"And I have found both freedom and safety in my madness, the freedom of loneliness and the safety from being understood, for those who understand us enslave something in us. But let me not be too proud of my safety. Even a Thief in a jail is safe from another thief. "

Khalil Gibran (How I Became a Madman)

Lübnan Marunîleri / Yasin Atlıoğlu

Lübnan Marunîleri / Yasin Atlıoğlu
NEWS AND ARTICLES / HABERLER VE MAKALELER

Sunday, May 06, 2018

Aoun Casts Vote, Urges Lebanese to Practice 'National Right Out of Conviction'- Naharnet

President Michel Aoun cast his vote on Sunday in the country’s parliamentary elections and voiced calls on all Lebanese citizens to practice their “national, democratic right out of conviction.”
“Today the Lebanese are practicing one of the important national political operations where they get to choose MPs who will represent them for the next four years. They must not relinquish their duty to hold lawmakers accountable for their performance,” Aoun told reporters after casting his ballot at a polling station in Haret Hreik.
The President encouraged Lebanese to act out of conviction without “outside influences.”
“It is a sacred right of yours that you should not abandon,” he added.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/245842
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Overview Of Syrian Army’s Operation In Southern Damascus On May 6, 2018- South Front

Syrian government forces are developing their operation against ISIS in southern Damascus.
Following the liberation of the southern part of the al-Hajar al-Aswad district in southern Damascus on May 5, the Syrian Arab Army and its allies started storming the northern part of al-Hajar al-Aswad where they captured the Jerusalem School and a local power station.
Separately, clashes continued in the district of at-Taqaddom, but government forces have not been able to achieve any breaktrough in the area so far.
According to local sources, Syrian Air Force aircraft have carried about 50 strikes on ISIS positions in al-Hajar al-Aswad, at-Taqaddom and the Yarmouk Refugee Camp.
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New housing law heralds a re-engineered Syria- Sami Moubayed

The new legislation — Law #10 — stipulates that ravaged parts of Syria are up for reorganisation, development and reconstruction.

BEIRUT- Syrians are fretting over a real estate development law, passed in April, that many say strips millions of their property, especially within flattened towns such as Darayya and Douma in the Damascus countryside. It certainly benefits the Syrian government, which wrote the law, given that all unclaimed property will be taken over by the state.
The new legislation — Law #10 — stipulates that ravaged parts of Syria are up for reorganisation, development and reconstruction. To prove one’s claim to the destroyed property, people must report in person with real estate documents within a period of 30 days. No anti-regime Syrian living abroad can do that nor can those evading the draft, given that all have arrest warrants awaiting them.
A small loophole exists, however, allowing fourth-degree relatives to deputise on their behalf but proxy authorisation requires a security clearance, which would be denied if any of the stakeholders involved are on the “wanted” list. Many ownership documents no longer exist, torched in homes or the basements of government agencies, often making it impossible to prove one’s right to land or real estate.
Many of the refugees left their homes in fear and haste, leaving documents behind. Property that remains unclaimed will be automatically taken by the government and used for official purposes or sold at public auction. Those who do prove their right to land or real estate should be compensated accordingly by private sector companies working on reconstruction.
The new legislation builds on a 1974 law that calls for compensation of citizens whose homes were destroyed by fire, earthquakes or other natural disasters. It is riddled with contradictions, lawmakers claim, and plenty of legal glitches.
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Saturday, May 05, 2018

Jaysh al-Islam Leader Steals Tens Of Millions Of Dollars And Resigns- South Front

Mohammed Alloush has stolen a sum of $47m from Jaysh al-Islam before resignation from his position as the group’s political leader, the Iranian news agency Fars reported on May 5.
The report said that Alloush is currently using the stolen money to run trade activities in Turkey, where he has been living for the past few years.
Alloush announced his resignation from Jaysh al-Islam on May 3 claiming that he had taken this decision to give the youth of the opposition a chance to lead the “revolutionary and political action.” However, most Syrian opposition activists were not convinced by Alloush’s claim.
Many Syrian pro-government activists believe that Alloush’s decision is a result of the humiliating defeat of Jaysh al-Islam in the Eastern Ghouta region battle. One of the main results of the defeat was the end of the financial support for Jaysh al-Islam, which could be the real motive behind Alloush’s decision.
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Lebanon election likely to reaffirm status quo in country riven by dysfunction- The Guardian

Law change was meant to make room for political plurality but old traditions of patronage are hard to break down.

