THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2009
Statement by the President regarding the elections in Lebanon
I congratulate the people of Lebanon for holding a peaceful election yesterday. The high turnout and the candidates – too many of whom know personally the violence that has marred Lebanon – are the strongest indications yet of the Lebanese desire for security and prosperity. Once more, the people of Lebanon have demonstrated to the world their courage and the strength of their commitment to democracy.
The United States will continue to support a sovereign and independent Lebanon, committed to peace, including the full implementation of all United Nations Security Council Resolutions. It is our sincere hope that the next government will continue along the path towards building a sovereign, independent and stable Lebanon.
Government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power: you must maintain your power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party. Commitment to these principles of peace and moderation are the best means to secure a sovereign and prosperous Lebanon.
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Showing posts with label Lebanon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lebanon. Show all posts
Monday, June 08, 2009
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
ADC commemorates Sabra and Shatilla massacres
ADC Remembers Sabra and Shatila
Washington DC | September 16, 2008 | www.adc.org | Today, marks 26 years since one of the bloodiest and most brutal massacres in recent history, the 1982 massacre of Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
Twenty six years ago, shortly after the Israeli army seized control of West Beirut, Lebanon, right wing Phalangist militia forces, under the direction of Israeli forces, made their way into the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila located on the outskirts of the city. Once in the camps the militias massacred hundreds of defenseless men, women and children. Israeli troops, who were in control of the area, allowed the militias into the camps, prevented the refugees from fleeing for their lives, and lit the night sky with a continuous series of flares as the killing raged for two days. The US had pulled its troops out of Beirut just days prior to the massacres, and had given a guarantee of protection to the residents of the refugee camps.
Following massive outrage and protest from the international community as well as from Israeli citizens, the Israeli government formed The Kahan Commision of Inquiry. The Commission found that Israel was responsible for participating in the violence and recommended the dismissal of the Army Chief of Staff. Then Defense Minister Ariel Sharon was also forced to resign after the Commission concluded that he bore personal responsibility for the massacre, and should never hold public office again. In 2001, Sharon became the Prime Minister of Israel a position he held until he suffered a massive stroke which rendered him incapable of carrying out his duties as Prime Minister.
ADC C President Mary Rose Oakar said, "We must take the time to remember the victims of the horrific Sabra and Shatila massacre. The massacre is a reminder to us all of the tragedy of Palestinian refugees who have been excluded from their homeland for more than half a century and their vulnerability as a stateless people. It underlines the necessity for a just settlement to the refugee issue based on the Right of Return, which is enshrined for all refugees in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Fourth Geneva Convention, and was specifically applied to the Palestinian refugees in UN Resolution 194."
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______________________________________________________________
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee | www.adc.org
1732 Wisconsin Ave., NW | Washington, DC | 20007
Tel: 202-244-2990 | Fax: 202-244-7968 | E-mail: media@adc.org
You are subscribed as organizing@adc.org
Washington DC | September 16, 2008 | www.adc.org | Today, marks 26 years since one of the bloodiest and most brutal massacres in recent history, the 1982 massacre of Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
Twenty six years ago, shortly after the Israeli army seized control of West Beirut, Lebanon, right wing Phalangist militia forces, under the direction of Israeli forces, made their way into the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila located on the outskirts of the city. Once in the camps the militias massacred hundreds of defenseless men, women and children. Israeli troops, who were in control of the area, allowed the militias into the camps, prevented the refugees from fleeing for their lives, and lit the night sky with a continuous series of flares as the killing raged for two days. The US had pulled its troops out of Beirut just days prior to the massacres, and had given a guarantee of protection to the residents of the refugee camps.
Following massive outrage and protest from the international community as well as from Israeli citizens, the Israeli government formed The Kahan Commision of Inquiry. The Commission found that Israel was responsible for participating in the violence and recommended the dismissal of the Army Chief of Staff. Then Defense Minister Ariel Sharon was also forced to resign after the Commission concluded that he bore personal responsibility for the massacre, and should never hold public office again. In 2001, Sharon became the Prime Minister of Israel a position he held until he suffered a massive stroke which rendered him incapable of carrying out his duties as Prime Minister.
