person:michel suleiman

Al-Akhbar outraged over letter from a united front of “ex-presidents” on Hezbollah | The Mideastwire Blog
▻https://mideastwire.wordpress.com/2017/03/28/al-akhbar-outraged-over-letter-from-a-united-front-of-ex-presidents-on-hezbollah/?fb_action_ids=1069128716526512&fb_action_types=news.publishe

On March 28, the Al-Akhbar daily newspaper carried the following report: “Al-Akhbar learned that a new crisis has risen to the surface on the evening of the Arab summit as it turned out that former Presidents Amin Gemayel and Michel Suleiman and former PMs Fouad Siniora, Najib Mikati, and Tamam Salam, held a meeting that resulted in sending a letter to the president of the Arab summit that includes negative positions regarding Hezbollah.

“According to the available information, this is a three page letter that carries the signature of all the meeting participants on each of the three papers. The letter stressed on “Lebanon’s respect of the Arab consensuses reached through the Arab League’s conferences” and that “Lebanon does not approve of Hezbollah’s interventions in Syria, Iraq, or Yemen.”

“The officials went back to using the “wooden language” of the former President, Michel Suleiman, as they brought up the Baabda statement and the self-distancing policy. Interestingly, the statement failed to mention the Israeli offensives or the Israeli greed when it comes to the Lebanese gas and oil or the Israeli violations to the Lebanese sovereignty and the Israeli occupation of some Lebanese lands. The statement merely called for supporting Lebanon’s position regarding Israel. Naturally, the former presidents and PMs failed to mention the terrorist threat to Lebanon and they turned a blind eye to the fact that there are Lebanese lands that are occupied by terrorist groups in the barren areas of Ersal. The “official” letter nearly limited all of Lebanon’s problems to what it deemed the “illegal weapons.”

Christians clash with Lebanese security forces - Jean Aziz
►http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/07/lebanon-president-vacuum-protests-beirut-aoun-future-salam.html

This was what happened on the ground. Yet, there are some other political reasons that contributed to the incident. The disagreement within the government actually started weeks ago, as Aoun’s camp demanded the appointment of a new commander of the Lebanese army. From a legal point of view, current Commander-in-Chief Jean Kahwaji reached the age of retirement — 60 — on Sept. 30, 2013.

Back then, the government that was headed by Najib Mikati had resigned and was limited to managing day-to-day state affairs. Thus, it did not have full constitutional powers and was not authorized to appoint a new commander in chief. On July 30, 2013, the minister of defense took an exceptional decision to postpone the dismissal of the army commander.

Since the formation of the new government headed by Salam on Feb. 15, Aoun has been duly calling for appointing a new commander in chief, demanding that the issue be a top priority in the government sessions. Aoun’s ministers refused to discuss any other matter before the appointment of a new commander, which consequently led to the altercation July 9.

As per the Lebanese custom laws, the army commander in chief ought to be Maronite, which automatically makes the current head of the army a semi-permanent candidate for the presidential seat, which is also traditionally allocated to Maronites. Electing army commanders as presidents was not unconstitutional before the amendments on the Taif Agreement in 1990. Afterward, Article 49 of the Constitution expressly stipulated that the candidates for the presidency have to be retired for two years before being entitled to run in the elections. This article was modified in 1998 for one exceptional time, which allowed the election of Emile Lahoud as president at the time. Afterward, the two-year retirement stipulation was completely disregarded when Michel Suleiman was elected in 2008, under the pretext that the presidential seat was vacant.

In fact, three commanders in chief have served as presidents throughout the history of Lebanon. First, there was Fouad Chehab, who was elected Sept. 23, 1958, following the end of the civil war that took place during the summer of the same year. Emile Lahoud was the second army commander to be elected president Oct. 15, 1998. For his part, Michel Suleiman came to office May 25, 2008, after a presidential vacuum since Nov. 24, 2007, until his election.

Aoun’s opponents, the Future Movement, consider that he’s seeking to appoint a new army commander to ward off any potential presidential rival, while his supporters deny such claims.

