Maronite Patriarch Asks the World to Encourage Syrian Refugees to Return Home

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Paris -by  Michel Abu Najm aawsat.com -- --  Maronite Patriarch Bshara Al-Rai will return to Lebanon on Thursday following an official visit to France, where he met with President Emmanuel Macron and called for encouraging the Syrian refugees to return to their homeland. The issue of refugees was one of the main topics addressed by Rai with French officials, based on the Lebanese people’s fear of an international “desire” to keep the displaced persons in their hosting countries. The Maronite patriarch told Asharq Al-Awsat that when international conferences on Syrian displaced and refugees “insist on integrating them into the communities in which they are located, and facilitating their entry into the labor market, this indicates a tendency to keep them where they are,” describing such “insistence” as a threat to the Lebanese demographic balance.

In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Rai said that Lebanon was under the burden of the huge number of refugees, warning that their continued presence in Lebanon would change the country’s demographic structure. In figures, the patriarch said that one third of the Lebanese people lived below the poverty line. In addition, 60 percent of Syrian displaced, according to specialized international agencies, suffered from the same situation. Therefore, the patriarch called for solutions to the problem of the refugees “to save Lebanon”, so that the Lebanese “do not find themselves strangers in their homeland” and to preserve the country as a “message” to the Arab and Islamic worlds. Rai underlined his rejection of two statements: the first is calling for a “forced” return of displaced and refugees, and the second is the commitment to their voluntary return. In this regard, he called on French officials to “encourage the Syrians” to return to areas that have become safe in Syria, and not to link their departure to a political solution and reconstruction.

Assad's new housing law is a veiled attempt to displace tens of thousands of Syrians – but even that won't help him win the war

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This article may not necessarily represent khazen.org 

by Robert Fisk -- independent.co.uk -- When wars end, the winners redraw the maps. That’s what the British and French did to the Ottoman Empire after the First World War. It’s what Hitler did in Eastern Europe when he thought he was winning. And what the Allies did after the Second World War. It’s what the Israelis did during the Palestinian Nakba (disaster). And what Saddam did to Kuwait after he invaded the UAE. But now a subtle twist. Even before it’s won back all of Syria, the Assad regime is doing a little redrawing of its own. Not of its national frontiers. But within its cities. For the new Law No 10 calls for what looks like mass property expulsion in those areas of the country which rebelled against the Syrian government after 2011. Even inside their borders, many Syrians claim that it will strip tens of thousands of citizens of their homes – especially in those pulverised districts of the country’s big cities which have been turned into miniature Stalingrads and Dresdens by years of fighting. And it will benefit the regime – author of the law – since all unclaimed property will become the property of the state. Is this the way to bring about the “reconciliation” which the Russians, the Syrian state itself and its supporters talk about so emotionally? “It’s true that Syria has lost the best of its youth and its infrastructure,” Bashar al-Assad said last year, “…but on the other hand it has gained a more healthy and more homogenous society.” Is this what Law No 10 is supposed to achieve? For it effectively deprives anyone who has opposed the regime or is thought to have opposed the regime or relatives of those who have opposed the regime or relatives of those who are thought to have opposed the regime, from regaining their property. The system of doing this – and the machinery of the law – has a special and sinister touch all on its own.

Here’s how it works. Destroyed areas of Syria are to be reorganised, developed and reconstructed. To prove your claim to property – damaged or destroyed – you must appear in person with your real estate documents within 30 days. Clearly, nobody outside Syria who opposes the government can do this – nor can those tens of thousands who live outside Syria’s frontiers to evade the military draft who, in theory and probably in practice, face arrest warrants if they go home. I took this up with a senior figure in Syria’s Chamber of Trade. No problem, he said. Property holders may appoint others – relatives or lawyers – to prove their claim to property. And this is true. Fourth degree relatives – second cousins, for example – can make this claim within the same 30 days. But proxy authorisation requires a security clearance which is unlikely to be given if those second cousins are representing relatives who are on a “wanted” list. All this is before we confront the hopelessness of millions of Syrians abroad whose documents of ownership were burned in their homes or in government buildings during the Syrian war. If you don’t have your papers, how do you prove you own your land?

