Lebanon’s President, Michel Sleiman, has kicked off a week-long state trip to Australia, stopping in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

Apart from boosting bilateral relations between Lebanon and Australia, the President also aims to strengthen social ties between the expat community in Australia and the motherland – including encouraging the diaspora to vote in Lebanon’s 2013 Parliamentary elections.

In 2008, the Lebanese parliament passed legislation permitting expats to vote in the country’s elections. If their name appears on the electoral roll, expats can vote at the Lebanese embassy or consulate in their current country of residency.

Since then, a mere 10,000 Australian-Lebanese have registered to vote at the Lebanese embassy. Hence, President Sleiman’s visit can be considered a ‘get out the vote’ tour of Australia.

Due to logistical difficulties, the law was not implemented in time for the 2009 elections. The consequences of this were interesting, to say the least: 11,000 Australian-Lebanese flew to Lebanon and voted there.

The 2009 election was held in June, coinciding with the country’s peak holiday season, where expats fly in from Australia, the US, Canada and Brazil to see their families and soak up the gorgeous Lebanese summer.

In exchange for their vote, returning expats who were eligible to vote had their airfares paid by political parties such as the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM).

Bribery? Sounds like it.

In a 2009 article, one Lebanese expat living in Kuwait, Samira, told The National:

“I got this phone call telling me they will pay my ticket if I come and vote. I said ‘Yes, why not?’ I’m happy I got to come and see my family and friends and spend some time with them. It’s summer in Beirut, so I will go to the beach as well.”

“I will do the voting process as I promised, since they paid for my ticket”.

Should the Lebanese diaspora have a right to participate in the country’s elections?

Since expats no longer live in Lebanon, they are not directly impacted by political outcomes. Why actively participate in the political process of a country in which you do not pay taxes nor are obliged to abide by its laws?

However, those in favour of diaspora voting in Lebanon point out that the expat community is a source of economic activity for the country, and thus deserve voting rights. The money sent by expats to their families in Lebanon comprises over one-fifth of the country’s GDP.

Liban 2013, a non-profit activist group relating to the Lebanese-Canadian community, argue the election law prevents political parties from ‘buying votes’ of the expat community, since voters no longer need to hop on a plane (for free) to vote.

So, tell me what you think: is diaspora voting for Lebanese expats a good idea?

Change and Reform bloc member MP Michel al-Helou revealed on Tuesday that the bloc has decided to form a committee to study the Shura Council’s rejection of the government’s wage hike decree.

He said after the bloc’s weekly meeting: “Our initial assessment has determined that the Shura Council’s decision has legal flaws.”

“I would like to point out that the Council’s decision is not binding to the government,” he stressed.

The Shura Council had rejected on Tuesday the government’s wage hike decree, which is based on Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas’ proposals on the matter.

The Change and Reform bloc meeting also addressed former Prime Minister Fouad Saniora’s “financial violations” during his tenure as finance minister.

Helou said: “The parliament should take a position from this matter and Saniora should be held accountable for his violations.”

“He should be tried before the supreme council for the trial of presidents and ministers,” added the MP.

Al-Akhbar newspaper had published a report on December 20 accusing Saniora of committing financial violations in the national lottery in 1996, “which consequently led to the squandering of LL5 billion from the state treasury.”

The former premier has committed a criminal offense and Audit Bureau should have seized his possessions because he stole public funds, explained Helou.

Furthermore, he said that the bloc is considering requesting the withdrawal of Saniora’s political immunity.

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The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

Exclusive – Al-Manar
Graphics By Alex

Jalil Refugee Camp is located about 90 km east of Beirut near Baalbek in the Bekaa valley and is home to approximately 8000 of the World’s most destitute Palestinian refugees. It is usually referred to as “Wavell Camp”, after the British Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell’s time at the former French military base during World War II.

