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.
Well-informed sources said that the visit made by the Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta reflects a European interest in following up on the Lebanese issues, mainly the repercussions of the Syrian crisis, amid an international keenness on preserving its stability and preventing its political situation from deteriorating.
However, political sources concerned with overcoming the governmental void told
al-Hayat daily that the campaign launched by March 8 forces against President Michel Sleiman is fabricated.
The sources explained that March 8 forces have been slamming Sleiman because of his latest stances, mainly the one where he said that he will approve a cabinet proposal to be presented by the Prime Minister-Designate Tammam Salam, and which will include non-partisan ministers, with the support of March 14 forces and the Future Movement.
According to the same sources, Sleiman is insisting on his position to abstain from leaving the presidential authorities in the hands of the caretaking cabinet in case a new president fails to be elected on time.
In this context, well-informed sources said that March 8 forces, mainly Hezbollah, are aware of Sleiman’s stances, stressing that the campaign launched against him on the pretext that he is seeking to extend his mandate “is a lame excuse because he is not seeking extension, nor is he convinced with this option.”
Member of the Future bloc MP Atef Majdalani declared that the delegation that met with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri in Paris, focused its discussions on the presidential elections, leaving the issue of the cabinet formation among the duties of President Michel Sleiman and the Prime Minister-Designate Tammam Salam.
In a statement to
Al Seyassah Kuwaitia Daily, Majdalani said that “it is clear that Hezbollah’s intervention in Syria came following the order of its Iranian allies,” noting that a new group has entered the war alongside the Syrian regime, “meaning that the situation in Syria will witness further complication,” as he said.
Concerning his proposal to hold dialogue with Iran, the MP said that March 14 forces do not have any other options amid Hezbollah’s insistence on paralyzing the governmental institutions.
“This is why, we must hold dialogue with the party supporting Hezbollah, in order to save our parliamentarian regime and save diversity in our country,” he said.
An-Nahar Daily reported that March 14 forces will turn the conference scheduled to be held today (Sunday) in Tripoli into an evidence proving their support for the city’s unity and their efforts deployed in order to protect it from the attempts to create sectarian strife.
The newspaper said that the coalition’s secretariat general prepared a proposal that includes a number of items to be discussed and amended by the conferees, in a bid to reach what will be known as the “Tripoli Declaration.”
In this context, the newspaper noted that the main issues tackled in the proposal concern the need to consider Tripoli a symbol for coexistence between the Sunnis, Alawites and Christians, the need to disarm all factions and to prevent any form of violence from turning the city into a battlefield.