ADC C President Mary Rose Oakar said, "We must take the time to remember the victims of the horrific Sabra and Shatila massacre. The massacre is a reminder to us all of the tragedy of Palestinian refugees who have been excluded from their homeland for more than half a century and their vulnerability as a stateless people. It underlines the necessity for a just settlement to the refugee issue based on the Right of Return, which is enshrined for all refugees in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Fourth Geneva Convention, and was specifically applied to the Palestinian refugees in UN Resolution 194."
-30-
______________________________________________________________
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee | www.adc.org
1732 Wisconsin Ave., NW | Washington, DC | 20007
Tel: 202-244-2990 | Fax: 202-244-7968 | E-mail: media@adc.org
You are subscribed as organizing@adc.org
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Point to Point: Arab journalists discuss Hezbollah and Israel, and indictment os Sudan's president
Veteran award winning columnists Ray Hanania and Ali Alarabi discuss and debate the most recent news in the Middle East on Point to Point: Interviews without Boundaries. The topics include the recent prisoner swap between the powerful Lebanese Shiite Militia Hezbollah and the Government of Israel, trading the remains of two Israeli solders killed when Hezbollah sought to capture Israeli soldiers to trade for its soldiers held by Israel in the summer of 2006, an assault that provoked Israel to launch a brutal retaliation against Lebanon's civilian population and Hezbollah strongholds. Israel released five prisoners, including the notorious Druse fighter and leader, Samir Kuntar (Kantar, Qantar), of a 1979 mission into Israel that resulted in the killing of an Israeli police officer and the murder of his four year old daughter. Kuntar was captured and served 30 years for the killings. Hezbollah returned the bodies of two Israelis killed during the July 2006 confrontation that spark the 34-day Israeli-Lebanon war, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. What are the moral issues involved and is there an issue of hypocrisy in criticism of Arabs for killing civilians while there is silence when Israel kills Arab civilians? And, Alarabi and Hanania discuss the recent war crimes indictment by the International Criminal Court of Sundanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and the hypocrisy of singling out Arabs while excluding Israel and even Americans from I.C.C. prosecutions. The two discuss the issues involved in Sudan and Darfur where al-Bashir has been accused of supporting genocide, while supporters accuse pro-Western groups of inciting a vicious campaign of terrorism. You can read columns on both subjects by Hanania and Alarabi at http://www.arabwritersgroup.com/ web site. 22 Minutes.
Go to www.TheMediaOasis.com or visit iTunes and download the podcasts to your iPod.
Go to www.TheMediaOasis.com or visit iTunes and download the podcasts to your iPod.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Arab Press Freedom to be explored at Beirut Conference
The 2nd Arab Press Freedom Forum, to be held in Beirut, Lebanon, next month, will provide an overview of press developments in the Arab world, from the latest government policies to case studies of newspapers that combine editorial independence with commercial success.
The event, organised by the World Association of Newspapers in collaboration with Lebanon’s An-Nahar newspaper, will include four sessions on topics of urgent concern to newspapers and media experts from across the Middle East.
For more information about the event, to be held on 9 and 10 December next, contact Kajsa Tornroth, Co-Director of Press Freedom Programmes at the Paris-based WAN, by e-mail at ktornroth@wan.asso.fr.
The 2nd Arab Press Freedom Forum takes the theme, "Fighting Back: Challenges and Opportunities for the Arab Press". The sessions include:
"Backsliders and the usual suspects - the latest government policies that affect the press", which will address the recent government clampdowns on independent media in several Arab countries, and how the media has reacted.
"Combing editorial independence with commercial success," which will focus on independent Arab newspapers that have become profitable yet still maintain their independence and a critical stance towards those in power. Confirmed speakers include Egyptian Publisher Hisham Kassem, Rajeh Khoury a Political Analyst for An-Nahar in Lebanon and Ali Anouzla, Editor of Al-Massae in Morocco.
