[Transcript]  Mosaic News - 05/09/08: World News From The Middle East

[Summary]
Parts of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, are now in the hands of the opposition, after two days of clashes. The Future TV building was set ablaze. It is a television station allied with the Future political party. The station is owned by Saad Al Haririr, the son of assassinated former Prime Minister, Rafiq Al Hariri. The station has stopped broadcasting. The area of the station is in a stronghold of the Future party. Some of the opposition on the ground, the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party, said they were responsible for setting the blaze at the station. The opposition now has control over all of West Beirut.

Presenter, MALE, #1
With their riffles, the masked armed men on the streets of Beirut negated the opposition’s claim. They proved that the opposition is in fact capable of turning its weapons against the Lebanese people at any time. Photographers succeeded in capturing what the video-cameras failed to capture. Muhammad Barakat reports.

Reporter, MALE, #2
This is not the border with Israel, and these are not bullets from Marone el-Rass to Kiryat Shmona. Those bullets are from Barbour, aimed at the new road, and those are the opposition’s weapons firing at Lebanon. Those are the bullets of the civil war that Hezbollah declared yesterday under the guise of laborer protest: Masked laborers carried machine guns, their job was to fire bullets and they demand to control Beirut, then Lebanon, and possibly the whole world after that. Those are soldiers in an organization that lost the way to the borders and forgot about the gate of Fatima, to turn instead to the gates of the capital. They are armed men living as snipers in the city, spreading terror among its citizens. What the video cameras failed to capture was captured by photographers from international news agencies. They were able to move freely because they do not have allegiances to any of the sides. These armed men succeeded in hiding and disappearing from the video cameras, but engrossed in their fighting; they were unable to slip from the photo camera lens. The images revealed the truth about May 7th, affirming that it was a plot to militarily take over the streets. It was not a protest to demand raising the minimum wage. It negated the claim that the weapons of Hezbollah and the resistance will not be used internally. These images captured in Barbur, Raas el- Nabe’, Watan Imssaydbeh, and Maar el-Yass, are clear evidence that the weapons of Hezbollah’s Militia are spearheading the overthrow of the sovereign authorities.
Laborers do not hide behind masks and weapons; they show their faces and carry their heads up high, because they know they have just in their side. Only those who are ashamed of what they are doing cover their faces. Only those without justice on their side use riffles to influence their rivals.

Host, Woman # 1
Are you afraid that you will be silenced? Is that what frightens you today?

Guest, Man # 1 Junbalat
No one can silence the other today. There is only one way to silence the other which is assassination, but assassination does not produce the intended results. They tried to assassination Hariri and they assassinate Hariri, but the Harri family did not go away and now they are stronger than they were, more than anyone has imagined. This led to the Cedar revolution.

Host, Woman # 1
What events are similar toady to what happened in the Cedar revolution, what has been accomplished that the late Hariri wanted to accomplish. If the former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri was alive today, would there be confrontations in Lebanon?

Guest, Man # 1 Junbalat
They assassinated Hariri because they wanted to control Lebanon, but they failed. Then the peaceful and democratic Cedar Revolution started, and it is still ongoing. Of course it is going through very difficult time; we should not forget that many people were martyred after him: thinkers, writers and military and security officials, but the spirit of these people is still alive. No one can veto the other. Hassan Nassrallh must understand this, we can’t cancel him and he can’t cancel us. But he wants to cancel us. The country can protect us and him if he still believes in the state.

Host, Woman # 1
What do say today to Parliament speaker Nabeh Berry? how much can you tolerate this situation? You are sitting here and you have no way of finding out what will happen!
There is a great fear; you are surrounded with the Lebanese army! Are you afraid that they can reach you? Will you ask for political asylum?

Guest, Man # 1 Junbalat
I’m staying home. I will stay home, nothing more or less. I have accepted my fate and the protection of the Lebanese army. I will not leave my home. Saad Hariri and I are staying home. Each one is staying in his house. We are ready to respond to the call of the parliament speaker Nabih Berri by holding a minimum level dialogue pertaining to the initiative of Saad Hariri. We are waiting for a reasonable answer to a reasonable initiative. Let the army be the judge. The army is a state institution. Do we want a country or don’t we want a country?

Host, Woman # 1
Do you or Parliament member Sad Hariri have contacts with Hezbollah?

Guest, Man # 1 Junbalat
I do not have contacts with Hezbollah. I do not know if Sad Hariri has contacts with Hezbollah. I can’t ask Sad Hariri and therefore I do not have an idea.

