Hariri flies to Paris for talks with Chirac
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri left Beirut Friday on an official visit to Paris for talks with French President Jacques Chirac and Premier Jean-Pierre Rafarin on Mideast developments and Franco-Lebanese relations.
A statement from Hariri’s press office said the premier would be received by Chirac Monday before attending a working lunch with Rafarin and French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin.
Hariri will also have separate talks with his French counterpart on the prospects of future cooperation between the two governments on various issues, the statement said.

Red Cross visits two Islamist leaders held in Israel
GENEVA: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) last weekend visited two Lebanese fundamentalist chiefs who have been held in Israel without trial, the ICRC said Friday.
The ICRC delegates visited Sheikh Abdul Karim Obeid and Mustafa Diran Sunday. They have been held without trial for 13 years and eight years respectively, a spokeswoman said.
They were snatched from Lebanon by Israeli commandos.
ICRC spokeswoman Jette Sorensen added that the organization had already visited Obeid four times between the end of 1999 and October 2000.
But it was the first time that ICRC was allowed to visit Diran, she added, declining to give details of the location. ­ AFP

Communist Party urges Syria to release veteran dissident
The Communist Party’s politburo expressed “deep regret and extreme surprise” over the pronouncement of a prison sentence against the leader of the banned Syrian Communist Party earlier this week, calling for his release in a statement Friday.
A Damascus court sentenced Riad al-Turk, 71, who was arrested last year, to 30 months in jail after he criticized Syria’s one-party rule.
The statement said the sentence “ran counter to the path President Bashar Assad embarked on” and which led to increased political liberty and freedom of the press.
It added that “taking a decisive stand in the service of democracy … is the only thing that can serve the interests of the Syrian people and all Arab peoples.”

National Action Forum denounces Bush speech
The National Action Forum Friday accused the US of ending its role as co-sponsor of the Mideast peace with its “flagrant pro-Israeli bias” and “aggressive policies,” mirroring those of the Jewish state.
Commenting on US President George W. Bush’s speech outlining his vision for a peace settlement, the forum, headed by former Prime Minister Salim Hoss, said the US had “given itself the right to intervene directly and openly” in the internal affairs of other countries.
It said that Bush’s speech had also paved the way for military strikes against Iraq and may be a prelude to demands by the US for “fundamental changes” in other Arab countries suiting American policies.

Vienna calls for international peace conference
The director-general of Austria’s Bureau of Middle Eastern and African Affairs said Friday that an international peace conference was very much “on the agenda,” although it was not mentioned by US President George W. Bush in his recent policy statement.
The Foreign Ministry’s Ralph Sheide added that the international “Quartet” of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations was “very much alive,” and that the heavyweights still sought peace in the region.
Sheide, who arrived here Thursday evening from Damascus, is in the region to inspect the Austrian contingent in the UN Disengagement Observer Force on the Golan Heights.

Kesrouan MP calls for ruling on ‘forged naturalizations’
Kesrouan MP Neamatallah Abi Nasr urged the Justice Ministry and the Interior Ministry Friday to reach a final ruling on the naturalization decree, which was challenged by MPs and the Maronite League before the Shura Council eight years ago.
In a meeting with the Maronite patriarch, Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, Abi Nasr recalled that the Shura Council has yet to pronounce a decision on the decree, which granted some 450,000 people naturalized in 1994.
Abi Nasr said that during their discussions, he handed the patriarch official documents proving the use of false statements and application demands bearing the signatures of prison wardens instead of mukhtars in the cases of former convicts who obtained nationality.
The MP questioned the public prosecution’s neglect in settling the issue, especially since he said both ministries were aware of the forgeries.

Democratic Gathering claims nation ‘facing severe crisis’
Democratic Gathering member and Chouf MP Elie Aoun said Friday that the unprecedented tension in the domestic political climate was pushing the country toward a severe crisis.
In a statement, Aoun complained that stability was absent as well as solidarity and harmony, adding that there are clear irregularities preventing the optimal performance of the government.
The statement said that a series of internal “political conflicts” threatened a promising tourism season and the economy in addition to exacerbating the volatile regional situation.
The statement stressed the gravity of the situation and asked whether there could be any benefit from the level of deterioration that has brought the country to “the edge of the cliff.”

