The Daily Star - Labor Day holiday to occuron Monday, protest set for Sunday - April 30, 2011

BEIRUT: Unions and government officials issued congratulations to the country’s workers on the occasion of Labor Day, as activists planned a protest march to take place in the capital Sunday.
Activists involved in a campaign to end the country’s sectarian political system are organizing a march Sunday at 11 a.m. from the neighborhood of Wata al-Moseitebeh to the Government Serail in Downtown Beirut, organizers told The Daily Star.
Some activists in the anti-sectarian campaign have begun to focus on the rising public discontent over socio-economic conditions, and particularly rising gasoline and fuel prices, to bolster their protest actions.
The march is expected to pick up the support of union members whose leaders are not organizing a central demonstration for May 1.
A nationwide strike is being planned for May 19 by a number of labor confederations.
For his part, Labor Minister Butros Harb issued a statement Friday addressed to workers and employees on the occasion of May Day, saying that the government has for decades failed to meet its obligations to provide a proper social safety net, due to political instability.
“Today it is unacceptable, just as it has always been unacceptable, to shut our ears to such [labor] demands,” Harb said.
Earlier this week, caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri issued a statement saying that government offices and municipalities will close Monday to observe the holiday.
The announcement explained that since Labor Day falls on a Sunday this year, the law requires that the holiday be observed the following day

The Daily Star - Syrian protesters face off in Beirut - April 29, 2011

BEIRUT: Demonstrators backing rival sides in the ongoing protests in Syria faced off outside the Syrian Embassy in Beirut Friday.

Tensions prevailed as two groups of protesters, one backing President Bashar Assad’s regime, the other backing anti-government supporters in Syria, met outside the embassy on Hamra’s main thoroughfare, with Lebanese Army troops at the scene intervening to keep both sides apart.

The pro-Assad supporters numbered around 50 and were mainly Syrian workers, while the group critical of Assad, numbering 20, were Syrian Kurd families.

The hour-long demonstration, which came following Friday afternoon prayers, coincided with protests in Syria on the “Day of Rage.”

The Daily Star - The tale of Aintoura’s Armenian orphans - April 29, 2011

By Van Meguerditchian

The Daily Star AINTOURA: Ninety-three years after the end of World War I, a Lebanese Armenian researcher has discovered additional proof of the first genocide of the 20th century at the Aintoura Lazarist College in Mount Lebanon. A visit to the college of Saint Joseph Aintoura reveals the history of the Jesuits who settled in Aintoura over 350 years ago; in addition to a magnificent monastery, there is also tragic evidence of the Armenian genocide of 1915. The remains of more than 300 children, now only bones, lie in a small grave behind Aintoura’s grand 19th-century chapel, which has been brought to light over five years of research by Missak Kelechian, an electrical engineer from California, who began the project as a pastime. The children buried in the grave were Armenian orphans who, having survived the genocide, were transferred by Turkish authorities to Aintoura, only to suffer neglect and violence. “It has been recorded and written how the children were beaten with the falaqa [a rod to discipline children], and many of them died from starvation, cholera and forceful attempts to ‘Turkify’ them,” said Kelechian. While hundreds of orphans, aged 3 to 15, survived the systematic massacres of the Armenians in 1915, many of them arrived in Ottoman-controlled Aintoura to be given new Turkish names and forcefully converted to Islam. The infamous architect of the genocide, Jamal Pasha, walked on the stairs that still stand at the gate of Aintoura College and was responsible for assigning Halide Edip Adivar to oversee the program of “Turkification.” Adivar was Turkey’s first feminist and a famous novelist who was elected to Turkey’s Parliament in 1950. Kelechian told The Daily Star that he came across a photograph of Adivar and Pasha in Stanley Kerr’s book, The Lions of Marash. “This picture triggered [in me an interest] to visit the Aintoura College,” he said. Over the past five years, Kelechian has been on a quest to locate the grave and meet descendants of survivors. He is still working with several archivists in Lebanon and the United States to track down and study more documents related to fate of the surviving orphans. “To my surprise, during my visit to Aintoura in 2005, the archivist of the school had gathered and stored all documents related to the occupation of the college by the Turks and the arrival of around 1,200 orphans, among them Armenians and Kurds,” he noted. The book by Kerr, who was a volunteer of the American Near East Relief agency, did not provide enough information for Kelechian to locate the burial place of the Armenian orphans. “The documents I found at the library of the Aintoura College led me to another finding: accounts written in a book by Karnig Panian,” said Kelechian. Kelechian said that Panian’s writings helped him locate the mass graves of around 350 Armenian orphans. A survivor of the Armenian genocide and the “Turkification” at the Aintoura orphanage, Panian described how the Turkish authorities buried several children per week behind the college chapel. “I was informed by the college’s administration that construction workers in 1993 had unearthed many decaying bones in the area described by Panian in his book,” Kelechian explained. In his book, Panian also described how more than 1,000 orphans had to recite daily “Long Live General Pasha,” as the Turkish flag was lowered in the school’s courtyard. An article from 1947 written by the head priest at the Lazarite Aintoura College, Emile Joppin, described how Armenian orphans were forcefully converted to Islam. According to accounts recorded by Lazarist teachers at Aintoura, children received punishments for speaking Armenian or Kurdish. According to Kelechian, he recently discovered that the bishop of Saint Jacob’s Church in Achrafieh is the son of another Armenian orphan from Aintoura. “It’s as odd as it can get; the bishop’s father, Sarkis Kerkezian, was given a Turkish name [Antakli Ibrahim] and was chosen to be a muezzin [a chosen person to lead the call to prayer],” Kelechian added. While Turkey continues to deny the genocide against the Armenians, describing the massacres as part of brutal reality of World War I, “Turkifying” children and depriving them of their identity alone is considered genocide by Article II of the 1951 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. According to the convention, genocide is “to destroy in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group,” including “forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.” More than 150,000 Armenian children became orphans as a result of Ottoman policies. Many of these orphans continued their lives in several “Turkification” centers throughout the Middle East. In a letter to his father in the United States, the former president of the American University of Beirut, Bayard Dodge, also described how hundreds of Armenian and Kurdish orphans were brought down from the north and settled at Aintoura College. Another survivor of the orphanage, Haroutioun Alboyadjian, was 11 when he managed to escape from Aintoura. According to Kelechian, Alboyadjian has also written extensively on his experience and has disclosed how a Turkish medical officer disobeyed orders on the eve of Ottoman withdrawal from Aintoura to poison the last dinner of the orphans. For Kelechian, despite the systematic plans to carry out atrocities against the Armenians, there were many Turks who helped save hundreds of Armenian lives. “After the withdrawal of Turkish troops, the Turkish officer [Reza Bey], who refused to poison the children, helped them to recover their original Armenian names. “When he asked one of the orphans, ‘Enver, tell me your real name, the child replied: Toros,’ and many others recovered their names as well.” Kelechian also said that Turkey’s continued denial of the genocide is hurting the country’s image and is a disservice to the new generation of Turks. “The Turkish government’s policy is denying Armenians [the chance] to praise the good work of the Turkish people,” Kelechian added. The head of Saint Joseph College in Aintoura, Father Antoine Pierre Nakad, told The Daily Star that even when he was still a student at the school, the priests and the teachers talked about the Armenian orphans who had once crowded the dormitory. “This is a historical fact and everyone should know what happened at this historic college,” he said. According to Nakad, the Turkish blockade resulted in diseases such as cholera and many orphans died from starvation. “There are currently around 4,000 students in Aintoura College and apart from their regular classes, they are taught about the history of the school,” Nakad added. Today, a giant traditional Armenian stone cross and a bronze statue of a 10-year-old boy stands on the site of the mass grave of the Armenian orphans at Aintoura College, which was donated by Harout Katchadourian, the founder of the Armenian Choir, Kohar. Earlier this week, a group of more than 200 Armenian Lebanese headed by Ararat Association’s President Krikor Keushgerian, visited the site to mark the 96th commemoration of the Armenian genocide. An official delegation of Lebanese ministers and MPs will join the Armenian Catholic community on May 7 for a Mass at Aintoura.

The Daily Star - Rahhal: prosecute stork killer - April 29, 2011

BEIRUT: Caretaker Environment Minister Mohammad Rahhal called on the judiciary Thursday to take legal action against amateur hunters who killed dozens of migratory storks.
In a letter to the Justice Ministry, Rahhal formally asked that the public prosecutor’s office for environmental crimes take suitable legal measures against violators, especially those who displayed photos showing dozens of dead birds on the Facebook page of an amateur hunter.
Some of the photographs, which have since been removed from the individual’s page, showed piles of dead birds with the hunters posing in front of them.
The incident took place in Koura, north Lebanon, according to sources familiar with the issue.
Rahhal said the hunters were at fault on at least two fronts.
“A decision to formally open the hunting season has not been issued this year, which means that hunting is still forbidden. Irrespective [of the hunting season], the stork is beneficial to the ecological system and agriculture, and will definitely be included on the list of birds whose hunting is banned in Lebanon,” Rahhal said in his letter to the Justive Ministry.
Rahhal also noted that hunting storks is internationally banned throughout the year and that, as a signatory to the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement, Lebanon is committed to this ban.
Article 14 of the hunting law, enacted in 2004, stipulates a punishment of one month in prison, a fine of LL500,000, or both, for anyone found to be hunting or carrying his or her quarry during a hunting ban. A violator’s hunting license may also be revoked for a period ranging between one and three years.