Even Lebanon, whose government contains sympathisers of the Syrian regime – the president is one of them – has publicly expressed criticism of Law No 10 – mainly because their country hosts far more than a million Syrian refugees who, like the Palestinian refugees of 1948 and 1967 who fled to Lebanon, may now never return home. Ghassan Hasbani, the Lebanese health minister (and deputy prime minister) bluntly told a Saudi television channel that many of the Syrians in Lebanon “have lost their identity papers and some are prevented – out of safety fears – from returning to the country they left, fearing persecution.” The UN Refugee Agency says that more than 11 million Syrians have been displaced internally or to host countries during the war. According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, more than 70 per cent of refugees lack basic identification papers. There are painful parallels here to the plight of the 1947/8 Palestinians refugees and their families, who are deprived of their homes under Israel’s 1950 Absentee Property law which effectively prevents any Arab returning to his land inside present-day Israel who was expelled, fled or who left the country after 29 November 1947.

Gebran Bassil, the Lebanese foreign minister, has received no reply to a letter he sent to his opposite number in Damascus, Walid Moalem, and to the UN Secretary General, expressing his own concern. “The inability of the displaced to prove their ownership within the given period,” he wrote, “may cause them to lose their property and sense…of national identity, which deprives them of one of the main incentives for their return to Syria.” Not that Lebanon is standing up for Syria’s refugees; it just wants them to leave – and regards Law No 10 as a severe disincentive since the legislation may deprive them of the homes they would go back to. Hasbani’s objection is straightforward: the implementation of the new law and the time frame: why only 30 days to produce papers and claim ownership? For Assad’s opponents, it’s much simpler. For them, the regime is trying to dispossess its largely Sunni Muslim opponents, rebuild the devastated areas in which they lived and then sell them off at vast profit. This, they say, is a form of sectarian ethnic cleansing since the government will inevitably allow its Shia Muslim allies, including the Alawite minority, to live in the newly reconstructed areas.

As far back as 2012, a Syrian legislative decree (number 66) allowed the government in Damascus to “redevelop areas of unauthorised housing and informal settlements [slums].” In the same year, legislation 63 allowed the Syrian finance ministry to seize the assets of people who fell under the Counterterrorism Law (again of 2012). But this law itself embraces the regime’s interpretation of what “terrorism” means. An opponent of the government? A critic of the regime? A civilian who turned to armed warfare when his home was attacked? One widespread claim is that the law enables Iranians to take over the property of exiled Syrians. By law, neither Iranians not any other foreigner can do so – but Iranian companies can own property if they join the reconstruction process, and so can Russian companies. There are repeated rumours in Syria itself that Iranian companies have bought hotels near the old city of Damascus, along with apartments near the Shiite Sayyida Zainab mosque in the city, a place of pilgrimage for Iranians and Iraqi Shia. In fact, Syrians are more concerned about Iran’s financial aspirations in Syria than they are about the Iranian revolutionary guard corps which so obsesses Israel and the US – and which may number fewer than 3,000 men in the whole of Syria.

All countries, of course, try to clear away their war ruins. The reconstruction of Rotterdam – blitzed by the Luftwaffe in 1940 – began under German occupation. Tens of thousands of ruined homes in Syria cannot be repaired or “restored” because they are damaged beyond repair or, in some cases, unrecognisable to the owners who have returned to them. And the recapture of most major Syrian cities gives the regime a chance to bulldoze the tens of thousands of illegally-built squats which surround Damascus, Homs and Aleppo, the so-called “informal settlements” referred to in legislation 66. Many of these slum structures were built by the destitute rural poor who flooded to the cities before the war after massive drought in the countryside, and who joined the armed and later Islamist militias which tried to destroy Assad. No legislation mentions why these young people were forced to build their slum homes – there was much wrong with the government’s rural policies before the war – nor how the buildings came to be constructed in the first place. Syrians know that bribes were paid. But then who were the bribes paid to? You can see why the laws choose not to go too deeply into the origins of these banlieues. There are contradictions. At least one regional governor has tried to persuade citizens to stay in their ravaged homes – and not to leave with the bus loads of rebel fighters to Idlib, the dustbin province of Syria which will surely suffer its own fire and death in the months to come (unless Russia persuades them to leave for Turkey). Talal al-Barazi, the governor of Homs pleaded with the civilians of Homs not to travel away with the bus loads of armed men escorted by the Russian army en route to Idlib or the Turkish border last year. He climbed onto one bus and promised its passengers that they could stay, that they would not be arrested or punished – until a Sunni cleric on the bus told al-Barazi quietly that the Islamist fighters had told the families they would be liquidated if they did not travel out of Homs. Al-Barazi, it’s said, may well be the next Syrian minister of reconciliation. But he will have a hard job after Law No 10.

