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Lebanese celebrate Easter amid election campaign

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By Najia Houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Lebanese President Michel Aoun has assured the Lebanese that parliamentary elections will be held and that all the arrangements are ready, as people celebrated Easter. He took part in the Easter Mass, which was led by Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai in Bkerke. Aoun said he hoped for “the resurrection” of Lebanon. “We are living through a difficult tragedy in which problems have accumulated. I am experiencing the same situation you are and what befell you, befell me also.” The president met Al-Rai before the Mass and then told the media: “We want better relations with Arab countries, and the return of ambassadors to Beirut is an important step in this direction.”

BACKGROUND

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi urged people to vote in the upcoming elections because Lebanon ‘needs a national, sovereign and independent parliamentary majority.’ He hoped that the staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund would “positively affect” the situation in Lebanon and, speaking about the papal visit to Lebanon in June, wished “it would bring hope” to the country. "Today, we live in the hope of the resurrection. As long as we are alive, we will not allow despair to get the best of us.” Aoun also addressed the Shiite duo - the Amal movement and Hezbollah without naming them - and accused them once again of obstructing the work of the judicial investigation into the Beirut Port explosion. “They are the same parties obstructing the Cabinet’s work, and you know who they are. The families of the martyrs should address their demands to them.” The ministers of Hezbollah and the Amal movement boycotted Cabinet sessions last October amid their demands to dismiss the investigator into the explosion, Judge Tarek Bitar. In mid-January, after paralyzing Bitar’s work and bombarding him with lawsuits, they started attending sessions again.

Long live the difference: this Easter I can mark our faith’s triumph over racism

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By Sarah Ayoub -- smh.com.au -- Almost 15 years ago, while sitting in a meeting among some church volunteers, a white Roman Catholic priest opined that the Maronites were taking over the Catholic Church in Australia. Despite knowing that I was Maronite, he continued ranting about certain Maronites in church leadership positions, while I, shocked to my core, sat there in silence taking it. Years later, when I began researching racism in Australia as part of my PhD, particularly as it affected teenage girls, I realised how much that encounter had traumatised me. It had been one of the most blatant displays of xenophobia I had ever experienced, and it took more than a decade for me to be ready to process it.

For those unfamiliar, the Maronite Rite is traced back to a 4th century Syrian Christian monk named Maron, who lived a life of austerity as a hermit in the Taurus Mountains. Persecuted for many years, the Maronites now make up a significant number of Arab Christians in the Middle East and the diaspora. It took my Muslim friend to remind me how ridiculous the priest’s accusations were. “Christianity was born in the Middle East,” she told me when I shared the experience. “If there’s anyone who should have a monopoly on it, it’s you.” Back then, I was the youngest in the room and bound by an idea of respect that I’m not sure I still espouse. But now, despite knowing there are an infinite number of good priests in the world, I also recognise that priests are men and therefore prone to flaws, and as we know, occasionally even evil. That priest had rubbished people in my community and led me to believe that my community had to better assimilate, or at least step back from taking up roles in the church in Australia, because we were different.

Lebanese female candidates stand up to Hezbollah, are disowned by families

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By Najia houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: A total of 155 female candidates from different sects are contesting the Lebanese parliamentary elections scheduled for May 15. The only Shiite female candidate on the lists of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement is MP Inaya Ezzeddine. The remaining Shiite female candidates are trying to win seats previously secured by the Shiite duo. Choosing Ezzeddine to represent parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the Amal Movement four years ago, in the 2018 parliamentary elections, was a deliberate move to establish “the movement’s openness to the importance of women's role in public affairs,” as Berri said at the time. But Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was very clear on “not involving women in political life because, in Lebanon, MPs offer condolences, participate in weddings and provide services, and we in Hezbollah do not accept that our women carry out such duties.”