Naharnet - Report: Roumieh Inmates Detain Soldier as Riots Resume - April 26, 2011

Riots resumed at Roumieh prison overnight after a misunderstanding between the inmates who later detained a soldier, Father Marwan Ghanem who was tasked with negotiating with prisoners during the last riot earlier in the month, said Tuesday. Ghanem told Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3) that the riot began at 11:30 pm Monday at the prison's bloc D and then transferred to bloc B at 2:00 am. He said that by Tuesday morning, the soldier was most probably still detained by the inmates who are asking for a general amnesty. But he stressed that the situation has calmed. VDL (100.5) said, however, that An ISF force entered Roumieh prison at 4:00 am and ended the riot.  Ghanem said power was cut in the prison to prevent inmates from using electricity to break doors or trying to escape from the jail. But Ghanem lamented that during the riot the prisoners set fire that damaged most renovation work carried out after the last unrest.

iloubnan - Roumieh inmates riot again, detain ISF member - April 26, 2011

An ISF member was detained overnight by inmates in Roumieh prison after riots erupted in the most crowded Lebanese prison.

Father Marwan Ghanem, who negotiated with the inmates the release of the ISF member, told 'Voice of Lebanon' (93.3) on Tuesday that the riot which started at 11:30 PM on Monday in bloc D later moved to Bloc B.

The ISF sent a force unit to raid the prison at 4:00 PM. Ghanem said the situation was calm on Tuesday morning; however, the ISF member is most probably still detained by the inmates who are asking for an amnesty in return.

"Most of the reconstruction and renovation works that has been achieved since the end of the last riots was destroyed in yesterday's riots," Ghanem added.

iloubnan - Police contain situation in Roumieh, ISF - April 26, 2011

Inmates in Roumieh prison started rioting in bloc D at 2:00 AM on Tuesday, the Internal Security Forces said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Inmates resorted to rioting, sabotage, breaking and setting fire to mattresses and their belongings, the statement added.

The Internal Security Forces raided the prison at 4:15 am to put an end to the riots and protect the security of prisoners.

The situation in the prison is calm, one inmate was injured while trying to threaten the ISF members. He was hospitalized immediately.

Now Lebanon - Police contain overnight riot in Roumieh Prison - April 26, 2011

Security forces managed to restore calm at the Roumieh Prison after inmates rioted in the compound on Monday night, the National News Agency reported on Tuesday.

“After a four-hour uprising, police were able to contain the situation and put out the fires that were set by the inmates,” the NNA said.

It added that the situation was back to normal.

“The inmates who were involved in the clash will be summoned by the judiciary for investigation.”

Earlier in April, Roumieh’s inmates held riots demanding amnesty and better conditions.

Roumieh was originally built to accommodate 1,500 prisoners but its population has swelled to as many as 4,000, making conditions intolerable, authorities say.

-NOW Lebanon

L'orient Le Jour - Fidèles à leur cause, les Arméniens commémorent en grand nombre le génocide - April 26, 2011

À l'occasion de la 96e commémoration du génocide arménien, les partis Henchag, Tachnag et Ramgavar ont participé à un rassemblement populaire qui a eu lieu hier à l'archevêché orthodoxe d'Antélias. Brandissant le slogan traditionnel « Nous n'oublierons pas ce qui s'est passé en 1915 », plusieurs milliers d'Arméniens ont assuré en chœur qu'ils « poursuivront la lutte jusqu'à ce que justice soit faite ».
Étaient notamment présents à la commémoration le catholicos arménien Aram Ier, l'évêque orthodoxe Kigam Khatchirian, le président du comité central de la Fédération des églises arméniennes anglicanes, le pasteur Sogomon Kilagbian, l'ambassadeur de la République d'Arménie au Liban, Achod Kotcharian, les hauts responsables des partis arméniens, le ministre d'État sortant Jean Oghassabian, et plusieurs députés arméniens.
Après la célébration de la messe à la mémoire des martyrs du génocide, les chefs des partis et des ONG arméniennes ont déposé des gerbes de fleurs sur les tombes des victimes.
Prenant la parole au nom du Ramgavar, Wazkin Jamkoujian a affirmé que grâce à leur détermination, les Arméniens ont réussi à transcender la mort pour ressusciter à travers la diaspora et par le biais de la fondation d'un État civilisé. « Quatre-vingt-seize ans sont révolus et le criminel turc n'a toujours pas été sanctionné, continuant à occulter toutes sortes de témoignages et de preuves historiques avancées », a-t-il dit.
À son tour, Hagob Karakérian, qui s'est exprimé au nom du Henchag, a relevé que la reconnaissance du génocide et la demande de compensations au peuple arménien figurent désormais au sein d'une politique nationale qui peut prendre plusieurs aspects. « La non-reconnaissance du génocide arménien constitue une incitation à commettre d'autres génocides. » « L'État turc restera notre ennemi jusqu'au moment de la compensation, qui est un moment sacré », a-t-il ajouté.
Le mot du Tachnag a été prononcé par Karnik Mekrditchian, qui a indiqué que cette commémoration est l'occasion pour annoncer au monde entier que le génocide arménien « est un fait historique qui ne peut être occulté ou ignoré ». « Le criminel est toujours en liberté et n'a pas encore été sanctionné », a-t-il dit en rappelant que les archives ottomanes recèlent de nombreuses preuves qui restent interdites même aux chercheurs turcs.
L'ambassadeur arménien a pris la parole à son tour pour souligner que le génocide arménien n'est pas un crime commis contre le peuple arménien uniquement, mais contre l'humanité tout entière. « À cause de ce génocide, le monde a perdu une civilisation entière », a-t-il dit en faisant remarquer qu'outre le million et demi de martyrs tombés, le génocide a également anéantit une culture colossale.
Le mot de la fin a été prononcé par Aram Ier, qui a salué tous les efforts et les réalisations faites à ce jour par l'Église et les partis arméniens à travers le monde, insistant sur la nécessité de mieux coordonner ses efforts pour la phase à venir, que ce soit en Arménie ou au sein de la diaspora arménienne. Et d'assurer que le peuple arménien poursuivra sa lutte avec détermination et vigueur pour parvenir à ses droits. 

L'orient Le Jour - Journalistes contre la violence condamne l’agression contre l’équipe de la MTV à Ghobeiry - April 26, 2011

L'association Journalistes contre la violence (JCV) a condamné l'agression de militants du Hezbollah contre l'équipe de la MTV, formée du reporter Georges Eid et du cameraman Roger Hanna, vendredi dernier à Ghobeiry. L'équipe de la MTV, qui faisait une enquête journalistique sur un empiètement sur des biens-fonds dans la région, a été attaquée par des militants du parti, qui ont tenté d'arracher la caméra des mains de M. Hanna avant de tirer des coups de feu en l'air pour tenter d'effrayer les journalistes, indique Journalistes contre la violence. Les militants ont empêché les journalistes de la MTV de poursuivre leur enquête et leur ont fait comprendre qu'il fallait obtenir un permis du directoire du Hezbollah pour pouvoir filmer sur les lieux, note JCV dans son communiqué.
« L'association appelle les autorités concernées à prendre les mesures nécessaires vis-à-vis des responsables de cette agression, pour que ce genre de pratiques miliciennes infamantes ne se reproduisent plus. L'association met en garde contre la persistance des forces de facto à vouloir spolier la dignité des Libanais et établir leur suprématie à l'aide des armes illégales, en annihilant au passage la liberté d'opinion et d'expression dans le cadre d'un plan systématique visant à saper ce qui reste comme présence étatique, à semer le chaos et à faire régner la loi de la jungle », a ajouté JCV. L'association a enfin établi le lien entre la question des biens-fonds et les attaques, dans ce cadre, contre les forces de l'ordre qui tentent d'arrêter les contrevenants, l'affaire du rapt des cyclistes estoniens et le dossier des attaques syriennes, l'objectif ultime étant la déstabilisation permanente de l'État, selon Journalistes contre la violence.
Dans un communiqué, les Forces libanaises ont également condamné l'agression contre l'équipe de la MTV, estimant qu'il s'agit là de « pratiques dangereuses qui portent atteinte à la liberté ». Les FL ont appelé les autorités concernées à mettre fin à ce genre d'agressions qui « portent atteinte à la réputation du Liban ». 

Naharnet - Estonian Video Likely to Have Been Shot in Bekaa - April 25, 2011

Official sources noted that the video of the seven Estonian cyclists kidnapped in Lebanon was probably filmed in the Bekaa area less than a week after their abduction, reported the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat on Monday. They confirmed that the security forces' approved a number of procedures after the recent security meeting that was held last week headed by caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri. They stressed that the search for the Estonians has not ended. The Estonians went missing in the eastern Bekaa Valley after entering Lebanon from Syria.  The motive for their abduction remains unclear. Eleven Lebanese have been charged with the kidnapping. Authorities have said the Estonians may have been moved across the porous border to Syria. A previously unheard of group, Haraket al-Nahda Wal-Islah (Movement for Renewal and Reform), has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and demanded an unspecified ransom to free the Estonians. The claim was made in an email to local website, but has not been authenticated by security officials. A video of the captives was released online last week. Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi said Thursday that the ISF was "thoroughly examining" the online video that was posted on YouTube. The video has since been removed.

