Only a handful of Lebanese politicians attended a memorial service on Thursday for academic Lokman Slim, highlighting fears of being associated too closely with the Hezbollah critic who was shot dead in south Lebanon last week.
“Why are they so scared of showing their support? They are cowards,” said Lebanese journalist Diana Moukalled, who attended the service.
“Lokman deserves to be commemorated. We don’t want to lose the ideas that he fought for, in terms of justice, accountability and memory.”
Several foreign ambassadors, including from Germany and Switzerland, spoke at the memorial service in the garden of the Slim family residence in Ghobeiry, a southern suburb of Beirut.
The area is dominated by Hezbollah, the Iran-aligned political party and militia.
"This was a barbaric act, unforgivable and unacceptable," said the US ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea.
Belgian ambassador Hubert Cooreman told The National: "Lebanon has lost one of its free, independent thinkers who worked hard for an open, tolerant, democratic Lebanon."
Activists held banners that read “zero fear”.
But no Lebanese politician spoke publicly at the ceremony. Two parties that staunchly oppose Hezbollah, the Lebanese Forces and Kataeb, sent representatives.
“I have a feeling that a lot of politicians were absent because they think it’s a risk to confront Hezbollah in its stronghold,” said former minister Ahmad Fatfat.
Mr Fatfat is affiliated with the Future Movement, the party of prime minister-designate Saad Hariri, but attended the ceremony in his personal capacity.
“I went for two reasons: first, out of respect for Lokman Slim, who was a great intellectual, but also to say that we are not afraid,” he said.
Slim’s sister, novelist and editor Rasha Al Ameer, was reluctant at first to comment on the weak show of public support from Lebanon's political establishment.
"It's really petty," Al Ameer told The National. "We cannot build anything on such gossip. Lokman was a builder.
“The Lebanese state is failing anyway. What good would it do to me to receive a call from corpses?
“They don’t interest me. I’m happy they didn’t call. The few that did call were friends of my father, old politicians.”
Al Ameer’s father, Mohsen Slim, a Shiite, was a member of parliament for four years in the 1960s. Her mother, Salma Merchak, is a Protestant Christian Egyptian.
Ms Merchak attended the ceremony, during which Christian and Muslim religious figures led prayers.
In a video widely shared online on Thursday afternoon, a Shiite cleric said he regretted taking part in the event.
The National was not able to verify his identity but he can be seen reciting the Quran in a live stream of the memorial.
“I apologise to all the brothers and sisters who saw me on channels,” he said, a pen and paper lying on the table in front of him.
“I should not have done it and put myself in a situation [that created] suspicion.”
The cleric, who did not mention Slim’s name, claimed that he had not been aware of the identity of the person for whom he was praying.
Slim, 58, ran a research centre with his wife, Monika Borgmann, called Umam, which includes one of the country’s biggest archives.
The couple released two documentaries on Lebanese detainees in Syrian prisons, and the 1982 massacre at Sabra and Shatila, two topics that are rarely discussed in public.
Slim's harsh stance against Hezbollah made him unpopular among the Shiite community.
"I used to dislike him," one activist told The National at a sit-in organised by supporters of Slim on Saturday in downtown Beirut.
"I thought his positions were too radical and endangered the country's stability.
"But I changed my mind with the revolution, because there was no stability any more anyway."
He was referring to a months-long mass anti-government protest movement in late 2019 as the country entered its worst economic crisis.
The activist asked to remain anonymous because he also lives in an area controlled by Hezbollah.
"Anxiety levels are running really high right now," he said.
Slim's friends and family said he had received death threats for years, which escalated in December 2019.
Posters were placed outside his home, glorifying Hezbollah and accusing him of being a "traitor and collaborator".
At the time, Slim wrote in a public letter that Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and his ally, veteran politician Nabih Berri, should be held responsible if anything harmful happened to him, his family or his house.
After his death, Slim’s wife and sister told the media that they wanted an international investigation and that they suspected Hezbollah of ordering his assassination.
Hezbollah condemned Slim’s killing on February 4, after his death was made public.
On the same day, Mr Nasrallah’s son, Jawad, caused controversy for posting a tweet that seemed to celebrate the assassination.
He deleted it shortly after and claimed the two events were unrelated.
Lebanon has a history of unresolved political assassinations.
One of the few settled cases is the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri by a car bomb in 2005.
Last August, a UN-backed tribunal found a Hezbollah operative guilty in his absence.
Hezbollah rejected the court's findings.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Dubai Women's Tour teams
Agolico BMC
Andy Schleck Cycles-Immo Losch
Aromitalia Basso Bikes Vaiano
Cogeas Mettler Look
Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
Hitec Products – Birk Sport
Kazakhstan National Team
Kuwait Cycling Team
Macogep Tornatech Girondins de Bordeaux
Minsk Cycling Club
Pannonia Regional Team (Fehérvár)
Team Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Team Ciclotel
UAE Women’s Team
Under 23 Kazakhstan Team
Wheel Divas Cycling Team
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Match info:
Manchester City 2
Sterling (8'), Walker (52')
Newcastle United 1
Yedlin (30')