Host, Woman # 1
You have no contacts at all? Are there contacts in order to neutralize the loyalists, the presidential palace and parliament members such as Kritem and Elia Mansour.

Guest, Man # 1 Junbalat
At the end we believe in the state system. We have tolerated many problems that we have faced. We have paid the price and we know very well that making contacts and asking leaders to be neutral leads to assassination.

Host, Woman # 1
In the end of the interview, when the 1975 civil war started people thought it will end in a short time, but it lasted for 15 years. Will there be a war in 2008 that no one knows when it will end?

Guest, Man # 1 Junbalat
There will be no war. We refuse the notion that there will be war. For war to take place there have to be two opponents. There must be two opponents with opposing political views and one is trying to eliminate the other with the use of weapons. Then there will be war.

Host, Woman # 1
Will this situation continues?

Guest, Man # 1 Junbalat
The situation is still the same until this moment. I‘m not asking for anything. Lebanon is a country where people must respect the views of others. There must be pluralism, it is impossible for any one to veto the other.

Host, Woman # 1
We thank Waleed Junbulat, the head of the Lebanese Progressive Socialist Party.
Thank you for hosting us, God wiling you will always be safe, hoping that this situation in Lebanon will end. Thank you dear audience for listening until we meet next time.

Reporter, FEMALE, #1
You were just convening with the Prime Minister, what is the current mood and what is the result of these talks?

Guest, MALE, #1
We were waiting for Minister Arrabi’s statement to arrive. It was a stern statement, and very logical under these conditions. It affirmed support of the government and it’s institutions, and insisted on the March 14th coalition support of the government. It called on the government to insist on its positions and continue in its perseverance. This is a an honorable standpoint. It means that what the coup de tat forces and the militias of Hezbollah created on the streets, including burning the Future TV Headquarters-which were empty, will not lead to political results.

Reporter, FEMALE, #1
Excellency, there is talk about the government resigning in the near future, can we expect that within a few hours?

Guest, MALE, #1
No not all, the citing of what I said was erroneous. I was clear in what I said: I was only comparing the resignation with the issue of reneging on the decisions. I had said that since the first day, I held the position that we cannot withdraw these decisions, even if it led to the resignation of the government. That is how it was explained as me talking about resignation; that is completely wrong. I think your station had reported on the matter in an acceptable manner.

Reporter, FEMALE, #1
Excellency, if the resignation of the government spares the streets from further complications and eruption of the semi-obvious sectarian strife, why would the government hold on to power?

Guest, MALE, #1
First of all, the sectarian strife was manufactured by Hassan Nassrallah and Hezbollah.
He will be held responsible for it for at least 10 years, it will always be a black spot in his conscience, if he has one. But I think the matter of resignation is very complicated in the current state. Usually, the Lebanese government would turn in its resignation to the President of the republic, but there is no President. On the other hand, if it resigned, we would be in a total vacuum, because there is no President to assign a new Prime Minister. There is no President of the Republic to carry out parliamentary counsel. This means completely canceling the Lebanese constitution. Therefore, there are huge complications if the government resigns.

Reporter, FEMALE, #1
Is there a tendency to announce a state of emergency in the country?

Guest, MALE, #1
We are examining this issue with the Lebanese army, because it would imply that the army needs to take a series of procedures. We have to see if these procedures are possible to implement. Why would we take a decision if the other side would not adhere to it?
If the opposition does not abide by it, then the decision is meaningless. So yes, there is continuous correspondence between the Defense Minister and the Army leadership. And it seems that the army is clearly ready to protect the presidential palace and the buildings with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, particularly Saad al Hariri and waleed Jumblat. This is a positive indicator. But more is called for, mainly: for the army to play a role in opening the roads and so on.

Presenter, Man # 1
The Spokesman for the Palestinian president, Nabel Abu Rdenah, said that Abbas will be forced to take dramatic decisions if he fails to reach an agreement with the Israeli side. Abu Rdenah denied the news reports claiming that an agreement on principles was reached with the Israelis. He reiterated that there must be a clear framework and a timetable for all issues pertaining to the Palestinian and Arab legitimate rights.

Guest, Man # 2 Abu Rdeneh
If we reach an agreement during the coming month and before the end of this year, that will be good, but if we do not reach an agreement then President Abbas will turn to the Palestinian people and tell them all the facts. He will not hide anything from the Palestinian people. This (Failing to reach an agreement) would necessitate taking dramatic steps or decisions, because we can’t waste the opportunity. We are ready for peace; the Arab peace initiative is still on the table. The Arab Nation expressed its commitment to the Arab peace initiative on several occasions, the last of which was during the Arab Summit in Damascus. Israel must not waste the opportunity, and the American administration must exert its efforts. In fact efforts alone are not enough; serious pressure by the Americans on the Israeli side if the US is serious in its desire in to reach an agreement this year. It is too early to speak about a framework agreement because the negotiations are ongoing. They are intensive and serious, but as the president said, we have not resolved any issue yet.