This year might be the first time that Shiite women from Hezbollah’s entourage have stood up to the party. In the Baalbek-Hermel constituency, in northern Bekaa, six electoral lists are competing to win 10 parliamentary seats, including six for the Shiite sect. One list includes Hezbollah and the Amal movement, another includes members of local clans. The others draw candidates from civil society movements that do not seem to be hostile toward Hezbollah as their programs do not have demands related to the fate of the party’s weapons. But Sarah Mansour Zeaiter, a Shiite candidate running in the Baalbek-Hermel constituency under the Qadreen list, was subjected to verbal abuse and defamatory remarks from her family a few days ago.

The Zeaiter clan issued a statement explaining that she did not represent the family and that the clan remained loyal to the current MP and candidate for the upcoming elections Ghazi Zeaiter. The statement does not mention that Ghazi Zeaiter is a defendant in the probe into the Beirut port blast. In the Zahle constituency, in central Bekaa, eight lists are competing to win seven seats, including one Shiite seat. Among the competing lists is the Zahle for Sovereignty list backed by the Lebanese Forces, Hezbollah's arch-rival. The list bears the slogan: “Restoring sovereignty, liberating decision making, and direct confrontation with Hezbollah.”

Lebanon: Cabinet approves demolition of Beirut blast silos

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by reuters -- Lebanon's cabinet has approved the demolition of what remains of the grain silos at Beirut port which were at the site of the 2020 blast that destroyed much of the capital. Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makari said a "technical report" had concluded the silos were likely to collapse in the coming months and said it would be too expensive to renovate them. The 4 August blast, caused by a neglected store of ammonium nitrate, left 215 people dead and wrecked much of the city around the port area. The silos are said to have taken the brunt of the explosion, limiting the spread of the destruction caused by the explosion.

Some families of those killed in the blast had called for the silos to be preserved as a memorial to the incident, which was widely blamed on rampant corruption and negligence within Lebanon's political class. However, Makari, speaking in televised comments after a cabinet session, said the country's interior and culture ministers were instead to be tasked with overseeing the creation of a separate memorial. Investigations into the explosion have been repeatedly delayed, halted and restarted over claims of judicial bias from a number of those under scrutiny. A number of senior officials have refused to be interviewed.

Minister Sejaan Azzi: لا تقودوا البوسطة مرّةً أخرى

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سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

قبلَ 13 نيسان 1975 وبعدَه، ومحاولاتُ إنشاءِ أوطانٍ على حسابِ كيانِ لبنان تتوالى وتَندَحِرُ الواحدةُ تلو الأخرى. بقي لبنانُ مستقِلًّا ولو بدون سيادةٍ وواحِدًا ولو بدون وِحدة. منذ نشوءِ هذا الوطنِ "الذخيرة" وعيونُ المحيطِ عليه كعيونِ الحاسِدين. لماذا منه انطلَق الحرْف؟ لماذا ذُكِر في الكتبِ المقدّسة، لماذا زاره المسيح؟ لماذا صَمَد عبرَ العصور؟ لماذا أطلقَ النهضةَ العربيّة؟ لماذا تأسّسَت دولتُه سنةَ 1920؟ لماذا سُمِّيَ بـــ"سويسرا الشرق"؟ لماذا كان دَخلُ الفردِ فيه بالنسبةِ للناتجِ القوميِّ في المرتبةِ التاسعة عالميًّا؟ لماذا... لماذا هو وليس نحن؟ تارةً يريدون لبنانَ جُزءًا من وِحدةٍ عربيّةٍ وتارةً أخرى من وِحدةٍ إسلاميّة. طورًا جُزءًا من سوريا الكبرى وطورًا آخَرَ من إسرائيل الكبرى. حينًا من هلالٍ سُنيٍّ وحينًا آخرَ من هلالٍ شيعيّ.