So why the rush? Why now, when the war is still far from over, is it necessary to throw this legislation at the poor and the refugees and the displaced? True, there is likely to be a reorganisation of the internal security services, the mukhabarat, when the conflict is over – word has it that they will be placed under the control of the interior ministry in Damascus which might curb their often-freelance activities and brutality. And Bashar al-Assad knows that Syria’s continued existence comes only because of the Syrian army’s fighting abilities and the price it has paid – total military dead is now 87,000 – and with the help of the Russians. After this sacrifice, the army will have a major role in the rebuilding of Syria. So what is the purpose of Law No 10? We’ve seen property confiscation in Syria before. When it was part of Nasser’s United Arab Republic (along with Egypt), farms and plantations were nationalised, along with 23 private banks and other companies. The Baathists did the same in 1963-5 on a bigger scale. Most of the companies taken during this period collapsed under corruption and bad management. But this was small scale compared to Law number 10, which raises the all-important question of what kind of Syria Bashar al-Assad wants to see after the bloodletting is over and the Islamists are destroyed and all of Syria restored to central government control. Is this going to create the “more healthy society” of which he spoke last year? I guess it comes down to a simple equation: bad laws do not create “reconciliation”. And laws don’t win wars. They can restart them

Dell EMC pledges to enable Lebanese firms meet the pace of digital change

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by ADELLE GERONIMO-tahawultech.com -- Dell EMC has recently hosted its Digital Transformation Conference 2018 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon. During the one-day event, Dell EMC aimed at driving human progress by helping organisations view themselves as innovators and manage their transformation journey successfully to address the unique challenges at the very heart of business. Kamal Othman, General Manager, LEVANT, Dell EMC, said, “Transformation is unique to every organisation and industry. However, at the core, it is about three simple ingredients: people, process, and technology. Dell EMC wants to bridge all three, by ensuring the strongest customer-partner relationships and fostering private-public sector collaborations to deliver optimal business outcomes. Othman noted that with the Digital Transformation Conference 2018, Dell EMC’s purpose was to enable organisations across Lebanon to adopt technology at the heart of their business, in order to manage their transformation journey, accelerate the cycle of innovation, create competitive differentiation and deliver the best possible customer experience, which is critical to succeed in the digital revolution. With partners, customers and business leaders in attendance, Dell EMC highlighted how its market leading solutions, ranging from the edge to core to cloud are enabling different industries to foster human innovation and drive real socio-economic change.

In this era of digitisation, IT is no longer just a business function, but business itself, thus making transformation a clear imperative. According to a mutual study between Forbes and Dell EMC across Europe, Middle East and Africa, 85 percent of business leaders plan to spend up to 25 percent of their 2018 enterprise budgets on IT transformation, presenting a significant market opportunity across industries . To thrive in today’s digital world, organisations are inclined to implement new technologies, processes and skillsets to best address changing customer needs and drive business differentiation, innovation and growth. In line with this, industry experts present at the Digital Transformation Conference 2018 provided demos and interactive sessions to help attendees understand the four key pillars of transformation: Digital, IT, Workforce, and Security. In addition, experts explained the transformational journey of core sectors including Healthcare, Telecom, Banking, Public Sector and Education, in order to equip organizations with the knowledge to shift the status quo and successfully embrace a digital future.

Inter-Christian Dispute Erupts over President’s Share in New Lebanese Govt.

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aawsat.com - A dispute between the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and the Lebanese Forces (LF) reached an unprecedented level on Tuesday after the latter proposed giving a ministerial portfolio that will be shared between President Michel Aoun and his allied bloc, Strong Lebanon, in the next cabinet. According to norms in Lebanon, presidents receive a ministerial share in cabinet lineups. However, those presidents were never represented by another bloc inside the same government. This is not the case of the current cabinet, where Aoun, the founder of the FPM, has a ministerial share separate from his party’s representation. This prompted the LF to demand that Aoun and the Strong Lebanon bloc obtain a joint ministerial portfolio in the new government. But, the 29-member Strong Lebanon bloc headed, by FPM leader and outgoing Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, insist on getting a portfolio separate from Aoun’s. LF sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the party’s fight in this regard is not directed against the president, but against Bassil, who is trying to use Aoun’s share to minimize the LF shares. “The Lebanese Forces is keen on protecting the powers and the role of the Presidency, but we will not accept that some parties skirt the results of the parliamentary elections,” the source said.

