Lebanon: Members of Diaspora Encouraged to Return Home

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by Daily Star:By Joseph Haboush

President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri signed a decree Thursday in front of an audience of over 1,000 members of the Lebanese diaspora with the aim of encouraging them to reclaim their Lebanese citizenship. The decree was signed as part of the fourth annual Lebanese Diaspora Energy Conference, hosted by the Foreign Ministry. At the Cabinet meeting following the event, Aoun, Hariri and Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk officially granted Nazih Mikhael Khazzaka Lebanese citizenship, the first diaspora member to gain a passport under Law 441, passed in 2015. Speaking at the event held at the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Center, Aoun told conference attendees, “You belong to a small nation on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea whose geographical footprint doesn’t even allow for its name to be written completely across a map.” Aoun rhetorically asked, “What is greater than returning to the motherland to which you belong?” The President went on to say it is the duty of the diaspora to help rebuild Lebanon. “Just as it is your duty to be loyal to the nations that took you in and granted you a better life, and which you helped build ... it is also your duty to be loyal to your motherland that calls on you to also help build it,” Aoun said.

Also at the conference, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil renewed calls for a number of parliamentary seats to be allocated for the diaspora. “It is your right to have MPs that represent you and that is why we are fighting to have six seats in our Parliament [for you], one for each continent. ... Stay Lebanese,” Bassil said. Some members of the Lebanese diaspora were visiting the country for the first time to attend the conference. A group of around 10 Argentines of Lebanese origin sat together, with one woman telling The Daily Star this was her first time in the country. “After attending the LDE conference in Sao Paulo [last year], I decided to come to this year’s conference in Beirut,” she said.

Among the keynote speakers were former Dominican Republic presidential candidate Luis Abinader. The current front-runner for the island nation’s 2020 presidential elections told the audience that between 80,000 and 100,000 Dominicans are descendants of Lebanese immigrants “who have successfully integrated into the Dominican society.” Former United States congressman Nick Rahall spoke of his pride at being Lebanese, saying, “Khalil Gibran was so correct when he penned the words, ‘He who denies his heritage, has no heritage.’ My heritage is Lebanon.” Rahall described the Lebanese diaspora as “the beating heart that pumps the blood of life to the entire world.” He also made reassurances of America’s commitment to Lebanon, saying, “We continue to believe strongly in a sovereign, free and independent Lebanon.”

Son of slain Lebanese President Rene Moawad, Michel, told The Daily Star the Foreign Ministry’s work was commendable and that the conference was a good contribution to the development of the country. “We have many problems in Lebanon, but we are not the only country in the world with problems. ... In order to solve these problems, we must start with communication between Lebanese inside and outside of the country.” But he remained upbeat, highlighting the numbers the conference drew. “Who would have thought, five years ago, that this event would be this successful?”

Aoun Calls on Lebanese Expats to Return Home

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english.aawsat.com

Beirut – Lebanese President Michel Aoun called on expatriates to return to their country and contribute to its reconstruction. Aoun’s comments came during the 4th edition of the “Lebanese Diaspora Energy” (LED) Conference, which kicked off on Thursday at the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Center (BIEL). The conference saw Aoun Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri signing the first decree that allows Lebanese diaspora to reclaim their citizenship from their country of residence. “Lebanese diaspora…you might be absent from Lebanon physically, but not from its heart,” the Lebanese president said, adding: “Although you have a duty to fulfill to the nations that embraced you, you also have a duty of loyalty to your motherland.” “Lebanon’s history with immigration is long and painful,” the president said. “People think that the path of emigration is filled with roses and jasmine flowers, but only those who have left know how difficult it is,” he added. The Lebanese foreign ministry launched the Lebanese Diaspora Energy in 2014 within its endeavor to encourage Lebanon’s expat population to stay connected with their homeland. The three-day conference, which will run until May 6, is gathering Lebanese expats and businessmen from around the world. The conference is aimed to encourage expat registration for citizenship and voting, and to invest in the country. On its official website, the LED has detailed its four main goals, which include “celebrating the Diaspora’s success stories throughout their journey in different countries; promoting the Lebanese heritage by spreading Lebanese culture, traditions and vision throughout the world; establishing connections between the diaspora and the residents, thus providing a chance to share experiences and enhance relations; and exploring new possibilities and opportunities, where together, Lebanese residents and expatriates can restore the image of Lebanon and the world’s trust in the economy of the country.”

