Saudi abandons mediation bid in 'dangerous' Lebanon

Saudi FM: If crisis situation reaches full separation then Lebanon as we know it would end.

Middle East Online

Expressed fears of division of Lebanon DUBAI - Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said his country has abandoned mediation efforts in Lebanon, where he described the situation as "dangerous," in an interview with Al-Arabiya on Wednesday. Saudi King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had been in contact "with commitment to end the whole Lebanon problem." "When that did not happen, the custodian of the two holy mosques said he was pulling his hand out" from the effort, he told the Saudi-owned television news channel. Faisal described the situation in Lebanon as "dangerous" and expressed fears of division in the multi-confessional nation. "If the situation reaches full separation and (regional) partition, this means the end of Lebanon as a state that has this model of peaceful cohabitation between (different) religions and ethnicities," he added. Lebanon has been headed for a crisis since last summer, when reports surfaced that the powerful Hezbollah could face an indictment by the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in connection with ex-premier Rafiq Hariri's 2005 assassination. Fears of sectarian violence have mounted since the court's prosecutor submitted an indictment on Monday, and registrar Herman von Hebel said the case may go to trial by September regardless of whether any arrests had been made. The indictment has not been made public. A long-running dispute between rival parties in Lebanon over the STL last week prompted Hezbollah and its allies to walk out of the unity government of Western-backed Saad Hariri, son of the slain leader. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has warned his party would not stand idle should the court implicate any of its members. Experts have predicted a protracted political crisis and warn tensions could escalate into violence at any moment in Lebanon, a tiny country that has been gripped for decades by political unrest and all-out war.

Obama consults Mubarak on Lebanon, Tunisia

US President grateful to his Egyptian counterpart for his support for Hariri probe in Lebanon.

Middle East Online

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama on Tuesday consulted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on political tumult in Tunisia and tensions in Lebanon sparked by a UN probe into the killing of Rafiq Hariri. Obama spoke to the Egyptian leader after US officials said last week they were seeking to exert leverage in Lebanon though key regional players, and after the flight of ousted Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The White House said Obama told Mubarak he was urging calm, an end to violence and free and fair elections in Tunisia, amid public rage at the continued presence of the ousted president's party on the political scene. Obama also told Mubarak he was grateful for his support for the UN probe in Lebanon, which has kept its first indictment in the killing of the former prime minister under wraps amid fears of violence in Beirut. The US president also offered personal condolences to Mubarak and the Egyptian people for the "heinous" bombing targeting Coptic Christians on January 1 in Alexandria that left 21 people dead and wounded 79 others. The two men also discussed stalled efforts to advance peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the statement said.

Sweden's Iraqi deportations spark strong concerns

UN refugee agency continues to warn against sending Iraqis back to central parts of Iraq due persistent violence there.

Middle East Online

UNHCR: conditions in Iraq remain unsafe GENEVA - The UN refugee agency on Tuesday expressed strong concern at reports that Sweden plans to sent 25 Iraqis back to Baghdad despite repeated advice that conditions are unsafe there. Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) pointed out that a Christian Iraqi who was deported last October was being readmitted to Sweden after he fled again following an attack. "The UNHCR is very concerned that Sweden plans to send around 25 Iraqis back to Baghdad tomorrow," she told journalists. "We understand that a number of those scheduled for return belong to religious and ethnic groups targeted by violence in Iraq," she added. Fleming reiterated that the UNHCR believed they were entiled to protection as refugees, especially with the recent deterioration of conditions for minorities in Iraq. Although she did not specifically refer to the incidents, sectarian violence has intensified in Iraq in recent weeks especially with a wave of attacks on Christians. "We are troubled that our advice, including on the situations of minorities in Iraq, is not sufficiently taken into account by Sweden when reviewing negative decisions that were made in 2008 and 2009," Fleming said. Swedish authorities said Tuesday that about 70 people were detained when police broke up a protest against the deportation of Iraqis near the southwestern city of Gothenburg. The UN refugee agency has over the past year repeatedly warned Britain and several Nordic nations not to send Iraqis back to central parts of Iraq because of persistent violence there.

