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Kataeb call for Maronite pressure group to elect president

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BEIRUT: The Kataeb party Monday called for the formation of a Maronite pressure group in order to push lawmakers to elect a new president.

Following its weekly meeting the Kataeb issued a statement arguing that the election of a president would be the best way to deal with the critical issues facing the country, including the wage-scale increase, the Syrian refugee crisis and maintaining internal stability.

The Kataeb reiterated the need to follow through with its leader Amine Gemayel’s initiative to form a Maronite pressure group, which would work at the national level to push for another presidential election, while consulting Maronite leaders.

Since March, Maronite leaders have been aiming to form a pressure group to mobilize political parties in order to come to a consensus over the presidential issue.

The party rejected the option of focusing on parliamentary polls to counter the gridlock over the presidential election, arguing that “once process does not cancel out the other,” and that focusing on the legislative elections would render the presidential post irrelevant.

The party also called for resuming talks over the draft electoral law, which concluded at an impasse last year. The party said such a law should ensure fair representation and be just toward youth, women and expats.

Touching on the Lebanese University’s decision to postpone examinations in a bid to pressure the government to make institutional appointments and promote contract lecturers to full-time staff, the Kataeb demanded more information in order to come to an agreement that would mitigate between the state and the rights of public sector employees.

The party stressed that any resolution reached over the issue should work around the clock to save the academic year.

The party also called for an investigation to be conducted into the chaos that came with the Syrian presidential election at its diplomatic mission May 28, stressing on the need to rethink the categorization of refugee status.

Source: The Daily Star

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PHOTOS: Lebanese Forces Detroit host member barbecue

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The Lebanese Forces Detroit Chapter met for their monthly general meeting on Saturday. Following the meeting, the organization hosted a member barbecue and gathering.

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 City Beat, Detroit

Lebanese Forces Detroit discuss presidential void

(WARREN, MI) — The Lebanese Forces Detroit Chapter met for their monthly general meeting on Saturday. Following the meeting, the organization hosted a member barbecue and gathering.

President Tony Malouf announced the conclusion of his term this upcoming October. He encouraged current members to consider running for what he called a “very rewarding” position.

The group also began the planning stages for the Lebanese Forces Detroit Annual Banquet and Scholarship Dinner, which will take place on September 20.

The Lebanese Forces members also discussed the ongoing political turmoil in Lebanon, after the country plunged into a presidential void on May 25. Former President Michel Sleiman’s term ended without a successor, leaving no candidate able to garner enough votes to win the election.

“It’s a sad time for people in and outside of Lebanon. The number one post belongs to the Christians and unfortunately, some of the Christians along with the March 8 movement are boycotting the election,” Malouf said. “They wont nominate anyone from their side to go against the nominee from March 14 and they won’t attend and vote for anyone.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea challenged his Christian rival MP Michel Aoun to run against him in the next presidential election on Wednesday. Members of the Lebanese Forces in Detroit say they have moved beyond party lines, now they just want a new president.

“Lebanese Forces wants for all Lebanese to come and do their duties, nominate and elect a president. We don’t want a vacancy in the Christian post.”

 

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 News

Lebanese University postpones exams in protest

Lebanese University - Haddath

BEIRUT: Lebanese University decided Saturday to postpone all exams until June 9, in a bid to pressure the government to meet the demands of the educational institution and its teachers.

“Given our keenness on the interest of teachers and their rightful demands, and the university’s decision to restore all of its powers, we agreed to postpone all exams in all university branches and colleges until Monday June 9,” a statement by the board of deans at Lebanese University said. “The board discussed the university’s situation, a result of the negligence of its demands,” it added.

It also called on a large solidarity campaign with the demands of the university.

The decision came days after LU professors said they would hold a strike on June 5-6 to further pressure the government to promote contract lecturers.

The professors had asked the government to assign deans to the university council to replace the acting deans who have been in the post since 2004.

The university argues that the governments’ failure to appoint deans has led the council to lose much of its power, placing LU under the rule of its president and the education minister.

The protesters are also demanding that contract teachers become permanent staff.

Despite holding doctorate degrees and having worked at the university for years, contract professors earn their salaries every two years and are not allowed to enroll in the National Social Security Fund.

Education Minister Elias Bou Saab has said that the issue of appointing deans had been politicized but nonetheless vowed to resolve it and implement reforms during his term.

The government is trying to achieve a sectarian balance in the appointments, and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s Future Movement has vetoed the 300 or so hoping to become full-time professors.

