnet/December 16/2019
Al-Mustaqbal Movement on Monday slammed both the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces, the country’s biggest Christian parties, lashing out at their “intersection of interests” after they both decided not to vote for caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri in the binding parliamentary consultations to name a new premier. “The country stands at a critical crossroads that threatens to bring the direst consequences as a result of the race to score political points in one direction or another,” the Movement said in a statement. Blasting a perceived attempt at “besieging the PM post and breaching the constitutional norms in the designation of premiers,” al-Mustaqbal described the decision by the FPM and the LF to refrain from naming any candidate as “suspicious.” There is an “intersection of interests” between the two parties, the Movement noted, decrying that the FPM “has sought, throughout two months, to discredit the post-October 17 events before eventually announcing that it is an inseparable part of the protest movement and revolution.”“Others have found the moment appropriate to turn themselves into ‘Che Guevara’ so that they stay on the streets for their own objectives,” Mustaqbal added, apparently referring to the Lebanese Forces. “Al-Mustaqbal Movement is clearly not awaiting any nomination for PM Hariri from the FPM or the LF, and it does not accept that the premiership post be turned into a ball thrown around by some movements and parties,” the Movement said in its statement. “The premiership post is bigger than all these heresies and it will not be a hostage held by anyone no matter how influential they might be,” Mustaqbal went on to say. It said Hariri had resigned on October 29 in order to “open the door to a solution that meets the people’s demands.”“But it seems that some interests have coincided on impeding the formation of a government,” the Movement lamented. “If there is a chance to name a Sunni figure eligible to fill the post, so be it, but let no one believe that they can take the country to ruin, because the flames of destruction would burn everyone, topped by the parties and politicians who are hiding behind the revolution and considering themselves the heroes of this era,” Mustaqbal warned.

Presidency Hits Back at Mustaqbal, Says Aoun Doesn’t Need Constitutional ‘Lessons’
Naharnet/December 16/2019
The Presidency on Monday snapped back at al-Mustaqbal Movement and caretaker Premier Saad Hariri’s press office, stressing that President Michel Aoun does not need constitutional “lessons” from anyone. “Claims that the Free Patriotic Movement bloc intended to cede its votes to the President are mere fabrications and a prejudgment that preceded the binding parliamentary consultations that the president intended to conduct today,” the Presidency’s press office said in a statement. “Accordingly, using this as an excuse to ask the president to postpone consultations is a judgment of intentions that cannot be part of any sound political action and a blatant attempt at justifying this request and overlooking other reasons,” the statement added. “The president, who is entrusted with the constitution, does not need lessons from anyone in this regard,” the statement stressed, noting that Aoun had obliged MPs to name their candidates during previous consultations to name premiers.The statement also rejected accusations about a “constitutional violation,” urging Hariri and his al-Mustaqbal Movement to stop “the practices that contradict with the text and spirit of the Constitution.”

Dozens of Protesters Rally near Hariri’s Residence
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 16/2019
Dozens of protesters rallied near caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s residence in downtown Beirut on Monday evening, refusing his return as prime minister — a scenario put forward in the past week. “We’re protesting here until they form the government people want,” said activist Claude Jabre, referring to demands for a cabinet entirely formed of independent experts. Nearby, 27-year-old Youssef said he utterly rejected Hariri as he represented the old political system protesters want to replace. “The parliamentary consultations should reflect what the people want, not what the parliament and the ruling authority want,” said the bearded protester, a red and white checkered scarf around his neck. Cabinet formation can drag on for months in the multi-confessional country, with Hariri taking almost nine months to reach an agreement with all political sides for the last one. Consensus on the name of a new prime minister is frequently reached before parliamentary consultations begin. The names of various potential candidates to replace Hariri have been circulated in recent weeks, but bitterly divided political parties have failed to agree on a new premier. Earlier this month, the Sunni Muslim establishment threw its support behind Hariri returning.The powerful Shiite movement Hizbullah, a key political player with ministers in the outgoing government, has also supported the outgoing premier or someone nominated by him. But it has repeatedly dismissed the idea of an exclusively technocratic cabinet.

Army: Troops Supported ISF in Central Beirut to Control Situation
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 16/2019
The Lebanese Army issued a statement on Monday on the clashes with police near the parliament a day earlier on the eve of much-delayed consultations to form a new cabinet needed to fix a deepening economic crisis. “As a result of massive chaos witnessed in downtown Beirut last night accentuated by riots, encroachment on public and private property, and tossing firecrackers at the security forces, the army units deployed in the region and worked on supporting the Internal Security Forces to maintain stability and stop the attacks, and managed to restore the situation to normalcy,” said the Army statement.
Lebanese protesters clashed with police Sunday for the second consecutive night near parliament on the eve of delayed consultations to form a new cabinet. The renewed clashes in Beirut came as Interior Minister Raya El-Hassan ordered security forces to open a “rapid and transparent” enquiry after dozens were wounded on Saturday night. The unprecedented rallies have swept Lebanon since October 17, demanding the overhaul of a political system deemed inept and corrupt and the formation of an independent government of technocrats. Clashes again erupted near parliament, with demonstrators throwing water bottles and firecrackers at the security forces who responded with tear gas and water canon. Witnesses said men in plainclothes were seen hitting protesters while anti-riot police fired rubber bullets at protesters throwing stones. Outgoing Interior Minister Raya el-Hassan demanded the identification of those responsible for the most violent episode since the anti-government protests began in October.

IDF officer: Hezbollah still has tunnels on Lebanese side of the border
Jerusalem Post/December 16/2019
Israel is ready to stop a potential Hezbollah invasion, including from tunnels that the IDF has not yet destroyed, an IDF commander for fighting Hezbollah’s underground warfare in the north said. Israel is ready to stop a potential Hezbollah invasion, including from tunnels that the IDF has yet to destroy, the head of the IDF’s Underground Warfare Department in the North revealed on Monday. “If there is any [Hezbollah] tunnel near the border, we will know about them,” said Lt. Col. Aviv Amir, an Engineering Corps officer who oversees IDF efforts to to detect and destroy tunnels, whether from Lebanon or the Gaza Strip.
In late 2018, the IDF destroyed six Hezbollah cross-border tunnels and proclaimed the tunnel threat from Hezbollah vanquished. In his presentation on Monday, Amir said that in 2018 the IDF also meant to demolish a Hezbollah tunnel near the Israeli town of Misgav Am. However, when the IDF counter-tunnel units found that the tunnel came up to Israel’s border, but did not cross it, the military decided to leave it alone. Hezbollah is believed to have additional tunnels similar to the one discovered last year near Misgav Am that end close to the Israeli border but do not cross it. Amir said that Israel has “no plan to get into the Lebanese side,” absent Hezbollah starting a new conflict. At the same time, he said that the IDF knows about tunnels it did not destroy which still exist on the Lebanese side and maintains constant readiness to address any potential Hezbollah invasion.

Thousands protest against crackdown in Lebanon
AP, Reuters, BeirutظMonday, 16 December 2019
Thousands of Lebanese protesters defiantly returned on Sunday to rally outside parliament in Beirut, hours after security forces chased them out, using tear gas and rubber bullets and injuring dozens.
The protests were largely peaceful, but some lobbed water bottles and firecrackers at security forces guarding parliament. After a couple of hours, security forces chased them away, using batons and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Saturday night into Sunday saw one of the most violent crackdowns on protesters since nationwide anti-government demonstrations began two months ago, leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri on October 29. The harsh use of force was largely carried out by security forces outside of the parliament building who reacted violently to an earlier attempt to hold a rally outside parliament.
Attackers in northern Lebanon also set fire to the offices of two major political parties, the state-run National News Agency said.
The large crowd that was gathered on Sunday largely dispersed by the evening but hundreds remained in the streets outside parliament. Many had come prepared with helmets and tear gas.
After clashes that included the firing of tear gas, security forces then used water cannons to empty the area around parliament. The remaining protesters used plant pots and bins to barricade themselves, drawing a front line in the street that just hours before was filled with protesters.
Demonstrators had chanted against the security crackdown and called for an independent new head of government unaffiliated with established political parties.
The crowd, many raising Lebanese flags, said: “We won’t leave, We won’t leave. Just arrest all the protesters!”
Others raised posters saying the tear gas won’t keep them away. “We are crying already,” said one, in a jab at the deep economic crisis Lebanese are facing. The streets leading to parliament were filled with men, women and even children. Some huddled in smaller groups while others were lifted on shoulders chanting in megaphones.
The overnight confrontations in Beirut left more than 130 people injured, according to the Red Cross and the Lebanese Civil Defense. The Red Cross said none of the injured were in serious condition and most of them were treated on the spot.
The violence and Sunday’s rally came just hours before the president was due to meet with representatives of parliamentary blocs to name a new prime minister. After weeks of bickering and despite calls from the protesters for a technocratic government, politicians seem set on bringing Hariri back to the post.
The demonstrators were clear they wouldn’t accept his return. “Saad, Saad, Saad, don’t dream of it anymore.”
“I came back today to pressure the parliament to make the right choice tomorrow and choose a prime minister from outside the political parties. If they don’t choose someone acceptable, we will be back to the streets again and again,” said Chakib Abillamah, a protester and businessman who was demonstrating on Saturday when violence broke out.
Caline Mouawad, a lawyer, said she watched as security forces violently broke up the protests and decided to join in solidarity. “What happened last night provoked me. I came down even it means getting beaten tonight.”
Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan on Sunday ordered an investigation into the clashes, which she said injured both protesters and security forces. She said she watched the confrontations “with concern, sadness and shock.”
Al-Hassan blamed “infiltrators” for instigating violence and called on the demonstrators to be wary of those who want to exploit their protests for political reasons. She didn’t elaborate.
The head of the Internal Security Forces, Maj. Gen. Imad Osman, turned up at the protest rally on Sunday. He told reporters on the scene that the right to protest was guaranteed by the law. “But calm down, no need for violence,” he said, appealing to protesters.
In the northern Akkar district, attackers broke the windows and set fire to the local office of Hariri’s political party in the town of Kharibet al-Jundi. Photos circulated on social media of shattered glass and the aftermath of the fire, which torched the building.
In a separate attack in Akkar district, assailants stormed the local office of the largest party in parliament, affiliated with President Michel Aoun and headed by Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil. The party said the contents of the office in the town of Jedidat al-Juma had also been smashed and burned.
The mayhem came just hours after the capital was rocked by violence. Lebanese security forces fired rubber bullets, tear gas and used water cannons throughout the night to disperse anti-government protesters from the city center – the epicenter of the protest movement in Beirut – and around parliament. The protests had largely been peacefully since they began on October 17.
The Lebanese Civil Defense said it had treated 46 people for injuries and taken 14 others to hospital.
The clashes rocked a commercial district of Beirut for hours late into the night, and army soldiers closed off some streets.
Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces said they fired tear gas after demonstrators pelted them with fireworks and stones. On Twitter, the ISF called on protesters to leave the streets.
“They attacked us in a barbaric way, as if we’re not protesting for their sake, their children,” said a protester, Omar Abyad, 25, a nurse who has been unemployed since he graduated two years ago.
“There’s no work, no wages, no money, nothing. I am in the streets and I have nothing to lose.”

Berri meets UN’s Kubis, Kanaan
NNA /December 16/2019
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Monday received at his Ain El Tineh residence the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jan Kubis, who briefed him on the deliberations of the International Support Group for Lebanon’s meeting held recently in Paris. Speaker Berri also received Head of the Finance and Budget House committee, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, in the presence of Caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil. Following the one-hour meeting, MP Kanaan said: “It is essential to meet the House Speaker after we have almost finished discussions in the Finance and Budget committee for the 2020 state budget draft.”
MP Kanaan stressed the dire need for a political solution to the current situation, saying “politics is the key to solution” and pledging to seek feasible solutions to address the financial and economic situation, He said the current situation requires exceptional solutions.
The Lawmaker also indicated that they shall inform the Lebanese of all the financial realities out of keenness to maintain transparency. “We have decided, in agreement with the Speaker, to be transparent, whatever the outcome, and we will inform the Lebanese of all financial realities,” Kanaan said, adding that “the economy cannot by itself lead to a financial and economic solution: we must face the situation with the cooperation of all.”He said “We shall put forward realistic solutions, not solutions based on delusions.” Kanaan also urged all sides to assume responsibility in taking the adequate decisions in order to place Lebanon on the right track for a resolution. On the other hand, Speaker Berri received a series of phone calls and cables condemning the insults and bellicose rhetoric against the status of the House Speaker. In this framework, Berri received phone calls from Mufti of Tripoli and the North Sheikh Malek Al Shaar, former Prime Minister Nejib Mikati, “Unity and Reform” Movement President and Coordinator of the “National and Islamic Gathering” Sheikh Maher Abdel Razzak. They also hailed Berri’s national role, deeming him as “the safe valve for the nation” and a national figure working for the supreme interest of the whole nation.

Del Col chairs regular tripartite meeting, emphasizes importance of maintaining calm along Blue Line
NNA /December 16/2019
UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col today chaired a regular Tripartite military meeting at the UN position in Ras Al Naqoura.
A press release by UNIFIL said: “Issues relating to UNIFIL’s mandate under UN Security Council resolution 1701 were discussed. The UNIFIL Head of Mission emphasised the importance of insulating the tripartite forum and the work carried out in the UNIFIL area of operations, from the wider political dynamics or regional developments. In his remarks Major-General Del Col emphasised the message from the UN Secretary-General’s latest report on the implementation of resolution 1701, encouraging the parties to reach agreement on outstanding points of contention along the Blue Line, cautioning that unilateral action could potentially escalate tension and must be avoided, while calling on the parties to avail themselves of the UNIFIL liaison and coordination arrangements. “Our priority is to maintain calm along the Blue Line” General Del Col said “and to create the right conditions to facilitate potential agreement on some of the larger contentious issues.” The UNIFIL Head commended the parties for their continued cooperation with UNIFIL in preserving the cessation of hostilities: “Both parties are clearly committed to engagement through the tripartite forum. As we look forward to the new year, let us do so through dialogue and positive engagement to find practical solutions. Only through dialogue can we hope to achieve a sustainable peace.” UNIFIL Head of Mission was encouraged by the positive messages from both sides: “Neither side seeks conflict and I can assure you that UNIFIL will play its part to attain our primary objective of preserving the cessation of hostilities.” And he added: “We can achieve this by ensuring our actions are geared towards reducing tension and minimising the potential for escalation along the Blue Line.”
Tripartite meetings have been held regularly under the auspices of UNIFIL since the end of the 2006 war in south Lebanon as an essential conflict management and confidence building mechanism.”

AUB Issam Fares Institute welcomes nine Senior Policy Fellows
NNA /December 16/2019
The AUB Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) is delighted to welcome to the institute nine Senior Policy Fellows for the AY 2019-2020. Given their diverse backgrounds, and their extensive experience in public policy in Lebanon and the region, they will enrich the intellectual life of the institute and will make a valuable contribution to IFI’s mission. Through the fellowship program, IFI aims to grow a network of policy influencers to strengthen its engagement with policymaking and to translate knowledge to practical policy recommendations. As such, each Senior Policy Fellow forms a critical link to a variety of policy issues and research programs at the institute. The Senior Policy Fellows for the current academic year 2019-2020 are:
Lina Abou Habib, PhD
Expert in development policies and practices, and gender mainstreaming
Ziad El Sayegh
Expert in public policy and refugee issues
Heba Elgazzar, PhD
Program leader and senior economist at the World Bank
Khalil Gebara, PhD
Professor and expert in governance, political economy, local development, and public policy
Mahmoud Haidar
Expert in business strategy, innovation, and public policy
Maysa Jalbout, PhD
Visiting scholar and Special Advisor on the UN Sustainable Development Goals at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Sami Mahroum, PhD
Director of Research and Strategy at the Dubai Future Labs
Jamal Saghir
Economist and expert in infrastructure, energy, and international finance
Robert Watkins
Former UN Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon

Titles For The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 16-17/2019
No Trust In Lebanon’s Caretaker PM, Mr. Saad Al Hariri/Elias Bejjani/December 16/2019
Chaos ensues after video targetting Shiite sect goes viral/Georgi Azar/Annahar/December 17/2019
Lebanon delays nomination of new PM amid protests, divisions/Timour Azhari/Al Jazeera/December 16/2019
Lebanese police clashed with anti-government protesters in Beirut, firing/Najia Houssari/Arab News/December 16/2019
More than protests, Lebanon today is witnessing a profound social revolution./Maha Yahya/Carnegie/December 16/2019

The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 16-17/2019
No Trust In Lebanon’s Caretaker PM, Mr. Saad Al Hariri
Elias Bejjani/December 16/2019
لا ثقة برئيس الوزراء اللبناني المستقيل السيد سعد الحريري لتشكيل حكومة جديدة
Lebanon’s PM, Caretaker Mr. Saad Al Hariri protects covertly and covertly the most corrupt officials and businessmen in what is known the Lebanese deep government that is leading the country into bankruptcy.
At the same time he has no sovereign or patriotic back bone, to the extent that he has even compromised on his father’s assassination case (Raffic Al Hariri), and put the ongoing trial by the Special Tribunal For Lebanon (STL) on a marginal scale of his priorities.
In this realm he forged a political alliance with his father’s assassins, The Hezbollah Terrorist Militia, while the STL has accused a number of its security topnotch members to have committed the criminal assassination in year 2005.
Mr. Hariri, in his PM, capacity has been totally serving Hezbollah’s occupation of Lebanon status quo, as well as the Iranian-Mullahs’ expansionism schemes in exchange for staying as an MP.
Practically, Mr. Hariri is the first politician who should not be trusted any more in any official position and especially as a PM.
He is not only one of all of the corrupt Lebanese politicians and officials, but in fact the first of them all.
In summary, No trust is ought to be granted by the Lebanese revolution to Mr. Hariri in a bid to head the new Lebanese Government.
Hariri is not a talented or a professional politician, and based on his record since 20015 he will never be one.
Meanwhile, he surrounds himself by advisers who in general serve their our businesses and lead him into un-patriotic and non-sovereign deals with the Lebanese warlords, political parties, contractors and oligarchies.
His record as PM shows that he moves disastrously from one failure to another.
He is not the right PM, for dealing with serious and devastating current Lebanese crisis.

Chaos ensues after video targetting Shiite sect goes viral
Georgi Azar/Annahar/December 17/2019
BEIRUT: A group of men descended upon downtown Beirut after taking offense to a video circulating on social media that offended the Shiite sect.
The video targetted a number of Shiite religious figures and officials, including Speaker Nabih Berri and Hassan Nasrallah. It was reportedly recorded by a man hailing from Tripoli but now residing in Greece. His family was quick to condemn his actions, saying that “it does not reflect our views or beliefs.”
The men were believed to be from al-Khandaq al-Ghamiq, who has had a number of run-ins with the law.  The angered men attempted to reach Martyr’s Square and RIad el Solh but were held back by riot police. They threw rocks and fireworks at both soldiers and riot police alike before water cannons were used to disperse them. Hezbollah and Amal then called on the group of men to withdraw from the streets of Beirut to avoid further sectarian tensions. A local Imam from Khandaq al-Ghamiq called on the men to withdraw as well while a senior Sheikh from Dar el Fatwa, the highest Sunni authority in Lebanon, distanced the sect from the offensive video. “We tell our Shiite brothers that those who harm … do not represent the Sunni sect, have nothing to do with the sect and do not express the Sunni opinion,” Sheikh Hasan Merheb told local TV channel LBCI.

Lebanon delays nomination of new PM amid protests, divisions
Timour Azhari/Al Jazeera/December 16/2019
President postpones talks which were expected to result in Saad Hariri being named as next prime minister.
Beirut, Lebanon – The nomination of Lebanon’s next prime minister has been postponed after major Christian parties said they would not support the candidacy of caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri, presenting a new impasse after weeks of political wrangling.
Hariri resigned on October 29 amid widespread protests against Lebanon’s ruling elite, but had seemed set to return on Monday after all other candidates failed to secure enough support from the country’s Sunni Muslim establishment.
Under Lebanon’s complex political system, where power is shared among religious groups, the prime minister must always be a Sunni, the president a Maronite Christian and the speaker of Parliament a Shia Muslim. Meanwhile, according to the modern-day interpretation of a key article in the Constitution, there must be parity in the representation of Christians and Muslims in Parliament and government.
This premise of sectarian power-sharing now poses the greatest obstacle to Hariri’s candidacy, as without the support of the major Christian parties in government, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and the Lebanese Forces, the government’s constitutional legitimacy could be called into question.
A statement from Hariri’s office said that the caretaker PM on Monday requested that Aoun postpone the binding parliamentary consultations during which a new prime minister is selected, “in order to avoid adding constitutional and national problems to the great social, economic and financial crisis facing our country”.
Aoun rescheduled the talks for Thursday.
Riding the wave
Since he resigned, Hariri has said he would return to government only in a cabinet made up of technocrats and experts – a key demand of protesters, most of whom have rejected Hariri’s potential return as prime minister.
Thousands protested in Beirut on Sunday night to reject Hariri’s expected nomination.
Hezbollah and its allies, the Amal Movement, along with the FPM, have rejected Hariri’s conditions and instead called for a government of both politicians and technocrats. Last week, the FPM announced it would not participate in any government headed by Hariri.
Early on Monday, the Lebanese Forces – which is nominally allied with Hariri – announced it would not name anyone during the planned consultations, dealing him another blow.
Bassel Salloukh, an associate professor of political science at the Lebanese American University, said that these developments effectively ended Hariri’s attempt to strengthen his hand on the back of the uprising.
“It seems he tried to free-ride the revolution, but his bluff has been called,” Salloukh told Al Jazeera.
Hariri had made concessions to the FPM in 2016 in a deal that saw the party’s founder Michel Aoun elected president and Hariri return as prime minister.
Salloukh said Hariri would now be forced to make concessions again: either back someone else for prime minister, or try to find a way out with either of the major Christian parties.
A senior Lebanese Forces official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Al Jazeera that the party would not reverse its decision to refrain from naming a prime minister, so that it can be “convinced” of the makeup of the next government before backing it in Parliament.
“We have to wait and see if the final outcome is appropriate or not, because there are so many deals being made and so many people excluded from these discussions,” the source said.
“As long as the prime minister and government are accepted by the people, we will give it confidence,” the source added, meaning Hariri would likely be excluded “unless he can convince the people he’s the right choice”.
‘No more delays’
Meanwhile, the FPM is not giving up any ground either.
Pierre Raffoul, a political adviser to President Aoun, told local news channel Al Jadeed that Hariri’s condition of a purely technocratic government was a non-starter, and that consultations would be held on Thursday, putting pressure on Hariri to find a way to break the deadlock.
“I want to tell the prime minister: if you are still coming from the standpoint of ‘I will choose and I will decide’ … That won’t work with us,” Raffoul said. “[Consultations] won’t be delayed any more, it will be on Thursday, either he [Hariri] is named or someone else than him, let everyone bear their responsibilities.”
Salloukh said he believed the deadlock effectively returned negotiations “back to square one”, but that the impasse could create the space for a new type of government to emerge.
“This kind of inability of the political elite to find agreement may pave the way for a truly independent professional government,” he said.
There is also the possibility that Hariri could be named prime minister, but the process of actually forming a government could take a long time. The previous cabinet formation process took almost nine months.
Lebanon is in the midst of a deep economic and financial crisis. The country is the world’s third-most indebted nation as a ratio of gross domestic product and is spiralling into more debt.
At the same time, a dollar shortage has threatened to cause shortages of basic imports such as fuel, wheat and medicine, and has pressured a decades-old currency peg of 1,500 Lebanese pounds to the US dollar. Rates were higher on Monday, at 2,000 pounds.
Business as usual
The UN’s representative in Lebanon Jan Kubis Monday said the postponement of parliamentary consultations was “either a sign that following the events and statements of the last days politicians start to understand that they cannot neglect the voice of the people, or another attempt to buy time for business as usual.””But with the collapsing economy, it is a risky hazard both for the politicians, but even more so for Lebanon and its people,” he said. Salloukh said a protracted delay in forming a cabinet could be disastrous.
“[It is] not simply a case of these politicians shooting themselves in the foot. They are shooting the entire country in the head,” he said.

Lebanese police clashed with anti-government protesters in Beirut, firing
Najia Houssari/Arab News/December 16/2019
BEIRUT: The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis accused Lebanese politicians of “trying to buy time” after crucial parliamentary talks to nominate a replacement prime minister faced a further delay.
Discussions due to take place on Monday were postponed an hour beforehand amid a widening rift between Lebanese President Michel Aoun and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) on one side and caretaker PM Saad Hariri on the other.
It is the second time talks over the replacement leadership and composition of the new government have been delayed.
More than seven weeks after Hariri quit as prime minister, politicians are still unable to agree on a new administration despite the deepening financial crisis facing the country.
Kubis warned that “with a collapsing economy, buying time to form a government is a risky hazard for politicians, but even more so for Lebanon and its people.”
Plans for parliamentary talks on Monday fell into confusion following the Christian-based Lebanese Forces’ refusal to nominate a new prime minister. The party said that it will only approve “a government of independent experts trusted by the people.”
Aoun postponed the discussions until Thursday after Hariri asked for “more consultation on the government’s formation.”
Moustafa Allouch, a member of the Future Movement’s political bureau, told Arab News that Hariri is refusing to lead a government without the backing of the Christian vote.
“Hariri doesn’t want to face accusations of lacking a national consensus,” Allouch said.
However, Hariri’s office said that the caretaker PM was seeking “to avoid adding national and constitutional problems to the social, economic and financial crisis in Lebanon.”
Pierre Raffoul, Aoun’s political adviser, launched an unprecedented attack on Hariri, saying the caretaker PM “wants to eliminate everyone.”
“We are not in a dictatorial country and such things do not work here,” he added.
Raffoul said that “if the parliamentary consultations had taken place, Hariri would not have been able to form the government.
“Today, we are standing at a crossroads; to stay or not stay. Our solidarity can save the country, but Hariri wants to work alone and he cannot acknowledge the presence of anyone else,” he said.
The FPM also called on Hariri to “act swiftly to designate a person to lead the government … and save the country from its current crisis.”
With no end in sight to the political impasse, street protesters in Beirut have faced intensified violent attacks from armed “infiltrators,” according to Rayya Al-Hassan, caretaker interior minister.
Activist Ziad Abdel Samad told Arab News that “infiltrators among the protesters are trying to attack the movement, but as long as there is no political solution, we are staying in the streets.”
Tents in Martyrs’ Square in the capital were set alight during clashes late on Sunday night.
Former PM Fouad Siniora was forced to flee a music concert at the American University of Beirut on Sunday night after students chanting “revolution, revolution!” demanded that he leave.
Siniora tweeted on Monday: “History will prove that I have always worked for the interest of my country. Today, I stand resilient alongside the Lebanese, just like I did in the times of peace, war and revolution.”

More than protests, Lebanon today is witnessing a profound social revolution.
مها يحيى/في لبنان اليوم أكثر من اجتجاجات، في لبنان ثورة اجتماعية عميقة
Maha Yahya/Carnegie/December 16/2019
Lebanon’s protests, which began on October 17, have focused on the need to change the country’s power-sharing system and reverse the rapid deterioration in the quality of daily life. But something more profound is taking place. We are witnessing a social transformation, a revolution in the norms underpinning Lebanese society.
Demands by protestors to bring down the regime are an indictment of the catastrophic political and economic mismanagement of the country by its political class. Most of the wartime militia leaders came to power after the end of the civil war in 1990, moving into state institutions. A key component of the Taif agreement that helped facilitate a postwar settlement was the dismantling of Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system. However, this was never implemented. An amnesty law passed in August 1991 forgave perpetrators of wartime crimes, and was based on the logic of no victor, no vanquished.
What ensued was a profound abuse of the political system, which effectively divided the national pie between sectarian leaders. The net result was catastrophic. Today, the budget deficit is around 152 percent of GDP and net foreign reserves have declined dramatically. According to a 2016 World Bank report, patronage politics have cost Lebanon an estimated 9 percent of gross domestic product annually. This is in part due to the fact that the state rarely punishes corruption when it is associated with sectarian political elites. While public servants and their political sponsors directly pocket around 25 percent of public-sector funds, perhaps up to half of the population today is below the poverty line. Inequality is rampant with the richest 1 percent of Lebanese receiving 25 percent of national income. The healthcare system is broken with 52 percent of the population lacking proper health insurance. Around 50,000 children were out of school in 2016. And while the national electricity utility costs the country 11 percent of its budget deficit, the Lebanese pay twice the regional average for electricity. Pervasive inequalities in access to fundamental services such as health and education are evident across the country irrespective of region or geography.
In this broader context, protesting against political sectarianism does not mean that people have dropped their sectarian identity. Rather it signals that the Lebanese have decided to privilege a broader national identity and their rights as citizens. This has come with a realization that sectarian communities have not protected or preserved the dignity of their members or guaranteed their rights. Rather it has allowed a narrow group of leaders to prevail, usurp communal representation, propagate a siege mentality among followers, and generate equal opportunity abuse among all communities.
What has emerged since the protests began is a revolt against the system and a complete collapse of trust in all institutions—state institutions, political parties, the banking sector, and professional associations. This revolt has been accompanied by an expanding sense of national solidarity and recognition that the “us versus them” formulation is no longer about sect, ethnicity, class, or gender. It is about a corrupt political class versus the rest of the country.
Along with this national awakening, the moment is also about upending social norms. What is taking place is partly an uprising against a patriarchal system that maintains unequal relationships among citizens, especially its women. Women have been at the forefront of demonstrations, mobilizing, forming lines of defense between protestors and the security services, organizing events, and leading efforts to decrease sectarian tensions between neighborhoods. They have also demanded equal rights in a country where the relationship between citizens and the state is defined by the personal-status laws of sectarian communities. For women this means they are subjected to one of eighteen different systems of communal law with regard to marriage, divorce, inheritance, and child custody.
Similarly they have also protested against other discriminatory laws to which they have been subjected. To maintain a demographic balance in Lebanon’s sectarian system, women are denied the right to pass on Lebanese citizenship to their children if they were born from a non-Lebanese father. Women have angrily denounced this flagrant denial of equal status under the law.
The protest movement is also about generations. The large number of high school and university students participating shows that they are fighting for their future. Unemployment is high, the prospects of pursuing satisfying and enriching careers is low, and on top of that the young cannot vote until they are 21 years old. This generation is a post-ideological generation that believes in the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, and many young people blame their parents for ceding them a Lebanon that is broken and from where they must emigrate so as to improve their prospects. They want to be defined by ideas, not their identities. The country is laden with a debt that will affect the young for decades, it lacks basic infrastructure, and its environment has been poisoned through the pursuit of mercenary practices, provoking protests in the past.
This movement is also about the systematic exclusion of the country’s impoverished populations, whether they live in Lebanon’s geographic peripheries or on the edges of major towns and cities. Populations are protesting their continued marginalization from political and economic life in a country that has historically centralized such activities in Beirut.
In Tripoli, which has been dubbed the “bride of the revolution” because of the high participation rate in demonstrations, 51 percent of residents live in extreme poverty on less than $4 a day for a household of five, compared to the national average of about $15 a day. Unemployment levels in some of the city’s neighborhoods have reached 55 percent. In Nabatiyeh, in southern Lebanon, 25 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and unemployment stands at 13 percent. In ‘Akkar, 13 percent of children work. Given the economic crisis and the tens of thousands of people losing their jobs as a result of businesses closing, more and more protestors from such areas and across Lebanon will take to the streets.
The protests are also about opposing the privileging of connections and sect over merit. Professionals and expatriates are playing a key role in this process, supporting or organizing protests, debates, and discussions. They have been disenfranchised for decades by a system that fails to award jobs and contracts on the basis of ability. In contrast, many Lebanese are very successful abroad even as they have been unable to make a difference at home.
The movement is about a rediscovery of the public realm as well, a reassertion of notions of the public good and reclaiming the rights of citizens to their towns and cities, where entire neighborhoods have been cordoned off for security purposes or under the pretext of urban rezoning. Public squares, abandoned theaters, pre-civil war architectural icons, and private parking lots in the once historic center of Beirut have been opened up. These have been transformed into spaces of discussion on topics that were once limited to academia or civil society activists. Lawyers, student organizations, labor unions, university professors, some political parties, and civil society organizations have been organizing these discussions daily across the different spaces of protest. They are tackling topics as varied as electoral laws, the role of media, economic options for Lebanon, the public good and shared commons, how to deal with trauma after the civil war, and what a new Lebanon might possibly look like.
For the first time in the country’s history, this new sense of empowerment pushed representatives of around 500 private-sector companies to stage a demonstration with their employees recently. They declared that they would refuse to pay taxes and, instead, divert the sums to their employees, in that way avoiding having to lay them off. This took place outside the purview of traditional chambers of commerce, trade associations, and other representative institutions related to the private sector. Similarly many of these individuals have now turned to creating alternative and independent associations capable of representing their interests.
How this new sense of social solidarity and the upending of norms will stand the test of time is unclear. But a fundamental societal shift is taking place in Lebanon that will have repercussions down the road. Women will play an even more visible role in public affairs, as will youths who are the country’s future. Lebanon’s downtrodden will determine the nature of the country’s political leaders, who will be publicly held accountable. Lebanon’s politicians have to accept that as far as they are concerned it is no longer business as usual. In order to survive, they need to account for new social realities.
Solidarity is what has enabled the Lebanese to gain ground in their protests and score important victories. But more importantly, it is necessary to protect the nascent sense of national awakening as the Lebanese navigate the turbulent months ahead, that will be characterized by considerable economic and political uncertainty. The political leadership may increasingly try to inflame sectarian tensions because it has little left to offer. The instinct to turn back to those sectarian leaders may increase should those leaders miraculously manage to provide some forms of economic relief. But appealing to those who brought the country to its knees will not bring a better life. For that, the Lebanese can only rely on their fellow citizens.