The Daily Star - Authorities ease burden on Lebanese jails - April 25, 2011

By Rima Aboulmona

The Daily Star BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities have released Arab and foreign inmates in a bid to lessen the burden of overcrowding at Lebanese prisons, a statement by the General Security said Sunday. The statement by the General Directorate of the General Security said 478 Arab and foreign prisoners were released from Lebanese detention centers, 205 of whom had been deported in coordination with respective embassies. The statement said another 213 Arab and foreign inmates who had completed their official prison terms were put under the custody of the General Security. “To date, no Arab or foreign prisoners who have completed their prison term remain in Lebanese jails,” the statement said. Lebanese prisons are overcrowded and mismanaged at many levels. Caretaker Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar has disclosed that of the 5,511 individuals spread across Lebanon’s 23 prisons, just 1,655 (30 percent) have been convicted of a crime. Four inmates died last month in a series of riots at the notorious Roumieh prison complex, north of Beirut. Of Roumieh’s estimated 3,700 detainees, 721 have been convicted. Various legal, social and cultural factors add to the problem.

The Daily Star - 52 cases of food poisoning at Roumieh - April 25, 2011

BEIRUT: Fifty-two inmates at Beirut’s notorious Roumieh prison were treated for food poisoning over the weekend, the National News Agency reported.

In a report late Sunday, the NNA said the majority of those showing symptoms of food poisoning had been attended to at the prison’s infirmary.

However, six of the 52 inmates had to be treated at a nearby hospital, it added.

Authorities are now investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The Daily Star - Families urged to get outdoors for Earth Day - April 23, 2011

By Simona Sikimic
The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Parents should let their children play outdoors or take trips to the countryside over the long weekend and upcoming school holidays to raise environmental awareness, green campaigners said Friday on occasion of Earth Day.
“Letting children play in green spaces is the best environment for them to have fun and be creative, while learning to appreciate their natural surroundings,” said Sara Obeid, a campaigner with the local NGO Greenline.
“Working with children is like planting trees for the future because they will grow up to enact the laws that we are working to establish.”
Founded in 1970 by a U.S. lawmaker keen to improve coordination between government agencies, civil society groups and the public, Earth Day has now spread to 192 countries and is used as an opportunity attract attention to pressing environmental issues.
It is also advanced as a change for people to “do something small but sustainable in their own lives to improve the planet's health, from switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs to reducing the use of pesticides and other toxic chemicals,” U.S.-based organizers said Friday.
Although activities for school children, such as tree planting, were scheduled by several NGOs Friday, the timing of the 2011 Easter holiday meant many events had to be postponed until early May.
An interactive workshop, organized by the U.S. Embassy and the Association for Forest Development and Conservation, did take place Thursday at the Aley Cultural Secondary School, where children performed a play about fire prevention and participated in training a demonstration, involving a fire truck.
The delay, however, should not be used as an excuse to waste time, activists said.
“It is down to individual behavior and it is not enough to have the government taking the actions because, even when they do, a lot rests on the opinions and the actions of individuals,” said Vahakn Kabakian, the head of the Environment Ministry-run National Communication to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change Project.
“Planting trees and taking environmental excursions have been vital in spreading awareness among the young in the last few years,” he said. “If we keep hammering at people daily we will eventually get through to them.”
Environmental degradation including underground water pollution and waste water treatment are considered major problems in Lebanon, with the country falling seriously behind on its U.N. Millennium Development Goal commitment of “achieving environmental sustainability” and “significantly reducing the rate of biodiversity loss” by 2015.
“Most civilizations in history have stopped existing because of environmental reasons,” said Wael Hmaidan, executive director of, IndyAct an umbrella organization of green activists.
“Leading an environmental life style is not an option anymore. It is a fact … if we want to insure the same quality of life for future generations. Environmental sustainability should be part of the youth’s education.”

