Lebanon Campaigns for More Women in Parliament

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BEIRUT — by VOA - Reporting by Heba Kanso - In a country where women occupy only three percent of the parliament seats, Lebanon's first women's affairs minister — a man — is supporting a campaign to attract more women politicians. The government's decision to appoint him as women's minister in 2016 attracted some criticism. But Jean Oghassabian said the responsibility to support gender equality is not limited to a woman. His ministry, along with the United Nations and European Union, is behind a campaign to encourage more women to run for Lebanon's first legislative election in nearly a decade, which is scheduled for May 6. Since the beginning of the year, billboards and television advertisements have carried the slogan "Half the society, half the parliament". Currently, only four women sit in the 128-seat parliament. "The legal institution in Lebanon, mainly the parliament and the government are losing half of the human power in Lebanon," Oghassabian told the Thomson Reuters Foundation at his office in Beirut. "So for me it is not a question of numbers, it is a question of potential, we are losing opportunities," he said. Women could bring a new approach to legal, social, and economic issues, he added.

Oghassabian said there is a "huge responsibility and role to play for men because they are the main obstacles" to women's participation in politics, which is often due to sexist attitudes. Victoria El-Khoury Zwein, a potential candidate with a new party called "Sabaa," meaning seven in Arabic, agreed that a "patriarchal society" is holding Lebanon back. Parties have no political will to involve women, as they see them in stereotypical roles connected only to family, she said. "I don't know if the campaign will change the results, but I hope it changes the perception of women," said Zwein. She recommended that Lebanon reserve 33 percent of parliamentary seats for women. Last year the country passed a new electoral law, but with no quota for women's representation in parliament.

Lebanon has a complex electoral system with a parliament of 64 Christians apportioned among seven denominations, and 64 Muslims, with equal numbers of Sunnis and Shi'ites. Other countries have incorporated women's participation into electoral law. For example, Jordan reserves 15 seats for women in parliament. Zwein said it is "frustrating" to see other countries like Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia succeed in having more women participation in politics while Lebanon is behind. "The role of women in parliament will positively affect women's rights, but it will not be limited to just that," she said. "All issues in the country are women's issues." Reporting by Heba Kanso.

Cardinal Zen: ‘Vatican is ready to surrender to the Chinese communist party’

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Hong Kong, China, (CNA).- A possible Vatican agreement with the Chinese government has prompted feelings of unease and fears of betrayal, Cardinal Joseph Zen has warned in a strong statement continuing his criticism of negotiations. “In recent days, the brothers and sisters living on the Chinese mainland have learned that the Vatican is ready to surrender to the Chinese communist party, and therefore they feel uneasy,” Cardinal Zen wrote in a Feb. 5 Chinese-language blog post translated and posted to Settimo Cielo, the site of Vatican reporter Sandro Magister at the Italian newspaper L’Espresso. “Seeing that the illegitimate and excommunicated bishops will be legitimized, and the legitimate ones will be forced to retire, it is logical that the legitimate and clandestine bishops should be concerned about their fate,” continued the cardinal, the archbishop emeritus of Hong Kong. “How many nights of suffering will the priests and laity endure, to think that they will have to bow down to and obey those bishops who are now illegitimate and excommunicated, but tomorrow will be legitimized by the Holy See, supported by the government?” Zen asked.

The 86-year-old cardinal’s words are among the latest developments amid continued reports that the Holy See is nearing a deal to regularize relations with the officially communist Chinese government. The deal could involve some bishops loyal to the Holy See retiring or accepting a lower position, to make way for bishops illicitly ordained—although one elderly bishop is apparently refusing a request that he retire. The new deal would also apparently outline government and Vatican roles in the selection of future bishops. Reportedly, the deal would have the Vatican propose bishops and the Chinese government having the final say over these Vatican-vetted candidates. The Church in China is complicated by the relationship between the government-supported Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and the underground Church, which includes priests and bishops who are not recognized by the government.