The post A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 16- 17/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 61th Day appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

إِنْ ظَنَّ أَحَدٌ أَنَّهُ شَيء، وهوَ لا شَيء، فَقَدْ خَدَعَ نَفْسَهُ…لا تَضِلُّوا! فإِنَّ اللهَ لا يُسْتَهزَأُ بِهِ. فَكُلُّ مَا يَزْرَعُهُ الإِنْسَان، فإِيَّاهُ يَحصُدُ أَيْضًا
رسالة القدّيس بولس إلى أهل غلاطية06/من01حتى10/:”يا إِخوَتِي، إِنْ أُخِذَ إِنْسَانٌ بِزَلَّة، فأَصْلِحُوهُ أَنْتُمُ الرُّوحِيِّينَ بِرُوحِ الوَدَاعَة، وَٱحْذَرْ أَنْتَ لِنَفْسِكَ لِئَلاَّ تُجَرَّبَ أَيْضًا. إِحْمِلُوا بَعْضُكُم أَثْقَالَ بَعض، وهكَذَا أَتِمُّوا شَرِيعَةَ المَسيح. إِنْ ظَنَّ أَحَدٌ أَنَّهُ شَيء، وهوَ لا شَيء، فَقَدْ خَدَعَ نَفْسَهُ. فَلْيَمْتَحِنْ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ عَمَلَهُ، وحِينَئِذٍ يَكُونُ افْتِخَارُهُ في نَفْسِهِ فَقَطْ لا في غَيْرِه. فإِنَّ كُلَّ وَاحِدٍ سَيَحْمِلُ حِمْلَهُ الخَاصّ. مَنْ يَتَعَلَّمُ كَلِمَةَ الإِيْمَان، فَلْيُشَارِكْ مُعَلِّمَهُ في جَمِيعِ الخَيْرَات. لا تَضِلُّوا! فإِنَّ اللهَ لا يُسْتَهزَأُ بِهِ. فَكُلُّ مَا يَزْرَعُهُ الإِنْسَان، فإِيَّاهُ يَحصُدُ أَيْضًا. فالَّذي يَزرَعُ فِي جَسَدِهِ، يَحصُدُ منَ الجَسَدِ فسَادًا؛ والَّذي يَزْرَعُ في الرُّوح، يَحصُدُ مِنَ الرُّوحِ حَيَاةً أَبَدِيَّة.فلا نَمَلَّ عَمَلَ الخَيْر، ولا نَكِلَّ، لأَنَّنَا سَنَحْصُدُهُ في أَوَانِهِ. إِذًا فمَا دَامَ لَنَا مُتَّسَعٌ مِنَ الوَقت، فَلْنَصْنَعِ الخَيْرَ إِلى جَمِيعِ النَّاس، وخُصُوصًا إِلى أَهلِ الإِيْمَان.”

For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves.
If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.
Letter to the Galatians 06/01-10/:’My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbour’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads. Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.”

فَكُلُّ مَنْ لَهُ يُعْطَى ويُزَاد، ومَنْ لَيْسَ لَهُ يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهُ حَتَّى مَا هُوَ لَهُ. وهذَا العَبْدُ الَّذي لا نَفْعَ مِنْهُ أَخْرِجُوهُ وأَلْقُوهُ في الظُّلْمَةِ البَرَّانِيَّة
إنجيل القدّيس متّى25/من14حتى30/:”قالَ الربُّ يَسوع: «يُشْبِهُ مَلَكُوتُ السَّمَاوَاتِ رَجُلاً أَرَادَ السَّفَر، فَدَعَا عَبِيدَهُ، وسَلَّمَهُم أَمْوَالَهُ. فَأَعْطَى وَاحِدًا خَمْسَ وَزَنَات، وآخَرَ وَزْنَتَين، وآخَرَ وَزْنَةً وَاحِدَة، كُلاًّ عَلى قَدْرِ طَاقَتِهِ، وسَافَر. وفي الحَالِ مَضَى الَّذي أَخَذَ الوَزَنَاتِ الخَمْس، وتَاجَرَ بِهَا فَرَبِحَ خَمْسَ وَزَنَاتٍ أُخْرَى. وكَذلِكَ الَّذي أَخَذَ الوَزْنَتَينِ رَبِحَ وَزْنَتَينِ أُخْرَيَين. أَمَّا الَّذي أَخَذَ الوَزْنَةَ الوَاحِدَةَ فَمَضَى وحَفَرَ في الأَرْض، وأَخْفَى فِضَّةَ سَيِّدِهِ. وبَعْدَ زَمَانٍ طَويل، عَادَ سَيِّدُ أُولئِكَ العَبِيد، وحَاسَبَهُم. ودَنَا الَّذي أَخَذَ الوَزَنَاتِ الخَمْس، فَقَدَّمَ خَمْسَ وَزَنَاتٍ أُخْرَى قَائِلاً: يَا سَيِّد، سَلَّمْتَنِي خَمْسَ وَزَنَات، وهذِهِ خَمْسُ وَزَنَاتٍ أُخْرَى قَدْ رَبِحْتُهَا! قَالَ لَهُ سَيِّدُهُ: يَا لَكَ عَبْدًا صَالِحًا وأَمِينًا! كُنْتَ أَمِينًا على القَليل، سَأُقِيمُكَ على الكَثِير: أُدْخْلْ إِلى فَرَحِ سَيِّدِكَ! ودَنَا الَّذي أَخَذَ الوَزْنَتَينِ فَقَال: يَا سَيِّد، سَلَّمْتَنِي وَزْنَتَين، وهَاتَانِ وَزْنَتَانِ أُخْرَيَانِ قَدْ رَبِحْتُهُمَا. قَال لَهُ سَيِّدُهُ: يَا لَكَ عَبْدًا صَالِحًا وأَمينًا! كُنْتَ أَمينًا على القَليل، سَأُقِيْمُكَ على الكَثِير: أُدْخُلْ إِلى فَرَحِ سَيِّدِكَ! ثُمَّ دَنَا الَّذي أَخَذَ الوَزْنَةَ الوَاحِدَةَ وقَال: يَا سَيِّد، عَرَفْتُكَ رَجُلاً قَاسِيًا، تَحْصُدُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَمْ تَزْرَع، وتَجْمَعُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَمْ تَبْذُر. فَخِفْتُ وذَهَبْتُ وأَخْفَيْتُ وَزْنتَكَ في الأَرض، فَهَا هُوَ مَا لَكَ! فَأَجَابَ سَيِّدُهُ وقَالَ لَهُ: «يَا عَبْدًا شِرِّيرًا كَسْلان، عَرَفْتَ أَنِّي أَحْصُدُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَمْ أَزْرَع، وأَجْمَعُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَمْ أَبْذُر، فَكَانَ عَلَيْكَ أَنْ تَضَعَ فِضَّتِي عَلى طَاوِلَةِ الصَّيَارِفَة، حَتَّى إِذَا عُدْتُ، ٱسْتَرْجَعْتُ مَا لِي مَعَ فَائِدَتِهِ. فَخُذُوا مِنْهُ الوَزْنَةَ وَأَعْطُوهَا لِمَنْ لَهُ الوَزَنَاتُ العَشْر. فَكُلُّ مَنْ لَهُ يُعْطَى ويُزَاد، ومَنْ لَيْسَ لَهُ يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهُ حَتَّى مَا هُوَ لَهُ. وهذَا العَبْدُ الَّذي لا نَفْعَ مِنْهُ أَخْرِجُوهُ وأَلْقُوهُ في الظُّلْمَةِ البَرَّانِيَّة. هُنَاكَ يَكُونُ البُكَاءُ وصَرِيفُ الأَسْنَان.”

All those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 25/14-30/:”‘For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, “Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, “Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” But his master replied, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The post إِنْ ظَنَّ أَحَدٌ أَنَّهُ شَيء، وهوَ لا شَيء، فَقَدْ خَدَعَ نَفْسَهُ…لا تَضِلُّوا! فإِنَّ اللهَ لا يُسْتَهزَأُ بِهِ. فَكُلُّ مَا يَزْرَعُهُ الإِنْسَان، فإِيَّاهُ يَحصُدُ أَيْضًا/For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

*علي الأمين: الشيعة المعارضين لأمل وحزب الله يقمعون ويهددون وتركب لهم ملفات قضائية.

*لقمان سليم الثنائية الشيعية هددتي وهددت عائلتي بالقتل

*قضية «الملتقى» تابع.. جُملة إستنكارات رافضة لخطاب التخوين
جنوبية/17 كانون الأول/2019

*60 يوماً على الثورة.. يوميات وحكايا لا تنسى
علي الأمين/جنوبية/17 كانون الأول/2019

فيديو مقابلة مع الكاتب والإعلامي السيادي علي الأمين من قناة الحدث يشرح من خلالها معاناة المعارضين اللبنانيين الشيعة للثنائية الشيعية (أمل وحزب الله) وتحديداً داخل المناطق التي تسيطرة الثنائية عليها، واشار إلى ما تعرض له العلامة علي الأمين من اتهامات باطلة بالتخوين على خلفية مشاركته في مؤتمر البحرين مؤخراً، علماً أن سفير لبنان في البحرين ومطارنة مسيحيين شاركوا هم أيضاً فيه. كما لفت إلى ما تعرض له الكاتب والإعلامي لقمان سليم وعائلته من حملات تهديد بالقتل./اضغط هنا لمشاهدة المقابلة/17 كانون الأول/2019

*فيديو مداخلة للإعلامي والكاتب والناشط السياسي والحقوقي لقمان سليم من قناة الحدث: هددوني وهددوا عائلتي/اضغط هنا لمشاهدة المداخلة/17 كانون الأول/2019

قضية «الملتقى» تابع.. جُملة إستنكارات رافضة لخطاب التخوين
جنوبية/17 كانون الأول/2019
تتفاعل قضية الاعتداء على خيمة “الملتقى” التي تعرضت لهجوم ميليشياوي من مجموعة تابعة “لحزب الله”، اللذين تذرعوا بتهمة “العمالة” والتطبيع مع اسرائيل كما جرت العادة لقمع روّاد هذه الخيمة وأقدموا على حرقها والإعتداء على من فيها.
من جهتهم إستنكر عدد من الصحافيّين، باحثين، حقوقيين، مِهنيين في مجال الإعلام والإبداع الفني، ناشطين في المجتمع المدني ما حصل وأصدروا البيان التالي موقعاً بأسمائهم:
“منذ عدّة أيّام يتعرّض الكاتب والناشر لقمان سليم لحملة شرِسة من التخوين والتهديد. بدأت الحملة في تاريخ 12كانون الأوّل– ديسمبر، حين نظّمت خيمة المُلتقى The Hub، وهي من أنشط خيم الحراك ندوةً بعنوان “الحياد مفهوم استراتجي لعودة ازدهار لبنان”. أتت هذه المحاضرة في إطار مشروعٍ حرص فيه القيَّمون على الملتقى، وأهمُّهم الجامعيُّ مكرم رباح، منذ اندِلاع الانتفاضة اللبنانيّة السلميّة في 17 تشرين الأوَّل-أكتوبر، على تفعيل دَور النقاشات المفتوحة بهدف بلوَرة رؤى مُتقاربِة لبلد يُجمِع اللبنانيّون على ضرورة تغيير آليّة حَوْكمته، وحظِيَت تلك اللقاءاتُ بنجاح كبير.
ليلتَذاك، حضر الندوةَ أشخاصٌ أتوا إلى المكان لإثارة الشغب ولتحوير موضوع المحاضرة من الحِياد(وهو عنوان الندوة) إلى التطبيع وهي كلمة ما زالت تستعمل سيفًا وشتيمة. عزوفُ المنظِّمين عن إكمال المحاضرة لم يَردع من حضر بنيّة افتِعال مشكلٍ عن تكسيرِ الخيمة وحرقها. تمَّ بعدَها الاعتداءُ على دارة سليم في حارة حريك على مدخلِ الضاحية الجنوبية، التي تضمّ منزلَ لقمان سليم، ومنزلَ والدته وشقيقتِه، ومؤسّسةَ دار الجديد للنشر ومركز أُمم للأبحاث والتوثيق. في باحة الدارة، تجمْهَر متظاهِرون وصلوا في ساعة متأخّرة من الليل وصاروا يهتفون ويشتمون. مرّ الليل الأوّل، أمّا صباح 13 كانون الأول –ديسمبر، وجدَ سكّان المجمّع العائلي ملصقاتٍ على أسواره تتَّهم سيدَ الدارة بالعمالة (“صهيوني صهيوني”) وتستنهِض الغرائزَ الدفينة تحت شعار “المجدُ لكاتِم الصوت. ”
ليست المرّة الأولى التي تنال حملة تشهير من المعارض اللبناني، المعروفِ بمواقفِه المناهِضة للمنظومة السياسيّة القائمة، بما فيها لرهن مصير لبنان واللبنانيّين بمشاريع إقليمية. كما أنّه ليس الوحيد الذي يتعرّض، منذ بداية الثورة اللبنانية في 17 تشرين الأوّل، للتخوين والتهديد بالقتل. ولا تنحصِر حملة التخويف هذه على شخصيّات بارزة في المشهد العام. إذ إنّ عدداً من الناشطين المدنيّين الذين انخرطوا في ثورة 17 تشرين تعرّضوا لضغوطات كبيرة، في مختلف أرجاء لبنان، من قِبَل القوى المسلَّحة اللاشرعيّة الفاعلة في مناطقِهم. يزدادُ الوضع تشنُّجاً في البقاع وجنوب لبنان والضاحية الجنوبية من بيروت، إذ تبسُط ميليشيات حزب الله وأمل سيطرةً أمنيّةً متشدِّدة على الأحياء والقرى والمدن المتوسطة. يُهدَّد هؤلاء الناشطون بلُقمة عيشهم وعوائلهم، ويتمُّ التشكيك بولائهم، ويصار إلى تخوينهم وتخوين من يَتعاطف معهم، ممّا يؤدي إلى مآسي يوميّة، كأن يُشار بالأصبع لأولادِهم الذين يتعرَّضون للضرب والإهانات في المدارس. من الناشطين الذين اتُّهموا بالعمالة أحمد إسماعيل، مقاوِمٌ قضى سنوات عديدة في السجون الإسرائيليّة، لمجرَّد وقوفِه مع الانتفاضة اللبنانيّة في وجه السلطة التي يمسك حزب الله بأوزارِها.
نحن كصحفيّين، باحثين، حقوقيين، مِهنيين في مجال الإعلام والإبداع الفني، ناشطين في المجتمع المدني، وفاعِلين في الشأن العام، من مسارات فكريّة وجغرافيّة وسياسية متنوِّعة، نَستنكِر بشدّة المَنحى الذي تأخذه سلطاتٌ فاعلة في لبنان، لا سيَّما جماعات تابعةٌ للتيّار الوطني الحرّ وحزب الله وأمل، نحوَ إسكاتِ النقاش العام، وكتمِ الأصواتِ الحرّة، وردعِ الناشطين والمُتظاهرين عن التعبير عن مواقفِهم، من خلال تفليت مَجموعات عنيفة يهدِّد أفرادُها ويشتُمون، وقد يَقتُلون ساعة ترِدهم الأوامر. نندِّد دونَ لَبس بأعمال تنتهِك جميع مبادئ دوْلةِ القانون التي يُطالب بها اللبنانيّون وندافع عنها. ونَضع قوى الأمن اللبنانية، بمُختلَف مكوِّناتها، أمام مسؤوليّاتها، ألا وهي حمايةُ حياة الأفراد وممتلَكاتهم، وصوْنُ حرِّيّتهم بالتعبير عن مواقفِهم تحت سقف القانون، وأن تقفَ درعاً يَحميهم من تعدِّيات يُعاقب عليها القانون.
ندعو القياداتِ كلَّها، وأوّلها التيار العوني وحزب الله وأمل، إلى الالتِزام الواضِح باللّاعنف، والعملِ في العلنِ وفي الحلَقات الخاصّة على نبذِ أعمال العنف جِهاراً ضد الثوار المسالمين، فثورةُ لبنان هي ثورةُ الجميع طالما لا يستعمل أيٌّ منّا العنف لإسكات الآخر.
في تَتابُعِ الأحداث السريعةِ مع ليلة القمصان السود في 14 كانون الأوّل –ديسمبر، التي أدّت إلى عشرات الجرحى جراءَ عنفِ الميليشيات وبعض قوى الأمن ضدَّ الثوار المسالِمين، تأكيدٌ مجدَّد ومُلِحٌّ على ضرورةِ المساءلة القضائيّة الفعّالة. فكما نَطلبُ من قوى الأمن الداخلي أن يَحموا دارةَ آل سليم في حارة حريك، وأن تتحرَّك النياباتُ العامّة لتوقيف المُعتدين عليها، كذلك باتَ أساسيّاً تثبيتُ المسؤوليّة الواضحة ضدَّ كلِّ من يستخدمُ العنفَ لقمع الناس المسالِمين ومحاكمتِه.
قائمة الموقعين:
إدريس الصغير، كاتب وروائي، المغرب
إدمون رباط، مدوّن، لبنان
أديب صعب، ناشط سياسي، ألمانيا
أسعد حيدر، صحافيّ، لبنان
أكرم عراوي، مهندس، لبنان
إليزابيت حداد، مواطنة لبنانية
، مغتربة إنديرا مطر، صحافية، لبنان
أنطوان قربان، أستاذ جامعي، لبنان
إنعام كجه جي، روائية، فرنسا
أنور هلال، طبيب أسنان، لبنان
أنيس أبو ذياب، أستاذ جامعي، لبنان
إيلي الحاج، صحافي، لبنان
إيمان حميدان، روائية، لبنان
أيمن شروف، صحافي، لبنان
بدر الدين عرودكي، كاتب ومترجم، فرنسا
بسام طيارة، أستاذ جامعي، فرنسا
بلال خبيز، صحافيّ، لبنان
بول طبر، أستاذ جامعي، لبنان
التيجانيّة فرتات، حقوقيّة، المغرب
جاكو رستيكيان ، فنان تشكيلي وأستاذ جامعيّ ، لبنان
جان بيار فرنجية، محام، لبنان
جان بيار قطريب، ناشط حقوقي، لبنان
جبور دويهي، أستاذ جامعي وروائي، لبنان
جمانة حداد، كاتبة، لبنان
جميل ضاهر، اعلامي، لبنان
جميل مروه، إعلامي لبنان
جورج نصار، مهندس، لبنان
جوزيف بدوي، صحافي، لبنان
حازم الأمين، صحافي، لبنان
حازم صاغية، صحافي، بيروت
حبيب سروري، روائي وأستاذ جامعي، فرنسا
حسام الدين درويش، كاتب، ألمانيا
حسام عيتاني، صحافي، لبنان
حسن مرعي، ناشط، لبنان
حكيمة صبايحي، أستاذة جامعية، الجزائر
حنين غدار، صحافية، الولايات المتحدة الأميركية
خالد العزي، صحافي، لبنان
خميس الخياطي، صحافي، تونس
ديانا مقلد، صحافية، لبنان
ربى كبارة، إعلامية، لبنان
رفيف فتوح، كاتبة، فرنسا
رلى قريطم، طبيبة، لبنان
رولا الحسين، روائية، لبنان
ريان عوكر، مهندس، الولايات المتحدة
ريشار شمعون، محام، فرنسا
ريمون حداد، أستاذ قانون، فرنسا
زياد دندن، صحافي، لبنان
سامي داوود، كاتب، فرنسا
سحر الخطيب، إعلاميّة، لبنان
سعيد سوسان، كاتب وتشكيلي، المغرب
سلام كواكبي، باحث، فرنسا
سلمى حرب، لبنان
سليم مزنر، مصمم وناشط، لبنان
سمير الدويهي، صحافي، فرنسا
سمير غصن، أستاذ وناشط،
لبنان سهى طراف، باحثة. لبنان
سيمون نصار، صحافي، باريس
شادي علاء الدين، صحافي، لبنان
شبلي ملاط، محام بيروت
شذا شرف الدين، فنانة، لبنان
شربل داغر، أستاذ جامعي، لبنان
شريف مجدلاني، روائي، لبنان
شريفة خضراء، منظمة مناهضة الإرهاب،
الجزائر صبحي حديدي، كاتب وصحافي، فرنسا
طلال جابر، ناشط سياسي، لبنان
طلال طعمة، صحافي، لبنان
طوني فرنسيس، صحافي،
لبنان عامر توفيق سليم، مدير مطبعة، لبنان
عامر سوبره، معلوماتية، لبنان
عباس عواضة، منظمات غير حكومية، لبنان
عبد الرحمن القرى، طبيب، لبنان
عبد الرحمن أياس، صحافي، لبنان
عبد الرحيم التوراني، صحافي، المغرب
عبد الغني القبّاج، معتقل سياسي سابق، المغرب
عبد القادر الشاوي، ناقد وروائي، المغرب
عبد القادر خيشي، صحافي، فرنسا
عبد المطلب البكري، ناشط سياسي، البرازيل
عبد الوهاب بدرخان، صحافي، لبنان
عدلات سليم، متقاعدة، لبنان
العربي بنجلون، كاتب، المغرب
عزّة شرارة بيضون، أستاذة وكاتبة، لبنان
عصام خفاجي، جامعي، هولندا
عقل العويط، كاتب، لبنان
علي الأمين، إعلامي، لبنان
عمار عبد ربه، مصور، لبنان
عمر حرقوص، إعلامي، لبنان
عمر قدور، صحافي، فرنسا
عيسى مخلوف، كاتب وشاعر، فرنسا
غسان العياش، اقتصادي، لبنان
فادي توفيق، كاتب، لبنان
فادي وليد، عاكوم، كاتب وصحافي، مصر
فارس ساسين، أستاذ جامعي وكاتب، لبنان
فاروق مردم بيه، ناشر، فرنسا
فاضل سلطاني، صحافي، العراق
فاطمة حوحو، صحافيّة، لبنان
فدا عطار عاليه، ناشطة اجتماعية، لبنان
فداء عيتاني، صحافي، لبنان
فؤاد حمدان، ناشط حقوقي، ألمانيا
فيصل سلطان، فنان وناقد تشكيلي، لبنان
كاظم خنجر، شاعر، العراق
كمال طربيه، إعلامي، فرنسا
لويس تنوري، ناشط حقوقي، لبنان
لينا أبيض، مخرجة مسرحية، لبنان
مارينا الحاج، موسيقية، بريطانيا
مجيد حميدان، مهندس، استراليا
محمد أحمد شومان، باحث ومترجم، لبنان
محمد العلمي، إعلامي، الولايات المتحدة
محمد العلمي، إعلامي، الولايات المتحدة الأميركية
محمّد برّو ، ناشط حقوقي، سوريا
محمّد بنطلحة، شاعر، المغرب
محمد بولعيش، ناشط حقوقي، المغرب
محمد سويد، كاتب سينمائي ومخرج، لبنان
محمد صالح أبو الحمايل، كاتب، لبنان
محمود عبد الغني، كاتب وأستاذ جامعيّ، المغرب
مروان أبي سمرا، باحث، لبنان
مصطفى أرناؤوط، مهندس/ مستشار، لبنان
مصطفى فحص، صحافي، لبنان
مكرم رباح، أكاديمي، لبنان
منى جهمي، مدرسة، لبنان
منى غزال، أستاذة، البرازيل
منى غندور، كاتبة ومخرجة، لبنان
مهى سلطان، ناقدة تشكيلية، لبنان
مي عبد الله، إعلامية، لبنان
ميشال حاجي جيورجيو، صحافي، لبنان
ميلود يبرير، روائي وطبيب، بيروت
ناصر الجابي، باحث، الجزائر
نائلة كرامي مجدلاني، معالجة نفسية، لبنان
نبيل البقيلي، ناشر، كندا
نبيل عبد الفتّاح، صحافي، مصر
نجم الدين خلف، أستاذ، تونس، فرنسا
نجوى بركات، روائية، لبنان
ندى سطّوف، شاعرة وأستاذة جامعيّة، لبنان
نسيم علوان، راوية، لبنان
نشوان الأتاسي، مهندس، فرنسا
نصري حجاج، كاتب مخرج سينمائي، النمسا
نضال أبو شاهين، مدون، لبنان
نضال أبو شاهين، ناشط سياسي، لبنان
هاني حطب، إعلامي، لبنان
هناء جابر، باحثة، باريس
هند درويش، ناشرة، لبنان
وسام سعادة، صحافي، لبنان
وليد شميط، إعلامي، فرنسا
ياسين شبلي، كاتب صحافي، لبنان
يحيى جابر، شاعر ومسرحي، لبنان
يسرى مقدم، كاتبة، لبنان
يوسف بزي، صحافي، بيروت
يوسف حيدر، مهندس معماري، لبنان
يوسف شمص، ناشط سياسي، لبنان
يوسف معوّض، محام، لبنان”.

60 يوماً على الثورة.. يوميات وحكايا لا تنسى
علي الأمين/جنوبية/17 كانون الأول/2019
لم يكن لبنان في أحسن أحواله عندما اندلعت الثورة. فهو منذ العام 2005، وتحديداً منذ استشهاد الرئيس رفيق الحريري يعيش انحداراً اقتصادياً نحو الهاوية المحتّمة وذلك لعدة أسباب أهمها انعدام الخطط الاقتصادية والتي عجزت عنها الحكومات المتعاقبة لعلة الفساد المستشري في السلطة الحاكمة من جهة. ومن جهة أخرى المحاصصة الطائفية التي تعتمدها السلطة في إدارة جميع الملفات. وهذه التصرفات غير المبالية جعلت من الشعب الموجوع الصامت يشكل “كرة نار” كبُرت على مدار السنين العجاف إلى أن تفجّرت في وجه السلطة في 17 تشرين الأول 2019 بسبب قرار غير مبال كالعادة من الوزير محمد شقير. وهذه الثورة، وبعد مرور شهرين على اشتعالها تحكي حكايات في يومياتها، والتي غيّرت المشهد رأساً على عقب، حيث استطاعت كسر جدار الطائفية والمذهبية الذي كانت السلطة تلوّح به عند الإحساس بأي خطر عليها، إضافة إلى ذلك أجبرت الحكومة على تقديم استقالتها، لا بل أكثر من ذلك أعطت الأمل للبنانيين أنه يمكننا أن نبني وطناً لاطائفياً ولا مذهبياً، وأعطت الفرصة للشعب أن يحكمه حكام شفافين نوعاً ما، مما يعني أن أحداً لم يعد يتجرأ على أن يدير البلد بكل علاّته من دون محاسبة. وهذه أحداث يوميات الثورة اللبنانية المستمرة بعد مرور شهرين:

في 17 تشرين الأول، بعد أن أعلنت الحكومة المستقيلة على لسان وزيرها للاتصالات محمد شقير، العزم لفرض ضريبة على الاتصالات المجانية التي تتم عبر تطبيقات المراسلة الإلكترونية مثل واتساب بدأت الثورة.

في 18 تشرين الأول استيقظ لبنان على إغلاق المدارس والجامعات والمصارف وجميع المؤسسات العامة، وخطفت مدينة صور الأضواء بالاعتداء الذي وقع في “استراحة صور السياحية”، ثم أطلقت ليلًا عناصر الجيش وقوى الأمن الداخلي الغاز المسيل للدموع على المتظاهرين من أجل توقيفهم وأوقفت العشرات.

في 19 تشرين الأول بدأت رقعة التظاهرات تتّسع، فجاب عشرات الآلاف بيروت وطرابلس شمالًا وصور والنبطية جنوبًا وغيرهم من المناطق، ثمّ أعلن رئيس حزب القوات اللبنانية سمير جعجع استقالة وزراء الحزب الأربعة في الحكومة.

في 20 تشرين الأول، بلغت التظاهرات الشعبية في لبنان ذروتها، فخرج مئات الآلاف في جميع المدن والمناطق، واكتسبت من ذلك اليوم طرابلس لقب “عروس الثورة”.

في 21 تشرين الأول، خرج الرئيس سعد الحريري وأعلن ورقته الإصلاحية في الحكومة، لكنّ وزير الخارجية جبران باسيل سبقه في هذا اليوم بتصريح مباشرٍ من قصر بعبدا. وليلة إعلان الورقة الإصلاحية التي رفضها المتظاهرون، شهد الشارع في بيروت محاولاتٍ قوية للقمع بالعنف الأمني، غير أنّها لم تفلح.

