Press Digest for Thursday September 15, 2011

15^min

Moussawi: Jumblatt would not mind changing his stance every day

Loyalty to the Resistance bloc member MP Hussein Hussein el Moussawi said that recent statements made by Walid Jumblatt on Hezbollah’s weapons are unacceptable, especially considering his history of fighting against Israel. Moussawi added that Jumblatt, the head of the National Stuggle Front, is a unique person who has his own ways to express his point of views and would not mind changing his stances every day in order to protect his interests and those of the Druze.

“Hezbollah has made it clear that as long as Israel is violating and occupying Arab, Muslim, and Christian lands in Palestine and Lebanon, [Hezbollah] will not lay down its arms and surrender to the Israeli occupation”, Moussawi told Al-Anbaa daily

Moussawi added that the Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai’s latest statements confirmed his firm stance towards preserving Lebanon and the Christians’ interests in the region amid the ongoing events.

Mikati dissatisfied with Aoun

Sources close to PM Mikati expressed his dissatisfaction with the ongoing “unjustified campaign” against him from the Head of the Change and Reform bloc Michel Aoun.

The sources said that Aoun’s campaign aims to target the Prime Minister on a personal level and to “put the spoke in the wheel” to prevent governmental progress.

The sources added that Mikati will not respond to these stances as he does not want to start a debate with anyone.

According to Al Siyasa newspaper the sources confirmed that Mikati’s position towards the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is unchangeable, and that he will maintain the same position when the tribunal’s funding issue is discussed in a cabinet meeting.

March 14 to present draft law on STL funding

Sources told An-Nahar daily that March 14 forces are discussing the possibility of presenting a draft law to the Parliament on funding for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

The sources added that this approach would be fundamentally different from that taken by the head of the Change and Reform bloc MP Michel Aoun with the electricity plan. Rather than presenting the plan directly in the cabinet, March 14 will present the draft law in the parliament.

March 14’s approach will reduce the cabinet’s influence over the STL funding.

Mikati to visit Rai

Sources to Al-Liwaa said that PM Najib Mikati will visit the Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai on Friday after the latter’s meeting with President Michel Sleiman to discuss the latest events.

The sources added that Mikati will have an important press conference after his visit.

Jumblatt-Damascus relations frozen

Sources to Al-Liwaa said that the Head of the National Struggle Front Walid Jumblatt received a message last week from Syria expressing the Syrian President Bashar Assad’s dissatisfaction with Jumblatt’s latest statements to former PM Saad Hariri.

Jumblatt told Hariri that no action could be taken at this level and the best thing to do would be to “sit on the river bank” and observe the changes [in Syria] in order to take a clear stance.

The sources added that the message confirmed that Damascus has frozen its relations with Jumblatt for the moment.