Nine years and two collapsed governments since the last election, Lebanon goes to the polls on Sunday with leaders touting a new beginning for a country bedevilled by debt and dysfunction, but voters fearing more of the same.
The long-awaited parliamentary election had been hailed as a potential turning point for a state beset by decades of war, a turbulent domestic scene and a neighbouring crisis that has posed new threats.
As polling day has drawn nearer, however, it has become increasingly likely that the result will reaffirm the status quo of a powerful, elite-run patronage network with entrenched channels of influence.
For opponents of prime minister Saad Hariri’s government, this spells trouble. “The country is going through serious social, economic and political challenges that will translate into disastrous consequences if the same elite runs the country, with the same mindset that it did the last 30 years,” said Gilbert Doumit, a candidate in Beirut for a new list, Kulna Watani.
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Tight Security Ahead of Parliamentary Elections- Naharnet

At 7:00 am Sunday Lebanon will launch its first legislative elections in nine years under “tight security measures,” ensuring a calm electoral process.
1,800 ballot boxes in 7,000 polling stations will open Sunday around various Lebanese districts. Some 21,000 security personnel from the Internal Security Forces, the State Security and General Security will be in charge inside polling stations. Meanwhile, the army will maintain security around the centers and roads leading to it, al-Joumhouria daily said Saturday.
Army units carried out their deployment yesterday in all areas of Lebanon according to a security plan in which additional units were allocated to areas considered “exceptional.” They were marked with "red" to prevent any security repercussions as the result of “atmosphere of electoral tension” in areas of “heated” electoral confrontations at the political and sectarian levels, added the daily.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/245815
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Members of Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed from East Deraa Countryside- Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

Previous writings have explored the lives of a number of deceased and living members of the Islamic State affiliate Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed that is located in the Yarmouk Basin. So far, those profiles have not documented individuals with origins from the east Deraa countryside (i.e. the area of rebel-held territory in Deraa province east of the strip of government-controlled territory running down the centre of the province). This post looks into two individuals of Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed from an east Deraa countryside town called al-Karak al-Sharqi: Abu Hussein al-Karaki and Abu Yahya al-Karaki. As far as is known, they are the only two people from the town who joined the group.
The main families in al-Karak al-Sharqi are:
- al-Sakri
- al-Rashidat
- al-Nu'ama
- al-Shanur
- al-Khalayafa
- al-Asafira

Of these families, the al-Asafira have affiliations with the al-Nu'aim tribe, while the al-Sakris have affiliations with the al-Rabaya'a tribe.
The main factions in the town are:
- Liwa A'isha Umm al-Mu'mineen, which declared in July 2017 that it joined Jaysh al-Islam's southern sector.


There is also a more minor presence for the faction Jund al-Malahem.
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Friday, May 04, 2018

Hariri Tours Beirut, Defends 'Moderation' on Eve of 'Crucial' Vote- Naharnet

Prime Minister and al-Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri on Friday visited Dar al-Fatwa, the seat of Lebanon's highest Sunni Muslim religious authority, as he toured several Beirut neighborhoods two days ahead of the May 6 parliamentary elections.
Hariri was received at Dar al-Fatwa by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan, who was meeting with a group of scholars and clerics.
Daryan welcomed Hariri and said: "By coming here today, you reminded me of the great martyr of Lebanon, PM Rafik Hariri, who used to come to Dar al-Fatwa in the essential periods of the history of Lebanon.”
“The good relationship between Dar al-Fatwa and the Premiership must remain strong and solid, because in the end the Mufti of the Republic and the Prime Minister protect the sect and the nation,” the Mufti added.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/245796
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Taimur Jumblat: Walid Jumblat's Will Shall Not be Defeated- Naharnet

Taimur Jumblat, the son and heir apparent of Druze leader MP Walid Jumblat, announced Friday that the Chouf-Aley 'Reconciliation List' will work on “building the state of law and institutions.”
“We stand before the teacher Kamal Jumblat who founded our path and we salute all the martyrs who offered their blood to protect this path,” Jumblat said at an electoral rally in Baakline on the eve of the electoral silence period.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/245797
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Every man for himself: Lebanon election a fight over seats, not visions- MEE

It has been nine years since Lebanon held parliamentary elections, an eternity of shifting politics in a period of instability that has left the political landscape hardly recognisable compared to 2009.
As election day on 6 May draws near, the race is on full display, with the ubiquitous signs and posters in all major cities trumpeting the chances of a multitude of candidates and political leaders.
But where once these politicians and their parties were defined in a polarity that emerged in the wake of former prime minister Rafic Hariri’s 2005 assassination, now the waters are muddied, giving the impression of every man for himself.
The post-2005 political order of the pro-Western "14 March" bloc vs the Hezbollah-led "8 March" alliance is falling apart, experts say.
"This is not a parliamentary legislative election; it is more like a municipal election," Sateh Noureddine, editor-in-chief of the Al Modon news website, told Middle East Eye.
Technically, this is the vote that matters most: Lebanon is a parliamentary republic, where the parliament elects the president, writes laws and passes treaties.
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Egypt Doesn't Plan to Send Troops to Syria – Foreign Ministry- Sputnik News

