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

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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.

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Lebanese parties abate public anger with ration cards, resilience calls

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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.”

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حــــكـــومةٌ تـــأسيسيّة

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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"...

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Exclusive-Germany to propose Beirut port reconstruction with 'strings attached' - sources

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by reuters -- By John Irish, Joseph Nasr, Ellen Francis PARIS/BERLIN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Germany will next week present a multi-billion-dollar proposal to Lebanese authorities to rebuild the Port of Beirut as part of efforts to entice the country’s politicians to form a government capable of warding off financial collapse, two sources said. A chemical explosion at the port last August killed 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed entire neighbourhoods in the Lebanese capital, plunging the country deeper into its worst political and economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. According to two diplomatic sources with knowledge of the plans, Germany and France are vying to lead reconstruction efforts.

Berlin will on April 7 outline its proposal, which the diplomats said would in principle include support from the European Investment Bank (EIB), to help fund the clearing of the area and reconstruction facilities. An EIB spokesman said it was aware of the proposal put forward by the port of Hamburg and its consultancy team for the reconstruction of the port of Beirut and surrounding areas. “However, there currently is no financing offer by the EIB. Any EIB financing would be subject to due diligence and have to follow the Bank’s usual processes for such operations,” he said.

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Open letter urges Macron to freeze ‘doubtful’ Lebanese assets

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by thearabweekly.com -- PARIS – President Emmanuel Macron should freeze suspect assets held by Lebanese officials in France to break a “political-economic mafia” that has plunged Lebanon into crisis and misery, an open letter said Tuesday. Macron called for radical reform in Lebanon after the deadly Beirut port blast and has expressed exasperation at the lack of change, as the former French mandate territory remains mired in political stalemate. Analysts have said that sanctions such as asset freezes could be the most effective lever for Paris to pressure Beirut, even if France has so far not explicitly indicated it is ready for such a measure. Macron should issue instructions “with a view to implementing the legal mechanism for freezing assets of doubtful origin held in France by Lebanese political and economic leaders,” said the letter published in France’s Le Monde daily signed by more than 100 Lebanese civil society figures. It argued that a “political-economic mafia is responsible for the misery, hunger and insecurity from which more and more Lebanese suffer.”

The letter suggested that such a legal process should draw on the precedent set over ill-gotten assets owned in France by some African leaders and former Syrian vice president Rifaat Assad. “This endemic corruption on a grand scale has scandalously enriched Lebanese political leaders” by emptying the treasury and embezzling aid sent after the civil war, the letter alleged. It was signed by lawyers, doctors, journalists and activists, including prominent political scientist Karim Emile Bitar, former Lebanese culture minister and UN Libya envoy Ghassan Salame and former MP and TV host Paula Yacoubian.

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'A space to listen': Lebanese tackle crisis on Clubhouse

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by techxplore.com -- Hashem Osseiran -- In a break from social media mud-slinging and Lebanon's perennially polarised debates, audio app Clubhouse is hosting a new kind of conversation in the crisis-hit country. Users say it is achieving a little miracle: free-wheeling political discussions across party lines which don't descend into blows. Lebanese both at home and abroad have welcomed the break from the acrimony dominating TV and social media platforms. "Clubhouse helped people on opposing ends of the political spectrum understand each other's perspectives," said Paula Naoufal, a 25-year-old journalist active on the app. "It gave people a space to listen, unlike Twitter and Instagram, which aren't as interactive."

The live audio app, launched nearly a year ago, is accessible only on Apple mobile devices—but the coronavirus pandemic has boosted its popularity in the Middle East. Syrian users have used it to discuss the 10-year-old conflict and life in exile, while Saudis tackle political reform, racism and transgender rights, despite growing fears of state surveillance. In cash-strapped Lebanon, Clubhouse is a something of a premium service, with an iPhone costing more than ten times the minimum monthly wage. But experts, journalists and expats active in its virtual "rooms" say they are carving out a space for constructive conversation between people who either never engage with each other or are usually at odds. "Clubhouse has become a safe space for people to hear each other and more importantly learn from each other and about each other," said Joe Khawly, a Lebanese journalist living in Washington DC. "It's creating a space where people from different religions and political affiliations are able to virtually meet and talk directly."

Out of the bubble

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