News

Following the revolting incident of MP Fattush allegedly aggressing Manal Daou at the Justice Palace in Baabda, Mr. Fattush convened a press conference last Thursday during which he revealed privileged information related to the court case he was depositing against Minister Michel Pharaon and also attacked publicly the President of the Beirut Bar Association.  As a result, the Board of the Beirut Bar Association took a decision on the same day to disbar Mr. Fattush.  The Bar Association considered that what Mr.  Fattush said and revealed disrespect the position of Bar President and is a violation of the profession, its by-laws and ethics.
The Legal Agenda condemned the decision of the Bar Association which, it believes, “creates a dangerous precedent and may threaten the autonomy of lawyers”.  The Legal Agenda wondered about the legitimacy of disbarring a lawyer without trial and without allowing him to defend himself.  The Legal Agenda insisted that although Fattush needs to be tried and prosecuted for what he did; however, his right to defense should not be violated.   Other similar reactions were aired by many a legal expert who noted that referring Fattush to a disciplinary board would have probably led to his prosecution up to inflicting a certain period of disbarment.  However, the hasty decision of the Board of the Bar Association will regretfully make it easy for Fattush to appeal this decision with the appeal court for lawyers and argue that he has been denied to right to defend himself.
Source: Al-Akhbar, 25 & 27 October 2014

Within the framework of the training programme implemented by the women sector of the Future Movement, an event was organized last week to celebrate the graduation of 20 women who successfully completed a first aid course.  The course was implemented in collaboration of the Municipality of Mejdlaya, the Charitable Association of Mejdlaya, and the Directorate of Health and Social Services (DHSS) at the Rafic Hariri Foundation.  The event included a number of speeches by the President of the Municipality, Katub Shokr, and the General Coordinator of the Future Movement in Kaytah3, Samer Hadara, the DHSS representative Dr. Mahmud Khodr, and the women sector coordinator Insaf al-Asa3ad.  Al Asa3ad reiterated the Future Movement’s belief in women’s roles and capacities and, thus, the need to address women’s issues and improve their condition as this will benefit the society as a whole.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 27 October 2014

Newspaper coverage of the crisis that has hit this year’s agricultural harvest continues, as A-Safir published, last Friday, two reports on this subject.  The first discussed the unprecedented poor harvest of olives in Marje3yoon because of the dearth of rainwater during the previous year. The report also noted that this situation will undoubtedly lead to an increase in the price of olives as a result of increased demand and lower supply.  Olive growers have already started selling the gallon of olive oil at USD 140 compared to USD 80 – 100 last year; in addition the cost of one kilogram of olives went up reaching USD 10.
The second report focused on the overflow in the harvest of apples which has so far filled out all existing refrigeration facilities in addition to home storage, while 30% of the harvest remain on its trees and cannot be harvested because of the decline in available labor force following the new restrictions imposed on Syrian workers and that is according to apple grower, Fawzi al Moghrabi.  Moghrabi also expressed his concerns regarding marketing because of difficulties in exporting.  He added that apple growers relied in the past on overland exports to Jordan and Egypt, a matter that is now very difficult in view of the Syrian crisis.  The president of the Syndicate of Apple Growers in Lebanon, Fouad Nassar, noted that this year’s total production in Lebanon exceeded 10 million apple boxes adding that the government must find new export outlets and suggesting that agreements be concluded with GCC countries to export via the Beirut port.
In a related vein, the president of the Federation of Beqaa Farmers, Ibrahim Tarshishi, hoped that politicians, especially the current Minister of Agriculture, Akram Chehayeb, would help Lebanese farmers in exporting potatoes to Syria which has now allowed the import of this product.  He also hoped that hurdles blocking the export of potatoes to Syria and Iraq will soon be lifted especially since they relate mostly to administrative red tape at the level of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Source: Al-Safir, Al-Safir, Al-Diyyar, 24 October 2014