الحراك الشعبي تعلبايا
في 23 تشرين الأول، أصيب نحو 15 متظاهرًا بجروح في مدينة النبطية، وحاول أتباع حزب الله وحركة أمل قمع المتظاهرين رافعين أعلامهم الحزبية الخضراء والصفراء. في 25 تشرين الأول، خرج أمين عام حزب الله حسن نصرالله لأول مرّة، وأطلق خطابًا استعلائيًا وتهديديًا، وقال صراحةً: “لا لإسقاط الحكومة، ولا لإسقاط العهد”، ثمّ خرج مناصروه لاحقًا وجابوا شوارع بيروت مرددين الشعارات الداعمة له، ومع ذلك لم تستسلم الساحات رغم كلّ محاولات ترهيبها!

في 26 تشرين الأول، وقعت اشتباكات عنيفة بين الجيش والمتظاهرين في منطقة البداوي في طرابلس، فكانت مؤشرًا سلبيًا كاد أن يفجّر الأوضاع أمنيًا من الشمال، لولا تداركه بوعيٍ كبيرٍ من المتظاهرين. في 27 تشرين الأول، شكّل عشرات آلاف اللبنانيين سلسلة بشرية على امتداد الساحل اللبناني من الشمال إلى الجنوب بطول 170 كلم. في 29 تشرين الأول خرج شبيحة حزب الله وحركة أمل بقمصانهم السود والعصي على جسر الرينغ، وتهجموا على المتظاهرين واعتدوا عليهم بالضرب وأحرقوا خيمهم، في مشهدٍ أعاد الذاكرة لـ 7 أيار 2008، وكان اعتداء هؤلاء الشبيحة، مقدمةً لإعلان سقوط ركنٍ من أركان التسوية الرئاسية، فخرج بعد ساعات الرئيس الحريري معلنًا استقالة حكومته تلبيةً لمطلب الشارع.

النبطية
في 2 تشرين الثاني لبّت معظم المناطق اللبنانية دعوة طرابلس لمشاركتها في تظاهرة شعبية حاشدة بلغت مئات الآلاف في وسط ساحة النور. في 3 تشرين الثاني امتلأت شوارع بيروت ومدن كبرى أخرى بآلاف المتظاهرين، بعد ساعات قليلة من تجمع للتيار الوطني الحرّ أمام قصر بعبدا دعمًا لرئيس الجمهورية ميشال عون الذي ألقى كلمة بعد كلمته الأولى المسجلة، وكذلك أطلق جبران باسيل خطاب مظلوميته. في 6 تشرين الثاني نفذ عشرات آلاف الطلاب من المدارس والجامعات مسيرات وتظاهرات في مختلف المناطق. في 9 تشرين الثاني أغلقت العديد من محطات المحروقات أبوابها أمام اللبنانيين. في 11 تشرين الثاني، كانت المرّة الأولى التي يرضخ فيها رئيس مجلس النواب نبيه بري لضغط الشارع، ويعقد مؤتمرًا صحافيًا بغية إعلان تأجيل جلسة مجلس النواب التي كانت مقررة. في 12 تشرين الثاني من أجل مناقشة قانون العفو العام. وهذا اليوم الذي حقق فيه الشارع انتصارًا نسف جلسة مجلس النوب، خرج الرئيس عون في مقابلة تلفزيونية مباشرة، استفزّ فيها الشارع بخطابه الموتور وتحوّل لطرف ضدّ الشعب، مذكّرًا بـ”مشيال عون الأصلي” ما قبل 2016، وقال جملته التاريخية “إذا لم يجدوا (المتظاهرون) أي شخص صالح في هذه الدولة، فليهاجروا”. وعلى الفور، وبعد أن كانت تستعد المدارس لفتح أبوابها، عادت فورة الغضب إلى الشارع، وتوجه آلاف المتظاهرين لأول مرة نحو قصر “الشعب” في بعبدا، فوجدوه مسيجًا بالعوائق الحديدية والأسلاك الشائكة في وجههم.

صيدا
في 13 تشرين الثاني كانت نكسة الثورة الكبرى بمقتل المواطن علاء أبو فخر على يد أحد العسكريين، متأثرًا بجروحه، عند مثلث خلدة، فحمل لقب “شهيد الثورة”. بقي أركان السلطة يعقدون “صفقاتهم” المشبوهة بعيدًا من نبض الشارع، وخرجوا باتفاقٍ كان عرّابه جبران باسيل. في 15 تشرين الثاني، متجاوزين الدستور والاستشارات النيابية الإلزامية، لتسمية الوزير السابق محمد الصفدي من أجل تكليفه تشكيل الحكومة. في 18 تشرين الثاني، المصارف تحتجز أموال المودعين: «كابيتال كونترول» بحماية قوى الأمن! والحكومة المستقيلة تغسل يديها من الصفدي. خلف نقيباً للمحامين بمواجهة تصويت القوات والمستقبل والاشتراكي والتيار… في 19 تشرين الثاني، الثورة تحاصر مجلس النيابي وتمنع النواب من الوصول إلى البرلمان للقيام في استشارات على مقاسهم الخاص. في 21 تشرين الثاني، تدويل الحراك اللبناني: واشنطن لحكومة تستبعد حزب الله وتستقدم المساعدات الفردية. والإدعاء المالي يحيل 3 وزراء اتصالات الى المحاكمة.

حراك صور
في 22 تشرين الثاني: الأزمة تدخل دائرة التجاذبات الإقليمية والدولية.. والرئيس عون لا يقدم حلولا.. الحريري يناور بالاعتذار والثنائي يتمسك بحكومة سيادية وواشنطن تريد إضعاف حزب الله دون فوضى! 23 تشرين الثاني: احتجزت المخابرات العسكرية اللبنانية خمسة شُبّان، من بينهم أطفال تتراوح أعمارهم بين 12 و15 عاماً، بعد إنزالهم لافتة تدعم التيار الوطني الحر، وأبلغت أسرهم وسائل الإعلام باحتجازهم، وتم إطلاق سراح الأطفال بعد منتصف الليل بعد تدخل محامين متطوعين. 24 تشرين الثاني: أقيم احتجاج خارج سفارة الولايات المتحدة في لبنان للتعبير عن معارضته للتدخل الأمريكي في لبنان. وجاء الاحتجاج بعد أن اتهم حزب الله الولايات المتحدة بالتدخل وتأجيل تشكيل حكومة جديدة، وبعد تعليقات السفير الأمريكي جيفري فيلتمان التي قال فيها إن “لحسن الحظ، تتزامن ردود أفعال القادة والمؤسسات اللبنانية مع حزب الله مع المصالح الأمريكية”.

جل الديب
عند الظهر نُظم احتجاج آخر عبر الساحل اللبناني للفت الانتباه إلى ارتفاع مستوى التلوث البيئي في لبنان. قبل منتصف الليل مباشرة، اشتبك مؤيدو حزب الله و‌حركة أمل المؤيدون للحكومة بعنف مع المحتجين في جسر “الرينغ” ومناطق جل الديب، مطالبين بوضع حد لحواجز الطرق التي فرضها المحتجون. جاء ذلك بعد أن اعتدى المتظاهرون جسدياً على شخصين بعد الاشتباه في أنهم من أنصار حزب الله. أحرق أنصار حزب الله/حركة أمل خيام المجتمع المدني والسيارات المحطمة وتسببوا في أضرار في الممتلكات العامة والخاصة. تدخل الجيش اللبناني بالغاز المسيل للدموع والقنابل اليدوية بعد ساعات، لتفريق واحدة من أكثر الأُمسيات عنفاً منذ بداية الاحتجاجات. 25 تشرين الثاني: أنصار حزب الله وحركة أمل يصلون إلى ساحة الشهيد على دراجات نارية. توفي حسين شلهوب وزوجته سناء الجندي بعد أن اصطدمت سيارتهم بحاجز مؤقت يستخدمه المحتجون لقطع طريق الوصول إلى طريق الجية السريع. أدى هذا إلى تأجيج التوترات بين المحتجين وأنصار حركة حزب الله/أمل المؤيدين للحكومة. أصدر يان كوبيتش، منسق الأمم المتحدة الخاص للبنان، تصريحات متعددة على موقع تويتر يحذر فيها من المواجهة المتصاعدة بين المحتجين وأنصار حزب الله/حركة أمل. في وقت لاحق من بعد ظهر اليوم، بدأ أنصار حزب الله وحركة أمل الموالين للحكومة في التجول في جميع أنحاء بيروت، وصور ومدن أخرى على الدراجات والدراجات البخارية، وهم يهتفون بالاستهزاء والاستفزازات عند المتظاهرين. وتبع ذلك بعض الاشتباكات الجسدية، واستمرت المواجهات في حدوثها بشكل متقطع حتى وقت متأخر من المساء.

طرابلس
26 تشرين الثاني: أعلن رئيس الوزراء المستقيل سعد الدين الحريري رسمياً أنه لن يرشح نفسه لهذا المنصب. وفي الوقت نفسه، أعلن رجل الأعمال سمير خطيب أنه “مستعد لتشكيل حكومة جديدة”، ويبدو أنه حصل على قدر من التأييد من الأحزاب السياسية. أعلن الرئيس ميشال عون أنه سيتم إجراء مشاورات ملزمة لتعيين رئيس وزراء جديد في 28 نوفمبر. بين عشيّة وضحاها، وقعت اشتباكات في جميع أنحاء لبنان. في بعلبك، دمر مؤيدو حزب الله/حركة أمل خيام المحتجين وأيضاً نظامهم الصوتي. في بكفيا، نظم أنصار التيار الوطني الحر (حزب الرئيس الحالي ميشيل عون) مظاهرة أمام منزل الرئيس السابق أمين الجميل. اشتبكوا مع أنصار حزب الكتائب اللبنانية (حزب الجميّل)، مما أدى إلى وقوع إصابات وتدمير الممتلكات الخاصة حتى تدخل الجيش اللبناني. كما وقعت اشتباكات في شياح وعين رمانة. زعم الصليب الأحمر اللبناني أن عشرات الأشخاص قد أُصيبوا، بينما قال الجيش اللبناني إنه تم اعتقال 16 شخصاً على الأقل لتورطهم في الاشتباكات. 27 تشرين الثاني: أعلنت نقابة أصحاب محطات الوقود في لبنان أن إضراباً مفتوحاً سيبدأ في 28 ت2 بسبب “حجم الخسائر التي تكبدها القطاع نظراً لوجود سعرين في السوق اللبنانية”. مئات من الأمهات اللبنانيات قادو “مسيرة الأم” في شياح للاحتجاج على العنف الطائفي في 26 نوفمبر بين الشباب. 28 تشرين الثاني: ادّعت مصادر في وزارة المالية اللبنانية لوسائل الإعلام المحلية أن البنك المركزي اللبناني كان من المقرر أن يسدد 1.5 مليار دولار من ديون السندات باليورو والتي تستحق في 28 ت2، مما يخفف من التكهنات بأن لبنان قد يتخلف عن سداد ديونه. ومع ذلك، لا يزال لدى لبنان ديون مستحقة على سندات اليورو المستحقة في عام 2020، وأشارت مصادر إعلامية إلى أن الطريق نحو إعادة التمويل الضروري للتعامل مع هذا الدين غير واضح بدون مجلس الوزراء.

كفررمان
29 تشرين الثاني: وقعت احتجاجات أمام البنك المركزي اللبناني وبعض المباني والمؤسسات الحكومية والقضائية والإدارية، بهدف منع موظفي القطاع العام من دخول هذه المؤسسات. زعمت مصادر إعلامية متعددة أن حزب الله قد طلب من الرئيس ميشال عون تأجيل المشاورات البرلمانية الملزمة، والتي كانت مقررة في 28 ت2، على أمل أن رئيس الوزراء المستقيل سعد الدين الحريري سيتراجع عن قراره بعدم قيادة الحكومة المقبلة. 3 كانون الأول: تجمع المتظاهرون في جميع أنحاء البلاد استجابةً لترشيح رجل الأعمال سمير خطيب كرئيس وزراء جديد محتمل. تم ربط العديد من حالات الانتحار بتدهور الظروف المعيشية في لبنان، وأبرزها وفاة ناجي الفليطي البالغ من العمر 40 عاماً في عرسال. وفقاً لوسائل الإعلام المحلية، انتحر ناجي لأنه لم يكن قادراً على إعانة أسرته بعد أن فقد وظيفته. أثار انتحاره غضباً كبيراً من الغضب عبر الإنترنت. 4 كانون الأول: استأنف المتظاهرون إغلاق الطرق بعد إجماع السياسيين الواضح على تعيين سمير خطيب كرئيس للوزراء المقبل. 7 كانون الأول: تظاهر نحو ألف شخص في بيروت للاحتجاج على التحرش الجنسي في لبنان. رجل قام بالتضحية بالنفس أثناء الاحتجاج ونجا، وكانت دوافعه غير واضحة. وجاء الاحتجاج بعد أيام من الجدل المطوّل المحيط بمدرب شخصي في بيروت والذي اتهمته أكثر من خمسين امرأة بارتكاب سوء سلوك جنسي.

حاصبيا
8 كانون الأول: انسحب سمير الخطيب كمرشح لرئاسة الوزراء بعد فشله في الحصول على دعم كافٍ من الأحزاب السنية المسلمة في البرلمان. بعد انسحاب الخطيب، أصبح سعد الحريري المرشح الوحيد لرئاسة الوزراء مرة أخرى. ثم تجمع المحتجون خارج البرلمان لإدانة ترشيح الحريري والمطالبة بمرشح مستقل. 9 كانون الأول: اعتصام أمام منزل سليم عون وعدد من المسؤولين في زحلة. تراشق بالحجارة بين مرافقي فيصل كرامي والمحتجين وسقوط عدد من الجرحى. الفيضانات تجتاح عدة مناطق في لبنان على أثر هطول الأمطار. القوى الأمنية تمنع المحتجين من قطع الرينغ.. وتوقيف ناشط! ومحاولة لقطع الرينغ من الاشرفية باتجاه الحمرا والقوى الأمنية تتدخل! 10 كانون الأول: وفاة الشقيقين كاخيا على إثر انهيار منزل يفجّر الغضب على فساد بلدية الميناء.. واستقالات بالجملة. إشكال بين المتظاهرين والجيش وسقوط عدد من الجرحى. متظاهرون يقفلون مؤسسات عامة في بيروت، ومحتجون يغلقون مدخل شركة الكهرباء في عاليه. احتجاج أمام منزل القاضية عون في الأشرفية.

برجا
11 كانون الأول: قطع طرقات عدّة. حرّاس برّي يعتدون على محتجين سلميين. مواطن يقفل مدخل مصرف بشاحنة نقل طويلة. رسالتان الى ماكرون من أمام السفارة الفرنسية: السلطة ليست مؤهلة لاستلام أي مساعدات! النائب هادي حبيش يهجم على بيت القاضية غادة عون، وبيان حاد اللهجة من «القضاء الأعلى» لملاحقته! هجوم عناصر ميليشياوية ليلاً لحرق خيم الثوّار.. ووقفة احتجاجية في فردان لمحاسبة المعتدين! القوى الأمنية تتصدى لعناصر ميليشياوية فجراً همّت للتعرض للثوار في ساحة رياض الصلح وجسر الرينغ. الثوّار يكسرون الخوف ويصرخون: «بري بلطجي وحرامي» وذلك بعد الاعتداء عليهم في منطقة عين التينة. 12 كانون الأول: إعتصامات أمام مرافق عامة. شبيحة السلطة يغزون خيم المعتصمين والقوى الأمنية تتصدى، ومحاولة لحرق خيمة الملتقى. إشكال بين متظاهرين والقوى الأمنية أمام سرايا حلبا، واعتصام لمتطوعي الدفاع المدني أمام مجلس النواب للتثبيت. معتصمون يغنون داخل أحد المصارف: «نحن مصرياتنا وين؟»، وعسكري غاضب في أحد المصارف يصرخ «بدي معاشي»! إطلاق سراح جميع الموقوفين في ملف «استراحة صور». 13 كانون الأول: إغلاق وفتح وتوقيفات وإفراج وجرحى من الثوار على جسر جل الديب، والمتظاهرون يقفلون مدخل مصلحة تسجيل السيارات والآليات في سرايا جونية. إعتصام لمدة نصف ساعة أمام فرع مصرف لبنان في بعلبك، وحراك صيدا يعتصم أمام الضمان لحفظ كرامة المسنين صحياً.. حراس كريدية يعتدون على الثوار ويشتكون في أوجيرو. جرحى في برجا بين الجيش ومحتجين أمام معمل الجية، وتعرض رئيس بلديتها ريمون حمية للاعتداء. وقفة احتجاجية في بئر حسن أمام أوجيرو، وقطع طرقات عدة ليلاً.

ساحة رياض الصلح
14 كانون الأول: مجهولون يحطّمون الخيمة التي وضعها الحراك المدني في سوق الخان في حاصبيا. «غزوة» على القوى الامنية في وسط بيروت بالحجارة. حشود من الحراك من مختلف المناطق اللبنانية أمام مداخل ​ساحة النجمة​ في ​وسط بيروت​.

15 كانون الأول: مسيرة تجوب شوارع مدينة صور. مجموعة من شرطة المجلس بقمصانها السود والعصي تعتدي بوحشية على المتظاهرين السلميين. احتجاجات في النبطية وكفررمان.. رفضاً لحكومة راضخة للخارج! مجموعة كبيرة من منطقة الخندق الغميق اجتاحت ساحتي الشهداء ورياض الصلح وقامت بحرق الخيم، وضرب كل من يقترب منها بالحجارة.

الجية
16 كانون الأول: بعد الفيديو المسيئ للأئمة اعتداء من مناصرو حركة أمل وحزب الله على خيم الحراك في النبطية وصيدا والفاكهة، ومحاولة لحرق الخيم في رياض الصلح وساحة الشهداء، بالإضافة لحرق بعض السيارات المركونة في وسط البلد، وصيدا تُجدد إنتفاضتها تقطع الطريق ليلاً. السنيورة يُطرد من الـ «AUB». الأمم المتحدة تدعو لبنان للتحقيق في استخدام القوة ضد المتظاهرين. 17 كانون الأول: ثوار صور يرفضون إلقاء الإعلامي سامي كليب كلمة في ساحة العلم. إشكال بين عدد من الشبان المؤيّدين للرئيس الحريري والمتظاهرين المحتجين على إعادة تكليف الحريري لتشكيل الحكومة المقبلة.

The post تقارير ومقابلات (فيديو) تحكي الإرهاب والتهديدات والإتهامات بالتخوين والشيطنة التي يتعرض لها الإعلاميين والناشطين الشيعة المعارضين لأمل وحزب الله/مع بيان يستنكر حرق خيمة الملتقى وتخوين القيمين عليها appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

لبنان ودع جوزف ابو خليل في مأتم حاشد الرقيم: باق عبر إرثه الفكري سامي الجميل:عملاق أدى دورا في تاريخ لبنان
الثلاثاء 17 كانون الأول 2019

وطنية – ودع لبنان وحزب الكتائب نائب رئيس الحزب جوزف ابو خليل في مأتم مهيب في كنيسة مار يوسف في الاشرفية ترأسه رئيس اساقفة بيروت للموارنة المطران بولس عبد الساتر ممثلا البطريرك الماروني الكاردينال بشارة الراعي بمشاركة المطران مارون عمار وممثل بطريرك السريان المطران ميخائيل شمعون، رئيس الرهينة اللبنانية المارونية الاباتي نعمة الله الهاشم ولفيف من الكهنة.
وشارك في المأتم النائب فريد بستاني ممثلا رئيس الجمهورية العماد ميشال عون، النائب هاغوب بقرادونيان ممثلا رئيس مجلس النواب نبيه بري، النائب نزيه نجم ممثلا رئيس حكومة تصريف الأعمال سعد الحريري، الرئيس أمين الجميل وعقيلته جويس، النائب بيار بو عاصي ممثلا رئيس حزب “القوات اللبنانية” سمير جعجع، رئيس حزب الكتائب النائب سامي الجميل وعقيلته كارن، والنواب: نديم الجميل، الياس حنكش، ونقولا الصحناوي، والوزراء السابقون: إدمون رزق، جوزف الهاشم، روجيه ديب، كريم بقرادوني، ايلي ماروني، سليم الصايغ (نائب رئيس الحزب)، آلان حكيم، زياد بارود، وملحم الرياشي، النائبان السابقان فادي الهبر وسامر سعاده، نقيب المحررين جوزف القصيفي، النقيبان السابقان للمحامين الياس حنا وجورج جريج، النقيب السابق للمحررين الياس عون، الأمين العام للحزب نزار نجاريان، مستشار رئيس الحزب فؤاد ابو ناضر، وأعضاء المكتب السياسي والمجلس المركزي ورفاق الراحل.
الرقيم
وبعد الانجيل، تلا الاب روجيه شرفان الرقيم البطريركي قال فيه: “البركة الرسولية تشمل بناتنا وأبناءنا الأعزاء: تريز وديع كرم، زوجة المرحوم جوزف خليل أبو خليل، وابنتيه وعائلاتهم، وعائلات المرحومين شقيقيه وشقيقتيه، وحزب الكتائب اللبنانية، وسائر ذويهم وأنسبائهم في الوطن والمهجر المحترمين. بالأسى الشديد والصلاة نودع معكم عزيزكم، الذخيرة من ذخائر لبنان وحزب الكتائب اللبنانية، شيخكم المرحوم جوزيف خليل أبو خليل، النائب الأول لرئيس حزب الكتائب. إبن بيت الدين هو، وفي عيد الميلاد ولد بعد ولادة دولة لبنان الكبير بخمس سنوات. فانفتح قلبه وعقله منذ طفولته على محبة لبنان وعزة تاريخ الأجداد في بيت الدين وجارتها دير القمر. على أساس هذين الكنزين، اللذين تربى عليهما مع المرحومين شقيقيه وشقيقتيه، إنتسب إلى حزب الكتائب اللبنانية عام 1939 وهو في الرابعة عشرة من العمر. فاستقى من المؤسس الكبير المغفور له الشيخ بيار الجميل الروح الوطنية والنضالية من أجل لبنان في هويته الأصيلة التي تميزه عن جميع بلدان المنطقة المشرقية. وأضاف: “إكتسب العلم، بفضل ما أوتي من ذكاء ومواهب، فأضحى من أبرز المحررين والصحافيين والكتاب والمحللين السياسيين. تشهد على ذلك مقالاته وتعليقاته وكتاباته المتتالية في الصحف: كـ”العمل” الناطقة بلسان حزب الكتائب، و”نداء الوطن”، و”النهار”، و”الحياة”، و”الديار”، و”الأنوار”، و”السفير”، والصياد، فضلا عن إذاعة “صوت لبنان” التي أسسها في منزله وكانت تبث سرا طيلة ثورة 1958″. وتابع: “إرتبط في سر الزواج المقدس بشريكة حياة فاضلة، هي السيدة تريز وديع كرم التي كانت إلى جانبه خير معين. عاشا معا حياة زوجية سعيدة، باركها الله بثمرة الابنتين اللتين أمنا لهما أحسن تربية على القيم الروحية والأخلاقية والوطنية، مع العلم الرفيع. وسرا بهما تؤسسان عائلتين رضيتين. فكانتا مع الصهرين والأحفاد بهجة قلبه.
وأكمل المرحوم جوزف مسيرته الحزبية والوطنية البناءة داخل الكتائب اللبنانية، من بعد الرئيس المؤسس، مع رئيس الجمهورية الشهيد الشيخ بشير الجميل، ثم مع شقيقه الشيخ أمين رئيس الجمهورية السابق، فمع ابنه الشهيد بيار النائب والوزير، وأخيرا في هذه الأيام مع رئيس الحزب النائب الشيخ سامي.
فكان عندهم المرحوم جوزف هو هو رجل الثقة والمشورة الحكيمة والتجرد والتفاني، غير متطلب شيئا لنفسه. ولذا، أسندت إليه في الحزب مسؤوليات متنوعة أهمها عضويته في المكتب السياسي، ومنصب الامين العام، فالنائب الأول لرئيس الحزب، وهو منصب شغله حتى وفاته.
ولئن غاب عنا، فهو باق في ما ترك لنا وللأجيال الآتية من إرث فكري، ليس فقط في مقالاته الصحافية، بل وأيضا في الكتب الخمسة التي أصدرها ما بين سنة 1990 و 2015. أغمض عينيه، ودمعة تنساب على خديه، متأثرا بما آل إليه وجه لبنان الجميل الذي حافظ عليه وناضل من أجله.
وقال: “ها هو في ذكرى ميلاد الرب يسوع على أرضنا، يولد هذه المرة في السماء، حاملا معه ال94 عاما الغنية بالأعمال الصالحة والإيمان بالله والكنيسة والوطن. ولسان حاله يردد مع صاحب المزمور: “من طول الأيام أشبعتني، فأرني الآن خلاصك” (مز16:91). وختم: “على هذا الأمل، واكراما لدفنته، وإعرابا لكم عن عواطفنا الأبوية، نوفد اليكم سيادة أخينا المطران بولس عبد الساتر رئيس أساقفة بيروت السامي الإحترام، ليرئس باسمنا حفلة الصلاة لراحة نفسه وينقل اليكم جميعا تعازينا الحارة.
تغمد الله روح فقيدكم الغالي بوافر الرحمة، وسكب على قلوبكم بلسم العزاء”.
الجميل
النائب سامي الجميل استهل كلمته بالقول: “أنت عملاق في خدمة لبنان تواضعت كل حياتك واليوم يجب ان تسمح لنا بأن نقول الحقيقة لكل الناس”. وتابع “عمو انت عملاق في حياتك الشخصية، تربيتك لعائلتك وحبك لتيريز وكل واحد منا يحلم بأن يعيشه، انت عملاق في حزبك بتواضعك ومحبتك لرفاقك ووفائك لقضيتك وثباتك في بيتك بيت الكتائب المركزي”. عشت التأسيس، والشيخ بيار، وبعد وفاته تقمص الشيخ بيار فيك، وجسدت كل ما يمثله بيار الجميّل معنا وقربنا كل يوم”.
وعدد مزايا الراحل من “تواضع وعطاء وتضحية ووفاء ونضال وانتفاضة دائمة وحب للبنان وصل الى مرحلة الغرام”. وأضاف: “كان لنا الشرف بأن نخدم لبنان معك ولك فضل كبير على هذا الحزب وعلينا كلنا. كنت المرجع والبوصلة والدعم، ذكرت كل الرفاق: ماذا تعني الكتائب فهي ليست سلطة او حزبا عاديا وعابرا بل هي مدرسة وروح ونضال وتجرد وعطاء، الكتائب هي حب لبنان، لذلك هي الحزب الوحيد الذي بقي واقفا وانت الى جانبه”. وتابع: “مثلما أدى الحزب دورا في كل المحطات الرئيسية، انت أديت دورا في كل محطة تاريخية من لبنان، انت الانسان الوحيد الذي كان له اهم دور الى جانب القرار في كل المحطات التاريخية في لبنان من الاستقلال الى اليوم. انت عملاق في خدمة لبنان. وانا اريد الافادة من هذه اللحظة للتحدث عن رؤيتك للبنان، كنت تجلس معي واشعر بأنك تتحدث كشخص خلق هذا البلد وكأن لبنان ابنه، شرحت لي لماذا خلق لبنان وما هدفه ورسالته. وكلما حاول احد تفريق لبناني عن آخر، كنت تقول يجب التمييز بين من يحب لبنان ومن لا يحبه لا ان نميز بين اللبنانيين. كنت تقول إن لبنان لا يبنى الا بأن نكون مواطنين ونضع طوائفنا على جنب ونفكر بلبنان”. وتوجه الى الراحل: “انت عملاق وسنودع كعملاق، وسنعدك باسم كل الرفاق والرفيقات بأن رسالتك باقية كما هي والكتائب باقية كما اردتها. صادف انك غادرت السبت، والاحد اصبح بيت الكتائب المركزي بيت الشعب اللبناني، فكرت بكم كانت لتكون هدية جميلة لك بأن ترى كل اللبنانيين، مسلمين ومسيحيين، يلجأون الى بيت الكتائب لأنه بيت الحرية والكرامة”. وختم: “هكذا ستبقى الكتائب، وهذا وعدنا لك ولعائلتك، سنستمر في التعاليم نفسها التي علمتنا اياها والكتائب ستكون كما اردتها. نودعك عمو هنا، ونلتقي الاثنين في بيت الكتائب المركزي”.
كلمة نقابة المحررين
وتلا امين سر نقابة المحررين جورج شاهين كلمة النقابة، قال فيها: “أحار من أي موقع أنعى عمو جوزف من موقعي الشخصي الذي كنت شاهدا على اولى خطواته المهنية، من موقع الرفيق الذي امضينا معا اكثر من 45 عاما، من موقع الزميل الذي عانينا واياه مختلف صنوف التعب والإرهاق عندما كنا نصل الليل بالنهار لإصدار عدد يومي من جريدة “العمل” وتحديدا في تلك الليالي السود التي اصدرنا فيها بعد وضعك في الإقامة الجبرية عددا أسود بدلا من الحمر، من تلك الغرف في مبنى البيت المركزي التي كانت تهتز جدرانه بقذائف الدبابات من خلفنا”.
واضاف: “عمو جوزف، اقف اليوم امام نعشك المجلل باسم نقيب المحررين جوزف القصيفي وباسم أعضاء مجلس النقابة الذين اولوني شرف القاء كلمة حق في وداعك، عمو جوزف يعجز اللسان عن قول مثل هذه الكلمة واختصار ما اختصرت في شخصك من قيم ومواهب”.
وتابع “زينت جدول نقابة المحررين بكل الصفات المهنية ولم تسعى يوما الى منصب او لموقع.اعطيت لها رونق الصحافي المجاهد الساعي الى الحقيقة التي ادركتها في الكثير من المناسبات والمواقع فكنت صلبا الى جانبها مهما غلا الثمن. قدمت لوحدتها الكثير من التعب في ثمانينيات القرن الماضي ووقفت إلى جانبها في أصعب الأوقات وأدق الاستحقاقات، دافعا عنها ما تعرضت له من ضغط في زمن الحرب، وإنقسام العاصمة إلى شطرين. وكنت حريصا على القيام بواجباتك حيالها حتى اللحظة الأخيرة، على الرغم من تقادم العمر”. وتابع: “من على هذه المنصة، وفي مثل هذا اليوم في 17 كانون الأول، استذكرت فقدان والد حنون قبل 36 عاما. وانا ارى نفسي اليوم انعى والدا آخر ومناضلا لم تخل الساحة إلا عند سقوط يراعه التي ما خطت إلا آيات الوفاء لوطن أنجبك، وحزب نشأت فيه وكنت شاهدا على تاريخه ومواكبا له، ومهنة ونقابة إحتضنتهما وإحتضناك، وقامت بينك وبينهما إلفة وتآلف حتى قضى الله أمرا كان مقضيا”. وختم “عمو جوزف، نم قرير العين في بيت الدين، أميرا من أمراء الصحافة، متقدما جميع أمرائها. وداعا عمو جوزف، والى اللقاء”.
كلمة العائلة
كلمة العائلة ألقتها كريمة الراحل القاضية ريما ابو خليل شرتوني فتحدثت عن ابو خليل “الاب والانسان وحبه للوطن لبنان وقدرته على المسامحة”. وشكرت كل من شارك العائلة بالتعازي طوال الايام الثلاثة الماضية. وقالت: “علمنا والدي التواضع والانسانية والا نستقوي على الضعيف وان نحب لبنان، وكان يملك قدرة رهيبة على المسامحة، واعتقد انه سامح 7 الاف مرة”. وختمت: “سيبقى صوت لبنان صوت الحرية والكرامة الذي تربينا على اساسه”.
في الصيفي
وكان جثمان الراحل وصل الى بيت الكتائب المركزي في الصيفي وحمل النعش على الأكف ملفوفا بالعلمين اللبناني والكتائبي. ووسط التصفيق، أدخل الى بيت الكتائب حيث سجي الجثمان ورفعت الصلوات، ووضع رئيس الحزب النائب سامي الجميل الزر المذهب على صدر الفقيد. وأنشد الحاضرون النشيدين الوطني والكتائبي. وفي رحلة أخيرة، أدخل النعش الى قاعة اجتماعات المكتب السياسي والى مكتبه الذي
امضى فيه “عمو جوزف” 75 عاما من العمل والنضال”.