Presenter, Man # 1
The central command in Jenin said that two citizens were injured when they took their weapons out and pointed them towards the police. This took place as approximately 20 citizens were advancing towards the police station in Qpatia to start trouble.
The command center released a statement saying that security officers tried to stop 20 citizens who were advancing towards the police station in Qpatia to start trouble.
When two citizens took their guns out, they were warned several times, but they resisted arrest and tried to shoot at the security forces. They were “dealt with” and shot in the feet.
They were transported to the hospital and placed under arrest until they recover so they can stand in court. The statement said that this incident was planned and that a number of armed men were shooting from homes towards the security forces and that they were also were “dealt with”. The Israeli occupation soldiers imposed a complete closure starting from last night until Friday evening. This closure was imposed by the Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, on the 60TH anniversary of occupying Palestine. Israel banned all Palestinian citizens from entering Israel and prevented them from moving from one Palestinian city to the other. It also established more occupation checkpoints.

PRESENTER, Male #1
The Holocaust has always associated with anti-Semitism; which refers to the oppression that Jews have encountered around the world. However, it is a fabricated concept that was invented to describe anything or anyone standing against the Zionist Project in Palestine. It can be added to the list of “misleading concepts” due to its deceptive meaning, which is intended to sway the truth and falsify history. How could an Arab, whose origin is Semitic, be an anti-Semitic? Also, who gave the Zionists the exclusive right to the word “Semitic?” The answers to these questions are very obvious: all this being done is for the sake of Israel- a country which, through its occupation, has become the greatest enemy to mankind, including the Semites. The following report was originally broadcasted by the Israeli Channel One.

REPORTER, FEMALE #1
Perhaps, they hate us as Israelis and Jews but this hatred has nothing to do with what is happening in the Middle East. According to a report by the Raul Institute for the Study of Anti-Semitism, the year 2007 witnessed an escalation in the number of Anti-Semitic incidents, an increase from 2006, the year of Lebanon’s second War. Nearly 632 violent incidents against Jews were reported in 2007; 57 of the incidents included arsony and armed attacks. During 2007, there has also been a rise in the number of desecrated Jewish cemeteries; incidents of desecration rose from 91 in 2006 to 141 in 2007. However, the year 2007 witnessed an overall decline in the number of incidents targeting Jewish institutions around the world, which includes attacks on schools, synagogues, and other public institutions; in contrast to 2006, which registered 94 incidents, the year 2007 witnessed 62 incidents. Furthermore, the number of physical and verbal assaults on Jews around the world has declined during 2007; the incidents of assaults went down from 270 in 2006 to 255 in 2007. Researchers, who conducted the study, concluded that the rise in the level of anti-Semitism in Europe and North America is directly linked to internal social tensions. Also, there is Islam, which we are all impacted by; as the anti-Islamic sentiment grows, the anti-Semitic sentiment grows as well.

Presenter, Woman # 1
The French Minister of Interior, Michèle Alliot-Marie, and her Algerian counterpart, Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni, visited the headquarters of the Algerian National Guard where a two million Euro agreement was signed to modernize the Algerian national defense. The French Minister held a press conference in which she talked about cooperation between the countries. More details with Nasera Al Tumi.

Reporter, Woman # 2
Today a 2 million Euro agreement was signed between Algeria and France to finance and modernize the Algerian national guards. After the signing ceremony, the French Minister held a press conference on the signed agreement. It comes as a part of a series of agreements to promote cooperation between Algeria and France in national defense. Michèle Alliot-Marie talked about the high level negotiations that were conducted during this visit; she also talked about what Presidents Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Nicolas Sarkozy agreed on during Sarkozy’s latest visit to Algeria. The French Minister said that cooperation between Algeria and France is ideal.

Guest, Woman # 3 Interior Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie
We talked with the Interior minister openly about ways to implement the agreement that was reached between the presidents of the two countries. My visit comes within that context; we will work to establish unique relations between Algeria and France. Algeria is a strategic and prime partner that is extremely important to France on all levels: the economic, educational and security levels, we also talked about the movement of citizens between the two countries.

Reporter, Woman
According to the French Minister the French Algerian cooperation will include other areas in addition to national defense such as the movement of citizens, scientific exchange and creating a mutual cooperation program to ensure the security of the two nations. The French minister said that Algeria is a main partner in fighting terrorism which has become an international phenomenon.