French built the base in order to secure part of their vast chunk of territory following the secret May 16, 1915 Sykes-Picot Arab land grab that divided parts of South Western Asia territory previously administered by the Ottoman Turks between England and France. The hegemony included illegally carving the State of Lebanon from Syria, during the League of Nations Mandate era and Jilil camp has been housing Palestinians since 1948. Today, the inhabitants live in particularly unhealthy conditions with some families still living in the original French army barracks and horse stables without daylight and ventilation and several families forced to share communal toilets which sometimes freeze up in the Bekaa’s frigid winters.

When this observer visited the camp last week with a colleague from the Palestine Civil Rights Campaign to discuss the possibility of an American ex-pat Palestinian building a factory near the camp that could employ 400 Palestinians, I was initially surprised by what I saw written on the Kastall Secondary School blackboard. I presumed a teacher had written the words, “Haram, 425 and no benefit to anyone!!” My first thought was that some of the teachers in UNWRA were finally resisting the outrageous prohibition against UNWRA schools teaching refugee children anything about their history or culture or even allowing them to wear a bracelet or pin with the Palestinian flag or Palestinian symbols to school and certainly not the treasonous kafiyeh although it’s become a popular fashion accessory for students around the world. While I was aware that the UNRWA prohibition was ordered by the US Israeli lobby lest Palestinian nationalism develop more rapidly among Palestinian youth who had knowledge their country’s history and the Nakba, I have always felt that this groveling was shameful and that UNWRA should completely reject it.

When our meeting started I realized that “425”written on the blackboard did not, as I had wrongly assumed, refer to UN Security Council Resolution “425” which ordered the withdrawal of Israeli troops from occupied Lebanese territory in 1978, a UN demand Israel has still not fulfilled 33 years later as it remains in Shebaa Farms and Ghajar. Rather it referred to the 425 days since Lebanon’s Parliament on August 17, 2010 claimed it had “partially” granted the right to work to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.





One visiting Palestinian who was not hoodwinked during his visit last week was Hamas co-founder Mahmoud Zahar who following a visit to Nahr al Bared camp declared that Palestinians in Lebanon live is worse conditions than in occupied Palestine or even Gaza following the 2008 Israeli war on the enclave of 1.5 million. Zahar promised Lebanon’s refugees: “We will make all efforts with the Arab League and with Arab states to help lift this injustice inflicted on you in the camps here in Lebanon. It’s injustice that cannot be tolerated by any man and is not acceptable to God Almighty.”

 Meanwhile Lebanon’s Parliament is once again ignoring the issue of the elementary human right to work and to own a home for their guests from Palestine. Two bills that were not considered last year were scheduled to be voted on this session with the new majority according to their sponsors, the National Syrian Socialist Party and the Progressive Socialist Party led by Druze leader, Walid Jumblatt. So far Parliament has not exhibited even a hint of considering draft legislation that would enact any internationally mandated civil rights for Palestinians forced into Lebanon 63 years ago.

Arch Palestinian foes are talking as if there is no problem with approximately 250,000 Palestinian refugees without the right to work or own a home. Michel Aoun told the September 27 weekly meeting of his Free Patriotic Movement that “ it is the UN that commits an international crime by not recognizing Palestinians remaining rights…“ Today, the UN is confused and remaining silent vis-à-vis the ongoing crime against the Palestinian people, for which it is mainly responsible since Israel was established via a UN declaration. The Palestinians are not demanding their full share, rather what is left for them after the Jews occupied their land in 1948. They are demanding the 1967 border. If the UN is incapable of proclaiming the state of Palestine within the 1967 border, why is there a United Nations?… Today, the UN will commit yet another crime against the Palestinians by not recognizing the remainder of their land and rights. So I would like to ask the so-called Arab moderate states whether or not they understood that the path they adopted with Israel was the wrong one.”

