Press Digest for Sunday July 01, 2012

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.      

• Fatfat to Acharq al-Awsat: Sheikh Assir’s movement will not last long              

MP Ahmad Fatfat expressed surprise towards Sheikh Ahmad Assir seeking “to block roads in Sidon and disturb the region’s residents, while Hezbollah is indifferent and not even disturbed by this matter”. Fatfat noted that this method will only help Hezbollah and the weapons’ campaign in achieving their goals, and thus will not achieve anything regarding attempts to overthrow the domination of the arms.        

Fatfat told Acharq al-Awsat daily that he expects that Sheikh Assir’s movement will end soon, because Assir does not have the capabilities that Hezbollah had when it closed the roads of Beirut. Fatfat pointed that Assir will realize, sooner or later, that his method is useless.                           

• Aoun: Forming new cabinet currently a difficult process         

The head of change and Reform bloc, MP Michel Aoun noted that many things have changed, most importantly the dangers that Lebanon is currently witnessing and that led to the dialogue sessions. Aoun pointed that neither the defense strategy nor the disarmament will be useful when the internal stability and the national unity are hit.                  

Aoun told An-Nahar daily that forming a new cabinet is a difficult process, this is why “the Change and Reform bloc pays the price of its presence within the cabinet to save the people from a bigger evil”, Aoun added.                       

Commenting on the electoral law, Aoun said: “I support the proportionality law because it is the best law for the long term, there will be more regularity and commitment in the political action. The sectarian speech will end and all the people will be represented. Intellectual and confessional stability will be restored”.           
Aoun stated that PSP Leader MP Walid Jumblatt is attacking him because he fears the Christians, Shiites, and Sunnis because they outnumber him, noting that “Jumblatt is against proportionality law because it will help reflect his real political weight”.         

• Will Change and Reform bloc ministers resign before elections

Al-Mustaqbal newspaper reported that the head of Change and Reform bloc, MP Michel Aoun is preparing a “resignation scenario” for his ministers to be implemented shortly before the parliamentary elections, in an attempt to recover his popular loss. The daily added that Aoun will resume talks with his allies after the elections.