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.
An officer from the Free Syrian Army told
Al Seyassah al Kuwaiti daily that the orders given to the defectors in Turkey are mainly to focus on the Shabiha militias, Alawites security apparatuses, military leaderships, Hezbollah members and Iranian revolution guards specialized in oppressing protesters and sparking street wars. The dissident officer said that over 120 members from Hezbollah and 40 others from the revolution guards were killed in clashes with the Syrian Free Army during the past three months in Homs, Hama and Damascus countryside.
The officer added that their bodies were transferred to Iran on board of military airplanes carrying weapons for the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. “The aim behind the operation was to hide Hezbollah and Iran’s involvement in the massacres against Syrians”, the officer said, adding that Hezbollah members were carried back to their villages where they were buried.
The officer quoted other dissident officers as saying that two field officers from Hezbollah who were leading fighting units, snipers and kidnapping operations in Daraa and Damascus countryside, were killed the first in September and the second in October. According to the officer, it appeared later on that one of the deceased officers is a relative of one of Nasrallah’s wives (perhaps even her brother) and the other is a relative of Hezbollah MP Hussein Hajj Hassan. Their bodies were put to rest in south Lebanon.
State Minister Mohammad Fneish told
An-Nahar daily that Hezbollah considers that Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas presented a new approach for the wage concept, putting an end to all attempts aiming at circumventing the issue.
“Although I endorse this approach, I must say that it will increase the cost of living, burden business owners and threaten the economic situation”, Fneish said.
The daily quoted Fneish as saying: “It would be best if the plan put forth by the Prime Minister is retained since Nahhas’ proposal requires further study, discussions and a series of measures and legislations that take time”.
Fneish added that PM Mikati’s plan was put to a vote, unlike the project presented by labor minister since it will be discussed by the concerned ministerial committees.
Sources close to
Speaker Nabih Berri told
Al-Akhbar daily that it has been several months since Berri
met any U.S. envoys. The sources added that Berri has abstained from meeting
U.S. officials, ever since the U.S. Department of State refused to hand him the
original minutes of the joint meetings that were leaked through wikileaks. Back
then, the Department of State answered him by saying that it does not attach any
importance to these documents.
The daily quoted
the sources as saying: “Following the U.S. State Department’s respond, Speaker
Berri decided to refrain from meeting with U.S. envoys. Berri discussed this
issue with Connelly whom he met recently and asked him to overcome the crisis.”
According to the sources,
during a meeting between Berri and Feltman the discussions were centered on the
Syrian issue. Speaker Berri told his guest that “nothing will change in Syria
unless the government and the people engage in a dialogue”, adding that “external
pressures will not affect the Syria and the Syrian regime”.
French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton told
As-Safir daily that Lebanon’s best interest lies in steering clear from importing others’ trends, adding that the Lebanese political parties should show signs of moderation and avoid the hatred rhetoric.
Pietton said that, after years of participating in the UNIFIL, France will not abandon its commitment to the international forces, but the principle of rotation will be put into force. Pietton noted that
France paid great attention to the fears of Christians voiced by Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, denying that France wishes to deport Christians to France.
The French ambassador ruled out the possibility that the future of Lebanese banks will be bleak, stressing that Lebanese banks located in Syria are well aware of the situation and are in permanent contact with the Central Bank of Lebanon. “Lebanese banks would like to avoid any actions that may negatively impact it in Syria”, Pietton said.
Pietton denied information that France is maintaining contact with the Free Syrian Army, adding that France attaches great importance to the Syrian National Council. “France highlights the need for the SNC to represent all categories of the Syrian people”, Pietton added.
Al Hayat daily reported that sources close to U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said that Feltman called on Lebanon to stick to the Arab and international unanimous decision taken regarding the Syrian situation.
The sources quoted Feltman as saying that Lebanon should not give the international public opinion an excuse to think that it does not sympathize with the Syrian protesters and endorses the use of violence against them.
According to the newspaper, Feltman stressed the need not to jump to conclusions and come up with false interpretations regarding the return of U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford to his headquarters in Damascus.