حين يَكثُر أدْعِياءُ الحقوقِ في لبنان تَنتفي حقوقُهم ويَنكَشِفُ زَيْــفُــها ويَتأكّدُ أنَّ لبنانَ للبنانيّين وليس للبيعِ أو للإقراضِ مع أنّه بِيعَ وأُقرِضَ مرارًا من دون أن ينالَ بَدَلًا. المحزنُ أنَّ جميعَ تلك الادِّعاءاتِ وَجدَت صدىً لدى المكوِّناتِ اللبنانيّةِ، لا بل انطلقَ بعضُها من لبنان. والمحزنُ أيضًا أنْ حين تراجَعت ادّعاءاتُ الدولِ الخارجيّةِ بلبنان، بانَت دويلاتُ الداخلُ. وأُضيفَ إلى الصراعِ على لبنان صراعٌ في لبنان، وإلى الصراعِ على الكيانِ صراعٌ على الدولة. وها نحن اليومَ نواجِهُ قيامَ دولةٍ مذهبيّةٍ بموازاة، وأحيانًا مكانَ، دولةِ لبنان الديمقراطيّةِ والتعدّديّة.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuweit expresses support for humanitarian aid mechanism for Lebanon

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By Najia Houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Saudi Arabia has expressed its support for the people of Lebanon and its desire to bolster ties between the two nations following the return of its envoy to Beirut. Walid Bukhari, the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, told Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Wednesday that “the Kingdom is keen on helping the Lebanese people during difficult circumstances and strengthening relations between the two countries.” According to the president’s media office, the two men discussed bilateral relations and Bukhari told Aoun about “the mechanism of the Saudi-French joint fund aimed at providing humanitarian support and achieving stability and development in Lebanon.”

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Gulf states recalled their ambassadors from Lebanon in October in protest against insulting statements made by former Information Minister George Qordahi regarding the war in Yemen. Bukhari last met Aoun in March 2021. That meeting took place after a failed attempt to form a government led by former Premier Saad Hariri and the exchange of accusations of disrupting the process between Hariri and Aoun. Since returning to Beirut, Bukhari has held talks with religious authorities, current and former prime ministers and interior ministers, foreign diplomats and other politicians.

Kuwaiti Ambassador Abdul-Al Sulaiman Al-Qenaei has also returned to Beirut. He said after meeting Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Wednesday that “restoring diplomatic relations and the return of ambassadors indicate the success of the Kuwaiti initiative.” He added that both Lebanon and the Gulf states had mutually agreed that their long history was above everything else and that “what happened is in the past and the return of ambassadors will lead to further rapprochement and cooperation that benefit the brotherly countries.”

Sea border talks between Israel and Lebanon on verge of imminent collapse

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By Nicholas Noe -- responsiblestatecraft.org -- When President Biden appointed his personal friend and former Obama administration energy coordinator Amos Hochstein as his own energy envoy last summer, it seemed that the decades-old deadlock between Lebanon and Israel over their sea boundary, and potentially tens of billions of dollars in energy resources, might finally be resolved. Hochstein was assumed to be trusted by the Israelis (he was born in Israel and served in the IDF in the early 1990s). He was perceived positively by some of the main Lebanese actors as a foe of a former U.S. envoy, Ambassador Frederic Hof, who had tabled a deal ten years before known as the “Hof Line” boundary that was widely seen in Lebanon as exceptionally unfair. And he came with a deep background in the complexities of the energy sector.

Perhaps most importantly, however, the Biden administration seemed hungry to claim a success in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Although a mutually agreed-upon sea boundary between Lebanon and Israel would fall far short of any Abraham Accord-type arrangement, such a deal would represent a UN-recognized boundary between a democratically elected Arab government and Israel. Given the extensive power of the armed Lebanese political party Hezbollah, which Israel considers its most formidable non-state enemy, the removal of a large offshore area from the regular military exchanges between the two sides onshore would also help to structurally diminish the prospects of another devastating war in the Middle East, something the Biden administration very much wants to avoid.

Unfortunately, eight months on, according to several senior Lebanese officials directly involved in the negotiations, the deal that Hochstein unveiled a few weeks ago in Beirut, one which apparently has Israel’s blessing, falls far short of Lebanon’s minimum acceptable position. As a result, the talks are in imminent danger of collapsing, perhaps in the coming weeks. Asked about this prospect, the State Department and U.S. Embassy in Beirut both declined to comment.