Aoun’s rivals in keeping Parliament from enacting civil rights is the right wing Kataeb politburo and Phalange party some of whose members bragged during last year’s elections about how many Palestinian the party had killed over the years. Sami Gemayal stated on 9/28/11 that his party is “positively” following up Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ steps at the UN regarding the former’s formal submittal of a membership bid to the UN. He claimed remarkably that “The Kataeb, has always stood by the Palestinian people and supported their legitimate rights to establish an independent state in Palestine and it cannot but stand by achieving the rightful and urgent demands. It supports any governmental plan that fulfills these demands.” The Kataeb statement also called on the Arab and international communities to find a “quick solution” to the issue of Palestinian refugees particularly those present in Lebanon.

17-10-2011 – 10:19

Franklin Lamb is doing research in Libya. He is reachable c\o fplamb@gmail.com

He is the author of The Price We Pay: A Quarter-Century of Israel’s Use of American Weapons Against Civilians in Lebanon.
He contribute to Uprooted Palestinians Blog

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Lebanon’s UNSC Stance Hesitant, Scared

• No Signals Situation Heading towards Calm
• Syria’s Position in Region’s Equation Targeted
• Neutrality, Moderation Do Not Exist For Us
• March 14 Must Stop Incitement against Syria
• We’re Not Obliged to Anything regarding STL
• Resorting to Constitution Prevents Conflicts

Free Patriotic Movement official and Philosophy professor at the Lebanese University Dr Nassif Qazzi said that latest bloody developments in Syria did not signal things were heading towards calm. He emphasized that the main target of the current crisis was the position of Syria within the Middle East equation and its role in consolidating its Arab identity, supporting the Resistance and not succumbing to the surrender policies.

In an exclusive interview with Al-Manar Website, Qazzi said he might understand the circumstances of Lebanon and its current status-quo caused by wrong policies and deluded bets, but stressed that these factors did not justify the Lebanese diplomacy’s position, which he described as shy, hesitant, compliant, scared and inferior, given that this position reflected in principle the Lebanese official stance.

While urging the March 14 forces to stop playing with fire at the Lebanese-Syrian border and refrain from inciting against Syria, Qazzi undermined the press reports of ministerial conflicts over the clause related to financing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He highlighted that resorting to the constitution and laws would be enough to avoid any kind of conflicts. He noted that Lebanon was not obliged to anything in relation with this tribunal, given that its formation did not respect the constitutional process.

THE RUSSIAN AND CHINESE SHINING POSITION

FPM official Dr Nassif Qazzi told Al-Manar Wesbite that he did not rule out the possibility that the group of the so-called power states, mainly the United States of American and the European Union countries, resorted to all non-democratic tools to achieve their goals. He pointed to the violence taking place in Syria since a while, as well as to the attempts made by these states to issue discretionary international resolutions, despite the shining Russian and Chinese vetoes within the United Nations Security Council.

Qazzi highlighted that the recent bloody incidents in Syria did not signal that things were heading towards calm, and noted that the main target of the Syrian crisis was not only the regime, the ruling party and the President, but also the position of Syria in the Middle East equation and its role in consolidating its Arab identity, supporting the Resistance and not succumbing to the surrender policies. He recalled how Syria was the only state in the region to refuse compromises from Camp David to Geneva.

“Whoever thinks that he was able to change the reality of a state, or a nation, with the support of external forces, must be mistaken,” Qazzi said.

NEUTRALITY SYNONYMOUS TO NO POSITION

Answering a question about the Lebanese stance in the UNSC, Qazzi said he might understand the circumstances of Lebanon and its current status-quo caused by wrong policies and deluded bets, but stressed that these factors did not justify the Lebanese diplomacy’s position, which he described as shy, hesitant, compliant, scared and inferior, given that this position reflected in principle the Lebanese official stance.

Qazzi said the current government should seek to establish a new approach in dealing with our various causes. He hinted that the government could set a clear political vision towards the essential political causes, as well as the social, financial, educational and health causes. “We’re not with neutrality… as we believe it’s a no position,” he said. “Neutrality, just like centrality, is not included in our dictionary when we speak of national causes,” he went on to say.