Every bishop recognized by Beijing must be a member of the patriotic association. Many bishops appointed by the Vatican are not recognized or approved by the Chinese government, and many have faced government persecution. At the same time, not all bishops appointed by the Chinese government have been approved by the Vatican, and thus their ordinations were in violation of church law. The Chinese government is cracking down on unrecognized religion, according to Cardinal Zen. “As of Feb. 1, new government rules on religious activity have gone into effect,” he said. “The clandestine priests of Shanghai have asked the faithful not to go to their Masses anymore, because those who persist in doing so will be arrested! But do not be afraid, because the Lord heals the brokenhearted.” Cardinal Zen, who has criticized the negotiations, had traveled to Rome for a visit with Pope Francis early Jan. 10 to discuss the possible agreement. Writing in a Jan. 29 blog post, the cardinal said the Pope told him he explicitly wanted to avoid “another Mindszenty case,” referring to the Hungarian cardinal who suffered persecution and imprisonment under Hungary’s communist government, then was ordered to leave the country by the Holy See, under government pressure. The cardinal said the Pope was “surprised” and “promised to look into the matter” when told about the deal. However, the Vatican immediately responded to the cardinal’s comments and in a Jan. 30 statement said Francis is well-informed of the dialogue with China, so “it is therefore surprising and regrettable that the contrary is affirmed by people in the Church, thus fostering confusion and controversy.”

In his latest remarks, Cardinal Zen criticized the words of Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, who said in a Jan. 31 interview “we know the sufferings endured yesterday and today by the Chinese brothers and sisters.” “But does this man of little faith know what true suffering is?” Cardinal Zen asked. “The brothers and sisters of the Chinese mainland are not afraid of being reduced to poverty, of being put in prison, of shedding their blood: their greatest suffering is to see themselves betrayed by ‘family’.” The Hong Kong cardinal contended that Cardinal Parolin had manipulated Pope Benedict XVI’s 2007 letter to Chinese Catholics in the interview published Jan. 31 at Vatican Insider.

While Cardinal Parolin cited Benedict XVI’s rejection of any solution that involves “an ongoing conflict with the legitimate civil authorities,” Cardinal Zen said these remarks were “concealing” that the letter immediately continued: “at the same time, though, compliance with those authorities is not acceptable when they interfere unduly in matters regarding the faith and discipline of the Church.” Cardinal Zen also cited Pope Francis’ remarks to Asian bishops during his World Youth Day visit to Korea: “the prerequisite of dialogue is consistency with one’s own identity.” The cardinal cited the words of a Vatican source who spoke to Reuters about the deal under consideration: “We are like birds in a cage, but the cage can become larger, we are asking for all the room possible.” In Cardinal Zen’s view, “the real problem is not whether the cage is small or large, but who is in this cage.” “The clandestine believers are not in it. But now they want to force them as well to enter it, in such a way that they too may be ‘reconciled’ with those who are already inside!” he said. “Of course, in the cage are persons who find themselves trapped there, but also servile and overbearing persons who find themselves inside quite willingly.”

As an aside, Cardinal Zen remarked that he has said in the past “in China there is only one Church and that all believers, both of the official Church and of the clandestine, love the Pope.” He then added: “but now I no longer dare to say this.” He said he had discussed his opinions on dialogue to Pope Francis in a private audience three years before. “When I told him that, objectively speaking, the official Church of the Chinese mainland is schismatic (in that it has an autonomous administration independent of the Holy See and dependent on the government), the Pope replied: ‘Of course!’” the cardinal recounted. Cardinal Zen said the Vatican’s Jan. 30 response to his comments prompted some to visit or phone him to comfort him after the response, which he characterized as an “accusation.” “But they misunderstood, because I do not need to be comforted. It would have been better for them to have gone to comfort that spokesman. He is the one who is a bird in a cage, forced to carry out such an embarrassing function (and he was certainly reading what had been written by others).” The cardinal agreed with a commentator in the South China Morning Post that the Vatican has to “readjust its worldly diplomacy, whatever its spiritual preferences.” Yet the cardinal added: “But they are not only preferences, they are nonnegotiable principles!”

Lebanese to enter Egypt’s Alexandria without visa on new charter airline

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Al Arabiya English -- The Lebanese citizens will be the first Arabs to be able to travel to Alexandria without a visa through a new charter airline recently inaugurated by Egypt’s second largest city. The newly inaugurated charter airline will now connect Alexandria to Beirut, and its further lights paths are said to extend to other Arab capitals in a later stage, according to Al-Masry el-Youm newspaper. Head of the biggest charter flight operator in Egypt, George Boulous, said in a press conference that the new flights will not require visa entry for Lebanese visitors, thus, making Alexandria the second Egyptian city after Sharm el-Sheikh to do allow entry without visa. He also said there are ongoing efforts to apply the same non-visa procedure to other Arab countries, including Tunisia and Morocco. The year will witness an increase in the number of incoming charter flights to Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada, and Alexandria, he added, noting that it will reach to 1,500 trips – an increase of 300 from 2017.