الجمعـة 19 جمـادى الاولـى 1432 هـ 22 ابريل 2011 العدد 11833  سجون لبنان.. برميل بارود والد أحد السجناء لم يعثر على ابنه المصاب بعد إيداعه المستشفى.. وسجين آخر يعاني مرضا خطيرا ممنوع من الخروج للعلاج بيروت: نذير رضا لم يتوان المسؤولون والناشطون في مؤسسات حقوق الإنسان عن التحذير من أن تتحول السجون في لبنان إلى «قنبلة موقوتة قابلة للانفجار في أي لحظة». تلك القنبلة، انفجرت قبل أسبوعين، ولم تنته تداعياتها بعد، ولو أن الوعود التي قدمها المسؤولون «سكنت الجراح قليلا»، فعاد الهدوء إلى السجن، وانحصرت تحركات ذويهم باحتجاجات أمام قصر العدل، وبخطوات قضائية على غرار تقديم دعاوى قانونية ضد المتسببين بأذية أولادهم.وأجمع اللبنانيون، من كافة الأقطاب السياسية، على أن قضية السجون هي «قضية محقة»، ذلك أن السجناء «يعيشون وضعا مأساويا يبدأ من الاكتظاظ الذي يفوق قدرة السجن الاستيعابية، ولا ينتهي بتأخير المحاكمات»، على حد قول مرشد عام السجون الأب مروان غانم. بيد أن الأحداث الأخيرة، حملت بعض وجوه الضغط السياسي على أعتاب تشكيل الحكومة، وسط الخلافات على تسمية وزير الداخلية العتيد بين رئيس الجمهورية ميشال سليمان ورئيس تكتل التغيير والإصلاح ميشال عون. وإذا كانت وعود المسؤولين بالنظر في تغيير الواقع، وبدء الإجراءات التنفيذية لحل المشكلات العالقة قد هدأت من غضب السجناء وذويهم، فإن مؤشرات تجدد الاحتجاجات تتراءى بين حين وآخر. فذوو السجناء ينظرون إلى الوعود على أنها «غير جدية»، وعلت أصواتهم مؤخرا احتجاجا على «الثأر من بعض السجناء الذين قادوا الاحتجاجات داخل السجن». وينقل سفير المنظمة الدولية لحقوق الإنسان علي عقيل خليل عن أهالي السجناء، في حديث مع «الشرق الأوسط»، استياءهم من «وضع بعض السجناء في السجن الانفرادي»، مشيرا إلى أن «هذا الإجراء ليس علاجا للقضية، وسط وعود بعدم الانتقام من المحتجين داخل السجن». ونقل أن ذوي السجناء «سيواصلون تحركاتهم المطلبية على كافة الصعد للوصول إلى حلول بشأن تنفيذ الوعود بأسرع وقت ممكن». قضية السجون، ليست وليدة اللحظة. فقد حذرت منظمات حقوق الإنسان من انفجار القضية بسبب المآسي الإنسانية التي تلم بالسجناء. وتؤكد التقارير الإنسانية التي تناولت أوضاع السجون في لبنان أن السجون، بما فيها أماكن الاحتجاز الاحتياطي، «لا ترقى لأي من الوظائف السامية التي يفترض أن تلعبها السجون». ويوضح النائب غسان مخيبر، في تقرير حمل عنوان «السجون في لبنان: بين القانون والواقع وحاجات الإصلاح»، أنه «قياسا على القواعد الدنيا لمعاملة السجناء الصادرة عن الأمم المتحدة، يمكن اختصار وضع السجون بأنه يتأرجح بين السيئ والسيئ جدا واللاإنساني»، مشيرا إلى أن «وظيفة القصاص تتجلى بأبشع صورها إلى حد يصبح فيها المكوث في عدد من السجون اللبنانية ضربا من ضروب التعذيب والمعاملة القاسية واللاإنسانية». أما عن وظيفة الردع، بحسب التقرير، «فلا تؤدي ظروف السجن إلا إلى إنتاج مساجين حاقدين على سجانيهم والقضاء والمجتمع، وغالبا ما يخرج المساجين للانتقام ولتكرار الجريمة التي يتمرسون في معرفة فنونها ومحترفيها في السجون». وفي ما يخص وظيفة التأهيل والإصلاح، يرى مخيبر أنها «شبه غائبة لولا جهود ومبادرات فردية لبعض المسؤولين عن إدارة السجون وللجمعيات الأهلية والمدنية التي تعنى برعاية شؤون السجناء». ويلخص تقرير مخيبر المشكلات التي تعاني منها السجون في لبنان بعدة نقاط، أولها «الاكتظاظ الشديد (الخانق) لجميع السجون التابعة لوزارة الداخلية بما يقارب 5876 سجينا وسجينة، ذلك ما يتجاوز نسبة متوسطة قدرها 300 في المائة تقريبا من طاقة جميع الأبنية على الاستيعاب». بالإضافة إلى انتهاك الحقوق والأصول الأساسية الآتية بنسب متفاوتة من سجن لآخر، على غرار خلط المساجين بعضهم ببعض وعدم تصنيفهم بالطريقة المناسبة، وإلغاء أو الحد من الحق بالنزهة اليومية، وعناية صحية غير مناسبة، وبيئة غير مواتية للصحة الشخصية والعامة، وغياب النشاطات التربوية والاجتماعية والاقتصادية، وصعوبة إجراء الزيارات. أما العوامل المؤسسة لذلك التردي في حال السجون، فتعود إلى عدم تناسب الأبنية المستعملة (باستثناء سجن رومية) بالنسبة لعدد غرفها وأسرتها وقاعاتها وهندستها العامة وتجهيزاتها الفنية، مع حاجات الإدارة السجنية المتكاملة السليمة وفق «القواعد الدنيا». بالإضافة إلى الاكتظاظ الشديد الخانق وغير الطبيعي بالموقوفين احتياطيا. ويستدل التقرير بأن 4020 من المساجين (أي 68 في المائة من المجموع العام) هم في الواقع من الأشخاص الموقوفين احتياطيا، المودعين في السجون لمدد متوسطة وطويلة ريثما تنتهي محاكمتهم، مما يؤشر إلى خلل في عمل المحاكم، إن لجهة البطء في المحاكمات، أو لجهة استعمال مفرط، أو حتى المخالف للقانون في بعض الأحيان، لحق التوقيف الاحتياطي. ويضيف تقرير مخيبر أسبابا أخرى تتمثل في عدم توافق الإطار التشريعي (في الكثير من أحكامه) والإطار الإداري مع «القواعد الدنيا» ومع متطلبات علم إدارة السجون والسياسة العقابية الحديثتين، وعدم توافر الإمكانيات المالية المناسبة لتطوير جميع الخدمات الضرورية لحسن إدارة السجون وفق «القواعد الدنيا». عقب الأزمة الأخيرة، اتخذت بعض الإجراءات الضرورية للحد من تلك الأزمة المتفاقمة جيلا بعد جيل. وأكد رئيس لجنة حقوق الإنسان في مجلس النواب النائب ميشال موسى، في حديث لـ«الشرق الأوسط» أن القرار السياسي لتحسين أوضاع السجون «قد اتخذ على أعلى المستويات، وستتحول الوعود إلى وقائع في أسرع وقت»، مشيرا إلى أن هناك «تحركا رسميا جديا للمباشرة بالإصلاحات، ينطلق من قرار الهيئة العليا للإغاثة بتخصيص 7.5 مليار ليرة لبنانية (5 ملايين دولار) لبناء قاعة للمحاكمات ونظارتين فوق قصري العدل في بيروت وجبل لبنان». غير أن التحرك الجدي، يحتاج بنظر موسى إلى «مراقبة على أعلى المستويات لمتابعة تنفيذ الوعود»، مشددا على أن هناك إجراءات تنفيذية سريعة بشأن هذه القضية. وإذ أكد موسى أن «معاناة السجناء الإنسانية هي أمر غير مقبول، وأن المشكلة كبيرة وتحتاج إلى حلول جذرية»، شدد على أن الخطوات التنفيذية «ستكون قريبة جدا»، مشيرا إلى «أننا شرعنا بقضية تسريع المحاكمات عبر الجهات القضائية المختصة، وستحل قضية الاكتظاظ عبر بناء سجنين في الشمال والجنوب، وسيباشر في موضوع تخفيض مدة السجن حال تشكيل الحكومة». وكان من المفترض أن تكظم تلك الإجراءات والخطوات التنفيذية غيظ ذوي السجناء، بيد أنهم ينظرون إلى الوعود على أنها «غير جدية». وأشار مرشد عام السجون الأب مروان غانم في اتصال مع «الشرق الأوسط» إلى أن فتيل انفجار هذه القنبلة لم يسحب بعد، ذلك أن «التحسن خجول». وفيما يخص العفو العام، أكد غانم أنه لا يعارض «العفو العام المشروط، أسوة بالعفو الذي استفاد منه بعض السجناء في عام 2005»، موضحا أن العفو الذي يطالب به السجناء «يجب أن يطال المحكومين والموقوفين بقضايا حق عام، مثل القضايا المالية والمدنية». وأضاف أنه «ليس هناك قرار واضح بخصوص العفو العام، وتخفيض السنة العقابية إلى تسعة شهور، رغم أن هذا الإجراء يخفف من الأعباء على الدولة اللبنانية». وقال: «نطالب بهذين المطلبين، بالإضافة إلى تحديد سنوات المؤبد من دون قيد أو شرط، أسوة ببلدان أخرى مثل مصر، لأنه لا يجوز أن يموت شخص في السجن، من غير أن تنتهي محكوميته المؤبدة»، مقترحا أن يكون حكم المؤبد 25 عاما إذا كانت سنة السجن 9 أشهر، أو 20 عاما إذا كانت سنة السجن 12 شهرا». وإذا كانت معظم المطالب قد باتت على سلم التنفيذ، فإن مطلب العفو العام يبدو صعبا، بدليل ما قاله النائب ميشال موسى، بأن قضية العفو العام «تحتاج إلى توافق بين جميع الفرقاء السياسيين»، لافتا إلى أنه «أثناء طرح القضية على الكتل النيابية التي ستصوت على القانون في الحكومة ومجلس النواب، تبين أن هناك اختلافات في وجهات النظر»، موضحا أن القضية «تحتاج إلى الكثير من الأخذ والرد، ولا يمكن أن تحل بسهولة». وفيما اعتبر البعض أن أزمة سجن رومية المطلبية، تحمل وجها سياسيا، «كون معظم المحتجين كانوا من الطائفة الشيعية، وبالتالي تعد الحملة موجهة، وتهدف للضغط على وزير الداخلية زياد بارود على أعتاب تشكيل الحكومة»، رأى عضو كتلة المستقبل النيابية النائب هادي حبيش أن هذا التحرك، «وإن عمد البعض إلى استثماره سياسيا وحاول الاستفادة منه للضغط على الفريق الحاكم، إلا أنه مطلب محق»، معتبرا أن الدولة اللبنانية «لا تراعي الأصول القانونية المتبعة في العالم، حيث هناك ضيق في السجون، وتأخير في إصدار الأحكام». وتوقف حبيش في اتصال مع «الشرق الأوسط» عند المشكلة الكبيرة التي «تتفاقم في لبنان»، حيث تؤكد التقارير أن «عدد المساجين يتزايد في السجون نتيجة التأخير بإصدار الأحكام، وازدياد عدد السكان، والفلتان الأمني في البلدان، وعدم قدرة الدولة المطلقة على ضبط الأمن». وأعرب عن رؤيته بأن يكون موضوع السجون «أولوية أمام الحكومة المقبلة، كونه يحمل طابعا إنسانيا»، مشددا على أن «الحل يتمثل بإيلاء الاهتمام الكامل لموضوع السجون، وإيجاد حل جذري لها»، معتبرا أن المشكلة تتفاقم «لأن كل وزير يتبع خطة مختلفة، فيما يفترض أن يكمل كل وزير يتعاقب على السلطة خطة سلفه كي نصل إلى حلول جذرية لمختلف القضايا». وإذ أكد حبيش أن «ما يحصل داخل السجن من مخالفات، غير مقبول نهائيا»، أشار إلى أنه «يجب أن نأخذ بعين الاعتبار خطوات لتخفيف عدد المساجين، وإخراج السجين من سجنه مواطنا صالحا، لا خارجا على القانون»، معربا عن اعتقاده بأن هذا الملف «لا يتحمل مسؤوليته فريق معين، بل تقع المسؤولية على جميع المعنيين بالقضية». ولا يبدو أن الحلول المقترحة والإجراءات الرسمية قد أنهت الاحتجاجات، إذ تُسمع في كل يوم أنباء عن معاناة جديدة في سجن رومية، كان آخرها ما علمته «الشرق الأوسط» عن مسجون يصارع الموت بسبب إصابته بمرض الغرغرينا، ولم يفرج عنه حتى للمعالجة. كما أن هناك شابا آخر الذي أصيب بطلق ناري في صدره أثناء الاحتجاجات، لا يعلم والده في أي مستشفى أودع ابنه بغرض العلاج. وقال الوالد إنه يبحث عن ابنه في حلقة مفقودة إذ «تارة يقولون إنه في مستشفى ضهر الباشق، ومرة أخرى في مستشفى الحياة.. لكنني لم أعثر على ابني في أي من المستشفيين»، مشيرا إلى أنه تقدم بدعوى قضائية ضد رجل الأمن الذي أطلق النار على ابنه. وكان لافتا خلال الاحتجاجات الأخيرة أن السجناء الإسلاميين وسجناء تنظيم «فتح الإسلام» لم يتحركوا، علما أنهم كانوا في مقدمة المحتجين خلال أزمات سابقة. وقال رئيس جمعية «اقرأ» الشيخ بلال دقماق الذي يتابع قضية السجناء الإسلاميين، إن هؤلاء «لم يكونوا معنيين بالأحداث الأخيرة، لأن الاحتجاج الأخير كان مطلبيا لأصحاب السوابق وليس للسجناء الإسلاميين»، نافيا أن يكون سجناء «فتح الإسلام»، «يعيشون في سجن 5 نجوم»، كما تردد. وأشار في اتصال مع «الشرق الأوسط» إلى أن هؤلاء السجناء «يحظون بتعامل خاص مراعاة للقوانين الشرعية الإسلامية، ولا يحظون براحة في السجن نفسه»، موضحا أن ذلك التعامل ينسحب على عدم كشف وجوه زوجاتهم لدى زيارتهم، وغيرها من الإجراءات التي تتوافق مع مبدأ حرية المعتقد الديني في لبنان. سجون لبنان، مشكلة متجذرة لم تجد لها السلطات المتعاقبة حلولا جذرية، ويجمع المسؤولون والمعنيون على أنها، إذا لم تحل جذريا، ستكون برميل بارود قابلا للانفجار في أي لحظة، كما حصل خلال الأزمة الأخيرة.