"Blogs, an alternative way of telling the news," which is dedicated to the increasing role of blogs and alternative news channels in the Arab world. Speakers in the session include Mohammad Azraq, a blogger from Bahrain, Wael Abbas, a blogger for Misr Digital blog in Egypt and Wadih Tueni, IT Manager for the An-Nahar Newspaper in Lebanon.
"How to best address the challenges faced by newspapers," which will examine the existing structures for independent Arab media professionals to work together for the common good. Speakers include Rafik Khoury, Editor in Chief of Al Anwar Newspaper in Lebanon, Said Essoulami, Director of the CMF-MENA Center in Morocco, and Abdelrahim Abdallah, Journalism Unit Coordinator at the Media Institute/Birzeit University in Palestine.
Plus more speakers to be announced.
The event will also feature the presentation of the second Gebran Tueni Award, which annually honours a newspaper publisher or editor in the Arab world who demonstrates the free press values upheld by Gebran Tueni, the An-Nahar publisher and WAN Board Member who was killed in a roadside bomb attack in December 2005. The award, which carries a 10,000 Euros stipend for newspaper leadership training, will be given to an editor or publisher of an Arabic-language publication whose activity reflects a profound attachment to the freedom and independence of the press, courage, leadership, ambition and the search for high managerial and professional standards.
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 76 national newspaper associations, newspaper companies and individual newspaper executives in 102 countries, 12 news agencies and 10 regional and world-wide press groups.
Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr.
end
The event, organised by the World Association of Newspapers in collaboration with Lebanon’s An-Nahar newspaper, will include four sessions on topics of urgent concern to newspapers and media experts from across the Middle East.
For more information about the event, to be held on 9 and 10 December next, contact Kajsa Tornroth, Co-Director of Press Freedom Programmes at the Paris-based WAN, by e-mail at ktornroth@wan.asso.fr.
The 2nd Arab Press Freedom Forum takes the theme, "Fighting Back: Challenges and Opportunities for the Arab Press". The sessions include:
"Backsliders and the usual suspects - the latest government policies that affect the press", which will address the recent government clampdowns on independent media in several Arab countries, and how the media has reacted.
"Combing editorial independence with commercial success," which will focus on independent Arab newspapers that have become profitable yet still maintain their independence and a critical stance towards those in power. Confirmed speakers include Egyptian Publisher Hisham Kassem, Rajeh Khoury a Political Analyst for An-Nahar in Lebanon and Ali Anouzla, Editor of Al-Massae in Morocco.
"Blogs, an alternative way of telling the news," which is dedicated to the increasing role of blogs and alternative news channels in the Arab world. Speakers in the session include Mohammad Azraq, a blogger from Bahrain, Wael Abbas, a blogger for Misr Digital blog in Egypt and Wadih Tueni, IT Manager for the An-Nahar Newspaper in Lebanon.
"How to best address the challenges faced by newspapers," which will examine the existing structures for independent Arab media professionals to work together for the common good. Speakers include Rafik Khoury, Editor in Chief of Al Anwar Newspaper in Lebanon, Said Essoulami, Director of the CMF-MENA Center in Morocco, and Abdelrahim Abdallah, Journalism Unit Coordinator at the Media Institute/Birzeit University in Palestine.
Plus more speakers to be announced.
The event will also feature the presentation of the second Gebran Tueni Award, which annually honours a newspaper publisher or editor in the Arab world who demonstrates the free press values upheld by Gebran Tueni, the An-Nahar publisher and WAN Board Member who was killed in a roadside bomb attack in December 2005. The award, which carries a 10,000 Euros stipend for newspaper leadership training, will be given to an editor or publisher of an Arabic-language publication whose activity reflects a profound attachment to the freedom and independence of the press, courage, leadership, ambition and the search for high managerial and professional standards.
The Paris-based WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 76 national newspaper associations, newspaper companies and individual newspaper executives in 102 countries, 12 news agencies and 10 regional and world-wide press groups.
Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 7 rue Geoffroy St Hilaire, 75005 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr.
end
American University of Beirut plans journalism workshops
The Journalism Training Program at the American University of Beirut (AUB) is organizing two workshops for Arab journalists. Application deadline for both courses: November 16.
The first workshop, “Environment/Health Coverage,” is scheduled to run for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m from November 26 to 30 in the Regional External Programs Conference Room at AUB . The second workshop, “Citizen/Online Journalism,” will run from December 3 to 7 at the same venue. The Dutch Embassy is supporting the programs, which are open to print, broadcast and online journalists.
This training is free, but journalists from outside Lebanon must cover their own travel and lodging costs, organizers said. Those wishing to participate should send resumes and three work samples to Magda Abu-Fadil at ma145@aub.edu.lb, or fax +961 (0)1 748539.
The first workshop, “Environment/Health Coverage,” is scheduled to run for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m from November 26 to 30 in the Regional External Programs Conference Room at AUB . The second workshop, “Citizen/Online Journalism,” will run from December 3 to 7 at the same venue. The Dutch Embassy is supporting the programs, which are open to print, broadcast and online journalists.
This training is free, but journalists from outside Lebanon must cover their own travel and lodging costs, organizers said. Those wishing to participate should send resumes and three work samples to Magda Abu-Fadil at ma145@aub.edu.lb, or fax +961 (0)1 748539.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
American University of Beirut adds journalism training program
AUB Adds journalism training program
http://www.aub.edu.lb/news/archive/preview.php?id=72300
The American University of Beirut launched on May 16 a wide-scale journalism training project for Arab reporters working in print, broadcast and online media.
The project was made possible through a generous sponsorship agreement made between Ms. Sarah S. Alfadl, a Saudi-American lawyer/activist, and the REP's Office.
"AUB is proud to be part of this endeavor to provide reputable and reliable training to journalists in the region," said Provost Peter Heath, during a news conference, held in College Hall B-1 to announce the new program. "We are deeply grateful to Ms. Sarah El-Fadel for providing both inspiration and financial backing for this program of training."
"I believe people cannot intelligently participate in the democratic process unless they have access to accurate and timely information provided by a free and professional press," said Alfadl of the new program, adding that she hoped others would follow suit and invest in Lebanon's revival.
Al-Fadl added that she chose to support the program because she believes in Lebanon's long history of press freedom and its ability to remain a leading democracy in the region. Moreover, she said that she found in AUB the perfect partner for such an endeavor.
The Journalism Training Program (JTP), which is part of AUB's Regional External Programs, is scheduled to conduct its first workshop in "Investigative Journalism," in July 2007 and plans to offer other courses in the coming months focused on "Citizen Journalism," "Elections Coverage," "Newsroom Management," and "Science/Health/Environment Journalism."
The JTP was created to provide journalists from the Gulf to North Africa with year-round courses in various topics including basic news reporting and writing, editing, war/safety coverage, online journalism, and media ethics in Arabic, English and French.
Additionally, it will conduct workshops in media literacy and corporate communications/media crisis management, both at AUB and in-house where requested, and is destined to become a regional hub for Arab journalism training -- something Alfadl hopes other sponsors will also encourage.
AUB's Regional External Programs, which has been running other successful training and consulting projects for about two decades, aims to plug the gaps in existing efforts and meet new needs of the media through the JTP. While the Arab world has seen a proliferation of media in recent years, not all have been adequately serviced by sustainable training to meet their needs and to cope with technological advances.
Leading the new effort is Magda Abu-Fadil, the JTP's founding director, who brings years of experience as a foreign correspondent and editor with international news agencies such as Agence France-Presse,and United Press International; newspapers such as Asharq Al-Awsat, Al Riyadh and Defense News ; and magazines such as The Middle East and Events; and, as an academic and a media trainer.
Until February 2007, Abu-Fadil was director of the Institute for Professional Journalists at the Lebanese American University. She taught journalism at American University in Washington, D.C. -- from where she graduated -- and was coordinator of the journalism program at LAU for six years.