Lebanese leadership to unite to take actions against Israeli threats: president

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BEIRUT, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Differences among Lebanese leadership have been resolved and the government is planning to take actions to counter any threats from Israel, said a statement released by the presidential office Tuesday. Calling the meeting as "positive," Hariri also hailed the outcome of the meeting and said that the country's leadership will cooperate for the interest of the Lebanese. He assured that the differences between Berri and Aoun have been resolved. The meeting came several days after Aoun held phone talks with Berri at the premier's request aiming at easing rising tensions between supporters of the two top officials of the country. Tensions have been rising between supporters of Aoun and Berri, following a leaked video footage showing Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who is also Aoun's son-in-law, calling Berri a "thug." Describing Lebanon's efforts in exploring gas in Block Nine as "provocative," Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman claimed in a latest statement that the gas field "is by all means ours."

by Ellen Francis - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon’s top three leaders accused Israel on Tuesday of threatening the stability of the border region between them, amid rising tension over territorial and maritime boundaries. President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri agreed to act to stop Israel from building a wall on Lebanese land at the border, and infringing on an energy block in disputed waters. Arguments over the wall and Lebanon’s plans to explore for offshore oil and gas have elevated tensions between Israel and Lebanon. Israel has said the border wall is being built on its territory. The Lebanese government says it passes through land that belongs to Lebanon but lies on the Israeli side of the Blue Line, where the U.N. demarcated Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.

The three Lebanese leaders met to study recent “Israeli threats, and saw in them ... a direct threat to the stability” of the border region, the president’s office said in a statement. They agreed to act “at various regional and international levels to prevent Israel from building the cement wall...and from the possibility of infringing on Lebanon’s oil and gas wealth and its (territorial) waters.” Aoun, Berri, and Hariri will present a series of measures to Lebanon’s Higher Defense Council and security officials at a meeting on Wednesday, it said. Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman called Lebanon’s first offshore oil and gas exploration tender “very provocative” and urged international firms not to participate last week. Lebanon has an unresolved maritime border dispute with Israel over a triangular area of sea of around 860 sq km (330 square miles). The zone extends along the edge of three out of five energy blocks that Lebanon put to tender early last year. Lebanon in December approved a bid by a consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek for two blocks.

Iran's Imperial Ambitions Challenge Middle East Borders

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Article represents opinion of the author 

 by Elliott Abrams CFR- In May, 2017 Major General Qassem Soleimani, chief of the Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps’ foreign operations branch known as the Qods Force, visited the Iraq/Syria border in the company of an Iran-backed Shia militia. A spokesman for the militia, called the Popular Mobilization Forces, was quoted in Newsweek: "This will be the first step to the liberation of the entire border," Ahmad al-Asadi, a spokesperson for the PMF said, according to the Associated Press. "This victory will also be an important incentive for the Syrian Arab Army to secure the entire border from the Syrian side," he added. Iranian-backed forces, that is, would take both sides of the border, so for Iran there would be no border. In June Soleimani was reported to be on the Syrian side of the border. Now, it is reported that one of Iran's hardest-line leaders, Ibrahim Raisi, has visited the Israeli-Lebanese border. Raisi, the defeated candidate for president in 2017, is a member of the Assembly of Experts that will choose a successor to "Supreme Leader" Ali Khamenei and is a candidate for that position himself.

Lebanese soldier, militant die in army raid: statement

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Khazen.org rejects any attacks against the Lebanese Army. We are praying for Lebanese Army martyr 

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon’s army raided a suspected Islamist militant hideout in the northern city of Tripoli late on Sunday, leading to armed clashes in which a soldier and a suspected militant were killed, the army said. The raid on a house in the al-Tabbaneh district of Tripoli aimed to capture Hajar al-Abdullah, but was met with resistance including gunshots and hand grenades, the army said on its website. In the fighting, Abdullah and a soldier were killed, several other soldiers were wounded, and Abdullah’s brother, Bilal al-Abdullah, was detained. The army seized money, arms, ammunition and other military hardware from the house, it said. Lebanese authorities say they have disrupted a number of Islamic State attacks and networks since the last major attack - a 2015 twin suicide bombing in Beirut. Lebanon has mostly escaped the rash of militant assaults around the Middle East spurred by the war in its neighbor Syria, and last year forced Islamic State fighters out of an enclave on the mountainous border between the two countries. Reporting by Angus McDowall; Editing by Robin Pomeroy