Aoun’s supporters, however, believe that the Sunni camp is trying to control the Christian role in the government and in managing the state’s affairs. Sunnis rejected the election of a president who represents the majority of Christians in Lebanon. This is not to mention their rejection of the electoral law, which allows Christians full power to elect their MPs. Currently, Christians are being denied the right to full participation in the running of government affairs in the absence of a president.

#Michel_Suleiman «secretly» naturalized 644 individuals as Lebanese citizens
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/michel-suleiman-secretly-naturalized-644-individuals-lebanese-cit

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Michel Suleiman at a cabinet meeting on May 23, 2014. (Photo: Haitham Moussawi) Michel Suleiman at a cabinet meeting on May 23, 2014. (Photo: Haitham Moussawi)

Before the end of his presidential term, former Lebanese President Michel Suleiman’s team prepared a decree granting Lebanese citizenship to 300 individuals and families (about 644 people in total). These are people from different nationalities - some nationalities of which are highly coveted by the Lebanese themselves - who decided to acquire Lebanese citizenship. The reasons for most of them are unknown, just like the mechanism that brought their names to the attention of decision-makers in the Baabda presidential palace. read (...)

#Lebanon #Articles #France #Great_Britain #naturalization #Palestinian #passports

Aoun: Beware of repeating the “presidential sin” of 2008
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/aoun-beware-repeating-presidential-sin%E2%80%9D-2008

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MP #Michel_Aoun (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) MP Michel Aoun (Photo: Marwan Tahtah)

In the absence of any serious external intervention to end the stalemate concerning the presidential elections – with the major powers limiting their efforts thus far to issuing a UN Security Council statement calling for the election of a new president – MP Michel Aoun has now warned against repeating the scenario where an undeserving candidate is installed in Baabda Palace. read more

#Lebanon #Ali_Hassan_Khalil #Articles #Future_Movement #Lebanese_elections #Lebanese_parliament #Lebanese_president #Michel_Suleiman #Tammam_Salam

The end of Michel Suleiman’s presidency
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/end-michel-suleiman%E2%80%99s-presidency

The New York Times published a rather comical tribute to Michel Suleiman by its correspondent Ben Hubbard (who got the year of the civil war wrong by more than a decade and who got the year of the National Pact, which set the sectarian tags of all top posts of government, by several decades). Hubbard talked about Suleiman like he is an elder statesman who was widely respected by the Lebanese people. Of course, what made Suleiman popular with Western governments and their dutiful foreign correspondents (it is arguable that Western correspondents are not less loyal to the foreign policy goals of their governments than the Syrian or Saudi correspondents of official regime media) is that in the last two years — only — of his administration he became mildly — very mildly — critical of (...)

Legal Measure Allows Suleiman to Rule as Acting President
▻http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/130149-legal-measure-allows-suleiman-to-rule-as-acting-president

President Michel Suleiman is mulling a legal measure to exercise his authorities as acting head of state if MPs failed to elect a new president by May 25, reports said Monday.

According to al-Akhbar newspaper, Suleiman asked Shadi Karam, one of his advisers, to draft a clause that would allow him to stay in power.

It quoted sources as saying that Suleiman claims the government of Premier Tammam Salam would not be able to fill the vacuum and that the country’s top Christian post should be dealt with the same respect made to the speakership and the premiership.

#Michel_Aoun: The last strong presidential candidate
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/michel-aoun-last-strong-presidential-candidate

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Lebanese President #Michel_Suleiman (L) attends the 25th Arab League summit at Bayan palace in Kuwait City on March 25, 2014. His term expires at the end of May, with Michel Aoun looking to succeed him. (Photo: AFP-Yasser al-Zayyat) Lebanese President Michel Suleiman (L) attends the 25th Arab League summit at Bayan palace in Kuwait City on March 25, 2014. His term expires at the end of May, with Michel Aoun looking to succeed him. (Photo: AFP-Yasser al-Zayyat)

We will not have another presidential election like this one. Since 1990, people have hoped that a strong president would return to the Baabda presidential palace to create a balance between Christian, Sunni, and Shia influence in the government. (...)