The post لبنان ودع جوزف ابو خليل في مأتم حاشد الرقيم: باق عبر إرثه الفكري appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة للمؤسسات اللبنانية الكندية باللغة العربية ليوم 18 كانون الأول/2019

اضغط هنا لقراءة نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة المفصلة، اللبنانية والعربية ليوم 18 كانون الأول/2019

ارشيف نشرات أخبار موقعنا اليومية/عربية وانكليزية منذ العام 2006/اضغط هنا لدخول صفحة الأرشيف

عناوين أقسام نشرة المنسقية باللغة العربية
الزوادة الإيمانية لليوم
تعليقات الياس بجاني وخلفياتها
الأخبار اللبنانية
المتفرقات اللبنانية
الأخبار الإقليمية والدولية
المقالات والتعليقات والتحاليل السياسية الشاملة
المؤتمرات والندوات والبيانات والمقابلات والمناسبات الخاصة والردود وغيره

The post نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة للمؤسسات اللبنانية الكندية باللغة العربية ليوم 18 كانون الأول/2019 appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Detailed LCCC English News Bulletin For December 18/2019

Click Here to read the whole and detailed LCCC English News Bulletin for December 18/2019

The post Detailed LCCC English News Bulletin For December 18/2019 appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 17-18/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 62th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
December 18/2019

Tites For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 17-18/2019
Kubis Warns Lebanon Leaders that ‘Blocking Solution’ Will Stoke Unrest, Tensions
Tenenti Says Aircraft Flew for ‘Maintenance’ to UNIFIL Headquarters
Report: Postponement of Talks on PM ‘Surprised’ Diplomats in Beirut
Lebanon’s Berri, Hariri call for calm after night of violence
Berri and Hariri Urge Fast Govt. Formation, Say Security Forces Must Play Their Role
Hezbollah supporters attack several protest camps in Lebanon
Analyst: Monday Unrest May Have Been an Attempt to Undermine Protests
Bassil Bodyguard Seizes Prominent Journalist Phone at U.N. Forum
Bassil Warns World of ‘Hundreds of Thousands of Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian Refugees’
Bassil Flies to Geneva for Conference on Refugees
Report: AMAL Supporter who Shared Sectarian Video to be Questioned
DR Congo Freezes Assets of Lebanese ‘Bread King’ over U.S. Sancti
Protesters Storm Commerce Chamber during Meeting Attended by Choucair
Dozens of Protesters Rally near Hariri’s Residence
Lebanon: Mustaqbal Says Premiership Cannot Be Held Hostage to Any Party
Lebanon FM Gebran Bassil on protests, corruption and reforms
Beirut left reeling after online video sparks violent clashes
3rd Night of Unrest, Hizbullah, AMAL Supporters Clash with Security Forces
Protesters in Arab World’s Newest Uprisings Face a Long Haul

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 17-18/2019
Kubis Warns Lebanon Leaders that ‘Blocking Solution’ Will Stoke Unrest, Tensions
Naharnet/December 17/2019
U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis on Tuesday warned Lebanon’s political leaders that “blocking a sustainable political solution” will only lead to further violence and sectarian “provocations.”
In a series of tweets, Kubis said he was “alarmed to hear about the increasingly complex & dangerous security situation around the protests” from caretaker Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan, Army chief General Joseph Aoun and Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Imad Othman. He said the army and the ISF deserve “respect & appreciation for their professional & largely responsible way.” He also lauded them for “the dedication with which they protect peaceful protests & law & order against politically motivated instigators of violence at a high personal & moral risk.”“When will the politicians finally understand that blocking a sustainable political solution puts Lebanon increasingly on fire?” Kubis wondered.“Manipulation and growing infiltration of protests by political activists, radicalization of parts of the protests movement, relentless attacks on the security forces by stones, incendiary devices and fuel, acts of vandalism, provocations with the aim to unleash sectarian strife — is this what you want, political leaders, for the people of Lebanon? Because this is what you have given them, so far,” the U.N. official lamented.His warnings come after assailants coming from a stronghold of the AMAL Movement and its ally Hizbullah clashed with security forces in Beirut and carried out riot acts in the capital and the country’s south and east following a social media video deemed offensive to the country’s Shiites. It was the third consecutive night of violence in Lebanon, coming after President Michel Aoun on Monday postponed talks on naming a new prime minister, further prolonging the unrest in the protest-hit country. Supporters of Hizbullah and Berri’s AMAL, angered by protesters’ criticism and insults against their leaders, have tried to attack a downtown Beirut protest camps for days. They clashed for hours with security forces guarding the camp on Monday, hurling stones and firecrackers and setting fire to several cars, trees and a building under construction overlooking the square. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons.

Tenenti Says Aircraft Flew for ‘Maintenance’ to UNIFIL Headquarters
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 17/2019
After reports that a UNIFIL aircraft conducted an overflight over Lebanon’s hydrocarbons Block 9 south of Lebanon, UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti explained that it landed at the Naqoura headquarters for “non-routine maintenance.” Tenenti was quoted as saying that the chopper that landed at the UNIFIL headquarters in southern Lebanon was a Brazilian helicopter belonging to the International Force navy and that it came from one of its naval ships with the purpose of carrying out non-routine maintenance.Tenenti said the chopper flew right back to the ship after completing maintenance. Media reports said that a British chopper had flown over Block 9 in south Lebanon to later land at the UNIFIL center in Naqoura. Lebanon is set to start drilling in block 4 in December, and in block 9 disputed by neighboring Israel in 2020. Last year, Lebanon signed its first contract to drill for oil and gas in its waters. A consortium comprising energy giants Total, ENI and Novatek took the first two of its 10 blocks, including block 9 disputed by Israel with which Lebanon has fought several wars.

Report: Postponement of Talks on PM ‘Surprised’ Diplomats in Beirut
Naharnet/December 17/2019
Diplomats in Beirut were surprised when outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri requested that President Michel Aoun postpone the consultations on a new PM “in order to garner bigger backing,” for his nomination, the Saudi Asharq al-Awsat reported on Tuesday. “The majority of ambassadors were astonished mainly that Hariri’s position was taken at a glance at the Center House. Shortly before, he was getting prepared to head to the Presidential Palace leading his parliamentary bloc to meet Aoun and name a Premier,” a source following up on the parliamentary consultations told the daily on condition of anonymity. The source told Asharq al-Awsat that he “understands the stance of Hariri,” who refuses to assume the prime minister post without the backing of the Lebanese Forces party. But added that “Hariri must be aware and so must the influential political parties, that every delay will reflect negatively on the internal political situation and the exchange rate of the dollar, adding to the lingering political and security crisis.”An ambassador of a European country in Beirut who declined to be named, rejected the delay saying “it deprives the new government from confidence that will eventually negatively affect the projects that donors will provide to Lebanon, whether in infrastructure, implementation of CEDRE and projects to float liquidity in order to secure the regularity of banking system, which is getting worse.”He said “we are waiting for the foreign ministers to meet and take a decision to urge a speedy formation of a government of independent specialists to start rebuilding before the economic and financial deterioration takes an irreversible turn.”

Lebanon’s Berri, Hariri call for calm after night of violence
Reuters, Beirut Wednesday, 18 December 2019
Lebanon’s parliament speaker and caretaker prime minister warned against strife on Tuesday after clashes between supporters of Shia groups and security forces overnight stirred fears of further political and economic turmoil. Lebanon has been gripped by protests since October 17, leading to the resignation of Saad Hariri as prime minister, amid anger at the government’s failure to address the country’s worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. Security forces lobbed tear gas overnight in central Beirut to disperse supporters of the Shia Amal party of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and its ally, the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. Hundreds of men on motorcycles waving their party flags chanted “Shia, Shia”. They set tires on fire, hurled stones at security forces, and torched cars, witnesses said. They said they were furious at a video that circulated online in which a man curses their party and religious leaders, including Berri and Imam Ali, using language that could be inflammatory in a country with deep sectarian divisions. The men tried to break a security cordon around a square where tents have been set up as part of the wave of protests against the ruling elite which erupted two months ago.
In a statement after meeting on Tuesday, Berri and Hariri, two of the country’s top leaders, urged the Lebanese “not to get dragged towards strife” and to maintain civil peace. “The national need has become more than pressing to speed up forming the government,” the statement added.
Lebanon’s main parties have feuded over how to agree on a new government since Hariri – the leading Sunni politician – resigned under pressure from the protests. He has stayed on as caretaker prime minister. The job of premier is reserved for a Sunni, according to the country’s sectarian power-sharing system. The Internal Security Forces said on Tuesday that 65 police were injured in the violence overnight and three people were detained. In the mainly Sunni city of Sidon and the mainly Shia city of Nabatieh in the south, groups of men also attacked protest tents overnight, local TV stations said. Angry at chants against their politicians, Amal and Hezbollah supporters have at times attacked protesters who are seeking to remove a political class that has dominated Lebanon since the civil war.The unrest took a violent turn at the weekend when security forces fired tear gas in Beirut at protesters and dozens of people were wounded in the clashes.

Berri and Hariri Urge Fast Govt. Formation, Say Security Forces Must Play Their Role
Naharnet/December 17/2019
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday discussed the latest political developments in a meeting that lasted for more than an hour and a half in Ain el-Tineh, a joint statement said.“The two leaders urged all Lebanese to show awareness and vigilance during this period and not to be dragged into strife,” the statement said, warning that some parties are exerting “strenuous efforts to drag the country into the inferno of strife.”The threat of strife “can only be confronted through preserving civil peace and national unity and shunning incitement, and mainly through allowing security forces and the Lebanese Army to carry out their roles and perform their mission of safeguarding security and protecting people’s safety and public and private property,” the statement added. As for the designation of a new premier and the formation of a new government, Berri and Hariri emphasized that there is “a dire national need to form a government,” calling for “approaching this juncture in a calm atmosphere away from political tensions” and urging the parties to “put the country’s interest before any other interest.”The statement comes after assailants coming from a stronghold of Berri’s AMAL Movement and its ally Hizbullah clashed with security forces in Beirut and carried out riot acts in the capital and the country’s south and east following a social media video deemed offensive to the country’s Shiites. It was the third consecutive night of violence in Lebanon, coming after President Michel Aoun on Monday postponed talks on naming a new prime minister, further prolonging the unrest in the protest-hit country.The violence was fueled by an undated video circulating online of a man, said to be living somewhere in Europe but otherwise from Lebanon’s majority Sunni city of Tripoli, railing against Shiite politicians, religious figures and others. It was unclear what the link was between the video and the attacks on protest camps. Supporters of Hizbullah and Berri’s AMAL, angered by protesters’ criticism and insults against their leaders, have tried to attack the protest camps for days. They clashed for hours with security forces guarding a central Beirut protest camp on Monday, hurling stones and firecrackers and setting fire to several cars, trees and a building under construction overlooking the square. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons.

Hezbollah supporters attack several protest camps in Lebanon
The Associated Press, Beirut /Tuesday, 17 December 2019
Assailants attacked several protest camps in north and south Lebanon early on Tuesday, according to state-run media, demolishing tents and burning down others as anger boiled over in the capital following a video deemed offensive to the country’s Shia. The violence — some of it apparently carried out by Lebanese Hezbollah supporters and their allies — threatened to plunge Lebanon further into chaos amid two months of anti-government protests and a spiraling financial crisis. In Beirut, charred remains of several torched cars were scattered on a main highway while faint smoke smoldered from a fire set in a building overlooking the epicenter of two-month-old protests after a night of rage by supporters of Lebanon’s two main Shia groups, Hezbollah and Amal. It was the third consecutive night of violence in Lebanon, coming after the Lebanese president on Monday postponed talks on naming a new prime minister, further prolonging the unrest in the Mediterranean country. The violence was fueled by an undated video circulating online of a man, said to be living somewhere in Europe but otherwise from Lebanon’s majority Sunni city of Tripoli, railing against Shia politicians, religious figures and others. It was unclear what the link was between the video and the attacks on the protest camps. Supporters of Lebanese Hezbollah group and the Amal movement, angered by protesters’ criticism of their leaders, have tried to attack the protest camps for days. Late on Monday, hundreds of angry men — apparently supporters of Hezbollah and Amal, which is led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri — descended on the camp in central Beirut. They clashed for hours with security forces guarding the camp, hurling stones and firecrackers and setting fire to several cars, trees and a building under construction overlooking the square. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons. Meanwhile, reports emerged of assailants attacking protest tents in northern Lebanon’s Hermel district, in the southern city of Sidon and the town of Nabatiyeh, where the protesters are also Shia. The assailants set fires to the tents in Sidon, and destroyed the ones in Nabatiyeh, according to the National News Agency. In the district of Hermel, fires raged in tents set up by protesters in the village of Fakeha after assailants lobbed a bomb into it, the agency said. The anti-government protests, which erupted in mid-October, have spared no Lebanese politician, accusing the ruling elite of corruption and mismanagement, and calling for a government of independents. They have largely been peaceful, sparked by an intensifying economic crisis. While initially spontaneous and unifying, supporters of the Shi’a groups later grew intolerant of criticism of their leaders and sought to quell the rallies.

Analyst: Monday Unrest May Have Been an Attempt to Undermine Protests
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 17/2019
Lebanese academic Imad Salamey has said that the Monday night clashes could have been an attempt to undermine the anti-establishment protests. “Stirring sectarian strife is one of the ways used by those in power to divide Lebanese and weaken the street movement,” he said. But “I don’t think it will work this time,” added the professor at the Lebanese American University. Salamey said solidarity between Lebanese has only increased “after people started losing their jobs and companies and being unable to withdraw money from the banks.” “The economic crisis has broken the barrier of fear, or at least the barriers between different religious sects,” he said. Dozens of people were wounded in overnight clashes between security forces and supporters of Lebanon’s two main Shiite political parties, Hizbullah and the AMAL Movement. It was the latest incident of violence in what have been largely peaceful protests since October 17 against a political class deemed inept and corrupt. Shortly before midnight on Monday, young supporters of Hizbullah and AMAL tried to attack the main anti-government protest camp in central Beirut. They arrived on foot and scooters, apparently fired up by a video of a Lebanese man living abroad in which he insults the sacred symbols of Shiites. They lobbed stones and fireworks toward the anti-riot police trying to prevent them from entering the largely empty main square. The counterdemonstrators also torched several cars. The security forces responded with teargas and a water cannon. In the southern city of Sidon, young assailants also attacked a protest camp during the night, destroying several tents. The two-month-old protest movement has been mostly peaceful — with the exception of some unprecedented clashes between anti-government demonstrators and security forces at the weekend.

Bassil Bodyguard Seizes Prominent Journalist Phone at U.N. Forum
Naharnet/December 17/2019
A bodyguard of caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Tuesday snatched the cellphone of a prominent journalist during a U.N. forum in Geneva, the journalist said. “Lebanese FM Gebran Bassil had his security confiscate my phone and erase the video when I was trying to interview him at UN Refugees forum in Geneva,” Lebanese-German journalist Jaafar Abdul Karim tweeted. “UN Security is investigating the incident,” he added. Abdul Karim is an award winning journalist and the host of a popular Arabic-language talk show on Germany’s Deutsche Welle television. Sources close to Bassil meanwhile told LBCI TV that the journalist “did not ask for an interview with the minister but rather repeatedly filmed his movements with his phone and tried to take a statement from him as he was walking in the lobby of the U.N. headquarters.”“This provoked Swiss and Lebanese security guards tasked with protecting the minister,” the sources added.

Bassil Warns World of ‘Hundreds of Thousands of Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian Refugees’
Naharnet/December 17/2019
Caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Tuesday warned the international community, especially European countries, that “hundreds of thousands of Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians” might flee to Europe should Lebanon turn into another “Syria.”Speaking at an international conference for refugees at the U.N. headquarters in Geneva, Bassil urged the world to stand by Lebanon and “prevent its collapse.”“Do not allow the economic wars to aggravate its plight, which might push its people and guests to jump on the first boat in search of a new land in your countries, in which they would find their needs and dignity,” Bassil warned. Cautioning that the refugees in Lebanon might turn into “fuel for the war of others on our soil,” the foreign minister said “plots” against Lebanon might push “hundreds of thousands of Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians” to flee the country. “The situation is not good and what happened in Syria might be repeated in our country,” Bassil warned.

Bassil Flies to Geneva for Conference on Refugees
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 17/2019
Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Jebran Bassil led a Lebanese delegation to the first Global Refugee Forum in Geneva where heads of state, government ministers, and business and civil society leaders are gathered to discuss ways to support refugees and host communities. The National News Agency said Bassil’s visit is expected to last for a few hours, as he will be returning to Lebanon after delivering Lebanon’s speech. The forum, which officially opens Tuesday, is the first follow-up meeting after countries last December adopted the so-called Global Compact on Refugees. At the end of 2018, nearly 26 million people were living outside their home countries as refugees. Lebanon hosts around 1.5 million Syrian refugees who fled their war-torn country to Lebanon.

Report: AMAL Supporter who Shared Sectarian Video to be Questioned
Naharnet/December 17/2019
The Central Criminal Investigations Bureau will interrogate AMAL Movement supporter Abbas al-Shami, who has received and shared a video deemed insulting to Shiites following a Facebook feud with a Lebanese man who lives in Europe. LBCI television said the interrogation will take place under the supervision of the public prosecution. Earlier in the day, five Lebanese lawyers filed a lawsuit against the man who appears in the video, Samer al-Sidawi, accusing him of “jeopardizing civil peace” and demanding his arrest and interrogation.The video sparked riots by AMAL and Hizbullah supporters in central Beirut and attacks on protest sites in Sidon, Nabatieh and Hermel. The assailants demolished tents and burned down three cars as anger boiled over the video. In the video, Sidawi, said to be living somewhere in Europe but otherwise from Lebanon’s majority Sunni city of Tripoli, rails against Shiite politicians, religious figures and others. It was unclear what the link was between the video and the attacks on the protest camps but Shami is suspected of having played a role in incitement. Sidawi later released another video apologizing for his words, stating that he “takes medicine and is sick,” and that his insults were the result of a personal feud with Shami and that he did not intend to distribute the video to the public. Screenshots published online, apparently of the Facebook chat between Sidawi and Shami, show that the online feud took place on Sunday night, during fierce confrontations between anti-corruption protesters and security forces in downtown Beirut. Supporters of AMAL and Hizbullah intervened in the clashes and attempted to storm the protest site. Shami himself had appeared in a live Facebook video filmed at the protest, in which he said that the protesters would soon be assaulted.
Ali Merhi, an electrician from Khandaq al-Ghamiq, the Beirut neighborhood where the Monday night assailants appear to hail from, said in response to the violence: “The people of this area are all against what happened yesterday, and things have calmed down … but some are still holding a grudge.” Shiite cleric Sheikh Mohammed Qassem Ayyad from Khandaq al-Ghamiq told LBCI TV Monday night: “If the attackers really loved (revered Shiite imam) Hussein, let them evacuate the streets. These are not the ethics of the Shiites.”Another protester from the northeastern region of Baalbek, Abbas Huwada, 34, said in Beirut that he is opposed to the violence, adding: “It doesn’t matter if I am Shiite or Sunni. We are all Lebanese living under one flag. We need to be wiser. Someone comes out, makes a statement, and turns the country upside down.”
The anti-government protests, which erupted in mid-October, have spared no Lebanese politician, accusing the ruling elite of corruption and mismanagement, and calling for a government of independents. They have largely been peaceful, sparked by an intensifying economic crisis. Speaker Nabih Berri and outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri met on Tuesday and urged the Lebanese to be aware from being “drawn toward strife” saying that some sides that they did not name are working to incite violence in the country. Both leaders called on the army and police to protect public and private property.

DR Congo Freezes Assets of Lebanese ‘Bread King’ over U.S. Sanctions
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 17/2019
DR Congo said Tuesday it had frozen the assets of a Lebanese businessman dubbed the Bread King after Washington accused him of financing Hizbullah. But fearing disruption of bread supplies, the government will allow his businesses to open new bank accounts under supervision, government spokesman Jolino Makelele told a press briefing. The U.S. sanctions target Saleh Assi, who is based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and a compatriot, Nazem Said Ahmad, a Lebanon-based diamond dealer and art collector. In a statement last Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department accused the pair of being “money launderers” who had generated “tens of millions of dollars for Hizbullah, its financiers, and their malign activities.”Assi’s assets and those of “all of his businesses” will be frozen, along with “all transactions from these accounts,” Makelele said after a special cabinet meeting. The businesses will be placed under “an independent administrator until a lasting solution is reached, in line with the requirements of the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision,” he added. The companies will have a special dispensation to open new bank accounts, but under government supervision. This is to “avoid damaging effects… on the economy and public,” Makelele said, referring to the supply of bread by Assi’s mega-bakery to the 10 million residents of the capital Kinshasa. The United States considers Hizbullah a “terrorist” organization. The group is a key political player in Lebanon. Washington has targeted the Iran-backed party with tough sanctions, ramped up under the administration of President Donald Trump. Early last year authorities in the DRC forced Assi to abandon a plan to hike prices, which they said would destabilize the country.

Protesters Storm Commerce Chamber during Meeting Attended by Choucair
Naharnet/December 17/2019
Anti-corruption protesters on Tuesday stormed the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture in Sanayeh during a meeting attended by caretaker Telecom Minister Mohammed Choucair.
The protesters expressed their rejection of any privatization of the mobile telecom sector and the costs of telecom services in Lebanon. The debate that ensued between the two sides did not involve any violent incident according to a widely shared video.

Dozens of Protesters Rally near Hariri’s Residence
Agence France Presse//Naharnet/December 17/2019
Dozens of protesters rallied near caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s residence in downtown Beirut on Monday evening, refusing his return as prime minister — a scenario put forward in the past week. “We’re protesting here until they form the government people want,” said activist Claude Jabre, referring to demands for a cabinet entirely formed of independent experts. Nearby, 27-year-old Youssef said he utterly rejected Hariri as he represented the old political system protesters want to replace. “The parliamentary consultations should reflect what the people want, not what the parliament and the ruling authority want,” said the bearded protester, a red and white checkered scarf around his neck. Cabinet formation can drag on for months in the multi-confessional country, with Hariri taking almost nine months to reach an agreement with all political sides for the last one. Consensus on the name of a new prime minister is frequently reached before parliamentary consultations begin. The names of various potential candidates to replace Hariri have been circulated in recent weeks, but bitterly divided political parties have failed to agree on a new premier. Earlier this month, the Sunni Muslim establishment threw its support behind Hariri returning. The powerful Shiite movement Hizbullah, a key political player with ministers in the outgoing government, has also supported the outgoing premier or someone nominated by him. But it has repeatedly dismissed the idea of an exclusively technocratic cabinet.

Lebanon: Mustaqbal Says Premiership Cannot Be Held Hostage to Any Party
Beirut- Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 17 December, 2019
Mustaqbal Movement issued a strongly-worded statement, in which it attacked the Lebanese Forces party and the Free Patriotic Movement.
“The country stands at a critical crossroads that threatens to bring the direst consequences as a result of the race to score political points in one direction or another,” the statement said, after the two parties refused to nominate caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri to head the new government. There is an “intersection of interests” between the two parties, Mustqabal noted. It added that some parties “have sought, throughout two months, to discredit the post-October 17 events before eventually announcing that they were an inseparable part of the protest movement and revolution.” The movement condemned attempts to “besiege the prime minister’s post and breach the constitutional norms in the designation of premiers.” “Mustaqbal Movement is clearly not awaiting any nomination for PM Hariri from the FPM or the LF, and it does not accept that the premiership post be turned into a ball thrown around by some movements and parties,” the statement said. “The premiership post is bigger than all these heresies and it will not be a hostage held to anyone no matter how influential they might be,” it added. In response, Baabda’s Presidential Office on Monday said that President Michel Aoun did not need constitutional “lessons” from anyone. “Claims that the Free Patriotic Movement bloc intended to cede its votes to the President are mere fabrications and a prejudgment that preceded the binding parliamentary consultations that the president intended to conduct today,” the Presidency’s press office said in a statement. “The president, who is entrusted with the constitution, does not need lessons from anyone in this regard,” the statement noted. The FPM, on the other hand, called for a swift formation of a rescue government and urged Hariri to choose a reliable name for the premiership.

Lebanon FM Gebran Bassil on protests, corruption and reforms
Al Jazeera News/December 17/2019
Lebanon’s foreign minister discusses corruption, his role in government and how to address protesters’ demands.
Lebanon has been engulfed by nationwide anti-government protests which began in October.People are demanding an end to corruption, a change in the political system and better management of the economy. As a result, Prime Minister Saad Hariri handed in his resignation in late October. But protesters say that is not enough and have been calling for a complete overhaul of Lebanon’s political system – and its sect-based power-sharing agreement. And as people chant in the streets against politicians, the one name that seems to be singled out often is Gebran Bassil, Lebanon’s foreign minister. Bassil is President Michel Aoun’s son-in-law and has previously held other ministerial positions without being an elected member of parliament. Many consider him to be one of the most divisive figures in their country. But Bassil says protesters are wrong to single him out and stresses that “the priority is to save the country”.
“We are paying the price of 30 years of wrong policies and corruption … The country is at the verge of collapsing … Our economy has all the ingredients to rise up again. This is the priority right now. And later on, justice will prevail, truth will be apparent to everybody,” he says.
“Lebanon is a country that is worth to survive. It is a model of diversity, pluralism and tolerance that is worth to preserve. We need Lebanon to be on its feet again to be that model of co-existence. If Lebanon vanishes it can only see extremism and terrorism in our region. So it’s worth fighting for.”Bassil believes that the one thing Lebanon needs is an efficient government. “We have a failed system but we don’t want to have a failed state. The only salvation for Lebanon is a civil state. We are not there yet unfortunately, but we will fight for this first.” He explains that they are working on a series of anti-corruption laws and believes that “with the people rising we have an exceptional opportunity to pass these laws”. “This (the fight against corruption) is what’s uniting us despite our political and religious differences. So we should seize the opportunity and unite all together,” says Bassil.
“The republic is in danger,” he warns. “Lebanon is a country that is paying for the mistakes of everybody around us. And we are paying a lot, but I think Lebanon should be saved by its friends. And the first thing to do is to stop the external interventions in our country, and not to allow the Lebanese to intervene in others’ affairs.” At the 2019 Doha Forum, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, Gebran Bassil, talks to Al Jazeera about the uprising, the challenges facing Lebanon, his role in government, corruption and the best way to address the protesters’ demands.

Beirut left reeling after online video sparks violent clashes
Arab News/Agencies/December 17/2019
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s capital was rocked by a third night of violence after an online video containing sectarian insults sent hundreds of protesters onto the streets to vent their anger at police and security forces. The protesters, supporters of the Hezbollah and Amal movements, set cars ablaze, and threw stones and fireworks at police, who used tear gas and water cannon to disperse them. Angered by the video, protesters from Beirut’s southern suburb of Khandak El Ghamik used social media platforms late on Monday to issue calls to gather in the capital’s squares, where they again targeted anti-government demonstrators.
It was the third consecutive night of violence in the capital following clashes between anti-government protesters and police on Saturday and Sunday. Riot police and army personnel responded to the attacks by firing dozens of tear gas canisters, wounding several people, including security personnel. More than 20 people were rushed to hospital after the clashes.Appeals for calm by Amal and Hezbollah leaders failed to stop supporters from confronting police and security forces. A local religious leader, Sheikh Mohammed Kazem Ayyad, appeared on television from the Khandak El Ghamik mosque urging protesters to “leave the street.” Youssef Khayat, manager of the Central Monroe Hotel close to the site of the clashes, told Arab News: “Our occupancy rate has fallen to zero. In order to survive, we have to reduce salaries and cut the number of employees. When the confrontations begin in the evening, we lock the doors and stay inside.”Anger over the incident spread to the cities of Sidon and Nabatieh, where young men destroyed protesters’ tents in Elia Square and attacked a number of people. Safety fears forced most schools in Sidon to close on Tuesday while the army carried out patrols throughout the city.
Hezbollah and Amal supporters also destroyed anti-government protesters’ tents in Nabatieh. Nora Farhat, who runs a women’s beauty salon, said the attacks were expected. “Targeting Hezbollah and Amal leaders all the time is bound to cause an explosion on the street. The protesters should accommodate other people, not provoke them. It is true that the protesters are not responsible for the inflammatory video, but everybody is tense.”In an attempt to calm the political situation, caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri visited Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri — the first meeting between the two since the deadlock over forming a replacement government. A statement issued after the meeting said that “it is imperative that the Lebanese demonstrate awareness and vigilance at this stage, preserve civil peace and national unity, and not be drawn into the strife that some are working hard to promote.”Berri and Hariri said that “the need to accelerate the formation of the government has become more than urgent.”Meanwhile, the Imam of Al-Basta mosque, Sheikh Ali Bitar, visited the Khandak El Ghamik mosque to meet Sheikh Ayyad. “We came to assure all Lebanese and the Muslim world that we are one body. We condemn the provocative video,” Sheikh Bitar said. Beirut’s Public Prosecution Department planned to take action against the man who posted the online video but it later emerged he is living in Greece. The man’s uncle said on television: “The family has nothing to do with the words of my nephew.”
Later the man posted a second video apologizing for his actions.