An Nahar newspaper published a report about shoe confection in Bint Jbeil which has been a feature of this region since 1920 and reached its climax in the seventies.  This industry started to decline in the late nineties because of the security and economic conditions namely the Israeli occupation and the overall economic situation of Lebanon.  The report noted that large industrialists of the region set up 8 major factories in the eighties each of which employing 15 to 20 workers. Furthermore, some 85 smaller workshops existed and provided livelihoods to some 350 additional families.  As such, some 3500 pairs of shoes were produced daily and were marketed locally and in African and GCC countries including Kuwait.  This industry started declining in the nineties which led to the closure of many workshops.  This situation remained as such until the July 2006 war when the Israeli aggression destroyed the old souks that hosted most of the production units.  After the old souks were rebuilt, only 2 factories and 6 workshops reopened employing only 100 workers with a daily production of some 200 pairs which are seasonally marketed.
The report concluded by noting that those involved in this sector do not foresee a hopeful future and thus they agree that this trade is threatened with extinction. They added that supporting shoe-making is first their responsibility and that they should organize in a syndicate to demand their rights as well as improve their skills through training.  They also called for the creation of a cooperative which would facilitate the purchase of raw material at a lower price and without middlemen.  They also emphasized that the state has a responsibility to protect local production from foreign completion as well as find new external markets.
Source: Al-Nahar 24 October 2014

Professor Shogik Kasparian presented the findings of the study entitled “Emigrants’ financial contribution and its influence on the livelihoods in Lebanon” which was prepared by the Observatory of Socio-economic Reality at the Saint Joseph University.  The presentation of the findings, which was held last week at the Humanities campus, is largely the outcome of a survey carried out in 2012 based on a random sample of some 2000 households drawn from different parts of Lebanon.  The study noted that 55% of emigrants send remittances to their families, of whom, 25% do so on a regular basis.  The study also showed that 61.4% of families use these transfers for food expenses whilst 58.9% use them for accommodation expenses.
The study also included personal information drawn from the data of 7471 individuals and 3356 emigrants from these families. The study was categorized into 4 pillars, namely: 1) household characteristics and people who receive financial transfers, 2) emigrants and factors determining remittances to their families, 3) the impact of remittances of the livelihoods of recipient families, and 4) the impact of these remittances on families’ income and expenditure.  Kasparian noted in her presentation that small families are those who receive financial transfers most and its members are older with a higher percentage of women as well as a higher percentage of women headed households.  Kasparian also added that the proportion of women university graduates in families that receive remittances is higher than in those who do not.  The study also noted that men constitute a high proportion of emigrants but with an increasing trend of women emigrants as well, and while 62% of emigrant men send financial transfers to their families only 42% of women do so. Finally, and according to An Nahar, who covered this event, there was a noticeable absence of official presence or Ministries’ representation in this event notably the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Source: Al-Nahar 24 October 2014

The National Cooperative Federation of Milk producers in Lebanon rejected the request of Lebanese dairy factories to reduce the price of 1 kilogram of milk by LBP 100, knowing that the price of 1 Kg of milk is set at LBP 1150, according to a previous tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture, milk producers and factory owners.  This position was announced in a statement issued by the federation following its meeting in Zahleh last week during which it warned of further escalation in their actions if the Ministry does not intervene to withhold the unfounded demand taken by factory owners.  The Federation noted that the unit price of milk is principally dictated by the price of feedstock which has risen significantly.  The organisation also demanded limiting the large quantity of milk powder currently existing in the market, and allowing UHT imports so that factories can start new production lines, strengthening the role of relevant Ministries in protecting both products and consumers as well as increasing the unit price of natural milk with a raise of LBP 250 which will bring the price more in line with higher cost of living and increasing production costs.
Source: Al-Safir, Al-Diyyar, Al-Mustaqbal 24 October 2014

The Lebanon Investment in Microfinance (LIM) programme, funded by the USAID, organized yesterday a conference to launch a new microfinance federation that will bring together civil organizations and financial institutions under one umbrella so as to minimize cross-lending practices in this sector. The new association will include the Association for the Development of Rural communities, Association d’Entraide Professionelle, the Lebanese Association for Development (Al-Majmoua), the Lebanese Cooperative for Development, Entrepreneurial Development Foundation, Emkan Finance, IBDAA, Makhzoumi Foundation, and VITAS, which was formerly known as Ameen.
The executive director and head of the Banking Department at the Central Bank, Najib Shucair, noted in his keynote speech, that to date, the LIM program has awarded USD 8,299,501 in grants to Lebanese microfinance institutions, which in turn have disbursed a total value of USD 27,489,313 in the form of 12,101 micro loans, of which about 5,424 loans were destined to women borrowers. Shucair explained that as a result, the program had an impact on 18,989 jobs while helping to create 2,887 new employments, of which 45 percent were for women. In closing, Shucair underscored that 22 percent of the total microfinance clients, which reached have now 30,146 clients, have secured more than one loan, hence the idea to launch the above-mentioned Federation to pool the clients’ credit history in order to build a stronger sector and to improve the access of rural communities to finance.

