من الصحافة العالمية ـ أخبار

المعارضة اللبنانية تنضم إلى الاتحادات العمالية في الاحتجاجات المعادية للحكومة

Lebanese opposition joins labor unions in anti-government protest

Associated Press Worldstream

January 9, 2007 Tuesday 12:48 PM GMT

Lebanon 's Hezbollah-led opposition joined labor unions on Tuesday in a protest against tax increases proposed by embattled Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, stepping up pressure to force the government into resigning.

The demonstration outside the Finance Ministry's taxation department in central Beirut was called for by labor unions after Saniora proposed to increase taxes as part of a government economic reform plan ahead of an international donors' conference in Paris later this month.

But what started as purely labor demands quickly turned into another political battle between the opposition and the government, further deepening political divisions and even splitting the labor unions.

Pro-government labor groups stayed away from Tuesday's sit-in, while the Hezbollah-led opposition decided to escalate its ongoing street protests to bring down the government.

Hundreds of combat troops and riot police deployed the demonstration to prevent trouble. Witnesses said soldiers and security forces outnumbered the protesters.

Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman was quoted by the As-Safir daily newspaper Tuesday as saying the military would protect demonstrators, but also warning that the army "will never allow the storming of any public or official institution or a private institution."

Witnesses said some 1,500 unionists, waving Lebanese and opposition party flags, demonstrated about 200 meters (yards) from the Finance Ministry department. Police would not disclose its estimate of the number of protesters.

"The value added tax will further impoverish the poor. No to the imposition of new taxes," read one of the placards carried by protesters. Another placard read, "Saniora is responsible for impoverishing Lebanon ."

Union speakers lashed out at the taxes, describing the economic program as "disastrous" to workers and farmers. They also criticized government plans to privatize public utilities, such as the electricity company and the telecommunications sector.

Tuesday's protest came after the government endorsed a sweeping economic reform plan in a bid to attract foreign financial assistance much needed after the Hezbollah-Israel war in the summer worsened Lebanon 's economic woes, destroying many infrastructures.

The plan, unveiled by Saniora last week, would be presented to an international donors' conference scheduled in Paris on Jan. 25 to drum up financial aid and soft loans to help Lebanon cope with a soaring public debt and revitalize the struggling economy.

The plan envisages a privatization program directed primarily at increasing investment and reducing public debt estimated at more than US$40 billion (euro30.52 billion) twice the country's Gross Domestic Product.

Saniora indicated that the program also includes unpopular measures such as an increase in the value added tax on goods and services from 10 to 12 percent and fuel price hikes. The steps would be implemented in 2008.

Ghassan Ghosn, president of the largest Lebanese union confederation, said Tuesday's protest would be followed by street demonstrations and strikes if the government does not drop the proposed tax increases.

Addressing the crowd, Ghosn called for a new demonstration outside the Energy Ministry on Wednesday. He said Tuesday's protest was an "alarm bell" to be followed by other actions until the unions' demands are met.

The unions' move came as the Hezbollah-led opposition has decided to escalate its ongoing street protests against the prime minister after Saniora rejected its demand for a national unity government that would give Hezbollah and its allies veto power on key Cabinet decisions.

Supporters of the opposition have camped out in central Beirut since Dec. 1, turning the area into a city of tents where thousands of people gather daily, shouting anti-government slogans less than 100 meters (yards) from the government building where Saniora has been living under tight security, refusing to step down.

Opposition groups decided Monday to stage daily marches outside ministries and public facilities as part of its stepped up campaign.

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حزب الله يعيد تسلحه بينما الأمم المتحدة وإسرائيل تقف في جواره

Hezbollah rearming as UN stands by: Israel

Agence France Presse -- English

January 9, 2007 Tuesday 1:39 PM GMT

Israel's military intelligence chief claimed Tuesday that Lebanon's Hezbollah is rearming itself following last summer's war with Israel and that a UN peacekeeping force is doing nothing to stop it.

"Hezbollah has almost totally rebuilt its arsenal of rockets and arms," Major General Amos Yadlin was quoted by army radio as telling the parliamentary foreign affairs and defense committee.

"The traffic of arms from Iran and Syria destined for Hezbollah is continuing and the UN peacekeeping force is doing nothing to disarm Hezbollah," he added.

Hezbollah, which Israel and the United States claim is armed by Damascus and Tehran , touched off the 34-day war when its guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid in July.

The Jewish state responded with a deadly assault on Lebanon , while Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets at northern Israel .

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in August that led to a ceasefire and the beefing up of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon , giving it a mandate to assist the goverment in disarming militias.

But Yuval Steinitz, a member of the parliamentary committee, told army radio that "Hezbollah is rebuilding its forces and again threatening (the northern city of) Haifa and northern Israel ".

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محاكمة ميشيل كيلو في 23 كانون الثاني

Syrian opposition's Kilo to go on trial Jan 23

Agence France Presse -- English

January 9, 2007 Tuesday 2:15 PM GMT

Leading opposition figure and writer Michel Kilo is to go on trial on January 23 before a criminal court in the Syrian capital, defence lawyer Khalil Maatuk said Tuesday.

Kilo and communist activist Mahmud Issa both lost appeals in December for charges against them to be dropped for allegedly publishing false information and provoking dissent.

