Press Digest for Saturday April 21, 2012

• Pieton: Lebanon should be protected
  

French ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pieton told An-Nahar newspaper that the assassination plot against the head of the Lebanese forces Samir Geagea was very dangerous to the country, adding that if the plot was a successful one it would have entered Lebanon in an extremely dangerous period.  

“Lebanon should be protected amid the ongoing developments in neighboring countries; I call on all Lebanese leaders to unite and support a national dialogue to prevent an escalation on the political scene”, Pieton told the newspaper.    

• Sleiman: My visit to Australia was fruitful

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman told al-Liwaa newspaper that the current political situation in the country is reassuring, adding that this country [Lebanon] should be protected to prevent the surrounding incidents to enter Lebanon.  

“My visit to Australia was fruitful and my meetings with the Lebanese diaspora was a must to incite to return to their native country and support their investments; They told me about their main concerns and we discussed the diaspora voting issue and how to facilitate their paper works”, Sleiman was quoted as saying.  

“We told the Australian government that the double standard policy towards the appraisals in the Middle East and that the differentiation between Arab countries and Israel does not solve the ongoing conflict”.

• Karam told Israel about Hezbollah leaders’ personal security

Al-Mustaqbal newspaper published parts of the investigation with General Fayez Karam saying that Karam reveal to the Internal Security Forces Intelligence that he gave critical information to the Israeli about Hezbollah’s leaders’ personal security.

“The Israelis were interested to receive information about Ghaleb Abou Zaynab’s after they knew that we had lunch together on several occasion and how long does it take him to arrive to the restaurant and related matters”, Al-Mustaqbal quoted the investigation report.

The newspaper added that the Israelis used to ask Karam about hidden political issues so they would know how to act before any Lebanese political decision especially about the Free Patriotic Movement ,Hezbollah and General Michel Aoun.  

• Abou Faour: The politicians gave the worst image of the country

Minister of Social Affairs Wael Abou Faour expressed to Al-Joumhouria newspaper his discontent with the political discourse in the country and especially during the parliamentarian debates that occurred last week as the discussion revealed the sectarian and religious tensions in the country.

“The politicians gave the worst image of Lebanon during the discussions” Abou Faour was quoted as saying.