Saudi gifts showered Obama, his family, administration

Federal Register: Obama, entourage, received more than 300,000 dollars in gifts from Saudi king.

Middle East Online

Obama got an 8,000-dollar bronze statue from Israel's Peres WASHINGTON, - In his first year as US president, Barack Obama, his family and administration members were showered with more than 300,000 dollars in gifts from Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. The Federal Register reported Tuesday that King Abdullah gave some 34,500 dollars worth of presents to Obama, some 146,200 dollars worth to First Lady Michelle Obama and 7,275 dollars worth to their children Malia and Sasha. The monarch offered a total of 108,245 dollars worth of gifts to White House staff, presents valued at 23,400 dollars to a senior US diplomatic interpreter and gifts estimated at 12,000 dollars to the US charge d'affaires in Riyadh. Among the gifts Obama received from Abdullah were a "large desert scene on a green veined marble base featuring figurines of gold palm trees and camels" and a large brass and glass clock by Jaeger-LeCoultre, according to the register. The Saudi king gave the First Lady a ruby and diamond jewelry set worth 132,000 dollars as well as a pearl necklace with a value of 14,200 dollars, according to the register. Their children also received jewelry worth thousands of dollars in addition to books and DVDs. Another generous foreign dignitary was Ernestina Naadu Mills, Ghana's first lady, who gave Michelle Obama a Backes and Strauss "Black Star of Ghana" watch, "crafted in 18 karat gold with diamonds and leather," the register said. It was valued at 48,000 dollars. Chinese President Hu Jintao gave Obama "a framed and matted fine silk embroidery depicting a portrait study of the First Family" that was valued at 20,000 dollars, according to the register. Miyuki Hatoyama, wife of then prime minister Yukio Hatoyama of Japan, gave Michelle Obama a pearl necklace valued at 9,700 dollars. Obama got a bronze statue of a girl releasing a flock of doves valued at 8,000 dollars from Israeli President Shimon Peres. All the presents go to the National Archives as US law bars any US government official from receiving a present from a foreign government. Obama and others accepted the gifts because "non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and US government," according to the register.

Palestinians hoist flag in Washington for first time

Highly symbolic US gesture towards Palestinian but no change of status for their representation in Washington.

Middle East Online

We can't give you your land back, so run along with this flag instead WASHINGTON - The Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington on Thursday hoisted its national flag for the first time, a highly symbolic gesture that drew an angry response from a senior US lawmaker. The US State Department, enmeshed in an uphill struggle to revive stalled Middle East peace talks, said that the ceremony was approved several months ago and did not change the status of the Palestinian representation in Washington. Maen Rashid Areikat, the envoy to the headquarters of the General Delegation of the Palestine Liberation Organization to the United States (PLO), raised the flag at a ceremony watched by journalists and others, the mission said. The statement said delegates from the State Department and Arab League Ambassador Hussein Hasouneh attended the ceremony. "This flag symbolizes the struggle of the Palestinian people for independence," Areikat was quoted by his mission as saying. The flag "also is a clear message that the Palestinian people and the PLO are central players in the equation of the Middle East, without whom there will be no peace, security and stability in the region," he said. But House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican, blasted the move as "part of the Palestinian leadership's scheme to manipulate international acceptance and diplomatic recognition" of their future state. The lawmaker charged that US President Barack Obama's administration was rewarding the Palestinians, whom she accused of refusing to negotiate with Israel while seeking "shortcuts to statehood." "Governments worldwide will interpret such actions as tacit US recognition of a Palestinian state. These actions send precisely the wrong message to foreign governments," said Ros-Lehtinen. But US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said: "The granting permission to raise the flag does not change their fundamental status." The move came after direct US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians ground to a halt late last year over Israel's refusal to renew a partial freeze on Jewish settlements on Palestinian land. It also came as Arab nations prepare to formally put a resolution to the UN Security Council on Tuesday demanding a condemnation of Israel's settlement building in Palestinian territories. But no vote was expected for several days as Palestinian and other Arab negotiators try to persuade the US administration not to veto the resolution, diplomats said. "Our view hasn't changed... We do not think that New York or the UN Security Council is the right forum for this issue, and we'll continue to make that case," Crowley said. "I'm not going to speculate on what happens from this point forward," he said when asked about a possible US veto. A senior State Department official told reporters on the condition of anonymity that the Palestinians have "been told we think this is a bad idea... We're encouraging them not to move this forward."