3rd Night of Unrest, Hizbullah, AMAL Supporters Clash with Security Forces
Associated Press/Naharnet/December 17/2019
Supporters of Lebanon’s two main Shiite groups Hizbulah and AMAL clashed with security forces and set fires to cars in the capital early Tuesday, apparently angered by a video circulating online that showed a man insulting Shiite figures. Police used tear gas and water cannons trying to disperse them. It was the third consecutive night of violence, and came hours after Lebanon’s president postponed talks on naming a new prime minister, further prolonging the turmoil and unrest in the Mediterranean country. President Michel Aoun postponed the binding consultations with leaders of parliamentary blocs after the only candidate — caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri — failed to win the backing of the country’s largest Christian groups amid a worsening economic and financial crisis.
The postponement followed a violent weekend in the small nation that saw the toughest crackdown on demonstrations in two months. Lebanese security forces repeatedly fired tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons to disperse hundreds of protesters in downtown Beirut in the worst violence since demonstrations against the political elite erupted in mid-October. On Monday night, a group of young men clashed with security forces in downtown Beirut after a video began circulating online in which a man insulted Shiite political and religious figures, heightening sectarian tensions. The group, apparently supporters of Hizbullah and the Amal Movement led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, set at least three cars on fire and hurled stones and firecrackers at riot police. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons. Aoun had been scheduled to meet with the heads of parliamentary blocs to discuss the naming of the new prime minister. Those consultations are binding, according to the constitution, and Hariri, who resigned under pressure Oct. 29, was widely expected to be renamed. The presidential palace said the consultations would be held instead on Thursday, based on a request from Hariri. The U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon, Jan Kubis, had warned that because of the collapsing economy, such postponements are “a risky hazard both for the politicians but even more so” for the people.
Lebanon is enduring its worst economic and financial crisis in decades with a massive debt, widespread layoffs and unprecedented capital controls imposed by local banks amid a shortage in liquidity.
Hariri resigned after protests began earlier in October over widespread corruption and mismanagement. The palace said Hariri had asked Aoun to allow for more time for discussions among political groups before official consultations. Earlier, the country’s main Christian groups said they refused to back Hariri, who has served as premier three times.
His office said in a statement that he is keen for national accord, adding that had he been named to the post, it would have been “without the participation of any of the large Christian blocs.” Under Lebanon’s power-sharing system, the prime minister has to be a Sunni Muslim, the president a Maronite Christian and the parliament speaker from the Shiite community. Hariri has emerged as the only candidate with enough backing for the job, but he is rejected by protesters who demand a Cabinet of independent technocrats and an independent head of government not affiliated with existing parties.
Although the protests had united all sectarian and ethnic groups against the ruling elite, tensions had surfaced from the start between protesters and supporters of the Shiite groups Hizbullah and Amal, after the latter rejected criticism of its leaders. Hariri had asked the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for help developing a reform plan to address the economic crisis. Moody’s Investors Service said that without technical support from the IMF, World Bank and international donors, it was increasingly likely that Lebanon could see “a scenario of extreme macroeconomic instability in which a debt restructuring occurs with an abrupt destabilization of the currency peg resulting in very large losses for private investors.” Its currency has been pegged at 1,507 Lebanese pounds to the dollar since 1997, but in recent weeks it has reached more than 2,000 in the black market. Lebanon’s debt stands at $87 billion or 150 percent of GDP.

Protesters in Arab World’s Newest Uprisings Face a Long Haul
Associated Press/Naharnet/December 17/2019
Abbas Ali spends most of his free time camped out in Tahrir Square — the epicenter of Iraq’s anti-government protests — going home only at 3 a.m. to catch few hours of sleep, change his clothes and check on his family. He is determined to stay in the square until the end, whatever that may be. Ali was only 13 when the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein. He only vaguely remembers life under the dictator. What he knows clearly is that life in post-Saddam Iraq is a daily, often humiliating struggle for survival. The 29-year-old considers himself lucky to have a job, although the pay barely covers medical bills for his ailing father and elderly mother. His two brothers and sister are unemployed. So are most of his friends. He says marriage is the furthest thing from his mind since he couldn’t possibly afford to start a family.
Angry at factional, sectarian politicians and clerics he blames for stealing Iraq’s wealth, Ali embodies the young Iraqis in Baghdad who for more than two months have waged a revolt calling for the downfall of a hated political class. A similar scene is taking place in tiny Lebanon, where for 62 days now, young people have protested the political elite in charge since the 1975-90 civil war, blaming them for pillaging the country to the point of bankruptcy. The sustained, leaderless protests are unprecedented and have managed to bring down the governments of both countries. But they have been unable to topple their ruling systems: The same politicians have kept their hold, wrangling and stalling over forming new governments and ignoring the broader calls for radical reform.
The standoff gets more dangerous as it draws out, posing the most serious existential threat in years — in Iraq since Saddam’s 2003 ouster and in Lebanon since the civil war’s end. Iraq has been plunged into yet another cycle of violence with more than 450 protesters killed by security forces. Lebanon is on the verge of chaos, with a looming economic disaster.
The protests reflect a broader malaise playing out across much of the Arab world. As the Middle East ushers in 2020, experts say a new kind of uprising is unfolding. While the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings that took place in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Syria were directed at long-ruling autocrats, the current economically driven uprisings are directed at an entire class of politicians and a system they say is broken and has failed to provide a decent life. In Iran, economic discontent has worsened since President Donald Trump imposed crushing sanctions last year. The U.N. says more than 200 people were killed by security forces shooting at protesters in recent weeks after the government raised gasoline prices. In Egypt, there have been scattered outbursts of street protests despite draconian measures imposed under President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Jordan, Algeria and Sudan are all witnessing similar protests.
DYSFUNCTIONAL STATES
“The politicians’ corruption has stolen and ruined the future of our youth,” reads a huge banner in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square. It’s a sentiment that sums up the feeling across Iraq and Lebanon. Both countries have a power-sharing agreement that allocates top posts according to religious sect and has turned former warlords into a permanent political class that trades favors for votes. The level of dysfunction and failing services in both countries is staggering, with garbage left uncollected, chronic cuts in electricity and systemic corruption and nepotism. The two countries are also perpetually trapped in and paralyzed by the regional push-pull between Iran and the U.S. and their respective local pawns. Meanwhile, poverty and joblessness continues to rise — in the case of Iraq, despite its great oil wealth. Ali, the Baghdad protester, says he feels like a stranger in his own country, floating between jobs and unemployment. He says he feels sick every time he turns on the TV and sees Iraqi leaders speak.”Mako watan,” he said, a colloquial expression for “this is not a country.”Samar Maalouly, a 32-year-old Lebanese protester, calls her country’s politicians “monsters.””What I’d like to know is, don’t they ever have enough?” she said during a recent demonstration in downtown Beirut. Paul Salem, president of the Washington-based Middle East Institute, summed up the painful standoff. “On the one hand stands a young generation demanding good governance, an end to corruption, and socio-economic progress and justice; on the other sits a corrupt and sectarian political class — backed in key ways by Iran — that doesn’t want to give up any of its positions or riches,” he wrote in an analysis last week.
SEEDS OF CHANGE
The protests in Iraq and Lebanon are unique in that for the first time, people from all sects and social classes are transcending divisions to hold their leaders to account. They are desperate to hang on to this gain. Graffiti in Baghdad and Beirut urges an end to the sectarian power-sharing system. In conservative Iraq, women are for the first time openly taking part in the protests. Politicians are betting on the passage of time and internal disputes to destroy the protest movement. In Iraq, a series of attacks by unknown assailants including stabbings, assassinations and kidnappings have fostered fear among demonstrators. Lebanon’s largely peaceful rallies are degenerating into violence. Protesters face a conundrum: By persisting with street action, they risk angering those in the wider populace eager for stability and a return to normal life. Some say the demands are simply too radical to be implemented. But if they stop, they risk losing this moment of unity against their rulers. Protesters insist what they’re planting now are the long-awaited seeds of change. But analysts say it’s a long haul. “Corruption is ingrained at every level, and it’s something that if you wanted to fix, you basically have to take the entire elite class and throw it out of the country. And while people may want to do that, how do you do that without just incredible violence?” said Trenton Schoenborn, an author with the International Review, an online publication dedicated to global analysis. Ali, the Iraqi protester, says he and his comrades have come too far to stop now. “This is a one-way street,” he said. “It’s either us or them. If they win this time, it’s over.”

Titles For The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 17-18/2019
The idea that Lebanon’s armed forces represent a solution to the current crisis is an illusion/Michael Young/The National/December 17/2019
Hezbollah: Renewed Concerns of Power-sharing and Democracy/ظSam Menassa/Asharq Al Awsat/December 17/2019
Analysis/Lebanon’s Protest Have Only One Solution, and It’s Nowhere in Sight/Zvi Bar’el/Haaretz/December 17/2019
Lebanon must find a way to escape Hezbollah’s clutches/Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/December 17/2019

The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 17-18/2019
The idea that Lebanon’s armed forces represent a solution to the current crisis is an illusion
Michael Young/The National/December 17/2019
The military reflects a society divided by sectarianism, with all the paradoxes that entails
There have been two broad interpretations of how the Lebanese armed forces have behaved in the ongoing protests in Lebanon. Both are inaccurate and both fail to understand what really drives the country’s military. One interpretation – that held by many protesters – is that the army has protected demonstrators and, within the limits imposed by the sectarian political system, has supported their demands. The second, advanced by politicians and pundits on the political right in the US who support Israel, is that the armed forces are a facade for Hezbollah. Even a cursory look at what has taken place in Lebanon in the past six weeks disproves both narratives. While the army has defended demonstrators in many places, it has also done more than that. Protesters have been detained and even mistreated in some locations. Earlier this week, for example, soldiers forcibly removed demonstrators blocking a main coastal road. At other times, the army has stood by while thugs associated with Hezbollah and the Amal Movement attacked protesters and destroyed their camps. This surely does not suggest that the military is explicitly on the side of the uprising.
On the other hand, the armed forces have definitely not been taking orders from Hezbollah. Where the political class had expected troops to break up protests using force, in fact the military strenuously avoided taking such a radical step. This earned it criticism from the two main Shiite parties, Hezbollah and Amal, underlining how the armed forces pursue their own agenda.
The reality is much simpler. Lebanon’s armed forces are a reflection of the country’s sectarian society, with all its disagreements. To reduce the pressures this might place on the organisation, it has long adopted a corporate identity over and above sectarian divisions. This identity has been focused on preserving the institution and managing its underlying contradictions from within.
What has this meant in terms of Hezbollah? While the party has allies in the army, Hezbollah is not in a position to compel the military to act in a certain way, nor are any of its branches fully under its sway. Rather, the armed forces are made up of myriad interest groups that seek to preserve the status quo from which they benefit, by avoiding a clash among themselves for the greater benefit of the organisation. Some might engage with Hezbollah, others might not. But the different sides will not threaten military unity by turning this into a matter of internal discord.
The principal motives explaining the military’s behaviour in the Lebanon protests have been threefold – to avoid being drawn into the political divisions that the uprising has exacerbated, to retain popular support while portraying the military as a supranational institution free from corruption, and to protect public institutions but without doing so in a way that threatens public support.
In many regards, the model to which the armed forces continue to adhere is that put in place by independent Lebanon’s first armed forces commander, Fouad Chehab. In 1952, there was a political crisis when then president Bishara Al Khoury resigned under pressure from his political foes. At the time, Chehab had shielded the military from the political disputes, agreeing only to head an interim government until a successor to Al Khoury could be elected. In 1958 another political crisis came about when Camille Chamoun sought to use manipulated elections to extend his presidential term. What ensued was a shortlived civil war in which Chehab again kept the army on the sidelines while it actively prevented any one side from gaining a decisive advantage. By playing the role of arbitrator, Chehab not only safeguarded the military institution, he also gained enough trust to be elected president to succeed Chamoun.
The paradox is that while army commanders will strenuously avoid politicising the armed forces, many have had the ambition to become president. In the past two decades, three former armed forces commanders have been president. The current commander Joseph Aoun might well have a similar ambition.
That could partly explain why he has been so keen to preserve the neutrality of the armed forces and avoid alienating the public. Mr Aoun does not want to engage in repression of the population, particularly as its demands are entirely justified. Moreover, he certainly does not want to do so on behalf of a discredited political class, whose number includes the controversial figure Gebran Bassil, the son-in-law of Lebanese President Michel Aoun and a presidential hopeful.
People assist a wounded protester during clashes in central Beirut, Lebanon, 14 December 2019. The sit-in continues its nightly movements in front of the parliament entrance as they refuse to assign Saad Hariri to head the government. Next 16 December parliamentary consultations will begin to choose a prime minister. Nabil Mounzer/ EPA
There is an illusion among some Lebanese that the armed forces represent a solution to the current political crisis. With politicians’ reputations in tatters because of the way they have plundered the state, the notion that the military can successfully take over power is dangerous. Not only would it undermine everything the military has tried to do since the protests began, it would go against the balancing game that has long allowed it to overcome its paradoxes. That’s why it is a mistake for opponents of the protests to try to enrol the military in the suppression of demonstrators, and it is why trying to punish the military for being an alleged Hezbollah cat’s paw is reckless. Lebanon’s military, like most national institutions embodying unity in otherwise divided states, is a reflection of Lebanon itself. Its survival often means embracing uneasy inconsistencies.
*Michael Young is editor of Diwan, the blog of the Carnegie Middle East programme, in Beirut

Hezbollah: Renewed Concerns of Power-sharing and Democracy
Sam Menassa/Asharq Al Awsat/December 17/2019
The night before the binding parliamentary consultations for the formation of a Lebanese government, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, appeared once again to draw the blueprint of the formation. He delineated what was acceptable and what was not, affirming the saying, “One man rules the country.” Speaking before Nasrallah’s statement, the caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gebran Bassil, asserted his party’s determination to refrain from taking part in a government headed by Saad Hariri, adopting the popular demand for a technocratic government from head to toe. On the other hand, he stated that he insisted that the government formation reflect the balance of powers that were produced by the last parliamentary elections, reaffirming his arrogant formula: Either Hariri and I are both in the government, or both of us are outside of it. Bassil’s statement was free of outdated catch phrases concerning the course of the government formation since Michel Aoun became president, such as power-sharing, according to a parliamentary majority and minority in a government of technocrats playing proxy for politicians.
Nasrallah did not deviate from his usual dismissal of the Lebanese uprising as a conspiracy and putting it in the context of an open confrontation between Iran and the United States or rewinding the clock to before the uprising, and then forming a government that reflects the one that resigned in terms of balances of power, with him taking control over it, such as in parliament where he has a majority.
What’s new in his speech is the calm tone that he used and the democratic spirit that dominated the part of his speech addressing the Lebanese government. Nasrallah stated that “just as we rejected a one-sided government when they had a majority we are today rejecting a one-sided government while we have a majority because it is not in Lebanon’s interest.” He demanded a national unity government with the broadest possible representation able to overcome the economic and social crisis in the country.
Also new is his denial of Hezbollah’s insistence on Hariri as the next prime minister while affirming that they will respect that the others will choose the strongest in his sect. Only in passing did he address Bassil’s position, without naming him, asserting that Hezbollah is determined to share power with the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) in the new government.
Putting aside Hezbollah’s concern with Lebanon’s interest, many questions are revolving around his insistence on a power-sharing government with parties whom he one time calls ‘conspirators’ and another ‘corrupt.’ Reason dictates that if Hariri refuses to head the new government and the Progressive Socialist Party, Kataeb Party, and the Lebanese Forces all announce not wanting to be a part of it, Hezbollah will have the chance to form a government that will serve their interests. So why don’t they?
There are questions about the fate of the popular uprising, accusing it of treason on the one hand, and neglecting its demands on the other, especially those related to the formation of an independent technocratic government from outside the political groups in power for thirty years. How will Hezbollah deal with it? Will they deal with it the same way they dealt with the revolution in Iraq, as a by-product of the battle between Iran and the US?
What about Hezbollah’s relationship with its Christian ally and the Secretary-General’s marginalization of Bassil’s most recent statements? Has this relationship been shaken? Or is it just maneuvering behind which something we do not know of is cooking?
In reality, contrary to what they are both trying to imply, Iran and Hezbollah are in an unfortunate position, both regionally and internationally, especially after the popular uprisings in Lebanon and Iraq have proven that the Islamic Republic has failed to appeal to the local Shiite communities. Lebanon is witnessing an unprecedented popular uprising and tensions between the protesters, and Hezbollah and Amal supporters. Iraq is also witnessing a popular Shiite uprising with a primary demand that Iran stops intervening in Iraq’s internal affairs, an uprising that has been very violently repressed with arbitrary killings, persecutions, and assassinations of national activists, for which pro-Iran militias are the prime suspects.
Internationally, the closing statement of the international conference, formed by European initiative to help Lebanon, suggested that Lebanon distance itself from regional conflicts so that aid can reach it. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the Lebanese people, explicitly, to end the danger that Hezbollah poses as a first step towards escaping the crisis. At the same time, he announced new sanctions on Tehran. He also called for limiting the dangerous Iranian influence in the region after what it did in Yemen and Syria, where Iran now shares power with Russia and Turkey after it was the sole decision-maker. From that, we understand Hezbollah’s insistence on sharing the government with Hariri and the FPM, as more than ever, it needs a Christian and Sunni cover.
As for the popular uprising, it is likely that the tensions between the protesters and the supporters of the Shiite duo will persist without an intervention from Hezbollah similar to that of May 7, 2008. Instead they will continue to instruct the armed forces to be firmer with the protesters, which has recently manifested.
As for the relationship between Hezbollah and the FPM, the constant is that Hezbollah will not risk the Christian cover that it received like a gift from the heavens with the FPM. The most likely scenario is that their most recent positions are only a maneuver meant to proceed with appointing Hariri as prime minister while sizing him down by granting him a tiny majority. Later, they may hinder the formation of the government in order to extend the term of the caretaker government and allow it to continue to serve the interests of all the parties that are part of it. Also, the state will have to take unpopular and perhaps painful measures to address the economic and financial crisis, and there is no harm in the caretaker cabinet as it is to do so.
The possibility of forming an independent technocratic government is out of the question for Hezbollah, which will not compromise its influence in Lebanon at a time where the party and its Iranian patrons are in desperate need to hold onto their influence. Hezbollah will not risk all of these achievements, which it has worked hard to introduce to political life from the consensus to the agreement and power-sharing, all of which granted it the strongest hand with regards to drawing the country’s political map.
Another scenario is possible, where Hariri throws the ball into Aoun and Hezbollah’s court and refuses being appointed. Either he will accept or will turn the table on everyone, taking advantage of everyone, from his sect to his opponents, who insists on him being appointed, announcing to everyone, mainly the protesters, the formation of an independent technocratic government that meets the people and the international community’s demands. This would help alleviate the difficult economic situation in the country which may lead to a social explosion that would be difficult to contain. Only then would the white become distinguishable from the black. This hypothetical scenario is unrealistic in a country deluded into believing it is a nation, and it appears that darkness is looming over the country.

Analysis/Lebanon’s Protest Have Only One Solution, and It’s Nowhere in Sight
Zvi Bar’el/Haaretz/December 17/2019
With long and tiresome negotiations expected over the country’s next government, the question is how long the public can wait while avoiding violent clashes.
In a letter sent by the managers of the twelve clubs in Lebanon’s premiere soccer league to the country’s Football Association, they warn that the dire economic conditions, mainly the limits banks have set on releasing foreign currency, could harm the ability of these clubs to hire foreign players.
The practical meaning of this letter is that these teams will be unable to maintain their professional standards, losing their best players, with the entire season going to waste unless a quick solution is found. Legally, explain jurists whose expertise is in these matters, every contract with a foreign player contains a clause which permits one side to abrogate the contract due to “force majeure” such as war, a strike or civil unrest, without paying compensation. This clause offers no solution for someone whose team absolutely depends on foreign players.
In the absence of attractive and suspenseful games, revenues will decline, as will the prestige of the league’s teams. The problem is that no one can tell soccer teams when “unusual circumstances” that constitute a “force majeure” end.
On Monday, 128 Lebanese parliamentarians were scheduled to convene at the presidential palace in Baabda to discuss the selection of a new prime minister. Everyone was ready to set out in their convoys to meet President Michel Aoun, but at the request of outgoing Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, the meeting was postponed until Thursday. In the meantime, demonstrators continue to fill city squares in downtown Beirut, clashing with security forces, as well as occasionally with supporters of Hezbollah and of the Amal movement, movements that oppose the anti-government protests.
The demands of the protesters focus on one central issue: “Remove the government and change the system.” This is the same cry heard in the streets of Baghdad, where party leaders have likewise failed to agree on a person to replace the resigning prime minister, Adil Abdul Mahdi.
The “system” in the two countries is similar. In Iraq, it was the American occupation that created the manner in which portfolios and senior positions are distribution among the larger communities, the Shi’ites, Sunnis, Kurds and other minorities. In Lebanon it was the Taif Agreement that was signed in 1989. This agreement determined the political structure in which every community was allotted a predetermined and agreed-upon number of members of parliament, with senior positions divided between a Christian president, a Sunni prime minister, a Shi’ite speaker of parliament and a Druze army commander. Each community is allotted a consensual number of cabinet members.
The Taif Agreement, which put an end to the 15 year-long civil war, was an exceptional political and civil achievement. Following it, a national army was established, one which, at least formally, is not based on sectarian divisions, in which Shi’ite officers commanded only Shi’ite units, with Sunni soldiers serving only in Sunni units, as was the situation previously. The distribution of seats in parliament created a situation in which no community could form a government on its own, without a coalition with other communities.
For example, the agreement determines that out of 128 members of parliament, 54 are Muslim, 27 of them Shi’ite and 27 Sunni; 54 are Christian, distributed according to different sects, with the rest distributed between Druze and other communities. The result is that the Shi’ites, although constituting a majority in Lebanon, cannot form a coalition without the Sunnis, and vice versa. This division was intended to break down the communitarian politics which had engendered the civil war, while building a balanced administration which can manage the country through communitarian cooperation, with the entire structure precluding any deterioration into a new civil war.
However, 30 years after the signing of this agreement, it turns out that this political balance has created a diplomatic and economic standstill, while building strong political elites and enriching the political leaders of the larger communities. The agreement laid down the infrastructure for the deep corruption which is dragging the government and its institutions, as well as the entire country, into an economic abyss. Every community and its leader stood on guard lest another community obtain more bids or budgets.
Government corporations made sure that jobs were distributed according to a communitarian key. For university graduates, top marks were only a necessary but insufficient condition for getting a government job. They were required to obtain the “sponsorship” of the “right” community or party, or to be part of that community. The army was meticulous in maintaining a balance between different communities in its ranks, but in doing so it pushed away people who wanted to enlist but encountered a military demographic wall. Bids were put together specifically for crony contractors, many of whom received millions of dollars without doing the work. This is how cabinet decisions were made as well.
According to Lebanon’s constitution, cardinal decisions such as ratifying budgets, setting foreign policy or launching national projects, require approval by two thirds of the 30 members of cabinet. It was enough for any block to enlist 11 ministers for a decision to be foiled. This is where Hezbollah’s political power lies.
Even though there are only three ministers representing that group, the bloc that supports it includes 18 ministers which include a Sunni minister who is part of a list of ministers the president can appoint. The organization has thereby assured itself control over any government decision, and it will not relinquish such power at this point. When Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri resigned at the end of October, he left an escape hatch when he demanded the setting up of a government of experts that does not depend on a communitarian distribution of portfolios.
Last week, when his name came up again as a candidate for heading the new government, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah declared that the new government must give appropriate representation to all sectors in Lebanon. In other words, a government of experts which would deprive him of his political clout would be formed only over his dead body.
In the streets of Beirut, they are unwilling to accept the return of Hariri as prime minister. Only a government of experts will assuage the protesters. But the protest movement has only spokesmen so far, not leaders who could dictate to President Aoun how to proceed. Aoun himself has economic and political interests in maintaining the current arrangement, which gives him and his party, the Free Patriotic Movement, which is linked to Hezbollah, its enormous political power. The realistic solution that seems to be shaping up is the appointment of Hariri as prime minister and professional ministers according to a communitarian key, namely, a minster of finance or health with a professional record but also with a particular political identity.
Long and tiresome negotiations are expected, which could take weeks or months. Following the last election in 2018, it took eight months until the sides reached an agreement and formed the current government. The ominous question mark hovering above is to what extent will the public be willing to wait for the results of these negotiations while abstaining from violent clashes, which could deteriorate into street battles, if not worse.

Lebanon must find a way to escape Hezbollah’s clutches
Khaled Abou Zahr/Arab News/December 17/2019
It is now clear that Lebanon is heading for complete financial meltdown. As Saad Hariri, the caretaker prime minister, reaches out to international institutions for help, the best way to describe the situation is not the bailout of a country but a full-on hostage being held for ransom situation.
Hezbollah has been holding Lebanon hostage for too long. The Iranian proxy’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, who proudly admits he is serving under the orders of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Quds Force boss Qassem Soleimani, is the true decision-maker in the country. He is the regime, nobody else. President Michel Aoun, Hariri and their ilk are nothing but pragmatic puppets or useful idiots.
The ongoing protests, which are now in their third month, have taken all the Lebanese politicians by surprise. And, as the people’s resolve is not withering, Hezbollah is pushing the Lebanese security forces and the armed forces to do its dirty work by hitting back at the peaceful protesters. People are now left between a rock and hard place, as Hezbollah’s thugs are being unleashed and the sovereign institutions arrest the protesters rather than those who are attacking them. It has been a constant aim of Hezbollah to weaken the state institutions. Hezbollah threatens all those who dare go after its main interest, which is full military and security control of the territory. The Iranian proxy — it should not be referred to as a Lebanese party — has been controlling all security points in the state to achieve its own objectives. Its mission is clear and simple: To maintain the Iranian balance of power in negotiations with the US and other international powers. Airports, ports, roads, communications, and networks (including electricity) are controlled by Hezbollah. It does not care about the people; it only cares about its mission. It is willing to resort to extreme violence to achieve what it wants, as it has done in Syria.
So where does this leave the protests? Unfortunately, it seems they have little hope of success. On a local level, without the support of the army to force change, nothing will happen and the risks to the lives and well-being of the protesters increase with time. On an international level, it seems the Europeans are keen on maintaining the regional status quo with Iran and not destabilizing Hezbollah in Lebanon in order to continue efforts to re-establish trade deals with Iran through INSTEX. As for the US, most voices are staying silent as the presidential election race is about to begin, and there is no clarity in any of the candidates’ future policies toward Iran and thus Lebanon.
Hezbollah is willing to resort to extreme violence to achieve what it wants, as it has done in Syria. This is also reflected in the low international interest in the protests taking place in Iraq, which have been much more violent, as well as in Iran itself. Yet what is happening in Lebanon is not only a protest against the mullahs’ interference in the country’s policies, but a stand for true state sovereignty. It is also beyond corruption, which is a symptom of a flawed and weak state. As the situation worsens economically, and without any aid forthcoming, the people and public servants alike will no longer receive their salaries and there will be a shortage of imports. This situation can only be blamed on Hezbollah, Hariri, Aoun and all the political leaders, not the people. Another bailout and more debt will not solve the situation, but rather make the hostage-taker dictate the rules once again. It is time to force change and find a way to re-establish the country’s full sovereignty. This can only start with a single army and an end to Lebanese political forces offering international coverage for the mullahs’ nefarious interference. It may be wishful thinking, but — as a Lebanese — I choose this over reality and pragmatism.
*Khaled Abou Zahr is CEO of Eurabia, a media and tech company. He is also the editor of Al Watan Al Arabi.

The post A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 17- 18/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 62th Day appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

أَوَمَا تَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ لَنْ يَرِثُوا مَلَكُوتَ الله؟ فَلا تَضِلُّوا! فلا الفُجَّار، ولا عَابِدو الأَوْثَان، ولا الزُّنَاة، ولا المُفْسِدُون، ولا مُضَاجِعُو الذُّكُور ،ولا السَّارِقُون، ولا الطَّمَّاعُون، ولا السِّكِّيرُون، ولا الشَّتَّامُون، ولا الخَاطِفُون، يَرِثُونَ مَلَكُوتَ الله!
رسالة القدّيس بولس الأولى إلى أهل قورنتس06/من01حتى11/:”يا إِخوَتِي، إِذَا كَانَ لأَحَدِكُم دَعْوَى عَلى أَحَدِ الإِخْوَة، فَهَلْ يَجْرُؤُ أَنْ يُحَاكِمَهُ عِنْدَ الوَثَنِيِّينَ الظَّالِمين، لا عِنْدَ الإِخْوَةِ القِدِّيسِين؟ أَوَمَا تَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ القِدِّيسِينَ سَيَدِينُونَ العَالَم؟ وإِذَا كُنْتُم سَتَدينُونَ العَالَم، أَتَكُونُونَ غَيْرَ أَهْلٍ أَنْ تَحْكُمُوا في أَصْغَرِ الأُمُور؟ أَمَا تَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّنَا سَنَدِينُ المَلائِكَة؟ فَكَم بِالأَحْرَى أَنْ نَحْكُمَ في أُمُورِ هذِهِ الحَيَاة‍‍!إِذًا، إِنْ كَانَ عِنْدَكُم دَعَاوَى في أُمُورِ هذِه الحَيَاة، فَهَل تُقِيمُونَ لِلحُكْمِ فيهَا أُولئِكَ الَّذِينَ تَرْذُلُهُمُ الكَنِيسَة؟ أَقُولُ هذِا لإِخْجَالِكُم! أَهكَذَا لَيْسَ فِيكُم حَكِيمٌ وَاحِدٌ يَقْدِرُ أَنْ يَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ أَخٍ وأَخِيه؟بَلْ يُحَاكِمُ الأَخُ أَخَاه، وَيَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ لَدَى غَيرِ المُؤْمِنِين! وفي كُلِّ حَال، إِنَّهُ لَعَيْبٌ عَلَيْكُم أَنْ يَكُونَ بَيْنَكُم دَعَاوَى! أَلَيْسَ أَحْرَى بَكُم أَنْ تَحْتَمِلُوا الظُّلْم؟ وَأَحْرَى بِكُم أَنْ تتَقَبَّلُوا السَّلْب؟ ولكِنَّكُم أَنْتُم تَظْلِمُونَ وتَسْلُبُون، وتَفْعَلُونَ ذَلِكَ بِمَنْ هُم إِخْوَة! أَوَمَا تَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ لَنْ يَرِثُوا مَلَكُوتَ الله؟ فَلا تَضِلُّوا! فلا الفُجَّار، ولا عَابِدو الأَوْثَان، ولا الزُّنَاة، ولا المُفْسِدُون، ولا مُضَاجِعُو الذُّكُور،ولا السَّارِقُون، ولا الطَّمَّاعُون، ولا السِّكِّيرُون، ولا الشَّتَّامُون، ولا الخَاطِفُون، يَرِثُونَ مَلَكُوتَ الله! ولَقَد كَانَ بَعْضُكُم كَذَلِكَ! لكِنَّكُمُ ٱغْتَسَلْتُم، لكِنَّكُم قُدِّسْتُم، لكِنَّكُم بُرِّرْتُم بِٱسْمِ الرَّبِّ يَسُوعَ المَسِيح، وَبِرُوحِ إِلهِنَا”

Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be
First Letter to the Corinthians 06/01-11/:”When any of you has a grievance against another, do you dare to take it to court before the unrighteous, instead of taking it before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels to say nothing of ordinary matters? If you have ordinary cases, then, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to decide between one believer and another, but a believer goes to court against a believer and before unbelievers at that? In fact, to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud and believers at that. Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

وَقَعَ بَعْضُهُ الآخَرُ في الأَرْضِ الجَيِّدَة، فَأَثْمَرَ بَعْضُهُ مِئَة، وبَعْضُهُ سِتِّين، وبَعْضُهُ ثَلاثِيْن
إنجيل القدّيس متّى13/من01حتى09/:”خَرَجَ يَسُوعُ مِنَ البَيْت، فَجَلَسَ على شَاطئِ البُحَيْرَة. وٱحْتَشَدَتْ لَدَيْهِ جُمُوعٌ كَثِيْرَة، حَتَّى إِنَّهُ صَعِدَ إِلى السَّفِينَةِ وجَلَس. وكَانَ الجَمْعُ كُلُّهُ واقِفًا على الشَّاطِئ. فَكَلَّمَهُم بِأَمْثَالٍ عَنْ أُمُورٍ كَثِيْرَةٍ قَائِلاً: «هُوَذَا الزَّارِعُ خَرَجَ لِيَزْرَع. فيمَا هُوَ يَزْرَع، وقَعَ بَعْضُ الحَبِّ على جَانِبِ الطَّرِيق، فَجَاءَتِ الطُّيُورُ وأَكَلَتْهُ. ووَقَعَ بَعْضُهُ الآخَرُ في أَرْضٍ صَخْرِيَّةٍ تُرَابُهَا قَلِيل، فَنَبَتَ في الحَالِ لأَنَّ تُرَابَهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ عَمِيقًا. أَشْرَقَتِ الشَّمْسُ فَٱحْتَرَق، وإِذْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ أَصْلٌ يَبِس. ووَقَعَ بَعْضُهُ الآخَرُ بَينَ الشَّوْك، فَطَلَعَ الشَّوْكُ وخَنَقَهُ. وَقَعَ بَعْضُهُ الآخَرُ في الأَرْضِ الجَيِّدَة، فَأَثْمَرَ بَعْضُهُ مِئَة، وبَعْضُهُ سِتِّين، وبَعْضُهُ ثَلاثِيْن. مَنْ لَهُ أُذُنَانِ فَلْيَسْمَع!».

Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 13/01-09/:’That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!’”

The post فلا الفُجَّار ولا عَابِدو الأَوْثَان ولا الزُّنَاة ولا المُفْسِدُون ولا مُضَاجِعُو الذُّكُور ولا السَّارِقُون ولا الطَّمَّاعُون ولا السِّكِّيرُون ولا الشَّتَّامُون ولا الخَاطِفُون يَرِثُونَ مَلَكُوتَ الله/Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers none of these will inherit the kingdom of God appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

فيديو/السيد علي الأمين بعد إتهامه بالتطبيع مع إسرائيل  يردّ: حملات التخوين هذه بسبب رفضي للمشروع الإيراني

جنوبية/18 كانون الأول/2019

بعد تعرضه لحملة تخوين وتجني بسبب حضوره مؤتمراً للأديان في البحرين صودف فيه وجود رجال دين يهود قادمين من الأرض المحتلة دون علم أحد من المشاركين، وبالرغم من نفي العلامة السيد علي الامين بيان رسمي امس، ما تداولته بعض وسائل الإعلام والتواصل من حصول لقاء شخصي بينه وبين شخصية دينية يهودية، لا تزال حملات التخوين مستمرة عبر مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي.
وفي هذا الإطار، عقد الأمين مؤتمراً صحافياً رداً على “حملات طاولتني من التخوين والإفتراء والتّهديد، قام بها قبل أيام حزب الله والتابعون له من رجال دين وجمعيات وأفراد، وقد انضمت إليه فيها المؤسسة الدينية الشيعيّة الأم في لبنان”.
أضاف: “انطلقت هذه الإفتراءات من زعم التطبيع مع العدوّ الإسرائيلي لمشاركتي في مؤتمر حوار الأديان الذي انعقد في مملكة البحرين قبل عشرة أيام تقريبا.وقد شاركت في مؤتمر الحوار بين الأديان هذا ولم أكن على علم بجنسيات المشاركين فيه ولا بأشخاصهم ولا بأسمائهم، ومن المعلوم أن مؤتمرات الحوار بين الأديان تحضر فيها شخصيّات من مختلف الأديان، فهي ليست مؤتمرات للحوار داخل الدّين الواحد بل بين الأديان وفي مثلها يكون البحث ذا طبيعية فكرية وثقافية يتناول المشتركات بين الأديان وسبل التّلاقي والحوار بين الشعوب، ولا علاقة لها بالسياسة والسياسيين، ولا بالدول والحاكمين”.
وفنّد الأمين الشخصيات التي حضرت قائلاً: “شارك في المؤتمر المذكور شخصيّات عديدة، وكان منها ممثل الدولة اللبنانية السفير اللبناني في مملكة البحرين وغيره من سفراء عرب، كان منهم سفير فلسطسن ووفد مشارك يمثل مفتي القدس ووفد من الكنيسة القبطية يمثّل البابا تواضروس ورجال دين من لبنان، وغيره من مختلف الأديان والمذاهب، ولم يحصل أي لقاء شخصي بيني وبين الشخصية اليهودية التي حضرت في اليوم الثاني من المؤتمر، ولم أكن على علم مسبق بحضورها”.
دور الثنائي الشيعي في حملة التخوين
وعن دور الثنائي الشيعي في الحملات قال: “هذه الحملات من التخوين، جاءت تتويجاً لمجموعة من الحملات القديمة التي كان يقوم بها حزب الله ضدّي شخصيّاً لرفضي القديم الجديد المشروعَ الإيراني الذي يحملونه في لبنان والمنطقة، ولمطالبتي الدائمة عندما كنت في الجنوب بمشروع الدّولة وانتشار الجيش فيه وحصر السّلاح بالمؤسسات العسكريّة والأمنيّة على كلّ الأراضي اللبنانية.إنّ الخلاف مع الثنائي الحزبي الشيعي (حزب الله وحركة أمل) ليس جديداً. فهو يعود إلى سنوات عديدة خلت وعقود مضت سبقت إبعادهم لي من الجنوب في أحداث السابع من أيار 2008 بقوّة السلاح”.
أضاف: “استمرّت معارضتي لسياسة أتباع الرؤية الإيرانية وحلفائهم من أنصار نظام ولاية الفقيه التي تقوم على منع الرأي الآخر وشيطنته لزعمهم أنّ الوليّ الفقيه يمثّل حكم الله على الأرض، فمن يعارضه أو يعارض أدواته فهو خائن ومعارض لله ورسوله. فالسبب وراء هذه الحملات، القديمة الجديدة، يعود إلى معارضتي المستمرّة لسياسة الثنائي الحزبي الشيعي، فلم يكن وقوفي إلى جانب الإنتفاضة الشعبية اللبنانية المباركة، ورفضي لمحاولات قمعهم وشيطنتهم لها، المعارضةَ الأولى لهم ولن تكون الأخيرة، وسأبقى معارضاً لسياستهم القائمة على الإستبداد والبطش والهيمنة والعاملة على تربية جيل من الطائفة الشيعية يجنح نحو الطائفيّة البغيضة كما ظهر من هتافات أتباعهم (شيعة شيعة)، وهي من ثمار قيادة الثنائي، وكما قال السيد المسيح عليه السلام ( من ثمارهم تعرفونهم) إنّ سياستهم جلبت وتجلب الضرر للطائفة الشيعية وأوجدت لهم خللاً مع شركائهم في الوطن ومع محيطهم وشعوبهم العربية”.
وشدد الأمين على أنه “لن ترهبني كلّ تلك التّهديدات والإتهامات التي جاءت لصرف الأنظار عن المطالب المشروعة لانتفاضة الشعب اللبناني وتطلّعاته نحو تحقيق العدالة الإجتماعية وقيام دولة الإنسان المدنيّة المبنيّة على قاعدة المواطنة العابرة لأحزاب وزعامات المذاهب والطّوائف والمحاصصات الطائفيّة الّتي تسبّبت بكل هذا الفساد والمآسي الّتي يعيشها لبنان اليوم”.
تاريخ مُقاوم
وذكّر الأمين بتاريخه المقاوم قائلاً: “من العجب العجاب أنّ السيد علي الأمين الذي بقي مع أهل الجنوب في المحن التي أصابتهم من الإعتداءات الإسرائيلية خصوصا في عام 93 و 96 وعدوان تموز 2006، وهو الذي وقف ضدّ الثنائي الشيعي في فتنة اجتياح بيروت في السابع من آيار 2008 وضدّ تدخّل حزب الله في فتنة القتال الأهلي على الأراضي السوريّة، أن تقوم المؤسسة الدينية الشيعيّة الأم الّتي أسّست لاستيعاب كل الآراء داخل الطّائفة الشيعية والتي قال مؤسسها الإمام الصدر ( الوحدة الوطنية أفضل وجوه المقاومة لإسرائيل)، أن تقوم هذه المؤسسة اليوم باتهام السيد علي الأمين بالسعي إلى الفتنة وتدّعي أن عزله من الإفتاء كان لإحداثه الفتنة بين اللبنانيين وهي المؤسسة التي كانت غطاءاً دينيّاً لفتنة اجتياح بيروت وفتنة القتال الأهلي في سوريا، وفيها يصدق ما قاله العرب في أمثالهم (رمتني بدائها وانسلّت …)”.
أضاف: “من العجب أيضا أن يُستدعى السيد علي الأمين للمثول أمام دائرة الأمن القومي في مديرية الأمن العام بعد كلّ تلك المواقف ضدّ العدوّ الإسرائيلي والمواقف التي وقفها مدافعا عن مشروع الدّولة ومطالبا بسيادتها الكاملة على أرضها منذ ثمانينات القرن الماضي والرافضة لسيطرة الميليشيات المسلّحة وسعيها الدّائم إلى تفكيك الدّولة والهيمنة عليها وهو القائل منذ زمن بعيد: ( أخرجوا من أسوار الطائفية وسجون المذهبية إلى رحاب العيش المشترك).ولسنا من دعاة المخالفة للقانون إن كان ما يسمّى ما صدر عن الأمن العام من استدعاءٍ يحمل صفة القانون فنحن من أوائل الدّعاة لدولة المؤسسات والقانون واحترامها بما في ذلك مؤسسة الأمن العام”.
وختم: “نقول لهؤلاء المتسلّطين بسلاحهم الخارج عن القانون والمستبدّين بآرائهم والمتشبّثين بمناصبهم الدّينية والدّنيويّة ما قاله الإمام علي عليه السلام لبعض أصحابه: ( كأنّهم لم يسمعوا كلام الله حيث يقول : – تلك الدّار الآخرة نجعلها للّذين لا يريدون علوّا في الأرض ولا فساداً والعاقبة للمتّقين – … بلى، لقد سمعوها ووعوها ولكنّهم حليت الدّنيا في أعينهم وراقهم زبرجها … )وأختم القول بهذا الدّعاء: اللّهمّ أصلح بيننا وبين قومنا بالحقّ واهدنا وإيّاهم سواء السبيل) وآخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين”.

The post فيديو ونص المؤتمر الصحفي للسيد علي الأمين بعد إتهامه بالتطبيع مع إسرائيل: حملات التخوين التي تطاولني هي بسبب رفضي للمشروع الإيراني/سأبقى معارضًا لسياسة حزب الله القائمة على البطش والهيمنة appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Trump administration won’t call mass killing of Armenians a genocide despite congressional resolutions
Jennifer Hansler, CNN/December 18/2019

ترمب يرفض الاعتراف بالابادة الجماعية للارمن… بعد تهديد من اردوغان/يتحدى قرارا مدعوما من الجمهوريين والديموقراطيين في مجلس الشيوخ
كريس ميندوك/انيبندت عربية/18 كانون الأول/2019
رفضت إدارة الرئيس الأميركي دونالد ترمب قراراً صادراً عن مجلس الشيوخ يعترف بالإبادة الجماعية للأرمن، بعد يومٍ واحد من تهديد الرئيس التركي رجب طيّب أردوغان بالردّ عِبْرَ الاعتراف بمسألة قتل الأميركيّين الأصليّين في الولايات المتّحدة على يد الأوروبيّين الذي هاجروا إلى أميركا.
واعترضت وزارة الخارجية الأميركية على الإجراء الذي أقدم عليه مجلس الشيوخ يوم الثلاثاء الماضي، عندما أكّدت ناطقة بإسمها أن الموقف الرسمي في هذا الشأن لم يتغيّر. وذكرت المتحدّثة مورغان أورتيغوس في تصريح لها إن “موقف الإدارة لم يتغّير. وتتجسّد وجهات نظرنا في البيان النهائي للرئيس الأميركي في شأن تلك القضية، الصادر في إبريل (نيسان) الماضي”.
وفي الأسبوع الماضي، أصدر مجلس الشيوخ الأميركي قراراً بالإجماع، يعترف بالإبادة الجماعية للأرمن واعتبر الأمر مسألة تتعلّق بالسياسة الخارجية للبلاد، وذلك في مظهر نادر للتوافق بين الحزبين “الجمهوري” والديموقراطي” في ما يتعلّق بقضية مثيرة جدّاً للخلاف، على الرغم من الاعتراضات التي أبدتها إدارة الرئيس دونالد ترمب. ويعتبر ذلك المرّة الأولى التي يحدّد فيها الكونغرس الأميركي رسمياً أعمال القتل التي وقعت في 1915 وحصدت ما يُقدّر بنحو مليون ونصف المليون أرمني على يد الأمبراطورية العثمانية، بأنها “إبادة جماعية”. واعتبر السيناتور روبرت مينينديز “الديموقراطي” عن ولاية نيوجيرزي، الذي شارك في رعاية التشريع إلى جانب السيناتور “الجمهوري” عن ولاية تكساس تيد كروز، في خطاب طغت عليه لحظات عاطفية قبل إقرار التشريع، أن “التغاضي عن المعاناة الإنسانية ليس من القيم التي نمثلها كأمّة…. نحن أفضل من ذلك، وسياستنا الخارجية يجب أن تعكس دائماً هذا المنحى”.
ويأتي تصويت مجلس الشيوخ الأميركي بعد موافقة مجلس النوّاب على الإجراء نفسه الشهر الماضي، في تصويتٍ تزامن مع اجتماع دونالد ترمب مع الرئيس التركي إردوغان في المكتب البيضاوي في البيت الأبيض. وقد هدّد إردوغان على أثر تصويت مجلس الشيوخ الأسبوع الماضي، بالاعتراف بقضية قتل أميركيّين أصليّين في أميركا على يد المستوطنين الأوروبيّين، أثناء دخولهم إلى جميع أنحاء البلاد وتهجير جميع سكّانها وقتلهم. وقال إردوغان في مقابلة مع قناة “إي هابر” الإخبارية الموالية للحكومة التركية إنه “يجب أن نواجه الولايات المتحدة بقراراتٍ مماثلة في البرلمان. وهذا ما سنفعله”. وأضاف متسائلاً، “هل يمكن أن نتحدّث عن أميركا من دون ذكر الأميركيّين الأصليّين؟ إنها لحظةٌ مخزية في تاريخ الولايات المتّحدة”.
وفي السياق نفسه، أعادت وزارة الخارجية الأميركية التذكير بتعليقات الرئيس ترمب في الرابع والعشرين من إبريل (نيسان) الماضي، التي صدرت عنه في “الذكرى العالمية لضحايا الأرمن”. وقد اعترف ترمب في تصريحاته بأن أكثر من مليون ونصف مليون أرمني “جرى ترحيلهم أو ذبحهم أو سيقوا إلى حتفهم” تحت حكم الإمبراطورية العثمانية. ولم يصف ترمب الأحداث بأنها إبادة جماعية. وفيما اعترف سلفه الرئيس السابق باراك أوباما عندما كان مرشّحاً لرئاسة في العام 2008 بأن تلك الأحداث كانت إبادة جماعية، إلا أن إدارته [اوباما] عادت وأكّدت في وقتٍ لاحق لحكومة أنقرة أنها لا تؤيّد قراراً رسمياً يعترف بتلك الجرائم بوصفها إبادة جماعية.© The Independent

Trump administration won’t call mass killing of Armenians a genocide despite congressional resolutions
Jennifer Hansler, CNN/December 18/2019
(CNN)The Trump administration still does not view the mass killing of Armenians from 1915-1923 as genocide, despite overwhelming bipartisan support by US lawmakers to formally recognize it as such. In a statement released Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said the administration has not changed its position on the matter. “Our views are reflected in the President’s definitive statement on this issue from last April,” Ortagus said. In that statement, which commemorated “Armenian Remembrance Day,” President Donald Trump called the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire that took place from 1915 to 1923 “one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century.”
“We pledge to learn from past tragedies so as to not to repeat them. We welcome the efforts of Armenians and Turks to acknowledge and reckon with their painful history,” Trump said in the statement. The statement did not mention genocide, but did recognize the man who coined the term — Raphael Lemkin — for his work seeking “to ensure atrocities like this would not be repeated.” Last week, the Senate passed a resolution to designate the mass killings as a genocide, describing it as “the killing of an estimated 1,500,000 Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923.” It passed by unanimous consent after Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, brought it up for consideration on the floor. Under Senate rules, legislation can pass by unanimous consent without a roll call vote as long as no senator objects. Prior to its passage, the Trump administration had asked Republican senators to block the unanimous consent request several times on the grounds that it could undercut negotiations with Turkey. The House of Representatives passed the resolution recognizing the genocide in October.
The approval of the resolution drew outrage from Turkey, which denies that the events of 1915 that led to the mass killing of Armenians constitute a genocide. The Turks contend that closer to 300,000 Armenians were killed. In a statement, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the resolution “devoid of historical awareness and any legal base” and damaging to US-Turkey relations. On Friday, US Ambassador to Turkey David Satterfield was summoned by the Foreign Ministry over the passage of the resolution. On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to close, “if necessary,” two US military bases in Turkey in response to the genocide resolution and potential US sanctions over his country’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile system. In a televised interview, Erdogan called the resolution “completely political,” and warned the US “not take irreparable steps in our relations.”
CNN’s Clare Foran, Phil Mattingly and Jonny Hallam contributed to this report.

The post بموقف لا اخلاقي ومعيب ترامب يرفض الإعتراف بالإبادة العثمانية للأرمن لإرضاء الإخونجي اردوغان/Trump administration won’t call mass killing of Armenians a genocide despite congressional resolutions appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

تسريبة لاهية عن حكومة 100% للمحتل الإيراني يرأسها حسان دياب
الياس بجاني/18 كانون الأول/2019

ترددت إشاعات قبل قليل ونشرت أخبار غير مؤكدة وغير رسمية أقله حتى الآن، سلطت الأضواء عليها بعض المحطات التلفزيونية منها LBC ال بي سي وأيضاً جاءت بتغريدات لأبواق وصنوج ملالوية إعلامية هي عادة ما تكون بوم يحمل أخبار الشؤم نيابة عن حزب الله الذي يحتل لبنان.

التسريبات الشؤم تحدثت عن اتفاق أو بالأحرى عن فرمان ملالوي أصدره حزب الله وقضي بتكليف حسان دياب رئاسة حكومة جديدة.

فإن صحت الأخبار والتسريبات هذا يعني أن حزب الله قد قرر وع المكشوف حكم البلد دون مشاركة ولو صورية مع أي فريق أخر على أساس أن أهل الحكم كافة إي باسيل وبري ومن لف لفهما يميناً أو يساراً هم في جيبه وينفذون فرماناته.

البعض قال بأن التسريبات هذه هدفها تخويف الحريري وإعادته إلى الحظيرة ، وآخرون اعتبروا أن الأمر جدي وهدفه ضرب الثورة بالقوة من خلال حكومة صافية لحزب الله.

يشار هنا إلى أن حكومة حزب الله  الأولى التي كان ترأسها نجيب ميقاتي لم تنجح وفشلت فشلاً ذريعاً.

يبقى أن المهم ليس اسم من سيشكل الحكومة، بل برنامجها ومواقفها من القرارات الدولية الخاصة بلبنان، والحياد وثلاثية مقاومة النفاق.

جديره ذكره أنه وحتى الآن حزب الله رفض الاعتراف بوجود ثورة وهو مباشرة أو بواسطة شبيحة بري يسعى جاهداً لإرهاب الثوار وردعهم بالقوة والشيطنة والتخوين، وخصوصاً في المناطق الواقعة تحت سيطرته الكاملة من مثل البقاع والجنوب.

وترى هل من صلة لتسريبة اختيار حسان دياب بتصريح النائب فؤاد مخزومي اليوم عقب اجتماعه مع المفتي دريان وقوله بفرح “بأن دار الفتوى مفتوحة للجميع وهي مع أي مرشح يختاره النواب لرئاسة الحكومة”؟

وترى هل الغرب وأميركا تحديداً هم من سمح لحزب الله باستلام الحكومة في لبنان من ضمن بنود لاتفاق جاري العمل عليه بين إدارة ترامب والحكم الإيراني؟

أم أن إيران تحاول لعب الورقة اللبنانية منفردة لتحسين شروطها في نفس الإتفاق هذا الجاري العمل عليه وكانت أحد بوادره الإيجابية تبادل الأسري بين طهران وواشنطن وشكر ترامب العلني لحكام إيران؟

حتى الان خبر اختيار حسان دياب هو مجرد تسريبة ولم يؤكد، ولكن غداً مع بدأ او تأجيل الإستشارات تتوضح الصورة.

**الكاتب ناشط لبناني اغترابي
عنوان الكاتب الالكتروني
Phoenicia@hotmail.com
رابط موقع الكاتب الالكتروني
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com

Amal, Hezbollah and FPM to nominate Hassan Diab for PM as Hariri backs out
Christina Farhat/Annahar/December 18/2019
Hariri cited the developments that have transpired as a principle reason for pulling out of the race for Prime Minister.
BEIRUT: Amal, Hezbollah, and Free Patriotic Movement bloc have come to the consensus decision to nominate Hassan Diab, former Minister of Education in Najib Mikati’s cabinet, for Prime Minister. Diab’s nomination comes to light as caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced he was withdrawing his candidacy to head Lebanon’s upcoming government earlier today. Binding parliamentary consultations to nominate a new premier are set to take place Thursday. “Since submitting my resignation fifty days ago in response to the cry of the Lebanese, I have strived to meet their demands with the formation of a government of specialists that I saw were the people capable of dealing with the serious social and economic crisis facing our country,” Hariri said in a statement issued Wednesday. Hariri cited the developments that have transpired as a principle reason for pulling out of the race for Prime Minister. “Despite my commitment to forming a government of specialists, certain positions have emerged in the last few days that could not be reconciled,“ he said. Massive protests across Lebanon have objected to Hariri possibly regaining his post as Prime Minister in recent days.
The Free Patriotic Movement welcomed Hariri’s decision, saying that it reflects ”a positive step and hope that Prime Minister Saad Hariri will finish off his duties by proposing a reliable and capable person to work on forming a government that has the support of the people and the Parliamentary blocs as well as the international community.”The Lebanese Forces then noted that caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s statement echoes the voice of his father, Martyr and former Prime Minister, Rafic Hariri. “I cannot fail to mention this wise national position, which reminds us of the positions of the martyr Prime Minister Rafik hariri. He used to say:” No one is greater than his country,” MP Setrida Geagea said in a statement. As the political elite grapple over arriving at political concurrence, over appointing a new Prime Minister, three Lebanese Banks were downgraded to “SD” on revised deposit terms and conditions by S&P ratings.Bank Audi, Blom Bank, and Bankmed were downgraded to SD from CCC following Bank Du Liban’s circular requesting banks to pay half of the interest due on customers USD denominated term deposits “existing and not matured” before December 5, 2019. “We lowered our ratings to SD because in our opinion private individuals lack of access to their bank deposits on time and in full different remuneration from the original contractual terms and constraints to their ability to transfer funds abroad constitute a risk for depositors of losing the benefit of their agreements and therefore a selective default,” said the statement issued by S&P Global Ratings. S&P also stated in their report that they expect the economic conditions in Lebanon to “remain stressed in coming years.”

The post الياس بجاني/تسريبة لاهية عن حكومة 100% للمحتل الإيراني يرأسها حسان دياب/Amal, Hezbollah and FPM to nominate Hassan Diab for PM as Hariri backs out appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Detailed LCCC English News Bulletin For December 19/2019

Click Here to read the whole and detailed LCCC English News Bulletin for December 19/2019

The post Detailed LCCC English News Bulletin For December 19/2019 appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 18-19/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 63th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
December 19/2019

Tites For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 18-19/2019
Amal, Hezbollah and FPM to nominate Hassan Diab for PM as Hariri backs out
Socio-economic position paper by organisations and activists on the current situation in Lebanon
Lebanon: Hariri Says Will Not Be PM, Security Tightened After Nights of Violence
Lebanon: Violence Moves to Tripoli as Cleric’s Office Attacked
Pressure on Lebanon’s Schools as Tough Times Force Children Into State System
Report: Hale’s Visit to Beirut Coincides with Talks to Name PM
Shiite Cleric Lashes Out at Hizbullah, AMAL Movement
Report: Army Chief Cautions of ‘Revolution of the Hungry
Berri, Daryan Warn against Attempts to Stir Sectarian Strife
Reports: Berri Asks Hariri to Talk to Bassil, Consultations on Ti
Berri: No Political Cover for Those who Harm Civil Peace
Mob Attacks Cleric’s Office in Tripoli, Burns Christmas Tree
Security Measures Upped at Protest Sites after Violence
Sethrida Geagea Lauds Hariri’s ‘Wise National Stance’
Bassil Lauds Hariri’s ‘Positive Step’, Urges Him to Pick ‘Credible’ Candidate
Lebanese-Australian Brothers Jailed for Etihad Airways Bomb Plo

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 18-19/2019
Amal, Hezbollah and FPM to nominate Hassan Diab for PM as Hariri backs out
Christina Farhat/Annahar/December 18/2019
Hariri cited the developments that have transpired as a principle reason for pulling out of the race for Prime Minister.
BEIRUT: Amal, Hezbollah, and Free Patriotic Movement bloc have come to the consensus decision to nominate Hassan Diab, former Minister of Education in Najib Mikati’s cabinet, for Prime Minister. Diab’s nomination comes to light as caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced he was withdrawing his candidacy to head Lebanon’s upcoming government earlier today. Binding parliamentary consultations to nominate a new premier are set to take place Thursday. “Since submitting my resignation fifty days ago in response to the cry of the Lebanese, I have strived to meet their demands with the formation of a government of specialists that I saw were the people capable of dealing with the serious social and economic crisis facing our country,” Hariri said in a statement issued Wednesday. Hariri cited the developments that have transpired as a principle reason for pulling out of the race for Prime Minister. “Despite my commitment to forming a government of specialists, certain positions have emerged in the last few days that could not be reconciled,“ he said. Massive protests across Lebanon have objected to Hariri possibly regaining his post as Prime Minister in recent days.
The Free Patriotic Movement welcomed Hariri’s decision, saying that it reflects ”a positive step and hope that Prime Minister Saad Hariri will finish off his duties by proposing a reliable and capable person to work on forming a government that has the support of the people and the Parliamentary blocs as well as the international community.”The Lebanese Forces then noted that caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s statement echoes the voice of his father, Martyr and former Prime Minister, Rafic Hariri. “I cannot fail to mention this wise national position, which reminds us of the positions of the martyr Prime Minister Rafik hariri. He used to say:” No one is greater than his country,” MP Setrida Geagea said in a statement. As the political elite grapple over arriving at political concurrence, over appointing a new Prime Minister, three Lebanese Banks were downgraded to “SD” on revised deposit terms and conditions by S&P ratings.Bank Audi, Blom Bank, and Bankmed were downgraded to SD from CCC following Bank Du Liban’s circular requesting banks to pay half of the interest due on customers USD denominated term deposits “existing and not matured” before December 5, 2019. “We lowered our ratings to SD because in our opinion private individuals lack of access to their bank deposits on time and in full different remuneration from the original contractual terms and constraints to their ability to transfer funds abroad constitute a risk for depositors of losing the benefit of their agreements and therefore a selective default,” said the statement issued by S&P Global Ratings. S&P also stated in their report that they expect the economic conditions in Lebanon to “remain stressed in coming years.”

Socio-economic position paper by organisations and activists on the current situation in Lebanon
CLDH – Lebanese Center for Human Rights/December 18/2019
The following paper has been drafted by a group of organisations and individuals to assert our position pertaining to the people’s revolution, which has been ongoing since October 17th to date. It aims to clarify the prevailing realities and dynamics which have catalysed the revolution, without addressing demands to a polity which has lost its legitimacy. This position paper solely represents the perspectives and opinions of its signatories.
This revolution, characterised by an unprecedented geographic spread, is the inevitable consequence of the predominant practices of an exclusionary, corrupt, unaccounted for, and feuding political apparatus, characterised by its various regional and international allegiances. The interplay of these dynamics has stripped the legitimacy away from the former government, as the people clarified that the current political class does not represent them.
Indeed, this revolution is the outcome of accumulated non-inclusive and unsustainable socio-economic policies used to further politicise and further sectarian and horizontal divides, and dismantle social solidarity.
These marginalising policies, based on clientelistic capitalism, a rentier economy, the incitement of ideological prejudice, and the neglected provision of public goods, have served to benefit an affluent minority whose interests coincide with the continuity of a segregated sectarian system. A system which has brought on the current national social movement, enraged by incidents of exploitation, and violations of basic human rights.
Following the end of the civil war, instead of formulating a sustainable reconciliation plan in order to rebuild a social contract, and hold perpetrators accountable for their grave human rights violations, the Lebanese polity obscured the realities of the war, and its residues, with the issuance of an unjust amnesty law doubly exploiting victims, and facilitating the warlord’s capture of the state. Indeed, they have institutionalised and integrated their militias into the political system, further exacerbating class segregation and sectarian strife .
Additionally, the collusion and intersection of interests among influential elites, businessmen and statesmen has contributed to the construction of a patron-client network, at the expense of the people, further compounding socio-economic grievances.
Furthermore, the capture of state resources, notably through the policies of privatization and capitalism, have led to the collapse of Lebanon’s economic and social fabric.
The foreign interests of our decision makers, both political and economic, have led to the absence of effective nationally-oriented policies, the accumulation of human rights violations, and state’s relinquishment of its responsibilities towards the rightful demands of the people.
Hence, during this historic moment in Lebanon, we strongly reinforce our commitment to the following principles:
Lebanon is a secular, democratic civil state based on a social contract, and citizenship and social justice principles. Freedoms and human rights are to be guaranteed without discrimination, through a unified personal civil status law, shifting towards fair, effective and accountable participatory institutions, as well as ensuring comprehensive socio-economic, environmental and cultural rights .
Protecting, preserving and respecting the dignity of all citizens and residents on Lebanese territory without any discrimination, notably by granting women their full rights as Lebanese citizens without discrimination, such as the right to pass on citizenship to members of their family, and equal inheritance.
Building a social policy which promotes solidarity and trust within the society, and includes ensuring universal social protection, through the provision of universal health coverage, pension plans, motherhood insurance, unemployment insurance, and end of service benefits.
Building the foundations of a productive economy, that is based on solidarity, in addition to developing economic policies aiming to enhance efficiency, and ensuring the alleviation of inequality and poverty, and environment preservation.
Adopting an equitable progressive tax system based on the incomes of individuals, companies, and banks, all the while reducing indirect taxes.
Through this paper, we reaffirm our support to the ongoing revolution. Read More at: Copyrights © 2019 Lebanon Support. All rights reserved.