Issa will go on trial the same day, along with two other activists, Khalil Hussein and Suleiman al-Shummar, who are on the run, Maatuk said.

Kilo and Issa were arrested in May along with eight others for signing a petition calling for Syrian recognition of Lebanon 's independence.

They were accused of provoking religious and racial dissent, insulting official institutions, trying to "weaken national sentiment," damaging the image of the state and exposing Syria to the danger of aggression, the National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria said.

Issa is also charged with inciting a foreign country to attack Syria , it said.

The trial of lawyer Anwar Bunni, who was arrested with Kilo and Issa, opened in October and is due to resume on January 21. The other seven arrested last May were released.

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اتفاقية التجارة الحرة بين سورية وتركيا أصبحت سارية المفعول

Syria-Turkey free trade agreement takes effect

Agence France Presse -- English

January 9, 2007 Tuesday 2:02 PM GMT

A free trade agreement between Syria and Turkey to promote commerce and investment between the two countries came into effect on January 1, the official SANA news agency reported on Tuesday.

"This important accord will boost commercial exchanges" after the elimination of customs barriers, Syrian Deputy Economy and Trade Minister Ghassan Habash was quoted as saying.

He added that it would open "vast prospects for cooperation and investment" in the two countries, the agency said.

The agreement stipulates progressive customs exemptions for industrial goods, but does not apply to agricultural products such as cotton and grain.

Turkey 's investment in Syria , currently running at 400 million dollars a year, is expected to rise to 700 million dollars annually after the implementation of the agreement.

Turkish investment centres on Syria 's textiles, construction, cement and food sectors, as well as tourism, SANA said.

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والد الوزير المقتول اتهم مجموعة سورية محترفة بقتل ابنه

Father of slain minister accuses pro Syrian group

Deutsche Presse-Agentur

January 9, 2007 Tuesday 4:25 PM EST

The father of slain minister Pierre Gemayel accused Tuesday a pro Syrian group of killing of his son last November.

During a press conference, former president Amin Gemayel recalled that the National Syrian Socialist Party (NSSP) killed his brother former president-elect Bashir Gemayel in 1982.

Nine days before he was due to take office, Bashir Gemayel was assassinated along with 25 others in an explosion at the Phalangist Party headquarters in Achrafieh on September 14, 1982 .

Habib Shartouni, a member of the NSSP confessed, to the crime and was arrested and handed over to the authorities. He was imprisoned in the Roumieh Central prison, but was released in October 1990 by the Syrian army, in what many consider an illegal move.

Amin Gemayel, who currently heads the party, said the network which was uncovered by Lebanese security forces last month and the explosives that were found in an area north of Lebanon "belong to the NSSP."

"The group was planning to carry an attack on the Phalangist Party during a ceremony in 2005 shortly before the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri," Gemayel said, adding, "A failure in the timer of the bomb foiled their attempt at the time."

"If we link what we saw in the confiscated material and some information we obtained and we will keep now for ourselves to safeguard the ongoing investigation in my son's assassination. We have the right to wonder, if this attack is linked in a way or another with my son's killing."

Gemayel, 34, a former deputy and a minister in the anti-Syrian cabinet of premier Fouad Seniora was gunned down on November 21 in broad daylight by unidentified gunmen in a Christian neighbourhood of Beirut .

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المجموعة السورية تلوم النظام في مسألة اللاجئين في العراق

Syrian group blames regime for refugees

UPI

January 9, 2007 Tuesday 12:11 PM EST

A London-based Syrian human rights group is blaming the Syrian regime for the abuse and murder of scores of Syrian refugees in Iraq .

The Syrian Human Rights Monitor said in a statement Tuesday the reason why many Syrians in Iraq have been killed by death squads and others thrown in prisons in Baghdad is because the Damascus regime refuses to heed appeals to issue an amnesty for Syrian refugees in Iraq .

The group again called on President Bashar Assad to quickly issue an amnesty and allow them to return to their homes "because their conditions have reached a crucial and dangerous point that threatens their entire existence."

It added that Iraqi "death squads" Tuesday arrested several prominent Syrian dissidents in central Baghdad , including the head of the opposition Syrian Committee for Democratic Action, Mohammad Bakour, who also heads the Syrian refugees' affairs in Iraq .

The group said these people "have nothing to do with armed activities," and that their arrest was linked to Bakour's statements last week that eight Syrian refugees were killed by death squads in Baghdad .

The rights organization also appealed to the U.N. High Commission for Refugees and international rights groups to carry out their moral responsibilities towards the Syrian refugees in Iraq by pressuring the "concerned parties to find quick solutions before more innocent people fall."

Dozens of Syrian families sought refuge in neighboring Iraq after the Baath Party split into two rival groups in 1966, just as many Iraqis sought asylum in Syria , where the Baathists continue to rule today.

The Baath Party in Iraq collapsed with Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003, less than a month after U.S.-led forces invaded the country.

The targeting of Syrian refugees in Iraq today is widely seen as acts of vengeance against former regime supporters.

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من حق الزائر الكريم أن ينقل وأن ينشر كل ما يعجبه من موقعنا . معزواً إلينا ، أو غير معزو .ـ