The Lebanese Foreign Minister, Abdullah Bou Habib, revealed the reasons for the Lebanese position on the war in Ukraine, and said within the “Lebanese Mashhad” program with the journalist Mona Saliba on Al-Hurra TV that neutrality and disassociation from oneself is regarding Arab and Islamic issues and problems, not global problems, and we considered that what happened in Ukraine is illegal and contradicts with The United Nations and its principles. This is not an issue of neutrality, but an issue of principle, which is that we are once morest military intervention to resolve outstanding issues.
Bou Habib, who indicated that he felt European and American satisfaction with Lebanon’s position on this issue, acknowledged at the same time that external pressures had been imposed on us, but our decision was principled and we took it before anyone spoke to us regarding this because we considered that what had happened was a mistake. The Minister of Foreign Affairs indicated that the Russian ambassador in Lebanon was not comfortable with Lebanon’s position on the war in Ukraine, but was resentful.
On the reason for Lebanon rushing to take its position once morest the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bou Habib said that Lebanon was subjected to the same thing that Ukraine is subjected to, so we are with dialogue and once morest military interventions. He explained that the Lebanese position was taken between the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister and between him.
Regarding the Gulf turn towards Lebanon and the talk regarding the imminent return of the Gulf ambassadors to Lebanon, Bou Habib said, We welcome this news, but we have not yet received diplomatically any indication of the ambassadors’ return.
Regarding Lebanon’s response to the Kuwaiti initiative, Bou Habib said Lebanon’s response was welcome in Kuwait, and we did not hear reservations in Kuwait or in Saudi Arabia. And whether he supports the implementation of Resolution 1559, Bou Habib replied, of course, I am with one army for Lebanon, but I am not ready to accept a civil war for its implementation. He added, “Let us sit and think with others, with Arab countries and with the United Nations, how we can implement this resolution.”
On the reasons that led to the new Gulf turn, Bou Habib replied, “There is no doubt that the French mediation had a great impact.” He also asked: Did the vacuum created by the Gulf peoples by abandoning Lebanon weaken what they call their opponent or strengthen it?! If they are not present, their opponent will become stronger, and I think that this matter has affected their position today. When he was asked whether he meant Hezbollah, Bou Habib answered, of course, and they always call him. The Foreign Minister did not want to link the positive Gulf position with the possible nuclear agreement with Iran. He considered that Lebanon’s interest was for the nuclear agreement to be reached, as well as for an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia on the Yemeni file.
He said that the Iranian foreign minister did not ask for anything during his recent visit to Lebanon, and he was quoted as saying that there are two unresolved points with the Americans in the Vienna negotiations, and God willing, they will be resolved soon.
Bou Habib announced that Lebanon supports Syria’s return to the Arab League, but it appears that there are European and American pressures on Arab countries that it is still too early for Syria to return to the Arab League. As for the possibility of this leading to the return of Syria’s influence in Lebanese politics, Bou Habib said, it will undoubtedly have an impact. He added that his personal opinion is that the Syrians have allies and friends in Lebanon and they do not need to intervene directly. He welcomed Lebanon’s openness to the relationship with Syria, because it is our door and window to the Arab countries and through them we transport our products, but at the same time he stressed the need to take into account Caesar’s law, as we fear it and proceed with everything step by step so that Caesar’s law does not apply to us.
As for the possibility of his visit to Syria to discuss the refugee issue, he considered that when any positive sign appeared and in the interest of Lebanon, I would go to Syria. He accused the international community of financing the survival of the displaced in Lebanon, quoting some of them as saying, “You caught them.” He considered that the solution requires negotiations with Syria, which are to a large extent prohibited, and sanctions do not allow us to conduct such negotiations.
In response to a question regarding whether Lebanon is required from outside today to agree to keep the refugees in it until the aid comes to it, Bou Habib indicated that he understood this in one way or another, “from all of us.”
In another field, Bou Habib expected that Lebanon would present this month its response to the recent proposal of the American mediator, Amos Hochstein, regarding the demarcation of the border with Israel.
Regarding what hinders diplomatic formations until now, he answered frankly, that it is the quota, so everyone wants his share, and if I say otherwise, “that he is a liar.” He promised to try to find a solution before the next cabinet meeting.
