From: bh437292@longs.LANCE.ColoState.Edu (Basil Hamdan)
Subject: Re: The Litani River
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 18:42:15 GMT
Reply-To: bh437292@lance.colostate.edu
Organization: Engineering College, Colorado State University

In article <1992Nov10.115735.29601@ulrik.uio.no>, eliedw@hedda.uio.no (Elie Dib Wardini) writes:
|> Basil could we start a group or mailing list, or use the ones available to
|> follow up this issue. We need to get concrete facts (as you have presented us
|> here) and we should not let any inch of our rights go without a fight.


I am willing to do so, everybody interested can e-mail me.


|> If it is possible could you OCR the UN report?? amd send it to us?

The report is being prepared by Dr. Evan Vlachos along with other
researchers.  I would have to seek his permission before
I use his report as a lobbying tool, but it may be that this
document is public property once it is published.  I will
defer to Dr. Vlachos before I can answer these questions.
I will try to make as much of the information I get public.
If I can I will scan the whole document and post it to scl
and Leb-Net.
 

|> we will be able to right reviews of it and present exerpts of it to owr local
|> media and politicians.
|> 
|> We should not take this, or any other aggression, lightly. It is the future of
|> our country and our children that is at stake. We can not start taling the
|> *STRATEGIC NEEDS OF OUR NEIGHBOURS INTO CINSIDERATION* when this means that we
|> compromise our own security and sovereignty!
|> 
|> UNCONDITIONAL WITHDRAWAL of ALL OCCUPYING FORCES!
|> 
|> what do you say Basil?

I agree.  I think we should be very mindful of Israel's appetite
for Lebanon's water resources.  If we do not address this question
now and make it part of the public discourse, I am afraid our
government will give dangerous concessions to Israel that would jeopardize
the long-term economic and agricultural viability of South Lebanon.
The Litani is the only major river system in the Middle East that has 
all its sources, its channel and its point of confluence into the sea 
within one country.
Thus, according to international law its waters should unambiguously
belong to Lebanon and only to Lebanon.  Our neighbours to the South
have a different view of things and claim that we are a "water-rich" 
country that neglects to use its resources, and thus has given up its
legal claim to the totality of the Litani waters.
A somewhat similar case is the Colorado river here in the
US, which although it is inter-state battle will have to be decided
in the courts.  Currently  a "lower basin" state, California,
who is going through a severe drought is claiming that it should have 
a right to more of the Colorado water, since the "upper basin" states 
(especially Colorado) have  excess resources that are not being used.
However, in this case at least the Colorado does go through California, 
and Colorado and California are both part of one country.
I guess the "Litani Project" should have been given a higher
priority in the past.  But now is not the time to give up on
it.  Water is the economic lifeline of every country, and is
destined to become the next big point of contention in a 
water scarce area such as the Middle East.  
 

|> elie wardini

Basil