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 GLC Ghassan Ghosn told
An-Nahar daily that Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas will sign the transportation fees decree, confirming that Nahhas will not resign. “Nahhas will not resign, especially that his portfolio includes $17 million project studies”, Ghosn said.
Ghosn stressed the contradiction in Nahhas’ behavior, saying: “While Nahhas allows himself to take the law as a pretext to deny workers their rights (transportation fees and scholarships), he does not mind taking extra-budgetary credits, which violates the law and the will of the Shura Council and Audit Bureau.”
An-Nahar daily reported that Beirut and Paris set February 10 as the final date for the visit that PM Najib Mikati will conduct to France, upon the invitation of President Nicolas Sarkozy. PM Mikati will meet with a number of French officials, including Sarkozy, his French counterpart Francois Fillon and Foreign Minister Alain Juppe. The daily added that Sarkozy said previously that he will meet Mikati personally, only if the STL is funded.
A diplomatic source told An-Nahar that the visit is political and the agenda is filled with such issues, mainly the Syrian crisis and bilateral relations. According to the same sources, French officials understand Lebanese authorities for choosing to distance themselves from decisions regarding the Syrian crisis, in reference to the stance taken by Lebanon within the UN Security Council and the Arab League.
The sources said that the talks will be centered on the extension of the STL protocol that will expire by the end of March. France is interested to know what will be the Lebanese government’s take on the protocol’s extension and if it will take into account the opinion of Associate General Counsel Patricia Albracht, who said that the cabinet’s opinion is not binding, it only plays an advisory role.
Syrian sources told
As-Safir daily that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem sent a letter to Arab League Secretary General Nabil el-Araby to confirm that the Syrian regime agrees on extending the mandate of the Arab observers’ mission. As-Safir reported that the committee entrusted with the preparation of a new constitution draft finalized its work. In fact, a constitutional clause was issued to determine two non-renewable mandates each of seven years as the new presidential mandate.
The new draft removed article eight of the present constitution which stipulates that the Baath party should rule the country and replaced it with an article that values political diversity and fair elections.
The newspaper added that the head of the committee will soon announce that the work on the constitution draft has been finalized, three months after discussions had begun. The draft will be submitted to President Bashar Assad and later on a referendum will be conducted.
According to the newspaper, the expected referendum will be conducted in March or maybe sooner, while parliamentary elections are expected to be organized in May.
Al-Joumhouria daily said that a broad meeting was held at the Syrian Embassy in Beirut in the presence of party leaders and March 8 forces. The participants discussed the possibility to organize a pro-Assad march in Lebanon and participate in the pro-Assad demonstrations in Damascus.
Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas told Al-Joumhouria daily that the issue of transportation fees has been long buried underground. Nahhas added that he is currently working on a draft to devise mechanisms and conditions governing expenses that are considered part of labor requirements.