The Daily Star - Authorities study video for clues on missing Estonians - April 22, 2011

By Patrick Galey

The Daily Star BEIRUT: The online posting of a video showing seven Estonian nationals kidnapped in the Bekaa Valley last month has reignited investigations into their disappearance, the head of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) said Thursday. Major General Ashraf Rifi said investigators were thoroughly studying the video, which was posted this week on social media website YouTube, in a bid to gather clues on the groups’ whereabouts. “We are working on this issue and studying the video to see if we can get any conclusive evidence on it. We are coordinating with French and Estonian [diplomats] in Lebanon,” Rifi told The Daily Star. The video, which has since been removed, featured the seven Estonian nationals making a heartfelt plea to world leaders for action to liberate them. The footage was undated and featured no mention of the kidnappers, but Rifi said the message it contained was clear. “They want money but they didn’t tell us how much they want yet. This is evident from the video,” he said. Rifi added that four suspects were being held by the ISF in direct connection with the abduction, as well as four individuals who are alleged to have “contributed to the kidnapping by providing some logistical support.” “We have no idea about [whether the Estonians are still alive] but we are working on finding out,” Rifi added, in reference to the footage being undated. Estonian Consul in Lebanon Sami Kammouh said that there were no plans for Estonian family members to travel to Lebanon in a bid to secure the captives’ release. “Cooperation is continuing as normal, there has been no negative affect [on Lebanese-Estonian] relations over [the kidnapping],” Kammouh told The Daily Star. He refused to comment over the exact processes governing the investigation of the video footage, but agreed with Rifi that the kidnappers may soon come forward with a ransom request. “The kidnappers will not prevail, and they are waiting for us to make a move over this. It looks like they are getting ready to issue their demands,” Kammouh said. “We are just waiting for more from the kidnappers, for them to tell us what it is they want.” When asked if Estonia may be willing to pay ransom to save the tourists, he responded: “This is a matter for the president [of Estonia] to decide. I can’t make those decisions on his behalf.” Seven Estonian cyclists were abducted at gunpoint March 23, on the outskirts of Zahle. A previously unknown group, Haraket al-Nahda Wal-Islah (Movement for Renewal and Reform), has taken responsibility for the abduction, but security sources say at least four presumed assailants remain at large.

The Daily Star - Suspected forger wanted on 136 warrants arrested - April 22, 2011

BEIRUT: A suspected forger wanted on 136 outstanding arrest warrants was captured by the Judicial Police in the Bekaa village of Brital Thursday.

The National News Agency called the 52-year-old man “one of the most dangerous counterfeiters in the country,” wanted by the national authorities and Interpol for allegedly committing a string of crimes, the most serious of which being the forging of legal documents, including drivers’ licenses, passports, military papers and other forms of identification. 

The suspect’s brother, 39, wanted for four outstanding arrest warrants, was also taken into custody. 

Separately, a 38-year-old man and his wife, 30, were arrested in Akkar by the Internal Security Forces after the man was found to be in possession of $1,000 and SP29,000 in counterfeit bills.

The couple was arrested in Mafraq al-Ayoun Wednesday, and the police confiscated a sum of more than LL1.1 million, which the man confessed to receiving in exchange for counterfeit currency, the ISF said.

The Daily Star - Armenian political parties to commemorate genocide - April 22, 2011

BEIRUT: Three Armenian political parties will hold a gathering Sunday at the Armenian Orthodox church in Antelias to mark the 96th anniversary of the 1915 genocide.

“This activity is to express our rejection to the policy of denial adopted by Turkey before the international community, and our refusal to engage in any negotiations before Turkey takes steps to compensate for the Armenian people’s moral and material losses,” a statement released by the Tashnak party said. 

Another joint statement by the Tashnak, Hentchak and Ramgavar parties said the failure of the international community to support the rights of the Armenian people would not be met with concessions or compromises. 

Separately, Armenian Orthodox Catholicos Aram I Keshishian said he would decline from receiving well-wishers on Easter Sunday given that the holiday coincides with April 24, the annual date of the genocide.

The Daily Star - Sidon water treatment plant pumping sewage into sea - April 22, 2011

By Mohammed Zaatari

The Daily Star SIDON: Residents have discovered that Sidon’s new waste water treatment plant, which is designed to filter sewage water before pumping it to the sea, is pumping waste water into the sea untreated, a fact that was acknowledged by the city’s mayor. Passersby noticed that a side drainage pipe, stretching from the plant to the mouth of the Sinniq River, is emptying untreated sewage into the sea. Residents in the area are complaining of a foul smell pervading surrounding neighborhoods, especially in the industrial zone nearby, and told The Daily Star that the pipe had been pumping waste water for many hours during the day and night. Mohammad Darwish, who works in the city’s industrial zone, said that the pipe pumps sewage water for “more than six hours on a daily basis,” calling the matter an “environmental scandal.” “Who is responsible for deceiving the public?” he asked. The Council of Development and Reconstruction began operating the plant late last year after receiving a grant of $300,000 from the Japanese government. Eight drainage pipes carrying sewage water from Sidon and surrounding areas into the sea were gradually closed and waste water was sent instead to three pumps, which direct sewage water to the plant. The municipality finished its work Thursday to remove the largest of the city’s pipes that pump sewage water directly into the sea. But Sidon Mayor Mohammad Saudi acknowledged that a large amount of sewage water is being directed into the sea without any treatment. “This is because workers hired by the Council of Development and Reconstruction do not turn on the generators to operate the plant when the electricity is off,” he explained, stressing that this “should not happen.” “The municipality of Sidon has fulfilled its responsibility, and relieved Sidon’s beach of eight locations where sewage water was directed and used to pollute the sea,” he added. Officials from the Transportation and Public Works Ministry have washed their hands of the matter as well, holding the CDR responsible. Members of Sidon’s municipal council, who requested to remain anonymous, sought to justify the drainage pipe by saying that workers in the plant needed “to save diesel, which is used to turn on the electric generators to operate the plant when the electricity is off.” Abu Mahmoud Masri, who lives near the plant, dismissed the explanation. “What a lie! Sewage water is completely being directed to the sea whether the electricity is on or off … a real environmental catastrophe is back, after we believed that the sea pollution was over, and a foul smell and contaminated water are disrupting the lives of people in Sinniq,” he said. Some residents even doubted that the main 2-kilometer pipe from the plant was pumping filtered water. A scrap metal collector told The Daily Star that he had observed contaminated water near the pipe several times, concluding that “waste water was not filtered, but directed to the sea.”

Now Lebanon - ISF 'Thoroughly Examines' Video of 7 Estonians, Rifi Doubts Abductors are after Ransom - April 21, 2011

Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi said the ISF was "thoroughly examining" the online video posted on YouTube in which seven Estonian tourists, who were kidnapped in the Bekaa valley on March 23, pleaded for help. Rifi told As Safir daily in remarks published Thursday that the ISF was studying how the content of the video could help in the investigation. A security source believed that the video was posted by a professional person to prevent police from tracking its source.The video, which was later removed, runs one minute and 47 seconds and shows each of seven men in sportswear, begging for help in English. "We are turning to you, prime minister of Lebanon Saad Hariri, the King of Saudi Arabia King Abdullah, the King of Jordan King Abdullah, the President of France Mr. Sarkozy, please do anything to help us to get back home," said one of the seven. Estonia's foreign ministry confirmed that "several institutions are dealing now with the question of finding out from where the video was posted onto the Internet." A previously unheard of group, Haraket al-Nahda Wal-Islah (Movement for Renewal and Reform), has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and demanded an unspecified ransom to free the seven Estonians. But Rifi told As Safir that the Estonians did not specify any ransom in their video. Asked why they pleaded for help from different heads of state, the ISF chief said he believed that the demand for ransom was aimed at concealing the real demand of the kidnappers. "Security agencies are taking all possibilities into consideration," he said. He reiterated that half of the abductors were in custody while the remaining half was still at large. On April 11, a police intelligence officer and a main suspect in the kidnapping were killed in a shootout in the Bekaa town of Majdal Anjar. Unconfirmed reports had said that the Estonians may have been moved across the porous border to Syria. But Rifi said there was no conclusive evidence on whether the seven Estonians were still in Lebanon or not.