Lebanon: Hariri Says Will Not Be PM, Security Tightened After Nights of Violence
Beirut- Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 18 December, 2019
Lebanon’s Saad al-Hariri said on Wednesday he was not a candidate to be prime minister of a new government, leaving no obvious alternative to head a cabinet that must tackle the worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. Hariri, the outgoing prime minister and Lebanon’s leading Sunni politician, made the statement on the eve of formal consultations to designate the new prime minister, a post reserved for a Sunni in Lebanon’s sectarian system. “I announce that I will not be a candidate to form the coming government,” Hariri said in a statement.
“I am heading tomorrow to take part in the consultations … on this basis, insisting that they not be delayed for any reason,” he said.
Hariri did not say who he would nominate for the post in the consultations which President Michel Aoun is due to host on Thursday. Aoun, a Maronite Christian, is required to designate the candidate with the most support among Lebanon’s 128 MPs. The only candidate with the support of Lebanon’s Sunni Muslim religious establishment, Hariri had appeared the only candidate for the job earlier this week despite political tension with adversaries including Aoun. But the picture was complicated when the Christian Lebanese Forces said it would name neither Hariri nor anyone else in the consultations, meaning his candidacy would not enjoy the support of either of Lebanon’s two main Christian parties. Hariri resigned as prime minister on Oct. 29, prompted by protests against a political elite accused of overseeing rampant state corruption. In a related development, security was tightened around protest centers in central Beirut Wednesday, after several nights of violence disrupted two months of largely peaceful anti-government demonstrations. Barricades were erected overnight to block or control access to protest sites in the capital where counterdemonstrators have previously tried to attack protesters, AFP journalists said.
An officer who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity said the concrete barriers were intended to help security forces better control the sites and prevent further clashes. After violence between protesters and security forces in Beirut on Saturday and Sunday night, and between counterdemonstrators and police on Monday night, the capital remained calm on Tuesday. The unprecedented protests started on October 17 against a political elite deemed inept and corrupt. Protesters demand a complete overhaul of the ruling class and a new government formed of independent experts. On Tuesday night, young supporters of the Shiite Amal movement threw stones at anti-government protesters in the southern Shiite stronghold of Nabatieh, a witness said.
Unknown perpetrators set fire to a Christmas tree in the northern city of Tripoli, an AFP correspondent said. On Monday night, dozens of supporters of the country’s two main Shiite political parties set fire to cars and clashed with security forces trying to prevent them from reaching Beirut’s main protest square. Pressure to form a new government is compounded by the near collapse of the economy, already weakened by years of political deadlock and the impact of the eight-year-old war in neighboring Syria.The World Bank estimates that Lebanon is in recession, and has warned that the number living in poverty could increase from a third to half the population.

Lebanon: Violence Moves to Tripoli as Cleric’s Office Attacked
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 18 December, 2019
Unknown assailants attacked the office of Mufti Sheikh Malek al-Shaar in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli, smashing its windows early on Wednesday, reports said. They then moved to one of the city’s main squares and set fire to the municipality’s Christmas tree. The military said that it later detained four suspects in Tripoli and confiscated their motorcycles. The military said men on motorcycles gathered outside Shaar’s home and rioted, “used profanity” and smashed property. The mob then moved to the square and threw fire bombs at the Christmas tree, setting it on fire. The violence indicated that the tensions that recently gripped the Lebanese capital, Beirut, over an online video deemed offensive to the country’s Shiites are spreading to Tripoli, the country’s second-largest city. On Tuesday, anger boiled over in Beirut after the offensive video was widely circulated online, showing a Tripoli resident railing against the leaders of the country’s two main Shiite groups, Hezbollah and Amal and religious Shiite figures and using expletives. Their supporters descended on a protest camp in Beirut as security forces intervened to push them back, setting off hours of pitched street battles.
Angry assailants also attacked protest camps in the northern district of Hermel and in the southern city of Sidon and Nabatiyeh on Tuesday. The violence threatened to plunge Lebanon further into chaos and ignite sectarian strife after anti-government protests erupted on October 17 forcing the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri. This week Shaar called Amal movement leader Speaker Nabih Berri to apologize for the rant against him. Hezbollah and Amal supporters have been intolerant of the protesters’ criticism of their leaders and have tried for days, even before the video emerged, to attack the protest camps. The anti-government protests have spared no Lebanese politician, accusing the ruling elite of corruption and mismanagement, and calling for a government of independents. They have been largely peaceful, sparked by an intensifying economic crisis. Berri and Hariri met on Tuesday and urged the Lebanese not to be “drawn toward strife” and adding that some parties they didn’t name are working to incite violence in the country.

Pressure on Lebanon’s Schools as Tough Times Force Children Into State System
Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2019
Lebanon’s economic crisis is forcing families to pull tens of thousands of children out of the private schools that educate most pupils in the country, and into a long-neglected state education system that is already struggling to cope. Unlike in many countries where private schools are often mainly for the wealthy, Lebanon relies on them to educate two thirds of pupils, with working-class families scrimping to afford hundreds of dollars a month in fees. Those who cannot afford it end up in an under-funded state system that educates 300,000 Lebanese pupils and has put on a second shift in recent years for 200,000 Syrian refugees. With the worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war having struck this year, 36,000 extra pupils have moved from private school into the state system, Education Minister Akram Chehayeb told Reuters. He expects still more children to follow, with no additional funds or staff to teach them. “The pressure will increase on public schools,” he said. “Due to the 2019 budget, we can’t hire new teachers, while 1,400 retire every year.” Eid Ramadan, a hairstylist, struggled to find more than $6,000 a year in total for private school for his two sons. This year he was forced to pull his younger son out. “My kids are thankfully smart and understanding,” he said. “They know we were doing the impossible to keep them (in private school). But we’ve reached a point where we couldn’t. We’ve hit a brick wall.” The country’s long-brewing economic troubles have spiraled into a financial crisis since October, when protests erupted against the ruling elite. Businesses have closed, workers have been laid off and wages cut. Banks are restricting access to cash and the Lebanese pound has slumped. “The majority of the people can no longer pay thousands of dollars for tuition every year,” said Ramadan. Salwa Hemadeh moved her 14-year-old daughter into a state school this year, having previously moved her three sons out of private education as the economy worsened and her husband’s job as a plasterer brought in less income. “She didn’t adapt well to the new school because it was so big and there were so many students. But we laid out the truth: either you get your education at this public school or you get no education,” she said.

Report: Hale’s Visit to Beirut Coincides with Talks to Name PM
Naharnet/December 18/2019
U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale is expected to visit Beirut on Thursday in line with Lebanon’s parliamentary consultations to name a new prime minister, media reports said on Wednesday. Hale is scheduled to meet President Michel Aoun before noon on Friday and Speaker Nabih Berri and Army Commander General Joseph Aoun later during the day, al-Joumhouria daily said. His visit comes amid nationwide protests in Lebanon demanding an overhaul of the entire political class and an unprecedented economic crisis. Quoting unnamed sources, Hizbullah’s al-Akhbar newspaper said Hale will pay a “classic” visit and will meet senior Lebanese officials. “Hale does not carry radical political or economic solutions. He is conducting a political showdown,” said the sources ruling out any discussion of “military solution” for Lebanon’s political crisis. “There is no room for a military government in the presence of President of the Republic. Voices from the street praising the military and their assumption of power have previously emerged due to excess enthusiasm. It is no longer on the table today,” said the sources.PM Saad Hariri stepped down under street pressure less than two weeks into the October 17 protests. But no consensus has yet been reached on a replacement and parliamentary consultations to name a new prime minister have twice been postponed, the latest on Monday.

Shiite Cleric Lashes Out at Hizbullah, AMAL Movement
Naharnet/December 18/2019
Prominent Shiite cleric Ali al-Amin lashed out at Hizbullah on Wednesday after the latter’s accusations that he is “normalizing ties with Israel.”“Treason campaigns against me by Hizbullah are not something new and are due to my rejection of the Iranian project they carry to Lebanon and the region,” said al-Amin in a press conference. Hizbullah denounced the participation of Amin in a religious forum in Bahrain attended by “Zionist figures” and accused him of “normalizing” ties with Israel. Amin said: “My disagreement with Hizbullah and AMAL (movement) is not new, and I will remain supportive of the Lebanese people’s uprising.”He accused the party and the “mother Shiite institution” in Lebanon of launching “treason campaigns and fabrications.”On his participation in the Bahrain forum that allowed the participation of Israel, he said: “I took part in the forum without knowing the participants’ names,” noting it was also attended by Lebanon’s ambassador to Bahrain. “I will remain opposed to Hizbullah’s policy of oppression and domination. The Shiite duo’s policy only brings harm upon the Shiite community,” he concluded.

Report: Army Chief Cautions of ‘Revolution of the Hungry’
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 18/2019
Army chief General Joseph Aoun reportedly warned many Lebanese officials of the “revolution of the hungry,” saying the military can not do much to prevent the “genuinely poor class” when they take to the streets in protest at dire economic conditions, media reports said Wednesday.
Media reports attributed remarks to Aoun as saying that the military has been able to absorb and control systematic or spontaneous attempts to destabilize security, but that politicians do not have the luxury of time because living conditions in the country warn of more dangerous scenarios.
Officials have not yet reached consensus on a new prime minister as Lebanon grapples with an economic crisis unprecedented in its history. According to informed sources, the army chief was clear and determined to prevent any attempts tampering with security by some parties making “street” moves, but he was clear in warning of the real consequences shall the genuinely “poor class” go out into the street because of the economic collapse. Warning of the “revolution of the hungry,” he reportedly said the army will not be able to maintain stability or carry out its tasks because it “will not confront the poor” in the streets.
Aoun sounded the alarm to more than one political official by saying, “beware the revolution of the hungry.”

Berri, Daryan Warn against Attempts to Stir Sectarian Strife
Naharnet/December 18/2019
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan held phone talks Wednesday in the wake of the latest Sunni-Shiites tensions in the country. In their discussions, Berri and Daryan emphasized on “the unity of Muslims within national unity and the unity of the Lebanese,” the National News Agency said. They also stressed the need to “be vigilant in order not to fall into the trap of the roving sedition attempts.”

Reports: Berri Asks Hariri to Talk to Bassil, Consultations on Time
Naharnet/December 18/2019
Speaker Nabih Berri has advised caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri to communicate with Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil over the FPM’s participation in the new government, al-Jadeed TV reported on Wednesday.“But so far no meeting has been scheduled between Hariri and Bassil,” al-Jadeed said. Adding that Hariri “will not visit the Baabda Palace today,” the TV network reported that Hariri will inform the parties this afternoon of his final stance on whether or not he wants to head the new government. LBCI TV meanwhile reported that the binding parliamentary consultations to name a new PM “will be held on time Thursday” and that Berri and his bloc will nominate Hariri for the post. Baabda sources meanwhile told the Central News Agency that Berri has told President Michel Aoun that he suggested two government formats during his talks with Hariri. “The first involves 18 ministers – six technicians and 12 experts – and the second involves 14 ministers – four technicians and 10 experts,” the sources said. Under the second format, Hariri would “name the independents or those whom he considers to be technocrat figures.”“Berri is still awaiting Hariri to respond to the suggestions and the caretaker PM has asked for some time,” the sources added.

Berri: No Political Cover for Those who Harm Civil Peace
Naharnet/December 18/2019
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday stressed that there will be no “political or partisan cover” for anyone who “harms unity and civil peace,” in the wake of the latest sectarianly-charged incidents in the country. Speaking during his weekly meeting with lawmakers in Ain el-Tineh, Berri warned of “the scary scenes, the sectarian and regional slogans, infiltrators and those tampering with the fate of the people and the country.”“Sunnis and Shiites are two sects of the same religion and there will be no political or partisan cover for anyone who harms unity and civil peace,” he added. “We would commit suicide rather than give orders to ignite strife,” he said, calling on security and judicial authorities to prosecute “strife agitators.”Separately, he said that the binding parliamentary consultations to pick a new premier should take place “inside the institutions,” urging all parties to “offer concessions.”

Mob Attacks Cleric’s Office in Tripoli, Burns Christmas Tree
Associated Press/Naharnet/December 18/2019
Assailants attacked the office of a Sunni Muslim religious leader in the northern city of Tripoli, smashing in windows early on Wednesday, the National News Agency reported. The mob then moved to one of the city’s main squares and set fire to the municipality’s Christmas tree. The violence indicated that the tensions that recently gripped the Lebanese capital, Beirut, over an online video deemed offensive to the country’s Shiites are spreading to Tripoli, the country’s second-largest city. The state-run National News Agency reported that the military later detained four assailants in Tripoli but did not provide other details. The military said a mob of men on motorcycles gathered outside the home of Sunni Mufti Sheikh Malek al-Shaar and rioted, “used profanity” and smashed property. The mob then moved to the square and threw fire bombs at the Christmas tree, setting it on fire. The military said it arrested four men and confiscated their motorcycles. On Tuesday, anger boiled over in Beirut after the offensive video was widely circulated online, showing a Sunni resident of Tripoli railing against the leaders of the country’s two main Shiite groups, Hizbullah and AMAL and religious Shiite figures and using expletives. Their supporters descended on a protest camp in Beirut as security forces intervened to push them back, setting off hours of pitched street battles. Angry assailants also attacked protest camps in the northern district Hermel and in the southern Sidon and Nabatiyeh on Tuesday. The violence threatened to plunge Lebanon further into chaos and ignite sectarian strife amid two months of anti-government protests and a spiraling financial crisis. The daily An-Nahar said the assailants in Tripoli were angered because the Sunni mufti, al-Shaar, had called the powerful Shiite parliament speaker and head of Amal, Nabih Berri, to apologize for the video. Supporters of Hizbullah and its close ally, the Amal movement, have been intolerant of the protesters’ criticism of their leaders and have tried for days, even before the video emerged, to attack the protest camps. The anti-government protests, which erupted in mid-October, have spared no Lebanese politician, accusing the ruling elite of corruption and mismanagement, and calling for a government of independents. They have largely been peaceful, sparked by an intensifying economic crisis Berri, the parliament speaker, and outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri met on Tuesday and urged the Lebanese not to be “drawn toward strife” and adding that some parties they didn’t name are working to incite violence in the country.

Security Measures Upped at Protest Sites after Violence
Naharnet/December 18/2019
Security forces increased their presence around protest centers in central Beirut Wednesday, after several nights of violence disrupted two months of largely peaceful anti-government demonstrations. Barricades were erected overnight to block or control access to protest sites in the capital where counterdemonstrators have previously tried to attack protesters, AFP journalists said. An officer who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity said the concrete barriers were intended to help security forces better control the sites and prevent further clashes.
After violence between protesters and security forces in Beirut on Saturday and Sunday night, and between counterdemonstrators and police on Monday night, the capital remained calm on Tuesday. But tensions were recorded elsewhere in the country, as Lebanon awaits scheduled parliamentary meetings to name a new premier on Thursday, a required step to form a cabinet. The unprecedented protests started on October 17 against a political elite deemed inept and corrupt. Protesters demand a complete overhaul of the ruling class and a new government formed of independent experts. Prime minister Saad Hariri resigned on October 29, but bitter divisions between political parties have twice seen parliamentary consultations to name a new premier postponed. On Tuesday night, young supporters of the Shiite AMAL movement threw stones at anti-government protesters in the southern Shiite stronghold of Nabatieh, a witness said. Unknown perpetrators set fire to a Christmas tree in the northern city of Tripoli, an AFP correspondent said. On Monday night, dozens of supporters of the country’s two main Shiite political parties set fire to cars and clashed with security forces trying to prevent them from reaching Beirut’s main protest square.Pressure to form a new government is compounded by the near collapse of the economy, already weakened by years of political deadlock and the impact of the eight-year-old war in neighboring Syria. The World Bank estimates that Lebanon is in recession, and has warned that the number living in poverty could increase from a third to half the population.

Sethrida Geagea Lauds Hariri’s ‘Wise National Stance’
Naharnet/December 18/2019
MP Sethrida Geagea of the Lebanese Forces bloc on Wednesday lauded caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s decision to withdraw his nomination for the PM post as a “wise national stance.”Geagea said Hariri rejected to head a government not comprised of experts because it “would not meet the demands of the Lebanese people in this critical period in Lebanon economically and financially.”“I cannot but laud this wise national stance, which reminds us of the stances of martyr premier Rafik Hariri, who used to repeat the ‘no one is bigger than their country’ slogan, and it also reminds us of March 14’s martyrs, from Rafik Hariri to Wissam al-Hassan and Mohammed Shatah,” Geagea added. Commenting on the LF’s announcement that it would not nominate Hariri or any other candidate for the premiership and accusations that “the LF was not loyal to its allies,” Geagea disclosed the details of her phone call with Hariri on Sunday night. “I told him, ‘Your friend is the one who is honest with you, we in the Strong Republic bloc cannot nominate you,’” Geagea said. “This led to postponing Monday’s consultations and his eventual withdrawal from the race, and this has ultimately preserved the patriotic political alignment that he is leading,” the MP went on to say.

Bassil Lauds Hariri’s ‘Positive Step’, Urges Him to Pick ‘Credible’ Candidate
Naharnet/December 18/2019
Caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Wednesday lauded caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s decision to withdraw his nomination for the PM post, urging him to suggest a “credible and capable” candidate. “We appreciate the responsible stance that Mr. Prime Minister Saad Hariri took by announcing that he is no longer nominated to head the next government and that he will go to the binding parliamentary consultations tomorrow,” Bassil said in a written statement. “We see in this stance a positive step, which we hope he will complete by suggesting — in light of his position vis-à-vis the National Pact – a credible and capable figure on whom there can be consensus,” Bassil added. He said the political parties would then seek an agreement with the PM-designate on “the formation of a government that would enjoy the confidence of the people and the influential parliamentary blocs, in addition to the Arab and international communities.” Bassil however criticized Hariri for “putting the country and the people in the face of the unknown through his recent resignation.”The FPM chief also said that Hariri should not have made his choice “in the last moment before the binding parliamentary consultations” and that he should not “demand postponement or seek to impose a date for the consultations as he wishes and in a selective manner that serves his own interest.”Setting a date for the consultations or postponing them is “an exclusive jurisdiction for the President who uses it in a manner that preserves the public interest and the Constitution,” Bassil added.

Lebanese-Australian Brothers Jailed for Etihad Airways Bomb Plot
Beirut – Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 18 December, 2019
Two Lebanese brothers were handed lengthy jail terms in Australia Tuesday for plotting to bring down a Sydney to Abu Dhabi flight with a bomb carried in a meat grinder by their unwitting brother. Brothers Khaled and Mahmoud Khayat, who also hold the Australian nationality, were convicted of terrorism offenses for trying to bomb an Etihad Airways passenger jet in July 2017 under instructions from ISIS. Khaled was sentenced to 40 years with a minimum of 30 years without parole, while Mahmoud received 36 years’ jail time and ordered to serve at least 27. The improvised device was to be smuggled inside the luggage of a third, unwitting brother. A fourth brother, who is said to have fought with ISIS in Syria, is accused of directing the plot from overseas. The plan was aborted at the airport when the plotters decided it was too risky to get through customs after airline staff said their bags were overweight. In handing down her sentence, judge Christine Adamson said despite no one being killed, the offenders had succeeded in “creating terror” because the public was made aware of the plot. “The conspiracy to which both offenders were parties plainly envisaged that a large number of people would be killed,” she said.

Titles For The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 18-19/2019
Amal, Hezbollah and FPM to nominate Hassan Diab for PM as Hariri backs out/Christina Farhat/Annahar/December 18/2019
Socio-economic position paper by organisations and activists on the current situation in Lebanon/CLDH – Lebanese Center for Human Rights/December 18/2019
Dr. Mohammad Baydoun a Lebanese-American doctor finds cure for Quadriplegia/Roula Mouawad/Annahar/December 18/2019
Impoverished Beirut Neighborhood Becomes Starting Point for Attacks on Protesters/Sanaa el-Jack/Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2019
Lebanon’s Vital Future Battle/Michael Young/Carnegie MEC/December 18/2019
The Lebanese Revolution and the Four Dragons/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2019
Hezbollah, Blood Diamond and the End of an Era/Elizabeth A. Harris/The New York Times/December 18/2019
Lebanese families find feast plans curtailed or canceled this year/TK Maloy and Ghadir Hamadi/Annahar/December 18/2019
Lebanon’s Filipino community prepares for a difficult Christmas/Sunniva Rose/The National/December 18/2019

The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 18-19/2019
Dr. Mohammad Baydoun a Lebanese-American doctor finds cure for Quadriplegia
Roula Mouawad/Annahar/December 18/2019
BEIRUT: Lebanese-American neuro and brain surgeon Dr. Mohammad Baydoun, found a cure for one of the most complex types of paralysis known as Quadriplegic Paralysis, which is a disease that affects thousands of athletes yearly. Dr. Baydoun’s research was conducted over a period of 5 years on 10 patients. The cure functions by a newly developed technological technique, which functions by the extraction of stem cells from the patient’s belly fat and then injecting these into their spinal cord. “The results of our research revealed positive effects on patients. Some patients cured entirely while others saw improvements in some areas of their body,” Dr. Baydoun said. The cure was tested on Chris Parr at Mayo Clinic, who suffered from three years of Quadriplegic Paralysis from his neck to the tips of his toe as a result of a water ski accident. He cured two weeks post-test.
For the surgery to deem effective, Baydoun explained to Annahar that “the spinal cord must be at least a little bit suspended. In the rare cases of complete rupture, patients do not benefit from the cure.”He continued to explain that no patients were harmed during the research. The cure has also shown positive effect on many patients suffering from involuntary urination, defecation, and erection. Dr. Baydoun explained to Annahar that the research is not over yet. The next step includes implementing the method on 40 more patients and the last step includes experimenting technically on a number of patients.
“The research is currently being experimented on patients whose injuries were a result of an accident or strong fall. As for those whose injuries were a result of bullet wounds, for example, these will participate in the coming stages,” Dr. Baydoun explained. “We are using genetic testing, which help us in knowing the condition of each patient more accurately.”
*The article was adapted into English by Chiri Choukeir.

Impoverished Beirut Neighborhood Becomes Starting Point for Attacks on Protesters
Sanaa el-Jack/Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2019
The name of the area al-Khandaq al-Ghameeq near central Beirut has been associated with confrontations with anti-government Lebanese demonstrators who took to the streets on October 17. Their attempts to contain those attacking them from that area were not fruitful, whether through mothers’ marches from neighboring areas, a visit by members of the Tripoli Municipality that emphasized that Lebanese pain is one, or by the protesters’ chants through megaphones against sedition.
Almost one week ago, the Khandaq youth assaults on protesters in central Beirut and their confrontations with the security forces and their use of Molotov, sticks, and stones, dominated the headlines and live coverage, until the events that took place on Tuesday, including burning cars in an attempt to create tensions and force protesters out of Beirut’s squares.
Al-Khandaq al-Ghameeq is located right next to central Beirut and spans from Basta Tahta to Fouad Chehab Bridge, known as Ring. Its buildings carry the marks of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 Civil War and are in apparent contradiction with the fancy buildings next to the financial center.
Mukhtar of Bashoura Mesbah Eido tells Asharq al-Awsat that “al-Khandaq spans 500 meters and ends at the French Hospital that was razed to the ground before the 1975 war started. A real estate company bought it out a while ago but stopped after finding an archaeological area there. Al-Khandaq was a line of contact during the war, ending at the Ring. Inside its neighborhoods, life was normal. A Christian majority and some minorities inhabited the area. The Syriac church is still there under reconstruction, along with Christian properties. This area, however, was invaded by displaced persons during the civil war, who were compensated by the displaced fund and the owners retrieved their properties.”
Al-Khandaq is adjacent to Zaroob al-Haramiye [Thieves Alley] that separated it from Bashoura graveyard, the oldest in Beirut. It is simultaneously famous for comic and horrific stories. Al-Hajj Ali, an elderly from the area, tells Asharq al-Awsat, “These alleys would beat with stories about strong men dominating the entrances to downtown Beirut and would follow leaders’ commands. However, there is a big difference between the movements of the forties and fifties of the last century, where a gallant strong people would help those in need and would protect families, and today’s thugs, hooligans working for their interest or for whoever pays.”
In Eido’s opinion, what is happening from al-Khandaq is “the result of poverty and negligence due to the state’s indifference to the people.”
Mahdi, the owner of a newspaper distribution company, tells Asharq al-Awsat that the protesters’ constant attempts to block the Ring road “harms the people in al-Khandaq as it stops them from entering the area. They have always demanded that the road is blocked from the Ashrafieh side and not theirs, but they were not heard.”
He insists that “people from al-Khandaq are peaceful, but the provocations have gone beyond the limit. Every leader has his group. When social media shows cursing and news of buses from Tripoli and Akkar headed to protect the protesters from al-Khandaq’s residents, motorcycles start gathering, and the young men prepare themselves to defend their rights and dignity.”Mahdi points out that the Sunni families in al-Khandaq are very few, alongside two Christian families predating the civil war.
One of the young men from al-Khandaq does not agree with Mahdi, saying that “the area is Shiite and poor, and the predominant population there is Shiite, mostly unemployed and affiliated with Amal Movement or the Resistance Brigades. However, Hezbollah does not have much dominance there.”
Its young people do not deal with Amal supporters because they are organized and committed to a partisan direction. Amal and the Resistance Brigades assemble, get a call, and mobilize. It’s not important whether they get called by official parties, perhaps they are being mobilized by some fifth column, he says.

Lebanon’s Vital Future Battle
Michael Young/Carnegie MEC/December 18/2019
In contesting the political class, independents must consider the importance of municipal elections.
The uprising in Lebanon has reached a critical stage. Protestors are caught between the euphoria that characterized their demonstrations last October, when people took to the streets, and the need to think about where their movement has to go in the future.
As the country’s financial situation continues to collapse and people lose their jobs, thinking about new forms of dissent and renewal has become a necessity. People are now too preoccupied with the basics of survival to give as much attention to demonstrating, when the priority is to get a government in place that can deal with the international community. But the effort to change Lebanon for the better will not stop, which is why the protest movement has to transform itself into a more lasting challenge to the politicians.
One of the more promising ways it can do so is by focusing on municipal elections, which take place every six years. This was well understood by civil society activists in the last municipal elections of 2016. There are several reasons why engagement in local politics may create valuable openings for those dissatisfied with the status quo.
First of all, municipal councils affect citizens in their everyday life. As the uprising has made clear, the Lebanese revolted largely because they felt that their lives had become an insult, with people paying ever higher prices for deteriorating services. Everything from trash management to green spaces for children to imposing filters on poisonous neighborhood generators are within the remit of municipal councils. If anything can persuade citizens to vote for alternative leaders to their sectarian politicians, it is to offer them the means to dramatically ameliorate their daily surroundings.
Second, municipal councils are not elected on a sectarian basis, even if some cities respect a sectarian balance to ensure that councils are more broadly representative. Why does this matter? Principally, because if councils are less sectarian and are less affected by sectarian considerations, it means, potentially, that they are influenced less by sectarian leaders and parties. More important, because of the limited sectarianism of the councils, sectarian leaders are inclined to view municipal elections as less of a challenge to their communal leadership, giving local councils more latitude to act freely.
Third, and deriving from the second, because municipal elections are not sectarian, they are influenced less by the sectarian impulses among voters. In parliamentary elections, for instance, voters are much more liable to vote on the basis of their sect, regarding their failure to do so as representing a loss for their sectarian community at large. That is why relatively few people voted for civil society candidates in the 2018 parliamentary elections. At the municipal level such considerations have less of an impact, allowing independent candidates to appeal to a wider cross-section of voters.
Fourth, at the municipal level there is often a sense of local solidarity and sense of belonging that make the outcome of elections very unpredictable. The immediacy of the vote and pride in one’s neighborhood, town, or village mean that voters are more likely to be sensitive to personalized messages from candidates looking to persuade them that they can bring improvements to their living conditions. This can cut across party or political loyalties, and if exploited properly can have a major impact on voters’ choices.
The protest movement should begin to prepare for municipal elections in Lebanon’s major cities and towns. Those are the essential targets for 2022. Beirut, Tripoli, Sidon, Tyre, like Nabatiyyeh, Bourj Hammoud, Bint Jbeil, and Zahleh are all places in need of municipal reinforcement or revival. Why the larger areas? Because it is more difficult for the government to starve such places of funds were it to regard independent municipal councils as a threat to the domination of sectarian leaders. Equally important, successful municipal management of larger agglomerations would enhance the credibility of independent figures to manage national institutions when voters have to decide for whom to vote in parliamentary elections.
Elections in 2022 are some time away. Yet this gives independent civil society groups time to prepare the groundwork for municipal elections. Moreover, given these groups’ comparative advantage in understanding realities on the ground and in building networks within society, this time can be well spent. This is particularly true in Beirut, the richest and shadiest of municipalities. Concerned independents can begin organizing now, perhaps by acting as a shadow government in the capital, keeping the current council under persistent and public scrutiny, while meeting with Beirutis and asking them how they would really like to see their city improve.
The battle to reclaim Lebanon will be a long one. The sectarian leaders and their followers will continue to fight to maintain themselves. But with a major financial breakdown looming and the old order transparently bankrupt, now is the time to take advantage of a national mood in the country that is ready to consider more competent leaders who have the population’s interests at heart. It’s best not to challenge the sectarian leaders head on too soon, so that independent forces have the space to organize and build up a support base. That is why a major focus down the road should be on municipal elections, where the Lebanese can exploit the vitality of the local.

The Lebanese Revolution and the Four Dragons
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/December 18/2019
Lebanon’s streets have witnessed unprecedented violence over the past few nights. Some observers and activists expected this scene to be repeated and repression to increase, before and after the nomination of a prime minister, and even in isolation of it.
If it is true that we are still very far from the Iraqi numbers, all hope is that we will not get close to them. The extent of intransigence facing the revolution’s complex and thorny attempt is not simple.
It is enough to enumerate the four main enemies, which, on October 17, the Lebanese men and women chose to unite against and challenge their hegemony.
First, we find the “neo-liberal” economy, which is represented today by the bank.
The latter, which is robbing public money through activities that are further fueled by the interference of the political group and the banking community, is now looting individuals, one by one, with no barriers whatsoever.
However, the bank is not a marginal detail in the composition of the Lebanese economy. Lebanon has lived for a long time, and in the eyes of many, as a great bank for which Michel Shiha composed ideas, just as the Rahbani brothers composed songs.
The centralization of the bank has practically developed in the past thirty years. Its economic weight has increased, so did its recognition in the prevailing policy and convictions. The bank’s challenge in its current form involves reconsidering the structure of the Lebanese pillaging of the economy itself, and its operation methods.
Here – unlike the many contradictions among the ruling group – we find pure unity against the “neo-liberal” system.
The second dragon is sectarianism. It is the conscience of the country and the pillar of its ideology, since 1860, in the Moutassarifiah of Mount Lebanon and as of 1920, with the establishment of Greater Lebanon.
But sectarianism is not just a conscience. Without it, politics and national economy cannot be understood. Without it, one cannot explain the country’s many wars and little peace. Many intellectuals – the most prominent of whom is Kamal Youssef al-Hajj – have praised its virtues and blessings.
Today, for the first time since 1860, we are witnessing the greatest separation between confessionalism and the people. The system of “misinformation” that prevailed due to the power of sectarianism is no longer operational.
Third, there is Hezbollah, which represents a poisoned extension of the sectarian composition: After many experiences in using minimal violence to improve a sectarian position with the “national coexistence”, the “party” showed its ability to use maximum violence to subdue this “coexistence.” Its foreign relations were an extension to the policies of a certain sect. Today, its national policy merged with the Iranian foreign project in an inextricably tight manner…Hezbollah nowadays represents the sword of sectarianism.
In 2005, when most Lebanese accused Syria’s Bashar al-Assad of assassinating ex-PM Rafik Hariri, that party (which was not accused at the time) prevented the completion of the unity of the Lebanese position.
Now the same thing is happening again. The party is preventing a large sect from joining the revolution, while granting the dilapidated ruling authority a power that it does not possess.
In the fourth place, there is the climate of counter-revolution in the Arab world. This climate is the most poisonous in Syria, blowing its winds on Lebanon, and against the Lebanese revolution.
What Beirut is experiencing today says that Bashar Assad has not accomplished his mission yet.
Here lies one of the sources of hatred that Assad’s supporters rely on in their hostility to the Lebanese revolution. They fear that the gains they made through Iranian and Russian support on Syrian soil, would be lost in Baghdad and Beirut.
The four dragons that are being targeted by the Lebanon revolution underline the difficult and heroic task. This explains how the ruling parties seek to expand coordination and integration among them, starting with the tight security control witnessed over the past few days.
Perhaps the current revolution will be defeated. But what is certain is that fighting the four dragons will be a long-term task, which one generation will pass to another.