#Lebanon #Articles #France #gebran_bassil #Hariri #Iran #Jean_Obeid #Lebanese_presidential_elections #Nabih_Berri #Saudi_Arabia #US #Walid_Jumblatt #Ziad_Baroud

Has the race for Baabda begun ?
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/has-race-baabda-started

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Who will succeed President #Michel_Suleiman? (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) Who will succeed President Michel Suleiman? (Photo: Marwan Tahtah)

As Al-Akhbar predicted, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri has chosen Wednesday, April 23 as the date for the first session for parliament to elect a new president for #Lebanon. Some have seen the move as a knee-jerk reaction to parliament’s about-face regarding the wage hike for public sector employees on Tuesday. However, sources close to Berri confirm that it is indeed the first round in the presidential face-off.

Jean Aziz

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#Opinion #Amine_Gemayel #Articles #Bandar_bin_Sultan #Boutros_Harb #Fouad_Siniora #Future_Movement #Lebanese_presidential_elections #Michel_Aoun #Robert_Ghanem #Samir_Geagea

#Hezbollah : No dialogue with “former” #President_Michel_Suleiman
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/hezbollah-no-dialogue-%E2%80%9Cformer%E2%80%9D-president-michel-s

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Lebanese President Michel Suleiman (L) attends the 25th Arab League summit at Bayan palace in Kuwait City on March 25, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Yasser al-Zayyat) Lebanese President Michel Suleiman (L) attends the 25th Arab League summit at Bayan palace in Kuwait City on March 25, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Yasser al-Zayyat)

For the first time ever, the Resistance will be absent from the national dialogue table, which was invented solely to discuss #Lebanon’s defense and resistance strategy. Its absence, however, is not meant to evade important discussions, but is rather temporary, pending the election of a new president.

Wafiq Qanso

read (...)

#Opinion #Articles #Baabda_Palace #Nabih_Berri #Sayed_Hassan_Nasrallah

Has the US made up its mind on Aoun ?
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/has-us-made-its-mind-aoun

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Will Aoun make it to Baabda? (Photo: Haitham Moussawi) Will Aoun make it to Baabda? (Photo: Haitham Moussawi)

Extending President #Michel_Suleiman’s term is no longer on the table. No one can say why, but even Suleiman and his inner circle are no longer eager to stay in power.

Hassan Illeik

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#Lebanon #Articles #FPM #gebran_bassil #Hassan_Nasrallah #Hezbollah #Michel_Aoun #Nabih_Berri #Nader_Hariri #Saad_Hariri #Walid_Jumblatt

Al-Akhbar’s unchanging stances
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/al-akhbars-unchanging-stances

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Lebanese counterpart Michel Sleimane (L) looks on as French President Francois Hollande (2nd) speaks with Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov (C), U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R), and French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius (2nd R), at the Elysee presidential palace during the joint Meeting of the International Support Group for #Lebanon at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris, on March 5, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Pool/Alain Jocard) Lebanese counterpart Michel Sleimane (L) looks on as French President Francois Hollande (2nd) speaks with Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov (C), U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R), and French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius (2nd R), at the Elysee presidential palace during (...)

#Opinion #Articles #Ashraf_Rifi #Court_of_Publications #Hezbollah #Michel_Suleiman #Roukoz_Rizk

#Michel_Suleiman’s ‘Accomplishments’ in Print
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/michel-suleiman%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98accomplishments%E2%80%99-print

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Lebanese President Michel Suleiman chairs his country’s delegation during the Arab summit in Doha, Qatar, Monday, March 30, 2009.(Photo: AP - Amr Nabil). Lebanese President Michel Suleiman chairs his country’s delegation during the Arab summit in Doha, Qatar, Monday, March 30, 2009.(Photo: AP - Amr Nabil).

It’s going to be a happy ending for Lebanese President Michel Suleiman. A book on the president’s first-term accomplishments will soon be released – though it might take time for the book’s publishers to find such accomplishments. The project is certain to bring in profits; the cost of a double-sided advertisement runs as high as $25,000.