Teachers spurn Siniora gesture to end exam dispute
Finance Minister Fouad Siniora’s pledge to release all funds owed to teachers on contract did not convince them to correct official exams on Friday.
Speaking after a meeting with Siniora in the presence of Education Minister Abdel-Rahim Mrad, the president of the Public Secondary School Teachers League,  Ahmad Sanjaqdar, said: “We will not back down from the decision of suspending corrections unless demands are completely met.”
According to Sanjaqdar, the government has still yet to accept including correction fees as part of teachers’ salaries so that they can be counted in their end-of-service indemnities.

MP flays Cabinet over handling of debts to contractors
The last few months have seen an increase in complaints by contractors angry that the Finance Ministry has been settling its dues with T-bills, according to a statement issued Friday by Chouf MP George Deeb Neameh.
In the statement, Neameh said the ministry imposed fines on those who declare their income and demanded compromises from those who do not, thereby causing economic, financial and practical problems.
Such steps would freeze the sector if not lead to bankruptcy, Neameh said.

Bar Association chief decries flaws in justice system
The president of the Beirut Bar Association said Friday that a “country without state laws cannot function.”
Raymond Shedid spoke during a regular association meeting held at the Zahle Justice Palace, where he told participants that trials in the nation’s courts have been “hindered” due to a small pool of judges.
He also said it was “unfortunate” that politics and conventionalism played a major role in “impeding justice,” expressing hope that attorneys would maintain national interest by respecting the law.
In response to a question concerning the Tax Settlement Law, Shedid said that it was “simply unfair” that the recent legislation “exacerbated” the suffering of professionals. The law does not give white collar workers an extension on paying their taxes.

Kuwaitis say anti-Israel media campaign lacks funds
A Kuwaiti press delegation called for the establishment of an Arab satellite television network to counter Israeli propaganda, but cast doubt on whether there were sufficient funds allocated to the project.
Shemlan Issa, a spokesman for the delegation, said talks in Lebanon had focused on ways to counter Israel’s televised propaganda campaign, confirming wide agreement on the need to combat it.
“However, the money earmarked for this project is not enough,” Issa told reporters Friday after paying a visit to Information Minister Ghazi Aridi, who invited the delegation to Lebanon a week ago.
Over the course of the past week, the delegation had also visited President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and Speaker Nabih Berri.
Issa said Kuwait had several things in common with Lebanon, namely political freedom and democratic institutions.

Mikati promises to include North in development projects
Public Works and Transport Minister Najib Mikati pledged Friday to give the North its share of development and services and promised the completion of stalled projects.
In a meeting with Dinnieh residents to discuss work on the road linking Tripoli and Dinnieh, Mikati said the agreement between the ministry and Estephan Contracting Company stipulated road work should be finished by Dec. 20, 2003.
The minister indicated that the contractor was notified of the importance of maintaining the flow of traffic, adding that the ministry also rehabilitated bypasses and detours on the roads linking Ouyoun Ashash and Wadi Azqa as well as that linking Bakhoun and Beit Jeideh to reduce traffic during the summer season.
Mikati thanked the Dinnieh residents for enduring the road’s rehabilitation.

AUB commemorates wife of former MP Emile Boustany
The American University of Beirut honored Laura Boustany on Friday during a ceremony to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Laura Boustany Hall, a girls’ dormitory.
Laura’s husband, the late businessman and former MP Emile Boustany, donated the building to the university in 1960 to mark his wife’s birthday.
The ceremony was attended by AUB president John Waterbury, Metn MP Nassib Lahoud, Chouf MP Nabil Boustany, former Beirut MP Tammam Salam and former minister Mohammed Youssef Beydoun.
Waterbury said Emile Boustany met his wife while working as a professor at the university. When he died, Laura Boustany helped run his company.
Waterbury offered a painting of the building to Laura Boustany.

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