LET MARCH 14 STARTS BY ITSELF!

Commenting on the latest stance made by the so-called March 14 General Secretariat in which it denounced what it called the Syrian ‘violations’ to the Lebanese sovereignty and urged the Lebanese state to take action, the FPM official wondered why the March 14 forces did not start by themselves, and stop incitement against Syria, especially that Syria had left Lebanon and that diplomatic relations were established between both countries.

While also wondering why these forces did not stop playing with fire at the Lebanese-Syrian border, he found strange claims of fears and concerns expressed by these forces. “Are we really in front of serious concerns or, instead, compliance with international resolutions with do not serve neither Syria nor Lebanon’s interest?” he asked.

WE’RE NOT COMMITTED TO STL

Turning to the internal policies, Qazzi tackled the issue of the so-called Special Tribunal for Lebanon in light of the FPM absolute refusal to finance it, under any means. Asked in this context about his party’s considerations, despite the fact that President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati declared more than once that the government was committed to the tribunal, he said that the FPM leader MP Michel Aoun has clarified his position when he recalled that the agreement to create the tribunal did not respect the constitutional norms. Thus, Qazzi concluded, Lebanon was not obliged to anything in relation with this tribunal.

Answering a question on whether it was right to say that the STL financing clause was threatening the whole cabinet solidarity, Qazzi said that resorting to the constitution and laws was enough to avoid any potential conflict. He explained that there were many sensitive issues expected to be raised in the imminent future, such as the general finance, OGERO, Internal Security Forces, Information Branch, in addition to the STL. What should be done to avoid conflicts in dealing with any of these causes is to abide by the constitution and not to cover up the violations. “Everything else is apt to discussion,” he concluded.

Source: Website Team

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Al-Manar Website

In an exclusive interview with Al-Manar Website, MP Gharios denied the presence of any ‘personal conflict’ between his Free Patriotic Movement and the premier. He explained that the FPM did not enter government to have power, but was seeking to change the current political approach and establish a new logic in politics, to be entitled change and reform. He predicted that his political bloc would have to face many obstacles and difficulties before reaching such end.

While revealing that the Change and Reform bloc would fight to approve the Social Security for all Lebanese without exception, Gharios did not see in the issue related to financing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon any threat in the face of the government. He found strange claims that Lebanon would face some sanctions in case it did not abide by the financing process, and called the United Nations Security Council to urge the Israeli enemy to apply its resolutions before anything else. “What’s applicable for our PM must be also applicable for the Israeli PM,” he declared.
Gharios said that Friday’s Maronite meeting was still in place. He ruled out that the meeting would fail in light of the campaign launched against Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi. He stressed that the concerns expressed by the patriarch in France were true, and this what he proved to the French officials with solid facts.

MIQATI BACKED BASSIL’S PLAN

MP Naji Gharios told Al-Manar Website that the joint parliamentary committees’ meeting, which was held on Wednesday, was the third of its kind to discuss the electricity bill. He noted that, nevertheless, it was the first to be attended by PM Najib Miqati who backed the proposal made by Energy Minister Gebran Bassil in full and approved at the same time the additions proposed by some lawmaker, even though they were not necessary.

Gharios recalled that the whole issue started in the parliamentary session, which was held prior to the Eid al-Fitr holidays. “At the time, we discussed the bill proposed by General Michel Aoun, but they called to withdraw it, perhaps because they didn’t want to approve a bill signed by MP Aoun. They proposed that the same proposal be submitted by the government with some amendments, and this is exactly what happened,” he said. “The bill was raised again last week, and the joint parliamentary committees deeply discussed it throughout three consecutive sessions. The premier attended only the third meeting in which he listen to the same remarks raised during the two previous sessions by the same lawmakers,” he added.

