The UN Development Program (UNDP) in Lebanon The Ministry of Public Health December 2010 | The Lebanese banking sector 101 Alice Mogabgab Gallery - Interview issue number www.iimonthly.com • Published by Information International sal REPUBLIC OF INFORMANTS Lebanon 5,000LL | Saudi Arabia 15SR | UAE 15DHR | Jordan 2JD| Syria 75SYP | Iraq 3,500IQD | Kuwait 1.5KD | Qatar 15QR | Bahrain 2BD | Oman 2OR | Yemen 15YRI | Egypt 10EP | Europe 5Euros INDEX 4 LEADER: REPUBLIC OF INFORMANTS 7 The UN Development Program (UNDP) in Lebanon 10 The Ministry of Public Health 15 Who benefited from the foreign donations to Lebanon in 2009? 21 Immunity of the Prime Minister and Ministers 23 The Lebanese banking sector 26 Gold in the world 28 Syndicate of Gold Page 28 30 Ahlia School 32 Overweight & Obesity by Dr. Hanna Saadah 33 7 seconds between birth and death by Dr. Samar Zebian 34 “The Prince of Medicine of His Time” Acknowledges the Brain as the Seat of Page 42 Page 37 Intelligence” by Antoine Boutros 42 Hizbollah in the eyes of Christian 35 Alice Mogabgab Gallery - Interview Leaders 37 Myth #40: Green Lebanon 43 October 2010 Timeline in Lebanon 38 Must-read books: Solidere; Legislation and 46 Sexual harassment in Egypt Regulatory Texts 47 Real estate index in Lebanon- 39 Must-read children’s book: “No, I Will Not Ever October 2010 Never Eat a Tomato” 48 Food Price Index - October 2010 40 Lebanon Families: Audi families 50 Facts about Bees and Honey Making 41 Discover Lebanon: Qaaqaeiat Al-Jisr 50 Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport - October 2010 51 Lebanon stats Editorialﹺ | 3 SQUEALERS AND BOUNCERS “The secret expenditures” of Lebanon’s intelligence services are an eye opener for the following reasons: “Secret expenditures” is a code for payoffs to informants or “human assets”. The expenditures exceeded USD 13 million in 2009 with a surge since 2008 of 100% and 39% for the Internal Security Forces and Military Intelligence respectively. An assumption of a monthly per capita payment equivalent to the minimum wage (333$ per month) will yield an estimated number of 50,000 informants or twice this number should the payoff be half the minimum wage. Now, let us for the sake of this exercise, add the number of armed forces estimated to reach 90,000 and then the number of security guards deployed by the security companies in Lebanon which is approximately 8,000 and finally those armed men in various political parties (Hizbollah, Future, LF, SSNP and PSP and others) estimated at a minimum of 20,000. This will bring us to 168,000 armed men and informants without counting the retired armed forces personnel and those who wish to be deployed and are awaiting their turn. This number represents 76% of all those employed by the public sector and 19% of the manpower in Lebanon’s private sector. Yes “we” need armed forces; Yes “they” need informants; Yes we are followers of Zua’ama and perhaps “patriotic”. But let us simply ask what kind of a society are we? It seems that since 1943, Lebanon has gone through a metamorphosis to a militarized or militant society or simply a society of squealers and bouncers. Law Abiding Citizens It has been propagated that the Lebanese are chaotic by nature and that they break the laws at will. This is propagated by many who wish to duck their responsibilities to enforce the law. The recent introduction of radars to curtail high speed drivers is so far a success. The drivers are abiding by the speed limit and the enforcement so far has been good. The drive from Tripoli to Beirut is a pleasure. The question now is: How long before we discover that the radar is Shia’a, the policeman is Sunni and the road is Maronite? issue 101 - December 2010 4 | Leader SECRET EXPENDITURES REPUBLIC OF INFORMANTS LBP 20 billion in “secret expenditures”, mainly with the Information Branch and the Army as the main benefactors he “Second Bureau” or the Lebanese Army Intelligence is a term that most Lebanese are familiar with. It is the name of the intelligence service that tightened its grip on the country in the 1950’s and 1960’s during Tthe presidencies of Fouad Chehab and Charles Helou. The service and its officers played a major role in the media and the political, economic and social life in Lebanon. It selected ministers and MPs, backed some newspapers against others or one Za’im against another. In 1970, Suleiman Franjieh was elected president, the service was downsized and most of its officers expelled. Many of them sought refuge in Syria. The “Second Bureau” nevertheless maintained its influence at a time when the General Security Service was only beginning to strengthen its role in information gathering and had limited intelligence related experience while the Internal Security Forces remained unfamiliar with intelligence work. With the outbreak of the war and the decline of the State’s role, the influence of the