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.
The head of the opposition
Syrian National Council, Burhan Ghalyoun, told
Acharq al-Awsat daily that Syria
is going through a very difficult time, adding that the Syrian regime is using
explosions to put the Syrian people and the Arab states before 2 options:
either it stays in power or resorts to killings and terrorism.
Ghalyoun added that the
blasts that rocked Damascus were made by the Syrian intelligence services, stressing
that terrorist attacks will not deter the people from going on with their
revolution until the regime is brought down.
Ghalyoun said that the
Syrian opposition is unified and agrees on two principles: rejecting dialogue
before the ousting and departure of Syrian President Bashar Assad, and making
sure post-Assad Syria is a pluralistic democracy.
He denied having talked
about a rupture with Iran and the region’s resistance movements, stressing that
the relation with Iran and Hezbollah in the post-Assad phase will no longer be
strategic, but normal.
“No state or party can ask
for privileged relations with Syria without supporting the Syrian people’s
freedom”, he said.
Ghalyoun said that the idea
of the Arab initiative being submitted to the UNSC terrifies the Syrian regime.
Therefore, it is trying to dilute this initiative, expose the Arab monitors to
the dangers of sporadic bombings, like what happened in Damascus 2 days ago, talk
about the threat posed by terrorist groups to prevent the Arab mission’s
members from going to the places they want to visit and put them before challenges
with unpredictable implications.
On the Russian draft law
submitted to the UNSC, Ghalyoun said it is unjust for “it equals between the
victim and the executioner”, denying the existence of an Iraqi initiative.
Iraq’s Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi tol
Acharq al-Awsat
daily that the charges against him were fabricated to tarnish his national
reputation and take him away from the political scene so Nuri al-Maliki can do
whatever he wants. Hashemi described Maliki as a man of consensus, not a man of
national reconciliation who does not believe in democracy.
Hashemi said that he is in Kurdistan upon President Jalal
Talabani’s decision, stressing that he has the right to move inside and outside Iraq without any pressure.
Hashemi accused Maliki of preparing in advance to eliminate
his political opponents. He said that Maliki will not allow any opposition
after the U.S. troops’ withdrawal. “He will seek to dedicate the state administration
to one man and one party”.