LF and social media activists posted on Tuesday a video showing Aoun, when he was still head of the FPM, commenting on the issue during the term of President Michel Suleiman. Aoun had declared that a president is not entitled to a ministerial portfolio. However, it seems that Aoun and Bassil currently refuse to even discuss the LF request. “The issue is already settled and not subject to any discussion,” Aoun sources told Asharq Al-Awsat, accusing the LF of trying to damage the powers of the president. Shiite and Sunni parties have avoided discussing the matter, keeping the ball in the Christian court. Mustaqbal Movement official Mustafa Alloush told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and his party are only concerned about the quick lineup of the cabinet away from any complications.” It is up to the LF and the FPM to resolve issues related to the presidential shares in the next cabinet or to any issue related to the Christian representation in the country, he added.

Kim Jong Un reportedly cried over North Korea's bad economy, and it could show he's ready to cave to Trump

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A video of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crying about his country's terrible economy while surveying its coast is said to be making the rounds among the country's leadership — and it could be a sign he's ready to cave in to President Donald Trump in negotiations. Japan's Asahi Shinbun quoted a defector with contacts inside the country as describing a video in which a narrator explains Kim is crying that he can't improve North Korea's economy. The defector reportedly said the video surfaced in April and high-ranking members of North Korea's ruling party viewed it, possibly in an official message from Kim to the party. In April, North Korea had already offered the US a meeting with Kim and was in the midst of a diplomatic charm offensive in which it offered up the prospect of denuclearization to China, South Korea, and the US. The defector speculated that the video was meant to prepare the country for possible changes after the summit with Trump.

Really strange video

In North Korea, Kim is essentially worshipped as a god-like figure with an impossible mythology surrounding his bloodline. Kim is meant to be all powerful, so footage showing him crying at his own inability to improve his country's economics would be a shock. Kim's core policy as a leader had been to pursue both economic and nuclear development, but around the turn of 2018, he declared his country's nuclear-weapon program completed. Experts assess with near unanimity that Kim doesn't really want to give up his country's nuclear weapons, as he went to the trouble of writing the possession of nuclear weapons into North Korea's constitution. Instead, a new report from the CIA says Kim simply wants US businesses, perhaps a burger joint, to open within the country as a gesture of goodwill and an economic carrot, CNBC reports.

Big if true

Trump has made North Korea a top priority during his presidency and has spearheaded the toughest sanctions ever on Pyongyang. In particular, Trump has been credited with getting China, North Korea's biggest ally and trading partner, to participate in the sanctions. As a result, doing business with North Korea became nearly impossible, and its trade deficit with China ballooned. For a leader who is meant to be seen as the all-powerful resistance to the West, crying about Trump-imposed sanctions would be a big story signaling an about-face.

Kim Jong Un reportedly cried over North Korea's bad economy, and it could show he's ready to cave to Trump

Details

A video of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crying about his country's terrible economy while surveying its coast is said to be making the rounds among the country's leadership — and it could be a sign he's ready to cave in to President Donald Trump in negotiations. Japan's Asahi Shinbun quoted a defector with contacts inside the country as describing a video in which a narrator explains Kim is crying that he can't improve North Korea's economy. The defector reportedly said the video surfaced in April and high-ranking members of North Korea's ruling party viewed it, possibly in an official message from Kim to the party. In April, North Korea had already offered the US a meeting with Kim and was in the midst of a diplomatic charm offensive in which it offered up the prospect of denuclearization to China, South Korea, and the US. The defector speculated that the video was meant to prepare the country for possible changes after the summit with Trump.

Really strange video

In North Korea, Kim is essentially worshipped as a god-like figure with an impossible mythology surrounding his bloodline. Kim is meant to be all powerful, so footage showing him crying at his own inability to improve his country's economics would be a shock. Kim's core policy as a leader had been to pursue both economic and nuclear development, but around the turn of 2018, he declared his country's nuclear-weapon program completed. Experts assess with near unanimity that Kim doesn't really want to give up his country's nuclear weapons, as he went to the trouble of writing the possession of nuclear weapons into North Korea's constitution. Instead, a new report from the CIA says Kim simply wants US businesses, perhaps a burger joint, to open within the country as a gesture of goodwill and an economic carrot, CNBC reports.

Big if true

Trump has made North Korea a top priority during his presidency and has spearheaded the toughest sanctions ever on Pyongyang. In particular, Trump has been credited with getting China, North Korea's biggest ally and trading partner, to participate in the sanctions. As a result, doing business with North Korea became nearly impossible, and its trade deficit with China ballooned. For a leader who is meant to be seen as the all-powerful resistance to the West, crying about Trump-imposed sanctions would be a big story signaling an about-face.