security forces also regressed. The Ta’ef Agreement stipulated that “the armed forces’ of 684 million, and this budget decreased by 14.5% intelligence shall be reorganized to exclusively serve between 1994 and 2010. On the other hand, the secret military objectives”. Thus, the text forbids the Army’s expenditures of the ISF (Information Branch) increased Intelligence from carrying out any intelligence work from LBP 800 million to LBP 8 billion, marking an outside of the military. According to the legal texts unjustified and unconstitutional 900% increase. in place, the Directorate General of State Security, established in 1984, was to carry out intelligence Table 1 lists the distribution of these expenditures by related tasks. The law specified its functions: gathering service over the past few years and shows that spending information related to internal state security using special by each of the Directorate General of State Security (a networks across the Lebanese territory, investigating service that requires substantial secret funds to perform information from other pertinent organizations, its mission as defined by the law), the General Security monitoring foreigners, monitoring contacts between and the Airport Security Service has remained relatively nationals and foreign parties, combating espionage and stable. In contrast, major increases in spending are cooperating with other Lebanese security services. attributed to the Army and the ISF (150% and 900% rise respectively). Graphs 1-3 show the distribution and Despite the Ta’ef Agreement, the Army’s Intelligence variation of some security services. continued to perform intelligence activities beyond its scope and was the most active branch in the intelligence It is a well known fact that most of the so called secret field. In 2005, following the assassination of former expenditures are spent to buy “human assets”. The Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, the Information Branch, buying of informants in the political and media arena which is under the Services and Operations Division of as well as in various villages and neighborhoods in the Directorate General of the Internal Security Forces, Lebanon has become a common trend. The proliferation was turned into a de facto division. Its staff increased, of informants, the meddling of the security services and became highly active in the field of intelligence. A into the State’s policies and the infringement of review of the total secret expenditures of the various the citizens’ right to privacy are definite features of intelligence apparatus demonstrates a substantial Lebanon’s current political and social scenes. Perhaps increase in “secret expenses”, especially those of these “secret expenses” are being used by the security the Information Branch and the Army Intelligence. services to obtain the necessary information to maintain The total secret expenditures of the security services a relatively stable security situation, which we are increased from around LBP 6.5 billion in 1994 and currently witnessing, and uncover espionage and LBP 6 billion in 2005 to around LBP 20 billion in 2010 terrorist networks. However, the argument remains that marking a 208% rise. What is surprising is that the State laws are being broken by the various security services Security Service, who is legally empowered to monitor of Lebanon. Refer to the Village X example. citizens and ensure their safety, has a limited budget issue 101 - published by Information International s.a.l. SECRET EXPENDITURES Leader | 5 Is village X in the Qada’a of Koura a The Mobile as a Tape Recorder special case or a sample of what Lebanon has come to? Lebanese informants have entered the The security services in the Qada’s of Koura world of technology. Their work is no are competing with each other on employing longer limited to using pens to write a report informants while the latter are competing among against someone or their ability to memorize themselves to work for the services. Family and what others say rather they have breached political affiliations play a significant role. And personal privacy through the mobile phone thus, the informants’ loyalty alters from one service (which they could have obtained during the to the other according to the circumstances. elections in return for a favor for a za’im or a contender.) They use the recording option The Monthly was able to estimate the number of in the phone to record conversations that informants in that village to over 54 informants. took place in the informants’ presence or The majority of informants used to work for the with them. The recorded material could be Syrian intelligence and their loyalty slowly turned used to blackmail the person in question or to the Army’s Intelligence. Then, most of them accuse him/her of something. In case the started working for the Information Branch.