Now Lebanon - An-Nahar: Security measures taken to bar Syrian protests in Tripoli - April 21, 2011

Security measures were taken to ban two rallies expected to take place in North Lebanon, one for and one against Syria's ruling regime, An-Nahar newspaper reported on Thursday.

The two rallies, which might be held in Tripoli on Friday, were not granted official permits by the relevant Lebanese authorities, the daily added.

It also said that the decision to take security measures came as a response to Pan-Islamic group Hezb Ut-Tahrir spokesperson Ahmad Kasas, who said on Wednesday that his party “has made the decision [to protest] and will not give in.”

Kasas’ group has called for a rally after Friday prayers in Tripoli, a Sunni stronghold in North Lebanon, to support Syrian demonstrators who since March have protested against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Hezb Ut-Tahrir (Arabic for "Party of Liberation") is an international movement which seeks to restore a caliphate by uniting all Muslim countries under a single Islamic rule.

Now Lebanon - Majdalani talks about “Syrian exclusion” from Estonians’ video - April 21, 2011

Lebanon First bloc MP Atef Majdalani said on Thursday that the Estonian men who were kidnapped last month in Lebanon did not refer to Syria when they pleaded for help in a video that was sent as a YouTube link in an e-mail to the Estonian Foreign Ministry.

Majdalani told the Voice of Lebanon (100.5) radio station that in the video, the kidnapped Estonians - who called on outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri and the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and France to do anything in their power to get them back home - “excluded Syria, as if the latter cannot help in that issue.”

“The video conveys a political message,” the MP said, in a possible reference that the kidnappers do not want to involve Syria in the issue.

On Wednesday, Estonia's Foreign Ministry confirmed that the seven men seen in the video were indeed the tourists from the Baltic state.

YouTube removed the video hours after news of the posting broke, saying "its content violated YouTube’s terms of service."

Now Lebanon - Rifi: Video of abducted Estonians is being studied - April 21, 2011

Internal Security Forces General Commander Achraf Rifi said in an interview published on Thursday that the video showing the abducted Estonians asking for help is being carefully studied “as it might lead to new evidence that can help the investigation.”

“The [known] demand of the kidnappers is to receive a ransom, but they did not specify its amount or the payment method,” Rifi told As-Safir newspaper.

The ISF commander stressed that the ransom might be a cover for the real demand of the kidnappers, adding that the ISF are taking all possibilities into consideration.

Rifi also said that half of the kidnappers have been arrested but the others are still free.

“No conclusive evidence clarifies if the Estonians are still in Lebanon.”

An unauthenticated video uploaded to YouTube late Tuesday showed seven Estonians kidnapped last month in eastern Lebanon begging Lebanese, Saudi, Jordanian and French leaders to help them return home.

The seven men, who were on a cycling holiday, went missing on March 23 in the eastern Bekaa Valley after entering Lebanon from Syria. The motive for their abduction remains unclear.

Eleven Lebanese were charged last week with the kidnapping.

A previously unheard of group, Haraket Al-Nahda Wal-Islah (Movement for Renewal and Reform), has claimed responsibility and demanded an unspecified ransom to free the men. The claim has not been authenticated by security officials.

Authorities reportedly said the Estonians may have been moved across the porous border to Syria.

The Daily Star - Beirut commemorates World Hemophilia Day - April 21, 2011

BEIRUT: The Lebanese Association for Hemophilia hosted an event on Downtown Beirut’s Roman steps commemorating World Hemophilia Day Sunday to draw attention to the challenges that Lebanese living with blood disorders and their families face.
In cooperation with global pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk and Tele Clinique, LAH convened talks on the issues Lebanese diagnosed with the disease, and their families, must cope with, beyond the medical condition, in their personal and professional lives.
“People with hemophilia and their families suffer from psychological issues in every stage of their lives stemming from shock at initial diagnosis, childhood family tensions and school integration problems, adolescence rebellion and denial due to fear of stigmatization, concluding with issues with adult integration at work and starting families,” said Solange Sakr, LAH president.
The talks featured contributions from the Social Affairs Ministry, the head of Parliament’s Health Committee Dr. Atef Majdalani, patients, family members, specialists and LAH representatives.
Majdalani explained that while Lebanon has laws that protect the employment of people with special needs – such as Law number 220/2000 issued in December 1999 – implementation was lacking. “We supported this gathering [on World Hemophilia Day] mainly to shed light on the need for enhanced laws that support the social integration of people living with Hemophilia, who are often discriminated against in schooling and employment opportunities,” said Majdalani.
LAH also hosted a gathering at the Yarzé Country Club a day prior for those afflicted with Hemophilia to share their experiences and success stories with one another and their families.
The talks highlighted the importance of early treatment and psychological outlets for hemophiliacs, especially early education about the disease.
According to the LAH, many who have hemophilia, a disorder that interferes with the body’s ability to control blood clotting, can live relatively normal and healthy lives with proper and early intervention.
The LAH estimates that there are about 1,000 people living in Lebanon with hemophilia and other blood disorders.

The Daily Star - Jabal Moussa Biosphere Reserve sand quarry defies closure order - April 21, 2011

BEIRUT: Despite the government’s recent closure of a sand quarry in the Jabal Moussa Biosphere Reserve, the site remains under pressure from individiuals who were profiting from the quarry activities, according to an association involved in protecting the site.

The Jabal Moussa site was declared a protected forest by the Agriculture Ministry in 2008 and was named a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2009, making it the third such reserve in Lebanon after the Chouf and the Jabal al-Rihan reserves.

The association said it had witnessed large-scale degradation near the main entrance of the reserve in the village of Mshati during the first week of April.

According to the statement, a bulldozer dug into the mountain, causing extensive damage to the front of the mountain as well as to private lands adjacent to the sand quarry.

In cooperation with the local community and the Environment Ministry, the association, whose role is to protect the mountain and preserve its biodiversity, has began work to repair the damage caused by quarrying.

The statement also said that caretaker Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud had responded to the association’s request to the government to protect the mountain, and issued a decree April 4, sealing off the sand quarry.

The association warned that the reserve was in danger and that allowing any further quarrying activity would lead to environmental disaster, and would allow those who profit from the quarry to continue with impunity.

The association emphasized that the quarry must remain sealed off to ensure the protection of the Jabal Moussa biosphere reserve and its surrounding areas.

The Daily Star - Estonian anguish surfaces online - April 21, 2011

By Dana KhraicheThe Daily Star

BEIRUT: The kidnappers of the seven Estonians have uploaded a video to Youtube showing them pleading with regional and world leaders to secure their release.
Estonia’s Foreign Ministry Wednesday confirmed that the seven men in the video, which was posted late Tuesday, were the tourists who had been abducted last month in Lebanon, AFP reported.
The ministry added that it had been sent a copy of the video Tuesday night.
A security source told The Daily Star that security bodies had begun to “examine the recording as soon as they learned of it,” while focusing on the details of the posting and the camera equipment that was used.
The video, which ran for one minute and 47 seconds and was later removed from the website, showed seven middle-aged men dressed in what appeared to be cycling jackets.
One of the men at the forefront of the group addressed the camera, periodically lowering his gaze as though reading off a sheet of paper.
“Turning to you, [caretaker] Prime Minister of Lebanon Saad Hariri, the king of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah [bin Abdel-Aziz], the king of Jordan, King Abdullah [II], the president of France, Mr. [Nicholas] Sarkozy, please do anything to help us to get back home and please give them what they have asked for … Do everything to get us back home to our family as soon as possible,” the Estonian said in the video.
The seven appeared disheveled, tired and scared but unharmed.
“Please help us,” each of the seven Estonians pleaded close to the end of the video.
“Please help us to get home, we’re looking for our families, please do whatever needs to get us back home,” one of the distressed Estonians said.
“This is a really difficult situation, please do anything, do everything what it takes to get us home,” another member said.
Speaking to The Daily Star Wednesday, Sami Kammouh, the Estonian consul in Lebanon, said he hoped the leaders named in the video would respond to the abductees’ pleas.
“We hope that they respond to their pleas,” Kammouh said. The Estonian envoy added that a political motive could not be discounted in the case of the abducted Estonians, saying: “Because they pleaded to prominent figures, their [the kidnappers’] demand must be bigger [than money].”
The Estonian Foreign Ministry said it was investigating where the videos had been posted from.
“Several institutions are dealing now with the question of finding out from where the video was posted onto the Internet. We do not wish to comment from which email address we got the video,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Minna-Lind was quoted by AFP as saying.
Lebanese authorities have charged 11 people, four of them still at large, with kidnapping the tourists at gunpoint and shooting at a security force patrol that was chasing them.
The video, which was posted under the username TheKidnaper2011, appeared online hours after Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet wrapped up a trip to Lebanon, during which he said there were no new leads on the fate of the seven Estonian cyclists who were abducted on March 23.
He travelled on to Abu Dhabi for a meeting of European Union and Gulf Cooperation Council nations.
“It appears from the video that all seven abducted Estonian citizens are alive and well. However, it is not known when the clip was recorded,” Paet said in a statement Wednesday.
“The message did not include the conditions of the victims’ release, any demands, or information on who is behind the abduction,” he said.
Speaking to reporters in Tallinn, Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said: “No requests have been made to Estonian authorities in regard of the kidnapping.”
Kammouh told The Daily Star that Europeans were the kidnaper’s initial target but “it happened that these [cyclists] were Estonians.”
“They might demand to free someone in Europe or demand a ransom but it’s a bigger thing,” Kammouh said, adding that officials would not stop until they got to the bottom of the case.
A previously unheard of group, Haraket Al-Nahda Wal-Islah (Movement for Renewal and Reform), has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and demanded an unspecified ransom to free the seven Estonians.
The claim was emailed to Lebanon Files but has not been authenticated by officials. Abductions have been rare in Lebanon since the end of the 15-year Civil War.