Arab leaders meet on economy, poverty

First meeting of Arab heads of state since uprising in Tunisia that inspired Arab populations.

Middle East Online

By Samer al-Atrush - SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt

Who's next? Arab leaders gather in Egypt on Wednesday to discuss trade and development as the region feels the aftershocks of a popular uprising in Tunisia that emboldened dissidents in the Arab world. It is the first meeting of Arab heads of state since Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced out of the country on Friday after weeks of protests sparked by the self immolation of an unemployed man. The death has sparked a rash of copycat attempted suicides in Algeria and Egypt, where two men set themselves on fire on Monday as foreign ministers met in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheik to prepare for the summit. One of the Egyptians succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday. Addressing the meeting, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Mohammad al-Sabah reminded his counterparts of the challenges the region faces. "Countries disintegrate, people conduct uprisings ... and the Arab citizen asks: 'Can the current Arab regime meet these challenges dynamically?'" He questioned: "Can the regime address the humanitarian suffering of the Arab citizen?" The government of Egypt, where roughly half of the population lives on two dollars a day and dissidents complain of similar grievances to Tunisia's protesters, has denied any similarity with Tunisia. Foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said the Tunisian uprising was peculiar to that country and Egypt allowed its citizens more freedoms. The summit will also take place as early results indicate most southern Sudanese voted for independence in a referendum this month that is expected to partition Africa's largest country. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday to attend the summit. The meeting is expected to implement the resolutions of its predecessor, which was held in Kuwait in 2009, and which included setting up a $2 billion fund to finance small and medium sized businesses. In a region where rulers often assume power through coups or inheritance, the Tunisian uprising was unusual in that a highly autocratic ruler was forced out by mass protests. Tunisian Foreign Minister Kamel Morjane, who briefed his counterparts in Sharm el-Sheikh on developments in his country, told reporters at a press conference that the protests were fuelled by political and economic grievances. Delegates from one of the countries complained that they expected the summit's pledges to lead to nowhere, as previous promises had. But the economic aspect of the Tunisian revolt, which is mirrored in other countries in the region, may add to the urgency of taking measures to alleviate poverty in the region.

Qatari-Turkish mediation bids to solve Lebanon crisis

Turkey's FM, Qatari PM meet Lebanese rivals in bid to avoid breakout of violence over STL spat.

Middle East Online

Last minute push BEIRUT - The Turkish and Qatari foreign ministers have met with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah as part of efforts to mediate the latest political crisis in Lebanon, the Shiite group announced Wednesday. Ahmet Davutoglu and Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jaber al-Thani met with Nasrallah at a secret location and made no comments afterwards. A statement issued by Hezbollah said the talks late Tuesday focused on finding a solution to the deepening political crisis in Lebanon that many fear could spiral into sectarian violence. "The meeting addressed the current political crisis in Lebanon, notably the issue of the international tribunal and the new government," the statement said. Focused on finding a solution It was referring to the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) probing the 2005 assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri and the collapse last week of the unity government of Saad Hariri, the slain leader's son. The STL, which issued indictments in the case on Monday, has been at the centre of a long-running dispute between the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and the Western-backed Hariri. Nasrallah has said he believes members of his party will be implicated in Hariri's murder and has warned against such a scenario, accusing the STL of being part of a US-Israeli plot. Davutoglu and Sheikh Hamad, who is also Qatar's premier, met on Tuesday with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, parliament speaker Nabih Berri and Hariri. The two men also held talks in Damascus on Monday with Syria's leadership.