Guest, Woman # 3 Interior Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie
Terrorism hit France just like it hit Algeria. Today terrorism is a trans-national phenomenon that continues to threaten all countries of the world and therefore, the fight against it should start on a bilateral level and then expand to a global level. We must fight terrorism as a trans-national phenomenon that threatens all countries. Algeria is a strategic partner to France in fighting terrorism.

Presenter, FEMALE, #1
Welcome back. Within 24 hours, the US invalidated the Iraqi Authorities’ announcement of the capture of al Qaeda’s leader in Iraq, Abu Ayoub al Massri, also known as Abu Hamza al Muhajir. The US forces said that the man arrested was not Abu Ayoub Al Masri, but someone else with the same name. Officials in the Iraqi Defense Ministry had earlier confirmed the arrest of Al Masri in Al Mossul city in the north. They were waiting for US investigation to confirm or deny the identity of al Masri. The British live in a state of terror-phobia with warnings of expected terrorist attacks preoccupying the streets.
This led to a variety of governmental procedures and cautious measures by the citizens.
Our correspondent in London, Ziad al Omari, presents the realities on the ground in the following report.

Reporter, MALE, #1
The rhythm of life here in London might not be a true indicator of the British citizen’s preoccupation with possible terrorist attacks in the heart of the British capital. The front pages of British papers never fail to include trials or warnings of terrorist attacks during the peak of the tourist season. But in spite of the dangers presented in those warnings, to many tourists from far away places, the warnings are insignificant.

Guest, FEMALE, #2
Absolutely not! I am not worried at all. I’m here to enjoy my time and I will not let that get in the way.

Reporter, MALE, #1
Others, however, have been sensitive to the high security alert and have taken the warnings seriously.

Guest, MALE, #2
I changed my train route and gave up some of my old habits, so I don’t feel like I’m in danger anymore.

Reporter, MALE, #1
But how real are those threats? And why are they directed at one segment of society and not others? Is it an attempt to turn public opinion against one group, in favor of another?

Guest, MALE, #3
I don’t say that there are unreasonable voices, but that there are some unreasonable newspapers. None of the political sides in Britain fail to recognize that Muslims comprise a large part of British society, or that Islam is a great religion.

Reporter, MALE, #1
So, is it phobia of repercussions that Britain cannot handle? Or is “extra caution” the first line of defense based on security experience in facing bloody events? Security anxiety surrounds the British: In their minds and in their security measures, they expect a terrorist attack at any moment, and are steadily trying to prevent it. Life in Britain is thus characterized by a security-whirlpool. Ziad Al Omari, Dubai TV, London.

Celebrations have been taking place across Israel to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state. Israeli families enjoyed fireworks, concerts and an aerial display while countries around the world, principally those countries that helped create Israel, showered it with words of admiration and congratulations.

Earlier this week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown congratulated Israel on its 60th anniversary of independence, calling the state's creation one of the "greatest achievements" of the 20th Century. George W. Bush, along with present and past European dignitaries, is expected to attend the festivities.

Not far from the celebratory atmosphere, more than twenty thousand Palestinians, most of whom are Israeli citizens, marched on the site of the deserted, former Palestinian village of Safouria near Nazareth to reiterate their "right of return." They carried banners that read, "Your Independence is our Nakba" or catastrophe in English. Many of them wore the key of their abandoned homes around their necks. The demonstrators were confronted by Israeli police and several were arrested, beaten, or suffered from tear gas inhalation.

Most likely, George W. Bush and other dignitaries will not be taken on a tour of the vacated village of Safouria or the more than 500 Palestinian villages that were depopulated and destroyed. They won't visit any of the many Palestinian refugee camps sprinkled all over the West Bank and Gaza. In 1948, an estimated 700,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes as a result of the creation of the state of Israel. These dignitaries will be driven on by-pass roads to circumvent the ugly wall that has destroyed the landscape, and carved up Palestinian farms and villages, locking Palestinians themselves behind it like caged animals...or they may pretend not to see it or simply make excuses and justifications like it has made "Israel safer." Yet sixty years later, military service remains a mainstay of the Jewish state, with a hefty budget of some $14 billion in 2008, comprising around 17% of the state's budget.

Meanwhile, Israel's milestone comes at a time of increasing frustration with the Middle East peace process. Many Israelis are disappointed that successive peace negotiations have not led to wider regional stability. For Palestinians, it has been 60 years of pain, of hopes constantly dashed, 60 years of uncertainty, exile, misery and Nakba...Catastrophe.