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.
National
Struggle Front leader Walid Jumblatt told
An-Nahar Daily on Friday that at the
dialogue table, it was agreed that the issue of weapons can only be solved
through dialogue in a calm and positive atmosphere. “Cam prevailed over the
last two dialogue sessions at Baabda Palace”, he said.
Jumblatt
said that what is happening in Saida and the latest attacks on Al Jadeed and Al
Manar TV stations target President Michel Sleiman and all the Lebanese.
According to
the same newspaper, Jumblatt said that it would be wrong to repeat what
happened on May 7 for “we cannot correct a wrong with another mistake; let’s
draw lessons from the events of May 7, 2008.” Jumblatt stressed that cutting
off roads and disrupting the daily lives of citizens in Saida, south Lebanon
and other regions do not solve the problem.
“The defense
strategy must be addressed in a stable environment away from chaos and
sectarian fanaticism”, he said.
A well-informed source told
As-Safir
daily that the response of Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai to the points put
forward by March 14’s Christian figures during their meeting in Bkerke was as
follows:
First: I do not ask the Vatican to
support my stances; through the stances I make, I express the stances of the
Holy See.
Second: As for the situation in Syria, I
will never renounce the positions I expressed before leading the Maronite
Patriarchate or after it; I am not with the Syrian regime, and it must change.
The Syrian people are entitled to call for a better regime.
Third: I did not defend Hezbollah’s
weapons and I have never said that these weapons should remain.
A security
source told
An-Nahar Daily on Saturday that the LAF does not intervene in sit-ins
such as the one held by Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir, adding that the ISF must address
this kind of issues. If confrontation erupts, and if the ISF needs support, the LAF will be ready to help, the source added.
The source
said that the sit-in is an unarmed peaceful sit-in, adding that contacts are
ongoing to end it peacefully and carefully.
Minister of Interior Marwan Charbel
told
As-Safir Daily that he is personally working on addressing the sit-in
organized by Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir in Saida, hoping that the issue will be solved
peacefully, "even if it took some time."
Parliamentary
sources from the majority told
Al-Joumhouria Daily on Saturday that they expect
opposition members to hamper the ratification of the public spending draft law
during the cabinet session “since they are still adamant on linking it to the 11
billion dollar issue”.