CONSENSUS POSSIBLE OPTION

MP Gharios expressed belief the majority of the lawmakers would vote in the interest of the bill in its last form. He hinted this formula could be unanimously adopted or, in the worst case scenario, be approved by the parliamentary majority. He noted that the last formula should satisfy all political blocs, as it reflected a consensus reached thanks to efforts made by Speaker Nabih Berri and PM Najib Miqati. He said that the last word remains in the hands of the Parliament’s General Assembly.
Gharios denied the Progressive Socialist Party had any reservations over the final proposal. He noted that all the remarks expressed by the PSP during the discussion stage were accepted, and revealed that the National Struggle Front lawmakers sought during Wednesday’s session to encourage all factions to reach consensus over the bill.

WHY DID WE ENTER GOVERNMENT?

Answering a question about the relationship between the Change and Reform bloc at one side and Prime Minister Najib Miqati at the other, MP Naji Gharios stressed there was nothing personal against the premier. He even rejected claims of incompatibility between both sides. He explained that the FPM did not enter the government to get power, but, instead, to establish a new approach in politics and to remove the current logic based on sharing quotas. He highlighted that the Change and Reform bloc wants from its participation in the government to achieve change. “Otherwise, our portion in the government would have no value at all,” he said.

Gharios pointed to the presence of a number of bills awaiting the government during the upcoming stage. He noted that approving social security for all Lebanese without exception seems to be the most sensitive in this regard. He found strange how some Lebanese could reject such plan, wondering whether it was impossible to collect some one billion dollars to guarantee social security for all Lebanese, one of their most basic rights.

STL FINANCING DOESN’T THREATEN GOV’T

MP Gharios rejected claims that Miqati’s government was threatened by the clause related to financing the so-called Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He undermined all claims of possible sanctions against Lebanon in case it did not finance the international tribunal, and therefore did not abide by the international resolutions. He explained that the Israeli enemy, for instance, has never applied any of the resolutions issued by the UNSC. “I will not accept that the UNSC assails my PM and adopts the logic of conditions with him.”
Gharis highlighted that the Security Council, in case it decided to impose laws on the PM, to start by imposing the implementation of its previous resolutions on Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Yet, he said that the final decision over possibly financing the STL remains in the hands of the cabinet as a whole, with complete respect to the PM and his own positions.

RAHI’S HEART BIG…

To conclude, MP Gharios pointed to the Christian meeting expected in Bkerke next Friday, and said that this meeting was still in place, ruling out the possibility of obstructing this meeting despite the campaign recently launched against Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi. He noted that Rahi has a big heart and that he affords all critics. He stressed that the patriarch’s project was deeper than all campaigns, given that it is the project of protecting all people in the region, and especially the Christians who’re facing displacement.

Gharios said that the patriarch has expressed his frank concerns to the French officials during his recent trip to France with facts related to the fate of Christians in Iraq, Palestine and Egypt. He noted that the patriarch believes that his mission is to safeguard the Christians of the East as a whole, not only Lebanon.

Gharios also noted that the Christian leaders would discuss during their Friday’s meeting the possible electoral laws, while expecting that they would basically agree on adopting the proportionality law. He said that this issue would be discussed at the Christian level but also with other sects to reach a common point.

Source: Website Team

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Miqati to As-Safir: “Positive Ending” in Electricity Project

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• We Refuse to Be False Witnesses;
• We Don’t Know Why Jumblatt Felt Targeted;
• Ministers Heading towards Consensus;
• Electricity Bill Result of Deep Study;
• Electricity Sector in Need of Surgery;
• Int’l Community Seeks Israel’s Interest;
• Jumblatt Part of Government, Wants Success

Free Patriotic Movement official Antoine Nasrallah said that the Change and Reform ministers accepted to postpone the cabinet session aimed at approving Energy Minister Gebran Bassil’s plan to give a “last chance” to reach agreement over it. He expressed belief reaching consensus was possible within one week, and noted that this plan did not come in vain, but was the result of a detailed and deep study that lasted for a while.