The Daily Star - Thieves make off with loot from SOS center - April 21, 2011

BEIRUT: An SOS center for children with special needs was robbed in Mar Boutros, Jbeil Wednesday, according to the National News Agency.After breaking and entering, the thieves made off with a laptop, three wristwatches and some other items belonging to the institution, totaling approximately $1,000. The Jbeil police have launched an investigation to find the perpetrators.

The Daily Star - Anti-Syrian protest to go ahead despite ban - April 21, 2011

By Antoine Amrieh

The Daily Star “The party will demonstrate in support of the oppressed [Syrian] people who are subjected to the worst forms of abuse,” Ahmad Kasas said Thursday. BEIRUT: Hizb Ut-Tahrir’s media official, Ahmad Qasas, told local media outlets Thursday that the party would not cancel the demonstration despite rejection by the local authorities. “We do not recognize political borders between states,” he said. Security officials in the north have rejected requests for permits to hold two demonstrations, one against and the other in support for the Syrian regime in Tripoli Friday. The decision came after the North Lebanon Security Council convened in Tripoli’s Serail Wednesday under Nassif Qaloush, the governor of the north, in the presence of top north Lebanon-based security officials. The permit for the two demonstrations were rejected because it did not meet “legal conditions,” the Council said. “The party will demonstrate in support of the oppressed [Syrian] people who are subjected to the worst forms of abuse,” Kasas told OTV television station Thursday. The council demanded that rallies gather instead in a hall or a public square from which they do not march, after coordinating with the army and relevant security authorities, in order to preserve civil peace in Tripoli and the north and because the planned demonstrations coincide with Good Friday. The anti-Syrian-regime protest is called for by Hizb Ut-Tahrir, a controversial Islamist party that believes all Arab states lack legitimacy for being “pro-Western,” while the other is organized by a group of former Akkar MP Wajih Baarini and other factions close to Syria. Qasas said the ban was political rather than legal. “We do not care for it. If a clash breaks out, we will not be the initiators.” Also Wednesday, Hizb Ut-Tahrir issued a statement in response to remarks made by caretaker Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud the day before and said that any official decision to reject the party’s permit request was illegal and not objective. After chairing a meeting for the Central Security Council, Baroud said there were two permit requests for demonstrations planned to be held at the same time and “taking almost the same routes” on Good Friday. “Tripoli … has Christian and Muslim residents and Christians there have the right to practice their religious rituals that include the Good Friday [prayers] and circling in the city,” Baroud said, adding that the North Lebanon Security Council would take all this into consideration. Hizb Ut-Tahrir said the party sent a notification about the demonstration to the north Lebanon governorate on April 18, “and we have the receipt that proves so,” while the other side sent its notification the following day. “Accordingly, applicable standards require that the governorate demands [from the other side] to specify another location [for the protest] … or postpone it to another day,” said the statement. Hizb Ut-Tahrir added that the route to be taken by protesters does not pass through areas inhabited by Christians and the timing of the protests does not coincide with [Good Friday] rituals. Separately, the National News Agency reported Wednesday that army intelligence personnel arrested four Hizb Ut-Tahrir members in Abdeh, Akkar. The four were driving two cars and urging people through a loudspeaker to take part in Friday’s protests. Qasas said members from Hizb Ut-Tahrir had been illegally detained, and added: “It seems authorities in Lebanon have yet to learn a lesson from the fate of repressive regimes.” The Kataeb (Phalange) party issued a statement in which it denied any responsibility for fliers that call for protests against the Syrian regime, said to be circulating in Tripoli and bearing the signature of the party along with that of the Future Movement, Lebanese Forces, National Liberal Party, Hizb Ut-Tahrir and the Salafi Movement. Palestinian factions in the north called upon Palestinians in the region not to take part in any demonstration Friday or on any other day. Meanwhile, former Tripoli MP Mosbah Ahdab rejected in a statement moving protests from Syria “to Tripoli, which already has enough developmental, economic and living problems along with pending political issues.”

L'orient Le Jour - Des avocats accueillis par le TSL pour une visite d'information - April 21, 2011

Le Tribunal spécial pour le Liban a accueilli une trentaine d'avocats venant du Liban et leur a présenté des exposés sur les travaux du TSL. En visite à La Haye dans le cadre d'un séminaire sur l'évolution de la justice internationale, les juristes ont rencontré des responsables issus des quatre organes du tribunal. Ils ont visité la salle d'audience, et ont eu l'occasion de poser des questions sur les travaux du TSL.
Les travaux du séminaire de trois jours ont porté sur la justice internationale, en particulier les défis et les succès rencontrés par les juristes dans ce domaine. Les avocats ont également visité le Tribunal pénal international pour l'ex-Yougoslavie (TPIY) et la Cour pénale internationale (CPI), ainsi que des représentants de diverses organisations non gouvernementales présentes à La Haye, notamment la Coalition pour la Cour pénale internationale et l'Association internationale du barreau.
Le séminaire a été organisé par l'ONG libanaise Justice sans frontière, en étroite coopération avec la Section de la communication externe et de l'héritage du TSL.

L'orient Le Jour - Pause gouvernementale avant les fêtes et retour en force de l’énigme estonienne - April 21, 2011

LA SITUATION

En déclarant à partir de Baabda que la naissance du gouvernement aura lieu après les fêtes, le président de la Chambre Nabih Berry a surtout voulu dire qu'elle n'aura pas lieu avant. C'est du moins l'interprétation d'un politicien qui a voulu ainsi faire comprendre à ses interlocuteurs qu' « après » est un terme assez vague. Pourtant, les milieux officiels continuent de se dire optimistes, affirmant par exemple qu'il n'y a plus qu'un seul gros problème, à savoir celui du ministère de l'Intérieur. Les contacts intensifs du Premier ministre devraient reprendre mardi après la trêve obligée de Pâques et le court voyage du Premier ministre Nagib Mikati à Londres, et certaines rumeurs prévoient l'annonce de « la bonne nouvelle » la semaine prochaine.
Le dernier point gouvernemental montre un accord « définitif » au sujet du nombre de ministres (30) et du partage des parts : 19 pour la nouvelle majorité, selon la distribution suivante : dix au Bloc du changement et de la réforme (6 au CPL, 2 au Tachnag et 2 aux Marada) et neuf aux autres composantes de la majorité (trois à Berry, deux au Hezbollah, un au PSNS, Nicolas Fattouche, Talal Arslane et un membre de l'opposition sunnite ; et 11 pour le trio Sleiman-Mikati et Joumblatt.

Les tractations actuelles portent donc sur la distribution des portefeuilles, et il semblerait qu'il pourrait y avoir des permutations importantes. On parle ainsi de Fayez Ghosn (du courant des Marada) à la Défense en étant doté du titre de vice-président du Conseil. Michel Sleiman voudrait garder Ziyad Baroud à l'Intérieur, mais le général Aoun s'y oppose, affirmant que ce portefeuille est déterminant pour les prochaines législatives et acceptant l'idée de négocier un autre nom. Nagib Mikati souhaiterait de son côté ne pas donner les Télécommunications et l'Énergie et l'Eau au même camp politique comme c'est le cas actuellement où les deux portefeuilles sont aux mains de Charbel Nahas et Gebran Bassil. Quant à Nabih Berry, il serait prêt à céder les Affaires étrangères (surtout si Jean Obeid y était nommé) et même la Santé contre l'Énergie et l'Eau ou un autre portefeuille important, suivant le principe que le gouvernement est pratiquement formé d'un même camp et, par conséquent, la distribution des portefeuilles y devient secondaire.
À vrai dire, toute la question gouvernementale est devenue secondaire avec les derniers développements. Deux grands thèmes ont agité l'actualité somnolente de cette fin de semaine placée sous le signe de Pâques : un film vidéo parvenu au site Internet lebanonfiles montrant les sept otages estoniens et l'appel à la manifestation contre le régime syrien lancée par le mouvement islamiste Hezb al-Tahrir à Tripoli demain vendredi.
Au sujet des Estoniens, leur disparition devient de plus en plus énigmatique. Les autorités affirment avoir arrêté ceux qui les ont enlevés... qui ignorent toutefois où ils se trouvent car ils les auraient remis à d'autres groupes. Et les voilà qui apparaissent, pathétiques, demandant au roi Abdallah d'Arabie, au roi Abdallah de Jordanie et au président français d'accepter les conditions de leurs geôliers. Les autorités libanaises semblent dépassées, d'autant que les conditions restent très vagues, alors que les Libanais étaient convaincus que de tels procédés appartenaient à une époque révolue. Bref, le mystère demeure entier.
Tout comme le sort de la manifestation du Hezb al-Tahrir reste inconnu, puisque le parti a maintenu son appel à la grève en dépit de l'interdiction du ministère de l'Intérieur qui a refusé de lui donner une autorisation ainsi qu'aux partis prosyriens qui appelaient à une manifestation en faveur du régime d'Assad. La journée d'aujourd'hui sera sans doute consacrée à d'ultimes contacts pour éviter tout incident dans la capitale du Nord demain. D'autant que ce vendredi est une journée sainte pour les chrétiens, et le président de la République respectera la coutume d'assister à la cérémonie de la crucifixion du Christ à Kaslik avant de déjeuner à la table des moines maronites. Des personnalités de toutes les confessions et tous les bords politiques ont été conviées à ce déjeuner qui devrait paver la voie au sommet spirituel, prévu par le patriarche Raï à Bkerké le 12 mai, après le succès de son initiative de réunir les pôles chrétiens dans un dialogue « franc et détendu » mardi dernier .

