Lebanon: Hezbollah, Amal to end boycott of cabinet sessions

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by reuters -- Powerful Lebanese groups Hezbollah and Amal have said they would end a boycott of cabinet sessions, opening the way for ministers to meet after a three-month gap that has seen the economy and currency collapse further. The groups, which back several ministers in a government made up of members from across the political spectrum, said in a statement on Saturday that the decision was driven by a desire to approve the 2022 budget and to discuss an economic recovery. The Lebanese cabinet under Prime Minister Najib Mikati has not met since October 12 due to squabbling about the investigation into the deadly Beirut port explosion in August 2020, and a continuing diplomatic rift with Saudi Arabia and some Gulf states. As a result, the government has been unable to take swift action to address the country’s dire economic crisis.

Since August 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 90 percent of its value as more than three-quarters of the population has slipped into poverty. The country’s inflation rate has exceeded those of crisis-hit Venezuela and Zimbabwe. The World Bank has said the Lebanese financial crisis is one of the worst since the mid-19th century. In December, President Michel Aoun said Lebanon needs “six to seven years” to emerge from the crisis. The economic meltdown began in 2019 when the financial system collapsed under the weight of huge state debt and lack of foreign currency – the result of decades of corruption, economic mismanagement, and unsustainable financing.

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President Michel Sleiman: ديمقراطية بدون ديمقراطيين

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تعليق المشاركة في جلسات مجلس الوزراء، حق ديمقراطي
مقاطعة جلسات انتخاب رئيس الجمهورية لمدة سنتين ونصف ، ايضاً حق ديمقراطي
تعطيل نصاب جلسات مجلس النواب التشريعية هو حق من الحقوق الديمقراطية

نظرياً … صح هذه حقوق ديمقراطية
عملياً … ديمقراطية بدون ديمقراطيين

Israel sees closer ties between Syria, Gulf states as helping curb Iran's influence

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Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad (R) talks to UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan in the capital Damascus, November 9, 2021. (AFP)

by thearabweekly.com -- Israel sees benefits in terms of curtailing Iranian influence in Syria arising from the Gulf states' progress towards normalisation with the Damascus regime, said an Israeli media report quoting "a senior diplomatic official" in the Jewish state. The unnamed source, cited by Israeli news website Ynet, said that closer ties to Arab Sunni states might indicate a willingness on the part of the Syrian regime to curb relations with Iran and Shia allies. “During the coming year there will be opportunities to reduce the Iranian presence in Syria,” predicted the Israeli official. The Israeli source highlighted the importance of the economic factor as the rapprochement between Damascus and Gulf countries could help Syria deal with its financial crunch and shore up the stability of the regime. Syria faces a tough economic crisis due to war-related expenditures and US and European restrictions.

The Israeli official described Iran’s nuclear programme as “a great threat to Israel, even an existential threat" and the development of an atomic weapon by Iran would “exacerbate the terror activities of its proxies in the area.” The source did not rule out an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities if the ongoing talks in Vienna do not manage to limit the threat of Israel building a nuclear bomb. But the Israeli official noted that in case of a military attack on Iran, Lebanon's pro-Iran party Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant faction Hamas might enter the fray in support of Tehran. Hezbollah “has very significant attack capabilities that pose a challenge to us,” the Israeli source added. “We are conducting defensive preparations in the northern arena.” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was quoted as telling the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, Monday, that Israel was conducting "a multifaceted war" against Iran and its regional proxies, especially Hezbollah and Hamas. He expressed the view that financial constraints and pressures at home limit Iran's ability to carry out its regional designs. Since last July, a number of Arab countries has increasingly made moves to normalise relations with the Assad regime, through meetings, agreements and economic understandings. The moves involved Jordan, Egypt and the UAE, in particular.

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Dialogue Boycotters Hit Back at Aoun, Call Him ‘Disruption Expert’

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by naharnet -- Democratic Gathering Bloc MP Hadi Abou El-Hassan, said that President Michel Aoun instead of “lecturing” the dialogue boycotters, should have addressed “his ally,” which is “the main party disrupting the country.” He added that “the one who had disrupted the country for 9 years out of his 16 years of management, shouldn’t accuse people of arrogance and of disrupting dialogue.” Aoun on Thursday had lashed out at those who announced their boycott of his proposed national dialogue conference, holding them responsible for the continued paralysis of the country, which triggered the dialogue boycotters to strike back accusing the FPM and its ally Hizbullah of disrupting the country.

The media advisor of ex-PM Saad Hariri said that the presidency is "the godfather of disruption" and that it had disrupted the government for years. Lebanese Forces MP Anis Nassar joined the Progressive Socialist Party and al-Mustaqbal Movement in hitting back at Aoun. He told al-Anbaa news portal that the President is “an expert in disruption,” as he had in the past disrupted the government for six months "to make his son-in-law Jebran Bassil a minister." He added that Aoun had disrupted the presidential elections for two years and a half to secure his appointment as a president, and had also prevented the government from making reforms after the elections because of a bickering between Bassil and the Prime Minister at the time. Nassar went on to say that “the call for dialogue came too late, now that the country is at its last breath.”

Lebanese central bank seeks to strengthen currency after slump

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by reuters -- BEIRUT: Lebanon’s central bank said on Friday it aimed to boost the Lebanese pound’s value by easing restrictions on dollar purchases after the currency hit a record low, fueling fresh protests about rising prices and a collapsing economy. The pound, which has lost more than 90 percent of its value since Lebanon’s financial crisis erupted in 2019, dropped beyond 33,000 to the dollar, though it had clawed back some ground to around 27,200 by Friday. Before the crisis, which has driven a significant proportion of residents into poverty, it traded at 1,500 to the dollar. In response to the sharp decline, the central bank said it was removing a ceiling related to bank purchases of dollars using the official Sayrafa exchange rate platform. “This initiative aims at curbing the volatility of the exchange market and aims at strengthening the pound’s value against the dollar,” bank Governor Riad Salameh told Reuters, .”..The operation consists of decreasing the amount of bank notes in Lebanese pounds.”

Salameh also said there had been “signs of manipulation of the prices of the dollar to the pound,” without giving details. One analyst has described the central bank move as like taking “a Panadol pill to treat a major crisis,” saying the government needed a program of reforms to tackle deep economic problems. Commercial banks have all but shut their doors to depositors amid a liquidity crunch caused by the economy crumbling under a mountain of state debt. A new cabinet was formed in September, promising to start fixing the economy and restart talks with the International Monetary Fund, but ministers have not met for three months because of dispute over the conduct of an investigation into a huge explosion in Beirut port in 2020. Salameh is facing multiple domestic and international investigations into his conduct at the head of the central bank, which he has led for three decades. He denies any wrongdoing.

Citations choisis par President Michel Sleiman

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Citations: "La guerre ! c’est une chose trop grave pour la confier à des militaires" ( Georges Clémenceau )

"La politique est une chose trop sérieuse pour la confier aux politiciens" ( Charles de Gaulles )

"Le dialogue est une chose trop sensible pour le confier uniquement aux partis politiques" ( un citoyen libanais )