Home - el Khazen Family Prince of Maronites : Lebanese Families Keserwan Lebanon

Why Lebanon is keeping mum on Syria’s contentious oil exploration contracts

Details

The Tungsten Explorer, a drillship to explore for oil and gas, is seen off the coast of Lebanon on May 15, 2020. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP)

By DAVID ROMANO AND NAJIA HOUSSARI -- arabnews.com -- MISSOURI, USA/ BEIRUT: Syria has signed a four-year oil and gas exploration deal with a Russian company in Mediterranean waters that Lebanon claims as its own. The two blocks to be explored under the new contract overlap with Lebanese maritime areas for energy exploration along the country’s northern border. Yet Lebanese outrage has been conspicuous by its absence. Now imagine a time, not so long ago, when the shoe was on the other foot. Lebanon demarcated its maritime borders in 2011 and, three years later, offered tenders for oil and gas companies for Block No.1 in the north. Justifiably or not, Syria responded by not recognizing the Lebanese demarcation and lodging a protest. The striking contrast between the two reactions, separated by seven years, was not lost on the Lebanese opposition. “Where do the official Lebanese authorities stand on this issue?” asked Rola Tabsh, an MP from the Future Movement bloc, when Syria announced the contract last month. “What is this suspicious coma? We waited for the violation from the south, from the enemy (Israel), but it came from the north, from a brotherly country.”

Similar concern was voiced by Richard Kouyoumjian, former minister and serving member of the Lebanese Forces parliamentary bloc, who said: “The government and the relevant ministries are required to have a sovereign position and clear clarification.” He called for the “resumption of demarcation negotiations in the south, an end to Syrian complicity and plundering of our money and oil wealth.” In the south, Israel’s demarcation line conflicts with the Lebanese one, which has led to protracted indirect negotiations sponsored by the UN and mediated by the US. The Lebanese-Israeli dispute and negotiations have been ongoing for more than 10 years now. Hezbollah, being a pro-Iranian Shiite militia and political party, did not appear in favor of even indirect negotiations with Israel over the issue, but grudgingly acceded to them. A resolution to the maritime border dispute with Israel remains crucial to Lebanon’s ability to attract oil and gas companies to its waters.

President Michel Suleiman: حرية التعبير مقدسة

Details

حرية التعبير مقدسة ولكن الاعتداء على حرمة المنزل والملكية الفردية غير جائز
كل التقدير للفنان اسعد رشدان

Let us rebuild Beirut's port in less than three years, says France's CMA CGM

Details

Lebanon to put some Beirut port officials under house arrest

PARIS (Reuters) - French container shipping group CMA CGM is pursuing a plan to rebuild Beirut’s port within three years, despite political deadlock in Lebanon that has prevented decisions on the port since a blast last August, a company executive said. A chemical explosion at the port killed 200 people and destroyed entire neighbourhoods, deepening Lebanon’s worst political and economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. CMA CGM’s plan, first outlined to Lebanese authorities in September, envisages the reconstruction of damaged docks and warehouses, along with port expansion and digitalisation, at a total cost estimated at $400 million to $600 million, Joe Dakkak, general manager CMA CGM Lebanon, said on Saturday. “Our offer remains on the table,” he told Reuters. “Our project is a realistic one because the situation is urgent.”

On Friday, German companies presented a separate multi-billion-dollar plan to rebuild Beirut’s port and neighbouring districts, confirming a previous report by Reuters. Dakkak said the German initiative was more focused on longer-term real-estate development but CMA CGM would be willing to contribute to the port part of that project if invited to. CMA CGM is controlled by the French-Lebanese Saade family and the group joined French President Emmanuel Macron in relief efforts in Beirut following the explosion last summer. Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Pravin Char Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

President Michel Suleiman: المطلوب العودة فوراً الى الحوار

Details

كما الدولار ، يقفل كل اسبوع على رزمة مشاكل ليُفتتح الذي يليه بتجاذبات جديدة و يمضي الاقتصاد في الانهيار والشباب يهاجر حاملاً معه كفاءاته. المطلوب العودة فوراً الى الحوار في اي شكل من الاشكال انطلاقاً مما وصلت اليه هيئة الحوار الوطني والنظر في الصيغة العملية لتحييد لبنان ومناقشة جدول زمني قصير الامد للتخلّي عن السلاح غير الشرعي و الاعلان عن حصر قرار الحرب بيدالدولة تمهيداً لحصر السلاح بيد اجهزتها العسكرية، ومن ثم الذهاب الى استكمال تطبيق الدستور.
اسرعوا والا الكارثة محتومة .... بادروا اليوم حيث لا ينفع الندم غداً

‘Act before it is too late,’ Arab League envoy tells Lebanon

Details

A view of the damaged grain silos at the port of the Lebanese capital Beirut, on April 9, 2021, still reeling from the destruction due to the catastrophic Aug. 4 blast. (AFP/File Photo)

By NAJIA HOUSSARI -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki has called for “patience, political will and more communication” to break Lebanon’s political deadlock. Speaking on the second day of his visit to the crisis-wracked country, Zaki said that “everyone is still insisting on their positions” and that urgent action is needed to find a political solution. “The worst is yet to come, and action must be taken before it is too late,” he warned. Zaki’s visit was preceded by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry’s arrival on Wednesday amid Arab efforts to help end the political impasse in Lebanon. The Arab League official voiced his support for Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai’s call for “a neutral Lebanon,” a plea that sparked an internal dispute in the country.