When he was asked regarding the outstanding shares, he replied, “Most of the shares have expired. Speaker Berri’s share has expired for a long time.” Regarding the share of the President of the Republic, he said, there are small issues that we want to resolve, and God willing, both will be resolved, but nothing is certain. It is certain that this government will issue the formations in full and in the full meaning of the word.
On the possibility of reducing the number of Lebanese embassies due to the financial crisis, Bou Habib revealed a proposal to suspend work at 17 embassies, not close them. As for the possibility of reducing the salaries of diplomats abroad, he said, “This is possible. I spoke with the Minister of Finance on the matter, and we worked on a proposal to reduce 14 percent of the Foreign Ministry’s budget.” We may agree with the Ministry of Finance to set a maximum wage.
He stressed that the logistical preparations for the expatriate vote were completed, reassuring to ensure the transparency of this process.
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The “current” in Akkar is looking for allies, and the revolution is in the throes of Asir
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
Mayez Ebeid – Nidaa Al Watan
A few days before the deadline for the registration of the electoral lists at the Ministry of Interior expires, these lists and those in charge of them are going through the last rounds to resolve matters, with all of them appearing next Saturday at the latest.
In Akkar, the lists are announced and registered, and their number may reach 6 or 7, and 3 of them have been completed so far.
The first and complete list in the Akkar Governorate – the first northern district, is the list of representatives of the “future” and was the first to announce it before it went through a difficult labor of stability, following a wave of disagreements between the representatives Muhammad Suleiman, Hadi Hbeish and Walid Al-Baarini, and the consideration of Hbeish and Suleiman that the latter is singled out by the decision of the list And its logistical matters, and naming the candidates on it. But they were objecting to the nomination of the Sunni candidate Ibrahim al-Masoumy. According to information, the Secretary-General of the “Future Movement”, Ahmed al-Hariri, entered the mediation line and promised Hobeish, who is afraid of a decline in Sunni support following Hariri’s withdrawal, with future votes to float him over his main rival, the candidate of the “Free Patriotic Movement” Jimmy Jabbour. The list was registered yesterday at the Ministry of Interior under the name “National Moderation”.
The second list that came to light and was registered under the name of “Loyalty to Akkar” list combined candidate Ali Tlais (a former Sharia council member), with the coordinator of the “Al-Azm” movement in Akkar, Dr. Haitham Ezzedine (a university professor), and Ammar Al-Rasheed (head of the Zakat Fund in Akkar and suspended his work Finally), Elie Dib, Elie Saad (Orthodox), Ahmed El Hedham (Alawite), and Joseph Mikhael (Maronite).
As for the “Lebanese Forces”, it will complete its list in Akkar, as in the rest of the regions. It is working on an alliance with the former MP Khaled Daher, and it is expected that the former MP, Talal Al-Mara’bi, will also join, and the nomination of the candidate, Muhammad Ajaj Ibrahim, from the Sunnis, was also decided. This alliance comes among a series of alliances in which the “forces” are engaged in the electoral battle at the level of Lebanon, as they allied themselves in Sidon with Youssef Al-Naqeeb, in Zahle with Dr. Bilal Al-Hashimi, in Tripoli with Major General Ashraf Rifi, and others in other regions. Returning to the Akkari list, it also includes Wissam Mansour and Ziad Rahal for the Orthodox, for the Maronite Michel Khoury and for the Alawites, Fawaz Al-Ahmad is more likely. Daher told “Nidaa Al-Watan”: “Our list is the list of sovereignty and independence, the list for the development of Akkar and the restoration of its rights. Its goal is to extend the authority of the state and preserve Arab Lebanon and our relations with our Arab brothers and friends of Lebanon, and for this country to restore its political and economic stability in a way that preserves Lebanon and its message.”
As for the Free Patriotic Movement’s list, it is likely to be announced between today and tomorrow, and it has been finally decided upon: Asaad Dergham, Jimmy Jabbour, and former MP Muhammad Yahya. As for the regulations of civil society and the revolution, they are still in their difficult stages, and nothing has been officially announced regarding them until now. It is expected that the announcement of the lists will raise the level of popular interest and enthusiasm among the Akkaris, who are still dealing with the elections with faint interest.