More Than 400 Roman-Era Columns Lie Abandoned on Beirut’s Waterfront

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by Benjamin Sutton - hyperallergic.com

Strollers along Beirut’s waterfront in the rapidly developing Biel area have been noticing an odd feature of the local landscape: hundreds of apparently ancient columns and capitals, piled piecemeal and left at the mercy of the elements. Lebanon’s General Directorate of Antiquities (GDA) confirmed to local French-language newspaper L’Orient Le Jour that they date from Beirut’s Roman era. There are between 400 and 500 of them, and the GDA is not sure what to do with them. “As these stones have not been numbered and inventoried, it’s naturally impossible to know which specific sites or structures they belonged to,” a GDA spokesperson told L’Orient Le Jour, “unless the scientific data gathered by specialists in the 1990s was archived.”

The columns are among the vast wealth of ancient Roman, Phoenician, Persian, Greek, Byzantine, and Ottoman objects found during archaeological digs in Beirut between 1993 and 1997. The columns were originally stockpiled in a storage facility belonging to Solidere — the company created in 1994 to rebuild central Beirut after the end of Lebanon’s bloody, 15-year-long Civil War — under the direction of archaeologist Hans Curvers. Solidere had originally planned to distribute them in green spaces throughout the city, including its largest public park, Horsh Beirut, which partially reopened in 2015 after being closed for 20 years. However, with major infrastructure work underway in the Biel district, the warehouse had to be dismantled and the columns were moved to the nearest available space: vacant real estate near a waterfront promenade. The GDA spokesperson assured L’Orient Du Jour that the columns are safe and, because they are made of limestone and basalt, do not risk degradation from being left unattended near the waterfront.

Romans invaded Beirut (then known as Berytus) in 64 BCE, and it remained one of the most important cities in the eastern Roman Empire until a series of devastating earthquakes in the middle of the 6th century CE. Its Roman infrastructure and institutions included a grand gate, a forum, a renowned law school, and a hippodrome. The latter was controversially dismantled to make way for a luxury real estate development.

Will Lebanon's president keep parliament from 're-electing' itself?

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by Josephine Deeb - Al Monitor

To some legislators' consternation but to no one's real surprise, Lebanon's parliamentary elections have been delayed yet again for at least three months. On April 12, the day before parliament was scheduled to meet, President Michel Aoun invoked Article 59 of the Lebanese Constitution, which allows him to postpone a parliamentary session for one month. He may do so once during the legislative term. Speaker Nabih Berri had called for the session to discuss extending parliament’s term, as members failed to agree on a new electoral law before a constitutional deadline expired. Aoun wants a new law implemented before elections are held for parliament, whose term ends June 21. He doesn't want the legislature to extend its own term without elections, which he considers illegal, but he also doesn't want a legislative vacuum. However, the constitution requires that voters be given 90 days to prepare for an election, so — because of repeated delays — one now can't be scheduled before August at the earliest. In a televised speech, Aoun addressed the Lebanese people, saying, “I have warned repeatedly against the extension since it is unconstitutional and will definitely not be the path toward the recovery of the government and its authorities and institutions on a sound constitutional basis.”

Minutes after Aoun announced his decision, Berri set another session for May 15. In the meantime, Lebanese political forces continue their quest to agree on an electoral law by then. Simon Abi Ramia, a member of parliament's Change and Reform bloc, told Al-Monitor that despite differences between the parties, political forces seek to agree on a new electoral law and his political bloc will strive to prevent a parliamentary extension by all means. Aoun wants to replace the contested 1960 Electoral Law, which is based on a majoritarian (winner-take-all) district electoral system with limited exceptions. That law allows Muslim leaders to select Christian parliament members in some constituencies. Aoun, a Maronite Christian, along with Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, are insisting on a "total proportionality" system, while others want either a hybrid law or the majoritarian system.

On the eve of April 13, the date set for the session to discuss the extension, the specter of civil war came back to haunt the Lebanese amid a sharp division of political forces and a serious threat by Christian political forces to take to the streets to prevent the session. They threatened to block the roads to prevent legislators from even reaching parliament.

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Lebanon Opportunities: Getting data to life

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