Following his meeting with Al-Rai, Zaki said the patriarch’s position “is in total harmony with the Arab League Council’s decisions regarding Lebanon’s self-distancing policy and keeping the country out of all regional conflicts.” During his meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Zaki asked about the fate of the Taif Agreement in light of political statements calling for the cancelation or amendment of the agreement for non-Lebanese interests. Shoukry’s agenda did not include meetings with the head of the Free Patriotic Movement Gebran Bassil or any Hezbollah officials, which prompted the excluded figures to describe the visit as “truncated.” All foreign initiatives to end the political deadlock in Lebanon have ended in failure. In his latest speech, Aoun focused on the need for a forensic financial audit of the Lebanese central bank instead of focusing on the formation of the government. The bank’s central council said on Friday that it had submitted an updated list of the documents requested by auditors Alvarez & Marsal to Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni. Wazni said later that he had delivered the list to the company.

Lebanese parties abate public anger with ration cards, resilience calls

Details

Lebanese parties abate public anger with ration cards, resilience calls

By NAJIA HOUSSARI -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: While the official ministerial committee in Lebanon continues to ponder the allocation of ration cards to 800,000 families before lifting subsidies on basic goods, parties have rushed to absorb their supporters’ resentment. Hezbollah has issued ration cards for its supporters and partisans. “Alsajjad cards” enable their holders to get more than 50 percent off on food items, consumables, cleaning materials, and other goods from certain stores. The cards were severely criticized on social media by the party’s opponents. Other parties have relied on wealthy supporters to secure financial aid for the needy through their private foundations. Other politicians have bought vaccines to inoculate their families and supporters. The Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) told its supporters: “Difficult times are ahead, and chaos might prevail. We must remain patient and must not abandon our positions.”

The pressure has increased on non-partisan funds and associations, municipalities, and village committees to meet the needs of non-partisan people. Political parties are aware of the importance of keeping their communities under control as the decision to lift subsidies comes closer, which will almost certainly lead to anger and violent protests. Dr. Nasser Yassin, professor of policy and planning at the American University of Beirut, told Arab News: “When the economic collapse worsens, people start focusing on securing their biological needs: Food. And when food security becomes threatened, people might resort to any entity that can provide it. “This is when parties become a safety source, regardless of people’s convictions. Political leaders also become a safety net for these people and new funders might emerge to secure people’s needs in such circumstances.” He added: “However, this kind of security will not be enough to cover the needs when subsidies on basic items are lifted. No one can replace the state.”

حــــكـــومةٌ تـــأسيسيّة

Details

National News Agency - Biography of Minister of Labour Sejaan Azzi

By سجعان قزي -- وزير سابق @AzziSejean

التأخّرُ في التأليفِ أَبْعدَ الحكومةَ العتيدةَ من مَهمّتِها الأساسيّةِ وهي إجراءُ الإصلاحات، وقَرّبَها من مَهمّةٍ أخرى هي مواكبةُ الاستحقاقِ الرئاسي. وبالتالي، التأخّرُ أضْعفَ فرصَ تشكيلِها من اختصاصيّين مستقلّين، وضاعفَ احتمالَ تَسْييسها. تسييسُ الحكومةِ يَتِمُّ باختيارِ اختصاصيّين مُحازبين أو تعيينِ سياسيّين. في موازينِ القِوى الحاليّ، التسييسُ يَعني سيطرةَ حزبِ الله وحلفائِه على الحكومةِ والتحكُّمَ، استطرادًا، باستحقاقَيْ الانتخاباتِ النيابيّةِ إجراءً أو إرجاءً، ورئاسةِ الجُمهوريّة انتخابًا أو شغورًا. لكنَّ الخروجَ عن مبدأِ حكومةِ الاختصاصيّين يَجعلُ الحكومةَ المقبِلةَ بحُكمِ "الـمُـلْغاة"(nulle et non avenue) ، إذ يُبقيها خارجَ رعايةِ المجتمعَين العربيِّ والدوليِّ، ويَستمرُّ حظرُ المساعداتِ، ويكونُ التأليفُ فِعلًا دستوريًّا تقنيًّا لا فعلًا إصلاحيًّا يؤثِّرُ على حياةِ الناس. المجتمعُ الدوليُّ والمؤسّساتُ النقديّةُ والدولُ المانحةُ تريد حكومةً للشعبِ اللبنانيِّ لا للطبقةِ السياسية.

اللافتُ أنَّ جميعَ القِوى السياسيّةِ في البلاد تتصرَّفُ كأنَ الانتخاباتِ النيابيّةَ والرئاسيّةَ غيرُ حاصلةٍ، والمجلسَ النيابيَّ الحاليَّ باقٍ بأكثريّتِه "الثماني آذارية"، والحكومةَ العتيدةَ أو الحاليّةَ المستقيلةَ ستقوم مقامَ الشرعيّةِ بعد انتهاءِ ولايةِ الرئيس ميشال عون. في حالِ تَشكّلت حكومةٌ جديدةٌ، تعيشُ البلادُ حالةَ شغورٍ رئاسيٍّ كَتِلك التي عَرَفتْها إثرَ انتهاءِ ولايةِ الرئيس ميشال سليمان. وفي حالِ بَقيَت حكومةُ تصريفِ الأعمال، تَسرحُ البلادُ في حالةِ فراغٍ دُستوريٍّ ـــ بل فراغٍ كاملٍ ـــ كتلك التي شَهِدَتها بعد انتهاءِ نظامِ المتصرفيّةِ ونشوءِ دولةِ لبنانَ الكبير. "واللبيبُ من الإشارةِ يَفهم"...