CAIRO (Sputnik) – Egypt does not plan on sending its troops to foreign countries, including Syria, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said amid plans by Arab countries to deploy their forces in the country.
According to earlier reports from Al-Ahram newspaper, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that Arab countries were considering the possibility of sending a joint military contingent to Syria to stabilize the situation in the war-torn country.
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Lebanon's New Electoral Law: What You Need to Know- Naharnet

Lebanon is set to hold its first parliamentary vote in nearly a decade on May 6, after a drawn-out political stalemate finally produced a new electoral law in 2017.
The new system maintains the sectarian seat allocation in the 128-member parliament, but swaps out the decades-old plurality system for a proportional list-based one. 
Below are the most prominent elements of the law. 
- Districts - 
The new law reduces the number of voting districts from 26 to 15. 
The smallest district in the south is represented by five parliament seats, and the largest, the hilly region of Chouf-Aley, has been allocated 13 seats. 
In each district, the seats are distributed among the various religious sects present in that area. 
For example, the seven seats allotted for the eastern district of Zahleh in the Bekaa valley include two seats for Catholics and one seat each for a Maronite Christian, Shiite Muslim, Sunni Muslim, Orthodox Christian, and Armenian Orthodox Christian. 
- Lists - 
All voters, regardless of sect, can vote for all seats in their district. In the past, they could individually choose which candidate they want to elect for each seat, mixing and matching from various parties as they wished.
Under the new law, they must choose from among wholesale lists presented on pre-printed ballots.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/245764
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Sending Arab troops to Syria a possibility, says Egyptian minister- MEE

Arab countries discussing proposal to replace US soldiers in Syria with their own, says Egyptian foreign minister.

Replacing foreign forces in Syria with Arab troops is a real possibility, Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shukri said on Thursday.
Though the idea reportedly proposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration has been met with some hesitancy by other Arab countries, Egyptian state newspaper Al-Ahram quoted Shukri saying the option is being discussed.
"This proposition is not only being discussed by the media, but also during discussions and deliberations amongst officials of states to look into how these ideas could contribute to stabilising Syria," said Shukri.
He also said, however, that the subject needed more consideration and after meetings with his French counterpart last week confirmed that France had not asked Egypt to send troops to Syria.
American media reported in April that Trump’s new national security advisor, John Bolton, had asked allies in the Middle East to replace US forces in Syria, while Trump said he had asked Arab states to contribute financially to the military offensive against IS militants.
“Increased engagement from our friends, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, and others can ensure that Iran does not profit from the eradication of ISIS,” said Trump in April.
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Syria Rebels Hand over Arms in New Deal with Regime- Naharnet

Syrian rebels on Friday were surrendering their heavy weapons after reaching a new deal with the government for a central swathe of territory, a war monitor said.
Opposition fighters agreed with regime forces and their allies to a ceasefire deal earlier this week for parts of Syria's central provinces of Hama and Homs, including the rebel towns of Talbisseh, Rastan, and Al-Houla.
"The fighters are handing over their heavy and intermediate weapons to Russian and regime forces for the second consecutive day," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.
It included artillery and machine guns, said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Observatory.
"Once the handovers are finished, the rebels who want to leave will be evacuated out with civilians," Abdel Rahman told AFP.
Rebels and civilians will be granted safe passage to the rebel-held town of Jarabulus, in Aleppo province, and the neighbouring province of Idlib which largely escapes government control, according to state news agency SANA.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/245751
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Thursday, May 03, 2018