"The Journalism Training Program's aim is to train journalists so they can confront any challenges they might face in their work, thus sparking a renaissance in this sector in this part of the world," said Abu-Fadil, during the news conference.
" This is an exciting challenge and we hope to turn AUB into a beehive of Arab journalism training and education with state-of-the-art facilities," she said. "It's only fitting that Lebanon, with AUB at the helm, lead the charge."
Communications Professor and chair of the JTP steering committee called the new program "a dream come true" for which he had worked for more than 40 years. The need for such a program is ever more important, he said, because most news outlets have focused on building infrastructure and acquiring hi-tech equipment instead of investing in human potential.
end
http://www.aub.edu.lb/news/archive/preview.php?id=72300
The American University of Beirut launched on May 16 a wide-scale journalism training project for Arab reporters working in print, broadcast and online media.
The project was made possible through a generous sponsorship agreement made between Ms. Sarah S. Alfadl, a Saudi-American lawyer/activist, and the REP's Office.
"AUB is proud to be part of this endeavor to provide reputable and reliable training to journalists in the region," said Provost Peter Heath, during a news conference, held in College Hall B-1 to announce the new program. "We are deeply grateful to Ms. Sarah El-Fadel for providing both inspiration and financial backing for this program of training."
"I believe people cannot intelligently participate in the democratic process unless they have access to accurate and timely information provided by a free and professional press," said Alfadl of the new program, adding that she hoped others would follow suit and invest in Lebanon's revival.
Al-Fadl added that she chose to support the program because she believes in Lebanon's long history of press freedom and its ability to remain a leading democracy in the region. Moreover, she said that she found in AUB the perfect partner for such an endeavor.
The Journalism Training Program (JTP), which is part of AUB's Regional External Programs, is scheduled to conduct its first workshop in "Investigative Journalism," in July 2007 and plans to offer other courses in the coming months focused on "Citizen Journalism," "Elections Coverage," "Newsroom Management," and "Science/Health/Environment Journalism."
The JTP was created to provide journalists from the Gulf to North Africa with year-round courses in various topics including basic news reporting and writing, editing, war/safety coverage, online journalism, and media ethics in Arabic, English and French.
Additionally, it will conduct workshops in media literacy and corporate communications/media crisis management, both at AUB and in-house where requested, and is destined to become a regional hub for Arab journalism training -- something Alfadl hopes other sponsors will also encourage.
AUB's Regional External Programs, which has been running other successful training and consulting projects for about two decades, aims to plug the gaps in existing efforts and meet new needs of the media through the JTP. While the Arab world has seen a proliferation of media in recent years, not all have been adequately serviced by sustainable training to meet their needs and to cope with technological advances.
Leading the new effort is Magda Abu-Fadil, the JTP's founding director, who brings years of experience as a foreign correspondent and editor with international news agencies such as Agence France-Presse,and United Press International; newspapers such as Asharq Al-Awsat, Al Riyadh and Defense News ; and magazines such as The Middle East and Events; and, as an academic and a media trainer.
Until February 2007, Abu-Fadil was director of the Institute for Professional Journalists at the Lebanese American University. She taught journalism at American University in Washington, D.C. -- from where she graduated -- and was coordinator of the journalism program at LAU for six years.
"The Journalism Training Program's aim is to train journalists so they can confront any challenges they might face in their work, thus sparking a renaissance in this sector in this part of the world," said Abu-Fadil, during the news conference.
" This is an exciting challenge and we hope to turn AUB into a beehive of Arab journalism training and education with state-of-the-art facilities," she said. "It's only fitting that Lebanon, with AUB at the helm, lead the charge."
Communications Professor and chair of the JTP steering committee called the new program "a dream come true" for which he had worked for more than 40 years. The need for such a program is ever more important, he said, because most news outlets have focused on building infrastructure and acquiring hi-tech equipment instead of investing in human potential.
end
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