Lebanon’s education sector has also seen a major setback with teachers of public and some private schools boycotting correcting and monitoring official end-of-year examinations in protest of Parliament’s failure to approve a draft law to raise their salaries.

Source: The Daily Star

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 News

U.S. denies making deal to end presidential void

BEIRUT: The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon Saturday denied that ambassador David Hale tried to strike a deal with Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun to end the presidential stalemate, saying it was up for the Lebanese to choose their own president.

“Rumors that … [Ambassador Hale] made proposals or deals for the #Lebanese presidency are false,” the embassy said on its Twitter feed.

“The #US has not and will not propose candidates for the #Lebanese presidency,” it added.

Political sources told The Daily Star Friday that Hale proposed a deal to Aoun in which MP Robert Ghanem or Telecoms Minister Boutros Harb would run for the presidency instead of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.

As part of the deal, Aoun’s son-in-law, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, would be given the Batroun parliamentary seat uncontested and Brig. Shamel Roukoz, his other son-in-law, would be made Army commander.

Aoun’s share of seats in the Cabinet would also be increased, the sources said, adding that the former Army general rejected the proposal.

The U.S. Embassy said that it was for the Lebanese to choose their own president, urging they do so “as soon as possible.”

Lebanon plunged into a presidential vacuum on May 25 after former President Michel Sleiman’s term ended without a successor, with no candidate able to garner needed majority to win the election.

 

Source: The Daily Star

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 News

Lebanon asks refugees to refrain from entering Syria

SYRIA-CONFLICT

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Interior Ministry Saturday asked Syrian refugees to refrain from entering Syria starting June 1 or risk losing their refugee status. The new decision comes as part of the government’s measures to organize the overwhelming presence of refugees in the country.

“In the framework of organizing the entry and exit of Syrians in Lebanon, all Syrian refugees registered with the UNHCR are asked to refrain from entering Syria starting June 1, 2014, or else they might be stripped of their refugee status,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The Interior Ministry hopes municipalities commit to this policy for the safety of refugees in Lebanon,” it added.

It also said that this new measure was aimed at preserving security in Lebanon as well as the relationship between “Syrian refugees and Lebanese citizens in host communities in order to avoid tensions.”

The ministry asked U.N. agencies and other international refugee organizations to take this matter seriously and inform Syrians of the new policy.

Lebanon has been working on a mechanism to govern the presence of Syrian refugees in Lebanon particularly that many enter under a refugee status in order to benefit from international aid.

The number of Syrian refugees fleeing into Lebanon has skyrocketed in the past year with more than one million registered refugees. Thousands of Palestinian refugees from Syria have also sought refuge in Lebanon as the war rages over the border.

 

Source: The Daily Star

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PHOTOS: St. Laba Hasroun Society host Annual Maintenance Day

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The Saint Laba Charity Society of Hasroun pulled out their working gloves and tools on Saturday, to pull out weeds, paint, and install new solar lights at the St. Laba praying area in Warren.

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City Beat, Detroit

St. Laba Hasroun Society host Annual Maintenance Day

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(WARREN, MI) — The Saint Laba Charity Society of Hasroun pulled out their working gloves and tools on Saturday, to pull out weeds, paint, and install new solar lights at the St. Laba praying area in Warren.

“The St. Laba praying area at St. Sharbel is in need of some clean-up/maintenance,” Maurice Farah, president of the society, wrote on Facebook. “We would be delighted to have you all come out and join us for this great bonding opportunity.”

Several volunteers spent the morning and early afternoon on the cleanup project. According to Farah, floodlights and solar lights were newly added to the religious outreach project.

Hasroun is a village located in the Bsharri District in the North Governorate of Lebanon. It is situated in the Valley of Qadisha, overlooking the southern branch of this valley, the Qannoubine Valley.

The local Detroit organization works to promote the “spirit of understanding and love” of the people of Hasroun. For more information, click here.

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 News

Aoun wants either Hariri’s support or Parliament elections

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun will press for holding parliamentary elections on schedule if former Prime Minister Saad Hariri does not support his candidacy for the presidency, or if a new president is not elected before September, FPM parliamentary sources told The Daily Star.

“If a new president is not elected before September, Gen. Aoun will not accept under any circumstances the extension of Parliament’s mandate,” the sources said.