Source: The Daily Star 23 October 2014

Social media websites have been overwhelmed during the past few days with the incident involving MP and lawyer Nicolas Fattush who allegedly aggressed, Manal Daou, a woman civil servant at the Justice Palace.  When the story first broke out, Daou had said that she will not be lodging a formal complaint against MP Fattoush.  However, Daou then spoke to As Safir and retracted in view of the public support she received.  She noted that as a mother of three, she was hesitant to take such a step.  To be noted that a number of public and civil reactions in support of Manal Daou were recorded.  The Minister of Justice, Ashraf Rifi, called for a proper investigation of the incident followed by the necessary corrective measures.  The Rassemblement Democratique des Femmes Libanaises (RDFL) condemned the MP’s action considering that Fattush's behavior is but a reflection of the patriarchal mindset of the ruling elite which has always disregarded women's rights and human dignity.  The Lebanese Women Council also expressed its resentment vis-à-vis this behavior.
For its part, the “Administrative Board of the Association of the General Administration Staff” called for a two hour strike yesterday to be observed in all public institutions.  A sit in was also convened in front of the Ministry of Justice yesterday with the participation of citizens, employees, lawyers, trade unionists and civil activists. Furthermore, the Trade Union Coordinating Body also issued a statement condemning this unprecedented aggression on civil servants and declared its solidarity with the association. Fattush for his part counter-attacked and belittled all the public outrage against his action and called on demonstrators to "return to their offices”.

Source: Al-Akhbar, Al-Safir, Al-Nahar, Al-Akhbar, Al-Safir, Al-Akhbar, 22,23,24 October 2014)

Manal Daou's fear and Fattoush continuous arrogance lead us to think further about this incident and from various points of view.  First, there is the issue of an MP assaulting a citizen with the latter fearing to complain officially in a country which denies people their basic rights especially the right to safety and security.  The second issue is the lack of awareness of basic rights.  Indeed, article 381 of the Lebanese Penal Code notes that any person who assaults an employee during the course of his duty is liable to a 3 to 6 month prison sentence, while article 383 stipulates that using humiliating language and threats against an employee in the course of his duty is liable to 6 month imprisonment.  Add to that, it is to be noted that with regards to clause 381, there is a public right that can not be dropped, even if the victim did not file a complaint. Finally, this unfortunate incident leads us to ask the question as to whether Fattush considered that it was fine to assault Manal Daou only because she is a woman.  (Z.M.)

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed, last Wednesday, between the Federation of the Bhamdoon Highlands Municipalities represented by its president, Yussef Chayya, and the implementation group of the Capacity Building Component of the European Union (EU). According to the MoU, the Federation will be expected to produce a strategy for strengthening local development for the local municipalities and villages through a participatory planning process.  The plan will include a number of action headings notably defining the future development direction for the Federation and its member municipalities, selecting one development project to incentivize medium and long terms growth and finally developing the capacities of the Federation so as to become self reliant at the evel of development planning.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 23 October 2014

The National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) met yesterday and issued a statement after its meeting noting its serious concern towards the deteriorating security and economic situation on and impact on women in Lebanon and the Arab world. Hence, NCLW called for solidarity and for mitigating the impact on women and children.  The NCLW further called for strengthening national unity and preserving Lebanon against possible external plots and intrigues.  The NCLW also emphasized the importance of electing a new President of the Republic as soon as possible, in order to ensure that state institutions are functioning properly in serving the state and its citizens.  In closing, the NCLW insisted also on the importance of carrying out speedy parliamentary elections calling for acceptable women’s representation, while reiterating the importance of supporting the Lebanese army as a guarantor of unity, freedom and independence.
Source: Al-Diyar, 24 October 2014