Mouhamad Wehbe

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#Economy #Articles #Lebanon

#Lebanon: #MARCH_14 Upset as Suleiman Backs Down
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanon-march-14-upset-suleiman-backs-down

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Former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri (L) shakes hand with French President Francois Hollande (R) before a meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh on December 29, 2013. (Photo: AFP - Kenzo Tribouillarrd) Former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri (L) shakes hand with French President Francois Hollande (R) before a meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh on December 29, 2013. (Photo: AFP - Kenzo Tribouillarrd)

The praise that Lebanese President #Michel_Suleiman heaped on Saudi Arabia and its allies in #Lebanon did not save him from criticism by March 14 politicians. They see him as “weak because he has not formed the government he has promised many times.” Today, they express their displeasure at the “breaking and contradictory (...)

#Articles #Dahiyeh_Bombing #Future_Movement #Hezbollah #Mohammed_Shatah

#Michel_Suleiman, I Implore You … Just Leave
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/michel-suleiman-i-implore-you-%E2%80%A6-just-leave

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Lebanese President Michel Sleiman gestures as he arrives on September 7, 2013 in Nice. (Photo: AFP - Valery Hache). Lebanese President Michel Sleiman gestures as he arrives on September 7, 2013 in Nice. (Photo: AFP - Valery Hache).

What does Michel Suleiman expect? To thank him, for example? To hold a million-person march to the presidential palace to implore him to remain president until judgment day? To hold up banners and giant pictures of him, the ruler of the Arabian Peninsula, or the racist who became France’s president? To kneel on the ground in gratitude to this handout?

Ibrahim al-Amin

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#Opinion #Articles #Lebanon #Saudi_Arabia

10-Horse Race to #Lebanon’s Presidential Palace
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/10-horse-race-lebanon%E2%80%99s-presidential-palace

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President Suleiman visited Paris, aiming to get a definitive answer about the possibility of living in France at the end of his term and assuming the general secretariat of the Francophonie.(Photo: Marwan Tahtah). President Suleiman visited Paris, aiming to get a definitive answer about the possibility of living in France at the end of his term and assuming the general secretariat of the Francophonie.(Photo: Marwan Tahtah).

According to most observers concerned with the formation of the new Lebanese government, President #Michel_Suleiman is relatively convinced that #Hezbollah cannot be fooled into extending his term. He understands that the Saudis want him to put the country in the hands of Prime Minister-designate Tammam (...)

#Amin_Gemayel #Articles #Jean_Kahwaji #Lebanon #MARCH_14 #March_8 #Michel_Aoun #Najib_Mikati #Saad_Hariri #Samir_Geagea #Suleiman_Frangieh

#Lebanon’s #Blue_Gold Project: Vote to Privatize Your Water
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanon%E2%80%99s-blue-gold-project-vote-privatize-your-water

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On Tuesday, December 17, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam attended a launch ceremony for what is actually yet another nail in the coffin of the Lebanese state: the Blue Gold project (Photo: Marwan Tahtah). On Tuesday, December 17, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam attended a launch ceremony for what is actually yet another nail in the coffin of the Lebanese state: the Blue Gold project (Photo: Marwan Tahtah).

Vote for the Blue Gold project. Many have noticed the television ads on Lebanese networks, and some may have even thought that Blue Gold is a campaign to protect Lebanon’s water resources. However, the project owner – the Civic (...)

#Economy #Articles #Civic_Influence_Hub #Farid_Chehab

Wadi al-Safi, Like Us, Longed for a Real State
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/wadi-al-safi-us-longed-real-state

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President #Michel_Suleiman reported on his Twitter account that a commemoration stamp would be issued in the singer’s name. (Photo: AFP - Louai Beshara) President Michel Suleiman reported on his Twitter account that a commemoration stamp would be issued in the singer’s name. (Photo: AFP - Louai Beshara)

Shortly after the death of Lebanese singing legend #Wadih_al-Safi on October 12, President Michel Suleiman reported on his (...)

#Opinion #Articles #Lebanon

Sleiman se rend en Iran avec le ministre libanais des Affaires étrangères Adnan Mansour :
▻http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2013/Aug-04/226210-sleiman-heads-to-tehran-for-rouhanis-ceremony.ashx

President Michel Sleiman headed Sunday morning to Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony of new Iranian president Hassan Rouhani.

Sleiman was accompanied by a Lebanese delegation including caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour and Deputy Prime Minister Samir Mouqbel.