Hezbollah, Blood Diamond and the End of an Era
Elizabeth A. Harris/The New York Times/December 18/2019
The sanctions emitted by the treasury department on the blood diamond converted art dealer Nazem Said Ahmad are part of a systematic policy targeting the money laundering mechanisms mounted by the Hezbollah around the globe. This US policy, far from being a novelty connected to the Trump administration crackdown on Hezbollah’s financial networks, goes back to two decades of tracking, pinpointing and sanctioning policies set by the successive administration ( Barbara Newman, Tom Diaz, Lightening out of Lebanon, Presidio Press 2005, Matthew Levitt, Hezbollah, the Global Footprints of Lebanon’s Party of God, Georgetown University Press, 2013,…. ). The determination on pursuing and dismantling the global underground economy of the Hezbollah, means that the ectoplasmic growth of an illegal and subversion geared economic and financial networks is unlikely to be overlooked and tolerated by the US and Western democracies. Hezbollah is confronted with the thresholds of an overstretched subversion strategy operating on the interstices of a global financial system based on illegal transactions, laundered financial proceeds, and an interlocked network of illegal operators. The system is thoroughly scanned and its reticular nodes are well identified and the battle to break it down is engaged. The attempt of Hezbollah at engulfing Lebanon and transforming it into an appendage to an overall subversion strategy, compares to the strive of al Qaida to remodel Sudan and Afghanistan into platforms of global terror. This is unlikely to happen, for multiple considerations, which owe to Lebanon’s multicultural societal texture, cosmopolitan openness and Western Democratic proclivities, in other words, Lebanon is not a landlocked wasteland located on the crossroads between South and Central Asia.
The spirited civic rebellion in Lebanon is the concrete rebuttal of Hezbollah’s ideological claims, and the antithetical model to what it is trying to promote, and its ability to smother the libertarian cultural and political ambit and impose his ideological script are nought. Therefore, it has to re-examine its political predicates, overall political strategy, normalize and join the chorus of political accommodation mandated by a consociational and liberal democracy. The ventures of economic and political brinkmanship, and the eccentricities of a delusional political wasteland should be reconsidered, unless Hezbollah is adamant about adopting a suicidal political course. The intricate enmeshing with the Shiite communitarian tapestry in Lebanon and abroad elicits a configuration of unintended consequences that are already weighing on its different workings, civic statuses and fortunes of its members. Different Shiite communities, in Lebanon and worldwide, should carefully consider the impact and hazards of political ghettoization, economic delinquency and subversion politics and their global geopolitical mapping, caveat emptor.

Lebanese families find feast plans curtailed or canceled this year
TK Maloy and Ghadir Hamadi/Annahar/December 18/2019
In related economic news affecting holiday moods, 60 companies have filed with the Ministry of Labor plans to close and were filing formal notice in order to pay approved wages and indemnities.
BEIRUT: Most often held at home, with grandma and grandpa presiding over an extended family, there is a sumptuous table set with mesa, tabouli, lubia, tawouk, sea bass, turkey, filet, and then the cake which can often defy description with their varied flavors — from almond, to vanilla, chocolate and more — and all super for leftover’s.
By many accounts of those families interviewed, this year – like last year – is one of belt-tightening, but even more so.
“Oh yes, have the family, just not so many cousins or couples, it’s not a lack of generosity, it’s a lack of funds,” said one shopper at a well-known delicatessen. “Every year, my family and I would hold a dinner party for our extended family,” Sami Rahhal, a taxi driver told Annahar. However, this year the family has decided to cancel its annual dinner, and turn it into a casual gathering with coffee and light snacks.
Tahani Osman, a mother of three children who are now working in the Gulf, said that she would be flying to Dubai, where she and her kids would meet up. “We won’t be going out or spending ridiculous sums of money, like we had previously done, on fine dines and extravagant New Years’ parties. This year, we’ll enjoy each other’s company, with traditional home-made food at home,” Osman told Annahar.
Others have decided to not let the circumstances that the country is going through stop them from partying all night on New Years’.
“I won’t cancel my New Year plans simply because Lebanon is going through a rough phase,” Makram Bark told Annahar. “Lebanon was never in a good place, just look at our history, so we might as well make the most out of the last night in this year,” he added.
The spirit of giving marks off the holiday season and some have decided to spend their holidays doing something truly altruistic.
“After I received a salary cut of over 50%, I can finally say that I understand the fear of not knowing what tomorrow might bring,” school teacher Nadia Maarouf said. After this rough year, Maarouf decided that there’s no better way to spend her holiday than volunteering at an orphanage, and “drawing a smile on the face of those in need, and whose life was already hard before the economic crisis had worsened,” she noted.
As for those families, opting to go out and leave the cooking and cleaning to other hands – never a bad idea, there are many fewer options for eating this year.
According to the Syndicate of Owners and Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafes, Night-Clubs, and Pastry Shops approximately 265 restaurants have closed in the past two months in Lebanon, and by the end of the year, another 200 are expected to shut down for a total of 466 eateries having gone out of business in Lebanon as 2019, based on the economic situation.
In a previous statement issued prior to the start of the October 17 Revolution, the Syndicate had warned that the increased taxes along with the chaotic social, economic, and environmental conditions, were all affecting purchasing power.
The statement added that owners typically await the upcoming festive season to increase their profit margins, but so far the situation seems to be getting worse.
The syndicate encouraged the political ruling class to “be responsible” and form a government capable of improving living conditions and the economic situation for all.
The statement added that owners typically await the upcoming festive season to increase their profit margins, but so far the situation seems to be getting worse, encouraging the political ruling class to “be responsible” and form a government that would improve living conditions throughout Lebanon.
In related economic news affecting holiday moods, 60 companies have filed with the Ministry of Labor plans to close and were filing formal notice in order to pay approved wages and indemnities.
Tony Haddad, an engineer working for half wage, said that his family might be broke by New Year, but every holiday season, the entire Diaspora clan comes home to Lebanon from Saudi, Dubai, America, Canada, and France – and there’s no way not to throw a big feed for the entire family from new babies to Jeddos and Tetas, and with that much help, there will be lots of good eats on the table.
He left the supermarket carrying a Butterball Turkey over one shoulder and bags of chestnuts, aubergines, and several bottles of arrack all stuffed in an old knapsack over the other shoulder.
Striding down the avenue, he began to whistle loudly “Jingle bells” bringing smiles from everyone nearby, which seem to mean so much more, given that times were so much tighter this year.

Lebanon’s Filipino community prepares for a difficult Christmas
Sunniva Rose/The National/December 18/2019
Salaries of Filipino workers have dropped sharply in value with the Lebanese crisis, forcing many to leave
Singing in Filipino to the strumming of two guitars, the voice of over a hundred women rose softly in St Joseph’s church in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
The singing gave in to laughter as the priest, during his homily, told his congregation the story of St Joseph’s annunciation with punchlines that included a quote from American popstar Beyoncé’s song “Listen”.
The Filipino Catholic tradition of Simbang Gabi, or the celebration of an early morning mass for nine consecutive days before Christmas, was revived in Lebanon in 2017 with the arrival of Father Henry Ponce, the first Jesuit Filipino priest to officiate in the small Mediterranean country.
It brings comfort to Filipino women who work as domestic workers in difficult conditions that have recently worsened as Lebanon struggles with its worst economic crisis since the end of the civil war in 1990.
“I did not expect that people would come to church in higher numbers than last year considering the current circumstances,” Father Ponce told The National. “But I speak their language. They feel connected.”
Since the summer, Lebanon has faced a liquidity and imports shortage. The economic crisis pushed the Lebanese to the streets in protest on October 17, but the political class remains paralysed, with no government since late October.
Migrant workers, including Filipinos, have been hit particularly hard by the crisis.
In addition to losing their jobs or being asked to work part time, it has become increasingly difficult for them to send their salaries to the Philippines.
Most of them are the main breadwinners of their families, sending at least half, if not all, of their income back home.
As Lebanese Pounds are worthless outside of the country, the money transfer has to remain in US dollars despite employers being forced to pay salaries in the local currency since banks restricted access to dollars in early November.
Several Filipino domestic workers said that money transfer companies have imposed a $300 dollar monthly cap, in addition to demanding that fees – between $5 and $10 dollars – be paid in dollars as well.
In parallel, the switch to Lebanese Pounds has caused salaries all over the country to lose around 30 per cent of their value as the price of the dollar has shot up on the black market, where it is traded on average for 2,000 Lebanese Pounds.
The situation is unprecedented since the Lebanese Pound was pegged to the dollar in 1997 at an exchange rate of 1,507.5 Lebanese Pounds to the dollar. The peg is still officially in place.
For many Filipinos, the struggle is not worth it anymore.
Minda Mendez, 38, took advantage of her embassy’s offer earlier this month to cover repatriation costs for its citizens, including the plane ticket and penalties incurred for overstaying their visas.
This was the first time that the embassy made such a move since the 2006 war between Lebanese Iran-backed group Hezbollah and Israel, the Filipino ambassador, Bernaditat Catalia, told The National. She said she expected around 1,500 people to benefit from the programme. A first group of Filipinos should leave before Christmas.
“I feel happy. I can take my first real holiday in 10 years,” said Mrs Mendez, who is set to travel in February 2020, as she shared with dozens of other women a bowl of Filipino noodles and cake at St Joseph Church after Simbang Gabi mass.
Without the embassy’s help, Mrs Mendez would have had to cough up a penalty of $200, which is nearly equivalent to an entire month’s wage, before leaving the country. Her employer did not renew her residency permit last year.
Labour conditions in Lebanon are so poor that the Philippines banned its citizens from working there in 2007, but this did not deter women like Mrs Mendez. Salaries in Lebanon are comparatively higher.
Mrs Mendez arrived in 2009 via Thailand and Bahrain with the help of an illegal recruitment agency in the Philippines which coordinated with another agency in Lebanon.
There are 34,000 Filipinos in Lebanon, the fourth biggest migrant community behind Ethiopians, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans.
The Filipino embassy is the only one that has set up a free repatriation programme. The Bangladeshi embassy told The National in an email that Lebanon’s General Security, which deals with immigration issues, gave permission to its citizens who do not have a valid residency permit to go home after paying a one-year penalty only, or $200. For Filipino women who have been abused by their employers, free repatriation represents a lifeline.
As she filled out the necessary forms at the Filipino embassy on December 9, Renaline Andres de la Cruz, 36, could barely hide her tears of relief.
When she arrived in 2006, her first employer physically abused her and did not legalise her situation with the Lebanese authorities. After she died, Mrs de la Cruz worked illegally for several years.
“Really, I’m a good person, but my employer left me,” she repeated. “At least now I can rest. My sisters have graduated from college in the Philippines. I will have no more problems and will open a simple business.”
Under Lebanon’s Kafala system, migrant workers do not have labour rights.
“With the crisis, their situation is even worse. They have very little legal recourse if they are not paid or if their wages are reduced and can only change employer twice, which is very difficult because they need their consent,” said Zeina Ammar, advocacy and communications manager at the anti-racism movement, a Lebanese grassroots collective which collaborates with migrant workers.
But going home is not as easy as it sounds. “They have to do a cost benefit analysis. Either go back home where the situation was bad enough to push them to leave in the first place or stay here and suffer from the financial situation which will only get worse,” said Mrs Ammar.
Father Ponce told The National that many Filipinos also feel ashamed to return home empty-handed after having supported their families for years.
“When you start sending dollars, people in the Philippines think you have made a lot of money. But it’s really not that easy, especially for those who have been victimised by human trafficking,” he said.
Some, like Mrs Mendez, are travelling back to the Philippines only to start searching for a job in another country once again.
She needs to continue supporting her parents and her son, now 13 years old. In ten years, she has only seen him in person once. The rest of the time, they speak through Facebook.
As per Filipino tradition, every person that attends the nine masses of the Simbang Gabi can make a wish. When Father Ponce asked Mrs Mendez what she wished for, her answer was simple: “something good for my family.”

The post A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 18- 19/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 63th Day appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة للمؤسسات اللبنانية الكندية باللغة العربية ليوم 19 كانون الأول/2019

اضغط هنا لقراءة نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة المفصلة، اللبنانية والعربية ليوم 19 كانون الأول/2019

ارشيف نشرات أخبار موقعنا اليومية/عربية وانكليزية منذ العام 2006/اضغط هنا لدخول صفحة الأرشيف

عناوين أقسام نشرة المنسقية باللغة العربية
الزوادة الإيمانية لليوم
تعليقات الياس بجاني وخلفياتها
الأخبار اللبنانية
المتفرقات اللبنانية
الأخبار الإقليمية والدولية
المقالات والتعليقات والتحاليل السياسية الشاملة
المؤتمرات والندوات والبيانات والمقابلات والمناسبات الخاصة والردود وغيره

The post نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة للمؤسسات اللبنانية الكندية باللغة العربية ليوم 19 كانون الأول/2019 appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

قُولُوا لِلْمَدعُوِّين: هَا أَنَا قَدْ أَعْدَدْتُ ولِيمَتِي، وذَبَحْتُ ثِيرَانِي ومُسَمَّنَاتِي، وكُلُّ شَيءٍ مُعَدّ
إنجيل القدّيس متّى22/م01حتى14/:”قالَ الربُّ يَسُوعُ أَيْضًا بِالأَمْثَالِ: «يُشْبِهُ مَلَكُوتُ السَّمَاوَاتِ مَلِكًا أَقَامَ عُرْسًا لٱبْنِهِ. وأَرْسَلَ عَبِيْدَهُ لِيَدْعُوا المَدْعُوِّينَ إِلى العُرْس، فَرَفَضُوا أَنْ يَأْتُوا. وعَادَ فَأَرْسَلَ عَبِيدًا آخَرِين، قَائِلاً: قُولُوا لِلْمَدعُوِّين: هَا أَنَا قَدْ أَعْدَدْتُ ولِيمَتِي، وذَبَحْتُ ثِيرَانِي ومُسَمَّنَاتِي، وكُلُّ شَيءٍ مُعَدّ. تَعَالَوا إِلى العُرْس. ولكِنَّ المَدْعُوِّينَ لَمْ يَكْتَرِثُوا، فَمَضَوا وَاحِدٌ إِلى حَقْلِهِ وآخَرُ إِلى تِجَارَتِهِ. والبَاقُونَ قَبَضُوا عَلى عَبِيدِ المَلِكِ فَأَهَانُوهُم وقَتَلُوهُم. فَغَضِبَ المَلِكُ وأَرْسَلَ جُنُودَهُ فَأَهْلَكَ أُولئِكَ القَتَلَة، وأَحْرَقَ مَدِينَتَهُم. حِينَئِذٍ قَالَ لِعَبِيدِهِ: أَلْعُرسُ مُعَدٌّ، ولكِنَّ المَدْعُوِّينَ مَا كَانُوا لَهُ أَهلاً. فَٱذْهَبُوا إِلى مَفَارِقِ الطُّرُق، وَٱدْعُوا إِلى العُرْسِ كُلَّ مَنْ تَجِدُونَهُ. وَخَرَجَ أُولئِكَ العَبِيْدُ إِلى الطُّرُقِ فَجَمَعُوا كُلَّ مَنْ وَجَدُوا مِنْ أَشْرَارٍ وصَالِحِيْن، فَٱمْتَلأَتْ قَاعَةُ العُرْسِ بِالمُتَّكِئِيْن. ودَخَلَ المَلِكُ لِيَنْظُرَ المُتَّكِئِيْنَ فَرَأَى رَجُلاً لا يَلْبَسُ حُلَّةَ العُرْس. فقَالَ لَهُ: يَا صَاحِب، كَيْفَ دَخَلْتَ إِلى هُنَا ولَيْسَ عَلَيْكَ حُلَّةُ العُرْس؟ فَظَلَّ صَامِتًا. حِينَئِذٍ قَالَ المَلِكُ لِلْخُدَّام: أُرْبُطُوا رِجْلَيهِ ويَدَيْه، وأَخْرِجُوهُ إِلى الظُّلْمَةِ البَرَّانِيَّة. هُنَاكَ يَكُونُ البُكَاءُ وصَرِيفُ الأَسْنَان؛ لأَنَّ المَدْعُوِّينَ كَثِيرُون، أَمَّا المُخْتَارُونَ فقَلِيلُون.»

Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 22/01-14/:”Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. ‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”For many are called, but few are chosen.”.

يا إِخوَتِي، لَسْتُ أَكْتُبُ إِلَيْكُم لأُخْجِلَكُم، بَلْ لأَنْصَحَكُم كأَوْلادِي الأَحِبَّاء
رسالة القدّيس بولس الأولى إلى أهل قورنتس04/من14حتى21/:”يا إِخوَتِي، لَسْتُ أَكْتُبُ إِلَيْكُم لأُخْجِلَكُم، بَلْ لأَنْصَحَكُم كأَوْلادِي الأَحِبَّاء! ولَو كَانَ لَكُم عَشَرَاتُ الآلافِ مِنَ المُرَبِّينَ في المَسِيح، فَلَيْسَ لَكُم آبَاءٌ كَثِيرُون، لأَنِّي أَنَا ولَدْتُكُم بِبِشَارَةِ الإِنْجِيلِ في المَسِيحِ يَسُوع. أُنَاشِدُكُم إِذًا أَنْ تَقْتَدُوا بي. كَذَلِكَ أَرْسَلْتُ إِلَيْكُم طِيمُوتَاوُس، وهوَ لي وَلَدٌ حَبِيبٌ وأَمِينٌ في الرَّب، لِيُذَكِّرَكُم بِطُرُقِي في المَسِيحِ يَسُوع، كَمَا أُعَلِّمُ في كُلِّ مَكَان، في كُلِّ كَنيسَة. لَقَدْ ظَنَّ بَعْضُكُم أَنِّي لَنْ آتِيَ إِلَيْكُم، فَٱنْتَفَخُوا مِنَ الكِبْرِيَاء. لكِنِّي سَآتِي إِلَيْكُم عَاجِلاً، إِنْ شَاءَ الرَّبّ، فأَعْرِفُ لا كَلامَ أُولئِكَ المُنْتَفِخِينَ بَلْ قُوَّتَهُم؛ لأَنَّ مَلَكُوتَ اللهِ لَيْسَ بالكَلاَمِ بَل بِالقُوَّة.
مَاذَا تُرِيدُون؟ أَنْ آتِيَكُم بالعَصَا، أَمْ بالمَحَبَّةِ ورُوحِ الوَدَاعَة؟”.

I am not writing this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children
First Letter to the Corinthians 04/14-21/:”I am not writing this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. I appeal to you, then, be imitators of me. For this reason I sent you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ Jesus, as I teach them everywhere in every church. But some of you, thinking that I am not coming to you, have become arrogant. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.
For the kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power. What would you prefer? Am I to come to you with a stick, or with love in a spirit of gentleness.”

N.B: Picture enclosed is for a destryed Church in Syria by ISIS/ملاحظة: الصورة المرفقة هي لكنيسة دمرها داعش في سوريا

The post I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered/قُولُوا لِلْمَدعُوِّين: هَا أَنَا قَدْ أَعْدَدْتُ ولِيمَتِي، وذَبَحْتُ ثِيرَانِي ومُسَمَّنَاتِي، وكُلُّ شَيءٍ مُعَدّ appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

إنجازاتُ الثورةِ في الشخصيّةِ اللبنانيّة
سجعان قزي/جريدةُ النهار 19 كانون الأوّل 2019

أن نؤيِّدَ الثورةَ لا يعني أن نَتبنّى جميعَ الثوّارِ وقد تَبعثَروا، ومصيرَ الثورةِ وقد تَـعـثَّر، بل أن نَفرحَ بتحوُّلٍ اجتماعيٍّ تاريخيٍّ ولو انقَسَمنا حولَ عفويّتِه أو تَبعيّتِه.

الأسماكُ لا تَعرِف أنّها تعيشُ في البحر، والبحرُ لا يعَرفُ أنّه مَقـرُّ الأسماك، لكنَّ البَحّارَ يَعرِفُ البحرَ والأسماك. الرياحُ لا تَدري أنّها تُحرِّكُ الأمواج، والأمواجُ لا تَدري أنَّ الرياحَ تُحرِّكُها، لكنَّ الفَلكيَّ يَدري ذلك.
حين تَثورُ الشعوبُ لا تَسألوا عَـمَّنْ يَدعمُها؟ ادْعَموها. ولا تَسألوا عَـمَّن وراءَها؟ كونوا وراءَها.

دَورُ الثوّارِ أن يَثوروا ودَورُ الشعبِ أن يَعشَقَهم، فكيف والشعبُ هو الثوّار، والثوّارُ هم الشعب؟ لا تَبحثوا عن معنى الثورةِ، اكْـتَـفُوا بقوّتِها. لا تَبحثوا عن شرعيّتِها، اكْـتَـفُوا بمشروعيّتِها. لا تَبحثوا عن مصدرِها، اكـتَـفُوا بمستقبلِها. لا تخافوا فَوضاها الآنيّةَ، فالفوضى جِسرُ العبورِ إلى الانتظام. الثورةُ لا تَطرحُ أسئلةً ولا تُعطي أجوبةً، الثورةُ تَطرحُ قضيّةً وتعطي روحًا. لا تُـحدّدوها في قوالبَ كالحَراكِ والاحتجاجِ والانتفاضة. الثورةُ فائضُ غَضَب.

اكتشَف شعبُ الثورةِ أنَّ طبقةً حاكمةً منذ ثلاثين سنةً تَمضي في إجلائِه عن أرضِه لتستوليَ وحدَها على الميراثِ وتُبدِّدَ التُراث، فاسْتَـبَـقها قُبيلَ ساعةِ الصِفر، وقام بــ”انقلابٍ مُضادّ” من دونِ “بَلاغ رقم واحد”. حَسَم الأمرَ وانتقل إلى “إدارةٍ ذاتيّةٍ” لمصيرِه. الشعبُ اللبنانيُّ، الخائفُ على مصيرِه، ذَهبَ إلى ما هو أبعدُ من وطن: إلى الوجودِ الثابتِ. صحيح أنَّ لدينا كيانًا ووطنًا ودولةً، لكن لم يَعُد لدينا، منذُ نِصفِ قرنٍ، وجودٌ مضمونٌ. لذلك، هذه الثورةُ هي أكثرُ من فعلِ إيمانٍ بوطنٍ: هي فعلُ تثبيتِ وجودِ شعب. أَيَعي الثوّارُ هذا البُعد؟

نجحت الثورةُ منذ يومِها الأوّل في تحقيقِ تحوُّلَين ذاتيَّين يَفوقان كلَّ انتصاراتٍ لاحقة. الأوّل: أَعادَت إلينا الحياة. كان الشعبُ اللبنانيُّ ضالًا فوُجِدَ وميتًا فعاش. أحْيت نَبضَه وقوَّت عَضَلَ قلبِه فسَرى الدمُ في عروقِه مجدَّدًا. كان الشعبُ في حالةِ قَرفٍ بلغت شفيرَ اليأسِ من مصيرِ لبنان. كان شعارُه: “عبثًا… لا نَستطيعُ عملَ شيءٍ”، فحرَّرَته الثورةُ من إحباطِه وانهزاميّتِه ولامبالاتِه، من الموتِ البطيء، وصار شعارُه اليوم: “قادرون على عملِ كلِّ شيءٍ”.

كَسَرت الثورةُ عادةَ الشعبِ الانصياعَ للأمرِ الواقع والتسليمَ به. وحبّذا لو يُترجَمُ هذا التحوّلُ النفسانيُّ في صناديقِ الاقتراع. هذا الإنجازُ هو لنا جميعًا مهما كانت مواقعُنا السياسيّةُ وانتماءاتُنا الطائفيّة. وهو إنجازٌ للدولةِ قبل أن يكونَ للثورة، إذ ما نفعُ دولةٍ تَحكمُ مجتمعًا خامِلًا وشعبًا منهارًا؟ التحوّلُ الثاني الذي أَحدَثَته الثورةُ في الشخصيّةِ اللبنانيّةِ هو: قُدرةُ جيلٍ لبنانيٍّ جديدٍ على خلقِ موادَّ نضاليّةٍ اجتماعيّةٍ جامعةٍ، فيما القضايا الوطنيّةُ كانت تُحرّكُ فقط مشاعرَ الشعبِ اللبنانيّ وتُقسِّمُه طَوالَ المئةِ سنةٍ المنصَرِمة وتَدفعُه حتّى الاستشهاد.

هذا التحوّلُ سيَطبعُ حتمًا الممارسةَ الديمقراطيّةَ في لبنان بعد انتظامِ الحياةِ العامّةِ، فيَخضَعُ التغييرُ والإصلاحُ للمفهومِ السلميِّ بعدما كان يَخضعُ لمفهومِ العنف. بتعبيرٍ آخَر: يَنتقلُ لبنانُ من النظامِ الديمقراطيِّ إلى الممارسةِ الديمقراطيّة.

لقد نجح جيلٌ، متعدّدُ الانتماءاتِ والهويّاتِ والثقافاتِ والفئات، في الاندماجِ الوِجدانيِّ وتوحيدِ أولويّات الحياةِ اليوميّة. تَعرّفَ اللبنانيّون أخيرًا على بعضِهم البعض ونَسجوا وِحدةَ مصيرٍ مجتمعيّة ووجوديّة. تَحاور الناسُ. وحوارُ الناسِ مختلِفٌ عن حوارِ الساسة. الأوّلُ حوارٌ، بينما الآخرُ حوارُ طرشان. وخِلافًا لما نَظنُّ، إنّ الطلّابَ في الشارعِ لا يُفوِّتون عليهم دروسًا، إنهم يُعطون دروسًا. ودروسُ الثورةِ إجازةٌ عليا في الوطنيّةِ.

كان الحوارُ مقطوعًا: في الدولةِ تَغلُب المناوراتُ، في البيتِ يُهيمنُ التلفزيون، في المدرسةِ تُسيطر الدروس، في الجامعاتِ يغيبُ النقاشُ الطُلّابيّ، وفي المقاهي تَصخَبُ الموسيقى، وفي كل مكانٍ يأسِرُنا التواصلُ الاجتماعيُّ. مع افتقادِ مربّعات الحوار، الشارعُ صار مساحةَ الحوار. صار هو البيتَ والمدرسةَ والجامعةَ والأحزابَ ومجلِسَ النوّابِ ومجلسَ الوزراء. لم يَعد الشارعُ عنوانَ الباحثين عن مأوى، بل الباحثين عن مستقبل.

ها هو شعبُ لبنان ـــ العظيمُ حقًّا ـــ يَتحدّى ويواجِه ويقاوم من أجلِ مجتمعٍ أكثرَ منه من أجل وطن. خريطتُه رسالةٌ نصيّةٌ على هاتفِه تُحدِّدُ له إحداثيّاتِ الهدف، وسلاحُه هاتفُ جَيبٍ مكانَ “الكْلاشين”. وأصلًا، ما سَقط لبنانُ الوطن إلا مع انحطاطِ المجتمعِ اللبنانيِّ منذ بدايةِ تسعيناتِ القرنِ الماضي، بينما تمكّنَ الوطنُ اللبنانيُّ من الصمودِ في سبعيناتِه وأوائلِ ثمانيناتِه لأنَّ المجتمعَ اللبنانيَّ كان حيًّا ونَهضويًّا.

هذا التغييرُ النفسانيُّ الثنائي في بنيةِ الشخصيّةِ اللبنانيّة يَفوقُ التغييرَ السياسيَّ، لأنَّ كلَّ تغييرٍ سياسيٍّ يسقُطُ لاحقًا دونَ هذه البنية. فالأوطانُ والأممُ تُبنى على مجتمعاتٍ وليس العكس. ألم يشَهَد لبنان عبرَ تاريخِه الحديثِ تَغييراتٍ سياسيّةً ودستوريّةً عدّةً، وقُصِفت في رَيعانِ شبابِها لأنها افتقَدت مناعةَ التغييرِ النفسانيِّ والاجتماعيّ؟

يبقى أن يَتجذّرَ هذا التغييرُ في شخصيّةِ الجيلِ الجديدِ، وأن يَمتدَّ إلى مختلَفِ الفئاتِ العُمرّيةِ والبيئاتِ المناطقيّة، وأن يَتحوّلَ حالةً مجتمعيّةً وطنيّة. فاستمراريّةُ هذا التحوّلِ النفسانيِّ تَكمُن في التحامِها بالموقفِ الوطنيِّ، إذ لا تستطيعُ ألـــ”لاسياسةُ” بناءَ دولةٍ هي بتحديدِها تجسيدُ عِلمِ السياسة.

نحن اللبنانيّين، صَرَفنا مئةَ سنةٍ في استخراجِ نقاطِ الخلافِ على قوميّاتِنا وأَهْملنا نقاطَ التقائِنا على الحياةِ المشترَكة. ظنّنا أنَّنا، ما لم نكن جميعًا فينيقيّين أو كنعانيّين أو عربًا، يستحيلُ أن نكون شعبًا لبنانيًّا متَّحِدًا، وأن نحيا معًا وأن نبنيَ دولةً قويّةً وحضاريّة، في حين أنَّ تعدديّةَ المنشَأِ تؤسِّسُ وطنًا متَّحِدًا بعيدًا عن الأحَديّةِ القوميّةِ والدينيّةِ والثقافيّة. إنَّ الاعترافَ بالتعدديّةِ الحضاريّةِ هو إقرارٌ بالاختلافِ لا بالخلاف.

وخلافَ ما نظنُّ، إنَّ الخلافَ السياسيَّ هو الذي أَجّجَ حربَ القوميّاتِ وصراعَ الطوائف بين اللبنانيّين وليس العكس. اليومَ، يَهربُ الجيلُ الجديدُ من القضايا الوطنيّةِ التي قسَّمت الأجيالَ السابقةَ إلى المعاناةِ الاجتماعيّةِ التي توحّدُه. نجحت الثورةُ في تغييرِ المجتمعِ، لكنّها لم تُغيّر الدولةَ بَعد. لا أستخِفُّ بالمسافةِ التي اجْتزناها نحو اتّحادِنا في المعاناة، لكنَّ ما يَنقُصنا بَعد هو توطينُ ولائِنا للبنانَ فقط.

The post سجعان قزي: إنجازاتُ الثورةِ في الشخصيّةِ اللبنانيّة appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.