In an exclusive interview with Al-Manar Website, Nasrallah warned that the reasons of existence for this government would fall in case it didn’t address social issues. He revealed that the Free Patriotic Movement will not accept to be a false witness for the continuation of the previous approach in governing.

While wondering why the head of the National Struggle Front MP Walid Jumblatt believed he was targeted by head of the Change and Reform bloc MP Michel Aoun’s latest stances, Nasrallah noted that Jumblatt was part of the government, and therefore its success must be his interest. He also stressed that the government should be united, at least in its political vision, to face the upcoming challenges.

WE’RE SEEKING TO CAUSE POSITIVE CHOC

FPM official Antoine Nasrallah told Al-Manar Website that postponing the agreement on the reform plan prepared by Energy Minister Gebran Bassil was a negative step, especially as it comes in the frame of national, human and social interests such as the electricity crisis.

Yet, Nasrallah said that the Change and Reform ministers accepted to postpone the cabinet session aimed at approving the plan to give a “last chance” for reaching an agreement over it. “Without doubt, we’re seeking to cause a positive choc in the country.

He expressed belief that reaching consensus was possible within one week, and noted that this plan did not come in vain, but was the result of a detailed and deep study that lasted for a while.

WHEN THE REASON OF EXISTENCE FOR GOVERNMENT FALLS!

Answering a question on the nature of reservations expressed by some politicians over the content of Bassil’s plan, Nasrallah said they were not accurate. “They may represent a misunderstanding of the essence of the plan,” he said. “Any person who reads the plan and its content perceives that we’re serious and that we’re seeking to achieve reform,” he added.

He stressed that this plan did not come in vain, but was the result of a detailed and deep study that lasted for a while. “Whoever does not understand these facts would be depriving Lebanon from a real opportunity for reform,” he highlighted.

Answering a question on whether the FPM was serious in it threats of resignation from the government in case the plan was not approved, Nasrallah noted that the reason for this government’s existence would fall if it didn’t seriously handle the social causes. He pointed the FPM ministers efforts in their various portfolios, whether in the telecommunications and internet sector, or the Labor portfolio, or in the Justice ministry. “What remains is the electricity issue. It is time for Lebanese to perceive that this sector was in need of a real ‘surgery’,” he concluded.

WHY DID JUMBLATT CONSIDER HIMSELF TARGETED?

Nasrallah commented on the latest stance made by head of the National Struggle Front MP Walid Jumblatt, in which he rejected any blackmail. He said he didn’t know why the Progressive Socialist Party’s leader considered himself targeted by MP Michel Aoun’s latest stances.

While wondering whether Jumblatt was actually seeking reform, he ruled out that his rhetoric was an attempt to gain some popularity in the Sunni base. “This is neither Jumblatt’s interest nor the government’s one,” he said. “Jumblatt is a part of the government, and therefore he should be concerned with its success,” he went on to say.

Answering a question on Jumblatt’s speech in which he indicated that he did not care if his stance led to the destabilization of the current alliance, Nasrallah said: “Nothing scares us.” He reiterated that the reason for this government’s existence was providing the people with tangible results. “If some political forces succeeded in obstructing the government’s work, then it is better for us not to have a government than to be false witnesses.”

FOR A UNITED POLITICAL VISION

Answering a question on the government’s ability to face the upcoming challenges, mainly the international tribunal and the indictment, Nasrallah said that the Free Patriotic Movement is calling for unifying the political vision. He stressed that the government had to answer the various questions raised, including questions about the false witnesses, as it must be united in face of rumors that have been launched against the government and the resistance.

He further emphasized that the unity of the government was essential in this regard, and that there wasn’t any second choice for the government. He said facing these challenges was essential to establish civil peace. He reiterated that the international community did not seek truth in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri’s case. “It only seeks Israel’s interest,” he concluded.

Source: Website Team

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