En exclusivité, le t-shirt qu’a prévu de porter Mansour :

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J’ai également entendu hier que le commandant de l’armée avait menacé de démissionner s’il n’avait pas obtenu le soutien politique du Président pour se débarasser d’Assir et ses sbires à Saïda. L’armée dément aujourd’hui cette rumeur : Army Command Denies Reports on Qahwaji’s Resignation over Sidon Clashes
▻http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/88165-army-command-denies-reports-on-qahwaji-s-resignation-over-sidon-clas

The Army Command denied on Tuesday media reports that its commander General Jean Qahwaji had submitted his resignation over the clashes in the southern city of Sidon.

It denied that Qahwaji would have handed President Michel Suleiman the resignation if the army was prevented from storming the security zone under the control of Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir’s armed supporters in Sidon.

The Army Command said: “The president has voiced his complete trust in the military institution and its leadership.”

“He voiced his complete support for all the security measures that the army will take to confront assaults by the gunmen,” it stressed.

Michel Suleiman’s World Tour | As’ad AbuKhalil
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/blogs/angry-corner/michel-suleiman%E2%80%99s-world-tour

Politically speaking, Suleiman has been inching closer to the March 14 movement, coinciding with wide rumors about signs of enrichment for him and for his family, which is getting ready to participate in the next parliamentary election. There are talks of Saudi money and Suleiman has suddenly stopped invoking his own formula about “the resistance, the people, and the army.” And the man who was installed in the army by Syrian intelligence suddenly stopped talking with his Syrian counterpart. That must have pleased his new Saudi sponsors.

It is not that Suleiman has any role whatsoever in Lebanese politics. He is as influential as a female (or male) member of the Saudi shura council. But Suleiman enjoys the ceremonies of his job and it’s highly likely that he will – in the tradition of Lebanese presidents – try to serve another term. But his close association with March 14 in the last year, will ruin his chances.

Le New York Times ouvre (ben tiens !) ses colonnes aux élucubrations de l’éditeur de Now Lebanon sur le Hezbollah. C’est pas la peine de perdre ton temps avec ça. Mais en revanche, le commentaire d’Angry Arab, tu peux y aller, c’est très marrant.
►http://angryarab.blogspot.fr/2012/08/now-hariri-in-new-york-times-on.html

But there is some comic relief in the article: “It seems that the Lebanese Army has finally received political cover, mainly from President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati, to confront Hezbollah”. Wait. Wait. So even though the March 14 coalition in Lebanon, which has a real popular base in Lebanon (half of the Lebanese population support that coalition), failed in confronting Hizbullah, but now the two men with NO REAL POPULAR base have decided to confront Hizbullah? How funny is that? The supporters of Michel Sulayman in Lebanon can all fit in one falafil hut. Wait: but the writers have evidence and a solid example: “On Sunday, 18 armed men from a family with links to Hezbollah were arrested by the Lebanese Army. Two trucks and a warehouse full of weaponry were confiscated. This arrest is politically significant.” Let me update the story: all the armed men have been released. Kid you not. Now that is funny. So their only real evidence did not materialize either.

Selon toute logique, Samir Hammoud, le procureur général qui aurait décidé de l’arrestation de Samaha, n’occuperait ce poste que depuis une semaine, succédant à Saïd Mirza, parti à la retraite fin juillet. À vérifier.

UAE expelling Lebanese citizens for “supporting” Hezbollah
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/uae-expelling-lebanese-citizens-supporting-hezbollah

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman is due to visit the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday following reports of Abu Dhabi expelling Lebanese citizens.

The deportation of Lebanese expats from the UAE is said to have increased in recent weeks, with reports of an expulsion list of roughly 1,000 Lebanese citizens set to be expelled gradually.

The issue has been ongoing since 2009, with the UAE allegedly deporting Lebanese that are mostly Shia Muslims, accusing them of supporting Hezbollah, without producing evidence to support the claim.

Some of those expelled during the past weeks were reportedly forced to sign a document admitting that they supported Hezbollah or were involved in illegal security activities.

Authorities allegedly threatened the expats with imprisonment if they did not sign the document, sources told Al-Akhbar.