They added that Aoun, the March 8 alliance’s undeclared candidate for the presidency, insisted that the government of Prime Minister Tammam Salam under the laws in force should call for holding parliamentary elections scheduled in November either on the basis of a new electoral law or under the modified 1960 rules that were agreed as part of the 2008 Doha Accord.

Lawmakers last year extended Parliament’s mandate by 17 months after failing to endorse a new electoral law.

Aoun, the head of the parliamentary Change and Reform bloc, will not wait for a response from Hariri regarding the Future Movement’s support for him as a consensus candidate for the presidency longer than the legal deadline under which the government would be obliged to call for parliamentary elections in September, the sources said.

Aoun has been in contact with Hariri through his son-in-law Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil over the Future Movement’s possible support for the FPM leader as a consensus presidential candidate, the sources said. Aoun had debated the possibility of parliamentary elections with his allies but it was not clear whether it was also discussed with Hariri by way of the ongoing negotiations between the two sides, the sources added.

Aoun, according to the sources, would seek to convince all influential political parties in the country of the need to conduct elections on time. The MP feels a fresh extension of Parliament’s mandate would be difficult to pass, especially as some parliamentary blocs, such as the Kataeb Party, which had endorsed the previous extension, now insist that the forthcoming parliamentary polls be held as scheduled in November.

It was noteworthy that Aoun’s suggestion that new parliamentary elections be held if a new president is not elected before September has been ignored by all political parties. Neither Aoun’s March 8 allies, nor the March 14 parties have commented on this proposal.

Political sources said the rival parties’ indifference toward Aoun’s proposal meant that the idea of holding parliamentary elections and thus for a newly elected Parliament to pick a successor to former President Michel Sleiman was not yet ripe.

In order for Aoun’s proposal to see the light of day, it must be supported in the first place by the Future Movement and the March 14 parties, in addition to the FPM leader’s March 8 allies, but this does not seem to be within reach at present, the sources said.

They added that if Aoun succeeded in persuading all Christian parties of the need to hold parliamentary elections – which is deemed impossible for now – it would be difficult for the government and other parliamentary blocs to disregard the unanimity of Christians who have complained of a vacancy in the country’s top Christian post.

A number of FPM lawmakers see Aoun as fighting his last political battle and believe he will not hesitate to use all legal and constitutional political weapons possible in order to win the struggle that he thinks is his last chance to reach the presidency.

By insisting that he does not have a plan B if Hariri does not endorse him as a consensus candidate for the presidency, Aoun’s proposal for holding parliamentary elections might further complicate matters at all levels, especially if other parliamentary blocs reach a consensus on the renewal of Parliament’s mandate and allowing Baabda Palace to remain unoccupied, FPM lawmakers said.

Source: The Daily Star

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 Business

Instability deals blow to Lebanese consumer confidence

Zaitunay_Bay,_Downtown_Beirut,_Lebanon

BEIRUT: Retail sales dropped 7.2 percent in the first quarter of 2014 compared to the same period last year, according to the BTA-Fransabank Retail Index, which declined 14.40 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2013.

The decline in sales was attributed to lower consumer confidence, higher unemployment and declining tourism due to political and social instability despite “relatively receding security hazards” amid “the continued crisis in neighboring Syria,” the report said.

Among the sectors worst hit by the economic slowdown, liquor and tobacco sales declined 25 and 15 percent, respectively, while footwear and clothing dropped 15.5 percent and 2.5 percent respectively, “despite very heavy discounts offered in these two sectors,” the report added.

Supermarket and other food sales also fell 3 percent despite the influx of Syrian refugees and the subsequent rise in demand for basic commodities.

The lower consumer confidence was mainly blamed on political uncertainty over the presidential election and a series of recent strikes held by civil servants and public teachers, according to the report.

It added that a decrease in the number of visitors from the Gulf, “who do have an important weight in the consumption balance,” was another factor. Several Gulf governments had advised their citizens against visiting Lebanon in light of the security situation.

The Byblos Bank/AUB Consumer Confidence Index Consumer confidence hit a record low on a semi-annual basis in the second half of 2013. The index is composed of two sub-indices, the Byblos Bank/ AUB Present Situation Index and the Byblos Bank/ AUB Expectations Index. The second sub-index addresses their outlook over the coming six months.

Restaurants and snacks witnessed a 10 percent decline in sales as the unemployment rate rose to 20 percent amid a wider increase in competition from the influx of Syrian refugees, the report said.

Bookstores and stationery sales also declined 12.5 percent while electronics, electrical equipment and home accessories fell 10 percent.

Source: The Daily Star

Original Article

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