The
following are summaries of today's major stories published in the
Arabic press. LBCI does not edit press digest articles for content,
giving English-language readers insight into the various views expressed
in newspapers across the Arab world.
A prominent source from the March 14 alliance said on
Tuesday that Hezbollah’s attempts to impose its security, political, and social
systems will lead to sectarian strife among Lebanese citizens in light of
reports showing that Hezbollah’s checkpoints have become “sectarian checkpoints”
whereby restrictions are being imposed on non-Shiite citizens.
The source told
Al-Liwaa newspaper that
Hezbollah is bringing back the specter of civil war into the minds of Lebanese citizens,
expressing concern that these checkpoints became a prelude to a sectarian
strife.
In this regard, sources added to
Al-Liwaa
newspaper that Lebanese President Michel Sleiman tasked caretaker Interior
Minister Marwan Charbel with following up on the issue of Hezbollah’s
checkpoints with the party’s leadership; however, the party refused to discuss
the issue, prompting Minister Charbel to cancel a scheduled visit with
Hezbollah’s leadership.
Following the
latest reports issued by the International Commission of Inquiry in
regards to Syria’s Al-Qusayr battle, Lebanese political sources expressed their
concern that the International Community tends towards penalizing Hezbollah for
committing war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
The sources told
Al-Liwaa newspaper that penal measures against the party and its institutions
will have negative repercussions on the Lebanese economy in light of other measures imposed by the Gulf Cooperation Council against institutions, and
businessmen affiliated with the party.
House Speaker Nabih Berri said Tuesday that it is
no longer permissible to stay without a cabinet, adding that the risk of a political vacuum
urged him to launch his initiative which calls for holding dialogue sessions and forming a cabinet.
Berri told
As-Safir newspaper that
the governmental file, and other local dossiers, should not be linked to the
possibility of a US strike against Syria, calling on all factions to refrain
from taking their decisions on the backdrop of regional events.
Berri expressed his astonishment that the
Future Movement is rejecting dialogue sessions before forming a new cabinet at
a time when it refused to resume these sessions before the resignation of the
government headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Speaker Berri added that his proposal to
discuss the governmental formula during dialogue sessions does not aim at
detracting the powers of Prime Minister-Designate Tammam Salam or
President Michel Sleiman.
On another note, House Speaker Berri stated
that the issue of the resistance was not mentioned in the Baabda declaration,
stressing that the declaration is not a substitute for the “army-people-resistance”
equation.
Berri added that the declaration aims at facilitating the dialogue process, and mentioned that some factions are making
benefit of it to breakdown the aforementioned equation.
An-Nahar
newspaper said Tuesday that head of the Future Bloc Fouad Siniora explained to
a delegation from the Development and Liberation Bloc his position regarding
House Speaker Nabih Berri’s initiative that stipulates holding dialogue
sessions in order to find a solution for Lebanon’s current situation.
In this
regard, Siniora told the delegation that dialogue is a link of communication between Lebanese factions as long as it does not get transformed into a
constitutional institution, stating that the work of some of these institutions
is related to the work of President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister-Designate
Tammam Salam who were tasked by the constitution to form the cabinet.
Siniora added
that following the formation of the cabinet, President Sleiman should call for
national dialogue sessions to discuss the arms of Hezbollah and the party’s
intervention in the Syrian crisis.