Antonine University opened a mental health week under the auspices of the Ministry of Health
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
The Antonine University, under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Health, inaugurated the “Week of Health and Psychological Comfort” in its second edition, and it will continue until next April 2 and include 20 workshops, in which a group of international and local experts from a number of Lebanese, British and Canadian universities will participate.
The opening was attended by the representative of the Minister of Public Health, Dr. Firas Al-Abyad, Director of Medical Care in the Ministry, Dr. Joseph El-Helou, President of the Antonine University, Father Michel Galakh, its Vice President for Integrated Human Development Affairs, Father Jean Alam, and a number of stakeholders in the file of comfort and mental health, along with the deans of faculties at the university. and administrators.
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Galakh spoke regarding the “importance of integrated development and sustainable comfort,” and said: “They are at the heart of the university’s mission and concern all its officials, as the university attaches great importance to psychological comfort, especially in light of the circumstances that Lebanon is going through and its people suffer from.”
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In turn, El-Helou commended “the Antonine University’s step in the areas of health and psychological comfort through this week and the follow-up it is taking with its students,” noting that “the Ministry of Public Health will always be by the university’s side in all its steps that fall into this framework.”
He talked regarding “the suffering of the centers concerned with mental health in Lebanon, especially the Monastery of the Cross,” and said: “No country or people can tolerate what the Lebanese endure at all levels, besides Corona, this country will rise once more, despite all the difficulties.” .
He renewed the call to “take the vaccine”, and said: “Corona is not over yet.”
“Al-Mustaqbal” loses Beirut… and decisive hours in the Chouf
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
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Things seem to have gotten out of control electorally in Beirut, where the Future Movement failed to thwart former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora’s move to tighten the “nerves” of those affiliated with the “Blue Movement”, and the Sunni “street” has become more than ever before, convinced of Siniora’s proposals, which raises The slogan of not abandoning Beirut to the “control” of Hezbollah, and it succeeded in the past few hours by moving in the name of the former “Prime Ministers Club” to secure strong candidates on its list with the support of future leaders led by former MP Ammar Houry. Which was rejecting any “equivocal” participation in compliance with Hariri’s decision, but the nomination of Bashir Itani and Majed Dimashqieh on the list backed by Siniora gave it a strong impetus following obtaining the support of the Beirut “League” of families, which seems to be participating strongly to fill the vacuum of the “blue” movement and not grant the party God and his allies “the upper hand” in Beirut. But this list will not be alone in “Al Maidan,” and it will be in confrontation with two lists that can be said to be scooping from the same “platter.” On the one hand, the list of Representative Fouad Makhzoumi is no less powerful than the previous one, and he succeeded in including personalities who have a great influence on the “Beirut” street. Historically affiliated with Al-Mustaqbal, as well as the list of Al-Ansar Club president, Nabil Badr, who will win many votes that would have voted for Hariri’s list. On the other hand, Beiruti political circles confirm the existence of a wide segment of Beirut’s conviction in the decision of the Head of the Future Movement, and they point out that fears still exist regarding a large segment’s “reluctance” from the ballot boxes, and they may not be tempted by the slogans presented.
Decisive “hours” in the Chouf
At this time, and until yesterday evening, the ongoing negotiations between the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gibran Bassil, MP Talal Arslan, and former Minister Wiam Wahhab, did not reach an agreement to form a coalition list for the Chouf-Aley district due to the dispute over the combination of MP Farid Al-Bustani and the minister. The former, Naji Al-Bustani, is in one list, and according to informed sources, the coming hours seem crucial, especially since the separation will mean weakening the chances of the two lists in triggering the “coup” required in this department in the face of the “socialist” and “forces.” According to the information, Wahhab and Arslan informed Basil that they would not abandon Naji al-Bustani, who possesses significant Christian power, even if this led to the “excess” of the alliance. » To secure the victory of former Minister Ghassan Atallah, and this literally means his loss of the elections, because there is no serious guarantee that the votes will be distributed by the “current” between him and Atallah, knowing that Naji Al-Bustani has the power of preferential votes in his favour.