Five trends to watch in Lebanon’s parliamentary elections- Al-Monitor


After five years of delay, Lebanese go to the polls May 6 to elect a new parliament for the first time since 2009. The ultimate objective of this popular vote is to readjust the power representation of the same ruling class and set its rules of engagement for the next four years. The 2018 general elections will be held for the first time under the proportional rather than the majoritarian system, with a revised gerrymandering of 15 districts (as opposed to 26 in 2009). It is safe to argue that the winners of nearly 70% of the seats have been predetermined due to the confessional nature of the political system.
The electoral law reflects the current political landscape in Lebanon, where alliances are volatile and no single coalition alone can rule the country. Moreover, these legislative elections are held against the background of two significant developments: the repercussions of the 2016 presidential deal that elected Gen. Michel Aoun, and the volatile situation in Syria next door. There are five trends to watch in these elections:
Hariri-ism is done but not over
Nearly two decades ago, the Syrian regime and its Lebanese allies gerrymandered Beirut into three districts to weaken the electoral capabilities of then-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who came back swinging in 2000 and won 18 out of 19 parliamentary seats allocated to Beirut. Future Movement leader Saad Hariri is not expected to win more than half of these 19 seats in 2018. Over the past three decades, Rafik and Saad Hariri’s parliamentary blocs included non-Sunni deputies at a time when the major Christian political parties were marginalized in the political system. The current electoral law restricts the ability of Saad Hariri and all the principal leaders to have an oversized parliamentary bloc. These elections are partially about who will inherit the extra-parliamentary Sunni, Shiite and Christian seats that Hariri is about to give up. Moreover, Hariri is facing unprecedented competition across Lebanon from Sunni rivals, including from those who are close to Saudi Arabia. While Hariri is weaker than he was in 2009, the election outcome is expected to reinforce his indispensability as a premier in the current status quo. However, this indispensability could be put at risk, either by regional turmoil or by US-Saudi pressure on Hariri to directly confront Hezbollah.


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In Lebanon vote, activists face warlords, powerful political dynasties- Reuters

BEIRUT (Reuters) - An unlikely bunch of activists have joined forces for Lebanon’s general election in a rare challenge to the sectarian political dynasties and warlords they say left the country in ruins.

A pharmacist, a women’s rights advocate, and a TV celebrity are part of a loose alliance striving for a small but meaningful breakthrough in the vote this Sunday, the first in nine years.

Lebanese elections have never seen this many independent candidates, with dozens from outside the parties that dominate the country. They stand against a political elite which has barely changed since the 1975-90 civil war.

hey hope a new voting system will help them unseat at least some of the old guard, and want to tap into anger that fuelled a wave of anti-government protests in 2015.

“Their failure is our chance,” said Gilbert Doumit, who is running in Beirut against the incumbent Nadim Gemayel, the son of one of Lebanon’s most prominent war leaders. “We want to get our causes into the parliament.”

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Russian fighter jet crashes over Mediterranean Sea- TASS


MOSCOW, May 3. /TASS/. A Sukhoi-30SM jet of Russia’s Aerospace Force has crashed in the Mediterranean killing both pilots, the Defense Ministry told the media on Thursday.


"At 09:45 on May 3, a Russian Sukhoi-30SM fighter crashed in the Mediterranean during the climb shortly after taking off from the Khmeimim airdrome. As follows from an onsite report, both pilots tried to keep the plane under control till the last moment. Both died," the Defense Ministry said.

According to preliminary estimates, a bird hit the plane’s engine.

"There was no fire impact on the plane," the Defense Ministry said.
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Rus Su-30SM uçağı, Suriye’de düştü- Sputnik News

Rusya Savunma Bakanlığı, Suriye’de Su-30SM savaş uçağının düştüğünü, uçağı kullanan iki pilotun da hayatını kaybettiğini açıkladı.

Rusya Savunma Bakanlığı’ndan yapılan açıklamada “Moskova saatiyle saat 09.45’te Hmeymim Hava Üssü’nden havalandıktan sonra Akdeniz suları üzerinde Rus savaş uçağı Su-30SM düştü. Olay yerinden alınan verilere göre, son ana kadar uçağı kurtarmak için mücadele eden iki pilot da hayatını kaybetti” ifadeleri kullanıldı.
‘MOTORA KUŞ SIKIŞMIŞ OLABİLİR’
Bakanlık, uçağın düşüş sebebiyle ilgili “Ön verilere göre, uçağın düşüş sebebi motora sıkışan bir kuş olabilir. Uçağa kimse ateş etmedi” bilgisini verdi.
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Wednesday, May 02, 2018

Rastan Pocket Militants Reach Recosiliation Deal With Government Forces- South Front

A recosiliation deal between the Syrian government and militants operating in the Rastan pocket has been reached, according to pro-government sources.
According to the Syrian state-run media, militants and their families will be able to evaucate from the Rastan pocket in northern Homs towards the militant-held parts of Idlib or Aleppo provinces.
The militants have to hand over their heavy and medium weapons to government forces within 2 days from the start of the agreement’s implementation.
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Tuesday, May 01, 2018

'Lübnan’da Değişim Kolay Olmayacak'- VOA Türkçe

Lübnan, 6 Mayıs’ta yeni bir parlamentoyu belirleyecek seçimleri yapmak üzere sandık başına gitmeye hazırlanıyor. En son 9 yıl önce parlamento seçimlerinin yapılabildiği Lübnan’da oylamaya günler kala büyük siyasi partiler ve yeni simalar 128 sandalyeli mecliste yer alabilmek için yarışıyor.

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