L'orient Le Jour - L’appel à l’aide poignant des sept otages estoniens - April 21, 2011

Par Anne-Marie El-HAGE | 21/04/2011

Les sept otages estoniens tels qu’ils sont apparus dans la vidéo diffusée sur YouTube.

RAPT Les sept otages estoniens ont lancé hier un appel à l'aide poignant dans une vidéo publiée sur YouTube. Ils ont exhorté le Premier ministre Saad Hariri, le roi Abdallah d'Arabie, le roi Abdallah de Jordanie et le président français Nicolas Sarkozy à satisfaire les demandes de leurs ravisseurs. Mais les autorités libanaises soutiennent mordicus n'avoir aucune revendication sérieuse ni connaître d'ailleurs l'identité de ceux qui détiennent les 7 cyclistes.

Ils ont imploré le Premier ministre libanais Saad Hariri, le roi Abdallah d'Arabie saoudite, le roi Abdallah de Jordanie et le président français Nicolas Sarkozy de les aider afin qu'ils puissent rentrer chez eux et de satisfaire les demandes des ravisseurs.
Ces demandes n'ont toutefois pas été précisées, selon le ministre de l'Intérieur, Ziyad Baroud, alors que le Premier ministre Saad Hariri devrait présider aujourd'hui une réunion sur le dossier.

La vidéo montrant les otages estoniens a été mise en ligne tard mardi sur YouTube par un utilisateur identifié comme thekidnaper2011 (le ravisseur2011), à l'adresse http ://www.youtube.com/watch ? v=WIHXHk4c5Gw&feature=player_embedded.
Le ministère estonien des Affaires étrangères a confirmé hier que les sept personnes apparaissant sur cette vidéo sont bien les otages estoniens. « Plusieurs organismes sont en train de chercher à savoir à partir d'où la vidéo a été diffusée sur Internet », a déclaré la porte-parole du ministère Minna-Liina Lind, précisant que les images avaient été envoyées au ministère estonien mardi soir.
La vidéo, d'une minute quarante-sept secondes, montre sept hommes parfaitement rasés en tenue de sport et qui semblent en bonne santé. Ils s'expriment en anglais et supplient à tour de rôle qu'on vienne les aider. « Nous nous tournons vers vous, Premier ministre du Liban Saad Hariri, roi Abdallah d'Arabie saoudite, roi Abdallah de Jordanie, président français M. Sarkozy, s'il vous plaît, faites n'importe quoi pour nous aider à rentrer chez nous », a déclaré l'un d'eux. « S'il vous plaît, donnez ce que (les ravisseurs) ont demandé (...), faites tout pour que l'on puisse rentrer chez nous, retrouver nos familles le plus tôt possible ». « C'est vraiment une situation difficile », a dit un autre.
La vidéo a été publiée quelques heures après la fin de la visite au Liban du ministre des Affaires étrangères estonien Urmas Paet. Une visite qui s'est conclue sans aucune nouvelle concernant les otages.
« Il semble d'après la vidéo que les sept Estoniens enlevés sont en vie et en bonne santé. Cependant, on ne sait pas quand elle a été tournée », a commenté M. Paet, mercredi, dans un communiqué. « Le message ne donne aucune indication sur les conditions de libération des victimes ni sur des demandes ou des informations concernant ceux qui sont derrière cet enlèvement », a-t-il souligné.
Le président de l'Estonie, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, a confirmé devant la presse à Tallinn qu'« aucune demande concernant cet enlèvement n'a été présentée aux autorités estoniennes ». Pourtant, selon un avocat estonien, Andres Anvelt, « la vidéo donne l'impression que des demandes ont déjà été présentées ». « J'ai l'impression que la vidéo a été faite pour faire pression sur l'opinion publique », a-t-il déclaré sur le site Web du journal estonien Postimees.
Dans un courriel envoyé le 5 avril à un site Internet libanais, un groupuscule jusqu'ici inconnu, Haraket el-nahda wal islah (Mouvement pour la renaissance et la réforme), avait revendiqué l'enlèvement et exigé une rançon pour les libérer, en affirmant qu'ils étaient en bonne santé. Mais pour le moment, aucune information n'a filtré concernant la rançon exigée ou la partie qui a reçu la demande de rançon.

Le chaînon manquant
On ne peut s'empêcher de se demander si les autorités estoniennes ou libanaises cachent quelque chose dans ce dossier dans le souci de protéger les otages, d'autant que onze personnes, dont sept en détention, ont déjà été inculpées par la justice libanaise pour l'enlèvement des Estoniens. On se demande aussi pourquoi les otages ont appelé à l'aide, dans la vidéo diffusée sur YouTube, le Premier ministre libanais, Saad Hariri, ainsi que les dirigeants français, saoudien et jordanien. Ce dossier serait-il politique ?
Contacté par L'Orient-Le Jour, le ministre de l'Intérieur, Ziyad Baroud, certifie que les autorités ne disposent d'« aucun détail concernant les demandes des ravisseurs, hormis ce qui a été diffusé sur les sites lebanonfiles.com et YouTube ». « La rançon n'a pas été précisée, ni même le montant, pas plus que les modalités de paiement », ajoute-t-il. À la question sur la possibilité que l'affaire puisse être politique, le ministre préfère ne pas faire de commentaire. « Je ne peux pas imaginer de scénario », dit-il. « Nous avons partagé toutes les informations dont disposent l'armée libanaise et les FSI avec le ministre estonien des Affaires étrangères, qui était en visite au Liban », souligne-t-il. Les services de sécurité affirment à ce propos que les cyclistes, venus de Syrie par le poste-frontière de Masnaa, ont été interceptés à Zahlé par un groupe de Libanais et de Syriens.
Malgré les arrestations qui ont été menées dans cette affaire et qu'il qualifie de « grand pas, mais insuffisant », M. Baroud affirme que les autorités n'ont « aucun moyen d'entrer en contact avec les ravisseurs » pour connaître leurs revendications. « Il y a un chaînon manquant entre les arrestations effectuées et la partie qui a publié les informations sur les sites, qui ne nous permet pas d'en savoir davantage », constate-t-il. Selon M. Baroud, le Premier ministre, Saad Hariri, présidera une réunion aujourd'hui sur le dossier. « Les otages sont en vie, c'est déjà un signe positif », conclut-il.
De son côté, le consul honoraire d'Estonie au Liban, Sami Kamouh, est convaincu que les autorités libanaises n'en savent pas plus pour le moment. « Il y a bien eu demande, mais il n'a pas été spécifié s'il s'agit d'une demande de rançon ou de libération de détenus quelque part dans le monde. Nous n'avons absolument aucune information à ce sujet », assure-t-il à L'Orient-Le Jour. M. Kamouh est toutefois persuadé que les dirigeants cités par les otages connaissent les revendications des ravisseurs. « Ce n'est sûrement pas une demande dérisoire. C'est certainement quelque chose d'important, une très grosse somme ou alors une revendication politique », estime-t-il.
De son côté, une porte-parole de l'ambassade de France explique à L'Orient-Le Jour l'appel des otages au président français Nicolas Sarkozy par le fait que les autorités estoniennes, qui n'ont pas d'ambassade au Liban, ont demandé l'assistance logistique de l'ambassade de France au Liban pour faciliter les contacts avec les autorités libanaises. « Nous avons organisé le séjour du ministre des Affaires étrangères et des envoyés estoniens au Liban », explique-t-elle. « Je ne sais pas s'il existe des raisons politiques » (derrière les propos des otages), observe-t-elle, tout en ajoutant que « dans les affaires d'otages, le meilleur service que l'on puisse rendre à ces derniers, c'est la discrétion absolue ». La porte-parole de l'ambassade de France tient aussi à exprimer le soutien et la sympathie de l'ambassade de France au Liban aux familles des sept otages estoniens. « Nous avons vu cette vidéo avec une grande émotion. C'est une grande épreuve pour ces familles », conclut-elle.